Author: Badalian Vardan

NO PROGRESS IN ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS

Aysor.am
Friday,September 30

There is no progress in Armenian – Turkish protocols, said Karen
Bekaryan, head of European Integration NGO today.

He noted that Turkey took out the protocols from the parliament and
explained that step by technical reasons. Now it should be clarified
whether it really had a technical or political tint.

“Armenia has no step to undertake in connection with the protocols,
it is Turkey’s turn to take a step, which should not be fictive,
just for closing the eyes of the international community, but it
should be real, with results and progress,” Bekaryan said.

KOCHARYAN MENTIONED THREE POINTS TO RETURN

Lragir.am News

14:25:46 – 30/09/2011

The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, did not rule out
his return to politics in an exclusive interview with Mediamax Agency.

Robert Kocharyan said this commenting by Mediamax’s request on the
fact that the topic of his return to big politics became one of
the main themes on the internal political agenda, and the fact that
Vladimir Putin is going to run for the post of Russian President in
2012 aroused a stream of discussions about the impact of this step
on political processes in Armenia and on political perspectives of
the second President in particular.

“I am amazed that my possible return is linked to political processes
in Russia. And this happens immediately after the celebration of
the 21st anniversary of Armenia’s independence? I am sure political
processes should ripen here in Armenia, and not be directly projected
from outside.

I don’t rule out the possibility of my return to big politics.

However, only three major factors may force me to return and not the
events going on in other country which is very close and important
for Armenia. These three factors are:

1. the absence of a tangible and stable improvement of the situation
in country’s economy and people’s welfare, and consequently the growth
of hopeless moods and migration;

2. the demand for my return to big politics by various layers of
the society;

3. my inner belief that I can radically improve the situation.

The ways of return to active politics may vary given these three
factors.

Other circumstances only add a political resource but are not
fundamental,” Robert Kocharyan said in the exclusive interview to
Mediamax.

LA POLICE AFFIRME FAIRE SON MAXIMUM POUR RESOUDRE L’ENQUETE SUR LES VOLS A EREVAN
[email protected]

armenews.com
vendredi 30 septembre 2011
ARMENIE

La police armenienne a promis de n’epargner aucun effort afin
d’identifier et de poursuivre les responsables d’une serie de vols
a Erevan qui ont cree l’emoi.

” Je veux vous assurer que nous ferons tout pour rapidement resoudre
ces crimes parce qu’ils comportent des consequences dangereuses ”
a declare le Lieutenant General Alik Sargsian, le chef du service de
la police nationale aux journalistes. ” Autrement, nous aurions une
image plus honteuse “.

Alik Sargsian a mentionne qu’au cours des derniers mois des attaques
armees a Erevan ont vise les maisons de cinq riches individus dont un
ancien depute et l’ancien maire du district de Malatia-Sebastia. Les
vols ont suivi le meme schema avec des hommes masques faisant
irruption dans les hôtels particuliers tôt le matin, battant leurs
proprietaires et volant de grandes sommes d’argent comptant et autres
objets precieux.

Les procureurs et la police croient que les cinq vols etaient le
travail d’une meme equipe. Ils n’ont arrete personne jusqu’a present.

Alik Sargsian a confirme que l’enquete criminelle est conduite par
une equipe speciale de policiers de haut rang. ” Elle fonctionne sous
ma surveillance personnelle ” a-t-il dit.

” Nous avons certaines informations qui ont besoin d’etre serieusement
traitees ” a-t-il dit sans entrer dans les details.

L’enquete de police a ete critiquee par le Procureur General Aghvan
Hovsepian. Ce dernier a dit que la police aurait deja neutralise le
gang si elle avait repondu correctement aux deux premiers vols.

Alik Sargsian a accuse le coup. ” Oui, il y a eu quelques defauts ”
a-t-il dit. ” Il y a eu un manque de consistence, un manque d’analyse
correcte. Nous aurions pû l’eviter. Mais soyons un peu realistes. Tous
les crimes ne sont pas resolus en trois ou cinq jours “.

Le chef de police a aussi suggere que le gang puisse comprendre
d’anciens policiers ou autres officiers charge de la securite. ” Nos
analyses ne l’excluent pas parce qu’en commettant leurs crimes ils ont
demontre de telles habiletes que nous presumons qu’ils ont l’habitude
de servir dans les forces speciales dans notre système ” a-t-il dit.

” Ils agissent très habilement ” a ajoute Alik Sargsian. ” Ils essayent
d’eviter les erreurs que les criminels commettent souvent sur le site
d’un crime “.

NICOLAS SARKOZY LOUE L’AMITIE FRANCO-ARMENIENNE
[email protected]

armenews.com
vendredi 30 septembre 2011
FRANCE

Le president francais Nicolas Sarkozy a loue ” l’amitie exclusive
” avec l’Armenie, alors qu’il accueillait son homologue armenien
Serge Sarkissian.

” La visite officielle du President Sarkissian en France va devenir
une occasion pour souligner l’amitie exclusive qui existe entre
les deux peuples et donnera un nouvel elan a notre cooperation ”
a declare M. Sarkozy.

Les deux presidents ont dejeune ensemble et ont discute d’un certain
nombre de questions, y compris les conflits dans le Caucase du Sud
et en particulier le conflit du Nagorno-Karabakh.

Les deux parties ont egalement evoque la prochaine visite de M.Sarkozy
en Armenie dans le cadre de sa tournee dans le Sud Caucase qui aura
lieu debut octobre.

Outre des reunions avec des responsables francais, y compris le
President de l’Assemblee nationale francaise Bernard Accoyer, le
Premier ministre Francois Fillon, le maire de Paris Bertrand Delanoë,
Serge Sarkissian a egalement eu des reunions avec les responsables
des associations armeniennes.

Serge Sarkissian a assiste a un concert de Charles Aznavour a l’Olympia
a Paris dediee au 20e anniversaire de l’independance de l’Armenie.

Jeudi, une reception solennelle pour le president Sarkissian a ete
organisee a la mairie de Paris au cours de laquelle le president
armenien a rencontre les representants de la communaute armenienne.

‘NEIGHBORS MUST BE INFORMED OF INSPECTIONS AT ARMENIAN NUKE PLANT’

news.az
Sept 29 2011
Azerbaijan

‘The Metsamor nuke plant represents a real threat for the region’.

Energy experts of countries neighboring Armenia must be allowed to
inspection of the Metsamor nuke plant which represents a big threat
to the whole region.

The statement came from president of the National Academy of Science
of Azerbaijan Mahmud Karimov.

‘Armenian side states that the Metsamor nuke plant has been inspected
by no less than ten different commissions this year but the results
of the inspections are not provided to the neighbor countries, which
means that inspections are not transparent. This is not correct’,
Karimov told reporters on Thursday.

“We demand to make these results public. Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan
must be aware of the results of inspections”, he said.

According to Karimov, this issue was also raised at the IAEA’s recent
general conference. At this meeting, the head of the Academy of Science
of Azerbaijan spoke of the need for the experts from Armenian neighbor
countries to participate in the activity of the Metsamor nuke plant.

The president of the National Academy of Science of Azerbaijan said
that after the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuke plant, the security
of the Armenian nuke plant has become even more pressing.

“Indeed, the Metsamor nuke plant represents a real threat for the
region, since it does not meet the European standards, exhausted its
resources and gone outdated. EU has repeatedly demanded to shut it
down but Armenian government continues using this station and even
passed a decision to build a new energy unit there”, Karimov said.

He drew attention to the fact Metsamor nuke plant is located in
mountainous area. “In the event of failure, there will be water
shortage for cooling the reactor and it will be very difficult to
prevent the tragedy”, he said.

LINKS CALLS ON EU TO INCREASE PRESSURE ON ARMENIA

news.az
Sept 29 2011
Azerbaijan

EU should increase pressure on Armenia to withdraw its troops from
Azerbaijani territory, said LINKS Executive Director.

On 26 September, Labour Party Conference delegates in Liverpool
attended a fringe debate entitled ‘Russia, Azerbaijan and the West:
what does the New Great Game mean for Europe’s energy security?’
organised by The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS), in association
with Progress.

The panel comprised Wayne David MP, Shadow Minister for Europe;
Richard Howitt MEP; Charles Grant, Director, Centre for European
Reform; and Dennis Sammut OBE, Executive Director, LINKS. The Chairman
was Mike Gapes MP.

According to Mr David, the UK remains the largest foreign investor
in Azerbaijan, largely due to the BP investment of $23bn (£14.8bn)
in the country since 1994. He revealed that the UK government
had repeatedly acknowledged the importance of Azerbaijan to the UK
economy. Mr David went on to explain the Western European requirement
for energy security, and expressed the hope that the Southern Energy
Corridor, bringing Caspian resources to Western Europe, would receive
UK support for its construction. Mr David also stressed his backing
for the OSCE Minsk Group, tasked with achieving peaceful resolution
of the ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict over the Azerbaijani
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven adjacent regions.

He stated that Azerbaijan could still progress, and added that the EU
European Neighborhood Programme had only been partially successful
in the country. Mike Gapes observed that Baku had rapidly developed
since the advent of the second oil boom in 1994, and that the country
had to ensure the income from oil and gas resources was invested to
achieve future economic diversification.

Mr Gapes went on to cite the Norwegian Model, as that country had
sought to invest its income from the extractive industries in a
sustainable manner. Richard Howitt revealed that 80 per cent of
Armenian energy infrastructure was Russian-owned, whereas Azerbaijan
has a reputation for stability and a strong relationship with the EU.

He went on to ask if the EU was ready to meet the challenge of creating
an integrated energy policy.

Dennis Sammut explained that Azerbaijan still had to decide its
strategy regarding organization of its energy future. He revealed that,
since the inception of the second oil boom, a decision had been made
regarding collaboration with the West, as opposed to Russia, regarding
exploitation of its natural resources. He said that it was important
to understand that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline had been
constructed by the BP-led Azerbaijan International Operating Consortium
(AIOC) to transport Caspian resources. Mr Sammut went on to comment
that Azerbaijani success had been achieved and good relations with
Russia had been maintained.

He referred to last week’s news that the EU was aiming to ratify
an agreement with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to construct a new
Trans-Caspian pipeline. He also renewed calls for a peaceful and
just resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, requesting that
the EU should increase pressure on Armenia to withdraw its troops
from Azerbaijani territory. Mr Sammut acknowledged that Azerbaijan
remains a well-organized country, having derived sufficient profits
from the energy sector to achieve progress.

He concluded that the EU has a unique opportunity to take the
relationship with Azerbaijan to the next level, and reported
that Total had found enormous resources of gas in the Caspian Sea,
necessitating further EU engagement with Azerbaijan. During a lively
question-and-answer session, Mr Sammut expressed his hope that
a unified EU would speak with one voice during negotiations with
Azerbaijan on the proposed Trans-Caspian pipeline.

OTTOMAN BAND’S PARADE IN HOLLYWOOD CANCELED AMID ARMENIAN PROTEST

L.A. Now (Los Angeles Times)
September 29, 2011 Thursday 4:27 PM EST

A planned parade with an Ottoman military marching band in Hollywood
has been canceled amid uproar from Armenian groups.

The permit for the parade, scheduled for Oct. 3 on Hollywood Boulevard
between Highland and La Brea avenues, was pulled Wednesday, the
Glendale News-Press reported, citing an official with the Los Angeles
Police Commission.

The reason for the cancellation was not immediately available.

But the Armenian groups said the event was an affront because of the
genocidal murders that took place from 1915 to 1923 when roughly 1.5
million Armenians were killed by Ottoman-Turks. Turkey has refused
to acknowledge the massacre as genocide.

Some of the groups condemning the performance were the Armenian Youth
Federation and Armenian National Committee, which called the march
“tantamount to hate speech and harassment.”

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilman
Paul Krekorian said in a joint statement that they were “pleased”
the event was canceled.

The “Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire is a wound
that continues to fester,” they said in the statement.

COUNCILMEN APPLAUD CALLING OFF OTTOMAN BAND PARADE MARCH
By Richie Duchon

City News Service
September 28, 2011 Wednesday 7:28 PM PST

City Council members Paul Krekorian and Eric Garcetti applauded the
decision by a Turkish group to call off a scheduled parade in Hollywood
near Little Armenia featuring an Ottoman military marching band.

The march scheduled for Oct. 3 offended many in the Armenian community
which recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Armenian independence
Sept. 21.

“The parade’s planning and execution, in a heavily Armenian-populated
community, leaves no question that the Ottoman Military Marching Band
is brazenly taunting the Armenian American community in a blatant
example of hate speech,” the Armenian National Committee of America
said in a statement.

Ottoman Turks perpetrated the Armenian Genocide, in which an estimated
1.5 million Armenians were killed beginning in 1915. Turkey officially
denies that a genocide took place.

The Pacifica Institute, a Turkish-American cultural advocacy
organization applied for a permit to hold a parade in Hollywood
Monday evening centered around the military marching band Mehter. A
representative from the group requested the police department cancel
its permit this morning.

Spokeswoman Hafsa Rai said the group never intended to offend the
Armenian community. “We never wanted to offend anyone. The reaction
by the Armenian community was really a surprise to us,” Rai said.

She said the group cancelled the parade because the band is unlikely to
make it to Los Angeles from Turkey because of logistical difficulties,
including trouble with their contract, insurance and challenges
booking plane tickets.

Rai said the parade was simply to promote the third annual Anatolian
Cultures Festival in Costa Mesa Oct. 6-9. She said the festival
recognizes Armenian heritage, including a scale model of the Akhtamar
Church, an early Armenian church. She said the festival is intended
to celebrate all ethnicities that have lived in the land that is
now Turkey.

Krekorian, the first Armenian to serve on the Los Angeles City
Council, and Garcetti called the parade blatant provocation. “This
planned performance, supposedly to celebrate an event taking place in
Orange County, is a provocation of the Armenian community at a time
when the community celebrates 20 years of Armenian independence,”
the councilmen said in a joint statement.

“While we as council members, support and defend freedom of speech as
guaranteed by the First Amendment, we could not stand idly by as this
planned march was designed to incite and inflame the Armenian community
at a time when it is celebrating a historical milestone,” they said.

Rai said the Ottoman marching band was chosen for the parade because
Turks created the first marching band in history. “The military aspect
was not something we were focusing on,” she said.

OTTOMAN PARADE CANCELLED: MIGHT HAVE OFFENDED ARMENIANS

Patch.com
Sept 29 2011
CA

Parade scheduled for Oct. 3 is called off; City Councilmen Paul
Krekorian, Eric Garcetti say event would have offended Armenian
community.

City Council members Paul Krekorian and Eric Garcetti applauded the
decision by a Turkish group to call off a scheduled parade in Hollywood
near Little Armenia featuring an Ottoman military marching band.

The march scheduled for Oct. 3 offended many in the Armenian community
which recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Armenian independence
Sept. 21.

“The parade’s planning and execution, in a heavily Armenian-populated
community, leaves no question that the Ottoman Military Marching Band
is brazenly taunting the Armenian American community in a blatant
example of hate speech,” the Armenian National Committee of America
said in a statement.

Ottoman Turks perpetrated the Armenian Genocide, in which an estimated
1.5 million Armenians were killed beginning in 1915. Turkey officially
denies that a genocide took place.

The Pacifica Institute, a Turkish-American cultural advocacy
organization applied for a permit to hold a parade in Hollywood
Monday evening centered around the military marching band Mehter. A
representative from the group requested the police department cancel
its permit this morning.

Spokeswoman Hafsa Rai said the group never intended to offend the
Armenian community.

“We never wanted to offend anyone. The reaction by the Armenian
community was really a surprise to us,” Rai said.

She said the group cancelled the parade because the band is unlikely to
make it to Los Angeles from Turkey because of logistical difficulties,
including trouble with their contract, insurance and challenges
booking plane tickets.

Rai said the parade was simply to promote the third annual Anatolian
Cultures Festival in Costa Mesa Oct. 6-9. She said the festival
recognizes Armenian heritage, including a scale model of the Akhtamar
Church, an early Armenian church. She said the festival is intended
to celebrate all ethnicities that have lived in the land that is
now Turkey.

Krekorian, the first Armenian to serve on the Los Angeles City Council,
and Garcetti called the parade blatant provocation.

“This planned performance, supposedly to celebrate an event taking
place in Orange County, is a provocation of the Armenian community at a
time when the community celebrates 20 years of Armenian independence,”
the councilmen said in a joint statement.

“While we as council members, support and defend freedom of speech as
guaranteed by the First Amendment, we could not stand idly by as this
planned march was designed to incite and inflame the Armenian community
at a time when it is celebrating a historical milestone,” they said.

Rai said the Ottoman marching band was chosen for the parade because
Turks created the first marching band in history.

“The military aspect was not something we were focusing on,” she said.

NICOLAS SARKOZY SAYS FRANCE WILL HAVE NEW INVESTMENTS IN ARMENIA

Panorama
Sept 29 2011
Armenia

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has told Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan on Wednesday that he is looking forward to his forthcoming
regional tour. The French President has noted that the format of the
visit is tended to show the exceptional warm relations between the
two states.

Nicolas Sarkozy has stressed that France is Armenia’s relative and
will always stand next to him. The French President has hailed the
implementation of reforms in Armenia.

The press office of Armenian President reports, President Sarkozy
has noted with approval that France is the second country to have a
big volume of investment in Armenia, but has also added that figure
will be growing.

Serzh Sargsyan has thanked for the cordial reception and added he’s
happy his visit to France has followed Armenia’s celebrations of the
20th anniversary of independence. Serzh Sargsyan has underlined that
Armenia is interested in expanding relations with France.

“We’re proud of our relations with France, and signify our mutual
ties,” said Serzh Sargsyan.