Author: Badalian Vardan

TURKISH PRESIDENT: EFFORTS TO IMPROVE ARMENIAN-AZERI AND ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS MUST NOT BE TAKEN SEPARATELY

arminfo
Thursday, September 8, 16:27

The efforts to improve Armenian-Azeri and Armenian-Turkish relations
must not be regarded as separate processes and require discussion on
an all-regional level, President of Turkey Abdullah Gul said in an
interview to Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.

He said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the key obstacle to a
favorable atmosphere in the South Caucasus and Turkey’s position on
this problem coincides with Russia’s attitude.

According to Gul, Turkey is ready to support the efforts of the
Russian President to find a solution to the conflict.

He said that progress on Nagorno-Karabakh will have a positive
influence on Turkish-Armenian relations.

Gul said that Turkey sincerely wants to normalize its relations with
Armenia and to see peace, stability and partnership inside and outside
the South Caucasus.

YEREVAN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CLASSICAL MUSIC TO BE HELD FROM SEPTEMBER 9 TILL OCTOBER 12

arminfo
Thursday, September 8, 17:24

Yerevan International Festival of Classical Music will be held from
September 9 till October 12.

The chief conductor and art director of the State Philharmonic
Orchestra of Armenia, Eduard Topchyan, said that the festival will open
Ervand Erkanyan’s “Heroic rhapsody” dedicated to the 20th anniversary
of Armenia’s independence.

Such well-known musicians as Ashley Wass (piano), Daishin Kashimoto
(violin), Paul Meyer (clarinet), Henning Kraggerud (violin) and others
will take part in the festival. Moreover, conductors Christopher
Warren-Green and Paul Meyer will participate in the festival.

During the festival the spectators will receive an opportunity to
enjoy the works by Brahms, Weber, Beethoven, Mozart and Schnittke. A
total of 10 concerts will be held, Topchyan said. “I am sure that the
festival has shown its worth over the past few years. The evidence of
that is the fact that musicians want to come to Armenia and participate
in the festival”, he said.

ASALA VETERAN: CORRUPTION AND LAWLESSNESS IN TOP ECHELONS OF POWER KEY REASON OF ARMY NEGATIVE IMAGE IN ARMENIA

Arminfo
Thursday, September 8, 16:36

Corruption and lawlessness in top echelons of power are the key reason
of army negative image in Armenia, Alek Yenigomshyan, a member of
Sardarapat Movement Initiative Group, veteran of the Armenian Secret
Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), told media, Thursday.

Bribe taking leads to non-interference into incidents in the army
hereby promoting such non-combat relations, he said. System changes
are not enough, he thinks, it is necessary to raise the authority of
the healthy officer forces and help them resolve the army problems.

Yenigomshyan is sure that problems in the Armenian public are only
one of the reasons of the recent incidents in army. But it is wrong
explaining the outrage in Armenia with the popular phrase “army is
the mirror of the public.”

Recently non-combat deaths in unclear circumstances in army have grown
in number. Thus, on August 26 soldier of NKR Defense Army Aghasi
Abrahamyan died in hospital. He was severely beaten up in his army
unit and taken to the med bunker where he was left on the ground for
10 hours and again beaten up by the head of the med bunker.

Yesterday another soldier of Askeran regiment of the NKR Defense
Army Hayk Lazarian was killed while on duty by his comrade Lendrush
Nazlukhanyan as a result of mishandling a gun.

Earlier, the video posted on Youtube by the initiative group “We
will not keep silent!”
tells that the comrade of Hovhaness Vardanyan informed the family
of the soldier that their son was taken to psychiatric hospital 9
days ago. The territorial military commission called the incident
a misunderstanding. Vardanyan’s father phoned the commander of his
son to get more information on the incident. The commander explained
nothing. The Defense Ministry has not responded to the statements
of the soldier’s relatives since August 3. “I sent a healthy boy to
army, and has got him back from Karabakh in such state,” the father
cried out.

The soldier in the video just repeats separate phrases going to and
fro, rolling on the ground and saying that he served well in Karabakh
but he was beaten up and raped. The uncle of the soldier Aram Virabyan
expressed indignation at the negligence of the higher instances to
the incident. “This negligence makes us leave for Karabakh and settle
accounts with the offenders. We are ready to rally in the square with
posters,” he said.

YEREVAN INCLUDED IN ‘MURDERER MEGALOPOLISES’ LIST

Tert.am
18:46 08.09.11

Ukrainian newspaper Korrespondent has made the list of the world’s
“murderer megalopolises” in 2010 with Armenia’s capital Yerevan
included in it.

The leading capitals in murder rate are Venezuela’s capital Karakas
where 233 murders took place (against 100,000 people) 90 cases in
Guatemala, 35 in Rio de Janeiro and 17 in San Tiago.

The picture in the South Caucasus is the following: 2.1 cases in
Yerevan and 3.7 in Baku. Tbilisi is not included in the list.

The situation is far better in US cities compared to those of South
America – 5.6 cases in New York, 23.8 in Washington, 20 in Philadelphia
and 16 in Chicago.

The most “peaceful” cities in Europe is Lisbon (0.6 cases of murder
against 100,000), 6.9 in Moscow, 7.8 in Saint Petersburg, 3.7 in Kiev,
5.0 in Istanbul and 4.2 in Ankara.

ARMENIAN PROCESSING COMPANIES IN 2011 PLAN TO BUY ABOUT 150 THOUSAND TONS OF GRAPE

ARKA
Sep 8, 2011

YEREVAN, September 8. /ARKA/. Processing companies in Armenia plan
to buy 150 thousand tons of grape in 2011 vs. 135 thousand tons in
2010, said Deputy Agriculture Minister of Armenia Robert Makaryan
on Thursday.

“The grape price will be defined in the next two days when Yerevan
cognac factory will announce the volumes and purchase prices, and
the schedule of purchase”, said Makaryan.

Other companies will announce the purchase prices by September 15.

Makaryan said that in the next two days in Armavir and Ararat regions
meeting will be held with the processing companies, representatives
of the ministry and regional administrations where the issues related
to grape purchase will be discussed.

ARMENIAN MP ADVISES TO READ RECENTLY PUBLISHED WIKILEAKS CABLES

epress.am
09.08.2011 16:01

The ruling authorities and the opposition fully correspond to each
other, with their values, their simple ideas on politics, their
self-centered ambitions and all the other bad aspects, former National
Assembly Chair, current independent MP Tigran Torosyan told Epress.am
on Thursday.

Weighing in on the current stage of the investigation into the events
of Mar. 1-2, 2008, in Yerevan, Torosyan said, “I’ll give one piece
of advice: follow the recently published WikiLeaks reports, as to
what authorities said, to what the other side said and did. And you
will see that the situation is truly far more bleak than what some
believed till now. It’s a sad state on both sides.”

Asked by “authorities” does he mean the current or former
administration, the MP said, “And do you think that the authorities
have changed?”

“ARMENIAN FESTIVAL IN ZURICH” DEDICATED TO 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE

ARMENPRESS
12:57, 8 September, 2011

“Armenian Festival in Zurich” took place in the Swiss town of
Zurich August 26-27 dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s
independence. With the assistance of the RA Ministry of Culture
Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre, “Armenoids” music project, artists
Agnes Avagyan and Mary Wotcher partook in the event. The event was
organized by the Switzerland-based Alina Schteily-Hambardzumyan,
Armenian community of Zurich and RA embassy to Switzerland.

“It was really a splendid opportunity to present Armenian national
and contemporary theatrical and music art and a good prospect of
implementation of new programs of cultural cooperation”, art director
of the State Pantomime Theatre Zhirayr Dadasyan told a news conference
today.

The spectators of the “Armenian Festival in Zurich” were not only
residents of Switzerland but the art loving community from France
and Germany.

HRAYR KARAPETYAN SAYS SMALL THINGS MAY CAUSE CRIMES IN THE ARMY

ARMENPRESS
15:33, 8 September, 2011

The happenings in the army must be under the limelight of the public
and political figures. Speaking to reporters today chairman of the NA’s
defense, national security and interior affairs standing committee
Hrayr Karapetyan said that a sitting has been convened with the
participation of the officials of the Defense Ministry and Military
Police during which the cases registered in the army and the issues
on making changes in the legislative field of the military service
were discussed.

According to Karapetyan, they will particularly refer to the laws
about draft and service. “During the draft an individual approach
must be displayed. The law must also fix the time of holiday of the
conscripts,” he said.

Hrayr Karapetyan said the laws in the army must operate by 100% to
exclude crimes. The wider the discussion is, the better the results
will be. Each case must get an operative response by the NGOs, mass
media, officials. He said the issue of mobile phones must also be
regulated in the army as the small things may cause crimes.

“Unfortunately, everyone is being drafted, no professional
classification is being done. The army must be changed. Young people
must find their place and the two years of the service must be used
effectively. It is extremely important to conduct correct draft,
while very often young man having serious health issues are being
drafted”, the parliamentarian said.

OPERA AND BALLET THEATER TO BE FILLED WITH ARAM SATYAN’S MUSIC

Aysor.am
Thursday,September 08

Al. Spendiaryan National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet will
host a concert of composer Aram Satyan’s music on September 14.

Variety-Symphony Orchestra of the State Television and Radio Company
of Armenia, State Academic Choir and Ballet of Armenia will perform
songs and operas by Aram Satyan.

The composer told reporters that at the concert, his songs will be
performed by singers Raisa Lazarian, Suzan Margaryan, Ashot Ghazaryan,
Aramo, Emma Petrosyan, Mher, Anahit Sharyan, Anna Khachatryan and
others.

AZERBAIJANI LEADERSHIP SCARED OF WAR – IGOR MURADYAN

Aysor.am
Thursday,September 08

The Azerbaijani leadership is scared of war, but they will unleash a
war provided that Turkey gives its consent, political scientist Igor
Muradyan told reporters in Yerevan.

“Turkey has understood that it will not be able to push forward its
policy without cooperation with the U.S.,” he said.

According to the expert, Ankara’s being under Washington’s control is
beneficial to the Armenian side, and the sides have already reached
an agreement.

Azerbaijan realizes that Turkey is unlikely to give a signal of war
in the near future, Igor Muradyan said in his remarks.