Author: Badalian Vardan

ABBAS KIAROSTAMI’S CERTIFIED COPY TO OPEN GOLDEN APRICOT FILM FEST

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 10, 2011 – 17:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Cannes Film Festival awards winner Certified Copy,
authored by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, will open Golden
Apricot 8th international film festival.

Out of 630 films submitted for participation, 150 films from 45
countries, 80% of them documentaries will be featured at the festival.

The festival’s international competition action film program, as well
as documentaries program will include 11 films each.

Wim Wenders’ Pina will be screened at festival closure.

Golden Apricot 8th international film festival is due July 10-17, 2011.

EXPERT: WARMONGER IN KARABAKH TO OCCUR IN WORSE SITUATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 10, 2011 – 15:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Deputy Director of Caucasus Institute, political
analyst Sergey Minasyan believes that none of superpowers is interested
in resumption of either a blitzkrieg or long-term war in the South
Caucasus.

According to him, in case of resumption of hostilities in Nagorno
Karabakh, the initiator will occur in a worse situation, since it will
incur human and material losses, as well as lose the opportunity to
reach a compromise for the conflict settlement.

Aliyev will never venture upon actions that can be fatal for his
country, Minasyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

He added that recently the Azerbaijani President talked about
possibility of a new war so frequently that leaders of superpowers
started treating it more seriously.

TURKEY SHOULD DESTROY TABOOS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, NOT MONUMENTS: TURKISH COLUMNIST

epress.am
06.10.2011 14:41

In response to questions from foreigners about what has been going on
in Turkey in recent times, I refer to the recent events of April 24,
wrote Turkish columnist Orhan Kemal Cengiz on Jun. 9 in Today’s Zaman.

I tell them about the two things that happened on the same day and
in the same Turkey. On April 24, the demolition of the “Monument to
Humanity” in Kars began. The destruction of the memorial was justified
when the prime minister, in a visit to the city, described it as a
freakish construction. This was a blatant example of intolerance;
this would not change no matter what standard you used.

In the same Turkey where this memorial was being demolished, on the
same day, one of the biggest taboos of Turkey was being confronted in
our cities and towns. I am talking about commemorations held outdoors
on the occasion of the massacre of Armenians. On that day, I was in
Sakarya Square in Ankara. Our small group, at the heart of the square,
recited the names of our Armenian intellectuals who were taken from
their homes 96 years ago on April 24 and were never seen again. There
was a police barricade between us and the group protesting the event.

A decade ago, we could not have imagined such a thing. The police
would not protect us; they would even join the protesters and beat us.

The attitude of the police on this April 24 could not have become a
possibility without instructions from the government.

I think the state of democracy in Turkey is comparable to my depiction
of April 24. The country is taking steps forward and backward at the
same time; we are advancing like the Ottoman army band, mehter. I
think none of the white and black depictions of this matter reflect
the real situation.

Part of Turkey seems to have completely forgotten the past, whereas
the other part ignores the negative developments of the present time.

Some of us seem to have forgotten the Turkey, say, that Mehmet
Ali Birand recently described. Was it so remote in the past that
newspapers used to write headlines upon the direct orders of the
military? However, some of us also tend to overlook the fact it has
become harder to criticize the government and the prime minister.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is unable to tolerate criticism
not only from the opposing front, but also from his longstanding
supporters. Ahmet Altan was in court due to a lawsuit filed by the
prime minister against him. After the deposition of the suit, the
conservative press introduced an auto-censorship mechanism. We need
new concepts in order to understand the current process in Turkey.

Neither ‘advanced democracy’ nor ‘civilian guardianship’ is adequate
to explain what we have now in Turkey. I do not know whether this
could be called authoritarianism within democratization.

Turkey will have an election on Sunday. But most probably Erdogan’s
choices will have a determinative impact on Turkey’s future after June
13. Will we live in a Turkey where memorials or taboos are destroyed?

In which direction will Erdogan use his growing power and charisma? It
is no secret that the prime minister is seriously considering moving
to a presidential system in Turkey. We can say this ambition is
the primary reason for this campaign of destruction. This memorial
was demolished to attract the votes of nationalists so that he
can make a new constitution. In order to become president, Erdogan
needs to reconcile with the military. Nobody should doubt that this
reconciliation will be based on less democracy.

On the other hand, this charisma can be used to take risks that
nobody would take and to eliminate taboos. For instance, resolution
of the Kurdish issue requires such initiative. The choices of the
prime minister will determine Turkey’s place in the world. It is not
possible for a Turkey, whose regime has become authoritarian following
the Arab Spring, to hold power in this part of the world.

A Turkey able to address its domestic and international problems and
reconcile with its Muslim identity and non-Muslim past will have a
lot to say for the world.

And the entry into the European Union of the Turkey I speak of,
will be one of the most important events of the 21st century. After
Turkey’s elections, we will see the prime minister’s choices. I hope
these choices seek the destruction of taboos, not memorials.

KARABAKH: TALK ABOUT PEACEKEEPERS PREMATURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 10, 2011 – 15:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Speaker of the Nagorno Karabakh National Assembly
Ashot Ghulyan said talk about stationing of peacekeeping forces in
Karabakh is premature.

“This is not an easy matter. If it comes to deployment of peacekeepers,
the parties will have to agree on composition, number and stationing
zones, but there is no ground for this yet,” Ghulyan told journalists
in Yerevan.

Earlier, diplomatic sources told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that the
statement by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, suggesting that an agreement
was reached on deployment of peacekeepers in Karabakh is untrue.

“The issue wasn’t discussed; the negotiations focused on Karabakh
status. Neither composition or number of peacekeeping forces were
coordinated between the parties,” the source said.

According to Azeri media reports, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
said that an agreement was reached on forming peacekeeping forces
outside of OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries. “The issue is yet to
be discussed,” the FM added.

NEARLY 3.3 BILLION DRAMS PROVIDED TO SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR YOUNG FAMILIES PROGRAM

/ARKA/
JUNE 10, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, June 10. / ARKA /. Nearly 3.312 billion drams worth loans
were provided by Armenian banks under a government-designed program
“Affordable housing for young families,” finance minister Vache
Gabrielian told a Cabinet session today.

The 3 billion drams worth ($8 million) program was approved by the
Cabinet on January 29, 2010. The largest size of a loan to help a
young family buy an apartment is 16 million drams (more than $44,000).

The program is carried out through a specially designed universal
credit organization “Housing for Young People.”

“As of May 23 some 425 loans were extended worth 3.312 billion drams,
the average loan size is 7.8 million drams, the average repayable term
is 12.3 years and the average interest rate is 10%,” said the minister.

The minister said also judging by the pace of this program the
government is likely to release additionally 20-25% of funds to
back it.

“The program is active and we hope that before it is completed we will
be able to provide about one thousands loans. Their number is planned
to increase by several hundreds this year alone,’ he said. ($1 –
376.63 drams).

BAKO SAHAKYAN CONVOKES MEETING OF THE NKR SECURITY COUNCIL

ARMENPRESS
JUNE 10, 2011
STEPANAKERT

On 10 June President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan convoked a
meeting of the NKR Security Council. Issues related to the organization
of the 2011 crop harvest activities were on the agenda.

Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh
Republic President told Armenpress that Minister of Agriculture Armo
Tsatouryan and director of the rescue service Arthur Haroutyunyan
delivered corresponding reports. Director of the countryside and
agriculture assistance fund Vahram Baghdasaryan and heads of regional
administrations delivered speeches too.

For efficient organization of the harvest activities President
Sahakyan entrusted the Cabinet of Ministers to form a situation
room at the head of the minister of agriculture which is to realize
necessary arrangements and present information on the situation to
the President with a 10-day periodicity. The situation room is to be
formed before 15 of June.

Bako Sahakyan underlined that the whole process of this strategic
issue should be widely covered by the mass media.

CFF BOARD MEMBER REPLIES TO HIRAIR HOVNANIAN’S OPEN LETTER

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 10, 2011 – 13:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Late May, Hirair Hovnanian, chairman of the Armenian
Assembly of America (Assembly), addressed an open letter to Gerard L.
Cafesjian, chairman of the Cafesjian Family Foundation (CFF) following
the recent court ruling envisaging return of properties planned for
Armenian Genocide Museum to CFF.

Ross Vartian, board member of the CFF, wrote in response:

“In the interest of moving forward with the project, the Cafesjian
Family Foundation (CFF) will not respond point by point to your
serial misstatements of fact. Anyone interested in an independent and
objective judicial assessment of the truth of the past decade should
review the 190-page initial verdict of January 26 and the 57-page
final verdict of May 9 by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

With regard to your disparaging Phase I of the Yerevan Cafesjian
Center for the Arts (CCA), you are presumably unaware that the
Center has become a focal point of artistic and cultural life,
a visitation destination for foreign dignitaries and a preferred
location for official meetings and receptions. Hopefully you will be
more supportive of CCA’s Phase II plans to significantly expand space
for collections of other patrons and more broadly for even greater
opportunities for artistic and cultural expression, appreciation and
education. The “Cascade” project will never be complete as it will
always be evolving and growing, and the Cafesjian Family Foundation
will continue support for CCA as one of its core missions.

Your refusal to acknowledge Gerry’s crucial role in securing the
site of the future museum and memorial to the Armenian Genocide is
inexplicable. You know that Gerry provided 100% of the financing
and 50% of the funds to acquire the bank building, followed by 100%
of the funds to acquire the adjacent properties. The record clearly
shows that Gerry has never wavered in his support for the exclusive
use of these properties for genocide museum and memorial purposes.

Before, during and subsequent to the trial, CFF has repeatedly
committed to joining in a pan-Armenian effort to fulfill the dream of
the first ever museum and memorial in the Diaspora about the fact and
ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide. CFF remains convinced
that our community will respond generously as soon as it is given an
opportunity to do so.

Hirair, you can make an immediate and significant contribution to
making this project a reality. Accept that a federal judge has soundly
rejected the legal case you authorized and end your appeal. Whether
or not you terminate your fruitless appeal, CFF will fulfill its
obligation to the community by inviting all to participate. It is,
after all, our community that will render the final verdict.”

STUDY SHOWS ARMENIA LAGS IN “JOB FLEXIBILITY”

hetq
11:13, June 10, 2011

Want a flexible work schedule?

Then don’t look in Armenia. According to a study by Grant Thornton
International, the country ranked the lowest in terms job flexibility.

The survey looked at 7,700 businesses in 39 countries. Topping the
list were Finland, Sweden and Australia as countries with the highest
percentage of companies offering flexible work arrangements.

Coming in at the bottom were Japan, Greece and Armenia. Only 18%
of Japanese companies permit these kinds of work schedules. Greece
was second at 26% and Armenia was last at 35%.

ZHIRAYR SEFILYAN: ELECTIONS AFTER CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT RATHER THAN CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT AFTER ELECTIONS

arminfo
Thursday, June 9, 22:56

In the present situation elections cannot result in change of
government in Armenia, member of the action group of Sardarapat
movement, Hero of Artsakh war Zhirayr Sefilyan said during a
press-conference today.

He said that Armenia needs change of government and only then normal
elections. “We must root out the current regime as some Arab countries
did this year. The coups in Tunisia and Egypt were incompetent:
they overthrew their regimes without knowing what to do next. Their
oppositionists did not have clear programs. Sardarapat does have
such a program. We have a clear strategy for as many as 40-50 years
and we have professionals who can put this strategy into practice,”
Sefilyan said.

He said that the Third Republic was a failure and soon there will be
Fourth Republic, a country whose rulers will not be knee-crooking.

CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA KEEPS INTEREST RATES STABLE AS INFLATION RISKS EASE
BYLINE: Venla Sipila

Global Insight
June 8, 2011

The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) has in June decided to keep its
refinancing interest rate at 8.5%, Reuters reports. This follows a
similar decision in May, after increases in the policy rate had been
implemented in each of the three previous months (seeArmenia: 13 April
2011:). The central bank took the decision stating that it did not see
it likely that inflation would accelerate. The CBA’s decision closely
follows publication of the latest inflation data by the Armenian
National Statistical Service. These figures show that consumer prices
in May remained unchanged on average from April. Meanwhile, marginal
acceleration from 8.9% year-on-year (y/y) in April took the annual
inflation rate to 9.0%, which still is considerably lower than the
11.5% y/y gain seen in March. Inflation developments were driven by
food prices, which remained stable compared to April, while they still
provided for the fastest annual gain among different price categories.

The CBA has earlier projected that Armenian inflation will ease back
to the target range of 4.5% with a band of 1.5 percentage points on
either side within the second half of 2011.

Significance:Even as monthly deflation in March did not continue and
annual inflation did not moderate further, we share the CBA’s view that
inflation pressures in Armenia at present are easing. Food prices play
an important role in the Armenian consumption basket, and the recent
easing of price pressures from these is welcome news. In addition
to the direct impact on the outlook for macroeconomic stability,
this also suppresses the risks that rapid food price gains might even
have lead to some social unrest. The expectations of easing–even if
still notable–inflation pressures seem warranted.

However, y/y inflation still remains significantly above target,
and thus, rapid price gains still remain a source for concern.