Author: Badalian Vardan

PEOPLE’S PARTY LEADER ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF THIRD POLITICAL FORCE IN NEAR-EMPTY BOARDROOM

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 13, 2011 – 15:37 AMT

At the session of Patriotic Forces and Individuals, People’s Party
leader Tigran Karapetyan announced formation of the third political
force.

As Karapetyan stressed, the third force will struggle to resolve the
problems of people, rather than inter-party issues.

The statement was delivered in near-empty boardroom of the Armenian
government. Heritage parliamentary group member Vardan Khachatryan
attended the session.

“CONTRACT OF THE CENTURY”: 1994 KARABAKH CEASEFIRE AND AZERBAIJAN’S FUEL DIPLOMACY

12.05.11
By Aris Ghazinyan

ArmeniaNow
Ceasefire agreement signing in 1994

The agreement on a ceasefire along the whole perimeter of the Karabakh
frontline, which despite sporadic skirmishes largely holds today, came
into force on May 12, 1994. Very often when viewing this important
event the accent is put on its humanitarian role, but this agreement
also had its quite tangible pragmatic political consequences.

No Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline yet existed in 1992, and fuel supplies
to the West were still being carried out by railway, in cisterns. Back
then former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Baku as a
representative of British Petroleum, however it was when the Karabakh
war was at its height and no serious investment company could afford
putting large money into Azerbaijan.

The 1994 ceasefire protocols putting a halt to hostilities in Karabakh
changed the picture – the “Contract of the Century” was signed later
that year in September launching a successful implementation of the
‘new oil strategy’ and doctrine.

After the signing of the contract Azerbaijan International Operating
Company was founded. The ceasefire agreement “opened a path” for
contracts with 41 oil companies from 19 countries.

The Azerbaijani authorities were hesitating for a while and, as opposed
to Yerevan and Stepanakert, couldn’t make up their mind on whether
they should sign the protocol or not. The thing is that based on the
overall state of affairs by May 1994 signing the ceasefire protocol
nearly amounted to “legalizing” – even if temporarily – the sovereignty
of Nagorno-Karabakh. And that was Azerbaijan’s main concern.

On the other hand, Baku had no way out other than signing the
agreement, as otherwise a prospect was opening up for Armenians
to establish control over the Baku-Tbilisi railroad section, a
communication artery vitally important for oil-rich Azerbaijan.

Obviously, under such a layout, Azerbaijan would be deprived not only
of the opportunity of transporting its hydrocarbon raw materials
to Georgia’s Black Sea ports, but also of the prospect of possible
regional conflict solution via the same “fuel diplomacy”. Hence,
the agreement was more in Azerbaijan’s interests, because the risk
of losing control over its main railway bed was fraught with the loss
of the very essence of fuel policy.

In 1994 the Armenian military forces reached the valley of the
Kura river and were in a position to establish control over the
Yevlakh-Mingechaur railway junction; if implemented this would have
fundamentally changed the geopolitical situation in the region and
drastically reduced Azerbaijan’s post-war ardor conditioned by its
“oil diplomacy” as well as have had a critical impact on Karabakh
peace talks.

Consequently, Azerbaijan would have no other option but make
concessions in the Karabakh issue, as the then authorized
representative of the Russian president, Russia’s top Karabakh
negotiator Vladimir Kazimirov later confessed: “In the spring of 1994
the fierce fighting at Terter, north of [Karabakh capital] Stepanakert,
threatened with a new disaster: the Armenians’ exit to the Kura
river would have cut off Azerbaijan’s north-western projection –
Baku wasn’t even putting forward preconditions and was ready for a
long-term truce.”

Hence, the ceasefire agreement signed on May 12, 1994 had quite
distinct political consequences.

Ever since then the concept of “fuel diplomacy” has been part of all
political research on the Karabakh issue and Baku has been pinning
hopes on major oil corporations.

LABOR MINISTRY TO CONDUCT INQUIRY INTO INEFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF WORLD BANK LOAN FUNDS

/ARKA/
May 12, 2011
YEREVAN

Armenian prime minister Tigran Sarkisian instructed today labor and
social security minister Arthur Grigorian to conduct an official
inquiry into ineffective utilization of World Bank loan funds,
revealed by the National Assembly~Rs Audit Chamber.

Speaking to journalists after a recurrent Cabinet session the minister
said the Audit Chamber~Rs inquiry into the use of World Bank loan
funds in 2006-2009 revealed misuse of funds earmarked for purchase
of advisory and some other services. He said the official inquiry
will be launched for a more detailed investigation and the final
conclusion will be made based on the findings.

He said the World Bank loan funds had been allocated for purchase of
some services by the ministry in 2006-2009, but the Audit Chamber~Rs
inquiry exposed that the prices of some services were inflated.

Speaking at the session prime minister Sarkisian said the government
has suspended several applications for similar services, which were
to be bought from foreign experts.

ARMENIAN PREMIER ASSURED THAT GAS PRICE WILL NOT INCREASE IN ARMENIA

/ARKA/
May 12, 2011
YEREVAN

Gas price will not increase in 2011 in Armenia, said Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan to the journalists.

“President of Armenia has already made relevant political
announcement. There are no issues of concern, moreover, gas price
for vulnerable population reduced by 32 drams and this policy will
not be changed”, he said.

Earlier, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said that gas price
for vulnerable population is reduced by 30% which will allow them
“to solve their problems”.

>From April 1, 2011, 49.5 thousand vulnerable families using less than
300 cubic meters of gas monthly, can use privileged tariffs in the
amount of 100 drams for each cubic meter of gas (tariff for the rest
of consumers is 132 dram/cubic meter).

A TAD RUSTY, BUT STILL TOPS: ROCKERS SYSTEM OF A DOWN ARE THE GENUINE ARTICLE
by MIKE ROSS

Edmonton Sun (Alberta)
May 11, 2011 Wednesday
FINAL EDITION

There are two reasons performers ban the media from their concerts
-as System of a Down did on Tuesday night:

1. They hate the media.

2. They haven’t been out for a while, they don’t have a new album and
they don’t want the press to see how rusty they are — so they come
to places like Edmonton, Canada, to iron out the show before the big
gigs in, say, Rock in Rio this fall.

Musicians call it “paid rehearsal.” Beyonce did it a while back, too.

System doesn’t hate the media. How can you hate someone who slobbers
all over you like a dog? Pity, maybe, not hate. And let’s make it
clear that a “ban” just means they didn’t give any free tickets to
reviewers or allow photos.

No matter! The media and more than 12,000 fans were happy to pay for
the privilege of seeing one of the best modern heavy metal bands in
the land, rusty or not, new music or not.

We’re just relieved they didn’t break up. It was just a little
“hiatus.”

Were they rusty? Well, sure. The re were a few awkward wrinkles in a
stripped-down show — a missed back-up line, a cracked note, a near
train wreck, some pitchy vocals, some ridiculously fast and intricate
riffs that weren’t quite as in the pocket as they could’ve been.

But hey, this “gypsy-metal” stuff isn’t easy to play, even if they
invented it. Imagine hard rock injected with plaintive minor key
melodies straight from Eastern Europe, topped with political substance
and savage social satire and led by a guy who can actually sing.

Imagine.

The roles haven’t changed: Serj Tankian as the operatic foil to his
rather screamier partner, guitarist Daron Malakian — though they
seemed to have switched hairstyles in the last six years — backed
by Shavo Odadjian on bass and John Dolmayan on drums.

It’s just the same four Armenian- American friends (more or less) who
threw a new twist into what had become an old sub-genre of metal —
speed metal, so named because it is both fast and hard.

There was no fakery here, no canned back-up tracks, and production
was sparse. The only special effect was the band itself. That’s all
anybody really wanted.

Political songs dominated the evening, opening with Prison Song from
the 2001 album Toxicity, before what might be the band’s big-g est
hit from what many consider its best album Mezmerize: BYOB -as in
“Bring Your Own Bombs.”

It’s an anti-war song that’s particularly hard on both warmongers and
apathetic citizens who’d rather party than think about warmongers. It
was fun to hear Serj grin through his line “Everybody’s going to the
party, have a real good time” — and soak up the cheers of agreement
-only to turn it back on them: “Where the f—are you?!”

Getting tighter yet strangely more chaotic as the night raged on,
the band poked celebrities, the media, the religious right, American
so-called values and some other targets we’re not quite sure about :
Like Cigaro, which seems to be about nothing but someone boasting
about having a big penis.

Metaphor for some important global issue? Probably. The mood ranged
from the tongue-twisting Chop Suey to the lamenting ballad Lonely
Day to even a love of hockey. Daron wore an Oilers jersey the whole
time and even inserted the line “let’s go, Oilers!” into a song that
definitely wasn’t about hockey.

Good to know someone’s got his priorities straight.

There would be no encore. Opening act Gogol Bordello didn’t just blur
the line between polkas and punk rock — they destroyed it. You’ve
heard of “oi” as it applies to punk rock? This New York band is “oi
vey!” With violin, accordion and two back-up rappers who doubled on
percussion for a general gypsy- punk-polka-ska-samba-screaming sort
of sound, the band pounded through a set of circus calisthenics at
240 beats per minute and about God knows what.

You couldn’t understand a word from singer Eugene Hutz, who sounds
like he’s right off the boat from Transylvania, and his rappers
(toasters, hypemen, whatever) were no help at all.

The strongest thing that came through was a repeated call to “Break
the Spell,” words that both opened and closed the set, suggesting
that this was all just one, long, ridiculous song.

AZERBAIJAN SEEKS ESCALATION ON THE FRONTLINE – ARMENIAN EXPERT

news.am
May 12 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – The cases of violation of ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh
region were so numerous in 2010 that one could say the ceasefire
does not exist, Armenian military expert David Jamalyan said in the
interview to Armenian news- News.am.

According to Jamalyan ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan do no aim
to provoke the Armenian side into military counteractions and launch
a new war.

“Indeed, Azerbaijan increases the tension, but it pursues different
goal, that is a psychological pressure. I do not think Azeri ruling
elite made any decision regarding the outbreak of military campaign.

The sole aim of this strain is to force unilateral concessions on
Armenia. Azerbaijan will seek further escalation of tension.” said
Jamalyan. “In a sense, this is inevitable in the nearest future and
Armenian side must not succumb to provocations but respond sensibly
and appropriately.”

The data indicates the increase of ceasefire violation cases on behalf
of Azerbaijan. In 2006 there were about 600 violations of the truce
by Azerbaijan, in 2007 there were about 1500, in 2008 about 3500, in
2009 about 4600, and in 2010 approximately 7,300 violations from the
Azeri side. The four months of this year saw 3500 cases of ceasefire
violations.

On May 1994 the indefinite tripartite agreement on the establishment
of ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh region came into force.

ARMENIA TO EXPAND RELATIONS WITH ITALY

news.am
May 12 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting on Thursday
with Renzo Tondo, governor of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy.

President Sargsyan noted that Armenia is interested in expansion
of multilateral relations and cooperation with Italy and considers
important political dialogue, inter-parliamentary ties, trade and
economic relations, cooperation in the fields of culture, education
and tourism.

Governor Tondo expressed hope that strengthening of cooperation on
the level of local authorities will give an impetus to expansion of
relations between the both states. He stressed that the delegation
arriving to Armenia comprises Italian businessmen who will discuss
possibilities for mutually beneficial cooperation with their Armenian
colleagues.

The Governor visited Memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims and
Armenian Genocide museum, presidential press service informed Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS TO DISCUSS EXPLORATION OF SPACE

news.am
May 12 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenian scientists will meet with Russian delegation in
the Armenian National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to discuss bilateral
cooperation in the field of space research.

The sides will discuss ways to cooperate in exploration of space.

Academicians, President of the National Academy of Science,
researchers from Byurakan Observatory, Institute of Radio Physics,
and the Institute of Electronics will participate.

FIVE STATES FILE APPEAL TO EUROPEAN BROADCASTERS

news.am
May 12 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s representative at Eurovision 2011 song contest and
other four participants filed an appeal to the European broadcasters
noting that semi-final was not well broadcasted in some European
states and they failed to send messages.

Armenian representative’s manager told Armenian News-NEWS.am that
the Armenian delegation will receive a response tonight. He also said
that the problem was widely covered by German media.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, Armenia’s representative at
Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Emmy did not qualify for the Grand Final.

The First Semi-Final of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest took place
in the Dusseldorf Arena, with 10 out of 19 countries qualifying for
the Grand Final. Armenia has been participating in a song contest
since 2006.

MIKA CRUISE TO ARMENIAN CUP GLORY

UEFA.com

May 12 2011

The Armenian Cup final was a case of history revisited as FC Mika
beat FC Shirak 4-1 to win the trophy for the sixth time and earn a
place in UEFA Europa League qualifying next season.

The Yerevan outfit had won all five of their previous finals while
Shirak had lost in each of their three showpieces, and that pattern
appeared set to continue from the early stages when Mika’s Aram
Voskanyan had an effort cleared off the line.

It was Alex who eventually scored the opener following a set-piece,
before Narek Beglaryan doubled the lead. Shirak were quick to respond
when Andranik Barikyan reduced their arrears, but in the second half
Mika added two more through Beglaryan and former Manchester United
FC striker Dong Fangzhou.

“I was lucky to score two goals, but I don’t conceder myself a hero,”
said Beglaryan. “It was my job to score and my team-mates helped
me. I will remember this final for a long time. We reached our goal
by qualifying for the Europa League.”

“By winning this trophy we fulfilled two goals at the same time,” added
Voskanyan. “We won the Armenian Cup and reached Europe.” Coach Armen
Shahgeldyan, for whom the trophy is his first at the Mika helm, said:
“It’s always more pleasurable to win than to lose but it’s totally
different for a player than for a coach. I’m proud of my lads.

To be honest I haven’t yet realised what we have accomplished.”