I-Human Three-Day South Caucasus Festival To Be Held In Armenia In S

I-HUMAN THREE-DAY SOUTH CAUCASUS FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA IN SEPTEMBER

Noyan Tapan
Aug 7, 2009

YEREVAN, AUGUST 7, NOYAN TAPAN. I-Human three-day South Caucasus
festival dedicated to the human’s rights and peace will be held
in Armenia in September with the assistance of the Open Society –
Georgia fundation and German Heinrich Boell foundation. The festival
will begin from Vaik then it will continue in Vanadzor, Noyemberian,
Kapan and Yerevan.

The films which will be shown at the festival have been selected
by the judges having 11 independent experts from South Caucasus,
Czech Republic and Germany. According to coordinator-manager of
the festival Zaytsova, those films are about people living in war
and post-war conditions, how they overcome the consequences of the
war and deal with the opponent side. The theme of conciliation and
solution of the conflicts are roused almost in each film.

Organization For Banning Chemical Weapons Interested In Cooperation

OBCW INTERESTED IN COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA
07.08.2009 20:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On August 7, Samvel Lazarian, RA permanent
representative in the Organization for Banning Chemical Weapons
(OBCW), met with OBCW’s Secretary General Rogelio Pfirter, RA MFA
press service reports.

Parties discussed preparatory activities for Mr. Pfirter’s visit in
Armenia scheduled in autumn. They also touched upon issues concerning
OBCW’s activities.

Highly assessing Armenia’s role in ensuring organization’s effective
work, OBCW Head expressed interest in continuing cooperation

Genocide And Turkish Negationism To Be Discussed In Buenos-Aires

GENOCIDE AND TURKISH NEGATIONISM TO BE DISCUSSED IN BUENOS-AIRES

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am

A ug 6 2009

Armenian diaspora will take part in the "Buenos-Aires — Armenia"
event organized by Preservation of Historical and Cultural Patrimony
of Buenos-Aires, Institute of History and Armenian Cultural Association
Community.

The event will take place in Buenos Aires, August 10-11, 2009. The
history of Armenians’ immigration to Buenos-Aires, Argentina, Armenian
Genocide negation and other issues, connected with Armenian spiritual
and material heritage — art, education, press will be discussed
in the forum. In the end of the day the guests will enjoy national
dishes and theatrical shows.

http://news.am/en/news/armenia/2054.html

Azeri Official Chides Armenia’s Leadership

AZERI OFFICIAL CHIDES ARMENIA’S LEADERSHIP

Asbarez
/04/azeri-official-chides-armenia%e2%80%99s-leader ship/
Aug 4, 2009

BAKU-Azerbaijan’s chief presidential foreign policy adviser claimed
that Armenia’s current leadership "often changes its position" and
is "not yet daring to take serious steps" in the peace talks. He
also said the mediating powers have stepped up their pressure on the
Armenian side due to a number of factors, notably the Turkish-Armenian
rapprochement.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s chief foreign policy aide Novruz
Mammadov, in an extensive interview with the APA news agency claimed
that Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian "has no concrete logical
position on the solution to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict and
relations with the neighbor country."

Mammadov accused the Armenian president of changing his mind.

"How can it be that the Turkish president visited Armenia, but he
[Sarskian] says that he will not visit Turkey. It’s like a game,"
added Mammadov.

In discussing the Karabakh conflict, Mammadov said the basic principles
of resolving the conflict favored by international mediators preclude
international recognition of Karabakh’s independence.

"As is pointed out in the ‘Madrid principles’ and as the president of
Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated in his speeches, the conflict can
be resolved only within the framework of the country’s territorial
integrity," Mammadov said. He said future agreements on Karabakh’s
status envisioned by the proposed settlement would amount to clarifying
the extent of the Karabakh’s autonomy within Azerbaijan.

The claims sharply contrast with Armenian officials’ interpretation
of the basic principles which the U.S., French and Russian co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group formally proposed in Madrid in November
2007. According to them, Karabakh’s population would be able to
vote for independence, reunification with Armenia or return under
Azerbaijani in a future referendum to be held years after the
liberation of the Armenian-occupied territories around Karabakh.

The mediators themselves have refused to elaborate on the proposed vote
in their public pronouncements, saying that its practical modalities
have yet to be agreed upon. In a July 10 joint statement, the U.S.,
Russian and French presidents said only that Karabakh’s status will
be determined "through a legally binding expression of will."

The mediators are expected to present the conflicting parties with what
they call an "updated version" of the Madrid principles soon. Whether
or not they plan to make significant changes in the document, first
discussed by Aliyev and Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharian,
remains to be seen.

http://www.asbarez.com/2009/08

NATO’s Policy In South Caucasus Not To Change

NATO’S POLICY IN SOUTH CAUCASUS NOT TO CHANGE

ArmInfo
2009-08-05 13:17:00

ArmInfo. NATO policy regarding the South Caucasus countries will
not change dramatically after the new Secretary General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen, official representative of NATO James Appathurai told
Trend News.

"Rasmussen certainly has not announced any major changes," Appathurai
told Trend News by telephone from Brussels on August 4. I don’t think
that you should expect to see any great changes."

The new Secretary General has expressed his strong commitment to
fundamental principles of NATO with regard to its partnerships,
mentioning specifically the South Caucasus, Appathurai said.

"He demonstrated commitment to partnership and to autonomy and
independence of sovereign states in that region," Appathurai said.

To recall, Dane Anders Fogh Rasmussen came to the post of NATO
Secretary General on August 1, replacing in this post Dutch Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer.

Tatevik Hovhannisian’s Benevolent Concert Takes Place In Los Angeles

TATEVIK HOVHANNISIAN’S BENEVOLENT CONCERT TAKES PLACE IN LOS ANGELES

Noyan Tapan
Aug 3, 2009

LOS ANGELES, AUGUST 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Jazz
singer Tatevik Hovhannisian’s benevolent concert took place in Los
Angeles. The whole profit of the concert must be given for treatment
of people sick with blood cancer. The organizer of the concert was
the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry. Besides her own repertoire,
Tatevik Hovhannisian also performed improvisations on the themes of
Komitas’ and Sayat-Nova’s works.

Railroad Museum Opens In Yerevan

RAILROAD MUSEUM OPENS IN YEREVAN

/ARKA/
July 31
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, July 31. /ARKA/. The South Caucasus Railways company opened
a railway museum in Central railway station building in Yerevan
on Friday.

According to Chief Engineer Sergey Harutyunyan, the opening of the
museum is timed with the International Railway Day, which is celebrated
on August 2nd.

"The museum presents the history of the Armenian railway, starting
from 1896 till our days. There are 10 stands, each of which shows a
certain period in the history of the railway. Some of the exhibits
are gifts from the Russian Railways ", Harutyunyan said.

The creation of the museum cost about 22 thousand dollars.

"The opening of the railway museum is due to the need to introduce
the new generation with the history of the railways in Armenia and
the people who stood at its foundation," the chief engineer of the
company said.

CJSC South Caucasus Railways, the "daughter" of OJSC Russian Railways,
manages the Armenian Railways.

The company balanced the rolling stock of the Armenian Railways on
June 1st, 2008, in accordance with the concession contract on the
transfer of state CJSC Armenian Railway for a 30 year management by
the company with the right to prolong for another 10 years by mutual
agreement,dated on February 13, 2008 The amount of investments in
the railway system of Armenia in 2009 will be 2.6 billion rubles.

Officials Say Armenia Not Infected With Swine Flu

OFFICIALS SAY ARMENIA NOT INFECTED WITH SWINE FLU

Panorama.am
12:27 31/07/2009

A/H1N1 influenza is not registered in Armenia, officials say. Liana
Torosyan of the Armenian Health Minsitry told Panorama.am that no cases
of swine flu have been recorded, hence rejecting the news spread by
local mass media that one single case of swine flu has been registered.

According to the source all the passengers pass medical control
in the airport and if a passenger has high temperature he is being
isolated. "We have not registered any case of swine flu, if there is
such, Health Ministry will made correspondent statement," she said.

RA Minister Of Defence Seyran Ohanyan’s Greeting Speech On The Occas

RA MINISTER OF DEFENCE SEYRAN OHANYAN’S GREETING SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MILITARY INSTITUTE AFTER VAZGEN SARGSYAN

mp;p=0&id=940&y=2009&m=07&d=31
31. 07.09

RA Minister of Defence Seyran Ohanyan’s Greeting Speech on the
Occasion of the 15th Anniversary of the Military Institute after
Vazgen Sargsyan and of the Recurrent Flow of the Graduates of Military
Educational Institutions

Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia, Your Holliness,
Mr. Generals, officers and students, dear guests:

I am heartily greeting all of you on the occasion of the 15th
Anniversary of the greatest MoD officers’ educational establishment –
Military Institute after Vazgen Sargsyan, and of the Recurrent Flow
of the Graduates from higher military educational institutions. The
Military Institute after Vazgen Sargsyan was established in 1994 on
the borderline of war and ceasefire, when the Armenian army, based
on the voluntary detachments, had already gained gigantic experience
in battle activities.

That was one of the best times, when the experience of the regular
militants was merged with the unparalleled devotion of the volunteers,
which was to transform to a military experience and practical knowledge
from fight to fight and by every appliance of a new weapon. However,
like in every sphere, and even more than the other spheres, the Armed
Forces need regular recruitment and r enovation. For this reason it was
an imperious necessity to shape a new generation of officers, so that,
together with their seignior brothers, who had deserved the victory
in the front, they would continue the difficult and crucial task of
protecting our motherland and continuously increasing the fighting
capacity of the Armed Forces. Today, it is a gratifying reality that in
different commanding circles the responsibility of commanding in the
Armed Forces is already equally shared between our over four thousand
officers, who have graduated from RA higher military educational
establishments – motorized infantry, artillerists, tankers, scouts,
military doctors and pilots, officers specialized in aviation and
anti-aircraft defence, and they have almost all the commanding posts
in the army – from detachment commanders to regiment commanders. This
is to say that our military educational establishments, now for sure,
are well established and serve their purpose, which embodies the dream
of all of us and symbolizes its realization today. The passed years
have shown that the Armenian military educational establishments have
shaped worthy successors – officers – who both continue the heroic
tradition of the Armenian army and master today’s military business
at best. And the latter has a simple formula, "The direction of power
in time and space." Due to the science developments, today time and
space have decreased in battle activities. But, at the same time,
the role of the human has increased – the role of an officer who
is educated, masters in the complex technologies of the time, is
literate and devoted to his motherland. From this point of view, I’d
like to mention that we have expectations just like this, that you,
filling the rows of the officers in the Armed Forces, will promote
the development of the army building and, by sincerely loving the
motherland, you will assist to the invincibility of its borders and
the strengthening of its defence.

Our army has been and will always be subject to universal care. The
issues of the army – issues varying from army building and social
status of the militants to strategic issues – have always been in the
centre of the state’s attention. And the fact, that today our army is
protecting the borders of the motherland with honor and is ready to
face any challenge, is a result of the attention of the President,
the government of our country and the Armenian people towards the
Armed Forces. This attention also obliges us to continue improving and
developing by everyday studies, to increase the fighting capabilities
and walk parallel to the quite strict demands presented to the armies
of the 21st century.

Parallel to the present defence reforms, the personnel policy is also
quite important. And today one of our tasks is to recruit the Armed
Forces with professi onal personnel possessing modern knowledge. To
the solution of this topical problem assist not only the higher
educational institutions of the RA MOD and the foreign ones,
but also other educational institutions of the republic. I would
like to acknowledge the preparation of military doctors, military
bandmasters, medical psychologists, military instructors by the State
Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, Armenian State Pedagogical
University after Khachatur Abovyan, State Conservatory after Komitas,
Gyumri Pedagogical Institute after Mikael Nalbandyan. By heartily
congratulating all the newly-converted officers, I wish you health,
peaceful service, will and determination to unfailingly walk up the
difficult path of a militant and conquer heights. Be informed, that
the profession of an officer is heroic! Be proud and be strong and
successful in all your undertakings! I wish that you and the whole
officers’ personnel have the devotion of your seignior brothers and
necessary commanding knowledge, so that the cherished idea of the
protection of the country and the distinct issues of its realization
will be merged in your service. The preceding generation of Armenian
officers that has had hard destiny, inherited you a rich tradition, and
I am sure, that you will enrich and pass it to the coming generation
of graduates from our military educational institution.

As a conclusion, in this ceremonial settings, I want to assure the
Commander-in-Chief that, today too, the Armed Forces is to act in
accordance to the demands of the time and is to continue to carry
out its mission with honor for the sake of the peaceful and creative
coexistence of our people.

http://www.mil.am/eng/index.php?page=2&a

Stones Fell On Railway

STONES FELL ON RAILWAY

A1+
12:32 pm | July 30, 2009

Official

On July 29 at 12:05 a.m. pieces of stones broke off from a tunnel
and fell on the nearby high-voltage electric wire pole and damaged
the railway located on the 2nd kilometer section of the Spitak-Gyumri
highway due to heavy rains.

At 2:35 a.m. the locomotive of the Batumi-Yerevan train clashed into
the fallen pole and the damaged train wagons were transferred to the
"Gyumri" station in another locomotive.

The trains stopped due to restoration works and there are no injuries
or victims.