Author: Badalian Vardan

Hraparak: Armenian TV journalist cruelly beaten

10:36 * 16.08.14

Information was circulated on Friday that TV journalist Gevorg
Khachatryan, who works for the Kentron TV company, was brutally beaten
by people of Chairman of the Prosperous Armenia party Gagik Tsarukyan.

Mr Khachatryan was dismissed, but he is afraid of speaking of that.
Two of his friends said he “said too much of Tsarukyan,” which was the
reason for the attack.

Worried Mr Khachatryan called the newspaper later and tried to refute
the reports.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Golden Wheat Festival Aims to Improve Local Economy of Vardenis

Friday, August 15th, 2014

A Vardenis woman prepares dough for the Golden Wheat Festival

YEREVAN–On Aug. 5, ONEArmenia launched its new crowdfunding campaign
in partnership with Homeland Development Initiative Foundation (HDIF)
to fund a Golden Wheat Festival in Vardenis, a small town located in
the rural region of Gegharkunik.

Vardenis does not have a steady source of income and the motive of the
Golden Wheat Festival is to grow and support the local economy. The
average salary of a person in Vardenis is about 150 dollars, and fifty
percent of the population is unemployed. Numerous local businessmen
and women have been called upon to participate in the festival and
sell their handmade goods, foods, crafts and beer, all made of wheat.

HDIF began organizing similar festivals several years ago. This summer
the organization has planned the Sheep Shearing Festival in Halidzor,
Taraz Fest in Old Arpeni Village, and the Shamshadin Honey and Berry
Festival. These thematic events aim to enhance tourism in Armenian
communities meanwhile celebrating local crafts and culture.

HDIF estimates that approximately three thousand guests will attend
the Golden Wheat Festival in Vardenis. As a result of the festival it
is also estimated that over ten small businesses will be activated
within the area.

The Golden Wheat Festival will take place on September 20th in
Vardenis. ONEArmenia’s #ONEBus will provide transportation to and from
the festival. Anyone interested in taking the #ONEBus to Vardenis can
reserve a space by contacting [email protected].

The campaign launched by ONEArmenia and HDIF is due to last until
September 5th. To support the initiative please visit ONEArmenia’s
Indiegogo page!

Non-profit funding platform ONEArmenia was founded in September 2012
to stand with the change-making individuals and the organizations they
represent, using social media and crowd-funding to involve anyone with
an Internet connection in boosting projects that are geared toward
making tangible changes in Armenia now. The ONEArmenia network makes
it possible to not only raise money for a project based in Armenia as
a worldwide community, but to also track the progress of said project
with complete access to financial information.

US deeply concerned about Armenian captive’s death

11:12, 16 August, 2014

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. State Department issued a
statement on the death of the Armenian citizen Karen A.Petrosyan, who
was taken captive and killed in Azerbaijan. As reports “Armenpress”,
the U.S. State Department particularly stated that the United States
is deeply concerned about the death of Karen Petrosyan, which,
according to a number of allegations, was not due to natural causes
and was recorded, when he was under
the Azerbaijani control.

Among other things, it was stated: “The U.S. offers sincere
condolences to Mr. Petrosyan’s family. We call on the Azerbaijani
government to conduct a full and transparent investigation of this
incident and publish the results.

We remind the Governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia of their
obligations under international humanitarian law, especially their
obligation to treat humanely all those taken into custody. We call on
both Armenia and Azerbaijan to grant the International Committee of
the Red Cross access to all detainees and internees held for
conflict-related reasons,”

WHEN WILL AGREEMENT WITH EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION BE SIGNED?

Roza Hovhannisyan, Reporter
Country – 14 August 2014, 23:51

After it is signed by the Russian prime minister, the agreement on
membership of Armenia to the Eurasian Economic Union must be ratified
by Kazakhstan and Belarus according to their national procedures,
said the minister of economy of Armenia Karen Chshmarityan during
a press briefing on August 14. He said after approval by Kazakhstan
and Belarus Armenia will ratify it. “I don’t think it will happen in
one or two days, it will follow an agreement,” the minister said.

At the same time, he said the Armenian side does not know when
Kazakhstan and Belarus will ratify it. In answer to the question
whether it is possible that the Russian market will prefer Turkish
agricultural products to Armenian ones, Karen Chshmarityan said,
“I think you should ask that question to the Russian Federation.” He
said growth of sales of Armenian produce in Russia is forecast hence
exports must be boosted. “A lot of work is done in this direction. The
prime minister has called a meeting and instructed the ministries of
agriculture, economy to expand the list of products on the Russian
market and boost exports. Of embargoed 57 items Armenia exports 37
worldwide and 31 to Russia. Exports amount to up to 84.5 billion
dollars of which 67 million to Russia,” Chshmarityan said.

In answer to the question whether the consequences of sanctions
on the Armenian economy have been estimated, the minister said,
“It takes time. When replacement imports are considered, it favors
our economic entities. As to transit of goods via Armenia, there is
no such a restriction.”

– See more at:

FACTOR OF BRITISH CAPITAL IN AZERBAIJAN DISREGARDED AGAINST INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND: OPINIONS

13:23 * 14.08.14

The role of British capital in Azerbaijan’s oil, gas and energy
projects as a factor containing a war in the region has never
diminished.

The superpowers involved in the Ukraine and Middle East crises threw
this factor into the background, which took the region to the brink
of war.

This is the reason for the West’s efforts to organize the
Armenian-Russian presidential meeting in Sochi, under Russia’s
“chairmanship,” political scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan told
Tert.am.

“I think the region’s oil and gas resources and possibilities for
their transit have for a long period been a factor containing a war,
as important as other factors. Huge foreign and domestic investments
have been made, and the West will spare no effort to protect this
capital and receive dividends. And the Western states – jointly and
severally – have cooperated with Azerbaijan, seeking to protect the
state from any shocks or war.”

This is the reason for the West turning a blind eye not only to
President Ilham Aliyev’s undemocratic domestic policy, but also to any
actions in defiance of security, focusing on all the security factors.

“Two years ago I had a meeting with the British Petrolium political
analysis group. I was astonished at their staff studying security
problems in our region. And it is clear that the resources are being
used to keep Azerbaijan from war. But other problems have recently
arisen in the region with the present geopolitical competition, which
seems to have driven regional security issues into the background
for a while.”

A cording to him, the South Caucasus policy may be revised, with a
consensus between Russia and western states over security.

On the other hand, no oil pipeline can be a guarantee against war. A
number of factors could be such a guarantee – Iran’s interest in
secure borders without peacemakers, Russia’s desire of geopolitical
hegemony in the region and the Armenian army’s strength as a security
factor. These are much more important factors than oil.

Gagik Harutyunyan, Director of the Noravank education center, believes
that Great Britain sis its best for Azerbaijan to get stronger and
richer and show aggression toward other states.

“Great Britain is pursuing its business interests. And if a military
confrontation arises between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the oil pipelines
will be the first to be blown up.”

Armenian News – Tert.am

INVESTMENTS IN HOTEL BUSINESS IN ARMENIA PROVE PROFITABLE – MINISTRY
OF ECONOMY

YEREVAN, August 14. /ARKA/. Investments in hotel construction are
becoming profitable, said Mekhak Apresyan, head of tourism department
at Armenia’s ministry of economy.

There is growing demand for hotels, not necessarily 4- and 5-stars)
due to tourism development, Apresyan told reporters on Wednesday.

Today about 60% of hotels is in Armenia’s regions and the range of the
offers is expanding (from first-class hotels to B&B), he said.

Internal tourism has grown as well due to the social security package
system available in the country. Some 8,050 people took the advantage
of their packages for spending their vacation in the country in the
first half of 2014, compared to only 2,396 in H1 2013, Apresyan said.

The ministry of economy says 495,967 tourists visited Armenia in the
first half of this year, an increase of 17.3% compared to the same
period of 2013. Number of Armenian tourists travelling abroad was
474,989+ in the reporting period, a 14.8% increase against the level
of the same period 2013. -0–

100 ANS PLUS TARD…

REVUE DE PRESSE

Decidement, l’histoire a des resonances etonnantes. Alors que l’on
souligne le 100e anniversaire de l’entame de la Première Guerre
mondiale, les fureurs guerrières qui rythment le Moyen-Orient annoncent
le delitement de l’heritage geo- politique impose par les vainqueurs
de la Grande Guerre. Declinons.

Depuis le debut de la presente semaine, les chefs des Etats impliques
dans le carnage que l’on sait observent le devoir de memoire lors de
ceremonies diverses. Parallèlement, ou plus exactement simultanement,
on observe un essor des assauts militaires qui collent avec une
precision siderante aux territoires geographiquement remodeles par
la France et le Royaume-Uni au lendemain de la fin officielle des
hostilites. Pour reprendre la definition de l’historien americain David
Fromkin contenue dans son fameux ouvrage A Peace to End All Peace, la
Syrie, le Liban, l’Irak, Israël, la Palestine et la Jordanie sont , soit l’Egypte et
l’Iran, ou ayant conserve l’integrite territoriale fixee par leurs
fondateurs, soit la Turquie de Mustafa Kemal Ataturk et l’Arabie
saoudite d’Abdel Asis Ibn Saoud. Pire, ces conflits se poursuivent
dans des environs où le couple franco-britannique a impose sa loi,
ses vues, sans aucun egard pour les caracteristiques ethniques et
religieuses des populations locales. Cela souligne, on ne sera pas
etonne d’apprendre que le comportement très imperialiste de Londres
et Paris alimente les rapports de force actuels. Nulle part ailleurs
dans le monde, l’odyssee geographique et evidemment economique des
Europeens ne reste le moteur des aigreurs politiques.

D’autant plus que les Britanniques ont trahi sans vergogne les peuples
arabes qui s’etaient allies a eux dans la guerre contre les Ottomans
après que Londres a formule la promesse suivante : en cas de victoire,
une nation arabe verra le jour entre le sud-est de la Turquie, la
mer Rouge, la Mediterranee et l’Iran. En fait, sa promesse, Londres
l’avait calquee sur la requete dessinee par Hussein Ben Ali, alors
maître de La Mecque, des lieux saints, et l’elite de Damas. À cela,
on ajoutera que, dans un memo secret pendant longtemps, le conseiller
du premier ministre britannique de l’epoque Lloyd George avait ecrit,
cela vaut son pesant d’or quand on suit ce qui se passe presentement,
que >. Bon.

C’est bien simple : nous assistons aujourd’hui a la poursuite de
conflits non resolus il y a des decennies de cela. Non seulement
ca, nous assistons a la resurgence d’une guerre des religions que
l’offensive decidee par Washington et Londres en 2003 contre l’Irak a
reveillee et amplifiee. Au regard de la somme des defis et resistances
accumules un siècle durant, la suite s’annonce monstrueuse.

7 août 2014 |Serge Truffaut

jeudi 14 août 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

IRAK : L’UE SONNE LA MOBILISATION DE SES MINISTRES DES AFFAIRES ETRANGERES

IRAK

L’Union europeenne a convoque pour vendredi une reunion d’urgence
de ses ministres des Affaires etrangères pour mettre en place un
pont aerien d’aide humanitaire en Irak et fournir des armes aux
combattants kurdes qui tentent de contrer l’avancee des jihadistes
de l’Etat islamique.

“Catherine Ashton (chef de la diplomatie europeenne) a convoque les
ministres europeens des Affaires etrangères vendredi”, ont annonce
ses services. La reunion doit debuter a midi, a-t-on precise de
source europeenne.

Mme Ashton, qui revient du Vietnam, où elle etait en deplacement
officiel, repond ainsi a une exigence formulee en termes peu amènes
par le chef de la diplomatie francaise, Laurent Fabius.

“Je sais bien que dans les pays occidentaux c’est la periode des
vacances, mais enfin quand il y a des gens qui meurent, j’allais dire
qui crèvent, il faut revenir de vacances”, avait-il tonne mardi a
l’adresse de la chef de la diplomatie europeenne.

Son homologue italienne, Federica Mogherini, dont le pays assure la
presidence semestrielle des reunions ministerielles de l’UE, avait
apporte son soutien a cette exigence.

Un premier echange de vues a ete organise mardi au cours d’une reunion
du Comite politique et de securite (COPS), charge de traiter les
situations de crise.

Les capitales de l’UE se sont mises d’accord lors de cette reunion pour
“renforcer de toute urgence la coordination humanitaire et acceder
aux populations deplacees” en Irak et pour laisser les Etats membres
qui le souhaitent livrer des armes aux combattants kurdes “en reponse
a une demande urgente des autorites irakiennes”.

“Enorme concession” –

La livraison d’armes est une competence des Etats membres. L’Irak
est soumis a un embargo mais des exceptions ont ete prevues en 2004
pour permettre des fournitures d’armes et de materiel a la demande
du gouvernement irakien.

Aucun Etat ne s’est oppose mardi a ce que les gouvernements europeens
qui le souhaitent repondent aux demandes du gouvernement irakien,
qui a lui meme deja fourni des armes aux combattants kurdes face
aux jihadistes.

Il s’agit d’une “enorme concession” arrachee par Paris a de nombreux
partenaires très reticents, a commente une source europeenne. Dans la
foulee, le president Francois Hollande a annonce mercredi sa decision
de “faire acheminer des armes en Irak dans les heures qui viennent”
pour “soutenir la capacite operationnelle des forces engagees contre
l’Etat islamique”.

L’Europe se mobilise egalement face a la tragedie qui se joue dans
le nord de l’Irak, où 20.000 a 30.000 membres de la minorite yazidi
pourchasses par les jihadistes se sont refugies dans les montagnes
de Sinjar “dans des conditions horribles”, a souligne Kristalina
Georgieva, la commissaire europeenne responsable de l’aide humanitaire.

La Commission europeenne a debloque mardi cinq millions d’euros pour
leur fournir des abris, des medicaments et des vivres, et les Etats
se sont concertes sur les moyens a mettre en oeuvre pour acheminer
cette première assistance.

Vers un pont aerien europeen –

“Le problème n’est pas l’argent, c’est l’accès”, a-t-elle toutefois
souligne. “Pour l’instant l’aide est parachutee, mais c’est une mesure
extreme, car ce n’est pas precis”, a-t-elle deplore.

L’armee de l’air britannique, qui procède depuis dimanche a des
parachutages, a ainsi ete contrainte d’annuler un largage lundi
“par crainte de blesser des personnes au sol”.

“Les besoins en aide explosent en Irak”, a averti Mme Georgieva. Le
Nord du pays a accueilli plus de 200.000 refugies venus de Syrie via
le Kurdistan, et les conflits internes entre sunnites et chiites ont
provoque d’enormes deplacements de populations.

“Nous attendons une demande des Nations unies ou des autorites
irakiennes pour declencher le mecanisme de protection civile, ce qui
permettra aux Etats de demander un cofinancement europeen pour le
coût des transports”, a annonce Mme Georgieva. “La demande n’a pas
encore ete faite, mais nous l’anticipons et nous nous preparons”,
a-t-elle assure.

Les chefs des diplomaties de l’UE discuteront egalement de la crise
entre l’Ukraine et la Russie, et de la situation dans la bande de
Gaza. Ils doivent se reunir a nouveau de manière informelle les 28
et 29 août a Milan (Italie).

jeudi 14 août 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

SARKISSIAN FELICITE LE NOUVEAU PRESIDENT TURC

Elections

Serge Sarkissian a felicite hier Recep Tayyip Erdogan pour sa victoire
a l’election presidentielle turque et l’a exhorte a normaliser les
relations armeno-turques “sans conditions prealables”.

“Je vous felicite d’avoir ete elu a la presidence de la Republique
de Turquie. Je vous souhaite une bonne sante, ainsi que la prosperite
et le progrès au peuple de Turquie “, a ecrit Sarkissian a Erdogan.

“Grâce a cette nouvelle fonction de president de la Republique de
Turquie, vous aurez sans aucun doute l’occasion de faire un effort
personnel pour mettre en oeuvre nos accords bilateraux sans conditions
prealables”, a ajoute Sarkissian.

Le leader armenien a evoque les protocoles turco-armeniens de 2009,
qui envisageaient l’etablissement de relations diplomatiques entre
l’Armenie et la Turquie et l’ouverture de leur frontière.

Peu de temps après leur signature a Zurich, le gouvernement turc a
precise que les protocoles ne seront pas ratifies avant une resolution
du conflit du Haut-Karabagh qui pourrait satisfaire l’Azerbaïdjan. Le
Premier ministre Erdogan a reaffirme a plusieurs reprises cette
condition prealable.

jeudi 14 août 2014, Claire (c)armenews.com

VIEWS FROM MOSCOW: “UNFROZEN” NK CONFLICT WILL AFFECT BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN AND AZERBAIJAN’S ENERGY CONTACT WITH EUROPE AND U.S.

by David Stepanyan

ARMINFO
Thursday, August 14, 11:58

“Unfrozen” Nagorno Karabakh conflict (NK) will affect the ‘political
pipeline’ Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and Azerbaijan’s contacts with
Europe and U.S. in the energy field, leaving aside the big expenses
for dragging Turkey or Iran into the NK conflict. In other words, NK
conflict affects also the interests of others, not only Russia. The
remarks came from Sergey Markedonov, Associate Professor at the
Russian State Humanitarian University, well-known political analyst,
in an interview with ArmInfo.

“I think in such situation any successful peacekeepers is better, even
despite the personal animosity many feel against Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The escalation of tensions around NK and along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border made Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting urgent as
never before. In this light, the Russian president’s diplomatic efforts
in Sochi brought Moscow to the forefront in the NK peace process,”
the analyst said.

Initiating the trilateral meeting in Sochi, Putin demonstrated
Moscow’s desire to keep control of the NK peace process. However, the
U.S. and European experts immediately revealed the Kremlin’s desire
to strengthen its influence in the South Caucasus. In this light,
the analyst emphasized also the strong and constructive relations
of Sargsyan and Aliyev with the Kremlin top officials and the high
level of personal trust between the two leaders and Putin.

To recall, the trilateral meeting Sargsyan-Aliyev-Putin in Sochi on
10 August was the initiative of the Russian leader. The sides agreed
to continue the peace talks and defuse tensions in the conflict zone.