Author: Badalian Vardan

S. OHANYAN: AZERBAIJAN USES CRIMINALS IN SUBVERSIVE ACTIONS

Tuesday,
July
15

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan expressed confidence
that the Azerbaijanis captured recently were engaged in subversive
reconnaissance activities.

“Moreover, I am sure that for such purposes the military leadership
of Azerbaijan uses criminal gangs familiar with the area,” Ohanyan
told reporters.

In his words, by destabilizing the situation and escalating tension,
the Azerbaijani side is trying to put pressure on the negotiating
process in the hope of unilateral concessions.

The minister stressed that negotiations and the creation of an
atmosphere of trust remain the only option to solve the problem.

TODAY, 16:43

Aysor.am

FIX NEEDED: ARMENIA’S LAW ON FREEZING BANK ACCOUNTS PROBLEMATIC UNDER NEW TRAFFIC FINE REGIME

SOCIETY | 15.07.14 | 15:31

By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

The Armenian Parliament is in discussion on a law restricting banks
from freezing a client’s entire account in case of extenuating debt.

Presently, an account may be frozen for the entire balance, whereas
the new law would restrict a lien to only the exact amount owed.

“This means that if any citizen has, for instance, 10,000AMD debt,
then the bank is allowed to put a ban only within that amount –
not a dram more. It is not allowed to freeze the whole amount on the
account. Otherwise the bank will be responsible for compensating the
citizen for the damage and the lost profit,” republican MP Arpine
Hovhannisyan, one of the authors of the legislative initiation wrote
on her Facebook page.

The use of such punitive measures has increased since the Armenian
traffic police began freezing accounts of those who had not paid
traffic fines. By law, the entire account may be frozen, and such
action often comes as a rude surprise to the account holder.

The popular commentator of “What, Where, When” intellectual game
Karen Kocharyan turned to the Prime Minister, the President of the
Constitutional Court, to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney
General writing on his Facebook page with a request to urgently
initiate some measures to stop mass illegalities.

“It is the 10th of July. It means that the holiday season has started
and people go on a vacation to other countries. I am sure tens of
thousands of Armenian citizens due to illegal actions of the EJA
service and banks, will appear in impossible situations during the
coming 1.5-2 months, when in a foreign country they find out that
their accounts are frozen. Try to help our citizens also considering
the fact that many children will be with them,” Kocharyan wrote.

Citizens have complained that – due to traffic violations – their
cars have been marked for impoundment, without any warning.

Violators are often unaware of the penalties because they are not
notified properly, or the police possess a wrong or an old address.

Administrative penalties sent to such addresses are considered
delivered and are in force. The traffic police sends the administrative
penalty to the EJA service to be realized, thus the person’s bank
account is banned from usage.

Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has said he will take steps to amend
the current law, but meanwhile has urged citizens to be mindful of
deadlines for paying fines.

A statement on the case was spread by the Minister of Justice,
Hovhannes Manukyan, as well.

“The computer program providing the EJA activities, as a mandatory
procedure, mentions the amount subject to forfeiture. The problem
is created by some internal banking function of the banks. Armenian
Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Armenian Central Bank
searches for ways to regulate the mentioned problem,” the statement
says.

EJA, the legal office in charge of collections, the present law in
clear on freezing debtor’s accounts.

However, MP Hovhannisyan mentions that the bill of the law they
created aims to clarify the rules of the game, not for the EJA,
but rather for other bodies who apply the decisions of that body.

“Legislative initiatives are not aimed only to regulate legislative
gaps that are results of misinterpretation, arbitrary interpretation
and in order to avoid application. The discussed legislative initiation
is from that very sphere,” Hovhannisyan mentions.

ARSEN KHOJOYAN DIAGNOSED WITH SKIN DISEASE

Tuesday,
July
15

Tests showed that Arsen Khojoyan does not have a sexually transmitted
disease, according to Armenian Health Ministry. The 23-year-old
Armenian citizen was freed from Azerbaijani captivity on April 10 of
this year.

Blood tests were carried out at Hrazdan Medical Center with the
participation of Health Ministry experts to determine if Arsen Khojoyan
had any infectious or bacterial disease. As a result, A.

Khojoyan was diagnosed with psoriasis.

The head of the dermatology department of Research Center of
Dermatology and Venereology Tigran Gevorgyan said psoriasis is not
infectious. This skin disease is triggered by stress, metabolic
imbalance, etc. Srsen Khojoyan will receive drug treatment and then
undergo tests once again if necessary.

Arsen Khojoyan, a resident of Varin Karmiraghbyur village in Armenia’s
Tavush province, crossed into Azerbaijan on March 7, 2014 after he lost
his way in a dense fog. He is a distant relative of Mamikon Khojoyan,
77, who was tortured during his captivity in Azerbaijan. The elderly
man was released by Azerbaijan on March 4 and died 6 weeks later,
on May 20, 2014.

TODAY, 14:41

Aysor.am

L’EGLISE PRESBYTERIENNE ADOPTE UNE RESOLUTION SUR LE CENTENAIRE DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

USA

Vendredi 20 Juin, quelque 600 commissaires de la 221e Assemblee
generale de l’Eglise presbyterienne (Etats-Unis), reunis a Detroit,
dans le Michigan, ont adopte a la quasi-unanimite une resolution
reconnaissant le genocide armenien et ont adopte le calendrier de
l’eglise de 2015 designant le 26 Avril que le jour de son respect.

Une Agence de l’eglise a ete charge de preparer des ressources
pedagogiques et liturgiques pour les Eglises membres dans le cadre
de la preparation de l’evenement.

mardi 15 juillet 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

AZERBAIJAN APPEALS TO ICRC REGARDING COUNTRY’S CITIZEN TAKEN HOSTAGE BY ARMENIA

Trend, Azerbaijan
July 12 2014

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12
By Ilkin Izzet-Trend:

Azerbaijan has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) to clarify the information disseminated by the media, about
an Azerbaijani citizen taken hostage by the Armenian side, ICRC Baku
Office’s Public Relations Department head Ilaha Huseynova told Trend.

The appeal requests that in case of confirmation of the information
to carry out the appropriate procedures in accordance with the
ICRC’s mandate.

Earlier Armenian media reported about the capture of Azerbaijani
citizen who was allegedly a military serviceman of the Azerbaijani
armed forces. The captured person’s name was Shahbaz Guliyev, born
in 1968.

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend that the captured man was
not the soldier of the country’s armed forces.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

GCC TRUSTEE PUBLISHES PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY OF ARMENIA

Glendale News Press, CA
July 12 2014

By Brittany Levine, [email protected]

July 11, 2014 | 4:50 p.m.

Although Vahe Peroomian was born in California, he has always felt a
connection to the landscape of his ancestral homeland: Armenia. That
link, and his many visits to the country, inspired him to publish
“A Photographic Journey of My Homeland, Armenia,” which includes
hundreds of photographs the space scientist and Glendale Community
College trustee took during 90 days in Armenia between 2004 to 2011.

Peroomian is scheduled to discuss his 226-page book at Abril Bookstore,
415 E. Broadway, on July 17 at 8 p.m.

Q: What did you learn about Armenia through photographing the people
and places within the country that you didn’t know before?

People love to tell stories in Armenia, and this is what I feel
enriched [me] the most. I’ve retold some of the stories and sayings
in my book, as even a simple joke often gave more insight into the
psyche of my compatriots as any photograph I took.

During most of my trips I was accompanied and guided by [a friend],
Stepan Nalbandian, who is not only knowledgeable about the countryside,
but is also passionate about protecting its ancient monuments. Together
we visited many locations off the beaten path and of the radar of tour
companies. More than once, he picked me up in the morning, and the
first words out of his mouth were, “you’ll see wonders today…” He
was right every single time. The idyllic church in Ardvi, the valley
in which Hnevank Monastery is nestled, the alpine highlands of Selim
pass and the old road to Jermuk, lined with crystalline basalt cliffs
rivaling Devil’s Postpile National Monument [in Mammoth Lakes], are
just a few. What I came to realize, though, was that photographing
Armenia is going to be a lifelong journey.

Q: Did you learn anything new about yourself in the process?

I’ve had cameras since I was very young, and photography has always
been a hobby for me. But what my trips to Armenia in 2003 and the
connection I felt with the landscape did were to ignite a passion for
photography in me, one that has not only led to this book, but also
to numerous exhibitions of my work. I also realized how necessary
it was for me, as a physicist, to balance the scientific side of my
life with the artistic side that photography provides. Years ago, I
promised myself to take time to view the sunrise or sunset at least
once a month, and doing this while capturing the shifting light on
the landscape is even more satisfying than I ever thought.

Q: In the book, you include photos of ancient sites, churches,
monuments, presidential elections, commemorations of the Armenian
Genocide, and the unveiling of a millennial church discovered in the
forests of Karabakh, what was your favorite moment you were able to
capture with your lens?

I’d have to say that the entire trip to unveil the millennial church
in Nagorno-Karabakh was one of the most incredible experiences of
my life: The incredibly arduous roads that took us to the remote
village of Haytagh, the trek in the stifling summer heat to the
church, the discovery of an ancient cemetery strewn with khatchkars
(stones carved with crosses), my first glimpse of the church, and the
stories told by my companions on the expedition and by the denizens
of Haytagh during the trip.

The most photographically satisfying moment came in 2006, when I
visited Haghartsin at 5 a.m. in the morning and waited for the first
light of day to illuminate the monastery. The golden light I captured
lasted less than 30 seconds, but it left an indelible impression.

Q: Lastly, anything else you wanted to add that I didn’t ask you about?

One of the photography techniques that I’ve used extensively in Armenia
and featured in my book is black-and-white infrared photography. I’ve
had a camera converted specifically for this purpose, and all of
the black-and-white photos in the last several chapters of the book
are from my infrared camera….Leaves and grass appear snow white,
and there is a lot more contrast in these photos….

Infrared photography is one of the ways that I express my vision of
the Armenian landscape, a vision that is driven by the juxtaposition
of ancient structures with the landscape, and the oft-forgotten
importance of light and its texture in photography.

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ARMENIA ARMED FORCES 4TH MILITARY UNIT MARKS 17TH ANNIVERSARY (PHOTOS)

July 12, 2014 | 16:20

The 17th anniversary of the 4th Military Unit of the Armenian Armed
Forces was celebrated Saturday in Yeghegnadzor city.

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, Chief of the Armenian Armed Forces
General Staff, Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov, numerous other
high-ranking military officers as well as regional officials and
statesmen were on hand at the event, the MOD press service informed.

Military Unit Commander, Major General Andranik Makaryan delivered
opening remarks.

Congratulating those in attendance on the anniversary, Ohanyan, for
his part, assured that the Armenian soldiers perform their military
tasks with honor, and by using restraining mechanisms, they prevent
the operations by the adversary’s sabotage and intelligence teams.

An award ceremony also was held during the celebratory event.

In addition, the defense minister handed the military unit’s battle
flag to its command unit, and as a result of the unit’s hard work.

The anniversary event concluded with a parade by the subdivisions of
the 4th Military Unit.

HOSTEL RESIDENTS HAVE NOT HAD WATER FOR A MONTH (VIDEO)

11:47 | July 12,2014 | Social

It is already a month residents of a hostel located in Yerevan’s
Tbilisyan highway have not had water. Some 21 families live in the
builidng, with most of them having to walk long distances to get water.

During our viist to the hostel, many of the residents had gone to
fetch water. Lusine Simonyan lives in a one-room apartment with her
two underage children. There were piles of dirty clothes in almost
every corner of the flat which the woman had been unable to wash
because of lack of water.

Details in the video

TURKEY’S PRESIDENTIAL PALACE BELONGS TO ARMENIAN FAMILY MASSACRED DURING GENOCIDE: TURKISH MEDIA

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

15:45, 12 July, 2014
[510.jpg]

YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. On the threshold of the presidential
elections in Turkey, the Turkish bianet.org independent news website
introduced the true story of the Turkish presidential residence to its
readers. According to the website, the Cankaya palace building of the
Turkish presidential residence once belonged to the Kasabian family,
which was massacred during the Armenian Genocide.

As reports “Armenpress”, the Turkish website states
that notwithstanding the official version states that the Kasabians
“sold” Cankaya to the Bulgurluzâde family, Edward Chuhaji,
the descendant of the family in the third generation, who currently
lives in Ottawa, Canada, personally told the truth, which the Turkish
state kept secret from its own people for 99 years.

longs-to-armenian-family-massacred-during-genocide-turkish-media.html

FAMOUS AMERICAN PRODUCER SIGNS DEAL WITH “ORDINARY ARMENIAN GUY” (PHOTOS)

JULY 12, 12:06

By Paruir Siniavsky

In an exclusive interview with NEWS.am STYLE, Altounian spoke about
his future plans. Below is an abridged version of the interview.

Essaï, are famous American producers interested in you?

Yes. I was recently in Los Angeles, where I, an ordinary Armenian guy,
signed a contract with famous American music producer Berry Gordy,
who founded Motown Records and many other well-known companies. This
is a great success for me.

Who helped you release your first single in the US?

I released my first single–Family–in America by working with him
[Gordy]. Now, I’m preparing a new song which I will introduce in
September. I’m currently working closely with him. Armenians are a
very hard-working nation. If you work hard, you can achieve any goal.

What would you say about singing in Armenia?

It’s always a pleasure for me to come to Armenia, find and discover
myself, my roots, and my ancestors’ homeland yet again. It will be
a great honor for me to receive an invitation to sing in Armenia.