Author: Badalian Vardan

DEMIRCHYAN SPORTS AND CONCERT COMPLEX TO BE SOLD IN YEREVAN

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 20 2014

20 May 2014 – 11:03am

The Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex has been put for sale
at a price of $46.8 million drams. The auction will continue until
May 29, News Armenia reports.

The complex covers 46335.7 square meters, excluding auxiliary
constructions and the pool. The complex has a territory of 95595.87
square meters for housing. Owners of the facility received a loan of
$20 million at a guarantee of 75% of its shares, rumours say.

The Demirchyan Complex was built in Yerevan in 1983. A major fire
broke out in the building 1.5 years after the opening. It remained
closed until late 1987. The Complex was named after Karen Demirchyan,
the speaker of parliament killed in 1999.

The Complex was sold to BAMO for $5.7 million on October 9, 2005.

Reconstruction of the facility took about 3 years and about $42
million.

ETHNIC TENSIONS ERUPT IN BURJ HAMMOUD

The Daily Star, Lebanon
May 20 2014

May 20, 2014 12:18 AM
By Justin Salhani

BEIRUT: The stout, gray-haired man, who says he is “bigger than the
mukhtar” in the community, stares coldly and speaks with authority.

“The Kurds have no religion,” Serge says firmly, standing only a
block away from where a Syrian Kurd put a local man in intensive
care Saturday. “They have no Jesus, no God.”Serge is one of many in
Beirut’s northeastern suburb of Burj Hammoud who harbors a flagrant
resentment toward Kurds. Enmity between some runs so deep that tensions
have even descended into gang warfare in the past.

That sentiment boiled over during the weekend after Lebanese citizen
Elias Kalash was knocked unconscious by a gas canister thrown by a
Syrian Kurdish man.

The ensuing tensions were only quelled Monday when local municipality
figures and representatives comprising various security forces held
a series of meetings aimed at preventing a recurrence of Saturday’s
events. A representative from the Kurdish Lebanese Razgari Party
was also in communication with the Burj Hammoud municipality in an
attempt to further defuse ethnic and communal hostilities.

There are no exact figures details on how many Syrian Kurds live
in Burj Hammoud. The relatively cheap housing in this low-income
neighborhood has always attracted people of all nationalities, and has
proved just as popular among Syrian refugees coming to Lebanon over
the last three years. A sizeable Lebanese Kurdish community has been
present in the area since before the start of the Syrian civil war.

Locals claim the incident began when a drunken Syrian Kurdish man
provocatively gawked at someone’s fiance Saturday, prompting a group
of Lebanese and Lebanese-Armenians to gather and try to break into
a one-story house the Kurdish man was renting with his father and
four brothers. As the situation escalated, one of the Kurdish men
on the roof picked up a gas canister and threw it at the mob below,
knocking out Kalash.

As of Monday, Kalash was still in intensive care, though his family
said he was rapidly improving. Media reports Monday evening that he
had died of his injuries soon proved to be false.

The Kurdish men are being held in police custody, according to
authorities. Burj Hammoud’s Vice Mayor George Krikorian says he is
“unaware” of the arrest of any Lebanese citizen.

Members of the Armenian Tashnag party deployed around Burj Hammoud
over the weekend with instructions to patrol streets but to not
interfere in any fracases.

“As Armenians we don’t interfere and we believe problems must be solved
by the municipality and the government institutions,” explains Hagop
Havatian, a Tashnag party spokesperson. Although he admits this is not
the first time such problems have arisen in the area, he insists there
is “no such tension” currently prevailing throughout Burj Hammoud.

“The number of foreigners in Lebanon has increased dramatically in
the last few years resulting in severe repercussions on the host
community,” Krikorian says. “So frustration is understandable.”

Regardless, Krikorian describes Saturday’s episode as “an isolated
incident that happens between young men in all neighborhoods in
all regions.”

But it is not the first time Burj Hammoud has seen the security
unravel into ethnic violence.

Burj Hammoud resident Panos Aprahamian recalls the last time an
incident in his neighborhood spiraled out of control. “Before the
Syrian war a Lebanese guy was stabbed by a Kurd,” he says.

The stabbing led to what Aprahamian describes as “vigilante lynch
mobs” of mostly Lebanese Armenians attacking Kurds and Syrians,
with the Kurdish community gathering in large groups to retaliate.

Aprahamian says smaller incidents are also regular in the neighborhood
and usually occur after locals claim a Kurd has verbally harassed a
local woman. He says a lot of the tension in his neighborhood is based
on xenophobic sentiments among the working class or older generations,
a problem aggravated by a spate of Kurdish-run shops opening in the
area over the last couple years.

Serge exhibits this xenophobia blatantly by likening the Syrian Kurds
in Burj Hammoud to Zionists. “They’re buying up all the land like
the Jews did in Israel,” he says.

The man says there had been one Kurdish-run store on the street but
it closed Sunday following tensions. He doesn’t foresee any more
Kurdish-run businesses opening in the area.

“No more Kurds can come here,” he says. “It’s forbidden.”

The only Kurds remaining on that street are a couple of women living
in an apartment with a baby. Both refused to speak to media. According
to Serge, they were not involved in the weekend’s events.

While Lebanese Kurdish figures are adamant that their full support
is behind state institutions, a sense of persecution and defiance
lingers in the community.

“There are groups of people who want to remove other groups from
certain areas and this is shameful,” says Mahmoud Sadr Fatah Ahmad,
president of the Kurdish Lebanese Razgari Party.

“Kurds are defending themselves in Lebanon and wherever else they
are present.”

“Kurds fear nobody but their God,” he adds.

Agence France Presse
13 mai 2014 mardi 10:36 AM GMT

Hollande prône une formule “exceptionnelle” pour rapprocher l’Arménie de l’UE

Erevan 13 mai 2014

Le président français François Hollande a prôné mardi à Erevan une
“formule exceptionnelle” pour permettre à l’Arménie de se rapprocher
de l’Union européenn sans rompre ses liens avec l’Union douanière
pilotée par Moscou.

“Je vais soutenir la démarche de l’Arménie d’avoir sa situation
exceptionnelle reconnue comme telle dans une formule qui doit être
exceptionnelle”, a-t-il déclaré lors d’une conférence de presse
conjointe avec son homologue arménien Serge Sarkissian.

Cette formule, a-t-il expliqué, doit permettre “à l’Arménie de rester
elle-même et d’être toujours dans un processus lui permettant de se
rapprocher de l’Union européenne sans rompre d’autre liens”.

“Je souhaite que l’Arménie soit pleinement associée à l’Union
européenne parce que ce sont ses aspirations, ses valeurs, son intérêt
et en même temps je ne vais pas forcer l’Arménie à rompre ses
relations commerciales avec la Russie dans le cadre de l’Union
douanière”, a-t-il insisté.

“Chacun peut imaginer que (la situation de l’Arménie) est particulière
dans le contexte que l’Arménie connaît, géographique et politique, qui
la conduit à préserver ses liens avec la Russie”, a-t-il fait valoir,
affirmant ne pas avoir à “juger” mais à “comprendre”.

Interrogé sur l’approbation exprimée par le président Sarkissian au
rapprochement de la Crimée à la Russie, François Hollande a simplement
rappelé que la France était “attachée à un principe de droit
international qui est (le) respect de l’intégrité territoriale”.

“La base des relations entre la Russie et l’Arménie, c’est une amitié
séculaire”, a fait valoir pour sa part le président arménien.

“Nous sommes liés par la culture, par les liens économiques et je
crois que personne n’a vraiment été surpris par le souhait de
l’Arménie de rejoindre l’Union douanière” pilotée par Moscou, a-t-il
poursuivi, invoquant le “traité d’amitié” qui lie Erevan à Moscou mais
aussi leur appartenance à un “même système sécuritaire”.

Serge Sarkissian a églement fait valoir la possibilité pour son pays
“d’importer des hydrocarbures (de Russie) à des prix très compétitifs”
grce à cette union douanière. “C’est ça qui a guidé notre décision
avec l’Union européenne”, a-t-il encore souligné.

En septembre 2013, le président arménien avait surpris nombre de ses
compatriotes, acceptant que son pays rejoigne l’Union douanière
constituée par la Russie, le Bélarus et le Kazakhstan alors qu’après
de longues négociations, elle devait sceller deux mois plus tard un
accord de libre-échange avec l’UE, qui aurait constitué un premier pas
vers une intégration future au bloc européen.

Le Figaro, France
Vendredi 16 Mai 2014

Cannes 2014 : Captive d’Atom Egoyan ne capte rien

par Delcroix, Olivier

ENCART: Deuxième déception à Cannes aprés l’insignifiant Grace de
Monaco. Le réalisateur canadien déçoit avec un polar qui peine à
décoller.

Il n’y a rien de plus malplaisant que de sortir de la projection d’un
film en course pour la palme en se disant: que vient faire ce polar
mollasson en sélection?

Certes, le réalisateur canadien d’origine arménienne Atom Egoyan est
un habitué du festival, où il obtint en 1997 le grand prix avecDe
beaux lendemains. Mais si on a été jadis secoué par Exotica ou même
The Adjuster (1991), depuis belle lurette ses films ne sont pas au
niveau, à l’image du tristounet thriller Devil’s Knot avec Colin Firth
et Reese Witherspoon, qui n’a pas fait la moindre étincelle au
festival du polar de Beaune en avril dernier.

Le premier quart d’heure deCaptivespromettait pourtant un retour en
forme. Sous la neige épaisse et blanche des paysages de l’Ontario, un
père inconsolable (Ryan Reynolds, totalement transparent sous sa barbe
hirsute et son bonnet bleu marine) passe ses journées sur les routes à
chercher sa fille, une gentille petite patineuse enlevée huit ans
auparavant alors qu’il l’avait laissée à l’arrière de sa voiture pour
aller récupérer un plat à emporter.

Egoyan agence intelligemment son intrigue sur fond de pédophilie et de
vidéosurveillance. Les repères temporels s’effacent sous les flocons.
Des séquences se suivent, entraînant d’abord chez le spectateur une
sensation de flottement assez troublante. Comme si le cinéaste
disposait une à une les pièces de son thriller: une famille
traumatisée par la disparition de sa fille, une équipe d’enquêteurs
menée par Rosario Dawson (en rupture totale avec ses rôles de
séductrice sensuelle), et un cow-boy borné, sorte de doublure affadie
de Jake Gyllenhaal dans Zodiac. Sans oublier un méchant suave et
retors à souhait (Kevin Durand) qui, avec sa fine moustache à la Eroll
Flynn, sa raie sur le côté et les mains dans le dos, affiche un look
hitchcockien désuet tout en écoutant religieusement l’aria deLa Flûte
enchantée de Mozart.

Le film patine

Le véritable problème deCaptives, c’est qu’il accumule les parallèles
avec Prisoners(2013) signé par son compatriote Denis Villeneuve, avec
Hugh Jackman en père affligé par la disparition de sa fillette dans la
banlieue de Boston et… Jake Gyllenhaal en flic aussi suspicieux que
méticuleux.

Entre les routes immaculées, camionnettes crapoteuses, parents
traumatisés et pervers pédophiles, les similitudes sont innombrables.
À l’exception, c’est vrai, d’un point essentiel: à aucun moment on ne
ressent la peur voulue par ce type de films de genre. À aucun moment
le spectateur ne frissonne ou ne se trouve captivé par cette intrigue
cousue de fil blanc.

Si la neige de Prisoners nous gelait jusqu’aux os, celle deCaptives ne
fait que nous anesthésier dans un cocon de faux-semblants assez
lassant. Et l’on finit par s’apercevoir qu’Atom Egoyan nous ressert, à
peine huit mois après la sortie du terrifiant suspense de Villeneuve,
un fade remake, vidé de sa chair et de sa sourde angoisse.

Reste une paranoïa qui court le long des routes du Canada, ou qui
s’infiltre dans les bouches d’aération d’hôtels donnant sur les chutes
du Niagara. Une psychose incarnée par de petites caméras de
surveillance. Sauf que la thématique orwellienne adaptée aux
cyberpédophiles est loin d’être neuve. On ne voudrait pas atomiser
Egoyan, maisCaptives patine sec sur son sujet. Une réplique centrale
du film se demande quelle différence existe entre le mot et le
terme : au fond peu importe, surtout si le tour est raté.

Karabakh residents to Warlick: Agression continues, and Safarov case
is another proof – Video

May 17, 2014 | 23:01

The Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick was asked how he
imagines return of the refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The question came from the residents of Kashatag region of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic who gathered near the administrative center
of Berdzor.

`Safarov was also so-called refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh. How do you
imagine their return? Agression continues, and Safarov case is another
proof,’ one of the residents told Warlick.

In response the OSCE diplomat recalled his statement, underscoring
that `all six elements are necessary for peace’ and none of them can
be taken out.

The residents asked whether the position of Minsk Group will change.
The American Co-Chair, for his part, said in the statement issued on
the twentieth anniversary of the ceasefire agreement, the mediators
spoke `with a common agenda and with a common mind’, and they `will
continue to work on this issue as co-chairs’.

The locals reminded the Co-Chairs that, according to international
right, every nation has a right to self-defense.

`We used our right to self-defense to stop Azerbaijan’s aggression,’
one of the residents said.

WARLICK’S SPEECH SETS OUT VERY WELL U.S. POLICY REGARDING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Trend, Azerbaijan
May 16 2014

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 16
By Sabina Ahmadova – Trend:

Richard Morningstar, the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, has commented
on the speech made by the OSCE Minsk Group’s U.S. Co-chair, James
Warlick at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, May 16 the ambassador said he
believes that Warlick’s speech is very important.

“I think that the speech James Warlick made is a very important
speech,” Ambassador Morningstar said. “I think the speech sets out very
well American policy with respect to Nagorno-Karabakh. It certainly
encourages both Armenia and Azerbaijan to take the steps necessary
the reach the resolution.”

The ambassador went on to add that Warlick’s speech outlines six
points that are necessary to reach a settlement to the conflict.

“Ambassador Warlick stated very clearly that the seven occupied
territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh should be returned to
Azerbaijan. And also the need to determine the final status of
Nagorno-Karabakh based on self-determination, territorial integrity
and non-use of force,” he stressed.

Morningstar also said the negotiations have been going on for twenty
years, adding that this is very frustrating.

“And hopefully we will see actions from both sides,” the ambassador
stressed.

Earlier, on May 7, OSCE Minsk Group’s U.S. Co-chair James Warlick
presented a speech on the keys to settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

During his speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
James Warlick presented a report titled ‘Nagorno-Karabakh: The Keys to
a Settlement’ in which he outlined six main elements that he believes
any peace agreement must be based on.

James Warlick’s report outlined the following elements:

– First, in light of Nagorno-Karabakh’s complex history, the sides
should commit to determining its final legal status through a mutually
agreed and legally binding expression of will in the future. This is
not optional. Interim status will be temporary.

– Second, the area within the boundaries of the former Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous Region that is not controlled by Baku should be granted an
interim status that, at a minimum, provides guarantees for security
and self-governance.

– Third, the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh should
be returned to Azerbaijani control. There can be no settlement without
respect for Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, and the recognition that its
sovereignty over these territories must be restored.

– Fourth, there should be a corridor linking Armenia to
Nagorno-Karabakh. It must be wide enough to provide secure passage,
but it cannot encompass the whole of Lachin district.

– Fifth, an enduring settlement will have to recognize the right of
all IDPs and refugees to return to their former places of residence.

– Sixth and finally, a settlement must include international security
guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation. There is
no scenario in which peace can be assured without a well-designed
peacekeeping operation that enjoys the confidence of all sides.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out 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.

The UN Security Council adopted four resolutions on liberation of
the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions; however Armenia is
still not complying with any of these resolutions.

OSCE MG MAKES NO PROGRESS – AZERBAIJANI VICE PM

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 16 2014

16 May 2014 – 11:28am

Ali Gasanov, Azerbaijani vice prime minister and the head of
the State Committee for Refugees and Forced Migrants, marking
the 22nd anniversary of the occupation of the Lachi District of
Nagorno-Karabakh, said that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group had
been visiting the region for 3-4 years and getting paid for their work,
yet they had achieved no progress, Trend reports.

The official pointed out the indifference of the world community to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Ali Gasanov, Azerbaijani vice prime minister and the head of
the State Committee for Refugees and Forced Migrants, marking
the 22nd anniversary of the occupation of the Lachi District of
Nagorno-Karabakh, said that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group had
been visiting the region for 3-4 years and getting paid for their work,
yet they had achieved no progress, Trend reports.

The official pointed out the indifference of the world community to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

ARMENIA’S GENERAL CONSUL TO ALEPPO PARTICIPATES IN MEETING OF RENOVATION COMMISSION

May 16, 2014 | 17:40

Armenia’s General Consul to Aleppo Tigran Gevorgyan was present at the
meeting of Syria’s commission on renovation and quick-reaction body.

The meeting brought together spiritual leaders of the community,
representatives of traditional parties and charitable organizations.

During the meeting, the problems of Armenian community of Aleppo and
possible cooperation between general consulate and quick-reaction
body were discussed.

On May 16 Tigran Gevorgyan met with spiritual leader of Armenian
Catholic community, Archbishop Petros Mirathyan.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

HUNGARY READY TO RESTORE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA ANYTIME: AMBASSADOR

12:32 16.05.2014

Armenia, Gurgen Margaryan, Hungary, Ramil Safarov

Gita Elibekyan, Siranush Ghazanchyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Tbilisi-Yerevan

Hungary is ready to restore relations with Armenia anytime, Hungary’s
Ambassador to Georgia Sandor Szabo said in an exclusive interview
with Public Radio of Armenia.

Armenia suspended the diplomatic relations with Hungary in August
2012 after the extradition of Azerbaijani Ramil Safarov, who axed
Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan during NATO courses in Budapest.

The Ambassador noted that immediately after the suspension,
his government took steps on the level of the Foreign Minister to
reestablish diplomatic relations. “Unfortunately, these steps were not
successful, but we should never give up,” the Ambassador said. He’s
hopeful the issue will be solved very soon through diplomatic channels,
through negotiations.

Mr. Szabo said both sides should take steps to mend ties, because
the solution of the issue is the task of the two parties.

Armenian Foreign Minister said recently that Armenia is ready to
restore diplomatic relations with Hungary, but expects Budapest to
make the first step.

“He’s right that the Armenian side is waiting for Hungary’s steps,
but as I told you, the Hungarian side has taken those steps, and not
only once. Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi sent a letter
to his Armenian counterpart soon after the known events. Besides,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary sent a note verbale to the
Armenian Foreign Ministry to express our willingness to reestablish
diplomatic relations. But unfortunately, there has been no progress
so far.”

“We think these steps on the Foreign Minister’s level should find a
positive response from your country,” the Ambassador said.

Asked whether it’s possible for Hungary to recognize the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, Mr. Szabo said the issue is not on the agenda,
not only in Hungary, but also in many other countries. “Hungary is
not late, as Armenia has not recognized the independence of Nagorno
Karabakh yet,” he said.

After years of negotiating the Association Agreement with the European
Union, Armenia declared on September 3, 2013 about the intention to
join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

“It was not easy for my country, as the supporter of the Eastern
Partnership Project, to absorb this information, because we had
supported Armenia, Georgia and Moldova on this path,” the Ambassador
said.

“After the Vilnius Summit and after the Ukraine events, Armenia and
the EU started some consultations to find a way out of this situation,
to save the Association Agreement, but as far as I know, there have
been no concrete results so far,” Amb. Szabo said.

“Armenia and EU have done a lot of work in the recent years,” he said,
voicing hope that the sides will find a way to save this value. “It
is a question of the future,” he added.

Sandor Szabo hopes to visit Armenia one day not only as a Hungarian
citizen, but also in his capacity as a Hungarian Ambassador to meet
people and to start the cooperation planned two years ago, when he
presented his credentials to the Armenian President. “It is my wish,”
he concluded.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATED IN GREAT BRITAIN

18:10 â~@¢ 16.05.14

The unveiling ceremony of a plaque commemorating Armenian Genocide
victims took place in Gwynedd, an area in north-west Wales, on
Thursday, the press service of Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
reports.

Chairman of the Gwynedd County Council Dewi Owen made a welcoming
speech at the ceremony. Armenian Ambassador to Great Britain Armen
Sargsyan’s message was read out as well.

In 2004, the Gwynedd County Council unanimously recognized the Armenian
Genocide. Due to the local Armenian community’s efforts, an agreement
on a plaque commemorating Armenian Genocide victims was reached.

The same day, a Spring Remembrance Concert was performed at the
Purcell Room, part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London’s
leading cultural complexes.