Author: Badalian Vardan

IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER SLAMS GOVT. OVER WEST INFLUENCE

December 11, 2013 – 19:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard
force has criticized the government of President Hassan Rouhani as
being under the influence of Western ideas, a sign of the growing
tensions between the competing power centers, Reuters reported.

Major General Mohammad Jafari’s comments are some of the sharpest to
be made by a senior official in public since the moderate Rouhani took
office in August pledging to improve Iran’s relations with regional
countries and the West.

The government’s diplomatic initiative led to an agreement with six
world powers last month under which Iran is to curb its disputed
nuclear program in return for limited relief from sanctions that have
squeezed its economy.

The interim accord has been widely welcomed by Iranians but hardliners
are irked by the foreign policy shift and apprehensive that they
are losing influence over Iran’s most powerful man, Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The military, systems and procedures governing the administrative
system of the country are the same as before, (but it) has been
slightly modified and unfortunately infected by Western doctrine,
and a fundamental change must occur,” Fars news agency quoted Jafari
as saying on Tuesday, Dec 10.

The comments by Jafari – the commander-in-chief of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – underline the changing circumstances
since hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left office after
two terms.

During those eight years, the IRGC was able to strengthen its
involvement in economic and political affairs of the country, a role
Rouhani is intent on reversing.

Jafari also appeared to dismiss calls by Rouhani and Khamenei for
the force to stay out of politics, saying its duty was to protect
the Islamic Revolution.

“The main threat to the revolution is in the political arena and the
Guards cannot remain silent in the face of that,” he said.

ARF ARTSAKH ELECTS NEW CENTRAL COMMITTEE

Wednesday, December 11th, 2013

ARF headquarters in Stepanakert, Artsakh

STEPANAKERT (Aparaj)-The Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Artsakh
Region held its 19th Regional Convention from December 9 and 10.

Delegates representing the various local chapters in Artsakh were
joined by the outgoing Central Committee, members of the ARF Artsakh
Parliamentary bloc, as well as ARF Bureau chairman Hrant Markarian
and Bureau member Georgi Petrosian.

The Convention assessed and discussed the activities of the outgoing
Central Committee, put forth plans for the upcoming two years by
passing relevant resolutions, and elected a new Central Committee.

The new Central Committee is comprised of the following members:
Davit Ishkhanian, Artur Aghabegyan (Artsakh Deputy Prime Minister),
Armen Sargsyan (Chairman of the ARF Artsakh Parliamentary bloc), Kamo
Martirosian, Vahram Balayan, Alyosha Gabrielian, Jirair Shahijanian,
Levon Hayrian and Ara Poulouzian.

The newly-elected body chose Davit Ishkhanian as its chairman.

RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE SERGEY GALITSKY: I AM PROUD OF MY ARMENIAN ROOTS

by Emil Sanamyan

Published: Wednesday December 11, 2013

Sergey Galitsky. Courtesy image

WASHINGTON – One of the richest people in Russia, who owns of the
country’s biggest retail chain that he created from the ground up,
discussed his Armenian background in a live radio program.

In the December 10 interview with Mayak that was mostly dedicated to
football and Galitsky’s role as the owner of FC Krasnodar, a Russian
premiere league side, Sergey Galitsky was asked if reports of his
Armenian background were true and if he speaks Armenian.

“75 percent of my ethnic background is Russian and 25 percent is
Armenian,” Galitsky said in the interview. “Since I grew up in a
Russian environment, I unfortunately do not know the Armenian language,
nevertheless I am proud of my Armenian roots.”

Galitsky is also in part responsible for the rise of the Armenian
national team star forward Yura Movsisyan, who was scouted by FC
Krasnodar from Denmark in 2011. Last year, Movsisyan transferred
to Spartak Moscow, but according to Galitsky remains one of his
favorite players.

Galitsky was born Sergey Harutyunyan in Lazarevskoye, a suburb of
the city of Sochi, the upcoming site of the Winter Olympic Games.

(Incidentally, Lazarevskoe is named after a Russian admiral of Armenian
descent Mikhail Lazarev.) According to media reports, Galitsky took
on his wife’s family name when he got married.

After opening his first grocery store in 1998, the Magnit retail
chain grew to include more than 5,000 stores, employing more than
200,000 people around Russia. According to Forbes, Galitsky’s personal
wealth amounts to $8.2 billion, making him the richest known person
of Armenian descent in the world.

The wealth of 96-year-old Armenian American Kirk Kerkorian is currently
estimated at about $3.9 billion, leaving him nearly “tied” with another
Russian Armenian billionaire, 48-year-old real estate developer Samvel
Karapetian, estimated to be worth $3.8 billion. Both Kerkorian and
Karapetian have invested in large-scale infrastructure projects in
Armenia, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.

In other Armenian billionaire news, brothers Sergey and Nikolay
Sarkisov, co-owners of Russian RESO-Garantia insurance and worth $1.35
billion each, were recently appointed Armenia’s consuls general in
Los Angeles and Lyon, respectively.

IRAN WILLING TO REINVIGORATE DEFENSE COOPERATION WITH AZERBAIJAN

Fars News Agency, Iran
Dec 11 2013

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan
in a message to his Azeri counterpart Colonel General Zakir Hasanov
reiterated Tehran’s interest in strengthening defense cooperation
with Baku.

In his message submitted to Hasanov by Iranian Ambassador to Baku
Mohsen Pakayeen on Tuesday, Dehqan invited the Azeri defense minister
to visit Tehran, and underlined the necessity for strengthening
defense cooperation between the two countries.

According to the Azeri defense ministry’s media section, Hasanov and
Pakayeen also discussed the political and military situation of the
region, the territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and ways to develop mutual cooperation.

Iran’s proposal for increasing defense cooperation with Azerbaijan
comes as foreign powers are competing for influence in the
soon-to-be-rich lands surrounding the Caspian Sea while Azerbaijan,
potentially the richest of them, has allowed the US to open a military
base in the country which raised Iran’s eyebrows.

Iran has recently enhanced efforts to boost political, economic
and cultural ties and cooperation with the regional and neighboring
countries, specially the Central Asian states.

In October 2012, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled
to Baku to attend the 12th Summit of the Economic Cooperation
Organization (ECO). The Iranian and Azeri presidents met on the
sidelines of the Summit, where both leaders reiterated the necessity
for exploring new avenues to develop bilateral ties and cooperation.

Also, the Iranian officials have many times voiced Tehran’s readiness
to help resolve the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Despite facing strong international pressure, the Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders have failed to agree on the basic principles of
ending the Karabakh conflict put forward by Russia, the United States,
and France in 2011.

Armenia and Azerbaijan thus remain officially at war over Karabakh
and the dispute is a major source of tension in the South Caucasus
region wedged between Iran, Russia and Turkey.

No country – not even Armenia – officially recognizes Karabakh as an
independent state.

The mountainous rebel region has been controlled by ethnic Armenians
since it broke free of Baku’s control after a fierce war in the early
1990s that killed 30,000 people.

HISTORICAL TEXTS IN TURKEY’S NATIONAL LIBRARY SOLD FOR PAPER VALUE

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
dec 10 2013

ISTANBUL – Hurriyet

More than 140 tons of historical texts were sold to second-hand
booksellers for their paper value by Turkey’s National Library. The
historical pieces were bought by booksellers and collectors, who then
allegedly sold the texts to auctioneers at high prices

DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SONMEZ

Many historical books and texts in the inventory of the National
Library of Turkey were sold to second-hand booksellers for lower
prices and were later bought by collectors.

Around 147 tons of historical texts, including books and magazines
of which there are no records, were sold to second hand booksellers
by the National Library for between 15 and 50 kuruÅ~_ per kilogram.

Second hand booksellers and collectors bought the historical texts
for around 15 to 50 kuruÅ~_ per kilogram and priced and sold them to
auctioneers at higher prices.

Culture and Tourism Minister Omer Celik said they would clamp down
on the corruption in the National Library on Dec. 7 via his Twitter
account.

“We have detected some criminal and corrupted practices over many
works in the National Library,” said Celik in his first tweet over
the corruption in the library.

“The National Library is the memory of the national culture and is
the institution that bridges us with the international culture. It
should be protected cautiously. It will be protected determinedly,”
Celik also tweeted.

Negligence

“It seems that the neglect in [the library] has links to some interests
groups outside [the library]. We will crack down on these,” Celik
added via his twitter account.

The corruption was first detected during a meeting of the library when
it was realized that a historical book with the National Library’s
stamp was sold to the Konya manuscript department.

Around 102 tons of historical books which were not listed or classified
were sent to the waste department in 2007 with 11 trucks.

Also another 45 tons of books were sent to the waste house with a
notice saying that these depots were needed urgently and should be
evacuated. The waste house has opened auctions for these books at
different times and sold them from 15 to 50 kuruÅ~_.

It is possible to find books with stamps of the National Library
in Ankara’s second-hand booksellers which are sold for between 400
and 1000 Turkish Liras. The daily Hurriyet found two books written
in Armenian in 1860 and 1800, and Greek-language Pontus magazine
published in Merzifon in 1913.

December/10/2013

TURKISH PM AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
dec 10 2013

10 December 2013 – 1:22pm

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President
Vladimir Putin have discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Moscow.

The talks were preceded by a meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in Vienna on November 19
and a meeting of their foreign ministers at an OSCE summit in Kiev
on December 4.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey was
interested in a normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian ties. Davugotlu
said a few days before attending the BSEC summit in Yerevan that Turkey
considered it a good moment for peace initiatives for Nagorno-Karabakh.

Sinan Ogan, a member of the Turkish parliament and Director of the
Center for Strategic Studies (TURKSAM), said that Russia and Turkey
had a common interest in the settlement of the conflict. He noted
that Europe and America saw the need for resolution of the problem.

Ogan emphasized that Turkey had thought that Russia was interested
in the conflict. The attitude has now changed and they realized
that isolation of Armenia meant isolation of Russia in the South
Caucasus.Sergey Mikheyev, Director General of the Institute for
Caspian Cooperation said that Russia and Turkey were had a common
interest because Turkey did not want the conflict to escalate. Russia
is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group and always wants the conflict
to be resolved, Turkey wants it only ‘sometimes,’ when it needs to
support Azerbaijan.

The expert added that the offer of Europe to normalize relations with
Turkey for signing the association agreement was in force.

Hasan Selim Ozertem, an analyst of USAK, noted that Nagorno-Karabakh
had played a great role in the Russian-Turkish relations of the past
20 years. Turkey closed the border for Armenia due to occupation of
Azerbaijani territories by Armenians. Attempts of military action to
resolve the conflict may affect Russian-Turkish relations.

MURALI KARTHIKEYAN STUNS LEVON BABUIJAN

The Hindu, India
Dec 10 2013

Young IM Murali Karthikeyan sprung the biggest surprise of the meet
so far by upstaging Armenian GM Levon Babuijan in the sixth round of
the SREI International Grandmasters chess tournament on Tuesday.

The 14-year-old Karthikeyan, who is the National sub-junior champion
and one of the youngest participants in the tournament, brightened
the prospects of picking up his second GM norm after the big win. He
had picked up the first norm at the 11th Delhi International Open
Chess Festival in January this year.

Murali, now on 4.5 points, is in joint second position with eight
others including compatriots GM Deep Sengupta and IM Anurag Mhamal.

Overnight leader, Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan lost to GM Samvel
Ter-Sahakyan of Armenia, who along with IM Jacek Stopa of Poland
jointly share the lead with five points each.

National women’s (Premier) champion, Mary Ann Gomes drew against the
Ukrainian GM Vladislav Borovikov to take her tally to four points.

Meanwhile, GM Tejas Bakre and GM Niaz Murshed of Bangladesh, both
withdrew from the tournament citing health reasons.

Important results (all Indians unless specified): Sixth round:
Marat Dzhumaev (Uzb) 4.5 lost to Samvel Ter-Sahakyan (Arm) 5, Anurag
Mhamal 4.5 drew with Ivan Popov (Rus) 4.5, Mikhail Mozharov (Rus)
4.5 drew with Tornike Sanikidze (geo) 4.5, Merab Gagunashvilli
(Geo) 4 lost to Jacek Stopa (Pol) 5, Surya Sekhar Ganguly 4 drew
with Drazic Sinisa (Srb) 4, Levan Pantsulaia (Geo) 4.5 bt Neelotpal
Das 3.5, Deep Sengupta 4.5 bt Swayams Mishra 3.5, Mary Ann Gomes 4
drew with Vladislav Borovikov (Ukr) 4, Praveen Thipsay 4 drew with
Valeriy Neverov (Ukr) 4, Levon Babujian (Arm) 3.5 lost to Murali
Karthikeyan 4.5, Vahe Baghdasaryan (Arm) 4.5 bt Hovik Hayrapetyan
(Arm) 3.5, Azer Mirzoev (Aze) 3.5 drew with N.R. Visakh 3.5.

DAVUTOGLU WILL NOT VISIT GENOCIDE MEMORIAL, SOURCES SAY

Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers Eduard Nalbandian and Ahmet
Davutoglu sign dangerous protcols in Geneva in 2009

Ankara begins to backpedal on normalization talks during Davutoglu’s
visit.

ANKARA/YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Ankara officially announced that
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had not plans to visit the
Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex while visiting Yerevan on Thursday,
reported Hurriyet Daily News.

On Saturday, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told
Armenpress news agency that instead of making “provocative statements”
regarding regional issues, Davutoglu should visit Dzidzernagapert
Memorial Monument and pay respect to the victims of the Armenian
Genocide.

“The minister is going to Yerevan within the framework of a BSEC
meeting. Visiting the monument is not on his agenda,” a senior Turkish
diplomat told Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish press reported that Davutoglu was going to Armenia with a
message to normalize ties with its neighbor, however preconditioning
that Armenia “cede” at least two of the so-called “occupied
territories” in reference to liberated regions around Artsakh.

On Tuesday however, the Turkish government and media were singing a
difference tune.

Hurriyet Daily News reported that officials in Ankara have cautioned
against high expectations for Davutoglu’s visit to Armenia, but
indicated that there was a chance for “normalization” to follow in
the future.

The Dec. 12 visit will take place on the occasion of a meeting of
the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Turkish officials, speaking to the Hurriyet Daily News, said it
was still not clear whether Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart,
Edward Nalbandian, would hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines
of the BSEC gathering.

“We are not going there with a specific proposal,” a senior Turkish
diplomat told the Daily News, in an apparent reference to several
news reports in the Turkish media suggesting that Turkey would offer
a proposal to the Armenian side in exchange for reopening the border.

“Furthermore, such a proposal would also be premature and wrong,”
added the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“However, if such a bilateral meeting takes place, we will explain
our vision with regard to regional peace, including normalization of
our bilateral relations. Then, the steps that could be taken may come
on the scene,” he said.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Political Affairs Director Giro
Manoyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Tuesday that Davutoglu’s
visit to Armenia is merely a ploy by Turkey to create the illusion that
there are advances in Turkey-Armenia normalization before 2015–the
centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

The only way to normalize relations, Manoyan said, “is to ratify the
Protocols, although as a party we are opposed to the documents.”

Manoyan was referencing the US-led effort in 2009, which yielded in
signing of the dangerous Protocols by Armenia and Turkey. The latter,
however, opted to pre-condition a solution to the Karabakh conflict–in
favor of Azerbaijan–to normalizing relations with Armenia.

Manoyan added that Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has
decided to not attend the BSEC summit because “he has not intention
of showing good intentions and as such he has no need to come [to
Armenia]. However, Davutoglu feels the need to create the false
impression that there is some sort of [normalization] movement.”

“On the occasion of [Davutoglu’s] visit, we should remind Turkey that
it has obligations–lift the blockade of Armenia and recognize the
Armenian Genocide,” Manoyan told RFE/RL.

He also added that a protest was being planned against Davutoglu’s
visit to Armenia by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Nigol
Aghbalian Student Organization. The protest is scheduled to take place
in front of the Armenia Marriott Hotel, where the BSEC meeting will
be held.

I TURNED MY BACK ON ARMENIA

By Apo Sahagian

December 10, 2013

After years of being what I called a die-hard Armenian, this year I
went soft. Maybe it had to do with the pessimism I have towards the
world in general; perhaps it finally crept into my sentiments of my
Armenian heritage. Whatever the cause, I came down from the ladder
of resolute nationalism, while my 18-year-old brother climbed up and
has been going higher every passing day.

I see in him who I used to be: dedicated to the struggle of justice for
the Armenian Genocide, supporting any anti-government protestor in the
streets of Yerevan, and a convinced believer in the unique greatness
of these unique Armenians. It is not that I have lost my commitments
to these ideals. I have only changed my perceptions of them, and with
the changed perceptions, I have re-evaluated my approach to them.

He, along with the rest of my family and close friends, believe me to
have fallen away from my Armenian roots, due to my “supposed” constant
critique of Armenians, gloomy assessments of Armenia (though I correct
that it’s a realistic assessment), and my unorthodox presentation of
Armenian culture. Thus to them, my behavior has been highlighting the
norms that are uncommon-or, to an extent unwanted-in our traditional
communities. I use the word “traditional” in the sense of what
socio-political ideas are dominant.

This past summer, while in Armenia, I decided to wash my hands
clean of the country and return in 10 years. The rising poverty,
evident unemployment, and degradation of justice had made me heavily
disillusioned.

I saw how Armenia has been reduced to a simple breeze on the
international arena, where Russia pulls strings comfortably from Moscow
or the EU threatens our political reforms from Brussels. It is then
you realize that Armenia-as a state, not a country-is a failure that
hasn’t produced a single worthy contribution to the world; it has
only given emigration. The oligarchs have hijacked the government
for their personal benefit, and the opposition is so pathetically
divided and scattered that the likes of Shant Harutyunyan and his
Nazi-loving hooligans have taken over the streets of Yerevan.

Thus, I turned my back on Armenia. Maybe I was too weak in the face of
disappointments. Maybe my expectations had been too high. Maybe the
traditional ideas fed into me by the community no longer had their
effect. I was stuck between a directionless-country in a down spiral
and a lethargic, delusional diaspora on an endless wander. I woke up
to find us a lost nation.

Then I traveled to Western Europe…

It was in the beautiful hills of the Basque country that I, lost
in translation, understood from a stranger that the theory of their
supposed Armenian roots is quite known in the region. We said goodbye
with a simple exchange: “Yo Armenos, tu Basque.”

It was during a stroll in Vienna that I accidentally found an
Armenian couple chatting about the price of jewelry. My self-imposed
introduction triggered only enthusiasm, and we departed after comically
agreeing that “there are a lot of Turks in this city.”

It was a random left turn that brought me in front of the Armenian
embassy in Madrid, “the closest embassy to the Royal Palace,” as the
ambassador stressed when he invited me in for a chat. I left with
this comfortable feeling that for once, the Republic of Armenia had
lived up to its responsibility to the Armenian people, and not only
to the citizens. “Can a French person knock on the French embassy’s
door and sit down with the ambassador,” I later asked myself. I think
we all know the answer.

It was hearing two men arguing in the dark-lit streets of Berlin
that led me to follow them for a good 15 minutes to understand what
language they were speaking, knowing that although it sounded like
a functional mix between Turkish and Russian, it was undoubtedly
Caucasian. And when one of the men sighed, “Vosh insh, vosh insh ara,”
I knew I had just witnessed Hamshen Armenians from Abkhazia debating
in front of the Reichstag.

And finally, it was the chanting of Gregorian music that reminded
me of the goosebump-producing effect that Komitas and Armenian folk
music have on me. I sat in that church and listened to the serene
melodies, interpreting them in my mind as the seducing whispers of
our beautiful mountains.

I found our lost nation, and I joined them in the loss. Although
I still hold my “pessimistic and provocative” views on our people,
and persist in my defiance of the traditional ideals, I have found
pleasure in these disagreements and see it as the only way forward to
a more comprehensive understanding of where we as a nation are heading.

Apo Sahagian is a Jerusalemite-Armenian musician and writer. He holds
a bachelor’s degree in government, diplomacy, and strategy, and is
currently involved with NGOs that work for peace between Palestinians
and Israelis.

GIRO MANOYAN ABOUT THE LONGEST ARMENIAN-TURKISH HANDSHAKING AND DAVUTOGLU’S VISIT

December 10 2013

Giro Manoyan, representative of ARF Armenian Cause and Political
Affairs, is convinced that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s
upcoming visit to Armenia will not affect the Armenian-Turkish
relations. “Nothing should be expected. His visit to Armenia has
nothing to do with the Armenian-Turkish relations. His decision to
attend the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council, to some extent,
is due the attempts of Turkey to create an illusion, they are trying
to show that there is some process in the Armenian-Turkish relations.

But, in reality, there is nothing, they just are trying to create an
impression”, – said Mr. Manoyan to Aravot.am. He does not share the
circulating views that Davutoglu’s visit to Armenia is also expressing
Turkey’s concern about weakening the positions in the region.

Mr. Manoyan does not think that Turkish foreign minister’s visit is
also conditioned with RF President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement
regarding strengthening its position in the Transcaucasus. As said by
Mr. Manoyan, Davutoglu’s visit will not affect the Armenian- Turkish
protocols. “It should affect to the extent that our authorities would
once again remember that there is no progress, and to recall signatures
from the protocols.” He also said that, prior to Davutoglu’s visit, the
publication in the Turkish “Sabah” newspaper regarding the arrangements
on returning 2 liberated territories was also an attempt of creating
an imitation in the progress of the Armenian-Turkish relations. “There
are preconditions from the Turkish side in Armenian-Turkish relations,
but they do not talk about this…

And, generally, this is not a visit to Armenia rather than attending
a conference that will be held in Armenia, just like the President of
Iran attends the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, but this
does not mean that the Iranian-American relations would be a matter
of discussion.” Regarding the longest handshaking between Armenian
and Turkish actors in Tbilisi, yesterday, Mr. Manoyan said, “People
can go for anything just to appear in the Guinness Book, however,
it has nothing to do with Davutoglu’s visit, and the Armenian-
Turkish relations.”

Arpine Simonyan

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