Author: Badalian Vardan

GEORGIA TO RETURN OVER 470 THOUSAND KG OF POTATOES TO ARMENIA

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

Friday,
November
01

Georgia will return over 470 thousand kg of potatoes to Armenia.

According to the Revenue Service of Georgian Finance Ministry, during
the primary inspection of a cargo at the Sadakhlo checkpoint, signs
of potato contamination with brown rot and E Synchytrium endobioticum
microorganisms were revealed, Rosbalt new agency reported.

Potato samples were sent to a special laboratory for testing. As a
result, contamination of 114,500 kg of potato with brown rot disease
was confirmed, while samples of remaining 356,200 kg are still being
examined.

The correspondent of Aysor.am asked the State Food Safety Service
(SFSS) of Agriculture Ministry to provide an explanation.

‘The cargo underwent a check at the Armenian checkpoint, but
no suspicious microorganisms were found on potatoes,” SFSS
spokeswoman Armine Sukiasian said, adding that the information about
sending samples for testing is doubtful. In her words, the information
does not correspond to reality.

“The head of the SFSS went to Georgia on Tuesday to find out
what happened. He will meet with representatives of the respective
structure to discuss the problem,” she noted.

Cases of potato contamination with Synchytrium endobioticum were
recorded in Krasnoselsk village of Gegharkunik province, but potatoes
were not exported from that village to Georgia, Armine Sukiasian said.

TOP POLICE OFFICIAL DISMISSED

15:03 01/11/2013 ” LAW

Deputy head of Arabkir Police Department Arayik Petrosyan has been
relieved of his position this morning, police press service told
Panorama.am.

Petrosyan is known for violence against participants of civic actions
in Yerevan, including the protest action against the construction of
high rise at 5 Komitas Street.

Source: Panorama.am

OPINIONS DIVIDED OVER RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE COMMANDER’S STATEMENT

15:35 ~U 01.11.13

The statement by Andrey Ruzinsky, Commander of Russian Military Base
#102 stationed in Gyumri, Armenia, was his personal statement, Koryun
Nahapetyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense, National
Security and Internal Affairs, Parliament of Armenia, told Tert.am.

“I do not think it is a U-turn. Only authorized representatives
can make statements on behalf of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization. And the statement by the Russian military base
commander should not be viewed as being in conflict with the previous
statements,” Mr Nahapetyan said.

“The politico-military situation in the area of responsibility of the
Russian military base remains strained because of possible aggravation
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.”

As to the security guarantees for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh the
statement may imply, Mr Nahapetyan said: “The point is that Armenia’s
membership in the CSTO is a component of the security system. In
this respect, Russian forces’ presence and involvement in different
frameworks is within the CSTO rules of procedure,” he said.

Rubik Hakobyan, a lawmaker of the opposition Heritage party, who was
formerly Armenia’s consul in St Petersburg, thinks just the other way
round. According to him, Razinsky’s statement was made on behalf of
the CSTO.

Asked whether there has been a precedent, he said, “I don’t remember
whether or not there has been a precedent, but the military base is
not stationed there just for formal purposes,” he said.

Responding to the remark that the base, nonetheless, keeps watch
over the Armenian-Turkish border, he said, “That’s a CSTO border
too. It forms part of the CSTO, so it stems directly from the CSTO
regulations.”

Commenting on the statement, Masis Mayilyan, the president of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Public Council for Foreign Policy and Security,
said it was unconventional.

“It is still, of course, early to speak of a policy change over the
security of Nagorno-Karabakh until high-ranking officials publicly
confirm the commander’s words,” he added.

LE CIRQUE D’EREVAN DONNERA DES SPECTACLES DE CHARITE DANS LA PROVINCE DE LORI

ARMENIE

Le Cirque d’Erevan se produira dans la province septentrionale de
Lori a annonce son directeur, Sos Petrosyan. Il a dit qu’au cours de
la tournee de cinq jours dans la region le cirque se produira pour
des unites militaires et la population rurale locale.

Il dit que la troupe avait deja donne des spactacles en Juin et
Juillet dans la region de Tavush et au Nagorno-Karabagh.

Le bâtiment du cirque d’Erevan a ete demoli en Septembre 2012 pour
construire a sa place un complexe moderne en conformite avec les normes
internationales. Le nouveau bâtiment aura plus de sièges. Leur nombre
passera de 1563 a 2050, et la hauteur de la coupole sera de 21 mètres,
au lieu de 16 mètres. L’ancien bâtiment a ete construit en 1962.

vendredi 1er novembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LE GOUVERNEMENT ARMENIEN MET FIN AUX ALLOCATIONS CHOMAGE

ARMENIE

L’Assemblee nationale d’Armenie a adopte mercredi en première lecture
un projet de loi du gouvernement qui abolira de modestes avantages
verses aux milliers de chômeurs.

Selon les donnees du gouvernement, il y a actuellement quelque 70000
personnes sans emploi enregistrees auprès des divisions competentes
du ministère du Travail et des Affaires sociales.

Environ 10000 d’entre eux recoivent 18.000 drams (45 $) par mois
de l’Etat.

La maigre somme est la raison pour laquelle la plupart des personnes
au chômage dans le pays ne se soucient pas d’etre officiellement
enregistre. Le gouvernement estime leur nombre a environ 200000.

Le gouvernement a declare que les allocations de chômage sont de peu
d’utilite a leurs destinataires et devraient etre supprimes au total.

Hakob Hakobian, le president d’une commission parlementaire sur les
affaires sociales, a presente des arguments similaires avant le passage
preliminaire du projet de loi. Il a dit que les fonds budgetaires
alloues a cette aide devraient etre consacres a l’organisation de
cours de recyclage pour les personnes incapables de trouver un emploi.

L’opposition dans le Parlement armenien a categoriquement rejete
ces explications. Des deputes de l’opposition ont declare que le
gouvernement devrait au contraire augmenter les benefices.

L’un d’eux, Artsvik Minasian, a dit que la mesure gouvernementale
serait contraire a une disposition de la Constitution qui stipule que
l’Armenie est un ” Etat social “. Un autre depute, Naira Zohrabian,
a affirme que le gouvernement veut economiser de l’argent pour financer
les hausses de salaires promis aux employes du secteur public ;

Certains beneficiaires des prestations ont egalement denonce cette
mesure, disant que les 18000 drams leur permettent de repondre
a certains de leurs besoins fondamentaux. ” Cela a ete une très
assistance a des gens comme moi ” a declare Sedrak Baghdassarian, un
resident d’Erevan actuellement au chômage. ” Au moins, nous pouvons
payer nos factures d’electricite avec cet argent “.

vendredi 1er novembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

KARABAGH : L’ACTIVITE DES MEDIATEURS SUR FOND DE RUMEURS DE PLANS POUR UNE MISSION DE MAINTIEN DE LA PAIX DIRIGEE PAR LA RUSSIE DANS LA ZONE DU CONFLIT

ARMENIE

Les co-presidents du Groupe de Minsk de l’Organisation pour la securite
et la cooperation en (OSCE) ont l’intention de visiter la region du
conflit du Haut-Karabagh a nouveau debut Novembre. Selon les medias,
ils ont l’intention de discuter de la question de l’organisation
d’une reunion des presidents de l’Armenie et de l’Azerbaïdjan.

Près de deux ans se sont ecoules depuis la dernière reunion de Serge
Sarkissian et Ilham Aliyev et cela est en grande partie attribuable
a des elections tenues en Armenie et en Azerbaïdjan au cours de cette
periode. Les deux leaders ont ete reelus presidents dans leurs pays,
obtenant ainsi un mandat pour le règlement du problème du Karabagh.

Les presidents peuvent etre ” prets “, mais y a-t-il un accord entre
les trois copresidents du Groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE – les Etats-Unis,
la France et la Russie – sur les principes du règlement ? Tous les
trois pays ont longtemps parle du caractère inacceptable du statu quo
dans la zone de conflit, mais chacun de ces pays ne permet pas aux
autres de changer le statu quo en sa faveur. Il y a trois ans la France
et les Etats-Unis, en effet, ont saborde l’intention de la Russie
de changer le statu quo. Maintenant, Moscou va apparemment faire une
autre tentative afin de le changer. La question est de savoir jusqu’où
sa tentative est en accord avec Paris et Washington cette fois-ci.

La politique pour la creation d’une Union eurasienne qui a ete proclame
comme un imperatif des politiques russes par Vladimir Poutine couvre
la totalite de l’espace post-sovietique, y compris les republiques
dites non reconnus. Lors d’une recente conference de presse a Minsk le
president d’un des pays membres de l’Union douanière, la Bielorussie,
Alexandre Loukachenko a declare que le format de l’adhesion a l’Union
douanière couvre egalement pour les entites non reconnus, y compris
le Haut-Karabagh.

Bako Sahakian president de la Republique du Haut-Karabagh n’a pas
nie une telle possibilite, en disant que si le Karabagh recoit une
invitation a rejoindre l’Union douanière, ils discuteront de cette
offre.

Il est a noter que l’Azerbaïdjan n’a nullement reagi a la decision
de l’Armenie de se joindre a l’Union douanière et aussi face a la
probabilite de l’entree du Karabagh. Certains experts estiment que cela
pourrait indiquer la presence d’accords entre Moscou et Bakou. Et ces
dispositions peuvent concerner la mise en place de forces de maintien
de la paix de l’Organisation du Traite de securite collective (OTSC,
un pacte de defense des six anciennes nations sovietiques dirige par
la Russie). Si Moscou deploie sa force pas le long de la frontière de
la Republique du Haut Karabagh en cours, mais un peu plus profondement
a l’interieur de la première ligne de defense, l’Azerbaïdjan pourrait
obtenir un couple convoite de districts.

Apparemment, la visite inattendue du co-president americain du Groupe
de Minsk James Warlick a Bakou avant le voyage de tous les mediateurs
etait liee a ces intentions presumees. A Bakou, Warlick a rencontre
le President Aliyev ainsi que le ministre des Affaires etrangères
azerbaïdjanais, et de la capitale de l’Azerbaïdjan, il est alle a
Londres ” pour discuter de la question du Karabagh “.

Peut-etre que Washington n’aime pas les accords separes entre la
Russie d’un côte et de l’Armenie et de l’Azerbaïdjan de l’autre.

Certains experts militaires proches des cercles du pouvoir en Armenie
disent que l’Armenie n’est pas contre le deploiement des forces
de l’OTSC au Karabagh. Recemment, le secretaire general de l’OTSC
Nikolay Bordyuzha a declare que des unites de maintien de la paix
de l’OTSC ont deja ete crees et ils ont depose une demande auprès
de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour un mandat participatif
aux operations de maintien de la paix. A la question de savoir si le
Karabagh pourrait devenir le lieu de la première mission de maintien de
la paix des forces de l’OTSC, Bordyuzha a dit qu’ils ne fixent pas une
telle tâche, mais si les presidents de l’Armenie et de l’Azerbaïdjan
sont d’accords …

Par Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow

vendredi 1er novembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

Yeni Musavat: Azerbaijan lost more than 5,000 soldiers in post-war period

17:49 02/11/2013 » SOCIETY

Azerbaijan has not yet announced a specific number of victims though
21 years have passed after the end of Karabakh war. The newspaper
“Yeni Musavat” conducted its own investigation and found out that the
major losses of the Azerbaijani army were on the Aghdam region, as
well as at winter and spring of 1994 in Qelbajar. Because of the
committed strategic errors, thousands of Azerbaijani fighters have
been killed.

According to the newspaper, 20,000 people were lost at the Karabakh
war in Azerbaijan, 50,000 were injured and 486 people are still
missing. The most serious losses were in Aghdam region. There it
reached 7,000.

“However, the losses are not limited with the period of hostilities
only. After signing a cease-fire in 1994, the Azerbaijani army lost
thousands of soldiers. According to our data, Azerbaijani army has
lost more than 5,000 servicemen since 1995 up to now,” the newspaper
writes.

Azerbaijani officials often present different figures of casualties of
armed forces suffered during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in order
to understate the number of losses. For example, if the previous
President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev in June 1994 spoke of 21,000
deaths, than Ilham Aliyev in an interview to “Al Jazeera” (October
2011) stated about 13-15 thousand dead and missing Azerbaijanis. It is
noteworthy that in February of 2007 a group of 9 Azerbaijani NGOs and
3 experts released their data, according to which in the course of
hostilities in Karabakh 24,000 Azerbaijani soldiers have been killed,
and another 4.5 thousand are missing.

Azerbaijani officials also present different numbers of disabled
during the Karabakh war – from 10 to 50 thousand. Azerbaijani
officials also called a different number of disabled Karabakh war –
from 10 to 50 thousand.

Trend, Azerbaijan
Nov 2 2013

Armenian war prisoner in Azerbaijan asks to be handed over to third country

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 2 /Trend E. Mehtiev/

Armenian prisoner of war, Akop Injigulyan expressed his desire to be
handed over to a third country, during a meeting with the Chairman of
Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO), Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade,
CMO told Trend on Nov. 2.

The war prisoner said that in the Armenian army he was tortured while
in Azerbaijan he is treated with care.

It should be noted that Pashazade met with the Armenian prisoner of
war on November 1 at the request of the Armenian Catholicos Karekin
II. During the meeting Pashazade got to know whether the war prisoner
wanted to return to his country.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry regards Azerbaijani claims on Hakob
Injighulyan as falsification

16:29, 2 November, 2013

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani information upon the
details of the meeting between Caucasian Muslims
Board, Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazade and the Armenian captive in
Azerbaijan Hakob Injighulyan does not inspire any confidence, it is
an entire falsification. The press secretary of the Defense Ministry
of the Republic of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan pointed out it in a
conversation with Armenpress News Agency commenting on the
interpretation introduced by the Azerbaijani side as if Injighulyan
has refused to return to the Republic of Armenia because of being
subjected to violence. `We did not expect anything else from the
Azerbaijani side, it is the consecutive `Humanitarian’ step of
Azerbaijan. We do not believe in what they interpret about Hakob
Injighulyan, their interpretation does not inspire any confidence, it
is an entire falsification,’ the press secretary of the Defense
Ministry of the Republic of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan underscored.

The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan has
stated for many times that Hakob Injighulyan will not
be subjected to criminal liability after coming back to his hometown,
as he appeared in the Azerbaijani side because of the inability to
orient himself in the locality when carrying out his service.

Caucasian Muslims Board, Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazade on November 2 by
the request of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians met the Armenian captive Hakob Injighulyan
who is kept in Azerbaijan. Caucasian Muslims Board, Sheikh
Allahshukur Pashazade is going to send a letter to His Holiness
Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians upon the
meeting. According to Azerbaijani information, Hakob Injighulyan
thanked for the meeting and turned to Primate of Baku and Azerbaijan
of
the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Alexander Ishein, the head of
the Jewish community in Azerbaijan Melikh Yevdaev and the
head of the Catholic community in Baku Vladimir Fekete with a request
to transfer him to the third country.

Hakob Injighulyan, born in 1991, at about 03:00 at night of August 7-8
during his service did not manage to orient in the territory and
crossed the Karabakh-Azerbaijan border and appeared on the territory
protected by the rival’s troops. On August 8 the Armenian Office of
the International Committee of the Red Cross applied to the ICRC Baku
Office on the incident. Recently Hakob Injighulyan gave an
interview to one of the Azerbaijani TV channels. On August 20 the
delegation of the ICRC Baku Office met with Hakob Injighulyan and
passed him a letter from his family. In general the information
provided concerning the meeting was quite brief. It is known only that
the
Armenian serviceman as well transferred a letter to his family. On
August 15 the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia David
Tonoyan held a regular meeting with the International Committee of the
Red Cross delegate in Armenia Dragana Rankovich. During the
meeting Rankovich informed that according to the information from the
ICRC office in Baku “they are confident that they will soon get the
date of the visit with Hakob Injighulyan”.

Armenian jewellery catalogue to be released ahead of Genocide anniv.

November 2, 2013 – 17:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Jewellers Foundation (AJF), jointly with
the Russian Ethnographic Museum in St. Petersburg plan to release the
early 20th century Armenian jewellery catalogue in 2014.

As the AJF founder, Nishi Pearl Company co-founder, Canadian GEM
President Pierre Akkelian toldPanARMENIAN.Net the catalogue’s release
will be timed to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The history of the Ethnographic Museum-stored Armenian jewellery
started when a Russian-Jewish museum representative visited Van and
Vaspurakan in 1916, while the Armenian Genocide was ongoing. He
purchased major quantities of jewellery once owned by Armenians and
passed them to the Russian Ethnographic Museum.

After the 1917 Russian revolution, the jewellery was moved to vaults,
and later, completely forgotten. Last year, Armenian government was
informed about the fact, immediately getting in touch with the AJA.
“We hastily arrived at the Museum, to try and forestall Turkey which
planned to appropriate the jewellery, having leant about it as well,’
Akkelian said. `The origin of the pieces is beyond doubt Armenian,
with Armenian-language inscriptions clearly visible on them,’ he said.

As he noted, the best pieces will be selected among several hundred to
be featured in the catalogue. The catalogue is planned to be released
in 5000 copies.

`We need to use every opportunity to boost worldwide awareness of the
Armenian jewellers’ works,’ Akkelian stressed.

YerevanShow-2013 3rd international jewellery exhibition kicked off in
Armenian capital October 28 to last through October 30.

Karen Demirchyan Sports & Concert Complex hosted the Armenian
Jewellers Association-initiated event held under the high patronage of
President Serzh Sargsyan.

Armenia is the only country worldwide to celebrate Jeweller’s Day as a
state holiday (marked on the last Sunday in October.)

Participating in the exhibition were well-known jewellery and watch
manufacturers and distributors from Armenia, Russia, U.S., Canada,
France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE., UK, Lebanon, Egypt,
Thailand, Hong Kong, Argentina, China, Jordan, Israel, Greece and
other countries.

The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) president Gaetano Cavalieri,
Malca-Amit Global Limited CEO Nigel Paxman and other top figures in
the jewellery production sector attended the event.

A new research foundation – Armenian Jewellers Foundation (AJF) – was
also be introduced at the event.