Author: Badalian Vardan

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.

Abusive Police Officer Dismissed from Work – Video

11.02.2013 02:56 epress.am

Arabkir Police Division Deputy Chief Arayik Petrosyan (pictured,
center) was dismissed from his position on Friday, police press
officer Armen Malkhasyan informed Epress.am. Asked whether Petrosyan’s
dismissal is connected to a demonstration that occurred on Halloween,
whereby four activitists placed a pumpkin outside the president’s
residence, the spokesperson replied in the negative. According to him,
the deputy chief’s dismissal is tied to “the lack of efficiency in his
work”.

Petrosyan distinguished himself during protests at Komitas 5 with his
aggressive demeanour and use of force. During one such protest, he
hurled a curse of a sexual nature at one of the residents, a young
girl, whose grandfather demanded honor from the officer and spit on
him. Journalists have reported that they repeatedly heard Petrosyan
insulting activists during protests.

ARMENIENS DE SYRIE
Près de 200 Arméniens de Syrie arrivent chaque semaine en Arménie où
ils sont plus de 10 000

Selon Hranouch Hagopian ministre de la Diaspora, après un arrêt de
quelques semaines, le flot des arrivées des Arméniens de Syrie vers
l’Arménie a repris. D’après la ministre, cette reprise des flots
d’immigrants correspond à la réouverture de la ligne aérienne
Beyrouth-Erevan ainsi que de la sécurisation et de l’activation des
voies de transport entre Alep et le Liban. Près de 200 Arméniens de
Syrie arriveraient désormais chaque semaine en Arménie où leur nombre
dépasse les 10 000 personnes. D’après Hranouch Hagopian un très petit
nombre de ces immigrants se dirigent vers d’autres pays. Ces Arméniens
préféreraient l’Arménie au Liban en raison de son niveau d’éducation
scolaire ainsi que la gratuité de l’enseignement. H. Hagopian a
également affirmé qu’un certain nombre d’organisations de la diaspora
et autres organismes aident le financement de l’installation des
Arméniens de Syrie en Arménie. Parmi ces dernières la Fondation
Gulbenkian, l’UGAB (Union générale arménienne de bienfaisance),
l’Ambassade d’Autriche à Erévan, le gouvernement russe, le fonds
Caritas.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 2 novembre 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

PRESS RELEASE
Analysis Research and Planning for Armenia (ARPA) Foundation
P.O.Box 33603
Granada Hills, CA 91394
Tel: 818-586-9660
Fax: 818-881-0010
Email: [email protected]

ARPA INSTITUTE
Presentation by
Al Eisaian

Why is Armenia `Poor’?

Thursday, November
21, 2013 @ 7:30PM

In the Merdinian
School:13330 Riverside Dr. Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Abstract: In the modern age of abundant information and education,
collaboration is at the heart of true innovation and market
success. Commitment, Competence and Connectedness are the keys to
increasing the probability of success. The presenter’s experiences
derived from a 40-year ukhd (pledge) in 1999 to visit Armenia every
year and help Hayasdan develop into a sustainable and prosperous
country. Now in the 14th year of this ukhd, what the experiences in
Armenia have shown and the probable answers to one important question:
“Why is Armenia `poor’, will be discussed? The presentation will try
to respond to the following questions: Is it due to lack of natural
resources? Is it due to the twin blockades of Turkey and Azerbaijan?
Is it because of lack of proper support from Diaspora and the
international community? Is it due to inadequate governance? Is it due
to inadequate and outdated educational systems at all levels? Is it
due to an improper mindset, left over from Soviet times? Is it due to
lack of strategic planning? These and similar issues will be addressed
and discussed, in light of his 14 year experiences with Armenia.

Al Eisaian is the Founder and Chairman of IconApps, a mobile data
platform company, and the developer of the popular `Intuition: Mom’s
Personal Assistant’ app on the AppStore. Al served as the Global Head
of Product Strategy and Marketing for Opera Solutions, a global
Big-Data analytics company based in NY from 2010-2011. In 2005 he
Co-Founded and served as Chairman and CEO (until 2008) and Executive
Chairman of the Integrien Corporation–until its acquisition by VMWare
in 2010. Eisaian Co-Founded CreationPoint Systems, a systems
management consultancy, from 2001-2005. He served as the SVP and
General Manager of LowerMyBills, Inc., later acquired by Experian
Corporation, from 2000-2001. Al has also served as Associate Partner
at USWebCKS, Business Development Director at LaunchPad (an idealab
company) and Business Unit Manager at NMB Corporation. Al is the
author of three staged plays, `Who Gives a Damn?’ staged in 1992,
`Chaos Unlimited!’ staged in 1996, and `Emptiness’ staged in
2004-2005. He has earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BSEE
from Oklahoma State University. An avid traveler, hiker and yoga
practitioner, he has witnessed human kindness and oneness in nearly 30
countries in 4 continents.

For information please contact Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818) 453-0618
or [email protected]

AMAA OPENS WEST COAST OFFICE

Thursday, October 31st, 2013

Armenian Missionary Association of America

GLENDALE- After several meetings and considerable prayer, the Board
of Directors of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA)
approved a reorganization of the Association and the expansion of
its services.

Effective November 1, the current Executive Director, Levon Filian,
will begin the process of opening a West Coast Office of the AMAA
in Glendale, CA, and give direction to that office as the West Coast
Executive Director. “For some time, there has been discussion about
opening a field office in California to improve the work of our
organization by its proximity to the large Armenian Community in
Southern California. We are hopeful that there will be an official
opening of the office in January 2014,” said Dr. Joseph Zeronian,
President of the AMAA Board.

The Restructuring Implementation Committee, Co-Chaired by Louis
Kurkjian and Thomas Momjian, is now in the process of searching for an
Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer to lead the AMAA and give
leadership to the Paramus, NJ Office, the West Coast Office, and the
Yerevan Office. It is expected that it will take several months to
identify and screen candidates and eventually call a person to this
important responsibility.

In the interim, the Board of Directors has acted to call Rev. Mgrdich
Melkonian as Interim Executive Director/CEO. He will take on that
responsibility November 1, 2013. In that capacity, he will direct the
activities of all AMAA personnel and be responsible to the Board of
Directors. Rev. Melkonian, who is in the United States on his rotation
between the U.S. and Armenia, is a well-respected and experienced
member of the Armenian clergy and is very familiar with the mission
work of the AMAA.

Founded in 1918, the AMAA is a non-profit charitable organization
whose purpose is to serve the physical and spiritual needs of people
everywhere, both at home and overseas. The AMAA is a nonsectarian
Christian organization that renders its services to those in need
without discrimination. To fulfill this worldwide mission, the AMAA
maintains a range of educational, evangelistic, relief, social service,
church, and child care ministries in twenty-four countries around the
world and often partners with other relief agencies to aid disaster
stricken areas throughout the world. For additional information,
visit

EXCHANGE TRADE BETWEEN BELARUSIAN, ARMENIAN BUSINESS TO RISE

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Oct 31 2013

30.10.2013 19:40

MINSK, 30 October (BelTA) – Belarusian and Armenian businessmen
intend to step up trade and economic cooperation through the wider
use of exchange instruments. The matter was discussed at the first
international forum of the Interexchange Electronic Union in Yerevan,
Armenia on 28-30 October, representatives of OAO Belarusian Universal
Commodity Exchange (BUCE) told BelTA.

The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange and the Yerevan Commodity
and Raw Material Exchange were the ones to organize the forum.

Representatives of Ukraine and Kazakhstan, which are also part of
the Interexchange Electronic Union, took part in the forum as well.

The exchange institutions of Belarus and Armenia are only making the
first steps in establishing mutual exchange trade. In particular,
Belarus intends to cooperate with Armenia in exporting forest and
timber products via exchange trade. The forum focused on the export
and import of commodities using exchange trade mechanisms in addition
to government purchases via digital auctions and the promotion of
interexchange cooperation.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Armenia
Stepan Sukhorenko remarked during the forum that the promotion
of interexchange cooperation will contribute to better quality
and quantity parameters of Belarusian-Armenian trade and economic
relations.

Many participants of the forum praised the key role of the Belarusian
Universal Commodity Exchange in establishing contacts between business
circles of several partnering states. In view of that Director General
of the Minsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Alexander Fedorchuk stated that digital exchange is an important
tool for optimizing the processes involved in executing foreign trade
contracts. They preclude many technical barriers that can impede trade.

A business matchmaking session involving representatives of the
Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as businessmen
from Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine took place. Arrangements were
made that will become the foundation for vigorous cooperation between
the sides on mutually beneficial terms, noted the BUCE representatives.

The Interexchange Electronic Union was created in November 2010 by
the exchange institutions of Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

Russia participates in the organization as an observer. The Union
is meant to assist international trade between companies in the
Commonwealth of Independent States and to increase export and import
contracts. Cooperation between participants of the Union is performed
via the common digital field International Trade, which reflects
information about commodities available for sale in an interactive way.

OAO Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange was established in line
with Council of Ministers resolution No. 1719 of 30 December 2003.

BUCE facilitates trade in metal products, forestry products,
agricultural products, industrial and consumer goods, and futures. The
exchange trade system unites over 12,300 participants from 56
countries, including 2,600 non-residents.

ARMENIAN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESS ISN’T DEVELOPING

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 31 2013

31 October 2013 – 11:44am

David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

The sphere of small and medium-sized business (SMB), which is still
the basis of the Armenian economy, isn’t developing due to unbearable
taxation. This is one of reasons for the migration of businessmen,
which leads to a reduction in demand for SMB goods among the
population. SMB is under a extremely strong negative influence which
can be called “the ripple effect.” It can be concluded, after reading
the results of the survey “SMB in Armenia: the current situation,
tendencies, development, and applied instruments,” which has been
conducted by the consulting company Ameria.

Considering the fact that the share of SMB in Armenia’s GDP was
about 43%, the problems of the sphere had to cause concerns among
top officials. However, it isn’t taking place. According to surveys
involving 1003 enterprises, only 5.1% of Armenian SMB entities are
medium-sized enterprises, 20.2% are small, while the other 74.7%
are micro-entities. 47.6% are involved in trading; 34.4% – in the
service sector; 15.5% – in industry; 2.2% – in construction.

According to the director of development of the group of companies
Ameria, Tigran Dzhrbashyan, the SMB sphere suffered a significant
fall in comparison to 2012. And Armenia hasn’t established favorable
conditions for development of the sphere. Small and medium-sized
enterprises, especially micro-entities, remain in a profound
depression. This is encouraged by huge migration from the regions. One
of main problems in the path of SMB development is heavy taxation,
which traditionally attacks micro-businessmen. As a result, some of
them have shut down, others are almost bankrupt.

Another negative factor is the low accessibility of loans for
enterprises working in the regions, i.e. pay-back periods are short,
while rates are enormously high. Average dram credit rates are about
18.5%, dollar credit rates – 14.5%. This means that an SMB is an
instrument of profit for commercial banks.

Low demand in the SMB sphere can be compensated only by growing
exports. Exporting enterprises are least vulnerable to the fluctuations
of internal demand. Considering the fact that SMB goods are unlikely to
be popular in Europe, Armenian businessmen will have to wait to join
the Customs Union. At least this can be concluded from the results
of the surveys by Armenian experts. .

EGYPTIAN POLITICAL SATIRE BY AMR OKASHA IN ROME

ANSA Med, Italy
Oct 31 2013

Vignettes and history of satire at the Academy of Egypt

(ANSAmed) – ROME, OCTOBER 31 – The recent history of Egypt as told
through the biting satire of the vignettist Amr Okasha is on display in
Rome through November 12. Part of the activities for the reopening of
the Academy of Egypt in the Italian capital, the forty caricatures by
the young artist are a vehicle for him to tell of his experience and
that of the many that came before him. The result is a fascinating
look at political satire through drawing, a practice that dates
back to the Khedives, “when the only ones to create vignettes were
Armenians, Greeks, Spaniards and Turks, and only foreign magazines
published them”.

At 42 years old and after 38 years of drawing, Okasha is one of
the most well-known Egyptian caricaturists. He mainly publishes in
the newspaper Al-Wafd – for whom he has been working since 1991 –
and Al-Dostur. Many of his vignettes, however, have been taken up by
English-language media outlets such as the Associated Press, BBC and
The Economist. Others, like the Washington Post, instead often ask him
to express his opinion through his satirical images. “When Mubarak
fell,” he said, “I drew a vignette for them: the destruction of a
statue of a pharaoh, surrounded by people running in all directions
with fragments of it in hand.

Egyptians were contributing to the dissolution of the regime”. The
second vignette published, he continued, “was one in which a sailboat
flying a US flag had just thrown President Mubarak overboard. Three
sharks surrounded him: Turkey, Iran and Israel”. The caricatures are
much more eloquent than many editorials put together. Portraying the
powers that be – in the case in point, Mubarak – has never been easy.

“Especially since it was prohibited to draw him in his entirely. The
first vignette I was able to draw him completely was one in 2010
during Obama’s historic speech in Cairo.” Before then, “it was
impossible to touch him, his wife Suzanne or his sons – especially
Gamal.” Censorship has existed to varying extents in all eras – in the
time of the Khedives as well as under the British protectorate, the age
of King Fouad and then Farouk. “Farouk,” Okasha said, “prohibited any
caricature from bearing his features.” At that time the first vignettes
in Egypt were by foreigners and were published mainly in the Armenian
and French press. “Publishing the first vignettes in Egypt was Le
Journal d’Abou Naddara, founded in 1877 by Yacoub Sanou,” Okasha said.

The father of modern Egyptian political caricature was instead the
Armenian Saroukhan in 1924-1925.

“We had to wait until 1929 before there were Egyptian drawers, as
well as the appearance of the historic publication Rose Al-Youssef.”

Pressure on newspapers did not let up with the coming of Nasser. “In
the 1950s there was another crackdown. In every daily or magazine,”
Okasha said, “there was someone – not a journalist – charged with
monitoring who set down rules as to what could be published or what
the vignette of the following day could be on.” Foreign policy and
the Arab-Israeli conflict was the major issue focused on in those
years. After the October War, however, the attention shifted to
domestic policy and social issues.

Okasha’s vignettes now take aim at any and every issue – or almost.

Having declared his opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood, under Morsi
both he and his family received death threats. “Under the Beblawi
government, instead, nothing is prohibited,” he said – but avoids
vignettes on the military and General Al-Sissi. “I don’t want to do
anything that could harm the current situation,” he said. “We are
going through a very difficult time.” His next vignette will be coming
out in Al-Wafd on Saturday. “Beblawi as a tiny boxer, surrounded by
four heavy-weights: strikes, terrorism, inflation and the economic
crisis. I wonder whether he will be able to defeat them.” (ANSAmed).