Author: Badalian Vardan

EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE: THE PROTOCOL ON ARMENIA’S PARTICIPATION IN THE EU PROGRAMMES IS NOT APPLIED TO NAGORNO KARABAKH

APA, Azerbaijan
Oct 24 2013

[ 24 October 2013 11:50 ]

The European Parliament strongly criticized Armenia’s accession to
the Customs Union

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA. The European Parliament has
held discussions regarding the recommendations prepared by Polish
rapporteur Tomasz PorÄ~Yba on “The Framework Agreement between the
European Union and the Republic of Armenia on the general principles
for the participation of the Republic of Armenia in Union programmes”.

APA reports that Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union in the course
of discussions for more than two years during the negotiations with
the European Union before the summit in Vilnius and its double game
have caused serious anger of European parliamentarians.

The European parliamentarians touched on the gross violation of
human rights in Armenia, crackdown on the civil society and religious
communities, including the intolerance in relation to minority faiths
such as Catholics and Jehovah’s Witnesses and the increase of radical
tendencies. Ulrike Lunacek, representative of the Green Party and
Austrian MEP, raised the issue of the occupation of the Azerbaijani
territories by Armenia and noted that the Armenian citizens currently
living in Nagorno Karabakh should not be allowed participating in
the EU programmes.

Clarifying the parliamentarian’s questionnaire, the European External
Action Service said that the protocol on Armenia’s participation
in the EU programmes is not applied to Nagorno Karabakh. According
to the paragraph #9 of the protocol, its clauses are applied only
to the territory of Armenia. Explaining the issue in terms of the
international law, the European External Action Service has announced
that only institutions recognized within the external borders of
Armenia can benefit from these programmes. As for visa facilitation
between the EU and Armenia, according to the second article of this
Agreement, it was emphasized that the terms are valid only for the
citizens of Armenia.

This once again proves that despite various steps taken by Armenia,
the occupied territories of Azerbaijan have never been regarded and
will not be regarded as Armenia’s territory by the international
community and the European Union.

$250 MILLION USD INVESTED IN ARMENIAN RAILWAY

The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 24 2013

Thursday, October 24 Approximately $250 million USD was invested in
Armenian Railways also known as the South Caucasus railways for the
last five years. This money is targeted to modernize the infrastructure
and to comply the world standards.

South Caucasus railway is the daughter company of Russian Railways.

The track of around 300 km has been repaired. Around 412,000 sleepers
have been replaced. Armenian railways will be run by Russian railways.

(The Messenger)

WASHINGTON: SPEECH OF HON. JIM COSTA OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, TO RECOGNIZE JERRY TARKANIAN

US Official News
October 23, 2013 Wednesday

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Washington

The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the
following Speech:

Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jerry Tarkanian
or “Tark the Shark,” for being inducted into the Naismith Memorial
Basketball Hall of Fame. Nationwide, Jerry is most recognized for
his achievements as the basketball coach for University of Nevada,
Las Vegas (UNLV), but in California’s 16th Congressional District,
we know Jerry as California State University, Fresno’s (Fresno State)
spirited and energetic former head basketball coach. Fresno State is
Jerry’s alma mater, and the community is very proud to say so.

Jerry was born in Euclid, Ohio, and is the son of Armenian immigrants.

He moved halfway across the country to get an education and play
basketball. In 1955, he graduated from Fresno State, and later earned
his master’s degree in Educational Management from the University
of Redlands.

Jerry began his coaching career at San Joaquin Memorial High School
in Fresno. He then went on to coach high school basketball in Southern
California, and then coached at Riverside City College from 1961-1966
and Pasadena City College from 1966-1968. Jerry was successful at
the city college level, and brought four consecutive teams to the
California Junior College Championships.

Jerry coached his first Division I team at California State University,
Long Beach from 1968-1973. As a coach during the late 60’s, he defied
some of the social norms of the time by becoming one of the first
coaches to start more than three African-American players. He is also
one of the first coaches to recognize the advantages of coaching junior
college athletes. Jerry took a personal interest in his players and
wanted them to succeed on and off the court. He reached out to young
men who lived in inner-cities and normally would not have access to
a higher education.

In 1973, Jerry moved to Nevada to become head coach at UNLV. During
his tenure, he made four Final Four appearances, and in 1990 won the
NCAA Division I National Championship. For many years to come, Jerry
would be recognized as the individual who turned around the basketball
program at UNLV and made it into a winning program. When his career
ended at UNLV, Jerry returned to Fresno and coached at his alma mater
from 1995-2002. For six years in a row, his teams had 20-win seasons.

Jerry coached 42 players who were drafted by the NBA, including 12
first-round selections. Some of his most notable players include:
Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Armen Gilliam, and Sidney Green. He
also coached Roscoe and Clifton Pondexter also known as the Pondexter
brothers who were a powerhouse at San Joaquin Memorial and have since
left a legacy at the high school.

Due to the efforts made by Jerry and the “Stadium Builders” in the
mid 1990’s, The Savemart Center was built. For years, there had been
discussions regarding an on-campus arena at Fresno State, but it was
not made into a reality until Jerry began his successful coaching
career at the university. When he finished his coaching career, Jerry
worked as the Senior Development Consultant for the Savemart Center.

Jerry is appreciated by individuals throughout our nation, but he is
especially treasured in Fresno, California. Central Valley residents
take pride in Fresno State, and it was an honor to have Jerry leading
our Bulldogs on the basketball court.

Jerry is married to Lois Tarkanian and they have four children and
11 grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect that I ask my colleagues in the
House of Representatives to recognize Coach Jerry Tarkanian as he is
recognized for all of the contributions that he has made to the game
of basketball.

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ARMENIA MUST ASSUME ALL OBLIGATIONS TO JOIN CUSTOMS UNION – BELARUS

October 24, 2013 | 18:27

President of Belarus said Armenia should understand clearly what the
country needs to do on the way to integration, the way which has been
already passed Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Alexander Lukashenko touched upon Armenia’s accession during the
meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council being held in Minsk

“Armenia must assume all the obligations in full,” he emphasized.

According to him, the Member States of the Customs Union – Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan – must work out mechanisms of interaction
with other countries wishing to join the Customs Union or abstaining
from accession.

“On the one hand, we see Armenia’s intention to join our integration
platform, on the other Ukraine, not a stranger to us, wants to be
associated with the EU. In any event, it is necessary to develop
constructive mechanisms of interaction between the member states and
these countries,” Lukashenko said.

Belarus, he said, welcomes the accession of new partners, RIA Novosti
reported.

Earlier, Lukashenko did not rule out that a certain document on
Armenia’s intention to join the Customs Union could be signed at a
meeting in Minsk

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ANDREY IVANOV: RUSSIA SEES NO PROBLEM REGARDING NAGORNYY KARABAKH IN CASE OF ARMENIA’S JOINING THE CUSTOMS UNION

by Marianna Lazarian

ARMINFO
Thursday, October 24, 17:54

Russia sees no problem regarding Nagornyy Karabakh in case of Armenia’s
joining the Customs Union, Russian Embassy’s counsellor in Armenia,
Andrey Ivanov, said at today’s press-conference.

“I arrived in Yerevan several months ago and first met with my
counterparts from the EU, which asked me what I think about opening of
the Customs point at the border of Armenia to Nagornyy Karabakh after
Armenia’s joining the Customs Union. And asked them, how the EU was
going to settle this problem when signing the Association Agreement and
DCFTA with Armenia. They replied, that the EU sees no problem in this
issue, and I said that Russia sees no problem either”, – Ivanov said.

GARBAGE DISPOSAL IS A CULTURE ARMENIA UNFORTUNATELY LACKS

by Alexandr Avanesov

ARMINFO
Thursday, October 24, 18:07

Eco Group (Sweden) and Sanitech (Libya) have won the Yerevan
Municipality’s tender and will deal with the issues of garbage disposal
and sanitation in Yerevan starting from 1 April 2014. This will become
the first step towards construction of a waste processing plant.

During the October 24 hearings at Media Center, Hovhannes Aharonyan,
Head of the Garbage Disposal and Sanitation Department of the
Yerevan Municipality, stressed that the matter concerns not only
garbage disposal or waste processing but also application of European
practices. The area of the Nubarashen dump in Yerevan is 52 ha and
it has been piled with some 8 mln tons of solid domestic waste over
the past few decades. “If we keep using it the way we do, it will
last for 15 years only”, he said.

Samvel Nazaryan, Coordinator of Urban Foundation Programs, said that
within the next few days some 90 trash cans for plastic packages will
be installed near the urban dump of Kapan. The plastic packages will
then be taken to the storage to be tamped down. As a result, the total
volume of the waste will decline by 20%. He added that according to a
survey in Alaverdi, 85% of the residents agree to classify the garbage
in case trash cans for plastic packages are installed. He added that
the Swedish company offered the residents of one of the Alaverdi
districts to classify the garbage and throw it into different trash
cans, but the residents refused to do that. “Garbage disposal is a
culture we unfortunately lack”, he said.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SHARPLY CRITICIZES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN

17:22 24/10/2013 ” REGION

Presidential elections held in Azerbaijan on October 9 did not meet
international standards, reads the resolution adopted on the eve of
the plenary session of the European Parliament. The draft resolution
is available on the organization’s website.

It is emphasized that the campaign in Azerbaijan was carried out with
violations of international standards.

The European Parliament is concerned about the human rights problems
in Azerbaijan and insists that the authorities have taken appropriate
steps to demonstrate its commitment to the standards of freedom of
expression and assembly, as well as the protection of the rights
of opposition.

Besides that, the European Parliament calls for the immediate release
of 14 opposition leaders and human rights activists who were arrested
in recent months, including Tofig Yagublu, the deputy chairman of the
“Musavat” party and an employee of the “Yeni Musavat” newspaper as
well as the leader of “REAL” Ilgar Mamedov. The organization calls
on Azerbaijan to stop harassment of oppositionist activists as an
indispensable condition for any agreement and to review the strategic
partnership with Azerbaijan.

“The European Parliament deplores for the fact that the presidential
elections in Azerbaijan, as the OSCE/ODIHR has concluded, has once
again failed to meet OSCE standards,” the document reads. It is noted
that the OSCE observation mission has recorded a number of violations
and urged the authorities to seriously address these problems.

The resolution expresses regret at the fact that the issue of signing
the Association Agreement by Azerbaijan with the EU is still not
solved because of hesitations and lack of a clear point of view.

Besides that, the European Parliament has adopted a draft resolution
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting that the conflict should be
resolved on the basis adopted in 1993 by the UN Security Council and
the basic principles of the OSCE Minsk Group set out in the L’Aquila
Joint Statement on July 10, in 2009. The draft resolution also calls
on the EU to take a more active part in the settlement process.

On October 9 presidential election were held in Azerbaijan during
which incumbent President Ilham Aliyev received 84.54% of votes. Jamil
Hasanli, a single candidate from the opposition National Council
of Democratic Forces, was on the second place. He scored 5.53% of
the vote.

The joint statement of the ODIHR / OSCE observation mission and the
Parliamentary Assembly, noted that the presidential elections were
held in Azerbaijan in terms of restriction of freedom of speech
and assembly. In its turn, the Minister for European Affairs David
Lidington stated that the British Foreign Ministry shares the OSCE /
ODIHR’s opinion that the presidential elections held in Azerbaijan
failed to meet the commitments with OSCE. Opinion of the OSCE and
the United Kingdom are also divided the U.S. Department of State.

Source: Panorama.am

TOROSYAN: GEORGIAN ARMENIANS WILL VOTE FOR GEORGIAN DREAM COALITION’S CANDIDATE

16:57 24/10/2013 ” POLITICS

Georgian Armenians will vote for the candidate of the Georgian Dream
coalition, MP, Chairman of Javakhk Compatriotic Union Shirak Torosyan
told reporters in Yerevan, while commenting on the upcoming Georgian
presidential elections.

“A total of 23 candidates are running in the elections, but only 4 out
of them have met with Georgian Armenians, and 3 of them are favorites.

They are Georgian Dream coalition’s candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili,
Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement’s candidate David
Bakradze, leader of Democratic Movement-United Georgia party Nino
Burjanadze and leader of Georgian Labour Party Shalva Natelashvili,”
Torosyan said.

According to Torosyan, Georgian Armenians are hopeful that the Georgian
Dream coalition will solve their problems and will vote for coalition’s
candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili.

Source: Panorama.am

INCREASED SALARY CANNOT REFORM CORRUPT OFFICIAL – MP

15:34 ~U 24.10.13

Samvel Farmanyan, a Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary
group member, welcomes the bill raising government officials’ salaries.

On the other hand, he notes that any realist admits that it is
corruption rather than low salaries that is the major cause of problems
in the government system.

It would be naïve to think that raising a corrupt official’s salary
could cause him to stop practicing “kickbacks.”

Mr Farmanyan proposes postponing the discussions of the bill.

Armenian News – Tert.am

ARMENIA’S MEMBERSHIP IN CUSTOMS UNION TO REDUCE TURNOVER WITH EU: GERMAN AMBASSADOR

YEREVAN, October 24. /ARKA/. Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union
will lead to reduction in turnover with the EU countries, Germany’s
ambassador to Armenia Reiner Morell said Thursday at a conference on
responsible finance in Armenia.

He said the EU-member countries will accept Armenia’s decision as a
sovereign one, not clarifying though what consequences it may have.

“We regret Armenia is moving towards membership in the customs union
not for increasing trade volumes. Apart from that, the country will
have no opportunity to take the advantage of tariffs and preferences
that the EU can provide”, the ambassador said.

Morel stressed the importance of carrying through the cooperation
planned, despite the fact many provisions will have to be revised. At
the same time, according to the ambassador, the document will not be
materialized at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius.

According to Morel, of six Eastern partnership countries only Moldova,
Ukraine and Georgia will sing the agreement.

Armenia said it intends to cooperate with the Customs Union and,
at the same time, keep its contacts with other partners, and the EU
will continue the cooperation if potential fields are pointed to,
Morel said.

The diplomat also stressed the need for reviewing compatibility of
interests and understanding the legal basis of relations.

The EU is willing to continue cooperation with Armenia, especially
when Armenia have already started implementing reforms, Morel said.

According to ArmStat, Armenia’s foreign trade turnover with
the EU countries amounted to a total of $1,059.18 million
in January-August 2013, an increase of 1.6% compared to
the same period of the year before. -0– – See more at: