Author: Badalian Vardan

ARTSAKH LEADER CONGRATULATES SOUTH OSSETIA PRESIDENT ON REPUBLIC DAY

12:04 20/09/2013 ” SOCIETY

On September 20, President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
sent a congratulatory address to President of the Republic of South
Ossetia Leonid Tibilov.

The address runs as follows:

“On behalf of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic authorities, people and
myself personally I congratulate you and the whole people of South
Ossetia on Republic Day.

During those years of hard challenges the Republic of South Ossetia
demonstrated to the world strong determination to live free, proving
that it overcomes successfully all the difficulties that stand on
the way of building a dynamically developed independent state.

I am confident that the spirit of friendship and close cooperation
will continue to define the relationships between our two countries
and peoples.

Once again accept my sincere congratulations on this national holiday.

Peace and prosperity to the fraternal Republic of South Ossetia and
success to you on the way of further developing and strengthening
the independent statehood.”

Source: Panorama.am

VERSACE, ARMANI, PRADA ET MOSCHINO BIENTÔT ” MADE IN KARABAGH ” ?

ARMENIE

Arminfo relève que des hommes d’affaires italiens se sont rendus au HK
et ont rencontre le ” PM ” Ara Haroutiounian, le 11 septembre, afin
d’evoquer l’eventualite d’implanter au HK des unites de production
de certaines lignes des marques italiennes prestigieuses Versace,
Armani, Prada et Moschino. Le PM du HK aurait salue ce projet, le
qualifiant d’extremement important pour le developpement economique
du HK. Le ” Gouvernement ” du HK devrait mettre a disposition de la
partie italienne un espace de 3 500 m2 où se trouve une usine de
soie actuellement a l’arret. L’ouverture des unites de production
permettrait de creer des centaines d’emplois au HK.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 13 septembre 2013

vendredi 20 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LES CHAUFFEURS DE TAXI D’EREVAN MECONTENTS DE NOUVEAU

ARMENIE

Les chauffeurs de taxi d’Erevan ne sont pas satisfaits avec
l’application du nouveau système de stationnement qui a augmente
selon eux leur fardeau financier.

La municipalite d’Erevan a contracte avec Parking City Service,
une societe privee afin de percevoir des recettes des places de
stationnement dans les rues encombrees de la capitale armenienne. La
societe est en train d’installer des cameras de surveillance qui
seront utilises pour faire payer les conducteurs 100 drams (25 cents
US) par heure. Le tarif journalier est de 500 drams (environ 1,2 $),
la charge hebdomadaire est de 1000 drams (2,4 dollars).

” L’introduction du stationnement payant est un coup dur pour les
chauffeurs de taxi, parce que maintenant ils doivent payer pour le
stationnement ” a declare Tigran Hovhanisian, responsable d’une ONG
qui protege les interets des automobilistes.

Il a explique que les passagers demandent souvent les chauffeurs de
taxi de les attendre ce qui oblige les conducteurs a payer aussi pour
le stationnement. Il a propose d’augmenter le temps de stationnement
gratuit pour les chauffeurs de taxi de cinq minutes a trente minutes.

Un chauffeur de taxi Levon Markosyan a egalement propose que les
notifications concernant la violation de la règle soient envoyes aux
conducteurs via des messages SMS sur leur telephone portable.

” En règle generale, les notifications sont envoyees par la poste
et il faut quelques semaines pour atteindre les conducteurs. Si les
conducteurs sont avertis immediatement après la violation de la règle
cela permettra de renforcer la vigilance sur les routes ” a-t-il dit.

vendredi 20 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

AZERBAIDJAN : UN JOURNALISTE D’OPPOSITION ARRETE AVANT LA PRESIDENTIELLE

Azerbaidjan-opposition-arrestation-medias-politique

(AFP) – Un journaliste d’opposition repute en Azerbaïdjan a ete arrete
a Bakou et place mercredi en detention pour deux mois, quelques
semaines avant l’election presidentielle dans cette ex-republique
sovietique du Caucase.

Perviz Hashimli, journaliste pour le journal Bizim Yol et membre du
parti d’opposition Front populaire d’Azerbaïdjan, a ete arrete mardi
soir et accuse de port d’armes illegal et de contrebande.

Un tribunal de Bakou a decide mercredi de le placer en detention
provisoire pour deux mois.

Selon des journalistes de la redaction de Bizim Yol, des perquisitions
ont ete effectuees dans son appartement ainsi que dans les bureaux
du journal.

“Nous esperons que l’enquete sera menee objectivement et de manière
impartiale”, a ecrit dans un communique la redaction du journal,
qui dit ne pas croire a la culpabilite de M. Hashimli.

Les organisations de defense des droits de l’homme accusent le regime
du president Ilham Aliev d’atteintes a la liberte d’expression et de
faire emprisonner des opposants dans ce pays riche en hydrocarbures
situe sur les bords de la Caspienne.

Les 9 millions d’habitants de cette ex-republique sovietique se
preparent a voter en octobre pour la presidentielle où M. Aliev,
au pouvoir depuis 2003 après avoir succede a son père, est le grand
favori. Il se presente pour un troisième mandat consecutif.

vendredi 20 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

UK EMBASSY IN AZERBAIJAN: “THE MPS VISITING NAGORNO-KARABAKH DOES NOT REPRESENT THE GOVERNMENT”

APA, Azerbaijan
Sept 19 2013

[ 19 September 2013 18:18 ]

“The UK does not recognize the de-facto “Nagorno-Karabakh authorities”
or their declaration of independence”

Baku. Anakhanum Hidayatova – APA. The UK Embassy in Azerbaijan has
commented on the visit of two MPs from the British Armenian All Party
Parliamentary Group to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The
Embassy told APA that this visit has been arranged by the Armenian
authorities: “They met a wide range of contacts as part of their
visit including a meeting with representatives from the de-facto
“Nagorno-Karabakh authorities.” UK parliamentarians are free to meet
with whoever they wish. They do not represent the British Government
and any meeting with the de-facto “Nagorno-Karabakh authorities” does
not represent a change in UK policy on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The UK does not recognize the de-facto “Nagorno-Karabakh authorities”
or their declaration of independence. The UK supports Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity and the OSCE Minsk Group-led peace process.

Finally, we encourage Azerbaijan and Armenia to accelerate efforts to
achieve a negotiated settlement based on the principles of refraining
from the threat or use of force, territorial integrity and peoples’
right to self-determination.”

Members of the British Armenian All Party Parliamentary Group Stephen
Pound and John Wittingdale paid a visit to Nagorno Karabakh on
September 18.

A POLITICAL MURDER CASE LEFT TO ROT

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 19 2013

YAVUZ BAYDAR

Certainly, one should never compare tragedies. But neither should
anyone deny the symbolic magnitude of the tragedy that struck our
dear colleague the late Hrant Dink and scarred his family forever.

The dark date of Jan. 19, 2007 carved a deep wound on all of us. When
that heinous murder took place, this newspaper was only three days
old; it is no wonder its bold history is also defined by the powerful
probe for justice and its lifeline closely linked to the sense of
closure this case still demands, day after day.

So, it is no wonder that these days we have the utterly bitter taste
of lies, deceit and, well, nothingness. The murder trial that began
in July 2007 with high hopes for justice has now been moved back to
square one. A litmus test for democratization for Turkey has, many
argue, failed; underlining all the reform that has stalled and been
delayed since then.

The retrial began some days ago in Ä°stanbul, after the Supreme Court
of Appeals in May overturned the lower court’s ruling of Jan. 17, 2012,
dismissing the involvement of an organized criminal terror network
in the murder. This means the trial will have to start from scratch;
going through all the same procedures, while even less evidence may
be valid, witnesses may have a less reliable memory and it will be
under different political — and, perhaps, judicial — circumstances.

For all those who have made their own studies of “How to destroy
the investigations of critical human rights violations and political
murders,” the sense of helplessness is already out in the open.

The Dink family is now in full rebellion. Hrant’s loved ones issued
a public letter a few days ago that should not go unnoticed, simply
because by its tone it reveals what the case has been reduced to. Do
let me share some parts of it:

“As the Dink family, we will no longer be an instrument in the game
of the state mechanisms that tease us; we will no longer attend the
re-hearings of the murder case. For the sake of not getting ourselves
filthy, we will no longer enter those courtrooms where lies are
drunk like water; tyranny is eaten like bread; the right to life,
human rights, fairness, honesty, justice and law are stepped on.”

“Since the slaying of Hrant Dink on 19 January 2007, the system
in Turkey — along with its judiciary, law enforcement, military
and civilian bureaucracy, and political institutions — have merely
mocked us. While appearing as if it was seeking justice, the criminal
alliance called the state recommitted the murder day by day, hearing
by hearing, over and over again. This alliance is itself the criminal
organization that planned the murder and then covered it up.”

“In this lawsuit, the only thing necessary to reveal the state’s murder
mechanisms and he criminal alliance was political will. Despite all
the pledges to the public, the political power persistently refrained
from manifesting this political will. Far from manifesting will power,
it promoted the state officials who had played a role in the murder
or who had praised the murderers; it appointed them to be security
directors, undersecretaries, governors and as the public ombudsman;
and they admitted some of them into their own structures and made
them parliamentary deputies or ministers. Rather than turning this
murder that was committed while they were in power into a matter of
“honor,” the political power has chosen to use it as a trump card;
to try the offenders only when the gun is pointed at them; and to
brag by saying ‘During our term, there have not been any murders by
unknown assailants,’ ignoring the murder of the only Armenian during
the republican history who has struggled for human rights with a
strong voice.”

“We are no longer in this show. … Where there is the state behind
or in front, we do not expect anything.”

We are now stuck between very low hope and despair. For all those
who are interested in the case, I would highly recommend a new
book titled “I Feel Ashamed” by Fethiye Cetin, the Dink family’s
attorney. Reading like an alternative indictment, shedding light
on all sorts of alleged cover-up and demonic intrigue, it deserves
translation to other languages.

TAPER DELAY STIMULATES DEBT

The Wall Street Journal
Sept 19 2013

Emerging-Market Countries, Other Issuers Feast as Central Bank
Keeps Program

Borrowers dashed into credit markets a day after the Federal Reserve
decided to keep its stimulus program at full speed.

By Ben Edwards, Mike Cherney

Borrowers dashed into credit markets a day after the Federal Reserve
decided to keep its stimulus program at full speed.

Emerging-market countries and companies sold at least $5.8 billion
in dollar-denominated bonds Thursday. The burst of deals included
junk-rated Armenia’s first dollar bond.

Thursday’s bond sales put September on pace to be the most active
month for emerging-market bond issuance since May, just before worries
about the fed scaling back-or “taperingâ~@ -its easy-money policies
took hold, scaring investors away from riskier debt.

Investor appetite also was on display in the U.S. High-grade and
junk-rated firms sold at least $9 billion of bonds on Thursday.

Bond prices, which were hit hard in recent months by tapering fears,
rallied on Wednesday after the Fed announcement, pushing yields lower.

The 10-year Treasury note, after surging in price to yield 2.706%
Wednesday, ticked lower to 2.748% Thursday. The yield was at 2.87%
before the Fed’s announcement Wednesday.

Money managers and analysts say more bond sales are likely to follow,
at least in the short term, as issuers capitalize on lower borrowing
costs and some buyers resume hunting for higher-yielding and riskier
assets. Many bond investors suffered losses over the summer as yields
rose on debt of all kinds.

“The Fed not slowing down their stimulus removes a significant risk
in the market and has created investor appetiteâ~@ for emerging-market
debt, said Viktor Szabo, a fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management,
which managed $318 billion at the end of June.

Armenia sold a $750 million, seven-year bond to price at a yield
of 6.25%. The former Soviet state, which is rated BB- by Standard
& Poor’s, attracted $3.25 billion of orders, according to the
underwriters on the deal.

Armenia was quickly followed by Colombia and a host of agency
and corporate borrowers including Brazilian development bank Banco
Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social, or BNDES, and Russian
engineering firm Borets.

Bankers are lining up even more deals, with road shows planned for
the Hungarian Development Bank.

“We are now likely to see a wave of emerging-market issuers come to
market to take advantage of still very cheap financing conditions
and likely pent-up demand from investors,â~@ said Tim Ash, an
emerging-market analyst at Standard Bank.

Investment-grade corporate bonds are alluring as well, analysts say.

Jennifer Vail, head of fixed-income research at U.S. Bank Wealth
Management, said the lack of tapering provides an opening for
investors. Previously, investors were concerned that rates would spike,
and bond prices fall, if the Fed this month announced a tapering of its
$85 billion in monthly bond purchases. But after the Fed’s surprise
decision, many market experts believe it will be a few months before
the tapering begins. So the threat of rising interest rates–which
decreases the prices of outstanding bonds–is gone for now.

On Thursday, single-A-rated power-systems company Cummins Inc. sold
$1 billion of bonds, its first bond deal since 2002, according to
Dealogic. Junk-rated Sirius XM Radio Inc., which has tapped the
bond market multiple times this year, sold $650 million, aimed at
refinancing existing debt.

Other companies selling debt in the U.S. market Thursday include
Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., Reinsurance Group of America Inc. and
Swedish bank Svenska Handelsbanken.

Ms. Vail said she sensed a greater opportunity in bonds from banks
and financial firms, given that those companies are likely to continue
making improvements as the economy recovers.

“Now we have this, we’ll call it a surge of fresh air, for a couple
of months,â~@ she said. “So that gives the opportunity to add to
those positions without immediate fear of a spike in rates.â~@

Companies in Asia took advantage of the reprieve offered by the Fed,
too. This week saw the most new share sales in Asia since May, while
Asian companies outside of Japan have sold $15 billion of bonds so
far this month, the largest sum in four months.

To be sure, memories of the summer’s selloff in bonds and
emerging-market assets are still fresh, prompting many fund managers
to be more circumspect about their bets.

“A lot of people have reassessed their allocations,â~@ said Nick Hayes,
a fund manager at AXA Investment Managers, which has â~B¬568 billion
($768 billion) of assets under management. “People will start to
differentiate within emerging markets now between what are structurally
challenged economies and what economies look pretty strong but were
just beaten up in the selloff.â~@

“It was because of tapering that people sold emerging-market assets,â~@
he added. “But I don’t think everybody that sold will buy back in.â~@

-Serena Ruffoni, Prabha Natarajan and Prudence Ho contributed to
this article.

ARMENIANS SAYS HUNGARY MADE NO EFFORT TO RESOLVE FRICTION OVER AZERI MURDERER

Politics.hu, Hungary
Sept 19 2013

By MTI

Over the past year the Hungarian government has made almost no effort
to resolve the friction that resulted from the repatriation of an
Azeri murderer who was freed after arriving home, the head of the
self-government of ethnic Armenians said.

Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment
for killing an Armenian in Budapest in 2004, was transferred back to
his home country on August 31, 2012 under an extradition agreement.

Although Azerbaijan formally pledged that the life sentence handed down
to him in Hungary would be directly continued when he was returned to
his homeland, the Azerbaijani president granted him clemency. Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan announced the same day that Armenia suspended
diplomatic relations with Hungary.

Two days later State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Zsolt Nemeth summoned
the Azerbaijani ambassador to his office and condemned the Azerbaijani
step as unacceptable to Hungary in a diplomatic note.

The head of the Armenian self-government Serkisian Sevan told the press
that it is still not known what advantage Hungary had gained from
the repatriation of Safarov. The European Union could put pressure
on Azerbaijan through the Eastern Partnership programme but Hungary
has made no steps to achieve this, he added. According to Sevan, the
“total lack of interest” demonstrated by Hungary in this matter is
“shocking”.

The Foreign Ministry said in response that the Hungarian government
had taken several steps to restore Hungarian-Armenian diplomatic
links, for instance Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi sent a letter
to Armenian counterpart Edvard Nalbandjan about this on September 7,
2012. The ministry also sent a diplomatic note to the Armenian ministry
to confirm the wish to restore relations.

The Foreign Ministry initiated dialogue with the officials of the
self-government of ethnic Armenians in Hungary right after the
repatriation of Safarov, the statement added.

“It is in Hungary’s interest that Hungarian-Armenian friendship
should further deepen and cooperation between the two countries should
strengthen and broaden in every field of life, including diplomatic
relations,” the ministry said.

The ministry also said that the standing of diplomatic links between
Hungary and Armenia must not, and does not, have any effect on the
situation of ethnic Armenians in Hungary. The ministry, moreover,
rejects charges by the Armenian self-government that the government
handled ethnic Armenians in Hungary as “traitors” and that they
cannot feel safe in Hungary anymore. The ministry also rejects the
claim that the ethnic Armenians in Hungary are left out of efforts
to restore diplomatic links between Hungary and Armenia.

In line with Hungary’s constitution, ethnic minorities are part of
the Hungarian political community and are state-forming elements,
and Hungary guarantees to nurture and protect the minorities’ language
and culture, the statement said.

ARMENIA MARKETS SEVEN-YEAR DOLLAR BOND

Reuters
Sept 19 2013

By Sudip Roy

Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:04pm IST

LONDON, Sept 19 (IFR) – The Republic of Armenia, rated Ba2 by Moody’s
and BB- by Fitch, has announced initial price thoughts of 6.375%
area for a seven-year US dollar bond.

The senior unsecured 144a/Reg S benchmark is today’s business.

Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JP Morgan are the lead managers. (Reporting
by Sudip Roy, editing by Julian Baker)

ARMENIAN ACTIVISTS PLAN INDEPENDENCE DAY PROCESSION

17:40 19.09.13

A group of civic activists are organizing a pan-national procession
on September 21 in an effort to big together the different classes
of the Armenian society to celebrate the independence day.

At a news conference on Thursday, one of the initiators of the event,
Karen Tovmsyan, said they are first of all concerned by the President
Serzh Sargsyan’s somewhat unexpected decision about joining the
Customs Union.

“The statements which Serzh Sargsyan and the Armenian authorities make
vary from day to day. The Armenian authorities, which have not been
elected by the Armenian people, are very frivolous in their conduct.

The unelected president thinks it unnecessary to let the people know
what he is going to do with the country and its population tomorrow.”

Tovmasyan said the group is calling on people to take to the streets
on September 21 to reaffirm the choice which they made 22 years ago
for living independently in they own state.

“The country’s social situation is highly dependent on independence.

We, the Republic of Armenia citizens, are the master’s of this country,
and it is only for us to decide how we wish to live and with whom. We
even have independence fixed on paper, but it isn’t the reality,”
said the activist.