Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT WITHDRAWS NEW NUCLEAR POWER UNIT PROJECT FROM 2013 ACTIVITY PROGRAM

Journal of Turkish Weekly
July 19 2013

Armenian government made some changes to the list of priority
objectives for 2013 and the program of activities at the meeting on
Thursday, ARKA agency reported.

In particular, according to the report of the Armenian Minister of
Finance Vache Gabrielyan, the program of activities is filled up with
the points, concerning the improvement of legislation in the sphere
of organization of civil society activities, and also adoption of
the social housing stock strategic program.

Moreover, the points on the first stage of work on designing new
nuclear power, and on investment program on road service improvement
were withdrawn from the document.

The program of activities for 2013 consists of 131 points, and 100
points are included to the list of priority objectives. These include,
the regional development program, pension system reform, increasing
the availability of finances for the real sector, optimization
and modernization of healthcare system in regions, fight against
corruption in the sphere of healthcare, program of activities on
construction of North-South road transport corridor, restoration of
public transport park, increasing the availability of pre-schools,
increasing the level of secondary education, provision of formation
of agricultural cooperatives.

19 July 2013

IRAN’S BAKU ENVOY URGES REGIONAL EFFORTS TO HELP SOLVE NAGORNO-KARABAKH DISPUTE

Press TV, Iran
July 19 2013

The Iranian ambassador to Baku has called on regional countries to
join efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

We believe that peace and security will not take hold in the region
without the settlement of the dispute, Mohsen Pak-Ayeen said on
Thursday.

“The world’s peace-loving countries, particularly those in the region,
should try to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the issue. The
Islamic Republic of Iran has also announced its readiness in that
regard,” he added.

Pak-Ayeen said Iran’s policy is to support any negotiations between
the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia to help find effective solutions
to the dispute, adding that Tehran backs the idea of a meeting between
Armenian and Azeri presidents to reach “tangible results.”

Both Azerbaijan and Armenia claim the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh,
which is largely populated by Armenians but located in and accounts
for 16 percent of Azerbaijan.

Ethnic Armenian forces took control over the enclave in early 1990s
during a six-year war with Azerbaijan (February 1988 to May 1994).

The conflict left an estimated 30,000 people dead and one million
others displaced before the two sides agreed to a cease-fire. However,
a peace accord has never been signed and the dispute still remains
unsettled.

The Iranian envoy added that Azerbaijan was well aware of Iran’s
goodwill to help settle the conflict. He also hailed the positive
approach by Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s to embrace
proposals by other countries for resolving the issue.

On Wednesday, the Azeri foreign minister said that Baku welcomes
proposals from any country to help settle the dispute.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has on several occasions offered to
mediate in the dispute.

Mammadyarov also expressed his country’s dissatisfaction with the
activities of the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, saying Azerbaijan saw no
improvement in the process of the settlement.

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) to help find a solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Minsk Group is headed by a co-chairmanship consisting of France,
Russia and the United States, but it also includes participating
states of Belarus, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden,
Finland, and Turkey as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Pak-Ayeen said Tehran supports any group that can take positive
steps toward settling the row, but criticized the co-chairs of the
Minsk Group for failing to adopt effective measures to help resolve
the dispute.

AR/NN/HMV

‘STRONG ENOUGH?’ CHER ASKS FOR EXTRA BODY ARMOR IN DAGESTAN

Moscow News
July 18, 2013 Thursday

Singing legend Cher asked for extra body armor before taking to the
stage to perform at the opening of Anzhi Makhachkala’s new football
stadium in Russia’s volatile Dagestan province, a club official
has said.

Anzhi chairman Konstantin Remchukov said that the star’s fears had
been prompted by US news coverage of the Russian republic of Dagestan,
where the authorities are fighting an Islamist-led insurgency.

‘Cher was supposed to be coming for the Anzhi-Arena opening,’
Remchukov told the Rossiya 2 TV network. ‘I know her and her lawyer
personally. A few days before, I got a load of sms messages –
‘what’s going on there?”

‘CNN was showing news about a string of terror attacks in the region,’
Remchukov explained.

‘They asked ‘Could we have a couple of extra bulletproof vests? Are
there metal detectors for the fans entering the stadium? Has this
event been heavily promoted?” Remchukov said, adding that they were
worried that a well-attended event could become a prime target for
terrorist attacks.

After reassuring them, Remchukov said he got a phone call from the
club’s owner, tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, asking him to accompany Cher
from the airport for the June 1 event.

The security concerns mean Anzhi are banned from hosting European
games in Dagestan or anywhere across the North Caucasus, where many
Western governments advise against travel.

Cher father’s family has roots in Armenia, south of the Caucasus
mountain range.

With over 40 years in show business, the singer and actress has an
avidly loyal fan base across the globe, and has also been dubbed a
‘gay icon’ by US media.

50-PERCENT RISE IN TRANSPORT FARES DOES NOT INSPIRE CONFIDENCE – NGO REPRESENTATIVE

July 19, 2013 | 17:37

YEREVAN. – A 50-percent rise in transport fares in Yerevan instills
doubts, chairman of the Armenian Consumers’ Association Armen
Poghosyan said.

“There are no quick decisions in economics. City authorities neglected
the problems so that in the next 5-10 days it is difficult to offer
any other solution than increase in fares,” he told reporters on
Friday. The head of NGO believes an increase of 50 percent does not
inspire confidence.

“If discussions were held with the participation of experts, my
opinion would be quite different. The most important decision for
the society was made without any public discussion,” he added.

In his opinion, the lower tariffs would help to unite the whole
transport system in Yerevan with the participation of the municipal
government, the current transport companies, as well as public.

“This would help shift spending from profitable to unprofitable
sectors. After all, the city government saved money on a deal with
Chinese side, agreeing to accept 250 buses free of charges,” he said.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

TURKISH PM ACCUSES WESTERN, ARAB STATES OF “DOUBLE STANDARDS” ON EGYPT

July 19, 2013 – 19:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Western
and Arab nations of “double standards” for failing to condemn the
overthrow of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim
Brotherhood like Erdogan has Islamist roots, Reuters said.

Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of what
it has called an “unacceptable coup” after Egypt’s powerful military
shunted the country’s elected leader from office earlier this month.

Although the United States has expressed concern at Morsi’s removal
and called for a swift return to democracy, as has the European
Union, it has stopped short of calling it a coup, which might have
led to sanctions.

Gulf Arab states, which see Egypt as a strategic ally against any
threat from non-Arab Iran, celebrated his departure with palpable
relief.

“Countries which embrace and care about democracy should not behave
with double standards towards these kinds of events and should say
something is wrong when it is wrong,” Erdogan told Western, Arab and
other ambassadors late on Thursday.

“Those who extol democracy when they meet with us, saying ‘one must
not compromise on democracy’, we want to see their backbone,” Erdogan
told his guests at a dinner to break the Muslim Ramadan fast.

Erdogan asked why the world stayed silent over the at least 99 people
who have died since Morsi was ousted, more than half of them when
troops fired on Islamist protesters on July 8.

“Why aren’t you speaking up? Come on, speak up against this. There’s
no point in being ambivalent,” he told the diplomats seated around
the room at party headquarters in Ankara.

“If you are not going to speak up here, where are you going you
to speak?”

LUYS FOUNDATION CONTINUES SPONSORING ARMENIAN STUDENTS’ STUDIES ABROAD

15:16 19.07.13

The Luys Foundation, which launched its activities in 2009, has
since granted 545 scholarships to 315 holders and plans to grant 134
scholarships this year.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who is co-founder of the Luys
Foundation, held a meeting with scholarship holders of the academic
year 2013-2014 on Friday.

Following the meeting, Jacqueline Karaaslanian, Executive Director of
Luys Education, told Tert.am that this year applicants have attempted
to enter more prestigious universities, such as the University
of Chicago.

“I am happy when our students share their ideas and try their hand
at different fields. The more students we have at the best centers
the more contacts we create for Armenia,” she said.

At the meeting, the Armenian president assured the students they will
have ample opportunities for applying their knowledge in Armenia.

Ms Karaaslanian stated that 54% of the students that studied abroad
have already returned to Armenia, only a small number of students
work abroad.

One of the scholarship holders, Mikael Mirzoyan, who got a bachelor’s
degree in Sweden, is going to continue his education in London.

“Under the program I will study work with databases. I will return
to Armenia and try to impart my knowledge to many others. This field
does not require huge investments,” he said.

“Forgetting Armenia is out of the question,” says Nare Muradyan, one
more scholarship holder and graduate of the Department of Economy at
Yerevan State University.

Armenian News – Tert.am

ARMENIAN POLICE HAVE NOT RECEIVED DOCUMENTS RELATED TO “OFFSHORE SCANDAL”

July 19, 2013 | 13:53

YEREVAN. – Armenian police have not received response to query from
the Cyprus registry yet, press service told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Earlier it was reported that PM Tigran Sargsyan had received the reply
to his query that was made to the state registry for the companies
that are registered in Cyprus. The spokesperson for Premier said they
cannot disclose the contents of the document, since this is within
the authority of the law enforcement agencies. He informed that they
sent this document to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the latter
forwarded it to police.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, Hetq.am News Agency had
written that PM Tigran Sargsyan, Archbishop Navasard Kjoyan-the
Vicar General of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church-, and “jeweler” Ashot Sukiasyan are shareholders
in an offshore company called Wlispera Holdings Limited, which is
registered in Cyprus. Sargsyan and Kjoyan, however, have denied their
involvement in such company.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIAN PARTIES ANNOUNCED THEIR DISSOLUTION

Politics in Armenia became the property of groups of civil society
activists and journalists who try to raise issues, hold protests and
influence the domestic and even international decisions.

The feeling is that Armenian political parties passed away or are
sleeping deeply, like former governor of Syunik. None of the parties,
except Heritage, tried to give political assessments to the dynamically
developing events in Armenia, connected with the foreign policies,
social decisions which are also tied to the foreign policies.

The silence of these parties is equivalent to a declaration of
dissolution. Because the party is an organized structure designed to
express and promote the interests of certain parts of the society.

Silence of the parties regarding the increase in gas price (then
transport), sales of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan, Armenia-EU
Association and Karabakh’s place in the process, prosecutor general’s
statement about the territorial claims to Turkey, means that these
processes do not touch the “vital” interests of the leadership of
these parties. They have more important things to do.

Party leaders have demonstrated complete bankruptcy, not only during
the last electoral process, but also after it, when, according to
Serzh Sargsyan, “the power went into action”. Immediately after the
elections, a new phase of state racketeering against people started,
and the parties are quietly watching to see how people are squeezed
out.

Why do we need such parties? ARF Dashnaktsutyun, after the unpleasant
story with Hrant Margaryan, who said that Tigran Sargsyan is
in war with him, didn’t take up any political step against the
state racketeering. Heritage, for example, proposed to convene an
extraordinary session but no one supported this proposal.

Even the Armenian National Congress does not react to calls. But this
fact does not surprise anyone, just like no one is surprised that
after the stunning presentation of the church in Abovyan involving
Lukashenko, Tsarukyan vanished into thin air.

Perhaps those representatives of civil movements, who urged not to
allow parties to civil actions, were right. Actually, the parties
did not aspire to it, because they never thought that the function
of parties is also to organize the participation of citizens in
decision-making.

It is time for all parties, without exception, to announce their
dissolution. It is not necessary to pretend with serious faces that
while citizens are fighting for mercantile laws, parties think about
global issues. There are no global questions – parties are just busy
finding out who orders articles against them and who can pay for the
answer. While they are trying to find this out, Armenia is running
out of population.

Naira Hayrumyan 15:11 19/07/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

MOSCOW WILL SURRENDER ARMENIA EVEN IF ASSOCIATION IS NOT SIGNED

We can often hear opinions that the obvious unfriendly steps of the
Russian government towards Armenia are determined by the EU Eastern
Partnership summit scheduled in November in Vilnius during which
the Association Agreement may be signed. Russia does not like such
a prospect for Armenia so, it wants to punish and hold it back.

In other words, Russia treats Armenia bad, because Armenia wants
to go against Russia. So there is some atmosphere of justification
of Russia’s behavior. Moreover, even Russia’s possible support to
Azerbaijan in case of a possible war is already justified.

No doubt Russia does not like the European integration course chosen
by the Armenian leadership. But the recent attitude of the Kremlin
towards Armenia should not be narrowed down to the Association issue.

There is a bigger issue between Armenia and Russia.

Russia, during the past 10-15 years seized almost everything from
Armenia. Now, it is time to give all to others, in terms of influence.

In other words, it is time Russia serves its interest on account of
Armenia. This is the Russian political style and if instead of Armenia,
it was Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey or even Belarus, Russia would have
done the same.

Armenia is unable to change the Russian political style. Armenia can
change itself, which will create possibilities to change Russia’s
political style, thinking and psychology as well.

The Russian political style, no matter if there was the Association or
no, would have anyway led to neglect and solution of regional issues
at the expenses of Armenia. Russia’s regional issues have no relation
to Armenia-EU Association.

Consequently, what Russia is doing now is determined by deeper
processes, while narrowing the situation won’t allow a comprehensive
and throughout discussion of Armenian-Russian issues.

It is a different issue why Armenia chooses Association. We can rather
say that Armenia’s European orientation is the answer to the Russian
policies. There are many reasons. The first is the simple self-defense
instinct. Russia’s dangerous carelessness toward Armenia threatens
the position of the authorities. It is difficult to guess what and
where Russia will surrender. So, being under Russia’s unconditional
dictation becomes dangerous. Moreover, we have many example of how
Russia betrayed its partners in the last 15-20 years, including more
important partners than Armenia.

Here the interests of Armenia and the government match. But its
efficiency is doubtful, because the interest of Armenia can acquire
flesh only in the case of tangible change of integration in the home
life. Otherwise, the government will be insured, and Armenia – won’t.

Although in this case the guarantee of power is also highly
questionable, and in case of an accident, the official Yerevan can
wait for the “insurance agents” for very long and never see them.

HAKOB BADALYAN 15:35 19/07/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

ASHOT MANUCHARYAN: FULE’S ENTRY TO ARMENIA SHOULD BE BANNED

1in.am informs that member of Karabakh committee and analyst Ashot
Manucharyan said that EU Commissioner Stefan Fule’s entry to Armenia
should be banned. According to him, the EU official carried out
subversive activities everywhere he went. He recalled Fule’s visit
to Moldova saying that he went there to organize a gay pride and
cause a clash within the society. “The global oligarchy is tearing
up countries, so, taking into account this fact, it is necessary to
ban Fule’s entry to Armenia,” Manucharyan noted.

14:34 19/07/2013 Story from Lragir.am News: