Author: Badalian Vardan

COMPUTER CENTERS OPENED IN JRARAT AND SPANDARIAN VILLAGES OF SHIRAK REGION WITH THE SUPPORT OF ORANGE

Orange continues implementation of projects aimed at community
development, by providing modern technologies the Armenian villages.

Today two modern computer centers furnished with Orange broadband
Internet were opened in two villages of Shirak region – Jrarat
and Spandarian – with joint efforts of Orange and”Shen” charity
organization.

Jrarat has around 1000 inhabitants, while Spandarian is the home of
1,400 people. Inhabitants of both villages have the possibility, for
the first time, to acquire computer skills and use internet without
the necessity of having a computer at home. Each of the newly opened
computer centers are equipped with 7 computers, a printer, Orange
MyFi 3G router allowing up to 21.6Mbps download speed and comfortable
furniture which will provide possibility to the residents of both
villages to not only be connected with the world, but also participate
in computer courses. For the implementation of this project Orange
has allotted total AMD 4,700,000.

Nazareth Seferian, Orange Foundation General Secretary, said: “Modern
technologies are developing with incredible speed, and their usage
on an everyday basis makes easy people’s life easier and shortens
distances. Such computer rooms can bring real changes in the rural
communities, where especially the youth needs more social and cultural
sources and exchanges, as well as more opportunities of leisure”.

This initiative of Orange was implemented in the frames of the
strategic program of support to sustainable development of remote
and vulnerable communities, which aims to boost and support social
and economic development of these communities and make them fully
benefit from the high technologies.

15:10 11/06/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

Content-Type: MESSAGE/RFC822; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Description:

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
From: Mihran Keheyian
Subject: Computer centers opened in Jrarat and Spandarian villages of Shirak
region with the support of Orange

Computer centers opened in Jrarat and Spandarian villages of Shirak
region with the support of Orange

Orange continues implementation of projects aimed at community
development, by providing modern technologies the Armenian villages.
Today two modern computer centers furnished with Orange broadband
Internet were opened in two villages of Shirak region ? Jrarat and
Spandarian – with joint efforts of Orange and?Shen? charity
organization.

Jrarat has around 1000 inhabitants, while Spandarian is the home of
1,400 people. Inhabitants of both villages have the possibility, for
the first time, to acquire computer skills and use internet without
the necessity of having a computer at home. Each of the newly opened
computer centers are equipped with 7 computers, a printer, Orange MyFi
3G router allowing up to 21.6Mbps download speed and comfortable
furniture which will provide possibility to the residents of both
villages to not only be connected with the world, but also participate
in computer courses. For the implementation of this project Orange has
allotted total AMD 4,700,000.

Nazareth Seferian, Orange Foundation General Secretary, said: ?Modern
technologies are developing with incredible speed, and their usage on
an everyday basis makes easy people?s life easier and shortens
distances. Such computer rooms can bring real changes in the rural
communities, where especially the youth needs more social and cultural
sources and exchanges, as well as more opportunities of leisure?.

This initiative of Orange was implemented in the frames of the
strategic program of support to sustainable development of remote and
vulnerable communities, which aims to boost and support social and
economic development of these communities and make them fully benefit
from the high technologies.

15:10 11/06/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

WINEMAKER VERNISSAGE 2013 TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA

ARMINFO
Tuesday, June 11, 14:36

Winemaker Vernissage 2013 will be held on June 15 in Parakyar village,
Armavir region, Armenia, Festival Areni Fund reports.

Factory and home-made wines, dried fruits and souvenirs will be
exhibited at the event. The vernissage is organized every year to
preserve traditions and upgrade wine drinking culture, as well as to
attract tourists. Music and dances will accompany the event.

IRAVUNK: POLICE RECEIVE COMPLAINTS AGAINST KHACHATRIAN AND HIS RELATIVES

Tuesday,June11

Following the resignation of Syunik regional governor Suren
Khachatrian, the police have begun receiving complaints and letters
about relatively recent crimes committed by the ex-governor and his
relatives as well as crimes committed years ago, “Iravunk” newspaper
writes, citing its sources.

“In particular, there have been applications regarding Suren
Khachatrian’s son Tigran, whose actions were concealed at the time.

They say the matter also concerns a murder which was committed two
years ago, but was passed off as a suicide,” the paper says.

MP BAGRATYAN: “LET’S NOT FROTH AT THE MOUTH IN THE EXPECTATION THAT WE WILL ATTRACT FOREIGN TEACHERS”
Grisha Balasanyan

A bill that would grant certain tax breaks and customs privileges
related to a government project to build an international school in
the Armenian resort town of Dilijan, remains a topic of heated debate
in parliament.

The $550 million project, of which a mere $20 million has been invested
to date, is planned to house 600 students at a school the government
claims would be operated to international standards.

$150 million would go to the actual building of the school and the
remaining $400 million to its operation and future maintenance.

HAK MP Hrand Bagratyan today said that he was opposed to the bill.

“The government wants money but they don’t say why. There is no
project,” Bagratyan said, adding that $80 million has already been
given. “The impression being created that we are dealing with something
akin to the end of the world.”

“Let’s not froth at the mouth in the expectation that we will attract
foreign teachers,” Bagratyan mocked.

Parliament President Hovik Abrahamyan addressed the MPs and supported
the bill in principle, nevertheless warning that the tax breaks should
not be fraudulently used. He said there was the possibility that the
financing could be used to purchase more material than planned for
and that the excess would then be resold.

Yearly tuitions at the school would be in the $30,000 range.

Despite such an exorbitant cost, the government says most of the
students will be Armenian citizens.

Many opposition MPs have questioned the economic benefits of such a
costly project and that the best and brightest students of Armenia
will leave the country upon graduating.

The bulk of the financing will come from foreign investors.

LiberoQuotidiano.it, Italia
8 GIUGNO 2013

Il Papa: “Genocidio armeno in Turchia” Ankara ai ferri corti pure col Vaticano

Francesco I lo ha definito “il primo del ventesimo secolo” ricevendo
una delegazione di Yerevan. Proteste dal ministro degli Esteri di
Erdogan

Le autorità turche avrebbero espresso il loro “disappunto” per le
parole di Papa Francesco, che in un incontro con una delegazione
guidata dal patriarca di Cilicia degli armeni, Nerses Bedros XIX
Tarmouni, il 3 giugno scorso ha parlato della strage di armeni in
Turchia all’inizio del Novecento come del “primo genocidio del
ventesimo secolo”. Fonti diplomatiche turche citate dal sito del
quotidiano Hurriyet hanno affermato che “il ministero turco degli
Esteri ha comunicato il suo punto di vista e ha espresso il suo
disappunto sia all’ambasciata (della Santa Sede, ndr) ad Ankara, che
al Vaticano a Roma”.

“Papa Francesco ha espresso grande partecipazione alle vicende del
nostro popolo e ha ribadito la sua vicinanza e la sua attenzione”, ha
confermato l’ambasciatore armeno presso la Santa Sede Mikayel
Minasyan. L’ambasciatore per la prima volta sarà residente a Roma, in
via della Conciliazione, un fatto che rafforza i rapporti diplomatici
tra il Vaticano e l’Armenia, rapporti comunque di lunga data e ottimi.
“La nostra è la via dei valori democratici e su quelli che fondano il
nostro popolo, i valori cristiani, dunque è naturale che tra noi e la
Santa Sede i rapporti siano profondi, direi naturali. D’altronde,
quella armena è la prima nazione ad essere stata convertita al
cristianesimo”, spiega l’ambasciatore.

E del resto in Armenia si guarda con apprensione e partecipazione a
quanto sta avvenendo in Turchia e in Siria, precipitata nel caos e
nella guerra civile. A farne le spese, come spesso accade, sono in
primis le comunità cristiane e sono ormai a migliaia i profughi che
fuggono da stragi e violenze. Molti sono armeni sono stati costretti a
tornare in patria. “E’ un nuovo capitolo della storia terribile che
ha segnato la vita di tanti armeni: quelli che oggi sono costretti a
scappare dalla Siria in fiamme sono i discendenti, i pronipoti di
coloro che riuscirono a scampare alle stragi in Turchia nel 1915. Una
tragedia che si ripete”, ricorda il giovane diplomatico. In attesa del
fatidico 2015, in cui appunto ricorrerà la commemorazione del
centenario del genocidio degli armeni, perpetrato nell’aprile del 1915
dal governo dei giovani turchi”, per il quale sono previste iniziative
e progetti culturali come una grande mostra, proprio a Roma, dedicata
a San Gregorio l’Illuminatore, il protettore del popolo armeno. Nel
1915 scomparvero almeno un milione e mezzo di persone, in gran parte
furono deportati e morirono di stenti nei deserti dell’Anatolia, ma
probabilmente furono molti di più. Genocidio che la Turchia non ha mai
voluto riconoscere come un piano deliberato e progettato,
ridimensionando le cifre dell’orrore.

Caterina Maniaci

The Hindu, India
May 9 2013

Ashwin finishes tied 13th

Ashwin Jayaram emerged as the best Indian with a tied 13th place finish
after settling for a draw with GM Boris Chatalbashev of Bulgaria in
the ninth and final round of Grand Europe Albena chess tournament
here.

There was little to cheer for the Indian enthusiasts as the highest
rated Indian Abhijeet Gupta went down fighting against International
Master Vitaliy Bernadskiy of Ukraine in his final round.

Earlier in the eighth round Abhijeet had raised visions of an improved
finish after outplaying Eylon Nakar of Israel.

Petrosian triumphs

Tigran Petrosian of Armenia won the tournament defeating Levente Vajda
of Romania in the last round. The Armenian finished with eight points
out of a possible nine and remained a full point clear of his nearest
rivals.

Hrant Melkumyan of Armenia, Mircea-Emilian Parligras of Romania, Tamir
Nabaty of Israel and Bernadskiy tied for the second spot on seven
points each.

Jayaram on six points ended in a tie for the 13th place along with
Anurag Mahamal who defeated Melih Yurtseven of Turkey in the last
game.

Dissapointing show

Abhijeet Gupta, Vishnu Prasanna and Swapnil Dhopade ended the
tournament on a disappointing 5.5 points. Gupta also lost valuable
rating points that puts him below the 2600 rating mark again.

Sagar Shah ended the tournament on a high finishing with 4.5 points in
all while N. Raghavi also did well to score four points. The Indians
will now move to the Golden Sands tournament which is bigger than this
one with 40000 Euros prize money at stake.

Important and Indian results:

Eighth round: Vladislav Nevednichy (Rou, 6.5) drew with Hrant
Melkumyan (Arm, 6.5); Tigran Petrosian (Arm, 7) bt Boris Chatalbashev
(Bul, 5.5); Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian (Bra, 5.5) lost to Levente Vajda
(Rou, 6.5); Mircea-Emilian Parligras (Rou, 6.5) bt Evgeny Sveshnikov
(Lat, 5.5); Avetik Grigoryan (Arm, 5.5) drew with Vitaliy Bernadskiy
(Ukr, 6); Ashwin Jayaram (5.5) drew with Dragan Solak (Tur, 5.5);
Anurag Mhamal (5) lost to Vasil Spasov (Bul, 6); Abhijeet Gupta (5.5)
bt Eylon Nakar (Isr, 4.5); V. Vishnu Prasanna (5) drew with
Tiberiu-Marian Georgescu (Rou, 5); Vasile Sanduleac (Mda, 5.5) bt
Swapnil Dhopade (4.5); Sagar Shah (3.5) lost to Konstantin Zalkind
(Isr, 4.5); N. Raghavi (2.5) bt Mykola Lisnichuk (Ukr, 1.5).

Ninth round: Levente Vajda (Rou, 6.5) lost to Tigran Petrosian (Arm,
8); Hrant Melkumyan (Arm, 7) drew with Mircea-Emilian Parligras (Rou,
7); Tamir Nabaty (Isr, 7) bt Vladislav Nevednichy (Rou, 6.5); Vitaliy
Bernadskiy (Ukr, 7) bt Abhijeet Gupta (5.5); Boris Chatalbashev (Bul,
6) drew with Ashwin Jayaram (6); Ogulcan Kanmazalp (Tur, 5.5) drew
with V. Vishnu Prasanna (5.5); Melih Yurtseven (Tur, 5) lost to Anurag
Mhamal (6); Swapnil Dhopade (5.5) bt Abdalla Luiz Guilherme Aurell
(Bra, 4.5); Vladimir Valkov (Bul, 3.5) lost to Sagar Shah (4.5);
Veselij Gagarin (Rus, 4) drew with N. Raghavi (3).

Armenian elite made a blunder in Karabakh issue

03:32 PM | JUNE 08, 2013 | POLITICS

Political thought in Armenia has appeared in a deplorable situation,
especially in foreign policy issues, says Larisa Alaverdyan, Executive
Director of “Against Legal Arbitrariness” NGO.

Alaverdyan said this in view of Azerbaijan’s policy in the settlement
of the Karabakh conflict.
“The notorious Madrid Principles stipulate that Armenia should
withdraw its troops from the liberated territories. With our passive
and retrieving steps we are thwarting our foreign policy. In the
meantime, Azerbaijan with its aggressive policy is putting into
circulation documents like the Madrid Principle. We should not take
this seriously but we should fight against it,” she said.

Larisa Alaverdyan thinks that Armenia should raise the Karabakh issue
in all international structures as Azerbaijan seizes every opportunity
to receive the required votes in every voting.

“The Karabakh conflict is in an asymmetric state today. As for the
format of the OCSE Minsk Group I have always said that we already have
a great achievement as we have been able to retain peace, even bad
peace, for 15 years. The mediators ascribe the achievement to them;
this is their primary goal,” she said.
Speaking about the policy of Armenia’s three presidents in the
Karabakh issue, Mrs Alaverdyan stressed that during his tenure Robert
Kocharyan extruded Karabakh from the negotiations as a third side.

“He considered himself to be a Karabakh citizen and acted as
Karabakh’s representative in the talks. Without understanding the
seriousness of the matter the Armenian elite made huge blunders in the
process of conflict settlement,” she concluded.

USA
Kerry : La situation au Nagorno-Karabakh est « critique »

Le secrétaire d’Etat américaine John Kerry a accueilli le ministre
arménien des Affaires Etrangères Edouard Nalbandian pour des
entretiens centrés sur l’impasse au sujet du Haut-Karabagh.

Avant leur réunion du 4 Juin, John Kerry a déclaré qu’il était «
essentiel » que toutes les parties redoublent d’efforts pour résoudre
le conflit.

« L’une des questions les plus importantes, évidemment, que nous avons
tous vraiment envie d’essayer de voir résolu un jour est le conflit
gelé du Haut-Karabagh » a déclaré John Kerry.

« Il est essentiel que toutes les parties – et quand je dis« toutes
les parties », je veux dire, évidemment, les Azerbaïdjanais, mais
aussi la Turquie, la Russie, l’Iran et d’autres – d’essayer de trouver
un moyen pour aider à briser l’impasse ».

Edouard Nalbandian a déclaré que les relations entre Erevan et
Washington étaient « aujourd’hui en leur point le plus élevé » et que
les deux parties partagent une vision commune afin de trouver une
solution pacifique au conflit.

« Nous partageons la vision, la même vision, qu’il est important de
poursuivre les efforts pour trouver, en exclusivité, une solution
pacifique au conflit du Haut-Karabagh, fondée sur les principes et
normes du droit international, en particulier le non-usage de la
force, l’autodétermination et l’intégrité territoriale » a déclaré
Edouard Nalbandian.

John Kerry s’était réuni le 3 Juin avec son homologue azerbaïdjanais
Elmar Mammadyarov, où il a cité une possible « voie à suivre » sur le
conflit.

Le leader de l’opposition arménienne Raffi Hovannisian était à
Washington le 3 Juin, où il a dit qu’il a demandé au Département
d’Etat de prendre un rôle plus actif dans la promotion de la
démocratie arménienne.

dimanche 9 juin 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

A defining moment for Turkey as it straddles East and West

editorial

June 07, 2013

SINCE THE Arab Spring revolutions broke out two and half years ago,
many Westerners have held up Turkey as the model for a modern Muslim
nation. But images from Istanbul’s Taksim Square of brutal police
attacks against peaceful demonstrators over the past week are now
threatening to shatter that image.

Hundreds of thousands of people across Turkey took to the streets in
outrage, only to be met by security forces using tear gas, batons, and
water cannons. At least two people have died, and unconfirmed reports
put the injury toll at over 2,000. Physicians on the ground are
accusing police of deliberately harming protesters. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has largely shrugged off the situation, must
step in to end any continuing violence.

Moreover, the unrest should serve as a wake-up call to Erdogan and his
government, which has been in power since 2003. They must listen
seriously to the demands of the protesters. What began as a small
sit-in to save a city park from being demolished to make room for a
shopping mall has become an eruption of popular discontent – including
from some Erdogan supporters – toward an elected but increasingly
uncompromising leader who has sponsored runaway development,
discouraged political opposition, jailed journalists on questionable
grounds, and attempted to impose a conservative lifestyle on one of
the Muslim world’s more secular societies, including recent
restrictions on alcohol sales and proposed curbs on abortion.

With good reason, the White House has stressed the need to uphold `the
fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and association.’ US
Ambassador Francis Ricciardone has emerged as an important advocate
for press freedom in Turkey. But as one of the country’s strongest
allies, the United States should also play a larger role in pressuring
the Erdogan government to respect those democratic values in practice.

Vowing to move forward with the demolition of the park, Erdogan has
unhelpfully blamed the demonstrations on extremists. He has noted that
his party took nearly 50 percent of the vote in the last elections, as
if that statistic validated every policy decision he might make. He
has railed against social media, calling it `the worst menace to
society,’ and clamped down on conventional media more conspicuously
than ever. As the world watched clashes between police and protesters
last weekend, CNN Turk, a leading news network, aired a cooking show
and nature documentaries. On Wednesday, 25 protesters were arrested
for supposedly `spreading untrue information’ on Twitter.

Yet, unlike in Egypt or Tunisia, where long-serving strongmen governed
with little regard to public sentiment, Erdogan can’t just ignore the
message that he’s overreached. Turkey has a history of free elections
going back to 1950. Erdogan cannot run for a third term as premier but
is believed to be staging instead a run for president in 2014. The
current protests show a significant undercurrent of dissent, and
unhappy Turks must be sure their voices are heard at the ballot box.

Colin Jenkins approved as Head of Dilijan International School

11:06 03/06/2013 » EDUCATION

The Board of Trustees of Dilijan International School (DIS) met in
Dilijan on June 3rd, 2013. Before the meeting, members of the Board
visited the building site where the construction of the campus is in
full swing. The author of the architectural project of the school,
British architect and DIS Board of Trustees Member, Tim Flynn (head of
Tim Flynn Architects) gave the Board a tour of the construction site.

Two new members of the Board of Trustees were introduced at the
session – the Chairman of Board of the RD Group, Gagik Adibekyan, and
the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Manfred Schepers.

The DIS Board of Trustees approved Colin Jenkins as Head of college.
Previously Jenkins held the headship of UWC Atlantic College in Wales
(Great Britain) and took an active part in the development of UWC
colleges in Maastricht, Singapore and Costa Rica.

Colin Jenkins presented the strategy of teacher and student
recruitment for DIS. The school will open its doors to its first
students in September 2014 and, at full capacity, will be able to
admit 650 students from at least 60 countries. The student admission
process will be organized through the UWC International Office with
its network of over 140 national committees worldwide.

`This June, we hope to pass the next phase of the process of joining
the United World Colleges movement and subsequently become UWC Dilijan
by the end of 2013′, said Veronica Zonabend, cofounder of the project,
and wife of the Russian investment banker Ruben Vardanyan.

DIS’s membership in the United World Colleges (UWC) organisation will
ensure an international student body composition: becoming a full
member of the UWC, the school will be able to admit students from many
countries around the world through the network of UWC national
committees, press service of Dilijan International School reported.

Source: Panorama.am