Author: Badalian Vardan

L’OPPOSITION ENTRE AU CONSEIL MUNICIPAL

Un des membres du parti d’opposition dirige par Raffi Hovannisian a
annonce que le parti devrait rejoindre le conseil municipal d’Erevan.

Armen Martirosian, (sur la liste des candidats aux elections
municipales pour le parti Barev Erevan) a souligne cependant qu’il
n’a pas encore pris de decision definitive. Il doit en discuter avec
Raffi Hovannisian (parti Heritage).

” Je crois que nous devons travailler au conseil. Barev Erevan a
une obligation morale envers les citoyens decus qui ont vote pour
l’opposition. ”

Selon les resultats officiels de l’election, Barev Erevan a remporte
8,4% des votes. Le Parti republicain au pouvoir (HHK) va probablement
avoir 42 sièges du conseil contre 6 pour le parti Barev Erevan. Les
autres conseillers vont representer le parti Armenie Prospère (BHK)
du businessman Gagik Tsarukian.

Comme les autres groupes d’opposition, Barev Erevan a refuse de
reconnaître la legitimite de la victoire ecrasante du HHK, l’accusant
de corruption.

Le Congrès National Armenien (HAK) a formule des allegations de
fraude similaires a la suite des elections municipales de 2009 lors
desquelles il etait le principal candidat de l’opposition. Le HAK
avait refuse d’accepter ses 13 sièges au sein du Conseil en signe
de protestation. Le parti dirige par l’ancien president Levon
Ter-Petrossian n’a remporte aucun siège du conseil cette annee.

mercredi 8 mai 2013, Laetitia ©armenews.com

ARMENIA: NEW REMIX OF LONELY PLANET

ESC Today – Eurovision Song Contest
May 7 2013

Dorians, the Armenian representatives, have released the brand new,
official remix of their song, Lonely planet.

The song, which will represent Armenia at this year’s Eurovision
Song Contest, has been remixed by the band’s keyboardist, Arman
Pahlevanyan. Pahlevanyan has previously remixed tracks by Adele
and former Armenian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest,
Sirusho, with whom the band also performed recently in Yerevan. His
remix of the song reflects the band’s rock roots but also incorporates
electronic elements.

This will be a busy week for the band, with their first rehearsal
on the stage in Malmo Arena scheduled this Thursday, and a special
concert due the following Friday 10 May in Copenhagen. Dorians will
then compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest,
Thursday 16 May.

You can here the brand new remix of Lonely planet here

40% OF ARMENIA’S INDUSTRY IN EREVAN

Messenger, Georgia
May 7 2013

In the 1st quarter of 2013, an increase in industrial output can be
observed in Armenia. The biggest share of this growth comes from the
processing industry, which is based on food product output, production
of beverages, as well as tobacco. A great portion of the processing
industry comes from steel production. A serious segment of Armenia’s
industry is in the production-distribution of electricity, including
the production of electricity by nuclear power stationss. The biggest
enterprises in different spheres are concentrated in the Armenian
capital of Erevan and comprise 40%. Rural areas are less developed.

KAZARIAN SPEAKS UP IN COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

State House, Rhode Island
April 29 2013

STATE HOUSE – Rep. Katherine S. Kazarian (D-Dist. 63, East Providence),
a fourth-generation Armenian-American, had the honor of commemorating
the Armenian genocide of 1915 with a House resolution among her
colleagues in the House of Representatives last week.

“I am deeply saddened by the terrors that led my ancestors to this
country,” she said on the House floor Wednesday. “Yet, I am grateful
for the chance to be here today in the House chamber so that we may
preserve the memory of their sacrifice and, thereby, work to prevent
such atrocities in the future.”

Many from the Armenian-American community were present in support
of the resolution and the chamber’s acknowledgement of the 98th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide. According to the Armenian
National Institute in Washington D.C., the genocide resulted in the
death of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923. It is estimated
that close to 2 million Armenians were living in the Ottoman Empire
just prior to World War I when the Turkish government subjected its
Armenian population to deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture,
massacre and starvation.

Later that evening, Representative Kazarian also had the honor of
serving as the master of ceremonies for a special commemoration at
Providence City Hall. The program included a candlelight march from
Saints Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church to City Hall, a Kamancha
presentation by David Ayirian and a musical presentation from vocalist
Shant Eghian. Also present were Central Falls Mayor James Diossa and
Rep. Jared R. Nunes (D-Dist. 25, Coventry, West Warwick). The event
was sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of Rhode Island.

Representative Kazarian said she hopes to remind others of the strength
and resilience of the human spirit. Americans must always keep faith
that there are good people in the world who will band together in
their greatest hours of darkness.

“While Wednesday was mainly about the Armenian community, it was
also about our capacity to stay strong for each other in the face
of terror,” she said. “I can’t help but think of the tragedies that
have occurred this year: the Boston marathon bombings, the Sandy Hook
killings … and America remains united and hopeful for the future.

Armenians all over the world still remember the massacre and honor
our ancestors 98 years after it all began. Certain atrocities may
never be forgotten, but we must always carry the stories of the past
in our hearts so that we may trudge forward with more patience and
wisdom than those who came before us.”

For more information, contact: Brenna McCabe, Publicist State House
Room 20 Providence, RI 02903 (401) 222-2457

QUEST FOR MORE ARMENIAN BONE MARROW DONORS CONTINUES

Glendale News Press, CA
May 6 2013

By Veronica Rocha, [email protected]
May 6, 2013 | 9:26 a.m.

Peter Stephan’s search for a match to his rare and unique Armenian
bone marrow began only recently, but his struggle with mantle cell
lymphoma began years ago with sudden weight loss.

The 53-year-old Glendale resident lost a rapid amount of weight
in November 2011. While he believed the weight loss was due to
work-related stress, he still visited his doctor and soon discovered
he had lymphomas in his abdomen and armpits.

“If you are not positive, you’re a blink away from depression,”
he said.

Soon after, Stephan underwent various therapy treatments, including
using his stem cells, for the lymphoma. The treatment appeared to
be working, but then the lymphoma returned and he now needs a bone
marrow transplant.

But finding a bone marrow match wasn’t going to be easy because
Stephan is Armenian.

Years of intermarriage have made the Armenian genetic make-up
unique, said Frieda Jordan, who president of the Armenian Bone Marrow
Registry. As a result, bone marrow donations need to come from someone
with a similar genetic match

Jordan and her organization have recruited more than 22,000 donors
worldwide and have identified more than 1,500 potential matches.

Events like the Walk of Life on Saturday at Glendale Memorial Hospital,
which sponsored it, allows organizations members to recruit potential
donors and raise awareness about the need for Armenian bone marrow.

More than 350 people walked in the event and another 300 participants
were recruited as potential donors, Jordan said.

“With every step you are going to take, just remember you are saving
someone’s life,” she told participants.

Cynthia Bussey, who is TV reality star Kim Kardashian’s cousin,
wasn’t able to attend the walk because she is undergoing chemotherapy
as part of her long battle with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, but she works
closely with Jordan and the organization to also increase awareness
about bone marrow donations.

“It took this to happen to me to understand how important it is,”
she said of being a donor.

While Bussey is still looking for her match, Stephan said City of
Hope, a cancer hospital and research center, appeared to have found
a donor for him.

Once Stephan’s life is saved, he hopes to find his donor and give them
“a big, big hug.”

“It’s not bad to be a donor because you can save a life or your own
family’s lives,” he said.

,0,6399695.story

TURKISH MINISTER: TRADE TURNOVER WITH ARMENIA TOTALED $29, 859 IN Q1

May 6, 2013 – 17:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkey’s Custom and Trade Minister linked
normalization of ties with Armenia with specific steps in Karabakh
conflict settlement.

“Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Armenia’s
independence. Cooperation with South Caucasus countries is important
to Ankara,” Hayati Yazici noted, however, expressing support for Baku
in Karabakh settlement issue.

According to the Turkish Minister, trade turnover with Armenia in
the first 3 months of 2013 totaled $29, 859, Anadolu reported.

GAGIK TSARUKYAN AND WILY OLD MAN

The Armenian National Congress lost the election of the Council of
Elders of Yerevan. Since in Armenia there are no elections as such,
the only way to be elected is to be allowed to win. This time the
Congress was not allowed to win, and it is not a surprise.

When the “wily old man” declared the new political line of cooperation
with the PAP, it became clear that Ter-Petrosyan has stopped being
adequate to the situation. The theoreticians of the PAP and the
Congress declared the “new line” as a great policy the meaning of
which was to cut the PAP from the government to dismantle the monolith
of government.

After the declaration of this line it became clear that the Congress
rejects the movement and gets involved in the domestic process
where the role of PAP’s doorkeeper and advocate is inevitable. The
Congress’s issue is to clear the PAP from everything, including March
1 and “routine” infringements. It should be noted that the Congress
performed the role honesty at the expense of its own dignity and
prospects, without any selectivity towards the methods.

Because Serzh Sargsyan benefited from this, a decision was made to
allow the Congress to enter the parliament in May 2012. The activities
of the Congress were appreciated duly: the system secured itself
from the threat of revolution, the PAP was “cleared”, providing a
vast field for Serzh Sargsyan to maneuver, the result of which was
legitimization of the elections in 2012 and 2013.

The Congress fulfilled an important function for the system – disgrace
civil movements and initiatives to vest this right in the system.

After the parliamentary election Ter-Petrosyan announced about the
death of the Congress and declared the establishment of a political
party with the same name. It was difficult to pass decisions in
the Congress therefore the form of political party was chosen where
there is no need to discuss anything. The line was not changed while
demagogy to justify the PAP spilt over the edge. The Congress also
went beyond all the limits, and when there was no room to retreat,
it was not needed anymore.

No matter how kind and generous Gagik Tsarukyan and Serzh Sargsyan are,
it also has limits, especially in the logic of the Armenian criminal
and oligarchic system. Ter-Petrosyan and the Congress have no place
to go. For the sake of the system they set everyone against them and
they are doomed to carry on the demagogy and offer services to the
system. Now this is the only thing they can do. They abandoned their
voters whom they have been calling to vote for the PAP.

Were Ter-Petrosyan and his supporters sure that everyone else except
them were stupid? The reality is different. Unfortunately, in Armenia
only the representatives of the criminal and oligarchic system are
adequate to the situation, the quality of their behavior and thinking
excels the so-called political class. Otherwise, they would not rule
for so many years.

Haik Aramyan 16:03 06/05/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

MONTENEGRO DEPUTY PM IGOR LUKSIC TO VISIT ARMENIA

13:43, 6 May, 2013

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS: By the invitation of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Eduard Nalbandyan, the
Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration of Montenegro Igor LukÅ¡iÄ~M will arrive in Armenia on
May 6-7 with an official visit. As Armenpress was reported by the
Department for Press, Information and Public Relations of Armenia,
during the visit the Montenegro Deputy Prime Minister will be hosted by
the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, the President
of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan and the Prime Minister of
Armenia Tigran Sargsyan.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Eduard
Nalbandyan and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro Igor LukÅ¡iÄ~M will
hold discussions and press conferences. Igor LukÅ¡iÄ~M will visit
the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to lay a wreath in the memory of the
innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

ARMENIA’S “POLITICAL SQUINT” WILL STILL CONTINUE

May 4 2013

Arman Melikyan, a Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, talks about Armenia’s complementarianism, choice between
the Eurasian Union and the EU * On April 19, (still acting) Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Viktor Khristenko, the Chairman of
the Eurasian Economic Commission’s Board, signed a memorandum of
understanding in Yerevan. And on May 2, Tigran Sargsyan’s Cabinet
decided to establish the Russian Lyceum Foundation. A year ago,
Tigran Sargsyan rather vehemently claimed that the issue of Armenia’s
membership in the Eurasian Union was not on the agenda. How should
one understand this difference between words and deeds? * Firstly, one
should certainly take into account the fact that Mr. Sargsyan is not
entitled to make final decisions on the external political orientation
or take independent actions presupposing that orientation. Therefore,
the issue of not joining that union, which is still imaginary, will
not be solved by symbolic actions. On the other hand, the argument
of not having a common border with Russia is not convincing for a
set of reasons. At the end of the day, we still don’t have a common
border with the members of the European Union either. This kind of
arguments are dangerous in the sense that they reveal ideological
inconsistency of our policy: on the one hand we say that we choose the
European system of values, on the other hand, we state that an obstacle
that prevents us from joining the Eurasian Union is not the system
of values existing in Russia, but lack of a common border. Does it
mean that if tomorrow we have a common border with the Eurasian Union
through Azerbaijan’s membership in it, we will also join, and won’t
losing Artsakh be the price we will have to pay for that? However, all
this is an abstraction, whereas I think that geopolitical processes
progress at such a quick pace these days that options that seem
preferable today will become undoable, and there will be no choice
for us given the logic of such developments. * It is interesting that
the negotiations with the EU on the Association Agreement are yielding
results in parallel with it, and it is not ruled out that among other
countries, Armenia will sign that agreement by the end of the year.

How long can Armenia pursue its complementarianism? * I think
that the situation will crystallize within the next three-four
years. Armenia will remain in the region that poses the most serious
political-military threats, but depending on the policy that is
pursued, it can be both an island of peace and a target. * The report
of the US Department of State was published recently and was preceded
by speculations that the Carrefour supermarket chain’s entry into
our market might be delayed. One year ago, the US made much more
restrained statements about elections in Armenia. Is this related to
the fact that we have switched to the Russian orientation? * I think
that actually we have never turned away from the Russian orientation.

It is just that given the situation, we suffer from political squint;
we look to the north with one eye and look to the West with the other
eye. Let us just remember that the United States and the European
Union jointly endorsed Serzh Sargsyan’s reassumption of the office,
and they know the price of it better than anyone. It is important here
that their attitude was the same as, in harmony with that of Russia. I
am under the impression that the Euro-American ambassadorial community
and observers did in Armenia everything that was possible to free the
Russians from the unavoidable difficulties of having that election’s
legitimacy recognized. * There were rather strong statements about
Karabakh in the report of the US Department of State. Do you think it
is possible that these strong statements will cause violations of the
ceasefire on the front line to turn into hostilities? * I have already
talked about Armenia’s becoming a possible military target, and with
regard to this question, I can only say that our Western partners
will prefer not to be involved in some military confrontation and to
load Russia with military resolution of disputes in a vast region,
including our region. NELLY GRIGORYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

TURKEY HOPES NUCLEAR PARTNER FRANCE WILL REVIEW ITS STANCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

16:20 07.05.2013

Ankara is expecting to see Paris weigh its stance on Armenian genocide
more carefully amid improving trade ties, Turkish Energy Minister
Taner Yıldız told reporters Monday in Ankara, Today’s Zaman reports.

France’s GDF Suez will partner with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Ltd and Itochu Corporation to build Turkey’s second nuclear power
plant at an estimated cost of $22 billion under an agreement signed
last week. The consortium will use French nuclear group Areva’s
Atmea reactors.

Yıldız’s remarks on Monday come on the heels of speculation
in French and Turkish media that the nuclear deal will benefit
the political relations between Paris and Ankara, which have been
strained by the former’s recognition of killings of Armenians at the
hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide. Ankara last
year rejected requests by two French firms to be involved in Turkish
nuclear power projects amid Turkish anger at a French bill making it
illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks
a century ago was genocide.

Observers argued the French stance on the issue would continue to test
Turkey’s patience as the 100th anniversary of 1915 events approaches.

Recalling that the French government is aware of the need to break the
ice in ties with Turkey, Yıldız said he expected the latest energy
deal to serve this end. “We unfortunately failed to bring about a
rapprochement during the [former President Nicolas] Sarkozy term.

…last week’s deal is a positive step to see this happen,” Yıldız
remarked. The minister said although it is too early to expect
concrete steps from France in this regard, he believed energy matters
in political relations today more than ever before.

Apart from the genocide claims, Turkey also hopes to see France soften
its stance on Ankara’s bid to join the EU. Yıldız had earlier said
Turkey would expect gestures from Paris on its EU bid. Prior to the
nuclear deal, the French government agreed in February to the opening
of talks on one of the five negotiating chapters that it has been
blocking since former President Sarkozy’s term in office.