Author: Badalian Vardan

SIERRA’S BODY TAKEN TO ARMENIAN CHURCH IN ISTANBUL

22:07 ~U 04.02.13

American Sarai Sierra’s family collected her body today from the
Forensic Medicine Institute following the post-mortem. Her body was
taken away to the Armenian church, Surp Yerrortutyun, The Hurriyet
Daily News reports.

The Institution of Forensic Medicine released Sierra’s body earlier
today. Preliminary autopsy results from Sarai Sierra’s body hint the
cause of death was a single blow to the head.

There was no evidence of sexual assault, according to initial reports.

However, the full autopsy report will reportedly be announced in
three months time.

Police forces are continuing their search for those responsible
for the murder of the 33-year-old American Sarai Sierra, with units
focusing on the Istanbul site where her body was found on Feb. 2,
10 days after she went missing.

Crime scene investigators arrived on the scene early this morning,
accompanied by security officials and unit dogs. Fatih Municipality
cleared out the bushes in the area to make the search easier for
officials, according to Anatolia news agency.

Sierra’s body was found in Sarayburnu, 13 days after she went missing
on Jan. 21, with evidence of head injuries. Her jewelry was still on
her, but her tablet computer and smart phone were gone. A blanket was
found nearby, hinting at a different crime scene from where Sierra
was carried off to Sarayburnu.

Her body was sent to Istanbul forensic medical teams for an autopsy on
the evening of Feb. 2. She was killed with a single blow to the head,
the Istanbul Public Security Branch Office confirmed earlier yesterday.

Some 260 policemen searched for Sierra using Istanbul’s city cameras
after she was reported lost on Jan. 25, he said.

“Q’TURAN”:PROFESSOR OF UNIVERSITY IN AZERBAIJAN TELLS STUDENTS HOW HE WOULD STRANGLE EVEN A SMALL ARMENIAN CHILD

Lecturer at the university in Azerbaijan described to his students
with great rapture for several times and in bright colors how he
would with his bare hands without regret strangle even a small
Armenian child, recalls the author of the article in the site of
Azerbaijani information agency Turan.

The abovementioned professor was lecturing the theory of radio
journalism and simultaneously was working on “AZTV radio.” At the
beginning of each lecture, the professor asked the students which
stories were the most important for Azerbaijan that week. “God
forbid if someone mentioned any crucial thing about the authorities,
the red eyes would turn purple, and the veins would stand out now not
only on his nose, but all over the face and neck. This professor had
one “iron argument” for all criticisms “how can you criticize our
President, when we have such a problem for the whole country in the
face of Armenians, you should focus on this,” the article reads.

The author notes that today even the laziest person in Azerbaijan
reads “Stone Dreams” written by Ekrem Eylisli. “Though, it’s
wrong to say it in that way. Even the laziest people discuss and
condemn the “Stone Dreams”. It’s from the series like “I have not
read Pasternak, but I condemn him,” the article says.

Discussion of the book reached the Azerbaijani Parliament. “Members
of the Parliament apparently discussed all the problems in the
country, and the only issue left to discuss was the genetic code of
Ekrem Eylisli. Earlier, the Azerbaijani “patriots” staged a protest
under the windows of Eylisli’s apartment,” the author says.

“Both the activists and the MPs unanimously called Eylisli an
Armenian, anti-Azerbaijani element, etc. protesting against the book
which allegedly is about Armenians and Azerbaijanis,” the article
reads.

The author notes that, the agenda of the social protests in the
regions of Azerbaijan dramatically changed into verbal lynching of
Eylisli and sophisticated discussions about his relations with the
Armenians. “Turning the subject over the Armenians, as soon as
things get tough, is not a new policy for our government. For
example, only a few days ago pro-governmental TV channels, while
discussing the famous accusatory investigative journalist Khadija
Ismayilova, told that her mother was Armenian. They touch Armenian
subject at every trifle so that citizens screamed, steamed, get
annoyed with the Armenians,” the author writes.

“It’s amazing how the lessons of history of other people and our own
do not teach us anything. How long can we blame the Armenians and
like a child with a new toy carry the idea that we have suffered,
that they have tortured us in the past and what a pain it is for our
people (and please do not bring an example of an analogy of the
Armenian genocide, now I am talking about us, not about them),
forgetting the fact what Aliyev’s government is doing to us right
now, today, every day. Is it not a rather moral than physical
humiliation for our people and its destruction?” the author sums
up. 

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: INDEPENDENCE OF THE NKR SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED FIRST OF ALL BY AZERBAIJAN

ARMINFO
Monday, February 4, 16:45

The independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic should be recognized
first of all by Azerbaijan, the incumbent President of Armenia,
presidential candidate Serzh Sargsyan said during his meeting with
the residents of Masis.

He said that the recognition of the NKR would mean peaceful settlement
of the conflict. Armenia gives high priority to the peaceful settlement
of the problem in line with the international law standards. The
President thinks that in order to achieve this goal, one should
consistently strengthen the armed forces and enhance the efficiency
of the diplomatic service. The consolidation of the Armenian society
is also very important, he said.

When asked about the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide
on the threshold of the centenary of the Genocide, Sargsyan said
that the centenary is an important landmark, but it would be wrong
to rely on this date, without doing anything, and then to despair in
case of unfavorable developments. “We all should continue this fight
and shouldn’t weaken it even for a second”, he stressed.

ARMENIA MUST GET AZERBAIJAN TO RECOGNIZE NAGORNO-KARABAKH – PRESIDENT

TERT.AM
16:40 ~U 04.02.13

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with voters in
Masis, Ararat region.

Armenia must get Azerbaijan to recognize independent Nagorno-Karabakh,
Armenia’s leader said as he answered a question.

President Serzh Sargsyan noted that some parliaments and governments
may make decisions recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence during
the next five years.

“The most important thing is that we be able to get Azerbaijan to
recognize independent Nagorno-Karabakh. This will mean a peaceful
settlement of the problem. It is important for us that it be
peacefully settled in conformity with international law,” Armenia’s
leader said.

President Serzh Sargsyan stressed the need for improving the
efficiency of Armenia’s army and diplomatic corps.

“We need unanimity of views on this issue inside our country,” he said.

With respect to Armenia-Turkey relations and recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, Armenia’s president said, “we should not pin our
hopes on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.”

“Of course, this is a most important date, and they even say they are
expecting a tsunami from Armenians. But we must not be disappointed if
the Armenian Genocide is not recognized that year. We must all
continue our struggle,” President Serzh Sargsyan said.

ALEXANDER AMARYAN: IT IS NOT EXCLUDED THAT A BRANCH OF A COLOR REVOLUTION WILL BE GENERATED

Mon, 02/04/2013 – 16:47

PanARMENIAN Photo
“Pastinfo.am” talked to the director of the Destructive cult victim’s
rehabilitation and support center Alexander Amaryan

Question: What qualification will you give to the assassination
attempt of Paruyr Hayrikyan? Who could benefit from it?

Amaryan: According to ancient Roman law the first question of the
investigation is: who benefits from it?

Today many people express an opinion that this whole situation could
be beneficial for Paruyr Hayrikyan himself. But I think that’s a wrong
point. It could be beneficial neither for the injured presidential
candidate nor for the ruling power- Republican Party. The fact that
according to the recent statistics Hayrikyan could reach 1-2% that
wouldn’t make an impact on the presidential election comes to prove
that.

Besides that, Hayrikyan is not that kind of a person or political
figure to be involved in such kind of games. At the same time, I
would like to notice that to who could that vicious action be
beneficial for is subject to some deductions.

The first hypothesis that arises is that the presidential elections of
February 18 be postponed.

We all remember the incident of March 1. If we consider to
postponement of the election of February 18 by the constitutional 2
week period then we see that we are coming close to the 5th
anniversary of the March 1 deaths. It is not excluded that on that day
some actions will be taken, as a result of which a branch of a color
revolution will be formed.

The second is that a big portion of attention is directed towards one
of the candidates. And for him to operate some actions, the attention
should be deferred from him.

Question: And who is that someone?

Amaryan: If you look you’ll notice that only one person is seen as an
opposition. And he is the opponent of the presidential candidate and
the incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan not be “himself” but by the
forces that stand behind him. It is not excluded that person receives
support and finances from a power from abroad, which also uses the
power of the sects in RA.

Question: Do you have any evidences?

Amaryan: The evidences could be gathered easily if the state bodies
wished. The gathering of that information is beyond my activity. But
it’s not a difficult task if the state bodies and power structures
wish to gather them.

Question: And what sources would you mention that brought you to that
conclusion?

Amaryan: The first source of information is the analysis of the life
and biographical details of the candidates, even what is available on
the websites in Internet – places of studies and work, who taught or
supervised them, what kind of career they had, their involvement in
the NGOs, and professional and working ties.

This way I examined the biographies of all the candidates and reached
a conclusion that today there is not alternative in the political
arena to the incumbent president Serzh
Sargsyan.

Interview by Samvel Martirosyan

Author:
Factinfo

ARMENIE-ECONOMIE
Un Arménien de Russie investit dans des champs de blé en Arménie pour
produire 10 000 tonnes de blé par an

Un riche homme d’affaires Arménien de Russie a investi des sommes
importantes dans la région de Dashir en Arménie afin de créer de
vastes champs de blé et un site de stockage intégralement automatisé.
John Boghossian, le directeur de la société « Bozoyan » a informé que
le site de stockage était presque construit. Très vite il sera relié
au réseau électrique et d’eau. L’agencement est réalisé avec du
matériel venant d’Espagne et la réserve pourra contenir jusqu’à 10 000
tonnes de blé. La société dispose de 1 200 hectares de champs de blé.
Mais elle cherche à acheter d’autres terrains en Arménie pour
augmenter sa production et rentabiliser l’exploitation. Un certain
nombre de problèmes demeurent néanmoins dans l’acquisition de
nouvelles terres agricoles. Enfin, la société pourrait également à
terme étendre sa construction pour y intégrer une usine transformant
le blé en farine.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 3 février 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

CHYPRE
Le couvent arménien du Nord de Chypre ne sera pas transformé en centre
de turcologie

Les Turcs de la partie occupée du Nord de Chypre seraient selon le
journal « Miliyet » revenus sur leur décision d’aménager un ancien
couvent arménien en centre de turcologie. Le couvent arménien fut
récemment rénové grce à une aide de 5 millions de dollars octroyées
par le Fonds de développement culturel de l’ONU (UNDP-ACT). Après
cette rénovation les autorités turques de Chypre du Nord -qui occupent
l’île depuis 1974 après son invasion par les troupes turques- ont
décidé d’annuler leur décision de transformer les lieux en centre
culturel turc. Les Turcs auraient cédé aux pressions de Washington qui
les avais mis en garde et dissuadé de ne pas transformer le lieu de
culte arménien en centre culturel dédié à la turcologie.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 3 février 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

SHOT ARMENIA PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL SEEKS VOTE DELAY

1 Feb 2013
By By AVET DEMOURIAN, Associated Press – 3 hours ago

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – The shooting of a presidential candidate
threw Armenia’s election into disarray Friday, with the wounded victim
saying he will call for a delay of the vote.

Paruir Airikian, 63, was shot and wounded by an unidentified assailant
outside his home in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on Thursday just
before midnight. Airikian said from the hospital after surgery Friday
that he would initiate proceedings as allowed by the constitution to
delay the vote for 15 days due to his condition, but not longer.

He is one of eight candidates in the Feb. 18 race in this landlocked
former Soviet republic and wasn’t expected to get more than 1 percent
of the vote. But postponing the election could help opponents of
President Serge Sarkisian, who was expected to easily win a second
five-year term.

Sarkisian said after visiting Airikian in the hospital that the
perpetrators of the attack “obviously had an intention to influence
the normal election process.”

Armenia – a landlocked nation of 3 million people bordering Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Iran and Turkey in the volatile Caucasus – has been known for
its turbulent and often violent politics. A 1999 attack on Parliament
by six gunmen killed the prime minister, the speaker and six other
officials and lawmakers.

In 2006, a deputy chief of tax police was blown up in his car. Police
found the man who placed explosives in the vehicle, but failed to
determine who ordered the killing.

In March 2008, clashes between police and supporters of former
President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who lost to Sarkisian in a vote the
previous month, left 10 people dead and more than 250 injured. Later
that year, a deputy police chief was shot and killed in the elevator
of his apartment building, a slaying that remains unsolved.

Sarkisian, a conservative, has stolen the opposition’s thunder by
talking with critics and allowing opposition protests. In 2009, the
Parliament granted a sweeping amnesty to hundreds of people detained
for taking part in the post-election violence.

Sarkisian also has overseen a return to economic growth after years
of stagnation and has managed to reduce the country’s endemic poverty.

Recent opinion surveys show him getting the support of up to 70
percent of the population.

“Sarkisian has a clear advantage … and he doesn’t need
destabilization,” said Stepan Grigorian, an independent political
analyst.

He said Sarkisian is poised to win the vote anyway, but if he performs
worse than initially expected, that could give more leverage to fringe
groups. “That could make the president more dependent on such marginal
groups,” Grigorian said.

Sarkisian’s closest rival is Raffi Hovanessian, a former foreign
minister who has campaigned on populist promises to sharply increase
state salaries and pensions.

Hovanessian also has pledged to recognize the independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh, a stance favored by nationalists. The
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and some adjacent territory have
been under the control of Armenian troops and local ethnic Armenian
forces since a six-year war ended with a truce in 1994.

Armenia has faced severe economic challenges caused by the closing
of its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey because of the conflict and
international efforts to mediate a settlement have produced no result.

Sarkisian, like his predecessors, has stopped short of recognizing
the territory as independent.

At the same time, he has taken a tough stance on other foreign
policy issues, pushing strongly for international recognition that
the killings of some 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915
constituted genocide. Turkey has furiously opposed that.

Armenian Parliament Speaker Ovik Abramian, who visited the wounded
candidate in the hospital, said Friday that the attack was a “blow
to the Armenian statehood” and that the election could now be delayed.

The nation’s election chief, however, has not commented on the
possibility.

Armenia’s constitution requires the vote to be postponed for
two weeks if one of the candidates is unable to take part due to
circumstances beyond his control. A further 40-day delay beyond that
is also possible.

“I have no intention to seek a 40-day delay as I realize that we are
in a process that needs to be finalized,” Airikian said in televised
remarks from the hospital. “But I will have to choose the option of
postponing the vote by 15 days.”

Yerevan Clinical Hospital’s chief doctor, Ara Minasian, said Airikian
was being treated for a single gunshot wound and remained in stable
condition. Doctors successfully operated to remove a bullet in his
shoulder.

Airikian, an also-ran in three previous Armenian presidential
elections, was a dissident during Soviet times. He was first arrested
by the KGB when he was 20, and spent 17 years in prison, according
to his party.

In 1987, after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched his liberal
reforms, Airikian created the National Self-Determination Party. When
the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted the next year,
he accused the Soviet authorities of stirring up violence and was
evicted from the country.

Airikian soon returned to his homeland and in the 1990s had senior
positions in Armenia’s parliament and government.

On Friday, Airikian blamed ex-Soviet KGB agents of launching the
attack.

“I would sincerely say that I see the style of special services of
a foreign state, which haunted me for so long, not Russia, but its
predecessor,” Airikian said. He added that they could have been
worried by his push for Armenia’s closer integration into Europe.

Armenia has an economic and security pact with Russia and also hosts
a Russian military base.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland condemned the
shooting of Airikian, adding that Washington expects the Armenian
government to ensure a fair vote in line with the law.

“If he’s unable to campaign, we obviously call on Armenians to settle
this constitutionally in a way that assures that these elections go
forward in a way that is free and fair and protects the rights of
all candidates,” she said.

Bradley Klapper contributed to this report from Washington.

DEVELOPMENTS NOT IN AUTHORITIES’ FAVOR – ARMENIAN OPPOSITION REP

21:51 ~U 01.02.13

At a meeting with his supporters on Friday at Freedom Square in
Yerevan, the presidential candidate Hrant Bagratyan called the
presidential candidate Paruir Hairikyan “a victim of terrorism.”

Mr Bagraryan has suspended his election campaign and believes that the
presidential election must be postponed for a fortnight.

“I see the authorities do not want it. But I cannot understand if the
other candidates do not want it either,” Mr Bagratyan said.

Mr Bagratyan is concerned over the authorities’ statements that they
are not concerned with the crime. “One of them claimed it is the
opposition. I would like to advise them to catch the mastermind behind
the crime instead and say who he is,” Mr Bagratyan said.

He is not of the opinion that Armenia’s authorities are not concerned
with the crime. “We can see the developments well, and I can state
with all responsibility that the developments are not in the
authorities’ favor,” Mr Bagraryan said.

According to him, the opposition is aware that even getting into the
runoff is a serious problem for the authorities.

“We are not going to have such an emergency imposed during the
pre-election process,” he said.

Identifying the masterminds behind the attack on Paruir Hairikyan
requires postponing the elections. Moreover, an opportunity of
conducting an election campaign for seven or eight days more must be
grasped.

Mr Bagratyan is not going to ever use the government-provided
bodyguard. “That’s a bit too thick if they come and sit at out
campaign headquarters,” he said.

EBRD: ARMENIAN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY TO DROP DURING PRESIDENTIAL POLLS

February 1, 2013 – 16:28 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Despite the possible postponement of the Armenian
presidential elections due to the attack on candidate Paruyr
Hayrikyan, the country’s commercial banks are ready to continue the
implementation of current programs.

President of the Union of Banks of Armenia Ashot Osipyan hailed the
fact that the commercial banks’ activity doesn’t depend on political
developments.

“During the presidential elections, many companies pursue “wait and
see” policy until the new government is formed,” head of European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) resident office Valeriu
Razlog commented to a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Mr Razlog forecast economic activity growth only following the polls.

EBRD predicts about 4% GDP growth, with Armenia’s 2013 state budget
envisaging annual inflation index at 4 ± 1,5%.

Mr Razlog further deemed reconsideration of forecasts possible,
voicing confidence for the Armenian government to continue the
cautious policy, with the inflation fluctuations to remain under the
control of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA).