Author: Badalian Vardan

BAKU: NOT A PLACE FOR PROTESTS?

January 28, 2013 – 11:29am, by Giorgi Lomsadze

“Arrested. In a bus with great people,” tweeted dissident Azerbaijani
blogger Emin Milli, after riot police chased, beat and hustled
protesters away from downtown Baku on January 26.

The Baku authorities have spared no effort to pound, quite literally,
into residents’ heads that the center of the Azerbaijani capital is
not the place to protest; rather, it is a stage for the government’s
various promotional campaigns, be it mega-pop concerts or international
thought-exchanges. . . past, present or future. Leave the protests,
please, to the outskirts.

But some have difficulty keeping the distinction straight. On January
26, just as President Ilham Aliyev, according to the Azerbaijani state
news agency AzerTaj, was allegedly negotiating about bringing Davos
to Baku (World Economic Forum spokespeople were not available for
confirmation — ed), a Facebook-organized rally in the city to show
support for rioting residents of the northwestern town of Ismayili
risked stealing the show.

With such high aims as Davos (and the European Olympics) in mind,
the Azerbaijani government has very little patience these days for
protesters. Police troops crushed the Ismayili uprising, which had
been touched off by the reportedly thuggish behavior of the regional
governor’s son; in Baku, police chased and herded supporters of the
Ismayili rioters away from the downtown area, and showered media
with similar attention. Among the arrestees were the usual suspects:
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Khadija Ismayilova (who also
has written for EurasiaNet.org) and activist Emin Milli.

Unaccustomed to such manifestations of public anger, Azerbaijani
officials are still wiping the sweat off their brows. One presidential
advisor declared that “hostile powers” are trying to sow discord and
chaos in Azerbaijan, but have been defeated. “Let nobody forget that
the state created with the honorable efforts of the national leader
Heydar Aliyev [President Ilham Aliyev’s father –ed] is a strong
state that can push back any destructive force,” declared security
and law enforcement advisor Fuad Alekserov, APA news agency reported.

In other words, the floor is clear in central Baku for mega-pop
concerts, business pow-wows and international sports events. As for
protests against the government and calls for justice, that’s what
the suburbs are for.

RUSSIAN COMMANDER: AZERBAIJAN IS BLUFFING ABOUT DOWNING KARABAKH FLIGHTS

January 30, 2013 – 8:33am, by Giorgi Lomsadze

If the weather and Azerbaijan cooperate, we’re repeatedly told,
passenger planes will soon take off from the separatist airstrip of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Any passengers, though, will probably be uneasily
shifting in their seats with every shake or rattle, trying to figure
out whether their plane has encountered turbulence or is dodging
Azerbaijani missiles.

If it’s any reassurance for those prospective passengers, a top Russian
general thinks that Azerbaijan is just kidding about its threats to
knock down the planned flights from the breakaway territory. “It is
either an unsuccessful articulation of thoughts or an unfortunate
joke,” asserted Nikolai Bordyuzha, the secretary general of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russia’s response
to NATO, while on a trip to Yerevan. “I don’t take this information
seriously.”

Committed to reclaiming Karabakh and the adjoining occupied
territories, and returning tens of thousands of IDPs, Baku threatened
to gun down any planes from the newly renovated airport outside the
Karabakhi capital Stepanakert (known to Azerbaijanis as Khankendi),
and said it has the full right to do so. Armenia threatened to respond
in kind, and the Caucasus again got filled with the threat of war.

Cue Russia. Armenia is part of the CSTO, which vowed to protect,
honor and cherish its members in good times and bad.

But the Azerbaijanis told Bordyuzha that they can match words with
intentions, and again accused Moscow of siding with Armenia in
the conflict over breakaway Karabakh. “Azerbaijan is not joking,”
said Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson Eldar Sabiroglu,
1news.az reported.

Yet even if Azerbaijan finds a universally acceptable legal
justification for attacks on Karabakh flights and won’t be deterred by
Armenian retaliation or international reaction, it is highly unlikely
to risk an all-out confrontation with Moscow, some observers believe.

Particularly in an election year. Meanwhile, Moscow, in some way,
may be attempting to put a lid on the enthusiasm of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan, a Karabakh native, for the flights. Citing anonymous
Russian defense ministry sources, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that a
recent delegation to Yerevan had advised against civilian flights from
Karabakh, and had emphasized Armenia’s pending military cooperation
agreement with Moscow. That said, whether or not the Russian
reassurance or recommendations will cool hot heads remains a toss-up.

Failing all else, passengers on any Karabakh flight might want to
take an extra minute to locate the security exits.

USAID TO PROVIDE $32 MILLION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA

tert.am
30.01.13

USAID Mission to Armenian director Karen Hilliard told Armenia’s PM
Tigran Sargsyan that the US Government wants to sign a contract with
the Armenian government costing $32 million for the implementation
of democratic and management reforms in the country.

According to the government’s press service, Hilliard told about it
while presenting the five-year long strategy of assistance to Armenia
worked out by the USAID.

The director of the Armenia office said the goal of the assistance
will be to promote the formation of more competitive, effective
management system, increase the volume of foreign investments,
develop and reinforce civil society and fighting against corruption.

Within the framework of the agreement USAID is planning to provide
financial means to Armenia to assist the country in the implementation
of democratic and management reforms.

“It is a new level of cooperation between our two countries that
may become a precedent for the regional countries as well because
we are not implementing such program with any of other countries,”
Hilliard said.

US Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern said that with it Armenia and
the USA will enter new phase of cooperation.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan welcomed USAID’s new project and noted
that Armenia is ready for the expansion of bilateral cooperation. The
contract is expected to be signed by March 31.

MARCH IN DEFENSE OF ZHOGHOVURD DAILY IN ARMENIA’S CAPITAL

30.01.13

A protest march in defense of the Zhoghovurd (People) daily has
started in Abovyan Str.

More than 100 participants crying out “justice” are marching toward
the Kentron and Nork Marash minor court. They demand that the court
reverse the attachment of the newspaper’s AMD 3m worth property.

Most of the participants are journalists, but some political figures
are participating as well. Among the participants are also Sasun
Mikaelyan, the commander of the Sasun detachment, Chairman of the
Freedom party, Armenia’s ex-premier and one of the presidential
candidates Hrant Bagratyan, Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, a member of the
opposition bloc Armenian National Congress (ANC), as well as Styopa
Safaryan, a member of the Heritage party, political scientist Hmayak
Hovhannisyan and others.

The protesters are carrying posters, reading: “People are with
‘People'”, “No mister selling rotten eggs will rule the court” and
so on.

On January 24, the Zhoghovurd daily received a court verdict returned
by Judge Ruben Apinyan. The verdict attached the newspaper’s AMD 3m
worth property. Thus the court upheld a claim lodged by Mr Khachik
Khachatryan, the owner of the Yerevan Poultry Factory OJSC.

THE KARABAKH PROGRAM OF THE HALO TRUST ORGANIZATION WILL BE INTENSIFIED

Monday, 28 January 2013 09:58

Program Manager Nick Smart denies the Azerbaijani propaganda machine’s
lie on donors.

Thanks to the 13-year mine clearing activity of The Halo Trust British
non-governmental organization in Karabakh, the number of accidents has
considerably reduced, and according to the 2011-2012 data, no death
was registered in the entire territory of the republic. In 2013, it is
planned to complete the mine clearing in two sections of the Martuni
region, as a result of which the entire region will be mine cleared.

Mine clearing will be actively continued in the Hadrut and Martakert
regions.

Sappers have not completed mine clearing in the Askeran region, since
this process is carried out step by step. According to the schedule,
soon this area will be also cleared of unexploded mines and other
ammunitions. This was informed to the Azat Artsakh by manager of the
Nagorno-Karabakh program of The HALO Trust organization Nick Smart
who started his office in June 2011.

Last year, 5 cases of civilians’ blowing up by landmines and other
ammunition were fixed; 6 people were injured, among them – two
children. The most severe case was fixed in Kubatlu: the victim lost
his limbs. In 2011, there were four accidents caused by explosions on
anti-personnel mines and other ammunitions, resulting in the injury
of 5 people. The victims, including two children got different-degree
injuries. Deaths were not reported.

The works on neutralization of the territories in Karabakh started
in 1995. According to the statistics, in the period between 1995 and
2012, there were 270 accidents caused by explosion of mines and other
ordnance; 346 people were injured, among them 91 children. 74 deaths
were registered. It should be noted that through the implementation of
its humanitarian mission in our republic The HALO Trust organization
was invaluable in ensuring the security of the NKR citizens, as well
as training sappers.

Are there any problems with funding the Karabakh program? According to
N. Smart, to date, two basic donors continue providing their financial
assistance. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
provided about $ 1 million as of September 2012. The second donor –
the UK private organization Reece Foundation and Grapes for Humanity
donated $ 300.000 to the NKR in May 2012. The contract with this
organization expires in April 2013. According to our interlocutor,
other funds are also interested in providing humanitarian assistance
to Nagorno Karabakh and, in particular, one of them (Mr. Smart didn’t
note the source) expressed readiness to conduct wide-scale works on
mine clearing in Kashatagh. The program manager is going to present
the annual budget to this fund.

He gave another example testifying to the organization’s concern about
the Karabakh sappers. The additional grant from the USAID was not
enough for paying the entire staff’s salaries. In last August, staff
reduction in 20 sappers was planned, but the talks of the Karabakh
program manager with Director of the organization Guy Willoughby
resulted in the Director’s decision to sponsor the 20 sappers through
the domestic resources of The HALO Trust. “In this September, the
USAID funds will run out, but our joint work will not complete thus.

We hope for continuing the cooperation with the United States, which
will allow to increase the works’ volume”, said the program manager.

Our next question to Mr. Smart related to another disinformation of
the Azeris, according to which The HALO Trust failed to find new
donors, which will lead to the termination of the organization’s
activity. The program manager denied this misinformation, stating that
the organization would continue its activities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

About how long it will take to complete the mine clearance throughout
Karabakh? According to N. Smart, it all depends on the available
resources and opportunities. With the current number of employees it
will take about five years. 13 teams participate in the mine clearing
works. According to the Karabakh office, the number of employees
makes 140 people, 120 of them belong to the operational staff and
are directly involved in the field works. For 13 years, the Karabakh
sappers have worked with the British non-governmental organization
within the humanitarian program for removing the consequences of the
Azerbaijani-Karabakh war. According to N. Smart, the Nagorno-Karabakh
sappers’ staff is one of the best among the other staffs of The
HALO Trust worldwide. “The management team, which has worked in
the organization since 2000, i.e. since the start of the program in
Nagorno-Karabakh, is quite professional. Their knowledge of the works
in mined areas is invaluable. The collaboration of the management team
with field engineers is on the highest level. Without such employees,
the program would not be successful. Of the 140 employees, I am the
only foreigner”. According to N. Smart, the organization is just
represented here; this is a Karabakh program and it is managed by
Karabakh specialists. He can only note the directions of works.

Everything is done by the local staff’s efforts and the country can
be proud of them, he said.

The organization has offices in Washington and San Francisco, which
mainly deal with financial issues.

This year, one of the senior employees of the Karabakh office will
be sent to the United States for arranging the issues related to
the funding.

At the end, Mr. Smart noted that this year the UK is celebrating
the 25th anniversary of The HALO Trust’s foundation. Since 1988,
it has realized humanitarian mission in different parts of the world
(the first country was Afghanistan). During the year, the mass media
will widely highlight the humanitarian mission of the organization in
all directions. He also noted that in 2013, the son of Lady Diana,
Prince Harry, following the example of his mother, would become a
sponsor of the organization.

Ruzan ISHKHANIAN

KARVACHAR CITY WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO USE INTERNET SERVICE BY “KARABAKH TELECOM”

“Karabakh Telecom is pleased to announce that effective 28.01.2013
Karvachar City in Shahumyan Region (Artsakh) and Shosh Village in
Askeran Region will have full internet service.

At the same time Karabakh Telecom in also pleased to announce that
customers in Karvachar City, as well as Haterk and Drmbon villages
in the Shahumyan Region can be fully serviced in its newly renoved
and fully operational Service Centers.

Expect more exciting news and innovations from Karabakh Telecom in
the near future”, press release by Karabakh Telecom informs about this.

Note that this is really good and exciting news for the residents of
Karvachar city.

30.01.13, 13:18

ARMENIA’S NATIONAL WRESTLING TEAM CAPTURES FIRST PLACE IN DENMARK

January 30

YEREVAN. – The Greco-Roman wrestling national team of Armenia took
part in an A-class international tournament in Denmark, where it
competed against Hungary, Germany, France, Norway, Finland, and the
host nation.

The Armenian wrestles won a total of seven medals and captured first
place in overall team standings. Sasun Ghambaryan, Artur Shahinyan,
and London Olympics bronze-medalist Artur Aleksanyan won gold; Tigran
Torosyan and Sargis Tonoyan took silver; and Aram Julfalakyan and
Maksim Manukyan received bronze medals at the event.

Next, the national team athletes will take part in a training camp
that will get underway Sunday in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan, the
Sport and Youth Affairs Ministry website informs.

NEWS.am Sport

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN ESPERE QUE L’ELECTION PRESIDENTIELLE SERA DEMOCRATIQUE
Laetitia

armenews.com
mercredi 30 janvier 2013

Raffi Hovannisian, un candidat de l’opposition, a indique mardi qu’il
se tiendrait a l’ecart de toute manifestation violente, en cas de
contestation des resultats officiels de l’election du 18 fevrier.

Dans une longue interview accordee a RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am), Raffi
Hovannisian a de nouveau remis en question l’engagement exprime par
le president Serge Sarkissian concernant la tenue d’une election ”
democratique “. Il a insiste sur le fait que les employes du secteur
public demeurent sous la pression du gouvernement. ” Si les choses
continuent comme cela, je ne tolèrerai aucune fraude. Je crois en une
eventuelle revolution electorale. Je crois que le peuple armenien
peut proceder a une revolution electorale “, a-t-il dit. Interroge
sur son action en cas de fraude, il a declare qu’il fera tout ce que
la constitution et les lois lui permettent de faire.

R. Hovannisian a critique Ter-Petrosian (Congrès national armenien
(HAK)), l’opposition Federation revolutionnaire armenienne (FRA)
et le Parti Armenie prospère (BHK) concernant leur decision de
boycotter la prochaine election. Il semblait decu que le HAK et la
FRA ne soutiennent pas sa candidature. ” Je respecte leur decision
… mais je crois que leur non-participation n’est pas efficace. Il
ne faut pas le voir comme une fatalite. Où est la poursuite du combat
qui avait commence en 2008 ? “, a-t-il demande.

mercredi 30 janvier 2013, Laetitia ©armenews.com

COACH SAYS ARMENIA VS CZECH REPUBLIC MATCH WILL BE CRUCIAL

January 29, 2013 – 15:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia national football team will address a number
of problems during the upcoming team practice session, head coach said.

“We will offer a solution to the problem of the defensive midfielder.

4 players will miss the match; two due to disqualification, and other
two due to injuries,” Vardan Minasyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

“I attach special importance to human relations rather than playing
techniques,” the head coach said.

Armenia will face off against Czech Republic on March 26 World Cup
Qualification.

“Armenian team has been characterized by aspiration for victory and
devotion. The match against Czechia will be crucial,” the coach said.

The squad will depart for France on Feb 3 to face Luxemburg in a
friendly match.

CHESS: ARONIAN SATISFIED WITH HIS PERFORMANCE AT TATA STEEL

Chess | 29.01.13 | 10:12

Photo:

Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian believes his second place at a
prestigious international tournament in the Netherlands that ended
on Sunday is a ‘good result’ despite several missed opportunities.

Tata Steel’s Group A tournament in Wijk aan Zee, bringing together 14
grandmasters, ended in the victory by FIDE’s number one player Magnus
Carlsen from Norway. Finishing second, Aronian, currently the world’s
number three player, outdid reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand
from India.

“Remembering the positions I would have [during some of the games]
at the tournament, I can’t say that I’m much satisfied with my
performance. Though I really missed several important moments, second
place is quite good result,” concluded the Armenian chess ace after
the completion of the tournament in the Dutch town.

Meanwhile, in Tata Steel’s Tournaments B and C, Sergei Movsesian
representing Armenia and Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian, an ethnic Armenian
player from Brazil, finished fourth in their respective sections,
in each of which 14 players were competing.

All results and the final standings from Tata Steel are available on
the tournament’s official website at