Author: Badalian Vardan

Radio Netherlands
Dec 1 2012

Yerevan says Brazzaville crash plane was Armenian

Published on 1 December 2012 – 7:06pm

A cargo plan that crashed at Brazzaville airport killing at least 27
people belonged to the Armenian freight specialist airline Rij
Airways, the foreign ministry in Yerevan said Saturday.

The plane, carrying seven crew members, crashed as it tried to land in
a storm on Friday.

Most of the victims were local people killed when the plane skidded
off the runway and ploughed into houses and a bar in the Congolese
capital.

“According to initial information, the crew was made up of seven
people, of whom five were Armenian,” added Armenian civil aviation
authority spokeswoman Nelli Tchertchinian.

“They all died,” she said.

In Brazzaville, a hospital official told AFP there were 27 bodies. It
was not clear if this included the crew.

More than 30 others were injured in the disaster.

The four-engine Ilyushin T76 plane had earlier taken off from the
western port city of Pointe Noire.

Fars News Agency, Iran
Dec 2 2012

Iranian Companies Widening Activities in Armenia

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Armenian diplomat stressed the good economic
and trade relations between Tehran and Yerevan, and said 500 Iranian
companies have registered their operation in Armenia.

“500 Iranian companies have been registered in Armenia,” Armenian
Ambassador to Tehran Grigor Arakelyan said in a meeting with a number
of Iranian manufacturers and exporters in the Western Kermanshah
province on Sunday.

He also noted that the Chambers of Commerce of Iran and Armenia have
jointly set up a trade center for the Iranian businessmen in Yerevan
to further facilitate their activities.

Arakelyan expressed satisfaction with the trend of trade and economic
ties between Iran and Armenia, and said the volume of the two
countries’ trade exchanges stands at $329mln at present, which should
be increased.

In recent years, Iran and its Northern neighbor Armenia have boosted
cooperation, signed agreements on energy cooperation and agreed to
cooperate in technology and research and to enhance ties in commerce
and economy.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Armenian counterpart
pledged in December 2011 to further expand “high-level relations”
between their nations and, in particular, give new impetus to the
implementation of joint energy projects that have fallen behind
schedule.

In early October, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his
Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian met at the UN Headquarters in
New York to discuss bilateral ties and regional and international
issues.

In a relevant event in June, a senior Iranian official announced Iran
and Armenia’s plans to establish a joint free trade zone.

Caretaker of Aras Free Trade Zone Sadeq Najafi made the remarks in a
meeting with the governor-general of Sionik province, during which the
two sides inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in
investment, trade and environmental sectors.
“In this MoU, it was agreed that an Iranian-Armenian free trade zone
will be established for joint investment by Aras Free Trade Zone and
Sionik province,” Najafi said.

The two sides also agreed to create a joint border market at Nordouz
border which is located within the boundaries of Aras Free Trade Zone,
he added.

`07123686

Parliament by-elections underway in Armenia

13:17 – 02.12.12

Parliamentary by-elections are taking place today in two
single-mandate constituencies in Armenia -in capital Yerevan and the
second largest city, Gyumri.

The bid for legislature in Gyumri (Constituency No. 35) is between two
contenders – Arman Sahakyan (ruling Republican Party), the owner of
Shirak FC and the general director of Sovrano LLC, and Murad Grigoryan
(Armenian Pan-National Movement), a self-nominee. The third election
runner, Arman Khachatryan, who is in charge of the VIDIS Distribution
company’s Market Development Group, has withdrawn his candidacy.

The constituency covers 16 communities in the Shirak region and
several districts of Gyumri. The by-elections were appointed after
Samvel Balansanyan of the Prosperous Armenia party had to withdraw his
parliament seat after taking office as the mayor of Gyumri.

Speaking to Tert.am, the chairman of the constituency comission,
Gurgen Malkhasyan, said their finalized list contains 55,571 voters
from 45 districts.

Three candidates are running for election in the Yerevan Constituency
No. 1. They include Robert Sargsyan (Republican Party), Styopa
Safaryan (Heritage party), Armenak Dovlatyan (Armenia’s Green Union).
The fourth candidate, Edward Petrosyan (People’s Party of Armenia),
later submitted a withdrawal.

The majority MP representing this constituency in parliament was
President of the Football Federation of Armenia Ruben Hakobyan
(Republican), who resigned as a parliament member earlier this year.

There are 64,748 registered voters in the district, Chairman of the
Constutuency’s Commission Gegham Hayrapetyan told our correspondent.

Some 143 local observers are monitoring the by-elections in the two
majority constituencies.

Alto Karabaj es parte de la familia europea, según el presidente de Armenia

Presidente de Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan
© RIA Novosti. Serguei Guneev
11:50 02/12/2012
Moscú, 2 de diciembre, RIA Novosti.

Alto Karabaj forma parte de la familia europea, declaró el presidente
de Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, durante una rueda de prensa en Ereván.
“Es importante para nosotros que se produzcan contactos directos entre
representantes de la Unión Europea y los del Alto Karabaj”, dijo ayer
Sargsyan en una conferencia de prensa conjunta con el presidente de la
Comisión Europea, José Manuel Barroso, quien llegó a Armenia en visita
oficial.
El mandatario armenio destacó además el “pleno entendimiento” entre
Ereván y Bruselas sobre las vías de la arreglo del conflicto de
Karabaj.
También censuró el empleo por parte de algunos países de la región de
bloqueos contra sus vecinos y retóricas militaristas, actitudes para
las que pidió “tolerancia cero”.
Sargsyan señaló que el bloqueo al que el Gobierno de Ankara mantiene
desde hace años contra Armenia viola las normas y los principios del
derecho internacional, y criticó las políticas de las autoridades
azerbaiyanas por tachar de enemigo a todo el pueblo armenio.
El conflicto de Alto Karabaj se remonta a 1988, año en que se separó
de la entonces República Socialista Soviética de Azerbaiyán para
proclamar tres años más tarde la creación de un Estado independiente.
La secesión dio origen a una guerra entre Bakú y Ereván que se
prolongó hasta mayo de 1994 y a raíz de la cual Azerbaiyán perdió el
control sobre Alto Karabaj y siete distritos adyacentes.
Mientras, la frontera entre Armenia y Turquía permanece cerrada desde
1993 a iniciativa de Ankara a raíz del conflicto en Alto Karabaj.

ARMENIE
Une délégation du CICR rend visite à deux prisonniers azéris

Une délégation du Comité International de la Croix-Rouge (CIRC) en
Arménie a rendu visite à des prisonniers azéris en Arménie.

Un des prisonniers est un militaire, l’autre est un civil, selon le CICR.

« Le 20 novembre, la délégation a rendu visite à deux prisonniers
azéris, l’ un est un militaire, l’autre un civil. Le but de la visite
était de leur livrer des informations personnelles » a précisé le
représentant d’organisation. Le CICR a aussi dit que la partie azérie
détient actuellement une famille arménienne composée de cinq membres.

dimanche 2 décembre 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

EUROVISION JUNIOR-2012
L’Arménie avec Compass Band a terminé 3e à l’Eurovision Junior-2012 à
Amsterdam (Pays Bas)

L’Arménie avec le groupe Compass Band et la chanson « Sweetie Baby » a
pris la 3e place du Concours de l’Eurovision Junior-2012 hier soir au
Heineken Music Hall d’Amsterdam (Pays Bas). L’Arménie avec 98 points
s’est classée troisième des douze pays participants au concours,
derrière l’Ukraine et la Géorgie. L’Ukraine et la Géorgie ont donné à
l’Arménie la note maximale de 12 points. Le Belarus, la Russie, Israël
et les Pays Bas donnant 10 points à l’Arménie. Anastasiya Petryk a
donné la victoire à l’Ukraine (138 points). A noter que pour sa
première participation à l’Eurovision Junior, l’Azerbaïdjan a
terminé…avant-dernière. L’Arménie et l’Azerbaïdjan ne se sont donnés
aucun point…

1.Ukraine – 138 points
2.Géorgie – 103 points
3.Armenie – 98 points
4.Russie – 88 points
5.Belgique – 72 points
6.Suède – 70 points
7.Pays-Bas – 69 points
8.Israël – 68 points
9.Biélorussie – 56 points
10.Moldovie – 52 points
11.Azerbaïdjan – 49 points
12.Albanie – 35 points

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 2 décembre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Villagers Prefer to Sell Wheat to Individuals

Saturday, 01 December 2012 15:36

The farmers of Jartar village, Martouni region, are satisfied with
this year’s wheat harvest, and they assure that the year has been more
fruitful than the previous one. Our interlocutors from Jartar village
were satisfied with about 18 centners’ crop yield.

Garnik has been engaged in corn cultivation for a long time. `This
year I have cultivated a cornfield of 15 hectares. Last year the crop
was poor, that is why I reduced the area three times. This year I have
had quite a rich harvest with an average crop yield of 35 centners.
This time I will probably sow a greater area with wheat’.

Garnik prefers not to deliver the wheat to corn-mills and explains
that it is more profitable to sell it to separate customers.

Michael who has been cultivating wheat for many years, prefers to sell
it to companies for 140 drams than to mills. He intends to extend his
fields to 150 hectares.

40-year-old Vladimir, a beginner in this field, says the year was
successful. `I sold several tons of wheat to the corn-mill but I think
it is more profitable to sell it to individuals since they pay more.

As we found it out individuals pay 160-180 drams per kilogram, while
the mills only 150 drams.

Karabakh president, K-Telecom CEO discuss communication development in Karabakh

tert.am
12:35 – 01.12.12

On 1 December President of the Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
received director-general of the `Karabagh-Telecom’ closed joint stock
company Ralph Yirikyan.

Issues related to developing communication sphere in Karabakh were
discussed during the meeting, Central Information Department of the
Office of Karabakh President reported.

The Karabakh president welcomed the lowering the tariffs of provided
by the company services considering it important both from economic
and social perspectives.

Issues concerning realization of various humanitarian programs in the
republic were also touched upon during the meeting.

Armenian Ambassador makes speech at UN conference

news.am
December 01, 2012 | 17:16

On November 30 the UN Security Council for the third time this year
addressed the topic of `Women, Peace and Security,’ where the
Ambassador of Armenia Karen Nazaryan made a speech.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am was informed at the press service of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the Ambassador praised the
work of the public sector in this area. According to him, due to
inadequate database on the extent, frequency and impact of violence
against women, the development of necessary reforms is slowed down.

Ambassador Karen Nazaryan stressed the importance of political
involvement of women, particularly in regions affected by conflicts.
In this regard, he expressed the hope that the program of the European
Partnership for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, developed for the civil society, will be of great benefit
for the media and civil sector in all three countries.

President Bako Sahakyan visited a newly constructed apartment building
located in the Toumanyan Street of the capital Stepanakert

News from Armenia and Diaspora – Noyan Tapan
30-11-2012 17:33:05 | | Economy

On 30 November Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited a
newly constructed apartment building located in the Toumanyan Street
of the capital Stepanakert and got acquainted to its conditions.
The Head of the State considered housing among key directions of the
republic’s socioeconomic development noting that the process would be
of a continuous nature and such comfortable apartments would be built
in different settlements of the republic.
Thereafter the President visited `Sur-Narek’ Co Ltd production site of
construction materials and got acquainted to the activities being
carried out there. President Sahakyan considered important the
existence of such enterprises for boosting local industry.
The President was accompanied by prime-minister Ara Haroutyunyan and
other officials.

CENTRAL INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARTSAKH REPUBLIC PRESIDENT