Author: Badalian Vardan

Diaspora Ministry attentive to Syrian-Armenians – minister

tert.am
18:12 – 15.10.12

Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan says they continue keeping
spotlight of the Syrian-Armenians’ problems.

According to her, the Ministry promptly responds to any questions
raised by the Armenian immigrants who have fled the country amid the
escalating tensions.

`If you know a Syrian-Armenian who is dissatisfied with the Ministry
of Diaspora’s activities, and if any employee has failed to respond to
them immediately, I am ready to sack that person. That’s out of the
question,’ the Minister told a news conference on Monday.

She said the state budget has allocated $1.5 million to assist the
Syrian-Armenians, around 5,000 people (1,600 families), who have
arrived in Yerevan since the start of the war tensions. Hakobyan noted
that several Armenian laws and Government decisions have been amended
to solve the community members’ problems.

`Amendments to the Law on Duties are now under way. The legislative
reform will facilitate our compatriots’ situation,’ she explained.

As for the young Syrian-Armenians, the minister said that 200 of them
have applied to higher educational institutions, with 500 more
attending secondary schools and kindergartens. A newly opened school
for the Syrian-Armenians has admitted around 250 students.

Hakobyan considered employment a major issue, noting that around 3,000
Syrian-Armenians are in need of jobs.

`They like having their private business,’ she said, adding that the
Ministry is doing its best to solve the employment-related issues.

The minister then spoke of the Syrian-Armenians’ housing problems,
saying that around 50 of them live with relatives, with 32 families
(with total 71 members) residing in hostels.

`Several pan-Armenian Organizations – the Armenian Relief Fund and the
Armenian General Benevolent Union – have said they are ready to assist
our compatriots in paying the apartment fees in case they agree to
reside outside of the capital city,’ she added.

As for the situation of the Armenians in Syria, Hakobyan said they
have a coordinating body assessing their needs.

`The places not facing war tension ensure minimum conditions of
living, but the heated regions do of course have a shortage of food
and medicines. Our organizations, including the initiative Help Your
brother, are trying to supply [aid],’ she sdded.

According to the Ministry’s records, the Syrian war has claimed the
lives of 36 Armenians since January.

Bako Sahakyan expressed condolences in connection with the death of
the Archbishop Torgom Manoukyan

On 15 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a
condolences letter to the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians Garegin II in connection with the death of the Armenian
Patriarch of Jerusalem Archbishop Torgom Manoukyan. Central
Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh Republic President
informs about this.

The letter runs as follows:

`In the Nagorno Karabagh Republic we have learnt with deep sorrow the
news of Archbishop Torgom Manoukyan’s death. It is a great loss for
the Armenian people, Armenian Apostolic Church and the whole Christian
world.
His Beatitude Archbishop Manoukyan had a huge contribution to
fortifying the Armenian Apostolic Church, strengthening the Christian
faith as well as developing interchurch relations.

He also had a valuable input in preserving the Armenian national
identity, maintaining the Motherland-Diaspora ties, promoting
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the fair
representation of the Artsakh issue.
Please, accept my deep and sincere condolences. In this difficult hour
the people and authorities of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic share with
you the pain and sorrow in connection with this irretrievable loss’.

15.10.12, 18:00

Blind Aspiring Diplomat to Sue Ministry of Foreign Affairs School
Sona Avagyan

16:04, October 15, 2012

Armenia’s Court of Cassation today threw out an appeal by Artak
Beglaryan seeking to overturn a lower court’s decision that found in
favour of the International School of Diplomacy run by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

Beglaryan, who lost his sight at an early age, applied to the school
but was rejected on the grounds of his disability.

The young man wanted the court to declare the school’s rejection as
illegal and also sought 1 AMD in moral damages.

After receiving the rejection Begalryan, who graduated from Yerevan
University’s Faculty of International Affairs with an honors BA,
studied for a year in England.

Beglaryan says he’s planning to sue the School of Diplomacy.

U.S. hopes Armenian-Azeri presidential meeting will be effective

October 15, 2012 – 17:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Washington hopes Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents’ next meeting on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement will
yield effective results, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs said.

`U.S. hopes for a peaceful agreement to be reached upon the completion
of the meeting,’ 1news.az quoted Eric Rubin as saying.

`Karabakh problem resolution must be based on OSCE Minsk Group
efforts,’ the U.S. official said, stressing Washington’s support to MG
endeavors.

Creation of high-level jobs in Armenia to stop labor migration- Armenia’s PM

YEREVAN, October 15. /ARKA/. Creation of high-professional jobs in
Armenia is very important in stopping the labor migration, Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan said at the second Armenian-Russian
interregional forum in Yerevan on Saturday.

`Many people speak today of the labor migration issue. I believe that
our main task in stopping it is to create high-level jobs and
conditions for entrepreneurship development,’ he said.

According to him, such jobs can be opened due to industrial, IT sector
development, as well as creation of a favorable investment atmosphere
for international companies.

A number of agreements are expected to be signed within the forum,
such as on cooperation between Vayots Dzor region of Armenia and
Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, Armenia’s Lori and South Caucasus Railway
cjsc.

After the plenary session the forum participants will go on with
discussions in front of the round table.

The first Armenian-Russian interregional forum was held in Yerevan on
April 18-20, 2011.

A number of agreements were reached following the forum, including the
memorandum signed between SCR and Armenia’s government on launching a
construction of a 32-km segment of Vanadzor-Fioletovo railway. -0-

Un avión armenio con destino a Siria aterriza en Turquía para una inspección

© AFP/ STRINGER 15:02 15/10/2012Ankara, 15 de octubre, RIA Novosti.

Las autoridades de Turquía obligaron hoy a aterrizar en su territorio
a un avión armenio con carga humanitaria para Siria, con el objetivo
de realizar una inspección a bordo de la aeronave, informaron medios
locales.

El avión, que cubría la ruta entre la capital armenia, Ereván, y Alepo
con un cargamento de ayuda humanitaria, tomó tierra en el aeropuerto
de Erzurum, en el este de Turquía.

El portavoz del Ministerio de Exteriores de Armenia, Tigran Balayan,
explicó que el aterrizaje `estaba previsto y se realizó conforme al
acuerdo alcanzado’.

Según informó la cadena turca NTV, Turquía autorizó sobrevolar su
territorio a condición de una inspección a bordo del avión armenio. La
nave podrá proseguir su rumbo a Alepo una vez que se compruebe la
ausencia de mercancías prohibidas, agregó el medio.

El pasado miércoles, varios cazas F-16 de la Fuerza Aérea turca
obligaron a aterrizar un avión sirio que cubría la ruta entre Moscú y
Damasco. La aeronave, un Airbus A-320 con 35 pasajeros a bordo, pudo
continuar el vuelo a la capital siria tras ocho horas de registro a
bordo.

Rusia exigió explicaciones a Turquía por este incidente, acusándola de
`poner en peligro la vida y la seguridad’ de 17 ciudadanos rusos que
viajaban a bordo del avión interceptado.

Community development program launched in Tatev (video, photos)

2012-10-15 12:29:47

Yesterday, on October 14, along with the United Nations Development
Program and the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia
launched the Community development program in Tatev.
As the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia CEO Arman
Khachaturyan mentioned, the goal of the program is the restoration and
preservation of historical and cultural heritage, the revelation and
the balanced development on the grounds of target application of new
tourism values.
The program is aimed at ensuring the restoration of the 9th century
Tatev monastic complex and its surrounding areas. This program also
includes the eight rural communities around the monastery,” said Arman
Khachaturyan in the interview with journalists.
The festive launch of the program was attended by `Tatev Monastery’
abbot Reverend Father Michael Kevorkian, who blessed and wished
success to this process.
The Community development program in Tatev designed to build a retail
market of agricultural products, which will allow local residents to
sell their products to tourists without a mediator. At present the
tourists in Tatev rush to return back because of the lack of places to
spend a night. Therefore, the residents of the community will be given
the chance to improve their living standards, adapt them to the
standards of tourism houses and dispose them to tourists, thus
stimulating the development of tourism, the drainage system of the
community and the water supply problems are to be improved as well.
The launching ceremony was also attended by the United Nations
Development Program Country Office Representative Hripsime Manukyan,
who, stressing the importance of the program, considered it as a
stimulating measure of comprehensive development.
“We disclose to community needs, determine their priorities and select
a strategy. Classify the disclosed prblems in accordance with their
infrastructure, income creating programs, but only those which are
aimed at the development tourism,’ she mentioned.
One of the villagers stated in the interview with a lurer.com
journalist that the implementation of this program may cause a
creation of jobs for the youth in the village, so they won’t leave
their already `dying’ village.

by Nelly Avetisyan and Azatuhi Araskhanyan

Armenian plane makes planned landing in Turkey

NEWS.AM
October 15, 2012 | 13:30

Armenian aircraft heading from Yerevan to Aleppo landed on Monday in
the airport of Turkish Erzurum.

Director of Air Armenia CJSC Arsen Avetisyan told Armenian
News-NEWS.am that the aircraft with a humanitarian cargo on board
landed in Turkish airport for a routine check under previously reached
agreement.

He said that the Turkish side tried to make a show out of the planned
landing with the help of media saying it was a forced landing.

Rouben Safrastyan: “Turkey wants to eliminate Syria as a geopolitical factor”

10:40, 15 October, 2012

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 15, ARMENPRESS. It will be very beneficial for
Turkey, if Syria stops its existence as a geopolitical factor, but
this can be reached only via foreign interference, as armed militants
and weaponry. Director of Institute of Oriental Studies of the
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia Rouben
Safrastyan announced this in a conversation with “Armenpress”.
Director of Institute of Oriental Studies said: “As recent
developments show this can be achieved by foreign military aggression.
In fact, thus Turkey finds a political solution as well, as there are
Kurds all along the Syrian border, that are very serious in pursuit of
the autonomy or even independence during last months, what means
Turkey will have to face Kurdish independent state in his borders with
Syria and Iraq”. Second issue springs out of the Turkish-Syrian
relations referring to entire Turkish policy. Via this aggression
Turkey finds solution not only to his problems, but those of the West
and USA, as they all knew that it is impossible to get rid of Bashar
Assad without foreign power; therefore Turkey takes the role of that
foreign power.

In this respect present state of the Syrian-Armenians is rather
disturbing. In Safrastyan’s opinion Syrian-Armenians and particularly
Armenians from Aleppo are representatives of a generation that
suffered the Genocide and in frames of these all Turkey’s desire to
damage Armenians as well is apparent.

Clashes between rebels and authorities in Syria caused the death of
more than 30,000 men. Syrian government blames Turkey for arming
rebels with weaponry.

Ex-foreign minister of Karabakh: Turkey may initiate military actions
in Karabakh conflict zone, trying to trouble Russia

arminfo
Monday, October 15, 08:48

Armenia should not sit on the sidelines and vaunt over the worsening
of Russian-Turkish relations or mistakably suppose that the
aggravation of these relations will be in Yerevan’s favor, ex-foreign
minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Arman Melikyan said at
a press conference.

He thinks that in case of aggravation of the relations, Turkey may
instigate Azerbaijan to start a new shady undertaking against Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh in order to give new problems to Moscow. “Despite
the close trade and economic ties between Russia and Turkey, despite
the talks about strategic partnership, these relations have no future
as a matter of fact. Moscow and Ankara are old rivals and the
discrepancies between them are deep and serious”, he said.

He added that no changes in the Moscow-Ankara relations will bring any
good to Yerevan, as both improvement and worsening of the relations
contain serious risks. Consequently, it is necessary to conduct a
balanced and competent foreign policy to be able to mobilize all the
existing resources and to resist the foreign challenges.

To recall, the Russian-Turkish relations became tense after the
October 10 incident. When a plane making a Moscow-Damascus flight was
in the Turkish air space, two F-16 fighters started following it. The
plane was forced to land in Ankara, as it was suspected of
transporting weapons illegally. The Turkish special services found 12
sealed boxes. Later on, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said that the boxes contained military equipment for Syria. Russia
refuted this information. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said
on Friday that the plane was legally transporting electrical
facilities for a radar station.