Author: Badalian Vardan

FLIGHTS FROM STEPANAKERT TO YEREVAN WILL BE PERFORMED IN A FEW DAYS

Karabakh-open.info
Monday, 01 October 2012 13:53

In the forthcoming days the Stepanakert airport will receive an
official certificate with certain restrictions that will officially
permit to perform flights from Stepanakert, head of the civil aviation
department adjunct to the NKR Government Dmitri Adbashyan said in
his interview to Karabakh-open.info.

“The reason for the restrictions of the certificate is the lack for
certain equipment. Thus, for example, we do not have the special device
for cleaning the ice layer on the plane that is why the flights will
be performed only in hot weather. The runway is lighted while the
peron is not, thus, the flights will be performed only in daytime,” D.
Adbashyan explained.

For the nearest week the plane will realize technical flights and
that, as D. Adbashyan assures, is a good chance to test the airport
equipment and the preparedness of the crew. Only after that the
airport will perform the Stepanakert-Yerevan-Stepanakert flights. “One
or two flights a day with tickets costing AMD 18-20 thousand will be
performed initially,” D. Adbashyan said and added that the passengers’
safety will be completely secured.

BERMAN AND SHERMAN BATTLE FOR ARMENIAN VOTE AT ANCA-WR DEBATE

ARMENPRESS
2 October, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS: At a debate organized by the Armenian
National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR), Congressman
Howard Berman and Congressman Brad Sherman battled each other for the
Armenian-American vote in the San Fernando Valley. With the occasional
fireworks, the congressmen held little back as they vied for the
crucial swing vote a little over a month before Election Day on
November 6. As Armenpress reports citing ANCA WR, over three-hundred
community members, many of them undecided voters, packed Avedissian
Hall at Ferrahian Armenian School in Encino, California, on Saturday
evening to hear the positions and proposals of the two well-respected
congressmen pitted against each other in the most closely watched
congressional race in the United States. The energetic debate,
which became heated a number of times as the congressmen rebutted
and refuted each other’s arguments, evinced the highly emotional,
and oft-contentious, atmosphere of the race. The debate featured as
moderator Zanku Armenian, a columnist with the Glendale News-Press
and public relations executive and, as panelists, Harut Sassounian,
publisher of the California Courier newspaper and well-known
columnist, and Ara Khachatourian, editor of Asbarez English and the
immensely popular Asbarez Post and Asbarez.com. Numerous topics
were broached by the panelists including student fee increases
in the California university system, recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and Genocide-era insurance claims, appropriation of aid to
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and its use, the extradition of convicted
axe-murderer Ramil Safarov by the government of Hungary to Azerbaijan,
trade agreements between the United States and Armenia, and the
condition of Armenians in Javakhk in the Republic of Georgia and aid
to that region. Written questions were also taken from the audience.

Both candidates stressed the importance of leadership in realizing
any of the issues discussed, regularly citing their own history of
leadership over the years. While Sherman highlighted his lead in
recent polls and his local-level endorsements, Berman pointed to his
seniority and long list of endorsements from Members of Congress. Both
referenced their strong relationship with the ANCA and recognized
its leading role in bring Armenian-American issues to the fore in
Washington and locally. Although there was expected disagreement
about who was better for the job and about approach, the congressmen
generally agreed about the importance of the issues presented by the
panelists and the need to have them addressed by the U.S. Congress.

Nora Hovsepian, co-chair of the ANCA-WR, aptly noted in her opening
remarks the role the Armenian-American community is slated to
play as a “swing vote” in the close race between the two incumbent
congressmen. “It is hard to overestimate the importance of this race
to our community and, in turn, the importance of our community to
this race,” said Hovsepian. “The participation of the congressmen, the
outpouring of interest from our community, and the presence of national
and local media were testament to the significance of both this race
and to ensuring that every voter is educated about the candidates
and gets out to vote on Election Day – that’s why we organized this
debate and that’s why we initiated the Hye Votes project.”

OSKANIAN PREDICTS FALLOUT FOR ARMENIA FROM ‘POLITICAL ORDER’ AGAINST HIM

Politics | 02.10.12 | 10:49

Member of Parliament and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan
Oskanian regrets the “miscalculation” of the authorities in trying
to prosecute him without any legal grounds that he says will only
damage Armenia’s interests in international affairs and affect the
country’s image.

Speaking on a prime time talk show on Kentron TV Monday night Oskanian
said that the authorities are executing “a political order” against
him by trying to strip him of parliamentary immunity and prosecute
in connection with an embezzlement of funds that he said had never
taken place.

“We should understand how all this is going to be seen from the
Diaspora and what attitude our citizens will have towards the whole
thing. We should also understand that we have the Karabakh issue,
for which we need confidence of the Diaspora,” said the Syria-born
politician, who served as Armenia’s foreign minister in 1998-2008
and participated then in internationally mediated negotiations with
Azerbaijan over the Karabakh conflict on behalf of the Armenian
leadership.

“Now the world will wonder: ‘Did we work for 10 years with a person
who has been engaged in money laundering?’ The government can’t see
the broader picture,” he charged.

Oskanian, who is a senior member of the Prosperous Armenia Party
(PAP) today, also suggested that the developments around his persona
as well as the party that now faces a government backlash will also
harm Armenia’s democratic credentials, in particular may result in
Armenia appearing in the list of countries with authoritarian regimes
in the annual reports of Freedom House, a legal global watchdog.

The PAP lawmaker said the outcome of the vote on stripping him of his
parliamentary immunity planned for Tuesday was a ‘foregone conclusion’
considering the majority that the ruling Republican Party today
enjoys in the National Assembly. He stressed that it is against this
“political monopoly” that he has been fighting ever since he joined
the PAP early this year.

The 57-year-old diplomat-turned-politician, who is regarded by many as
a plausible candidate to challenge incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan
in next February’s election, stressed that he wouldn’t give up and
was going to fight to the end even if it meant being jailed.

ARMENIA’S FORMER FM HURT BY HIS PARTY LEADER’S ABSENCE FROM PARLIAMENTARY HEARING – NEWSPAPER

news.am
October 02, 2012 | 07:41

YEREVAN. – The Civilitas Foundation founder, former FM, and currently
Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP Vartan Oskanian was “alone” on
Monday and, understandably, very concerned and in a terribly bad mood,
Hraparak daily writes.

“He was sitting alone in his [National Assembly (NA)] office until
the start of the session, [and] the only person from PAP [NA Faction]
who was caringly entering [to] and leaving [from Oskanian’s office]
was [United Labor Party Chairman] Gurgen Arsenyan. Subsequently,
Oskanian himself went to Arsenyan’s VIP office, where they discussed
the list of those who [could] ‘vote in favor’ [of the petition].

According to our sources, he [that is, Oskanian] is hurt from
[PAP leader] Gagik Tsarukyan’s absence [during the NA discussions]
because he understands that he could be arrested in case of political
necessity, and the only person who can obstruct this is not along
his side when needed,” Hraparak writes.

To note, the NA is discussing the Prosecutor General’s formal petition
to include Vartan Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, on May 25 the National
Security Service (NSS) Department of Investigation filed a criminal
lawsuit on charges of money laundering with respect to The Civilitas
Foundation.

The NSS Press Center had informed that an investigation is underway
in connection with selling the 100-percent shares of the Huntsman
Building Products Company for around $2 million, but not informing
Armenia’s tax authorities about this business deal; not using for
charitable purposes $1,135,000 of that amount envisioned for charity;
transferring this amount to the bank accounts opened under the names
of the Civilitas Foundation’s founder Vartan Oskanian, and of the
Foundation’s Board of Trustees member Tigran Karapetyan; and using
some of this amount for private purposes.

In addition, as per the NSSPressCenter, The Civilitas Foundation had
not presented a report on the $2 million allocated for charitable
purposes.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OFFENDED BY ERDOGAN’S RECENT SPEECH

tert.am
02.10.12

In his recent speech Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
has offended the Armenian community of Turkey.

Speaking to Taraf paper, editor of Agos, Istanbul-based Armenian
paper, Rober Koptash and writer, activist Hayko Baghdat stated that
Erdogan again linked the normalization of relations with Armenia
with the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, stating that
“as far as the demands of Azerbaijani brothers have been implemented”
their decision will not change.

“With it the Turkish PM put an end to the football diplomacy of
Abdullah Gul and to the Armenian-Turkish protocols. He once again
tied normalization of relations with Karabakh conflict settlement,”
he said. “It is remarkable that Erdogan likens Karabakh issue with
the Cyprian one while he does not think of suspending relations
with Greece but prefers not to have any relations with Armenia
because of Azerbaijan. The Turkish PM applies double standards,”
Rober Koptash said.

Hayko Baghdat said Erdogan imagines such a character of Armenian
which is offensive for Armenians. “He thinks we are a small group
of inherited people who is given a right to live like orange fish in
aquarium. He thinks ‘let’s feed them, so that they will not die.’ I
am very concerned about it. It is rather humiliating for us,” he said.

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT ADOPTS STATEMENT AGAINST EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

arminfo
Tuesday, October 2, 12:32

A relevant Commission of the Azerbaijani Parliament has adopted a
statement against the resolution of the European Parliament (EP)
on Ramil Safarov and the upcoming discussion of the issue at PACE
Autumn Session.

The statement reads that Azerbaijan is suffering pressure, as Europe
has not fully got rid of dual standards. “This biased attitude of
the international organizations to Azerbaijan affects the Karabakh
conflict’s resolution,” the statement reads.

The statement expresses regret to the EP resolution. It also notes
that the extradition of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan and his pardoning
were carried out “in accordance with local laws and international
conventions.”

Earlier on August 31 the Armenian authorities adopted a decision to
suspend diplomatic relations and official contacts with Hungary.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan made public the decision at a
special meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions on Friday after
the Hungarian authorities extradited Azeri officer Ramil Safarov,
who was sentenced by a Hungarian court to life in jail for killing
sleeping Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in Budapest
in 2004. Both the officers were undergoing an English language course
under the NATO PfP program. The same day after Safarov’s extradition,
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev decreed to pardon the criminal.

KHOSROV FOREST CASE: ‘GREEN’ ACTIVISTS URGE POLICE TO CATCH ‘REAL CULPRITS’ IN ILLEGAL HUNTING
By Julia Hakobyan

ArmeniaNow
02.10.12 | 12:10

Alleged illegal hunting in a national park has sparked fresh mutual
accusations between government officials and environmentalists, who
insist that the police have picked the wrong man as a suspect in a
high-profile poaching case.

The Khosrov Reserve again made the news late last month after a civil
initiative group with the identical name disseminated footage with
evidence of illegal hunting in the protected forest area. It filed a
statement with the police saying that during a visit to the territory
of the Khosrov Forest State Reserve its activists found remains
of killed animals listed in the Red Book of endangered species,
in particular a Bezoar goat and a Caucasian bear, as well as traces
of bonfires, household waste, including empty vodka bottes, after
apparent barbecue parties.

Following a demand of the environmentalists that the police conduct
a probe into the case, the Ministry of the Environment set up a
working group, which visited the national park area where it found
and documented the evidence of the crime (including an ibex’s severed
head).

Last Sunday the Armenian police reported an arrest of a resident
of Garni, 29-year-old Norik Sargsyan, who was charged with illegal
hunting in the territory of the reserve.

The very next day, the Khosrov Reserve civic initiative issued a
statement, saying that Sargsyan has nothing to do with the crime and
that the police are trying to frame him psychological intimidation
on him.

“This shows that the police, using methods typical of them, are doing
anything to put the blame on Sargsyan, while covering up the real
criminals and hiding the omissions of the Ministry of the Environment,”
it said.

The Initiative reported that Sargsyan demands that law-enforcement
agencies ensure the presence of his lawyer on a compulsory basis.

“If Sargsyan is not provided with a lawyer, it will be a gross
violation of the law by the law-enforcement agencies. It is not
excluded that he will be coerced into giving the ‘desired’ testimony,”
the group said.

Meanwhile, the Police, too, issued a statement accusing the
environmentalists of obstructing the investigation with their actions
and alleging that the activists in actual fact were not interested
in the disclosure of the case.

“The environmentalists are not interested in dead animals or the
disclosure of the fact of poaching. They do not care even for the
confessed poacher, Norik Sargsyan, whom they have taken under their
protection with amazing zeal. Environmentalists are apparently
interested in another opportunity to make some noise, this time
by means of defending the ‘rights’ of a poacher. Sargsyan is being
portrayed by them as an innocent person who wasn’t aware of anything,
whom the police are trying to put the whole blame on,” the Police
said in the statement, stressing that Sargsyan, too, has served
in the law-enforcement system (Department of State Security of the
Armenian Police) since 2005 and the Police have no need whatsoever to
‘sacrifice their colleague’ or cover up the incident.

Earlier, at a press conference in September, workers of the Ministry
of the Environment expressed their concern over what they described
as the environmental activists’ “illegal” entry to the Khosrov reserve.

Activists were outraged then that instead of finding the perpetrators
of the crime, officials were more preoccupied with their entry to the
territory of the reserve. They believe that the case in the Khosrov
forest was not the work of poachers, but that the crime was committed
by people who had come there to hunt for sport and have a good time.

The Kakavaberd section (where the traces of hunting and partying were
found) is the weakest section of the Khosrov reserve, and there are
many paths along which poachers can easily get to the area supposed
to be protected by the state from poachers.

The Khosrov Reserve is a conservation area in the Ararat region
of Armenia and hunting animals like Red Book-listed Bezoar goats,
Armenian mouflons or panthers in the reserve is punishable with a
fine of up to $7,000.

Still, several websites offer options for hunting some Red Book species
in Armenia. For example, the Ibex club (which has Moscow telephone
numbers) offers “a Bezoar ibex hunting tour in the best mountains
about 120 kilometers from Yerevan”. The hunt for the Armenian mouflon
is organized in the mountains of Meghri, about 500 kilometers from
capital Yerevan.

“Normally 3-5 days of hunting are enough to get a nice trophy,” the
website says in its advertisement, informing visitors that the cost
of the package (which is not specified) does not include a license
for hunting bears, mouflons and goats.

Armenia allows hunting a number of animals such as foxes, wolves,
wild boars and about 10 species of birds. The Ministry notes that
every year they reveal 100 to 160 cases of poaching in the country,
and through the fines imposed on the offenders for damaging wildlife
the state budget annually gets an additional $30,000.

WITH THE DECISION OF THE AARHUS COMMITTEE THEY WILL MAKE THE ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS FULFILL THE INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS

October 1, 2012 16:57

The NGOs, which are deprived of appealing the permissions to exploit
Teghut in court, discussed the issue in the UN Economic Commission
for Europe a few days ago.

According to lawyer Artur Grigoryan, a member of the Teghut Protection
civil initiative, the issue was discussed in the commission
on September 25, attended by members of the civil initiative,
the Ministry of Nature Protection and the company exploiting
Teghut, Vallex. According to the member of the initiative, the
latter participated on behalf of the state, “The state cannot be
represented by a private company, but in this case, the state invited
the representative of this mining company to represent Armenia along
with it. This is a violation of Article 2 of the Convention and we
raised that issue in the commission, they promised to find an official
solution to the issue.”

In A. Grigoryan’s words, the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
will make a decision in December on the fact of depriving them of
possibility to appeal the permissions to exploit Teghut in court. He
thinks that the committee’s decision will reassert once again the
violation of the Aarhus convention by the Armenian government.

When asked what the civil initiative would gain from that decision, A.

Grigoryan said, “The President, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs are personally responsible for fulfilling international
obligations. We will have a document, with which we will make those
officials fulfill the international obligations.”

We will publish the comment of the Ministry of Nature Protection on
the meeting in the short-run.

Arpine SIMONYAN

ARMENIAN FM AND UN SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSS KARABAKH ISSUE

news.am
October 02, 2012 | 10:18

YEREVAN. – Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who is in
New York to attend the UN General Assembly session, on Monday met
with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ki-moon asked Nalbandian to convey his best wishes to Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan, and noted that Armenia stands out by its
active foreign policy, Armenian MFA press service informs.

Upon the UN Secretary-General’s request, Armenia’s FM presented
the current phase in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Also, he
appreciated the UN Secretary-General’s and other UN organizations’
unequivocal response following the release of Azerbaijani murderer
Ramil Safarov, who had killed Armenian soldier Gurgen Margaryan with
and axe.

Nalbandian and Ki-moon exchanged views on UN’s present-day challenges
and reforms within the organization. They also reflected on the
proposals for Armenia’s general report.

In addition, the UN Secretary-General expressed a satisfaction by
the Armenian authorities’ assistance provided to the United Nations
Office in Armenia.

HER SECRETS TO STAYING YOUNG

The Pueblo Chieftain (Colorado)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
September 30, 2012 Sunday

by: Anthony A. Mestas, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Sept. 30–Jessie Daniels Hoerning knows a thing or two about the
secret to looking young.

Hoerning, who will turn 100 Tuesday, was the oldest Avon lady in the
country at one time in her native New Jersey.

“She sold it for 35 years. She believed in the Avon products and that
they made her more youthful looking,” said Esther Hyatt, Hoerning’s
daughter. “She would always tell people that the Avon made her
look young.”

Hoerning celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday during a small
reception with family members at the Belmont Lodge.

“She never smoked, she never drank and she never gambled or any of
that kind of stuff. She ate whole food,” Hyatt said.

“And she went very slow wherever she went. She didn’t like to go fast,”
said Brian Hoerning, Hoerning’s son.

The elder Hoerning was born in 1912 in Paterson, N.J. Her parents
emigrated from Armenia.

She was the first of her siblings to be born in America.

Through hard work, the family prospered over the years.

Wyatt, who lives in Pueblo West, brought her mother to Pueblo 10
years ago.

“She was a great cook, too,” Wyatt said, looking at her mother sitting
in a wheel chair adorned with birthday balloons.

Hoerning was a cook at Central High School in Paterson, feeding 2,000
hungry students a day. She later cooked for a small coffee shop and
a supermarket.

Hoerning smiled as her only two children talked about her life.

“You are smiling mom.

Let me see your teeth,” Brian Hoerning said.

“Yes, yes,” the mother replied.

Hoerning has two children, six grandchildren and six great
grandchildren, some in town Saturday for the celebration.