Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIAN POETRY CELEBRATED IN CAMBRIDGE

ARMENPRESS
24 July, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS: The house of one of the 19th century’s
greatest poets, Henry W. Longfellow, served as backdrop for a Sunday
afternoon celebration of Armenian poetry in Cambridge on July 22,
reports Armenpress citing The Armenian Weekly. Two Armenian opera
stars, Victoria Avetisyan and Yeghishe Manucharyan, joined poet Diana
Der-Hovanessian at the Longfellow National Historic Site to celebrate
the publication of her 25th book of poetry, Armenian Poetry of Our
Time, from the Press at California State University.

Several of the translated poems-from Tekeyan to Charents to
Gaboudigian-were read in English by Der-Hovanessian and other poets
from the New England Poetry Club. In turn, tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan
and mezzo soprano Victoria Avetisyan, who won the Young Artist Award
at her Kennedy Center debut, performed Armenian songs to a mesmerized
crowd.

Both artists were born in Yerevan, Armenia. Avetisyan graduated with
a master’s degree in vocal performance from Komitas State University
and began her career at the National Opera. She made her American debut
with the Boston Lyric Opera, where she appears frequently. Manucharyan
made his debut at Carnegie Hall followed by joining the Metropolitan
Opera Company. New York’s NewsDay has praised the “purity, power, and
flexibility of his voice.” He graduated from the Tchaikovsky Central
Music School and Komitas State Conservatory of Music. After the event,
Der-Hovanessian signed copies of Armenian Poetry of Our Time.

SYRIA: CONCERN MOUNTS FOR ARMENIAN COMMUNITY AS FIGHTING REACHES ALEPPO
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan

ArmeniaNow reporter
24.07.12 | 14:59

While fighting continues to rage in Syria, its residents, including
Syrian-Armenians continue to escape. According to a United Nations
survey, about 120,000 people have left Syria, most of them for Turkey,
Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.

During the recent few days there were heated clashes in capital
city Damascus, as well as near Aleppo, where about 45,000 Armenians
have lived.

It is reported that Syrian-Armenians are being kidnapped and ransoms
are demanded to set them free. Some Armenians have even got warnings
by the rebels not to open their shops.

Despite these disturbing reports, on Sunday a video appeared on YouTube
where one of the generals of the Syrian free army, reporting about
the “liberalization” of Aleppo, which is considered to be the main
residence for President of Syria Bashar al-Assad’s supporters, said
that the religious and ethnic minorities, including Armenians had no
reason to be worried about the activations of military actions there,
and that they would defend all of them.

The Syrian-Armenians who came to Armenia, leaving members of their
families, relatives or friends in Aleppo, are worried that the
Aleppo-Yerevan flights are limited, the prices of tickets have risen,
and therefore it becomes difficult to fly to Armenia.

There are two airlines that carry out the Yerevan-Aleppo-Yerevan
flight once a week – Armenia’s national air carrier Armavia and Syrian
Airlines. Both have sold out all tickets up until September. Last
week Armenia’s Diaspora Ministry sent a letter to Armavia, asking to
increase the number of flights and lower the ticket prices. Armavia has
not officially stated yet whether it will provide additional flights.

ARMENIA’S AMBULANCE SERVICE TO BE ON WEEKEND DUTY AT BUSY HIGHWAYS

news.am
July 24, 2012 | 13:26

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Healthcare Minister Derenik Dumanyan held a
consultation Tuesday with his deputy ministers, and heads of the
Ministry’s structural and separate departments, the Ministry informed
Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The Ministry officials presented to the Minister the current matters
and tasks in relation to their domains.

In his turn, Derenik Dumanyan highlighted that since the weekend
traffic at the country’s busy highways is extremely congested due
to summer, it is necessary to set out an ambulance service duty at
those highways, in order to respond quickly to emergency incidents
and provide emergency medical care.

Consequently, the Ministry’s respective department was instructed to
organize these activities.

First and foremost, the Minister instructed for an ambulance duty-on
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays-at several sectors of the Yerevan-Sevan
Highway.

ANCA: THE U.S. CONGRESS SHOULD NOT BE PROVIDING TRADE PREFERENCES TO TURKEY

11:43 . 24/07

The US House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee voted down
a pro-Turkish bill, which would create special trade preferences for
Turkey in the trade with American native tribes, the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) reported.

Before putting the bill to vote, ANCA had expressed its complaint
against Draft Law 2362, taking into consideration several criteria,
including the following factors:

– -The U.S. Congress should not extend special economic benefits
to a country that remains an unrepentant perpetrator of genocide
against millions of its own indigenous minorities, including Armenians,
Greeks, Assyrians, and others.

– The U.S. Congress should not be providing trade preferences
to Turkey, a country that has been blockading landlocked Armenia for
nearly twenty years, a country that threatens Cyprus, is in conflict
with Israel, attacks its Kurdish population, as well as endangers
America’s regional priorities more and more.

– The U.S. Congress should not take the risk violating the other
trade agreements of the US and should grant Turkey a leading position
as compared to other countries, which are reliable and faithful allies
of the United States.

LAWSUITS AGAINST JOURNALISTS, MEDIA HAVE REDUCED IN ARMENIA – EXPERT

news.am
July 24, 2012 | 13:12

YEREVAN. – The number of court cases filed against news reporters and
media outlets has dropped in Armenia in April-June 2012, Chairman
Ashot Melikyan of the Committee for the Protection of Freedom of
Speech stated during a press conference on Tuesday.

In his words, at present, there are six court cases filed against
the media, whereas there were fourteen such cases in the first six
months of 2011.

In addition, three incidents of using physical violence against
journalists were recorded in April-June of the current year, and they
were linked with the parliamentary elections held on May 6. Two of
these incidents occurred in Gyumri city and the other took place in
the capital, Yerevan.

Also, no cases of using physical violence against journalists were
recorded in January-March 2012. Five and ten incidents of receiving
and disseminating information were recorded in the first six months
and in April-June of this year respectively.

As per Ashot Melikyan, overall, the journalists worked under more
favorable conditions as compared with the previous elections in 2008.

JUSTICE MINISTER: REJECTING JUSTICE REFORMS WOULD MEAN OPPOSING TO ARMENIA’S DEVELOPMENT

tert.am
24.07.12

Any objection to Armenia’s 2012-2016 judicial and legal reforms program
would imply disapproval of the country’s development, Minister of
Justice Hrayr Tovmsyan told reporters on Tuesday, introducing the
basic trends of the strategic plan.

“It is not easy to find any program that would have as many proponents
and objectors. And today’s program is among those pleasant exceptions.

It is a complex of steps aimed at having a better Armenia and an
accomplished judicial and legal system which will be free from
corruption risks and red-tape procedures,” he said.

According to him, the main peculiarity of the strategic program is
its comprehensive nature.

“It is not restricted to the judicial system only. We can see the
reform trends in the advocatory, notarial and penitentiary sectors,”
the minister noted.

As for the program’s implementation, he said the major share of
responsibility lies upon the authorities.”It is up to us to mark
the beginning and end of this process. I see the system as a kind of
model which is much more reliable and stable. I am sure we will pass
this way together and have the system that will help us resist the
existing challenges. We have no alternative,” he added.

Georgy Kutoyan, an assistant to the Armenian president on legal
affairs, said the program, which differs in terms of its elaboration
and adoption procedures, covers a broader framework of problems.

“The program pursues predominantly an anti-corruption trend. With
its ideology and logic, it forms a whole entity,” he said.

Kutoyan noted that an untimely implementation of any provision would
put the entire program at risk.

“We are sure that the proper implementation of the program will help
create a legal system that will provide a solution to the existing
problems depending on the demand,” he said.

ARMENIAN KILLED IN RUSSIAN KISLOVODSK

tert.am
23.07.12

At least two people died, others were injured as a result of a brawl
in Russian town of Kislovodsk.

According to newsru.com, one of the victims is a 25-year-old Armenian.

Fifteen people were engaged in the fight.

Witnesses say three young people were standing near a cafe in the town
being approached by Cossack patrol group. The argument between them
turned into a brawl with the usage of weapons. One of the Cossacks shot
at the Armenian from a traumatic gun, cut the throat of a Georgian, and
another young man standing near, then stabbed a person from Karachaevo.

The Cossacks are reported to have losses too, taking with them three
injured.

According to one hypothesis, the scuffle started after one of the
conflicting parties tried to snatch the other’s phone. Hearing a
police car siren, the brawl participants fled the scene. The police
managed to catch one of them.

SERZH SARGSYAN’S HINT TO OLD AND NEW FRIENDS
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:26:31 – 23/07/2012

Serzh Sargsyan attended the board meeting of the Police to send a
message to his present and already former friends. His statement that
there are no people that cannot be punished and all the crimes will
be punished is not meant for us the mortals who already know they
will not get away with anything but very specific persons, in this
case MP Nahapet Gevorgyan and Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan.

These two odious politicians with a criminal mantle already hinder
Sargsyan more than help him. This is a time when friendship with a
criminal is not a sign of strength but harms the reputation of the
president. And Serzh Sargsyan understands that with such “friends”
it will be tough to be reelected, and now he uses every convenient
opportunity to clear his team of odious personalities.

The first is Ruben Hairapetyan who resigned from parliament and the
number of odious oligarchs in Sargsyan’s parliamentary team dropped
by one. The second is the mayor of Gyumri Vardan Ghukasyan whose
“criminal” content is already Armenian classicism. However, his
behavior harms Serzh Sargsyan more than the mayor, so he decided to
kill two birds with one stone and improve his relations with the PAP
“giving” them the second city of Armenia.

The next may be Nahapet Gevorgyan and though Galust Sahakyan announced
that he will not resign from parliament, it is not final yet. After the
incident in the Harsnakar Restaurant the RPA denied Ruben Hairapetyan
would resign.

However, in order to prove exclusion of impunity Serzh Sargsyan will
need to evoke old stories. The most painful of them is 1 March 2008
which seems to be kept for a rainy day. There is an opinion that
Serzh Sargsyan can use March 1 as a tool against his opponent, and
in this context some experts view the sudden interest in the case
of Vano Siradeghyan, the fugitive ex-minister of interior who was
accused of serious crimes.

They may even evoke the murder committed by Robert Kocharyan’s
bodyguard and other cases to prove end of impunity.

How will the mayoral election end? Vardan Ghukasyan or rather his son
does not surrender. He has already announced that nobody can prevent
his father from being nominated. Perhaps the police will wait until
Spartak Ghukasyan commits a fatal mistake to attend to this issue.

PAP DID NOT SIGN HARSNAKAR CASE QUESTIONNAIRE BY ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS

news.am
July 23, 2012 | 19:51

YEREVAN. – Parliamentary ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Heritage and Armenian
National Congress (ANC) groups turned to the Government and the
Attorney General’s Office. Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) did not
sign the application.

The applicants have presented a questionnaire regarding the Harsnakar
restaurant case, where four military doctors were brutally beaten on
June 17, while one of them, Vahe Avetyan, died in hospital without
coming into consciousness.

The questionnaire includes such questions as who informed and when
police received the alarm, whether all the participants of the
incident are known and all the witnesses are interrogated. Regarding
proofs, whether the criminal case targets at the exact time and place
of the incident, who ordered to beat Avetyan and his colleagues,
whether the phone calls of the arrested are linked to the case and
whether they mention names. Among other proofs is video surveillance,
which should have recorded the incident and if it was not how it is
explained. Whether there were other customers at the moment in the
restaurant and whether they tried to prevent the beating. Besides,
does the restaurant ensure its customers’ security and whether the
employees are authorized to apply force and in what cases.

Armen Rustamyan from ARFD, Ruben Hakobyan from Heritage and Aram
Manukyan from the ANC signed the questionnaire.

FIRST PAN-ARMENIAN NATURAL SCIENCES OLYMPIAD TO TAKE PLACE IN ARMENIA

news.am
July 23, 2012 | 17:35

YEREVAN. – The Ministry of Education and Sciences has organized
a natural sciences Olympiad to include Physics, Mathematics and
Informatics. The aim of the Olympiad is to raise interest towards
natural sciences and to find gifted youngsters both in Armenia and
Diaspora.

The Minister of Education and Sciences Armen Ashotyan welcomed the
participants and had a speech.

“We have organized this Olympiad by the request of one of the
participants of the last year’s Pan-Armenian Olympiad on Armenian
language who asked the president Serzh Sargsyan to organize natural
sciences Olympiad. A year has passed, and now I am delighted to let you
know that thanks to Serzh Sargsyan that girl’s wish has come true,”
Ashotyan said. “I welcome all the participants of the Olympiad once
again and assure that similar event will be held more often in future.”

Participants from Armenia, Karabakh, Russia, Estonia, Iran, Syria,
France and Georgia will take part in the first Pan-Armenian natural
sciences Olympiad. The Olympiad has one preparatory and two competitive
stages.

The Olympiad will last a week and the closing event will be on July 27.