Author: Badalian Vardan

Trend, Azerbaijan
June 15 2012

Saudi Foreign Ministry: It is necessary to increase pressure on
Armenia to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijan, Baku, June 14 /Trend A.Taghiyeva/

The international community should increase pressure on Armenia to
abandon its occupation policy, Saudi Arabian Prince Ben Khaled Saud
Ben Khaled told Trend.

“Azerbaijan has made everything possible for the solution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Ben Khaled said.

According to the prince, Saudi Arabia has always supported Azerbaijan
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as justice and truth are on the side
of Azerbaijan. The whole world knows and acknowledges that Azerbaijani
lands are occupied by Armenia, and this injustice must be stopped, he
said.

Ben Khaled also said Saudi Arabia believes the most acceptable way of
resolving the conflict is diplomacy.

“It is necessary to explain to Armenia that as long as it continues
its aggression against Azerbaijan, it will be isolated from many
Muslim countries,” he said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

Sex-selective abortion in Armenia will lead to migration – demographic expert

NEWS.AM
June 15, 2012 | 14:30

YEREVAN.- Spreading of gynecologic ultrasonography enabling parents to
know the sex of their child led to lack of women in Asia, demographic
expert Christophe Guilmoto said in Yerevan on Friday.

The most problematic countries remain Pakistan and India but Armenia
is likely to face the same problem in 25 years.

In some Asian countries girl/boy ratio has changed significantly
within the last 25 years because of sex-selective abortions. Thus, in
China the sex ratio is 118.1 boys to 100 girls, in India 110.6 boys,
in Azerbaijan – 117.6, in Georgia – 119.9 and in Armenia – 115.8.

The expert said even if the situation improves in coming 10 years,
Chinese and Indian men will all the same face difficulties with
finding wives.

`In 15 years Armenian men will experience difficulty in finding wives
as well. By that time the number of men will considerably increase.
Therefore, the part of men will not get married, while others will
seek wives abroad. It will lead to migration and decrease in
population,’ he emphasized.

Moreover, it will lead to prostitution growth, increase in gender
violence cases. However, the expert believes there is no rapid
solution to the problem, it cannot be corrected only by one decision
of the government.

`It is possible for instance prohibit the doctors from telling parents
sex of the child or give allowances to families having daughters, as
it is done in India, but it will hardly work until people’s way of
thinking changes,’ he said.

The Prime Minister promised to envisage suggestion on Innovation Ministry

14:40, 15 June, 2012

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: There are both pro and against opinions
concerning the establishment of Innovation Ministry. The Prime
Minister of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan had a briefing
with the journalists on June 15.

`The issue should be envisaged with the partners. It is necessary not
to ponder on the creation of the new ministries but to think about
optimilization of the existing ones in order the functions will not
coincide’ Prime Minister came forth with.

In the words of Sargsyan the suggestion about creation of Innovation
Ministry will be envisaged taking into consideration what kind of
effective management system will be in Armenia ten years later.

As Armenpress has reported earlier Prime Minister Sargsyan
participated in `Digitech’forum. Two-day -business-forum is aimed at
promoting innovation economy and presentation of ICT products and
services. Current year forum has recorded 48 % growth participation,
overall 59 local organizations and 21 foreign companies participated
in the forum.

ATP Opens Michael and Virginia Ohanian Center for Environmental
Studies in Northern Armenia

hetq
13:43, June 15, 2012

By Armine Tokhmakhyan

The board and staff of Armenia Tree Project (ATP) together with
Ohanian family members hosted the ceremonial opening of the new
Michael and Virginia Ohanian Center for Environmental Studies in
Margahovit. Vice Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan and Lori Governor
Arthur Nalbandyan were the guests of honor at the ceremonial opening.

Following its successful model of the environmental education center
in Karin Village, ATP will host students, eco clubs, teachers,
farmers, and professionals from Armenia and abroad at the new Ohanian
Center in northern Armenia. The first beneficiaries of the center will
be the population of Lori and Tavush provinces. The educational
facility is located close to ATP’s Mirak Reforestation Nursery, which
will allow theory and practice to be combined.

In his opening remarks ATP Managing Director Tom Garabedian stated,
`To construct a Center like this, you need a strong sense of mission
and purpose; you need the financial means for which we thank Mrs.
Virginia Ohanian and her family, and you need the cooperation of a
community which values learning and the importance of environmental
conservation. We fully expect that all of these elements are present
here.’

Commenting on the site, he added, `As it matures, the Center’s
landscape will both beautify Margahovit and provide a hands-on
learning experience for the children of Armenia. We all want the youth
of Armenia to care for their environment, and this Center will play an
important role in educating them.’

During her speech at the opening, ATP Founder Carolyn Mugar recalled
the difficult years of the energy crisis when ATP was established. `In
the early 1990’s, those terrible years of the blockade, when everyone
suffered from shortages of heat and energy, people had to cut down
trees to survive, stay warm, and cook. Tree stumps were everywhere.
ATP was born in the midst of those difficult times. People asked me,
`How can you plant trees when people need kerosene and milk?’ It was
just at this low moment that we decided that now was the time to
invest in the future of Armenia!’

`Today we are opening the Michael and Virginia Ohanian Center for
Environmental Studies,’ added Ms. Mugar. `In this center, children and
students will learn that wood is a renewable resource if grown and
cared for responsibly. They can learn how crucial a sustainable
environment is to the future of a secure and thriving Armenia. We can
even ask, `Is the long term risk of mining which destroys forests and
pollutes rivers worth the cost?”

Ms. Mugar closed her remarks by extending her gratitude to Mrs.
Ohanian and her late husband Michael, who have been leading
benefactors of ATP since its founding. `I hope that their gift will
inspire others to give to ensure the viability and vibrancy of
Armenia,’ she emphasized.

Governor Nalbandyan remarked that he greatly valued ATP’s programs in
Armenia. `I would like to thank ATP for their hard work in Armenia,
especially in the Lori region. Their existence in Lori is of utmost
importance as Lori is otherwise a center of industrial mining,’ he
explained. `I would personally like to thank the donors of ATP for
their support of sustainable development in Armenia.’

Father Dajad Davidian then performed a traditional blessing ceremony
for the new educational center. Schoolchildren from Margahovit
accompanied Der Dajad in the blessing ceremony by singing sharagans
and also drew pictures of the beautiful mountains nearby for the
guests.

Family members Gail O’Reilly and Charles Talanian, the niece and
nephew of Mrs. Virginia Ohanian, then unveiled the Center’s plaque
with Carolyn Mugar to signal the official opening.

This year ATP celebrates its 18th anniversary. Through ATP’s community
tree planting and reforestation efforts, more than 4,000,000 trees
have been planted throughout the country. ATP’s environmental
education program extends to hundreds of teachers and thousands of
students in all regions of Armenia.

ATP’s mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees to
improve their standard of living and protect the environment, guided
by the desire to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the fewest
resources first, and conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP’s three
major programs are tree planting, environmental education, and
sustainable development initiatives. For more information, please
visit the web site

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French socialists reconfirm their intention to criminalize denial of
Armenian genocide

12:24, 15 June, 2012

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: Socialist representative of French
senate Philippe Kaltenbach held a meeting with ambassador
extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to France
Vigen Chitechyan. Armenpress reports citing Nouvelles d’Armenie that
during the meeting Kaltenbach reconfirmed his commitment to defend the
memory of Armenian genocide victims from denial encroachments. `The
newly elected French President also shares this commitment, which will
soon turn to legislative initiative. The denial must never take place
in the territory of our Republic’ mentioned Philippe Kaltenbach. The
socialist senator also declared that he and his colleagues would host
with pleasure their Armenian partners from Armenia-France friendship
group in November of current year.

OH! FAMILIAR FACES! FAMILIAR CALLS!

Thursday, 14 June 2012 12:26

On June 11-12, in the framework of a regional visit, OSCE Chairman,
Foreign Minister of Ireland Eamon Gilmore visited Yerevan. Since he
arrived in the capital of Armenia almost a week after the tragic
incidents at the contact-line between the armed forces of the parties
to the Karabakh conflict, which was the result of Azerbaijan’s
military provocations, surely, the sharp escalation of tension was one
of the basic issues of the OSCE Chairman’s Yerevan meetings.

We can say that against the background of the extremely aggravated
situation, the issue of resolving the conflict itself receded, giving
way to the strengthening of the ceasefire. So, it is natural that we
expected for objective assessments and actions by Mr. Gilmore.

What was the reaction of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to the latest
developments? It was quite predictable, that is seasoned in the spirit
of traditional diplomatic statements of a general character. «I
strongly condemn the recent cases of violence. This conflict will not
be resolved by force», said Mr. Gilmore to journalists after a meeting
with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and urged the parties
to renounce the use of force or threat of force. As we can see, the
actions committed by Azerbaijan got… a generalized and “unified”
assessment. It is noteworthy that in response to the question of
whether it is not the time to indicate the specific committers of the
ceasefire violations, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office advised “not to
blame for the past mistakes and, looking to the future, to achieve
peace and stability.” To be frank, the advice is a little bit strange.
First, such a position contradicts the very idea of ??the mediators’
proposed mechanism for investigating the incidents and simply
discredits it. Second, for establishing lasting peace and stability it
is necessary to prevent a recurrence of the bloody incidents that Mr.
Gilmore somehow delicately calls “mistakes”. And to prevent a
recurrence, one should, first of all, objectively investigate each
incident, to identify the specific culprit and to take corresponding
measures against him. Otherwise, the prospect of stable peace will be
vague, which is confirmed by the long-standing practice of the
conflict settlement. It is evident that the advice “not to blame”
fully meets the interests of Azerbaijan, which does not want to stop
the sniper war and sabotages, allowing it to continue creating, with
impunity, a situation teetering on the brink of war.

One should pay tribute to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office – it did not
limit with “condemning the violence” and suggested an algorithm for
solving the security issue: to remove the snipers from the line of
contact and to agree on the mechanism of investigating the incidents
at the forefront. Are these familiar proposals? To let us a pun, “old
familiar”. Indeed, there is no novelty in them, and the package of
proposals is not the first one, as if the baton passes from one head
of the OSCE to another. Note that in December 2011, when Ireland was
going to assume the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2012, the same Eamon
Gilmore also spoke about the need to create the notorious
investigation mechanism. Since then, six months have passed and the
mechanism has not been formed yet, despite the fact that the incidents
initiated by Azerbaijan do not stop.

The reason for the OSCE slowness is known and even commonplace in a
sense, but it isn’t removed so far ` it is the tough position of
Azerbaijan. Moreover, it should be noted that the policy of official
Baku, which had never been flexible, was extremely radicalized after
the election of Azerbaijan a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council. It seems that the Baku authorities regarded it as a kind of
carte blanche giving them freedom of actions. Meanwhile, these actions
of Azerbaijan are a direct blow to the humanitarian law and an open
challenge to the international community. At the first glance, they
are contrary to sound logic, because the main objectives of the UN are
just peace and security. However, it is time for the international
community in general and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in particular to
get used to the illogical actions of the Azerbaijani leadership. But,
are they so deprived of logic?

Indeed, at first glance it is difficult to find any logic in the
actions of Baku, when it declares for an exclusively peaceful solution
to the issue, but, in fact, rejects the proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs to withdraw the snipers and to strengthen the
ceasefire. Or, at a meeting of the Presidents of Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan in Sochi signed an agreement on the establishment of a
mechanism for investigating the violations of the cease-fire, but when
discussing the OSCE Unified Budget rejects the proposal to allocate
additional funds provided for the creation of such a mechanism. Today,
Azerbaijan is continuing its “illogical” policy, which has
well-defined goals – through permanent armed provocations and military
blackmail of the international community, to change the existing
status quo in their favor.

There is no doubt that despite the calls of the international
mediators for peace, Azerbaijan will continue its dangerous game. It
will do it until the OSCE seriously deals with the creation of an
investigation mechanism and with the implementation of a corresponding
plan on putting it into operation. With the participation of all the
three parties to the Karabakh conflict and in accordance with the
spirit and letter of the OSCE Budapest Summit.

Leonid MARTIROSSIAN

Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper

Armenian MP establishes contacts with India’s largest wealthy – newspaper

news.am
June 15, 2012 | 07:47

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s National Assembly (NA) member Vardan Ayvazyan is
preparing to head for India on a practical visit, Chorrord
Inknishkhanutyun daily writes.

`Ayvazyan, who has a mere one iron mine in Armenia, succeeded in
establishing contacts in India with the largest local rich, who
expressed a readiness to invest large amounts in Armenia’s mining
industry.

But those who are somewhat familiar with Ayvazyan’s affairs note that
Ayvazyan is still slow in finalizing the previous agreements.

First, Ayvazyan is awaiting the formation of the final makeup of
Armenia’s Government. Second, Ayvazyan’s long-range plans could have
gone much more smoothly if [NA Speaker] Hovik Abrahamyan had been
appointed PM. But it is possible that Ayvazyan would be able to reach
common grounds with the current Government, too,’ Chorrord
Inknishkhanutyun writes.

ARMENIE
L’inflation arménienne continue à baisser

Les prix à la consommation ont chuté en Arménie mettant les autorités
en bonne position pour atteindre leurs projections pour 2012, selon
les données officielles.

Le Service National de la Statistique (NSS) a enregistré un taux
d’inflation d’année à année de juste 0,5 pour cent en mai. Le ministre
des Finances Vache Gabrielian a cité ce chiffre « tout à fait bas »
pendant une session du cabinet présidée par le Premier ministre Tigran
Sarkisian.

Le taux cible du gouvernement arménien pour cette année est de 4 pour cent.

Les données du NSS montrent que l’inflation a chuté sinificativement
en mai à cause d’une baisse de 1,3 pour cent de l’indice des prix à la
consommation. Le prix moyen des produits alimentaires était en baisse
de 2,4 pour cent par rapport au niveau d’avril. Une hausse saisonnière
de la production agricole semble être le facteur principal derrière
cette diminution.

« Je ne pense pas que cette déflation saisonnière est lejuste critère
pour décrire l’économie » a déclaré Ara Galoyan, un analyste
économique, au service arménien de RFE/RL (Azatutyun.am). Il a aussi
mis en question la crédibilité du chiffre officiel de l’inflation
disant que le coût réel de la vie dans le pays est probablement plus
élevé que ce que les chiffres du NSS indiquent.

Ara Galoyan a prévu que l’inflation montera de nouveau ce mois à cause
de la dépréciation du dram.

La monnaie nationale a perdu plus de 4 pour cent de sa valeur nominale
contre le dollar américain ces dernières semaines. Cela devrait faire
monter le coût des produits alimentaires importés comme le blé et le
sucre.

vendredi 15 juin 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE MIDDLE EAST COUNCIL OF CHURCHES URGES
CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST TO FULFILL THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AS CITIZENS
AND TO SPEAK UP FOR THEIR RIGHTS

Following the official opening of the meeting, and discussions on the
situation in the region, the Executive Committee began its deliberations.
The members discussed the report of the Restructuring Committee and decided
to change the organizational framework, but keep the regional offices in
Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan and Syria; they also agreed to open new offices in
other countries whenever the need arises, and confirmed that the
headquarters will remain in Beirut. The Committee then reviewed the
constitution and discussed staffing matters.

The Executive Committee appointed three new Assistant General Secretaries ,
and confirmed Mrs. Seta Hadeshian as Director of the Unit on Diakonia and
Social Justice.

As part of its programmatic work, the MECC responded positively to the
request of the World Council of Churches to organize a meeting on “Christian
Presence and Witness in the Middle East”, to be held either in Geneva or
Beirut in 2013. The proposed meeting would follow up the process that
started at the Catholicosate of Cilicia last year.

The Executive Committee concluded its deliberations with a statement urging
Christians in the Middle East to fulfill their responsibilities as citizens
and to speak up for their rights.

At the end of the meeting, His Holiness Aram I gave each participant a copy
of the prayer book of St. Nerses Shenorhali (Gracious), “I Confess with
Faith”, which has been translated into 33 languages.

The third meeting of the Executive Committee will be held in February 2013,
in Amman, Jordan.

##

APA, Azerbaijan
June 14 2012

Elmar Mammadyarov: `If Armenia doesn’t want its soldiers to die, it
must withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani lands’

PHOTOSESSION
[ 14 Jun 2012 14:52 ]
`Azerbaijan consents to establishment of mechanism for investigation
of incidents on the line of contact between the troops, but this
mechanism can work only after the withdrawal of Armenian troops from
our lands’

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA. Azerbaijan consents to establishment
of mechanism for investigation of incidents on the line of contact
between the troops, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov said in a joint conference with OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Eamon Gilmore.

`But this mechanism can work only after the withdrawal of Armenian
troops from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. Only in that case this
mechanism can be implemented. If this mechanism is implemented now it
will strengthen the existing status quo, which is not acceptable’.

Minister said that if Armenia doesn’t want its soldiers to die, it
must withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani lands. `If it takes place,
there will be no need in snipers.’