Author: Badalian Vardan

THE TENSIONS WILL NOT GROW INTO WAR, POLITICIANS SAY
Lena Badeyan

“Radiolur”
08.06.2012 18:21

The formation of the political coalition cannot be considered
completed, as a new election campaign will start in a few months. No
political force in the National Assembly has declared about being an
opposition, member of the Board of the Republican Party of Armenia,
MP Artak Davtyan told reporters today.

“I think the document is open to everyone, and other political forces
are free to join it. Personally I would welcome if more political
forces could find ways of cooperation with the authorities,” he added.

Republican MP Karine Achemyan believes coalition is the best way to
work. According to her, coalition partners have never had any reason
to complain of the Republican Party.

Representative of the former authorities Vahan Shirkhanyan considers
that coalition is a system of “bilateral irresponsibility.”

Speaking about the increased number of incidents at the line of
contact, Vahan Shirkhanyan, who worked as Deputy Defense Minister
between 1992 and 1999, reminds that it has never been peaceful at the
border, not even in Soviet times starting from December 1988. Only
the details and objectives have changed today. He connects today’s
events with the international community.

Shirkhanyan sees certain progress as regards the perception of
the Karabakh conflict. Besides, according to him, Azerbaijan has
frustrated all programs the United States connected hopes with. These
include Nabucco, Ceyhan, Kars-Tbilisi railway. There is another factor
Shirkhanyan calls attention to.

“We have to cope with a political madman. There should be certain
preconditions for launching war: first, the attacking party should
have powerful armed forces, second, it must be confident that the
rival is weaker, and third, it must be confident that no international
sanctions will be applied. Aliyev has none of these,” he said.

All politicians agreed that although the tension will continue,
there is no real threat of war.

MORE U.S. SOLDIERS COMMIT SUICIDE THAN DIE IN ACTION – PENTAGON

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 8, 2012 – 17:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Suicide is on the rise in the U.S. military,
averaging almost one every day, according to statistics, AP said.

In the first 155 days of 2012 there was 154 suicides among
active troops, around 50% more than the number killed in action in
Afghanistan, according to Pentagon statistics obtained by Associated
Press. This is the highest number in 10 years.

The numbers reflect the burden of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,
according to experts. The military is also struggling with increased
sexual assaults, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other problems.

Suicides had levelled off in 2010 and 2011, but this year’s surge
has caught officials by surprise.

Studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress,
misuse of prescription drugs and personal financial problems as
possible reasons for the increase.

Army data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater
risk of killing themselves, although a substantial proportion of the
deaths are among soldiers who have never been deployed.

The unpopular war in Afghanistan is winding down with the last combat
troops scheduled to leave at the end of 2014. But this year has seen
record numbers of soldiers killed, and there also have been several
scandals involving military misconduct.

The total of 154 suicides so far this year compares to 130 in the
same period last year, an 18% increase. This year’s January-May total
is up 25% from two years ago, and it is 16% greater than in 2009,
which ended with the highest yearly total so far.

Suicide totals have exceeded U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan in
other years, including 2008 and 2009.

The numbers are rising despite years of effort to encourage troops to
seek help with mental health problems. Many in the military believe
that seeking help is a sign of weakness and a potential threat to
promotion.

U.S. EMBASSY HOSTS MILITARY TRAINING ALUMNI

armradio.am
08.06.2012 16:11

Ambassador John A. Heffern hosted a reception for 154 graduates of
the International Military and Education Training (IMET) Program on
June 8 at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan.

Since 2002, over 150 graduates of this program have attended various
U.S. military training institutions, focusing on areas such as
defense reform, legal education, logistics, management, and courses
for captains and majors in the United States.

First Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, and 170 military officers
and civilians from the Armenian Ministry of Defense attended this
event.

Administered by the U.S. Embassy’s Office of Defense Cooperation,
approximately $5.8 million has been allocated to the IMET program since
2002. Upon graduation, IMET alumni often assume high-ranking positions,
such as the Armenian Military Attaches to NATO, US, Georgia and other
military commands.

NEW PROGRAM IN THE FRAMEWORK OF “GOLDEN APRICOT” TO BE IMPLEMENTED

ARMENPRESS
8 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, ARMENPRESS: A new project involving cinema
professionals from the Eastern Partnership countries has been launched
in Armenia with EU assistance. Armenpress reports that Artistic
Director of Golden Apricot Yerevan IFF Susanna Harutyunyan mentioned
during the press conference that Directors Across Borders (DAB) is a
project implemented by the Golden Apricot Cinema Development Fund and
supported by European Union. This initiative will organize a range
of seminars and workshops, as well as provide on-line opportunities
for cinema makers who live in Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova,
Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

DAB was developed on the basis of the Directors Across Borders
co-production forum, which started in 2007 within the Golden Apricot
Yerevan International Film Festival. The forum has been successfully
implemented for five years and has facilitated film co-production in
the region. Directors and producers from around 100 film projects
have been selected for the forum and had the opportunity to attend
script and production development workshops held by industry leading
specialists, as well as meet representatives of various important
international cinema funds.

Head of International department of the festival Tatevik Manukyan
mentioned that in 2011 DAB received a grant from the European Community
represented by the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia within
the Eastern Partnership Culture Program to develop a broader scope
during 2011-2013. This will include a DAB co-production forum, an
Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform, Cinema Journalism Across borders,
Film Workshops and other activities.

POWER ARBITRATION?: NEW APPROACHES TO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TO COME AMID ESCALATION OF TENSIONS ON ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI BORDER
By Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow

08.06.12 | 15:01

Power arbitration?: New approaches to Karabakh settlement to come
amid escalation of tensions on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

The countries co-chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group — the United States, France and Russia
— have expressed their concern over the escalation of tensions in
the Karabakh conflict zone. On the last leg of her South Caucasus
tour in Baku on June 6, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
new approaches to settling the protracted conflict will be presented
to the sides at the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan and the mediating troika in Paris, France on June 17-18.

The essence of the new approaches is not yet known, but the first
“leak” was made by International Crisis Group European Programs
Director Sabina Fraser. She said that now is a good time to find a
path to a peaceful settlement. “And the [Armenian] withdrawal from
one or two districts and the return of internally displaced persons
there could become the beginning of this process,” said Fraser.

Two years ago this is what Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said. He then called on Armenians to give up Aghdam and Fizuli,
and then Turkey would “persuade” Azerbaijan to open up the borders
and would lift the blockade itself. And on Thursday, Davutoglu
reiterated that Turkey will not establish relations with Armenia
until it withdraws from the “occupied territories of Azerbaijan”.

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has already indirectly
responded to these remarks.

RPA spokesman and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Edward Sharmazanov said
that Armenia has nowhere to withdraw from. “If there is any occupied
territory, then it is Turkey and Azerbaijan that must withdraw
from them,” he said. “Turkey occupied the northern part of Cyprus,
which recently took over the presidency of the European Union and
Azerbaijan occupied Shahumyan, Getashen and Martunashen, which are
parts of Karabakh.”

Chairman of the NKR Public Council for Foreign Policy and Security
Masis Mayilyan said that the statement of the U.S. secretary of
state about new approaches to the Karabakh settlement is only
the recognition of the Madrid principles and their elements being
unfeasible proposals. “It is clear that new approaches should be
based on the recognition of new realities and bring the peoples of
the region closer to peaceful coexistence, not war,” said Mayilyan.

There is also another “leak” on what other new elements the fresh
approaches might include. “Azerbaijan and Armenia are blocking the
work of the mediators and it is time to pass from mediation on to
power arbitration,” Wayne Murray, a scholar at the American Council
on Foreign Relations, said during a discussion at the Woodrow Wilson
Center in Washington DC on June 5. This “power arbitrage” implies the
introduction of certain forces into the conflict zone. And now, one
can suppose, competition will begin among the world’s power centers
to implement this “power arbitration”.

In Karabakh, though, officials do not understand what proposals on
Karabakh settlement can be there if Azerbaijan shows in every way
that it is not going to fulfill its obligations.

“After Azerbaijan blatantly violated the ceasefire, U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton’s statements about new approaches to settling
the Karabakh conflict is entirely irrelevant,” said spokesman for
the NKR President David Babayan. He thinks that the U.S. should
pay more attention to the maintenance of the ceasefire, putting
pressure on Azerbaijan in this direction, and in this case it should
speak to Azerbaijan using the language of power. “Both an adequate
harsh response of the Armenian side and a clear reaction from
the international community could be the manifestation of power,”
said Babayan.

N ZOHRABYAN: IT’S TIME TO TAKE INITIATIVE IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Panorama.am
08/06/2012

PACE summer session kicks off on June 25 in Strasbourg and Armenian
delegation will be attending it. Member of Armenian delegation to
PACE Naira Zohrabyan told Panorama.am she is going to raise certain
issues, in particular the growing number of military aggression
from Azerbaijan.

“I will urge the Council of Europe to clearly assess the military
aggression of Azerbaijan,” said the MP.

Mrs Zohrabyan has already drafted the text of her statement which
will be recommended to PACE delegates to sign. “It’s time Armenia
to take the initiative in the international organizations, since
sometimes because of not taking the initiative Azerbaijan manages to
misrepresent the NK conflict,” said N Zohrabyan.

GRIBOYEDOV VILLAGE FARMERS: “THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE NEEDS A REALITY CHECK”
Grisha Balasanyan

hetq
17:38, June 7, 2012

Hovhannes Jamalyan is a farmer in the Armavir Marz village of
Griboyedov who’s decided to set up a hothouse operation on a plot of
land near his house.

He’s like many others in the village who have turned to this method of
growing fruits and vegetables due to the scarcity of irrigation water.

I recently visited his operation and Hovhannes said he already had
a crop of cucumbers for sale but the market price was ridiculously low.

It’s so low that he can’t even pay for the cost of the seed.

Hovhannes told me that before the growing season started he had taken
loans from friends and the bank to buy the seed, plastic sheeting,
fertilizer and other items needed. He’s slowly paying off the loans

The hothouse farmer said he can’t even sell a kilo of cucumbers at
40 AMD. No wonder that he’s stopped shelling out for plant medicines
that go for 20,000 AMD per dose.

“I’ve invested about 350,000 AMD on the cucumbers alone. If I could
only sell about 100-150,000 AMD worth to cover half my initial outlay
and have some money to live on,” Hovhannes said.

Not having a car, he can’t take his produce to market himself. A
daily transportation cost to reach the Malatya market is 5,000 AMD
and that doesn’t include the fee for a market stall.

Even if he could afford a place at the market, the rules set a
definite time for when village farmers have to vacate the market and
turn their spots over to resellers. Hovhannes figures it would be
a waste of time and money to sell his produce at the market, so he
sells when he grows from home.

To show just how costly hothouse farming can be, Hovhannes said
that the family’s gold jewellery had to be put up as collateral to
get a 75,000 loan from the bank. The money was used to purchase the
pesticide/insecticide sprayer seen in the photo.

Hovhannes says that an Armenian from Georgia recently told him that
Armenian customs charges 130 AMD for each kilo of cucumbers coming from
Georgia. He points to this fact as to why farm produce in Armenia is
so cheap. Produce isn’t being brought into Armenia from neighboring
Georgia due to the high tariffs.

Griboyedov acting mayor Anahit Keshish-Ghoukasyan said that many
residents were fleeing the village and the country because of the
unpaid debts that have accumulated.

“Go to some of the neighboring villages and you’ll see that they are
growing all kinds of produce. They don’t have a water problem. Here,
we can only plant wheat and alfalfa. There’s no crop rotation. Those
who have set up hothouses can’t sell their produce at normal prices,”
said the acting mayor.

She added that fish farms are another factor leading to the desiccation
of the land. Deep wells are being dug and the underground water supply
is being exploited.

More and more villagers have given up on making a living from farming,
she notes, and says that land tax collections are falling as a result.

People are paying what little they have to pay off their loans.

The acting mayor says that the people at the top, the government,
need to focus more on the issues affecting people at the bottom.

According to her estimates, 150 residents have already left the
village and their numbers are increasing.

“When our agriculture minister gives a speech we say to ourselves
‘does he have a clue regarding the conditions we average folk face
on a daily basis.’ I mean to say he should be better informed about
what we get back for all our sweat and work,” says Keshish-Ghoukasyan.

She believes that the new generation needs to be more demanding for
anything to change.

The acting mayor is guardedly optimistic towards the future and
believes that the younger generations will become more outspoken and
demanding vis-a-vis the government.

She adds that it will take some time for people to change however.

PREMIER “FIGHTS” AGAINST FORMER YEREVAN MAYOR – NEWSPAPER

tert.am
June 08, 2012 | 06:01

YEREVAN. – The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is facing
new problems with respect to distributing the ministerial positions,
Yerkir daily writes.

“Even though the Cabinet will not undergo significant changes,
according to Yerkir’s information, PM Tigran Sargsyan has some concerns
in connection with the new Government. Sargsyan wishes to see as
ministers those who are easily manageable and directly subjected
to him.

In this context, [and] according to the news we received, Tigran
Sargsyan is opposing [capital city Yerevan’s former Mayor] Gagik
Beglaryan’s being appointed minister. The most likely [for Beglaryan]
is the office of the Territorial Administration Minister, and this
worries Tigran Sargsyan the most.

Our sources close to the RPA informed that he is trying to keep
[serving Minister] Armen Gevorgyan in this position.

Incidentally, Beglaryan is not conducting a serious ‘battle’ for the
post,” Yerkir writes.

WILL BAKU BE PRESSURED?
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:47:53 – 08/06/2012

Russia’s ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko made an important
statement: “It is evident that in order to avoid bloodshed, the
parties to the conflict need to sign an agreement on nonuse of force
and threats of force, which would create a more favorable environment
to resolve the issue through negotiations. This position is supported
by the international community and has no alternative”.

Actually, the ambassador has slightly disclosed the essence of the
new approaches, which will be proposed to Armenia and Azerbaijan on
June 17-18 in Paris. Apparently, a new agreement on the nonuse of
force and partial opening of the border will be proposed to be signed.

Sure, it is not clear why Azerbaijan will have to agree with this
option and refuse its only argument – military blackmail. Moreover,
it has been refusing for many years to sign such an agreement and
even to withdraw the snipers.

Several factors may force Baku to make such a step: if the Armenian
party agrees to cede some regions, if the world community exerts huge
pressure on Azerbaijan and Turkey and if home clashes start in Baku.

Perhaps, all the above-mentioned arguments will be used together,
but the question occurs, whether the positions of Russia and the U.S.
match on this issue. Do they want to pressure Baku? Proceeding from
the fact that Russia sold to Armenia rockets and missile defense
systems to Azerbaijan, Washington is going to sell to Azerbaijan some
helicopter technologies, and Israel has already sold to Azerbaijan
armament costing USD 1.5 billion, these countries understand that
Aliyev will hardly have money to buy more weapons. So, he is to be
left alone for some time.

So, it is not ruled out that Mamedyarov will really sign the agreement
on nonuse of force in paris. But the question remains what Armenia
will have to pay instead. Director of International Crisis Group
Caucasus programme has already said Armenia could cede 1-2 regions.

POSSIBLE MOBILIZATION RUMORS IN AZERBAIJAN DISMISSED

Trend
June 8 2012
Azerbaijan

There is no need for total mobilization in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani
Presidential Administration Political Analysis and Information
Provision Department head Elnur Aslanov believes.

Azerbaijani army is strong, it has the strongest potential and
military equipment in the region, Aslanov said. He was commenting on
the possibility of declaring total mobilization.

He said the Armenian leadership is responsible for the recent incidents
on the contact line of troops. Armenia has always held a destructive
position in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and restoring peace and stability in the region.

“By this, Yerevan shows that it is interested in preservation of the
status quo,” Aslanov added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven 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 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.