Author: Badalian Vardan

PARLIAMENT MEMBER: THE MASHTOTS PARK PROBLEM SHOULD NOT BE RESOLVED ON THE LEVEL OF THE PRESIDENT

arminfo
Wednesday, May 2, 15:01

The statement by the president of Armenia about dismantling of
boutiques in Mashtots Park has not caused optimism of green activists
as well as of the Heritage party, a member of the parliament from
the Heritage party, Zarui Postanjan, told ArmInfo correspondent.

She recalled that the problem of illegality of the boutiques
construction in the park was being discussed for four months. “The
fact that several months later the president visited the park and said
about dismantling of pavilions is even strange. This is evidence of
the fact that the power in the country is concentrated in the hands of
one man”, – she said and added that such problems should not settled
on the level of the head of state, but the city authorities.

She drew attention to the fact that Serzh Sargsyan visited the
park on the threshold of the election. “What does it mean?”, – she
asked. “We shall go on fighting, as Mashtots Park is just a drop in a
ocean. We see illegal buildings in almost every district of Yerevan”,
– Postanjan emphasized.

QAFQAZINFO.AZ: AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTRY CONCEALS CONTACT LINE CASUALTIES

Panorama.am
02/05/2012

Qafqazinfo.az presents an article by Asef Guliyev who conducted a
journalistic investigation into contact line incidents and revealed
many horrific facts about army which were concealed by the Azerbaijani
Defense Ministry.

The author appealed to many power structures, but received no
response either from the Defense Ministry or from MFA. The Azerbaijan
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (ARRA) answered Guliyev that
the requested information was secret and permission from the National
Security Ministry was necessary to answer the questions. While, the
journalist asked simple questions – how much funding is allocated by
the Azerbaijani government for the construction of a wall along the
front line, how much work is already done and how much did it cost?

“Surely, everybody is already aware of the latest statement by the
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs following Armenian Foreign Ministry’s
appeal to the Special Representative of OSCE. Coherent and efficient
actions call forth obvious interest. Pay attention to the fact that
Armenian media reports say the incident which left three Armenian
soldiers dead happened on April 27, 04:15, while at 09:30 media already
reported about MFA’s appeal to the OSCE Special Representative. The
Co-Chairs’ statement was released already on the same day, April 27,
15:30. Such coherence and efficiency is indicative of many things,
with Azerbaijan’s information activity in the focus of international
community’s attention. In any case, the activities of our structures
are beneath criticism,” the author says.

According to the article, investigation revealed that several
Azerbaijani servicemen were killed by Armenian fire in April, but the
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry did not report the incident, moreover,
it concealed the incident in every way possible.

“Neither the Defense Ministry’s official website nor our leading
information agencies reported the deaths of our soldiers. There
are two assumptions: either ceasefire regime was not violated, and
if so, a question emerges: who is to blame for the deaths of the
soldiers, or firing actually took place, but the Defense Ministry’s
officials-in-charge did not carry out their duties. In both cases,
criminal anarchy is in place in the Ministry,” Guliyev says and
adds that events which are not confirmed by official sources just do
not exist to international organizations. More, such facts are not
included in official reports.

ARAM I LAUNCHES UAE, IRAN VISITS

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 2, 2012 – 14:50 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On May 1, 2012, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I began his pastoral visit in the United
Arab Emirates.

He will preside on the activities organized by the Armenian community
in Sharja and Dubai, and in Abu Dhabi he will lay the corner-stone to
the Church and community centre on the land offered by Sheikh Hamad
Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan.

His Holiness will continue his pastoral visit to Iran, where he will
visit the Dioceses of Tehran, Isphahan and Aderbadakan. In Tehran
he will also preside on the interfaith dialogue meeting between the
Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Representatives of the
Islamic Republic of Iran that began 10 years ago.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Reveals State-of-the-Art Renovations at the
Marie Manoogian Institute in Buenos Aires

With great excitement and anticipation, on Monday, March 19, 2012,
parents, students and faculty gathered in the Buenos Aires AGBU Marie
Manoogian Institute to celebrate the unveiling of two brand new
classrooms for its Serpuhí Ekshian Nursery School.

Providing high-quality education and resources to youth around the
world has always been a key component of the organization’s mission,
and the Institute’s new classrooms are a testament to that
commitment. Designs for the renovations were finished in record time –
ground was broken this past January and the work was completed
according to schedule so that the improved facilities could be taken
advantage of during the current school year. As planned, one of the
classrooms increased by 70%, while the other almost doubled in
size. Each room boasts state-of-the-art projectors, computers and
stereo systems, and is complete with modern furniture and desks.

At the inaugural event, family and friends had the opportunity to tour
the new space and watch a video highlighting the extensive demolitions
and months of tireless work that made the transformation
possible. Mr. Ruben Kechichian, Buenos Aires Chapter Chair and AGBU
Central Board member, thanked the project’s many advocates, chief
among them Juan Ignacio Balian, an Institute alumnus and member of
both its Board and Educational Committee. Kechichian also praised the
teachers, who, under the leadership of Director Noemí Fourmentel, and
with the support of AGBU’s local committees, helped make 2012 the year
the school reached the highest level of enrollment in its history,
with almost 400 students from pre-kindergarten to the twelfth grade.

Following Kechichian’s remarks, Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, Primate
of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Argentina and Chile, performed a
blessing over the two rooms. He was joined by the project’s
benefactors, Jorge and María Rosa Kalaidjian, and Souren and Nelly
Youssefian, along with other supporters who cut the ribbon together,
officially opening the classrooms amidst enthusiastic applause.

AGBU Marie Manoogian Institute’s nursery school inauguration marks
just one of the many milestones that it has celebrated in the past few
years as it continues to develop its premises and
curriculums. Recently, the school added two multimedia rooms and
acquired modern equipment for the swimming pool in the “Alex
Manoogian” Culture, Education, Social and Sports Complex. It is there,
in the Nazarian Hall, that the school hosts its weekly community
dinners to fundraise for the annual student trip to Armenia. This
year’s will travel to the homeland from July 21 through August 3 to
learn more about their heritage and strengthen their connection to
their ancestral roots.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.

For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please
visit

ELDR: A CAUCUS IN THE CAUCUSUS…
By Mark Valladares

Liberal Democrat Voice

May 1 2012

When I was elected to the Liberal Democrat delegation to the Council of
the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR), adventure was not necessarily
high amongst my expectations, and trips to Dresden and Palermo
last year were, whilst very nice, not particularly off the beaten
path. And so, when it was announced that the Spring Council meeting
would take place in Yerevan, I have to admit to an awakening of my
passion for obscure routes and means of transport. So, why Yerevan,
and what will be happening at the end of next week?

Sunday sees Parliamentary elections in Armenia, and this, combined with
the recent moves towards an Association Agreement between Armenia and
the European Union, makes it an excellent time to fly in about one
hundred liberals from across Europe. The host member, the Armenian
National Movement, lead by Aram Manukyan, is part of the Armenian
National Congress, a coalition of thirteen Parties, led by Levon
Ter-Petrossian, the country’s first President in the post-Soviet era.

So, what’s on the agenda? Only two policy issues, both deferred from
the Congress in Palermo;

Cyprus, with a revised resolution calling for further progress towards
reunification, as well as granting the Turkish Cypriot community
those rights envisaged at the time of Cypriot accession to the EU.

a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base for Europe, which would
lead to increased competitiveness between EU companies and make the
EU a more attractive market for investment by taking advantage of its
economy of scale (I’m not entirely convinced by this, I must confess)
Otherwise, there will be talk of budgets, of potential members new or
to be lost, a breakfast meeting on energy security and a political
debate, topic unknown at the time of writing. I’ll be reporting on
events in a fortnight’s time, when we hope to have details of the
2012 ELDR Congress, expected to take place in Dublin.

* Mark Valladares is a member of the Liberal Democrat delegation to
ELDR’s Council, and a member of the ELDR Financial Advisory Committee.

IRANIAN PRESIDENT MEETS ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

Moj News Agency
May 1, 2012 Tuesday
Iran

According to Foreign Ministry’s press office, Minister Nalbandian
was hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Nalbandian conveyed Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s message to
his Iranian counterpart. In return, President Ahmadinejad conveyed
his cordial greetings and good wishes to President Serzh Sargsyan
and Armenian people.

The Iranian President and Armenian FM expressed satisfaction over the
growing bilateral cooperation and discussed implementation of joint
economic projects, including the construction of a third high-voltage
power line between Iran and Armenia, construction of HPPs on the Arax
River, oil pipeline and oil storage complex, and Iran-Armenia railway.

Shushi to host Artsakh Wedding performance on May 8

April 30, 2012 – 13:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Artsakh Wedding project will be presented in Shushi,
Karabakh on the occasion of 20th anniversary of Shushi’s liberation on
May 8.Gagik Ginosyan, director of Karin song and dance ensemble will
stage the dances for the performance.

Artsakh Wedding will take place in the castle territory, while
Stepanakert stadium will host a grand festive parade on May 9,
Ginosyan told a press conference on April 30.

The project idea belongs to Karabakh Minister of Culture Narine
Aghabalyan, while the performance will be staged by Artsakh’s We and
Our Mountains folk ensemble.

According to Ginosyan, special national dresses were prepared for the
event, which will be staged in Karabakh dialect.

The project is expected to be presented in Yerevan and abroad.

Karen Saribekyan: Azerbaijan seeks to turn border incidents into
large-scale military operations

16:58 30/04/2012 » Comments

MP, member of Yerkrapah Volunteer Union Karen Saribekyan commented on
the Azerbaijani diversion, which left three Armenian servicemen dead
and one injured, and the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

According to the MP, Azerbaijan seeks to turn border incidents into
large-scale military operations, with the international community
ignoring Azerbaijan’s actions.

`Armenia does not want to yield to these provocations, but border
deaths are increasing constantly, while the international community
remains inactive. Do they want war? Or maybe they face more important
tasks. In one week alone, Azerbaijan killed so many Armenians, fired
at a kindergarten and schools, while the Co-Chairs call for calm,’ the
MP said indignantly.

Azerbaijan calls for war, makes provocations and one day it can launch
a war, while the world remains ignorant of this fact, Saribekyan
stressed.

Source: Panorama.am

Turkish Nobel Prize winning author opens museum in Istanbul

April 30, 2012 – 15:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk inaugurated a
museum based on his 2008 oeuvre `The Museum of Innocence’ last week,
about an obsessive man who collects things to remind him of his lover
and soothe the pain of a doomed affair, The National reports.

The story, which takes place in Istanbul between 1975 and the present,
focuses on the wealthy businessman Kemal Bey, who harbors a 30-year
passion for the impoverished Fusun, a distant cousin and shop
assistant, who becomes his mistress.

The 59-year-old Pamuk said his museum in the working-class district of
Cukurcuma in Istanbul was aimed at reigniting the sentiments one felt
while reading the book and not an “illustration” of it.

“The novel is not an explanation of the museum. They are deeply
intertwined,” he said.

The museum has 23 display cases, each representing a chapter of the book.

According to The New York Times, Pamuk said the museum cost him about
what he received for the Nobel – roughly $1.5 million – including what
he paid for the house 12 years ago, when he had the idea for the
project.

Aliyev And Elections in Armenia

Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:03:56 – 30/04/2012

Unprecedented incidents have been reported on the border of Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Villages and nursery schools appeared under firing.
Armenian soldiers were ambushed and killed. The Armenian TV channels
pay more attention to border villages and make reports stating that
Serzh Sargsyan who visited Noyemberyan did not go to the village that
was fired.

The Public TV showed a report in which it openly stated that
Azerbaijan is ready to launch aggression if after the elections civil
clashes happen in Armenia. Moreover, Arthur Baghdasaryan told in an
interview with Yerkir Media that if he had not joined Serzh Sargsyan
in March 2008 amid chaos, aggression by Azerbaijan would have been
imminent.

On 4 and 5 March 2008, bloodshed was reported on the border between
Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Azeri commando penetrated into the Karabakh
emplacements and killed sleeping soldiers. This incident shocked the
society and was the main argument in calling for civil obedience in
post-election Armenia.

Now the situation repeats. Serzh Sargsyan would hardly have telephoned
Aliyev asking him to ensure escalation on the border during the
election period. But there is no doubt that the government of Armenia
will try to use Aliyev’s `generous help’.

It is difficult to assess the likelihood of foreign aggression in case
of post-election political clashes in Armenia. With a treacherous
enemy, everything is possible though the international forces will
hardly allow such developments. Already for many times, this issue is
the main argument of the political battle in Armenia. This time, it
will apparently be the main repressive factor for the post-election
protests.

There are no other arguments. Arthur Baghdasaryan has brought no
single argument in favor of the opinion that Serzh Sargsyan is better
than Levon Ter-Petrosyan so he joined Serzh Sargsyan at the crucial
moment, thwarting the national movement.

The same will happen this time. Some more shooting at the border and
the outcome of elections will be legitimate and all kinds of
unimaginable blocs and treacheries justified.