Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

GREEN LIGHT FOR RETRIAL OF DINK MURDER

Hurriyet
March 30 2012
Turkey

A prosecutor has appealed the ruling in the Hrant Dink murder trial,
arguing that the crime was an organized hit.

“The suspects acted as a cell in Trabzon with the same aims as the
Ergenekon crime gang,” the prosecutor said in his 30-page appeal
against the January court ruling, adding that the suspects should be
punished for committing an organized act of crime.

Dink was the chief editor for weekly Agos, a newspaper published in
Turkish and Armenian. He was shot dead in front of his office on Jan.

19, 2007, in Istanbul. Triggerman Ogun Samast was sentenced to 22
years in prison for the murder last year. Instigator Yasin Hayal was
sentenced on Jan. 17 to aggravated life imprisonment, while former
police informant and suspect Erhan Tuncel was released, prompting
widespread anger.

In its ruling, the court argued that there was not enough evidence
indicating the existence of an organization behind the crime despite
lingering doubts.

“If the court accepts the existence of an organization behind the
crime but lacks the evidence, it should have asked the prosecutor’s
office for further investigation into the issue,” the prosecutor said
in his appeal.

From: Baghdasarian

ISRAEL’S SALE OF ARMS TO AZERBAIJAN NOT AIMED AGAINST IRAN

Trend
Azerbaijan
March 30 2012

Dr Brenda Shaffer, Israel’s foremost expert on Azerbaijan, suggests
it is highly unlikely that Israel’s sale of drones and anti-aircraft
missile defence systems to Azerbaijan in a $1.6bln arms deal points
to a bilateral defence pact against Iran.

If Azerbaijan is bolstering its defence systems, this is more likely to
be a display of strength intended for Armenia, which currently occupies
20 per cent of it territory, the expert told The Guardian on Friday.

“Azerbaijan is bordered by Russia, Iran and Turkey. Its economy
is dependent on the safe export of oil, which requires regional
stability,” Shaffer said.

More than 30 per cent of the Iranian population are ethnic Azeris,
the expert said and added that Azerbaijan tries to maintain friendly
relations with Iran as it does Israel.

“It would be very wary of allowing itself to take a step that might
seen as aggressive,” Shaffer suggests.

If there is a conflict with Iran, Azerbaijan will be the first to
suffer, she added.

From: Baghdasarian

AZERBAIJANI FM: ARMENIA DOOMED TO INEVITABLE FAILURE IN CASE OF ITS DELAYING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Trend
March 30 2012
Azerbaijan

Armenia is doomed to failure if it continues considering the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement in the same destructive spirit,
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry official representative Elman Abdullayev
told Trend today.

He made the statement while commenting on an interview with Armenian
Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan with the Public Television
of the Republic.

“The Armenian leadership must understand that this approach hinders
the development of the region and particularly harms Armenian people,”
Abdullayev said. “Current political course of the Armenian leadership
demonstrates a careful observer the absolute indifference of the
authorities towards the future of the region and its country.”

Any attempts made by Turkey and Azerbaijan to incline Armenia to
unilateral concessions in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
are doomed to failure, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister said in
an interview.

Abdullayev said it is clear that the Armenian authorities pursue their
own selfish ends by insisting on such an approach to the peace process.

The Armenian leadership’s deliberate distortion of the statements of
heads of the co-chairing countries is inappropriate and ridiculous,
Abdullayev said.

From: Baghdasarian

ALIEV CRITICIZES ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER

The Messenger
March 30 2012
Georgia

During the Seoul Nuclear Summit, Azeri President Ilham Aliev expressed
his concerns about an Armenian nuclear power station built in 1976. He
cited safety concerns, ( the station is similar to the one that
suffered a meltdown at Chernobyl.).

According to Aliev, the station does not meet modern standards and
is located in a seismically dangerous area.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan responded to Aliev’s comments by
stating that nuclear safety is a priority of Armenia’s government
and they take all possible measures to secure nuclear safety and to
cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Sarkisyan used the remainder of his speaking time to criticize
Azerbaijan and Turkey.

From: Baghdasarian

EXPERT ON IRAN: LOW QUALITY SERVICES AND HIGH ACCOMMODATION PRICES ARE KEY FACTORS CAUSING DECLINE IN INFLOW OF TOURISTS FROM IRAN

arminfo
Friday, March 30, 19:31

Low quality services and high accommodation prices are the key factors
that have caused decline in the inflow of tourists from Iran, expert
on Iran Tigran Davtyan told journalists on Friday.

Last year Armenia was the fifth popular country for Iranian tourists
after Turkey, UAE, Azerbaijan and Spain, but this year it has been
outranked by Georgia.

One more factor is the poor quality of roads and the road police who
keep squeezing money out of Iranian tourists – an average of 40,000
AMD per tourist.

Only one company in Armenia has a license for transporting Iranian
tourists; not all exchange offices accept Iranian toman; a group of
Iranian tourists has been prohibited to enter the Geghard monastery
because they were Muslims.

These are just a few reasons why the inflow of Iranian tourists
is declining.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA’S GROSS INTERNATIONAL RESERVES JUMP 1.5% TO $1.848.2 BLN IN FEBRUARY

/ARKA/
MARCH 30, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, March 30. /ARKA/. Armenia’s gross international reserves
increased by 1.5% (or $27.8 million) to $1.848.2 billion as of late
February, 2012, from January , the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA)
said in a statement posted on its official website.

Reserves in convertible foreign currency dropped by 0.3% or $4.5
million at $1.748.3 billion as of late February from January. The
Central Bank also said Armenia’s SDR at IMF totaled $54.8 million in
late February against 57.6 million in late January. ($1- 390.3 drams).

From: Baghdasarian

FRENCH SINGER MET DISTANT RELATIVES IN ARMENIA, PROMISES TO RETURN TO PERFORM

epress.am
03.30.2012

French singer of Armenian and Corsican origin Patrick Fiori (born
Patrick Jean-Francois Chouchayan), speaking to journalists in Yerevan
today, said he won’t have a huge concert in Armenia this time but
he will return to the country in the near future and organize a
solo concert or the musical Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of
Notre-Dame) to audiences in the Armenian capital.

During this visit, Fiori will have a concert at Mezzo club, singing
the well-known songs “Belle” and “The Mountains of Armenia,” the
lyrics of which Fiori wrote to the music of the film Mayrig (“Mother”)
and which tell of his family history.

“The last time I was in Armenia was in 2004. I have to say, the youth
has become more beautiful. Being far from Armenia, I grew up with the
same values as you. Being far, I wasn’t that far. After the period
when upon Hovik Khachatryan’s request I became the guardian of the
Province d’Armenie organization, I came to Armenia with my family. I
met my distant relatives, who even my father hadn’t seen for 40 years,”
he said.

Asked what in Armenia impressed him the most, the singer-songwriter
said, “I was most impressed by the smile of a woman at Echmiadzin. I
thought that she wanted money from me, but she came, touched a hand
to my lips and said, ‘You’re a good man’.”

From: Baghdasarian

ISRAELI EXPERT CONFIRMS: AZERI ARMS DEAL AIMED AGAINST ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 30, 2012 – 16:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Dr Brenda Shaffer, Israel’s foremost expert on
Azerbaijan, suggests it is highly unlikely that Israel’s sale of
drones and anti-aircraft missile defense systems to Azerbaijan in
$1.6bln arms deal points to a bilateral defense pact against Iran.

“If Azerbaijan is bolstering its defense systems, this is more likely
to be a display of strength intended for Armenia,” the expert told
The Guardian on Friday, March 30.

“Azerbaijan is bordered by Russia, Iran and Turkey. Its economy
is dependent on the safe export of oil, which requires regional
stability,” Shaffer said.

“More than 30 per cent of the Iranian population are ethnic Azeris,”
the expert said, adding that Azerbaijan tries to maintain friendly
relations with Iran.

“It would be very wary of allowing itself to take a step that might
be seen as aggressive. If there is a conflict with Iran, Azerbaijan
will be the first to suffer,” Trend quoted Shaffer as saying.

From: Baghdasarian

The Protest at Mashdots Park Continues

hetq
21:51, March 31, 2012

These are some photos from this afternoon’s protest at Mashdots Park
in Yerevan. The area was chaotic – on the far end of the park there
was a backhoe digging up the sidewalk, making a tremendous amount of
noise and polluting the air with exhaust fumes and dust.

Today a group of about 10 people wearing yellow hard-hats, tools in
hand, decided to show up in the hopes of dismantling the rows of
kiosks. There were dozens of police on hand to face the peaceful
protesters, even some in full riot gear which I thought was over the
top.

See more blog.hetq.am

From: Baghdasarian

Iran claims Azerbaijan emerged on historic Iranian land – expert

March 31, 2012 – 13:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Following the deterioration of bilateral relations
between Iran and Azerbaijan, statements claiming that Azerbaijan, as a
state, emerged only in 1918, gain official voicing, expert in Iranian
studies said.

`Iranian officials often refer to Azerbaijan as former Iranian
territory,’ Armen Israelyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

Iran’s representatives claim that Azerbaijan emerged in the territory
of historic Iranian Shirvan province.

Besides, Iran repeatedly speaks of violations of rights and pressures
against national minorities in Azerbaijan. Some officials hint that
Azerbaijan further distances itself from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
resolution, the expert said.

Israelyan believes that Armenia must use the situation to deepen and
develop its ties with Iran.

From: Baghdasarian