Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

TIGRAN SARGSYAN: “PAN-ARMENIAN GAMES A REAL PROOF OF OUR UNITY”

Aug 18, 2011
Armenia

A ceremonious opening for the 5th Pan-Armenian Games was held at the
Republican Stadium of Yerevan after Vazgen Sargsyan. In attendance
were Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, President of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic Bako Sahakyan, Chairman of the World Pan-Armenian Games
Committee Ishkhan Zakaryan, other officials.

Welcoming the participants and all our compatriots, Tigran Sargsyan
stated in part: “The Pan-Armenian Games have grown into a nationwide
festival by teaching us to celebrate victories together. Over the
few days ahead, Armenians all over the world will follow closely your
performances and everyone will be pleased with your achievements. The
Pan-Armenian Games are a unique tournament in this respect as there
are no losers and outsiders due to our unity.”

According to the Prime Minister, it is symbolical that the Pan-Armenian
Games are held ahead of the celebrations of Armenia’s and Artsakh’s
20th anniversary of independence bringing together in Homeland
thousands of our compatriots.

“I am often asked what the Armenian world looks like. Here it
is extending from Australia to Canada, from South America to the
Middle East. The Armenian world is mobilized, strong with the will of
victory,” the Prime Minister said convinced that the Pan-Armenian Games
are one of the most effective means of strengthening and development
our identity and originality.

According to the Premier, this originality of ours’ has been calling
in Armenians from the Diaspora since they were launched 12 years ago.

“Dear compatriots, each of you is strong and, together, you are
invincible. Each of you is set to win. But first let us understand what
a victory is. I am convinced that our victory consists in our unity. We
cannot be defeated when we are unanimous,” Tigran Sargsyan emphasized.

The head of government said to be convinced that something more
valuable is at stake than mere athletic achievements. Tigran Sargsyan
wished the athletes every success and all the best.

The Pan-Armenian Games bring together some 3200 participants from
125 cities of 30 countries involved in 10 different sports events:
football, basketball, chess, futsal, volleyball, swimming, athletics,
badminton and ping pong. The Games will be held in Yerevan, Abovian
and Artashat through August 21, 2011.

From: Baghdasarian

TIGRAN SARGSYAN: “I AM CONVINCED FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL BE PROUD OF ARMENIAN BUILDERS’ AND ARCHITECTS’ LEGACY”

Aug 18, 2011
ARMENIA

“Armenian builders’ and architects’ legacy contains huge cultural
wealth as evidenced by those churches and monuments we have today.

Available worldwide, these delightful constructions testify to
the talent of the Armenian people,” Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
said during a gala event held at the National Museum – Institute of
Architecture of Armenia on Builders’ Day.

Congratulating the architects and builders on their professional
holiday, the head of government noted that this holiday day has a
special meaning: Armenian builders and architects have played a key
role in our history inspired with one of our key national features –
dedication to work and nation.

“It was translated into those delightful architectural products we have
inherited. For many centuries Armenian architects and builders have
ensured the Armenian continuity,” Tigran Sargsyan said and expressed
conviction that the future generations will be proud of their legacy.

The head of the government presented with the Premier’s letters of
appreciation chairman of the Armenian seismic-resistant engineering
association Armand Melkonyan for significant contribution to urban
development activities in Armenia.

A number of architects and builders were awarded with departmental
medals and appreciation letters by Minister of Urban Development
Vardan Vardanyan.

From: Baghdasarian

NO BREAKTHROUGH IN KARABAKH TALKS IN NEXT TWO YEARS – EXPERT

news.am
Aug 18, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- One should not expect intensification of the Karabakh
peace process in the next two years, said political expert Alexander
Iskandaryan.

He conditioned pause in talks by elections held in all the countries
involved in the peace process. Elites of these countries will be
focused on domestic policy, Iskandaryan considers.

“The Karabakh conflict is not a top priority issue for the western
powers at the moment, while Turkey is engaged in solving domestic
problems and Syrian developments,” he said adding that no pressure
on the conflicting parties should be expected as well.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION-GOVERNMENT TALKS IMPORTANT AS PROCESS – EXPERT

news.am
Aug 18 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- Essence of talks between the Armenian opposition and the
government are negotiations by themselves, nothing more. The process
is more important than the discussed issues, said political expert
Alexander Iskandaryan.

He deems the talks are important both for the opposition and
government. Besides, foreign countries and organizations, position
of which is important for Armenia, welcome the dialogue.

Armenia has a real chance to carry out a mini revolution in country’s
political system after parliamentary elections, in case talks are not
ruined. There is a tradition in Armenia according to which losers do
not recognize results of elections starting from 1995.

“If the main opposition party joins the parliament and agrees to
participate in National Assembly’s work, it will be a revolution,”
he concluded.

From: Baghdasarian

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS: BULGARIANS, ARMENIANS, GEORGIANS ARE LUCKY THEY DON’T HAVE A COMMON HISTORY WITH TURKEY

news.am
Aug 18, 2011
Armenia

Armenian News-NEWS.am presents the article “Living happily, Turkishly,
ever after” by Burak Bekdil published in Hurriyet Daily News and
Economic Review newspaper.

“In one of his speeches, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that
“Turkey and Iran share a very long, common history.” And in another he
said that “a common destiny, a common history, a common future is the
slogan of Turkey and Syria.” And in another, “we have a common history,
a common destiny and a common future, as well as cooperation between
Greece and Turkey,” prompting this columnist to wonder which countries
in the world Turkey does not have a common destiny, common history and
common future with. Most recently, as crowds in the rebel-controlled
Benghazi, Libya, chanted “Erdogan, Turkey, Muslim,” Mr. Davutoglu told
them “we have a common history and a future,” the newspaper reports.

“That may be bad news for Turkey’s future relations with the Libyan
opposition. One of the countries with which Turkey has a common future
and history is sending one hostile signal after another to Ankara,
telling Mr. Davutoglu’s men to butt out of Syria, even accusing Turkey
of providing “terrorists” with arms. The other country with which
Turkey has a common history and a future is calculating where and when
the next Turkish act of hostility will come from. Speaking about that
country, Mr. Davutoglu said, “We have nothing to talk about.”

Ultimately, the visa-free trade zone linking
“common-history-and-future” friends Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan
seems to be in the political waste basket now,” the source says.

“Meanwhile, the other country with which Turkey has a common history
and a future is digging a massive, 120-kilometer-long area on its
border with Turkey. In the south, the islanders with which we have a
common history and future – although Mr. Davutoglu has not specifically
mentioned that – keep on vetoing EU accession chapters and going ahead
with their Exclusive Economic Zone plans despite Turkish objections,”
the newspaper reads.

“The Bulgarians, Armenians and Georgians are lucky they don’t have a
common history and a future with Turkey. Bosnians may not be equally
lucky (yes, Bosnians are our neighbors since Mr. Davutoglu expansively
defines the Turkish neighborhood, as the vast space of Ottoman
dominion). A future visit to Sarajevo may risk ties with Bosnia if
the minister recalls our common history and future with the Bosnians
(if he already has not). It was alarming enough when Mr. Davutoglu said
that “the 16th century was the golden age of the Balkans, and that the
Ottoman era there needs to come back.” As one Balkan analyst recently
wrote, “Turkey will be judged by what it is doing in the Balkans now,
not by what it did 400 years ago,” the source reports.

“But I am particularly worried about Egypt where the post-Mubarak
political scene, with a touch of a common history and a future
with Turkey, could at any moment recall its anti-Ottoman past,”
the newspaper reads.

From: Baghdasarian

CESARIA EVORA TO PERFORM IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
August 18, 2011

PanARMENIAN.Net – World famous Cesaria Evora will give a concert in
Yerevan on September 29. The singer has visited Armenia once to perform
at a closed event. This time, all fans will have an opportunity to
enjoy live performance of the barefoot diva.

Cesaria Evora, born August 27, 1941 in the port town of Mindelo on
the Cape Verde island of Sao Vicente, is a notable folk singer. She
is known as the “barefoot diva” because of her propensity to appear
on stage without shoes in support of the homeless and poor women and
children of her country.

Long known as the queen of the morna, a soulful genre (related with the
Portuguese fado) sung in Creole-Portuguese, she mixes her sentimental
folk tunes filled with longing and sadness with the acoustic sounds
of guitar, cavaquinho, violin, accordion, and clarinet.

From: Baghdasarian

AZERBAIJANI MFA CRITICIZED GOOGLE

Lragir.am

18/08/2011

The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan criticizes Google for distorting
names of Azerbaijani areas and presenting Armenian names on Google
maps.

Yesterday, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued an official statement
urging Azeris to take up active steps to restore Azerbaijani names
of the territories.

On Google Maps, Armenian names of places in Karabakh and adjacent
territories are presented, while Azerbaijan requires writing the Azeri
names – instead of Varanda- Fizuli, Kovsakan-Zangilan, Karvachar –
Kalbajar, Akna – Aghdam, Sanasar-Gubadli, Jrakan-Jabrayil, Stepanakert-
Khankendi, Martakert-Agdere, Martuni-Khojavend.

From: Baghdasarian

ALMOST ALL RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN ARMENIA ARE INVOLVED IN BUSINESS, ALEXANDER AMARYAN CLAIMS

Mediamax
Aug 17, 2011
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Almost every religious organization (sect) operating
in Armenia is involved in a business.

The head of “Center for Rehabilitation and Assistance to Victims
of Destructive Cults” Alexander Amaryan, said this today, Mediamax
reports.

According to him, the sects are mainly involved in the activities
of construction companies, providers, audit companies as well as
hotel business.

The head of the organization noted that the main aim of all the
religious organizations is to collect information about concrete
persons.

According to the Center’s data, 67 religious organizations are
registered in Armenia, including organizations of Armenian Apostolic
Church. Alexander Amaryan claims that according to the unofficial data,
the number of people involved in sects in Armenia makes around 300-350
thousand, and the annual turnover of these organizations makes $1bln.

From: Baghdasarian

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE CLAIMS HIGHEST CIRCULATION IN ARMENIA

Armenialiberty.org

Aug 17, 2011

“Cosmopolitan,” a popular international magazine for young women,
appears to have become the best-selling glossy publication in Armenia
less than seven months after the launch of its Armenian-language
edition.

The launch made “Cosmopolitan Armenia” the 63rd international edition
of the famous U.S. title published by the Hearst Magazines media
company. It is currently printed in 36 languages and distributed in
more than 100 countries.

“We are confident that ‘Cosmo’ will do well with Armenian women,”
Duncan Edwards, the Hearst Magazines chairman, said ahead of the
Armenian edition’s release in February.

“Cosmopolitan Armenia” now claims to print and sell about 5,000 copies
per issue, more than any other Armenian magazine. The circulation
figure is also higher than the print runs of most of the country’s
daily newspapers that mainly cover political and economic developments.

Like its sister publications, the 160-200 page magazine published
once a month mainly carries articles on relationships and sex, health,
careers, Western and local celebrities, as well as fashion and beauty.

“Sex was a very scary topic for us because starting to speak about it
in Armenia as openly as ‘Cosmo’ does elsewhere in the world was not an
easy thing,” Hrachuhi Utmazian, the magazine’s young editor-in-chief,
told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Nevertheless, she said, the magazine has extensively covered what is
a sensitive and sometimes taboo subject in the socially conservative
country in its six editions published to date.

“Sex is a must-have headline at ‘Cosmopolitan Armenia,'” explained
Utmazian. “It must be in the upper left corner of the magazine cover,
it is considered the most important headline. The front page must
also have a headline on beauty.”

The debut issue of “Cosmopolitan Armenia” published in March featured
Armenian-American socialite Kim Kardashian on its cover.

“I would not go as far as to claim that ‘Cosmo’ is changing the whole
society,” said Shushan Harutiunian, editor of the magazine’s online
version. “But the fact there is some change is obvious, at least
among people who have joined our virtual community.”

According to Harutiunian, the magazine’s readers are mostly women
aged between 18 and 35.

From: Baghdasarian

SUICIDE DU PROCUREUR DU DISTRICT KENTRON NORK MARACHE D’EREVAN
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 18 aout 2011

L’ensemble de presse fait etat du suicide du procureur du district
Kentron Nork Marache d’Erevan, dans un cimetière, près de la tombe de
sa mère. Dans une lettre il avait demande de n’accuser personne de sa
mort, rapporte la presse estimant que ceci prouvait qu’il s’agissait
d’un suicide. Nomme a ce poste en juin dernier, le procureur avait 37
ans et etait père de trois enfants mineurs. Une enquete est en cours.

Ambassade de France en Armenie

Service de presse

From: Baghdasarian