Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: OFFICIAL YEREVAN STILL UNABLE TO GET MOST FAVORED NATION REGIME FROM CUSTOMS UNION

10:06 * 10.07.14

The newspaper’s sources report that official Yerevan is still unable
to get a most favored nation regime for over 1,000 “sensitive products”
from the Customs Union.

They are products liable to higher customs duties than now if imported
from countries that are not Customs Union member-states.

According to the proposals, Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian
Economic Union (EaEU) means a surge in prices for the products in
question in Armenia – up to 15-20 percent. According to reliable
sources, this may be the major reason for the delay in Armenia’s
accession to the EaEU though Armenia’s authorities are denying the
problem.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

AMBASSADOR VILAYAT GULIYEV: “HUNGARY ALSO SUPPORTS AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY LIKE THE OTHER EU COUNTRIES”

APA, Azerbaijan
July 9 2014

[ 09 July 2014 14:38 ]

Baku. Rufat Ahmadzadeh – APA. “At present, Azerbaijani President’s
visit to Hungary and other high-level visits are bilaterally on the
agenda. Related information will soon be available”, Azerbaijani
Ambassador to Hungary Vilayat Guliyev told journalists, APA reports.

Guliyev said that Hungary also supports Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity like the other EU countries. “We have raised twice the issue
before the Hungarian Parliament regarding the Armenian atrocities
and recognition of Khojaly massacre. Unfortunately, the issue has
only been considered within the committee’s meeting. As you know,
the Armenian lobby in Hungary is strong and they are one of the 13
national minorities. Although they are constantly trying to prevent us,
the number of those who supporters our fair position, is increasing
year by year. Development of relations with the Hungarian community
is important to us. Our Diaspora and Embassy in the country are aimed
at it”, he said.

From: Baghdasarian

STAR CHESS PLAYER VISITS GLENDALE

Glendale News Press, CA
July 9 2014

Levon Aronian, ranked second in the world, speaks at Adult Recreation
Center.

By Brittany Levine, [email protected]

July 9, 2014 | 10:07 a.m.

The number two chess player in the world, Levon Aronian, shared his
desire to increase chess’ status in the United States, his road to
success and his take on the 2014 FIFA World Cup at a Monday night
event with fans in Glendale.

The meet-and-greet was part of a 10-day visit the Armenian chess
“Grandmaster” had planned in the Los Angeles area, during which he
will teach chess at the Glendale Hilton Hotel.

“If all of the countries in the world learn to play chess, we will
have a better future,” he said before a crowd of 75 at the Adult
Recreation Center, adding later that he is especially passionate
about increasing chess’ significance in the United States.

In Armenia, chess is a favored sport and is integrated into the
education system. Aronian, who started playing at 9 years old and
is considered a celebrity in his home country, said the low cost of
the game has made it so popular in Armenia, a country of roughly 3
million people that has faced numerous economic challenges.

Aronian has taught chess in Armenia, but the five-day camp organized
by Metropolitan Chess and the American Chess Academy will be his
first time teaching American students.

The winner of the 2005 Chess World Cup is known for his tricky playing
style, which he attributed to the “wizards of the game” who influenced
him when he was growing up.

“They start slowly, but at a moment they add the spice. That’s what
I try to do,” he said.

Although chess is a popular sport in Armenia — led by Aronian, the
country’s team won gold in the 2006, 2008 and 2012 Chess Olympics —
Aronian said he was still bullied as a child.

But chess taught him to persevere.

“You finish the game and then starts the next one,” he said. “I always
stood up for myself after being beaten up.”

The childhood bullying also inspired him to learn to box, he said. In
addition to being a fan of boxing, he is also a soccer lover. He said
he’s been following the World Cup, and although his favorite team in
general is England, he has been rooting for Argentina.

Aronian has also been trying to learn to dance for the past eight
years — he enjoys the tango — but he still stumbles. His girlfriend,
Arianne Caoili, who is a “Woman International Master” chess player,
has been on the Australian version of “Dancing with the Stars.”

“Maybe one day I’ll succeed in moving my body parts at the same time
in different directions,” he said.

For Aronian, reaching a goal requires extreme confidence and
dedication.

“I think you need to strive. You need to be completely taken by your
goal,” he said. “If you don’t put your soul, your entire world into
something that you do, you’re not going to reach greatness.”

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From: Baghdasarian

HELP TURKEY CARE FOR SYRIA’S REFUGEE

Toronto Sun
July 9 2014

Ali Riza Guney

Throughout much of its history, Turkey has been a safe haven for
persecuted people, regardless of their ethnic, religious and political
background.

Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century;
Jewish people suffering under the brutality of Nazi Germany; Iraqi
Kurds facing the threat of annihilation by Saddam Hussein’s regime
from 1988-91; Bulgarian Turks victimized in the final years of the
Communist era, are a few of the cases in point.

Turkey’s geographically central location and the hospitable character
of the Turkish people played a decisive role in this unique approach.

Since the beginning of the brutal attacks of the Bashar al-Assad
regime against its own citizens in 2011, Turkey did not spare her
hand of support to the Syrian people.

The extent of this humanitarian assistance deserves more light.

In the last three years, the humanitarian assistance Turkey has
extended to Syrian civilian refugees has surpassed $3 billion.

Except for approximately $150 million delivered by the international
community, this amount was provided from the state budget as well as
by Turkish taxpayers.

According to the records of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, as of June 2014, there were 223,471 Syrian people sheltered
at 22 protection centers, established as state-of-the-art facilities.

More than half a million Syrians have also been registered as urban
refugees in various Turkish cities.

In other words, Turkey has been facing up to the obligation of
sustaining the livelihood of a population more than that of Brampton,
for the last three years.

To give a sense of the dimension of the dramatic realities on the
ground, let the figures speak for themselves:

To date, approximately 70,000 Syrian children have been provided
primary and secondary education inside and outside the camps.

Nearly 50,000 medical operations and three million medical examinations
have been conducted by Turkish hospitals and medical staff.

More than 7,000 vocational programs in various fields were provided
to Syrian women, equipping them with lifetime skills.

Last but not least, more than 12,000 Syrian babies were born in the
refugee camps under Turkish medical care.

Not only the Syrian Muslim people, but also the Armenians in Syria
who preferred to leave their country in the face of life-threatening
risks, were helped by the Turkish authorities.

Despite the increasing numbers and needs of sheltered people in
Turkey, in parallel with the deteriorating situation in Syria, it is
no secret that the financial burden on the shoulders of Turkey has
not been sufficiently shared by the international community.

We believe it is high time for all nations around the globe to
translate their rhetoric of support into material support, because
in these historical test cases for humanity, actions speaks louder
than words.

That said, no matter what the amount of international assistance
given to Turkey in this noble cause, the government of the Republic
of Turkey is determined to maintain its “open door policy” to those
persecuted by the Assad regime forces and its collaborators, and to
continue writing the humanitarian success story of the 21st century.

— Guney is the Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Toronto

From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY’S STATEMENT ON 1915 EVENTS NEW VERSION OF DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE – PRESIDENT SARGSIAN

Interfax, Russia
July 8 2014

YEREVAN. July 8

Armenian President Serzh Sargsian thinks Ankara’s announcement on
creating “a just memory” around the issue of the 1915 Armenian genocide
in the Ottoman Empire is the manifestation of the improved policy of
denying the genocide, the president’s press office told Interfax.

“Today Turkish leaders are talking about the need to create ‘a just
memory’ between Armenians and Turks. But already their next step
is trying to undermine the justice by putting an equal mark between
1.5 million innocent victims and Turkish soldiers killed as a result
of the reckless policies of the Ottoman leaders. This is no ‘just’
memory. We cannot accept this kind of ‘justice.’ In fact, it is an
updated, improved, newly-packaged version of the policy of denying the
Armenian genocide,” Sargsian said at a meeting with representatives
of the Armenian community in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, according to
his press office.

The day is near when “Turkey finds itself face to face with its own
history,” he said. “The Turkish leaders will thus free their people
from the heavy burden they have had to carry for a whole century now.

I think this will be largely facilitated by the rising public
self-awareness in Turkey in the face of its young and educated
generation which already thinks it better to apologize rather than
shamefully disavow the past,” Sargsian said.

He also said that Armenia will continue its consolidated efforts to
secure international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
genocide.

Earlier Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated that a new
era will begin in the Armenian-Turkish relations, if politicians and
intelligentsia do their part to overcome the psychological barrier
on both sides and build “a just memory.”

“An unjust memory was created around the 1915 events, and for the
Turks and Armenians to understand what they had to go through, they
need to respect the memory of one another. For the Armenians, 1915 was
the year of migration which saw many big tragedies. The years before
and after 1915 were also the time of enormous tragedies for Turks in
Anatolia. It was during this time that Turks were fighting for survival
in the Balkan wars, in Canakkale and in the war for independence. In
reality, it was the time of the shared pain,” Davutoglu said.

kk

From: Baghdasarian

AZERBAIJAN LEADER: OSCE MEDIATORS WANT NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT CONGEALED, NOT SETTLED

Interfax, Russia
July 8 2014

BAKU. July 7

Azerbaijan’s president on Monday questioned the sincerity of the Minsk
Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which
is mediating in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, expressing suspicion
that the mediators were trying to keep the conflict congealed.

“I’m getting the impression that what the mediators that are dealing
with this issue want more is that this situation should remain as it
is. Their main desire is that regional stability shouldn’t be violated,
that there shouldn’t be any war,” Ilham Aliyev said at a conference
of Azeri diplomats.

He said settlement of the conflict is the main objective of
Azerbaijan’s foreign policy.

“Unfortunately, no progress has been made in that way since the last
conference. Of course, there have been various statements, attempts
have been made, and the co-chairmen of the Minsk Group have repeatedly
visited the region, but there are no results. The main reason is the
unconstructive position and attempts of Armenia to keep the conflict
on ice,” Aliyev said.

He expressed regret that the international community has put no
pressure on Armenia.

“We also want peace, but I have said repeatedly that we want our
lands back and international law to triumph. And in recent years,
this position of Armenia has been making it impossible to solve
this problem in a peaceful way. Of course, there is another possible
solution, and we have never denied this and have been open about it. A
military resolution of the conflict cannot be ruled out because the
picture that has been taking shape in the international arena over the
last few months shows that, unfortunately, international law doesn’t
work, the factor of force plays the main role and, unfortunately,
the principle that those are right who are stronger has dealt a major
blow to the model of international relations,” Aliyev said.

From: Baghdasarian

URUGUAY Y ARMENIA FIRMAN ACUERDOS BILATERALES EN DIVERSOS TEMAS

teleSUR TV
9 Julio 2014

Los presidentes de Uruguay y Armenia, Jose Mujica y Serzh Sargsyan,
respectivamente, sostuvieron una reunion en Montevideo, donde firmaron
varios acuerdos bilaterales en temas relacionados con la economía y
el deporte.

Uruguay y Armenia fortaleceran sus relaciones diplomaticas en materia
economica y en cooperacion deportiva, en el marco de una serie de
acuerdos firmados este miercoles entre los presidentes de ambos
países, Jose Mujica y Serzh Sargsyan, durante la visita oficial que
este último realiza a Montevideo desde el pasado martes.

La comitiva de Armenia fue recibida en la sede del Ejecutivo uruguayo,
donde firmaron varios acuerdos bilaterales en temas relacionados
con la economía y el deporte, ademas de un convenio para eliminar el
requisito de visado para los ciudadanos de ambos países que tengan
la intencion de viajar.

El primero de los acuerdos que firmaron, de cooperacion en deporte,
fue suscrito por la ministra de Turismo y Deportes de Uruguay, Liliam
Kechichian, de ascendencia armenia.

Mujica y Sargsyan firmaron varios acuerdos bilaterales y luego el
mandatario de Armenia acudio al Parlamento uruguayo para sostener
una reunion con presidente de la Asamblea General y vicepresidente
uruguayo Danilo Astori. Ademas, sostuvo reuniones con el presidente
de la Suprema Corte de Justicia del Uruguay, Jorge Larrieux.

“Ambos mandatarios firmaron una declaracion conjunta, en la cual
reafirman el alto nivel de las relaciones bilaterales y la estrecha
cooperacion basada en la amistad recíproca”, señala la nota de prensa
de Presidencia.

Tambien, el Jefe de Estado aprovecho para visitar la planta de la
empresa lechera uruguaya Conaprole, el mayor exportador de lacteos
de Uruguay, antes de mantener una reunion en la plaza Armenia de
Montevideo con representantes de la comunidad de su país.

Sargsyan arribo este martes procedente de Buenos Aires, donde fue
recibido por el vicepresidente argentino Amado Boudou, y partira este
jueves a Chile donde cerrara su gira por el Cono Sur.

From: Baghdasarian

EMPLOYMENT ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT’S PRIORITY – PREMIER

19:22 * 09.07.14

Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan visited a number of
communities in the Shirak region.

The premier particularly visited the Gyumri branch of the Armenian
State University of Economics and had a meeting with lecturers and
students. Mr Abrahamyan and Armenia’s Minister of Education and Science
Armen Ashotyan answered questions concerning the quality of education,
tuition fees, practical work, etc.. The premier instructed the minister
of education to discuss the problems and find solutions.

“We must put an end to the gap between the authorities and people. On
many occasions people did not keep their promises. There is a lack
of confidence, but we have the political will to resolve this problem.

Ensuring citizens’ prosperity is out important task. The ties between
people and the government seem to be intensifying. Government members
respond to each signal and visit the regions and communities. The
government’s priority is to ensure employment. And we’ll try to
attract investments and create new jobs. We will certainly succeed,”
the premier said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

MINISTER: INFORMATION ABOUT HAKOB INJIGHULYAN RECEIVED THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION

July 09, 2014 | 21:05

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Defense Ministry does not have additional
information in connection with Hakob Injighulyan who is being held
in Azerbaijani captivity.

Information about Hakob Injighulyan is being received through an
international organization (International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC)), Minister Seyran Ohanyan said during a press conference
on Wednesday.

On the night of August 8, 2013, Armenian soldier Hakob Injighulyan
(born in 1991) had gotten lost and found himself in the territory
under the control of Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani side claimed he expressed willingness to be transferred
to the third state. Nevertheless, the experience of previous years
is showing that captives are being pressed in Azerbaijan not to allow
their return to the homeland.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

“OUR RIVALS TRY TO BECOME MORE ACTIVE IN SOUTH AMERICA”, ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SAYS

Wednesday 9 July 2014 10:51
Photo: Press service of the Armenian President

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan who is on a
regional visit to South America said that “our rivals try to become
more active not only this part of the world but others as well”.

Serzh Sargsyan said this at Armenian Cultural Association’s Edward
Seferian Center in Argentina, the Armenian presidential press service
reports.

“I do understand that our rivals try to become more active not only
this part of the world but others as well, attempting to promote
their interests. Our goal is to renew our efforts and keep the fire
burning in the younger generation fortifying statehood in Armenia on
the one hand , and strengthening Diaspora and our structures on the
other hand. Only together are we strong.

Together, we can do many things.

I very well understand the aim of their efforts particularly in South
America- Argentina, Uruguay and other countries. They put their
efforts where we are strong but if we surrender in this struggle,
some others will be in this building after a long while. I am sure
that will never happen. I am convinced that vice versa, the number
of our buildings will grow and we will still have a solid number of
supporters”, said the Armenian President.

After the official visit to Argentina, the delegation headed by Serzh
Sargsyan left for Uruguay.

From: Baghdasarian