Armenian, Nagorno-Karabakh Universities Ink Cooperation Deal

ARMENIAN, NAGORNO-KARABAKH UNIVERSITIES INK COOPERATION DEAL

17:20 â~@¢ 16.04.14

The Armenian State Teachers’ Training University (ASTTU) on Wednesday
signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Artsakh
(Nagorno-Karabakh), reports ASTTU press service.

The Artsakh University’s president, Manush Minasyan, highlighted
the importance of the deal, considering it an important move towards
fostering inter-university cooperation. “Artsakh needs integration
today, and this cooperation too, will contribute to that process. The
agreement will really ensure the achievements and results expected
to have a tangible impact on a any resident of Artsakh, especially
the youth,” she said.

Noting that the cooperation between the two institutions has a long
history, Minasyan stressed the importance of always seeking new
partnership formats to keep pace with the current challenges

ASTTU rector Ruben Mirzakhanyan said the agreement offers better
opportunities of cooperation between the universities. He told the
participants that Artskh University students will this year have a
chance to participate in a joint international summer camp.

The agreement signed envisages cooperation in educational,
scientific-research and methodological initiatives.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

Expert: Democratic Nagorno-Karabakh Will Never Become Part Of Sultan

EXPERT: DEMOCRATIC NAGORNO-KARABAKH WILL NEVER BECOME PART OF SULTAN- RULED AZERBAIJAN

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Thursday, April 17, 18:20

Democratic Nagorno-Karabakh will never become part of Sultan-ruled
Azerbaijan, Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan told journalists on Thursday
when asked to comment on Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s
statement that Azerbaijan is ready to provide Nagorno-Karabakh with
the widest possible autonomy.

“This is not news though Azerbaijan seldom appears with such rhetoric.

Mammadyarov’s statement was a reaction to the Crimean events. In any
case, Nagorno-Karabakh’s being autonomy inside Azerbaijan sounds like
fiction as Nagorno-Karabakh is by far more democratic than Azerbaijan.

How can a democratic republic be part of a sultanate?” Melkonyan said.

From: Baghdasarian

ARF Says Will Not Be Part Of The New Government

ARF SAYS WILL NOT BE PART OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT

14:54 17.04.2014

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation will not be part of the new
government, the ARF Supreme Body said in a statement today.

ARF will continue to act as opposition. It will try to unite the
public and the political forces around its national-state values and
the proposed solutions on one hand, and keep the country away from
turmoil and instability on the other hand.

“Our goal has been and remains the strengthening of Armenia’s statehood
and ensuring the prosperous life of our citizens,” the ARF Supreme
Body said.

From: Baghdasarian

http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/04/17/arf-says-will-not-be-part-of-the-new-government/

Genocide Issue Is Subject Of Political Trade For U.S. – Expert

GENOCIDE ISSUE IS SUBJECT OF POLITICAL TRADE FOR U.S. – EXPERT

15:33 17/04/2014 ” REGION

The adoption of an Armenian Genocide Resolution by the U.S. Senate
Foreign Relations Committee is a semi-step whose aim is not the fair
demand of the Armenian people, Turkish studies expert Ruben Melkonyan
told reporters.

According to him, the Armenian Genocide issue is mostly a subject of
political trade for the United States, which, on the one hand, exerts
pressure on Turkey and on the other hand, tries to please Armenia
and Armenian people. Unfortunately, these steps are taken within the
context of cold political reckoning and have no final aim, he said.

Turkey’s reaction has become more aggressive on the threshold of the
centenary of the Armenian Genocide, Melkonyan said, adding that the
whole Turkish elite is involved in the campaign against the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Baghdasarian

US Produced Sarin Gas Used In Syria

US PRODUCED SARIN GAS USED IN SYRIA

Jeffrey Silverman: US Department of Defense manages a network of
laboratories in Georgia with offensive capacity

Interview by Maia Chubinishvili

(05 09 2013 18:47:57) â?” On August 27, 2013 the famous American
political investigator and principal editor of the ex-US State
Department and intelligence service publication Veterans Today,
Gordon Duff, published an article entitled “US Contractors Cited for
Syrian Chemical Attacks,” and a video entitled “Syrian Gas Attack
Proof Syrian Army Has No Involvement.”

The commentary to the video states, “The video which you are watching
right now was filmed in Syria and shows the chemical weapons which
were sent from Georgia. The US is standing behind all this. Former US
Senator Richard Lugar is the person whose assistance made it possible
to transport weaponsfrom Georgia via Turkey into Syria, with the
support of the United States and Turkey. Look at the weapons contained
in the video and observe how they have been made operational.]A US
chemical weapons programme supplies the Syrian rebels with weapons
of mass destruction. A team of investigators has determined that
chemical weapons were supplied from this region, which is under US
control. They followed the trail of these chemical weapons to the
Georgian Republic. Turkish Army subdivisions transported them to
Al-Qaeda terrorists operating in Syrian territory.

Journalists Jeffrey Silverman and Lika Moshiashvili are credited with
having discovered the secret and illegal operations taking place in
the US-controlled Central Reference Laboratory (CPHRL) in the Tbilisi
suburb the Alekseevka Settlement.”As soon as this scary information
was made known to the public, Georgia & World contacted Tbilisi based
American journalist and researcher Jeffrey Silverman.

– Mr. Silverman, give us a short history of the bio labs and how you
found out about them?- I performed part of my military service at
a chemical weapons depot, a storage site of chemical weapons in the
US Army during my college years, known as the Bluegrass Army Depot,
Richmond, Kentucky. I have some training in chemical weapons and bio
warfare. Here nerve and other chemical weapons are stored, even to this
day. I was fresh out of training from Fort Knox and taking ROTC Army
training courses at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

I learned back in 2004 about the Bechtel National Project bio storage
facility in Georgia from US Defense contractors, including Turkish
ones. They were working at the lab facility being constructed near
Tbilisi airport. I then started deeply investigating the facility
with Georgian and Norwegian journalists. My first questions were,
why near the airport and why in Georgia?

I soon realised that the US government and the Department of Defense,
DoD, wanted to study new infectious strains, such as Anthrax, which
were evolving in the wild amongst cattle herds in rural regions of
Georgia. It should be mentioned that this small country and Tbilisi
were once centre-stage to the Soviet Union’s system of bio weapons
research, for both animal and plant warfare.

I have been able to access the design plans for the facility and,
through speaking to contractors and whistle blowers, I have learned
that the US Department of Defense operates a network of labs in
Georgia and that they have an offensive capacity.

Some even go so far as to claim that the US government is using Georgia
and its population as part of ongoing research. I also suspect this,
and that is why I am trying to obtain solid proof of this allegation
right now.

The question is whether Georgians are being utilised for sinister bio
programmes and vaccine field trials. This may be difficult to prove,
but even the United States has experimented on its own population
over the years, and it can use the population of Georgia as part of
field trials for vaccines without their full informed consent.

A number of labs, strewn across Eastern Europe, are linked like an
umbilicial cord to the Biological Weapons Proliferation Prevention
(BWPP) programme and various projects within it. This programme
provides a cover for what is most likely an offensive programme. If the
strains they are investigating turn out to be antibiotic resistant,
this implies they are conducting ongoing research into special
organisms that can eat bacteria and attack infections that are
antibiotic resistant, which can be quickly accessed. Whoever has the
capacity to release these controls the bioweapons battlefield.

– What comments have you received from Veterans Today?

This is a group of former US military people, defenders of the US
Constitution, defence and security contractors, etc. They have been
researching how chemical weapons have been provided to terrorist groups
operating via Georgia. They even have collected documentation to that
effect. They also have access to intelligence on how Georgian ports
have been used to ship heavy bombs which will be used against Iran
and other targets. They are interested in my work, and know that I
am a trusted source based on my military background and record of
accomplishment as a journalist.

We have also discussed how US President Obama painted himself into
the corner when he made the statement about a year ago about [Syria
not crossing] the “red line.” So now the U.S. has to act, to avoid
being perceived as an “all talk, no action” country and superpower.

In other words, overthrowing al-Assad’s regime with boots on the
ground is not Washington’s first choice now. The Syrian people have
to do the job by themselves, perhaps with a bit of help, but that
does not mean that the US should help terrorists in the process.

Gordon Duff, VT’s principal editor, has taken an interest in my
investigations and what the US has been doing in Georgia.

Quoting him directly, “You are in the middle of an important region,
working on key projects, and I would toss intelligence assets your
way if I can.”

Several years ago a CIA group, as he described it, moved into
Georgia. Duff has credited them with starting the 2008 Georgia-Russia
war, and using Israeli assets for the provision of weapons and material
support. I guess he is talking about cluster bombs and advisory
services, including the involvement of the same kind of groups that I
have been investigating, such as Archangel and Cubic, two US defence
contractors, and their links to starting the Georgian-Russian War in
August 2008. They intentionally made sure that Georgia would not be
strategically successful, out of either design or incompetence.

You can lose a war and still win in other ways. Gordon told me that
he too knows that Georgia is clearly a transit area for weapons to
Azerbaijan and other end users, and how he has worked extensively to
close off that route.

I have documentation to this effect, and this has been shared with
the new government. Gordon Duff is no friend of the Syrian government
â?¦ “the position of defending Assad is a difficult one and I am
not one of his fans. I have too many Syrian friends who are sick of
his government. However, I do understand why [Assad] was not able to
democratise Syria, even though I know this leader would have wanted
to. Things would have exploded as soon as the boot came off the neck,”
he said.

From: Baghdasarian

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/04/08/296525/

Tarazupar.Am Presenting Armenian Culture, Dances And Folk Costumes H

TARAZUPAR.AM PRESENTING ARMENIAN CULTURE, DANCES AND FOLK COSTUMES HAS THRICE BEEN ATTACKED BY TURKISH HACKERS

20:25 14/04/2014 ” SOCIETY

Tarazupar.am presenting Armenian culture, dances and folk costumes
has thrice been attacked by Turkish hackers

In April 2014, Turkish hackers have tried to hack the Armenian
Tarazupar.am site thrice. The site presents the Armenian culture,
dances and folk costumes, David Harutyunyan, administrator of the
site told Panorama.am.

He also has noted that, traditionally, in April the Turkish and
Azerbaijani hackers are trying to break the sites containing
information about Armenia.

According to David Harutyunyan, in April three attempts of
illegal access to Tarazupar.am site were recorded in the name
of the administrator. All of the three attacks were carried
out from Turkish IP addresses: 95.5.86.111 (User hostname:
95.5.86.111.dynamic.ttnet.com. tr), 78.172.54.239 (User hostname:
78.172.54.239.dynamic.ttnet.com.tr), 78.172.57.167 (User hostname:
78.172.57.167.dynamic.ttnet.com.tr).

The site administrator noted that the Azerbaijani and Turkish hackers
who carry out such kind of illegal activities, attack not only Internet
resources of political nature, but also completely neutral sites –
cultural, scientific, etc., which are not directly related to the
policy and regional conflicts.

David Harutyunyan stressed that the site Tarazupar.am is a cultural
project. It is not involved in politics, and is not engaged in covering
conflicts. In this regard, the attempt of the Turkish hackers of
hacking the Armenian cultural website is puzzling. “The site presents
materials only about the dances and traditional costumes of Armenia,”
he said.

“Perhaps the Turkish nationalists do not like the fact that we gather
and popularize Armenian culture in one place. However, we will pay
no attention to these excesses and will continue our work,” the site
administrator concluded.

From: Baghdasarian

http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2014/04/14/tarazuparam-attack/

Hovik Abrahamyan Named Armenia’s New PM

HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN NAMED ARMENIA’S NEW PM

April 14, 2014 – 09:36 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – President Serzh Sargsyan announced on Sunday,
April 13 his decision to appoint parliament speakerHovik Abrahamyan
as Armenia’s new prime minister. He acknowledged that he had serious
misgivings about Abrahamyan’s candidacy, RFE/FL Armenian Service
reported.

Sargsyan made the announcement at an extraordinary meeting of the
governing body of his Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), the third
such encounter held since the unexpected resignation on April 3 of
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

Under the Armenian constitution, Abrahamyan has three weeks to form
his cabinet and seek a vote of confidence from the National Assembly
controlled by the RPA.

Addressing senior members of the ruling party, Sargsyan spoke of
widespread “skepticisms” about Abrahamyan’s candidacy. He said
he has discussed it with the speaker “at length” in the last few
days. Those misgivings, he explained, revolve around “relations with
other political forces” and Abrahamyan’s “perceptions by various
social strata.”

“We spoke about all issues frankly and openly, and I received clear
assurances from Mr. Abrahamyan,” Sargsyan said in televised remarks
publicized by his press office. “Mr. Abrahamyan promised to very
quickly dispel possible concerns within our ranks with his active
steps, clear political messages … and, most importantly, tangible
results of his work.”

“I am confident that everyone will very soon realize that the Republic
of Armenia has a really effective prime minister,” he added.

The president appeared to allude to Abrahamyan’s reputed ties to
the Prosperous Armenia Party, the second largest parliamentary force
increasingly challenging Sargsyan. The Prosperous Armenia-affiliated
speaker is thought to have a close personal rapport with the party’s
millionaire leader Gagik Tsarukyan not least because of the fact that
his son is married to one of the tycoon’s daughters. Observers have
suggested that Sargsyan hopes Abrahamyan’s appointment will put the
brakes on the Prosperous Armenia’s growing cooperation with Armenia’s
three main established opposition parties.

Tigran Sargsyan stepped down two days after the Prosperous Armenia and
those parties agreed to stage three-day joint rallies later this month
in support of their joint vote of no confidence in the government,
which was due to be put forward in the parliament.

Abrahamyan’s appointment was widely expected to be announced on
Thursday. But it was apparently postponed after Sargsyan’s talks held
with Tsarukyan. The latter reportedly refused to bring his party back
to the governing coalition or endorse constitutional reform planned
by Sargsyan.

According to Prosperous Armenia spokesman Tigran Urikhanyan, Tsarukyan
again met the president this weekend and reaffirmed his stance.

“Namely, the Prosperous Armenia is not considering the issue of being
part of a coalition government, that is not our agenda,” Zham.am
quoted Urikhanyan as saying shortly after Sargsyan’s choice of the
new prime minister was officially confirmed.

Urikhanyan also made clear that Tsarukyan’s party remains opposed
to any constitutional changes. “There is no constitutional crisis in
Armenia. There is an economic crisis in Armenia,” he said.

RPA spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov indicated that the Armenian president
still hopes to cut a power-sharing deal with the Porsperous Armenia
as well as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnktsutyun. Both
political forces were part of Sarkgsyan’s government in the past.

Announcing Abrahamyan’s appointment to reporters, Sharmazanov said
that the ruling party’s leadership did not discuss the composition
of the new government. Sargsyan likewise did not mention possible
coalition arrangements in his publicized remarks. He said only that
the new Armenian premier will have “a high degree of freedom on
staffing issues.”

The head of state further stressed that Abrahamyan’s cabinet will
carry on with some of the controversial measures taken by the previous
government and denounced by the Prosperous Armenia and the opposition.

Those include an ongoing reform of the national pension system.

The Prosperous Armenia signaled its intention to continue cooperating
with the opposition forces as it held with them an economic conference
in the central town of Tsaghkadzor on Saturday. Tsarukyan addressed
the forum shunned by the ruling RPA, speaking of a “severe economic
crisis” in the country. He did not comment on the new government or
other political issues in his speech.

From: Baghdasarian

Armen Martirosyan: Hovik Abrahamyan Will Try To Gain Time And ‘Tie U

ARMEN MARTIROSYAN: HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN WILL TRY TO GAIN TIME AND ‘TIE UP’ THE HANDS AND FEET OF BHK (VIDEO)

17:21 | April 14,2014 | Politics

The four non-coalition forces in parliament should realize that the
appointment of Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan as Prime Minister
was a well-calculated step, says Vice-Chairman of the Heritage Party
Armen Martirosyan.

He excludes the split of the opposition quartet and says none of them
will join the coalition government.

Armen Martirosyan does not think that Hovik Abrahamyan’s appointment
as Prime Minister will lead to any positive changes in Armenia.

“If the former prime minister [Tigran Sargsyan] was a would-be
reformer, Hovik Abrahamyan will simply try to gain time and ‘tie up’
the hands and feet of Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party.”

President of the Yerevan Press Club, Boris Navasardyan does not
agree with the opinion that Serzh Sargsyan executed Russia’s demand
by appointing Hovik Abrahamyan Prime Minister.

“Russia has such levers of influence that it will not pay attention
to personalities,” he said.”Russia has such levers of influence that
it will not pay attention to personalities,” he said.

The YPC President says the oligarchic elite in Armenia played a great
role in Abrahamyan’s appointment. “Hovik Abrahamyan was probably the
best candidate who could embody sustainability perspectives.”

From: Baghdasarian

http://en.a1plus.am/1186880.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N07JVdPwKdM

Armenia doubles silver reserves in 2013

Interfax, Russia
April 11 2014

Armenia doubles silver reserves in 2013

YEREVAN. April 11

Armenia’s State Precious Metals and Gemstones Repository doubled
silver reserves to 2.692 kilograms last year, the Finance Ministry
said.

Gold reserves were unchanged at 14.288 kg.

The repository also held 75.103 kg in gold items, up 11% during 2013,
and 60 kg in silver items, up 7%.

It received 2.619 kg of platinum and 23 grams of palladium last year.

The repository’s precious metals, gemstones and items made from them
were valued at 1.45 billion dram at the beginning of this year (415.66
dram/$1 on April 11).

The repository also held 102.7 kg of pearl at the start of the year.

The repository’s reserves had grown to 1.86 billion dram at the end of
January and the Finance Ministry said at the time that it had no plans
to sell any of them this year.

From: Baghdasarian