Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Quake hits Karabakh

January 18, 2014 | 10:15

YEREVAN. – The Armenian National Seismic Protection Service
seismological network recorded a magnitude-2.5 earthquake on Saturday
at 7:03am, local time.

The epicenter of the tremor was located in the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, 40 kilometers north of capital city Stepanakert, the
Armenian Emergency Situations Ministry press service informs.

The hypocenter of the seismic activity was 10 kilometers beneath the
surface, and the quake measured magnitude 3 at the epicenter.

From: Baghdasarian

Music level is very high in Armenia: Krzysztof Penderecki

11:42, 18 January, 2014

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. A true connoisseur of human
psychology, Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki
knows how to excite people through music. Krzysztof Penderecki, who
uses a variety of tricks in music and who has Armenian origin,
managed to excite even the Armenian audience. “20th century Beethoven”
spent around 6 days in Armenia within the frames of
“Days of Krzysztof Penderecki in Armenia” festive celebrations. 80-
year-old composer was venerated at the course of the festive days
in Armenia congratulating the maestro on the occasion of his
anniversary. The newly appointed honorary member of Armenia’s
Union of Composers and Musicologists will carry an immense “basket” of
emotions and impressions from Armenia to Poland this
year. “Armenpress” had a conversation with Krzysztof Penderecki on his
impressions, his Armenian grandmother, meeting with Aram
Khachaturian and other issues.

Krzysztof Penderecki was born in Dêbica on 23 November, 1933. He
studied composition privately with Franciszek Sko³yszewski and
then (1955-8) with Artur Malawski and Stanis³aw Wiechowicz at the
State Higher School of Music in Kraków, where he also taught, being
appointed its rector (i.e., president) in 1972 (in the 1980s the
School was renamed “Academy of Music). Penderecki’s career had a very
auspicious
beginning. In 1959 he came suddenly to prominence when three of his
works won first prizes in a national competition organized by the
Polish Composers’ Union (he submitted them under different
pseudonyms). His reputation quickly spread abroad, notably through
perfomances of such works as Anaklasis (written for the 1960
Donaueschigen Festival) and Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. The
latter piece, as well as the Passion according to St. Luke of 1963-
5, found an unusually wide audience for contemporary works, and
Penderecki soon received important commissions from diverse
organizations in Europe and the USA. He has also appeared widely as a
lecturer and in 1972 began to conduct his own compositions.
Penderecki has won numerous domestic and foreign prizes including the
First Class State Award (1968, 1983), the Polish Composers’ Union
Prize (1970), the Herder Prize (1977), the Sibelius Prize (1983), the
Premio Lorenzo Magnifico (1985), the Israeli Karl Wolff Foundation
Prize (1987), a Grammy Award (1988), a Grawemeyer Award (1992), and a
UNESCO International Music Council Award (1993). He has
honorary doctorates from universities in Rochester, Bordeaux, Leuven,
Belgrade, Washington, Madrit, Poznañ, Warsaw and Glasgow. He is
an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Musikaliska Academien in
Stockholm, Akademie der Kunste in Berlin, Academia Nacional de Bellas
Artes in Buenos Aires, Academie Internationale de Philosophie et
de I’ Art in Bern, Academie Internationale des Sciences,
Belles-lettres et Arts in Bordeaux, and the Royal Academy of Music in
Dublin. In
1990 he received the Great Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the
Federal Republic of Germany, in 1993 the Order of Cultural Merit
(Monaco), and in 1994 an Austrian honorary distinction For
Achievements in Science and Arts. In 1993 he was decorated with the
Commander’s Cross with the star of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Penderecki’s teaching career developed in Germany, the U.S. and
Poland. He taught composition at the Volkwang Hochschule fur Music,
Essen (from 1966 to 1968); in 1973-78 he lectured at Yale University
in New Haven. In 1982-87 he was rector of the Academy of Music in
Kraków, in 1987-1990 he served as the artistic director of the Cracow
Philharmonic. Since his conductor’s debut with the London Symphony
Orchestra (1973), he has performed with prominent symphony orchestras
in the United States and Europe, and he is chief guest conductor
of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra in Hamburg. Apart from his own
works, his conducting repertoire covers the works of composers
from various epochs, with a preference for 19th-century and early
20th-century compositions. In 1997 he published a book entitled “The
Labyrinth of Time. Five Lectures at the End of the Century (Warsaw,
“Presspublica”). In 1996 the performance of his piece Seven Gates of
Jerusalem, commissioned by the city, commemorated the celebrations of
“Jerusalem – 3000 Years.” in Israel.

From: Baghdasarian

If February Armenian citizens will feel how they were deceived – activist

January 18, 2014 | 12:04

YEREVAN. – Only in the end of February Armenian citizens will feel how
they were deceived by pension plan, says the member of `We are against
compulsory cumulative pension reform’ initiative.

`Only now seeing the gas bills people understand what the gas price
hike means. In February they will see what in fact happened with
pensions,’ Gevorg Gorgisyan said.

He noted that allocations to the private pension funds will make not
5% but will total from 6,6 percent till 13.5.

`More people will join us when they see this. Besides, it will become
warmer,’ he noted.

The activists will hold a rally in Liberty Square at 2p.m. that will
be followed by a march to the Republic Square.

The new cumulative pension plan came into force on January 1, 2014 is
mandatory for those born in and after 1974 and voluntary for those
born before 1974. In line with this plan, 5 to 10 percent of the
monthly salaries in Armenia will be deducted and allocated to private
pension funds; the latter will be reimbursed as pensions once a person
turns 63 years old.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am
News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

Only ruling regime is interested in pension reform – Prosperous Armenia

January 18, 2014 | 14:51

YEREVAN. – New pension plan is in the interests of the ruling regime
only, secretary of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Naira
Zohrabyan said during a protest action on Saturday.

Zohrabyan called the pension plan a new type of state racketeering,
adding that even the government officials admit they need money for
the economy.

She noted that Constitutional Court has the last chance to prove that
it is serving the people.

`The political forces that believe it is impossible to continue this
path have gathered here. This is the first step of our struggle. We
can win by joint struggle. Not a single political party can solve the
problem without others. We must consolidate and win together with
civil society,’ Zohrabyan said addressing numerous demonstrators in
Liberty Square.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

The Armenian Apostolic Church is Held Hostage – VIII

Lragir.am
Society – Saturday, 18 January 2014, 12:01

G. The Armenian Church, as a spiritual “MASH” unit on the front lines
of the war between good and evil, needs to heal its wounded soldiers;
to revitalize the hearts and minds of the faithful, and succor them
with hope and reassurance in the offing.

Within the last century, one of the most pertinent and vital questions
regarding the mission and founding purpose of the Armenian Church was
posed by Karekin I of the Great House of Cilicia. He asks, “Why is our
Church impoverished in the spirit of benevolence and bereft of
institutions performing compassionate work, and what do we have to do
in order for our Church to establish hospitals, orphanages, and
missions for the poor and homeless?” As our great historian Pavsdos
Puzant notes the want of dedicated and courageous clergy in our
Church, he, thereby, validates the sacerdotal functions of Nerses The
Great, who, by his work of feeding the hungry and cleansing the
unchaste, led the way to reformation by example.

Do we currently have such compassionate, noble, and courageous clergy
that is ready to take the Church to the people and heal their
spiritual and physical wounds?

Are we going to be able to prepare such a role-model clergy that is
willing to uphold the canons and the Constitution of the Church and
administer its precepts to the people?

Unfortunately the Christian faith today, with all its denominations,
has tarnished its image by unholy and self-serving practitioners, and
the Armenian Church, in particular, is not immune to this reality. We
no longer see benevolent institutions established by our Church, such
as hospitals, orphanages, and missions for the poor and homeless, to
aid and comfort a most needy laic population.

Most of our clergy has forgotten the poor and the needy, who are
collectively the real treasure of our Church. As the Bible teaches,
“Justice is the first fruit of mercy”. Unfortunately, however, the
concept of justice is absent from the lexicon of our clergy.

There was a time when the Christian Church did not fight against
social injustice, did not defend the weak, and was only concerned with
dogmatic religious teaching. The end result of such behavior was that
the public disassociated itself from the Church and followed strange
sects that promised wealth and prosperity.

The crisis in the Christian Church was a direct consequence of its
failure to address the social issues of the public. The Christian
Church started its mission by addressing the social needs of the poor
and needy, yet, once the clergy had established a certain lofty
position in society, they completely forgot the poor and began
catering to the rich, the wealthy, and the corrupt segments of society
that contributed to its coffers.

Therefore, by ignoring the poor, the Christian Church failed in its
social mission, and the hard reality was that the Church could not
survive or revive itself only with its theological and dogmatic
teachings, and thus it could not stay true to its founding mission.

The image of the Church is a direct result of the social services it
renders to the public. The less it renders, the less interest the
public will show in the Church. The Church will no longer be the
spring of inspiration, will lose its credibility, and cease to be the
magnetic force to its faithful.

Today the Christian Church as a whole,–and the Armenian Church in
particular,– is, by and large, contemptuous of the needy and only
seeks to propagate an obsequious relationship with the wealthy. Lured
by the opulent lifestyles of the rich, this unacceptable behavior
continues to permeate our motherland also-where, 25 years after the
devastating earthquake in Gyumri, Armenia, our brothers and sisters
still brave winter’s harsh conditions in shanty towns comprised of
hovels and metal shacks.

Shamelessly, in more affluent locations, gaudy and ostentatious
churches are being erected by the contributions of rich “oligarchs”,
who are then, in turn, decorated with honors by our high ranking
clergy.

As we speak, we are still hopeful and waiting for the Church to
declare, as our Lord Jesus Christ did, “Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:28).

If the Church wants to succeed in its mission, it must revitalize the
social services that it is sworn to deliver, and reach out
compassionately to everyone who needs help and hope.

We need a clergy that is ready, willing, and able to deliver these
social services to the public. With great devotion, love, and
compassion, they must innately feel the frustrations of the public,
share their pain, and act according to the precepts of the Bible.

Currently, such a role model exists. A uniquely devoted person, Pope
Francis, displays the courage a servant of God must possess in his
response to a recent question. He was asked: “What does the Church
need today”? Without hesitation, he replied, `What the church needs
most today is the ability to heal the wounds and to warm the hearts of
the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a
field hospital after the battle. It is useless to ask a seriously
injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his
blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about
everything else’.

He continues, `The first reform must be the attitude. The ministers
of the Gospel must be the people who can warm the hearts of the
people, who walk through the dark night with them. The people of God
want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government
officials. The bishops, particularly, must be able to support the
movements of God among their people with patience, so that no one is
left behind’. But they must also be able to accompany the flock that
has a flair for finding new pats. Instead of being just a church that
welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be
a church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and
go to those who do not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are
indifferent’.

The words of Pope Francis must serve as a clarion call as well to the
Armenian Church and its hierarchy. It must embrace this original
doctrine as a categorical imperative; emerge from its gilded stupor,
and reclaim its moral authority by fulfilling its mission of
beneficence. Only then can the Armenian Church assert the right to vie
for the hearts and minds of the current and future generations.

We call upon the Armenian Apostolic Church to regain its righteous
place in society by disavowing its descent into sinful extravagance
and debauchery and fall from grace, by providing solace to the
troubles of its faithful, warming their hearts, and giving them hope
for the future.

VOSGAN MEKHITARIAN

to be continued
– See more at:

From: Baghdasarian

GAZPROM INCREASES SHARE IN ARMENIAN GAS DISTRIBUTOR TO 100%

Oil and Gas Industry Latest News
Jan 17 2014

January 17, 2014

Russian natural gas giant Gazprom has signed a deal to increase its
stake in buy 20% Armenian gas pipeline operator ArmRosgazprom by
acquiring a 20% stake from the Armenian government, Gazprom said late
on January 16 in a statement, Prime has reported.

The agreement was signed by Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller and Armenian
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisyan.

Gazprom said it will rebrand the company into Gazprom Armenia.

Earlier on January 16, the Armenian government approved selling its
20% in ArmRosgazprom to Gazprom.

Armenia agreed to sell 20.0007% in ArmRosgazprom to Gazprom for U.S.

$156 million, with the money to be used as repayment of Yerevan’s
accumulated debt to Moscow.

Armenia owes $300 million to Russia for gas supplied at a reduced
price in 2011-2013.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN MINISTER PROPOSES RENAMING COUNTRY

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 17 2014

17 January 2014 – 1:51pm

Armenian Minister for Education and Science Armen Ashotyan has proposed
renaming the country to restore historic justice, inspire patriotism
and justify legal demands, News Armenia reports.

Armenia can be recognized as Western in Turkey and Eastern where the
modern country is located.

Armenian Minister for Education and Science Armen Ashotyan has proposed
renaming the country to restore historic justice, inspire patriotism
and justify legal demands, News Armenia reports.

Armenia can be recognized as Western in Turkey and Eastern where the
modern country is located.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA APPROVES SALE OF 20% STAKE IN ARMROSGAZPROM TO GAZPROM

Interfax, Russia
Jan 16 2014

YEREVAN. Jan 16

The Armenian government approved the sale of 20% stake in CJSC
ArmRosGazprom to Russia’s Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) on Thursday.

Presenting a draft of the sales agreement, Armenian Deputy Energy
Minister Joseph Isayan said that the agreement is in line with the
previous agreement signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
visit to Armenia on December 2, 2013.

Isayan said that the agreement provides for the sale of 20.0007%
of ordinary shares, or 12.6 million shares with total par value of
63.333 billion dram, or $155.6 million at the current exchange rate.

The Armenian government has authorized Isayan to sign the agreement
with Russia, which is to be signed by January 17, 2014.

The agreement on the terms of the purchase-sale and future activities
of ArmRosGazprom was signed in Yerevan on December 2, 2013.

The agreement stipulates that Gazprom, which owns 80% of ArmRosGazprom,
will receive the remaining 20% owned by the Armenian government.

Armenian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisyan has said
that the government is transferring its 20% stake in ArmRosGazprom
to Gazprom in exchange for the settling the country’s $155 million
debt for Russian gas delivered to the country.

The agreement on the terms of the purchase-sale and future activities
of ArmRosGazprom and an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation
in supplies of natural gas to Armenia were approved by the Armenian
parliament on December 23, 2013.

Kh pr vp ak

From: Baghdasarian

ZARUHI POSTANJYAN WELCOMES FIRST JOINT RALLY OF 2014

January 17, 2014 | 18:17

YEREVAN. – Head of the Heritage parliamentary faction Zaruhi Postanjyan
issued a message welcoming the first joint rally in 2014.

“The great public influence of the expected rally will finally lead
to victory,” she wrote on Facebook.

A large gathering-march is expected to be held Saturday at Yerevan’s
Liberty Square. Those fighting against the new cumulative pension
plan and the representatives from the four non-ruling-coalition
factions-specifically, the Armenian National Congress, Prosperous
Armenia, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and Heritage-of the Armenian National
Assembly will take part in this event.

The pension plan, which came into force on January 1, 2014,
is mandatory for those born in and after 1974 and voluntary for
those born before 1974. In line with this plan, 5 to 10 percent of
the monthly salaries in Armenia will be deducted and mandatorily be
allocated to cumulative pension funds; the latter will be reimbursed
as pensions once a person turns 63 years old.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER AS DEMARCATION LINE BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CUSTOMS UNION

Friday, 17 January 2014 11:51

Predictions about the possible geopolitical changes in the Middle
East andSouth Caucasus were made still in the first half of 2013,
the axis of which was mainly the Syrian crisis and the so-called
thaw in the Iranian-American relations. The arrangement between the
USA and Russia on the Syrian chemical weapon couldn’t but have its
impact on the political processes in the noted regions.

The achieved arrangement was a message to, first of all, Turkey,
the far-reaching goals of which both in the Middle East and South
Caucasus are quite obvious.

Special interest in the political developments in the South Caucasus
region is caused by the Russian-Georgian relations.

There is no turning point in the current relations between the
two countries, but they have been improved in holding a political
dialogue, which is conditioned by dismissing former president Michael
Saakashvili. The current stage of the Russian-Georgian relations is
described the best by the present level of trade and economic relations
and their development trends. According to the News-Georgia website,
for 11 months of 2013, the circulation of commodity turnover between
Georgia and Russiaincreased by 43%, amounting to $680 million and the
export of commodity from Georgia toRussia in the noted period made
over $161 million. In this context, the Russin Federation yields to
Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine. According to Georgian President
Georgy Margvelashvili, the considerable progress in the economic
sphere creates a positive background for discussing political issues.

The president expressed his confidence that the Georgian authorities
had chosen the right policy for the relations with Russia. “I think
our current policy is on a true track”, he said.

The Georgian President was continued by RF President Vladimir Putin –
according to him, the visa regime between Russia and Georgia should
be reconsidered and the issue should be discussed at an expert
level. The leaders of the two states seem to be interested in raising
the inter-state relations to a certain level.

The issue of possible reopening of the Abkhazian railway is discussed
in the context of the Russian-Georgian relations, the resolution of
which will mean fail of some expansionist plans of Turkey. It will
make review the strategy of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey trilateral
alliance. Let’s remind that the issue of the Abkhazian railway was
discussed at the last year meeting of RA President Serzh Sargsyan with
RF President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Armenian leader stressed
the significance of the railway, noting that he expected positive
shifts in that sphere. Reopening of the railway will greatly benefit
Armenia’s economy and not only it.

According to him, currently about $190 is spent for transporting one
ton of cargo from Moscow to Yerevan, which is quite a lot of money.

The problems in the relations between Russia and Georgia are the
Abkhazia andSouth Ossetia conflicts. Former Prime Minister of Georgia
Bidzina Ivanishvili expressed his viewpoint on this in late December,
noting that the territories had been separated fromGeorgia with the
support of Russia. Yet, Ivanishvili called hopeful Vladimir Putin’s
public speech, in which he noted that peoples should themselves
determine their relations andRussia wouldn’t interfere with this. And
though Georgia’s President Margvelashvili once again reminded of the
territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders,
however, he spoke for the discussion of issues of mutual interest.

The Armenian-Georgian relations couldn’t be dropped from the context
of theSouth Caucasus developments. In this regard, we should
note the conference titled ‘The Prospects of Armenian-Georgian
Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation’, which took place in mid-December,
2013, in Lory district’s Alaverdi town and the first issue of the
agenda of which was reopening the Abkhazian railway. Another important
issue related to the economic zones around the RA and Georgia, which
followed Armenian’s steps on joining the Customs Union and Georgia’s
signing the Association Agreement with the European Union. RA and
Georgian Parliaments Speakers Hovik Abrahamian and Davit Usupashvili
were present at the opening of the conference. According to the
Armenian mass media, the sides admitted that for the last eight or nine
years, no meetings had taken place between the Armenian and Georgian
MPs. Both the Armenian and Georgian MPs explained the situation with
the fact that the foreign policy of these states had differed from
each other in the noted period.

The current situation became the keynote issue of discussions –
the Armenian-Georgian border will be further considered as a border
between the European Association and Customs Union states.

As is known, Georgia signed preliminarily the Association Agreement
with the European Union at the Vilnius Summit. In this context,
as the conference participants noted, overcoming the inevitable
obstacles at two different platforms becomes urgent, which requires
great readiness by both parties. And these problems are connected with
transport, commodity turnover, economic, and other processes. The RA
NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations stressed the importance
of the parties’ readiness to develop the relations. The conference
participants also noted that within the international format the
Armenian and Georgian MPs should be able to take, at least, neutral
positions in the opposite dimensions.

Thus, the improvement of the Armenian-Georgian and Russian-Georgian
relations in the conditions of widening the Customs Union is
gaining new sounding. Armenia has certain expectations from the
Customs Union, which can be realized under favorable developments
in the region. Surely, time will show how realizable the three
parties’ leaders’ assurances are. But, one thing is clear – The
Armenia-Georgia-Russia economic cooperation and especially the
Russia-Georgia political dialogue will contribute to maintaining
stability and security in the South Caucasus.

Ruzan ISHKHANIAN

From: Baghdasarian