Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

OMBUDSMAN URGES YEREVAN MAYOR TO KEEP HIS PROMISE

NEWS | 24.07.13 | 11:14

Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has addressed a letter to Yerevan
Mayor Taron Margaryan reminding him of the promise that he made
shortly before the elections several months ago.

On March 28, less than two weeks before the start of the official
campaign in municipal elections in Yerevan, through media Margaryan
assured Yerevan residents that no rise in public transport fares was
expected in the time to come.

At a press conference Andreasyan said that his office had also
applied to the municipality with a request to provide legal and
economic justification of the decision under which bus and minibus
fares were raised by 50 percent and the trolleybus fare was doubled
beginning on July 20.

Earlier, authorities said that the rise in public transport fares
that comes on the heel of natural gas and electricity tariff hikes
was a necessary step that also reflected the increasing costs of
transportation and the need for further improvements in the sphere.

Andreasyan, meanwhile, also reportedly hailed the campaign launched
by citizens in Yerevan in support of their rights.

Scores of civil activists, mostly young men and women, have been
going around Yerevan streets these days urging commuters to pay
only 100 drams (about 25 cents) for minibus and bus rides, instead
of the new rate of 150 drams set by the municipality. Protests near
the municipality building have also been staged since last Friday.

From: Baghdasarian

TWO IN KARABAKH CONVICTED OF SPYING

NEWS | 24.07.13 | 09:29

Photo:

Two ethnic Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh received lengthy
prison sentences on Tuesday as they were convicted of spying for
Azerbaijan through the Internet, reports RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

A court in Stepanakert found Rafael Avagyan, a 22-year-old soldier,
and his civilian friend David Barseghyan guilty of high treason and
espionage, sentencing them to 11 and 10 years in prison respectively.

Both men pleaded not guilty to the accusations stemming from their
communication with an obscure foreigner through a Russian online social
network. They said they never thought that they are collaborating
with Azerbaijani intelligence.

The defendants’ lawyer was quoted by the radio station’s Stepanakert
correspondent as calling the verdict unfair and arguing, among other
things, that investigators failed to establish the identity of the
alleged Azerbaijani agent who started communicating with his clients
about a year ago.

The arrests of Avagyan and Barseghyan were announced by the Armenian
National Security Service on June 25. In a statement, the NSS also
reported the detention on similar charges of a 31-year-old woman
serving in the Armenian army.

The NSS said the woman, Mane Movsisyan, communicated through Facebook
and other online networks with an unnamed Azerbaijani intelligence
officer based in Turkey. It claimed that she gave him classified
“information of military nature about Armenia.”

From: Baghdasarian

RADIO VAN VA TRANSPORTER LES RESIDENTS D’EREVAN GRATUITEMENT DANS SES MINIBUS

ARMENIE

La station de radio Van allouera un minibus le 24 Juillet pour le
transport gratuit des habitants d’Erevan a annonce la station de
radio sur sa page officielle sur Facebook.

Selon ces informations, les minibus avec le logo de Radio Van partiront
le matin tous les jours a 09h00 vers le centre commercial Rossiya a
travers les rues Abovyan et Khanjyan et prendra le chemin du retour
a 18h00.

Les passagers pourront prendre la parole dans une emission de radio
en direct et ecouter de la musique dans les minibus.

mercredi 24 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

PATRIARCH YAZIGI: OUR BELIEF IN CIVILIZATION, HERITAGE OF HOMELAND WILL CONFRONT THE CURRENT CRISIS

Jul 22, 2013

Tartous, (SANA) – Patriarch John X Yazigi of Antioch and All the
East for Greek Orthodox Church stressed that “Our belief in the
civilization, heritage and history of our homeland will confront the
current crisis for Syria to become as proud as it has ever been.”

During a reception held for the displaced families at the Lady Church
in Tartous, Patriarch Yazigi said, “The Syrian people have always
been as one family and they have to remain like that under these
extraordinary circumstances to help one another in bad and good times.”

20130722-220022.jpg

The patriarch listened to the displaced families about their suffering
because of the terror of the armed terrorist groups which have wreaked
havoc in the country forcing the locals to leave their homes and jobs.

The families considered the patriarch’s visit as psychological
support to boost morale in these hard times and a message of amity,
peace and patience.

F.Allafi

From: Baghdasarian

ISTANBUL’S HAGIA ELIA CHURCH TO REOPEN NEXT MONTH

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
July 24 2013

ISTANBUL- Hurriyet Daily News

The Hagia Elia Church needs renovation that would cost around 100,000
Turkish Liras, according to the deputy head of the PAE Fukaraperver
Association. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GUREL

The Hagia Elia Church needs renovation that would cost around 100,000
Turkish Liras, according to the deputy head of the PAE Fukaraperver
Association. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GUREL

Vercihan Ziflioglu Vercihan [email protected]

The Hagia Elia Church, which belongs to Turkey’s White Russians,
is set to be reopened Aug. 2, with a ceremony led by Fener Greek
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew.

A mass in the Hagia Elia Church located in Istanbul’s Karaköy
neighborhood will be held for the first time since 1972 and will be
conducted by the Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, who will also
bless the church beforehand.

The church, which belongs to the Russian émigrés who had fled from
the Bolshevik regime in 1921, is situated on the roof of a structure
where monks used to reside, a style of architecture rarely seen
in Anatolia.

While around 100,000 White Russians reside in Turkey, according to
the PAE Fukaraperver Association, they own three churches and a monk’s
house, which is currently used as a commercial building in Istanbul.

The properties belong to the Russian Monastery at the Ayanaroz
Monastery Complex in Greece and the Fener Greek Patriarchate is in
charge of the churches. Kazmir Pamir, the deputy head of the White
Russians’ PAE Fukaraperver Association, told the Hurriyet Daily News
that there had been improvements to the uncertain situation of the
church and the existence of Turkey’s White Russians after an item
about the church was published in the Daily News. Appealing to all the
Russians living in Turkey, Pamir said the more Russians attended the
ceremony, the stronger a message it would send to stop the demolition
resolution on the church.

The Hagia Elia Church faces the risk of being demolished, if the
demolition resolution, which is being suspended currently, were to
be implemented. The demolition resolution was taken as part of the
privatization of the Istanbul Salıpazarı Port, also known as the
Galataport project, which is owned by Turkey’s Maritime Organization.

Pamir said that the church needed renovation, which would cost 100,000
Turkish Liras.

‘ASSYRIAN CHURCH PUT UP FOR SALE’

A Turkish man has put an Assyrian church in Siirt up for sale with a
1 million Turkish Liras price tag, the Armenian weekly Agos reported
yesterday.

Mehmet Emin Evin put up the Mor Yakup Church, which is located on
land he owns in the southeastern Turkish province of Siirt, for sale.

Emin’s father had purchased the private land to raise livestock in
80’s from the Arabic locals who lived in Siirt, adding that the church
passed into the ownership of the Evin family in time.

“Till 1915, the region has belonged to Christians but it passed into
Muslim’s possession,” Evin said, adding that his family were Chaldeans
but were forced to become Muslim in 1915.

July/24/2013

From: Baghdasarian

NAGORNO-KARABAKH COMMUNITY LEADER: AZERBAIJANI ARMY CAN FREE OCCUPIED LANDS

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
July 23 2013

23 July 2013, 19:03 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan’s armed forces today can not only free Nagorno-Karabakh,
but also restore the country’s borders dating back to the beginning of
the last century, head of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh
Bayram Safarov said on July 23.

“The Azerbaijani army today is substantially different from the
one 20 years ago. Azerbaijan had no standing army at that time. But
today we have an army that is able to free the occupied territories,”
Safarov said in his speech at a ceremony held at the Alley of Martyrs
in Baku in connection with the 20th anniversary of the occupation of
Aghdam region by Armenian armed forces.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus
neighbor that sparked a lengthy war in the early 1990s. The UN Security
Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they
have not been enforced to this day.

Safarov also noted that Armenia’s current leadership does not want
peace.

“Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan knows that after several meetings
are held between the two communities, there will be no need for his
participation in the negotiations between Azerbaijanis and Armenians.

The Armenians will agree to live in Azerbaijan under a special status,”
Safarov said.

“We are ready to meet with all Armenians, every reasonable person
respecting Azerbaijan,” the head of the community said. “We are not
against living together with the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

But he said, “They must respect the laws and the constitution of
Azerbaijan and must assume Azerbaijani citizenship. In this case,
they will be assigned the highest status.”

Safarov also said that in case of the conflict settlement, the social
development of Nagorno-Karabakh will be supported.

The community leader expressed confidence in an imminent return of
the occupied regions of Azerbaijan. He also cited the state care for
refugees and internally displaced persons.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Azerbaijani parliament member Bakhtiyar
Aliyev stressed Azerbaijan’s development. According to him, Azerbaijan
has become a guarantor of Europe’s energy security under the leadership
of President Ilham Aliyev, the worthy successor of national leader
Heydar Aliyev’s political course.

From: Baghdasarian

TEN ARMENIAN MUSICIANS READY FOR WORLD’S BIGGEST FESTIVAL

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013

Raffi Joe, one of the musicians taking part in the event

YEREVAN-In Armenia’s capital city, ten musicians are gearing up to
travel over 3,000 miles to Scotland, to perform together for the
first time at the biggest cultural event on the planet, the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe. Their event, A Long Way From Armenia, was a late
addition to the Fringe line-up, with registration only finalized
in mid-June.

“We want to be the first delegation of Armenian musicians to perform
at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest arts festival,”
said Raffi Joe, one of the four acts in the line-up.

The group, comprised of four separate and very diverse musical acts,
ranging from hard rock to folk, aim to finance their journey to
Scotland using the popular crowd-funding website Indiegogo. Currently,
their campaignhas only seven days left to reach their target of 7,706
British pounds (11,831 dollars).

The line-up of the all-Armenian event will be The Bambir, Raffi Joe,
Hrach Mackoushian and Carahunge.

“What’s quite special about these bands and these people is that
they were the ones willing to take the risk,” said Hrach Mackoushian,
one of the artists to perform, “and what unites all of them is their
passion and motivation.”

The youngest members of the group, both in the folk band Carahunge,
are Harut Panosyan and Anna Harutyunyan. They are 19 and 24 years old
respectively, don’t speak English and have never left Armenia before.

“It’s a leap of faith,” says Hrach Mackoushian, “Those musicians are
really devoted … People have faith in their music and that’s what’s
going to take them to Scotland.”

A Long Way from Armenia

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the
world. Since its inception in 1947, the festival has taken place every
August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city. It is an “open
access” festival, meaning anyone with a show can take part. Every
year, thousands of performers take to a multitude of stages all over
Edinburgh to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world
of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers,
the festival caters for everyone and includes a diverse range of music
and theater. The 2012 Festival Fringe spanned 25 days, totaling over
2,695 shows from 47 countries in 279 venues. An estimated 1,857,202
tickets were sold.

The Bambir is a music collective spanning four decades. With more than
fifty musicians having passed through its ranks, the band is now in
its second generation, with sons of the original members forming the
current line-up. The Bambir returned to Armenia in November 2012,
after 11 months touring Ireland, including playing at some of the
bigger festivals like Electric Picnic to wild acclaim. They currently
reside in Yerevan, working on their new album ArmBeton and Index,
a new EP, due out this August.

Raffi Joe was born in Lebanon, but grew up in the Armenian Diaspora
community of Baltimore, Maryland. Since re-locating to Yerevan in late
August 2012, Raffi has involved himself in a range of projects, using
CD sales to support a women’s shelter and an environmental campaign.

He also toured the often neglected regions of Armenia, visiting 12
different villages and towns, performing in different schools and
community centers. Raffi is currently working on his second album.

Hrach Mackoushian grew up in the Armenian Diaspora community of
currently war-torn Aleppo, Syria. Hrach moved to Yerevan four years
ago, where he currently lives and works as a musician, playing with
a variety of bands and working on his own songs, combining influences
from jazz, blues and rock with elements of traditional Middle-Eastern
and Armenian music.

Carahunge are a four-piece folk project from Yerevan, who take their
name from the “Armenian Stonehenge” near the city of Sisian in the
Syunik province of Armenia. Carahunge play traditional Armenian
folk music.

You can support the project and learn more about the musicians at
the project’s website,

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN REMINDS YEREVAN MAYOR OF HIS PROMISES

July 23, 2013 | 17:36

YEREVAN. – Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has addressed the
municipality in connection with the rise in transport fares.

The human rights defender said his office had applied to the
municipality with a request to provide legal and economic justification
of the decision.

“We are trying to be unbiased and professional as much as possible in
our assessments,” he said during the Tuesday press conference. “For
me it is strange that only 3-4 months ago Yerevan mayor promised that
there will be no price hike. I’m curious about the studies which will
be provided to my office by the municipality. What has changed in 4
months to change the expectations of the mayor?”

Karen Andreasyan expressed his admiration for those who are carrying
citizens on their vehicles free of charge. The participation of
intellectuals is an indicative of developing civil society, he added.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

FILM ATTEMPTS TO REVEAL SECRETS OF ZVARTNOTS CATHEDRAL

12:08, July 23, 2013

Lousineh Gevorgyan’s film “Zvartnots premiered today on the internet.

The ruins of the 7th century cathedral are located at the edge of the
town of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. Together with churches in Etchmiadzin,
Zvartnots was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000.

The film attempts to uncover the meanings of various ciphers at the
cathedral’s base.

From: Baghdasarian

TENSE SITUATION NEAR MUNICIPALITY OF YEREVAN: SPECIAL FORCES ARRIVE TO HELP POLICE
by Nana Martirosyan

Tuesday, July 23, 13:02

The activists protesting against the public transport fare rise are
now in front of the Municipality of Yerevan. The demonstrators are
chanting “Taron, go away!”

ArmInfo’s correspondent reports from the scene that the protesters have
managed to burst their way through the strong cordon of the police and
to reach the building of the municipal administration. They demand
a meeting with Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan. They also demand
releasing the three activists of “We Won’t Pay 150 AMD” initiative
immediately.

The police are trying to disturb the protest action in every possible
way. They have blocked some streets leading to the Municipality.

The Special Forces have already arrived at the scene to help the
police.

From: Baghdasarian