Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Syria: A Multi-Sided Chess game

Dispatches From The Edge

March 31, 2013

In some ways the Syrian civil war resembles a proxy chess match
between supporters of the Bashar al-Assad regime – Iran, Iraq, Russia
and China – and its opponents – Turkey, the oil monarchies, the U.S.,
Britain and France. But the current conflict only resembles chess if
the game is played with multiple sides, backstabbing allies, and
conflicting agendas.

Take the past few weeks of rollercoaster politics.

The blockbuster was the U.S.-engineered rapprochement between Israel
and Turkey, two Washington allies that have been at loggerheads since
Israeli commandos attacked a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza and
killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American. When Tel Aviv refused to
apologize for the 2010 assault, or pay compensation to families of the
slain, Ankara froze relations and blocked efforts at any NATO-Israeli
cooperation.

Under the prodding of President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu phoned his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and
buried the hatchet. The apology `was offered the way we wanted,’
Erdogan said, and added `We are at the beginning of a process of
elevating Turkey to a position so that it will again have a say,
initiative and power, as it did in the past.’

The détente will align both countries with much of Washington’s agenda
in the region, which includes overthrowing the Assad government, and
isolating Iran. Coupled with a Turkish push to resolve the long
simmering war between Ankara and its Kurdish minority, it was a
`Fantastic week for Erdogan,’ remarked former European Union policy
chief Javier Solana.
It was also a slam dunk moment for the Israelis, whose intransigence
over the 2010 incident and continued occupation of Palestinian and
Syrian lands has left the country more internationally isolated than
it has been in its 65 year history.

Israel’s apology might lay the groundwork for direct intervention in
Syria by NATO and Israel. In recent testimony before Congress, Admiral
James Stavridis, the head of U.S. European Command and NATO’s top
commander, said that a more aggressive posture by the Obama
administration vis-à-vis Syria `would be helpful in breaking the
deadlock and bringing down the regime.’

According to the Guardian (UK), Netanyahu raised the possibility of
joint U.S.-Israeli air strikes against Syria, which Israel accuses of
shifting weapons to its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. There is no
evidence that Syria has actually done that, and logic would suggest
that the Assad regime is unlikely to export weapons when it is
fighting for its life and struggling to overcome an arms embargo
imposed on it by the EU and the UN. But Tel Aviv is spoiling for a
re-match with Hezbollah, the organization that fought it to a
standstill in 2006. `What I hear over and over again from Israeli
generals is that another war with Hezbollah is inevitable,’ a former
U.S. diplomat told the Guardian.

There is some talk among Israelis about establishing a `buffer zone’
inside Syria to prevent Islamic groups becoming a presence on the
border. A similar buffer zone established after Israel’s 1982 invasion
of Lebanon turned into a strategic disaster for Tel Aviv.

Admiral Stavridis’s suggested that a more aggressive posture would
almost certainly not include using U.S. ground troops. According to
former Indian diplomat M. K. Bhadrakumar, a more likely scenario would
be for NATO air power to smash Assad’s air force and armor – as it did
Mummer Khadafy’s in Libya – and `if ground forces need to be deployed
inside Syria at some stage, Turkey can undertake that mission, being a
Muslim country belonging to NATO.’

The Gulf monarchies – specifically Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan – have
increased arms shipments to the anti-Assad insurgents, and France and
Britain are considering breaking the embargo and arming the Free
Syrian Army. If this were a normal chess game, it would look like
checkmate for Assad, Hezbollah, and Iran. But this game is
three-dimensional, with multiple players sometimes pursuing different
goals.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are pouring what one American official called
`a cataract of weaponry’ into Syria, but the former apparently
double-crossed the latter in a recent leadership fight in the Syrian
National Coalition (SNC), the umbrella organization for the various
groups fighting against the Damascus government. Qatar derailed Saudi
Arabia’s candidate for the SNC’s prime minister and slipped its own
man into the post, causing the organization’s president, Ahmed Moaz
al-Khatib, to resign. While most the western media reported Khatib
resigned because SNC was not getting enough outside help, according to
As-Safir, the leading Arabic language newspaper in Lebanon, it was
over the two big oil monarchies trying to impose their candidates on
the Syrians.

Qatar ally Ghassan Hitto, a Syrian-American was anointed prime
minister, causing a dozen SNC members to resign. The Free Syrian Army,
too, says it will not recognize Hitto.

Khatib also objected to the Qatari move to form a Syrian government
because it torpedoed last June’s Geneva agreement that would allow
Assad to stay on until a transitional government is formed. The Qatari
move was essentially a statement that the Gulf monarchy would accept
nothing less than an outright military victory.

Qatar is close to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, while Saudi Arabia
favors the more extremist Islamic groups, some with close links to
al-Qaida, that the U.S. and the European Union have designated as
`terrorist.’ Tension between extremist and more moderate insurgents
broke into an open firefight Mar. 24 in the northern border city of
Tal Abyad. The secular Farouq Battalions, which favors elections and a
civil government, were attacked by the Jabhat al-Nusra, or Nusra
Front, that wants to impose Sharia Law and establish an Islamic
emirate. Four people were killed, and the leader of the Farouq
Battalions was severely wounded.

The Nusra Front has also tangled with Kurdish groups in Syria’s
northwest, and its militias currently control much of the southern
border with Iraq, Jordan, and the Golan Heights that borders Israel.
It was the Nusra Front that recently kidnapped UN peacekeepers for
several days and attacked Iraqi soldiers escorting members of the
Syrian military who had fled across the border. There have also been
clashes between secular and Islamic forces in the Syrian cities of
Shadadeh and Deir el Zour.

The Turkish government backing of the Syrian insurgency is not popular
among most Turks, and that has to concern Erdogan, because he is
trying to alter the Turkey’s constitution to make it more
executive-centered and to himself become the next president. Although
he is currently riding a wave of popularity over the Kurdish
ceasefire, that could erode if the Syria war drags on.

And without direct NATO-Israeli intervention there does not appear to
be any quick end to the civil war in sight. Assad still has support
from his minority ethnic group, the Alawites, as well as among
Christian denominations and many business groups. All fear an Islamic
takeover. `If the rebels come to this city,’ one wealthy Damascus
businessman told Der Spiegel, `they’ll eat us alive.’

The longer the war goes on, the more the region destabilizes.

Fighting has broken out between Shiites and Sunnis in northern
Lebanon, a Sunni-extremist fueled bombing campaign is polarizing Iraq,
and Jordan is rent by an internal opposition that poses a serious
threat to the Hashemite monarchy. Even Saudi Arabia has problems. A
low-level but persistent movement for democracy in the country’s
eastern provinces is resisting a brutal crackdown by Saudi
authorities. As National Public Radio and GlobalPost reporter Reese
Erlich discovered, some of those regime opponents are being given a
choice between prison and fighting the Assad government, a strategy
that the Saudi government may come to regret. It was jihadists sent to
oppose the Soviets in Afghanistan who eventually returned to
destabilize countries in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa, and
who currently form the backbone of al-Qaida associated groups like the
Nusra Front .

Aaron Zelin, Middle East expert and Fellow at the Washington Institute
told Erlich that fighters from Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, and
Jordan are being funneled into Syria.

Chess with multiple players can get tricky.

Turkey wants regional influence and Assad out, but it does not want a
neighbor dominated by the Gulf monarchies. It may also find that
talking about Turkish `power’ doesn’t go down well in the Middle East.
Arab countries had quite enough of that during the Ottoman Empire.

The Gulf monarchies want to overthrow the secular Assad regime,
isolate regional rival Iran, and insure Sunni supremacy over Shites in
the region. But they don’t agree on what variety of Islam they want,
nor are they the slightest bit interested in democracy and freedom,
concepts that they have done their best to suppress at home.

The French and British want a replay of Libya, but Syria is not a
marginal country on the periphery of the Middle East, but a dauntingly
complex nation in the heart of the region that might well atomize into
ethnic-religious enclaves run by warlords. That is not an outcome that
sits well with other European nations and explains their hesitation
about joining the jihad against Assad.

Even the Israeli goal of breaking out of its isolation, destroying
Hezbollah, and strangling Iran may be a pipe dream. Regardless of
Turkish-Israeli detente, the barriers that keep Palestinians out of
Israel also wall off Tel Aviv off from the rest of the Middle East,
and that will not change until there is an Israeli government willing
to remove most of the settlements and share Jerusalem.

As for Hezbollah, contrary to its portrayal in the western media as a
cat’s paw for Teheran, the Shite group is a grassroots organization
based in Lebanon’s largest ethnic group. It is also being careful not
to give the Israelis an excuse to attack it. In any case, any Israeli
invasion of Lebanon would automatically rally international sentiment
and Arab public opinion – Shite, Sunni, Alawite, etc. – against it.

If Assad falls, Iran would lose an ally, but Teheran’s closest friend
in the Middle East is Baghdad, not Damascus. And despite strong
American objections, Teheran recently scored a major coup by inking an
agreement with Pakistan’s government to build a $7.5 billion gas
pipeline to tap Iran’s South Pars field. The pact will not only blow a
hole in western sanctions against Iran, it will play well in the May
11 Pakistani elections. `The Pakistani government wants to show it is
willing to take foreign policy decisions that defy the U.S.,’ says
Anthony Skinner of the British-based Maplecroft risk consultants. `The
pipeline not only caters to Pakistan’s energy needs but also logged
brownie points with the many critics of the U.S. among the
electorate.’

In the end, the effort to knock Syria off the board may succeed,
although the butcher bill will be considerably higher than the current
body count of 70,000. But establishing a pro-western government in
Damascus and inflicting damage on Iran is mostly illusion.
`Victory’ – particularly a military one – is more likely to end in chaos
and instability, and a whole lot more dead chess pieces.

From: Baghdasarian

Nancy Kricorian about her new book and Diaspora Quartet – INTERVIEW

April 08, 2013 | 00:01

A new book by Armenian-American writer Nancy Kricorian was published
this March. All The Light There Was novel is telling a story of
Armenian girl who survived the Armenian Genocide and is building her
life in Paris under Nazi occupation. In an interview with Armenian
News-NEWS.am Nancy Kricorian told about her new book.

Your new book All The Light There Was is about an Armenian girl who
lives in Paris under Nazi occupation and her brother joined
resistance. How the idea came to you? Is it based on actual person?
Did you know any Armenians who joined resistance or lived in Paris
during the World War II?

When I was researching a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary character in
my second novel, Dreams of Bread and Fire, I read about `non-state
actors’ using political violence–everything from the Weather
Underground to the Red Army Brigade to the French Resistance. While
researching the French Resistance, I came across a 1984 French
documentary film called Terrorists in Retirement, which was about a
resistance group made up of immigrant workers and led by Armenian poet
Missak Manouchian. As I learned more about Manouchian, it started me
thinking about what it would have been like for Armenian Genocide
survivors, who had rebuilt their lives and communities in Paris, to
see the Nazis marching into their adopted city.

I met several Armenians in Paris who had been active in the French
Resistance, among them Arsene Tchakarian of the Manouchian Group and
Nazareth Peshdikian, who was in the Hunchak resistance.

In your interviews you said you had done a great research before
writing the novel. You spoke to Armenians in France and read books
about their memories. Surviving the Genocide they went to France for
new safe life but appeared in trouble again. What do you think made
them join Resistance, how did they find strength to fight again?

I spoke with and read about a number of Armenians who had lived
through the war years in Paris–and there were many different
responses. Some people joined the Resistance, some people kept their
heads down just trying to survive, and there were a few who did worse.
I was impressed to hear that the editor of the Armenian newspaper
Haratch decided to suspend publication for the duration of the
Occupation rather than submit his work to collaborationist censors.
How people responded had to do with many factors, including their
personal histories, their temperaments and their political
affiliations.

Audiobooks are becoming more popular. All The Light There Was has been
recorded as well. What do you think about audiobooks? Is it just a
kind of modern device or it will replace books in the future?

I am thrilled that there is an audiobook available of All The Light
There Was, particularly because the actor who recorded it, Suzanne
Toren, is so talented and because she was able to read the Armenian
phrases with such an excellent accent. It is wonderful that the audio
book is available so that people who are vision impaired, who are
taking long car rides, or who have reading disabilities can have
access to the novel. There is also an e-book that can be downloaded
onto a reading device, which seems to be the wave of the future.

As far as I know, your next book is telling about an Armenian family
in Beirut during the Lebanese Civilian War. You are writing about
Armenians living in different countries. What do they have in common?
Are there any traits of character typical for all your heroes?

My first novel, Zabelle, is a fictionalized account of my
grandmother’s life as an Armenian Genocide survivor and immigrant
bride. My second novel, Dreams of Bread and Fire, is about someone of
my generation coming to terms with the hidden history of the Genocide
that shapes her family’s life. The third novel, All The Light There
Was, is about Armenians in Paris during the Nazi Occupation. And the
next one will be about Armenians who leave Beirut during the Civil War
to come to New York. This is my Armenian Diaspora Quartet.

Audiobooks are becoming more popular. All The Light There Was has been
recorded as well. What do you think about audiobooks? Is it just a
kind of modern device or it will replace books in the future?

I am thrilled that there is an audiobook available of All The Light
There Was, particularly because the actor who recorded it, Suzanne
Toren, is so talented and because she was able to read the Armenian
phrases with such an excellent accent. It is wonderful that the audio
book is available so that people who are vision impaired, who are
taking long car rides, or who have reading disabilities can have
access to the novel. There is also an e-book that can be downloaded
onto a reading device, which seems to be the wave of the future.

Please, tell a little about your family. Where are your ancestors
coming from? What Armenian traditions have you preserved in your own
family?

My paternal grandparents are from Cilicia–my grandfather immigrated
from Adana to Watertown in 1911. My grandmother was from Mersin, and
survived the deportations, ending up as an orphan at Ras Al-Ain in the
Syrian desert.

My connection to Armenian culture is primarily through literature and
the arts and my friendships with other Armenian-American writers and
artists. I also do some Armenian cooking. This past weekend I baked
cheoreg [sweet Easter bread -ed.] for Easter.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

Jerry Tarkanian elected to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Fresno Bee
Friday, Apr. 05, 2013

By Bryant-Jon Anteola – The Fresno Bee

Jerry Tarkanian finally is going into the Naismith Basketball Hall of
Fame.

Eleven years after retiring as Fresno State’s coach to end a storied
but controversial career, Tarkanian, 82, will be named to the Hall of
Fame on Monday at the site of the NCAA Tournament championship,
according to a source with direct knowledge of the announcement. The
person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official
announcement was pending.

Tarkanian, whose health has been deteriorating in the past year, is in
Atlanta for a trip that originally was scheduled so he could take in
the Final Four. But the Hall of Fame committee’s decision to induct
Tarkanian, which required at least 18 of the panel’s 24 votes, will
serve as a crowning moment for a coach with 729 career victories, four
Final Four appearances and a national title with UNLV.

“It would be nice,” Tarkanian said Friday during a brief phone
interview. “I don’t know if it’s long overdue. I haven’t really been
waiting. It would be nice.”

Tarkanian, named as one of 12 finalists in February, coached 31
seasons and went 729-201 at the NCAA Division I level. His .784
winning percentage ranks fourth on the career list. He ranks 21st in
wins, with stops at Long Beach State (1968-73), UNLV (1973-1992) and
his alma mater of Fresno State (1995-2002).

Tarkanian, nicknamed “the Shark,” had his most success at UNLV. The
Runnin’ Rebels of the early 1990s are considered among the best in
NCAA history. UNLV won the national championship in 1990, then won its
first 34 games the next season before losing in the national
semifinals.

Tarkanian’s career included multiple run-ins with the NCAA and
penalties levied against the universities after he departed, Fresno
State among them. He also sued the NCAA over what he believed was a
long-running witch hunt and was awarded a $2.5 million settlement in
1998.

In previous years, Tarkanian had told friends and family that he
understood his battles with the NCAA could negatively influence Hall
voters. More recently, he expressed greater optimism that he might get
selected.

“Personally, I think he always wanted to get into the Hall of Fame,
but he wasn’t going to allow (the decision) whether he got in or not
to have a major impact on his feelings,” said Danny Tarkanian, who
played and coached for his father and served as his lawyer. “To me,
his qualifications as a coach speak for itself. He’s clearly one of
the greatest of all time.”

Tarkanian’s daughter, Jodie Diamant, made a new push this past summer
to generate interest in Tarkanian’s Hall of Fame candidacy amid word
his health was failing.

In her research, Diamant compared his résumé to those of others
already in the Hall.

Tarkanian coached in 14 NCAA Tournaments and was a four-time National
Coach of the Year. He coached 44 future NBA players, including 12
first-round picks. And he still owns the highest career winning
percentage in the junior college ranks at .891.

In addition, Diamant spoke to several of his former players who
expressed their appreciation for Tarkanian and the impact he had on
them on and off the court. He often brought in talented yet troubled
recruits, believing he and basketball could help straighten out their
lives.

Among them was ex-Fresno State star Chris Herren, a point guard who
went on to play in the NBA but along the way dealt with drug
addiction. Two years ago, ESPN aired a documentary on Herren and the
role Tarkanian played in trying to get him clean.

“Thank God for second chances, and thank God for Coach Tark,” Herren
said Friday from his home in Rhode Island. “Coach Tark gave me many,
many, many chances, and I’m just so thankful for what he did for me.

From: Baghdasarian

Arthur Sakunts `Violence implementers are encouraged’
Sat, 04/06/2013 – 21:55
Trending topic

`Violence, beatings, confinement for more than 3 hours, the use of
psychological pressure, failure to provide legal aid and non-assurance
of protection, forcing to false testimony has been common style of the
Police work’ head of the Vanadzor office of Helsinki Civil Association
Arthur Saqunts mentioned and added that from 2011 they have received
33 application, but none of them was made into a criminal case.

`Police officers allow obvious illegalities, torture the citizens, and
later their head are moved to other departments and assume high
positions. It turns out that the performance of violence is encouraged
in our country’Sakunts mentioned and added that the quality of the
work of police is assessed by the number of revealed crimes, `and when
they are unable to assure planned results, according to their `black
list’ the missing number is filled with the drug addicts and former
convicts.

According to Sakunts, Special Investigative Service is also involved
in inaction and does nothing and intentionally implements the
examination in the way that that the cases are not revealed but rather
forgotten.

`There should be independent internal mechanist of appeal, that is to
say the state should implement supervision upon the action of the
police officers, that institute should have such a developed mechanist
of examination, so that the rate of torture towards the citizens
decreases. Today when the citizens enter the court with complaint of
police torture, in that case the court also does not grant appropriate
attention’.

Majority of people who are subjected to violence are so much dependent
on their employment for supporting their life that under the fear of
its loose put up with this kind of inhuman treatment’ head of Vanadzor
office of Helsinki Association mentioned and presents an example: the
son of the tortured citizen applied to them, but later denies and said
that there is no need to continue the case, and similar cases are
common.

Sakunts does not see any possibility of torture prevention by the
police officers, besides that, the issue of the tortured citizens
should be raised regularly.
Author:
Eleanora Araqelyan

From: Baghdasarian

Did Siberia Develop Armavia, and Did Baghdasarov Ruin It?

April 5 2013

Already former employees of the air company think so While analyzing
the reasons for the `collapse’ of the air company Armavia, a set of
experts in the field of aviation, expressed an idea that the owner of
the company, Mikhail Baghdasarov, and his careless attitude and
incorrect marketing were mostly to blame for all that. According to
people familiar with the field, before the majority of Armavia’s
shares passed on to Baghdasarov, this company had prospered, and even
after the bankruptcy of the Armenian Airlines and society’s
disappointment, Armavia won trust. In 1996, when Armavia whose
shareholders included also Mikhail Baghdasarov was established, the
name of the company was known to few people. According to our
interlocutors, it became famous when the second largest Russian air
company, Siberia, gained 70% of Armavia’s shares in 2011. That air
company also took over all the air routes of the Armenian Airlines
that was already bankrupt. One can say that Siberia started to work in
Armenia from scratch; firstly, it imported the Airbus 320 aircraft not
operated in our country before that, then they put the brand Armavia
into circulation, for which purpose they invited The Bank, an
international company. After examining the market, The Bank created
the apricot logo so dear to Armenians and Armavia’s symbol with the
image of Mount Ararat. Besides, today many people will remember the
anthem of the company played in Armavia’s commercial, which is also
Siberia’s contribution. According to our interlocutors, all that was
the first steps, which the Russian company made, so that the airplanes
with these Armenian symbols become trustworthy and reliable to
Armenians living in different corners of the world. One of the correct
marketing moves of the then director of Siberia, Andrei Nikitin, was
the training of specialists abroad. We didn’t have any educational
institution in Armenia to train specialists in aviation, therefore a
set of pilots and mechanics were trained abroad, furthermore, there
were neither pilots nor other employees in Armenia who were
experienced in operating Airbuses. Regularly launching new air routes
for Armavia was one of the achievements of Siberia. As people familiar
with the history of Armavia said during a conversation with Aravot, in
the most flourishing period of Armavia, in 2005, Siberia decided to
leave Armenia, handing over all shares, rights, and obligations to
Armavia. So Mikhail Baghdasarov acquired also the shares belonging to
Siberia. And on that day, the decline of the company started, despite
the fact that it was not obvious at first. People who worked at
Armavia for many years and contributed greatly to the building up of
the company, say with pain today that the work they did with so much
devotion has been in vain. Already former employees of Armavia told us
that Baghdasarov knew very little about aviation, in the first place,
otherwise, he wouldn’t have acquired unprofitable air routes.
According to the employees, `He would launch air routes, then close
them, he wouldn’t take into account how profitable a flight to the
given country was or whether there was an Armenian community there or
whether that community was big, whether there was an Armenian embassy.
For example, he launched the Yerevan-Tel Aviv air route: to begin
with, there is no Armenian embassy there, the Armenians who wanted to
go to Tel Aviv would go through Tbilisi, because firstly, the tickets
were cheaper than those of Armavia, secondly the embassy is in
Tbilisi. Therefore, it was more profitable to leave for Israel from
Georgia. Then he operated the Yerevan-Warsaw-Yerevan route for a short
period of time, then he sold it to Lot, a Polish company, the same
thing happened to the Yerevan-Rome-Yerevan air route or he launched
the Yerevan-Zurich route, which made losses, or he launched the
Yerevan-Birmingham route. Who needed that? It is a small English town,
where even 100 Armenians would not go annually or no Englishman would
come from there. We don’t even know what such work should be called?
Even a person unfamiliar with aviation will understand which air
routes are profitable for Armenia, if he is quick on the uptake.’
According to former employees, the owner of Armavia, importing Boeing
and CRJ aircrafts, made a serious mistake again. `Although he leased
them, they are mortgaged in banks, but he was compelled to bring new
specialists to operate the aircrafts, and if he had imported Airbuses
again, he would have been able to operate them with the existing
employees. So many good pilots and mechanics left Armenia.’ Today
Armavia owes millions of dollars; the Armenian company owes around $30
million to Rosaeronavigation alone. According to some specialists, if
Armavia is not able to pay off its debts, the Armenian government will
have to do that. In response to Aravot’s question whether the Armenian
government had guaranteed that it would pay off the debt to
Rosaeronavigation, in particular, if Armavia was insolvent, the
representatives of the General Department of Civil Aviation adjunct to
the government of the Republic of Armenia said that the government was
not under any obligation with regard to any debt of the air company
Armavia. We also inquired of the Civil Aviation Department whether the
government had planned to carry out an audit in Armavia, in response
to which we were informed: `Not yet.’ So it turns out that the
government doesn’t have any wish to find out what the reason for
Armavia’s bankruptcy is, particularly given the fact that the head of
the Civil Aviation General Department said on one occasion that the
prices for Zvartnots’s services were not high at all. Basically,
Armavia will follow in the Armenian Airlines’ footsteps, when hundreds
of employees, including pilots, didn’t get salaries for years of work.
According to the bankruptcy procedure, it is intended that the
property of Armavia – the mortgaged aircrafts and 1-2 offices – will
be sold to first of all pay off the money owed to banks, and the $5.5
million debt to Zvartnots will hardly be pending; the pilots and a
group of other employees will suffer from this whole story. Armavia
must pay the pilots salaries for months of work, which also reach
millions. NELLY BABAYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

From: Baghdasarian

Khanferiants Military Aviation Institute marks 20th anniversary

Sunday,
April 07

The Military Aviation Institute after Marshal Khanferiants held an
event today to the mark the 20th anniversary of the institute’s
establishment, the press service of Defense Ministry reports.

The event was attended by Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian, First
Deputy Minister of Defense David Tonoyan, heads of departments of the
Defense Ministry and the General Staff of the Armed Forces,
commanders, the faculty members, participants of the Karabakh war,
students and their relatives.

Minister Seyran Ohanian made a speech, in which he particularly said:

`Today we can say with certainty that this military institute is a
center of training of highly qualified specialists of modern military
art. It has modern technical capabilities and an experienced teaching
staff. In the past 20 years, 612 offers, including pilots, aviation
technicians, signalers, and air defense experts, have written pages of
their military biographies in this military institute,’ the minister
stated.

He stressed that thanks to the management and faculty, the Military
Aviation Institute has also become a serious research center.
`Suffice it to say that in 2006 the institute began work on the
creation of unmanned aerial vehicles, as a result of which the first
unmanned aerial vehicle of Armenia’s Air Force passed successful
tests,’ Seyran Ohanian said.

He wished the management of the Military Aviation Institute
determination and devotion during the performance of their duties.

06.04.2013, 18:21

Aysor.am

From: Baghdasarian

Iran announces Azerbaijanis’ desire to unite with Iran – Armenian analyst

April 06, 2013 | 15:44

YEREVAN. – Members of the parliament of Iran have proposed the
country’s authorities to launch the holding of a referendum in Iran,
and with an objective to have Azerbaijan join Iran, Iranian Studies
specialist Armen Israyelyan noted during a press conference on
Saturday.

In his conviction, the Iranian MPs base this proposal on the cultural
and religious ties that exist between the Iranians and the
Turkish-speaking Azerbaijanis.

`In addition, Iran has a very large influence on the poor regions of
southern Azerbaijan. Given these circumstances, the Iranian side
announced that the Azerbaijani people wish to unite with Iran,’ the
Iranian Studies expert said, and stressed that this was carried for
propaganda purposes.

Israyelyan added that the authorities of Azerbaijan conduct an
extremely harsh policy against the local Islamic forces and spiritual
figures that attempt to contribute to the spread of Islam, whereas
Iran tries to increase its influence upon them.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIE
Armenia – International Airports négocie avec les compagnies aériennes
pour augmenter la fréquence des vols

La société Armenia – International Airports qui exploite l’aéroport
Zvartnots d’Erevan est en négociation avec des compagnies aériennes
pour augmenter la fréquence des vols.

Le communiqué de presse de l’entreprise exprime son inquiétude face à
la situation.

Malgré les pertes subies la société fait des efforts continus pour
combler les lacunes du marché, indique le communiqué de l’entreprise.

La Compagnie Armavia a annoncé sa décision d’arrêter de voler depuis
le 1er avril et de commencer une procédure de faillite.

Le bureau de presse de la société Armenia – International Airports a
également déclaré qu’un accord a été conclu avec la compagnie aérienne
autrichienne, Czech Airlines et Alitalia pour augmenter la fréquence
des vols : à partir de maintenant, les deux premières compagnies
aériennes voleront sept jours par semaine et Alitalia opérera trois
vols hebdomadaire.

Des négociations sont en cours avec d’autres compagnies aériennes.

La société prévoit également d’augmenter les vols opérés par la
compagnie aérienne Fly Dubai.

dimanche 7 avril 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

APA, Azerbaijan
April 6 2013

Ariel Cohen: `The US should strengthen efforts towards the settlement
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict’

Non-implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno
Karabakh discussed in Washington

Baku-APA. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the first UN
Security Council resolution on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the
Jamestown Foundation, one of the leading research centers of
Washington, held an event entitled `The United Nations and the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Back to the Basics’. Azerbaijan’s embassy
in the US told APA that Azerbaijan’s Deputy Permanent Representative
to the United Nations Tofig Musayev and Senior Research Fellow of the
Heritage Foundation Ariel Cohen made speeches at the event moderated
by Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Frederick Starr.

Making a speech on the International Legal Relevance and Significance
of the UN Security Council Resolutions, Tofig Musayev spoke about the
importance of compliance with the norms and principles of the
international law in terms of the maintenance of international peace
and security. Musayev said the fact that the four resolutions of the
UN Security Council demanding withdrawal of Armenian occupier troops
from Azerbaijan have not been implemented is the main factor impeding
the progress in the settlement of the conflict and also added that
Armenia’s non-constructive position in the negotiations has no
international legal base.

Analyzing the settlement of the conflict in the context of
international forces, as well as regional realities, Senior Research
Fellow of the Heritage Foundation Ariel Cohen noted that as one of the
co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group, the US needs to strengthen efforts
towards this.

In his turn, Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Frederick
Starr underlined the importance of new approaches for the restoration
of stability in the region and said that the future of the region
depends on mutual cooperation of each of the three countries.

From: Baghdasarian

Interfax, Russia
April 5 2013

Rosneft, Armenia’s Oil Techno sign agreement on oil products venture

YEREVAN. April 5

Russian state oil major Rosneft (RTS: ROSN) and Armenia’s Oil Techno
signed an agreement in Yerevan on Thursday to form an oil products
supply and marketing joint venture, the Armenian government’s press
service said.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met with Rosneft president
Igor Sechin on Thursday. Sechin and Oil Techno CEO Arthur Alaverdian
signed the agreement on the joint venture in the course of this
meeting.

Sargsyan said Armenia is interested in such cooperation. “We welcome
such a serious investor’s entry into the Armenian market and will make
every effort for this program to be successfully implemented,’ the
prime minister said.

Sechin said “there is strong potential in supplying jet fuel, gasoline
and diesel fuel to Armenia, and it is a big honor for the company to
create a platform for cooperation in this area.”

Armenian imports of oil products dropped 3.3% to 346,403 tonnes in
2012 from 357,861 tonnes in 2011, according to the country’s Customs
Service. The customs value of fuel imports dropped to $362 million
from $371.5 million.

Oil Techno was founded in November 2012 by Armen Petrosian with
charter capital of 50,000 dram. The little-known company is a
small-scale wholesaler, according to the State Register of Legal
Entities.

Vp aa

From: Baghdasarian