Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

AUA SPECIAL COURSES PROGRAM TO BE LAUNCHED IN ARTSAKH

16:35, 3 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 3, ARMENPRESS: The Artsakh Republic President Bako
Sahakyan received the delegations of the Armenian General Benevolent
Union (AGBU) and American University of Armenia (AUA) on April 3. As
reported by Armenpress, issues related to the implementation of a
number projects in Artsakh were discussed during the meeting.

Special attention was paid to the spheres of education and science.

Within this context the President Sahakyan highlighted the foundation
of AUA special education programs in Stepanakert, rating them
high from the viewpoint of developing science and education in
the republic, application of progressive international experience,
further strengthening the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity.

The member of the AGBU Central Board Vazgen Yakubyan, the director
of the organization’s Armenian Representation Arpi Vardanyan, the AUA
President Bruce Boghosian and other officials partook at the meeting.

From: Baghdasarian

WORKING MIGRATION ISSUES MITIGATION PLAN TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN 4 ARMENIAN MARZES

16:43, 3 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 3, ARMENPRESS: The program of reduction of social
issues of the working migrants is being implemented in 4 marzes of the
Republic of Armenia: Lori, Tavush, Gegharqunik and Shirak. The program
is carried out by the joint efforts of the European Union delegation in
Armenia, United Nations Children’s Fund, Ministry of Labor and Social
Issues and Ministry of Territorial Administration of the Republic of
Armenia. The program costs 1 million EURO. According to Armenpress,
the Head of the EU delegation to Armenia Traian Hristea stated that the
European Union paid significant attention to the migration management.

The Minister of Labor and Social Issues Artem Asatryan informed that
by migration management an appropriate methodology would be developed
enabling to solve the problems.

In the framework of the program a special attention will be paid to
the mitigation of the negative consequences of the migration on the
teenagers and full-pledged implementation of the protection of the
children’s rights.

From: Baghdasarian

MILITANTS TRAINED IN AFGHAN CAMPS MAY APPEAR IN CSTO STATES – BORDYUZHA

April 03, 2013 | 16:06

Head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization said militants
trained in Afghan camps may get into CSTO member states.

Nikolay Bordyuzha noted that there are still military camps in the
territory of Afghanistan where natives of CSTO states are trained,
Interfax reported.

He believes that presence of American military facilities in the
Central Asia will negatively affect regional security. Although
situation is relatively stable, there are military camps in Afghanistan
and it remains a laboratory of drug production, he told reporters
on Wednesday.

CSTO is a bloc comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia and Tajikistan.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

“CONFESSION” OF RUSSIAN OFFICIAL: “IF ARMENIA DOESN’T LIKE GETTING INTERNET FROM US, LET THEM GET IT FROM ANOTHER PLACE”

Mediamax, Armenia
April 4 2013

Yerevan/Mediamax/. A senior Russian official quite bluntly responded to
the problems with access to some sites in Armenia blocked by Russian
state structures.

Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media of Russia Alexey
Volin touched upon the topic during his interview to Echo of Moscow
radio station, Mediamax reports.

“No problems. Any user can choose the traffic where he wants to get.

If they don’t like getting it from us, let them get it from another
place. It’s Armenia’s problem how and through which lace they are
linked to the Web”, stated the Russian official.

Izvestia paper wrote in January 2013 that Armenian residents became
subject to Russian laws and norms as the main internet traffic of
the republic passes the territory of Russia.

The newspaper noted that as a result, the Armenian users can’t visit
sites which are blacklisted in Russia.

“Subscribers already turned to us. We are changing the routing to
the sites where the Armenian customers saw the Russian “plug”. In
the future, we are likely to set the routing of the Armenian traffic
the way all the sites banned in Russia are ruled out of it. ArmenTel
operates in Armenia solely on Armenian laws”, then said the CIS PR
Manager of “VimpelCom” Artem Minaev.

“MTS organizes operation of its networks in each of the countries
of the MTS presence in accord with the local legislation. We haven’t
received complaints from “MTS-Armenia” subscribers for limiting access
to any resources and we haven’t registered it on our network. We
use both our own trunk channels and partners’ channels to transport
traffic”, said MTS spokeswoman Valeria Kuzmenko.

“Our colleagues from Armenia haven’t turned to us yet and we suppose
these issues will be settled on the level of operators. But if there
is such a complaint, we are ready to study it and support solution
to the problems”, Roskomnadzor informed Izvestia in January.

From: Baghdasarian

STATE HOUSE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION ON APRIL 19

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, NEWS | APRIL 4, 2013 1:13 PM

State House Armenian Genocide 98th Commemoration logo

BOSTON – Each April for the past 28 years, members of the Armenian
community along with state legislators and guests have filled the
House Chamber at the State House to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

This year marks the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the
commemoration will take place on Friday, April 19 at 10:30 a.m. with
a program of speakers and honorees.

Following the ceremony and pending final permitting, attendees will
be invited to march from the State House to the Armenian Heritage
Park on the Rose Kennedy Greenway for additional remarks, music and
a catered lunch. The march will include a stop along the way to place
a wreath at the New England Holocaust Memorial.

The event is both solemn and celebratory, recognizing the Genocide of
1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 by the Ottoman Turkish
government, as well as honoring survivors and looking forward as
Armenian-American descendants commit themselves to preserving their
culture and working for humanitarian projects and awareness.

Former US Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans, who served from
2006 to 2008, will deliver the keynote address. Armenian Heritage
Park architect Donald Tellalian will be honored with a Joint House
and Senate Resolution. Dedicated in May of 2012, the park is a gift to
Boston and the Commonwealth from the Massachusetts Armenian-American
community. The split dodecahedron abstract sculpture, which rests atop
a 16-ft diameter reflecting pool, is designed to be reconfigured each
year and symbolizes those who were pulled apart from their country
but reestablished themselves in different ways. Visitors to the park
can also walk a labyrinth that reflects the journey of life.

“We are very excited this year to introduce the march from the State
House to the Armenian Heritage Park,” said Belmont resident Lalig
Musserian who is coordinating this year’s celebration. The committee
organizing the event is jointly chaired by state Representatives
Jonathan Hecht (D-Watertown), Dave Rogers (D-Cambridge) and John Lawn
(D-Watertown); and state Sen. Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont), who will
host the day. “The march expresses the ongoing work of recognizing
the Armenian Genocide and our desire to reach out to others and
build awareness that as a world community we must work to prevent
the horrors of genocide,” said Musserian.

Survivors of the Genocide will be presented with proclamations at the
State House ceremony and photographs of others will be present through
the participation of attendees in the “Stand Up For Your Survivor”
program organized by Arlington High School senior Anahis Kechejian.

“There are so few survivors left,” said Kechejian, “This is one way
for descendants to honor our ancestors, and for youth such as myself
to pledge our efforts to work for justice and preserve our Armenian
heritage.”

The participation of youth is an integral part of the commemoration.

Members of the Homenetmen Scout Troop will attend, as will students
from the Armenian Sisters’ Academy and St. Stephen’s Armenian
Elementary School, who will perform music at the State House. Martin
Haroutunian and Tigran Avetisyan will perform at the Heritage Park.

“To see our youth involved in this event is particularly meaningful
to me,” said Hecht. “They are our bridge to the future and our hope
that such atrocities will never take place again. The late Speaker
George Keverian, who began the annual commemoration at the State House
in 1985, would be pleased to see the program has now extended beyond
the State House with this year’s march.”

“When the posters of survivors are held high in the House Chamber
for all to see, it reminds us of a history that must be recognized
and remembered, and calls us to the importance of working for human
rights,” said Brownsberger. “I look forward to all ages marching
together.”

“The march to the park is a wonderful addition to the commemoration,”
said Lawn. “This is a visible way of showing the pride in history
and culture of Armenian Americans as they strive for recognition of
the Genocide.”

“It is time for recognition of the Armenian Genocide. As a
newly elected state representative I look forward to hosting the
Commemoration and advancing this worthy cause for years to come,”
said Rogers.

Free buses to the State House, provided by the Knights of Vartan, will
leave St. James and St. Stephen’s Churches in Watertown at 9:00 a.m.

Bus transportation will be provided to anyone who is unable to march
from the State House to the Heritage Park. In the case of inclement
weather the march will not take place and a reception will be held
at the Great Hall of the State House. Buses will depart Heritage
Park at the conclusion of the program at 2 p.m. and return directly
to Watertown.

From: Baghdasarian

SYRIA SENDING GUERRILLA FIGHTERS TO IRAN FOR TRAINING

April 4, 2013 – 18:13 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Syrian government is sending members of its
irregular militias for guerrilla combat training at a secret base
in Iran, in a move to bolster its armed forces drained by two years
of fighting and defections, fighters and activists said, according
to Reuters.

The discreet program has been described as an open secret in some
areas loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who is trying to crush a
revolt against his family’s four-decade hold on power.

Reuters interviewed four fighters who said they were taken on the
combat course in Iran, as well as opposition sources who said they
had also been documenting such cases.

Israel’s intelligence chief and a Western diplomat have said Iran,
Assad’s main backer, is helping to train at least 50,000 militiamen
and aims to increase the force to 100,000 – though they did not say
where the training occurred.

No one at Iran’s foreign ministry was available for comment, but
Iranian officials have repeatedly denied military involvement in the
Syrian conflict, saying they have only provided humanitarian aid and
political support for Assad.

A Syrian government security source, who declined to be named, denied
that Syria was sending fighters to Iran.

But if the reports by Syrian fighters are true, the move to train
combatants in Iran suggests that their country’s increasingly
regionalized conflict has grown well beyond – and could even outlast –
a battle for power between Assad’s circle and the opposition.

The fighters also appear to come largely from minority groups that
have supported Assad against the mostly Sunni Muslim-led uprising.

Such a move could exacerbate the dangerous sectarian dimensions of
a conflict that has turned into a civil war that has cost the lives
of more than 70,000 people, Reuters reported.

From: Baghdasarian

MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ARRESTED

17:07 – 04.04.2013

Yerkir.am found out that the arrested suspects of Hrach Mouradyan’s
assassination are brothers of the same village, Arayik Petrosyan and
Artak Petrosyan. They both are members of the Armenian Republican
Party. We tried to find out some information about the arrest from
Armen Malkhasyan of the PR department, however, he advised us to
follow their official site.

From: Baghdasarian

PROSPEROUS ARMENIA PARTY TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO HAK

Thursday,
April 04

According to “Zhoghovurd”, rumors are circulating that Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK) has decided to provide financial assistance to
Armenian National Congress (HAK) in the upcoming elections to Yerevan
Council of Elders.

It became clear at a recent meeting of the leaders of the two parties
that HAK is not able to conduct an efficient election campaign because
of financial problems so BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian made a decision
to help them.

TODAY, 12:28

Aysor.am

From: Baghdasarian

THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH SALE OF CROPS – ARMENIAN PM

April 04, 2013 | 11:38

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s purveyor organizations have problems in selling
the crops that were harvested in 2012, Premier Tigran Sargsyan said
during Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

He informed that the Central Bank provided information with respect
to the loan obligations of the purveyor organizations.

“If the harvest begins, we will face problems again because the
individual resources will be insufficient. We must think about this
now,” Sargsyan stated.

Tigran Sargsyan also proposed Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan
to develop new mechanisms for selling the crops.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

ASSAILANTS BREAK INTO CAR OF ASBAREZ JOUNALISTS CLUB BOARD PREZ

13:44, April 4, 2013

Early this morning, unidentified assailants broke the windows of
the car belonging to Levon Barseghyan, President of the Board of the
Asbarez Journalists Club and a member of the Gyumri Municipal Council.

Police say that several items and digitalized recordings of various
documents were also taken.

A criminal investigation has been launched.

While the Asbarez Club doesn’t rule out the possibility that this
was a simple car break-in, they note that today’s incident was the
eighth such assault on property belonging to its members in the past
eight years.

On March 21, 2008, Barseghyan’s car was set on fire. The culprits in
all these cases have never been caught.

From: Baghdasarian