Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Serzh Sargsyan proposed justified strategy – Armenian politicians on
president’s speech

21:11 * 27.01.15

President Serzh Sargsyan’s speech, dedicated to the national armed
forces’ 23rd anniversary, was absolutely justified in light the
intensified threats along our borders and the Line of Contact,
according to a political analyst.

Speaking to Tert.am, Levon Shirinyan said he finds that a statement of
the kind should have been made earlier to supress Azerbaijan. He said
a preventive war would be the right step for Armenia under the
circumstances.

“We must strike a blow once the appropriate moment arrives, because we
are being exhausted. That’s definitely necessary, because it wears us
out. It doesn’t seem to be a big stuff, but it all the time sees an
exponential growth. Their goal, which is the deportation of people
from Armenia, is clear. They can’t seize [the country] through a
frontal assault; they are not able to do that, but the less the viable
population, the stronger their positions. That automatically makes
them a winner,” said the expert.

Shirinyan further justified the president’s remark, predicting a
scenario of both peace and war.

“And a preventive war is the most effective way to establish peace or
at least avoid annihilations, which we have seen in the course of
history. It seems further that the world will develop a negative
attitude, but it isn’t as though the weak are treated negatively.

He who behaves manly – also in the battlefield – sees his allies
increasing in number,” he added.

Commenting on the president’s speech, Tevan Poghosyan of the
opposition Heritage parliamentary faction, said he finds it less
diplomatic compared to previous speeches but more targeted at the
foreign audience.

“The addressees of those words are both Azerbaijan and the
international community, and I have a feeling that a speech in that
style should have been made long ago to focus everybody’s attention to
the fact that Armenia will not be sitting in idleness, and it will
take a preventive action once it sees an imminent threat,” he noted.

Poghosyan said he doesn’t think that Armenia has either an interest or
reason to provoke frontline tension, adding that the country realizes
the importance of a negotiated settlement.

In his view, Azerbaijan’s offensive policies are obvious to all sides.

“If the international community isn’t able to make the country pull
itself together, the Armenian side will have to do that,” he added.

Cross-bencher Edmon Marukyan also agreed that the president’s speech
was more targeted at the world community, specifically at neighbors
and countries which are regional players.

“Preventive attacks will naturally inflict heavy losses on the enemy’s
armed forces,” he said.

From: Baghdasarian

Minister: Russia’s military presence in Armenia solving global regional problem

15:46, 27.01.2015

YEREVAN. – Tragedy in Gyumri must not drive a wedge between Armenia
and Russia, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said during a briefing on
Tuesday.

Relations with the Russian side are developing in bilateral format and
within CSTO, in addition, joint military drills are held. As to the
security issue, the Armenian Armed Forces are capable of tackling
problems created by Azerbaijan, the Minister emphasized.

He added that Russia’s military presence is solving a global regional
problem, taking into account presence of such a neighbor as Turkey.

From: Baghdasarian

Armenians “more than anyone empathize” with Jewish people’s pain,
Sargsyan says on Holocaust Remembrance Day

GENOCIDE | 27.01.15 | 12:11

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan during a visit to the memorial
complex at the former Majdanek concentration camp near Lyublin,
Poland, in January 2013.

It would perhaps have been possible to prevent the mass extermination
of Jews during World Would Two had the WWI crimes against humanity
been fully condemned by the international community and those
responsible for them been duly punished, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan said in his January 27 address on International Holocaust
Remembrance Day.

The Armenian leader, in particular, referred to the mass killings of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey during the years of the First World War
that constituted the first genocide of the 20th century.

“The Armenian people, who are commemorating the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide this year, more than anyone empathize with the
pain of the Jewish people,” Sargsyan stressed, according to his press
service.

“We reaffirm our commitment to jointly struggle for the prevention of
crimes aimed against humanity with our determination to say ‘Never
Again’,” the Armenian leader concluded.

The Genocide of the Jewish people known as Holocaust is also
internationally remembered on January 27, the day when in 1945
advancing Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, a concentration camp
built by Nazi Germany in Poland.

An estimated 1.1 million prisoners, around 90 percent of them being
Jews, were exterminated at Auschwitz in 1941-1945. Many of the victims
were killed in notorious gas chambers, others died of starvation,
forced labor, infectious diseases, individual executions and medical
experiments. The bodies of the victims were burned in incinerators.

From: Baghdasarian

Fioletovo Gold Mining Project Expertise Suspended

13:02 January 26, 2015
EcoLur

The expertise of Fioletovo gold mining project has been suspended
based on the solicitation of “Grade Redmet” company, as Henrik
Grigoryan, Deputy Direction of “Environmental Expertise” SNCO of
Nature Protection Ministry stated at the meeting on 23 January.

Under the press release of the Public Council, the company reached
this conclusion taking into consideration the negative opinion of the
local population about the mining project.

During the discussion four committees of the Public Council opposed to
this mining project taking into consideration cultural and historical,
soil and environmental problems of the mining project.

Yuri Javadyan, the member of the Public Council, Chairman of
Agricultural Committee, urged “Grade Redmet” company to submit a
closed mining project, which will enable neutralizing possible damage.

The representative of “Grade Redmet” company noted that they can’t
implement the project without the consent of the community residents
at the same time raising the question of damages. As a positive side
of the mining, he outlined the presence of the working places.

The negative decision of the Public Council members will be submitted
to Public Council Chairman Vazgen Manukyan, as well as Armenian PM
Hovik Abrahamyan.

From: Baghdasarian

CHP LEADER MEETS WITH LEADERS OF TURKEY’S RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Jan 26 2015

DAILY SABAH

The leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP),
Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, yesterday convened with the heads of religious
minorities in Turkey, including Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Armenian Patriarch Archbishop Aram
AteÃ…~_yan, Deputy Armenian Patriarch Archbishop Aram AteÃ…~_yan, Syriac
Catholic Deputy Patriarch Chorepiscopus Yusuf Cetin, Istanbul Syriac
Orthodox Church Metropolitan Yusuf Cetin and Chief Rabbi Ä°shak Haleva
at a luncheon in Istanbul.

Following the closed-door meeting, CHP leader Kılıcdaroglu said:
“We convened with spiritual leaders. We [the CHP] listened to their
problems. They said that some of their problems are due to legislation,
while some of them are due to certain practices. We stressed that as
the CHP, our principle is not to intervene in people’s lifestyles
and not to judge their ethnic origins. Some of their problems will
be added to the Parliament’s agenda in the upcoming days.”

CHP Vice Chair Murat Ozcelik, human rights lawyer and deputy Sezgin
Tanrıkulu, Istanbul provincial chairman Murat Karayalcın, Istanbul’s
Sarıyer district Mayor Å~^ukru Genc and party member Talin ErguneÅ~_
also attended the meeting.

From: Baghdasarian

PRESS RELEASE
Glendale Public Library
222 East Harvard Street
Glendale CA 91205
Contact: [email protected]
Tel: 818-548-2030
FB:
TW:
Web:
TW:

Armenian Photographers in the Ottoman Empire

>From the Collections of The Getty Research Institute

GLENDALE, CA The public is invited on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at 7
pm to a presentation by scholar Julia Grimes of photographs taken by
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the Glendale Central Library
Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street in Glendale. The discussion will be
in English. Admission will be free. Library visitors receive 3 hours
FREE parking across the street at The Market Place parking structure
with validation at the Loan Desk.

The Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were highly educated and held high
level positions. They were scholars, doctors, chemists, goldsmiths, and
pharmacists, and many possessed the skills necessary for photography, in
particular a thorough knowledge of the chemical processes used in
development. Some of the principal studios in Constantinople, including
J. Pascal S¨¦bah and Abdullah Fr¨¨res, were owned and operated
by photographers of Armenian descent.

Julia Grimes is completing her Ph.D. in Chinese modern and contemporary
art at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a
research assistant at the Getty Research Institute since 2010. She will
discuss these studios and their vital importance to the evolution of
photography throughout the Ottoman Empire at the close of the 19th
century.

Hope To See You All!

Elizabeth Grigorian ¡ñ Armenian Outreach Coordinator ¡ñ City of
Glendale ¡ñ Library, Arts & Culture ¡ñ 222 East Harvard Street
¡ñ Glendale, CA 91205 ¡ñ (818) 548- 3288 ¡ñ
[email protected]

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA: LA MORTE DEL PICCOLO SERYOZHA

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, Italia
26 gen 2015

Simone Zoppellaro | Yerevan
26 gennaio 2015

La strage perpetrata da un soldato russo di stanza nella base di Gyumri
provoca un’ondata di indignazione nell’opinione pubblica armena,
che si interroga sul delicato rapporto con Mosca e sulla crescente
militarizzazione della societa

Dopo la fine dell’Unione Sovietica e l’indipendenza, l’Armenia si è
dimostrata l’alleato più affidabile di Mosca nella regione caucasica.

Una fedelta determinata in primo luogo dal contesto geopolitico,
che pone l’Armenia sotto scacco di vicini ostili e temibili. In
primo luogo l’Azerbaijan, con cui perdura da oltre vent’anni il
conflitto per la regione del Nagorno Karabakh. Il fragile equilibrio
del cessate il fuoco firmato nel maggio 1994 non ha mai condotto a
un accordo di pace fra i due paesi, e si registrano anzi di continuo
violazioni e scontri che hanno portato, oltre a un alto numero di
vittime determinato in primo luogo dai colpi dei cecchini sul confine,
anche a una preoccupante escalation nell’anno da poco concluso.

Anche con la Turchia, come noto, non corre buon sangue. Il mancato
riconoscimento da parte turca del Genocidio armeno, di cui quest’anno
ricorre il centenario, si unisce all’appoggio politico fornito
da Ankara all’Azerbaijian per il conflitto del Karabakh. Proprio
all’inizio del 1993, a guerra ancora in corso, la Turchia decise
di chiudere i suoi confini con l’Armenia, aggravando ulteriormente
l’isolamento di quest’ultima.

Il risultato di tutto ciò è in primo luogo l’elevata spesa militare
del governo di Yerevan. Uno studio condotto nel 2014 dal Bonn
International Center for Conversion, che descrive il peso relativo
dell’apparato militare di uno stato in relazione alla societa nel suo
complesso (Global Militarisation Index, GMI), vede l’Armenia al terzo
posto, dopo Israele e Singapore, su un totale di 152 paesi esaminati,
mentre l’Azerbaijan è al decimo posto. La corsa al riarmo finisce
per penalizzare la fragile economia armena che, a differenza di Baku,
non può vantare riserve di petrolio o gas.

Ma tali spese non bastano, e allora subentra l’alleanza militare
con Mosca, che può vantare un legame di lunga data con l’Armenia
e ha un forte interesse a mantenere una presenza nel Caucaso del
sud, affacciandosi alle porte del Medio Oriente, grazie al confine
meridionale con l’Iran.

La strage di Gyumri

Ora, un tragico evento di cronaca ha rischiato di mettere in
discussione i rapporti fra Russia e Armenia, generando un’ondata di
indignazione e proteste senza precedenti che ha scosso la societa
armena nelle ultime settimane. L’origine dei fatti è a Gyumri,
seconda citta dell’Armenia per numero di abitanti, dove ha sede
un’importante base militare russa, precedentemente sovietica.

Secondo la ricostruzione diffusa dalla stampa armena, il 12 gennaio
il soldato Valerij Permjakov, diciannovenne originario della citta
siberiana di Ä~Lita, avrebbe lasciato la base n. 102 dell’esercito
russo attorno alle quattro del mattino portando con sé un Kalashnikov
e due caricatori. Dopo aver camminato per due o tre chilometri,
il soldato si sarebbe introdotto nell’abitazione degli Avetisyan
dove avrebbe ucciso a sangue freddo sei membri di questa famiglia:
due nonni, il loro figlio e la moglie, la loro figlia e la nipote
Hasmik di due anni, morti sul colpo. La settima vittima è un bimbo di
soli sei mesi, Seryozha Avetisyan. Ricoverato in gravi condizioni dopo
l’accaduto, purtroppo neppure lui è scampato alla morte, sopraggiunta
dopo una settimana. Il 19 gennaio il piccolo è stato dichiarato
deceduto dal Centro medico S. Astvatsamayr che lo aveva in cura,
nella stessa Gyumri. Il soldato Permjakov sarebbe stato arrestato
in seguito da una guardia russa nei pressi del confine turco-armeno,
per rimanere poi sotto custodia russa.

Non è la prima volta che la presenza dei militari russi a Gyumri
è causa di gravi incidenti. Nel 1999 due soldati russi ubriachi
aprirono il fuoco al mercato cittadino, causando la morte di due
persone e il ferimento di alcune decine. Nel 2013, invece, due giovani
armeni rimasero uccisi in seguito alla detonazione di alcuni ordigni
lasciati incustoditi nei pressi della base. L’assassinio della famiglia
Avetisyan, avvenuto nei giorni scorsi, ha però provocato una serie
di proteste senza precedenti fra il 13 e il 15 gennaio, che hanno
coinvolto sia Gyumri che la capitale. Gli scontri più gravi, con una
quindicina di feriti e diversi arresti, si sono avuti nella giornata
del 15, in corrispondenza dei funerali della famiglia Avetisyan.

Proteste hanno avuto luogo anche davanti al Consolato e all’Ambasciata
russa, a Gyumri e a Yerevan rispettivamente.

Una reazione più raccolta si è avuta invece il 19 gennaio, giorno
della morte del piccolo Seryozha, un evento che ha toccato il cuore di
moltissimi armeni. A Yerevan, decine di persone hanno posto candele,
fiori e giocattoli sulle scale del Teatro dell’Opera. A Gyumri, luogo
natale del piccolo, molta gente si è riunita davanti alla casa della
famiglia Avetisyan accendendo candele e raccogliendosi in preghiera.

Al suo funerale, che ha avuto luogo nella chiesa di Surb Nshan,
hanno partecipato centinaia di persone.

Alla base del malcontento, in primo luogo, è stato il rifiuto da parte
delle autorita russe di consegnare il reo confesso Valerij Permjakov
alla giustizia armena. Ma a generare indignazione è stata anche la
risposta troppo tiepida e tardiva delle autorita armene, da molti
interpretata come un segno di debolezza e servilismo nei confronti
di Mosca. Nel caso di Gyumri, vi è poi un disagio ancora maggiore:
la citta non si è più ripresa dal terremoto del 1988, quando circa
25.000 persone persero la vita, nella citta e in altre localita nel
nord del paese. Nonostante siano trascorsi oltre venticinque anni da
quella tragedia, molte persone sono ancora oggi prive di un alloggio
e i tassi di disoccupazione sono persino più alti dell’allarmante
media nazionale. Paradossalmente, una delle maggiori fonti di reddito
a Gyumri è dovuta proprio alla presenza dei militari russi.

A stemperare gli animi è intervento anche il presidente russo Vladimir
Putin che, in una telefonata all’omologo armeno Serzh Sarksyan, ha
espresso le proprie condoglianze per l’accaduto e ha assicurato che
il massacro di Gyumri non restera impunito.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PREEMPTIVE STRIKES- PRESIDENT

YEREVAN, January 26. / ARKA /. Speaking today at a meeting of army
brass, devoted to the 23rd anniversary of Armenian armed forces,
president Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia reserves the right to pre-emptive
strikes in case of ‘dangerous amassment of Azerbaijan troops along
the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh or Armenia’s border.’

“We have no reason to wage a war, we do not provoke clashes and we
never show aggression, we do not need it, however, we retaliate
and will retaliate to all provocations of the Azerbaijani side,”
Sargsyan said.

He said until recently the response of the Armenian side was
symmetrical in form and asymmetrical in terms of casualties.

“We have witnessed a lot of aggressive actions of the enemy this year.

We sustained painful losses for which we grieve. I think no one doubts
that Azerbaijan will pay dearly for the life of each of our guys.

They paid dearly, and will pay dearly in the future,” said the
president.

He said the purpose of the aggressive actions of the enemy is to
create a constant tension around us by the combination of political
and military means.

“This policy is a simple blackmail, designed for the international
community rather than Armenia,” said Sargsyan.

According to him, Azerbaijani authorities are ready to send to death
hundreds and hundreds of their citizens to only keep their posts,
“but we can not allow this to happen at the expense of the lives of
our citizens and our soldiers. This can not be done at our expense.”

“We are convinced that the right way is to negotiate and to continue
negotiations to reach an agreement on the basis of known principles,
and this is possible only in conditions of maintaining the cease-fire
and building bridges of trust,” said the president.

“I once again declare publicly- we are ready for the good and for
the bad. On my desk there are all possible scenarios. We can and must
negotiate peace with sober-minded partners, but if we are to deal with
not sober-minded enemy we must compel him to peace and will do it,”
said Sargsyan.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan, sought to secede from
Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding
referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no
permanent peace agreement has been signed.

Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been
under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh
is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued
to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with
snipers causing tens of deaths a year. -0-

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDS SERVICEMEN KAREN GALSTYAN AND ARTAK SARGSYAN

16:35 26/01/2015 ” SOCIETY

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed decrees posthumously
awarding Medal of Courage to Lieutenant Karen Galstyan and Medal for
Combat Service to private Artak Sargsyan for bravery and selflessness
during the protection of the Armenian borders, the presidential press
service reported.

On January 23, Azerbaijani special units launched an attack on several
military positions in Berd, Tavush province of Armenia. Karen Galstyan
and Artak Sargsyan were killed while repelling the attack.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Baghdasarian

INCREASING DEPOSIT INSURANCE COVERAGE MAY FORCE BANKS TO RAISE PRICES OF THEIR PRODUCTS – SAMVEL CHZMACHYAN

YEREVAN, January 26. / ARKA /. A decision of Armenia’s Central Bank
to increase the deposit insurance coverage may force the banks to
increase the price of their products, head of the Union of Armenian
Banks Samvel Chzmachyan, said in an interview with the local newspaper
‘Golos Armenii’ (Voice of Armenia).

Chzmachyan said it is wrong to cite the example of Russia that doubled
bank deposit insurance to 1.4 million rubles ($22,000) in late 2014
December as part of the government’s measures to stabilize the domestic
financial system amid the national currency’s depreciation.

“In contrast to Russia, where the Central Bank has revoked licenses
of dozens of banks in the last 12 months, the Central Bank of Armenia
did so some 15 years ago,’ he said.

Chzmachyan said the Armenian banking system has quite a high liquidity.

“The last time it proved it was last December, when amid the
depreciating dram many depositors rushed to banks to withdraw their
deposits. I know banks, which returned to depositors millions of
dollars in a couple of days and exactly a week later more than half
of those deposits were back to the banks again,” he added.

He said the population should not worry about their savings kept
in commercial banks, because irrespective of scenarios there is no
additional risk to their money.

Under the Armenian law on deposit insurance coverage, the maximum
amount of guaranteed deposits in drams is 4 million while insurance
coverage for deposits in foreign currency is the equivalent of 2
million drams.-0-

From: Baghdasarian