Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ARMENIAN YERKPARAH UNION LEADER MAKES STATEMENT

tert.am
07.06.12

Chairman of the Yerkapah union of volunteers Manvel Grigoryan made
a statement on the recent developments on the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border.

Azerbaijan’s latest provocations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
claimed the lives of Armenian soldiers and a civilian. On behalf of
the Yerkapah union of volunteers and on his personal behalf, General
Grigoryan offers condolences to their mothers, relatives and friends,
as well as to commanders, Armenia’s minister of defense and Armenia’s
Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

“I assure you that our sons did not shed their blood in vain. They
defended our country’s peace. They died for their Homeland,” the
statement says.

The Yerkapah union believes that the Azeri-Turkish provocation will
fail to serve the purpose. Such filthy methods can by no means force
the international community into any steps. Nor can the Armenian
people, Armenian soldier be frightened, says the statement.

“Azeris are well aware they will certainly suffer defeat should they
resume war. They remember well how they unleashed war and how we
defeated them and forced ceasefire upon them. We assure the Armenian
people and our brave sons on the border that Azeris are fearful of
Armenians and of the Armenian army,” Grigoryan’s statement says.

“We are different from Azeris in that their trigger-happy politicians
do not at all care about their victims. To consolidate their
domestic political positions, Azerbaijan’s authorities can, making
no scruple about it, sacrifice their innocent soldiers, inciting them
to provocations. For us, however, each Armenian’s life is valuable,”
says the statement.

“On behalf of retired officers and soldiers I can assure you that
we are ready to serve our Fatherland, State, Artsakh. On behalf of
Yerkrapah volunteers I can assure you that we are able to guarantee
the independence and security of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh.”

From: Baghdasarian

ANNOUNCEMENT: ‘TEBI JAVAKHK’

Armenian Weekly
June 6, 2012

The AYF-YOARF Central Executive is proud to announce a new project
this year called “Tebi Javakhk.”

During the 2011 AYF-YOARF Convention, a decision was made to focus
the AYF’s efforts on a city within Historic Armenia or the Armenian
Diaspora. The purpose of this effort was to educate AYF members on the
current conditions of the city, provide assistance to the Armenians
living there, and establish communication between our youth and
the youth living there. Javakhk was chosen this year because of the
difficult living conditions created by the discriminatory policies
of the Georgian government.

Since January, the Central Executive has been educating local chapters
on Javakhk and working with them to develop fundraising and material
collection projects. In the meantime, the AYF’s Central Hai Tahd
Committee has been working on an effort to establish communication
between the youth of the two regions. The result of CHTC’s efforts
is a Day Camp for the youth of Javakhk to be run by counselors from
the AYF-YOARF Eastern Region.

During the months of July and August, there will be two separate day
camps, one in Akhalkalak and one in Akhaltsukha. These camps will be
open to 50 children each, ages 5-16. The camp program will include
educationals, games, and activities of all kinds, and of course a
hantes (performance) for the friends and families of the participants.

Local AYF-YOARF Eastern Region members are eager to be a part of this
project and to, per the project’s name, “put their boots on the ground”
in Javakhk.

Additional information on the Tebi Javakhk project will be released
in the next few weeks, particularly information on how local Armenian
community members can help. For more information, contact the AYF
Central Hai Tahd Committee at [email protected] or on Facebook at “Tebi
Javakhk” ().

AYF-YOARF Eastern Region Central Executive

From: Baghdasarian

REMARKS WITH ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER EDUARD NALBANDIAN

June 4, 2012

Remarks With Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN: Dear Madam Secretary of State, dear
Hillary, it’s a great pleasure for me to welcome you again in Armenia.

Your last visit to Yerevan coincided with July the 4th, the national
day of the United States of America. This visit coincides with the
20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between
our countries. The coincidence contains a positive symbolism. Less
than two years we have passed since your previous visit to Armenia,
but during this period we have had several opportunities to meet in
Washington, in different cities, in the frameworks of international
conferences. Independent of the months or the year or the place those
meetings were held, they were exclusively warm, meaningful, fruitful,
containing important and positive messages.

Your visit to Armenia, to the region, testifies to the United States
authority special attention to the South Caucasus. The meetings
between the Armenian and American leaderships – I would underscore
the Washington meeting between Presidents Sargsian and Obama in April
2010 – reflects our strong will to deepen our relations. More than a
century-long friendship between our two nations in which the American
Armenian community has had a special role was naturally reflected in
the two-decades long interstate relations.

Madam Secretary, the mutual trust and understanding existing between
our two countries, thanks to our common efforts, thanks to your
personal, invaluable input, are the best pillars for expanding our
friendly partnership. The bilateral cooperation between the United
States and Armenia, which has reached the highest point in its history,
concerns such important domains as institutional reforms, deepening
of democracy, rule of law, modernization of economy.

We have also close interaction in the international arena, covering
regional and international security, nonproliferation of weapons of
mass destruction, fight against all forms of terrorism, peacekeeping
cooperations from Kosovo to Afghanistan, and other global challenges.

The United States, as a co-chair country of OSCE group, has provided
its permanent support to the process of the peaceful settlement of the
Nargorno-Karabakh conflict. This process has been under the constant
attention of the President and the State Secretary of the United
States of America. Together, with the two other co-chair countries,
the United States deployed intensive efforts and adopted several
high-level important joint statements on the settlement of that issue.

Dear State Secretary, more than once we have expressed our common
approach on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. That
position has been and remains the normalization of relations without
preconditions. You have made an exclusive contribution to this
process. Thank you very much. Unfortunately, the ball continues to
remain in the Turkish court.

Twenty years ago, Secretary James Baker noted that free, democratic,
independent Armenia and the United States of America shares the same
values: democracy, liberty, market economy, defense of human rights.

During those 20 years, the United States has strongly supported
Armenia. Today, humanitarian assistance is gradually turning into
development projects and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Dear Secretary, we express our gratitude to the President Obama’s
Administration and to you personally for your commitment and
remarkable contribution to strengthening of Armenian-American friendly
partnership. I hope that the celebration of the 20th anniversary
of diplomatic relations will open new, wider horizons in bilateral
relations.

I would like once again to welcome you, State Secretary, and your
delegation to Armenia. The floor is yours.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very, very much, Minister Nalbandian. I
feel very pleased that I could be back here in Armenia once again,
and I am very grateful for the warm and gracious hospitality offered
by the president and yourself. And it is fitting that I would be here
as we celebrate 20 years of U.S.-Armenia relations. Anniversaries like
this provide an opportunity to look back on how far we have come and
also to look down the road toward what kind of future we want of our
relationship and Armenia’s position in the world 20 years from now.

The president, the foreign minister, and I discussed this at length.

Regarding regional and global security, I thanked the president for
Armenia’s contributions to our shared mission in Afghanistan and
to peacekeeping operations in Kosovo. We also discussed ways to
improve Armenia’s ties with its neighbors and increase stability
and security throughout the region. To that end, we are committed
to seeing Armenia and Turkey normalize relations, because we think
this is a path forward to a better future for the citizens of both
countries and we strongly support ratification of the Turkey-Armenia
protocols without preconditions. We commend Armenia and President
Sargsian for the leadership they have shown on this issue.

Twenty years ago, Armenia had just begun its transition to democracy.

There have been positive steps, and now we need to take more. We know
from experience that democracy must be built over time. It isn’t about
just one campaign or even one election. It is an ongoing project. And
we are pleased to see Armenia continuing to work to strengthen your
democratic institutions to promote transparency, advance the rights
of a free press, root out corruption, respect universal rights and
freedoms.

Earlier today, I met several Armenian human rights activists who are
working with courage and determination to help make reforms possible
and to promote the democratic aspirations of the Armenian people. And
we stand committed to working with Armenia as you continue the hard
work of democratization.

I am very – I was very pleased at the reports from international
monitors about Armenia’s parliamentary elections last month being
generally competitive and inclusive, where candidates were able to
campaign for the most part without interference. There were some
electoral problems that were identified, and we hope that Armenia
will work with the OSCE and others to ensure that the next election
is even better.

Private sector investors are looking for an open business climate with
predictable rules; an independent judiciary; transparent regulations,
taxes, and customs. And we are pleased at the progress Armenia has
made, and we encourage that even more progress occur this year. I
am convinced that unleashing the Armenian people’s entrepreneurial
energy can transform the economy, and we look forward to being your
partner in doing that.

Of course, the president and I had a serious discussion of
Nagorno-Karabakh, including the most recent incidents along the front
lines. While I had only just learned of these incidents, I am very
concerned about the danger of escalation of tensions and the senseless
deaths of young soldiers and innocent civilians. The use of force
will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and therefore force
must not be used. And we are calling on everyone to renounce force
as well as refraining from violence. I assured the president that I
would make these points in Baku when I am there the day after tomorrow.

Now, these incidents underscore the necessity to try to keep making
progress on the peace process. As a co-chair of the Minsk Group,
the United States is committed to working with all the parties to
find a way forward. And I am very committed that there has to be a
way forward. And it’s not only the actions of leaders; it must be the
actions of citizens as well to try to find a way to enable people of
the region to live together in peace and dignity.

So there is a lot of work ahead of us, but I am very pleased to
have this opportunity to have come to catch up with my friend and
colleague, Eduard, as well as to see the president again to review
very broadly regional and global matters as well as our bilateral
relations. And I think it’s important that we keep working together,
because I believe Armenia has a very positive and bright future ahead.

Thank you.

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, you’re visiting three South Caucasus
nations at a time of great economic and political change as well as
great challenges: Armenia-Azerbaijan, Armenia-Turkey, Azerbaijan-Iran,
Georgia-Russia. What does the United States doing to try to open up
some of those relationships, especially here in Armenia where there’s
trade neither with Turkey nor Azerbaijan?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, our greatest interest is to see Armenia
and Turkey move together toward normalization. We strongly support
the efforts that have been made. We have urged the ratification of
the normalization protocols without preconditions. As I said when
I was here two years ago, the ball remains in Turkey’s court. And
I am encouraged that there is more public discussion in Turkey and
Armenia about these issues, because I think honest, open, constructive
conversations are important for both sides to move forward.

With respect to Armenia and Azerbaijan, there is no linkage between
the protocols process and the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. Those
are separate. But we are equally engaged and pushing hard to try to
achieve a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh matter.

So on both of these issues in the region, the United States has
been and will remain very actively involved. We believe that these
are countries that should have open borders, should work together,
should trade, should have people-to-people exchanges, because we
think that it would be mutually beneficial to all concerned. And one
of the reasons for my visit today is to continue working on these
two separate but very important processes.

MODERATOR: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: (In Armenian.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, as I said, I am very concerned by these
incidents and have called on all parties, all actors, to refrain from
the use or threat of force, because there is no military solution to
this conflict. It can only be resolved at the negotiating table. And of
course, there is a danger that it could escalate into a much broader
conflict that would be very tragic for everyone concerned.

And so the United States, along with the Minsk Group, is committed
to doing everything we can. And I discussed some specific ideas with
the president and the foreign minister today. I made it clear to the
president that the United States believes that a peace settlement
must be based upon Helsinki principles, the non-use of force or the
threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and
self-determination of peoples. And you can’t take one out. They have
to be an integrated whole in order to arrive at a sustainable solution.

So we will continue with our efforts. Later this month, the foreign
ministers will be meeting. And we’re going to be putting ideas forth,
because we think it’s in everyone’s interest to focus on achieving
a breakthrough solution and avoiding the escalation of violence.

FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN: (In Armenian.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.

PRN: 2012/T64-11

From: Baghdasarian

IRAN AND AZERBAIJAN, ALREADY WARY NEIGHBORS, FIND EVEN LESS TO AGREE ON

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

June 6 2012
PA

BILASUVAR, Azerbaijan — The perennially tense relationship
between Azerbaijan and Iran, wary neighbors on the Caspian Sea,
has deteriorated in recent weeks amid deep unease in Tehran over
expanding military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel.

A vital border crossing here has been shut for days at a time,
stranding long lines of trucks. Not far away, Iranian warships maneuver
in the Caspian Sea. Last week, a senior aide to Iran’s supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was refused entry at the airport in Baku,
the Azerbaijani capital. Ambassadors on each side have returned home.

And a public relations war is raging as officials trade nasty barbs
online and in the news media — including an exchange in which the
two predominantly Muslim countries each accused the other of being
overly friendly to gay people.

In March, in perhaps the gravest sign of the strains, authorities in
Azerbaijan arrested 22 people they said were part of an Iranian-backed
plot to kill American and Israeli diplomats and attack other targets
in Baku, though the allegations are as yet unproved.

“Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have become very hot,” said
Elhan Shahinoglu, the director of Atlas, a foreign policy research
organization in Baku.

Officially, Azerbaijan says it wants to remain neutral in the
confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program. But the government of
President Ilham Aliyev has loudly defended its right to strengthen
military ties with Israel, signaled most recently by Azerbaijan’s
purchase of $1.6 billion worth of Israeli-made weapons. However,
both countries have denied reports that Azerbaijan has given Israel
access to its military bases to keep watch over Iran.

The rising importance of Azerbaijan as a strategic ally of the West
will be on full display on Wednesday, when Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton lands in Baku on a diplomatic swing through the South
Caucasus. With overland supply routes closed in Pakistan, NATO is
relying heavily on airfields in Azerbaijan to move supplies to and
from Afghanistan.

Ties to the West, however, are only one factor in the tensions
with Iran. Azerbaijan has long chafed at Iran’s support of Armenia,
Azerbaijan’s western neighbor and sworn enemy, in the long-running
war over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Even as the situation in and around Azerbaijan has grown increasingly
volatile, American officials have seemed largely distracted by the
civil war in Syria and by domestic politics.

State Department officials in Washington refused to respond to
questions about the friction between Azerbaijan and Iran, the United
States’ relationship with Baku or the implications for American and
international security. “We’re not prepared to comment,” Robert B.

Hilton, a spokesman on European and Eurasian affairs, wrote in an
e-mail message.

The United States has not had an ambassador in Baku since the departure
in December of Matthew J. Bryza, a well-respected career diplomat
and expert on the region, whose nomination was derailed in Congress
because of opposition from Armenian-American interest groups.

President Obama had granted Mr. Bryza a temporary recess appointment
in 2010.

Late last month, Mr. Obama nominated Richard L. Morningstar, a former
ambassador to the European Union and currently the special envoy
for Eurasian energy issues, to be the next ambassador in Baku. He is
awaiting confirmation by the Senate.

Ali M. Hasanov, a senior political aide to President Aliyev, said
the lack of an ambassador was problematic. “We are missing the
consultations with the American ambassador,” he said in an interview
at his office in Baku. “Americans cannot write off a country like
Azerbaijan. They cannot leave Azerbaijan on its own.”

But American officials often see Azerbaijan as a no-win situation,
in which any sign of friendship will inevitably draw criticism from
Armenian-American groups or from local and international watchdog
groups, which have documented a number of cases of human rights abuses
by the Aliyev government.

In a sort of 21st-century echo of Great Game politics, the 19th-century
rivalry between Russia and Britain over Central Asia, Russia is also
wary of Azerbaijan’s relationship with the West.

Moscow is now seeking to renegotiate a lease for a major radar
installation in Gabala, Azerbaijan, that is used to track missiles
across a huge portion of the globe. Baku demands $300 million for a
new five-year term, a jump from the current $7 million lease. Mr.

Hasanov said the increase was justified because of a sharp rise in
property values.

Russia has blamed the United States for pressing Azerbaijan to raise
the rent, and has recently threatened to abandon the radar station.

In interviews, government officials, diplomats, academic experts,
human rights advocates and citizens said the strained ties between
Azerbaijan and Iran also raised the prospect of unrest among the more
than 20 million ethnic Azerbaijanis who live in Iran, mostly along
its northern border.

Some members of Azerbaijan’s Parliament have proposed renaming their
country North Azerbaijan to send the message that they view northern
Iran as occupied territory that should be called South Azerbaijan. The
proposal has not gained momentum, but Iran aggressively seeks to shape
public opinion in the border zone, and even broadcasts television
programs entirely in the Azerbaijani language.

It is in the border areas where the current tensions are felt most.

Every day in Bilasuvar, truckers line up to cross into Iran, many of
them heading to Nakhichevan, an exclave that is cut off from the rest
of Azerbaijan because of Armenia’s control of Nagorno-Karabakh. By
land, it is accessible only through Iran.

Emiro Rovshan, a truck driver carrying a load of shoes, said that in
the past three or four months, border closings, apparently ordered by
Iran, had become more common, occasionally stranding drivers for days.

Still, Mr. Rovshan said, Azerbaijanis should not complain. “We are
dependent on Iran,” he said. “The way we go to Nakhichevan is a
blessing, it is like a gift to us.”

Leyla Yunus, the director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy,
an organization that monitors human rights abuses in Azerbaijan, said
that political repression by the Aliyev government was benefiting
Iran, and that the lack of economic opportunities, especially for
young people in rural areas, could push them to embrace the religious
fervor of Tehran’s theocratic authorities.

“What are people watching in rural areas?” Ms. Yunus asked. “Iran TV.”

Ms. Yunus said that the United States had muted its criticism of human
rights abuses to protect its larger interests in Azerbaijan. “From 2003
to today, we do not see strong criticism from Washington,” she said.

For Israel, Azerbaijan has emerged as an extraordinary ally —
a friendly Muslim nation that is willing to cooperate on military
and strategic issues. And Israel, more than other countries, seems
to feel empathy for the tough neighborhood in which Azerbaijan finds
itself, bordered by a declared enemy and two other countries it cannot
fully trust.

>From Azerbaijan’s view, Israel has been more understanding than
European countries that have criticized Baku about rights abuses but
that do not acknowledge the challenges on its borders or the difficulty
in building a secular culture in a predominantly Muslim country.

In a clear rebuke of Iran’s theocracy, Baku has loudly emphasized
its desire for a secular society, evidenced by its role as host
of this year’s Eurovision Song Competition. It was in response to
Eurovision, which draws many gay fans, that Iranian Web sites said
Baku was planning to hold a huge gay rights parade.

Mr. Hasanov, the presidential aide, said he believed that Azerbaijan
and Iran would ultimately work things out. “We will find a formula in
which the secular state will live in peace with the religious state,”
he said. “We are proud of the fact that we are Muslims, and we are
proud that we are a secular country.”

From: Baghdasarian

AZERBAIJANI INSURGENCY FAILED

ARMENPRESS
6 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS: A regular diversion by the Azerbaijani
side in the direction of the posts of Armed Forces of Armenia has been
registered near the settlement of Chambarak, northeastern sector of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact, June 6, 17:00.

The Azerbaijani regular adventure has failed thanks to the watchfulness
of Armenian soldiers. The opponent has stopped its advance giving
causalities, press service of the Armenian Ministry of Defense told
Armenpress.

>From the Armenian side there are no victims.

Azerbaijani provocations on the contact line continued for the
third day

From: Baghdasarian

DAIRY PRODUCT MANUFACTURING PROBLEMS DISCUSSED IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 6, 2012 – 22:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Acting Agriculture Minister of Armenia Sergo
Karapetyan met with representatives from dairy product companies.

Over 30 companies attended the meeting to discuss the existing
problems in the field; patricianly ways to build cooperation between
milk producers and companies specialized in milk processing.

“Significant progress has been recorded recently. As of January 1, the
number of cattle and small cattle increased by 28 thous. and 57 thous.

respectively,” Minister Karapetyan said.

Memorandum on cooperation was signed between the meeting participants,
stipulating implementation of numerous programs in the coming 4-5
years.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT AND JAPAN’S PM ISSUE JOINT DECLARATION

ARMENPRESS
6 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS: Within Serzh Sargsyan’s official visit to
Japan, the President of Armenia and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko
Noda have issued a joint declaration on expansion of friendship and
cooperation, president’s press service told Armenpress.

In the joint declaration Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Japanese
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda express gratification on the long-term
and large-scale friendly relations formed between Armenia and Japan
since establishment of diplomatic relations on September 7, 1992,
and taking the chance of the 20th anniversary of those relations,
express a wish to continue developing friendship and partnership in
different spheres.

The parties also refer to the mutual support shown during the
earthquakes that struck Armenia in 1988 and Japan in 2011 and express
readiness to continue assisting each other in emergency situations.

The parties also highly appraise the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group
engaged in Nagorno Karabakh issue and express confidence that the final
resolution must be based on the norms and principles of International
Law, UN Charter, Helsinki Final Act, non-use of force, territorial
integrity, equal and self-determination rights of people.

From: Baghdasarian

SEVERAL CITIZENS INJURED FROM BALLOON BLAST GO ON RECEIVING TREATMENT

ARMENPRESS
6 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS: Six citizens injured from balloon blast
are still being treated in medical institutions of the capital.

Spokesman for Armenia’s Ministry of Healthcare Shushan Hunanyan told
Armenpress that nine patients have already undergone a surgery.

“The state of the operated patients is satisfactory. They all have
been operated by Adrian Daigler, professor at German Heidelberg’s
University Clinic’s Center of Plastic and Reconstructive and Burn
Surgery,” she said.

On May 4, a fire broke out in consequence of the explosion of
gas-filled balloons.

As of May 5, 001:00, 154 citizens applied to the medical institutions
of the capital, 98 were hospitalized, 28 of them – in reanimation
departments.

From: Baghdasarian

Hraparak: Tsarukyan fails to meet with Clinton

Panorama.am
07/06/2012

Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili as well as PAP leader Gagik
Tsarukyan’s circle tried to arrange a meeting between Tsarukyan and
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, aiming to exert psychological
pressure on the authorities, Hraparak says. However, the American side
did not respond to their efforts, and the meeting did not take place.

Tsarukyan, accompanied by public sector representatives, human rights
activists and politicians, went to the U.S. Embassy for a tete-a-tete
meeting with the Secretary of State, however, he failed to meet her,
the paper writes.

From: Baghdasarian

AZERBAIJAN UNDERTAKES ANOTHER ACT OF SABOTAGE IN THE DIRECTION OF CHAMBARAK

armradio.am
07.06.2012 12:36

Divisions of the Azerbaijani armed forces undertook another act of
sabotage near Chambarak at 5 p.m. on June 6.

The Azerbaijani adventurism was prevented thanks to the alertness of
the Armenian servicemen. The rival retreated incurring losses.

There were no victims on the Armenian side.

From: Baghdasarian