Author: Kajoyan Gevork

HAYASTAN ALL-ARMENIAN FUND TO FEATURE MUSIC VIDEOS OF NEW SONGS DURING TELETHON 2011

Noyan Tapan

19.05.2011

(Noyan Tapan – 19.05.2011) Armenian musicians from around the world
encouraged to submit music videos for consideration

Yerevan, May 19, 2011 – The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund invites Armenian
singers from across the globe to submit music videos of their new
songs for possible inclusion in the forthcoming Telethon 2011 program.

Seeking to promote the creation of original music in Armenia,
Artsakh, and the diaspora, the fund will premiere music videos of
newly composed songs during the 12-hour Thanksgiving-Day Telethon in
November, in addition to regular fund-related programming.

“This will present up-and-coming, as well as seasoned Armenian
music artists with a great opportunity to debut their work on a
media platform watched by a global audience,” says Ara Vardanyan,
executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. “Being broadcast
internationally over and satellite as well as the internet, the
Telethon reaches millions on all continents and has grown to become
one of the Armenian people’s most cherished cultural events.”

The final selection of submitted music videos will be made by the
Telethon’s music-production team.

The submission guidelines are as follows:

1 Original, previously unpublished song videos may be submitted by
singers residing in Armenia, Artsakh, or the diaspora.

2 Although there are no limitations as to choice of language or theme,
preference will be given to patriotic compositions.

3 Song duration should not exceed four minutes.

4 Music videos should be produced in the HD format.

5 Submission deadline is October 1, 2011.

6 Only one submission per artist will be accepted.

7 Videos should be emailed to [email protected]. “Telethon Video”
should be written in the subject heading and the artist’s name,
address, and phone number should be stated in the message.

8 The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund will have no financial role in the
making of submitted videos.

For more information, interested artists may contact Telethon Music
Producer Stepan Partamian at [email protected].

PRESS RELEASE
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Buiding 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Hasmik Grigoryan
Tel: +(3741) 56 01 06 ext. 105
Fax: +(3741) 52 15 05
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

19 May, 2011

Hayastan All-Armenian Fund to feature music videos of new songs during
Telethon 2011

Yerevan, May 19, 2011 – The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund invites Armenian
singers from across the globe to submit music videos of their new songs for
possible inclusion in the forthcoming Telethon 2011 program.

Seeking to promote the creation of original music in Armenia, Artsakh, and
the diaspora, the fund will premiere music videos of newly composed songs
during the 12-hour Thanksgiving-Day Telethon in November, in addition to
regular fund-related programming.

“This will present up-and-coming, as well as seasoned Armenian music artists
with a great opportunity to debut their work on a media platform watched by
a global audience,” says Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund. “Being broadcast internationally over and satellite as
well as the internet, the Telethon reaches millions on all continents and
has grown to become one of the Armenian people’s most cherished cultural
events.”

The final selection of submitted music videos will be made by the Telethon’s
music-production team.

The submission guidelines are as follows:

1 Original, previously unpublished song videos may be submitted by singers
residing in Armenia, Artsakh, or the diaspora.
2 Although there are no limitations as to choice of language or theme,
preference will be given to patriotic compositions.
3 Song duration should not exceed four minutes.
4 Music videos should be produced in the HD format.
5 Submission deadline is October 1, 2011.
6 Only one submission per artist will be accepted.
7 Videos should be emailed to [email protected]. “Telethon Video”
should be written in the subject heading and the artist’s name, address, and
phone number should be stated in the message.
8 The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund will have no financial role in the making
of submitted videos.

For more information, interested artists may contact Telethon Music Producer
Stepan Partamian at [email protected].

# # #

There is no specific time for contributing to the vital work of the Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund. To make a donation, please visit donate.himnadram.org

NALBANDIAN PRAISES ARMENIA-FRANCE TIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 19, 2011 – 09:24 AMT

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, currently on a working
visit to France, met with the senators and members of French
National Assembly on May 18 to focus on Armenian-French relations,
interparliamentary cooperation and activity of parliamentary friendship
groups.

The Foreign Minister briefed the French parliamentarians on steps
implemented to promote Armenian -French relations development,
priorities in Armenia’s foreign policy, efforts undertaken for the
settlement of regional issues.

Upon completion of the meeting, Minister Nalbandian left for Washington
to meet with the U.S. Secretary of State and Congressmen, Foreign
Ministry’s press office reported.

ISRAEL SELLS SPY CAMERA TO TURKEY DESPITE RISK
Written by Arieh O’Sullivan

Published Thursday, May 19, 2011

Honoring contract from friendlier days, Israel holds out hope for
renewed warmth

In a carrot and stick move, Israel’s defense establishment has approved
the sale of a sophisticated intelligence system to Turkey even the
Knesset decided to debate a resolution recognizing the Armenian
genocide, an issue that will almost certainly anger Ankara.

“I can see a coincidence here. On the one hand, Israel approves a
defense deal and, on the other, lets the Turks know that there is a
limit to what Israel is expected to take,” Amikam Nahmani, head of
the department for political studies at Bar Ilan University near Tel
Aviv, told The Media Line. “There’s room for both states to renovate
and improve their ties.”

The once close Turkish-Israel alliance has greatly deteriorated,
particularly since last May’s assault by Israeli commandos on a
Turkish ship participating in a flotilla trying to break Israel’s
blockade of the Gaza Strip. Eight Turks and one American of Turkish
descent were killed in the raid.

Turkey has recently asked Israel to provide it with the identities
of soldiers involved so it can prosecute them. Israel has warned that
it will meet flotillas planned for next month with an iron fist.

On Wednesday, Israel’s Knesset decided 20-0 to openly discuss the
Armenian genocide. Until now, the government has always acted to
keep the issue under wrap inside the closed-door Defense And Foreign
Relations Committee in order not to jeopardize ties with Turkey. This
time, the government supported the proposal.

And yet, earlier in the week, Israel’s Ministry of Defense finally
approved the sale of a sensitive spy camera to Turkey, despite
fears that the technology could find its way to hostile, third party
elements.

The deal had been signed at the tail end of the flowering of strategic
ties between Israel and Turkey. Deliver of the system, an airborne
camera capable of being mounted on fighter jets, had been delayed for
development problems. By the time they were solved, bilateral relations
had deteriorated and the government began foot-dragging on delivery.

The system is the LOROP or Long-Range Oblique Photography pod, built
by Israel’s top defense companies. It is considered the pinnacle in
Israeli technology, one of the reasons why the Israeli Ministry of
Defense was hesitant to see it in foreign hands.

All Israeli weapons sales must be approved by the Defense Export
Department, or Sibat, a branch within the Ministry Of Defense.

According to Israeldefense, an Israeli website with close ties to the
defense establishment, Sibat approved the transfer of the system in
order improve the strained ties with Turkey.

It also estimated that should advanced components of the system fall
into third party hands, despite Turkish commitments to the contrary,
the damage would be “not very bad.” It also said that not honoring
a signed agreement could be problematic for the future.

Defense Ministry spokesman Zeev Finer declined to confirm or deny the
decision, saying only that his ministry “did not comment on defense
exports.” Defense industry officials also were unusually mum on the
report saying that they had been instructed to tie their tongues
regarding any defense sales to Turkey.

The LOROP is produced jointly by El-Op, a subsidiary of Elbit, and
Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the two
largest defense firms in the country. Its electro-optic camera is
considered one of the most advanced in the world and capable of taking
high-resolution images used to locate targets and assess attack damage,
night or day.

One of the advantages of this system was its communication package,
which reportedly allows real-time downloading to command centers and
the ability to photograph at angles so that jets do not have to enter
hostile airspace to get a picture of the battlefield.

The deal was reportedly worth $140 million. Turkey had filed
a complaint over the delayed delivery. Now that it finally won
government approval, the system is expected to be transferred to the
Turks in the coming weeks, the daily Ma’ariv said.

While Israel hasn’t signed any new defense deals with Turkey since
last summer, it has allowed contracts that had been signed previously
to be completed, including the supply of unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) and upgrades of battle tanks.

Turkey remains a lucrative market to be tapped. Turkey expects to
spend more than $4 billion for defense procurement in 2011, according
to Defense News. Its domestic defense industry grew 19% last year.

Israeli defense industries are expecting a defense export dip and
still see this as fertile ground for their platform-enhancing systems.

“Turkey is invited to repent,” said Nahmani. “I don’t think they
benefited from abandoning their alliance with Israel. I don’t see how
the Arab world was returning to them any dividend for this and there
was no reason for it. I think that both states have joint interests;
they are both stable and pro Western.”

Even as diplomatic ties chilled during 2010, bilateral trade reached
$3.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion just a decade ago. The uptrend
has continued into this year. Israeli imported some $354 million
of Turkish goods in January-February, up from $282 million a year
earlier. Meanwhile, Israeli exports to Turkey reached $302 million
in the first two months of the year, up from $170 million the same
time in 2010.

Nahmani said the era of relations between Israel and other states being
a function of government and defense interest is being overtaken by
business interests.

“Businessmen and tour operators and traders and industrialists and
exporters are interested in making a profit and as long as they
are making money the relationship will remain. The longevity of the
Turkish-Israeli relations is explained because they were built only
because of the government/defense relations were a minor part.”

He said “hundreds of thousands” of people in Israel and Turkey have
a vested interest that this commercial relationship continues.

Caucasus Muslim Leader Denounces Georgia’s Creation Of Independent Muslim Body
Written by: Paul Goble*
May 18, 2011

Allashukyur Pashazade, sheikh ul-Islam and head of the Baku-based
Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus (AMC), has sharply
criticized the creation of an independent Administration of Muslims of
Georgia (AMG), as the latest example of the nationalist course set by
President Mikhail Saakashvili.

The sheikh said that the decision of `official Tbilisi’ was
`incorrect,’ adding that in his view, `behind the establishment of
this organization stands the idea of `Greater Armenia’ and saying that
he deeply regretted that `part of the ethnic Azerbaijani officials’ in
Georgia support the new body ().

However that may be, the efforts of Georgians to have their own Muslim
organization are but the latest example of numerous problems involved
in squaring religious and national borders in the post-Soviet states,
ones that bedevil the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and Abkhazia
but that is nowhere more complicated than in the south Caucasus.

The AMC was established in Soviet times as one of four Muslims
Spiritual Directorates (MSDs), but unlike the other three, the Baku
institution had a double task. On the one hand, it was responsible for
Shiite communities throughout the USSR. And on the other, it had
administrative responsibility for Muslim parishes in the Caucasus as a
whole.

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, Pashazade, who
has been in office since 1980, has sought to continue to exercise the
powers involved in each of these responsibilities, although he has
been under pressure to yield on both counts and has in fact given way
to other newer Muslim bodies.

The sheikh ul-Islam has insisted that he, the only Shiite leader of a
supra-national MSD, is still responsible for all Shiite communities
across the former Soviet space, although his position has been
challenged by others, including most recently Ravil Gainutdin, the
head of the Union of Muftis of Russia (SMR).

And while he has de facto yielded to the new MSDs in the post-Soviet
North Caucasus, Pashazade has sought to maintain the powers implied in
the name of the institution he heads, especially with regard to
neighboring Georgia, where the majority of Muslims are ethnic
Azerbaijanis, although many of them are Sunni rather than Shiia.

The Baku sheikh noted on Monday that he has exercised his authority in
Georgia through a special division of the AMC, which was `created in
1996 at the request of [former Georgian] President Shevardnadze’ and
which continues to function under the direction of Ali Aliyev, a
citizens of Georgia.

That makes the creation of the Georgian body a particular threat to
his dignity and influence. Details about the AMG are still sketchy,
particularly with regard to how many of the Muslim parishes in
Georgia, ethnic Azerbaijani or otherwise, recognize its authority. But
some details are offered in the just released issue of `NG-Religii.’

In an essay entitled, `The Shiites and Sunnis Divide Georgia,’ Lidiya
Orlova reports that the AMG was created last week, with Sunni Mufti
Dzhamal Bagshadze becoming its leader with the avowed purposes of
`achieving independence from the AMC’ and `uniting under its control
the Muslim communities of Georgia’
(religion.ng.ru/events/2011-05-18/3_gruzia.html).

Ali Aliyev, the AMC representative in Georgia, insisted that the
announcement of the new group would have little effect and that in his
words, `the mosques in Georgia will continue their activity and
continue to be subordinate to the AMC.’ That is especially true
because there is no legal basis for the new national AMG.

According to Aliyev, `the creators of such a structure must be
representatives of the religion and spiritual persons. [But in this
case] there is not one spiritual person; they are civil people, and
certain [of those involved in fact] work in government structures.’
And he added that in the AMG leadership as of now, `there is not a
single [ethnic] Azerbaijani.’

`At the same time,’ Orlova continues, `Aliyev is not inclined to see a
political subtext to the appearance of the new spiritual
administration’ because Tbilisi in general and President Saakashvili
in particular `constantly declare their friendship with Azerbaijan and
the Azerbaijani people.’

But if Aliyev does not view this action as political, Araz Alizade,
the vice president of the Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan is
sure that it is. He told Regnum that `behind the creation of the AMG
stands the Georgian government’ which is trying in every possible way
`to separate Azerbaijanis living in Georgia from Azerbaijan.’
About the author:

*Paul Goble

Paul Goble is a longtime specialist on ethnic and religious questions
in Eurasia. Most recently, he was director of research and
publications at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. Earlier, he served
as vice dean for the social sciences and humanities at Audentes
University in Tallinn and a senior research associate at the
EuroCollege of the University of Tartu in Estonia. He has served in
various capacities in the U.S. State Department, the Central
Intelligence Agency and the International Broadcasting Bureau as well
as at the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and at
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mr. Goble maintains
the Window on Eurasia blog and can be contacted directly at
[email protected] .

BOMB ALERT AT ZVARTNOTS AIRPORT

armradio.am
19.05.2011 17:02

The Police informed the Crisis Management Center that a man aged
30-35 called at about 3:42 p.m. to tell there was a bomb placed
at Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport. The phone number has
already been detected.

Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Police, the
National Security and sappers of the Ministry of Defense arrived at
the scene immediately after the alert.

“All employees and passengers were have been evacuated from the
airport,” Press Secretary of the “Armenian International Airports
CJSC Gevorg Abrahamyan told “Radiolur

NKR NA: MEDIATORS WILL BEAR THE BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY IF THE SITUATION FURTHER AGGRAVATES
Lusine Avanesyan

“Radiolur”
19.05.2011 17:06
Stepanakert

The political forces represented in the NKR National Assembly –
“Azat Hayrenik” (Free Motherland), ARF Dashnaktsutyun, the Democratic
Party of Artsakh and the “Artaskhatun” deputy group – issued a joint
statement today.

The Artsakh Deputies express regret over the fact that Azerbaijan
tried to use the recurrent anniversary of concluding the ceasefire
agreement to distort the historic reality and question the verity of
legally binding agreements.

Noting that this provocation was accompanied by tensions at the line
of contact, as a result of which an Armenian civilian was shot dead,
the parliamentary forces of Arsakh express regret over the position
of the OSCE Minsk Group.

“It’s becoming clear to us that the Azerbaijani authorities are
not ready for the settlement the disputable issues through peace
talks and are doing their best to further strain the situation,”
the statement reads.

The political forces represented in the NKR National Assembly urge
the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to use their mediating mandate to restrain
Azerbaijan’s warlike actions. Otherwise the mediators will also bear
the burden of responsibly if the situation continues aggravating.

ARTUR BAGHDASARYAN: TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN DO NOT COME FORTH WITH WISH TO ESTABLISH PEACE IN THE REGION

ARMENPRESS
MAY 19, 2011
YEREVAN

Armenia is speaking for establishment of peace, atmosphere of mutual
trust and consent in the South Caucasus but unfortunately the neighbor
states do not come forth with such wish, Artur Baghdasaryan, secretary
of the Armenia’s National Security Council, said at the “CSTO and
the South Caucasus: Prospects of Peace and Security in the Region”
two-day international conference today.

He said currently the non-constructive approaches of Azerbaijan and
Turkey do not allow Armenia to hope that in near future the issues
existing in the South Caucasus will solve, the region will develop
in the spirit of peace and consent. “Stability and normalization of
relations with Armenia is a very important political priority for
Armenia. Unfortunately, their unconstructive position does not allow
solution to the issues we are facing”, the NSC secretary said.

According to him, the role of the CSTO is very important here. It must
understand and perceive the issues existing in the South Caucasus. “We
must be able to find joint mechanisms with our main partners to meet
the issues we put in front of us”, Baghdasaryan said.

WHOM OBAMA WANTS TO SEE IN ARMENIA
HAKOB BADALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 15:55:40 – 19/05/2011

The President of the United States put forward a candidate of U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia. He is John Heffren, who is the acting Deputy
Chairman of the U.S. mission to NATO. White House issued a message in
this connection. Recall the acting U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie
Yovanovitch will leave office in June to assume another office in
the U.S. Department of State.

First we should register a couple of things. A hot period starts for
the U.S.-Armenian lobby, unless the lobby will manage to tear from
the lips of the candidate the word “genocide”. But we should presume
that they will try and try, but will never succeed.

The next thing is that the U.S. tries to use “If Mohammed will not
go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed” version. In
other words, if Armenia will not go to NATO, NATO must come to Armenia.

Perhaps, the candidacy of the U.S. deputy Representative to NATO to
the post of the Ambassador to Armenia, can be explained so.

The next thing is that the U.S. will try focusing on the military
sphere. It is difficult to say what the motive is, whether it is to
counterbalance the Russian military influence, or to be as adequate
as possible in the Karabakh zone. Anyway, it is noteworthy that the
candidate of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia is a diplomat working in the
military-political alliance.

It is difficult to say when the new Ambassador will be appointed. For
example, last time when the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia was appointed,
Evans left office in 2007 and Yovanovitch was appointed after the
2008 elections. Will the U.S. “miss” the 2012 elections in Armenia,
or it will appoint the Ambassador before?

Judging by the home political processes in Armenia and the U.S.
attention towards it, we should presume that the U.S. will not try
to follow the parliamentary election from a lower level than the
ambassador. By the way, interestingly, in Armenia the information
on the new U.S. Ambassador candidate coincided with Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandyan’s visit to Washington.

US WILL CONTINUE ITS EFFORTS TOWARDS PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT

armradio.am
20.05.2011 11:08

On May 19 Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting
with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Greeting the Armenian
Foreign Minister, Secretary Clinton noted that the United States
and Armenia are tied with firm friendship and partnership, and the
relations are gradually reinforcing and developing.

“Foreign Minister Nalbandian and I have met many times and it is once
again a delight to welcome him to the State Department. The United
States and Armenia have many connections and relationships that span
politics and go into family and so much else that is very important
to us. And we have many, many important issues ahead of us, and I
look forward to continuing the important conversation that we’ve been
carrying out,” Secretary Clinton told rreporters before the meeting.

Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to Secretary Clinton for a
very warm welcome. “I’m very glad to be in Washington and to meet
with you again. The frequency of our meetings proves our commitment
to deepen and to strengthen Armenian-American relations. Due to our
joint efforts, we elevated our relationship to a qualitatively new
level during the last years, and I would like to thank you very much,
Madam Secretary, for your contribution, for your efforts, for your
engagement. I am sure that this meeting will be another occasion to
enhance our friendly partnership between United States and Armenia,”
he stated.

The Armenian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State discussed
a broad range of issues related to different sphere of bilateral
relations, the perspectives of expansion of economic cooperation,
the advancement of democratic reforms in Armenia, as well as a number
of regional issues.

Edward Nalbandian and Secretary Clinton exchanged views on the latest
developments on the Karabakh conflict settlement process. Secretary
Clinton underlined that the settlement of the Karabakh issue was
possible only in a peaceful way and noted that “as an OSCE Minsk
Group co-chair country, the US will continue its efforts to help the
parties reach an agreement.”