Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Armenia’s tourist industry shows dynamic infrastructural development –
Sergey Avetisyan

14:19 * 28.12.14

In an interview with Tert.am, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Economy
Sergey Avetisyan spoke of the Armenian tourist industry’s new
prospects for and major impediments to development.

“Not quite satisfactory. But Armenia’s tourist industry is developing
its infrastructure,” Mr Avetisyan said.

“A number of new hotels have been opened this year. As regards the
tourist infrastructure, it is a necessary condition for tourists, and
vice versa, tourists are a requirement for infrastructural
development.

“With respect to economy, I can say that market itself will develop
infrastructure. In tourist industry is developing infrastructures that
we have never planned to develop. Bids for paraplane flying were a
surprise for me. Tourists from Russia and other countries come to
Armenia for this purpose. The government has never before focused on
this aspect of tourist industry, which has unexpectedly started
developing.”

As to Armenia’s “feature brand” for tourists, Mr Avetisyan said:

“This year, the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia and the
USAID have placed a joint order with a US organization for developing
Armenia’s brand. The work will soon be summed up, and I think that we
are going to have an international Armenian brand early next year.
Polls involving about 3,000 people have been conducted. The experts
have set their choice on Mount Ararat, pomegranate juice and apricot,
but they have not yet made a final decision.”

With respect to the number of tourists, Mr Avetisyan said:

“Since most people come to by air, it facilitates an increase in the
number of tourists. This year, we have not yet received final figures,
but we recorded a 15% increase this September as compared with last
September. We forecast a 15-20 percent increase by the end of the
year.

“Most tourists come to Armenia from Russia, which is followed by
Georgia, Iran and Ukraine. As to European countries, France and Poland
are the leaders. The existence of Armenian communities accounts for
that.”

Perincek comments on Amal Clooney’s participation in court hearings

17:39, 25.12.2014

Leader of Workers’ Party of Turkey Dogu Perincek insulted Christians
while speaking about reports on Amal Clooney’s participation in the
court hearings on his case,.

Learning about the reports, Perincek said: “this woman can come to the
hearings, but even if wife of Jesus comes, they have no chances to
succeed”, Oda TV reported.

Amal Ramzi Alamuddin, wife of famous actor George Clooney, will
represent Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the
“Perincek v. Switzerland” case. The hearing will be held in Strasbourg
next month.

The Government of Switzerland recently decided to petition that the
Dogu Perincek case be referred for a review by the Grand Chamber of
the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). On December 17, 2013, the
ECtHR ruled in favor of Armenian Genocide-denying Turkish politician
Dogu Perincek’s lawsuit that was filed against Switzerland. The said
judgment by the ECtHR was made on the grounds of freedom of speech. In
2008, a Swiss court had convicted Perincek for denying the Armenian
Genocide. Dogu Perincek is Chairman of the socialist Workers’ Party of
Turkey. In addition, he heads the Talat Pasha organization, which
actively fights against the Armenian Genocide’s recognition in Europe.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

ITAR-TASS, Russia
December 26, 2014 Friday 04:06 PM GMT+4

Russia prolongs duty-free gas, oil product exports to Armenia to 2016

MOSCOW December 26.

. Moscow has prolonged duty-free supplies of gas, oil products and
diamonds to Armenia until 2016, the Energy Ministry said in a
statement Friday, after Energy Minister Alexander Novak signed a
relevant protocol with his Armenian counterpart Yervand Zakharyan

The duty free supply mode will be applied only to the amount of goods
enough to satisfy the country’s own demand. –0–gor

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 26, 2014 Friday

ONE SHIELD FOR ALL

Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta, December 24, 2014, p. 2
by: Kira Latukhina

HIGHLIGHT: LEADERS OF CSTO MEMBER STATES DISCUSSED COORDINATED ACTIONS
IN THE FIELD OF SECURITY; Session of the collective security council
of the CSTO was opened in the Kremlin. Besides Russia this
organization also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan. The leaders discussed coordinated actions in combating
of terrorism and extremism including preventive measures.

Session of the collective security council of the CSTO was opened in
the Kremlin. Besides Russia this organization also includes Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The leaders discussed
coordinated actions in combating of terrorism and extremism including
preventive measures.

At first, CSTO leaders exchanged onions tete-a-tete. Vladimir Putin
stated, “Our summit takes place in a difficult period. Situation in
the world changes dynamically. Old problems grow worse, new problems
appear unfortunately. There happens deformation of the system of
global security.”

We need coordinated measures for provision of security, for
counteraction to terrorist, drug trafficking, trans-border organized
crime and prevention of natural and manmade disasters. The President
of Russia is convinced that the CSTO has real capabilities for
fulfillment of these tasks.

Putin reminded priorities of chairmanship of Russia in the CSTO:
strengthening of external borders of the organization, improvement of
forces and means of collective reaction. The partners worked out
interaction in peacekeeping operations, they started formation of
unified mechanisms for reaction to emergency situations and started
creation of a network of humanitarian centers. The first center will
be opened in 2015 in Armenia. Kyrgyzstan is the next in turn.
Cooperation on international sites was improved.

According to the President of Russia, it is important to spread the
practice of coordinated actions to work on other topics, first of all,
to combating of extremism and terrorism. It is also necessary to
increase close interaction with Afghanistan. Moreover so that
continuing withdrawal of international forces increases security risks
for the whole region. The situation causes concern: there appear
detachments of militants of the so-called “Islamic State” and they
wish to include some provinces of Afghanistan into the so-called
Islamic caliphate. Terrorist and extremist group try to spread their
activity to Central Asia. The Russian leader says, “In these
conditions CSTO member states should be ready for adequate preventive
measures.” It is necessary to pay increased attention to the
Tajik-Afghan border further, to provide financial and material aid to
Tajikistan for modernization of the armed forces. It is necessary to
continue cooperation with the authorities of Afghanistan in combating
of the drug threat.

The President of Russia started a meeting in a broad composition from
conversation about a successful test launch of Angara. He stressed,
“The rocket will be used not only for needs of the economy but also
for strengthening of defense capability of Russia and hence all
participants of the CSTO. I mean the systems of warning about missile
attack, intelligence, communication and repeating of various signals.”
The President also remarked that all CSTO member states would be
included into work of the new national defense control center. He
added, “Everything done exclusively on the basis of Russian
technologies with very powerful computer support that has no equals in
the world yet.”

Tajikistan will be the next chair of the CSTO. Rakhmon named the
priority events. First of all, this is celebration of the 70th jubilee
of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Rakhmon also reminded about the
promised aid in guarding of borders. He said, “A difficult mission of
a buffer on the path of spreading of terrorism, extremism and drug
trafficking around the entire post-Soviet space was allocated to
Tajikistan.” Another line of work I creation of efficient mechanisms
of information analytical work in the framework of the CSTO.

Lukashenko stated, “Situation near our borders has never been so tense
and explosive before.” He agreed, “Big-scale risks and challenges
require coordinated policy from all of us” and added that diplomatic
measures should be the main means for resolving of conflicts. The
Belarusian leader also presumes that it is not necessary to create new
elements of the military component of the CSTO but to improve the
collective forceful potential of the member states.”

Twenty documents were signed according to results of negotiations
including statement of leaders of the states that emphasized a need
for restoration of peace in Ukraine and peaceful resolving of the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Among other documents are resolutions on
collective aviation forces, on anti-drug strategy for 2015-2020, on
interaction in counteraction to criminal activity in the information
field, on consultation coordinating center of the CSTO for reaction to
computer incidents.

[Translated from Russian]

AKIpress News Agency (Kyrgyzstan)
December 26, 2014 Friday

Yerevan hosts Turkmen-Armenian political consultations

Turkmen-Armenian political consultations at the level of Deputy
Foreign Ministers took place in Yerevan, the Turkmen foreign ministry
said.

The sides analyzed the current conditions and perspectives of
bilateral relations in political, trade-economic,
cultural-humanitarian and other spheres.

The sides noted holding of the regular political consultations is one
of the important mechanisms for promotion of the Turkmen-Armenian
all-around partnership.
The main ground for the cooperation remains the political dialogue
that is successfully developing between the two countries within the
framework of the international organizations, first of all, the United
Nations.

The sides also underlined the importance of trade-economic relations,
holding of the Days of Culture of the two countries, business forums
with the participation of Turkmen and Armenian business circles.

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia

Communication and Information Department

Tel: (+961- 4) 410001, 410003
Fax: (+961- 4) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]

Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Unconditional Commitment to Service is the Vocation of the Catholicosate
of Cilicia, Stated Aram I

Antelias – 21 December 2014. On Sunday, the Armenian Chatholicosate of
Cilicia celebrated the feast of the Deacon and Protomartyr St. Stephen.
Archbishop Norayr Ashekian celebrated the Holy Liturgy at St. Gregory
the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias.

At the end of the liturgy, at Catholicos Aram I’s reception for the
clergy and the laity, the seminarians recounted the life of St. Stephen,
the first Christian martyr, and the deacons vowed to serve the church
with loyalty, obedience, humility and responsibility.

In his message Aram I said that serving the Church in Christ’s way
meant carrying the cross of Jesus. `In the seminary,’ he continued,
`we prepare clergy to provide spiritual guidance to our people in the
diaspora based on love and the unconditional commitment to serve.’ He
concluded, `Such a commitment happens at the cost of personal
sacrifice and suffering.’

The celebration ended with His Holiness Aram I’s blessings and the
Cilicia Anthem.

His Holiness Aram I Visits the Birds’ Nest

Antelias – Since his consecration as Catholicos, His Holiness Aram I
has visited the orphans, the aged and the needy living in the
institutions of the Catholicosate on the eve of the major feasts of the
Armenian Church. Through his visits and personal contacts, he lives the
diakonia (service to the needy) of the ancient church and sets an
example for the young clergy.

The Catholicos first visited Birds’ Nest, the children’s home, where
he was met by the Kayanian Sisters, the members of the Board, the
director and the school. After a brief meeting with them, he joined the
children and participated in their programme. At the end of the
children’s presentations, Santa Claus arrived and distributed special
gifts to the children. After sharing the joy of the children as they
opened their gifts, His Holiness blessed them and returned to Antelias.

# #

Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
PO Box : 70 317 Antelias – LEBANON
Tel: (+961-4) 410 001 / 3
Fax: (+961-4) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
PO Box : 70 317 Antelias – LEBANON
Tel: (+961-4) 410 001 / 3
Fax: (+961-4) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]

RUSSIA’S NEW MILITARY DOCTRINE LISTS NATO, US AS MAJOR FOREIGN THREATS

Published time: December 26, 2014 13:02
Edited time: December 26, 2014 14:03

AFP Photo / Natalia Kolesnikova

Russia has adopted an updated version of its military doctrine, which
reflects the emergence of new threats against its national security.

NATO military buildup and American Prompt Global Strike concept are
listed among them.

The new doctrine was approved on Friday by President Vladimir Putin.

Its core remains unchanged from the previous version. The Russian
military remains a defensive tool which the country pledges to use
only as a last resort.

Also unchanged are the principles of the use of nuclear weapons which
Russia adheres to. Their primary goal is to deter potential enemies
from attacking Russia, but it would use them to protect itself from
a military attack – either nuclear or conventional – threatening
its existence.

The new sections of the doctrine outline the threat Russia sees in
NATO’s expansion and military buildup and the fact that the alliance
is taking upon itself “global functions realized with violation of
international law.”

The doctrine lists among major foreign military threats “the creation
and deployment of global strategic antiballistic missile systems that
undermines the established global stability and balance of power
in nuclear missile capabilities, the implementation of the ‘prompt
strike’ concept, intent to deploy weapons in space and deployment of
strategic conventional precision weapons.”

The Yury Dolgoruky nuclear-powered submarine.(RIA Novosti / Pavel
Kononov)

Another new point in the doctrine is that one of the Russian military’s
goals is to protect national interests in the Arctic region.

READ MORE: Sneak peak at Russia’s ‘under renovation’ Arctic base

The document also points to the threat of destabilization countries
bordering Russia or its allies and deployment of foreign troops such
nations as a threat to national security.

Domestically, Russia faces threats of “actions aimed at violent
change of the Russian constitutional order, destabilization of the
political and social environment, disorganization of the functioning
of governmental bodies, crucial civilian and military facilities and
informational infrastructure of Russia,”the doctrine says.

Moscow sees international cooperation with countries sharing its effort
to increase security, particularly members of BRICS, the OSCE, the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization and others as the key to preventing
military conflicts, the doctrine states.

Traditional threats that Russia must deal with mentioned in the
doctrine include extremism and terrorism, proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction and rocket technology and actions of foreign
intelligence services.

The document notes that modern threats are increasingly drifting from
a military nature to informational, and states that the likelihood
of anyone launching a fully-fledged war against Russia is decreasing.

PERSIAN TEXTBOOKS ARTICLES ON ARMENIAN FEASTS LIMITED: UNIVERSITY INSTRUCTOR

IBNA – Iran Book News Agency, Iran
Dec 26 2014

Publish Date : Friday 26 December 2014 – 17:32

IBNA- Emilia Nercissians, assistant professor of Anthropology at
Tehran University says that written sources addressing Christian and
Armenian celebrations are limited and most of the books written in
Armenian and are not yet translated into Persian.

In an interview with IBNA, Dr. Nercissians, an Iranian-Aremenian
linguist and anthropologist, says there are not sufficient written
sources relevant to Christianity and the feasts celebrated by our
Armenian citizens in Iran.

She believes that this issue has not been much addressed and many
people do not even know the difference between the Armenians and
the Christians.

Referring to books written about Christian and Armenian celebrations
she said: “There are written sources in Armenian which are not
translated into Persian. Heranoush Kharratiyan is an Armenian scholar
who has worked on Armenian celebrations and special occasions, and
I personally have used her books.

She referred to the juniper or pine tree decorated on Christmas
occasion and said it is not an imported value and that pictures of
junipers exist in Persepolis. Tree of life is known among all Asian
peoples and it resembles the juniper, and this symbolic tree is not
only found in Persepolis, it also belonged to the period before the
era of the Achaemenids.

PRESS RELEASE
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF)
Inessa Grigoryan, PR & Communications Manager
1 Northern Avenue, 8th floor, Suite 24
Yerevan, 0001, Republic of Armenia
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (+374 10) 53 34 12, 50 20 76
Fax: (+374 10) 50 20 76
Web:

December 26, 2014, Yerevan, Armenia

Youth of Dsegh Community Provided with New Educational Opportunities
Thanks to VivaCell-MTS and COAF

VivaCell-MTS and the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF)’s continuous
collaboration resulted in the opening of the sixth Creativity
Lab. Equipped with a smart board, modern computers, as well as special
mobile furniture, the newly opened Creativity Lab will host students
from the Dsegh Community School in Lori Marz of Armenia.

The Creativity Lab will help not only those students who are eager to
learn, but also all the teachers who wish to integrate the use of
technologies into the teaching process and make it more interesting
and content-rich. The peculiarities of these innovative classrooms
include powerful technological capacity, as well as availability of
special mobile furniture. The latter allows for the implementation of
individual work, work in pairs and in groups.

The partnering organizations are hopeful that provision of new
opportunities to the village schools will encourage creativity, lead
to the revelation of students’ talents and development of their
skills. It is crucial that up-to-date tools for encouraging creativity
are equally accessible to both urban and rural youth. The program that
was implemented throughout 2013-2014, has already been beneficial to
the schoolchildren from Sardarapat, Vanand, Hatsik communities of
Armavir Marz, Arteni community of Aragatsotn Marz and Tumanyan
community of Lori Marz.

“Education has an important place for any country striving for
development. Acquisition of knowledge, though, is not enough for
success. One should have the ability to make good use of the acquired
information, the skill to identify the theoretical knowledge in
practice and flexibility in decision-making. The knowledge acquired
during school years becomes more useful when the student can reason
logically and show a creative approach. I think that such creativity
labs will functionally serve to this end,” VivaCell-MTS General
Manager Ralph Yirikian commented.

Anoush Yedigaryan, COAF Executive Director, attaches great importance
to the development of technologies in rural educational
facilities. “COAF’s development philosophy is based on the belief that
rural communities are vital for boosting economies and ensuring
sustainable development in the country, and for raising the level of
education. The projects implemented jointly with our reliable partner
VivaCell-MTS will allow us to improve the accessibility of information
with the application of technologies, develop innovation and
creativity”.

The Dsegh School, accommodating 245 students, is an educational
facility following good traditions. It is home to numerous talented
students who are participants and winners of various contests and
festivals. In addition to the major foreign language taught in the
school, there is also an English Language Club, functioning as part of
the school’s afterschool activities. The newly opened Creativity Lab
will enhance and develop the skills of Dsegh students, will improve
the level of their informational and communication literacy, and
encourage the application of technologies in learning and teaching
practices.

* * * * *

About COAF
The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is a non-profit, non-governmental
organization that uses community-led approaches to reduce rural
poverty, with a particular focus on children. Since the inception of
its programs in 2004, COAF has funded and implemented education,
health, social, and economic development programs serving more than
27,000 people in rural villages of Armenia. Each person impacted
represents one of the more than one billion people living in poverty,
and the methods used in Armenia can be replicated in other
communities, where children are most vulnerable. Please see more at

About VivaCell-MTS
VivaCell-MTS (K-Telecom CJSC) is Armenia’s leading mobile operator,
having the widest 2G/3.75G/4G network reach and spreading a wide range
of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having the best of the
Armenian people interest at heart since its launch on 1st July 2005
and in a short period of time VivaCell-MTS has managed to build a
nationwide network and a considerable customer base. VivaCell-MTS
drives innovation and aims at always being at the forefront of any
development serving the Armenian mobile communications market. For
more information, visit

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS”) is the leading telecommunications
group in Russia and the CIS, offering mobile and fixed voice,
broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one
of the world’s fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries,
the Group services over 100 million mobile subscribers. The Group has
been awarded GSM licenses in Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Armenia
and Belarus, a region that boasts a total population of more than 200
million. Since June 2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the
New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information
about the MTS Group can be found at

AZERBAIJAN TO BACK TURKEY ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL EVE

December 26, 2014 09:36

Elmar Mammadyarov

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Azerbaijan and Turkey will continue to coordinate
efforts to “lay bare the farfetched “Armenian Genocide”.”

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov stated it at a press
conference on 2014 results.

“At the joint press conference in Baku over September this year, the
Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey emphasized joint work carried
out by the Foreign Ministries, diplomatic missions and Turkish
and Azerbaijani diaspora organizations to lay bare the farfetched
“Armenian Genocide”.

Ilham Aliyev also added that Armenia and global Armenians wishing to
deceive the international public opinion and to build their history
on lies bring groundless accusations against Turkey which do not
have historical basis and are false, provocative and slanderous”,
said Elmar Mammadyarov.

– See more at: