Author: Kajoyan Gevork

FILM DEDICATED TO LEVON HAYRAPETYAN SCREENED IN MOSCOW

12:32 * 23.12.14

A documentary dedicated to Levon Hayrapetyan, a prominent
Russian-Armenian businessman and philanthropist descending from
Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), has been screened in Moscow.

Entitled Levon Hayrapetyan: Imprisoned Freedom, the film features
the businessman’s past life and the spiritual support he offered to
heroes of the Nagorno-Karabakh liberation battle by initiating the
Gandzasar monastery’s repairs in a time of crisis.

The film tells about Hayrapetyan’s contribution to Artsakh’s
developments and improvement following the fierce war.

The great philanthropist’s nephew, Gurgen Hayrapetyan, tells about his
deeds, emphasizing his role in “injecting” the spirit of patriotism
in family members.

“A fatherland is the most important thing in life, more important
than even one’s own children and perhaps also parents. For if we do
not have a fatherland, we will not have either children or parents,”
Gurgen says, remembering his uncle’s words.

He says that the philanthropist was not afraid of making investments
in Artsakh (as did many rich people) and fully dedicated himself to
his homeland.

The film also features episodes from Hayrapetyan’s 60th birthday
anniversary elebrated in Moscow, with Different famous public and
political figures (including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,
merited USSR artist Mark Zakarov, and People’s Artist of Russia
Alexander Shirvindt) expressing their opinion.

It further addresses the criminal case instituted against the
businessman earlier this year. An inquest began after a former
senator of Bashkiria, Igor Ismestev (who serves a life sentence for
an especially grave crime) gave a testimony against Hayrapetyan,
alleging his links to the sale of shares belonging to the company.

EURASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK READY TO FINANCE ALL ECONOMICALLY JUSTIFIED INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, December 23. /ARKA/. The Eurasian Development Bank will
do whatever it can to finance all economically justified investment
projects in Armenia which are in tune with the bank’s strategy and
mission, Sergey Ignatov, director of the bank’s rep office in Armenia.

>
Ignatov said.

Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial
organization established by Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006 to help
develop market economies and boost mutual trade ties in member states.

The bank’s authorized stock is over 1.5bln US dollars. The
member-states are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
and Tajikistan. –0-

YEREVAN MAYOR: DECISION ON BUS FARE RATES ISSUE TO BE TAKEN AFTER COMMISSION’S FINDINGS

SOCIETY | 23.12.14 | 13:36

RELATED NEWS

Minibus Strikes: Public transport drivers demand rise in fare amid
increase in LNG prices

The issue of bus fare rates in Yerevan will be decided only after the
results of an examination conducted by a corresponding commission
become available, according to the Armenian capital’s Mayor Taron
Margaryan.

Enlarge Photo

Talking to media late on Monday after officially turning on the
New Year Tree lights and other city illuminations, Margaryan said:
“We have a commission and expect its findings. It is already clear
to all of us that some price increases have taken place, now the
commission will make additional calculations.”

Last week dozens of minibus drivers went on strike demanding an
increase in public transport fares following a nearly 20-percent
rise in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices at filling stations. They
threatened to stop their work unless either LNG prices were lowered
or fares were raised.

The price of one cubic meter of LNG rose from 190 to 230 drams (an
increase by near 10 cents) last week as the Armenian national currency,
the dram, was dramatically depreciating against the dollar and other
major international currencies. After currency market stabilization
later that week the dram settled at around 440-460 per USD, losing
more than 10 percent of its value since mid-November.

Yerevan Mayor Margaryan implied that the price situation after the
New Year holidays will influence further decision making regarding
bus fares.

“Since drivers of certain companies have voiced complaints in
connection with LNG price hikes as well as with increases of prices
for certain spare parts, we will wait until the end of January and
see whether these price increases persist or whether the prices fall,”
said Margaryan.

The bus fare in Yerevan is 100 drams. It has not changed for years.

Yerevan authorities’ attempt to raise the public transport fare by
50 percent in 2013 met with strong opposition from civil activists
and the decision eventually had to be reconsidered.

AZER GASIMOV: SLANDEROUS MATERIAL ABOUT AZERBAIJAN PUBLISHED BY ISRAELI JERUSALEM POST AND HAARETZ NEWSPAPERS IS NOTHING BUT NONSENSE

AZERBAIJAN STATE TELEGRAPH AGENCY
Dec 22 2014

22.12.2014 [20:41]

AzerTAc interviewed Press-Secretary of the President of Azerbaijan
Azer Gasimov

Baku, December 22, AzerTAc

– Mr. Gasimov, the Israeli press has recently published strongly biased
anti-Azerbaijani articles. Just a couple of days ago Israeli Jerusalem
Post and Haaretz newspapers published groundless, slanderous articles
against Azerbaijan. Taking into consideration the relations between
the government and the mass media in Israel, this can be treated
as the execution of an official order. We would like to learn your
opinion on this.

– Yes. As you mentioned such articles on Azerbaijan have been
periodically published in the Israeli media recently. Indeed, taking
into account government-media relations in Israel, one can see that
it is no coincidence. In particularly, the fact that official bodies
have not reacted to such articles gives grounds to say that it is
an official order. Concerning the articles in Haaretz and Jerusalem
Post newspapers I would like to say that they are strongly biased,
far from journalistic ethics, slanderous, and are nothing but nonsense.

Undoubtedly such articles were funded by the forces that have been
carrying out an anti-Azerbaijani campaign recently, and it is an
absolute order. Pretending to be defending the rights of Khadija
Ismayilova, these articles, in reality, are nothing but defamation
of general development processes in Azerbaijan. The authors of these
articles would be better focusing their attention on violation of
human rights, the freedom of speech and conscience, in general,
democratic principles, and other negative cases in their own countries.

In fact, in Israel itself, the situation related to journalistic
activity is deplorable. If we look at reports of international
organizations, we can see that they regularly highlight cases of the
Israeli security forces` violent treatment of journalists, including
their arrests and beating. This year`s events are enough to prove this.

On March 7, 2014, a representative of Agence France-Presse was
assaulted, while security forces stood by and just watched the
incident. On March 11, 2014 the security forces prevented journalists
from documenting a protest demonstration and fired at them. According
to Associated Press, the same day two journalists who wanted to
document protests in Al Quds were assaulted. Employees of Reuters
and Associated Press were severely beaten. Frequent imposition of
censorship on the press in Israel, bans on free movement of journalists
in Israel can be added here. Interestingly, in the World Press Freedom
Index, Israel fell from 36th place in 2004 to 112th in 2013. There are
regular reports of serious corruption in the highest government circles
of the country. Deprivation of equal rights of citizens in Israel,
including education opportunities, cases of social discrimination
are the problems which seriously concern the society.

I think that the authors of these articles and those who are behind
these writings, in fact, seriously defame Israel`s international
image. Those who ordered these articles certainly set themselves a goal
to spoil Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. These forces do not want to see
Azerbaijan`s strengthening positions on the international scene, its
great achievements in ensuring democracy, and traditions of tolerance
and multiculturalism, which can be an example to many countries.

Azerbaijan is pursuing an independent foreign policy and builds its
relations with all states, except for Armenia, based on the principles
of mutual respect. This, for its part, seriously concerns the forces
who are behind the aforementioned articles. They should know that
such attempts are nothing but a chimera.

AZERBAIJANI MFA: ARMENIA HAS DEPLOYED JAPAN-MADE MILITARY HARDWARE IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH, ACQUIRING IT THROUGH A THIRD SIDE

Azeri-Press news agency (APA), Azerbaijan
December 19, 2014 Friday

Armenia has deployed Japanmade military hardware in NagornoKarabakh,
acquiring it through a third side, spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign
Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told APA.

Hikmet Hajiyev commented on the spread of reports and images of the
Armenian Armed Forces, deployed in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories,
using heavy military hardware made by Japan’s Hino Company, noting
that Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has investigated the matter.

Under the Foreign Ministry’s instructions, the Azerbaijani embassy in
Japan held a meeting at the Japanese Foreign Ministry to investigate
the issue. The ministry said Japan does not export weapons and
ammunition to conflicting states according to its constitution and
legislation. Therefore, the Japanese side denied selling any weapons
and ammunition or heavy military hardware to the Republic of Armenia.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Japan even contacted Hino Company over the
matter. The company too confirmed that it hasn’t sold any military
vehicle or product to Armenia,” the MFA spokesman said.

According to Hikmet Hajiyev, the possibility of Armenia obtaining
these vehicles through a third side can not be ruled out, either.

“It seems the Armenian side has again lied, providing false data on
the enduser information, which is required for the import of military
products. So sides exporting this kind of products need to pay much
attention to “enduser certificates” which have to be required during
such export processes, complying with the regime for control on the
export of military products”.

ANUSH BABAJANYAN: CLOSED ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER URGES ME TO TAKE ACTION FOR DIALOGUE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 21 2014

Anush Babajanyan, a 31-year-old Armenian photojournalist whose work
focuses on cross-cultural relations between Armenia and Turkey,
met with me to explain what motivates her work and why she endures
in doing it despite criticism.

Three minutes before our scheduled appointment, I see Anush on the
other side of Abovyan Street. Her trademark look — beige boots,
light olive green winter jacket and skinny jeans — makes her easily
identifiable. I remove my headphones to silence the Turkish rhythm that
is emanating from them, raise my hand and shout, “Barev, Anush jan!”

Apart from being a part-time project coordinator at the Hrant Dink
Foundation, a nongovernmental organization based in Ä°stanbul founded
in the memory of assassinated Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
Babajanyan is a prominent and promising figure in modern Armenian
photography. One of her focuses is on cross-cultural projects between
Armenia and Turkey.

We enter into the Chinese-style teahouse, pass the counters and take
a seat. “Je veux” from Zaz is playing in the background. I order
ginger tea. Anush goes for an Earl Gray. Our location has been chosen
for convenience — Anush only has an hour, so we dive straight into
her story.

Anush was 23 when she started photojournalism. Back then, she was
a student of journalism and mass communications at the American
University in Bulgaria and took classes on the subject. Six years ago,
Anush took part in the “Merhabarev” project — a joint collaboration
between Armenian and Turkish photographers to build a bridge of
understanding between these two divided nations — organized by
her deceased mentor Ruben Mangasaryan. In 2011, Anush applied to
the Hrant Dink Foundation for the “Beyond Waiting” Multimedia for
Dialogue project, again to contribute to dialogue between Armenia and
Turkey and experiment with new forms of storytelling. Currently, she is
documenting the lives of two female labor migrants from Armenia who are
domestic workers in Turkey. In her words, this project is about these
migrants’ work, their dreams and aims to help us understand why exactly
they left their families in Armenia to live and work alone in Turkey.

“Do you face any discrimination from your people because of your
work?” I ask before sipping my tea. Many say that until recently,
the word “Turk” was often used in Armenia to mean a hostile enemy.

Conducting cross-cultural work with Turks, by definition, might still
not be welcome among Armenians.

Anush’s face creases into a mixed look, both puzzled and defensive.

She says no, never. Only after repeating the same question five
times, using different words, do I receive an answer, “Now that you
mention it, I remember that I faced some discrimination for working
on cross-cultural projects between Armenia and Turkey.” Anush laughs,
“In general, I don’t really remember bad stuff.”

She admits that before the Yerevan exhibition for the “Beyond Waiting”
project, she had an interview with CivilNet, an advocacy news and
journalism agency from Armenia. Her video was posted on YouTube and
it received harsh comments, causing it to be removed by CivilNet.

“And how do you explain that?” I inquire.

“Well, let me tell you,” Anush says, pressing her fingers into the
sugar cubes that came with our Chinese teapots. “Because Armenia
and Turkey are in conflict, the borders are closed and the genocide
has not been recognized, many Armenians would be against running any
projects together with people from Turkey.”

It strikes me that she speaks calmly about what remains an irresolvable
national conflict that surrounds her work. Anush explains to me,
like a loving father teaching his child how to fish, that dialogue and
conflict resolution take time. “One day, the border will open. People
from both sides will get to know each other. When you are far, when
the border is closed and there is no communication, Armenians think
that every single person in Turkey is in denial about the [genocide]
issue. But this is changing! People from both sides are taking steps
towards learning about each other.”

She is of the opinion that Armenians shouldn’t blindly demand the
recognition of the genocide, either. “Armenians should also learn
about the variety of people living in Turkey and understand that
there are just so many different people — there are those who totally
understand, others who don’t recognize.”

Looking into Anush’s large almond-shaped green eyes, I ask if the
Armenian-Turkish conflict is something that inspires her work or
hinders it. Before giving her answer, she clarifies that she is more
of a journalist than an artist, although she accepts that the line
between the two is blurry.

“I try to feel my characters’ stories. I don’t simply make my pieces
informative, but rather informative of my subjects’ feelings, their
mood and their perception of life.”

We ask for the bill; our time is up. As we put on our winter jackets,
she makes one last comment:

“But of course, there is a lot of pain that lasted for a long time. It
urges me to take action towards dialogue and conflict resolution
between Armenia and Turkey.”

Anush Babajanyan:

FAMILY HOPES FOR RELEASE OF CANADIAN BUSINESSMAN

The Globe and Mail (Canada)
December 19, 2014 Friday

by DANIEL LELANC
OTTAWA

The family of a Canadian businessman who is serving a 15-year sentence
in Cuba is hoping to benefit from the re-establishment of relations
between Havana and Washington.

After negotiations conducted partly on Canadian soil, the United
States and Cuba this week exchanged some prisoners as part of a
deal that includes reopening embassies and easing travel between the
two countries.

The supporters of Cy Tokmakjian, who was sentenced to 15 years in
prison for bribery and other economic crimes in September, are hoping
penalties will soon be eased in the case, which they have described
as a “gross injustice.”

“The family of Cy Tokmakjian is very hopeful Cuba will also release Cy
on a humanitarian basis during this Christmas and holiday period. Our
father, grandfather and husband has been in detention more than three
years and it’s time for him to come home to Canada,” the family said
in a statement.

Federal officials confirmed that the matter is the subject of
discussions with Cuban officials, but refused to provide details.

Originally from Armenia, the 74-year-old Mr. Tokmakjian founded a
transportation company in Canada in the early 1970s and expanded the
firm’s operations to Cuba, Barbados and several other countries. He
was arrested in September, 2011, and held in a Cuban jail for nearly
2 1/2 years before charges were laid as part of an anti-corruption
campaign in the country.

The Tokmakjian Group argued the case was baseless and expressed fear
the outcome of the trial was “predetermined.” In his defence, Mr.

Tokmakjian argued that he invited Cuban officials for meals and gave
gifts to several recipients, but made no attempt to obtain favours
in return.

MOSCOW RESOLVED KARABAKH ISSUE

Haikazn Ghahriyan, Editor-in-Chief
Comments – 22 December 2014, 23:07

The Foreign Ministry of Belarus has announced that as Armenia joins
the Eurasian Economic Union Nagorno-Karabakh will not be part of
the union. “We worried that the territories which were not part
of Armenia could appear within the space of the Customs Union. The
Armenian side understood this requirement, this provision. There was
a note attached to the agreement that Nagorno-Karabakh is not part of
the Republic of Armenia. There has been an official oral statement by
the Armenian side,” the deputy foreign minister of Belarus announced.

There is nothing new about this, considering the so-called official
stance of Armenia on Karabakh. This position has been reduced to
several miserable theses, which can be summed up approximately like
this: Armenia will agree to the stance of the Karabakh people,
Armenia will recognize NKR as soon as any other state recognizes
it. The Armenian government recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan
in 1991 which has been the most serious “act” so far.

In the long run, Armenia has not had a clear position on Karabakh
though the problem has an immense potential in both regional and
geopolitical terms. Armenia and Karabakh could have used their
potential assuming an irreplaceable role in the region and creating
a political precedent which is appreciated the most in world politics.

In the meantime, everyone has benefitted from this except Armenia
which was satisfied by several miserable theses. Armenia has agreed
to all the documents, resolutions and recommendations on NKR. The
latest example is the infamous principles of Madrid on which Armenia
continues to negotiate.

In fact, there is a hope that Azerbaijan will reject all the proposals,
which is true, in fact. In other words, regarding Karabakh the Armenian
diplomacy has been confined to three circumstances: 1.

Azerbaijan will refuse all the mediations; 2. Geopolitical
controversies over Karabakh will allow retaining the status quo; 3.

Karabakh must take part in the negotiations.

In fact, this has been the case for two decades, and over time such
a database of documents has accrued which, if applied, would be
sufficient to return Karabakh to Azerbaijan three times.

In such a situation Armenia joins the Eurasian Economic Union while
Karabakh is left “outside”. The public-political “establishment”
of Yerevan may breathe with relief: at last, they “got rid” of
Karabakh which was their aim over these years. For two decades this
“establishment” has blamed Karabakh for its incompetency and failures.

And these moods were best defined by Lyudmila Sargsyan of the Armenian
National Congress who announced that we should hand Karabakh and get
through with it to ensure livelihood in Armenia for the generations,
and the Eurasian Economic Union is a great opportunity.

This is a topic for another article which we will consider in
the future. In the meantime, the Armenian political system voted
for pushing Armenia into the Eurasian Economic Union. There were
occasional concerns among the public relating to a likely BCP between
Armenia and Karabakh, possible difficulties with supplying weapons
etc. These concerns have not been addressed because these forces are
political in name only, they have proved that they have nothing to
do with politics and they do not even have the wish to. They cannot
assume any responsibility, especially for Karabakh, which was proved
by the December 4 voting.

Russia, one of the mediators of the peace process Karabakh, has
been up for “monopolizing” this issue, deploying troops and getting
through with the “consolidation of territories”. Recently, it was
attempted to cause escalation at the border with Karabakh which was,
however, prevented thanks to the actions of the Armenian armed forces,
thwarting the “schemes” of deployment of troops. The Armenian forces
announced that there is no need for the third party’s troops.

Currently, land communication between Russia and Armenia is being
considered which the Russians propose running via Azerbaijan.

According to the Russian experts, even negotiations are going on. I
wonder what the price for this corridor is going to be. If it is
impossible to resolve the problem through the military path, the
Eurasian schemes may be put to action. For example, Azerbaijan enters
the Eurasian Economic Union, “receiving” Karabakh. This is almost the
same scheme as that of 1920-1921 with slight improvements. Armenia
has provided this opportunity to Moscow and Baku.

On the other hand, the situation is not that hopeless. Karabakh is
actually released of chains and circumstances. The announcement of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and the decision of the
Eurasian Economic Union are, in fact, recognition of the autonomy of
Karabakh. In other words, the Eurasian Economic Union treats Karabakh
as a “territory” with a certain status. Besides, a slow but steady
process of recognition of Karabakh is underway, for the time being,
by states of great powers. Besides the “establishment” of Armenia,
everyone in the world knows the price and military-political factor
of Karabakh.

They know and they will use it, which is, in fact, a chance for
Karabakh. Karabakh is not a member of any union, so it is not limited
by any international commitment, including to Armenia which has
stopped being a subject.

Is Karabakh able to use this favorable circumstance? The government of
Karabakh does not differ from the Armenian system and is not capable
of politics. However, there are traditions and forces which can assume
responsibility for saving the Armenian state and restoring its dignity
once again.

Poor people of Karabakh! Again they will not have a peaceful life. One
again, the Yerevan-based establishment could not understand anything.

RUSSIA AND ARMENIA SIGN AGREEMENT TO EXTEND SERVICE LIFE OF METSAMOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

YEREVAN, December 22. / ARKA /. Last Saturday Russia and Armenia
signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement for extending the
service life of the second unit of the Armenian nuclear power plant,
Rosatom, Russia’s state-run Atomic Energy Corporation said on Monday.

The service life of the second unit of the Armenian nuclear power
plant expires in September 2016, but the agreement provides for
extending its operation for 10 years until September 2026.

The agreement was signed by Rosatom chief Sergey Kiriyenko and
Armenian energy and natural resources minister Yervand Zakarian,
Novosti-Armenia reported citing Russian RIA Novosti news agency.

The agreement provides for a comprehensive study of the second unit
before the end of the first quarter of 2015. The study will be used
to prepare a plan of actions for 2015-2016 to extend the operation
of the power unit.

Rosatom said a license for extending the service life of the facility
is expected in 2016. This will be followed by the final stage of the
work, scheduled for completion by 2019.

The agreement provides for major repair and replacement of equipment,
preparation of maintenance documentation and staff training.

“All this measures will enable a safe and secure operation of the
plant at least until 2026,” Rosatom said.

The parties agreed also that the project will be financed by a loan
that Russia will provide to Armenia.

The terms of the loan are currently being coordinated by the finance
ministries of the two countries, according to Rosatom.

The Metsamor plant located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan, was
built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake
in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and devastated much of northern
Armenia.

One of the plant’s two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was
reactivated in 1995. The Armenian government said earlier it wants
to build a new facility that is supposed to operate at twice the
capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility. Metsamor currently
generates some 40 percent of Armenia’s electricity. The construction
of the new facility is estimated as much as $5 billion.-0-

ERDOGAN NOT TO VISIT ARMENIA IN 2015

“The message Erdogan issued on April 24, 2014, was a good touchstone,”
Artak Shakaryan, an expert on Turkey, said during a press conference
today when commenting on the prospects of Armenian-Turkish relations
in 2015.

Another Turkologist, Gevorg Petrosyan, also attached importance to
this year’s message of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He did not rule out the
possibility that next year Turkey will make some symbolic moves in
order to show that Turkey is now a democratic state.

According to Shakaryan, Erdogan will not visit Armenia on the
centennial of the Armenian Genocide. He considered Turkish Prime
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s visit as more likely, especially as he is
the author of the “pain thesis”.

22.12.14, 18:54