Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 25 2014

Armenian president opposed to arming Kalbajar District

25 July 2014 – 1:25pm

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told the Public Council yesterday
that he was opposed to arming the Kalbajar District, epress.am
reports.

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Oganyan said at a government session
earlier, concerning arming the Kalbajar District, that the majority of
the population in border districts were soldiers and they should be
permitted to take weapons home to improve security.

THE DANGEROUS COMPLACENCY OF THE MEDIATORS

Friday, 25 July 2014 16:25

On July 22, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen held separate
meetings with Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan Eduard
Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov. Immediately after the meetings,
American Co-Chairman James Warlick wrote traditionally on his Twitter
page that he was going to Vienna to inform the OSCE Secretary General
about the course of negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement.

He also informed that the OSCE Minsk Group would issue a
statement to .

Given the fact that the meetings of the Minsk Group Chairmanship took
place just a week after the incident of the penetration into the NKR
territory and neutralization of an Azerbaijani sabotage and
intelligence group, one could expect that the statement noted by James
Warlick would pay special attention to the incident and give an
adequate assessment to it. Unfortunately, the familiarity with the
text of the statement, which was made public on July 23 in Vienna, can
cause at least perplexity and disappointment. Having expressed, as

promised by Mr. Warlick, grave concern about the increase of tension
and violence in the Karabakh conflict zone, the mediators, however,
said nothing about the incident. , the statement reads.

The content of the statement once again strengthened the
opinion that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen do not intend to abandon
the longstanding practice of “parity” discrediting them. The situation
with the Azerbaijani sabotage group seems to be quite clear, because
the hostility of that terrorist action by the Azerbaijani party is
more than obvious. As they say, facts are stubborn things, and they
convincingly prove that the armed subversive group penetrated into the
NKR territory, surely, with no pacifist goals. However, even in these
conditions, the Co-Chairs behave themselves, to put it mildly,
inadequately and prefer not to notice obvious things, limiting with
general formulations, in which the responsibility for the escalation
in the conflict zone is equally incumbent on all its parties. It is
while in this particular case, the culprit of aggravation of the
situation and bloodshed is well known – it is the ruling regime of
Azerbaijan.

In the existing situation, the following question is quite reasonable:
how are the Co-Chairs going to maintain peace in the conflict zone,
not to mention the final settlement itself? One can conclude from the
statements of the OSCE Chairmen-in-Office alternating each year that
this European organization has quite a serious potential to resolve
the issues related to the establishment and maintenance of peace in
the region. We do not intend to question the possibility of the OSCE
and the sincerity of its leaders. But then what, in this case, prevent
it use its resources and arsenal at least to deter Azerbaijan
militarism and coercion official Baku to the world, to which
intermediaries constant urge the authorities of the parties prepare
their peoples? We are not going at all to question the abilities of
the OSCE and the sincerity of its leaders. Then what prevents it to
use its resources and arsenal at least to deter the Azerbaijani
militarism and to oblige official Baku to peace, for which the
mediators constantly urge the authorities of the parties to prepare
their peoples?

Meanwhile, there are strong evidences that Ilham Aliyev’s regime
continues to do exactly the opposite with persistence worthy of a
better cause. It is official Baku that makes bellicose statements at
the highest level, grossly violates the ceasefire, leading to the
deaths of both servicemen and civilians, constantly commits acts of
sabotage on the Line of Contact, and makes ungrounded territorial
claims not only to Artsakh, but also to Armenia.

All this leads to the increase of violence, which is noted in the
statement. However, we believe that to limit only with “expression of
concern” in this regard is not enough. The statements by the Co-Chairs
should be clearly targeted and not general, amorphous, and therefore –
optional. Are these toothless statements able to restrain the
presumptuous aggressor, reveling in its impunity? We believe the
answer is more than obvious. Practice has shown that such a complacent
attitude of the mediators to the true culprit of destabilization of
the situation can only encourage it to further actions aimed at the
escalation of tension, which takes place in reality.

What is the way out for the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen? Sometimes it
seems that they consider the confidence-building measures between the
parties to the conflict referred to in this statement almost as a
panacea to improve the situation and to establish lasting peace. But,
confidence requires, above all, respect for the political opponent and
recognition of its rights. The recent diversion and subsequent
hysterical reaction by Azerbaijan to its results demonstrated that the
authorities in Baku will not recognize the NKR as a subject of
international law and an equal negotiating partner, with which it
should reckon. And, therefore, they do not also intend to assume the
commitment to establish confidential relationship.

A few days ago, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, though on another
occasion, expressed doubt about the sincerity of the Government of
Azerbaijan, noting that “political authoritarianism is built here on
the income from oil, which will create certain problems for us”. We
think the Swedish Minister’s remark is quite suitable also to our
situation.

Leonid MARTIROSSIAN

Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper

Export of Armenian wines set to surge by 30 percent

YEREVAN, July 25. / ARKA /. The chairman of the Union of Armenian
Winemakers, Avag Harutyunyan, has predicted today a 30 percent surge
in export of Armenian wines this year.

Speaking at a news conference he said the export of Armenian wines has
already grown by 30 percent this year from 2013 and this trend will
continue.

According to him, this increase in exports of Armenian wines is due to
the improvement of their quality and rising demand in foreign markets.

According to the National Statistical Service, brandy production in
January – May 2014 decreased by 11.1 percent year-on-year to 5.5
million liters.

During this period wine production was said to have declined by 2.8%
to about 2 million liters, while production of Champaign wines grew by
19 percent to 115,500 liters and production of beer jumped by 82
percent to 8.3 million liters. -0-

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French citizen lost in Gegarkunik region of Armenia

by Nana Martirosyan

arminfo
Friday, July 25, 13:12

On 25 July a French citizen was lost in Gegarkunik region of Armenia.

As press-service of Emergency Situations Ministry reported, a French
citizen J. P., who was lost in Armenia’s Sevan on July 24, appeared to
the Police Department of Sevan City on July 25 at 10:25.

On July 25 at 02:10 the Ministry received information from Senior
lieutenant of police from Sevan town, that at 01:10 citizen K. N. has
applied to the police and reported that on July 24 at about 15:30, he
took a citizen of France named J. P. from the Congress hotel to Sevan
in his “GAZ-24” car. He left his clothes in the car, saying to the
driver that he would come back in 2 hours. He went in the direction of
Sevan and did not return.

Heavy Blow for Azerbaijan

Haikazn Ghahriyan, Editor-in-Chief
Comments – 25 July 2014, 12:39

Yesterday the Armenian press leaked that during the meeting of the EaP
in Brussels the Armenian minister of foreign affairs Edward Nalbandyan
rebuked the Azerbaijani foreign minister when the latter stated that
Armenia breaks its commitments to the World Trade Organization.

In the presence of the EU foreign ministers Nalbandyan advised Elmar
Mammedyarov to stick to the agenda of the meeting and not to use the
international rostrum for propaganda, the leak says.

In fact, the question raised by Mammedyarov is not far from the EaP
topics. The point is that by joining the Eurasian Union Armenia must
introduce corrections into the relations with WTO because the
principles and mechanisms of both organizations are different, not to
say mutually excluding. For example, it has become known that if
Armenia joins the Eurasian Union, it has to pay refunds unless it
wants to be dismissed.

Apparently, before shutting Mammedyarov up, Nalbandyan should give
explanations to the Armenian society why Armenia has placed itself in
such a situation when, on the other hand, it joins a union which is
against its political and economic interests and, on the other hand,
it has to pay refunds not to be dismissed from WTO. Meanwhile, WTO is
a rather efficient organization and helps development of foreign
economic relations of Armenia.

In fact, Edward Nalbandyan must explain to the Armenian community why
Armenia has lost its foreign policy as such and re-organized itself as
a “subsidiary” of the Russian foreign policy which only allows for
“hushing” Azerbaijan and Turkey. Why has Armenia isolated itself from
international politics, lost its functioning and role? Why does it
refuse regional proposals and instead participates in blocking the
projects that are not favorable for Moscow.

And most importantly, what is the role of Nalbandyan in all this?

Nalbandyan will have to answer these questions even when he is
appointed as deputy foreign minister of Russia, and Armenia officially
becomes a Russian exclave.

As to Azerbaijan, as Serzh Sargsyan would put it, “anyone’s granny
could have rebuked”.

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Rector’s brother found dead

21:12 | July 24,2014 | Social

Harutyun Grigoryan, the brother of the Rector of Gyumri State
Pedagogical Institute Vardevan Grigoryan, has been found dead with
four bullets in his body on the way to Yerazgavors village in Shirak
region, Aravot.am reports.

The local police department confirmed that the murder had taken place
earlier on Thursday on Gyumri-Armavir roadway. After the murder
Harutyun Grigoryan was thrown into a pit near dilapidated barns.

APA, Azerbaijan
July 24 2014

OSCE MG Co-Chairs urge Azerbaijan and Armenia to commit themselves to
avoiding causalities on line of contact

[ 24 July 2014 10:36 ]

Baku – APA. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor
Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of
America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) met separately with the Foreign
Minister of Armenia, Mr. Edward Nalbandian, and the Foreign Minister
of Azerbaijan, Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, on July 22 in Brussels.

The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office,
Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meetings.

The Co-Chairs expressed their serious concern about the increase in
tensions and violence, including the targeted killings of civilians,
along the Line of Contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, APA
reports quoting the OSCE’s website. They urged the parties to commit
themselves to avoiding casualties and rejected the deliberate
targeting of villages and the civilian population. They called on the
Foreign Ministers to defuse tensions and adhere to the terms of the
ceasefire.

The Co-Chairs and Foreign Ministers also discussed possible agenda
items for a presidential summit, underscoring the importance of a
meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan for achieving
progress in peace negotiations. They also discussed meetings which
could take place in New York on the margins of the UN General
Assembly.

The Co-Chairs continue to review possible security confidence building
measures and people-to-people programs with the parties. They believe
that such programs build the trust and confidence necessary for a
lasting peace.

In Vienna, the Co-Chairs briefed the countries of the Minsk Group
about the status of peace negotiations.

Trend, Azerbaijan
July 24 2014

U.S. sees need for new efforts to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24
By Sabina Ahmadova – Trend:

We need a renewed effort to once and for all resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, U.S ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard
Morningstar said at farewell event on July, 24.

“Peace would bring substantial benefits to people across the region
and ensure Azerbaijan’s prosperity into the future”, he said.

According to him, U.S. continue to work to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Obviously we and Azerbaijan sometimes look at these issues
differently, ambassador said

“But as with any partner, continued dialogue is important. We can have
disagreements, but we need to keep talking”, Morningstarsaid.

According to him, U.S need to stand by Azerbaijan as it strives to
maintain its sovereignty and independence.

Earlier, Armenian media reported that the Armenian forces, during an
operation in the occupied Kalbajar region’s Shaplar village, killed an
Azerbaijani – Hasan Hasanov, and detained two other Azerbaijanis –
Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov.

In this regard, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and
Missing Persons of Azerbaijan issued a message that the commission
focuses on the future of the Azerbaijani citizens taken hostage in the
territory of Kalbajar region. The photos and videos about them were
distributed in the Armenian media.

The families of Azerbaijanis, taken hostage by Armenians in the
occupied territories, have officially appealed to the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Currently the ICRC continues talks with the parties on this matter,
ICRC Azerbaijan’s office told Trend earlier.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied the Armenian media
reports on belonging of the mentioned persons to the country’s armed
forces.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result
of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent
of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven
surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

VentureBeat
July 24 2014

Alexis Ohanian on the evolution of Y Combinator and the future of Startup School

July 24, 2014 8:41 AM
Harrison Weber

You may know Alexis Ohanian as the Reddit guy. Or the “mayor of the
Internet.” Now, he’s a full-time partner at Y Combinator.

Ohanian sat down with us (metaphorically) to dish on his new role. He
also unveiled his plans to transform YC’s Startup School event series
into an online resource for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Let’s get to it.

Harrison Weber: What was your role at YC before becoming a partner?

Alexis Ohanian: Back in 2010, when I got back from Armenia, I met with
Paul [Graham, the founder of Y Combinator] and Jessica [YC partner
Jessica Livingston], and they asked me to be a partner. I said: ‘That
is awesome and I would love to, but I don’t want to live in San
Francisco anymore.’

And they said, ‘Fine, we still want you to be an ambassador.’
Ambassador to the East — because Paul is great with titles.

They said, ‘Just represent us east of the Valley.’ And it was a lot of
fun, but it was very ceremonial.

Harrison Weber: Why become a partner?

Alexis Ohanian: As Paul Graham stepped back, there was an opportunity
to take a more active role in YC. I think one of the best parts now is
if you look across the partners, there’s a ton of talented people with
very different backgrounds.

We all have different skill sets, and I’d like to use mine to continue
spreading awareness about YC and helping startups in a more intimate
way than I was before.

Harrison Weber: Does YC have plans to open an office in New York? Did it ever?

Alexis Ohanian: It was never in the cards. I guess now, technically,
YC has a presence here because this is where I live, but right now it
takes a ton of people to make it work in one location, and it would
take nearly as many to make it work in a whole new one, so there’s
nothing on the horizon.

Harrison Weber: And what are your plans?

Alexis Ohanian: One of the things that I am exploring is opening up
the knowledge [YC has] around startups. That’s a project that I hope
to be working on in the next few months.

I think back to when Steve and I started Reddit nine years ago: There
was a dearth of knowledge compared to today. YouTube didn’t exist back
then, and now you can find amazing talks from founders, and makers,
and investors. You can find Quora threads. You can find blog posts.
You can find insights about so many different aspects. But it’s all
disparate now.

I’m talking about knowledge that’s vast and diverse for an aspiring
entrepreneur — not only how to hack Angel List, or the 10 things every
UX designer absolutely needs to know before she even opens up her
browser to start coding.

I want there to be one place, a kind of resource. Basically an
extension of Startup School that turns the event into something
digital, online, and just as freely available, and hopefully as
helpful.

Harrison Weber: You’re actively working on this?

Alexis Ohanian: I’m hoping, once the batch is done, I’ll be able to
get more focused on it. Hopefully by mid-September I’ll have something
launched. Scaling Startup School to be more accessible than a
conference in meat-space.

Harrison Weber: What about your activism?

Alexis Ohanian: [Joining YC] basically takes my platform and amplifies
it. Because now I’m not just coming as a Reddit guy, I’m coming as YC
with a $30 billion portfolio.

At the end of the day, like for instance, going down to the Hill last
week, it just helps. It makes it a little bit easier for me to get the
doors open, in spite of the beard.

Harrison Weber: Is your time split between YC, your Initialized fund,
and activism?

Alexis Ohanian: I would say, in terms of time, it definitely changes.
The activism ebbs and flows the most. I am there when it’s going to be
helpful. While the batches [of new YC startups] are in session, YC is
the majority of what I do. And then, Initialized stuff makes up the
rest.

Harrison Weber: Are you investing less through Initialized, or more?

Alexis Ohanian: The thing that we’ve noticed over the last year is
that our biggest bets — like Secret — weren’t even part of the YC
network. It’ll probably continue that way.

Harrison Weber: Why does YC’s model still work?

Alexis Ohanian: What Paul, Jessica, Robert [Morris], and Trevor
[Blackwell], the four original founders, saw, before just about
anyone, was how much the world had changed — that somebody with a
laptop can take a little bit of money and build something amazing.

They focused obsessively on helping founders … and it was never about
doing press, or promotion. I think there was even a network that
wanted to do a reality show around YC, the first batch, but they
turned it down without thinking twice, and I am so grateful.

To that point, I think the fact that YC has been geographically
focused is part of the strength, because that does not stop us from
going everywhere else to recruit talent. Of this batch, 39 percent of
the founders are non-US citizens. That’s a nontrivial number.

Harrison Weber: Is Sam Altman, Paul Graham’s successor, just trying to
surround himself with smart people?

Alexis Ohanian: I think what he realizes is, for YC to evolve — i’m
talking Pokemon-next-level-evolution — we’ll need to draw from a
really diverse set of founders-turned-partners who have a diverse
skill set.

It’s gonna allow YC to do stuff that I don’t think we were able to
before. I spoke earlier to the political involvement. That’s something
that is in my wheelhouse. It’s something that I’ve been doing. It’s
something I know benefits the Internet as a whole but that I hope will
also benefit YC as an investor in things on the Internet. So it’s
mutually beneficial, but it gives YC more of a presence in Washington.

Harrison Weber: What do you think of the latest batch?

Alexis Ohanian: I remember YC nine years ago, and no one would have
ever expected we would be investing in and helping founders who are
working on fighting cancer and getting us off fossil fuels, but it’s
happening. And that’s the kind of evolution that just gets me really
excited. Not to mention the non-profits. Oh man.

I don’t think any of us can pretend we know where this is headed.

Harrison Weber: Is Sam going to let companies in that Paul Graham
wouldn’t let in?

Alexis Ohanian: Probably. What’s nice is that while Sam is president,
we are a partnership of equals.

I think we collectively as a partnership — there are more partners now
— I think you’re definitely going to see a change. I think that’s
inevitable. I am excited about that.

A True Inspiring Story

COMMUNITY | JULY 24, 2014 1:01 PM
By Kevork Keushkerian

PASADENA, Calif. — The theme of the 126th Tournament of Roses Parade
on January 1, 2015, is “Inspiring Stories.” It pays tribute to those
who have loved unconditionally, preserved courageously, endured
patiently and accomplished on behalf of others.

The American Armenian Rose Float Association, which spearheaded the
first-ever Armenian float to participate in the Tournament of Roses
Parade in Pasadena, had a successful fund raising event on Saturday,
June 21. During this event, more than $100,000 was raised for this
cause, but much more is needed as the estimate for the float is about
$300,000. The float is designed and being constructed by the Phoenix
Decorating Company.

A Pasadena resident, Manoug Tabakian, approached the president of the
American Armenian Rose Float Association Chris Chahinian and informed
him that his grandson, Shant Bashdjian, has collected $100 from his
friends and relatives and wanted to donate it to the Armenian Rose
Float.

Amazingly, Shant is a 9 and a fourth grader at Sahag Mesrob Armenian
Christian School in Pasadena. He had heard about the Armenian Rose
Float from his grandfather, wholeheartedly believed in the project and
felt obligated to do his share for this once in a lifetime adventure.
This reminds me of the story of the Widow in the Bible, who gave all
she had.

Bravo Shant. Let your example be a shining guide for the rest of the
skeptics among us who although are financially well enough to
contribute generously, but begrudge the Armenians all over the world
from telling our “Inspiring Stories” and sharing our rich cultural
heritage with millions of people in over 90 countries worldwide.

We would also like to congratulate Dickran and Zenna Bashdjians,
Shant’s parents, for raising their son in the spirit of their
Christian faith and Armenian heritage.

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