Author: Kajoyan Gevork

WHERE IS THE $954 MILLION ALLOCATED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY?

06.05.2014 18:45 epress.am

The $954 million allocated for construction of the 500-km North-South
Road Corridor is spent and the work has stopped — only a 25 km
stretch was built. Armenian representative of the NGO Forum on ADB
and coordinator of the Environmental Public Alliance Silva Adamyan
said this today, in conversation with Epress.am.

According to her, highway construction was supposed to begin in
2009 and end in 2016, but construction actually began in 2012, and
it turned out that, according to the contract signed between the
Armenian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the funds
provided by ADB are spent.

Adamyan was told that in Armenia, there is no organization capable of
building such a quality of road and so companies have to come from
abroad. “The tender lasted about a year. I monitored the process;
there was a video of this so-called tender, which [featured] 4 or 5
companies: one was Chinese, one was Spanish, another was French —
there was no Armenian organization. They announced that the Spanish
company won the bid.” The Environmental Public Alliance began to
investigate the documents of the tender and found a “piece of paper”
which listed the names of the participants of the tender — nothing
else, “no stamp, no date, nothing.”

Adamyan said they went to Manila, the Philippines, to ADB’s annual
meeting, and presented these documents to the Bank, which reacted. The
Control Chamber then began to look into the work of the coordination
of North-South Road Corridor Program and the RA Ministry of Transport.

“It turned out that Armenia […] was forced to pay the Asian
Development Bank a fine of $300,000 for not starting the work on time.

Now imagine: we have assumed a loan program of $960 million, which is
bearing down on the necks of our people, and all of us together have
to pay that money to ADB. We were going to build a road of strategic
significance for Armenia — this is simply a life line for Armenia —
[…] which was supposed to come out on one end to Iran; the other end,
Poti [Georgia],” she said.

When Adamyan and others tried to find out what happened to the $960
million, they were told: “The prices have risen, and we cannot continue
our work with that money.” This seems ridiculous to Adamyan.

“We do not believe it,” she said.

Video in Armenian only.

ACTIVE LANDSLIDES IN ARMENIA – SPECIALIST EXPLAINS CAUSES, POINTING TO DISASTER-PRONE ZONES

10:46 * 05.06.14

Zones prone to landslides are not few in number on the territory of
Armenia, whose estimated total area is 29,743 sq. meters.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations has conducted joint studies of
2,505 zones (with total area of over 2 hectares), of which 233 pose a
threat to residential areas. The estimates have revealed the highest
disaster risks in the regions of Syinik, Tavush and Lori, as well as
in several communities of Kotayk, Aratagatsotn, Vazashen, Getahovit,
Haghartsin, Dilijan and Kapan, says Arthur Muradyan, the head of the
Emergency Ministry’s Natural Disasters’ Department.

“Landslides have become active since the beginning of the year,”
he told Tert.am, enumerating different cases.

He said most of the landslides – especially those observed in the
recent period – were caused by ground waters, abundant overground
flows and disorders of the water drainage system.

As for the exploitation of mines, the official noted that they can
only speed up the process. “Studies are being conducted from concrete
mines, with the impact assessment focusing only on the accelerating
[factors]. Mine explosions may speed up all that,” he explained.

Asked what preventive measures the Ministry takes, Muradyan said though
they regularly carry out risk assessment, money shortage often makes
them decide on other activities, such as increasing the safety level
of seismically sensitive buildings.

He added that the Government has approved a new landslide management
concept which vests the Ministry with the authority of a coordinator.

Muradyan said further that the ministry has created an interagency
commission of officials from different ministries and other government
bodies to promote joint activities in the disaster management efforts.

“It is important for us to mention in the management bloc that the
Ministry of Emergency Situations will implement a joint three-year
project with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Specific
anti-landslide measures, such as horizontal borings, are intended to
be carried out to help unload the landslide-prone slopes and restrain
their further activeness,” he said, adding that they have plans to
install electronic sensors on the sensitive slopes to be able to
transfer the information to the Ministry’s Crisis Management Center
upon necessity.

Muradyan said all the plans are pilot projects, adding that they
expect to get a horizontal boring machine from Japanese colleagues
to facilitate further activities. A retraining of specialists is also
an integral part of the planned events, the official added.

OSCE MINSK GROUP OBSTACLE IN RESOLVING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
June 4 2014

4 June 2014, 18:33 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova

There will be no settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict until the
Minsk Group is replaced by a truly neutral moderator and facilitator,
the British MP believes.

The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation,
and the United States, was established in 1994 to find a peaceful
solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan and Armenia
have been locked in the conflict for over two decades, which emerged
over Armenia’s territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor.

“Russia has troops in Armenia and supports that country. France is
biased in favor of Armenia and so is the U.S. which has given Armenia
financial aid,” Lord Kilclooney told AzerNews.

He noted that the progress can only be achieved when Armenia and
Azerbaijan, freed from the influence of the Minsk countries, agree
to meet under the chairmanship of a strictly neutral and impartial
chairman. “That should be a priority for all who want a settlement,
which would benefit both Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he stressed.

Lord Kilclooney , who is the member of the UK-Azerbaijan
inter-parliamentary friendship group, added that he is well aware of
both counties.

“For over 20 years I have taken an interest in Azerbaijan. I met late
President Heydar Aliyev, as well as President Ilham Aliyev,” he said.

“I have visited both Armenia and Azerbaijan and I have been an election
observer for the Council of Europe in both countries. I campaigned
in Strasbourg for Azerbaijan to become a member of the Council of
Europe and was achieved by a compromise of accepting both Armenia
and Azerbaijan into the Council of Europe on the same day.”

Lord Kilclooney further said it was hoped that both nations would
find membership of the Council of Europe helpful in resolving the
dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, he said, it failed to happen and the OSCE Minsk Group
is one of the main obstacles in the settlement process of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“I was Deputy Leader of my political party which negotiated a
settlement with the political representatives of Irish Republican
Terrorism in Northern Ireland. That agreement was facilitated by a
neutral Chairman, Senator George Mitchell of the U.S. But the Minsk
Group is not neutral,” Lord Kilclooney said.

Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and
seven surrounding regions.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing
efforts by the U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely
fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country’s territories.

TURKEY EXPECTS ECTHR TO UPHOLD PERINCEK RULING

Cihan News Agency, Turkey
June 4 2014

ISTANBUL – 04.06.2014 18:16:21

Turkey expects the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which
previously sustained an appeal by Turkish Workers’ Party (Ä°P)
Chairman Dogu Perincek against a Swiss court’s conviction of him,
under anti-racism legislation, for denying the so-called Armenian
genocide, to uphold its judgment when the ECtHR reviews the ruling.

“We are confident that the Grand Chamber will be guided exclusively
by legal considerations when hearing the case. One cannot imagine
an outcome different from the Chamber judgment of 17 December 2013
considering the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and the fundamental
principles of law,” said a Foreign Ministry statement released on
Tuesday evening.

The statement came after the ECtHR accepted Switzerland’s request
for a review of the ruling on Monday.

On Dec. 17, 2013, the European court ruled that the politician
had exercised his right to free speech. In 2008, Perincek, who was
convicted by a Swiss court for rejecting Armenian claims of genocide
at a conference he attended in Switzerland, appealed the ruling in
the ECtHR after his appeal failed in the Swiss federal court system,
arguing that his conviction was a violation of the free speech articles
of the ECHR. He also complained of violations of his right to a fair
trial after his lawyer was denied a Swiss visa.

During a conference in Switzerland in 2005, Perincek reportedly called
the Armenian claims of genocide an “international lie.” The ECtHR
decision on the Perincek case set a precedent that it is a violation
of the freedom of expression to charge individuals with a crime for
expressing views that are different from an officially accepted one.

Turkey also claimed that Switzerland “brought the matter before the
Grand Chamber on entirely political motives.”

“Thus, once again, this will be an adequate response against
initiatives attempting to politicize history and law, and will
strongly confirm that freedom of expression, which is the foundation
of democratic societies, is under protection,” the ministry statement
said.

Turkey was a co-plaintiff in the case at the ECtHR regarding Perincek,
since Turkey’s official position on the Armenian claims disagrees with
Switzerland’s. Ankara categorically denies claims that the events of
1915 amount to genocide, arguing that both Turks and Armenians were
killed when Armenians revolted against the Ottoman Empire during World
War I in collaboration with the Russian army that was then invading
eastern Anatolia.

Ankara has recognized Armenia since the former Soviet republic
gained independence in 1991, but refuses to establish diplomatic ties
because of Armenian efforts to secure international condemnation of
the controversial World War I-era killings of Anatolian Armenians
as genocide.

(Cihan/Today’s Zaman)

US PATENT ISSUED TO SYNOPSYS ON JUNE 3 FOR “POWER ROUTING IN STANDARD CELLS” (ARMENIAN, AMERICAN INVENTORS)

US Fed News
June 3, 2014 Tuesday 11:29 PM EST

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 3 — United States Patent no. 8,742,464, issued
on June 3, was assigned to Synopsys Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.).

“Power routing in standard cells” was invented by Deepak D. Sherlekar
(Cupertino, Calif.) and Vahe Hovsepyan (Yerevan, Armenia). According
to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: “An
integrated circuit created from a cell library of compact cells. The
cell library includes cells having a metal trace routed along the
boundary of the cells for carrying a power supply voltage. The
cells also include another metal trace routed along the interior
of the cells for carrying another power supply voltage. A cell pin
carrying an input signal or output signal of the cell is located
outside of the region between the two power rails. By routing the
power supply voltages and cell pins of the cell in this manner, the
integrated circuit created from the cell is extremely compact while
still complying with various design rules.” The patent was filed
on March 3, 2011, under Application No. 13/040,228. *For further
information, including images, charts and tables, please visit:

THEY SAY ARMENIAN PROSTITUTES BEHAVED THEMSELVES IN DUBAI

Haikazn Ghahriyan, Editor-in-Chief
Comments – Wednesday, 04 June 2014, 17:20

It is an interesting time in Armenia. The time seems dramatic, and
everyone seems to have this feeling. It is calm like before a storm
which puts people in some particular state of mind.

Camus wrote that before the big plague people diligently read
newspapers and fornicated. People avoid speaking about the disaster.

Some of them hope it’ll pass, others silence it to avoid the question
what shall be done and what steps should be taken. And they say all
together there is nothing new.

Indeed, the time is interesting. Armenia is losing its sovereignty
with the efforts of Armenians. Dark clouds are hanging over Karabakh,
the correlation of forces is changing. The government, however, claims
“there is nothing new”. For its part, the “establishment” is busy
justifying everything. And thus politics ends and there is nothing
“new”.

Instead, other things are happening in the country. For example,
relatives of government officials shoot and stab people and set
free with self-defense. Vardan Petrosyan is undergoing a scrupulous
“fair trial” and is also made to pay for the car of the ministry of
agriculture. Shant Harutiunyan is in prison for “anti-social” behavior
while the Armenian National Congress sets such criteria for political
prisoners that have nothing to do with the fight for sovereignty.

Gagik Tsarukyan is awarded by the government of Italy for his service
to Italy, and the ex-minister of environmental protection awards
himself on his last working day for his merits in environmental
protection. The eagle of Horadiz, the ex-governor of Syunik is awarded
a Combat Cross.

The former revolutionary party announces that they will enter where
it will be good for them.

The prices of bread, electricity and gas soar because the number of
consumers decreases but they say it is drought and a tendency on the
global market.

The prime minister speaks about stealing and taxing, equal
opportunities, justice and investments. And Lfik Samo says if everyone
pays, he will pay too.

Millionaire officials say they inherited their money from their
grannies who had a great role in the development of the Armenian
economy.

Thief-in-law Gevorik of Oshakan has appeared in an awkward situation:
he will lose his status unless he slaps someone.

However, especially popular with “newspaper readers” are interviews
taken from the bed of the woman who has lost her newborn, pathetic
behavior of parents who seem to have lost their good sense and adequacy
with the loss of their sons, rape, car accidents which subconsciously
“allude” to the disaster.

And amid this situation there is a reassuring piece of news. It turns
out that Armenian prostitutes in Dubai behaved with dignity. They
refused to provide non-traditional sexual services and announced
that it is not appropriate of the ethnic identity and image of an
Armenian woman.

– See more at:

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

“BILATERAL ECUMENISM NEEDS TO BE GIVEN PRIORITY IN VIEW OF THE GROWING
DECLINE OF MULTILATERAL ECUMENISM”

H.H. ARAM I

The Vatican: Addressing the staff of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council
for Promoting Christian Unity, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia
emphasized the growing importance of bilateral theological dialogues as “the
credible and efficient way of leading the churches towards the visible
unity”.

His Holiness begun his talk by reminding the pivotal importance of the
ecumenical movement for “being church”, because “it reminds the churches of
their ecclesial interrelatedness, emphasizes the urgency of healing the
brokenness of the church, calls for a deeper interaction between unity and
mission, and enhances the interconnection between the local and global”.
Hence, in his view, “the ecumenical movement is not an option but an
imperative for staying together and being church”.

Against the background of these introductory remarks, Aram I said that
the present ecumenical landscape is marked by a shift “from institutional to
people-centered ecumenism, multilateral to bilateral, Christocentric to
ecclesiocentric, fellowship-centered to non-committal, multi-confessional to
confessional, and global to local ecumenism”. Hence, according to the
Armenian Catholicos, “the ecumenical movement has become restless, in search
of a new self-understanding, new self-articulation and a new vision”. The
ecumenical agenda, too, steadily is shifting “from visible unity to issues
pertaining to church and society, from church-centered ecumenism to
inter-religious dialogue”. These developments said Aram I are the result of
globalization and radical changes taking place in the life of churches and
societies at large.

His Holiness Aram I then identified some of the implications of these
emerging ecumenical realities for the life and witness of the World Council
of Churches (WCC). As a person who knows the WCC well having served for
fifteen years as the Moderator of its Central and Executive Committees,
Catholicos Aram I pointed out that “visible unity has almost lost its
centrality, and reception-oriented processes, such as BEM, Apostolic Faith,
nature of the church etc. remain in the shelves of the Council”. He said
that although the 10th Assembly called for “moving together”, “pilgrimage of
justice and peace stressed by the Busan Assembly, may eventually push
visible unity to the periphery of the ecumenical moment”. In his view the
inter-religious dialogue, a major ecumenical challenge of present times, has
become “an area of marginal importance; it needs serious attention”. His
Holiness expressed his concern about the Orthodox participation and
contribution, “which have been significantly reduced”. As to WCC-Catholic
collaboration, Aram I considered it a vital dimension of the Council’s work
and called for “the broadening of its agenda and revising of its
methodology”.
##

BENEFIT EVENING RAISES FUNDS FOR DIKRANAGERD’S ST. GIRAGOS CHURCH

By Contributor on June 4, 2014

NEW MILFORD, N.J.–A fundraiser earmarked for the continued restoration
of the St. Giragos Church in Dikranagerd (Diyarbakir) took place on
Sat., May 17 at Hovnanian School’s Banquet Hall in New Milford.

(L-R) Dr. and Mrs. Raffy and Vicki Hovanessian, Hirant Gulian, Mrs.

Reyhan Baydemir, Mayor Osman Baydemir, and Dr. Ohan Karatoprak at
the St. Giragos Benefit Evening held in New Milford on May 17.

The occasion provided the opportunity to honor two individuals who
have been critical in the renovation of the church: Vartkes Ergun
Ayik, chairman of the St. Giragos Church of Dikranagerd, who received
the Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Honorable Osman Baydemir,
metropolitan mayor of Dikranagerd, who was given the Friends of the
Armenians Award.

In his welcoming remarks, Hirant Gulian, who has spearheaded
fundraising efforts in the diaspora, recognized Baydemir and Ayik and
their families who traveled from Dikranagerd to attend the benefit. He
presented both with their respective awards and expressed gratitude
for their commitment to the St. Giragos Restoration Project.

On accepting his award, Baydemir said that the pain of the past is
still being felt by the generations that have followed. “Despite all
the suffering we have to move ahead and make things right,” he added.

“Armenian brothers should feel ownership of this church because
Armenians are a part of Dikranagerd.”

Noting that St. Giragos is the biggest Armenian church in the Middle
East, Ayik stressed how Istanbul and Diasporan Armenians worked
together to collect money for the renovation, and how they received
the moral support of Mayor Beyman since the project’s inception.

“This project is an important sign of apology,” said Ayik, who
explained that St. Giragos is the most visited church in Turkey and
now holds social activities such as classical music concerts for
the public.

Ayik’s daughter Pelin presented a historical slideshow of the city
of Dikranagerd and the St. Giragos Church, which is experiencing
increased numbers of Armenians in attendance during church service.

She stressed that the Turkish government did not contribute to the
project; if the had, she said, it would have turned into a museum
instead of an active church.

Professor Vartan Abdo, the director of the Armenian Radio Hour of New
Jersey, served as master of ceremonies. A special performance was made
by the Akh’Tamar Dance Ensemble of Hye Doon. Musical entertainment
was provided by oud players Udi Yervant from Dikranagerd and Mike
Uzatmajian, as well as by Vicken Makoushian and DJ Berj.

St. Giragos was originally constructed in the 15th century and was
rebuilt in the 19th century after a fire damaged the sanctuary. The
church has seven bell towers, the first of which was built in 1884 (and
was cast by the world famous Zildjian Company), making it the tallest
structure in Dikranagerd. The church is known for its seven altars,
signifying “eternity” in the Armenian alphabet. It can accommodate
more than 2,500 faithful during services.

The restoration project of St. Giragos, which remains in possession of
the Armenian community under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of
Istanbul, began six years ago under the leadership of Ayik. Through
fundraising efforts by the church and worldwide Dikranagerdtsis,
two and a half million dollars has been raised thus far.

Tax-deductible donations for the St. Giragos Church Restoration Project
may be made to the Diocese of the Armenian Church, 630 Second Avenue,
New York, NY 10016 (with the memo: Dikranagerd Fund).

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA HAS ALLOCATED 20 TRAINING SLOTS FOR ARMENIA

13:00, 4 June, 2014

Under the programme of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation
(ITEC), the Government of India has been extending training
assistance in various courses to nationals of Armenia who are
working in Government, Semi- Government, Public Sector, Universities,
Schools, Chamber of Commerce and also employees of NGOs for specific
courses. Nearly 50 Institutes in India conduct more than 250
short-term, medium and long term courses every year. The training
programme is demand driven and the subjects chosen are of interest
to the developing countries and their working professionals covering
a wide range of skills and disciplines.

As “Armenpress” was informed from the Embassy of India in Yerevan,
the training is imparted primarily in areas such as Finance and
Accounts, Audit, Banking, Education, Planning and Administration,
Parliamentary Studies, Crime Records, Management, Environment,
Renewable Energy, Mass Communication, IT and Telecommunication and
Linguistics (English). For the year 2014-15, the Government of India
has allocated 20 training slots for Armenia. All the courses are
offered on “First-come, first-served” basis.

Full details of ITEC courses along with the Application Form
are available on the Embassy’s website: All
interested Armenian nationals may submit their applications through
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

COURT ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR SENIOR POLICE OFFICER’S NEPHEW

NEWS | 04.06.14 | 12:00

A lower court in Yerevan on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for a
senior Armenian police officer’s nephew wanted in a stabbing case.

A search has been announced for Sedrak Osipyan, 22, the nephew of
Valeriy Osipyan, deputy chief of the Yerevan police, who appears to
be on the run after allegedly knifing and wounding another young man
during an argument on June 1.

RFE/RL’s Armenian Service quoted head of the Judicial Department’s
Public Relations Service Arsen Babayan as saying that when the
law-enforcement agencies find Osipyan, according to a precedent
decision by the Court of Cassation, within 24 hours, a petition should
again be filed with the court.

Thus, the Court will enable the young man to present his position on
the arrest petition.