Author: Kajoyan Gevork

KAREN MIRZOYAN: THERE IS A POSITIVE TENDENCY IN PROCESS OF INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF NKR

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Thursday, May 15, 20:58

There is a positive tendency in the process of international
recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, NKR Foreign Minister
Karen Mirzoyan says in an interview with Karabakh-open.info. He says
that this tendency is displayed in the fact that the legislative
bodies of different countries and states are adopting resolutions on
recognition of peoples’ right to self- determination.

The NKR authorities also give high priority to decentralized
cooperation of the NKR and foreign towns and to the cooperation at
the parliamentary level.

Mirzoyan expressed confidence that the international recognition
of the NKR will have a positive effect on the settlement of the
Azeri-Karabakh conflict. He thinks it will allow focusing on creation
of mechanisms and favorable conditions for peaceful co-existence of
the two independent states – Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, which
were formed after the collapse of the USSR and the war unleashed
by Azerbaijan.

“The international community is inclined to think that the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic deserves to become a full member of the
civilized community of states”, said Mirzoyan.

GEORGIAN EXPERT: IVANISHVILI’S GEORGIA REMAINS THE SAME COUNTRY AS DURING SAAKASHVILI’S PRESIDENCY

by David Stepanyan

ARMINFO
Thursday, May 15, 20:05

Essentially, in 2013 Georgia ruled by Bidzina Ivanishvili remained the
same country as during Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency, Gia Nodia,
Head of the Tbilisi- based Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and
Development, said at today’s Caucasus-2013 international conference
in Yerevan.

“In 2013 the country experienced some disappointment at the actions
of the Georgian Dream. The citizens expected this bloc to reduce
the prices of petroleum and energy resources. The bloc’s failure to
fulfill its promises has disappointed a certain part of the society.

In the meantime, the other part of the society is generally satisfied
with the democratic breakthrough in Georgia”, he said.

According to Nodia, the falling rating of the Georgian Dream is
unlikely to give the opposition United National Movement a chance
to win the next nationwide elections. The United National Movement
has problems with its leadership. One of its leaders is currently in
either Ukraine or the United States, the other leader is in prison.

Therefore, I see no chances for the United National Movement to come
to power in the foreseeable future”, said the Georgian expert.

The conference is annually organized by the Caucasus Institute with
the support of the Academic Swiss Caucasus Net (ASCN). This year
the conference covered the reports of representatives of Armenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Switzerland. The reports included
a short analysis of the most important developments of 2013 in the
South Caucasus countries.

SCHIFF LECTURES TOP TURKISH OFFICIALS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

San Diego Jewish World-CA
May 14 2014

Posted on 14 May 2014.

Adam Schiff

WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) -As part of a Congressional Delegation
to the Middle East and Asia focused on terrorism, homeland security
and the war in Syria, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) had separate
meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah
Gul and other Turkish high government officials.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister, Schiff challenged the notion
expressed by Erdogan in a recent interview that because there are
Armenian survivors still living in Turkey, there could have been
no genocide. This is the equivalent, Schiff argued, of saying that
because some Jews in Europe escaped death, there was no Holocaust.

Schiff also questioned whether it was possible to have the open
discourse in Turkey about the events of 1915-1923 that Erdogan called
for in his statement of April 23rd, if Turkish professors, historians,
journalists and ordinary citizens still faced demotion, intimidation,
potential prosecution or violence for expressing the conviction that
the Armenian Genocide is a historic fact.

In his meeting with President Gul, Schiff said that he wanted to
speak for the many tens of thousands of his constituents of Armenian
descent who may never get the chance to address the President directly.

“You will not find one of my 80,000 Armenian constituents untouched
by the Genocide,” he said. “Each of them has lost a parent or
grandparent, their cousins, brothers or sisters, or their entire
family. Their pain is real, their wounds are open, this is no distant
relic of the past. To say, as you and the Prime Minister have, that
yes, Armenians suffered but so too did Turks during World War I,
is akin to saying that the Germans also suffered during World War
II. It is true that many German civilians died, many noncombatants,
but that does not negate the Holocaust any more than the fact that
many Turks died could negate the Genocide. To propose, as you have,
that a historic commission be established to ascertain the facts of
the Genocide is not unlike suggesting that a commission needs to be
established to determine whether the Holocaust took place.”

Schiff also raised the issue of Kessab, and his concern over the
forced evacuation of the historic Armenian community there and the
wellbeing of those residents who are now refugees in Turkey. He also
urged Turkey to decouple the blockade of Armenia from resolution of the
issues concerning Nagorno Karabagh, so that we can bring about an end
to Armenia’s economic isolation and a normalization of trade relations.

* Preceding provided by Congressman Adam Schiff

REP. SCHIFF PRESSES ERDOGAN, GUL AND OTHER TOP TURKISH OFFICIALS ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, THE BLOCKADE OF ARMENIA, AND THE PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE OF KESSAB AT MEETING IN ANKARA; REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA) NEWS RELEASE

Congressional Documents and Publications
May 13, 2014

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DOCUMENTS

Washington, DC -As part of a Congressional Delegation to the Middle
East and Asia focused on terrorism, homeland security and the war in
Syria, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) had separate meetings with
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and
other Turkish high government officials.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister, Schiff challenged the notion
expressed by Erdogan in a recent interview that because there are
Armenian survivors still living in Turkey, there could have been
no genocide. This is the equivalent, Schiff argued, of saying that
because some Jews in Europe escaped death, there was no Holocaust.

Schiff also questioned whether it was possible to have the open
discourse in Turkey about the events of 1915-1923 that Erdogan called
for in his statement of April 23rd, if Turkish professors, historians,
journalists and ordinary citizens still faced demotion, intimidation,
potential prosecution or violence for expressing the conviction that
the Armenian Genocide is a historic fact.

In his meeting with President Gul, Schiff said that he wanted to
speak for the many tens of thousands of his constituents of Armenian
descent who may never get the chance to address the President directly.

“You will not find one of my 80,000 Armenian constituents untouched
by the Genocide,” he said. “Each of them has lost a parent or
grandparent, their cousins, brothers or sisters, or their entire
family. Their pain is real, their wounds are open, this is no distant
relic of the past. To say, as you and the Prime Minister have, that
yes, Armenians suffered but so too did Turks during World War I,
is akin to saying that the Germans also suffered during World War
II. It is true that many German civilians died, many noncombatants,
but that does not negate the Holocaust any more than the fact that
many Turks died could negate the Genocide. To propose, as you have,
that a historic commission be established to ascertain the facts of
the Genocide is not unlike suggesting that a commission needs to be
established to determine whether the Holocaust took place.”

Schiff also raised the issue of Kessab, and his concern over the
forced evacuation of the historic Armenian community there and the
wellbeing of those residents who are now refugees in Turkey. He also
urged Turkey to decouple the blockade of Armenia from resolution of the
issues concerning Nagorno Karabagh, so that we can bring about an end
to Armenia’s economic isolation and a normalization of trade relations.

Read this original document at:

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN VISITS MODERNIZED GOLD EXTRACTION PLANT

Economic News (Information Agency Oreanda)
May 13, 2014 Tuesday

Ararat. OREANDA-NEWS . May 13, 2014. President Serzh Sargsyan conducted
a working visit to Ararat marz. The President of Armenia attended
the area of GeoProMining companys gold extraction plant in Ararat,
at the full commissioning ceremony of Albion technological shop in
the groundbreaking ceremony of which Serzh Sargsyan had participated
in July 2011.

The shop was made a reality in the framework of the modernization
program of GeoProMining companys gold extraction plant in Ararat.

The President of Armenia, accompanied by the companys leadership
and the RA relevant officials, toured the plant and familiarized
with the investments, the works accomplished as a result of those
investments and the productive potential of the plant. The president
was introduced that the investment volume of one of Armenias largest
investors GeoProMining Group for the modernization of Sotks mine and
Ararats plant accounted for more than 140 million US dollars. In
addition, the companys total investment volume for acquiring and
modernizing enterprises in Armenia comprised more than 370 US dollars.

According to specialists, Albion innovative technology put into
operation today, afforded an opportunity to raise metal extraction
from hard-extractable sulfide ores abundant in Armenias southwestern
Sotks mine. It was noted that Armenias gold recycling plant would
become the second in the world to put Albion technology into practice.

At present, 976 people are employed in GeoProMining company, of whom
626 in Sotks mine and 350 in Ararats gold extraction plant. As a
result of the modernization, 130 additional jobs have been created.

The average salary of the production sector accounts for 209 thousand
drams.

On the way to GeoProMinings Ararat gold extraction plant, in Avshar
community, President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with the owners
of the peasant households whose gardening areas had suffered from
a severe freeze throughout the 30.03.2014-01.04.2014 period. The
president talked to the peasants, once again familiarized with the
implementation process of the government state support programs
being allocated to the households according to his instruction,
learned about the peasants urgent issues on the spot, informed them
about the state support programs on mitigating the damages and gave
certain instructions to the executives.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES FROM ARMENIA AND CANADA WIN THE 2013 UNESCO/EMIR JABER AL-AHMED AL-JABER AL-SABAH PRIZE

United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO
May 13 2014

Armenian non-governmental organization Bridge of Hope and the
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development of New
Brunswick (Canada), are the laureates of the UNESCO/Emir Jaber al-Ahmed
al-Jaber al-Sabah Prize to Promote Quality Education for Persons with
Intellectual Disabilities.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, announced the laureates
during Education for All Global Action Week (4-10 May), celebrated
under the theme of “Equal Right, Equal Opportunity: Education and
Disability.”

The two winners were recommended by an international Jury which
reviewed 54 applications submitted by Member States and NGOs in
official partnership with UNESCO. Funded by the State of Kuwait,
the Prize is awarded every two years.

The Armenian NGO Bridge of Hope is rewarded for its programme entitled
‘Towards Education for All: Inclusive Education’, which promotes human
rights, social and educational inclusion of children and youth with
disabilities. By engaging with key participants including government
ministries, international agencies, families, communities, schools,
and early childhood settings, the organization has contributed to
significant country-wide improvements in inclusive education. Despite
challenging conditions, the selected programme serves as an excellent
model for the region. The nomination for the Prize was made by the
Armenian National Commission for UNESCO.

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development of the
Canadian Provincial Government of New Brunswick is recognized for its
long-standing commitment to a systemic approach to inclusive education
for learners with disabilities and for its vision of education as a
catalyst for social justice and equity. Its programme ‘A model for
inclusion in New Brunswick’s public education system’ constitutes
an outstanding example of mentoring and professional learning for
inclusive education, and a model of excellence in a public education
system that has inspired other countries. The Department of Education
of New Brunswick was proposed for the Prize by the NGO Inclusion
International an NGO in official partnership with UNESCO.

“Inclusion benefits all children. These programmes show that it is
possible to remove barriers to and in learning, to realize the full
and equal participation in education of children and youth with
disabilities,” said the Director-General.

Each of the prize winners will receive a monetary award of $20,000
at a ceremony to be hosted by the Government of Kuwait and UNESCO,
on 26 May in Kuwait.

For further information please visit:

JANGIRYAN: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT WANTED WOLVES TO BE SATED AND SHEEP INTACT

Thursday,
May
15

The Armenian parliament discussed today the government-submitted
bill on amendments to the Law on Accumulative Pensions at the second
reading.

Deputy of Armenian National Congress (HAK) faction Gagik Jangiryan
said that a contradictory situation has emerged in Armenia following
the Constitutional Court’s decision and the Court itself is to blame
for it.

In his words, the Constitutional Court recognized some clauses
of the Law on Accumulative Pensions as unconstitutional and null,
but while declaring the compulsory accumulative pension component
unconstitutional, the Constitutional Court also took a decision about
a postponement of the disputed law’s execution.

“The Constitutional Court speaks about a postponement in clause 7 so
the Constitutional Court itself is to blame for the current situation
as it wanted the wolves to be sated and the sheep to be intact at
the same time,” Jangiryan said.

14.05.2014, 19:44

Aysor.am

ARMENIAN-POPULATED DISTRICTS OF ALEPPO UNDER ROCKET ATTACK

May 14, 2014 | 16:56

ALEPPO. – A young man of Armenian origin was wounded in a rocket
attack of Armenian-populated district of Aleppo, Syria.

Antuan Danielyan, a 25-year-old citizen of the city was wounded,
ARF Dashnaktsutyun branch reported from Aleppo.

As reported earlier, two Armenians were killed and another was wounded
as a result of Sunday’s military operations in Syria.

Overall 60-70 thousands Armenians were residing in Syria before the
bloody events. More than half of them lived in Aleppo and the other
half was scattered in the cities of Latakia, Homs, Qamishli, Hasaka,
Raqqah, Kessab and, of course, the capital – Damascus.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

FORMER ARMENIAN OFFICIAL COMMENTS ON PREMIER’S MEETING WITH BUSINESSMEN

21:51 â~@¢ 14.05.14

In an interview with Tert.am, former head of the Civil Aviation
Department Shahen Petrosyan commented on Armenian Prime Minister
Hovik Abrahamyan’s meeting with businessmen.

“That is, the premier says we have until now been committing crimes
in this country and from now on we are working in conformity with
law. It is very interesting. They and their relatives, inner circles
and clans created this oligarchic system and now they say ‘stop’! But
how have they amassed their own fortunes? Do they forget all about it?”

“I say this as a socialist. And now I am going to say as a liberal.

Dear premier, you are going to join the Customs Union and how are you
going to work in conformity with law, being submissive to Russia. You
are going to submit to Russian laws and rules. So I do not have any
hopes for as normal business life in Armenia,” Petrosyan said.

“They have plundered the country. They are the same people, with only
one person changed. Laws remain the same. They say, ‘the rules of
the game have changed.’ What does it mean? We have the Constitution
and laws adopted by the National Assembly.

“Their political will would be their resignation. They have created
this situation in the country, with so many emigrants and small and
medium businesses shut down and sold. So what does the premier’s
saying mean?”

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS WEST POLICIES ‘HYSTERICAL’

May 14, 2014 – 18:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia will be obliged to take retaliatory measures
if the West continues its sanctions policy, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday, May 14, according to RIA Novosti.

“If the West continues these absolutely non-professional hysterical
policies, we would have to think what we can do in return,” Lavrov
said in an interview with Bloomberg.

The minister, however, said that Russia was not looking for
confrontations and would not like to parrot Western countries’
behavior.

“We are not looking for confrontation and we don’t want to mimic the
hectic gestures made by Washington, Brussels, some other capitals,
reluctantly most of them, by the way,” Lavrov said.

The Russian diplomat at the same time claimed that “all threats
coming from Washington, as well as European capitals, are highly
unprofessional, far from reality and driven only by the desire to
seek revenge.”

“I don’t think that economic sanctions are being considered seriously
… The discussions, as I can perceive them, they are based on the
desire to get revenge, which is always very bad for politicians, which
is not professional for anyone who wants to be engaged in serious
politics, and revenge would probably have some effect, no doubt,”
the Russian minister said.

“If the West, just for the sake of revenge, is ready to sacrifice its
reputation as a reliable partner for the entire world economy … it
is up to them to decide. The entire world would think differently,”
Lavrov added.