Author: Kajoyan Gevork

English teaching in Armenia is at high level – UK ambassador

March 22, 2014 | 11:09

YEREVAN. – The teaching of English is at a high level in Armenia.
Katherine (Kathy) Leach, Ambassador of Great Britain to Armenia,
stated the aforesaid Saturday at a conference titled “Cooperation for
Success.”

The event is organized by the British Council, and it is devoted to
the 25th anniversary of the worldwide introduction of the IELTS
(International English Language Testing System).

“The British Council plays a key role in the teaching of English; this
is very important for the development of intercultural dialogue,”
Ambassador Leach said.

In turn, Arevik Saribekyan, Director at British Council, Armenia
office, stressed that there is a growing interest in Armenia toward
the IELTS.

“There are 900 [IELTS] test centers in 135 countries and, in Armenia,
it is the British Council. We collaborate with the French University
in Armenia, the Pedagogical University, the Russian-Armenian
(Slavonic) University, and the American University of Armenia,”
Saribekyan noted.

She added that the British Council is also ready for the online
learning of the IELTS.

More than 1,000 people take the IELTS exam in Armenia each year and
receive the international Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Yerevan tells Kyiv stance on right to self-determination unchanged

March 22, 2014 – 13:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s principled stance on people’s right to
self-determination, repeatedly expressed on numerous occasions,
remains unchanged, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said at
the Friday, March 21 meeting with Ukrainian envoy Ivan Kukhta, Armenia
Now reported.

Earlier that day Kukhta was recalled by Kyiv over Armenia’s stance on
the Crimean referendum expressed during a telephone conversation
between President Serzh Sargsyan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin.

According to the presidential press service, during their March 19
telephone conversation the two leaders “shared opinions regarding the
crisis in Ukraine and the ways out of it.” “In that context the
Presidents touched upon the situation after the referendum in Crimea
and stated that the latter constitutes another case of exercising
peoples’ right to self-determination through free expression of will.
At the same time the Presidents stressed the importance of committing
to the norms and principles of the international law, first and
foremost the UN Charter,” the press release said.

As reported by the Foreign Ministry’s official website, at the meeting
with the envoy, Kocharyan also stressed that “the centuries-old
relations between the friendly peoples of Armenia and Ukraine form a
solid basis on which the interaction between the two countries is
built.”

Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, through
an official, warned Yerevan of “serious damage” to bilateral ties and
demanded an official explanation regarding its stance on Crimea’s
secession from Ukraine and annexation to Russia. At the same time,
Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danilo Lubkivsky said that Armenia’s
ambassador in Kyiv had twice been summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign
Minister and handed an official note.

Meanwhile, the Armenian leader sought to reach out to the Ukrainian
people as he spoke during a presidential awards ceremony honoring
artists, writers and scientists.

Olena Fetisova, Ukrainian screenwriter, producer and co-director of a
new feature film about Soviet-Armenian filmmaker Sergey Paradjanov,
was among the honorees. The Ukrainian, however, decided against
accepting the award in protest against Sargsyan’s de-facto acceptance
of the outcome of the internationally condemned referendum in Crimea.

UK envoy concerned over Armenian, Russian stance on Crimea

13:33 * 22.03.14

The United Kingdom’s ambassador to Armenia has expressed her concerns
over the Armenian and Russian leaders’ position on Crimea referendum.

In comments to Tert.am, Kathy Leach said she doesn’t find the recent
statements by Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin democratic
enough to protect the right to free will-expression.

It comes after the two presidents exchanged ideas over the referendum
in a phone conversation, agreeing mutually that the Sunday voting saw
the population on the peninsula exercise its right to
self-determination.

The ambassador said they cannot consider the outcomes legitimate
given that the referendum was organized the seizure of Crimea’s key
infrastructures by Russian troops. She said the conduct of the
election does not conform to the norms and principles of either the
Ukrainian legislation or international law.

REVUE DE PRESSE
Millau : la famille Nadoyan menacée d’expulsion

L’association caritative de Millau (Aveyron), À Tous Coeurs et le
collectif de soutien aux migrants se mobilisent pour Vitali et les
siens.

Président d’À Tous Coeurs, Cédric Cadaux peut témoigner de la moralité
et de la vaillance de Vitali Nadoyan. Arrivé à Millau en 2011 avec son
épouse et Georges, leur fils unique alors gé de 7 ans, ce père de
famille d’origine kurde yézidi (1), est aujourd’hui bénévole au sein
de l’association caritative auprès de laquelle il a demandé de l’aide
lors de son installation. “Il ne voulait pas d’une aide à sens unique.
Ce qu’on lui a donné, il nous l’a rendu au centuple en s’occupant à
soulager la misère des autres, faisant fi de celle de sa famille”,
insiste M. Cadaux.

Au nom de la “vie privée et familiale”

Autour de ces “valeurs”, des liens d’amitié se sont noués entre les
membres d’À Tous Coeurs et les Nadoyan, logés par le CCAS dans une
“chambre” de l’ancien Hôtel-Dieu. Aussi, le président de l’association
caritative s’est ému quand cette famille, déboutée dans ses démarches
de demande d’asile (2), a reçu, le 19 février, une obligation de
quitter le territoire français (OQTF), assortie d’un contrôle
judiciaire qui contraint Vitali à se présenter tous les deux jours au
commissariat de police.

Georges, 9 ans, et l’accent aveyronnais…

“On a peur qu’un jour il y soit retenu”, explique-t-on à À Tous Coeurs
qui, après s’être rapproché du collectif millavois de soutien aux
migrants, diffuse depuis quelques jours une pétition demandant la
régularisation des Nadoyan, en vertu notamment de la circulaire Valls
de 2012. Cette circulaire doit favoriser l’attribution d’un titre de
séjour provisoire, au nom de la “vie privée et familiale”, aux parents
d’un enfant scolarisé en France depuis trois ans.

gé de 9 ans maintenant, Georges est scolarisé à l’école Martel depuis
son arrivée à Millau. Auparavant, il a fréquenté une école à
Decazeville où la famille a d’abord séjourné, soit cinq ans de
scolarité en tout. Même s’il souffre de problèmes d’audition, le
garçon s’exprime correctement en français, avec une pointe d’accent
aveyronnais…

Victimes de persécutions anti-Kurdes en Géorgie

“Cette famille satisfait à tous les critères de la circulaire Valls.
On ne comprend pas la situation dans laquelle l’administration l’a
enfermée”, assurent À Tous Coeurs et le collectif de soutien aux
migrants.

Cédric Cadaux émet cependant l’hypothèse que les Nadoyan “payent” le
fait de s’être déclarés, sur les conseils de membres du réseau qui les
a fait passer en France, de nationalité arménienne, alors qu’ils
fuyaient la Géorgie.

“Là-bas, Vitali était masseur-kinésithérapeute. Il a d’abord perdu son
boulot, puis son logement, tout ça parce qu’il était membre actif
d’une association kurde. Sa femme a été brutalisée alors même qu’elle
était enceinte, explique le président de l’association caritative. Ils
ne peuvent vraiment pas y retourner. Ils y sont persécutés.”

(1) Communauté religieuse établie notamment en Irak (Kurdistan) et
dans les anciennes républiques soviétiques du Caucase. (2) Un recours
est engagé contre l’OQTF, mais il n’est pas suspensif.

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samedi 22 mars 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Washington dénonce la décision de la Turquie de bloquer Twitter

WASHINGTON, 21 mars 2014 (AFP) – Le département d’Etat américain a
dénoncé vendredi le blocage de Twitter décrété par le Premier ministre
turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan, jugeant qu’une telle décision était
“contraire au désir exprimée par la Turquie elle -même d’être un
modèle de démocratie”.

Sur ordre du gouvernement, l’autorité turque des télécommunications a
interdit jeudi soir l’accès au réseau social, sur lequel des opposants
avaient diffusé des enregistrements de conversations téléphoniques
piratées qui mettent en cause M. Erdogan dans un vaste scandale de
corruption.

“Les Etats-Unis soutiennent la liberté d’expression en Turquie et
s’opposent à toute entrave à la libre expression”, a poursuivi la
porte-parole du département d’Etat Jennifer Psaki. “Nous exhortons le
gouvernement turc de rétablir l’accès de ses citoyens à Twitter et
d’assurer un libre accès à tous les réseaux sociaux”.

Des responsables américains, dont l’ambassadeur des Etats-Unis en
Turquie, ont travaillé sur ce dossier et “nous avons fait part de nos
inquiétudes via ces canaux”, a-t-elle ajouté.

“Les gouvernements démocratiques doivent accepter d’écouter les voix
qui sont en désaccord avec eux”, a renchéri Jennifer Psaki. “Des
médias indépendants et s’exprimant sans entraves constituent un
élément essentiel des sociétés ouvertes et démocratiques”.

samedi 22 mars 2014,
Ara (c)armenews.com

FOOTBALL
Henrikh Mkhitaryan sur les bouteilles de bière Brikhoff’s

En partenariat avec le Borussia Dortmund la société de bière
Brinkhoff’s a mise en vente des bouteilles de bière personnalisées au
nom des joueurs du club avec le numéro de leur maillot. Ainsi
l’international arménien Henrikh Mkhitaryan a son nom et son numéro 10
sur les bouteilles de bière Brinkhoff’s.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 22 mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

NKR PRIME MINISTER: NAGORNO-KARABAKH IS IN A MORE FAVORABLE SITUATION THAN CRIMEA, KOSOVO, ABKHAZIA OR SOUTH OSSETIA ARE

ARMINFO
Thursday, March 20, 17:13

The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities continue holding political
consultations for attaining the international recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and sooner or later NKR will be recognized,
NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan said in the village of Nor Getashen
on Thursday.

The villagers asked him why in Crimea has managed to join Russia so
quickly while the results of the referendum held in Nagorno-Karabakh
as long ago as 1991 are still unrecognized. Harutyunyan said that
Nagorno- Karabakh welcomes the nations that have exercised their right
to self- determination. “Perhaps, for some nations it is important
to do it quickly but our priority is first of all to build a strong
state. We are in a more favorable situation than Crimea, Kosovo,
Abkhazia or South Ossetia are. The current status quo is the result
of the high efficiency of our army. So, we must continue our efforts
in this direction,” Harutyunyan said.

GAME IS OVER WITH CRIMEA – ARMENIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST

15:53 â?¢ 18.03.14

Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan knows well
what Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to say about the
Crimea developments.

In any case, Ukraine will not regain political control of the Crimea.

“The game is over with Crimea. It is part of a larger-scale game. I
mean Ukraine because Russia seeks to influence some of the Ukrainian
regions’ decisions,” Iskandaryan told reporters on Tuesday.

“I think Russia is obviously losing its war in the West and winning
inside itself. Why should it take sides with anyone?”

With respect to Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) Chairman
Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s statement that Nagorno-Karabakh’s becoming part
of Russia would be the best solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem,
Iskandaryan said:

“Zhirinovsky is a talent â?” theatrically or politically. But it has
nothing in common with the Russia developments.”

Ukraine is “a large Georgia,” and the ongoing developments in Ukraine
follow the Georgian scenario.

Armenian News – Tert.am

RUSSIA’S ROSKOSMOS TO STUDY ARMENIA’S SPACE EXPLORATION CAPACITY

Space Daily
March 17, 2014 Monday

DATELINE: Yerevan (SPX) Mar 13, 2014, 2014

A group is set up at Roskosmos, Russian Federal Space Agency, for
studying Armenia’s capacity in using space for peaceful purposes,
the press office of Armenia’s National Security Council reported
Monday after Arthur Baghdasaryan, the secretary of the council,
met with the agency’s delegation headed by Sergey Seredin.

The group has been set up as part of the agreement reached between
Arthur Baghdasaryan and Oleg Ostapenko, the head of Roskosmos.

At this meeting, the secretary of the Armenian National Security
Council, said that the establishment of this group is in tune with
the two courtiers’ cooperation in scientific, technical and industrial
areas.

He said Armenia has experience in cooperation with Roskosmos and
pointed out substantial modernization of Byurakan Observatory as part
of the 2012 and 2013 program of cooperation between two countries’
security councils.

Baghdasaryan stressed that Armenia has a huge capacity that can be
used effectively in space exploration.

He also said that Armenia has enterprises which are able to provide
Russian plants with space radio electronic devices.

Representatives of Roskosmos, on their side, found cooperation
prospects promising and expressed willingness to expand the scope of
cooperation with Armenian organizations.

The Russian delegation will visit Byurakan Observatory, Institute of
Radio Physics and Electronics in Ashtarak and will meet with heads
of research institutes.

According to the press release, a delegation headed by Oleg Ostapenko
is expected to come to Armenia soon.

ARMENIAN CEMETERY FOUND NEAR URFA FORTRESS IN TURKEY

10:52, 17 March, 2014

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS: In the result of the excavation works,
carried out by the administration of the Sanliurfa Museum of Turkey,
Armenian and Christian cemeteries have been found nearby the Urfa
fortress. Armenpress reports that the Turkish Haberler.com informed
about it. Historical remnants and the images of Saint Mary, the Mother
of God and Jesus Christ were found in the same area in the caves.

The excavation works were carried out by the Syrians. The
population of the nearby villages, seeing their work, applied to the
police. The employers of the law enforcement agencies, arriving at
the excavation site, were informed that the Syrians were hired by
the archaeologists. After getting the corresponding information,
the policemen left the excavation site.