Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Fatal Issue of March 2

Haikazn Ghahriyan, Editor-in-Chief
Comments – Saturday, 01 March 2014, 13:53

Today is the sixth anniversary of shooting of peaceful demonstrators
at the center of Yerevan. On 1 March 2008 10 people were killed, over
one hundred people were injured or imprisoned. The state of emergency
lasted for 20 days. Investigation was carried out, several commissions
and a fact-finding group were set up but March 1 was not disclosed.

The government says March 1 will not be disclosed unless Armenia is
strong and independent, without explaining this statement. The
opposition is reproached for using March 1 to keep the show going and
to show off. For their part, opponents say that March 1 will not be
disclosed unless the present government is changed. Although, on the
other hand, the same opposition first entered into a “dialogue” first
with Serzh Sargsyan, then with Robert Kocharyan whom it had denounced
as those responsible for March 1. This is the counterargument of the
government.

On these days a lot of comparisons with Maidan are made. The Armenian
political class, both governmental and non-governmental, agrees that
there are no terms for comparison, and Armenia cannot repeat Maidan.
And the ANC leader says Maidan is an anti-Russian movement which
cannot happen in Armenia.

A lot of people note rightly that Armenians had their Maidan in 1988,
gaining independence in the result of the national liberation movement
and winning the war.

There is an opinion that in February the same mechanism was applied in
Kiev as against the demonstrators in Yerevan on 1 March 2008. Several
tens of people were shot in Kiev but the government saw that people
would not leave the streets and resisted and ran away. The leaders of
Maidan did not leave the streets. They had to shoot everyone or run
away.

In Yerevan ten people were shot, the leaders of the movement left, a
state of emergency was imposed, and the movement ended, transforming
to a political party-political science-rally process.

One can share this opinion, one can bring a lot of counterarguments
but the situation will not change. The ultimate issue of “March 2”,
all nude and cruel, rises during every movement and answers all the
questions.

“March 2” is the most complicated issue that very few peoples have
been able to resolve. The issue is to what extent the movements
achieve their goal and make change irreversible. Currently Ukraine is
on this way, and it is hard to tell what the heroic people of Ukraine
will get in the result of their fight. Everything depends on them.

The “March 2” of the movement of 1988 in Armenia had an irreversible
result – the victory in Karabakh – but it did not become the
embodiment of aspirations and dreams in domestic life. Very soon the
government was usurped by the “notorious” forces which destroyed the
constitutional mechanisms of forming government and opportunities for
freedom in every sphere of life. In different years attempts were made
to raise a waive during presidential elections but first the
oppositions were not able to raise the waive, second, they were unable
to offer the replacement of the existing system.

The movement of 2007-2008 also failed (or there was no such a goal) to
address the issue of “March 2”. Instead the notorious developments
followed.

The usurpation scheme of government was maintained in Armenia, and the
“opposition” is part of this. Everyone is interested in maintaining
this system, evidence to which is statements that Maidan is impossible
in Yerevan. More exactly, they are trading with the government through
Maidan. One can remember the “threat” of different forces that they
will take people to the streets if necessary.

After September 3 this situation became more vivid. The political
class received a chance to “refer” to Russia to justify the existence
of the system.

How about the public? How do they imagine “March 2″? It is noticed
that the Armenian political class has lost its previous opportunities
to manipulate the society. The charm of the situation is the
impossibility of thinking of new methods. Everything is clear and
comprehensible to everyone.

This is an important circumstance but the issue of March” 2 is not
sufficient to complete the change of system.

– See more at:

Economist: Armenia has lost its investment attractiveness

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Saturday, March 1, 15:21

Armenia has lost its competitiveness and investment attractiveness.
This is proved by the declining investments in the country’s economy
over the past few years, economist Vahagn Khachatryan, member of the
opposition Armenian National Congress, said at today’s rally in
Liberty Square in Yerevan.

“Due to the authorities’ policy, the small and medium-sized businesses
literally feel short of breath. The authorities are only dreaming to
rob their own citizens and kill the last sprouts of SMEs”, said
Khachatryan.

Khachatryan recalled the authorities’ latest initiatives that have
deteriorated the hard socio-economic situation of the citizens. These
initiatives include the rise in gas and electric power tariffs,
compulsory accumulative pension system, paid parking lots in Yerevan’s
streets, car insurance fraud, as well as the speed recorders and the
legalized robbery on the roads.

“The robbed funds are being taken abroad. Over the past 2 years the
capital outflow totaled 5 bln drams, according to the WB’s data”, he
said.

By playing card of “Khojalu”, Baku is trying to distract attention
from genocide of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad…

15:28 01/03/2014 >> REGION

26 years ago on 26-29 February 1988 an act of genocide was carried out
against Armenian population of Sumgait city of Azerbaijani SSR. In
terms of actual complicity of local authorities and inaction of the
USSR government mass pogroms and killings of Armenians were carried
out, the crimes against humanity that shook the International
Community by their savage and brutal nature. This is stated in the
article of Ruben Zargaryan published in the newspaper “Komsomolskaya
Pravda”.

As it is stated in the article, the massacres in Sumgait, which is
located hundreds of kilometers away from Nagorno Karabakh, were the
response to the legitimate expression of the will of people of Nagorno
Karabakh to unite with Armenia, an integral part of which Nagorno
Karabakh had been during millions of years till the Soviet era.
Nagorno Karabakh was a vivid example of systemic Armenophobic policy
of Azerbaijani government.

“Mass killings of Armenians in the “cosmopolitan” Sumgait were
intended to block the possible solution of the problem by the Centre
of the Union as well as to frighten the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh
with the prospects of new massacres, to make them neglect their
natural right to freedom and dignity. Dozens of innocent people were
killed with sadistic cruelty on the basis of national origin,” the
author states.

According to the article, on last day of Sumgait massacres of
Armenians, on February 29, 1988 meeting of Politburo of Central
Committee of CPSU took place in Kremlin, where it was for the first
time officially noted that the pogroms and massacres in Sumgait were
carried out on national basis, against people of Armenian origin.

As the author states, the genocide against Armenians in Sumgait was
thoroughly planned in advance. “Co-chairman of the Social-Democratic
Party of Azerbaijan Zardusht Alizadeh writes about the first rally of
the Azerbaijani youth in front of the Central Committee of CP in
Azerbaijan that took place already on February 19, 1988 (before the
decision of Oblast Council of People’s Deputies of NKAO was made on 20
February 1988) and about an attempt of Armenian pogroms in Baku.”

It is stated in the article that during the anti-Armenian rallies that
started on 26 February, in the central square of Sumgait, the heads of
the city openly called for the violence against the Armenians, created
an atmosphere of mass hysteria and psychosis. On 27 February the thugs
armed with the pre-fabricated metal rods and other piercing weapons,
launched a planned criminal action. The thugs clearly knew their
tasks, having the pre-compiled list of Armenian citizens and their
addresses. Split into groups of 50-80 people, they broke into the
apartments of the Armenians, killed them not only in their houses but
took them out of their houses into the courtyards and publicly mocked
them. After painful bullying the victims were doused with gasoline and
burnt.

“Entire families were destroyed. In this same way all the members of
Melkumyan family were killed. Soghomon Markarovich , 57 years old ,
Raisa Arsenovna, 54 years old, Edward, 28 years old, Igor , 31 years
old and Irina, 27 years old. After being beaten, raped and grievously
wounded their bodies were burnt,” the author writes.

The article also contains some excerpts from the testimony recorded in
the protocols of the court hearings of Azerbaijani thugs. So Zarbalaev
told that “when on 29 February, 1988 the crowd approached 5a house, a
group of boys immediately entered the first entrance…in 10 minutes the
boys were drugging 50 years old man out of entrance. He was surrounded
by 15-20 people who started to beat him with an axe, knives, and
wooden sticks. Then one of the boys took the burning mattress and
covered the man with it. Others threw different things on him.”

Witness Atlukhanov said that on their way to the train station
Akhmedov and he both saw a naked murdered girl in the reeds, while
near the traffic lights a bloody man was lying on the ground…APCs were
there but they didn’t intervene either.

“The Azerbaijani authorities committed a crime against humanity in
Sumgait, the victims of which were 36 Armenians (this is a recorded
number, but in fact the number of killed were much higher), among whom
were pregnant women, children and old men. Hundreds were injured, many
of whom remained maimed, while thousands became refugees,” the article
reads and notes that immediately after the pogroms the authorities of
Azerbaijan SSR implemented measures to hide the traces of the crime,
tried to destroy the physical evidence.

The author regrets that to this day the genocide, organized in Sumagit
from 27 to 29 February of 1988 hasn’t received an adequate political
and legal assessment at the state level.

“It is clear that the absence of an adequate political and legal
assessment of Sumgait tragedy, impunity, created a precedent for
subsequent genocide of Armenians in Baku in January 1990 and for
analogous crimes in other regions of Azerbaijan as well as on the
territory of Nagorno Karabakh,” the author writes.

The article notes that on February 1992 the Azerbaijani leadership
carried out the murder of its own nation on the territory of Khojalu
which was under the control of Azerbaijani armed forces, specifically
near Aghdam, from where the continuous bombardment of NKR whole
territory was carried out and from where attacks on villages and
cities of Karabakh were launched.

“The authorities of Azerbaijan systematically falsify the events in
Khojalu. The photo materials presented by Azerbaijan are photos
combined by computer and present other historical events in other
geographical locations. The photos that allegedly show the Khojalu
tragedy, in reality are the photos of the earthquake of Turkey 1983,
Afghan children refugees, the pogroms of Alawites in 1978 in the
Turkish city of Marash, the killed Albanians in Kosovo, pogroms of
1999 in Balkans, Hamas militants killed by Israeli Army,” the author
writes.

According to him, regularly playing the card of “Khojalu”, the
official Baku tries to divert the attention of International Community
from the genocide against Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad,
Khanlar and in other parts of Azerbaijan as well as in the border
communities of NKR.

The author notes that in the course of large-scale aggression of
Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh Republic from 1991 to 1994, in the
Karabakh village Maragha that was captured for several hours by
Azerbaijanis on April 10 of 1992 more than 80 people were brutally
killed, while 67 were taken as a hostages, the fate of many of them is
still unknown. Those villagers that didn’t manage to leave the village
were dismembered by axes, doused with gasoline and burned though being
alive.

“In Azerbaijan instead of repenting for endless autocracies and
brutality, instead of conviction of the criminals, we now see and hear
only saber rattling and threats of revenge, terroristic calls to shoot
civilian planes, falsification of historical facts and an ongoing
racist, misanthropic insult of Armenian people,” the author writes.

Zargaryan emphasizes that the shame of release and glorification of
axe-murderer Safarov in Azerbaijan once more demonstrated to the
International Community that in Azerbaijan the murder on national
basis is a state policy, while the deliberate and systemic lies and
failures of international agreements underpin the policy conducted by
Baku.

Source: Panorama.am

REVUE DE PRESSE
Le jeu trouble de l’Union européenne

L’UE pourrait adopter des sanctions contre les dirigeants ukrainiens
aujourd’hui. Mais pas plus hier qu’aujourd’hui, elle ne propose une
politique de coopération à Kiev.

Les ministres des Affaires étrangères de l’Union européenne (UE) se
réunissent en urgence, aujourd’hui à Bruxelles, et pourraient décider
des sanctions contre certains dirigeants de l’Ukraine. En cause, la
reprise des violences dans ce pays. Dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi,
26 personnes ont été tuées à Kiev, dont au moins 9 policiers et un
journaliste. 241 personnes ont été hospitalisées, dont 79 policiers et
cinq journalistes, selon le ministère de la Santé. Ã Lviv, dans
l’ouest, des insurgés se sont emparés d’un dépôt d’armes (voir
ci-contre).

Dans ce climat, le ministère des Affaires étrangères russe a estimé
dans un communiqué qu’« il s’agit d’un coup d’État » et exigé « que
les leaders (de l’opposition) fassent cesser l’effusion de sang dans
leur pays, reprennent sans délai le dialogue avec le pouvoir légitime,
sans menaces ni ultimatum ».

Les pays occidentaux font, eux, pression sur le président ukrainien
Viktor Ianoukovitch. Lors du sommet franco-allemand hier, le président
François Hollande a « condamné » des « actes inqualifiables » et
assuré que leurs auteurs seraient « sanctionnés ». Les ministres des
Affaires étrangères européens « doivent parler des sanctions
spécifiques qui devraient être imposées pour montrer (…) que le
processus politique doit reprendre », a déclaré la chancelière
allemande Angela Merkel.

L’UE a toujours mené une drôle de guerre

La Pologne est en pointe pour exiger des mesures de rétorsion. Son
premier ministre, Donald Tusk, demande « des sanctions qui devraient
toucher sévèrement les auteurs du drame ukrainien, des sanctions
personnelles et financières ».

à la frontière avec la Russie, l’UE a toujours mené une drôle de
guerre. En 2004, contre l’avis de Moscou elle a intégré l’Estonie, la
Lettonie et la Lituanie qui sont entrés la même année dans l’Alliance
atlantique (Otan). Les grands pays rechignent depuis à de nouveaux
élargissements. Ils craignent d’avoir à verser de nouvelles aides et Ã
accueillir de nouveaux migrants.

Dès lors, l’UE propose depuis 2009 aux pays de ses marches de l’Est un
partenariat oriental (PO). En novembre, au sommet de Vilnius, tout
était prêt. Plusieurs États devaient rejoindre en grande pompe ce PO,
symbole d’une UE attractive. La Géorgie et la Moldavie ont bien prévu
d’entrer dans le partenariat, mais seulement courant 2014. Pis,
l’Arménie, l’Azerbaïdjan et l’Ukraine ont décliné l’offre.

Car de l’UE et de la Russie, c’est cette dernière qui se montre la
plus généreuse. En septembre¯2013 le président arménien, Serzh
Sarkisian, a choisi de rejoindre l’union douanière initiée par
Vladimir Poutine, tout en poursuivant les discussions avec Bruxelles.
Moscou avait un atout stratégique, sa puissance militaire, alors que
l’Arménie est techniquement en guerre avec son voisin, l’Azerbaïdjan.
De plus, l’Arménie bénéficie d’énormes investissements russes.

Le président ukrainien, Viktor Ianoukovitch, a décidé de tourner le
dos à l’UE le 21¯novembre. à Kiev, la capitale, et dans les régions du
sud-ouest, l’opposition très liée aux ONG occidentales et à certains
groupes du Parlement européen (conservateurs, libéraux, socialistes),
a su saisir l’occasion, sur fond de discrédit du pouvoir, du fait de
la crise et de la corruption. Le 1er¯décembre 200 000 personnes se
sont rassemblées sur la place Maïdan, initiant un mouvement de
contestation qui se poursuit jusqu’Ã aujourd’hui. En réponse, le 17
décembre, la Russie offrait une ligne de crédit de 15¯milliards de
dollars à Kiev et une réduction de 30¯% des prix du gaz.

Face à cela, l’UE n’a qu’un traité de libre-échange à proposer. Or
l’industrie ukrainienne, essentiellement implantée dans les zones
russophones, et peu dans les zones acquises à l’opposition, serait
balayée. Moins compétitive que l’occidentale, elle est intégrée à la
Russie. Elle comptait pour un tiers des capacités industrielles de
l’Union soviétique. En outre, c’est la Russie qui menaçait de fermer
ses frontières, qui est le principal pays bénéficiaire des
exportations ukrainiennes.

Dans ce contexte, la diplomatie européenne se réorganise sous
l’impulsion des ministres de la Pologne et de la Suède. La diplomatie
suédoise a même rédigé un document, « Vingt points sur le partenariat
oriental post-Vilnius », recommandant de s’adresser, « y compris avec
des visites » non plus seulement aux gouvernements, mais à « ¯tous les
secteurs de la société dans les pays du Partenariat oriental ». Mais
elle semble prendre les dernières évolutions en compte en préconisant
d’« engager avec la Russie un (…) dialogue sur les processus
d’intégration en Europe ».

Les violences critiquées Les dirigeants occidentaux ont condamné la
violence des forces sécuritaires contre les manifestants. Toutefois,
plusieurs chancelleries ont aussi adressé des critiques à une partie
de l’opposition. Tout en attaquant les « manÅ`uvres dilatoires » et la
« grosse faute » du président Viktor Ianoukovitch, le chef de la
diplomatie allemande, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a « appelé avec force Ã
renoncer à la violence ». « Et cela vaut pour les forces de l’ordre
mais aussi pour les éléments radicaux au sein des manifestants »,
a-t-il précisé. Son homologue italienne, Emma Bonino, a dit ne tolérer
ni les violences gouvernementales, ni « les provocations de franges
extrémistes et violentes ».

Gaël De Santis

samedi 1er mars 2014,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

ARMENIE-MEMOIRE
A la mémoire du général Antranig

A l’occasion du 149e anniversaire de la naissance du général Antranig
(né Antranig Ozanian), le maire d’Erévan Taron Margaryan, le ministre
de la Défense Seyran Ohanian et le Premier adjoint au maire d’Erévan
Kamo Areyan se sont rendus au cimetière Yéraplour d’Erévan pour
s’incliner devant la tombe du général Antranig. De nombreuses autres
personnalités politiques, militaires, culturelles ou du monde
patriotiques accompagnaient la délégation. Un office religieux fut
réalisé, dédié au général Antranig et à tous les héros de la lutte de
libération arménienne morts pour la patrie. Taron Margaryan et Seyran
Ohanian ont également mis des fleurs sur la tombe du >
Vazken Sarkissian, du fondateur du Pari Républicain d’Arménie Ashot
Navassartian et du soldat inconnu. Après cette cérémonie, Taron
Margaryan s’est rendu au Musée du général Antranig.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 1er mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

FOOTBALL
Le Suisse Bernard Challandes à la tête de la sélection nationale d’Arménie

Surprise dans le football arménien. Alors que de nombreux noms -tels
qu’Alain Boghossian ou Sergio Markarian- couraient pour le poste de
l’entraineur national d’Arménie, c’est un Suisse qui vient d’être
nommé à ce poste. Il s’agit de Bernard Challandes (62 ans). Le
Neuchtelois se lance ainsi dans une nouvelle aventure en devenant
sélectionneur national de l’équipe d’Arménie, classée 30e par la FIFA.

Bernard Challandes prendra sa fonction au lendemain du match amical de
l’Arménie, le 5 mars à Krasnodar contre la Russie. La mission du
Suisse sera d’obtenir une qualification de l’Arménie pour la phase
finale de l’Euro 2016. L’Arménie figure rappelons-le, dans un groupe
qui comprend la France, le Portugal, le Danemark, la Serbie et
l’Albanie.

Avant de débuter les rencontres du tour préliminaire de l’Euro 2016,
l’Arménie livrera un match de prestige le 6 juin prochain à Mayence
contre l’Allemagne. Le 31 mai l’Arménie sera également opposée en
match amical à l’Algérie à Genève.

Bernard Challandes a dirigé l’équipe de Suisse des moins de 21 ans
2001 à 2007. Il l’a conduite jusqu’en demi-finale de l’Euro 2002. Il
fut ensuite sacré Champion de Suisse avec le FC Zurich avant
d’entraîner Sion, Neuchtel Xamax, Thoune et les Young Boys.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 1er mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

NEW GEORGIAN VECTOR

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 28 2014

28 February 2014 – 2:44pm

Victoria Panfilova “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” exclusively for Vestnik
Kavkaza

Yesterday, the president of Georgia began his two-day visit to
Armenia. The visit was to be expected, as Georgi Margvelashvili has
already visited other neighboring countries. In Yerevan, the Georgian
delegation was received at the highest level. During the two days,
the messengers from Georgia met with the Armenian President, the
Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, members of the government,
and finally, with the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

With all the warmth and hospitality that guests are surrounded with in
the Caucasus, the Georgian delegation always have difficult moments in
neighboring countries. Namely, when it comes to territorial integrity.

Baku wants the guests to consider Nagorno-Karabakh part of their
country that has been just temporarily torn away. Here it is much
easier to respond for the representatives of Georgia, who are
experiencing the same problems with Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
than in Yerevan, where they hear the usual question from some media
representatives about their attitude to Nagorno-Karabakh. Declaring
that it is part of Azerbaijan is equivalent to insulting the host
country. To support the Armenian stance means to condemn Georgia not
only to problems with Azerbaijan, but dig themselves a deeper hole
for the negotiations in Geneva on Abkhazia and South Ossetia issues.

Naturally, supporters of independence of the former Georgian autonomies
will put the question bluntly in the negotiations: Dear Georgians,
recently in Yerevan you talked about Karabakh as an independent state,
and on what basis are you denying independence to partially-recognized
Abkhazia and South Ossetia?

Therefore, Georgian delegations visiting neighbors have to be extremely
careful and scrupulous in their choice of definitions. The previous
authorities, by the way, were not exactly subtle. For example, one of
Mikheil Saakashvili’s visits to Azerbaijan turned into a real scandal
with Armenia. Going into a rage, the Georgian leader said that Tbilisi
and Baku should join forces and stifle the separatist sentiments in
the region, be it Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia or South Ossetia. And it
was said in a context that implied not only diplomatic efforts. Then
the heat between Tbilisi and Yerevan reached such a degree that some
time later, visiting Yerevan, Saakashvili was forced to move away from
such vague comments on Nagorno-Karabakh about compulsory “non-violent
solutions to the problem of justice,” surprising Baku. The only
thing to save him from a new scandal was the wise remark of a senior
Azerbaijani official: “the gentleman answered the way he was asked –
it is necessary to take the context into account.”

It certainly was not the only case where the expressive Georgian leader
put himself and Georgia in an awkward position. Just remember the hasty
congratulations to Yulia Tymoshenko on victory in the presidential
elections in Ukraine, when in fact Yanukovych was the one to win! Or
declaring Alexander Lukashenko to be a dictator … in response to
the Belorussian president’s decision not to recognize the sovereignty
of Belarus in Abkhazia and South Ossetia – it turned out that Tbilisi
misunderstood the official assessment of Minsk.

Georgia’s new authorities are trying to manoeuvre, to avoid sharp
corners. They proclaimed the continuation of the foreign policy
vector to the West, but try not to “dance and chant” on this aspect
too much, in order not to tease Russia. Especially taking into account
that the date of entry into the EU and NATO is not so close, even if
it is marked in someone’s calendar. Such caution is understandable,
but also naive. It is naive if Tbilisi seriously believes that Russia,
evaluating their restraint, will change its position on the painful
for Georgia issues of territorial integrity. Firstly, such a price
offered by the new authorities is much too low, and secondly, they seem
to repeat the mistake of their predecessors, transforming conflicts
with Sukhumi and Tskhinvali into a conflict with Moscow. In words,
they refused this, but in fact it is not visible.

Such caution is manifested today in the Ukrainian question, as well.

It is easy to imagine Tbilisi’s attitude to the processes in the
Maidan if Saakashvili remained in power. He himself so many times
spoke in Kiev in support of the Maidan, that his reasonable countrymen
encouraged him to know when to stop “bothering the Ukrainians.” And
the new authorities are in a quandary again. Not to support the
“revolutionaries of Kiev” (when some time ago, Georgia’s policy had
an element of support from the Ukraine against Russia, when Kiev made
repeated proposals to send Ukrainian peacekeepers to conflict zones)
would be quite impolite. To express solidarity with the Maidan,
to welcome the change of power, while Moscow is everything but
happy about the Ukrainian processes, means to “perplex” Russia –
and no relationship recovery can be dreamed in Georgia. And now the
Deputy Prime Minister, Kakha Kaladze, has made a statement in which
he tried to explain that Yanukovych’s resignation is only supported in
Georgia by ex-President Saakashvili and former representatives of the
authorities, making themselves known thanks to the events in Ukraine.

Okay, let’s assume it’s true. But what is the position of the current
Tbilisi authorities?

So far, the Foreign Ministry of Georgia has only expressed concern
about the violence in its official statement. As an anonymous former
Western diplomat dealing with the problems of the South Caucasus told
Vestnik Kavkaza, “Tbilisi thinks that they are building a multi-vector
policy. But this is not the way to do it – not with so much uncertainty
on many key issues.” A multi-vector, or complementarity policy was
typical for Armenia, where the president of Georgia is now on a two-day
visit. However, under severe pressure from various sides, such a policy
is rarely viable. Especially in more or less the long term. The same
complementary policy of Yerevan in recent years narrowed like shagreen
leather and today has become largely focused only on Moscow.

ARMENIAN MPS WANT TO WORK THREE TIMES A WEEK

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 28 2014

28 February 2014 – 3:03pm

Ruben Akopyan, head of the Heritage faction in the Armenian parliament,
said that his party has proposed a bill to adjust the schedule of work,
News Armenia reports.

According to the bill, MPs will work three days every other week.

Currently, they work four days a week between every two weeks.

Thus, the bill would restore the schedule used in 1992-2005.

ARMENIA’S COGNAC PRODUCTION ROSE 4.3% TO 895,900 LITERS IN JANUARY

YEREVAN, February 28. /ARKA/. Armenia’s cognac production rose by 4.3%
to a total of 895,900 liters in January 2014, compared to the same
period the year before, ArmStat reported.

Wine production rose by 23.5% to 361,500 liters in the reporting
period.

Vodka production grew by 33.2% to 727,100 liters.

A total of 21,500 litres of champagne was produced in the period,
a 4.6-time increase against January 2013.

Beer production totaled 731,900 litres, which is a 69.3% increase.

A total of about 2.7 million litres of non-alcoholic beverages was
manufactured in the period, an increase of 28.2% compared to January
2013.-0–

– See more at:

MEMBERS OF REPUBLICAN PARTY PREVENT DISSEMINATION OF AZERBAIJANI DISINFORMATION IN GERMANY

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

16:13 28/02/2014 ” SOCIETY

The delegation of the youth wing of the Republican Party of Armenia
was having a study visit in Germany from 16 to 22 February, which was
organized by the “Konrad Adenauer” Foundation. The visit was aimed
at studying the system of the government administration in Germany.

In the frameworks of the program the young people attended the
legislative and executive bodies, met with several officials, the
press office of the Youth Organization of RPA reported.

The members of the Armenian delegation repeatedly prevented the
attempts of the Azerbaijani delegation to spread misinformation,
including distorted facts about Aghdam events that took place in
1992. The Young Republicans presented the real facts, as well as
the official disposition of Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settlement process.

The Republicans have also met their counterparts at the European
People’s Party (EPP) – the representatives of the Christian Democratic
Party of Germany. During the meeting they discussed the further
development of the Eastern Partnership, forecasts over the upcoming
pan-European elections and the processes of preparatory work. 

On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to
300 people (according to Human Rights Watch, and 600 according
to the version propagated by Azerbaijan) were killed in unknown
circumstances near the city of Aghdam. They have been deliberately
withheld by the Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of the military
actions. Population of the village of Khojalu, which was one of the
firing points shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others)
was kept in the village for months by force and was not evacuated by
the authorities of Azerbaijan deliberately, in order to use them as
human shields later.

Residents of Khojalu coming out through the humanitarian corridor,
that the self-defense forces of NKR had left open, freely passed more
than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city controlled by the Azerbaijani
troops. Later, not far from the positions of Azerbaijani troops dead
bodies of the villagers were found. The exact death toll remains
unknown as the official Baku publishes data contradicting each other.

Parliamentary Commission investigating the tragic death of the
civilians at Aghdam city was dissolved by the order of Heydar Aliyev,
the investigative materials are kept secret. 

Documentary: Between hunger and fire: Power at the expenses of lives.