Author: Kajoyan Gevork

PRESS RELEASE
Glendale Public Library
222 East Harvard Street
Glendale CA 91205
Tel: 818-548-2030
Web:

FB:

What: Anahid Played Soorp: The Finding of Aran Pirian By Mark Kadian

When: Friday, March 21, 2014 at 7 pm.

Where: Glendale Central Library Auditorium, 222 E. Harvard Street
Glendale, CA 91205

Misc: The presentation is in English. Admission is free; seating is
limited. Library visitors receive 3 hours FREE parking across the street
at The Market Place parking structure with validation at the Loan Desk.

CONTACT: Elizabeth Grigorian, Armenian Outreach Coordinator, at the
Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department
[email protected] or
(818) 548-3288.

ARMENIA ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO COOPERATION WITH UK

February 18, 2014 | 15:32

YEREVAN. – Armenian National Assembly (NA) Speaker Hovik
Abrahamyan on Tuesday received a delegation from the British Group
Inter-Parliamentary Union, led by John Whittingdale (UK House of
Commons).

Abrahamyan stated that the political contacts have invigorated and the
cooperation has grown between Armenia and Great Britain, informs the
NA press service. In his words, Armenia underscores the development
of relations and the rejuvenation of political discourse with the UK.

“We highlight the interparliamentary cooperation between Armenia
and the UK, and we are interested in promoting interparliamentary
cooperation,” he added.

Hovik Abrahamyan also reflected on the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations, and considered it important to form a respective objective
opinion in the international arena.

Commenting on the forthcoming centennial of the Armenian Genocide,
Abrahamyan noted that Armenia highly appreciates the relevant
initiatives by the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group of
the UK Parliament.

With respect to Armenia’s decision to join the Russian-led Customs
Union, the NA leader noted that this decision is in the country’s
interests, and it is conditioned on the geopolitical realities. In
his words, however, this decision does not mean a termination of
political dialogue with the European Union.

In turn, John Whittingdale expressed confidence that the British
Group’s official visit to Armenia will contribute to the development
of Armenian-British ties. According to him, Armenia has a large number
of friends in the UK Parliament.

“Armenia’s voice is heard in the British Parliament. We want stability
and progress in Armenia,” UK House of Commons member Stephen Pound
specifically said for his part

The British MPs likewise underscored the need to deepen cooperation
between the two parliaments. The development of economic relations
and the collaboration in various domains likewise were stressed.

In addition, the interlocutors called attention to peace and stability
in the region, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

DAVUTOGLU VOWS TO KEEP RELATIONS FROZEN

Wednesday, February 19th, 2014

L. to r. – Prime Ministers Maya Pandjikidze of Georgia, Elmar
Memmedyarov of Azerbaijan, and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey at their
meeting in Ganja, Azerbaijan

Turkish foreign minister says relations with Armenia to remain frozen
until Armenia withdraws from Karabakh

GANJA, Azerbaijan (Turkish Press)–A normalization of relations between
Turkey and Armenia is impossible without a solution to the 20 year-old
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, said Turkey’s foreign minister during a joint press
conference with his Azeri and Georgian counterparts Elmar Memmedyarov
and Maya Pandjikidze in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja on Wednesday.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said opening the border
with Armenia would be possible if Yerevan withdraws its forces from
the region.

Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Memmedyarov said the parties discussed
the Southern Gas Corridor, energy issues, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
regional rail link project, which will directly connect Turkey,
Georgia and Azerbaijan.

He also said they exchanged views on further developing relations.

A joint declaration was signed by the three ministers after the annual
Turkey-Azerbaijan-Georgia tripartite meeting.

The first meeting took place in Turkey in 2012 and the second in
Georgia.

MARSHAL BAGHRAMYAN’S GRANDNIECE HANDCUFFS HERSELF TO COMMANDER’S TOMB IN RED SQUARE

YEREVAN, February 19. / ARKA /. Gayane Amrakhova, the grandniece
of a great Soviet military commander Hovhannes Baghramyan (ethnic
Armenian), was arrested by Moscow police after handcuffing herself
to Baghramyan’s tomb on Red Square, LifeNews reported.

According to her representative, Ms. Amrakhova, 45, was forced to such
a desperate move because of fears to lose her apartment. She says some
people are trying to seize her apartment by using forged documents.

“Gayane suffers from a cancer disease She tries to defend her
apartment, but no one hears it, ” the representative, Marina
Zlotnikova, said to LifeNews. The next court hearing is scheduled
for February 24.

Marshal Ivan Bagramyan (1897 – 1982) is a famous Soviet military
commander, Hero of the Soviet Union. The urn with his ash is buried
in the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow. -0-

– See more at:

CALORIE COUNTER: VALUE OF GAS THERMAL POWER DISCUSSED IN ARMENIA

SOCIETY | 19.02.14 | 15:38

Photolure

By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

The doubts of heads of nongovernmental organizations dealing with
consumer rights protection have “almost been dispelled” regarding
the calorific value of natural gas supplied to consumers by Russian
energy giant Gazprom’s subsidiary in Armenia.

Chairman of the Consumers Association of Armenia Armen Poghosyan
told a press conference on Wednesday that the issue that has become
particularly topical in recent months was discussed at the Gazprom
Armenia office and that all parties concerned attended the discussion.

After the discussion the Russian company’s mobile laboratory conducted
a random sampling visiting consumers’ apartments.

Poghosyan received the sampling results, saying that the calorific
value of natural gas supplied to households in Armenia is 8,200 kcal
per cubic meter, which corresponds to the norm as under the contractual
obligation the Russian gas should be of no less than 7,900 kcal.

Claims about a low calorific value of natural gas began to circulate
since late last year as people started to feel the negative effect of
the rise in its price amid a cold winter. According to Poghosyan, not
a single day passes by without his organization’s receiving complaints
from citizens regarding this issue. Citizens, he said, complain that
their gas might not be “clean”, but mixed with something, that it takes
them longer than before to prepare meals and that when burning what
is supposed to be ‘blue’ fuel has a yellowish coloring. Even a civil
initiative was established in Armenia on the matter of ‘gas calories’
and the head of this initiative intends to sue Gazprom Armenia for
allegedly lying about the quality of the supplied gas and wants to
get an opportunity for an independent expert assessment of the gas
quality in court.

Gazprom Armenia has spurned critics’ allegations about a reduced
calorific power of its gas. Company spokesperson Shushan Sardaryan
says the calorific value of the gas supplied to the population in
Armenia is checked every day both in Georgia and in Armenia. She says
that claims that methane is mixed with nitrogen are ‘fiction’.

Poghosyan said they had no grounds to distrust the accuracy of
Gazprom’s laboratory equipment, as it is certified in Germany. But
in order to verify the results, he said they would seek to check
the quality of the Russian gas at another laboratory abroad, but at
present they have no financial means for that. Gazprom, according to
Poghosyan, has refused to pay for laboratory checks abroad.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER COMMEMORATES ARMENIAN OFFICER GURGEN MARGARYAN – PHOTOS

17:07 * 19.02.14

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Armenian officer Gurgen
Margaryan’s brutal murder in Budapest, Armenian Minister of Defense
Seyran Ohanyan visited the Yerablur pantheon and laid a wreath at
the officer’s tomb, on Wednesday.

“Ten years have passed and we have come to commemorate the Armenian
officer. Our officer was murdered only because he was an Armenian,
and the murderer confessed he had prepared to kill an Armenian,”
Minister Ohanyan said.

WATER IN LAKE SEVAN TO BE TREATED, LEVEL RAISED UNDER FIVE-YEAR PROGRAM

YEREVAN, February 19. /ARKA/. Water in Sevan lake will be treated
and the level will rise as part of a five-year program, said Mher
Mkrtumyan, head of administration at State Water Committee of Armenia.

The government-approved 2014-2019 program includes construction
of reservoirs, wastewater treatment works and measures to solve
irrigation problems to avoid discharge from the lake, Mkrtumyan said
at a discussion on effects of discharges from Sevan Tuesday. The
government will continue subsidizing irrigation costs for farmers,
he said.

The government-approved bill about protection of Sevan ecosystem
envisages increasing discharges from the lake from the current 170
million to 240 million cubic meters, which is the maximum. If there
is a risk of water level reduction, the discharge will be reduced
for the next year, Mkrtumyan said.

According to another law, “About Lake Sevan”, water quantity is to be
increased by a total of more than 8 billion cubic meters in 2002-2030.

“We are ahead of the schedule and provided 5.2 billion cubic meters
or 60% of the planned volume over 13 years”, Mkrtumyan said.

Lake Sevan, one of the largest alpine lakes in Europe and Asia,
is located in the heart of the Armenian plateau, at an altitude of
1,914 meters. The lake stretches over 70 kilometers from northwest
to southeast. Its water surface area is nearly 1500 square kilometers.

The lake is the main source of drinking water in the region. The
water level in the lake will be raised to the optimum 1,903.5 meters
by 2030. -0–

– See more at:

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: ARMENIAN POTATOES ON AZERBAIJANI MARKET?

10:49 * 19.02.14

The paper cites the Azerbaijani media reports saying that Armenian
potato has appeared on the country’s market.

The same reports claim that it isn’t yet clear in what way the Armenian
product could have pushed its way to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s Customs Committee has ruled out such a possibility,
citing the border control procedures as a serious mechanism thatc
could have prevented the import.

Armenian News – Tert.am

ISSUES ON EXPANSION OF ARMENIAN-BRITISH MILITARY COOPERATION DISCUSSED IN DEFENSE MINISTRY

10:43, 19 February, 2014

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Defense of the
Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan hosted the members of British
group of inter-parliamentary union on February 18. The Information and
Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic
of Armenia informed “Armenpress” that at the course of the meeting
the sides discussed issues regarding the Armenian-British military
cooperation and its expansion. Among other things the interlocutors
touched upon the issues related to safeguarding security in the region
and the security policy of the Republic of Armenia particularly in
the respect of Armenian’s accession to the Customs Union, relations
with CSTO and NATO, Russia’s military presence in the

UNE SESSION INFRUCTUEUSE DE LA COMMISSION DE COOPERATION INTERPARLEMENTAIRE ARMENIE-UE SUSCITE LA POLEMIQUE

ARMENIE

Les quotidiens commentent la session de cooperation interparlementaire
Armenie-UE, a Strasbourg, les 5 et 6 fevrier, qui se serait terminee
sur un echec, aucune declaration n’ayant ete adoptee a cette occasion
. De retour a Erevan, les parlementaires armeniens, membres de
cette commission, ont explique aux medias les raisons de l’echec
a adopter une declaration, celles-ci residant dans un desaccord sur
certaines references au conflit du Haut-Karabagh. Toutefois, lors d’une
conference de presse, le copresident armenien de la commission et un
membre de l’opposition, Nikol Pachninian, se sont publiquement disputes
sur les raisons de ce >, M. Pachinian accusant ses collègues
de la majorite de ne pas avoir negocie avec les parlementaires
europeens afin d’eviter de devoir donner des explications a la Russie.

Pendant ce temps, le co- president europeen de la commission, Milan
Cabrnoch, a exprime ses > quant a l’echec de la commission
a adopter une declaration commune pour la première fois depuis sa
creation voici dix ans. Il a affirme que les parlementaires de l’UE
etaient malgre tout prets a poursuivre leur cooperation avec l’Armenie.

Poursuivant sur le thème de la cooperation entre l’Armenie et l’UE,
Hayots Achkhar reproduit les propos du Secretaire du Conseil de
Securite nationale, Arthur Baghdassarian, selon lequel le programme
d’action Armenie-UE pour les deux annees a venir est pret et sera
prochainement soumis au President Sarkissian pour approbation. Selon
lui, l’Armenie a elabore, avec ses partenaires europeens, un programme
de reformes ambitieuses preconisant la mise en place de 160 actions,
notamment dans le domaine de l’administration publique. M.

Baghdassarian rappelle que lors d’un recent voyage a Prague, le chef
de l’Etat a souligne que l’adhesion de l’Armenie a l’Union douanière
ne signifiait point une rupture avec l’UE, au contraire.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 12 fevrier 2014

mercredi 19 fevrier 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com