Author: Kajoyan Gevork

VAHAN HARUTYUNYAN: DESPITE SERIOUS COMPETITION, AIR ARMENIA IS ACHIEVING GOOD RESULTS

14:46 28/11/2013 ” ECONOMY

One month ago, the Air Armenia airline began operating regular
flights to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Krasnodar, Sochi and
Rostov-on-Don.

In an interview with Panorama.am, Vahan Harutyunyan, the company’s
owner, said that despite a serious competition, the company is
achieving good results thanks to high quality services and low prices
for tickets.

“All our passengers speak positively about the company, which inspires
us to further improve quality of our services and increase the number
of flights,” he said, adding that their expectations came true.

“We realized that there will be a high competition in all directions
and we were ready for it. I think we make a worthy rival to foreign
air carriers with many years of experience,” Mr Harutyunyan said.

Beginning December 11, Air Armenia will operate Yerevan-Nizhny
Novgorod-Yerevan regular flights on Wednesdays.

According to the Air Armenia owner, the company’s entry into the
market led to a decrease in ticket prices. He attaches importance to
existence and operation of a national air carrier. “Experience shows
that it can give a result. I hope our compatriots will prefer flying
on the planes of the national carrier,” he added.

Source: Panorama.am

“THE EYEWITNESS”: LOSS OF WESTERN ARMENIA IN MEMORIES OF 102-YEAR-OLD MAN

10:56, 26 November, 2013

The Armenian Genocide initiated in the Ottoman Empire during the
World War I in the beginning of the previous century is one of the
biggest crimes against humanity. Advancing the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide the new project introduced by Armenpress News
Agency is dedicated to the story of the eyewitnesses and survivors
of the calamity to prove the world one more time that our demand for
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is fair and justified. This
time the project is dedicated to Varazdat Manukyan, who has a special
touching life story. The creative team of the project visited Gyumri,
where lives the 102- year-old.

GYUMRI, NOVEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS: The host of one of the old houses in
the central street of Gyumri is the 102-year-old Varazdat Manukyan,
who lives alone in that giant house. He does not have enough health
to collect the harvest of his garden and process it.

The man, having enviable analytical ability and a good memory, started
to tell about his memories, periodically interrupted by not only my
questions, but also his tears. Varazdat Manukyan, born in 1911 in Kars,
reminds of the history of his family on the deportation path to Gyumri.

The old man remembers when the Armenians, deported from the Western
Armenia, did not have any place to live, had no food and faced quite
difficult conditions.

“The Turkish were ignorant, stupid and beast people. They lived in
the mountains and were savages. They came to Middle Asia and saw that
everything was changed. They got astonished and came to Egypt, the
army of which was hired army. They got there and got the authority”,
– said the Armenian Genocide survivor.

“The Turkish did not save even the children. Nobody resisted them. At
that time our country was called “From sea to sea Armenia” and
where is it now? Where are Kars, Sarighamish, Ardahan, Trabzon and
Erzurum? We had a giant country and the Turkish took it from us”, –
said Varazdat Manukyan.

(THE FULL VERSION OF THE ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

Author – Tatevik Grigoryan Photos – Arevik Grigoryan

COMPOSITION OF AZERBAIJANI DELEGATION GOING TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVES MADE PUBLIC

APA, Azerbijan
Nov 27 2013

[ 27 November 2013 19:05 ]

Baku. Ramiz Mikayiloghlu – APA. The Azerbaijani delegation has today
left for Strasburg to meet with the representatives of Armenian civil
society on November 28-29.

APA reports that the Azerbaijani delegation includes chairperson of
Azerbaijan National Committee of Helsinki Citizens Assembly Arzu
Abdullayeva, director of Women’s Institute Sajida Abdulvahabova,
chairman of El Movement, head of the National Council’s Executive
Office Eldar Namazov, director of Atlas Research Center Elkhan
Shahinoglu, former chairperson of Board of Directors of the Open
Society Institute – Assistance Fund (Soros Fund) in Azerbaijan Irada
Baghirova.

The meeting organized by the policy department of the Council of
Europe will focus on assistance to the solution of the conflict
through cooperation (scientific, education and other spheres) beyond
conflict. The delegation members have been tasked not to talk to press
about the composition of the delegation and the topic of discussion
till the end of the visit.

Arzu Abdullayeva told APA that the participation of David Shahnazaryan,
member of the Armenian National Congress leading by former president
Levon Ter-Petrosyan, head of “Concord Center” for Legal and Political
Studies, in the meeting had already been confirmed.

SURVEY: MAJORITY OF ARMENIAN CITIZENS HAVE RELATIVES AND FRIENDS IN RUSSIA, BUT THEY WOULD PREFER TO LIVE AND WORK IN EUROPE

YEREVAN, November 27. /ARKA/. The majority of Armenian citizens have
relatives and friends in Russia, but they would prefer to live and work
in Europe, Aram Navasardyan, head of the Armenian Marketing Association
that is Gallup International Association’s office in Armenia, said
Wednesday at a news conference in Novosti International Press Center.

Some 66% of the surveyed people said that many of their close relatives
and friends live in CIS countries, mostly in Russia, 31% in European
countries, 27% in the United States and 16% didn’t point any country.

He said 20% of respondents would like to move to European countries,
9% to the CIS countries, mostly to Russia, 6% to the United States
and 59% said “nowhere”.

As for employment, 25% of respondents would like to work in European
countries temporarily, if they got a chance, 17% pointed out the CIS
countries, 9% the United States and 45% nowhere.

The survey conducted in October showed that 64% were not opposed to
Armenia’s intention to join the Customs Union, while in April 67%
of respondents supported this idea.

Some 1,067 people in Yerevan and Armenia’s provinces have been surveyed
over a period between October 9 and 16. —-0—- – See more at:

GENOCIDE DENIAL AT CENTRE OF MASSACHUSETTS JUDICIAL NOMINATION

Thursday, 21 November 2013

Source:Asbarez

Joseph Berman

BOSTON-Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s nominee for a seat on
the Commonwealth’s Superior Court is facing opposition because of his
leadership role in the Anti-Defamation League and that organization’s
refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

The Boston Globe reported Thursday, that Joseph S. Berman’s nomination
is being opposed by members of the eight-person elected panel that
approves judicial nominations.

Councilor Marilyn M. Pettito Devaney, a Democrat from Watertown,
led the opposition to Berman, saying she had the five votes needed
to reject his nomination.

She stood and denounced Berman’s affiliation with the Anti-Defamation
League, as the governor, who chairs the panel, looked on, chagrined,
reported the Boston Globe.

“In 1939, Hitler, carrying out his horrific mission to exterminate the
Jews, said, ‘Who remembers the Armenians?'” Devaney said, her voice
trembling and eyes filling with tears. “I do. And many others do,
too,” according to the Boston Globe.

Devaney said if she belonged to “a group who denied the Holocaust,”
she would resign. Several other councilors agreed that Berman’s ties
to the Anti-Defamation League are a concern, while raising their own
separate objections.

The opposition forced Gov. Patrick to postpone Berman’s approval to
December 4.

Berman’s nominations and the ADL’s Genocide denial took center
stage in 2007 when the organization launched its “No Place for Hate”
campaign, causing backlash from the Armenian-American community in
Massachusetts, which claimed that an organization that unequivocally
denies the Armenian Genocide had no place in public schools promoting
anti-discrimination.

A campaign called “No Place for Denial,” led by the Armenian
National Committee of America Eastern Mass. Chapter and including
a cross-section of the Armenian-American community vocally opposed
ADL’s efforts.

In 2007, the ADL fired its New England regional director, Andrew H.

Tarsy, after he acknowledged the Armenian Genocide in opposition to
the national leadership.

ADL’s national director Abraham Foxman has gone on record to say that
the events of 1915 were “tantamount to Genocide,” but did not label
it as such. He has also actively lobbied against Armenian Genocide
resolutions in Congress.

According to the Boston Globe, Councilor Devaney stood firm on her
opposition, saying: “We’re not going to change our minds. To prolong
this serves no purpose.”

Councilor Terrence W. Kennedy agreed, saying that even though he
supports Berman, a delay will not save the nomination, reported the
Globe. “It’s a democracy, and I don’t think the vote is going to
change,” he told Patrick.

POVERTY RATE IN ARMENIA NEARLY DOUBLES

Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

An elderly man in Armenia next to his makeshift shack

YEREVAN (Arka)-The poverty rate in Armenia climbed 17.4% from 2008 to
32.4% in 2012, according to the Armenian National Statistical Service’s
report, titled, “Poverty and the Social Panorama in Armenia, 2013.”

In its report, the National Statistical Service divides the poor into
three categories – extremely poor, very poor, and poor. The extreme
poverty rate in Armenia rose 1.8 times in the last five years while
the rate of very poor people increased by 7.1%.

According to the statistical report, every third resident of the
country – 32.4% (980,000 people) – lived in poverty in 2012. 13.5%
(408,000) were very poor and 2.8% (85,000) extremely poor.

Poverty rates in urban and rural areas are similar – in cities it stood
at 32.5% in 2012 after rising 17.7% from 2008, while in villages the
rate rose 16.7% to 32.1%.

The lowest poverty rate was recorded in Yerevan – about 25.6%
(1.6 times lower than other urban areas’ indicators). The poverty
rate overall climbed 27.3% over the last five years in Yerevan,
while in other cities it rose by 12.3%. 64.4% of poor people are
urban residents.

The main factor of the 2008-2012 poverty rate increase was a sharp
economic decline in 2009.

Earlier, Finance Minister David Sargsyan said that the poverty rate in
Armenia is gradually decreasing. This slow but sustainable downward
movement will continue along in 2014 thanks to increases in salaries
and pensions, Sargsyan says.

The minimum salary in the country was 32,500 dram in 2012. The average
monthly salary was 113,163 dram.

In July 2013, the minimum salary was raised by 30% to 45,000 dram.

FORCED ISLAMISATION OF ARMENIANS RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT TODAY’S TURKEY

Asia News, Italy
Nov 26 2013

by NAT da Polis

Ethnic and religious cleansing accompanied the genocide
perpetrated by the Young Turks and the construction of Ataturk’s new
Turkey. Millions of Turks are related to Armenians. Crypto-Armenians
and Crypto-Christians are now breaking their silence.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Turks are getting ready for a hot election in
March when they will cast their ballot to elect a new parliament
and, for the first time, a new president. Almost certainly, Sunni
ethics will certainly inform the debate. Not much coverage has gone
to a conference held in early November on the forced islamisation of
Armenians before and after the 1915 genocide.

Organised by Istanbul’s Bogazici University and the Hrant Dink
Foundation, which is named after Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, the editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos. He
was assassinated in 2007 by Turkish nationalists with the tolerance
of elements within the Turkish state.

Although some 600 people from around the world attended the conference,
the Turkish media failed to give the event the attention it deserved.

In their presentations, various speakers noted that forced Islamisation
was not visited only on individual children and women survivors but
on entire families forced to convert in order to survive in the new
Turkey born out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

The founding of the new Turkish Republic was premised on the policies
of Islamisation and genocide pursued by the Young Turks and the
Committee of Union and Progress. This occurred after Armenian members
of the Young Turks and the Committee split from ethnic Turks in 1913.

Based on various reports, the goal of the Committee of Union and
Progress in 1915 was to reduce the Armenian population (5 to 10 per
cent of the empire’s population) where it had its strongest and oldest
roots – the central, southern and eastern regions of the Ottoman
Empire – since its aim was to establish a new Turkey that would
be Sunni Muslim. Even Kemal Ataturk, founder of Turkey’s so-called
secular republic, appealed to Muslim solidarity to consolidate his
power. In short, a real Turk was a Muslim Turk.

Not surprisingly, after the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), Turkish-speaking
Orthodox Christians known as Karamanlis were uprooted from Anatolia
and sent to Greece.

Turkish historian Taner Akcam, who teaches at Clark University in
the United States, is one of the foremost specialist on the Armenian
Genocide. In his address, he spoke of 200,000 Islamised Armenians,
noting that the assets of the genocide victims went to the Turks.

Overall, historians focused on a very important issue. Because of
forced islamisation, millions of Turks have ties to the Armenian
and/or Christian communities. Some call them ‘crypto-Armenians’ or
‘crypto-Christians;.

In her lecture, French sociologist Laurence Ritter presented research
showing that 100 years after the Armenian Genocide, the descendants
of Islamised Armenian survivors, the so-called crypto-Armenians of
Anatolia, are beginning to break their silence.

AyÅ~_e Gul Altınay, who teaches at Sabanci University, a private
college in Istanbul, said that Hrant Dink, the murdered editor of
the Istanbul-based Turkish-Armenian newspaper Armenian Agos, back
in 2004 called for the Armenian Genocide to be revisited in light of
the descendants of Islamised Armenians.

AyÅ~_e Gul Altınay and Fethiye Cetin edited a book, The Grandchildren,
released in 2007, in which they note that the Turkish state knew
about the ethnic make-up of the population. Contrary to the official
ideology, Turks were not as homogenous as the government wanted them
to be.

In light of these steps, Turkey is beginning to question its true
character and the multi-ethnic nature of its population.

‘s-Turkey-29642.html

SWISS AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA LUKAS GASSER: SWITZERLAND WILL TRY TO CONTRIBUTE TO A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT WITHOUT QUESTIONING THE ESTABLISHED FORMATS SUCH AS THE OSCE MINSK PROCESS

ArmInfo’s interview with the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Republic
of Armenia

by Marianna Lazarian

Monday, November 25, 17:05

On 1 January 2014 Switzerland will assume OSCE Chairmanship. What
priorities will the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE have and what
steps is Switzerland going to take to contribute to settlement of the
frozen conflicts? Would you tell us about the Swiss Foreign Ministry’s
package of new initiatives aimed at stabilizing the situation in the
South Caucasus?

“Creating a Security Community for the Benefit of Everyone” –
under this leitmotif, Switzerland, during its Chairmanship, wants to
contribute to three main objectives: we want to foster security and
stability, to improve people’s lives and we want to strengthen the
OSCE’s capacity to act.

To concretely implement these goals, we have defined several priority
activities such as combating transnational threats, enhancing the
capacity in the OSCE area for the management of natural disasters,
but also strengthening security sector governance, the implementation
of the commitments in the Human Dimension as well as the mediation
capacities of the OSCE, just to name a few. Switzerland will also pay
special attention to the inclusion of civil society into the OSCE
and wants to give young people a voice by organising an OSCE-Model
series of events.

Switzerland’s geographical focus will be on the Western Balkans
and the South Caucasus. Regarding the later, we are looking
into possibilities to promote dialogue and confidence building
measures, all together by actively supporting and strengthening
existing mediation schemes. Furthermore, Switzerland will
further facilitate people to people contacts and support civil
society projects in the region. For more details about the Swiss
priorities:

The Federal Council has conferred on Mr. Angelo Gnädinger the title
of ambassador in view of his upcoming post of Special Representative
for the South Caucasus under the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE. What
powers will he have?

Ambassador Gnädinger will take up the post of Special Representative
on 1 January 2014, upon Switzerland’s assumption of the OSCE
chairmanship. Among other responsibilities, he will represent the
OSCE in the Geneva Discussions on security and stability in the South
Caucasus. As previous Special Representatives for the South Caucasus,
he will support the OSCE’s mediation efforts in the region in 2014
and will accompany the activities of the OSCE representations
in the region. From 2002 to 2010, Ambassador Gnädinger was the
director-general of the ICRC. He has many years of experience in
dealing with conflicts, political mediation and international law.

Turkish media outlets report that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu has asked for Switzerland’s support in the Karabakh peace
process so that Turkey could normalize relations with Yerevan. How
reliable is this information and what is Switzerland going to do?

Facilitating dialogue among the parties involved in the protracted
conflicts of the South Caucasus is a priority of the Swiss
Chairmanship. Switzerland will try to contribute to a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict without questioning
the established formats such as the OSCE Minsk process. During its
Chairmanship, Switzerland hopes to build upon its previous and current
engagement in the South Caucasus.

In the last few months, Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter presented
the priorities of the Swiss Chairmanship to many high-ranking
representatives of OSCE participating states – among others, to H.E.

Mr Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, during an
official visit on 10 October 2013 in Berne.

Armenia and Switzerland are closely cooperating in the field of
defense, particularly, within the Geneva Centre for the Democratic
Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and under the Swiss project Capacity
Building in International Relations (CABIR). What tangible results
can you talk about today?

The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)
was established in 2000 by initiative of the Swiss Government. This
centre is an international foundation with the mission to assist the
international community in pursuing good governance and reform of
the security sector. DCAF cooperates closely with the OSCE Office
in Yerevan on democratic governance, law enforcement and defence
reform issues.

The cooperation with the parliamentary committee on defence and
security, based on an MoU signed at the end of 2012, and supported by
the OSCE Office in Yerevan, has enabled the project partners to hold
international seminars, parliamentary hearings and capacity-building
activities in the fields of best practices in parliamentary oversight
and guidance, defence management, human rights in the security sector,
and defence and police reform. In parallel a review of the security
sector legislation and parliamentary powers was undertaken which will
shortly be discussed in parliament, along with best practices for terms
of reference for parliamentary visits to defence sites. Good progress
has already been made in reforming the curriculum of the Military
Academy. DCAF has further offered a number of capacity-building
activities at different levels of defence management.

DCAF’s local partners in Armenia are the Ministry of Defence, the
National Assembly, and, more recently, the RA Police. Over the last
years, Armenia, along with Georgia and Azerbaijan, has been the focus
of DCAF cooperation with the OSCE and the Partnership for Peace on
the issue of Human Rights in the Armed Forces and Integrity-Building
in Defence Management.

The Capacity Building in International Relations (CABIR) programme is
another key element of Swiss cooperation in the region. Switzerland is
committed to continue the project in the three countries of the South
Caucasus. The project is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation (SDC) and has been implemented for the last consecutive
twelve years by the Graduate Institute of International and Development
Studies in Geneva. It has managed to contribute to a large extent to
the capacity building of the young government officials in the three
countries. So far, around 450 persons were trained (140 from Armenia
and Azerbaijan respectively, and 170 from Georgia).

The project represents a good example of Switzerland’s long-standing
cooperation with the governments of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

It has contributed to the strengthening of the countries’ governance
for their effective representation at the regional and international
arena as well as strived to increase accountability and transparency in
the management of public affairs. The courses have been held in such
topics as International Law, International Economics and Negotiation
Techniques, International Trade Policy, International Human Rights
and Humanitarian Law.

We still see a strong need for such trainings in the three countries.

In the project’s next phase, emphasis will be given on training
trainers for continuous education of public servants in the three
countries. The topics of training will be jointly defined with the
three partner governments. A strong network twinning the best academic
and training institutions in Switzerland and the three South Caucasus
countries will provide the foundation for this cooperation.

The key element of the future project, which in the long run will
ensure its sustainability, will be local ownership and commitment:
by the governments and training institutions of the target countries’
as well as their active participation and contribution to the project.

ILHAM ALIVEV, THE ‘FRIEND OF PRESS’ AND AZERBAIJAN

November 25, 2013 – 18:22 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The life in Azerbaijan is full of ‘surprises’. The
shameful presidential polls were recently followed by another blunder:
the country’s ‘independent’ committee on protection of journalists’
rights has bestowed the Friend of Press award upon re-elected President
Ilham Aliyev.

The decision was based on the results of a survey among 93 media
outlets, 89% of which named President Aliyev as a friend of the press,
who ‘supports journalists and provides grants’.

The possibility to give the award to opposition and public figures was
eliminated in 2002, when it the title was conferred on then-president
Heydar Aliyev. The country’s new leader, Aliyev Jr., whose rule is
famous for suppression and murder of journalists, jailing of bloggers
and prosecution of ‘disobedient’ media, has succeeded in creating a
total atmosphere of fear in the media field.

According to the Media Rights Institute, in 2012, journalists
in Azerbaijan were 60 times subject to violence and psychological
pressure, 10 reporters were arrested and 35 defamation lawsuits were
filed. In 2013, the situation got even worse: 47 cases of physical
pressure against journalists were registered, 36 lawsuits were filed
in the first half of the year only, while state bodies refuse requests
for information. All this led Azerbaijan to the list of countries
where press is not free.

The West’s unwillingness to give a proper reaction to the ongoing
suppression of the freedom of speech is also alarming. Nevertheless,
more and more foreign reports tell about ‘caviar diplomacy’, bribery
and beating of those who disagree with the ruling party. This turn is
mostly conditioned by the sharp decrease of oil reserves. Actually,
no one will soon need Azerbaijan as a source of hydrocarbon. Given
the agreement that was finally reached on Tehran’s nuclear program,
Iran will soon kick out Baku as an oil and gas supplier.

Maybe then ‘pleasing’ journalists will have to think what kind of
country they live in.

Karine Ter-Sahakian / PanARMENIAN.Net

28 ROAD ACCIDENTS RECORDED IN ARMENIA IN PAST THREE DAYS

Monday,
November
25

20 of the 32 injury infliction offences recorded in Armenia on November
23-25 were disclosed. Besides, the police disclosed 10 frauds, one
robbery, one embezzlement case, one act of hooliganism, and 10 thefts.

As for crimes committed in the past, the police detected 5 thefts,
one embezzlement case, and one injury infliction offence.

28 road accidents were recorded in Armenia in the indicated period,
as a result of which 2 people died and 32 received injuries.

TODAY, 18:39

Aysor.am