Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Sound bombs thrown in Turkey in Armenian delegation’s direction

November 16, 2013 | 01:37

DIYARBAKIR. – Unidentified persons threw sound bombs, late in the
evening on Friday, in front of Green Park Hotel in Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Some members of the Armenian delegation, which is participating in one
of the largest exhibitions in the Middle East, were in front of the
hotel when the sound bombs were thrown.

Two strangers threw two sound bombs in the direction of the hotel and,
subsequently, they quickly disappeared into the darkness, the Armenian
News-NEWS.am reporter informs from Diyarbakir. Fortunately, the bombs
did not explode.

The Armenian delegation members that witnessed the incident noted that
the unidentified persons had thrown the bombs at the time when some
men wearing ties – and who appeared to be officials – had come out of the
hotel and, in all likelihood, the sound bombs were aimed at them.

Police quickly arrived on the scene because Turkish PM Recep Tayyip
Erdogan will stay at this hotel the next day, and they link the
throwing of these sound bombs to Erdogan’s arrival in Diyarbakir.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIE
La baisse dans le secteur de a construction fait obstacle à la
croissance économique en Arménie

Une baisse de 8,5% dans le secteur de la construction enregistrée dans
les huit premiers mois de 2013 est le principal obstacle sur le chemin
de la croissance économique en Arménie a déclaré le Premier ministre
Tigran Sargsyan lors de la réunion du conseil d’administration de la
Fondation nationale de la compétitivité du pays.

La part de la construction dans le PIB du pays est de 12% a précisé
Tigran Sarkissian.

Le premier ministre a déclaré que le gouvernement mettra l’accent sur
le secteur de la construction en 2014.

« Nous développons des programmes visant à le promouvoir
substantiellement », a-t-il dit. En particulier, les projets sur la
construction de logements en classe économique devraient être mises en
`uvre.

dimanche 17 novembre 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

The Times (London)
November 16, 2013 Saturday

Gifts from the Greeks

by Jane MacQuitty

If you’d asked me a decade ago whether wines from lots of eastern
Mediterranean countries would be viewed seriously by the UK’s wine
buyers and drinkers, I’d have choked. True, I’d occasionally been
impressed by the quirky Bordeaux-inspired reds from estates such as
Chteau Musar and Chteau Ksara in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and those
from Carmel in upper Galilee in Israel, but largely they left me cold.
The Romans and medieval traders may have rated Cypriot wines, but for
me they never seemed to get beyond dull, oxidised stickies such as
Commandaria. Equally unlovely were the sunburnt, stringy, North
African reds from Tunisia.

The one bright spot was Greece. Unlike some other eastern
Mediterranean countries, Greece has lots of indigenous grapes and an
illustrious wine history that predates the Romans by about 1,000
years. So far Armenia has the award for the world’s oldest winery –
4100BC – with winemaking reaching the far eastern Mediterranean coast
and Egypt in about 3,000BC, reaching Greece in 2000BC.

Alas, no wines of note have come my way from the birthplace of wine,
though the odd, hefty, dark red, acidic saperavi and vibrant, appley
rkatsiteli white from Georgia show promise. Nor have any of Turkey’s
reds, made from wonderfully unpronounceable grape varieties, including
the highly regarded okuzgozu, or ox eye, grape truly thrilled my
tastebuds. However, the juicy, tangy red fruit-stashed 2011 Pamukkale
Diamond Shiraz-Merlot (Waitrose £6.99), topped up with Turkey’s own
kalecik karasi and bogazkere grapes, does work. Give Turkey and other
eastern Mediterranean countries more time and they will crack it.

In the meantime, if you want to drink the best from this forgotten
corner of the wine world, it’s back to Greece and its immediate
neighbour to the north, Macedonia. Despite its financial problems, or
maybe because of them, Greece has hurtled into the 21st wine century
and one reason there are so many good new Greek wines on British shop
shelves is the need for hard currency. Marks &Spencer is the one
British supermarket to embrace eastern Mediterranean wines with gusto,
stocking a wide range of new white and red wines. For me the stars are
Macedonia’s elegant yet bold, beefy, savoury 2012 Tikves Vranec for
£8.99 and the unoaked, light, herby, leafy, grapey 2012 Tikves
Smederervka Rkaciteli (£6.99), made from the grapes of the same name.

If it’s a great Greek duo you want, check out the Thymiopoulos winery
whose unusual herby, citrus zest-spiked 2012 Malagouzia white is £8.99
of pure pleasure. Ditto the gorgeous, rustic, gamey red 2011 Xinomavro
(£10.49). Or splash out on my favourite Greek white of all, the starry
white Hatzidakis 2012 Assyrtiko from volcanic Santorini with
smouldering, steely, floral finesse (Waitrose, £11.99; Oddbins,
£13.75).

This week’s best buys 2012 Taste the Difference Bordeaux Sauvignon
Blanc, France Sainsbury’s, £8.99 or two for £6 each until November 26
>From 2000 on, the Bordelais began to treat their white wines seriously
and this sparky, easy-drinking sauvignon with light, racy, bosky,
lemon peel-spiked fruit effortlessly proves the point.

2013 Jean Garde Chardonnay, Boschendal, South Africa Sainsbury’s,
£8.79 or two for £6 each until November 26 Not everyone’s glass of
wine, but this chunky, 14 per cent alcohol, yet unoaked winter white,
with lots of uplifting, sappy, smoky, nutty fruit, is brilliant with
fish pie and roast chicken.

2012 Darting Estate, Dürkheimer Kabinett Trocken Riesling, Pfalz,
Germany Marks & Spencer, £9.49 Savour this surprisingly good,
easy-to-sip, thirstquenching 2012 German, made from 25-year-old
riesling, and brimming with leafy, zesty, lime peel-stashed fruit,
solo.

2011 Villa Magna Primitivo di Manduria, Puglia, Italy Marks & Spencer,
£9.99 Primitivo, or zinfandel, is the romping winter red to serve with
mature game. This gorgeous ’11 bursts with ripe red fruit topped with
bold, oaky, vanilla, mocha and liquorice.

The keeper 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet, Henri Germain, Burgundy, France
Adnams (01502 727222), £22.49 Henri Germain founded this small Côte de
Beaune domaine, based in Meursault, in 1973, boosted by his wife’s
holdings in Chassagne-Montrachet. The Germains’ son, Jean-François,
now runs the estate and the exacting yet traditional approach, here
with new wood kept to a minimum, yields some tasty red burgundies,
just like this one. 2011 was a good, not great, vintage, saved by
small yields creating sufficiently flavoursome wines. Enjoy this
delicate, sappy, yet juicy red burgundy now – with all of its vibrant
raspberry-scented fruit to the fore – with the likes of guinea fowl,
or tuck it away until 2015 for the first spicy, walk-in-thewoods
flavours to emerge.

Will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs keep the promise?

November

16 2013 Political parties still do not know what document will be
signed in Vilnius At the Parliamentary sessions, during 2014 budget
discussions, answering questions raised by MPs what document Armenia
will sign with the EU, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Zohrab
Mnatsakanyan said that at least ten days before the summit in Vilnius
the content of the document to be signed in Vilnius will be definitely
clear. Yesterday, during parliamentary briefings, representatives of
political parties at answering the question whether they are aware of
this document, are familiar with its content, the responses were
negative, recalling the past examples when the official documents are
`inaccessible’ to the political forces. Outstanding representative of
the dominant political force, Galust Sahakyan’s only difference from
the opposition was that the latter did not complain and express
dissatisfaction about his being unaware. Moreover, filled the ears of
journalists with some bulk of word to hide his being unaware and and
creating an impression that everything is not so bad. In the
conversation with `Aravot’, RPA faction secretary Hovhannes Sahakyan,
answering the question whether he knows what document should be signed
in Vilnius, said, `We all know that the document, which was prepared,
on which we have worked, can not be signed as such. Competent
authorities, those who are eligible, as well as on behalf of Mr.
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, work on this document, and before the Vilnius
summit some information will be provided to the public. `Generally,
analyzing the logic of process, RPA MP once again ascertained that
Armenia from the outset was right of its decision, and everything was
done for the benefit of society and the state. He notes that in spite
of their opponents, now, it can be clearly stated that Armenia’s
integration into the European family has not failed and is not in the
deadlock. `There is continuation, there is collaboration at least
about the item, about which we have talked: political consultations,
reforms, continuation of programmatic and institutional reforms of
governance system.’ Hovhannes Sahakyan also rushed to disappoint the
RPA opponents by qualifying their alarms regarding Armenia’s isolation
empty. We asked Hovhannes Sahakyan to share his thoughts on the
dilemma that Ukraine has actually facing today: the Customs Union or
the European Union, whether Ukraine will sign the EU Association
Agreement, what possible developments will follow, and what reactions
they will make to Armenia. `I would not like to mix the context of
Armenia and Ukraine. Each state makes its own calculations for the
benefit of its people,’ said the MP, adding that, in his assessment,
Ukraine in legal and practical aspects was entirely on a different
dimension, and the one year work that this country had conducted for
signing the Agreement, is more serious and justified. As to why
Ukraine faced the dilemma, why the president and the prime minister of
this country make contradictory statements, and what will happen in
Vilnius, Hovhannes Sahakyan considers that it is the problem of given
country. He states that Armenia made more calculated and balanced
decision based on its entire interests: regional development,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, RA and NKR security and economy.
`To connect one with the other or to make some statements today, I
think we showed a little haste. And, if Ukraine joins the Customs
Union, we, as a common economic area, see a larger, more expansive
area. In my opinion, more expansive is the Customs Union, much easier
and more efficient will be the cooperation in terms of economy.’ RPA
MP does not consider regional processes and various kinds of
statements accidental, but he urges to display patience and wait for
the results of the summit in Vilnius. There is a view that what
happened to Armenia on September 3 was actually directed against
Ukraine, that by imposing such decision to Armenia, RF ruling class
was actually warning Ukraine. MP once again reiterated that nor
pressure was exerted on Armenia, and that this view has already lost
its power. `The decisions of Armenia and Ukraine are not connected.
Each state decides its own interests. Here, we are in a slightly
advantageous position, because we have always been honest with RF
strategic partner and the European partners, and in all the meetings
we have stated that we will work with the principle of and-and.’

Nelly Grigoryan
Read more at:

Placido Domingo Jr. to perform in Armenia and Karabakh

November 16

Famous singer and composer Placido Domingo Jr. arrived in Yerevan
today. He will give a concert in the capital of Nagorno Karabakh –
Stepanakert on November 17. Another concert together with the State
Youth Orchestra will be held in Yerevan on November 21.

Music is an international language perceived by the soul, P. Domingo
Jr. said at the meeting with reporters.

Asked if he is not afraid to be put on Azerbaijan’s blacklist after
his visit to Karabakh, Plasido Domingo Jr. said he is prepared to
spend a night there provided he has coffee and cigarettes and he is
not shot the next day.

Yerevan to have memorial to victims of Hiroshima atomic bombing

November 16, 2013 | 09:31

YEREVAN. – A monument, devoted to the victims of the atomic bombing of
the Japanese city ofHiroshima, will open in Armenia’s capital city
Yerevan.

Negotiations are underway withYerevanMunicipality for the location of
the memorial, Deputy FM Sergey Manaseryan toldArmenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, the monument is planned to be placed near Downtown Yerevan.

`The memorial is in Armenia and, now, the matter of design is being
resolved. The monument was brought from Hiroshima. It is a
not-too-large, portable stone. It symbolizes the innocent victims,’
Manaseryan added.

To note, as a result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during the
final stages of World War II in 1945, some 70 thousand people were
killed immediately and another 70 thousand died sometime thereafter,
and due to injuries and radiation.

Armenia highly appreciates OSCE Minsk Group efforts

15:02 16.11.2013

Nagorno-Karabakh, OSCE Misnk Group

On November 14 OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, Jacques Faure
and James Warlick and the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk addressed the OSCE permanent
Council.

The Minsk Group Co-Chairs presented the work done in 2013 towards the
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. They reiterated the
position of the co-chairing countries that there is no alternative to
the peaceful settlement of the issue. They attached importance to the
forthcoming meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan later
this month, noting that it could give new impetus to the negotiation
process.

Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk presented the activity of his office,
focusing particularly on the monitoring of the line of contact between
the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as the confidence-building
measures.

Addressing the Permanent Council, the Head of the Armenian mission to
the OSCE, Ambassador Arman Kirakosyan highly appreciated the Minsk
Group Co-Chairs’ efforts targeted at the peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict.

The Armenian side attached importance to the implementation of the
agreements reached by the joint declaration of the Presidents of
Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan in Sochi on January 23, 2012 and
underlined that the Basic Principles should be viewed as a whole.

Ambassador Kirakosyan stressed the importance of creation of a
mechanism for investigation of border accidents envisaged by the joint
declaration, which would contribute to the reinforcement of the
ceasefire regime and create favorable conditions for progress in the
negotiation process.

Arman Kirakosyan reiterated Armenia’s position that the Nagorno
Karabakh issue should be solved exceptionally in a peaceful way on the
basis of the principles of international law, also as the statements
adopted by the Presidents of the co-chairing countries in l’Aquilla,
Muskoka, Deauville, Los Cabos and Enniskillen and the statements
adopted within the framework of OSCE ministerial conferences in
Helsinki, Athens, Almaty, Vilnius and Dublin.

President Sargsyan meets Uruguay’s Armenian Minister of Tourism and Sport

15:44 16.11.2013

Armenia, Uruguay

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received Uruguay’s Minister of
Tourism and Sport Liliam Kechichian, President’s Press Office reports.

President Sargsyan welcomed the visit of the Armenian member of
friendly Uruguay’s Government to Armenia, noting that it’s great pride
to see our compatriots holding high positions abroad. According to the
President, it testifies to the fact that while preserving the national
identity, Armenians actively integrate with the society of their
countries of residence and contribute to the development of the state.

During the meeting the parties discussed the opportunities of
reinforcement of relations between the two friendly countries and the
development of mutually beneficial cooperation in different fields,
including tourism and sport.

The President voiced confidence that Liliam Kechichian’s experience in
the field would and the information she obtained during the visit to
Armenia would contribute to the active cooperation between the two
countries.

The interlocutors noted that the geographical distance has never been
an obstacle to the steady development of Armenian-Uruguayan relations
after Armenia gained independence.

The parties attached importance to the expansion of the legal
framework between the two countries.

Half of Turkey’s Islamized Armenians silent on ethnic origins – expert

13:44 – 16.11.13

Of the 4 million Islamized Armenians residing in Turkey today, nearly
half remain silent on their ethnic origins, an expert has said,
addressing the problems of Turkey’s crypto-Armenians.

`Who is a crypto-Armenian? The one who knows who he or she is. They
wed their children between themselves and know the Armenian traditions
better than we do,’ Haykazun Alvrtsyan, the director of the Center for
Western Armenian Studies, told a news conference on Saturday.

The expert said that his studies of Turkey’s Islamized Armenians have
revealed that the Crypto-Armenians, whose number is about 1.5 – 2
million, reside mainly on the territory of the historical Kingdom of
Armenia. Yet there is another half that never identifies itself as
descendents ethnic Armenians and never wishes to remember the past for
fear of losing what they have, Alvrtsyan added.

`This is first of all a political issue, as Islamized Armenians have
become a kind of problem for Turkey,’ he explained. `Turkey feels an
urge to show something to the West. And to do that it is important [to
promote] religious freedom and human liberties. We are first of all
interested in the Islamized Armenians problem which is something they
must be able to solve.’

`First, there is the government viewpoint and the scientific studies
confirming that. In the second place, we deal with nationalist `gray
wolves’ etc, the attitude of different circles and trends. And
thirdly, there is the demand of the humanity understanding this
problem in the best way and urging that it be raised and a solution is
found.’

Alvrtsyan further referred to the Turkish constitutional provision
saying that all people residing in the country are Turks. But that, he
said, does not mean at all they know nothing about Islamized
Armenians.

`All the Ismalized Armenians – whether hiding [their origins] or not –
are registered. And we learned recently about the codes which are
effective even today and whose initiator is Talaat [Pasha]. They know
that quite well, and not only; all the Armenians are controllable, and
that gives hints as to the policies conducted today,’ Alvrtsyan said,
noting that Islamized Armenians in Turkey are often denied promotion
in the military or the state sector.

ARMENIE
Le parti de Tsarukian crie au scandale après la défaite à des élections locales

Le parti Arménie Prospère de Gagik Tsarukian (BHK) a accusé lundi les
autorités de tricherie après que son candidat ait été battu de
justesse lors d’une élection dans une mairie qui s’est tenue dans la
ville d’Ararat.

Les résultats officiels du vote ont montré que Hayk Haykian, le
candidat du Parti républicain d’Arménie (HHK), remportant l’élection
avec un peu moins de 51 pour cent des voix. Son principal challenger,
Samvel Barseghian du BHK, est arrivé en deuxième position avec 47,2
pour cent des voix, selon la Commission électorale centrale (CEC).

Le porte-parole du BHK Tigran Urikhanian a affirmé que le résultat des
élections est le résultat de ce qu’il a appelé une utilisation sans
précédent par le HHK des ressources publiques. « Les autorités
concentrent toutes les ressources possibles et impossibles sur une
échelle qui n’a pas été vu, même pendant les dernières élections
législatives et présidentielles » a-t-il déclaré au service arménien
de RFE/RL (Azatutyun.am).

Pourtant, Tsarukian, dont le parti faisait partie de la coalition
gouvernementale d’Arménie jusqu’en mai 2012, n’a pas parlé
explicitement de fraude électorale. Dans une déclaration écrite
publiée lundi, il a seulement loué et remercié la section locale du
BHK pour l’exécution de l’élection accomplie dans « des conditions
aussi difficiles ».

« Il est impossible de réussir sans un combat » indique le communiqué.
« Il n’y a pas de combat sans difficultés et obstacles ».

Le HHK au pouvoir, pour sa part, a décrit le vote dans la ville
d’Ararat comme étant libre et équitable et a exhorté le parti de
Tsarukian à féliciter son vainqueur officiel. Son porte-parole, Eduard
Sharmazanov, a nié toute tricherie de la part des autorités.

La commission électorale locale n’a rapporté aucune plainte officielle
de la part du BHK lundi soir. Urikhanian a laissé entendre que son
parti, qui a la deuxième plus grande faction du Parlement arménien,
n’a pas confiance dans la commission contrôlée par le HHK.

L’élection dans la ville d’Ararat a connu un taux de participation
exceptionnellement élevé des électeurs avec des électeurs faisant la
queue à l’extérieur de quasi-totalité des sept circonscriptions de la
ville. Selon la CEC, plus des deux tiers des 13200 électeurs de la
ville ont voté. Certains résidents locaux ont affirmé avoir vu des
noms familiers sur leurs listes électorales de quartier.

Le vote a également été marquée par une présence policière
exceptionnellement forte à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur des bureaux de
vote. Le chef de la branche Ararat du BHK, Manouk Arakelian, a dit au
service arménien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am) que des douzaines de
militants BHK et des procurations ont été emmenées au poste de police
local pour interrogatoire peu après le début du vote dimanche matin.
Il a affirmé que les autorités tentent ainsi d’intimider son parti.

Le scrutin de l’Ararat a été le premier affrontement majeur entre les
deux principaux partis parlementaires d’Arménie depuis la décision
inattendue de Gagik Tsarukian en décembre dernier de ne pas participer
à l’élection présidentielle de Février 2013. Le chef du BHK avait été
largement pressenti pour défier le président Serge Sarkissian quand
son parti a quitté la coalition au pouvoir l’année dernière.

Gagik Tsarukian, qui est l’un des hommes les plus riches du pays et
réputé proche de l’ancien président Robert Kotcharian, a déclaré en
mai 2013 que son parti n’est pas en opposition avec Sarkissian malgré
des critiques régulières des politiques économiques du gouvernement
arménien.

samedi 16 novembre 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com