Author: Kajoyan Gevork

LEVON ZURABYAN: ARMENIA’S EMBASSY IN VATICAN WAS OPENED TO PLACE SERZH SARGSYAN’S SON-IN-LAW IN A JOB

by Ashot Safaryan

Thursday, October 31, 17:29

There was no real need to open the Armenian Embassy in Vatican. Amid
the economic crisis and shortage of budget funds, one could have
combined the activities of several diplomatic missions in one embassy,
for instance, in Vienna, Levon Zurabyan, Head of the opposition
Armenian National Congress Faction, said during today’s parliamentary
hearings on the draft state budget 2014.

The oppositionist said that Armenia is not a great power to afford
to open embassies throughout the world.

For his part, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan
said that concentration of several diplomatic missions in one embassy
considerably reduces the efficiency of the embassy. In response,
Zurabyan pointed out that Shavarsh Kocharyan apparently did not know
the real background of opening of Armenia’s Embassy in Vatican. “The
opening of the Embassy had only one goal – to provide Serzh Sargsyan’s
son-in-law Mikayel Minasyan with a good job, i.e. to appoint him
ambassador”, said Zurabyan.

ARMENIA-GEORGIA INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AGAIN COMES UNDER AZERI FIRE

NEWS | 31.10.13 | 10:08

Photolure

Azerbaijan’s armed forces again violated the ceasefire on Wednesday,
shooting in the direction of the Voskepar-Baghanis section of the
interstate highway connecting Armenia and Georgia.

A spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry told local media that
there were no causalities as a result of the shooting that happened
at around 3 pm.

Artsrun Hovhannisyan added that the Armenian forces retaliated, after
which the enemy shooting stopped. The highway section near Baghanis
had to be closed for security reasons.

This is not the first time Azerbaijan violates truce by firing in
the direction of the highway passing along the northeastern border
of Armenia. Last week one Armenian serviceman was killed and three
others were wounded as Azeri troops opened fire at a military convoy
on the Paravakar section of the Berd-Ijevan highway.

The Armenian Defense Ministry then described it as “another act of
aggression by the Azeri side” and vowed to retaliate fiercely from
now onward to avert such attacks in the future.

WASHINGTON HOSTS CONFERENCE ON “KURDISH ROLE IN NEW MIDDLE EAST”

October 31, 2013 – 11:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Kurdish political leaders from Turkey, Syria,
Iran and Iraq were joined on Oct 28 by a broad cross-section of the
Washington foreign policy community at an all-day conference on the
“The Kurdish Role in the New Middle East.”

The conference, the first ever organized in Washington by the U.S.

office of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the leading pro-Kurdish
political party in Turkey, was held before a capacity crowd in the
National Press Club, Asbarez reports.

An Armenian delegation headed by Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Bureau member Hagop Der Khatchadourian attended the conference and
also held consultations regarding prospects for increased cooperation
with several political leaders and other key Kurdish stakeholders.

“We welcome this inaugural BDP conference in Washington, DC and
the opportunity it afforded for meaningful dialogue about Armenian
Kurdish cooperation, Western Armenia and Kurdistan, and, more broadly,
the realization of the national and democratic aspirations of the
Armenian and Kurdish nations,” said Der Khatchadourian.

The program covered four panels, and featured a robust exchange of
views from a broad array of Kurdish viewpoints. The topics covered were
“The Kurds in a Changing Middle East,” “The Kurds of Syria and their
Vision for the Future,” “The Imrali Peace Process: Can Turkish-Kurdish
Relations be Re-Made?” and “The U.S., Turkey, and the Kurds: Towards
a New Vision.” Among those participating were the Co-Chairman of the
BDP, Selahattin Demirtas; Nazmi Gur, a prominent BDP Parliamentarian;
Karwan Zebari, representing the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq
office in Washington, DC, former U.S.

Ambassador to Turkey, James Jeffrey; and prominent journalists Cengiz
Candar and Amberin Zaman from Turkey.

TURKISH MP DISLIKES ‘VAN,’ SUGGESTS RENAMING IT INTO ‘WAN’

October 31, 2013 – 17:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – President Ilham Aliyev’s “astounding” statement on
the 2800th anniversary of the Azeri people was followed by a similarly
inconceivable one: Turkish parliamentarian Aysel Tugluk offered to
rename the city of Van into Wan. As the MP noted, for thousands of
years, the city carried the name of Wan, which has to be brought back.

The MP is confident that current name of the city “is incurrent from
the viewpoints of democracy and pronunciation.” One might wonder
what a city name has to do with the democracy. But the pronunciation
point is clear enough: everything in Turkey that used to belong to
Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians was declared wrong and was demanded to
be corrected. Same is the case here: Van sounds too “Armenian” to
the Turkish MP, so it has to be renamed. Seems like this is the way
Ms Tugluk interpreted Prime Minister Erdogan’s statement suggesting
that historic sites will recover their old names. Strangely enough,
the PM’s remark did not affect the cities listed in the catalogues
and historical works. Also, by that logic, the village of Hissarlik
should be re-given its ancient name, Troy.

As for Van and the Kingdom of Van, which was one of the most powerful
ones back when the ancestors of the Turkish MP never even existed, our
advice is a simple one – learn history. And not by Turkish textbooks,
but serious world-acknowledged works.

And if renamed, the city should be called Tushpa, rather than Wan.

Turks already renamed Ararat into Agrı Dagı, Akhtamar into Akdamar,
Smyrna into Izmir – the list is endless. Is Van the next?

HRAPARAK: EUROPEAN COMPANIES SHOW INTEREST IN AVIATION MARKET OF ARMENIA

12:57 31/10/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

Citing its sources, Hraparak newspaper says that the recent
announcement of the Armenian government to turn the air space of
Armenia into a free zone for flights has triggered the interest of
a number of European companies, which began to inquire about details
of the future deal.

“Some reports say they have even met with representatives of the
authorities for the purpose of accelerating their entrance into the
aviation market of Armenia. They also show interest in Gyumri airport,”
the newspaper says.

The newspaper’s sources do not give the names of the European
companies, but Rianair and Virgin are among these companies.

Source: Panorama.am

ARTSVIK MINASYAN: FIGHT AGAINST EMIGRATION SHOULD BECOME NATIONAL PLATFORM

14:46 31/10/2013 ” SOCIETY

Emigration is a threat to national security and the fight against
emigration should become a national platform, member of ARF
Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary faction Artsvik Minasyan told reporters,
while commenting on the discussions on improvement of policy aimed
at reduction of emigration in Armenia.

Minasyan noted that all forces – authorities, opposition, NGOs and
the Armenian Church – should look for ways to combat emigration.

“People emigrate from Armenia because of unemployment, low wages,
distrust in justice as well as uncertainty to the future,” he said.

Minasyan said that some proposals from ARFD’s emigration reduction
program have been included in government programs.

“Our program focuses on creation of jobs and we demand that the
government release a “roadmap” of jobs,” he noted.

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO UN: AZERBAIJAN REFUSES CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES

October 31, 2013 | 12:32

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Permanent Representative to United Nations (UN),
Ambassador Garen Nazarian, on Wednesday delivered an address within
the framework of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, in New
York City.

Nazarian noted that regional confidence-building measures are an
important component of international peace and the establishment and
maintenance of security, informs the Armenian MFA press service.

In this context, the ambassador reflected on Azerbaijan’s ongoing
threats against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, this country’s increasing
military spending, resultant arms race, and its provocations on
the border.

The Armenian diplomat stated that Azerbaijan refuses the fundamental
precepts, which the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have proposed
toward a pacific settlement to the Karabakh conflict, and also the
confidence-building measures.

Garen Nazarian stressed that the use of force cannot lead to the
solution of key issues, and there is no alternative to resolving the
conflict by way of talks.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT TO HOLD HEARINGS ON HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

October 31, 2013 | 13:21

YEREVAN. – The Armenian National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on
Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport will convene external
parliamentary hearings.

The discussions will be held Friday at the National Gallery of Armenia,
in capital city Yerevan.

The hearings will be held under the theme, “Measures and Key Issues
to Ensure the Protection and Heritage of Historical Monuments,”
informs the NA press service.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

AZNAVOUR’S MOST MEMORABLE SONGS

Hills News, Australia
October 29, 2013 Tuesday
First Edition

by Jessica Aquilina

MILKO Foucault-Larche will rekindle memories of singer/actor Charles
Aznavour in his show, Aznavour . . . From Today.

The show, which includes 50 years of Aznavour’s music, will be
performed in The Studio at the Sydney Opera House on Wednesday.

Foucault-Larche, of Winston Hills, has paid tribute to the legendary
French-Armenian entertainer for more than 10 years with his shows
taking journeys through Aznavour’s music.

Foucault-Larche said the special 10-year show would be his biggest
tribute show to date.

“We have revamped the show big time,” Foucault-Larche said.

“We are really digging into my collection of Aznavour’s music.

“It’s more the things that I like, the things that will connect me
to his music as a performer.

“This time we are not only focusing on his popular songs but at a
more personal collection.”

To add a new element to the show, a classical guitarist has been
added to the night’s musical collaboration.

“We thought about bringing a girl in to sing Aznavour’s songs but we
thought that wasn’t anything new.

“So we decided to bring in a classical guitarist and that

has brought in a whole new dimension.”

Foucault-Larche has been working in the entertainment industry for
more than 35 years.

He created Aznavour’s show more than 10 years ago, dedicated to
the entertainer.

“I wanted to produce a show that was unique,” Foucault-Larche said.

“There are shows dedicated to Sinatra but nothing on Aznavour.

“I am French speaking, so it was obvious I could sing his songs and
it was something that no one else had done.”

MG CO CHAIRS, BAKU TO MULL WAYS OF SETTLING KARABAKH CONFLICT

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Oct 30 2013

30 October 2013, 16:10 (GMT+04:00)

By Sara Rajabova

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is engaged in resolution
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, will discuss
ways to resolve the conflict in Baku next week, the U.S. Embassy in
Azerbaijan told Trend news agency on October 30.

Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Jacques Faure of
France, and James Warlick of the U.S. will visit Baku at the beginning
of the week, the embassy said.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in
conflict which emerged over Armenia’s territorial claims against its
South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory,
including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. A fragile
ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by
US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country’s territories.