300 SOLDIERS’ PARENTS MARK ARMY DAY WITH SONS
29.01.13
On the initiative of Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, the parents of
more than 300 soldiers met with their sons serving in Nagorno-Karabakh,
Syunik and Tavush.
They marked the Armenian Army Day together.
The soldiers’ parents had an opportunity to see the conditions and
have dinner in the mess.
Concerts and solemn events were organized in all the military units.
MARCH IN SUPPORT OF ZHOGHOVURD DAILY
02:38 pm | January 29, 2013 | Social
A protest march is due to be held in Yerevan at 11:30, January 30,
in support of Zhoghovord (People) daily.
The participants of the action will march from Abovyan street to the
Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative
districts to hand over a petition with a demand to lift the 3 Million
AMD freeze from the newspaper’s property. The freeze might, otherwise,
discontinue the operation of the newspaper.
The court decided to freeze the newspaper’s property because of
a slander suit filed by Yerevan Poultry Factory owner Khachik
Khachatryan.
The latter argues that the paper smeared his good name and the
reputation of the factory in a September 2012 article, claiming that
the Ministry of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspectorate had fined the
company for selling eggs past their due date.
HAIG BOYADJIAN: “I’M NO NAIVE DIASPORA ARMENIAN; I’M JUST CRAZY ABOUT THE COUNTRY”
Marine Madatyan
;-i%E2%80%99m-just-crazy-about-the-country%E2%80%9D.html
15:34, January 29, 2013
Haig Boyadjian left Los Angeles and moved to Armenia one and a half
years ago. The young man says he has no regrets.
“I just love it when I’m walking in the streets and I turn around
after hearing someone call out the name Haig. They weren’t calling me
but that doesn’t matter. It’s my land and people. I feel at home. We
were born in another country but were always guests. I love being
here, whatever happens, because it’s mine,” says Haig, who left his
parents and brother behind in Los Angeles.
Haig said that when he announced his intentions of moving to Armenia,
everyone back home thought he was nuts.
“My friends from Armenia told me that I’d get eaten alive in Armenia.
Others told me Armenia was one big village with no progress. They
were amazed, as if I was moving to the deep jungles of Africa.”
Finding work in Armenia isn’t tough if you look hard and are educated
When Haig first arrived he lived at a friend’s house and started
an aggressive search for work. Three weeks later he got a job as a
marketing manager at a Yerevan restaurant chain.
Nine months later, Haig left that job and found work at the Children
of Armenia Fund (COAF), also as a marketing manager. I could have
done marketing back home. The objective of my being here was to work
and make a difference. I’m glad that I have reached my dream.
Haig has a college degree in marketing and international relations from
Los Angeles. At the COAF he’s busy establishing connections between
diaspora Armenian investors and local businesspeople. When his friends
ask him the same tiring question, “Why did you leave the U.S.
and come to this forsaken country”, Haig points to his job and says,
“This is why”.
Haig says this question both perplexes him and saddens him.
“I can’t blame people who want to emigrate from Armenia. The conditions
here, sadly, are pretty tough. But it’s hard for me to understand
why people are so amazed as to why a young person like myself with
an education has come to the homeland to make a contribution,: Haig
says, adding that he’s not a naive diaspora Armenian and knows about
the bribery and deceit in Armenia. He says these problems are normal
for all socially depressed countries.
It’s tough making friends with local Armenians
Haig says that when it comes to forming social relations, the situation
is complex and time consuming.
“I don’t know if people are embarrassed or maybe it’s the Russian or
Soviet influence at play. But once that wall crumbles, Armenians are
an accessible people.”
Haig says he observes that Soviet influence when it comes to forming
social relations because he’s come from the outside and never
experienced it.
“When you ask someone how they are, they answer voch inch (nothing).
It’s terrible. You’re either good or bad. What does voch inch actually
mean? When you answer voch inch, it means you are neither bad nor
good. In other words, you yourself don’t know what you are. Some
people have told me that during the Soviet era people would respond
by saying voch inch because if they said ‘I am well’ it would raise
eyebrows; i.e. but why are you so well (Haig laughs – MM).”
We aren’t born just to get married
I ask Haig how old he is. He answered but said that he doesn’t like
it when people ask his age.
“I always conceal my age because I come across as strange here. That’s
to say I’m still unmarried at my age.”
Haig’s work takes him to various parts of Armenia. He says that in
some villages kids are married off at the age of sixteen.
“I amazed when the parents of a boy say they will marry him off. That
young boy knows nothing of the world. He doesn’t have an education
or a job. And now he is forming a family. We weren’t born just to
get married,” Haig argues.
He’s seen that establishing a family is the main objective of young
Armenians pressured by relatives. It’s different in America, Haig
notes. He likes the new young generation of Armenia because their
mindset is quite different. “I’d really like to see how they turn
out in ten or so years,” he says.
Recently, through the COAF, Haig took some Armenian kids to New York.
He saw they were happy but didn’t know how to express themselves.
“They wouldn’t smile and they couldn’t react. It’s because they raise
kids in Armenia to think it’s a shame, don’t show this, and do that,
don’t talk, sit there. It’s not right. Kids are growing up with crooked
necks. That’s not how we were raised in America. Sure we were taught
respect and to act correctly, but we were free. There’s a lot of
pressure here and it starts at an early age,” says Haig.
He sees the same inhibitions in adults as well. They measure their
every step thinking what will the neighbors say, the in-laws, and
the co-workers. “They are spending their entire lives according to
the expectations of others and at their behest. Sure there should be
a moral compass but people should do as they please.”
P.S. – Haig also finds the time to market Armenia via his Facebook
page. He says that that when he travels to this or that district of
Armenia the first thing he does is to take pictures. He then downloads
the photos so that Armenians overseas will want to visit Armenia. Haig
has been to almost all the regions of Armenia. Last month, he brought
his mother and brother to Armenia for the first time. Haig is now
waiting for his friends.
Photo
Hayk and his brother in Armenia
AZERBAIJAN IS CONCERNED OVER CREATION OF CSTO ACADEMY IN ARMENIA
21:03, 29 January, 2013
YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, AREMNPRESS: Azerbaijan is concerned over only
the program of creation of CSTO academy in Armenia. Program includes
a series of measures to expand military-technical cooperation and the
repair of equipment and weapons in the territory of Armenia. Events
with participation of political experts as well as leaders of
political and public youth organizations are scheduled. It is
considered in Baku that this is another program of Kremlin “aimed
against Azerbaijan”. Some experts evaluated this step as another
tension for Azerbaijan, reports Armenpress referring to haqqin.az.
In this regard, former adviser of president, political expert Vafa
Guluzade declared in interview with agency, that neither Azerbaijan
not Georgia should become members of Eurasian Union created by Moscow
in order to “keep their independence”. Guluzade assured Russia was
establishing academy in Armenia for “breaking Azerbaijani will”.
“We shouldn’t forget about other factors. Russia depends on prices of
oil and gas. Gas prices are already falling as Europe is switching to
fissile gas. Russia will collapse with the decrease of oil price. So
Azerbaijan’s position is not desperate,” he said.
TINDERBOX NEXT DOOR: GROWING ETHNIC PROTESTS IN AZERBAIJAN MAY ‘DETONATE’ WAR AGAINST KARABAKH
KARABAKH | 29.01.13 | 11:06
Photo:
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The wave of protests that struck Azerbaijan last week may become a
detonator of a military adventure in the South Caucasus.
The incident in the Ismayilli region of Azerbaijan reminded of the
Arab Spring scenarios, thinks head of the Analytical Center on
Globalization and Regional Cooperation, political analyst Stepan
Grigoryan. In the current situation, in his opinion, it is possible
that official Baku will try to direct popular discontent against
Karabakh and replace public discontent with nationalism.
“It is possible that the Azerbaijani side will try to escalate the
situation along the line of contact of the armed forces of
Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan,” the analyst said.
Expert of the Center for Central Asia studies and Caucasus Institute
of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrei Areshev
also thinks that Azerbaijani authorities will see an increased
temptation to redirect the anger of the society towards Karabakh.
“The authorities will agitate patriotic feelings among people to shift
their attention from internal problems to the ‘enemies’, and in
Azerbaijan Armenians and Karabakh are considered to be these enemies,”
he said.
In the provincial capital of Ismayilli people angered by the rule of
the Alekperov clan (one of this family is the regional governor, the
other is a minister in the central government of Azerbaijan) burned a
car and a hotel owned by representatives of the clan. This caused a
wave of protests countrywide reaching capital Baku that saw activation
of civic initiatives and opposition parties.
It is noteworthy that this happened during the same days when in
Mexico City local authorities dismantled the monument to the late
father of the current president, ex-president of Azerbaijan Heydar
Aliyev. It became not only a major blow to the credibility of the
Aliyev regime, but also a sign that the West is not against
dismantling the Aliyev regime also in the oil-rich country.
Autumn in Azerbaijan will see presidential elections and it is not
excluded that this time the West and the local opposition will be able
to change the regime with which it is difficult to work even for oil
companies. Last year was marked by a conflict between Aliyev and
British Petroleum, which is the main investor in the oil sector of
Azerbaijan. It was stated that oil reserves were running out in the
country, and it again became a blow to the regime.
Remarkably, on January 27 the police did not allow the leader of the
main opposition party, Musavat, Isa Gambar to enter the city of
Lankaran in the south of Azerbaijan. Two weeks ago, a Gambar motorcade
was also attacked at the entrance to Lankaran by people allegedly
trained for the purpose by the authorities.
Lankaran is a Lezghian-populated region of Azerbaijan, just like Guba
and Ismayilli, where the protest events took place. Experts say the
reactivation of the Lezghian national movement in Azerbaijan is what
bothers the Aliyev regime most. And if national movements of the
Lezghians and Talyshes, which are Iranian peoples who appeared inside
a Turkic Azerbaijan in 1918, gains momentum, it could lead as well to
the collapse of the Azerbaijani state. It is this very threat that may
make Aliyev embark on a military gambling in Karabakh by unleashing a
war against the de-facto independent republic. A few days ago
information appeared in the media that Azerbaijan had purchased T-300
Qasirqa missile systems from Turkey. These missiles are designed to
destroy enemy targets at a range of more than 100 kilometers.
South Caucasus geopolitics expert Anzhela Elibegova, referring to the
factors of internal policy in Azerbaijan, also mentions the Kurdish
issue. “The Azerbaijani opposition media write regularly that Kurds in
Azerbaijan enjoy ‘special’ rights. In Nakhichevan, the conventional
homeland of Heydar Aliyev, the majority of the population today are
Kurds, but during the years of the Aliyev rule they have settled
around on lands historically inhabited by the Talyshes and Lezgins,”
said Elibegova.
For his part, the American commentator on ethnic and religious
conflicts, James Dorsey, said that the Caucasus, including Azerbaijan,
is not immune to shocks such as those that have hit the Middle East
and North Africa of late.
ACTORS OF “GAREGIN NZHDEH” ARE SURE GOAL OF THE FILM HAS BEEN REACHED
18:11, 29 January, 2013
YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS: Impetuous feedback which followed
premier of “Garegin Nzhdeh” comes to prove that film had a success
among film lovers. Armenpress reports that during interview with
journalists this was noted by actors of the movie Artashes Aleksanyan,
Vigen Stepanyan and Shant Hovhannisyan.
According to them, they have reached the desired result so in TV
version the goal of the film would be obvious for the audience.
“When you see children playing in the yard and yelling “I am Garegin
Nzhdeh”, I guess, the result is obvious,” Artashes Aleksanyan noted.
Actors urged to watch the film and only than start to criticize it.
“Those are consequences of some regrettable phenomena spread all over
the country, when everything is being derided. We don’t have many good
actors therefore there are people whose work must be evaluated. Those
people are ridiculous who see Saroyan’s picture in the street and
don’t recognize him,” Vigen Stepanyan added.
ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI DELEGATES MEET WITHIN PACE
NEWS.AM
January 29, 2013 | 15:59
YEREVAN.- A meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani deletions is
planned within the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE).
Presenting the results of PACE winter session, head of the Armenian
delegation Davit Harutyunyan said not only the heads but delegations’
staff will hold a meeting in PACE in the near future.
During the winter session heads of Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations
– Davit Harutyunyan and Samed Seidov – held a trilateral meeting with
PACE head Jean-Claude Mignon on January 22.
ASHOT MANUCHARYAN: ARMENIA MUST STOP HAVING ITS ELECTIONS OBSERVED BY INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ARMINFO
Tuesday, January 29, 15:12
If Armenia wants better elections, it must stop having them observed
by international organizations – for as a rule their findings do
not reflect the real picture, the national security advisor of the
first President of Armenia, member of the Karabakh Committee Ashot
Manucharyan told journalists on Tuesday.
He believes that elections in Armenia are a fiction. “Their results are
predetermined by the great powers, who later use them as a compromising
stuff for blackmailing the country,” Manucharyan said.
He is sure that each of the candidates represents some external force.
“This time those forces are planning a calm election in Armenia, so,
there will hardly be a run-off, but after the election, they will
impose serious changes. Oligarchs and real politicians will start
fighting for power, but this will hardly end in new Mar 2008 events,”
Manucharyan said.
5 international and 10 local organizations will observe the Feb
18 presidential election in Armenia: the OSCE/ODIHR will have 250
observers, the CIS 170, PACE 22.
OSKANIAN’S “PRESIDENTIAL TERM”
HAKOB BADALYAN
Story from Lragir.am News:
17:04 29/01/2013
The Civilitas Foundation founded by the ex-foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian will celebrate its fifth anniversary on January 30. Civilitas
was a breath of fresh air in the public life of Armenia. It brought
new style and content to public activities, trying to involve also
politicians. The Civilitas uses interesting forms of public and
political discussions, presents annual reports on the situation
in Armenia.
The foundation launched Civilnet TV with an innovative and fresh
approach to news making, which was a success. Civilnet has already a
young, courageous and confident generation of journalists who carry
considerable potential and can fill in the gaps of professionalism
in the field of reporting.
Hence, the fifth anniversary of the Civilitas is an important event
in the recent political life of Armenia.
Unfortunately, the founder of the Civilitas Vartan Oskanian was
unable to transfer the new culture into the political life. Vartan
Oskanian made an attempt but chose the wrong way. Vartan Oskanian
joined the Prosperous Armenia Party as he stepped into the political
life of Armenia with an intention to bring new style, culture and
thinking there.
As Robert Kocharyan would put it, Civilitas and Prosperous Armenia are
genetically incompatible. The PAP has nothing to do with the culture,
thinking, outlook and values of everything that Civilitas promotes,
in terms of neither style nor content.
Choosing the way leading to active politics Vartan Oskanian did not
bring new values and thinking to politics but became a component of
the crystallized deal-based politics that prevails in Armenia.
Vartan Oskanian used to be part of that system indeed but since
leaving his office he had an opportunity to return there with a new
status and quality, subsequently new results. Vartan Oskanian did not
use this opportunity. In fact, he missed this opportunity for nobody
knows who and why.
Five years is a haven to stop and think about the past way. Moreover,
five years is a full presidential term in Armenia. Vartan Oskanian
would not mind being the next president of Armenia. However, there
happened what happened, and the ex-foreign minister has already
different issues to tackle on the “laurels” of the past five years.
Over the past five years and especially in the past year he has
encountered a lot to think on. The main issue is how to bring back
harmony between politics and the contents, values and style of his
foundation without harming the foundation.
Happy 5th anniversary, Civilitas!
ATTACKS LAUNCHED AGAINST ARMENIANS IN TURKEY ARE PLANNED: TURK COLUMNIST
12:38, 29 January, 2013
YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS: If several things as I mentioned in a
country like Turkey happens in a matter of weeks, we should have every
reason to believe that they are organized and somehow connected to
each other. Columnist Orhan Kemal Cengiz came forth with a statement,
Armenpress reports citing Today’s Zaman.
Columnist rejects Armenian women attacked in the Samatya neighborhood
of Istanbul recently were due to robbery. All of whom were over 80 and
living alone. Even if the intent of the attackers was robbery, this
does not change the fact that there is an obvious racial hatred behind
these assaults. If their only purpose was to steal a few items from
these old ladies they could easily incapacitate the women without the
brutality. But instead they brutally beat and stabbed these women. An
Armenian intellectual, who does not want to reveal his identity, told
me that he barely managed to escape unscathed from a planned attack
by two youngsters who were sent by an ultranationalist who was angry
with some of the words that this Armenian intellectual had made on TV.
Some circles are frantically trying to create an atmosphere of
terror for non-Muslims in Turkey. When there was a comparable level
of activities against non-Muslims in 2006 and 2007, they ended up
in disaster with a string of murders of Christians: Father Andrea
Santoro in Trabzon, Hrant Dink in Istanbul and three Christians in
Malatya were killed.
Since the beginning of the Ergenekon investigation in 2007, we have
not witnessed such kinds of attacks against non-Muslims. Some cells
seemed to have been reactivated to give Christians a hard time once
again. I really hope that officials will grasp the severity and
gravity of the situation soon and act quickly in order to bring the
attackers and the people behind them to justice. This situation is
quite serious and alarming.