Author: Kajoyan Gevork

HERITAGE LEADER DENIES REFERRING TO MADRID PRINCIPLES IN BAKU

28.11.12

The leader of the opposition Heritage party has dismissed the
allegations about his reference to the Madrid Principles in Baku.

“None of my speeches, including the one in Baku, has addressed
the Madrid Principles. I have always been against that. You know
who adopted those principles and who implements them. I reject the
Madrid Principles, with all the clauses contained therein,” Raffi
Hovhannisyan told a news conference on Wednesday.

Responding to a comment that he isn’t criticized for speaking about
Azerbaijani refugees, the Heritage leader said, “The commonality
between what I said and the Madrid Principles is that I used the
word refugees. What I said was that refugees of any ethnic origin
can return to their birthplace but that will be possible only after
establishing the self-determination and territorial integrity of
Artsakh and recognizing the Artsakh Republic.”

Hovhannisyan added that the country’s recognition should enable
the Armenians of Nakhichevan and Azerbaijanis to return to their
birthplaces.

Speaking of the conference, the politician said that a previously
arranged summary session was to have passed a resolution concerning
the international organization’s procedures.

“At the last moment, they introduced a phrase which made the
organization a supporter of [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev’s
policies on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. But there was
no reference to either Armenia or Azerbaijan or even Karabakh before
that. The agenda on the first day said that ‘the resolution has to
be approved and read out’ by a consensus,” he added.

Hovhannisyan noted that Azerbaijan would have incorporated the clause
into the resolution regardless of his presence. “That the resolution
was not put to vote or there was no consensus was probably linked to
my presence too,” he said.

TURKISH AIRLINE: VAN-YEREVAN FLIGHT OPERATION UNDECIDED

November 28, 2012 – 14:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Operation of Van-Yerevan flights by Borajet private
Turkish company is still undecided, Trend reported, citing the
airline.

According to the received information, “the parties are still
negotiating, with no agreement reached on the issue.”

“It’s too early to speak about the operation of Van-Yerevan flight. At
this stage, negotiations are being held between the parties,” the
company said.

The company said the planes will only carry passengers,with no cargo
flights considered, if an agreement is reached.

Earlier, head of Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen (Employers) of
Armenia (UMB(E)A) Arsen Ghazaryan said Yerevan-Van direct flight
package was ready, with Armenian and Turkish aviation managements
having given consent.

Mr. Ghazaryan further stressed the need for Yerevan-Van flights to
operate on a regular basis, which will contribute to development of
Armenian-Turkish economic relations.

“We are trying to cooperate with Turkish services,” he said,
underscoring the importance of the flight, given Ankara’s consent to
Yerevan-Istanbul flights.

Yerevan-Van-Yerevan direct flight package was developed in the
framework of “Support to Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement” project.

ARFD OFFICIAL: PEACEKEEPERS IN NKR WILL AGGRAVATE SITUATION

November 28, 2012 – 16:25 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – ARF Dashnaktsutyun~Rs Armenian Cause Political
Affairs Office Director conditioned the risk of renewal of Nagorno
Karabakh war by Azerbaijani ceasefire violations and militaristic
statements.

Giro Manoyan said the risk of war is slight over Baku~Rs lack of
confidence of victory.

Dwelling on possible deployment of peacekeepers in Artsakh, he said
the move will further aggravate the situation.

~SThe U.S. is withdrawing troops from other countries. Why should
peacekeepers be deployed in a territory where no war has been fought
for the past 20 years?~T Mr. Manoyan said.

ARFD OFFICIAL SLAMS HERITAGE LEADER’S PARTICIPATION IN BAKU EVENT

November 28, 2012 – 16:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian delegations’ visits to Baku must depend on
the event they are set to participate in and the impact of Azerbaijan
on the host organization, ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s Armenian Cause Political
Affairs Office Director said.

Giro Manoyan slammed Heritage Party leader Raffi Hovannissian’s
participation in Baku-hosted General Assembly of the VII International
Conference of Asian Political Parties, considering the influence of
Azerbaijan on the organization.

“ARF Lebanon branch declined the invitation to attend the event,”
he said.

ARF LIKEWISE WAS INVITED TO BAKU CONFERENCE – PARTY OFFICIAL

news.am
November 28, 2012 | 14:02

YEREVAN. – Lebanon chapter of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party likewise was
invited to Azerbaijani capital city Baku, and within the framework of
the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), but
finding it inappropriate, it turned down the invitation. Giro Manoyan,
Director of the International Secretariat of Armenia’s opposition ARF
Dashnaktsutyun Party Bureau and Head of the Armenian Cause Office,
informed about this during a press conference on Wednesday.

“Not attending the Euronest [Parliamentary] Assembly meeting, which
took place in May in Baku, would not have been proper. But saying
that participation in all such meetings will not be appropriate is
inappropriate, too,” Manoyan stated.

He added that the ICAPP event in the Azerbaijani capital city
demonstrated that such events are under the complete influence of
the Azerbaijanis.

“Consequently, attending such meetings will not be too appropriate.

And the last meeting showed that a positive response should not be
given to all invitations because, in that way, we would contribute
to their legitimization,” Giro Manoyan stated.

To note, Armenia’s opposition Heritage Party Chairman Raffi Hovannisian
visited Baku to attend and address the International Conference
of Asian Political Parties, to which he was invited as leader of
the party.

PROBLEMS ARISE AT ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER – NEWSPAPER

news.am
November 28, 2012 | 08:00

YEREVAN. – Reports have come in, according to which serious problems
have arisen for the Armenian trucks that are entering Georgia,
Haykakan Zhamanak daily reports.

“Arguing that there is a difference between the [trucks’] declared
weight and the actual weight, the Georgian customs officers are forcing
[the truck drivers] to pay a fine that is well over one thousand
dollars. According to some information, close to fifty trucks had
piled up at the customs checkpoint yesterday [Tuesday] evening.

Rumors are already going around that this is a result of the non-public
political decision reached by the new Georgian authorities, which
[that is, the decision] is due to the fact that Armenia’s authorities
supported [Georgian President] Mikheil Saakashvili [and his party]
during the recent [parliamentary] elections held in Georgia.

In an interview with our reporter, [Armenia’s] Cargo Carriers’
Union Chairman Makar Arakelyan said he is unaware of such political
decision. Mr. Arakelyan expressed a hope that the problem is merely
connected with the weight accuracy and this matter will be resolved
soon,” Haykakan Zhamanak writes.

IRANIAN GENERAL: BY SUPPORTING SYRIAN TERRORISTS, ERDOGAN BETRAYED HIS NEIGHBOR

Panorama.am
17:50 27/11/2012 ” REGION

Turkey will suffer much detriment, should the Patriot defense missiles
be deployed near Turkey’s border with Syria, Brigadier General Yadollah
Javani, Senior Advisor to the Supreme Leader’s Representative in the
IRGC, told Iran’s news agency Mehr in an interview.

Referring to Turkey’s request for NATO to deploy Patriot defense
missiles near its common border with Syria, Yadollah Javani said, in
part, “By deploying Patriot defense missiles, Turkey prepares a ground
for a military intervention in Syria. Ankara, however, should realize
that it is making a strategic mistake, and will suffer much detriment.”

Commenting on Turkey’s Syria policy, Brigadier General Yadollah
Javani stated, “Erdogan’s government not only did not contribute
to the resolution of the Syrian conflict, moreover, by supporting
terrorists, it betrayed its neighbor. Currently everyone in Syria
from ordinary citizens to national minorities (Kurds) has a negative
attitude to Turkey.”

We will remind that referring to the recent visits of Iranian
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani to Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, Mansour
Haghighat-Pour, Vice Chairman of Majlis National Security and Foreign
Policy Committee, said to Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars
on Monday, “During his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, the Iranian Majlis Speaker tried to make the Turkish
officials understand that their policy on Syria is wrong. Besides,
Ali Larijani also seriously warned Erdogan against the deployment of
the Patriot defense missiles near Turkey’s border with Syria as well
as against Ankara’s support for Syrian opposition.”

PAPER: GOVT. HASN’T PROVIDED FUNDS TO SHIP FLORA MARTIROSYAN’S BODY TO ARMENIA

November 27, 2012 – 13:27 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – According to Zhoghovurd daily, Prosperous Armenia
party leader Gagik Tsarukyan and other entrepreneurs donated major
sums to the family of Flora Martirosyan to ship the late singer’s
body from the U.S. to Armenia.

As was confirmed by Prosperous Armenia spokesperson, “Flora
Martirosyan’s husband spoke about a need for funds with Tsarukyan,
who, as a token of deep respect for the singer donated $20 thousand
to her family.”

Asked by daily why the government failed to cover shipment costs,
the Prime Minister’s spokesman Harutyun Berberyan noted, “around
AMD 1,7 million will be allocated to arrange the funeral. A relevant
resolution will be signed today, with the report posed on government’s
website. Shipment costs will also be refunded.”

FIDE PRESIDENT SUGGESTS ORGANIZING A CHESS MATCH BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND AZERI CHILDREN IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH

arminfo
Tuesday, November 27, 13:46

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has suggested organizing a chess
match between Armenian and Azeri children in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerisport quotes him as saying that he also has an idea to build a
line of peace on the Arab-Israeli border. “They have built a six-meter
wall there, but there is a section where the wall is not ready yet.

So, we could place one thousand chess tables there and organize a
match between Arab and Israeli children. The leader of Palestine
Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed this idea. The Israeli leaders have not
said no. So, all we have to do is to carry it out. The same would
do for Nagorno- Karabakh, where we could organize a match between
Armenian and Azeri children,” Ilyumzhinov said.

MELIKSET KHACHIYAN FINISHES FIRST AT AMERICAN OPEN

Panorama.am
18:56 27/11/2012

Having scored 6.5 points out of 8, Armenian GM Melikset Khachiyan
(United States) finished first at the 48th Annual American Open held
in Anaheim, California.

IM Andranik Matikozyan (Armenia) finished second, being only half a
point behind the winner, Armenian Chess Federation website reported.