Author: Kajoyan Gevork

WHY HAD NOW-DECEASED MILITARY DOCTOR GONE TO YEREVAN RESTAURANT? – NEWSPAPER

news.am
July 11, 2012 | 10:31

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd daily’s sources presented details on the death
of military physician, Major Vahe Avetyan at Harsnaqar Restaurant.

“It became apparent that some time prior to this incident Vahe
Avetyan had operated on one of Harsnaqar’s musicians who, after being
discharged from hospital, invited him [Avetyan] to the Restaurant
with his friends, to thank him.

And, in fact, that very day became ill-fated for the doctor,”
Zhoghovurd writes.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, an incident had occurred at
Armenian capital city Yerevan’s Harsnaqar Restaurant on June 17, where
several military doctors including Edgar Mikoyan, Arkadi Aghajanyan,
Garik Soghomonyan, Artak Bayadyan and Vahe Avetyan were brutally
beaten by the security personnel. And Vahe Avetyan died in hospital
on June 29. A criminal case is launched and the Police have detained
six people.

The Restaurant’s owner is senior ruling party MP, Football Federation
of Armenia President, and businessman Ruben Hayrapetyan, who on July
3 formally submitted his resignation from his parliamentary seat.

RESCUERS FIND ELDERLY WOMAN’S DEAD BODY IN YEREVAN APARTMENT

news.am
July 11, 2012 | 11:58

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Rescue Service received a call, on Tuesday
at 11:11am, informing that the resident of a capital city Yerevan
apartment was not answering to the telephone calls and the doorbell,
and that rescuers were needed.

A special rescue squad was dispatched to the scene, the Rescue Service
informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In the presence of police officers, the rescuers opened the
aforementioned apartment’s door and discovered the dead body of
Zhitina Y., 76, in the living room.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ARE AGAINST TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS TO AZERBAIJAN

arminfo
Wednesday, July 11, 12:23

The key point of the presidential election campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh
is the Karabakh peace process and the future of the NKR.

ArmInfo’s correspondent in Stepanakert reports that during the meetings
with the voters Bako Sahakyan, the incumbent president of the NKR and
candidate for the presidency, pointed out that the NKR leadership’s
official stance on the Karabakh peace process was presented to the OSCE
Minsk Group co- chairs in the course of their visits to the NKR. The
NKR thinks that without its full-fledged participation in the peace
process it is impossible to resolve the Karabakh conflict. Sahakyan
told the voters that the steps aimed at restoring the full-fledged
format of the negotiations would be continued.

“The OSCE MG co-chairs also think that it is impossible to achieve
the final results in the peace process without the full-fledged
participation of Stepanakert. This is the result of our joint work.

Earlier the co- chairs were of a different opinion”, Sahakyan said.

Arkady Soghomonyan, another candidate, says if elected he will create
all the necessary conditions for Azerbaijan to sit at the table
with Nagorno-Karabakh and sign a long-term peace agreement under the
aegis of the OSCE. He also says that the president of Karabakh should
prevent resumption of war.

Vitaly Balasanyan, in turn, says that no progress has been observed in
the Karabakh peace process since the NKR stopped being a full-fledged
party to the process. He advocates transparency in the talks and
emphasizes the necessity to establish long-term peace in the region.

Like the other candidates, Balasanyan is against territorial
concessions to Azerbaijan.

He considers that the NKR should sign an interstate agreement with
Armenia, and under this agreement Armenia should be a guarantor of
security in the NKR.

To recall, the presidential elections in Karabakh are scheduled
for July 19. By the NKR Government’s decision, July 19, Thursday,
is a day-off.

LA TURQUIE DOIT ENCOURAGER LA LIBERTE D’EXPRESSION ET NON LA REPRIMER (OSCE)
Stephane

armenews.com
mercredi 11 juillet 2012

L’Organisation pour la securite et la cooperation en Europe (OSCE) a
recommande vendredi a la Turquie d’encourager la liberte d’expression
plutôt que de la reprimer, a la suite de l’augmentation du nombre de
journalistes emprisonnes ces dernières annees.

“La liberte d’expression ne peut pas se limiter a la liberte jugee
acceptable par les autorites” a declare Dunja Mijatovic, representante
de l’OSCE pour les medias.

“Les autorites doivent contrer la liberte d’expression qu’ils jugent
agressive en encourageant encore plus la liberte d’expression et en
creant les conditions d’un debat plus libre sur toutes les questions
d’interet general” a-t-elle ajoute.

Elle a egalement formule le voeu que les accusations qui visent le
journaliste turc Ahmet Sik, soient retirees bientôt. Avec une douzaine
d’autres suspects, ce journaliste a ete accuse de comploter contre
le gouvernement.

M. Sik ainsi que d’autres journalistes renommes, ont ete liberes en
mars, un an après leur arrestation, mais ils encourent toujours des
peines de prison allant jusqu’a 15 ans, s’ils sont juges coupables.

En avril dernier, l’OSCE a affirme que le nombre de journalistes
incarceres avait atteint 95 contre 57 il y a un an, denoncant une
tendance “inquietante”.

OSCE TO CONDUCT NEXT MONITORING OF CONTACT LINE BETWEEN AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN TROOPS

APA
July 10 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. Baku – APA. Under the mandate of the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the OSCE representatives
will conduct monitoring of the line of contact between the Azerbaijani
and Armenian troops on Aghdam-Barda highway of the Republic of
Azerbaijan on July 11.

According to the press service of the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan,
field assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office William Pryor and Hristo Hristov will conduct
monitoring on Azerbaijani side.

Field assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Anthal Herdic and Jiri Aberle will conduct
monitoring on the opposite side of the contact line.

The co-chairs will cross to the opposite side of the contact line.

IS DAVUTOGLU ENVER JR.?

Today’s Zaman

July 9 2012
Turkey

“Enver Jr.” is a nickname that Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader
Kemal Kılıcdaroglu used in reference to Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu in an attempt to criticize the government’s Syria policy.

His reference to Enver Pasha, the defense minister and chief of staff
of the Ottoman Empire during World War I and an important historical
figure, implies that the CHP leader is accusing the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) government of pursuing imperial policies
of the Ottoman Empire. The Enver Pasha doctrine symbolizes assertive
policies that culminated in disasters.

The day Kılıcdaroglu made this reference to Davutoglu, I, in my
column published in the Zaman daily, made an analogy between the
current AK Party administration and the Committee of Union and Progress
(CUP) government ruling the Ottoman Empire between 1908 and 1918 and
referred to Enver Pasha, the number one figure of this period. Some
attempts were made to relate to Kılıcdaroglu’s “Enver Jr.” remark.

What really matters is to recall this legacy and take a look at the
Middle East policy from a historical perspective. Enver Pasha is a
great name that deserves a refresher of our memories.

The CUP government, under the leadership of the three Pashas —
Enver, Talat and Cemal — was the rising star of the last stage of
the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian deportation was their plan.

Interestingly, they made the first attempt to transition to a
multiparty system. They ended the 33-year-long rule of Abdulhamid II
through a military coup and administered the state relying on coercion
and intimidation. They made a pact with the Germans and entered World
War I. In a very short time, they modernized the army, converting it
into a strong instrument that was effective on the battleground. The
War of Gallipoli is their success. In the end, they were defeated. Two
of these three men were killed by Armenian assassins, whereas Enver
Pasha was murdered by the Soviet military in Central Asia.

Enver Pasha was a young and idealistic military serviceman. He had
great ambitions. But he was not realistic. He led a life in pursuit
of Pan-Turkism and Pan-Islamism. The name of Enver Pasha symbolizes
unrealistic adventurers detached from reality. His style is seen as
adventurous in foreign policy.

The name and personality of Enver Pasha are part of the key to becoming
a great state in the minds of military servicemen. For this reason,
during the civil war in Tajikistan after the collapse of the Soviet
Union, the body of Enver Pasha was exhumed and taken to Ä°stanbul by
a military operation where his body and ideals were preserved and
honored. In short, the state views him as significant in the field
of foreign policy.

But still, it is not proper to make an analogy between Davutoglu
and Enver Pasha. Davutoglu’s policy is not Pan-Turkism. Davutoglu’s
doctrine, focusing on the Islamic world, is closer to Abdulhamid’s
foreign policy style. Like the one pursued by Abdulhamid, it is
realistic and wise. Likewise, it is similar to Abdulhamid’s style in
one more respect: patience.

The current stage of Turkey’s Syria policy refers to the end of a
game. The game is not over yet. Turkey has made proper moves in this
conundrum. This calculation will be justified when the Assad regime
is gone.

It is not possible to deny the Ottoman imprints in Davutoglu’s policy.

However, these imprints were borrowed from Abdulhamid’s regional
policy, not from the policies of the CUP.

PARIS TO RESUBMIT BILL ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL

Journal of Turkish Weekly
July 10 2012

France plans to vote on a new bill that would criminalize denying that
the 1915-16 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was genocide,
a local Armenian-lobbying group has said.

French President Francois Hollande said on July 7 that he would
support another attempt to pass such a law.

A similar bill passed the National Assembly in December 2011, under
Hollande’s presidential predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, but the country’s
constitutional court struck down the measure as a violation of freedom
of speech.

The debate in France has angered Ankara, which suspended political and
military cooperation in retaliation for the original bill’s passage.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters

NAGORNO-KARABAKH: ‘NEITHER PEACE NOR WAR’
Alexandra Zakharova

Voice of Russia

July 10 2012

The young people of Armenia and Azerbaijan are calling to bring to
naught all differences between the two neighbouring countries and to
settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

They are organizing joint actions and are writing songs about
friendship. However, for the time being neither the residents of
Nagorno-Karabakh nor its authorities are ready for a compromise.

The ‘Together’ song appeared in the global network on Youtube after the
latest armed clashes on the Armenian-Azeri border. This song was sung
by Mger from Armenia, Leila Mammadova from Azerbaijan, and Aik Gulyan
from Karabakh. The “Together” song is in Russian because Russian is
a go-between language in the Caucasus Region. The languages of the
Caucasus and English are used in the refrains. All this is done to
draw the three sides closer together, the curator of the project
“Together” in Armenia Gayane Sarkisyan says.

“This song has enabled designers, musicians, poets and photographers
to communicate with their colleagues on the other side of the border
and to change their attitude to existing problems. This song will
have its own fate. It is being broadcast on the radio now. For the
time being, only in Armenia. We hope though that it will be broadcast
in the Russian-speaking countries too because it is in Russian.”

In the 60s of the last century Nagorno-Karabakh made attempts to
break away from the Republic of Azerbaijan that was integrated
into the former USSR. At that time under discussion was setting up
another Soviet republic or Nagorno-Karabakh’s integration into the
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. But when the USSR disintegrated,
Nagorno-Karabakh declared its independence. Then a protracted armed
conflict broke out that resulted in thousands of victims. As it
appears, now the situation has reached a deadlock there: neither peace
nor war. On the one hand, the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan
are seeking to peacefully settle the conflict. They favour the
establishment of cultural contacts between the two countries. On the
other hand, neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan wants to make concessions,
Chairman of the Society for Humanitarian Research (Azerbaijan) Abaz
Gassanov says.

“The people in Armenia and Azerbaijan do not want to change their
opinion. And the fact that the situation “Neither peace nor war”
presents a serious danger is not an object of concern to them. The
people in Karabakh do not want to strike a compromise with the
authorities. As soon as they become aware of the fact that the
settlement of the current conflict could be beneficial for both sides,
they will do their utmost to speed up the signing of a peace treaty.”

Chairman of the European Integration Organization Karen Bakaryan says:

“It is necessary to promote confidence between Armenia and Azerbaijan
because when people begin to communicate, it will be very easy
to resolve political issues. The people in Armenia and Azerbaijan
are putting focus on the settlement of the conflict between the two
countries, while the Karabakh residents are concerned about personal
safety and the safety of their families.”

Young musicians, poets, designers, PR-specialists and photographers
in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh united their efforts last
October to step up the dialogue between the conflicting sides. They
formed the movement – “Together”, aiming to bring the idea of peace
to everyone.

FRANCE TO PRESENT NEW ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LAW IN AUTUMN: GROUP

Agence France Presse
July 9, 2012 Monday 1:31 PM GMT

France is to present a new law punishing denial of the Armenian
genocide in the autumn, the head of a group representing Armenians
in France said on Monday.

Franck Papazian, co-president of the Coordinating Council of Armenian
Organisations of France (CCAF), told AFP he would meet with President
Francois Hollande in the second half of this month to discuss the bill
“which will be prepared by the government and proposed in the autumn.”

Hollande on Saturday confirmed plans for a new law criminalising
denial of the Armenian genocide.

The historical question has long been a hot-button issue between Turkey
and Armenia, a dispute that has also drawn in other countries and
earlier this year sparked a diplomatic crisis between Paris and Ankara.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed in
a 1915-16 genocide by Turkey’s former Ottoman Empire. Turkey says
500,000 died and ascribes the toll to fighting and starvation during
World War I.

Hollande’s conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy angered Ankara
when he pushed ahead with a bill to criminalise denial of the Armenian
genocide.

After the bill passed the National Assembly in December, Turkey
retaliated by suspending military and political cooperation with Paris.

But France’s top constitutional court struck down the bill in February,
saying it violated free expression, in a ruling welcomed by Ankara.

INGOSSTRAKH EXPANDED ITS BUSINESS IN ARMENIA

Economic News (Information Agency Oreanda)
July 9, 2012 Monday
Russia

Yerevan. OREANDA-NEWS . July 09, 2012. In June 2012, the merger of
business of INGO Armenia and KASKAD Insurance insurance companies
came to an end. The transfer of KASKAD Insurance companys insurance
portfolio to INGO Armenia insurance company was authorized by the
decision of the Central Bank of Armenia .

As a result of assets merger, an unprecedentedly large company with
the insurance portfolio of over 8.7 bn. drams was established on the
Armenian insurance market. The main package of shares belongs to the
institutional investor the Russian company, Ingosstrakh.

Today the business processes of the two organizations have been
fully merged. The new insurance company received a unified team of
specialists in the sphere of insurance and has the most diversified
network of branches and representations in the Republic of Armenia .

Tatyana Kaygorodova, Deputy General Director of Ingosstrakh Insurance
Company, comments: The merger of the two companies resulted in
creation of an integrated insurance structure, which allows to
reach a principally new level of work and considerably increase the
quality of provided services, which will be comparable to international
standards accepted in INGO group. This first of all covers the customer
service, as well as document flow. The terms of servicing in customer
offices will be considerably reduced, the range of programs will be
replenished by relevant products, the branches will have the working
hours suitable for customers: these are just some of the innovations,
which our insurants will be able to appreciate very soon.

The INGO International Insurance Group (IIG) was established in 2004.

it unified insurance societies, as well as the companies providing
auxiliary services in relation to insurance and reinsurance, whose
controlling interest is managed by Ingosstrakh Insurance Company.

INGOs strategic goal is to build up a highly integrated insurance
commonwealth, which can ensure achievement of leading positions on
the target insurance markets by companies of the group, and also
development of cooperation in the sphere of insurance and reinsurance
operations to provide the customers with reliable financial protection
of their interests.

Today INGO IIG members, besides Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, include
six companies abroad, as well as seven companies within RF territory:
INGO Ukraine (Ukraine), INGO Ukraine Life (Ukraine), BelIngosstrakh
(Republic of Belarus), INGO Armenia (Republic of Armenia),
Kyrgyzinstrakh (the Kyrgyz Republic), INGO Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan),
Ingosstrakh Life Insurance Company (Russia), Ingosstrakh-M Insurance
Company (Russia), Emergency Insurance Company (Russia), EMESK (Russia),
TIM Assistance (Russia), a network of Be Healthy policlinics (Russia),
Ingosstrakh-Investments (Russia).