Author: Kajoyan Gevork

LEGAL ADVISOR: ARMENIA KEEPS CLAIMING MONEY FROM DIASPORA BUT DO NOTHING TO HELP IT WHEN NEEDED

arminfo
Tuesday, July 10, 18:29

The Armenian community of Syria must not stay neutral in the local
conflict or it will be smashed by both conflicting parties, legal
advisor of the Congress of Armenian Refugees from Azerbaijan Andreas
Ghukasyan said during a press-conference on Tuesday.

He urged the Syrian Armenians to be farseeing and consistent or they
will have to emigrate.

Ghukasyan regrets that Armenia is doing nothing for its compatriots
abroad. “Our authorities just keep claiming money from Diaspora
Armenians but do nothing to help them when needed,” the expert said.

There are some 60,000-80,000 Armenians in Syria.

ARMENIA EXPORTS 8,430 TONS OF APRICOT SO FAR THIS YEAR

news.am
July 10, 2012 | 15:44

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan on Tuesday
held a consultation, with representatives from the country’s main fruit
and vegetable exporting companies, to examine export-related matters.

The discussants noted that exports are continuing in an organized
fashion.

A total of 8,430 tons of apricot is exported from Armenia as of
Tuesday, in the case when 7,031 tons were exported in entire 2011. The
apricot exports are continuing and this volume will considerably grow
by the end of the harvesting season.

Also, the Minister invited the exporters’ attention on the fact that
peaches likewise will be plenty in Armenia this year.

And the exporters assured the Minister that everything will be done
to export the specified volume of apricots and peaches alike.

ARMENIA, IRAN STRESS IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDING COOPERATION

On Line: 10 July 2012 15:43
In Print: Wednesday 11 July 2012

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and a visiting senior Iranian
official stressed the importance of developing cooperation between
the two neighboring state at a meeting in Yerevan.

According to the Armenian president’s press office, at the meeting
Sargsyan told Iran’s Interior Minister Mustafa Mohammad Najari
and his delegation that such visits “testify to the mutual desire
to strengthen the Armenian-Iranian friendship and determination to
deepen working relations.”

The Armenian leader reportedly stressed that late last year, during
the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Armenia “there
took place efficient discussions, agreements were reached on the
mutually beneficial cooperation in different areas and works toward
the implementation of these agreements are being conducted now.”

The president of Armenia and the minister of Iran underscored the
importance of expanding cooperation between the regions of Armenia and
Iran which, according to the parties, will further strengthen mutual
trust and the Armenian-Iranian relations based on the centuries-long
friendship. They also stressed the importance of the Iranian-Armenian
community in strengthening these relations.

With regard to the deepening of cooperation and exchange of experience
in different areas, the sides described as promising the development
of closer ties in the areas of emergency situation, law enforcement
and other areas under the jurisdiction of the Ministry headed by
Minister Mohammad Najari.

CONDEMNING HAYRAPETYAN’S VIOLENT ACTION, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA (RPA) SHOWS ITS OLIGARCHIC NATURE, A HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE SAYS
Arpine SIMONYAN

July 9, 2012 16:31

“If everything boiled down to apologizing, at least 50% of the
convicts in correctional institutions wouldn’t have been convicted,”
Artur Sakunts, the manager of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor
Office, said during a conversation with , talking about
the case of Arman Veziryan who had undergone Ruben Hayrapetyan’s
violent treatment.

Mr. Sakunts thinks that Arman Veziryan will put up with the violent
action and will not report to the police, “But Veziryan is not the
issue here, it is not a separate action or an individual case, the
issue is that on the day of commemorating a person who had died because
of a violent action, another violent action is taken. That culture
of violence is of systemic nature – it is the only way to interact
with citizens, it is an obvious proof of an oligarchic system. Those
minor tricks of apologizing etc.; this is not the case when we will
naively say that everything has changed by that.”

Mr. Sakunts said they demanded that Republican Party discuss and
condemn that violent action, “Mr. Hayrapetyan’s party, not condemning
such actions, is oligarchic in nature and for an oligarchic system,
there are no interests of citizens, except for its own interests, this
is being proved and we don’t have any intention to put up with that.”

HAS THE US UNDERSTOOD AT LAST WHAT AZERBAIJAN IS?
Nune AREVSHATYAN

July 9, 2012 19:50

Political scientist Gagik Hambaryan, commenting on the decision of the
US Department of State to take Azerbaijan off the list of countries,
to which it sells weapons, during a conversation with ,
said, “It testifies that one of the Minsk Group co-chairs, namely
the US, has shown by this step that although they don’t respond
openly or respond vaguely to the provocations of Azerbaijan, they,
nonetheless, understand who violates the ceasefire on the contact
line between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. They made it known by that that
they think Azerbaijanis are the only ones to blame. This was visible
more obviously during the latest visit of the US Secretary of State
to the region, when as a result of Azerbaijanis’ provocations, 4
Armenian soldiers were killed and during the Armenian counterattack,
50 Azerbaijani officers and soldiers were killed, according to
unofficial data.”

According to the political scientist, 99.9% of violations of the
ceasefire regime were committed by Azerbaijanis; the Armenian side
doesn’t need it, since it has achieved its goal. And Azerbaijanis,
according to Gagik Hambaryan, have become impudent lately, because
the international community and the Minsk Group co-chairs haven’t
made any statements and haven’t blamed one of the sides, specifically,
for violating the ceasefire. “During the visit of the US Secretary of
State, they organized such provocations and the US government couldn’t
help but respond to that. Although they didn’t openly blame Azerbaijan
for organizing those provocations, at the same time, it was a hard
blow to Azerbaijan that the US Department of State crossed its name
off the list of countries, to which it sells weapons, because the
US showed that it didn’t like the impudent attitude of Baku in the
region, which can make the situation in the region even worse and
greatly damage the US interests in not only Transcaucasia, but also
the whole Middle East. No one can say what will happen in the Middle
East, if military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, which will not be
the same as the military operations in 1991-94 at all, resume. So more
countries will be involved, more weapons of mass destruction will be
used against one another. And the existence of oil and gas pipelines
will be under great threat, because the Armenian side will necessarily
take into account that Azerbaijan will use the money gotten from oil
and gas to buy weapons and use them against Armenians.”

According to the political scientist, it is good that at least one
of the Minsk Group co-chairs showed Azerbaijan by diplomatic and
military means that it didn’t like the latter’s attitude and this
means that Azerbaijani provocations may find clearer responses from
the international community and the US, in particular. “I would be
very happy, if France and Russia also expressed their positions on
the Azerbaijani provocations, in order that the situation in the
region returned to the previous course to some extent, until the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was settled around the negotiating table,”
the political scientist says.

OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL STRESSES NEED FOR POLITICAL WILL IN KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

ARMRADIO.AM
09.07.2012 12:41

The OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, on an official visit to
Azerbaijan today, emphasized the need for political will in negotiating
a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He stressed
that OSCE will continue working with the country in implementing its
OSCE commitments.

Zannier stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict presents
an enormous threat to the region’s security and stalls economic
development in the South Caucasus. He voiced his support for the
efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the OSCE Chairperson’s
Personal Representative in finding a negotiated solution to the
conflict and strengthening the ceasefire regime.

“The conflict will not be resolved by the use of force,” Zannier said.

“Negotiations are the only way forward; and political goodwill and
the commitment of all those involved is an essential prerequisite
for finding a lasting peaceful solution.”

The Secretary General said he was “seriously concerned” by the recent
incidents on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and on the
Line of Contact, which “marred the efforts to bring long-awaited
peace and stability to the people living in these areas”.

All parties should refrain from the use or threat of force, abstain
from retaliatory measures, remove snipers from the line of contact
and implement the agreed confidence-building measures, including the
mechanism for investigating incidents on the front lines, Zannier
underlined.

He also said that the OSCE stood ready to assist in the implementation
of the agreement reached by the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to
develop people-to-people contacts and dialogue between the countries’
intelligentsia and academic and public circles.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL CARRIER REFUSES TO BUY SECOND SUKHOI SUPERJET 100

news.am
July 09, 2012 | 18:40

YEREVAN. – Armenian national air carrier Armavia refused to buy the
second Sukhoi Superjet 100 plabe, the press secretary of the company
Nana Avetisova told Interfax. Armavia did not explain the reasons,
the agency says.

Armavia was the first company to purchase the Russian-produced plane.

The company purchased the first Sukhoi SuperJet 100 in 2011. Currently
the Superjet is operated only by two air companies – Armavia and
Aeroflot. According to Russian press, Aeroflot cannot operate 4 out
of its 8 new aircrafts due to technical problems.

A handover ceremony of the first Sukhoi Superjet-100 that arrived in
Armenia was held at the Zvartnots international airport in Yerevan
in April 2011.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMENIA TO FACE SCRUTINY BY UN TREATY BODY

armradio.am
09.07.2012 19:01

The human rights record of Armenia will face the scrutiny of the United
Nations Human Rights Committee on Monday 16 July and Tuesday 17 July.

As one of the 167 state parties to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, which is one of the primary international human
rights treaties, Armenia is required to undergo regular examinations
of its human rights record before the Human Rights Committee. Armenia
was last considered before the Human Rights Committee in 1998.

The Committee, which is composed of 18 independent experts, will engage
in a dialogue with the delegation of Armenia on questions relating
to the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

The Government of Armenia has already submitted a State report on
implementation of its human rights obligations to the Committee and
a number of non-governmental organizations have also sent reports
for the Committee’s consideration.

TURKEY TO FOLLOW DEVELOPMENTS OVER FRENCH BILL PENALIZING DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

tert.am
09.07.12

Turkey is attentively following the developments over the bill
penalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide, Turkey’s president
Abdullah Gul stated.

“Turkey is not going to act on the basis of information coming
from outside. During the last meeting with president of France
we have discussed issue on reinforcement of bilateral relations,”
Gul said. He stressed he more highlights the words uttered during
bilateral meetings.

Gul reminded that during the meeting between Turkey’s Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Francois Holland the parties
stated about opening of a new page in bilateral relations.

According to information released yesterday, French President stated
about his intention to present new bill penalizing the denial of the
Armenian genocide. Official from the staff of the French president
said Holland has expressed his viewpoint over the matter during his
campaign and will stay committed to it.

SHARMAZANOV TO MAMMADYAROV: NO NEED TO LOOK FOR A CAT IN A DARK ROOM WHEN THE CAT IS ON YOUR SHOULDERS

Panorama.am
09/07/2012

“If Armenian forces withdraw from the occupied territories, there
will be no need for snipers and no armed incidents will occur,”
Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov had told a joint press conference
with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier in Baku.

Commenting on Mammadyarov’s statement, Deputy Speaker of Armenian
Parliament Edward Sharmazanov said, “Mister Mammadyarov continually
distorts reality. And the reality is this: as long as Azerbaijan
continues to occupy certain regions of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
(Getashen, Martunashen, Shahumyan), with Azerbaijani snipers
periodically opening fire on civilians, including a kindergarten,
the Azerbaijani side bears full responsibility for lack of serious
progress in Karabakh peace process. Therefore there is no need to look
for a cat in a dark room when the cat is sitting on your shoulders.”