Author: Kalantarian Kevo

AZERBAIJANI COMMUNITY OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH: SHUSHA PEOPLE TO RETURN LAND PEACEFULLY OR MILITARILY

Trend
May 3 2012
Azerbaijan

Armenians must know that the Shusha people will return their lands
either peacefully or by force, chairman of the public association
‘Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh’, head of Shusha regional
executive power Bayram Safarov told Trend today.

“We will definitely return our lands,” he said. “TheAzerbaijani
people wait for the order of the Supreme Commander. At present,
Azerbaijan has an army, modern weapons. Its men are able to liberate
the Azerbaijani occupied territories.”

He stressed that an action plan has been prepared in connection with
the 20th anniversary of Shusha having been occupied by Armenia.

“The events and activities will be organised throughout our country
to commemorate the memory of those Shusha people who were killed,” he
said. “We will visit the Alley of Honour on May 8. Other activities
will be held. Thus, a lesson devoted to Shusha will be held in
all educational institutions of the country on May 4. Appeals to
international organisations are also being prepared.”

Armenian troops carried out a military operation on May 8, 1992
to occupy Shusha. Artillery shots were fired over the city which
continued up to 6 pm. Over 1000 Armenian soldiers attacked Shusha
from three sides.

Some 248 historical facilities, eight museums, one photo gallery,
eight music schools and tens of cultural facilities lie under Armenian
occupation in Shusha.

During Shusha’s occupation, hundreds of innocent people died, nearly
60 citizens, including women and children were taken prisoners and
became missing. Most have not been released yet. Nearly 22,000 people
became homeless.

FIRST LISTEN: SERJ TANKIAN

FasterLouder

May 2 2012

System of a Down leader Serj Tankian has confirmed that “at this
present time, [System of a Down is] not working on new music.”

Tankian has explained to KROQ that “We’ve mentioned it, but we haven’t
made plans to do so. Everyone’s doing their own thing… I don’t think
there is a reason for it; I don’t think anything is forever…We are
enjoying each other’s company touring and one day we’ll make another
record. I just don’t know when or how.”

However to satisfy the market’s insatiable demand for new music
from outspoken operatic Lebanese-born Armenian-American political
activists, Tankian will be releasing four records of his own this
year. The first of these is his new rock record, Harakiri.

“Rock is easy,” Tankian told KROQ. “It comes to me naturally and
pretty quickly. This [Harakiri] is probably the fastest record that
I’ve ever written in my life. The others, some of them, especially
the orchestral and classical stuff, take a lot more kind of breadth
and a lot more work.”

ARMENIA PUNISHED FOR BOYCOTTING EUROVISION

Pravda

May 3 2012
Russia

Armenia, which announced its boycott of Eurovision Song Contest 2012,
will have to pay the fine and the fee for the participation in the
contest.

The European Broadcasting Union did not specify which amount Armenia
would have to pay. However, it was said that Armenia’s public TV
would have to broadcast the final of the contest live and without
any interruptions.

If the country refuses to meet these requirements, Armenia may lose
the right to take part in the contest in 2013, Armenia Today said.

Officials with the European Broadcasting Union said that the decision
about the fine had been made in accordance with the regulations of
the contest.

In March of this year, Armenia officially refused to participate
in Eurovision 2012. The contest is to take place in the capital
of Azerbaijan, Baku. Armenia made such a decision after the death
of its conscript, who had been lethally wounded by Azeri sniper on
the border between the two countries, Vesti.Ru said. A group of more
than 20 Armenian artists released a joint statement on February 23rd,
in which they said that Armenia would boycott the contest.

Eurovision 2012 will take place on May 22-26.

GROWTH OF ARMENIAN PUBLIC DEBT ROUGHLY WITHIN TARGETS IN 2011
Venla Sipila

Global Insight
May 2, 2012

According to figures from the Armenian Finance Ministry, the country’s
state debt ended last year USD4.129 billion, Interfax reports. At
this level, debt equalled 41.7% of GDP, coming just marginally
above the ratio of 41.3% targeted by the Finance Ministry. Further,
the Deputy Finance Minister and treasury head Atom Dzhandzhugazian
stated that, in particular, external state debt at the end of last
year stood at USD3.568 billion, or 36.1% of GDP, while domestic state
debt was USD560 million, or 5.7% of GDP. He further noted that state
debt stood at USD4.196 billion at the end of March this year, with
foreign obligations accounting for USD3.634 billion of this total,
leaving USD562 million for domestic public debt. He further estimated
that debt service will increase until 2015, before starting to ease.

Armenia has specified a limit of 50-60% of GDP for state debt, while
the upper limit of budget deficit is targeted at 3% of GDP.

Significance:Armenian external debt has increased rapidly in
recent years, as financing needs rose sharply during the extremely
severe recession in 2009. However, Armenia’s good relationship with
international creditors has secured it good access to concessionary
lending, and thus, a large share of external borrowing is owed to
multilateral creditors. The soft loan terms should keep debt servicing
costs in relation to foreign currency earnings manageable. On the other
hand, the current unstable external environment poses an important
set of risks to Armenian external finances; any marked weakening in
important workers’ remittance inflows would put increasing pressure
on external finances, necessitating rising borrowing (seeArmenia:
19 December 2011:). Then again, as long as reforms and responsible
policies continue, access to concessionary financing should be clear as
well, and thus, no immediate threat to solvency is likely in any case.

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW

Streetwise Professor

May 1, 2012 Tuesday 4:02 PM EST

Nearly a century after the event, the Armenian genocide is the subject
of intense controversy. Like in Faulkner’s South, in the Caucasus
“the past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

The latest example of this comes from The Republic of Georgia,
where a near brawl broke out in parliament after an opposition
lawmaker brought up the issue. Last year the parliament recognized
the Circassian expulsion in the late-19th century, and Armenians in
Georgia are asking for similar recognition. It is not clear from the
RFE/RL piece whether the opposition deputy favors this; it appears
that he is using it to tweak Saakashvili, who supported the Circassian
recognition over the deputy’s objection.

Regardless, the mere raising of the issue inflamed another deputy,
a man of Azeri descent:

Baghaturia’s comments drew the ire of fellow deputy Azer Suleimanov.

His family’s country of origin, Azerbaijan, is a staunch ally of
Turkey, which rejects the term “genocide” for the Armenian mass
killings.

When Baghaturia dismissed his objections with a wave of his hand,
Suleimanov angrily reached into his pocket, drew out a tube of Vaseline
and flung it at Baghaturia.

What I want to know is: What is a parliamentarian doing with with a
tube of Vaseline in his pocket?

IRAN STRESSES IMPLEMENTATION OF JOINT PROJECTS WITH ARMENIA

FARS News Agency
May 1, 2012 Tuesday
Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s President Ahmadinejad reiterated the need for
the implementation of Tehran-Yerevan joint economic projects.

Speaking in a meeting with Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister Edward
Nalbandian, the Iranian president underlined that “Iran attaches
much importance to the implementation of joint economic projects
with Armenia”.

Also during the meeting, Nalbandian submitted a message from Armenian
President Serzh Sargsian to Ahmadinejad.

Nalbandian arrived in Tehran on Sunday on an official visit at the
invitation of his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi.

Upon arrival, Nalbandian held talks with his Iranian counterpart,
where they examined avenues for further improving the friendly ties
between the two countries and the activities of the Armenian-Iranian
Intergovernmental Commission.

They reflected on bilateral cooperation, and exchanged views on
expanding the legal framework.

Salehi gave details on the latest developments with respect to Iran’s
nuclear program, and Nalbandian expressed a satisfaction that a
positive trend was recorded during the last meeting in this regard.

Nalbandian also briefed his Iranian colleague on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict’s settlement talks.

They agreed to hold their next meeting in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.

Also, during his Tehran visit, Nalbandian met with Parliament Speaker
Ali Larijani as well as Iran’s Supreme National Security Council
(SNSC) Secretary and chief negotiator Saeed Jalili.

RUSSIAN CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION MEMBER TO MONITOR VOTING IN ARMENIA

Interfax
May 2 2012
Russia

Russian Central Elections Commission (CEC) member Siyabshakh Shapiyev
will go to Yerevan in the near future to monitor parliamentary
elections in Armenia on May 6.

“The particular monitoring route has not yet been determined, but I
cannot rule out that I will be monitoring the voting only in Yerevan,”
Shapiyev told Interfax on Wednesday.

He said he will represent the Russian CEC at the Armenian CEC’s
invitation.

The Armenian National Assembly is comprised of 131 members.

Running in the elections on May 6 are eight political parties, i.e.

the Republican Party, Prospering Armenia, the oldest Armenian party
Dashnaktsutyun, Orinats Yerkir, Heritage, the Democratic Party, the
Communist Party, and United Armenians, plus an election bloc formed
by the opposition Armenian National Congress.

EU AND OSCE TRAIN 14,000 ELECTION OFFICIALS FOR ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE

ENPI Info Centre

May 3 2012

Training supported by the OSCE and the EU on the procedural and ethical
aspects of election administration for precinct election commissioners
(PEC commissioners) came to an end on 3 May, three days ahead of the
elections on 6 May. Polling procedures, new election code provisions,
familiarity with and use of ballot guides and administering mobile
voting were among the topics covered in the election support training.

The training began on 15 April and was held throughout the country
for some 14,000 election officials.

“The training activities are part of a [email protected] million project on
strengthening electoral processes in Armenia in line with international
standards, implemented by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and financed by
the EU,” said a press release from the EU Delegation to Armenia.

In administering training for precinct election commissioners, 43
trainers were earlier identified, selected and trained and a set
of training materials was developed. The latter included a manual
that will be referenced on election day and a journal to assist PEC
commissioners in documenting election day activities at polling
stations. Training participants also received a copy of the new
election code and recent Central Electoral Commission decisions.

“The skills of election officials and their commitment to the
principles of electoral management need to be of the highest quality,”
noted the Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador
Traian Hristea. “We wish all 14,000 trainees success in applying
these skills, contributing to a free and transparent electoral process
in Armenia.”

The training was organised by the Armenian Central Electoral Commission
and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) with
the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan and financial assistance
from the European Union. The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) contributed funding to prepare the 43 trainers
currently administering these PEC trainings.

“The enhanced skills of election officials are one of the pillars
necessary for ensuring the efficient and transparent administration
of elections,” said Ambassador Andrey Sorokin, the Head of the OSCE
Office in Yerevan. “We believe this and other similar endeavours will
contribute to fostering further compliance of the Armenian electoral
processes with OSCE commitments.”

The OSCE Office in Yerevan has been providing assistance to promote
electoral reform in Armenia since 2000. It has co-ordinated and
chaired the international working group on elections, as well as
streamlined the international community’s efforts in reforming
election legislation, improving election administration, raising
public awareness and strengthening domestic observation groups. (EU
Neighbourhood Info)

SARKOZY REITERATES PLEDGE OVER GENOCIDE BILL NEW TEXT

Vestnik Kavkaza
May 3 2012
Russia

Incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy issued letters to A. Govciyan,
President of the Coordination Council of Armenian organizations in
France and Ara Toranian, co-chairman of the Coordination Council, in
which he reiterated his intention to submit a new text of the bill
criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial, PanArmenian.net cites
Nouvelles d`Armenie as saying.

It is noteworthy, that during the Armenian Genocide commemorative
event in France Sarkozy pledged to present the text in June

French President also promised to continue struggle for “triumph of
justice” in his letters.

Sarkozy noted that the Armenians fell victim to the first carefully
planned action aiming to annihilate an entire nation.

“Armenian refugees became devoted children of France, and our country
was honored to give shelter to them,” he wrote, adding that France
is honored to struggle for international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide.

“Though I respect the constitutional court’s ruling, I want the new
text of the bill to be submitted to parliament already in June,”
French President’s letters read.

SWEDEN HOSTS EXHIBITION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 3, 2012 – 16:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On April 23-27, Stockholm’s Catholic Church
hall hosted a temporary exhibition titled “Armenian Genocide and
Scandinavian response” organized by Union of Armenian Associations
in Sweden and Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI). For the
first time the exhibition was held at Museum-Institute marking the
150th birth anniversary of great humanist Fridtjof Nansen, AGMI press
service reports.

The exhibition launched in Stockholm featured 11 main and 6 new
exhibits presenting the activity of Scandinavian diplomats, politicians
and missionaries during the Armenian Genocide. 12 diplomatic reports
on extermination of Armenians from Swedish embassy in Constantinople
were separately presented at the exhibition.

Famous Swedish newspapers reflected on the exhibition, which will be
held in different cities, universities and libraries of Sweden.