Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIAN ARMY READY TO STAND ANY THREAT AGAINST STATE INDEPENDENCE – PRESIDENT

news.am
Sept 14 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – We deserve independence by proving the world and ourselves
that we have the right to live according to our values and way. We
proved that first of all through our army’s victories, Armenia
President Serzh Sargsyan said in Sardarapat during his speech devoted
to the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

“Our army was born and formed during the war, and became the solid
shield and unbroken stronghold of our newly formed state. The Armenian
Army got strengthened and now it is not only the defender of the
secure and creative life of the Armenians, but also the guarantee of
peace and stability in the region.

It is ready to stand any external threat against independence of
Armenia, let it be on the borders, in the land of the enemy or in
any other place.

Dear soldiers, commanders, and officers,

Civilization and human inventive mind give a wider opportunity for
work now than ever.

Unfortunately, challenges threatening peace and security of Armenian
people have become stronger and numerous. To stand them we have to look
always forward and raise the spirit and fighting ability of the army.

The soldier of our army not only defends the state in the war field
but also creates the citizen of his state. “A soldier is a real
soldier when he has thinking for the state,” taught Armenian and
Artsakh national hero Monte, who preferred to be a soldier rather
than to have another title.

A soldier, who has thinking for the state, is educated and disciplined,
is the guarantee of the strong and efficient army.

We will raise the fighting efficiency of the army in accordance with
time and support of fighting equipments and arms.

However, we should first of all inspire trust for the commanders in
mothers sending their sons and soldiers to army.

“We should see the fate of the state in the palms of our mothers,”
Armenian commander Nzdeh stated. Now we should reevaluate the
aphorism for our 20-year-old independence. I believe, we will have
brave mothers to deliver brave sons and they will make even stronger
the fortifications defending Armenia.

We should estimate the fighting ability not by comparing it with other
armies of the region but with our past army through constant work.

We will strengthen wires step by step linking the army and the civil
society by making the citizen a soldier and a soldier a citizen. While
simultaneously, we will cut all the useless wires that weaken the
army by confusing the officer and the soldier in everyday social and
economic issues.

Only after strengthening our army we can be sure to stand the attack
threatening our freedom and independence of the state.

We are stronger now than ever. I say it without bias: we are ready
to win. But we want to win only through intelligence and work.

We are ready for conquers. But we want to conquer creative picks.

We will not hesitate to defend cost of blood what really belongs to
us. But we prefer grape blood and purple color of Armenian cochineal
insect [vordan karmir].

Indeed the protector of our freedom and independence is the Armenian
soldier.

However, life and security of our soldiers depends mainly on the
successful work of our diplomats,” Serzh Sargsyan stated.

AZERI SPY DRONE DOWNED OVER DISPUTED REGION, KARABAKH ARMY SAYS
By Zulfugar Agayev

Bloomberg
Sept 14 2011

Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that broke away from Azerbaijan after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, said it shot down an unmanned
Azeri drone over its territory on Sept. 12.

The unmanned aircraft was downed to prevent similar reconnaissance
flights over the disputed area, which have become more frequent
along the border in recent days, the Karabakh Defense Army said in
a statement on its website today.

Eldar Sabiroglu, the head of the Azeri Defense Ministry’s press
service, and Teymur Abdullayev, a spokesman at the ministry, didn’t
answer phone calls today seeking comment.

Oil-exporting Azerbaijan is using energy income to acquire modern
weaponry, including unmanned planes from Israel, with whom the Caspian
Sea nation started joint production of drones, President Ilham Aliyev
said in April. Today’s incident marks the first time an Azeri spy plane
has ever been shot down over the majority-Armenian populated region.

The Azeri Defense Ministry has previously not denied Armenian media
reports that some of the drones produced with Israel are being used
to monitor Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan and landlocked Armenia fought a war over the region
that left tens of thousands of people dead and more than 1 million
displaced. The territory remains a potential flashpoint in a region
where Russia in 2008 fought a five-day war with Georgia after
separatist tensions flared up.

Russia, which borders the countries along with Iran, Turkey and
Georgia, brokered a cease-fire in 1994. Talks on a final settlement,
mediated by Russia, the U.S. and France, have failed to produce a
binding agreement.

ARMENIAN FOOTBALL CLUB IN RUSSIA’S CHAMPIONSHIP?

Tert.am
20:43 14.09.11

An Armenian football club may play in Russia’s championship in the
near future, the Russian language news website Lifenews reported.

According to the website, Sergei Fursenko, President of Russia’s
Football Federation is currently holding secret talks over that project
with his Ruben Vardanyan, President of Armenia’s Football Federation.

It goes on to says that there are two versions the project may be
brought to life: either an existing Armenian club moves to Russia’s
championship, or a new club is created, attracting funds from
Russian-Armenian businessmen.

Lifenews also said that several investors have already agreed to take
part in the project.

The website further said that Armen Minasyan, Deputy President
of Armenia’s Football Federation, confirmed the news, adding that
currently the parties are discussing the details of the deal.

Contacted by Tert.am, Minasyan dismissed the allegation, saying he
recommended Lifenews’ reporter to ask presidents of federations for
details given they are said to be holding talks.

FIRST JOINT BOARD MEETING OF ARMENIAN ECONOMY MINISTRY AND NKR ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY TO TAKE PLACE IN YEREVAN

ARKA
Sep 14, 2011

YEREVAN, September 14. /ARKA/. Joint board meeting of Armenian Economy
Ministry and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Economy Development
Ministry took place on Tuesday in Yerevan.

“It is the first time that the meeting is held in such a format. It
was the initiative of the Armenian Economy Minister to hold such
a meeting. We have already agreed on holding such meetings twice a
year”, said NKR Economy Development Minister Karen Yesayan answering
the questions of news agency “ARKA”.

Interrelation in such an expanded format started in the frames of
Memorandum on Cooperation signed on August 13, 2010.

“We are going to discuss economy issues characteristic to two Armenian
states being in one economic field”, said Yesayan.

He said that the discussed issues are related to business-society
and require prompt solution.

“In solving the issues related to registration of business or getting
license there is a certain progress in Armenia. That is why for
avoiding to differ business-environment of Armenia and Artsakh we
should act together”, said Yesayan adding that there should be joint
approach to the solution of any problem.

Armenian Economy Minister Tigran Davtyan said that in the frames of the
meeting in such a format there appears an opportunity of information
exchange around economic processes in both republics for mutually
beneficial use of opportunities of the countries.

The meeting took place in an expanded format where the heads of
business-structures and unions included in the board of the Armenian
Economy Ministry participated.

“We are intended to discuss a broad specter of issues, including
issues of economic development, attraction of investments, promotion
of export, quality improvement of small and medium-sized companies
which are in the frames of authorities of both ministries”, he said.

NKR will also be involved in the programs implemented in Armenia.

“It is an opportunity to find new markets and partners for the products
produced in NKR. These are support programs which Armenia implements
jointly with international partners and we will try to involve NKR
in these programs”, said Davtyan.

Armenia will introduce NKR colleagues the legislative changes
and reforms which are implemented in Armenia, as well as propose
to apply the successful experience, particularly improvement of
business-environment and investment climate in NKR.

“Our processes go forward in one line. We should expand access to
information and experience which we gained in a number of directions
for our partners”, said Davtyan.

Responsible employees of the ministries, as well as the Chairman of
Industrial-Commerce Chamber of Armenia Martin Sargsyan, Chairman of the
Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan,
General Director of Armenian Development Agency Robert Harutyunyan and
Director of National center of Development of small and medium-sized
companies Tigran Harutyunyan participated in the meeting.

FULLER CENTER PARTNERS WITH ARMENIAN YOUNG WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION FOR ANNUAL HOUSE BUILD

Wednesday September 14, 2011

At Kakavadzor home-building site.

Kakavadzor, Armenia – On August 26, Armenian Young Women Association
members joined Fuller Center for Housing Armenia at the building site
helping to build the Mouradyan family house in Kakavadzor village of
Aragatsotn province.

Building together and helping the families in need has become an
annual event for Armenian Young Women Association and Fuller Center for
Housing Armenia. This has become a tradition for both organizations,
tradition that solves vital problems.

Working together at the construction site also provided an opportunity
to deepen relationships while building a brighter future for the
family in need.

One of the team members, Liana Dallaqyan said “Building a home with
Fuller Armenia we once more proved that women are not only hearth
keepers but also home builders”.

“We couldn’t imagine that helping people is such a happiness” other
team members added.

“It was really a great pleasure for AYWA members and for me personally
to participate in the construction works of Mouradyan family house in
Kakavadzor village. Our team, consisting of 14 to 30 year old girls
was very excited. All of us expressed interests to return for future
projects. This is a small investment in house building in our country
and also in assisting to the families in need” said Lilit Asatryan,
AYWA president.

Founded in 2004, AYWA () aims to strengthen the role of
young women in all aspects of Armenian society. AYWA seeks to develop
the skills and experience of young women and girls who get education
in different spheres and have various specialties, to benefit the
economic, political and social development of the Republic of Armenia.

The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia ()
is a Non-government Charitable Organization that supports community
development in the Republic of Armenia by assisting in building and
renovating simple, decent and affordable homes, as well as advocating
the right to decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO AID SUPER SMALL BUSINESSES IN EXPORT CERTIFICATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 14, 2011 – 14:24 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The government will compensate half of export
certification expenditures to super small businesses in Armenia,
said the Executive Director of Small and Medium Entrepreneurship
Development National Center of Armenia (SME DNC).

As Tigran Harutyunyan told a September 14 news conference, if
successful, the pilot program will be further expanded. According
to Harutyunyan, entities with up to 10 employees, with an income of
under AMD 100 mln are defined as super small entities.

Over the 8 months since the launch of the initiative, 13 applications
of super small businesses engaged in trade, services, production and
IT activities, for the total sum of AMD 28 mln were addressed.

THE MECHANISM OF THE NKR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION IS LAUNCHED: THE GOALS AND INTERESTS OF URUGUAY

Tuesday, 13 September 2011 04:41

On September 9, 2011, Foreign Minister of Uruguay Luis Almagro made
a statement on the recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The
Minister noted that Nagorno Karabakh was a historical part of Armenia
and they were researching the issue of coordination and recognition
of the NKR on the state level. “I’m sure that Nagorno Karabakh should
be independent and later reintegrated into Armenia. This is the only
way of resolving the issue”, emphasized Uruguay’s Foreign Minister.

Surely, this statement is symbolic and it was really a surprise for
many, especially for Azerbaijan. The main reason was the unawareness
of the ground for making the statement and of the consequences it
may have. These issues are, really, of priority interest not only
for our opponents, but also for us and all those who deal with the
Azerbaijani-Karabakh and other conflicts settlement.

Uruguay’s motivation is based on historical, political-legal, and
humanitarian interests. Uruguay has a very interesting, or even heroic
history. This country was quite persistent and selfless in struggling
for its freedom and independence. It struggled against the states
exceeding it greatly in the population size, territory, and resources.

First, Uruguay struggled against the Spanish Colonial Empire,
later – against the infringement of the neighboring giants – Brazil
and Argentine. It is interesting that by the achievement of the
independence, the population of Uruguay had made only 75.000 people
and this small country could resist the incomparably greater and
more powerful neighbors. Uruguay’s struggle for independence caused
great international resonance. Thousands of volunteers from different
European countries came to support this country. Among them was future
unitor of Italy Garibaldi, who became famous just in Uruguay, which
later helped him in the struggle for his country’s independence and
unity. So, in the historical context, Uruguay has much common with
Artsakh. For Uruguay, like for Artsakh, independence is the supreme
value. This is testified even by the country’s national motto –
‘Libertal o Muerte’, which means in Spanish ‘Freedom or Death’. That’s
why this country comprehends Artsakh’s goals and aspirations and
tries to act correspondingly.

No less solid is Uruguay’s political-legal interest. The level of
the state’s democratic development is a pivotal constituent of this.

Uruguay is a developed democratic state. The corruption level here
is one of the lowest and the level of the population’s scholarship
is one of the highest in the world. Surely, this country displays
solidarity with those states, which follow similar values, especially
if the states have unresolved conflicts with undemocratic states,
which publicly advocate Nazism and state that they will annihilate
their opponents.

But, Uruguay cannot be called a dilettantish state, which is unaware
of the modern tendencies of conflicts settlement. On the contrary,
this state has rich experience in this issue. The greatest part of
the country’s armed forces, as peacekeepers, is located in different
parts of the world and the UN allocates corresponding amounts for
covering Uruguay’s military expenses. Speaking of the political-legal
interests, we should also note an extremely interesting and important
international-legal document – Montevideo Convention on states’ rights
and commitments, which was adopted on December 26, 1933 at the 7th
Pan-American Congress taken place in the capital of Uruguay. The USA
was among the signers of the Convention. A whole series of provisions
and conceptions of the Convention were assumed as a basis for the
modern international-legal norms and principles, especially the UN
Charter. Article 3 reads that the political existence of a state
doesn’t depend on its recognition by other states. According to the
article, even before achieving the international recognition, a state
has the right to defend its integrity and independence, to ensure
the development and welfare of its own people, to organize itself
in accordance with its interests, to realize the state governance,
to organize the judicial system, and others.

Article 7 reads that a state’s recognition can be both tacit, or
implicit, and stated. Uruguay’s statement that Nagorno Karabakh should
be independent and later reunite with Armenia is, to a certain extent,
implicit political-legal recognition of the NKR.

The existence of considerable historical and political-legal grounds
justifies the NKR recognition from the humanitarian and moral
points of view. For already twenty years, Karabakh has built its
own independent state without any foreign assistance. The process of
building the Karabakh statehood wasn’t easy. Artsakh has experienced
a war and successfully overcome its horrible consequences, including
the post-war syndrome. However, the NKR didn’t go the limit and
extremism, even in the situation of the continuous war threats by
Azerbaijan. The existence of the independent Artsakh statehood doesn’t
threaten anybody in the world; moreover, it positively impacts the
maintenance of peace and stability in the strategically important
South Caucasus region. And such a state cannot but be recognized.

Surely, the statement of Uruguay’s Foreign Minister doesn’t mean
automatic recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s independence.

But, it means that the mechanism of the NKR international recognition
is launched. Naturally, Azerbaijan and Turkey will start their
hysterical attacks on Uruguay. But Uruguay, as it was noted above, can
defend itself; besides, it isn’t dependent on them. Moreover, Uruguay
has, actually, struck a crushing moral blow to the Azerbaijani-Turkish
political-ideological jihad still before its start. In its statement,
Uruguay was guided, as it was already noted, by ideals and not
self-interest. Its actions are not caused by mercenary interests,
momentary profit, and pouring of dirty money, i.e. all that makes the
basis of our opponents’ propaganda. This aspect is quite frightening
for Azerbaijan, especially in the context of the recent tendencies
of achieving independence by some earlier unrecognized states.

There is no doubt that Uruguay’s example will be followed by other
states. It is just the matter of time. And we should continue working
for strengthening our state, developing democracy, and increasing
our citizens’ welfare. This is just the safest basis for our future.

David Babayan Political scientist

ARMENIAN-LATVIAN COMPANY “INTERCLEAN” TO INVEST 1 MILLION EURO IN THE NEXT 2 YEARS

ARKA
Sep 14, 2011

YEREVAN, September 14. /ARKA/. Armenian-Latvian company “Interclean”
plans to invest about 1 million euro in Armenia, Acting General
Director of the company Manush Melkumyan informed.

“Today our investments make about 50 thousand euro and we plan to
increase this figure to million in two years”, said Melkumyan during
the presentation of “Interclean” in Yerevan.

The company “Interclean” is a representative of Latvian company
“Cleanhouse” in Armenia which has about 15 years of experience in the
sphere of technical service and cleaning of territories. The ratio
of Latvian and Armenian investments in “Interclean” are 80 and 20
percents respectively.

“We are confident that the company “Interclean” entering the Armenian
market, introduction of European standards of service provision
and modern management will promote the development of the Armenian
market of services in the sphere of technical services and cleaning
of real estate”, she said adding that this market in Armenia is not
established yet.

The company is going to open 300 working places in Armenia by the
end of this year making it 500 in two years.

Board member of the company “Cleanhouse”, founder of “Interclean”
Kristaps Drone said that this initiative is targeted at the
introduction of experience, operational system and skills of
experienced specialists of “Cleanhouse” in the Armenian market of
technical service and cleaning of territories.

“I think that we could manage to become a leader in the market in
2-3 years. Our company will become the only company in the Armenian
market providing services by European standards in accordance with
international licenses and application of new technologies and modern
management”, he said.

Director of Armenian Development Agency (ADA) Robert Harutyunyan
said that this initiative is a good start for further development of
Armenian-Latvian economic relations.

“This company is the result of work of many years implemented by
development agencies of Armenia and Latvia. It is only the start of
new type of interrelations between our countries”, said Harutyunyan.

Ambassador of Latvia in Armenia Gints Apals (residence in Vienna)
mentioned in his speech that friendship of Armenian and Latvian
nations lasts half a century. “In the middle of 19th century Armenian
community was formed in Latvia. In Soviet times our nations continued
their friendship and during the last 20 years our interrelations are
continuing on the state level”, he said.

During recent years four presidential visits took place between Latvia
and Armenia.

“Presentation of the company “Interclean” is directly related to the
development of Armenian-Latvian high-level relations”, he said.

The company “Interclean” will start to serve its clients from October
1, 2011. The services include cleaning of territories, buildings and
environment, utility management, thermo-regulation, anti-fire service,
implementation of rehabilitation works in small scales, provision of
security of ownership, etc.

ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES DESTROY AZERBAIJANI UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE

ARMENPRESS
12:57, 14 September, 2011

Armenian Armed forces eliminated Azerbaijani unmanned aerial vehicle
in the territory of Askeran, Nagorno Karabakh. The vehicle was trying
to spy in the territory. “It was trying to enter our territory and
it shows the “level of technical development” of the Azerbaijani
unmanned vehicles”, spokesman for the Armenian Defense Minister Davit
Karapetyan said, adding that Armenian Armed Forces will present its
unmanned vehicles on September 21 at the event dedicated to the 20th
anniversary of Independence.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN URGED TO PARDON “LIFERS”

hetq
11:16, September 14, 2011

30 intellectuals and the presidents of eight NGO’s have sent an open
letter to President Serzh Sargsyan, calling on him to pardon some
of the approximately 100 individuals now serving life sentences in
Armenian prisons.

The signatories ask that President Sargsyan exercise his constitutional
power and pardon those who have already served 15 years and who were
found guilty of the murder of one person.

They say that such an expression of human compassion would be
appropriate on the upcoming 20celebration of Armenia’s independence.