Author: Kalantarian Kevo

DELEGATION OF PROMINENT AMERICAN ARMENIANS TO VISIT TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 21, 2011 – 13:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A delegation of prominent members of the
American-Armenian community will arrive in Turkey on Friday, October
21, in an unprecedented visit to various religious sites throughout
the country.

The 25-member delegation, which includes U.S.-based influential
businessmen and religious figures, will embark on a six-day tour of
key religious sites in Istanbul, Diyarbakir and Van. The visit comes
after the completion of restoration work on the 15th-century Surp
Giragos Church in Diyarbakir province, one of the largest churches
in the Middle East and a historic center of Turkey’s once thriving
Armenian population.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian and other high level members of the
American-Armenian diocese will participate in the church’s reopening
which is slated for Oct. 23. The delegation also plans to attend a
ceremony at the recently restored Armenian church on Akhtamar Island
in the province of Van, Today’s Zaman reported.

AIDES A LA TURQUIE : LES DEPUTES DISENT STOP !
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 21 octobre 2011

Richard MALLIE, Claude BODIN et plus d’une cinquantaine de deputes ont
depose un amendement au projet de loi de finances afin de supprimer
les credits de preadhesion accordes a la Turquie, soit près de 900
millions d’euros sur sept ans (2007-2013) !

Comme chaque annee, la France verse a la Turquie, par le biais
de l’Union europeenne, près de 150 millions d’euros en vue de son
adhesion !

Sachant que tous les sondages realises en France vont dans le meme sens
(oui a un partenariat privilegie avec la Turquie, non a une adhesion
turque), il est paradoxale de continuer a verser des fonds qui servent
a atteindre un objectif souhaite ni par les Francais, ni par les Turcs.

Compte tenu de la situation financière dans laquelle se trouve
notre pays, il est important de mettre fin a ce ” paradoxe
politico-budgetaire ” !

Il s’agit d’un amendement de coherence avec la politique europeenne
de la France car les Francais ne comprennent pas que l’on encourage
financièrement ce pays a faire des reforme en vue d’une adhesion
a l’UE, non pas par ostracisme, mais tout simplement parce que la
Turquie n’est pas en Europe, c’est une evidence tant sur le plan
geographique qu’historique !

L’ECRIVAIN ERDOGAN AKHANLI ACQUITTE
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 21 octobre 2011

L’ecrivain Erdogan Akhanli a ete acquitte des accusations d’avoir
voulu change l’ordre constitutionnel par la force le 12 octobre. Il
risquait la prison a perpetuite dans le contexte du meurtre d’un
proprietaire de bureau de change il y a 22 ans.

L’ecrivain a ete acquitte par la 11ème Haute Cour Criminelle d’istanbul
le 12 septembre.

Le Procureur de la Republique Celal Kara avait pourtant fait un
requisitoire demandant la condamnation d’Erdogan Akhanli.

Erdogan Akhanli avait ete arrete alors qu’il rentrait en Turquie le
10 août après avoir vecu en Allemagne pendant des annees. Il a ete
arrete a l’aeroport et mis en detention pendant quatre mois.

Il figure parmi les rares ecrivains turcs reconnaissant officiellement
le genocide des armeniens.

L’ARMENIE SOUHAITE SE RAPPROCHER DES ETATS-UNIS
Laetitia

armenews.com
vendredi 21 octobre 2011

Le president Serge Sarkissian a declare mercredi vouloir renforcer
ses liens avec les Etats-Unis lors de sa rencontre avec l’adjoint
americain a la Secretaire d’Etat, William Burns.

William Burns est arrive a Erevan et va visiter les trois Etats du
Caucase du Sud. Il s’est entretenu avec Sarkissian et le ministre
des Affaires etrangères Edward Nalbandian.

Une declaration a ete publiee dans laquelle le president armenien
assure que ” l’Armenie a toujours ete prete pour resserrer ses liens
avec les Etats-Unis “. Ces relations sont ” la garantie du succès
politique et economique de l’Armenie ainsi que la garantie d’une
stabilite regionale “.

Sarkissian a egalement felicite les Etats-Unis dans le rôle qu’il
jour pour mettre fin au conflit du Nagorno-Karabagh.

Selon le ministre armeniens des Affaires etrangères, le representant
americain a affirme que le conflit du Karabagh ne peut que se resoudre
pacifiquement.

Après avoir parle avec le president de l’Azerbaïdjan Ilham Aliyev
mardi, William Burns a affirme que Washington pense qu’il y a une
solution, autre que militaire, pur regler le probmème. Cependant,
le statu quo du Karabagh ne peut pas durer longtemps.

Le ministre des Affaires etrangères a egalement affirme qu’il
discuterait avec William Burns de la normailisation des relations
entre la Turquie et l’Armenie. Les Etats-Unis continuerait de suivre
la continuite du processus, a ajoute William Burns.

HAUT KARABAKH, L’UN DES RARES CONFLITS GELES EUROPEENS QU’ON PEUT REGLER (MEDVEDEV)

RIA Novosti
20 oct 2011
La Russie

Le conflit du Haut Karabakh, region disputee entre l’Azerbaïdjan et
l’Armenie, est l’un des rares conflits geles europeens qu’on peut
regler et Moscou y fera sa contribution, a declare jeudi le president
russe Dmitri Medvedev lors d’une rencontre avec des jeunes a Moscou.

“La Russie contribuera sans doute au règlement du conflit du Haut
Karabakh. Elle poursuivra ses efforts dans ce domaine. Cependant seule
la bonne volonte des deux peuples et des deux presidents permettra
de regler ce problème complexe, mais solvable. Ils doivent s’ecouter
les uns les autres et trouver des compromis”, a indique M.Medvedev.

Le conflit du Haut-Karabakh remonte a fevrier 1988, lorsque cette
region autonome principalement peuplee d’Armeniens a annonce son
intention de se separer de l’Azerbaïdjan. Cette demarche a provoque
des hostilites entre les troupes armeniennes et azerbaïdjanaises
a la suite desquelles Bakou a perdu le contrôle de la region. Le
cessez-le-feu decrete le 12 mai 1994 est regulièrement viole par les
deux parties. Bakou et Erevan n’arrivent toujours pas a se mettre
d’accord sur le statut de la region.

Afin de trouver un règlement pacifique et negocie du conflit, un
Groupe de Minsk copreside par la Russie, la France et les Etats-Unis
a ete cree en 1992 dans le cadre de la Conference sur la securite et
la cooperation en Europe.

ARMENIAN CHURCH REOPENING CONCERTS CANCELED IN DIYARBAKIR

news.am
Oct 20 2011
Armenia

DIYARBAKIR. – The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople canceled
the concerts that were to be held in Diyarbakir, Turkey, with regard
to reopening of the city’s St. Giragos Armenian church.

The Patriarchate canceled the events in connection with Wednesday’s
killing of 24 Turkish military servicemen by Kurdish fighters,
Armenian News-NEWS.am correspondent reported from Diyarbakir.

Reopening and consecration of St. Giragos, which is one of the largest
churches in the Middle East, will take place on October 22 while the
first Holy Mass will be celebrated on the next day.

The church was left to its fate after 1980, but Diyarbakir Armenians
who now live in Istanbul established the St. Giragos Fund in order
to restore the church. This Armenian fund paid 70 percent of the
restoration costs, worth $2.5 million dollars, and the Diyarbakir
City Hall paid the remaining 30 percent.

St. Giragos will reopen as a functioning church.

AZERBAIJAN READY TO WORK ON KARABAKH PEACE ACCORD – MINISTER

Turan news agency
Oct 19 2011
Azerbaijan

Baku, 19 October: Azerbaijan is ready to start working on the text
of a peace agreement, without touching on the issues remaining open
in the Nagornyy Karabakh talks, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov told a news conference today after talks with Ecuadorian
Foreign Relations, Trade and Integration Minister Ricardo Patino.

Mammadyarov said that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will arrive in
the region at the beginning of next week and that discussions about
the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement processes, which have not already
been agreed on, will continue. Azerbaijan considers that in parallel
with discussions of issues remaining open, work can be conducted on
the text of a political agreement on the basis of the already agreed
principles. Karabakh was also discussed with US Deputy Secretary of
State William Burns [in Baku on 18 October].

The Ecuadorian minister backed a speedy peaceful settlement to the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict based on international law.

[translated]

SUPPLY OF RUSSIAN NATURAL GAS TO ARMENIA UP 7.7% IN JAN-SEPT

Interfax
Oct 19 2011
Russia

Supplies of natural gas from Russia to Armenia increased by 7.7%
year-on-year to 1.0638 billion cubic meters in January-September 2011,
CJSC Armrosgazprom said in a statement.

A total of 1.0068 bcm of natural gas was sold in the period.

Total gas consumption by households increased by 3.9% to 353.4 million
cubic meters, the energy sector – 93.4 mcm (up 6.6%) and compressed
gas fueling stations – 260.4 mcm (up 12.8%).

At the same time, the industrial sector reduced its gas consumption
by 6.4% to 175.1 mcm.

It was earlier reported that total supply of natural gas from Russia to
Armenia in 2010 decreased by 11.6% to 1.44 bcm from 1.6287 bcm in 2009.

CJSC Armrosgazprom is the supplier of gas to Armenia. Russian gas
giant OJSC Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) owns 80% in this company while the
Armenian government holds a 20% stake.

AZADLIG: ON INDEPENDENCE DAY ALIYEV AWARDED PEOPLE HAVING NO CONNECTION WITH PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Panorama
Oct 20 2011
Armenia

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Independence,
President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree to confer awards on a range
of people, none of which had connection with the liberation fight or
was a prominent individual. Aliyev even did not want to confer awards
on MPs who had proclaimed independence. It is not clear what is the
merit of these people before Azerbaijan, because they were given
third class Order for Service to Homeland and Tereggy, Azadlig reports.

The source says that one of the awardees, Gambar Gurbanov is the father
of Azeroilservice head Javid Gurbanov, he was the First Secretary of
the Gedabek region under the Soviet Union and has nothing to do with
the fight for independence. The list also includes Chief Physician
of Hospital No.4 Firket Zeynalov who is the brother of the Head of
State Traffic Police Department, Police Major General Ramiz Zeynalov,
who also has dubious merit in achieving independence.

Mariam Gasanova, member of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party, in no way
connected with fight for independence of Azerbaijan, was also awarded
by the President. “These facts testify that the list of awardees took
into consideration their merits not before Azerbaijan but before the
Aliyev clan,” the newspaper said.

CENTRE FOR LAW AND DEMOCRACY: ARMENIA IS AMONG TOP 5 COUNTRIES WITH EASY-TO-ACCESS BUDGET INFORMATION

Panorama
Oct 20 2011
Armenia

According to the results of the survey by the Centre for Law
and Democracy, Armenia joined the top 5 countries among 80 with
easy-to-access budget information, says the report published on the
website of the organization. The results of the Ask Your Government! 6
Question Campaign survey showed that only 12 out of 80 countries
responded to all 6 questions in a way that complies with right to
information standards, for example by answering the requester within
30 calendar days.

The top 5 performing countries are New Zealand (1st place), Georgia,
India, Namibia and Armenia. Among the top 15 are Colombia, Ukraine,
Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, South Africa, Costa
Rica and Germany.

The results of the survey show that complete information was provided
by Armenia on 5 of the 6 questions, and only one question was followed
by a “not held.” Thus, Armenia gained total of 6 points on compliance,
and 5 points on positive response.

Noteworthy that Azerbaijan provided information only on the two of the
questions, including one incomplete response. There was mute refusal
on one question, and three questions were followed by a “not held”
response. For example, for the questions 1 and 2 the Ministry of
Health of Azerbaijan simply wrote that it could not respond “because
of lack of suitable statistics.”

As noted by the organization, top performing countries included
a number of new democracies and/or countries with young right to
information laws, which indicates that recent campaigns to promote
the right to information have a positive effect on performance.