Author: Kalantarian Kevo

German reporter’s work hindered by Nakhichevan authorities

July 9, 2011 – 18:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung German daily’s
political observer Michael Ludwig was forced to discontinue a working
trip to Nakhichevan, because of local authorities’ hindering his work.

As the reporter stated in a conversation with Turan news agency, he
meant to prepare a material about Nakhichevan’s life in blockade on
the sidelines of the project covering post-Soviet space regions.

Having secured an accreditation at Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, the
reporter headed for Nakhichevan on a familiarization tour. To make a
trip to Batabat, he addressed to the executive authorities of Shakhbuz
region from where he was directed to Nakhichevan Mejlis to receive
permission.

At the main department on Nakhichevan affairs at Foreign Ministry, the
reporter was questioned as to the purpose of his trip. On the
following day, the journalist submitted a program of his visits, which
was approved on condition that he would be accompanied by the
representative of Foreign Ministry’s regional department.

The reporter resolved to discontinue his trip and return to Baku. `I’m
sorry my activities were restricted. Those who interfered with my work
have never heard of a free media,’ the German reporter told Turan.

Commenting on the restriction of the reporter’s activities, a
representative of Azeri Foreign Ministry cited the journalist’s
failure to provide the purpose of his visit to Nakhichevan. However,
Ludwig refuted the accusations, noting that he detailed the purpose of
his visit to Nakhichevan while requesting an accreditation.

Baku to respond on Russia’s proposals on Karabakh settlement

BAKU, July 9 (RIA Novosti)

Azerbaijan will respond on Russia’s proposals on Nagorny Karabakh
settlement after it studies it, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister lmar
Mammadyarov said.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, hand over Russia’s
proposals on the Nagorno Karabakh settlement to both the Azerbaijani
and the Armenian sides.

“We are carefully studying the proposal made by [Russian] President
[Dmitry] Medvedev, and after a thorough insight we will give our
response,” Mammadyarov said.

Mammadyarov will pay an official visit to Russia on July 17-18 by the
Lavrov’s invitation where the sides will continue the talks on the
Nagorno Karabakh settlement.

Nagorny Karabakh, a breakaway region on Azerbaijani territory with a
predominantly ethnic Armenian population, has been at the center of a
bitter conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Under the updated in Madrid principles of the settlement Azerbaijan
insist Armenia should withdraw in the near future its troops from the
territories of Azerbaijan.

An agreement on Nagorny Karabakh will be only possible if Azerbaijan
gives up a number of amendments suggested during a meeting in Kazan,
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were unable to come to an agreement on the path
to peace in Nagorny Karabakh after a meeting in Russia’s Kazan in
June, but said some progress had been made.

Nagorny Karabakh has remained under Armenian control since the late
1980s, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join
Armenia. The conflict is estimated to have left more than 30,000
people dead on both sides between 1988 and 1994.

Israel, Turkey to hold another round of talks to mend ties

July 9, 2011 – 12:36 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Having failed to resolve their differences during
three-day talks this week, Turkey and Israel will hold another round
of negotiations later this month in New York, Hürriyet Daily News
reported.

`The talks are expected to be concluded in late July,’ said Ã-zdem
Sanberk, the Turkish member of the UN panel investigating the Israeli
raid on the aid ship Mavi Marmara.

The schedule of the next round of negotiations is not set yet but the
talks will take place in New York, said Sanberk. `There has been no
change in the negotiating team.’ Turkey was represented in this week’s
talks by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun SinirlioÄ?lu,
Ambassador Mithat Rende and Sanberk.

The UN panel, which includes two international experts as well as
Turkish and Israeli representatives, is expected to submit its report
to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before July 27. The two countries’
officials are supposed to resolve the deadlock by that time.

Both Turkey and Israel see a window of opportunity to mend fences amid
the regional unrest.

Observers say a compromise will benefit both sides, increasing
Ankara’s leverage as a UN vote on Palestinian statehood looms in
September and expanding its room to maneuver in regional peace
mediation efforts.

First conference of young military officers held in Yerevan

13:20 – 09.07.11

Alexander Spendiaryan Opera House hosted Saturday the first
pan-military conference of young military officers of Armenia’s Armed
Forces.

The conference was attended by the president, defense minister,
minister of education and science and other high-ranking officials.

Addressing the public, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said that the
officers of Armenia’s Army are under immense responsibility.

`You are responsible for the security of a whole nation and a state
achieved at the expense of blood,’ said he.

Ohanyan mentioned that the day is a remarkable one as during 20 years
of history in Armenia’s Armed Forces this is the first time such a
comprehensive conference has been organized with the participation
young military officers.

Ohanyan went on to say that the goal of the conference is to stress
the role of the Armenian military officer in the army.

`The first characteristic feature typical of a good military officer
is the realization of his role inside the state and the Armed Forces,’
explained Ohanyan.

He also highlighted the importance of relations between officers and soldiers.

`It is the soldiers that are the greatest value in the army,’ said he,
calling on officers not to turn soldiers into what he called `blind
subsidiaries,’ but rather take care of them and make them
imitative-taking and courageous fighters.

Ohanyan further said that the conference was successfully organized,
adding that such meetings will as of now be frequently held.
The conference was followed by a concert.

Tert.am

Car imports unchanged despite higher petroleum prices

09:54 – 09.07.11

Increased petroleum prices in 2011 did not prevent Armenian residents
from importing cars, according to Armenia’s National Statistical
Service.

Car imports remained unchanged compared to last, equaling to a total
$154.8 million.

In the meantime, Armenia imported oil products worth a total of $304.1
million, as well as $320 million in natural gas imports.

Imports of crops wheat and sugar totaled to $87.9 million and $30.8
million respectively and medications imported made $79.8 million.

Wheat imports decreased by 8 per cent in 2010 because of Russia’s
embargo in 2010 which led Armenian importers to seek alternative
sources of wheat, such as Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Tert.am

PM Tigran Sargsyan visits the Armenian village of Chaltr

armradio.am
09.07.2011 13:35

Within the framework of the working visit to Rostov-on-Don Armenian
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited the Armenian village of Chaltr
in Myasnikyan region. The Prime Minister familiarized with the
activity, the everyday life and the history of the local Armenian
community.

Tigran Sargsyan visited the St. Hambartsum Armenian Church and laid
flowers at the khachkar erected in memory of the numerous losses
Armenia has incurred throughout history and the memorial to the
victims of the Great Patriotic War. The Prime Minister later visited
the historic museum of Chaltr.

There are eight Armenian villages in Myasnikyan region with a
population of 30 thousand, only 15 thousand of which reside in Chaltr.
Nor Nakhijevan Armenian city is also located in Myasnikyan region.

Trend, Azerbaijan
July 8 2011

Azerbaijani FM: Armenian Deputy FM’s statements reveal his spiritual
and intellectual poverty and shabbiness

[08.07.2011 18:25]
Azerbaijan, Baku, July 8 / Trend E. Tariverdiyeva /

Shavarsh Kocharyan’s absurd statements do not correspond to the logic
of a normal human being. But they fully reveal the spiritual and
intellectual poverty and shabbiness of the subject, entitled to be
called homo sapience. These statements make not just shrug, but
sympathize with the leaders, who, apparently, are unable to prevent
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister’s illiteracy, the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry official representative Elkhan Polukhov told Trend.

“One should only regret that there are people like Kocharyan in the
Armenian leadership, whose statements are not subject to the comments
because of the lack of elementary logic,” Polukhov said, commenting on
the Armenian official.

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan commented on
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement made at the Congress of
Azerbaijanis. The statement said that the Armenians came to
Nagorno-Karabakh as guests and the Armenian state was established on
the historical Azerbaijani territories.

The Messenger, Georgia
July 9 2011

Discord between ruling administration and Georgian church

By Messenger Staff Friday, July 8

At the last session before its holiday, the Georgian parliament
granted legal status of public law to all religious faiths which were
acknowledged by the Council of Europe. Up to 70 representatives of the
ruling party in the parliament voted unanimously for this decision
despite protests from the opposition as well as Georgian Patriarchate.
The latter was against such a hasty adoption of the law and demanded
public discussion and analysis of the conditions before adopting the
amendment in the civil code.

The events in the parliament developed at Guinness record speed. The
decision took place in Tbilisi when neither President Saakashvili nor
chair of the parliament Bakradze were in the capital. On July 1
parliament adopted the draft law at the first hearing. On July 4 the
Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II spread a statement where he
was expressing his surprise for the decision of the parliament to
accept such a serious document in a speedy way without solid public
discussion.

The Patriarchate asked for public discussion involving the whole
nation. The ruling team ignored this request and on the very next day
on July 5 held the second and third hearings and adopted the code. The
major question which now arises for Georgian society is why was the
position of the Patriarchate not considered by the ruling forces? And
why was it approved in such an unusually accelerated manner? On a
superficial level certain highlights are outlined.

Some days ago Georgia was visited by Armenian Catholicos Garegin II
and during this meeting with the Georgian Patriarch he asked Ilia II
to provide his followers the same judicial status of a legal entity of
Public law. Ilia II responded that Georgia would like to receive the
same status in Armenia in return. So the deal was not concluded. Just
a few days later the Armenian foreign minister came to Tbilisi and, as
it turned out, during his meeting with his Georgian counterpart the
Armenian FM addressed the same issue.Is it just a coincidence that
this visit was followed by this hasty adoption of a new law and the
subsequent granting of extra status to foreign churches? It also
became known through some unconfirmed sources that president
Saakashvili promised Garegin II to make the abovementioned decision.
The Georgian media is now openly speculating about the “cold war”
between the rose administration and the Georgian Orthodox Church.

The adoption of this law without carrying out public debates and
therefore ignoring the position of Patriarchate gave ground to the
media and analysts to announce an `attack’ on the authority of the
Georgian church. On the same day, July 5, the Patriarchate released
the statement that the adopted amendments contradict the Georgian
church and the country’s interests as well and that this law will
yield negative results very quickly.

Nobody should doubt that Georgia should comply to Western standards
but it should be done in a democratic way.

Some opposition parties asked President Saakashvili to veto its
decision however the document has already been signed by the
President. As some analysts have said, this step was taken by
Saakashvili and his team to confirm to the westerners their commitment
and loyalty to its western liberal-democratic image in order to
receive support for the forthcoming elections in the hope that the
west will turn a blind eye to any manipulations from the ruling power
during these elections

news.am, Armenia
July 8 2011

Armenian Assembly’s summer internship program kicks off in Yerevan

July 08, 2011 | 12:45

YEREVAN.- The Armenian Assembly’s 2011 Summer Internship Program
(SIP) in Armenia is currently in its twelfth year. Since the program’s
inception in 1999, seventy-four interns have participated, working in
various government offices, media outlets, non-governmental
organizations, and think-tanks.

This year’s intern class includes Anzhela Babayan and Ishkhanuhi
Matevosyan from California, as well as Julia Madden and Tatevik
Babayan from Massachusetts. Anzhela and Tatevik are interning at the
Regional Studies Center (RSC), a Yerevan think-tank managed by
well-known political scientist Richard Giragosian.

While Ishkhanuhi is splitting her time between the Ministry of
Education and Science and the Ministry of Economics, Julia Madden is
interning in the National Competitiveness Council of Armenia.

Over the course of their two-month stay, interns will have the
opportunity to visit places of interest throughout Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh, meet with various government officials and important
figures to discuss issues of concern, and also experience life in
Armenia.

Interns have upcoming meetings with His Holiness Catholicos of All
Armenians, the Armenian Minister of Defense, U.S. Charge D’Affaires,
Armenia’s Ombudsman, and the Mayor of Yerevan, among others.

As part of their homeland experience, the interns are also afforded
the opportunity to visit key historical and cultural sites, which have
already included the Temple of Garni and the Geghard Monastery, as
well as observing the Ani ruins from the Armenian-Turkish border.

Le Parisien, France
Lundi 4 Juillet 2011

Le rêve éveillé de Sahaguian

par Jérémie Longuet

Dès les premiers coups de raquette, des rêves de professionnalisme
bercent très souvent les plus doués. Sélectionnée de 9 ans à 12 ans
dans le programme Avenir National de la Fédération française de
tennis, l’Eaubonnaise Axelle Sahaguian, qui a frappé ses premières
balles à 4 ans après avoir passé ses trois premières années au
Sénégal, n’échappe pas à la règle.

« Pour le moment, je ne me vois pas faire autre chose », confie à 15
ans la pensionnaire du top20 français de sa catégorie, qui passe en
seconde grce à ses cours par correspondance pour se consacrer la
majeure partie de son temps au tennis. « Physiquement et mentalement,
Axelle a tout pour y arriver », assure d’ailleurs son entraîneur,
Jérôme Copin, ancien coach de Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, vainqueur de la
Fed Cup en 2003 avec l’équipe de France.

Fille d’un père arménien, directeur d’un restaurant à Paris, et d’une
mère ancienne agent de tourisme qui a arrêté sa carrière pour suivre
celle de sa fille, la native d’Ermont a connu une année délicate à
l’image de sa deuxième défaite (6-2, 7-6) au tournoi de L’Isle-Adam
face à la Parisienne Agathe Keromnes (0).

fan de Sharapova
« L’année dernière, j’avais vraiment mal joué, alors que cette année
j’ai manqué de finition », déplore cette inconditionnelle de Maria
Sharapova, défaite la veille en finale de Wimbledon. « J’ai voulu la
copier » sourit-elle. Et malgré la gifle récemment reçue (6-1, 6-1) au
Tournoi international d’Avignon par la Lettone Jelena Ostapenko, 14
ans et 2e joueuse européenne, Axelle, classée 1/6 pour l’heure, espère
bien refaire son retard prochainement sur la concurrence (qui se
trouve aux alentours des – 15). « Il faut que je sois au minimum à –
15 dans deux ans » ambitionne l’adolescente. Le rêve est à ce prix.