Author: Kalantarian Kevo

THE INTERVIEW OF THE FIRST DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER DAVIT TONOYAN TO MEDIAMAX NEWS AGENCY

2011-08-09

– On July 18-21, the delegation headed by you took part in
Armenian-U.S. defense consultations in Washington D.C., during which
the sides agreed to expand the spheres of cooperation. Tell us about
these spheres, please.

– During the recent consultations we mainly focused on Armenian defense
reforms and development of Armenian Armed Forces, aiming to clarify
with our American colleagues the USA’s possible assistance to these
processes. We particularly discussed defense policy of the Republic
of Armenia, the implementation of plans aimed at the development of
Armenian Armed Forces based on the results of Armenia’s Strategic
Defense Review (SDR), human resource management, professional military
education, development of professional NCO corps, export control of
military goods, issues related to humanitarian demining, as well as
some programs of public and cultural interest.

Besides, we also touched upon such issues as the effective use of
the assistance rendered by the United States and US capabilities in
the development of Armenian peacekeeping capabilities, including the
organization of both bilateral and multilateral combined exercises.

– Where, when and in what framework will the exercises be held?

– It has been already 10 years that the Armenian and the U.S. military
have been conducting combined military exercises in the spheres
of peacekeeping, communications, military medicine and emergency
response. Small-scale training activities have been also held. We
should also keep in mind the combined activities and liaison of
Armenian and U.S. military during the operations in Iraq, Kosovo
and Afghanistan.

However, all this was done mainly on multilateral basis, through
multinational operations and exercises. As for the possibility of
holding bilateral Armenian-U.S. exercise, yes, this issue has been
discussed. However, taking into consideration the fact that NATO/PfP
Live and Command Post Exercises have been restored since this year,
the urgency of holding bilateral Armenian-U.S. exercise for training
purposes of our peacekeepers decreases, but the issue remains on the
agenda of further Armenian-U.S. consultations.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense has big experience in organizing
and holding multilateral exercises.

– Can we say that the Armenian-U.S. defense cooperation is moving
from the incipient stage to comprehensive cooperation?

– The Armenian-U.S. defense cooperation has indeed grown impressively
over last years. Among the achievements of Armenian-U.S. defense
cooperation in 2010-2011 we can mention the process of SDR and the
beginning of implementation of the development plan worked out as a
result of the SDR as well as the three-fold expansion of the Armenian
contingent participating in ISAF mission, taking into account the
fact that the Armenian military who have been trained with the U.S.

assistance forms the contingents participating in international
peacekeeping operations.

– The session of the North Atlantic Council in 28+1 format (NATO
members +Armenia) was held in Brussels on July 27, as a result of
which the renewed Individual Partnership Action Plan was discussed.

Receiving the Special Representative of NATO Secretary General in
Yerevan in late June, Armenian President expressed the hope that the
renewed IPAP will allow bringing the cooperation to a new quality
level. Which are the main changes of IPAP for the Armenian Defense
Ministry?

– Let me clarify that the session attended by the Armenian Ministers
of Defense and Foreign Affairs, focused not on the renewed IPAP but
on the Assessment Report of the previous IPAP, which gives grounds to
launch the process of approval of the renewed IPAP. I think it will
be approved by the end of this year when all NATO allies approve the
renewed IPAP worked out by joint efforts of experts from Armenia and
NATO International Staff.

As for the content of the new IPAP, its biggest and principal
difference is that the previous ones were mainly directed to the
conduct of the SDR process, whereas the new program mainly aims at
the realization of results of the Review.

Besides, together with previous spheres the new IPAP includes such
areas as the study of capabilities for improving battle training
programs for various types of Armenian Armed Forces, cooperation in
military-industrial sphere, as well as the study of NATO member
states’ armament and military equipment the codification and
standardization system aimed at the development of future defense
industrial cooperation with them.

– During meetings in USA and Brussels you have discussed the issue of
improving the peacekeeping capabilities of the Armenian Peacekeeping
Forces. At what stage of readiness are our peacekeepers today and
what are the problems that still need to be solved?

– Today, the 12th peacekeeping brigade of the Armenian Armed Forces
has two fully equipped infantry battalions and can provide about two
companies for operations by rotation principle. Today, on the whole
161 servicemen of the brigade are permanently deployed in the theatres
of multinational operations: 126 in Afghanistan, and 35 – in Kosovo.

The third battalion of the brigade is being formed now.

Within the framework of developing the brigade (the process will be
completed in 2015), we focus our efforts on the development of its
logistics capabilities and equipment. In this process not secondary
attention is paid also to the constant training, re-training and
eventual assessment of the brigade’s manpower.

An engineer battalion has recently joined Armenian peacekeeping forces,
which was also declared in the PfP pool of forces in the framework
of Operational Capabilities Concept, so we are planning to carry out
combat readiness evaluations for this unit as well.

– You have recently met with your Russian colleagues. Unlike the
Armenian-U.S. military ties, the Armenian-Russian defense cooperation
has a rich history and the sides seem to understand each other better.

What issues have been discussed in Moscow?

– The Armenian-Russian defense cooperation has indeed a rich history
and traditions and involves wider spectrum of defense cooperation
than with other countries.

While in Moscow I have hold meetings with CSTO Secretariat’s leadership
and my colleagues from the Russian Defense Ministry. During my meetings
in CSTO we discussed a number of issues such as: the establishment
of organization’s Military Committee, improvement of Combined Joint
Staff activities, as well as the involvement of observers from various
international organizations and countries in future military exercises
to be carried out with the framework CSTO Rapid Reaction Collective
Forces and Armenian-Russian Combined Task Force, which will ensure
necessary transparency and will be considered as a confidence building
measure in the region thus reinforcing the image of the CSTO as an
organization ensuring the regional security.

As for the meetings with our colleagues from the Russian Defense
Ministry, they were devoted to the discussion of such issues as the
coordination of Armenian and Russian defense ministries’ positions
on the future of international arms control arrangements, regional
security, optimization of the Russian 102nd military base in Armenia
and re-deployment and modernization of its units.

– There is an opinion that Russia attaches rather “symbolic” than
combative importance to its military base in Armenia. What can you
say in this regard? I suppose the issue of the base has also been
discussed.

– I think this is the case when we shouldn’t seek for some hidden or
other meanings. The presence of the Russian military base in Armenia
has always been conditioned by the political-military interests of the
two countries. According to the agreement on the extension of terms of
deployment of the Russian military base in Armenia signed last year,
the 102nd base also undertook the commitment to support Armenia’s
security. Thus, it’s not a secret that the Russian military base is
the indivisible part of Armenia’s security system, which is set in
a number of conceptual documents of the Republic of Armenia such as
the National Security Strategy, Military Doctrine.

– The Russian Defense Minister has recently visited Azerbaijan to
discuss the future of Gabala Station. Does Armenia have a position
about the operation of the station and possible change of its status?

– The exploitation of Gabala radiolocation station has a definite
importance for the Russian Federation. During the Soviet times it was
part of the missile defense system and now it allows Russian Armed
Forces to control the air picture in the region and prevent missile
attacks. Taking into account the Armenian-Russian allied ties, we
don’t consider the exploitation of Gabala base by Russia as running
counter to Armenia’s security interests. On the contrary, I believe
the more our strategic ally and other partner states get involved in
the security and, why not, in the military spheres of our neighboring
country, the more it will facilitate the security of the entire region.

PRESIDENT GREETS ARMENIA SAILING VESSEL’S CREW

Tert.am
12.08.11

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is currently in Cyprus on a working
visit, attended Armenia sailing vessels trip closing event on Thursday.

Meeting his Cypriot counterpart Dimitris Christofias on Limassol’s
port, the president welcomed the crew members, congratulating them
on the completion of the historical cruise.

After the greeting ceremony, the captain of the crew, Zori Balayan,
briefed the president on the naval expedition which set off on May
28, 2009 (Armenia’s First Republic Day) on Spain’s Valencia port and
finished ahead of the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

He said the vessel had travelled across the Gibraltar channel, reaching
the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The crew members visited five
continents where millions of Armenians have been living for centuries.

In his greeting remarks the president praised the crew for completing
its mission with honor.

“You have not only conducted a round-the-world voyage, sailing across
three oceans and dozens of seas but have also crossed rocky roads to
visit our Diaspora compatriots in different corners of the world to
impart the spirit of motherland to the Armenian community and give
a new meaning to the formula of our identity and to our cultural
monuments on different continents,” Sargsyan said.

“VOICE OF LIFE”: DANGEROUS RELIGIOUS SECT? (VIDEO)

hetq
August 12, 2011

The civic group “We Will Not be Silent” has now turned its attention
to the “Voice of Life” religious ministry in Armenia, labelling it a
“dangerous sect”.

The evangelical organization holds weekly meetings in Gyumri and
what follows is a short video clip of one such prayer assembly,
replete with the “laying of hands” and frenetic singing that usually
accompanies such meetings.

“We will not be silent” says such images should prompt law-enforcement
to investigate the religious sect.

The civic group argues that, “It is the duty of every conscious
Armenian to expose these foreign religious sects that have led many
of our compatriots astray and into darkness.”

MINISTER OF DIASPORA WISHES “LUYSES”GOOD LUCK

Mediamax
Aug 11, 2011
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Today, Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan met
with 30 young people who have entered foreign universities through
“Luys” foundation educational program this year.

The Minister greeted the young people with “Hello, luyses, each of
you is a light” and wished them good luck.

Hranush Hakobyan told the young people that they are “a bridge” between
Armenian and the Diaspora and she called on them to inform Armenian
communities abroad about the programs of the Ministry of Diaspora.

145 students entered top universities of 13 countries through “Luys”
foundation sponsorship this year.

PEOPLE IN ARMENIAN GYUMRI DREAM ABOUT $135 SALARY

news.am
Aug 11, 2011
Armenia

GYUMRI. – Many people dream about a salary equal to AMD 50000 ($135)
in Armenian Gyumri city.

“If I only had a salary equal to AMD 50000 ($135), I would have
bought everything I wished,” A resident of Gyumry Anahit Manukyan
told Armenian News-NEWS.am. “Our family budget is AMD 26000 ($70),
which covers essentials for me, my mother and my two small children.”

Anahit Manukyan is jobless. Her husband left for abroad to work and
did not return. Currently she keeps the family on monthly allowance.

She has also done seasonal works. However, the season is over, and
the family has no money even for essentials. Her daughter should go
to school in September, but Anahit has no money to buy a school bag
or a uniform.

VAHAN SHIRKHANYAN RULES OUT EARLY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
August 12, 2011

PanARMENIAN.Net – Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia,
member of Social Democrat Hunchakian Party Vahan Shirkhanyan excludes
possibility of pre-term presidential election in Armenia.

“There is no prerequisite, no political crisis,” he said at a press
conference in Yerevan.

As for conflict between the authorities the Armenian National Congress
opposition bloc, Shirkhanyan doesn’t see any difference between both.

“Political struggle is the struggle of ideas. There is, however,
no struggle of ideas between authorities and ANC, it’s a battle of
personalities,” Shirkhanyan said.

He also underlined that to resolve social and economical problems,
Armenia must reject the liberal and take up a social democrat model,
entirely altering the government system.

YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM STEPANAKERT WRITES TO PRESIDENT ALIYEV

hetq
August 11, 2011

13 year-old Adeliana Avagimyan from Stepanakert, the capital of
Artsakh, has written a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Below are some passages of the letter.

Mr. President. My name is Adeliana Avagimyan, a school pupil from
Karabakh.

I haven’t told anyone that was writing this letter to you. In fact,
I thought long and hard about writing it or not.

I was born and raised in Stepanakert. I love my country because
Karabakh is my homeland. My parents and grandparents were also
born here.

So were their forefathers. Do you know that Karabakh was originally
called Artsakh, a region of historic Armenia?

Mr. President, whenever I watch TV or listen to what older folk are
talking about, I am amazed. It seems that you are constantly talking
about Karabakh and about war. Aren’t there other issues on your mind?

I have never seen any Azerbaijanis. I do not think about you or your
country. It’s the same with my parents. I can’t understand what it
is that you want from us.

I have heard that you have never been to Artsakh – to our Gandzasar,
our Dadivank or Amaras – but you want to conquer our country.

Don’t you have enough land already? Why do you need our Karabakh?

My father fought in the war. I have never seen war but my elders say
it is a terrible thing and I don’t want to experience one myself.

But my elders say that if war breaks out again they are ready to
defend our country once more. I too will assist in whatever way I can.

I have asked my parents why it is that we won over your overwhelming
forces. They answer because we were on our lands, defending our
country, and that the Azerbaijanis came to conquer us, to steal
our freedom.

If you start a war to conquer us, the entire Armenian people will
rise up to defend our lands.

I am sure that if you start a war, you and your children and relatives
will not fight. You will send common Azerbaijani youth to fight
for you.

I know that many of us, even women and children, will die if war
breaks out.

But thousands of Azerbaijani youth and children will also be sacrificed
and left orphaned.

Is this want you want?

Why spend all your money on buying weapons for war?

Shouldn’t you be spending it on creating a better life for your people
and for improving conditions for those refugees created by the war
started by your father?

I would really appreciate it if you would answer my letter and explain
why you want to conquer my homeland.

THE ARMENIAN PHOENIX
Dr. Henry Astarjian

Seldom in history have so many conglomerated opportunities mandated
action in such a short time, on such a wide span of geography,
to revive such a major cause related to nationhood, statehood,
independence, and sovereignty.

The major question is whether we have leaders who have guts, vision,
lucidity, and dedication, and are capable of handling the issues
correctly, deliberately, and with unyielding conviction, for the road
is long, tough, and studded with unexpected surprises.

In a geopolitical storm such as the one the region is going through
right now, the dust that it generates make it hard to recognize a
matter objectively, let alone predict the future and plan for it.

Hard, it could be, but impossible it could not; events, discoveries
of facts, and history facilitate separation of fact from fiction.

Such is the case with the Armenian reality today, and through it
all one can see the Phoenix rising against the rising sun. We are
at the dawn of a major advancement thrown at us by destiny, yet we
are oblivious to the facts and continue to pursue a two-step faulty
national policy that involves:

a) internationally incriminating Turkey for committing the Armenian
Genocide, and then, after finishing the task,

b) asking for reparations, which in some minds are monetary.

Imagine, if you will, selling your millennia-old national property,
Western Armenia, for $3 billion, as some reparations-pursuing people
advocate.

This approach was wrong, is wrong, and shall continue to be wrong. It
is based on the mercy and the goodwill of major countries that
dominate the international arena, and whose interests are not served
by alienating Turkey. Much to the delight of Turkey, the plan continues
to suffer from inertia.

Other approaches are essential and deserve full consideration. It is
imperative to shift from a defensive position to offensive action in
the enemy territory. No, I don’t mean waging war against Turkey, but
exploiting the internal vulnerabilities from which Turkey continues
to suffer today. There are some 20 million Kurds, the disenchanted
and disenfranchised in Turkey, and now some 100,000 Muslim Armenians
in the body of the Hamshen, and close to a million Armenians who
were forcibly converted to Islam to save their necks, and who are
yearning to openly claim their ethnic identity and be recognized as
such. There are many among these people look up to us, admire our
victory in Karabagh, and look for our guidance.

The major question is whether we have leaders who have guts, vision,
lucidity, and dedication, and are capable of handling the issues
correctly, deliberately, and with unyielding conviction, for the road
is long, tough, and studded with unexpected surprises.

Times have changed. So have people and their approach to solving
their problems: There has been an awakening and increased political
awareness among people who for so long suffered in the hands of corrupt
governments and tyrant rulers. Ideologies and political orientations
have metamorphosed to shed the mental serfdom that had controlled
their thoughts, and therefore behavior, for more than a century.

The Arab Spring is a phenomenon worthy of serious consideration. It
is just coming out of the Arab Winter, which was imposed upon them
by the Ottoman Turks some 400 years ago. Their awakening started some
100 years ago through the Hashemite Revolution; their goal was to rid
the Arab nation from the tyranny of the sultans and the hegemony of
the Ottoman Turk. In this, they were revolutionary partners of the
Armenians, who were also waging armed struggle against the Ottoman
Caliphate. The ARF’s action to assassinate the Red Sultan Abdul Hamid
was hailed by the Arabs and gave them a psychological boost. King
Hussain Bin Ali of Hijaz acknowledged that and released a fatwa asking
the Arabs to help the Armenian refugees who had escaped the genocide.

This revolution, which resulted in establishing today’s Arab states,
lasted for only so long. It did not work for a variety of reasons, not
the least of which was corruption and political oppression by their
rulers. To bring about change, people had to evolve their thoughts
and struggle to a point of maturation, which gave birth to the Arab
Spring. True, the aftermath of the winter is still lingering and their
road is still long, but reaching their destination is sure. Look at
Egypt today, some six months after their revolution: People are back
in Tahrir Square challenging their government to complete their goals!

It is the evolved psychology of the ordinary person that is motivating
them; they had changed from Pharaonic serfdom to peasants of the
monarchy era, to British and Ottoman colonies, to freedom-seeking
masses demanding democracy.

The lessons of Arab Spring should not be overlooked!

Armenians must have a change of mind and change of heart to free
ourselves from the passivity that has been injected into our veins
by age-old antiquated and corrupt organizations. It is a scientific
fact that prolonged grief leads to serious mental depression. They
put us there, we stayed there, and we are still there! The nation is
depressed and cannot see the rising Phoenix. We must discard, with
our whole being, the conviction that we are victims. We were, but
not anymore! Not after our glorious victory in Karabagh, not with our
Hamshen in the Trabizon area, not with our Javakhk, not with our two
million-strong community in Moscow, not with our Armenian-American and
French-Armenian communities, not with our Javakhk brothers in Georgia,
and not with the rest of the Diasporan Empire.

No, we cannot afford to continue the mentality of self-pity; we must
recognize the Phoenix and be on the offensive.

Armenia must be the nidus of all things Armenian, which it is not now.

If we do not change, we will continue the pathetic status quo, which
exists now in Armenia.

We would continue the status quo if we continue neglecting the
villager in Armenia, and leave him wanting for a piece of bread,
and treating him at best with benign neglect.

We would continue the status quo if we hold rigged elections,
continuing corruption at the highest levels.

We would continue the status quo if, through economic inaction,
emigration to the tune of 65,000 Armenian citizens a year continue.

We would continue the status quo if we don’t take care of our valiant
warriors who realized the Artsakh victory, some of whom have become
food scavengers, while 10 percent of the population in Armenia lives
in European-style luxury.

No, we cannot survive if the status quo persists.

It is irrelevant who is in government as long as these shamefully
raging problems are rectified.

Present-day Armenia cannot live with handouts. Even with that,
they are doing a poor job. The diaspora has lost its confidence in
the government of Armenia. There is also a psychological disconnect
between Armenia and the diaspora; we are disappointed and heartbroken,
our relationship with Armenia has become disjointed. The honorable
minister charged with diasporan affairs, Hranoush Hagopian, has failed
to mobilize us in support of pan-Armenianness.

All this lies in one thing: leadership. The leaders of Armenia, the
diaspora, and the political parties who are at the helm, must realize
that these problems beg a solution. They must also realize that the
sun is rising on the Armenian nation, albeit on a foggy day, showing
the Armenian Phoenix on the horizon. The Phoenix must be recognized!

MEDIATORS MANAGE TO KEEP OLD FORMAT IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH TALKS
E. Tariverdiyeva

Trend
Aug 10, 2011
Azerbaijan

It is too early to make conclusions on the talks between the
Azerbaijani and Russian presidents, as the tone of the statements
issued in Moscow and Baku is rather restrained, Vestnik Kavkaza Editor
Alexei Vlasov said.

“We have to wait until Aug. 12 for the meeting between Russian and
Armenian presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan at the CSTO
summit,” he said. “I think much will become clear.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Sochi upon
Medvedev’s invitation on Aug. 9. During the visit, the presidents
discussed bilateral relations and cooperation and Russia express its
determination to continue efforts in this regard, Chief of the Foreign
Relations Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration
Novruz Mammadov told Trend.

The last talks over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were held upon
Russia’s initiative in Kazan in June. This ninth meeting was
trilateral.

“However, regarding trilateral meetings, I think that the mediators
will be able to keep the old format of the negotiation process,”
Vlasov said. “But I will not forecast the specific results.”

He said that the course of the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks reminds of
the unstable and unpredictable state of the international markets.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS LINE OF CONTACT

Trend
Aug 10, 2011
Azerbaijan

On Aug. 10, Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan visited one
of the military units of the 2nd army formation. The minister got
acquainted with the soldiers’ service conditions, Tert.am reported.

Speaking before the servicemen, Minister Ohanyan presented the army
reforms.

Minister Ohanyan also visited the unit’s shooting-ground and attended
the drill.

The Armenian defense minister also visited the line of contact between
the Armenian and Azeri armed forces and talked to the soldiers on
duty. The minister awarded presents to the soldiers.