Author: Kalantarian Kevo

TURKISH MEDIA INSUFFICIENTLY COVER KARABAKH PROBLEM – FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS

Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 3 2014

3 October 2014

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.3
By Ilkin Izzet – Trend:

Turkish media insufficiently covers the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh,
the president of the Turkish Federation of Journalists (TFJ) Atilla
Sertel said Oct.3, speaking at the IV Baku International Humanitarian
Forum.

He said that Turkey has carried out extensive work on the media
coverage of the Karabakh conflict and Khojaly genocide, but at an
insufficient level.

“Regarding the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, the occupied territories
are Azerbaijani lands. The solution of this problem must be found,”
said Sertel.

Despite the fact that some 22 years have passed since the events in
Khojaly, this tragedy is not forgotten, he said.

The federation president also clarified the issue of Turkey’s accession
to the coalition against the “Islamic state.”

“The issue of Turkey’s participation in military operations outside
the country is being discussed at the moment,” he said. “And it
worries us.”

“Not all journalists of the world can freely express their thoughts,”
said Sertel. “As the president of TFJ, I declare that journalistic
freedom means the freedom of the people. If journalists can not freely
express their thoughts, then the people will not be free, either.”

ARMENIAFEST AT ST. APKAR ARMENIAN CHURCH

Az Central, Arizona
Oct 3 2014

10/4-5:

Laura Latzko, Special for The Republic

With such gestures as making sure guests never leave their homes
hungry or without extra food, the Armenian people express their warm
and friendly nature.

Through food, music and dance influenced by longstanding family and
cultural traditions, Armenians in the Valley plan to showcase the
Armenian character and heritage during ArmeniaFEST on Saturday and
Sunday, Oct. 4-5.

The event, which started out as a bazaar, has changed over the years
with the addition of music and dance performances, local vendors and
an Armenian market. Food continues to be at the center of the event.

The event is one of the main fundraisers for the St. Apkar Armenian
Apostolic Church of Arizona, a focal point for the Armenian community.

Members from two church groups — Hye-Ways and the Ladies’ Society —
spent weeks preparing food.

Victoria Manoogian, director of public relations and communications
for the church and a member of Hye-Ways, said the event provides a
unique opportunity to try Armenian foods, including grilled kebab,
baklava, stuffed grape leaves known as sarma, dough filled with spinach
and cheese known as boereg, a sweet butter cookie called ghourabia,
and a dessert prepared with cream cheese and sweet syrup called kunafa.

Before the festival, Manoogian prepared a type of Easter bread known
as choereg using a recipe passed down from her grandmother. She
said the foods and desserts at the event are prepared according to
traditional recipes.

“The food is authentic. It is prepared the way Armenians have for
centuries,” Manoogian said. “When people come, they will frequently
say, ‘My grandmother used to make this.’ It connects them with their
past and revives something in them to want to perpetuate it.”

Festival Chairman Hagop Naldjian said the festival gives people outside
of the community a hands-on education about the Armenian culture.

“That’s the main goal, to share in the culture, the heritage,
the flavors of our food, the sounds and the tastes of Armenia,”
Naldjian said.

The festival continues to grow and expand with the inclusion of new
entertainers, including a group of young dancers from the church and
dancers from a local Serbian church.

The Erebuni Dance Group, an ensemble from California, returns with
12 to 16 dancers who will perform traditional Armenian dances during
the festival. On Sunday, the dance group plans to engage audience
members between sets, dancing with them and teaching them steps to
folk circle dances.

In Armenian dance styles, females and males often perform different
types of dances.

“We have men’s dances that are very tribal in nature, where they’ll
be hitting an Armenian drum. These dances that they do are very
masculine, and we have very feminine dances that only the girls do,”
Manoogian said.

Naldjian said that Armenians share many music and dance traditions
with Syrians and Lebanese people.

An art exhibit at the festival will showcase the paintings and
sculptures of local Armenian artists.

ArmeniaFEST: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday,
Oct. 5. St. Apkar Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona, 8849 E. Cholla
St., Scottsdale.

SERBIA, ARMENIA TO LAUNCH JOINT PROJECTS

Balkans.com Business News
Oct 3 2014

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Balkans News – 03.10.2014

Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said during the talks with
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian that in the
coming period visa facilitations will be introduced so as to encourage
greater tourist and economic exchange between the two countries. Vucic
thanked Nalbandian for his visit and noted that bilateral relations
between Serbia and Armenia are good.

Nalbandian invited the Serbian Prime Minister to visit Armenia, and
pointed out that there is room for improving economic relations and
trade exchange.

The two officials concluded that it is necessary to connect investors
and initiate joint projects in various fields, such as science,
medicine, and especially the economy.

Vucic and Nalbandian agreed that relations between the two countries
are traditionally good and that the peoples of Serbia and Armenia
respect each other because of similar traditions and cultures reports
the Government.

UN RIGHTS OFFICE CONDEMNS DESTRUCTION OF SYRIAN HOLY SITES AS ISIL TERROR CONTINUES

UN News Centre
Oct 3 2014

3 October 2014 – The United Nations human rights office today expressed
concern about the continuing wave of destruction unleashed by the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) amid reports that the
terrorist group has targeted and destroyed a number of religious
buildings in areas under its control.

According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR), ISIL militants destroyed an important Armenian church in the
Syrian city of Deir Al-Zor in mid-September as part of an ongoing
campaign of violence and terror which has seen the group also blow
up mosques, shrines and damage churches in northern Iraq.

“We condemn the destruction of the church and of other religious
institutions,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told a news briefing
in Geneva.

“We stress that religious personnel and buildings dedicated to religion
enjoy specific protection under international humanitarian law and
must be respected and protected by all parties.”

Mr. Colville also highlighted his agency’s concern about the safety of
three clergymen suspected to have been captured by the militant group.

Both the Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo,
Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, were abducted in Aleppo in April
2013 while Paolo Dall’Oglio, a Catholic priest, went missing in Ar
Raqqah city in January. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

In a report jointly produced by OHCHR and the UN Assistance Mission for
Iraq (UNAMI) and released yesterday, the UN describes a host of serious
violations of international humanitarian law and gross abuses of human
rights perpetrated by ISIL and associated armed groups, including
“attacks directly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure,
executions and other targeted killings of civilians, abductions, rape
and other forms of sexual and physical violence perpetrated against
women and children, forced recruitment of children, destruction
or desecration of places of religious or cultural significance,
wanton destruction and looting of property, and denial of fundamental
freedoms.”

At today’s briefing, Mr. Colville pointed out that ISIL’s
indiscriminate violence – targeting members of numerous religious
sects including Muslims from other Muslim sects – was a product of
the Takfiri belief system adopted by some extremely radical religious
groups. In applying the Takfir, groups such as ISIL and Nigeria’s
Boko Haram automatically assume the authority to declare anybody to
be kafir, or apostate. The spokesperson added that such a doctrine
clarified why ISIL militants, in addition to persecuting non-Muslim
groups, were also committing atrocities against fellow Muslims and
destroying mosques and shrines – a tactic, he said, which the militants
used simply to increase their power through fear and intimidation.

The concept of Takfir was originally brought to the fore by UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who, Mr.

Colville said, is working to draw attention to this “very explicit
belief that was not subscribed to by the vast majority of Muslims.”

At the same time, yesterday’s OHCHR paper also cites a number of
violations committed by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and associated
forces battling ISIL.

Mr. Colville similarly explained that both Government and
anti-Government armed groups in Syria were perpetrating the
destruction of the country’s holy sites as well as numerous heritage
and archaeological sites.

“Anti-Government groups’ attacks on religious personnel and buildings
have also increased this year,” he noted, adding that Government
forces also shared responsibility for the increased destruction as
they “they continue to place military objectives around cultural
sites and turn them into military bases.”

ARMENIA V SERBIA BACKGROUND

UEFA.com
Oct 3 2014

Published: Monday 2 June 2014, 19.00CET Armenia take on Serbia
in their opening UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group I fixture, still
looking for a first international goal against their opponents in
their fourth encounter.

A first senior international goal against their opponents would be a
start for Armenia as they take on Serbia in their opening UEFA EURO
2016 qualifying Group I fixture.

Match background â~@¢ Armenia’s record in three matches against Serbia
is W0 D1 L2 (W0 D1 L1 at home, W0 D0 L1 in Serbia).

â~@¢ The sides’ only competitive meetings to date came in UEFA EURO
2008 qualifying. Javier Clemente’s Serbia beat Ian Porterfield’s
Armenia 3-0 in Belgrade on 11 October 2006, Dejan StankoviÄ~G (53p),
Danko LazoviÄ~G (61) and Nikola ŽigiÄ~G (90+2) on target, the latter
after Rafael Nazaryan was sent off for a second bookable offence
(76). With Vardan Minasyan in charge, Armenia drew the return fixture
0-0 in Yerevan on 13 October 2007.

â~@¢ More recently, Zdravko KuzmanoviÄ~G (15) and Branislav IvanoviÄ~G
(30) scored aganst Minasyan’s Armenia in a 2-0 friendly win in
Yerevan for Serbia, led by caretaker coach Radovan Ä~FurÄ~MiÄ~G on
28 February 2012.

â~@¢ Armenian and Serbian club sides have met in four UEFA club
competition matches, with the Serbian sides having the better of them
– W2 D2 L0 (W1 D1 L0 at home, W1 D1 L0 in Armenia). Most recently,
FK Partizan eliminated FC Shirak on away goals in the 2013/14 UEFA
Champions League second qualifying round after two draws – 1-1 in
Gyumri, 0-0 in Belgrade.

â~@¢ In the 14 games between Armenian and Serbian sides recorded on the
UEFA database – including club games, youth games, and senior national
team matches – a Armenian side has yet to record a victory (D4 L10).

PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
E-mail: [email protected]

DR. ARA DOSTOURIAN TO LECTURE ON ARMENIA AND THE CRUSADES AT NAASR

Dr. Ara Dostourian will give a lecture entitled “Armenia and the
Crusades: the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa,” on Thursday, October
16, 2014, at 7:30 p.m., at the National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR) Center, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA
02478. The lecture is co-sponsored by NAASR and the Mashtots Chair in
Armenian Studies at Harvard University, and the Mashtots Professor of
Armenian Studies, Dr. James R. Russell, will offer introductory
remarks.
The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa has long been recognized as an
invaluable source of information concerning the dramatic events taking
place in the Near East between the years 952 and 1162 A.D. Byzantine
emperors, Crusader knights, Arab potentates, and Turkish invaders
march across the pages of this eyewitness account.
Dr. Ara Dostourian translated this crucial primary source into
English for the first time for his doctoral work at Rutgers
University. It was published in 1993 as Armenia and the Crusades: The
Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa by NAASR and the University Press of
America; NAASR’s Armenian Heritage Press has just issued the second,
revised edition in paperback, incorporating corrections by the
translator as well as additions to the notes and bibliography.
Dr. Ara Edmond Dostourian is professor emeritus of history at the
University of West Georgia and a former research fellow in Armenian
Studies at Harvard University. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in
history and language from the City University of New York, a Master of
Arts in medieval history from Fordham University, and a Master of
Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA,
and a Doctorate in Byzantine history from Rutgers University.

For more information about Dr. Dostourian’s lecture contact NAASR at
617-489-1610 [email protected]. Belmont, MA
October 3, 2014

PRESS RELEASE
Policy Forum Armenia
1250 I (Eye) Street N.W., Suite 710,
Washington, DC, 20005
Email: [email protected]

View this email in your browser ()

October 1, 2014

PFA’s New Report Lays out a Roadmap for Armenia’s Relations with the
West and a New Vision for the Caucasus

Policy Forum Armenia (PFA)-a Washington-based international think
tank-announces today the publication of its State of the Nation Report
on `Armenia and the West: A New Vision for the Caucasus ‘, an earlier
version of which was presented as a background paper during a
high-level workshop at the Atlantic Council in Washington on July 2,
2014.
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()

The report is intended for policymakers with interest in strengthening
Armenia and its ties with the West. It offers some out-of-the-box
thinking that challenges prevailing views about Western involvement in
Armenia and the Caucasus. The report essentially sets aside a critical
handicapping factor-Armenia’s leadership and governance-and lays out a
vision for the country’s role in the region under a leadership that
would enjoy widespread support among its people; understand and stay
current with global trends; and maintain a reasonable degree of
independence from foreign interference. The report states that, if
implemented in practical terms, a leadership change of this nature
will unleash Armenia’s developmental potential and effectively lead to
the proposed foreign policy reorientation.

The report notes that, while Armenia owns its current problems, the
West has lost a valuable opportunity to steer Armenia toward more
democracy and better governance. However, recent developments in the
wider region bring new opportunities for the West to forge stronger
ties with Armenia. Yet, as argued in the report, this cannot be done
with the current ruling regime, which has squandered the country’s
economic and geopolitical potential and brought Armenia close to a
point of no-return.

The report provides a thorough review of Armenia’s bilateral relations
with all its neighbors and Russia. While it recognizes the gravity of
the current status quo that relies heavily on Russia’s meddling in
Armenia’s domestic and foreign policy choices, it proposes a way
out. The report notes that the Russia’s control of Armenia is working
against the long-run interests of both countries. This state of
affairs is not sustainable. The challenge is to convince Russia to
step back and allow Armenia to build bridges with other
countries/blocks, as dictated by its own strategic interests, while
still maintaining an exclusive relationship with Russia.

In his remarks, Armenia’s first Ambassador to the United States,
Rouben Shougarian noted that: “The report that followed the
multifaceted discussion at the Atlantic Council is both a gratifying
result of a comprehensive insight into Armenia’s foreign and security
policy and a creative after-thought to the discussion itself. It is
also a rare attempt to put Armenia’s future into strategic
perspective, which helps it to graduate beyond one-dimensional
dependence on Russia and opens the door for alternative political
thinking. Foreign policy problems and challenges are rightfully linked
to better governance and democracy building.”

While analyzing the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, the report lays
out three possible scenarios. The most attractive scenario for
Armenia=80’one that requires strengthening the country’s economy and
defense capabilities to retain control over Nagorno-Karabakh-is one
that would also bring stability to the region and allow the creation
of a Transcaucasian economic market for the benefit of all players. In
terms of Armenia’s attractiveness for the West, the report lays out a
vision in which Armenia plays a role of a key corridor for
de-blockading Iran, when the Western sanctions are lifted; acts as a
reliable partner for Georgia in an otherwise very volatile region; and
presents itself as a potential buffer against Turkey’s neo-Ottoman
aspirations in the region.

`I have been following the activities of Policy Forum Armenia for some
time, and find the work of this small but outstanding group of
professionals truly impressive. PFA’s ability to think outside the
established norms and clichés, its perseverance and its well
researched and thorough reports on difficult and hard-hitting subjects
have always met the highest professional standards. Their latest
report on Armenia and the West is no exception. One may or may not
agree with all its conclusions, but the report stands as one of the
most thoughtful and possibly consequential works on the subject of
Armenia’s foreign relations.’ said Vahan Zanoyan, author and retired
Chairman of PFC Energy International, a global energy advising firm.

###

Policy Forum Armenia is an independent non-profit association
dedicated to strengthening discourse on Armenia’s economic development
and national security and through such efforts helping to shape public
policy in Armenia.

===========================================================
Copyright © 2014 Policy Forum Armenia, All rights reserved.

ACNIS DIRECTOR: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SYSTEM IS THE ONLY MECHANISM IMPEDING RETENTION OF POWER IN ARMENIA

by David Stepanyan

Friday, October 3, 10:32

Constitutional reform is a necessity for the Republican Party of
Armenia that seeks to retain power, Director of the Armenian Center
for National and International Studies Manvel Sargsyan told ArmInfo.

“The problem is that it has become very hard today to mislead the
society and other unions to win the upcoming presidential election.

For instance, in Azerbaijan Aliyev found an easy way to retain power
i.e. he just reformed the Constitution and was ‘elected’ for a third
term. He will be elected for a fourth term as well. In Armenia they
cannot do that. If they could, they would do it, for sure. There
is certain limit of lie and persuasion for every society. In the
authoritarian Azerbaijan, they will tell the people: ‘Armenians will
exterminate you, if Armenia leaves, and there will be no Azerbaijan.’
And 90% of the people will believe in that,” he said.

In Armenia such scenario is impossible, the expert said, not because
Armenians are more clever, but because no influential persons have been
left in Armenia and the country is governed by the criminal-oligarchic,
not authoritarian system. Hence, lies in Armenia must be more
elegant. “They have told everyone not so long ago that if anyone wants
to get anything, he must apply to the ‘kiosk’ in Melik Adamyan Street
[where RPA Office is located – editor’s note]. In Armenia there is one
‘kiosk.’ Some people enter it, others not, there are also people who
are not allowed there. In other words, RPA has settled all the issues
connected with retention of power, except the one – the president’s
post. The entire question pivots upon one man, Serzh Sargsyan, who
cannot run for a third term in 2018 unlike Aliyev,” the analyst said.

In this light, the Republicans just need to reform the Basic Law
and Sargsyan will de-facto remain on his post for three years and
then for another 10 years. “If there is no presidential election,
no Kocharyans will emerge. This will close the 23-year cycle of the
games based on the presidential election system. This very system was
the only mechanism impeding retention of power in Armenia. If it is
removed, everything will remain on its place,” ACNIS Director said.

THREE FAMILIES’ REALIZED DREAM DUE TO VIVACELL-MTS & FULLER CENTER FOR HOUSING ARMENIA PARTNERSHIP

by Erik Abrahamyan

Thursday, October 2, 22:05

At the beginning of the year a project started through VivaCell-MTS &
Fuller Center for Housing Armenia partnership aimed at assisting 25
families from borderland villages of Armenia. VivaCell-MTS General
Manager Ralph Yirikian and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia team
visited Yervandashat village to share with three families their
long-waited happiness.

Three more families from the borderland village of Yervandashat meet
autumn happily and proudly without fear that it will leak from the
roof during rainy weather or there will be necessity of burning fire
for having hot water. The damp walls, the moldy ceiling and the wind
time whistling windows are already in the past.

“A few months ago there wasn’t even hope that the summer would be so
productive and the cherished dream of mine, my family and my fellow
villagers would come true. I’m very thankful to the project that helps
not only build homes but also lives, not only walls but also hope,
not only roof but also belief in the future,” shared Varuzhan Avagyan,
whose family has been living with his parents and brother’s extended
family for many years without basic necessities.

At five-month period six houses were renovated and two half-constructed
houses built in the village of Yervanadashat through this project.

“Entering new home is symbolizing the birth of a new beginning in the
family life – renewed hopes, new aspirations, new plans, weaved with
love and from love, leaving all misfortunes, frustrations in the past.

It’s becoming especially important in the borderland. By renewing the
hopes of our compatriots living on the very edge, we all put vital
strength into them, make them feel stronger, and by that we restate our
declared mission and national objective out loud – our fathers lived
in this country, we live in this country, and afterwards, our children
will be living in this country, our common descent home Armenia. Every
stone that we put on the stone, adds to the vital powers of our souls,
our joint national spirit. We will stand firm on this sacred soil,
forever, we must, and this is our message to everyone in the country
and outside it”, noted VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

“Our partnership with VivaCell-MTS is very productive and now we are
the eyewitnesses of the results. By the end of the year 25 families
from four borderland villages of Armenia will live in their decent
homes. The project helps our compatriots living on the border feel
that they are not alone on the border, that even the walls of the home
help be stronger and it is safe when the walls of that home are solid,”
said Ashot Yeghiazaryan, Fuller Center for Housing Armenia President.

To remind, VivaCell-MTS has invested 55 million AMD for the housing
project in the borderland villages of Armenia and Fuller Center for
Housing Armenia has undertaken the implementation of the project.

VivaCell-MTS (K-Telecom CJSC) is Armenia’s leading telecommunications
operator, having the widest 2G/3.75G/4G network reach and spreading
a wide range of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having
the best of the Armenian people interest at heart since its launch on
1st July 2005 and in a short period of time VivaCell-MTS has managed
to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base.

VivaCell-MTS drives innovation and aims at always being at
the forefront of any development serving the Armenian mobile
communications market. The company follows the guidance provided by
ISO 26000 (International Standard of Social Responsibility). For more
information, visit Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS”) is the
leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, offering
mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and
entertainment services in one of the world’s fastest growing regions.

Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 100 million
mobile subscribers. The Group has been awarded GSM licenses in
Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus, a region that
boasts a total population of more than 200 million. Since June 2000,
MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can
be found at Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a
non-governmental, charitable organization that supports community
development in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh by assisting in
building and renovating simple, decent and affordable homes, as well
as advocating the right to a decent shelter as a matter of conscience
and action. FCHA provides long-term, interest-free loans to low-income
families. The monthly repayments flow into a Revolving Fund, which is
used to help more families, thereby providing a financial foundation
for sustainable community development.

Since 2008 the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia has assisted 350
families.

For more information, please visit or
email us at [email protected]

ANALYST: REFORMATION OF THE ARMENIAN CONSTITUTION AIMS TO LEGALIZE THE POLITICAL GROUPS’ CRIMES

by David Stepanyan

Friday, October 3, 10:33

Given that one cannot assess the domestic political situation in
Armenia with civilized categories, this process should be considered
exclusively from the viewpoint of public interests, Manvel Sargsyan,
Head of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS), told ArmInfo.

“There are various groups in Armenia, which have managed to register
themselves as political parties and assumed the relevant rights.

Armenia has a Law “On parties”, which clearly determines the
activities of the parties. Consequently, any activity of any group,
which runs counter to the given law, actually leaves that group outside
the law. In developed countries, unlike Armenia, such “parties” are
closed because they only pursue their own interests which initially
run counter to the public interests”, he said.

Sargsyan thinks that group No.1 is the Republican Party of Armenia,
which positions itself as a party. It has usurped the state governance
bodies. The RPA regularly does it by means of various shadow
mechanisms, under the guise of elections, etc. The other parties
accept this situation and build their relations with this group in
order to satisfy their own interests and to join the usurpers. The
analyst stressed that all these groups perfectly realize that what
they are doing is a state large-scale crime but they deny this fact.

So, the lie of the party functionaries is the only mechanism to uphold
the interests of these groups.

“In this situation these groups are trying to replace the lie with
something legal by showing elections and Constitution to the people.

The truth is that laws have never worked in Armenia. Armenia has
always lacked justice. If there were any justice, it would immediately
send all those “politicians” to the dustbin. All these crimes should
visually be presented as laws. This is how one can explain the games
around reformation of the Constitution”, said Sargsyan.