Author: Kalantarian Kevo

EU-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group: Fate of helicopter crew
remains unknown because of fire shots by Azerbaijan

12:32 15/11/2014 >> POLITICS

Member of the European Parliament and head of the EU-Armenia
Parliamentary Friendship Group, Eleni Theocharous, has issued a
statement condemning Azerbaijan’s violent actions in downing an
unarmed Artsakh helicopter. The statement calls on the EU to form an
ad hoc commission to examine what happened on the ground, Asbarez
reports.

“With this statement, I feel the obligation to condemn a provocative
action taken by the Azerbaijani Military Forces, on November 12, 2014,
against innocent people who have probably lost their lives,”
Theocharous says in her statement.

According to her, in fact, the Azerbaijani Military Forces shot down
an unarmed helicopter of the Nagorno Karabakh (NKR) Defense Army while
it was on a training flight.

“The fate of the crew members remains unknown because of Azerbaijan’s
continued shootings and therefore the rescue operation seems to be
very complicated. This incident is the most serious one since the
cease fire agreement signed in 1994 by Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh
Republic and Armenia,” said head of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary
Friendship Group. She also noted that she had already sent a letter to
the President of the European Commission Jan Claude Junkcer and to
other Commissioners in which she highlighted the facts of the
incident.

“The EU should condemn this action and support the efforts for the
solution of the problem on the basis of the right of
self-determination,” the statement reads.

As NKR Defense Ministry press service reported earlier, on November
12, at around 1:45 pm, Nagorno Karabakh Air Forces’ Mi-24 helicopter
was shot by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during military training
flight in the airspace in the eastern section of Karabakh – Azerbaijan
Line of Contact. The land, on which the incident occurred, is in close
proximity to the line of contact. Opponent after the incident
continued intense bombardment scene from weapons of different caliber.
The place where the helicopter was shot is close to the Line of
Contact. The enemy continued to fire shots from weapons of different
calibers after the incident.

Meanwhile, the press secretary of Armenian Defense Minister Artsrun
Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page that Azerbaijani Armed Forces
have carried out an unprecedented provocation on the border with the
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh; this has also led to escalation of the
situation. In the same time the fabrications of the Azerbaijani side,
as if the Armenian helicopters had attacked their positions and they
allegedly had merely responded to this step, are senseless. “The study
of the wreckage of the helicopter will confirm that he was not armed.
The escalation of the Azerbaijani side has continued even after the
helicopter fall down. Moreover, the Azerbaijani side continued
shelling, not allowing even to get closer to the pilots. The
consequences of this unprecedented escalation will be very harmful for
the Azerbaijani side and will remain as a stain on the conscience of
the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan. Captain of the
helicopter was Major Sergei Sahakyan. Information about the fate of
the crew will be given later,” Artsrun Hovhannisyan stated.

Source: Panorama.am

Armenian and Karabakh Presidents visit military divisions of Defense Army

17:50, 15 November, 2014

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. On 15 November Artsakh Republic
President Bako Sahakyan and President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan visited several military divisions of the Defense Army
located in the central and eastern parts of the republic.

The Central Information Department of the Office of the President of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic informed “Armenpress” that the
Presidents also took part at the opening ceremonies of new objects in
a set of military units, watched battalion tactical exercises in army
posts and military drills.

President Sahakyan considered the continuous modernization of the
technical equipment and raising the combat readiness of the servicemen
pivotal directions of army building, adding that those processes
highly contributed to maintenance of peace and stability in our
region.

On the same day the Presidents of the two Armenian republics partook
in the ceremony of opening a new angiography department upgraded with
modern equipments in the Republican Medical Center of capital
Stepanakert. President Sahakyan noted that consistent development of
the health care sphere was and would always be in the spotlight of the
state authorities.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN’S WORKING VISIT TO NKR CONTINUES

14.11.2014
more 51 photos

On the third day of his working visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, the RA President and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the
RA Armed Forces, Serzh Sargsyan, in company of NKR President Bako
Sahakyan, observed the RA and NKR armed forces’ “Unity-2014” joint
operative-tactical military exercises at the Tigranakert Military
Training Center. A tank biathlon competition was demonstrated during
which the best participant in shooting and other categories were
determined. The Presidents of the two Armenian republics observed the
live-fire firing phase from the observation-tower of the same military
training center followed by an award giving ceremony dedicated to the
servicemen actively involved in the military exercise and military
service. Serzh Sargsyan congratulated the participants of the military
exercise on demonstrating courage and high fighting abilities in the
imitated battle and the successful implementation of these large-scale
military exercises.

“Honorable generals and officers,

Dear soldiers,

The biggest, the most large-scale and useful military exercises that
have been ever conducted with the cooperation of the NKR Defense Army
and the RA Armed Forces are coming to their end, and despite the
deplorable occurrence, I think that the military exercises have
succeeded. Of course, corresponding experts and executives are yet to
sum up, analyze and draw conclusions about them but we are happy for
what we saw in the imitated battle. You demonstrated high fighting
abilities, will and devotion to the Motherland. Well done, thank you.

Throughout these days, not only your proud parents, but also the
entire population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the Republic of
Armenia have focused their attention on you, because your are our hope
and belief, our sword and shield, and as you know, the shield is
stronger and the sword is sharper when they are used for just
purposes. You serve the ends of justice

Thank you.

Of course, you have been followed by foreigners and, first of all, the
ones who consider us their enemies, who use indiscriminate methods and
are able to chop a sleeper, who are able to destroy a non-dangerous
helicopter that has got into a difficult situation. It is their
business. You do your work well. We all remember everything, and the
day of retribution will come. Your task is very clear: continue in the
same spirit. I have said numerous times and I am reiterating that the
war instigated by the Republic of Azerbaijan at the beginning of the
90s was also the result of underestimation, and if, God forbid, they
instigate war once again, we too will be guilty of giving them the
chance to underestimate us.

Respectable officers,

Dear soldiers,

Your behavior demonstrated in the imitated battle and the contact
line, as well as your fighting trim deserves not underestimation, but
appreciation. Your mastery already makes very many Azeri simpletons
change their opinion about war. They thought that fighting against
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia was a short and pleasant hobby, something
like a flash mob – to assemble, perform an act, be photographed and
disperse. No, there will be no flash mob and pleasant walk. I am
confident that war will not occur either, because you are strong and
are standing here.

Dear soldiers,

Remember, there has been written a lot on papers, including rights of
humans and nations, but those rights need to be protected, and you are
the guarantors of those rights. A lot of peoples of the world truly
take pride in their armies, but you are responsible for our life and
the security of our people. We believe in you and resting on that
belief, we will do everything to reach a fair solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ensure Armenia’s and Artsakh’s security.

We are grateful to you. You are our sons, we secure your rear and you
are our defenders. Remember it. I wish all of you success. Military
exercises are not the end, but the beginning of your fighting trim,
diligence, sufferings, because both war and military exercises are
emergency situations. And an emergency situation requires emergency
actions that are full of difficulties and sufferings. But remember:
there is not holier thing than serving the Motherland’s security. You
do it very well.

I would like to thank you on behalf of our people.

I wish you good service,” said the RA President and the Supreme
Commander-in-Chief of the RA Armed Forces, Serzh Sargsyan, in his
speech to the participants of the military exercise.

Later on, a military parade took place at the Tigranakert Military
Training Center.
Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Bako Sahakyan today also attended the
opening of a newly-built military hospital in Martakert town.

800 ceasefire violations by Azeris reported Nov 9-15

November 15, 2014 – 14:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – About 800 ceasefire violations by Azeri side were
reported at the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijani armed forces from Nov 9-15.

Azerbaijan fired over 7000 shots from various caliber weapons towards
the positions of Karabakh defense army.

Mi-24 helicopter of the Nagorno Karabakh army was shot during a
training flight as result of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani
armed forces on Wednesday, Nov 12, at about 1pm local time. According
to the NKR Defense Ministry, the attack took place not far from the
line of contact.

The State Commission on prisoners of war, hostages and the missing
persons of the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic appealed Thursday,
to the International Committee of Red Cross mission in the NKR with
regards to the fate of the crewmembers, one of whom could possibly
survive the crash.

The Azerbaijani side doesn’t stop firing at the crash site preventing
any investigation and search for the bodies.

Russian RT news channel editor-in-chief accuses UK media regulator of
censorship

World
November 11, 14:26 UTC+3
“Just as we have launched our TV channel in Britain, they are threatening
to revoke our license upon biased accusations,” says Margarita Simonyan

Margarita Simonyan

(c) ITAR-TASS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said on
Tuesday accusations by a British media regulator Ofcom of the Russian
channel’s biased coverage of Ukraine amount to censorship.

“Just as we have launched our TV channel in Britain, they are threatening
to revoke our license upon biased accusations. Democracy as it is,”
Simonyan wrote on her Twitter microblog on Tuesday.

“They believe our coverage of Ukraine was biased. We have found a ton of
examples of the BBC bias on Ukraine and called Ofcom,” she wrote, adding
that the only answer was that the regulator does not oversee the BBC.

(c) EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

CNN International withdraws from Russia

RT claims in particular refer to the BBC’s coverage of Ukraine in the first
week of March.

Simonyan said Ofcom has not even concealed that it is pressuring the
Russian TV channel to change its editorial policy. “We will not change our
editorial policy, despite the pressure,” she said, adding that RT is the
only source of alternative information for the British audience.

The UK communications authority published a bulletin on Monday saying that
RT wants “to present the news from a Russian perspective” but all news must
be presented with “due impartiality … in particular, when reporting on
matters of major political controversy.”

In late October, RT launched a news channel dedicated for the audience in
the United Kingdom in an effort to “challenge dominant power structures in
Britain by broadcasting live and original programming with a progressive UK
focus.”

Launched in December 2005, RT’s network now consists of three global news
channels broadcasting in English, Spanish and Arabic. RT UK’s sister
channel, RT America, airs from a studio based in Washington, DC.

Significant Increase in Doctoral Candidates in Armenia, But Not Degrees

11.10.2014 12:44 epress.am

In Armenia, year after year, the number of individuals applying for
doctoral candidacy is rising. Since 2004, there has been a yearly flow
of 400 or more doctoral candidates, while in 2013, there was a record
number of 564. That is a 2.5 increase from the year 2000. The number
of individuals defending and receiving doctoral degrees is
approximately around 50 and has not seriously risen.

Candidates and Doctorates Dissertation Defenses

Analysis shows that the majority of the candidate degrees are obtained
every year in the field of economics. Just in 2013, 104 individuals
became doctoral candidates in economics, which is 1/5th of the overall
candidates of all Sciences. In previous years, the number of
candidates would often pass 100, or border it. In 2013, Yerevan mayor,
Taron Margaryan, also received a candidacy in economics for his
dissertation “The main issues of Yerevan’s socio-economic
development.” Margaryan’s dissertation defense became scandalous due
to the restriction of entering the normally public defense and because
the university’s Republican Party youth members violated the
professional work of journalist wanting to cover the story.

Other than economics, many candidates enter majors like Engineering
(2013 – 94 candidates) and Philology (2013 – 64 candidates). Despite
the overall growth, in some fields, on the contrary, a decrease has
been registered. Specifically, in 1994 there were 5 canditates in
Philosophy, while in 2013 there was only 1.

In contrast to candidates, the number of doctorates had sharply risen
only until 1996, reaching 58 from 31 of 1994. Since then, the number
of those receiving degrees has decreased. In particular, only 46
doctoral degrees were obtained in 2013.

The number of doctoral candidates in the engineering, physics and
mathematics, and medical sciences are comparably stable and high. In
2013, of the 52 degrees obtained, 12 were from engineering majors, 6
from Physics and Mathematics, and 5 from Medical. Whereas in 2013,
among the 104 Economics candidates, only 4 obtained a doctoral degree,
while in Philology among the 64 candidates only 1 received a degree.

The analyzed information was taken from Higher Attestation
Commission’s official website

FRANCE-BOURG-LES-VALENCE
A Bourg-Lès-Valence, S.E. Viguén Tchitétchian félicite la Maire
Marlène Mourier qui a signé une Charte d’Amitié avec Chouchi (Haut
Karabagh)

L’Ambassadeur d’Arménie en France, S.E. Viguén Tchitétchian était venu
vendredi 14 novembre à Bourg-Lès-Valence (Drôme) afin de féliciter la
Maire, Marlène Mourier pour l’engagement de sa ville aux côtés de
l’Arménie et du Haut Karabagh. Le 4 octobre dernier, profitant d’un
passage en Arménie et notamment la ville de Taline avec laquelle
Bourg-Lès-Valence est jumelée, Marlène Mourier s’était rendue à
Chouchi (Haut Karabagh) pour y signer la Charte d’Amitié entre
Bourg-Lès-Valence et Chouchi. Ainsi Bourg-Lès-Valence est devenue la
troisième ville française à signer une Charte d’Amitié avec une ville
du Haut Karabagh. A Stepanakert, Marlène Mourier avait été reçue par
le ministère des Affaires étrangères de la République du Haut
Karabagh, Karen Mirzoyan qui avait félicité l’élue française pour son
initiative et son désir d’établir des liens direct entre la ville
française et le Haut Karabagh. . Marlène Mourier a profité de cette entrevue
pour présenter quelques données sur la communauté arménienne de sa
ville et de son engagement auprès de cette communauté arménienne

MEP Eleni Theocharous condemns the Azerbaijani provocative action

The EU should organise an ad hoc mission to examine what happened on
the ground

With this statement, I feel the obligation to condemn a provocative
action taken by the Azerbaijani Military Forces, on November 12 2014,
against innocent people who have probably lost their lives. In fact,
the Azerbaijani Military Forces shot down an unarmed helicopter of the
Nagorno – Karabakh (NKR) Defense Army while it was on a training
flight. The fate of the crew members remains unknown because of
Azerbaijan’s continued shootings and therefore the rescue operation
seems to be very complicated. This incident is the most serious one
since the cease fire agreement signed in 1994 by Azerbaijan, Nagorno
Karabakh Republic and Armenia.

I have already sent a letter to the President of the European
Commission Jan Claude Junkcer and to other Commissioners in which I
highlighted the facts of the incident. Furthermore, I proposed that
the EU should organise an ad hoc mission to examine on the ground what
really happened. What is evident, for the time being, is that the
government of Azerbaijan has violated the cease-fire and three
innocent people have rather lost their lives.

The EU should condemn this action and support the efforts for the
solution of the problem [conflict of Nagorno Karabakh] on the basis of
the right of self-determination (article 1 paragraph 2 of the UN
Charter).

—

Brussels, 13.11.2014

ATTN:
Jean-Claude JUNCKER
President of the European Commission

Your Excellency,

I am sending this letter to you in order to raise an issue in which
the EU has a strong role to play as a stabilising factor of

On November 12, 2014, the Azeri Military Forces shot down an unarmed
helicopter of the Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) Defence Army. The helicopter
was on a training flight as part of the announced military drills on

This incident is the most serious one since the Cease-Fire Agreement
signed in 1994 between Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and
Armenia. Azerbaijan has caused a major outbreak of hostilities this
summer, but

Your Excellency, I have read the statement issued by the EU on
November 12, 2014 about the incident mentioned above and I consider
that we can do something more. I propose to organise an ad hoc mission
to examine on the ground what really happened. What is evident is that
the

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Eleni THEOCHAROUS, MPE

Head of the Cypriot delegation of the EPP Group in the Parliament

Dr. Eleni THEOCHAROUS
Member of the European Parliament

ASP 8E250

Rue Wiertz/Wiertzstraat 60
B-1047 Brussels
tel.: +32 2 28 47 293
fax: +32 2 28 49 293
e-mail: [email protected]
website:

PRESS RELEASE
Institute of Armenian Studies
Salpi Ghazarian, Director
University of Southern California
Taper Hall of Humanities, Suite 252
Los Angeles, California 90089-4015
Tel: 213-821-3943
Email: [email protected]

To learn more about the Through Testimony 2014 International Conference and to RSVP, please visit – See more at:
To learn more about the Through Testimony 2014 International Conference and to RSVP, please visit – See more at:
To learn more about the Through Testimony 2014 International Conference and to RSVP, please visit – See more at:
To learn more about the Through Testimony 2014 International Conference and to RSVP, please visit – See more at:

Monday, November 17, 7:30-9:00 pm

Grand Ballroom at the USC Radisson (3540 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles,
CA 90007)

– See more at:

Monday, November 17, 7:30-9:00 pm

Grand Ballroom at the USC Radisson (3540 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles,
CA 90007)

– See more at:

Carla Garapedian, Keynote Panelist at “Never Again” Now:
Reconciliation, Education, and Preventing Genocide

Monday, November 17, 7:30-9:00 pm

Grand Ballroom at the USC Radisson (3540 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007)

USC Shoah Foundation and its Center for Advanced Genocide Research
present an evening panel discussion as a part of the Through Testimony
2014 International Conference, “Memory, Media, and Technology:
Exploring the Trajectories of Schindler’s List.”

This event is free and open to public. Refreshments will be served.

To learn more about the Through Testimony 2014 International
Conference and to RSVP, please visit

AZERBAIJANI DEFENCE MINISTER MEETS TURKISH GENDARMERIE GENERAL COMMAND

The Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency
Nov 14 2014

14.11.2014 [17:53]

Baku, November 14 AzerTAc

Azerbaijani Defence Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov has
met Turkish Gendarmerie General Command (JGK) Commander General
Abdullah Atay.

Mr. Hasanov highlighted developing cooperation between Azerbaijan
and Turkey in military sphere, adding these ties base on strategic
partnership and fraternal bonds.

The Minister touched upon the military-political situation in the
region, adding Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the
main threat to the regional stability, stressed the importance of
solving the problem within the norms and principles of international
law.

Abdullah Atay, in turn, said Turkey was important partner of
Azerbaijan, adding that the ties of both states have historical,
common roots, fraternal relations.

Turkey’s military attache in Azerbaijan, Major-General Hasan Nevzat
Tashdeler was also present at the meeting.