Author: Kalantarian Kevo

AZERI REBELS IN SYRIA POSE “POTENTIAL THREAT” – EXPERTS

Ekho, ( in Russian), Azerbaijan
Jan 10 2014

Baku-based pundits have slammed Azerbaijani nationals fighting the
al-Asad forces in Syria and described them as “potential threat”
for the state.

“If 100 Azerbaijani nationals were killed in a foreign country,
calling their fight as jihad, and intend to turn their country into
a religious state, there is a potential threat that such individuals
may become terrorists in Azerbaijan,” security expert Ilham Ismayil
told opposition Azadliq paper.

“The passage of these citizens to Syria via Turkey was not controlled
previously, but now, some steps have been taken in this connection,”
he added.

In an interview with ANN news website, the leader of the Karabakh
Liberation Organization, Akif Nagi, described the Azerbaijani jihadists
as “mentally troubled and patriotic”, adding that “they are the people
of war who want to fight although there are no suitable conditions
for them here”.

He mentioned Azerbaijani jihadist Rustam Asgarov, who was recently
killed in Syria, and said that before his death, Rustam called his
father from Turkey and asked him “if there are signs of going to war
in Karabakh in Azerbaijan, we will return back”. His father said that
there is no such an indication and then he went to Syria, Nagi added.

Azerbaijani theologian Teymur Atayev said that “they may think that
they are fighting jihad in Syria. But the fact is that the Syrian
events are extremely politicized”.

“Nobody knows who is financing Azerbaijanis in Syria and whose weapons
they are using. There is no sign of jihad against al-Asad as Syria
is not the land of Azerbaijanis that must be protected from invaders
and there is no war against Islam in Syria,” he added.

PhD in law Kamil Salimov told Ekho that “the Azerbaijani nationals who
intend to fight in Syria can only be identified thorough intelligence
and operational search activities. There is a need to take pre-emptive
steps, hold talks [with them] to prevent their participation in this
armed conflict.”

In his turn, lawyer Elcin Qambarov said that there is a need to
make some changes to the law of the Azerbaijan Republic on “fighting
terrorism” and add a number of penalties for terrorist activities,
stressing that “stricter legislation will play a positive role in
this sphere”.

BBCM note: Several hundred Azerbaijani nationals are fighting in the
ongoing civil war in Syria with about 100 reportedly killed. The
majority of them are fighting on the side of extremist Sunni
groups against the government of Bashar al-Asad and hail from the
north-western region of Azerbaijan, mainly populated by ethnic
minorities with ties to Russia’s Dagestan.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Elman Abdullayev told APA on 9 January that
“we are trying to determine whether or not the persons reportedly
killed there are Azerbaijani citizens. If those persons are proved
to be Azerbaijani citizens, it should be investigated how they went
to Syria”.

[Translated from Russian]

ARMENIAN PM DEMANDS OFFICIALS FOLLOW PLAN FOR MEMBERSHIP IN CUSTOMS UNION

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 14 2014

14 January 2014 – 2:47pm

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan demanded functionaries follow
strictly the road map to join the Customs Union, ITAR-TASS reports.

Heads of working groups specialized in membership in the Customs Union
read reports about their progress. Ministers and heads of agencies
were ordered to keep the process going according to schedule.

Presidents Vladimir Putin (Russia), Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus),
Nursultan Nazarbayev (Kazakhstan) and Serzh Sargsyan (Armenia) signed
a road map in Moscow on December 24, after a session of the Supreme
Eurasian Economic Council. The document contains steps Armenia needs
to take to join the integration mechanism.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan demanded functionaries follow
strictly the road map to join the Customs Union, ITAR-TASS reports.

Heads of working groups specialized in membership in the Customs Union
read reports about their progress. Ministers and heads of agencies
were ordered to keep the process going according to schedule.

Presidents Vladimir Putin (Russia), Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus),
Nursultan Nazarbayev (Kazakhstan) and Serzh Sargsyan (Armenia) signed
a road map in Moscow on December 24, after a session of the Supreme
Eurasian Economic Council. The document contains steps Armenia needs
to take to join the integration mechanism.

FROM THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE TO KILLARNEY, MANITOBA

Manitoba Co-operator, Canada
Jan 13 2014

by Daniel Winters, in Country Crossroads

For Australians and New Zealanders, April 25, 1915 is Anzac Day.

Almost everyone is familiar with the 1981 film “Gallipoli,” which
starred Mel Gibson as a soldier in the ill-fated attempt by the French
and British to take Constantinople, now Istanbul, via a sea-based
invasion during the early days of the First World War.

But the events of the day before, are much less well known, except
to members of the Armenian disapora, who mark it as the start of the
“Great Crime.”

Historians pinpoint April 24, 1915, as the beginning of the Armenian
genocide. The government of the crumbling Ottoman Empire, which
later became modern-day Turkey, arrested and executed 250 Armenian
intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople – a move
that later sparked the wholesale extermination and expulsion of
the country’s restive Christian minorities, including two million
Armenians.

Enraged by the mass expulsions of Muslim refugees from European
countries in the Balkan wars that started in 1912 as a prelude to
the Great War, Wikipedia states that the “Young Turks” embarked on
a systematic campaign of revenge and property confiscation that led
to the deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians.

Men of military age were killed immediately, while the elderly, women
and small children were marched off into the Syrian desert where most
of them died.

The significance of the recently announced partnership between the
Canadian Museum of Human Rights and the Armenian Genocide Museum
Institute of the National Academy of Sciences may be lost on some,
but not to Dave Garabed, a retired farmer who now lives on the shore
of Killarney Lake.

He and his brother Jack are familiar with some of the details of what
many historians now call the first genocide of the modern era because
their father, Harry, survived it by escaping to Canada.

Harry Garabed, born Garabed Hartounian in 1906, was living in Kayseri,
a small town in what is now northeastern Turkey. When the genocide
started, he was about 10 years old.

“He watched them hang his father, right out in the street,” said Dave.

His mother and six siblings were taken away on a death march that
may have taken them to Egypt – if they survived.

Apparently, the Turkish authorities spared Harry’s life because
they hoped to convert him to Islam. He was taken to an orphanage in
Istanbul, where he was beaten, forcibly circumcised and held under
appalling conditions until he escaped into the countryside.

Dave said that his father, who passed away about 15 years ago, coped
with his traumatic experiences the old-fashioned way.

“If you got a few drinks into Dad, he would tell stories, but he
didn’t talk about it much,” said Dave.

“I remember him telling me a story of how they got cheese that was
all full of maggots, so they found a piece of tin and put it in the
sun to cook the maggots out,” said Dave.

After about six years, some of it spent in the orphanage and on the
run, he was rescued by the Salvation Army and brought first to Greece,
then Britain, and then Canada. From Montreal, he was taken by train
to Winnipeg.

An Aug. 8, 1923 story discovered in the archives of the Winnipeg
Evening Tribune, described Harry and two other Armenian boys as
“thickset, strongly built lads” ready for work after partaking in a
two-month Salvation Army farm training course in Britain.

“They took very readily to the work and are at present keen to settle
down,” it added.

Even though his father spoke no English, the local farmers were
happy to have him help out, and his first job was stooking sheaves
at harvest time.

The two other boys headed back east to rejoin the growing Armenian
community there, but Harry stayed with a local family for a few years.

He later bought a seed-cleaning outfit, and then got into trucking
before finally buying a farm in the Ninette area.

He served in the Second World War as a medic and cook, and later
got involved in local politics as a councillor and reeve for the RM
of Riverside.

Dave said that his father was grateful to Canada and the local
community for accepting him as one of their own, but he was especially
careful to remember the Salvation Army’s role in rescuing him.

“He’d never walk past a Salvation Army box without dropping something
in it,” said Dave.

Jack and Dave attended the Armenian genocide partnership announcement
at the CMHR in Winnipeg earlier this fall. As a practical farmer,
he questions the elaborate structure’s $351-million cost, but not
its value for teaching future generations the most important lessons
of history.

“I think it’s worth having a museum, because if we don’t tell our
kids about it, they’re never going to know what happened,” said Dave.

“I think Dad would be proud that Canadians have at least recognized
the genocide.”

JEWISH COMMUNITY TO INSPIRE SHARON’S COMMEMORATION IN ARMENIA ON HOLOCAUST VICTIMS’ DAY

19:33, 14 January, 2014

YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. The Jewish community of Armenia
expressed its condolences to Israel on the occasion of the death of
the former Prime Minister of the country Ariel Sharon. The Head of the
Jewish community in Armenia RimaVarzhapetyan stated in a conversation
with “Armenpress” that they will inspire Ariel Sharon’s commemoration
at the course of the event devoted to the victims of the Holocaust
to be held in Yerevan on February 4.

“The day devoted to the commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust
is January 27, but this year we will hold it on February 4,”
RimaVarzhapetyan said.

Sharon’s funeral was held in on the family farm on January 14. The
former Prime Minister was buried next to his wife Lily’s grave.

Ariel Sharon (Hebrew: שר×~U×~_ ×~Pר×~Y×~P×~ , Arabic:
ﺷïº~NرÙ~HÙ~F أرïº~Kﯿï”~^, AriʼĔl SharÅ~Mn, also known
by his diminutive Arik, אַר×~Yק, born Ariel Scheinermann,
ש×~Y×~Yנר×~^×~_ ×~Pר×~Y×~P×~; February 26, 1928 – January 11,
2014) was an Israeli politician and general, who served as the 11th
Prime Minister of Israel until he was incapacitated by a stroke.

Sharon was a commander in the Israeli Army from its creation in 1948.

As a paratrooper and then an officer, he participated prominently
in the 1948 War of Independence, becoming a platoon commander in
the Alexandroni Brigade and taking part in many battles, including
Operation Ben Nun Alef. He was an instrumental figure in the creation
of Unit 101, and the Retribution operations, as well as in the 1956
Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition, and the
Yom-Kippur War of 1973. As Minister of Defense, he directed the 1982
Lebanon War.

Sharon was considered the greatest field commander in Israel’s
history, and one of the country’s greatest military strategists.]
After his assault of the Sinai in the Six-Day War and his encirclement
of the Egyptian Third Army in the Yom Kippur War, the Israeli public
nicknamed him “The King of Israel,” and “The Lion of God”, a pun on
his given name.

Upon retirement, Sharon entered politics, joining the Likud, and
served in a number of ministerial posts in Likud-led governments
from 1977-92 and 1996-99. He became the leader of the Likud in 2000,
and served as Israel’s prime minister from 2001 to 2006. In 1983 the
Kahan Commission, established by the Israeli Government, found that as
Minister of Defense during the 1982 Lebanon War Sharon bore “personal
responsibility” “for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge”
in the massacre by Lebanese militias of Palestinian civilians in the
refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. The Kahan Commission recommended
Sharon’s removal as Defense Minister, and Sharon did resign after
initially refusing to do so.

>From the 1970s through to the 1990s, Sharon championed construction
of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, as
Prime Minister, in 2004-05 Sharon orchestrated Israel’s unilateral
disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Facing stiff opposition to this
policy within the Likud, in November 2005 he left Likud to form a new
party, Kadima. He had been expected to win the next election and was
widely interpreted as planning on “clearing Israel out of most of the
West Bank”, in a series of unilateral withdrawals. However, Sharon
suffered a stroke on January 4, 2006 and was left in a permanent
vegetative state until his death eight years later, on January 11,
2014.

FAMILY HOPES TO COMMUNICATE WITH ARMENIAN POW ON HIS 23RD BIRTHDAY

01.14.2014 18:09 epress.am

The family of military conscript Hakob Injighulyan, who has been held
captive in Azerbaijan for almost 6 months, last heard news about their
son on Nov. 25. The International Committee of the Red Cross staff
informed the family that they expect to receive news about Hakob at
the end of January (no specific date was mentioned), said Hakob’s
brother, Harutyun, in conversation with Epress.am.

“On the 15th we have to call the Red Cross to set a date to meet
with them. Earlier, they informed us that a meeting with Hakob
is scheduled at the end of January. We have to ask the Red Cross
to allow us to convey a few words, at least through the internet,
if possible at least on Hakob’s 23rd birthday, on Jan. 28, which is
also the Republic of Armenia’s Army Day.

“In general, we hope that the Red Cross at least this year will
relay information to us related to our case, if, of course, it knows
[anything]. In any case, we have high hopes for the Red Cross, but
we don’t know if they’re doing what they can or what they can get,”
said Hakob’s brother. In his opinion, the issue will be resolved more
quickly if it falls under the UN’s jurisdiction – more so than under
the current supervision of the Red Cross.

Recall, according to official reports, at about 3 am on Aug. 8, Hakob
Injighulyan, while carrying out his military service, accidentally
crossed the Line of Contact between Armenia and Azerbaijan and found
himself in territory under the control of Azerbaijani troops.

Negotiations mediated by Armenia’s defense ministry and the
International Committee of the Red Cross are underway to bring the
young man back home.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT CONSIDERING POSSIBILITY TO INCREASE AMOUNT OF WATER FROM LAKE SEVAN

YEREVAN, January 14. / ARKA /. The amount of water pumped out from
Armenia’s largest lake of Sevan for irrigation and other purposes
may be increased only in case of strong need, Adibek Ghazarian, head
of an office in charge of implementation of irrigation and related
programs of the State Committee of Water Resources said today.

“The ceiling of 170 million cubic meters of water, set by the
government is not an end in itself,’ he said.

adding that in some years only 120 million cubic meters of water had
been pumped out a year.

He said the State Committee of Water Resources was considering now the
possibility of increasing the amount up to 240 million cubic meters.

Lake Sevan is one of the largest alpine lakes in Europe and Asia. It
is located in the heart of the Armenian Highland, at an altitude of
1914 meters. The lake is a major drinking water source in the region.

-0-

– See more at:

KOCHARYAN’S MESSAGE AIMS TO DISTRACT PUBLIC ATTENTION – POLITICIAN

15:25 ~U 14.01.14

Second President Robert Kocharyan’s recent interviews, which evoked
a strong reaction by the prime minister, are an attempt to distract
public attention, says a politician.

“What they do is just a paper-based analysis; nothing serious. Tigran
Sargsyan is [President] Serzh Sargsyan’s prime minister. Anyone could
be there instead of him. If Robert Kocharyan has something to say,
he must say it to the president and the [ruling] Republican Party,”
Paryuyr Hayrikyan, the leader of the National Self-Determination Union,
told a news conference on Tuesday.

The politician said the statements Kocharyan made could have been
taken more seriously if he and the incumbent premier appeared in a
televised debate together.

“So that would reflect their intellectual level. As for the questions
which Robert Kocharyan raised, we all know they trace their origins
back to the years of his presidency. And the March 1 [2008 tragic
post-electoral turmoil] is a proof of that,” Hayrikyan added.

Armenian News – Tert.am

OPPOSITION DEPUTIES TO BE PRESENT AT JANUARY 18 RALLY AS “PARTICIPANTS”

Tuesday 14 January 2014 12:31
Photo: PanArmenian Photo

Prosperous Armenia Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Prosperous Armenia Faction Secretary Naira
Zohrabyan denied rumors related to the rally to be held by the 4
not-ruling parliamentary factions on January 18 in order to demand
to stop the entry of mandatory savings element of pension funds
into force.

The idea to participate in the rally belongs to the “I am against the
Mandatory Accumulation Pension System” Initiative, Naira Zohrabyan
told Mediamax.am.

“The deputies of the 4 not-ruling parliamentary factions – PAP,
ARF, ANC and Heritage – will simply take part in the rally. It’s not
right to introduce the rally as jointly organized by the 4 factions”,
the PAP Secretary said.

Naira Zohrabyan, however, didn’t rule out that PAP supporters might
participate in the rally expressing their disagreement with the issue.

The mandatory savings element of pension funds came into force in
Armenia on January 1.

According to it, all employed citizens aged 16 to 40, born in and
after January 1, 1974, will receive mandatory accumulation pension
upon reaching their retirement age by making 5% monthly savings on
their pension account. People receiving salaries up to AMD 500,000
will have to pay additional 5% set by the state. According to the law,
the amount of mandatory savings should make up the 10% of the salary.

ROSNEFT, PIRELLI TYRE RUSSIE ET ROSNEFT-ARMENIE ONT L’INTENTION DE PRODUIRE DU CAOUTCHOUC EN ARMENIE –

ARMENIE

Les representants de Rosneft, Pirelli Tyre Russie et Rosneft-Armenie
ont signe un memorandum d’accord sur la creation d’une joint-venture
pour la production de caoutchouc styrène-butadiène a Erevan.

Le memorandum et un certain nombre d’autres accords ont ete signes
après la reunion du president armenien Serge Sarkissian avec le
president de Rosneft, Igor Setchine.

Selon les rapports precedents, l’Armenie envisage la participation
eventuelle de Rosneft dans un projet de production de caoutchouc dans
l’usine chimique de Nairit a Erevan.

Instruit par le president russe Vladimir Poutine une delegation
speciale est arrivee en Armenie pour evaluer les capacites actuelles et
developper un plan d’action pour la modernisation de l’usine de Nairit.

Nairit etait la seule usine dans l’Union sovietique a produire du
caoutchouc chloroprène. L’usine a ete fermee en 1989 pour des raisons
environnementales et a repris ses operations partiellement en 1992. En
2006, 90% des actions de Nairit ont ete vendus a la societe British
Rainoville pour 40 millions de dollars. Les 10% restants appartiennent
au gouvernement armenien. L’usine a suspendu ses operations en 2010.

mardi 14 janvier 2014, Stephane ©armenews.com

UNE LUTTE POLITIQUE INTERNE PLUS AIGUË ATTENDUE EN ARMENIE EN 2014

ARMENIE

Les vacances du Nouvel An ont pris fin en Armenie et le pays est de
retour a sa routine de travail. Les processus politiques et economiques
qui ont commence l’annee dernière devraient se poursuivre en 2014. En
particulier, ce sera la construction d’une relation plus etroite avec
la Russie, outre la monopolisation des biens nationaux armeniens par
les societes d’Etat russes, et l’exacerbation de la lutte politique
interne en Armenie dans le cadre du debut officieux d’une nouvelle
campagne electorale.

Dans son discours du Nouvel An a la nation le president Serge
Sarkissian a appele tout le monde a etre optimiste : ” Je souhaite que
nous entrons dans 2014 avec de l’optimisme et des programmes serieux,
d’autant plus parce que nous avons toutes les raisons de le faire et
les raisons de le vivre dans chacun de nous. Notre etat d’esprit et
notre travail apparaîtront dans les resultats que nous obtiendrons
” a-t-il dit. Mais ce que le chef de l’Etat a propose pour 2014 ne
provoque guère encore les raisons specifiques pour de l’optimisme.

” Nous avons trouve des solutions de base qui vont travailler
au-dela de l’annee prochaine “, a declare Sarkissian, en parlant des
politiques sociales dans son discours du Nouvel An. Apparemment,
il faisait allusion a la mise en place d’un système de retraite
obligatoire d’accumulation, qui a provoque une critique acerbe du
gouvernement auprès de la population en fin d’annee dernière. Selon
les analystes, de grandes actions de protestation sont prevus dans
le cadre de ce mouvement deja dans un proche avenir. Les quatre
factions d’opposition dans le parlement ainsi que des initiatives
civiles pourraient egalement se joindre aux protestations.

Ces manifestations feront partie de la rivalite politique interne qui
se deroule entre les equipes de Premier ministre Tigran Sarkissian
et les forces politiques fidèles au deuxième president de l’Armenie,
Robert Kotcharian. Avant le Nouvel An, Kotcharian et Sarkissian
ont echange des amabilites. Mais le president Sarkissian, qui purge
son deuxième et dernier mandat presidentiel, n’a pas reagi a leurs
accusations mutuelles en aucune facon. Selon certains observateurs,
cela, cependant, a provoque une vague de rejet a la fois de l'” ancien
” et du pouvoir ” courant ” dans la societe.

En outre, un certain nombre rejettent egalement des plans pour une
integration plus etroite avec la Russie. ” Nous avons favorise la
cooperation economique, politique et militaire de l’Armenie avec la
Federation de Russie, et l’annee prochaine, je suis certain, nous
allons devenir un membre a part entière de l’Union douanière.

L’Armenie cree une nouvelle realite qui la rendra plus protegee et
plus competitive “, a declare Sarkissian. Toutefois, selon certains
experts et des politiciens, ce ” rapprochement ” est plus comme une
capitulation pour l’Armenie, qui n’a pas encore recu de dividendes
visibles du mouvement, alors qu’elle a deja perdu beaucoup.

L’emigration demeure l’un des principaux et plus douloureux problèmes
pour l’Armenie aujourd’hui. Le gouvernement n’offre pas encore
d’inverser la tendance de l’emigration. ” Nous allons faire prosperer
nos villes et villages, nous allons embellir chaque pouce de notre
terre, nous allons ramener a la maison les gens eloignes. Nous pouvons
le faire et nous le ferons ensemble. Le Nouvel An donnera une nouvelle
energie et doublera notre vigueur “, a declare Sarkissian dans son
discours. Ce n’est clairement pas un plan pour un an, et ainsi des
centaines de milliers d’Armeniens devront continuer a travailler a
l’etranger et envoyer de l’argent a leurs familles restees en Armenie
en 2014.

Par Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow

mardi 14 janvier 2014, Stephane ©armenews.com