Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Kuwait News Agency, Kuwait
Feb 2 2014

KFAED to finance water dam project in Armenia

KUWAIT, Feb 2 (KUNA) — Kuwait Fund For Arab Economic Development
(KFAED) will finance a strategic project of establishing a water dam
to serve the cultural sector in Armenia, Kuwait’s Ambassador to
Armenia Bassam Mohammad Al-Qabandi said on Sunday.

The project is being studied by a group of experts sent by KFAED.

It is the first venture of its kind to be funded by KFAED in Armenia,
a country that basically depends on the agricultural sector, the
diplomat added in a statement.

This project contributes to boosting the bilateral ties between Kuwait
and Armenia at all levels, he said, hoping that it would see the light
soon.

The ambassador held a dinner banquet for the KFAED delegation,
visiting Armenia to discuss the finance of the water dam project.

ARMENIE
Le nombre de toxicomanes arméniens croît de 50 pour cent par année

Le nombre d’utilisateurs de drogues injectables officiellement
enregistrés en Arménie en 2012 a augmenté d’environ 30 pour cent par
rapport à 2012 à 4332, selon Suren Nazinyan, le chef du Centre de
surveillance de l’abus des drogues et des toxicomanies, qui a présenté
aujourd’hui les résultats du rapport annuel des drogues 2013.

Il a dit qu’au cours des années précédentes, la croissance a été de 50
pour cent. Il a aussi précisé qu’en 2012 les autorités sanitaires ont
signalé 663 nouveaux cas de toxicomanie, y compris 12 cas impliquant
des femmes. La majeure partie des toxicomanes sont gés de 28 à 49
ans.

Le chef des anesthésistes d’Arménie, Petros Semerjian a ajouté
qu’environ 20 000 Arméniens vivant en Russie sont des toxicomanes. Il
a dit que beaucoup de travailleurs migrants arméniens en Russie
ramènent de la drogue en Arménie.

> a-t-il dit.

VALENCE (DRÖME)
Michèle Rivasi et Patrick Royannez en route pour les municipales à
Valence affichent leur soutien à la loi de pénalisation du
négationnisme du génocide arménien

Michèle Rivasi, la députée européenne (Europe Ecologie Les Verts) et
Patrick Royannez ont présenté vendredi dernier au > à
Valence devant plus de 200 personnes, la liste des 47 colistiers du
groupe > pour les municipales de Valence.
Michèle Rivasi et Patrick Royannez ont également donné les 14
premières propositions -sur 90- pour 2014.

Patrick Royannez face au public a également fait part de son
engagement pour la reconnaissance du génocide arménien et de la loi de
pénalisation du négationnisme du génocide arménien notamment avec le
Collectif Mémoire et Avenir. Rappelons également que Michèle Rivasi en
tant que députée a toujours soutenu la loi sur le génocide par la
France en 2001. En tant que députée européenne elle a également
soutenu les actions de la communauté arménienne pour la pénalisation
du négationnisme du génocide arménien. En octobre 2010 elle s’était
rendue en Arménie et au Haut Karabagh et avait accordé une interview à
Nouvelles d’Arménie Magazine dans laquelle la députée européenne
affirmait >.

Krikor Amirzayan
dimanche 2 février 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Even in Baku people scoff at statement of Azerbaijani Ministry of
Defense on 77-year-old ”Armenian saboteur”

16:59 01/02/2014 >> SOCIETY

The statement of the Azerbaijani Minister of Defense on the detention
of 77-year-old “Armenian saboteur” on 28th of January, 2014 causes
laughter and disbelief even in Baku. Note that the citizen of Armenia,
Mamikon Khojoyan on that day crossed the state border and ended up in
the area controlled by Azerbaijan.

The article published in Azerbaijani News portal Haqqin.az titled
“Saboteur-77-year-old madman Mamikon” accompanied with the photos of
the detainee says, “The Azerbaijani Media circulates the photos of
Armenian saboteur who appears to be older than 65! It’s time already
for the Azerbaijani News Agencies really to learn how to work without
such blunders. Now look at that saboteur! One doesn’t know whether to
laugh or cry! What can I say? There is nothing to add; these photos
say everything.”

It’s noteworthy that earlier the Azerbaijani Media reported that the
Armenian citizen was detained by local residents who handed him over
the military. The Secretary of Azerbaijani State Commission on
prisoners of war, hostages and missing persons Shahin Sailov informed
the journalists that Khojoyan is a civilian. He was detained in
Alibeili village of Tovuz region of Azerbaijan and handed over to the
military.

Later, in the statement of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense
77-year-old man turned out to be a “conductor of subversive group” and
he was no longer detained by the civilians, the residents of the
border village but by the Azerbaijani military. Furthermore in initial
reports of Azerbaijani Media there was no word about the fact that
Khojoyan was wounded, whereas the latest statement of the Ministry of
Defense claims that the detained man is wounded.

Famous Azerbaijani political observer Rauf Mirkadirov in his article
“Very funny situation amid local engagements and human losses”
published on the website of Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo brings
forward the words of Vagif Dyargakhli, the head of the Press service
of the Ministry of Defense that the detained 77-year-old Mamikon
Khojoyan “is a saboteur and is well aware of the topography.”

Mirkadirov quotes Kamo Chobanyan, the headman of Verin Karmiraghbyur
village of Tavush region of Armenia who stated that the detainee
77-year-old Mamikon Khojoyan is a resident of the village who suffers
from mental illness and is registered at the specialized clinic.

“At noon the villagers saw him carrying a bucket. They asked him where
he was going and he answered “to pick grapes.” How there can be grapes
in the winter? The gardens are situated eight km far from the village,
thus he went down and accidently crossed the border,” Chobanyan said
that he himself learnt about what happened from the Azerbaijani Media
when saw the photos of his fellow villager.

Mirkadirov therefore calls for the respect for Azerbaijani servicemen,
who are claimed to have a “victory” over “old-man saboteur.”

“Don’t you think that the Armenians could have found a younger scout-
saboteur who would have been familiar with the topography? This is not
serious: 77-year-old half dead man. Secondly, it turns out that the
Armenians don’t respect our army at all as they send 77-year-old men
to fight against us. Gentlemen, we should respect our own army! I
don’t think that our soldiers there at the forefront every day risk
their lives for the reports of similar kind like their victory over
old man saboteur…Besides, the old man was noticed, detained and headed
over by the similar villagers but from our side. This is not a tragedy
but a very funny situation…” Mirkadirov sums up.

On its turn, political scientist of Baku, Zardusht Alizadeh in an
interview with the Azerbaijani service of British Broadcasting
Corporation BBC said: “the Azerbaijanis present the poor Armenian as a
saboteur but this doesn’t mean that it is the truth.”

Alizadeh noted that this kind of cases when the detained Armenian
citizens were accused of espionage as well happened before. “But there
was no evidence,” the Azerbaijani political scientist added.

Conclusions should be drawn from Arab and Ukraine developments –
Armenia Security Council

February 01, 2014 | 13:27

YEREVAN. – Appropriate conclusions should be drawn from the
developments taking place in the Arab World and in Ukraine.

Armenian National Security Council (NSC) Secretary Arthur Baghdasaryan
told the aforesaid to reporters on Saturday.

In Baghdasaryan’s words, however, drastic and definite assessments
should not be given to the ongoing incidents.

“Many attempts are made to compare the events in Ukraine, or in the
Arab countries, or elsewhere, with Armenia. They are attempting to
find parallels, to imagine what the Armenian society would decide, or
initiate, in a situation.

“I can say that the degree of public confidence in Ukraine is quite
disturbing, now,” the NSC chief stated.

Arthur Baghdasaryan added that the conclusions–whether “a positive
outburst, or an adverse shock”–need to be drawn from any process.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIENS DE SYRIE
La communauté arménienne de Syrie vit une grave crise selon la
spécialiste Araxe Pachayan

La communauté arménienne de Syrie vit une grave crise qui touche sa
sécurité et son existence même selon les propos de la spécialiste des
questions arabes, Araxe Pachayan lors d’une conférence de presse à
Erévan le 27 janvier. >
continua Araxe Pachayan. Selon Araxe Pachayan la communauté arménienne
de Syrie compte plus de 100 morts et disparus depuis le début des
révoltes armées.

ARMENIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION REFLECTS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WITH SILENT SIT-IN

Daily Nexus, Univ. of California in Santa Barabara
Jan 31 2014

Posted by Wyatt Smith on January 31, 2014 at 5:00 am

The Armenian Student Association hosted a silent sit-in outside Storke
Tower yesterday in remembrance of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

Mouths sealed shut with duct tape, the 16 student participants were
part of a statewide effort among Armenian student groups at various
University of California, California State University and private
college campuses to bring attention to this ethnic cleansing genocide
that took place at the start of the 20th Century. Resulting in over
a million deaths, the incident is a point of contention between
the Armenian population and Turkey, who currently denies the ethnic
cleansing by the Ottoman Empire occurred.

Second-year economics major Simon Elmoyan, a first-generation Armenian
American, said he takes great pride in his heritage and took part in
the event because of the effects the genocide had on his family.

“I’ve had relatives as well that had their whole families wiped out;
some of my great grandparents had their entire families destroyed,”
Elmoyan said. “A powerhouse country like the United States should not
be ignoring such an important human rights issue simply because they
have some economic ties to Turkey.”

According to fourth-year sociology major and Armenian Student
Association Vice President Lusine Davtyan, the ASA hopes to promote
recognition year-round.

“I think we did get our message across,” Davtyan said. “We had students
come by, take pictures, read the posters — it’s not like we were
completely ignored and people just walked by. They did notice us.

Hopefully it got them thinking.”

ASA usually protests the Armenian Genocide on April 24 but decided
to hold an additional sit-in yesterday in order to give more people
a chance to become aware and active about the issue.

“It’s important for the public to know that this did exist,”
Davtyan said. “I know many states have acknowledged it but … we
want Congress, as a nation, to acknowledge it — to say, ‘Yes, there
was a genocide that took place.'”

Armenian Student Association President Nick Ohanian, a fourth-year
biology major, said ASA’s protest aims to encourage international
attention to an issue that has deeply effected many Armenian students
at the UC and worldwide.

“I think it’s important to understand we’re not trying to recognize
soil that was stolen from Armenia; we’re not trying to recognize that
our land was taken away,” Ohanian said. “We’re trying to recognize that
1.5 million people were massacred, inhumanely murdered to annihilate
the race, and that’s all we want the government to do.”

The Armenian Student Association has around 40 members from
various Armenian ethnic groups, including Lebanese-Armenians and
Syrian-Armenians, among others.

In remembrance of the genocide’s 99th anniversary, Davtyan said the
ASA is planning a larger awareness effort called Genocide Commemoration
Week in April during the week of the 24th.

Assistant News Editor Peter Mounteer contributed to this report.

This story is a Daily Nexus online exclusive.

RUSSIA URGES AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA TO MAKE PEACE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 31 2014

31 January 2014 – 10:58am

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concerns over the recent
escalation of tensions on the Azerbaijani-Armenian contact line. The
ministry urged the sides to stabilize the situation, warning that
further escalation could have repercussions for the Nagorno-Karabakh
peace process and realization of the deals signed in Vienna on November
19, 2013.

Vyacheslav Kovalenko, Director of Regional Programs of the Institute
for Caspian Cooperation, says that Russia is taking all the necessary
measures to prevent detonation of the situation. He notes that any
military acts would cause casualties, although such high-scale conflict
is unlikely at the moment, both sides of the conflict are interested
in peace. The expert adds that the Armed Forces are balanced.

Andrey Petrov, an analyst of the MSU Center for Information and
Analysis, says that one of the problems for Nagorno-Karabakh on the
global scale is lack of international sources of true information.

Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of the OSCE chairman,
had made no official declarations ten days before the provocations
started. The expert believes that it is time for other international
mediators besides Russia to speak out against tensions between
Azerbaijan and Armenia and urge them to take a peaceful path.

Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan
plan another meeting the following month to continue the constructive
process started in November 2013.

ZEMAN ACCEPTS HIS COUNTERPART’S INVITATION TO VISIT ARMENIA

Prague Daily Monitor, Czech Rep.

Jan 31 2014

Ä~LTK |
31 January 2014

Prague, Jan 30 (CTK) – Czech President Milos Zeman can see untapped
potential in Czech-Armenian economic cooperation, which is why he
accepted the invitation to visit Armenia his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sargsyan extended to him in Prague yesterday, he told the media.

He said he will go to Armenia together with a strong delegation of
Czech entrepreneurs.

The Zeman-Sargsyan meeting was attended by ministers of the new Czech
cabinet that Zeman appointed on Wednesday.

Bilateral agreements were signed on the occasion of Sargsyan’s visit
yesterday, including a customs cooperation memorandum.

Invited by Zeman, Sargsyan is visiting the Czech Republic from
Wednesday to Friday.

He and Zeman will have a joint dinner at Prague Castle tonight.

Former Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09), too,
said on a visit to Armenia a year ago that it is necessary to enhance
bilateral trade.

RUSSIA IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE SITUATION IN THE ZONE OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 30 2014

30 January 2014 – 8:34pm

Russia urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to take additional measures to
stabilize the situation in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“We are concerned about the situation in the zone of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As a result of the frequent cases of
ceasefire violations there are victims among the military. There is
also information about wounded among the civilians”, ITAR-TASS quotes
the commentary of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The diplomats stress that an escalation of violence would inevitably
cause “a negative effect on the process of the Karabakh conflict
regulation. It would be complicated to implement the agreements of the
Azerbaijani-Armenian summit in Vienna on November 19, 2013”. Moscow
urges the sides to take measures to stabilize the situation, including
the mechanisms stipulated by the 1995 ceasefire agreement.