Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ICRC WANTS TO BUILD YEREVAN MONUMENT TO THE MISSING

November 05, 2013 | 16:14

YEREVAN. – Mayor Taron Margaryan of Armenia’s capital city Yerevan
on Tuesday met with the delegation led by Sarah Epprecht, Head of
Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
to Armenia.

Epprecht informed the mayor about their plans to build a monument in
Yerevan, and devoted to those that have gone missing as a result of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and she petitioned to the mayor
with a request to allocate an appropriate space for this project.

“The matter will be discussed with participation by the chief
architect of Yerevanand, subsequently, we will discuss the best
options together,” Margaryan responded.

In addition, the ICRC delegation members briefed the mayor on the
direction of their activities in Armenia, specifically, in Yerevan.

Saluting the guests’ mission in the region, Taron Margaryan thanked
them for their activities that aim to strengthen humanitarian law
and universal humanitarian principles.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

RUSSIAN FLAG BURNT IN GEORGIAN PORT CITY

12:45 ~U 05.11.13

Representatives of the Georgian National Movement party have ripped
down and burnt the Russian flag in the main avenue of the port city
of Poti, InterPressNews reported.

The head of the party’s local office, Vakhtang Dartsmelidze, has
told a correspondent of the Georgian website that the protest had
attracted absolutely apolitical people.

“Absolutely apolitical people protested against the fact. It is
condemnable, of course that after five years, the flag of the country
that moved with tanks here and bombed the sleeping city, is hoisted
here”, he was quoted as saying.

“I am not member of any party, I’m not interested in politics at all,
but when I saw this flag, I remembered the events five years ago, and
the emptied streets of Poti, the dead and injured innocent civilians,”
a protester has told InterPressNews.

Poti Mayor Davit Sarsania has explained that the Russian flag was
hoisted along with the flags of 17 counties in the frameworks of an
international musical festival that sparked protests on the social
networks.

“As I have found out, Russia was not invited to this festival, but
they expressed a desire to take part in it. The local self-government
did not take part the festival’s arrangement. I have already issued
the order. so all the flags will be taken down in the coming hour “,
Sarsania said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

ARMENIAN CONSUMER WATCHDOG ANNOUNCES THE RESULTS OF FIRST-EVER ‘PEOPLE’S CHOICE” CONTEST OF FOODS

YEREVAN, November 5. / ARKA /. An Armenian consumer watchdog has
announced today the preliminary results of the first-ever ‘People’s
Choice” contest of foods.

The head of the Center for Support of Consumers NGO Ashot Mirzoyan said
the goal of the contest was to promote local producers and identify
their best food products. The winners in ten categories were decided
by voting from October 10 to 31 at armproduct.am. website.

Products that received the most votes in each category will be
submitted anonymously for a lab examination by the State Food Safety
Service and only if they comply with ISO standards the producers will
receive the prize, which is a unique logo with the words “People’s
Number 1 Brand”, which manufacturers can use in advertising their
produces or put on the packages for a period of 2 years.

Vedi Alco wines were recognized as the best wines. The best cheese
was Kalinino and the best sour cream was Ashtarak Kat. Bzhni was
recognized as the best mineral water and Ararat as the best brandy.

Artfood was recognized as the best canned food producing company. -0-

– See more at:

OSKANIAN, WARLICK DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT

14:15 05/11/2013 ” POLITICS

Member of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary faction Vartan Oskanian
met with U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador James
Warlick on November 5.

The two discussed the situation around the peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mr Oskanian presented his views on
the issue as well as possible means for achieving progress in the
negotiations, Oskanian’s office reported.

Source: Panorama.am

BRAIN GAMES: QUIZ SHOW ON ARMENIAN TV IN RUSSIAN RAISES QUESTIONS

SOCIETY | 05.11.13 | 16:33

By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

The popular quiz show series on an Armenian TV channel conducted in
Russian has raised more questions in Armenia, with a former opposition
lawmaker pointing to the violation of the country’s language laws.

It is for several years that the local version of the ‘What,
Where, When’ intellectual game (during which six “know alls” answer
questions sent in by TV views) has been shown on Armenia TV “under
the patronage of the Armenian Prime Minister”. It is a “franchising”
of a similar show created still in the Soviet times and popular on
Russian television since the 1970s.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) member Lilit
Galstyan, a former MP, voiced her protest with the game’s being
conducted in Russian and also because no translation is provided,
which, she insists, constitutes a violation of the law.

In the latest game shown over the weekend among the six “know alls”
were Armenian Education Minister Armen Ashotyan, Justice Minister Hrair
Tovmasyan and Chief of Government Staff, Minister Vache Gabrielyan.

On Facebook Galstyan, who is a linguist by training, in particular,
said: “The state language in the Republic of Armenia is Armenian
and it is the ministers of education and justice that must maintain
that sacred norm in the first place… In Georgia the same game is
conducted in Georgian. And do not even start explaining that it is
the format of an international TV program [that prompts the use of
the language]. In that case let such projects as Voice or X Factor or
Who Wants To Become a Millionaire be conducted in English. And who has
said that the language of knowledge or intellect can only be Russian?”

The former MP made it clear that she was not against foreign languages,
but she was against the violation of the law and the use of a foreign
language where it is unlawful and inappropriate.

According to the Armenian law on television and radio, programs or
films in foreign languages should be shown on Armenian televisions
only if simultaneous interpretation/translation is provided in the
form of voiceover or subtitles. The law, however, is often violated
in the case with the Russian language, which has widely been spoken in
Armenia since the Soviet times, but is not a state language after the
collapse of the USSR. ‘What, Where, When’ is one of the examples of
when a citizen speaking only Armenian has no chance of understanding a
program shown on an Armenian TV channel. Critics say what makes this
violation more brazen is that the show often involves high-ranking
guests, such as ministers, lawmakers, scholars, others.

Responding to Galstyan’s comments, Karen Kocharyan, the chief producer
of the Armenian version of the show and its host, said, sardonically:
“Tell Lilit Galstyan that the next time specially by the order of
the Dashnaktsutyun party the show will be in German.”

Earlier, talking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service Kocharyan said that the
show did not violate the law, which allowed 20 percent of programs
to be conducted in the language of ethnic minorities. (And Russians
are officially an ethnic minority in Armenia). But several years ago
Kocharyan told the Aravot newspaper that under the license the program
could be conducted in Armenian or in Russian, but they chose Russian
for convenience. He, in particular, explained that it was in Russian
not because it was meant for an ethnic minority, but because they did
not have time to translate everything for the editors overseeing the
TV production from Moscow.

The popular TV show was first broadcast in September 1975 on the
central television of the USSR. Six “intellectuals” seated around a
table are given questions from TV viewers and are supposed to provide
correct answers within a minute. The game became very popular during
the Soviet times and after the collapse of the USSR maintained its
popularity in Russia and other former Soviet republics as well.

Armen Hovhannisyan, a member of a civic initiative protesting
foreign-language education in Armenia, believes that the organizers
of the game in Armenia do not consider Armenian to be “a language
suitable for intellectual activities.”

“The problem is that when they want to look smart and make an
impression of an intellectual person, they do not speak Armenian.

Let’s remember the Soviet times when the Armenian language was
considered to be the language of workers and provincial folks, and
Russian was used at the higher levels,” Hovhannisyan told ArmeniaNow.

The criticism of the popular show comes at sensitive times when
quite a few opposition members in Armenia see dangers of the loss of
sovereignty in view of the government’s decision to join the Russia-led
Customs Union.

Last week saw another language-related scandal as opposition MP
Khachatur Kokobelyan protested the absence of translation at a session
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly’s
defense committee at the Armenian National Assembly.

Speakers at the meeting, including Armenian officials and officials
representing the other five countries that are members of this
Russia-led defense pact, communicated in Russian. Kokobelyan,
the leader of the Free Democrats party, insisted on addressing the
gathering in Armenian only and eventually the translation was provided.

In this connection Hovhannisyan emphasized: “We need a conscious
mass that we do have in our society today and that is, thank God,
expanding that will be able to adjust life in a way that an Armenian
will not be humiliated especially in his own country. Let’s become
masters of all of our wealth, including our language.”

ARMENIAN TOBACCO FACTORIES POST 61 PERCENT RISE IN OUTPUT IN 9 MONTHS

YEREVAN, November 5. / ARKA /. In the first nine months of the year
Armenian tobacco factories produced a total of 26.5 billion drams
worth products, a 60.7 % rise compared to the same period in 2012,
the National Statistical Service (NSS) reported today.

Overall, they produced 5.5 billion pieces of cigarettes, by 65.3 %
more than in January -September 2012.

According to the Customs Service, in the first half Armenia exported
$32.8 million worth tobacco products, 2.6 times more than in the same
period last year. ($ 1 – 405.29 drams). M.M.-0-

– See more at:

SYRIE : LES KURDES CHASSENT LES JIHADISTES DE 19 LOCALITES DU NORD-EST

SYRIE

(AFP) – Les combattants kurdes se sont empares durant le week-end de
19 localites de la province de Hassaka, dans le nord-est de la Syrie,
qui etaient tenues par les jihadistes et les rebelles islamistes,
a rapporte lundi une ONG.

Les membres du Comites de protection du peuple (YPJ, principale
milice kurde en Syrie) ont pris aux jihadistes de l’Etat islamique
en Irak et au Levant (EIIL) et du Front al-Nosra ainsi qu’a des
rebelles islamistes “13 villages sur la route reliant la ville de
Ras al-Aïn a Hassaka et a Tall Tamer, entre dimanche et lundi”,
d’après l’Observatoire syrien des droits de l’homme (OSDH).

“Depuis samedi, un total de 19 localites sont tombees aux mains des
combattants kurdes”, a ajoute cette ONG, qui s’appuie sur un large
reseau de militants et de sources medicales a travers le pays.

“Les jihadistes sont en train de regrouper des combattants pour
reprendre les terrains perdus”, a ajoute l’Observatoire.

Il y a une semaine, dans l’est de la Syrie, les combattants kurdes
avaient conquis un poste-frontière avec l’Irak, un lieu de transit
important pour les hommes et les munitions contrôle jusqu’alors par
des jihadistes.

Depuis plusieurs mois, jihadistes et Kurdes se disputent le contrôle
du nord-est de la Syrie, riche en petrole et grenier a ble du pays.

Dans un conflit où l’opposition est de plus en plus atomisee, les
Kurdes defendent avant tout leur territoire, d’où l’armee s’est
retiree et où ils souhaitent instaurer une zone autonome a l’instar
des Kurdes d’Irak.

Le site de l’Assemblee nationale du Kurdistan, qui chapeaute toutes les
organisations kurdes en Syrie, presente une carte de ce qu’elle nomme
le Kurdistan occidental et qui va du Tigre a l’est a la Mediterranee
a l’ouest, qui englobe Hassaka, et s’arrete a la lisière d’Alep et
de Lattaquie.

Les groupes jihadistes combattent pour leur part a la fois le regime
syrien, les autres rebelles et les Kurdes afin d’instaurer leur pouvoir
sur tout le nord et l’est du pays et d’assurer la liaison avec l’Irak,
où ils comptent sur une reserve de combattants aguerris.

mardi 5 novembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

NEWSPAPER: ISHAKHAN ZAKARYAN WILL PRESERVE HIS POSITION OF THE HEAD OF ARMENIA’S AUDIT CHAMBER

by Marianna Lazarian

ARMINFO
Tuesday, November 5, 12:20

Ishakhan Zakaryan may preserve his position of the head of Armenia’s
Audit Chamber, Hraparak daily says referring to its sources.

Zakaryan’s term of office ends on Tuesday.

Yesterday Zakaryan visited his son’s godfather, a deputy from the
ruling RPA Mher Sedrakyan. However, he declined to answer journalists’
questions and promised to do that in the parliament next time.

‘According to the rumors in mass media, members of the parliament
Manvel Grigoryan and Seyran Saroyan solicited for Ishkhan Zakaryan.

Moreover, Zakaryan has another more influential patron – philanthropist
from the USA, Albert Boyajan, which fulfill programmes in Armenia
from time to time, and has warm relations with Serzh Sargsyan”,
-the daily says.

JAMES WARLICK: THERE IS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO SOLVE THE KARABAKH CONFLICT

15:35 05.11.2013

There is a window of opportunity to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict now that has not existed for some time, the U.S. co-chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick said in an interview with Trend
and AzerNews on Monday.

“The U.S. believes in this window of opportunity. We want to work
through the co-chairs and if there is anything that we can do on
a bilateral basis that will help to facilitate the peace process,
we stand ready,” Warlick said.

“I believe the people of both countries – Armenia and Azerbaijan
deserve peace and prosperity. We need to find a way to that. The reason
I took this job as co-chair is because I believe it is possible to
find a way towards peace,” he said.

Warlick said he is ready to come back to the region as many times as
it is necessary in order to reach peaceful settlement.

Speaking about the possibility of a meeting between the Presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan, Warlick said it is up to the two Presidents
to decide.

“It is not the decision to be made only by co-chairs. But we are
trying to work to organize the meeting this year,” he said.

According to Warlick, what the co-chairs want to do is to bring the
presidents together to talk through the way forward.

“It has been nearly two years the presidents have seen each other and
over those two years we have not been able to find a way forward. We
hope the presidents can meet, have a productive discussion,
constructive discussion that can find a way forward,” he said.

“We are hopeful that if the presidents can talk to each other, they
will find a way to move forward to constructive negotiations. Right
now the process is not moving forward in the productive way and we
would like to get that on the track towards peace,” he underlined.

Speaking on the basic principles for the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Warlick said that this is exactly what
the presidents need to talk about.

LES KURDES DU BDP EN VISITE A WASHINGTON

Publié le : 05-11-2013

Info Collectif VAN – – Lors d’une conférence
académique et politique d’une journée qui a eu lieu au National
Press Club a Washington, D.C, ” Les hommes politiques kurdes de
Turquie ont envoyé aux autorités américaines le message selon
lequel les Kurdes peuvent jouer un rôle important dans le ”
nouveau Moyen-Orient ”. Le coprésident du Parti de la paix et de
la démocratie (BDP), Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_, qui est en visite a
Washington avec une délégation de son parti pour assister a une
conférence intitulée ” Le rôle kurde dans le nouveau Moyen-Orient
” a appelé les USA et l’Occident a poursuivre une politique qui ”
soutient directement les Kurdes du Moyen-Orient ”. Le Collectif VAN
vous propose la traduction d’un article en anglais, paru sur le site
du journal turc Today’s Zaman le 27 octobre 2013.

Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_ (Photo: Today’s Zaman)

Le BDP demande que les Kurdes jouent un rôle dans le ‘nouveau
Moyen-Orient’

29 octobre 2013 /ALÄ° H. ASLAN, WASHINGTON

Lors d’une conférence académique et politique d’une journée qui
a eu lieu au National Press Club a Washington, D.C, ” Les hommes
politiques kurdes de Turquie ont envoyé aux autorités américaines
le message selon lequel les Kurdes peuvent jouer un rôle important
dans le ‘nouveau Moyen-Orient’ ”.

Le coprésident du Parti de la paix et de la démocratie (BDP),
Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_, qui est en visite a Washington avec une
délégation de son parti pour assister a une conférence intitulée
” Le rôle kurde dans le nouveau Moyen-Orient ” a appelé les USA
et l’Occident a poursuivre une politique qui ” soutient directement
les Kurdes du Moyen-Orient ”.

La délégation du BDP rencontrera également des responsables
gouvernementaux et des représentants de think tank pendant son
séjour a Washington. Les organisateurs de la conférence auraient
aussi essayé de faire venir a Washington Saleh Muslim, le chef du
Parti de l’union démocratique (PYD) de Syrie, une ramification du
parti terroriste le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), afin
qu’il puisse rencontrer des représentants de l’Administration Obama,
mais Muslim n’aurait pas pu obtenir de visa pour les Ã~Itats-Unis
a temps pour la conférence, a laquelle il a donc participé par
liaison vidéo.

Lors de la conférence de lundi, Demirtas et d’autres participants
ont souligné l’importance de la volonté de l’Administration Obama
de parler avec Muslim. Ã~Itant donné que le PYD est associé au PKK,
qualifié de groupe terroriste aux Ã~Itats-Unis, il est difficile
pour le PYD de couvrir plus de terrain. James Jeffrey, un ancien
ambassadeur américain en Turquie, a déclaré que l’Administration
américaine devra rassurer Ankara et Arbil avant de parler a Muslim.

Mêmes frontières, nouveau statut

Des universitaires kurdes, des experts et des hommes politiques
ayant assisté a la conférence ont souligné le caractère laïc
des Kurdes, en les présentant comme un peuple ” modèle ” qui
respecte le pluralisme et se bat contre les ” djihadistes ” au
Moyen-Orient. Ils ont également dépeint les Kurdes comme un groupe
” opprimé ” qui ne devrait pas être laissé a la merci des pays
de la région, y compris la Turquie. Dans son discours, DemirtaÅ~_
a déclaré que l’on ne peut donner la liberté et un statut autonome
aux Kurdes sans modifier les frontières actuelles.

Mise en garde contre les bellicistes

Le coprésident du BDP a surtout été critique envers le Parti au
pouvoir de la Justice et du développement (AKP) de Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, et de son ” processus de règlement ”, le nom donné aux
négociations entre le PKK et l’Ã~Itat turc.

DemirtaÅ~_ a déclaré qu’il y a certains milieux en Turquie qui
croient que les pourparlers ne sont pas nécessaires pour résoudre
le problème kurde qui dure depuis si longtemps dans le pays. Il a
dit que ces cercles tentaient de saboter les pourparlers, ajoutant
que tout le monde devrait faire attention a ces ” pièges ”.

DemirtaÅ~_ a dit : ” Ceux qui sont vraiment contre le processus de
règlement disent aux parties en cause qu’elles n’ont pas besoin de
se parler, qu’elles ne parviendront a rien de cette facon et qu’elles
devraient avoir recours aux armes de nouveau. C’est un fait. Nous
devons absolument faire attention aux pièges et aux jeux de ces
cercles. ”

L’an dernier, le gouvernement AKP a entamé des pourparlers avec le PKK
dans le but de résoudre le problème kurde et celui du terrorisme dans
le pays. Dans le cadre de ce processus, le PKK a commencé a retirer
ses militants du pays, mais il a récemment interrompu le retrait au
motif que le gouvernement ne prend pas les mesures nécessaires vers
la démocratisation.

Parlant des difficultés des processus de règlement, DemirtaÅ~_
a déclaré : ” Les processus de règlement, les processus de paix
sont des moments difficiles nécessitant de la patience et nous sommes
sÔrs que ces processus sont plus difficiles et périlleux qu’une
guerre. Il est difficile de savoir combien de temps ce processus se
poursuivra, mais la chose importante est de conserver la volonté de
rester autour de la table des négociations. ”

Il a également fait remarquer que son parti tente de maintenir le
processus de règlement sur les rails. De plus, le coprésident du
BDP a adressé ses critiques au gouvernement, l’accusant d’essayer
d’éviter les négociations.

” Nous ne devons pas abandonner les négociations. Nous devons
insister, parce que l’alternative a l’abandon des négociations est un
état de conflit, ce qui n’est ni bon ni souhaitable pour personne ”,
a-t-il dit.

DemirtaÅ~_ a également appelé le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip
Erdogan a écouter les critiques et les propositions faites au sujet
du processus de règlement.

” Le Premier ministre doit écouter ces critiques et voir, qu’il
existe des cercles autres que ses proches collaborateurs qui peuvent
contribuer au processus de règlement ”, a-t-il ajouté.

©Traduction de l’anglais C.Gardon pour le Collectif VAN – 1er novembre
2013 –

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Source/Lien : Today’s Zaman