Author: Kalantarian Kevo

FAMOUS ITALIAN THEATRE OF LECCE CANTIERI TEATRALI KOREJA PERFORMED IN STEPANAKERT

21:15, 17 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS: The oldest theatre of Lecce
Cantieri Teatrali Koreja presented the performance “Plastic Gardens”
in Stepanakert on October 14, 2013. As Armenpress was informed from
the Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs of NKR, the troope arrived
in Artsakh within the framework of the International Performing Arts
Festival Highfest, held in Yerevan, October 1-12.

The performance was first staged in 1996. During the 17 years of
its existence the play was shown in different countries of the world
and was awarded the audience’s praise everywhere. Since 2004 it has
been presented in more than 10 festivals and has won several prizes
among which Grand-Prix of Isfahan Theater Festival for Children &
Young Adults in 2012.

Franco Ungaro, the artistic director of the theatre, noted that
performing in conflict zones had always been regarded as a peculair
challenge by the troupe for it is in such places that the audience’s
true expectations from the theatre can be revealed. He also mentioned
the warm attitude of the people of Artsakh and the enthusiastic
atmosphere in the hall. The actress Alessandra Crocco added that she
felt the positive energy coming from the spectators and the applause
at the end of the play testifies to the fact that the performance
was truly appreciated by the audience.

ANALYSIS: ARMENIA COMBINES COOPERATION WITH FORMER SOVIET ALLIES AND NATO TO BOOST ITS SECURITY

ANALYSIS | 18.10.13 | 10:08

By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

On October 17 Tsahkadzor hosted the 35th meeting of the Council of
heads of security and intelligence services of the CIS countries. The
same day, perhaps not as a coincidence, Yerevan saw a gathering of
heads of information and resource centers of NATO in post-Soviet
countries.

President Serzh Sargsyan met with both the heads of the delegations
attending the meeting of the CIS countries, and the special
representative of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus
and Central Asia, James Appathurai. Sargsyan spoke with them about
common security threats, noting that the main challenges for Armenia
are the “escalation of confrontation, the rhetoric of hatred and an
arms race in conditions of prolonged unresolved conflicts.”

The issue of security is becoming a dominant theme in the foreign
relations of Armenia. It is for security reasons that Armenia made
its decision to join the Russia-led Customs Union (even though it
is already a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
– CSTO).

If the main problem of Armenia’s security is the arms race in the
region, then Armenia’s security partners should be, in theory, the
countries and the alliances that contain this arms race. Meanwhile,
every day brings new information on military contracts between Russia
and Azerbaijan. In August, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev revealed that
the sum of these contacts has reached $4 billion.

With the beginning of the military conflict in the region in 1988
the United States adopted Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act,
banning the sale of arms to Azerbaijan. For 25 years now Baku has
failed to achieve the repealing of this section: its effect is only
partially suspended, and the weapons sold to Azerbaijan can only be
used for the protection of the Caspian Sea.

Meanwhile, Armenia continues to be in one and the same
military-political bloc with Russia, while its cooperation with NATO
is limited to Individual Partnership. Though, Armenian armed forces
have limited participation in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan
and Kosovo and Yerevan plans to continue promoting peacekeeping in
Afghanistan beyond 2014. However, Yerevan on every occasion declares
that it has no long-term goal of joining NATO. Though, while receiving
the NATO official in Yerevan, President Sargsyan said that close
cooperation with the Alliance significantly helps Armenia to improve
its system of defense and security.

It is noteworthy that the forums related to security take place
in Armenia in the period when there is a public discourse on the
likelihood of CSTO peacekeepers entering Karabakh and the transition
of Karabakh to the “zone of influence” of Russia. At the meeting
with Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian NATO’s Appathurai
confirmed the Alliance’s support for efforts being made by the OSCE
Minsk Group to resolve the problem.

Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Reis wished to meet
with Armenia’s National Security Council Secretary Artur Baghdasaryan
the same day. Analysts believe that Iran is concerned about the rumored
intention to change the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
the possible stationing of foreign troops there. The Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic borders on Iran and Tehran will have to reckon with any
foreign troops in Nagorno-Karabakh.

EPISTOLARY STYLE AS A TRIAL BALLOON

by Ashot Safaryan

Friday, October 18, 02:06

With the passions over Armenia’s decision to join the Customs Union
still being high, a new thing has happened in the country to cause a
new wave of anti-Russian hysteria (sometime quote reckless): publicist
and one of the ideologists of the Karabakh Movement Zoriy Balayan
wrote a 17-page letter to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, where
he told the history of Nagorno-Karabakh starting from the Treaty of
Gulistan of 1813 and gave facts disproving Azerbaijan’s claims to that
region. In the end, Balayan invited Putin to visit Nagorno-Karabakh
so as to see that what he said was true and that the decisions passed
by the Soviet authorities in 1921 were illegal.

The letter was followed by flood of charges in the press and the
Internet. People were accusing Balayan of treason, Russophilia,
intention to cede Nagorno-Karabakh to Russia. Deputy Chairman
of Heritage Party Armen Martirosyan believes that the letter was
the order of the ruling regime, otherwise, the RPA would have also
condemned Balayan for his collaborationism.

Balayan parried by asking the accusers to show any line in his letter
saying that he wants to cede Nagorno-Karabakh.

The logical question here is – Who was this whole fuss for?

Political scientist Sergey Shakaryants sees no sense in accusing
Balayan. “He just wanted to draw the attention of his Russian
colleagues, who are planning to mark the 200thanniversary of the Treaty
of Gulistan without him. Besides, epistolary style is not by far the
best way to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem,” Shakaryants said.

Some people from the ruling Republican Party also tried to defend
Balayan. The party’s Spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov said that Balayan’s
letter presented the firm historical foundations of the struggle
for Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence. “In his letter he proved that
historical Artsakh is much bigger than the territory of the former
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District,” Sharmazanov said.

All this has shown that there are lots of political forces, mass
media and public figures in Armenia who defy the regime’s curtseys
to Russia. And the decision to join the Customs Union was a kind of
last drop for them.

Paradoxical as this may sound, the growing negation of Russia in
Armenia comes mostly from the situational, mostly senseless and not
always politically pragmatic behavior of the Armenian authorities,
who are ready to do anything just to show their love and loyalty to
the Kremlin and to thereby earn own welfare and reproduction.

Just remember the words of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, who said
some two years ago that unless allowed to emigrate (mostly to Russia),
protesters might cause a revolution in Armenia. He later said it was
some kind of English humor.

Whatever the case, if we also take into account the multimillion
transfers sent by Armenians from Russia, as well as the exchange
fluctuations that line the pockets of oligarch-monopolists and their
patrons (government officials), we will see that Russia is really
a strategic partner, but it is a partner of the incumbent power and
maintains the latter’s strength. As a result, all the arrows of the
angry “patriots” are directed against Moscow and their rageful articles
and publications disclose the “imperial moves” of the Russian bear.

Such a situation plays into the hands of the authorities. If there
is a vengeful crowd of “patriots” with anti-Russian sentiments, it is
somewhat easier for the power to negotiate with Moscow and strengthen
its own positions. The logic of the authorities is ” we want to be
friends with Russia, but our society objects to our friendship, and it
is only our devotion that helps maintain these relations”. It should
be noted that once David Hakobyan, the chief Marxist of Armenia,
said that President Serzh Sargsyan complained how hard it was to
hold a dialogue with Vladimir Putin himself. Apparently, to make
the dialogue easier, a “projectile is lobbed” into the society: the
Armenian President congratulates the re-elected mayor of Moscow and
the well-known publicist writes “letters to the Russian czar”. Both
go beyond the international protocol.

Some experts think that the authorities have given Balayan a carte
blanche to launch “separate talks” with Moscow in the epistolary
style. Nevertheless, Balayan has said nothing new. The Armenian
newspapers of the early 1990s contain an immense number of serious,
scientifically grounded publications about the origins of the Artsakh
problem and the danger of dissemination of pan-Turkism ideas, first
of all, for Russia itself.

Balayan’s letter to Putin might be aimed at solving two problems. On
the one hand, it demonstrates Armenia’s loyalty and devotion
to Russia; on the other hand, it introduces some tension in the
Armenian-Russian relations as a trial balloon, which has turned out
to be very successful, since only the laziest political force in
Armenia would fail to play the ball into the political rivals’ pocket.

AZERI, HUNGARIAN OFFICIALS RILED OVER STUDENTS’ VISIT TO KARABAKH

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

Dr. Balint Kovacs appearing on Artsakh TV

BAKU-The Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan is investigating reports that
a group of Hungarian students led by professor of Armenian studies,
Dr. Balint Kovacs, visited Armenia, and then the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, APA reports.

Karabakh-Open.info reported earlier on a meeting between Hungarian
and Armenian students at Artsakh State University. Professor of
Armenian studies Dr. Balint Kovacs said after the meeting that
Armenian-Hungarian relations have a long history; that a strong
Armenian community has existed in Hungary since the late Middle Ages
and that there have been four Armenian cities in Transylvania. He
mentioned that these Armenian cities contributed to the development
of the region.

“The issue of Ramil Safarov is a subject of broad discussions in
Hungary. This is the disposition of our government, not Hungarians in
general. I hope this would not become a stumbling block in our further
relations,” the Hungarian professor told reporters in Stepanakert.

“I am a lecturer and, of course, I cannot make political decisions,
but I hope that our politicians will find a way to resolve the
situation. This issue is evidence of the fact that the Armenians and
Hungarians are friends, and their friendship must go on,” he said,
continuing the topic of Ramil Safarov’s extradition from Hungary to
Azerbaijan. Kovacs noted that the extradition of Safarov was not the
right step, and that it should be corrected.

“Karabakh is an integral part of Armenian culture. I believe
Christianity unites Armenians and Hungarians, and my students,
whether Catholic or Orthodox, are here by the traces of faith. To
get acquainted with Armenian culture, we found it appropriate to
visit not only Armenia, Tatev, but also Artsakh – Gandzasar and
Shushi. We will continue the study of Armenian history in Hungary,
and in the future, I am sure our students will choose as a topic for
their research works the history of Armenia, Artsakh and Nakhichevan,
which is part of Armenia,” concluded the Hungarian Professor.

EU WAS UNAWARE OF ARMENIAN TEAM FOR ACCESSION TO CUSTOMS UNION – PETER STANO

17:01 17.10.13

The European Union (EU) was not informed of the team formed last
December to study the possibility of Armenia’s accession to the Customs
Union, Peter Stano, Spokesperson of Å tefan Fule, European Commissioner
for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, told ilur.am.

The team was formed under Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s
Decision #1204 of December 4, 2012.

The EU was informed of the Armenian government considering ways of
establishing more active cooperation with the Customs Union, which
would not imply membership. Armenia continued negotiations over the
Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
Agreement (AA/DSFTA), which were successfully completed this summer,
Mr Stano said.

As to the possibility of the EU mistrusting Armenia’s authorities in
future, he said that the EU respects its partner’s decisions.

ETHNIC AZERI MAN RELEASED AFTER BEING HELD FOR 2 MONTHS IN ARMENIA

10.17.2013 18:25 epress.am

Armenia has released Allahverdi Pelengov, an ethnic Azeri and a
citizen of the Republic of Georgia, who was held for two months by
the RA National Security Service. The Public Council for the Defense
of Pelengov had repeatedly stated that Pelengov’s rights were being
violated, noting that the Georgian citizen had been picked up in a
place where there is no border as such.

The 44-year-old resident of the village of Burma was detained by
Armenian border guards on Aug. 17. Pelengov’s release and return home
was announced by the Caucasus Center of Peace-Making Initiatives
(CCPMI), which coordinates the work of the Public Council for the
Defense of Pelengov in Armenia, citing the defense attorney in this
case, Tigran Sinoyan. According to Sinoyan, Pelengov was released
under the general amnesty declared to mark the independence of the
Republic of Armenia (on Sept. 21).

The criminal case against him was quashed. However, CCPMI notes
that human rights violations and the authorities’ inaction on the
Armenia-Georgia border continue to remain current issues.

Earlier, in conversation with Epress.am, Pelengov’s attorney Rafik
Safaryan said that Georgian media reports that Pelengov was tortured
in Armenia are untrue. “He is in good health. He has pleaded guilty
for committing the act for which he is being charged. An investigation
is underway,” the attorney had said.

Defending the Georgian citizen was the Public Council for the Defense
of Pelengov, which was established in the village of Tekali, Georgia,
from a discussion among locals, human rights defenders, activists, and
journalists on Sept. 14. This council was not so optimistic regarding
the state of the detainee, as Pelengov was deprived of the right to
receive information. The council had appealed to the NSS on several
occasions, asking for a meeting with Pelengov but had been refused.

As the Public Council for the Defense of Pelengov’s Armenian
coordinator, human rights defender Georgy Vanyan had told Epress.am,
the council appealed also to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Ministry of Justice of both Armenia and Georgia, but it had not yet
received a response from any of these government bodies.

On Aug. 22, Vanyan also appealed to the RA Human Rights Defender’s
Office, asking that a rapid response team of human rights defenders
be sent to visit Pelengov. “The only thing the Ombudsman’s office
did is to call and verify the detainee’s nationality,” he said.

According to Vanyan, arresting Pelengov indicates an attempt
to place the Armenia-Georgia border within the context of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and Armenian security services do not
have the autonomy to prevent this process.

Photo: Baku-APA news agency, taken from Azerbaijan Islamic news
site Deyerler.org

ARMENIA CAN SUCCESSFULLY COMPETE WITH US ON PERLITE PRODUCTION – MANUFACTURER

October 17, 2013 | 16:57

YEREVAN. – Armenia can successfully compete with the U.S. on perlite
production, said co-owner of the Karakert stone moulding plant.

Suren Gevorgyan said the Aragats perlite deposit is one of the largest
in the world, and several enterprises could work on the raw material
of the deposit.

“The confirmed reserves total 150 million cubic meters, while the
forecasted reserves of high purity reach 3 billion,” he told reporters.

During the Soviet times, perlite from Armenia was used as raw material
by a number of plants.

“Nowadays we can not export not only perlite itself, but the final
production,” Grigoryan emphasized.

The co-owner of the plant recalled that in 1998, during the presidency
of Robert Kocharyan, Aragats perlite min was sold for a ridiculous
$1.5 million to an American company Corning. The Americans did not
exploit the deposit and thus solved the problem of competition.

Nowadays Americans, along with Greece and Turkey, are expoting their
perlite to many states.

The insulating materials and other goods produced from perlite cost
around $800 per cubic meter. Armenia is able to produce the goods
for $250.

“We can produce around million cubic meters a year. Imagine what profit
it would bring to our country. But state officials are unwilling
to support the economy. The desire to act arises only when there is
benefit,” Gevorgyan resumed.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIAN DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTRY RECEIVES NATO OFFICIAL

October 17, 2013 | 18:02

YEREVAN. – Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonyan on Thursday
received NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for South
Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai.

The sides discussed issues related to Armenia-NATO cooperation and
further prospects as well as issues on implementation of Armenia-NATO
Individual Partnership Action Plan, the Ministry’s press service
reported.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

FRENCH SCHOOLCHILDREN MARCH IN ANGER OVER EXPULSIONS

17 October 2013 Last updated at 14:44

The BBC’s Christian Fraser says 14 schools have been blockaded in Paris

Thousands of schoolchildren in Paris and other parts of France
have been demonstrating in anger over the expulsion of two foreign
teenagers.

Twenty secondary schools in the French capital were disrupted as
children joined a march, clenching fists in solidarity with the
expelled pupils.

Some demanded the sacking of the Interior Minister, Manuel Valls.

In one case, a Roma schoolgirl was sent back to Kosovo and in the
other, a student was repatriated to Armenia.

There has been widespread indignation at the manner in which border
police picked up schoolgirl Leonarda Dibrani, whose family had lost
its bid for asylum in France after five years in the country.

Leonarda, 15, was escorted from her school bus by a teacher, in front
of other children, in the eastern region of Doubs on 9 October.

The row has caused strains within the government of Socialist President
Francois Hollande, whose most popular minister with the wider public
is Mr Valls, according to recent opinion polls.

Mr Valls has drawn protests over his hard line on Roma immigrants,
which is reminiscent of Mr Hollande’s conservative predecessor,
Nicolas Sarkozy.

‘Arrested for theft’

Schoolchildren left class to show solidarity both with Leonarda and
Khatchik Kachatryan, a 19-year-old student in Paris who was expelled
on Saturday to Armenia.

Mr Kachatryan was arrested for shoplifting in September, at which
point police discovered he had entered France illegally, the French
daily Le Figaro reports.

Leonarda says she faces discrimination back in Kosovo

Reports suggest that he was detained on his return to the former
Soviet republic for seeking to escape doing military service.

“Bring back Khatchik and Leonarda, they belong here,” marching pupils
chanted on Thursday, holding up signs calling for Mr Valls to resign.

The president of France’s National High School Students’ Union, Ivan
Dementhon, said students were angry at the way the Dibrani family
had been treated.

“The expulsion of the young Leonarda is particularly shocking because
it was done in a school environment,” he said.

“It’s not tolerable that students with or without documents are
expelled. Everybody should have a right to education, and that is
why all high school students are here.”

Journalists who visited the Dibrani family in Kosovo on Wednesday
found them living in a house in the northern town of Mitrovica,
despite earlier suggestions that they were homeless.

It has also emerged that the father, Resat, was investigated by the
French authorities for allegedly beating his family.

Mr Valls insists that the deportation of Leonarda and the rest of
her family was carried out in line with established procedure.

“It is of course a difficult subject but any immigration policy
requires respect for the law, respect for individuals and great
firmness,” he said this week. “I am accountable for that to the
French people.”

Amnesty International recently reported that more than 10,000 Roma
had been evicted from temporary camps in France in the first half of
the year.

Some 20,000 Roma have settled in France, coming mainly from Romania,
Bulgaria and parts of the former Yugoslavia like Kosovo.

ARONOFSKY’S “NOAH” SPARKS CONTROVERSY AMONG CHRISTIAN, JEWISH AUDIENCES

October 17, 2013 – 16:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Darren Aronofsky’s Noah has sparked controversy
among test audiences, Digital Spy said.

The upcoming biblical epic, which stars Russell Crowe as Noah and Emma
Watson as his adopted daughter Ila, has been screened to “key groups”
with an interest in the subject matter, including a largely Jewish
audience in New York, a largely Christian audience in Arizona and a
general screening in California.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, all three screenings have
generated “troubling reactions”, prompting Paramount to request
changes from Aronofsky.

It is unclear whether Aronofsky has retained his right to final cut
on the film, or whether this has been removed in light of the poor
feedback, but the director is reportedly resistant to the changes
suggested.

Among the studio’s reported concerns are the film’s extensive use of
visual effects, and the challenge of creating a third act that will
not alienate Christian audiences.

Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore said that the preview process is
standard and that the studio had intentionally allowed for “a very long
post-production period, which allowed for a lot of test screenings”.

Moore is also quoted as saying that Aronofsky wants “some level of
independence” but “also wants a hit movie”, concluding: “We’re getting
to a very good place, and we’re getting there with Darren.”

Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly, Douglas Booth, Logan Lerman and
Ray Winstone are also among the cast of Noah, which will be released
on March 28, 2014.