Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIAN GROUP HELPS KOUTOUJIAN’S CONGRESSIONAL RUN

Published: Monday October 07, 2013

Peter Koutoujian. Campaign photo

FRANKLIN, MASS. – The Armenian National Committee of American Eastern
Region (ANCA-ER) organized a phone bank for Congressional hopeful
Peter Koutoujian at Camp Haiastan on October 6.

Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian is running for the vacant
seat in Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional district, which includes
Watertown, Belmont, Waltham, Lexington, Arlington, and many other
towns heavily populated with Armenian Americans. The ANCA Eastern
Massachusetts has been actively working on the campaign, volunteering
at district phone banks and canvassing the district. Local Armenian
youth have joined the local ANC and participated in this effort.

The latest fundraising and polling data published October 4 identify
Koutoujian as one of the two leading candidates in the competitive
race.

The ANCA-ER organized the phone bank at Camp Haiastan during the
Armenian Youth Federation’s annual Senior Seminar, an educational
event that attracted more than 85 Armenian youth from the East Coast,
West Coast and Canada. ANCA-ER Executive Director Michelle Hagopian
and ANCA National Board Member Steve Mesrobian instructed and helped
the youth for an hour on Saturday. The group used the online system
on by doing a virtual phone bank, which
allows individuals to make calls anywhere they have Internet access.

“The ANCA-ER strives to activate Armenian youth on all things important
to the Armenian people. Volunteering with the ANCA-ER to phone bank
for Peter is a privilege and the very least that Armenian youth can
be doing,” said Hagopian.

The Special Primary Election for now Sen. Ed Markey’s old seat will
take place on Tuesday, October 15, in Massachusetts’ 5th district. For
more information on ANCA-endorsed Koutoujian and his campaign, visit

ANC-PAC backs Koutoujian For Congress campaign

Supporters of the Armenian National Committee – Political Action
Committee (ANC-PAC) gathered on August 11 to support the congressional
campaign of Peter Koutoujian.

“Peter Koutoujian is a brilliant example of the American Dream,” said
the ANC-PAC in a statement. “The ANC-PAC believes Peter will bring
integrity and vision to the U.S. Congress. We are supporting Peter
because he will convey his wealth of experience as a policymaker to the
U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC. His current position
as the Sheriff of Middlesex County, his long tenure as a member of
the Massachusetts Legislature and his past post as a prosecutor with
the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office are emblematic of the fact
that Peter’s judgment and character is just what is needed in Congress
these days.”

The ANC-PAC is proud of Peter Koutoujian’s track record on Armenian
American issues and confident that he will apply his support for
human rights when he is elected to join the 113th Congress. From
issues like securing justice with respect to the Armenian Genocide,
to safeguarding the freedom and liberty for the people of Artsakh,
Koutoujian is a strong proponent of issues of concern to human rights
advocates not only in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but also
across the United States.

As a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, Koutoujian crafted
legislation that led to the creation of the Armenian Heritage Park
(AHP) in downtown Boston. The AHP, which is visited by hundreds of
thousands of visitors every year, includes among other elements a
sculpture that is dedicated to lives lost during the Armenian Genocide
and all other crimes against humanity.

NEWSPAPER: FATHER LUKS STEPANYAN – SOLIDER KILLED IN ARMY- REFUSES FROM MONEY PROVIDED BY DEFENSE MINISTRY

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Tuesday, October 8, 13:01

Father of Luks Stepanyan – a solider killed at Noyemberyan Army Unit –
Ashkharik Stepanyan has refused from 2 million drams provided by the
Defense Ministry of Armenia.

Stepanyan told a local Zhoghovurd newspaper that he urged the Ministry
to provide the above funds to repair the road linking his village to
the cemetery where

his son was buried.

“I cannot take that money. I don’t need it,” he told the newspaper.

He said that the parents of David Khachatryan, the soldier that
killed his son have not met with him yet and, probably, do not know
the details of the tragedy. Stepanyan said that the criminal case on
the incident will be submitted to the court shortly.

To recall, on May 15 at 3:30pm, soldier David Khachatryan fired at Luks
Stepanyan from his automated gun. Stepanyan died of the wound in the
head. Another soldier Hrachya Sargsyan was hospitalized with gunshot
wound in the head. He is currently at the reanimation department of
the Central Clinical Hospital of the Defense Ministry.

Earlier, father of the killed, resident of Verin Getashen, Gegharkunik
Region, Ashkharik Stepanyan said that he intended to deliver the
body of his son to the government building in Yerevan and demand
explanations from the defense minister. Road Police and officers
of the Defense Ministry of Armenia obstructed entry of a cortege
carrying body of the killed soldier Luks Stepanyan to Yerevan. The
cortege stopped on Sevan-Yerevan highway and the relatives of the
killed soldier squabbled with the police. As a result, the relatives
and the villagers of the killed soldier damaged the police vehicle.

Head of the Military Police Samvel Ghoukassyan, Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan and Police Head Vladimir Gasparyan left to meet with
the relatives of the killed Luks Stepanyan. Minister Ohanyan promised
the relatives of the killed soldier that the tragedy will be thoroughly
inquired into and all those guilty in it will be punished.

The minister promised open investigation.

On the basis of the criminal case initiated over the incident,
charges will be brought against David Khachatryan on Article 104.2
and Article 112.1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

L’ARMENIE ET LA RUSSIE SIGNENT UN PROGRAMME DE COOPERATION A LONG TERME JUSQU’EN 2020

ARMENIE

Le ministre russe des Transports Maxim Sokolov et le Premier ministre
Tigran Sarkissian ont signe un programme de cooperation economique
a long terme entre les deux pays pour la periode allant jusqu’a 2020.

” Les relations armeno-russes s’elargissent et s’approfondissent. Le
commerce se developpe avec des exportations armeniennes vers la Russie
ayant augmente de plus de 20 pour cent au cours des deux dernières
annees ” a declare Tigran Sarkissian.

La Russie et l’Armenie ont egalement signe le protocole de la 15e
reunion de leur commission intergouvernementale sur la cooperation
economique. Maxim Sokolov a declare que lors de la reunion tous les
projets communs en cours ont ete examines. En particulier, les deux
parties ont examine un plan d’actions visant a prolonger la duree
de vie de la centrale nucleaire armenienne et ont discute de la
possibilite d’accelerer l’ouverture d’une succursale de l’Universite
d’Etat de Moscou en Armenie.

Tigran Sarkissian a declare que la Russie et l’Armenie partagent une
vision commune de leur avenir commun. Il a ajoute qu’un mecanisme a
ete cree afin de minimiser les coûts decoulant du fait que l’Armenie
n’a pas de frontière commune avec un pays membre de l’Union douanière.

mardi 8 octobre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

VAHRAM KAZHOYAN: AZERBAIJAN’S BEHAVIOR AGAINST ARMENIA IS NOTHING ELSE BUT XENOPHOBIA

by Marianna Lazarian

ARMINFO
Monday, October 7, 21:28

Nothing of what Azerbaijan tells the world on international floors can
be considered to be truth. It is a constant torrent of lie combined
with anti- Armenian rhetoric, Vahram Kazhoyan, Secretary General of
the Armenian National Commission for UNESCO, said during the General
Debate of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.

Kazhoyan stressed that nothing else can be expected from the country
whose president says in public that Armenians worldwide are the
enemies of Azerbaijan. He added that Azerbaijan’s behavior is nothing
else but xenophobia and it is liable to prosecution, at least in the
civilized world.

Kazhoyan recalled that Azerbaijan is the only country in the world
that boasts of its immense military expenditures. In the meantime,
official Baku is self-contradictory, he said. On the one hand, Baku
advocates a peaceful dialogue and peaceful conflict settlement, on
the other hand, the Azeri president states that he will never let
Armenia join any political, economic, energy or transport project
and that he will continue the policy on isolation of Armenia.

He said that the UN Security Council’s resolution urge the
Azeri authorities to stop military actions against civilians in
Nagorno-Karabakh but despite the cease-fire treaty they signed in
1994, they keep using snipers to kill soldiers and civilians in
Nagorno-Karabakh and keep refusing to withdraw them.

Kazhoyan said that all the Azeri authorities have said so far proves
that Azerbaijan is a racist and xenophobe state. He quoted Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev as saying on Sept 18 that Azerbaijan’s national
flag must be hoisted in Shushi and Stepanakert and that the Azeris must
continue living in their historic lands “Irevan Khanate, Gokce and
Zangezur.” Kazhoyan explained to the Assembly that by Irevan Khanate
Aliyev meant Yerevan, the capital of independent Armenia – a member of
the United Nations. “So, what else is this but aggressive-militarist
xenophobia?” Kazhoyan concluded.

REFORM OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ARMENIA REQUIRES 173 MILLION EUROS – DANISH EXPERT

October 07, 2013 | 16:46

YEREVAN. – Reform of the solid waste management system in Armenia
will require 173 million euros, representative of Danish COWI company.

Andrik Mols, representative of the Danish company, participated in
the third forum of village communities held in Jermuk where waste
management was discussed.

The company offered five schemes with a budget from 136 to 210 million
euros. Each scheme referred to centralization of landfills which
arise spontaneously and are not recorded in almost all rural areas.

The country will be divided in five zones to create a landfill of 20
hectares with a validity of 20 years in each of the areas. The waste
will be brought to one station and then transported to a centralized
landfill. The latter will have to meet all sanitary standards,
including drains, fencing and protection from contact with the soil.

However, waste collection fee will rise considerably to cover
investments. As compared with current rate of 200 drams a month per
person, it will rise to 415 drams in Yerevan.

The Ministry of Territorial Administration of Armenia has already held
the first hearing on the project and plans new debates in the future.

NO STEPS TAKEN IN AZERBAIJAN TOWARD DEMOCRATIZATION – ARMENIAN ANALYST

October 07, 2013 | 14:32

YEREVAN. – Everything possible is done to reelect Azerbaijan’s
incumbent president Ilham Aliyev, analyst Sargis Asatryan stated
during a press conference on Monday.

In his words, the Azerbaijani authorities are seriously concerned,
and therefore they are attempting to remove the respective obstacles
so that no protests would be staged in the country.

“At the end of the day, the West must be shown that the elections
were held with success and the democratic institutions in Azerbaijan
function in normal fashion,” Asatryan noted.

He added, however, that in these elections he does not observe any
steps toward democratization in the country.

To note, the presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be conducted
on Wednesday.

FORMER FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER OF TURKEY CONSIDERS NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA BENEFIT OF HIS COUNTRY

17:54, 7 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Turkey has started to speak about the
need to normalize its relations with Armenia. Some Turkish diplomats
believe that because of the bad relations with its neighbors Ankara
can stay out of the political processes in the Middle East. In their
opinion in order to avoid diplomatic isolation, the country should
immediately change its foreign policy. This information, as reports
Armenpress, is provided by “Today `s Zaman” newspaper. “Turkey must
keep and maintain, and for the sake of short-term interests should
not put in danger its unique geostrategic position in the relations
with both the West and the Islamic world”,- said former Ambassador
of Turkey Nuzhet Gandemir at the interview in the U.S. .

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

ARMENIA RANKS 3RD IN MEDIA FREEDOM INDEX OF EASTERN PARTNERS

17:07, October 7, 2013

Out of the six countries in the Eastern Partnership, Georgia has the
highest degree of media freedom according to a recent survey funded
by the European Union.

The survey, which covers the period from March to June this year,
assessed only the level of freedom of speech and not the quality of
journalism in the partner countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

Moldova comes second on the list, followed by Armenia, Ukraine and
Azerbaijan. Belarus has the lowest ranking.

Survey results were announced last Friday at a panel entitled
“Threats for media freedom in the Eastern Partnership area” at the
Civil Society Forum in Chisinau.

6TH ASTRONOMICAL CONFERENCE LAUNCHED IN YEREVAN

16:30, 7 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Prominent astronomers from various
countries of the world attended the opening ceremony of the 6th
astronomical conference held in the conference hall of the chairmanship
of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia,
Yerevan. The Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences of the
Republic of Armenia Radik Martirosyan, the Director of the Byurakan
Observatory Hayk Harutyunyan, the UK Ambassador to the Republic of
Armenia Jonathan Aves, the Co-Chairs of the international scientific
conference Areg Mikayelyan (Armenia) and David Sanders (United States),
as well as outstanding Armenian astronomer Yervand Terzyan made
remarks at the course of the conference titled “Multiwavelength AGN
Surveys and Studies”. A row of statesmen, ambassadors, and renowned
scientists participated in the opening ceremony.

As reports “Armenpress” the scientific conference promotes the
establishment of ties between the young and experienced astronomers.

165 scientists from 35 countries of the world will participate in
the conference. Astronomers from the United States, Germany, Italy,
France, Spain, UK, Japan, China, India, Canada, Australia, Russia,
Ukraine, and Armenia participate in the aforesaid conference.

IAU Symposium 304 is dedicated to B.E. Markarian’s 100th anniversary.

Benyamin Markarian (1913-1985) was the first to conduct and
accomplish a large-area (17,000 sq. deg.) spectroscopic survey to
search for active galaxies. Markarian survey is until now the largest
objective-prism spectroscopic survey, it was the first systematic
search for active galaxies using a new method of UV-excess, it resulted
in the discovery of 1515 UVX galaxies (Markarian galaxies), including
many AGN and Starbursts, first classification of Seyferts into Sy1
and Sy2, and definition of Starburst galaxies.

The Symposium will provide a good opportunity to elaborate a strategy,
based on the acquired experience, to plan future surveys best fitted
to fulfill the needs, and to coordinate follow-up observations with
the new large ground-based and space telescopes.

A number of important astronomical meetings have been organized in
Armenia, mostly in the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO): the
IAU Symposia: #29 in 1966 (Non-Stable Phenomena in Galaxies), #121 in
1986 (Observational Evidence of Activity in Galaxies), #137 in 1989
(Flare Stars in Star Clusters, Associations and Solar Vicinity), and
#194 in 1998 (Activity in Galaxies and Related Phenomena), the IAU
Colloquium #184 in 2001 (AGN Surveys), as well as the all-European
JENAM meeting in 2007. Moreover, the Byurakan International Summer
Schools (BISS) are being organized since 2006, and four successful
schools have been held in 2006, 2008, 2010 (combined with the 32th
IAU ISYA), and 2012.

The NAS RA big hall will be used for the scientific sessions. Posters
will be displayed in the NAS RA foyer and coffee breaks will be
organized in the same area. Lunches will be served in the NAS RA
canteen, just at 2 minutes walking distance from the meeting hall.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

200 CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS BY AZERI ARMED FORCES REPORTED SEPT 29-OCT 5

October 7, 2013 – 12:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – 200 ceasefire violations by the Azeri armed forces
were reported at the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijan from Sept 29-Oct 5.

Azerbaijan fired over 2500 shots from various caliber weapons
towards Karabakh positions, NKR defense army’s press service said. The
defense army continued with their military duty in line with ceasefire
principles, taking necessary measures to protect the frontline.

Over 14000 ceasefire violations by Azeri armed forces were reported
at the contact line in 2012.

Azerbaijan fired over 68700 shots from various caliber weapons towards
Karabakh positions, with intensified instances of ceasefire violations
reported during state holidays and special events.

914 ceasefire violations were registered in December 2012 when
Azerbaijan fired over 170 shots from sniper weapons, with 6 shots
fired from large-caliber sniper weapons.

About 1000 ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan were reported in
November, with 210 shots fired from sniper weapons.

The number of ceasefire violations by Azeris in October totaled 1050,
in September – 1185, in August – 1161 and over 1300 and 3750 in July
and June respectively.