Author: Kalantarian Kevo

BONES FOUND IN TEGHOUT ARE OF NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL, CULTURAL OR HISTORICAL VALUE
by Karina Manukyan

Thursday, July 11, 13:21

On July 3-4, bones (which resemble human bones) were found during
the land operations in the site of construction of a water supply
pipeline being built in Teghout.

The press service of Teghout CJSC reports that the land operations
were suspended and representatives of the Institute of Archeology
and Ethnography of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences were
invited to make assessments. The source recalls that according to the
relevant agreement, the Institute explores the company’s territory
and controls the events on assessment and protection of the monuments
and articles of cultural and historical value found in the course of
the land operations.

The Institute’s expedition explored the site and found no signs of
monuments. Shortly after the land operations were launched. According
to the preliminary assessment of the Institute’s representatives, the
bones found may be 300-500 years old but they are of no archeological,
cultural or historical value.

It is pointed out that on July 5 a group of environmental activists
trespassed the territory of the company and made pictures and video
recording. Afterwards they disseminated the pictures and the video
in the social networks with misleading comments, which were used by
some electronic media. The company is discussing its further steps
to legally assess the situation.

To note, Teghout CJSC was founded on 22 May 2006 by Vallex Group. 100%
of the company’s shares belong to Teghout Investments Limited (Cyprus)
owned by Armenian Copper Programme. In 1991 the reserves of the Teghout
deposit totaled 450 mln tons of ore, including 1.6 mln tons of copper
99 thsd tons of molybdenum.

ARMENIANS ARE AMONG DECLINING NATIONS – SOCIOLOGIST

July 11, 2013 | 12:57

YEREVAN. – Armenians are among the list of declining nations,
sociologist Aharon Adibekyan stated during Thursday’s press conference
devoted to World Population Day.

The sociologist spoke about Armenia’s problems of democracy and
provided statistical data.

In his words, it is predicted that 1.5 million-or 1.7 million,
at best-people are expected to remain in Armenia in the year 2100,
and this is catastrophic.

“Our women give birth to children not to preserve the [Armenian]
nation, but rather to secure the population of Russia, or Europe,”
Adibekyan warned.

The sociologist also noted that, in fear of divorce, women in Armenia
give birth to fewer children.

“So, if you have become a mother, have at least three children!”

Adibekyan advised.

He informed that in line with the growing standard, a woman should
have more than two children, but this standard is currently below
two children in Armenia.

“We are a country at war, and the number of our soldiers may
drastically reduce. As a result, we may also face a security problem,”
the sociologist maintained.

Aharon Adibekyan added that, now, the women that are getting married
are four to five years older and the men are six years older in
Armenia.

HUMAN CAPITAL IS MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS IN ARMENIA, EXPERT SAYS

YEREVAN, July 10./ARKA/. Human capital is the most important resource
for Armenia’s development, implies Tatul Manaseryan, director of
Alternative research center.

“We shouldn’t allow such high “brain outflow” and such high
unemployment rate among the young people. Unemployment rate in
some age groups reaches 60%. This is unacceptable and raises serious
hindrances for economic development,” he told reporters at the doorstep
to the conference on post-crisis developments and economic challenges
for Armenia.

There are also some other poorly used opportunities which could boost
economic progress in Armenia, such as drinking water reserves and
alternative energy resources.

“Even though Armenia depends on energy suppliers, it produces energy
itself using just 1/3rd of its resources,” the expert said.

According to Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, as of 1
May 2013, 60,200 people out of 10,200 job seekers are unemployed. Some
10,683 people receive unemployment allowances. -0-

– See more at:

‘S. KHACHATRIAN WAS AMONG THOSE WHO SHOT IN GORIS INCIDENT’

Wednesday,
July 10

‘Zhamanak’ writes citing its sources that ex-governor of Syunik
province Suren Khachatrian has decided to sell his house in Goris.

Moreover, he continues to pressurize the director of the Goris flour
mill into buying his luxurious house.

Rumors persist in Goris that during the notorious June 1 incident
Suren Khachatrian was not asleep, but was among those who fired shots.

According to the newspaper, Goris residents say that fathers usually
defend their sons and take their blame upon themselves, whereas the
former governor allowed his son to be imprisoned in order to save
his own skin and position, but even that step did not help him.

“By the way, Colonel Artak Budaghian returned to Goris on Saturday
and visited his brother’s grave where he spent two hours,” the
paper writes.

It should be mentioned that today it is 40 days since Avetik Budaghian
died.

TODAY, 11:54

Aysor.am

HRAPARAK: ABOUT 500 PEOPLE INVITED TO GENERAL MANVEL’S BIRTHDAY BANQUET

10:31 10/07/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

General Manvel will celebrate his 57th birthday on July 14, Hraparak
reports. On that day, traditionally, Grigoryan’s combat friends,
numbering about 500, will gather together at Van Restaurant Complex
in Etchmiadzin. The country’s elite is also invited to the birthday
banquet.

Sources say that following the celebration, the General will leave for
Paris for a medical check-up. The paper adds that he will traditionally
spend his vacation in Odessa.

Source: Panorama.am

GEOPOLITICAL ROLE FOR ROMANIA

Currently the geopolitical picture of Central Eastern Europe is not
fully drawn. Even membership of most countries of the region to NATO
has not resulted in full understanding of the role and importance of
these states in the geopolitical perspectives of Europe and Eurasia.

At the same time, as it was presumed earlier, these states,
particularly Poland and Romania, are going to play a more important
role in the arrangement of forces in the space spanning from the
Baltic to the Black Sea.

Romania is trying to conduct a moderate policy taking into
consideration the problems with neighbor states. Currently, Romania has
managed to overcome a number of economic problems unlike other states
of the region, prevented collapse, is rebuilding its armed forces.

Unfortunately, the United States and their partners in NATO are
reviewing for the second time their intentions regarding the Black Sea,
which is determined not only by the negative position of Turkey and
Russia but also significant economic problems. Had the United States
and NATO activated their presence in the Black Sea basin, the role
of Romania would grow significantly, including in the region of the
Black Sea.

Apparently, Romania is going to play an important role in stability
and balance of forces in this region. Not only presence of NATO will
be increased but also geo-economic and communication objectives will
be developed.

In the course of time the role of the Black Sea for external
communication of Armenia will grow but there are no drastic decisions
yet. First of all, the Armenian Black Sea-Danube Navigation Company
should be established which would ensure independence and security
of external communication of Armenia.

Romania could play a major role in achieving this goal and thereby
acquire a growing importance in communication projects. There are
a number of technical and economic solutions to implement this and
other communication projects that Armenia needs.

Considering the expected development of NATO and the European
Union in the economy and security of Armenia, the Armenian-Romanian
cooperation could lead to significant change in the possibility of
real integration of Armenia with the Euro-Atlantic community. The
Black Sea is waiting for new decisions, and its geopolitical role is
far from being established.

In Romania there is a small but significant Armenian community which
could play a consultative role in the implementation of these projects
and preservation of dozens of historico-cultural monuments relating
to existence of Armenians in this country. In this regard, it would
be interesting and possible to develop relations among Armenian
communities located in different countries with an outlet to the
Black Sea, as well as the Republic of Moldova.

Igor Muradyan 12:16 10/07/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

HARIRI BLAMES ISRAEL FOR BEIRUT SUBURB BOMBING

July 09, 2013 01:58 PM (Last updated: July 09, 2013 07:05 PM) The
Daily Star

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri speaks during a ceremony in Beirut,
Thursday, March 31, 2011. (The Daily Star/Mohammad Azakir)

BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri blamed Israel Tuesday for the
“terrorist explosion” that rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs and accused
the country of trying to provoke Sunni-Shiite strife in Lebanon.

“[The blast] requires the highest level of awareness and vigilance in
the face of dangers that surround the country and the entire region,
especially while facing attempts by the Israeli enemy to push [Lebanon]
to strife by organizing terrorist attacks, as happened today,” Hariri
said in a statement.

“After of terrible criminal scene that Beirut’s southern suburbs
witnessed, the Lebanese can only express indignation and condemnation
of the crime that targeted one of the most populated neighborhoods,”
the statement said.

A car bomb explosion ripped through the Beirut’s southern suburb
neighborhood of Bir al-Abed, a pro-Hezbollah area, wounded dozens
of people.

“As I strongly condemn the terrorist bombing that harmed innocent
civilians, I ask God Almighty to bless the wounded with safety and
health,” Hariri said.

Hariri said that the blast should shock Lebanese “to go back to the
national consensus on keeping Lebanon away from external conflicts and
to avoid slipping into wars that will only inflict further divisions
in the country, place national stability at risk and expose Lebanon
to the conspiracies of the Israeli enemy.”

The former PM, who heads the Future Movement, urged an investigation
into the blast and called on political leaders to shoulder
responsibility in addressing the country’s deteriorating security
situation.

For his part, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the blast
and warned citizens to “be careful about who is plotting conspiracies
and strife in this dangerous stage Lebanon and the region are going
through.”

Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani also condemned the explosion and
said it aimed at “destabilizing Lebanon’s security and the country’s
civil peace.”

Separately, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned the attack
and urged the judicial and security authorities to address the matter
with “complete seriousness” in order to reveal the perpetrators and
punish them as soon as possible.

“The security of the nation and its people comes only through a
strong and powerful state that alone handles the security and military
mission,” Geagea said in a statement.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said he considered
the attack as an assault on the entire nation and said that the sharp
political divisions between the Lebanese people should come to an end.

“The blast confirms once again that it is not acceptable to carry on
the sharp political divisions among the Lebanese,” he said.

“[Such divisions] expose the country to further security incidents
and dangers at all levels,” he added.

The Future bloc also condemned the bombing and warned against the
Israeli defense minister’s statement that attributed the attack to
a Sunni-Shiite conflict.

“The bloc sees that the evil, criminal hand that carried out the crime
seeks to shake up the security and provoke citizens against each other
and incite the fire of strife in the country,” the parliamentary bloc
said in a statement.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon described the bombing in the
Lebanese capital as a struggle between Sunnis and Shiites.

“There are many explosions in the area. Our borders are calm and
that’s not a given,” Ya’alon said according to Israel’s Ynetnews.

“We see war seeping from Syria to Lebanon, and we follow what happens
in Tripoli and Beirut,” he said. “We watch but we don’t interfere,”
he said.

Read more:

(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: )

ARMENIAN ST. BARTHOLOMEW MONASTERY AGAIN ACCESSIBLE TO VISITORS

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 9 2013

9 July 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL

The Armenian St. Bartholomew Monastery, located in the village of
Albayrak in Van province, is once again accessible to visitors.

The monastery had been inaccessible to visitors for many years because
military barracks had been built around it. However, according to a
report by the Radikal daily on Tuesday, the barracks were recently
moved outside the village as part of the settlement process, launched
by the government in October of 2012 to resolve the country’s
long-standing Kurdish problem.

The military barracks were moved to another location and as they no
longer encompass the monastery, people can freely visit the site once
again.

The monastery, which was built in the 13th or 14th century and was
renovated circa 1650, 1760 and 1877, is located atop a mountain facing
the Zap Valley in Van’s BaÅ~_kale district. Access to the monastery was
forbidden 31 years ago by the Turkish military when the barracks were
built there as a measure against terrorist attacks by the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK). Having fallen into a state of disrepair, the
roof has been completely destroyed, and if the monastery is not
restored soon, the remaining walls risk crumbling. The structure as it
is today has traces of 19th century architectural restoration.

According to Radikal, Van Provincial Directorate of Culture and
Tourism head Muzaffer Aktug has said that the monastery is in poor
condition after not having been restored in decades. He added that the
Culture and Tourism Ministry recently launched a large-scale
restoration project for the monastery and that the directorate is
expending great efforts to restore the province’s historical monuments
and open them to tourists.

RENTAL OF HISTORICAL ARMENIAN BUILDING IN ISTANBUL CREATES CONTROVERSY

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
July 9 2013

ISTANBUL- Hurriyet Daily News
by Vercihan Ziflioglu

The Directorate General of Foundations has initiated a tender to rent
the historical Sansaryan Han, belonging to Turkey’s Armenian
Patriarchate, at a time when the legal process over the building’s
ownership is still ongoing.

Sansaryan Han, which is located on Istanbul’s historical peninsula,
became an issue of controversy after the Directorate General of
Foundations initiated a tender to rent the building to a third party,
even though the case is still going through a court process.

Å~^ahin Gezer of the Armenian Patriarchate Real Estate Commission told
the Hurriyet Daily News that they did not want to make any comment
until the tender was finalized. “I hope the controversy will be
handled and we will solve the problem through reconciliation,” said
Gezer, stressing that the legal case was continuing. “We have all the
documents to show that Sansaryan Han belongs to the [Armenian]
Patriarchate.”

The han, which was donated to the Armenian Patriarchate in 1881 by
Mıgırdic Sansaryan, a Russian Armenian, was confiscated by the then
government in 1935. The patriarchate took action against the
Directorate General of Foundations upon a ruling on the return of the
minority assets in 2011. While the case is in court, the tender to
rent the han to a third party for 50 years was published in the
Official Gazette. The tender is expected to take place on July 18.

The Directorate General of Foundations declined to make any statement
on the topic for the Daily News.

Laki Vingas, minority foundations representative for the Directorate
General of Foundations, said it was natural that the patriarchate
claimed the rights to the historical building as an open will of the
endower about the donation’s purpose was present. Vingas said the
controversy arose because patriarchates and community foundations did
not have legal entity status and a change in the law was needed to
overcome these problems.

“There are foundations that are listed as “unregistered” though they
belong to communities. These foundations can be returned [to the
owners] by an amendment to the law,” added Vingas.

Sansaryan Han was famous for torture during the time the building was
used as the Police Department. The renowned Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet,
writer Ali Nesin and Armenian intellectual Aram Pehlivanyan are among
the people who were tortured in the building. The han also served as a
court house for a while.

July/09/2013

RUSSIAN ENVOY SAYS SYRIAN REBELS MADE SARIN NERVE GAS, USED IT

July 9, 2013 – 21:29 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia’s UN ambassador says Russian experts have
determined that Syrian rebels made sarin nerve gas and used it in a
deadly attack outside Aleppo in March, The Associated Press reports.

International analysts say a March 19 chemical weapon attack occurred
in the Aleppo suburb of Khan al-Assal. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin
blamed a Syrian rebel group linked to al-Qaeda for the attack, but
the rebels have blamed the government.

Churkin said Tuesday, July 9, after delivering an 80-page report
to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that samples taken on site at the
invitation of the Syrian government showed that the sarin gas was
“not industrial” quality, but rather produced recently in “cottage
industry” conditions.