Author: Kalantarian Kevo

MAJOR OF DM INVESTIGATION SERVICE DETAINED WHILE TAKING BRIBE

Wednesday,
June 12

The head of 2nd unit of the First Garrison Investigative Division
of Armenian Defense Ministry’s Investigation Service Major Vahan
Harutyunian and lawyer Azat Avagimian were detained today while taking
a bribe.

The press service of the Defense Ministry said a criminal case
was opened. The Investigation Service of the Defense Ministry is
conducting an investigation. The criminal case will be sent to the
Special Investigation Service of Armenia.

TODAY, 14:44

Aysor.am

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY DISCUSS KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

ARMINFO
Tuesday, June 11, 15:32

Expressing satisfaction with high-level bilateral relations between
Azerbaijan and Turkey, the ministers said the two countries will
continue mutual support within international organizations.

They also discussed the settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict and the situation in South Caucasus and Middle East.

ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN TOURIST EXPEDITION MEMBERS PASS QASAKH CANYON

YEREVAN, June 12./ARKA/. The members of the second Armenian-Russian
tourist expedition, “Path to the single CIS youth space,” passed one of
the narrow and steep pathways leading to the Qasakh canyon in Armenia,
Novosti-Armenia reported.

“None of us has ever passed this pathway before, and we wanted to try
it as one of the goals of our expedition is to reveal new routes,”
said Edgar Navasardyan, the group instructor. The tourists, who are
not pleased with hiking, can try something steeper and get adrenaline,
he added.

The second hiking route laid through the canyons to the medieval
monastery of XII-XIII centuries named Saghmosavank.

The expedition first visited the Alley of letters – a unique monument
located in Aragatsotn region representing the Armenian alphabet,
then took a look at the rock engravings, headed to Saghmosavank and
Ohanavank monasteries, the latter of which is famous for its secret
underground entrance.

“Today we indeed practiced sport tourism of Armenia. We were highly
impressed by passing the route leading to the rock engravings- this
is a unique thing which dates back to the seventh century B.C. The
important and interesting thing was that we were passing the canyon, it
was actually hard,” Elena Lozyanova, a teacher at Russian International
Tourism Academy, told Novosti-Armenia.

According to her, just easy hiking tours should be mixed with extreme
hiking thus encouraging tourists to come to Armenia for sport tourism.

Lozyanova noted the second route of the expedition was experimental
for the members.

“The pathway leading to this place was pretty steep. I wouldn’t say it
was physically hard for me particularly, but it was quite interesting
as I like to pass the pathways which have as few footprints as
possible,” she clarified.

The expedition members spent their night in Byurakan, and on Wednesday
they plan to climb Aragats mountain.

Armenian Tourism Institute and Russian International Academy have
jointly organized the second tourism expedition, “Path to the single
CIS youth space,” in Armenia.

The expedition has two parts : a two-day train tour
(Yerevan-Gyumri-Vanadzor-Alaverdi-Yerevan) to know the motherland
better and tell about it, and the second part that aims to reveal
the tourist sacred roads of Armenia.

The expedition is supported by South Caucasus Railways, VTB
Bank (Armenia) and Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) under the
initiative of RPA Council of Women and under auspices of the
National Assembly and Russian Embassy in Armenia. -0- – See more at:

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM ENTHRONED AT ST. JAMES CATHEDRAL

11:57 12.06.2013

The courtyard of St. James Armenian Cathedral echoed with the sound
of knocks as a deacon struck a narrow wooden plank at the right of
the cathedral’s entryway. This is the traditional call to service
at the Armenian cathedral of Jerusalem, where pilgrims, clergy, and
guests gathered on Tuesday, June 4, for the enthronement of the 97th
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America reports.

A line of clergy and altar servers walked in a procession from
the Patriarchate Center to the cathedral, where Archbishop Nourhan
Manougian was formally installed as the successor to the throne of St.

James, the first bishop of Jerusalem.

Kneeling at the altar, Archbishop Manougian recited an oath, pledging
his faithfulness to the Lord and commitment to safeguarding the
Armenian presence in the Holy Land.

In an ancient ceremony, seven archbishops-including Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese, and Archbishop Vicken
Aykazian, the Diocese’s Ecumenical Director-placed their right hands
on Archbishop Manougian, bestowing him with the authority to lead
the Armenian see of Jerusalem.

Archbishop Sevan Gharibian presented Archbishop Manougian with a
pastoral staff of office.

“Today, as I take up the pastoral staff of the Armenian Patriarchate-as
I take my first, humble step into a legacy that spans the centuries-I
am moved by the conviction that the greatest achievement of my own
people is not the dead kingdoms we once held, but the vital ideas
that sustained our spirit,” Archbishop Manougian said.

He went on to speak of the importance of establishing harmony and
friendship among the many peoples who call Jerusalem home. “The
Jerusalem of our dreams stands in some tension with the Jerusalem that
is,” he said, adding that God “invites us to open our hearts to Him,
and to each other, so that we may reason together, alongside our
heavenly Father.”

Letters from His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Aram I, the Catholicos
of the Great House of Cilicia, were read by representatives of the two
spiritual leaders. In his message, His Holiness Karekin II renewed
the commitment of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to support the
efforts of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. Archbishop Aram Ateshian,
the Patriarchal Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople,
presented Archbishop Manougian with a chalice.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Archbishop Manougian assumed
the throne of St. James, as members of the Brotherhood of St. James
approached to receive his blessing. The throne of St. James, which
dates to the 17th century, is carved from precious wood and inlaid
with mother of pearl. It stands at the original grave of St. James,
the first bishop of Jerusalem and the brother of Jesus, which has
since been moved under the main altar of the cathedral. The throne
is used only once a year, on the Feast of St. James.

Archbishop Manougian succeeds the late Archbishop Torkom Manoogian,
who passed away in October 2012. He was elected as the 97th Armenian
Patriarch of Jerusalem on January 24, during the 22nd session of the
general assembly of the St. James monastic brotherhood.

Other representatives of the Eastern Diocese who attended Tuesday’s
ceremony include the Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of St. Nersess
Armenian Seminary, and participants in the Young Adult Pilgrimage to
the Holy Land.

TURQUIE : ERDOGAN USE DE LA FORCE, LA PLACE TAKSIM A NOUVEAU EVACUEE

Le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan a use de la force mardi
contre les manifestants qui exigent sa demission en faisant evacuer
manu militari a deux reprises la place Taksim d’Istanbul, a la veille
de sa rencontre avec des representants de la contestation.

Fermement decide a mettre un terme a la fronde sans precedent qui agite
depuis douze jours son pays, M. Erdogan a assure que son gouvernement
ne ferait plus preuve “d’aucune tolerance” envers les protestataires.

“Je m’adresse a ceux qui veulent poursuivre ces evenements, qui
veulent continuer a semer la terreur : cette affaire est maintenant
terminee. Nous ne ferons plus preuve de tolerance”, a-t-il declare
devant les deputes de son Parti de la justice et du developpement
(AKP, issu de la mouvance islamiste).

Peu après 07h30 locales (04h30 GMT), les forces de l’ordre ont repris
facilement le contrôle de la place Taksim, le bastion de la fronde,
en repoussant les quelques centaines de protestataires qui y avaient
passe la nuit par des tirs de grenades lacrymogènes ou des billes de
plastique et en utilisant des canons a eau.

Les barricades qui bloquaient l’accès a la place ont ete rapidement
demantelees par des pelleteuses et les drapeaux et banderoles hostiles
au gouvernement arrachees.

Tout au long de la journee, des echauffourees ont oppose la police
et des groupes de jeunes manifestants casques, armes de pierres et
de cocktails Molotov.

En fin de journee, la police s’est finalement repliee devant un
des bâtiments qui bordent la place, cedant a nouveau la place a des
milliers de manifestants. Mais une heure plus tard, elle a pour la
seconde fois balaye la foule, provoquant la panique et faisant de
nombreux blesses parmi les contestataires.

“Nous (la police) attendons devant le centre culturel Ataturk juste
pour nous assurer que les drapeaux et les banderoles ne seront
pas deployes a nouveau pendant la nuit”, a explique le gouverneur
d’Istanbul Huseyin Avni Mutlu sur son compte Twitter.

M. Mutlu a repete que la police n’interviendrait pas pour evacuer le
petit parc Gezi, ce jardin public adjacent a la place Taksim dont la
destruction annoncee a donne le coup d’envoi de la contestation le
31 mai.

Plus tôt dans la journee, M. Erdogan avait pourtant clairement menace
ses occupants de le faire. “Le parc Gezi est un parc, pas une zone
d’occupation”, a-t-il lance devant ses elus, qui l’ont ovationne a
plusieurs reprises. “J’invite les manifestants sincères a regarder
ce qui se passe, a comprendre le jeu qui se joue et a se retirer”
du parc, a-t-il ajoute.

Surpris par l’intervention des forces de l’ordre, les militants du
parc Gezi ont accueilli avec incomprehension l’operation de la police.

Arrestations

“Pouvez-vous croire ca ? Ils attaquent Taksim et nous gazent ce
matin alors qu’ils ont propose hier soir de discuter avec nous ?”,
s’est interroge Yulmiz, un manifestant de 23 ans. “Si on nous chasse
d’ici, nous reviendrons”, a rencheri lance Ali, un retraite de 63 ans,
un masque de chirurgien sur le visage.

Le collectif ecologiste de defense du parc a lui aussi denonce le
recours a la force. “Nous resterons la tant qu’aucune mesure concrète
n’aura ete prise pour satisfaire les demandes des jeunes qui protègent
Taksim et le parc Gezi”, a-t-il ecrit.

La reprise, symbolique, de la place Taksim intervient au lendemain de
l’annonce d’une rencontre, prevue mercredi, entre M. Erdogan et des
representants de la contestation, qu’il n’a eu de cesse de presenter
comme des “pillards” ou des “extremistes”.

L’ONG Greenpeace, invitee a ce rendez-vous, a deja fait savoir
qu’elle ne s’y rendrait pas. “D’abord, la violence doit cesser”,
a-t-elle demande.

La police a procede mardi a des dizaines d’arrestations, dont
73 avocats qui denoncaient, dans l’enceinte du palais de justice
d’Istanbul, l’intervention de la police, selon l’Association des
avocats contemporains.

Les forces de l’ordre avaient quitte la place Taksim le 1er juin,
après vingt-quatre heures presque ininterrompues d’affrontements avec
les manifestants.

Des centaines de personnes etaient venues denoncer la brutalite avec
laquelle la police avait evacue le parc Gezi a l’aube du 31 mai.

Plusieurs centaines de militants associatifs l’occupaient pour denoncer
l’arrachage des 600 arbres du parc dans le cadre d’un projet conteste
d’amenagement de cette place emblematique.

Depuis le retrait de la police, la place du centre d’Istanbul a
accueilli tous les soirs des milliers de personnes, parfois des
dizaines de milliers, exigeant la demission de M. Erdogan, accuse de
derive autoritaire et de vouloir “islamiser” la societe turque.

Sûr du soutien d’une majorite de Turcs, le Premier ministre a adopte
un ton très ferme depuis le debut de la crise, en renvoyant les
contestataires aux elections municipales de 2014 pour exprimer leur
mecontentement. En 2011, l’AKP avait recueilli 50% des suffrages.

Son intransigeance a valu a M. Erdogan de nombreuses critiques dans
le monde entier, notamment de la part de son allie americain ou de
l’Union europeenne (UE), qui ont denonce le recours excessif a la
force par la police turque.

Le syndicat des medecins turcs a annonce mardi la mort d’une quatrième
personne, grièvement blessee il y a quelques jours a Ankara, depuis
le debut des manifestations. Outre ces quatre personnes tuees, trois
manifestants et un policier, près de 5.000 autres ont ete blessees,
dont plusieurs dizaines grièvement.

mercredi 12 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

L’ONG DUR DE VEUT CONSTRUIRE UN NOUVEAU MONUMENT DEDIE AUX VICTIMES DU GENOCIDE SUR LA PLACE TAKSIM

Un representant d’une ONG turque “Dur De” (Dites non au racisme et
le nationalisme) Cengiz Algan a exprime son intention de restaurer
un monument dedie aux victimes du genocide armenien, initialement
installe sur la place Taksim en 1919 a rapporte la presse turque.

” Nous allons installer un nouveau monument au meme endroit que la
precedente. Le passe ne peut etre oublie. Le monument a ete installe
4 ans après le genocide armenien et a demantele en 1940 ” a declare
Cengiz Algan.

“Bien que la majorite des Armeniens ont ete extermines, des milliers
ont survecu et veulent maintenant essayer de prouver le massacre de
leurs ancetres, aneantis sur ces terres”, a declare Cengiz Algan qui
a precise que le parc Gezi etait un ancien cimetière armenien.

mercredi 12 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

700 ARMENIENS ONT QUITTE LE PAYS LE 9 JUIN, LA PLUPART DISENT QU’ILS NE REVIENDRONT PAS

Le 9 Juin, près de 700 citoyens armeniens dans le pays sont montes
a bord d’autobus a destination de la Russie. J’ai ete temoin de
cet exode massif a la douane au passage a Bagratashen frontière
armeno-georgienne. Onze grands bus Mercedes alignes au point de
contrôle de 11 heures a 23 heures.

Les bus se dirigeaient vers Moscou, Donetsk, Rostov, Krasnodar et des
points plus eloignes en Russie. Ceux qui partent venaient d’Erevan,
Hoktemperyan, Etchmiadzin, Vanadzor et Alaverdi.

Un des passagers Baregham Nikoghosyan, a declare a un journaliste
qu’il y avait une trentaine de residents d’Etchmiadzin dans le bus.

Parmi les raisons invoquees par ceux qui quittent l’Armenie figurent
les dernières elections presidentielles, le chômage, les bas salaires,
et de lourdes dettes.

Certains d’entre eux etaient des agriculteurs durement touches par
les recentes greles et ne voient pas de moyen de se remettre sur
leurs pieds.

Beaucoup ont avoue qu’il y avait peu de chance de les revoir en
Armenie de sitôt, voire pas du tout.

En fait, la majorite a fait valoir que le gouvernement armenien
faisait tout pour les forcer a quitter le pays.

Ils ont dit que l’argent dilapide par certains responsables
gouvernementaux dans la journee dans un casino pourrait, s’il etait
bien depense, resoudre les problèmes d’un village donne en Armenie.

Larisa Paremuzyan

mercredi 12 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

GEZI’S FOREIGN FRONT

Radikal, Turkey
June 10 2013

by Fehim Tastekin

While the government, with a strategy that positively reeked of
sectarianism, was trying to tighten its conservative ranks with
initiatives to design private life and form a new identity, it swung
the ax in the wrong place and hit Gezi [Park, Istanbul].

Is it a political destiny that leaders experiencing constriction in
foreign relations turn inward and become authoritarian? One example
of this maelstrom that politicians create with their own hands and
which cause the countries to become closed in on themselves has been
drawing Turkey in as well, a process to which the Gezi Park revolt
has suddenly put on a bitter brake. The younger generation, which
no political party has been able to channel for their own purposes,
has shown that it is not going to surrender easily to this fate. The
government, with the psychology of being caught in a tight squeeze as
a result of the turbulence it has encountered in the international
arena, is approaching the tension within the country as follows:
A Prime Minister who since 2011 had displayed a moral stance by
telling the Arab leaders encountering popular revolts to “pay heed to
the voice of the people” is now working to discredit the unrest and
the anger of his own people by calling it “a plot of foreign powers,
interest-rate lobbies, and coup-plotters.” He considers the interest
of the foreign press, which has oriented its antennas towards Gezi, as
a sign of the foreign plot that he has spoken of; without considering
that no newspaper would be able to remain indifferent to an event
that could only be seen once in a century in these lands. And he is
putting the masses into a rivalry, without there being any need for
this. He is planning retaliation rallies on 15 June in Ankara, and
on 16 June in Istanbul, without paying attention to their coinciding
with the university entrance examinationsa~@¦

The Discourse of the Turn Inwards is Crude

This is a tragic transformation, slipping from pluralism into
majoritarianism. The impact on this of Turkey’s having stumbled on
its foreign policy path, ranging from the relationship with the EU
to the Syria issue, is great.

When the process aimed at normalizing ties with Armenia was tossed into
the trash for the sake of Azerbaijan, when the courageous overtures
aimed at resolving the Cyprus issue were abandoned for a return
once again to the line of reconquering the island, when the spring
atmosphere that had come about in terms of resolving the problems with
Greece in the Aegean was dashed, and finally when the negotiations
with the EU came to an impasse because of Turkey’s failure to fulfil
its commitment to open its customs to South Cyprus in accord with the
Supplemental Protocol it had signed in 2005, Erdogan had sought to
dispel the criticisms made with statist and nationalist rhetoric. This
rhetoric, while distancing Turkey from the EU, also served no other
purpose than, domestically, taking the Kurdish issue, in particular,
to a critical point. While the government had been hoping that it
would deal with the Kurdish issue by expelling the BDP [Peace and
Democracy Party] parliamentary deputies from the National Assembly
and tossing thousands of Kurds into prison in the KCK [Assembly of
Communities of Kurdistan] case, it then suddenly pivoted and launched
the peace process. The factor compelling this was the de facto
Kurdish autonomous zone in the north of Syria, which could not have
been anticipated. Even if it came by being imposed by the conditions,
it was no doubt a manoeuvre that deserves applause. The message that
[imprisoned Kurdistan People’s Congress, KGK, formerly PKK, leader]
Abdullah Ocalan sent with the latest Imrali delegation, however, to
the effect that “I have fulfilled the responsibility incumbent on me,
and I hope that the government will fulfil, with the same seriousness,
the responsibilities incumbent on it; those who think they can use me
and deceive me will be mistaken” indicates a serious risk of stumbling.

The Impact of Syria

The statist and nationalist rhetoric, the dosage of which had been
reduced for the sake of the health of the Kurdish overture, has now
been replaced by a conservative orientation loaded with religious,
sectarian, and heroic references. This is an effort aimed at closing
the fissures in the AKP rank-and-file, who had begun to become uneasy
with the Syria policy that was causing Turkey to pay a price with
the bomb attacks first at Cilvegozu and then afterwards at Reyhanli.

Pressure from Syria is going to cause even further problems for Turkey
in the months ahead. The Syrian military, after having seized Qusayr,
which is of key importance in the flow of arms to the opposition on
the Lebanese border, plans to make a drive towards the Turkish border
in the form of an arc. If, after Qusayr, Qalamun falls as well, the
opposition’s Lebanon link will collapse. There would remain only Aleppo
and Idlib, supplied from Turkey. If the weapons expected from the West
do not come, and if the opposition loses in these two locations, Turkey
will feel the stark reflections of its Syria policy even more. For
the armed groups to concentrate on the border would be a nightmare
scenario for Turkey. Ankara, in order not to face this, sought to
persuade the United States, but it did not work. That Erdogan, who
has gotten at odds with the United States not only on Syria but in
terms of relations with Iraq as well, referred to “foreign powers”
with regard to the Gezi incidents, also reflects the psychology of
having become isolated abroad.

The “Religious” Response to the Gezi Brake

In the final analysis, the government was unable to pursue its policy
of opening up to the outside, which had “neo-Ottoman” connotations,
and thus turned inwards. But the internal reflection of the stumbling
abroad is, unfortunately, quite crude. The naming of the third
bridge for “Yavuz” [“resolute,” referring to Ottoman Sultan “Selim
the Grim”], for instance, was a message conveyed to Syria, to the
Alevis who have been ill-treated with sectarian language, to Iran,
which has been experiencing its works period in recent years with
Ankara because of Syria, and to the Shi’i administration of Iraq,
which has been proceeding on the same wavelength as Iran. Speeches
can become lost like writing on water, but the message on the bridge,
like the bridge itself, will be permanent. While the government, with a
strategy that positively reeked of sectarianism, was trying to tighten
its conservative ranks with initiatives to design private life and form
a new identity, it swung the ax in the wrong place and hit Gezi. But
instead of shrugging this off and recalculating, it responded on the
basis of religious sensitivities, as in the accusation of “they went
into the mosque with their shoes on and drank beer.” It is a shame.

[Translated from Turkish]

AZERBAIJAN’S SECURITY VITAL TO EUROPE’S ENERGY SECURITY

New Europe
June 11 2013

Azerbaijan is ready to play a greater role in Europe’s long-term
energy security but it has reminded the international community that
in return, Europe, its biggest energy recipient, must acknowledge
the security issues it faces at home.

The conference in Vienna entitled The Geopolitics of Azerbaijan
and European Energy Security, heard Monday from Azerbaijani and EU
politicians, diplomats and experts in international oil and gas. It
was told that the US $60 billion invested in Azerbaijan’s energy
infrastructure since independence means it is well placed to exploit
its 2.6 trillion cubic metres proven reserves of natural gas.

“We can produce a whole lot more,” said Azerbaijan Energy Minister
Natig Aliyev.

But his Azerbaijan parliamentary colleague Elkhan Suleymanov, warned
the stability that has made this bonanza possible is tested on a
daily basis by a conflict most gas end-users ignore – the occupation
of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia for the past 21 years.

“The amount of pecuniary damage caused by this war is $US431.5
billion,” he said, quoting from the study published in the U.S. in
2012 called The Invasion of Azerbaijani Lands.

He also highlighted the latest threat to his nation; the dilapidated
Sarsang Reservoir in Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh that engineers
and hydrologists recently confirmed is at risk of catastrophic failure
and at the mercy of saboteurs due to a lack of maintenance.

“The Sarsang reservoir is in emergency condition,” Suleymanov told
the conference.

“Thus the lives of 400,000 people in six provinces of Azerbaijan are
in danger.”

Despite resolutions in the United Nations, the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe, the Organisation of Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) and the European Parliament, Armenia still occupies
20 percent of Azerbaijani territory.

The ongoing aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh, said Professor Gerhard
Mangott of the University of Innsbruck, proves Nagorno-Karabakh
“cannot be considered a frozen conflict”.

Israeli Ambassador to Austria, Aviv Shir-On, said his nation and
Azerbaijan are both “small nations in difficult neighborhoods” adding,
“We appreciate the efforts of Azerbaijan to establish trade and energy
policies but also a foreign policy consisting of delicate balances
vis-a-vis international and regional organisations.”

The event was moderated by former Austrian Chancellor Alfred
Gusenbauer, who said nations have a habit of forgetting conflicts like
Nagorno-Karabakh because “the newest conflict is the most interesting
conflict”.

He closed by urging the international community to do more to help
find an end of Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory, for
humanitarian reasons as much as reasons of energy security.

“EVERYBODY GOES TO YEREVAN” PROJECT TO HOST 600 GUESTS FROM DOZENS OF COUNTRIES

Mediamax, Armenia
June 11 2013

Yerevan /Mediamax/. “Everybody Goes to Yerevan” mission of the national
diplomacy will join 600 guests from dozens of countries including 350
cultural figures, entrepreneurs and journalists from Estonia and 100
Odessa residents.

Co-founder of the mission Maelis Kubic said today that the main goal
of “Everybody Goes to Yerevan” project due to be held in the Armenian
capital on June 11-16 is to get acquainted with the ancient culture
and history of Armenia and create information space among various
countries including Armenia and Estonia.

According to one of the participants of the mission, people’s artist of
Russia Roman Kartsev, the Armenian humor plays a big role on Russian
stage as well.

Within the mission, around 40 events in Yerevan, Gyumri, Tsakhkadzor,
Tatev and Echmiadzin are scheduled.

The list of the events features: “New Odessa Humor” literary show
with participation of the famous “Who? Where? When?” player Boris
Burda and people’s artist of Russia Roman Kartsev, “Miracles Tomorrow”
literary concert with participation of winners of the Russian literary
contests of 2013 Narine Abgaryan and Marianna Goncharova, the day of
write Sergey Dovlatov, author’s evening of satiric Mikhail Zhvanetsky
as well as concert of Russian DDT rock group.