Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Candles are lit – Videos

A1Plus.am
05:38 PM | TODAY | SOCIAL

In memory of Lyuks Stepanyan who died in one of Noyemberyan’s military
units on May 15 people are lighting candles near the government
building at this moment.

The parents of soldiers who died in the army could break the police
dyke and approach the doors of the government building.

The chief of police of Yerevan Ashot Karapetyan is talking with them
now. When the journalists tried to approach and record their talk,
police did not allow to do that.

Police Seized Cameras From Journalists

Yerevan-Sevan highway is blocked. Our reporter informed that the cars
transporting journalists were stopped at the traffic police point on
Sevan highway and the journalists were not allowed to get closer to
the place of incident.

On the other side of the traffic police point are the relatives of the
killed conscript Lux Stepanyan who want to transport the body of their
son to Yerevan as a sign of protest. The army and police have blocked
their way.

Our reporter Siranuysh Papyan informs that the officials of the
military police have seized cameras from her and the reporter of
Kentron TV. They were told that the order came not to allow video
recordings. `Turks will watch and mock,’ they said.

The chief of police Vladimir Gasparyan and the minister of defense
Seyran Ohanyan are in the place of the incident, as well as other
high-ranking officers of law enforcement agencies.

Lux Stepanyan was killed on May 15 in a military unit in Noyemberyan.
According to the MoD, it was an accident. The parents of the conscript
do not believe the official press release, they think they want to
cover up the case.

14:32 18/05/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Azerbaijan-produced weapons may be included in armament of Turkish Army

14/05/2013 15:35:00
Oratert News

Several Azerbaijan-produced weapons may be included in the armament of
Turkish Army, Minister of Defense Industry Yaver Jamalov told APA.

The minister said thia at the meeting with Murad Bayar, the
Undersecretary for Defence Industry (SSM) Ministry of National Defence
as a part of IDEF 2013 International Defence Industry Fair in
Istanbul, a number of issues on developing bilateral cooperation were
discussed.

“We also discussed the issue on including several Azerbaijan-produced
weapons in the armament of Turkish Army. I hope that in the near
future, relevant steps will be taken,’ – said Jamalov.

Noting that Azerbaijan attaches importance to the military cooperation
with Turkey, the minister said that joint projects will be implemented
within the cooperation.

Difference of Systems

May 17 2013

US President Barak Obama stated that Steven Miller, the acting
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner, had been fired. And do
you know why that man lost his job? His organization carried out
`inappropriate’ checks at the organizations that are connected with
the currently opposition Republican Party. (Naturally, I am talking
about the US Republican Party, because, according to Galust Sahakyan,
the Armenian Republican Party will never be opposition.) On Wednesday,
Obama mentioned in his speech the condemnable behavior that was
revealed by the report of the Treasury Department Inspector General.
`I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency, but
especially in the IRS.’ In a nutshell, the US President got angry and
banged his fist on the table, so to speak. There are at least two
interesting facts here. The first is that there is the Treasury
Department Inspector General in the US who supervises the activities
of that body and reveals abuse. Can you imagine such an office in
Armenia? The one who would hold that office would be one of the most
corrupted officials in our country. And the second fact certainly is
that the `tax chief’ was punished for carrying out inappropriate
checks at opposition organizations. In Armenia, the opposite is more
probable; the tax office would be punished for not carrying out
inappropriate checks at some bakery or sausage factory whose owner was
allegedly linked to the opposition. And he would be punished more
severely, if an appropriate check was unexpectedly carried out at that
suspicious man’s business. That is the difference of the two systems.
In one, they encourage freedom of expression, in general and free
entrepreneurship, in particular, and all those who impede that are
punished. In the other, it is the opposite; they try to spread the
government’s influence over entrepreneurship. It is visible
particularly during elections; the government’s campaign office clerks
approach any small and medium entrepreneur and say that if he doesn’t
bring a certain amount of votes, he will be punished. The `punishment’
is that representatives of different government bodies, including the
tax office, will come and will do everything necessary to have that
person’s business closed. The Republicans call it `working during
elections.’ An entrepreneur has two options here, either to go for
confrontation or to submit. However, in the second case, the
humiliation he has suffered remains in the person’s mind. And it is
quite probable that this wound is so deep that he decides to leave the
country, along with his family, a decision that, I think, should not
be encouraged or welcomed, but is humanly understandable. In the case
of big business, a bit more complex mechanisms are employed, but the
substance is the same. Now is it understandable why the Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) and the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) cannot
be opposition? ARAM ABRAHAMYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

Killed soldier’s family turned back as dozens stage protest in Yerevan

NEWS | 18.05.13 | 16:56

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, Police Chief Vladimir
Gasparyan and other representatives of the top brass personally talked
the family of an army conscript killed recently by a fellow soldier
out of taking his body to the capital as a sign of protest as the
procession was blocked on the Sevan-Yerevan highway earlier on
Saturday.

Lyuks Stepanyan, 19, was shot dead by another conscript in a military
unit in the northeastern Tavush province of Armenia on May 15 in an
incident in which another soldier, Hrachya Sargsyan, was seriously
wounded in the head and is now said to be in a coma at a military
hospital in Yerevan.

David Khachatryan, a 20-year-old conscript from the same military
unit, was arrested on suspicion of committing murder `in a way
dangerous for the life of many people’.

The parents of the killed soldier, reportedly infuriated by the lack
of due attention from the military authorities in the wake of the
incident and doubting that an impartial investigation will be
conducted,, planned to take the body of their son to the government
building in Yerevan where scores of civil rights activists and mothers
of other servicemen killed in the ranks were holding a protest today.

The police, however, blocked their way and the high-ranking officials
who came to meet them reportedly managed to convince them to return to
their native village of Verin Getashen to organize Stepanyan’s funeral
there. Some clashes between relatives of the killed soldier and police
officers were reported in the process.

Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said Minister Ohanyan
had assured the Stepanyans that an unbiased and thorough investigation
will be conducted and that all those responsible for the deadly
incident will be punished. He also denied that the military
authorities had not given the killed soldier’s family due attention
after the death of their son.

Serj Tankian congratulates Dorians on Eurovision success

15:47 – 18.05.13

System of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian has congratulated the Armenian
rock band Dorians for its success in the Eurovision semi-final.

`Congrats to The Dorians and Tony Iommi for getting into the
Eurovision finals. The Dorians are the band who opened for us in
Armenia a few years back at the opening of the Tumo Center,’ the
musician has said in a Facebook post.

Dorians qualified for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in the Thursday
semifinals held in Malmo, Sweden.

The author of the band’s song, Lonely Planet, is Black Sabbath
guitarist Tony Iommi.
The contest’s final round is due Saturday evening.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Road Police trying to obstruct entry of cortege carrying body of
killed soldier to Yerevan – police car damaged in clashes

Saturday, May 18, 13:18

Road Police and officers of the Defense Ministry of Armenia are trying
to obstruct entry of a cortege carrying body of the killed soldier
Luks Stepanyan to Yerevan. The soldier was killed by his comrade in
army in Noyemberyan on May 15.

The cortege stopped on Sevan-Yerevan highway and the relatives of the
killed soldier are squabbling with the police. As a result, the
relatives and the villagers of the killed soldier damaged the police
vehicle.

Artsrun Hovhannissyan, Spokesperson of Defense Minister Seyran
Ohanyan, writes on his Facebook page that the minister will soon
arrive at the spot.

Earlier, father of the killed, resident of Verin Getashen,
Gegharkunik Region, Ishkhan Stepanyan said that he intends to deliver
the body of his son to the government building in Yerevan and demand
explanations from the defense minister. He told media that they are
unaware of the real reasons of their son’s death, as the Defense
Ministry representatives have provided them with no reasonable
explanations of the incident. The relatives and the family of the
killed soldier slam the ministry for ‘irresponsibility and ignorance.’
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.

ô922230-BF9B-11E2-9B58F6327207157C

CULTURE
Un séminaire dédié au tapis arménien du 20 au 22 novembre à Erévan

Le ministère arménien de la Culture organisera du 20 au 22 novembre à
Erévan un séminaire et des conférences intitulés « Haygagan Hankouyts
» (le n`ud arménien) consacré à l’art du tapis arménien. De nombreux
thèmes liés aux tapis arméniens seront étudiés. Parmi ces derniers, la
culture du tapis en Arménie, les particularités spécifiques du tapis
arménien, les tapis arméniens dans les musées étrangers, les
collections privées de tapis arméniens, les techniques de rénovation
des tapis et la protection des tapis arméniens. Le ministère arménien
de la Culture ouvre ce séminaire à tous ceux -personnes ou
organisations- qui désirent y participer.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 18 mai 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Business New Europe
May 17 2013

Armenia plans Eurobond debut in 2013

bne
May 17, 2013

Armenia is planning to make its debut on the Eurobonds market this
year, the prime minister said on May 16. The move sees Yerevan seeking
to leverage the ongoing emerging markets bond rally as it’s forced to
replace development funding, which is drying up.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan announced that a political decision to
issue a Eurobond has already been made. A $500m bond is expected
before the end of 2013. The PM told government officials that the
Eurobond will establish a benchmark to help private Armenian companies
tap international capital markets at better rates, News.am reported.

“This is a new page in our economic policy, and not only in the
management of public finances. We create opportunity for the private
sector to attract cheaper funds from the financial markets,” Sargsyan
said.

Finance Minister Davit Sargsyan told the cabinet meeting that as
international financial institutions no longer consider Armenia a
low-income country, the flow of preferential loans and other
development funding is expected to gradually dry up. As a result,
Armenia needs to find its own sources of finance, he said. “This means
the issuance of Eurobonds should start,” he insisted.

The issue will also enable Yerevan to pay back loans from Russia,
Armenia Today reports. The government says it is planning to employ
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLC to advise on the issue and
provide technical assistance.

NKR Foreign Ministry delegation participating in the anniversary
events in Abkhazia

19:42 – 17.05.13

The delegation of the Foreign Ministry of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, headed by Minister Karen Mirzoyan, is participating in the
events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Foreign Ministry of
the Republic of Abkhazia.

The NKR Foreign Minister delivered a speech at the ceremonial meeting
taken place on May 17, congratulating the Abkhaz colleagues and noting
that the people of Artsakh were attentively following the developments
in Abkhazia and were glad for its successes.

‘The events, which have been taking place in the world for the recent
years, prove that the realization of peoples’ right to
self-determination remains the most optimal means for the resolution
of international disputes’, Karen Mirzoyan, in particular, emphasized.

The same day, a meeting of the delegation of Artsakh with Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia Viacheslav Chirikba took place, at which
the parties discussed the prospects of further cooperation between the
Foreign Ministries of the two countries and the issues of mutual
interest.

In the framework of the festive events, a meeting of the Foreign
Ministers of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transdniestria, and Nagorno
Karabakh took place, at which the development and consolidation of
bilateral and multilateral cooperation were discussed.

During the visit, a meeting of the delegation of Artsakh with
representatives of the Armenian community of Abkhazia also took place.

Armenian News – Tert.am