Author: Kalantarian Kevo

L’ENSEMBLE ARAXE-SASSOUN EST DE RETOUR SUR LE DEVANT DE LA SCÈNE

Première date au calendrier artistique 2013 Samedi 9 mars, spectacle
a Vals les Bains L’ensemble Araxe-Sassoun est de retour le samedi
9 mars au Theâtre les Quinconces a Vals les Bains. Encore quelques
places disponibles …. Infos JAF Marseille 04 91 802 820 // Infos
et reservations Centre Culturel de Vals 04 75 37 49 21

Loussabats, le nouvel album de Sassoun a decouvrir en avant-première
Samedi 16 mars, concert a la JAF Marseille Loussabats est le 4ème opus
de l’ensemble instrumental Sassoun. Dans cet album, les timbres du
saxophone, de la clarinette, de la batterie ou encore du trombone se
melent avec reussite aux sonorites tradtionnelles armeniennes. Cette
rencontre inedite permet d’aborder des repertoires varies et de vous
plonger dans un voyage entre orient et occident. Places limitees //
Infos et reservations JAF Marseille 04 91 802 820

jeudi 7 mars 2013, Aurelie Ohanian ©armenews.com

NUMBER OF “BETWEEN HUNGER AND FIRE: POWER AT THE EXPENSE OF LIVES” VIEWERS INCREASED

10:17, 7 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS: The number of “Between Hunger and Fire:
Power at the Expense of Lives” two-series documentary viewers exceeds
358 thousand in Youtube according to March 7 data. The documentary
features tragic blockade of Nagorno Karabakh capital Stepanakert,
bombings, devastation, and human destiny distortion, and silencing
Azerbaijani weapon emplacement in Khojaly and surrounding areas as
well. The English language version of the movie was premiered to the
international community on February 15.

As Armenpress reports presently the documentary lasting 90 minutes
is also available in Russian.

The facts and figures, shown in the documentary, are recollected
from archival materials found in diverse, including Azerbaijani,
sources, whereas residents of Stepanakert and Karabakh Defense Army
soldiers and officers speak of the blockade of country’s capital and
the peculiarities of the operation to breach the blockade.

The film was shot on the initiative of Public Relations and Information
Center of the Staff of the President of the Republic of Armenia.

RAFFI HOVHANNISSIAN FUSTIGE LES PAYS COPRESIDENTS DU GROUPE DE MINSK

La presse du jour rend compte de la nouvelle manifestation du leader du
parti Heritage sur la place de la Liberte, malgre le froid et la neige,
ou cours de laquelle il a condamne la communaute internationale et
particulièrement les Presidents des pays du Groupe de Minsk d’avoir
commis une ” enorme erreur ” en felicitant Serge Sarkissian. Tant
que les leaders de ces pays n’auront pas corrige leur erreur, M.

Hovhannissian a dit ne pas vouloir reconnaître l’action du Groupe
de Minsk. ” Personne ne nous empechera de continuer notre lutte
“, a-t-il lance. Les 6 et 7 mars, le leader d’opposition devait a
nouveau se rendre dans les regions, avant un rassemblement prevu dans
la capitale vendredi et dimanche.

Prenant la parole lors du rassemblement, Armen Rustamian, un leader
du parti Dachnak, a estime que l’on ” devait prendre le pouvoir etape
par etape “. Il a ajoute qu’une victoire aux elections municipales
d’Erevan qui auront lieu au mois de mai constituerait la première
etape sur la voie de cet objectif. ” Le mouvement populaire dirige
par M. Hovhannissian devrait mettre en place un plan plus elabore
et avoir un programme plus precis pour participer a ces elections “,
a-t-il ajoute.

Par ailleurs, plusieurs quotidiens relèvent que les negociations entre
les groupes parlementaires des partis Republicain, FRA/Dachnaksoutioun
et Heritage, sur la tenue d’une session extraordinaire afin de
trouver le moyen de surmonter les tensions post-electorales se sont
soldees par un echec. Rappelons que les partis Heritage et Dachnak
avaient propose un programme en 3 points qui preconisait la tenue
de nouvelles elections legislatives dès cette annee et des reformes
constitutionnelles visant a transformer l’Armenie en une Republique
parlementaire. Le parti Republicain a rejete ce programme.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 6 mars 2013

jeudi 7 mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

MOHSEN REZA’I: IRANIAN MARTYRS KILLED DURING THE KARABAKH WAR ARE BURIED IN BAKU

Fars News Agency, Iran
March 5 2013

[Translated from Persian]

The former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC]
has said: “Many Iranians participated in the Karabakh war [armed
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1992-94]. In addition
to those who were transferred to the country [Iran] with injuries,
many Iranian martyrs of the Karabakh war have been buried in Baku.”

Mohsen Reza’i, the secretary of the [Iranian] Expediency Council,
made his remarks in an interview with Sahar international network
[Iranian state-run Azeri-language station], which have been covered
by Azerbaijani media outlets.

He said: “I personally ordered the provision of appropriate military
equipment for the Azerbaijani Army and conduct necessary training to
define the status of Karabakh.”

The secretary of the Expediency Council added: “Moreover, at that
time I issued necessary orders for providing special military training
for Azerbaijani military troops.”

The ex-commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said: “Many
Iranians participated in the Karabakh war. In addition to those who
were transferred to the country with injuries, many Iranian martyrs
of the Karabakh war have been buried in Baku”

At the end, Reza’i noted: “Karabakh is a part of Islamic territories
and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan should be ensured through
peaceful methods.”

Various newspapers and websites, like “News Meeting” newspaper and
website, Islam-e Azari, Dirlar, Yakha, Fact Khabar, Haq Yulu, Vatan
Info, Modern Az, have reacted to Mohsen Reza’i’s interview with the
Sahar network.

People linked to the West and the international Zionism in Azerbaijan
claim that Iran had not supported Baku during the Karabakh war. At the
same time, Baku officials have also remained silent about this fact.

[Translated from Persian]

ARA ABRAHAMYAN SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH FRANCE

01.03.1312:07

On February 28, President of France Francois Hollande arrived in
Moscow on an official visit. “Rustehexpert” Ltd and French Technip
engineering company signed an agreement on jointly developing the
engineering company in Russia, which will be engaged in oil processing,
petrochemical and gas chemical production.

>From the Russian side the agreement was signed by Chairman of
“Rustehexpert” Ltd Directors’ Council Ara Abrahamyan and from the
French side – Technip Company’s Executive Vice President, Chief
Operating Director Philippe Barril.

Slaq.am – Information source

REGIME CHANGE CAN START WITH YEREVAN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, SAYS ARF

Tuesday, March 5th, 2013

Armen Rustamian addresses crowd at Liberty Square on Tuesday with
Raffi Hovannisian in the background

YEREVAN-Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia
representative Armen Rustamian on Tuesday laid out his party’s vision
for the post-election popular movement in Armenia by stressing the
importance of securing a victory at the Yerevan municipal elections
set for May 5, as a stepping stone toward achieving regime change.

Speaking at a rally on Freedom Square on March 5, Rustamian noted
that the authorities will not willingly compromise, let alone concede
power. “Only a popular movement that transforms into a powerful
political factor can force them to do that,” he said.

According to Rustamian, The final objective of the movement is to
guarantee that the people assume power on all levels. That objective
can best be attained through persistent struggle, by securing a
series of victories. We should not get disheartened if we cannot
achieve regime change right away. We can attain that goal gradually,
he noted, adding that every single person in the movement will have
to work towards that goal.

Rustamian concluded by saying that securing a victory during the
May 5 municipal elections in Yerevan constitutes the first step. In
a country like Armenia, assuming municipal power in Yerevan would
be very significant and would force the authorities to make greater
concessions, he argued.

Meanwhile, at the same rally opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian
pledged that there will be “no retreat” from the popular movement
sparked after the February 18 presidential elections.

“Nothing will make us deviate from our path,” he told the thousands
assembled at what has become a regular occurrence as the popular
movement continues to grow.

Hovannisian also condemned the international community for accepting
the official results of the disputed February 18 election. He said
congratulatory letters sent to Sarkisian by the U.S. and Russian
presidents as well as other foreign leaders were a “huge mistake,”
reported RFE/RL.

Hovannisian announced that he will tour more areas outside Yerevan,
including the cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor, on Wednesday and
Thursday before holding fresh rallies in the Armenian capital on
Friday and Sunday.

Speaking at Tuesday’s rally, Hovannisian assured supporters that Sunday
will see a “breakthrough” in the realization of his post-election
“program.” He did not elaborate.

ISLE OF POLITICS IN PAP
HAKOB BADALYAN

18:32 06/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Raffi Hovannisian stated in Ijevan that those who claim to be beside
people should already act.

The leader of Heritage is apparently overestimating the situation. If
the PAP decides to demonstrate that it is beside people, and if Serzh
Sargsyan fails to stand beside Raffi Hovannisian, Raffi Hovannisian
will stop having people right away.

Stealing people from the leader of Heritage is a matter of technique
if another technique, the RPA, does not hinder it.

Consequently, Hovannisian needs to beware appeals to be beside the
PAP because no room will be left on the stage, and Raffi Hovannisian
will have to step down and join the audience.

Hovannisian is doomed to act without PAP in launching a movement
because otherwise he has no resource to stop PAP’s expansion.

It is another thing that Raffi Hovannisian has a guarantee from the
RPA that Prosperous Armenia will not be allowed to steal people from
Raffi Hovannisian. In this case, his readiness to cooperate with PAP
is like “peaceful offensive”. On the one hand, Hovannisian lends a
hand to PAP, on the other hand, Prosperous Armenia is told to choose
between joining and recognizing Serzh Sargsyan’s presidency.

Prosperous Armenia is not ready. Prosperous Armenia is not ready
for independent politics evidence to which was the ten-minute TV
report on PAP’s political board meeting. The only conceptual speech
that was adequate to a political board meeting of a political party
was uttered by Vartan Oskanian. And his speech was the only speech
which Gagik Tsarukyan did not comment. The other speeches called for
logistic-populist actions which were fundamentally commented by the
PAP leader.

It is another issue what else the meeting discussed. However, politics
is what is on the square, what is published. What is not published
is not politics but trade, deals or espionage. Everything but politics.

Consequently PAP’s political viability is confined to the TV report on
its political board meeting. And only Vartan Oskanian’s speech was on
politics which was an isle of politics in the political board meeting.

ARMENIAN TV CHANNELS DON’T ACCEPT THE CRITICISM OF THE OSCE/ODIHR

March 4 2013

The OSCE/ODIHR mission monitoring the Armenian presidential election
issued an interim report, which asserted that some broadcast
information agencies showed a selective approach, the other day. The
report reads: “All media monitored by the OSCE/ODIHR election
observation mission regularly covered gatherings and rallies organized
by Mr. Hovannisyan; however, H1, Shant and Armenia TV often presented
only general and at times superficial coverage of the protests, while
repeatedly stating that the rallies were not authorized, and airing a
statement by the police.” inquired of Gevorg Altunyan,
the coordinator of the Public Television news and analytical shows,
whether he deemed the OSCE assessment grounded. He responded: “I don’t
think that the assessment is grounded. For example, sometime during the
campaign, they accused me of bias against the Prosperous Armenia Party
(PAP), the Armenian National Congress (ANC), the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF), and some candidates. Firstly, I checked all my texts
and saw that there was no such attitude there, then I wrote an official
letter to them and asked to explain what formulations they were talking
about. However, I haven’t gotten an answer. This is not the first time,
and, unfortunately, giving such assessments is regular. We do our job;
what assessment the European observers will give interests us insofar
as it is one of the assessments of our work.” The Shant TV channel
representatives also told us that they didn’t agree with the OSCE
assessments and stressed: “This is not the first time we have received
such an assessment from that kind of organization. They don’t know what
they have added to what to get that final picture.” Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

CEBIT EXPO FEATURES ARMENIAN HIGH-TECH PRODUCTS

16:50 05.03.2013

>From March 5 to 9, Armenian high-tech companies will represent the
“High-Tech Armenia” brand at the world’s largest digital trade fair,
CeBIT, held annually in Hannover, Germany. The delegation is led by the
Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) and supported by the
USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC)
Project and the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing
countries (CBI) – an Agency of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. The Armenian delegation includes representatives of Instigate,
Locator, X-Tech, and the Association of Technology StartUps.

During the exhibition, Instigate will present its applications,
a multi-track media player for iOS devices, enterprise development
activities, and other products developed by the company. X-Tech will
present its Kinect apps and games, website development services,
including e-commerce, web and mobile applications, as well as their
recent project, CityBugs.am. Locator will present their services
in vehicle tracking, data transmission, and 3D modeling among other
projects.

CeBIT presents digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and
work environments. The exhibition offers an international platform for
showcasing current industry trends, business networking, and product
presentations. CeBIT brings together over 4,000 companies from 70
countries and boasts around 312,000 visitors from 110 countries.

Armenian companies have participated at CeBIT a number of times
since 2000.

USAID/EDMC support is aimed at enhancing the ability of Armenian
IT companies to export their services and products, improving
their business communication and sales skills, and expanding their
professional network.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT IS “LAST OF THE MOHICANS” OF KARABAKH ELITE – POLITICAL SCIENTIST

NEWS.AM
March 05, 2013 | 13:31

YEREVAN. – The social demand for reforms and changes in Armenia is
powerful and the status quo is no longer acceptable, Regional Studies
Center Director, political analyst Richard Giragosian stated during
a press conference on Tuesday.

Giragosian stressed that the authorities need to understand that
they have to be more accountable, but the opposition likewise should
be accountable.

“The decisions that are made today will impact the generations to
come. There was no huge discussion on key matters even during this
[presidential] election. This was an insulting [election] campaign
[season] for each and every Armenian. This was a battle between
individuals, not ideas,” he noted.

The analyst also predicted two possible scenarios as a result of
the current post-election situation in the country. First is when
the motivation and the initiative are on the side of the opposition,
and the pressure put on the authorities will continue. But, at the
same time, this is an opportunity also for President Serzh Sargsyan.

“During his second tenure, President Sargsyan has become ‘The Last of
the Mohicans,’ the last representative of the [Nagorno-]Karabakh elite,
and the political change has started. [But] the next political elite
[of Armenia], which has not come from Nagorno-Karabakh, will not
necessarily be better and more democratic,” he noted.

As per Giragosian, the second scenario is when opposition Heritage
Party Chairman Raffi Hovannisian-who is declared runner-up to the
winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of the
presidential election that was conducted on February 18, but who
claims to be the real winner in the vote-would acts as an agent of
change. He stressed that both the authorities and the opposition face
the challenge of presenting a clear strategy. And the second thing
that makes them resemble one another is that both have one common
enemy: the oligarchs.

In Richard Giragosian’s words, it is no longer effective to gather
thousands at capital city Yerevan’s Liberty Square, but even if the
people go home, the initiative will not fade away.