"Turkey creates an impression that the hand stretched out to Armenia

“Turkey creates an impression that the hand stretched out to Armenia was
left in the air”

February 7 2015

Turkologist about the Armenian-Turkish relations

Senior researcher of the Institute of Oriental studies of the NAS of
Armenia, also turkologist Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, in the interview with
“Aravot”, expressed the following opinion that after the April 23 message,
last year, new manifestations of form and content are available in the
Turkey’s official policy. “They are continuous in nature, and each new
statement or initiative is built on the former one. Thus, at present, a
quite large package is created, which includes the country’s top
leadership’s vision about normalization of relations with Armenia and the
Armenian people. When getting acquainted with the content of various
documents included in this package, one gets the impression, and I am sure,
that it is the true objective pursued by Turkey, Ankara is moving “by the
way of self-cleansing and self-lashing”, while Armenia is not duly
signifying these “courageous moves” by Turkey” says Mr. Ter-Matevosyan. He
believes that Turkey creates an impression that the hand stretched out to
Armenia is left in the air, and the reason are the nationalistic sentiments
of the leadership in Armenia. “If we give a formulation to Turkey’s policy
over the last 10 months, then it just looks like this,” says the
turkologist.

To the question of whom the Turkish propaganda machine is aimed at, he
answers, “I am sure that firstly not at Armenians, because it is very
difficult to mislead Armenians with such nonsenses. Armenians are not the
first time and I’m sure not the last time to hear it. The international
community is an extremely elastic notion, indeed, there will be some, for
whom the Turkish approach would be more perceivable, and for the majority
of them, the Armenian approach would be more perceivable. The same logic
works for the Turkish society. The attempts of the Turkish government to
set up a “new start” at this point is failed, both the time and the methods
are wrongly chosen,” says Mr. Ter-Matevosyan.

Turning to Pan Armenian Declaration, our interlocutor considered this
document essential. “The Declaration of January 29 is an attempt to
establish a connection between the past and the present, on the one hand,
and the future, on the other hand. Its name is selected worthily, a
“Declaration”. This declaration is an important milestone. It is also the
equivalent indicator of collective will, maturity and political thought of
Armenians on Genocide issue. It is generally accepted positively by the
Armenians, although there were diversity of interpretations, which is
positive. It is quite extensive and comprehensive document, and it is not
possible to analyze it completely with one question,” says Mr.
Ter-Matevosyan, adding, – Anyway, the first problem that arose with all the
people concerned, probably refers to the fact of what actions should be
carried out in the direction of making the Armenian demands more accessible
and mature. Indeed, the paper envelop of legal requirements was also
mentioned, also the three-level demand was also presented. I hope that the
new document will be clearly and accessibly present the road map, by which
the Armenians’ rights and legitimate interests restoration process will
proceed. The first steps in the direction of declaring the years of 2015 as
a year of a change in our mindset and self-assessment are already made.”

The turkologist also opines that after January 29, Armenia’s diplomacy
tasks are also changing. “It was not a coincidence that the ambassadors of
the Republic of Armenia to abroad were also present at the Genocide
Memorial place that day. A task was put before them that day. Now, it is
necessary to elaborate an action plan for the implementation of separate
episodes of the Declaration, set a task for the diplomatic representations,
define a clear criteria for the assessment of the results and move ahead,”
says Vahram Ter-Matevosyan.

HRIPSIME HOVHANNISYAN

Read more at:

http://en.aravot.am/2015/02/07/168738/

Anti-Armenian statements of U.S. diplomat result of Armenia’s alignm

Expert: Anti-Armenian statements of U.S. diplomat result of Armenia’s
alignment with EEU

by Nana Martirosyan
Saturday, February 7, 19:37

When aligning with the Eurasian Economic Union, the authorities of
Armenia should have thought not just of the 170 million market, but
also of the negative consequences, such as escalation of tension on
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and unfavorable statements of the OSCE
MG co-chairs, Ara Papyan, Director of the Modus Vivendi Centrer, told
ArmInfo.

To recall, OSCE MG, James Warlick, the OSCE MG Co-Chair of U.S. told
APA that extradition of the Azeri diversionists convicted in Nagorny
Karabakh would be a kind step that would help reduce tensions and
build confidence between the parties.

“Armenia has occurred in the heat of the West-Russia confrontation and
as a EEU country it will be feeling permanent pressure in terms of
statements on Karabakh and anti-Armenian resolution,” Papyan said.
According to him, it is not for the first time when representatives of
a mediating country raise the issue of the diversionists in a way not
favorable for Armenia.

The expert believes that the meetings as part of the peace talks have
become an end in itself. “In his annual reports the Foreign Minister
of Armenia does not speak of the goals achieved. He just speaks of the
meetings and visits, which, as a rule, bring no result,” Papyan said.
He pointed out that the Foreign Ministry of Armenia has a Soviet-time
work-style – for the sake of appearance, not for a result.

¬E71020-AEE7-11E4-B6670EB7C0D21663

http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid

Prince Charles says radicalisation of young people ‘alarming’

Prince Charles says radicalisation of young people ‘alarming’

8 February 2015 Last updated at 11:34

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Prince Charles said he was frightened by the way people can be
radicalised online

The Prince of Wales has described the extent to which young people are
becoming radicalised as “alarming” and one of the “greatest worries”.

In an interview with Radio 2’s The Sunday Hour, Prince Charles spoke
of his hopes to “build bridges” between different faiths.

He also spoke of his “deep concern” for the suffering of Christian
churches in the Middle East.

He is currently in Jordan on a six-day tour of the region.

The prince arrived in the capital Amman on Saturday night and is due
to hold talks with King Abdullah II later.

On the radicalisation of young people, Prince Charles says: “Well, of
course, this is one of the greatest worries, I think, and the extent
to which this is happening is the alarming part.

“And particularly in a country like ours where you know the values we hold dear.

The prince is in Jordan at the start of his Middle East tour

“You think that the people who have come here, [are] born here, go to
school here, would imbibe those values and outlooks.”

“The frightening part is that people can be so radicalised either
through contact with somebody else or through the internet, and the
extraordinary amount of crazy stuff which is on the internet.”

He told the BBC programme he believed part of the reason some young
people are radicalised is a “search for adventure and excitement at a
particular age”.

‘Constructive paths’

The prince also discussed the work of his charity The Prince’s Trust
in combating radicalisation.

He said: “What I have been trying to do all these years with the
Prince’s Trust is to find alternatives for adolescents and people at a
young age, for constructive paths for them to channel their
enthusiasm, their energy, that sense of wanting to take risks and
adventure and aggression and all these things.

“But you have to channel them into constructive paths.”

The Radio 2 programme covers visits by the prince to Armenian, Roman
Catholic Chaldean and Syrian Orthodox churches in the UK, and contains
accounts from members of these denominations who have had to flee
persecution in Syria and Iraq.

He said: “I particularly wanted to show solidarity really, deep
concern for what so many of the Eastern Christian churches are going
through in the Middle East.

‘Protector of faiths’

“Christianity was founded in the Middle East which we often forget.
>From a morale point I hope it showed they were not forgotten. I wish I
could do more. Many of us do wish we could do more.

“I think what doesn’t bear thinking about is people of one faith, a
believer, could kill another believer. That’s the totally bewildering
aspect in our day and age.”

The prince has an “extraordinary relationship in the Gulf”, his biographer said

He suggested that when he becomes king, he may still be sworn in as
Defender of the (Christian) Faith. There had been speculation that the
title could be changed to encompass all faiths.

However, he said he believed an important part of the role was to be a
“protector of faiths”, defending every religion in multicultural
Britain.

During the interview, the prince also considered how different
communities could live alongside each other.

He told the programme: “I think the secret is that we have to work
harder to build bridges and we have to remember that our Lord taught
us to love our neighbour, to do to others as you would do to you and
just to go on despite the setbacks and despite the discouragement to
try and build bridges and to show justice and kindness to people.”

‘Activist prince’

The broadcast comes after a new book claiming the prince wants to
redefine the monarchy was published.

The book’s author, Catherine Mayer, said he has an “extraordinary
relationship in the Gulf.”

She added: “It’s partly just because he’s a prince. Also he gave a
speech on Islam in 1993 in which he talked about Islam not having a
monopoly on extremism and he talked about the Christian crusades, and
he talked about the good things in Islam.”

But anti-monarchy group Republic said the prince’s views must be
subject to scrutiny.

Graham Smith, Republic’s CEO, said: “MPs in particular need to face up
to the new reality of an activist prince and must be free to openly
challenge what Charles says.”

* The Sunday Hour was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 8 February.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31199692

‘War Report’ Confirms The Occupation Of Azerbaijani Territories By A

‘WAR REPORT’ CONFIRMS THE OCCUPATION OF AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIES BY ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 6 2015

6 February 2015 – 2:03pm

The fact of the occupation of territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia
and the continued military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan
was unequivocally reaffirmed in the new ‘War Report’.

The report was launched in December 2014 at the Graduate Institute
of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

A part of the report devoted to the conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan is entitled ‘Military occupation of Azerbaijan by Armenia’.

The report emphasizes that the only parties to the conflict are
Armenia and Azerbaijan, the report says.

‘War Report’ was prepared by the Geneva Academy of International
Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and was published by Oxford
University Press.

The report provides extensive information regarding 39 armed conflicts
that occurred on the territory of 26 states during 2013. The first
edition of ‘War Report’ covered the year 2012 and was launched on
December 2013, Trend reminds.

http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/politics/65893.html

Keeping Up With The Kardashians Circa 1900! How Kim’s Ancestors..Esc

EXCLUSIVE: KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS CIRCA 1900! HOW KIM’S ANCESTORS HEEDED PROPHET’S WARNING OF LOOMING SLAUGHTER TO ESCAPE RURAL ARMENIA FOR A NEW LIFE IN THE U.S

The Daily Mail, UK
Feb 6 2015

Kim Kardashian’s ancestors escaped before Armenian Genocide of
1915 A prophet warned them ‘terrible times’ and war was coming –
and both did More than one million people eventually died in the
invasion that followed But Kim’s great, great grandfather Saghatel
Kardashian heeded prophecy So did Hovhannes Miroyan on the other side
of her incredible family tree A hundred years after the atrocity,
their distant relatives became TV stars after ancestor left for the
U.S. and became a garbage truck driver Kim now planning to visit
Armenia on the tragedy’s hundredth anniversary MailOnline discovered
a treasure trove of pictures of the Kardashian family

By Will Stewart for MailOnline

The extraordinary escape from the ‘Armenian Genocide’ of Kim
Kardashian’s ancestors – thanks to a ‘prophet’ who urged them to
uproot to America – can be revealed today for the first time.

MailOnline has unearthed a treasure trove of images showing the reality
TV star’s ethnic Armenian forebears who fled the tsarist Russian empire
in the early 20th century, many of whom obeyed the advice of the sage.

Known at the time as the Kardaschoffs, in Russian style, the family
made their way from their home village of Karakale in the late 19th
Century to German ports. From there, they travelled to a new life in
America on the passenger vessels SS Brandenberg and SS Koln.

By doing so, they escaped the triple horror of the First World War
from 1914-18, the ‘Armenian Genocide’ starting in 1915 – exactly a
century ago this year – and the Russian Revolution in 1917.

One hundred years after the deadly holocaust decimated their ancestral
home, the Kardashians have become one of the most influential families
in America.

The most famous of which is Kim who has chosen this year, on the
hundredth anniversary of the atrocity, to visit Armenia for the
first time.

But her lavish lifestyle, the expensive houses, an army of followers
who hang on her every tweet, the marriage to a musical superstar
would not exist if her ancestors had ignored the warning of a child
‘prophet’.

Among those fleeing Erzurum – then in Armenia, and ruled by last
Russian Tsar Nicholas II was family patriarch Hovhannes Miroyan and
Kim’s great great grandfather, born in 1844. He married the doughty
Luciag Chorbajian, born in 1853.

The couple wed in Erzurum, which is now in Turkey, in 1867 but escaped
along with their daughter Vartanoosh Mironyan, born in 1886, in the
early 20th century.

Vartanoosh’s distinctly blonde daughter Haigoohi Arakelian – known
as Helen, born in America in 1917, the year the Bolshevik Revolution
rocked the Russian Empire – was Kim’s grandmother, who later married
into the Kardashian clan.

The glamorous and ‘dynamic’ Helen wed Arthur who ran the largest
meat-packing business in southern California.

Helen’s son Robert, a celebrity lawyer who died of oesophageal cancer
in 2003, married Kris Houghton and fathered the 21st Century’s biggest
reality TV stars Kourtney, Khloe, Robert Jr and most famous of all
– Kim.

Their mother Kris eventually married Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner
and together they raised two more TV personalities, Kendall and Kylie.

The flight to freedom of Arthur’s parents and grandparents from
the village of Karakale – today a snow-covered and entirely Muslim
outpost in eastern Turkey where the stone ruins of the old Armenian
homes still stand – came later than many in this community.

It was as if they had sought to cling on against the rising ethnic
violence and persecution.

The Kardashians – or Kardaschoffs – like other branches of Kim’s
paternal kith and kin were ethnic Armenian, but they were also
religious rebels, at odds with the orthodox faith in their homeland.

They had already fled persecution once before, from another location
deeper in Armenia.

‘The village bullies harassed and insulted them, dug into their tombs
and (violated) the corpses of the deceased – hanging them on trees,’
explained Joyce Keosababian-Bivin, whose ancestors also came from
Karalala, and whose family is linked by marriage to the Kardashians.

‘Because of that they wrote a letter of complaint to Nicholas II.’

The tsar decreed that they could move to Karakale, close to the
Russian military settlement, where initially they were safe in what
was ‘a modern village, with beautiful buildings and wide streets’.

Here, they became close to incoming Russian protestants against the
Russian Orthodox Church.

They were a sect called the Molokans, literally translated as
‘milk-lovers’, so-called because they drank milk, and other banned
foods, on fast days.

Some were known as Jumpers, who leapt in the air, raising their hands
high, during church services. They were pacifists and, crucially,
adhered to the power of prophecy.

The legend has it that in the 1850s, an 11-year-old Efil Klubnikin
penned an apocalyptic forecast despite being apparently illiterate.

‘Those who believe in this will go on a journey to a far land, while
the unbelievers will remain in place,’ the boy prophesied. ‘Our people
will go on a long journey over the great and deep waters…people
from all countries will go there.

‘There will be a great war. All kings will shed blood like great
rivers. Two steamships will leave to cross the impassable ocean.’

In the first years of the 20th century, Efim renewed the warning
that he made to stunned believers in Karakale as a child, saying his
premonition was now coming to pass.

‘Efim called a meeting, he invited the elders from all the Molokan
villages including the two elders of the Armenian Molokan church. He
prophesied this was the time for them to leave Russia as there
were terrible times coming, especially for the Armenians,’ said Ms
Keosababian-Bivin.

Images he scrawled led locals to believe they should cross the
Atlantic to the United States, but this young diviner also indicated
they should not stop there, but trek to the west coast. He pointed
them towards Los Angeles.

America was, he said, ‘a land of the living’ while mass slaughter
would engulf their homeland.

Presciently, he urged them to go quickly – as he himself would do –
and cautioned: ‘The doors will close, and leaving Russia will be
impossible.’

Many families sold up their homes and land at knockdown prices,
or simply fled, to escape the coming horrors.

It is substantially due to the prophecy that many of Kim’s forebears
came to Los Angeles, a city where the clan thrived and made their name.

But many were jeered as they left Karakale, now known as Merkez
Karakale, and mocked for their belief in the prophesy of coming doom.

Poignantly, the village is almost in the shadow of the magnificent
volcanic Mount Ararat, supposedly the resting place of Noah’s Ark
when the world faced an earlier catastrophe, a fact which led some
of the Armenians to believe they would be safe here.

Yet all those who stayed in Karakale would pay with their lives.

Records show that Arthur Kardashian’s father and Kim’s great
grandfather, Tatos, was born in Karakale and later became known as Tom.

Tatos heeded the warning and in September 1913, at the age of 17,
found himself boarding the SS Koln from Bremen, Germany to Boston.

He opened a rubbish collection business in Los Angeles and wed another
Karakale Jumper immigrant, Hamas Shakarian, who travelled with him
on the cramped passenger steamer from Germany.

A few weeks earlier, Tatos’ parents Saghatel ‘Sam’ Kardashian, then
49, and Hrepsema ‘Horom’ Yuzbashian, then 43, had travelled on the
SS Brandenburg from Bremen to Philadelphia, arriving on 2 August 1913.

‘Steerage passengers were jammed together much like cargo down below,’
said researcher Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska.

Their escape would undoubtedly save their lives. With the world
engulfed in war, and Russia beset by revolution, the forces of the
Ottoman empire moved in on the region.

It became embroiled in what is variously known as the Armenia Genocide,
the Armenian Massacres, and the Armenian Holocaust.

Estimates vary but it is claimed around one million to 1.5m people
perished in mass killings between 1915 and 1923.

Significantly, perhaps, Kim has chosen this year to travel to Armenia,
the land of her forefathers, for the first time.

The Turkish government refuses to accept the label ‘genocide’, though
many historians, international organisations and almost two dozen
countries recognise it as such.

Britain and the US have not done so, arguably to avoid upsetting key
NATO ally Turkey.

‘When the Turkish army marched through the area in 1917, they committed
unspeakable atrocities against the Armenian people in all the villages,
including Karakale’, said Ms Keosababian-Bivin.

‘The Armenia Genocide began and every inhabitant of Karakala perished,’
wrote Matthew W Tallman, citing another Kim relative, Demos Shakarian,
whose grandfather of the same name became a prominent Pentecostalist
preacher in Los Angeles and was also Kim’s great great grandfather.

‘Efim’s prophetic words saved many lives in Karakale.’

Another account recorded: ‘The great World War One broke out, and in
the terrible onslaught, when Turkey overran Armenia, every soul in
Karakala was wiped out.’

Kim went on the record in 2012 to call for a wider understanding of
the tragedy that befell the Armenian people.

‘It’s time to recognise the Armenian Genocide,’ she said. ‘Until
this crime is resolved, the Armenian people will live with the pain
of what happened to their families.’

In midwinter, the tiny village is deserted. It retains a 19th century
feel, with horses still used by local farmers, as in the time of old
Sam Kardashian’s time.

The scars of the past run deep, and now even professing links to Kim
seems a matter of controversy here.

A diplomatic source said: ‘You must understand that with centenary
of the genocide coming in April, and the Turks are deeply sensitive
about anything that can act as a focus to the slaughter of the past.’

There is also deep tension between the Turks and Kurds in the east
of the country.

One resident of Karakala, Muhammer Copur, 30, claimed two years
ago that he was distantly related to Kim, because their great great
grandmothers were sisters.

Then a village shopkeeper, he found the linked after scouring the
web on the village’s only computer, it was claimed.

‘It’s amazing – everyone is jealous,’ he said at the time, though
the name of the ancestor was not disclosed. ‘All the villagers now
want to know if they are related to famous sexy millionaires too. I’m
hoping Kim will invite me to the US’.

He added that his dream was: ‘All I want is a cup of tea with her.’

Two years on, and he pours cold water on the story, now denying there
is any truth in it.

‘I don’t want to speak about Kim Kardashian because she is so famous,’
he said. ‘If I say something, I can have problems.’

Now working at a university in the nearby city of Kars, he said:
‘I don’t want to speak about those topics because I’m under pressure
from other villagers, and from the Turkish press.’

He said that his family only moved to the village ‘some time between
maybe 1920 and 1930’ – long after Kim’s ancestors had left.

His family are Terekeme, also known as Qarapapaq, he said, a Muslim
group traditionally speaking a dialect of Azerbaijani.

If – somehow – there is truth that one of Kim’s former ancestors in
Karakale remained behind, survived the ‘genocide’, and wed into the
Copur clan – which would have required her converting to Islam – it
would mean dozens of the settlement’s present residents would also
be related.

Almost half the homes in the village today are occupied by his extended
family members.

His cousin Atilla Copur, head of the village administration, went on
local TV to discount the links to Kim, however.

‘They said that Kim Kardashian’s family was living in the village. But
we don’t know if it’s true,’ he said.

There are no documents which prove a family connection between the
Kardashians and the Copur’s, he insisted, saying that archive searches
had been conducted in Turkey.

Yet there is no doubt the family did live here in his village, before
being forced away by the real threat of barbarism.

And existing Armenian gravestones in the local cemetery – though not
visibly connected to the Kardashians – are evidence of this link.

For old family photos of Kim’s ancestors and videos go to

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2939622/Keeping-Kardashians-circa-1900-Kim-s-ancestors-heeded-prophet-s-warning-looming-slaughter-escape-rural-Armenia-new-life-U-S.html

BAKU: Moscow Concerned Over Tension On Armenia-Azerbaijan Contact Li

MOSCOW CONCERNED OVER TENSION ON ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONTACT LINE

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 6 2015

6 February 2015, 13:37 (GMT+04:00)
By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Russia has called on the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to
avoid actions leading to escalation on the contact line.

Armenia and Azerbaijan should take effective measures aimed at reducing
tension, said Alexander Lukashevich, Spokesperson for Russian Foreign
Ministry, reported Tass, a Russian media outlet.

“Russia is concerned over the escalation on the contact line of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani armies,” Lukashevich added.

He said the very difficult situation on the frontline has resulted
in an intensification of a large number of ceasefire violations,
clashes and actions of sabotage groups.

The data provided by the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe’s monitoring commission revealed that 12 people were
killed and 18 others wounded in wake of the skirmishes in January,
noted Lukashevich.

“It goes without saying that the numbers can be higher,” he added.

Lukashevich said the statement issued by the OSCE Minsk Group middlemen
based on the outcomes of the meeting with Azerbaijani foreign minister
in Krakow on January 27 this year includes a call to the conflicting
sides to follow the ceasefire agreement.

“We strongly call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to take effective
measures to reduce the tension and to avoid steps that could lead to
escalation,” he noted.

Armenia is keeping Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent territories,
historical and internationally recognized lands of Azerbaijan, under
occupation for over two decades.

Following a lengthy war that sparked in early 1990s based on a
falsified territorial claim against Azerbaijan, Armenian armed forces
invaded in 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, killing hundreds and
displacing over a million of ethnic Azerbaijanis.

Peace negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group have not brought
a happy end to the conflict so far. The Armenian side ignores its
obligations under the ceasefire agreement signed in 1994, keeping on
armistice infringements, sabotage incursions to flare up the tension
on the contact line.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

Meanwhile, the Armenian armed forces have broken the ceasefire with
Azerbaijan for 85 times in numerous positions in the last 24 hours,
according to Defense Ministry.

http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/77255.html

Reports: Gyumri Murder Suspect Has Psychiatric Record

REPORTS: GYUMRI MURDER SUSPECT HAS PSYCHIATRIC RECORD

EurasiaNet.org
Feb 6 2015

February 6, 2015 – 4:56am

Russian media-reports that the Russian conscript accused of
killing an entire family in the Armenian town of Gyumri suffers from
“oligophrenia” (mental retardation) are raising fresh questions about
Moscow’s response to the deaths.

Citing anonymous sources, several mainstream Russian news sites
claimed on February 5 that 18-year-old Valery Permyakov, charged with
the deaths of seven members of the Avetisian family, spent more than
a month in a psychiatric hospital before being stationed late last
year at Russia’s 102nd army base in Gyumri.

LifeNews, referencing military investigators, reported that doctors at
a psychiatric hospital in the Siberian town of Chita where Permyakov
was stationed supposedly detected “serious behavioral disorders.”

An unnamed source told Gazeta.ru that Permyakov earlier had received
a diagnosis of mental retardation. “They didn’t have the right at
all to induct him [into the army], much less to place him on guard
with a weapon,” the source said.

Mental retardation is not a synonym for psychiatric problems, but,
in Russia, notes one advocacy group for the mentally disabled,
“Mental health care . . .is provided almost exclusively in large
psychiatric institutions.”

Those involved with Permyakov’s enlistment, however, claimed to
Russian media that they had no knowledge or record of previous
mental-health problems.

The Armenian investigative committee looking into the murders
told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that Russian officials have not yet
responded to a request for information about Permyakov’s previous
state of mental health.

Military prosecutors have requested that the individuals who approved
Permyakov for military service, as well as the 102nd base-officers
who gave him a weapon be “held accountable,” Russian media report,
but how far that scrutiny will go is open to doubt.

As Simon Saradzhyan, a Russian-military expert at Harvard University’s
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, wrote in The
Moscow Times, though, the Russian military has long been dogged by
the problem of bloodshed committed by mentally disturbed soldiers
who were cleared for service.

It is not known whether or not Permyakov has been examined by
psychiatrists at the 102nd army base, where he is being held and will
be tried.

That absence of information has fueled suspicions about the reasons
for releasing now the details about Permyakov’s alleged condition.

Some Armenians fear that it boils down to Moscow’s desire to hush
up the scandal, which is badly damaging its image within Armenia,
Russia’s main strategic partner in the South Caucasus.

Protests for Russia to hand the soldier over to Armenian
law-enforcement have been held in Gyumri and the capital, Yerevan. One
man has been arrested in connection with the January 15 Gyumri protest,
which targeted the town’s Russian consulate.

The Armenian prosecutor’s office has filed a formal request for
Permyakov to be transferred to Armenian custody, but Moscow has not
yet responded publicly.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71951

Kim Kardashian Crowns Herself Miss Teen Armenian While Sharing Old B

‘I’M THROWING THIS WAY THE F*** BACK!’: KIM KARDASHIAN CROWNS HERSELF MISS TEEN ARMENIAN WHILE SHARING OLD BIKINI PICTURE

Daily Mail, UK
Feb 6 2015

By Kayla Caldwell for MailOnline

Amid frenzy over her latest full frontal magazine shoot, Kim Kardashian
took to Instagram to share a slightly more modest flashback photo.

In the picture the now 34-year-old sports a gold sequined bikini as
she poses confidently with her hands on her hips.

She captioned the photo: ‘I’m throwing this way the f*** back
Thursday,’ joking about how long ago the snap had been taken.

In the throwback photo, a young Kim stands in the center of a kitchen
modeling a gold, sequined string bikini.

Her long, layered brunette locks are styled straight, and she has
accessorized with a silver body chain, connected through a belly
button piercing.

She stands posing confidently with her hands on her hips, in the
photograph she captioned: ‘ #TWTFBT I’m throwing this way the f***
back Thursday #MissTeenArmenian’

The picture – which shows a young Kim modeling an enviably thin
figure – comes after the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star had
shared with Entertainment Tonight that she hired a nutritionist to
help her lose 15 pounds.

The mother of one continued: ‘I just started seeing a nutritionist
because… I eat really bad. I just started to eat really healthy
and work out more and just try to change my lifestyle.’

‘Especially when you have a baby, I want to know what to cook and
how to cook healthier,’ she explained of the decision.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2941927/Kim-Kardashian-models-shimmery-sequined-bikini-flashback-photo.html

BAKU: Sweden Ready To Support Peaceful Settlement Of Armenia-Azerbai

SWEDEN READY TO SUPPORT PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN, NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

The Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency
Feb 6 2015

06.02.2015 [15:14]

Baku, February 6, AzerTAc Chairman of the Azerbaijan Council of State
Support for NGOs Azay Guliyev has met official of the Swedish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs Therese Hyden, the head of Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency Mirja Peterson and Charge de Affairs
of Embassy of Sweden to Azerbaijan Tomas Danestad. The Chairman
highlighted the activity of the Council. They exchanged views on
Azerbaijani and EU relations within the Eastern Partnership Program,
as well as the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Therese
Hyden noted Sweden recognized Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity,
adding the country was ready to support peaceful settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

http://azertag.az/en/xeber/830258

Former minister received big loan for Nairit plant

Hraparak: Former minister received big loan for Nairit plant

12:11 07/02/2015 >> DAILY PRESS

Armenia’s former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen
Movsisyan had received a big loan for the relaunch of Nairit chemical
plant. That sum, however, was misused, Hraparak reports, citing
sources.

“The loan, amounting to about 200 million drams, was wasted without an
audit. Attempts are being made again to get a loan, but this prospect
is unlikely,” the newspaper says.

http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2015/02/07/hraparak/