Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIA CANCELS SSJ ORDER

The Moscow Times

July 9 2012

Armenian national carrier Armavia will not be buying a second Sukhoi
Superjet 100, the company has said.

“Armenia is not going to buy it,” airline spokeswoman Nana
Avetisova told Interfax on Monday. She did not give a reason for
the cancellation.

Armavia, which has a single Superjet, was the first airline to launch
commercial flights using the SSJ in April 2011. It was due to take
delivery of a second aircraft between June 20 and July 30 this year.

The only other SSJ operator so far is Aeroflot, which has eight of
the aircraft. Russian media have reported that Aeroflot’s fleet has
been plagued by technical difficulties. The Superjet’s reputation
suffered a blow when one flew into the side of an Indonesian

YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS RECEIVE GRADUATION DIPLOMAS IN TURKEY’S AKHTAMAR ISLAND

news.am
July 09, 2012 | 17:08

YEREVAN. – This year’s graduates from Yerevan State University
(YSU) Faculty of History received their diplomas in Western Armenia
(Eastern Turkey).

The official bachelor’s and master’s diploma presentation ceremony for
106 graduates was held at the Holy Cross Armenian Church on Akhtamar
Island of Turkey’s Lake Van, YSU Public Relations Department informs.

This initiative is being held for the second time. According to
tradition, each year the Faculty graduates receive their diplomas in
one of Western Armenia’s ancient capital cities.

And in connection with 1,050th anniversary of the foundation of Ani,
the Faculty’s last year’s graduates had received their diplomas near
the Cathedral of Ani.

On July 2-5, this year’s group comprising 130 people visited historical
Armenia’s several settlements.

To note, eight of the graduates were also baptized at the Holy Cross
Church on Akhtamar Island.
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Yerevan State University students receive graduation diplomas in
Turkey?s Akhtamar Island

news.am
July 09, 2012 | 17:08

YEREVAN. ? This year?s graduates from Yerevan State University (YSU)
Faculty of History received their diplomas in Western Armenia (Eastern
Turkey).

The official bachelor?s and master?s diploma presentation ceremony for
106 graduates was held at the Holy Cross Armenian Church on Akhtamar
Island of Turkey?s Lake Van, YSU Public Relations Department informs.

This initiative is being held for the second time. According to
tradition, each year the Faculty graduates receive their diplomas in
one of Western Armenia?s ancient capital cities.

And in connection with 1,050th anniversary of the foundation of Ani,
the Faculty?s last year?s graduates had received their diplomas near
the Cathedral of Ani.

On July 2-5, this year?s group comprising 130 people visited
historical Armenia?s several settlements.

To note, eight of the graduates were also baptized at the Holy Cross
Church on Akhtamar Island.

ARMENIAN DEPUTY PM MEETS WITH IRANIAN INTERIOR MINISTER

news.am
July 09, 2012 | 17:10

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Deputy PM and Territorial Administration Minister
Armen Gevorgyan on Monday received a delegation led by Iran’s Minister
of Interior, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar.

The Deputy PM expressed confidence that the parties will discuss
the expanding of bilateral cooperation, Territorial Administration
Ministry’s Public Relations Department informs.

Noting that both countries have a warm and dynamically developing ties,
Gevorgyan highlighted that trade volume is growing, too.

“We have very ambitious projects in the agenda of our bilateral
relations. Also, they have a huge regional importance,” noted the
Deputy PM.

Also, Gevorgyan positively assessed the decentralized cooperation.

“Armenia’s Government looks toward encouraging the development of
such relations,” noted the Deputy PM.

In his turn, Iran’s Minister of Interior stated that there are vast
opportunities for economic development.

He informed that his delegation also comprises the governors of
Iran’s Eastern and Western Atrpatakan provinces and, together with
their Armenian counterparts, these governors will discuss matters of
bilateral interest.

Also, the parties underscored the need to create the necessary
conditions to develop ties and to increase the volume of trade.

Armenia’s Deputy PM noted that the Government is also conducting
activities toward creating more comfortable conditions for tourists.

During the meeting it was proposed to discuss as well the matter of
starting Tabriz-Yerevan flights.

The parties exchanged views on regional issues, too.

“FRANCE SOLD THE REJECTION OF THE BILL BANNING THE DENIAL OF THE GENOCIDE TO TURKEY,” RUBEN MEHRABYAN SAYS
Nelly GRIGORYAN

July 7, 2012 15:08

Turkey found all sanctions against France void; it hailed the opening
of a warmer phase in relations with France. According to Reuters,
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said this on Thursday in
Paris, since the bill banning the denial of the Armenian Genocide had
not entered into force. During the joint press conference, French
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the bill was unlikely to be
resurrected. Let us remind that in February the Constitutional Council
rejected the bill passed by both houses of the parliament, finding
that it restricted the freedom of speech. Nonetheless, in January the
Senate approved the bill, which was passed by the lower house of the
parliament in December. Representatives of the

Armenian diplomatic corps and political forces reacted to the
developments concerning the bill with happiness, assessing it as a
victory of Armenia and Hay Dat.

Ruben Mehrabyan, an expert of the Center for Political and
International Studies, responding to a question during a conversation
with why France had decided to use the bill banning the
denial of the Genocide “as a napkin,” said, “France as one of the
pivotal countries of the EU, as a member of the UN Security Council
had its own interests in the region and all this should be considered
in that context. Taking into account that there is this tangle of
Armenian-Turkish relations, the French used that in their interests
with as high efficiency as possible, in order to promote their
interests not only in the South Caucasus, but also in the Middle
East.” Using the Armenian factor inside the country, in our
interlocutor’s opinion, the French state put Turkey under intense
pressure, after which lifting that pressure, it didn’t make any
promises to Turkey, nonetheless, there was no mention of compromise in
terms of European integration.

“Actually France sold the rejection of the bill banning the denial of
the Genocide to Turkey,” Ruben Mehrabyan concludes and adds resolving
concerns that not only Armenia, but also Turkey has been used. After
all this, the political scientist only asserts and is sorry about “how
short-sighted and inexperienced the Armenian diplomacy is” and how
stereotyped our perceptions of the regional developments are. He also
notes that Turkey is not a small country either, it has its interests,
but it cannot be broad-minded, consider issues from the long-term
perspective and it is not able to go even 1mm beyond its historical
stereotypes. “This circle of the bill banning the denial of the
Genocide hasn’t contributed to the Armenian-Turkish normalization in
any way. I am sorry, since it is in the direct interest of the
Armenian security and sovereignty to normalize relations between
Turkey and Armenia,” the political scientist says. In response to a
question of what the Armenian diplomatic corps, which
reacted to those developments with happiness a few months ago, should
do, Ruben Mehrabyan said, “It should seriously edit its world outlook
as a whole. Those who were happy had better apologize to the public
for their sancta simplicitas. It is enough of putting the Armenian
state and the Armenian people in such awkward positions with their
stupid happiness.”

Our interlocutor advises not to find the clue to normalizing the
Armenian-Turkish relations in a third country, “The governments of
Armenia and Turkey should find the courage to normalize the
intergovernmental relations without preconditions for the benefit of
their own peoples. Not only will the Armenian and Turkish peoples, but
also the whole region benefit from that.”

FRANCE’S HOLLANDE MAY GO BACK ON HIS GENOCIDE BILL PROMISE – EXPERT

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 9, 2012 – 15:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Recently, Ankara and Paris have been taking steps at
normalizing ties which deteriorated after the French Senate passed the
bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide denial, a political analyst said.

At news conference in Yerevan, Sergey Shakaryants warned against high
expectations for the issue of Genocide denial criminalization to make
it to the immediate agenda of the French parliament.

“Despite confirming plans for a new Genocide bill, French leader
Francois Hollande can go back on his promise, seeing as the
presidential race is over for him,” the expert noted.

Commenting on recent visit of U.S. State Secretary to South Caucasus,
the expert noted that Hillary Clinton stressed the importance of
Armenia-Turkey rapprochement.

In this context, the expert slammed Turkey’s using Karabakh conflict
settlement as a precondition for normalizing ties with Armenia.

POLITICAL FORCES OF ARMENIA, ARTSAKH TO MEET IN STEPANAKERT IN AUGUST

Panorama.am
09/07/2012

The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has initiated the first ever
roundtable discussion in Stepanakert on August 24-26 with Armenian
political parties attending, RPA Deputy Chairman Armen Ashotyan told
a news conference in Yerevan and added that the invitations will be
sent this week already.

In particular, parliamentary parties of Armenia and Artsakh will be
invited to attend the roundtable, he noted.

“During two days, Armenian political parties will discuss a number
of topical issues of the domestic policy, political system, foreign
policy, etc.,” Ashotyan said.

HELSINKI ASSOCIATION ISSUES STATEMENT ON VIOLENCE AGAINST MONITOR

tert.am
09.07.12

The Helsinki Association issued a statement saying that President of
the Football Association, MP of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) Ruben Hairapetyan called the Helsinki Association Monitor Arman
Veziryan on Sunday.

The Helsinki Association condemns the violence Ruben Hairapetyan used
against the monitor Arman Veziryan near the Harsnaqar restaurant on
July 8, 2012. The incident happened when Arman Veziryan was monitoring
the “freedom of peaceful rallies” in Armenia.

The Helsinki Association views the incident as an act against
human rights protection activities. This is not the first instance
of violence against Helsinki Association staffers that has been
disregarded by law-enforcers.

Such incidents are the result of the Armenian authorities’ wrong
policy. The authorities did not make adequate assessments of
the previous incidents despite the fact that Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan confirmed the necessity for reforms in Armenia’s
law-enforcement and judicial system by his numerous decrees.

According to Article 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Armenia,
media reports on the offence may serve as a basis for initiating
criminal proceedings. The Helsinki Association is expecting the
Armenian authorities’ response.

P.S. When the Helsinki Association was on the point of disseminating
its statement Ruben Hairapetyan called Arman Veziryan and apologized.

GRANT EATER OMBUDSMAN
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:29:34 – 09/07/2012

The Armenian Human Rights Defender reacted to the incidents in
Harsnakar through a statement defining also the limit between the civil
freedom and the right of oligarchs to protect their property by force.

But this is not what is important in the Ombudsman’s statement,
but the conclusion, in which he calls on the civil activists to get
distanced from those local and international organizations, which
“use the just civil indignation for political and other reasons”.

Who the Human Rights Defender means? In general, no concrete
accusations have ever been issued so far in disputes between the
supporters and opponents of the politicization of civil movements. Who
and why needs to speculate the just indignation? If the activities of
foreign funds or organization contradict to the national interests
of Armenia, why are they not sued and why their activities are not
suspended?

On the other hand, judging by the press messages, the Ombudsman’s
office is the human rights organization to receive the most grants
in Armenia. Does Karen Andreasyan think the European Union and
others, which issue him grants, “use his just position for their
own interests”?

As to “local organizations”, is it bad if a party, finally, shows
civil position and tries to jump on the “civil train”? Even if they
have insincere intentions and they are engaged in populism, is it bad?

Parties are meant to take civil issues to the political agenda with
the help of the conquest of public opinion (populism).

Armenians are masters of complicating simple things with suspicions,
accusations and unaddressed slander. One can only wonder how it was
possible to make such a clear, honest process a pointless topic for
speculation. It’s simple – people are outraged that the criminal
elements that grown fat on the national good can take a human life
with impunity. These people came to the streets to protest and say
that they are not going to tolerate arbitrariness.

Who will join them – the Armenian National Congress, Marxists,
embassies of European countries or KGB and CIA agents – is not
important. The more people join these actions and the anti-political
movement, the stronger it will become.

Of course, someone will want to control the movement, to curb it, to
direct it to a different course, discredit it, but the participants of
the movement should go straightly to their goal ignoring all kind of
“well-wishers” without refusing anyone the right to take part in the
actions. Congress, which has long distanced itself from the civil
movement, was forced to accede to it, because it realized that it may
be left behind the current trend. Similarly, if the targeted civil
movement continues, each will consider it an honor to join.

And there is nothing shameful or criminal for the civil society
or political parties or international funds. There is so little
movement in the Armenian marsh, so few new courses, that any living
brain unwillingly reacts to any movement. Merely, minds of many are
stagnated because of the bog smoke.

BAKU URGES OSCE TO INTENSIFY ACTIVITIES ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Trend
July 9 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku urges OSCE to intensify activities on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement.

“At a meeting with the OSCE secretary general, the position of
Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement was made clear.

We want the organisation to intensify activities on this issue so that
progress can been achieved. Despite 20 years of the OSCE Minsk Group
dealing with the matter there is still no result,” Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a press briefing on Monday following
his meeting with the OSCE secretary general, Lamberto Zannier.

At the meeting they discussed issues of bilateral interest and issues
of mutual cooperation, the foreign minister said.

“The OSCE Secretary General put forward specific proposals in
connection with elections to be held in Azerbaijan which we will
consider. In addition, he introduced a number of proposals for other
projects on which we will work,” Mammadyarov said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.

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

HOLLANDE TO PUT BILL FOR GENOCIDE BACK ON TABLE

Hurriyet
July 10 2012
Turkey

New French President François Hollande is set to put a new bill
on the table to criminalize denials of the 1915 events as genocide
despite improving Ankara-Paris ties following previous Turkish anger
at a similar motion by Hollandeâ~@~Ys predecessor.

France will present a new law punishing denial of the alleged Armenian
genocide in the fall, the head of a group representing Armenians
in France said a day after Ankara issued cautious messages on the
latest developments.

Franck Papazian, co-president of the Coordinating Council of Armenian
Organizations of France (CCAF), told Agence France-Presse he would
meet with Hollande later in the month to discuss the bill, â~@~which
will be prepared by the government and proposed in the autumn.â~@~]

Hollande on July 7 confirmed plans for a new law criminalizing denial
of the alleged Armenian genocide.

Elaborating on Hollandeâ~@~Ys remarks yesterday in Ankara, Turkish
President Abdullah Gül said that in his bilateral meeting with the new
French president, they agreed to move Turkish-French relations forward
and strengthen ties while taking mutual interests into account. Turkey
will follow the outcome, Gül said, adding that they would not act
on speculation.

There may be political motives behind the French presidentâ~@~Ys
latest remarks supporting a new draft bill criminalizing the denial
of Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915, Turkish
European Union Minister Egemen BaÄ~_ıÅ~_ said yesterday. â~@~As
the rate of the votes Mr. Hollande received in elections is close to
the number of votes he could not collect, he may be seeking to expand
his political ground,â~@~] BaÄ~_ıÅ~_ said. Turkey will now monitor
the steps to be taken by France, he added.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry is also paying more attention to
a statement from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made in a
meeting between the two countriesâ~@~Y foreign ministers on July 5 in
Paris, a ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News. During the
joint press conference, Fabius recalled that an earlier attempt to
penalize the denial of the genocide allegations was annulled by the
French Constitutional Council and severely hurt bilateral relations.

He added that a fresh attempt in Parliament would mean experiencing
such bitter times again.

Turkey has ended its sanctions against France thanks to Hollandeâ~@~Ys
positive approach toward Turkey in a restoration of ties that had
deteriorated under the rule of former French leader Nicholas Sarkozy.

The decision to end eight measures â~@~S mostly military â~@~S was
made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ~_an after he met with
Hollande in Brazil last month.