Author: Kalantarian Kevo

3500 DRUG ADDICTS IN ARMENIA

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:18:14 – 26/06/2012

June 26 is the International Day against drug abuse and illicit
trafficking. Head of the RoA Police department on organized crime,
drug illicit trafficking, Colonel Serob Harutyunyan said in today’s
press conference that last year 1525 cases of illegal trafficking
of drug were reported in comparison to the 1524 cases in 2010. This
year, the number of drug-addicts has increased: 308 cases of illicit
trafficking were recorded in the first quarter in comparison to 235
cases same period last year.

Last year, the police cooperating with other structures, revealed
and confiscated 128kg of drugs, while in the first quarter of this
year – 4.8kg.

Cases of illegal drug import in Armenia are regularly reported, but we
can’t affirm Armenia is a transit country for drugs. Drug is normally
tried to be imported from Turkey (heroin) and Iran (opium and heroin).

Cases of drug import from Russia and France by air have been prevented.

There are 3800 official drug addicts in Armenia, but the unofficial
data arrive to 5000. Only 350-400 of them undergoes treatment in
narcological clinics.

Head of the center of monitoring of drugs and drug-addicts of the
national institute of the ministry of health, Ashot Davidyants noted
that their monitoring has revealed a worrying situation.

A research was carried out three years ago, which found out that 80
of people using intravenous drugs suffers from Hepatitis C, which is
a serious issue, says the specialist.

According to the head of the Armenian program of complex management of
borders in the South Caucasus, Grigori Malintsyan says though Armenia
joined the UN Convention against drugs in 1993 affirming the drugs
have no place in our society, the situation is different today.

According to him, the drug production in the world fell from 8000
tons in 2008 to 5000 in 2010, but this decrease was not a merit of the
law enforcers or other structures, but illnesses in the poppy fields,
says Malitsyan.

Specialists recall that drug addicts are ordinary sick people who
need the society’s help.

Slate, France
23 juin 2012

Les têtes turques de Hollande

Après cinq années de relations exécrables entre Paris et Ankara,
comment le nouveau Président va-t-il traiter l’épineux et impopulaire
dossier Turquie? Mais surtout, avec qui?

On se méfie, en Turquie, d’un François Hollande qui serait «sous
influence arménienne». Ne s’est-il pas engagé, candidat, à «reprendre»
le dossier de la pénalisation de la négation du génocide arménien?
N’a-t-il pas déclaré que la reconnaissance de ce génocide par l’Etat
turc devait constituer un «critère» supplémentaire de l’adhésion de la
Turquie à l’Union européenne?

Certains Turcs informés pointent du doigt le rôle joué auprès de lui
par Mourad Papazian, son conseiller sur la question arménienne depuis
une quinzaine d’années, et «communicant» de 2009 à 2011. On pouvait
d’ailleurs voir les deux hommes côte à côte, le 24 avril dernier lors
de la commémoration du génocide de 1915, à Paris.

Mourad Papazian est co-président de la Fédération révolutionnaire
arménienne (FRA ou Dachnak) pour l’Europe, qui représente environ la
moitié de la communauté organisée en France. Or pour les Turcs, qui
dit FRA dit Armée révolutionnaire arménienne, sa branche armée,
laquelle a assassiné de nombreux diplomates turcs dans les années 1970
et 1980. Autrement dit, pas de pire ennemi aux yeux de l’Etat turc,
mis à part le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK, séparatiste),
avec lequel il accuse d’ailleurs l’armée révolutionnaire arménienne de
s’être alliée.

Mais Recep Tayyip Erdogan, le Premier ministre turc, tient absolument
à ouvrir un nouveau chapitre dans les relations franco-turques. Il a
donc décidé de taire cette méfiance et vient, le 21 juin, de donner
l’ordre de lever les sanctions, décidées il y a quelques mois par la
Turquie à l’égard de la France à la suite du vote de la loi condamnant
la négation du génocide arménien.

Ils attendaient Moscovici, c’est FabiusMéfiance également à l’égard du
nouveau ministre des Affaires étrangères, Laurent Fabius. L’élite
pro-européenne turque aurait préféré que le poste soit confié à Pierre
Moscovici, qui s’est plusieurs fois prononcé en faveur de l’adhésion
turque à l’Union européenne. Pierre Moscovici est toujours, si l’on en
croit le site en ligne, membre du comité scientifique de l’Institut du
Bosphore. Cet espace de rencontre et de débat entre personnalités
turques et françaises, financé par le patronat turc, se veut «l’acteur
incontournable du rapprochement France – Turquie» alors que les
relations bilatérales étaient devenues exécrables sous Nicolas
Sarkozy. Il a tenu sa première réunion en 2009 à Istanbul. A son
retour, Pierre Moscovici évoque ses «Impressions turques» sur son
blog. Il décrit ces «transformations économiques, sociales, visibles à
l’oeil nu et qui témoignent de l’entrée de la Turquie dans la
modernité».

Depuis quelques mois cependant, celui qui dirige désormais le
ministère de l’Economie paraît un brin moins «turco-enthousiaste». Et
puis, le 22 décembre 2011, il a suivi son parti et voté la loi
pénalisant la négation du génocide arménien malgré l’important
lobbying de ses collègues de l’Institut du Bosphore opposés à cette
loi.

Même vote de la part du député Laurent Fabius. Dans Le Monde du 29
mai, le nouveau ministre des Affaires étrangères rappelle cependant
qu’il «faudra tenir compte» de la décision du Conseil constitutionnel
(qui a retoqué la loi pénalisant la négation du génocide en février
2012). Et mentionne l’importance de «renouer les fils avec la Turquie
qui joue un rôle majeur, aux plans économique et diplomatique, par
exemple sur les questions syrienne et iranienne».

Le nouveau chef du Quai d’Orsay ne dit rien au Monde en revanche sur
la manière dont il conçoit la poursuite des négociations d’adhésion
avec la Turquie. Or durant sa campagne pour le «non» au référendum sur
la constitution européenne en 2005, l’ancien Premier ministre de
François Mitterrand (tout comme son bras droit, l’actuel ministre des
Affaires européennes, Bernard Cazeneuve) avait nettement exprimé son
opposition à l’adhésion de la Turquie. Dans l’interview qu’il
accordait en novembre 2004 aux Nouvelles d’Arménie, Laurent Fabius se
prononçait pour un «partenariat privilégié» et contre l’ouverture des
négociations d’adhésion avec Ankara (lesquelles seront pourtant votées
le mois suivant et débuteront en octobre 2005) car, disait-il,
«l’expérience historique montre que, lorsqu’on commence une
négociation dont l’objet est l’adhésion, cela se termine toujours par
un oui».

Ça ne peut pas être pire qu’avec SarkozyMalgré ces deux fortes
réserves concernant Mourad Papazian et Laurent Fabius, le gouvernement
turc (qui suspectait l’ancien président de la République française
d’avoir instrumentalisé le rejet de la Turquie à des fins de politique
intérieure) veut donc faire bon accueil à François Hollande: «De toute
façon, ça ne peut pas être pire qu’avec Nicolas Sarkozy!», entend-on
régulièrement en Turquie. Ce dernier étant tenu responsable du «coma
avancé» (selon l’expression de l’analyste turc Soli Özel) dans lequel
se trouvent les négociations d’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union
européenne.

Une ligne «dure» dont Ankara a parfois pris prétexte. L’universitaire
Beril Dedeoglu explique:

«Sarkozy a conforté l’immobilisme de notre gouvernement. Si le
processus était allé de l’avant, le gouvernement aurait été contraint
de procéder à de nombreuses réformes: en faveur des Kurdes et des
Alévis (minorité musulmane non sunnite). Il lui aurait aussi fallu
modifier ses positions à l’égard d’Israël et de l’Arménie. Le statu
quo avec l’UE autorise des positions plus extrêmes qui vont dans le
sens de la réorientation diplomatique de la Turquie vers l’est.»

«N’oublions pas que c’est M. Erdogan (le Premier ministre turc, NDLR)
qui a essuyé le plus d’humiliation de la part de la France et de l’UE,
ajoute la professeure Fusun Türkmen. Les dégts identitaires sont si
énormes qu’il faudra du temps pour réparer.»

«S’il entend panser ces plaies, (le nouveau président de la République
française) va avoir beaucoup de travail», annonce le chroniqueur
Cengiz Aktar. Durant la campagne électorale, François Hollande n’a
abordé le sujet turc que lorsqu’il y était contraint. Le 17 mars
dernier, il tient une grande réunion au Cirque d’Hiver pour préciser
ses positions sur l’Europe mais ne dit mot de… la Turquie.

Et il ne prend aucun risque lorsqu’il déclare dans l’émission «Des
paroles et des actes» sur France2 le 11 avril, qu’il n’y aura pas
d’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne lors du prochain mandat
présidentiel: «Aujourd’hui, il y a un processus de négociation qui est
en cours depuis d’ailleurs des années» mais «aucune condition majeure
n’est réunie, et donc, dans le prochain quinquennat, il n’y aura pas
d’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne», explique-t-il. Cette
position qui peut surprendre, vue de France, constitue presqu’une
évidence sur les rives du Bosphore. Voilà déjà plusieurs années que
certains cercles économiques et diplomatiques turcs ont réalisé qu’il
faudrait attendre le budget 2021-2027 avant que l’Union européenne
attribue des fonds structurels et de cohésion à la Turquie.

Les deux mousquetairesLe dossier Turquie sera-t-il géré de l’Elysée,
comme précédemment? Cela n’est pas exclu. Mais François Hollande n’a
officiellement jamais visité la Turquie, à la différence de son
ex-compagne Ségolène Royal, qui s’y était rendue en 1994 pour soutenir
la députée d’origine kurde Leyla Zana durant son procès. Peu au fait
des réalités du terrain, le nouvel occupant de l’Elysée ne négligera
sans doute pas l’avis de deux de ses «trois mousquetaires
historiques», par ailleurs bons connaisseurs et partisans de la
candidature turque à l’Union européenne.

Le premier s’appelle Jean-Maurice Ripert. Entré au PSU à l’ge de 15
ans, camarade de promotion à l’ENA, il est tout à la fois l’ami et le
camarade politique des débuts, selon Paris Match qui consacre un
portrait aux amis du jeune François Hollande. Fin diplomate, jusqu’à
récemment plutôt attaché au Quai d’Orsay qu’à l’Union européenne,
Jean-Maurice Ripert est nommé au poste de chef de la délégation de
l’Union européenne en Turquie en août 2011.

A peine François Hollande élu le 6 mai, l’ami Ripert s’envole pour
Paris. En Turquie, la rumeur le voit nommé conseiller diplomatique de
François Hollande, en remplacement de Jean-David Levitte. Deux jours
après l’investiture présidentielle de son ami, il est pourtant de
retour à Ankara au côté du Commissaire européen pour l’élargissement,
Stefan Füle, afin de donner un nouvel élan aux négociations
d’adhésion.

Les deux hommes lancent l’«agenda positif», une initiative où il
«s’agit de discuter de tous les points qui peuvent être ouverts à
négociation, sans vraiment négocier», explique-t-on à Bruxelles. Dans
cette perspective, la Commission européenne veut mettre l’accent sur
les «droits de l’Homme et le fonctionnement de la justice» ainsi que
dans les domaines où elle possède une compétence exclusive, sans avoir
besoin de l’accord des 27. L’«agenda positif» attendait le feu vert
français depuis l’automne 2011.

«Le fait que Jean-Maurice Ripert soit (pour l’instant) maintenu en
poste à Ankara peut être interprété comme un signe de la part de
François Hollande. En maintenant son ami et homme de confiance en
Turquie, il semble nous dire qu’il accorde de l’importance à ce
dossier délicat», suggère le Turc Sinan Ulgen, directeur du
think-thank Edam. «Une question reste de savoir si le nouveau pouvoir
politique français peut lever le veto imposé par Nicolas Sarkozy sur
cinq chapitres de négociation et quand», s’interroge un haut
fonctionnaire européen. «Droit-de-l’hommiste», Jean-Maurice Ripert
vient, en accord avec Bruxelles, de condamner, sans le citer, le
Premier ministre turc pour ses propos contre l’avortement.

Egalement «en ligne directe» avec le Président, le second «pro-Turc»
de François Hollande est aussi un camarade du temps de la promotion
Voltaire à l’ENA et de l’école des officiers de Coëtquidan. Actuel
patron de l’Autorité des marchés financiers, Jean-Pierre Jouyet a été
membre du cabinet du Président Delors à la Commission européenne. Il
fut secrétaire d’Etat aux affaires européennes entre 2007 et 2008 sous
Nicolas Sarkozy. Il n’a jamais fait mystère de ses positions en faveur
de l’intégration de la Turquie dans l’Union européenne.

Cet ami de longue date qui devrait être appelé à exercer de nouvelles
fonctions importantes constitue un canal privilégié d’accès à François
Hollande qu’il peut conseiller sur le dossier turc, ainsi que l’a bien
compris l’économiste turc et haut fonctionnaire international Kemal
Dervis. En visite à Paris le 16 mars, ce dernier a exposé à
Jean-Pierre Jouyet sa dernière idée: «intégrer graduellement» la
Turquie à l’Union européenne, c’est-à-dire donner aux Turcs plus de
place dans certaines institutions européennes, au fur et à mesure de
l’avancement des dossiers, sans attendre la fin du processus de
négociation.

Car Kemal Dervis pense qu’il est urgent que les négociations entre la
Turquie et l’Union européenne sortent de l’impasse actuelle.
Jean-Pierre Jouyet en est depuis longtemps convaincu. François
Hollande écoute.

Ariane Bonzon

Prima Pagina Molise
22 giugno 2012

Tennis: Ani Amiraghyan prima finalista del torneo di Campobasso

Il Torneo Internazionale di Tennis Regione Molise ha la sua prima finalista.

Si tratta dell’armena Ani Amiraghyan, che ha sconfitto la tedesca
Bianca Koch, con il finale di 6-4; 7-5 al termine di due ore di gioco
intense, che hanno visto le due atlete susseguirsi ai vantaggi.

Passa, dunque, la numero 511 del ranking e dovrà vedersela con la
vincitrice dell’incontro tutto azzurro tra Martina Di Giuseppe e la
testa di serie numero 1 del torneo Federica Di Sarra.

(‘%3Fajax_call%3D1%26amp%3Bsection%3Dsport’)

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 22 2012

France to regain access to Turkish energy industry after genocide row

22 June 2012 / REUTERS, ST PETERSBURG

Turkey’s resumption of diplomatic ties with France means French
companies may regain some, if not full access to Turkey’s energy
sector, including its nuclear industry, Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner
Yıldız said on Friday.
After a meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an
and new French President Francois Hollande, Ankara announced on
Thursday it would restore ties with France after a six-month hiatus in
a dispute over the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

Ankara cancelled all economic, political and military meetings with
Paris in December after France’s lower house of parliament voted
overwhelmingly in favor of a draft law to make it illegal to deny that
the killings amounted to genocide.

France’s highest court overturned the law two months later but the
Turkish measures, which included restrictions on French military
aircraft and ships landing or docking on its territory, have remained
in place.

Yıldız said the government expected an improvement in relations with
Hollande in power.

“I believe that this burden will be taken out or removed after the
meeting (Hollande) had with his excellency ErdoÄ?an,” Yıldız told
reporters during an economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

“As the energy sector we are ready for a variety of cooperation with
France, although our projects and our business is really large and we
can not separate them from the international politics,” he said.

“Therefore we cannot ignore some political approaches that will affect
our industry. I believe that from now on the prospects will be much
better compared to the time of (Hollande’s predecessor Nicolas)
Sarkozy.”

Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5
million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey
during World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the
Ottoman government.

Turkey says there was a heavy loss of life on both sides during the
fighting in which Armenian partisans supported invading Russian
forces.

Ties weakened during Sarkozy’s term in office, when the former French
president was also an outspoken opponent of Turkish membership in the
European Union.

Iran ties

Noting Turkey’s relationship with Iran was “not like the relationship
of any European countries with Iran,” Yıldız said Turkey would
continue to import some Iranian crude oil after its sole refiner cut
imports of Iranian crude by 20 percent.

The EU itself has largely banned intake of Iranian crude from July 1.
Iran’s oil buyers around the world have been cutting imports to avoid
US financial sanctions which aim to stop Iran’s nuclear program
through effective limits on dollar transactions.

Washington is pressing Turkey to cut Iranian supplies over the next
six months or face sanctions, but the 20 percent cut has earned Ankara
a 180-day exemption from financial sanctions, during which Halkbank
can make payments for imports.

“The oil trade being done with Iran right now is not illegal. So trade
operations are being implemented within all of those laws and
regulations,” Yıldız, said, adding it was able to pay for oil in
Turkish lira.

He said the lost Iranian volumes would be replaced by Libyan and Saudi
Arabian crude, which have been in greater supply through increased use
of Saudi spare capacity and the recovery of the Libyan energy industry
from a violent uprising which ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

Interfax, Russia
June 22 2012

Karabakh welcomes OSCE Minsk Group’s call for dialogue in settling conflict

YEREVAN. June 22

The Foreign Ministry of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
supports a joint statement by the Russian, U.S., and French presidents
on the Azeri-Armenian conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

“We have always taken a positive attitude toward such initiatives
aimed at peacefully solving the problem based on international law
principles, and we once again reaffirm our preparedness to follow the
calls and recommendations by the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group
countries,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

“Progress in negotiations on settling the Azeri-Karabakh conflict can
be achieved and durable peace can be established in the region only
through political dialogue, with Nagorno-Karabakh’s full-fledged
participation,” it said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama, and
French President Francoise Hollande earlier issued a joint statement
calling on the parties to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh to step
up efforts toward its settlement.

Palestinians push Nativity church as Heritage site

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Jun 23

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is becoming the church of
contention, with a bid by the Palestinians to use their position as
the newest members of the U.N.’s cultural arm to obtain World Heritage
status for the iconic Christian site and perhaps boost their own
campaign for legitimacy.

The effort by the Palestinian Authority, like its overall efforts for
global recognition for an independent Palestinian state, is drawing
resistance. And it may fail at the World Heritage Committee meeting
that starts Sunday.

An experts committee has turned down the emergency bid to quickly
confer on the Church of the Nativity, and its pilgrimage route, the
status as an endangered World Heritage site, saying the application
needs more work. Even custodians of the holy site, the Greek Orthodox,
Roman Catholic and Armenian churches are opposed, according to a
document obtained by The Associated Press.

The church which drew some 2 million visitors last year and parts of
which are 1,500 years old stands above the grotto that Christians
believe was the birthplace of Jesus. The Palestinians’ application
asks for recognition as a site of “outstanding universal value”
urgently in need of attention.

There is concern by the United States and others that the Bethlehem
holy site and the integrity of the World Heritage process risk falling
victim to the politics that for decades have torn the region asunder,
with the Palestinians using their foothold in the U.N. system to grab
symbolic recognition of their elusive bid for statehood in a
long-disputed land.

The World Heritage candidacy of the Church of the Nativity and the
pilgrimage route is one way for the Palestinians to prove they are
responsible stewards of the site which draws tourists the world over.
Above all, it is part of a broader attempt by Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas to seek international recognition for a state of
Palestine after its controversial backdoor entry into the U.N. system.

Negotiations with Israel on the terms of a Palestinian state have been
frozen since 2008, mainly because Abbas and Israel’s hardline prime
minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have failed to reach enough common
ground for meaningful talks.

Meantime, Abbas has tried to create new leverage, including with a
quest for U.N. membership for a state of Palestine in the West Bank,
Gaza and east Jerusalem, the territories Israel occupied in 1967. The
U.N. bid has been stalled for months, but Abbas hopes to garner
recognition for Palestine wherever possible, including with a nod from
UNESCO for Bethlehem.

Angry at Palestinian membership in UNESCO, the United States pulled
its $80 million in annual dues 22 percent of the overall budget from
the Paris-based organization after the October vote that made the
Palestinians the 195th member.

Bucking the bad feedback, the Palestinians refused to follow UNESCO
custom and withdraw the candidacy as the French did with their
emergency bid for the Chauvet cave, with its hundreds of prehistoric
drawings, when it got a negative recommendation from the experts.

The Palestinians now risk losing face at the World Heritage Committee
meeting from Sunday until July 6 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, when 33
sites from around the world will be considered for the coveted World
Heritage status.

A surprise thumbs up could feed rancor and rivalries in a volatile
region, within the church itself and perhaps at the U.N. Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Already, the Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO, Elias Sanbar, has
denounced a “persistent campaign of rumors” at the organization.

Protecting the cultures of the world is among UNESCO’s core missions
and there is little doubt the Church of the Nativity with a
longstanding problem of leaks from the roof is in need of repair. A
program administered by the Palestinians is already in progress.

Located in the Israeli-controlled West Bank, it is managed by three
churches, each jealous of its role as custodian of the site, defined
under an agreement dating back to the Ottoman Empire.

With a big measure of diplomacy, the leaders of the Greek Orthodox,
Catholic and Armenian churches rebuffed the Palestinian proposal,
politely reserving judgment on its reasons.

“In our opinion, we do not think it opportune to deal with this
request that the Basilica and its entire complex be included in the
list of World Heritage sites, due to different considerations,” read a
letter to Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas signed by the three
leaders. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.

Among other things, a World Heritage designation raises fears that the
delicate arrangement of custodianship might be disturbed. Fights among
priests using broomsticks have been known to break out in the past
over a perception that boundaries are being overstepped.

“When it comes to the Church of the Nativity, no one can interfere,”
said Yousef Daher of the World Council of Churches in Jerusalem. “They
(the Palestinian Authority) figured it wrong.” He called the
Palestinian bid a “surprising request.”

“A church is a church, it shouldn’t become a world heritage. It’s a
sacred place and its ownership is not for anyone,” Daher said.

The Palestinian emergency application cites lack of regular
restoration on the church due to the political situation since 1967
when Israel occupied the territories and difficulties procuring
equipment because of lack of free movement imposed by Israeli forces.

Though Israel captured the West Bank, it turned much of Bethlehem over
to the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s.

The U.S. State Department did not hide its disapproval of the
Palestinians’ emergency bid.

“We are disappointed by the Palestinians’ intention to push through an
emergency inscription against the recommendation of UNESCO’s own
experts and without thoroughly consulting all stakeholders,” a
statement said. It made clear that Washington’s objection stems from
the rush job that an emergency candidacy implies and which prevents a
full review including by those with a stake in the outcome.

“We hope the Committee will act responsibly as good stewards of the
World Heritage Convention, rather than allowing yet another U.N. forum
to become a victim of politicization,” the U.S. statement said. “The
site is sacred to all Christians.”

An experts report, conducted for UNESCO by the Rome-based
International Council on Monuments and Sites, which reviews all
applications, concluded that the Palestinians failed to show that
damage or dangers to the Church of the Nativity “make its condition an
emergency that needs to be addressed … for immediate action
necessary for the survival of the property.”

It suggests the application be resubmitted under normal procedures
with fuller detail. That takes about 18 months, meaning it could be
re-nominated in 2014.

“Palestinians are continuing with their bid, and they are still
hopeful and optimistic that they will succeed,” said Palestinian
government spokesman Ghassan Khatib. He declined to elaborate.

The Palestinian delegation to UNESCO refused any comment until after
the Saint Petersburg meeting. However, a letter circulating among
delegations suggested a plot was afoot.

In a letter, Ambassador Sanbar denounced a campaign of pressure
against the bid from “those who do not want to see Palestine exercise
its legitimate rights.”

The June 11 letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated
Press, included what is purported to be a statement of support for
Palestinian leader Abbas signed in type by the Roman Catholic and
Greek Orthodox leaders, noting the Armenian was absent.

That letter “gave some delegations the impression that the churches
had changed their opinion and were no longer opposed to the
inscription,” said one UNESCO official. “Was it designed for that
purpose? I don’t know.”

The official asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity
surrounding the Palestinian bid.

Despite fears by some that Palestinian backers on the committee will
win the church the emergency designation as an endangered World
Heritage site, others say it would be highly unusual for the voting
committee to ignore the experts’ negative recommendation.

“The committee is a sovereign body. Experts are there to give expert
advice that is usually taken on board,” said UNESCO spokeswoman Sue
Williams.

Win or lose, the Palestinians are looking to putting their mark on
other sites under their purview, including historic Bethlehem.

That gets a green light from the custodial churches at the Nativity as
long as the church itself stays off limits.

___

Dalia Nammari in Jerusalem and Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank
contributed to this report.

Associated Press

ARMENIE
Publication d’une encyclopédie sur les femmes arméniennes

La présentation d’une encyclopédie en deux volumes sur les femmes
arméniennes a eu lieu à Erevan.

L’édition contient des informations sur 1236 femmes arméniennes
d’Arménie, du Nagorno-Karabakh et de plus de 50 autres pays, qui ont
glorifié leur Patrie en faisant de grandes contributions dans divers
secteurs dans différents pays.

L’encyclopédie contient des informations sur les femmes arméniennes
qui ont travaillé dans la médecine, dans les sciences, la littérature,
les arts, le sport, l’architecture et d’autres secteurs.

L’édition contient aussi des informations sur les héroïnes du
Mouvement de libération national, des figures publiques, philanthropes
et même des déesses, princesses et Saintes femmes.

L’encyclopédie a été publiée avec le patronage du Président Serge
Sarkissian et avec la bénédiction du Catholicos Karekine II.

L’auteur Zori Balayan est le rédacteur en chef de l’encyclopédie.

L’encyclopédie à deux volumes a été publiée par les éditeurs Amaras.

dimanche 24 juin 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

DEFENSE and SECURITY
WPS Agency, Russia
June 19 2012

PARIS SECRETS OF YEREVAN AND BAKU

BY: Yuri Roks
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, #113, 19.06.2012, p. 6

On Monday Azerbaijan and Armenia were expecting news from Paris.
Foreign ministries of the two countries, Elmar Mammadyarov and Eduard
Nalbandian, came there on the initiative of the Minsk group (MG) of
the OSCE responsible for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The
pre-planned negotiations seem highly necessary because of the critical
complications on the line of contact of the conflict parts and in some
cross-border Armenian-Azerbaijani regions. Some sources in Baku and
Yerevan suggest that the meeting in Paris precedes the negotiations of
the presidents.

Rendezvous between Mammadyarov and Nalbandian had received an
additionsl intrigue due to the statement made by the U.S. Secretary of
state Hillary Clinton who had visited Yerevan and Baku in the
framework of a regional tour in the beginning of June. Clinton’s
meaningful intonations might read that the “new approach” will put an
end to the longstanding enmity of the neighbouring countries.

Her visit coincided with an unprecedented for the post-war years
worsening of the conflict not only in Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR), but
actually in the Azerbaijani-Armenian border regions. Military
provocations have markedly reversed her appeal to peace.

[translated from Russian]

ARYE GUT: ARMENIA IS MONO-ETHNIC COUNTRY

AzerTag
June 22 2012
Azerbaijan

Public hearings on the so-called “Armenian genocide” have recently
been conducted at the plenary session of the Israeli Knesset.

Commenting on this meeting in his blog spokesman of the International
Association “Israel-Azerbaijan” (Aziz), an expert in the field of
international relations Arye Gut said that, unfortunately, this
issue is a matter of political provocation initiated by the Armenian
community of Israel and supported by a number of Israeli MPs.

“This is a fact that official recognition of the so-called “Armenian
genocide” is not only undermines, but rather destroys the complex,
tense Turkish-Israeli relations,” Gut writes.

“The Turkish and the Jewish people have a rich 500-year history of the
relationship and mutual understanding. Do not forget the historical
facts. At the time, the Turkish sultan saved Jews from annihilation in
Spain, giving them full civil rights. During the Second World War, when
European Jews were subjected to terrible and barbaric annihilation,
Turkey, defended and saved the Jews, ” Gut adds.

According to Gut, the recognition of the so-called “Armenian genocide”
would seriously undermine Israel’s relations with Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan today is a true regional leader of the South Caucasus,
which has serious geopolitical and geo-economic perspective. For
20 years, Israel has developed a very strong strategic partnership
with Azerbaijan. Today, many large Israeli companies are operating
in Azerbaijan in various fields, such as high technology,
telecommunications, oil and gas industry, medicine and agriculture.

Trade turnover between the two countries reached nearly $ 5 billion,”
says Gut.

“And now look at the situation in Armenia. Though chairman of the
Jewish Community of Armenia Rimma Varzhapetyan is trying to defend
Armenia in this situation, it’s time to face the truth. We are all
well aware, as Mrs. Varzhapetyan protects mono-ethnic country where
chauvinism and nationalism pass from the mother’s milk. Almost every
year a monument to innocent victims of the Holocaust in Yerevan is
being defiled. This fact confirms that the genocide of Azerbaijanis
in Khojaly was the result of the Nazi ideology of ethnic cleansing,
which is now preaching the ruling clan of Armenia. This clan has
come to power with large blood to create a mono-ethnic state and
expelled Azerbaijanis from their lands. Some 200,000 Azerbaijanis
were brutally driven out from Armenia, there are no Russians and no
Jewish here any more,” says Gut.

TURKEY-FRANCE: ECONOMIC TRUCE ENCOURAGED

Trend
June 22 2012
Azerbaijan

Ellada Khankishiyeva, Trend Analytical Centre Head

The warm meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and new French president Francois Hollande today in Brazil became
a good end to the absurd story between the two powers with the
recognition of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

The Lower House of the French Parliament adopted a bill criminalising
the denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide” on Dec 22, 2011.

Senate (upper house of the French Parliament) voted for the adoption
of this law on January 23, 2012. Some 127 senators voted for, while
86 – against. The bill demands a year’s imprisonment and a fine of
45,000 euro for denying the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of the
Turkey – Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against
the Armenians living in Anatolia, and achieved recognition of the
“Armenian Genocide” by the parliaments of several countries.

This awkward situation can be considered absurd for the reason
that flared up passions due to the recognition by the French Senate
of the bill criminalising denial of so-called “Armenian genocide”
in the end was successfully resolved in favor of Turkey – France’s
Constitutional Court declared the law unconstitutional and violating
freedom of speech. However, relations between Turkey and France
were damaged to the extent that Ankara has introduced a range of
sanctions against Paris, accompanied by breaking off both economic
and political relations.

It should be recalled that sanctions included a recall of the Turkish
ambassador from France, freezing all bilateral economic, political
and military talks, the ban on the use by French military aircraft
and ships of air bases and ports in Turkey without a special permit,
cancellation of a joint Turkish-French meeting on economic issues,
abolition of all military exercises with France.

To mark the start of a new stage of relations between the two
countries, Turkey is preparing to lift a number of sanctions imposed
on France. And if the political relations between countries can be
restored easily and relatively quickly, it is not easy to revive
economic ties: joint investment projects stand idle, trade links get
broken, the provision of counter economic services stops. For this
reason, Turkey had been taking a wait and see stance on the issue
of economic sanctions against France and had not been in a hurry
with making them tighter, limiting economic cooperation at the level
of negotiations.

There is a pleasant fact that the period of Turkish sanctions against
France was short and completed without developing fully. The Turkish
export statistics indicate that if France was fifth in the top 10
trading partners before the sanctions were imposed, it dropped only by
one step in the period from January to May 2012, becoming the sixth
honorary partner where Turkey mainly delivers its textile products
and appliances.

The entrepreneurs of both countries believed that the populist decision
of French politicians will be rejected, because the deterioration of
Turkish-French relations will not benefit any party.

Turkey has a large number of French companies in the areas of banking,
power enginnering, motor-car construction, retail trade, cosmetics
and pharmaceuticals. French companies EDF, GDF Suez and Areva plan
to participate in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey.

The volume of investments of 350 Turkish companies operating in
various sectors of the French economy is $500 million.

The economic potential between the two countries has not been
exhausted. The resumption of relations between the two countries
will give an impetus to the further development of Turkish-French
economic cooperation.