Author: Kalantarian Kevo

STAR COMPANY AND ITS PARTNERS GATHERED 3.752 MLN DRAMS WITHIN THE FRAMES OF CHARITABLE ACTION TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH LEUKEMIA

arminfo
Wednesday, June 20, 19:47

STAR company and its partners have gathered 3.752 mln drams within
the frames of charitable action “Let’s help children together”
and handed it over to “The Armenian charitable fund of the children
with leukemia”, – representative of the STAR net, Armen Pogosyan,
said today during the official report on the results of the above
mentioned project. The event was held at the Hematological Centre
after Professor R.Eloyan.

“It is not accidental that the charitable action to support children
with leukemia has become the key direction of the programme of
the corporative social responsibility of the STAR company. We have
taken the responsibility, via this project to attract once again the
attention of the society to the fact that participation of each of
us may save many children’s life. One should not forget that children
with leukemia are fully-fledged members of the society and the pledge
of the future of our country”, – Pogosyan said.

Executive director of the charitable fund, Naira Simonyan, added that
the needed medicines and medical equipment were bought with the money
gathered by STAR and its partners. “Fund-raising for the Fund has
become a traditional humane action for our true friends from STAR and
its partners. We are grateful to them for attention and care about the
children which suffer from such a dangerous decease like leukemia”,
– Simonyan said.

It is already for the forth year that the charitable action “Let’s
help children together” has been held at STAR net. The following
partners of the STAR contributed in the actions: AG Print, Coca-Cola,
Ashtarak kat, Tamara, Avshar wine factory, Pikant ham, Invest-Intorg,
Becon product, Asti Trading, Kilikia and others.

FIFTH SUSPECT ARRESTED ON RESTAURANT FIGHT CASE IN ARMENIA

news.am
June 20, 2012 | 19:15

YEREVAN. – Police officers detained the fifth suspect on the restaurant
case where military doctors were cruelly beaten up, reliable sources
from the police informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Earlier we found out that the police had detained 4 people. Security
workers Arthur Babloyan, Garik Margaryan, waiter Davit Adamyan and
the manager of Harsnakar Restaurant were arrested.

Earlier, Armenian News-NEWS.am reported that a brutal fight transpired
at the restaurant complex on Sunday at around 11 p.m. According to
the information Armenian News-NEWS.am received, Vahe Avetyan was
the person who was beaten. He was transferred to the hospital with
a critical head injury and he underwent surgery. He is still kept at
the hospital and is in critical condition.

A criminal case had been launched. The case was moved from the police
to the MOD investigation department but the Prosecutor’s Office sent
the case back to the police.

US EMBASSY IN ARMENIA ORGANIZES CONCERT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

news.am
June 20, 2012 | 17:29

US Embassy in Armenia in partnership with Tufenkian Foundation and
Women’s Rights Center organized a concert to support the victims of
domestic violence.

“The Beautified Project” band gave a concert against domestic violence
to raise public awareness of this problem.

On his video blog Ambassador John Heffern said “Rock against violence
against women” concert underscored the embassy’s commitment to ending
violence, advancing the status of women and girls which is a key part
of the efforts to advance global peace, security and prosperity.

He also urged to ask for assistance calling hotline of the center.

EX MILITARY PROSECUTOR: THE CRIMINAL CASE CONCERNING THE BEATING OF A MILITARY DOCTOR BY AN OLIGARCH’S BODYGUARDS MAY CONTINUE TRAVELING FROM OFFICE TO OFFICE

arminfo
Wednesday, June 20, 19:45

The criminal case a military doctor beaten by the security guards
of oligarch Ruben Hayrapetyan may continue traveling from office
to office, ex Military Prosecutor of Armenia, opposition MP Gagik
Jangiryan told journalists on Wednesday.

He said that this red tape is part of the corrupt atmosphere in the
Armenian police.

“The justice reforms planned by the Government in its new program are
very deficient, especially in the part concerning the investigation
process,” Jangiryan said.

Member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia Koryun Nahapetyan
said that no matter who will investigate the case.

“What matters is that the investigation should be fair and that those
guilty should be punished,” the MP said, adding that he is sure that
the investigation will be fair.

To remind, Hayrapetyan’s security guards severely beat military doctor,
Major Vahe Avetyan in Harsnakar restaurant on Sunday. Avetyan was taken
to hospital and underwent brain surgery. Doctors say he is in a very
bad condition. On Tuesday the Prosecutor General instructed that the
criminal case instituted by the Defense Ministry be transferred to
the Yerevan Police Department. Some media say that Hayrapetyan and
the chief of the department Nersik Nazaryan are on good terms and
assume that the latter may help to cover up the crime.

TURKISH AUTHORITIES PERSECUTE TURKS RECOGNIZING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: TURKISH PROFESSOR

arminfo
Wednesday, June 20, 20:25

Since 1960 I have been trying in vain to understand the policy of the
Turkish Government, Murat Belge, writer, professor of Bilgi University,
said on Wednesday during a discussion on Turkey organized by Civilitas
Foundation.

He said that in Turkey there are people who oppose the Kemalist
ideology as nationalist and are persecuted for that by their
government.

Belge believes that Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide
is forcing France, Germany and the United States to take some
countermeasures. He said that Turkey cannot recognize the genocide
for personal purposes. He noted that it is easy to apologize, but
it is hard to forgive. Even if the governments reach some agreement,
the relations between the peoples will still remain problematic.

Belge said that some 10 years ago few of his students were aware of the
events of 1915 as the authorities sponsored universities so they wrote
books denying the events. Today, they don’t do such things, but they
are still happy when some researcher denies the Armenian Genocide on
his own initiative. For example, one Turkish researcher was awarded
the degree of doctor for an essay saying that the Armenians are an
underdeveloped nation because they had no statehood for centuries.

Belge believes that though proclaimed a doctor, that man needs a
doctor himself.

TURKISH WRITER TO SPEAK UP ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WITHOUT HESITATION

news.am
June 20, 2012 | 17:46

YEREVAN. – Turkish writer Murat Belge claims he can speak up
the Armenian Genocide without hesitations, as it is difficult to
characterize killings of over 1 million people otherwise, the writer
said during the discussions ‘Trying to Understand Turkey’ organized
in Yerevan on Wednesday.

“Genocide is a complicated phenomenon bringing forth heavy charges,”
he claimed.

Asked whether it is possible that he also has Armenian blood, Belge
said that his two grandmothers were of Circassian descent, while he
considers himself pure Turk. However, everything is possible as no
one can tell what had happened, for example, 12 generations ago.

As for what he thinks about the fact that Turkey reconstructs Armenian
church Surb Khach in Akhtamar or partly reconstructs churches in Ani
but mentions nothing about Armenians, Belge said it is nationalism
on state level. It is based on the fact that Turkey was not punished
and obliged to take responsibility following the 1915 Genocide of
Armenians.

IF PROSTITUTES ARE TAXED, THEY CAN BE TRANSFERRED OUTSIDE YEREVAN – ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

news.am
June 19, 2012 | 15:06

YEREVAN. – Prostitution and pimping are flourishing in Armenia, because
this is convenient for those agencies whose job it is to prevent this
phenomenon, capital city Yerevan’s Puppet Theater Artistic Director
Ruben Babayan said during a press conference on Tuesday.

“The prostitutes’ profits are shared on the 50/50 principle. And if
they claim that the body is a person’s property and the person can
do whatever he/she pleases with his/her body and provides services
[with it], this service must be taxed and the service-providing
product must be examined,” stated Babayan.

In addition, Ruben Babayan maintained that if the prostitutes’
services are taxed, they can be transferred outside Yerevan, just
like it was in the case of the casinos.

“English scientists have proven that having sex without love damages
the health. So, going to the prostitutes solves no problem and makes
it worst,” he said.

In his turn, Yerevan Council of Elders member, architect Levon
Igityan noted:

“Latter half of the 20th century and the 21st century are most
disgusting centuries in the history of humanity, because human values
are distorted completely.”

TSVETANA PASKALEVA TO VISIT ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
19 June, 2012
KAPAN

KAPAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS: Bulgarian famous journalist, director,
member of international Documentary association Tsvetana Paskaleva
on June 22-24 will visit Syunik region of Armenia. Armenpress was
informed from the information and public relations department of
Regional administration of Syunik that Paskaleva will present to the
audience of Syunik her documentary film series about Artsakh heroic
war named ‘Wounds of Artsakh”. Tsvetana Paskaleva ill hold meetings
in the centre of Culture of Kapan, in the dramatic theatre after V.

Vagarshyan in Goris and in the Palace of Culture after Hamo Sahyan in
Sisian. Tsvetana Paskaleva is a Bulgarian director, cinematographer
and reporter. She was born in Bulgaria and graduated from National
Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia. Paskaleva was admitted
to a PhD program for documentary film in Moscow and during her
studies in 1990, she went to the South Ossetian region of Georgia to
shoot a film about a brewing ethnic conflict there. Shortly after,
she visited Nagorno-Karabakh and made a film on the deportations of
Armenian residents of Getashen, Martunashen and Shaumyan by Azerbaijani
interior forces backed by the regular Soviet Army units.

V. OSKANYAN COMMENTS ON RUMORS ABOUT HIS HOUSE IN CALIFORNIA

Armenian former Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the “Prosperous
Armenia” party, chairman of the “Civilitas” foundation Vardan Oskanian
has presented an explanation over his house in Los- Angeles in his
Facebook page. Oskanian’s name and his properties are very much
discussed in Armenian media recently because of the accusations by
Armenian National Security Service.

Vardan Oskanian and foundation by him are accused in money laundry.

Oskanian especially writes:

“Some media representatives have already started blackmailing me. One
of them put the photo of my house in California and wrote that I have
bought it in 1996 (when I was Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs)
with 350.000 USD and asked how I have bought it?

Let me see first that I bought this house on 1988, when the USSR
still existed and Armenia was not an independent state yet. I bought
it not with 350.000 USD but with 500.000 USD. My son, Arman, was born
in this house in 1988.

The second, let me tell those who do not know me that my family has
been engaged in jewelery and worked out diamond for long years. The
main activities were in Aleppo and then the branches were transferred
to Lebanon, Belgium and the USA. Let me say that our family has been
the leader in this sphere. So everyone can understand that the family
which has been engaged in jewelery for 150 years should have some
property from this business.

But this was not the essential, I have told this just by the way.

The essential point is that I have left such comfortable life in the
USA since 1991 and have come to Armenia as I have had a dream and aim.

I believed in the idea. And now just opposite all of these events,
nothing has been changed. I continue believing that it is possible
to build the country which we dream of. And if something is changed
so it is my dream which has become stronger”.

ANYTHING NEW IN PARIS?
James Hakobyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:12:51 – 19/06/2012

In the morning of June 18, when the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers were preparing for their scheduled meeting mediated by the
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, an Armenian soldier was killed by the
Azerbaijani sniper.

It is difficult to tell whether the co-chairs and the ministers had
learnt about the incident when the meeting started. Anyway, there was
no word on the death of the soldier in their final statement. On the
contrary, the statement dwelt on the necessity to develop mechanisms
to investigate border incidents and activate humanitarian contacts.

Are they the new proposals about which the U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton had stated?

They are not new and there was nothing new in the Paris statement.

What have the parties been proposed? Was there anything the ministers
need to agree on with the presidents of the countries and to go on
to make it known to the public?

The announced visit of the Co-Chairs to the region in the next few
weeks proves that they will come to learn about the reaction of
the sides.

Once new proposals were made known to public before the reaction
of the states when after a meeting initiated by Russia the co-chairs
announced that the parties were given two weeks to issue their position
on the new principles. Then Armenia rejected the new proposals stating
that everything was already there in the principles of Madrid, while
Azerbaijan accepted the new proposals.

This contradictory picture placed the co-chairs in an awkward
situation, especially Russia, which was active as a mediator in that
stage. Apparently, after having learnt this lesson, nothing is said
about the new proposals until Sargsyan’s and Aliyev’s reaction.

However, in this case, they place Hillary Clinton in an awkward
situation who has already stated about some new proposals to be
introduced in Paris. If Aliyev and Sargsyan reject these proposals
and nothing is said about them, it will become clear that no new
proposals existed. Although, perhaps, Clinton who will soon leave
politics does not care for the possible inconveniency. Apparently,
Hillary Clinton is just trying to mark her regional visit through
the advertisement of the Paris meeting.

In general, the Paris meeting seemed to be sudden, since Clinton’s
message was the first, and had not been preceded by any leak on this
meeting in the Armenian or Azeri press.

The meeting in Paris was certainly initiated by the U.S. when Clinton’s
visit was “shot” in the region. Consequently, the important thing for
the U.S. is not the proposals but the meeting itself. It is noteable
that Paris helped Washington to organize the meeting, and Moscow had
nothing else to do but to agree.

By the way, it is interesting that there was no word on a possible
statement by the presidents of the U.S., France and Russia Obama,
Hollande and Putin at the G 20 summit but it happened. It contained
nothing new, it was just an appeal to the parties to accelerate the
Framework Agreement, as well as to reject use of force.

Apparently, the actors involved in the settlement of the Karabakh issue
tend to keep intact whatever is there and not to propose anything new.