Author: Kalantarian Kevo

APA, Azerbaijan
June 15 2012

Azerbaijan voices concern over reports of Karabakh separatists’ meeting in UK

Baku, 15 June: The Azerbaijani embassy in the UK has sent a letter to
the British Foreign Office related to reports in Armenian media about
meetings held by Nagornyy Karabakh separatists in the parliament of
this country, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev
has said.

He said the embassy had also held several meetings to this end and
expressed concern over the participation of separatists at a meeting
of the Armenia-Britain friendship group.

In a reply to the Azerbaijani embassy, the British Foreign Office
reiterated its support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. The
letter says that the parliamentary group is an informal interest group
which does not reflect the official position of the British government
and parliament.

“This shows that Armenian media have once again distorted facts. Their
report is nothing but provocation,” Abdullayev said.
The Azerbaijani embassy in Britain found out that the presence of
Nagornyy Karabakh separatists at the meeting of the Armenia-Britain
friendship group had been initiated by Baroness Caroline Cox.

Some Armenian media reported on a visit of a delegation of Nagornyy
Karabakh separatists to London on 13 June. They claimed that the
delegation had held meetings in the House of Lords and participated in
an annual meeting of the Armenia-Britain friendship group. The
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry had tasked the embassy in the UK to
investigate this information.

Mediamax, Armenia
June 14 2012

Oxford Analytica: Mediators can exert pressure on both sides in Paris

Yerevan/Mediamax/. The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers will
meet in Paris on June 18. OSCE Minsk Group French, Russian and US
Co-Chairs are widely expected to exert pressure on both sides to
de-escalate tensions.

This is the forecast of Oxford Analytica British Research Center,
Mediamax reports.

Oxford Analytica says that Azerbaijan is following a new military
strategy based on a build-up of procurement and preparations for
attaining operational readiness by 2014, threatening to go to war by
the 20th anniversary of the ceasefire if there is no progress in the
Karabakh peace process.

`Bolstered by a steady build-up in weapons and spending, the
Azerbaijani General Staff recently warned it would take just ten days
to liberate the occupied territories and reach the Iranian-Armenian
border. However, despite such rhetoric, the Azerbaijani armed forces
remain unready for a new war, while the Armenian side poses no
offensive threat and simply seeks to secure its earlier gains.
Nevertheless, Azerbaijan seems unwilling to climb down from its
threats, underestimating the potentially destabilizing impact of
domestic disappointment with unfulfilled promises and expectations of
military victory,’ the research says.

Oxford Analytica reminds that Azerbaijan’s attacks coincided with a
regional tour by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and seriously
disrupted its agenda.

According to Oxford Analytica, reflecting recognition of the new scale
of risk, there is now a new sense of diplomatic urgency. Yet under the
current OSCE mediation format, such urgency will be difficult to
sustain, and nearly impossible to succeed. One of the reasons is
Russia’s stance, whose interests are better served by either the
status quo or an expansion of tension.

ianyan magazine
June 16 2012

Slideshow: Remembering Armenia’s Pak Shuka Market

ARMENIA – BY LIANA AGHAJANIAN ON JUNE 16, 2012 12:47 PM

Yerevan’s historic Pak Shuka came under demolition late last month
much to the opposition of activists who questioned the legality of the
construction amid rumors the 100-year-old structure was going to be
turned into a supermarket.

A key stopping point for tourists who come to delight their appetites
in the markets fresh and dry produce, the Pak Shuka or `Closed Market’
caused a social media firestorm as photos of the demolition spread on
Facebook, prompting Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan to address the issue
via the networking site and through an official statement posted on
the city’s website, which revealed that construction, tearing part of
the Shuka’s historical roof, was carried out without a license.

The market is now under surveillance and any further construction has
been stopped, but activists are insistent on being part any decision
making process involving the market’s future.

Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, a Yerevan-based NGO
along with seven other organizations, including the `We are the Owners
of This City’ Initiative, `Old and New City Foundation,’ Urban Lab
Yerevan, `Victims of State Needs’ NGO and others have penned an open
letter to Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Mayor Margaryan
demanding that any changes in the monument’s interior be submitted for
discussion to the Urban Development Council and that public awareness
campaigns be hold on urban development in the city.

Ianyan readers also chimed in after we asked their thoughts on the situation.

Katy Pearce, a communications scholar from the University of
Washington who studies technology in the former Soviet Union and has
spent considerable time in Armenia remembers walking through the
market when she was pregnant, with her partner receiving
congratulatory vodka shots from sellers along the way. Another
commenter said they felt it was `just criminal how they could mess up
such a cool building’ on the Ianyan Facebook page.

The owner of the Pak Shuka, businessman Samvel Alexanyan, also owns
the Yerevan City supermarket chain. He has not made any public
comments since the demolition began and was abruptly stopped.

According to ArmeniaNow, he has previously refuted rumors he was
planning to turn the market, which celebrated its centennial last year
into part of his supermarket chain, saying that he was only planning
to renovate and equip it with a parking garage.
Constructed in 1952, the Pak Shuka was designed by architect Grigor
Aghababyan. It is the latest in a string of historical buildings that
have been under threat of demolishment in the capital. Most recently,
the 19th century Afrikyan house on Teryan street in Yerevan has been
sold to a construction company who now plans to build a residential
complex there instead. Activists, who organized a `It Won’t be
Demolished March’ this week, are calling the demolitions a threat to
cultural and historical heritage.

Check out our slideshow above highlighting the atmosphere inside Pak
Shuka last summer, and share memories of the market below.

Turkish production, high gas tariff and taxes for import of equipment
“kill” Armenian hothouses

arminfo
Saturday, June 16, 20:38

The out of control import of production of Turkish green houses to
Armenia and fixing of high prices by importers, hinders development of
hothouse agriculture in the country, Director of the Association of
Hothouses, Pogos Gevorgyan, and a farmer, deputy head of Darakert
district, Varuzhan Khodedanyan, said at today’s press-conference.

Khodedanyan said that only in the winter season 2011-12 Armenian
customs services started completing documents for the production of
hothouses arrived from Turkey. Earlier it was imported without any
control. Moreover, importers dictated to fix high prices for this
production, for instance, standard price for tomatoes is 1000 drams
(about $2,5) per one kilogram. Meanwhile, the tariff for gas used in
hothouses grew by 30% for the last year, and local hothouses cannot
increase price for their production, the prime cost of which has
grown, he said. Moreover, the quality of gas has fallen and if for
heating of his hothouses 2,2thsd sq/m Khodedanyan spent 70 thsd sq/m
of gas in winter season 2010-11, in winter season 2011-12 he spent
107thsd sq/m of gas and gas expenditure increased by 3,5 mln drams.
Gevorkyan added that hothouse farms are forced to stop functioning
because of unacceptable conditions of gas supply and repayment of
debts to “ArmRusgasprom”.

He also added that 32% of tax burden for import of equipment for
hothouses also hinders extension of hothouses in the republic. For
this reason, the plans of Chinese investors which were going to invest
about $100 mln in the branch in Armenia as well as the plans of the
Russian “Rosagrolizing” to invest 20 mln EUR were disrupted.

Khodedanyan also said that the blast which kills plants in hothouses
interfered Armenia together with Turkish tomatoes. For this reason,
France, Russia and Ukraine refused to import Turkish tomatoes. But 60
tonnes of Turkish vegetables and fruits are imported to Armenia every
week, he said.

Paper: 69 thous. people emigrated from Armenia by plane for past 5 months

June 16, 2012 – 19:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – According to Haykakan Zhamanak daily, about 69
thous. people emigrated from Armenia by plane over the past five
months.

The data are based on RA civil aviation general administration’s
publications. The number of those having left the country totaled 64
thous. in the same period last year.

50 thous. people emigrated from Armenia for the past 4 months, the
number growing by 19 thous only in May, the paper says.

Armenian action films lack quality

news.am
June 15, 2012 | 17:38

YEREVAN. – Unfortunately there has not been filmed any movie in
Armenia yet, which could be included in the `Live action’ nomination,
artistic director of Golden Apricot Festival Michael Stamboltsyan
announced at a press conference on Friday, answering to the question
why there was no Armenian film included in the `Live action’
nomination.

`Once we made such a mistake and included an Armenian movie in the
nomination, which did not win a prize. As a result, the director of
the film and his close circles started talking unpleasant things about
us accusing us of not supporting Armenian cinematography,’
Stamboltsyan said.

According to the director, if a movie is filmed in Armenia and can
compete with the selected 12 movies for the nomination, it would be
included in the nomination regardless of the outcome.

Stamboltsyan noted with regret that there is no such a movie yet.

To note, nevertheless, Armenian films will largely be represented
during the festival.

Golden Apricot International Film Festival will take place in Yerevan
on July 8-15.

Third Armenian-Turkish business forum kicked off in Turkey (PHOTOS)

news.am
June 15, 2012 | 12:57

KARS. – Armenian-Turkish third business forum kicked off on Friday in
Kars, Turkey. The photo gallery from the forum is available here.

Over 70 businessmen from Armenia and Turkey participate in the forum
organized by the Union of industrialists and entrepreneurs of Armenia,
Armenian News-NEWS.am special correspondent reports from Turkey.
Businessmen mainly present fields of construction, mining industry,
fishing, furniture production, tourism, cargo transfer and jewelry.

The forum was opened by the owner of Kars-based Serhat TV channel
Alijan Alibeyoglu and head of the Union Arthur Ghazaryan.

`Despite Armenian-Turkish border is closed for Kars, goods turnover
makes $500 million. It will become $3 billion if borders are open,’
Alibeyoglu claimed.

Turkish official data claims that turnover with Armenia does not
exist, while Armenian official data claims it is $240 million. Export
from Armenia to Turkey makes just $1 million. Goods arrive in Armenia
via Georgia, where the documents are changed on the border.

`There are 40 companies based on Turkish investments in Armenia. To
some extent Armenian-Turkish business relations do indeed exist. Our
goal is to transfer them into legal field,’ Ghazaryan said.

To note, the first and second forums were held in June and November,
2011 in Yerevan, where over 100 businessmen from both countries
participated.

Masis Mikhaelyan was appointed the chief of the rear of the Nagorno
Karabagh Republic Defense Army

12:21, 16 June, 2012

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS: Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan
signed a decree according to which colonel Masis Mikhaelyan was
appointed deputy commander, chief of the rear of the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic Defense Army. About this Armenpress was informed at the
central information department of the office of the Artsakh Republic
President.

This year 69 000 people already left Armenia and didn’t return

11:44 . 16/06

Haykakan Zhamanak Daily covered the issue of people who leave Armenia
without returning. About 69 000 people left Armenia by air transport during
the first 5 months this year.

`We took these data from the statistics the RA Civil Aviation General
Department published yesterday. This indicator was 64 000 over the first 5
months of the past year.

The number of the people who left Armenia and didn’t return has increased
by 5 000 people (8%) as against the same period of the past year. As of the
past month, this number was 50 000 passengers, that is this number
increased by 19 000 in May.

The number of people who left Armenia by all transport means and didn’t
return hasn’t still been published, but it’s obvious it will reach 100
000′.

ARMENIE
Un sismologue arménien opposé à la construction d’une Tour Perse à Erevan

Vladimir Balasanian, sismologue indépendant, s’exprimant lors d’une
conférence de presse, a déclaré que lui et ses collègues sont
catégoriquement opposés à la construction d’un hôtel de 50 étages à
Erevan, en particulier, et en Arménie, en général, car un fort
tremblement de terre ferait s’effondrer et détruire toutes les
structures à proximité.

Vladimir Balasanian a dit l’hôtel est censé être construit par les
Iraniens qui ne sont pas conscients des risques sismiques de
l’Arménie.

Mkrtich Miansian, chef de l’Union des Architectes Arméniens, a
également parlé contre ce plan exhortant le gouvernement à prendre des
mesures contre le projet. La tour est censée être construite sur un
terrain entre le cinéma Moskva et le btiment de l’Union des Artistes
d’Arménie. Le terrain appartenait autrefois à l’Union des artistes,
mais depuis les années 90 a été revendu plusieurs fois et est
maintenant détenue par une société iranienne Tidas internationale qui
parle de plans pour construire un hôtel.

Mkrtich Minassian a exprimé l’espoir que la municipalité d’Erevan va
reconsidérer les permis antérieurement délivrés et interdire la
construction de la Tour Persique.

samedi 16 juin 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com