Author: Kalantarian Kevo

TURKEY’S ERDOGAN CALLS ‘NEW ERA’ IN RELATIONS WITH FRANCE

Hurriyet Daily News
May 11 2012
Turkey

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has called for a “new
era” in Franco-Turkish relations in a congratulatory phone call to
president-elect Francois Hollande, officials said today.

In the call late on Thursday, Erdoðan said he hoped “Turko-French
relations will from now on be free from artificial questions currently
affecting them,” an official in Erdoðan’s entourage said.

“I am confident on the subject of a new era in our relations,”
Erdoðan told Hollande, according to the official.

France’s relations with Turkey have been frosty under outgoing
president Nicolas Sarkozy, who opposed Turkish entry in the European
Union.

They further soured after French lawmakers passed a bill with Sarkozy’s
backing that outlawed denying the 1915 Armenian genocide claims under
Ottoman Turkey. France’s Constitutional Council struck the bill down
in February, ruling that it violated freedom of expression.

Erdoðan had accused Sarkozy of trying to boost his election prospects
by tapping anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish sentiment.

TURKEY CONSIDERS REPAIRING TIES WITH PARIS GOVERNMENT

Hurriyet Daily News
May 11 2012
Turkey

Turkey has said it could consider lifting the eight-article
sanctions imposed on France, according to the stance the new French
administration takes on the ‘Armenian genocide’ issue.

Speaking of the French presidential candidates’ election promises to
revive the country’s “genocide denial” law, which was annulled by the
French Constitutional Court of France, Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Selcuk Unal told reporters at his weekly press conference yesterday:
“Of course we should look at those statements and monitor further
phases. We have to wait for France to form a new government.” “The
steps the French government takes will be the arbiter in our plans,”
Unal added. “The situation our bilateral relations are in today
does not suit the strong history of French-Turkish ties,” Unal said,
referring to the over 500-year history of diplomatic relations between
the two.

If France acts in what the Turkish government considers as an
appropriate manner, Turkey is ready both to strengthen bilateral ties
and to work closely with France on international issues affecting
Europe’s future, Unal said, adding that Ankara also expects that the
new French administration will open the five chapters of Turkey’s EU
membership negotiations that have been frozen by France.

Unal also said that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is due to pay
visits to Estonia today and Moldova tomorrow.

ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF RACISM, SLAMS AZERI PRESIDENT

Interfax
May 10 2012
Russia

Armenia lashed out against Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on
Saturday, accusing him of vicious anti-Armenian propaganda.

“Instead of reaffirming the loyalty of his country to the processes
of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azeri
president abused the influential platform of the UN Security Council to
repeat hackneyed postulates of the anti-Armenian propaganda of Baku,
except that he forgot to mention the well-known racist thesis of the
Azeri leadership that ‘the world Armenian community is the number one
enemy of Azerbaijan,'” Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement
made available to Interfax.

“At the meeting of the UN Security Council that discussed action
against terrorism, the president made an unsuccessful attempt to
shift responsibility for ties with terrorist organizations to others,
meanwhile being head of a state that, during the Nagorno-Karabakh war,
used thousands of mercenaries who were closely linked to well-known
international terrorist networks,” the ministry said.

The ministry accused Azerbaijan of posing a permanent threat to
regional stability and security and of provocative statements. This
threatens to undermine the prestige of the UN Security Council,
the ministry said.

Earlier, Aliyev told the Security Council that Azerbaijan had been
a target of foreign-sponsored terrorism.

“Armenia has perpetrated dozens of terrorist acts against the
population and infrastructure of Azerbaijan, in which thousands of
Azeris were killed. In the course of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
Armenia has used terrorist acts against Azeri civilians with the aim
of wide-scale ethnic cleansing,” he said.

POLAND TO SHARE EMBASSY WITH CZECHS IN YEREVAN – FOREIGN MINISTRY

PAP News Wire
May 10, 2012 Thursday
Poland

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Poland and the Czech Republic on
May 9, 2012 signed an agreement under which Poland will lease part
of its embassy building in Yerevan, Armenia to the newly created
diplomatic post of the Czech Republic in Armenia.

It will be the first example of sharing a building between Polish
and Czech diplomatic posts. It also confirms the advanced level of
political cooperation between Warsaw and Prague, Poland’s Foreign
Ministry said in a statement issued Thursday.

Signing this agreement is in line with Polish Foreign Ministry’s
policy of sharing posts in third countries. A tangible dimension
of this cooperation is joint leasing of buildings for diplomatic and
consular purposes (reduction of security, administration and – partly –
personnel costs) and delegating consuls and other diplomats to perform
their functions in partner states’ posts. In the face of the necessity
for fiscal consolidation, the possibility of long-term operating
cost reduction of foreign posts is a tangible benefit which provides
measurable savings while guaranteeing the desirable political effect.

FASHION SHOW AND CONCERT TO CELEBRATE EUROPE DAY IN ARMENIA

news.am
May 11, 2012 | 15:18

YEREVAN. – Within the framework of Europe Day on Saturday British new
hits will be voiced and fashion show will be held in downtown Yerevan,
the British Council Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The fashion show will be held by the ~QFashion Road~R participants,
while in the evening DJ Vakcina will present the best hits of the
British contemporary music from the Selector Radio showcase.

Armenia celebrates the Europe Day for several years, which officially
is marked on May 9.

I HAVE BEEN EDUCATED ON ARMENIAN MUSIC – SERJ TANKIAN

news.am
May 12, 2012 | 00:09

Serj Tankian, the front-man of the world famous System of A Down,
announced that while growing up he was educated on Armenian music
and never heard metal or hard rock.

“The first type of music I was exposed to was cultural Armenian music.

My parents were both in this cultural institution where my mom would
dance and my dad would sing.

I was also exposed to Arabic music as a child and French music
because we lived in Lebanon and that used to be an old French colony,”
Tankian told American website Noisecreep.

To note, Tankian’s third solo album Harakiri is to be released on
July 10.

THE STREAM OF IRANIAN STUDENTS TO ARMENIAN UNIVERSITIES HAS INCREASED

ARMENPRESS
MAY 11, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS: Minister of education and science of
Armenia Armen Ashotyan held a farewell meeting with Iranian ambassador
to Armenia Seyed Ali Saghayian who finishes his diplomatic mission
in Armenia. Armenpress was informed from Ministry of education
and science that Minister thanked the ambassador mentioning that
the traditionally good Armenian-Iranian relations in the sphere of
education and science due to the personnel efforts of the ambassador
received new perspectives and developments. “My visit to Iran
left unforgettable impressions on me in the point of development of
civilization, nation and country. The religious differences can never
be obstacles for nations who have same values. I want to express the
appreciation on behalf of our countrymen who being Iranian citizens
had the opportunity to have education in Armenian language and not
to lose national identity” mentioned Ashotyan and wished two nations
peace and welfare.

The ambassador summarizing the four years of his work mentioned
that during the previous years basis for effective cooperation
several visits, bilateral treaties had been made, in result of
which the stream of Iranian students to Armenian universities had
increased. The ambassador highlighted that he would never forget
warmth and hospitality of Armenian nation and hoped that all the
planned programs would be continued.

THE ELECTORAL CODE TO BE AMENDED AGAIN
Artak Barseghyan

“Radiolur”
11.05.2012 18:31

The first sitting of the National Assembly of 5th convocation will take
place on May 31, Chairman of the National Assembly of 4th convocation
Samvel Nikoyan said today. According to him, the legislative body will
amend the Electoral Code to eliminate the shortcomings and violations
registered during the past parliamentary elections.

Nikoyan made the statement during the sitting of the Monitoring
Group adjunct to the Speaker of the National Assembly. The meeting
featured representatives of the NGOs and international organizations,
who observed the parliamentary elections. Unlike the previous times,
most of the political forces did not send their representatives.

Samvel Nikoyan proposed the participants of the meeting to prepare and
submit proposals on the amendment of the Electoral Code. According to
him, the remarks included in the final reports of the international
observation missions will be taken into account.

K ACHEMYAN: PERSISTENT EFFORT FOR NKR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

Panorama.am
11/05/2012

“The Armenian side has never made military statements, unlike official
Baku; we have repeatedly stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
must have a peaceful settlement,” Republican MP Karine Achemyan said.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing the Armenian
side of making military statements and misleading the international
community.

Speaking to Panorama.am Mrs Achemyan said the people of Artsakh has
got its right for self-determination in line with the principles of
international law and that persistent efforts are being made for the
international recognition of NKR.

Karaberd community in Armenia’s Lori lacks elementary life standards (PHOTO)

May 12, 2012 | 22:09

VANADZOR. – Karaberd community in Armenia’s Lori Region has nearly 200
residents, and overwhelming majority of them are old. At the same
time, the village lacks elementary life standards, including school,
kindergarten, means of communication and roads.

The community is the poorest in the region. In addition, almost no
young people live in the village, the community head Yurik Shalyan
told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

People in Karaberd are mainly work on cattle breeding; besides, the
village is frequently attacked by wolves.

Among many problems, the major according to Shalyan, is the issue of
destructed roads, as well as transportation.