Author: Kanayan Tamar

POLITICAL EXPERT: ARMENIA WANTS TO DEAL WITH SUCH AN ANTICIPATED PARTNER AS RUSSIA

arminfo
Tuesday, March 6, 18:35

Armenia is striving to deal with Russia as an anticipated partner,
Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan said during
the Feb 6 Yerevan-Moscow-Kiev-Astana-Kishinev video-bridge when
speaking of Moscow’s further policy with Vladimir Putin’s return to
the Kremlin.

“Armenia borders with such countries as Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Georgia. Naturally, under these conditions, the republic attaches
much importance to the forecastability, conformism and reliability
of relations with these countries. The same can be said about Russia.

Certainly, one cannot speak of big changes in the Russian policy in
the South Caucasus and post-Soviet space in general, because the
office making decisions on the key issues has not changed much”,
Iskandaryan said.

For his part, Russian political expert Sergei Mikheev, Director
of the Center for Political Conjuncture, pointed out that Putin’s
election as president will stimulate integration processes in the
post-Soviet space, which are connected with the Russian premier’s
idea about creation of the Eurasian Union.

To recall, when asked about his first international visit after
assuming the presidential office, Putin said on March 5: “The absolute
priority is the CIS”.

WORLD CHAMPION TEACHING HYE-JITSU AT O.C. ARMENIAN CENTER

asbarez
Friday, February 24th, 2012

The students after class

World Champion Ricardo Abreu is taking time out of his busy schedule
to teach the art of Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu (BJJ) to the Armenian Youth
of the Orange County Community every Tuesday and Saturday. He has
affectionately named his teachings “Hye-Jitsu.” According to Abreu,
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense
system that focuses on grappling and ground fighting.

The art was derived from the Japanese martial art of Kodokan judo
in the early 20th century. It teaches that a smaller, weaker person
can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using
leverage and proper technique – most notably by applying joint-locks
and chokeholds to defeat the other person. BJJ training can be used for
sport grappling tournaments and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition
or self defense. Abreu states “Most importantly it teaches the kids
to have self confidence and discipline.”

The Armen Karo Gomideh’s Youth Committee organized and launched the
Hye-Jitsu lessons in November of 2011. Since then, Abreu has been
teaching this ancient Japanese Art Form at the Orange County Armenian
Community Center to several youth many of whom attend the Ari Giragos
Minassian School and the ARF Badanees. They meet twice a week and
begin each class with traditional “warm up” excercises and stretches.

After warming up, the kids are taught different techinques and
submissions. The last portion of the class is dedicated to sparring,
where the students get an opportunity to use the techiniques they
have learned against each other in a controlled environment.

His students admire and respect him not only for his dedication to
the art, but rather for his patience, kindness, and willingness to
go above and beyond in each and every class.

When he is not at the Armenian Community Center in Orange County,
Abreu is training Famous MMA Fighter Tito Ortiz and many others. He
recently made his Mixed Martial Arts debut in December of 2011 where
he submmitted his opponent Marcos Wilson da Silva in 61 seconds.

Abreu’s nickname “Demente” in Portuguese stands for “Madman”. The
reason his training partners gave him the nickname was because people
would often stretch his arm to the limit, but he would more then
often prevail and win. For this his coach and colleagues started
calling him Madman (Demente).

His dedication to the Art of Jiu-Jitsu and to the youth of the Orange
County Armenian community is teaching kids invaluable lessons not
only in martial arts but “life”.

Grappler Ricardo “Demente” Abreu who has trained with the likes of
Tito Ortiz (pictured far right) and Anderson Silva, made his MMA debut
in December of 2011. Abreu submitted his opponent Marcos Wilson da
Silva in 61 seconds in a light heavyweight bout in Brazil.

For more information and to register email the OC ARF Youth Committee
at [email protected]

Ricardo “Demente” Abreu is a two time silver medalist at the World
Championships in 2009 and 2010. He was also the European Champion
in 2010 and in 2009 the South American Chanpion and Sao Paulo State
Champion.

FAMOUS ARMENIAN SINGER WAS ROBBED

news.am
March 05, 2012 | 17:21

YEREVAN. – Famous Armenian singer Ruben Hakhverdyan has been robbed.

As information sources told Armenian News-NEWS.am, his mansion in
Proshyan village was robbed several days ago.

The TV-set, recorder, clocks and other items were stolen.

As the press service of the Armenian Police informed, Hakhverdyan
did not report to the police.

According to information we have got, his wife Nunufar Minasyan has
reported to the police.

Armenian News-NEWS.am was not able to get in touch with the singer
himself.

To note, Ruben Hakhverdyan currently lives in his apartment in Yerevan.

“WHAT LEVON TER-PETROSYAN HAS SAID, HITS HIS FOREHEAD LIKE A BOOMERANG”, KOCHARYAN’S OFFICE HAS RESPONDED

18:53 . 05/03

The head of Robert Kocharyan’s office Viktor Soghomonyan has responded
to the statement ANC Leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan made during the rally
on March 1, saying Robert Kocharyan is “a drowned ship”.

In his talk with Mediamax, he has said one must be devoid of common
sense at all in order to call Robert Kocharyan “a drowned ship”.

“I will not give long explanations, since everyone knows everything
about Kocharyan’s activity starting from the victory in the Karabakh
War till the rapid economic development of the Republic of Armenia.

Robert Kocharyan has never lost in the elections either in NKR,
or in the Republic of Armenia, and is so far the only leader of
our republic to have served two terms of presidency with obvious
(more and more obvious with time) success. What “drowning” is meant
here? It is not clear.

But this unsuccessful metaphor of Ter-Petrosyan just demands a new
usage taking into consideration the personality of its author. If we
observe Ter-Petrosyan’s political biography from the point of view
of that metaphor, then we may state that he simply is in the habit of
“drowning”. He “drowned” in 1996, when lost in the elections, in 1998
when he had to come to the political “bottom” with the stigma of a
betrayer of the national interests. He was “drowned” for ten years,
after which he “drowned” twice in 2008: firstly in the presidential
elections and then in the elections of the mayor, when he was defeated
by Gagik Beglaryan. It seems there is no more place for “drowning”,
he is on “the bottom” since long ago.

In short, the only author of ANC’s list should have thought of another
comparison for attacking. This one hits very harmfully his head like
a boomerang,” Viktor Soghomonyan has said.

ANC IS A TITANIC -ARMENIAN RULING PARTY REP

Tert.am
05.03.12

The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) is of no interest any
more, Hovhannes Sahakyan, an MP of the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA), told journalists on Monday.

To substantiate his statement, he pointed out ANC rallies attended
by far fewer people, problems in compiling a list of candidates,
statements by ANC Chairman Levon Ter-Petrosyan, particularly his
statements on the Yerkrapah Union’s support to Armenian President
and RPA Chairman Serzh Sargsyan, “a sinking ship,” and so on.

“The ANC must revise its strategy. Their political force is like the
Titanic, a luxury liner with an unskilled captain,” Sahakyan said. On
the other hand, he believes the ruling party stands high chances:
the RPA has a 20-year-long history. “I see public attitude, our
work. The ANC has even opened its office at our election district,”
Sahakyan said.

Asked about Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s “electioneering
ahead of schedule,” Sahakyan said: “The prime minister is not
electioneering. The RPA is a political team, part of power, and it
is only presenting its program to the people.”

ARMENIAN SIDE RESPONDS ONLY TO ENEMY’S SHOTS IN CONTACT LINE – ARMENIAN MOD

news.am
March 05, 2012 | 20:15

YEREVAN. – Azerbaijani side has significantly increased violation of
the ceasefire regime in the line of the contact over the recent few
months, spokesperson for Armenian MOD Davit Karapetyan told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

He dismissed Azerbaijani press reports saying that the Armenian Armed
Forces have the ceasefire regime in several directions over last week.

“Armenian Ministry of Defense has for many times stated that it is
not interested in violating the ceasefire regime and escalating the
situation in the line of contact. In reality it is Azerbaijan that
violates the truce, while Armenia only responds to the snipers’
shots,” Karapetyan said.

MAYOR AGAIN DEFENDS KIOSK CONSTRUCTION IN YEREVAN PARK
Anna Israelian, Karlen Aslanian

05.03.2012

Armenia – Civic activists continue to protest against the construction
of kiosks in a Yerevan public park,

Mayor Taron Markarian again defended at the weekend the controversial
construction of kiosks in a public park in downtown Yerevan which
has sparked protests by environmentalists and other civic activists.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am),
Markarian said the nearly one dozen large kiosks will stand there for
only three years and not damage any trees. He also cited the need to
protect the property rights of their owners.

The shops mainly selling clothing were previously located on the
sidewalk of a major street in the city center. They were dismantled
along with hundreds of other kiosks across Yerevan last year.

Armenia — Yerevan mayor Taron Markarian in an interview with RFE/RL
Armenian Service, Yerevan, 03Mar2012xArmenia — Yerevan mayor Taron
Markarian in an interview with RFE/RL Armenian Service, Yerevan,
03Mar2012 â~@~Kâ~@~KEnvironment protection and other civic groups
condemned the choice of a new location for those properties, saying
that they would inflict further damage on Yerevan’s green areas that
have shrunk significantly over the past decade. They also say that
the municipal administration failed to follow all legal procedures
before issuing the construction permit.

Dozens of mostly young activists have staged daily sit-ins in the park,
forcing the authorities to effectively suspend the construction work
late last month.

Markarian spoke of his deep respect for the protesters but indicated
that the kiosk construction will resume soon. “The young people
[demonstrating] there really care about green areas and ecology,”
he said. “But they should not show that care in that way.”

The 33-year-old mayor claimed that the kiosk owners were offered
the temporary relocation option because the municipality lacks the
funds to compensate them for the loss of their businesses. He said
the owners of some 700 other dismantled kiosks were not paid such
compensation because they did not operate legally.

The outcry over the shop construction reflects growing anger among
politically active Armenians with the shrinkage of public parks
across the city. Virtually all of them are now dotted with cafes,
restaurants and other commercial properties. The authorities have
until now essentially ignored less vocal and radical forms of protest
against Yerevan’s deforestation.

Markarian, who is a senior member of President Serzh Sarkisian’s
Republican Party of Armenia, said his administration understands these
concerns. He said it will triple this year spending on the maintenance
and expansion of municipal parks and planting of new trees elsewhere
in Yerevan.

SERZH SARGSYAN MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF BELGIAN SENATE

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 5, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 5, ARMENPRESS: Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan,
who is in Brussels on a working visit, met Monday with President
of the Belgian Senate Sabine de Bethune and members of the House
of Representatives.

As president’s press service told Armenpress, at the meeting Serzh
Sargsyan stressed that Armenia is interested in expanding and deepening
of multifaceted ties with Belgium, which, according to the president,
with its developed economy can serve as a good example for Armenia
on the way of implementation of reforms.

The head of the republic noted that Armenia and Belgium are countries
of comparable sizes, and in Armenia Belgium has always been perceived
as an instructive model for development. The President of Armenia and
Sabine de Bethune highlighted the cooperation between the legislative
bodies of the two countries and attached importance to a consistent
dialogue.

The interlocutors pointed out the need for activation of the
Armenian-Belgian parliamentary friendship groups shaped in the two
parliaments from the beginning of 2000, which will promote deepening
of Armenian-Belgian friendship, and will bring Armenia closer to the
European family.

President Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude to Belgian
parliamentarians and taking the chance of the meeting one more time
stressed the importance of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by
the Belgian Senate.

Later on President Serzh Sargsyan will meet with representatives of
Armenian organizations in Belgium.

OWNER OF SIL GROUP, WELL-KNOWN OPPOSITIONIST, TO RUN FOR PARLIAMENT

arminfo
Monday, March 5, 18:21

Khachatur Sukiasyan, the owner of SIL GROUP, has officially announced
his intention to run for the parliament of the 5th convocation.

The SIL GROUP Concern’s press-service told ArmInfo Sukiasyan will run
in the single-mandate constituency No.10, Kentron District, Yerevan.

Sukiasyan, founded SIL GROUP in 1995. He was trice elected to
the parliament of Armenia: in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Non-party man
and the authorized person of the first president of Armenia Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, who is the leader of the opposition Armenian National
Congress, Sukiasyan headed Ter-Petrosyan’s electoral headquarters
during the presidential election in Feb 2008.

After the elections, Sukiasyan was deprived of his deputy inviolability
and put on the wanted-list for open support to Ter-Petrosyan and
participation in the mass days-long demonstrations against the voting
result. On March 1-2 ten people were killed in the clashes with
the police. In the summer of 2009 Sukiasyan surrendered himself to
the police and then was set free. He left Armenia and the criminal
case against him was canceled in Feb 2011. In addition, after tax
inspections at his plant of mineral water “Bjni”, Sukiasyan was
deprived of the plant and was reluctant to sell also other assets.

The parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 6 2012. The National
Assembly of Armenia comprises 131 parliamentarians: 41 single-mandate
seats and 90 proportional seats.

To note, the Republican Party of Armenia is expected to nominate the
former mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan in the same single-mandate
constituency with Sukiasyan.

EXPERT: PUTIN’S EXPERIENCE MAY FOSTER KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 5, 2012 – 16:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Vladimir Putin’s victory in Russian presidential
elections will positively affect Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement,
member of the Russian Academy of Political Science said.

“Putin’s personal experience may contribute to Karabakh resolution,”
professor Andrei Baranov said.

According to the expert, Russian president elect will intensify
Russia’s mediation mission in Karabakh resolution.

“Russia is strategically interested in settlement of violent
conflicts, establishment of stability along its Southern borders,
drastic activation of economic, transport and cultural ties with
South Caucasian courtiers,” he said.