Author: Kanayan Tamar

Armenian Defense Minister: ceasefire is violated by Azeri forces only

February 18, 2012 – 13:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The ceasefire at the contact line between Artsakh
and Azerbaijan is violated by Azerbaijani armed forces only. Armenian
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan stated this at the 9th meeting of
Yerkrapah Volunteer Union.

`The enemy is trying to a find a weak spot with our guards and check
their vigilance, but stops after receiving a proper response,’ Ohanyan
noted.

Azerbaijan keeps on violating the truce at the contact line between
Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

As NKR defense army reports, 160 instances of ceasefire violation by
Azerbaijani armed forces were registered in early February at the
contact line between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces.

Azerbaijan fired over 600 shots from various caliber weapons.
Intensified violation cases were recorded on Feb 6-7, with 300 shots
fired towards the Armenian positions.

Despite Azeri army’s aggressive actions, NKR forces refrained from
retaliatory measures, continuing with their military duty.

ARMENIAN TOURISM AGENCIES BLAME ARMAVIA AIRLINE COMPANY AND ITS OWNER – NEWSPAPER

news.am
February 18, 2012 | 08:50

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s several tourism agencies have serious problems
in connection with the New Year passenger transportation, and as a
result they have suffered losses worth tens of thousands of dollars,
Hraparak daily writes.

“Specifically, one such agency owes a huge amount to a hotel in Dubai,
for the previously made reservations, since some of the passengers had
canceled their tour packages at the last moment. And criminal cases
are brought. Just to note, the agencies blame Armavia [Airline Company]
and [its owner] Mikhail Baghdasarov for their losses,” Hraparak writes.

ARMENIAN YERKRAPAH VOLUNTEER UNION CONGRESS CONVENES

news.am
February 18, 2012 | 12:50

YEREVAN. – Congress of Yerkrapah (War Veterans”) Volunteer Union
(YVU) commenced Saturday in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan. President
Serzh Sargsyan is among the attendees, which total approximately
two-thousand.

Among the congress participants are Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan,
former minister Mikayel Harutyunyan, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Defense Minister Movses Hakobyan, Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan,
Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, and other senior officials.

And among those who are not in attendance to YVU congress are PM
Tigran Sargsyan, former National Assembly Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan,
and Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Colonel General Yury Khachaturov.

A ARMAVIR, LE JUGE ALCOOLISE FAIT DU STRIPTEASE
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 18 fevrier 2012

David Baroyan, un juge de la region d’Armavir (Armenie) avait sans
doute trop bu. Tard dans la soiree du 16 decembre dans l’un des clubs
de nuit, il est monte nu sur la scène de danse pour faire un numero de
striptease sous les yeux etonnes de l’assistance. Au matin, après le
depart des vapeurs d’alcool, le juge a soudainement trouve la raison
et s’est excuse pour son geste. Trop tard pour lui, car très vite
alertes, Aghvan Hovsepian, le responsable armenien charge des juges
a retire a David Baroyan ses fonctions pour ” conduite indigne de la
fonction de juge “.

ALI HASANOV: ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND SERZH SARGSYAN LED THE SEPARATIST MOVEMENT IN NAGORNO KARABAKH

APA
Feb 17 2012
Azerbaijan

“All the crimes committed by Armenians are being investigated and
documented”

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. “The major part of the world community
knows that Khojaly tragedy was committed with the support of the
Soviet Army and a group of separatists in Nagorno Karabakh. Robert
Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan led the separatist movement. All the
crimes committed by Armenians are being investigated and documented,”
said chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and Internally
Displaced Persons Ali Hasanov when asked by journalists whether Serzh
Sargsyan, Robert Kocharian and Seyran Ohanyan can be declared wanted
by Interpol, APA reports.

According to him, after the documentation is completed, appeal can
be made for the punishment of the criminals.

“Facts are being documented in order to prove these crimes. We
consider that law-enforcement bodies will cope with it. Armenia is
waging serious ideological war against the Turkic world, all Muslims
with the exception of some Muslim countries. I think diplomatic rules
must not be observed regarding this problem. Our diplomats, officials
must openly say the guilt to the face of the culprit. Now is not time
for a diplomatic move. We usually blame international organizations
for double standards, why we must act like them. The issue is not
only Armenia, there are forces that help them. The world community
must be informed about it,” he said.

Chairman of the State Committee said some steps were taken after the
French Senate passed a bill criminalizing the denial of the so-called
Armenian genocide.

“We have decided to launch French version of the website on Garadaghly
tragedy. Let the French people know about this tragedy. It is not
right to regard the decision passed by 126 French senators as the
position of the French people. The French people are not aware of
this tragedy. An ordinary Frenchman is not guilty that the senator
elected by him is bribed by Armenians and acts against the voter. This
decision is also against the French people,” he said.

CREATION OF PROFESSIONAL ARMY WILL INCREASE ARMENIA’S DEFENSE CAPABILITY – MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

news.am
February 18, 2012 | 14:55

YEREVAN. – The creation of a professional army will increase
Armenia’s defense capability, opposition ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party MP,
and chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Defense, Arthur
Aghabekyan said during the 9th congress of Yerkrapah (War Veterans’)
Volunteer Union (YVU).

“Let me bring you an example. The recruitment of the British Armed
Forces is conducted on the basis of the cadet school. [And] It is the
sacred duty of each soldier to take part in the formation of a cadet,”
Aghabekyan noted.

In his words, the adolescents who choose the military career must be
sent to sports, military and experimental games with field clothing.

“Together with the youth, the schools, military commissariats,
[and] work must become the main components of this program,” Arthur
Aghabekyan added.

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY MAY VISIT ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2012 – 15:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Vladimir Ashkenazy, principal conductor of the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra and legendary pianist may pay a visit to Armenia. In
a recent interview he said he hopes to conduct in Armenia later this
year or early next. “My teacher for many years was Armenian,” he said,
according to J-Wire.

Vladimir Ashkenazy born in Gorky, Soviet Union (now Nizhny Novgorod,
Russia), to the pianist and composer David Ashkenazi and to the
actress Yevstolia Grigorievna, born Plotnova.

Ashkenazy went on to graduate from the Moscow Conservatory where he
studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky, winning second prize in
the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and the
first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels in
1956. He shared the first prize in the 1962 International Tchaikovsky
Competition with British pianist John Ogdon.

Ashkenazy moved to Iceland with his wife in 1968 and became an
Icelandic citizen in 1972. In 1978, the couple, with five children
(Vladimir Stefan, Nadia Liza, Dimitri Thor, Sonia Edda, and Alexandra
Inga), moved to Switzerland.

He was the principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from
1987 to 1994 and was principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic
from 1998 to 2003. He became musical director of the NHK Symphony
Orchestra in 2004.

Besides these positions, Ashkenazy is conductor laureate of the
Philharmonia Orchestra, conductor laureate of the Iceland Symphony
Orchestra, and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra,
with which he performs regularly.

Ashkenazy has also appeared in several Christopher Nupen music films,
conducting extracts from the composer profiled, including Ottorino
Respighi and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and performing at the piano.

He succeeded Gianluigi Gelmetti as the chief conductor and artistic
director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in January 2009.

EMIGRATION MAY BE A CURSE

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:38:49 – 17/02/2012

“I agree with the observations that the poverty level in Armenia
has increased since 2009”, said today, the Head of the World Bank
Armenia office Jean-Michel Happy noting that it impacted the positive
achievements of the country.

He also noted that the protraction of the economic growth in the
beginning of 2009 is worrying. “The 2010 2.1% and the 2012 4.6%
economic growth is not enough to create necessary jobs which would
mitigate the social situation”, he said adding that reforms must be
accelerated focusing on the creation of jobs.

Happy did not deny the emigration rate has increased. “Emigration
can help, it can be favorable but it may also be a curse because it
can promote the emigration of brains. The answer to this issue is
the following – creation of jobs especially for the youth”, said Happy.

VIDEO: ARTISTS PROTEST PRACTICE OF BUYING VOTES, PAINT THE TOWN RED

epress.am
02.17.2012

Local art-activist group Art Laboratory, as a response to the Feb. 12
mayoral elections in the city of Hrazdan, yesterday “painted the town
red’, so to speak.

The “performance” (which could be deemed agitprop), called Against
Buying Votes, involved two members of the group spray painting
“5000 AMD” on the snow in various parts of the capital. Recall,
5,000 Armenian drams is the amount one woman said was promised to
Hrazdan citizens if they voted in the elections.

In the video below, passers-by are heard asking the artists what
political party they belong to, to which the latter reply, “None. This
is a protest against buying votes.”

The artists also left their “5000 AMD” mark outside the Central
Electoral Commission’s offices – which didn’t seem to please the
police officer on duty who promptly began to wipe out the writing on
the snow with his feet.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONTINUES ITS WAY TO DEMOCRACY – KARABAKH SPEAKER

news.am
February 17, 2012 | 12:12

STEPANAKERT. – Nagorno-Karabakh has been developing on the way to
democracy since its proclaimed independence 20 years ago and plans
to do the same in the future.

Speaker of Nagorno-Karabakh National Assembly Ashot Ghulyan welcomed
the participants of the international scientific conference held in
Stepanakert stressing the state did not go astray continues its way
of establishing civil society and building an independent state.

He said the objective of the conference is to reconsider achievements
over past years in the context of regional and international processes,
to compare and consolidate opinions, and to plan further work.

“I believe the conference will promote realization of the right of
Karabakh people,” he said.

In his turn, head of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Gagik
Harutyunyan welcomed the conference organizers and participants,
stating its importance for accumulation of expert opinions.

The volume featuring conference results will be published in late
April. Armenian News-NEWS.am agency is the information partner of
the conference.