Author: Kanayan Tamar

TURKEY IS NOT INTERESTED IN THE NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUE, TURKOLOGIST SAYS

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 4, 2011
YEREVAN

Turkey is not interested in the Nagorno Karabakh issue, Turkologist
Hakob Chakryan told today. The only wish of that country is not see
Armenia standing still. “In 1991 one of the Turkish journalists of
“Milliyet” paper offered three diplomatic preconditions to Turkey
– first not mentioning 1915 Armenian Genocide, force the Artsakh
Armenians recognize the ruling of Azerbaijan and finally stop the
anti-Turkish activity of Diaspora, adding that if Armenia was not be
obliged all this, it would stand firm and would not give an opportunity
to forward pre-conditions,” the Turkologist cited.

According to Chakryan, Turkey will continue coming forth with the
policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide as its recognition will
mean reviewing the history of formation of Turkey as a result of
which it will be found out that the founders of the current Turkey
were murderers. “It is a taboo to speak about the activity of Kemal
Ataturk and the genocide so that the people will not learn the truth,”
he stressed. Chakryan also said there is no need to accuse Israel in
not recognizing the Armenian genocide. “It faces national security
issue which is in not firm situation. Destroying neighbors in six
days, Israel though fails to ensure security of its own people,” the
Turkologist said, adding that the situation in Israel is more serious.

ASHOT MELIKYAN: COURT IS THE PERFORMER OF POLITICAL ORDERS

arminfo
Friday, November 4, 19:56

Armenian courts are the performers of political orders, chairman
of Committee for Protection of Freedom of Speech, Ashot Melikyan,
told journalists today.

“All the lawsuits filed against the National Television and Radio
Commission are declined by the court. We are not going to leave this
fact without attention and will appeal to the European Court”, –
Melikyan said.

The representative of the Committee, lawyer Olga Safaryan said that
in February the Committee applied to the National Television and Radio
Commission for the copies of the tender applications and the documents
on digital broadcasting. They promised to give all the information
except the commercial documents, which contain secret information,
and CV of employees of the TV companies. “It means they have what to
hide, if they are scared even to present CVs”, – Safaryan said and
added they applied to the court but it did satisfy their lawsuit,
although they did not know even the content of the documents.

Mark Mustian’s `Gendarme’ draws crowd in New York City
by Taleen Babayan

Published: Friday November 04, 2011

Mustian signing copies of his book.

New York – Mark Mustian, author of the critically acclaimed novel,
“The Gendarme,” presented his book on Wednesday evening, October 12,
at the Diocesan Center in Manhattan.

The event, hosted by the Armenian Network of America (Greater New York
Region), Armenian Students Association and the Zohrab Center, started
with an introduction by Talene Kachadourian, President of the Armenian
Network of America. She spoke of Mustian’s background as a lawyer and
as City Commissioner in Tallahassee, Fla., where he currently lives
with his wife and three children.

Published last year, “The Gendarme” quickly created a buzz and was the
winner of the 2010 Florida Gold Book Award for General Fiction. It is
a finalist for the 2011 Dayton International Literary Peace Prize. The
book has been translated into eight foreign editions in Brazil,
Bulgaria, France, Greece, Israel, and Spain, among others.

Mustian’s novel follows the story of a Turkish gendarme officer who
once lead the Armenians on the death marches of 1915. Following an
injury at Gallipoli, he was sent to an Allied Hospital where he met
and married an American nurse, and eventually settled in the United
States-having lost all recollection of the Armenian Genocide. Almost a
century later, the officer, now 92, suffers a brain tumor and begins
to recall the story of his youth, and to seek redemption before it is
too late.

Following Kachadourian’s introduction, Mustian discussed his book,
which touches on many themes within the larger context of the Armenian
Genocide, including the role of memory, politics, religion, and human
relationships.

Mustian also talked about the process of having the book published,
which required a lot of perseverance and determination on his
part.Seven years after perfecting his manuscript, the reputable Putnam
imprint published the book to positive reviews, including in the
Sunday Book Review of the New York Times which wrote that Mustian,
“tells a story that probes a timeless array of life’s general
adversities,” and noted that “Mustian refuses to flinch when
describing the grim realities that resurface in Conn’s [the
protagonist’s] thoughts of the past.”

Following his presentation, Mustian answered questions from the
audience and signed copies of his books. A reception followed where
guests had the opportunity to speak with Mustian further. For more
information about “The Gendarme” and its author, please visit

DARCHINYAN BELIEVES HE CAN WIN RECORD TALLY OF BELTS BY END OF 2012

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 5, 2011 – 11:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Boxing champ Vic Darchinyan believes he can win a
record tally of world title belts by the end of next year.

IBO bantamweight champion Darchinyan is gunning for title belt No.9
next month when he fights Panama’s WBA bantamweight super champion
Anselmo Moreno in California.

The big-hitting southpaw couldn’t find room on a table to accommodate
all of his belts on Friday, November 4, when it was announced the
Moreno fight would be shown on free-to-air television station 7mate,
ninemsn.com.au reports.

“I think the most belts, Oscar de la Hoya won 10 world titles, I have
eight belts, I am chasing more,” Darchinyan said. “I’d love to have
three more belts, that’s my goal, that’s what I’m going for. I want
to have three more belts and I become No.1 in the history of boxing.

After retirement I want to be someone that people are going to talk
about, remember me, everyone is going to mention my name.”

Darchinyan thinks he can attain the landmark by the end of 2012
by beating Moreno and having two more title bouts next year. He is
determined to move up to super bantamweight in 2012, but could stay
at bantamweight after the Moreno fight if there is a chance to unify
the division.

“I will go to super bantamweight 100 per cent next year,” Darchinyan
said. “If before I can fight unification of the bantamweight
world titles I can collect all belts here and become undisputed
world champion, I’d love to do it. If someone challenges me for a
unification, I will wait, if not I’ll move further up in weight.”

L’ARMENIE DEBUTE PAR UNE VICTOIRE FACE A L’AUTRICHE
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
vendredi 4 novembre 2011

aux championnats d’Europe des echecs par equipe a Porto Carras (Grèce)

Hier a Porto Carras (Grèce) ont debute les championnats d’Europe
des echecs par equipe. L’Armenie, championne du monde en titre qui
affrontait pour le premier tour l’equipe d’Autriche s’est facilement
impose 3,5-0,5 sans Levon Aronian, le meilleur joueur armenien et
numero trois mondial. L’equipe masculine d’Armenie entraînee par
Archag Petrossian est composee de Levon Aronian, Sergueï Movsissian,
Vladimir Hagopian, Gabriel Sarkissian et Robert Hovhannissian.

L’equipe feminine d’Armenie a quant a elle fait un match nul (2-2)
face a la Tchequie. Entraînee par Arthur Tchiboukhian, elle est
composee d’Elina Danielian, Lilith Mkrdtchian, Lilith Galoyan, Maria
Koursova et Nelly Aghinian.

‘METSAMOR NUKE PLANT MAY CAUSE GRIEVER CONSEQUENCES THAN CHERNOBYL’

news.az
Nov 3 2011
Azerbaijan

Metsamor nuke plant blast may cause griever consequences than Chernobyl
in case of a 7-magninute earthquake.

The statement came from Turkish MP, honorary chairman of the
Turkey-Azerbaijan Association Sinan Ogan at a press conference he
gave to highlight the danger posed by the Metsamor nuclear power
plant in Armenia.

Ogan said Metsamor nuke plant, located just 16 kilometers away from
Turkish city of Igdir, represents a serious source of danger for
the region.

“The radiation leakage caused in the plant built in 1976 by the
1988 earthquake in Armenia lasted three months. This, in turn,
caused a sharp increase in cancer cases in Igdir, Kars, Agri and
Erdahan provinces of Turkey. Operated by old technology, Metsamor
nuke plant blast may cause griever consequences than Chernobyl in
case of a 7-magninute earthquake,” the MP added.

The MP noted that the decision issued by the European Union to close
down this dangerous facility back in 2004 still remains unfulfilled.

“The then British ambassador to Armenia also said a strong earthquake
would destroy this station and this nuclear disaster would kill all
living beings. It is not coincidence that Metsamor features among
top ten dangerous facilities out of 442 around the world in a report
released in London” Ogan noted.

The MP said all these matters have been submitted to the relevant
commission of the Turkish parliament to be debated in future.

AZERBAIJANI-TURKISH GAS DEAL SEEN AS BLOW TO RUSSIA’S GAZPROM IN EUROPE
by Yuriy Roks

Nezavisimaya Gazeta website
Oct 27 2011
Russia

Azerbaijan Will Assure Energy Security of Europe. Aliyev and Erdogan
Wrecking Russia’s Plans for Gasification of Old World

A few days ago Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a package of gas agreements
concerning the second stage of the Shah Deniz project. It is viewed as
the main source for the projects of the Southern Gas Corridor, which
are alternatives to Russian projects to supply gas to Europe. According
to the agreement reached, Azerbaijan will supply 10 billion cubic
meters of gas to Europe annually. The agreement was signed during
the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Turkey.

Ilham Aliyev’s visit was announced in the Azerbaijani press modestly –
the president is going to Izmir, where he will take part with Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a formal ceremony to lay the
foundations of a new oil refinery, in the construction of which the
Azerbaijani side has invested $5 billion. In practice the meeting
between Aliyev and Erdogan confirmed the profound strategic relations
between the fraternal countries, encased in a wrapping of a whole
number of grandiose events, and dealt a blow to Gazprom’s position
in Europe.

Apart from laying the foundations of the joint oil refinery, Aliyev
and Erdogan opened via video linkup the AYPE-T plant, which is going
to produce low-density polyethylene, which is in wide demand in the
world. Apart from 16,000 tons of this material the plant will produce
output of 11 items annually. After this the Azerbaijani president
and the Turkish prime minister took part in laying more foundations –
those of the building of the Heydar Aliyev Technical and Industrial
Vocational Lyceum. In the words of Erdogan, the educational institution
– which will become a symbolic educational bridge between the Aegean
and Caspian seas – is intended to embody the words of Aliyev Senior
about Turkey and Azerbaijan: “One nation, two states.”

The lycee is a whole group of residential, sports and educational
buildings designed for teaching almost 1,000 people.

The formal events were accompanied by speeches from Erdogan and Aliyev
in which there was no shortage of assurances of eternal brotherhood,
joint pain about Nagorno-Karabakh, and the joint fight to return it.

In this context Erdogan congratulated Aliyev on Azerbaijan’s election
as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, which is capable
of facilitating a solution to the Karabakh question. But as a whole
there was not a great deal of pure politics this time. But there, in
Izmir, the first session of the Turkey-Azerbaijan High-Level Strategic
Cooperation Council took place with the participation of ministers
and heads of departments from the two countries. Questions of the
development of various spheres of bilateral relations were discussed
at it. The signing of the gas agreement became the main event in Izmir.

Apart from annual supplies of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani
gas in the European direction, the sides agreed volumes of gas
supplies to Turkey from that same Shah Deniz-2 field after 2017
and a transit agreement for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas
through Turkey. Ilham Aliyev also emphasized that in the coming years
Azerbaijan will substantially increase supplies of gas: Within the
framework of the contract for the first stage of development of Shah
Deniz Turkey should receive 6.6 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani
gas annually, and within the framework of the second supplies of
another six billion cubic meters of gas are envisaged.

Analysing the agreements signed in Izmir, Seymur Aliyev, an expert
in the sphere of energy, described them as “historic both for these
countries and for Europe and the countries of the Caspian basin.”

“Essentially, these agreements – among which there is a most important
document on gas transit through the territory of Turkey – have opened a
direct route for Azerbaijani gas to Europe. Apart from this, in signing
this agreement Azerbaijan removed the final obstacles to implementing
a number of large energy projects, such as the development of the
second stage of the gigantic Shah Deniz field and the construction
of large export pipelines (Nabucco, IGI, TAP).

Moreover this agreement will facilitate the implementation of such
projects as the trans-Caspian gas pipeline, and the development of
new gas fields in the Caspian and in the first place in Azerbaijan,”
Aliyev writes.

In his opinion, the agreement on gas transit allows Baku to
definitively determine the transportation route for its gas to Europe.

Previously the Nabucco, IGI, and TAP projects, which are part of the
Southern Gas Corridor, have presented proposals to their partners in
Shah Deniz, and in the near future the route will be chosen and by the
end of this year authorizations to implement the second stage of Shah
Deniz will be granted. The gas extracted from this field is viewed
as the main source for the projects of the Southern Gas Corridor,
which is one of the priorities for EU energy projects and is intended
to diversity routes and sources of energy supplies and thus increase
EU energy security, writes Seymur Aliyev.

However, supplies of gas to Europe could start much earlier than 2017.

Already today Turkey is re-exporting some Azerbaijani gas to Greece.

The existence of a transit agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkey has
basically connected the energy chain of Europe and the Caspian region.

This agreement opens the route to Europe not only for gas from Shah
Deniz but also from other Azerbaijani fields. “With the signing of
the transit agreement Europe has become even closer to Azerbaijan.

Precisely Brussels has become closer to Baku, which is explained by
the vital need for diversification of energy supplies to the European
Union. This is also explained by the fact that today Azerbaijan is the
sole realistic supplier of natural gas in this direction, possessing
large proven reserves of 2.6 billion cubic meters,” Seymur Aliyev
sums up.

[translated from Russian]

YENI MUSAVAT: AZERBAIJAN CLOSES LAST RELIGIOUS SCHOOL

Panorama
Nov 3 2011
Armenia

Azerbaijan has closed all religious schools in the country, the parents
of the students of Azerbaijan’s last madrasah told Yeni Musavat. They
noted that police officers demanded closure of the school a couple
of days ago. The law enforcers said that head of Azerbaijan’s State
Committee for Work with Religious Organizations Hidayat Orujov made
the decision to close the school.

The newspaper said that the last four madrasahs have been closed in
this way in Badamdar, Shaki, Lenkoran and Zaqatala lately. The press
service of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations
refrained from revealing the reason why all 14 religious schools
working since 2001 were closed in Azerbaijan.

LET’S SEE WHETHER AZERBAIJAN WOULD ABANDON MILITARISTIC POLICY AT UN SECURITY COUNCIL – ARMENIAN FM

news.am
Nov 3 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – All that remains is to see whether Azerbaijan would
abandon its militaristic policy and aggressive statements at UN
Security Council (UNSC), Armenia’s FM Edward Nalbandian stated at
the National Assembly, on Thursday.

As per Nalbandian, numerous emotional statements are recently made
concerning Azerbaijan becoming a UNSC non-permanent member.

“With respect to transferring the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) issue to UNSC
platform, I would like to say that the OSCE (Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe) Minsk Group’s Co-Chairing countries,
which are UNSC permanent members, have announced that the NK issue
shall be resolved within the OSCE Minsk Group framework. Therefore,
there is no need to get emotional over some statements by Azerbaijan,”
Armenia’s FM maintained.

Also reflecting on official Baku’s viewpoint that the latter took
part in UNSC through international support, Nalbandian noted that,
with its present-day policy, Azerbaijan has put itself in an impasse.

“The international community already expressed its views, which
coincide with Armenia’s position and do not coincide with Azerbaijan’s
position,” Nalbandian recalled. In his words, the nature of
Azerbaijan’s position manifested itself during the trilateral meeting
in Kazan, Russia, when Azerbaijan evaded the presented document.

“Let us see whether Azerbaijan can now abandon its militaristic policy
and aggressive statements, albeit it is difficult to believe that.

Armenia will continue the balanced and calm policy, without any nervous
shocks, both in settlement of the Karabakh issue and in safeguarding
its security,” Armenian FM concluded.

IMAGES OF ARMENIA
By Cliff Newell

West Linn Tidings

Nov 3 2011

Lake Oswego’s Emily Haas wins Peace Corps award with her photos
depicting a country still in the grips of tragedy

Emily Haas is such a fine photographer that she captured Armenia at
its very best.

One of her photos shows a picturesque town set in front of rolling
mountains, a place where you would want to live, not just visit. A
visual fairytale. More like a painting than a photograph.

However, many other photographs by the young Lake Oswego woman search
beneath the postcard surface and show an ancient nation ravaged by
centuries of war, haunted by its Communist past and plagued by the
vast corruption of today.

Yet Haas’ close-up shots of the faces of elderly people of the village
are perhaps the truest portrait of Armenia, showing not just suffering
but warmth and hospitality. They bring you right up to the table of
an old Armenian lady, close enough to sit down and have a cup of tea
with her, as Haas did in an award-winning shot.

“It was such a unique experience,” said Haas, 25, who spent two years
in Armenia as a volunteer with the Peace Corps, returning this August.

“You live with the Armenian people. It was a great opportunity that
you don’t get very often.

“Armenians are very hospitable. They bring out absolutely everything
they have.”

Sometimes Armenians were too hospitable in Yeghegnadzor, the town
where Haas lived. One mother was constantly coming over to Haas’
little apartment and asking Haas to marry her son.

Fortunately, Haas could speak Armenian and could politely but firmly
reject the mother’s request every time.

Haas’ main purpose with the Peace Corps was to help create a media
center, which was a very difficult job. Once dominated for decades
by the Soviet Union, Armenia had no history of freedom of the press.

“It was extremely frustrating,” Haas said. “But now, thanks to the
media center, not only are the people of the Vayots Dzor region
consuming real, local news, they are also learning of events via a
very new – to them – technology: the Internet.”

When not on the job, Haas took her camera and sought to capture her
host nation, something she was quite qualified to do since she had
just earned her degree in photo journalism from the University of
Montana. She discovered much in Armenia that is good.

“The creativity of the people is amazing,” Haas said. “They are so
hard working, and their land is very fertile. They grow apricots,
pomegranates and grapes. Churchill used to drink Armenian cognac.”

On the other hand, Armenia is a country with lots of troubles.

“Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union their borders have been
closed, except for Georgia and Iran,” Haas said. “The corruption is
terrible. Most of the money goes into the oligarchs’ pockets. There
is much censorship.”

Most of all, Armenia is a nation that cannot escape from its tragic
history.

“It’s a fascinating place, but the people have a sadness over wars and
hardships,” Haas said. “There are churches and fortresses everywhere,
some of them from the ninth century.”

The worst tragedy that happened to Armenians was the genocide that has
never been admitted by the nation that did it. One million Armenians
were killed by Turkey during World War I. Some of Haas’ most moving
photos show the Armenian Genocide Memorial, with flower petals being
spread to reperesent the countless victims.

These many woes made Haas have even more compassion for the Armenian
people. They also made her appreciate her native country much more.

“I’m a lot more positive about the USA than before I went there,”
Haas said. “We have it pretty good here. There is so much corruption
in Armenia, but we have a system that can prevent too much of that
from happening here.”

There was one more thing Haas gained from her two years in Armenia
– winning the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary photo contest with her
photo of her fellow Peace Corps volunteer Danny Lovell sitting down
to have tea with his grandmother.

It is truly a lovely, evocative shot, capturing an everyday occurrence
in its full warmth and depth, just like a photo that would appear in
National Geographic.

But to truly appreciate Emily Haas’ accomplishment in Armenia you
must view many, many more of her photos. Her lens captured the
soul of a nation. To see more of her work, check out her blog at
.