Author: Kanayan Tamar

GARY ROBBINS URGES AZERI AUTHORITIES TO REVIEW POLITICAL PRISONERS’ CONVICTIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 17, 2011 – 18:31 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – United States Mission to the OSCE Charge d’Affaires
Gary Robbins issued a statement on the convictions of April 2
protesters in Azerbaijan.

“The United States deeply regrets the recent convictions of a number
of opposition activists who participated in peaceful demonstrations
on April 2. These rulings include:

The October 10 verdict of the Nasimi District Court to convict four
activists- Ahad Mammadov, Ulvi Guliyev, Elnur Medzhidli, and Rufat
Hajibeyli – on charges of actions disturbing public order and/or
resisting police;

The October 3 ruling of the Sabail District Court to convict four
activists-Arif Hajili, Tural Abbasli, Mahammad Majidli, and Fuad
Gahramanli-on charges of conspiracy to violate public order for
planning and organizing pro-democracy protests that took place on
April 2;

We further regret decisions by the same court on August 25 to convict
six other activists on similar charges.

We note that the October 11 spot report from the OSCE Office in Baku,
which states that a total of 14 political activists have now been
convicted as a result of the April 2 demonstration. We encourage the
Office to continue its close monitoring of the court proceedings,
including any related appeals.

The United States recalls the Government of Azerbaijan’s obligations
under its Constitution and its OSCE commitments to respect the rule
of law and the rights of all its citizens to freedom of assembly
and freedom of expression. Accordingly, we call upon Azerbaijan’s
judicial authorities to ensure that any appeals of these convictions
are reviewed in accordance with Azerbaijan’s constitutional and
international commitments, which exist to help all Azerbaijanis advance
democratic culture, processes, and institutions in their country,”
the statement said.

INTERESTING APPOINTMENT IN PRESIDENT OFFICE
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir.am News

18:23:38 – 17/10/2011

The position of the chief of staff of the president of Armenia, vacant
for over a month, was finally filled. The new chief of staff is Vigen
Sargsyan, the ex-deputy chief of staff. After Karen Karapetyan’s
dismissal, he was the acting chief of staff.

Vigen Sargsyan has been in the president staff since Robert Kocharyan’s
office. He was assistant to Robert Kocharyan.

By the way, an interesting event coincided with his appointment. On
the day when Serzh Sargsyan’s decree was published, the next U.S.

ambassador to Armenia John Heffern arrived in Yerevan and handed his
letter of accreditation to the foreign minister Nalbandyan.

An interesting rotation took place in the position of the chief of
staff. The ex-chief of staff Karen Karapetyan is the representative
of the Russian stream. His brother is a billionaire in Russia, and
his wealth was the main guarantee of Karen Karapetyan’s promotion.

The target was the position of the prime minister reported by the
Armenian press for several years now. However, Karen Karapetyan’s
flight was till the chief of staff of the president, which was a
high flight for a person with his caliber and potential. Meanwhile,
the issue of the position of the prime minister perhaps emerged in the
result of the new logic which is present in both global and regional,
and subsequently in the Armenian political processes. These processes
are rich in strategic targets, which make material wealth insufficient
to solve such issues.

Vigen Sargsyan is the representative of the Western stream. In this
sense, perhaps it is worthwhile to remember a letter sent by email to
the Armenian media. Some of them published this letter which presented
Vigen Sargsyan as someone who works for the United States. However,
independent from this suspicious anonymous letter, it is obvious that
Vigen Sargsyan is a representative of the so-called Western stream
who now takes up the position of the chief of staff.

By the way, this situation reminds the Soviet years when the leaders
of the Soviet states were Armenians while the second persons were
Russians and represented the center.

The situation is not absolutely the same but there is a similarity.

Now Vigen Sargsyan who was on the second step in the president
administration is now appointed as chief of staff of the president.

The fact that this vacancy is filled after a month is evidence
that this appointment is not a mere issue of HR administration but
a political issue which requires internal, perhaps also external
multi-vector political discussions.

It does not mean that by this appointment Armenia faced the West
or those discussions were as important and significant as those on
Karabakh. In reality, the process has many layers to draw such simple
conclusions. Simply this appointment must be taken into consideration
as an interesting episode of possible tendencies.

ANALYST: ARMENIAN PUBLIC NO LONGER INTERESTED IN RAPPROCHEMENT WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 17, 2011 – 14:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – European Integration NGO analyst believes the
Armenian public is no longer interested in normalization of relations
with Turkey.

“At present, other issues took priority,” Manvel Ghumashyan said,
noting that a progress in Armenia-Turkey rapprochement largely depends
on the course of Arab Spring.

“Turkey aims at gaining leadership in Islamic world. Should that come
to pass, Turkey’s position on normalization of ties with Armenia may
become more rigid,” the expert stressed, not ruling out mitigation
of Turkey’s stance in the opposite case.

The Arab Spring is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests
occurring in the Arab world. Since 18 December 2010 there have been
revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt; a civil war in Libya resulting in
the fall of its regime; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen;
major protests in Israel, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman,
and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia,
Sudan, and Western Sahara.

YEREVAN ERECTS LEONARDO DA VINCI MARBLE BUST

Tert.am
18:49 17.10.11

Yerevan State University of Architecture and Engineering erected
a bust of the famous Italian Renaissance painter, sculpture and
architect Leonardo da Vinci.

Standing in the yard of the university the bust is a present by the
Italian Romualdo del Bianco Foundation on the 90th anniversary of
the university.

Yerevan State University of Architecture and Engineering and the
Italian foundation have been in cooperation for 20 years now.

Hovhannes Tokmajyan, the rector of the university, said that the
busts of other prominent architects and sculptors will be erected in
university’s yard in the near future.

Authored by Italian sculptor Dino de Ranieri the bust is made of
marble and is standing on a pedestal made of Armenian basalt which
symbolizes the cooperation between Armenia and Italy in the sphere
of architecture.

IRANIAN, ARMENIAN SPEAKERS CALL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS

IRNA
Oct 2011

Bern, Switzerland, Oct 17, IRNA — Visiting Iranian Parliament
speaker Ali Larijani and Speaker of Armenian National Assembly Hovik
Abrahamyan on Monday called for development of relations between the
two countries.

The two Speakers made the remark in a meeting held on the sidelines
of the 125th Assembly of Inter-parliamentary Union underway in Bern,
Switzerland.

Parliamentary delegations from more than 120 member states have
attended the IPU meeting in the Swiss city on October 16-20.

“Iran is ready for expansion of relations with Armenia,” Larijani
underlined.

The Armenian parliament speaker welcomed development of cooperation
with Tehran especially in the field of trade and economy.

Abrahamyan discussed with Larijani latest developments in Karabakh
as well.

Karabakh is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern
Armenia. The two countries have dispute over the control of the region.

Speaker of Armenian National Assembly supported Iran’s right for
acquiring peaceful nuclear energy and criticized the negative
propaganda of certain countries on Syria developments.

Relations between Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran remain
extremely cordial and both Armenia and Iran are strategic partners
in the region. Armenia and Iran enjoy cultural and historical ties
that go back thousands of years.

There are no border disputes between the two countries and the
Christian Armenian minority in Iran enjoys official recognition.

Iran and Armenia would also cooperate in the field of energy security
which lowers Armenia’s dependence on Russia. The cooperation would
lead in the future to supply Iranian gas to Europe through Georgia
and the Black Sea.

TURKEY PM ERDOGAN DENIED OBAMA’S CLAIMS, MADE ACCUSATIONS: DAVUTOGLU

epress.am
10.17.2011 17:00

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told US President Barack
Obama that his government “acted as Israel’s lawyer,” Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday.

Davutoglu addressed deputies from the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) during the party’s gathering in the hot springs retreat
of Kızılcahamam near the capital Ankara, the Hurriyet Daily News
reports.

The Turkish foreign minister said Obama had phoned Erdogan 11 times
during the last nine months and a brief encounter took place during
one of their conversations, when Obama complained about Turkey’s role
in Iran’s uranium swap deal, asking why Erdogan protected Iran.

Erdogan denied Obama’s claims, Davutoglu said, and responded, “I do
not protect Iran, but you [the United States] act as Israel’s lawyer.”

Davutoglu also talked about Turkey’s stance over the unrest in Syria.

“We were going to side either with Bashar al-Assad or the Syrian
people. We chose the Syrian people,” Davutoglu said.

ANKARA CAN’T MEDIATE KARABAKH ISSUE FOR LACK OF OBJECTIVITY – ANALYST

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 17, 2011 – 16:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia-Turkey rapprochement proved Ankara’s
inability to act as a mediator for Nagorno Karabakh settlement,
according to an analyst at European Integration NGO.

At news conference in Yerevan, Manvel Ghumashyan characterized Turkey
as lacking in objectivity where Karabakh conflict is concerned.

The expert did not rule out possible change of mediation format in
Armenia-Turkey rapprochement should current efforts prove ineffective.

MP: DEATH OF ARMENIAN SOLDIER IN PEACEFUL CONDITIONS IS UNACCEPTABLE

ARMENPRESS
16:24, 17 October, 2011

“Death of Armenian soldier in peaceful conditions is unacceptable
for me. It is a very serious issue,” member of Republican party’s
parliamentary faction Hovhannes Sahakyan told a news conference today.

According to him, the army is a whole part of our public and the
young people who are serving in the army are the members of the
same society. If there is a positive change in the public it must be
reflected on the army as well. “The problem is not only the increase
of the cases of deaths in the army but what works are being carried
out for stopping them,” he said.

Parliamentarian Vardan Khachatryan said the army is the chief
guarantor of state’s security. “The interference to this process must
be implemented with exclusive responsibility. Saying that there must
not be flaws at all, is wrong,” the parliamentarian said, adding that
the reasons of the cases must be studied, otherwise the same problem
will raise. “Each failure in this field threatens the country’s
security and peace process,” the parliamentarian said.

SOME 500 MILLION DRAMS INVESTED IN TATEV AERIAL TRAMWAY THIS YEAR

ARKA
Oct 17, 2011

YEREVAN, October 17. / ARKA /. A total of 500 million drams have been
invested in the world’s longest aerial tramway this year built to
transport visitors to the Medieval Monastery of Tatev in southern
Armenia, the facility’s director, Tigran Kazarian told reporters
Sunday. He said part of the investment was spent on building a cafe
lounge and two souvenir shops and information centers.

“The residents of nearby villages may provide tourists with bed
and breakfast made of locally produced ecologically clean natural
products,” he said.

According to him, about 80% of tourists coming to Tatev want to stay
in a rural house or outdoors in tents. He said the number of tourists
visiting the Monastery this year has increased 12 times form last
year. Kazarian said the opening of the cable car allowed to create
55 new jobs, and four more jobs are set to open soon. The personnel
are residents of Goris and surrounding communities.

The 5.7-kilometer-long aerial tramway transports visitors from the
village of Halidzor across the Vorotan gorge to the village of Tatev,
within walking distance of the monastery, allowing tourists and
visitors to bypass a 90-minute drive on a dilapidated road in and
out of the Vorotan River Gorge.

The reversible cable car line cost $18 million, with much of the
funding coming from private donations, according to the National
Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, which oversaw the project
through its Tatev Revival Project.

The cable car travels at a speed of 37 kilometers per hour (23 miles
per hour) and a one-way journey takes 11 minutes. At its highest
point over the gorge, the car travels 320 meters (1,056 feet)
above ground level. It has two cabins, each capable of carrying
up to 25 passengers. Local residents can ride the cable car once a
day free while others will have to pay 3,000 Armenian drams (eight
dollars/six euros.). The cable car is part of a $45 million-dollar
public-private effort to develop tourism at Tatev and in the overall
region of Syunik. The aerial tramway was officially registered by a
representative of the Guinness World Records in 2010 October 23.

UN OFFICE IN ARMENIA PROMOTES POVERTY ERADICATION WORK

armradio.am
17.10.2011 15:10

A photo exhibition “Eradication of Poverty after 20 years of
independence” dedicated to the International Day of Poverty
Eradication, which was organized by the Oxfam and the UNDP, UN
Department of Public Information and the Food and Agriculture
Organization was opened today at the UN House.

Exhibited photos illustrated the challenges on the way of poverty
eradication, focusing on the achievements of the residents of distant
rural areas, who were supported by various charitable and development
programs.

The event was attended by the representatives of government and
international organizations, and the beneficiaries of programs held
by Oxfam and the UNDP, UNDPI and FAO, as well as the general public.

The UN Resident Coordinator Dafina Gercheva said: “October 17 presents
an opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and struggle of people living
in poverty; it’s a chance for them to make their concerns heard. UN
Institutions in Armenia will continue to support the country’s efforts
aimed to eradicate poverty.

Margarita Hakobyan, the director of Oxfam office in Armenia, said:
“All people in the world have the right to be fairly well-off. There
are sufficient resources in the world which are able to provide it.

Poverty is the consequence of inequality, and by overcoming it,
we will be able to eradicate poverty.”

The United Nations believes that for present and future generations
sustainable development must truly safeguard ecosystems at the same
time enabling economic and social progress. Sustainable development
will also build countries’ resilience to external shocks and protect
development gains.

The photo exhibition is organized in the framework of the series
of other joint events dedicated to poverty eradication which were
held on October 12th -17th in Yerevan and two regions of Armenia:,
Shirak and Vayots Dzor. These events were also initiated by Oxfam,
UNDP, UNDPI and FAO. The events were also supported by the network
of civil society organizations established by Oxfam, by other civil
society and international organizations.

The events were held under the slogan of Oxfam GROW global campaign
“Grow more, feed our country” aimed to promote local food production,
consumption, distribution, and management processes, as well as to
reduce disaster risks and prevent the negative impact of climate change
on agriculture as the most essential factor of poverty eradication.