Author: Kanayan Tamar

PEOPLE DEFECT FROM REPUBLICAN, BHK AND OEK PARTIES

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 20:12:57 – 23/09/2011

Aram Manukyan, one of the leaders of the Armenian National Congress,
addressed the rally today, announcing that after Ter-Petrosyan had
stated in the last rally “it has started”, most Republicans returned
their membership cards and support the movement.

Aram Manukyan announced that these membership cards are signed
by Andranik Margaryan and Serzh Sargsyan. Aram Manukyan announced
that anonymity of these people is guaranteed to protect them from
persecution.

Aram Manukyan addressed Serzh Sargsyan, noting that this is the value
of his signature. He said members of the Orinats Yerkir Party and
Bargavach Hayastan Party continue to return their membership cards,
and Aram Manukyan said they guarantee the anonymity of these people
to prevent them from persecution.Aram Manukyan stated that the bandit
state has cracked, and the crack is gradually becoming larger.

MAN DYING DURING POLICE RAID IDENTIFIED

Tert.am
23.09.11

The suspected gang member who died during a police raid on Miasnikyan
Avenue in Yerevan earlier on Friday has been identified.

Sona Truzyan, the Spokesperson for the Prosecutor General’s Office,
informed Tert.am that the person was Gurgen Hayrapetyan – a former
convict.

Hayrapetyan, 49, nicknamed Yetum (the meaning is unclear), has been
sentenced for several times since 1980.

Last time he served his sentence in Erebuni penitentiary and was
released on 23 March 2010.

The gang group was suspected of being behind a series of robberies.

The police arrested a total of 12 people during the raid.

Armenian Killed In Night Explosions In Dagestan

03:43 pm | Today | Social

The only person killed in Makhachkala explosions on Sept. 22 was
Armenian.

Twenty-year-old Karen Asatryan, a citizen of the Russian Federation,
was from Gyumri, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan
told A1+.

“We have been able to establish a contact with Karen’s relatives and
agreed to transport the body to Gyumri,” said the ministry official.

Two explosions took place in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala,
on the night of September 22, killing one and injuring 60 people. The
first blast went off at 0:40 a.m. in the city center, several hundred
meters away from the central square. The second one took place 15
minutes later in the same district. Both bombs were reportedly set
under cars in a parking lot.

WIKILEAKS DISCOVERIES ‘STAGGERING’ – OPPOSITION LEADER

Tert.am
23.09.11

Everything seemed to have been said about the “illegal, criminal and
brigandish” nature of the Armenian authorities.

It seemed difficult or even impossible to add anything to it. However,
“a staggering discovery” dispels this impression and enables one to
view the problem from a different aspect, Leader of the opposition
Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated at the
ANC-staged rally Sept 23.

The matter concerns the Wikileaks discoveries. It turns out,
Ter-Petrosyan said, that “the US Administration has been much better
informed of the Armenian authorities’ essence than we have been.” The
Wikileaks discoveries show that the detailed reports by US ambassadors
informed the US Administration of the mass violations, bribes and
administrative pressure during the latest elections, the opposition
leader said.

GRAPE OUTPUT THIS YEAR EXPECTED TO BE 10-15% HIGHER FROM LAST YEAR

/ARKA/
SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, September 23. / ARKA /. Avag Harutyunyan, chairman of the
Union of Armenian Winemakers, said today the grape output this year
is expected to be 10-15% higher from last year.

According to the data of the ministry of agriculture, last year’s
grape output rose to 210,000 metric tons from 185,000 tons in 2009.

Avag Harutyunyan said winegrowers this year had two problems. One was
hails that damaged about 20% of the output and 5% losses were caused
by recent fungal diseases. ‘However, since we expect an overall 30-35%
growth, the net growth eventually will amount to 10-15%,” he said.

According to Harutyunyan, in 2011 winegrowers have managed to overcome
the consequences of the crisis in 2009 and 2010 and the demand for
grapes has increased significantly after brandy producers said they
would like to produce also wine. He said this is supposed to increase
competition and result in higher quality of final produces.

He said there is demand for Armenian wine abroad, however, local
wineries are still not able to secure large amounts and high quality
due to lack of quality grapes. According to him, virtually all wineries
have bought modern equipment and machinery, which will raise the
quality of products.

“The demand for wine increases, quality improves, and the grapes
will become more expensive, as the grape output grows more slowly
than the demand for wine. Besides, wine producers will now focus on
more expensive and high-quality varieties,” he said.

According to the National Statistical Service, in January-July this
year wine production increased by 17.8% to 3.37 million litters.

GEORGIAN AMBASSADOR INVITED TO ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY FOR GIVING EXPLANATIONS

arminfo
Friday, September 23, 18:59

Ambassador of Georgia to Armenia Tengiz Sharmanashvili has been
invited to Armenia’s Foreign Ministry for giving explanations
concerning Georgia’s official stance on its Foreign Ministry’s
diplomatic “demarche” – the statement on the local elections in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The statement said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
confirms its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and does not
recognize the so-called local elections held in Nagorno-Karabakh Sept
18 2011. The Ministry also welcomed the world community’s efforts to
ensure the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and
expressed belief that there is no alternative to dialogue.

Meanwhile, the Central Electoral Commission of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic has summed up the results of the elections, which took
place in 209 out of 227 communities. 54,697 (58.66%) out of 93,243
registered voters took part in the voting. 7 international and 11
local observers monitored the elections.

UNION OF EMPLOYERS IN AGRARIAN SPHERE ESTABLISHED IN ARMENIA

/ARKA/
September 23, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, September 23. /ARKA/. Union of Employers in agrarian sphere
was established in Armenia, said the Chairman of Agrarian Union of
Armenia Hrach Berberyan.

“The Union gradually starts its activity which can promote the jobs
in agricultural sphere between the employers and working force”,
said Berberyan.

It is necessary to regulate legislation of these interrelations and
the first steps are undertaken already in this direction.

At the end of October a meeting will be organized where managing body
will be selected and the staff of the Union will be approved.

In 2010 Armenia registered unprecedented decline in agricultural
sphere of Armenia in the amount of 12.5%. In 2011, the Government
of Armenia announced the agrarian sector a priority sector in the
economy of the country.

According to the data of Armenian National Statistic Service, volume
of production in agriculture in August increased by 21.3% compared
to the same period of 2010 making over 130.6 billion drams (growth
by 61.9% in August compared to July). ($1 – 373.94 drams).

SARKOZY OFFERS NEW PLAN FOR KARABAKH SETTLEMENT?

Tert.am
23.09.11

In his UN speech on September 21, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
proposed a conflict resolution ‘method’ that he could be used for
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Huliq.com reported.

Sarkozy particularly proposed admitting Palestine to the UN as a
non-member state with observer status. He said decades of negotiations
had yielded no results and was time to “change the method” to
achieve better results. According to Huliq, the French leader may
offer a similar proposal to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
as a method for resolving the Karabakh conflict Welcoming Sarkozy’s
proposal, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said was not a
surprise to his country.

“The speech of President Sarkozy had some aspects which are discussed
in the international community, so it was not a surprise for us,”
he was quoted as saying.

“Now the question is, since Nicolas Sarkozy is heading to South
Caucasus and is meeting with the Armenian president on Sept. 27, could
this or a similar package be offered as a solution to the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, the people of which struggle for independence
and freedom? From the words of the German Foreign Minister it can be
concluded that there is an internationally discussed “package” that may
be applied to inter-ethnic conflict resolution. Sarkozy’s points about
two sides not trusting each other, the need for changing the method
and giving the people hope with mutual recognition holds true for
the case of Nagorno Karabakh as well,” says the author of the article.

CANADA’S MONCTON TO HOST FOURTH ARMENIAN FESTIVAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 23, 2011 – 15:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian culture will once again be celebrated in
Metro Moncton, Canada.

Times&Transcript reported that events for the fourth Moncton Armenian
Festival were unveiled at Moncton City Hall, including an array of
music, film, art exhibitions and other events running from October
27 to November 6.

Although she says Moncton’s Armenian community is limited to a handful
of established families, organizer Sylvia Kasparian says the wider
Metro population has become increasingly a part of the festival.

“Every year more people are attending and now they know it’s a very
high level,” she says. “Multicultural festivals are growing, because
I think people like that, they want something different, but they
never have been exposed to this.”

The festival is held every two years, with the inaugural edition coming
in 2005 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

This year’s event begins with a keynote concert from Armenian pianist
Tigran Hamasyan, whose music is based on Armenian traditions and
folklore, but with modern influences like rock, jazz and even heavy
metal.

Hamasyan will play at Dieppe’s Arts and Culture Centre the evening of
Oct. 27, after hosting a free discussion of his work, technique and
personal journey at the Faculty of Arts at l’Universite de Moncton
that morning.

The festival will also include an exhibition by visual artist and
filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, as well as medieval and sacred music from
the Oshakan Vocal Quartet and other musicians.

DEFENSE MINISTER RECEIVED THE NEWLY APPOINTED GERMAN MILITARY ATTACHE TO ARMENIA

2011-09-23

On September 22, ARM Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan received
ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia Hans-Jochen
Schmidt due to the ending of the mission of the German military
attache to Armenia Colonel Bruno Paulus and appointment of his
successor Joseph Joachim Wilhelm Bruno.

The minister thanked Bruno Paulus for his personal contribution in
the relations between Armenia and Germany throughout his term and
awarded him with the departmental medal ‘For Military Cooperation’.

Congratulating Colonel Joseph Joachim Wilhelm Bruno on his new job,
the minister expressed hope that during his tenure Armenian-German
military cooperation will broaden and strengthen even more.

The parties noted with satisfaction that Armenian-German cooperation
develops continuously embracing new spheres.