Author: Kanayan Tamar

KOLKATA COMMUNITY HOSTS ARMENIA VESSEL, REMEMBERS MAKAR EKMALIAN

Published: Wednesday August 17, 2011

Armenia crew at Kolkata academy.

Service at the Church of Nazareth.

Kolkata, India – Armenia’s Ambassador in India Ara Hakobyan and
the eight-member crew of the Armenia sailing vessel led by author
Zori Balayan were in Kolkata between July 21 and 24, visiting the
Armenian Churches of India and to Holy Etchmiadzin’s Armenian College
and Philanthropic Academy and the representatives of the Armenian
Community.

Very Rev. Father Khoren Hovhannisyan, Pastor of Armenians in India
and Manager of Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy, gracefully
accompanied Zori Balayan and the crew to St. John the Baptist Church,
Chinsurah below the belfry of which lies the tomb of Prince Fridon
Beglarov, the last heir of Artsakh’s Gulistan melikdom (known as
Shaumyan district today). Father Khoren conducted ‘repose of souls’
service.

On the itinerary of the guests was a visit to the Armenian Old Age
Home of Kolkata – where they met with its residents followed by a
visit to the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth. Later, the crew paid
a visit to Mother Teresa’s Home where her tomb lies.

The Ambassador, Father Khoren and Zori Balayan met with Mr. Sunil
Sobti and Mrs. Susan Reuben, Wardens of the Church Committee of Holy
Nazareth at the Armenian College.

The meeting of the crew with students of Armenian College at the school
auditorium featured remarks by the Ambassador and Zori Balayan who
made Father Khoren an ‘Honarary Member’ of his crew and emphasized
the meaning of their voyage.

The Armenia vessel sailed from southern Europe in spring 2009,
proceeding through the Atlantic and the Caribbean to Los Angeles and
from there on to South America, Australia and South-East Asia with
stops at various Armenian community centers; the ship concluded its
voyage in Cyprus on August 11.

Makar Ekmalian anniversary The Armenian Church of India celebrated the
155th birth anniversary of Armenian composer Makar Ekmalian (1856-1905)
at the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth in Kolkata on July 31.

The evening begun with ‘Ov Hayoc Astvats’ song by the Armenian College
and Philanthropic Academy choir which was followed by a number of
other compositions from the invaluable repertory of the great musician.

At the end of the concert, Very Rev. Father Khoren Hovhannisyan,
Pastor of Armenians in India and Manager of Armenian College and
Philanthropic Academy delineated Makar Ekmalian’s biography and the
beauty of the ingenious works to the audience and the important role
that the great composer played in spiritual and lay art of singing.

Father Khoren concluded his speech by quoting Komitas Vardapet’s note
of appreciation for Ekmalian.

“Dear Musician Mr. Makar Ekmalian sowed the first harmony in the
desolate musical phase of our nation. We are indeed happy that we,
Armenians can now proudly say that we have not been left behind from
the advancement and growth of universal professional and artistic
music.”

The occasion was celebrated in the presence of the Church Committee,
Armenians of Kolkata, students and teachers of Armenian College and
distinguished guests.

TURKISH, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS TO DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT

PanARMENIAN.Net
August 18, 2011 – 13:26 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish and Russian Presidents will discuss the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict on the sidelines of a global political forum
to be held in Yaroslavl, Russia, on September 7-8. According to Zaman,
Abdullah Gul and Dmitry Medvedev will also focus on Iran’s nuclear
program and the recent developments in Middle East.

The forum will be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and
former Latvian President Valdis Zatlers.

ALIK SARGSYAN MUST LEAVE

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 10:48:19 – 17/08/2011

Alik Sargsyan, Chief of Police of Armenia, is evidently unable to
control his system. Inadequate comments by Alik Sargsyan that break
a number of principles such as the presumption of innocence are a
usual thing.

A recent example is the arrest of 7 activists of the Armenian National
Congress and violence used against them. Alik Sargsyan told reporters
his story of the incident, which later became known to have nothing
in common with the reality. Something similar happened with Vahan
Khalafyan.

There are two options. Either the Police Chief is lying deliberately,
or he does not know what is happening in his system. The Chief of
Police’s actions have no justification in either case, and it is all
the same for the state and the society which of these two are true,
since in both cases the Police pose danger to the citizens.

Hence, Alik Sargsyan must be fired along with those who “report”
to the Chief of Police, or internal intrigues intended to defame him.

Armenia needs a Chief of Police who will fulfill the duties provided
by the Constitution.

YEREVAN AND MOSCOW IN THE SAME CHAINS
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:58:27 – 17/08/2011

There is a common opinion that the situation in Armenia depends on
the outcome of elections in Russia.

The situation in Russia is indefinite. The first and last president
of USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, in his interview with The Guardian,
said Prime Minister Putin is an obstacle to democratic transition in
Russia. He thinks Dmitry Medvedev deserves a second presidential term.

“The President’s program of economic, political and civil modernization
is better but his possibilities are limited,” said Gorbachev. According
to him, Putin defeated Medvedev with his cunning.

Yesterday, Putin and Medvedev fished in the Volga River, dived and
drove a powerboat but not together, in order to show that Medvedev
is also manly though Putin’s torso is broader.

Half a year is left to go before the presidential elections in Russia
but the candidates are not known. Such things would happen only in
Russia where civil opinion is as unessential as in Armenia. Not the
parties as unions of citizens but authoritarian leaders identify
the candidates.

It was repeatedly said that in Armenia radical political changes are
possible only if Putin promotes his candidacy. This is first of all
related to Kocharyan’s return. Many analysts in Armenia affirm it
is impossible under the current rating of Kocharyan. But in Armenia,
rating is nothing if the outcome of elections is “planned” beforehand.

Moreover, it is unknown how Serzh Sargsyan will behave if Putin runs
in the elections and Kocharyan voices about his intentions. Will
Sargsyan’s resources be sufficient to fight two former presidents,
Russian and Armenian?

The uncertainty of the Russian establishment hinders the organization
of the Armenian political field. But will certainty become a
stabilizing factor or will it promote uncontrolled processes?

Armenia appeared in such a situation due to the activities of its
political class, which is in total dependence on the Russian political
and economic situation. No matter who will rule in Russia, in Armenia,
changes in the social and political life will happen only within the
leadership without changing the current situation. Meanwhile systemic
changes are possible as soon as total economic and political dependence
on Moscow is overcome.

INAUGURATION DE L’HOTEL ” AVAN CHOUCHI PLAZA ”
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
mercredi 17 aout 2011

en presence du President Bako Sahakian

Le 15 août Bako Sahakian, le president de la Republique du Haut
Karabagh a assiste a l’inauguration de l’hôtel ” Avan Chouchi Plaza ” a
Chouchi. B. Sahakian a souligne l’importance d’un tel hôtel repondant ”
aux normes internationales ” pour le developpement de Chouchi ainsi que
du Haut Karabagh. Bako Sahakian a remercia les Armeniens de la diaspora
pour leurs investissements a Chouchi et au Haut Karabagh contribuant
a developper la region. Il a egalement insiste sur ” l’union de tous
les Armeniens ” autour de projets essentiels pour la nation armenienne.

ROBERT HOVHANNISYAN BECOMES WORLD VICE CHAMPION

Panorama
Aug 16, 2011
Armenia

Armenian Champion, World Champion within the Armenian national team,
GM Robert Hovhannisyan was sharing 1st-2nd places but finally won
silver in the tiebreak in the World Junior Chess Championship.

Samvel Ter-Sahakyan finished ninth scoring 8.5 points, armchess.am
reported.

THE WASHINGTON POST: “AZERBAIJAN’S NAGORNO-KARABAKH TERRITORY HAS BEEN CONTROLLED BY ARMENIAN SOLDIERS AND ETHNIC ARMENIAN FORCES”

Today.Az
Aug 16, 2011
Azerbaijan

“Azerbaijan`s Nagorno-Karabakh territory has been controlled by
Armenian soldiers and ethnic Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire
ended separatist fighting,” a Washington Post article has said.

The article, titled “20 years after collapse, former Soviet
republics face promising, worrying futures”, said: “More than
a decade of international mediation has brought no apparent move
toward resolution.”

“A renewal of full-scale fighting could shake European markets because
of the key oil pipeline that passes through Azerbaijan en route to
the West.”

/AzerTAc/

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement must be accelerated
T. Hajiyev

Trend
Aug 16, 2011
Azerbaijan

The process of resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be
accelerated, head of the EU representative office in Azerbaijan Roland
Kobia told media.

“Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to reach an agreement on the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement at the Kazan meeting,” he said. “But
this does not mean that the whole process has failed. Of course, the
failure to reach an agreement at the meeting is disappointing. But a
few days later a meeting was held in Sochi. I heard it was held in a
positive atmosphere. We would like this process to continue. I would
not like to think that the settlement process has ended.”

Kobia touched upon the incidents occurring at the contact line between
Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.

“We are saddened by the situation in the frontal zone,” he said.

“There must not be such cases from the Azerbaijani or Armenian sides,
because there is a ceasefire regime. No one should die there. Both
sides must respect the ceasefire regime.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

LOSS OF FRIENDLY TIES WITH BAKU ‘CREATES PROBLEMS’ FOR TEHRAN
Lala B.

news.az
Aug 16, 2011
Azerbaijan

News.Az interviews MP Fazil Mustafa, leader of the opposition Great
Creation Party and a member of the Azerbaijan-Iran parliamentary group.

How may Azerbaijani-Iranian ties be affected by the recent criticism
of the Azerbaijani leadership by the chief of the Iranian Armed Forces
General Staff and Baku’s subsequent note of protest? Maj-Gen Hassan
Firouzabadi said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev might face
“a dark future” as the “people’s awakening cannot be suppressed”. He
also implicitly criticized Azerbaijan for relations with Israel and
banning “Islamic rules”.

There is serious resentment amongst the Iranian military elite of
the country’s political leadership. The chief of the General Staff
of the Iranian Armed Forces, Hassan Firouzabadi, is reported to hate
the country’s religious leader, Ali Khamenei. Therefore, instead of
criticizing Ali Khamenei, he turned his resentment on the Azerbaijani
leadership in order to be heard. In reality, these statements prove the
differences inside Iran. In other words, he showed that he ignores the
country’s leadership. But given the fact that Iran is a totalitarian
entity, people in its leadership address their resentment at the
domestic situation to heads of foreign states.

In this respect, I can say that these statements run counter to the
interests of Iran, since the loss of friendly ties with neighbouring
countries, particularly with Azerbaijan, creates problems for Iran.

Figures such as Firouzabadi would be of more use to their people if
they criticized their own leaders.

After the remarks, some Iranian leaders said there were powers
interested in worsening Azerbaijani-Iranian ties. Are there such
forces and what are they interested in?

Iran is a totalitarian country and there are no second or third
parties in such states. In such states, there is only one party,
which is the political regime of Iran. For this reason, this political
regime makes such statements to avoid responsibility. I think that
the arguments of the Iranian side are groundless and are Tehran’s
theses about Azerbaijan. Until Iran apologizes to Azerbaijan, Baku
must give Tehran the same treatment to put it in its place.

Members of an alleged Islamic grouping named Jafari were arrested in
Azerbaijan after the Iranian officer’s remarks. They face charges
of working for the Iranian side. Are observers right to say that
the arrests were Baku’s response to Maj-Gen Firouzabadi’s criticism
of Azerbaijan?

There are no doubts that there are numerous Iranian-funded groups
in Azerbaijan, because Iran spends a great deal on spreading its
ideology. But all the same I cannot say for sure that drugs and arms
are found on the majority of the arrested members of such groups,
especially those who say they adhere to Islam. I don’t want to believe
that those who work for Iran could keep drugs at home or in their
pockets in the month of Ramadan. But it’s important that the law
enforcers of Azerbaijan found these groups.

The Iranian side periodically offers to mediate in the settlement of
the Karabakh problem. But how sincere and acceptable can the proposals
of the Iranian side be for Azerbaijan?

None of the countries involved in settlement of the Karabakh conflict
take Iran’s proposal seriously. Moreover, Iran has offered its
assistance to Armenia to help this country get out of crisis. Tehran
uses all means to assist Armenia and this is what constitutes Iran’s
mediation. Therefore, the countries of the region do not take seriously
the Iranian side’s proposals on settling the Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly said that it will not allow its territory
to be used against Iran. Might Baku change its position on this issue
following the criticism from the Iranian commander?

Azerbaijan does not favour the use of its territory against Iran.

Given that Azerbaijan is a country neighbouring Iran, it will not
allow any state to use its territory for such purposes. However, in
the event of a threat or irresponsible statements from Iran, such as
the one recently made â~@~Kâ~@~Kby the chief of staff, Azerbaijan can
discuss its security with other countries, including the United States.

We will need to find allies against a country that we regard as
friendly, but that sees us as its enemy. Tehran should bear this
in mind. Otherwise, Azerbaijan will have to be involved in steps
against Iran.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, COALITION WRAP UP MEETING, ADOPT JOINT STATEMENT

Panorama
Aug 16, 2011
Armenia

The meeting between the Armenian National Congress (HAK) and political
coalition has just finished. The sides have adopted a joint statement,
HAK representative Levon Zurabyan and MP David Harutyunyan told
reporters.

Levon Zurabyan read out the text of the statement which said: “The
meeting participants discussed the incident that occurred between
young HAK activists and police on August 9 near Yerevan Swan Lake
and agreed to continue the discussion on Friday. We have also agreed
not to comment on the discussions on this incident for the present,
and not to answer any question. Thank you.”

The next meeting is scheduled for August 19.