Author: Kanayan Tamar

AZERIS MUST RETURN TO OCCUPIED LANDS – PRESIDENT ALIYEV

Interfax
July 12 2011
Russia

Nagorno-Karabakh cannot receive any legal status without Baku’s
approval, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said at a government
meeting that focused on the first half-year results of Azerbaijan’s
socio-economic development on Tuesday.

“Azeri citizens must return to all the lands currently occupied before
peace and cooperation can begin,” he said.

“As regards the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the 2009 principles
stated that this issue is a question of the future, which can be
resoled in event of an agreement between the parties. In other
words, without Azerbaijan’s consent, there can be no legal status
for Nagorno-Karabakh,” Aliyev said.

“And this is why I spoke about it repeatedly before and want to say
it once again that the secession of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan,
granting it independence or its annexation to Armenia has never been
and never will be a subject of negotiations. Neither the leadership
nor the people of Azerbaijan will accept it,” Aliyev said.

Meanwhile, one of the factors that caused the current intensification
of global efforts in the Karabakh settlement process is the growing
might of Azerbaijan and its army, he said.

The latest statements by the leaders of the countries mediating the
conflict about the unacceptability of the status quo in the Karabakh
conflict are encouraging, he said.

At a meeting in Sochi in March 2011, thanks to the mediation of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev, Azerbaijan accepted a renewed version of the
Madrid Principles presented by the mediators in 2009, whereas Armenia
has been using various pretexts to avoid a similar step, Aliyev said.

TWO ARTISTS CREATE ALTERNATIVE ‘MONUMENT TO HUMANITY’

Hurriyet
July 13 2011
Turkey

Two Dutch artists’ project ‘Helping Hands,’ an alternative to Mehmet
Aksoy’s sculpture that was removed in the eastern Kars,does not
carry a fixed political message but accommodates space for ongoing
negotiation by gathering plaster hand molds from people

The mobile project ‘Helping Hands’ by two Dutch artists includes a
giant hand sculpture being wheeled around on a junk cart in Istanbul’s

Those walking around Istanbul’s Pangaltý, Elmadað and Taksim
neighborhoods might find it surreal to see a giant hand sculpture
being wheeled around on a junk cart. The sculpture, however, is not
destined for the scrap yard; instead it is a mobile project by two
Dutch artists touching on a current debate between art and politics.

Wouter Osterholt and Elke Uitentuis walk around Istanbul all day with
their junk cart with a copy of

sculptor Mehmet Aksoy’s long-debated sculpture, the “Monument to
Humanity,” placed on top of it and

ask people whether they could make a plaster cast mold of their hands.

Aksoy’s sculpture was built in the eastern province of Kars and
dedicated to Turkish-Armenian friendship. Yet, during a Jan. 8 visit
to the area, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan pointed

to the 35-meter-tall “Monument to Humanity,” called it “freakish”
and demanded its removal. Kars’ municipal assembly promptly passed
a motion to tear down the monument, saying it had been illegally

erected in a protected area.

“We were in Turkey during the debates and we felt there were a lot
of opposing views on the sculpture,” Uitentius recently told the
Hurriyet Daily News. “We started to question the role of monuments in
representing political propaganda and decided to make an alternative
‘Monument

to Humanity’ that does not necessarily provide symbolic ‘goodness,’
but could also include critique,

resistance and rejection.”

Indeed, the pair’s alternative project called “Helping Hands” does
not necessarily carry a fixed political message but accommodates
space for ongoing negotiation by gathering plaster hand molds from
people who have different opinions on the topic.

“When we are walking with our cart, a lot of people stop and ask
us what it is and want to start a dialogue,” Uitentius said. “We
interview them on what they think about the sculpture and its debate
and we also ask whether we can make a copy of their hand. We make
it open to decide what gesture they want to make, most people choose
hand shakes, victory signs or fists.

So far, the pair has collected 105 hands; at the end of the project,
Osterholt and Uitentuis said they

would take them all to Kars and leave them in the place where the
monument once stood.

“The project is really about the democratization of public space
through the monuments. We want

it to be inclusive and reflect all kinds of views, those who support
the monument; those who say art

should be free of politics and those who say art is being used for
political propaganda,” Uitentius said.

The artists will also exhibit the project at PiST///, a nonprofit
interdisciplinaryproject space. PiST///’s curators Didem Ozbek and
Osman Bozkurt said they found the project quite interesting.

“They could make even more hand plasters if they had more material,”
Ozbek said. “We are located in

Pangaltý and there are a lot of Turkish and Armenian people in this
neighborhood. Therefore it is an important site to discuss these
issues.” The project will run until July 14 while the exhibition dates

will be announced at http:// in the
near future.

HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION LINE TO BE SET UP BETWEEN ARMENIA AND GEORGIA

news.am
July 13 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – High-voltage transmission line will be set up between
Armenia and Georgia in the near future, Armenian Minister of Energy
and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan told at a press conference.

The implementation of the project will cost $25 million instead of
planned $20 million.

“However, Armenia’s benefit from the project will be bigger. We can
export electricity from Armenia to Georgia and from there to Turkey,”
added the Minister.

AZERBAIJANI MFA: “ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S OPINION ON GIVING INTERIM STATUS TO NAGORNO KARABAKH IS ABSURD AND ILLOGICAL”

APA
July 13 2011
Azerbaijan

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA. “The opinion of Armenian president
on the interim status for Nagorno Karabakh, which will be recognized
in the international world is absurd and illogical”, spokesman for
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elkhan Polukhov told APA.

Commenting on Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan’s statements at
the meeting with “Golos Armenii” newspaper’s collective that the
interim status will be given to this region till the referendum which
will be held in Nagorno Karabakh, Polukhov considers that Sargsyan
doesn’t understand what he says: “The interim status recognized
by the international world doesn’t correspond to the international
relations terminology and if any status is given to Nagorno Karabakh
in the future, it will be only within Azerbaijani borders which are
recognized by the international community”.

Commenting the speech of Armenian president in front of Armenian
officers, Polukhov said: “It seems that by issuing populist statements
and especially during the negotiations between the sides, making
military rhetoric against Azerbaijan, Armenian President wants to
distract the attention of the Armenian public, which is against the
authorities and seriously dissatisfied, from the internal problems to
the foreign factors. In that case Azerbaijan is the most “convenient”
country”.

BAKU READY TO START WORK ON PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT

news.az
July 13 2011
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan proposes Armenia to begin work on a peace agreement on
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict without further delay.

‘I believe that some progress has been made, and we can safely go to
a peace agreement,’ Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
said in Baku.

Asked when Baku was ready to begin negotiations on a peace agreement
with Armenia, the minister said: “Right today.”

“Many media outlets write that the meeting in Kazan was not successful,
but I do not agree with this,” Mammadyarov said referring to the
Kazan meeting of presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia held
on 24 June.

“I agree rather with the position that, firstly, as also reflected
in the statement of the presidents, the rapprochement did occur, and,
secondly, we – Azerbaijan and Armenia – should continue negotiations
with no hysterics and work on rapprochement of positions,~T the
minister said.

~SMoreover, Azerbaijan is still in the same position that it were
after Sochi in 2010. We are ready to begin drafting a peace agreement
with the understanding of what has been achieved. Kazan allowed us
to move forward. We understood that there are still uncoordinated
elements, but in any case they should be reflected in the peace
treaty, and if there is actually a free will, then let’s work on it
immediately, without waiting for the next phase of negotiations on
basic principles,’ Azerbaijani minister noted.

“The basic principles already exist as a base, and there is an
understanding in what direction we are moving in terms of a peaceful
settlement. There are uncoordinated details within the basic principles
and there is no need to triple efforts to harmonize these elements
as they still need to be reflected in the peace agreement. So why
make a fuss? Let~Rs work towards a peace agreement, and show the
world our political will that we are ready to work immediately on a
legally binding peace agreement, rather than on a political document,”
Mammadyarov added.

Mammadyarov also believes that the Russian military base in Gyumri
(Armenia) will not be used against Azerbaijan.

“We have quite high military-political cooperation with Russia,
too. I do not think that the Russian military base in Gyumri will
take some anti-Azerbaijani actions that are contrary to the level
of relations between Azerbaijan and Russia,” Mammadyarov said in an
interview with Interfax.

Commenting on development of relations between Russia and Armenia in
the sphere of security, the Foreign Minister noted that Azerbaijan
does not interfere “in Moscow’s relations with its outpost.”

“Therefore, it is up to Russia to decide how to strengthens and
keep its outpost. On the other hand, we certainly would like more
transparency and openness of decisions so that things will be more
predictable and so that everyone decides what position it takes,”
Mammadyarov noted.

Gabala radar

Baku is holding talks with Moscow to reschedule Russia’s Gabala radar
station lease, the foreign minister continued.

“Yes, negotiations are underway. The issue is being discussed.”

In any case, it was necessary to extend the document on lease of the
station or revise it in accordance with the existing agreement on the
Gabala radar station. “That is, life itself pushes us to reconsider
the terms of the contract,” the foreign minister stated.

“At one time, when we just started to discuss it, and even before it,
the Russian side came up with the initiative for Azerbaijan to give
consent to use this station by Russia and the United States. And,
naturally, we told that it will be our modest, perhaps, but very
important contribution to the nonproliferation regime, and we are
ready to discuss this topic. After several rounds of talks between
Moscow and Washington, both parties informed us about the essence of
the negotiations,” said Mammdyarov.

Azerbaijani foreign minister stressed that under current conditions
the Gabala radar station is of great strategic importance “and it
should find an adequate assessment as a strategic facility.”

POST-CRISIS SITUATION MORE FAVORABLE FOR ARMENIAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY – GOVERNMENT

news.am
July 13 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- Neither Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan nor any
other official, any resident of Armenia are co-owners of Rainoville
company owning Armenia’s Nairit chemical plant, said Minister of
Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan.

Owner of Nairit plant is Rainoville company control stock of which
belongs to CIS Interstate bank.

Speaking about the reasons why Rainoville company was unable to cope
with the management of chemical giant, Movsisyan said that there are
objective and subjective reasons. He claimed it was the only company
which agreed to buy Nairit for $ 40 million in addition to debts.

Among the objective reasons he mentioned rise in gas prices in Armenia
and AMD revaluation.

Minister Movsisyan said that the government has drafted a plan for
rehabilitation of Nairit. If implemented, chemical giant will be able
to work at full capacity.

German C.A.C company is interested in management of the plant,
he added.

“Negotiations with the company are underway. If they do not succeed,
there are other proposals from Poland and Russia,” said Movsisyan.

He stressed that more favorable atmosphere for the chemical industry
developed after global crisis.

SERGE SARKISSIAN DEPLORE LE MANQUE DE CONFIANCE DANS LES ELECTIONS
Marion

armenews.com
mercredi 13 juillet 2011

Le president Serge Sarkissian estime que les reticences de l’opposition
a accepter les resultats officiels des elections ont ete un facteur
cle de tension politique en Armenie.

” Combien avons-nous eu d’elections presidentielles et quels candidats
[vaincus] ont-ils reconnu et salue la victoire de leur rival ? “,
a interroge le president lors d’une visite a la redaction du journal
russe Golos Armenii. ” Le problème est que les elections sont souvent
considerees comme le jeu de backgammon. ”

C’est, selon lui, le principal obstacle a l’instauration d’une ”
atmosphère de confiance mutuelle entre les acteurs politiques armeniens
“, aurait-il ajoute.

” Si les candidats a la presidentielle menaient une campagne electorale
honnete, reconnaissaient les resultats du vote et felicitaient le
gagnant, alors les gens ne diraient pas que les elections ont ete
falsifiees “, a poursuivi S. Sarkissian.

Depuis l’independance, aucune election presidentielle ou legislative
n’a ete jugee libre et equitable par les observateurs internationaux.

S. Sarkissian, qui a occupe des postes cles au sein des gouvernements
depuis 1993, a longtemps ete accuse par l’opposition de fraude
electorale.

La dernière election presidentielle de fevrier 2008 et a amene
Serge Sarkissian au pouvoir, a recu une evaluation plus positive des
observateurs internationaux que les precedents votes armeniens.

Le principal adversaire politique de S. Sarkissian, l’ancien president
Levon Ter-Petrossian, a refuse de reconnaître sa defaite et a organise
des manifestations massives a Erevan pour exiger un nouveau scrutin.

Les autorites ont recouru a la force pour reprimer les protestations.

S’exprimant a l’Assemblee parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe a
Strasbourg le mois dernier, S. Sarkissian a promis de ” n’epargner
aucun effort ” pour organiser democratiquement le scrutin legislatif
de 2012. Il a souligne les nouveaux amendements apportes au code
electoral en mai.

Les partis d’opposition ont rejete ce code, en affirmant que
les autorites armeniennes n’ont toujours pas la volonte politique
d’organiser des elections democratiques et donc de courir le risque
de perdre le pouvoir.

BAKU STUDYING MEDVEDEV’S PROPOSALS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT – FOREIGN MINISTER

Interfax
July 11 2011
Russia

Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov told the media on Saturday
that he would visit Russia on July 18-17 on Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov’s invitation.

Mamedyarov also said that Azerbaijan is studying Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev’s proposals on Karabakh settlement, handed over
by Lavrov in Baku on Friday, according to media reports. “We are
carefully studying President Medvedev’s proposals and we will submit
our response after we examine them thoroughly,” he said.

The Minsk Group’s co-chairs understand that the status quo is
unacceptable, he said, adding that the time has come for Armenia to
remove its troops from the occupied Azeri territory.

“The parties in the conflict are currently working on a document,
based on the renewed Madrid principles. Armenia must understand that
this work must be continued without emotions. Yerevan must first of
all remove its troops from the occupied Azeri territories shortly,
which will restore regional stability and benefit Armenia itself,”
Mamedyarov said.

Medvedev wrote letters to Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan after a trilateral discussion in Kazan in
June, listing proposals on ways to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, discussed lately by the three presidents with the
participation of the co-chairs in the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk group – Russia, the United States and
France, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website.

“I am happy to pass these proposals to you and I hope you will
respond to the ideas proposed after you study them,” Lavrov told
Aliyev in Baku.

Medvedev, Aliyev and Sargsyan discussed the basic principles of the
Karabakh settlement in Kazan on June 24. The meeting – the ninth
over the past three years – did not produce agreements on the basic
principles. The parties only adopted a joint statement noting progress
in the process.

Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE July 12, 2011

Contact: William Bairamian
Tel: 818-500-1918

Ready to Make an Impact, Sebouh Kouyoumjian Joins the ANCA-WR
2011Summer Internship

Glendale- As the Armenian National Committee of America – Western
Region office starts its 2011 summer Internship Program, Sebouh
Kouyoumjian, an ambitious young intern is ready for new challenges
that will help promote awareness of various issues to Armenians on a
regional level. He wants to make a significant impact within the
Armenian community at home and abroad.

`This amazing opportunity offered by the ANCA-WR gives me the chance
to work within specialized fields such as, Armenian community
relations and California state affairs ,will fulfill the knowledge I
am seeking for a stronger Armenian identity and will give me the
proper tools to make a greater impact within the Armenian
community,’ said Kouyoumjian.

Kouyoumjian is attending his last semester at Glendale Community
College, which he has attended for the last three years. He is
transferring to the University of California, Riverside, in the fall
of 2011. As a political science major with an emphasis in
international relations, Kouyoumjian believes that this internship
offered by the ANCA-WR will help him build a stronger understanding
of his Armenian roots by giving him the tools to tackle issues that
are important to the Armenian community through civic engagement and
advocacy.

“We are happy to have Sebouh join us here at the ANCA-WR office this
summer,” said Haig Hovsepian, ANCA-WR Government Affairs Director.
“His interest in helping serve and ambition to raise awareness on
issues of importance to the Armenian community make him a perfect fit
for our program.”

Kouyoumjian has already made a name for himself within his local
Armenian community. He has been an active member of the Pasadena
Armenian Church Youth Organization for the six years and has been on
the on the Executive Youth board for the last two years; Kouyoumjian
is currently serving as the chapter chairman. He has organized
fundraisers, volunteered at homeless shelters, and donated to multiple
charitable foundations. He believes that humanitarianism and civic
engagement are quintessential to promoting a healthier community.
Kouyoumjian plans on remaining actively involved in the Armenian
community after the completion of this internship by continuing his
work with his local ANCA Pasadena chapter with issues like
redistricting, voter registration, and recognition of the Armenian
Genocide.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.

###

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Monday, July 11, 2011

Sima Musical Trio Performs in Montreal

On May 29, 2011, the music-loving segment of Montreal’s Armenian
community had the exceptional opportunity to attend a concert by the
Sima musical trio at the Jirair and Elise Dervishian Hall of the city’s
AGBU Center. The New Jersey trio performed in a concert organized by the
Cultural Committee of AGBU Montreal. The event enjoyed the patronage of
Mr. and Mrs. Armen-Garo Gundjian.

The members of the trio are pianist Sofya Melikyan, cellist Ani
Kalayjian, and violinist Sami Merdinian. The young musicians began
performing as a trio two years ago and have since toured Argentina,
Canada, Spain, and the United States. The musicians have also won the
top prize in the J.C. Arriga Musical Festival. Sami Merdinian was
recently annointed “the most prominent artist of the year” by the
Argentinean press.

The concert included such diverse works as the piano trios of Gayaneh
Tchebodarian, Felix Mendelssohn, Joseph Haydn, and Arno Babadjanian. The
Sima musical trio gave an outstanding performance, and they were praised
for their high performing culture and professionalism. Moreover, they
were recognized for their noble dedication to their art.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.

For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit