Author: Kanayan Tamar

DIALOGUE WITH THE EU: CHANCES AND PERSPECTIVES

18:25 19.09.2013

Armine Gevorgyan
Public Radio of Armenia

It’s impossible for Armenia to become a full member of the Customs
Union, David Shahnazaryan, President of the “Concord” Center for
Political and Legal Studies, said at a discussion on “Dialogue with
the EU: Chances and Perspectives.” According to him, in today’s hard
situation we should do our best to continue the cooperation with
the EU.

President of the Union of Political Scientists of Armenia Hmayak
Hovhannisyan considers that Armenia had a brilliant chance to build
individual partnership with the European Union.

Meanwhile, Republican MP Artak Zakaryan says Armenia had no
competitive goods to offer to Europe. “Why do you think there have
been pressures? We would be pressured by the people if we chose a
way that would lead to higher gas prices,” he said.

According to David Shahnazaryan, Armenia will not sign the Agreement on
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area; instead it will sign a document
that will not contradict Armenia’s decision to join the Customs Union.

AL QAEDA-LINKED GUNMEN REPORTEDLY CAPTURE TOWN NEAR TURKISH BORDER

September 19, 2013 – 11:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A Syrian activist group says al Qaeda-linked gunmen
have captured a town near the Turkish border after heavy fighting
with a rebel group.

According to the Associated Press, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights says members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant stormed the town of Azaz, forcing members of the Northern
Storm Brigade to withdraw.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, said Thursday, Sept
18, that the clashes broke out when ISIL fighters tried to detain a
European doctor they accused of taking pictures of their positions
in the area. The German doctor escaped and is in a safe location,
Abdul-Rahman said.

Abdul-Rahman said three rebels and two jihadis were killed in the
fighting that broke out Wednesday and continued until after midnight.

A surge of clashes in Syria’s oil-producing northeast has killed
dozens of rebels and Kurdish fighters last week.

Syrian Kurdish militants, particularly the armed wing of the Democratic
Union Party (PYD), have repeatedly clashed with opposition fighters led
by al Qaeda-linked units in the region as government forces retreated
over the past year.

The Kurdish PYD’s military wing blamed al Qaeda-linked groups for the
latest violence, saying fighters from the Nusra Front and Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked a string of Kurdish
villages in Hasaka province.

Heavy artillery and tanks were used, it said.

Estimates of the numbers killed varied. The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said at least 35 rebels and 13 Kurdish
fighters had died over the last two days.

Rebels accuse their Kurdish opponents of collaborating with Assad’s
forces to secure autonomy – although activists said disputes over
resources and territory were a bigger factor in recent clashes.

GLENDALE TO HOST ART SHOW FUNDRAISER IN AID OF HALO TRUST

September 19, 2013 – 10:50 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – An art show fundraiser will take place Saturday,
Sept 28, in aid of the HALO Trust, on the rooftop of the Hollywood
Production Center in Glendale, CA.

The works of Hermine Demirtshyan, Voskan Galstian, Emily Halpern,
Koko Hovaguimian, Anthony Miserendino, Argishti Musakhanyan,
Arshak Nazarian, Kat Shoa, and Zareh will be displayed. Attendees
will have the opportunity to purchase art from which a portion will
be allocated to the HALO Trust. The evening will include food and
beverage, including music provided by the Snake Charmer Ensemble.

The HALO Trust is the oldest and largest non-profit, non-political
organization in the world that specializes in humanitarian land mine
clearance, providing a better quality of life for people whose routine
activities are curtailed due to the risk of land mine detonation.

The HALO Trust was founded in Scotland in 1988, with regional offices
in Washington DC and San Francisco, which is registered as a charity
in the United Kingdom and a non-profit in the United States.

The focus of this event is to raise money for Nagorno Karabakh
(Artsakh) where HALO first became involved in 1995 after the war
with Azerbaijan. Deminers were trained for a year and slowly the HALO
Trust began to expand its program in the region, with the launch of
the full program in 2000. Through March 2013, there are 144 minefields
remaining that are in need of clearance.

The organizers of the event are Aline Tavlian and Nare Garibyan,
two Glendale residents who were inspired to raise funds for the HALO
Trust after, Gala Danilova, the Director of Finance of the HALO
Trust program in Nagorno Karabakh presented the demining work the
organization has achieved in that region. She will be speaking at
the fundraiser, traveling all the way from Artsakh.

Since 2000 HALO has provided the only large-scale mine clearance
capacity in Nagorno Karabakh and over the last 10 years HALO has
cleared over 236 square kilometers of contaminated land and returned
it to previously impacted communities. By mid-2010, HALO had found and
destroyed in Karabakh over 10,000 landmines, 10,000 cluster munitions
and 45,000 other explosive items.

HALO has reported as cleared nearly 80% of minefields and about 70%
of the area contaminated by cluster munitions in Karabakh. The NGO
believes the remaining areas can be cleared within the next five years
but this timeframe depends on the continued availability of donor
funds, which are on a downward slump. Without funding, HALO warns,
the removal of all the minefields and cluster munitions will take
longer, leaving impoverished rural communities blighted by mines and
cluster munitions for years to come.

14,496 PEOPLE GRANTED CITIZENSHIP OF REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

15:59, 19 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: 14,496 people have been granted the
citizenship of the Republic of Armenia during the nine months of 2013.

As reported by Armenpress, this was stated in the notice of the
Passport and Visa Department of the Police of the Republic of Armenia.

It is noted that the number of people interested in getting the
citizenship of the Republic of Armenia has considerably increased
during the last years.

“If in 2008-2010 about 15,000 citizenship applications were
discussed, that is, 5,000 annually, in 2011 and 2012 the number of
the applications grew to 15,000 for every year”, – says the statement.

ARMENIANS TO MARCH AGAINST JOINING CUSTOMS UNION ON SEPTEMBER 21

September 19, 2013 | 14:59

YEREVAN. – Holding of a march of independence in Yerevan is explained
by Serzh Sargsyan’s a surprise statement on joining the Customs Union,
civic activist Karen Tovmasyan said.

An initiative to hold “Nation-wide march of independence” appeared
on Facebook to take the streets and reconfirm the decision to live
in an independent state which was adopted 22 years ago.

“The march in Yerevan will star at 4pm on Saturday. The words and
deeds of Serzh Sargsyan and the Armenian authorities do not coincide.

Non-elected president does not consider it necessary to keep his
people aware of his steps,” Tovmasyan said.

Another participant of the press conference Marine Petrosyan noted
that the most ideologically implacable figures have joined their march.

In his turn, activist Armen Hovhannisyan said the main goal of the
march is to speak against the Customs Union.

“Independence as a value and sovereignty as the main point of the
values unite everyone,” he emphasized.

Hovhannisyan stressed that the will of Armenian people expressed 22
years ago remains ink on paper.

“Security and social conditions of the people mainly depend on
independence. Only we, the citizens of Armenia, can decide with whom
and how we want to live,” he concluded.

On September 21 Armenia will mark the 22nd anniversary of independence.

ALL COUNTRIES OF CUSTOMS UNION MAINTAIN THEIR SOVEREIGNTY: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

13:55, 19 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Each country of the Customs Union
maintains its sovereignty, notwithstanding each member of the union
confers certain part of its authority to the transnational body. As
reports “Armenpress” the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan stated this at the course of
the briefing with the journalists.

Among other things the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan underscored: “It’s about the
part of the authority, which is about the customs regulation. In this
respect Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan confer certain part of their
authority as well. Each EU member state, which is integrated in the
EU customs territory, also confers some part of its authority.”

In the result of the negotiations on September 3, 2013 in Moscow
the Presidents Sargsyan and Putin confirmed the aim of the Republic
of Armenia and the Russian Federation in the direction of further
development of economic integration processes in the Eurasian
territory. In that context the President of the Republic of Armenia
Serzh Sargsyan announced about the Armenia’s decision to join the
Customs Union and the necessity of implementation corresponding steps
for that aim and in future about participating in formation of the
Eurasian economic union. The President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin expressed his support to the abovementioned decision
of Armenia and informed about the readiness of the Russian side to
support the process.

LA PRODUCTION AGRICOLE D’ARMENIE EN HAUSSE DE 1,3%

ARMENIE

La production agricole d’Armenie entre janvier et mai 2013 a bondi
de 1,3% par rapport a l’an dernier a 144,2 milliards de drams selon
ArmStat.

La production agricole et halieutique a grimpe de 2,9% a plus de
152,8 milliards de drams entre janvier et mai 2013 par rapport a la
meme periode de l’annee precedente.

La production animale a augmente de 1,4% a environ 115,9 milliards
de drams, les cultures de 0,8% a environ 28,3 milliards de drams,
le production de peche de 35,2% a 8,5 milliards de drams.

Les statistiques ont montre que les ventes de bovins et d’ovins et
de caprins et de volailles ont baisse de 3,4% en mai a 5600 tonnes.

La production de lait a progresse de 4,7% a 83800 tonnes en mai par
rapport a l’annee precedente.

La production d’~ufs a diminue de 0,5% a 99 millions d’unites.

La peche et le pisciculture en Armenie ont augmente de 27,8% en mai
a 534,2 tonnes.

jeudi 19 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

DIYARBAKIR EST UNE VILLE KURDE ET ARMENIENNE SELON SON MAIRE

TURQUIE

Les Armeniens et les Assyriens vivant en Autriche ont organise un
dîner en hommage a Osman Baydemir, maire de Diyarbakir en Turquie,
qui etait en visite a Vienne.

Pendant l’evenement, le maire kurde de Diyarbakir a rappele que la
ville appartenait a la fois aux Armeniens et aux Assyriens ainsi
qu’aux Kurdes.

Lors de la reception, les representants de la communaute armenienne
ont remercie Osman Baydemir pour la restauration de l’Eglise Saint
Giragos de Diyarbakir.

jeudi 19 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

UN TREMBLEMENT DE TERRE EN GEORGIE RESSENTI DANS LES PROVINCES ARMENIENNES DU NORD

GEORGIE

Un tremblement de terre enregistre mardi en Georgie a ete ressenti
sur une echelle mineure dans certaines provinces du nord de l’Armenie,
rapporte le ministère des Situations d’urgence d’Armenie.

Le Service de protection contre les seismes d’Armenie a recu des
informations sur un seisme de magnitude 5 sur le territoire de la
Georgie a 08h09. L’epicentre du seisme etait a 102 kilomètres a
l’ouest de la capitale Tbilissi (niveau 6-7 a l’epicentre).

Dans le territoire de l’Armenie le seisme a ete ressenti dans les
villes de Noyemberyan et Ijevan (niveau 3).

Aucune victime ou destruction n’a ete rapportee.

jeudi 19 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LES DEMOCRATES ARMENIENS SALUANT L’INTENTION DES AUTORITES D’INTEGRER L’ARMENIE DANS L’UNION DOUANIERE

ARMENIE

Le Parti democratique d’Armenie a publie une declaration saluant
la decision des autorites du pays d’integrer l’Armenie dans l’Union
douanière.

Le parti affirme que la cooperation au sein de l’Union est en phase
avec les interets economiques et sociaux de notre pays.

Les Democrates armeniens pensent que les autorites du pays, tout
en negociant avec les pays membres de l’union douanière, devraient
presenter les mecanismes de la cooperation mutuellement avantageux,
en tenant compte du fait qu’il n’y a pas de frontières communes. Ils
ne doivent jamais omettre les interets du Haut-Karabagh, car les
structures economiques de la republique fonctionnent dans l’espace
douanier de l’Armenie.

” Nous pensons que l’adhesion a l’Union douanière n’empeche absolument
pas l’Armenie de cooperer avec les autres pays et Unions ” dit la
declaration. ” Si les representants de l’Union europeenne sont francs
dans leurs declarations et que l’Armenie ne peut pas poursuivre sa
cooperation dans l’accord d’association elle peut devenir un pont
particulier entre l’Union europeenne, l’Union douanière et des membres
de la future Union eurasienne “.

Le Parti democratique d’Armenie a ete fondee en 1991 par Aram Sargsyan,
le premier secretaire du Comite central du Parti communiste d’Armenie.

jeudi 19 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com