Author: Kanayan Tamar

FFA IMPOSES LIFETIME BAN ON ARMENIAN REFEREES

August 6, 2013

The Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) has imposed a life ban
from football-related activity on two referees officiating at the
first-round matches for the Europa League.

Andranik Arsenyan and Hovhannes Avagyan influenced the result
of the game between FC Inter Turku (Finland) and Víkingur Gøta
(Faroe Islands).

During the Tuesday meeting, head of the federation Ruben Hayrapetyan
presented the details and results of the unpleasant incident.

The referees were involved in match-fixing scheme which was proved
both by UEFA and by the check-up conducted by the FFA.

FFA president and the executive committee noted that such conduct
of referees throws а shadow on the image of the Armenian football,
FFA website reported.

NEWS.am Sport

ARMENIA EXPO 2013 TO BE HELD IN SEPTEMBER

YEREVAN, August 5. / ARKA /. The 13th regional trade and industrial
exhibition “Armenia EXPO 2013” will be held in Yerevan on September
13 – 15. The three-day event will be organized by the Union of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Armenia and LOGOS
EXPO Center company.

Last year’s exhibition attracted more than 100 companies, associations,
unions and organizations from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia,
Belarus, Ukraine and Iran.

The exhibition brings together the largest domestic producers and
entrepreneurs giving them a platform to showcase their products. -0-

– See more at:

ARMENIA IN TOP TEN TOURIST DESTINATIONS FOR RUSSIAN PILGRIMS

YEREVAN, August 6. /ARKA/. The Russian online hotel reservation service
Oktogo.ru says pilgrimage tourism is growing in the last month of
the summer. The top ten tourism destinations for Russian pilgrims are
Israel, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Russia, Ukraine (Crimea), Armenia,
Serbia, Abkhazia and Tunis.

Most of Russian pilgrims are aged between 30 and 40 years and prefer
expensive hotel with highs ervice level, head of Oktogo.ru support
service Olga Favarizova said.

Being the first country that adopted Christianity as its sole and
state religion as early as in 301, Armenia attracts pilgrims from
all over the world.

Armenia has over 25,000 historical and cultural monuments that are
of not only religious, but also architectural value and importance.

A hotel room in the centre of Yerevan with a view of Ararat Mount
will cost 2,000 rubles a day, according to the report. -0–

– See more at:

IRAN EXPECTS SERIOUS POLITICS FROM ARMENIA

The first meeting of Serzh Sargsyan attending the inauguration of
the Iranian president had his first meeting with the president of
Iran Hassan Rowhani. The official press release on the meeting is
written in a warm tone, which one cannot say about the practical
Armenian-Iranian relations during both the tenure of Serzh Sargsyan
and especially the past few months or weeks.

Serzh Sargsyan’s relations with Iran were so problematic that in
the beginning the ex-president Robert Kocharyan committed to the
Armenian-Iranian relations who visited Iran after a short while from
the end of his term and met with the Iranian foreign minister and
President Ahmadinejad.

President Sargsyan was able to “settle down” in the Iran-Armenian
relations only after a while. Indeed, the overlap of Serzh Sargsyan’s
presidency with severe Western sanctions against Iran had a role. In
this case, Armenia was able to benefit from the circumstance of present
and former presidents and practice a culture that was appropriate of
state policy.

Official Yerevan refrained from active relations with Iran. Instead,
Robert Kocharyan assumed responsibility in this important area. Hence,
Armenia was able to keep the balance in the intricate triangle
West-Russia-Iran. There were systemic motives, of course, because in
case of complication the government that was hardly recovering from
1 March 2008 would be highly vulnerable and face difficult issues. In
other words, along with state necessity, the common systemic interest
played a role too.

The Iranian-Armenian relationship has been shattered recently.

Everything began with the rise in the Russian gas price that triggered
considerations of alternative Iranian gas. The Armenian government, in
the face of the minister of energy Armen Movsisyan stated that Iranian
gas is not an alternative to the Russian gas. The Iranian ambassador
stated the opposite thing. The minister of energy Movsisyan questioned
the awareness of the ambassador. It is already equal to a diplomatic
scandal. There was no exchange of notes by the foreign ministries
but the facts were enough to see problems in the Armenian-Iranian
relations. The Iranian side expressed its dissatisfaction more vividly.

The result of the Iranian presidential election led to a new state of
things. The victory of reformer Rowhani was unexpected. The West had a
relatively positive attitude. Armenia made a tangible gesture to Iran.

The National Assembly enacted tax preferences for the construction
of the big water power plant on the Iran-Armenia border. Hence,
official Yerevan tried to alleviate Iran’s dissatisfaction with lack
of initiatives and vigor of Yerevan towards Iran. The newly-elected
president Rowhani said in his answer to Serzh Sargsyan’s congratulation
that he expects more pro-active relations.

Attending the swearing-in of the new president of Iran, Serzh Sargsyan
tried to display his positive disposition. The official press release
of the president’s administration states, “Presidents Serzh Sargsyan
and Hasan Rouhani recalled warmly the meetings held in their capacity
as the Secretaries of National Security of their respective countries.”

At the same time, the West met the inauguration of the Iranian
president with tougher sanctions. The U.S. Congress passed a bill
to cut Iran’s oil exports and toughen sanctions related to financial
transactions.

This conjuncture does not benefit Armenia but the West might be trying
to hint to the new president of Iran that Tehran is expected to take
some steps, otherwise the West is persistent in its steps and knows
what to do.

Hence, official Tehran must prove that the new government is based
on the philosophy of reforms. Furthermore, Iran can do it through
Armenia. In other words, it is clear that the new president of Iran
cannot make a revolution of international tolerance in Iran. It
must maintain some constant stereotypes. Perhaps, one of these is
the call to destroy the state of Israel. In reality, however, the
new president of Iran must have the common sense to understand that
such calls are populism that is deprived of any prospect. Perhaps,
it is a question whether those calls are popular among the Iranian
youth where young people have fresh views on the world.

Nevertheless, overly friendly gestures to the West are also clearly
unrealistic. In this regard, Iran may preserve toughness to the West
at the level of statements, at the same time seeking for practical
terms via Armenia. Iran and the West have common far-reaching strategic
interests, while Armenia is a potential platform for their maturing.

However, this requires that the Armenian government go down to
politics. For the time being, one can see only the shreds because
apparently the general philosophy is to seize the moment and
conjuncture and sail with the wind. And even if all the four sides
of the universe cheer and praise, it will be for a very short period
of time.

Only those have a lasting and credible movement who do not catch the
wind but create the wind and weather, each to the extent of their
capability. In this regard, the foreign policy of Armenia looks like a
quest for a more or less warm blanket to hide underneath rather than
attempts to reinforce its place and role. And such attempts require
reliable premises in one’s own country. Without them the foreign
policy is highly relative.

Hakob Badalyan 12:36 06/08/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

PRESS RELEASE
Glendale Public Library
222 East Harvard Street
Glendale CA 91205
Tel: 818-548-2030
Web:

FB:

Elizabeth Grigorian, Armenian Outreach Coordinator
Library, Arts & Culture
222 E. Harvard Street
Glendale Ca 91205
(818) 548-3288
[email protected]

Masis
an Intriguing Novel by
Adam Raffi Kevorkian

GLENDALE, CA Author Raffi Kevorkian will speak about his newly published
novel Masis on Thursday, September 12, 2013, at 7pm at the Glendale
Central Library Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street in Glendale.
Admission is free; seating is limited. The presentation is in English.
Library visitors receive 3 hours FREE parking across the street at The
Market Place parking structure with validation at the Loan Desk. The
program is sponsored by the Library, Arts & Culture Department.

Masis is a heart-warming tale of love, tragedy, humor and greed- and the
decisions one makes when few choices exist. Masis offers a rare glimpse
of present-day Armenia, a dynamic metropolis rich with luxury cars,
outdoor markets and medieval churches nestled alongside high-rise
apartment complexes. The story is about Arin Karyan, an outsider in his
own culture caught off guard by his inability to adapt to change. He is
deeply rooted in the past and unable to find his way to the future. He
is confused by his lack of options and disheartened by the lack of
opportunities.

Hope to See You All !

Hurriyet, Turkey
Aug 5 2013

Facebook facing accusations of censoring citizen journalism

Emrah GÃ`LERANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

With its mysterious management team for countries, Facebook continues
to be a difficult place for people to engage in citizen journalism.
The latest case is Ã-tekilerin Postası (The Others’ Post), whose site
has been closed twice in the last month for no clear reason by
Facebook management

A pomegranate is the logo of Ã-tekilerin Postası (The Others’ Post),
an alternative media outlet on Facebook, whose raison d’être is to
become `the collective voice of minorities, the outcast, the
marginalized and those whose voices have been rendered invisible in
the media; in short, the others.’

But the pomegranate also allegedly violates Facebook’s community
standards, as, last week, the logo in the profile picture of
Ã-tekilerin Postası was reported to Facebook for investigation,
resulting in the editors being banned from posting to the page for 30
days.

`It’s the most beautiful symbol of social peace,’ one of the
co-founders and editors-in-chief behind Ã-tekilerin Postası, who
preferred to talk merely on behalf of the alternative media page, told
the Hürriyet Daily News last week.

`A pomegranate is a whole with a thousand different seeds. There is a
thin layer inside. And that symbolizes our sensitivities. When that
layer is removed, one of the seeds starts decaying. Then the others
[decay too], until the whole fruit is gone,’ the editor said, while
expressing incredulity at the Facebook ban. `Isn’t that absurd?’

Absurd is the right word when Facebook’s censorship policies and
tactics for investigation of its pages are in question. This is not
the first firewall Ã-tekilerin Postası has had to face from the
mysterious Facebook management since its debut about nine months ago.
The site originally began its brand of citizen journalism and digital
activism on Facebook as the Hunger Strike Post (Açlık Grevi Postası)
in late 2012 when the mainstream media mostly stayed silent amid
massive hunger strikes conducted by hundreds of Kurdish political
prisoners.

Facebook has not responded to the Daily News’ requests for an
explanation as to the action taken against the site.

`At the time when we were running the Hunger Strikes Post, we had told
our followers that we will discontinue the page if there was not a
single death throughout the strikes,’ said Ã-tekilerin Postası. `Many
of our followers told us that what we were doing was very important,
that people’s right to news was restricted. They also told us about
the importance of citizen journalism against censorship, and that we
had to continue.’

A name decided by followers

So the Hunger Strike Post, managed by a core team of two and a couple
of constantly changing volunteers, transformed into The Others’ Post,
a name decided by followers themselves. As put in a letter written to
daily BirGün in late July, Ã-tekilerin Postası hoped to set `an example
of how to bring together identities as diverse as Kurds, LGBT
communities, animal rights activists, environmentalists, Armenians,
workers, students, believers, nonbelievers, and many more.’

Ã-tekilerin Postası went through a profound change when Turkey
experienced a profound change with the Gezi protests. The page that
was basically a citizen journalism hub for the Kurdish issue, and that
was `mostly shaped with news from Kurds’ went on to become one of the
biggest alternative news sources during the Gezi protests.

`Those who felt more threatened and oppressed began looking for news
sources that were alternative to the mainstream media,’ said
Ã-tekilerin Postası. `The mainstream media not only turned a blind eye
to the protests, but deliberately tried to break the resistance with
disinformation. Those who took to the streets, those who saw their
friends taken into custody directly experienced how they were deceived
by the media. Because what they were seeing on the evening news and
what they were experiencing on the streets were completely different.’

But the growth in citizen journalism led to problems with Facebook
management. But while the page had to deal with attempts at
censorship, or what Ã-tekilern Postası calls `semi-censorship,’ which
included sanctions like `not being able to post, deleting some of the
posts, or some of the comments,’ the livelihood of the page was never
at stake.

`However after the Gezi protests, our page was closed twice,’ said
Ã-tekilerin Postası. `The first of these [closures], we were told, was
for sharing `pornographic content,” which after an appeal turned out
to be not the case. Yet the original page with 138,000 followers was
not reinstated. A new page was opened, drawing 88,000 followers in a
mere three weeks, thanks to social media campaigns against the
censorship of the page, only to be closed once again without any
specific reason. Then came the `semi-censorship’ for the pomegranate
logo.

The site started a third page in the last week, attracting over 40,000
followers.

`Facebook is doing censorship’

`In short, what Facebook is doing is censorship: blatantly taking
sides and engaging in digital vandalism,’ said Ã-tekilerin Postası.

How do Facebook page owners deal with situations like these?
Ironically, the biggest social media network on the planet with more
than 1 billion members is itself unreachable. Facebook’s generic forms
and buttons let you send questions, report violations or ask for
appeals. However, when, or if, you will get an answer is entirely
unknown.

`Who are these people?’ asked Ã-tekilerin Postası. `Are they really
impartial? In our opinion, no. It is about people working for Facebook
and investigating reports.’

`This is systematic and deliberate,’ Cengiz Algan told the Daily News
seven months ago when his Facebook page, DurDe! (Say Stop), Turkey’s
biggest grassroots anti-racist initiative, faced a similar case of
censorship.

Noting that Facebook ignored dozens of pages and posts that overtly
advocated hate speech against Kurds and Armenians, Algan said:
`Facebook needs to reassess its operations in Turkey. There are
obviously racist employees in the team.’

According to a leak from a former employee, Facebook has allegedly
been recruiting low-wage third-world contractors to monitor country
pages and delete certain content with no proper systems of control.
Given that, more censorship seems to be on the horizon for citizen
journalists.
August/05/2013

Edinburgh’s Most Mysterious Restaurant: Aghtamar Lake Van Monastery in Exile

Edinburgh’s only Armenian restaurant, the Aghtamar Lake Van Monastery
in Exile is a legendary, almost mythical destination.

Cloaked in mystery, it’s based in an un-signposted, former police
station in Abbeyhill where its only advertising is through word of
mouth. It boasts reputedly sensational cuisine; a 10 course banquet
prepared with love, care and a dollop of authenticity.

Opening its doors sporadically it is famously difficult to get a table
and accepts no walk-ins. The food is cooked and served by the
eccentric, Basil Fawlty-esque chef/owner Petros Vartynian, who is
alleged to berate and eject customers for minor, perceived infractions
like turning up late or asking for more wine. The hyperbole emanating
from those who have eaten here has attracted many to try and get a
booking, mostly without success. The stories of the lucky few that did
succeed have become Edinburgh foodie folklore.
The sense of mystery pervades to this day. The restaurant is still
listed in the online Yellow pages and the line is still in service but
despite several messages, no response has been forthcoming.

The internet doesn’t provide much more. There are five or six positive
reviews scattered around different websites, with the last one dated
in 2009, but nothing concrete to suggest the Aghtamar is even still
open.

I wandered down to the location at 55 Abbeyhill. It showed no sign of
life. Locals seemed to find the idea of a restaurant there absurd and
no-one I spoke to knew anything about this culinary hotspot.

Stumped, I mentioned the Aghtamar to a my friend Francis Owen, a
former restaurateur who instantly recognized the name and proceeded to
tell me of his multiple visits to the restaurant:

`I turned up at 8pm, and knocked on the door. The owner stuck his head
out and inspected my group with a vaguely disgusted look on his face.
It was the kind of reception you might receive after cold calling a
pensioner at 11pm. He was austere and had more than a touch of a
Quentin Tarantino character about him, with his wild beard and
piercing stare. I call him `he’ because at no point during my visits
did he give his name’

In an online review someone a little braver had described asking for
his name and the owner simply said: `That’s a little personal’ and
wandered away looking offended.
As I listened intently, Francis described the atmosphere as he walked
through the door. The main eating hall was vast, cold and dark with
only candle-light to guide your steps. There didn’t appear to be
electricity. A giant moose head adorned the wall and various different
posters advertising the Armenian tourist board were scattered around.
There was a ghetto-blaster in the corner playing what sounded like red
army choir music from an old, scratchy cassette. `The whole place had
a Soviet era, beyond the iron curtain feel’ he said. `There were no
amenities like heating, menus or salt and pepper`

`We asked for wine. The owner would judge whether or not you could
handle it. I heard that he monitored how often individuals went to the
toilet for signs of alcohol intake and he would throw out potential
inebriates. Once, my table drank a bottle and asked for another but
were told we had had enough. We didn’t argue’
Francis said the food was `take it or leave it’ with no choices and it
took around three hours to get through all the courses. The food was
always `excellent and unlike anything else served in Edinburgh at the
time’.

`The best dish had minced pork and rice rolled up in cabbage leaves.
The whole thing was steamed and served with a very nice salad with an
amazing dressing. Dessert was also very memorable, a sort of fruit
trifle, with very pungent flavours. The meal ended with a very strong
Armenian style coffee.’

The coffee is at the centre of an interesting rumour when someone had
the temerity to reject the Armenian coffee and request Turkish
instead. Turkey and Armenia have quite lengthy historical bad blood
and this request was like a red rag to a bull. In a sudden rage the
owner unceremoniously threw out the entire group, ignoring their
apologies and protestations. Francis commented: `I think most saw the
owner as part of the charm, temper and all. It wasn’t really about a
meal it was about an experience’.

There is evidence that suggests that the Aghtamar has now sadly shut.
In an obscure Armenian publication called Yerevan there is a short
article stating the restaurant closed in November 2012 and is being
turned into an Armenian cultural centre. It is the most direct
evidence of the restaurant’s demise, but that’s not to say it’s
definitive. Like everything else about this fabled place, there are
few certainties. No matter what its current status is, the Aghtamar
Lake Van Monastery in Exile will endure in legend as one of
Edinburgh’s most unusual and mysterious restaurants.

ARMENIE
Zhirayr Sefilyan : Les manifestations en Arménie peuvent devenir une
lutte de libération nationale

La vague de protestations provoquée par la décision des autorités
d’Erevan d’augmenter le prix du billet de transport public dans la
capitale peut se transformer en un mouvement de lutte de libération
nationale, affirme le héros de la guerre du Karabakh Zhirayr Sefilyan.

« Cela peut devenir une opportunité pour notre peuple de mettre un
terme à ce régime criminel. Nous ne devons pas rater cette chance.
Donc, j’exhorte tous les citoyens et les responsables à se joindre aux
manifestants. Si nous continuons notre lutte, le régime va reculer ` a
dit Zhirayr Sefilyan.

dimanche 4 août 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Meteo Web, Italia
sabato 3 agosto 2013

Tv: da lunedì su Rai1 `Overland 14³, viaggio nel cuore dell’Armenia

sabato 3 agosto 2013, 17:00 di Peppe Caridi

`Overland 14², il programma di Filippo e Beppe Tenti, torna lunedi’
alle 23.15 su Rai1. In questa puntata si raggiungera’ Jerevan,
capitale e cuore culturale e storico dell’Armenia. Ci si immergera’
nella vita quotidiana lungo le strade del centro e nei mercati,
assistendo alla produzione del brandy di Churchill, il piu’ vecchio al
mondo, e dei tappeti artigianali. Si approfondira’ poi il passato
tragico di questo Paese visitando il museo del genocidio sulla Collina
delle Rondini. A seguire Overland scoprira’ il museo a cielo aperto
formato da siti archeologici, come il tempio ellenistico di Garni
edificato dal re armeno Tiridate nel I secolo, da fortezze erette a
difesa della Via della Seta, ma soprattutto dai monasteri eretti in
pietravulcanica o scavati nella roccia. E ancora, non mancheranno
parentesi eno-gastronomiche per conoscere la cucina tradizionale. La
puntata terminera’ ai piedi dei ghiacciai dell’Ararat, la montagna di
Noe’, sacra per gli armeni e culla della loro civilta’ che vicende
storiche, spesso drammatiche, ha separato dal territorio nazionale.

ARMENIAN WATERS ARE EXPORTED TO MORE COUNTRIES

August 03, 2013 | 00:45

YEREVAN. – The natural, mineral, and sweetened water exports from
Armenia have substantially increased.

In the first half of 2013, the natural and non-sweetened mineral
water exports comprised 6.8 million liters (approx. $4 million),
which virtually doubles the indicator for the first half of last year.

To note, the geographical scope of the Armenian water exports is
quite broad, but Russia remains the main consumer market, with 88
percent of the total volume of export.

This year, for example, large batches of Armenian water were exported
to Estonia, Israel, Latvia, and Lebanon.

But the most impressive is the growth in the volume of export to
Poland, as compared to the small volumes in previous years.

Large quantities of Armenian waters are likewise sent for the first
time to South Africa and Great Britain.

Large batches are also exported to the “traditional” markets of
Ukraine, United States, and Kazakhstan.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am