Author: Kanayan Tamar

ARMY ELIMINATES TERRORISTS, DESTROYS THEIR WEAPONS IN SEVERAL AREAS

Jun 12, 2013

Provinces, (SANA)- Units of the armed forces on Wednesday carried out
a series of operations in which they killed a number of terrorists
and destroyed their equipment in Homs countryside.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that a
unit of the armed forces destroyed terrorists’ gathering near the
cultural center in Talbiseh , killing all the terrorists inside it
and destroying their weapons.

Another unit of the armed forces killed a number of terrorists and
destroyed their weapons on Talbiseh-al-Za’faranieh road.

The source added that a unit of the armed forces inflicted heavy losses
upon an armed terrorist group near al-Dweir village in northern Homs.

Army eliminates 4 terrorist leaders in Damascus Countryside

An Army unit clashed with a terrorist group near al-Thanawiya
roundabout and the water establishment in the city of Harasta in
Damascus countryside, killing two of the terrorists; Yosuef al-Najjar
and Mohammad Juma’a, and confiscating weapons and ammo.

In Douma area, the Army eliminated three leaders of terrorist groups;
Khaled al-Najjar, Khaled Ahmad al-Khamis and Ahmad al-Gharib, in
addition to destroying a terrorist hideout along with the terrorists,
weapons and munitions inside it.

Another unit destroyed a mortar launcher and heavy machineguns west
of al-Shifouniye, eliminating Khalil Tabajo, the leader of a terrorist
group, along with several of his group members.

In the town of Hejjeira, an Army unit eliminated a terrorist
gathering. Radwan al-Zarzour was identified among the dead terrorists.

Official source refutes media allegations of terrorists seizing
control of parts on Mennegh military airport in Aleppo

An official source refuted media allegations that armed terrorist
groups seized control of parts of Mennegh military airport in Aleppo,
asserting that these reports are false and baseless and constitute
an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorists who suffered severe
losses in recent days at the hands of the Syrian Army.

The source said that an Army unit repelled terrorists from Jabhat
al-Nusra who attempted to sneak into the airport, leaving many of
the terrorists dead or injured.

Another unit killed and injured a number of terrorists in the village
of al-Alqamiya and the agricultural research center near the airport,
in addition to eliminating terrorists who were preparing to attack
the airport and destroying 3 weapons and munitions cache and a mortar
launcher in the village of Ein Daqneh three kilometers east of the
airport.

Army units clash with terrorists in several areas in Aleppo

Army units destroyed several terrorist hideouts and gatherings in
the areas around Aleppo Central Prison, leaving many terrorists dead
or injured.

An Army unit clashed with terrorists on the road between Andan and
Yaqed al-Adas, leaving many terrorists dead, while another unit
destroyed terrorist gatherings in the farms surrounding Kafr Dael.

The Army repelled an attempt by terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra to
sneak from Ma’aret Artiq to Tallet al-Shuwaihneh, an area which was
secured by the Army a few days ago. This resulted in the death of
scores of terrorists dead, most of them non-Syrians.

In al-Safira in Aleppo’s northern countryside, an Army unit clashed
with terrorist and eliminated a number of them, including Saleh
al-Sukhni, while another unit clashed with a terrorist grouip
affiliated with Jabhat al-Nusra in al-Layramoun area, leaving many
terrorists dead or injured.

In Aleppo city, Army units eliminated terrorists in the areas of
Bustan al-Qaser, Sheikh Maqsoud, Bani Zeid, al-Ashrafiye, al-Amiriye
and al-Naqarin. Among the dead terrorists were Badr al-Daqs, who was
the leader of a terrorist group, and Abdo Omar Sarraj.

English Bulletin

AL-JAAFARI: TURKISH CRIMINALITY, WEST CONSPIRACY COULD NOT AFFECT SYRIA’S STEADFASTNESS

Jun 12, 2013

PENNSYLVANIA, (SANA) – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, stressed that neither the criminality
of Turkey, the conspiracy of France and Britain nor the Arab Gulf
conspiracies could affect Syria which has been steadfast all this
time under the economic sanctions and blockade.

Addressing a symposium held Tuesday at the Syrian-American Forum
in Pennsylvania, al-Jaafari explained that the success of Syria’s
steadfastness is due to the Syrian people and the geopolitical location
of Syria in the world.

“They spared no effort to make us suffer, and they failed and now they
are looking for solutions for their miscalculations because they knew
that they were mistaken,” Al-Jaafari added.

F.Allafi

CONTOURGLOBAL TALKS WITH ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT OVER BUYING VOROTAN HYDRO CASCADE

YEREVAN, June 12./ARKA/. ContourGlobal American company said Wednesday
it is advanced negotiations with the Government of Armenia to acquire
all of the generating assets of the ‘Vorotan Hydro cascade’.

“While commercial terms are still being finalized the purchase
price will be very significant and all of the funds will be sourced
from outside of Armenia using a combination of ContourGlobal’s
own resources and those of prestigious international financial
institutions including The Overseas Private Investment Corporation
(OPIC) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is a part
of the World Bank Group with whom we have strong business relations,”
the company said.

In addition to the full purchase price, ContourGlobal will be
committing to invest further in a major overhaul of the main generating
equipment at the power plants.

“This investment is urgently needed given the age of the plants and
the under investment in recent years, to make them more reliable
given their critical role in providing frequency regulation for the
Armenian Power Grid.”

The transaction as contemplated fully complies with all requirements
under Armenian Law and International best practices.

ContourGlobal is a New York based international power-generation
company with approximately 3000 MW in operations or under construction
in 17 countries and on four continents. ContourGlobal’s 1650 employees
manage, own and operate a portfolio of 33 power plants utilizing a
wide range of fuel types and technologies including renewable energy
production based upon Hydro, wind, solar and biomass.-0- – See more at:

SURVEILLANCE CAMERA SHOWS KILLER OF ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR’S BROTHER – VIDEO

June 12, 2013 | 15:33

Brother of Armenia’s Ambassador to Iraq was a victim of a contract
murder. The video from surveillance cameras suggests that 51-year-old
Hovik Muradyan, owner of Bamo construction company, was killed by a
man dressed in black.

Life News portal spread a video shot when the murder was committed.

The moment when Muradyan was stabbed is not clear, but it is clearly
seen that a killer wearing a mask ran up to Muradyn, pulling a cold
arm out of his pocket.

A source close to an investigation told Life News that it was a well
planned murder. He stabbed Muradyan five times and fled the scene.

Famous businessman Hovik Muradyan, brother of Armenia’s Ambassador
to Iraq Murad Muradyan, was stabbed to death on Tuesday evening near
Lotte Plaza hotel in Moscow.

MOSSAD HEAD MEETS SECRETLY WITH TURKISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL

June 12, 2013 – 16:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The head of Israel’s Mossad, Tamir Pardo, met
secretly with the Turkish intelligence agency’s undersecretary,
Hakan Fidan, on June 10 in Ankara, with Syria and Iran on the agenda,
Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Pardo requested an appointment to meet with Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, however, has not yet responded to
this request.

Fidan and Pardo shared information about the latest situation in Syria
as well as the influence of Iran in the country. They also discussed
intelligence sharing between the two countries at the meeting, which
came before a significant meeting on the fate of Syria, the Geneva
II summit set to take place in July.

The sources also claimed to have information that Iranian Revolutionary
Guards and the Syrian intelligence unit, al-Mukhaberat, are working
against Turkey.

Fidan and Pardo also reportedly discussed the ongoing protests in
Turkey, which started two weeks ago to oppose a development project
in Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park and spread to the other parts of
the country.

TURQUIE : LES MANIFESTANTS PAS DECIDES A CEDER AUX MENACES D’ERDOGAN

Les manifestants turcs restaient determines lundi au 11e jour de leur
mobilisation contre le gouvernement, malgre les menaces du Premier
ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan qui, de plus en plus agace, a promis
de leur faire payer ” un prix eleve “.

Au lendemain d’un week-end qui a encore vu des dizaines de milliers
de personnes defiler dans plusieurs grandes villes du pays aux cris
de ” Tayyip, demission ! “, l’emblematique place Taksim d’Istanbul a
retrouve une relative tranquillite lundi matin, occupee par quelques
groupes d’irreductibles seulement.

Mais les manifestants se sont donne rendez-vous pour la fin de
la journee, bien decides a ne pas ceder aux diatribes du chef du
gouvernement, qui a enflamme ses troupes dimanche dans une serie de
discours au vitriol contre les ” pillards ” et les ” extremistes ”
defiant son autorite dans la rue.

” Nous allons a l’ecole mais nous reviendrons plus tard dans la journee
“, a confie a l’AFP Ecem Yakin, une lyceenne de 17 ans.

” Je suis urbaniste, pas homme politique, mais je pense qu’aussi
longtemps qu’Erdogan persistera dans sa rhetorique violente, le
mouvement va continuer “, a juge de son côte Akif Burak Atlar, le
secretaire du collectif Taksim Solidarite, dont l’opposition a la
destruction du parc Gezi, près de Taksim, a donne le coup d’envoi de
la fronde le 31 mai.

” Ce sont ce type de discours et la brutalite de la police qui ont
mene la contestation aussi loin. Il doit faire marche arrière (…) il
doit reconnaître les exigences de la population “, a ajoute M. Atlar,
qui s’est refuse a tout pronostic sur la suite des evenements. ”
Honnetement, je ne sais pas où tout ca va, personne ne contrôle plus
rien “.

Dimanche, le chef du gouvernement, qui preside lundi en fin de journee
son conseil des ministres hebdomadaire, a nettement durci le ton face
a la contestation. Tout au long de la journee, il a sature le terrain
mediatique en haranguant a six reprises des milliers de partisans
sur un ton de plus en plus ferme.

” Ceux qui ne respectent pas le parti au pouvoir dans ce pays en
paieront le prix “, a lance le leader turc a Ankara devant une foule
chauffee a blanc.

” Si vous avez un problème, vous pouvez rencontrer mon maire, ou
mon gouverneur (…) je peux meme vous rencontrer moi-meme si vous
choisissez des representants “, a-t-il poursuivi. ” Mais si vous
continuez comme ca, j’utiliserai le langage que vous comprenez parce
que ma patience a des limites “.

Strategie de la tension

Sûr du soutien d’une majorite de Turcs, le Premier ministre a demande a
plusieurs reprises a ses fidèles de ” donner une lecon ” de democratie
aux manifestants lors des prochaines elections municipales de 2014.

En 2011, son Parti de la justice et du developpement (AKP), issu de
la mouvance islamiste, avait recueilli a lui seul 50% des suffrages.

Au moment où M. Erdogan achevait le dernier de ses discours, la
police a violemment disperse dimanche soir, pour la deuxième journee
consecutive, des milliers de manifestants reunis place Kizilay a
Ankara, le coeur de la contestation dans la capitale. Plusieurs
personnes ont ete blessees et d’autres interpellees.

le dernier bilan publie a la veille du week-end par le syndicat des
medecins turcs faisait etat de trois morts, deux manifestants et un
policier, et de près de 5.000 blesses, dont plusieurs dizaines dans
un etat grave, depuis le debut du mouvement.

La strategie de la tension adoptee par le chef du gouvernement fait
craindre des derapages entre les manifestants et ses partisans. Des
accrochages entre les deux camps, jusque-la limites, ont ete signales
la semaine dernière, notamment a Rize (nord-est), le village d’origine
de la famille d’Erdogan sur les bords de la mer Noire et a Adana (sud).

Très sensible aux evenements et au ton employe par le chef du
gouvernement, la bourse d’Istanbul a ouvert lundi matin en baisse
(-1,82%). La semaine dernière, la place stambouliote a chute fortement
a deux reprises.

” Ce refus apparent de faire baisser la tension n’est pas bon pour les
marches, il pourrait meme susciter encore plus de speculation contre
les marches turcs “, a averti Deniz Cicek, analyste a la Finansbank.

La chef de la diplomatie europeenne Catherine Ashton a appele dimanche
a ” une solution rapide ” en Turquie et demande aux opposants comme
aux partisans du chef du gouvernement de faire preuve de ” retenue “.

L’AKP a d’ores et deja prevu d’organiser deux reunions publiques
de masse samedi prochain a Ankara et le lendemain a Istanbul,
officiellement pour lancer sa campagne pour les elections municipales
de l’an prochain.

mardi 11 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

CONTINGENT ARMENIEN DE MAINTIEN DE LA PAIX AU LIBAN ?

Selon les informations de Hayots Achkhar, compte tenu du rôle de la
communaute armenienne en Syrie et au Liban, les Nations Unies se
seraient adressees aux autorites armeniennes en leur demandant de
depecher, en cas de necessite, un contingent de maintien de la paix au
Liban pour etre deploye sur la frontière avec la Syrie. / Novoye Vremia

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 4 juin 2013

mardi 11 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

PAS DE SOMMET SARKISSIAN-ALIEV EN VUE

Selon une source diplomatique proche du Groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE, qui
a ete citee souse couvert de l’anonymat vendredi 7 juin par l’agence
de presse russe Tass, les copresidents russe, americain et francais
du Groupe de Minsk ont ete incapables de convaincre les presidents
de l’Armenie et de l’Azerbaïdjan, Serge Sarkissian et Ilham Aliyev,
de revenir autour de la table de negociations en vue de relancer le
processus de paix au Haut Karabagh. La meme source a precise que ”
le prochain tour de pourparlers prevu pour le 12 juin a Salzbourg
n’aura pas lieu” et qu’il ne faudrait pas esperer une rencontre au
sommet entre les deux chefs d’Etat ” avant la fin de cet ete, sinon
au debut de l’automne “.

L’eventualite d’un nouveau sommet entre les presidents armenien et
azeri, qui ne se sont pas rencontres en tete a tete depuis plus d’un
an, avait ete annoncee il y a quelques semaines notamment par le
ministre armenien des affaires etrangères Edouard Nalbandian, qui va
assumer a partir de juin et pour 6 mois la presidence du Comite des
ministres du Conseil de l’Europe. M. Nalbandian avait par ailleurs
participe a une reunion a la fin mai au siège de l’OSCE a Vienne,
de meme que son homologue azeri Emmar Mammadyarov. Les modalites
d’un sommet entre MM. Sarkissian et Aliev avaient ete evoquees a
cette occasion. Mais il semble que le president azeri attende d’etre
reelu pour un 3e mandat en octobre avant une intiative diplomatique de
cette importance, dont les mediateurs internationaux, qui ne cachent
pas leur impatience, espèrent des avancees concrètes sur la voie d’un
règlement du conflit du Karabagh, singulièrement sur la question des
” principes de base “, qui continuent a opposer Erevan et Bakou.

mardi 11 juin 2013, Gari ©armenews.com

FILLING THE VOID, FINDING THE HOPE

Monday, June 10th, 2013

BY MARIA TITIZIAN

Every city has a particular smell. It penetrates through your pores
and settles underneath your skin so you can’t escape it. The smell
changes, it occasionally mutates becoming pungent and overwhelming. It
changes with absence or with the seasons. If you live in a city long
enough you become immune to it although you too have begun to smell
like it. You may even unconsciously be revolted by it, so much so
that you want to flee without understanding why you need to.

Yerevan has a distinct smell, it always did for me. It has changed
however. At first it was a combination of diesel, dust and age. It
smelled old and not a pleasant old like Rome or Athens or Barcelona.

It was a dirty, damp old like a forgotten box of old clothes left in
the corner of a damp basement. Walking down Abovyan Street you would
get a hint of it with every unexpected soft breeze. It was far from
pleasant but it was the smell of your new life and you embraced it. It
even had charm. Thankfully it still does although it has changed.

Not for others, not for those who were conceived and born into it and
grew up surrounded by it. They want to escape it, and I understand
although I don’t accept it because those who want to leave are the
ones who must stay, yet they can’t, not anymore.

Bright, intelligent young Armenians, those who have proven themselves
capable and competent, who have been able to cleanse the dusty
chambers of the past from their existence, are leaving and it’s not
a trickle anymore.

One young man held out his phone and said, “Do you know how many
numbers I have in my phone of friends who are no longer here?” Another
young man said, “There is nothing left here for me anymore.”

I saw a friend a few days ago, a young woman I admire and love. For
me, she represents that generation of educated, ambitious, and highly
competent people. She had just returned to Yerevan two days earlier
from abroad where she graduated from an Ivy League university. As we
embraced after a long absence I looked into her eyes and immediately
saw it and I knew. I knew she could no longer stay although she had
only just returned.

She now joins the ranks of all those young people who have traveled
abroad to further their education, to receive degrees from some of
the most prestigious universities in the world and have returned
only to feel a void they can’t seem to fill. What I saw in her big
beautiful dark Armenian eyes was more than sadness or a void – it was
wretchedness and a melancholy that emanated from deep within her soul.

She knew that I knew she was lost. I said, “You’ve only been back
a few days. You need time to re-acclimate. We need people with your
skills, knowledge…” She said, “Maria jan, who needs someone like me.”

I told her I did and we made plans to meet in a few days. But there
was so much more I wanted to tell her. I wanted her to know that it
is because of people like her that I hang on to hope and believe that
we are better than what we have become. It is because of people like
her that I see and believe in the impossible.

How can she and others like her contribute to the process of
nation-building when they feel the nation can’t sustain them or
perhaps doesn’t even want them? Why is the smell of this city no
longer pleasant or full of charm? Is it because the world “out there”
holds so much more potential and promise?

All of us understand the limitations of Armenia yet we often fail
to see the endless possibilities. I acknowledge that it’s easy for
me to say these things, I have a Canadian passport in my pocket and
I can get up and leave whenever I want. I am constantly reminded of
this by those who don’t have that luxury.

But I have seen and experienced transformations that transcend
imagination and dreams. The arch of my life has been forever altered
because I moved here with my family against what many considered
insurmountable odds. I have seen ordinary people set and accomplish
goals and realize dreams in an atmosphere that isn’t always conducive
to change.

Providing gifted young Armenians the ability to go abroad and advance
their education is a noble endeavor, it gives them the opportunity
to learn among the best, to acquire a skill set unavailable to them
here and allows them to see how the world outside of Armenia functions.

However, it will be detrimental to this country’s future if these
young people lose their way back to Armenia because that will mean
that the best are lost to us. If they cannot find jobs equivalent to
their education and experience, if they cannot apply their knowledge,
and contribute to the empowerment and betterment of Armenia then
their achievements will be honored and valued elsewhere.

If we collectively tried, I am confident that we could imagine or
conceive of a program where these people could redefine themselves in
Armenia. A Global Armenian Youth Fund could be created to assist these
young Armenians who are armed with knowledge, education and experience
to play an integral role and impact the process of our country’s
development. One such strategy could be to ensure job placement for
them upon their return or supplements to their salaries if they work
within targeted ministries to help raise the prevailing mediocrity or
I would argue, incompetency. I used to believe that such programs had
to be sponsored by the state to ensure viability and sustainability.

However, more and more I am beginning to believe in the power of
people and grassroots organizations, both local and Diaspora, in
their ability and commitment to ensure long lasting, practical and
feasible programs in the absence or ability of the state to do so.

I don’t have all the answers and I don’t have the right to tell
someone to come back to a place they might believe holds no promise
for them. I do believe in the power of hope and faith but these things
alone are not a plan. We need to collectively pool our resources and
formulate a program to ensure that the brain drain stops; we need
to see these young people re-integrate and bring their talents and
vision to everything from state structures to the private sector to
education and development.

MESSAGES FROM TAKSIM SQUARE (2)

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 10 2013

DOÄ~^U ERGÄ°L
[email protected]

The protests against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government
have not appeared out of the blue. A gradual precipitation of events
led to the final round. As of late, the government made a decision
that restricted the sale and promotion of alcohol as if Turkish
society consumes alcohol in great volumes.

The truth is in the other direction: According to the government’s
Household Budget Surveys, only 6 percent of Turkish households spend
enough money on alcohol that it reflects on their budget. The rest
are either social drinkers and non-drinkers. Yet this move on the
part of the government was interpreted by many as an intrusion into
private life.

Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s occasional remarks on art and artifacts
ended with the demolition of a monumental statue in Kars erected as
a mark of Turkish-Armenian friendship. His insistence on erecting
mosques in critical zones of Ä°stanbul without resorting to the
consent of his citizens and disregarding the architectural texture
of the historical city is conceived as an intrusion of politics into
the realm of culture and is seen as defiance of civic culture.

One of the few policies of the AKP government widely criticized by
the populace was Turkey’s close encounter with the Syrian opposition,
which is allowed to organize in Turkey and actively aided throughout
the civil war. Fear of retaliation by the brutal Syrian regime became
a reality with two devastating bomb attacks. Followed by a lethal
car-bomb attack at the Cilvegözu border gate earlier, the bombing
in Reyhanlı on May 11, which killed 51 and injured 140 turned the
tide against the government.

The majority of the Turkish people want their country to remain
disengaged from the fratricide that is going on Syria despite the fact
that they want the country to continue to provide humanitarian aid.

People also see that the sectarian mix of Syria extends to the Turkish
side of the border and intense involvement in Syrian affairs may
have a combustible effect on this side as well. They believe Iran
and Syria are ready to do their best in this regard.

In regards to personal freedoms and human rights, the majority of the
people backed the AKP initiative to change the constitution for a more
liberal democracy. However, a part of them became disenchanted to see
that changes did not go much beyond breaking the bureaucratic tutelage
over the regime with the institutions and practices remaining. Now
these institutions and powers are enjoyed by the incumbent government,
a fact that is shown as evidence that the AKP wants little opposition
or accountability in government. At least this is the opinion of the
more freedom-oriented people who value their individualism more than
being a part of a political or faith based organization.

For many commentators, Turkey’s economic boom masked many of these
problems. But with the cumulative effect of all events, economic
improvement is no more enough to assuage the people. Excessive police
measures initially witnessed while repressing peaceful protestors
at Taksim Square and elsewhere were seen as growing arbitrariness on
the part of the government and its defiance of accountability.

The fact that the whole country stood still and waited for the
prime minister to return from his North African visit is shown as an
indication of how the regime has become a one-man show. He is the only
man to decide whether the Taksim affair will end up in reconciliation
or his government (in fact he alone) will decide on the fate of the
square. The first will be interpreted as a gesture of democratic
inflexibility and insistence of destroying the existing park area to
be replaced by commercial housing as authoritarian political intrusion
on civic life and free civic choice. This will mark the difference
between confrontation or moderation.

The tone of the speech Mr. Erdogan gave on Friday (at 3 a.m.), right
after his return to a crowd chanting : “Let us go and smash Taksim”
did not give too much hope for reconciliation with popular demands. He
had earlier labeled protestors as marauders and vagabonds. He did
not change his rhetoric in the public speech.

Confrontational politics may get a party and a leader to win
elections, and there are three pending next year (municipal, general
and presidential), but the country hardly benefits if the feeling of
solidarity is lost. While doing its best to bring peace in order to
solve the “Kurdish problem,” why create a “Turkish problem?”

Some people remind us the advice Erdogan gave to Hosni Mubarak during
the height of protests in Tahrir Square: “No government can survive
against the will of its people. We are all passing, and we will be
judged by what we left behind.” Indeed this would be Mr. Erdogan’s
legacy; a freedom-oriented approach to politics that heeds the voice
of the people as diverse as they are.

If the AKP government really adopts a freedom-oriented perspective
rather than the current security-first approach empowering the state
rather than the people, then there is no reason why Turkey will not
be an exemplary country in the volatile conflict-ridden Middle East
and a likely candidate to the EU.