Author: Kanayan Tamar

ARMENIA: A COGNAC BY ANY OTHER NAME

EurasiaNet.org, NY
April 23 2013

April 23, 2013 – 3:36pm, by Yigal Schleifer

Brandy means big business in Armenia — it was the country’s
second-largest export last year, after the less drinkable copper
concentrate — so recent negotiations with the European Union over
what to call the libation could have profound implications.

Yerevan and Brussels are currently negotiating the terms of a Free and
Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), part of a larger agreement
that would help bring Armenia and the EU closer together. As part of
the negotiations, Yerevan is asking that the EU allow it to continue
marketing its brandy as “cognac,” which is the name used to sell
the stuff in many parts of the former Soviet Union, which remains
the largest market for Armenian brandy. According to European law,
the name “cognac” can only be used for brandies that come from the
French region of, well, Cognac. Reports the Armenpress website:

“There have certainly been discussions and they still continue. If
there is an agreement, we will let you know”, – said the Deputy
Minister of Economy [Garegin Melkonya]. Melkonyan stated that all
the parts of the negotiations on the Armenia-European Union Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Area, which had not been finally agreed,
would be passed to the next stage.

The Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Garegin
Melkonyan earlier informed that the word “Cognac” was protected by the
European Legislation and was registered as a geographical indication.

The Armenian side presented the European partners that cognac in
Armenia was perceived as a kind of a product.

Meanwhile, for a bit of background on the role of brandy in Armenian
life and about some of the lore surrounding it (there is an apocryphal
claim it was a favorite of Winston Churchill’s), check out this
interesting article from the BBC.

24 AVRIL 2013 : MOBILISONS-NOUS ! EXPRIMONS-NOUS ! INDIGNONS-NOUS !

Le CCAF appelle l’ensemble des forces democratiques du pays, dont les
fils et les filles des rescapes du genocide armenien, a participer
massivement a la commemoration de cette entreprise d’extermination
perpetree par le gouvernement turc de l’epoque et tacitement cautionnee
par tous ceux qui lui ont depuis succede.

Les debats recents autour de la lutte contre le negationnisme ont
demontre que le crime imprescriptible de 1915 n’appartenait pas
au passe, mais relevait bien d’une actualite toujours brulante,
non seulement pour les parties directement concernees, mais pour
toute l’humanite. C’est la raison pour laquelle les deux chambres
du Parlement francais ont vote l’annee dernière un texte penalisant
le negationnisme des genocides reconnu par la loi. Cette initiative
republicaine, promue par l’ancien executif et soutenue par la majorite
des elus de droite comme de gauche s’est heurtee a la pression de
l’Etat turc et a une censure du Conseil constitutionnel.

Cependant, l’actuel President la Republique s’est engage a proposer
un projet de loi susceptible de faire barrage a la propagation du
negationnisme sur le territoire, tout en respectant la constitution.

Les commemorations du 98e anniversaire du genocide qui auront lieu
le 24 avril dans toute la France seront placees sous le signe de
cette volonte commune de se dresser contre l’outrage aux morts et,
en respectant l’histoire, de proteger la memoire et la dignite des
generations suivantes.

Paris : Rassemblement republicain a 19h devant la statue de Komitas
a Paris suivie d’une manifestation vers les bureaux de l’ambassade
de Turquie avenue des Champs Elysees.

Lyon : Rassemblement devant l’eglise armenienne de Lyon a 16 h 30
suivi d’un defile jusqu’au Memorial du Genocide, Place Antonin-Poncet.

Marseille : Rassemblement republicain a 17h place Delibes a Marseille
8ème suivie d’une manifestation vers le consulat general de Turquie
avenue du Prado.

Mourad Papazian

Ara Toranian

Copresidents du CCAF

mercredi 24 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

HAK TO JOIN TORCH-LIGHT PROCESSION OF ARFD

Tuesday,
April 23

Deputy of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) parliamentary faction
Aram Manukian announced today at the pre-election meeting with
residents of Arabkir district in Yerevan that following the meeting,
they will walk to Barekamutyun subway station and join there the
torch-light procession initiated by ARFD.

“We have come to an agreement with ARFD that instead of holding
two different processions, we will join them at Barekamutyun subway
station and walk together toward the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex,”
Manukian said.

Traditionally, ARF-Dashnaktsutyun Party holds a torch-light procession
to Tsitsernakaberd on April 23 – the eve of the Armenian Genocide
Remembrance Day.

TODAY, 20:19

Aysor.am

TURKISH COLUMNIST CALLS FOR FACING HISTORY ON 98TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

23.04.13

Ahmet Insel, columnist of the Turkey-based Radikal daily, addresses
a problem of facing history.

“Ottoman Muslims divided not only Armenians’ property, but also
Armenian women and children, between themselves,” writes the author.

April 24 is the 98th anniversary of arrests and deportation of most
Armenian deputies, writers, journalists, musicians, lawyers, doctors
and scholars to AyaÅ~_.

Many poor people were among them. They were arrested because their
names sounded similar to the great Armenians’ names.

Most of them died, with only few of them allowed to return to Istanbul.

A month later, Ottoman Turkey’s government launched a policy of
annihilating the Armenian population, with confiscation of property
being part of that policy. Some Armenian women and children were
forcibly converted into Islam.

Not only Armenians, but also Assyrians and Anatolian Greeks were
killed during the deportation.

Committee of Union and Progress committed a great crime against
humanity. Had the term ‘genocide’ existed at that time, their actions
would have been termed as ‘genocide.’

Not only the Committee of Union and Progress was criminal. Most
Ottoman Muslims were supportive of the policy of de-Christianizing
Anatolia. The perpetrators of the genocide, the people that divided the
Armenian property and kept silent about the developments constituted
a majority. On the other hand, others were denouncing the great crime
and struggling against it.

“In remembering the pages of our history that are a source of pride
for us, we should also face the disgraceful pages and realize that
reconciliation with your own conscience is a constituent part of
peace,” the author writes.

EXPERT SAYS GENOCIDE CRIME AGAINST HUMAN VALUES

April 23, 2013 – 17:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Head of Modus Vivendi Center, political expert Ara
Papian stressed the need to start the Armenian Genocide compensation
process.

“The first stage should be implemented on the level of individuals,
with the second one to demand for compensation on the community level.

The third stage envisages return of lost territories,” the expert said.

He further termed genocide as a crime against both humanity and human
values, noting that Turkey will probably pursue contradictory policies
ahead of the genocide 100th anniversary.

“Ankara will toughen position on the Armenian community and Armenia
in general,” Mr. Papian said.

“Armenia must offer a new document to replace the protocols,” the
expert said, adding that a large number of genocide-related documents
have not been studied yet.

NGOS, POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS TO JOIN APRIL 23 TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION

April 23, 2013 – 17:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Youth Foundation, a number of NGOs
and political organizations have expressed readiness to join the
traditional torchlight procession, organized by ARF Dashnaktsutyun
and Nikol Aghbalyan student unions.

The march to the Armenian Genocide memorial complex kicks off at 6
pm Yerevan time from Liberty Square.

AVERAGE SALARY OF ARMENIAN SCIENTIST IS 76,500 DRAMS

YEREVAN, April 23. /ARKA/. The average salary of a researcher
affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia in 2012
was 76,500 drams (about $ 180, not counting not-budget funding),
Academy president Radik Martirosyan said today at the annual meeting
of the Academy.

Last year the government had earmarked 3.7 billion drams as salary for
Armenian scientists, which made 73% of the total government funding.

As of January 1, 2013 the National Academy had 60 academicians and
60 correspondent members. Overall, there are over 4000 people on its
payrolls, of whom 2,462 are scientists, 325 are PhDs and 1,113 are
candidates of science. The rest are researchers without degrees.

Martirosyan also said that in 2012 Armenian scientists published 762
scientific articles in prestigious international journals.

President Serzh Sargsyan, head of Ararat Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan, acting education and
science minister Armen Ashotyan, foreign members of the National
Academy of Sciences, university rectors and representatives of the
scientific community took part in the meeting. -0-

GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE CONTINUES IN ARTSAKH

17:11 23/04/2013 ” REGION

On April 23, President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan signed
a decree relieving Levon Mnatsakanyan of his position as NKR Minister
of Industrial Infrastructures upon his own application in connection
with assuming a new post.

Under another presidential decree, Levon Mnatsakanyan was appointed
chairman of NKR State Commission on regulating public services and
economic competition with term of office expiring on July 12, 2017.

On the same day, Bako Sahakyan signed a decree on pre-term suspension
of the term of office Hakob Ghahramanyan, chairman of NKR Commission
on regulating public services and economic competition upon his own
application in connection with assuming a new post.

Under another presidential decree, Hakob Ghahramanyan was appointed
NKR Minister of Industrial Infrastructures, Central Information
Department at Artsakh President’s Office reported.

Source: Panorama.am

THE IDENTITY OF THE PERSON WHO HAD APPROPRIATED PERSONAL PAGES OF USERS OF SOCIAL WEBSITE REVEALED

15:53, April 23, 2013

In the framework of the criminal case initiated on illegal
appropriation of computer data, the person who had illegally
appropriated 2 users’ personal pages of the website odnoklassniki.ru
and changed their names was discovered.

By the preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated on
February 18, 2013 in General Investigation Department off RA Police
adjunct to government it was found out that on February 22, 2013 the
user of the personal page “Nar”, while communicating online with H.

Nersisyan in the website odnoklassniki.ru, had told her that he
would break her personal page if the latter refused to accept his
friend request.

Later, H. Nersisyan not being able to enter her personal page had
noticed that the name of the page was changed.

Besides, it was also found out that in the same period the unknown
person had illegally appropriated the personal page of H. Nersisyan’s
boyfriend S. Hambardzumyan in the website odnoklassniki.ru’.

In the result of the measures taken to discover the crime it was found
out that the mentioned personal pages in the website odnoklassniki.ru
were appropriated by N. Grigoryan who had used the computer of his
friend G. Hakobyan.

During the preliminary investigation N. Grigoryan confessed what he
had committed.

Prosecutor General’s Office reports that the preliminary investigation
initiated on the case according to the Part 1 of the Article 254 of
RA Criminal Code is in process.

APPLE IS PETITIONED TO ADD NATIVE ARMENIAN IOS KEYBOARD

April 23, 2013 | 10:25

YEREVAN. – There are millions of users all around the world who would
benefit from having a native Armenian keyboard for their iPhone or
iPad. At present, Android is growing in popularity because there
is no Armenian keyboard available from Apple. With this in mind,
a petition has been created at iTechnology.am.

This petition is quickly gaining global traction because Apple
products have become very popular among millions of Armenians all
over the world, and not only for the citizens of Armenia, but also
the for millions of Diaspora Armenians in the US, Russia, Europe,
and Australia.

“The Armenian language is 3,000 years old. The Armenian alphabet is
1,600 years old. We are asking Apple to provide its loyal clients
with the opportunity to write in their mother tongue. Apple devices
can be very helpful for maintaining connection with Armenia for those
millions of Armenians who live throughout the world. The minister of
Science and Education of Armenia also made a request to Apple Inc. in
April 2013,” the petition specifically reads.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am