Author: Kanayan Tamar

`I Have Never Believed and Don’t Believe Those Data,’ G. Margaryan
Says About the Gallup Polls

November 2, 2012 16:58

According to the polls of the Armenian office of the Gallup
International Association, as a result of the answers to a question
`if the presidential election took place this Sunday, which politician
you would vote for?’ we have the following picture – Serzh Sargsyan,
Gagik Tsarukyan, no one, Raffi Hovhannisyan, Levon Ter-Petrossian,
Vartan Oskanian, Vahan Hovhannisyan, Artur Baghdasaryan etc.

As for whether these results reflected the sentiment existing in the
Armenian society today, in the run-up to the presidential election,
tried to find out during a conversation with
representatives of different political forces. Regarding the mentioned
issue, Stepan Safaryan, the secretary of the Heritage Party, said the
following during a conversation with us, `These are numbers, which
have been gotten according to a certain methodology, as far as I now,
when an open question is asked and a voter tells names. Those numbers
reflect the whole society with its fears, disappointments and
everything. Therefore, I wouldn’t say that it is the absolutely
correct picture of the upcoming presidential election, that it
reflects the real abilities of candidates, since political processes
are not static and in such an imbalanced and indefinite situation, the
picture may fundamentally change overnight. I will just take those
results into account.’

In response to our request for clarification whether the data that the
main rivals will be Serzh Sargsyan and Gagik Tsarukyan, S. Safaryan
said the following, `I know that there are expectations that the
Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) will part from the Republican Party.
However, I don’t have expectations that the PAP leader will become the
president of the country.’

Garnik Margaryan, the leader of the Motherland and Dignity Party,
stated that he had never believed and didn’t believe the Gallup data
and one had to be Nostradamus to publish such data. Then he went into
detail, `They are not aware of the situation in the Republic of

Armenia, they just show a favorable approach. It is too early to talk
about that, place candidates. I think it will be clearer at the end of
November.’

Mr. Margaryan raises a question whether Serzh Sargsyan, Gagik
Tsarukyan or Levon Ter-Petrossian have made official announcements
about their nomination to talk about that.

As for what that favorable approach was, whether Mr. Margaryan meant
the factor of currying favor with the government, Mr. Margaryan
clarified, `It is not a matter of currying favor. There are
further-reaching goals. Today the Armenian regime carries out the
instructions of foreigners, they are not free, they don’t act
independently and along with that, we can hear the assessments of the
European Council, its institutions or Gallup as a result of those
instructions. Whereas one should consider the words of the ordinary
citizen. Try to carry out a survey among 1000 people and you will see
that if not everyone, 990 people will say that they are against Serzh
Sargsyan. You have put aside the objective barometer, the people, and
consider made-up, artificial assessments – it is not acceptable for
me.’

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

US Ambassador not allowed to visit the Armenian cemetery of Jugha

armradio.am
14:24 03.11.2012

Jugha`Next week Armenian and Azerbaijani archivists will be in the
United States on a joint program to learn more about preservation of
cultural artifacts. These types of efforts deserve recognition and we
will do our best to support any such efforts in the future,’ US
Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar said. The American
diplomat noted that the South Caucasian region has a complicated
history.

`Nagorno Karabakh has resulted in the death of thousands of people and
seriously changed the structure of the places of historical, religious
and cultural importance in the region,’ he said, adding that `the
United States supports efforts in Azerbaijan and Armenia to protect
the historical archives of each other’s communities in their
countries.’

Commenting on his recent visit to Nakhijevan, the Ambassador said he
regrets that the authorities did not allow him to visit the Armenian
cemetery in Old Jugha `because of security reasons.’

`The protection of the region’s heritage is very important for future
peace. A lot of monuments have been damaged and destroyed in the
region as a result of Nagorno Karabakh conflict,’ he said.

Journalist: Turkey plans to counter Genocide 100th anniversary preparations

November 3, 2012 – 14:12 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkey is concerned with Armenias’ preparations for
the Genocide 100th anniversary in 2015, Istanbul-based Agos weekly
former employee said.

As Diran Lokmagyozian told a news conference, the Turks think
Armenians worldwide are making large-scale preparations for 2015, with
Ankara deeming it necessary to take counteractive steps.

`It’s like a football match, with one of the contenders to win,’ he
said, slamming Armenia’s foreign policy as unspecified and
characterizing it as wait and see one.

Some Armenian women don’t weigh up before marrying Muslims – psychologist

news.am
November 03, 2012 | 11:45

YEREVAN. – Ethno-centric disorders are observed among the women in
Armenia, psychologist Karine Nalchajyan stated, during a press
conference on Saturday, speaking as to why Armenian girls prefer
foreign – specifically, Iranian – fiancés.

In her words, Islam is a very ethno-centric religion, but some
Armenian women do not take this into consideration. `Women are more
ethno-centric than men,’ Nalchajyan said, and noted that most of those
who are getting married say there is no future in Armenia and, by
leaving Armenia in this way, they are trying to build a future for
them.

The press conference’s other speaker, Father Babken Hayrapetyan of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, said the argument that they will be happier
when marrying a foreigner is an illusion. `This country [that is,
Armenia] was called a paradise, and Noah landed on this soil. Our
region is mentioned as Eden in ancient maps,’ he added.

As per Karine Nalchajyan, Armenian men’s marrying foreign women is
nothing new. But, in this case, she pointed to the extent of cultural
issues within such family. `When the [foreign] brides-to be come to
Armenia, there are no [cultural] losses, or they are very small,’ the
psychologist noted.

In his turn, Father Babken Hayrapetyan added that the Catholicos of
All Armenians has instructed to refrain from marrying foreign men.

SCR: The strike of Poti Port’s employees in Georgia has not yet
affected cargo transportation to Armenia

arminfo
Saturday, November 3, 12:00

The strike announced by the employees of the Port of Poti, Georgia,
has not yet affected the rail transportation of cargoes to Armenia,
Vahe Davtyan, Spokesperson of the South Caucasus Railway (SCR) CJSC,
told ArmInfo.

He said the cargoes are transported from Poti in the ordinary and
usual course. 6 pairs of trains with cargoes daily arrive in Armenia
and leave Armenia. “There are no problems with cargo deliveries yet”,
he said.

To recall, the employees of the Port of Poti, Georgia, have been on
strike on two days. They demand raising their salaries and improving
the working conditions. They state that they will not stop the strike
until the administration satisfies all their demands. Before the
large-scale strike, the workers went on two warning strikes: on
October 10 and October 25. Besides the rise in the wages and
improvement of working conditions, they also demanded reinstatement of
the dismissed workers in the office. The latter demand was carried out
by the administration.

Olé, Argentina
Nov 4 2012

Armenio es de oro

El club de la colectividad cumplió 50 años y celebró con brillo. Hubo
plaquetas a las glorias y se distinguió a un emocionado Noray Nakis:
una tribuna lleva su nombre. Felicidades.

Aquel 2 de noviembre de 1962 se juntó un grupo de hombres que jamás se
habrán imaginado lo que generarían a futuro. Ellos tenían un único
objetivo: fundar el Club Armenio. Ocho años más tarde se adoptó la
denominación actual, Club Deportivo Armenio. Con el transcurso del
tiempo la institución creció: se consagró campeón en la D en 1972, y
en 1976 de la C. Como si fuera poco, el Tricolor llegó a Primera en
1987, año en el que derrotó a Boca (1-0) y a River (3-2). Armenio en
apenas 50 años tiene mucho para contar… Por eso, los hinchas se
juntaron para tirar la casa por la ventana. La fiesta en el estadio
República de Armenia fue tal, que la cancha les quedó chica. Hubo de
todo. Primero, se juntaron en la plaza de Ingeniero Maschwitz varios
grupos de simpatizantes para llegar juntos. Más tarde, comenzaron los
agasajos. Estuvo presente la murga `Alma Murguera’ para comenzar a
alegrar la calurosa tarde. Con ellos también ingresaron al campo de
juego los jugadores de las Inferiores, quienes llevaban cartulinas con
los colores del club y dieron la vuelta alrededor de la cancha.
Obviamente que no faltaron las distinciones a aquellos futbolistas que
transpiraron la camiseta del Tricolor y se convirtieron en ídolos. Los
más ovacionados fueron el arquero Alberto Parsechian, campeón como
jugador en 1976 y que como entrenador estuvo 34 partidos invictos en
el Nacional B, y Miguel Cisterna, enganche que se consagró en el
Clausura 98 en la B Metropolitana.

La Comisión Directiva decidió hacerle un obsequio más que
significativo a Noray Nakis, presidente de la entidad: le pusieron su
nombre al sector de la tribuna local. Al mandamás se lo notó
profundamente emocionado durante la fiesta y no pudo contener las
lágrimas. `Es un sueño estar celebrando los 50 años del club. Es algo
increíble y la gente nos acompañó. Como presidente estoy muy contento
con el club y mi objetivo no es un Armenio en Primera, sino un Armenio
de Primera. Sé que lo vamos a lograr’, manifestó Nakis.

También se pegaron más de 50 azulejos con el escudo del club y el
nombre de muchos de los integrantes de la colectividad, quienes
pusieron su granito de arena. Y más tarde, allá por las 17.50 el
equipo de Fernando Ruiz con la victoria 2-0 ante Dálmine, le puso el
broche de oro para esta fiesta soñada.

Gazprom, Hungary Sign Deal on South Stream Pipeline Stretch

© AFP/ Sergei Supinsky19:35 31/10/2012MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti)

Russian energy giant Gazprom and Hungary have signed a final
shareholders’ agreement to build the Hungarian stretch of the South
Stream gas pipeline, Gazprom said in a statement on Wednesday.

`The implementation of the project to build the South Stream gas
pipeline jointly with our Hungarian partners is an important element
of the new architecture of European energy security. This system can
ensure uninterrupted gas supplies and provide Hungary long-term
benefits and stability,’ Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said at
the signing ceremony.

The South Stream pipeline is intended to transport up to 63 billion
cubic meters of natural gas to central and southern Europe,
diversifying Russian gas routes away from transit countries such as
Ukraine.

Construction will start in December 2012. Russia plans to start using
the pipeline in 2015.

The pipeline’s core shareholders include Gazprom with 50 percent,
Italy’s Eni with 20 percent and Germany’s Wintershall Holding and
France’s EdF with 15 percent each.

TURQUIE
La Turquie menace de boycotter les groupes retenus pour explorer le gaz à Chypre

La Turquie a menacé samedi d’exclure de ses futurs projets en matière
d’énergie les compagnies pétrolières retenues pour l’exploration du
gaz dans les eaux territoriales de Chypre.

`Comme nous l’avons répété à plusieurs reprises (…), les compagnies
qui coopéreront avec les autorités chypriotes grecques seront exclues
des futurs projets turcs en matière d’énergie`, a annoncé le ministre
turc des Affaires étrangères Ahmet Davutoglu dans un communiqué.

Dans son communiqué, le chef de la diplomatie turque à appelé ces
compagnies et les autorités de leur pays `d’agir avec raison` et de se
retirer de ses projets d’exploration dans des eaux dont la Turquie
dispute la souveraineté à Chypre.

Chypre a annoncé mardi avoir accordé quatre permis d’exploration de
gaz, deux à consortium composé de l’italien Eni et du sud-coréen
Kogas, un au groupe pétrolier français Total et un dernier à un
consortium composé de Total et du Russe Novatec.

Le ministre chypriote du Commerce Neoclis Sylikiotis a indiqué que les
négociations sur les détails de ces permis devaient s’achever d’ici
2013. Au total, le gouvernement chypriote souhaite attribuer des
licences pour douze blocs.

La compagnie américaine Noble Energy, titulaire d’un permis sur un
autre bloc, a annoncé l’an passé avoir découvert un gisement de gaz
pouvant atteindre 226,5 milliards de mètres cubes, pour une valeur
estimée de 100 milliards d’euros, qui suffirait à couvrir les besoins
de l’île méditerranéenne pour des décennies.

Selon plusieurs médias, d’autres gisements de gaz mais également de
pétrole pourraient être mis au jour dans les blocs adjacents.

La Turquie s’est fermement opposée aux explorations menées par le
gouvernement chypriote qu’elle ne reconnaît pas, les qualifiant
d’`illégales`. En avril dernier, elle a entamé en représailles une
campagne de prospection pétrolière et gazière au large des côtes de la
partie nord de l’île.

Dès vendredi, le ministre turc de l’Energie Taner Yildiz avait
spécialement mis en garde la compagnie italienne Eni. `Nous allons
reconsidérer ses investissements en Turquie si Eni est partie
prenante` des projets d’exploration à Chypre, a indiqué M. Yildiz à la
presse.

Les mesures `unilatérales et provocantes` prises par le gouvernement
chypriote sont `inacceptables` pour la Turquie, a insisté samedi M.
Davutoglu.

Ankara ne reconnaît que la République turque de Chypre du nord (RTCN),
contrairement au reste de la communauté internationale qui reconnaît
la République de Chypre, membre de l’Union européenne (UE) depuis
2004.

Chypre est divisée depuis 1974, après que la Turquie a envahi le nord
de l’île à la suite d’un coup d’Etat fomenté par des nationalistes
chypriotes-grecs et visant à rattacher le pays à la Grèce.

Les autorités turques doivent annoncer dans les mois à venir le choix
de leurs partenaires pour la construction de deux centrales
nucléaires. Elles ont signé en 2010 un accord avec la Russie pour une
première centrale à Akkuyu, dans le sud du pays. Ses travaux n’ont
toujours pas débuté.

dimanche 4 novembre 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

ARMENIA’S 2013 DEFENSE EXPENDITURES TO BE 4.3 TIMES LESS THAN AZERBAIJAN’S DEFENSE EXPENDITURES

APA
Nov 2 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. Armenia’s defense expenditures in 2013
state budget will be $451 million (182 778 million dram).

APA reports quoting Armenian media that Yerevan increases the defense
expenditures by $105 million compared to 2012.

Deputy Finance Minister o Armenia Pavel Safaryan said addressing the
parliament that 177 845 million dram of these funds ($439 million)
will be exclusively used for defense spending. Moreover, 94.7 million
dram ($233 756) will be allocated for mine clearance programs and
expert services.

2013 state budget revenues of Armenia are forecasted to be $2.5
billion, expenditures $2.2 billion.

Armenia’s military expenditures are 4.3 times less than Azerbaijan’s
defense expenditures.

Azerbaijani government plans to allocate AZN 1 528 582 000 ($1 947
238 000) for Armed Forces, security forces and military industry.

AZN 8180600 ($ 10432572) will be allocated for humanitarian mine
clearance.

Azerbaijani government plans to allocate AZN 2 910 656 000 ($3 707
369 000) from 2013 state budget for defense expenditures.

It includes funds for additional investments, Interior Troops and
Special State Security Service.

TWO VIEWS: A QUIZZICAL PAIRING FROM ARMENIA
By Chirine Lahoud

The Daily Star
Nov 3 2012
Lebanon

BURJ HAMMOUD, Lebanon: Contradiction would be the appropriate word
to describe “Two Perspectives,” the show now up at Hamazkayin Gallery.

The exhibition showcases 34 paintings by Armenian artists Gagik
Ghazanchyan and Lilit Soghomonyan.

Viewers meandering in the gallery will find two distinct styles
adorning the expansive white space – Ghazanchyan’s powerful colors,
thickly applied, and the more discrete brushstrokes of Soghomonyan’s
canvases.

Although the oranges, blacks, yellows and blues in Ghazanchyan’s
oil-on-canvas works are more demanding of your attention, several of
his pieces bare an uncanny resemblance to one another. But for a few
distinctions, “A Motion,” “A Berth,” “A Vision” and “A Two-Wheeler”
are loose facsimiles of one another.

All center on black circular motifs – as though rendering motorized
movement – accessorized with dotted lines to the left of the canvas
and blue blotches to the upper left.

Hung close alongside one another, the placement does less to mark the
uniqueness of the individual pieces than it does to invite onlookers
to spot the similarities.

This work is a tour de force of colorful and textural application
of paint. Though it is not uncommon for artists working in abstract
figuration to create dozens of studies on a single theme or model,
the point of Ghazanchyan’s reiterations is not necessarily clear to
those encountering his work for the first time.

“Old Ship” (oil on canvas, 125×80 cm) marks a pleasant departure. Its
intriguing palette of blues, turquoises and grays – perhaps a wink
in the direction of the works of English painter William Turner –
are somehow evocative of things nautical.

Though no more representational than his other work, the painting
suggests a tall ship in distress – or perhaps wrecked. The upper part
of the piece represents its sails torn by the gale or the passage
of time.

Soghomonyan’s paintings evince a lighter hand, the fine lines of her
work suggestive of pen-and-ink sketches. Most of these works depict
woman chatting or people dancing.

In her four-canvas series “Dancing” (I, II, III and IV), Soghomonyan
blurs the dancing figures at the center of the canvas, as though to
conceal the intimacy of their embrace within movement that cannot be
apprehended by the eye of the onlooker.

Yet there is also something familiar in Soghomonyan’s work.

Her “Conversation about Everything” (mixed media-on-paper 56×76
cm) bears a strong resemblance to the bronzes of Canadian sculptor
Rose-Aimee Belanger.

In Belanger’s “Les Chuchoteuses” (The Whisperers), which can be seen in
the Saint-Paul Street of Montreal, three plump women are represented
sitting on a bench, in earnest conclave. Soghomonyan’s piece finds
four curvaceous women, chitchatting.

Soghomonyan’s depiction of women – fleshy, curvy and embodying
femininity – also bears resemblance with the oddly-shaped females
of French artist Jean-Louis Toutain, who was known for his massively
feminine humanoid figures.

“Being a part of the creation process,” Soghomonyan writes in the
exhibition catalogue, “gives an enticing opportunity to get out of
the borders of mere reality mirroring.”

This is no doubt good advice.”Two Perspectives” is now up at Hamazkayin
Gallery until Nov. 10. For more information, please call 01-241-262.