Author: Nalbandian Albert

POLITIZATION OF THE PROBLEM OF SHEEP PURCHASING BY IRANIANS IN ARMENIA IS IRRELEVANT, CHAIRMAN OF UNION OF YEZIDIS OF THE WORLD THINKS

ArmInfo
2009-10-26 14:07:00

ArmInfo. Politization of the problem of sheep purchasing by Iranians
in Armenia is irrelevant, chairman of Union of Yezidis of the world,
Aziz Tamoyan, told ArmInfo correspondent.

‘I really met Armenian Agriculture Minister Gerasim Alaverdyan and
told him about catastrophic reduction of sheep stock because of their
mass export to Iran. I don’t understand how it may be connected with
Azerbaijan. Why do they worry about our problems?’, – he said.

Tamoyan said that at present Yezidis living in Armenia have just 10%
of the sheep stock which they had before. He explained this by the
fact of the mass purchasing of sheep and their further export to Iran.

‘Today the cost of one lamb have grown from 20 up to 50 thsd drams,
but this price is also favorable to Iranians, as a lamb costs threefold
more in Iran’, – he said.

The head of the national minorities department under the Armenian
government, Vardan Asatryan, said that Armenian government has nothing
in common with sheep sale. Iranians buy sheep from Yezidis in private
way. Politization of the problem is irrelevant as nobody makes Yezidis
to sell sheep especially to abroad.

To note, according to our information sheep are exported from Armenia
to Iran by airplanes. One airplane may export several hundreds
of sheep.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Oct 24 2009

ANKARA AND BAKU PUT UP UNITED FRONT

Turkey and Azerbaijan seek to soothe anger over Armenia deal.

By Kenan Guluzade in Baku

Turkish and Azeri officials this week tried to calm anger sparked in
both countries by Ankara’s decision to open diplomatic relations with
Armenia.

The signing of protocols between the two countries last week enraged
many Azeris, who had relied on Turkey to force Armenia to give up its
hold on Nagorny Karabakh, which is internationally considered part of
Azerbaijan.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 as a protest against the
war in Karabakh, and has been one of Azerbaijan’s firmest supporters
ever since.

The rift in relations between the two allies, whose populations are
close ethnic kin, has been bitter. Observers are calling it the `flag
crisis’, after Turkish authorities tried to stop fans waving the Azeri
flag at a football match against Armenia on October 14.

The morning after the game, photos appeared on the internet of
confiscated Azerbaijan flags thrown into rubbish bins, angering many
Azeris.

The Azeris responded by removing the Turkish flags from Martyrs’
Alley, an avenue in Baku that commemorates those who died for the
short-lived Azerbaijan Republic that was proclaimed after World War
One, as well as those who died in Karabakh. They also removed the
Turkish flag from in front of a Turkish embassy building.

The Turkish foreign ministry sent an official note of protest, a rare
event in a normally close relationship.

Officially, there are no differences between the two sides over the
Armenia-Turkey peace process, and Turkish president Abdullah Gul rang
his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev to explain what was happening
when parliament began to discuss it on October 21.

`The leaders of the two states agreed to eliminate emotional factors
at this current difficult phase, and came to the joint opinion that
the supposed difficulties in relations between Ankara and Baku do not
actually exist,’ said an official statement from the Turkish
government quoted by the Anadolu news agency.

The Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers also tried to calm the
situation when they met in Baku for a meeting of the Organisation for
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said the pictures of
flags in rubbish bins were staged.

`The Azerbaijan flag is not a foreign flag for us. It bears the blood
of all of our martyrs,’ he said. `What happened in Bursa during the
Turkey-Armenia match was a provocation.’

He said the current tensions had been whipped up by whoever threw away
the flags, and filmed them in the rubbish bins.

`Turkey will conduct an investigation and punish the guilty,’ he said.

Azerbaijan officials also sought to assuage public anger, and on
October 20, parliament speaker Oktay Asadov told deputies there was no
anti-Turkish campaign in the country. But that did not calm ordinary
Azeris, and two unofficial demonstrations protested against the
removal of the Turkish flag from Martyrs’ Alley and the arrival of
Armenian officials for the Black Sea summit.

On October 21, a group of young activists from the National Front
tried to pass along Martyrs’ Alley with Turkish flags, but were
blocked by police, who detained four of them. The next day, officers
also blocked an unofficial protest by the Organisation for the
Liberation of Karabakh against the arrival of Armenian deputy foreign
minister Arman Kirokosian.

The protesters held placards with slogans `Davutoglu, you are on the
Armenian side’ and `Shame on those who invite Armenians to Baku’.

Ali Hasanov, head of the political department of the Azerbaijani
presidential administration, said there was no scandal, and that the
Turkish flags had been removed simply to comply with the law, which
allows foreign flags to be displayed only outside buildings with
diplomatic status.

But Eldar Namazov, head of the opposition forum For the Sake of
Azerbaijan, said the removal of the flags had been a mistake.

`They need to step back. The Turkish authorities should have reacted
more decisively to the disrespect shown to the Azerbaijan flag shown
during the football match in Bursa.

`But even in this case, I think the reactions of the Azerbaijani
authorities against Turkey are unacceptable. The flags must be
restored to their places and steps must be taken to restore trust.

`Even if there is a difference in opinions on the Turkish-Armenian
protocols, such errors must not be allowed.’

The two countries’ foreign ministers already tried to show they are
united when, on the evening of October 22, they laid flowers at the
soldiers’ graves on Martyrs’ Alley.

`There are no problems between Azerbaijan and Turkey. Relations
between the two countries, as before, develop on the principle of `One
Nation ` two states’,’ said Azerbaijan foreign minister Eldar
Mammadyarov after the ceremony.

Kenan Guluzade, is editor of the website analitika.az.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 24 2009

Turkey pledges punishment for disrespect to Azeri flag

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey have apparently
resolved disagreements and misunderstandings which eventually led to
the delivery of a diplomatic note of protest to Azerbaijani officials
because of their decision to remove a Turkish flag in front of an
embassy building in Baku.

Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu was in Baku on Thursday where he had
talks with both Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, on the sidelines of a foreign
ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC).

Last week, Baku removed Turkish flags from a monument to 1,130 Turkish
soldiers who died while fighting for Azerbaijan’s independence in
1918. The move was followed earlier this week with the removal of the
flag in front of the Religious Affairs Consultancy Office, affiliated
with the Turkish Embassy, as well as the flags in front of Turkish
schools. Azerbaijani officials cited a law on foreign flags for their
removal.

`We also have a law on flags, but Azerbaijan is an exception to our
flag law. We don’t consider the Azerbaijani flag a foreign flag,’
DavutoÄ?lu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency while
speaking to reporters in Baku, noting that he discussed the issue with
Mammadyarov.

`We spoke amiably and frankly to remove these misunderstandings. The
Azerbaijani flag is the same as a Turkish flag for us,’ he said.

Tensions escalated when Turkish authorities, upon the request of world
soccer’s governing body FIFA, banned Azerbaijani flags at a World Cup
qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams
earlier this month. The Azerbaijani decision to remove Turkish flags
apparently came in response to the ban on Azerbaijani flags during the
soccer game.

The image of an Azerbaijani flag thrown in a garbage can was annoying
for him, DavutoÄ?lu said, adding: `We’re having this incident
investigated. In any place in Turkey, there is no writing `WC’ on
garbage cans. Somebody must have written it and taken the picture of
this garbage can; this is provocation — a provocation which aims at
sowing seeds of discord between us and our [Azerbaijani] brothers.’

Mammadyarov said: `As far as the crisis over the flag is concerned,
Mr. DavutoÄ?lu has told us that Turkey is investigating the incident
and that those who are guilty will be punished. We agreed to resolve
any problems jointly.’

Later, DavutoÄ?lu and Mammadyarov visited both the Turkish cemetery and
the Azeri cemetery where soldiers who died for Azerbaijan’s
independence in 1918 are buried.

24 October 2009, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES ANKARA

LOBODA,TINA CAROL AND INGA & ANUSH IN KYIV

esctoday.com
Oct 22 2009

Sharm holding, a big producing company in Armenia,which produced the
successful duo Inga & Anush during Eurovision Song Contest 2009, is
now organizing a concert in Kyiv with participation of some former
participants.

The meaning of the project Yerevan-Kyiv Tranzit is to join famous
Armenian and Ukrainian singers, who will sing both in Armenian and
Ukrainian languages.

This year some former Eurovision Song Contest entrants will be present
on 31th October in Kyiv concert hall "Ukraina".

Svetlana Loboda was the first singer to record her song. You can hear
her song below.

Inga & Anush will perform with an Ukrainian pop-rock band called Druga
Rika. Their song, sung in Armenian, is called Im Yerevan (My Yerevan).

Tina Karol will sing an Armenian song called Garun e bacvel.

MONOPOLY IN ARMENIA FOR PRODUCTION OF SOVIET CONFECTION AND SWEET GOODS

ArmInfo
2009-10-22 15:10:00

ArmInfo. Armenian company ‘Grand Candy’ has given a monopoly right
for production and sale in Armenia of the known Soviet confection
and sweet goods.

As the head of Intellectual Property Agency Armen Azizyan said at
today’s briefing, all the former Soviet trade marks for confection
and sweep goods, such as: ‘Krasnay shapochka’, ‘Belochka’, ‘Mishaka
na severe’ and others were registered in Armenia by ‘Grand Candy’
company. ‘This company has a full right to use these trade marks in
the republic, and according to the law may forbid their import’, –
Azizyan said.

‘As I know, ‘Grand Candy’ company has not yet blocked import of
the competitive production to the Armenian market, though the local
legislation allows the company do that. We think it is unfair that
the rights for all the Soviet brands in Armenia belong only to one
company’, – he said and added that the similar problem is between
Belarus and Russia, Ukraine and Russia. ‘Principally we were right
when registering these brands not in the foreign but local company,
and let the latter decide to allow another producer to enter the market
or not’, – Azizyan said and added these trade marks were registered
for five years and the monopoly right for them will be disputed at
the end of this term.

It is noteworthy that Russian, Ukrainian and Byelorussian producers
have repeatedly complained to the Armenian authorities that they
cannot introduce their confectionery into the local market because
the Armenian Agency of Intellectual Property does not register their
trademarks. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan raised this problem
at the government on Thursday. He said a delegation from Kishinev and
the leadership of a Byelorussian confectionery had recently visited
Armenia and complained that they could not register their brands in
Armenia to sell their chocolate and cakes. "Their rival in Armenia
has registered these trademarks but does not produce.

The goal is to oust the rivals from the market. We have received
similar complaints also from Russia and Ukraine and this problem
must be settled," the prime minister said, the leadership of Kharkov
biscuits factory has recently faced the same problem with registration
of its brand in Armenia.

ANTI-TURKISH HYSTERIA JOINS ANTI-ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA IN AZERBAIJAN: ARMENIAN EXPERT

ArmInfo
2009-10-21 15:08:00

ArmInfo. Anti-Turkish hysteria has joined the anti-Armenian propaganda
in Azerbaijan, says Samvel Martirosyan, an Armenian information
security expert.

Such sentiments are observed not only in Mass Media but also in many
other spheres, even among pro- governmental parliamentarians, he says.
"Turkey is presented as a betrayer which deserves no trust and the
top authorities support this anti-Turkish propaganda, which is openly
demonstrated in the statements by President Ilham Aliyev, " the expert
says. In addition, the Armenian public believes in illusion that
what is bad for Azerbaijan is good for Armenia. "One should be aware
that the developments in Azerbaijan are nothing but a performance and
Azerbaijan will never declare war to Turkey," Martirosyan says. He is
sure that this negative wave against Turkey will cam down in Azerbaijan
shortly, since Baku will not dare to break relations with Turkey and
Ankara is well aware of that, the expert says.

RUSSIA’S GAZPROM SET TO DECREASE PRICE OF GAS FOR ARMENIA

ARKA
Oct 20, 2009

YEREVAN, October 20, /ARKA/. Armenia’s natural gas company said
Russia’s Gazprom is set to decrease the price it charges for gas
supplied to Armenia. Karen Karapetian, the chief executive director
of the Russian-Armenian joint venture ArmRosGazProm (ARG) said today
the price for Armenia will be $180 as of April 2010, down from the
originally planned $200.

The price of Russian gas for Armenia rose from $110 to $154 per
one thousand cubic meters in April and was expected to rise to
$200. The new price for Armenia, VAT not included, will be $169.5,
Karen Karapetian said.

Reports in some Russian newspapers claimed that Russia will reduce the
price in return for being granted the right to build a new reactor
for Armenian nuclear power plant. However, Karen Karapetian brushed
aside these reports saying construction of a new reactor has nothing
to do with gas price.

Gazprom is the main supplier of gas to Armenian households and
provides about one-third of Armenia’s electricity. According to
Karen Karapetian, "intensive negotiations are still under way with
the Russian side over the new price," but he added that ARG will
build its next year strategy based on $180 price. According to him,
this is the best price that Gazprom can offer Armenia and ‘demanding
all the time that Russia displays a special treatment of its ally in
the region is not expedient and ‘boring.’

"We need to shift gradually to building our relations on economic
categories,’ he said, adding that 12 years is quite a long time
period for Armenia to get prepared for shifting to market relations
in dealing with Russian counterparts.

Despite this, he said, even under market conditions Armenia will have
a privileged price next year.

Armenia plans to build a new nuclear power plant to replace the
aging Metsamor plant. The new plant is supposed to operate at twice
the capacity of the older, Soviet-constructed facility, which is 30
kilometers west of the capital, Yerevan. Metsamor currently generates
some 40 percent of Armenia’s electricity.

The Armenian government has yet to attract funding for the project
that was estimated by a U.S.-funded feasibility study to cost as much
as $5 billion. In a recent interview with Russian newspaper Kommersant
Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said his government hopes
that Russia will help it build a new nuclear power reactor.

In a bid to attract investors in 2006 the Armenian parliament passed
a law allowing foreign companies to participate in construction and
running of nuclear power plants in Armenia.

ARG is the sole gas supplier to Armenia. Russian Gazprom owns 80%
in it, the rest is held by the Armenian government.

MARCH 1 REPORT SENT TO THE PACE

15599.html
16:25:04 – 19/10/2009

Interview with the leader of the Nor Zhamanakner party, the member
of the NA temporary commission to study March 1 Aram Karapetyan

After the report of the NA temporary commission, you stated that you
were going to present our own report. Have you already presented it
to international organizations?

I have already presented the first part of the report which is in
my opinion very objective. I have sent it via mail to the PACE and
they are going to translate it. Though they asked us to translate
the conclusion for not causing problems. We are now doing this job
and we are going to present it to the PACE within the next few days.

What do you expect after presenting this report?

The PACE has not only to express its opinion but also to make a
legal proposal, for example a proposal to set up a new body to study
those cases. I think the non-governmental commission headed by Suren
Abrahamyan will also present its report to the PACE.

Writing that report, we had the following question to discuss
objectively those cases to find out who ordered and who shot. From
the first part of my report, I can say that in the morning on March
1, under the name of investigative actions, the peace rally was
dispersed. This is proved by documents in addition, the event took
place not at 7 o’clock but earlier. It is noted in the report that
there was a clash between the ralliers and the police officials and
what happened in the evening was grounded by what happened in the
morning. I also wrote that the only person who could give the order
to shoot was Robert Kocharyan.

All the representatives of force bodies included in the commission
stated that they were repeatedly reporting about what was happening
to Hayk Harutunyan and the latter to Robert Kocharyan.

As to what happened, a situation was formed which cannot but explode.

They were demanding to call for responsibility those who dispersed
the peace protesters and to let Levon Ter-Petrosyan leave his house
and meet the protesters. I have also written in my report that even
if we assume that the rallies in the Freedom square were illegal
and if Levon Ter-Petrosyan was let participate in them for 10 days
running so what hindered them from letting him meet the protesters
for one hour near the statue of Miasnikyan. They realized that if
Levon Ter-Petrosyan came to the Miasnikyan square, he would have
led people to the Freedom square and the government would collapse
hours later. I would like to stress that all the fact included in
the report are taken from the documents of the fact-finding group
and the NA commission to study March 1.

The circumstances of death of the 10 victims and those responsible
have not been revealed yet. The NA temporary commission was not able
to do anything. Do you dwell on this topic in your report? Did you
register any progress?

There are two points in the report in this connection. Since this
question has not been clarified yet, we will dwell on it in the
second part of the report. Now we are working in this relation. But
proceeding from the documents we have, I can say that no one of the
protesters used any weapon, there is no proof that a certain person
shot in the direction of the soldiers or policemen. There were stones,
bludgeons etc. but not weapons. And those things, weapons found in
the freedom square have no fingerprints on them. So their owners are
not known. Here two conclusions can be made: either the protesters
cleaned and hided those weapons quickly during their clash with the
police, or those weapons did not belong to them. The second version
is more possible in my opinion.

The next unrevealed circumstance is that all the victims died at
about 20 o’clock. Earlier, more dangerous clashes took place but no
weapon was used. So we may conclude that the order to shoot people
was given at about 8 o’clock.

We may conclude from your words that the name of at least one of
those who gave orders is known: he is Robert Kocharyan.

We do not have all the legal documents and we are not an investigative
body. But we can conclude from the documents we have and from the
words of high ranking officials that it was Robert Kocharyan to rule
all that.

Interview By Arman Galoyan

CHECKING ACTIVITIES ORGANIZED IN TURKISH COMPANIES OF AZERBAIJAN

Panorama.am
18:00 19/10/2009

Turkish companies in Azerbaijan are being checked by the local
servicemen, "Azadlig" reports.

It is reported that recently the Turkish and Azerbaijani relations
have been spoiled but after the signing of Armenian-Turkish protocols
those relations seem to be completely broken.

And the evidences to the fact are the over viewing the prices of gas to
export to Turkey, reducing the financing of Baku-Tbilis-Kars railroad,
removing of Turkish flags, and checking of Turkish companies.

ULLI WEGNER: ARTHUR HAS A GREAT BATTLE

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.10.2009 18:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Coach of Arthur Abraham Uli Wegner commented
on the victory of his ward over Jermaine Taylor. The fight Abraham –
Taylor was held on October 17 in Berlin and took place in the framework
of the first round of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament.

"Arthur had a great battle. He knew his job and spent a very smart
fight. Jermaine Taylor proved to be a strong competitor. He was
fast, universal and mobile. Support of the stands was phenomenal,"
the official website of Sauerland Event quoted Ulli Wegner.