Author: nina hovnanian

STATUE IN TURKEY REMOVED BECAUSE OF ARMENIAN SYMBOLS?

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 7, 2012 – 15:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A statue set at the entrance of Turkish Dumlupınar
University hostel was removed for unknown reasons. The marble statue
with carved images of a lion and an eagle was meant to symbolize the
unity of Turkish nation.

However, Republican People’s Party (CHP) member Oktay EkÅ~_i raised
the issue of statue’s removal at parliament, noting that the statue
carries resemblance to certain Armenian symbols.

“The animals on the statue are present on Armenia’s coat of arms. Might
that be a reason for the statue’s removal?” the parliamentarian
questioned, according to Milliyet.

ARMENIA’S BRANDY PRODUCTION GROWS BY 21,5% JAN-DEC 2011

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 7, 2012 – 14:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – 15341,5 thousand liters of brandy was produced in
Armenia in January-December 2011, with production volume growing 21,5%
against 2010 (12624.1 thousand liters).

According to the National Statistical Service, 9106,3 thousand liters
of vodka was produced in the same period, production volume dropping
23,3% against January-December 2010. 6177,7 thousand liters of wine
was produced in January-December 2011 against 5812,0 thousand liters
in 2010 (6,3 % growth).

During the reporting period, beer production totaled 14744,3 thousand
liters, dropping by 4% against January-December 2010 (15352,7 thousand
liters). Production of champagne grew by 0,8%, totaling 623,1 thousand
liters.

In 2011, production of soft drinks in Armenia grew by 7,8%, totaling
41218,3 thousand liters.

ARMENIA AND RUSSIA FIND NEW WAYS OF COOPERATION: JOINT VENTURES TO BE ESTABLISHED

ARMENPRESS
FEBRUARY 7, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS: Meeting of Prime Minister of Armenia
Tigran Sargsyan and First Vice Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Zubkov
took place in Yerevan, February 7. Armenpress reports, PM Tigran
Sargsyan said during the meeting they discussed economic issues of
mutual interest. The issues particularly related to the spheres of
agriculture, agricultural engineering, acquiring of high-quality seed
and upgrading of agricultural centers. He said works are being carried
out for creation of joint ventures. “Let’s register that during the
coming months we will have few new programs connected with the creation
of new leasing companies. The joint task groups will work in Moscow for
the implementation of our arrangements,” head of Armenia’s executive
power said, expressing gratitude to the guest for the joint work.

Viktor Zubkov said positive discussion took place at the residence of
the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Programs of mutual interest,
trade circulation, implementation of investment programs were discussed
at the meeting. “The trade circulation increased by 12% amounting
to almost 1 billion USD. Billion is not a limit at all. We find new
directions for cooperation, particularly in the sphere of agriculture,”
the first vice premier of Russia said. He conveyed the greatest wish
of his state to cooperate with Armenia in different directions.

“We think of establishing “Rosselkhozbank” subsidiary in Armenia. It
is one of the powerful banks in Russia. It will work with Armenian
farmers toward crediting. We may work quite effectively,” Zubkov said.

In a month bilateral task groups will work toward implementation
of arrangements. “We see good opportunities here. There is a great
potential in the spheres of education, culture. We are also thinking
over establishing branch of Moscow State University in Yerevan,”
the Russian vice premier said.

He expressed gratitude to the President of Armenia and Prime Minister
for warm and constructive dialogue.

ARAM JULFALAKYAN WINS GOLD AT INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 6, 2012 – 13:39 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Greco-Roman wrestlers grabbed 4 medals at
Dan Koloff – Nikola Petrov International Wrestling Tournament ongoing
in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Aram Julfalakyan beat Hovhannes Varderesyan (both 66kg) to win a gold
medal in the final. Varderesyan respectively gained silver to come 2nd.

Both Arthur Lazarian (60kg) and Hrach Hovannisyan (84kg) secured
bronze medals, while Tigran Sahakyan (84 kg) finished 4th.

VOVA DIDN’T UNDERSTAND HIS MISSION
HAKOB BADALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 10:44:05 – 06/02/2012

When Vova Gasparyan was appointed Chief of Police of Armenia, Serzh
Sargsyan stated that he is the “type” of man needed for this position.

Vova Gasparyan started with a speech on the need to translate words
on reforms to actions and initiated a reshuffle. Alongside this,
the press reported private talks in which Gasparyan mocked at the
current situation in the police.

The hidden context is that the Chief of Police admits that the current
image of the police is ridiculous and the necessity to change it to
be more serious and solid and publicly respectable.

But Vova Gasparyan seems to have failed. Moreover, he appeared in an
awkward situation because of Haik Gasparyan’s case.

Haik’s case would be too funny were it not a case of sending an
innocent person to the holdover cell away from his family and home.

The police and the Chief of Police appeared in an awkward situation
while spelling out their “arguments” against Haik.

It is not ruled out that those officers and police departments which
Vova Gasparyan used to make fun of are not making fun of him looking
at how he found himself in an awkward situation, trying desperately
to prove Haik’s guilt.

Vova Gasparyan did not imagine, did not realize or has forgotten his
“mission” which had two main targets – police and domestic intrigues.

Serzh Sargsyan needed his “type” to handle these issues in order
to keep the election period under control and to run the risk of a
new kind of relations with the society, enjoying the support of the
police and not worrying that anyone will exercise their power.

Meanwhile it seems that Gasparyan himself has gone out of control.

Anyway, there is no logical explanation why Serzh Sargsyan should ever
need Haik Gevorgyan’s arrest. This incident jeopardizes Sargsyan’s
election positions both in Armenia and in an international context.

In other words, Vova Gasparyan harmed Serzh Sargsyan with his actions.

It is thus presumed that Sargsyan needs to demand explanations from
the Chief of Police, otherwise Serzh Sargsyan will look unable to keep
the situation under control, including the Chief of Police himself.

But it is less likely that the Police Chief will account for his
actions publicly. The main issue is this because only the public
mechanism of accountability will ensure the rule of law and make
officials refrain from using their powers for personal needs.

HOW DO AZERBAIJANI BLOGGERS PERCEIVE ARMENIANS?-STUDIES

Tert.am
06.02.12

International Alert, a London based NGO working on conflict resolution,
has conducted a study on how people on opposite sides of the conflicts
in the South Caucasus perceived each other.

According to Balcanicaucaso.org, a group of scholars, researchers, and
specialists was selected to examine a range of sources, from history
textbooks, to the media and blogosphere, as well as speeches made by
politicians to understand better the dynamics behind the conflicts
in the South Caucasus.

The aim of the research entitled “Myths and conflict” was to identify
key words, narratives, and other innuendos that reference the concept
of “us vs. them” or “friend vs. enemy”.

A correspondent of Balcanicaucaso.org, who was part of the research,
says she looked at the Azerbaijani blogosphere in order to identify
systemically-used stereotypes and propaganda to dehumanize Armenians
and Armenia.

The expert noted that the tone used to talk about Armenians in the
online media expressed even more hatred than in traditional media.

Referring to the Azerbaijani blogosphere, she said it has become
become more popular in Azerbaijan only in the last two to three years
despite its decade old history.

“According to the most recent Freedom House report, there are in total
about 27,000 blogs operating on various blogging platforms. Topics
vary extensively with authors writing about art, movies, food,
society, tradition, politics, social issues, and more. Of course,
among the most widely-discussed themes in blogs and popular blogs
are the Karabakh conflict, relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and negative perceptions of Armenians. Let us call them “hate blogs”,
she said.

The International Alert research found further that hatred is usually
accompanied with acute language.

“It was almost as if the authors were reassuring themselves and their
readers that the “other” was no longer a human and that it was ok to
humiliate them, belittle them, kill them, let them die, and get rid
of them all together,” she says, referring to the studies.

In another post, the author compared Armenia to a disease that should
be eradicated. “Yeah, almost forgot, the worst flu I am referring to
has a similar name to that of bird flu and swine flu, in our language,
we call it “Armenian flu”. The symptoms of this flu include hypocrisy,
fraud, and double standards” [Post originally written in Azerbaijani].

In an additional spin to the post, the author proudly added: “We are
sick with this Armenian trash! […] Hypocrisy they have, terror they
have it […] Now I think, will we even find a vaccine against this
dangerous flu? Let’s not forget: to find a vaccine is written only
in our destiny.”

At the end of the research, the author notes that many young people
in Azerbaijan have very strong positions regarding the conflict that
are unsupportive of the peace process to say the least. Based on the
findings, she highlights the need to do a great amount of work to
shift the existing negative attitudes and promote mutual understanding
between the two conflicting countries.

IRAN’S AMBASSADOR TO MOSCOW: “WE ARE READY FOR EVERYTHING TO UPHOLD THE HONOR OF IRAN”

Noyan Tapan – News from Armenia
2012-02-06 13:26:33 | | Politics

Exclusive interview of Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to
Moscow Seyed Reza Sajjadi to Mediamax.

– You mentioned in one of your recent interviews that the peace in
the region will be established in the region only if all the Western
military forces leave the region. Did Iran’s official stance change
given the fact the representative of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps Hossein Salami made a statement on January 21 according to
which there is nothing unusual about the presence of U.S. navy in
the Persian Gulf? “American navy and military forces have been in the
Persian Gulf and Near East for already many years. There is nothing
uncommon about the fact that Pentagon sends a new warship to the
region. The step should be considered in the light of maintaining
the U.S. permanent presence in the region”, he said.

– No, our stance hasn’t changed. We believe the presence of military
forces of foreign states hinders the peace in this region. As for the
statement made by Mr. Salami, he meant the presence of warships which
is indeed a common practice given the fact that there were similar
placements of such ships in the past as well. Iran has already
got used to threats and they are not new for us. For this reason,
we don’t think the presence of warships right and we support they
should leave the region.

– Some Western states threaten to take military actions against Iran.

Is Iran ready for the possible war?

– Iran is a powerful country and the Iranian people have formerly
proved that they are ready for everything to uphold their country’s
honor. In this case, we have alternative variants. But we think if
there are intelligent politicians in the U.S., they will not take such
a step any more taking into account Americans’ defeats in Afghanistan,
Iraq and other states.

– After the EU had imposed an oil embargo against Iran, Tehran decided
to make a step in return and be the first to stop oil supplies to
Europe. Who will suffer most due to this decision?

– The Western approach to Iran was unfair and based on double-standards
in the past. Currently, only 17% of our oil is exported to
Europe. Anyways, imposing an embargo can’t exert a considerable
impact on Iran. For this reason, it’s clear that Europe deprives
itself a very important “player” in oil supplies which doesn’t take
part in the political games. And the politicization of oil will be
detrimental to Europe in the first place. If buyers start imposing
an embargo to the producers and energy resources suppliers, one day
the producer will start imposing an embargo to the buyers by stopping
selling energy resources to them.

– According to the data published by the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran,
2.5 cubic meters of Iranian gas is annually imported to Armenia.

May the embargo imposed against Iran affect the import of the Iranian
gas to Armenia?

– I am sure that the embargo will no way affect the import of the
Iranian gas to Armenia as we supply gas and not oil to Armenia. The
policy of Iran is based on the principle of creating a good image on
the gas market.

– How will Armenian-Iranian relations develop in 2012?

– Iran’s strategic policy is based on the principle of establishing
the best relations with neighbors. For this reason, as a very good
partner of ours, Armenia has successfully collaborated with Iran and
this interaction will be very positive in the future as well.

– How do you assess Iranian-Azerbaijani and Iranian-Turkish relations?

– Turkey and Azerbaijan are our neighbors. Historically, we have good
relations with these countries. Of course, some arguments occur in
some cases but it’s important to remove all these discords at the
right time.

– Russia refused to sell C-300 systems to Iran several days ago. Will
Moscow’s step have an impact on Russian-Iranian relations?

– Of course, at first Iran was offended but taking into account the
historical ties between Russia and Iran we may say that the issue
is of no importance any more. We have such strong ties in various
activity spheres that the weakening of cooperation in one sphere
won’t have a serious impact on the cooperation in other spheres.

– French President Nicolas Sarkozy stated several days ago that he
would do everything not to allow the military actions against Iran to
start which according to him will lead to a war and chaos. However,
at the same time he urged the international community to impose new
sanctions against Iran. How would you comment on this statement?

– When I speak to different diplomats here in Moscow, they mention
that Sarkozy very often changes his mind – there are many ups and
downs. That’s why one shouldn’t take his words seriously. We think the
military actions against Iran will be a great mistake. And sanctions
against Iran are also a great mistake. That’s why they should recognize
our logical rights and abstain from applying double-standards to our
country instead of speaking to Iran in the language of force.

– Baku indirectly accused Tehran of recent hacker attacks to a number
of Azerbaijani sites.

– We deny these accusations. Perhaps, it was done by particular
persons but we think the internet space should be healthy, without
any interventions. And if Azerbaijanis have authentic documents and
reasons, let them turn to us and we’ll deal with the issue.

– What do you think how much possible it is for Georgia to join NATO?

And what position will Iran hold if it takes place?

– We are convinced the West is interested in Georgia’s membership to
NATO to destabilize the situation around Russia. If it takes place,
indeed it would be no way beneficial to the Georgian people, vice
versa – it will be a great loss for them. The more independent the
country, the better both for the state itself and the people.

– Have you ever been to Armenia?

– Unfortunately, I have been to Armenia only once. It was a short-term
visit for a few hours. Besides, I didn’t leave the airport where
we were holding the negotiations. I have always been interested and
attracted by the Armenian culture which has much in common with the
Iranian one. The Armenian and Iranian people are very much alike by
the warmth and hospitability. Give my regards to the Armenian people.

Iran’s Ambassador was interviewed by Narine Daneghyan specially
for Mediamax.

ARMENIAN AMERICANS URGE OBAMA TO FULFILL CAMPAIGN PLEDGE

news.am
February 06, 2012 | 12:07

Members of Congress and the Armenian Assembly expressed strong
concerns regarding Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks on
the Armenian Genocide at a town hall meeting last week, reported the
Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

In a dear colleague letter circulated today, Congressmen Adam Schiff
and Robert Dold, sponsors of the Armenian Genocide resolution,
urged Members to join them in sending a letter to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton calling on the Secretary to “disavow her ill-considered
statement.”

Expressing surprise and dismay about Secretary Hillary Clinton’s
recent remarks on the Armenian Genocide, the Assembly sent a letter
to President Barack Obama requesting swift action.

“Secretary Clinton’s response is untenable and requires immediate
remedy. Mr. President now is the time to fulfill your campaign promise
and unequivocally affirm the Armenian Genocide,” the Assembly wrote
in its letter.

“There is no debate about the historical fact of the Armenian
Genocide,” Reps. Schiff and Dold told the Assembly.

“Raphael Lemkin, a Holocaust survivor who coined the term genocide and
worked tirelessly toward the adoption of the United Nations Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, invoked
the Armenian experience as a prime example of genocide,” continued
Schiff and Dold.

“We welcome this bi-partisan initiative to set the record straight,”
stated Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “We urge human
rights activists from across the country to make sure that their
Member of Congress signs this important letter to Secretary Clinton,”
added Ardouny.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY OF ARMENIA CONFIRMS FACT OF KIDNAPPING OF ARMENIAN YOUNG MAN IN SYRIA

ARMENPRESS
FEBRUARY 6, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS: The information about kidnapping of
an Armenian young man for getting a ransom has been confirmed.

Speaking to Armenpress, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Armenia
Tigran Balayan said Armenia’s embassy to Syria confirmed the fact of
kidnapping of an Armenian young man. His identity is known but for
safety reasons is not being publicized.

Initially information was spread that two young Armenians were
kidnapped in Aleppo.

“ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” BILL IN FOCUS OF AZERBAIJANI, FRENCH MPS

TODAY.AZ
06 February 2012

A delegation led by the Deputy Chairman of the France-Caucasus
friendship group of the French Senate met with the members of the
committee on International Relations and Inter-parliamentary Ties of
the Azerbaijani Parliament on Monday, spokesman for the Parliament
Akif Tevekkuloglu told Trend today.

While on a visit to Baku, Nathalie Goulet discussed Azerbaijani-French
relations, including development of inter-parliamentary ties, Mr
Tevekkuloglu said. Special attention was paid to the law criminalizing
the denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide” adopted by the
French Senate.

The delegation includes senators Goulet, Sylvia Goy-Chavent, Jean-Marie
Bockel, Herve Maurey, Andre Reichardt and Jeanny Lorgeoux.

All senators in the delegation voted against this law.

The delegation also plans to meet with Chairman of Parliament Oqtay
Asadov.

Previously on January 23, after an eight-hour debate, the French
senate adopted the bill. Some 127 senators voted in favour, while 86
voted against. The bill demands a years imprisonment and a fine of
~@45,000 for denying the so-called “genocide.”