Author: nina hovnanian

SECOND RUSSIAN HANDBALL TEAM TO VISIT ARMENIA

Tert.am
31.10.11

The second Russian handball team is visiting Armenia to attend the
Prime Minister’s Cup next month.

The Russian Handball Federation has told the Armenian sports website
Armsport.am that the first team which had arrived in capital Yerevan
last week is not scheduled to participate in the tournament.

The competitions expected to bring together the national teams of
Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Armenia are due in Yerevan’s Dinamo
Stadium between November 12 and 14.

LES EMPLOYES DE LA CENTRALE NUCLEAIRE ARMENIENNE REPRENNENT LE TRAVAIL APRES UNE AUGMENTATION DE SALAIRE
Stephane

armenews.com
lundi 31 octobre 2011

Les douzaines d’employes de la Centrale Nucleaire de Medzamor qui
avaient cesse le travail la semaine passee, ont accepte de se remettre
au travail lundi, après avoir accepte l’augmentation de salaire de
dix pourcent offerte par le gouvernement.

Le Ministre armenien de l’Energie et des Ressources Naturelles
a annonce l’augmentation de salaire plusieurs heures après les
negociations engagees entre les representants des employes et le
Ministre de l’Energie Armen Movsisian.

Plus de 150 d’entre eux avaient cesse le travail a Medzamor vendredi
un mois après avoir demande que l’administration de la centrale
augmente leurs salaires de 50 pourcent ou les libère de leurs
engagements. Ils ont insiste sur le caractère dangereux de leur
travail et l’augmentation du coût de la vie dans le pays.

L’administration et le comite de protestation s’etaient mis d’accord
sur une augmentation de 20 a 30 pourcent au cours des ultimes
conversations tenues le jour meme. Mais le compromis avait fait
l’objet du veto du ministère Movsisian. Ce dernier avait offert une
augmentation de salaire plus modeste que celle envisagee au cours
des discussions de lundi.

Dans une courte declaration, le ministre a dit que le salaire moyen
des 450 employes permanents qui font tourner l’unique reacteur de
la centrale et ses annexes sera augmente de 10 pourcent. Tous les
employes protestataires, parmi lesquels des ingenieurs de haut rang,
travaillent ici. Selon l’administration de l’usine, ils gagnent en
moyenne 277 500 drams par mois (740 $) ;

Les representants des employes ont discute les propositions avec
leurs collègues avant de donner leur reponse. “Ce n’etait pas une
proposition particulièrement genereuse. Mais nous l’avons acceptee
pour rabaisser la tension”, a dit l’un d’entre eux, Karen Karapetian
au service Armenie de RFE/RL (Azatutyun.am).

“Personne n’est content”, a dit un autre travailleur. “Mais que
pouvons nous faire ? Il nous faut aller de l’avant pour notre pays
et nos familles”.

Entre temps, le Ministre de l’Energie et des Ressources Naturelles,
par la voix de sa porte-parole, Lusine Harutunian, a insiste sur le
fait que l’arret collectif du travail n’a pas compromis la securite de
la centrale, qui date de l’ère sovietique. “Il n’y a aucun problème de
securite, et le fonctionnement de la centrale nucleaire est normal”,
a-t-elle dit au service Armenie de RFE/RL.

L’unique reacteur en fonctionnement, qui produit près de 40 % de
l’electricite d’Armenie, a ete mis a l’arret le 5 septembre pour
des reparations prophylactiques normales et son reapprovisionnement
partiel. Il aurait du etre demarre le 21 octobre.

Selon la declaration du ministère, le reacteur de Metsamor est
actuellement soumis a des essais finaux et va produire de l’energie
très rapidement. Mais il n’a donne concrètement aucune date.

Vahram Petrosian, chef de l’institut de recherches d’etat Hayatom
sur l’energie nucleaire, a attribue le retard du demarrage a la
demission collective. “C’est un phenomène inedit, une methode de lutter
totalement fausse” a dit Petrosian en faisant allusion a l’arret de
travail. “Cela aurait pu conduire a de très mauvaises choses”.

Traduction Gilbert Beguian

ALLEGED PKK SUPPORTERS CLASH WITH TURKS IN PARIS, 15 INJURED

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 31, 2011 – 13:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Fifteen people were wounded, one of them seriously,
on Sunday, October 30, when a group of alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) supporters attacked Turkish anti-terror demonstrators in Paris.

Turkish citizens gathered in Bastille Square in Paris in the late
afternoon to protest the recent terrorist attacks when alleged PKK
supporters assaulted them with sticks and stones, Hurriyet Daily News
reported citing Dogan News Agency.

VAN A GHOST TOWN AFTER EARTHQUAKE: EPRESS.AM CORRESPONDENT IN TURKEY

epress.am
10.31.2011

First impressions after arriving in Van are more positive than
negative. In my opinion, the media has exaggerated some situations
in Van following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey’s
eastern region over a week ago, reports the Epress.am correspondent
on the scene who arrived in Van on Saturday.

“There is much help arriving in the disaster zone, but there are
serious issues in its delivery. Tents are arriving, as are food and
clothes, but there is need for more professional distribution of these
goods. There are many complaints. There are few points of distribution
and the lines are very long.

“Rescue teams are already starting to clean up the area, but there
is not much hope that there are people alive beneath the rubble.

“A serious problem over the past two days has been the cold weather.

It is 2º Celsius during the day and 0º at night. Some of the tents
that have been delivered are summer tents and they won’t be able to
keep people warm in these cold weather conditions.

“Though someone who just arrived in Van might get the impression
that life is returning to normal, that’s not quite the case. People
are afraid: they don’t want to return to their buildings so they
continue to live in tents. Many have left the city. At night, there
are no lights on in the streets and in buildings – Van has become a
ghost town.

“After several conversations [with local residents] I can say that
people in Van don’t trust the government anymore. They don’t even
believe the local Kurdish municipal authorities [note: Van is mostly
populated by Kurds].

“They are waiting for confirmation and a hopeful declaration from
the state that it will assume the task of quickly rebuilding the city.

“‘We went back 15 years,’ the owner of our hotel told me. This is
an assessment heard often in today’s Van,” reports the Epress.am
correspondent in Van.

OMBUDSMAN TO LAUNCH HOTLINE SERVICE

Tert.am
31.10.11

Armenia’s human rights defender, in collaboration with nine
non-governmental organizations, is re-opening his rapid response
service.

To enhance the efficiency of the Ombudsman’s Office work, it is
planned launch a free hotline on November 1. Citizens facing abuse
by law enforcement agencies (Police, Prosecutor’s Office, Special
Investigative Service, National Security) will be able to contact
the service by dialing 166.

The Ombudsman’s Office will offer counseling services; upon necessity,
it will also make site (institution) visits and verify or transfer
information to a competent body.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT NEGOTIATING ON NEW OPERATOR FOR NAIRIT PLANT

Tert.am
31.10.11

The Armenian government considers it important that EurAsEC issued
its loan after the operator for the Nairit plant has been found,
lest the government take additional risks, Armenian Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan said at the first economic conference held by the
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA).

“Last year the Armenian government applied to the EurAsEC anti-crisis
fund for discussing a modernization program for Nairit. The program
will be thoroughly discussed. The ant-crisis fund sent experts to
Armenia who studied the country’s chemical industry and drafted a
comprehensive document to accurately estimate the prospects and place
of Nairit in the industry. At present, we need an operator ready to
manage Nairit.

“We are now negotiating for the huge sums to be provided to a reliable
partner with professional experience in this field. On the other
hand, the government must be secured against extra expenses. When
the work is completed, we will present it to society. The problem
has so far remained unsolved because Nairit is a large plant. It is
a promising enterprise and can be developed in various directions,”
Premier Sargsyan said.

The government is discussing with a German company developing a
technical business program. “We are also negotiating with a number
of other companies, as well as with the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank,” the Armenian premier said.

Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 29 2011

Azerbaijan and Turkey to lay new pipeline to export Caspian gas

27 October 2011, 20:11 (GMT+05:00) Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 27 / Trend /

To export most of 50 billion cubic meters of gas that Azerbaijan
intends to produce by 2025, Baku and Ankara intend to build a new gas
pipeline to Turkey, the President of SOCAR (State Oil Company of
Azerbaijan) Rovnag Abdullayev said on Thursday.

Azerbaijan and Turkey have agreed to consider the construction of the
pipeline, Abdullayev said in an interview with the ANS TV channel,
posted on the official website of the State Oil Company.

With the increase in gas production in the region, the pipeline
capacity will be increased. This project will be implemented by two
states, but the participation of foreign companies is possible,
Abdullayev said.

Participants of this project intend to complete solution of all issues
on this pipeline in 2012, and without delay, start building in order
to make it ready by the end of 2017, when the second stage of
development of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field will
launch.

Abdullayev said that on Tuesday in Izmir, Turkey and Azerbaijan signed
15 documents, including an agreement to sell gas to Turkey from the
Shah Deniz-2 in 2017, and an agreement on transit of gas from Shah
Deniz-2 to Turkey in 2017-2042 via the networks of Turkish Botas State
Pipeline Company.

These agreements constitute a complete package of documents for the
transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey’s border with Greece and
Bulgaria. In fact, all conditions have been created for realization of
projects of the Southern Gas Corridor, which will connect the Caspian
region to Europe. The interests of all existing users of the Turkish
gas transportation system, as well as the interests of Azerbaijan have
been taken into account in the preparation of the transit agreement,
which took about five years, Abdullayev said.

According to him, in late 2011 – early 2012, the partners on Shah
Deniz will complete the selection of the pipeline project, which will
enable to export Azerbaijani gas to Europe. These projects include
ITGI, TAP, Nabucco, and the version proposed by BP, envisaging
delivering gas via Turkey to the Balkan countries.

Exclusive: U.S. considers unusual arms deal for Turkey

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON | Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:55pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is consulting Congress
on an unusual proposal to transfer U.S. Marine Corps attack
helicopters to Turkey, U.S. officials said on Thursday, as Ankara
tries to exact revenge for a major attack by Kurdish separatists.

Turkey, a NATO ally, has been seeking AH-1 SuperCobra helicopters to
replace those lost in its long struggle against separatist rebels from
the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Under the administration’s plan, the Marines would get two new,
late-model Textron Inc Bell AH-1Z SuperCobras in exchange for the
three AH-1W aircraft that would be transferred to Ankara from current
inventory, a congressional official said.

The officials declined to be identified because of the matter’s
sensitivity and because they were not authorized to speak on the
record. The idea to take weapons from the U.S. arsenal was rare, they
said.

The proposal has been held up amid lawmakers’ questions about
increasingly distant relations between Muslim-majority Turkey and
Israel, a key U.S. ally, among other matters.

The AH-1W has sold previously for about $10 million. Turkey bought 10
of them in the 1990s. The larger, twin-engine AH-IZ may sell for about
$30 million, according to industry sources.

Under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, the executive branch must
provide 15 days’ formal notice to Congress before going ahead with
significant arms transfers to a NATO partner. It was not immediately
clear when such notice might take place, with informal congressional
consultations continuing.

Turkey last week launched air and ground assaults on Kurdish militants
in northern Iraq, vowing to exact “great revenge” after 24 Turkish
troops were killed on October 19 in one of the deadliest Kurdish
attacks in years.

The PKK is designated a terrorist group by the United States. It is
waging a 27-year-old war from bases inside Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan
region. The administration’s proposal to transfer the helicopters
pre-dates the October 19 attack on Turkish forces near the border with
Iraq.

The United States and Turkey have a strong tradition of military
cooperation, both bilaterally and inside the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.

Turkey agreed last month to host a powerful U.S.-supplied radar system
to act as advanced eyes for a layered shield against ballistic
missiles coming from outside Europe.

The AN/TPY-2 surveillance radar in Turkey will boost the shield’s
capability against Iran, which Washington alleges is seeking to build
nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Azerbaijan elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council

armradio.am
25.10.2011 12:39

Azerbaijan will become a member of the Security Council after winning
the final vacancy on the 15-member body during voting in New York.

Azerbaijan claimed the non-permanent seat, awarded to an Eastern
European country, on the 17th round of balloting after it scored 155
votes from United Nations Member States in the General Assembly – well
clear of the necessary two-thirds majority of States present and
voting. Slovenia received 13 votes and Hungary one vote.

The country’s victory occurred after Slovenia, which was also a
candidate for the same Eastern European seat, withdrew its bid at the
end of the 16th round. In that round Azerbaijan had obtained 116 votes
to Slovenia’s 77.

Azerbaijan, which will hold the seat in 2012-13, succeeds Bosnia and
Herzegovina.

Four other non-permanent seats for 2012-13 were filled on Friday when
Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo were successful in earlier
rounds of voting. All non-permanent seats are allocated according to a
geographical formula.

The five new members will join Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and
South Africa, whose terms end on 31 December 2012, and the five
permanent Council members, which each wield the power of veto – China,
France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Recarving of Borders

Igor Muradyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:33:14 – 24/10/2011

The United States is actively engaged in political and geopolitical
ensuring of the withdrawal or partial withdrawal of its troops from
Afghanistan, as it is trying to present. First it is necessary to
prepare the `soil’ in Central Asia, which is necessary to control the
whole of Eurasia. Apparently, the military and political presence of
the U.S. will be increased in this area, while it remains unclear what
will happen to the south of the region, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghanistan has never been an end in itself in the U.S. strategy, but
just an arena of implementation of inner American strategy to fulfill
the main repression of China, as well as to control the South and
Central Asia. It makes no sense to continue the operation in
Afghanistan. The reason is not the fact that it turned out impossible
to ensure a controlled situation here. The U.S. came out unable to
control Pakistan, as the main `headache’ in the region, with the help
of influence in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, along with Turkey, is becoming a more uncontrolled partner
of the U.S. and there is a tendency of complete exit of control.
Moreover, right the situation in Afghanistan, where Americans more or
less successfully inhibit a variety of brutal purposes, allows
Pakistan to express and deal with different, openly hostile affairs
against the U.S.

Along with various anti-American actions of Pakistan in Afghanistan,
this country becomes an actor in the pro-China block and goes on
harming to the interests of India, a U.S. partner of priority in the
large South and Central Asia region and a fundamental actor in the
policies of repression of China. The U.S. has tolerated this behavior
of Pakistan until there were hopes for its `betterment’ and revision
of foreign policy. But it is not happening and will never happen.
Pakistan has been the heart of brutality since the very beginning of
its creation and it goes on being such.

The assistance and support of Saudi Arabia, U.S. partner, which became
the man sponsor of the nuclear and military programs of Pakistan, do
not lead to the limitation of the Pakistani ambitions at all.

There are no doubts that the U.S. started a process of political and
technological fragmentation of Afghanistan and Pakistan on
regional-ethnic grounds. Apparently, Americans decided that this
policy will first of all become the reason of political and military
powerlessness of these states, and secondly, the atmosphere of total
chaos will lead to better results in the policy of repression of
China. This version has always been a reserve one in the U.S. policy,
but the Americans, anyway, hoped for a different outcome of their
large-scale efforts.

This nightmarish prospect will undoubtedly have a strong impact on the
South Caucasus. The region will need to strengthen the protection that
would lead to greater external dependency of the region. However, the
role and importance of the South Caucasus in the U.S. geostrategy will
increase significantly. This prospect worries much Iran and China, and
Russia.

Turkey and its satellite Azerbaijan will try to get some benefit from
this new situation, but no one can say for whom all this will result
in big trouble. A new global game begins, and there will be no place
for regional intrigues here. But the biggest problem, of course, is
the leveling and the removal of Pakistan’s nuclear potential. Do
Americans plan to carry out this operation? Does the U.S. need
partners in carrying out this operation