Author: nina hovnanian

AZERBAIJAN READY FOR BIG PEACE AGREEMENT ON KARABAKH – FM

Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 15 2014

15 October 2014, 15:25 (GMT+05:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.15
By Seba Agayeva – Trend:

Azerbaijan would wish that every meeting on the settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was effective in order
for this process to move ahead, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov said Oct.15.

He made the remarks at a briefing, commenting on the upcoming meeting
of presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

He said that Azerbaijan is ready to work on a large peace agreement.

Mammadyarov said that there was a range of proposals for the
establishment of working groups between the structures to resolve
the issues of withdrawal of troops, return of refugees, on transport,
infrastructure.

“Azerbaijan is ready to begin such negotiations at the expert level,”
the minister said. “We expect a response from the Armenian side.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

GOVERNMENT APPROVES AMD 140 MLN IN AID TO STUDENTS FROM VULNERABLE FAMILIES

16:50, 16 Oct 2014

The Armenian Government held its regular sitting today chaired by
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

Pursuant to the presidential decree numbered PD-544-N of October 15,
2014 “On 2014 winter call-up and demobilization campaign,” in order
to streamline conscription activities, the Government decided to set
up a central military draft commission, regional (including Yerevan)
committees. In addition, the Government approved the staffing of the
central medical commission. In this connection, specific instructions
were given to the Minister of Defense, the heads of other stakeholder
ministries and government departments.

The Cabinet approved the second national report under the United
Nations Human Rights Council’s universal periodic monitoring procedure
and a draft memorandum of intent, by which the Government of the
Republic of Armenia, Chronimet Mining Inc., Zangezur Copper and
Molybdenum Combine CJSC, VSEI Ventures Froup and Alyotig LLC shall
implement a program aimed at processing residual dump (tailing)
rocks generated after mineral extraction. An estimated USD200mn-worth
investment will be made to create over 1800 jobs.

In order to provide retroactive financing for the French
government-supported Vedi reservoir and irrigation system construction
project, the Government earmarked funds for progressive design and
preparation of tender documents. The amounts so allocated will be
returned to the Treasury using the proceeds of the donor organization
loan.

The Ministry of Education and Science was allocated AMD213, 838mn
from the Government’s Reserve Fund for transfer to AYB Educational
Foundation under an endowment contract.

In collaboration with the University of Cambridge and the London
Institute of Education, AYB Educational Foundation has launched the
National Program of Excellence in Education, under which international
qualification certificates will be issued to about 2 thousand Armenian
teachers over a period of ten years/ The teachers so certified who
will be entitled to implement changes and create a network for the
promotion of updated approaches in school teaching.

To provide scholarships to students from vulnerable families and border
regions, the Ministry of Education and Science was allocated AMD140mn
for transfer to Armenia Youth Foundation under an endowment contract.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL TO BE ERECTED IN GENEVA

15:40, 16 Oct 2014

An Armenian Genocide Memorial will be erected in Geneva’s Ariana Park
in the near future. Deputy Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly
Edward Sharmazanov hailed the initiative at the meeting with Claude
Hesh, the First Vice-President of the Swiss Council of States. The
meeting took place on the sidelines of the 131st Assembly of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva.

The Deputy Speaker highly appreciated the current level of
Armenian-Swiss cooperation. Sharmazanov also praised Switzerland’s
balanced position on the Karabakh issue and positively assessed the
mediating efforts towards normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

He noted, however, that Turkey continues to turn down the efforts
targeted at mending ties with Armenia and poses preconditions.

Edward Sharmazanov expressed gratitude for the adoption of a
bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide by the National Council of
Switzerland. He noted that the recognition and condemnation of such
crimes is important for their prevention in the future.

The Deputy Speaker appreciated the initiative of erecting an Armenian
Genocide memorial in Geneva’s Ariana Park. He invited Claude Hesh to
Yerevan to participate in the events dedicated to the 100thanniversary
of the Armenian Genocide.

HEAD OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN SUKHUMI APPOINTED ABKHAZIA’S DEPUTY PM

15:00, 16 Oct 2014

Head of the Armenian community of Sukhumi Suren Kerselyan has been
appointed Second Vice-President of Abkhazia and Minister of Labor
and Social Security, ITAR-TASS reports.

The new government was approved yesterday, with corresponding decrees
signed by President Raul Khadzhimba

Shamil Adzinba, the former deputy head of the State Sport Committee,
has been appointed First Vice-President. Viktor Khilchevski, will serve
as Third Deputy PM and Minister of Energy, Transport and Communication.

GOR GOES FOR THE GOAL

New University Online (Univ. of California, Irvine)
Oct 14 2014

by Jasmine Chung | Oct 14, 2014 |

It’s the 105th minute of the game and everyone is at the edge of
their seats. Senior Gor Kirakosyan (No. 10) takes his place at the
penalty kick line as he faces Loyola Marymount University’s (LMU)
goal. With the game tied at 0-0, the suspense is unbearable.

He shoots. He scores!

The crowd goes wild at LMU’s Sullivan Field as Kirakosyan runs off
pointing to the heavens, a traditional commemoration to his father and
his supporters. His teammates catch up with him to celebrate together
and for what seems like forever, everyone is in a state of pure bliss.

His friends and family are the ones who have been continuously
supportive of him and his soccer ambitions, so to Kirakosyan, it’s
only fitting to recognize all of them whenever he shoots a goal.

A little over a year prior to this amazing goal, Kirakosyan had tore
his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which forced him to redshirt for
his junior year. He did everything he could to stay on top of his game
even though he was unable to play. He was rehabilitating every day
and making an effort to continually stay fit throughout the summer
and throughout the year. However, he recalls this time being one of
the lowest points in his life because of his inability to play soccer.

“When I first got my injury, I felt hopeless. My girlfriend showed
me a video on Ronaldo (a soccer player for Brazil) who also got the
same injury as I did and how he didn’t give up but worked harder and
became a soccer legend.”

Throughout this process, his friends, family and his girlfriend were
the ones who truly made his time of loss bearable for him. Whether it
was lending moral support or a helping hand, they were always there
to comfort him in his time of need.

Kirakosyan was born and raised in Armenia with his two younger
brothers, Gary and Erik. At the young age of six, Kirakosyan started to
play recreational soccer with his siblings and his dad. At the time,
his dad was a professional Armenian soccer player and Kirakosyan
looked up to him.

He spend fifteen years in Armenia before moving to the States in 2007.

As he entered a new country right at the peak of his high school years,
he struggled with language barriers and cultural differences.

“I had a really tough time adjusting to a different lifestyle when
I moved to America. Soccer was the only thing that stayed the same,”
Kirakosyan said.

He especially found solace during these times by playing soccer. It
was a universal language to him.

“Because of my passion for the game, it helped me overcome the
obstacles that came with my move,” Kirakosyan said.

Although Kirakosyan is attending UCI and pursuing a degree in political
science, he always thought his soccer career would kick off earlier
and he would be playing professional soccer even before college. He
realized he had to attend a university to really move on and up so
when his college offers started to roll in, he thought long and hard
and eventually chose UCI.

“My girlfriend was going to UCI and I knew it was a great school. It
was a hard decision to pick UCI, but my family certainly helped me
with the final decision,” Kirakosyan said.

UCI offered everything he wanted and more. First and foremost, it
offered him a soccer scholarship. Beyond that, Kirakosyan fell in love
with Irvine’s campus and also liked that it was academically ranked.

The well-roundedness of UCI was what won him over and eventually the
decisive factor in his decision to attend.

His favorite soccer player Zinedine Zidane, who played for Madrid and
France’s National team, hugely influences Kirakosyan’s performance
on the soccer field.

“The way he plays on the field is always so enjoyable to watch and
he is always so humble. He is someone I would like to play like,”
Kirakosyan mentioned shyly.

The humility that Kirakosyan idolizes in Zidane is exemplified in
himself more so than he thinks. When making the game-winning penalty
kick in last week’s game, Kirakosyan went on to mention that none of
it would have been done without his team. Every ounce of praise he
received, he always reflects back onto his teammates.

“Soccer is not an individual sport, but a team sport, and it’s mainly
about the people around you,” Kirakosyan said.

He went on to explain that soccer goes beyond how you interact with
each other during a game, but how you study together, eat together,
work out together and live life together. Hard work definitely pays off
on the field but also off the field. By nurturing these relationships
with his teammates, he has made lifelong friends, and to him, that
is more rewarding than anything.

In all his years of playing soccer, Kirakosyan has always strived to
be more than just an excellent soccer player. “I want to be someone
who is good on and off the field. To me, it really is not about how
good you play, it’s about who you are as a person and how you respect
other people. Simply being a good soccer player will not gain you
respect,” Kirakosyan said.

Soccer has coached Kirakosyan in all aspects of his life. It influences
him to be a better person every day, benefits him physically and
mentally and motivates him to follow his passions. As he pursues a
degree in political science, he definitely has a bright future ahead
of him. But he has never taken a second glance at a backup, not even
for a second. Soccer is what he wants to do and he is determined to
reach his goals.

One day he hopes to be playing professional soccer for Major League
Soccer (MLS) or Football Club (FC) in Barcelona.

As he continues to score goals and point towards the heavens in
celebration and commemoration of all his loved ones and supporters,
they will cheer as he runs down the field and know that they helped
to make his goal possible.

VLADIMIR PUTIN IS NO SAINT, BUT G20 IS A CLUB FULL OF SINNERS

The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
October 13, 2014 Monday 11:11 AM GMT

by Michael Pascoe

The Brisbane G20 meeting is primarily an economic summit, not a
political or human rights convention. Australia’s Prime Minister is
correct to welcome Vladimir Putin to attend – if he bothers to come.

The sundry politicians trying to score points over Putin being allowed
to visit Brisbane are merely highlighting their relevance deprivation.

On this, the federal opposition leader and the Queensland premier
are fish on bicycles, tits on a bull.

If Bill Shorten was somehow Prime Minister next month, he would be
admitting Putin. Presumably he knows that. As for Campbell Newman,
we may as well canvas the opinion of the Brisbane Lord Mayor, or any
man or woman in the street.

But while Abbott is doing what he has to do as the host Prime Minister,
it would be helpful if he dropped his own political grandstanding:
his repeated description of the tragic deaths of those on board MH17 as
“murder”.

Either that or he should be consistent by calling out the murder
committed by several other G20 members.

If the states responsible for genuine murders and those that have
carried out killings equivalent to the MH17 deaths were excluded,
the Brisbane meeting would be a much smaller affair.

It’s a fair bet very few people know who makes up the G20.

Among its least savoury members is a feudal state that regularly
murders people. Saudi Arabia beheads individuals for the crime of
sorcery, among other things. Don’t try to hold a church service there
unless it’s of the approved variety – the Saudis officially go in for
a medieval, hard-line interpretation of Islam. It’s the country that
won’t even let women drive cars. Adultery? Compared with Saudi Arabia,
Russia is a bastion of democracy, a beacon of equality, a paragon of
human rights.

In some ways, Russia also looks good compared with China, or at
least rather similar. There is an opposition in Russia. Beijing
doesn’t allow such decadence. China officially kills (as in the death
sentence) more people than the rest of the world combined – and then
some. China is only slowly and partially repealing its appalling
(and economically damaging) one-child policy. You don’t have to be
a Right-to-Lifer to consider cases of near-full-term abortion to be
murder. Best not mention the occupation of Tibet or the oppression
of the Uyghur minority. When it comes to encroaching on borders and
unilaterally taking liberties, ask Vietnam and the Philippines what
they think of China’s South China Sea behaviour.

Turkey is another G20 member, a wonderful and interesting country,
a NATO member and, unlike the three already mentioned, a genuine
democracy. It’s in a very tricky position with some extremely
difficult neighbours, but if you want to start fingering countries
being responsible for ghastly deaths, it’s the one that has not been
permitting reinforcements for Kobane to cross its border as Daesh
attacks the city with murderous intent. Turkish tanks stand mute. And
Turkey is actively supporting some of the worse elements of the Libyan
anarchy as President Erdogan takes an increasingly interventionist
and apparently religion-based world view. Turkey also has never shown
the maturity required to face up to the Armenian genocide. But with
the 100th anniversary coming up of our failed attempt to invade the
country, absolutely none of that is to be mentioned.

Among the democracies (and fifth overall in the world), the greatest
perpetrator of official killing is the United States, but when it
comes to terrible deaths similar to the MH17 victims, the US is the
unchallenged leader this century with a figure well into six figures
and still rising. I haven’t heard an Australian Prime Minister suggest
an American President was responsible for “murder”.

This is where it’s necessary to spell out why the MH17 victims weren’t
“murdered”, as Tony Abbott keeps claiming – or agree that the US,
UK, Australia and others are guilty of the same crime.

No-one has suggested the pro-Russian side of the Ukrainian war
intended to shoot down a neutral civilian airliner. They thought
they were targeting a Ukrainian plane. It was an accident. The MH17
victims were, to use the cold American euphemism that’s now universal,
collateral damage.

It was a mistake – and an expensive mistake for Russia as it focussed
attention for a while on a war that most nations gave little attention
to. Sanctions were strengthened a touch, in the generally hypocritical
way such sanctions are imposed .

When American drones and planes accidentally kill civilians – totally
innocent children among them – our Prime Minister does not call that
murder. When Israel, with far greater knowledge of who was on the
ground, killed children in Gaza, our Prime Minister and did not call
it murder.

When the “Coalition of the Willing” rained artillery down on Iraqi
cities in 2003, the four nations that contributed personnel to the
invasion knew they were killing innocent civilians. Some would have
been citizens of other countries. Those four nations were the US,
UK, Poland and Australia.

The total civilian death toll in Iraq from the war and the subsequent
and now increasing mayhem it unleashed is greater than the total number
of Australians killed in all wars. It has been a most dreadful accident
based on intelligence as bad or worse than that which led someone to
fire a missile at a plane that turned out to be a Malaysian airliner.

So please drop the cheap “murder” rhetoric. It might play well in the
domestic polls and sound heroic – “we warn the Tsar” – but it’s wrong.

The Russian leadership is dreadful, a paranoid, corrupt and brutal
kleptocracy that betrays and kills its own people, never mind the
neighbours. It unconscionably throws its weight around in its perceived
sphere of influence, the way major powers have always done.

If Australia enjoyed independent foreign policy based on principle
and we didn’t rush to join wrong wars (Vietnam, Iraq 2), we would be
free to condemn all such behaviour without the taint of hypocrisy.

But the G20 meeting is not about the great and good, about justice
and the human rights.

It’s about collective economic self-interest. And that, if it’s
successful, will make life better for billions of people.

Thus the occasional thug and despot has to be accepted in the mix for
the greater good. Exclude them and the nations that have made fatal
mistakes, there would be no meeting.

Michael Pascoe is a BusinessDay contributing editor

FULL TEXT: PUTIN SPEAKS AT SUPREME EURASIAN ECONOMIC COUNCIL SUMMIT MEETING

The Prague Post, Czech Republic
October 13, 2014

The Russian president welcomes Armenia to union, talks about
relationship with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the Supreme Eurasian
Economic Council summit meeting Oct. 10, where along with the
presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia, he discussed current
financial, organizational and technical matters related to the start
of the Eurasian Economic Union’s work Jan. 1, 2015.

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Colleagues,

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are making steady progress on the
Eurasian integration track. Our parliaments timed the ratification
of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union for this meeting in Minsk.

As we agreed, the Eurasian Economic Union will start work on Jan. 1,
2015.

This marks our transition to a new and higher integration stage that
will make us more effective in modernizing our countries’ economies
and making them competitive. We will carry out a coordinated policy in
the key industrial sectors, energy, and agriculture. We will remove
the barriers in the way of free movement of goods, services, capital
and labor. The common Eurasian market will start to operate according
to universal, transparent and clear rules based on the World Trade
Organisation’s regulations and principles.

Our integration project is already producing practical results. Trade
within the Customs Union has increased by 50 percent since July 1,
2011, and now comes to more than 64 billion dollars. We have improved
our trade structure. Processed goods have gradually started replacing
raw materials. Their share has risen considerably, while the share
of raw materials has fallen from 40 percent to 28.9 percent.

It is very important that the public in our countries broadly supports
this policy of closer integration. Public opinion surveys carried out
by the Eurasian Development Bank show that 79 percent of people in
Russia, 68 percent of people in Belarus, and 84 percent of people in
Kazakhstan take a positive view of the Customs Union’s work. We need to
repay this very high level of trust with tangible results and continued
improvements in the wellbeing and living standards of our peoples.

Colleagues, we will sign today the agreement on Armenia’s accession to
the Eurasian Economic Union. I hope that our countries’ parliaments
will put in just as coordinated an effort to approve it by the end
of the year.

We think that Armenia is ready for working in the Eurasian Economic
Union on an equal footing with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. In
a relatively short space of time, starting in autumn 2013, our
Armenian friends have brought their economic regulations into line
with our common standards and their national laws into line with our
organization’s rules.

We hope to see positive macroeconomic effects in the first year or
two following Armenia’s accession. Our three countries’ trade with
Armenia is growing fast as it is and has been adding up to 10 percent
every year. Removing trade and administrative barriers will, I hope,
only further consolidate this trend. Other key indicators such as GDP,
consumer demand, real incomes, and employment should also improve.

Today, we will approve the roadmap for Kyrgyzstan’s integration into
the Common Economic Space. It will complement the plan for adapting
Kyrgyzstan’s economy to the Customs Union standards, which was adopted
at the May summit in Astana.

We understand that our colleagues in Kyrgyzstan need help in improving
national laws and carrying out structural transformation. Russia
already provides such assistance through our bilateral agreements. We
hope to combine our efforts with those of our Belarusian and
Kazakhstani partners.

Aside from Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, other countries and regional
organizations are also showing interest in working with the Eurasian
Economic Union. The Eurasian Economic Commission has already received
several dozen proposals for establishing preferential trade regimes.

We think we should work more actively on this external relations
dossier. In particular, we could soon complete talks on a
draft agreement on a free trade zone with Vietnam, step up expert
consultations with Israel, India and Egypt, and continue developing the
dialogue with the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and with ASEAN.

I want to say a few words about relations with our neighbor, Ukraine,
in light of the EU Association Agreement it has signed.

The heads of state of our three countries met here in Minsk in August
with the Ukrainian President and EU representatives. Kiev and Brussels
listened to our arguments and decided to postpone implementation of
the Association Agreement’s economic part until December 31, 2015. We
now have the possibility of making adjustments to provisions in the
agreement that could cause considerable damage to the economies of
the Customs Union countries and to our traditional trade ties with
Ukraine. Of course, these talks will not be easy and we will need
to take a consolidated position so as to convince our partners to
stop making it an either-or choice between European and Eurasian
integration and choose instead to link the two projects together.

Colleagues, I want to say again that Eurasian integration is taking
on objectively ever greater importance in our countries’ lives. This
requires us all to coordinate our work even more closely and make
sure that we keep up the pace. We still need to approve around 50
documents on financial and organizational aspects of the Eurasian
Economic Union’s work by the end of the year.

I propose that we hold our next meeting in December in Moscow, to
conclude the preparations. I have already discussed this with President
of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and President of Belarus Alexander
Lukashenko, and now I want to say it officially at our meeting. I
want to thank you all too for your attention.

Thank you very much.

IRAN TO COMMENCE CONSTRUCTION OF POWER TRANSMISSION LINE WITH ARMENIA

TendersInfo
October 12, 2014 Sunday

Plans are in place to commence construction of a power transmission
line with Armenia within the next 3 months, said, Iran’s Deputy Energy
Minister Houshang Falahatian, referring to a contract stipulating
for Iranian gas supplies to Armenia in exchange for energy.

According to the official, construction of a new power transmission
line was recently discussed with Armenia, specifying the financing
sources. The Export Development bank of Iran will be offering funding
for the same.

With a period of next 3 months, preparations are to be finalized.

Construction of a line will be initiated enabling increased amounts
of energy and gas supplies.

MINISTER: AZERBAIJANI CITIZENS ARRESTED IN KARABAKH MUST BEAR RESPONSIBILITY

20:36, 14.10.2014

YEREVAN. – Azerbaijani citizens arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh are
criminals and should bear responsibility for their actions, Armenian
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said on Tuesday at the meeting in
the French University in Armenia.

Earlier Azerbaijan has applied to the number of international agencies
– UN, OSCE, the Council of Europe – with a demand to take moves to
return two Azerbaijanis arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Minister said the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is authorized to deal
with the matter.

“However, as far as I know they are criminals and must be held
accountable for their actions,” Ohanyan said.

An Azerbaijani diversion group was neutralized in Karvachar Region
of NKR. Two members of the Azerbaijani group Dilgam Askerov and
Shahbaz Guliyev are in custody, the third member was killed while
being detained.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

FIRST AGRICULTURAL STOCK-TAKING TO IDENTIFY CHANGES IN AGRICULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE

YEREVAN, October 14. / ARKA /. The first agricultural stock-taking in
Armenia will form a unique database and help identify changing trends
in agricultural infrastructure, as well as improve the statistics,
the National Statistical Service (NSS) said.

The first general agricultural inventory started on October 11 and
will last until October 31. The inventory is a national comprehensive
event conducted to register all natural and legal persons involved
in production of agricultural products, NSS said.

The inventory will be conducted once every ten years. Agricultural
producers are asked to fill in special questionnaires. The inventory
is mandatory for all.

The anonymity of the provided information is guaranteed by law,
NSS said. A sample of the questionnaire is available at the National
Statistical Service’s official website. -0