Author: nina hovnanian

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT LEADS TO BILATERAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN URUGUAY, ARMENIA

CISTran Finance
July 14 2014

July 14, 2014 8:30 AM
By Lisa Barron

Armenia and Uruguay signed a number of bilateral agreements on
Wednesday after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s two-day visit
trip to the Latin American country.

Sargsyan and Uruguayan President Jose Mujika signed an agreement
on economic cooperation, an agreement on visa-free entry for common
passport holders, and a framework agreement, ARKA reports.

Armenia’s ministry of sports and youth affairs and Uruguay’s ministry
of tourism and sports also signed a cooperation agreement.

The two presidents said regular bilateral visits and contact between
the two foreign ministries is important for addressing issues of
mutual interest, according to ARKA.

Before traveling to Uruguay, Sargsyan visited Argentina from July
6-8 and is currently in Chile until Saturday.

RPA: IF AZERBAIJAN CONTINUES ITS SABOTAGE ATTACKS, ARMENIA MAY CHANGE ITS “BENEVOLENCE” TOWARDS NAKHIJEVAN AND ENSURE DIRECT RAILWAY SERVICE WITH IRAN VIA TERRITORY OF NAKHIJEVAN

by Tatevik Shahunyan

Monday, July 14, 19:33

The permanent sabotage attacks of Azerbaijan demonstrate that the
war in the Karabakh conflict zone is not over, Hovhannes Sahakyan,
member of the Republican Party of Armenia, Head of the Armenian State
Parliamentary Commission for State and Legal Affairs, has told ArmInfo
correspondent.

He thinks that the permanent Azeri sabotage attacks on the Line
of Contact with Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as on the Armenian-Azeri
border can be explained by Baku’s diplomatic fiasco at the table of
negotiations on the Karabakh conflict settlement. “The status quo is
maintained in the conflict zone and Nagorno-Karabakh is a de facto
independent state. Therefore, Baku is eager to compensate for its
losses by sabotage attacks”, he says.

He also says that despite Armenia’s commitment to peace, if Azerbaijan
continues its strategy of sabotage attacks, Armenia may change its
“benevolence” towards Nakhijevan and ensure a direct railway service
with Iran via the territory of Nakhijevan.

Sahakyan thinks that the international community should adequately
assess the actions of Azerbaijan. “I consider that under the current
conditions the statements of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and
the international community should be targeted, clear and harsh and
should be addressed to the party, which is guilty of destabilizing the
situation. In this case, it is Azerbaijan, which has already started
mounting sabotage attacks on Armenia’s territory as well”, he says.

To note, Azeris made new attempts to mount a sabotage attack on the
Armenian-NKR section of the border (near Karvachar) last week. The
Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry has told ArmInfo that they revealed
and neutralized all members of the Azerbaijani subversive group. Some
members of the group were captured, and others escaped. As reported
earlier, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army released a photo of
Gyulin Shahbaz Jalaloghlu (born in 1968), the captured member of the
Azerbaijani sabotage and intelligence team. Defense Minister Seyran
Ohanyan informed on Saturday that the Armenian soldiers killed an
Azerbaijani saboteur while neutralizing the subversive group on
Friday. But an Armenian officer, major Sarkis Abrahamyan (born in
1972) was killed and an Armenian woman, Karina Davtyan (born in 1977)
was wounded.

GROUP OF CYPRIOTS FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST TURKEY

July 14, 2014 | 17:04

A group of Cypriots has filed a war crimes complaint against Turkey
at the International Criminal Court.

They ask to launch an investigation into Turkey’s crimes committed in
the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, “in particular the growing
number of Turkish settlements in the occupied lands”, ITAR-TASS
reported.

The lawsuit has been filed by Cypriot European Parliament member
Costas Mavrides and association called Cypriots Against Turkish War
Crimes. The group unites refugees who were forced to abandon their
homes as a result of Turkey’s armed invasion.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

KAREN VRTANESYAN. “WE ARE REALLY AT WAR.”

July 15 2014

“In any war, intelligence, penetration or subversive acts are
registered. But we are really at war, because it is cease-fire, and
not a peace treaty. But to associate this with external global and
other phenomena, I do not think, it’s right,” so responded campaign
researcher, Karen Vrtanesyan, to the question of Aravot.am of whether
the recent days registered border military and subversive acts are
associated with foreign policy developments. Recall that on July 9,
in the afternoon, and the morning of July 10, the Azerbaijani armed
forces fired at the village of Chinari. Subversive acts were carried
out in Karvachar. In the conversation with us, Karen Vrtanesyan
noted that the subversive, intelligence and military acts are part
of regular military operations, like for instances, bombardments and
skirmishes. Later, he stressed, “Such acts also have a psychological
effect, regardless of whether they were designed specifically for this
purpose or not. Any military action, if successful, has a demoralizing
effect on the enemy. In this specific case, the operations by the
Azerbaijan side on the border have also a psychological effect.” To
the question of Aravot.am of whether as a result of implementing
a specific policy of information it is possible to neutralize the
psychological effect, Karen Vrtanesyan responded, “It is possible,
for example, the right coverage of such actions, when the data are
not inflated and are not presented by additional emotions.” Referring
to Azerbaijan’s military and subversive acts, the expert noted,
“In this given case, the primary goal of the opponents’ actions is
that they are covered in the press. Therefore, if it is possible to
be restrained in the coverage, then these actions would lose their
meaning. But under today’s competitive environment of information
field, such actions, one way or another, reach their goal.” According
to Karen Vrtanesyan, the authorities, to avoid this situation, should
possibly try to provide timely, efficient and accurate information.

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

HESPERION XXI REVIEW – A GLORIOUS MEDIEVAL MELTING POT OF MUSIC

Sir Jack Lyons concert hall, York
Jordi Savall’s early music ensemble connects three great ancient
musical cultures – Jewish, Islamic and Christian

Alfred Hickling The Guardian, Tuesday 15 July 2014 15.18 BST

Tending the early music flame … Jordi Savall of Hespèrion XXI.

Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images

Centuries of trade and conflict between the Christian and Arab-Islamic
worlds brought textiles, spices and bowed stringed instruments to
Europe. No one knows precisely when the violin’s middle-eastern
ancestors first infiltrated the Mediterranean; though there does not
appear to be one of them that the great Catalan viol player Jordi
Savallhas not been able to master.

Since founding the early music ensemble Hespèrion XX in 1974 (the
group gained an additional numeral at the turn of the millennium),
Savall has been one of the world’s greatest exponents of the viol
de gamba and its variants. For this opening concert of the 2014 York
early music festival, he focused on a family of instruments including
the cello-likerubab and its smaller cousin the lira, that were first
depicted in 10th-century manuscripts.

The programme demonstrated how – until the expulsion of the Jews in
the 15th century – the Iberian peninsula formed the nub of three
great medieval cultures, Jewish, Islamic and Christian, in which
Provencal troubadour song, Sephardic ceremonial music and Arabic maqam
blended in a glorious musical melting pot. Presented as a continuous
improvisation, the music was the product of mercurial virtuosity and
scholarly guesswork, as very little secular instrumental music from
the middle ages was written down. It also indicated how fluid the
definition of early music has become, as some of the rhythmic figures
and microtonal inflections might strike an Armenian traditional
musician as entirely contemporary. As an encore, Savall prefaced a
Kurdish dance from Syria with a prayer for peace in the region. Savall
carries the title of official Unesco goodwill ambassador; and though
his music may not be sufficient to quell the conflict, he can at
least tend the flame of one of the world’s oldest civilisations.

* Listen again on BBC iPlayer until 17 July. The York early music
festivalcontinues until 19 July.

KARABAKH LAUNCHES CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST AZERBAIJANI SABOTEURS

16:33 * 15.07.14

The law enforcements authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh have launched a
criminal proceeding against two detained members of the Azerbaijani
subversive group that last week attempted toinfiltrate into the
territory of Karvachar.

The detained saboteurs are identified as Shahbaz Jalaogly Guliev,
46, and Dilham Gardashkha, 54.

Weapons and other supplies used by the men for subversive operations
and spying have been seized.

The Nagorno-Karabakh General Prosecutor’s Office created a special
investigative task force that includes representatives from the
corresponding subdivisions of the National Security Service and
the Police.

The case is under the proceeding of the National Security Service. An
inquest is under way.

Armenian News – Tert.am

VUCIC AND DODIK DIFFER ON ERDOGAN’S STATEMENT

Politics | July 14, 2014 | 15:11

BELGRADE — Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar VuÄ~MiÄ~G says he “wants
to believe” his Turkish counterpart did not make a controversial
statement as reported over the weekend.

(Beta)

According to some media outlets in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said that anyone who “touches” Bosniaks would have “100
million Turks up against them.”

Bosnia is made up of the Serb Republic (RS) and the Muslim
(Bosniak)-Croat Federation (FBiH) entities, and leader of the Serb
entity Milorad Dodik arrived in Belgrade on Monday for “urgent
consultations” with VuÄ~MiÄ~G and Foreign Minister Ivica DaÄ~MiÄ~G.

They addressed a news conference together, and unlike VuÄ~MiÄ~G,
Dodik said he believed that Erdogan said “precisely” what was reported.

“Dodik has a right to his conclusions, and we to ours. I want to
believe Turkish Ambassador in Belgrade Kemal Bozay who told me the
statement was not made, but I have no right to negate or dismiss
Dodik’s concerns,” VuÄ~MiÄ~G said.

The prime minister then noted that “not all Turkish embassies in the
region provided the same answer” when it came to Erdogan’s reported
remark, and also that “if he believed the statement was made, Serbia’s
response would have been much stronger.”

VuÄ~MiÄ~G also urged Ankara to bear in mind “the fragile stability”
in the region.

But Dodik stressed he was “certain” Erdogan made the statement,
noting that “if he is able to ban Twitter, he’s able to remove his
statement from some media.”

“Turkey’s intentions are dangerous to us because their policy
is turning out to be one of taking sides and protecting only the
interests of Bosniaks. I believe that the statement was made, in
that manner. Turkey is a powerful country and can manipulate with,
‘it was, and was not made’,” Dodik was quoted as saying.

He stressed that the RS expected Erdogan’s cabinet to issue a denial,
“or at least that the (Turkish) foreign minister would do that”
rather than the Turkish embassy in Sarajevo, “which twisted facts on
previous occasions.”

Ivica DaÄ~MiÄ~G also addressed reporters to say that “Serbia does not
know for certain” if Erdogan make the statement, and added that he
“still expected international factors to react.”

DaÄ~MiÄ~G noted that such a statement would be “absolutely contrary to
what Turkish officials are saying about wanting to be a constructive
factor in the Balkans, and have good relations with Serbia” –
something reiterated during his recent visit to Belgrade by Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

DEUTSCHE WELLE: TURKISH PM TO PROTECT BOSNIANS WITH 100 MLN TURKS

14 July 2014 | 17:06 | FOCUS News Agency
Picture: AFP
Ankara. Speaking at an electioneering rally, Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that everyone, who tried to harm the Bosnians
would face at least 100 million Turks against them, Deutsche Welle
reported in its programme for Macedonia.

“I swear in Allah that anyone, who dares to harm the Bosnians, will
face 100 million Turks,” Erdogan remarked.

In his words, in the past the Ottoman Empire handed its brothers to
Austria-Hungary and it will never forget itself about it.

“That is why no one should be surprised if a Turkish military ship
enters the Bosnian port of Neum,” the Turkish Prime Minister said.

Erdogan’s statement led to wild reactions among the politicians.

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said that the Bosnians were
living freely in the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Erdogan’s
statement was interference in the home affairs of the country.

Member of the Presidency Nebojsa Radmanovic, on the other hand, said
that Erdogan’s statement was “the most brutal, hardest and most direct
insult and threat at the Serbs and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

Turkish Ambassador to Belgrade, Mehmet Kemal Bozay, however, claimed
that the Turkish Prime Minister had never made such a statement.

LE PREMIER MINISTRE S’ENGAGE POUR LES COMMUNES FRONTALIERES

ARMENIE

Le Premier ministre armenien Hovik Abrahamyan, accompagne par un
certain nombre de membres du Cabinet, a effectue une visite dans la
province nord-est du Tavush, en particulier, dans plusieurs villages
a la frontière avec l’Azerbaïdjan qui deviennent constamment la cible
de bombardements azeris.

Visitant les communes de Vazashen, Movses et Verin Karmiraghbyur,
le premier Premier ministre a pris connaissance du travail sur la
construction d’une autre route Vazashen-Paravakar.

La route principale a ete fermee pour des raisons de securite depuis
Octobre dernier après un incident majeur dans lequel les forces azeries
ont ouvert le feu sur des vehicules militaires, tuant un conscrit de
l’armee armenienne et en blessant plusieurs autres. Les pertes sur
ce troncon de la route ont egalement ete rapportees auparavant, car
il etait une cible facile pour les snipers du côte de la frontière
et est finalement devenue desaffectee.

Le contournement long de 3,2 kilomètres devait etre construit d’ici
le 30 Juin, mais le premier ministre a dit qu’en raison de conditions
meteorologiques defavorables et de violations regulières du regime de
cessez-le-feu par la partie azerie l’achèvement des travaux devrait
etre >.

Abrahamian a ordonne la mise en service de la section de route a la
fin des vacances a dit le service de presse du gouvernement.

Parlant aux residents de Movses, le chef du gouvernement les a decrits
comme des > et leur a assure que le gouvernement
se tiendra a côte d’eux dans la resolution de tous les problèmes. >, a declare Abrahamian.

Le Premier ministre a egalement examine un certain nombre de problèmes
avec les riverains, en promettant l’attention du gouvernement a tous
les >.

>,
a declare Abrahamian, cite par le service de presse du gouvernement.

mardi 15 juillet 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

ISRAELI GOVERNMENT’S POSITION ON NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT IS AMBIGUOUS, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SAYS

APA, Azerbaijan
July 12 2014

[ 12 July 2014 14:49 ]

“We’re fighting Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, not the people of
Palestine”

Baku. Ramiz Mikayiloglu – APA. “Israel and Azerbaijan have good
relations”, Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan Rafael Harpaz said in
his interview to APA.

The Ambassador said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President
Shimon Peres in the Davos Economic Forum in 2013. He recalled
the mutual visits of foreign ministers of the two countries Elmar
Mammadyarov and Avigdor Liberman as well as the visits of Azerbaijani
Minister of Agriculture Heydar Asadov and Chairman of the Parliament’s
Committee on international and inter-parliamentary relations Samad
Seyidov to Israel and the visits of Israeli parliamentarians to
Azerbaijan.

The Ambassador noted that as part of the visit, Liberman and Elmar
MAmmadyarov signed an agreement on bilateral political consultations:
“Agreements were signed on oncology and visa facilitation for
diplomatic and official passport holders and I think that the latter
will come into force in early October. I would like to underline the
cooperation in the energy sector. Israel imports a certain portion
of oil from Azerbaijan. Recently, new gas fields were discovered in
Israel. We don’t know how to exploit these fields. Therefore, we are
working to establish a body like the State Oil Fund in Azerbaijan. We
would like to benefit from Azerbaijan’s practice in this sphere.

Knesset members had visited Azerbaijan in this regard”, he emphasized.

The diplomat stated that there are opportunities to boost cooperation
in the academic field. “We see the increasing number of Azerbaijani
students studying in Israel. I would like a bilateral cooperation to
be established between Israeli and Azerbaijani universities.

Representatives of one of Israel’s largest universities, the University
of Haifa, are expected to visit Azerbaijan in near future and establish
relations with universities here.

The Ambassador recalled that the Israeli government has an ambiguous
position regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “We are in favor of
peaceful solution to problems and supporting the OSCE Minsk Group and
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. This is the position of Israel”,
he added.

The Israeli Ambassador also spoke of the incidents in the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations have fired more
than 540 missiles over Israel. They purposefully fire missiles at
Israeli hospitals, schools and residential areas in order to kill
civilians. They use civilians as a protective means. There is no
country in the world that is facing such a reality as Israel is.

Rockets are fired from Gaza at holy places as well. 4 million Israelis
faced this threat. Of course, we will respond to that and attack Gaza.

We, unlike Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Organization, feel guilty for
each murdered Palestinian and regret it. But this is the fault of
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, the terrorist organizations. They have
been shooting missiles for the last 3 weeks, and we kept silent. But
they have now exceeded boundaries. Over 120 missiles were fired over
Israel just yesterday alone. We are seeking tranquility. We hope Hamas
and other terrorist organizations will calm down once and for all in
near future and put an end to their anti-Israel campaigns”.

The ambassador noted that the issue must be judged in regional context:
“Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are extremist organizations.

Despite some differences, the ideologies of these organizations are
similar to those of ISIS and Hezbollah. The international community
is supporting us. British Foreign Minister William Hague, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande
expressed their support for Israel during their speeches yesterday.

I’d also like to remark great support from the U.S. We are peaceful
people, but we also need to protect ourselves.

The diplomat also said his country will launch ground offensives in
near future: “Our preparations for this are underway. If somebody hits
you, will you bend your head down or fight back? You will fight back.

Nevertheless, we are still sending humanitarian aid, food, and drugs
to Gaza. Which country in the world is sending food and aid to its
enemy? We are fighting Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, not the people
of Palestine”.

The ambassador mentioned that the situation has aggravated even
more after 3 Israeli youths were killed by Hamas: “In fact, media is
distorting the truth about it. Because Hamas were shooting missiles
over Israel before the youths were kidnapped and killed. But later
on, they started shooting missiles more frequently. While they used
to shoot one missile over Israel per day, CNN, for instance, used to
overlook that information, because it was less important to them.

Azerbaijani media didn’t stress these incidents either. There’s no
need to investigate the death of those three youths as well, because
it’s no secret that they were killed by Hamas. Only Hamas could have
done it. Hamas kills children right after capturing them. We know that,
and there’s no need to investigate”.

The ambassador said Israel forewarns civilians of the sites to be
bombed: “Hamas, however, is not thinking about Palestinians when
launching rockets and missiles. Hamas fires missiles at schools,
hospitals, hotels, and residential areas without any distinction.