Author: nina hovnanian

HOMENAJEAN A INMIGRANTES ARMENIOS CON EL NOMBRE DE UNA PLAZA

Semanario Parlamentario
8 Julio 2014

La plaza conocida como “Palermo Viejo” paso a llamarse “Inmigrantes de
Armenia” gracias a un iniciativa sancionada por la Legislatura porteña.

El legislador del Pro y vicepresidente 1º de la Legislatura de la
Ciudad, Cristian Ritondo, presidio este martes el acto de cambio de
nombre de la plaza “Palermo Viejo”, ubicada en las calles Armenia,
Costa Rica, Nicaragua y Malabia, que ahora sera denominada “Inmigrantes
de Armenia”.

Al respecto, Ritondo manifesto “una profunda felicidad por tener
la oportunidad de reconocer a un pueblo que tanto identifica a este
barrio y que mancomuna la identidad de ambos pueblos”.

“Vale resaltar que la relacion bilateral entre la República de Armenia
y la República Argentina es tan antigua como fecunda y que lo mismo
ocurre con la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, donde esta querida comunidad
desarrolla numerosas actividades en el campo de la educacion y la
cultura”, expreso.

Ritondo marco que es “un honor y un privilegio contar en esta ocasion
tan especial con la autoridad maxima de la Nacion homenajeada,
el Señor presidente de la República de Armenia, Serzh Sargsianm,
a quien ademas distinguimos hoy como Visitante Ilustre de la Ciudad
Autonoma de Buenos Aires”.

Tambien participo del acto la diputada de la Ciudad, Lía Rueda
(Pro), quien es autora del proyecto. La presidenta de la Comision de
Cultura de la Legislatura señalo que “es un honor hacer entrega de esta
distincion, que se suma a la entrega de la llave de la Ciudad Autonoma
de Buenos Aires por parte del jefe de Gobierno, Mauricio Macri”.

“Valoramos el aporte de la comunidad armenia en cuanto a educacion y
cultura, así como el vínculo historico entre ambas naciones”, destaco.

Por su parte, y luego del reconocimiento, el presidente de la República
de Armenia, Serzh Sargsianm, manifesto: “Queridos compatriotas,
estoy muy agradecido a las autoridades presentes, que han expresado
respeto y consideracion a mi pueblo”.

“La generosidad argentina permitio a mi pueblo rehacer sus vidas
en los momentos mas difíciles. Solo los pueblos fuertes como el de
Argentina adoptan estas actitudes de grandeza”, subrayo el mandatario.

La plaza ya era llamada coloquialmente “Plaza Armenia”, por la fuerte
presencia de la comunidad en esa zona. El nombre “Inmigrantes de
Armenia” hace referencia a los refugiados armenios que llegaron a
comienzos del siglo XX escapandose del genocidio cometido por el
Estado turco entre 1915 y 1923.

Estuvieron presentes en el acto el subsecretario de Derechos Humanos
Pluralismo Cultural, Lic. Claudio Avruj, la Ministra de la Diaspora,
Hranush Hakobyan, el Presidente de la Comuna 14, Maximiliano Corach
y el presidente del Club Deportivo Armenio, Noray Nakis.

Tambien, asistieron los diputados de la Ciudad, Carmen Polledo,
Daniel Presti, Juan Pablo Arenaza, Gabriela Seijo, todos del Pro;
Virginia Gonzalez Gass (Partido Socialista Autentico) y Edgardo Form
(Nuevo Encuentro).

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS THE DELEGATION OF LES PENNES-MIRABEAU CITY

19:39 10.07.2014

On July 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic Karen Mirzoyan received delegation of the French town of
Les Pennes-Mirabeau led by its Mayor Michel Amiel.

The Minister welcomed the establishment of decentralized cooperation
between the towns of the NKR and France, describing it as an important
contribution to the development of the relations between Artsakh
and France.

During the meeting the parties discussed the possibilities and
prospects of implementation of joint programs in a number of areas,
in particular, in the cultural and educational ones.

NKR Permanent Representative to France Hovhannes Gevorgyan was also
present at the meeting.

ASHOT MELIKYAN, “PUBLIC” AND “VERY DANGEROUS PRECEDENT, WE MUST GO TO THE END.”

July 10 2014

The court of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts for the
first time made a decision and compelled the mass media to disclose
the sources of their information. The matter is about “Hraparak”
daily and iLur.am website that published information about how the
Shirak police chief, Vardan Nadaryan, at night, has stopped the car
of popular wrestler Artur Aleksanyan and hit him for very bright
spotlights and has intimidated him and his brother with a gun. As
conveyed by “Hraparak,” the court’s decision is against the freedom
of the media, and if the source is identified, shortly, the mass
media can rely on only “dry” official information. Note that SIS had
filed a criminal case with a grave Article with regard to this famous
information, and the Attorney General, Gevorg Kostanyan, in his recent
press conference, had stated, “under the grave and particularly grave
crimes, the journalist may be compelled to inform the source of his
information by a court proceeding.” In this regard, Aravot.am asked
the Chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, Ashot
Melikyan, whether the court’s decision is not a strike to the freedom
of the media, and how the media should act in this case. Mr. Melikyan
replied, “Of course, making such a judgment is the court’s task, but
we, as professionals, consider that it is not the grave crime that
the court should have requested to identify the source. I think that
there is a trend in this story, and the prosecutor’s office after its
famous statement will try to implement these provisions. This is the
first precedent, which is very dangerous. I think that this decision
should be appealed. Moreover, you need to go to the end.” Mr. Melikyan
suggested the journalistic community to focus its attention on this
issue, and express intolerance towards these actions. “This is a good
opportunity for the journalistic community to unite and understand
that any media or a journalist may face similar fact.” To our question
of how the mass media should be compelled to disclose the source of
information, whether the editors should be put to torture to tell,
Ashot Melikyan replied, “The editor, of course, will not be subject
to torture. The law says that in case of disclosure of grave and
particularly grave crimes, the court may compel. At the court session,
the judge requires to identify the source. Of course, the journalist
may request a closed hearing for this case and may refuse identifying.

If the journalist does not identify, then he takes on the entire
responsibility and bears his punishment prescribed by the law.” We
clarified whether the matter is about the fines and penalties, Ashot
Melikyan replied, “I think that this will not be the case, but it is
prescribed by the law.”

Hripsime JEBEJYAN

Read more at:

ARMENIAN MINISTER OF ENERGY: THE FATE OF NAIRIT PLANT WILL BE DECIDED WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS

by Arthur Yernjakyan

ARMINFO
Thursday, July 10, 14:09

The fate of Nairit Plant will be decided within the next two months,
Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Yervand Zakharyan
told ArmInfo when commenting on the July 10 action of protest. Over
100 employees of the Plant gathered near the building of the Armenian
Government and demanding that the Plant should pay them the arrears
of wages.

The minister said that arrears of wages have accumulated over the
past 15 months and total about 5 billion drams. The total debt of the
Plant is nearly 50 billion drams (about 130 million USD). Zakharyan
stressed that at the moment the Ministry is discussing measures to
overcome the current situation. “I think the fate of the Plant will
be decided within the next 2 months”, he said.

To note, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan invited the
representatives of the Plant to a conversation. The results will be
made public later.

This is not the first action of protest held by Nairit employees. A
similar action of protest was initiated on May 21 by the movement
“Will”. The founder of the movement, Artashes Avetisyan, urged
everyone to join the fair demands of the Nairirt Plant employees to
provide them with a job and to pay the arrears of wages. “We don’t
need false promises of the authorities. Let them match words with
deeds,” Avetisyan said.

On 25 December 2013, Rosneft, L.L.C. PIRELLI Tyre Russia, and Rosneft
Armenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Yerevan. The Memorandum
envisages creation of a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) production
joint venture in Armenia. The fixed assets of Nairit Plant and its
principal shareholder Rhinoville Property Limited were transferred
to Interbank as a result of non-redemption of a loan. The 70 mln USD
loan was provided in 2006 against security of the Plant.

The latter received the loan for 5 years, i.e. till late Dec 2011,
at 12,5% p.a. The current debt of the Plant is $130 mln.

ARMENIA AND IRAN WANT TO ATTRACT TOURISTS

July 10, 2014 | 16:22

YEREVAN. – Armenia and Iran want to attract tourists from each other
and the third countries. The parties have drafted a memorandum on
understanding and cooperation in tourism that was approved by the
Armenian government during the session on Thursday.

A memorandum envisages cooperation in promoting regional tourism
routes on foreign markets through state and private partnership.

Armenia and Iran are going to intensify tourist influx between
the states, so the parties want to create favorable conditions for
cooperation between tour operators.

The influx of Iranian tourists to Armenia is growing during Nowruz
holiday in the end of March. However, the number of tourists has
decreased in the last 2 – 3 years due to relative deterioration of
the financial situation in Iran.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

RUSSIA DOESN’T INFORM ARMENIA ABOUT VOLUMES AND TYPES OF ARMS SOLD TO AZERBAIJAN BEFOREHAND

Thursday 10 July 2014 14:59
Photo: Mediamax

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Azerbaijan purchases a large amount of arms
and military equipment from Russia, Israel and Ukraine while Russia
remains Armenia’s only weapon supplier.

Samvel Lazarian, head of Arms Control and International Security
Division of Armenian Foreign Ministry Samvel Lazarian told journalists
about it today, Mediamax reports.

Answering the journalists’ question whether official Yerevan is
informed about the volumes and types of the weapon sold by Russia
to Azerbaijan beforehand, the Foreign Ministry representative said
that the issue “is outside the framework of Armenia-Russia strategic
cooperation”.

Touching upon the question by purchasing arms of Russian production
Azerbaijan violates the provisions contained in the CFE Treaty,
Samvel Lazarian recalled that Russia has suspended its membership
to the Treaty since 2007 and is not guided with the restrictions
mentioned in it.

“Russia does not have any commitments within the Treaty any more”,
said the diplomat.

GEORGIA PUT FORTH CONDITIONS TO ARMENIA

Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator
Comments – Thursday, 10 July 2014, 15:26

Free trade between Armenia and Georgia is still effective, and the
Georgian side will try to keep it going however it is not known what
requirements the Customs Union will put forth to Armenia in respect
of Georgia, the Georgian ambassador to Armenia Tengiz Shamanashvili
announced. In answer to the question whether the customs duties will
go up after the ratification of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement,
Tengiz Sharmanashvili said: “I don’t think it will happen, and the
EU did not set forth such a requirement; on the contrary, we do not
know for sure what the Customs Union will require from Armenia in
respect to us.”

In fact, Georgia puts forth a condition for maintaining free trade
arrangements with Armenia – refusal to join the Customs Union. This
is not even a condition but a warning. Georgia will not spoil its
relations with Armenia unless Armenia joins the Customs Union and
increases customs duties.

This can be considered as Europe’s conditions because Georgia will
soon associate with the EU and EU rules and regulations will apply to
its borders. Despite Armenia’s commitment to join the Customs Union
Europe has not cancelled the generalized system of preferences for
Armenia. As part of this, Armenia may import from and export to Europe
hundreds of items customs free or with minimum duties. The rules will
change, however, in case Armenia becomes member of the Eurasian Union.

Hindrances for Armenia’s membership to the Customs Union are more
than the fingers of both hands. The Russian expert Vadim Dubnov
thinks that Kazakhstan and Belarus do not let Armenia in to make
sure that Russia does not get an extra vote. For its part, Europe is
waiting when Armenia will join the Eurasian Economic Union to cancel
GSP. Georgia does not intend to support Armenia’s membership.

Armenia will only suffer from membership to the Eurasian Union. Only
words are left – the Armenian and Russian governments are repeating
them as mantras in order not to forget and remind others as well.

– See more at:

ARMENIAN VILLAGE ON BORDER WITH AZERBAIJAN UNDER SHELLING ALL NIGHT: ANKAKH.COM

07.10.2014 11:50 epress.am

Last night, the Azerbaijani side fired shots on the village of Chinari
in Tavush marz (province), reportsAnkakh [AM]. After midnight, Chinari
village mayor Samvel Saghoyan informed the news site that for four
hours, Azerbaijani border guards have been shelling Chinari with DShK
type of machine guns.

“They are destroying Chinari. Placing the DShK in the direction of the
village, they are shooting at houses, on streets. A little while ago
we went to the village administration building to see what’s happened.

I can’t say anything about damages yet,” said Saghoyan. According to
him, for two days, “the enemy was silent,” but the village has been
in a state of emergency since yesterday: the village is completely
under fire, he says.

Later, Ankakh updated the news, reporting that the shelling continued
at around 1:15 am. According to the community leader, the Armenian
side is counterattacking with an adequate response.

“They don’t stop or calm down for a minute. I don’t know what has
happened. All the lights are off in the village. Fortunately, there
were no injuries. The [extent of the] material damage will be known
in the morning,” said the village mayor.

ILHAM ALIYEV: IN THE WORLD THERE IS PRINCIPLE OF “HE IS RIGHT WHO IS STRONGER”

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
July 8, 2014 Tuesday

President Ilham Aliyev does not rule out a military solution to the
Karabakh problem. On this, he once said, speaking at a meeting of
heads of the diplomatic service.

“We have never denied, and openly declared that the military option
is not excluded, since the pattern observed in the international
arena in recent months and years, suggests that international law,
unfortunately, does not work. The major role is played by the power
factor. The principle of “He is right who is stronger” dealt a big
blow to the construction of international relations,” said Aliyev.

However, he believes that peaceful means of solving the problem are
not yet fully exhausted.

“With the political, economic and military pressure, we will strive
to ensure that the issue is resolved peacefully,” said Aliyev.

“In Karabakh, all the historical monuments, place names, names of
towns and villages have Azerbaijani origin.

I believe that the activities of diplomats should be oriented in
this direction. As yet the world public does not know the truth about
Karabakh. The Armenian lobby is trying to distort the facts. We should
try to convey to the public the real facts, including the truth about
the Erivan khanate,” said Aliyev.

At the same time, Aliyev noted the need to inform the world community
about the transfer of the Azerbaijani territory to Armenia in 1918.

Aliyev proposed MFA, together with the Academy of Sciences and the
Ministry of Culture to prepare a brochure about the history of the
Erivan khanate and publish them in different languages.

Aliyev noted the creation of a second Armenian state on the
Azerbaijani territory is categorically impossible. “Of course, the
Azerbaijani state will never allow this, and no country recognizes the
self-proclaimed “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” as an independent entity.

Illegal referendums held there will not be recognized by the world
community. The issue will be resolved within the territorial integrity
of our country,” said Aliyev.

However, he declared his readiness to grant Nagorno-Karabakh the
highest status of autonomy in Azerbaijan.

“The Armenian people can live in a high level of autonomy within
Azerbaijan. We proposed this, and this approach is based on the very
positive experience in Europe and the world,” said Aliyev. -06B-

SARGSYAN AND KOCHARYAN EXPRESS CONDOLENCES OVER DEATH OF SHEVARDNADZE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 9 2014

9 July 2014 – 9:23am

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and ex-President Robert Kocharyan
(1998-2008) have expressed condolences over the death of Shevardnadze.

Shevardnadze died in Tbilisi on Monday at the age of 86, ITAR-TASS
reports.