Author: nina hovnanian

YEREVAN CIRCUS WILL REOPEN IN A YEAR

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 28 2014

28 May 2014 – 8:36pm

The construction of the new building of the Yerevan State Circus is
to be completed by mid-2015, the circus director Sos Petrosyan said.

“Construction of the building is underway, now they are working on
the second floor,” Novosti-Armenia quotes Petrosyan.

Petrosyan said that the new building of the Yerevan State Circus
will be larger and more beautiful than the previous one, and will
accommodate about 2,300 spectators instead of the previous 1563. The
building will also have modern equipment.

“PEOPLE IN RUSSIA LIKE TO LISTEN TO ARMENIAN SONGS”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 28 2014

28 May 2014 – 10:14am
By Vestnik Kavkaza

Music fans know her as the singer Zara and a participant in TV
projects; music fans who are interested in politics know her as Zarifa
Mgoyan, the former wife of the son of the former governor of St.

Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko. It is believed that Zara was raised
in eastern traditions and is a very unsociable person. However,
she was open with Vestnik Kavkaza.

– Zara, tell us about your roots.

– I am a Kurd, but I was born in Armenia. My mother was born in
Leninakan, my father in Yerevan. I have an Armenian surname. Of course
many Kurds got assimilated, so Armenian blood runs in us. My childhood
took place in Leninakan. I remember the holiday of Vardavar, when we
all showered with water; I remember that my mother took me to a market
and all the traders gave me treats. Of course this is reflected in my
work, as I love Armenian culture; I have Armenian songs and people
in Russia like them. For example, a duet with Dmitry Pevtsov, when
we sang the Russian Cossack folk song “Oh You, Wide Steppe” and the
Armenian folk song “Dle Yaman.”

Thanks to this song we became the anchors of the Two Stars TV project.

We like to sing the song at various concerts.

– Do you visit the Caucasus often?

– I visit Armenia, but only on business trips, as all my relatives
live in Russia today. Last time I was in Armenia was on Yerevan
Day. It was a great festival on the main square of Yerevan. I haven’t
been to Georgia and Azerbaijan yet, but I would like to visit these
wonderful countries.

– Have you ever been to the North Caucasus?

– I have recently visited Chechnya; it was City Day. People welcomed
me warmly. They are very hospitable. Later we sang in Abkhazia. We
will soon visit Dagestan, as they’ve invited us for solo concerts.

– Have you been to Sochi?

– I perform solo concerts often in Sochi. I have participated in
musical contests in Sochi and so on.

– What do you think about Sochi after the Olympics?

– I liked it so much. It is a very clean European city. I think
the Olympics have made the residents feel self-confident. I think
our country will be proud of the event for a great many generations.

– Do you think music, culture and art can contribute to pan-national
peace in Russia and the CIS countries?

– Music unites people; it has no nationality. Music is a human soul
which is pure. Of course we should appreciate folk music, as popular
music and popular songs are the children of folk music. It should be
understood, developed and preserved for future generations.

HAMAZKAYIN ARMENIAN EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL UNION AND DIASPORA MINISTRY WILL MAKE COOPERATION CLOSER

21:25, 29 May, 2014

YEREVAN, MAY 29, ARMENPRESS. Around 80 delegates from 15 countries
throughout the world have gathered in Yerevan to participate in the
7th Parliamentary Assembly of Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and
Cultural Union. The Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia
Hranush Hakobyan, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia
Hasmik Poghosyan, other officials, prominent artists and intellectuals
also attended the beginning of the event on May 29. The national anthem
of the Republic of Armenia sounded at the beginning of the assembly.

The participants also honored the memory of their dead members. The
Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia Hranush Hakobyan
underscored that as an educational and cultural great institution
Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Union has organized
various events and has united a lot of communities in the Diaspora
already for 86 years.

FULLER BUILDING CENTER PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN KARABAKH

YEREVAN, May 29. / ARKA /. Nagorno-Karabakh prime minister Ara
Harutyunyan joined yesterday an event in Berdzor dedicated to the
official launch of the Fuller Building Center program.

He welcomed the launch of the program in Karabakh, calling it an
important step in the development of the town of Berdzor.

He said long-term interest-free loans provided by the Center are a good
opportunity for locals to improve their housing and living conditions.

The prime minister promised his help to the program expressing also
hope that its geography will enlarge. The prime minister then took
part in the construction of the first house together with its future
owners and neighbors. According to him, the involvement of volunteers
in this program is very important.

Head of The Fuller Building Center Armenia, Ashot Yeghiazaryan, said
the organization has provided interest-free long-term loans to about
300 families from different regions of Armenia, thus improving their
housing conditions. -0-

– See more at:

ANC MP: IT IS OBVIOUS THAT COMPULSORY COMPONENT WILL ENTER INTO FORCE AFTER SEPTEMBER 30

18:35 29/05/2014 >> POLITICS

The recent congress of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) had a
wide resonance and it was natural, Armenian National Congress (ANC)
MP Lyudmila Sargsyan told reporters on Thursday.

“It would be good if that congress inspired our people with hope,”
she added.

According to the MP, there was an impression that the opposition’s
role in the country’s governance is rated as important, but at the
same time, they try to limit the role of the opposition and refuse
to give it any supervisory levers.

Commenting on the government program, Mrs Sargsyan said that “it is
obvious that compulsory component of the pension law will enter into
force after September 30.”

Source: Panorama.am

SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN: BAKU LAID THE GROUND FOR THE KARABAKH CONFLICT, NOT ITS SETTLEMENT

17:36 28.05.2014

“Baku has laid the ground for the military conflict between Azerbaijan
and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, not the ground for resolution of the
conflict,” Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told
Armenpress. The comments come after Azerbaijani President declared
yesterday that they have already “laid all the necessary diplomatic
and legal grounds for the resolution of the conflict.”

“Baku laid the ground for the genocidal policy, which found its
expression in the mass killing of the Armenian population on the
territory of Azerbaijan, the ground for ethnic cleansing in and around
Nagorno Karabakh, unleashing a large-scale military aggression against
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,” the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

According to Kocharyan, the only step Azerbaijan took towards the
resolution of the conflict was Heydar Aliyev’s 1993 directive to
Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Afiyaddin Jalilov to organize a meeting
between the high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh

“The meeting between Heydar Aliyev and the leader of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in Moscow on September 25, 1993, laid the ground
for the conclusion of the ceasefire agreement between Nagorno Karabakh
and Azerbaijan, which Armenia also joined. The incumbent President of
Azerbaijan cannot but understand that by recognizing NKR at least
as a party to the talks Azerbaijan (in the face of his father)
contributed to the only real progress in the negotiation process,”
the Deputy FM said.

He added that “the incumbent President of Azerbaijan not only torpedoes
the process of settlement of the Karabakh issue with the mediation
of the OSCE Minsk Group, but also lays the ground for a new military
conflict by laying claims on Armenian lands.”

According to Kocharyan, all this pursues only one purpose – to preserve
the authoritarian and corrupt regime by void attempts to unite the
Azerbaijani society around dissemination of hatred towards Armenians.

“The consequences of such bellicose policy are well known, new
adventurism in that direction will have tragic consequences first of
all for Azerbaijan.”

According to him, the Azerbaijani leadership fails to understand that
“the power of the state is in the love for its own people, not the
hatred towards the neighboring country.”

OXFAM GB ARMENIE LANCE UN PROJET POUR AMELIORER LA SECURITE ALIMENTAIRE DANS LE CAUCASE DU SUD

ARMENIE

Oxfam GB Armenie a lance un projet visant a ameliorer la securite
alimentaire regionale dans le Caucase du Sud par le biais de strategies
nationales et la production de petits exploitants pour un montant
total de 600.000 euros.

Margarita Hakobyan, responsable d’Oxfam GB Armenie, lors de la
ceremonie de lancement, a declare que le projet est finance par l’UE
et mis en oeuvre par Oxfam en collaboration avec le ministère armenien
de l’agriculture.

Elle a declare que le but de ce programme de quatre ans est de veiller
a ce que les petits agriculteurs, en particulier les femmes, soient
impliques dans le developpement et la mise en oeuvre des questions
de strategie de securite alimentaire afin d’assurer la transparence
du processus.

Elle dit que la securite alimentaire de la region du Caucase du Sud
est l’une des questions les plus importantes du millenaire et c’est
pourquoi l’UE y jette une attention particulière. Elle met en oeuvre
des projets similaires aussi en Georgie et en Azerbaïdjan.

mercredi 28 mai 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

Vestnik Kavkza, Russia
May 27 2014

Moscow and Baku have no unresolved issues

27 May 2014 – 2:09pm

The Russian Public Chamber and the Eurasian Choice Discussion Club
organized a round-table conference on the eve of the Day of the
Azerbaijan Republic to discuss Russian-Azerbaijani ties, round up
their progress in the past years and exchange opinions about prospects
for further cooperation.

Dmitry Savelyev, a member of the Russian State Duma, the head of the
Russian-Azerbaijani inter-party group, characterized the pace of
Azerbaijan’s development as an economic miracle. He believes that
Russia should intensify cultural exchange with Azerbaijan, where the
Russian language and culture are cultivated. The lawmaker reminded
that the State Duma was having regular councils with the Azerbaijani
parliament, sending delegations there, intensifying intercultural and
tourism interaction. Contacts, in his words, have intensified in the
past two years. He expressed confidence that Russia will pay more
attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

Remiz Sevdimaliyev, a Doctor of Political Sciences, the chief
scientist of the Philosophy and Law Institute of the Azerbaijan
National Academy of Sciences, said that there were no unresolved
issues between Russia and Azerbaijan. He noted that Azerbaijan was
cooperating with both the center of Russia and its regions. The
scientist called the Russian language the second most important
language in the country and hopes that Russia will play a great role
in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Sergey Mamedov, a member of the Federation Council Committee for
Regulations and Organization of Parliamentary Work, noted the high
level of integration between the two states, the dynamic development
of commerce and ties with regions.

Oleg Bondarenko, a managing partner of the Agency for Strategic
Communications, recommended Russia and Azerbaijan to partake in new
integration projects, such as the Eurasian Union. According to him,
Azerbaijan plays a special role in the Russia-Azerbaijan-Turkey and
Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran cooperation formats. He called Azerbaijan a
factor of stability in an unstable region.

Asim Mollazadeh, an Azerbaijani MP and the head of the Party for
Democratic Reforms, said that Azerbaijan paid special attention to
bilateral cooperation with Russia. In his words, Azerbaijan was not
ready to regard Washington, Brussels, Ankara or Moscow as older
brothers and wanted equality in relations. He considers intercultural
cooperation essential for strategic development and enrichment of its
morals, on the condition that modernization and globalization would
not destroy its traditional culture.

“Harsnakar case defendants know much more”

19:38 | May 27,2014 | Interview

“Harsnakar case” victim’s legal representative, advocate Tigran
Egoryan assures that two year’s crime hasn’t been revealed, “Hasn’t
been revealed connected with Ruben Hayrapetyan, the crime, the deed is
qualified in a wrong way, it must be qualified as murder, under
aggravating circumstances,”- today at “Ayb- Fe” hall noted the
advocate.

According to him, culprits have been silent during the whole trial and
brought some details only at the end.

“It shows that the culprits know much more and can make
clarifications, but they are indifferent,”- says the advocate.

We remind that on June 17, 2012, military doctor Vahe Avetyan died
because of beating in “Harsnakar” restaurant complex, as well as three
medical doctors were beaten.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 27 2014

Victorious rhetoric of HHK and real resources

27 May 2014 – 10:28am

by Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

The Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) passed the new governmental
program on May 22. The creation of new jobs, the struggle with the
shadow economy, promotion of competition in business and invitation of
foreign investments were listed as the priority goals of the document.
The government plans to lift VAT at the border, form an All-Armenian
investment fund and subsidize agriculture.

Members of the opposition factions Dashnaktsutyun, Heritage,
Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and the Armenian National Congress (ANC) have
called the program empty words aimed only at robbing the population.
Oppositionists say that it is nothing but the old government program
with little stylistic adjustments and that the government cannot
realize the reforms.

HHK member Stepan Margaryan noted that the government of Tigran
Sargsyan had destroyed the Armenian economy, leaving it in ruins. “The
situation cannot be characterized in any other way than as a serious
threat to national security.” Armen Rustamyan of the Dashnaktsutyun
faction stated: “We can compose an excellent program, then fail to
realize it and face no penalties, the way it happened with the
previous government. There is no answer to the question of why the
previous government resigned.”

The four opposition parties decided to boycott the vote. Members of
the Orinats Yerkir Party (OEK – Rule of Law), which has recently
parted with the ruling coalition, skipped voting for the government
program.

The government program got 70 votes for, one against. Two MPs
abstained from voting. Discussions of the document went on according
to a classic scheme in which HHK holds the monopoly of power. The OEK
faction was suddenly abandoned by MP Karen Botoyan on the day of the
vote. Being a businessman, he decided to support the government
program. However, the Constitution forbids lawmakers from being
engaged in business. Obviously, Botoyan was under pressure. Pressure
could have also been put on independent MP Edmon Marukyan, who voted
for the government program as well. Video cameras recorded HHK members
voting for absent lawmakers oligarch Samvel Aleksanyan and brother of
ex-Prosecutor General Agvan Ovsepyan Ruben. The problem is that the
parliamentary majority consists of 69 MPs after the loss of the
support of the OEK. This brings the coalition close to the minimum
number of votes needed to pass laws, 66. HHK has been lacking
resources for a month, as seen on May 22.

The well-running governmental mechanism to achieve the desired results
has started malfunctioning. Problems with financial resources and the
unpleasant situation in the parliament do not seem to correlate with
the victorious rhetoric of the Republican Party, which claims it will
stay in power for the next 10 years.