Author: nina hovnanian

Armenian government officials’ official-relatives

13:23 – 22.12.13

Arman Babloyan, son of Ara Babloyan, Chairman of the Standing
Committee on Health Care, Maternity and Childhood. Parliament of
Armenia, has been appointed deputy minister of health.

Armenian officials’ relatives holding different government posts are
not rare occurrences. Based on news reports, Tert.am has drawn up a
list of the sons, daughters, wives and other relatives of Armenian
government officials and MPs holding government posts.

Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary group
Galust Sahakyan’s sons, Tigran Sahakyan and Arman Sahakyan (an ex-MP),
are respectively holding the posts of Deputy Minister of Health and
Head of the State Property Management Department, Government of
Armenia.

Arzuman Harutyunyan, brother of the President of the Constitutional
Court of ArmeniaGagik Harutyunyan, was appointed vice-chief of the
National Security Service of Armenia about three years ago.

On December 7, 2012, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan appointed
Gagik Harutyunyan’s sister Shamam Harutyunyan deputy minister of labor
and social affairs. Before the appointment, she was head of the State
Employment Service.

Gagik Harutyunyan’s daughter, Armine Harutyunyan, is chief physician
of Outpatient Clinic #8.

His son Artak Harutyunyan is Head of the Department for Corruption and
Organized Crime Control, Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia.
Earlier, he was Vice-Chief of the Cybercrime Department, National
Security Service of Armenia.

Even earlier, he was put on the judge promotion list, but, together
with the son of Armenia’s former prosecutor general, refused to work
as a judge.

Artak Zakharyan, son of Chairman of the State Committee of Real Estate
Cadastre Ervand Zakharyan, is judge of the minor court of Yerevan’s
Malatia-Sebastia community.

First Vice-Chief of the National Security Service of Armenia Hrachya
Harutyunyan’s son is judge of the minor court of Yerevan’s Avan and
Nor-Nork communities.

Erik Sharmazanov, brother of Vice-Speaker of Armenia’s Parliament
Eduard Sharmazanov, is Chief of the Taron division of Vanadzor city
police.

Artak Alexanyan, nephew of Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
parliamentary group member Samvel Alexanyan, head of the
Malatia-Sebastia community.

Armen Sargsyan, brother of Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, is
Armenian Ambassador to China. His cousin Hrayr Sargsyan was director
of the school construction program of the Lincy Foundation.

Gayane Soghomonyan, wife of Control Chamber Chairman Ishkhan Zakaryan,
is Head of the Education Department, Yerevan Municipality.

Gurgen Dumanyan, son of Armenia’s Minister of Health Derenik Dumanyan,
Head of Staff, Parliament of Armenia.

ARMENIE
Franchise ameublement : GAUTIER ouvre un magasin en Arménie

Gautier, enseigne française spécialisée dans la fabrication et la
distribution de meubles contemporains, a ouvert 5 magasins en
franchise ces trois derniers mois, en France et à l’international.

Ces nouveaux points de vente se situent à Herblay (95), Caen (14) et
Annecy (74) pour la France et à Erevan (Arménie) et Doha (Qatar).

Le réseau compte désormais 90 magasins dans le monde, dont 45 dans
l’Hexagone. Créée en 1960, l’enseigne Gautier a enregistré en 2013 un
chiffre d’affaires de 140 millions d’euros.

dimanche 22 décembre 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

6th Annual AGBU NYSEC Concert Raises 50k for Performing Arts

By Contributor // December 20, 2013

Carnegie Hall Event Commemorates 25th Anniversary of Spitak Earthquake

NEW YORK – An unexpected combination of Armenian folk songs, classical
compositions, and Spanish lyrics all came together seamlessly at this
year’s AGBU New York Special Events Committee (NYSEC) Performing
Artists in Concert. The sixth annual event, held on Dec. 7, drew
hundreds of guests to the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall to
commemorate the earthquake that devastated Armenia 25 years ago.

The evening’s program featured a number of well-known Armenian
composers, as well as original pieces prepared especially for the
NYSEC concert. Making its world premiere was Tomás Barreiro’s
`Rossignol Mecanique,’ a variation of `The Death of the Nightingale,’
which won Barreiro the AGBU 2012 Sayat Nova International Composition
Competition and earned him the prize to showcase his work at Carnegie
Hall. The duduk, mezzo-soprano, oboe, piano, and string trio brought
the composition to life.

Before taking the conductor’s stand, Barreiro, a Mexico City native,
commented on the Sayat Nova poetry that influenced him. He also
expressed his gratitude to the AGBU, stating, `I have participated in
a number of competitions and never before found such an amazing group
of people. I cannot claim Armenian roots, but the AGBU Sayat Nova
International Composition Competition introduced me to the vibrant
Armenian community and its incredibly rich musical heritage, which
continue to inspire me.’

`Rossignol Mecanique’ was one of the concert’s many works to combine
Armenian traditional music and more contemporary sounds. Maxime
Aulio’s `Odes Arméniennes,’ which also debuted at the NYSEC event,
rearranged four of Sayat Nova’s poems. `Tagh to Resurrection’ by
Tigran Mansurian incorporated medieval melodies while replicating an
audio recording of Komitas. The audience also enjoyed `Impromptu’ and
`Verhoush’ by the late Alexander Arutiunian and Edward Mirzoyan,
respectively, as well as famous pieces by Aram Khachaturian in honor
of the 110th anniversary of his birth.

The young concert performers are carrying on the legacy of
Khachaturian and other Armenian masters as they pursue their own
careers with support from the AGBU Scholarship Program. Each member of
the international ensemble has received an AGBU Performing Arts
Fellowship: Pierre Bedrossian (oboe, duduk, and English horn); Ani
Kalayjian (cello); Henrik Karapetyan (violin and viola); Solange
Merdinian (mezzo-soprano); Nazig Tchakarian (violin); Varta Tchakarian
(piano); and Adam Tendler (piano). With the AGBU’s funding, they have
trained at some of the world’s top-ranking institutions, including the
Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory, the Juilliard School of Music, the
National Music Conservatory of Paris, and the Royal Northern College
of Music in Manchester.

The concert’s artistic director, Nazig Tchakarian, who partnered with
AGBU Performing Arts Department Director Hayk Arsenyan, said, `It was
a pleasure to have collaborated with such dedicated and talented
artists. After months of preparation, and a great week of rehearsing,
it was rewarding to see everything come together so beautifully. I was
very pleased to be able to give back to the AGBU after all the
organization has done for me over the years, and am thankful to the
AGBU and NYSEC for making this evening such a tremendous success.’

The sixth annual AGBU Performing Artists in Concert was co-chaired by
Nila Festekjian and Sossy Setrakian and organized by AGBU NYSEC. This
year, generous supporters of the NYSEC concert donated more than
$50,000, which will help sustain AGBU’s performing arts initiatives
worldwide.

The AGBU Performing Arts Fellowship Program offers grants to full-time
undergraduate and graduate students of Armenian descent worldwide who
are pursuing their study in the field of performing arts. To make a
contribution to sustain and support the enhancement of future Armenian
musicians, contact the AGBU at (212) 319-6383 or [email protected].

Established in 2012, the AGBU Performing Arts Department (PAD)
connects young Armenian artists worldwide and introduces Armenian art
to diverse audiences. In its pilot year, PAD launched the Musical
Armenia Program, an annual summer initiative that brings artists from
around the world to Armenia to explore the country’s musical heritage.
To learn more about PAD, visit The AGBU
Sayat Nova International Composition Competition is organized
biennially by AGBU Paris. To learn more about the 2014 competition,
visit

Police Forcefully Detained Protestors Outside Parliament (VIDEO)

12.20.2013 15:34 epress.am

Police officers used brute force against several dozen demonstrators
who were protesting outside Armenia’s National Assembly on Baghramyan
Avenue today. While detaining activists, police officers also
obstructed the work of journalists: they tried to prevent them from
filming those times when they were using force against the
demonstrators, who were protesting the Dec. 2 ArmRosGazprom purchase
and sale agreement with Russia, as well as a number of other
agreements signed between the two countries, which are being discussed
in parliament today.

Details in the video below.

Armenian public figure jailed days before important news conference (video)

14:11 – 21.12.13

Arkady Vardanyan, the Armenian public figure sentenced to 10 years in
prison over a murder plot, was planning to hold what lawyers claim to
be an important news conference three days before the conviction.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Ruben Kirakosyan and Gayane
Galoyan, defense lawyers representing the interests of Vardanyan and
the other convict, Arsen Avetyan, described the criminal case as
politically motivated.

`This case is not against Avetyan; it targets Arkady Vardanyan. He
[Avetyan] was trapped under the wheels of this story, serving as a
fishing rod to catch Vardanyan,’ Kirakosyan said.

Both lawyers agreed that Vardanyan, a 66-year old public figure with a
biography characterizing him best as a nation lover, could not have
had any reason to commit or perpetrate such a crime.

Galoyan said the alleged motive behind the plot, the private residence
belonging to Avetyan’s father, was legally unfit for sale as it had
four different owners.

The aggrieved, Avetyan’s father, who is claimed to be the object of
the crime (the facts in the case suggest that Avetyan and Vardanyan
plotted his murder through poisoning) is said to have no complaints
either.

NEGATIONNISME
Renaissance arménienne condamne la CEHD

Dans un arrêt rendu le 17 décembre 2013 à Strasbourg, la Cour
Européenne des Droits de l’Homme affirme que le fait de nier le
génocide arménien ne constitue pas un délit.

Selon elle, la décision rendue en 2007 par la justice suisse,
condamnant le Président du parti des travailleurs de Turquie, Dogu
Perinçek pour ses propos négationnistes, porte atteinte à la liberté
d’expression.

Renaissance arménienne – Paris condamne cette décision avec la plus
grande fermeté.

Par cette décision, la CEDH dénature le sens profond de ce qu’est la «
liberté d’expression » pour en faire l’arme de tous les dangers pour
tous ceux qui contreviennent au principe du droit à la dignité
humaine.

Par cette décision, la CEDH tend à disqualifier l’ensemble de ses
propres missions.

Par cette décision, la CEDH dénie au peuple arménien le droit à
l’existence, au peuple turc le droit à la vérité sur sa propre
histoire. Aujourd’hui, les Arméniens, demain qui ou quel autre peuple
? Car cette décision aura des lendemains.

Cette décision interroge, est-ce par inculture, est-ce par on ne sait
quelle légèreté, on ne sait quels intérêts sous-jacents, que l’on veut
ignorer ce qui est arrivé au peuple arménien, que l’on veut ignorer
que l’Etat turc est un Etat porteur d’une idéologie négationniste et
que Dogu Perinçek est le serviteur zélé de cette idéologie qui scelle
et consacre le crime des crimes ?

Renaissance arménienne – Paris condamne cette décision qu’elle
considère comme une dérive dont les conséquences peuvent être d’une
extrême gravité et invite les démocrates conscients de ces
conséquences à réagir.

Renaissance arménienne – Paris invite tout particulièrement l’ensemble
des Arméniens, en Arménie comme dans le monde, à réagir (pétitions,
lettres, etc.), personnellement et à travers leurs instances.

Paris le 20/12/2013

samedi 21 décembre 2013,
Ara ©armenews.com

BAKU PLUS ANKARA

WPS Agency, Russia
December 19, 2013 Thursday

by Sokhbet Mamedov
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, No 276, December 19, 2013, p. 1

AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY ADVANCE MILITARY COOPERATION; Military expert:
Signing of a major treaty between Azerbaijan and Turkey will change
the arrangement of forces in the region.

Sources within the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry say that the Turkish
delegation currently in Baku is headed by Colonel General Alparslan
Erdogan of the General Staff. Come to discuss bilateral military
and military-technical cooperation with Azerbaijan, the delegation
includes senior officers of the General Staff, National Security
Ministry, and some other security structures.

This bilateral military dialogue on the highest level has been under
way since 2007.

Some experts claim that the potential of the Azerbaijani-Turkish
military and military-technical cooperation is as good as untapped
yet. Military analyst Hatam Jabbarly said, “Sure, Azerbaijani-Turkish
ties in this sphere are fairly tight but… the lack of a major defense
treaty is definitely a shortcoming of truly strategic magnitude.”

“Should Baku and Ankara sign a document analogous to the Security
Concept of signatories of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization (Russia and Armenia subscribed to it in 1995), it will
almost certainly change the correlation of forces in the region,”
said Jabbarly.

Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the strategic cooperation and mutual
assistance treaty on August 16, 2010… but Jabbarly dismissed it
as insufficient because the document did little more than outline
general contours of cooperation. As matters stand, military cooperation
between Azerbaijan and Turkey is restricted to arms sales, intelligence
gathering, joint military exercises, and so on.

Like Russia and Israel, Turkey is one of the heaviest exporters of
military hardware to Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani military expects
thirty-six T-155 Firtina self-propelled howitzers from Turkey in 2014.

The contract between the two countries was signed in 2011.

Baku is also interested in T-129 ATAK helicopters, the ones the
Turks mean to display for the first time at ADEX-2014 arms show in
the capital of Azerbaijan in September 2014.

WPS’2013

[Translated from Russian]

RESUMPTION OF RAILWAY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND ARMENIA WAS “VERY IMPORTANT AND DESIRABLE”, SCR GENERAL DIRECTOR THINKS

Thursday 19 December 2013 16:07
Photo:

General Director of South Caucasus Railway (SCR) Victor Rebets

Yerevan /Mediamax/. General Director of South Caucasus Railway
(SCR) Victor Rebets said today that the resumption of the railway
communication between Russia and Armenia was very “important and
desirable for us”.

Answering Mediamax’s question, Victor Rebets said that the projects
implemented by the SCR are also aimed at creating a reserve of
reliability and security of communication in case this railway
sector opens.

“We have exactly the same response to the construction works of the
railway sector to Iran”, said Victor Rebets.

Mediamax recalls that opening of Abkhazian-Georgian sector of
former Transcaucasia railway is meant here. In January 2013,
President of Abkhazia Alexander Ankvab called the prospect of
restoration of the railway communication “vague”. He stated that
“multimillion investments” are needed for rehabilitation of the
railway communication. According to him, “the specialists should
calculate what the Abkhazian side will benefit from it, whether or
not it’s worthy. And multimillion investments are needed for fully
operating railway”.

Former Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili said in Yerevan
on January 17 that the resumption of the railway communication
on the territory of Abkhazia is directly linked to settlement
of Georgian-Russian relations. He noted that the Georgian side is
interested in earliest restoration of the operation of the Abkhazian
sector of the railway.

In his turn, former President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili said
responding to the statement that the resumption of the railway
communication through Abkhazia is in Russia’s interests and raising
this issue without the context of de-occupation “is a criminal,
antistate and anti-Georgian” act. According to him, after the launch of
Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars new railway line which will link Azerbaijan with
Turkey through Georgia, the latter won’t need to open communication
through Abkhazia.

“Naturally, we want good relations with Armenia, we did much to pass
Armenian cargo”, he stated adding that Upper Lars checkpoint was
opened to this end.

“Armenia’s isolation has never been in Georgia’s interests and we have
never supported it. But good relations with Armenia is one thing and
fulfilling strategic plans of an occupant is quite a different one”,
said Saakashvili.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Abkhazia Irakly Khintba noted in August 2013
that the Abkhazian side didn’t have any calculations to unequivocally
state the commercial appropriateness of the project for resumption
of railway communication between Armenia and Russia.

“One thing I can say for sure: if there is a decision on operation
of the railway road from Russia to Armenia some time, no issues
of political and legal jurisdiction of the Abkhazian sector of the
railway can’t be speculated upon. It’s Abkhazian railway, it’s owned
by our state and there can be no other position”, said Irakly Khintba.

As of the research results published by International Alert and
South Caucasus Regional Research Group on November 20, the opening
of Sochi-Sukhumi-Tbilisi-Yerevan railway sector is only profitable
for Armenia now.

According to the same research, resumption of direct railway link
between Armenia and Russia may have a tangible impact on Armenia
both in mid- and long-term prospect. At the same time, resumption of
the communication won’t yield considerable gains for the Georgian
and Abkhazian sides as the funds allocated to reconstruction and
development will be incomparably higher.

– See more at:

TURKISH EXPERT SAYS ARMENIA COULD SELL ELECTRICITY TO TURKEY VIA GEORGIA

YEREVAN, December 19. / ARKA /. Armenia could export electricity to
Turkey via Georgia, Hassan Selim Uzertem, and head of the Turkish
Center for Research of Energy Security of the International Strategic
Studies organization, told an international conference in Yerevan on
regional security challenges.

He explained that because of the closed Turkish-Armenian border
export of Armenian electricity t to Turkey is impossible, even if
power-generating facilities in Armenia are owned by foreign companies.

“However, there are ways for developing bilateral commerce. I see
in Yerevan many Turkish brands that come to Armenia via Georgia. You
can do it in the opposite direction. Armenia could sell electricity
to Georgia and Georgia to Turkey,” Uzertem said.

He said Georgia is already exporting electricity to Turkey.

“Sales of Armenian electricity to Turkey via Georgia could serve as
an additional factor in the integration between the three countries,”
he added.

Speaking at the same conference, Sevak Sarukhanyan, head of a
Yerevan-based Noravank think-tank, said Armenia could sell electricity
to Iran have not it been too expensive? He said according to many
estimates, if Armenia builds a new nuclear power unit in lieu of
its aging Metsamor plant, the cost of one Kilowatt of electrifies
will be 16 US cents, whereas Tehran subsidies electricity prices for
households which pay only 2 US cents.

The Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant is located some 30 kilometers
west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following
a devastating earthquake in 1988. One of its two VVER 440-V230
light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. Armenian authorities
say they will build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging
facility. The new plant is supposed to operate at twice the capacity
of the Soviet-constructed facility. Metsamor currently generates some
40 percent of Armenia’s electricity. But the government has yet to
attract funding for the project that was estimated by a U.S.-funded
feasibility study to cost at as much as $5 billion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said September 3 after talks with
his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in the Russian capital that
experts from Russian state nuclear company Rosatom and their Armenian
peers agreed to work on a project to extend the service life of the
current Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor for another 10 years
until 2026. -0-

15:39 19.12.2013

BEST PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ON ARMENIAN MARKET – SURVEY

14:31 ~U 19.12.13

The Gallup International Association’s Armenian office has conducted
a survey in collaboration with Pan-Armenian Media Group to find out
the most preferred products on the Armenian market.

At a news conference on Thursday, the Office’s director, Arman
Navasardyan, and Head of the Research Department Gayane Dajunts
introduced the results of their polls which they said were conducted
in both capital Yerevan and the regions.

The survey revealed that Grand Candy, a major Armenian confectionary
plant, is a leading ice-cream manufacturer, with Kilikia Beer being a
leading brewery. Dalma Garden Mall was found to be best trading center
and Tashir Pizza – a best pizzeria network. Most of the respondents
have given preference to Yerevan City as the best supermarket chain
and Natali Pharm as the best pharmacy chain.

Asked what questions were asked regarding the supermakets, Navasardyan
said they had 12-35 different questions with most different wordings,
such as “Which of the supermarkets do you know?”, “Which supermarket
do you visit?” and “Which one do you consider the best?”