Author: nina hovnanian

COACH: CZECHS FACE “FINAL” AGAINST ARMENIA IN FRIDAY’S WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

Radio Prague
Sept 5 2013

The Czech Republic face a “final” in their World Cup qualifier against
Armenia at Prague’s Eden Arena on Friday night, the team’s coach
Michal Bílek said on Thursday. He said his team – who are currently
third in their group, one point behind Bulgaria – need to win three
of their four remaining games if they are to reach Brazil next year.

Goalkeeper Petr Ä~Lech said that while the Czechs had beaten the
Armenians 3:0 in Yerevan, they were a tough opponent who performed
better on the road. On Tuesday the Czech Republic will play Italy away.

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM COMMISSION SET UP IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, September 5. /ARKA/. A professional commission to deal with
constitutional reforms is set up under the president of Armenia
office.

According to the presidential decree, the commission will compose of
the chairman of Armenia’s constitutional court Gagik Harutiunyan (of
approved by him), chairman of the standing parliament committee for
state and legal issues David Harutiunyan (if approved by the latter),
minister of justice Hrayr Tovmasyan, assistant to president Georgy
Kutoyan, first deputy minister of justice Grigor Muradyan, authorized
representative of Armenian government to European human rights court
and military prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan (if approved by him), chairman
of Bar Association of Armenia NGO Gagik Ghazinyan (if approved by him),
chair of the council of Constitutional Right-Protective Center NGO
Gevorg Danielyan (if approved by him), head of the program Consultation
for Legal and Judicial Reform in the South Caucasus of the German
International Cooperation GIZ Vardan Poghosyan (if approved by him).

The presidential decree also envisages certain procedures for the
commission activities.

The president instructed the commission for constitutional reforms to
submit a constitutional reform concept before April 20, 2014. After
the concept is approved by the president within ten days, draft
reforms should be submitted to the president.

Aide to President Siranush Sahakyan is appointed as the commission’s
secretary.-0–

GENOCIDE DENIER NAMED STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN

Thursday, September 5th, 2013 | Posted

by Ara Khachatourian

Doug Frantz

WASHINGTON-Doug Frantz, the notorious Genocide denier and former
Los Angeles Times managing editor who lost his job when he blocked
the publication of an article about the Armenian Genocide penned by
journalist Mark Arax has been appointed the new spokesperson of the
US State Department, a White House memo reported.

Frantz’s stint as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the State
Department will not be his first with Secretary of State John Kerry.

He worked as an investigation for the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee when Kerry was chairman.

The Armenian-American community came to know Frantz when in April
2007, as LA Times managing editor, he killed the publication of a
front-page story penned by Armenian-American journalist Mark Arax
about the Armenian Genocide resolution pending in Congress at the
time. In a memo to Arax, Frantz said the author’s ethnicity posed a
conflict of interest.

This sparked a controversy and prompted the Armenian National Committee
of America-Western Region and other community leaders to launch a
grassroots campaign against Frantz and the LA Times demanding an
explanation and his resignation from his top post at the newspaper.

After an overwhelming response from the Armenian community and numerous
meetings by Armenian leaders with LA Times top brass at the time,
Frantz resigned in June 2007 and went to Istanbul.

Frantz has had long-standing ties to Turkey. He was stationed
in Istanbul for several years, first as bureau chief for The New
York Times and then as investigative reporter for the Los Angeles
Times. He had developed close contacts with various Turkish officials,
including the Turkish Consul General in Los Angeles who boasted in a
taped interview with Arax at the time about his special relationship
with Frantz who in May 2007 went to Istanbul to moderate a panel that
included a notorious genocide denier.

ABOUT 70% ARMENIAN CITIZENS POSITIVE ABOUT ARMENIA’S FUTURE ACCESSION TO CUSTOMS UNION: EDB

YEREVAN, September 5. /ARKA/. About 70% of Armenia’s citizens are
positive about the country’s future accession to the Russia-initiated
customs union, director of Centre for Integration Studies at the
Eurasian Development Bank Yevgeniy Vinokurov said.

The “EDB Integration Barometer – 2013” study showed 67% of Armenia’s
population supports the accession to the customs union, and only 5%
are categorically against the accession, he said. The full outcome
of the study will be presented shortly, Vinokurov said.

Armenia’s and Russia’s presidents made a joint statement after their
negotiations Tuesday saying Armenia intends to enter the Customs Union
and participate later in formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.-0–

– See more at:

MKHITARYAN THANKS FOOTBALL FANS

September 5, 2013

On his Facebook page, Armenian national football team and Germany’s
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan thanked the fans that
voted for him in the official website of the German Bundesliga.

As a result of the online voting, Mkhitaryan was recognized as the
best player of the fourth-round games in the current season of the
Bundesliga.

A total of 41.33 percent of the voters had made their choice in favor
of the Armenian international.

To note, owing to the two goals scored by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Borussia
Dortmund defeated Eintracht Frankfurt on September 1, and by a score of
2-1. In addition, and achieving four wins in just as many matches, the
club went to the break, in connection with the World Cup qualifiers,
as the leader.

NEWS.am Sport

INITIALING AGREEMENT WITH EU STILL ON ARMENIA’S POLITICAL AGENDA: HEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION

YEREVAN, September 5. /ARKA/. Armenia’s decision to access
Russia-initiated Customs Union does not imply suspension of political
dialogue with the European Union, head of Amrenian president’s
administration Vigen Sargsyan said in his interview to Radio Liberty.

After the negotiations between Armenia’s and Russia’s presidents
Tuesday, a statement was made saying Armenia intends to enter the
Customs Union and participate later in formation of the Eurasian
Economic Union.

“We are very grateful to our European partners for the path we walked
together. Hence, initialing the agreement with the EU on Eastern
partnership summit in Vilnius remains on our political agenda”,
Sargsyan said.

According to the head of the presidential administration, Armenia’s
view is clear – to try to reconcile these concepts despite the opinion
that accession to the Customs Union is an obstacle on the way to free
trade agreement with the EU.

“In case it turns impossible, we’ll take the most important
from this cooperation on the European path – the political
dialogue, counteraction in the system of values that enables
us modernizing the country”, he said. N.V. -0– – See more at:

PACE DENIES AZERBAIJANI PROVOCATION REGARDING SARSANG WATER RESERVOIR

10:55, 5 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The news circulating in the
Azerbaijani media saying that the PACE Presidential Committee has
approved the motion for resolution on Sarsang Water Reservoir submitted
by Azerbaijan is not accurate. This is a pure disinformation, which
attempts to speculate in the issue of the Sarsang Water Reservoir,
which is situated in the central part of the Martakert Region of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

Responding the inquiry submitted by “Armenpress”, the PACE
Communication Division stated: “I am afraid that this information
is wrong, as the PACE Bureau decided last Monday to forward this
motion for resolution to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and
Sustainable Development only for information (a document forwarded for
information cannot give rise to a committee report to the Assembly).”

SHIRINYAN: ENTRY INTO CUSTOMS UNION STRENGTHENS SECURITY OF ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH

13:23 05/09/2013 ” POLITICS

Armenia chose to join the Customs Union. It is difficult to say whether
or not by taking that step Armenia became less sovereign. With good
governance we will enter into the political process like Kazakhstan
and Belarus, political scientist Levon Shirinyan told a news conference
in Yerevan.

Entry into the Customs Union further strengthens the security of
Armenia and Artsakh, the analyst said, and “Javakhk Armenians can
benefit from the new situation if they are clever enough.”

“Europe should treat our choice with understanding,” Shirinyan said,
adding that Armenia needs to develop the European direction.

Source: Panorama.am

EU SHOWING RESEMBLANCE TO USSR – ARMENIAN EXPERT

10:17 05.09.13

In an interview with Tert.am, Chairman of the Political Scientists
Union of Armenia Hmayak Hovhannisyan addressed Armenia’s decision to
join the Customs Union.

Cooperation with Russia is of paramount importance for Armenia. He
believes that the European Union (EU) will offer Armenia an option
to continue relations as the EU itself is interested in cooperation.

“I should first of all note that a number of officials must resign.

Among them is Deputy FM Sharvarsh Kocharyan and Head of the Republican
Party of Armenia parliamentary group Galust Sahakyan. The latter said
yesterday that Armenia would without fail initial the association
agreement with the EU. I can say that the EU is beginning to show
resemblance to the Soviet Union. What does a state composed of 28
states mean? We [the USSR] were a union of 15 states [republics] and
felt uncomfortable. There were first- second- and third-class states.

The leaders of the first-class states were members of the Politburo
[Political Bureau]. The leaders of the second-class states were
‘candidate members’. Armenia was among the third-class states. We
can see a similar situation within the EU, with its ‘six-class’
system of member-states.” Hovhannisyan said.

As regards the opinion that the statement was the result of blackmail
and the processes is based on EU officials’ personal opinions,
Hovannisyan said: “Blackmail was when European Commissioner for
Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Å tefan Fule arrived
here and, half joking, stated at a press conference he would sue
Armenia if it stopped on its way to the association agreement. It is
not so important who would be the means for him – Levon Ter-Petrosyan,
Shavarsh Kocharyan, Galust Sahakyan or Raffi Hovannisian. His statement
itself is what matters. He is a high-ranking official. Name at least
one Russian official of such caliber that would state that Russia
will sue Armenia if it does not join the Russia-led Customs Union.”

Asked about the EU’s possible response and further steps, the
expert said: “I think Armenia will be offered an option to continue
cooperation as it is the EU itself is interested in such relations.

And Armenia must not feign interest. It is not so. It is Europe that
is interested in Armenia and in our region. To say nothing of the
fact that Armenia is historically a bearer of European culture. And
Europe will do right if it accepts the ‘both…and’ logic, especially
as Russia originally formulated programs of integration with the EU
as the shortest way to reaching the goals. And it is the topic of
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s article.”

Armenian News – Tert.am

FATHER OF ARMENIAN OFFICER KILLED BY RAMIL SAFAROV ATTEMPTS COMMITTING SUICIDE

September 05, 2013 | 10:46

YEREVAN. – Artush Margaryan, the father of Gurgen Margaryan who
was axed to death by Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, attempted
to commit suicide, and he was taken to Malatia Medical center in
Armenia’s capital cityYerevan.

Artush Margaryan had stabbed himself several times in the stomach area
and he was hospitalized at midnight. He is now undergoing a surgery,
the hospital informedArmenian News-NEWS.am.

To note, Ramil Safarov, a then-lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military,
was extradited on August 31, 2012 from Hungary, where he was serving a
life sentence-and with no expression of either regret or remorse-for
the premeditated axe murder of Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan,
in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest
back in 2004. Safarov had planned on killing the other Armenian
military serviceman, who likewise was attending the aforesaid program,
but he was unable to carry out this plan.

Ramil Safarov’s return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of murder,
by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev’s government and much
of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani president immediately
granted him a pardon, he was declared a national hero, promoted to
a higher military rank, and was allocated housing and pension.

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31, 2012
that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary. Also,
Sargsyan instructed the Ministry of Justice to take all measures to
petition to the international judicial tribunals, and with respect
to the Safarov case.

Ramil Safarov’s pardoning was condemned by virtually all international
organizations.

Also, a group of Hungarian intellectuals visited Armenia last year-and
in connection with this incident-to announce that they are ashamed
of the action that was taken by the Hungarian authorities.