Author: nina hovnanian

MINE EXPLOSION KILLS ONE IN ARMENIA

July 23, 2013 | 12:59

YEREVAN. – The Hrazdan city department of Armenia’s Police received a
call from hospital, in the late evening on Monday, informing that the
ambulance staff had transferred the dead body of Samvel Hovhannisyan,
40.

The operative police squad, which was dispatched to the scene, found
out that Hovhannisyan had died on the same day at around 9:30pm,
informs the Police press service.

He had lost his life as a result of an unknown explosion during a
route exploration at the mine of a company.

The circumstances of the incident are being ascertained, and an
investigation is in progress.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

SOLDIER DIES IN KARABAKH

July 23, 2013 | 12:36

STEPANAKERT. – Military serviceman Narek Hovsepyan (born in 1994)
sustained a fatal wound, Armenian News-NEWS.am learned from the news
service of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Ministry of Defense (NKR MOD).

Hovsepyan had died as a result of an unfortunate incident that occurred
in an NKR Defense Army unit, on Monday at around 12:30pm.

An investigation is underway to ascertain the details of the incident.

The NKR MOD shares the grief of the dire loss and extends its support
to the family members, relatives, and fellow servicemen of Narek
Hovsepyan.

BAKU CONDEMNS AUSTRALIAN MPS’ VISIT TO OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
By Sara Rajabova

AzerNews, Azerbaijan

22 July 2013, 12:24 (GMT+05:00)

Australian MPs have shown disrespect to the official position of their
countries and the principles of international law by their visit to
the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev told media.

Abdullayev said that Azerbaijan’s position on foreign citizens’
visits to Nagorno-Karabakh which have not been agreed upon with the
Azerbaijani side in advance is unchanged and Baku will continue to
deem them illegal.

According to him, all of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic missions abroad
have placed information on their websites, urging citizens of the
countries in which these diplomatic missions are accredited not to
pay such visits.

A group of parliament members from the Australian state of New South
Wales last week visited Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region under
Armenian occupation.

“Australia has repeatedly voiced its support for Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity and these actions do not reflect the country’s
official stance,” Abdullayev added.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Australia has been instructed to convey
Baku’s discontent to the country’s leadership.

Besides, in November 2012, Armenian media reported that the Legislative
Council of the New South Wales state adopted a resolution recognizing
the separatist “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic”.

However, the Australian government said in a letter to the Azerbaijani
government that it supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan
and that this position has not changed.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.

The UN Security Council’s four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal
from the Azerbaijani territory have not been enforced to this day.

Russia, France and the U.S. have long been working to broker a solution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group, but
their efforts have been largely fruitless so far.

Peace talks are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed
by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The
document envisions a return of the territories surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal
status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region;
and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.

URUGUAY PLANS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM

EurasiaNet.org, NY
July 22 2013

July 22, 2013 – 10:42am, by Giorgi Lomsadze

They may be 8,000 miles apart, but Uruguay and Armenia have a history
together. And, so, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the
Latin American country is slotted to become the first state apart from
Armenia to build a museum dedicated to Ottoman Turkey’s World-War-I-era
slaughter of ethnic Armenians.

The museum in Montevideo is scheduled to open in 2015, on the
centennial anniversary of the killings, and will have rooms dedicated
to other genocides as well, local officials say.

Armenia’s tensions with Turkey over the massacre play out in various
venues around the world, and national takes on the subject tend to
be commensurate with the size and influence of Armenian Diasporas.

Uruguay is home to one of the oldest Armenian communities in South
America and many of its members are descendants of victims of the
killings. Several Armenian churches, and non-profit groups exist,
along with Armenian-language radio stations and a newspaper.

In 1965, Uruguay became the first country – even ahead of Armenia
itself, which was under Soviet rule at the time – to recognize the
massacre as genocide. It once even mulled recognition of Nagorno
Karabakh, an ethnic-Armenian disputed territory that most of the
world places under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction.

Turkey views the massacre as a casualty of war and resists Armenian’s
struggle to secure international recognition of the slaughter
as genocide. It has not yet responded to the Uruguayan museum’s
construction.

Fuller Center for Housing marks five years in Armenia

Published: Sunday July 21, 2013

YEREVAN – The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia (FCHA) celebrated its
fifth anniversary at the Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan, which was the
generous sponsor of the event.

The June 28 event marked an important milestone not only for the
Fuller Center for Housing, but also for the Republic of Armenia. Since
its inception in 2008, FCHA has built or renovated hundreds of safe
and decent homes for needy families in remote regions of Armenia.

Commenting on the core values of Marriott International, J.W.
Marriott, Jr. stated, “We believe our long-time commitment to a
sustainable business sets us apart and our global reach gives us a
unique opportunity to make a real difference in communities around the
world.”

David Snell, the founder member and the president of the Fuller Center
for Housing, inc. shared in his remarks: “I had the great privilege of
visiting Armenia in 2008 when The Fuller Center Armenia was still a
dream. Now, five years later, this program has risen to become the
most productive organization in the world-wide Fuller Center family of
covenant partners.

This work wouldn’t be possible without the support of those who share
of their time and their financial resources. Special recognition is
due to local donors/supporters for their gifts. Thanks are also due to
the amazing Armenian diaspora community in the United States whose
generosity is unbounded.

Thank you for coming out to celebrate this great event. May the good
Lord continue to shower His blessings on The Fuller Center for Housing
Armenia and on our work around the world. Every child deserves to have
a decent home to grow up in, and together we can make that happen. No
more shacks! No more domiks”!

Discussing the significance of the Fuller Center’s 5th anniversary,
Ashot Yeghiazaryan, president of the Fuller Center for Housing
Armenia, stated:

“Since 2000, our team has been working in Armenia to eliminate poverty
housing, and so far we have reached out to over 650 families. Over 70%
of these families were homeless, while some just needed home
improvements. Every home we have built has been made possible thanks
to the dedication of our supporters and volunteers as well as
organizations both from Armenia and overseas.

“However the housing need in Armenia is still high. There are over
64,000 families (about 8% of population) who need to either build or
renovate their homes. We have seen that helping one family at a time
is making a difference for a lifetime, and impacting more than one
generation. Our mission motivates us to share our love and dedication
with these families.

“As we look to the future, we would like to reach out to new
communities. We encourage all Armenians and interested people to join
this vital humanitarian work and help us change the lives of Armenian
families in our homeland.”

The 5th anniversary celebration will follow joint builds with longtime
and new partners: Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan, KPMG, U.S. Embassy,
Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), AGBU, International Research &
Exchanges Board (IREX), Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC), and others.
FCHA will also commemorate the anniversary with the completion of its
250th home. In summer 2013, this home, now the residence of the
Margaryan family in the village of Ujan, will be dedicated and blessed
by local clergy. Members of St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian
Church in White Plains, New York sponsored the construction of this
house.

FCHA also partners with Heifer International to provide many of the
new homeowners with gifts of livestock and bees; this has allowed the
homeowners to generate a stable income and enhance the economy of
their local regions. This winning approach of building homes and
gifting livestock means that FCHA’s beneficiary families do not feel
the need to seek a better standard of living outside of Armenia. FCHA
provides safe shelter and a source of income that gives families
everything they need to stay in Armenia.

The anniversary coincided with the kick-off of FCHA’s 6th summer
volunteer season, called Global Builders. Currently two volunteer
teams are in Armenia led by Cynthia Erickson (10 members) and Leo
Manuelian (15 members). Both team leaders are from USA and both have
joined this home building mission since 2003. “Congratulations to
Fuller Center Armenia on this 5th anniversary. Of course I was present
at your birth, so I feel like you are my child also. Best wishes for
your continued success in the future and for the hard work to create
this organization” shared Cynthia Erickson.

“I want to congratulate Fuller Center on its 5th anniversary. In its
short but wise term of existence the organization has helped over 250
families giving families in need like us a shelter, warmth and faith
for living. The words can’t express the feelings that I have in my
soul.” shared Zorik Avetisyan from Aragatsotn region, the village of
Ujan, whose house was built through FCHA program last year.

The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a non-government, charitable
organization that supports community development in the Republic of
Armenia by assisting in building and renovating simple, decent and
affordable homes, as well as advocating the right to decent shelter as
a matter of conscience and action. FCHA provides long-term,
interest-free loans to low-income families. The monthly repayments
flow into a Revolving Fund, which is used to help more families,
thereby providing a financial foundation for a sustainable community
development effort.

For more information, please visit

`Our City’ civil initiative condemns conduct of Armenian policemen

July 20, 2013 | 18:24

Civil initiative `Our City’ issued a statement related to the incident
which occurred during the protest action against transport fares hike.

The video shows disrespectful attitude of policemen towards the
protesters. Policemen are trying to exert psychological pressure on
the demonstrators, they said in a statement.

Organization condemned conduct of the law enforcers, urging them to
respect the Constitution, laws and human rights.

Police representatives told Armenian News-NEWS.am that three people
had been detained. Later one of them was released.

Public transport fares in Armenia’s capital rose by 1.5-2 times
starting from July 20. The bus fare made AMD 100 instead of 50, while
minibus fare increased from AMD 100 to 150.

About the panic

July 20 2013

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is speaking every other day about
attacking Armenia. Meanwhile, a variety of arguments are brought in
favor of this thesis. For example, `Sevan is ours, Yerevan is ours,
Zangezoor is ours’ and other similar absurd. If any Armenian media
quotes these words of the head of the neighboring country, does it
mean a national treason. I think, no, because our readers and viewers
need to know what kind of nonsense this person is filling the brain of
its own people. Customary nonsense is the fact that there is a panic
in Armenia in connection with the purchase of new weapons by
Azerbaijan. This is how Aliev tries to explain the `decrying’ that are
sometimes raised in Armenia to the address of Russians. Let us put
aside that we should not `gab’ to the address of any nation, or a
state: they have their own interests, we have ours. But naming the
rebukes against Russians `panic’, I think, means putting the reality
for desired. Every person having a secondary education knows that the
United States had much more modern weapons than Vietnam, and the
Soviet Union was exceeding Afghanistan in military weapons, but the
superpowers in these two countries did not particularly reach success.
Why? Because wars are not won with weapons, but with the motivation to
fight. The people of the neighboring country do not have the
motivation to attack us, and if the country’s leadership, however,
make such a frantic step, it’s up to its sin. And, generally, panic is
not a good thing, it prevents to adequately assess the situation. In
the inner political life, the opponents often write that `the regime
is in a panic.’ And, thus, for 20 years. I understand that it is a
means to embolden its own team and its own electorate. But, I do not
think that the panic is typical to any authorities of Armenia, in the
past and now. The self-confidence reaching the arrogance that `nothing
can stop us,’ `who is that guy,’ and so on, yes, it was and is. I
would prefer that their hearts were not in panic but anxiety, and not
for their own seats (it certainly is), but for the events taken place
in Armenia and the region. But, God forbid a panic! The sports
commentators also like the word `panic’: `the opponent’s penalty area
appeared in panic situation.’ This characterization also seldom
complies with the reality. ARAM ABRAHAMYAN

Read more at:

ARMENIA AND ENVIRONMENT
The bottom of the lake Sevan polluted by plastic bottles and fishing nets

Divers have discovered at the bottom of Lake Sevan significant
accumulations of plastic objects (mainly plastic bottles) greatly pollute
the environment of the lake. Some of these items are plastic bottles filled
with water, sand or stone thrown at the bottom of Sevan according EchoLur
agency. Fishing nets torn also found in large numbers in the lake. The
diver Mamikon Hagopian has made a lot of photos and videos of the lake
bottom to prove that pollution. One of the images shows a crayfish caught
in one of these threads, unable to free himself and who is sentenced to
die. We know that crayfish are in large numbers in the waters of the
Armenian lake, but we do not have time for any numerical statistic. But
according to experts of the hydro-ecology of the Academy of Sciences of
Armenia Department, the population of crayfish from Lake Sevan is
decreasing.

Krikor Amirzayan

Sunday, July 21, 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan © armenews.com
`456

ARMENIE-ENVIRONNEMENT
Le fond du lac Sévan pollué par des bouteilles en plastique et des
filets de pêche

`456

Des plongeurs ont découvert au fond des eaux du lac Sévan des
accumulations importantes d’objets plastiques (essentiellement des
bouteilles en plastique) qui polluent grandement l’environnement du
lac. Certains de ces objets sont des bouteilles en plastique remplies
d’eau, de sable ou de pierre, lancées au fond du Sévan selon l’agence
EchoLur. Des filets de pêche arrachés se trouvent également en grand
nombre au fond du lac. Le plongeur Mamikon Hagopian a réalisé un grand
nombre de photos et vidéos du fond du lac pour attester cette
pollution. L’une de ces images montre une écrevisse coincée dans l’un
de ces filets, incapable de se libérer et qui est condamné à mourir.
Nous savons que les écrevisses sont en très grand nombre dans les eaux
du lac arménien, mais nous ne disposons pour l’heure d’aucune donnée
statistique chiffrée. Mais selon les spécialistes du département
d’hydro-écologie de l’Académie des Sciences d’Arménie, la population
des écrevisses du lac Sévan serait en diminution.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 21 juillet 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

ARMENIENS DE RUSSIE
Les Arméniens de Russie demandent la démission d’Ara Abrahamian,
président de l’« Union des Arméniens de Russie »

Les Arméniens de Russie réunis dans un vaste mouvement de protestation
réclament la démission d’Ara Abrahamian, le président de « l’Union des
Arméniens de Russie ». La lettre de protestation, mise en ligne sur le
site change.org, est adressée aux « Dirigeants de l’Union des
Arméniens de Russie ». Elle dit « 13 ans après la fondation de l’«
Union des Arméniens de Russie », a prouvé que cette organisation n’est
qu’un bureau d’organisation de festivités et de concerts et qui
s’occupe uniquement de rendre service aux membres du parti au pouvoir
en Russie. Lors de ces années, l’« Union des Arméniens de Russie » a
acquis une expérience riche en s’immisçant dans la politique
intérieure de l’Arménie afin d’intervenir et y favoriser les intérêts
de la Russie (…) nous attendions que cette organisation serve avant
tout les intérêts des Arméniens de Russie ». Les protestataires
demandent des explications à Ara Abrahamian. Ils protestent également
contre l’absence d’une programmation de manifestations à l’occasion du
100e anniversaire du génocide arménien, le manque de soutien de
l’enseignement de l’arménien dans les écoles en Russie et l’absence
d’un quelconque écho suite à la livraison importante d’armes de la
Russie à l’Azerbaïdjan. « Nous, signataires de cette pétitions,
attendons une réponse de votre part, Monsieur Abrahamian. Dans le cas
contraire, nous exigeons votre démission afin de laisser votre place à
une personne disposant d’une mentalité patriotique » écrit le
manifeste.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 21 juillet 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com