Author: nina hovnanian

IN EVERYDAY LIFE IT HAS AN OBSCENE DEFINITION
Naira Hayrumyan

Comments – Thursday, 24 January 2013, 13:22

The UK Ambassador’s blog on the Armenian elections has caused
controversial reactions. Several questions occurred. Does a foreign
country have the right to interfere with Armenia’s internal affairs?

In her response to this “accusation” Madam Ambassador refers to
Serzh Sargsyan’s statement that Armenia is part of the international
community which must consider Armenia one of them. “This puts it
very well,” Mrs. Leach wrote, thus reserving the right to speak
about the elections in Armenia. Were there not for the etiquette,
the ambassador would hint to Armenia that its president, speaker and
prime minister have welcomed the “more for more” principle proposed by
the EU. This is a degrading principle which has an obscene definition
in everyday life but Armenia has approved it. One should have spoken
about national dignity and sovereign rights when this principle was
proposed, not now. Do we agree with the ambassador who states that
over a decade Armenian elections have been badly marred by fraud?

In her response the ambassador did not dismiss her words that all the
elections have been falsified. In fact, she announces on behalf of
the international community that power has been usurped for fraud is a
civil form of usurpation. Either Armenia admits that power was usurped
for 20 years or sues the UK ambassador. But who will sue her knowing
that the ambassador can prove her words in a second? Information on
fraud came through both official and unofficial channels. This is not
the problem. The problem is that we have been living in a fake system
for 20 years and have done nothing to defeat it. For the first time
in Armenia one of the candidates announced that elections are fake,
that there is someone specific to blame for making us part of this
performance every time which results in another period of usurpation
of power. However, we are ready to become extras who get 5000 drams
per day of shooting. It means that Madam Ambassador is not right. If
fraud is agreed with the society, it is not fraud but plot. What will
the reaction of the West to the Armenian election be? Mrs. Leach’s
tough statements in her blog indicate that the West will not legitimize
usurpation of power this time. Of course, not because this time they
are concerned about the destiny of Armenia. First, Serzh Sargsyan
was unable to persuade the West of the government’s sincerity to
diversity its foreign policy and end its dependence on Russia.

Second, not recognizing Serzh Sargsyan’s legitimacy the West will
maintain levers of influence on him. It is not important how it will
end up for Serzh Sargsyan but it will end up badly for Armenia. Serzh
Sargsyan pulls the string too hard and if he lets it do, it will toss
us back to the post-Soviet past with such a force that we will hardly
survive the fall. Of course, pro-government authors and mass media
have not fine tuned to the West yet but there is already a breakthrough
in the public consciousness so it will be painful to return.

ARMENIA IS ACTIVE MEMBER OF UN – MFA

January 24, 2013 | 23:11

The 2012 was marked by the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s membership
in the UN, about which a number of commemorative events in Armenia
as well as in New York were held. This is stated in the 2012 report
of the Foreign Minister of Armenia.

According to the report, from September 26 to October 1, the delegation
headed by the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Nalbandyan
participated in the 67th session of the UN General Assembly, where
the minister spoke and met with UN Secretary General.

On June 20 in Rio de Janeiro, the delegation headed by the Minister
Nalbandyan participated in the World Summit of the United Nations
Sustainable Development “Rio+20”, in which the minister made a speech,
and Armenia presented a report. During the summit, on the initiative of
Armenia, discussions were held on the new methodology of the criteria
of sustainable development.

In November, Armenia was elected a member of the United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law (2013-2019). In the same month,
the UN General Assembly reaffirmed Armenia’s membership in the UN
Committee on the use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

On April 23, to participate in the official event of “Yerevan –
World Book Capital 2012”, UNESCO delegation arrived to Yerevan,
chaired by the Deputy Director General and Chairman Getachew Engida
and Chairman of 36th General Conference of UNESCO.

On October 18-19, Yerevan hosted an international summit of the World
Tourism Organization of the UN under the name “Universal values and
cultural diversity in the 21st century: the contribution of tourism”,
during which the Declaration of Yerevan was adopted.

ARMENIAN CONSULAR MISSIONS SERVED 127 000 PEOPLE IN 2012

January 24, 2013 | 22:24

In 2012, Armenia has signed 82 international agreements and ratified 23
documents. While 84 documents were confirmed and 52 intergovernmental
and interstate agreements entered into force. This is stated in the
2012 report of Foreign Minister of Armenia.

According to the report, in 2012, diplomatic relations with four
countries have been established – Tuvalu, Grenada, Malawi, and Bhutan.

By the initiative of Foreign Ministry of Armenia about 50 acts were
developed.

The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consular
missions have served about 127,000 citizens.

In addition, in 2012, the procedure for obtaining citizenship for
citizens of Armenia from Syria and Lebanon was facilitated. The
“Electronic Consulate” system was implemented. Currently, this system
is being used by 12 diplomatic missions, but it is planned to connect
all applicable foreign representations of Armenia to this system.

ARMENIA PLANS TO RESTORE SMALL AVIATION

January 24, 2013 | 03:37

The airports in the southern part of Armenia are inventoried, Syunik
Region Deputy Governor Ara Dolunts told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, a delegation from the Armenian General Department of
Civil Aviation (GDCA) was in the Region a short time ago. And on
Wednesday, the ruling Republican Party’s presidential candidate-and
incumbent President-Serzh Sargsyan spoke with the voters at Kajaran
city of Syunik Region and stated that the matter of restoring the
Kapan city airport is being discussed and, moreover, the two mining
companies in the area have expressed their willingness to provide
respective financial assistance.

The GDCA experts visited all civil aviation airports of Syunik Region,
namely, in the Sisian, Goris, Kapan, and Meghri cities.

“The GDCA will inform more precisely about the time periods of the
activities, but there is such plan and we are ready to provide all
support,” Dolunts said.

To note, during the Soviet era flights were conducted from the
aforesaid airports to capital city Yerevan.

“CAVIAR DIPLOMACY” WON IN PACE. AZERBAIJANI LAWYER

18:55, 24 January, 2013

YEREVAN, JANUARY 24, ARMENPRESS: Vice President of “Musavat” party
Arif Hacılı made a statement in the interview with faktheber.com news
agency concerning the refusal of the report of German deputy Christoph
Strasser made during The Parliamentary Assembly of the European
Parliament on January 23. Report of Christoph Strasser was on the
political prisoners and as Hacılı noted “Azerbaijani society was
impatiently waiting for the adoption of report”.

“Strasser said he was defeated. But it was not only the failure of
Strasser; it was the failure of humanity, justice and law. Based on
European values, doing nothing criminal, those who were protesting
against injustice and illegality were let down by PACE and Europe.

That will contribute the increase of number of new political prisoners
and deteriorate the current situation of the convicts. I condemn the
decision of PACE,” Vice President of “Musavat” party Arif Hacılı
stated.

In the interview with agency, lawyer of Azerbaijani political
prisoners Anar Gasimli declared that “caviar diplomacy” won in PACE.

He also noted that was the last hope Azerbaijani people had. “That
means Azerbaijani people cannot rely on Europe,” Anar Gasimli noted.

PACE didn’t pass the report on political prisoners on January 23
session, therefore it urged Azerbaijani authorities to release them.

RAZMIK PANOSSIAN APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES DEPARTMENT

Of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

LISBON – The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation announced today the
appointment of Dr. Razmik Panossian as the new Director of the
Armenian Communities Department in Lisbon. He will assume the post
on 1 February 2013.

Panossian holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and
Political Science, where he also taught. He has published widely
on Armenian-related issues, including a critically acclaimed book
on Armenian national identity. He has extensive experience in
senior management, including the administration of multi-million
dollar programmes, as well as the allocation and distribution of
international development grants. For many years he served as the
Director of Policy, Programmes and Planning at a Canadian governmental
organisation based in Montreal. He has worked for the United Nations
Development Programme. He is fluent in English, French and Armenian.

“I am both thrilled and humbled by this appointment,” said Panossian.

“This is one of the most important positions in the Armenian diaspora.

I am looking forward to continuing the work of my predecessors and
further strengthening and expanding the activities of the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation in a focused and systematic manner within
Armenian communities around the world.”

Martin Essayan, the Trustee responsible for the Armenian Communities
Department, and great grandson of Foundation founder Calouste
Gulbenkian, said: “I am delighted that Dr. Panossian will be the
new Director of the Armenian Communities Department. He comes with
outstanding credentials for this role and brings the international,
integrative perspective we need. The appointment followed a
global search during which we were able to consider many excellent
candidates.”

For further information contact: Elisabete Caramelo, Director of
Communications, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: [email protected]
Tel: +351217823320/ +35121217823217 Website: Armenian Communities
Department

Notes to Editors

Razmik Panossian is the author of The Armenians: From Kings and Priests
to Merchants and Commissars (Columbia University Press/Hurst & Co.,
2006). He received his PhD from the London School of Economics and
Political Science. His thesis won the prestigious Lord Bryce Prize for
Best Dissertation in Comparative and International Politics in the UK
(2001) granted by Britain’s Political Studies Association. He received
his MA from York University in Toronto, Canada, and his BA (honours)
from McGill University in Montreal. Panossian has taught at the
London School of Economics and at the School of Oriental and African
Studies (University of London) on the subjects of nationalism, ethnic
conflict, post-Soviet transition/democratisation, and comparative
politics. In 2004 he assumed the position of Director of Policy,
Programmes and Planning at the International Centre for Human Rights
and Democratic Development, a Canadian federal institution devoted to
the promotion of democracy and human rights. He managed the Centre’s
international programming in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East
and Asia. His work took him to countries as diverse as Afghanistan,
China, Haiti, Colombia, Egypt, Morocco and Congo. Between 2010 and
2012 Panossian worked as an international consultant, including at
UNDP in New York. He has delivered numerous lectures and conference
papers throughout the world, has participated in Turkish-Armenian
workshops and the Armenia-Diaspora conferences. He has published
many academic articles on Armenian national identity and nationalism,
as well as on Armenia-diaspora relations. Razmik was born in Lebanon
and immigrated to Canada at the age of 12. He has lived in English
and French Canada as well as the UK.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is one of the top ten Foundations in
Europe and one of the largest in the world with assets of ~@3 billion
and annual spend of around ~@100 million. It operates in four areas
defined in its statutes: Arts, Education, Science, and Social Welfare.
It was founded by Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, an Armenian businessman
and art collector who became a British citizen, conducted much of
his work in Britain and France, and finally settled in Portugal. The
Foundation was established in Portugal in 1956, a year after his death.

The Foundation headquarters are in Lisbon and consist of the
administration, which deals with grant-giving throughout the world,
together with a Museum housing the founder’s art collections –
recognised as one of the world’s best small museums – a Modern Art
Centre, an art research library, a centre for scientific research,
concert halls, an open-air theatre, exhibition galleries and conference
halls, an orchestra and a choir. The Foundation also has offices in
London and Paris.

The Armenian Communities Department dates back to the creation of the
Foundation and was set up by the founder’s son-in-law Kevork Essayan.

Since then the trustee in charge has always been a member of the
founder’s family. The mission of the department is: “to create a viable
future for the Armenian people in which their culture and language
are preserved and valued”. Its work is inspired by the example of the
founder who never forgot his Armenian roots but sought to engage with
non Armenians and to bring different groups together.

REWRITING AZERI HISTORY

By The Washington Times
Thursday, January 24, 2013

It is hard to believe that Azerbaijan has so quickly forgotten
its own history, starting with the horrific events that took place
from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28, 1988, in the city of Sumgait, 16 miles away
from capital city of Baku. During this three-day period, violent,
rioting mobs of ethnic Azeris attacked and killed Armenians both on
the streets and in their homes ~W while the police observed and let
the events unfold and medical personnel refused to treat the victims.
These days entered the history under the name of ~SSumgait pogroms.~T

Azerbaijan doesn~Rt seem to recollect that soon after the
Sumgait pogroms, more Armenian citizens suffered the results of
government-orchestrated violence, and in November 1988, the Kirovabad
pogroms unfolded. Azerbaijan also has forgotten that after months of
riots in January 1990, the violence reached Baku, the capital where
I was born and lived, the city which prided itself on tolerance,
multiculturalism, diversity and peace. For a span of a week, the
Armenian citizens of Baku were tortured and killed. The violent mobs
traveled from home to home, attacking only Armenian households. These
massacres were orchestrated by the Azeri government, and the only
reason they were stopped was the entry of the Soviet forces into
Azerbaijan.

The very people who brutally tortured and killed innocent Armenians
are now honored by the Azeri government as heroes who stood up to
Russian oppression in the turn of events they call ~SBlack January.~T
This was not a ~SSoviet attack against innocent civilians,~T as they
now claim. It was a delayed measure by the Soviet forces to stop the
ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Baku.

Azeri leadership continuously attempts to rewrite history instead of
drawing lessons from it. It continues to make heroes out of murderers,
just as it did in the recent pardon of an ax murderer, Ramil Safarov,
who brutally killed an Armenian colleague in his sleep during a NATO
study program in Hungary.

ANNA ASTVATSATURIAN TURCOTTE

Westbrook, Maine

Read more:

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SENIOR MILITARY SERVICEMEN FROM DIASPORA TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA ON THE ARMY DAY

Thursday 24 January 2013 15:53

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Senior military servicemen from Diaspora will arrive
in Armenia from January 25 to take part in the festive events devoted
to the 21st anniversary of the formation of the Armenian Armed Forces.

In particular, the following people will arrive in Yerevan: Lieutenant
General Norat Ger-Grigoryants, Lieutenant General Vladimir Chobanyan,
Major General Roman Harutyunov – from Russia, Brigadier General
Panos Manjyan – from Lebanon, Admiral Hernan Kuyumjyan – from Chile,
Colonel Rubik Galstanyan – from France, Mediamax was informed in the
press service of the Armenian Defense Ministry.

Within the visit, the high-ranking military servicemen will take part
in a number of events.

LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS IN REAL ESTATE SPHERE INCOMPLETE – SPHERE EXPERT

tert.am
24.01.13

The legislative amendment on taxing real estate companies are
incomplete and create serious difficulties for the companies operating
in the sphere, making them work either in shadow or take the path of
emigration, director of Real Estate Market Artyom Pribilski said.

He stressed that the people who adopted the law have not conducted
in-depth discussions, have not made studies.

“I do not know who is the author of the amendments, we have not find
it out yet, but in any case this initiative was a serious blow to the
real estate companies. Many are confused and do not know what to do.

Unfortunately, this law entered into force from January 1, 2013 and
that is why we are already dismissing people,” Pribilski told Tert.am.

The companies operating in the sphere were previously taxed by the
Law “On Income Tax” and paid 15,000-20,000 drams monthly for each
employee. Now they are to be taxed in accordance with the law on
“License Fees” and pay 60,000 drams tax for each employee which
creates difficulties for employers.

“The young people wanted to conduct a protest action, we are urging
them not to. People are either going to shadows or emigrate or monopoly
will dominate in the sphere,” Pribilski said.

The complaint over the change in the law united the companies operating
in the sphere. They have prepared a joint letter addressed to the
Armenian president urging him to review the law.

Speaking to Tert.am, director of Cascade Realty company Vardan Avagyan
said the law is very dangerous for the real estate market.

“The agencies that have up to 20 employees should pay such a big sum.

The law does not say whether this 60,000 is paid for a real estate
agent, lawyer, driver,” Avagyan said.

He stressed that the market has not recovered after the 2008 financial
crisis with the prices having gone down, number of deals reduced and
people not being able to earn for their lives.

Few companies have applied to the government to be withdrawn from the
list of those being taxed by that law and be included in the list of
companies taxed by the law ” On Turnover.”

The amendment, though, seems not to bother the smaller companies. For
instance, director of Prestige Realty company Gevorg Aloyan said many
changes have been implemented in the tax field and the real estate
sphere has been eased of taxes.

“If there is a law that a company should pay 60,000 drams for an
employee, let them pay. It will make them keep good employees,”
Aloyan said.

RAMIL SAFAROV CASE TRAMPLED DOWN EXPECTATIONS AND APPROACHES OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD – ARMENIAN FM

news.am
January 24, 2013 | 13:36

YEREVAN.- It is difficult to unequivocally assert what was Azerbaijan
guided by while pardoning Ramil Safarov, Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian
told reporters on Thursday.

He recalled that the incident was unanimously condemned by the
international community, noting that one of the probable reasons of
releasing Safarov was to disrupt Karabakh talks.

“However, Armenia immediately announced that it would continue the
negotiations,” the Minister said.

He labeled the incident as “unacceptable, shameful and trampling down
the expectations and approaches of the civilized world.”

“But, there is no alternative to negotiations,” Nalbandian said. As
to other reasons for Azerbaijan’s actions, the Minister said “they
may have logic different from the rest of the world.”

Ramil Safarov, who murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan,
was extradited from Hungary and then pardoned and glorified by
Azerbaijani leadership.