Author: nina hovnanian

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DISAGREES WITH SOME PROVISIONS OF ARFD’S POLITICAL PLATFORM

Monday, December 10, 16:08

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has disagreed with some provisions
of the ARFD’s political platform envisaging structural reforms in
the country.

As Member of the ARFD Hrant Margaryan said after a meeting with
Sargsyan, the President has dismissed the provision stipulating the
country’s transition to parliamentary regime. “He said that change of
regime will not solve the country’s existing problems,” Margaryan said.

He said that the President has also rejected the ARFD’s urge
for withdrawing Armenia’s signatures from the Armenian-Turkish
normalization protocols.

TRCHKAN ACTIVISTS ADDRESS LETTER TO CHIEF OF POLICE

05:03 PM | TODAY | SOCIAL

Trchkan Civil Initiative has addressed a letter to the Chief of the
Armenian Police, urging him to organize a round-the-clock monitoring
of the Symphony of Stones in Garni Gorge to avert new desecration of
the historical complex.

Late in November, media outlets circulated a video footage that showed
men desecrating the Symphony of Stones. Later, residents of Garni
village, Felix M. (b. in 1989), Sevak H. (b. in 1981) and Jivan D. (b.

in 1981) were detained for hauling off the basalt stones of the
historical complex. The three confessed that they had taken the
basalt slabs that had fallen from the complex to the grave of Jivan’s
grandfather for building a wall.

The Civil Initiative says that the problem in Garni Gorge is ongoing
despite the alarm and the subsequent detention. The group says that
the basalt stones can be found in many places in Garni, people have
even walled their houses with the fallen slabs.

The Trchkan group says that activists have been sounding the alarm
regarding the destruction of the site as far back as 2007.

The group also urges the chief of the police to conduct a full, fair
and thorough investigation based on the video which clearly shows the
tools used for cutting the stones in conclusion, the activists argue
that the Symphony of Stones must be registered as a natural wonder
and protected by state agencies.

SYUNIK COURT PREZ AUGMENTS SALARY WITH HONEY, MEAT AND DIARY PRODUCTION
Ruben Vardanyan

13:22, December 10, 2012

Samvel Grigoryan, President of the Syouniq District Court of First
Instance since 2008, receives an annual salary of 6,329,727 AMD.

Taking a look at his 2011 financial disclosure, it appears that Judge
Grigoryan also made 300,000 AMD from honey making, 4.5 million from
meat production and 2 million from dairy production.

He declared a loan of 20,000 but failed to note the currency. This
omission didn’t seem important enough for the Parliament’s Ethics
Committee to investigate.

As to cash assets, Judge Grigoryan ended 2011 with 5 million AMD,
$40,000 and 65,977 Euros.

GAZPROM WILL ALWAYS BE GAZPROM
Karine Ter-Sahakian

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 10, 2012

The contracted gas supply to Turkey made about 30 bln cubic meters
in 2012, of which Turkey will select 27 bln.

Relations between Russia and Turkey have always based on gain,
both now and during the Ottoman Empire epoch. However, political
disagreements sometimes prevail over the economic ones – to some
extent, though. Russia is already Turkey’s second largest trade
partner, and it strives to achieve annual turnover worth $100 bln. In
2012, the turnover will hit $35 bln.

PanARMENIAN.Net – During Vladimir Putin’s visit, Rosatom Nuclear Energy
State Corporation (Rosatom) reached an agreement with the Turkish
Ministry of Energy on additional capitalisation of the authorized
capital for construction of the first nuclear power station in Turkey
expected to cost over $20 bln. Turkey is the third largest buyer of
the Russian gas. In 2011, the Turkish government agreed with Gazprom
OJSC to construct the South Stream gas pipeline; the ceremony of
South Stream first welding takes place on December 7 in Anapa.

Since 2011, Turkey has increased import of the Russian gas by 44%.

Speaking in Ankara, Putin did not rule out that Russia and Turkey may
boost the resources of South Stream pipeline, and may also access the
gas markets of third countries. This pipeline supplies Turkey with 16
bln cubic meters of natural gas. According to Putin, Turkey is becoming
sort of an energy hub for Europe, but diversification of routes for raw
material supply to key global markets still remains a major priority
for Russia. In 2012, the volume of contracted gas supply to Turkey
totaled 30 bln cubic meters, of which Turkey will select 27 bln.

According to media reports, Turkey asks for Russia’s gas supply to
be increased by at least 3 bln cubic meters. “There are two variants
here; either the Blue Stream capacities should be built up, and
Gazprom considers the possibility to increase its volume of supply,
or the South Stream may be used,” the Russian Minister of Energy
Alexander Novak stated. So far, no final decision on increased gas
supply from Russia to Turkey and neighbouring countries is taken,
the issue is still under consideration, he added. Turkey is using
gas as key fuel for the electric power plants, and plans to become
third largest consumer of electric energy in Europe within 10 years
by pressing Great Britain, and a trading center for energy carriers.

Maybe, it will succeed in this with support of the Russian and
Azerbaijani gas.

Meanwhile, Gazprom strives to decrease the dependence on EU which
accounts for 80% of the company’s export. Currently, Gazprom supplies
gas to Turkey in two directions, the western one (through Ukraine
and Bulgaria) and the trans-Black Sea Blue Stream gas pipeline. So,
what’s good for Gazprom, that’s good for Russia, too.

Following Putin’s visit, Gazprom may become the key sponsor of the
Turkish Antalyaspor football team. Also, the Turkish business has
much impact on the government; hence it can press the latter if the
political relations start to deteriorate.

As to the Syrian issue, some disagreements still persist here. “Turkey
wants to prompt Russia to distance itself from the government of Syrian
president Bashar Assad,” Tagesspiegel reports. A day prior to president
Putin’s one-day visit to Istanbul, the Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said if Russia changes its stance on the Syrian conflict, then Iran,
Assad’s another major ally, will join its voice demanding that the
Syrian president should resign. Still, Erdogan will hardly be very
insistent during his meeting with Putin, “because Turkey would like
to avoid tension in its ties with the major energy supplier.”

Most likely, Russia and Turkey are going to “bury the quarrel” caused
by the forced landing in Ankara of the Syrian jet flying from Russia.

The jet carried renovated spare parts for the radar station of the
Syrian air defense. The cargo is still in Ankara, but the issue will
not be discussed during Putin’s visit. Moscow and Ankara are trying
to release the tension; the Kremlin called on Turkey to “forget”
the incident with the detained jet heading from Russia to Damascus,
while NATO assures Russia that the deployment aims “at defense only”.

AVETIK GRIGORYAN WINS PAVLODAR OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT

Panorama.am
10/12/2012

Having scored 8 points out of 10, Armenian grandmaster Avetik
Grigoryan finished first in the open chess tournament in Pavlodar,
Kazakhstan.

Hovhannes Gabuzyan has scored 7 points, while Zaven Andriasian and
Hrair Simonian have scored 6.5 points each.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN: STATE STRUCTURES’ VIOLATIONS FIXED BY HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER’S OFFICE SHOULD BE A STAIN FOR STATE STRUCTURES

arminfo
Monday, December 10, 12:45

In 2012 a total of 5,600 citizens of Armenia applied to the Office
of the Armenian Human Rights Defender, Armenian Ombudsman Karen
Andreasyan told journalists on Monday.

He said that some of these people received legal consultation, and
2,290 applications were set in motion and it became clear that the
applications of 820 citizens were grounded, as they were connected
with infringement of their rights by state structures. The ombudsman
stressed that 167 out of 820 complaints were against the Police, 97 –
against the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues, 91 – against the
Justice Ministry, 68 – against the Defense Ministry, 52 – against
the Municipality of Yerevan.

As soon as the Human Rights Defender’s Office receives a complaint
about a certain state structure, the Ombudsman informs the state
structure of the complaint, if the latter is grounded. If the state
structure refuses to correct its mistake, the Ombudsman takes a
decision on infringement of the citizen’s rights.

Over the current year a total of 27 such decisions were taken:
6 against the Prosecutor General’s Office, 6 against the Defense
Ministry, 4 against the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues, 3 against
the Justice Ministry, 2 against the Municipality of Yerevan, 2 against
the Police, 1 against the Education Ministry, 1 against the Foreign
Ministry, 1 against the State Revenue Committee, 1 against the State
Property Management Department of the Armenian Government.

Andreasyan added that the ombudsman is not empowered to make the
state structures carry out the ombudsman’s decisions, as the Human
Rights Defender’s Office is an advisory body for the authorities,
civil society and the population in general. But the Ombudsman’s
decisions on violation of human rights should be a stain for any
state structure operating in the civilized state and society.

Turkey wants ‘stolen’ artifacts back from British Museum

tert.am
18:00 – 09.12.12

Ankara has turned to the European Court of Human Rights in its attempt
to reclaim British Museum sculptures that were once part of Turkey’s
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient
world.

The dispute is set to become a “test case for the repatriation of art
from one nation to another, a potential disaster for the world’s
museums,” the Guardian reported.

The ancient structure was a 45-meter-high tomb created between 353 and
350 BC at Halicarnassus, the current-day resort city of Bodrum in
southwestern Turkey. Four horse chariots of marble were perched on top
of the superstructure, which was designed by Greek architects.

A horse’s head sculpture was also among the artifacts acquired in the
mid-19th century by the British Museum, which Turkish activists want
returned to their original site, the Guardian reported.

Istanbul lawyer Remzi Kazmaz told the Observer that 30 lawyers will be
acting on behalf of the town of Bodrum alongside district and
provincial governors in a lawsuit that will be filed in the European
court on January 30.

“We thank the British authorities and the British Museum for
accommodating and preserving our historical and cultural heritage for
the last years. However, the time has come for these assets to be
returned to their place of origin,” Kazmaz said.
A petition with nearly 120,000 signatures has reportedly been
prepared, along with a documentary on how Turkey lost the ancient
treasures.

“We do not believe that the artifacts were removed legally,” Kazmaz explained.
The mausoleum, which overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for years,
was eventually ruined by a series of earthquakes. It is believed that
some of the sculptures were then taken by crusaders at Bodrum. In the
19th century, a British consul obtained several of the statues that
are now on display at the British Museum.

“These pieces were acquired during the course of two British
initiatives, both with firmans – legal permits issued by the Ottoman
authorities – that granted permission for the excavation of the site
and removal of the material from the site … to the British Museum, ” a
British Museum spokesperson said.

Ouest-France
dimanche 2 décembre 2012
nantes Edition

Karen, Arménien, professeur d’anglais et élève en français

Karen Avagyan, Arménien, professeur d’anglais puis assistant social
dans son pays, demandeur d’asile, est arrivé en France il y a un an.
En attendant que l’Ofpra (Office français de protection des réfugiés
et apatrides) statue enfin sur son sort, il potasse le français depuis
six mois, au Secours catholique. « On apprend par les livres, les
questions. J’aime bien les dictées. Je lis dansOuest-Francetous les
jours, des livres pour enfants, beaucoup de journaux et de magazines
», confie-t-il en vrac, dans un français encore hésitant mais
compréhensible.

Bénévole à Marine accueil (il parle aussi le russe), il progresse
rapidement auprès d’Yves Masse, responsable de l’alphabétisation. Ce
dernier témoigne : « Karen est le premier élève que j’ai depuis sept
ans qui m’a demandé des devoirs à faire à la maison ! »

Ils sont actuellement une dizaine à s’imprégner ainsi de notre langue,
en cours individuels, deux à quatre heures par semaine. Avec souvent
des demandes concrètes : rédiger un courrier, un chèque, un CV, faire
une démarche administrative.

Pour les aider, le Secours catholique dispose d’une bibliothèque
d’environ soixante-dix manuels de tous niveaux, imagiers, méthodes de
lecture. Mais l’oral est d’abord privilégié. « Ils sont très
demandeurs de discussions, ce qui est pour eux très enrichissant. Pour
nous aussi d’ailleurs », remarque Yves Masse.

Iran electricity exports to neighbors up by 40%
Economic Desk

On Line: 08 December 2012 16:31
In Print: Sunday 09 December 2012

Iran’s electricity exports to neighboring states have increased by
about 40 percent as the Islamic Republic is helping them overcome
regular power outages.

Iran has boosted its power output in recent years and exported 7,668.9
gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity to its neighbors since the
beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20,
2012).

Iran’s power exports this year have been 39.22 percent higher compared
to the same period a year ago when the country exported some 5,508.3
GWh of electricity to neighboring states.

Iran is currently exchanging electricity with Afghanistan, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey.

Earlier in February, Iran’s Energy Minister Majid Namjou said the
country was planning to export electricity to Syria and Lebanon
through Iraq’s power grid.

He added that Iran is capable of exporting 1,000 megawatts (MW) of
electricity to Iraq, adding that Syria had also requested 500 MW of
electricity.

Seeking to become a major regional exporter of electricity, Iran has
attracted more than USD1.1 billion in investments to build three new
power plants.

According to the Iranian energy minister, by the end of the 5th
Economic Development Plan (2011-2015), Iran will boost its electricity
generation capacity by 25 gigawatts to reach 73 gigawatts.

Republican Party MP dismisses concern over signing under same document
with Azerbaijan

13:40 – 09.12.12

Armenia’s ex economic development minister Karen Tshmarityan, MP from
the ruling Republican party of Armenia, considers the noise over the
document signed at Eurasian Integration in 21st Century international
inter-party conference illogical.

The forum was held December 2-3 in Russia’s St. Petersburg. The noise
is agreed with the circumstance that among a number of political
forces of post-soviet countries, Armenia’s Republican Party and
Azerbaijan’s ruling Yeni Azerbaijan put their signatures under the
document too.

`Azerbaijan is member of the UN, does it mean we must withdraw from
the establishment? It is necessary to be logical. Cooperation is one
thing, integration is another thing, friendly relations are one thing
and hostile relations quite another. It is necessary to understand
that Azerbaijan is UN’s member, it is also in Euronest. With such
logic we should not have been involved in the establishments where
Azerbaijan is,’ he said, speaking to Tert.am.

The Republican party MP also reminded that Armenia and Azerbaijan have
signed under a document in 96-97 in Black Sea Economic Cooperation
organization.

Tshmarityan convinced that Armenia cannot be imposed to become member
of this or that establishment as our republic conducts its own policy.

`Of course we are not being imposed anything and in general those
countries may be imposed something who have issues inside, in such
case the country voices its issues, expecting interference of other
countries. If you have your own policy it is difficult to impose
something on you,’ the RPA MP said.

He stressed that though Armenia has issues there are the ones allowing
any state to impose something on our country.
Participation in the Eurasian Integration in the 21st Century
international inter-party conference does not mean that the Republican
party joins the Eurasian Union. `Integration does not mean joining the
Eurasian Union. It just means integration of European and Asian
countries, which is a quite normal phenomenon,’ he said, stressing
that there is a misunderstanding over the Eurasian Union.

`Eurasian integration is a very good thing, it just means a deeper
integration, taking into consideration the interests of your country,’
he said.

The former minister said Armenia’s political elite is not divided into
pro-western and pro-Russian camps. `The Republican party is
pro-Armenian, it is where the Armenian interests are more prosperous,
effective. Our ideology is so. We cannot do anything but for the sake
of the Republic of Armenia,’ he stressed.

As to the signature the Republican party put together with Azerbaijani
one at the conference, raising wave of complaint both among
nationalists in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Tshmarityan said the concerns
are absolutely groundless.