Author: nina hovnanian

Prosperous Armenia welcomes any step to dismiss PM Sargsyan – paper

August 25, 2012 – 12:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Any step to relive Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan of
post is welcome by Prosperous Armenia party, Haykakan Zhamanak daily
quoted the party’s spokesman Tigran Urikhanyan as saying.

Given the parliamentary groups’ stance on Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan’s policy, measures are expected to be taken to bring about
2011 budget implementation failure.

The parliament is due to discuss the report on 2011 budget
implementation in its fall session. Under the National Assembly
regulations, if the proposal to approve the budget implantation
doesn’t get the necessary number of votes, it may question the
government’s future activity. With RA president not authorized to
dismiss the prime minister, under RA Constitution he may be relieved
of post either after he sends in resignation, or after the National
Assembly expresses displeasure with his performance.

Thus, the upcoming discussion of budget implementation is a chance for
`Prosperous Armenia to bring about prime minister’s resignation,’ the
paper says.

Yeni Musavat, Azerbaijan
Aug 23 2012

Azerbaijan concerned over plans to settle Syrian Armenians in breakaway Karabakh

Baku is concerned about Armenia’s plans to settle Syrian Armenians in
Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagornyy Karabakh, the spokesman of
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Elman Abdullayev, has said.

Azerbaijan has reported to the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,
which mediates the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, about the reports in
the Armenian media concerning this plan, Abdullayev said an interview
with the Yeni Musavat newspaper on 23 August.

The spokesman also recalled the fact-finding mission the OSCE sent in
2005 to investigate reports of settlement in the Armenian-controlled
districts of Azerbaijan. “The mission’s report specially noted looting
and destruction of houses of Azerbaijani refugees and displaced
persons and destruction of Azerbaijani national and cultural legacy.
The report also talked about the fact of the illegal settlement of
Armenians in these areas. The co-chairing countries did not fail to
mention this fact,” Abdullayev was quoted as saying.

[translated from Azeri]

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Aug 24 2012

Metsamor – The Fukushima of the Caucasus?

Friday, 24 August 2012

by Rafiga Gurbanzade, Contributor

Last year’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan
and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown highlighted the
importance of a diligent assessment of nuclear power plants (NPP) to
endure ground shakings or possible displacements [1]. According to the
USGS, around 90 to 95 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur on the
boundaries of the tectonic plates as a way of releasing energy that
builds up through the plate interaction [2]. While the knowledge about
interaction of tectonic plates helps to identify seismically active
regions, predicting an exact place and time of an earthquake remains
impossible. This diminishes the chances of a proper warning and
evacuation of populations ahead of a catastrophe. The problem is even
more severe in countries with economic hardships [3].

Similar to Japan, the South Caucasus region of Eurasia is a zone of
high seismic activity. The Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates
collide here generating regular destructive earthquakes across the
Caucasus, eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran[4]. On December 7,
1988, two ground shocks with three seconds apart left at least 25,000
people dead, 19,000 injured and 500,000 homeless in the
Leninakan-Spitak-Kirovakan area of northern Armenia, then a Soviet
republic.The magnitude of the earthquake was estimated at 6.8, while
the damage was estimated at about 16.2 billion U.S. dollars. The
disaster severely damaged infrastructure within the affected areas of
Armenia and the neighboring Kelbajar region of Azerbaijan. The shocks
were felt in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, in neighboring Georgia and as
far as the Russian North Caucasus [5].Following the catastrophe,
concerns intensified over the only NPP built by the Soviet government
in the Caucasus region – the Metsamor (also known as Oktemberyan) NPP
in Armenia.Built in 1976 with two VVER-440 Model V230 nuclear
reactors, the structures of the plant resembled those of the Chernobyl
NPP [6].

In the former Soviet Union, the most commonly constructed reactors
were the RBMK and VVER. The RBMK reactor, which was utilized in
Chernobyl and exploded in April 1986, was a water-cooled and
graphite-moderated reactor. In this type of reactors, the fuel
elements can be exchanged while the reactors are powered. Such
reactors are considered to be the world’s most dangerous because of
the risk of a fire in the graphite moderator and the absence of safety
containment [7]. The VVERs are known as pressurized water reactors
that utilize light water as both the moderator and the coolant [8].
These reactors were developed in three generations. The first
generation was developed in 1960s (reactor 440/230), the second, in
early 1980s (reactor 440/213), and the third in late 1980s
(reactor1000). The first two generations of VVER-440 are thought by
the international experts to be the unsafe of all three because the
reactors had no safety containment. Also, the cooling systems were
considered to be unsafe [9].

Similar to Chernobyl’s RBMK, the VVER-440 reactors of Metsamor lack
safety containment structures and are single-walled. The function of a
single-walled containment is to carry the pressure load preventing it
from rising above the designed pressure limit [10].Compared to the
single-wall containment, the double-wall containment better controls
any possible leakage through the inner containment by collecting it in
`the annulus between inner and outer shell’ [11]. Therefore, in case
of an accident, a double-walled containment would maintain the leakage
under a negative pressure, which would facilitate the collection,
filtering and rejection of the radioactive leakages. Hence, lacking
key safety features, single-walled RBMK and VVER type reactors present
a high risk of radioactive release during an accident [12].

After the 1988 earthquake, in fear of Chernobyl-like disasters, the
Metsamor NPP was shut down. But the urge to reopen it arose during the
1991-94 Nagorno-Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As the
Armenian forces occupied parts of Azerbaijan, the latter blocked
energy supplies, leaving Armenia’s population without electricity
during the harsh winter seasons. Subsequently, Armenian authorities
were forced to reopen the two Metsamor reactors in 1993 and 1995 [13].
Since 2003, the NPP has been operated by the Russian Inter RAO UES,
owned by Russia’s State Nuclear Energy Corporation (RosAtom), in
return for repaying Armenia’s $40 million debt to the Russian
nuclear-fuel suppliers [14].

Located in a highly active seismic zone and built according to the
outdated Soviet standards, the Metsamor became a subject of severe
safety concerns from Armenia’s neighbors – Turkey, whose border is
only 10 miles away from the NPP, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Numerous
requests by these countries to permit their specialists for examining
the plant were declined [15]. In 2011, Azerbaijan moved for a
resolution in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
stating that Armenia had refused `the EU’s call for Metsamor to be
shut down by 2011 at the latest and its offer of 100 million euros to
help meet the country’s energy needs’ [16]. Further, the motion noted
that in case of an accident at the Metsamor NPP, destructive
consequences in Armenia, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and
Europe would be inevitable.

Armenian government asserts that the shutdown of the old reactors is
expected in 2016 after a new facility will be built. Nevertheless, a
risk of an accident during the coming four years continues to put
Armenia under pressure [17]. In response to renewed concerns after the
Fukushima Daiichi disaster, the Armenian government invited inspectors
from the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA). The IAEA assembled
and sent an Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) of 11 experts. In
its June 2011 report, the OSART noted `good plant practices’ at the
Metsamor and highlighted that `during the last number of years,
several important safety systems have been updated using resources of
the plant’s staff’ (IAEA Press Release). However, the OSART report
also found a number of deficiencies and the head of OSART mission,
Gabor Vamos, claimed that identifying deficiencies in need of an
urgent repair is a challenge to the Metsamor technicians. He also
suggested that a more meticulous mechanism is needed to keep the plant
in an ideal state [18].

Despite the inspection, the EU continues still insist `on the earliest
possible closure of the Metsamor NPP and on the adoption of a detailed
decommissioning plan based on the [OSART] tests.’ As stated further in
the European Neighborhood Policy Package, Country Progress Report (for
Armenia) of May 2012, the Metsamor NPP `cannot be upgraded to meet the
internationally recognized nuclear safety standard’ [19]. According to
the All-Armenian Association of Power Specialists, Slavik Sargsian,
`if a hazardous situation emerges at our plant, we have neither the
capabilities nor the specialists to fight back’ [20].

In 2010, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the EU
strategy for the South Caucasus [2009/221([INI)], in which it
encouraged the Armenian authorities `to seek viable alternative
solutions for energy supplies.’ However, Russia now advances plans for
a new NPP at the same location as the Metsamor and intends to
generously invest in its construction. Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of
RosAtom, recently said that his agency is ready to commit 20-25% of
investments and more options could be discussed [21].

Despite the mounting international pressure, Armenia is unlikely to
shutdown the Metsamor NPP in a visible future. Firstly, the plant
remains a critical source supplying some 40% of Armenia’s energy
demand amidst the ongoing conflict with neighboring energy-rich
Azerbaijan. Secondly, the Metsamor NPP is owned and operated by
Russia, which, in turn, is interested in using the plant as a trump
card for defending its remaining strategic positions in the Caucasus.
The closure of the Metsamor NPP is only possible if Armenia resolves
its conflicts with Turkey and Azerbaijan, hence opening the country to
the East-West Energy Corridor architected by the United States. This
would deal a major blow to Russia’s classical divide-and-conquer
policy in the Caucasus, removing the last obstacle to region’s
economic integration with the West. As shown by its 2008 invasion of
Georgia, Russia is ready to prevent this scenario at any cost. Based
on the same logic, Russian government will spare no effort to keep the
Metsamor NPP running for as long as possible even if the plant poses
the gravest environmental threat to the region.

References

1. Kanaori, Y. (1997). Earthquake Proof Design and Active Faults.
Elsevier, Amsterdam.

2. Historic Earthquakes. Earthquake Hazards Program. U.S. Department
of the Interior. (23 July 2012).

3. Balassanian, S., Cisternas A., & Melkumyan M. (2000). Earthquake
Hazard and Seismic Risk Reduction. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 169.

4. Tan, O. & Taymaz, T. (2005). Active Tectonics of the Caucasus:
Earthquake Source Mechanisms and Rupture Histories Obtained From
Inversion of Teleseismic Body Waveforms. Geological Society of America
Special Papers, 409, 531-578.

5. Historic Earthquakes. Earthquake Hazards Program. U.S. Department
of the Interior. (23 July 2012).

6. Aloise G. & Jones G. L. (2000). Nuclear Safety: Concerns With the
Continuing Operation of Soviet-Designed Nuclear Power Reactors. Report
to the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Committee on
Appropriations, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.: United
States General Accounting Office, 80.

7. Strategic Information and Nuclear Reactors in Selected Countries
(Algeria-Germany).Global Research Nuclear Reactors Handbook. (2011).
Washington, D.C.: International Business Publication, 49.

8. Technology & Soviet Energy Availability. (1979). Congress of the
United States: Technology Assessment. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 116.

9. Strategic Information and Nuclear Reactors in Selected Countries
(Algeria-Germany). Global Research Nuclear Reactors Handbook. (2011).
Washington, D.C.: International Business Publication, 49.

10. Sehgal, B. R. (2012). Nuclear Safety in Light Water Reactors:
Severe Accident Phenomenology. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 283.

11. Nuclear Containments: State-of-art Report. (2001). Lausanne,
Switzerland: International Federation for Structural Concrete, 21.

12. Environment in the Transition to a Market Economy: Progress in
Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States.
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (1999). Paris:
OECD, 241.

13. Armenia: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Federal Research
Division. (2004). Whitefish, M.T.: Kessinger, 124.

14. Armenian President Signals New Delay in Nuclear Plant Closure.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. (7 December 2011).

15. Daly, John C.K. (03 Oct. 2011). Armenia’s Aging Metsamor Nuclear
Power Plant Alarms Caucasian Neighbors. Oil Prices & Energy News:
Crude Oil Price Charts, Investment Advice.

16. Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. Motion for a Resolution.
Doc. 12580 [Metsamor nuclear power station – a vital threat to Europe
in the present and the future]. (April 2011)

17. Grigoryan, M. (4 May 2011). Armenia: Metsamor Awaits IAEA
Inspection. Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute.

18. Danielyan, E. (25 July 2011). Armenia Passes International Nuclear
Safety Test. Jamestown Foundation.

[tt_news]=38223

19. The European Commission (15 May 2012). European Neighborhood
Policy Package: Country Progress Report – Armenia. Press Release
MEMO/12/330.

20. Grigoryan M. & Hayrapetyan A. (June 2011). Armenia: Fight Brews
Over IAEA’s Thumbs-Up Appraisal of Metsamor. Central Eurasia Project
of the Open Society Institute.

21. Ulrich P. (February 2012). Russia Ready to Increase Investments
for Armenian Nuclear Power Plant Construction. Partnership for Global
Security.

*Rafiga Gurbanzade is a student at the Department of Criminology Law
and Society, University of California Irvine. She is also a member of
the Pax Turcica Institute.

Friday, 24 August 2012
Journal of Turkish Weekly

Vancouver Sun, BC, Canada
Aug 24 2012

The Sandcastle Girls: Grim history underpins Chris Bohjalian love story

By TRACY SHERLOCK, Vancouver Sun

The Sandcastle Girls represents somewhat of a departure for author
Chris Bohjalian, who usually writes about controversial or intriguing
issues in his novels and often presents convincing arguments for both
sides of a debate.

This time, he tackles historical fiction – albeit of a controversial
event – from a personal perspective. He writes about the mass
deportation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during the First World
War, some of whom were his ancestors. Here’s what he wrote about
deciding to write The Sandcastle Girls in an essay for The Armenian
Times:

`The novel has been gestating at the very least since 1992, when I
first tried to make sense of the Armenian Genocide: a slaughter that
most of the world knows next to nothing about.

Three of my four Armenian great-grandparents died in the poisonous
miasma of the genocide and the First World War. Moreover, some of my
best – and from a novelist’s perspective most interesting – childhood
memories occurred while I was visiting my Armenian grandparents at
their massive brick monolith of a home in a suburb of New York City.’

The use of term `genocide’ in relation to the events that occurred in
what was to become Turkey is politically charged. Some countries,
including Canada, have recognized the Armenian deaths as a genocide,
while other countries, including the U.S. and Turkey, have not.
Bohjalian’s book is clearly on the side of those who believe the
Armenians were being deliberately and systematically wiped out.

The book is narrated by a modern-day fictional female author named
Laura Petrosian, who is also descended from Armenian grandparents. She
finds a disturbing photo of an Armenian woman who shares her last
name, and is then motivated to dig into her grandparents’ history. The
novel alternatives between Laura Petrosian’s present day story, and
that of her grandparents: the displaced Armenian engineer Armen
Petrosian and the young American woman Elizabeth Endicott, who travels
to Syria in 1915 with her physician father to deliver aid and food to
the Armenians.

The ensuing story is, at its heart, a love story, but it is also a
grim and at times harsh look at these controversial events. Elizabeth
and Armen, whose wife and daughter have disappeared in the conflict,
become friends. Armen joins the British army in Egypt, putting his
life at risk in doing so. While he is away, Armen and Elizabeth write
letters to each other, and begin to fall in love. Meanwhile, in the
present-day timeline, Laura finds the letters and uses them as the
basis for her research.

Bohjalian’s books are always entertaining, and this one continues in
that tradition. Readers should be prepared for some description and
passages that are difficult to read and that might make them
uncomfortable, but at the same time there is much to learn here. The
love story is touching and believable, adding a softer dimension to
what is at times a brutal story.

Chris Bohjalian is the author of 15 books, including the New York
Times bestseller Midwives and and Skeletons at the Feast, which was
also historical fiction.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Aug 24 2012

Arsen Dzhulfalakian: `How can you Olympic gold thanks to good contacts?!’

Interview by Vadim Mkrtchian, Erevan. Exclusively to VK

The best result at the Olympic Games in London was shown by
Greco-Roman wrestler, Arsen Dzhulfalakian, among Armenian athletes,
who became a silver medal winner in the 74 kg category.

– Arsen, at first you didn’t hide that you were disappointed
with the defeat in the final and were not glad with silver. What do
you feel now?

– Initially emotions prevailed. It was sad, because I was one
step away from Olympic gold. Ahead of the Games I set myself up for
victory, I worked hard and refused from many things in favor of it.
The Olympic victory demands maximum and each medal means hard labor
and years of trainings. However, when you analyze the past path in `a
sober way’, you see that any medal is honorable. Many prominent
athletes didn’t have Olympic medals, while you have. And then
satisfaction comes to your heart.

– Was it difficult to wrestle after several failures of
Armenian power-lifters?

– At that moment I was in Yerevan and saw the reaction of
fans. People came to me on streets and said: `Please come through, at
least you.’ Their disappointment is understandable, even though it is
sport, everything can happen. Anyway in this difficult situation
additional responsibility fell on me. I realized I had no right for a
defeat. When I got into the final, I said that now other Armenian
athletes would win too. And then it appeared Ripsime Khurshudian
gained the bronze medal.

– How did the motherland welcome you?

– Very warmly. A ceremonial receive was organized in the
airport. Everybody recognizes me on the streets, expresses gratitude,
asks to take a picture with me. I should say it is pleasant when your
work is appreciated.

– Do you expect to be the Olympic champion next time?

– Of course I do! I’m 25 year old and I will have at least
one more Olympics in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. Moreover, I have another
motivation to be the Olympic gold winner. In London a BBC journalist
told me that the history of the Olympic Games since 1896 has seen no
wins of father and son in combat sports. My father gained his Olympic
gold in 1988 in Seoul. Now it is my turn.

– Does the fact that your prominent father is your coach
disturb you or help?

– It disturbs me, but not in a sporting way. Famous people
often have enviers and haters. Despite numerous medals which belong to
few people in Armenia, sometimes I hear that Dzhulfalakian promotes
his son to the national team. I don’t know how one can win silver
Olympic medal by wangling! My response is my victories. I carry great
responsibility for not shaming my father’s name.

– How do you manage to combine sport and study?

– I was the best pupil in school since preliminary school. I
graduated the International Relations Department in Yerevan State
University with diploma with honors, then I became Magister with
honors and now I’m studying to be the candidate to PhD. Of course it
is difficult to combine such different things. I’m disciplined since
childhood. I didn’t rest when my sport-mates did. And I managed to
gain success in both spheres. I believe every person should strive for
being educated.

– Have you decided what to do after the end of the sporting career?

– I’m sure I won’t go in for coach work. I will use my
degree, as I have spent a lot of time and forces to become a diplomat.

– Do you have a girlfriend?

– I have girlfriend and we are engaged. Her name is Ermine,
she is studying in university. We have known each other for several
years. This year we plan to marry.

– Does she understand your sporting choice?

– Ermine wants sport to be a top priority for me. I
understand that it is a rule for any professional athlete, but not
every girl would agree to this. That is why it is difficult to find
your soulmate. Her way of thinking was an important factor which
determined by choice.

Agence France Presse
August 23, 2012 Thursday 2:20 PM GMT

Syrian army retakes Aleppo’s Christian areas

BEIRUT, Aug 23 2012

The Syrian army has recaptured Christian areas in the city of Aleppo
after heavy fighting with rebels, leaving streets desolated and
deserted apart from local youths on patrol, residents said on
Thursday.

“We have had the worst two days of our lives,” Sonia, the wife of a
wealthy businessman in the northern city which is also Syria’s
commercial capital, told AFP by telephone.

“If our house weren’t built like a fortress, we’d all be dead. The
entrance is very badly damaged. We couldn’t sleep all night,” said the
resident of Telal, which the army seized on Wednesday along with
Jdeide and Sulamaniyeh.

Aleppo residents reported heavy exchanges in the heart of the city
during the army’s offensive to recapture the three neighbourhoods
seized by the rebels at the weekend.

Of the three Christian quarters in the historic Old City of Aleppo,
Jdeide and Telal were once frequented by tourists for their
restaurants and handicraft shops.

The rebel Free Syrian Army had also seized the nearby neighbourhood of
Sulamaniyeh, most of whose inhabitants are Armenian Christians and
which is home to ancient monasteries and a Melkite Greek Catholic
cathedral.

The bishop of the cathedral on Farhat Square, left pockmarked by the
fighting, himself had to beat a hasty retreat before the rebels moved
in because of his pro-regime comments, another resident told AFP.

“The battles on Monday and Tuesday were very violent, and they lasted
for many long hours before the army managed to expel the rebels,” said
a local who declined to be named. He said dozens of rebels were
rounded up.

“Hundreds of residents of the districts of Telal and Sulamaniyeh took
to the streets to celebrate and express their support for the army,”
he added.

“The army had to retake these neighbourhoods because many homes have
tunnels leading to the nearby citadel.”

The state news agency SANA said civil defence and public services were
“sent back immediately to carry out the necessary repairs and restore
normal life to the neighbourhoods after they were cleansed of
terrorists.”

Locals have set up “popular committees” to prevent their return,
according to residents and a security source.

“It’s not very organised but there are youths especially in the
Armenian districts protecting buildings against any new incursions.
Some of them are armed and they can call on the army at any time to
intervene,” a witness said.

After more than a month of fighting, the battle for Aleppo continued
with fierce clashes and bombardment in other neighbourhoods of the
city on Thursday, militants and residents said.

While much of the Sunni Muslim districts of Aleppo support the
anti-regime revolt in Syria, Christian communities in the heart of
Aleppo support President Bashar al-Assad for fear of an Islamist
takeover of the country.

Critics within the Christian minority have warned of the price to pay
for such support if the nominally secular regime falls.

According to researcher Fabrice Balanche, Aleppo has a population of
2.7 million people, of whom 85 percent are Sunnis and 10 percent
Christians, half of them Armenians and the rest Assyrians, Greek
Catholics and Maronites.

Al-Arabiya TV, UAE
Aug 24 2012

Free Syrian Army military head denies reports on threatening country’s Armenians

Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah Television in Arabic at 1309 gmt on 24 August
carried a three-minute live telephone interview with Staff Brigadier
General Mustafa al-Shaykh, chairman of the Higher Military Council in
the Free Syrian Army [FSA], speaking from the Syrian-Turkish border.

Asked to comment on alleged “differences between the FSA and some
Armenian residents in Syria,” Al-Shaykh said: “What is happening in
Syria today, particularly in the past few days, is unprecedented
tyranny and torture, as well as indiscriminate artillery shelling,
which is meant to end the struggle in Syria quickly and break the will
of this great people that have started an uprising against injustice,
corruption, and sectarianism. Today the Syrian security [services]
have fabricated a statement saying that the FSA is threatening the
Armenians in Syria, an act that does not befit the culture of the
Syrian people. I am not saying this for media consumption, but history
proves this as well. Neither our culture nor our tradition or religion
accepts this. The problem is with the regime, which opts for security
solutions and is fabricating things. The regime has managed to move
the revolution from being peaceful to a militarized one. However, it
could not involve the Syrian people in sectarian divisions. As for our
brother Armenians, I say that several ethnic groups had immigrated to
Syria and lived in it for tens and even hundreds of years, and no such
incidents have taken place in Syria. The main problem is with the
regime; and to be more accurate, the problem is in a small number of
influential Alawite figures in the regime who do not exceed scores in
number. They are the families of Al-Asad and Makhluf, who only
represent a small minority. This minority has dragged the Alawites
into such [sectarian divisions], which they, along with wise men and
patriotic people, reject. Historically speaking, this sect had not
accepted divisions during the French colonialism. They are our people;
they are Muslims; and they are part of this social fabric that
includes Armenians, Christians, Circassians, Turkmens, and others.
There are 14 or 15 ethnic groups in Syria, and the FSA or the
revolution that started with the aim to end justice cannot act in this
way.”

mediamax, Armenia
Aug 24 2012

Syrian opposition urges Armenians to maintain neutrality during armed clashes

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Free Syrian Army made a statement today according
to which it urges the Armenians living in the country to take a
neutral position not getting involved in the armed clashes between
oppositional and governmental forces.

Mediamax was informed about this from a Damascus source which
preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons.

According to the source, the statement made by the opposition
statement resulted from the circumstance that recent armed clashes
reached up to Armenian districts.

“The statement can be referred to not as a threat against Armenians
but as a warning. The opposition is likely to think that Armenians of
Aleppo and other cities joined the armed clashes and supported the
governmental troops”, the source noted.

Meanwhile, Damascus assures that Armenians have maintained absolute
neutrality over this time and only followed the developments.

“There is no threat to Armenians in the statement. It just points out
the possible outcomes of Armenians’ participation in the battles”, the
source noted.

According to it, it’s already about a week that the situation in the
central districts of Damascus have been peaceful.

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710
Fax: (212) 779-3558
Web:
Email: [email protected]

1.

Re: Helping the Armenian Community of Syria

My blessings and greetings to you all. This message is to inform you of
a directive issued by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin calling on all
dioceses to initiate efforts for Syrian relief.

As fighting in Syria continues, the local Armenian community has been
beset by increasing difficulties-including heightened threats to safety
and financial stability. The Armenian community of Homs and many
Armenian families living in Aleppo and Damascus have fled their homes
to find refuge with relatives. Local Armenian institutions have been
struggling to continue operations.

Bishop Armash Nalbandian, the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of
Damascus, informed Holy Etchmiadzin that a Syrian-Armenian emergency
aid organization has been formed to provide refugees with housing and
medical assistance, and to meet other immediate needs of the community.
In addition, the aid organization supports local churches, schools, and
cultural institutions, which strive to preserve the historic Armenian
presence in Syria.

We are asking all our parishes to contribute to this relief effort.
Individuals and parishes can make checks out to the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (please write `Syrian Relief’ in the memo).
All funds collected should be sent to the Diocesan Center (630 Second
Avenue, New York, NY 10016) no later than Monday, October 1.

Individuals can also [2]CONTRIBUTE NOW through our Diocesan website.
(Please note: In the lower part of the online information entry form,
select the button `In Memory of,’ and type `Syrian Relief’ in the memo
bar that appears.)
Links:
2.

All the proceeds collected will go to the relief effort, to be
distributed through the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Above all, we ask everyone to include the people of Syria in your
prayers, and to ask our Lord to bring peace to the region.

With prayers,

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian
Primate

Sh. Kocharyan: It is obvious that Davutoglu zeroed out his knowledge
in the sphere of the international law

Armenian news agency asked Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh
Kocharyan to comment on the statement by the Turkish Minister of
Foreign Affairs Ahmed Davutoglu at the meeting of the Ministers of
Foreign Affairs of the Council of the Turkish-speaking Countries held
on August 22 in Bishkek that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh should be
resolved in accordance with the international law within the framework
of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

”It is obvious that professor Davutoglu, being appointed as the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, zeroed out his knowledge in the sphere of
the international law. According to the well-known fundamental norms
of the international law the territorial integrity cannot be opposed
to the people’s right of self-determination. The result of such zeroed
out approaches of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey is the
fact that Turkey has zero neighbors without problems”, Mr. Qocharyan
said.

24.08.12, 18:25