Author: nina hovnanian

ARMENIA’S RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA AND EU COMPLEMENTARY – ARMENIAN PM

news.am
June 05, 2012 | 21:09

BRUSSELS. – The start of talks on a ‘deep and comprehensive free-trade
agreement’ (DCFTA) with EU will require new infrastructure in Armenia,
Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan said in an interview to the European Voice
newspaper on the occasion of ending his two-day visit to Brussels.

Sargsyan characterized Armenia’s relations with Russia and the EU
as complementary. However, Armenia is not interested in joining the
Eurasian Union, which was established in January 2010 and features
Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, he said.

As a matter of fact, Sargsyan mentioned, relations between Russia
and Armenia will not change fundamentally following Vladimir Putin’s
return to office.

U.S SECRETARY OF STATE’S VISIT TESTIFIES TO U.S IMPORTANCE TOWARDS AZERBAIJAN

Trend
June 4 2012
Azerbaijan

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming official
visit to the region and in particular to Azerbaijan testifies to the
importance attached by the U.S. to the region, as well as bilateral
relations between the U.S with each country, Trend Expert Council
member, Professor of the Western University, political analyst Fikret
Sadikhov said today.

“It is no secret that the U.S. has its own strategic interests in
the region,” he told Trend. “It is interested in stability and the
development of democratic values and safe operation of the grandiose
projects where they are involved.”

U.S. Secretary of State will visit Azerbaijan during her tour to the
South Caucasus on June 6.

He added that of course, the White House attaches particular importance
to Azerbaijan. The country has come a long way in its development over
20 years. It virtually became a leading country in many respects. It
has been elected a member of the UN Security Council. All this gives
great importance to Azerbaijan. He added that Azerbaijan is also
interested in developing relations with the U.S.

“Of course, if anyone thinks that all regional problems and the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are immediately resolved after the visit,
one should not deceive themselves,” Sadikhov said.

Another question is that the U.S. can take the initiative. Being
interested in stability in the region, the U.S may have an impact on
Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. This would attach
the significance to Clinton’s visit and in general the U.S. role in
the region, he added.

He stressed that another important aspect of the upcoming visit,
which cannot be forgotten is that it will take place within the U.S.

presidential campaign. In this situation, the White House should
determine the priorities of its foreign policy, show interest in
stability in certain regions and enlist the support of its electorate
on the policy in the South Caucasus. In this regard, the White House
must be interested in the final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

CLINTON EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT INCREASING ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN TENSIONS

Voice of America

June 4 2012

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she is very concerned
about escalating tensions on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan
as she began a trip to Europe’s Caucasus region.

Clinton told reporters in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, Monday that use
of force in the majority ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
will not resolve the conflict. She condemned what she called “the
senseless deaths of soldiers and civilians” just hours after the
latest clash left at least three Armenian soldiers dead.

Clinton made the comments after having dinner with Armenian President
Serzh Sarkisyan.

VOA State Department correspondent Scott Stearns says Clinton is also
urging Turkey to normalize relations with Armenia, saying the ball
is in Turkey’s court.

“Clearly that is one of the biggest issues the United States would like
to help resolve. The feeling is that Armenia is potentially quite a
significant economic power but is restricted at present by not being
able to trade either with Turkey or with Azerbaijan. There is a hope
that there can be progress toward resolving the dispute between Turkey
and Armenia. State Department officials say they believe the ball is
in Turkey’s court.”

Clinton travels next to Georgia and Azerbaijan, where she is expected
to focus on economic, political and security ties with the United
States.

CLINTON WARNS OVER ARMENIAN, AZERI VIOLENCE
Arshad Mohammed

Yahoo!7 News / Reuters
June 4 2012

YEREVAN (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began a
trip to the South Caucasus region on Monday calling on arch rivals
Armenia and Azerbaijan to renounce violence that she warned could
slip into a broader regional conflict.

Post-Soviet nations Armenia and Azerbaijan traded accusations on Monday
ahead of Clinton’s arrival over violence that killed three Armenian
soldiers and wounded soldiers on both sides of their shared border.

“I am very concerned by these incidents and have called on all parties,
all actors, to refrain from the use or threat of force,” said Clinton
speaking to journalists. “There is a danger that it could escalate
into a much broader conflict that would be very tragic for everyone
concerned.”

War between ethnic Azeris and Armenians erupted in 1991 over the
mostly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region which broke away from Muslim
Azerbaijan with the backing of Christian Armenia as the Soviet Union
collapsed two decades ago.

Sporadic violence still flares along a ceasefire line negotiated
in 1994. Some 30,000 people were killed and about 1 million became
refugees, the majority in Azerbaijan.

Clinton’s South Caucasus trip will focus largely on U.S. interests
and security in the region criss-crossed by energy pipelines, fraught
with territorial disputes and the site of a five-day war between
Russia and pro-western Georgia in 2008.

Clinton was scheduled to meet Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian during a less than five-hour visit
before travelling on to Georgia and then Azerbaijan, a major oil and
gas producer.

The Secretary of State also urged Armenia and Turkey, whose border has
been closed since 1993 to work towards a normalisation of relations.

“We are committed to seeing … Armenia and Turkey normalise relations
because we think this is a path forward to a better future for the
citizens of both countries,” she said.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in an act of solidarity with
ethnic kin in Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabkah conflict.

Lack of a permanent settlement to the frozen conflict, despite
mediation led by France, Russia and the United States, scuttled
Ankara’s and Yerevan’s efforts to normalise relations.

While Armenia and Turkey signed an agreement in October 2009 to
normalize relations, open the border and take steps to develop trade,
tourism and economic cooperation, the two sides never ratified
the pact.

Clinton also urged Armenia, whose closed borders make it largely
dependent on Iran and its former Soviet master Moscow to pursue
reforms to improve its economy as well as to strengthen democratic
institutions.

“Private sector investors are looking for an open business climate with
predictable rules and independent judiciary, transparent regulations,
taxes and customs,” she said, adding that the United States was
pleased at progress Armenia had made.

>From Yerevan, Clinton flies to Georgia’s Black Sea resort of Batumi
where she will spend two nights before travelling to Azerbaijan,
where her visit has been carefully calibrated to spend roughly the
same amount of time as she did in Armenia.

(Additional reporting by Margarita Antidze, Writing by Thomas Grove,
Editing by Michael Roddy)

GENOCIDE MEMORIAL MONUMENT UNVEILED IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
By Helen George

Greek Reporter

June 4 2012

On Sunday, May 20, in the city of Adelaide in South Australia,
a special ceremony was organized to commemorate the unveiling of
a monument dedicated to the victims of the Armenian, Assyrian and
Pontian Greeks genocide committed by Turkey’s Ottoman government
during World War I, 1914-1923.

The Ethnic Genocide has been commemorated in Australia by The
Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia). On May 20,
the organization unveiled the Memorial Monument in South Australia.

Dignitaries and politicians representing the three ethnic groups
attended the ceremony.

Executive Director Vache Kahramanian said, “The unveiling of
this monument is testament not only to the memory of the victims
of genocide but also to descendants of survivors who have called
Australia home.” A church service was held at St. Dimitrios Greek
Othordox Church followed by the official unveiling at the Mausoleum
of Holy Family in Salisbury Downs in South Australia.

Erecting the South Australian genocide monument was the result of
great efforts made by three brotherly organizations: the Pontian
Brotherhood of South Australia, the Armenian Cultural Association of
South Australia, and the Assyrian Universal Alliance-Australia Chapter.

VEGETABLE OIL FACTORY BEING BUILT IN ARTSAKH

Panorama.am
04/06/2012

President of Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan visited Taghavard village
in the Martouni region and got acquainted with the construction
activities of a vegetable oil factory there.

President Sahakyan stressed the importance of the construction of such
a large enterprise, emphasizing its great role in the development of
agriculture and processing industry in Artsakh.

Bako Sahakyan also visited the village of Khachmach in the Askeran
region and got acquainted with road construction works there. Artsakh
President noted that the working style and the technical approaches
used in the construction were quite interesting and could also be
used in other communities.

The President was accompanied by Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan and
other officials, presidential press office reported.

DOLLAR’S GAINING VALUE AGAINST ARMENIAN CURRENCY IS POSITIVE – EXPERT

news.am
June 04, 2012 | 12:40

YEREVAN. – The US dollar’s gaining value against the Armenian dram is
a positive phenomenon and it will contribute to the growth of export,
chairman Vazgen Safaryan of the Union of Domestic Goods Producers
stated during a press conference on Monday.

“Our dram had gained value improperly, but the processes resulted in
the weakening of the national currency,” said Safaryan.

In his words, the importers were unprepared for the dram’s weakening
and they suffer losses, and the Armenian State Commission for the
Protection of Economic Competition needs to tighten the control on
some markets.

As per Vazgen Safaryan, the prices of some food products in Armenia
increased in recent weeks as a result of the dram’s devaluation,
since a considerable portion of such products are imported.

ARMENIA PRESENTED AS PART OF TURKEY IN MANUALS FOR ISTANBUL SCHOOL CHILDREN

news.am
June 04, 2012 | 14:22

The school children of Istanbul were handed over multi media manuals
with maps where Armenia, several regions of Iraq, Bulgaria, Cyprus
and Georgia were presented as a part of Turkey.

The CD with a map was created based on national educational program
launched by the Ministry of Education, Milliyet newspaper reports.

The Ministry said that it “was shocked” and apologized for this
mistake claiming they had no idea where it had been created. They
said former head of Istanbul’s department on education Ata Ozer is
responsible for the mistake.

First Deputy of Georgian MFA Nikoloz Vashakidze said Georgia is
studying the reports, Gruziya Online reports.

GHOSTS AND A SOLE SURVIVOR: A VISIT TO A FORMER ARMENIAN DISTRICT IN TURKEY
By Gayane Lazarian

ArmeniaNow.com

04.06.12 | 13:01

Photo: Gayane Lazarian/ArmeniaNow.com

Modern day Kayseri

Reminding of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, abundant vegetation
hangs like emerald bracelets in the stretching districts of Kayseri
(Caesarea) in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). In such a district,
Talas, lives the sole Armenian resident of Kayseri, 55-year-old
Sargis Tekian.

Enlarge Photo Sargis, the only surviving Armenian of Kayseri

Enlarge Photo Houses in Kayseri that used to belong to wealthy
Armenians

Enlarge Photo Gregory the Illuminator Church in Kayseri

Enlarge Photo Istanbul-Armenian Karapet Istafanyan has been guarding
and taking care of the church for eight years.

Enlarge Photo Turkish villagers store dried manure in the hall
adjoining to Efkere’s St Garabed church.

“Three generations of our family have lived in this house. I have never
concealed my being an Armenian Christian, but there are many Armenians
who do, they don’t disclose their Armenian identity out of fear,”
Sargis says, showing his left wrist which has his named tattooed.

In a corner of his courtyard Sargis has a stone with Armenian
inscription. His interview to a Turkish newspaper as the only Armenian
resident of Kayseri is hanging on the wall. Sargis hastily lays a table
for tea, at the same time giving his analysis of the Armenian-Turkish
relations.

“It’s very important that the borders open. I have never been to
Armenia. During the Soviet times I was afraid to go because of the
communists; and now I know that Armenia is facing social-economic
issues,” he says.

Sargis points to well-preserved two-storey houses and says that
they belonged to Qahramanians, Gyulbekians (Galust Gyulbekian was a
prominent philanthropist born in Caesarea; Sargis is remotely related
to him).

In the central part of Kayseri stands the only remaining Armenian
church carrying the name of Gregory the Illuminator. Karapet
Istafanyan, 48-year-old Armenian who moved here from Istanbul, has
been guarding and taking care of the church on voluntary basis for the
past eight years. His wife and daughter live in Istanbul. (Because
Karapet is Istanbul-Armenian, Sargis is considered to be the only
Armenian native of Kayseri.)

Karapet does not speak Armenian, but tells in Turkish that several
times a year Armenians from different parts of Turkey go on a
pilgrimage to this church founded in 1191. Turkish authorities
renovated it in 2009. The first renovation of the church was done
in 1996.

Aslihan Doghan Topcu, professor at Kayseri’s state university,
accompanies the group of Armenian and Turkish reporters to the old
center of the city where an entire Armenian district still stands. In
the 19th century wealthy families – Efendioglu, Dulgeroglu, Gurbaz,
Kuyucuoglu, Bezircioglu – lived there.

Kayseri once consisted of four districts- two Armenian and two Greek.

The Armenian districts had seven churches, only one survives.

Before 1915 and the Armenian Genocide, Kayseri was surrounded with
a number of Armenian villages, with the total of some 50,000 residents.

Here Armenians were specializing in various crafts, among them carpet
weaving, goldsmith, leather work and trade. Between 1856 and 57 the
Gatrchian brothers in Kayseri built the first and biggest textile
factory (300 workbenches) with 3,000 employees.

Many residents of this region became victims of partial ethnic purges
in 1895, and in 1915 were either killed during the massacre of 1915 or
displaced. There is no surviving Armenian community in Kayseri today.

Turksih blog writer Kemal Bozkurty is not surprised about the fact
that there is an Armenian church, but not a community.

“It’s Turkish policy – if there is an Armenian church, there shouldn’t
be an Armenian community or, vice versa, if there is a community, there
isn’t a church or there is one in ruins, like in Malatia,’ he explains.

Today’s Kayseri has a population of one million. It’s Turkish president
Abdulla Gul’s birthplace. Turkish authorities make major investments
to develop the place, but it continues to be one of the country’s
most conservative and closed cities.

Security officers accompanied the Armenian and Turkish reporters in
Kayseri. One of the officers, Ali Bei, explained that the reason was
an act of terrorism of a few days ago which had led to the death of
one policeman, 16 people got hurt.

They accompanied the group of reporters to an old Armenian village,
8-10 km from Kayseri, called Efkere (the name might have derived either
from Greek Yevkaria, which means “sacred place” or “sanctity”, or
Armenian words hevk arav, which means “to have panted”. St. Gregory the
Illuminator, carrying the remains of St. John the Baptist (Surp Garabed
in Armenian), is traditionally believed to have become exhausted and
rested in this region on his way to Armenia from Caesarea. Climbing
the steep hills leading into the village, he panted, hevk arav.)

The village is now populated by Turks, who recall that it was once
an Armenian settlement. Shahzineh, one of the village women says her
grandfather’s mother was Armenian, and the village itself once served
as a summer residence for Armenians.

The village of Efkere was divided into an eastern and western section
by a brook. The western portion of the village was almost adjacent to
the monastery. Five hundred Armenian households used to live here; the
Turkish colony consisted of 50 households. Presently one section holds
the current village with its Turkish residents, while right in front of
it is the ghost of the Armenian settlement, with only protruding stone
foundations left from what used to be “beautiful and durable houses”.

One of the villagers, Huseyn Jomard, takes us to the village’s St
Garabed Church which looks more or less well-preserved from the
outside, but has its door locked. We are able to enter a hall next
to the church. The hall is in ruins and Turkish villagers store dried
manure there.

We leave Efkere in the cobwebs of past and present history. When
asked why Armenians had left their settlement Turkish residents of
Efkere respond with silence that lasts long after their answer.

Unlike Sargis, Caesarea’s only Armenian, or his ancestors, other
people were unable to keep living in their homes and left to survive,
to not undergo assimilation and become Turkish, not to be converted
to Islam, to preserve their Armenian identity.

Sargis beats his breast with his fist and says he is Armenian and
knows how to say “Luys bari [good morning], gisher bari [good evening]
and the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be
thy name….”

Gayane Lazarian has been visiting Turkey as part of the Support to
Armenia-Turkey rapprochement (SATR) project of the Global Political
Trends Center (GPOT) & Eurasia Partnership Foundation

TOP APPOINTMENTS: FAMILY TIES, COMPROMISES AND PRAGMATISM PLAY ROLE IN DISTRIBUTION OF SENIOR POSTS IN ARMENIA
By Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow
04.06.12 | 12:49

In-law lawmakers: NA speaker Hovik Abrahamyan (left) and PAP leader
Gagik Tsarukyan

The holders of the second and third most important posts in Armenia
became known at the end of last week as Hovik Abrahamyan was installed
as Parliament Speaker and Tigran Sargsyan was reappointed Prime
Minister.

Abrahamyan stepped down as parliament speaker half a year before the
May 6 parliamentary elections in order to manage the campaign of the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). His re-election as speaker
was widely seen as a compromise between the RPA and the Prosperous
Armenia Party (PAP), which has the second largest faction in the
current National Assembly.

Experts point out that taking into account the fact that Abrahamyan
and PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan are in-laws (Abrahamyan’s son married
Tsarukyan’s daughter), it played a big role in the elections and
post-election struggle. For example, after the elections, despite the
violations documented even by international observers, the PAP did
not challenge the election results in the court or in the street. Or
else, the one to be held accountable for any violation would have been
Abrahamyan. On the other hand, the RPA had to moderate its position
on the PAP so as not to offend their campaign manager’s in-law.

However, the family relationship between Abrahamyan and Tsarukyan
did not prevent the PAP from refusing to form a coalition with the RPA.

Analysts attribute this to the fact that Tsarukyan has second president
Robert Kocharyan backing him and that Kocharyan may opt for running
in the 2013 presidential election.

The elections and appointments of the same persons to key posts as
well as promises not to have big changes in the government are more
evidence that Armenia has entered the standby mode for the presidential
election due in about nine months. The parliament has gone into recess
for the summer and will not go back to work until September when the
unofficial presidential campaign is expected to start in earnest.

As regards the reappointment of Tigran Sargsyan as prime minister,
media also speculate that President Serzh Sargsyan (no relation to
the head of the cabinet) did not want to change the person who has
brought Armenia’s relations with the European Union to the stage of
negotiations around a free trade agreement. The first round of talks
is due in the middle of June, while European Council President Herman
Van Rompuy is due to visit Armenia as part of his regional tour in
the middle of July. It will probably become an occasion for declaring
closer relations between Armenia and the European Union.

President Sargsyan may find the European direction of economic
integration beneficial not only in terms of state interests, but
also in terms of retaining his political power in Armenia. The PAP,
which is almost certain to field its own candidate at Armenia’s
presidential election next year – and Kocharyan may be that candidate
– has a foreign policy vision oriented to Russia, Vladimir Putin and
the Eurasian Union, an emerging economic reintegration project for
former Soviet republics advocated by the Kremlin. And in order to be
able to resist Russian influence on the election outcome, Sargsyan
needs an equally powerful patron, such as Europe.

It is not excluded that after the presidential election, even if
Sargsyan gets re-elected, the parliament will be dissolved and a new
government will be formed. Perhaps this would be a “condition for
support” from the European Union. In the meantime, some media have
already dubbed the current parliament and government “provisional”.