Author: Toneyan Mark

RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN VISITED TODAY SCULPTOR LEVON TOKMAJYAN’S STUDIO

Tuesd ay, 18 August 2009

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited today sculptor Levon
Tokmajyan’s studio. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Minister
of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan and Mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan.

Sculptor Levon Tokmajyan presented a sculptural group, entitled Alarm
and memorizing those Armenian intellectuals from Constantinople who
fell a prey to the Genocide of Armenians perpetrated in the Ottoman
Empire. Tigran Sargsyan got acquainted with the preliminary version
of the work. Supported by the State, the sculptural group is dedicated
to the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

BAD WORK

y&pid=14956
17:19:31 – 19/08/2009

The 16.3 percent economic decline in Armenia is due to bad work
in the last quarter of 2008. The government had estimated economic
growth but 20 percent decline was reported, says the ex-president
of the Central Bank Bagrat Asatryan. He says current growth in trade
and services is conditioned by the shade economy. However, soon this
resource will expire too.

Asatryan said in 2010 there may be growth in agriculture and industries
but these are optimistic estimates. At best, the economic growth of
Armenia will total 1.5 percent next year.

Bagrat Asatryan thinks the influence of the Russian economy on the
Armenian economy will be deciding on which it depends greatly. Only
if at least 3 percent steady economic growth is reported in Russia,
in 2011 our economy will start stabilizing.

Presently there is no anti-crisis program. The cause of the
present situation is that the government reported a double-digit
economic growth relying on remittances and loans from international
organizations. Therefore we have a sick economy now. And now we are
receiving loans to overcome this crisis. It turns out that we are
trying to cure the illness with the cause of the illness, Bagran
Asatryan says.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS: WHO IS KURT CAMPBELL?

AllGov
Monday, August 17, 2009

United States policy toward the troubled and perilous region of East
Asia-home of volatile conflicts between North and South Korea, China
and Taiwan, and the military junta of Burma and its own people-is
now the province of a highly esteemed academic and international
relations specialist, Dr. Kurt Campbell. Campbell was confirmed by
the Senate on June 26, 2009, as the new Assistant Secretary of State
for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Perhaps a harbinger of political
conflicts to come, conservative Republican Kansas Senator Sam Brownback
had put a hold on Campbell’s nomination as a way to press the Obama
administration to consider imposing more restrictive economic sanctions
on the military dictatorship ruling Burma (also called Myanmar).

Born in 1957, Campbell earned a B.A. in Science, Technology, and Public
Affairs from the University of California, San Diego, a certificate
in music and political philosophy from the University of Yerevan in
Soviet Armenia, and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford
University in 1985. As an officer in the U.S. Navy, Campbell served as
an assistant on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and between 1987 and 1995
as a reserve naval officer in a special Chief of Naval Operations
advisory unit in the Pentagon. Early in his career, he worked as a
stringer for The New York Times Magazine in southern Africa.

In his academic career, Campbell has been an Olin Fellow at the
Russian Research Center at Harvard University, a Lecturer in
International Relations at Brown University, and, from 1988 to
1993, he was associate professor of public policy and international
relations at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Assistant
Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs,
both at Harvard University. Campbell is the author or co-author of
numerous books, including Difficult Transitions: Why Presidents Fail
in Foreign Policy at the Outset of Power; Hard Power: The New Politics
of National Security; and To Prevail: An American Strategy for the
Campaign against Terrorism. He is the editor of Climatic Cataclysm:
The Foreign Policy and National Security Implications of Climate Change
and Nuclear Tipping Point. He has also written numerous scholarly
articles and opinion pieces on a wide range of international subjects.

Campbell has been a member of a number of think tanks, including the
International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Council on
Foreign Relations and the Wasatch Group. He has also been a consultant
to the Rockefeller Foundation. In the early and mid 2000s, he served as
Senior Vice President, Director of the International Security Program,
and Henry A. Kissinger Chair in National Security Policy at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies. From January 2007 through
June 2009, Campbell was the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
of the centrist-Democratic Center for a New American Security. He
concurrently served as Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and the
Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Washington Quarterly, and is
the Founder and Principal of StratAsia, a strategic advisory company
focused on Asia, especially Japan.

Campbell served in several capacities in government during the Clinton
administration, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Asia and the Pacific, Director on the National Security Council Staff,
Deputy Special Counselor to the President for the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and as a White House fellow at the Department
of the Treasury.

A Democrat, Campbell was Hillary Clinton’s chief adviser on Asian
affairs during her campaign for the presidency in 2008. Since 2004, he
has contributed more than $28,000 to Democratic candidates and causes,
including $6,900 to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, followed
by $4,600 to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign after the former’s
withdrawal from the Democratic nomination contest. He had previously
donated $4,100 to Senator Clinton’s 2006 re-election campaign.

Campbell is a member of the advisory boards of Aegis Capital
Corporation, Civitas Group, STS Systems, PLC, the O’Gara Group, New
Media Strategies, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He is
on the board of the US-Australian Leadership Dialogue, the Advisory
Committee of the International Relations Program at the College of
William and Mary, and the policy advisory board of the Asia Society.

Campbell is married to Under Secretary of Treasury for International
Affairs Lael Brainard, and they have three daughters.

– Matt Bewig

"BUENOS AIRES – ARMENIA" FORUM COMMENCED

News.am
14:31 / 08/17/2009

On August 10-11, 2009 a "Buenos Aires – Armenia" forum took place in
the capital of Argentine on the initiative of the Preservation of
Buenos Aires Historic Cultural and Heritage Commission, as well as
Historical Institute and Armenian Cultural Association.

The core issue – was Armenian genocide covered by Dr. Khatchig
Der-Ghukassian. He touched upon the Genocide negation issue by several
states, that pursue their own interests.

Psychologist Rita Kuyumjian analyzed emotional stress of those escaping
the Genocide due to negation of that fact.

Dr. Leandro Despouy, (Argentine Human Rights lawyer) went into the
question of life and activities of Armenians in Latin America.

During the 3-day event, certain activities were dedicated to William
Saroyan – renowned American-Armenian dramatist.

Overall cultural, historical and other crucial issues of Armenian
Diaspora were widely discussed during the event.

CORN CROPS EXPECTED AT ABOUT 430,000 TONS IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Aug 14, 2009

YEREVAN, August 14. /ARKA/. Corn crops is expected to total about
430,000 tons in Armenia this year, the country’s Deputy Minister of
Agriculture Samvel Galstyan said.

Harvest is almost finished in lower parts of Armenia and Ararat
Valley and combines are now sent to mountainous regions for harvest,
he said adding that weather conditions delayed the process.

Cereal and grain crops cover a total of 172,000 hectares in Armenia
in 2008, Galstyan said. Against 415,000 tons of gross harvest of
grain and cereal corps in 2008, this year, according to preliminary
information, it is to total to 400-415,000 tons, including 200-210,000
tons of wheat crop.

A serious breakthrough should be achieved in seed farming to ensure
that high-quality seeds are grown in the country, the Deputy Minister
said.

If seed-farming works are carried out in a proper way, it will allow
growing up to 2,400 tons of high-quality seeds, Galstyan said.

Galstyan stressed that the country will manage to achieve a
breakthrough in this important field in the next three years to avoid
the last year situation when prices for cereals went up in 10 days
due to the situation in Georgia.

Today the demand for cereals is 700,000-750,000 tons with only half
of it produced in the country. Some 250,000-350,000 tons of wheat
are imported.

This means that much remains to be done to improv e the
self-sufficiency level in the field, Galstyan said adding that cereals
are imported mainly from Russia and Ukraine.

ARMBUSINESSBANK OPENS NEW BRANCH IN NORAGAVIT

ARKA
Aug 12, 2009
Yerevan

Armbusinessbank has opened a new branch in Noragavit neighborhood in
Yerevan. The bank’s official website says the new branch is located
at 15/1, Ararat Highway. The new branch was registered by Central
Bank on July 21. The bank has now 21 branches.

ZAO Armbusinessbank (formerly Arminvestbank) was registered on December
10, 1991. In 2006 35% of its shares were bought by Ukrprombank
(Kiev), 35% by Ukrainian Insurance Society ODO Alfa Garant and 30%
by Society Christie Management. Eleven of its branches are in Yerevan,
5 in provinces and the rest in Nagorno-Karabakh.

AZERI HISTORIAN: THE TERM "AZERBAIJANIS" WAS COINED IN 1930’S

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
10.08.2009 20:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We cannot have national ideology unless we are
certain about our national self-identification," Doctor of History
Farid Alekperli, Department Head at Azerbaijan’s National Academy of
Sciences, says in an article entitled "Who are We? Where do we come
from, and Where do we Go". The article was published in Saturday’s
issue of "Zerkalo" Azerbaijani newspaper.

Before the 1930s’ Stalin reforms, the notion "Azerbaijanis" did not
simply exist, Azeri historian says, noting further that the term was
coined in the late 1930s by the great repressor’s will. Until 1936,
People in the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918-1920) and
Azerbaijani Soviet Republic were officially known as Turks, he notes.

"Having lost their national self-identification, we got stuck in
debates on who we are, i.e. whether we descend from Sumerians, Talish
tribes, Albanians, Medes or some other ethnic group. There’ll be no
end to such tiresome and stupid debates unless we recognize that
our true ethnic origins are disguised behind the featureless term
‘Azerbaijanis’. We descend mostly from Turks, as well as Kurds, Tats,
Lezghins etc."

"Armenians, Persians and other nations still call us Turks," Alekperli
underlines.

Bringing the example of Arab states and Iranian Azeris, who "have
been calling themselves ‘Turks’ from time immemorial", the historian
expresses conviction that no one confuses them with the Turks living
in Turkey.

Alekperli is concerned that use of the artificial term "Azerbaijanis"
may result in the loss of national identity, assimilation to Russians
and Western nations and eventually, it may lead to mancurtization,
especially under the pressures of globalization policy.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

August 7, 2009

___________________

AT NEW YORK’S DIOCESAN CENTER, COMMUNITY BIDS FAREWELL TO UN AMBASSADOR
MARTIROSSIAN

On Tuesday, August 4, a farewell reception was held at the Diocesan Center
in honor of His Excellency Armen Martirossian, the Permanent Representative
of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations, who will soon become
Armenia’s ambassador to Germany.

Organized by the Eastern Diocese and the Fund for Armenian Relief, the
evening was attended by some 100 people, who gathered to thank Ambassador
Martirossian for his six years of service at the United Nations, and to wish
him success in his new position.

Opening the evening’s program, Diocesan Vicar the Very Rev. Fr. Haigazoun
Najarian spoke about Ambassador Martirossian’s deep faith and close
connection to the Armenian Church.

Fr. Najarian said that Ambassador Martirossian will be remembered in New
York’s Armenian community, just as the ambassador will cherish the memories
of his time here.

Dr. Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York,
discussed Armenia’s uncertain situation on the international stage, tracing
the problems posed by the closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Given
this scenario, he said, it is critical for Armenia to have diplomats who can
articulate its needs and represent its interests.

"I’m glad he’s going to be our ambassador to Germany," he said of Ambassador
Martirossian. "It will be helpful to Armenia."

Drawing a distinction between short-term aid and long-term investment, Dr.
Gregorian said that Germany and other European Union states should aim to
support such efforts as educating Armenia’s young and developing the
country’s computer, banking, medical, and other industries.

Dr. Gregorian also stressed that the initiative must begin with the Armenian
community in Germany, saying that "charity begins at home."

"I’m amazed at how few Christians support Armenia," he said, adding that
Ambassador Martirossian will need to harness "talent, investment, and
cooperation from the European Union and from Germany."

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), recalled the day in 1992 when the Armenian flag was
hoisted alongside the flags of other countries at the United Nations, and
how Armenia’s UN Mission first opened its office at the Diocesan Center.

"It was a great privilege, and it will always be a mark of honor, for the
Diocesan Center to have played such a role in our country’s history," the
Primate said.

Members of Armenia’s delegation to the UN have likewise been closely
involved with the Armenian Church and the larger Armenian community in New
York.

"To our own people, Armen has been the kind of ambassador who goes far
beyond his formal diplomatic mandate, to be helpful to Armenians in whatever
way possible," the Primate said. "The Armenian-American community has been
blessed to enjoy Armen’s attention, his activity, his brotherly advice and
goodwill."

"From his earliest days in America, he has felt at home here at St. Vartan
Cathedral, and Armen, Anahit, and their family were always in attendance at
events here and in churches around our Diocese."

But above all, Archbishop Barsamian said, Ambassador Martirossian "has shown
himself to be a master of working within the UN, and with his colleagues, to
advance intelligent and just solutions to the issues of the day."

"Time and again, on a variety of concerns-genocide acknowledgement, the
status of Nagorno-Karabagh, and others-Ambassador Martirossian’s constant
attention, his firm convictions, and his efforts in public and in the
background, were the keys to a positive and beneficial result."

Guarantors of Armenia’s Future

Nagorno-Karabagh, in particular, has been a priority for Ambassador
Martirossian and his delegation.

"Karabakh won on the battlefields, and we now have to secure our military
victory on diplomatic fields as well," the ambassador said.

He explained that the issue was especially challenging because the UN
charter is designed to deal with international conflicts more so than with
internal disputes. In guaranteeing both the right to self-determination and
the territorial integrity of states, the UN charter makes it difficult to
conduct talks surrounding a question that falls under both categories.

Most UN member states no longer support Azerbaijan’s claims to
Nagorno-Karabagh, Ambassador Martirossian said, though he acknowledged that
the issue needs continued attention.

"We ourselves are the only guarantor of a decent future for Armenia," he
said.

Ambassador Martirossian also spoke about the important role played by the
Armenian diaspora, and thanked New York’s Armenian community for acting as
"a reliable partner" in his ambassadorship.

Recalling the many thought-provoking conversations he shared with clergy and
other leaders of the Armenian-American community, Ambassador Martirossian
said he learned a great deal during his time at the United Nations.

"It is believed that in order to preserve the national identity, it is the
diaspora that needs Armenia. Although that judgment is correct, it is not
comprehensive," he said. "From my personal experience, I claim that it was
the diaspora that enriched and strengthened my Armenian identity."

"I give my thanks to you and to the people of Armenia, for the times I have
succeeded," he said, adding with characteristic humility, "and my apologies
for the times I have fallen short."

Ambassador Martirossian will begin serving as Armenia’s ambassador to
Germany starting next week.

###

Photos attached.

Photo 1: Diocesan Vicar the Very Rev. Fr. Haigazoun Najarian, Ambassador
Armen Martirossian, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Diocesan Council member
Papken Megerian, and St. Vartan Cathedral Dean Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian.

Photo 2: Dr. Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New
York, speaks at the farewell reception for Ambassador Armen Martirossian.

EITHER SHOOTER OR SHOT
Interview By Siramuysh Papyan

LRAGIR.AM
11:37:04 – 07/08/2009

In your opinion, what is intelligentsia? And what are the stances of
the intelligentsia today?

-In my opinion, an intellectual is the person, who does intellectual
work, in addition, they can be workers of a taxi service and do
intellectual work, or they maybe workers of the academy of sciences or
members of the Union of Writers and do not do such kind of work. It
is not a task, it is not a status but it is a fact, which has to be
confirmed with the help of daily work.

-In your opinion, which is the reason why representatives of culture
were included in the Republican rows at the latest Yerevan Mayor
election?

– I would not like to touch upon them. In particular, not only the
Republican, but also the ARF Dashnaktsutyun and the OYP did not
resist that temptation. If they became artist elders, it does not
mean that the number of their supporters increased. The problem of
the party is clear, it needs to be well represented. One cannot walk
without clothes. They need to wear clothes. So they need also several
so-called actors, writers, singers, etc. I said so-called, because a
personality has a certain value in the society only when they are not
formalized, and when they are, they give up being intellectuals. They
stop being engaged in intellectual work.

-What do you think about the society we live in?

-This is a very dangerous situation. At some point, it seemed that
we appeared in our mother’s belly, when people do not serve the
idea. Real intellectuals have to bear ideas and have to serve the
very ideas during their life. The government had to serve its idea-
the society, the judge- the law, etc. Unfortunately, today, not all
these people serve their ideas.

-Has it always been this way? Or you came to this conclusion during
the latest years.

-Suddenly appears something, which hinders this kind of
living. Election, post-electoral events, 2008 year…March 1… they
kill people, who struggled for their rights. And it became clear
that you create obstacles for them with "your March 1". When someone
has to make a choice and makes it, their kind is being revealed. An
Armenian citizen connected with the March 1 is in front of a choice:
you are either the shooter or the one shot.

-Which side is more secure?

-There is no question of being good or bad here. There have always
been people within the society who served their ideas. But when the
number and the quality of those people starts to deprive them from
serving their ideas, this means suicide. What kind of situation is
this? Total complaints, fear, uncertainty, Charents would say present
without future.

-Do you imagine unity around ideas? Do you imagine the unity of ’88?

-What ’88? What was the idea of that national unity? We tried
to formulate that idea, it came out to be clan, destruction,
burglary, hostility. Who said that we need to become millions
and be united? Jesus Christ did not come to unite believers and
non-believers. But he came to choose.

-How would you like to see our Mayor? With what ideas?

-We had possibility to have 12 small cities – Yerevan districts,
which may be developable. Now we do not have anything, and everything
we have is only a danger.

And when you say an artist-elder, I want to stop you and say that
the synonym to artist for me is a free person. Sold people cannot be
artists. There, where there is no freedom, they give up being artists.

ONLY 3% DEFLATION

A1+
06:35 pm | July 31, 2009 | Economy

A 3% deflation was registered in the consumer market in Armenia in
June-July 2009 and prices for products decreased by 2.7% in July
compared to June, as reported by the National Statistical Service
of Armenia.

The National Statistical Service ties the deflation with seasonal
changes of prices for consumer goods. For example, prices for grocery
items (including alcohol and cigarettes) reduced by 5.2% in July
compared to June, while prices for non-grocery items and services
went up by 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.

According to studies, compared to last year, this month there was a
5.7% deflation of grocery products, which was mainly the result of
the 30.2-9.8% deflation of prices for fruits, vegetables and eggs.

In the same period there has been a 0.7% inflation for meat products,
which is mainly due to the inflation of prices for pork and cow-2.1%
and 1.3% respectively.

In July 2009, compared to June, there was a 0.5% inflation in stores,
which was mainly due to the 0.7% inflation for textile, 0.8% for
electronic appliances, 2.1% for clothing, 2.1% for dishwashing liquids
and laundry detergents and 4.8% for stationery.

There was a 0.1% inflation in the services field.