Monday 20 September 2010

Armenian News

Turkish policemen forbidding Armenians from praying in the Armenian Church :
The world must know about suppression of minorities' lives
in modern Turkey. Turkey's double standard images must be
revealed to the whole world, and what they have done in 1915
to the Armenians still goes on till today. Please forward this
email to all your your friends. Turkey must be exposed that
atrocity towards Armenian people still exists.
Regards,
Kevork (George)
Armenia Hosts Another NATO Exercise
13.09.2010
Sargis Harutyunyan

Hundreds of rescue workers from across Europe and the former Soviet
Union began on Sunday a week-long disaster relief exercise held by
NATO in Armenia.

The annual drills, organized by the Brussels-based Euro-Atlantic
Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC) jointly with the
Armenian Emergencies Ministry, brought together some 700 participants
representing 28 NATO member and partner states, including Russia,
Turkey and Georgia. They are simulating a joint response to a powerful
earthquake at a military base in the central Armenian town of Lusakert
and nearby locations.

Under the exercise scenario, the earthquake hits the surrounding
Kotayk region, resulting in numerous casualties and huge devastation
and leading the Armenian government to ask for international
assistance.

Armenia suffered a catastrophic earthquake in December 1988. It killed
some 25,000 people and left hundreds of thousands of others homeless.

`This annual exercise is very important because it is held in Armenia
for the first time,' Emergencies Minister Armen Yeritsian told
journalists at the opening ceremony in Lusakert. `I thanked the NATO
leadership for holding the annual exercise in the Republic of
Armenia. I think that we have something to learn [from other
countries.]'

`The Republic of Armenia has always been considered a disaster
laboratory,' Yeritsian said. `We must be prepared to cope with all
kinds of disasters.'

More than half of the exercise participants are Armenian rescuers and
firefighters employed by Yeritsian's ministry. Ten others represent
neighboring Turkey, with which Armenia has no diplomatic relations.

With the Turkish-Armenian border remaining closed, the Turks had to
travel to Armenia via Georgia. Turkish officials indicated in July
that Ankara might temporarily reopen the frontier for the
exercise. Officials in Yerevan dismissed such possibility as public
relations stunt.

The drills, which are due to end on Friday, reflect Armenia's
deepening ties with NATO under an `individual partnership action plan'
launched in 2005. Yerevan has embarked on far-reaching defense reforms
and joined NATO's military missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan in tune
with that plan. It has also hosted two NATO-led military exercises,
most recently in September 2008.
ARMENIANS FROM ABROAD TO SERVE IN ARMENIAN ARMY?
news.am
Sept 15 2010
Armenia


The RA Ministry of Defense is now discussing the issue of military
service for Armenians who are foreign citizens, Ra Minister of Defense
Seyran Ohanyan stated in Parliament.

According to him, many Armenians residing abroad ask the RA Ministry
of Defense to allow them to serve in the Armenian army. The Minister
reported he plans to discuss the issue with his Russian counterpart
Anatoly Serdyukov.
RFE/RL Report
Armenian Soldier Killed In Karabakh
17.09.2010

One Armenian soldier was shot dead on Friday in continuing skirmishes
along the main Armenian-Azerbaijani `line of contact' around
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian Defense Army said the 20-year-old
conscript, Andranik Sargsian, was fatally wounded in `the northeastern
section' of the frontline in what it called a ceasefire violation by
Azerbaijani forces.

The area in Karabakh's northern Martakert district was already the
scene of deadly fighting earlier this month. At least four Azerbaijani
soldiers were killed there in two separate firefights blamed by the
warring sides on each other.

The incidents highlighted the persisting risk of another all-out war
for the Armenian-controlled disputed region which seems to have
increased in recent months. The U.S., Russian and French diplomats
trying to broker a peaceful solution to the Karabakh dispute strongly
condemned them and called for `additional actions necessary to
strengthen the ceasefire' last week.

Significantly, the truce violations were reportedly discussed by
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Russian Defense Minister
Anatoly Serdyukov during their talks in Washington on Wednesday. A
Pentagon spokesman said Gates expressed concern and stressed the need
to strengthen the ceasefire regime.

The Karabakh Armenian military says that Azerbaijani forces open fire
on its positions in various sections of the frontline on a daily
basis. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has claimed the opposite,
saying that the skirmishes are provoked by the Armenian side.
46 CASES OF CEASEFIRE VIOLATION BY AZERBAIJANI ARMED
FORCES
ARMENPRESS
SEPTEMBER 15, 2010
STEPANAKERT

During the night of September 13-14, 46 cases of ceasefire regime
violation were registered in a number of parts of the contact line
of the Karabakhi-Azerbaijani armed forces.

Press service of the NKR defense army told Armenpress that the
Azerbaijani armed forces have fired at the Karabakhi posts based in
different positions of Hadrut, Martuni, Askeran and Martakert from
different types of weapon. After the return activity of the defense
army the rival stopped.

INFLATION MAJOR PROBLEM FOR RA GOVERNMENT
news.am
sept 15 2010
Armenia

The current year is the riskiest in terms of inflation-related
macroeconomic indicators, RA Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan stated
in Parliament.

Curbing inflation is task number one for the RA Government now, he
said. "The Government and the Central Bank are doing their best to
curb inflation," Davtyan said. Among the measures is reducing the
budget deficit down to 4% and reforming competition-regulating laws.

Relevant bills are being drafted now, Davtyan said.

The Minister pointed out a number of reasons for higher inflation in
Armenia. This year the weather conditions have affected the country's
agriculture, which caused a rise in food prices, Davtyan said.


Yerevan Flights Delayed Over Airline Debts
16.09.2010
Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia's national airline, Armavia, was forced to briefly delay three
flights from Yerevan on Thursday because of its outstanding debts to the
Zvartnots international airport.

Armavia planes bound for Russia and Israel were allowed to take off more
than hour after their scheduled departure time as the company began
urgent crisis talks with the airport administration.

`We had to take such a step because Armavia has accumulated big debts,'
Zvartnots spokesman Gevorg Abrahamian told RFE/RL's Armenian service.
`Right now, the issue is being settled. All flights are being handled as
normal. We hope to avoid such problems in the future.'

Abrahamian said later in the day that the two sides have worked out a
timetable for the repayment of the debts incurred by Armavia. `This debt
will be repaid very soon,' confirmed Nana Avetisova, an Armavia
spokeswoman.

Both officials refused to disclose the sum owed by the private carrier
to Zvartnots's Argentinean operator, Corporacion America. Avetisova
linked Armavia's failure to pay for airport ground services on time with
last year's global recession which did not keep the company from
purchasing new aircraft.

`This is normal for airlines around the world,' she told RFE/RL. `Yet in
our country there is so much fuss that you feel like it's the end of the
world. We are a small airline located in a small country, and having
such a debt is not something extraordinary.'

Owned by Russian-Armenian businessman Mikhail Bagdasarov,
Armavia currently flies to about 30 destinations in Europe, the former
Soviet Union and the Middle East. It became Armenia's leading carrier
in 2004 following the bankruptcy of the state-run Armenian Airlines.
200 ANCIENT BOOKS OF ARMENIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
ALREADY AVAILABLE ON INTERNET
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 16, 2010 - 18:39 AMT 13:39 GMT


The Fundamental Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
(RA NAS) digitized over 500 ancient books, making 200 of them available
on the internet.

As the library director Tigran Zargaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter,
the process was launched in 2006, with Armenian editions digitized
first due to storage issues.

The RA NAS Fundamental Library holds over 4000 books dating back
to 1512-1920s. Over 3 million books and periodicals are stored in
library fund.

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