Armenian News

Turkish EU minister said on Saturday that Turkey was acquitted of

Armenian allegations on the incidents of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.
14 April 2012 Saturday

[obviously this buffoon has not read “Judgement at Istanbul” by Profs Akcam

& Dadrian with exactly the opposite conclusion]

Turkish EU minister said on Saturday that Turkey was acquitted of Armenian

allegations on the incidents of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator for accession talks

Egemen Bagis paid a visit to governor's office in the northwestern province

of Canakkale.

In 1919, Ottoman officials were exiled to Malta, facing charges in regard to

tragedy that happened in 1915, he said.

"The then ministers, commanders and high-level officials were among them

who had faced trial there. The court in Malta acquitted all of them. The ruling

was made by a British judge. In other words, Turkey was acquitted of 1915

incidents in Malta," he said.

Recently Bagis paid a visit to Malta and attended a conference on "Creating

a Common Future: Need for a Visionary Europe" at the University of Malta.

WE HAVE DISTORTED MANY THINGS IN YEREVAN - ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

news.am

April 10, 2012 | 19:56

[no recognition of the persistent long-standing neglect of the regions outside Yerevan]

YEREVAN. - During the past decade we distorted many things in Yerevan,

Armenian President and chairman of the ruling Republican Party (RPA)

Serzh Sargsyan announced during a meeting with voters in Yerevan's

Erebuni district on Tuesday.

According to the president, while much attention was paid to

economic problems, Yerevan city environmental and identity issues

were neglected.

"This is a sad reality. Today we say that economic priorities are

more important than the issue of preserving Yerevan's identity. I

promise you here and now that this will change from now on," Sargsyan

mentioned, adding that they will prohibit by law any construction

not corresponding to Yerevan's identity.

Talking about economic issues the president pointed out that the

state managed to survive the crisis.

"We were able to protect the country form shocks that happened in

many European countries. But we were not able to register an economic

growth, which would be visible for the majority of population. Armenia

can and will have a modern industry," the president stressed.

The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is a ruling conservative party

in Armenia founded on 2 April, 1990, and registered on 14 May, 1991,

being the first officially registered socio-political organization

in the independent Republic of Armenia.

The founder of the party was Ashot Navasardyan. After his death the

party was headed by former Armenian prime minister, very influential

political figure, Vazgen Sargsyan, who was killed in 1999 terrorist

attack in the parliament. He was replaced by another Armenian Premier

Andranik Margaryan. After Margaryan's death, the incumbent Armenian

President Serzh Sargsyan took the office of the chairman of RPA board.

Since 2003, the Republican Party is a core member of the ruling

coalition along with the Prosperous Armenia and Orinats Yerkir

parties. RPA has majority of seats in the Armenian parliament since

2003.

The Republican Party of Armenia will run in the parliamentary

elections under its new slogan: "Let us believe to change!" The

Party's proportional list includes 253 names.

RPA has also nominated MP candidates with the majority election system

in 33 electoral districts.

RFE/RL Report

Thousands Removed From Armenian Voter Lists

Anush Martirosian

13.04.2012

More than two thousand dead persons have been identified and removed

from Armenia's electoral rolls so far in their continuing revision by

the police, a senior official said on Friday.

Hovannes Kocharian, head of the police Department on Passports and

Visas, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that some 700

other citizens were excluded from the registers for other reasons,

including a change of place of residence.

`As of now the number of voters has decreased by about 3,000,' he

said, adding that the department will continue the verification

process until the May 6 voting in the parliamentary elections.

The announcement will hardly placate the Armenian opposition which

accuses the authorities of deliberately inflating the voter lists to

be able to rig the ballot. The accusations followed the release last

month of police data that shows the number of eligible voter having

increased by around 185,000 since 2008.

Armenia's three main opposition forces are worried that fraudulent

ballots marked for the ruling Republican Party (HHK) could be cast in

place of hundreds of thousands of Armenian nationals living abroad. In

a joint letter to Armenian police chief Vladimir Gasparian sent late

earlier this month, they demanded that the police publicize those

voters' names.

Gasparian and other police officials insist that they have no such

information. They have also ruled out the possibility of voter list

manipulation.

President Serzh Sarkisian gave similar assurances last week. He 

Argued that the lists are available on the Internet and can be verified 

By the opposition and ordinary voters.

IT REMAINS OF THE LEADING BRANCHES OF ARMENIAN ECONOMY

Liana Yeghiazaryan

"Radiolur"

11.04.2012 14:56

Information Technologies remain one of the leading branches of Armenian

economy. Even with a number of problems existing in the field, it

continues registering serious achievements, having finally overcome

the influence of the global financial-economic crisis.

Currently there are more than 300 IT companies functioning in Armenia

with the total capital of $205 mln and with about 7 000 specialists

involved.

"Armenia's rating in the world IT sector is gradually improving,"

Deputy Minister of Economy Vahe Danielyan told reporters today. An

evidence of the above-said is the cooperation of a number of famous

international companies with Armenian specialists and opening of

their branches in Armenia.

A proof of this is the entry of the "Microsoft" Innovation center, the

Mobile Solutions Regional Laboratory, the Armenian-Indian Information

and Telecommunication Excellence Center, the National Instruments,

the ST Kinetics companies to Armenia, specialists say.

The next large-scale project is the techno park in Gyumri, which is

expected to be launched this year.

The small market and the restricted opportunities of cooperation with

other countries are the main challenges to the Armenian IT sector.

Another problem is that Armenian specialists have no opportunity to

implement their programs in the Armenian economy.

Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation,

attaches importance to the fact that local companies are also

developing.

NO EMIGRATION FROM ARTSAKH

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 21:18:10 - 11/04/2012

There is no emigration from Artsakh and the population grows, stated

the NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutiunyan in a press conference today. He

says unemployment in Artsakh is 5-6%, there is no extreme poverty.

Last year the GDP grew by 9.1%. Growth was constituted by small and

medium businesses.

The NKR prime minister says there is no unemployment in Artsakh,

sometimes even builders are invited from Armenia to supply shortage.

The NKR government funds the program of reproduction which favors the

growth of population of NKR. "Hundreds of applications were received

for settlement in Kashatagh," he says. Ara Harutiunyan noted that the

Armenian government helps Artsakh by way of the interstate loan. Part

of this loan is spent on resettlement, he says.

Artsakh expects the participation of the Diaspora but there is not

much enthusiasm. Ara Harutiunyan noted that the Armenian Diaspora

investors never face problems in Artsakh. "The government of Artsakh

has special attitude to investors." The investors get preferential

treatment, both during the office of Arkady Ghukasyan and now.

Ara Harutiunyan says inflation is high in Artsakh because goods are

imported from Armenia. To fight inflation, the government of Artsakh

boosts local production.

The government of Artsakh does not approve tax privileges because,

according to the prime minister, it will not boost the economy. "We

have such a plan. The region of Kashatagh was exempt from taxes

but no company was set up there. On the contrary, some wily people

registered businesses here and operated in Yerevan or Stepanakert,

thus avoiding paying taxes."

Noting the importance of equal opportunities, he says they are now

fighting shadow business, it has not been eradicated but there is

considerable progress.

GYUMRI CITIZENS TEAR AZERBAIJANI FLAG

03:02 pm | Today | Social

Organizer of the Azerbaijani Films Festival Georgi Vanyan has announced

that he refuses to hold the festival in Gyumri since he is under the

citizens' pressure and demands that the police ensure his safety by

dispersing activists gathered at "Asbarez" Club and ensuring at least

a 4 meter distance from the building so that he can leave and reach

Yerevan with the accompaniment of police officers.

GALA TV reports that there have been two attempts to beat the festival

organizer, but those attempts were suspended after police intervention.

Before refusing to hold the festival, Georgi Vanyan had declared

that the festival would be held at 15:00, even if there was only

one viewer. Then, he had suggested to the negotiating mothers of

freedom fighters that the citizens of Gyumri declare that Vanyan was

being exiled from Armenia. There are more and more people gathering

at "Asbarez" Club and the building has been surrounded by police

officers since this morning. Young citizens of Gyumri have ripped

the Azerbaijani flag and continue to scream "Leave, Vanyan".

DAVID ZAKARYAN IS BEST ARMENIAN CHESS PLAYER OF OXFORD 

UNIVERSITY - INTERVIEW

By Paruir Siniavsky

news.am

April 12

The 130th annual chess tournament between England's University

of Oxford and University of Cambridge was held recently. And David

Zakaryan is the first Armenian chess player who competed in the event

as part of the Oxford University team.

NEWS.am Sport interviewed Zakaryan, and below is an excerpt.

How is this tournament played?

Each team has eight players. They are primarily professional chess

players. The tournament is very well known.

How did you become a tournament participant?

I left Armenia in 2000. I lived in Greece; I am a citizen of that

country. I took part in numerous chess tournaments, and I represent

the Chess Federation of Armenia.

On the invitation of Oxford University, I moved to England two years

ago with my family. I am working on my "Women in Medieval Armenia"

doctoral dissertation.

At the same time I am a member of the Oxford Professional Chess Team.

What success have you accomplished in the chess confrontations of

the universities?

I am taking part in this tournament for the second time. Our team

won last year, but I have won my two games. For the two consecutive

years I have received the Bob Wade Briliancy Cup for the best game.

I represent Armenia and the Chess Federation of Armenia in this

tournament, too, and I am proud to leave an Armenian trace in Oxford's

history.

PLACES YOU NEVER HEARD OF: ARMENIA'S YEREVAN FLEA MARKET

Phillip Butler

Argophilia Travel News

April 12 2012

Armenia is one of the least understood, and most fascinating places in

the world. Today we want to bring you a little piece of culture from

there, a place you undoubtedly never heard of, the Yerevan Flea Market.

Called Vernissage from the French meaning "varnishing" (or an

art preview), this world class flea market slash swap meet is

extraordinary. Shoppers here can find anything, and we mean literally

anything, from thoroughbred pups to rare war medals, and on to bargains

to extensive to list in any travel article. Vernissage Flea Market

may just be the best such bargain hunting dream on Earth.

Held behind the historic Republic Square in Yerevan, tourists get

not only the best look at souvenirs of the region, but a taste of

local culture as well. Wood carvings, baby dolls, handmade jewelry,

leather, stone items, carpets, clothes, anything you can name, one

vendor or another carries an example to sell you.

Recently the market came under some criticism for lacking in sanitation

standards, to which city Mayor Karen Karapetyan assured people there

the market would not be shut down, but upgraded instead.

Having become such an institution in Armenia, and especially where

tourist are concerned, the last thing the town needs is a closed down

draw like Yerevan Flea Market.

Turning back to Yerevan's tradition, some 25 years ago, artists

established the market about the statue of Saryan. As the saying goes,

"the rest is history," but a lot more kinds of art are on sale and

display here now. Stamps, unframed oils and water color, acrylic,

silver heirlooms, even sculptures, the market today resembles the one

from back when, only surrounded with myriad other objects. And just

like back then, some vendors really need the market. In the days of

the Cold War some were so hard up they would come here to sell the

shoes off their feet.

For the reader, Yerevan now is an up and coming metropolis, with room

for tradition - the old ways - and the new as well. Better even that

the deals you may find at the world's greatest flea market (arguments

welcome), the nearly 1.2 million inhabitants of Armenia's capital are

some of the friendliest people anywhere. The image above of Yerevan

Armenia with the backdrop of Mount Ararat, may strike a cord Biblical

scholarly types.

The city named for King Yervand IV (the Last), has a heritage dating

back to the Bronze Age, old and rich enough to cast a shadow on many

of Europe's more noted capitals. In fact, this place on our small

rock in space was once seat of a most amazing empire. Those who would

dig along the Tigris or Euphrates, all about the ancient Nile, would

certainly be as rewarded to discover more the Achemenid Empire.

Press Release

April 11, 2012

Uppsala, Sweden

New Web site Launched about the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict:

Mountainous-Karabakh.org

The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh was a comparatively well-known

event in the late 1980s and one can claim that it marked the beginning

of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, today it is relatively forgotten

to the outside world, which opens for disinformation and dissemination of

propaganda, rather than facts and verifiable data. Conflicts of this type are

highly complex and the Karabakh conflict is no exception. It would be

impossible to discuss the issue in a comprehensive manner in the limited

space of this site. Mountainous-Karabakh.org will instead give a general

description to the background, the historical roots, the events, the existing

evidence and the present proposals for a peaceful solution that have been

tabled during the negotiations. It is hoped that the reader will get a brief but

accurate introduction to the conflict in order to dwell on the subject in case

of deeper interest. For more information visit http://www.mountainous-karabakh.org

Mountainous-Karabakh.org is created and maintained by Armenica.org in

collaboration with the Uninon of Armenian Associations in Sweden.

Armenica.org is a nonprofit project for spreading information about Armenia

and its related issues.