Armenian News... A Topalian ... BODLEIAN Library...Oxford

Victoria’s Secret Supermodel Stella Maxwell poses for Vogue 

in Armenia 

http://www.peopleofar.com/2015/10/21/victorias-secret-model-stella-maxwell-poses-for-vogue-in-armenia/
Wondrous Armenia: music with a beautiful slideshow 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQ-lag9tZc [2] 


Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture
Bodleian Library, Oxford 

This exhibition is a 'must  go to' in a newly opened building

with exhibits from Oxford, Matenadaran, John Rylands Library 

and a number of museums around the world.

Getting there is easy by public transport;  from London
(very frequent Oxford Tube bus services that drops you close to the
library). Mparking in Oxford is difficult so Park & Ride recommended.

Perhaps choose a date when there is a lecture in the theatre at 13:00

28 October: From the Genocide to Aram Khachaturian, Andy Sarkis and
Kim Kardashian

25 November: Splendour and Spirituality in Armenian Christianity

2 December: Home is where the Market is - trade and print culture 

in the Armenian Diaspora

9 December: Gifts from our Grandmothers: Domestic Culture 

in a Diaspora Family

with a further two in 2016.



armenpress.am
ARMENIAN DIES ON TURKISH-SYRIAN BORDER
23 October, 2015
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23,. A 14-year-old Armenian young man died
near Turkish-Syrian border on the road leading from Qamishli to Turkey.

"Armenpress" learnt about the aforementioned from the Facebook page
"Perio News". The deceased is Armen Avetisyan who tried to enter
Turkey via a land border crossing. He died in shooting.

The funeral of Armen Avetisyan will take place at St. Hagop Armenian
Apostolic Church, Qamishli on October 23.

According to UN data, over 220 thousand people died in Syria clashes
which have continued for already 5 years. The number of Armenian
victims exceeds 

mediamax.am 

Building for Syrian Armenians constructed in Yerevan
October 23, 2015 10:45

The project initiator is Hrair Agilian, who immigrated to Armenia from
Syria in 2012, and Eranav LTD agreed to realize his ideas.

Hrair Akilian told Mediamax that he had been in the commission for
constructing New Halep residential district in Ashtarak initiated by
the Ministry of Diaspora. When they understood that the project failed
he decided to apply to different construction companies and investors
for building low-cost apartments for Syrian Armenians in the capital.

`It's very important for Syrian-Armenians to have their own houses in
their homeland and not go to other countries', said Hrair Akilian.

The construction works began in February 2014; as of now, only the
interior design works should be done. The housewarming is expected in
January or February of 2016.

14 floors of 16 are apartments and other 2 floors are office spaces in
the apartment block constructed by `My Apartment in Homeland' project.
The price for 1 square meter is USD 550. Akilian assured that
beneficiaries got high-quality apartments  .

`All the apartments and shops have their owners. When the apartments
in the building were sold out, the construction company decided to
acquire an area and build 2 more buildings. 3 floors have already been
built. There are 164 apartments in these 2 buildings (11 of which have
already been sold). Underground parking lots and business areas will
also be provided', Hrair Akilian added.

He added  that the apartments will be sold at USD650 per square meter,
highlighting that usually apartments are sold at USD850 per square
meter in this area.


ecolur.org 

LAKE SEVAN LEVEL DECREASED BY 10 CM
October 21, 2015
From 1 September 2015 to 19 October 2015 the level of Lake Sevan
decreased by 10 centimeters.

Reminder: EcoLur had received an alarm signal from eye witnesses that
the level of the lake decreased during two days. EcoLur applied to
Hydromet Service of the Ministry for Territorial Administration and
Emergency States requesting to provide Lake Sevan level fluctuation
indicators for September and the first half of October. Official
reply shows that as of 1 September 2015 the lake level made up
1900.34 meters, which gradually decreased till 19 October making up
1900.24 meters.

The governmental resolution says this year water outlets from Lake
Sevan should be limited with 170 million cum and shall be officially
stopped from October. Nevertheless as the diagram provided by Hydromet
Service shows, the lake level decreased particularly in October, when
precipitation was observed in the first half of October, particularly
in Gegharkounik Region.


epress.am 

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DELIVERS JUDGEMENT 

AGAINST ARMENIA
20.10.2015 
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) handed down on September 29
a judgement on the "Saghatelyan v. Armenia" case in favor of former
Gegharkunik Regional Court judge Anahit Saghatelyan. The Court found
that Armenia violated the applicant's right to fair trial (Article 6 of
the Convention) and that Saghatelyan was denied access to any Armenian
court in order to dispute a 2004 presidential decree dismissing her
from her post. ECHR ruled that Armenia is to pay Saghatelyan EUR
3,600 in non-pecuniary damages, and EUR 1,300 in respect of costs
and expenses.

Back in 2005, Saghatelyan lodged a claim with a Yerevan First Instance
court seeking to annul the presidential decree; however, the court
terminated the proceedings on the ground that the former judge's claim
was not subject to examination by the courts of general jurisdiction.

Saghatelyan appealed the decision at the RA Civil Court of Appeal
which, subsequently, examined and dismissed the applicant's claim
as unsubstantiated. The Court of Cassation, however, soon quashed
the judgment of the Court of Appeal and decided to terminate the
proceedings on the same grounds as the First Instance court.

"I think the [ECHR] judgement will serve as a cornerstone [for future
similar cases]. The question was whether there is a court in the world
where such decisions can be appealed. I was dismissed from my post for
'gross violations of the rules of criminal procedure;' however, the
parties in the disputed criminal case had no complaints against me;
they had complaints about the preliminary investigation, which means
the Council of Justice could not examine a motion on my [alleged]
violations," Anahit Saghatelyan said in a conversation with Epress.am.

After lodging an application with the ECHR, the former judge said,
Armenian authorities began to persecute her, brought a criminal
prosecution against her, accusing Saghatelyan of fraud during her
time in office.

"They wanted to terminate the case on grounds that the statute of
limitations timeframe had expired. It took us years, but we managed to
get the criminal charges dismissed for lack of criminal intent. That
was exactly what I wanted. If the timeframe had expired, why initiate
a case in the first place? They had to acquit me," Saghatelyan stated.


TURKEY SAYS TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR A PEACEFUL 

SOLUTION TO THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 22 2015

Turkey supports today's close relations with Azerbaijan and hopes
to change the position of Armenia regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, as well as the issue of the tragic events in 1915 in the
Ottoman Empire, Turkish participants of the 12th session of the Valdai
International Discussion Club, Hakan Altynay and Huseyin Bagdzhi,
said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza.

The President of the World Academy of citizenship, Hakan Altynay,
expressed his confidence in the inviolability of Turkish-Azerbaijani
relations. "Our relations with Azerbaijan are not just close.

Sometimes our leaders say: "Two states and one nation." We have a
lot in common: culture, our languages are very similar, as well as
the economy. Above all, I mean cooperation in the energy sector. I
have no doubts that our relations will be strengthened," he said.

However, he expressed hope that Armenia will find the political will to
find common grounds on the issues that divide the two republics today.

Also, the president of the World Academy of Citizenship stressed
there is less and less time to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
in a peaceful way. "A vicious circle has already been formed, but
now need to take a step forward and get out of it. Unfortunately,
it seems to me that the parties to the conflict believe that time
is on their side. Azerbaijan is becoming richer and more powerful,
so I am sure that the advantage is on the Azerbaijani side."

"Unfortunately, such frozen conflicts are delayed-action bombs. No
one knows when the Karabakh bomb can explode, it can happen in the
near future. We have to solve these problems if we can do it," Hakan
Altynay said.

Professor at the ODTU University Huseyin Huseyin Bagdzhi emphasized
first of all that Turkey has always supported and will continue to
support Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. "Azerbaijan
is a very important partner for Turkey. All ties with Armenia are
frozen because of Karabakh. We made attempts in 2009-2011 to revive
Turkish-Armenian relations, but we didn't succeed in it. Contacts
between the two countries won't be normalized without a settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he said.

The professor believes that the primary role of mediator in the
conflict belongs to Russia. "These negotiations should be supported
by Russia in order to resolve the Karabakh problem. Unfortunately,
neither the OSCE Minsk Group, nor even the United Nations have been
able to solve this problem," Huseyin Bagdzhi concluded.


bloomberg.com 

Karabakh always ready to give proper response to Azerbaijan
October 24, 2015
As Russian President Vladimir Putin plunges deeper into his military
adventure in Syria, the specter of an older war much nearer to his own
doorstep is reawakening.

`Their shooting is increasing,' said Simyon Sarayan, a 25-year-old
front-line soldier from Nagorno-Karabakh, whose Armenia-backed forces
took the territory and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan before
Russia brokered a 1994 cease-fire. `We're always on alert and ready to
give a proper response.''

While fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan would bring more turmoil
to the region, analysts say the risks of a full-blown war dragging in
other powers are limited.

The confrontation dates back to the dying days of the Soviet Union
when a dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan flared into a war that
killed 30,000 and created 1 million refugees. Mediators led by the
U.S., France and Russia have failed to bring peace since the truce.
Armenia says the enclave's Christian Armenians, who declared
independence from largely-Muslim Azerbaijan in 1991, have the right to
self-determination. Azerbaijan demands respect for its territorial
integrity.

What has changed is the economic balance of power as Azerbaijan has
attracted $50 billion from BP Plc and its partners in recent years.
Military spending increased 30-fold in the past decade and are planned
at $4.8 billion in 2015.

That doesn't deter Nagorno-Karabakh's defense minister, Levon
Mnatsakanyan, who says one of the first targets of any new war will be
a BP-operated oil pipeline that's less than 50 kilometers from the
conflict zone and carries as much as 1.2 million barrels daily from
Baku to Turkey's Ceyhan.

`This is a very serious financial resource for Azerbaijan and we need
to deprive them of these means,' he said in a Sept. 30 interview in
the capital, Stepanakert. `If we'd known the situation would be like
this today, we'd never have signed that truce 20 years ago.''

Nagorno-Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan equated weapons sales to
Azerbaijan with similar supplies to Islamic State, now facing Russian
air strikes in Syria. Even so, Armenians don't want fighting to
escalate and `we'll do everything possible to secure our state,'' he
said in an interview last month.

Observing from afar is Putin, who showed Russia's intention to keep a
grip on the former Soviet regions of the Caucasus when it fought a
2008 war with Georgia.

Armenia hosts Russia's only military base in the region and they have
a mutual defense pact. Russia sells arms to both Armenia and
Azerbaijan, however. Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, shut its border with Armenia to support Azerbaijan on
Karabakh, `which is very sensitive for us,' President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said in January.

Stretching out the status quo may be the Armenians' best strategy.
`Time is working for us,'' Karen Mirzoyan, Nagorno-Karabakh's foreign
minister, said in an interview last month. `The more time passes and
the more successful we are in strengthening our statehood, the closer
we are to international recognition of our independence.''

With Azerbaijan vowing Nagorno-Karabakh `will remain an inalienable
part of'' it, increased violence remains possible.

Greater use of heavy weaponry has led to the `worst casualty rate
since the 1994' truce as Azerbaijan seeks to challenge the outcome of
the war, though `the conflict remains politically choreographed,' IHS
Jane's Intelligence Review reported on its website Tuesday. 

armenpress.am
Oil prices drop results in economic crisis in Azerbaijan
24 October, 2015
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24 The price of the Azerbaijani Azeri LT CIF
crude, transported via Georgian ports of Supsa, Batumi and Ceyhan 

and sold on the world markets, fell by 0,32 USD, or by 0,64%.

`Armenpress' reports that report.az news informs about this,
mentioning that the prize for Azeri LT CIF crude oil is $48.83 per
barrel.

The lowest price for Azeri LT CIF crude was recorded in 2001 at $19,15
per barrel and the highest price was recorded in 2008 at $149, 66 per
barrel.

Natig Jafarli, the executive secretary of Azerbaijani `Republican
Alternative' movement told the journalists that 66% of the
state-budget depends on crude revenues and the foreign trade depends
on crude by 95%.

 `Turan' agency says that according to 2015 forecasts budgetary
revenues will drop by 20,84%. In 2016, government spending will drop
by 22,9%.

World oil prices and Manat exchange rate drop in Azerbaijani resulted
in economic crisis: a number of oil companies have closed leaving
thousands unemployed.

Oil price is estimated at $90 in 2015 Azerbaijan state budget.
Currently, its price is by $41 lower than the foreseen.


ARMENIAN PLAYER HELD OUT OF GAME IN AZERBAIJAN 

OVER SAFETY CONCERNS
New York Times
Oct 22 2015
By STEFAN BIENKOWSKI

Borussia Dortmund defeated the Azerbaijani club Qabala, 3-1, in a
Europa League group-stage match Thursday night in Baku, yet a sense of
frustration hung over Dortmund's trip after safety concerns prompted
the club to leave one of its starters at home.

The player, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, is a member of the national team
of Armenia, which technically remains at war with Azerbaijan over
the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Because of those political
tensions, Mkhitaryan feared visa problems or -- at worst -- being
arrested as soon as he set foot in Azerbaijan.

Despite assurances from Azerbaijan's foreign ministry and pledges of
support from European soccer's governing body, UEFA, Dortmund decided
safety concerns left it no choice but to avoid the risk completely.

"Based on the situation," Mkhitaryan's teammate Roman Weidenfeller
said this week, "it is better to leave Henrikh at home."

What might have seemed like a shocking turn of events was in fact
merely part of life for soccer in Europe, where local and national
politics sometimes dictate when -- and even if -- athletes can compete.

In the last year, UEFA has taken pains to separate Russian and
Ukrainian clubs in European competitions after conflict arose between
their countries.