Armenian News... A Topalian... 14 Oct 17 ...Armenia Armenia Church celebrates Feast of the Holy Translators

Panorama, Armenia
Oct 14 2017 
The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates today the Feast of the Holy Translators – Sts. Mesrob, Yeghishe, Moses of Khoronk, philosopher Davit Anhaght, Gregory of Narek and Nerses the Gracious (Nerses of Kla). The feast is celebrated from October 3 to November 7. 

The Feast of the Holy Translators is one of the most favorite and beloved national-ecclesiastical feasts for the Armenian people, Qahana.am reports. 

Nearly two hundred disciples of St. Mesrob Mashtots and St. Sahak are known by the general group name “Holy Translators”. The disciples of the above-mentioned group of Holy Translators are known as “Junior Translators”. 

Celebrating this feast, the Armenian Apostolic Church pays tribute of respect to the bright memory of St. Mesrob Mashtots, Yeghishe, Moses of Khoronk, philosopher Davit Anhaght, whose sacred work and mission later have been continued on by St. Gregory of Narek and St. Nerses the Gracious.The word “Translator” means "Interpreter”. 

Comprehending and precisely understanding the demands of that period, the Holy Translators initiated the sacred work of creating the Armenian alphabet and literature. By the strength of their faith, they dispersed the darkness and warmed the human souls. Thanks to the Holy Translators the Holy Bible was translated into Armenian and the Armenian peoples obtained the possibility to read the Holy Book in the native language. By means of their activity, the Holy Translators contributed to the spiritual-cultural awakening of Armenia. After the translation of the Holy Bible, many books of Church Father were translated into Armenian, and thanks to this fact many translations, the original copies of which haven’t been preserved, presently exist only in the translated variant and thus the translations have obtained the value of the original. 


ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
October 14, 2017 Saturday
Yerevan turned 2799 years old
David Stepanyan. 

From early morning, the townspeople began the celebration of the 

city's day "Erebuni-Yerevan-2799". The morning was traditionally 

marked by a parade of watering cars along the streets of Yerevan 

and the washing of monuments.

The program of festive events is as follows. The morning will begin
with the exhibitions: "Cloth my Yerevan" in the square of Saryan,
"Yerevan in painting" in the foyer of the Yerevan municipality, "Old
and New Yerevan" in the park near the metro station "Republic Square"
(the first - at 11:30, the second and third - At 12:00). Fans of
graffiti on asphalt will be able to start drawing them from 12:30 in
front of the Yerevan City Hall building, at 13:00 in the children's
park a festive program for kids will begin.

Performances of "Sport Yerevan" on Freedom Square will begin at 13:00
and will last until 18:30. From 14:00 to 19:00 a children's and
youthful concert "I and Yerevan" will be held in the park near the
Republic Square. From 15:00 to 18:00 Yerevan residents will have an
opportunity to get acquainted with the innovative platform "Smart
Yerevan" on the "Cascade". From 14:30 to 15:30 a festive parade of
brass bands "My love to you - Yerevan" will take place on Liberty
Square, Northern Avenue, Republic Square.

In the Small Center from 14:30 to 22:30 will be organized youth flash
mobs "With love Yerevan." On the Republic Square at 15:30 will open
international festival of balloons. Folk festivals, a mobile
exhibition of works of folk art, national cuisine, the display of
ethnic costumes, folk games will begin at 16:00 on Erebuni Street.
Photo-pavilions "Feel Yerevan" will open on Swan Lake and Northern
avenue, the chess championship among students of chess schools in
Yerevan. At 17:30 in Argishti Street and in the squares of Italy and
the Republic, on the street Amiryan and Mashtots Avenue will be
organized a festive bike ride.

At 18:00 on Charles Aznavour Square will begin a jazz concert, a book
The "Night of the Book" fair in the Misaka Manushian Square will last
from 18:30 to midnight.

Celebration is marked by a number of concerts. Concert of classical
music (Komitas square, 18: 30-20: 00) "Sunny Yerevan" (the square
opposite the Erebuni Museum-Reserve, 19: 00-22: 00), a rock concert
(Freedom Square, 19: 30-22 : 00), "Yerevan is a city of love"
(Cascade, 20: 00-22: 00). At 20:00 on Swan Lake the videos "Look
Yerevan" will be shown. At 22:00 the celebrations will end with a
youth disco and festive fireworks on Liberty Square.


RFE/RL Report
Armenian-Azeri Summit Set For October 16
October 13, 2017
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in Geneva on Monday
for fresh negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, official
Yerevan and Baku said on Friday.

The announcements by President Serzh Sarkisian's office and the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry came one week after the U.S., Russian and
French mediators' latest trip to the region.

In an October 7 statement, the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
said Sarkisian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "confirmed their
readiness to reengage in negotiations with the purpose of reaching a
peaceful settlement to the conflict." The mediators have for months
pressed for the Aliyev-Sarkisian meeting in hopes of breaking the
continuing deadlock in the Karabakh peace process.

The two presidents most recently met in May and June 2016 shortly
after four-day deadly hostilities around Karabakh that nearly
denigrated into an all-out war. They agreed to allow the OSCE to
deploy more field observers in the conflict zone and investigate truce
violations occurring there. They also hinted at progress towards a
peaceful settlement.

The peace process again stalled in the following months, however. The
Azerbaijani government has since been reluctant to implement the
agreed safeguards against renewed fighting, saying that they would
cement the status quo.

Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian sounded
pessimistic about prospects for a Karabakh settlement when he spoke to
reporters in Yerevan on Thursday. He said decisive progress towards an
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord will be "impossible" as long as Baku
refuses to bolster the ceasefire regime.


Human Rights Watch
Oct 13 2017
Armenia Has New Strategy to Help Terminally Ill
Legal Changes Are Next Step to Get Treatment to Those in Need
Giorgi Gogia
South Caucasus Director, Europe and Central Asia Division 
About 8,000 people die from cancer in Armenia every year, many spending their last days in excruciating pain.

But Armenia has recently taken two important steps toward ending their suffering. In February, the government adopted a national strategy to introduce palliative care services, which focuses on pain relief and improving the quality of life, and in March, it registered two forms of liquid oral morphine, paving the way for their use in the public healthcare system.

The World Health Organization considers oral morphine, which is swallowed, the cornerstone of cancer pain treatment. Currently, only injectable morphine is available in Armenia.

The national strategy focuses on treating pain and other physical symptoms, and provides psychosocial support for people with life-threatening illnesses. It specifies reforms in policy, education, and medicines’ availability, and designates state institutions that will be responsible for carrying out these reforms.

In July 2015, Human Rights Watch published a report and video showing the impact of untreated pain and lack of support services on the lives of cancer patients and their families in Armenia. I interviewed many people who were dying – in horrible pain.

Lyudmila, a 61-year-old kindergarten teacher, told me, “The pain attacks start unexpectedly, and I start screaming and become a different person…. I can’t speak. I have pain attacks every night…. It’s ... unbearable pain for a human being….”

Her experience was not an exception.

When treatment to cure cancer is no longer effective, patients with advanced cancer in Armenia are sent home, essentially abandoned by the health care system at arguably the most vulnerable time of their lives. They face pain, fear, and anguish without professional support. Some of the support they need is palliative care.

Morphine, the mainstay medication for treating severe pain, is inexpensive and easy to administer, but fewer than 3 percent of those who need morphine in Armenia get it. That’s because of the nearly insurmountable bureaucratic barriers around the prescribing and dispensing of morphine, which the new strategy should change.

The Armenian government has long recognized the need for palliative care, yet took more than three years to develop and adopt the strategy and action plan and ensure that oral morphine is registered. The strategy recognizes the need to amend regulations restricting access to pain relief medications, and the government plans to review them in 2018. Armenia’s thousands of cancer patients have waited long enough.


A1+
Armenia reteats to the 79th place
October 13,2017 

In the Freedom of Press Index of the International Organization of Reporters Without Borders , Armenia retreated to 79th place. In its commentary on Armenia, the organization noted: “The print media are diverse and polarized, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, but pluralism lags behind in the broadcast media. In the crucial transition to digital TV, a future space for critical broadcasters will depend on the impartiality of the frequency bidding process.

The Ilur.am news website and the Hraparak newspaper won an important legal victory in October 2015 when the constitutional court issued a ruling upholding the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.

But police violence against journalists continues and still goes unpunished. In July 2016, a dozen journalists were injured while covering the use of force to break up a demonstration.”


ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
October 12, 2017 Thursday
The first block of the Armenian nuclear power plant 

will be decommissioned

Alexander Avanesov. 

The first block of the Armenian nuclear power plant will be 

decommissioned.  The draft of the relevant law was approved at 

a government meeting on October 12.

According to the Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural
Resources of Armenia Ashot Manukyan, the government's decision is
based on Armenia's international obligations, especially the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Since February 1, 1989,
both power units of the Armenian nuclear power plant were stopped, and
on November 5, 1994 the second power unit of the station was
re-commissioned, continuing to produce electricity at the present
time. Tens of millions of dollars were sent to the second block, as a
result of which today the level of its reliability and security is at
the highest level. "This is also evidenced by the reports of the
IAEA," the minister said, adding that the results of European Union
stress tests testify to the reliability of the second block.

At the same time, Ashot Manukyan continued, the first block, de jure,
being in operation, de facto does not produce electricity. Its further
exploitation is impossible both in terms of safety and reliability. In
2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the second
power unit for a period of 10 years. In the process of implementing
this program, it became clear that some suitable elements of the first
block can be used on the second. Thus, the minister continued, the
first block can become a donor for the second block, which will reduce
the cost of implementing the program to extend the life of the power
unit N2. According to the draft law, the decommissioning of the first
power unit of the ANPP will last 40 years. $ 310 million will be
allocated for the implementation of the program. To this end, an
extrabudgetary fund will be created in the RA Ministry of Finance,
which will finance the project. In the first three years, the
investment in the project will be 6 million euros, in the next 10
years - 70 million euros, and in subsequent years - over 163 million
euros.

Earlier, in an interview with ArmInfo, Advisor to the Minister Areg
Galstyan informed that at the end of next year an updated strategy for
the decommissioning of the first power unit of the Armenian NPP will
be developed and approved. According to him, such a strategy with the
EU funds was developed 8 years ago. "But a lot of time has passed
since then, the methodology and approaches have changed, which
requires updating the strategy." Taking into account the fact that the
second unit will be operated before the end of 2026, it was necessary
to decide on the first block, based on the updated strategy, and the
final cost will be determined Of course, there is only one thing, the
funds will not be spent immediately, "the minister's advisor said. At
the first stage, insignificant financial resources will be used.
During this period, it is planned to dismantle the equipment of the
second circuit of the first unit, which is not contaminated. After the
first stage, the preparatory work for the second stage will begin.
Here it will be a question of dismantling the equipment of the first
circuit of the unit, which includes a reactor installation.

The Armenian nuclear power plant consists of two units with Soviet
(Russian) WWER reactors. The first unit was commissioned in 1976, the
second - in 1980. In March 1989, after the Spitak earthquake, which
killed 25 thousand people, the station's work was stopped. In November
1995, in connection with the most acute energy crisis, the second
power unit of the station with a capacity of 407.5 MW was involved. In
March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the lifetime of
the second power unit by 10 years - until the year 2026.

The project is coordinated by the subsidiary structure of the State
Corporation Rosatom - JSC Rusatom Service. Completion of work is
planned for 2019. The Government of the Russian Federation allocated a
$ 270 million state export loan to Armenia and a $ 30 million grant
for these purposes. In March 2015, the Joint Coordination Committee
(JCC) was established to implement the program. So far, there have
been five meetings of the JCC.


Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, Italy
Oct 13 2017
Armenia: The water man
Armine Avetisyan/OC Media 
In Armenia’s capital Yerevan, drinking fountains can be found on almost every street corner. But in the neighbouring Armavir Province to the west, water quality is so low that villages rely on private delivery lorries, bringing clean water to the villages each morning

Large pots line the streets of the village of Karakert, in Armavir Province. Without exception, at least one boiler is lain in front of each house. Everyone eagerly awaits the water sellers, who come early in the morning to sell drinking water.

‘I’m a 60-year-old woman born and raised in Karakert, and since the moment I opened my eyes there was no drinking water here, water sellers always came and we bought water in buckets’, Heghine Meloyan tells OC Media . ‘Every day we buy about 80 litres of water. We have a large family and we drink, cook, and take care of a thousand needs with this water’, she continues.

‘My hands hurt from carrying these vessels. There are some things a person needs to do every day, like washing the dishes or going to the toilet, and so people from our village have to buy water every day’ Heghine’s husband, 70-year-old Aram Karapetyan says.

Founded in 1902, the village is just 70 kilometres from the capital Yerevan, and yet still, there has been no drinking water since the day it was founded. The water man
Tigran Davtyan has been coming to Karakert for 22 years with his ZIL water lorry. The locals call him ‘the water man’.

‘First I’m going to fill Mrs Heghine’s pots, the poor woman has been waiting for me since morning. There is an event at their house and they need some water’, 46-year-old Tigran tells OC Media . He detaches the pipe from the lorry and starts pouring water into the woman’s pots.

‘My father-in-law also sells water, he’s a more skilled master. We come here together and we sell water in the nearby village of Shen. Every morning at 07:00 we are in Talin, where we buy the water. Then we come here and first bring water to the preschool, then to the school, and then we start selling water in the streets’, says Tigran. ‘About 10 people are engaged in this business serving all the villages in Armavir Province with their own vehicles’, he adds.

‘There are people, who pay for water in cash, and others who buy it on credit — they mainly pay when their pensions or benefits arrive. I already know by heart who lives where, who works abroad, and when they send money, as many of them pay for water with the money sent by relatives from abroad’, he continues.

‘The names of the borrowers are written in the books. We have written and erased their names so many times the copy-books are already worn-out from it. You’ll find many secrets in this copy-book’, says Tigran and laughs.

‘While looking at the copy-books, you can find out all the nicknames of the villagers, and by adding and removing the debts, and looking when they are paid, you could guess who has what income and when they receive money’, he says. Where the water comes from

Water lorries bring water from the town of Talin, about 40 kilometres from Armavir. They buy it from a local water treatment plant, the quality of which is checked by the government. To fill the cistern with 5,000 litres costs ֏1,500 ($3.10). Fuel from Talin to Karakert and back costs around ֏2,000 ($4.20) .

In villages close to Talin, such as Karakert, 40 litres of water is sold for ֏250 ($0.50), farther afield prices are higher. In the furthest villages, for example in Metsamor, 40 litres of water costs ֏450–֏500 ($0.90–$1.10).

‘I don’t complain about my work, it’s a hard job, but I am blessed by the people I meet, they like me for bringing water to them, and I have a large income. But one day I will not be able to do this because I feel that Talin’s water is running out too. In the past, the cisterns were filled in 5 minutes, now it takes about 40 minutes to fill each lorry with water’, says Tigran. A failed overhaul

In the late 1990s, with the support of the German government, a major overhaul of the water supply network began in the city of Armavir and surrounding villages. At the same time, 11 artesian wells were dug to supply drinking water. All villages in the province receive water from these wells, but it can only be used for irrigation.

‘When I was elected in 2008, we installed a water system and our village got water, but it’s not fit to drink. It has a hard and unpleasant taste and we can’t swallow it. With this water my family irrigates the back garden’, says Mher Hartenyan, the village head of Karakert.

‘There is no source of water in our region, the nearest source is too far away. We would need a lot of money to bring normal water, but the state does not have the money to provide it to us, everyone knows this, the issue has been discussed by the government many times, we are still waiting’, he says.

‘At the moment we are repairing 2 kilometres of water pipes and 700 meters of new pipes are being installed, so that we get at least the artesian water for the whole village, and we are grateful that we have this water’, says Hartenyan. Paying twice

‘We always have water from the tap, but we can’t even take a shower with it, it irritates my skin. I’m an old woman, 60 years old, I have got used to this water but I don’t let my granddaughter take a shower with it, she is only six years old, the kid’s skin is getting damaged from this water’, says Yelena Sahakyan, who pays for both the water brought from Talin and makes state payments for tap water, according to how much they consume.

‘One water bill is ֏180 ($0.40); I basically just water my garden with this. I’m at least thankful that this burden is alleviated. About five years ago the water they call “artesian” was very dirty when I turned on the tap, worms and mud came out of it, now pure water flows. I will not say and repeat 1,000 times that it is not fit to drink. Though 1,000 times the same thing should be said so at least our great grand children will be able to have clean water in their homes’, says Yelena.

There have been several cases in Armavir Province in which people have contracted an infection because of the water, as well as cases of epidemics.

‘There are thousands of illnesses, it’s better to drink the tested water from Talin’, say the people of Karakert, as they take their boilers filled with water to their houses, to clean the dishes and to cook with.

[another example of the heavy one-sided propaganda war waged 

by Azerbaijan using overseas cohorts. Another article from their

press is adamant that this will not affect the military advantage

the they believe they have, extolling their many sources of new

armaments and the development of their industrial military capabilities  ]

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Oct 14 2017
Peter Tase: Armenia becoming 'North Korea of Europe'
By Trend 
The purchase of advanced weapons by the Armenian Government is surely a threat to peace and stability in Europe, said Peter Tase, a political analyst and international relations expert with the Milwaukee-based Marquette University.

Tase, commenting on the approval of Russia's credit line worth $100 for purchase of the weapons, told Trend that such an attitude will further instigate armed clashes in the line of contact, result in more innocent Azerbaijani civilians being killed by the very same weapons, as well as harm the socio-economic environment in the Caucasus region.

The expert voiced surprise that NATO and the European Union have not denounced and condemned the recent purchase of weapons made by Yerevan.

"Indeed it is a 'hypocritical' gesture on the part of NATO," he said. "We have Armenia, a European country purchasing a large quantity of weapons, becoming the North Korea of Europe, and such a threat is not perceived, nor condemned with a sense of urgency by NATO. "

In late 2015, Russia and Armenia agreed on allocation of a $ 200 million loan to Armenia for the purchase of modern weapons. The Armenian government approved the first $ 100 million loan package on October 12.

Under the agreement, a $100-million loan will be extended to Armenia for 20 years.

Asked about the timing of the credit approval by Armenia, which was announced ahead of the summit of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Geneva, Tase said that Yerevan's attitude focused in piling up weapons and military equipment, is a threat to peace talks.

"Above all, it is a constant danger to the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Azerbaijan. The international community is making a big mistake as they are maintaining silence and continue to apply the famous formula of double standards, that in the long run will further ruin the image and reputation of multilateral diplomacy that is actively promoted by Brussels," Tase said, adding that NATO's silence is unacceptable.

Tase further voiced disbelief that the upcoming official meeting will generate any positive outcome nor any concrete results, as "the feeble pressure from international community is favoring the current status-quo that is embraced by Armenia, for a number of years".

The expert called on the international community to raise its voice and call for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and for the immediate lifting of Armenian economic blockade imposed against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in a conflict, which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Although the UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, they have not been enforced to this day.