Armenian News ...@...Soldier Killed...David Cameron...Who owns what? Can we mend links?Etc...etc...

epress.am
ARMENIAN SOLDIER KILLED IN KARABAKH
29.03.2015

An Armenian soldier was fatally shot at a Nagorno-Karabakh Defense
Army military unit located in the North-Eastern direction of the line
of contact between Azerbaijani and Karabakh armed forces on Sunday,
March 29, the NKR Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The soldier, Hovsep Andreasyan, 20, died of a gunshot wound as a
result of a fire from the Azerbaijani side.

According to the official statement, an investigation has been launched
into the details of the incident. 

telegraph.co.uk 

DAVID CAMERON REVEALS HE IS RELATED TO KIM KARDASHIAN
Prime Minister claims he is thirteenth cousin of the reality TV star
By Emily Gosden
31 Mar 2015

David Cameron has said he is related to Kim Kardashian-West, the
reality TV star.

The Prime Minister said he was thirteenth cousin of the celebrity,
who is married to rapper Kanye West and first became famous after
starring in a leaked sex tape.

Asked by heat magazine whether he watched the television show Keeping
Up With The Kardashians, featuring Kim and her family, Mr Cameron
volunteered: "No, but I'm related to them.

"Did you know I'm 13th cousins with them?"

The link is via a mutual ancestor, Sir William Spencer, born in 1555,
according to genealogy website geni.com.

Kim Kardashian is famous for her curvaceous figure

Among other disclosures in the interview, the Eton-educated Prime
Minister claimed he once aspired to be a lorry driver.

Asked what he wanted to be when he was growing up, he said: "All
sorts of things: a soldier, a lorry driver, a farmer.

"I wasn't sure til I left university, then decided I wanted to be
a politician."

The Prime Minister also admitted to an inability to multi-task and
a fear of rats. 

epress.am
CATHOLICOS KAREKIN II'S DAUGHTER OWNS A PHARMACY 

IN YEREVAN
04.01.2015

The daughter of Catholicos Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians and head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, owns a
pharmacy on Saryan St., Yerevan, Armenian Hraparak daily was informed
by a source close to Karekin II. According to the informant, the
daughter's name is Khatun; she was named after the Patriarch's mother.

A reporter from the daily visited "Curatio" pharmacy, located on 16
Saryan St., and asked for Khatun Ktrijovna (Ktrij is the Patriarch's
birth name). However, the latter was not there. The employees of the
pharmacy attempted to contact her, but to no avail.

Later, a man called Artur phoned the reporter and introduced himself
as the manager of the pharmacy: "If you need Khatun Ktrijovna on some
unrelated issue, then you should meet with her personally. However,
if your inquires are in relation to the pharmacy, then I am the man
to talk to."

To the reporter's question, how Khatun Ktrijovna was related to the
pharmacy, the man answered: "Dear, that is none of your business."

Web searches by the daily revealed a woman named Khatun Ktrijovna
Grigoryants; she is a gynecologist and works at "Sourb Astvatsamayr"
(St. Mary) Medical Centre in Yerevan.

"The name is so unique that the chances of error are almost
nonexistent. And the pharmacy manager who addressed us as "dear"
is Artur Cherkezyan, a reanimatologist," the paper concludes.


Daily Sabah, Turkey
March 28 2015
Armenians optimist ahead of Turkish elections
ANADOLU AGENCY

Despite upcoming sensitive anniversaries and a Turkish general
election, observers are claiming they are "optimistic" that Turkey and
Armenia could mend links in the near future.

Armenian experts talking to The Anadolu Agency believe the two
historically hostile countries could start a new phase after 2015.

This year marks the centenary of mass deportations of Armenians from
Anatolia during the First World War.

"In many ways I remain optimistic but in terms of a refined schedule
of 2016 and 2017," says American-born Armenian political analyst,
Richard Giragosian.

Over recent months the Turkish and Armenian presidents have exchanged
angry words over planned Gallipoli (Gelibolu) commemoration events.

The ceremonies in April will mark Turkey's historical feat of arms but
they also fall on the 100th anniversary of the 1915 forced relocation
of Armenians from Turkish soil, which the Armenian diaspora and
government describe as "genocide."

If April 25 is a testing time for Turkish-Armenian relations, June 8
-- the day after Turkey's general election -- could prove to be
another delicate moment, according to Giragosian, who is director of
the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center.

The Turkish election is an "opportunity" for greater "self-confidence"
in Ankara within the Turkish government which could prompt a return to
normalization and diplomatic engagement with Armenia, says Giragosian.

Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, a political scientist at the American
University of Armenia, agrees: "It is a good period because they
[Turkey] don't have elections after June." Like Turkey, Armenia will
not face elections until 2018.

According to Matevosyan, the opening of the border between Turkey and
Armenia, closed for more than 20 years since the beginning of the
Karabakh conflict, also depends on the outcome of the polls.

However, he believes Turkish-Armenian relations will not be at the top
of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's post-election agenda.

The stalled 2009 Zurich protocols between Turkey and Armenia proposed
opening the border as well as mending diplomatic relations.

According to Matevosyan, to have an open border means cooperation:
"Armenia would have the opportunity to reach Mediterranean ports."

He says that Tbilisi currently has a monopoly on Armenia's foreign
trade as 70 percent of it has to pass through neighboring Georgia.

The owner of Armenian textile company TOSP, Suren Berkirski, tells AA
that 70 percent of his raw materials come from Turkey via Georgia,
something which raises transportation costs for his business.

Although official ties remain frozen between Turkey and Armenia there
remains an ongoing trade connection between the two countries.

In January alone Turkey did not supply exports to Armenia but
officially imported $59,000-worth of trade from Armenia, according to
the Turkish Statistical Institute.

Turkish imports from Armenia reached their highest ever point --
$2,626,000 -- in 2010 in the aftermath of the 2009 protocols,
according to Turkstat.

"With a Gross Domestic Product of $786 billion, Turkey is the 18th
largest economy in the world," according to the World Bank: "With an
estimated per-capita GDP of US$3,830, Armenia is a lower middle-income
country."

Giragosian notes that the opening of the border hypothetically is very
important in terms of creating economic and trade opportunities and
allowing much greater interaction beyond the current two weekly direct
flights between Istanbul and Yerevan.

According to Matevosyan, there is now a completely different situation
on official relations between Ankara and Yerevan: "The mutual
misconception and mutual misunderstanding is higher than in 2009."

"What we have now is full of problems and only a few solutions hanging
in the air," he says.

Giragosian, on the other hand, believes that "the entire effort of
normalization was never supposed to be easy."

Director of the Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute, Alexander
Iskandaryan, is optimistic too.

"We did not open the physical borders but we are opening mental
borders," Iskandaryan says, referring to ongoing civil society
interaction between the two nations.

According to Iskandaryan, Turkey is changing and democratizing:
"Generally you can speak more openly in Turkey and this affects
Armenians as well."

As Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said last week that the 2009
protocols being withdrawn from the Armenian parliament does not mean
that future reconciliation with Turkey was now closed.

Matevosyan believes the text of the next protocols should be very
simple: "Armenia and Turkey are here to establish diplomatic
relations." 

arka.am

UNEMPLOYMENT IN ARMENIA REACHES 17.6% IN 2014

YEREVAN, April 1. /ARKA/. Unemployment rate in Armenia rose 1.4
percentage points in 2014, compared with the previous year, to 17.6%,
the National Statistical Service reports referring to the preliminary
figures.

According to the report, unemployment in cities was recorded at 24.7%
in 2014 against 23.4% in 2013 and in rural areas 6.7% against 6%
respectively.

The number of economically active people in Armenia was 1,375,400,
of which 1,133,700 employed and 241,700 unemployed.

The number of economically not active people was 804,200 in 2014
against 800,700 in 2013.

The country's human resources were 2,179,600 people in 2014 (0.4%
decline). 

epress.am 

ECTHR RULES: ARMENIA VIOLATED NGO'S RIGHT TO ASSEMBLY
04.01.2015 

The Republic of Armenia has violated Article 11 (freedom of assembly
and association) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the
European Convention on Human Rights, placing a ban on the Helsinki
Committee of Armenia NGO holding a peaceful march and a candlelight
vigil in memory of Levon Gulyan, a witness in a murder investigation
who died in May 2007, while in police custody, ruled the European
Court of Human Rights on Sunday, March 31, in the case of "Helsinki
Committee of Armenia v. Armenia."

Recall, that according to the official version, Gulyan died in an
attempt to escape by jumping out of a second-floor window of the
police station. However, Armenian human rights groups claim that the
man was subjected to torture and ill-treatment by police.

On 6 May 2008 the Helsinki Committee of Armenia NGO notified the
Mayor of Yerevan of its intention to hold a commemoration march
on the first anniversary of Gulyan's death. The march was to take
place on 12 May from 8 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. It was to start at Republic
Square and continue through Nalbandyan Street in the direction of
the police station.

The Mayor banned the march for national security and public order
reasons following mass post-election rallies and protests and an
intense standoff between the authorities and the supporters of the
opposition, resulting in clashes and at least ten persons being
killed. The Mayor cited the Sections 9 § 4 (3) and 13 § 1 (3) of the
Assemblies, Rallies, Marches and Demonstrations Act, finding:

"According to the official opinion of the Police ... of 8 May 2008
..., the mass public event held on 1 March 2008 turned into mass
disorder resulting in human casualties and not all the circumstances
of the crime and offenders have been disclosed, and not all weapons
and ammunition used [at that event], whose circulation may pose danger
to the lives and health of citizens, have been found in the course of
the investigation into the criminal case instituted in connection with
that fact by the Special Investigative Service of Armenia[. H]ence,
it will be impossible to prevent new crimes, if the mass public event
[in question] is held."

The NGO, which had not received the letter informing them of the
Mayor's decision, tried to hold the march on 12 May 2008 as planned
but was prevented from doing so by the police. The Committee received
the letter informing them of the ban on 13 May 2008.

Relying on Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the
Convention, the NGO complained about the ban on them holding their
mourning march. Further relying on Article 13 (right to an effective
remedy), the NGO also complained that any appeal against the decision
banning their march, received after the date of the planned event,
had not only been ineffective but meaningless.

Note that the European Court of Human Rights is also investigating
the circumstances of Gulyan's death. The RA Special Investigation
Service suspended the criminal investigation into the death, despite
the verdict of the Court of Cassation, binding to resume it.


RFE/RL Report 

World Bank Cuts Armenian Growth Outlook
Sargis Harutyunyan
31.03.2015

In a significant downward revision of its earlier projections, the
World Bank said on Tuesday that economic growth in Armenia will likely
slow to just under 1 percent this year due to spillover effects of a
recession in Russia.

The bank forecast late last year that the Armenian economy will expand
by 3.5 percent in 2015 -- as fast as it did in 2014, according to
official statistics. The Armenian government was even more upbeat,
forecasting a growth rate of 4.1 percent.

Laura Bailey, the head of the World Bank's Yerevan office, said that
the figure is unlikely to exceed 0.8 percent. She warned that even
this growth projection could prove overly optimistic in case of a
deeper-than-anticipated crisis in Russia or renewed drastic
fluctuations of the Armenian dram's exchange rate.

"I don't have a forecast for what will happen with the dram," Bailey
told a news conference. "What I am trying to communicate is that if
there were sharp, abrupt changes either direction, that can be
disruptive to exports and trade."

"That's what we worry about, not as much whether the dram were to
weaken a bit more gradually or strengthen but the sharpness," she
said, cautioning against a repeat of a brief currency crisis that hit
Armenia in December.

The Armenian currency weakened by roughly 18 percent against the
U.S. dollar in November and December amid falling remittances from
Armenians working abroad and Russia in particular. Its exchange rate
has been largely stable so far this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian seemed to acknowledge on Monday
that the government too will have to revise its projections
downwards. "The government has never said that there will be no
changes in the [forecast] indicators," he told reporters. "There will
be discussions [in the government] soon. I will present forecasts to
you as soon as those discussions are over."

"We are going to have less growth than was projected," said Arsen
Ghazarian, the head of Armenia's largest business
association. "Forecasts range from 0.5 percent to 2 percent."

arka.am 

PRIVATE REMITTANCES TO ARMENIA SLASH BY 35.5 % 

IN 2015 FEBRUARY
YEREVAN, March 31. / ARKA /. Private remittances sent to Armenia
mainly by Armenian labor migrants via banks for non-commercial purposes
slashed by 35.5 % in 2015 February when compared to 2014 February to
$68.1 million, according to the Central Bank of Armenia.

However, compared with 2015 January, they were 25.5% higher.

Remittances from Armenia to other countries in the same time span
fell to about $26.8 million from $29.3 million in 2014 February, but
compared with 2015 January they were about 53.8% higher. As a result
the amount of net inflow of remittances in 2015 February declined to
$41.2 million from about $76.4 million in February 2014. But compared
with 2015 January the net inflow was 12% higher.

As usual, Russia accounted for the bulk of private remittances to
Armenia - about 70% of the total money transfers.

Money transfers from Russia to Armenia in 2015 February decreased by
42.8.4% from February 2014 to approximately $47.7 million, (but they
were 28.2% higher when compared to 2015 January), while the amount
of remittances from Armenia to Russia increased by 14.2% to $18.9
million. They were 66.4% higher if compared from 2015 January.

Remittances to Armenia in 2014 were 7.5 % down from the previous year
to $1.73 billion or 15.7% of GDP.

The decline in the private remittances is blamed on the continuing
economic stagnation in Russia that currently also experiences the
negative effects of Western sanctions imposed over the crisis in
Ukraine.

The continuing devaluation of the Russian ruble that lost half of its
value is cited as another major reason for the decline in the amount
of private remittances to Armenia.

Armenian Central bank expects the amount of private remittances to
Armenia to slash further by 30 percent more this year. ($1 - 471.13
drams). 

TATE BRITAIN DIRECTOR HEADS TO LISBON TO RUN 

GULBENKIAN MUSEUM
The Art Newspaper, UK
March 31 2015
By Javier Pes and Jose da Silva

The director of Tate Britain, Penelope Curtis, is leaving London for
Lisbon, to take charge of the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian. After a week
of speculation in the Portuguese media, the Gulbenkian foundation
confirmed Curtis's appointment today, 31 March, making her the first
foreign director of the small but prestigious museum, which opened in
1969. Housing highlights of the 6,000-strong, collection amassed by the
Turkish-born, British-educated and largely Paris-based Armenian oil
magnate, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869-1955), works on show range
from his antiquities, Islamic art and Old Masters to Rene Lalique
jewellery--purchased so long as they were "only the best" in the
collector's eyes. For example, Rubens's portrait of his second wife,
Helen Fourment, once belonged to Catherine the Great. Gulbenkian bought
the painting from the Soviet government in 1930 when it was selling
works from the State Hermitage Museum to raise foreign currency.

The Gulbenkian foundation's trustees were seeking a director
of international standing who can "work across the breadth of
the collections". The job description also mentions "fostering
collaboration with the Centre de Arte Moderna (Cam)," which has its
own director, Isabel Carlos. In a statement, Curtis says: "I want
to keep all that is good about the museum, which I admire deeply,
while developing ways in which it can make more of its context and
position, especially in relation to the neighbouring Modern art
centre, and more widely." The foundation's Modern art gallery,
which is in the same parkland setting as the Gulbenkian Museum,
has a collection of Modern and contemporary Portuguese, British and
Armenian art. The Lisbon-based foundation has strong British ties,
as well as French ones, with offices in London and Paris.

Curtis, who became director of Tate Britain in 2010, oversaw the £45m
refurbishment of the gallery of historic and contemporary British
art, which was completed in 2013 and greatly improved circulation
routes and created new focal points and vistas. A chronological
installation of the collection replaced displays that were often
thematic. The combination of long-term chronological hang and smaller,
changing displays has given the gallery variety without the jarring
juxtapositions of works in different styles and from different eras
that were the hallmark of Tate Britain when it was launched in 2000.

A few of Tate Britain's recent exhibitions have aroused the ire
of some critics, including the current show "Sculpture Victorious"
(until 25 May) of mid- to late-19th century British sculpture. The
criticism has verged on a vendetta, downplaying the merits of the
presentation of the permanent collection and well-received temporary
exhibitions, such as ones of Turner's late works, Lowry's cityscapes,
and a survey of British folk art. The gallery's annual attendance has
hovered around the 1.4 million mark, compared with around 5 million
who visit Tate Modern.

Curtis has co-organised the exhibition of Barbara Hepworth's sculpture,
which is due open this summer (24 June-25 October).

She moved to Tate Britain from the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds,
where from 1994 until 2010 she organised a series of historical and
contemporary sculpture exhibitions. In 1988, Curtis joined the new
Tate Gallery in Liverpool as exhibitions curator. 

ARMENIAN SCHOOL IN KOLKATA TURNS 194
New Kerala, India
April 1 2015

The historic Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA) on
Wednesday celebrated the legacy of Indian and Armenian educational
cooperation on its 194th foundation day.

ACPA was founded in 1821 in then Calcutta by Astvatsatur Muradghanian
and Mnatsakan Vardanian, prominent members of the Armenian community
in the city.

It was the only educational centre in the east established to educate
the children of the Armenian community.

"We had a simple programme today (on Wednesday) to mark founders'
day -- the day when the school was established. There was a prayer
service and national anthems of India and Armenia were sung.

"There were welcome speeches, dramatised poems and a performance by
the school choir. We celebrated the legacy of cooperation between
the two countries," ACPA principal Soumitra Mallick told IANS.

The institution currently has 40 Armenian students from the West Asian
nation, Iraq and Iran with facilities for kindergarten to Class 10
(ICSE affiliated).

Kolkata has been home to Armenian Christians since the 17th century
and as many as 30 families continue to be an integral, yet quiet,
part of the bustling metropolis.

A pivotal aspect of their culture is the Holy Church of Nazareth,
located in Burrabazar in the central part of the city.

There are five magnificent churches across the state, including
Stephen's Court in Park Street, that boast of splendid edifices.