Sunday 7 June 2015

Armenian News... A Topalian


Success with the British Museum: Stop the Misrepresentation 

of Armenian Heritage as "Ancient Turkey" Petition 

Now this permanent exhibition has been relabelled

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/middle_east/room_54_anatolia_and_urartu.aspx 


"Why is truth important? Few things could be more damaging to 
cultural memory and our understanding of historical change than 
the policy of describing all places and regions in terms of their 
present political constitution: "When borders or country titles change 
we will change accordingly." Does the BM really say that Roman 
London was located in England? What matters is the political and 
cultural constitution of place and region at the time whence the 
displayed artefacts are derived. It is precisely when borders an
d country's titles change that history is needed to bear witness to 
how things were: to show us at least the rudiments of the past. 
Anachronism is the very ignorance of history. Yet the BM seems to 
be making a principle of anachronism."

Charles Lock
Professor of English Literature
University of Copenhagen


BBC World Service Radio Assignment Program on Chess 
in Armenia 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004j7zg 


Paros Chamber Choir performs Yerevan Erebuni with 
Placido Domingo (HD version) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tZjim4dn4s 


armenpress.am
SOTHEBY'S PUTS AIVAZOVSKY'S PAINTING ON SALE DESPITE 
CLAIMS IT WAS STOLEN
1 June, 2015 


YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Sotheby's auction house said it will
proceed with the planned sale of the "Evening in Cairo" by the
celebrated Armenian seascape artist Ivan Aivazovsky. Moscow had earlier
said the masterpiece was stolen from a private collection in 1997.

As reports "Armenpress" citing RT, the Russian branch of Interpol
urged British police to assist it in blocking the auction, but
Sotheby's insisted it had tracked no record of the painting in
databases of stolen art, including one distributed by Russia's Culture
Ministry. According to the official representative of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs, Elena Alekseeva, the painting was stolen from
a private collection in the Russian capital.

Praised for his technique to capture sunsets and moonlight, Aivazovsky
created his "Evening in Cairo" in 1870. The sought-after painting is
due to be sold in London next week, with a pre-sale price estimate
of 1.5-2 million pounds ($2-$3 million).

Sotheby's website lists the work's provenance as the collection of
N.I. Dedov, who owned the painting at the beginning of the 20th
Century. It's believed that in the 1940s "Evening in Cairo" was
purchased by Ivan Nosenko, a high-ranking official, who was part
of the Soviet elite at the time. After his death in 1956, his widow
became the sole owner of the painting.

"Sotheby's offering of Aivazovsky's 'Evening in Cairo' on the 2 June
2015 will proceed with the agreement of both the Nosenko Family and the
consignor," Sotheby's said in emailed comments, according to Reuters.

In 2012, Aivazovsky's 1856 tour de force "View of Constantinople and
the Bosphorus" sold for a record-setting $5.2 million at Sotheby's,
having doubled the estimate.

lragir.am
MINISTER OF DIASPORA ON TRANSPORTATION OF ARMENIAN 
SYRIANS
02 June 2015


There will be discussions on the issue of Syrian Armenians and
decisions will be made, said the minister for the Diaspora issues
Hranush Hakobyan, noting that the Armenian foreign minister has got
acquainted with the situation of the Armenian community in Syria. "The
head of the foreign ministry of our country has left to find out
whether they should be moved to safer places. I have no idea how to
talk to you because there are things I cannot tell. Imagine that 10
buses with Syrian Armenians set off. Do you believe the Islamic State
will let them go? What do they say? They say either convert to Islam,
or give money or they'll kill," Hranush Hakobyan said.

She wonders why the public believes that the authorities do not
care for these people. "You, please, believe me, whether opposition
or pro-government, it's not important, we are Armenians, how could
we not worry while the Armenians are killed there? Steps are being
taken, now there are things that we cannot utter loudly here,"
Hranush Hakobyan said.

She also announced that Armenian Syrians are in a more or less better
situation than elsewhere in the world. According to her, while Syrian
refugees in camps live on 1 dollar a day, in Armenia they all receive
relevant assistance. "It is the safest and calmest for the Syrians
in Armenia, in Aleppo it is dangerous, difficult and complicated. I
see the problem, I know, it is not easy to transport them. When we
consider moving them in buses, they say can you guarantee that there
will be no firing? This is not an easy task like we land a plane and
they board it and leave," the minister said.

Hranush Hakobyan commented on the project of construction of New
Aleppo, a residential area for Armenian Syrians. She noted that this
is not a state program, and the government cannot afford to build an
entire residential area, whereas the 620 Armenian Syrians who had
rolled up for the residential area were reluctant to invest in the
construction of their apartments.

"The government has done everything it could do. For the money, in
the very beginning we set up an organization, the money is with them,
we are not dealing with the financial matters, they know who is poor
and who is rich and they arrange it," the minister say. There was a
proposal to transform former factory premises to residential buildings
and provide them to Syrian Armenians. Hranush Hakobyan said there is
no such a plan at the moment.

The government pays the rent of apartments of socially insecure
Armenian Syrians. According to the minister, the Armenians who have
arrived from Syria recently have lost all their property. "While four
years ago the smart ones realized in time and returned with money,
those who arrive now have almost nothing," she noted. 


ecolur.org
ONE OF LOW BIRTH RATE REASONS IN ARMENIA IS MINING
5 June 01, 2015 


One of the reasons for low birth rate in Armenia is mining, as the
findings of the study conducted by the American University of Armenia
School of Public Health in 2013 showed. The studies found significant
differences in the reproductive health of women living in Alaverdi,
the smelter town, and Artik, the comparison town. The research
team eventually found that the odds of having a stillbirth was 2.38
times higher, the odds of having an induced abortion due to medical
indications 2.67 times higher, and the odds of having early prenatal
mortality 2.67 times higher for women living in Alaverdi compared
with women living in Artik. From the data collected and analyzed,
it is reasonable to suggest that the differences in the reproductive
health of women from Alaverdi and Artik could be associated with
women in Alaverdi being exposed to heavy metals and sulfur dioxide
pollution being emitted by the copper smelter.

The target population of the survey included adult women of
reproductive age, 18 to 49 years of age, living near the smelter in
Alaverdi. The same target population in terms of gender and age was
surveyed from Artik, a town in the Shirak region that was chosen
as the comparison town because of the fact that there are no metal
mining or smelting activities there.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of
the United States of America many factors can alter the reproductive
health of a woman and her ability to give birth to a healthy child.

One such factor is exposure to sulfur dioxide, which can lead to
fetal death, preterm birth, miscarriage and stillbirth. Exposure to
heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, can also affect female
reproductive functions leading to reproductive problems.


RFE/RL Report
`Anti-Armenian' PACE Rapporteur Gets Turkish Citizenship
UK - British MP Robert Walter.
01.06.2015 


A former British lawmaker who was tasked by the Council of Europe's
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) last year with drafting a report on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has reportedly become a Turkish citizen.

According to the Istanbul-based daily "Sabah," Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu personally handed a Turkish ID card to the Conservative MP,
Robert Walter, at the Turkish Embassy in London last week. Walter, who
is married to a Turkish woman, expressed delight at the award,
reported the paper. It also posted a photograph of the ceremony on its
website.

Walter was named by the PACE leadership to launch a fact-finding
mission to the Karabakh conflict zone and prepare the report titled
"Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Other Occupied
Territories of Azerbaijan."

This wording prompted vehement protests from Armenian members of the
Strasbourg-based assembly and the government in Yerevan. They said
that it predetermines Walter's findings and runs counter to statements
made by U.S., Russian and French mediators trying to broker a Karabakh
settlement.

The Armenian side has also accused Walter of having close ties with
Azerbaijan's government, saying that the British parliamentarian has
repeatedly defended Baku's dismal human rights record criticized by
Western human rights groups.

Walter led a team of PACE members that observed Azerbaijan's last
presidential election held in 2013. Unlike other Western observers who
reported widespread fraud, the PACE mission concluded that the vote
met democratic standards.

Walter visited Baku in March and hoped to travel to Armenia and
Karabakh later this year. However, the head of the Armenian delegation
at the PACE, Hermine Naghdalian made clear in April that although
officials in Yerevan may agree to receive the rapporteur they will not
discuss the Karabakh dispute with him. Karabakh's leadership went
further, saying that the British lawmaker is not welcome in
Stepanakert.

Walter, 67, did not run for reelection in Britain's recent general
elections and formally ended his parliamentary tenure on May 7. It is
not clear when or whether the PACE leadership will appoint a new
Karabakh rapporteur.


arka.am
ARMENIA STARTS PREFERRING LOCAL IT PRODUCTION TO 
OUTSOURCING - EXPERT 

YEREVAN, June 1. /ARKA/. Armenia is turning from outsourcing to local
production in its IT sector, cyber security expert Samvel Martirosyan
said at the opening of BarCamp Yerevan-2015 on Saturday.

According to the expert, this happens due to the growth of local
products that are sold abroad and indicates the development in
Armenia's IT sector.

Another promising direction is the formation of a startup environment,
mainly by young people, in the country, Martirosyan said. Apart from
this, mobile apps are rapidly developing as well, the expert said.

Tax exemption for startups has a positive impact on IT development
in the country, the expert said. In fact, Armenia was the first
to create a venture capital fund with government involvement, he
said. According to Martirosyan, these are the first steps to provide
funding for startups, and the scope is not sufficient yet.

There are currently about 400 IT companies in Armenia's information
technologies sector that records a 20-25% growth every year. -0--


armenianow.com
ALARMING PATTERN: ANOTHER DEADLY BLAST REPORTED 
AT LNG FILLING STATION
01.06.15 

One person has been killed in a weekend explosion at a liquefied
natural gas (LNG) filling station in Charentsavan, Kotayk Province,
the Ministry of Emergency Security and Territorial Administration said.

The Ministry's rescue service reported that a gas cylinder installed
in an old Soviet-era Lada car exploded while being filled at the
station in the town some 30 kilometers north of capital Yerevan late
on Saturday.

The station worker was reportedly killed in the explosion, while
another person was hospitalized briefly with non-life-threatening
injuries.

The latest blast is the fourth similar accident that has happened
at LNG filling stations in Armenia since May 12. In the previous
accidents one person was killed and three were seriously injured.

Concerns about the safety of LNG filling stations were also raised
by the Armenian government at a meeting on Wednesday, with Prime
Minister Hovik Abrahamyan demanding an account on the safety standards
of the facilities.

Later during the week experts from the Ministry concluded that it
was Armenian drivers and companies that install gas cylinders in cars
that were mostly to blame for the series of the explosions.

The bulk of vehicles in Armenia prefer using LNG, which is less
expensive than petrol, as their main fuel. Some drivers and companies
offering services on gas cylinder installation prefer cheaper options
compromising on safety standards, while LNG filling station workers
often ignore the violations.


ecolur.org
Bears and Deers Increased in Sevqar
May 29, 2015

Bears and deers have increased in Sevqar Forestry Enterprise Sevqar,
Tavush Region, as Sevqar Forestry Enterprise Director Ashot Yeritsyan
said, "We almost don't have poaching, the number of bears and deers
has increased, the situation with wild boars is not that good, as huge
number of pigs died because of plague, but now they started
recovering," Ashot Yeritsyan said.


ecolur.org
Soil Management Land Areas Increased by 1460 ha At Expense of
Agricultural Land Areas Within One Year
May 29, 2015 


In 2002-2014 around 800 million people won't have sufficient food, as
Ashot Vardevanyan National Focal Point of the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification, Deputy Head of Department for Managing Bioresources
of Nature Protection Ministry, said at the press conference held at
EcoLur Press Club on 29 May.

"The UN declared June 17 as the World Day to Combat Desertification
and Drought. This tear's slogan is "No such thing as a free lunch.
Invest in healthy soil", i.e. we shall not only use soil, but help it
and to recover it. Soils and soil conservation have a primary role in
food safety," Ashot Vardevanyan said.

He mentioned that on 27 May the government with its protocol decision
approved new governmental resolution, strategy and national action
plan to combat desertification in Armenia, which complies with
ten-year-long strategy issues of the Convention to Combat
Desertification.

Referring to the positive and negative tendencies Ashot Vardevanyan
noted, "The positive side is that specially protected areas of nature
have expanded by 102,400 ha and perennial planters have increased by
around 4500 ha within 7 years. The negative side is that meadow lands
have reduced by 5.800 ha, plough lands - 4.600 ha, pastures - 64.100
ha. The most dangerous and painful thing is that mining and soil
management land areas are getting expanded: 1460 ha in 2013-2014 and
this figure is related with agricultural land areas, which is a very
negative tendency...Tailing dumps occupy 1500 ha, which is rather a
large number...One ha of open pit mines and tailing dumps pollute around
10 ha of surrounding area. We shouldn't develop a mine for such a long
time period. Unlike other natural resources, soil is an irrecoverable
resource."

"We should pay special attention to fertile land areas: 80% of our
agricultural land areas subject to cultivation need irrigation, but
only 50% is irrigated, the other 30% depends on the will of the God -
either there will be good harvest or not," said National Focal Point
of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

"When we see how much funds go the state budget from mining and
agriculture, we see that the share of agriculture exceeds that of
mining at least by 10 times. The same is true about working places.
It's incomparable...just individual groups get super rich, nothing
else," said Karine Danielyan, Chairman of "For Sustainable Human
Development" Association.

The speaker mentioned if in the former millennium one out of 8 goals
was environmental, in case of sustainable development 9 out of 17
goals are environmental, while the others relate to environment in
this or that manner.

The material is prepared by 'EcoLur' Informational NGO under UNDP
Climate Change Program, within the framework of ARM-002/2015 Contract.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and
do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations, including
UNDP, or the UN Member States.


armenianow.com
SURVEY: MOST ARMENIANS AGAINST ENTRUSTING NATIONAL 
SECURITY TO FOREIGNERS
03.06.15
By SARA KHOJOYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter


Russia's 102nd military base in Armenia cannot but exist during this
period, political analysts think, however, this fact does not actually
strengthen the country, but rather gives a layer of the population
the possibility to think that the military base will protect them.

On Tuesday, the Civilitas Foundation published the results of a survey
on Public Perceptions of National Security and Opinion on Foreign
Military Bases in Armenia. According to it, for the overwhelming
majority of Armenia's population (81 percent) it is not acceptable
that another state or/and an international (intergovernmental)
structure deal with ensuring Armenia's national security.

It is remarkable that of all those who entrusted Armenia's national
security provision to a different state and/or international
(intergovernmental) structure, the majority specified Russia.

Meanwhile, 55 percent of the population finds it acceptable that
another state's or a foreign institution's military base be deployed
in Armenia.

Manvel Sargsyan, Director of the Armenian Center for National and
International Studies, is not sure whether the existence of the
Russian base in Armenia strengthens or weakens Armenia.

"Any foreign army on the territory of the country weakens the country,
because it is not you to make the decisions," Sargsyan said, reminding
the story of Kars' occupation in the early 20th century. That city
was again protected by another country's army, but at a certain point
it just abandoned the territory.

At the moment, according to Sargsyan, the reason Armenians do not
trust the Russian military base is that Russians started selling
weapons in larger quantities to Azerbaijan.

"When the Armenian Government is asked, they say it is business, what
can we do, and this very thing weakens the borders of our country,"
he added.

Nevertheless, according to Vladimir Karapetyan, Head of the Foreign
Relations Committee of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) party,
Armenia cannot make a different decision and it must move along the
current path of national security.

"At this stage within the framework of our membership in the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Armenian-Russian cooperation
and Russian military base deployed in Armenia are inevitable,"
Karapetyan said.

The opposition member added that he does not believe that in Armenia
there are those who think that after independence, during the period
of military actions with Azerbaijan, in a post-earthquake condition,
Turkey would have hesitated to solve its issues the way it did at
the beginning of the century.

This way Karapetyan explains the-then Armenian government's decision
to agree to the deployment of the Russian base in Armenian.

Addressing Armenian-Turkish relations, he said that because of
the "inconsistent policy" led by President Serzh Sargsyan today
Armenian-Turkish relations are deadlocked.

"Serzh Sargsyan inherited a condition where it was not clear what
would happen. But there was no sudden decline of mutual trust, it was
not that bad, only there were no Armenian-Turkish relations. But now,
there is nothing but bilateral cursing. It is a deadlock, I find no
other words," Karapetyans said.

"Serzh Sargsyan, with his inconsistency, by agreeing to sign under a
paper which included formation of a historic sub-commission, which the
first and the second presidents did not approve of, by his interview
given to the Turkish Hurriyet daily which contradicts the declaration
of the Armenian Genocide, created this situation," he added.

According to Manvel Sargsyan, however, Turkey is not interested in
Armenia, rather in relations with world powers and their attitude
toward the Genocide; they manipulate the question and increase pressure
over Turkey.

Representatives of the Armenian government and members of the
Sargsyan-led ruling Republican Party of Armenia believe that Armenia
has come out stronger from the 2009 rapprochement process with
Turkey, managing to show that unlike its neighbor it is a "reliable
international partner". 


Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 31 2015
Who will pay for debts of Electric Networks of Armenia?
31 May 2015
Susanna Petrosyan 


In the upcoming months in Armenia it is planned to increase prices for
electricity for the forth time in the last five years. On May 8 CJSC
Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) officially submitted an
application to the Commission for Regulation of Public Services (CRPS)
to increase electricity tariffs. In particular, it is proposed to
increase prices from the current daily rate of 41.85 to 58.93 drams
and night tariff from 31.85 to 48.93 drams. If the application is
accepted then it is going to be the third price increase in tariffs
over the last 2 years.

The Armenian authorities consider another increase reasonable and try
to explain it with poor management of the ENA company , which is a
subsidiary of Russia's Inter RAO UES. Thus, according to Minister for
Energy and Resources, Yervand Zakharyan, only for the last three
years, ENA has suffered a loss of 37.6 billion drams (1 US dollar is
475 drams). According to official data, instead of the permissible
loss of 12% over the last 4 years the losses in the networks amounted
to 16%, each percent of loss is equivalent to 2.5 billion drams. "The
losses associated with theft, with the date of manufacture of the
equipment, the quality of operation and the level of responsibility of
the employees," the Minister said. In other words, the Armenian
government, represented by the Minister for Energy recognizes that the
ENA company is engaged in theft and is attempting to cover their debt
through higher electricity tariffs.

A number of civil initiatives, non-governmental organizations and
opposition forces have expressed their outrage as the impact of the
tariff increase on already extremely difficult socio-economic
situation and the position of the Armenian government, which declares
, on one hand, theft, and on the other pointing to the validity of
price increases for electricity. Of course, with the activities of the
leaders of ENA about embezzlement of which (in expensive cars and
apartments in Yerevan, on costly trips and so on.) media wrote and
public statements were made by some public and political figures, the
business owner Russian Inter RAO UES must figure out something.
However, the Armenian government should not stay away because ENA acts
on the territory of Armenia. Many opposition politicians and experts
surprised by the position of the Armenian authorities, whose
statements about the theft in the ENA company do not have any logical
extension. "It was theft, catch, try, return the stolen,'' says
independent MP Edmon Marukyan proposes.

According to the MP from the opposition faction he Armenian National
Congress' (ANC) Stepan Demirchian, it is obvious that the rise in
price of electricity is not due to objective reasons, no matter how
they are trying to convince society, and aims to cover the accumulated
by ENA debt of nearly $ 250 million dollars: "accumulated debt" of
ENA "caused by bad governance, in other words, with thefts that took
place.

And all this happened in front of the government. Rather than improve
the system, to punish those responsible, to make the company's
management more efficient, they are trying to cover the company's debt
with the resources of the population, which is unacceptable. We must
put an end to impunity, to develop and implement a program of
recovery."

The parliamentary opposition considers the continued policy of raising
tariffs, which will lead to the next round of price hike for goods and
services, and hence to the further impoverishment of the population,
to be unacceptable. The opposition demands that a special hearing be
held with the participation of representatives of both the government
and administration of the ENA company.

The future increase in electricity prices caused an uproar in the
community. On May 24-24 in Yerevan and some other cities protests were
organized by the civil initiative 'No to Robbery'. On the evening of
May ENA, the initiative organized a two-hour protest, which was
attended by many media resources, which refused to use electricity for
two hours. On May 27 in Yerevan and in more than 15 cities across the
country there were rallies and marches to protest against the price
hike fares. In the organization of protests, local civil society
activists and representatives of the opposition parties, ANC and
Heritage took part.

It is possible that this wave of discontent in the country in some way
sobered the officials and representatives of the ruling elite in
general. A couple of days after the crowded marches in the capital and
protests in other cities, the energy minister Yervand Zakarian,
previously indicated the validity and the need to raise the tariff
ruled out sharp price increases and expressed doubt that the
application of the ENA on a tariff increase of 17 drams will be fully
satisfied. The Minister suddenly confessed that he understands all the
protesters, all the discontented citizens: "I also do not want to
raise the price of electricity. There are social issues that really
bother our citizens."

We can assume that this is a derogation from the usual tough stance of
the government in a social and economic matters. However, given the
familiar logic of the Armenian authorities, this is just a tactical
move, which hides all the same the clear desire to implement its own
(governmental) decisions. It may be applied to the scheme, which
implies an increase in tariffs in two stages, so as not to encourage
further social discontent.

In all cases, the position of the authorities will be cleared up in 10
days, it was then, according to official data, the CRPS will make a
statement at the request of the ENA. Meanwhile, civil society
activists, who are working in partnership with the opposition
political forces, do not intend to depart from the fight started: on
June 19, another rally is scheduled. 

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