Wednesday 16 August 2017

Armenian News... A Topalian... Watch Full: The Promise (2017)


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Interfax - Russia & CIS Diplomatic Panorama
August 10, 2017
Armenian, Azerbaijani foreign ministers' meeting to help avert 

armed conflict - Yerevan
An upcoming meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers scheduled for September will be aimed at preventing possible
hostilities in the region, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh
Kocharyan said.

"The mediators are setting one task - averting possible hostilities
and reducing the degree of tensions. This is task number 1," he told
reporters on Thursday.

Azerbaijan's policy "remains a policy of force, and this country is
trying to blackmail the mediators, but it will not succeed," Kocharyan
said.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov are expected to meet in New York in the
second half of September.

Nalbandian told reporters on Wednesday that "the meeting's agenda
includes ways to promote the negotiating process [on
Nagorno-Karabakh]. There is no alternative to negotiations."

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs proposed arranging a meeting on the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents before the end of 2017.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers met previously in
Brussels on July 11.

The ceasefire between Armenia and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic on one side and Azerbaijan on the other side was declared in
May 1994.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group,
set up in 1992, has been mediating talks on finding a peaceful
solution to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The OSCE Minsk Group
includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland
and Turkey. It is co-


Haaaretz
14 Aug 2017 Israeli Suicide-drone Maker Carried Out Live Demo on 
Armenian Army Targets, Complaint Says
Israeli Defense Ministry probes allegation that Azerbaijan asked
Aeronautics Defense Systems to demonstrate drone on military target. 
When the drone operators refused, managers attempted to carry out the test. 
The company denies the allegation Gili Cohen

The Defense Ministry is examining whether the Israeli firm Aeronautics Defense Systems was asked to actually demonstrate the use of an armed unmanned aircraft in the Central Asian republic of Azerbaijan against a military position of the neighboring country of Armenia, with which Azerbaijan has a border dispute. The Israeli company denies the allegation. 

The Defense Ministry recently received a complaint alleging that after a team from Aeronautics Defense Systems came to Azerbaijan seeking to finalize a contract for the sale of company's Orbiter 1K unmanned aircraft, they were asked to deploy the aircraft, armed with explosives, on a military position of the Armenian army.
The existence of the complaint was reported Sunday by the Israeli daily paper Maariv. For its part however, Aeronautics Defense Systems strongly denied that its staff carried out such a mission, saying that it was carried out by the purchaser of the aircraft, and the company "never carries out demonstrations [of the operations of the drone] on live targets, and that was true in this case as well."

According to Maariv, the two Israeli operators of the craft refused to hit the Armenian position, and after remaining firm in their refusal even after threats directed against them, senior representatives of the company armed and operated the unmanned aircraft themselves. Ultimately the drones are said to have missed their targets, and no damage was caused, but according to the complaint, one of them struck at a distance of about 100 meters (330 feet) from the position. 

The company's website states that the Orbiter 1k in is capable of carrying a special 1 to 2 kilogram (2.2 to 4.4 pound) special explosive payload. 

The complaint against the company was filed with the ministry's Defense Export Controls Agency, which is responsible for overseeing the activities of the country's defense contractors, certainly when it is demonstrating the use of such equipment.

The dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has resulted in fighting over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, has resulted in the loss of life. In the past, it had been reported that an unmanned aircraft, including aircraft of the type that crash into their targets, was seen on the attack in Nagorno-Karabakh. In that case, the aircraft was a Harop model produced by Israel Aerospace Industries. In 2016, it was reported that a Harop hit a bus and killed seven Armenians. 

Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, recently said that his country had purchased nearly $5 billion worth of military equipment from Israel. On a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Azerbaijan late last year, the Azeri president made note of the military cooperation between the two countries over many years. According to foreign reports, Israel has sold Azerbaijan radar and unmanned aircraft systems as well as Israeli Tavor rifles.
The Defense Ministry said in response: "As a rule, the Defense Ministry does not make it a practice to comment on issues involving military exports. The claim is being examined by the relevant parties at the ministry."
Aeronautics Defense Systems stated: "Aeronautics markets its products to customers in about 50 different countries,[and] only in accordance with approval from the Defense Export Controls Agency. The operational action was carried out by the purchaser alone and on its responsibility. Aeronautics has never carried out demonstrations on live targets, and that was true in this case as well."


RFE/RL Report
New Banana Importer Reports Acid Attack
August 10, 2017
Tatev Danielian
A businessman who has helped to end a long-standing monopoly on
imports of bananas to Armenia reported on Thursday an acid attack on
his warehouses in Yerevan.

Vahram Mirakian said that early in the morning someone poured acid on
refrigerator compressors of the warehouses where bananas imported by
his company are stored. "If the refrigerator had stopped working at
night, 20 tons of produce would have perished within an hour," he told
RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

The 33-year-old entrepreneur said he has alerted the Armenian police
about the incident and will ascertain the damage after police officers
inspect the scene.

Mirakian also said that the attacker did not damage other equipment or
steal any bananas. "I can therefore presume that it was the work of
those individuals who are not interested in our importing bananas," he
added without naming names.

Banana imports to Armenia were for many years effectively monopolized
by the Katrin Group company reputedly controlled by Mihran Poghosian,
the influential former head of a state body enforcing court
rulings. Poghosian resigned in April 2016 after being accused of
having secret offshore accounts exposed by the Panama Papers. Earlier
this year, he was elected to the Armenian parliament on the ruling
Republican Party's ticket.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetian pledged to liberalize these and other
lucrative imports shortly after taking office last September. Mirakian
and other entrepreneurs started importing bananas later in 2016. The
State Revenue Committee (SRC) claimed in November that it has cracked
down on unnamed individuals which it said tried to obstruct a banana
shipment carried out by one of the new importers.

Mirakian insisted that his company has faced no "artificial obstacles"
to its banana imports amounting to 40-80 tons per month. "We were one
of the first [new entities] to bring in bananas late last year," he
said. "We have continued steadily binging in bananas since then."

He also made clear that the latest incident will not force him to pull
out of the business.

According to the State Commission for the Protection of Economic
Competition (SCPEC), some 40 entities imported bananas to Armenia last
year. Katrin Group accounted for 56 percent of those imports, a
commission spokeswoman told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). 


RFE/RL Report
Armenian Government Boosts Tax Revenue
August 11, 2017
Sargis Harutyunyan

The Armenian government has reported a more than 7 percent increase in
its tax revenue in the first half of this year, which could facilitate
additional spending on capital projects promised by it.

The State Revenue Committee (SRC) collected almost 550 billion drams
($1.15 billion) in various taxes and duties in this period, up by 37.6
billion drams year on year.

Fiscal data released by the SRC shows that three leading Armenian
mining companies as well as one of the country's richest men linked to
the government generated most of this gain.

The businesses controlled by the tycoon, Samvel Aleksanian, nearly
doubled their tax payments in January-June. Most of them are engaged
in lucrative imports of sugar, other basic foodstuffs and some
medicines to Armenia. Aleksanian has long enjoyed a de facto monopoly
on those imports.

Critics have long accused him of using his government connections to
ward off competition and evade taxes. The tycoon has denied that.

The SRC figures show an even sharper rise in taxes collected from the
three mining enterprises mainly manufacturing copper, molybdenum and
gold. According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), Armenia's
first-half exports of copper, molybdenum and other base metals and
their ore concentrates rose by only 30 percent year on year.

Vahagn Khachatrian, an economist and senior member of the opposition
Armenian National Congress, suggested that this disparity results from
tax payments which these and other Armenian firms are forced to make
to the SRC in advance. He criticized the SRC practice, saying that it
stifles economic activity in the country.

"This is a key instrument used by tax authorities," Khachatrian told
RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He said the first-half
increase in tax revenue does not indicate improved tax administration.

The SRC declined to immediately comment on these claims.

The current SRC chief, Vartan Harutiunian, is a figure close to Prime
Minister Karen Karapetian. Harutiunian has repeatedly pledged to crack
down on widespread tax evasion and corruption among tax officials
since he was appointed to run the tax collection agency last fall.

The government's tax revenue was up by over 10 percent in the first
quarter of 2017. This led Karapetian to state in April that the SRC
can collect around 50 billion drams ($105 million) more than expected
in the course of the year. The government is therefore planning a
corresponding increase in its 2017 spending on capital projects, he
said.

The planned extra spending would be equivalent to about 4 percent of
overall expenditures envisaged by Armenia's state budget. The
government had decided to cut public spending this year to curb a
widening budget deficit. Its 2017 budget also calls for higher tax
revenue. 


ASBAREZ
Aug 14 2017
Paylan Says, ‘Human Bones Were Found’ at Van Cemetery where Toilets were Built
ISTANBUL—Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament representing the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) visited the Armenian cemetery in Van, where local government authorities have built a public bathroom facility.

According to the Istanbul-based Agos Armenian newspaper, Paylan spoke to local residents and inspected the site, saying that wherever he touched, “human bones were found.”

“Wherever I touched, human bones were found. There is no doubt anymore that this territory used to be an Armenian cemetery,” he said.

“A Muslim chapel, a toilet and a café are built on the cemetery. It is sad that we were not able to protect the remains of our ancestors,” added Paylan who explained to Agos that the site was an Armenian neighborhood dating back to the Urartu period, 850 century BC.

The area in question is in the Erdemit district of the Van province, where late last month a public beach was opened.

Edremit is situated on the coast of the Lake Van, approximately 11 miles from the city of Van. The current name of Edremit originates from Armenian name of Artamet, which literally means “Near the Fields” in Armenian, as it lies near grape fields and apple trees the line the coast of Lake Van.

Artamet was founded as a small town at the shores of Lake Van in Tosp district of Vaspurakan province, in the middle of Historical Armenia. Throughout history, the city has had several names: Artemida, Zard, Artashessyan, Avan, Artavanyan, and Edremit. In the 10th century, Artamet was known as a feudal city with a population of 12,000. It was renowned for the best apples in Armenia.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Artamet boasted approximately 500 households, 435 of which were Armenian. After the first Hamidian Massacres of 1894–1896, the Turkish population grew and Turks soon outnumbered the Armenians.

Prior of the Armenian Genocide, Artamet had 10 Armenian churches and a Greek church. Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other local Christians were almost entirely killed or driven out between 1915 and 1923. After the legal owners were massacred, thousands of their historical monuments were annihilated as well.

According to Agos, world-renowned Armenian artist, Arshile Gorky, was born in Erdemit. The newspaper added that a water fountain that was restored on Gorky’s property in 2015 by the Edremit municipality has been removed and water to the fountain was cut off.


Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 14 2017
Major fire in “Khosrov Forest” 

The Ministry of Emergency situations of Armenia was informed on fire in vegetated territory of the “Khosrov Forest State Reserve”, Ararat region, on Saturday.

The fire extinguishing works were suspended this night but are recommenced today. At the moment 69 rescuers and the response team of the National Center of Crisis Regulations are involved in the works.

According to preliminary data, 200-250 ha of vegetated and forest territory is burning.

Hundreds of people were involved in the works of fire extinguishing these days, including rescuers, servicemen of the Ministry of Emergency situations, Police officers, and others.


Panorama, Armenia
Aug 14 2017
Ataturk's signature designed by calligrapher of Armenian descent Hagob Vahram Cherchiyan
The signature of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkish army officer, founder of the Republic of Turkey was designed by Hagop Vahram Cherchiyan, a mathematician and calligrapher of Armenian descent, Ermenihaber reports, citing Haberler.comTurkish media outlet.

The Turkish news agency published an article, presenting the story of the origin of Ataturk’s signature, making use of the memories of Hagop’s son Tigran.

The source reports that after Mustafa Kemal took up a last name – Ataturk – under the Surname Law adopted in Turkey in 1934, the PMs of the Turkish parliament decided to present a nice signature to the latter.

At that time, a policeman came to Cherchiyan’s house with the proposal to design a signature.

Of Armenian descent, Hagop was a professor of mathematics, geography, and calligraphy at the Robert College of Istanbul. In 1920 he had travelled to the United States to study at the Palmer Method school, specializing himself in system of handwriting. He was known for teaching this method during his career as a professor.

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