Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIE
Des sites arménien et palestinien partagent le prix 2011 de sauvegarde
des paysages culturels de l’UNESCO

Le Musée culturel et historique Réserve de Garni (Arménie) et le
paysage culturel palestinien de Battir se partagent cette année le
Prix international Mélina Mercouri pour la sauvegarde et la gestion
des paysages culturels (UNESCO-Grèce). Le Prix sera remis lors d’une
cérémonie qui se tiendra au siège de l’UNESCO le 24 mai.« En
récompensant la gestion de Garni et Battir, l’UNESCO entend mettre en
valeur la beauté et l’importance de ces sites, leurs valeurs réelles
et symboliques, mais aussi aider à combattre les menaces qui pèsent
sur leur préservation à long terme », a déclaré la Directrice générale
de l’UNESCO, Irina Bokova, qui a suivi la recommandation du jury
international du Prix.

Les lauréats se verront remettre la somme de 15 000 dollars chacun.

Le Musée culturel et historique Réserve de Garni couvre une superficie
de 5,1 hectares autour du village de Garni qui se trouve sur le
plateau volcanique arménien du Caucase, à 28 km à l’est d’Erevan. On y
trouve une série de vestiges et de btiments historiques correspondant
à une période qui va de l’ge de bronze (murs cyclopéens) aux débuts
locaux du christianisme, en passant par l’époque hellénique (temples
et thermes).

Le site doit sa récompense aux mesures prises pour préserver ses
vestiges culturels, mais aussi aux efforts visant à expliquer et
ouvrir le site aux visiteurs nationaux et étrangers. Le jury a aussi
salué le fait que ce travail a été conduit en concertation avec les
communautés locales, en encourageant le développement social et
économique. Une partie du site a été inscrit en 2000 sur la Liste du
patrimoine mondial en tant que Monastère de Gherart et Haute vallée de
l’Azat.

Le paysage culturel de Battir (Village de Battir et ses environs en
territoire palestinien occupé) témoigne de 4 000 ans de culture en
terrasses de la vigne et de l’olivier. Comptant 1 150 habitants (dont
350 dans le village d’Husan), ce paysage comporte des terrasses mais
aussi des canaux d’irrigation, des tours de guet et d’autres btiments
de pierre sèche. Le site est récompensé pour sa grande valeur
esthétique et symbolique. Le jury a mis l’accent sur l’action
entreprise en vue de maintenir l’utilisation agricole traditionnelle
du paysage, en coopération avec les fermiers locaux, et sur l’adoption
d’une législation de protection et d’un plan de gestion judicieux.

Battir appartient à une zone plus large – la Terre des oliviers et des
vignes – qui figure à l’inventaire des biens exceptionnels du
patrimoine culturel et naturel palestinien qui peuvent avoir une
valeur universelle exceptionnelle. Cet inventaire a été réalisé par le
ministère du Tourisme et des Antiquités en vue d’une future
inscription de sites sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial.

Le jury du Prix international Mélina Mercouri pour la sauvegarde et la
gestion des paysages culturels a également décidé d’accorder une
mention spéciale au paysage de Wadi Hanifa, long de 120 km autour de
la ville de Riyad (Arabie Saoudite). Une partie du site a été inscrite
en 2010 sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial en tant que District
d’at-Turaif à ad-Dir’iyah.

Remis tous les deux ans, le Prix Mélina Mercouri entend récompenser
des actions exemplaires de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur des grands
paysages culturels du monde. Il porte le nom de celle qui fut un
précurseur de la conservation intégrée et du développement durable,
Mélina Mercouri, artiste renommée et ministre de la culture de la
Grèce.

dimanche 15 mai 2011,
Sté[email protected]

Trend, Azerbaijan
May 14 2011

Metsamor NPP is serious problem for South Caucasus region’s security
14.05.2011 13:14
Azerbaijan, Baku, May 14 / Trend, E.Tariverdiyeva /

As the political and radioactive fallout of Japan’s Fukushima meltdown
spreads, serious regional concerns over the safety of Armenia’s aging
Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant continue to mount, a professor at the
Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) Richard Rousseau believes.

“Not only does the plant lie on a physical fault line, but it is also
located in a politically unstable neighborhood,” Rousseau wrote in his
article in the Foreign Policy Journal.
He believes that one only has to look at the history of the Metsamor
Nuclear Power Plant to understand that it is basically an accident
waiting to happen.

“Following the earthquake in the Armenian city of Spitak in 1988,
which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and killed over 25,000 people,
Soviet officials decided to shut down the plant. However, a highly
effective economic blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey in
response to the illegal occupation of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
by Armenian troops created conditions which led to the reopening of
the plant seven years later, despite expert advice that it should
remain deactivated,” Rousseau wrote in his article.

Landlocked Armenia has few short term alternatives to nuclear power.
The Metsamor reactor provides about 40 percent of Armenia’s
electricity. Attempts to replace it have been continually frustrated
and efforts to find alternative energy sources, or install a new
reactor with state-of-the-art controls and backup systems, have so far
proved fruitless. However, something will have to be done because the
clock is ticking. In October 2008, Areg Galstyan, the Armenian Deputy
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced that the
construction of a new nuclear power plant is due to start sometime in
2011 and is expected to be commissioned in 2017, the professor
believes.

“Hakob Sanasaryan, an Armenian chemist and head of the Green Union of
Armenia, claimed in 2003 that the Metsamor did not meet
internationally accepted nuclear safety standards, as it lacks a
containment vessel, whose function is to prevent radioactive release
in the event of an accident. Moreover, the plant is located a mere 75
kilometers from the 1988 earthquake epicenter, an area with a long
history of powerful quakes, and 30 kilometers from the Armenian
capital Yerevan,” the article reads.

Nonetheless, officials in Yerevan insist that Armenia is immune to the
kind of nuclear emergency which has struck Japan, even if the country
is located in a seismically active zone, Rousseau believes.
He believes that the consensus statements by Armenian officials
indicate that they have closed ranks on the nuclear issue.

“The Soviet-built nuclear power plant is not considered safe enough by
Western governments either. Also, there has been considerable public
controversy – sometimes even hysteria – lately over the use of nuclear
energy and the nuclear industry has a contentious track record. So
much so, for example, that Germany has plans to decommission several
of its plants, even if they are considered as modern and
state-of-the-art. However, the trend for putting safety first is about
to stall in many regions of the world, as political and economic
expediency pushes safety concerns onto the back burner. In that
context, Armenia’s neighbors cannot now assume that the once
all-pervading anti-nuclear logic can be used as an unassailable
argument against the Metsamor plant,” the article reads.

The Azerbaijani government and international experts continue to voice
safety concerns over the Metsamor nuclear plant. Azerbaijan wants
solid assurances from Armenia that the plant does not constitute a
danger for any state in the region. Eduard Shevardnadze, former
president of Georgia, has urged his country’s authorities to negotiate
with Armenia on the safety of the plant, Rousseau believes.

“Azerbaijan and other regional states’ reasonable concerns deserve to
be taken seriously and properly addressed by the Armenian government.
In particular, they need to be reassured that there is an effective
emergency response plan in place; and that needs to be done without
any bias by all the sides as well as other stakeholders,” the article
reads.
Metsamor NPP was built in 1970.

After the devastating Spitak earthquake the activity of this plant had
been suspended, but in 1995, despite international protests, the work
of the station was reactivated, and in addition, the second reactor
was launched. Despite the fact that the EU has demanded the immediate
closure of the station until 2011 and declared its readiness to assign
100 million euro to Armenia to cover its energy needs, the country has
not agreed to this. Armenia does not hide that it intends to use
Metsamor until 2016, and in the longer term, even until 2031. Given
the large number of minor earthquakes in the past 10 years in this
area, as well as the intensification of seismic processes that is
indicated by seismologist researches, in case of a big accident taking
place at Metsamor not only Armenia, but also all countries in the
Southern Caucasus and the Middle East would be seriously affected.

news.am, Armenia
May 14 2011

US court gives 21 days to Turkish side to respond to Armenians’ claim

May 14, 2011

After examining the lawsuit filed by three descendants of Armenians
who lost their property during Armenian Genocide against the Turkish
government and two Turkish banks – the Central Bank of theRepublic of
Turkey and T.C. Ziraat Bankasi, U.S. court gave 21 days to defendants
to respond to the claim, Hayots Ashkharh newspaper reports.

Vartkes Yeghiayan, the Glendale attorney who spearheaded the lawsuit,
said residents of Los Angeles Rita Mahtesyan and Anais Harutyunyan, as
well as Alex Bakalyan from Washington demand return of more than $64 m
for territory which also includes the Incirlik Air Base.

Yerevan to host career fair for youth representatives

May 14, 2011 – 16:03 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

On May 22, Armenia Marriott hotel will host a career fair for youth
representatives. The event is initiated by Tempus center of Yerevan
State University.

As part of the event, visitors will have the opportunity to meet with
over 100 employers, representatives of educational structures and
career centers of higher education institutions.

Besides, the event will provide visitors with the opportunity to find
out which professions are most demanded at Armenia’s labor market.

Iran-Armenia: Geopolitics no impediment to mutually beneficial partnership

Analysis | 13.05.11 | 15:58
Map:

By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent

Diplomats call Iran’s position in the Karabakh conflict a balancing
act. The Islamic Republic that has in its northern parts a 20-million
community of Turkic-speaking Shia Azeris with separatists tendencies
has managed to maintain good relations with Christian Armenia as well.

A recent statement by a representative of the Iranian spiritual leader
Ayatollah Khamenei in Ardebil, however, has somewhat marred the
relations between the two neighboring states. Friday prayer imam
Seyyid Hasan Ameli stated Iran helped Azerbaijan during the Karabakh
war.

`So far politicians in Iran have not spoken about their aid [to
Azerbaijan] and, possibly, because of certain diplomatic
considerations will never raise these issues in the future. But not
me. I am a Friday prayer imam and, speaking from the podium, I must
answer questions and suspicions of Muslim brothers. We were supplying
arms by convoys to soldiers who fought for Shusha and experienced
shortages of weapons. With the consent of the government and at the
request of Rahim Gaziyev (Azerbaijan’s defense minister in 1992-93) a
common Azerbaijani-Iranian defense staff had been set up and as part
of that staff Tabriz and Ardebil generals were helping their Azeri
brethren, day and night, doing everything possible to preclude
Armenian aggression,’ the senior Iranian cleric claimed.

According to Ayatollah Ameli, Iran also provided logistical support in
the delivery, if necessary to the front lines, of thousands of
fighters from Afghanistan. `We were supplying arms and ammunition not
to Armenians, but to our Azeri brothers. Our military training bases
were located not in Armenia, but in Azerbaijan,’ the imam said,
according to SalamNews.

Armenia’s reaction to the statement was rather reserved. Speaking in
the Armenian parliament Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan confirmed the
statement made by the Iranian spiritual leader that Afghan gunmen were
fighting on the Azerbaijani side during the Karabakh war. `At a
certain period Afghan fighters were indeed on the territory of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,’ said Ohanyan.

Meanwhile, Armenian Ambassador to Iran Grigor Arakelyan described
Iran’s mediation in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict as useful,
according to Iranian news agency ISNA. `Over the past 20 years Iran
has proved its honesty and friendly attitude towards Armenia,’ the
diplomat said during a recent discussion in Tehran on topics of
regional policy and Karabakh settlement.

And the Armenian press reminds that Iran is the only neighbor of the
current Karabakh conflict zone and contends that during the Karabakh
war it was Iran that ensured Armenia’s food security.

At present, the relations between Armenia and Iran are on the rise:
Armenia is locked by neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan, and its only
gateways to the rest of the world are Georgia and Iran. Armenia has a
narrow 40-kilometer border strip with Iran in the south, while
Karabakh, which is a bone of contention between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, has a lengthier border with the Islamic Republic – nearly
140 kilometers.

NATO and U.S. forces are stationed in virtually all countries that
border on Iran, except for Armenia and Karabakh. This circumstance is
very important to Iran, which tries to funnel its efforts into
ensuring that the Karabakh conflict zone remains free from foreign
peacekeeping troops. Iran has repeatedly made strongly worded
statements in this regard.

Muslim solidarity is part of Iran’s politics, but on the other hand in
Tehran they realize the potential threat from Azerbaijan, which vows
fraternal relations with Sunni-dominated, secular Turkey that seeks
leadership in the Islamic world.

Raging War With Kurds, Escalating Water Conflict With Arabs Drain
Turkey’s Resources

14.05.2011 | 11:20 | | Noyan Tapan | Articles and Analyses

(Noyan Tapan – 14.05.2011) By Appo Jabarian

Executive Publisher/Managing Editor

USA Armenian Life Magazine

In 1922, Ottoman Turkey’s successor Young Turk regime underwent a
face-lift through the creation of the modern republic of Turkey in an
attempt to create a `fresh start.’ But that `fresh’ start failed to
yield sustainable peace both within what is now called Turkey, and in
its relations with neighbors.

Peace proved elusive because of Ankara’s long-unsolved problems
including ongoing war against the 23 million-strong Kurdish minority;
and water rights conflicts with Arab states such as Iraq and Syria.

As the June 12 general elections near, The Kurdish Workers’ Party
(PKK) is used by Ankara `as an excuse to circumvent Kurdish people’s …
liberties, a tactic that has become the hallmark of the AKP and
[Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen’s loyalists — namely Erdogan’s]
Gulenist Administration in Turkey. The Turkish government and the
AKP’s agents improperly and illegally have used the PKK and the War on
Terror as an excuse to imprison many Kurdish intellectuals,
politicians, and writers, and to defame them for the purpose of
becoming the dominant power in the Southeastern part of the country.
Otherwise, the AKP and the Gulenist agents cannot be successful
without slandering and intimidating the Kurdish leaders and people.
This kind of game has been played against the Kurds for decades and
continues to be played,’ wrote Dr. Aland Mizell on Kurdishaspect.com.

Turkey’s brand of `democracy’ is funded `by and for the State. …
Democracy in Turkey is hypocrisy’ that knows no boundary. Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan’s Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP)
`wants to have political control in Diyarbakir in order to bring its
version of `peace’ to the region and constantly reject the Kurdish
political leaders’ proposals.’

`Turkey has been dancing with the Kurds for more than three decades.
They are not genuinely trying to solve the Kurdish problems. … The AKP
and Gulenists know the military and Turkish state conducted a dirty
war in the Kurdish regions and did not want the problem to end,
because the generals were making big money,’ lamented Mizell.

It is no secret that AKP and its allies are an integral part of the
Turkish Deep State. They regularly refuse to investigate unsolved
political murders committed during the 1990’s against Kurds,
maintaining adamant silence regarding clandestine disappearance of
Kurdish civilians.

Fears of a fresh escalation in Turkish-Kurdish war substantially grew
a few days after suspected Kurdish rebels attacked the election convoy
of Erdogan. The attack began when a hand grenade was thrown at one of
the police cars escorting the prime minister’s bus. That was followed
by fire from assault rifles. One police vehicle caught fire when its
petrol tank was hit. Police returned fire, but the attackers, said to
number about five or six, escaped into the forest. A search operation
by police and the military failed to produce any arrests, noted
Reuters news agency.

Kurds regularly hold Erdogan `responsible for this war’ between Turkey
and Kurds, and its practice of `police terror’ against unarmed
political activists.

The Kurds have detected a `push-pull’ game or `good cop-bad cop’
politics played by Erdogan’s AKP and Turkish nationalists. The `good
cop’ Erdogan finally unmasked himself by vehemently declaring that
`These separatist forces think they can get this way what they cannot
get at the ballot box. … We will not allow anyone to split up this
nation’s 780,000 square kilometers.’

As a result, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of Turkey’s main
Kurdish rebel group has warned his forces will unleash a `big war’
after national elections if Turkey refuses to negotiate to end the
decades-old conflict, reported The Associated Press.

Ankara has grown wary of the fact that the PKK has now began launching
military operations in the Black Sea region – several hundred
kilometers west of its normal area of operation.

Murat Yetkin, a columnist with the Radikal newspaper, wrote: `PKK
militants are now ready to strike … anywhere in Turkey. This is a
serious situation.’

The Kurdish activists of Turkey’s Southeast have long been suspected
by Ankara of receiving financial backing from the oil-rich Kurdistan
Regional Government of Iraq’s north.

Turkey’s worse nightmare about the Kurds’ increased economic power and
resulting war-making capability has become a reality ever since Iraq’s
Kurdistan Regional Government began receiving revenues from its oil
productions. These revenues regularly flowing into Kurdistan’s coffers
bode badly for the Turkish hardliners.

Recently, Iraq’s self-ruled northern Kurdish region has received the
first payment from the central government in Baghdad for oil exported
from its region.

The payment amounted to nearly half of the 3 million in revenues
generated from exporting over 5 million barrels between February and
March 27.

Adding to Erdogan’s and Turkish Deep State’s woes, lately the
relations with Iraq and Syria have soured over the water rights of the
Tigris and the Euphrates rivers because of Turkey’s mismanagement of
these resources. An increasing number of dams, hydroelectric power
plants and irrigation projects have been constructed within the
context of the Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) supposedly to harness
the energy of Turkey’s water resources. But in reality Turkey is
seeking to sell the waters.

Several critics of GAP say `the more Turkey utilizes these rivers, the
less water there is to flow to the downstream riparian states of Syria
and Iraq.’ UN Representative and NGO worker Imane Abd El Al was not
optimistic about a Turkish proposal to export dammed water from Turkey
to Iraqi and Syrian farmers in exchange for oil or money. `We’re
talking about Mesopotamia here.’ Importing water to the `cradle of
civilization’, she argued, is absurd, as is the idea of treating water
as a commodity rather than a right.’

As the Arab Spring escalates, Ankara fears the triggering of a Turkish
Simmering Summer undermining the already-shaky relations with its Arab
neighbors.

It seems all too inevitable that the war with the Kurds will rage on;
and the water conflict with Arab states – Iraq and Syria will further
escalate draining Turkey’s economic, military and political resources.

Armenian youth weightlifter becomes world vice champion

12:29 – 14.05.11

An Armenian youth weightlifter has won the second prize at the
Weightlifting Youth Championship held in Lima, Peru.

Mher Mikaelyan, 16, who performs under 85 kg category, won the
championship’s silver medal by lifting a total of 310 kg in snatch and
jerk exercises.

According to the Armenian sports news website, the gold medal was won
by Artyom Akulov from Russia who lifted a total of 347 kg in both
exercises.

Earlier, Andranik Karapetyan (62 kg) had won a bronze in this weight
category in Peru.

Tert.am

Turkey may block Facebook access during coming elections

May 14, 2011 – 11:12 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a Facebook page with
784,244 fans, but that didn’t stop him condemned the site during an
election rally for his political party.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a Facebook page with
784,244 fans, but apparently that didn’t stop the ruler from
condemning the site during an election rally for his political party,
according to Allfacebook.com.

The premier reportedly said, `Pages on Facebook are ugly and
horrible.’ Anyway, Erdogan’s beef with Facebook concerns what he
considers `immoral’ content published for all to see.

He also lashed out against email in the same speech, refuting
accusations by the leader of the opposing political party.

But, Erdogan’s condemnation of Facebook comes at a time when Turkey’s
entire political structure hinges on the coming elections. And over
the past month, Turks have been making a very strong showing in
Facebook rankings, especially it is seen in list of the most engaging
pages.

`The coming elections would certainly explain the spike in social
media activity we’ve been seeing in Turkey; and surely not every
single one of the Turk posts on Facebook favor Erdogan. Let’s just
hope that the country doesn’t decide to block access to the site like
what almost happened this past October,’ the report says.

TIGRAN KARAPETYAN UNITES PATRIOTIC FORCES

A1Plus.am
08:45 pm | May 13, 2011

The Armenian government today hosted the founding session of the
Patriotic Forces led by People’s Party Leader Tigran Karapetyan.

Karapetyan is confident of the union’s success as “it has allied
ordinary people – the genuine masters of the country.”

“Today Armenia is in a grave psychological situation. There is only
way out of this situation, we should purify the layer of society
that enjoys confidence in the public,” said Heritage Party MP Vardan
Khachatryan.

Political analyst Ashot Manucharyan says they aim to change the
mentality which attaches importance to money and wealth subordinating
everything else to these two notions.

“We say we are Christians, but have you ever seen a Christian turn
money into gold and gold into a calf and worship that calf.

Resplendence has spoilt people. Neither presidents nor oligarchs know
the solution to the problem. The clue is in the hands of the public,”
said Manucharyan.

Tigran Karapetyan added that their primary goal is to administer
justice and fight against the evil.

“Justice got tired of us but it is not finally defeated. We shall
win in any case and change everything in this country,” he concluded.

ARMENIAN PHYSICAL EDUCATIONIST SETS GUINENESS WORLD RECORD ON HIGH BAR

Xinhua
May 13 2011
China

TBILISI, May 12 (Xinhua) — A physical educationist at an Armenian
linguistics university has set a new world record for the Guinness
Book of Records.

David Fagradyan, who works at the Armenian State Linguistics
University, set the record when he completed 76 turns on one hand on
the horizontal bar within two minutes.

The same physical educationist from Yerevan set another Guinness
world record back in 2009, when he completed 354 turns on both hands
on the horizontal bar.

Armenian National Olympic Committee chairman Gagik Tsarukyan has
already presented the physical educationist with the Guinness
certificate.