Manchester Evening News, UK December 1, 2017 Friday HEN'S EXTRA TIME by SAMUEL LUCKHURST HENRIKH Mkhitaryan is doing extra gym work in an attempt to regain his United place. M.E.N. Sport understands Mkhitaryan has been putting in additional hours in between his Reds training schedule after losing his place in Jose Mourinho's starting XI. Mkhitaryan, 28, has been dropped from three of the last four matchday squads and has not started since the November 5 defeat at Chelsea, where Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher claimed United played 'with 10 men' due to Mkhitaryan's apparent anonymity. The Armenia international (left) is believed to be putting in extra hours away from the club's Carrington training complex after Mourinho admitted he was unhappy with Mkhitaryan's form. "I was not happy with his last performances. I'm not speaking about one or two, I'm speaking about three, four or five," Mourinho said. "He started the season very well and after that, step by step, he was disappearing. "His performance levels in terms of goal scoring and assists, high pressing, recovering the ball high up the pitch, bringing the team with him as a No.10, were decreasing step by step." Mkhitaryan began the campaign well, scoring twice and assisting six goals in August and September, but his form has dropped in recent weeks. Martial can be Guardiola's nightmare - United special
Category: 2017
Garegin Nzhdeh: national hero or war criminal?
Vestnik Kavkaza (Azeri financed Media)
Dec 3 2017
We're no longer surprised by demolition of Soviet monuments in Poland, by people calling Banderivtsi heroes of the Second World War in Ukraine and by parades of Nazi veterans in the Baltic states. Even if it continues to outrage us, we kinda got used to it. But the glorification of fascism takes place not only there, but also in the neighboring and, as we continue to believe, friendly Armenia?
In 2016, a monument to a new national hero of Armenia, Garegin Nzhdeh, was erected on the main square of Yerevan. Why new? Because in the days of Soviet Armenia, Nzhdeh was considered a collaborator, one of creators of the Armenian Legion of the Wehrmacht. So who Garegin Nzhdeh is and what's wrong with him?
"Aryanism, courage – this is the religion of your generation, young Armenian" – Garegin Nzhdeh
In the 1930s, Armenian military officer, who once served in the Russian Empire's army, Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, who was later known as Nzhdeh, created a doctrine called Tseghakronism. It's a nationalist ideology, according to which a nation is the highest value for any individual, without which he can't exist.
It seems like a decent idea – love your motherland, be a part of the nation and help to preserve its original culture. And it would be great if it wasn't for one similarity with another notable "author", who at this time was operating in Germany. In his works, Nzhdeh divides Armenians into three groups: Tsekhamard, Zhokhovurd and Takank. The former are the best part of Armenian nation, the latter are far from eternal ideals and goals. But the third ones are internal enemy of Armenians, a part of the external enemy. They are spineless and disgusting people who don't do anything useful for the state. Does it sound familiar?
It's very similar to racist concept of mensch and untermensch – a human and a subhuman. By the way, one of Nzhdeh's "works" is called "My Credo": even the name looks very similar to "Mein Kampf". Another work of this "hero" of Armenia is called "People Professing Courage and Aryanism". Yes, Aryanism! Garegin Nzhdeh wanted to cooperated with Hitler as early as the 1930s, and in order to obtain a loyal ally in the Caucasus, the Third Reich had to recognize "Aryan origin of Armenians".
"Native land of one nation can't become home for another" – Garegin Nzhdeh
In 1919, after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, Garegin Nzhdeh decides to fight for creation of independent Armenia. In September of the same year, he arrives to Zangezur (South-East Armenia) and begins to forcibly "Armenize" this region, expelling remaining Azerbaijani population and brutally suppressing uprisings in 32 local Azerbaijani villages.
Garegin Nzhdeh, just like Germans, considered Bolsheviks as "organic enemies". That's why when the Red Army entered Armenia, he organized an uprising. Only in Zangezur, Soviet authorities killed 12,000 soldiers. But this was only the beginning of the war that Nzhdeh waged on Soviet Union.
"Those who die for Germany, die for Armenia" – Garegin Nzhdeh
In 1921, Nzhdeh flees abroad. First to Persia, then to Bulgaria. He lived in the US for some time he until he finally settled in Germany, where he begins cooperation with the highest representatives of the Third Reich.
These days, Armenian intellectuals often say that Nzhdeh was forced to cooperate with them to protect Armenia from possible attack by Turkey and in order restore the independence of the republic from the USSR. However, documents that declassified were by the CIA tell a different story. On September 1, 1945, Armenian Mirror-Spectator newspaper, published in the United States, published a document, according to which the National Council of Armenia appealed to Alfred Rosenberg, asking turn Soviet Armenia into German colony. Garegin Nzhdeh was among the members of this Council.
The fact that Garegin Nzhdeh voluntarily began to cooperate with the Nazi regime and became one of the founders of the Armenian Legion of the Wehrmacht (soldiers of this formation participated in occupation of Crimea) is enough to call him a criminal.
In October of 1945, Garegin Nzhdeh was arrested and sent to Lubyanka. He died in 1955 in Vladimir prison.
"If you want to see the future of the nation, look at its youth" – Garegin Nzhdeh
25 years after the collapse of the USSR, Armenia once again remembered about Nzhdeh. It remembered him not as a collaborator, but as a "national hero" and… philosopher. The country started to name streets and squares after him, erect monuments, make films, publish books.
Of course, revival of the "cult" of Nzhdeh in Armenia was quickly noticed. The reaction of the Russian Foreign Ministry was relatively restrained, but straightforward: "Everybody knows what we think about the Great Patriotic War, as well as how we treat any forms of revival, heroization and any manifestations of Nazism, neo-Nazism, extremism. It's not clear for us why this monument was erected, because we all know about the immortal feat of Armenian people during the Great Patriotic War, World War II," official representative of the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said.
Some time after this monument was installed, a petition appeared at change.org. It demanded to demolish this monument. It was mostly signed by grandchildren of those who participated in the war and don't agree with the opinion that "Nzhdeh is the greatest humanitarian philosopher and commander of all time". Fascism is not as far away as it seems.
You can argue with this statement, but Nzhdeh's words about the future of the nation and its youth, which were mentioned above, are pretty correct. This is one of the few quotes that should be remembered. It's a pity that new Armenian generation does it in such a way. It looks like it created an alternative history. But why should we be surprised? Russian schools in Armenia were shut down right after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and by 2000 they remain only in the garrisons of Russian army. In other words, Armenian government did everything to ensure that Armenian children couldn't study in Russian schools.
Elite of the country is actively trying to convince modern Armenian youth that Garegin Nzhdeh is the savior of their nation. And, by paying tribute to the time when he fought for independence from the Soviet government, they turn a blind eye to the facts of cooperation with the Nazi regime. Is it fair? If it is, then you can justify any betrayal and any crime against humanity. Be it general Vlasov, or even Hitler himself, since he also wanted to create a better world for his people. We all remember how it ended.
German expert: "Self-determination of Karabakh Armenians is absurd"
Vestnik Kavkaza (Azeri financed Media)
Dec 3 2017
In the framework of symposium in Berlin dedicated to the 25th anniversary of German-Azerbaijani diplomatic relations, professor of International Law at the Ruhr-University Bochum Hans-Joachim Heintze commented on the principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.
"It's wrong to say that people living in Nagorno-Karabakh have any right to self-determination. It's absurd, because this right extends to a nation, and 100-150 thousand people living in Karabakh are not a separate nation," he said. Heintze believes that it's also "incorrect to talk about the existence of contradictions between the right of peoples and nations to self-determination and the principle of territorial integrity." Latest events in Spain are a great example.
"Of course, Western societies are far from ideal, but thanks to their democratic structures they can offer other models of settlement of such conflicts. What can help to resolve the Catalan issue? Improved autonomy, under which both central government and residents of the region would be satisfied," he noted.
At the same time, Hans-Joachim Heintze criticized the West for helping to violate the principle of legal state through its passive position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "A decision must be made, and this decision can't be postponed for 20, 30 or 50 years. We must resolve this conflict as quickly as possible, since everyone recognizes that it can escalate at any moment. The international community should not accept this state of affairs, and the West should make more efforts to resolve this problem," he concluded.
Lavrov: We have no doubts towards Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan
News.am, Armenia
Dec 3 2017
Lavrov: We have no doubts towards Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan Lavrov: We have no doubts towards Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan
22:58, 02.12.2017
Russia appreciates the firm position of Belarus not to politicize the format of the "Eastern Partnership" on the issue of the Russian Federation and develop normal relations with the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.
"We very much appreciated the firm position of Belarus along with a number of other participants in the Eastern Partnership against such attempts," Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Belarussian television channel STV.
"In the final declaration, despite the desire of some participants of the summit, there are no otherworldly things not directly related to the relations of the focus countries with the EU, we see a big role, including Belarus, which did not allow this process to be politicized, ideologized and which sees in it its fundamental interest to develop normal relations with Western Europeans. I think that here we did not discern any discrepancies … We have no doubts and suspicions regarding Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan," the Russian Foreign Minister noted.
Authorities in Azerbaijan face criticism over ‘unjustified’ budget
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 3 2017
Azerbaijan’s parliament passed on Friday a budget for 2018 based on an oil price of $45 per barrel and foreseeing 1.5 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) next year, Reuters reported.
A recent slide in the price of oil, which with gas accounts for about 75 percent of state revenues and 45 percent of GDP, has hit growth, the budget, the balance of payments, the manat currency and foreign exchange reserves.
Azeri GDP declined 0.7 percent year-on-year in January-October this year, and Moody’s said in September it expected the Caucasus republic’s economy to contract for a second consecutive year in 2017. Azeri GDP shrank by 3.8 percent in 2016. The government expects the economy to grow by 1 percent this year.
The budget sees annual inflation slowing to 6.1 percent in 2018 from 13.2 percent anticipated this year. Azerbaijan’s budget deficit is expected to fall to 900 million manats ($529 million) in 2018 from 1.175 billion manats expected this year.
Revenues are seen at 20.1 billion manats in 2018, up from 16.8 billion projected for this year. Spending is expected at 21.1 billion manats, up from 17.9 billion in 2017.
Kavkazuzel news outlet wrote that Azerbaijani independent economists slammed the country’s budget. “The parameters laid at the 2018 budget show it is still vastly dependent on oil. As in previous years, the revenues are made from transfers of the State Oil Fund SOFAZ, which would equate to 45 percent of the budget’s total revenues next year. Given the amount of the taxes by oil companies in Azerbaijan, it will cover only 2/3 part of the budget revenues. That means the reforms declared by the leadership aimed at the development of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan have produced little result,” Gubad Obadoghlu, member of the Public Chamber of Azerbaijan told. He next pointed to the lack of budget transparency, where around 40 percent of the expenditures are closed to the public.
Natig Jafarli of the Republican Alternative Movement (ReAl), in turn, spoke of the necessity of publishing budget implementation data on the finance ministry website, which is not a practice in Azerbaijan. “The public remains unaware where the millions of from oil revenues are spent,” Jafarli said.
The 2018 budget envisages 11% growth on the basic standard of living to stand at 173 manats ($102) for the working population, 144 manats ($84.78) for pensioners and 154 manats for children.
Jafarli insists while drawing the number of the minimal living standard the authorities took no notice of the inflation which has stood at 14% this year. Furthermore, as the expert suggested, the government sought to supplement the budget by taxes and excise fees which would inevitably entail a price hike.
Political commentator Anton Yevstratov was the next who reflected on the Azerbaijani budget labeling it as “miserable”. “In 2018 Azerbaijan will spend $1.6 billion on security and defense. Yet the issue remains for Baku to make payments for the already signed contracts. As usual, Azerbaijan comes up with unjustified costs such as buying MIG-29 և SU-25 bombers which would hardly overcome Armenia’s and Artsakh air defense,” wrote the analyst in Eadaily.com.
Round table "Security and stability in the Black Sea region – challenges and opportunities" was held in Yerevan
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia December 2, 2017 Saturday Round table "Security and stability in the Black Sea region - challenges and opportunities" was held in Yerevan Yerevan December 2 Mariana Mkrtchyan. The experts and diplomats in Yerevan discussed the issues of security and stability in the Black Sea region at the round table "Security and Stability in the Black Sea Region: Challenges and Opportunities", organized by the Embassy of Bulgaria in Armenia in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. As the press service of the Bulgarian embassy told ArmInfo, the round table was devoted to the 10th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to the EU and on the occasion of the forthcoming Bulgarian presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2018. The aim of the event was to create a platform for a balanced discussion of complex issues of security and stability of the Black Sea region from different points of view, and taking into account the interests and interdependent nature of relations between the states of the region. Various groups of experts representing academia and NGOs from Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, as well as regional organizations, exchanged views on the complex security situation in the Black Sea region and challenges in the region as a whole. The event allowed the exchange of views and exploring perspectives on the main problems facing the Black Sea region, which is one of the most dynamic and strategically important zones in Europe. The participants of the event mutually stated that in difficult times to ensure security, it is important to make efforts aimed at maintaining open communication channels, de- escalation and risk management. The event was aimed not only at outlining the main issues arising from various strategic, military and economic interests and priorities in the region, but also in seeking constructive approaches to revitalizing and intensifying regional cooperation by all possible means, including economic opportunities, domestic reforms in regional states and regional economic cooperation. The participants of the meeting noted that Armenia will chair BSEC in 2018, thus having the opportunity to contribute to the activation of regional constructive projects. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan, Bulgaria's Ambassador to Armenia Maria Pavlova, German Ambassador Matthias Kiesler, attended the event. The ambassadors congratulated the Armenian government and the Armenian people on the historic signing of the framework agreement with the European Union.
The National Defense Research University’s Geostrategic Project on the eve of the Agreement with EU
Armenpress News Agency , Armenia December 2, 2017 Saturday The National Defense Research University's Geostrategic Project on the eve of the Agreement with the European Union YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS.Statement by Lieutenant General Hayk Kotanjian, Head, National Defense Research University, MOD, RA, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, at the parliamentary hearings on “Armenia-EU: Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership between the European Union and Armenia”, 1 December, 2017. In July 2017 facing the conclusion of Armenia’s agreement with the European Union, the National Defense Research University, MOD, RA, embarked on the elaboration of the geostrategic initiative of the RA’s integration into China’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) project. It is targeted at the assessment of the possibility of launching a new alternative China-Europe route in the context of the OBOR initiative, by integrating the China-Iran sea transit into the “Persian Gulf-Black Sea” multimodal transport corridor. The given elaboration was previously discussed in July 2017, during the visit of the delegation headed by MG Chan Inli, former Head of the School of Defense Studies of China’s National Defense University, to our University. The project was reviewed with the Chinese side by Azat Davtyan, NDRU Research-Fellow, on 20-28, July, at the international strategic conferences in Xian and Shanghai. In order to review the outcomes of the meetings with the Chinese strategic analysts with the Iranian side, with the support of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the RA Embassy in Iran, Benyamin Poghosyan, my Deputy Head on Research—Head, Institute for National Strategic Studies, and Azat Davtyan, Research-Fellow, took a mission trip to Tehran. On 24 October of this year they attended the international conference “Central Asia and Caucasus”, hosted by the Institute of Political andInternationalStudiesof Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the expert discussions of our joint elaboration in July-November, 2017, Chinese and Iranian specialists have underscored this project designed by the prime RA state think-tank. This very strategic integration project was delivered to the Central Military Commission of the People’s Republic of China. Iranian specialists in particular have highlighted Iran’s interest in providing for the transit route to Europe across Armenia’s territory. The NDRU-developed project is to endow Armenia’s geopolitical role in the region with a new strategic caliber, and raise to a qualitatively new level the European Union’s bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Iran and China with participation of Armenia. Meanwhile, I believe, it is necessary to mention that the further delay of the launch of the interstate discussions on this matter with Iran and China may essentially reduce the possibility of implementing the given program targeted at surmounting Armenia’s strategic isolation.
Zartonk Daily 02.12.2017
Սիրելի ընթերցող,
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Շնորհակալ ենք, որ ընտրած էք «Զարթօնք»
կարդալ:
Սիրով՝
«ԶԱՐԹՕՆՔ»ի
Խմբագրութիւն
Ethnic Armenian MP of Syria, Baroness Caroline Cox of UK discuss community situation
Armenpress News Agency , Armenia December 2, 2017 Saturday Ethnic Armenian MP of Syria, Baroness Caroline Cox of UK discuss community situation YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Representatives of UK’s House of Lords (Upper House of Parliament) have discussed the current state of the Armenian community of Syria, among other issues, during a meeting in the Syrian Parliament. Ethnic Armenian Member of Parliament of Syria Nora Arisyan was also taking part in the meeting. “Numerous issues were discussed during the meeting with representatives of the House of Lords, which concern the restoration and situation of Syria, re-establishment of security. The Armenian community was also discussed”, Arisyan told ARMENPRESS. The ethnic Armenian MP presented to the UK parliamentarians that many churches and schools have been destroyed during the war, and restoration works are underway. Arisyan told President of the delegation Baroness Caroline Cox that Armenians are living in a united and harmonious Syrian friendship, which is in line with cultural diversity.
UN highlights Armenia’s strategic significance for solving refugee problems
Armenpress News Agency , Armenia December 2, 2017 Saturday UN highlights Armenia's strategic significance for solving refugee problems YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Deputy FM of Armenia Ashot Hovakimyan held a meeting with George William Okoth-Obbo,UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Operations. During the meeting the deputy FM highlighted the delegation’s visit, mentioning that Armenia has many years of experience in receiving refugees. He stressed that Armenia has put great efforts in assisting refugees both in the past and present and to care for their needs – especially touching upon the integration experience of Armenian refugees who migrated in the 90s from Azerbaijan, then from Iraq and Syria. The deputy FM briefed the delegation on the latest developments around the NK conflict. He touched upon the displaced rural population of villages located in the line of contact as result of the large scale aggression of Azerbaijan again Artsakh in April 2016, and emphasized the necessity of humanitarian organizations being accessible for all in need equally and without discriminations. Hovakimyan thanked George William Okoth-Obbo for meeting with the residents of Artsakh’s Talish village and getting to know their issues. Hovhakimyan stressed that Armenia continues to assist victims of conflicts in the Middle East, including ethnic and religious minorities. The UN official mentioned that they view Armenia to be a strategically important country in terms of finding solutions of refugee problems, highly praised Armenia’s experience of refugee integration, especially receiving Syrian refugees in recent years and caring for their educational, social and economic needs.