Month: April 2010

ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS CONDEMNS GOVERNMENT’S DENIAL OF OSCE ODIHR REPORT

Tert.am
12:09 ~U 31.03.10

The Armenian National Congress (HAK) has released a statement
condemning the ruling authorities and governmental bodies for denying
a recent report by OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) on the events of March 1, 2008.

The report, having thoroughly studied and evaluated the process
of about 100 criminal cases, revealed dozens of facts and tough
violations of such rights as a person’s right to freedom, presumption
of innocence, the principle of equality of sides, sentencing people
based only on evidence given by the police and extorted through
terrorizing and degrading treatment.

The HAK statement says that the RA Ministry of Justice denies "unlawful
actions and mistakes" committed by a law enforcement body (especially
the Prosecutor’s Office) which it has nothing to do with, while the
Ministry is forgetful of the fact that it has no such authority,
neither by the Constitution nor by law.

Further, the Armenian National Congress says that the RA Court
of Cassation, in turn, maintains its right to express opinions and
provide assessments in relation to March 1 events, while most of the
appeals weren’t even examined or heard in court.

"These two state bodies, unaware of March 1 cases, are shamelessly
objecting and trying to deny what happened in front of thousands
of citizens, they are faking known realities and facts, they
are distorting what is objective and real, they are trying to
smear and smother what international co-rapporteurs observed and
registered," reads the statement, adding that instead of hunting
down the perpetrators, the ruling authorities have settled down to
the short-sighted and disreputable task of denying what was stated
by the report.

SERZH SARGSYAN ACCEPTED OBAMA’S INVITATION TO ATTEND NUCLEAR SUMMIT

Tert.am
12:33 ~U 31.03.10

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has accepted US President Barack
Obama’s invitation to attend the April 12-13 nuclear summit to be
held in Washington, said Sargsyan’s press secretary Armen Arzumanyan,
noting that the delegation headed by Sargsyan will be in Washington
on those days.

The US President, in his invitation to Sargsyan, said:

"Taking into account the dedication displayed by the Republic of
Armenia toward the fight against security and nuclear terrorism, I
would like to invite you to participate in the Nuclear Security Summit,
which will take place April 12-13, 2010, at the Washington Convention
Center. The purpose of the summit is to deepen our entire understanding
of the threat of nuclear terrorism and the danger of spreading nuclear
materials with the aim of using them for civil and military means.

"As individuals who bear the responsibility for nuclear materials,
we must pledge to reduce its availability wherever possible and apply
the highest standards in securing the remains of nuclear materials."

TURKISH AND RUSSIAN MEDIA RECALL STEPAN ZATIKYAN IN AFTERMATH OF MOSCOW BOMBINGS

Tert.am
12:50 â~@¢ 31.03.10

Just two days after the March 29 twin bombings in the Moscow metro, the
Russian media recalled a January 8, 1977 bombing in Moscow allegedly
organized and implemented by Armenian nationals Stepan Zatikyan,
Hakob Stepanyan and Zaven Baghdasaryan who were arrested and shot dead.

Reported by Russian daily Moskovskiy Komsomolets, the news article
has found a wide response also in Turkish media, including Today’s
Zaman and Cihan news agency.

"The Moscow metro was built in the 1930s and since then it has been
subjected to numerous terroristic attacks. But the first act of
terrorism was carried out by a racist Armenian group in January 8,
1977. In an attempt to join Karabakh and Nakhijevan to Armenia, which
belong to Azerbaijan, the Armenian racists attacked the Moscow metro,
killing innocent people…

The investigation uncovered that the attack was carried out by Stepan
Zatikyan, Hakob Stepanyan and Zaven Baghdasaryan, Armenian citizens
based in Yerevan. They were students at the Yerevan Polytechnic
Institute. They had founded an underground National United Party and
were publishing Paros (Lighthouse) newspaper. They demanded Armenia’s
independence… The first attack on the Moscow metro left 7 dead and
37 injured," reports Cihan.

Sentenced to death following his arrest, Zatikyan had not pleaded
guilty and his final words were "You do not have the right to judge
me because the Ä´hud-Russian empire is not a legal state."

RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL ON POSSIBLE GEORGIAN LINK IN MOSCOW BOMBINGS

Tert.am
13:15 ~U 31.03.10

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said investigators
looking into the Moscow metro bombings were working on all the possible
versions, including Georgia’s possible involvement, reports Georgian
news site Civil.ge.

In an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax, Patrushev was
asked by the journalist: "There is an opinion that terrorist acts in
Moscow could have been organized from abroad. Do you believe that?"

"All the versions need to be checked," Patrushev responded. "For
example, there is Georgia and its leader Saakashvili, whose actions
are unpredictable."

"Unfortunately, a number of countries provide him with support,
including military assistance. We state that it is unacceptable. He
has already waged a war once. It is not ruled out that he will do
that again."

"We had information that individual agents of Georgian special
services were keeping contacts with terrorist organizations in the
Russian North Caucasus. We need to check this version too in respect
of the Moscow terrorist acts," Patrushev added.

NEW VISA APPLICATION TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED, SAYS US EMBASSY IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
13:21 ~U 31.03.10

Due to technical issues, the US State Department’s Bureau of Consular
Affairs announced that deployment of the new DS-160 visa application
has been temporarily suspended. As soon as the technical issues are
resolved, the Embassy will announce a new implementation date.

In the meantime, applicants can continue to use the current online
visa application, the Electronic Visa Application Form (EVAF),
according to a release issued by the US Embassy in Armenia.

IPHONES NOW AVAILABLE IN ARMENIA, BUT ONLY FOR ORANGE CUSTOMERS

Tert.am
13:46 ~U 31.03.10

Orange Armenia, a subsidiary of France Telecom, officially presented
the iPhone in Armenia today. At the launch today, CEO Bruno Duthoit
said that bringing iPhone to Armenia was possible thanks to cooperation
between France Telecom and Apple.

The company will offer three models to its customers: the 8GB iPhone
3G will sell for 245,000 AMD (about $625 USD); the 16GB iPhone 3GS
will sell for 299,000 AMD (about $760 USD); and the 32GB iPhone 3GS
will go for 350,000 AMD (about $890 USD).

According to Orange Armenia Marketing Director Aram Lazarian, the
company will be offering four tariff plans with the sale of their
phones. Furthermore, he said, the iPhone will only work with an Orange
SIM card.

Duthoit didn’t wish to mention how many iPhones the company plans
to sell in Armenia, saying that that’s a trade secret between Orange
Armenia and Apple. He did note, however, that the company could sell
a few hundred of these phones.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

INFLATION IN ARMENIA WILL BE CLOSE TO BUDGET TARGET

Tert.am
14:14 ~U 31.03.10

This year we’ll see an inflation that’ll be close to the target index
based on the budget, said RA Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan at
a press conference today.

Earlier, it had been reported that the target inflation, stipulated
by budgetary law, level was restricted to 4 ± 1.5%; however, Armenian
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan had recently announced that a level
of 6.5% is more likely.

In order to soften the blow of a rise in gas prices, the government
will be raising family benefits by 3,500 AMD beginning on May 1 and
pension payments by 2,500 AMD beginning on Nov. 1.

That’s as much as we can do, said the finance minister.

TURKISH LAWYER APPEALS TO COURT TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Tert.am
14:31 ~U 31.03.10

A Turkish lawyer has submitted a claim to an Ankara court, demanding
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, reports Turkish local daily
Milliyet.

The claim filed by attorney Bendal Celil Ezman demands the Turkish
state recognize the Armenian Genocide in the waning days of Ottoman
Empire in 1915, to condemn Talat Pasha and rename all the streets
that have been named in his honour.

This court case is the first of its kind, said Ezman, "Turkey must
settle its history and past."

Ezman is one of few Turks who signed the online campaign launched
in Turkey called "I Apologize to Armenians." With that campaign,
Turks were apologizing to Armenians for the genocide their ancestors
committed in the early 20th century.

Asked whether he wasn’t afraid of possible counteractions he might
face, Ezman said: "If anything happens to me, it’ll be God’s will."

‘AZERBAIJANI GENOCIDE’ WAS INVENTED BY AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS: HOVHANNES SAHAKYAN

Tert.am
14:40 ~U 31.03.10

The commemoration of March 31 as a day of "Azerbaijani Genocide"
was made up by the Azerbaijani authorities, said Republican Party of
Armenia MP Hovhannes Sahakyan at a press conference today.

"I don’t know what came over Azerbaijani officials to invent the
‘Azerbaijani Genocide’; probably the frenzy to catch up with Armenians,
or the longing to act as a victim, or the wish to ‘enrich’ their
non-existing history with a black page. Maybe they could include in
their days of commemoration also the commemoration of the victims of
the earthquake that did not take place, may be they can use it for
propaganda purposes too," said Sahakyan.

According to him, we can only convey our condolences to the Azerbaijani
people for having such "genocidal" authorities.

According to News.az, "Today sees the 92nd anniversary of the killings
of thousands of Azerbaijanis as Armenians went on the rampage at
the end of March 1918… Azerbaijan’s former president Heydar Aliyev
issued a decree on March 26, 1998, that March 31 should be marked as
the Azerbaijani Genocide Day."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HARUT SASSOUNIAN AWARDED GRATITUDE MEDAL BY NKR PRESIDENT

Tert.am
14:46 ~U 31.03.10

On March 30, Nagorno-Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan signed a
decree awarding president of the United Armenian Fund, vice-chair
of the Lincy Foundation Harut Sassounian the Gratitude Medal for
considerable philanthropic activity, according to a release issued
by the NKR presidential central information department.