Month: July 2014

UK LAWMAKER SLAMS ALIYEV OVER PACE MEETING

Monday, June 30th, 2014

Member of the U.K. Parliament, Paul Flynn

In a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE), Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev — whose country now
heads the Council of Europe – lashed out at European lawmakers, who
sought to question Aliyev about his regime’s deplorable human rights
record and his country’s legitimacy in leading the Council of Europe.

U.K. Member of Parliament Paul Flynn was one of the lawmakers at the
PACE meeting who questioned Aliyev and who subsequently received an
angry response. Flynn has written about Aliyev and the meeting in
his public blog. The full article is below.

* * *

The Bully of Baku Rages

BY PAUL FLYNN Member of Parliament for Newport West, U.K.

Azerbaijan’s President is no joke.

Aliyev revealed himself as a braggart and a bully in Strasbourg this
week. To others he is a sinister menacing threat, growing richer by
the month, who could bring war back to the Caucasus. Human rights
organizations have warned that Azerbaijan does not qualify to chair
the Council of Europe – the world’s leading defenders of human rights.

I was given 30 seconds to ask him a question in the Council of Europe
meeting in Strasbourg. I asked him:

“I have met bloggers and journalists who have been falsely accused
and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, elections have been rigged. Will your
presidency mean that Azerbaijan will be elevated to the COE standard
of human rights or will other states see their standards of human
rights degraded to your deplorable level?”

He lost his temper as he did with all challenging questioners. He
accused me of lying. He added to his previous hyperbole of his
country’s immaculate human rights record by denying the two charges
I had briefly made.

Perhaps Mr. Aliyev should read the OCSE monitors’ report on his 2013
election. “The 9 October election was undermined by limitations on
the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association that did not
guarantee a level playing field for candidates. Continued allegations
of candidate and voter intimidation and a restrictive media environment
marred the campaign. Significant problems were observed throughout all
stages of Election Day processes and underscored the serious nature of
the shortcomings that need to be addressed in order for Azerbaijan to
fully meet its OSCE commitments for genuine and democratic elections.”

The counting was assessed in overwhelmingly negative terms, with 58
per cent of observed polling stations assessed as bad or very bad,
indicating serious problems. In 15 observed counts, IEOM (International
Election Observation Mission) observers reported manipulation of
voter list entries, results or protocols, including cases of votes
being reassigned to a different candidate.

IEOM observers reported clear indications of ballot box stuffing in
37 polling stations. They also reported from seven polling stations
that voters who had already been inked were allowed to vote. IEOM
observers noted a number of procedural violations, the most widespread
concerned lack of safeguards against multiple voting: in 19 per cent
of polling stations visited, voters were not always checked for traces
of invisible ink, and in 11 per cent, ink was not always applied. Other
violations included ballot boxes which were not sealed properly (4 per
cent) and series of seemingly identical signatures on the voter list
(4 per cent). Group voting was observed in 7 per cent of polling
stations visited. In 9 per cent of polling stations observed, not
all voters marked their ballots in secrecy. IEOM observers reported
isolated cases of intimidation and attempts to influence voters’
choice. In 8 per cent of those polling stations visited that had
cameras installed, IEOM observers assessed that their placement did
not completely safeguard the secrecy of the vote.

This is the election that President Aliyev assesses fair. Hugh
Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights
Watch said:

“It’s sheer irony that Azerbaijan presides over a body whose standards
it so flagrantly violates. The Council of Europe’s leadership should
not miss this opportunity to urge Aliyev to free people who are
behind bars for nothing more than speaking their minds and to allow
independent groups to operate.”

In October 2011 I wrote this on my blog: “Jailed blogger freed”

It was a real pleasure to meet Emin Milli in parliament this week. I
have campaigned against his arrest in July 2009 by the security forces
of the Azerbaijan Government. Their alleged crime was mocking the
oppressive government.

Emin shook me warmly by the hand and thanked me. He told me he read
this account of my EDM when he was in prison:

“A group of UK politicians is demanding the immediate release of the
Azerbaijani bloggers arrested in Baku last week. In the equivalent
of an MPs’ petition, 17 politicians condemn what they say is a
‘rapidly deteriorating human rights situation’ in Azerbaijan. The
MPs want the British government to put pressure on President Aliyev
to release the two and end the “prosecution of independent media and
opposition activists.

“In the motion, Labour MP Paul Flynn says the MPs condemn ‘the attacks
and imprisonment of youth activists in Azerbaijan on 10 July 2009.’

“He and the 17 other MPs are calling on the UK government to demand
their immediate release. They also call for the end to what they say
is the ‘prosecution of independent media and opposition activists.'”

Unfortunately the arrests of journalists and bloggers continue. Not a
whisper of regret from Aliyev. He boasted that only 800 demonstrators
had protested against his election last year. No surprise, as previous
demonstrators were beaten to pulp by Aliyev’s police.

Aliyev’s vast oil wealth is being used to seduce the world and convince
us of his bottomless virtue. Inevitably his speech this week contained
the usual complaint about the West’s lack of intervention in the
22 year frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh. Aliyev hinted on some
action. Observers of the conflict expressed fears to me that he may
be planning military action. Our best hope to avoid bloodshed is to
ensure the conflict remains in permafrost.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DIGITECH 2014 : BONNE OCCASION POUR EN APPRENDRE DAVANTAGE SUR LES NOUVELLES TECHNOLOGIES POUR LES ENTREPRISES LOCALES

L’économie souterraine d’Arménie peut être réduite sans pertes
avec l’application des technologies modernes dans les affaires,
et les hommes d’affaires en Arménie peuvent en apprendre davantage
sur une large sélection de ces technologies d’ores et déja, dans
le cadre de l’ouverture Forum International d’Affaires DigiTech.

> est la devise
de cet événement de deux jours qui comprendra une exposition, des
présentations d’affaires, des ateliers, des séances plénières, etc

Karen Vardanyan, directeur exécutif de l’Union des entreprises
des technologies de l’information (UITE), l’organisateur du forum,
a déclaré aux médias que le forum a été organisé en 2008 dans
le but d’élever le niveau d’application des technologies en Arménie
qui était faible a l’époque.

>.

Dmitry Slobodenyuk, un représentant de la société ARinteg, qui
est entré récemment sur le marché arménien et est l’organisateur
du forum d’affaires russo-arménien, a déclaré qu’en Arménie sa
société devra développer des approches entièrement nouvelles
en vue d’un objectif principal – les institutions financières,
notamment les banques.

> a déclaré
Slobodenyuk.

Le secteur des technologies et de l’information est l’un des secteurs
les plus en développement en Arménie, où 380 entreprises emploient
aujourd’hui environ 11 000 spécialistes, avec un chiffre d’affaires
annuel total du secteur estimé a plus de 379 millions de dollars. Le
secteur a enregistré une croissance annuelle moyenne de 22,8 pour
cent en 2008-2013.

Selon les experts, la pénurie de main-d’oeuvre et l’application
inadéquate des technologies dans les entreprises locales sont les
principaux obstacles a la poursuite du développement du secteur
en Arménie.

Par Sara Khojoyan

ArmeniaNow

lundi 30 juin 2014, Stéphane (c)armenews.com

LE PARLEMENT ADOPTE DE JUSTESSE LES AMENDEMENTS DU GOUVERNEMENT SUR LES RETRAITES

Armenie

Les députés arméniens ont adopté en première lecture une
série d’amendements du gouvernement rédigés a propos des pensions
financées rendues nécessaires par la décision du 2 Avril de la Cour
constitutionnelle qui a jugé certaines parties de la loi contraires
a la Constitution.

La majorité de l’Assemblée nationale représentée par le Parti
républicain d’Arménie (RPA) qui contrôle 69 sièges dans le corps
de 131 membres a assuré le passage étroit des amendements par 67
voix >, sans voix contre ou des abstentions. (Au moins 66
députés devaient prendre part au vote pour qu’il soit considéré
comme valide).

Mais l’opposition a affirmé que le scrutin a donné lieu a des
violations, accusant certains des membres du RPA de voter au lieu de
leurs collègues.

Les revendications ont été balayées par le chef de faction
parlementaire du RPA Vahram Baghdasaryan et le président du Parlement
Galust Sahakian, qui ont dit que tout avait été fait en conformité
avec les règlements.

Selon les nouveaux amendements, a compter du 1er Juillet, les
employés du secteur public nés après 1973 seront tenus de faire
des > mensuels d’un montant de cinq
pour cent de leurs salaires. Ces paiements viennent remplacer les
cotisations de retraite reconnus comme étant inconstitutionnelle
auparavant. Contrairement aux cotisations de retraite qui auraient dÔ
être faits directement a des fonds de pension privés, les nouveaux
> seront faits en direction du budget
de l’Etat. Participer au nouveau système de retraite restera une
option pour les employés du secteur privé jusqu’en Juillet 2017,
date a laquelle ils seront également tenus de commencer a verser
des supplémentaires sociaux.

Au cours du débat qui a précédé les députés de l’opposition
ont critiqué le gouvernement pour ne pas avoir tenu sa promesse
de supprimer l’élément obligatoire de la loi, l’accusant en outre
de faire de la discrimination entre les employés du secteur public
et privé.

Les militants de Dem.am, un groupe civique luttant contre la composante
obligatoire de la réforme des retraites, a également indiqué son
intention de continuer a s’opposer a la loi controversée.

lundi 30 juin 2014, Stéphane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

ZHOGHOVURD: ROBERT KOCHARYAN SEEKS MEETING WITH PUTIN

10:30 01/07/2014 >> DAILY PRESS

Citing reliable sources, Zhoghovurd writes that Armenian second
President Robert Kocharyan has long been trying to meet with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, but his efforts have so far produced
no result.

According to the newspaper’s sources, Kocharyan tries to organize
the meeting with the help of AFK Sistema company’s head Vladimir
Yevtushenkov. The goal of the meeting is to find out Russian
President’s mood as to whether Kocharyan can become the next President
of Armenia and whether he can expect Russia’s support in that issue.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR ARMENIA – NEWSPAPER

July 01, 2014 | 08:37

YEREVAN. – Today is July 1, the deadline, which was specified one month
ago at the founding meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU), for
preparing Armenia’s EaEU accession agreement, Zhamanak daily reported.

“And today, in fact, we can say that the deadline has expired, yet
the events did not develop in any way.

“At first glance, we can thus be satisfied in the sense that the
ill-fated membership is not taking place. On the other hand, however,
it is apparent that shadowy events are developing under this topic,
in which Armenia’s cards, Armenia’s name exist, but Armenia does not.

“And this is a very dangerous situation, since processes are taking
place between a variety of countries around Armenia’s name, to which
[i.e., the processes] Armenia is not only participating in, not
affecting these processes, but rather it just waits–as ordered–for
what the solution will be and what instructions will come from Russia,
as per those solutions,” Zhamanak wrote.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIA CONDUCTS MILITARY EXERCISES IN ARMENIA

Tuesday 1 July 2014 09:57
Photo: Reuters/Scanpix

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Large-scale command-staff exercises are conducted
at the 102nd Russian base in Armenia, which will last until the end
of the week.

As the press-service of the Southern Military District of Russian
Armed Forces told Mediamax, over 200 units of military equipment and
600 servicemen take part in the exercises.

At the training complexes in Alagyaz and Kamhud tanks, armored infantry
fighting vehicles, armored troop carriers and artillery were set in
motion in the integrated exercises.

Buk-M1-2 and S-300V missile systems as well as MiG-29 airplanes will
support the exercises.

Squadrons of unmanned aviation vehicles are also used in the exercises.

“Such exercises are held twice a year and aim to prepare all
categories of Russian servicemen performing their military service
outside of the Russian Federation and to set up a real system ensuring
Armenia’s security within Collective Security Agreement”, reported
the press-service of the Southern Military District.

CHORRORD ISHKHANUTYUN: LANGUAGE INSPECTION’S TIGHTER RULES NEW SOURCE OF INCOME?

09:13 * 01.07.14

Commenting on the Language Inspection’sdecision to establish fines
for any government agency that would fail to provide a simultaneous
translation of a public event into Armenian, the paper says that the
measure could be a good source of income for the inspection.

According to the paper, Armenia’s membership in the Russia-led Eurasian
Economic Union could offer the considerable benefits.

“Russian and ‘Eurasian’ officials get irritated upon hearing their
speech translated into Armenian, so the chiefs of Armenia’s government
offices may pay the [fine of] 200 Drams from their pockets not to
make them angry. Or else, they may include the sum in the in the event
arrangement costs or pay the entire money to the Language Inspection
in advance to conduct all the events in the ‘working language’,”
writes the paper.

Armenian News – Tert.am

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: ELECTRIC NETWORKS OF ARMENIA ON BRINK OF BANKRUPTCY

Tuesday,
July
01

Electric Networks of Armenia Company (ENA) released its 2013 financial
statement with the conclusions of Ernst & Young accounting firm.

‘Haykakan Zhamanak’ daily writes that ENA’s losses amount to 4 billion
470 million drams. This circumstance along with several others bears
evidence of uncertainty that may call in question the company’s
ability to continue to work uninterruptedly, according to Ernst &
Young’s audit results.

In other words, ENA is on the brink of bankruptcy. For this reason
Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission decided to raise the
electricity tariff and will hold a sitting today.

TODAY, 10:55

Aysor.am

DERSIM AND THE ARMENIANS OF DERSIM

June 30, 2014

Tunceli, Dersim

Civilnet.am has prepared a documentary on Dersim and the Armenians in Dersim.

The idea of founding the Union or Dersim Armenians belongs to
Salaheddin Gultekin. He renounced his name Salaheddin and became
Mihran. In the same way, after long tribulations, he managed to have
“Christian” written on his identity card instead of “Muslim”. Mihran’s
relatives did not appreciate his actions, and their first reaction
was that they are being exposed.

The head of Dersim Armenians in Istanbul is Ismail Cem Halavurt who
says that “the Union of Dersim Armenians aims to unite the Armenians
of Istanbul and Dersim. Its aim is to bring Armenians who were forced
to abandon their own community, religion, language, because of the
ongoing cultural genocide following the Armenian Genocide, back to
their identity after a hundred-year break”.

Just like many other Dersim residents, Ismail Cem Halavurt has been
baptized. His baptism took place in Armenia. “I was asked to choose a
name during my baptism, and I chose Stepan. I like that name because
of a hero named Stepan in the book, “The 40 Days of Musa Ler” which
tells the story of the resistance of the Armenians from Musa Ler. The
book had a great impact on me. Stepan was the son of the resistance
commander” says Halavurt.

The Dersim territory, which is now officially called Tuceli, is
situated in the eastern part of modern Turkey. It coincides with the
Tsopq or Fourth Hayq administrative district of Historical Armenia.

According to Armenian tradition, the name Dersim came from the region’s
spiritual leader Der Simon, who convinced the local population to
convert to Alevi religion in the 17th century, thus escaping the
deportations. After the Armenian Genocide, many Armenians continued
living in the mountainous region.

“From a religious point of view, the majority of Dersim Armenians live
as Alevis, and from the national identity perspective- as Kurds or
Zaza, the majority is Zaza. But it does not matter, as I said, Dersim
is different. All the Kurds in Dersim know which family is Armenian.

That is never forgotten. Go to Dersim and say names, they will
confirm those are Armenians, or if you say a village name, they’ll
say it’s an Armenian village. That is never forgotten. Because they
managed to preserve their identity in various ways. They’ve always
lived together, the most beautiful tradition of Dersim Armenians was
inter-marriage. They never married girls from other areas. That is how
they managed self-preservation and survive as a unit” says Halavurt.

Savas Sahin was born in Dersim, in Kizilcik village of the Mazkert
region of Dersim; he’s a Kurd-Alevi. ” The village were I was born is
an old Armenian village” says Sahin. “When I was little, about 8 years
old, I remember the vineyards and mulberry trees in the village. When
we strolled around with my grandfather, he told me those were left
by the Armenians. So up to this day, we eat the grapes and mulberries
planted by the Armenians”.

In recent years, Union member Altinkaya often visits Dersim. His
family left during the 1938 Dersim massacres. “There are many hidden
Armenians in Dersim. I became acquainted with them two years ago, as
well as last year, during the Dersim festival. Without our asking,
they came to us and said that their grandfather or grandmother was
Armenian; that is they had Armenian roots. There are many hidden
Armenians” said Altinkaya.

Ismail Cem Halavurt

“I cannot say the exact number of Armenian in Dersim” says Halavurt.

“There are Armenian villages that have about 30 households with
3-4 members each. There are Armenians in Dersim who feel themselves
Armenian, but have nothing to do with Christianity having abandoned
their language and religion. They are Islamized, but not fully
accepted by Muslims or Alevis. After 1915, a portion of Armenians
was Islamized and they indeed live as Muslims. That is not the case
of Dersim Armenians. They adopted the Alevi religion, which is a very
tolerant religion, that’s why we cannot claim they are Islamized. They
don’t even consider themselves Muslims, and although Muslim is stated
in their documents, they have nothing to do with Islam, and there is
very little Alevi influence, and that’s on the culture, not on the
religion” says Halavurt.

“Some Armenians hide their true identity”, says Sahin. “There was a
house in the neighboring village, everyone said- Look Armenians live
there, and we looked at them strangely. They were the only Armenians I
knew, but years later, especially during the last 4-5 years, several
families started revealing their true identity more easily”.

The Union of Dersim Armenians currently has 80 members, but the leaders
state that if work is done among Dersim Armenians, the number could
grow from 500 to 1000. “Religion is not a precondition for being a
member, being Armenian is. Being Christian is not a precondition, and
Dersim Armenians coming to Istanbul are inclined towards the church”
says Halavurt, “they give their children Armenian names, want to live
by their own language and religion. But not all members of the Union
are Christian. If we stress the religion, we will separate Dersim
Armenians from one another”.

Speaking about the programs of the Union’s Cem Halavurt says: “our
main goal is to have a representation in Dersim, carry out some work
towards preserving the Saint Garabed Armenian church. The Saint Garabed
church, which operated until 1938, has a great importance both for
Armenians and Kurd-Alevis. Besides, we plan to implement some plans
towards the social and economic development of Armenian villages of
Dersim. We also want to be a bridge between the Dersim Armenians and
the Patriarchate in Istanbul, because if a Dersim Armenian goes to
the Patriarchate alone and wants to get baptized, he has to prove he
is an Armenian. So, on the one hand we prove to the state that we are
Armenians, and on the other hand- we prove this to the Patriarchate.

This is a very heavy burden for us Armenians. There is this perception
among Dersim Armenians that the Armenian community does not accept us,
since we have changed our names and abandoned our culture. And when
you go to the Patriarchate, which demands proof of your Armenianess,
setting criteria for you, usually the Dersim Armenian retreats,
takes a step back and gives up. Of course the Patriarchate has also
its reasons to act so. In this case, the Unioon of Dersim Armenians
tries to create relations based on mutual trust, acting as a bridge
between the Patriarchate and Dersim Armenians”.

The Dersim Armenians living in Istanbul give their children Armenian
names, send them to Armenian schools and take steps in learning
Armenian. Cem Halavurt also thinks about learning Armenian. In 2013,
the residents of Dersim commemorated the Armenian Genocide in their
native Dersim.

ARGENTINE JOURNALIST WAS AWARDED HRANT DINK CERTIFICATE OF HONOR

09:59, 1 July, 2014

YEREVAN, JULY 1, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee of South
America awarded the famous Argentine journalist Reynaldo Sietekas with
Hrant Dink certificate of honor. When receiving the award, Sietekas
admitted that it was a great honor for him to receive the certificate
of honor bearing the name of Hrant Dink. He noted that he had studied
Hrant Dink’s story and journalistic activities and believed that the
award was a signal that he should continue to work honorably.

Prensa armena.com reports that Sietekas said that he had his own view
of Armenia and the Armenian issue and as a person, who defends human
rights and spreads humanitarian ideas, could not, both as a person
and as a journalist, be indifferent toward the Armenian Genocide.

“When I was collecting documents and materials on the Armenian
Genocide, I could see the pain in the eyes of the people who were in
any way related to these terrible events. But the feeling of pain has
a meaning and significance. Such a pain is the symbol of the existence
of consciousness”- as reports “Armenpress”, said Sietekase receiving
the award, adding that Hrant Dink was a great humanist and he was
killed because he was critical to the intolerance against national
minorities which was a part of the state policy of Turkey. The awarding
ceremony was attended by the representatives of the political, social
and media elite of Argentina.

The Argentine Armenians have been granting such awards since 2001.

After the tragic murder of Istanbul-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
in 2007, the certificate of honor bore his name. During all this
time, such certificates have been granted to as many as 22 Argentine
journalists.