Month: February 2015

NEONATAL CARE EQUIPMENT TO HRAZDAN MEDICAL CENTER

16:31 12/02/2015 >> SOCIETY

VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian and neonatologist Dr
Arshak Djerdjerian, representing “BirthLink,” visited the maternity
department in the Hrazdan medical center today. More than 1,000 babies
are born at this hospital every year; therefore it is essential they
have the facilities to manage premature or sick newborns, the press
service of VivaCell-MTS reports.

The hospital has received equipment for immediate reanimation
and warming of sick and small babies, nasal high flow therapy
for newborns with breathing difficulties, respiratory monitoring,
management of jaundice and the provision of intravenous fluids. The
provided equipment will help support sick and low birth weight babies
after delivery, with provision to stabilize babies before transfer to
Yerevan, if necessary, but also enable the hospital to take care of
some babies without transferring, and staying close to their mothers.

By improving facilities, transfer of some babies can be avoided. In
addition to the equipment being provided, education, training and
support for the medical staff continues.

This is now the seventh year of cooperation between the “BirthLink”
and VivaCell-MTS and within the course of this cooperation twelve
neonatal departments in Yerevan and twenty-three departments in seven
regions of Armenia have received neonatal care equipment and training
for the medical staff. VivaCell-MTS has donated about AMD 535 million
to the project.

“One of the meanings of life is in having an heir to whom you pass your
values, give guidance, and have contribution in making your children
a valuable member of society so that they pass on all these to their
offspring. It is the biggest dream of every family, and it is not hard
to imagine the feelings the parents have when their newborn child is
sick. In such cases, much depends on timely medical aid. Yet, even the
most qualified doctor can be helpless if he does not have the necessary
equipment at his disposition. It will be terrible if the doctors fail
to save the child’s life just because of the lack of equipment. It is
the decreasing these risks that the joint program with “BirthLink” NGO
is targeted at,” commented VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

The “Every Newborn” action plan, led by the World Health Organization
and the UNICEF, believes that nearly 3 million babies and women can
be saved each year through investing in quality healthcare around
the time of birth and special care for sick and small newborns.

More than 80% of all newborn deaths result from preventable and
treatable conditions – in particular complications due to prematurity
and infections. Improving quality of care around the time of birth
will save most lives, but needs healthcare professionals with good
knowledge and well equipped facilities to make the difference.

TOURISM IN ARMENIA TO GROW IN 2015

12:42, 12 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS: The Government of the Republic of
Armenia expects a growth in the sector of tourism of more than 10%
in 2015. The Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Karen
Chshmarityan sated about it at the session of the Government,
presenting the Tourism Assistance Services program 2015, for the
implementation of which 188 million drams will be allocated.

“The events, devoted to the tourism development, will be directed to
the diversification of the tourist services and the expansion of their
kinds. The practice shows that the targeting of the tourist services,
that is the fostering of this or that kind is a very rapid and dynamic
process and in Armenia new tourist directions appear. The program
of this year is very important, as large-scale events, devoted to
the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, are intended to be held. In
this case the tourist companies and hotel economies should be more
attentive. Quite a coordinated and thorough work will be carried
out in their assistance and qualification”, – said Chshmarityan,
Armenpress reports.

From: A. Papazian

NEWLY APPOINTED US AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA: FIRST DAY IN OFFICE

10:27, 12 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS: The newly appointed US Ambassador
to Armenia Richard Mills is already in Armenia and got to his
responsibilities in the office. Armenpress reports that the Embassy
of the United States of America congratulated in its twitter blog the
Ambassador on the occasion of the first day in the office. “First day
of the Ambassador Mills in the office. Welcome”, – says the Embassy
in its twitter blog.

The graduates of the exchange programs of the US Government
sent a welcome video message to Richard Mills. Via its Facebook
page the Embassy suggests not missing the opportunity to dine
with Mills, preparing a 30-second video, continuing the sentence
“Barev (Hello), Rick Mills. Together we can…” and sending it to
[email protected].

As it was earlier reported by Asbarez, President Barack Obama nominated
Richard M. Mills, Jr. as his pick to become the US Ambassador to
Armenia, the White House announced. If confirmed by the Senate,
Mills replaced Ambassador John Heffern. Mills was Deputy Chief of
Mission at the U.S. Embassy Beirut, where he began his tour in 2012.

Richard Mills assumed the role of Charge d’Affaires of the U.S.

Embassy in Malta, ad interim, in June 2011. Since August 2010, he
had been serving as the Deputy Chief of Mission for the Embassy.

Mills joined the Foreign Service in 1988, serving at Embassy Paris as a
consular officer, then as staff aide to the Ambassador. He returned to
Washington to join the Soviet Desk, eventually becoming desk officer
for the newly independent Armenia and Azerbaijan, followed by a tour
as a political officer at the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia.

>From 1996-98 Mills served in the Executive Secretariat, followed by a
tour as economic officer at Embassy Dublin from 1998-2001. Subsequent
tours included Political Advisor at the U.S. Mission to the UN;
Deputy Political Counselor at Embassy Islamabad; and Energy Attache
and Acting Economic Counselor at Embassy Riyadh. Rick was Political
Counselor at Embassy London from 2006-2009.

Immediately prior to his Valletta assignment, Mills served as the
Senior Democracy Advisor at Embassy Baghdad, where he managed $325
million in State Department democracy and human rights programs.

Mills is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign
Service. He also holds a law degree from the University of Texas School
of Law and received a Masters Degree in International Security Affairs
from the National Defense University in 2005. Prior to joining the
Foreign Service, Rick practiced law in Washington D.C.

Mills is married to Leigh Carter, a retired Foreign Service Officer.

Rick’s foreign languages are French and Russian.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

10:10, 12 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS: On the occasion of the Centennial
of the Armenian Genocide, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL)
will host a two-day conference from March 19-20, 2015 entitled
“Crossing the Centennial: The Historiography of the Armenian Genocide
Re-Evaluated” at the Wick Alumni Center – Great Hall, 1520 R Street,
Armenpress reports, citing Massispost.

Organized by Prof. Bedross Der Matossian from the Department of History
at UNL, the conference is sponsored by the Norman and Bernice Harris
Center for Judaic Studies, the National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont, Mass., the Society for
Armenian Studies (SAS), the Department of History, the Faculty Senate
Convocation Committee, the Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
Program, the Women’s and Gender Studies program, and the Institute
of Ethnic Studies at UNL.

The conference will focus on four under-researched themes that
have recently gained scholarly attention and analytical depth:
a) humanitarianism and humanitarian intervention in the Armenian
Genocide; b) women and children in the Armenian Genocide; c)
comparative dimensions of the Armenian Genocide; d) and the impact
of the Armenian Genocide on society, politics, literature, and culture.

Twenty-two scholars from Armenia, Cambodia, Canada, Holland, Hungary,
Israel, and the United States representing 17 different academic
institutions will participate in five panels of the conference.

The conference will start at 2:00pm on Thursday, March 19, with
welcoming remarks by Prof. William G. Thomas III, the chair of the
Department of History at UNL, and opening remarks by Prof. Bedross
Der Matossian from the Department of History.

The first panel, entitled “Humanitarianism and Humanitarian
Intervention” will be moderated by Prof. David Forsythe (UNL), who is
widely regarded as being among the first scholars who have established
the study of human rights and humanitarian affairs in the disciplines
of political science and international relations. The panel will
feature the following speakers and topics: Dr. Hilmar Kaiser (Phnom
Penh, Cambodia), “Humanitarian Intervention and Ottoman Opposition to
Extermination: A Neglected Aspect”; Pe´ter Pa´l Kra´nitz (Pazmany Peter
Catholic University), “Armenian Refugees, Humanitarian Assistance and
Hungary”; and Prof. Mark Toufayan (University of Ottawa), “Between
Intimacy and Alienation: Armenian Property, Denationalization and
the Passions of ‘Protection’ in French Mandated Cilicia, 1918-1923”.

The second panel, which will be the featured one of the Conference,
will be moderated by Prof. Jean Cahan, the director of the Harris
Center for Judaic Studies and will include three speakers: Prof.

Richard G. Hovannisian (University of California-Los Angeles),
“The Centenary of the Armenian Genocide: What Have We Learned?”; Prof.

Michelle Tusan (University of Nevada-Las Vegas), “Humanitarian Empire:
Britain’s Response to the Armenian Genocide,”; and Prof. Keith
Watenpaugh (University of California-Davis), “Armenia, Armenians,
The League of Nations and Modern Humanitarianism.”

The second day of the conference will start at 9:00am and will feature
four panels. The first panel entitled “Women and Children during
the Genocide” will be chaired by Prof. Patrice McMahon, an expert on
international security, conflict, and human rights, and will feature
the following speakers and subjects: Prof. Benny Morris (Ben-Gurion
University), “Women and Children in the Turkish Ethnic Cleansing
of Armenians and Greeks, 1919-1923”; Prof. Carina Karapetian Giorgi
(Pomona College), “Critical Examination of the Historiography of Women
during the Armenian Genocide”; Anna Aleksanyan (Clark University), ”
‘Neutral home’ and the Issue of Identity of the Surviving Armenian
Women and Children”; and Tugce Kayaal (University of Michigan-Ann
Arbor), “A Critique of the Concept of the “Genocide Survivor”:
Armenian Orphans in Aleppo Between the Years of 1915-1918.”

The second panel entitled “The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust”
will be chaired by Prof. Ari Kohen, the director of the Human Rights
and Humanitarian Affairs Program at UNL and will feature the following
speakers and subjects: Umit Kurt (Clark University), “‘Legal’ and
‘Official’ Plundering of Armenian and Jewish Properties during the
Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust within a Comparative Perspective”;
Prof. Stefan Ihrig (Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem), “From the Armenian
Genocide to the Holocaust – A Connected Perspective”; and Prof.

Harutyun Marutyan (National Academy of Sciences of Armenia), “The
Institute of Righteous Among the Nations in the Armenian and the
Jewish Cases.”

The last panel of the conference entitled “Aftermath of the Genocide:
Politics, Culture, Society, and Literature,” will be chaired by Prof.

Chantal Kalisa, an expert on the Rwandan Genocide and director of
the Women’s and Gender Studies program at UNL, and will feature the
following speakers and subjects: Prof. Tsolin Nalbantian (Leiden
University), “Armenian Nation Building through Sport: The Armenian
Olympiad Before and After the Armenian Genocide”; Prof. Heghnar
Watenpaugh (University of California-Davis), “Art, Heritage, and the
Armenian Genocide: Toros Roslin’s Zeytun Gospels between 1915 and
2015”; Prof. Talar Chahinian (California State University-Long Beach),
“Impossible Testimonies: Literature and Aesthetics in the Aftermath of
the Armenian Genocide”; and Dr. Seyhan Bayraktar (Historical Seminar
of the University of Zurich), “The Armenian Genocide and the Politics
of Denial: on Turkey, Civil Society, and EU Recognition Politics.”

Closing remarks will be delivered by Prof. Lloyd Ambrosius from
the Department of History. “It is a great honor for the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln to hold the largest conference in the Midwest
to mark the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide,” said conference
organizer Prof. Der Matossian. “It is not only that we are bringing
scholars from various disciplines to discuss different aspects of the
Armenian Genocide but that we also should think of this Conference as
a unique opportunity for the University community at large to benefit
from the expertise of top scholars in the field and understand better
one of the first genocides of the modern period.”

The poster of the conference was prepared by Ruben Malayan, a renowned
artist from Armenia. The poster displays Malayan’s expression of the
experiences of the Armenian nation (represented by women and children)
on the death marches of the Genocide. The white auras around their
heads symbolize the sanctity of the victims. The stark contrast of
black and white background represents the inhuman suffering people had
to endure before perishing. The work was inspired by a real photograph
of an Armenian family taken during expulsion and extermination of 1915.

MR. AND MRS. NALBANDIANS OF TORONTO FINANCING MAJOR RENOVATION OF SCHOOL OF NALBANDYAN VILLAGE

14:26, 12 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Toronto
benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Armen and Berjouhi Nalbandians have undertaken
the project of major renovations of the school at the Nalbandian
Village in the Armavir region of Armenia.

The Public Relations Department of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
informed “Armenpress” that the school has over 600 students. The
school which was originally built in 1967, is a 3-story building and
together with the gymnasium has a total surface area of about 3,200
square meters (34,700 ft2). The project entails a total redesign of
the floor areas, including the entire stairway, reinforcement of the
walls for seismic endurance, electrical, rebuilding of the floors
with parquet and granite, new washroom facilities for all the floors,
total renovation of the gymnasium and its surrounding facilities, other
internal improvements and general landscaping of the school area. In
the past years, the school had gone through very limited renovations
and replacements such as the roof, the heating system and the doors.

“With this new project Toronto has been continuing its quest of
undertaking school building projects in Armenia and Artsakh.” said
the chair of Toronto Chapter of the Fund, Migirdic Migirdicyan.

LATIN AMERICAN COCAINE SMUGGLERS BUSTED IN YEREVAN: DRUGS WERE HEADED TO TURKEY

15:25, February 12, 2015

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) says it has uncovered a Latin
American drug ring attempting to smuggle cocaine to Turkey via Armenia.

The NSS says that the drugs were hidden in cargo flights from Latin
America to Armenia and then picked up by Bulgarian and Lebanese agents
who would then send the drugs, via air and land, across the border
into Turkey.

The NSS claims it intercepted 2.7 kilos of cocaine on January 27 on
a cargo flight from San Paolo to Yerevan, via Abu Dhabi and 2.6 kilos
on February 9 on the same flight.

Today, the NSS says it intercepted a cache of 4.8 kilos of cocaine in
the possession of two Bulgarian citizens of Arab descent at Yerevan’s
Zvartnots Airport. The two were passengers on a flight to Istanbul.

PEOPLE TO GATHER OUTSIDE ARMENIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE TO DEMAND PERMYAKOV’S TRANSFER TO ARMENIA’S LAW- ENFORCEMENT

by Ashot Safaryan

Thursday, February 12, 10:56

An action of protest will be held outside the Prosecutor General’s
Office in Yerevan at 4:00pm local time on February 12. The action
initiators demand Valery Permyakov’s transfer to the law- enforcement
of Armenia. They demand Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan to
make public his Russia counterpart’s response to the petition for
Permyakov’s transfer to the country’s law-enforcement. The activists
will demand the prosecutor general to give guarantees that Permyakov
will stand trial within the Armenian laws in line with the legal
categories and the international regulatory acts, and not the
Constitution of the other country, namely Russia.

A family of six was killed by Russian soldier Valery Permyakov in
Gyumri on Jan 12. The only survivor, six-month-old Seryozha Avetisyan,
who received stab wounds, died in hospital on Jan 19. On 14 January
Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office reported that they did not
discuss the issue of handing over of Permyakov to the Armenian party,
as according to the Russian legislation, a Russian citizen cannot be
handed over to another country. But after numerous protest actions
near the 102-nd Russian military base in Gyumri and the meeting at the
president’s residence, Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan
said that the investigation of the case will be held according to the
legislation of Armenia and Russia through comparing the legislative
acts of the two countries. He emphasized that the criminal will
be imprisoned at the territory of Armenia and the process will be
transparent in order to avoid public resonance.

VANADZOR MURDER CASE SUSPECT CONFRONTED WITH POLICE OFFICER WHO TORTURED HIM

02.12.2015 16:03 epress.am

Karen Kungortsev, who is charged with the murder of 15-year old
Davit Hovakimyan in a scandalous murder case, is now involved in a
criminal case related to his being tortured by police. The Special
Investigative Service (SIS) has initiated a criminal case based
on RA Criminal Code article 309.2, “actions willfully committed
by an official which obviously exceed his authorities committed
with violence, weapons, or special measures”. In an interview with
Epress.am, The Helsinki Association for Human Rights NGO president
Mikayel Danielyan discussed the fact that their organization had
been raising the issue of Kungortsev’s torture for over a year,
however no entity gave any attention to it.

“According to our reliable information, a confrontation has already
taken place between Kungortsev and a high-ranking police official in
order to clarify the fact of Kungortsev’s torture. The police official
was one of the officers who beat Kungortsev. Other investigative
processes also occurred, various people, connected to Kungortsev’s
beating and the attempt to frame him, were questioned,” said Danielyan.

According to the latter, when the preliminary investigation of the
case ended and it was handed over to the courts for trial process,
it became clear that Kungortsev’s rights, as well as those of multiple
otherwitnesses, mostly minors, have been grossly violated

“Despite the fact that the investigation of the case is still ongoing,
it is already clear that the charge against Kungortsev is obviously
baseless, and he is imprisoned instead of someone else,” stated the
Helsinki Association’s director.

Recall, Karen Kungortsev does not admit guilt, and human rights
defenders and his attorney indicate violations recorded during the
preliminary investigations.

While behind bars, the accused has resorted to self harm, as well as
beginning a hunger strike. His mother said that her son was beaten
by police while under police custody and forced to confess.

The charges against Kungortsev were changed from murder to attempted
murder last August. At the same time, the investigation accused and
detained Vanadzor Medical Center company doctor Vladimir Ghukasyan for
unfair treatment and improper implementation of professional duties.

DEAD SOLDIER’S RELATIVES FIND OFFICIAL VERSION OF DEATH UNREASONABLE

02.12.2015 17:20 epress.am

The relatives of lieutenant Tigran Simonyan, who died in NKR on
February 10, do not consider the details of the incident, presented to
them by the military commissariat staff members, reasonable, reported
the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office, whose representatives
have once again visited the Simonyan family.

According to the information presented by the military commissariat
staff, the incident occurred at a military post, when Tigran and
his fellow serviceman heard a dog barking; they came out to check
the situation. The young men ran in different directions and at one
point met each other, at which point the soldier’s fellow released
a shot which gave Tigran a fatal wound.

However, the relatives do not consider this situation to be reasonable,
because they don’t think the young men would shoot toward each other,
especially if they knew there was the possibility of coming face to
face with each other in the area.

“I don’t want to blame anyone, but my Tigran had problems with no one,”
said Tigran’s mother, Armanush Simonyan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GYURMI PROTEST PARTICIPANT CHARGED WITH HOOLIGANISM

02.12.2015 17:03 epress.am

The prosecutor of Shirak marz has charged 22-year old Sarnaghpyur
resident Mnatsakan Aleksanyan with hooliganism, based on the RA
Criminal Code article 25.4, said Aleksanyan’s lawyer Hayk Harutyunyan
to Epress.am. According to him, they found out about the charge today,
when Aleksanyan was called to the investigative unit and was given
the corresponding documents. They also demanded a testimony from
Aleksanyan about the incidents, however the latter found it right to
refuse giving testimony.

Recall, that Aleksanyan was the only one arrested in the framework
of a criminal case initiated over the clashes with police during the
protests on January 15, with articles of hooliganism and violence
against representatives of the authorities. Thousands of people
demonstrated on the day in front the Shirak’s Prosecutor’s office
demanding that the murder suspect of the 7 members of the Avetisyan
family Russian soldier Valery Permyakov be transferred and tried by
Armenian law enforcement. Many witnesses from Gyurmi, Yerevan, and
other provinces to the framework of the case related to the protest
have been examined.

Aleksanyan was called in to be questioned as a witness on January 17.

On February 4 he was called in again as a witness to the investigative
unit but was arrested on the spot . After around two days in custody,
Aleksanyan was released with the assurance that he’d stay in the
country.