Month: February 2015

ZHIRAYR SEFILYAN: GENERALS WERE FLATTERING SERZH SARGSYAN AND ARTHUR AGHABEKYAN WAS PRAISING SASHIK

15:01 | February 11,2015 | Politics

Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan has confessed that they have been
dreaming to join the Eurasian Economic Union for many years, Karabakh
war veteran Zhirayr Sefilyan told reporters in Yerevan on February 11.

“We were saddened to hear the words from a person who heads the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and for whom many people have shed their
blood. They were troubled that Armenia was able to accede to EEU
while Karabakh could not, and now they are looking for ways to fulfill
their dream,” said Zhirayr Sefilyan.

Before last month’s incident in Berdzor when scores of activists
representing the Founding Parliament opposition group were confronted
by NKR police as well as a group of plainclothes men during an
automobile march to Artsakh, Zhirayr Sefilyan met with senior officials
in Stepanakert. He says he was deeply disappointed with the meeting
which was attended by the Prosecutor General, Head of the National
Security Service and Deputy Minister of Artsakh.

During the meeting, Zhirayr Sefilyan and Emil Abrahamyan, another
member of the Founding Parliament, became convinced that they ‘are
dealing with a government that does not demonstrate an appropriate
position.’

“The generals sitting in front of us were flattering Serzh Sargsyan.

Deputy Prime Minister of NKR Arthur Aghabekyan was overtly praising
Sashik [Serzh Sargsyan’s brother],” said Mr Sefilyan.

He says the people in Artsakh have no connection with the January
31 violence.

“Many will try to use this incident and drive a wedge between Armenia
and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic but I would advise everyone to
avoid such attempts,” he said.

On January 31, scores of activists representing the Founding Parliament
opposition movement, a successor of the Pre-parliament pressure group,
organized an automobile march to Nagorno-Karabakh as part of their
campaign seeking a regime change in Armenia. Near Berdzor, they were
stopped by local police and a group of plainclothes men who forcefully
blocked their access to the territory of Karabakh.

A number of activists, including Jirayr Sefilyan, a Karabakh war
veteran and a former commander of the Shushi special detachment, were
beaten up during the incident. Also, some vehicles of the automobile
march were damaged.

ARMENIA PENAL STATISTICS FOR 2013: MORTALITY RATE ALMOST TWICE HIGHER IN ARMENIA THAN COE AVERAGE

14:35 | February 11,2015 | Social

The Council of Europe has published its 2013 Annual Penal Statistics,
which include a survey on prison populations in Europe and a survey
on alternatives to pre-trial detention and on community sanctions
and measures.

The report says Armenia has seen high increase in prison population,
besides, spending per inmate is among the lowest in CoE region.

Prison population: 4,698 inmates; this is 155 inmates per 100,000
inhabitants (slightly above average). This number includes 27
juvenile offenders, out of them 9 younger than 18 years old. The
prison population has grown by 7.8% from 2012; the country is among
top ten countries where the prison population grew by more than 5%.

Total number of releases in 2012 was 1,752; it amounts to 58 per
100000 inhabitants.

Capacity is used beyond standard (106 inmates per 100 available
places), here Italy with 148 people per 100 places is a champion,
Andorra with 32 is the lowest.

Share of females in prisons is 4.7% (average for the CoE region).

Almost 70% are sentenced to 3-10 years – this is almost two times
higher than the CoE average for this sort of sentences. Only in
Azerbaijan (78%) this indicator is higher.

Mortality rate was almost twice higher than the CoE average, 60 people
per 10,000 inmates, out of them some 6 people committed suicide –
this is an average indicator for the CoE region.

Total budget spent by Prison Administration in 2012 was roughly 11,9mn
euro. Average daily expense per inmate was assessed at 6.65euro, which
is among the lowest and is comparable to such countries as Croatia,
Georgia and Moldova. It is 15 times lower than the CoE average of 98
euro. The lowest daily expenses per inmate are in Russia (slightly
over 2 euro/day) and Greece (slightly over 3 euro/day). The highest
spending per inmate per day is in Sweden (318 euro/day).

Factors that influenced prison population: . Changes in criminal
law: No;

. New legislation concerning certain categories of prisoners: No;

. Amnesties: 0;

. Individual pardons: 5 individual pardons granted on 1st October 2013.

. Collective pardons: 0;

Data were not available for Nagornoâ~@~PKarabakh.

The economic crisis hampers improvement of conditions in European
prisons

Spending per inmate in European prisons has decreased during the
economic crisis, and this has likely caused a negative impact on
the quality of life of persons in custody. The crisis has not had a
significant effect on the number of individuals in custody, although
there has been a minor reduction in prison overcrowding. These are
some of the conclusions that can be drawn from the 2013 Council of
Europe Annual Penal Statistics (SPACE I and SPACE II surveys), which
were published today.

On the other hand, the average prison population rate – which indicates
the number of individuals in custody per 100,000 inhabitants –
increased by 2.7% between 2007 and 2012. This, however, also varied
greatly across countries, many of them experiencing significant
increases or reductions.

There was a slight increase in the total proportion of foreign inmates
(14.1% of all inmates were foreigners in 2013 versus 13% in 2012).

This proportion was above 30% in many Western European countries and
around 2% in Eastern European countries. There was also an increase
in the proportion of inmates from EU member states (from 34% to 37%).

The SPACE survey is conducted for the Council of Europe by the
Institute of Criminology and Criminal Law of the University of
Lausanne. The SPACE I 2013 survey contains information from 50 out of
52 prison administrations in the 47 Council of Europe member states,
whereas SPACE II contains information from 47 probation agencies.

ARMAN NAVASARDYAN: INSTEAD OF BICKERING OVER PERSONAL PROBLEMS WE HAD BETTER UNITE OVER THE GENOCIDE ISSUE

12:48 | February 11,2015 | Politics

Instead of beating each other and bickering over personal problems
we had better unite over the Genocide issue, says a former deputy
foreign minister of Armenia.

Arman Navasardyan says Turkey manipulates Azerbaijan like a puppet
and Armenia should always be on the alert. He fears that Turkey might
use Islamic State militants against Armenia.

Mr Navasardyan also says that Armenian should also recall the
Armenia-Turkey Protocols signed in Zurich. “We have seen no
breakthrough in Genocide recognition in the past five years. Very
few countries have recognized the historical fact,” said the former
official.

ARMEN MARTIROSYAN: THERE IS A GROUP OF MASKED PEOPLE IN ARMENIA WHO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT (VIDEO)

12:27 | February 11,2015 | Politics

No matter how hard the authorities try to stay away from the latest
developments in the country, they cannot, Deputy Chairman of the
opposition Heritage party Armen Martirosyan said on Feb 11.

He says the kidnapping and beating of Prosperous Armenia Party
(BHK) member Artak Khachatryan was not the first incident, but the
continuation of incidents and violence against political and public
figures and activists.

“Though my colleague Eduard Sharmazanov [from the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia -HAK] urged to avoid making emotional, surreal,
demagogue statements today we are dealing with an undeniable fact,”
said Mr Martirosyan. Then he reminded the attacks on a group of
Karabakh war veterans and opposition lawmaker Aram Manukyan when
again the perpetrators remained unpunished.

“This is not the first time when masked people attacked and beat a
citizen. There is a group of masked people in Armenia who, without
any obstacles, do whatever they want. I regret to say that the
authorities are involved in the attacks and the impunity in previous
cases testifies to this,” said Mr Martirosyan.

He also expressed hope that early elections will be held in Armenia
after the upcoming meeting of the three opposition leaders.

Artak Khachatryan was attacked at around 12, February 9, in the
neighbourhood of an entertainment centre in Yerevan. Three armed men
wearing masks forced Khachatryan into a car and drove away with him.

Later, Khachatryan was found unconscious, near his home.

A criminal case has been filed in connection with the incident. An
investigation is underway.

NIKOL AGHABABYAN: YOU CANNOT SILENCE INTELLECTUALS WITH BRIBES AND AWARDS (VIDEO)

10:01 | February 11,2015 | Interview

A1+ Company has interviewed painter Nikol Aghababyan.

The artist agrees that cases of violence and intolerance have increased
in Armenia.

Speaking about the passivity of intellectuals, Mr Aghababyan said,
“You cannot silence intellectuals with bribes and awards. People
should be led by intellectuals rather than oligarchs.”

TURKEY CANCELS MEETING WITH EU IN ISTANBUL DUE TO POINT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

16:00, 11 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. The relations between Ankara and
Brussels have been escalated due to the inclusion of the point on
the Armenian Genocide in the report made by the European Parliament
comprising 442 points.

As reports “Armenpress” citing the Turkish objektifbakis.com news
website, on these grounds Turkey has unilaterally canceled the
Turkey-EU parliamentary commission, which was scheduled to be held
on February 18-19 in Istanbul.

Among other things, it is noted that Turkey thus expresses its
protest to Brussels claiming that this is a “diplomatic counteraction”
against adding the point on the Armenian Genocide to the proposals.

From: A. Papazian

RESPONSIBILITY 2015 CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE HELD IN NEW YORK

15:31, 11 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. “Responsibility 2015” the
international conference marking the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide will be held on March 13-15, 2015, at New York’s Marriott
Marquis Hotel at Times Square. Registration can be done either on
the conference website, or the conference registration page.

As reports “Armenpress” citing Armenian Weekly, the conference
will feature 12 concurrent panels, lectures, and photography and
art exhibits. Evening sessions bringing together policymakers,
political leaders, artists, and celebrities known for their activism
and humanitarian work will highlight the theme of responsibility to
confront past injustices and struggle towards preventing new ones.

Speakers include jurist Geoffrey Robertson, actor and playwright Eric
Bogosian, screenwriter and playwright Alex Dinelaris, photojournalist
Scout Tufankjian, novelists Chris Bohjalian and Nancy Kricorian,
journalists Robert Fisk, Guillaume Perrier, Laure Marchand, and
David Barsamian, scholars Richard Hovannisian, Deborah Dwork, Raymond
Kevorkian, Roy L. Brooks, Elisa Von Joeden-Forgey, Janna Thompson,
Jermaine McCalpin, Israel Charny, Roger Smith, David Gaunt, Seyhan
Bayraktar, Bilgin Ayata, Marc Mamigonian, Ruken Sengul, Umit Kurt,
Kori Street, Elyse Semerdjian, and Hannibal Travis, human rights
activist Sarah Leah Whitson, educator Sara Cohan, among others.

Photography and art exhibits with the theme of survival will be held
at the same venue for the duration of the conference.

The “Responsibility 2015” conference is being organized by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern U.S. Centennial Committee,
under the auspices of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of
America, Eastern Region.

The organizing committee is comprised of the following scholars and
activists: Khatchig Mouradian and Hayg Oshagan, co-chairs; George
Aghjayan, Kim Hekimian, Antranig Kasbarian, Sarkis Balkhian, and
Henry Theriault.

ARSEN BAGHDASARYAN MADE TO ASK FOR AZERBAIJANI CITIZENSHIP: ARMENIA’S MOD

14:01, 11 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS: The Spokesperson of the Minister
of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan stated
that the Azerbaijani side made different provocations and made Arsen
Baghdasaryan to ask for Azerbaijani citizenship.

Artsrun Hovhannisyan told Armenpress that for the Armenian side
it is not a new thing that Azerbaijan presents the opposite side
of the story and distorts the reality. “And this is not the first
case. First they told about transferring Arsen Baghdasaryan to a third
country and now they talk about quite a different thing. I think that
Baghdasaryan is made to ask for Azerbaijani citizenship”, – said the
Spokesperson of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia,
not excluding that in the reality Arsen Baghdasaryan wants to return
though Azerbaijan conceals that fact.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PHOTO SHOWING SCENE OF DEPORTATION OF ERZURUM ARMENIANS PUBLISHED

17:06, 9 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The photo, which has been recently
published, depicts an episode of deportation of Erzurum Armenians
to Mesopotamia, near the village of Sushehir. The photo is made by
the Austrian biologist Victor Pitchman (1881-1956). By the order of
German Government, from 1914 until the end of the First World War,
Pitchman had organized Turkish mountain-shooter military units, at the
same time mapping the ongoing military operations in the Middle East
for the German General Staff. Traveling and carrying out collecting
works in the territory of Western Armenia he managed to take photos
of Armenians’ deportation scene.

As reports “Armenpress”, it is remarkable, that in the photos made by
V. Pitchman no men are seen in the deportation caravans, only women
and children. The majority of Armenian men were already killed.

The deportation of Armenian population of Erzurum started in July
1915. Historical sources and evidences of survivors prove the cruel
fate of Erzurum Armenians. 35-40 thousand Armenians were deported from
Erzurum and surrounding villages to Derjan, Erzincan, Sebastia (Sivas),
even to Der Zor desert. Very few of the deportees could survive.

Moreover, Armenians were slaughtered on the road of deportation;
men were shot to death, or killed by axe in groups; women were raped
and killed or died on the road from various diseases, thirst and
starvation; lonely and helpless children and weak were inevitably
condemned to death.

“They killed the women, children, and elderly people by burning them
to death, shearing, strangling the rivers, group shooting and rolling
them from the rocks to deep rifts. Starving and frosted people were
condemned to death through brutal torture.

Thousands of deported Armenians were dying on the way and epidemics
in deportation camps. The population of Erzurum and Bassen valleys –
women, children and elder people – were deported from their villages
and forced to reach Mesopotamia”.

Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter German Vice Consul in Erzurum in 1915

The source of photograph, Nature History Museum, Vienna, Austria

>From “100 Photographic Stories of the Armenian Genocide” book

IF A PERSON FAILS TO PERFORM HIS DUTIES, HE MUST RESIGN IMMEDIATELY (VIDEO)

13:33 | February 11,2015 | Politics

I do not want to focus on the phenomenon of ‘freedom fighters,’
Ashot Bleyan, director of “Mkhitar Sebastatsi” educational complex,
said on Feb. 11 in connection with the incident that occurred in
Berdzor last month.

“Those were citizens who were heading to Artsakh for certain purposes.

They were subjected to violence on the way and now they should be
compensated for moral and material damages,” said Mr Bleyan.

He says what happened near Berdzor on January 31 was in violation
of human rights and ‘any trade at the expense of human rights is
unacceptable.’

On January 31, scores of activists representing the Founding Parliament
opposition movement, a successor of the Pre-parliament pressure group,
organized an automobile march to Nagorno-Karabakh as part of their
campaign seeking a regime change in Armenia. Near Berdzor, they were
stopped by local police and a group of plainclothes men who forcefully
blocked their access to the territory of Karabakh.

A number of activists, including Jirayr Sefilyan, a Karabakh war
veteran and a former commander of the Shushi special detachment, were
beaten up during the incident. Also, some vehicles of the automobile
march were damaged.

Ashot Bleyan also spoke about the kidnapping and beating of Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK) member Artak Khachatryan and said Artak was
his pupil.

“But his personality does not matter. A man was beaten up in broad
daylight and law enforcement agencies are obliged to disclose the
incident. What is the role of the law enforcement system? If a person
fails to perform his duties and identify similar incidents, he must
resign immediately,” said Mr Bleyan.

Artak Khachatryan was attacked at around 12, February 9, in the
neighbourhood of an entertainment centre in Yerevan. Three armed men
wearing masks forced Khachatryan into a car and drove away with him.

Later, Khachatryan was found unconscious, near his home.

A criminal case has been filed in connection with the incident. An
investigation is underway.