Month: February 2015

LA CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE ET D’INDUSTRIE D’ARMENIE ET L’ASSOCIATION DES ENTREPRENEURS DE MOSCOU SIGNENT UN PROTOCOLE D’ENTENTE

ARMENIE

Le president de la Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie d’Armenie
Andranik Aleksanyan et Irina Albertyan de l’Association des
entrepreneurs de Moscou (MAP), qui est en charge des relations avec
l’Armenie, ont signe un protocole d’entente dans la capitale armenienne
entre les deux organisations .

Le document a ete signe dans le cadre de la conference russo-armenienne
intitule :

UNE ONG PROPOSE DE MODIFIER LA LOI ANTI-TABAC EN ARMENIE

ARMENIE

Une organisation non gouvernementale armenienne, > a propose de modifier la legislation
anti-tabac en Armenie, a declare l’avocat Tatevik Gharibyan qui a
redige le projet de loi.

L’ONG a etudie les lois internationales anti-tabac des autres pays et
elabore des amendements dans le cadre de leur programme intitule

OUR ATLANTIS MOVIE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE INCLUDED IN ISTANBUL’S FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM

10:02, 10 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Our Atlantis, documentary telling
about the terrible consequences of the Armenian Genocide, has been
included in the main program of the 14th Istanbul International
Independent Film Festival. In a conversation with “Armenpress”,
the director of the movie Arthur Sukiasyan noted that it has been
included in the “Home” program of the film festival.

Among other things, the filmmaker underscored: “The documentary will
be screened in Istanbul. Within the framework of the 14th Istanbul
International Independent Film Festival, there will be a special
program dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
where the Armenian and Turkish filmmakers will reflect on personal
stories and revealing the complicated issues through movies.”

The movie is a joint production of Armenia, France, and Turkey. The
documentary tells about an Armenian camp in Istanbul (Turkey), which
was built by orphans in 1960’s and later on taken away by Turkish
authorities. This is a journey between the past and present of the
camp showing how 30 years later children of this camp try not to lose
their camp memories.

As this documentary collects main protagonists personal stories and
memories about camp, a larger story begins to unfold.

In a conversation with “Armenpress”, the director of the movie
Arthur Sukiasyan underscored that the film is not about the Genocide,
notwithstanding, it introduces the consequences of that tragedy.

“The movie has been completed. The documentary was cut in France in
the spring and summer. The creation of the movie was supported by
the National Cinema Center of Armenia and “Hrant Dink” foundation,”
Arthur Sukiasyan noted.

ARMENIA AND RUSSIA WILL OVERCOME THE TRAGEDY OF GYUMRI TOGETHER: IVAN VOLINKIN

21:32, 9 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 9 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. In an interview with “РоÑ~AÑ~AиÑ~O
24”, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian
Federation to Armenia Ivan Volinkin declared that Armenia and Russia
share the pain of the tragedy that took place in Gyumri on 12 January
and that there is no justification for such barbarity and it doesn’t
recognize any state or nationality. As “Armenpress” reports, citing
Interfax, Volinkin mentioned that he had trouble finding the words
to describe what happened.

“The employees of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia
were shocked when they found out what had happened. It became a pain
and tragedy for both the Armenians and the Russians. I understand and
accept the society’s sentimentality towards the incident. I would like
to express once again my condolences to the relatives of the victims,
the citizens of Gyumri and the entire Armenian nation,” the Ambassador
said. He stressed the fact that the corresponding Armenian and Russian
authorities are jointly carrying out the investigation into the case.

“The investigation has to be objective and comprehensive. I’m certain
that the criminal will be punished by the law. There have been
difficult times in the centuries-old history of the Armenian-Russian
friendship, but we have always managed to overcome the difficulties
through combined efforts and by supporting each other. I believe that
will be the case this time as well,” Ivan Volinkin underscored.

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: GOVERNMENT NOT TO ATTRACT FOREIGN FUNDS VIA EUROBONDS

‘Haykakan Zhamanak’ daily writes citing sources that last week the
Armenian government decided to start attracting funds from foreign
sources by selling Eurobonds.

“The government chose companies which were to organize that process.

Yet the rating agencies recently lowered Armenia’s rating, which
means that the interest rate for attraction of Eurobonds will increase
sharply,” the paper says.

10.02.15, 10:39

KARABAKH FM INVITES EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE TO VISIT NKR

12:32, 10 February, 2015

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. On February 10, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan, who is on
a working visit to Yerevan, met with EU Special Representative for
South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Herbert Salber.

The Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic informed “Armenpress”
that during the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the possibilities
and prospects of cooperation between the EU and Artsakh.

Karen Mirzoyan stressed the importance of ensuring the EU
representatives’ unimpeded access to Artsakh and invited Herbert Salber
to visit the NKR in the framework of his mandate to get familiarized
with the existing realities on the ground.

Issues related to the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh were also touched upon. In
this context, the sides stressed the importance of the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairmen’s efforts and the need to support them.

WE DON’T WANT TO LIVE WITH THIS SHAME ANYMORE: TOZDUMAN CALLS ON VISITING YEREVAN INSTEAD OF CANAKKALE

10:22, 9 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 9 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. What’s a shame for Turkey is that
1.5 million people were killed a century ago and nearly that many
people were exiled and were forced to leave their homeland. Now they
are scattered across the globe like particles of a pomegranate. Our
wish is to make sure neither our country nor the countries not having
recognized the Armenian Genocide continue to live with this shame.

This is what speaker of the platform for friendship and cooperation
with the Assyrians of Izmir Zeynep Tozduman said in an interview
with “Armenpress”. Tozduman is a representative of one of the Turkish
organizations that recently signed a proclamation addressed to foreign
countries to visit Yerevan instead of Canakkale on April 24th.

“Know that denying and not seeing are also genocide. The reason why
we have become the “voice” of the bodies that were not buried is
because we want to see the Genocide officially recognized and to have
those bodies rest in peace,” Tozduman said as she talked about her
organization’s decision to join the proclamation. Touching upon the
fact that the official Ankara responded to President of the Republic
of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan’s invitation by inviting the Armenian
authorities to Canakkale on April 24th “to respect together the memory
of the victims of Canakkale”, Tozduman stated that that was simply
an ugly tactic. “We believe Turkey’s response is the country’s way of
manipulating history, and it shows that lies and denial still prevail.

Viewing this response as disrespect towards the victims and their
grandchildren the year marking the 100th anniversary of the Genocide,
with this call we tried to address the countries not having recognized
the Armenian Genocide and their conscience,” the speaker said.

“We represent a platform for the friendship and cooperation of
Assyrians of Izmir, and we signed that declaration because we don’t
want to see genocide in any other land or unknown country. Our call is
to break the silence. In the 100th year, we’re persistently waiting
for Turkey to apologize for the victims, including the Armenians,
the Assyrians and the Greeks of Pontos,” Tozduman said.

“The conscience of people in this country who think like us has been
seared for a century. We don’t want to live with this shame and pain
any longer. As representatives of the platform for friendship and
cooperation of the Assyrians of Izmir, we want to tell all the nations
living in Turkey that that it’s impossible to “shake the hand” of peace
with denial and lies. There can’t be peace in this land where bones can
be found on any ground you set your foot. Mankind will not flourish
on the lands that are “watered” with sorrow and tears. On behalf of
the platform and on behalf of myself, I apologize once again to the
ancient nations and owners of these lands, that is, the Armenians,
the Assyrians and the Greeks of Pontos who experienced genocide. We
invite the people of any country with conscience and our country not
to Canakkale, but to the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan
on April 24th. To ignore this great crime against humanity means to
provoke new genocides,” speaker of the platform for friendship and
cooperation of the Assyrians of Izmir Zeynep Tozduman said.

From: A. Papazian

MOTHER SEE HAS TO FACE THE FACT

Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments – 10 February 2015, 12:52

The bank accounts of the Mother See were always registered in the
name of Catholicoses, the information system of the Mother See told
Armenpress, commenting on the leaked bank account in the name of
Garegin II Nerses among Swiss HSBC customers. It was made known by
the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The information system of the Mother See explained that the bank
account was opened during the tenure of Garegin I. The bank account
was renamed when Garegin II became the next catholicos after his death,
and it is noted that not only the account but also the money mentioned
in it was transferred.

The leaked information is about 1.1 million dollars on the account.

Interestingly, the published information states that the bank account
appeared in the bank’s official files in 2000. Is it a new bank account
or a renamed account? If the bank account had been renamed, and the
money had been transferred accordingly, the difference should have
been reflected in the bank’s official records, it should be visible
whether it is a new account or a renamed account.

The questions are many, and other questions occurred after the
clarifications of the Mother See. For example, Mother See’s bank
accounts are in the name of catholicoses. Are all the bank accounts of
the church in the name of the Catholicos or not? If not, what is the
policy of deciding which bank account is opened in the name of the
Catholicos? Because it is almost the same as having the treasury of
Armenia in the name of Levon Ter-Petrosyan renamed to Robert Kocharyan
renamed to Serzh Sargsyan. Mildly speaking, it would be absurd.

Why would the bank account of the Armenian Apostolic Church or the
Mother See be in the name of the Catholicos, not the church?

Besides, it is interesting why the church account is in a Swiss bank,
not another country. It is known that the Swiss banks observe a high
level of confidentiality, and usually the money of people or companies
is kept in Swiss banks who do not want to be visible. Is the Armenian
Apostolic Church such? Is it impossible to open a bank account in
France or any other country with a developed banking system instead
of a system which is actually offshore?

At the same time, it is understood that the church is an organization,
and a lot of money is needed to sustain it. Besides sustaining the
organization, the church implements social programs which also require
funds. And the problem is not why the Armenian Apostolic Church should
deal with foreign banks, have bank accounts etc. Such questions would
have been at least illogical.

The problem is why part of the assets is kept in a closed system,
in the bank offshore. And where the tradition of keeping the money
in the name of the Catholicoses instead of the church comes from.

Furthermore, this would have never become known to anyone if there
had not been for the leak, which arouses questions. Moreover, these
questions occurred in public consciousness earlier, judging by the
life of some high-ranking officials of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
as well as their involvement in other offshore scandals. In fact,
another occasion has come up to raise these questions once again.

These are questions that must be answered for the sake of the
reputation and public confidence of the Armenian Apostolic Church
which has been damaged considerably over the past few years due to
its behavior as an amorphous public and social institution, egoistic,
highly materialized activities fitting within the essence of the
ruling system of Armenia.

In addition, apparently the Mother See should take a step ahead and
start preparing clarifications for other bank leaks if there are such.

The modern geopolitical processes, their logic, tense, matured
competition of civilizations, revision of its content and limits make
such leaks regular, and the information which seemed to be kept in
safes suddenly causes a fire in the press, such as the leaks from
one of the British offshore islands, revealing Aliyev’s assets.

Time and technology do not spare those who hope to hide successfully in
a small space in fast time, covering itself with forgery of religious
and patriotic values.

The time for accounting for these things comes unexpected and
inevitably, hence it is worthwhile to prepare answers for them as well.

RUSSIAN MILITARY PILOTS BEING TRAINED AT EREBUNI AIRPORT

February 10, 2015 11:32

Photo: Russian military base

Yerevan/Mediamax/. At the Erebuni military airdrome, the Russian
aviation base pilots are being trained for flights in adverse weather
conditions at altitudes of 4-5 km above sea level.

“The pilots’ training in the modern 4th generation MiG-29 fighters
which will last till February 2015 is led by Commander of Aviation
Unit, Colonel Alexander Petrov”, the press release of the Russian
base reads.

During the daytime and nightly flights, the pilots will develop
piloting skills in wintertime. The pilots will conduct up to 30
flights a day with the total flight of the crew of over 10 hours.

After the training course, the pilots will be taught skills of simple
and complex aerobatics as well as the basics of military use of modern
fighters during air battles.

SINCE MARCH 1ST, 2008, KIM BALAYAN’S SONS KEEP GETTING PROMOTED

02.10.2015 13:48 epress.am

Armenia’s Constitutional Court member Kim Balayan’s first son
Davit Balayan, has received a promotion and been given the title of
presiding judge of the Court of First Instance of Shengavit District,
replacing Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan’s father. Until now,
Davit Babayan was a judge at the Court of General Jurisdiction of
Ajapnyak and Davtashen Administrative Districts.

The Zhoghovurt daily stresses that after the March 1st, 2008 incidents,
Kim Balayan’s family members’ official promotions have not stopped. The
paper recalled an unclassified document released by Wikileaks which
stated that US embassy officials were approached by Valery Poghosyan,
one of Armenia’s nine Constitutional Court justices, on Mar. 6,
2008, for a secret meeting in which he declared that then president
of Armenia Robert Kocharian fixed the court’s upcoming Mar.

8 decision to decide against the complaint by ex-president Levon
Ter-Petrossian alleging vote fraud in the disputed February 19
presidential election.

According to the document, Kim Balayan was then promised that his
son Tigran Balayan would be given the position of the spokesperson
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if he voted for a verdict against
Ter-Petrosyan. Balayan was later given the position.