Month: February 2015

NAIRIT PLANT EMPLOYEES PROMISE TO START HUNGER STRIKES AND SITS-IN

13:27 | February 20,2015 | Social

Hundreds of employees of Nairit chemical plant have gathered outside
the government building to demand again their unpaid salaries.

Earlier this week, Alexander Ghazaryan, Head of the Government
Department that deals with the acceptance and discussion of citizen
requests, promised that the government would respond to the group’s
demand to fix a payment schedule for their due salaries on Friday.

However, the group has been waiting outside the government main
building for more than an hour but no one has come out to talk to them.

Talking to A1+ the angered employees said the government is continually
cheating them trying to win time. They say that if things continue
this way, they will start hunger strikes and sits-in.

At present, the group is chanting, “We want our salaries!” “We do
not want to become refugees!” “Protect the constitutional rights of
Armenian citizens.”

Nairit Plant CJSC, which produces chloroprene rubber and was considered
a giant of its kind during the Soviet era, hasn’t been operating since
2010. About 1700 employees of the plant were laid off in February 2015.

ZARUHI POSTNAJYAN: SERZH SARGSYAN HAS PUT EVERYTHING ON SALE (VIDEO)

12:46 | February 20,2015 | Politics

Opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan today presented at the National
Assembly’s Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs a bill
demanding Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation.

Mr Pashinyan referred to the recent standoff between the Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK) and Republican Armenia Party (HHK) and the
following reconciliation. Then he spoke about the activity of the
Fact-Finding Committee investigating the March 1, 2008 clashes which
was later disbanded by Serzh Sargsyan.

“The decision was also illegal. Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocahryan
used the preliminary investigation to prosecute their political
opponents and retain their usurped power,” he said adding that in the
document he enumerates several cases when Serzh Sargsyan continually
tried to maintain his illegitimate power.

Zaruhi Postanjyan, a lawmaker representation the opposition Heritage
faction, thanked Nikol Pashinyan for his ‘rapid response to recent
political events’ and said, “The Madrid Principles signed by Serzh
Sargsyan was the first document that removed the NKR from the talks
on the Karabakh conflict after the 1994 ceasefire. ”

“This was apparently high treason jeopardizing the security of
Armenia. The territories belonging to Armenians were to be ceded to
our enemy under the agreement. Two years later, in an interview with an
international media, Serzh Sargsyan says Armenia did not populate these
areas deliberately as the territories will be ceded to Azerbaijan,
with the exception of the strategic Lachin corridor. We understand
fully that agreement undermines our national security,” she said.

Zaruhi Postanjyan further stressed that Serzh Sargsyan has put
everything on sale, even the country’s sovereignty after declaring
Armenia’s intention to join the Eurasian Economic Union. “Today,
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is put up for sale. This is treason
and the issue was to have been included in your bill as well. Today
Azerbaijan is conducting negotiations to join the EEU and Karabakh
is in the epicenter of this trade,” she said.

THREE COUNTERARGUMENTS QUESTIONING PROSECUTOR-GENERAL’S LETTER

11:36 | February 20,2015 | Politics

The Union of Informed Citizens has issued a statement saying the
Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia refuses to provide them a copy of the
letter Armenian Prosecutor-General sent to his Russian counterpart,
asking Russia to extradite a Russian soldier accused of murdering
seven members of an Armenian family in Gyumri.

“On February 19, the Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement saying
that the publications questioning the Armenian Prosecutor General’s
letter to his Russian counterpart are ‘absurd.’

In the letter, Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanyan requested his
Russian counterpart, Yury Chayka, to extradite the Russian soldier
Valeri Permyakov who is accused of murdering the seven-member
Avetisyan family in Gyumri, saying that the high-profile case should
be transferred to Armenian jurisdiction.

It is strange to hear that in the 21st century a letter sent
on February 3 could not have reached the addressee [Russian
Prosecutor-General] in several weeks. Even a messenger sent to Moscow
from Yerevan on a horse would have got to the destination by now.

According to the official report, in his letter Gevorg Kostanyan
referred to a provision of the Armenian-Russian agreement which allows
the refusal of the request. There is no reference to the previsions of
the law which will oblige the Russian side to extraditethe Russian
side.

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia has violated the
RA Law on Freedom of Information by refusing to provide the copy of
the letter to the Union of Informed Citizens and other media.

As long as the Prosecutor’s Office, in violation of the law, does not
give a copy of the letter or produces any evidence proving that the
letter has been sent to the Russian side, Armenians have the right
to claim that the Prosecutor’s Office is concealing some details from
the public, otherwise, they would reveal the content of the letter.

On February 13, the Union of Informed Citizens requested the
Administrative Court to force the Prosecutor’s Office to give us a
copy of the controversial letter. Let the public draw conclusions
from the aforesaid absurdity,” reads the statement.

Permyakov has been kept under arrest at the Gyumri-based Russian
military base ever since being arrested, for the murder of a
seven-member family in Gyumri – Seryozha Avetisyan, his wife Hasmik,
daughter Aida, son Armen, daughter-in-law Araksya, two-year-old
granddaughter Hasmik and 6-month-old baby boy Seryozha, who died of
his stab injuries a week later.

Kostanyan pledged to appeal to the chief Russian prosecutor when he
was confronted by angry demonstrators in Gyumri on January 15. They
were incensed by his earlier statement that the Armenian side is not
seeking Permyakov’s handover because Russia’s constitution forbids
the extradition of Russian citizens to foreign states.

SOS GIMISHYAN: LEVON TER-PETROSYAN THINKS ONE THING, SAYS ANOTHER AND DOES A THIRD ONE (VIDEO)

10:04 | February 20,2015 | Interview

A1+ has interviewed Sos Gimishyan, Chairman of the Christian-Democratic
Revival Party.

To the question whether he shares Armenian first President Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s concern that the Declaration on the 100th Anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide does not correspond to the international law,
Mr Gimishyan said, “I think there is a need to improve the document.

Any document can be reviewed, discussed and improved.”

Speaking about the letter Levon Ter-Petrosyan addressed to Serzh
Sargsyan in connection with the declaration, Mr Gimishyan said,
“I cannot say what the purpose of the letter is because Levon
Ter-Petrosyan is a political figure who thinks one thing, says another
and does a third one.

HRAIR HAWK KHATCHERIAN: PHOTOGRAPHER TALKS ABOUT ARMENIA’S UNREALIZED POTENTIAL ON EVE OF 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE

16:01, February 18, 2015

By Naira Hayrapetyan

“I was born in Lebanon, but my grandfather was born in Zeytoun, where
he participated in the self-defense struggle. But fighting probably
wasn’t the right thing to do, which is why he ended up in Lebanon,”
photographer Hrair Hawk Khatcherian said.

Many recognize his photography at first glance.

Khatcherian has probably taken more photos of Armenian churches than
any other photographer. He came to Armenia during the Artsakh war
and to this day he continues to reveal and become acquainted with
the Armenian world.

He has published many books of his photography, including Artsakh:
A Photographic Journey (1997),40 Nudes (2001), Karabagh: 100 Photos
for the Independence (2002), Yergir (2005), Armenian Ornamental
Art with Armen Kyurkchyan (2010), Armenian Ornamental Script (2012)
and One Church, One Nation (2013).

Hawk was simply a nickname that he used to sign letters, and it
eventually became a second name shown in his passport. Everyone knows
him today as Hawk. “We’re alike in many ways,” he said. “A hawk has a
good eye, he loves to soar and when he’s hunting he sights his target
very well.”

He was 11 or 12 years old when he first became interested in
photography. The brother of one of his classmates, who was older,
was holding a photo.

“I asked him how he created it and he laughed, ‘You’re out of
your depth. Grow up and maybe you’ll understand something,'” Hawk
explained. “I decided that I’d definitely find out the secret. I bought
a small camera and started shooting my classmates, them playing soccer,
class time, trees, streets. Step by step my snapshots started to have
more meaning.”

The innocent photos were followed by bitter images of the Lebanese
civil war–traces of exploded bombs, people who survived or perished.

Later in the US, when he was learning to become a pilot, he observed
that there was more to the world’s beauty from up above. Later on,
images of Armenia would appear in Hawk’s most beautiful photography
book, taken from the perspective ofa hawk in flight.

“In school I didn’t learn anything about the Armenian language,
history or geography,” Hawk said. “I was only interested in math,
photography and English. My teachers broke a lot of sticks over
my head. I didn’t understand anything they told us about Ani, the
Armenian alphabet and history. It all seemed like a mystery to me until
I found my way. I had to see, touch and feel it. My chosen path was
sort of a way for me to understand myself. Through photography I also
learned about my history, my culture, and I got to know my people,
to love and experience that consciousness.

With 12 photography books already under his belt, Hawk’s latest
work, 100: 1915-2015, is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. It describes Armenian culture, history and heritage
though imagery–churches still standing or in ruins, architectural
masterpieces, samples of Armenian manuscripts from all around the
world and various cultural gems.

Hawk’s camera has been all over, capturing and assembling everything
related to Armenians and being Armenian. At the same time, they are
facts that are being erased yearly as a consequence of a policy of
denialism and intolerance. The aim is to clearly inform the reader
about where Armenians were established in a particular century,
what their ancestors were like and what have they become today.

The beautiful imagery of the trilingual book (Armenian, English,
French), thanks to the chosen narrative, leaps off the pages. Hawk said
his intention was to present Armenia’s richness and magnitude from
the perspective of a victorious people. The most recent presentation
of the book was done in Shushi.

Mrav

“I’m doing these photography books for me first of all, and that’s
not being selfish, they are addressed to me,” Hawk said. “At the same
time I’m learning from my own photographs. Second of all they’re being
passed on to my two daughters. Both of them went to Armenian school
and they more or less speak Armenian. I want them to know about their
people and not forget, but rather strengthen their language skills.

Not only that, I’m doing it for every single Armenian youth raised
in the Diaspora and Armenia. The book is printed in three languages
so that it’s accessible to non-Armenians, so it reveals Armenia to
the world. When people from various countries open this book they’ll
discover Armenia, its culture, its manuscripts. There are 2,500 copies
printed, 1,500 of which will be distributed to various universities
and libraries, so that others don’t look upon us as a third-world
country, but as a strong people.

Van

Hawk came to Armenia for the first time in the 1990s. He did all the
things that tourists typically do, like visit Khor Virab, see Ararat
and so forth, camera in hand.

“The country was experiencing tough times, but the trip launched
the beginning of my future in Armenia, coming from the other side
of Ararat,” he said. “So my ties were already made between myself
and Armenia.”

Then he travelled to Artsakh to document the traces of war through
photography, while witnessing the strong spirit of those patriots
willing to give their lives for freedom, the same epic tale he had
only heard about. It left a lasting impression on him. He’s convinced
that in order to love and defend the motherland, you have to see it.

In 1993, as he prepared to leave for Canada, he told his friends
that he would be back in Artsakh soon to continue his work there. But
something unexpected awaited him.

The First Church Service in Akhtamar in 95 Years The Window of Life

“The doctors found I had lung cancer, which had already begun to
spread, and they gave me only 10 days to live,” Hawk said. “The
first thing that came to mind was the kids. I was afraid, wondering
how I was going to leave my girls aged 3 and 4 behind. I was still
responsible for their futures. That sickness made me seriously think
about my whole life. Logically, I was either going to die or battle
it out no matter the cost so I could grow older with my kids. I gave
my oath on a cross in my room that if I were saved, I would photograph
all the Armenian churches throughout the world.”

Hawk lived by his oath and stated the value of his new life’s
expectations, thereby leaving his mark on history.

Artsakh: A Photographic Journey came out in 1997. The book reveals
the history, informationand cultural heritageof the region. The other
books followed and more will be released in the future.

“I’m self-taught,”he said. “We’re living in the age of technology where
photography has become very accessible. Anyone can photograph now,
either by using a camera or a cell phone. Lots of technical issues are
solved immediately. But you know, you need put your mind and spirit
into it so you can pass on what you’ve seen as being important. For
100: 1915-2015, I visited Western Armenia about 30 times, and each
time I went to Akhtamar I saw it in a new light.

During the church service the smoke from the incense and sunlight
entering the church seemed different to my eyes, as if the silence
of so many years began to speak beauty. For many, those photographs
may seem ordinary, but for me they totally show ties to nature,
the world and the universe, especially during prayer.”

St. Gayaneh Monastery

April 23 is Hawk’s birthday. When asked whether he would be in Armenia
for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, he replied “No.”

He added that he felt what would transpire would be superficial.

“Superficial is a strong word of course, but I’m not saying that
whatever takes place will be so,” Hawk said. “For me at least, the
reason why it will be superficial is because people continue to leave
the country, life in Armenia is still full of difficulties and people
earn such low salaries that they can’t live on their own soil. My hope
is that the youth will return with their knowledge, make things right,
strengthen our country and put conditionsin place so that they’ll
make life just for everyone. For the 100th anniversary this country
should have been so strong so we don’t continue to weep with mournful
faces in front of memorials but instead tell the world how determined,
developed and technologically advanced our country is. I’m trying to
do that with my books. I want people to starting thinking positive,
to instill within them a sense of trust, respect and faith in the
country. I’m not doing this with emotions; I’m showing them what
they have. That still needs to take hold and develop. Everyone has
to start being positive and stop saying that we don’t have anything
in this country.”

LANDMINE FREE ARTSAKH CLEARS KAREGAH MINEFIELD: TWO FUNDRAISERS PLANNED FOR U.S.

13:27, February 20, 2015

With generous support from the worldwide Armenian community, the
clearance of a minefield in the village of Karegah in Artsakh’s
Kashatagh region was completed in December 2014 and the land was
returned to the local community in January.

The HALO Trust, the non-profit organization we partner with to remove
the landmines, destroyed 21 anti-personnel mines and 6 other deadly
explosive remnants of war to make safe over 4 acres of land. Now the
villagers of Karegah can collect firewood and forage for berries and
mushrooms without fear of death or serious injury.

In a recent interview Yuri Shahramanian, HALO’s Program Manager in
Nagorno Karabakh, spoke about the effort to make Nagorno Karabakh
safe, the Landmine Free Artsakh campaign, and the clearance we have
supported in the villages of Norashenik and Karegah. You can watch
Yuri’s interview here.

Since the summer of 2013, Landmine Free Artsakh has been campaigning
to raise funds and awareness about the landmines, left behind from
the 1994 war between Azerbaijan and Artsakh, which injure and kill
innocent civilians and prevent fertile land from being used. In
addition to Karegah, our efforts have also helped to make safe the
village of Norashenik (also in Kashatagh region) where 12 cluster
bombs and 28 other items of unexploded ordnance were destroyed to make
safe over 370 acres of land. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch this
news report by Artsakh TV about Norashenik and meet Virab Shaboian’s
children who can now play in safety.

The next project for Landmine Free Artsakh is to raise $100,000 for
the clearance of the village of Govshatly in the Northern Hadrout
region. The road to the edge of the village is mined, as is one of
the upper fields adjoining the road. When the minefield is cleared 709
people from three nearby villages will be able to travel safely and 43
acres of land will be returned to the people of Govshatly for farming.

To help us achieve this goal, we have organized two informational
and fundraising events in February to reach new Armenian communities
in the United States, as many do not know that every year there are
new civilian casualties in Artsakh. The first event will be held on
Sunday February 22 at the St. David Church in Boca Raton, Florida and
the second on Tuesday February 24 at the St. Mary Armenian Apostolic
Church in Washington, DC.

For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to help the
villagers of Govshatly village, please visit our website or email us
at [email protected].

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN MONOPOLIZED ECONOMY: WILL GOVERNMENT PLAN WORK?

11:33 * 20.02.15

A monopolized economy in any state reflects correspondingly on the
state procurement system, making fight against corruption almost
impossible, an anti-corruption expert said, commenting on the Armenian
cabinet’s decision to set up an anti-corruption council.

Speaking to Tert.am, Artak Manukyan, a procurement monitoring expert
at Transparency International, said the procurement system in Armenia
does not potentially allow competitiveness to develop.

“It creates extra opportunities for commissioners, allowing them to
win bids. So we will thus later acquire the same products for prices
higher than envisaged by the budget,” the economist noted.

He explained that a regular consumer wishing to purchase brandy,
for example, normally spends less when acquiring it directly from
the seller or the firm than does the state when procuring the same
product from the citizen.

The cabinet’s decision envisages creating immediately three bodies

Under the cabinet decision, it is planned to create simultaneously
three bodies: an anti-corruption council, an expert commission and a
monitoring department adjunct to the Government’s staff. The council
will be headed by the prime minister and comprise representatives
from the cabinet (chief of government staff, ministers of justice
and finance), the prosecutor general (upon consent), members of the
parliamentary opposition (one from each faction upon consent), the
president of the Public Council (upon consent), one representative
from the Communities Association of Armenia (upon consent) and two
civil society representatives.

Its major responsibilities will include considering and approving
the anti-corruption strategies and proposing changes upon necessity.

Manukyan said he estimates the risks in Armenia’s state procurement
system to be above the average level.

He added that the system hasn’t practically changed over the past
years, with only the transparency increasing a little in 2013 (after
when per capita procurements became available onegov.am but the
website wasn’t updated last year).

Commenting on the initiative, economist Ashot Yeghiazaryan said he
first of all emphasizes the importance of eradicating monopolies. “The
decision-maker in question should not enjoy much freedom in the
decision-makign process. For that, we need a favorable external
atmosphere. As for the internal atmosphere, it too has to focus on
reducing the risks to a minimum,” he said.

The economist added that corruption risks normally emerge in sectors
that allow for willfulness in the decision-making.

Sociologist Aharon Adibekyan says their surveys reveal that the
population predominantly finds the judiciary, the police, local
government and health sectors to be the most corrupt.

Asked what solutions respondents normally offer, Adibekyan said demand
increasing salaries as a possible way to combat corruption.

“The African states liberated from colonialism developed after those
in power started getting normal salaries,” he said, stressing the
importance of a properly functioning governance.

“EVEN A MESSENGER ON A HORSE WOULD HAVE REACHED MOSCOW BY NOW”: ON THE LETTER REGARDING MASSACRE SUSPECT

02.20.2015 16:01 epress.am

The Union of Informed Citizens NGO claims that the Prosecutor’s Office
has violated the law by not providing the content of the General
Prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan’s letter to his Russian counterpart asking
for the transfer of the Avetisyan family murder case to Armenian
law enforcement.

Yesterday, the General Prosecutor released a statement which stated
that “we do not consider it expedient to address, or furthermore
comment on suspicions and circulating absurd news related to the
matter of sending the letter or its content.” Note, that 2 days ago
the Zhoghovurd daily had published a letterby the Russian Prosecutor
which stated that they had not received a written document about the
murder suspect Russian soldier Valery Permyakov.

Turning to the current situation, the Union of Informed Citizens
underlined,”To put it mildly, it is strange that in the 21st century,
a letter sent on February 3 has not reached the Russian prosecutor
weeks later. Even a messenger on a horse from Yerevan would have
reached Moscow by now.

The General Prosecutor has violated the Law on Freedom of Information
by not providing a copy of the letter to the Union of Informed
Citizens, nor to multiple other media outlets.

Therefore, because the Armenian prosecutor, who broke the law by not
providing a copy of the letter as well as any proof of actually sending
it, the Armenian public has the right to claim that the prosecutor
is trying to conceal something… Otherwise it would be devoid of any
meaning to disregard the law to keep the letter’s content a secret.”

Note, that the Union of Informed Citizens NGO has appealed to the
Administrative Court demanding to make the General Prosecutor’s office
provide a copy of the letter.

PRESS RELEASE – Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (+961- 4) 410001, 410003
Fax: (+961- 4) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Catholicos Aram I Sends Condolence Letters to Egyptian President &
Patriarch Tawadros II

ANTELIAS – 17 February 2015. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I sent
letters of condolences and solidarity to President of Egypt Abdel Fattah
el-Sisi and Patriarch Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church, for
the killing of 21 Egyptian Copts by Islamist extremists in Libya.

After expressing his condolences His Holiness reminded the dangerous
consequences of extremism that could jeopardize the peaceful
Christian-Muslim coexistence in the region.

After reminding that extremism is a global evil Catholicos Aram I
emphasized the crucial urgency of combating extremism in all its forms
and expressions.

Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
PO Box : 70 317 Antelias – LEBANON
Tel: (+961-4) 410 001 / 3
Fax: (+961-4) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Hasmik Grigoryan
Tel:? +(3741) 56 01 06? ext. 105
Fax: +(3741) 52 15 05
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Yerevan, February 18, 2015

Hayastan All-Armenian Fund constructing a community center in Mushkapat,
Artsakh

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is building a community center in Mushkapat,
a village in Artsakh’s Martuni Region. The project is co-sponsored by the
fund’s French affiliate and the government of Artsakh.

“In 2010, our old community center, which housed the mayor’s office, a
health clinic, and a club, was destroyed in a fire,” said Mushkapat mayor
Hrazdan Asribabayan. “Today, thanks to our French-Armenian friends, a new
and beautiful building is being constructed on the same site, and within
months it will enable us to address several needs of our community.”

The three-story structure, consisting of the mayor’s office, a health
clinic, a library, an events hall, and a computer room, will serve the 380
residents of the village. Currently crews are installing doors and windows
as well as decorating the facility’s interior spaces.

“Multifunctional community centers such as the one being built in Mushkapat
help bring wonderful improvements to the life of rural communities in
Artsakh,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund.

Today the fund is building nine community centers throughout Artsakh, with
one more such project planned to be launched soon.

From: Baghdasarian