Author: Andres-Papazian

BRITISH MP VISITS NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPUBLIC

news.am
April 20 2011
Armenia

Stepanakert. – President of Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan received
a group of members of the British House of Lords and House of Commons
headed by Baroness Caroline Cox.

Issues related to the bilateral relations, Karabakh conflict
settlement, domestic policy of Artsakh, as well as regional processes
were discussed during the meeting.

Bako Sahakyan expressed gratitude to the guests for objective
presentation of the position of Artsakh in Great Britain and Europe,
making our country recognizable as well as for efforts directed to
the 1915 Armenian Genocide recognition and human rights protection.

Both sides noted the necessity of developing and widening mutual
relationship, considering it important and demanded in all respects.

Deputy speaker of the Artsakh Republic National Assembly Arthur
Tovmasyan and other officials attended the meeting, NKR presidential
press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

From: A. Papazian

Parajanov-Vartanov Institute
POB 17257
Beverly Hills, California 90209 USA

Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight presented the 2011 Parajanov-Vartanov
Institute Award honoring icon of French cinema Jean Vigo (1905-1934)
to his daughter and Paris-based film critic Luce Vigo at Beverly Hills
Film Festival’s closing awards ceremony held at Four Seasons Hotel Los
Angeles on Sunday, April 10, 2011.

Legendary Martin Scorsese sent a letter to Parajanov-Vartanov
Institute on the ocassion of the institute’s Jean Vigo retrospective
at UCLA with words about Jean Vigo, Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990) and
Mikhail Vartanov (1937-2009) all of whom struggled with censorship,
were non-conformists, left a brief filmography, remain underrated yet
hightly revered by leading international intelligentsia, media, and
cineastes.

From: A. Papazian

CHINA TO INCREASE IMPORT OF ARMENIAN BRANDY AND WINE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 7, 2011 – 17:24 AMT 12:24 GMT

The 6th meeting of the Armenian-Chinese intergovernmental commission
has completed in Yerevan.

Armenian co-chairman of the commission, RA Deputy Minister of Economy
Ara Petrosyan told journalists that agreements on cooperation and joint
programs in various fields were reached – infrastructure construction
(North-South highway, Armenia-Iran railway), silk production in
Armenia, energy, mining industry, tourism and construction.

Petrosyan added that around 20 investment projects were submitted to
China for its consideration and response in the near future.

Director-General of the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry
of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, Sun Yongfu said for
his part that the trade turnover between the two countries does not
correspond to their existing opportunities, despite the stable growth
in the trade turnover over the past years (from 2007 to 2011 – 120%
growth per year).

Yongfu added that the Chinese government is going to take actions
to increase import, specifically, of brandy, wine and minerals from
Armenia.

Petrosyan and Yongfu also added that the visits of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minster Tigran Sargsyan to China in 2010,
as well as the agreements reached during them gave an impetus to the
Armenian-Chinese relations.

From: A. Papazian

IRANIAN PRESIDENT WARNS OF U.S., WEST PLOTS FOR SHIITE-SUNNI CLASHES

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 7, 2011 – 18:24 AMT 13:24 GMT

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned of a possible Iranian-Arab
and Sunni-Shiite conflict in the region.

“The U.S. and Western countries are trying to unleash an Iranian-Arab
and Sunni-Shiite war,” Ahmadinejad said in the Iranian city of
Kermanshahr today. “They are trying to prevent the overthrow of the
Zionist regime by creating differences among the regional nations,”
Trend News reported citing Iranian IRNA news agency.

Bahrain launched riots against the authorities on Feb. 14. The
government has appealed to Saudi Arabia for help to suppress the
unrest.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sent their troops to Bahrain.

Last week, an Iranian committee on foreign policy and national
security issued a statement protesting the sending of Saudi and UAE
armed forces to Bahrain.

The commission warned about the possible consequences of such actions.

“Playing with fire is not in favour of Saudi Arabia,” the committee
said.

On Sunday evening, the Cooperation Council of Arab Gulf States convened
in Riyadh for an extraordinary meeting. Afterwards, a joint statement
was adopted condemning Iran’s interference in the internal affairs
of the organization’s member countries.

“Iran’s interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs runs counter to
international law,” the organization said in the statement.

From: A. Papazian

GEORGIA DOESN’T MEET NATO STANDARDS, OPPOSITION REPRESENTATIVE SAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 7, 2011 – 21:01 AMT 16:01 GMT

The position of Georgian authorities does not meet NATO standards,
according to Republican Party leader David Usupashvili.

As Usupashvili noted after the meeting of Georgian opposition parties
with NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus
and Central Asia, James Appathurai, “the meeting focused on improvement
of electoral environment. We briefed Appathurai on all issues discussed
during talks, which were often attended by NATO representatives.”

As Usupashvili noted, NATO -Georgia relations depend on the development
of democracy in the country, with opposition taking best efforts to
succeed in negotiations with the authorities.

“The position of Georgian authorities is strange, they’re not happy
unless three fourths of the parliament consists of a majority, which
is far below NATO standards,” he stressed.

From: A. Papazian

ARM MINISTER OF DEFENCE VISITED THE “CENTER FOR HUMANITARIAN DEMINING AND EXPERTISE”

2011-04-05

On the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine
Action, ARM Minister of Defence Seyran Ohanyan visited the “Center
for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise”, as well as the peacekeeping
engineer battalion.

By the ARM GOV 17 February, 2011 resolution the demining center,
established with the agreement signed between ARM Ministry of Defence
and the US Department of Defence, received a status of “Center for
Humanitarian Demining and Expertise” state non-commercial organization
(SNCO).

During its existence, the demining center realized mine-clearing
activities of over 200 acres land. The competent specialists in
the Center trained and internationally qualified over 140 ARM AF
servicemen, part of whom participated in international missions.

From: A. Papazian

PREPARATORY TRAINING FOR PUTTING UP A FIELD HOSPITAL

2011-04-07

On 2-7 April, an Armenian-German preparatory training for putting up
a field hospital was held in Yerevan. The field hospital was formed
in 2008 in the framework of the Armenian-German military cooperation.

The main technical means of the hospital were provided by the Federal
Ministry of Defence of Germany.

Since 2008 German doctor-instructors have been training the Armenian
staff of the hospital. The field hospital is designated for providing
medical first aid in times of combat activities, as well as natural
disasters or other extreme situations.

The aim of this exercise was to have the field hospital ready for the
medical military exercises taking place in Armenia in July. Medical
staffs from Armenia, Germany, and the USA are to take part in these
exercises.

From: A. Papazian

“ONLY REAGAN DIDN’T DISAPPOINT”

07 April 2011

During his presidential term, the 44th President of the United States
Barack Obama disappointed those Armenian Americans who believed that
he would give his true evaluation of the 1915 Armenian Genocide by
calling it “genocide” in his April 24 addresses.

Barack Obama has already announced that he is planning to “seize”
the White House again and this means that Armenian Americans will once
again have to choose who they want to see as the next U.S. President.

“I think it is still too early to draw conclusions on which candidate
the Armenian American community will decide to endorse. That is a
decision takenf the incumbent president continues at this rate, it
will be very hard for him to convince the Armenian community to cast
votes for him by individual organizations. But it shouldn’t come as
a surprise that if the incumbent president continues at this rate,
it will be very hard for him to convince the Armenian community to
vote for him,” Director of the Bureau for the Armenian Cause and
Political Affairs Kiro Manoyan told “A1+” today.

Since the U.S. presidential elections are not held directly, but by
the assembly of the states, in that sense the Armenian community’s
vote has a rather large impact on the elections. “For example, in
California, as well as New York, Boston and Florida, it has an impact
to a certain extent.”

Kiro Manoyan recalled that out of all U.S. Presidents, only President
Reagan met Armenian Americans’ expectations in terms of Armenian
Genocide recognition. “After Reagan, all U.S. Presidents have pledged
to use the term “genocide”, but have not fulfilled their promise.”

Mr. Manoyan also mentioned that the 1915 Armenian Genocide is not the
only issue that is leaving the Armenian Americans undecided. “First,
they decide as individuals, but it is very important to see the
candidate’s position on issues concerning Armenians and whether he
or she is preparing to support the NKR and more.”

What impact die Barack Obama’s term have on the issues concerning
Armenians? In response, Mr. Manoyan said: “The “football diplomacy”
with Armenia as the main role-player began during Obama’s term. The
fact that Obama ignored the views expressed by the Armenian community
and the Senators and appointed Matthew Bryza U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan added to all this. In any case, it is still too early
to predict who the Armenian community will vote for during the next
presidential elections.”

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT AND TRAFFICKING

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:08:12 – 07/04/2011

Wikileaks Cables: On ‘Government-Run Sex Trafficking’ In Armenia;
Contradictions of Armenian General Prosecutor’s Office

On April 1st, 2010, WikiLeaks Central reports that the Armenian General
Prosecutor’s Office has been contradicted by WikiLeaks cables on
‘government-run sex trafficking’ in Armenia. The following is the
Wikileaks Central report:

Cables on sex trafficking in Armenia reveal frank contempt toward
victims and contradictory statements from the law enforcement officials
on collusion in sex trafficking. The Republic of Armenia General
Prosecutor’s Office released an explanation on 14th February 2011 on
the corruption allegation mentioned in a cable. The explanation in
the official press release is contradicted by information on reports
of Armenian investigative journalists and TIP reports published by
the U.S. Department of State.

Concerning the information given to the US diplomats by the prostitutes
that the employee of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office A.

Yeremyan committed violations, it is informed that at that time the RA
Prosecutor General tasked to conduct investigation, a interdepartmental
committee was formed and all the appeals were checked which were not
confirmed based on the conclusions of the interdepartmental committee
and the results of the investigation.

The ‘violations’ mentioned above are mentioned in the cable
06YEREVAN1091, which was written in 2006. This assertion about the
‘investigation’ against complicity of an official A.Yeremyan has been
proven to be false ever since 2006, the year the incident occurred,
mainly by the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) published annually
by the U.S. Department of State. The following are evidences that the
General Prosecutor’s Office did nothing meaningful on the allegation
in 2006 until this day:

Although there were no new reports of government officials’ complicity
in trafficking over the last year, the government demonstrated only
modest progress in the reopened investigation of a well-documented
2006 corruption case.

The US embassy has known that Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan
and his investigators are guilty: “Basic facts are accurate”

In 06YEREVAN1091, the cable mentioned in the official press release
from the Office in February, ambassador Evans vividly describes
the culture of immunity and rampant power abuse in the prosecution
of Armenia. Two victims of sex trafficking, Madoyan and Lazarian
accused two investigators under Hovsepyan, Aristakes Yeremyan and Armen
Gasparyan, for threatening them to testify false statements favorable
to their trafficker that she owe less money to the victims. Madoyan
claimed that Yeremyan punched her in the face in 31st June, 2006
and ‘accused them of blackmailing the trafficker’ by filing police
statements. The ambassador points out the clear contempt and negligence
overtly shown in the investigation process.

When the ambassador pushed this case further to the prosecutor
general Hovsepyan, he answered with the Armenian saying, “May God
keep us from the evil that comes from prostitutes.” Hovsepyan talked
about the victims with an amazingly frank contempt, saying that such
cases are common and most of them are ill-intentioned conspiracy of
prostitutes unsatisfied with the money their pimp gives. He adamantly
praised Yeremyan and tried hard to avoid serious investigation toward
the alleged violence and threatening done by Yeremyan and Gasparyan.

The ambassador wrote in a comment that although details in the
allegation reported by the victims are ‘open to some questions’,
they are ‘persuaded, however, that the basic facts of the case are
accurate.’ He noted that ‘Hovsepyan’s performance was in character
and betrayed the Prosecutor General’s apparent personal attitude
toward trafficking victims and cases.’

The governmental authority takes a significant part in sex trafficking
ring of Armenia; without it, the ‘industry’ cannot endure

The real picture of aid granted by the authorities is in fact a major
factor that retains the current sex trafficking network. A great
deal of evidence in the works of investigative journalists strongly
indicate that the scale and level of sophistication regarding the
sex trafficking in Armenia is impossible without active help from
law enforcement personnel. A series of reports mainly from Armenian
investigative journalist Edik Baghdasaryan, who received ‘Defender of
Armenia Freedom Award’ from the U.S. ambassador in 2009 for his works,
show how the cooperation of high-ranking officials in the prosecution
turned out to be a crucial help for pimps and traffickers.

One of the most notorious cases is the escape of infamous pimp Anush
Zakharyants from prison. Baghdasaryan’s report on the incident reveals
how the high-ranking members of Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor’s
Office, and National Security Service worked jointly to forge legal
documents, delete criminal records, and release Zakharyants. This
incident is also mentioned as the latter of the two ‘notable cases’
reported in 2007 TIP Report, which shows no progress in further
investigation or prosecution effort:

From: A. Papazian

WHAT HAPPENED TO MILLENNIUM WATER?
QRISTINE KHACHATRYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:42:19 – 07/04/2011

On April 14 irrigation period will start in Ararat region but
companies which won a Millennium Challenges competition to renovate
the irrigation system have not yet ended their works. The construction
companies are supposed to finish their works in the autumn. While
these companies, with their old and exhausted machines and few workers,
inspire no hope they will ever do.

The issue was discussed with the Ararat governor Edir Barseghyan,
as well as Vice-Prime Minister Armen Grigoryan, and yesterday with
Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan, who instructed to works
day and night to end the construction in time.

From: A. Papazian