Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIE
Augmentation des ventes de vins arméniens en Russie

L’augmentation des ventes de vin arménien en Russie est l’une des
raisons de planter de nouvelles vignes dans la province de Vayots Dzor
en Arménie a déclaré le gouverneur Edgar Ghazaryan lors d’une
conférence de presse.

Les vignerons du Vayots Dzor et des autres provinces qui utilisent des
raisins Areni dans leur production augmentent progressivement leurs
exportations vers les pays de la CEI et en particulier vers la Russie.

“Cela garantit la vente de raisins Areni, qui sont, en plus, vendus à
un prix plus élevé que les autres variétés de raisins,” a-t-il dit.
“Grce au succès des ventes, les agriculteurs et les investisseurs
individuels sont intéressés par la plantation de nouvelles vignes.”

En 2013, 240 900 tonnes de raisins ont ̩t̩ r̩colt̩s en Arm̩nie Рen
légère baisse par rapport à l’année précédente où 241 400 tonnes
avaient été collectées.

Selon les rapports du Service des douanes d’Arménie, le pays a exporté
849 500 litres de vin d’une valeur de 2,52 millions de $ entre
janvier-Juin 2014 contre 617 000 litres d’une valeur de 2,08 millions
de $ en janvier-Juin 2013.

Environ 82% du vin ou du raisin exporté a été envoyé en Russie entre
janvier-Juin 2014.

dimanche 26 octobre 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

Presse
Le N° 11 des Journaux de Guerre consacré au Génocide Arménien

Au grand dam des négationnistes de tout poil, dans la série des
Journaux de guerre, réimprimés dans leur intégralité, à l’occasion de
la commémoration du 100ème anniversaire de la Première guerre
mondiale, en collaboration avec la Bibliothèque Nationale de France,
vient de paraître en kiosque le N° 11 (sur 52 numéros) consacré
entièrement au génocide des Arméniens.

La publication de cette édition spéciale, vendue 3,90 EURO, au format à
l’ancienne 40X30, revient sur l’épisode du Front oriental dans “le
Carnage de Gallipoli” et à propos du massacre des Arméniens qui a
décimé plus de 2 millions d’innocents entre 1894 et 1916.

Trois pleines pages sont ainsi consacrées à l’extermination délibérée
des Arméniens, sous les signatures de Julie Maek (Rédactrice en chef
des Journaux de guerre) et Vincent Duclert (Chercheur à l’École des
Hautes études en sciences sociales).

Encarts de presse

La publication se présente de telle manière qu’on y trouve à
l’intérieur, pliés en deux, 4 quotidiens allant de Mars à Septembre
1915, dont La dépêche de Lyon et Le Matin.

La Dépêche dénonce à la Une L’ignoble crime perpétré sur les
Arméniens, en remontant au 27 avril 1909, notant que -parlant des
chrétiens- .

A la lecture de ces quotidiens de 1915, on ne peut s’empêcher de faire
le parallèle avec les événements qui déchirent actuellement le
Moyen-Orient, et dans lesquels la Turquie n’est pas innocente.

Jean Eckian

cliquer sur les images pour agrandir

Affiche offerte en 60X40

Si plus disponible en kiosque, possibilité de commander en ligne cette
édition spéciale. Il faudra attendre quelques semaines avant que le
N°11 ne soit proposé à la vente. Voir lien plus bas.

dimanche 26 octobre 2014,
Jean Eckian (c)armenews.com

D´autres informations disponibles : sur Les journaux de guerre.fr

From: A. Papazian

Armenian human rights activist welcomes oversight functions for
opposition forces

13:29 * 26.10.14

Head of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office Artur Sakunts
welcomes the constitutional amendments envisaging oversight functions
and the post of Parliament vice-speaker for opposition political
forces.

However, this mechanism cannot be practically applied in Armenia, he says.

“Theoretically, it is a realistic and efficient institution because,
with political majority existing, it is important to limit the
majority’s power to ensure democratic processes and development. That
is, democracy implies that limits to the majority’s power. Otherwise,
it will turn into absolute rule, authoritarianism, Nazi Germany being
the most glaring example,” Mr Sakunts told Tert.am.

“If the opposition forces and authorities have no differences or the
differences are insignificant – I mean their policy – it does not work
in Armenia. When the opposition forces are called a ‘non-coalition
force’ and there are no differences between, it turns into mere
formality,” he said.

The draft concept of constitutional reforms envisages supervisory
oversight functions for opposition forces in Armenia’s Parliament,
Control Chamber and other bodies. The relevant proposals were made by
the Venice Commission.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

Nagorno-Karabakh meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday

Talks take place in Paris
FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE
* Saturday, 25 October, 2014

Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsian and Ilham Aliyev,
will meet in Paris on Monday to discuss settlement in
Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory located in Azerbaijan but populated
mostly by Armenians, Armenia’s presidential administration said on
Saturday.

The meeting initiated by France’s President Francois Hollande will be
held within the framework of the Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh of
the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe /OSCE/, which
has been attempting to broker a peace agreement, the administration
said.

A meeting of the Armenian and French presidents is also scheduled for
Monday, with a wide range of bilateral issues on the agenda.

Sargsian and Hollande are expected to consider prospects for the
negotiating process on a peace settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The mountainous area of Nagorno-Karabakh remains a so-called ‘frozen
conflict’ on the post-Soviet space as it is the subject of a dispute
between Azerbaijan where the region is located and its ethnic Armenian
population.

In 1988 a war broke out there between Azerbaijani troops and Armenian
residents, which resulted in the region’s de facto independence. In
1994 a ceasefire was reached but the relations between the two states
are still strained.

Russia, France and the U.S. co-chair the Minsk Group. — ITAR-TASS

From: A. Papazian

EGLISE ARMENIENNE
Le journal turc > évoque la question de la succession au
Patriarcat arménien de Constantinople

Le journal turc > revient dans l’un de ses derniers
numéros sur l’Archevêque de l’Eglise arménienne à Constantinople Mgr
Mesrop Moutafian dont la maladie et son incapacité à exercer ses
fonctions posent problème aux représentants de l’Eglise arménienne et
à la communauté arménienne de Turquie. > écrit >. Les représentants de la
communauté arménienne auraient -selon >- demandé au
ministère turc de l’Intérieur, l’autorisation d’élire un nouveau
patriarche. Mais le gouvernement turc aurait répondu qu’une réélection
n’est pas possible tant que l’Archevêque qui est en place est en vie.
Rappelons que Mesrop Moutafian est à la tête du Patriarcat arménien de
Constantinople depuis 1998.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 25 octobre 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY LEADERS MEET NEVADA CONGRESSMAN JOE HECK

Friday, October 24th, 2014

Armen Anooshian, Hera Armenian Esq., Congressman Dr. Joe Heck (NV-R),
and Andy Armenian

LAS VEGAS–Representatives from St. Garabed Armenian Church of Las
Vegas, the Armenian-American Cultural Society, and the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) met with Congressman Dr. Joe
Hack to provide him with an update regarding the rapidly growing
Armenian-American community in Southern Nevada.

Andy Armenian discussed the construction of the St. Garabed Armenian
Church and the recently completed Cultural Center in the Church
complex.

Armen Anooshian elaborated on the roots of the Las Vegas Armenian
community, who 100 years earlier were displaced during the Armenian
Genocide in Ottoman Turkey; some of whom eventually settled in the
Greater Las Vegas area, and are proud to call Southern Nevada their
home in the oasis.

Hera Armenian indicated that many Armenians living in Las Vegas still
have family members in Syria who have suffered a tremendous loss in
property as well as many casualties. She then thanked the Congressman
for his stand not to supply arms to the Rebel Syrian Army, who are
strengthening the Islamic State’s position against the Syrian people.

Congressman Heck thanked the visitors, who agreed to continue updating
Congressman Heck with ongoing Armenian-American community developments.

Congressman Joe Heck represents the 3rd Congressional District
of Nevada.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA: SHADY IMPORT OF LIONS AND TIGERS RAISES FEARS

EurasiaNet.org
Oct 24 2014

October 24, 2014 – 12:23pm, by Marianna Grigoryan

The Yerevan neighbors of parliamentarian Mher Sedrakian, a member
of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, have a persistent problem
with noise. But this is not about wild parties or car horns. Rather,
it is about lions.

Sedrakian’s alleged collection of lions, apparently kept as personal
pets, constantly roars and scares the neighborhood, and no one can
get them to stop, his neighbors complained to EurasiaNet.org recently.

Increasingly, many Armenians can understand that concern. Private
zoos with lions, tigers and bears are emerging as a popular hobby
for the wealthy and powerful in this tiny, South-Caucasus country,
and the government does not seem inclined to intervene.

Instead, recent amendments to the Law on Wildlife, passed on April 12,
could facilitate this pastime. Private citizens can own wild animals,
including endangered species, if they have areas for the animals
that ensure their “life, health and safety,” and prevent escape from
captivity, the law reads. Supervision is supposed to be “constant.”

But it is not. Last November, tiger cubs were found in the streets
of Etchmiadzin, a town about 20 kilometers from the capital, Yerevan,
local media reported.

Although tigers, as an endangered species, cannot be exported from
the wild, their import from zoos is allowed.

A search of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) database for 2008 to 2013
shows the import of six tigers to Armenia, including three Siberian
tigers from Ukraine. The rest came from Belgium, Chile and Kazakhstan.

An Armenian Border Guard official, who declined to be named, explained
to EurasiaNet.org that a tiger can be brought into the country if
documents show its country of origin and demonstrate that it is the
third generation of a zoo-based line of tigers.

A CITES certificate that authorizes the animal’s shipment is
also required, said Hovhannes Mkrtchian, head of the Ministry of
Agriculture’s Food Security Department, which checks import documents
and verifies the animals’ health.

But investigative reports by the news site Hetq.am indicate that
not all of the exotic animals imported into Armenia – namely, an
endangered bonobo – end up in the CITES database.

Similarly, though crocodiles were offered for sale in Yerevan
supermarkets last December for New Year’s, the database contains no
mention of their import as food products.

It does, however, show an array of exotic imports. Cheetahs topped
the feline list, with 18 imports from the United Arab Emirates and
South Africa between 2008 and 2013. Nine lions were brought in during
the same period; most from the United Arab Emirates.

Forty-one dumbo-eared fennec foxes, natives of the Sahara, entered
Armenia between 2009 and 2010, while 21 rheas, ostrich-like birds
from South America, made the trip in 2012.

Whether or not these animals were meant for the Yerevan Zoo was not
immediately clear.

Yerevan Zoo Director Ruben Khachatrian emphasized that his zoo is
“making every effort to meet international standards,” and expressed
regret that Armenia has developed a reputation for an illegal trade
in wild animals.

“Because of certain persons, Armenia has a bad international image
in terms of the unlawful trade in animals…” Khachatrian said.
“[Individuals] can approach you at international conferences and ask
with anxiety, ‘What is going on in your country?'”

The government launched a criminal investigation into the import of
animals to Armenia after a Hetq.am investigation, but no breakthroughs
have been announced. Caution could well temper prosecutors’ questions.

Among those Armenians known to have a taste for exotic wildlife is
one of the country’s most powerful political players, millionaire
businessman Gagik Tsarukian, head of the opposition Prosperous
Armenia Party.

A 2009 YouTube video that showed a donkey placed in a cage of lions was
widely reputed to have been filmed at Tsarukian’s Yerevan residence,
which contains a private zoo.

His spokesperson, Iveta Tonoian, denied any connection to the case,
but has stated that Tsarukian owns about two dozen lions and white
tigers, which live “in perfect conditions.”

Tsarukian is not alone in his tastes. Former Deputy Defense
Minister Lieutenant General Manvel Grigorian, head of an influential
organization of Karabakh-war veterans, keeps tigers, lions, bears
and various birds in a private zoo in Etchmiadzin, a town about 20
kilometers from Yerevan.

According to Hetq.am, an allegedly toothless tiger also protects
Grigorian’s Etchmiadzin house. The tiger cub found wandering in the
town last year is believed to have belonged to the general, who has
not responded to the allegations.

But holding any political figure to account on such a score is
difficult.

The government never responded to environmentalists’ requests to see
the documentation for the endangered brown bears allegedly owned by
Tavush Region Governor Hovik Abovian.

The agriculture ministry’s Mkrtchian, however, maintains that
“everything is done in accordance with procedures.”

“We do everything we can to ensure safety,” he said.

But it does not always work. In 2012, a lion, allegedly owned by a
former police colonel, seriously injured a two-year-old child in a
village not far from the Turkish border.

Environmentalist Silva Adamian, one of the few Armenian activists
following this issue, argues that the Law on Wildlife simply does
not work.

“Legislators should have the leverage to control the field, whereas
the opposite is happening…” said Adamian.

Dining establishments throughout the country offer the meat of bears,
boars and deer, all endangered in Armenia, on their menus. Bears
also provide entertainment. They also can be spotted on the loose in
Yerevan itself – twice within the last year.

No parliamentarian working on environmental issues could comment to
EurasiaNet.org about these practices.

Civil society groups are not prepared to take up the issue either,
claimed Adamian.

“The field is controlled by certain influential people, while society
is so busy with other problems that it simply has no time to take an
interest in these issues,” she said.

Meanwhile, the imports continue.

Editor’s note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI-FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL MEETING: WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS?

21:04 * 24.10.14

Political scientist Ruben Mehrabyan believes that an
Armenian-Azerbaijan-French presidential meeting to take place in
Paris, on October 27, is a good opportunity for reaching intermediate
results in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

The question is, however, whether the sides will take advantage of the
opportunity.

The fact of the meeting without Russia’s involvement is the most
important thing, Mr Mehrabyan told Tert.am.

“It can be considered a positive result. In fact, the Russian factor
affects the settlement process, while the United States is not using
its full potential. My impression is that the USA is inclined to
regulate the conflict management rather than to seek a resolution to
the problem as such or cause it to reach an intermediate stage,” Mr
Mehrabyan said.

According to the expert, the intermediate results will be agreements
on principles and further specific steps, confidence-building
mechanisms.

“They are most important factors in the conflict settlement,” Mr Mehrabyan said.

Asked about more frequent Armenian-Azerbaijani presidential meetings
during the recent period – the two presidents are holding their third
meeting during the last three months – and, if insignificant, but
possible positive results, the expert said that the extradition of
Ramil Safarov caused a crisis in the negotiation process. However,
more frequent Armenian-Azerbaijani presidential meetings have lately
taken place, which is a positive change.

“But one important thing can be noted. The meetings have been held for
the last 20 years, after the tensest period. That is, both Azerbaijan
and the international community have been convinced that a war will
not resolve the problem and negotiations are the only way. Not only
rhetoric, but reality,” Mr Mehrabyan said.

It is more frequent meetings that have eased the border tensions,
especially prior to important meetings, which is an intermediate
result.

Political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan believes that at the
upcoming meeting France will place emphasis on the humanitarian points
on the Madrid principles, which is not in Armenia’s interests.

“The humanitarian bloc of the Madrid principles implies refugees’
return. That is, it is more dangerous for us than the other points of
the Madrid principles. France has no geopolitical ambitions or serious
economic interests in our region. So the only thing it can do is to
place emphasis on the humanitarian bloc. Our president should decline
such proposals,” the expert said.

Armenia’s authorities should be cautious as it is difficult to decline
proposals described as humanitarian ones.

As regards his opinion on the frequent meetings over the recent period
and their possible positive impact on the peace process, Mr
Melik-Shahnazaryan said that, regrettably, that the
Armenian-Azerbaijani presidential meetings depend on certain states’
domestic or foreign policy problems.

“For example, Russia, making use of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, is
trying to settle political issues, showing the United States that it
[Russia], rather than the West, is the key actor in the region. The
USA has its interests in the region, and France has its interests.

That is, more frequent meetings have nothing in common with the peace
process. Rather, they have to do with the interests of superpowers and
their leaders, who organize the meetings,” the expert said.

He does not hold any special expectations about the upcoming meeting.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH DEALERS HELPING ISIL EARN $1 MILLION PER DAY FROM OIL: US TREASURY

15:12 * 24.10.14

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is earning about
$1 million a day from black market oil sales, the United States has
said, vowing to impose harsh sanctions on the purchasers of the oil,
“including middlemen from Turkey.”

“With the important exception of some state-sponsored terrorist
organizations, ISIL is probably the best-funded terrorist organization
we have confronted,” David Cohen, U.S. Treasury Department
undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a
speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington
on Oct. 23. “It has amassed wealth at an unprecedented pace.”

ISIL is generating tens of millions of dollars a month through
a combination of oil sales, ransom, extortion and other criminal
activities, and support from wealthy donors, said Cohen, laying out
the most comprehensive outline yet of the U.S. financial strategy
against the group.

“It is difficult to get precise revenue estimates … but we estimate
that beginning in mid-June, ISIL has earned approximately $1 million
a day from oil sales,” Cohen said. Other estimates have ranged as
high as $3 million a day.

Middlemen in Turkey

The undersecretary said ISIL was selling oil at substantially
discounted prices to a variety of middlemen, including some from
Turkey, who then transport the oil to be resold. “It also appears
that some of the oil emanating from territory where ISIL operates
has been sold to Kurds in Iraq, and then resold into Turkey,” he said.

However, the U.S. official also praised Turkey and the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) for being “committed to preventing
ISIL-derived oil from crossing their borders.”

He also said U.S.-led airstrikes on ISIL refineries in Syria were also
working to threaten the group’s supply networks, dashing a major blow
its resources.

Cohen acknowledged, however, that ISIL moves oil in illicit networks
outside the formal economy, making it harder to track.

“But at some point, that oil is acquired by someone who operates in
the legitimate economy and who makes use of the financial system. He
has a bank account. His business may be financed, his trucks may be
insured, his facilities may be licensed,” he said.

“We not only can cut them off from the U.S. financial system and
freeze their assets, but we can also make it very difficult for them
to find a bank anywhere that will touch their money or process their
transactions,” he said.

The Treasury also is going after individuals who donate money to
ISIL and is urging officials in Qatar and Kuwait to do more to target
terror financiers in their countries. A key, he said, is to restrict
the militant group’s access to the international financial system.

From: A. Papazian

GURGEN YEGHIAZARYAN: IF THE OEK JOINS THE OPPOSITION, THE OUTCOME WILL BE BORSCH (VIDEO)

15:16 | October 24,2014 | Politics

One should not expect serious changes from the rally to be held
by the three opposition forces in Armenian parliament later today,
says publicist Gurgen Yeghiazaryan.

“The authorities have committed so many evils that they cannot be
corrected within an hour,” he said adding that an entire army of
police officers and security forces is following the actions of the
opposition trio.

Speaking about the OEK’s chances to join the three forces, Mr
Yeghiazaryan said the OEK has never been an opposition party. “To
be an oppositionist means to be continuously prosecuted and to be
deprived of the ability to keep one’s family,” he said.

“If the OEK joins the opposition, the outcome will be borsch (a type
of soup),” the analyst said.

Gurgen Yeghiazaryan added that the trio would soon become a duo,
but he refrained from giving any name.

From: A. Papazian