Author: Andres-Papazian

RPA member: We hope that OSCE MG will take steps to carry out the
joint statement of Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh Parliaments

ARMINFO
Friday, June 27, 21:55

At the current stage of the Karabakh peace process the priority is to
involve Stepanakert in the peace process. It is for this reason that
the Parliaments of Armenia and Artsakh have addressed a joint
statement to the OSCE Minsk Group, Karine Achemyan, MP from the
Republican Party of Armenia, member of the Interparliamentary
Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the
National Assembly of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, told ArmInfo.

In the meantime, the MP thinks that undoubtedly Azerbaijan will
“hysterically” respond to that statement. Nevertheless, it does not
mean that Armenia should not raise this issue, she said. “Everyone
should realize that it is impossible to resolve the Karabakh problem
without involving Stepanakert in the negotiations”, she said. For his
part, Hamlet Harutyunyan, another member of the Interparliamentary
Committee, member of the Republican Party of Armenia, expressed hope
that the OSCE Minsk Group will positively assess the statement of the
two Armenian republics and will take relevant measures to carry out
the statement.
To recall, the Interparliamentary Committee of the National Assembly
of the Republic of Armenia and the National Assembly of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic made a joint statement on 26 June. The Committee
urged the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to take all necessary steps to ensure
the full-fledged participation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in all
the stages of the negotiating process.

The statement runs as follows: “Highlighting the full and flawless
compliance of the declaration and the process of formation of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic with the fundamental principles and norms of
the international law and the USSR legislation, which was yet in force
at that time, as well as the reality that the Republic of Armenia is
the guarantor of the realization of the right to self-determination of
the Karabakh people.

We apply to the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to take necessary steps to
ensure the full-fledged participation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
in all the stages of the negotiating process.”

The Committee calls on the OSCE MG co-chair states to take effective
steps for withdrawal of snipers, creation of the machinery for
investigation of incidents and ruling out statements and actions that
embark hatred.

From: A. Papazian

Georgia’s closeness with Russia to affect Armenian-Georgian relations
as well – expert

15:47 * 28.06.14

Georgia’s closer partnership with Russia is likely to affect the
country’s relations with Armenia as well, an expert in Georgian
studies has said, addressing the future of the Armenian-Georgian
relations.

“The Armenian-Georgian relations are regulated on two levels: direct
agreements on the one hand and the Russian-Georgian relations – on the
other. The former implies meetings; Armenia’s president, for instance,
left recently for Georgia to discuss that particular question. The
Russian-Georgian relations – good-neighborly though they may be – will
affect the Armenian-Georgian relations,” Johnny Melikyan told a news
conference on Saturday.

He said the two republics managed to develop economic relations in the
past two decades or so (ever since gaining independence) despite the
polar differences between the problems that they have faced.

“Collaborating with different poles over these years, [Armenia and
Georgia] nonetheless continued the collaboration without any problem.
We know that the car import problem is step by step finding a
solution, and that’s very important in the economic relations between
Georgia and Armenia. So I think the problems are possible to solve,”
the expert noted.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

Monuments of Armenian heritage to be reconstructed in Lebanon

June 28, 2014 – 15:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I
announced the implementation of three projects as part of the
preparation of the 100th Anniversary Commemorations of the Armenian
Genocide. The architects of the Catholicosate are invited to complete
the tasks, benefactors are also invited to contribute to the project,
the website of the Armenian Church Catholicosate of Cilicia Antelias
reported.

The first project is the renovation of the Statue symbolizing the
post-genocide revival of the Armenian people in Bikfaya, Lebanon.

The bronze Statue was prepared to mark the 50th commemoration of the
Genocide in 1965. The land surrounding the statue will be expanded, a
huge map of the genocide will be carved on a new wall to be erected
and a small chapel will be built next to the statue.

Genocide Museum at the Birds Nest Orphanage in Byblos will also be
reconstructed. The oldest building on the campus of the orphanage,
which has been classified as a historical monument, will become the
site of the new museum. The museum will display documents, pictures,
artifacts and other personal objects of the survivors of the Genocide
committed by Ottoman Turkey in 1915.

The institution already has the personal belongings of the orphans,
who were brought to Lebanon by Danish Missionaries soon after the
genocide. This project is financially supported by Mr. Aram Bezikian
from Italy. Aram is the elder son of the Catholicosate’s benefactor
Mr. & Mrs. Alecco and Annie Bezikian.

The third project is the Martyrs’ Chapel in Antelias, built in 1936
and later renovated in 1993 and 2007. It will undergo a total
renovation in preparation for commemorative prayers in 2015. This
project is financed by Mr. Zareh Bezikian from Italy. Zareh is the
younger son of Mr. & Mrs. Alecco and Annie Bezikian.

From: A. Papazian

Heritage Party demands systemic change in power – MP

June 28, 2014 | 12:55

YEREVAN. – The collaboration between the four non-ruling National
Assembly (NA) factions (Armenian National Congress, Prosperous
Armenia, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and Heritage) is a new quality of
political cooperation.

Opposition Heritage Party NA Faction Head Ruben Hakobyan stated the
abovementioned at Heritage’s tenth party congress on Saturday.

Hakobyan also presented an account on the activities of the Heritage
Faction, and noted that the aforesaid “parliamentary four” are now the
deciding factor in the National Assembly.

“Thanks to the joining [of forces] of the four parliamentary factions,
the parliamentary rostrum has become an opposition; it is the
number-one oppositional platform in the country,” he added.

In the MP’s words, Heritage demands a systemic change in power in the
country; but to achieve this, it should be realized that solely one
political force is unable to fulfill this objective, and therefore the
strong political forces need to unite.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

“We don’t need to be so European.” Tatevik Hovhannisyan about Yerevan

June 27 2014

“We all have roots, and it’s not easy to uproot. After uprooting, it
is similarly difficult to get it back into the soil and nourish it…
You should have the right environment, otherwise the roots would dry
out,” these are the words of the Soviet jazz queen, Tatevik
Hovhannisyan. The singer is already in Yerevan, and started from June
28, her concerts in Armenian will commence. The singer’s first concert
will take place on June 28 in the “Yans” music club in Yerevan, and
the second one will take place on June 30 at the Gyumri Drama Theater
after Achemyan, then, on July 2, she will give her first concert in
Stepanakert, and on July 4, her last concert for this year will be
held in the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater after Al.
Spendiaryan. Today, during the meeting with the journalists, T.
Hovhannisyan said that she will perform Armenian folk music in jazz
style, as well as American and Brazilian music. She will perform
already famous and popular songs, as well as completely new ones,
which will be first played in Armenia. “When I went to the U.S., there
was no Armenian music in my repertoire, says the singer, I was singing
American and Brazilian jazz standards. Of course, folk music is not
alien to me. My father and especially my mother, Ofelia Hambardzumyan,
always fed me with this music, and I’ve grown with it. This music
walked with me for years and has deeply rooted in my heart. And when I
went to the United States, an idea occurred to my mind, to connect
these two worlds. It is natural, because when you leave your country,
homesickness becomes more, everything becomes sweeter, and at that
time, I decided that our wonderful, deep rooted music can be combined
with other deep rooted music.” T. Hovhannisyan does not think that
going to the United States has made her a jazz queen. “Let it not
sound immodest, but I went from here as a queen, she says, but I
appreciate my going, because I had not gone to become a star, I went
to learn more, because my music is jazz, and now I am in the best
place for jazz music. I learn something from every one. The growth is
very important for me. And whether this growth would be here, it’s a
question.” The singer has not been in the homeland for six years, and
during this and previous years’ changes in Yerevan are not quite to
her liking. “The then Yerevan is the history of my life. How can I
like this Yerevan more than that one? There are changes that are
commendable, and vice versa, there are other things that are not
commendable, says T. Hovhannisyan, I wish we had preserved what we
were distinguished from others and what is unique to us, our culture,
architecture, traditions and so on. It makes no sense to be a European
city, of which there are hundreds. I wish we had not become so
xenophile. I wish the names of stores or restaurants were written not
in big letters in English, and the Armenian in much smaller letters or
with no Armenian letter, but on the contrary. We should be proud that
we have a very unique language, a wonderful ancient culture. Let’ not
forget it. Eventually, we should not be so European.”

Siranush HAYRAPETYAN
Read more at:

From: A. Papazian

DIPLOMATIE
L’UE s’associe avec l’Ukraine, la Géorgie et la Moldavie malgré Moscou

Bruxelles, 27 juin 2014 (AFP) – L’Union européenne a signé vendredi un
accord d’association qualifié d'”historique” avec l’Ukraine, la
Géorgie et la Moldavie, trois ex-républiques soviétiques qui ont
réaffirmé leur volonté de résister aux pressions de la Russie pour se
rapprocher du bloc des 28.

“Quel grand jour ! Peut-être le plus important pour mon pays depuis
l’indépendance” en 1991, a lancé le président ukrainien Petro
Porochenko. Moscou a aussitôt réagi en affirmant que l’accord entre
l’Ukraine et l’UE aurait de “graves conséquences”, selon un haut
responsable russe.

Les accords ont été formellement signés pour chacun des trois pays à
Bruxelles par les 28 chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement de l’UE, réunis
pour un sommet de deux jours, avec M. Porochenko et les Premiers
ministres géorgien Irakli Garibachvili et moldave Iurie Leanca.

“C’est un grand jour pour l’Europe (…). L’Union européenne se tient
à vos côtés, aujourd’hui plus que jamais”, a déclaré Herman Van
Rompuy, le président du Conseil européen, en s’adressant aux
dirigeants des trois pays.

Il a affirmé que “rien, dans l’accord, n’est susceptible d’affecter la
Russie”. L’accord “est positif, il n’est pas contre quiconque”, a
renchéri le président de la Commission, José Manuel Barroso.

M. Porochenko a indiqué que l’objectif de son pays était désormais
d’entamer le long processus pour adhérer à l’UE, une perspective qui
n’est pas l’objectif de l’accord d’association. “Longue vie à
l’Ukraine, longue vie à l’Europe !”, a-t-il lancé en concluant son
intervention, applaudie par les dirigeants de l’UE.

La perspective d’une adhésion de l’Ukraine de l’UE est loin de faire
l’unanimité au sein des 28, certaines capitales ne souhaitant pas
aggraver les tensions avec Moscou.

Le président ukrainien a signé le second volet de l’accord
d’association, celui d’ordre commercial qui vise en particulier à
supprimer l’essentiel des barrières douanières entre l’Ukraine et les
pays de l’UE. Le premier volet, d’ordre politique, avait été signé en
mars par le Premier ministre, Arseni Iatseniouk. La signature du
document avait été initialement prévue en novembre 2013 avant la
volte-face du président ukrainien Viktor Ianoukovitch, qui a préféré
se tourner vers la Russie pour obtenir une aide économique. Cette
décision avait entraîné le mouvement de contestation qui a conduit à
la chute du président, suivie de l’annexion de la Crimée par la Russie
puis de l’insurrection séparatiste dans l’Est.

La Russie a averti cette semaine qu’elle prendrait des “mesures de
protection” s’il s’avérait que l’accord d’association nuisait à son
économie. L’UE affirme que la Russie a tout à gagner d’une
modernisation de l’économie de ses voisins.

L’accord d’association, inédit dans l’histoire de l’UE, porte sur une
large coopération en échange, par les trois pays, d’engagements pour
l’Etat de droit et la lutte contre la corruption. “L’accord
d’association représente le plan directeur pour l’européeanisation de
la Géorgie”, a déclaré son Premier ministre Garibachvili, en affirmant
sa détermination à mener à bien “les réformes” réclamées par l’UE même
si elles seront “difficiles”.

Pour la Moldavie, “le choix de l’intégration européenne est définitif
(…) Nous voulons devenir un membre à part entière de la famille
européenne”, a déclaré son Premier ministre Leanca. Mais “nous allons
être soumis à de très fortes pressions”, a-t-il prévenu, en faisant
notamment allusion à la Transnistrie, une région séparatiste dont la
Russie a reconnu l’indépendance.

Les trois accords d’association doivent désormais être ratifiés par
les trois pays ainsi que par les 28 de l’UE, un processus qui devrait
prendre plusieurs mois.

samedi 28 juin 2014,
Ara (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

CAUCASE
Géorgie/Moldavie : l’association avec l’UE – un rapprochement à haut
risque (expert russe)

La signature d’accords d’association avec l’Union européenne
entraînerait une dégradation substantielle de la situation économique
en Géorgie et en Moldavie, ce qui provoquerait des problèmes
politiques dans ces pays, a déclaré mardi à RIA Novosti le conseiller
du président russe Sergueï Glaziev.

L’Union européenne envisage de signer le 27 juin des accords
d’association et de libre-échange avec la Géorgie et la Moldavie. Ces
documents ont été paraphés en novembre dernier. L’UE projette
également de signer le même jour le volet économique de son accord
d’association avec l’Ukraine, le volet politique étant déjà signé en
mars dernier.

“Tous les trois accords seront appliqués à partir du moment où chaque
pays signataire aura ratifié le sien”, a indiqué un représentant de
l’UE qui a requis l’anonymat.

Selon M.Glaziev, la signature de l’accord d’association avec l’UE
irait à l’encontre des intérêts de la Géorgie.

“Malgré la dégradation substantielle des relations entre Moscou et
Tbilissi à l’époque de Mikhaïl Saakachvili (ex-président géorgien), la
Russie et les pays membres de la Communauté des Etats indépendants
(CEI) demeurent le principal marché d’écoulement pour les produits
géorgiens. Il serait donc déraisonnable pour Tbilissi de risquer son
régime commercial préférentiel avec les pays de la CEI”, a déclaré le
conseiller présidentiel.

Selon M.Glaziev, la Géorgie a peu de chances d’augmenter le volume
d’exportation de ses marchandises sur le marché européen. En outre,
estime-t-il, “en signant cet accord, Tbilissi légitimera la
désintégration du pays, car ni l’Abkhazie, ni l’Ossétie du Nord
n’accepteront de faire partie de l’Union européenne”.

Evoquant la Moldavie, M. Glaziev a rappelé que de nombreux habitants
de ce pays ne soutenaient pas l’idée de l’association avec l’UE.

“Il ne fait aucun doute que la signature de l’accord provoquerait un
conflit politique profond en Moldavie. La moitié de la population
rejette l’association avec l’Union européenne et se prononce pour
l’intégration du pays au sein des structures eurasiatiques. Cela
concerne en premier lieu la Transnistrie qui ne conçoit pas son avenir
en association avec l’UE”, a indiqué l’expert.

C’est la raison pour laquelle, les perspectives de ratification de cet
accord par le parlement moldave sont assez faibles, estime l’expert.

RIA Novosti

samedi 28 juin 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

REPUBLIQUE DU HAUT KARABAGH
Volodia Khatchatrian >

La ville de Mardakert (au nord de la République du Haut Karabagh)
vient de fêter le 27 juin l’anniversaire de sa libération du joug
azéri en 1993. Un défilé militaire était organisé dans une ambiance de
fête et des centaines de drapeaux du Haut Karabagh flottant au vent.
Après le défilé et la cérémonie devant le mémorial dédié aux
combattants arméniens tombés au champ d’honneur lors de la libération
de Mardakert, de nombreuses festivités culturelles et sportives furent
organisées dans la ville en présence d’invités venus d’Arménie et de
l’étranger. Le soir un concert fut donné puis les feux d’artifice
illuminèrent de toutes les couleurs le ciel de Mardakert. Selon
Volodia Khatchatrian, le préfet de la région de Mardakert, la ville
est devenu un chantier permanent avec de nouvelles constructions qui
surgissent de la terre.

From: A. Papazian

I am against’ initiative urges president to exercise veto right

Saturday, June 28, 2014

“I am against” civil initiative today issued a statement to Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan in connection with the new bill on the
accumulative pension system passed by the National Assembly.

“We believe that the draft law is contrary to the interests of
citizens who still live in the Republic of Armenia. Moreover, even if
you disagree that the law does not stem from the interests of our
citizens, you cannot at least deny that the overwhelming majority of
the population is against that law. In a country that declared itself
democratic under the Constitution, a law opposed by the bearers of
power – the majority of the people may not be adopted,” the statement
reads.

The civil initiative members demand that the law, which was adopted by
the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) parliamentary faction but was
disapproved by the public, should not be approved. “I am against’
urges the Armenian president to exercise his veto right and stop the
law from taking effect.

27.06.2014, 20:25
Aysor.am

From: A. Papazian

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS CONCERNED ABOUT POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS IN ARMENIA

June 27, 2014 | 12:53

Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about the police violence
against journalists in Armenia.

In the statement issued on Thursday, the organization said police used
violence against journalists who were waiting with around 60 other
people outside a police station in the Yerevan district of Kentron
on 23 June for the release of protesters arrested earlier in the day.

Journalist Ani Gervorgyan was slapped by a policeman she recognized as
the one who had tried to confiscate her camera on 12 February. Another
journalist, Arpi Makhsudyan, was hit while filming with her mobile
phone and was forced to stop. Gala TV cameraman Paylak Fahradyan was
physically attacked and his laptop was smashed.

“We firmly condemn the police violence against journalists who were
just doing their job in a law-abiding manner,” said Johann Bihr,
the head of the Reporters Without Borders Eastern Europe and Central
Asia Desk.

“The actions of the police must not be unpunished or else their
violent behaviour will recur and could become the norm. The policemen
who attacked the journalists must be brought to justice.”

A total of 27 people were arrested earlier in the day when police
used violence to disperse a demonstration outside the Public Services
Regulation Commission.

The activists were protecting against increase in electricity prices.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian