Author: Andres-Papazian

ISRAEL VIENT OFFICIELLEMENT DE RECONNAITRE L’ARCHEVEQUE NOURHAN MANOUKIAN COMME LE REPRESENTANT DE L’EGLISE ARMENIENNE DE JERUSALEM

ISRAEL-EGLISE ARMENIENNE

Israel vient officiellement de reconnaître Mgr Nourhan Manoukian comme
l’Archeveque de l’Eglise armenienne a Jerusalem. Le ministre israelien
de l’Interieur Gideon Sa’ar a recu le 23 juillet l’Archeveque Nourhan
Manoukian accompagne de l’archeveque Sevan Gharibian et du père Koussan
Aldjanian. Lors de la rencontre le ministre israelien de l’Interieur
a confie a Mgr Nourhan Manoukian une lettre confirmant officiellement
son statu de chef de l’Eglise armenienne a Jerusalem.

Nourhan Manoukian remplace Mgr Torkom Manoukian disparu le 12 octobre
2012 a l’âge de 93 ans.

Krikor Amirzayan

jeudi 25 juillet 2013, Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

L’ARMENIE VA OUVRIR UNE AMBASSADE EN SUEDE

ARMENIE

Le gouvernement armenien a approuve un budget de 168 millions de
drams pour l’ouverture d’une ambassade en Suède dont le siège sera
a Stockholm.

Le vice ministre des Affaires etrangères Chavarch Kotcharian a declare
lors d’une reunion du gouvernement que les relations entre l’Armenie
et la Suède et le dialogue politique au plus haut niveau au cours des
sept ou huit dernières annees se sont intensifies comme en temoigne
la visite du president armenien en Suède et la visite en Armenie du
ministre suedois des Affaires etrangères.

Le projet indique que des groupes d’amitie parlementaires seront mis
en place dans les deux pays et d’ailleurs, la Suède est le seul pays
nordique dont le Parlement a reconnu en 2010 le genocide armenien
dans la Turquie ottomane.

jeudi 25 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

UN CONSCRIT MEURT DANS LE HAUT-KARABAGH

KARABAGH

Un conscrit est mort dans l’une des unites militaires dans le
Haut-Karabagh a rapporte le bureau de presse de la Republique du
Haut-Karabagh.

Le 22 Juillet, Narek Hovsepian conscrit de 19 ans,est mort d’une
blessure mortelle dans un accident dans une unite militaire de l’armee
de defense du Haut-Karabagh a environ 00h30, selon le rapport

Une enquete est en cours.

Le ministère de la Defense du Karabah exprime ses condoleances a la
famille de Narek Hovsepian, indique le rapport

jeudi 25 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

FOREIGN MINISTRY: FRENCH-AZERBAIJANI ECONOMIC RELATIONS TO BE FURTHER DEVELOPED

Trend, Azerbaijan
July 24 2013

Azerbaijan, Baku, July 24 / Trend /

The French Foreign Minister is confident in the development of economic
relations with Azerbaijan, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius
said at a meeting with Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov,
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.

The meeting was held during the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister’s visit
to Paris.

Laurent Fabius highlighted Azerbaijani First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva’s
contribution in the development of cultural relations between the two
countries at the meeting and expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan
for supporting the establishment of a French lycee in Baku.

The foreign ministers of the two countries discussed issues of
bilateral cooperation, regional security, energy cooperation, as well
as the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister informed his counterpart about the
negotiation process on the conflict settlement. He stressed that it
must be resolved to restore peace and stability in the region.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. are
currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

From: A. Papazian

RETURN OF SEIZED PROPERTY TO MINORITY FOUNDATIONS REMAINS AT 16 PERCENT

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 24 2013

24 July 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL

Representatives from non-Muslim foundations have announced that
they have received a positive response for only 16 percent of the
applications they made for the return of their property seized by
the state, the Taraf daily reported on Wednesday.

Recent remarks by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke
during an iftar dinner, saying his government has returned property
that valued at $2.5 billion to non-Muslims, has brought the issue of
property seized from Turkey’s minorities back on the nation’s agenda.

In 2011, Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
government adopted a decree to return all confiscated immovable
property belonging to minority foundations in Turkey.

According to the decree, minority foundations are able to reclaim real
property they had declared back in 1936. All real property, cemeteries
and fountains will be returned to their rightful owners. Immovable
property currently belonging to third parties will also be paid for.

The 1936 Law on Foundations aimed to control non-Muslim foundations
by placing them under the guardianship of the Directorate General
for Foundations (VGM).

Since 2011, non-Muslim foundations have applied to the VGM demanding
the return of 542 properties. However, they have been unable to get
back most of their seized property over the past two years.

In remarks to Taraf, Laki Vingas, head of the Minorities Foundation,
explained: “One hundred and sixteen minority foundations have applied
for the return of 542 properties, but only 253 properties have been
returned. Applications for the return of 829 seized properties were
rejected. No assessment has been made about the situation of 460
properties. With regard to 18 properties, which were acquired by
third persons, a decision was made for compensation to be paid,”
adding that only 16 percent of the applications have been responded
to in the affirmative.

According to Vingas, the process concerning the return of seized
property of non-Muslims will be concluded within three months and
the rate of the return will remain at 25 percent at most.

With regard to the rejected applications, Vingas said rejections
mostly happen due to missing documents and failure to determine the
exact location of the property, adding that some minority foundations
have taken legal action concerning their rejected applications.

Å~^ahin Gezer, a member of the real estate commission of the Turkish
Armenian Patriarchate, told the daily that he finds the figure cited
by Erdogan exaggerated, adding that if all the seized property of
non-Muslim foundations had been returned, it would be about $2.5
billion.

Voicing his disapproval of the slow progress in the return of seized
property, Gezer said: “The process is running very slowly. The state
knows it better than us what place was ours and what was not. We need
to take back the documents from the state which the state wants from
us. But, we cannot get these documents from many institutions. What
we want is covered-up documents at the end of the day. When we cannot
get these documents, our applications are rejected and we cannot
prove that that property was ours.”

The Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation is another
non-Muslim foundation most of whose applications for the return of
seized property were rejected.

Foundation head Vartkes Ergun Ayık told Taraf that they applied for
the return of 190 properties to the foundation but that only 17 have
been given back to them.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH DEPUTY PM: TURKEY IS NOT MULLING MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SYRIA

18:08 24/07/2013 ” IN THE WORLD

A military intervention in Syria would further complicate the situation
in the war-torn country, a senior Turkish government official has
said, although armed Kurdish groups’ attempts to create a de facto
situation in northern Syria is a major concern for Turkey, Hurriyet
Daily News reported.

“We have already announced that we will not allow any fait accompli
in Syria. But we are of the opinion that any [military] intervention
would make the situation in Syria more negative,” Deputy Prime
Minister Bulent Arınc told Ankara bureau chiefs late yesterday at
an iftar dinner. The statement came at a moment when the Turkish army
was stepping up its military measures along the Syrian border in the
face of escalating tension.

Known as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) affiliate in
Syria, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) has recently increased its
influence in the northern part of the country and taken control of
several towns along the border after clashes with the radical Islamist
al-Nusra Front. There are concerns that the PYD is planning to declare
its autonomy in northern Syria, taking advantage of the power vacuum
in the country.

Turkey said it won’t tolerate a fait accompli in Syria but Arınc’s
statement clearly showed that it was not planning to cross the border
to intervene against the PYD.

Arınc accused Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad of using the PYD and
Iran-backed Hezbollah in his fight with the Syrian opposition and said
the PYD was trying to profit from the ongoing turmoil in the country.

The deputy prime minister said Masoud Barzani, the president of the
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government and prominent Kurdish leader,
also opposed the PYD’s acts.

Source: Panorama.am

From: A. Papazian

HERITAGE PARTY VICE-CHAIR COMMENTS ON DISMISSAL OF CHARGES AGAINST ARMENIAN EX-FM

22:43 24.07.13

The two national elections – the parliamentary and presidential
elections – as well as local elections are in the past, and freer
activities can be carried out, Heritage Vice-Chairman Armen Martirosyan
told Tert.am as he addressed the dismissal of money laundering charges
against Armenia’s ex-FM Vartan Oskanian, who is a Prosperous Armenia
Party (PAP) parliamentary group member.

“The moment the PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan stated that the PAP could
not be an opposition party, the charges could be considered dismissed,”
Martirosyan said. He is sure that was political persecution.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

HUNDREDS OF SYRIAN MILITANTS DEFECT BACK FOR AMNESTY

Wed Jul 24, 2013 4:21

TEHRAN (FNA)- Hundreds of disillusioned militants who took up arms
against the Syrian administration are defecting back to the government
side, a report said.

Exhausted after more than two years of conflict and feeling that
they are losing, growing numbers of insurgents are signing up to a
negotiated amnesty offered by President Bashar al-Assad, the Daily
Telegraph newspaper reported on Tuesday.

At the same time, the families of retreating militants have begun
quietly moving back to government-controlled territory, seen as a
safer place to live as the government continues its intense military
push against terrorist-held areas.

The move is a sign of the growing confidence of the government, which
has established the Ministry of Reconciliation with the task of easing
the way for former opponents to return to the government side.

Ali Haider, the minister in charge, said, “Our message is, ‘if you
really want to defend the Syrian people, put down your weapons and
come and defend Syria in the right way, through dialogue’.”

Haider, who has a reputation as a moderate within the government,
has established a system in which opposition fighters give up their
weapons in exchange for safe passage to government-held areas.

Militants have privately said that they are aware of the amnesty offer,
and that some men had chosen to accept it.

“I used to fight…, but now I think we have lost what we were fighting
for,” said Mohammed, an insurgent from the Northern town of Raqqa who
declined to give his last name. “Now extremists control my town. My
family has moved back to government side because our town is too
unsafe. ”

The prevalence of terrorist groups in militant-held areas, particularly
in the North, has caused some opposition militants to “give up”
on their cause.

Ziad Abu Jabal comes from one of the villages in Homs Province whose
residents recently agreed to stop fighting the government. “When we
joined the demonstrations we wanted better rights,” he said. “After
seeing the destruction and the power of jihadists, we came to an
agreement with the government”.

Haider said that he had attended a ceremony on Monday at which 180
opposition militants rejoined the government’s police force, from
which they had previously defected.

The Daily Telegraph reporter previously visited the Reconciliation
Ministry’s headquarters in the capital, Damascus. The office was
crowded with the family members of militants fighting in the city’s
suburbs who said their men wanted to return.

A ministry negotiator, who gave his name only as Ahmed, was in the
process of arranging the defection of a rebel commander and 10 of
his men from the Ghouta District.

“It took us three months of negotiation and this is a test,” he said.

“If this goes well, the commander says that 50 others will follow. ”

He described the steps taken to allow the return of fighters willing
to lay down their arms. First, he said, a negotiator must cross the
front line for a meeting on rebel-held territory. “We have to hope
the rebel commander orders his snipers not to shoot us. ”

Would-be defectors were given papers allowing them to pass through
Syrian army checkpoints, and then waited in a safe house until the
officials could get their names removed from wanted lists held by
the Defense Ministry and intelligence agencies.

The rebels “did not sign up to be part of extremist groups that have
now gained influence”, he said. “Now they want to come back to a
normal life. ”

In the days before the government took the town of Qusseir last month,
The Telegraph saw mediators on the Lebanese border work with the
Syrian army to secure an amnesty for fighters wanting to surrender.

The phone rang with desperate calls from the parents of the militants.

“These mothers know that this is the last chance for their sons. If
they don’t give up their weapons now they will die because they are
losing the battle,” said Ali Fayez Uwad, the mediator.

From: A. Papazian

VARTAN OSKANIAN REFUTES NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE’S REPORT THAT HE HAS GIVEN A CONFESSION
by Nana Martirosyan

ARMINFO
Wednesday, July 24, 17:11

Ex Foreign Minister of Armenia, MP Vartan Oskanian has refuted the
report by the National Security Service of Armenia that he has given
a confession. He said that according to the logic of the Service’s
report, one can misuse budgetary funds, pay taxes on them and avoid
criminal proceedings.

Oskanian notes that the key point of this case is that the “money
laundering” and “embezzlement” charges laid against him cannot be
proved simply because he did not do that. From the very first day,
Oskanian insisted that he had not misused a single cent from the money
provided by John Huntsman to his Civilitas Foundation, and even more,
due to his efforts, the sum grew by more than $100,000.

Earlier in the day the National Security Service of Armenia reported
that Oskanian admitted on July 19 that he had spent for own needs as
much as $250,795 out of the money provided by Huntsman to Civilitas
for charity. The Service added that Oskanian expressed readiness to
pay the taxes he had to pay on the sum. The Service said that Oskanian
had to pay 20,140,324 AMD, which he did on July 23.

From: A. Papazian

YEREVANTSIS MOBILIZE AGAINST PRICE HIKES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The protests against bus fare hikes in Yerevan gain momentum. “We
won’t pay 150 drams!” (Photo by Nayiry Ghazarian, The Armenian Weekly)

BY SAMSON MARTIROSYAN
>From The Armenian Weekly

YEREVAN–The government’s decision to increase prices for public
transport entered into force on July 20. Commuters using mini-buses
(marshootkas) and buses saw fares increase by over 30 percent, from
100 to 150 drams (25 to 40 cents). Meanwhile, the fare for trollies
doubled in price, from 50 to 100 drams. The decision was met with
outrage from the public, and the reasons were manifold.

The public is unwilling to accept any increase in prices due to the
staggeringly low minimum monthly wage for one person (35,000 drams,
or approximately $85), coupled with high levels of unemployment,
and other economic concerns.

Second, there is a lack of any apparent justification for the
decision. The main reason is said to be the rise in natural gas prices
(natural gas is used as fuel for public transportation in Armenia),
and the expenses attributed to the technical maintenance of vehicles
and the new assessed cost per passenger, published by the Yerevan
Mayor’s Office. According to this document, the price for one
marshootka passenger is 144.3 drams, and 157.3 dram for buses.

Dissatisfaction with the findings of the report have led to
a separate, third-party analysis, which found that the real price
for one marshootka passenger is 94.2 drams (including a five percent
profit), and 118.5 drams for buses.

On July 19, a group of protesters gathered in front of Yerevan Mayor
Taron Margaryan’s Office and, in the presence of numerous policemen
who outnumbered the protesters, held an unofficial meeting with the
Mayor’s Office representative. The demonstrators attempted to present
the results of the alternative report, but the meeting resulted in
nothing more than each side reinforcing its own position.

The level of dissent seemed to increase immediately thereafter. Many
now believe that the new prices are not the result of natural gas
prices or technical maintenance; rather, they say, it is because the
transport lines are reportedly co-owned by Mayor Margaryan and other
politicians and oligarchs, and that they are the ones who made–and
will profit from–the decision.

The situation is getting tense. Yet, there are several reasons why
this newly emerging movement in Yerevan has already been beneficial
for society:

1. The protests have drawn mostly young people–students, NGO
activists, civil society groups, etc.–who tend to be more determined
and, in a positive sense, more aggressive and demanding.

2. There is also an accompanying sense of community. This has
come about through social media websites like Facebook and
Twitter. In a very short period of time, several groups and
events have been created as tools to bring people together and
maximize organizing as a community. The Twitter/Facebook hashtag
#Õ¹Õ¥Õ´Õ¾Õ³Õ¡O~@Õ¥Õ¬Õ¸O~B150Õ¤O~@Õ¡Õ´ (“I will not pay 150 dram”)
is quite popular now.

3. The activists are committed. Several groups are working to raise
awareness by hanging leaflets and posting caricatures of Mayor
Margaryan on buses and bus stops. The numbers of such groups is
rising. Police have detained a handful of protesters engaged in
such actions.

4. The drivers are not identified as the enemy. Despite initial
concerns that drivers would confront passengers unwilling to pay the
new prices, it turns out that often they not only object to the old
prices, but in some cases even encourage people to pay the old fares.

Some drivers have even gone on strike, declaring that they too are
against the new prices and do not want any conflicts with passengers.

5. The protest against the new prices has led to citizens raising other
concerns regarding the system of public transportation in Yerevan. They
are now demanding that authorities provide more vehicles to reduce
the number of overcrowded mini-buses and buses; develop a new payment
system; provide discounts for students and other special groups;
ensure that people with disabilities can take full advantage of public
transport; control the length of driving shifts to avoid drivers
being overworked; get rid of the hand-to-hand paying system; take
steps toward eliminating private ownership of public transportation;
and hold the Mayor’s office responsible.

6. Almost every Armenian news source has published articles regarding
this case, and the level of coverage has been positive overall.

In the current stage, it is difficult to know which of these factors
will play the largest role, or whether they will have any impact
at all. There is also the possibility that the authorities will not
react to these developments, remaining indifferent until the movement
exhausts itself. Time will tell how this case develops; what’s
most important, however, is that such movements have a cumulative,
positive impact in the development of a demanding, self-reliant,
and strong civil society.

From: A. Papazian