Author: Andres-Papazian

ERDOGAN FINDS THAT DINK’S MURDER WAS CRIME OF FORETHOUGHT

11:15, 2 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip
Erdogan thinks that the assassination of the former Editor-in-Chief
of the Istanbul-based Armenian periodical Agos Hrant Dink was a crime
of forethought. As reports “Armenpress”, the Turkish T24.com states
that the Turkish President reflected on the issue on his way back
home from Saudi Arabia responding the questions of the journalists
in the aircraft.

Among other things, the Turkish President touched upon the decision to
arrest the former head of Turkey’s police intelligence Ramazan Akyurek
and particularly underscored: “I am not a lawyer, but, in my opinion,
it’s impossible to trace negligence in this case. There is a crime
of forethought in this incident. It has nothing to do with negligence.”

Samast, who was sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison in 2011
for the murder, is currently testifying as a witness in the ongoing
investigation into the murder. The sources said that Samast has named
the suspect, who can add a new dimension to the investigation following
a three hour interrogation by prosecutor Yusuf Hakkı Dogan.

Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of Agos, was murdered outside his office by
17-year-old Ogun Samast on January 19 2007. An earlier investigation
showed that the prosecutors who worked on the case ignored serious
allegations into the involvement of top police officers in the murder.

From: A. Papazian

7th anniversary of tragic events in Armenia’s capital

13:37 * 01.03.15

March 1, 2015, marks the 7th anniversary of tragic events in Armenia’s
capital, which claimed ten lives.

A traditional rally will take place in Yerevan with the participation
of the victims’ relatives. Flowers will be laid at the Myasnykyan
monument in memory of the victims.

On March 1, 2008, opposition forces protested the results of
presidential election in Armenia. The authorities used force, which
resulted in ten deaths, leaving hundreds injured.

Among the killed were David Petrosyan, Grigor Grigoryan, Tigran
Khachatryan, Armen Farmanyan, Gor Kolyan, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan,
Zakar Hovhannisyan, Samvel Harutyunyan, Hamlet Tadevosyan and Tigran
Abgaryan.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIAN SOLDIER GOES MISSING IN ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 28 2015

27 February 2015 – 7:46pm

Russian soldier Artur Afyan of the FSB Border Directorate in Armenia
has gone missing. He is a citizen of Armenia. His disappearance was
reported on February 23. Before disappearing, the soldier told his
wife that he had big debts. She was the one to inform the police about
the missing man. The Armenian Investigative Committee has initiated
a criminal case on murder, Interfax reports.

From: A. Papazian

BAKU SLAMS SEPARATIST REGIME IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH OVER ELECTION SCAM

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 27 2015

27 February 2015, 17:10 (GMT+04:00)
By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry slammed forthcoming “parliamentary
elections” in the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh republic scheduled for
May 2015.

“The so-called parliamentary elections of the puppet separatist regime
are illegal,” declared Hikmet Hajiyev, the spokesman for the Foreign
Ministry on February 27.

“Those planned elections are clearly a violation of Azerbaijan’s
Constitution and stand against the principal of international law.

Therefore, such elections will never have any significant impact,”
he added.

Hajiyev further emphasized that this move mainly aimed to undermine
peace talks and prevent any breakthrough in the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The so-called authorities in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region
have scheduled “parliamentary elections” to be held on May 3, 2015,
read a statement from the illegitimate “NKR” president’s press office.

Previous parliamentary “elections” in Azerbaijan’s occupied lands
were held on May 23, 2010, at which point Azerbaijan appealed the
United Nations Organization.

Puppet rulers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan have always
seized every possible opportunity to hinder, thwart and sabotage
peace negotiations.

In July 2012, with the support of the Armenian authorities
the so-called regime in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories held
“presidential elections”.

Along with Azerbaijan, Turkey has strictly condemned such actions
stressing they stood in breach of international law.

Back in 1992, following a violent and bloody conflict, Armenia occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has yet to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions
calling for the liberation of all occupied territories.

From: A. Papazian

GULENIST POLICE CHIEF ARRESTED OVER ARMENIAN JOURNALIST’S MURDER

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Feb 27 2015

DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL

Ramazan Akyurek, the former head of the Turkish National Police’s
intelligence unit, who is believed to have ties with the Gulen
Movement, was arrested on Friday on the order of an Istanbul court
one day after he was detained as part of an inquiry into the murder
of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink

Akyurek, who was the police chief in the northern Black Sea city
of Trabzon when Dink was assassinated in 2007 by a Trabzon youth,
was arrested on Friday after he was brought before a court in Istanbul.

Akyurek, who later served as the head of the National Police’s
intelligence unit, faces charges of negligence for failure to act
despite knowing that Dink would be murdered by a teenager motivated
by a police informant.

A new investigation into the murder plot has revealed police officers
and prosecutors linked to the shady Gulen Movement engaged in a
cover-up to help the murder suspects.

A mustachioed Akyurek entered the sprawling court complex in
Istanbul’s Caglayan district on Friday morning. The police chief,
who loudly denied allegations against him in media outlets and TV
channels linked to the Gulen Movement, was quiet as he was escorted
into the courthouse by police officers. He only muttered to a throng of
journalists that surrounded him “forgive any wrong I’ve done to you.”

He refused to testify at the police station to which he was initially
brought on his lawyers’ advice. After a four hour interrogation by
the chief prosecutor, he was referred to the court and the prosecutor
requested judges to order his arrest on charges of committing a
premeditated murder through an act of negligence, forgery in official
documents, gross misconduct for failing to warn authorities about
the murder and for reportedly destroying electronic logs regarding
the murder investigation.

Following a removal of the ban on the investigation of public
officials in relation to the case in June 2014, the investigation
into the murder of Dink – who was shot outside the offices of Agos
daily where he served as editor-in-chief – was renewed. This led to
officials, including the former Istanbul police chief, deputy governor
and other high-ranking officials in the city at the time of the murder,
being summoned for questioning.

The prosecutors also interrogated former police intelligence director
Sabri Uzun and intelligence chiefs Akyurek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer.

The Gulen Movement, which is run by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah
Gulen, is accused of running a “state within a state” through its
infiltrators in the police and judiciary. The movement is reportedly
behind controversial trials that have seen the imprisonment of military
officers, journalists and critics of the group.

An investigation by previous prosecutors who worked on the murder case
revealed that they dismissed allegations about Akyurek and Yılmazer.

Muammer AkkaÃ…~_ was the last investigator of the murder who assumed
the case in 2010. AkkaÃ…~_, the chief prosecutor in the infamous
Dec. 25 probe that sought to discredit the government by implicating
those close to the government and the Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) with charges of corruption, deliberately stalled the case
according to media reports.

AkkaÃ…~_ and other prosecutors did not investigate the allegations
that Akyurek deleted electronic records and telephone logs within the
National Police that would help shed light on the murder, according to
reports in the Turkish media. The prosecutors also did not investigate
similar allegations towards Yılmazer. Security camera footage at the
time of the murder was not properly examined, and the role of police
intelligence officials and gendarmerie officers both in Istanbul and
in the northern province of Trabzon, where the suspects hailed from
and where they allegedly planned the murder, were not investigated.

The prosecutors reportedly did not look into the phone conversation
logs of the suspects well enough to establish their connection with
each other and other likely suspects, and officers at the Istanbul
police department hid evidence regarding the suspects’ connections.

The prosecutors are also accused of not investigating contradictions
in the testimonies of the murder suspects.

Sabri Uzun, who was head of the National Police Intelligence
Department, had claimed his subordinates hid tip-offs warning against
the murder of Dink. Questioned about the murder, Uzun said Yılmazer
hid an intelligence report from him regarding a plot to kill Dink.

Yılmazer, who was the predecessor of Akyurek as the head of
the intelligence unit, is currently in prison for a separate case
involving illegal wiretapping, while Akyurek was removed from duty amid
a major reshuffle in Turkish law enforcement last year. Earlier, he was
suspended over allegations of destroying and leaking secret documents
regarding the Dink investigation. Testifying to prosecutors recently,
Akyurek admitted that he was aware of a planned murder regarding
Dink after one of his subordinates presented him an intelligence
report. He told prosecutors he did not remember the details, and
thought that the Istanbul and Trabzon police directorate had “taken
[the] necessary measures.”

Ogun Samast, who is currently in an Istanbul prison for Dink’s
murder, told prosecutors that the Trabzon police helped him and his
accomplices, and said Yılmazer and Akyurek had knowledge of the plot
in his new testimony last year.

From: A. Papazian

Paul Krekorian Leads LA’s Sponsorship of Genocide Centennial Events

Friday, February 27th, 2015

>From l to r: Tereza Yerimyan, Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, Councilman
Paul Krekorian, Nora Hovsepian and Garo Ghazarian

LOS ANGELES–Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian is
spearheading the City of LA’s sponsorship of events commemorating the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Krekorian, the first
Armenian-American ever elected to the City Council, has introduced
motions that show the city’s commitment to human rights and justice.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who represents Council
District 13, which includes Little Armenia, has also led efforts to
ensure the Armenian Genocide is properly commemorated in LA, along
with fellow Councilmember Paul Koretz.

Here’s what the city is doing:

-City Sponsorship of Events: Designating Armenian Genocide Centennial
observance activities as official citywide special events.

-“America We Thank You” Library Event: Providing funding for and
co-sponsoring the Armenian National Committee of America-Western
Region’s “America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near East
Relief” premiere of Near East Foundation traveling exhibit entitled
“They Shall Not Perish: The Story of Near East Releief” at the Los
Angeles Central Library in March and April. The exhibit highlights the
outpouring of generosity by the American people and government during
and in the immediate aftermath of the Armenian Genocide.

-March for Justice: Providing funding and support for the “March for
Justice” on April 24 that begins in Little Armenia. Councilmember
Mitch O’Farrell introduced a motion, seconded by Paul Koretz, to place
50 banners in the 13th District along the March for Justice route.

-Street Banners Across the City: Providing street banners positioned
around the city to promote the March for Justice.

-Centennial Art Contest: Hosting the Centennial Art Contest with the
winner’s artwork to be featured on city buses in April.

-Turning City Hall Purple: Lighting City Hall’s façade in purple for
the week of April 24 to symbolize the forget-me-not, the official
emblem of the worldwide observance of the Armenian Genocide
Centennial.

-100 Pomegranate Trees: Planting 100 pomegranate trees in parks
throughout the city, including at City Hall.

-Councilmember O’Farrell is working with Councilmember Krekorian’s
office as well as other Council offices to identify funding sources
for this event that involves multiple districts.

“The City of Los Angeles is committed to recognizing the Armenian
Genocide and educating people throughout the city about our continued
struggle for justice,” said Councilmember Krekorian. “There will be an
extraordinary exhibit at the city’s Central Library that highlights
America’s generous support for the Armenian people, along with banners
advertising the ‘March for Justice’ across the city. Because of my
efforts, we will also light City Hall in a purple glow to symbolize
forget-me-nots, display art commemorating the centennial on city
buses, and plant pomegranate trees throughout LA’s parks. This is an
unprecedented commitment by Los Angeles to our community and to
telling our story. I’m proud to have helped make it happen.”

From: A. Papazian

Marcha frente a la embajada de Azerbaiyán por matanzas de armenios

28.2.15

La comunidad armenia marchó el viernes 27 de febrero a la embajada de
Azerbaiyán para conmemorar el 27° aniversario de las matanzas de
armenios en Sumgait, Bakú y Kirovabad y denunciar las actividades
antiarmenias de los diplomáticos azeríes en Argentina.

“Las matanzas, las persecuciones, el hostigamiento, el despojo y el
desplazamiento de los armenios que vivían en Azerbaiyán hasta fines de
la década de los ochenta, constituyen un crimen de lesa humanidad por
el que el Estado de Azerbaiyán debe hacerse responsable”, denunció Ary
Assadourian, miembro de Unión Juventud Armenia, en su discurso. “Los
miles de armenios asesinados y los más de 350.000 que debieron buscar
refugio en otros países, obligan a nuestra sociedad a tomar posición”,
agregó.

Los organizadores explicaron que “estas matanzas fueron una
continuación del genocidio perpetrado por el Estado turco hace cien
años y que tanto Turquía como Azerbaiyán trabajan conjuntamente para
negarlo”.

Varias organizaciones políticas acompañaron la marcha, entre ellas, el
partidoSeamos Libres del candidato a jefe de gobierno, Pablo Ferreyra,
y el partido Nuevo Encuentro, mientras que enviaron adhesiones el
diputado Carlos Raimundi, el legislador porteño Maximiliano Ferraro,
la agrupación La Amaya, el partidoSolidaridad e Igualdad y la
Agrupación Federico García Lorca.

Hace dos años, la agencia Prensa Armenia denunció que el gobierno
azerí tenía una “lista negra” de personas que tienen prohibida la
entrada al país, entre ellas, el periodista y editor jefe de la
sección de política internacional del diario Clarín, Marcelo Cantelmi,
y el empresario argentino de origen armenio, Eduardo Eurnekian.

En el mismo sentido, el año pasado la diplomacia azerí intentó
sponsorear la camiseta de San Lorenzo de Almagro. El presidente del
club, Matías Lammens,rechazó la propuesta y la denunció, ya que además
exigían que no haya personas de origen armenio en la comisión
directiva del club.

En septiembre, la Legislatura porteña dio marcha atrás con un proyecto
de ley para que se denomine “República de Azerbaiyán” a una plaza de
Colegiales, luego del reclamo de la comunidad armenia.

El pasado 19 de febrero, la embajada de Azerbaiyán presentó un libro
en conjunto con el profesor de la Universidad Nacional de la Plata,
Paulo Botta, en el que se presenta la propaganda oficial del gobierno
azerí. “Es inaceptable que utilicen el nombre de una universidad
nacional para difundir las mentiras del gobierno de Ilham Aliyev, un
gobierno que se sostiene en el poder encarcelando periodistas y
silenciando a la oposición”, denunciaron los organizadores de la
marcha.

From: A. Papazian

Number of banks to reduce in Armenia – economist

15:30 / 27.02.2015

Only 5-6 banks in Armenia reach 30 billion line and they are given
time to raise their capital, economist Vilen Khachatryan told the
reporters today, stressing that the issue is that there are banks who
must add their capital thrice.

“In conditions of current financial difficulties it will lead to the
uniting of the banks or more right to say the big ones will swallow
the ones with smaller capital and the number of banks will reduce by
5-6,” he said, adding that it will result in weakening of the
competition, reduction of the number of employees. The economist said
it is not excluded that they will not unite but just close.

Khachatryan also spoke about the financial integration organization
which calculates the amount of outflow of illegal capital. “Statistics
for Armenia is presented as of December 2014. In this report the
amount of the illegal capital flow from Armenia during 2002-2012 is
said reach 750 million USD. In 2012 the volume has grown making 1
billion 200 million USD,” he said.

The economist stressed that it is almost impossible for Armenia to
avoid capital outflow. He stressed that only countries with positive
trade balance [more export, less import] manage to avoid capital
outflow. “If we too have it we will avoid capital outflow before
reaching it we will be condemned to it,” he added.

From: A. Papazian

Haykakan Zhamanak: Foreign transfers to Armenia cut down twice

12:26 * 28.02.15

The remittances to Armenia fell by 50% to US $ 37 million since
January compared to the first two months of 2014, the paper says,
citing official statistics.

It says that the foreign transfers, which mostly constitute the
earnings of the Armenians working abroad, severely impact the
population’s general well-being. The paper claims that the private
transfers, which are the only means of survival of hundreds and
thousands of families, are comparable in volume to Armenia’s State
Budget. Such a declines, according to the paper, leads to families’
impoverishment, reducing the population’s purchasing capacity.

Citing the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), the paper says that it
expected the decline to be no more than 30% and built its
monetary-loan policies accordingly. The January records, however,
reveal that the reality is even much worse than the CBA expected, adds
the paper.

From: A. Papazian

The first obstacle of the Iran-Armenia railway is “the concessionaire
of the Armenian railway”

February 28 2015

“Today, the Armenian railway concessionaire first of all prevents the
construction of the Iran-Armenia railway”, such opinion was expressed
by economist Ashot Yeghiazaryan in the conversation with Aravot.am,
commenting on the Government’s yesterday’s decision pertaining to the
Southern Railway. Minister of Transport and Communications Gagik
Beglaryan reported the Prime Minister at the Government session that
the terms for accepting respective legal acts on making amendments in
the Concession Agreement and the list of Action Plans required for the
construction of Southern Railway (Iran-Armenia) of Armenia is delayed
for two months. Gagik Beglaryan had associated the delay of the
railway construction by having a negative posture on some matters by
the concessionaire. To our question that some politicians are
convinced that the Iran-Armenia railroad will never be built and
actually, the construction of the railway is a “myth”, Ashot
Yeghiazaryan assured that it is a non-profitable project for the
“South Caucasus Railway”, which is the operator of the Armenian
railway. “It is a non-profitable project not only financially, but
also requires huge investments, which requires long years of
compensation. In addition, Russia’s today’s concessionaire is not
competitive and it is unable to provide competitive railway services.”
According to him, no new concessionaire can emerge under these
conditions, as railway transport and energy are very important
geo-economic infrastructures, with the help of which Russia is able to
keep the post-Soviet countries to be dependent. The economist believes
that the way to Iran definitely is not beneficial for Russia
geo-economically and geopolitically, because Armenia having
alternative routes would mean lessening the dependence.

Lusine BUDAGHYAN
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From: A. Papazian