Author: Andres-Papazian

“ARMAVIA” RESTORES YEREVAN-ALEPPO FLIGHTS

ARMENPRESS
29 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS: “Armavia” national carrier company
restores Yerevan-Aleppo regular flights. Armenpress was informed
from the press responsible person of the company Nana Avetisova that
from July 2 each Monday with periodicity one flight in a week will
be implemented Yerevan-Aleppo flights. It is possible that in future
the schedule is reviewed.

“We restored the flights based on request of society, individual
citizens and His Holiness Karekin II Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians” mentioned Avetisova.

Yerevan-Aleppo flights were stopped since March of current year based
on security concerns because of international difficult situation.

Because of clashes which last already 16 months more than 10 000
people have died in Syria. Armenian community also had losses:
6 Armenians have been killed, 4 of them were soldiers of Syrian army.

From: A. Papazian

BERMAN BLOCKS US MILITARY SALE TO BAKU

Asbarez
Thursday, June 28th, 2012

Rep. Howard Berman State Department takes Azerbaijan off proposed
list of recipient countries for upcoming sale of helicopter equipment

WASHINGTON–In response to Congressional concerns first raised by
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA),
the State Department has removed Azerbaijan from a list of countries
eligible to purchase U.S. military hardware which could be used by
the Aliyev regime in its ongoing attacks against Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“This decision by Secretary Clinton is in the best interests of the
Armenian people and for peace in the region,” said Rep. Berman, upon
receiving the modified formal notification from the State Department
late on June 27th.

“We would like to thank Rep. Berman for taking immediate action
to block this proposed arms sale, particularly given the Aliyev
regime’s recent attacks against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh that
coincided with Secretary Clinton’s visit to the Caucasus,” stated ANCA
Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian. “Military equipment sales
to Azerbaijan only serve to arm and embolden a belligerent Azerbaijani
government, whose threats and acts of aggression undermine the Karabakh
peace process and stability in the region overall.”

In a May 29th letter to Secretary Clinton, Rep. Berman referenced
announcements of a sale of military hardware which would be used in
conjunction with Azerbaijan’s military helicopter fleet for “border
surveillance and ‘police-type’ activities.” In addition to possible
attacks against Armenia, Rep. Berman expressed concern about the
“message that such a sale would send to the regional parties, both in
terms of perceived U.S. even-handedness and in terms of our seriousness
about persuading Baku to cease its bellicose rhetoric and agree to
Minsk Group co-chair demands that it remove its snipers from the
‘line of contact’ in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.”

The ANCA expressed its opposition to the sale as part of a seven-point
memo sent to Congressional offices and the White House immediately
after the June 4 – 6 Azerbaijani attacks against Armenia and Karabakh
that left some 10 soldiers dead. “The Obama Administration should
suspend all military aid to Azerbaijan, and stop the sale or transfer
to Baku of any military equipment or dual-use items (including the
proposed sale of advanced helicopter-based surveillance equipment –
DDTC 12-002),” explained Nahapetian in the memo.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) subsequently raised concerns about this
proposed military hardware sale during Senate Foreign Relations
Committee consideration of the nomination of Richard Morningstar for
U.S. Ambassador Azerbaijan.

In his questions to Morningstar, Sen. Menendez called specific
attention to recent cross-border attacks by Azerbaijan against Armenia,
threats by President Aliyev that “Armenians will live in fear,” and
the assertion that “Our [Azerbaijan’s] main enemies are Armenians of
the world.” Menendez continued, asking “do you think, based upon those
types of statements, that the proposed sales of military hardware to
be used in conjunction with Azerbaijan’s military helicopter fleet
is really in the national interest of the United States?”

Morningstar argued, in part, that “There are increasing tensions
with respect to other neighbors, in particular with Iran. And we
have to provide, I think, security assistance, possibly military
assistance in ways that cannot be used to exacerbate any situation
with respect to Armenia or Nagorno Karabakh.” Menendez was quick
to respond, reminding Morningstar that “I didn’t hear President
Aliyev say ‘My main enemy or security concern is Iran,’ he said that,
‘Our main enemies are the Armenians of the world.’ [. . .] I have a
real problem with going ahead and selling military hardware to the
Azerbaijanis based upon what has happened.”

Below is the text of Rep. Berman’s letter to Secretary Clinton:

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State U.S. Department
of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton:

I am writing to express my concern over a proposal by the Department
of State to allow the sale of military equipment to Azerbaijan. This
proposal is included in case “DDTC 12-002â~@³.

Two months ago, my staff inquired as to the possible use of this
equipment by Azerbaijan. Just last week, they were informed that it
would be used on existing helicopters to aid in border surveillance
and “police-type” activities.

As Azerbaijan shares a border with Armenia, this equipment could be
used to identify and possibly target Armenians in the border area for
surveillance or for attack. I am also concerned about the message
that such a sale would send to the regional parties, both in terms
of perceived U.S. even-handedness and in terms of our seriousness
about persuading Baku to cease its bellicose rhetoric and agree to
Minsk Group co-chair demands that it remove its snipers from the
“line of contact” in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

I therefore urge you to alter the proposal and prevent this military
equipment from being sold to Azerbaijan.

Sincerely, Howard L Berman Ranking Member

From: A. Papazian

TURQUIE : CHRONIQUE DE L’ARBITRAIRE JUDICIAIRE

Publié le : 29-06-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
invite a lire cette information publiée sur le site du GIT France
(Groupe de travail international) le 29 juin 2012.

GIT France

Chronique de l’arbitraire judiciaire. En attendant le 2 juillet

Vendredi 29 juin 2012

Attirer l’attention internationale sur les violations en chaîne des
droits civiques et la banalisation de l’arbitraire judiciaire d’un
pays passe souvent par le moment des procès comme celui qui va se
tenir mardi 2 juillet a Silivri, a 100 kilomètres d’Istanbul, où
débuteront les audiences du procès d’intellectuels démocrates
accusés d’ ” appartenance a un groupe terroriste ” ou de ”
complicité ”. C’est le cas notamment de l’éditeur Ragıp Zarakolu
et de la professeure de l’université de Marmara BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı,
passibles respectivement de 7,5 a 15 ans de prison et de 15 a 22,5
ans. Des membres du GIT présents sur place suivront le procès et
nous informeront. Nous les remercions pour leur action.

Dans ces procès anti-kurdes (dit ” KCK ”), la justice est
instrumentalisée pour briser l’opposition intellectuelle et
politique a un Etat et a un gouvernement qui placent aujourd’hui la
Turquie dans un état proche de la tyrannie. D’autres opposants sont
pourchassés et frappés dans le cadre d’un autre procès-monstre
(dit ” Ergenekon ”).

Une chose est sÔre, le système judiciaire turc mettra des années
a se remettre des conséquences de cette fonction de justice d’Etat
et de tribunal idéologique qui lui est imposée et qu’il adopte sans
états d’âme. Il suffit de se reporter a l’acte d’accusation dressé
contre BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı pour comprendre l’étendue de la manipulation.

Si de tel procès permettent de frapper les opposants et d’accroître
la peur sur toute une société, ils courent le risque néanmoins de
révéler davantage les pratiques d’arbitraire judiciaire et d’amener
la condamnation, sur la scène internationale pour commencer, d’un
Etat qui se livre a cette terreur légale et si peu juridique. Encore
faut-il que des journaux et des journalistes rapportent ces faits
et bien d’autres. Guillaume Perrier, correspondant du Monde en
Turquie, suit cette actualité avec précision et compétence,
dans des contextes où chaque article est toujours scruté par un
gouvernement attaché a son image international.

Il a publié dans la version papier du journal un article sur
l’arrestation d’une jeune étudiante pour des faits qui sont ceux de
la vie normale. Sauf qu’en Turquie ces faits peuvent mener en prison.

Sauf qu’elle est francaise et que son sort peut
intéresser un lectorat francais. Publié le 27 juin,
l’article de Guillaume Perrier est disponible sur son blog
(), et
maintenant plus bas sur cette page.

Le Monde a pris très au sérieux cette affaire en consacrant, cet
après-midi, son éditorial de une a cette affaire emblématique. ”
Quel crime a commis Sevil Sevimli, M. Erdogan ? ” s’interroge la
rédaction.

On ne peut que la féliciter. A la fois parce que l’éditorial
dit exactement ce qu’il faut penser de cette affaire d’arbitraire
judiciaire qui est le quotidien des jeunes de Turquie, surtout s’ils
sont kurdes, alévis, étudiants ou étudiantes. Et aussi parce que Le
Monde rappelle qu’en face de cette criminalisation de la société tout
entière, on se doit de réagir et particulièrement quand l’histoire
devient une pédagogie de la Turquie d’aujourd’hui. ” L’histoire de
Sevil, étudiante francaise de 20 ans, prise au piège de la machine
judiciaire turque, ou plutôt de la machine a injustices, attire
aujourd’hui l’attention car elle a la nationalité francaise. Mais
combien d’autres comme elles, croupissent en prison ? ”, commente
Guillaume Perrier. L’éditorial s’achève sur une même mise au point
et souligne les implications diplomatiques d’une telle affaire.

” Son cas, malheureusement, n’est pas isolé. Plus de 600 étudiants
turcs sont emprisonnés depuis 2010, selon des organisations
étudiantes, et un millier de lycéens ont été arrêtés ces derniers
mois, considérés comme trop proches des milieux de gauche. Quelque
70 journalistes, dont une bonne partie travaillaient pour des
médias kurdes, sont également en détention. Le durcissement de la
répression dans le pays du premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan fait
craindre a de nombreux observateurs le retour des vieux démons de
la Turquie, au moment où ce pays, dynamisé par une forte croissance
économique, revendique le statut de puissance régionale.

L’arrivée a l’Elysée d’un président francais moins hostile a
l’adhésion de la Turquie a l’UE et un premier contact plus détendu
entre M. Hollande et M. Erdogan a Chicago pouvaient laisser espérer
un nouveau départ dans les relations franco-turques. Il serait
éminemment regrettable que le maintien en détention de Sevil Sevimli
gâche cette perspective. ”

Ajoutons que la sociologue Pınar Selek, elle aussi victime d’un
acharnement judiciaire (et médiatique puisque l’essentiel des
moyens d’information est sous contrôle du gouvernement) est a
nouveau en danger. Voir le nouveau site qui lui est consacré :

“Le désarroi de la famille de Sevil, étudiante lyonnaise détenue
pour terrorisme en Turquie

Le Monde (France) mercredi 27 juin 2012

Guillaume Perrier (avec Richard Schittly, a Lyon)

Sevim Sevimli est désemparée. Mercredi 20 juin, c’était la sixième
fois qu’elle rendait visite a sa fille, maintenue en détention
provisoire a la prison d’Eskisehir (nord-ouest de la Turquie) depuis
bientôt un mois et demi. ” Chaque matin, je me réveille et je vis
un cauchemar “, soupire cette mère de famille, venue cette fois
en Turquie avec ses deux autres enfants, âgés de 14 et 2 ans. ”
Maintenant j’attends, je suis décidée a rester ici jusqu’a ce
qu’elle soit libérée. Je ne quitterai pas la Turquie sans ma fille. ”

Les semaines passent et la situation de Sevil, une jeune étudiante
lyonnaise de 20 ans, tarde a s’éclaircir. Arrêtée le 9 mai a l’aube
par la police antiterroriste turque, dans la ville universitaire
d’Eskisehir, la jeune femme est accusée de ” collusion avec une
organisation terroriste “. Elle risque jusqu’a douze ans de prison.

Au cours de ses interrogatoires, elle s’est vue accusée d’avoir
participé au défilé du 1er mai, pourtant légal, a Istanbul,
d’avoir assisté, parmi 300 000 personnes, a un concert de Yorum, un
groupe populaire et politiquement engagé a gauche. On lui reproche
également d’avoir collé une affiche réclamant la gratuité de
l’enseignement et d’avoir participé a des pique-niques organisés
par une association étudiante. Suffisant pour être accusée de
collusion avec le Parti-Front révolutionnaire de libération du
peuple révolutionnaire (DHKP-C), une organisation illégale d’extrême
gauche, en sommeil depuis une dizaine d’années mais qui reste placée
sur sa liste noire par l’Union européenne.

Etudiante a l’université Lyon-II en information et communication,
Sevil Sevimli était partie en Turquie dans le cadre du programme
d’échange européen Erasmus. ” Elle est née en France, elle est
francaise. Nous venions très rarement en Turquie. Elle venait pour
étudier et pour mieux connaître notre pays. Nous avions un peu peur,
mais nous ne voulions pas nous y opposer “, raconte sa mère. La
famille, des Kurdes de confession alévie, venus de la région
d’Elbistan, dans le sud-est de la Turquie, s’est établie près de
Lyon Рle p̬re, artisan y est install̩ depuis 1984. Avide de lecture,
curieuse de tout selon ses proches, Sevil rêve de devenir journaliste,
” reporter de guerre “, précise sa petite soeur.

Dossier inaccessible

Dans l’attente qu’une date soit fixée par la justice pour le procès,
qui se tiendra a Ankara, les faits reprochés a la jeune femme, ainsi
qu’a cinq autres étudiantes de son campus, demeurent totalement
absurdes pour les parents, peu au fait des pratiques judiciaires
turques. Le dossier est inaccessible, même pour les avocats, comme
pour toutes les affaires de ” terrorisme “. L’ambassade de France
a Ankara n’a pu obtenir aucune précision. Binationale, Sevil est
considérée comme turque en Turquie. Même les lettres de ses proches,
en francais, lui sont refusées par les autorités pénitentiaires. ”
Sevil n’est pas une militante de la première heure. En France, elle
n’a jamais participé a des mouvements étudiants. Elle n’a même
pas mis les pieds place Bellecour – lors des émeutes d’octobre 2010
a Lyon – .

Je suis sÔre qu’elle n’a rien fait d’illégal “, témoigne Sinem
Elmas, 22 ans, étudiante a Saint-Etienne, et qui coordonne le comité
de soutien en France.

Cette affaire a mobilisé la communauté franco-turque et plus
particulièrement les milieux de la gauche alévie, une branche
minoritaire de l’islam très présente en Turquie. Dimanche 17
juin, environ 350 personnes ont manifesté a Lyon, pour réclamer
la libération de Sevil. En tête d’un cortège, son père, Erdogan
Sevimli, brandissait le portrait de sa fille, tandis que sa mère
portait un tee-shirt blanc floqué de son portrait.

Mais le cas de Sevil est loin d’être isolé en Turquie. Plus de 600
étudiants et un millier de lycéens ont été arrêtés ces derniers
mois pour leur proximité avec les milieux de gauche. Des centaines
d’autres ont fait l’objet d’enquêtes ou d’exclusions pour leurs
idées politiques supposées.”

Lire aussi :

Turquie : un futur Prix Nobel en prison ?

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : GIT France

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIANS’ PROBLEM IN SYRIA NOT LOCAL BUT ALL-ARMENIAN – EXPERT

NEWS.AM
June 28, 2012 | 16:12

YEREVAN. – If the opposition comes to power in Syria, as it was in
Egypt, the situation will be bad for the Armenian community, expert
in Arab studies Armen Petrosyan said at a press conference on Thursday.

At the moment the situation over the community is concerning despite
Armenian MFA’s efforts in this direction.

“The problem of the Armenians in Syria is not local or does not refer
only to Armenia, but to all Armenians, as an entire community is in
danger,” the expert said adding in case Syrian opposition comes to
power, according to its ideology, there will be no place for other
faiths.

“There are two tasks: to preserve the Armenian community in Syria and
to be able to re-populate the community in case of necessity. Anyway,
the condition of the community will not be the same as Syria is likely
to face escalation of situation,” Petrosyan claimed.

As a matter of fact, over 4,600 Syrian citizens have already turned
to Armenian government for the second citizenship within the recent
15 months.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN COURTS NOT EXERCISING JUSTICE – LAWYER

tert.am
28.06.12

The courts in the Republic of Armenia are not exercising justice,
a member of the Chamber of Lawyers has complained.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Attorney Lusine Sahakyan that
the existing situation negatively affects the country, as well as
its taxpayers.

“There are many cases in Armenia, when a human being faces restrictions
on the right to freedom. When detention is chosen a precautionary
measure, the state covers his or her expenses thanks to taxpayers. When
an individual applies to the European Court and wins a case, money
is paid from the State Budget,” she said, noting that a decision to
detain an individual should be made only in exceptional cases.

Sahakyan said it is wrong to deprive a person of freedom once he or
she is accused of a crime is not acceptable.

“It is unacceptable to detain a person without having sufficient
evidence. A court recently ruled in a precedential case that detention
should no longer be used as a precautionary measure, with the exception
of some cases, but it later failed to abide by its ruling,” she said,
adding that such failure had caused the defense lawyers to declare
a strike earlier this month.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA IN THE VICE: PRISONER OF HISTORY – THE ECONOMIST

tert.am
28.06.12

Armenia tends to feature in the news because of its problems (history,
geography, demography and economics to name but a few). But a new
report from the International Crisis Group (ICG) says not all is . The
parliamentary elections in May showed significant improvement. Media
coverage was more balanced, and the authorities permitted greater
freedom of assembly, expression and movement than in previous years.

Like Georgia, Armenia has a class of “30-something” technocrats, whose
western education and global outlook means they are less rooted in
the Soviet mentality than their elders. That bodes well for the future.

The economy is still recovering from the global financial crisis,
which saw GDP contract by 14.2% in 2009. In the same period, the
construction sector contracted by more than 40%. Remittances from the
diaspora dropped by 30%. That led Forbes magazine to label Armenia
the world’s second worst performing economy in 2011-much to Yerevan’s
irritation. Although official statistics claim 8 percent unemployment,
48% of respondents told a recent survey they were looking for a job.

Over one-third of the country lives below the poverty line. Complaints
of corruption are widespread, and inflation is high.

Low rates of tax collection-19.3% of GDP, compared with a 40% average
in EU countries-limit the government’s reach. Cracking down on tax
evasion could increase government revenue by over $400 million, says
the World Bank. A few, high-profile businessmen dominate the economy.

Their monopolies and oligopolies put a significant brake on business
development. Their influence also weakens political will for the kind
of reforms that the country sorely needs.

Armenia’s democracy also has lots of room for improvement. Abuse
of administrative resources, inflated voter lists, vote-buying and
pressure on voters were just some of the irregularities that took
place in May. Moreover, the flawed 2008 presidential elections, and
subsequent crackdown on protestors (during which ten people died and
450 were injured) mean the government has lots more to do to restore
its credibility. Public trust in the country’s democratic institutions
is low, and cynicism is widespread.

The next big test will be presidential elections in February 2013. The
president, Serzh Sargosyan, has promised “the cleanest elections in
Armenia’s history”. If so, he has a lot to do. “The country needs a
better future than a stunted economy and dead-end conflicts with its
neighbours”, the ICG concludes.

That is putting it mildly. Nagorno-Karabakh, over which Armenia went
to war with Azerbaijan is a “sleeping volcano” according to a 2010
book by Tom de Waal. The main fighting stopped in 1994 but between
April 27th and June 20th this year, at least eight Armenian and seven
Azerbaijani soldiers died. That’s by far the worst death toll of any
conflict anywhere in Europe (even including Russia’s troubled North
Caucasus). If it were happening in the Balkans, say, the world would
be watching worriedly. But it isn’t.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT INSTRUCTS CHANGES IN TV BROADCASTING POLICY

news.am
June 28, 2012 | 15:53

YEREVAN. – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Public Council
Chairman Vazgen Manukyan discussed the letter which recently was sent
to the President by several intellectuals and NGO representatives. In
their letter, they had expressed a concern with respect to the
aggressive, criminal-like, and antisocial television programs being
aired in the country.

Underscoring the raised issue, Sargsyan instructed the Public Council
to take the matter under its umbrella by organizing discussions
and designing plans toward changing the TV broadcasting policy,
the Council’s press service informs.

In his turn, Vazgen Manukyan noted that the issue is at the center
of the Public Council’s attention.

And he was instructed to propose, by the end of September, clear
mechanisms toward improving this domain.

From: A. Papazian

URARTIANS WERE FAMILIAR WITH LUXURIOUS LIFE – FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGIST

news.am
June 28, 2012 | 14:09

YEREVAN. – The Armenian-French joint archaeological excavation team,
which carried out diggings at the citadel of the ancient Urartian
Erebuni Fortress located in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan, summed
up the results of the first phase of its activities during a press
conference on Thursday.

“Erebuni” Historical & Archaeological Museum-Reserve Director Gagik
Gyurjyan noted that the Soviet-era archaeological research conducted
at the site was carried out with certain hurriedness and many questions
referring to the Fortress’ architecture are being answered only today.

In their turn, the French expedition team’s leader Stephane Deschamps
and member Francois Fichet de Clairfontaine thoroughly presented
the results of the Armenian-French archaeological diggings which had
commenced on June 5.

The specialists stressed in particular that the excavations will
help bring into surface around a century-long time period, whose
understanding will enable to write this chapter in Armenia’s history.

Also, they highlighted that life in the Fortress still continued
after the fall of the Kingdom of Urartu.

And in response to the news reporters’ query as to what kind of life
Erebuni’s residents led, Deschamps half-jokingly said:

“Judging from the pottery discovered at the Fortress, we can say that
the Urartians were familiar with the luxurious life; they had taste
[and] loved to drink wine or beer.”

From: A. Papazian

COUNCIL OF EUROPE ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON AZERBAIJAN’S POLITICAL PRISONERS

June 26, 2012: The Committee of Legal Affairs and Human Rights of
the Council of Europe has adopted today, 26 June 2012, a long-awaited
resolution on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The resolution calls
upon the Azerbaijani authorities to resolve the more than 80 cases
of political prisoners currently in jail in the country as well as
to ensure that no further arrests are made on politically motivated
charges.

“ARTICLE 19 welcomes this decision by the Council of Europe as crucial
step in recognising that political prisoners exist in Azerbaijan,
something which the authorities in that country have continued to
deny,”says Dr Agnes Callamard, ARTICLE 19’s Executive Director.

“The practice of imprisoning persons on politically motivated charges
for exercising their right to freedom of expression cannot continue and
we call on the Azerbaijani authorities to comply with this resolution,
as well as the country’s broader obligations as a member state of
the Council of Europe,”she added.

The adopted resolution was drawn from a report by Christoph Strasser,
the Special Rapporteur chosen to follow up on the issue of political
prisoners in Azerbaijan. Since his appointment in 2009, Strasser has
been systematically denied a visa by the Azerbaijani government which
he requires to enter the country to carry out research and meet with
prisoners in fulfillment of his mandate. Such a refusal to cooperate
with a special mandate to this extent is unprecedented at the Council
of Europe.

In the light of this refusal, ARTICLE 19 calls on the Committee
to explore ways to ensure cooperation by states with these special
mandates.

Azerbaijan is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights and
other sources of international law to respect and protect the right
to freedom of expression. However, the Azerbaijani authorities have
failed to fulfil this commitment and frequently violate this right.

Journalists, bloggers, activists and ordinary citizens in Azerbaijan
face harassment, attacks and imprisonment for voicing opinions critical
of the authorities.

There are currently seven journalists, bloggers and civil society
activists imprisoned on politically motivated charges for exercising
their right to freedom of expression. Since the Eurovision Song Contest
was held in the capital Baku in May 2012, when a number of human rights
abuses in Azerbaijan were brought to international attention, there
have also been a number of new arrests and developments, including
the cases of:

Mehman Huseynov, a photographer and journalist with the Institute
for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) who is viewed by many local
campaigners as “the first victim of Eurovision”. Huseynov had been
active with the Sing for Democracy campaign, which used the Eurovision
Song Contest as a platform to promote democracy and human rights on
Azerbaijan. He was released following his detention on hooliganism
charges from 12-13 June 2012 but faces up to five years’ imprisonment
as the charges still stand.

Hilal Mammadov, the Editor-In-Chief of the Talysh-language Tolishi
Sedo (‘the voice of the Talysh’) newspaper, was arrested on charges
of drug possession on 21 June 2012. A previous editor-in-chief of the
newspaper, Novruzali Mammadov, died in prison in 2010 while serving a
10-year sentence on politically motivated charges of high treason. The
Talysh are a minority group who mostly live in the southern region
of Azerbaijan near the Iranian border.

Ilham Amiraslanov, a civil society activist with the Kur Civil Society
group, remains in detention following his arrest on 8June on charges
of possession of arms and ammunition. Amiraslanov has reported that
the weapon was planted on him by police, who had also carried out
acts of torture against him. The Kur Civil Society co-ordinator,
Otgay Gulaliyev, was released on 13 June 2012 after two months in
pre-trial detention on hooliganism charges. Gulaliyev is facing up
to three years in jail as the charges against him still stand.

Avaz Zeynalli, the Editor-In-Chief of Khural newspaper, who is
currently on trial on trumped-up charges of extortion and bribery,
based solely on the unsubstantiated claim by a parliamentary deputy.

He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Other journalists and activists remaining in detention or jail in
connection with exercising their right to freedom of expression,
include Anar Bayramli, Ramin Bayramov, Vugar Gonagov, Zaur Guliyev,
Ilham Suleymanov, Aydin Janiyev and Taleh Khasmammadov, along with
activist Shahin Hasanli and human rights defender Vidadi Iskenderov who
were arrested during the March and April 2011 pro-democracy protests
in Baku

(Article 19).

From: A. Papazian

‘AZERBAIJAN IS A STEP AHEAD IN THE INFORMATION WAR WITH ARMENIA’
Farhad Mehdiyev

News.Az
Thu 28 June 2012 05:51 GMT | 6:51 Local Time

News.Az interviews Farhad Mehdiyev, political scientist and chair of
international law at the Caucasus University.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are in the information war, at times no less
fierce than the war on the battlefield in Karabakh in the early
1990s. How far has Azerbaijan gone in this war?

I should note that we have succeeded more than they did. They have
sometimes criticized themselves that they have little diplomatic
positions in the information war. However, sitting in Azerbaijan, it is
difficult to objectively assess the situation, but there are a number
of facts that say that we have succeeded in this area. The campaign
carried out by the diaspora in the U.S. within the 20th anniversary
of Khojaly tragedy, where posters and photos were placed in the subway
and other public places in New York, is enough to mention.

This is a manifestation of the very offensive war. And this is natural,
we just have more resources. Considering this important fact, we
can be more successful than them. However, due to their lobby in
countries such as USA, Armenians are also strong, but the position
of their diaspora is not strong in all countries. There are countries
in which Armenia cannot even ensure its diplomatic presence at least
in low level, to open a consular office.

For Azerbaijan, having sufficient resources, it’s not a problem. We
everywhere open our diplomatic mission, are establishing information
work. Financial crisis leads to the fact that the Armenian side is a
step behind us. But we shouldn’t rest on our laurels, we need even
more initiative. The enemy cannot be underestimated. For example,
there are so many websites about Karabakh. There is no need here for
more resources, and the Armenians are very active in this direction.

If you search word “Karabakh” in search engine, the results will show
resources mostly created by Armenians.

They are very strong with respect to the largest online encyclopaedia
Wikipedia. On this resource Armenians appropriate so many things that
actually belong to Azerbaijanis. And no wonder, since Wikipedia is
an open source, where anyone can bring any information.

Moreover, these Armenian assignments are not limited to Azerbaijani
lands and generally policies but extend right up to dolma and bozbash
(laughs). But Wikipedia’s materials come in the worst case in the
fourth most popular place, and often one of the first, when you
ask any term in the search engines. Although in academic environment
Wikipedia is not considered a reliable source, its materials are often
used by regular Internet users. Therefore, the Azerbaijani side must
be activated in this direction.

Many of my colleagues who are actively involved in these kinds of
wars with Armenians on the Internet complain about not feeling the
support of the state, while the opponents enjoy such support. Do not
you think that this misunderstanding should be corrected?

Of course I do.

During Eurovision, Azerbaijan faced a powerful anti-Azerbaijani
campaign in the Western media, among which the most distinguished
were German media. How can this be explained?

During such events on the international scale, the attention
is attached to previously evaded matters in the host country of
Eurovision. This is natural. On the other hand, in the case of
Azerbaijan, politics also stood behind this criticism. Problems with
the implementation of gas project Nabucco gave rise to politically
motivated articles, behind which stood German circles disappointed
with the gas policy of Azerbaijan. This version is quite real.

Armenians in their information war have been recently activated on the
theme of national minorities of Azerbaijan. Armenian media carries
out an extensive campaign of the alleged infringement of the rights
of Talysh, Lezgins and other people. Anti-Azerbaijani resources in
languages â~@~Kâ~@~Kof these peoples are created in Armenia etc. What
should be done to stop this activity?

The purpose of the Armenians is clear – they want to crush the
Azerbaijani government, to make it weaker. Our state in this context
should reinforce the care of national minorities. It must show that
their rights are not discriminated in any way. It is necessary to
emphasize the fact that we are a multinational secular state which
has chosen the path of European standards, we do not discriminate
people based on ethnic division. And what is also very important is
that every state should have one language. Take the example of the
USA, where, despite the multi-ethnic population, the state language
is one and no one raises the question of national minorities.

It’s the same with us. Anyone who does not understand this needs an
explanation that the state must have one language for its stability
and to facilitate the resolution of questions, even at the household
level. At the same time, minorities have the right to protect their
language and culture, the law does not prohibit them to open their
own schools and the media. According to the European Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the national
minority has the right to study in his own language, but the state
has no obligation to open a school in that language.

We are not violating the rights of the minority and adhere to this
convention because the national minorities themselves prefer to study
in Azerbaijani. Another thing – the mono-ethnic is Armenia which has
always been hostile to all who do not have Armenian blood. And the
criticism of that country against the state which in this respect is
all right is a typical Armenian shamelessness.

From: A. Papazian