Author: Antonian Lara

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev marks his birthday

Antonian Lara
00:01 (UTC+04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24
Trend:

December 24 is the birthday of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Aliyev was born in Baku on December 24, 1961. He entered the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1977 and graduated it in 1982. Upon his graduation, Ilham Aliyev continued his education as a postgraduate student at MGIMO and received a Ph.D. degree in history in 1985.

He taught at the Moscow State University of International Relations between 1985-1990. From 1991 to 1994 Ilham Aliyev was involved in the private business sector, heading a number of industrial-commercial enterprises.

He was vice president, and later the first vice president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) from 1994 to 2003. He was actively involved in the implementation of Heydar Aliyev’s oil strategy.

Ilham Aliyev was twice elected to the Milli Majlis (parliament) of Azerbaijan in 1995 and 2000, and resigned from his post in 2003 due to his appointment to the post of prime minister.

In addition to his existing responsibilities, Ilham Aliyev has been presiding over the National Olympic Committee since 1997. Ilham Aliyev was re-elected to this post in 2016.

He has been elected deputy chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party in 1999, first deputy chairman in 2001, and party chairman in 2005.

He headed the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) from 2001 to 2003.

Ilham Aliyev was elected deputy chairman of PACE and member of the PACE bureau in January 2003.

Ilham Aliyev was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan after his candidacy was approved by the country’s parliament August 4, 2003.

Ilham Aliyev was elected president of Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003, gaining over 76 percent of total votes. He assumed his post on October 31, 2003. He was re-elected as president for the second term, gaining 88 percent of votes in the elections, held on October 15, 2008. He assumed the duties of the presidency on October 24, 2008.

On October 9, 2013, Ilham Aliyev was elected for a third term by an overwhelming majority of voters (84.54 percent) for the next five years. He assumed the post on October 19, 2013.

The Azerbaijani people made their choice, voting for political stability, prosperity and sustainable social and economic development.

The unity of the Azerbaijani people and the country’s president was once again demonstrated in 2016. Thanks to the care and attention given to the army building by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev, today Azerbaijan has the strongest army in the region.

The valiant Azerbaijani army under the leadership of the Supreme Commander of the country’s Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev gave a rebuff to Armenian aggressors in April 2016.

The Azerbaijani army liberated a large area occupied by Armenia, thus opening another glorious page in the country’s history. That demonstrated the world the power and aspiration of Azerbaijan for returning the occupied territories at any cost.

These events once and forever changed the recent situation and proved the unacceptability of the status quo in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

By having voted in a referendum on amendments to the country’s constitution in September 2016, the Azerbaijani people supported President Aliyev’s initiative, which became a guarantee of the country’s political and economic stability.

The act of referendum signed by the Azerbaijani president envisaged amendments to 29 items of the constitution. Results of the referendum reflected the Azerbaijani people’s will. The Azerbaijani people voted for each of 29 items, which became the beginning of a new stage of Azerbaijan’s development.

The year of 2017 marked a new stage in the development of the Azerbaijani economy, particularly, the non-oil sector. The 12 Strategic Road Maps adopted by President Ilham Aliyev in late 2016 laid the foundation for a new strategy of the country’s economic development until 2025 and beyond, which are designed to ensure the economy’s competitiveness and social welfare on the basis of sustainable economic development in Azerbaijan.

The year of 2017 saw such significant events as the beginning of negotiations on a comprehensive cooperation agreement with the European Union, the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is the shortest and most reliable way for cargo transportation between Europe and Asia the extension of the “Contract of the Century” until 2050, the successful continuation of construction of the Southern Gas Corridor, including the TANAP and TAP pipelines that will ensure energy security of Europe,. All these were the result of the far-sighted policy of President Ilham Aliyev.

As part of the announcement of 2017 as the “Year of Islamic Solidarity” by President Aliyev, a number of major international events were held in the country, including the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games.

The bright success of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy was the recognition of territorial integrity and sovereignty of member countries in the statement adopted on the results of the Eastern Partnership Summit of the European Union. The latest report on the “EU common foreign and security policy” by the European Parliament, dated December 13, has become a logical continuation of the process fixed in the joint statement of the Eastern Partnership Summit, held in Brussels on November 24 and which President Aliyev called as the diplomatic success of Azerbaijan.

The European Parliament confirmed for the first time its commitment to the EU’s commitments to support the territorial integrity of all the Eastern Partnership countries within their internationally recognized borders.

The staff of Trend Agency sincerely congratulates President Aliyev on his birthday!




Inese Lībiņa-Egnere to Deputy Speaker of Armenian parliament: Strengthening parliamentary cooperation important for both countries

Antonian Lara 
Baltic Legal Updates, Latvia
 Friday
Inese Lībiņa-Egnere to Deputy Speaker of Armenian parliament:
Strengthening parliamentary cooperation important for both countries
Riga: The Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia has issued the
following media release:
On Friday, 15 December, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Deputy Speaker of the
Saeima, met at the Saeima with Eduard Sharamazanov, Deputy Speaker of
the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. Lībiņa-Egnere noted
that 2017 is a symbolic year in the Latvian-Armenian cooperation as it
marks the 25th anniversary since diplomatic relations were established
between the two countries. “This is a good time to look back on what
has been achieved so far and energise our parliamentary cooperation.
It plays a special role in the context of strengthening political
dialogue and sharing experiences,” Deputy Speaker Lībiņa-Egnere told
her Armenian counterpart.
Andrejs Klementjevs, Secretary of the Saeima, also participated in the
meeting of the two Deputy Speakers.
Lībiņa-Egnere and Sharamazanov discussed the role parliamentary
contacts play in promoting closer cooperation in other areas. The
Deputy Speaker of the Armenian parliament thanked the Latvian
representatives for their efforts in strengthening parliamentary
relations between the two countries and invited them to visit Armenia.
The Latvian side praised the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership
Agreement between the European Union and Armenia, signed on 24
November. Deputy Speaker Sharamazanov emphasised that the Agreement
attests to Armenia’s loyalty to the values of democracy and human
rights, and reflects the institutional reforms carried out so far.
Lībiņa-Egnere and Klementjevs spoke with Sharamazanov about current
domestic events in both countries, as well as developments in the
region. As regards the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Latvian side
emphasised their support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict
based on international law. The Minsk Group is the only format for
seeking a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Latvian side
stated.
Deputy Speaker Sharamazanov is accompanied on his visit by two MP of
the Armenian parliament:  Samvel Farmanyan and Suren Manukyan.
During their visit to the Saeima, the Armenian delegation also met
with Lolita Čigāne, Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the
Saeima, and members of the Committee, as well as Sergejs Potapkins,
Chair of the Saeima Group for Interparliamentary Relations with
Armenia, and the members of the Group.

Suren Krmoyan: A “fatherhood” formulation is removed from the law

Antonian Lara
  • 17:34 | December 19,2017 | Politics
  • Armenian:

Today, at the extraordinary session of the National Assembly during the discussion of the draft package of amendments to the “Family Code” and the accompanying laws, Gevorg Gorgisyan, the secretary of the Yelk (Way Out) faction, told Suren Krmoyan, Deputy Justice Minister, that there had been a “fatherhood” formulation besides maternity and childhood, but then it was removed. “Does this mean that we do not need fatherhood anymore? Besides, racial discrimination and so on, are prohibited while choosing a partner. So, by the law, we tell people how to choose a husband or a wife.”

Suren Krmoyan said,”We match these formulations to the Constitution, and it does not mean that fatherhood is omitted. And, speaking about racial discrimination, it also comes from the Constitution. We do not prohibit choice, but  discrimination.”

Gevorg Gorgisyan said, “Suppose I am a black man who proposes a woman, and she refuses to marry me. Can I use this law and accuse her of refusing to marry me because of my race?”

“Let me mention that Mr. Gorgisyan says this theoretically. He had proposed at his time and has a family,” added Eduard Sharmazanov, the NA Speaker.

Suren Krmoyan referred to the Constitution, saying, “It is fixed in the Constitution that both men and women, when their marriage time comes, can have a family, based on mutual agreement. In this case the norm does not work. It works only if there is a discrimination out of the family, for example, registration, attitude, etc.”

“This has anti-racism coloring. No, not the thing you said. No to racism,” said Eduard Sharmazanov.

There is snow and fog on some roads in Armenia

Antonian Lara
  • 10:24 | December 20,2017 | Official
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

The Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies informs that on December 20 at 09:30, there is snow on the highways of Aparan, Aragats, Artik, Spitak, Sevan and Yeghegnadzor regions.

There is dense fog on the roads of Masis and Artashat, visibility is 30-40m.

All the interstate and republican roads are open.

The Armenian Case and European Judiciary: Beyond Statements

Antonian Lara

by The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

The Armenian Case and European Judiciary: Beyond Statements

By Philippe Raffi Kalfayan

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the judicial remedy for
Armenian claims has become familiar and reparation studies and
researches proliferate. The pan-Armenian political terminology
consecrated it. Various initiatives contributed to this process: the New
York Life and Axa Insurance settlements in 2004 and 2005. The most
recent attempt, with a good amount of publicity, is the Catholicosate of
Antelias’ claim for the restitution of Holy See properties of Sis
(Kozan), in Turkey, first before the Constitutional Court of Turkey and
afterwards before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The
application has been successively declared inadmissible by both courts
on the same grounds: the non-fulfilment of the rule imposing the
exhaustion of domestic judicial remedies.

One columnist reported the comments and interpretations of the
plaintiff and of one of his lawyers. I will not comment on their
assertions. However, I deem it is important for people on this side of
the Atlantic to better understand the features, rules and limits of the
European Court. Indeed, most Armenians perceive this rejection as
another judicial defeat; some see a kind of fatalism, others a plot or
evidence for the existence of corrupt powers, while others question the
skills of the legal team. But one must look beyond statements and biased
communication, with a view to play down the decision, balance certain
unhappy observations, and also recall some features and limits of the
ECHR. This will be my modest objective.

The rules of procedure do not depend on the political situation
in a country or the degree of respect for the rule of law. Presuming
that it is a loss of time and hopeless to go before the lower
jurisdictions and deciding instead to apply directly to the
Constitutional Court of Turkey has been the wrong move by numerous
plaintiffs in Turkey those last two years. The massive flow of arrests
or dismissals from posts in different circles because of their alleged
connections to Fettulah Gülen or to the PKK, all allegedly threaten the
national security or the government of the Republic of Turkey. The moves
have also created a back log of applications at Strasbourg, panicking
the Registry of the Court.

First, it must be recalled that the ECHR is not a supreme court
but a subsidiary court to national court systems, whose mandate is
limited to the application and interpretation of the European Convention
of Human Rights (“Convention”) signed by the 47 member-countries of the
Council of Europe. Individual applications must be grounded on alleged
violations of the Convention and of its protocols. The ECHR created a
real dynamic between the national courts and itself: pilot European
judgments pushed the national systems to make their laws compatible,
and, more, leading them to adopt amendments to their domestic laws by
necessity of compliance.

However, this virtuous cycle is
now over: the parties are now showing some political resistance and
asking for a wider margin of interpretation. Some countries have adopted
measures to restore their judicial sovereignty in order to not enforce
all judgments (Russia, Italy); others think about leaving the Convention
(Great Britain in the aftermath of Brexit). In general, a decision of a
foreign or international court cannot be enforced on the territory of a
state without the consent of its judicial or political authorities. The
ECHR judgments are legally binding but the Committee of Ministers of
the CoE, which monitors the enforcement of judgments, cannot take
measures of coercive nature. For an example, Turkey refused so far to
enforce the judgment in the interstate case Cyprus vs. Turkey (2014).

Second, since the alleged coup in July 2016, the Turkish Grand
National Assembly approved on July 21 a State of Emergency as
provisioned in its Constitution and informed the Council of Europe (CoE)
and the ECHR that measures taken may involve derogation from its
obligations under the Convention, as allowed in Article 15. The
declaration has since been renewed every three months and approved by
the Committee of Ministers of the CoE.

Third, Turkey has been the best “client” of the ECHR since 1959,
and they have developed a working relationship with the court. Turkey
contributes 10 percent of the total budget of the ECHR. The economic
factor is far from marginal in this relationship. Moreover, of the
ECHR’s 672 Registry staff members, 44 are Turkish nationals. The ECHR
actually fears a withdrawal of Turkey from its system.

As far as admissibility of cases is concerned, the filter is
composed of one judge, when it concerns the rule of procedure, or by a
committee of three judges or a Chamber, when it concerns the merits. The
procedural admissibility is very formal, and the exhaustion of domestic
remedies is the first fundamental criteria. There may be special
circumstances dispensing the applicant from the obligation to avail
himself or herself of the domestic remedies available. One such factor
may be that of national authorities remaining totally passive in the
face of serious allegations of misconduct or infliction of harm by state
agents, for example where they have failed to undertake investigations
or offer assistance. On the contrary, mere doubts on the part
of the applicant regarding the effectiveness of a particular remedy will
not absolve him or her from the obligation to try it (cf. ECHR Practical Guide on Admissibility Criteria). The alleged political considerations or “deals” don’t intervene at this stage.

In 2016, 36,579 applications were declared inadmissible, among
which the single-judge formation accounted for 30,998 cases. As regards
Turkey, there has been an enormous flow of individual applications in
2017: 16,851 have been declared inadmissible by a single judge for
procedural reasons. Thus, the Sis properties’ case was a mere drop in
the ocean.

Beyond the political chaos in Turkey, one must admit that the
substantiation of Antelias application, whatever creative and complex
the engineering is, arrives at an impasse in Turkey and in Strasbourg.
On the one side, the Constitutional Court admits cases related to facts
that occurred after 2012 (date of the institution of individual
complaints mechanism), and on the other, the legal team’s reasoning
implies the interpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne into Turkish law
(only a national court can do that), before claiming the alleged
violation of right to property in light of the Convention’s First
Protocol. If the first stage is not completed, one could hardly imagine
the ECHR accepting to review such a case, where it involves an
interpretation of Turkish laws. It was tempting to give it a try and
force its fate at ECHR to gain time. But this is not a race.


People: Raffi Kalfayan

The road to justice for the historical
crimes committed against the Armenians will be long and is full of
pitfalls, mainly due to the elapsed time, the articulation of different
bodies of laws, and the negative attitude of Turkey. The announcement of
diverse Armenian initiatives indicates that the Armenian Party is on
the right track, and the continuous impulse and leadership of spiritual
and mainstream institutions will help. However, it does not serve the
case to entertain false hopes and to voice exaggerate comments on the
altar of communication.

(Philippe Raffi Kalfayan, a resident of Paris, France, is a lawyer and accredited expert of the Council of Europe since 2003.)

Chess: Armenia’s Levon Aronian draws round 6, still leads FIDE Grand Prix

Antonian Lara
Pan Armenian, Armenia
Nov 23 2017
Armenia’s Levon Aronian draws round 6, still leads FIDE Grand Prix

Armenia’s Levon Aronian made a draw with Peter Svidler and remains the sole leader of the FIDE Grand Prix after six rounds.

Aronian was happy about his position after the opening but was disappointed with his decision of 20.Ng5: “While I was playing fast I was doing the right moves, than I thought for 25 minutes, got carried away and blundered 21…Rae8.”

The Armenian grandmaster will face Rapport Richard of Hungary in round 7.

Aronian is currently the only player to have collected 4.0 points and is closely followed by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Hikaru Nakamura (U.S.), Ding Liren (China), Peter Svidler (Russia), Pentala Harikrishna (India), Evgeny Tomashevsky (Russia) and Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia) with 3.5 points each.

The FIDE Grand Prix 2017 is a series of four chess tournaments that form part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2018. The top two finishers will qualify for the 2018 Candidates Tournament.

Aronian who won the World Chess Cup in September, as well as Liren, who reached the finals, have already qualified for the Candidates Tournament.

Film: George Clooney to star in ‘Catch-22’ TV adaptation about Armenian soldier

Antonian Lara
Pan Armenian, Armenia
Nov 17 2017
– 14:37 AMT
George Clooney to star in ‘Catch-22’ TV adaptation about Armenian soldier

George Clooney will make his return to television in a serialised adaptation of Catch-22, Paramount Television revealed on Thursday, November 16, The Guardian reports.

The book mainly follows the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier.

In Catch-22, Heller introduces Yossarian as Assyrian, despite the fact that his surname suggests otherwise. In response to readers’ curiosity, Heller amended Yossarian’s heritage in Catch-22’s 1994 sequel Closing Time. In the second book, Yossarian was declared Armenian.

Clooney, who left hit medical drama ER nearly 20 years ago, will direct and star in the six-episode series, based on US author Joseph Heller’s darkly comedic 1961 novel of the same name.

The series will begin shooting in early 2018 for Viacom Inc’s Paramount Television and Anonymous Content, but has not yet been acquired by a network for distribution.

Set in Italy during the second world war, Catch-22 follows a US soldier named Yossarian, whose army keeps raising the number of missions that a soldier must complete in order to be released from duty. In an infuriating bureaucratic paradox called a “catch-22” – a phrase coined in Heller’s text – Yossarian’s only way to avoid the missions is to declare insanity, but by indicating unwillingness to embark on dangerous missions he demonstrates a rational, sane mind.

Clooney, 56, will play Yossarian’s commander Colonel Cathcart, and direct alongside his producing partner Grant Heslov. The show has been co-written and executive produced by Luke Davies and David Michôd. No other cast members have been announced.

European Parliament recognizes the right of Karabakh people to self-determination

Antonian Lara
ARKA, Armenia
Nov 16 2017

YEREVAN, November 16. /ARKA/. At a plenary meeting yesterday the European Parliament with an overwhelming majority of votes adopted a resolution recognizing straightforwardly for the second time the right of the people of Nagorno- Karabakh to self-determination, according to reports in Armenian media.

A similar resolution was adopted in connection with the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on July 5, 2017, when through the efforts of the permanent representation of Armenia in Brussels the European Parliament for the first time recorded the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination. 

Thanks to the persistent work of the permanent representation of Armenia in the EU and the principled position of the European side, as a result of the voting it was possible to stop the adoption of all destructive changes submitted by the Azerbaijani party.

  According to the reports, a large-scale attempt of falsifications, undertaken by Azerbaijan, aimed at neutralizing the efforts of the international community towards the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, as well as damaging the Armenia-EU relations on the eve of the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels, scheduled for November 24, was failed.

The Azerbaijani side had made every effort to change the main message and the logic of the resolution. In particular, it succeeded in having 20 amendments added to the draft resolution aimed against  the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and Armenia, which, in particular, portrayed Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, containing also other pro-Azerbaijani language , demanding  the return of refugees and so on.

It was also possible to prevent the inclusion of those provisions in the text of the resolution which criticized Armenia for its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. On the contrary, Armenia was noted in the resolution as a link connecting the two integration platforms – the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.-0-

16:01 16.11.2017

Lebanon crisis poses new threats to Armenian community

Antonian Lara
Pan Armenian, Armenia
Nov 10 2017
Lebanon crisis poses new threats to Armenian community

Growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran contain new dangers for the Armenian community of Lebanon and Christians living in the Western Asian country in general.

The United States, in turn, is calling for a de-escalation of tensions, following the resignation of Saad al-Hariri as Lebanon’s prime minister while in Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. State Department said it was “monitoring the situation very closely.”

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday, November 9: “We would call for no kind of escalation of any sort of threats or something in that arena. But we also recognize that a government has the right to communicate with its own citizens.”

In a conversation with the Voice of America, mother Olga – the daughter of an Armenian mother and an Assyrian father – said that the Christian community of the Middle East has always suffered because of clashes of different forces.

According to her, Christians suffered when the Iraqi Kurdistan declared independence and started their revolt against the government.

She says that clashes against the Islamic State and other militant group lead to the destruction of Christian communities of the region.

Investors Club of Armenia to announce about 1 billion USD programs in November – President Sargsyan

Antonian Lara
| 12:25 | November 1 2017
Category
BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Yerevan and Moscow are developing the roadmap for implementation of programs within the frames of a joint investment fund: the resources can also be directed for financing the programs in IT and energy field, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to RIA Novosti.

The project on creating Armenian-Russian investment fund was submitted in late January 2017. It will finance those fields which can ensure increase of trade turnover, exchange of import, development of industrial cooperation between the two countries.

“As for the Russian-Armenian fund, we continue working. Recently the representatives of the fund visited Armenia. If we talk about the fields for investments, they are the IT, energy, high technology production…At the moment the sides are working on forming a roadmap”, President Sargsyan said.

At the same time, the President said another two investments funds have been established in Armenia: one of them is the Pan-Armenian investment fund, and the second is the Investors Club of Armenia. “On November 13 this fund will hold a great presentation in Yerevan on launching an investment program (a little more than one billion USD). Those are investments mainly in Armenia’s energy fields which includes the modernization of Armenian electric networks, construction of new hydroelectric power plant and organization of production for Schneider Electric energy company. And I think that this production will find its consumer in the Russian market as well”, Serzh Sargsyan said.