Author: Antonian Lara

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zanier on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Belgrade.

The interlocutors exchanged views on issues on OSCE agenda, as well as urgent international and regional developments.

The parties referred to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the negotiations on its settlement. Edward Nalbandian and Lamberto Zanier agreed that there was no alternative to the peaceful settlement.

Edward Nalbandian and Lamberto Zanier referred to the activity of the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the programs it implements.

Australian Member of Parliament, John Alexander MP welcomed Nagorno Karabakh Republic Member of Parliament, Davit Ishkhanyan to Australia’s Parliament while he was on a visit with a delegation as part of Armenian National Committee of Australia Advocacy Week.

Alexander mentioned the 24th anniversary of Artsakh’s Independence, and said: “With its significant majority of ethnic Armenians, it enjoys a democratic system of government and a commitment to human rights and free press that lies in stark contrast to its closest neighbour, Azerbaijan.”

Alexander, the Member for Bennelong, also acknowledged Kaylar Michaelian, the newly-appointed Nagorno Karabakh Republic Representative to Australia, who was also part of the delegation.

He said: “Earlier today, I was fortunate to meet with a delegation including representatives from the Armenian National Committee and Mr Kaylar Michaelian, a former principal of Galstaun College, who has recently been appointed as the new permanent representative of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh to Australia.”

“With them was Mr Davit Ishkhanyan, a member of the parliament from Nagorno-Karabakh, which is also known as Artsakh.”

Alexander added: “This republic recently celebrated 24 years of independence.”

The ANC Australia-led delegation, accompanied by Ishkhanyan and Michaelian, met with over 25 MPs over two days in the nation’s capital, and raised awareness for the security of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, as well as advocating for its Independence to be recognised.

published by the Institute for Economics and Peace rates Armenia as one of the safest countries in the world in terms of potential terrorist threats.

Armenia is ranked 116th among 162 countries, where a lower place means less danger in terms of terrorism.

Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as follows: Georgia – 71th, Turkey – 27th, Azerbaijan – 93rd and Iran – 39th.

Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Belarus are ranked 23rd and 77th respectively, Kazakhstan is 83rd, Kyrgyzstan is 86th.

The Global Terrorism Index provides a detailed analysis of the changing trends in terrorism across 162 countries over the last 15 years. It investigates the patterns of terrorism by geographic activity, methods of attack, organizations involved and national economic and political contexts.

According to the report, the number of lives lost to terrorism increased by 80% in 2014, reaching the highest level ever recorded at 32,658. This compares to 18,111 in 2013. According to the third edition of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), out today, this increase represents the largest yearly increase in deaths ever recorded. The report also highlights the dramatic rise in terrorism over time, with deaths increasing by nine-fold since the year 2000.

The report, developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace and based on data from the Global Terrorism Database of START, reveals that just two terrorist groups, ISIL and Boko Haram, are now jointly responsible for 51% of all global fatalities from claimed terrorist attacks. Boko Haram, which pledged its allegiance to ISIL as the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) in March 2015, has become the world’s deadliest terrorist group, causing 6,644 deaths compared to ISIL’s 6,073.

The parents of Lola Ouzounian, a 17-year-old Armenian girl who was attending the concert at Bataclan when the venue was attacked by terrorists on Friday, confirmed her death, adding they had identified her remains, Asbarez reports.

Lola was attending the Eagles of Death Metal concert at Bataclan when the terrorists stormed the venue. During the commotion the father and daughter were separated. There has been search for Lola since Friday.

Paris became the latest target of attacks by groups affiliated with the Islamic State. French officials put the death toll at 129, with 352 injured, 99 of them critically when terrorists attacked several sites in Paris on Friday, one of them the Stade de France, where French President Francois Hollande was attending a friendly match between France and Germany.

A date for Ouzounian’s funeral services has not been announced.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday against French comedian Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala, deciding that freedom of speech did not protect “racist and anti-Semitic performances,” reports.

Dieudonne, as he is commonly known, was protesting a fine he received from a French court in 2009 for inviting a Holocaust-denier on stage.

He was fined 10,000 euros ($11,000) for what that court referred to as “racist insults”.

Dieudonne argued the fine amounted to an infringement of his freedom of speech.

During a show in December 2008, Dieudonne appeared on stage with Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson at the Zenith theatre in Paris and presented him with an award. He later defended himself in court, saying: “It was very funny.”

Photo by Mikhail Fomichev/Sputnik

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave instructions to sign an agreement with Armenia on creating a united regional air defense system in the Caucasian collective security region, according to a document posted on the government’s legal information web portal on Wednesday, TASS reports.

‘I decree to accept a proposal by the Russian government on signing an agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia on creating a united regional air defense system in the Caucasian collective security region,” the president’s instruction said.

“I hereby instruct the Defense Ministry of Russia to hold negotiations with the Armenian side with the involvement of Russia’s Foreign Ministry and sign the said Agreement on Russia’s behalf upon reaching consent and permit making minor amendments to its draft approved by the government,” the document said.

A European Commission report on Turkey, held back until after the general election on Nov. 1 accuses Ankara of backsliding on the rule of law, freedom of expression and judicial independence, Reuters reports.

A copy of the draft annual progress report on Turkey’s EU candidacy, seen by Reuters, also cites a severe deterioration in the security situation and an increasing politicization of the state administration as Justice and Development Party (AKP), in power for the last 13 years, tightens its grip.

The EU body, which is urgently trying to secure Turkey’s help to stem flows of Syrian refugees and other migrants from Turkey to Europe, insisted it had not delayed the report for political reasons.

It also said it was up to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to decide when the progress reports on candidate countries, usually released in October, are approved and published.

In the forensic language of the Commission’s department for enlargement negotiations, the draft describes an overall drift toward more authoritarian governance in Turkey.

“The outgoing government has made efforts to reinvigorate the EU accession process,” it says. “However, this commitment was offset by the adoption of key legislation in the area of the rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly that ran against European standards.”

It depicts a court system increasingly under the thumb of the government or subject to undue political duress.

“The situation has been backsliding since 2014,” it said. “The independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers have been considerably undermined and judges and prosecutors have been under strong political pressure.”

The report also hinted at criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s personal exercise of power, saying the president remained engaged in a wide range of foreign and domestic policy issues, leading to criticism in Turkey that he was overstepping his constitutional prerogatives.

EU officials and diplomats said Brussels decided to keep the potentially explosive document under wraps until after Turkey’s Nov. 1 parliamentary election – the second national vote this year as the initial one on June 7 failed to produce a government – because the EU was seeking Ankara’s cooperation in stemming the flow of Syrian and other refugees to Europe.

“It just makes sense not to release the report while we are trying to enlist their help with the refugee crisis,” a senior Commission official said.

In similarly pragmatic vein, Juncker told the European Parliament on Tuesday that, despite human rights concerns, “whether we like it or not, we have to work with Turkey.”

A Service of Commemoration of the Armenian Martyrs of 1915 will be held at Westminster Abbey at 7.00pm on Wednesday 28^th October.

The service will be attended by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Excellency Dr Armen Sarkissian, the Armenian ambassador to the Court of St James, and members of the Armenian Government.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale discussed the preparations for the event at a .

 

The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) has a statement, urging the Turkish citizens living in Europe to vote for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halklarin Demokratik Partisi, HDP) on November 1, 2015 in the 25th general elections in Turkey. The statement reads:

HDP is a progressive force in Turkey which stands up for a well-functioning democracy and is actively struggling for peoples’ rights in their vernacular and with respect to their ethnic, cultural, religious beliefs and background.

The EAFJD’s support for the HDP is accounted for by the shared values and approaches towards several issues of mutual interest. The EAFJD has been in an ongoing dialogue with the HDP since the latter’s foundation in 2012, and has already supported the candidacy of several ethnic Armenians as candidates of the HDP.

The EAFJD expects the Turkish authorities to ensure a free and fair campaign. As during the elections in June of the current year, EAFJD is continuously and closely monitoring the course of events.

The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy wishes the HDP further success in the upcoming parliamentary elections. A strong HDP parliamentary presence in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey would mean the presence of a party for freedom, equality, peace and justice.”

The team spent three days in Armenia to take photos for the world’s most famous fashion magazine.

American-Armenian photographer David Mushegian first visited Armenia a few months ago and was stunned by the beauty of his historic homeland. When he was offered to take photos of ethnic costumes for the Russian Vogue, he advised a trip to Yerevan. He was joined on the trip by Victoria’s Secret Angel Stella Maxwell.

The Vogue team was hosted by Armenian artist Lusik Aguletsi, who collects Armenian national costumes and keeps her own museum. Lusik herself is always dressed in taraz – the Armenian national costume.

The team also visited Armenia’s legendary duduk player Djivan Gasparyan, 86.