Author: Babajanian Karo

FIORELLO PROVERA: “ARMENIA MUST IMMEDIATELY RETURN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF AZERBAIJAN”

APA, Azerbaijan
June 27 2014

Baku. Mubariz Aslan – APA. “Azerbaijan was subjected to occupation by
Armenia as a result of Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” said former vice
president of the Committee for External Relations of the European
Parliament Fiorello Provera, APA reports.

Condemning the aggressive policy of Armenia, F. Provera noted that
the conflict should be resolved as soon as possible, and the occupied
territories must be returned to Azerbaijan. “How is it possible that
one country occupies another country’s territories by force? This is
absolutely unethical,” said Provera

Provera also noted that, despite the conflict, Azerbaijan took the
path of development that opens up opportunities for the country.

DUTY-FREE RUSSIAN DIAMONDS FOR ARMENIA

EurasiaNet.org, NY
June 27 2014

June 27, 2014 – 3:11pm

Russia is giving Armenia a break designed to boost the Caucasus
country’s diamond-cutting sector.

The Federation Council, the upper house of Russian Parliament,
has ratified an agreement that scraps export duties on sales of
Russian hydrocarbons and raw diamonds to Armenia. “We will be one
step ahead of other countries that purchase raw Russian diamonds,”
Artur Ashugian, an aide to the Armenian economics minister, told the
Regnum news agency back in 2013, when the agreement was signed.

Armenia was a hub for diamond cutting and processing during the Soviet
era, but the sector has struggled in recent years. Armenian officials
expect a 15 percent hike in cut-diamond production as a result of the
Russian concession. Last year, Armenia produced 94,498 carats of cut
diamonds, the ARKA news agency reported. Russia is a major supplier
of raw diamonds, oil and gas to Armenia.

The agreement contains a provision that bars Armenia from re-exporting
Russian oil, gas and raw diamonds. Oil and gas sales cannot exceed the
domestic needs of Armenia, which virtually has no other source of oil
and gas, other than Russian Armenia also cannot re-sell customs-free
raw Russian diamonds, but can sell the cut Russian diamonds to its
heart’s content.

Armenia received the concession even before agreeing to join the
Moscow-led ex-Soviet trade club, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

The diamond-and-energy agreement may help Armenia compensate for some
of drawbacks of EEU membership. Russian officials have said EEU may
create problems vis-a-vis Armenian’s commitments to the World Trade
Organization and that Yerevan may have to re-negotiate terms of its
membership in WTO.

“Obvious” that Military Conscripts were Coached Before Attending
Funeral: Deceased Soldier’s Cousin

06.24.2014 15:02 epress.am

The story of the June 20 death of rank-and-file soldier Grisha
Khachatryan (pictured) is very confusing: thus, it is necessary to
find the end of the tail and be vigilant, until all those who are
guilty are punished, Khachatryan’s cousin Arman Nikoghosyan told
Epress.am today. According to him, it’s impossible to describe the
atmosphere that prevailed at the funeral among the family, who doesn’t
know exactly what happened at the outpost of one of the military units
in Ararat marz (province).

“The military unit gave the guys serving in the Sisian region official
temporary leave to come and attend the burial. It’s surprising that
after such an incident, they are given official leave to attend the
burial, and in the evening they went home,” he said. According to
Nikoghosyan, all those who came to the funeral, from the rank-and-file
soldiers up to the commander of the military unit, unanimously claimed
they didn’t know about the incident.

“They say, they were at the [battle] positions; we were at the
military unit and didn’t know anything; but it was obvious that the
kids were specially prepared — from the young to the old, they were
briefed and then brought. We won’t leave it like this; we’ll find out
everything, point by point — all will be punished,” he said.

Recall, after news spread of the death of the 19-year-old military
conscript from the village of Sarnakunk in Syunik marz, RA Ministry of
Defense spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that, according to
preliminary data, Khachatryan died from an enemy bullet. Later, the
Ministry of Defense issued a statement in which it said that
Khachatryan died at the military post, and details of the incident
were being confirmed. Afterwards, RA Minister of Defense Seyran
Ohanyan told journalists that Khachatryan, according to preliminary
data, received a fatal gunshot wound as a result of a breach of the
rules for use of weapons.

Later, the Ministry of Defense declared that a criminal case was
launched under RA Criminal Code Article 104 Section 1 (murder).
Speaking to Epress.am, military expert Ruben Martirosyan, who was
present at the soldier’s autopsy on June 21, claimed that initially
the criminal case was filed under Article 373 Section 3 (“breach of
rules for handling weapons, ammunition and items dangerous for others,
which negligently caused human death”). According to Martirosyan, he
and relatives of the deceased saw that document at the morgue;
however, the Ministry of Defense didn’t report this in its statement.

APA, Azerbaijan
June 28 2014

OSCE Chairman-in-Office: “We welcome restoration of negotiations of
the heads of state for settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict”

[ 28 Juny 2014 16:21 ]

“The Crisis penetrated the heart of Ukraine, had a devastating impact
on the life of peoples. Those who caused roughly violation of human
rights should be punished”

Baku. Ramiz Mikayiloglu – APA. OSCE Chairman-in-Office and President
of the Swiss Confederation Didier Burkhalter has made a speech at the
opening of the 23rd session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in
Baku.

APA reports that Burkhalter mentioned that the Ukraine crisis happened
during the chairmanship of Switzerland and noted indivisibility of
borders, security and human rights are priority for the OSCE.

He said that the OSCE played an important role in taking the crisis in
Ukraine under the control.

According to Burkhalter, he told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
that he is ready to participate in the implementation of peace plan of
the OSCE: “I welcome decision of the Ukrainian President on stretching
ceasefire. The issue should be solved peacefully. The Crisis
penetrated the heart of Ukraine, had a devastating impact on the life
of peoples. Those who caused roughly violation of human rights should
be punished. However, first of all, a peace must be restored”.

The OSCE Chairman said they support restoration of negotiations of the
heads of state for settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and
participation of the civil society in the process.

Baltic News Service / – BNS
June 27, 2014 Friday 2:25 PM EET

Latvia, Armenia to cooperate in education, science, technologies

RIGA, Jun 27, BNS – Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics and his
Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian during a meeting in Riga on
Friday discussed cooperation in education, science and technologies,
Rinkevics told the press after the meeting.

The ministers also discussed Armenian-Latvian bilateral relations and
Armenia’s cooperation with the EU. Both ministers agreed that the
bilateral relations are developing dynamically. There had been good
and intense contacts on a political and economic levels. “We agreed to
continue work on the Latvian-Armenian agreement on cooperation in
education, science and technologies,” said Rinkevics.

The ministers also discussed the EU-Armenian cooperation. Armenia last
year decided not to sign the association agreement with the EU and
Latvia will respect this step, said Rinkevics. “At the same time, we
believe that a clear signal should be given at the Riga summit that
the EU will develop individualized cooperation with each of the
Eastern Partnership countries,” said Rinkevics.

The ministers discussed the problems in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian
minister informed on the recent events in this region, while Rinkevics
voiced Latvia’s stance that the problems in this region should solved
based on international principles, in a civilized political dialogue
and without military means. The ministers also discussed the situation
in Syria where there is a large Armenian community. The ministers
discussed the situation in Iraq, relations with Iran and the events in
Ukraine.

The Armenian foreign minister is on a working visit to Latvia on June
26-27. The Latvian-Armenian bilateral relations are friendly and
constructive, there is a regular political dialogue and there is a
potential for further development of cooperation, the Latvian Foreign
Ministry reported.

Armenia “parliamentary four’s” partnership must go beyond NA –
Heritage Party official

June 28, 2014 | 15:42

YEREVAN. – Armenia was not ready for a united and long fight,
opposition Heritage Party Board Vice-Chairman Armen Martirosyan stated
at the party’s tenth congress on Saturday

In his view, once the last parliamentary election was rigged, the
party members were disappointed and the general opposition was
divided.

“We tried to unite the oppositional field, but couldn’t, since some of
the ‘opposition’ forces started working against [Heritage’s Chairman,
ex-presidential candidate, former FM] Raffi Hovannisian, even more
diligently than the authorities,” Martirosyan said adding that the
authorities managed to rig the most recent presidential election, too.

In addition, Heritage’s official spoke positively about the ongoing
cooperation between the four non-ruling National Assembly (NA)
factions (Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia, ARF
Dashnaktsutyun, and Heritage), but expressed the hope that this
partnership will go beyond the parliament and expand its scope of
influence.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIE
Réforme des retraites : le gouvernement propose d’appliquer la loi
d’abord aux employés de l’État, puis dans le secteur privé

Alors que l’Assemblée nationale, à la demande du gouvernement, faisait
une séance supplémentaire pour discuter des changements à la loi
controversée sur la réforme des retraites, ceux qui protestent contre
la réforme ont tenu un piquet de grève devant le btiment du
parlement.

Le gouvernement arménien a approuvé l’ensemble des projets de loi
concernant les modifications et ajouts à la loi de la réforme des
retraites, selon lesquels le système de retraite sera appliquée aux
employés du secteur de l’Etat le 1er juillet 2014, et pour les
employés du secteur privé, il sera volontaire, durant trois ans
progressivement.

Les membres de la campagne civique Dem.am opposé à la réforme
affirment que ces changements sont encore anti-constitutionnels car
ils sont discriminatoires et ils exhortent tous les travailleurs du
secteur public à participer et à lutter contre le projet de loi.

Sevak Tsaturyan, un membre de Dem.am, a dit qu’il y a quelques jours,
ils ont présenté leurs demandes au gouvernement, mais aucune d’entre
elle n’a été retenue.

a déclaré le
porte-parole de la Fédération révolutionnaire arménienne Aghvan
Vardanyan.

Par Gohar Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow

samedi 28 juin 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Turkey wants to include Lake Van’s Armenian church on UNESCO list

June 28, 2014 | 11:30

Muzaffer Aktug, Head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of
Turkey’s Van Province, informed that they have submitted a request to
include on the UNESCO World Heritage List the Armenian Surp Khach
(Holy Cross) Church on Akhtamar Island on Lake Van, reported
Demokrathaber website of Turkey.

Aktug stressed that the church meets six of the ten points which
UNESCO requires in order to include a creation on its World Heritage
List.

The Surp Khach Church on Akhtamar Island was built between 915 and 921.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

NGO HEAD: CASES ON TORTURE OF ARMENIANS IN AZERBAIJANI CAPTIVITY SHOULD BE SENT TO ECHR

June 27, 2014 | 12:03

YEREVAN. – The “Against Legal Arbitrariness” NGO expects official
results of the forensic examination of Mamikon Khojoyan to apply to
the European Court of Human Rights.

Technical issues are being solved to draw the necessary documents,
head of the NGO Larisa Alaverdyan told reporters.

As reported earlier, the examination revealed that Armenian captive
was injected petroleum products and psychotropic substances.

“It was confirmed that the old man had been tortured,” Alaverdyan said.

The first Ombudsman recalled that the Armenian side had appealed
to the Azerbaijani authorities to investigate the facts of torture
against Khojoyan. There is still no answer, and the experience of
previous years shows there hardly would be any.

According to Larisa Alaverdyan, it would be right to collect similar
torture cases of Armenians in Azerbaijani captivity, and to submit
to the ECHR with a single package.

Mamikon Khojoyan, 77, a resident of Verin Karmiraghbyur village of
Armenia’s Tavush Region, was taken captive by Azerbaijan on January
28. He suffered from mental illness.

Azerbaijan returned the elderly to Armenia on March 4, and he died
on May 20.

MOSCOW COMPLETES ARMAMENT OF AZERBAJIAN

Lragir.am
Politics – Friday, 27 June 2014, 11:38

The Armenian Time reported that yesterday the Azerbaijani APA Agency
reported referring to Uralvagonzabod Concern that Russia will supply
armored vehicle-launched bridges to Azerbaijan. Number of units and
amount of the transaction are not mentioned.

“This information which seems quite innocent at first sight should
cause concerns,” the newspaper states. These armored bridges are
intended for peaceful technical work but they are intended for building
bridges across rivers and gorges in a very little time.

However, these are offensive weapons according to the international
defense classification due to their main functions. Bridge tanks
are irreplaceable when there are rivers and gorges on the way of
armed forces which cannot be overcome by heavy machines. Later they
are used to supply arms and other supplies to armed forces. Armored
vehicle-launched bridges are applicable to cut terrain, such as the
Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact, the newspaper writes.

“Hence, this machinery is not “innocent” at all. Of course, it needs
to be discussed whether this machinery will be helpful to Azerbaijan
or not. More importantly, however, Armenia’s strategic partner Russia
is supplying clearly offensive weapons to Azerbaijan with enviable
intensity.

Just a month ago the head of the Russian Federal Service of Defense
Industry Cooperation Constantine Biryulin announced that Russia has
finished supply of 100 T90 tanks to Azerbaijan and is going to supply
another 100 tanks. But this is not all.”

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