Author: Babajanian Karo

Armenian ruling party unaware of document to be signed in Vilnius

October 18, 2013 – 19:00 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Members of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) are unaware what kind of document can be signed in Vilnius
during the Eastern Partnership summit in November.

Commenting on the issue, Armenian parliament deputy speaker Eduard
Sharmazanov said that the authorities are determined to continue
cooperation with the European partners. `This is essential for both
Armenia and Europe,’ Armenia Today quoted him as saying. `As result of
political reforms, Armenia has become more democratic and I believe
that continuation of these reforms will secure greater freedom of
speech and pluralism of opinions.’

Meanwhile, RPA MP Koryun Nahapetyan stated that Armenia will sign a
certain document with the EU but refrained from providing any details.
`Armenia is negotiating with the EU at various levels and it will
apparently be a document confirming the results of these
negotiations,’ he presumed.

Armenia completed technical talks on a `deep and comprehensive
free-trade agreement’ (DCFTA) with the EU in July and it was set to be
signed at the upcoming summit.

In addition to a free-trade deal, Armenia has been working towards the
signing of an association agreement with the EU, a framework agreement
on co-operation that is seen as a first step towards political
integration with the EU.

However, during a Sept 3 meeting with Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia is ready to join
Customs Union, with further plans to be involved in formation of the
Eurasian Economic Union.

Mr. Putin supported the initiative, voicing readiness to assist
Armenia in the process. He also noted that Russian Railways may invest
15 billion rubles in development of Armenia’s railway network.

The Customs Union was formed in 2010 to include of Belarus,
Kazakhstan, and Russia; Kirghizia and Tajikistan later expressed
willingness to join the Union.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt described Armenia’s intention as a
U-turn in relations with the European Union. `Seems as if Armenia will
break talks on free trade agreement with EU and integrate with Russia
instead,’ he said.

Zhoghovurd: Companies that supplied buffalo meat compensate 80 percent of damage

10:28 19/10/2013 » DAILY PRESS

Zhoghovurd daily said in September that companies that sold cheaper
buffalo meat to the NKR Defense Army instead of beef have begun
compensating the damage.

According to the paper, 80 percent of the damage – about AMD
100.800.000 – has already been compensated. The paper notes that the
damage done to the state amounts to AMD 126 million.

Source: Panorama.am

Le Parisien, France
Jeudi 17 Octobre 2013

700 lycéens exigent le retour de Khatchik

Céline Carez
PARIS; XXe Un jeune arménien scolarisé à Camille-Jenatzy expulsé vers son pays

Plus de 700 lycéens se sont rassemblés, hier matin, devant le rectorat
de Paris, avenue Gambetta (XXe) pour protester contre les expulsions
de lycéens étrangers. Samedi, un de leur camarade, le jeune Khatchik,
19 ans, Arménien sans titre de séjour, a pris la direction de Roissy,
entouré de CRS.

Arrivé en France il y a trois ans, cet habitant de Saint-Denis
(Seine-Saint-Denis) scolarisé à Camille-Jenatzy (XVIIIe) suivait un
CAP de mécanique. Il a été expulsé par avion, malgré la présence de
son comité de soutien à l’aéroport. « A son arrivée en Arménie,
Khatchik a été placé en garde à vue, s’indigne Brigitte Wieser, membre
de Réseau éducation sans frontières (RESF). Il risque d’être enrôlé
dans l’armée arménienne, sans doute dans un bataillon disciplinaire. »

Le reste de sa famille, sans papiers, est restée en France
Le lycéen a été arrêté le 19 septembre dernier pour un vol dans un
magasin des Halles (Ier). Le contrôle d’identité a révélé qu’il ne
possédait pas de papiers. Khatchik a pris alors le chemin du centre de
rétention administrative de Vincennes, en attendant son expulsion. Le
reste de sa famille, sans papiers, est, elle, restée en France. Une
première tentative d’éloignement a eu lieu le 10 octobre. Mais, à
l’aéroport à Roissy, une trentaine de lycéens et membres de RESF sont
allés voir les passagers lors de l’enregistrement pour les avertir de
l’expulsion de leur camarade. Et les prévenir que Khatchik risquait
trois à cinq ans de prison en Arménie pour n’avoir pas fait son
service militaire. Dans l’avion, face à l’émoi des passagers, le
commandant de bord a refusé de décoller. Et a débarqué Khatchik.

Hier, les manifestants, issus des lycées Jenatzy, Hélène-Boucher,
Ravel, Dorian, Voltaire eu du LAP (lycée autogéré de Paris), réunis à
l’appel du syndicat lycéen Fidl, de RESF et de la CGT Educ’action, ont
scandé : « Valls démission » et « Libérer Khatchik ». Une délégation a
été reçue au rectorat. Aujourd’hui, les lycéens ont prévu de bloquer
plusieurs lycées. Et de manifester sous les fenêtres du ministre de
l’Intérieur. Khatchik Kachatryan est le 5e lycéen majeur à être
expulsé depuis l’arrivée de la gauche au pouvoir, selon RESF.

Le Figaro Newsflash , France
vendredi 18 octobre 2013 20:51 GMT

Grenoble:1 famille menacée d’expulsion

Le collectif Réseau éducation sans frontières (RESF) a organisé ce
soir une réunion de soutien à une famille arménienne, dont les enfants
scolarisés à Grenoble sont menacés d’expulsion.

David, 13 ans, élève en 5e dans un collège de Grenoble, son frère
Sergey, élève de CM1, sa petite soeur Gayané, 2 ans, née en France, et
leurs parents Kolya et Arpiné Vardanyan, de nationalité arménienne,
ont reçu une obligation de quitter le territoire français (OQTF)
suivie au mois d’octobre d’une assignation à résidence dans un centre
d’hébergement.

“Je crains qu’on vienne à tout moment chercher mes enfants à l’école
ou au collège”, a témoigné vendredi soir la mère de famille qui a
déposé avec son époux un recours en annulation auprès du tribunal
administratif. Le demande devrait être examinée dans les 72 heures,
selon RSF 38.

“Aucune décision d’expulsion n’a été prise”, a de son côté indiqué la
préfecture de l’Isère qui a refusé de s’exprimer sur l’affaire.

La famille, qui s’estime en danger en Arménie depuis que le père,
chauffeur de bus, a assisté à un meurtre, a raconté la mère, a quitté
précipitamment son pays il y a trois ans. Arrivée en France en
décembre 2010, elle a effectué une demande de titre de séjour à titre
exceptionnel et humanitaire, laquelle a été rejetée cet été par la
préfecture. Des demandes d’asile et un recours auprès de la Cour
nationale du droit d’asile avaient également échoué.

“Les enfants sont très bien intégrés à l’école, au collège et très
appliqués. Ils sont appréciés de leurs camarades de classe, de leurs
professeurs”, a souligné Valérie Neyret, membre du collectif RSF 38 et
“marraine républicaine” de la famille. “Cette famille doit être
régularisée afin que les parents puissent travailler et les enfants
soient en mesure de poursuivre leur scolarisation dans un climat
serein”, a ajouté le collectif qui désormais en appelle aux élus.

Une pétition de soutien a recueilli plus de 560 signatures.

ARMENIE-ECONOMIE
Le champagne arménien en bonne santé

Lors d’une conférence de presse à Erévan, Anahid Bakountz la
directrice de l’« Usine de champagne d’Erévan » a affirmé que le
champagne d’Arménie était très côté sur l’international. « Dans nos
unités de production, nous respectons les règles classiques des
technologies française de la vinification jusqu’à sa conservation dans
les caves » a affirmé Anahid Bakountz. Cette dernière a affirmé qu’en
Arménie, la consommation traditionnelle de champagne était à un rythme
soutenu. « Le champagne c’est pour les fêtes. Et il doit nous
accompagner dans les moments de joie » dit-elle. En 2012 l’Arménie a
produit 83 900 litres de champagne et a exporté pour une valeur de 236
700 dollars. Des chiffres relativement modestes au regard des dizaines
de millions de litres du champagne français, mais ces chiffres
semblent satisfaire Anahid Bakountz. Guénats !

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 20 octobre 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Artsakh President, EuFoA meet in Brussels

October 18, 2013 – 11:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – During his Brussels visit, Artsakh President Bako
Sahakyan held an exclusive informal briefing/private lunch organized
by European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA).

Over two dozens of relevant European stakeholders from different
institutions took part. Among them were diplomats, senior
representatives of EU bodies (European Parliament, European
Commission, European External Action Service), representatives of
NATO, foreign policy advisors of European political families, relevant
researchers of Brussels-based think tanks and academia, as well as
international organizations and NGOs.

`Our goal in organizing this event was to connect President Sahakyan
and his high-level delegation with relevant and interested European
stakeholders, going beyond the usual friends of Armenia and Karabakh.
We had a fantastic debate with highly interesting questions and the
feedback from the participants was very positive’ said Dr Michael
Kambeck, EuFoA Secretary General.

The event was a rare opportunity for European decision-makers to
receive first-hand information about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and
its background, but more importantly about the nation building process
of Nagorno Karabakh and the European values that the NKR seeks to use
as a model in this process. Participants also discussed the current
geo-political questions regarding Armenia, Russia, Iran, Syria and
Turkey, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group-mediated peace process, EuFoA
said in a press release.

Lepekhin: customs union is economic, not imperial project

YEREVAN, October 18. /ARKA/. The Customs Union is an economic, not
imperial project, Vladimir Lepekhin, the director of the Eurasian
Economic Community Institute and a member of the Eurasian Economic
Integration Bureau of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, said Friday in Novosti International Press Center in
Yerevan.

`The Customs Union is not an important geopolitical, much less
imperial project – the aim of this alliance is to optimize trade
turnover among this union member countries,’ he was quoted by
Novosti-Armenia.

Lepekhin said that the reason why the Customs Union has stoked a lot
of discourse is that in the West it was perceived as a geopolitical
project putting before former Soviet republics a dilemma to choose
between cooperation with the European Union or the Customs Union.

`Russia has never put the issue this way though it has been accused of
it by western countries… Quite the opposite – Russia has always put
the emphasis on optimization of economic relations saying that this
doesn’t close doors to Europe,’ he said.

He also stressed that Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union will
be in tune with its long-term interests.

In early September, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his Russian
counterpart, Vladimir Putin, made a joint statement, according to
which Armenia has decided to join the Customs Union and to take part
in formation of the Eurasian Union in the future.

The announcement came as Armenia was poised to sign the Association
Agreement with the European Union aimed at making European Union’s
ties with Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova and Georgia closer. —0—-

17:32 18.10.2013

168 Zham: Proposal to eliminate majority voting system to have
contrary effect on Armenia

12:00 – 19.10.13

The proposed switchover to the proportional representation voting
system is expected to have the contrary effect on Armenia, the paper
says, commenting on a recent presidential decree on constitutional
reforms.

The system, which requires that a voter cast a ballot not only in
favor of a political party but also those of its members who will be
listed on the proportional representation list, is accepted in many
countries worldwide as it is thought to stimulate competitiveness
among different political forces.

`The system enables a voter to better participate in the parliament
formation process, but in Armenia, it will be used for a completely
different purpose; it will serve for establishing control over the
effectiveness of each candidate’s work. The single-mandate system will
be eliminated in law, but as a matter of fact, it will have a broader
application,’ writes the paper.

Armenian National Accused of Podolsk Bus Crash Health Improved, Moved
to Butyrka Prison

10.18.2013 23:05 epress.am

Armenian national Hrachya Harutyunyan, the driver accused of causing a
fatal bus accident near the Russian village of Podolsk earlier this
year, has been moved to another detention facility, Harutyunyan’s
daughter, Lilit Harutyunyan, told Epress.am. According to her, her
father’s health is good and he feels fine.

“We just have to wait for the trial, which will take place on Dec. 14,
then we’ll see what will happen,” she said.

Lilit Harutyunyan didn’t know to which detention facility her father
had been moved. Epress.am’s correspondent contacted Yeranuhi Tumanyan,
who works at the RA Human Rights Defender’s Office as an adviser for
matters related to prisoners and who said her office gets all the
latest information from Harutyunyan’s attorney, Ruben Margaryan.

“The situation is as follows: due to his improved health, Harutyunyan
was moved from the Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility to Butyrka
[prison]. Currently preliminary testimonies are being taken, and, of
course, we are waiting for the final results of the examination. Most
likely, it will last for another month, as there are many questions
that have to be answered – it’s not only a problem of the brakes, but
also several problems, which, due to the confidentiality of the
investigation, I cannot disclose,” said the RA Ombudsman’s Office
employee.

Recall, on Jul. 13, near Podolsk, just outside of Moscow, the breaks
of the truck Hrachya Harutyunyan was driving gave out, and the truck
hit a bus, killing 18 of the 64 passengers. If convicted, Harutyunyan
faces up to 7 years in prison. The Armenian national also sustained
injuries. In this state, he was taken immediately from the hospital to
the courtroom dressed in a woman’s housecoat, where he constantly
tried to hide his face from the camera and wept. This treatment of a
citizen of Armenia sparked a wave of protests outside the Russian
embassy in Yerevan.

Why Mkhitaryan chose Borussia Dortmund instead of Liverpool? – Ourkop.com

October 19, 2013

`During the summer transfer window, Liverpool were heavily linked with
players such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Diego Costa,’ Ourkop writes.
The website reflected on Armenian national football squad and Borussia
Dortmund (Germany) midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s failed transfer to
Liverpool F.C. (England). `Mkhitaryan ended up snubbing Liverpool and
decided to join Borussia Dortmund whilst Costa stayed on at Atletico
Madrid. Both were big names signing which could have sufficed as the
marquee signings that Liverpool fans wanted in the summer.

`I was massively disappointed when we weren`t able to get a deal done
for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the summer because I felt he would have been
perfect for what we needed, an extra bit of quality and real signal of
intent. He has settled really well at Dortmund,’ stated former
Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby.

`Henrikh Mkhitaryan would have been a great signing for Liverpool as
we are desperately crying out for an attacking midfielder right now.
It would have been interesting to see him play in the number 10 role
behind Sturridge in Suarez in our current 3-5-2 formation. But the
lure of Champions League football seemed to make him pick Dortmund
instead of Liverpool and credit to him, he is doing well at the German
club,’ the British website writes. To note, in July, the 24-year-old
Armenian international transferred from FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
to Borussia Dortmund for 27.5 million.

NEWS.am Sport