Author: Babajanian Karo

HAYOTS DZOR, THE FIRST VOLUME IN THE HISTORY OF ARMENIA SERIES, PUBLISHED

16:54, 11 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

“Hayots Dzor” – the first volume in the History of Armenia series has
been published. The book will be presented to public tomorrow, Samvel
Karapetyan, Head of the Research on the Armenian Architecture NGO, told
reporters today. The book is being translated into English and Russian.

This volume series pursues the aim of presenting the history of
Armenia district by district (each of them village by village) for
the first time in Armenian Studies,

The research is based on published sources and manuscripts in Armenian
and foreign languages that have been accumulated for many decades,
as well as on rich field material collected during the trips made to
different parts of Mets Hayk (Armenia Maior) since the late 1950s.

Each of these 36 volumes will be dedicated to a district of Historical
Armenia, namely Armenia Maior and Armenia Minor (Mets Hayk and Pokr
Hayk). Every volume will treat the history of the given district
and that of all its inhabited places according to a specified set
of subtitles (location, name, historical introduction, population,
statistical data, employment, economy, churches, schools, historical
monuments, prominent Armenians from the given place, etc.).

Each of them will be enriched with more than 1,000 photographs, as
well as a wide variety of maps, measurements, inscription tracings
and other supplementary materials.

The first volume of the series is symbolically dedicated to Hayots
Dzor as the Patriarch of the Armenian nation, Hayk, founded his house
in this very district after his victorious battle against Bel.

The project is expected to be completed within 10-12 years.

LE CENTRE CARREFOUR A EREVAN INAUGURE EN PRESENCE DU PRESIDENT ARMENIEN SERGE SARKISSIAN CE MATIN

ARMENIE-CONSOMMATION

Ce matin le president armenien Serge Sarkissian a assiste a
l’inauguration officielle l’hypermarche Carrefour qui se trouve
au sein du centre > a Erevan. Après de longs mois
de negociations entre le francais Carrefour et >,
le 13 mai 2014 un accord etait signe pour cette ouverture du premier
centre Carrefour en Armenie. Taron Margaryan le maire d’Erevan et le
directeur du de Carrefour en Armenie, Christian de Nale ont coupe
ensemble le ruban de l’inauguration. Puis en presence du president
armenien et d’une forte delegation gouvernementale, ils visitèrent
les stands de l’hypermarche. Carrefour proposant des produits de
qualite fera sans aucun doute evolue les produits de consommation de
l’Armenie vers le haut. Une partie de la production commercialisee
provenant directement de l’Armenie.

Krikor Amirzayan

mercredi 11 mars 2015, Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

CARREFOUR OPENS BRANCH IN ARMENIA

13:05, 11 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Today, at the multifunctional complex Yerevan Mall, President Serzh
Sargsyan attended the official opening ceremony of the Armenian
branch of Carrefour, a French hypermarket network, President’s Press
Office reports.

The Preliminary Retail Space Agreement between Carrefour and Yerevan
Mall was concluded on the 13th of May of 2014. RA President Serzh
Sargsyan and French President Francois Hollande who had arrived in
Armenia on a state visit also took part in the signing ceremony.

Following today’s opening of the hypermarket by Yerevan Mayor Taron
Margaryan and Christian De Nale, Carrefour Armenia Country Manager,
the Armenian President, accompanied by the guests, toured the Carrefour
retail store, familiarized with the products, the pricing policy of
the company and its service quality.

L’ARMENIE PARTICIPERA AUX JEUX EUROPEENS DE BAKOU

Sport

L’Armenie participera aux premiers Jeux europeennes qui auront
lieu cette annee a Bakou, a confirme hier un porte-parole du Comite
olympique national armenien (CONA).

Iveta Tonoyan a ajoute que la decision avait ete prise par le comite
executif de la CONA hier.

L’Armenie devrait etre represente dans plusieurs disciplines :
le sambo (auto-defense a mains nues), le tir, le judo, la lutte,
la boxe et le taekwondo.

Le CONA a hesite. Il n’a pas donne sa reponse definitive en septembre
dernier, malgre que le gouvernement azerbaïdjanais ait fourni des
garanties de securite.

La question a ete discutee avec Patrick Hickey, president du Comite
olympique europeen, lors de sa visite l’annee dernière.

L’hesitation du CONA reflète egalement l’inquietude grandissante le
long de la frontière armeno-azerbaïdjanaise et autour du Haut-Karabagh,
où des incidents mortels ont augmente de facon spectaculaire depuis
août dernier.

Avant la dernière escalade de tensions dans la zone de conflit,
il n’etait pas rare pour les athlètes armeniens et azerbaïdjanais –
notamment lutteurs, halterophiles et boxeurs – de participer a des
competitions sportives internationales organisees dans le pays de
l’autre. Ils sont alors entoures d’escortes de securite, sans aucun
incidents graves n’aient jusqu’a presents etaient signales.

mercredi 11 mars 2015, Claire (c)armenews.com

KARABAKH OFFICIAL: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST REACT TO BAGHDASARYAN CASE

16:31, 10.03.2015

The Azerbaijani authorities’ demeanor toward captive Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) citizen Arsen Baghdasaryan further proves their
terrorist and nationalist essence.

NKR Presidential Press Secretary Davit Babayan stated the aforesaid
commenting, at Armenian News-NEWS.am’s request, on Azerbaijan’s
concocted “case” filed against Baghdasaryan.

“Of course, unlike the previous incidents, the Azerbaijani authorities
have achieved significant progress; previously, they were immediately
killing the captured Armenians,” Babayan stated.

He stressed that in the case of Baghdasaryan, however, we are dealing
with an “order” handed down by the Azerbaijan authorities.

“They tortured Arsen, and now they are putting him ‘on trial.’ They
have found him guilty of something, which he didn’t do and has not
even heard of,” Babayan noted. “Then the turn will come to the policy
of extortion; they will start demanding to exchange him with the
[Azerbaijani] saboteurs convicted in Karabakh.”

NKR presidential spokesperson also highlighted that the international
community should give serious consideration to this incident.

“The international community must take immediate action to have him
released,” Babayan added.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

KARABAKH COURT REJECTS CONVICTED AZERI SABOTEURS’ APPEAL

NEWS | 10.03.15 | 13:37

Nagorno-Karabakh’s higher court has rejected the appeals by two
Azerbaijanis who have been convicted for murder and a number of other
crimes committed as part of their subversive activities last year,
their lawyers told media.

The Appeals Court in Stepanakert left the sentences of Dilham Askerov
and Shahbaz Quliyev unchanged. In December, the court of the general
jurisdiction sentenced the Azerbaijani citizens to life and 22 years
in prison, respectively.

Last month authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh refused to consider
the release of the two Azerbaijani nationals after an appeal for a
“humanitarian gesture” made by United States Assistant Secretary of
State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland on her visit
to the South Caucasus.

ARMENIA SHOULD INTENSIFY ITS EFFORTS TO ENSURE GENDER EQUALITY AND PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

15:13, March 10, 2015

“Gender inequality and violence against women are serious human rights
concerns in Armenia. More vigorous efforts are needed to address them,”
said today Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights, publishing the report of his visit to Armenia from 5 to 9
October 2014.

The adoption of gender-related action plans and the 2013 Law on Equal
Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men are steps in the
right direction, but extensive gender bias still hampers the effective
empowerment and equal treatment of women. As a matter of priority,
the Commissioner recommends eliminating all vestiges of gender bias in
school curricula, the adoption of a comprehensive anti-discrimination
law, an increase in women’s representation in public and political
life, as well as more resolute measures to promote gender equality,
including in the labour market.

The existence of violence against women, including domestic violence,
is increasingly acknowledged in the public debate in Armenia. However,
the authorities have yet to adopt measures commensurate to the extent
of the problem. “Thousands of women are victims of violence every
year in Armenia. The phenomenon remains largely unreported because
of a poor response from State institutions and a cultural, societal
and family environment which tends to justify and accept violence
against women. It is crucial that the messages by political and
community leaders are unequivocal in this regard: violence against
women can never be acceptable. At the same time, judicial authorities
and law enforcement officers should be trained to better identify,
investigate and prosecute cases of violence against women, with
adequate punishment for the perpetrators. These measures should
be supplemented by sustained efforts to raise public awareness on
domestic violence and gender equality, including in schools, and the
adoption of specific legislation on violence against women, providing
sufficient safeguards and protection to victims. The ratification of
the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence would also be an important step.”

The on-going justice sector reforms should be used to achieve the
long-standing aim of ensuring an independent, impartial and effective
judiciary in Armenia. “Judges should be better shielded from internal
and external pressure and it is necessary to reinforce self-governance
and to circumscribe the role of the President of the Republic in
selecting, appointing, promoting and dismissing judges. Necessary
safeguards should also be adopted to prevent the arbitrary use of
disciplinary proceedings against judges.”

Noting the still-dominant position of the prosecutorial authorities
in the criminal justice system, the Commissioner underscores the
importance of ensuring defence rights, in particular by upholding
the principles of equality of arms, adversarial proceedings and the
presumption of innocence, as well as reinforcing access to legal aid.

The Commissioner also notes with concern the frequent resort to
pre-trial detention as a preventive measure and stresses that remand
in custody should be used only in exceptional circumstances, giving
priority to non-custodial measures.

The persistent reports of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials
as well as the lack of effective investigation into serious human
rights abuses are of deep concern to the Commissioner. “It is high
time that the Armenian authorities address these issues in line with
their human rights obligations. Strengthening safeguards against
torture and ill-treatment, excluding all evidence obtained under
duress and pursuing more vigorously policies and practices to ensure
accountability for serious human rights abuses, including those
committed during the March 2008 events, are among the most urgent
measures to be taken.”

Lastly, the Commissioner recommends addressing the problem of
non-combat violence in the army by ensuring accountability and
strengthening measures to prevent violence, also in cooperation with
NGOs and victims’ relatives.

AMNESTY IS A MUST AHEAD OF GENOCIDE CENTENARY – SPECIALISTS

14:26 * 10.03.15

Declaring amnesty is a must for the Armenian authorities ahead of
the Genocide centennial, says a human rights activist.

“Being against amnesty today is practically wrong. I personally find
that amnesty in Armenia is a compromise between the courts and the
society,” Avetik Ishkhanyan, the chairman of the Armenian Helsinki
Committee, told Tert.am.

Ever since gaining independence, Armenia has declared amnesty four
times – in 2006, in 2009, in 2011 and in 2013.

Ishkhanyan says his study of the practice in developed democracies
reveals that the measure is very rare in civilized countries where
the judiciary is more independent and developed (allowing for early
release etc) and the penitentiary institutions – better equipped.

“In Armenia, the judiciary is the authorities’ appendage, with the
early release mechanisms not functioning in practice. Amnesty is in
a way a compromise to people convicted unfairly or serving time in
severe conditions. [By doing this], Armenian authorities often find
the way to release also political prisoners,” he said, adding that
any objection to amnesty would imply expression of support to inmates’
continuing suffering in prisons.

Meantime Ishkhanyan agreed that amnesty decisions also provoke
crime-related tension in the country, often leading up to the detention
of recently released convicts. But he nonetheless emphasized the
importance of the measure. “Inmates look forward to what the call
amnesty because they no longer pin hope on unfair courts and the
possibility of an early release,” he noted.

Lilit Sahakyan, a member of the Chamber of Advocates, also agreed that
amnesty is a necessity for Armenia. “Given that the isolation wards
are really overcrowded, with cells for eight people often housing
18-20 detainees, amnesty is a must,” she told our correspondent.

On the other hand, the lawyer said she doesn’t adequately treat the
situation in Armenia. “Instead of fulfilling their obligations under
the law and avoiding the enforcement of detention as a precautionary
measure, courts try to all the time resolve the problem through
amnesty,” she explained.

Although amnesty may prove a temporary solution to the overcrowding
problem in Armenia’s penitentiaries, courts should properly perform
their duties to rule out regular need for amnesty.

Any amnesty could be timed to any date.

“I think we have to declare amnesties in Armenia. Otherwise, the
government may soon face problems involving Article 3 of the relevant
convention,” Ms Sahakyan said.

Law is not the real problem.

“If the law is harmonious we will not have any problems. In fact, a
restraint is applied in almost all the cases when a relevant petition
is filed. Alternative measures of restraints or declined petitions
are a low percentage,” she said.

Ms Sahakyan points out a higher number of petitions.

Although the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) considers this
practice a violation of human rights and lists the cases when arrest
can be a restraint, the situation has not changed.

“Although the Court of Cassation returns verdicts as case law, which
are supposed to regulate the field, it is the Court of Cassation
itself that is inconsistent in honoring the verdicts. That is, there
is no will to change the situation.”

NKR TO BAN THE ENTRANCE OF BRITISH DELEGATE OF THE PACE INTO THE COUNTRY (VIDEO)

10:47 | March 10,2015 | Politics

The report “Increase of violence in Nagorno Karabakh and in the
other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” to be prepared by British
delegate of the PACE Robert Walter won’t have a long life, there is
such hope in Armenia. Our country has refused to take part in the
preparation process of the report hoping that the one-sided report
won’t be taken seriously.

Lawmaker Tevan Poghosyan thinks that our country must use the chance
and draw the attention of the OSCE Minsk group to prove that the PACE
report won’t have any role in the negotiation process.

Andrias Ghukasyan is also sure that the report won’t have any role
in the settlement. But he considers the complaint from the Armenian
side about the title to be baseless.

More in the video

100 LIVES INITIATIVE FOR THOSE WHO SAVED ARMENIAN LIVES DURING GENOCIDE (VIDEO)

March 10, 2015 – 13:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The 100 LIVES initiative is launching Tuesday, March
10, expressing gratitude to the individuals and institutions whose
heroic actions saved Armenian lives during the Genocide 100 years ago.

The purpose of the 100 LIVES initiative is to address the issues of
genocide, human rights violations and the power of positive action
through three key elements:

-Learning from the past by issuing a global call to unearth the untold
stories of survivors and saviors from the Armenian Genocide that will
be brought to life on 100LIVES.com;

-Delivering for the present by introducing the Aurora Prize for
Awakening Humanity, a new global humanitarian award that will be given
to people who put themselves at risk to enable others to survive and
thrive; and

-Shaping a better future by administering Gratitude Projects to
organizations and in communities that played a prominent role in
saving Armenian lives a century ago.

The 100 LIVES initiative was founded by international businessmen and
philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan and humanitarian
Vartan Gregorian to demonstrate the impact of the Armenian Genocide
and how many of the survivors and their families went on to lead
successful lives making significant contributions to global culture,
the arts, sports, science and business.

An estimated 1.5 million died during the Armenian Genocide between
1915 and 1923. Around 500,000 survived, many through the intervention
of individuals and institutions and there are now Armenian Diaspora
communities around the world from Argentina to Australia.

“The humanity, generosity, strength and sacrifice shown by those who
saved so many Armenians compels us to tell these stories,” said Ruben
Vardanyan, co-founder of 100 LIVES. “Now is the time to shine a light
on those most extraordinary lives, to build on the lessons they teach
us, and to express our gratitude for what they did.”

Along with honoring past survivors and saviors, the program will
establish the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity as a means to empower
modern-day saviors. The annual grant of $1 million will be awarded
to a recipient who will, in turn, present it to the organization
identified as the inspiration for their action.

The Aurora Prize brings together leading human rights luminaries
from around the world including Academy Award winner George Clooney,
Nobel Peace Prize winners Elie Wiesel and Oscar Arias, former UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, UN Secretary-General
Advisor on Genocide, Gareth Evans, globally respected human rights
activist Hina Jilani and President of the Carnegie Corporation of
New York, Vartan Gregorian, to serve on its Selection Committee.

Clooney will award the inaugural Prize at a ceremony to be held in
Yerevan, Armenia on April 24, 2016.

“I am honored to be associated with 100 LIVES as it shares a common
mission with my foundation, Not On Our Watch, to focus global attention
on the impact of genocide as well as putting resources towards ending
mass atrocities around the world,” said George Clooney.

“It should weigh heavily on all of us that genocide still takes place
today,” he added. “We have to tackle this head on–as individuals,
as communities and as governments.”

Clooney will join renowned human rights advocate and chairman of
the American Holocaust Memorial, Elie Wiesel, as co-chairman of the
Prize’s Selection Committee. Additional members will be named over
the next few months to complete the committee and provide human rights
expertise from every geographic region in the world.

“I have personally witnessed the devastation that genocide wreaks,
which sadly continues today,” said Elie Wiesel. “But I also recognize
the resilience of the human spirit,” he continued. “We must remember
and honor the remarkable efforts of those saviors who intervened a
century ago to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again.”

The Aurora Prize was named after Aurora Mardiganian who, as a child,
was forced to witness the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide,
including losing her father and brothers. Against the odds she survived
and went on to devote her life to providing humanitarian relief and
raising awareness of the Armenian Genocide, including starring in a
famous film called Ravished Armenia in 1919.

The Prize is also inspired by the thousands of untold stories of
courage and survival during these events a century ago.

“Resilience, strength, survival and gratitude are characteristics
exhibited by Armenians, though not by us exclusively. They are found
in all people,” commented Noubar Afeyan. “We developed the concept
of #BeArmenian #BeAlive to encapsulate the strength of the human
spirit–not just for Armenians, but for everyone.”

As part of its efforts, 100 LIVES also hopes to digitize the written
record of the Armenian Genocide, a substantial undertaking, yet one
which the founders believe can help safeguard the historical archive
in perpetuity and ensure it can be accessed by anyone.

“There are a small number of survivors of the Armenian Genocide
left with us. It is crucial that we ensure that, as we approach the
centennial, we take this opportunity to leave a lasting imprint of
what happened a century ago onto the world’s collective conscience,”
remarked Vartan Gregorian.