Author: Babajanian Karo

ISRAEL TO BOOST ARMS SUPPLIES TO AZERBAIJAN – OFFICIAL

January 10, 2013 – 18:12 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Israel is planning to increase its sales of arms
and military equipment to a number of countries, including Azerbaijan,
the general director of the Israeli Ministry of Defence Udi Shani said,
Azeri media report.

“Israel is likely to increase the sales of weapons and military
equipment to countries such as Azerbaijan, Brazil, Vietnam and Poland
in 2013”, he said, according to the Israeli media.

ARMENIA IS LIKELY TO ONCE AGAIN HOST ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN INTERREGIONAL FORUM

10 January 2013 – 4:19pm

The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Russia to
Armenia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, said that the Third Armenian-Russian
interregional forum will be most probably held in Armenia this year,
Arka reports.

The Ambassador said that it is very important for a large number of
businessmen from Russian regions to come to Armenia to expand g trade
and economic relations between small and medium size businesses of
Armenia and Russia. He recalled that several important agreements
were signed during the second forum.

He also stressed that the two countries are actively developing
inter-regional relations.

The Second Armenian-Russian interregional forum “Armenia and Russia.

Interregional Dialogue-2012” was held in Yerevan in October. It was
attended by more than 300 people, including representatives of central
and local government, businesses and non-governmental organizations
of Russia and Armenia.

Eight candidates to run for President in Armenia

17:51 10.01.2013

The deadline for paying the electoral pledge of 8 mln AMD expired at 2
p.m today. Seven of the 15 candidates dropped out of the presidential
race. Only eight candidates have submitted all necessary documents
to the Central Electoral Commission.

The following candidates will run for President:

Leader of the Republican Party of Armenia, incumbent President Serzh
Sargsyan,

President of the National Self-Determination Union Paruyr Hayrikyan,

President of the “Heritage” Party Raffi Hovhannisyan,

President of the “Liberty Party,” MP Hrant Bagratyan,

President of the “National Accord” Party Aram Harutyunyan,

Adviser on Political Issues of the “Refugees and International Law”
NGO Arman Melikyan,

Specialist of epic Vardan Sedrakyan,

Chairman of the “Radio Hay” Board Andrias Ghukasyan.

ARMENIA ABOLISHES ENTRY VISA FOR EU AND SWITZERLAND CITIZENS

YEREVAN, January 10. /ARKA/. The abolishment by Armenia of the entry
visas for the citizens of the EU and the EEA- EFTA Member States
(Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) will enter into
force on Thursday, January 10.

Deputy foreign minister Shavarsh Kocharian said the move will help
deepen relations between Armenia and the EU

The citizens of these countries, according to the law “On foreign
persons” may stay in Armenia without a visa for 90 days during
one year.

The EU and Armenia signed on 17 December 2012 a visa facilitation
agreement in Brussels. The document which was signed on behalf of
Armenia by foreign minister Edward Nalbandian, makes it easier and
cheaper for citizens of Armenia, in particular those who travel most,
to acquire short-stay visas allowing them to travel to and freely
throughout the EU. The agreement also provides that the visa handling
fee will not be collected for certain categories of applicants,
including members of official delegations, children below the age of
twelve, pensioners, researchers and students.

The EU has been negotiating an Association Agreement with Armenia
since July 2010 in the framework of the Eastern Partnership and the
European Neighborhood Policy. The future Deep and Comprehensive Free
Trade Area will be part of this Agreement, which aims at closely
associating this country to the EU both in economic and political
terms, in line with the Eastern Partnership objectives. The future
trade relations will therefore expand significantly beyond the scope
of current cooperation, set out in the Partnership and Cooperation
Agreements, in force since July 1999. -0-

ARMENIA INTRODUCES VISA-FREE REGIME FOR EU CITIZENS

14:45 10.01.2013

Pursuant to the Governmental Decree of the Republic of Armenia dated
October 4, 2012, the citizens of the EU member-states and the Schengen
Acquis states shall be exempted from the visa requirement for travel
to and stay in the Republic of Armenia beginning from January 10, 2013.

>From today on the citizens of the above mentioned countries shall be
entitled to stay in Armenia without a visa within a period of up to
180 days per year.

Note that EU and Armenia signed on 17 December 2012 a visa facilitation
agreement at a ceremony that took place in Brussels.

The agreement makes it easier and cheaper for citizens of Armenia,
in particular those who travel most, to acquire short-stay visas
allowing them to travel to and freely throughout the EU. A short-stay
visa is a visa for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period
of 180 days.

For some categories of frequent travellers and under certain
conditions, member states are supposed to issue multiple-entry visas
with a validity from one to up to five years. Holders of diplomatic
passports are exempted from the visa obligation.

The agreement also provides that the visa handling fee will not be
collected for certain categories of applicants, including members of
official delegations, children below the age of twelve, pensioners,
researchers and students.

AZERBAIJAN AGAIN VIOLATED AGREEMENT WITH OSCE MISSION OVER LINE OF CONTACT MONITORING

13:21, 10 January, 2013

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS: In accordance with the arrangement
reached with the NKR authorities OSCE mission conducted a planned
monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan in the direction of Martakert
district, Seysulyan village on January 10. From the positions of the
NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was held by field Assistant Irji
Aberle (Czech Republic) and Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Christo Christov (Bulgaria). From the opposite
side the monitoring mission was led by Field Assistants William Prior
(Great Britain) and Evgeny Sharov.

As NKR Foreign Affair Ministry informed Armenpress, no violations
of the cease-fire regime were registered, yet Azerbaijani side for
the regular time refused to take OSCE mission into its frontier
positions, to the place agreed upon beforehand, as a result of which
OSCE monitoring groups have been forced to implement a monitoring
from far distance.From the Karabakh side the monitoring mission
was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministries of Foreign
Affairs and Defense.

FRANCE/KURDES : SAKINE CANSIZ, UNE FONDATRICE DU PKK PROCHE D’OCALAN
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 11 janvier 2013

Sakine Cansiz, retrouvee morte avec deux autres activistes kurdes
dans la nuit de mercredi a jeudi a Paris, est un membre fondateur du
Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), qui mène la lutte armee
en Turquie, et consideree comme une proche du chef emprisonne de la
rebellion, Abdullah Ocalan.

Cette femme de 55 ans aux cheveux teints au henne, une tradition
anatolienne, figurait parmi le petit groupe de jeunes militants de
gauche qui a cree le PKK en 1978 a Lice, dans le sud-est turc peuple
majoritairement de Kurdes.

Six ans plus tard, ce mouvement prenait les armes contre les forces
d’Ankara. Depuis 1984, ce conflit a fait plus de 45.000 morts, pour
la plupart dans le camp rebelle. Nee en 1957 a Tunceli (Dersim pour
les Kurdes), Sakine Cansiz a ete, dès sa jeunesse, particulièrement
active dans les reseaux d’extreme-gauche pro-kurdes. Après la fondation
du PKK, elle est arretee et emprisonnee a Diyarbakir, principale
ville du sud-est anatolien a majorite kurde, où la torture est alors
systematique pour les detenus politiques. Selon des sources kurdes,
la jeune femme en a ete victime.

Elle n’a retrouve la liberte qu’en 1991, après plusieurs procès
intentes a son encontre. A sa sortie du penitencier, elle adopte le
nom de code “Sara” et retrouve ses compagnons kurdes. Sakine Cansiz
recommence a militer clandestinement et a combattre activement dans
les rangs du PKK dans le sud-est de la Turquie.

Elle fait aussi un passage au camp d’entraînement dont disposait le
PKK a l’epoque dans la plaine libanaise de la Bekaa.

En 1992 ou 93, selon les sources, Sakine Cansiz part en Allemagne,
où vit une forte communaute de travailleurs turcs, afin d’y organiser
les activites du PKK sur les instructions d’Abdullah Ocalan, alors
en exil en Syrie.

Un cadre important –

Au fil des ans, la militante devient un cadre important du mouvement
en Europe, a la faveur de sa proximite avec le principal commandant
militaire du PKK, Murat Karayilan, retranche avec quelque 2.000
rebelles dans les montagnes du nord de l’Irak.

M. Karayilan est devenu la figure de proue du PKK depuis la capture,
en 1999, et l’emprisonnement a vie en Turquie d’Abdullah Ocalan.

Visee par un mandat d’arret international emis par Ankara, Sakine
Cansiz est arretee le 19 mars 2007 par la police allemande a Hambourg,
puis relâchee le 25 avril suivant.

Elle vivait depuis plusieurs annees en France.

Sa mort intervient alors que la Turquie a repris depuis la fin 2012
le dialogue avec le PKK, par le biais de negociations directes avec
Abdullah Ocalan, dans le but de desarmer le PKK.

Les deux autres militantes kurdes retrouvees mortes avec elle
etait moins connues. L’une d’elles, Fidan Dogan, 32 ans, etait la
representante en France du Centre d’information du Kurdistan, une
vitrine du PKK, et membre du Conseil national kurde (KNK), une autre
organisation de la nebuleuse kurde.

Selon Dorothee Schmid, la directrice du programme Turquie a l’Ifri
(Institut francais des relations internationales), Sakine Cansiz et
Fidan Dogan se trouvaient toutes les deux sous surveillance policière.

La première etait “très proche d’Ocalan, “un relais de sa parole”,
alors que la seconde etait une “vraie officielle de la diaspora kurde
en Europe”, a explique Mme Schmid.

Interrogees par l’AFP, les autorites turques n’ont pas ete en mesure
vendredi de dire si ces trois femmes disposaient de la nationalite
turque.

Après le coup d’Etat militaire de 1980, la justice d’Ankara a dechu
de leur nationalite de nombreux militants kurdes ou d’extreme-gauche
qui se sont exiles a l’etranger.

vendredi 11 janvier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

ASSISTANT COMMANDER CHARGED WITH BEATING A SERGEANT

Factinfo
Fri, 01/11/2013 – 13:54

The Assistant Commander of N Unit Garik Kirakosyan is accused of
breach of limits of official powers, which is displayed in beating
Sergeant G. Tonapetyan.

According to investigation, from July 13 to August 2, 2012, Assistant
Commander G. Kirakosyan has been involved in combat duty in “Avazahanq”
military base. On July 28, 2012 around 12.30 he crossed the border
of official duties and beat Sergeant Tonapetyan.

According to the indictment, G. Kirakosyan 2 times with the hamlet,
than 4-5 times with the fist hit on the head of the sergeant causing
damage to the outer ear, bleeding and damage of the soft tissues of
the head.

The investigation viewed the beating of G. Tonapetyanin by G. A serious
damage and Kirakosyan as charged with Article 375.1 of Criminal
Code, abuse of power, transgression of authority or administrative
dereliction.

EUROVISION 2013: SIRUSHO TIPPED AS ARMENIA PICK FOR THIS YEAR’S SONG CONTEST

ARTS AND CULTURE | 11.01.13 | 13:37

The Head of the Armenian delegation to Eurovision, Gohar Gasparyan, has
neither confirmed nor denied that popular singer Sirusho will represent
Armenia at the continent’s biggest pop music contest this year.

The Public Television of Armenia is currently in the middle of the
process of internally selecting the candidate for the 2013 Eurovision
Song Contest. Siranush Harutyunyan, 26, better known as Sirusho, has
been tipped as a likely pick to represent the South Caucasian country.

In this regard Gasparyan emphasizes that “nothing has been decided
yet”, according to Eurovision’s official website.

Sirusho already represented Armenia in the 2008 Eurovision Song
Contest with an upbeat entry song Qele Qele, finishing fourth and
thus securing the best placing for her nation to date.

She just recently released her new single Pre-Gomesh, which became
the most watched Armenian clip within a short time, yielding no less
than 125,000 clicks during the first day, and 560,000 views during
the first three weeks of publication.

It might, indeed, be a continuation of the Qele Qele story, the
song title of which was taken from the works of Komitas, a famous
Armenian artist: Pre-Gomesh, too, is influenced by Komitas’ works,
speculates Eurovision.tv.

The Public Television of Armenia doesn’t deny the fact of Sirusho’s
candidacy. “Anyone can be our representative, including Sirusho,
we are still discussing,” said Gasparyan.

Sirusho had already confirmed her interest to again participate in
the Eurovision Song Contest last year, but in the end, Armenia did not
participate in the 2012 edition of the contest hosted by Azerbaijan,
a country with which it is locked in a bitter territorial dispute.

A commission of music experts engaged by the PTA is expected to make
the selection by March 10.

This year’s Eurovision will be held in Malmo, Sweden, on May 14-18.

YEREVAN CITY HALL USED 200 T OF SALT AND 800 CUBIC METERS OF SAND FOR SNOW REMOVAL

YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. As of Thursday morning, Yerevan city
authorities have used about 200 tons of salt and around 800 cubic
meters of sand to accelerate snow melting in the streets.

“Throughout the whole night the cleaners were spreading salt and sand
on the snow routes in the streets and sidewalks of Yerevan. Since
4 a.m. the graders have been removing snow from the central avenues
and streets,” according to the source.

The full snow removal equipment is provided not only by the City Hall,
but also some constructional organizations.

Not only streets, but also yards are being cleaned by communal workers
and volunteers.

The snowfall hit the capital from January 9 to the morning of January
10. -0-