Author: Babajanian Karo

YANNI WILL PERFORM IN ARMENIA IN APRIL

NEWS.AM
January 11, 2013 | 05:19

YEREVAN. – The tickets for world-renowned Spanish singer Julio
Iglesias’ concert in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan will go on
sale next week, the event’s producer Arman Tsaturyan told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

The ticket prices for the concert, which is slated for March 18,
will range between AMD 5,000-80,000 (approx. $12-$198). Incidentally,
the Iglesias will hold a news conference prior to his concert.

Also, famous Greek pianist Yanni is expected to perform in Yerevan
in April. Tsaturyan noted that, in all likelihood, the Yanni concert
tickets will go on sale at the end of January. To note, this will be
the pianist’s second concert in Armenia, as Yanni had first performed
in the country on September 23, 2011.

In addition, American actor, singer and songwriter Marc Anthony as
well as British musician and singer Sting likewise are planned to be
invited to Armenia.

AZERBAIDJAN: RSF DEMANDE LA LIBERATION DES JOURNALISTES EMPRISONNES

Publie le : 11-01-2013

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
propose ce Communique de presse publie sur le site des Reporters Sans
Frontières le 19 decembre 2012.

Reporters Sans Frontières

Azerbaïdjan

Liberez les journalistes emprisonnes !

Publie le jeudi 10 janvier 2013

Quatre journalistes, emprisonnes injustement depuis de longs mois,
ont comparu simultanement devant la justice, le 9 janvier 2013, dans
trois affaires distinctes. Le procès de Hilal Mammedov, detenu depuis
juin 2012, s’est ouvert a Bakou. De nouvelles audiences se sont tenues
dans le procès des journalistes de Khayal TV, Vugar Gonagov et Zaur
Guliyev, incarceres depuis mars 2012, et dans celui d’Avaz Zeynalli,
redacteur en chef du quotidien Khural emprisonne depuis octobre 2011.

Reporters sans frontières demande a nouveau leur liberation immediate
et l’abandon de toutes les charges qui pèsent sur eux.

” Avec Hilal Mammedov, c’est l’activisme et la defense des droits
de l’homme qui sont a nouveau la cible des autorites de Bakou. Les
journalistes de Khayal TV sont les boucs emissaires des affrontements
politiques locaux. Et Zaur Guliyev continue de payer le prix de
ses critiques du regime, alors meme que la personne a l’origine de
son inculpation est aujourd’hui poursuivie par la justice. Rien ne
justifie le maintien en detention provisoire de nos quatre confrères.

Tout le temps qu’ils ont deja passe derrière les barreaux n’a pas
permis a la justice de reunir des elements de preuve convaincants a
l’appui des accusations absurdes et souvent contradictoires portees
contre eux. Ces journalistes sont uniquement poursuivis du fait de
leur activite professionnelle. Ils doivent etre relâches immediatement
“, a declare Christophe Deloire, secretaire general de Reporters
sans frontières.

Hilal Mammedov : dans une cage metallique

La première audience preliminaire du procès de Hilal Mammedov s’est
tenue le 9 janvier 2013 devant le tribunal de Bakou pour les delits
aggraves. Le procureur Tural Yusifov a rejete toutes les demandes de
la defense, qui reclamait notamment que le journaliste ne comparaisse
plus dans une cage metallique, qu’il puisse s’asseoir près de ses
avocats et que le procès soit filme de facon a garantir l’impartialite
des debats. Les avocats de Hilal Mammedov ont souligne la faiblesse
des pièces a conviction et demande un complement d’enquete. Ils ont
egalement reclame que la detention provisoire du journaliste soit
commuee en assignation a residence.

Redacteur en chef du journal Tolishi Sado, defenseur des droits de
l’homme et directeur du Centre culturel talysh, Hilal Mammedov est
emprisonne dans des conditions deplorables depuis le 21 juin 2012,
date a laquelle il a ete arrete pour ” trafic de drogue ” dans une
affaire montee de toutes pièces. Deux semaines plus tard, de nouveaux
chefs d’inculpation ont ete retenus contre lui : desormais accuse d'”
incitation a la haine “, de ” haute trahison ” et d’espionnage au
profit de l’Iran, il risque au moins quinze ans de reclusion et la
confiscation de tous ses biens. Son cas rappelle fortement celui de
son predecesseur a la tete de Tolishi Sado, Novruzali Mamedov (aucun
lien de parente). Condamne a dix ans de prison pour ” espionnage ” et
” incitation a la haine ” en 2008, ce dernier etait mort a l’hôpital
penitentiaire de Bakou l’annee suivante, faute de soins appropries.

Tolishi Sado est un journal en langue talysh, qui milite pour les
droits de cette minorite persanophone vivant essentiellement dans le
sud de l’Azerbaïdjan. Hilal Mammedov est egalement connu pour etre
l’auteur d’une video très populaire, devenue l’etendard de nombreux
mouvements de protestation dans plusieurs pays d’ex-URSS. Cette
chanson intitulee ” Pour qui te prends-tu ? Allez, au revoir “,
a notamment ete detournee par l’opposition russe pour appeler au
depart de Vladimir Poutine.

Khayal TV : les journalistes boucs emissaires

Vugar Gonagov et Zaur Guliyev, respectivement directeur et redacteur en
chef de Khayal TV, ont comparu le 9 janvier 2013 devant le tribunal du
district de Khatchmaz (nord-est du pays). Avec deux autres prevenus,
ils sont accuses d'” organisation ou participation a des troubles a
l’ordre public ” (article 233 du code penal) et d'” abus de pouvoir
” (article 309.2). On les accuse d’avoir mis en ligne une video qui
a declenche un mouvement de protestation dans la ville de Guba, le
1er mars 2012. Cette video montrait le gouverneur du district, Rauf
Habibov, tenant des propos injurieux a l’egard de ses administres lors
d’une reunion d’equipe. La dispersion des milliers de manifestants qui
s’etaient rassembles après sa diffusion avait degenere en de violents
affrontements, en marge desquels plusieurs journalistes avaient ete
passes a tabac.

Si Khayal TV avait bien filme l’integralite de la reunion, les
enregistrements avaient rapidement ete detruits a la demande de
l’administration locale. Vugar Gonagov et Zaur Guliyev nient avoir une
quelconque responsabilite dans l’apparition de la video sur YouTube.

” Il est choquant que la justice considère Khayal TV responsable des
troubles pour avoir simplement fait son travail. Tout comme Hilal
Mammedov et Avaz Zeynalli, Vugar Gonagov et Zaur Guliyev doivent
etre liberes au plus vite, mais egalement etre indemnises pour le
temps qu’ils ont deja passe en detention et les mauvais traitements
qu’ils y ont subi. Ces derniers doivent faire l’objet d’enquetes
complètes et impartiales. Nous reiterons notre profonde inquietude
quant aux conditions de detention de ces quatre journalistes, et
tenons l’administration penitentiaire pour responsable de leur sort
“, a conclu Christophe Deloire.

Avaz Zeynalli : la prison envers et contre tout

La trente-cinquième audience du procès d’Avaz Zeynalli, redacteur en
chef du quotidien Khural, s’est tenue le 9 janvier devant le tribunal
de Bakou pour les delits aggraves. Le procès, qui a debute en mai 2012,
semble ne pas avancer. Le journaliste est accuse d’extorsion de fonds
(article 311.3 du code penal) sur le fondement du temoignage d’une
ancienne deputee du parti au pouvoir, Gular Akhmedova. Or, cette
femme est aujourd’hui elle-meme poursuivie pour ” corruption ” et ”
assassinat “. A la difference d’Avaz Zeynalli, elle n’est pourtant
pas incarceree mais assignee a residence.

Le journaliste avait ete arrete en octobre 2011, peu après la
publication d’un article très critique a l’egard du president de la
republique, Ilham Aliev, et la saisie de l’equipement de Khural.

Malgre de serieux problèmes de sante, ses demandes de remise en
liberte conditionnelle ont toutes ete rejetees, et il reste l’objet
de brimades et de privations de ses droits.

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Reporters Sans Frontières

DINK HIT ORGANIZED, SAYS TOP PROSECUTOR

12:39 11.01.2013

The prosecutor’s office of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey has
asked the top court to overturn the rulings in the Hrant Dink murder
case, arguing that the assassination was organized.

“It is obvious that the murder was not an ordinary killing, the
actions filed in the report had the goals of causing chaos in society,
weakening authority, disrupting the unity and territorial integrity
of the state and putting our country in a disturbing position,” the
office’s appeal, made public today, read, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Dink, an Armenian-Turkish journalist, was assassinated in Istanbul
in January 2007 by Ogun Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist,
in front of the offices of Agos, the weekly for which he was the
editor-in-chief.

After two years of proceedings Samast was convicted on July 25,
2011, of premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm
by Istanbul’s Juvenile Court for Serious Crimes and sentenced to 22
years and 10 months. Another suspect, Yasin Hayal, was convicted of
ordering the murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, the court ruled that Dink’s murder was not an organized crime
despite serious claims that some civil servants were “indirectly”
involved.

The appeal by the prosecutor’s office also noted that there was no
active investigation in the beginning to determine the network among
the conspirators.

The Turkish Presidency’s State Supervisory Council (DDK) recommended
in an official report in February 2012 that top police and gendarmerie
officials be prosecuted in the Dink murder case due to their alleged
negligence before and after the journalist’s killing.

The DDK also touched on the need to reform the secret services in
order to have the ability to prevent the murders of key personalities
or social unrest like the bloody incidents that took place in Sivas
in 1993 or in KahramanmaraÅ~_ in 1978. “Hrant Dink’s murder must be
evaluated as a whole, starting from when Dink was singled out as a
target and threatened,” the 650-page report said.

Claims were directed at Istanbul’s former Gov. Muammer Guler, as
well as the Istanbul Police Department’s intelligence director, Ahmet
Ä°lhan Guler. Accordingly, the Trabzonchief of police sent a report
to the Istanbul Police to warn of an assassination plot against Dink,
but Guler allegedly did not take it seriously. Attempts to investigate
Guler after the murder have been blocked.

The report’s findings regarding the negligence of the Trabzon Police
Department have been omitted from the file put on the web. This
section includes the assessment of six important criticisms leveled
against the verdict.

Noting that senior civil servants had a direct role in not protecting
Dink before the murder even though they had received crucial
intelligence regarding the impending danger, the report suggested
that these civil servants should also be prosecuted.

MINSK GROUP MEDIATORS FACE IDEOLOGICAL CRISIS – EXPERT

TERT.AM
09.01.13

The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group are facing an ideological
crisis, according to Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan, an Armenian political
analyst.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the expert highlighted the need
of eliminating the hostility between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
societies. He said such efforts should be a priority in 2013, in
addition to the plans for achieving a political or military turning
point.

He thinks Azerbaijan has long been seeking to disrupt the Minsk
Group format in an attempt to involve Turkey in the negotiations over
Nagorno-Karabakh. According to him, the country finds the Minsk Group
a special kind of club allowing the superpowers to coordinate their
policies in the region.

“Turkey puts forth great efforts to join that ‘club’. But the Armenian
diplomacy spares no effort to maintain the Minsk Group as Turkey’s
involvement will not naturally be in the interests of Armenia and
Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh],” he said.

The expert treats the mediators’ statements about new plans or
proposals with skepticism as he believes all the possible scenarios
of conflict settlement were discussed in the past two decades.

EXPERT: ARMENIAN PEOPLE ABLE TO OVERTHROW RULING AUTHORITIES

January 9, 2013 – 16:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Political expert Manvel Sargsyan deems the current
political developments in Armenia as natural, given the parliamentary
forces’ decision not to join the presidential race over the lack of
a free mechanism.

“Though the absence of free election mechanisms is not a new
occurrence, political forces continue to be guided by secret deals,”
the expert told a press conference.

“The ruling authorities are in charge of the current situation. They
dictated the rule of the games,” Mr. Sargsyan said.

According to him, other countries’ experience proves peoples’ ability
of self-organization and overthrowing the ruling authorities.

EURASIANET: SHOOTING DOWN A CIVILIAN FLIGHT OF STEPANAKERT AIRPORT WILL BE CATASTROPHIC FOR BAKU’S INTERNATIONAL POSITION

Eurasianet.org web-site referred to the Azerbaijani threats over the
Stepanakert airport. The article by Joshua Kucera especially says:

“When Azerbaijan threatened in 2011 to shoot down flights to the newly
built airport in Nagorno Karabakh, swift international condemnation
forced them to back down. Now, with the long-delayed airport apparently
close to opening, Baku has reiterated those threats”.

The Armenian authorities hope that the establishment of flights in
and out of the self-proclaimed republic will help mitigate their
isolation; it’s now only possible to reach the territory by a long
drive through the mountains from Armenia, teh source continues.

“The language from this unnamed official is a bit more guarded than
the last time, when Azerbaijani officials used words like “destroy”
and “annihilate” in reference to flights to Karabakh. And probably
more importantly, it wasn’t made publicly, so there hasn’t been the
same sort of reaction internationally. But the message is obviously
the same. And the threat still seems just as empty: although the U.S.

ambassador to Baku recently reiterated that the opening of the airport
would be “not helpful,” shooting down a civilian flight, it should go
without saying, would be catastrophic for Baku’s international position
and whatever intimidation it would accomplish against Armenia would
be vastly outweighed by its becoming an international pariah. So it’s
not clear what they’re trying to accomplish with even these sorts of
veiled threats”, the article concludes.

09.01.13, 16:19

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program
California State University, Fresno
Contact: Barlow Der Mugrdechian, 559-278-4930
ASP Office: 559-278-2669
Fax: 559-278-2129
Email: [email protected]

Visit the Armenian Studies Program Web Page at

Dr. Ronald Marchese to Speak at Fresno State on `Treasures of Faith:
Sacred Objects from the Armenian Churches of Constantinople’

Dr. Ronald Marchese will discuss his recent research in
Constantinople/Istanbul with a talk on `Treasures of Faith: Sacred
Objects from the Armenian Churches of Constantinople and What They
Tell Us About Armenian Society and Culture ‘ at 7:30 PM on Monday,
January 28, 2013. This Leon S. Peters Foundation Lecture will be held
in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191,
on the Fresno State campus and is part of the Armenian Studies Program
Spring 2013 Lecture Series. The lecture is funded in part by the
Associated Students, Inc. at Fresno State.

Dr. Marchese is professor of ancient history and archaeology at the
University of Minnesota, Duluth and has spent the last several years
documenting the rich cultural history of the Armenians in
Constantinople, by studying the works of arts that the Armenians
produced. He will accompany his talk with slides of some of the
artwork that he has catalogued.

Over the course of hundreds of years Armenian society and culture
developed in Constantinople after the founding of the Armenian
Patriarchate in the city in 1461. Although a traditional date, it is
clearly evident that a substantial number of Armenians from eastern
Anatolia had established themselves in the city long before this
date. Most went unnoticed in the pages of history due to the fact that
they were absorbed within Byzantine material and political
culture. Simply stated they became `Byzantine’ in nature. After the
mid-fifteenth century and especially after the establishment of their
own patriarchate and `patrik’ this `invisibility’ disappears.

Encouraged to immigrate `to the city’ (to istan-polis) the Armenian
population increased substantially as witnessed by the steady growth
of neighborhoods and churches to match the population increase. By the
mid-18th city to the mid nineteenth century-1750-1850-approximately
half of all Armenian churches in the city were founded. Some were in
close proximity to others in densely concentrated areas near the
Patriarchate, especially in Kumkapi, Yenikapi, Samataya, and Beyoglu.

Associated with this increase in population was the rise of an
Armenian `aristocracy’ -the amira class. Many of these individuals
financed church construction and are well-known in both Ottoman and
Patriarchal records. The issue here is not who these people were, a
powerful group of wealthy entrepreneurs, merchants and bankers, who
gave clout to their group, but rather those who worked hard,
accumulated modest amounts of wealth and were faithful church goers
who participated in the affairs of their congregation and
neighborhood-the emerging `petty bourgeois.’ Who were they and what
they did has barely been recorded. It was their contributions to their
respective churches that is brought to light in his current research
and is illustrated in this presentation.

Dr. Marchese received his PhD from New York University and has a
distinguished career in archaeology, having conducted research at the
Plataiai Archaeological Excavation in Greece and at Tel Dor in
Israel. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters in the
field. He is an alumnus of California State University, Fresno.

He is the author, together with Marlene Breu, of Splendor and
Spectacle: The Armenian Orthodox Church Textile Collections of
Istanbul (Ã=87itlembik Ltd., Istanbul, 2010). He has authored several
other books on art and weaving.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Parking: Parking rules have changed for the university. Parking is
available in Lots A or J on campus, only if a free parking pass is
obtained by using parking code 273305 in any of the campus kiosks.

For more information on the lecture please contact the Armenian
Studies Program at 278-2669.

RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN: UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION NOT COMPETITIVE

Aysor.am
January 10

“There is one important aspect related to the upcoming election:
it is not competitive, Serzh Sargsyan will be re-elected, but the
lack of competition between the candidates means that the election
process itself should be freer and fairer,” Director of the Regional
Studies Center Richard Giragosian told “168 Hours” daily.

Giragosian said there is another, new aspect regarding the upcoming
presidential election. In his opinion, although Serzh Sargsyan will
probably be re-elected, in fact, this is going to be his first term as
president, rather than the second one because the whole first term was
spent eliminating the consequences of the 2008 postelection crisis,
achieving legitimacy he initially lacked, and distancing himself from
Robert Kocharian and the March 1 events.

TODAY, 12:43

VAZGEN KHACHIKYAN DIDN’T GIVE A TESTIMONY

Factinfo
Thu, 01/10/2013 – 13:29

Together with the former Head of the State Social Security Service
Vazgen Khachikyan around dozen other officials from the same sphere
are charged with abuse.

The episodes of 13 individual cases have been separated from the
multi-episode case and about completion of the investigation concerning
those episodes were declared; time was given to the parties to become
familiar with the materials.

According to the information “Pastinfo” has, the volume of the case
materials reach several hundred, and most probably it will take a
lot of time for the parties to get familiar with them.

Vazgen Khachikyan is charged with the violation of Article 179
(Squandering or embezzlement with a group in particularly large amount)
and Article 178 (Swindling committed in particularly large amount)
and Article 314 (Official forger). In the process of the investigation
Khachikyan choose the silence technique and did not give testimony.

Together with Vazgen Khachikyan, the Head of the Payment Department of
State Social Security Service Hovhannes Grigoryan, the inspector of the
same department in Yerevan Vigen Gevorgan, the Heads of the services
in Arabkir, Shengavit, Erebouni regions of Yerevan are charged with
violation of Article 179.3.1/2 and Article 314 of RA code, and the head
of the Soviet territorial department Aram Martirosyan is in searches.

Armen Khachatryan, Bagrat Muradyan and Hranush Danielyan are charged
with the violation of Artiicle 179 of RA Code and Article 38-314.

There is a very low percentage that the damage caused to the state
will be recovered. The amount of the damage caused to the state is
376.716.903 AMD, only 51.773.902 AMD of which has been recovered.

Another two defendants are wanted which is already the evidence that
after sending the case of Khachikyan to the court, the police will
not terminate the preliminary investigation and it will continue in
respect of others.

21-YEAR-OLD BOY DIED FROM POISONING IN GYUMRI

2013-01-10 14:13:47

On January 10 at 09:08 the police received a report that the resident
of Gyumri died from poisoning, and two were injured.

It turned out that Hovhannes Khandilyan (born in 1992) died and Misak
(born in 1961) and Aregnaz Khandilyans (born in 2000) were admitted
to a medical center of Gyumri.

Doctors rated their health status as moderate.