Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIA TO START SECOND STUDY OF TOURISM IN ITS BORDER POINTS

NEWS.AM
December 19, 2012 | 19:48

Memorandum on the full research of tourism on Armenia’s border points
will be signed on 21 December by the Ministry of Economy of Armenia,
National Statistical Service, National Competitiveness Foundation
of Armenia, the USAID program for the development of industrial
enterprises and the competitiveness of the market, and the GIZ program
to stimulate the economy of the South Caucasus.

This will be the second study since 2007, which will begin in January
2013 and will last until December 31. Surveys will be conducted in
checkpoints of Bagrashen, Meghri, Ayrum and Bavra, as well as airports
of Yerevan and Gyumri cities. The study will help to identify the
positive and negative aspects of the tourism industry in Armenia.

The memorandum will be signed by the Deputy Minister of Economy Ara
Petrosyan, Director General of the National Competitiveness Foundation
of Armenia Arman Khachatryan, Chairman of the National Statistical
Service Stepan Mnatsakanyan, program manager for USAID on development
of industry and market competitiveness Bruno Cornelio, and the head
of the Armenian group GIZ Program for Private Sector Development in
South Caucasus, Dagmar Bot.

RUSSIAN MILITARIES IN ARMENIA TRAIN TO FIRE IN MOUNTAINS

NEWS.AM
December 20, 2012 | 22:28

About 300 soldiers of missile forces and artillery of the Russian
military base in Armenia are studying the characteristics of fire in
mountainous terrain at the high range of Alagyaz.

According to the press service of the Southern Military District,
commanders of propelled artillery howitzer “Carnation,” multiple
launch rocket systems (MLRS) BM-21 “Grad,” antitank guided missiles
(ATGM), “Competition,” mortars “tray” are involved in the training,
they will work in the field on more than 30 training exercises.

Field exercises are still to be performed by MF military base.

BRITISH GUARDIAN INCLUDED HENRIKH MKHITARYAN IN WORLD’S TOP 100 FOOTBALLERS

21:39, 20 December, 2012

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Football player Henrikh
Mkhitaryan is in choice of the world’s top 100 footballers of
outstanding British daily Guardian. Armenpress reports the contents
of Jonathan Wilson’s article about Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

“Shakhtar’s player of the year last season Henrikh Mkhitaryan. This
season, he’s got even better. Shakhtar had tended to field Brazilians
in creative positions and eastern Europeans at the back, but Mkhitaryan
has broken that trend, playmaking from an advanced central position
and scoring hatful of goals. His time spent operating deep last season
has enhanced his tactical understanding and Mircea Lucescu, Shakhtar’s
coach, has hailed his work rate in closing down attacks. Mkhitaryan
was seven when his father, an Armenia international, died from a
brain hemorrhage; he is already, even at 23, accepted as the greatest
Armenian player since the break-up of the USSR”.

PFA: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES PUT NEW FACE ON ELECTION FRAUD

December 20, 2012

Earlier this year, under mounting pressure by the international
community and civil society, the government of the Republic of Armenia
took measures to reduce fraud and manipulation going into the 2012
parliamentary election. However, according to a special report released
this week by Policy Forum Armenia (PFA), a U.S.-based international
think tank and advocacy organization, true election reform in Armenia
has, once again, been hijacked, only this time by even more inventive
and well-concealed methods of falsification.

The report, “The Armenian Parliamentary Election of 2012,” provides
an in-depth analysis of the political-economic and legislative
developments leading up to the 2012 election. It also summarizes
the reactions of key stakeholders-the opposition parties, foreign
observers, and local civil society groups-to the election outcome.

What particularly sets the report apart from other analyses, however,
is the range of statistical tests, conducted by professional analysts
that support stakeholder reactions. These tests not only yielded
ample evidence of persistent and strategic election fraud, but also
pinpointed the beneficiary of such corrupt practices, namely the
ruling party.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Adam Hug, the policy director
at the London-based Foreign Policy Centre, said, “This important and
detailed report shows that Armenia still has a long way to go to before
its elections can be called free and fair. In particular, the results
of the statistical analyses would seem to indicate that the election
authorities successfully managed to adapt to the changes in laws and
outside pressures (via illegal use of identities of Armenian citizens
who have emigrated and violations in vote counting), which is deeply
concerning. Armenia will have to improve its election processes if
future results are to command the confidence of the international
community and most importantly the Armenian public.”

PFA senior fellow, Armine Ishkanian of the London School of Economics,
went on to say, “The growing sophistication of fraud techniques and
mechanisms, which are artfully concealed, make it difficult for
outside observers to cite and document specific instances. It is
electoral fraud 2.0. The authors of this report have had to bring to
bear all the tools of research and analysis available to shed light
on these techniques and provide stakeholders with statistical back-up
that election fraud is alive and well in Armenia. The question is,
what are the prospects for the forthcoming presidential elections
early next year?”

Edgar Martirosyan, a PFA executive board member and a Los Angeles-based
attorney, pointed out that achieving free and fair elections is not
an end in itself. “Better elections are likely to result in better
governance and stronger social cohesion,” he asserted. “And it is
an internationally accepted conclusion that good governance is the
primary driver of economic development and progress in developing
countries like Armenia.”

For more information, visit

IN MOSCOW, PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN PARTICIPATED AT THE SESSION OF THE CSTO COLLECTIVE SECURITY COUNCIL

19.12.2012

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is Russia on a working visit, today
in Moscow, participated at the session of the Collective Security
Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

At the meeting of the Heads of the CSTO member states, which was
first conducted in the narrow and then in the extended format with the
participation of the delegations, the Secretary-General of the CSTO
Nikolay Bordjuza presented information on the activities of the CSTO
and documents to be signed shortly. Afterwards, the participants of
the meeting along with other agenda items discussed also tendencies
in the international situation, means aimed at the improvement of the
collective security system, development of the CSTO military component
up to 2020, and issues related to the main directions of improvement
of the collective response system in the emergency situations.

At the meeting in the extended format, President Serzh Sargsyan in
his statement first expressed thanks to the President of the Russian
Federation Vladimir Putin for the excellent organization of the CSTO
session in Moscow, congratulated the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan
Nazarbaev with the successful completion of the chairmanship in this
anniversary year and his works aimed at the strengthening of the CSTO
and then wished success to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, which assumed
chairmanship of the CSTO, and its President.

According to the President of Armenia, experience related to the
cooperation among the countries in the framework of the CSTO shows
that the strategic choice made by these countries twenty years ago
was correct and justified. The Organization is developing consistently
its structure for the efficient response to the existing threats.

“This year, the efforts of the Organization have been focused on three
main directions: strengthening of the CSTO military potential, better
coordination in the area of foreign policy and expanded cooperation for
the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, and illegal migration.

In September, we conducted successfully the Cooperation-2012
military exercises in Armenia. The preliminary works and the
exercises themselves clearly showed the ability of our countries
to solve diverse and different problems, engaging military units,
detachments of military police, special and emergency situation forces.

During the exercises in Armenia, the International Committee of
Red Cross for the first time brought its full participation to the
military exercises conducted in the CSTO format. These exercises,
as well as the subsequent Frontier-2012 exercises and the Unbreakable
Brotherhood-2012 military exercises – the first joint exercises for the
CSTO peacekeeping contingent, have made a significant contribution
to the compatibility of our armed forces and enhancement of our
Organization’s development potential.

I would like to underscore in particular efforts of the Secretariat
which resulted in the signing of the Protocol with the UN Department
of Peacekeeping Operation. I am confident that participation of our
peacekeeping contingent in the major international missions will truly
become a threshold for their perfection. It will also significantly
raise the international repute of our Organization,” President Serzh
Sargsyan told the participants of the session.

The President of Armenia spoke also about regional issues and
challenges, explosive situation in the Middle East, and presented
positions of our country.

“Analysis of the situation in the vicinity of the CSTO zone of
responsibility inspires no optimism. It is about Afghanistan, the
rising tension around Iran, and situation in Syria. The ongoing armed
confrontation in that country is destabilizing the entire Middle
East region.

There is a large Armenian community in Syria. They are children and
grandchildren of those who had miraculously escaped the Genocide in
the Ottoman Empire. Tens of thousands of Armenians became indivisible
part of the Syrian society, bringing their input to the development
and strengthening of the country. Over six thousand Syrian Armenians
have already arrived to Armenia, and we anticipated the increase of
the influx. We will help the Syrian Armenians in Aleppo as well as
in Yerevan. Armenia maintains its position of the immediate ending of
the bloodshed and a peaceful resolution of all issues by the Syrians
themselves,” the President of Armenia said.

Serzh Sargsyan spoke also about relations with Iran, development of
economic cooperation in the framework of which several weeks ago the
parties launched the construction of a powerful hydropower station
on the Armenian-Iranian border.

Speaking about the challenges existing in the South Caucasus, the
President of Armenia underscored that Azerbaijan’s destructive position
on the resolution of the NK conflict remains the greatest challenge
to the regional security. “It is manifested in the reluctance or
inability of the Azerbaijani authorities to follow the logic of the
negotiation process, which is presented explicitly in the numerous
statements by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states
– Russia, US and France. Even presumably reached agreements, such as
creation of the mechanism for the investigation of border incidents
and withdrawal of the snipers from the line of contact are being
torpedoed by official Baku.

We are confident that the only way to solve the existing conflicts is
through negotiations and that way has no alternatives. We depart from
the point that after the parties established ceasefire, which has been
maintained for the last 18 years, the resumption of military actions
and just the threat of resumption constitute a blatant violation of
the international norms and principles; it is the most shortsighted
route towards a new wave of violence, hatred, and bloodshed. Problems
are not solved that way, rather they become even more complex.

The Azeri propaganda brings up an entire generation in the atmosphere
of xenophobia and intolerance. My words are proved by the creation of
the image of a hero from a cowardly and paltry murderer who has been
extradited by the Hungarian authorities to Baku. He was immediately
pardoned, expeditiously awarded a new military rank and paid salary for
all years spent in the Hungarian prison. Thus, murder of an Armenian
officer is not a crime in Azerbaijan, and this is happening in the 21st
century, in the country which is a member to the UN Security Council.

Azerbaijan carries on with the bellicose policy. It instigates
the arms race in the region and broadcasts animosity. The Azeri
President is stating unequivocally that Armenians all over the world
are Azerbaijan’s enemies while Yerevan, which will be celebrating its
2800 anniversary very soon, is “ancient Azeri land”. He states that
violations of the ceasefire regime are normal, since the war is not
over yet, conveniently forgetting who asked for and first signed the
ceasefire agreement,” President Serzh Sargsyan said in his statement.

Serzh Sargsyan spoke also about the importance of the efforts aimed
at the coordination of the positions of the CSTO member states with
regard to the vital interests on the foreign policy issues, holding
consultations regarding those issues.

“To provide for the efficient and comprehensive activities of the
Organization, we need to maintain the fundamental principles which are
contained in our Minsk statement; it states that strategic relations in
the framework of the CSTO have priority over the contacts with other
countries which are not parties to the Treaty,” President Sargsyan
said at the extended meeting of the Heads of the CSTO member states.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan expressed thanks
to Nikolay Bordjuza for his efficient works as Secretary General of
the Organization and noted that his persistent efforts aimed at the
development of the CSTO and improvement of the works of the Secretariat
are visible to everyone and have undoubtedly yielded results. Serzh
Sargsyan stated that Armenia has endorsed the proposal of the Russian
side to extend authorities of Nikolay Bordjuza as Secretary General
of the CSTO.

In the framework of this working visit to the Russian Federation,
President Serzh Sargsyan tonight will meet with the Russian President
Vladimir Putin.

SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT REGRETS INCORRECT BEHAVIOR OF HIS COLLEAGUE TOWARDS JOURNALISTS

arminfo
Thursday, December 20, 13:39

Speaker of Armenian Parliament Hovik Abrahamyan met with A1+ TV
Company’s journalist Mher Arshakyan over the incident between
the journalist and parliamentarian Mher Sedrakyan from the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia, more known as Tokhmakhi Mher
(nickname). The latter insulted the journalist and threatened to “hit
him on the jaw”. Hovik Abrahamyan’s Spokerperson Gohar Poghosyan
confirmed the given information. During the meeting Abrahamyan
expressed regret over the incident and behavior of his colleague and
tried to verify the details of the incident. Earlier, Abrahamyan met
with Mher Sedrakyan to listen to his explanations.

To recall, parliamentarian Mher Sedrakyan insulted journalist
Mher Arshakyan who approached him to ask questions. Some of the
Republican parliamentarians have already apologized to the journalist
for their colleague’s behavior, but Sedrakyan has no intention to
apologize. “Such journalist deserves such treatment,” he said.

Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX4
2JY. A registered charity in England and Wales (no 202918) and
Scotland (SC 039042)

[email protected] , (091) 20 34 51
– «??????» ???????????????
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[email protected]

***

INVITATION ? Research presentation / Roundtable discussion

When? 21 December, 2012, 11:00-13:00
Where? Yerevan Golden Tulip Hotel, Puccini hall ( 14 Abovyan street)

OXFAM: Women?s political participation will lead to humanisation of
social and political processes

OXFAM Armenia in partnership with ?Caucasus? Social Research Center
carried out a research project aiming to study and reveal the
gender-sensitive peculiarities of the 2012 RoA National Assembly
elections. The main findings of the research project have been
summarised in ?Participation for Change? publication.

You are cordially invited to take part at the presentation of the
?Participation for Change? book and the roundtable discussion of the
research findings. The event will be held on December 21st , 11:00, at
the Yerevan Golden Tulip hotel?s Puccini hall.

Representatives of political parties, NGOs, research and scientific
centers and mass media are invited to participate at the event.

To confirm your participation and for additional information please
contact:
– Narine Hayrapetyan, OXFAM Communication and Campaigns Officer,
[email protected], Tel.: (091) 20 34 51 (mobile)

———————————————————————
Oxfam?s mission is to reduce poverty and build a future free from the
injustice of poverty. Present in Armenia since 1994 Oxfam implements
various humanitarian and development programmes in around 165 distant
rural communities by closely collaborating with the Government, more
than 10 local non-governmental organizations, local self-governance
bodies and regional authorities.

Oxfam works with others to overcome poverty and suffering.

Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International and a company limited by
guarantee registered in England No. 612172.
Registered office: Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX4
2JY. A registered charity in England and Wales (no 202918) and
Scotland (SC 039042)

RPA MEMBERS APOLOGIZED FOR THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR COLLEAGUE

18:30, 19 December, 2012

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, ARMENPRES: Deputy Spokesman of Armenian National
Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov and Armenian Minister of Education and
Science Armen Ashotyan apologized for disrespectful behavior of Mher
Sedrakyan, a lawmaker of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia,
towards the journalist.

“We must be respectful towards each other. But at the same time I think
it was not done intentionally, just because of unnecessary emotions. In
any case, as Deputy Spokesman of NA and RPA speaker I apologize to
Mher Arshakyan” Armenpress quoted Eduard Sharmazanov as saying.

Journalists have issued a letter to the President of Armenian National
Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan in the group of Facebook social network
protesting against MP Mher Sedrakyan’s behavior. Armenpress reports
they have demanded to give some evaluations on his behavior and make
him apologize to the journalist he offended.

The video of the dialogue of the journalist and deputy was published
where Mher Sedrakyan said in address of “A1+” journalist Mher Arshakyan
the following “Begone or I shall break your jaw,” Mher Sedrakyan said
without hearing the question.

Journalists who joined the initiative are going to issue the
letter-demand to NA President in written.

REPAIRS OF H. TUMANIAN’S HOUSE TO START IN JANUARY

Wednesday,
December 19

“Major repairs of Hovhannes Tumanian’s house in Tbilisi will start in
January,” Chairman of the Union of Writers of Armenia Levon Ananian
said at a press conference today.

“I have just spoken with the Head of the Georgian Armenian Diocese
of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanian. He
said the house will be completely repaired. The great writer’s
great-granddaughter will rent an apartment for a while. After
undergoing repair, the house, in all likelihood, help fulfill the
“Vernatun” idea of the great native of Lori”.

It should be reminded that former Mayor of the city of Gyumri Vardan
Ghukasian and his brother purchased Tumanian’s house in Tbilisi and
donated it to the local Armenian community.

Vardan Ghukasian will finance the repairs. The house has been donated
to the Georgian Armenian Diocese.

TODAY, 15:55

Ayso

LA LANCINANTE QUESTION DE LA DEMOCRATISATION DE LA TURQUIE PAR LAURENT LEYLEKIAN

armenews.com
mercredi 19 decembre 2012

C’est un evènement rare qui a eu lieu a l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en
Sciences Sociales (EHESS) ce mercredi 12 decembre, où Ragip Zarakolu
est venu donner une conference sur la situation actuelle de son pays
en matière de respect des libertes fondamentales et notamment de
liberte d’opinion et d’expression. Cette manifestation etait
conjointement organisee par la section francaise du Groupement
Internationale sur la Turquie (GIT) representee par son president,
Vincent Duclert, et par le Conseil de Coordination des Organisations
Armeniennes de France (CCAF) represente par son copresident Ara
Toranian. Notons qu’a l’initiative du GIT, Ragip Zarakolu est propose
depuis quelque temps pour le prix Nobel de la Paix.

Dans son introduction, Vincent Duclert a rappele que Ragip Zarakolu a
ete emprisonne du 28 octobre 2011 au 10 avril 2012 pour des
allegations fantaisistes de complicite avec un mouvement terroriste et
que son fils Deniz goûte depuis quatorze mois aux geôles du ” modèle
turc tant vante par les medias ” pour avoir parle publiquement de La
politique d’Aristote ! Depuis lors, comme il l’a lui-meme evoque,
Ragip Zarakolu est contraint de se murer dans une ” protestation
muette ” et se garde bien de toute declaration qui pourrait le
renvoyer derrière les barreaux dans un pays redevenu en quelques
annees la plus grande prison de journalistes du monde.

pour lire la suite cliquer sur le lien

mercredi 19 decembre 2012,
Stephane ©armenews.com