Author: Babajanian Karo

AZERBAIDJAN : IMMUNITE A VIE POUR LE PRESIDENT
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 14 juin 2012

Le Parlement d’Azerbaïdjan a vote a une large majorite mardi l’immunite
a vie pour le president et son epouse, qui ne pourront pas etre
poursuivis pour des actes criminels commis pendant sa mandature.

L’opposition a souvent accuse le president Ilham Aliev et sa famille
d’abuser du pouvoir pour amasser d’immenses richesses. Les journalistes
qui tentent de verifier de telles allegations sont harceles par
les autorites.

Deux predecesseurs d’Ilham Aliev, dont son père, sont morts, mais le
premier president de l’ancienne republique sovietique, Ayaz Moutalibov,
vit a Moscou et fait l’objet de plusieurs accusations de crimes en
Azerbaïdjan. La loi sur l’immunite pourrait ouvrir la voie a son
retour car elle peut beneficier a tous les anciens chefs de l’Etat.

AZERBAIJAN OPPOSITION OFFICIAL ‘INCENSED’ BY EX-AMBASSADOR’S NEW OIL INDUSTRY JOB
By Joshua Hersh

The Huffington Post

KABUL. June 9, 2012: A top Azerbaijan opposition official said his
group was “absolutely incensed” by the recent news that the latest
U.S. ambassador to the Central Asian nation had taken a lucrative
job at a state-controlled oil company.

Matthew Bryza, who until last December was President Barack Obama’s
appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan, took the job on the board of Turcas
Petrol company, which is partly controlled by the State Oil Company
of Azerbaijan Republic, according to reports in regional newspapers.

Murad Gassanly, an Azeri opposition activist based in London, decried
the move as the latest hint of a craven American foreign policy
toward the oil-rich, but autocratic nation — which also happens to
be a major strategic partner to American interests in the region.

“We are absolutely incensed by Matthew Bryza’s appointment,” he told
The Huffington Post by email.

Stanley Escudero, who was U.S. ambassador to the nation in the 1990s,
remained in the country after leaving his post to run businesses there,
Gassanly said. He now maintains Azeri citizenship.

And the currently nominated ambassador to the nation, which was
repeatedly described as a repressive and restrictive nation in the
latest State Department Country Report on Human Rights, is Richard
Morningstar, the former State Department special envoy for Eurasian
energy, and “one of the key promoters of energy projects in the
region,” Gassanly said.

“This shows that U.S.-Azerbaijan relations can only be described as
oil-soaked,” said Gassanly, who is the director of the Azerbaijan
Democratic Association in the U.K. “Forget human rights and democracy.”

Matthew Bryza could not be immediately reached, nor did State
Department officials respond to a request for comment. Bryza was
never confirmed in the Senate to serve as ambassador, and instead
kept the post through a series of temporary assignments by the Obama
administration.

There is nothing inherently illegal or improper about a former diplomat
taking a job with the country in which he served, but opposition
groups said they found the move unseemly, and fitting with a general
sense that the administration does not take their concerns about
human rights violations seriously.

During a recent visit to Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton did meet with a popular, young pro-democracy activist,
and encouraged him to continue advocating for democratic reform in
the nation. Gassanly called the meeting a stunt designed “to deflect
attention from the fact that [Clinton] refused to meet [more senior]
opposition leaders and activists.”

Land routes through Azerbaijan are expected to play a key role in the
American exit from Afghanistan over the coming years, and the nation
has also emerged as a crucial ally to Israel and the U.S. in their
efforts to stymie a burgeoning nuclear program in Iran.

According to recent reports, Azerbaijan made some of its military
air bases available to the Israeli military in advance of possible
operations against Iran, a claim that Israeli officials later denied
(The Huffington Post).

TURKEY SENTENCES PRO-KURDISH FEMALE MP TO 14 YEARS IN JAIL

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 12, 2012 – 14:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Aysel Tugluk, an independent pro-Kurdish MP from
Diyarbakır, was sentenced on Tuesday, June 12, to 14 years and 6
months in prison on charges of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) and spreading propaganda for the PKK in a series
of 12 speeches she made between 2007 and 2010, Today’s Zaman reported.

The Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court sentenced Tugluk to over
a decade in prison for speeches she made on 12 separate occasions,
saying her actions and activities have reached a level at which she
could be considered to be a member of the PKK. Such a charge calls
for a six year, three month jail sentence in line with Article 314
of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

Furthermore, the court stated that an additional eight year, three
month sentence would be added to the first sentence in accordance with
Article 7 of the Counterterrorism Law (TMK) which requires a person
to be sentenced for spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.

In a similar development, a Diyarbakır court last month sentenced
Leyla Zana, another independent pro-Kurdish deputy from Diyarbakır,
to 10 years in prison on charges of being a member of the PKK and
spreading PKK propaganda in speeches she made over four years ago.

IRAN TESTING UNDERGROUND GAS STORAGE FACILITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 12, 2012 – 15:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Senior Iranian gas officials announced on Tuesday,
June 12 that the country has started testing the Middle-East’s first
underground gas storage facility, which has a 3bln c/m capacity,
Fars News Agency reported.

“Testing the Middle-East’s first gas storage facility has started,”
Managing-Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Javad
Oji said in Tehran.

Oji, who is a deputy oil minister for gas affairs, further added that
the facility “has a capacity of storing 3bln cubic meters of gas”.

Oji had earlier announced that the country’s underground gas storage
facility named Serajeh is ready for launch. He said last month that
the volume of gas stored in Serajeh underground gas storage facility
has by the moment mounted to 350 million cubic meters.

Oji reiterated that storing gas at the facility has already started
adding currently 3.5 million cubic meters of gas is being injected
to the underground facility on a daily basis which will rise to 7
million cm/d step by step.

Since several years ago, the NIGC has started examination of storing
gas in underground facilities, including Serajeh underground facility,
near Qom City.

Injecting gas into Serajeh facility has started since October and
continued without any interruption except a short period in winter
which was the result of rising gas consumption due to cold snap.

The NIGC managing director said the volume of gas storage in Serajeh
facility will hit 1.5 billion cubic meters up to the end of current
Iranian calendar year (ending on March 20, 2013).

Under the fifth five year development plan’s regulations, the NIGC
should boost the country’s gas storage capacity to 14 billion cubic
meters up to 2015.

DOLLAR MAKES ANOTHER RECORD IN ARMENIA

news.am
June 12, 2012 | 16:43

YEREVAN. – The average rate for the US dollar was AMD 415.46/$1 at
NASDAQ OMX Armenia stock exchange on Tuesday. This is the highest
rate registered ever since July 27, 2006. Dollar went up by AMD 1.94
points or 0.47 percent as compared to Monday.

The sales totaled $5.9 million. The dollar’s buying exchange rate
increased up to AMD 414/$1 in Armenia’s exchange offices, and its
selling price starts at AMD 416/$1.

Euro-dollar relation is the following ~@1 is equal to $1.25 in the
international market.

ARTSAKH WAR HERO SAYS BOTH ARMENIA AND NKR READY FOR WAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 12, 2012 – 16:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Artsakh war hero Pavel Manukyan believes the war
between Armenia and Azerbaijan inevitable.

He stressed concessions by Armenian side and hostilities as two
possible development scenarios.

Dwelling on recent incidents at the line of contact, Mr. Manukyan
dubbed them as steps to divert attention, linking Azerbaijani attacks
with U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton’s visit to Armenia.

“Armenia doesn’t show adequate response to Azeri attacks,” he said,
conditioning it by other problems.

“Azerbaijan is likely to launch an offensive on Artsakh’s southern
provinces, if it resolves to renew Karabakh war,” he said, adding
that both Armenia and Artsakh are ready for a war.

NSS ON CIVILITAS

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:28:08 – 12/06/2012

The press service of the National Security Service reports that
criminal proceedings have been launched on money laundering based on
Article 190 part 3 point 1 of the Crime Code of Armenia.

The criminal case was launched relating to the sale of the 100% shares
of Huntsman Building Production JSC owned by the U.S.-based Polymer
Materials and Huntsman International corporations at USD 2 million
without relevant contractual formulations which would cause improper
fulfillment of tax obligations as well as the wrong use of the sum of
the transaction left in Armenia by the American party exceptionally
for charity, in particular 1 million 135 thousand was transferred to
the bank accounts of Civilitas founder Vartan Oskanian and member of
the board of trustees Tigran Karapetyan.

Besides, Civilitas Foundation, breaking its own regulations and the
legislation, has provided no report on its financial activities in
2011, including the charity means allotted by Polymer Materials and
Huntsman International corporations.

Tax checking, examinations, interrogations etc. will be held,
NSS reports.

TURKEY DAMAGES KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS – ARMENIAN MFA

news.am
June 12, 2012 | 12:27

YEREVAN.- Turkey does not displace unbiased stance and neutral position
on the Karabakh conflict. Moreover, Ankara’s interference hampers
the peace process, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said.

Commenting on Turkish side’s regret over death of Azerbaijani soldiers
in frontline, the Minister said such remarks are of fascist character.

“I have not heard regrets over death of Armenian servicemen as a
result of Azerbaijani provocations,” Nalbandian said during a joint
press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland’s Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore.

In the context of world community’s condemnation of incidents and
calls to refrain from use of force, such statements promote new
provocations of the Azerbaijani side, he added.

“While Azerbaijan refuses to remove snipers from the line of contact
and create mechanisms to investigate the incidents, Ankara is trying
to shift blame from Azerbaijan to others pretending not to be aware
who were responsible for failure in the Kazan meeting,” he said.

ARTSAKH LEADER: CONFLICT SETTLEMENT IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT NKR’S INVOLVEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 12, 2012 – 12:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On June 12, President of the Artsakh Republic Bako
Sahakyan met with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland’s Deputy Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore.

Issues related to Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement were in focus
of the meeting.

Hailing OSCE efforts in the conflict resolution, Artsakh leader
stressed the need to restore the negotiation format, approved at the
OSCE Budapest summit, noting comprehensive settlement of the conflict
impossible without NKR’s direct involvement.

He reaffirmed official Stepanakert’s adherence to peaceful settlement
of the conflict within the framework of the Minsk Group, stressing
Azerbaijan’s militaristic and anti-Armenian policy as a key factors
hindering the problem resolution.

President Sahakyan further underscored the need for OSCE head to
visit Artsakh and familiarize himself with the country.

Artsakh Republic Foreign Minister Vassily Atajanyan, personal
representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office Andrzej Kasprzyk and
other officials were present at the meeting, according to Central
Information Department at Artsakh President’s Office.

DEATH OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ARMENIANS DEPORTED TO SYRIAN DESERTS IS FACT – KNESSET MP

news.am
June 12, 2012 | 19:53

Hitler decided to take up the Holocaust as he was sure no one would
remember about it, as was in the case of the Armenians, Knesset MP
Dov Hanin (Hadash) said.

Knesset holds hearings on the 1915 Armenian Genocide, IzRus informs.

izrus.co.il. Dov Hanin claims that numbers and security issues may be
arguable, however, death of hundreds of thousands of Armenians forced
to deportation to Syrian deserts is a fact. Earlier the Speaker Reuven
Rivlin said that Israel has an obligation to remember the murder of
more than a million Armenians at the hands of the Turks more than a
hundred years ago.

Besides, he also said that the issue should not be turned into an
attack on the Turkish government. To note, the discussion is held on
the threshold of the State Comptroller Micha Lindenstraussr’s releasing
a report on Israel’s interception of Turkish Mavi Marmara ships.