Author: Babajanian Karo

LE PRESIDENT ARMENIEN EN VISITE A SINGAPOUR
Laetitia

armenews.com
jeudi 29 mars 2012

Le president armenien Serge Sarkissian est arrive a Singapour mercredi
28 mars 2012. L’Armenie devrait renforcer la cooperation avec la
ville-Etat qui jouit d’une des economies les plus developpees du monde.

Sarkissian a rencontre le president Tony Tan Keng Yam et le Premier
ministre Lee Hsien Loong pour discuter des perspectives de cooperation
dans divers domaines, y compris l’education, la science, et la
fonction publique.

Le leader armenien a affirme que Singapour est un Etat qui se developpe
rapidement avec succès et est un bon exemple pour d’autres pays,
y compris l’Armenie.

Les negociations officielles ont abouti a la signature de plusieurs
documents, y compris un protocole d’entente dans le domaine culturel
et un accord sur la suppression reciproque du regime des visas pour
les titulaires de passeports diplomatiques et de service.

Lors de la reunion avec les principaux entrepreneurs de Singapour et
des chefs d’entreprises, Serge Sarkissian a discute des perspectives
d’investissements en Armenie. Les representants de la communaute
des affaires de Singapour auraient montre un interet particulier
pour cooperer avec l’Armenie dans les domaines de technologies et de
l’information, des telecommunications, de la sante, du developpement
urbain et de la programmation, de la gestion des dechets et des
ressources en eau.

Le president armenien a indique qu’un accord a ete conclu avec des
hommes d’affaires armeniens qui effectueront bientôt un voyage a
Singapour dans le but de negociations des accords concrets. Dans
la soiree,le president singapourien Tony Tan Keng Yam a accueilli
son homologue armenien a un banquet d’Etat. Il a declare : ” Les
Armeniens ont ete parmi les premiers commercants a arriver quand les
Britanniques ont etabli un port a Singapour en 1819. En dehors des
affaires commerciales, les Armeniens ont egalement reussi dans les
secteurs comme l’edition, l’hôtellerie et les services “. ” Notre
relation bilaterale est fondee sur de nombreux points communs et des
complementarites. Comme les petits pays, Singapour et l’Armenie ont
des interets communs et nous pouvons apprendre les uns des autres …

BAHCELI’S REMARKS ON MARTYRDOM OFFEND SEVAG’S FAMILY

Today’s Zaman
March 28 2012
Turkey

The family of a non-Muslim private who was killed by a fellow soldier
while he was serving in the military was deeply offended by remarks
from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, implying
that non-Muslim individuals who fall while serving the state shouldn’t
be considered martyrs.

Martyrdom in Turkey is usually associated with nationalism, not
necessarily with religion. Anybody who is killed, or sometimes in cases
of accidental death, while performing a task considered a service to
the country is considered a martyr. Families of individuals who die
under such circumstances are also entitled to receive monthly benefits.

The family of Sevag Balýkcý, who was killed last April by a bullet
from the rifle of a fellow private, spoke to the Radikal daily, saying
Bahceli’s words emphasizing religion as a criterion were offensive and
discriminatory. “Until now, I always thought we were one as a nation.

Now they have made us feel we are ‘the other’,” said Ani Balýkcý,
the private’s grieving mother.

Ani Balýkcý said the military had requested documents from the family
so that they can be a paid monthly survivor’s benefit for their son.

“They wanted an income statement, a statement of assets, Sevag’s
birth certificate and documents indicating his education. But no word
has come yet. I assume they are waiting for the trial to be over,”
she said, referring to the ongoing trial of the private who shot Pvt.
Balýkcý.

His death, which was initially believed to be an accident, is now
thought to have been a hate crime committed because of the victim’s
ethnic background as a person of Armenian origin, based on later
testimony from another private. His shooter might face murder charges
if the possibility of an accident is ruled out.

She noted that her son died while serving in the military. “So if they
consider anyone who dies while in the army a martyr, they should count
my son Sevag as a martyr, too. This is what we are waiting to see.”

Pvt. Sevag Þahin Balýkcý was killed on April 24, 2011, the date
the Armenian diaspora has chosen to commemorate the incidents of
1915, when hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in the Ottoman
Empire during World War I. Officers and other privates in his unit,
which is stationed in Batman province, testified that Balýkcý was
shot accidentally while “joking around” with a close friend, Kývanc
Aðaoðlu, who allegedly fired the fatal shot. They were serving at
the Kozluk Gumuþgoru gendarmerie station at the time of the incident.

However, Halil Ekþi, a private who witnessed the incident, later
changed his testimony, altering the course of the trial. The next
hearing is on March 29.

During a hearing at the Diyarbakýr Second Air Force Command Military
Court on Jan. 30, Ekþi, who served in the military at the same time as
Balýkcý, revised his testimony to say: “Kývanc pointed his rifle at
Sevag and pulled the trigger. His family had asked me to testify in
his favor,” implying that Aðaoðlu’s family pressured him into giving
false testimony.

Despite demands made by Cem Halavurt, the Balýkcý family’s lawyer,
the court has decided not to arrest Aðaoðlu.

In similar situations in the past, religion has not played a role in
determining whether martyr families are entitled to monthly survivor’s
benefits. Incorporating such a criterion would be a violation of
Article 10 of the constitution, which states that all citizens are
equal. Directive no. 439, which lays out the conditions for martyrdom
status, makes no reference to religion.

Bahceli’s words came shortly after Family and Social Policy Minister
Fatma Þahin said the family of slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
could be paid regularly as part of the payments program for martyr
families.

US AMBASSADOR URGES TO ENSURE FREE, FAIR AND CREDIBLE ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA

NEWS.AM
March 28, 2012 | 16:59

YEREVAN. – U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern touched upon
forthcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia on his video blog.

He stressed that the quality of the elections is obviously important
to the Armenian people and for Armenia’s future. But it is also
important for Armenia’s bilateral relations with the US and other
western partners.

“That’s why we are interested in observing Armenia’s elections,”
he said adding that they would use the assessments to better target
electoral assistance to make sure that the assistance is put to the
best possible use.

John Heffern also spoke about recent local elections in Armenia
stressing there were some strong candidates. According to him,
political competition is essential for democracy.

“In these local elections we saw that using a new Electoral Code
has increased the importance of the party proxies, the observers,
the poll workers and journalists to ensure free fair elections,”
he added. The Ambassador brought several examples which he considers
contributed to orderly and transparent voting and vote count.

He pointed out responsibilities of the government and the voters.

“Government and law enforcement have responsibility to follow up
on any allegations of electoral violations that they hear. Voters
have responsibilities too, the first voting conscious, besides if
you see something on the election day or election period that does
not look right report to the authorities and follow up with them to
take action,” he emphasized.

Summing up, he urged the government, the opposition parties, civil
society and journalists to do what ever they can to ensure free,
fair and credible elections.

“The US embassy promise on our part to do what we can,” he concluded.

EXPERT: TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY TRENDS DOOMED TO FAILURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 29, 2012 – 14:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Political analyst at the European Integration NGO
pointed out a number of reasons proving the need for intensification
of the Turkish foreign policy.

As Manvel Ghumashyan told a press conference on March 29, its current
trends lead to a deadlock.

“First, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the ‘ball is in
Turkey’s field in Armenian-Turkish relations’; second, Turkey strived
to become the sole and authoritative mediator in the “Arab war”
revolutionary processes, though it miserably foiled the mission.

Third, its active stance on the Syrian issue didn’t bring success,
either. Fourth, on the threshold of the U.S. presidential elections
Obama will need Armenian support, with use of the Genocide term
and exerting pressure on Turkey considered the best variants,” the
expert said.

ARMENIA TO ENSURE 70% GRAIN PRODUCTION BY 2014

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 28, 2012 – 13:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Use of high-quality seeds would increase Armenia’s
sown area by 20 thous. hectare, RA Deputy Minister of Agriculture said.

“We will be able to bring the level to 60-70% by 2014,” Robert
Makaryan said.

In 2011 the production volume of crops exceeded the index of 2010,
with the level of wheat self-sufficiency totaling 38.7% (5% growth
against the 2010 figure).

Such results were achieved in Armenia due to implementation of such
programs as “Development of seed farming and production of wheat seeds
for 2010-2014,” “Development of barley and seed production in 2011,”
“Development of corn production in 2011.”

650-720 thous. tons of grain crops are annually used in Armenia,
only 435-450 thous. tons of which are used for food purposes. Local
production totals 168-175 thous. tons, with the deficit met through
import, the volume of which annually grossed 380-420 thous. tons for
the past five years.

STEPANAKERT AIRPLANE IS IN EUROPE

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 15:52:13 – 28/03/2012

The airplane which was a gift to the Stepanakert airport by the
Argentinean-Armenian Eduardo Eurnegian will be in Armenia in a month.

Dmitri Adbashyan, head of the General Department of NKR government’s
civil aviation told Lragir.am.

Dmitri Adbashyan is currently in Yerevan. According to him, though
the airplane is used, it is in a normal state. He says the plane is
in Europe where it is undergoing technical tests.

Training of Stepanakert airport staff is underway. Adbashyan said
hopeful these works will be over in 15-20 days. According to the
head of the General Department of NKR government’s civil aviation
the Artsakh airport is ready for flights. According to him, the
information that the first flight from Artsakh airport will be in
June-July of this year is valid.

INTERNATIONAL ARF YOUTH CONFERENCE CONCLUDES

asbarez
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

ARF Youth conference participants

YEREVAN (ARF Press Service)-Twenty-five representatives from 12
countries took part from March 22 to 24 in the pan-Armenian Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Youth and Student Association conference
that was convened upon ARF Youth Office’s invitation, at AYF “Aram
Manoukian” headquarters, in Yerevan.

The conference’s opening ceremony took place at Yerablur Pantheon
where, the representatives from each region laid wreaths in memory of
the men and women who lost their lives in Karabakh liberation struggle.

The next day, the participants visited the National Assembly, where
they met with ARF parliamentary bloc chairman Vahan Hovannesian
who spoke about the faction’s activities and took questions from
the youth representatives regarding Armenia’s emigration, the major
social-economical issues of the country and the political climate
in Armenia.

A meeting with the members of the ARF Faction of the Youth Parliament
was also included in the agenda. The main topic of the discussion
was about the possibility of cooperation with Diaspora Armenian
Youth organizations.

The conference participants had the opportunity to become acquainted
with the actitivites and future plans of each region. They also
focused on the challenges facing the Youth and in conclusion approved
a four-year action plan of activities aimed at strengthening Armenia.

MORE ARMENIANS EMIGRATING

03:55 pm | Today | Social

More than 11,000 citizens of Armenia have appealed to developed
countries of the West for refuge in the past two years. This is what
Radio Liberty informs in the latest UN Refugee Agency Report.

According to the report, in 2011, more Armenians pleaded for refuge
in France than the previous year. “In 2010, the French government
received 1,800 applications from citizens of Armenia.”

With this indicator, Armenians are in third place among the top ten
nations that have asked for refuge in France.

In addition to France, more and more Armenians have pleaded for refuge
in Austria, Germany, Poland and Canada over the past year.

Generally, among 40 nations most frequently asking for refuge in
Europe, Armenians are in 16th place. In 2011, more than 6,000 citizens
of Armenia pleaded for refuge in European countries.

Armenia is the first among the 20 nations that most frequently ask
for refuge in Europe with a small population.

DIGITIZATION OF MATERIALS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS ESSENTIAL FOR THEIR CONSERVATION – DIRECTOR OF GENOCIDE MUSEUM INSTITUTE

news.am
March 29, 2012 | 01:06

YEREVAN. – The digitization and distribution of materials on the
Armenian Genocide is very important for their conservation and access
to them, the director of Armenia’s Genocide Museum Institute Hayk
Demoyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am, commenting on the joint project
of the Institute of Armenian Studies at the University of Southern
California and the Foundation “Shoah”, founded by world famous film
director Steven Spielberg.

“The project should have started last year but there were some
problems,” Hayk Demoyan mentioned.

According to him, there is not any specific timetable for the project,
much depends on financing.

Hayk Demoyan refused to inform whether Turkey conducts any action
against this event. However, the source of Armenian News-NEWS.am
informed that Turkey reacted negatively to the project.

PRIVILEGED LOANS TO BE ALLOCATED TO ARMENIA’S FARMERS

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 29, 2012
ARZAKAN

ARZAKAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. About 7.5 billion AMD loan will be
allocated to the rural economies of Armenia. The interest rate
will be subsidized by the government, Prime Minister of Armenia
Tigran Sargsyan said at the outgoing cabinet sitting today. “With low
interest rate the loans are becoming available for farmers. Last year
the Armenian government allocated 14 billion AMD which contributed
to the development of agriculture,” Tigran Sargsyan said.

He said last year the banks satisfied 90% of applications. “It is
important that budget”s subsidizing means serve their main purpose,”
the premier said.