Author: Badalian Vardan

CPJ: AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY AMONG TOP 10 WORST JAILERS OF JOURNALISTS IN WORLD

16:14 17/12/2014 >> SOCIETY

The international organisation “Committee to Protect Journalists”
(CPJ) compiled a list of journalists imprisoned for their work.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are among the top 10 worst jailers of journalists
in the world in 2014. The statement is posted on the official website
of the organization.

“In Azerbaijan, authorities were jailing nine journalists, up one
from the previous year. Amid a crackdown on traditional media, some
activists took to social networking sites in an attempt to give the
public an alternative to state media. CPJ’s list does not include at
least four activists imprisoned in Azerbaijan this year for creating
and managing Facebook groups on which they and others posted a mix of
commentary and news articles about human rights abuses and allegations
of widespread corruption,” the statement reads,” the statement notes.

CPJ’s list is a snapshot of those incarcerated on December 1,
2014. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released
throughout the year. The Committee to Protect Journalists identified
220 journalists in jail around the world in 2014, an increase of nine
from 2013. China takes the first place in the list with 44 journalists,
and the second place belongs to neighboring Iran with 30 journalist
held in prisons. Twenty percent, or 45, of the journalists imprisoned
globally were being held with no charge disclosed.

Source: Panorama.am

IRATES DE FACTO: ARMENIAN IMPORTERS START STORING PRODUCTS

08:41 * 16.12.14

Amid the continuing fluctuations on the currency market, Armenian
importers are said to be storing goods to avoid possible losses.

Many reportedly change their prices three times a day, claiming that
they will not go to the wholesale market unless there is stability.

The stored products will be available on market once traders feel
they are maximum safeguarded against losses, says the paper.

ANKARA SIMULATES PUBLIC DIALOGUE WITH ARMENIA AHEAD OF GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL – EXPERT

YEREVAN, December 16. /ARKA/. A simulation of a public dialogue with
Armenia is Ankara’s state policy ahead of the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide, deputy dean of Oriental studies department
of the Yerevan State University Ruben Melkonyan said on the air on
Sputnik-Armenia radio channel.

There is no inter-state dialogue, and all Armenian initiatives were
stopped due to non-constructive Turkish policy, Melkonyan said as
quoted by Novosti-Armenia.

Instead, there is a dialogue simulation that is a key component of
the Turkish state policy, he said.

Turkey keeps saying the dialogue between the countries is on, using
different terms like “secret”, “silent” or “public” diplomacy, and etc,
and this simulation gets support grants, the expert said.

According to Melkonyan, it is the Turkish propaganda that benefits
the best from all the grant programs ahead of the genocide centennial.

The Armenian society should be aware of the reality and should not
be misled by allegations about drastic changes taking place in Turkey
that refer to Hasan Jemal’s book for instance, the expert said.

On December 11, Yerevan hosted a presentation of the Armenian version
of the book “1915: The Genocide of Armenians” authored by Hasan Jemal,
the grandson of one of the masterminds of the genocide Jemal pasha.

The publishing and dissemination rights for the book belong to “Hrant
Dink” foundation.

“One should not forget there are 77 million people living in Turkey,
and don’t forget Jemal and the ones like him never get votes in
elections and do not enjoy support from the society. It is now 12
years the country has been ruled by a man who says “Sorry, but some
even say I am Armenian”. They are the ones dictating the policy”,
Melkonyan said.

In August 2014, the then-premier of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
in a televised interview that he was being slandered by the opposition
saying he is Georgian or Armenian.

“They called me Georgian, and even worse – they called me Armenian”,
Erdogan said.

Official Ankara broke up the diplomatic relations with Armenia and
closed the border in 1993, in support of Azerbaijan in Karabakh
conflict. Another factor of tensions between the two countries is
the process of the international acknowledgement of the 1915 Armenian
genocide in Ottoman Empire. -0–

NATURE PROTECTION MINISTRY TURNED DOWN TUKHMANUK MINING PROJECT

18:29 December 15, 2014

EcoLur

“Environmental Expertise” SNCO of Nature Protection Ministry issued
a negative opinion to the amended project of Tukhmanuk gold mining
project submitted by “Mego Gold” LLC.

It should be noted that on 30 June 2014 the Nature Protection
Ministry issued a positive opinion to the new tailing dump project
for Tukhmanuk gold dressing plant submitted by “Mego Gold” LLC,
which was once rejected by the Ministry still in 2013.

TURQUIE : INSULTEE POUR AVOIR TRADUIT LE PAPE

TURQUIE

La comedienne Serra Yilmaz, une des plus grandes actrices turques,
s’est dite victime d’insultes et de critiques des milieux islamistes
sur internet pour avoir ete l’interprète officielle du pape Francois
lors de son recent voyage en Turquie, rapporte jeudi la presse turque.

“On m’a accuse d’etre chretienne parce que j’etais l’interprète du
pape”, a regrette cette figure du grand et du petit ecran lors d’un
entretien avec un groupe d’etudiants d’une universite d’Izmir, dans
l’ouest de la Turquie, citee par le journal Milliyet.

L’actrice, interprète en italien et en francais, s’est indignee
des “insultes” dont elle a fait l’objet après la visite papale fin
novembre a Ankara et Istanbul. “On m’a dit que j’etais chretienne
que j’avais ete embauchee par le Vatican et d’autres choses” encore,
a-t-elle souligne expliquant avoir assure ses fonctions a la suite
d’une demande officielle du ministère turc des Affaires etrangères.

Mme Yilmaz avait egalement ete l’interprète du precedent souverain
pontife, Benoît XVI lors de son deplacement en Turquie, en 2006.

La Turquie, pays a ecrasante majorite musulmane mais
constitutionnellement laïque, est dirigee depuis 2002 par un
gouvernement islamo-conservateur soupconne de vouloir islamiser la
societe turque.

mardi 16 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

ARMENIAN PARLAIMENT ADOPTS CUSTOMS REGULATION BILL

14:32, 16 Dec 2014

Lusine Vasilyan
Public Radio of Armenia

The Armenian National Assembly voted 70 to 5 today to adopt the bill
on Customs Regulations. Representatives of the Republican and ARF
factions participated in the voting with four factions boycotting.

The adoption of the customs package was connected with Armenia’s
accession to the Eurasian Economic Union. Alexander Arzumanyan
said before the voting that “the package is fatal, and evasion is
unacceptable.”

“I respect the right of any force to boycott, but we are ready to
stay and express opinion on this important bill,” he said.

Member of the Heritage faction Zaruhi Postanjyan also refused to
boycott the voting. She urged the parliament to vote against the
package, while Khachatur Kokobelyan suggested to postpone the vote
until the legislative bodies of Belarus and Kazakhstan ratify the
Treaty on Armenia’s Membership in EEU.

OPPOSITIONIST: LATEST ATTACKS ON ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONISTS WORK STYLE OF EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

by Nana Martirosyan

ARMINFO
Tuesday, December 16, 14:34

The latest attacks on the Artsakh War veterans Suren Sargsyan, Razmik
Petrosyan and Manvel Yegiazaryan as well as on Aram Manukyan, MP from
the Armenian National Congress (ANC), fit into the policy and work
style of the Eurasian Economic Union, Hovhanness Igityan, a member
of the ANC Board, told reporters, Tuesday, Igityan says the attacked
Artsakh War veterans are the people who are able to consolidate and
severely punish those who attacked them. The expert believes that
such attacks are connected with Armenia’s accession to the EEU,
as such measures are practiced in Russia and other countries. “Aram
Manukyan voted for accession to the EEU. The attack on him was one
of the fruits of that choice,” he said.

Manvel Badalyan, an MP from the Republican Party, in turn, called
Igityan’s conclusions not serious and condemned the attacks on the
oppositionists. He urged a comprehensive inquiry into the incidents
to expose the reason of the attacks and the people behind them.

To recall, the unknown have burnt the cars of four oppositionists
lately, beaten up three Artsakh War veterans who harshly criticized
the authorities, and attacked oppositionist parliamentarian Aram
Manukyan and later his comrade Ashot Piliposyan. The police have
detained Arshak Svazyan (born in 1973) suspected of beating Aram
Manukyan. It is widely rumored by local media outlets that Svazyan
is the former driver of Arakel Movsisyan (Shmays), MP from Republican
Party of Armenia. Meanwhile, Movsisyan denies these reports and swears
that he bears no relation to the attack on Manukyan.

L’URUGUAY PEUT-IL DEVENIR LE PREMIER PAYS A RECONNAETRE LE HK ?

ARMENIE

Hayastani Hanrapetoutioun, Golos Armenii et Novoye Vremia rendent
compte de la visite de Danilo Astori, vice-President de l’Uruguay, ce
pays ayant ete le premier a reconnaître le Genocide armenien en 1965.

M. Astori s’est entretenu avec le President de l’AN, Galoust Sahakian,
et le Ministre des AE, Edward Nalbandian, au sujet de la cooperation
interparlementaire entre les pays, y compris au sein des instances
internationales, ainsi que de la cooperation economique. Il a appele
les entrepreneurs armeniens a s’interesser egalement au marche de son
pays où ils pourraient beneficier de très bonnes opportunites. Le
vice-President de l’Uruguay s’est egalement rendu au memorial
du Genocide armenien. Il a ete l’invite d’honneur des auditions
parlementaires organisees par la Commission des AE ayant pour thème
>, au cours desquelles il a appele a ne
jamais oublier le passe, qui est un moyen de construire l’avenir. Il
a affirme que l’Armenie pouvait etre sûre d’avoir un ami fiable en
ce qui concerne la reconnaissance internationale du Genocide armenien.

Bien que l’Uruguay n’ait pas penalise la negation du genocide armenien,
M. Astori a rappele que le parlement de MERCOSUR a recemment adopte une
resolution condamnant la negation du Genocide armenien. Par ailleurs,
lors d’une conference de presse conjointe avec le President de l’AN
d’Armenie, le vice-President d’Uruguay n’a pas exclu que son pays
puisse devenir le premier a reconnaître le HK : >, a-t-il dit.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 9 decembre 2014

mardi 16 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

THE NUMBER OF TURKISH “SHOWS” WILL INCREASE AHEAD OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL: EXPERT

16:46, 16 Dec 2014

Armine Gevorgyan
Public Radio of Armenia

Information security expert Tigran Kocharyan says Turkey will increase
the number of “shows” ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. He does not rule out the opening of the border for one day
on April 24.

Turkey spends millions of dollars to show it has changed, Kocharyan
told reporters today, adding that the Armenian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs should take serious steps in this respect.

Speaking about the information war, especially on the
Karabakh-Azerbaijan front, the expert said “the Armenian mass media
worked very cleverly during the recent border incidents by putting the
emphasis on the authenticity of information rather than promptness.”

According to him, Armenian media never disseminated reports causing
panic.

VIEUX EREVAN : LE PROJET DE RESTAURATION URBAIN DE LA CAPITALE ARMENIENNE SERA PRESENTE L’ANNEE PROCHAINE

ARMENIE

Au printemps prochain, le projet > qui comprend 30
bâtiments historiques et culturelles sur l’avenue principale d’Erevan
et les rues Abovyan, Pavstos Byuzand, Eznik Koghbatsi et Arami sera
presente au public armenien.

Auteur du projet, l’architecte Levon Vardanyan a un objectif – activer
la section dans un centre social, culturel où il y aura des centres
de tapis, de broderie, des centres de poterie, ainsi que des galeries,
des musees – sans un quartier residentiel.

“Vous voyez, le Vernisage que nous avons est dans un etat embarrassant
… imaginez une version luxueuse du Vernisage. Je veux dire,
j’aimerai qu’il y ait un salon pour les tapis, où ils sont vendus et
ils pourraient egalement etre produit, ainsi tout ce que nous voulons
introduire est cense etre vendu mais je veux qu’il y ait des galeries
et des musees aussi “, a declare Vardanyan.

Le 2 Decembre, le ministre du Developpement Urbain Narek Sargsyan,
au nom du gouvernement de l’Armenie, a signe un accord avec
Multicontinental Distribution Limited concernant le projet
d’investissement du vieux Erevan.

L’Architecte Vardanyan a dit qu’il a rencontre differents investisseurs
qui, lorsqu’ils ont pris connaissance du projet, ont voulu dicter
leurs idees, tandis que son problème est de restaurer un morceau
d’Erevan pour restaurer l’environnement.

>, a declare l’architecte.

Abordant le cas controverse du demantèlement du bâtiment Afrikyans
l’ete dernier, Vardanyan a dit que le le renforcement d’Afrikyans
aura sa place dans le projet.

“Le bâtiment a en effet ete demantele par des professionnels, toutes
les pierres sont conserves. C’est un monument unique. Avant que
l’affaire ait pris une telle tournure mes collègues ne l’avait meme
pas vu. C’etait dans un tel environnement urbain qu’il etait inapercu
“, a-t-il dit.

Vardanyan a declare que, contrairement a Afrikyans, d’autres bâtiments
antiques ont ete demanteles d’une manière negligente, et que la
plupart des pierres sont manquants. Mais les auteurs du projet ne
sont pas inquiets a ce sujet, parce que le problème n’est pas dans
la restauration du monument, il est plutôt de recreer l’environnement
de la vieille ville.