Author: Badalian Vardan

Famous political figure Vahan Hovhannisyan passed away

14:52, 28 Dec 2014

After a long disease, a Bureau member, Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF), Armenia’s Ambassador to Germany Vahan Hovhannisyan
has died in Germany.

Vahan Hovhannisyan was born on August 16, 1956 in Yerevan.

He graduated with degrees in history and archaeology from the Moscow
Pedagogical Institute in 1978. He is a Historical Sciences PhD. From
1978-1980 he served in the Soviet army.

In 1980-1989 he worked as a research assistant and later as a head of
the scientific research division in the Erebuni Museum. In 1989 he
worked as a research assistant in the Institute of Archaeology and
Ethnography under the Academy of Sciences.

In 1990-1992 he took part in the Artsakh liberation movement.

In 1990-1992 he was a member of the Armenia Central Committee of the
Armenia Revolutionary Federation and from 1992-1995 was a member of
ARF bureau. In 1995-1998 he was arrested for a political cause (the
allegation was not confirmed).

In 1998-1999 he worked as an advisor to the President of the Republic
of Armenia and head of the Commission on Issues of Local
Self-Government.

1999-2003 was his first term as a deputy in the NA (electoral district
# 17), where he as Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Defense,
National Security and Internal Affairs; he was also a member of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation Faction.

On May 25, 2003 he was reelected by the proportional system from the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation and elected Vice-President of the
National Assembly on June 12.

He was also a member of both the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Faction and its bureau.

On May 12, 2007 he was elected as a deputy of the National Assembly by
the proportional system from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

On June 7, 2007 he was elected Vice-President of the National Assembly
and on February 28, 2008 he resigned.

On Decemer 28, 2013, by th decree of RA President, Vahan Hovhannisyan
was appointed to the post of the Amabassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of The Republic of Armenia to the Dederal Republic of
Grmany.

REVUE DE PRESSE
Douai : le lycée Chtelet se mobilise en faveur d’un élève d’origine arménienne

Scolarisé au lycée Chtelet, le jeune Aram Ghazaryan, 17 ans, craint
de se retrouver sans papiers en avril, date à laquelle il atteindra sa
majorité. Alors que le jeune homme est convoqué ce jeudi au tribunal
d’instance de Douai, des camarades et professeurs se sont mobilisés en
sa faveur.

À entendre le concert de louanges que suscite la seule évocation de
son prénom chez ses camarades et sa professeure d’histoire-géographie,
on se dit qu’Aram Ghazaryan a tout de l’élève modèle. >

Arrivé en France avec sa famille en 2006 en provenance d’Arménie, le
jeune homme, titulaire d’une carte de circulation pour étranger mineur
qui lui permet d’évoluer librement sur le territoire national,
appréhende son dix-huitième anniversaire avec la boule au ventre.
D’après Gaëtan Hélon, membre actif du Syndicat général des lycéens qui
a lui aussi pris fait et cause pour son camarade, la majorité d’Aram
en fera un sans-papiers en proie à une procédure d’expulsion.

En réalité, le jeune homme devra justifier d’un passeport valide s’il
sollicite un titre de séjour à ce moment-là. Problème, son passeport
actuel a expiré. Et pour le renouveler, Aram doit rentrer au bercail,
au risque de devoir s’acquitter de ses obligations militaires. Deux
ans sous les drapeaux dont il refuse mordicus d’entendre parler. >

Le jeune Arménien est convoqué ce jeudi devant le tribunal d’instance
où sa demande a été examinée. Sans présager de la décision, le
sous-préfet Destouches souhaitait ce mercredi soir dédramatiser la
situation. >. En espérant que ces derniers soient aussi
conciliants que le laisse entendre le représentant de l’État…

dimanche 28 décembre 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

ARMEE ARMENIENNE
Hranouche Hagopian, la ministre de la Diaspora rend visite aux soldats Arméniens

Hranouche Hagopian, la ministre de la Diaspora a rendu visite le 27
décembre à une unité de l’Armée arménienne, en compagnie de Rafik
Krikorian, le gouverneur de la région de Kégharkounik. Hranouche
Hagopian s’adressant aux soldats a salué leur rôle pour la défense de
la patrie et leur a présenté ses voeux à l’occasion du Nouvel an et la
Sainte Nativité. Des voeux de paix et d’amour. H. Hagopian a salué
également le rôle de l’Armée arménienne surtout pour répondre aux
agressions de l’ennemi de plus en plus violences ces derniers moins.
Elle a demandé aux soldats de continuer leur combativité et leur
vigilance de tout instant face l’ennemi. La ministre s’est entretenue
en tête-à-tête avec quelques soldats dont certains étaient venus de
Syrie, de Russie, d’Ukraine, des Etats-Unis et installés en Arménie
pour effecteur leur devoir militaire. Hranouche Hagopian et le
gouverneur de la région de Kégharkounik se sont ensuite rendus au
village de Vahan pour déposer des gerbes de fleurs sur les tombes des
combattants Arméniens morts dans la lutte de libération.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 28 décembre 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Cihan News Agency, Turkey
Dec 27 2014

Azerbaijan intercepts Armenian sabotage and intelligence group member

BAKU – 27.12.2014 11:44:06

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces have intercepted a member of the Armenian
sabotage and intelligence group, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said
Dec. 27.

The Armenian sabotage and reconnaissance group tried to cross the line
of contact in the direction of the Aghdam district in the evening on
December 26.

This attempt was thwarted due to the vigilance of Azerbaijani military
units located on the defense line.

After a short skirmish, the enemy retreated by suffering huge losses.

According to the preliminary information, the professional serviceman,
the member of the Armenian sabotage and intelligence group Arsen
Baghdasaryan was taken prisoner.

The activity of the detainee is being investigated, the ministry said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

AKIpress News Agency (Kyrgyzstan)
December 26, 2014 Friday

Yerevan hosts 6th session of Turkmen-Armenian economic cooperation commission

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan,
co-chairman of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Armenian commission on
economic cooperation Sapardurdy Toylyev took part in the work of the
regular session of the commission on December 23, official media
report Thursday.

At the same day, the Vice Premier of Turkmenistan was received by
Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan. The sides highly evaluated
the bilateral relations and stressed the importance of the
Turkmen-Armenian intergovernmental commission. The sides also
expressed the confidence that the two countries have a great potential
for consolidation of the volumes of trade turnover.

In the afternoon the sixth session of the Intergovernmental
Turkmen-Armenian commission on economic cooperation took place. The
session was opened by the Co-chairman of the Intergovernmental
Commission on Armenian side, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
Yervand Zakharyan.

The agenda of the forum included a wide range of issues that touched
upon the various areas of bilateral cooperation. The trade-economic,
fuel-energy sector, agriculture, textile, transportation and others
were designated as the priority areas of cooperation.

The sides discussed the process of implementation of the previously
reached agreements at the fifth meet ing of the commission that was
held on October, 2013 in Ashgabat.

During the session it was emphasized that the deepening of the
Turkmen-Armenian economic relations promotes to the positive dynamics
of intergovernmental political relations and the sides also underlined
the importance of improvement of the current legal framework, as well
as the significance of increasing the volumes of trade turnover
between the two countries.

In terms of humanitarian cooperation development, the Commission
recommended to pay attention to the development of scientific and
educational contacts.
By agreement of the sides, the seventh session of the commission will
be held in 2015 in Ashgabat. Upon completion of the session the final
Protocol of the commission was signed. News Agency Ð?Ð?Ð`press –
2001-2014

Armenian Judge Arrested for Pocketing $20K Bribe (video)

14:15, December 26, 2014

Units of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) arrested Lori
Provincial Court Judge Khachadour Khachadouryan when he was pocketing
a US$20,000 bribe from a litigant in a civil case.

The NSS claims that Khachadouryan demanded the cash in return for a
favorable court verdict.

$20k-bribe-video.html

Azerbaijan violates ceasefire with Karabakh 900 times in one week

14:45, 27 Dec 2014

The adversary violated the ceasefire on the Line of Contact between
the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces around 900 times, from
December 21 to 27, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Defense Army
reported.

During this time, more than 11,000 shots were fired in the direction
of Armenian positions, and by way of different-caliber rifle weaponry.

In addition, special units from the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched
intelligence-gathering sabotage operations toward the Defense Army.
During these operations, the adversary made use of different-caliber
weapons, including hand grenades, and it placed mines on some sectors
of the buffer zone.

The Defense Army vanguard units, however, stopped the adversary’s
attempts to advance, inflicted casualties upon it, and forced the
adversary back to its original positions. The Defense Army, on the
other hand, suffered no casualties while conducting demining
operations and confronting the adversary.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Army vanguard units control the
situation on the frontlines, and they resort to retaliatory operations
solely when necessary.

RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE: THE BURDEN OF THE CROSS

AINA Assyrian International News Agency
Dec 25 2014

The Guardian
Posted 2014-12-26 00:32 GMT

Photographs of slain Iraqi priests are seen during a mass at Our Lady
of Salvation church in Baghdad, Iraq in November 2010 (photo: Khalid
Mohammed/AP).The invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its aftermath can be
seen in hindsight as the greatest catastrophe to strike the ancient
Christian communities of the Middle East since the Mongol invasions.

In some ways it was worse. The Mongol invasions had as a side effect
the postponement for about 50 years of the collapse of the Crusader
kingdoms. The invasion of Iraq contributed nothing to the safety of
any Christian community anywhere.

The hideous convulsions that followed have been dreadful for everyone
in the region, but nobody has suffered more than the Christians,
persecuted alike in Sunni and Shia states. In the nations that are not
at war, they are tolerated but oppressed; in the Gulf, most Christians
are servants, abominably treated. Their religion must be practised in
secret, with converts threatened with death. In Iran, a missionary or
a pastor is hanged from time to time as an exercise in public morality.

In the states where war rages, every man’s hand is against them. The
Christian population of Iraq was more than a million in 2003. Now it
is less than a third of that size, with perhaps half that number in
Kurdistan, which is functionally independent of the Shia government
anyway. They are not coming back. Nor can they feel safe in Kurdistan.

It was Sunni Kurds who did much of the killing in Turkey’s attempted
genocide of the Armenian Christians 100 years ago, and both sides
remember this.

In Syria, a brutal sectarian insurgency drives some Christians to
support the ruthless Assad regime. In Egypt, the already vulnerable
Coptic Christians, who lived there for 600 years before the Muslims
arrived, had a dreadful Arab spring under the Islamist regime of
President Mohamed Morsi and, after the counter-revolutionary coup,
continue to be persecuted, both inside and outside the law. Even
Israel, which presents itself as a beacon of religious liberty,
is a dreadful place to live for Christian Arabs, caught between an
occupying army in the West Bank and Muslim fundamentalism in Gaza.

Further east, in Pakistan, a corrupt government fails to challenge
deep prejudice that leaves Christians vulnerable to judicial murder
under the blasphemy laws, as well as to the lynchings and pogroms to
which the authorities turn an understanding eye. Those rare politicians
brave enough to speak up for toleration can be assassinated, sometimes
by their own bodyguards.

Across a wide belt of sub-Saharan Africa, but especially in Nigeria,
northern Kenya and the Central African Republic, there are simmering
wars between Muslim and Christian ethnic groups. In some cases, in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in South Sudan, Christian
armies fight merciless civil wars against each other and civilian
populations. It isn’t just a simple story of Muslims persecuting
Christians. In China and in North Korea, atheist governments are
persecuting Christians; in Russia, an Orthodox Christian regime treats
Catholics with suspicion and Protestants with brutality. In India,
state governments have indulged the persecution of Christians under
the ludicrous pretext that they are stamping out proselytism.

Nonetheless, the problem of Christian persecution is most pronounced
in Islamic societies, and especially in places where oil riches are
inflaming prejudice. Of course, Muslims in Europe or North America
confront intolerance too, but it would be silly to deny that the
situation of Christians in the Middle East is very much worse.

The answer is not to inflame matching animosity against Islam. A
clearer understanding of that faith’s complexities would be a help,
both to praise the visions of peace it contains and to condemn the
way that certain Muslim ideas are turned into aggression by some
adherents. But this is best done in terms that Muslims themselves can
embrace, through a discussion involving people of all faiths as well
as those of none.

Just as important is a resolute stand for the principle of religious
freedom everywhere. Religious belief is fundamental to many human
identities. Freedom of faith must be defended, irrespective of whether
the attacks come from totalitarian atheist regimes or theocracies. For
the faithful, what they believe about God is inseparable from what
they understand about human beings. But God’s rights must never be
allowed to trample on human rights.

LES PRETS D’AMERIABANK AUX PETITES ET MOYENNES ENTREPRISES EN HAUSSE DE 65 POUR CENT

ARMENIE

Les prets d’Ameriabank aux petites et moyennes entreprises a bondi
de 65 pour cent en Août par rapport a l’annee precedente a hauteur
de 14 millions de dollars a annonce le directeur des operations de
detail Arman Barseghyan.

S’exprimant lors d’une conference de presse Arman Barseghyan a declare
que le montant des prets consentis via des cartes de credit a augmente
de 38% a 13 millions de dollars, que les prets accordes pour l’achat
de vehicules a augmente de 11% a 10,2 millions de dollars et que les
prets hypothecaires ont connu une hausse de 8%.

> a declare
Arman Barseghyan.

vendredi 26 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

UNE NOUVELLE MINE ARMENIENNE LANCEE

ARMENIE

Surmontant la resistance farouche des ecologistes, une societe minière
privee a officiellement lance des operations de production de cuivre
qui permettront d’accroître sensiblement la production dans le secteur
principalement orientee vers l’exportation de l’economie armenienne.

Vallex Group a inaugure durant le week-end une usine de traitement
du minerai qu’il a construit dans la foret du Teghut dans la province
septentrionale du Lori dans le cadre d’un projet de 380 millions de $
d’une mine de cuivre et de molybdène.

Le President Serge Sarkissian a souligne le soutien ferme du
gouvernement armenien pour le projet controverse par sa presence a la
ceremonie d’ouverture. Elle a eu lieu seulement trois semaines après
que le gouvernement ait donne un feu vert definitif a la societe
britannique &fin de developper les reserves inexploitees d’or de
l’Armenie.

Les groupes de protection de l’environnement armeniens ont pendant
des annees tente de saborder le projet de Teghut, disant qu’il allait
faire encore plus de ravages sur les espaces verts du pays qui ont
diminue de facon spectaculaire depuis les annees 1990.

Les mines a ciel ouvert au Teghut mèneront a la destruction de 357
hectares de foret, y compris 128 000 arbres. Vallex Group s’est engage
a compenser ces dommages en plantant deux fois plus d’arbres dans les
zones adjacentes et en creant ainsi une nouvelle et plus grande foret.

Il a egalement nie les allegations des ecologistes que le concassage
du minerai va polluer une rivière locale et les eaux souterraines.

Vallex, qui possède aussi des mines de cuivre ailleurs dans Lori
ainsi que dans le Haut-Karabagh, a egalement souligne l’importance
socio-economique du projet pour l’Armenie. Il pretend avoir cree
environ 1300 nouveaux emplois et s’est engage a construire de nouvelles
ecoles et ameliorer les infrastructures dans les villages voisins.

Les critiques rejettent ces assurances, en faisant valoir, entre autres
choses, que l’entreprise n’a pas reussi a moderniser sa fonderie de
cuivre de l’ère sovietique situe dans l’Alaverdi, une ville connue
pour son air pollue et la forte incidence des maladies graves.

Vallex, qui est gere et au moins partiellement detenu par
l’entrepreneur russo-armenien Valeri Mejlumyan, affirme avoir deja
investi près de 340 millions de dollars dans Teghut. Il a emprunte
l’essentiel de cet argent de VTB, une banque russe de premier plan.

La societe a egalement attire l’annee dernière 62 millions de
dollars le financement d’un fonds de pension danois qui devait etre
partiellement ou totalement canalisee dans les achats de materiel
metallurgique. Plus tôt en 2013, le gouvernement armenien a accepte
de reporter de trois ans la collecte de 20 pour cent de la taxe sur
la valeur ajoutee de certains de ces equipements.

Le gisement de minerai contiendrait environ 1,6 million de tonnes
de cuivre et 100 000 tonnes environ de molybdène. Dans un communique
publie sur son site Internet, Vallex dit qu’il prevoit de fabriquer
du minerai non ferreux pour 182 millions de $ en 2015.

Par comparaison, la production dans les secteurs minier et de la
metallurgie en Armenie s’elève a 300 millions de dollars entre Janvier
et Octobre 2014, selon les donnees du gouvernement. Ce chiffre etait
equivalent a près de 29 pour cent de la production industrielle globale
armenienne. Les metaux de base et minerais enrichis representaient
egalement près de la moitie des exportations armeniennes qui s’
elevaient a 1,25 milliards de $ dans la periode des dix mois.

Les recettes d’exportation du secteur sont en baisse de près de 5
pour cent sur un an, refletant une baisse de plus de 10 pour cent du
prix international du cuivre enregistree depuis Janvier.

Le prix de l’or, un autre produit d’exportation majeur armenien, a
egalement diminue considerablement depuis le debut de 2013. Neanmoins,
les exportations d’or ont augmente de 10 pour cent a près de 60
millions de dollars entre Janvier et Septembre 2014, selon le service
douanier national. En termes physiques, ils ont augmente de près de
49 pour cent, a 2,77 tonnes.

Les plus grandes mines d’or d’Armenie sont exploites par une societe
russe, GeoPro Mining. Ces derniers pretendent avoir fait 140 millions
de dollars d’ investissements en capital dans les mines dans la
province de Gegharkunik et dans une fonderie situee dans la ville
meridionale d’Ararat depuis 2011.

La production d’or dans le pays devrait encore augmenter après le
lancement prochain de l’exploitation minière du gisement d’Amulsar
dans la province du Vayots Dzor. Lydian International, une societe
britannique, prevoit d’investir plus de 400 millions de dollars dans
l’operation. Le ministère armenien de la protection de l’environnement
a donne son approbation finale au projet au debut du mois.

“Lydian entend qu’ Amulsar deviendra un projet d’exploitation minier et
d’investissement exemplaire en Armenie,” a declare Howard Stevenson,
president de l’entreprise dans un communique date du 2 decembre Il
a dit qu’au moins 700 personnes travailleront a Amulsar au cours des
dix prochaines annees.

Le projet a egalement suscite des protestations des ecologistes
armeniens. Ils citent la proximite de Jermuk, la plus grande et la
plus celèbre station thermale du pays.

Lydian a maintes fois cherche a dissiper ces preoccupations,
disant qu’elle va utiliser la technologie de pointe et se conformer
strictement aux normes de securite environnementales.

vendredi 26 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com