Author: Badalian Vardan

BFM TV, France
25 aout 2014

Aznavour veut que la France accueille les persécutés du Moyen-Orient

Charles Aznavour incite les villages français en déshérence à faire
venir les chrétiens persécutés et les Kurdes pour travailler et vivre
à l’abri.

Le chanteur franco-arménien Charles Aznavour a appelé lundi à venir en
aide aux communautés chrétiennes et kurdes persécutées au Moyen-Orient
en les accueillant dans les villages français “qui ont besoin d’être
repeuplés”. “Je suis préoccupé par cette population qui est
massacrable!”, s’est indigné le chanteur, gé de 90 ans, sur les ondes
d’Europe 1.

“Aidez-les! Prenez-en un chez vous! Aidez-les à rentrer quelque part!
Trouvez-leur un appartement!”, a réclamé l’artiste, ambassadeur
d’Arménie en Suisse et représentant permanent d’Erevan auprès de l’ONU
et de l’Unesco, en évoquant les populations menacées par l’État
islamique (EI) en Syrie et en Irak.

“Oeil pour oeil, dent pour dent!”

“Ces villages ont besoin d’être repeuplés! La mairie existe toujours,
la Poste, l’Eglise est vide…”, a-t-il regretté, appelant à l’accueil
de réfugiés dans les zones rurales. “On ne peut pas vivre comme ça, en
égoïste! Il faut faire quelque chose!”.

Interrogé sur la réaction à adopter face à l’Etat islamique,
l’artiste, sans plaider pour une guerre frontale avec les jihadistes,
a déclaré: “On ne discute pas avec des étrangleurs! On fait comme eux:
vous égorgez, on égorge! OEil pour oeil, dent pour dent!”.

8.000 demandes de visa

Dans une tribune parue mercredi 13 août dans Le Figaro, Charles
Aznavour avait déjà proposé de confier les villages français
“aujourd’hui totalement à l’abandon” à ces “chrétiens, ces Kurdes, ces
yazidis, ces Arméniens” avec pour “obligation de les reconstruire, de
les faire revivre, de labourer à nouveau des terres dont la fertilité
ne fait aucun doute”.

Jeudi, une quarantaine de réfugiés chrétiens irakiens sont arrivés à
Paris, à bord d’un avion français. A ce jour, le HCR estime à 1,2
million le nombre des Irakiens déplacés par les combats en 2014 en
Irak. Quelque 8.000 réfugiés chrétiens ont fait des demandes de visa
au consulat général de France à Erbil, avait indiqué il y a quelques
jours un évêque français de retour de cette zone.

Écrit par A. G. avec AFP

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Aug 26 2014

DID DAVUTOÄ?LU’S FOREIGN POLICY FAIL?

Hilal Kaplan 27 August 2014, Wednesday

After Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu was presented as the candidate
for prime minister and new chairman of the Justice and Development
Party (AK Party), articles that speak about “Turkey’s failed foreign
policy” have gained currency once again. Let’s have a general look at
what has happened in our region over the past decade to see whether
this argument is right or wrong.

Saddam Hussein was hung and his administration was toppled. He was
succeeded by another authoritarian regime that inflicted sectarian
discrimination against the Sunnis and Kurds, alienating both groups.
Turkey, for a long while, has stressed that this regime was
unsustainable and it would inflame serious outrage among the Sunni
majority; and this came true in a much shorter time than expected. The
barbarous Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which emerged and
grew in Syria, made progress by benefiting from the Sunnis’ reactions
against Nouri al-Maliki. They occupied a number of cities in Iraq
including Mosul. This resulted in the deposition of al-Maliki, whose
leadership was proven to be incompetent. Turkey’s thesis, which
suggested that Western countries should come to the table with Iran
and that this was necessary for the normalization of the Iranian
regime, was later approved by the West. But this time, the West had to
consent to more severe conditions than Turkey offered, and came to
terms with Iran, despite its overt support for the Assad regime.

Syria has become the bloodiest country among the Arab countries, which
were inspired by the Arab Spring ethos of attaining freedom and
democracy. Initially, Western countries promised that they would
support the Syrian opposition; however, they left it too late before
it disintegrated. ISIS filled this authority gap with the help of Iraq
and the Assad regime. For the last three years, Turkey has suggested
that unless moderate opposition groups are supported in Syria, the
extremist groups will fill the authority gap in the region. The region
we live in is undergoing a strategic fragmentation. This is an
insurrection against colonialism, which has been continuing for more
than a century, and against the artificial borders that were imposed
on these countries. The people of this geography have suffered too
much and, sadly, this will continue. Turkey did not step back and
watch by adopting realpolitik like other countries.

Turkey is making a quick return to its sphere of influence, which was
marginalized by the Kemalist regime. Its predictions about Syria and
Iraq have proven to be true. Had it supported al-Assad and al-Maliki,
this would have cost Turkey another century to rebuild its sphere of
influence in the region.
When the masses, which dethroned Hosni Mubarak in just three weeks,
are convinced that the military came into power to maintain colonial
order rather than preventing quarrel between brothers, they will
confront the masterminds of the military coup just as we faced the
1980 coup d’état. The day they achieve this, Turkey will stand out as
the only country which defends democratic legitimacy in Egypt.

Again during DavutoÄ?lu’s tenure, Turkey has established friendly
relations with Greece and Armenia as well as consolidating its ties
with Georgia. Despite differences of opinion, Turkey initiated
high-level strategic cooperation with Russia. It developed relations
in a number of fields, including natural gas imported from Iran and
missile purchases from China. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
whose existence was a regarded as a redline in the past, has become
one of the greatest allies of Turkey. I cannot mention our
strengthened relations with Bosnia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and
Kyrgyzstan due to space restrictions.

Then why did Turkey’s foreign policy fail? Is it because it did not
choose to reconcile with mass murderer Assad, authoritarian al-Maliki
and dictator Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi? Leaving this oft-told argument
aside, DavutoÄ?lu’s political adventure, which began with the foreign
ministry and followed by his premiership, indicates that Turkey goes
far beyond its borders. Turkey’s current policy is not a
neo-Ottomanist one as it proves that Turkey is not an unfounded and
amnesiac country.

The Washington Times
Aug 26 2014

Deja vu on Mount Sinjar

By Christy Stutzman – – Tuesday, August 26, 2014

It’s almost too hard to face it, but the same heinous crimes we see
unfolding against the refugees on Mount Sinjar, Iraq, have happened
before.

It’s like, deja vu almost 100 years later. The pictures brazenly
posted by the terrorist group calling themselves Islamic State are
horrifying. This barbaric, blood-thirsty organization has performed
the most horrific, evil acts on the innocent since World War II. The
difference now is that they aren’t hiding their atrocities in
concentration camps. They are broadcasting them to the world without
apology.

Whatever your view regarding the conflicts in Turkey in 1915 under the
Young Turks government, one mass rescue and evacuation took place that
year that no one denies. The world was at war and turmoil was rampant.
Seeing the signs of coming conflict and danger for their people, over
4,000 Christian Armenians from six different villages in northern
Turkey, meticulously planned a desperate escape into Musa Dagh (Moses’
Mountain). In spite of months of careful planning and making use of
all the resources available to them, they knew they could not hold out
against the government forces for too long. They decided it would be
better to die on the mountain, rather than face forced marches through
the desert to relocation camps and almost certain death.

Sound familiar?

With very few guns and little ammunition, these simple villagers
defended themselves for 53 days. Supplies began to run low and their
numbers began to dwindle. They had few options. The rest of the world
was in the throws of World War I. They sent a runner to Alleppo to beg
the American Consul for help, but the messenger never got through.
They sent swimmers to look for war ships, but none could be found.
They had no means of communication. No one in the outside world knew
of their plight.

In their desperation, they crafted two distress flags and attached
them to tall trees on the side of the mountain facing the
Mediterranean Sea. One bore a large red cross and the other, these
words in English: “CHRISTIANS IN DISTRESS: RESCUE.” On Sept. 12, 1915,
after 53 days under siege, a lookout spotted a ship in close range,
and the Armenian villagers began desperately waving their distress
flag. As the French ship Guichen lowered her boats, one of the
villagers swam to the cruiser. The ship’s captain, upon learning of
the dire distress of the 4,000 refugees, sent out a telegraph to
nearby ships pleading for assistance in performing an immediate
evacuation.

The French ship St. Jeanne d’Arc soon arrived along with two others.
An English cruiser in the area heard the call and soon arrived as
well. Within hours, a mass evacuation was in full force. More than
4,000 souls were rescued that day in a large-scale, impromptu
evacuation by ships and sailors who had no preparation for such a
mission. They simply reacted to the crisis in an effort to save lives.

Almost 100 years later, with access to 24-hour news cycles, constant
real-time reporting, wi-fi, cell phones and social media, history is
repeating itself. But this time, what is our excuse? We’re not talking
two distress flags on an obscure mountain barely viewable to the human
eye. We’re talking widespread knowledge of thousands of people in
danger. We have Coptic Christians, Syrian Christians, Yazidis and
various sects of moderate Islam posting on social media and screaming
to live cameras, “IN DISTRESS: RESCUE.” We are watching this unfold
before our very eyes. The French were the first to offer asylum to the
Yazidi refugees, but where is America?

Indie Wire
Aug 26 2014

Venice Film Festival 2014 Picks by Richard Lormand

Festivals
by Sydney Levine

Once again the publicist/ producer Richard Lormand has made his picks
for the Venice Film Festival. His choices invariably are top-notch and
his notes on the films show a deep love for his work. I always
gravitate toward his films, as I often gravitate toward others’, both
publicists and critics, whom I know to be the best. Why? Because we
tend to like the same films.

By Richard Lormand

Greetings Venice-bound (or not) Film Lovers!
Here’s what’s going on with us at this year’s Mostra del Cinema on the
Venice Lido…

“Dearest”(Qui’ Ai De) is a powerhouse of emotion. The ensemble cast
represents some of China’s finest acting talents – leading actresses
Zhao Wei and Hao Lei and actors Huang Bo, Tong Dawei and Zhang Yi all
give knockout performances. Director Peter Ho-Sun Chan has made such
an intriguing film from newspaper headlines – children gone missing,
searching for them, dealing with the loss and sometimes dealing with
finding them again. These incidents might not be new, but “Dearest”
fascinated me because of thevery original and respectful treatment of
this material by its astute writer-director. I really didn’t know
where I was being taken. But I liked each new path in this
heartbreaking journey of a movie. I felt every one of this film’s
thousands of carefully constructed emotional moments. And Zhao Wei’s
performance as the foster mother:wow!

“Ich Seh Ich Seh” (“Goodnight Mommy”) is a real discovery. It’s
clever, playful and it’s really good filmmaking. It’s horror, it’s
European art house, it’s Austrian. And produced by bad boy director
himself Ulrich Seidl. And it’s a first feature co-directed by sort of
an odd pairing – not really related, not a romantic couple. But
Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala definitely got something going
(talent, intelligence and a passion for cinema) with their mix because
the results are all over the screen. I won’t pitch you the horror
scenes, but they are real fun and mean like they should be. But what
really struck me about this film is that it is so amazingly gorgeous.
Such a consistent impeccable taste in all that is beautiful, even the
ugly. Oh, the cornfields, the forest. Mom’s bruised and bandaged face
and head. Those mischievous twin boys. (By the way, “Ich Seh” is the
child’s game “I Spy.” “Ich Seh Ich Seh” because of the twin boys.
“Goodnight Mommy” because… Well, you’ll see.)

“The Cut” is Fatih Akin’s much anticipated new feature. It was
destined to be controversial in some way or another because of the
material, Fatih himself, so many possible reasons. And here it is
finally. It’s without a doubt an epic – a big topic, big crowd scenes,
wide open spaces, world travels. But “The Cut” is a very intimate epic
about a man alone. A man who cheats the Armenian genocide, but
sometimes survival is simply not enough. He will only live again
through the search for his twin daughters. I admire how Fatih Akin
courageously focused on the human side – the blood, sweat and tears –
of this potent political subject matter. Fatih’s hero is Nazaret, a
sort of Armenian “Everyman”, incarnated by Tahar Rahim whose face
tells so many stories without words. Equally remarkable are “The
Cut’s” production values. I was especially moved by the haunting
beauty of the Armenian shanty town, backdrop for one of Fatih’s
boldest scenes, one of many. Still flashing in my mind’s eye: Nazaret
watching Chaplin on screen is such a fine Fatih Akin moment of cinema.
And the title reference scene in the desert is Fatih Akin intensity
like no one else’s.

“Altman” is such an enjoyable and informative documentary about the
career of late great Robert Altman. I was very surprised. I see a lot
of short, medium and feature-length films about directors, and sadly,
I am usually disappointed by something. But Ron Mann’s “Altman”
satisfied my bio-doc needs: strong linear structure, interesting
archival footage, good interviews and narration and no abuse of movie
excerpts. “Altman” actually relies on its own solid research and
editorial savvy to remain captivating for 95 minutes. Altman’s wife,
Kathryn Reed Altman, served as a consultant on the production and her
intermittent narration add both credibility and heart to the film. Not
only did I learn some things about Robert Altman, the film made me
feel like I even got to know him a bit personally. And it’s a great
feeling to think about his films: “MASH,” “Short Cuts”, “Nashville”
“The Player”… “Altman” actually made me want to go back and see all of
his movies again. Now that’s what I call an homage to a filmmaker.

“Tsili” is Amos Gitai’s latest exploration of cinematographic
language, another manifestation of his passion for cinema. Inspired by
an Aharon Appelfield novel in Yiddish, “Tsili” is one of the rare
instances when Yiddish is heard in a movie. Young Jewish woman Tsili,
hiding out in a Central European forest with the sounds of WWII not so
far away, is actually played by three different women in Gitai’s film.
Once again, actress Sarah Adler (“Jellyfish” proves that she’s got one
of the most beguiling screen presences around today. I loved the
visual and emotional treatment of Tsili’s nest. For such sad and
lonely subject matter, “Tsili” actually feels quite celebratory. A
celebration of life and cinema. “Tsili” is another fine example that
Amos Gitai is both an innovator who breaks the rules and a fierce
defender of the traditions of pure cinema. He has played not only an
essential role in Israeli cinema history, but also in European and
international cinema.

“Bypass” is UK writer-director Duane Hopkins’ second film. He
previously made the acclaimed “Better Things” (Cannes 2008 – Critics
Week). Similarly in “Bypass,” this young filmmaker continues to show a
real talent for balancing bleakness and hope. I was particularly
struck by the aesthetics of “Bypass,” as I’m quite sure you will be
too. “Bypass” is simply gorgeous to look at. It’s a true example of
artistry applied to film. But Duane doesn’t sacrifice his love of the
characters for the sake of the film’s beauty. Everything is centered
around the outstanding leading performance by George MacKay as
troubled Tim who works part-time as a criminal to keep his family
afloat. MacKay’s Tim is calmly tense and fascinating to watch. As
Tim’s situation becomes more dangerous, Duane shows a knack for crime
genre. But just as important – perhaps even more – is Tim’s love for
Lilly. It’s as if lovely actress Charlotte Spencer actually incarnated
love and hope on the screen.

Quick note: I return to the Toronto Film Festival this year with four
films: Christian Petzold’s “Phoenix”, Ole Christian Madsen’s “Itsi
Bitsi,” Bent Hamer’s “1001 Grams” and Danis Tanovic’s “Tigers.” More
on these Toronto world premieres soon.

EU Bulletin
Aug 25 2014

EUROPEAN THINK-TANK REVIEW – XXVI. (August 2014)

Towards a Fresh Deal for Ukraine, the EU and Russia and their
Neighbourhood Policies : 15 Steps
Michael Emerson (Centre for European Policy Studies)

In this commentary, Michael Emerson proposes 15 steps to be taken by
Ukraine, the EU and Russia in order to establish a stable economic
situation in the Ukraine region and reinforce positive mutual
relations.
First of all, the newly elected President Poroschenko must secure the
peace and unity of Ukraine. Putin could try harder to contribute
towards this objective. Poroschenko’s second step should be to join
Moldova and Georgia in signing the Association Agreement with the EU
(this step has already been realized). The author also recommends that
the EU, Russia and Ukraine would engage in a regular trilateral
cooperation process. However, such arrangement is hardly possible at
this time when the context is one of overt confrontation. Furthermore,
Emerson suggests that the EU move rapidly to conclude visa-free
agreements with Ukraine and Georgia, and work towards this goal with
Russia once the current crisis of relations had been deescalated. In
the realm of Ukrainian domestic policy, Emerson stresses the need for
Ukraine to declare military neutrality and complete the revision of
its constitution, including appropriate safeguards for the Russian
language. Examples of bi- or multilingualism being handled in a
sustainable way could be found in Western and Northern Europe. One of
the steps urges the EU to scrap the sanctions it imposed against
Russia.

Many of Emerson’s recommendations are trade-related. According to one,
Russia should agree to align the price of its gas sales to Ukraine on
the average German import price, thereby removing this item from the
political agenda once and for all. According to another, Ukraine and
the customs union comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (RBK)
should engage in negotiations for a high quality free trade agreement
(FTA). Furthermore, the EU and the RBK customs union should open
negotiations for a free trade agreement, on the understanding that
Belarus and Kazakhstan would accede to the WTO during the course of
the negotiations. Finally, Russia should propose its customs union
partners to adopt European and international industrial standards for
tradable goods as the standards of the Eurasian Economic Union.

One of the steps deals with Transnistria. The EU, Moldova (Chisinau
and Transnistria) and Russia should work out arrangements for
Transnistria to profit from Moldova’s signing of the DCFTA with the
EU. Transnistria would be subject to an additional Protocol for basic
free trade with the EU, with zero tariffs and acceptance of EU
industrial standards. The last step is concerned with Armenia, whose
accession to the Eurasian Economic Union was made difficult, if not
impossible, by its request of 900 exemptions from the common external
tariff. Practical solutions should be found, enabling simpler free
trade with both the customs union and the EU, while Armenia could
still otherwise integrate with the Eurasian Economic Union if it so
wished.
(The study can be downloaded here:
)

Russia’s Pivot to Eurasia
Kadri Liik (European Council on Foreign Relations)

The Eurasian Union is ever more widely considered to constitute an
anti-Western alliance. Some politicians, such as the former US Foreign
Secretary Hillary Clinton, condemned the project as an attempt to
revive the Soviet Union, even though the logic behind the founding of
the Union is not specifically anti-Western. Rather, the Union is to
serve Russia and its allies in attaining greater political leverage in
an increasingly globalised world. This rationale is shared with the
European integration project.

The reason for Russia’s eastward pivot lies in its disappointment with
the West rather than a vision of better conditions or greater profits
from cooperation with the East. Antecedents of such a disappointment
may be classified into three categories: values, economy, and the
West’s behaviour in the global theatre. Concerning values, the
progressive societal attitudes that are taking hold in the EU have
received a negative reaction in Russia. In economic matters, the
recent financial crisis took its toll on international relations in
general. The current sanctions concerning gas and oil exports serve to
further deepen the divide between Russia and Europe.

As for the international standing of the West, Russia perceives itself
as the victim who agreed to the German reunification, NATO expansion,
the building of new US military bases in central Asia and other steps
which directly benefitted the transatlantic power bloc, and was
rewarded with an anti-ballistic missile system in central Europe. This
device, although built solely for defensive purposes, grants the U.S.
a first-strike advantage in the sense that it should eliminate any
missiles fired by Russia in response to a U.S.-initiated aggression.
However outlandish this fear may seem, in nuclear matters
psychological deterrence plays a vital role. Russia feels it is
becoming increasingly surrounded and cornered, and thus naturally
adopted an ideologically defensive position.

Although cooperation between Russia and China is not new, the current
crisis in Ukraine motivated the Russians to seek out an ever closer
association. The EU will for some time remain Russia’s top trading
partner, but the recent gas export agreement and the organisation of
common army exercises with China point to visible Russian efforts to
play a bigger role in Asia than before.
(The study can be downloaded here:
)

Obstacles for a Strengthened Role of National Parliaments in the European Union
Adriaan Schout, Judith Hoevenaars a Jan Marinus Wiersma (Clingendael –
Netherlands Institute of International Relations)

As a consequence of the financial crisis, there is a mounting support
for strengthening the accountability of ‘Brussels’ at the national
level, particularly in the context of economic governance. Calls for
greater involvement of national parliaments in the European Union are
growing in several European capitals. While putting an emphasis on the
Netherlands, this study examines the discourse around this debate and
looks for the limits of the national governments’ demands.

Attempts have been made – in the Treaty of Lisbon which entered into
force in late 2009 but also in earlier treaties – to better involve
national parliaments in European decision-making, for example by
introducing the ‘yellow card’ system to increase scrutiny of the
subsidiarity principle. Nevertheless, the Dutch government continues
to work on strengthening the role of national parliaments and the
democratic accountability of the EU at the national level. The Dutch
Lower House has assigned a special rapporteur for democratic
legitimacy, Liberal MP Rene? Leegte, to explore ways in which a
greater influence can be exercised on European decision-making.

In the quest for a stronger role for national parliaments, much
attention has been given to the subsidiarity check. The second Rutte
cabinet has presented an alternative vision of Europe as a
counterpoint to political union: less Europe in some policy areas, and
more Europe where necessary. However, subsidiarity is hardly
applicable with regards to political control over distribution,
especially given that the government and also a number of opposition
parties are in favour of further integration of the EMU.

A second method of strengthening the role of national parliaments is
through inter-parliamentary cooperation. The Conference of Community
and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union
(COSAC, established in 1989) is the primary forum for the exchange of
information and best practices. Minister Timmermans and the Dutch
parliament believe that there is potential here, especially with
regard to the process of coalition formation in the yellow-card
system.

However, the aim of strengthening the role of national parliaments
stands in stark contrast to the trend of deeper European integration
and an increased role for the European Parliament. Since they are
mainly interested in the implications of EU policies on their own
country, national governments can hardly follow the political
procedures of the EU which are set for the EMU as a whole. It is also
debatable whether nationally elected parliamentarians can rise above
their inclination to make cost-benefit analyses at the national level.
As for the yellow-card system, it was seldom used since it was
introduced and attempts to strengthen this instrument by forming
coalitions through inter-parliamentary cooperation are likely to be
cumbersome. At the same time, there are signs indicating that European
institutions do not see inter-parliamentary cooperation as the
solution to its problem of legitimacy.

Serious doubts have been expressed about the ability of national
parliaments to monitor European decision-making, which involves
shaping policy and working out the different scenarios for 28 Member
States. National parliaments are too removed from supranational
European issues and too self-centred to be able to fulfil this complex
role. If national parliaments are unable to take on the task of making
Europe more accountable, who will? The Commission is extending its
functions under the supervision of the European Parliament, which will
also inevitably widen its portfolio. In this discussion, it is not
enough — and can even be misleading — to repeat the prevailing mantra
about strengthening the role of national parliaments.
(The study can be downloaded here:
)

ARMENIE
La plus gande salle de sport et de concert renationalisée

Le grand complexe sportif et salle de concert d’Arménie a été
officiellement renationalisé jeudi dans le cadre du paiement des
dettes de son propriétaire russe au gouvernement arménien de plus de
10,4 milliards de drams (25 millions $).

Le gouvernement a également annoncé que l’immense propriété située à
Erevan sera désormais géré par le ministère arménien de la Défense.

Le complexe sportif et culturel, communément connu sous le nom Hamalir
(Complexe), a été construit en 1983 et est devenu l’une des
installations soviétiques modernes de son genre. Il a ensuite été
nommé Karen Demirdjian, un ancien dirigeant soviétique d’Arménie qui a
initié sa construction coûteuse.

Le complexe qui comprend deux grandes salles a été vendu en 2005 à
l’entreprise de construction basée à Moscou BAMO appartenant à un
homme d’affaires russe d’origine arménienne, Murad Muradian. La
société a versé 5,5 millions de $ et s’est engagé à dépenser 40
millions de dollars pour sa rénovation.

En 2010, le président Serge Sarkissian a nommé Muradian comme
ambassadeur d’Arménie en Irak. Muradian a été limogé en Juin au milieu
des procédures judiciaires lancées contre Hamalir en raison de son
incapacité à rembourser un prêt 25 millions de $ fait par le
gouvernement de l’ancien Premier ministre Tigran Sarkissian.

Hamalir a été saisi par le service de l’Etat pour l’exécution
obligatoire des actes judiciaires (Smeja) à la fin Juillet. Le Smeja a
maintes fois essayé de vendre aux enchères l’établissement depuis mai
mais n’a pas réussi à attirer les acheteurs en baissant son prix de
vente au minimum de 19,3 milliards de drams à 10,2 milliards de drams.

Le gouvernement a cité l’échec des tentatives de la vente comme la
raison de sa renationalisation. Mais il n’a pas expliqué pourquoi le
lieu a été remis au ministère de la Défense.

Koryun Grigorian, un représentant de BAMO, a dénoncé la décision du
gouvernement comme illégal, en disant que son entreprise va la
remettre en question devant les tribunaux arméniens et, si nécessaire,
les tribunaux internationaux. “Après tout, nos investissements ont de
loin dépassé le montant de la dette”, a-t-il dit au service arménien
de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am).

Grigorian a également fait valoir que le propriétaire dépossédé n’a
jamais refusé de rembourser la dette. Mais il n’a pas précisé combien
de temps il lui fallait pour le faire.

mardi 26 août 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Irak
Journaliste musulmane : >

C’était le 27 juillet dernier pendant le journal télévisé. La célèbre
journaliste irakienne, de confession musulmane, Dalia Al Aqidi n’a pas
hésité, face à la souffrance des habitants de Mossoul, de déclarer >.

Interviewée par le journal libanais “An-Nahar”, la journaliste avait
déjà fait savoir sa décision de porter la croix tout en présentant les
actualités, expliquant son action par ces mots :

Armenia adequately responded to Turkey’s inivitation – expert

13:11 * 26.08.14

Armenia’s decision to participate in the Turkish president-elect’s
inauguration ceremony is an adequate response to the invitation which
the country’s top authorities had earlier made, according to a
Turkologist.

Speaking to Tert.am, Ruben Melkonyan, a deputy dean at the Yerevan
State University’s Oriental Studies Department, said he thinks the
move was part of an accepted protocol, which had to be responded.

“Considering the relations between our states, and the existing
problems, our country had to give a corresponding response. So I
believe that the participation on the foreign minister’s level fully
fits into the frameworks of the international diplomatic ethics and
the protocol,” the expert noted.

It comes after the Armenian Foreign Ministry officially confirmed FM
Edward Nalbandian’s participation in the event.

Melkonyan noted that the upcoming ceremony is going to be different
from previous other inauguration events. “And I believe they have sent
invitations to representatives of very many countries. So there should
be nothing surprising about this,” he added.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Seda Tutkhalyan won also silver medal in Nanjing

20:09, 25 August, 2014

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Russia’s representative Seda
Tutkhalyan (of Armenian descent) won silver with a score of 13.733, to
claim her third medal of the Nanjing Games.

As reports “Armenpress”, top qualifier Seda Tutkhalyan of Russia
scored a total of 54.900 points to defeat Brazil’s Flavia Saraiva
(54.700) and Britian’s Elissa Downie (54.150) to become Russia’s
second Youth Olympic All-around champion in Women’s Artistic
Gymnastics.

Fifteen-year-old Tutkhalyan, who helped her team to win European gold
in Sofia (Bulgaria) in May, was only in fifth rank after the first
rotation on Vault (14.400). Compared to the other competitors, she was
lacking points in execution. The uplift came on Uneven Bars for the
Muscovite, who is one of the shortest gymnasts of the field with 1.42
metres. An excellent set with high difficulty and clean execution did
not only bring her the top score of the competition on this apparatus
(14.050), but also the overall lead that she retained to the end.
Absolutely delighted with her performance on Balance Beam (14.000),
where she improved by 1.1 points from qualifications, Tutkhalyan
expanded her lead over her challengers in the third rotation. The last
competitor of this final, Tutkhalyan had to hold her breath as she
waited for her score on Floor hoping that it would be enough for the
gold after she fell on her last tumbling line. Her lead had shrunk,
but the 12.450 points sufficed to remain on top and Tutkhalyan
(54.900) took the title following in the steps of her compatriot and
sport hero Victoria Komova, who became the first Youth Olympic
All-around champion in Singapore in 2010.

Tutkhalyan said she would have welcomed a medal of any kind,
especially after her mistake.

“I thought I would come second because I fell, but then when I came
first, I was very happy,” she said. “This can happen only once in a
lifetime, that you go to the Youth Olympic Games. Very few people get
here. I took winning a medal as a given, but I would also be happy if
I got second.”

Hrant Melkumyan takes first prize in Riga

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Armenian GM Hrant Melkumyan scored 7.5 points out of 9 and took first
prize at the open chess tournament in Riga, Latvia. GM Richard Rapport
(Hungary) had the same result, but he was behind the Armenian chess
player with additional points, armchess.am reported.

25.08.2014, 15:26
Aysor.am