Author: Badalian Vardan

BULGARIAN MPS’ MEETINGS IN THE PARLIAMENT

14.07.2014

On July 14 the Chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations Artak Zakatyan, the Committee members Tevan Poghosyan and
Shirak Torosyan met with Atanas Zafirov, Head of the Bulgaria-Armenia
Friendship Group, and the Group member Dimitar Lazarov.

Speaking of the friendship between the two peoples Artak Zakaryan
has noted that he attaches a great importance to their visit to the
RA. It was mentioned that the Armenian and Bulgarian peoples have
common historic features.

The interlocutors spotlighted the development of inter-parliamentary
relations and the deepening of interaction on various international
parliamentary platforms.

Touching upon the development of trade-economic ties it was stated that
at the present, the existing potential is not satisfactorily used,
therefore the sides expressed willingness to make efforts, in their
capacity, to promote mutually beneficial cooperation development in
a number of fields.

Artak Zakaryan thoroughly presented the regional developments and
Armenian’s foreign policy problems. It was spoken about the current
situation of the NKR conflict settlement.

During the meeting the members of the NA Standing Committee on
Foreign relations Tevan Poghosyan and Shirak Torosyan also spoke of
the Armenian-Bulgarian inter-parliamentary relations and perspectives
of their development.

The events dedicated to the centenary of the Armenian Genocide and
other issues of bilateral concern were also touched upon.

On july 14 the Head of the Armenia-Bulgaria Friendship Group Manvel
Badeyan met with Atanas Zafirov, Head of the Bulgaria-Armenia
Friendship Group, and the Group member Dimitar Lazarov.

Welcoming the Bulgarian partners, the Head of the Armenia-Bulgaria
Friendship Group Manvel Badeyan highlighted the further deepening
of cooperation between the two parliaments and mutual visits of the
friendship groups.

During the warm and free talk the friendship group members touched upon
Armenian-Bulgarian relations formed in different spheres, considering
expedient mainly the development and deepening of trade-economic
relations, the increase of goods turnover volume between the two
countries.

The interlocutors touched upon the collaboration in the tourism sector.

At the meeting the parties touched upon a number of issues of mutual
concern.

SOURCE PROTECTION: COURT ORDER RAISES CONCERNS ON RIGHTS OF MEDIA TO PROTECT SOURCES

News | 15.07.14 | 15:50

By Sara Khojoyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

A ruling by an Armenian court forcing a newspaper to reveal a source
has raised questions about media rights and freedom.

On June 26 the court forced Hraparak daily and ilur.am website
to reveal the source of their information about a police officer’s
illegal actions addressed to wrestler Artur Aleksanyan and his brother
Rafayel Aseksanyan.

Hraparak daily’s editor in chief Armine Ohanyan on July 15 at a
discussion session in Media Center said that the court’s decision
is a new, unprecedented method the attorney general decided to apply
against the media.

“During the recent months notices, demands, visits to the newsroom have
increased. Every week our reporters are called to an interrogation,
every day we receive a notice about revealing the source,” Ohanyan
mentioned.

Human Rights defender, Rule of Law NGO member Artak Zeylanyan is
assured that the decision is an illegal judicial act, because “the
court acted as a non-law-based institution.”

“We turned to the appeals court with a complaint and we will defend
this right that is everybody’s right.”

“This case cannot anyhow be investigated upon regulations of criminal
trials, not even upon regulations of civil trials, this is solely
a subject of public discussion of legal relationships,” the lawyer
mentioned.

The first deputy of Armenian Human Rights Defender Genya Petrosyan
said the demands on the newspaper and website are a means of aiding
a police investigation and that in doing so the court threatens a
right to defend the information source.

“Moreover, it might result in eliminating the media’s possibility of
receiving information, which we consider very dangerous for freedom
of press in our country,” Petrosyan emphasized.

According to the Armenian Ombudsman’s office, as a European Council
member country Armenia must not go against precedential legal acts
adopted by them, where it clearly states cases where the source was
supposed to be revealed.

“It must be unambiguously determined that all alternative means of
clarifying the information are depleted, it must also be determined
that there is more public interest out of revealing, rather than of
not revealing the information,” Petrosyan said adding that with the
existence of all this, the court has only three conditions upon which
the source can be revealed – for protecting human life, for preventing
a grave crime from happening or for realizing the protection of a
person having committed a grave crime.

Zeynalyan specified that “the source must be revealed not for
investigating a grave criminal case, rather for (to prevent) protecting
the person having committed the crime.”

ARMENIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, DIASPORA MINISTRY DISCUSS GENOCIDE-RELATED ISSUES

18:51 15.07.2014

The 2nd Conference of Means of Communication of the Armenian Catholic
Church kicked off in Yerevan today at the initiative of the Armenian
Catholic Church Committee on Means of Communication and the Armenian
Ministry of Diaspora.

Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobyan said the conference organized on
the threshold of the 100thanniversary of the Armenian Genocide should
be used as a means to present the national issues to the world in
the best way possible.

She pointed out two important issues any Armenian media should
address. These include the issues of recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, its condemnation, elimination of the consequences and the
strengthening of the two Armenian states.

“Besides speaking about the victims of the Genocide and their heirs,
we should raise the issue of demolition of our cultural and historical
values, churches, as well as the danger the Western Armenians face
and the problems of disguised Armenians in Turkey. Struggling for the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, we should refer to the stories
of heirs of Genocide survivors,” Mrs. Hakobyan said.

She noted that Turkey’s anti-Armenian propaganda in the world is
obvious; therefore, it’s important to speak about those Turkish
intellectuals, who recognize the Armenian Genocide. “It’s also
important to check the source of any information,” she added.

“There are 78 centers of Armenian studies functioning around the
world, which also should have a say in the process of recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian genocide,” Hranush Hakobyan said.

S. OHANYAN: AZERBAIJAN USES CRIMINALS IN SUBVERSIVE ACTIONS

Tuesday,
July
15

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan expressed confidence
that the Azerbaijanis captured recently were engaged in subversive
reconnaissance activities.

“Moreover, I am sure that for such purposes the military leadership
of Azerbaijan uses criminal gangs familiar with the area,” Ohanyan
told reporters.

In his words, by destabilizing the situation and escalating tension,
the Azerbaijani side is trying to put pressure on the negotiating
process in the hope of unilateral concessions.

The minister stressed that negotiations and the creation of an
atmosphere of trust remain the only option to solve the problem.

TODAY, 16:43

Aysor.am

FIX NEEDED: ARMENIA’S LAW ON FREEZING BANK ACCOUNTS PROBLEMATIC UNDER NEW TRAFFIC FINE REGIME

SOCIETY | 15.07.14 | 15:31

By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

The Armenian Parliament is in discussion on a law restricting banks
from freezing a client’s entire account in case of extenuating debt.

Presently, an account may be frozen for the entire balance, whereas
the new law would restrict a lien to only the exact amount owed.

“This means that if any citizen has, for instance, 10,000AMD debt,
then the bank is allowed to put a ban only within that amount –
not a dram more. It is not allowed to freeze the whole amount on the
account. Otherwise the bank will be responsible for compensating the
citizen for the damage and the lost profit,” republican MP Arpine
Hovhannisyan, one of the authors of the legislative initiation wrote
on her Facebook page.

The use of such punitive measures has increased since the Armenian
traffic police began freezing accounts of those who had not paid
traffic fines. By law, the entire account may be frozen, and such
action often comes as a rude surprise to the account holder.

The popular commentator of “What, Where, When” intellectual game
Karen Kocharyan turned to the Prime Minister, the President of the
Constitutional Court, to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney
General writing on his Facebook page with a request to urgently
initiate some measures to stop mass illegalities.

“It is the 10th of July. It means that the holiday season has started
and people go on a vacation to other countries. I am sure tens of
thousands of Armenian citizens due to illegal actions of the EJA
service and banks, will appear in impossible situations during the
coming 1.5-2 months, when in a foreign country they find out that
their accounts are frozen. Try to help our citizens also considering
the fact that many children will be with them,” Kocharyan wrote.

Citizens have complained that – due to traffic violations – their
cars have been marked for impoundment, without any warning.

Violators are often unaware of the penalties because they are not
notified properly, or the police possess a wrong or an old address.

Administrative penalties sent to such addresses are considered
delivered and are in force. The traffic police sends the administrative
penalty to the EJA service to be realized, thus the person’s bank
account is banned from usage.

Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has said he will take steps to amend
the current law, but meanwhile has urged citizens to be mindful of
deadlines for paying fines.

A statement on the case was spread by the Minister of Justice,
Hovhannes Manukyan, as well.

“The computer program providing the EJA activities, as a mandatory
procedure, mentions the amount subject to forfeiture. The problem
is created by some internal banking function of the banks. Armenian
Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Armenian Central Bank
searches for ways to regulate the mentioned problem,” the statement
says.

EJA, the legal office in charge of collections, the present law in
clear on freezing debtor’s accounts.

However, MP Hovhannisyan mentions that the bill of the law they
created aims to clarify the rules of the game, not for the EJA,
but rather for other bodies who apply the decisions of that body.

“Legislative initiatives are not aimed only to regulate legislative
gaps that are results of misinterpretation, arbitrary interpretation
and in order to avoid application. The discussed legislative initiation
is from that very sphere,” Hovhannisyan mentions.

ARSEN KHOJOYAN DIAGNOSED WITH SKIN DISEASE

Tuesday,
July
15

Tests showed that Arsen Khojoyan does not have a sexually transmitted
disease, according to Armenian Health Ministry. The 23-year-old
Armenian citizen was freed from Azerbaijani captivity on April 10 of
this year.

Blood tests were carried out at Hrazdan Medical Center with the
participation of Health Ministry experts to determine if Arsen Khojoyan
had any infectious or bacterial disease. As a result, A.

Khojoyan was diagnosed with psoriasis.

The head of the dermatology department of Research Center of
Dermatology and Venereology Tigran Gevorgyan said psoriasis is not
infectious. This skin disease is triggered by stress, metabolic
imbalance, etc. Srsen Khojoyan will receive drug treatment and then
undergo tests once again if necessary.

Arsen Khojoyan, a resident of Varin Karmiraghbyur village in Armenia’s
Tavush province, crossed into Azerbaijan on March 7, 2014 after he lost
his way in a dense fog. He is a distant relative of Mamikon Khojoyan,
77, who was tortured during his captivity in Azerbaijan. The elderly
man was released by Azerbaijan on March 4 and died 6 weeks later,
on May 20, 2014.

TODAY, 14:41

Aysor.am

L’EGLISE PRESBYTERIENNE ADOPTE UNE RESOLUTION SUR LE CENTENAIRE DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

USA

Vendredi 20 Juin, quelque 600 commissaires de la 221e Assemblee
generale de l’Eglise presbyterienne (Etats-Unis), reunis a Detroit,
dans le Michigan, ont adopte a la quasi-unanimite une resolution
reconnaissant le genocide armenien et ont adopte le calendrier de
l’eglise de 2015 designant le 26 Avril que le jour de son respect.

Une Agence de l’eglise a ete charge de preparer des ressources
pedagogiques et liturgiques pour les Eglises membres dans le cadre
de la preparation de l’evenement.

mardi 15 juillet 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

AZERBAIJAN APPEALS TO ICRC REGARDING COUNTRY’S CITIZEN TAKEN HOSTAGE BY ARMENIA

Trend, Azerbaijan
July 12 2014

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12
By Ilkin Izzet-Trend:

Azerbaijan has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) to clarify the information disseminated by the media, about
an Azerbaijani citizen taken hostage by the Armenian side, ICRC Baku
Office’s Public Relations Department head Ilaha Huseynova told Trend.

The appeal requests that in case of confirmation of the information
to carry out the appropriate procedures in accordance with the
ICRC’s mandate.

Earlier Armenian media reported about the capture of Azerbaijani
citizen who was allegedly a military serviceman of the Azerbaijani
armed forces. The captured person’s name was Shahbaz Guliyev, born
in 1968.

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend that the captured man was
not the soldier of the country’s armed forces.

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 U.S. are currently
holding peace negotiations.

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

GCC TRUSTEE PUBLISHES PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY OF ARMENIA

Glendale News Press, CA
July 12 2014

By Brittany Levine, [email protected]

July 11, 2014 | 4:50 p.m.

Although Vahe Peroomian was born in California, he has always felt a
connection to the landscape of his ancestral homeland: Armenia. That
link, and his many visits to the country, inspired him to publish
“A Photographic Journey of My Homeland, Armenia,” which includes
hundreds of photographs the space scientist and Glendale Community
College trustee took during 90 days in Armenia between 2004 to 2011.

Peroomian is scheduled to discuss his 226-page book at Abril Bookstore,
415 E. Broadway, on July 17 at 8 p.m.

Q: What did you learn about Armenia through photographing the people
and places within the country that you didn’t know before?

People love to tell stories in Armenia, and this is what I feel
enriched [me] the most. I’ve retold some of the stories and sayings
in my book, as even a simple joke often gave more insight into the
psyche of my compatriots as any photograph I took.

During most of my trips I was accompanied and guided by [a friend],
Stepan Nalbandian, who is not only knowledgeable about the countryside,
but is also passionate about protecting its ancient monuments. Together
we visited many locations off the beaten path and of the radar of tour
companies. More than once, he picked me up in the morning, and the
first words out of his mouth were, “you’ll see wonders today…” He
was right every single time. The idyllic church in Ardvi, the valley
in which Hnevank Monastery is nestled, the alpine highlands of Selim
pass and the old road to Jermuk, lined with crystalline basalt cliffs
rivaling Devil’s Postpile National Monument [in Mammoth Lakes], are
just a few. What I came to realize, though, was that photographing
Armenia is going to be a lifelong journey.

Q: Did you learn anything new about yourself in the process?

I’ve had cameras since I was very young, and photography has always
been a hobby for me. But what my trips to Armenia in 2003 and the
connection I felt with the landscape did were to ignite a passion for
photography in me, one that has not only led to this book, but also
to numerous exhibitions of my work. I also realized how necessary
it was for me, as a physicist, to balance the scientific side of my
life with the artistic side that photography provides. Years ago, I
promised myself to take time to view the sunrise or sunset at least
once a month, and doing this while capturing the shifting light on
the landscape is even more satisfying than I ever thought.

Q: In the book, you include photos of ancient sites, churches,
monuments, presidential elections, commemorations of the Armenian
Genocide, and the unveiling of a millennial church discovered in the
forests of Karabakh, what was your favorite moment you were able to
capture with your lens?

I’d have to say that the entire trip to unveil the millennial church
in Nagorno-Karabakh was one of the most incredible experiences of
my life: The incredibly arduous roads that took us to the remote
village of Haytagh, the trek in the stifling summer heat to the
church, the discovery of an ancient cemetery strewn with khatchkars
(stones carved with crosses), my first glimpse of the church, and the
stories told by my companions on the expedition and by the denizens
of Haytagh during the trip.

The most photographically satisfying moment came in 2006, when I
visited Haghartsin at 5 a.m. in the morning and waited for the first
light of day to illuminate the monastery. The golden light I captured
lasted less than 30 seconds, but it left an indelible impression.

Q: Lastly, anything else you wanted to add that I didn’t ask you about?

One of the photography techniques that I’ve used extensively in Armenia
and featured in my book is black-and-white infrared photography. I’ve
had a camera converted specifically for this purpose, and all of
the black-and-white photos in the last several chapters of the book
are from my infrared camera….Leaves and grass appear snow white,
and there is a lot more contrast in these photos….

Infrared photography is one of the ways that I express my vision of
the Armenian landscape, a vision that is driven by the juxtaposition
of ancient structures with the landscape, and the oft-forgotten
importance of light and its texture in photography.

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ARMENIA ARMED FORCES 4TH MILITARY UNIT MARKS 17TH ANNIVERSARY (PHOTOS)

July 12, 2014 | 16:20

The 17th anniversary of the 4th Military Unit of the Armenian Armed
Forces was celebrated Saturday in Yeghegnadzor city.

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, Chief of the Armenian Armed Forces
General Staff, Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov, numerous other
high-ranking military officers as well as regional officials and
statesmen were on hand at the event, the MOD press service informed.

Military Unit Commander, Major General Andranik Makaryan delivered
opening remarks.

Congratulating those in attendance on the anniversary, Ohanyan, for
his part, assured that the Armenian soldiers perform their military
tasks with honor, and by using restraining mechanisms, they prevent
the operations by the adversary’s sabotage and intelligence teams.

An award ceremony also was held during the celebratory event.

In addition, the defense minister handed the military unit’s battle
flag to its command unit, and as a result of the unit’s hard work.

The anniversary event concluded with a parade by the subdivisions of
the 4th Military Unit.