Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIE-CULTURE-PATRIMOINE
La ministre de la Culture Hasmig Boghossian limoge le responsable du
site de l’église de Zvartnots

L’organisation d’une soirée privée intitulée > en
présence d’homme d’affaire Arméniens et Russes, le 14 juin sur le site
de l’église de Zvartnots, patrimoine historique de l’architecture
arménienne, fait des remous en Arménie. Le ministère de la Culture
étant dans la ligne d’accusation pour avoir autorisée cette
manifestation privée sur l’espace d’un joyau du patrimoine culturel
arménien protégé. Hasmig Boghossian la ministre de la Culture -dont
certains exigeaient la démission- a limogé V. Krikorian, le
responsable du site de Zvartnots. Mais selon Vladimir Boghossian du
Service de la protection des monuments historiques et musées
d’Arménie, la loi arménienne autorise la location de ces lieux. Le
site de Zvartnots pouvant être donné en location de 200 000 à 700 000
drams la journée. Ainsi le site du temple de Garni fut loué pour une
réception-diner offerte par la Banque Centrale d’Arménie pour 1
million de drams.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 22 juin 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

WITNESSES WERE PRESSURED, VICTIM’S SUCCESSORS DON’T BELIEVE SUICIDE THEORY

06.20.2014 15:45 epress.am

About 20 days before the death of 19-year-old military conscript
Sargis Sahakyan on November 5, 2012, in the village of Tsiranadzor
in Syunik marz (province), a shot was heard during the shift before
Sahakyan’s at the same military base. This fact, however, did not get
the court’s attention though it might be directly linked to Sahakyan’s
death, Helsinki Association for Human Rights attorney Ani Torosyan,
representing the accused Artur Misakyan and Artashes Khachatryan,
told Epress.am today.

The defendants are accused of inciting the victim to suicide, but
they do not admit their guilt. The victim’s legal successors, in turn,
don’t believe the suicide theory.

Torosyan said she petitioned to question four witnesses regarding
the incident, but the court rejected the petition. Syuzanna Khcheyan,
the representative of Sahakyan’s legal successor, in conversation with
Epress.am, also underlined the importance of questioning the witnesses.

“It’s a fact that the witnesses were silent that there was another
case of shooting at the military base. This was stated by witness,
officer Gor Margaryan after it was discovered that they [the witnesses]
were pressured. That is, this was a new fact that came to light,
and the court should’ve examined it,” said Khcheyan.

The witnesses later said their testimonies during the preliminary
investigation were obtained under psychological pressure — by being
kept for 15 consecutive days in isolation cells.

Speaking about the first shot, Torosyan referred to Gor Margaryan’s
testimony, who said that after hearing the shot, he ran to the base
and saw Sargis, afraid and sitting down, and the other soldier, Tovmas
Mnatsakanyan. The latter said that he’s the one who shot, explaining
it by saying that he was in shock. No one was hurt from the shot.

“And on the day of Sargis’ death, Tovmas Mnatsakanyan got out of [his
position] at the military base and said that allegedly ‘the Turks
[referring to Azeris] shot Sargis’. Later, the fabricated version of
suicide was brought up,” said Torosyan, insisting that the incident
requires additional investigation.

According to the indictment, fellow servicemen pressured and humiliated
Sargis Sahakyan for secretly eating Snickers, and according to the
official version, the insults pushed Sahakyan to suicide.

AZERBAIJAN DENIES RUMORS ON ARMENIA’S OCCUPATION OF NAKCHIVAN

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
June 20 2014

By Nazrin Gadimova

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied as baseless any reports on
Armenia’s occupation of heights in Nakhchivan.

“The reports, which are incorrect and full of errors with photos
taken at an undisclosed location attached, are another attempt of
the Armenian government to mislead the public,” the ministry said.

Referring to Armenian sources, some local online media spread
information and photos that the enemy occupied Azerbaijani territories
in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on June 19.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said only Armenia is interested in
disseminating such information. “It is a provocative attempt by
Armenia to create confusion among the public,” it said.

Operational situation in Nakhchivan AR is fully controlled by the
combined-arms army and there is no redeployment on the frontline. The
Ministry again advised the media not to succumb to such Armenian lies
and not to publish baseless news spread by the Armenians.

ARMENIAN POLITICIANS MOOT SEX-SELECTION BAN

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #741
June 20 2014

Authorities decide to copy other countries’ success in legislating
against option for aborting female foetuses By Arpi Harutyunyan –
Caucasus

Parliamentarians in Armenia are discussing a ban on doctors revealing
the sex of a foetus before the 30th week of pregnancy, which they
hope will reduce selective abortions. They recognise, however, that
legislation could open up a new avenue for doctors to take bribes
from parents who want sons, not daughters.

“The bill hasn’t been circulated yet. We will discuss its problems
with members of parliament, and then send it to the government,” Ara
Babloyan, chairman of parliament’s health committee, said on May 20.

The proposed law is based on a study on births in Armenia in 2012-13
which the health ministry conducted with help from the United Nations,
and which concluded that every year 1,400 fewer girls are born than
should naturally be the case.

“In Armenia, abortion and selective birth of children by gender
is becoming very worrying. We are destroying the country’s future
mothers,” said Garik Hayrapetyan, head of the United Nations Population
Fund office in Armenia.

He said that if nothing was done, Armenia would lose over 90,000
female babies by 2060.

The birth ratio in Armenia in 2012 was 114 boys for every 100 girls.

The natural ratio is between 102 and 106 boys to every 100 girls. The
most distorted figure was in Gegharkunik region, where the ratio was
124 to 100.

“The fact that families prefer to have boys is a chronic problem
that cannot be resolved immediately. We need to do long-term work
on it,” Gayane Avagyan, head of the health ministry’s maternity and
reproductive health department, told IWPR. “Another factor is the
country’s birth rate. People used to have four to five children,
which ensured a gender balance, but now they have two. Third and no
less important, modern technology allows people to discover the sex
of the child even very early on in pregnancy.”

According to a opinion poll conducted alongside study, couples are six
times more likely to want a boy than a girl, and selective abortion
becomes more common in a third or fourth pregnancy, when couples are
desperate to have a son.

“We have a patriarchal society, and people prefer boys to girls on
the grounds that boys continue the family line,” Hayrapetyan said,
citing the responses given in the survey.

Avagyan said the health ministry had discussed the issue many times
with women’s groups, psychologists, the United Nations and other
organisations, and it had looked at the experiences of other countries
in combating sex-selective abortions. She said officials had concluded
that the best place to start was by passing a law similar to ones
that had worked in other countries.

The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe passed a
resolution on the issue in 2011, singling out Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Georgia and Albania as countries with particularly worrying records in
sex-selective abortions. (See also South Caucasus: Selective Abortion
Means Fewer Girls Born.)

Naira Zohrabyan, a member of parliament from the Prosperous Armenia
party who took part in the PACE discussion, worried, however, that
a new law might do more harm than good.

“In a country like Armenia where corruption in the healthcare and
education systems has reached unprecedented levels, a law like
this would be pointless and would become just one more source of
corruption,” she said. “I personally will vote against it, since not
only will it fail to solve one problem, it will create another one.

“We need to think about running the right kind of publicity campaign
to change our way of thinking. Until that happens, no law is going
to help.”

Lyudmila Sargsyan, a member of the parliamentary health committee,
also doubted whether the law would be effective.

“I’m not sure whether this is an effective way of fighting this
battle. You can’t rule out that doctors will start telling parents
the baby’s sex in return for money,” she said.

Marietta Gevorgyan, a mother of two girls, aborted a third pregnancy
when she discovered she was due to have another girl. She too does
not believe the law will work.

“At the moment, doctors aren’t allowed to reveal the sex of a foetus
before the 19th week of pregnancy, but everyone finds out – even very
early on,” she said.

Avagyan insisted that the health ministry would find mechanisms for
preventing doctors from informing parents.

“Surveillance cameras will be installed in doctors’ surgeries, and
doctors will face legal action if they break the law. In some cases,
they could even lose their jobs,” she said.

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN FEUD HAS ITS DYNAMICS

Gulf News, UAE
June 20 2014

US withdrawal from Afghanistan, recent shale gas revolution and the
‘pivot to Asia’ add reasons why the South Caucasus will lose its
strategic significance for the US and the West in general

By Vilen Khlgatyan and Armen Sahakyan

With the recent developments happening in and around Ukraine, Svante
E. Cornell’s June 10 op-ed, ‘Why America must step up its role in
resolving Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict’ attempts to compare the
Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh in Armenian) conflict with Crimea. This
attempted comparison disregards important historical, geographic,
legal and political differences that exist between the two conflicts.

The Artsakh conflict has deep historical and legal roots with various
junctures along the way. The most recent phase of the conflict began in
February of 1988, when the citizens of the Armenian Soviet Socialist
Republic and Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) began peaceful
demonstrations to once again petition the Soviet authorities in Moscow
for re-unification of NKAO with the Armenian SSR. Tensions rose rapidly
after the anti-Armenian pogroms in the Azerbaijani cities of Baku
(the capital), Sumgait, Kirovabad and Maragha, among others.

The tensions eventually turned into a full-scale war that lasted
until 1994.

Shortly after the Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement (signed by the
representatives of Azerbaijan, Artsakh, and Armenia) came into force
in 1994, the OSCE Minsk Group began its operations with the task of
mediating the conflict. France, Russia and the US are the co-chairs of
the Minsk Group and work hand-in-hand attempting to help the parties
to the conflict reach a lasting peace agreement.

Moscow’s role (both under the USSR and the Russian Federation) in the
Artsakh conflict mediation is usually overemphasised. At the same
time, the genuine desire of the people of Artsakh Republic to live
in a state and society of their own choosing is often disregarded.

Although Russia has been active in the Artsakh peace process, their
motivation is not nearly as nefarious as Dr Cornell claims.

During the Artsakh-Azerbaijan war, Baku recruited Afghan Mujahideen and
Chechen insurgents to fight on its side, many of whom would end up in
Russia’s North Caucasus region in pursuit of jihad, thus presenting
a direct national security threat to Russia. Given its geographic
proximity and Russia’s own problems in its North Caucasus region,
Moscow could not and cannot disregard the Artsakh peace process.

The US has also been active in the mediation process of the Artsakh
conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship,
which is the only agreed upon international format for the peace
talks. One notable example was the US-organised talks in Key West
in the summer of 2001, which was the closest the parties had ever
come to reaching a peace deal since the ceasefire agreement seven
years earlier.

A number of targeted public relations stunts have attempted to present
Azerbaijan as a model partner for the West. However, Azerbaijan’s
allegiance to western international order is dubious, especially
when it comes to democratic norms, rule of law and respect for human
rights. In recent times, experienced analysts of the South Caucasus
and government officials, such as Richard Kauzlarich, Thomas De Waal,
Eric Rubin and others have criticised Azerbaijan’s faulty human rights
track record, its attempt to lead on both the West and Russia and
its waning importance as a US ally.

Recent examples of Baku’s crackdown on critics both foreign and
domestic include: Criticism of the US Ambassador to Baku, Richard
Morningstar; criticism of OSCE Minsk Group US co-chairman James
Warlick; and government jailings of and crackdowns on representatives
of the National Democratic Institute, Radio Free Europe and other
organisations operating in Azerbaijan, etc.

Human Rights Watch periodically reports on egregious arrests of
bloggers and journalists, including the recent airport detainment of
prominent human rights defender Leyla Younus and her husband. Another
example is the extradition of Rauf Mirkadirov, a Turkey-based
Azerbaijani journalist, who, due to his critical stance against the
Baku regime, is now potentially facing a life-imprisonment based on
questionable espionage charges.

Another factor that presents a challenge to the premise that Azerbaijan
is a reliable western ally is its recent major arms acquisitions from
Russia, valued at $4 billion (Dh14.71 billion).

Moreover, the geopolitical significance of the country is blown out of
proportion. For instance, its gas supplies to Europe are negligible
in the larger picture (only 2 per cent of European Union demand)
and could not replace Russia’s volumes. And within the context of
improving relations between the West and Iran, Azerbaijan’s role will
likely shrink further. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the recent
shale gas revolution and the general “pivot to Asia” add additional
reasons why the South Caucasus will lose its strategic significance
for the US and the West in general.

A related aspect of Azerbaijan’s PR campaign has been to conflate the
Artsakh conflict with the separate issue of Armenia-Turkey bilateral
relations. This is yet another attempt at misdirection that some
observers have tried to make. Turkey and Azerbaijan are separate
states, with different ethnic identities, divergent strains of Islam,
and do not have identical national interests. It took Azerbaijani
threats of raising the price of natural gas it supplies to Turkey as
well as a fierce public diplomacy campaign to rally support among Turks
for their “little brother” Azerbaijan in order to place Turkey’s peace
protocols with Armenia in limbo. Several events, including the pardon
and promotion of the axe-murderer Ramil Safarov, the destruction of
Armenian cultural sites in Azerbaijan, the declaration by Azerbaijan’s
President Ilham Aliyev that “Armenians of the world” are the number
one enemy of Azerbaijan, the regular cross-border sniper shootings
on civilian populations and many other incidents are not properly
condemned by the US and other OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states.

Convincing Baku to remove the snipers from the line of contact (to
which they do not agree) and to establish an international monitoring
system for ceasefire violations (both of which Armenia and Artsakh have
repeatedly agreed to) would be a positive step forward and the US can
spearhead those initiatives within the Minsk Group co-chairmanship
framework. Reinstatement of the Artsakh Republic representation at
the negotiations table is also imperative, as no durable peace is
possible without the involvement of the people affected the most.

The US needs to play an active role in the mediation process, together
with the other co-chair countries. But a final agreement to end
the Artsakh conflict cannot be imposed from the outside and needs
to be reached by the three parties themselves exclusively through
peaceful means.

— Christian Science Monitor

Vilen Khlgatyan is vice-chairman of Political Developments Research
Centre (PDRC), a virtual think tank based in Yerevan, Armenia. Armen
Sahakyan is executive director of the Eurasian Research and Analysis
(ERA) Institute (Washington, D.C. branch) and an analyst of Eurasian
Affairs at PDRC.

SYRIA’S ARMENIANS: FLEEING WAR FOR NEW HARDSHIP IN THEIR ANCESTRAL LAND

FRANCE 24
June 20 2014

By Sophie CLAUDET , Francois LESCALIER

With the war, thousands of Armenians who have lived in Syria for
several generations, mainly in Aleppo, have sought refuge in Armenia.

But for many of them, returning to the land of their ancestors is
a disappointment.

Armenia is poorer than pre-war Syria. Without work or prospects
in their host country, and despite government and church handouts,
many have difficulty making ends meet and hope to go back to Syria
once peace returns. Others dream of trying their luck in Europe or
North America. Finally, some resign themselves to their situation
and attempt to build a new life in this country that they do not
know. Our reporters went to Yerevan to meet these Syrian Armenians.

Watch the FRANCE 24 Debate: Syria’s Armenians:
Christians Torn Between War-Hit Home and Exile:

ARMENIA SAYS SOLDIER KILLED IN BORDER CLASH WITH AZERBAIJAN

Agence France Presse — English
June 20, 2014 Friday 12:05 PM GMT

YEREVAN, June 20 2014

Azerbaijani forces killed an Armenian soldier in a fresh border
shoot-out between the arch-foes locked in a smouldering conflict over
the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region, the defence ministry in Yerevan
said Friday.

“Private Grisha Khachatrian, 20, died Thursday of mortal wounds”
when Azerbaijani troops opened fire on the south-western sector of
the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the ministry said in a statement.

The two countries are mired in a festering decades-long conflict over
the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region with soldiers along the heavily
fortified frontier regularly exchanging sniper fire.

There was an uptick in violence towards the start of the year along
the front line as the two foes accused each other of staging a series
of tit-for-tat raids.

At least 16 soldiers from both sides have been killed so far this year.

Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in
a 1990s war that killed 30,000 people. Despite years of negotiations
since a 1994 ceasefire, the two sides have yet to sign a peace deal.

Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
if negotiations do not yield results, while Armenia has vowed to
retaliate against any military action.

PAP MAY HAVE NOT FACE ANY ISSUES UNLESS STAYING IN COALITION – GARNIK ISAGULYAN

17:20 / 20.06.2014

One should have self-respect and understand that if you want to
do something but you can’t because of the existing system and the
positive thing you did is being criticized you must leave, leader of
National Security party Garnik Isagulyan told the reporters today.

“The same happened regarding the coalition, first the ARF-D left
as they contacted more with people, then the Prosperous Armenia and
then the Rule of Law party though I do not want to speak about the
latter having a special attitude toward them,” he said, adding that Mr
Tsarukyan and the people in PAP may have not face issues unless they
remained in the coalition but contacting with people they realized that
they are too to be blamed for the existing situation. “I think this
is the reason why the PAP made a decision to leave the coalition,”
he said, adding that the current steps and the activity in the four
is very logical.

Isagulyan said that there are three Armenias one is presented by
the authorities through the pro-governmental media, the blossoming
and beautiful Armenia and it seemed that 12 million Armenians spread
throughout the world are here. The second Armenia presented by the
radical opposition is ruined Armenia and finally there is real Armenia
where we all live together but no one wants to see it.

“Now I think the four parliamentary forces put clear up-to-date issues
that clearly relate to the public. The presented 12 demands which
many say may be satisfied by September in reality may be solved in
24 hours. What is the reason of delaying?” Isagulyan stressed.

Nyut.am

FIFTY COUNTRIES TO ACCEPT EXTENDED PASSPORTS TO AID BACKLOG CRISIS

Renewed British passports will now be accepted in popular holiday
destinations, including Cyprus, Turkey and the US

Alan Travis
theguardian.com,
Friday 20 June 2014 20.04 BST

The Foreign Office will extend existing British passports to help
clear the backlog – 50 destinations have confirmed they will accept
them. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The Foreign Office has issued a list of 50 countries which will
accept British passports that have been renewed for a further 12
months as part of the package of measures designed to resolve the
backlog crisis at Her Majesty’s Passport Office.

But Labour says the measures, announced by the home secretary,Theresa
May, do not include some of the most popular holiday destinations.

Passport chiefs were expected to update MPs on the home affairs
select committee with further details of their progress in dealing
with the 489,000 applications, being handled as “work in progress”
after a surge in demand.

Labour’s shadow immigration minister, David Hanson, said three of the
seven most popular holiday destinations, the US, Cyprus and Turkey,
as well as destinations for British migrants such as Australia, and
trading partners including China, India and Brazil, did not appear
on the list.

“A week after Theresa May announced an extended passport for residents,
almost three-quarters of the world are currently not accepting them,”
said Hanson. “People are still stuck without their passports, unable
to travel at what is the busiest holiday period of the year. While
it is good that some will be able to travel on an extended passport,
the government haven’t got some of the most popular destination
countries in the world to agree.”

He said the current omissions were further evidence that the home
secretary had not got a grip on the problem.

The countries that will accept extended British passports or travel
documents are: Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus,
Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central
African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Gabon,
Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,
Kosovo, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique,
New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, San Marino,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia,
Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.

AZERBAIJAN IS NOT READY FOR DIALOGUE: KORYUN NAHAPETYAN’S IMPRESSIONS BY NATO SEMINAR

18:27, 20 June, 2014

YEREVAN, JUNE, 20, ARMENPRESS. The delegation of the Republic
of Armenia which participated in Rose Roth 84 seminar of NATO
Parliamentary Assembly held in Azerbaijan efficiently performed
its function introducing Armenia’s position on the settlement of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other issues of agenda.

The Head of NA delegation of the Republic of Armenia in NATO
Parliamentary Assembly Koryun Nahapetyan stated this at the course
of the press conference held in the National Assembly.

According to Koryun Nahapetyan, Armenia’s participation in NATO
seminar was too important. “If no resolution on participation was
made, a vacuum situation would be created at the seminar. By taking
advantage of that the Azerbaijani side would form a false image around
the security problems in the region meeting no resistance,” the Deputy
said. Koryun Nahapetyan added that the propaganda and the spreading of
misinformation by the Azerbaijani side is not news and the presentation
of positions and defense of Armenia is too important in such platforms.