Author: Badalian Vardan

ISKANDARIAN: TURKISH PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF ERDOGAN

Thursday,
June 13

The Turkish people are tired of Erdogan and the authoritarian regime
in the country, political scientist Alexander Iskandarian told
reporters today.

In his opinion, despite the fact that the protests involve more and
more people, those protest actions are unlikely to develop into a
revolution. “It is not an Arab Spring. The ruling party will be able
to overcome the situation,” Iskandarian said. According to him, Erdogan
stands a chance of wining the upcoming presidential election in Turkey.

The political scientist also said the Turkish Armenian community and
Armenians travelling to Turkey are not in danger.

TODAY, 17:03

Aysor.am

ARAM MANUKIAN ON OFFSHORE SCANDAL: IF MAN IS CLEAN, HE WILL PROVE IT

Thursday,June 13

Secretary of Armenian National Congress (HAK) parliamentary faction
Aram Manukian told reporters today that they have proposed that Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan should respond to all questions regarding
the offshore scandal.

“We proposed discussing together the issues related to him, but he
did not agree. If a man is clean, he will prove it in any place, but
they try to hush up crimes and support criminals at the state level.

The authorities are supporting people like Vardan Ghukasian and Suren
Khachatrian, that is to say, these men enjoy support at the state
level,” the deputy noted.

In the words of Aram Manukian, the authorities’ statement that there
is no opposition in Armenia and that the opposition is also responsible
for emigration was a manifestation of utmost cynicism.

“I don’t gloat. I wouldn’t like this to happen. If the emigration
surges and Armenians leave Armenia, then neither the parliament nor
the authorities are needed,” Manukian said.

NEW US POLL FINDS ALL-TIME LOW AMERICAN TRUST IN CONGRESS

US Congress building

Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:37AM GMT

The survey study further found that next to Congress, Americans
participating in the poll also expressed their lowest regards for
major healthcare providers, organized labor, corporate business,
major media outlets and big banks.”

A new US poll finds that American public trust in the nation’s
legislative body is down to a new all-time low of only 10 percent and
the lowest among 16 other major institutions mentioned in the study.

According to the survey study conducted by the prominent Gallup
Corporation in early June and released Thursday, the percentage of
Americans expressing confidence in US Congress “is the lowest for a
trend that dates back to 1973,” when it received its highest approval
rating on record, only 42 percent.

This is while the degree of confidence American people have expressed
about Congress has consistently been at its lowest points for the past
several years and slightly higher in the mid-1980’s and early 2000s.

The divided Congress between the two historically dominant political
parties, with Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans the
House, is one of the key reasons for the low levels of confidence
rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans express, and is tied to
American public frustrations with the institution’s inability to get
much done.

Democrats, independents, and Republicans are about equally likely to
express low confidence in Congress, Gallop observes, noting that it
likely reflects the split control of Congress between the dominant
rival parties.

The survey study further found that next to Congress, Americans
participating in the poll also expressed their lowest regards for
major healthcare providers, organized labor, corporate business,
major media outlets and big banks.

The very low public trust in US Congress found it the Gallup study
is quite consistent with findings of other survey studies in the past
year, measuring people’s confidence in the American legislative branch.

MFB/MFB – See more at:

MORNINGSTAR DIDN’T SUPPORT AZERBAIJAN’S ACCUSATIONS ON GROWING DRUGS IN NKR

13:55, 14 June, 2013

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS: To propagandize hatred towards Armenians,
the Azerbaijani authorities have often spread false information,
according to which drugs are being grown in the territory of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and then transferred to Azerbaijan
through the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Azerbaijan
Richard Morningstar, though, did not support the regular accusations
of the Azerbaijani authorities.

As reported by Armenpress, quoting the Azerbaijani APA news agency,
Richard Morningstar commented on the cultivation and transit of
drugs in the Azerbaijani territories, saying in particular that the
USA would be very much opposed to the growing and transporting drugs
from anywhere: “But we are not aware that these allegations in fact
are true”.

According to the Azerbaijani press, the Deputy Prime Minister of
Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov even accused the UN of the fact that the
authoritative organization “supports the Karabakh drug mafia”.

OSCE TRAINS ARMENIAN LAWYERS ON PREPARING THIRD PARTY SUBMISSIONS

Third party submissions in constitutional and international human
rights procedures, and the enforcement of the European Court of Human
Rights (ECtHR) judgments will be discussed at a two-day workshop
organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan together with the Armenian
Chamber of Advocates that started in Yerevan today.

The workshop aims to identify avenues for drafting joint submissions on
specific human rights cases, including submissions on the execution
of judgements of ECtHR, in co-operation with international human
rights organizations.

The workshop brought together some 30 lawyers and human rights
defenders from various regions of Armenia; it is run by two experts
from the UK-based non-governmental organization Interights and several
local experts. Workshop participants will review the experience of the
execution and implementation of the ECtHR judgments, legal matters
related to reopening of cases, ECtHR case law on moral damage and
the validity of submissions to the Committee of Ministers.

The Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Andrey Sorokin,
underscored the role of advocates and human rights defenders in
promoting human rights and rule of law in the country. ~SA workshop
with such broad participation facilitates an open, informed and
professional discussion, crucial for continued enhancement of the
skills of legal practitioners and their effective involvement in
domestic and international instances,~T he said.

The workshop is a follow-up to the project launched by the Office
last year on preparation of amicus curiae (~Qfriends of the court~R)
briefs by lawyers and human rights defenders which resulted in the
preparation of seven written opinions to the Constitutional Court
and two requests for leave for submission to the ECtHR.

Ruben Sahakyan, the Chair of the Chamber of Advocates, said: ~SSince
2010, we have been successful in submitting opinions on each and
every application that the Constitutional Court has admitted into its
procedure. With the support from the OSCE we are striving to build
the capacity of the Chamber and its affiliated bodies in setting up
a working mechanism of amicus curiae briefs which remains until now
quite a unique experience for Armenia.~T

ARAM MANUKYAN: HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN’S STATEMENTS ARE A SHOW

Aram Manukyan, secretary of ANC parliamentary group, wondered today
at the National Assembly whether the second act will take place and
whether those responsible will be punished. He was speaking about the
data presented by the chairman of Control Chamber Ishkhan Zakaryan on
misappropriations of budget funds. He underlined that Ishkhan Zakaryan
has been presenting such revelations to the National Assembly for
three years, but no one has ever been held responsible.

Manukyan said that if people were punished, this system would
collapse. He added that the mob, which “helps” the power during
elections, receives something in exchange and avoids taxes. Manukyan
says that the authorities punish someone, but the others are still
kept to fulfill their orders through blackmail.

At the same time, Manukyan noted that the system makes everyone commit
frauds in order to be able to work. He says that it is impossible
not to commit frauds when you bribe to have your work done as you wish.

Aram Manukyan noted that speaker’s statements relating to the CC
revelations are a show. He said the he would be happy if the leaders
not ordinary workers are punished. This, according to him, may be a
part of the plan to make the prime minister the scapegoat.

Dwelling on the scandal around Tigran Sargsyan’s name, Aram Manukyan
said that it is not the premier’s fault, since he is being made the
scapegoat by the order and will of one person.

13:10 14/06/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

U.S. REPORT ON SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS ‘FABRICATED’ – RUSSIAN MP

PanARMENIAN.Net – A U.S. government report concluding Syria has used
chemical weapons against rebels, crossing what U.S. President Barack
Obama has previously described as a “red line,” is a fabrication, a
senior Russian lawmaker said Friday, June 14, according to RIA Novosti.

“Information about the usage of chemical weapons by [Syrian President
Bashar] Assad is fabricated in the same way as the lie about [Saddam]
Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction [in Iraq],” Alexei Pushkov,
head of the Russian lower house of parliament’s international affairs
committee, said on Twitter.

U.S. intelligence reports presented to the UN and the international
community prior to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 claimed Saddam
Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction including
nerve agents, ballistic missiles and a nuclear weapons program. The
U.S. claimed the threat posed by those weapons justified the invasion
of Iraq, but after the country was occupied, the alleged weapons of
mass destruction were never found.

President Obama is following the way of George W. Bush, Pushkov said.

The White House said on Thursday it now believes with “high confidence”
that Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons many times
during the two-year conflict there, and vowed to boost U.S.

aid to the armed opposition fighting to remove Assad from power.

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Obama
had decided to provide further support, including military support,
for Syrian opposition forces as a result of its conclusion that
government forces has used such chemical weapons.

Rhodes declined to clarify whether this support would entail providing
arms to the Syrian opposition, but said U.S. aid to armed opposition
on the ground would differ greatly “in scope and scale” from assistance
Washington had previously provided to the rebels. The U.S.

goal, Rhodes said, is to “strengthen their effectiveness.”

SOME VILLAGES IN SYUNIK REGION HAVE NEITHER PUPILS NOR SCHOOLS

11:17 14/06/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

It is sever year already that Kuris and Vahravar villages of RA Syunik
region have no schools. As the Kuris Mayor Surik Grigoryan has noted
at the interview with the “Zhoghovurd” daily, “We have neither pupils
nor schools. It is more than 5 years that the children go to Meghri
or Agarak schools [because of not having schools in our region].”

Mayor of Vahravar, Sargis Arakelyan, says that the village has no
school since 2004 and the pupils attend Meghri and Agarak schools.

“Having school is expensive, we have no transportation means, taxi
costs 1500AMD, that’s way the parents have to take the children to
school,” he said.

Source: Panorama.am

RULING PARTY MONOPOLIZES POLITICAL FIELD – ARF

June 14, 2013 | 12:04

YEREVAN. – The ruling Republican Party of Armenia is a monopolist
of political field in the county, ARF Dashanktsutyun member said in
the parliament.

The party cast itself as the ruling regime and the opposition
simultaneously, Armen Rustamyan said, commenting on Speaker Hovik
Abrahamyan’s criticism against the activities of the Control Chamber.

Rustamyan noted that the authorities prefer to play the role of a
critic, pushing out the opposition. They hurry to criticize the moves
before the opposition does this,” head of ARF faction added.

During the Thursday session, Armenian Speaker offered to punish
officials who allowed violations revealed by the Control Chamber.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: ANY INSTABILITY CONNECTED WITH NKR WILL HAVE SERIOUS IMPACT ON IRAN’S SECURITY

14:33 13/06/2013 ” REGION

“Iran has had a positive effect on NKR conflict settlement,” Iranian
Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen has stated, the Iranian
IRNA news agency reports.

Iranian Ambassador has given an interview to the Azerbaijani ATV
channel where he has touched upon the NKR conflict and has noted,
“Iran wants to see stability and peace in the region. Any instability
in the region will seriously affect Iran’s security.”

Ambassador Pak Ayeen also added, “We need to solve the conflict as
soon as possible. Iran has relations with the conflicting sides.

Taking into consideration the attempt of implementing a mediatory
mission, Tehran is ready to assist the settlement of the conflict.”

The current stage of the Karabakh conflict began in 1988, when
the parliament of Autonomous Oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh asked the
authorities of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan SSR to pass
the region to Armenia.

Azerbaijan responded to the request with protests against the civilians
of Armenian nationality. After the collapse of the Soviet Union a
full-scale war began. Azerbaijan had an overwhelming advantage in
quantity, in weapons and resources and hoped for a quick victory.

However, during the brutal war Azeri troops were defeated, losing
about 30,000 soldiers and a number of previously controlled areas.

On 12 May 1994, after the ceasefire agreement the hostilities in
the conflict zone were ceased. The agreement on cease-fire regime
is observed so far. Since 1992 to the present day negotiations with
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs United States, Russia and France,
are being held for reaching a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Source: Panorama.am