Author: Badalian Vardan

PAATA ZAKAREISHVILI WILL VISIT AKHALTSIKHE AND NINOTSMINDA

The Messenger, Georgia
April 5 2013

Inter Press News reports that ethnic Armenian from Akhalkalaki and
Ninotsminda held a rally in front of the State Chancellery on April
4th. Ethnic Armenian representative Stephan Ivanasyan explained that
those present want to meet with Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanasyan stated that Ivanishvili is not informed enough about the
problems of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, which has a large ethnic
Armenian population.

The protestors asked the PM to carry out the changes in Akhalkalaki
and Ninotsminda which the local population were expecting after the
elections. They said they are grateful to Ivanishvili as the latter
has released them from an “inhumane pressure.” However, they said the
old government of Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda have not implemented
the reforms of the Georgian Dream administration.

According to the protesters, most residents of the two towns live
in extreme poverty. Holding the Georgian Dream flag they claimed
there is no threat of separatism in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region
and reminded those present about their loyalty to Georgia during the
August 2008 War.

State Minister for Reintegration Pata Zakareishvili met with the
protesters. The Minister promised he will visit these regions on April
15th and discuss all their problems there. Although the protesters
wanted to meet with the Prime Minister, Zakareishvili explained it was
Ivanishvili who had sent him to meet with the protestors. According
to Zakareishvili, the Prime Minister was not in a position to give
informed answers to the protestors’ questions.

RALLY TIME: OPPOSITION LEADER WRAPS UP REGIONAL TRIPS AHEAD OF YEREVAN GATHERING

VOTE 2013 | 05.04.13 | 10:23

Photolure

By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian again called for a strong show
of support for his anti-government protests on Thursday as he wrapped
up his grueling four-day tour of Armenian towns and villages to meet
with provincial folks.

The second such tour undertaken by Hovannisian since the disputed
elections of February 18 and third overall this year included stops in
almost every major town of the country – north to south, east to west.

Everywhere the message was one: the presidential ballot was rigged in
favor of incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan and April 9, the day when
Sargsyan is due to be sworn in for a second five-year term, should
see a major protest in Yerevan that will eventually “inaugurate a
new Armenia”.

“We will make history together in Liberty Square on April 9,” stated
Hovannisian on the first day of his tour in Ararat, repeating the
message in other towns across Armenia.

The opposition leader has also called on the authorities not to dare
raise a hand against the people who, he said, “are peacefully and
constitutionally fighting for their victory”.

Hovsep Khurshudian, the spokesman for Hovannisian’s Heritage Party,
told ArmeniaNow that since April 1 the opposition leader has visited
all regions of the country and one of the purposes of these trips
was to drum up regional support for the Barevolution.

Hovannisian and his supporters call their current campaign
Barevolution, or Hello Revolution, advocating non-violent methods of
achieving a power change in the country.

“The post-election process has shown that attempts are needed to unite
the whole of the country and not just focus the political process on
and limit it with capital Yerevan,” Khurshudyan told ArmeniaNow.

Some political observers have noted that fewer people have been
attending the latest meetings with Hovannisian organized as part of his
provincial outings, which they have linked to certain disappointment
among people with Hovannisian’s actions.

But Heritage puts the shrinking attendance at meetings to threats that
were made to opposition activists and supporters by local government
bodies and law-enforcement authorities, as well as closed roads.

“This time the authorities have done everything for people not to
participate in rallies, but in spite of all this there have been
quite a lot of people attending these meetings,” said Khurshudyan.

During Hovannisian’s latest trips in many places police officers again
warned people against attending what they described as “unauthorized”
meetings. But the Heritage spokesman said the Constitution requires
no authorization for “moving freely and saying hello.”

WILL MOSCOW “RETURN” NAIRIT’S MILLIONS?

Igor Sechin, the president of Rosneft, the Russian state oil
corporation, visited Armenia. He also visited Nairit Company.

Currently the trial of the case of 175 million dollars of Russian
debt is underway. The interstate bank claims interest which amounts
to 25 million dollars.

Hetq.am conducted an investigation on the disappearance of 170 million
dollars from Nairit and concluded that some Armenian and Russian
officials pocketed this money through different corruption schemes,
using assets registered offshore. For its part, the RA Ministry
of Finance conducted audit and sent the records to the Prosecutor
General’s Office.

In this context, the interview of the Aravot Daily with the head
of public relations of the Russian Public Anti-Corruption Council
Marina Galyuchenko is highly interesting. She mentioned some records
at that disposal which evidence embezzlement and misuse by former and
present Armenian high-ranking officials. She noted that some Russian
high-ranking officials will not avoid investigation who sponsored
“export” of dirty money from Armenia. Does this concern Nairit?

The Hraparak wrote that the visit of Rosneft will determine further
path of the trial. “If the sides reach an agreement, Armenia will
get a loan of 400 million dollars from the Eurasian Economic Union
Foundation for the modernization of Nairit. The first disbursement
of 125 million will be spent on debt. It will be the best option for
Armenia because the factory will finally work and correct management
will bring lots of benefits to the state.”

13:45 05/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

SLAP TO ARMENIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

“We have records on misappropriation and misuse by former and present
high-ranking officials of your country. By the way, we have an
agreement to submit those records to Russian high-ranking officials.

It will be done officially. We will not hide them, especially that
some Russian high-ranking officials are rumored to have “sponsored”
the transfer of dirty money from Armenia. Russia is interested in
the revelation and return of the money stolen from Armenia to use the
money for the solution of the social problems of people,” stated the
head of public relations of Russia’s Public Anti-Corruption Council
Marina Galyuchenko in an interview with the Aravot Daily.

Marina Galyuchenko’s statement caused a strong reaction but the law
enforcement bodies are invisible. No law enforcement body of Armenia
has reacted to her statement.

Meanwhile, there are super strong grounds to react. Damage to Armenia
by Armenian officials is concerned, so the Armenian law enforcement
bodies should have applied to the organization from where the report
came or requested the available information through their Russian
counterparts.

On the other hand, it will be strange if the Russian Public
Anti-Corruption Council has such information whereas the Armenian
law enforcement bodies do not. It will mean that the Armenian law
enforcement agencies are not doing anything though it is not something
new. The Armenian law enforcement bodies are busy protecting the
government from the opposition and servicing the political interests of
the ruling system rather than protecting the state and public assets.

The law enforcement bodies of Armenia can protect self-denyingly from
Vartan Oskanian the Civilitas Foundation founded by Vartan Oskanian
but leave state assets unprotected, allowing it to be wasted and even
successfully exported to Russia.

Marina Galyuchenko’s statement is a slap across the face of the
Armenian law enforcement agencies because Marina Galyuchenko’s
organization has something which the Armenian law enforcement bodies
must have.

Consequently, the heads of this system must either announce that
Marina Galyuchenko is lying, and they possess no such information or
they must resign for bad performance.

By the way, it should not be ruled out that information possessed by
Russia’s Public Anti-Corruption Council concerns also the high-ranking
officials of Armenia’s law enforcement agencies whose luxury life
style in no way fits their salaries and positions which means they
have income from somewhere else, usually from major property registered
in the name of their relatives.

James Hakobyan 10:31 05/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

TURKEY MUST FOLLOW GERMANY’S LEAD – UKRAINIAN PRODUCER

April 04, 2013 | 18:35

Ukrainian public figure, composer and producer Alexander Yegorov is
confident that Turkey must recognize Armenian Genocide, apologize and
try to get pardon and then create a new history of friendly relations
between the nations.

“Germany was not ashamed to confess and apologize to the Jews and the
entire world for the atrocities of the fascist regime. The same should
be done by Ankara. They must wash out the shame for the crimes of
their ancestors, especially taking into account Turkey’s EU bid. In
addition, Azerbaijan must stop its anti-Armenian policy launched
in Baku and Sumgait, and recognize the right of Nagorno-Karabakh to
self-determination,” Analitika.at.ua quotes Yegorov.

The fact of the Armenian Genocide is recognized by many states. It was
first recognized in 1965 by Uruguay. In general, the Armenian Genocide
in Ottoman Turkey has already been recognized by 21 countries and 43
out of 50 U.S. states.

Turkey denies accusations of mass killings of Armenians during the
First World War and is extremely sensitive to criticism voiced by
the western states.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: SERZH SARGSYAN MEETS ARMAVIA OWNER?

09:00 ~U 05.04.13

The paper says it has learned from sources that President Serzh
Sargsyan met on Thursday with the owner of Armenia’s national airline,
Armavia, which is suspending its activity over a bankruptcy dispute.

Mikhail Baghdasarov is reportedly seeking clarifications as to his
future plans. The businessman is for now silent about scandalous
developments going on around the company, says the paper. But before he
decides what public statements to make, the company’s press service did
not dismiss the report that Baghdasarov is selling all his businesses
in Armenia and leaving the country. “Anything in business can be sold
and purchased,” an Armavia representative was quoted as telling the
paper. Asked whether there are political motives behind the bankruptcy
scandal, the press service said they had detailed all the causes in
a press release.

“The Armavia press service has also dismissed the reports that
Baghdasarov is planning to build a new airport in Romania,” the Armavia
employee has told the paper, adding that the company is now carrying
out a passenger registration to pay back the money to those who had
purchased tickets.

More about Armavia’s bankruptcy scandal can be found in the paper’s
latest issue.

Armenian News – Tert.am

AZERBAIJANI SCREENWRITER: NAGORNO KARABAKH BELONGS TO ARMENIANS

11:44, 5 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS: A new scandal in Azerbaijan emerged
because of the announcement of the well-known screenwriter Rustam
Ibrahimbekov “Nagorno Karabakh belongs to Armenians”. As reported by
Armenpress, the Azerbaijani press is flooded with criticism concerning
the screenwriter’s interview to the Russian Rosbalt News Agency.

In the interview the famous Azerbaijani intelligent expressed his
opinion about Nagorno Karabakh, saying in particular that it was
more an Armenian land. “I am certain that the Armenian people are
not our enemies. They are as well the victims of what happened”, –
said Rustam Ibrahimbekov.

He believes that the resolution of the conflict by military way is
a crime towards the both nations and humanity. “Relations between
the people should be established. People’s diplomacy is quite
important here. Armenians and Azerbaijanis are the victims of the
tragedy. I believe that Azerbaijani people could live in peace with
the Armenians. We should establish human connections in the name
of the future not to spare time. It is more important not to burn
books and not to see enemies in the two nations”, – stated Rustam
Ibrahimbekov in his interview to Rosbalt.

SOIREE DU COLLECTIF VAN : GENOCIDE ARMENIEN, UN PASSE QUI NE PASSE PAS

Programme

Dans le cadre des commemorations du genocide armenien de 1915 placees
sous l’egide de la Ville d’Issy-les-Moulineaux

Le Collectif VAN [Vigilance Armenienne contre le Negationnisme]
presente a l’Auditorium d’Issy-les-Moulineaux/Cine d’Issy

Le vendredi 5 avril 2013 a 20h precises

Une soiree exceptionnelle “Genocide armenien : un passe qui ne
passe pas”

placee sous la moderation de Vincent Armenak Niore, Avocat au Barreau
de Paris.

1ère partie

Rencontre-debat avec

Laure Marchand & Guillaume Perrier

a l’occasion de la parution de leur livre

La Turquie et le fantôme armenien

preface par Taner Akcam (Editions Solin – Actes Sud).

Une vaste enquete de terrain sur la memoire du genocide dans la Turquie
d’aujourd’hui, menee par deux journalistes, Laure Marchand (Le Figaro)
et Guillaume Perrier (Le Monde), presents a Istanbul depuis bientôt
une decennie.

À deux ans du centenaire du genocide, leurs recits, reportages et
rencontres dessinent le portrait d’un pays malade de son negationnisme,
hante par ce passe qui ne passe pas.

Une somme d’informations magistralement rassemblees, articulees et
analysees par les auteurs. Un ouvrage rare et precieux.

2ème partie

Rencontre-debat avec

Anna & Mathieu Zeitindjioglou.

Projection du film “Le Fils du marchand d’olives” realise par Mathieu
Zeitindjioglou (2012) – Duree : 1h17min.

” Ce que nous montre ce film est a la fois troublant et edifiant. Il
s’agit, sous la forme relativement curieuse d’un journal de voyage
tenu par deux jeunes gens en vacances, de la tentative de comprendre
le Genocide depuis l’endroit-meme où il s’est commis, soit dans le
seul Etat au monde [la Turquie] qui ne connaisse depuis un siècle
d’autre politique sur la question que celle du negationnisme. ”
(Le Monde.fr | 10.04.2012

En partenariat avec la Librairie Chantelivre d’Issy-les-Moulineaux
et Contre-Allee Distribution Ventes-dedicaces Livres & DVD :

Laure Marchand & Guillaume Perrier

Mathieu & Anna Zeitindjioglou

Prix des places, tarif unique : 5,40~@

Auditorium d’Issy-les-Moulineaux/Cine d’Issy

Mail Raymond Menand (accès pieton )

11/13 rue Danton (accès voiture)

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

Metro : Mairie d’Issy (Terminus ligne 12)

Trajet pietonnier a partir du carrefour au metro Mairie d’Issy :

descendre sur la droite la rue Diderot (côte pharmacie)

au croisement des rues Hoche et Diderot, prendre le mail pieton a
gauche, en oblique sur l’esplanade, jusqu’au Cine d’Issy (a 100 m
sur la gauche).

vendredi 5 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

WRITERS PROSECUTED FOR CRITICIZING HRANT DINK TRIAL

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 4 2013

The Ä°stanbul Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation
into Agos Editor-in-Chief Rober KoptaÅ~_ and writer Umit Kıvanc
over remarks they made criticizing the manner in which the trial
of the suspects who murdered Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
was conducted.

Dink, the former editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot in broad daylight
outside his office on Jan. 19, 2007. Although evidence pointing to
the complicity of security forces in the assassination came up during
the trial, the court said the hitman had acted alone and one other
man was guilty of soliciting him to murder. However, this decision
is likely to be overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which is
currently reviewing the verdict.

KoptaÅ~_ and Kıvanc, who were guests of the Söz Sende (It’s Your Turn
to Speak) program on HaberTurk television hosted by Balcicek Ä°lter,
criticized the trial and the verdict. The program was aired on Jan.

17, 2012. Both men said Dink’s real murderer was “the state.” An
Antalya resident, Aydın TaÅ~_cı, filed a complaint with the Ä°stanbul
Prosecutor’s Office the next day. TaÅ~_cı in his petition said that
KoptaÅ~_ and Kıvanc were “obviously Armenians.” He wrote that the two
men referred to the state of the Republic of Turkey as a “murderer”
and used “unflattering” words about the trial.

According to news reports on Thursday, Ä°stanbul Deputy Chief
Prosecutor Fikret Secen has decided to process the petition. TaÅ~_cı
testified a second time to an Antalya prosecutor, reiterating his
earlier complaint. He said the two men’s statements had “belittled”
the Republic of Turkey and its judiciary. Reports said KoptaÅ~_
and Kıvanc are expected to testify to Secen on Thursday.

Hakan Bakırcıoglu, a lawyer representing the Agos newspaper, reacted
to the investigation, saying it should never have been launched. He
said it had emerged at every step of the investigation that public
officers were responsible in the Dink murder in a way that leaves no
room for dispute. He said that in addition to the evidence presented
to the courts, a report that came out at the end of a probe conducted
by the State Inspection Board (DDK) — a presidential body — and
another one by the Prime Ministerial Inspection Board as well as a
verdict from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) openly blamed
several public officers of dereliction of duty.

He also said that even the prosecutor in the Dink trial had openly
said that the murder trial had not been conducted properly. He said the
views stated by KoptaÅ~_ and Kıvanc bear no criminal element and that
the prosecutor’s office should not have taken the complaint seriously.

MEHMANPARAST CONFERS WITH ARMENIAN DEPUTY FM

Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA, Iran
April 3 2013

Visiting Spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry Ramin Mehmanparast
discussed ways to promote bilateral trade and tourism cooperation
with Armenia in a meeting Monday with the country’s Deputy Foreign
Minister Shavarsh Koucharyan

The two also exchanged views on major regional and international
developments.

Mehmanparast said that many ethnic minorities, including Armenians,
have been living in Iran in desirable conditions due to the country’s
rich history and civilization.

“Iran favors best ties with regional states, specially its neighbors,”
said the spokesman noting that Iran-Armenia ties were at the highest
level.

He also said that Tehran-Yerevan cooperation in the fields of economic,
cultural and tourism activities should be promoted to the same level
as their political cooperation.

He added that Iran and Armenia’s support for each other’s views at
the international circles has indicated that the two capitals enjoyed
excellent relations.

Mehmanparast opined that promotion of Tehran-Yerevan multi-lateral
cooperation in the region was another move to further strengthen
bilateral ties.

Meanwhile, the Armenian official said, for his part, that Yerevan
favored regional peace and security and believed that Iran played a
crucial role in promotion of regional stability and peace.

Koucharyan also underlined the need to promote Tehran-Yerevan economic
cooperation.