Author: Badalian Vardan

KASBARIAN, NAJARIAN TAKE ISSUE WITH THE NY TIMES’ TRAVEL ARTICLE ON KARABAKH

Published: Monday October 08, 2012

Editor’s note: The following letter was submitted to the New York
Times and shared with the Armenian Reporter

To the Editors:

It was disappointing to see an article about the rarely written-about
Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR, or Artsakh, its ancient Armenian
name), miss its mark (“Off the Map in the Black Garden,” Sept. 21;

a-region-in-the-southern-caucasus.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0).

Writer Russ Juskalian’s curiosity about his ancestry prompted his
visit to this historically Armenian territory, and yet his reporting
demonstrates a failure to grasp certain fundamental facts.

Armenian Karabakh was given to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Josef Stalin
to placate Turkey — kin to Turkic Azerbaijan. A natural desire
by Karabagh Armenians to be reunited with Armenia, driven by the
1988 Azeri pogroms of Armenians in Sumgait, propelled the Armenian
self-defense movement that culminated in the Karabakh War (1988-1994).

Juskalian’s article improperly states that the War originated because
of pogroms on both sides and falsely claims that genocided Armenians
genocided civilians beyond the battleground. He thus perpetuates
falsehoods and trivializes a victorious struggle against oppression,
especially when his article appears on the Armenian independence
anniversary and following a deplorable Azeri act.

In a move that shocked the world conscience, on August 31, Azerbaijan
pardoned, promoted and celebrated a convicted and extradited Azeri
lieutenant who savagely hacked to death a sleeping Armenian lieutenant
attending a NATO “Partnership for Peace” program in Hungary.

One must wonder why NATO and the “great policeman of the world”
have done nothing about it. On September 25, Azeri snipers killed a
19-year old Armenian soldier, the latest in countless Azeri killings
across the line of contact. Why mislead readers about politics on
the ground by publishing an NKR travel article when even NATO will
not enter the region to control naked Azeri aggression, which is a
routine occurrence?

Sincerely, Lucine Kasbarian Teaneck, NJ Editor’s note: The following
letter previously appeared in the Armenian Mirror Spectator Juskalian’s
‘Mixed Emotions’ in Times’ Piece on Karabagh Are Baffling By
Dr. Carolann Najarian Russ Juskalian, in his article, “Off the Map in
the Black Garden” (New York Times Travel Section, September 21, 2012)
describes having “mixed emotions” during his visit to Nagorno-Karabagh,
(the Black Garden or Artsakh) he recently visited. He writes about dual
feelings of sadness for the Azeris forced to leave Nagorno-Karabagh
and who cannot return because of ethnic conflict, and those he feels
for his grandparents, survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 who
could not return to their homes in Turkey.

Perhaps I, too, the child of Armenian Genocide survivors, would have
had the same conflicting emotions had I, as a physician, not spent
years (rather than the two days he did) bringing medical relief to the
people of Nagorno-Karabagh, during and after their war of liberation.

Referring to Armenians and Azeris, Juskalian writes, “… both ethnic
groups were subjected to pogroms” – a statement which grossly misleads
the reader. Even a superficial review of that history will clarify
important facts about how the conflict started. The pogroms were
against the Armenians living in Azerbaijan and started long before
there was any armed conflict.

Briefly, in February 1988, in the port city of Sumgait, Azeri gangs,
with government issued lists of Armenian residences, went on a
murdering rampage, house by house. The killing continued for three
days before the Azeri government took action to stop it.

Next, the Armenians of Baku were targeted (January 1990), brutally
beaten and many murdered either in their homes or as they fled. All
this was in response to peaceful demonstrations and lawfully-submitted
petitions for self-determination by the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabagh
to Moscow for either return of Nagorno-Karabagh to Armenia, or for
the right to self-determination. In other words, the Armenians of
Nagorno-Karabagh wanted to take advantage of Glastnost, promised
by Mikhail Gorbachev, and to be free of the Azeri domination which
Stalin had placed on them. (The history of that period – the human
rights violations, the pogroms against the Armenians, the brutal
crack down in Nagorno-Karabagh, the blockade of the area, and the
war that followed are well documented and easily accessed online.)
Fast forward to 2004, to a NATO-sponsored English language course in
Budapest where an Armenian military officer attending the course was
murdered by an Azeri military officer – a fellow attendee. The Azeri
admitted to the brutal murder, butchering the sleeping Armenian with
an ax with more than 16 blows nearly severing his head. The court
found no other reason for the horrendous act other than the soldier
was Armenian. Sentenced to life in prison, the murderer was recently
extradited back to Azerbaijan by the Hungarian government, assured by
Azerbaijan that he would serve his full sentence. Instead, President
Ilham Aliyev not only immediately pardoned the murderer, but he was
hailed as a national hero and promoted to a higher military rank.

(See Amnesty International’s statement
)
Mixed emotions? Yes, I too, have mixed emotions based on the fears I
have. I fear that the fragile 1994 cease-fire between Azerbaijan and
Nagorno-Karabagh will not hold and that the foreign powers charged
with monitoring and negotiating full peace will fail. The consequences
will be sad indeed for the Armenians of the regions, albeit Azeris too,
will pay a high price in blood and treasure.

Articles such as Juskalian’s about Nagorno-Karabagh written in
ignorance and with self-serving flagellation do a great disservice
to these brave Armenians without advancing the cause of peace. It
would have been better if Juskalian had stayed home.

Carolann S. Najarian, M.D.

President, Armenian Health Alliance, Inc.

MP RULES OUT AZERI AGGRESSION AGAINST NKR AIRPORT FLIGHTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 8, 2012 – 13:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijan and Turkey are unlikely to take radical
steps in case Artsakh airport launches operations, Chairman of Armenian
National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Relations said.

According to Artak Zakaryan, Azerbaijan will further damage its
positions at the international arena, once it resorts to such measures.

“Aggression against civilian airplanes runs counter to the
international law,” Mr. Zakaryan said, conditioning the delay of the
launch of the airport by technical reasons only.

Stepanakert airport was officially put into operation on October 1. It
received a certificate on Sept 28, stating it meets the international
standards.

IF TSARUKYAN KNEW
Levon Margaryan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:11:39 – 08/10/2012

Sargsyan-Kocharyan: Antagonism or Difference

The most frequently discussed question following the case of
Vartan Oskanian is whether there is an antagonism between Robert
Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. Surprisingly, Oskanian’s case did not
trigger a civic protest despite his supporters’ expectations or a
strong anti-governmental behavior of the PAP but totally different
developments including the question which I mentioned above. All the
more so, Oskanian’s supporters Robert Kocharyan and Gagik Tsarukyan
are still limited to soft assessments. None of them has attributed
Oskanian’s case to 26 Baghramyan Street.

The most important political line for the PAP, particularly its leader
Tsarukyan is to be opposition but to the extent that is needed. In
addition, Tsarukyan’s recent evasive behavior provides the missing
link in this logical chain and leads to the question whether there
is antagonism between Kocharyan and Sargsyan. If Tsarukyan knew
the answer to this question, he would have launched an offensive on
the government in the current perfect situation. Although Tsarukyan
personally has always played closer to Kocharyan and was considered
as one of his people, he does not know the answer to this question.

Immediately after March 1, at least during the next year, a person
with a good sense would never doubt that the two politicians, the
second and the third presidents, copied the rules of the tandem of
their Russian counterparts. However, one year later it was clear that
Kocharyan would not be in government, neither as a prime minister,
nor as another government official. Moreover, the Kocharyan-Sargsyan
antagonism escalated in the press.

This dichotomy favors Sargsyan, especially in the context of March 1,
because it is more favorable to blacken Kocharyan as he knows how to
act as black. It was followed by concerns of Kocharyan’s entourage
for several years that the second president is offended because
the third president made him retire so early. The RPA-PAP scramble
and Oskanian’s membership to PAP came as arguments to Kocharyan’s
presence in the PAP. In addition, every time the PAP tried to end the
perception that they are related to Kocharyan, it did very cautiously
because it understood that would cause complications both in case of
a small and a big dosage.

Now the allegations against Kocharyan by Ruben Hairapetyan, Galust
Sahakyan and others question Sargsyan-Kocharyan antagonism. The
traditional opposition of the society and the political landscape does
not answer this question or agrees with the existence of the antagonism
or issues apolitical, folkloric evaluations of the state of affairs.

If we try to discuss the issue in a specific political context, we
will have the following picture. There is an obvious difference of
interests of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. The reasons are
several. They have different styles of foreign and domestic policies.

They have different skills in making adjustments in accordance
with the foreign line, the possibilities of cooperation with other
political forces are different. For example, Serzh Sargsyan, being
the leader of the parliamentary majority, has a chance to implement
his own decisions without adding centralism to the government more or
less in compliance with international standards and under the simple
political rules. Despite his influence on the RPA and other political
parties, Kocharyan needed to be closed, precise and tough because he
needed to implement personally his own policy.

In fact, Serzh Sargsyan controls the army with its military
establishment, both formal and the yerkrapah, which enables him to
control another institution of his country. In order to ensure the
army’s legitimacy Kocharyan had to ask for Serzh Sargsyan’s help or
again increase the distance because he had problems at least with
the Yerkrapah Union.

However, difference is one thing, opposition is another thing. This is
the main issue. Now at least we can define that there are differences
between Kocharyan and Sargsyan at almost all the levels while there
is no opposition or it is not visible. And the game is based on the
second. In this situation, this is the main concern of the society
and the political field. The camps divided, the fight for the honor
of leaders has set out. But do the leaders want to fight?

It is a fact that there is a difference between them, and their
political cooperation is passive. However, two more options
should be taken into account. The group referred to as the clan of
Karabakh, though to be more precise, it should be referred to as the
representatives of the human resource policy of Karabakh, has different
local rules of logic of political culture, and despite controversies
inside the teams or groups, at the last moment when the problem is
election, it may keep to the internal confidence code (the field
fears this). On the other hand, ahead of the elections, especially
with the pending issue of March 1, the game of good policeman-bad
policeman is a successful step to make the field possibly controllable.

LOW BLOW?: ARMENIAN SPORTING COMMUNITY RAPS PRO-GOVERNMENT MP OVER “DISRESPECTFUL” COMMENTS
By Suren Musayelyan

ArmeniaNow
08.10.12 | 10:20

Some of what MP Levon Martirosyan (L) said during a Q&A with Minister
of Sports Hrachya Rostomyan was taken as “disrespectful” attitude by
outstanding representatives of the Armenian sports.

Criticism of the current sports affairs from the mouth of a
pro-government lawmaker in parliament last week did not go down well
with the nation’s famous athletes of the past and present believed to
be patronized by a millionaire businessman whose opposition-leaning
party has been increasingly at odds with the political majority
of late.

During a question-and-answer session with government officials last
Wednesday Levon Martirosyan, an MP with the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA), spoke about the lack of progress in the sphere
of sports where despite the presence of a nominally non-partisan
minister the major role appears to be still played by the leader of
the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), Gagik Tsarukyan, who is also the
head of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia (NOCA).

The PAP has criticized the government in recent months after refusing
to form a new coalition with the RPA and withdrawing its ministers
from the government following the May parliamentary elections.

Tsarukyan, however, did not resign as the NOCA president. The former
world arm-wrestling champion instead personally promised hefty bonuses
to athletes who would win gold medals at last summer’s Olympic Games
in London. Contrary to expectations, most Armenian athletes performed
below average, with Team Armenia earning only one silver and two
bronze medals.

More than three dozen current and former athletes, including Olympic
champions Albert Azaryan, Oksen Mirzoyan, Israel Militosyan, Arsen
Nazaryan and others signed an open letter late last week protesting
the criticism from MP Martirosyan and taking it as a “disrespectful
ridicule” of the sporting community.

“Sportsmen and sportswomen are members of one large sporting family
and they uphold the honor of Armenia in the world. It is due to these
sportsmen and sportswomen that the national anthem of our Homeland
has repeatedly been played on foreign soil and it is due to their
merits that the national flag of Armenia has been raised even in
such hostile countries as Turkey and Azerbaijan,” said the letter,
in turn, calling MP Martirosyan’s “only merit” his being a brother
of popular entertainer Garik Martirosyan, who has made a name for
himself on Russian television in recent years.

“It is outrageous that a person who has absolutely nothing to do
with sports raises questions about sports,” the authors of the letter
concluded.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Aravot daily Martirosyan defended his
integrity and right of being critical, while denying any disrespectful
attitude towards the community of athletes.

“Kudos to the athletes who have won medals. But this is a different
matter… I was simply reacting to the answer of the minister, because
he insisted on progress being made in the sphere he is in charge of.

As a member of parliament and a huge sport fan myself I couldn’t
but disagree with it and this is my opinion,” explained Martirosyan,
voicing doubts that those who had signed the letter even heard his
speech in the National Assembly.

“Otherwise, they wouldn’t have written such a thing,” he added.

PAP and RPA representatives have not yet made public comments on the
matter that some view as another dimension of growing differences
in the relations between the two former allies that are increasingly
positioning themselves on the opposing sides of the political fence
ahead of next year’s presidential ballot.

PAP lawmakers did not attend the Q&A session in question after
deciding to boycott the rest of last week’s four-day proceedings
of the legislature following a controversial vote in the National
Assembly on Tuesday that lifted the parliamentary immunity of PAP
member and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian, who
currently faces prosecution on embezzlement charges.

GENS DU VOYAGE : UN SIECLE DE DISCRIMINATIONS 1912-2012

Publie le : 08-10-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
invite a lire cette information publiee sur le site Voyageurs-citoyens.

Voyageurs-citoyens

En 2012 des centaines de milliers de Francais enfermes dans la
categorie des ” gens du voyage ” figurent parmi les citoyens les plus
discrimines de notre pays : ils restent soumis a un statut d’exception,
derogatoire au droit commun et a l’unicite de notre Republique.

Ce regime discriminatoire prend sa source dans la loi promulguee en
1912 sur ” l’exercice des professions ambulantes et la circulation des
nomades “. Cette logique administrative, impulsee par la loi de 1912,
entraînera notamment un episode sombre de notre histoire contemporaine
avec l’internement des nomades et des Tsiganes par l’administration
francaise de 1940 a 1946.

Confinees dans un statut qui n’evoluera que timidement en 1969,
ces populations, aujourd’hui identifiees comme ” gens du voyage “,
une appellation qui n’a d’ailleurs pas de singulier, subissent depuis
cent ans un traitement discriminatoire dans le droit et les politiques
publiques. Les carnets anthropometriques instaures en 1912 ont ete
remplaces par les carnets et livrets de circulations institues par la
loi de 1969. A travers ces documents, differents de ceux qui servent a
identifier les autres citoyens francais, les ” voyageurs ” doivent se
plier a un contrôle assimilable a un regime de ” liberte surveillee “.

La confusion entretenue a tous niveaux entre categorie administrative
et communaute est aujourd’hui encore l’une des principales causes de
la mise a l’ecart des ” gens du voyage ” du debat public. C’est bien la
construction, l’utilisation selective de la categorie ” gens du voyage
“, et en particulier l’entretien d’un flou semantique sur la nature
de cette categorie, qui contribuent a renforcer des representations
stereotypees, disqualifiant continuellement les ” gens du voyage ”
dans les sphères publiques, privees et mediatiques. Rien de surprenant
alors qu’une majorite de Francais considère que les ” gens du voyage
” constituent un groupe a part dans la societe et continue a les
traiter avec mefiance.

Un siècle après la loi de 1912 et plus de 40 ans après celle de 1969,
il est temps de reinterroger en profondeur les fondements et les
consequences actuelles d’une legislation d’exception. Le collectif
d’associations, d’historiens et de citoyens, constitue en 2010, pour la
commemoration de l’internement des Tsiganes pendant la Seconde Guerre
mondiale mène aujourd’hui une campagne d’information sur le statut
discriminatoire des ” gens du voyage ” toujours en vigueur aujourd’hui.

Plus de 40 ans après la promulgation de la loi de 1969, les
associations representatives des Voyageurs et les associations de
defense de leurs droits restent fermement determinees a lutter pour
un plein accès au droit commun et a une citoyennete a part entière.

CONTACT : [email protected]

Lire aussi :

Paris : Une Roma Pride 2012 engagee et festive

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Voyageurs-citoyens

TURQUIE : LES REBELLES KURDES DEFIENT ANKARA AVEC UNE STRATEGIE DE CHOC
Stephane

armenews.com
lundi 8 octobre 2012

Dans le sud-est de la Turquie, les rebelles kurdes defient Ankara
depuis deux mois avec une nouvelle strategie de choc : l’occupation
et la defense de “zones libres”. La victoire militaire est improbable
mais l’impact psychologique important, estiment les analystes.

Le 23 juillet, le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), qui
lutte depuis 1984 pour l’independance du sud-est anatolien peuple
en majorite de Kurdes, a annonce une vaste operation de “maîtrise du
terrain” dans les zones montagneuses entourant la localite de Semdinli,
aux confins de l’Irak et de l’Iran.

“L’objectif n’est plus seulement de frapper la partie adverse, c’est
de realiser l’autonomie democratique, de construire l’administration
autonome democratique du peuple kurde”, a declare un des cadres du
PKK, Duran Kalkan, cite par l’agence de presse Firat News, proche
des rebelles.

Depuis, le PKK a revendique la “maîtrise” de trois autres reduits
montagneux, tous situes le long de la frontière avec l’Irak, un pays
dans le nord duquel les rebelles disposent de bases.

Concrètement, la “maîtrise du terrain”, “cela ne veut pas dire que
ces zones sont sous le contrôle total des guerilleros et que les
troupes ont ete chassees”, affirme a l’AFP la deputee Gulten Kisanak,
du Parti pour la paix et la democratie (BDP), pro-kurde.

“Cela veut dire que les troupes sont cantonnes dans leurs casernes et
ne sortent pas pour des operations, parce que la guerilla est la. Ils
(les rebelles) ont le contrôle des routes, effectuent des contrôles
d’identite a des barrages routiers, plantent parfois des drapeaux”,
poursuit-elle.

La plupart des analystes doutent toutefois de la capacite -et de
la volonte- du PKK a defendre durablement ces positions face a la
deuxième armee la plus puissante de l’Otan.

“Pour un groupe comme le PKK, qui dispose d’un nombre limite de
militants armes, il n’est pas possible de defendre physiquement un
territoire, c’est contre nature et contre toute logique”, estime
Nihat Ali Ozcan, specialiste des questions de securite a l’institut
de recherches TEPAV.

Avantage psychologique

——————————————————————————–

Le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan a d’ailleurs deja annonce
la defaite du PKK a Semdinli, après le lancement en septembre dans
la region d’une operation impliquant quelque 5.000 militaires.

“La lecon qu’ils ont recue la-bas a ete très lourde”, a declare M.

Erdogan le 26 septembre, evoquant un bilan de 239 rebelles et 144
membres des forces de securite tues depuis le debut de l’annee.

Pour Irfan Aktan, journaliste specialiste de la question kurde, les
operations de l’armee n’ont cependant pas mis fin a la presence du
PKK dans ces zones. “D’après nos informations, ce sont quelque 1.000
militants (du PKK) qui sont arrives dans les campagnes de Semdinli,
Daglica, Cukurca et Yuksekova (province de Hakkari, sud-est). Meme
si 200 ont ete tues, il en reste encore 80%”, affirme M. Aktan.

Surtout, le PKK, en depit des pertes, a marque des points sur le
plan psychologique, ajoute le journaliste : “Il a demontre que s’il
le voulait, il pouvait organiser de très grosses operations”.

Des operations qui ne sont pas restees sans effet sur l’opinion
publique, ce qui etait sans doute l’objectif recherche par les
rebelles, complète M. Ozcan.

“Quand le nombre des pertes s’accroît, ca influe sur l’opinion publique
qui exerce des pressions sur le gouvernement”, affirme l’analyste,
rappelant que dans son discours du 26 septembre, le Premier ministre,
après avoir constate l’echec suppose du PKK, n’en avait pas moins
evoque la possibilite de negociations avec les rebelles.

“Si (des) discussions nous permettent de regler quelque chose,
faisons-le”, avait declare M. Erdogan.

lundi 8 octobre 2012, Stephane ©armenews.com

UN OFFICIER DE L’ARMEE LIBRE MALGRE UNE MENACE D’ATTENTAT A LA BOMBE
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 9 octobre 2012

Un officier de l’armee, qui avait menace de faire sauter un restaurant
d’Erevan où un de ses collègues avait ete battu a mort, a ete condamne
jeudi a une sentence de prison de quatre mois signifiant qu’il sera
remis en liberte dans moins d’un mois.

Le lieutenant colonel Vartan Samvelian, vice-commandant d’un regiment
de l’armee, avait fait irruption dans le restaurant Harsnakar avec
une grenade a main, un detonateur de bombe et une grande quantite
d’explosifs le 1er juillet. Il a menace de tout faire exploser pour
venger la mort de Vahe Avetian, un medecin de l’armee attaque par le
personnel du restaurant le 17 juin. Avetian est mort a l’hôpital le
29 juin.

Samvelian, 39 ans, s’est livre a la police après des negociations
ayant durees trois heures avec des officiers de la police. Il a ete
par la suite accuse de possession illegale d’armes et de trafic. Les
procureurs n’ont fait aucune mention de la tentative d’attentat a la
bombe pendant son procès devant une cour generale d’Erevan.

Samvelian n’a de meme pas explique pourquoi il est alle au restaurant
cette nuit la. Il a seulement plaide coupable face aux accusations.

” Avec ces munitions je n’ai cause aucun mal a quiconque ou
construction ” a dit Samvelian devant la cour dans ses remarques de
conclusion. ” S’il y a eu des degâts, ils ont ete cause a ma famille
et moi-meme. J’ai perdu ma liberte et mon travail aime “.

Le juge, Armen Vartapetian, a repondu en condamnant l’accuse a quatre
mois dans la prison. Samvelian sera libre le 1er novembre.

VARTAN OSKANIAN OFFICIELLEMENT ACCUSE DE BLANCHIMENT D’ARGENT ET DETOURNEMENT DE FONDS
Gari

armenews.com
mardi 9 octobre 2012

L’ancien ministre armenien des affaires etrangères Vartan Oskanian,
resolument hostile au pouvoir en place a Erevan depuis qu’il a pris
la tete de l’aile dure du Parti Armenie prospère (BHK), anciennement
partenaire du Parti republicain (HHK) du president Serge Sarkissian,
a ete officiellement accuse lundi 8 octobre par le Service de Sûrete
nationale (NSSA) d’Armenie de blanchiment d’argent.

Ce chef d’accusation est tombe après des mois d’une enquete
controversee, qui a attise sur les autorites armeniennes les soupcons
d’arrière-pensees politiques, certains n’hesitant pas a evoquer la
” chasse aux sorcières ” dont serait victime l’ancien chef de la
diplomatie d’Armenie.

Le 6 octobre, V. Oskanian avait ete convoque pour interrogatoire par
le NSSA. Après plusieurs heures d’audition le 8 octobre, il s’est vu
notifier l’acte d’accusation, portant sur des faits de blanchiment
d’argent et de detournements de fonds, concernant notamment un don
d’un montant de 1,4 million de dollars verse en 2010 a son organisation
caritative, la Civilitas Foundation, par l’homme d’affaires americain
Jon Huntsman Sr.

Selon l’avocat de M. Oskanian, Tigrane Atanesian, l’ancien ministre des
affaires etrangères aurait ete accuse d’une part de “malversations et
detournement de fonds” et d’autre part de ” legalisation de revenus
percus de facon delicteueuse “, selon le Code penal armenien. S’il
est reconnu coupable des faits qui lui sont reproches, il encourt des
sanctions graves, pouvant aller jusqu’a 12 annees d’emprisonnement et
de très fortes amendes. “J’ai ete convoque dans les bureau du service
de la Sûrete nationale pour y etre accuse de blanchiment d’argent et
de detournement de fonds. A ce stade, l’opinion publique comme les
protagonistes de cette affaire savent pertinemment que l’accusation
d’appropriation illegale de ces fonds qui est portee contre moi est
absurde. Je repondrai au NSSA pour la seule raison que la loi l’exige
; neanmoins, je ne ferai aucun temoignage” et encore moins d’aveux,
avait declare M. Oskanian avant de penetrer dans l’immeuble abritant
le siège du NSS a Erevan.

Il avait par ailleurs exprime sa reconnaissance a ses partisans qui
ont lance une campagne de petitions en sa faveur. M.Oskanian avait ete
appele a temoigne au titre de suspect dans cette affaire, mais il a
refuse de repondre aux questions des enqueteurs. M. Oskanian avait fait
son entree au Parlement a la faveur des elections legislatives de mai,
auxquelles il se presentait en deuxième position sur les listes du BHK.

La semaine dernière, le Parlement, domine par le HHK, avait vote
la levee de son immunite parlementaire, ouvrant ainsi la voie a la
procedure judiciaire intentee contre lui. Il n’a cesse de clamer
que l’enquete diligentee contre lui etait politiquement motive et
s’inscrivait dans le cadre des efforts de l’appareil executif dirige
par le president Sarkissian en vue de faire taire ses critiques
devenues trop insistantes a l’encontre du pouvoir en place. Le NSSS
n’a toutefois pas pris de disposition en vue de limiter la liberte
de mouvement et d’expression de M. Oskanian.

La semaine dernière, l’ancien president Robert Kotcharian, dont M.

Oskanian avait ete le loyal ministre des affaires etrangères, avait
ouvertement critique les procedures engagees contre lui. Depuis plus
d’un an, le divorce entre le BHK et le HHK ; consomme au lendemain
des legislatives et dont M. Oskanian, qui avait rallie peu avant le
parti de l’homme d’affaires Gaguik Tsaghoiukian, avait ete l’un des
plus ardents avocats, avait aliemnte les speculations dans les media
armeniens concernant un pacte scelle entre le BHK et R. Kotcharian,
qui pourrait briguer un troisième mandat lors des presidentielles
de fevrier 2013. Les demelees de V. Oskanian prennent l’allure d’une
affaire d’Etat bien embarassante pour les autorites armeniennes, après
l’episode fort prejudiciable pour leur image des procès politiques
consecutifs aux elections de 2008, et considere comme clos après
l’amnistie de 2011.

L’ambassade des Etats-Unis a Erevan n’est pas restee indifferente
face a une affaire qui met en cause un ancien ministre issu de la
communaute armenienne des Etats-Unis. Elle a adresse une mise en
garde la semaine dernière aux autorites armeniennes, en exprimant
“l’espoir que cette affaire ne cache pas des motivations politiques
et n’illustre pas une interpretation selective de la legislation
armenienne, ce qui contrarierait les efforts visant a promouvoir
une plus grande transparence et une reforme de la sphère juridique,
judiciaire et legislative en Armenie”…

The Budapest Times, Hungaria
Oct 7 2012

PM defends transfer of axe murderer

Ombudsman renews request for documents on repatriation of Ramir Safarov

Posted on 07 October 2012

The decision to repatriate the convicted murderer of an Armenian
soldier to Azerbaijan was the correct one, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
told Parliament on Monday. The handover of Ramir Safarov ` who was
pardoned and feted as a national hero upon his return to Baku `
sparked an international diplomatic incident at the end of August and
prompted Armenia to sever ties with Hungary.

Safarov had been serving a 30-year jail term for using an axe to slay
the soldier in his bed while both were attending a UN-sponsored
language course in Budapest in 2004.
Socialist MP and former foreign minister László Kovács had asked
Orbán to explain why the government had been satisfied with a pledge
by Azerbaijan not to commute Safarov’s sentence, when the country made
no specific pledge not to pardon him.

Hungary’s interest:?PM

Orbán reiterated the government’s position that it acted in line with
international law. `We would have done the same if an Armenian had
killed an Azerbaijani,’ he was quoted as saying by state news agency
MTI. `Hungary should follow its own interests rather than those of
Armenia or Azerbaijan.’

He repeated the government’s denial that any kind of backroom deal
was struck with Baku. The transfer of Safarov meant the tension
between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh was no longer a domestic problem, Orbán said.
`Hungary has got out of it by transferring the Azeri convict. As long
as he was here he caused plenty of conflicts and difficulties, and the
situation would not have changed in the future either.’

Ombudsman wants answers

In related news, the office of Fundamental Rights Ombudsman Máté Szabó
said on Tuesday that the Justice Ministry had not responded within 15
days to a request for information regarding Safarov’s repatriation.
The ministry responded by saying that Justice Minister Tibor
Navracsics had replied promptly to Szabó’s letter of 19 September,
asking the ombudsman to submit an official request for access to
classified documents.

Szabó had noted in his letter that Hungarian law prevents the
repatriation of a convicted criminal in the absence of assurances that
he will serve out the remainder of his sentence. The documents
released by the government as the scandal broke in the days following
Safarov’s release contained no assurances from the Azeri side that the
murderer would not be pardoned, referring only to a clause in the
relevant treaty that prevents the alteration of the sentence.

GPB News
Oct 7 2012

Stateless And Stranded On American Samoa

By NPR Staff

For many of us, no matter where we go, we’ll always have a home. We’ll
always be from somewhere. But what if that somewhere no longer
existed?

That is the strange position in which Mikhail Sebastian finds himself.
Officially, he is from nowhere and has nowhere to go. The 39-year-old
is stateless and stranded on American Samoa, a U.S. territory in the
South Pacific.

Sebastian is an ethnic Armenian born in what is now Azerbaijan, but
back then was part of the Soviet Union. When war broke out in the late
1980s, Sebastian says his aunt was stoned to death and he fled.

He tried to take refuge in Armenia, but couldn’t stay. “Armenia was
overloaded with all the Armenian refugees coming from Azerbaijan,” he
tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz. “Basically, they
did not recognize you as Armenian if you don’t speak Armenian and you
don’t know your culture.”

He wound up in Turkmenistan, but not for long. Male homosexuality is
outlawed there, and Sebastian is gay.

He made it to the United States in 1995 on a work visa and applied for
political asylum. It was denied, and Sebastian was ordered to leave.
With a Soviet passport that was invalid by then, Mikhail says he had
nowhere to go. So he stayed and eventually was arrested and jailed for
six months.

“When they released me in February 2003, they told me that ‘We know
you are stateless and there is no country in the world that will be
able to take you.'” Sebastian was given a work permit and he built a
life here in the U.S. He took courses in business administration and
travel management, and found a job that he loved, working as a barista
in Los Angeles.

But there was a condition tied to his residency.

“I am a stateless person and I knew I was not allowed to travel
outside the United States,” he says. If he did, he would not be
allowed back in.

Sebastian adores traveling, so he contented himself exploring
far-flung U.S. territories like Guam and Puerto Rico.

Then last December, he decided to take a New Year’s trip.

“I was thinking about other places within the United states that I
never explored before. And it came up to American Samoa,” he says. “I
went to Los Angeles immigration office and I asked them if I will be
able to go to American Samoa, and the guy checked my documents and he
said, ‘You’re okay to go.'”

So Sebastian went and spent a few days sight-seeing and hiking. Then
he says he was advised to see “the other side of Samoa, which is
western Samoa. But at that time I had no idea that western Samoa was
an independent nation.”

Sebastian took a quick flight over and spent a short amount of time
there, then flew back to American Samoa. But when he tried to board a
flight back home to L.A., he was barred. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement said he had self-deported.

“In 2002, an immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s
Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Sebastian to depart
the United States,” ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said in a
statement. “In December 2011 when Mr. Sebastian traveled to American
Samoa and Samoa, he was prohibited from returning to the United States
due to the immigration judge’s order.”

ICE maintains the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) applies to the
United States and its territories, except for American Samoa, which
has its own immigration system.

So for nearly a year now, Sebastian has been biding his time on an
island that’s about the size of Washington D.C. Local law prevents him
from finding work. He’s staying with a local family and the American
Samoan government gives him $50 a week to get by.

“I come to McDonald’s every day from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. because that is
the only place I can use the wi-fi and to connect to my friends and to
ask for help.”

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has
taken up his case. American Samoa’s delegate to Congress, Eni
Faleomavaega, is asking the Department of Homeland Security to let
Sebastian back into the U.S.

For his part, Sebastian says while it has been tough living in limbo
on the island, he has not given up hope.

“I lived 16 years in the United States and the United States is the
only home and country I know. And I don’t have any other place to go,
I really don’t.”