Author: Badalian Vardan

CONSCRIPT WHO DIED 45 HOURS AFTER BEING DRAFTED FELL VICTIM TO MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE: LEGAL EXPERT

04.16.2015 12:04 epress.am

Court of General Jurisdiction of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun
Administrative Units, presided by Judge Artur Lazarian, heard
arguments on Wednesday, April 15, during a trial in a criminal case
seeking prosecution for those responsible for the death of Norayr
Sahakyan, a conscript who died 45 hours after being drafted into
military service on December 21, 2012.

Based on the findings of a forensic medical examination, Sahakyan’s
death was caused by negligent medical treatment, legal expert Gagik
Harutyunyan said during the court hearing on Wednesday.

Norayr Sahakyan’s mother, Karine Mnatsakanyan, told earlier that her
son had gotten a fever at the central assembly point 2 hours after
receiving an injection. Still, the administrators at the assembly point
sent Sahakyan on his way to Nagorno-Karabakh, where the conscript died.

The defendants in the criminal prosecution are Karen Julhakyan,
assembly point chief physician who performed the injection which
caused allergic reaction in the young conscript; subaltern officer
Varuzhan Manasyan who was responsible for Norayr Sahakyan’s transfer to
Nagorno-Karabakh; Arkadi Chakhoyan, on-call physician at the Khojalu
hospital; Department of Infection Head Mher Davidyants who admitted
the patient. Davidyants has also been accused of providing false
testimony. He had said during the preliminary investigation that
he was with the patient on the night of the death starting 12:40 AM
helping him, however, as stated by the chief investigator in the case,
the investigation found that the physician arrived at the hospital
only after 2:30 AM.

The M.D. at the assembly point had to refer Norayr Sahakyan for an
X-ray examination after the young man showed signs of an allergic
reaction to the vaccine, expert Gagik Harutyunyan said.

“Do not think that allergies happen only in the form of some skin
rash; they have an impact on tissues throughout the body. The boy’s
temperature reached 39.6 degrees. Environment enabling a rapid
development of pneumonia was created. I am 100% sure that if they
had listened to his lungs, they would have heard rattling,” the
expert said.

Accused Julhakyan countered, claiming he had listened to Sahakyan’s
lungs and saw no need for an X-ray since there was no wheezing in his
chest. Gagik Harutyunyan confirmed that the conscript had no signs
of pneumonia while at the assembly point.

Accused Chakhoyan’s lawyer Gegham Hakobyan stated that the issue is
the origin of the vaccine used on the conscripts: “Why then was it
replaced after this incident?” the lawyer asked.

Presiding Judge Artur Lazarian, however, urged not to deviate from
the case at hand.

Norayr Sahakyan’s father, Nver Sahakyan, who was present in court
yesterday, said in an interview with Epress.am that his son had always
been healthy, and practiced boxing for years.

“His temperature went up after the injection. I don’t know why,
but a gynecologist was on-call that night. He gave my son a tablet
of paracetamol to reduce the fever; and in this state my child
was sent to Karabakh. His fever worsened on the way. The officer –
a lieutenant colonel – who was with Norayr in the car asked what
he could do to help him. My son asked to be sent back to Yerevan,
however, the officer said he had no such authority. He sent Norayr
to a hospital in Khojalu. When we spoke to him on the phone, Norayr
said that there was only a nurse present at the hospital. My son was
unlucky; it was a Saturday,” the father said.

The next court hearing is scheduled for April 27.

TURKEY FM SLAMS POPE’S ‘GENOCIDE’ REMARKS

Turkish Government News
April 13, 2015 Monday

Ankara

The Turkish Government has issued the following press release:

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed Pope’s “genocide”
remarks as “baseless claims,” after Ankara reacted to the pontiff
referring to the 1915 incidents as “genocide.”

Cavusoglu said: “Pope’s statement is devoid of any historical or
legal facts. Religious posts are not for fueling grudge and hatred
with baseless claims.”

Ankara has summoned the Vatican envoy to Turkey and conveyed the
message that the incident has caused “loss of trust” and would be
met with a response.

Cavusoglu’s remarks came after Pope Francis called the 1915 incidents
involving Armenians “genocide” on Sunday at the St. Peter Basilica.

“In the past century, our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies,” Pope said.

“The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the
twentieth century, struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian
nation, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans
and Greeks and, more recently, there have been other mass killings,
like those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia,” the pontiff said.

In 2014, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences
for the first time to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in
the events of 1915.

“May Armenians who lost their lives in the events in the early
twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to
their grandchildren,” Erdogan said.

The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of
the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the
invading Russians and revolted.

Pope’s remarks contradict historical facts: Turkish FM

Pope Francis’ description about the 1915 incidents as “genocide”
contradicts historical and legal facts, Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday.

Addressing a joint press conference with his Mongolian counterpart
Lundeg Purevsuren in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, Cavusoglu
said: “The pope called the 1915 incidents a ‘genocide,’ which lacks
any competent court judgment, while describing the events that took
place in Bosnia and Rwanda as ‘mass killings,’ which are recognized as
genocides by competent international courts. There is a contradiction
and discrimination there.”

During Sunday’s Mass at the St. Peter’s Basilica, which Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan also attended, the pontiff said: “In the
past century, our human family has lived through three massive and
unprecedented tragedies.

“The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th
century, struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation,
as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and
Greeks and, more recently, there have been other mass killings,
like those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.”

Responding to the pope’s remarks, the Turkish foreign minister said:
“Before anything else, Pope Francis’ statements contradict historical
and legal facts. With a selective point of view, he ignored the
tragedies that befell on the Turkish and Muslim people who had lost
their lives in World War I.”

He added, “History was instrumentalized for political aims.”

Cavusoglu said that as a reverend, the pope should be giving
brotherly, peaceful messages against racism, discrimination and
xenophobia. “Statements which are controversial in every aspect, based
on prejudices, distorting the history and confining the sufferings
in Anatolia to a single religious community are declared null and
void by the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s ambassador to the Holy See, Prof. Mehmet Pacaci,
who was summoned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday for
consultations, arrived in Ankara early Monday.

‘Great tragedy’

The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation
process.

Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that,
although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost
their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.

The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study
Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what
actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian
citizens.

The debate on “genocide” and the differing opinions between the
present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.

Turkey’s official position against allegations of “genocide” is that
it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that both
parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.

Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during
World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these incidents
as “genocide.”

“ARMENIAN WOMEN’S FRONT” CALLS FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS (VIDEO)

04.16.2015 12:55 epress.am

“Armenian Women’s Front” civil initiative organized a protest action in
front of the RA Presidential Palace on Wednesday, April 15, demanding
the release of theconvicted members of “Founding Parliament” opposition
movement, “Noyan Tapan” news agency reported.

The women in front of the Presidential Palace held posters with the
pictures of the arrested oppositionists. One of the placards read:
“Women Against Dictatorship: Release the political prisoners,
Dictator! We will not back down, we will attack!”

At the start of the action the protesting women stood in front of
the gates of the President’s office, while police officers tried to
remove them by force. The demonstrators, however, managed to stand
their ground remaining in front of the residence with placards in
hands. The entire time law enforcement officers urged the women not
to approach the gates of the Presidential office, cross the street
and continue their protest action on the Ïpposite sidewalk.

The protesters eventually gave in, crossed the Baghramyam Avenue,
stood on the carriageway for a while with posters in hands, before
going down the gates of the National Assembly building and continuing
their protest action there.

The representatives of “Armenian Women’s Front” said that the protest
actions would be ongoing, that they would “appear everywhere” and
inform everyone of the arrests taking place in Armenia for as long
as the government does not meet their demands.

Recall, members of “Founding Parliament” opposition movement were
detained on April 7, and charged with organization of mass disorder
(RA Criminal Code Article 225 Section 1) on April 9. They were
sentenced to a two-month imprisonment.

Video source – Noyan Tapan

AJARIA EXPECTS FURTHER GROWTH OF TOURISTS FROM ARMENIA

April 16, 2015 10:57

Photo:

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenia is among the top 5 countries with largest
number of tourists visiting Ajaria last year, Mediamax was told in
the government of the autonomous republic.

In 2014, 21 041 tourists from Armenia visited Ajaria, which exceeds
the same index of 2013 by 36.7%.

“We expect considerable growth of Armenian guests this year as well”,
noted the Ajaria government representative. “We are already getting
ready for the high season”.

Last year, the largest number of tourists visited Ajaria from Turkey –
77734. Azerbaijan (47714), Russia (31312) and Ukraine (24220) are
among the top 5.

All in all, 261 075 overseas tourists visited Ajaria.

“Armenia is among the countries where Department of Tourism and
Resorts of Ajaria pursue active marketing and advertising campaigns”,
the government representative stated.

AZERBAIJANI MPS OF GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT OPPOSE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A MINUTE OF SILENCE TO SO CALLED “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

APA, Azerbaijan
April 15 2015

[ 15 April 2015 21:30 ]

Georgia. Nizami Mammadzade -APA. MPs opposed to declare a minute of
silence to so-called “Armenian genocide”

Today parliamentarians of Georgian parliament from “Georgian Dream”
Mahir Darziev, and member of United National Movement Azer Suleymanov
have expressed their protests at the sitting of parliament.

Georgian MPs of Azerbaijani origin have opposed the announcement of
a moment of silence to so-called “Armenian genocide” by MP Samvel
Petrosyan, APA’s Georgian bureau reports.

“The issue on recognition of so-called “Armenian genocide” was
raised at Georgian parliament many times, but it was rebuffed by
both government and opposition parties distinctly. The same scene
was repeated today as well. From parliament majority Gubad Sanikidze
as well as opposition MP Nugzar Tsikulauri have noted that to raise
this issue at the parliament once again is not correct.They noted
that Georgia is the home for all who live here and trying to sow
ethnic strife are doomed to failure,” said Darziev

Mahir Darziev also noted that Georgia’s recognition of “Armenian
genocide” would damage relations with Turkey. “This could lead
to a crisis in relations between the two countries. I have called
parliamentarians not to bring absurd, contrary to the interests of
the country issues to the agenda,” added Darziev.

ERDOGAN VOWS NEVER TO RECOGNISE 1915 KILLINGS AS ‘GENOCIDE’

Gulf Times, Qatar
April 15 2015

Ankara

Turkey has warned the European Parliament that it would ignore any
resolution calling on Ankara to recognise the 1915 killings of
Armenians in World War I as genocide.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said any such statement would go “in
one ear and out from the other”.

The European Parliament is voted later in the day on a “motion for
resolution on the commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian
genocide”.

The vote took place against the backdrop of growing tensions over the
characterisation of the tragedy ahead of the 100th anniversary of the
Ottoman-era massacres this month.

“Whatever decision the European Union Parliament makes today would go
in one ear and out from the other because it is not possible for
Turkey to accept such a sin or crime,” Erdogan told reporters at an
Ankara airport before leaving for Kazakhstan.

The EU parliament had itself recognised the killings as genocide in 1987.

Furious with Pope Francis’s use of the word “genocide” at the weekend
to describe the killings, Turkey responded by summoning the Vatican’s
ambassador in Ankara and recalling the Turkish envoy to the Holy See
in a show of protest.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose country is a Nato member and
long-time European Union hopeful, warned the Pope not to use
“blackmail against Turkey”.

“We will not let our nation be insulted over history,” Davutoglu said
in an address to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in
Ankara.

“The Pope has also joined those traps set against the AK Party and
Turkey,” he said, railing at the “unfair accusations” made ahead of
Turkey’s June 7 elections.

The United States on Tuesday called for a “full, frank”
acknowledgement of the mass killings while shying away from calling
the massacres “genocide”.

“I don’t know right now what sort of decision they will make … but I
barely understand why we, as the nation, as well as print and visual
media, stand in defence,” Erdogan said, referring to the European
parliament, before the vote. “I personally don’t bother about a
defence because we don’t carry a stain or a shadow like genocide.”

Armenia and Armenians in the diaspora say that some 1.5mn of their
forefathers were killed by Ottoman forces in a targeted campaign to
eradicate the Armenian people from Anatolia, in what is now eastern
Turkey.

Turkey takes a sharply different view, saying that hundreds of
thousands of both Turks and Armenians lost their lives as Ottoman
forces battled the Russian Empire for control of eastern Anatolia
during World War I.

Erdogan said yesterday that Turkey was home to some 100,000 Armenian
citizens, who were working in the country, some illegally.

“We could have deported them but we did not. We’re still hosting them
in our country. It is not possible to understand such a stance against
a country which displays” hospitality, he said.

Turkey is also still home to a small Turkish-Armenian community,
mostly based in Istanbul, who number around 60,000.

Armenians around the world will commemorate the 100th anniversary of
the tragedy on April 24, the same day as Turkey is planning major
commemorations of the World War I battle of Gallipoli.

MOSCOU N’ADMET PAS L’IDEE D’UNE ESCALADE DU CONFLIT AU HK

ARMENIE

La presse du jour rend compte de la visite officielle du Ministre
des AE, Edward Nalbandian, a Moscou, et de son entretien avec son
homologue Sergueï Lavrov. Selon un communique du MAE armenien, les
deux Ministres ont evoque les preparatifs de la prochaine visite
du President Poutine en Armenie, a l’occasion de la commemoration
du centenaire du Genocide armenien. Un large eventail de questions
a figure a l’agenda de l’entretien des deux Ministres : conflit du
HK, questions regionales, cooperation militaro-technique, echanges
commerciaux, cooperation educative, culturelle, scientifique etc. Les
deux Ministres se sont felicites de la cooperation efficace des
deux pays dans de nombreux secteurs, dont l’agriculture, l’energie,
l’industrie minière, le secteur bancaire, les communications etc. M.

Lavrov a evoque les echanges commerciaux entre l’Armenie et la Russie
qui ont atteint en 2014 1,4 MD de dollars. Lors d’une conference de
presse conjointe, M. Lavrov a decrit l’Armenie comme un > de la Russie : .

Edward Nalbandian, quant a lui, a de nouveau blâme l’Azerbaïdjan pour
saper le processus de negociations et rejeter les elements cles des
principes de base proposes par les mediateurs.

Par ailleurs, a l’occasion de sa visite a Moscou, le Ministre armenien
des AE a rencontre des redacteurs en chef de nombreux medias russes,
ainsi que des experts politiques. Il a eu en outre une reunion avec
une quarantaine d’Ambassadeurs etrangers accredites en Armenie et
residents a Moscou.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 9 avril 2015

jeudi 16 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

TURKEY TO DISREGARD EUROPEAN DEBATE ON ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’

Deutsche Welle, Germany
April 15 2015

The European Parliament is due to vote on a resolution defining the
deaths of Armenians in World War I as “genocide.” But Turkish President
Erdogan has said the words would “go in one ear and out the other”
in Ankara.

The European Parliament is set to debate a resolution on Wednesday,
to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of as many as 1.5 million
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The authors of the motion called
the event “Armenian genocide” in the document.

“Whatever decision the European Parliament takes on Armenian genocide
claims, it would go in one ear and out the other,” Turkish President
Erdogan told a news conference on Wednesday, before departing on an
official visit to Kazakhstan.

Turkey is strongly opposed to qualifying the deaths as genocide,
saying that hundreds of thousands of both Turks and Christian Armenians
lost their lives in the struggle between the Ottoman forces and the
Russian Empire over eastern Anatolia during in World War I.

Erdogan added that it would not be possible for Turkey, which inherited
the Ottoman Empire, “to accept such sin or crime.”

Erdogan warns the pope

The debate about the tragedy has been raging for decades. The European
Parliament first formally defined the killings as genocide back in
1987, and twenty countries including France, Italy and Russia share
that view, alongside a significant number of historians.

Earlier this week, Pope Francis described the 1915 event as genocide,
prompting Istanbul to recall their envoy to the Holy See in protest.

The Turkish government also summoned the Vatican ambassador in
Istanbul, with President Erdogan accusing the Pope of spouting
“nonsense.”

“We will not allow historical incidents to be taken out of their
genuine context and be used as a tool to campaign against our country,”
Erdogan said in a speech to a business group. “I condemn the pope
and would like to warn him not to make similar mistakes again.”

The United States called for “full, frank” acknowledgement of the
mass killings on Tuesday, without calling them “genocide”.

The German parliament is also set to discuss the issue later this
month; the debate has added significance in Berlin, as the Ottoman
Empire was allied to Germany during the First World War.

‘Not possible to understand’

On Wednesday, Erdogan also pointed out that Turkey is a home to some
100,000 Armenian citizens. Some of them work in the country illegally,
the Turkish president said, and are never mistreated. There are also
around 60,000 Turkish Armenians, mostly based in Istanbul.

“Both citizens and non-citizen Armenians are enjoying the opportunities
of our country. We could have deported them, but we didn’t,” Erdogan
said. “We’re still hosting them in our country. It is not possible to
understand such a stance against a country which displays hospitality.”

Armenia and Armenians around the world claim their forefathers died
in an organized eradication campaign by Ottoman forces. They intend
to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragedy on April 24.

ARMENIA CALLS FOR EXPANSION OF ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAN

FARS News Agency. Iran
April 12, 2015 Sunday

TEHRAN (FNA)- Armenia’s new Ambassador to Tehran Artashes Tumanyan in
a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced
his country’s willingness to broaden economic ties with Iran.

“During my mission in Iran I will pursue the further expansion of
bilateral economic ties,” Tumanyan said during the meeting.

The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, pointed to Iran-Armenia
close relations and the two countries’ abundant cultural and historical
commonalities, and said, “It is necessary for Iran and Armenia to
broaden their relations in different areas.”

In late January, Zarif in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister
Hovik Abrahamyan in Yerevan underlined that Tehran sees no boundary
for the expansion of relations with Armenia.

“Iran is ready to cooperate with Armenia in different areas, including
telecommunications, railway, energy, gas, electricity and cleaning
of Aras River,” Zarif said during the meeting in the Armenian capital.

The Iranian foreign minister underlined that Tehran sees no limitation
for broadening relations with Yerevan.

Zarif pointed to the visit of Abrahamyan to Tehran, and thanked the
Armenian prime minister for his efforts to develop mutual cooperation
with Iran.

The Iranian foreign minister voiced his pleasure in the membership
of Armenia in the Eurasia alliance, and expressed the hope that the
membership would help to the expansion of Yerevan’s bilateral ties
with Tehran.

The Armenian prime minister, for his part, pointed to the status quo
of Armenia-Iran relations, and said, “The two countries are having
high-level political relations, but we should also try to expand the
level of economic ties.”

Abrahamyan also vowed to do his best to remove the problems of the
Iranian prisoners in Armenian jails.

He referred to the role of Iranian businessmen in the expansion of
Iran-Armenia relations, and said, “We can have joint agricultural
products and export our goods to the Euro-Asia member-states.”

Iran and Armenia have taken major strides towards widening and
deepening of their relations in recent years, particularly in the
economic sector.

In October, Abrahamyan, heading a high-ranking delegation, visited
Iran to confer with senior officials of the country on ways to develop
all-out ties.

Abrahamyan held meetings with a number of high-ranking Iranian
officials, including Zarif, during which they exchanged views on the
growing trend of the development of bilateral relations in all areas,
specially in economic, trade, infrastructures and tourism fields,
and underscored the necessity for removing the existing obstacles.

They also called for continued reciprocal visits by Iranian and
Armenian officials to consult and exchange views on the bilateral
relations and other issues of mutual interest.

MAY DAY: COMMUNISTS TO HOLD MARCH AND SDHK TO HOLD RALLY IN YEREVAN

13:34 | April 15,2015 | Politics

The Yerevan Municipality has accepted a notification by Tachat
Sargsyan, First Secretary of the communist Party of Armenia (HKK),
on holding a march in downtown Yerevan at 12.00, May 1.

The march will start from the statue to prominent painter Martiros
Saryan.

The Municipality has also authorized a rally to be held by the Social
Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHK) at Charles Aznavour Square in Yerevan
at 6pm on May 1.