Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Nikol Pashinyan gives Serzh Sargsyan 24 hours to leave

ARMINFO
Saturday, March 2, 19:30

Armenian parliamentarian from the Armenian National Congress Nikol
Pashinyan came out with a statement at the rally of Heritage Party
Leader Raffi Hovannisian in the Liberty Square, on March 2. Pashinyan
gave President Serzh Sargsyan 24 hours to leave.

He declared that Raffi Hovanisian is the legitimately elected
president of Armenia and his inauguration must be held in the Republic
Square on April 9. Pashinyan said that Serzh Sargsyan’s promises to
create new reality in Armenia are not observed already now.

“The last days’ actions of the authorities proved that they have no
intention to change their policy,” Pashinyan said.

Zhirayr Sefilyan, a representative of Sardarapat Movement, participant
in the Karabakh war, also came out in support of Raffi Hovannisian and
said that power will be changed in Armenia shortly with support of not
only citizens of Armenia but also the Armenian Diaspora.

Former vice speaker of the Armenian Parliament Karapet Rubinyan, in
turn, assured the people that revolutionary changes will be made in
the country under Raffi Hovannisian.

Another former candidate for president Andreas Ghoukassyan, who
received some 1% of votes, also supported Raffi Hovannisian in his
speech.

From: Baghdasarian

The chair can become electric

07:53 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

During today’s rally of Raffi Hovhannisyan Zaruhi Postanjyan noted
that 25 years ago Raffi Hovannisian chose Armenia and on February 18
Armenian people elected Raffi Hovannisian.

“Serzh Sarkisian’s team was offended, when I told that there had been
a robbery. But why to be offended if it’s true? It continues till now.
Even now you are trying to rob our votes”
“Heritage” faction member called on Serzh Sargsyan

“Serzh Sargsyan, leave that chair of president. The people say that it
may become electric, but we do not want.Free yourself of that prison-
Baghramyan 26 . Come to Freedom Square and submit the democracy and
power to the people “,- she urged.

From: Baghdasarian

Raffi Hovannisian urges President to resign

March 2, 2013 – 18:39 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian performed
the national anthem of Armenia, thus signaling the start of March 2
rally.
`I have one program, one strategy and one action plan, called to
protect the rights of Armenian people. These are our demands and they
will be fulfilled,’ Mr Hovannisian said, inviting the president-elect
Serzh Sargsyan to the Liberty Square to recognize Armenian citizens’
power.
`He must resign. This is not a mere game. He must come here if he
respects his family and loves his homeland. I have no doubt he does,’
he said.
The party leader invited Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan and Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsayn to the Liberty Square.
He stressed the need for Prime Minister to be accountable for poverty,
unemployment, emigration, monopoly and anti-constitutional actions.
Hovannisian further noted that he will be looking forward to a meeting
with President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and
Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan at Liberty Square on March 5.

– See more at:

From: Baghdasarian

Armenia’s healthcare service prices grow by 1.6% in Feb

March 2, 2013 – 17:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s service sector has reported 0.1% increase
in prices in Feb 2013, as compared with January.
The prices of housing and communal services grew by 0.1%, food service
prices increased by 0.2%, with 1.6% and 12.2% price upsurge reported
in healthcare and cultural services.
According to National Statistical Service of Armenia, the prices of
leisure services decreased by 0.5%.
0.1-1.2% price rise was recorded in the service sector of 7 Armenian
cities in February as compared with January.

– See more at:

From: Baghdasarian

S. Martirosian: Khojalu subject is number one target for Azerbaijan

Saturday,
March 02

Late February is a tense period in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,
especially in the cyberspace, in connection with the Khojalu events.
Information security expert Samvel Martirosian expressed this opinion
during a meeting with journalists today.
`In the past two years Azerbaijan has been active regarding the
Khojalu issue, which is its number one target. Azerbaijan spends vast
sums on it at the state level,’ S. Martirosian stressed.

In his words, by tradition Azerbaijanis issued a statement claiming
that they had hacked numerous Armenian websites, whereas in reality
the matter concerned only several dozen sites, while in response
Armenian hackers hacked websites of two Azerbaijani ministries –
Justice Ministry and Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

Commenting on Azerbaijani film `Khoja’, S. Martirosian said it was
made for domestic propaganda and is a flop. The Armenian documentary
`Between Hunger and Fire: Power at the Expense of Lives’ depicts
reality. Moreover, its English-language version aroused unprecedented
interest of the international community.

`In the first ten days alone, the film had over 300,000 views, with
Azerbaijanis making up the majority of viewers. In general, the
subject of Khojalu is a lever of Azerbaijan’s domestic policy. `Khoja’
film cannot be considered a serious work from an artistic or
propagandist point of view. It has been criticized even within
Azerbaijani society,’ Martirosian noted.

BETWEEN HUNGER AND FIRE: POWER AT THE EXPENSE OF LIVES

TODAY, 15:31

Aysor.am

From: Baghdasarian

Police reveal details of assault on Yerevan exchange office

March 02, 2013 | 13:06

YEREVAN.- Armenia’s police revealed new details on Friday’s assault on
exchange office in Yerevan.

The suspect, an employee of bank security service, Shahen G. (1979)
was detained by police officers on Friday evening.

The man confessed to an assault. On Friday he entered the exchange
office wearing a mask, closed the door and jumped over glass barrier.
The thief escaped, stealing about $3,000 (AMD 1, 200,000). He managed
to run away only for 500 meters and was seized by police. The
investigation is underway.

– See more at:

From: Baghdasarian

They Are Amending the Alternative Service Act so That the Republic of
Armenia Doesn’t Lose in Strasburg Anymore

March 1 2013

`The government has chosen the path of minding its pocket; that is why
they are making that kind of amendments to the law,’ Mikayel
Danielyan, a human rights advocate, said during a conversation with
, talking about the discussions on the Alternative
Service Law Amendment Bill and the Criminal Code Enactment Bill. Then
he added: `The problem is that the existing law doesn’t comply with
the international standards to such an extent that those people refuse
to serve in the army. And they want to make these changes so that the
Republic of Armenia doesn’t pay more than a hundred thousand euros to
the European Court. They are taking that step only for that, not to
amend the existing law, or all of them are democrats. I cannot but
talk about our Justice Minister’s statement, which is nonsense. He
says that national security and human rights are interconnected. Since
when, who said that? Human rights don’t depend on national, state
ideology and generally anything. The law should be amended
substantially and seriously.’ Edmon Marukyan, a member of the National
Assembly, thinks, on the other hand, that the above-mentioned bill is
the guarantee of solving problems in the field and adds: `As a result
of the amendments to the law, the system will be reformed, which will
make it possible for persons who cannot serve in the army based on
their religion or other beliefs to do an alternative military or labor
service. Those persons who are in correctional facilities at the
moment, are condemned for refusing to serve in the army will be
released and their criminal records will be expunged. And if their
cases are currently being considered by court, all those cases will be
closed. This testifies to the fact that this act will have a serious
impact on 80 people. The second step will be that in accordance with
the mentioned act, they will apply for and do an alternative military
service. If this bill is adopted, the criminal records of those people
will be expunged, what more can we do? Certainly, it is not ruled out
that new problems might arise while enforcing the new act. Basically
it has arrived late, since so many people were imprisoned, we paid
money to the European Court, made compensation etc.’ Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

From: Baghdasarian

Zoryan Institute’s genocide program scheduled for August

March 2, 2013 – 11:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The International Institute for Genocide and Human
Rights Studies, a division of the Zoryan Institute (IIGHRS) has
announced that the Genocide and Human Right University Program
(GHRUP), now in its twelfth year, will take place in Toronto August
5-16, 2013.
This year the Institute welcomes a new faculty member, Prof. David
MacDonald, who will teach the unit on `The Genocide of Indigenous
Peoples,’ referring primarily to the native peoples of North and South
America.
George Shirinian, Executive Director of the Institute, noted that `The
field of Genocide and Human Rights Studies is vast, and it is not
possible to cover every case of genocide in the time available.
Therefore, we do rotate some of the subjects, and I am pleased that we
will be examining the experience of the Native Peoples in this regard.
Many people feel that it is a current and ongoing case of genocide.’
Prof. MacDonald has outlined the subject in the following way.
`Indigenous peoples, also known as `Aboriginal Peoples,’ `First
Nations,’ `Native Peoples,’ and collectively as the `Fourth World,’
have faced cultural destruction, forced removal from ancestral lands,
deliberate killing, theft of children, and genocide, for centuries.
This unit examines the genocidal experiences of selected indigenous
peoples of both North and South America, with particular reference to
the impact and ongoing legacies of settler colonialism. In addition to
case studies, definitions of genocide and the usefulness of the UN
Genocide Convention to indigenous peoples will also be discussed.’
David B. MacDonald is Associate Professor of Political Science and
chair of his department’s graduate program at the University of
Guelph. He has a PhD in International Relations from the London School
of Economics, and has held faculty positions (as a tenured Senior
Lecturer) at the University of Otago, New Zealand (2002-7), and at the
ESCP Graduate School of Management Paris (1999-2002). He is the author
of three books on genocide. He is also involved with Canada’s Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, and has contributed work on the
question of genocide in the Indian Residential School system.
Now counting over 300 graduates from at least 20 different countries,
the GHRUP strives to achieve multiple goals: to encourage the
development of a new generation of young scholars to take up the study
of genocide professionally at an advanced level; to illuminate the
causes of genocide, the way it takes place, and its devastating
impact; to bring a measure of healing and relief to various
communities through the sharing of great trauma of many peoples; to
study and teach in an interdisciplinary manner; to employ a
comparative perspective in examining cases of genocide, such as the
Jewish Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Darfur, with the
Armenian Genocide as a point of reference as the prototype of modern
genocide; and to use this comparative approach to identify the
characteristics of genocide so that it becomes predictable and in turn
hopefully preventable.

– See more at:

From: Baghdasarian

GRECE
Grèce : prospections d’hydrocarbures prometteuses

Une société norvégienne d’exploration d’hydrocarbures, la Petroleum
Geo Services, a annoncé mercredi avoir obtenu de très bons résultats
préliminaires à l’issue d’une mission d’exploration de quatre mois en
Grèce.

Ce que nous pouvons dire, c’est que la qualité des informations que
nous possédons est très bonne et de ce point de vue…la recherche a
été couronnée de succès, a déclaré Sverre Strandenes, vice-président
of Petroleum Geo Services.

Il n’est pas encore temps de dire si nous avons trouvé du pétrole ou
autre chose, mais nous allons communiquer les données aux industriels
(pétroliers) pour procéder à une évaluation et voir de quoi il
retourne exactement, a ajouté M. Strandenes au cours d’une conférence
de presse dsans le port de Patras, dans l’ouest de la Grèce.

Le navire norvégien Nordic Explorer a regagné Patras mardi après avoir
achevé sa mission de recherche en mer ionienne et au sud de la Crète
pour le compte des autorités grecques qui cherchent désepérément des
ressources énergétiques pour alléger la crise financière dans laquelle
leur pays se débat.

La deuxième phase de ce projet consiste à traiter les données, a
précisé M. Strandenes, ajoutant que les résultats seront probablement
disponibles au troisième trimestre de 2013, ce qui permettra au
secteur pétrolier de faire le point.

Les recherches ont concerné une zone de 12.431 kilomètres carrés.

Le groupe parapétrolier norvégien avait été choisi en septembre pour
effectuer le relevé, après une mise en concurrence.

Par ailleurs, la Grèce, qui est inquiète des explorations effectuées
par la Turquie voisine dans des zones que la Grèce considère comme
faisant partie de son plateau continental, s’est adressée à l’Onu.

Lundi, le Premier ministre Antonis Samaras a annoncé avoir informé les
Nations unies du fait qu’Ankara avait autorisé des explorations dans
des zones au sud de Rhodes que la Grèce considère comme lui
appartenant.

La meilleure façon de résoudre les problèmes est de respecter le droit
international, a déclaré M. Samaras qui prévoit de se rendre en visite
en Turquie en mars.

samedi 2 mars 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIE
Nouvelle manifestation de Raffi Hovhannissian à Erevan

Suite à ses tournées dans les régions, les 26 et 27 février, Raffi
Hovhannissian a à nouveau appelé à manifester à Erevan, rassemblant
quelques milliers de personnes sur la place de la Liberté. Hayots
Achkhar remarque que M. Hovhannissian semblait n’avoir plus rien à
dire, ses discours, de même que ceux des autres intervenants se
répétant. Le leader d’Héritage a demandé l’avis de la foule quant à
l’opportunité de saisir la Cour Constitutionnelle pour contester les
résultats du scrutin, indiquant qu’il allait faire connaître son avis
lors d’une nouvelle manifestation, le 2 mars.

Aravot et Haykakan Jamanak font état de la grève des étudiants de sept
facultés de Gumri en signe de protestation contre les résultats des
élections présidentielles. Ils ont déposé une lettre au Consulat
général de Russie exprimant leur indignation face au message de
félicitations du Président russe à son homologue arménien. A Erevan,
un groupe d’étudiants de l’Université d’Etat continue la grève.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Arménie en
date du 1er mars 2013

samedi 2 mars 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian