Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

OSCE PA PRESIDENT INTENDS TO CHAIR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WATCHDOG IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, December 7. /ARKA/. OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President
Riccardo Migliori said he was going to chair personally OSCE PA
observation mission at Armenian presidential elections in 2013,
Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported Friday.

Migliori declared about that in Dublin, at the meeting with Armenia’s
FM Edward Nalbandyan in the frames of OSCE Ministerial Council session.

The officials also discussed the issues related to the regional
security and Karabakh conflict settlement. -0-

From: Baghdasarian

SOCCER: ARMENIAN MIDFIELDER RECOGNIZED BEST INTERNATIONAL PLAYER IN UKRAINE IN 2012

SOCCER | 07.12.12 | 13:37

Photo: Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s official Facebook page

Armenia and Donetsk Shakhtar attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan
has been recognized as the best international player of the Ukrainian
league in 2012 following a poll conducted among soccer specialists,
journalists and readers of a leading local sports publication.

According to the official website of FC Shakhtar, the editorial office
of Ukrainskiy Futbol has received more than 2,000 letters from its
readers, which combined with the professional opinion constituted
the basis for deciding the laureates in five categories.

Mkhitaryan scored 20 goals on his 26 appearances for Shakhtar in 2012.

He is also the top scorer of the Ukrainian league with 18 goals in
17 league matches played during the year.

The Armenian player shares success with his teammate Andrey Pyatov,
who has been recognized as the best goalkeeper of the league in 2012,
as well as Mircea Lucescu, acclaimed as the best coach of the year
in Ukraine.

From: Baghdasarian

WAR OF WORDS: FORMER ALLIES IN VERBAL DUEL OVER “CORRUPTION” COMMENTS
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN

ArmeniaNow
07.12.12 | 13:27

Eduard Sharmazanov, Tigran Urikhanyan

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The spokespersons of two former coalition partners, Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA) and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) measured their
tongues in a verbal duel Thursday in what may turn into an open
inter-party confrontation ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The trigger was the comments made by PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan on
a recent visit to Brussels in which he in fact accused the current
leadership of Armenia of being corrupt.

“It is impossible to wage a struggle against corruption in a country
where this struggle is led by corrupt individuals,” said Tsarukyan,
according to the party’s press office, after a meeting with a senior
European Parliament official on Wednesday.

The remarks drew some angry responses from the ruling Armenian party,
RPA. Head of the RPA’s parliamentary faction Galust Sahakyan said he
could not believe Tsarukyan may have said that. And RPA spokesman,
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov rejected the comments
as “a theatrical performance” meant for the domestic audience. He
also attacked PAP, claiming that some European deputies view this
Armenian party as an “artificial force” and that they also deem the
PAP leader has “very scant knowledge of international politics and
current political affairs in general.”

PAP press secretary Tigran Urikhanyan described Sharmazanov’s comments
as “impolite”.

“Anyone who dares throw the gauntlet to PAP must know that PAP presents
the approaches and interests not only of one person, one team or
event one party followers, but 99.99 percent of the population of
Armenia. And fighting against PAP means fighting against millions of
people,” the PAP spokesman stressed.

Remarkably, earlier this week PAP also voted “against” next year’s
state budget, which was passed due to the RPA majority. Urikhanyan said
the party did not expect any qualitative changes based on this budget.

Tsarukyan stepped up his criticism of the government’s economic
policies in recent months. In particular, PAP directed its main
criticism against Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, considering that
he should resign. And before the passage of this year’s budget PAP
even presented its Top 10 “most ridiculous” budgetary items suggesting
that removing them from the expenditure pattern will save millions of
dollars that could be used for tackling more pressing social problems.

Experts say it is the appointed to the prime minister post that
has long been a subject of bargaining between PAP and RPA. They do
not rule out that Tsarukyan may support President Serzh Sargsyan’s
reelection bid in exchange for the offer of the prime minister’s
office to his party. So far Sargsyan has apparently been reluctant
to agree to such terms.

Meanwhile, the stage of nominations in the February 2013 presidential
election is getting closer and Tsarukyan’s decision is awaited not
only by his party, but also other political forces, including in the
opposition camp. The Brussels statement by Tsarukyan was regarded by
many as a bid to contest the election on a platform focusing on an
anti-corruption drive. Yet, there is also a sizable body of opinion
that tycoon Tsarukyan is unlikely to be successful in his new image
of a guy fighting corruption since he himself has enjoyed preferential
treatment from the government in recent years.

From: Baghdasarian

RESULTAT DES ELECTIONS LOCALES DE CE DIMANCHE

Deux candidats soutenus par le parti republicain d’Armenie (HHK)
ont gagne haut la main les elections locales dimanche que leurs
challengers de l’opposition ont qualifiees de frauduleuses.

Les resultats officiels du vote publies montrent les candidats,
Robert Sarkissian et Arman Sahakian, gagnant dans les circonscriptions
uninominales respectivement a Erevan et dans la deuxième ville du
pays, a Gyumri. Robert Sarkissian est le beau-frère du maire d’Erevan,
Taron Markarian. Arman Sahakian est un homme d’affaires repute proche
du president Serge Sarkissian.

Dans les deux circonscriptions, les correspondants de RFE / RL ont vu
des dizaines de partisans du gouvernement se tenir près des bureaux
de vote pour influencer les votants, qu’ils ont intimides.

Stepan Safarian, membre du parti Zharangutyun (Heritage), qui etait en
competition avec Sarkissian, a refuse de reconnaître sa defaite. Il
a accuse son concurrent d’avoir intimide les residents locaux et
d’avoir achete des voix.

Un correspondant de RFE / RL a ete temoin de methodes frauduleuses.

Certains journalistes ont ete victimes de violence provenant des
votants. Le president de la commission electorale de district,
Gegham Hayrapetian a minimise l’incident. Il a insiste sur le fait
que l’election a ete libre et equitable.

Sahakian, le vainqueur des elections a Gyumri, a fait face a des
allegations similaires. Il etait en concurrence avec Murad Grigorian,
membre du Congrès National Armenien (HAK). ” Les autorites ont
demontre que leur cynisme et que leur impudence n’ont pas de limites
“, a declare Grigorian a RFE / RL.

À travers la circonscription de Gyumri, qui couvre egalement plusieurs
villages voisins, un correspondant de RFE / RL a ete temoin de scènes
frauduleuses. Un homme a menace de casser la camera du journaliste
après avoir remarque qu’il etait filme. ” N’avons-nous pas le droit
de rester dans notre quartier ? Je vais maintenant prendre votre
appareil et le detruire “, a -t-il dit.

Sahakian a, quant a lui, insiste lundi sur le fait qu’il avait gagne de
facon juste et equitable. Le vice-president de la commission electorale
de district, Maxim Shahbazian, a declare que l’election de Gyumri etait
” ideale “.

vendredi 7 decembre 2012, Laetitia ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY’S FIRST OMBUDSMAN SWORN IN

Today’s Zaman
Dec 5 2012
Turkey

Turkey’s first ombudsman, Mehmet Nihat Omeroglu, was sworn in
at Parliament on Wednesday amid protests from the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy
Party (BDP).

Atilla Kart from the CHP petitioned the parliament speaker for the
ceremony to be postponed but in response the speaker’s office said
Omeroglu would be sworn in as planned.

While Omeroglu took his place to swear in, CHP deputies in the
General Assembly held signboards on which “Akbudsman” — with the
“Ak” representing the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) — was
written, implying that Omeroglu would not be able serve impartially
and would act as an ombudsman for the AK Party.

When asked by journalists whether he had anticipated any protests from
CHP deputies, Omeroglu, who left the General Assembly following the
oath-taking ceremony, said: “Lawmakers are free to do what they want.

Not only can they say anything, they can also protest anything. This
is natural in democracies.”

The CHP is against Omeroglu being elected as chief ombudsman due to
a controversial ruling regarding Hrant Dink which Omeroglu had voted
for while he was a member of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Omeroglu
was one of the judges at the Supreme Court of Appeals who approved of a
local court’s ruling against Dink on charges of “insulting Turkishness”
according to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which was
later amended.

Dink was shot dead by an ultranationalist youth in front of the offices
of the Armenian Agos weekly. The perpetrator of the attack, Ogun
Samast, said he was disturbed about Dink’s “insulting Turkishness.” In
remarks that appeared earlier in the media, Omeroglu said he was
not even aware that Dink had been convicted over Article 301. Dink’s
brother, Hosrof Dink, voiced his concern about Omeroglu’s remarks,
saying that instead of being held accountable for his stance in the
Dink trial, he was awarded the position of chief ombudsman.

The Ombudsman’s Office will be responsible for examining and
investigating all manner of administrative acts, actions, attitudes
and behavior in terms of respect for human rights and freedoms,
conformity with the law and fairness and appropriateness within the
framework of the character of the Republic of Turkey as enshrined
in its Constitution. It will perform its functions as part of the
Parliament Speaker’s Office. The Ombudsman’s Office will be called
the Public Monitoring Institution (KDK) and will have an independent
and autonomous budget.

From: Baghdasarian

CHILDREN TAUGHT TO SAVE ENERGY IN ARMENIA

Xinhua General News Service
December 5, 2012 Wednesday 9:55 AM EST
China

About 185 schools in Armenia have joined the “Spare” international
educational program over the past 11 years to teach children how to
save energy, officials say.

Hrant Sargsyan, the program’s educational coordinator, said Wednesday
that the main objective of the program is cultivating awareness
of energy conservation amongst Armenia’s youngsters. Tremendous
participation by children has been observed since the program launched
in 2001.

Levon Vardanyan, a European Union energy expert, said one of the
current tasks of the Armenian government is providing energy to people,
“whereas saving energy should become a lifestyle for Armenia.”

“We must do everything we can to prevent the early 90’s experiences
from happening again,” he said.

Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 which
was followed by a total economic collapse and complete halt of energy
supply to the population. The country experienced scheduled blackouts
until the end of 1995 when 24-hour electricity supplies again became
available. Enditem.

From: Baghdasarian

WATSON’S OFFICE CONFIRMED THE INFORMATION THAT THERE HAD BEEN NO MEETING WITH GAGIK TSARUKYAN

20:21, 6 December, 2012

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: The meeting of “Prosperous Armenia”
party delegation and President of the European Liberal Democrat and
Reform Party Graham Watson which was supposed to be held in Brussels
did not take place. Armenpress was informed from the Watson’s office.

“I cannot comment on the agenda of Watson and especially on his
meetings, but what is about his public meetings they are presented
in the official web site of the European Parliament. In this period Mr.

Watson has had meetings with the team of Liberals and Democrats as
well as some private meetings” Watson’s assistant said during a phone
conversation with Armenpress.

The delegation of “Prosperous Armenia” party led by its leader Gagik
Tsarukyan left for Brussels on December 5 where it was planning to
have a number of meetings.

From: Baghdasarian

RUBIK HAKOBYAN CONSIDERS POLITICAL FIELD TO BE THE HOSTAGE OF WAITING

18:03, 6 December, 2012

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Political filed is the hostage of
waiting. This was stated by Rubik Hakobyan the leader of “Heritage”
faction during December 6 ARF conference.

“It is not fair when political powers don’t announce the names of
their candidates. Only two candidate names are known, the incumbent
President and Raffi Hovhannisyan.

There is little time left before the elections, everyone speaks
about a single candidate but nobody mentions his name. As it is said
political filed is the hostage of waiting” Armenpress reports Ruben
Hakobyan as saying.

Referring to the issue of government’s passing to the parliamentary
system he noted that those who spoke about parliamentary and
presidential systems of the government had to at least explain the
advantages of them.

From: Baghdasarian

UNESCO RECOGNIZED SASUNTSI DAVIT UNIVERSAL CULTURAL VALUE

16:12, 5 December, 2012

YEREVAN, DECEMEBER 5, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Sasuntsi Davit epos was
included in the list of Intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Our epos
was recognized as universal cultural value. Artur Poghosyan, Armenian
Deputy Minister of Culture stated in the briefing with Armenpres. The
issue was envisaged in UNESCO Commission’s Intergovernmental Committee
dealing with Intangible cultural heritage protection issues on December
4 session. The inclusion of epos is of great importance regarding
political and cultural point of view. Earlier deputy minister stated
UNESCO Intangible cultural heritage convention has already paved away
for a political platform. The possible inclusion of epos is of great
importance regarding political and cultural point of view. Morning
session discussion will further show what developments will be
performed then.

Over 60 applications are included in Commission’s Intergovernmental
Committee’s session dealing with Intangible cultural heritage
protection issues.

From: Baghdasarian

LA FAMILLE DINK INQUIETE PAR LA NOMINATION DE L’OMBUDSMAN
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 6 decembre 2012

Hosrof Dink, frère du journaliste turc d’origine armenienne Hrant
Dink, qui a ete tue en 2007, a exprime son objection a l’election de
Mehmet Nihat Omeroglu, membre retraite de la Cour de cassation, comme
premier ombudsman de Turquie en raison d’une decision controversee
contre Hrant Dink.

Mehmet Nihat Omeroglu etait l’un des juges de la Cour de cassation
qui ont approuve la decision d’une cour locale d’avoir condamne Hrant
Dink pour insulte a la turquicite en vertu de l’article 301 du Code
penal Turc (TCK), qui a ete posterieurement amende.

Hrant Dink a ete abattu par un jeune ultranationaliste devant les
bureaux du quotidien Agos.

L’assassin Ogun Samast, a dit qu’il a tue Hrant Dink en raison de
sa condamnation.

Mehmet Nihat Omeroglu a affirme dans les medias turcs qu’il n’a pas
eu conscience que c’etait Hrant Dink qui a ete reconnu coupable en
vertu de l’article 301.

” J’etais un des 23 juges qui ont approuve la decision de la cour
[contre Dink]. Je n’etais meme pas conscient que le nom dans ce dossier
etait Hrant car c’etait son premier prenom Firat qui etait indique
” a-t-il dit.

Le frère de Dink a dit qu’une decision de la Cour Europeenne des
Droits de l’Homme contre la Turquie pour condamnation de Hrant Dink
en vertu de l’article 301 a clairement montre que les decisions des
cours turques etaient erronees.

” Maintenant je veux demander a cette personne si elle etait consciente
qu’elle signait le decret de mort de quelqu’un quand il a approuve
la condamnation de Hrant Dink pour un article qu’il a ecrit, que la
cour europeenne a dit qu’elle n’incluait pas d’insulte et etait dans
les limites de la liberte de parole. S’il vient de prendre conscience
de cela maintenant, pense-t-il a s’engager dans une autocritique ? ”
a dit Hosrof Dink.

jeudi 6 decembre 2012, Stephane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian