Author: Bedik Zaminian

Photo: AFP    

The UN Security Council has unanimously condemned North Korea’s latest missile test and warned of new sanctions, the BBC reports.

In a statement, the 15-member Council demanded that Pyongyang conduct no further such tests.

North Korea earlier said the missile it had tested on Sunday was a new type of rocket capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead.

The missile travelled some 700km (435 miles), reaching an altitude of 2,000km and landing in the sea west of Japan.

North Korea said it was a test of the abilities of a “newly developed ballistic rocket”.

Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesman has Baku for “abusing the OSCE principle of consensus” and “opposing the whole organization.”

“Due to its extremely destructive stance Azerbaijan finds itself in a total isolation. OSCE Chairmanship, participating States, Secretariat support activities of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and it is solely Azerbaijan that abuses the OSCE principle of consensus, singlehandedly blocking the decision on the continuation of activities of the OSCE office in Yerevan thus opposing the whole Organisation,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tigran Balayan said.

The comments come in the wake of the announcement of lack of consensus over the extension of mandate of OSCE Office in Yerevan

“Today, the Representative of the OSCE Austrian Chairmanship delivered a statement at the Permanent Council meeting announcing that despite exerted efforts, it has not been possible to reach an agreement on the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. As at the Permanent Council meeting in January, also today the Austrian Chairmanship praised the constructive efforts of Armenia aimed at finding a solution to the issue. Likewise, the constructive approaches of Armenia were commended by other participating States,” Balayan said in comments to News.am.

The Armenian Delegation to the OSCE made a statement reflecting on all steps undertaken by Armenia together with previous – German and current – Austrian Chairmanships aimed at ensuring the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. Armenian side recalled actions of Azerbaijan aimed at closing the Office which increasingly enhanced, although the OSCE Austrian and the German Chairmanships clearly refuted Azerbaijani false allegations targeting the Office.

After closing the OSCE Office in Baku and blocking also the activities of the Office in Yerevan, Azerbaijan deprives the OSCE of fully-fledged presence in the South Caucasus, which will have a detrimental impact not only on the activities of the Organisation in our region but the OSCE as a whole and its structures.

All efforts by the Austrian Chairmanship and the participating States to make Baku  act constructively and refrain from hampering the activities of the OSCE Office in Yerevan have failed.

Both in foreign and domestic policies Azerbaijan on a daily basis violates the principles and commitments of the OSCE, including fundamental freedoms and as a result faces constant international criticism. Now again by impeding and challenging the OSCE activities, Azerbaijan scores another failure, thus deepening the gap between itself and the international community.

As an active OSCE participating State, Armenia will continue to contribute to the realisation of the OSCE goals. We will consider new avenues of implementing OSCE projects in Armenia as have been also proposed by participating states at the Permanent Council.

Turkey shifts to presidential system of governance after the Constitutional referendum narrowly passed on Sunday. The 18 constitutional changes were passed by a 51-to-49 ‘Yes’ vote in favor. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan now gets direct control over the army, the general staff and the government. The Prime Minister’s post gets eliminated, and the President actually becomes the head of government and can now manage the country’s budget. In fact, Erdogan theoretically has an opportunity to remain in post until 2029.

At the same time Erdogan’s policy strengthens national and religious sentiments inside the country. To put it differently, nationalism and Islam are becoming a serious political factor. “This cannot but affect the foreign policy,” says Bagrat Estukyan, Armenian editor for Agos daily. According to him, Turkey is becoming more unpredictable and Erdogan might adopt a more aggressive foreign policy in relation to both the South Caucasus and the Middle East to divert public attention from domestic issues and consolidate the society,” Estukyan told a press conference at the Media Center today.

Expert of Turkish studies Levon Hovsepyan noted that all facts indicate Turkey’s foreign policy is going to become more aggressive. “Ankara’s foreign policy is widely dependent on the logic of domestic policy and interests. Therefore, when political Islam and nationalism reinforce here, it cannot but affect the regional policies,” he said.

Hovsepyan considers that Turkey will maintain its anti-Armenian policy and there are no grounds to speak about the perspectives of improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Bagrat Estukyan believes that the lack of relations with Turkey is better for Armenia under the current circumstances. According to him, Turkey has grown into a center of regional instability and there are huge dangers coming from Ankara. “Along with Saudi Arabia, it is one of the main forces destabilizing the Middle East. Turkey rouses the flame of war in Syria. Closed borders reduce the risks for Armenia,” he stated.

UK PM Theresa May announces plan to call snap general election on 8 June, the BBC reports.

She said Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum.

Justifying the decision, Mrs May referred to Brexit, saying: “The country is coming together but Westminster is not.”

There will be a Commons vote on the proposed election on Wednesday.

Explaining her change of heart on an early election, Mrs May said: “I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election.”

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is rolling out Quick Connect, a new calling system that directly connects community members with their U.S. legislators to advance Armenian American advocacy priorities.

Activists taking part in Quick Connect get an immediate automated call-back on their phone, providing them with customized voice prompts and suggested phone scripts. They are then directly connected with the Washington, DC office of their U.S. Representative, so they can leave a short message with the receptionist or on voice-mail.

The ANCA’s inaugural Quick Connect campaign is in support of the Armenian Caucus letter urging President Trump to properly commemorate the Armenian Genocide this April 24th. U.S. Representatives who have already signed will get thank you calls, while others will be urged to support this bipartisan appeal.

“We are pleased to offer Quick Connect as a quick and easy way for friends to communicate their priorities with their Members of Congress,” said Nerses Semerjian, ANCA’s IT Director. “With research showing that phone calls are the single most effective way for grassroots communities to get the attention of U.S. legislators, we encourage everyone to take part and then to share this new tool with friends and relatives.

At least 33 people have been killed in an air strike on a school in a village west of the Islamic State-held Syrian city of Raqqa, a monitoring group says, the BBC reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the building in al-Mansoura was being used as a shelter for displaced people when it was hit on Monday night.

Both groups said the raid was carried out by the US-led coalition against IS.

There was no immediate comment from the coalition, but it has said there were 19 strikes near Raqqa on Monday, including three on what it called IS “headquarters”.

Asbarez – Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge), Chair of the Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art and Cultural Exchange, introduced Senate Resolution 29 on Monday designating the month of April for commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. The Resolution also calls on the Republic of Turkey to return confiscated church properties to their rightful congregations.

April 2017 will mark the 102nd commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, which began in 1915. More than 1.5 million Armenians were persecuted and massacred by the Ottoman Turks in the first genocide of the 20th century. California has long and proudly recognized the Armenian Genocide. This is the first legislative resolution to declare April as a month of Armenian Genocide commemoration and also call for the immediate restoration of church properties under Turkey’s control.

In addition to genocide denial, religious discrimination and intolerance remain serious issues in the current Republic of Turkey. Discriminatory laws are still used to justify the confiscation of church property and prevent free worship. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom noted in its 2011 report that the Turkish government continues to impose serious limitations on freedom of religion or belief, thereby threatening the continued vitality and survival of minority religious communities in Turkey.

The Armenian Church has taken important steps to restore ownership to its religious sites within Turkey. In 2015, a lawsuit was filed with Turkey’s highest court seeking the return of the church’s headquarters, a sacred site in the south-central city of Kozan, which was confiscated in 1915 by the Ottoman authorities.

“Although the Californian Legislature has recognized and commemorated the Armenian Genocide, our research shows that the issue of church property has yet to be included in a resolution that passed a house of the legislature. Religious discrimination anywhere is against common human values,” commented Portantino. “I join with many historians who believe that historical Armenian churches represent the cultural heritage of the Armenian nation and should be returned to their rightful owners to be cherished and used for appropriate religious purposes,” concluded Senator Portantino.

SR 29 was co-authored by all the members of the State Senate California, Armenian & Artsakh Select Committee, including Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, Scott Wilk, Tony Mendoza and Josh Newman.

Sen. Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people in the 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank, Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Verne, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, San Dimas, San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, and Upland.

Photo: AFP

 

The two accountants who muddled up the main award envelopes at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony have been given bodyguards following reports they have received death threats on social media, the BBC reports.

Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said security has been beefed up at the residences of Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz following the mistake.

Celebrity website TMZ.com said the pair were in fear of their lives.

On Wednesday it emerged they will not be employed to do the Oscars job again.

But TMZ.com reported that they will not lose their accountancy jobs.

PwC spokeswoman Carey Bodenheimer said that they had been given protection after their home addresses and photos of their families were published in the media.

The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomes Representative Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) commitment to join the during his meeting with Grassroots and Development Associate Mariam Khaloyan, Internship Program Director Joseph Piatt, and former Terjenian-Thomas Assembly intern Joann Khaloyan last week.

“We welcome Congressman Raskin’s support of Armenian issues and look forward to working with him and his colleagues,” stated Mariam Khaloyan. “We continue to urge our State Chairs and grassroots networks across the country to reach out to their elected officials,” she added.

Rep. Raskin succeeds Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who vacated his congressional seat in his successful Senate bid. Freshman Rep. Raskin, who represents Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District, is Vice-Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee as well as a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Committee on House Administration. He also serves as the Freshman Representative of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.

The Armenian Caucus was created in 1995 as an informal, bipartisan group of legislators dedicated to maintaining and strengthening the U.S.-Armenia relationship. The coordinated efforts of this diverse coalition of Congressional friends of Armenia and the Armenian-American community help to raise awareness of Armenian-American issues on Capitol Hill and with the Administration.

The Armenian Caucus is currently Co-Chaired by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Rep. David Trott (R-MI), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), and Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) with Vice Co-Chairs Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL).

 

 

 

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan will visit France on March 8 at the invitation of French President Francois Hollande. Aside from official meetings, President Sargsyan is expected to meet with representatives of the business community, French Ambassador to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier told a press conference today.

“This will provide a good opportunity for presenting Armenia as an attractive for investments,” the Ambassador said. He noted that the Armenian-French relations are developing dynamically in all directions.

Speaking about the Karabakh issue, the Ambassador said “the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs spare no effort to create bases for dialogue in the negotiation process.” “The three Co-Chairs are confident that there is no alternative to a peaceful solution. The status quo cannot be acceptable to any of the parties, because losses are reported on both sides,” he said.

Jean-Francois Charpentier attached importance to the implementation of the agreements reached between the parties on different levels. He pledged the willingness of France to host a meeting between official representatives of the parties, but added that “the resolution of the issue depends on the political will of the parties, not the mediators.”

The Ambassador said “the Armenia-EU negotiations on a new Framework Agreement will be completed soon.” He noted that the deal that will be signed upon the conclusion of the talks will be different from the Association Agreement negotiated, but not signed in 201, but no less important.