Vitaly Balasanyan: In the coming days I plan to begin meetings with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political forces

Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh Vitaly Balasanyan has announced commencing political consultations with the purpose of running for the Artsakh presidency in the 2020 election.

“In the coming days I plan to begin meetings with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political forces, NGOs, active individuals, as well as to visit communities and meet with our citizens to discuss the expediency of me running for president in 2020. I have already announced that in order to get nominated I must have wide endorsement from the people, therefore I find similar public discussions to be reasonable,” Balasanyan told ARTSAKHPRESS.

Balasanyan, a Major General, ran for the presidency of Artsakh in 2012, but lost to incumbent President Bako Sahakyan. He was re-elected to parliament in 2015.

He said he will present his visions and programs for development during the public discussions.

“If there will be broad support and endorsement from the people, I will definitely be nominated and run for president,” he said.

In July 2016, Balasanyan traveled to Yerevan to negotiate with the gunmen who had ambushed a police station and taken hostages in what became known as the 2016 Yerevan hostage crisis. The gunmen eventually surrendered. Few months later he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh.

He holds the title of Hero of Artsakh.

7 candidates for running Ashotsk (video)

Ashotsk, Bavra, Zuygaghbyur, Tavshut, Karmravan, Krassar, Ghazanchi, Mets Sepasar, Saragyugh, Sizavet, Poqr Sepasar- these 11 rural communities will elect one leader. Extraordinary elections are held in the village of Ashotsk. Seven candidates are running for the post of community leader.

 

More information is in “Tsayg” TV footage.

Cult of victimhood is a dangerous addiction

The Times (London)
February 9, 2019 Saturday
Cult of victimhood is a dangerous addiction
Sometimes the desire to expose callousness and ignorance makes us too eager to believe we’ve found evidence of them
 
by Matthew Parris
 
 
‘Ashocking three million Britons,” reported a newspaper at the end of last month, “don’t believe the Nazi death camps ever existed, according to a new survey released on Holocaust Remembrance Day.” The rest of the news media reported this only slightly less breathlessly. The survey they cited had been commissioned by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, a government-funded charity. The report from (and about) Britain was widely headlined abroad, including in Israel, as a worrying truth about our country.
 
Though the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust stand by their poll, I knew something must be wrong. I’ve never met anyone who believes the Holocaust never happened, and my social circle cuts across class, race and religion and includes a fair few Muslims. A clutch of Islamists, antisemites and right-wing nutters in Britain do believe this poisonous rubbish, but they can be nothing like five per cent of our fellow citizens. So I wrote a paragraph in Wednesday’s Times Notebook suggesting it was more likely that one in 20 don’t know what the word “Holocaust” means.
 
BBC Radio 4’s More or Less programme, which takes a quizzical look at statistical claims in the news, then tackled this poll finding, with Peter Lynn, professor of survey methodology at the University of Essex, remarking that it “sounded a bit unlikely”. All the more so, he suggested, because when asked how many people were murdered in the Holocaust, only five out of 2,000 (0.25 per cent) assented to “zero”. Professor Lynn speculated that respondents may have assented to the “never happened” question by mistake because the two questions that preceded it (about it being important “to know about the Holocaust” and to “educate people about the Holocaust”) called for an obvious “yes”.
 
Whatever the explanation, few would honestly think it likely that one in 20 of us are Holocaust deniers. And, as the radio programme pointed out, there’s a history of skewed surveys on issues that arouse (righteous) passions among campaigners. A 1990s survey in the United States put Holocaust deniers at a shocking 20 per cent but after eliminating the distorting effect of a confusing question, the true proportion of deniers worked out at a tenth of that figure.
 
This column, though, goes wider than the Holocaust. It’s about the inbuilt and usually innocent desire of campaigning organisations to bring us bad news. I remember from the 1980s the fury of some gay rights campaigners when a West End play about homosexuals, badged with pink triangles and gassed in Hitler’s extermination camps, was greeted with scepticism that the number was even significant compared with six million murdered Jews. It was a pity that either side chose to argue about this; not unlike the tensions aroused by the Armenian wish that the appalling Turkish mass slaughter of Armenians from 1915 to 1917 should qualify them for inclusion in Holocaust Memorial Day. An unedifying spat ensued.
 
It’s an objective fact that Jewish loss dwarfs all others in sheer horror and numbers, but any impression of competition for the outrage of history is a tricky road to travel. It’s an objective fact that Armenian losses were massive and cruel and Turkish slaughter systematic. Does more need to be said? Perhaps these issues are too freighted with anxiety, pain and passion for rational discussion to be possible. So let me take an infinitely smaller and less stark example. I write this from Catalonia, where yellow-ribbon symbols are painted across highways and hang from lampposts and balconies everywhere, even appearing on brooches and earrings; where the restaurant I dined in last night has switched to yellow napkins; and where my sister is preparing to join a new campaign of public demonstrations. The judicial trial of imprisoned Catalan separatist politicians is starting.
 
I’m deep in separatist territory and personally sympathetic to Catalan outrage at the incarceration of their elected politicians, but I cannot help noticing a certain grisly satisfaction that some Catalanistas take in stories of persecution. On social media, images of injured and bloody Catalan demonstrators beaten by Spanish police circulate to clucks of indignation that are justified yet (to me) have the ring of … I will not say “gratification” but there’s something almost satisfied in the response. Some Catalans do have a problem with victimhood, and succumb to a temptation to wallow in it: a pity not because they have no right to, but because as a frame of mind it doesn’t help. Though victimhood may be a reality, it is possible to get psychologically stuck in its rehearsal. This is not good for people and can actually hurt a cause.
 
Just as we British have a tendency to see our history through the sometimes distorting prism of victory and success (the Armada, Waterloo, two world wars, the Falklands; the industrial revolution, votes for women, the splitting of the atom), Catalans prefer to enjoy their history as a catalogue of reverses and injustices: military defeats (Catalonia has lost every war it has been involved in) and persecution by Madrid (General Franco’s laws against the use of the Catalan language); and now the imprisonment of Catalan politicians. It risks becoming a habit of mind.
 
I’m afraid that if inquiries were to reveal beyond question that the apparent assaults by the police on Catalan referendum demonstrators in Barcelona in 2017 were in fact carried out in self-defence, then the first, instinctive response of many Catalans would be disappointment; and the second would be www.denial.No inquiry could conclude this, of course, but the question “would you be pleased or sorry if your complaint turned out to be unfounded?” can be instructive in cases beyond just the Catalan one.
 
When is it right to want the news to be bad? I have not yet properly acknowledged the best defence of actively seeking bad news. It’s the reason for the very existence of organisations like the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and it’s a noble aim. If the truth is shocking then we should make sure it is uncovered and made public. Campaigners must highlight it, spread the news abroad, rub mankind’s face in it if necessary. Ask William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale, Mahatma Gandhi, Primo Levi, Nelson Mandela. Or even (in his own estimation on a much humbler scale) the Times’s Andrew Norfolk, who uncovered sexual abuse in Rotherham.
 
But a burning desire to expose callousness and ignorance can edge imperceptibly into a wish to find evidence of it. Without meaning to, and though they acted only in good faith, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s poll has defamed this country. Its findings deserve sceptical scrutiny.
 
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s poll defamed Britain

Scientist slams government programme for ‘standard formulations’ and ‘lack of concrete steps’

Panorama, Armenia
Feb 8 2019

Areg Mikaelyan, Director of Byurakan Observatory got familiarized with the government programme section on science and had the impressions that rather being a programme it was about standard formulations.

“The science section in the government programme is presented through standard formulations and this has always been the case with the previous cabinets as well. Not a single issue is outlined. Regretfully, I should admit, I see no specific actions planned in the sphere. Even the formulations put in the document are quite cautious one will never be able to hold them accountable for undelivered promises,” the scientist told Panorama during an interview.

In Mikayelyan’s words, while drafting the government programme, the concrete challenges should be outlined and the ways to address them. All the process should be coordinated and done with the involvement of scientists.

“It is natural that we all want to have an efficient science, want modern spheres to develop, likewise everyone wants. The question, however, is how to do that. My impression is that the science section of the government programme is filled for only not leaving the space vacant. The programme states it will work to create modern conditions for young scientists to work, yet the government programme envisages no funding for the sphere.”

“The primary issue of finding the science. that should be visible in the government programme. The development of any country is conditions with development of science, something we have still to realize,” added the scientist.

The Director of Byurakan Observatory added there was no need to invent a bike as the experience of developed countries and implemented programmes could serve as examples for our country with only relevant adjustments to the local context. 

Azerbaijani press: Saliva samples taken from relatives of those missing during Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

7 February 2019 12:58 (UTC+04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Samir Ali – Trend:

The International Committee of the Red Cross, together with the State Comission of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, has published statistics on saliva samples taken from the relatives of missing persons of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Trend reports.

Over the past year, 2,170 saliva samples were taken from the relatives of 775 missing persons.

Saliva samples are taken from relatives of the missing persons and are used for possible exhumation in the future.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.


Armenian customs officers thwart a narcotic smuggling attempt

ARKA, Armenia
Feb 8 2019

YEREVAN, February 8. /ARKA/. Armenian State Revenue Committee’s department in charge of fighting smuggling together with a Police department combating illicit drug trafficking detained two citizens, identified as S.A. and Kh. K after they received a parcel from Germany sent to S.A in a post office in the capital Yerevan.

According to the State Revenue Committee, the inspection of the parcel revealed plastic containers with 279 pills containing narcotic substance buprenorphine, as well as 4 fragments of the same pills.

The State Revenue Committee said a criminal case was launched on the grounds of part 1 of Article 267.1 (drug trafficking) of the Criminal Code of Armenia. -0-

Beirut: Biography of Minister of Social Affairs Richard Kouyoumjian

National News Agency Lebanon (NNA)
February 1, 2019 Friday


Biography of Minister of Social Affairs Richard Kouyoumjian


NNA – The National News Agency publishes a general review of the biography of Minister of Social Affairs, Richard Kouyoumjian:

– Native of Batha Kesrouane, born in 1962, married to Rawiya Abi Younis and father of two daughters: Sandra and Sabine.
– Holder of a Master of Advanced Studies in International Politics from the Politics World Institute, Washington DC, USA.
– Holder of a Master of Advanced Studies in Dental Sciences and Oral Biology from the University of Maryland – Baltimore.
– Holder of a doctorate in oral surgery and dentistry from Saint Joseph University (USJ) – Beirut.
– Graduated from Central College – Jounieh and Sacred Heart High School, Aix en Provence – France.
– Assumed responsibilities within the Lebanese Forces, notably president of the LF Students’ Association.
– Secretary General of the Media Group in the Political Council of the LF.
– General Director of “Beit Al-Mustaqbal”.
– Head of the Department of Educational Services within the Tadamon Association.
– Candidate of the Legislative Party for the Armenian-Catholic seat in the first constituency of Beirut in 2009, 2013 and 2014.
– Has several political, intellectual and historical publications and several statements to the press.
– Official spokesperson for the LF’s 2009 election campaign.

Turkish Press: Premier Pashinyan pledges democratic reforms in Armenia

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Feb 1 2019


Armenian prime minister says he wants to fully implement his reform agenda with support from EU, Germany

Features
Archive

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan pledged on Friday to fully implement his political and reform agenda with support from the EU.

Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, following their meeting in Berlin, Pashinyan promised to continue democratic reforms.

“We appreciate that both the European Union and Germany have expressed their readiness to support our democratic reforms in Armenia,” he said.

“Our European partners are doing this without raising any questions about our geopolitical orientation. That means we can fully implement our reform agenda with the support of the European Union, especially Germany,” he added.

German Chancellor Merkel said the latest elections in Armenia demonstrated that the people had high expectations from Pashinyan.

“Today we have discussed ways to further develop our bilateral relations, with the goal of improving the living conditions of Armenian people,” Merkel said.

She promised support for democratization and development projects in Armenia, and underlined importance of closer cooperation in the fields of education, scientific research and environment.


Press: Why did Karen Karapetyan return to Armenia?

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VERELQ presents the most notable publications of the Armenian press.


“Right” the newspaper writes. “Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Karen Karapetyan was sent to Armenia. According to the information we have, his return is not accidental, the Russian authorities hope that he will resolve the disputes with the Armenian authorities regarding the price of gas. By the way, according to the rumors, besides this, it also has other goals. He does not come to terms with the idea that he is leaving Armenia for the second time leaving his position half-finished, while he announced that it would not be like that. Therefore, he is trying not to be left out of the Armenian political processes, with whom he is in a team, it is not yet known.”


“time” the newspaper writes. “There is serious dissatisfaction among the employees of the tax service of Armenia, head of the SRC From Davit Ananyan: 2018 was the only year when tax service employees were not paid bonuses. We are talking about rank-and-file and mid-level employees of the service. Before the New Year, Ananyan cut about 130 people from the system, thereby creating an atmosphere of fear among employees, and distributed the entire bonus fund between himself and his relatives. It is natural that ordinary employees cannot rebel against their boss, but it is a fact that there is a deep hatred towards him in the institution he leads.”


“time” the newspaper writes. “Guardian of the Ararat cement factory Arrival Sargsyanhas become a real threat and headache for the factory employees and the people of Ararat. Enjoying the factory owner’s Gagik Tsarukyan confidence – he became the “problem solver” at the factory. Anyone who does not obey his whims or whom he “doesn’t like” is dismissed from work, threatened with reprisals if they complain. The cement factory is the only place of work in Ararat, where those who are fired without reason end up unemployed on the street. Galust Sargsyan’s wife recently managed to convince Tsarukyan to close the kindergarten for the children of the factory workers, whose director she was fired from.


“People” the newspaper writes: “Mothers of soldiers who died in peaceful conditions protested again, claiming that the law enforcement system is not doing anything to reveal the crimes. Moreover, they declare that the former Prosecutor General of RA has a major role in covering up these cases Gevorg Kostanyan. In the conversation with “Zhoghovurd” daily, Kostanyan claimed that the cases suspended during his tenure were reopened, and an officer was even convicted in one of them. At the same time, Kostanyan made a remarkable comment about the criticisms directed at him. “You should think about why the arrows are pointing at me, because I don’t understand, I don’t want to go with the assumption that some people want to use this circumstance to discredit me. I haven’t been the Attorney General for three years, so why haven’t the cases been solved? And one more thing: I was appointed a military prosecutor in 2011, and these cases are 1, 5, 10 years before my appointment. I didn’t have an unsolved case, you make the rest of the conclusions.”


“Realist” the newspaper writes. “Along with the structural discussions of the government Nikol Pashinyan The issue of changing the Prosecutor General is also included in the upcoming plans. We were informed about this by a government source. The ground is also being prepared for this, news about the bad work of the prosecutor’s office, bribery from within the government itself is regularly circulated. After the change of power, Nikol Pashinyan could not manage this change immediately, because he did not have the appropriate votes in the parliament. Let’s remind that 3/5 of the votes of the deputies, that is, 79 votes, are needed for the election of the Prosecutor General. This means that having a majority in the parliament – 88 deputies – Pashinyan can Arthur Davtyan easily replaced by any of his teammates.”


“People” the newspaper writes: “Yesterday Prime Minister of RA Nikol Pashinyan President of the Republic Armen Sargsyan presented the recommendation on the pardon petitions. In general, let’s note that the topic of pardon is the most discussed recently, especially the life sentence Mher Enokyanwithin the framework of the case, because supporters are actively fighting for his release. And here, a proposal related to Mher Enokyan was also sent to the president. No government agency details the exact decision that was made. According to the press service of the president, the president signed the relevant decree without objections. In any case, it is not clear whether Nikol Pashinyan proposed to forgive or not to forgive Mher Enokyan. According to the circulating news, the offer to pardon Yenokyan was rejected. Let’s add that those decisions have already been sent to the Ministry of Justice, however the latter’s news service told the “Zhoghovurd” daily that they will make a statement in this regard only today and cannot reveal other details. At the same time, “Zhoghovurd” newspaper received reliable information that the prime minister has clearly instructed all relevant departments to carefully study all the cases, discuss them from many angles and then present them to the prime minister so that the public does not have any doubts or other questions in this regard. Nikol Pashinyan put that question very clearly.”


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “The Armenian broadcasting field is in the process of reorganization. For a long time, they were talking about selling the H3 TV station, but they answered us that they have no such intention, but it is possible for the “management” of the house. “Ararat” JSC, transformed into the 5th channel, is being seriously re-equipped. Some do not rule out that the TV company will be subjected to “sanctions” for its one-sided, biased “reporting” by the Armenian National Congress, whose president was the former editor of “Hayk” newspaper Tigran Hakobyan. TV 5, located in the “black” building of the RPA, will be moved to a new, renovated area – “Erebuni Plaza” after being re-equipped. Kocharyan the media “empire” associated with the name gathers under one roof. Until the end of the month, the “Armnews” TV station, which has been equipped with the latest technology and expanded its coverage area, will also start its activities, which is going to provide only news (only that function is written in the license) with the “logic” of CNN. In other words, every hour, with 24-hour broadcasting. To remind, these works are carried out by the “Quartet” of former MPs who broke away from the RPA: Samvel Farmanyan, Karen Bekaryan, Arman Saghatelyan, Mihran Hakobyan composition”.


“Fact” the newspaper writes. “As it is known, a respectable delegation of RPA representatives left for Germany the other day. It is noteworthy that this visit coincided with the Prime Minister Pashinyanwith a visit to Germany. According to our sources, this is not a coincidence. According to the source of the newspaper, the members of the RPA present the internal political situation of Armenia during their meetings in Germany. On the other hand, the visit is related to the upcoming reforms and modernization process in the party, in other words, rebranding. According to some reports, the Republicans want to apply the German experience of parties. The members of the RPA, taking advantage of the opportunity, also talked about the issues arising from the interests of RA during the meetings. In particular, there were discussions about the ratification of the RA-EU agreement in the Bundestag. according to our information, it will take place by September of this year. The next issue raised by RPA members is related to visa liberalization with Germany. According to our source, the German partners emphasized that it is still too early to talk about this problem, because the European Parliament elections are expected in the near future, and, as we know, migration issues are very acute in Europe, and it is quite risky to manipulate them during the pre-election period.


“time” the newspaper writes. The “Bright Armenia” faction of the National Assembly has come forward with a legislative initiative, proposing to amend the NA Rules of Procedure and add a provision according to which the ambassadors of the Republic of Armenia and/or the heads of diplomatic missions accredited to foreign countries and international organizations, after being nominated, meet with the members of the NA Foreign Relations Committee before being appointed. Such meetings may also take place after their appointment in the course of their work. This is an accepted order in many democracies of the world and is meant to ensure parliamentary control over diplomatic missions.”

Pashinyan holds meeting with retired military servicemen

Pashinyan holds meeting with retired military servicemen

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16:09, 28 December, 2018

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received a group of retired military servicemen, his Office told Armenpress.

The guests introduced Pashinyan on their observations and proposals in connection with the decision adopted by government according to which 5 billion 705 million drams will be provided to the defense ministry in state assistance for servicemen in need of housing improvement.

According to the decision, the beneficiaries will receive apartment acquisition certificates valued 5.000.000 AMD each.

“In fact, today we have nearly 1200 beneficiaries who are included in the list of receiving an apartment. We had a deadlock situation on this issue because no process was taking place, or just minor ones were taking place. Our task was to move forward this process. We have recorded that today the government can really provide 5 billion AMD and offer that assistance to the people, but this doesn’t mean that we say take these 5 billion AMD and the accounts are clear. This means that there is such an opportunity, we are creating this opportunity. There will be people in this 1200 for whom this will not only be an opportunity, but also a solution of the issue”, Nikol Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said there may be people for whom this solution would not be beneficial. He added that the defense ministry will make a decision within a month with what principle and how this 5 billion AMD will be distributed. Pashinyan said all proposals in this regard should be presented to the respective commission. At the same time he accepted the proposal of the meeting participants and expressed readiness to include their representative in that commission. Pashinyan highlighted that he has put a task to implement the process maximally transparent.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan