Author: Emma Jilavian

BBC Monitoring Trans Caucasus Unit
Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
January 1, 2018 Monday
Georgia replies to Azeri concerns about Armenian transit
By BBC Monitoring
The Azerbaijani Parliament has expressed dissatisfaction with the
recent statement by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who
said Armenia could be allowed to transport its cargoes to Russia via
Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the
Azerbaijani Haqqin.az website reported on 29 December.
Haqqin.az quoted MP Farac Quliyev as saying that it was necessary to
officially protest in this connection, as Azerbaijan that is involved
in a conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region is trying
to keep Armenia in a transport blockade.
MP Qudrat Hasanquliyev reminded that Azerbaijan was implementing large
projects jointly with Georgia and demanded that the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry summon the Georgian ambassador to provide
explanations, Haqqin.az reported.
MP Aflatun Amasov said that by resorting to this step, Georgia would
recognise that its territorial integrity could be violated.
Azerbaijani Milli Maclis [Parliament] Chairman Oqtay Asadov said
Georgian experts had also said that such steps that went contrary to
Azerbaijan's interests were inadmissible. "Someone in Georgia probably
wants to spoil our relations. However, I do not believe that the
Georgian government will resort to this step. We have built a railway
to Kars, [Turkey, via Georgia]. Georgia is benefiting from this. Let
us task the friendship group to look into this issue," Haqqin.az
quoted Asadov as saying.
Georgian MP Zviad Dzidziguri, who is affiliated to the ruling Georgian
Dream party, reacted to the criticism from Azerbaijan, the Georgian
Interpressnews agency reported on 31 December.
"I would like to respond to the initiative voiced in the Azerbaijani
Milli Maclis and, as the head of the Georgia-Azerbaijan friendship
group, express readiness to hold consultations with our Azerbaijani
colleagues on all important issues of mutual interest. We are ready to
organise such a meeting in the near future," Interpressnews quoted
Dzidziguri as saying and adding that relations with Azerbaijan were
"of major importance for Georgia and further development of friendly
relations between the two countries is a priority issue on our
agenda".
Source: BBC Monitoring in Georgian and Russian 1257 gmt 31 Dec 17

The Gazette (Montreal)
November 28, 2017 Tuesday
A 'huge step'in effort to teach Quebec youth about genocide
by ALLISON HANES, The Gazette
There are countless sayings about the importance of learning from
history to avoid the mistakes of the past. And yet humans are
hopelessly inept at heeding this wisdom, particularly when it comes to
teaching history.
Quebec's Grade 11 contemporary world history course barely mentions
some of the most consequential and chilling events of the 20th
century. The Holocaust as well as the Armenian, Cambodian and Rwandan
genocides are mentioned in a single paragraph in a chapter of the
history textbook devoted to tension and conflict. Similarly, the Grade
8 history course glosses over the mass murder of six million Jews by
the Nazis as an example of the deprivation of freedom under the
heading of civil rights.
But a group that has been working to rectify this shockingly
inadequate instruction is on the verge of a major breakthrough in
convincing the Quebec government to act.
The Montreal-based Foundation for the Compulsory Study of Genocide in
Schools has a meeting this Thursday with senior officials from the
Quebec education ministry. A working group has been struck to develop
a teaching manual for teachers on how to teach about genocide.
"This is a huge step," said Heidi Berger, the founder and director of
the organization.
While the first meeting of the stakeholders who will create this
toolkit falls short of the foundation's ultimate goal - having the
study of genocide incorporated into Quebec's high school curriculum -
it is a promising start.
At present, teachers can address genocide with their students, but it
is optional.
"They could spend two minutes or they could spend two hours or they
could spend two days," Berger said. "No teacher has to teach if they
don't want to and they often don't have time to teach it."
Also, many who might be interested simply aren't sure how. So, too few
do. The result is that too many Quebec students graduate ignorant
about the darkest chapters in human history, a sad comment on our
efforts to ensure such atrocities never happen again.
Berger has been campaigning for the study of genocide to be part of
history courses for years. Her motivation is intensely personal.
Berger's mother survived the Holocaust in Poland, witnessing the rape
of her best friend, the firing-squad execution of her father and
brother, and the murder of her mother. After immigrating to Quebec,
she didn't speak much about her ordeal. But in her later years, she
began sharing her story with young people who were the same age she
was when she lived through the Holocaust. She visited high schools and
recorded her testimony for Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation.
After her mother died of cancer in 2006, Berger, a documentary
filmmaker, felt compelled to continue her work. Berger brought her
mother's story via video to students in Quebec. But only in response
to invitations.
What began as a one-woman crusade to change the curriculum has morphed
into a movement since Berger started the foundation. It now counts
several experts and educators as board members and has gained powerful
political allies. But the effort to convince the Quebec government to
do something has at times been an uphill battle.
Former education minister François Blais and his deputies were
disinterested when approached. In contrast, current Liberal Education
Minister Sébastien Proulx was sympathetic when they first met him two
years ago.
"It helped that he's a history buff himself," Berger recalled. "He
said, 'I never learned about genocide in school, I learned about it in
movies.'" Since then, Liberal MNA David Birnbaum tabled a petition in
the National Assembly with 3,000 signatures the foundation gathered.
And the group has captured the ear of Anne-Marie Lepage, the deputy
minister of primary and secondary education. After a meeting in
October, the government set up the working group to create the
genocide teaching resources.
A guide might encourage more teachers to address this difficult
material, even without changing the curriculum, although it won't make
it mandatory. Berger said she is optimistic it will pave the way to a
pedagogical day dedicated to training teachers on how to broach the
disturbing subject.
Expanding young Quebecers'awareness of genocide - and, crucially, to
recognize precursors - is urgent in the era of fake news, social media
echo chambers, identity politics and attempts to undermine democracy.
"It's not enough to hear a testimonial. They have to learn about the
steps that lead to genocide ...
There's classification, separation, stigmatization, dehumanization,
justification, elimination," Berger said, rhyming off some of these
preconditions. "They have to learn the critical-thinking skills around
it."
Education is the key to combating racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism,
Islamophobia and radicalism - dangerous forces that have contributed
to the massacre at a Quebec City mosque last January, the rise of
far-right groups and an uptick in hate crimes.
It's essential for people to realize genocide is not a concept
consigned to the history books. The Rohingya are being annihilated by
the army in Myanmar. The Yazidi were systematically slaughtered by
Islamic State terrorists in Iraq. And the cultural genocide against
Indigenous Peoples in Canada continues to play out in ways big and
small.
The stakes could not be higher. Each time terrible things happen, we
wonder why and ask ourselves how to prevent a repeat. The answers are
often simpler than we expect.
Youth must be educated about the grave mistakes of the not-sodistant
past. And teachers need to be taught how to bring these imperative
lessons into the classroom. But the curriculum must also be changed to
reflect the importance of history to society - present and future.

                                        Wednesday, November 15 2017
Armenian Parliament Adopts Controversial Military Service Law Despite
Student Protests
November 15, 2017
 . Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - An Against Military Service Bill rally near Parliament
building, 15Nov, 2017
Amid continuing protests the Armenian parliament on Wednesday passed
in its second and final reading a controversial bill that, in
particular, restricts the rights of students to draft deferments.
Eighty-six members of the 105-seat National Assembly dominated by the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia and its junior coalition partner,
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), voted in favor
of the legislation, with six lawmakers voting against it.
The votes against the bill came from the opposition Yelk faction,
whose representative Ararat Mirzoyan before the ballot called on his
fellow parliamentarians to vote against the legislation that has
sparked protests among students.
Hundreds of students of Yerevan State University, Armenia's largest
and oldest educational establishment, as well as students from some
other universities have held protests against the legislation under
which in order to get a draft deferment all male students who want to
pursue their studies must sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense
and agree to serve three years in the military after completing their
studies at the location chosen by the Ministry. Otherwise, the
legislation stipulates, the students will be drafted to the army once
they attain the age of 18 to serve for two years.
The protesting students as well as several opposition political
parties and public figures in Armenia believe this measure will only
harm the development of science in the country as it will imply
interruptions in the education process or will otherwise discourage
the few students who want to pursue scientific careers from entering
post-graduate studies.
To discuss the situation, representatives of the protesting students
met with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian, Education Minister Levon
Mkrtchian and Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian last week. After the
meetings, however, students continued their protests, including the
boycott of classes, saying that they were not satisfied with the
government's approach.
Five members of the group called "For Science Development" locked
themselves in a lecture room at Yerevan State University on Tuesday,
declaring they had gone on a hunger strike. One of the protesters felt
bad and was attended to by ambulance medics later that day. Four of
the activists continued their hunger strike, refusing to leave the
room despite calls from the university's rector. They, however, joined
the protest outside the parliament building today.
Activists who rallied in front of the National Assembly in Yerevan
today said they were determined to continue their struggle despite the
adoption of the law.
Defense Minister Sargsian, who initiated the legislation as part of
his Nation-Army doctrine, and other government officials say the main
purpose of the legislation is not to man the military, but to restore
justice among those male students who get draft deferments and
exemptions from military service and those who don't. They believe the
new law on army service and the status of servicemen will not harm
science in any way, but will only eliminate corruption by closing a
key loophole to avoiding compulsory military service.
Israeli Company Under Probe After `Kamikaze' Drone Scandal In
Azerbaijan
November 15, 2017
 . Gevorg Stamboltsian
Nagorno-Karabakh -- An Israeli-made Azerbaijani "suicide" drone is
shot down in the Martakert district, 4Apr2016
Police in Israel have launched a criminal investigation against a
leading kamikaze-drone manufacturing company that had a deal with
Azerbaijan on the supply ofdeadly unmanned aerial vehicles allegedly
live tested on Armenian forces.
Aeronautics Defense Systems (ADS) appeared in the center of a scandal
last August when the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that during
the visit of the company's officials to Baku the capabilities of the
Orbiter 1K drones were demonstrated to the Azerbaijani side through an
attack on Armenian army positions.
Another Israeli newspaper, Maariv, claimed that two Israeli drone
operators working for the company rebuffed Azerbaijani officials'
demand to demonstrate the use of the `suicide' drone by hitting an
Armenian position with it. But other, more senior ADS executives
agreed to launch the deadly craft on the target, but the strike missed
the target, according to Maariv. ADS denied the report.
Now a week after the visit of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian to Israel, the country's police have come up with an
official statement: "An investigation is ongoing against Aeronautics
Defense Systems Ltd. in regards to a deal with a significant
customer."
Even though the Israeli police do not specify the name of the
"significant customer", most of the local media believe the matter
concerns Azerbaijan.
"The Israel Police's Unit of International Crime Investigations# is
leading the investigation. News of the investigation came out on
Monday as an Israeli court approved a gag order for the case, limiting
the information that can be published about it," The Times of Israel
writes.
According to the same source, the gag order shows that the company has
been under investigation since at least September 4, a few weeks after
the initial allegations came out regarding its live-fire demonstration
against an Armenian military position.
Still in September a senior Armenian military official welcomed
Israeli authorities' reported decision to halt exports of Israeli-made
kamikaze drones to Azerbaijan. Deputy Defense Minister David
Pakhchanian said that Israeli arms dealers have repeatedly struck
Armenian targets at the behest of Azerbaijani officials.
During his visit to Israel last week Armenian Foreign Minister
Nalbandian met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior
Israeli officials. In an interview with Israeli Public Television, the
top Armenian diplomat said that Armenia has held "very open and
positive" discussions with Israel regarding large-scale sales of
Israeli-made weapons to Azerbaijan.
"Arms trade is not trade in vegetables and it always has a dark side
that could have some negative consequences," Nalbandian told the
Israeli broadcaster. "What is important in Armenia's relations with
Israel is that we have no taboo issues in our discussions, and even
sensitive questions we are discussing openly and trying to find ways
out."
"We are discussing [the matter] in a very open and very positive way,"
he added when asked about Yerevan's expectations from the Israeli
government on the arms deals with Baku. He did not elaborate.
Nalbandian did not specifically say whether he discussed with
Netanyahu the recent scandal involving the alleged live testing of an
Israeli-made drone on an Armenian army position last summer.
Armenian, Russian Presidents Meet In Moscow
November 15, 2017
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sarkisian at the Kremlin, Moscow, 15Nov 2017
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian met with his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday as part of his working
visit to Moscow.
According to a report released by the Kremlin, the two leaders
discussed "interaction of the two countries in the political and
economic spheres, in the sphere of security and humanitarian
cooperation."
Putin reportedly also thanked the Armenian president for his efforts
on the organization in Moscow of an exhibition dedicated to the
opening of the Days of Armenian Culture in Russia.
"Advancement of Russian-Armenian cooperation is evident in all
directions," President Sarkisian said in his turn. "Close contacts
between our people, cultural, educational, scientific ties are of
particular important to us."
Later today the Armenian and Russian leaders visited the Tretyakov
Gallery where works by Armenian painter Martiros Sarian are currently
exhibited.
According to the information released by the Armenian president's
press office, during the meeting the sides also addressed the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process. No details, however, were
presented.
It is expected that the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, will discuss Karabakh
settlement on Thursday at a meeting to be held through the mediation
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk
Group, which is jointly headed by Russia, the United States and
France.
At a press conference in Baku on Wednesday Mammadyarov said that
Azerbaijan does not want "negotiations to be held for the sake of
negotiations." "We demand concrete results," he said.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to pay
visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan early next week.
Russia's TASS news agency on Tuesday quoted Lavrov as saying that his
trips to Yerevan and Baku will be related to the 25th anniversary of
the establishment of Russian-Armenian and Russian-Azerbaijani
diplomatic relations.
Still, the top Russian diplomat said that international issues will
also be discussed during the meetings. "We will try to understand at
what stage our efforts on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are after
the meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Geneva,"
Lavrov said.
Armenian President Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham
Aliyev pledged to intensify the peace process and bolster the
ceasefire regime in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone when they met
in the Swiss city on October 16.
Armenian Students Halt Protests Pending `Roundtable Discussions'
November 15, 2017
 . Karlen Aslanian
Armenia - Student activist David Petrosian (center) and Deputy
Parliament Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov talk to reporters after their
meeting, 15Nov, 2017
Leaders of a student movement protesting against a controversial law
restricting the rights of young men to draft deferments for academic
purposes have declared a halt in their weeklong protests after
agreeing with a senior parliamentarian on the organization of a
relevant roundtable discussion next week.
The decision was announced by David Petrosian, a leading activist
involved in the protests, after his and four other protesters' meeting
with Eduard Sharmazanov, a deputy speaker of parliament and senior
member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK).
Representatives of the HHK and its junior coalition partner,
Dashnaktsutyun, which enjoy a comfortable majority in the 105-seat
National Assembly, voted 86 to 6 to pass the controversial bill in the
second and final reading at a session earlier today. The only votes
against the bill came from the opposition Yelk faction.
Under the legislation, in order to get a draft deferment all male
students who want to pursue their studies must sign contracts with the
Ministry of Defense and agree to serve three years in the military
after completing their studies at the location chosen by the
Ministry. Otherwise, the legislation stipulates, the students will be
drafted to the army once they attain the age of 18 to serve for two
years.
Critics of the legislation argue that the measure will discourage a
lot of students from pursuing scientific careers and will eventually
harm the development of science in the country. Proponents of the law,
including Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian, see no such risks. They
point out that the law will give a fairer treatment to all students
and will reduce corruption by closing a key loophole to avoiding
compulsory military service.
Students who have participated in protests since November 7, including
the boycotting of classes and hunger strikes, delegated five
representatives for a meeting with lawmakers inside the National
Assembly after rallying there for several hours.
After emerging from the meeting that was held behind closed doors
activist Petrosian and deputy parliament speaker Sharmazanov announced
that a roundtable discussion with the participation of all
stakeholders will be held on November 22.
"We have discussed three main things. The guys proposed a roundtable
discussion and we as the National Assembly, a body for dialogue, are
ready to engage in it," said Sharmazanov. "This roundtable discussion
will be attended by all stakeholders, including scientists, scholars
and lecturers named by these students. Both the issue of draft
deferments and various other issues of concern to students will be
discussed. All that will be public and transparent. Today we have
proved that we are ready to listen to every citizen of the Republic of
Armenia and particularly our students."
Sharmazanov said that they, at the same time, asked the protesters to
stop their boycotting of classes, demonstrations and hunger strikes
"because we are entering a constructive phase."
The senior lawmaker said that a lot of things envisaged by the law
will have to be elaborated in government decisions and that an offer
was made to members of the student group to make relevant proposals.
Petrosian, for his part, said: "We are trying to be as constructive as
possible and contribute to the formation of our civil, political
culture. And our top goal is to have a positive impact. At this moment
we consider this to be the best option among possible options and
declare that all those people who would like to be present at the
round table as our representatives can contact us. We are ready to sit
down with everyone to discuss the format so that people who really
have arguments can have an opportunity to present them."
"As for the hunger strike, the hunger strike was, of course, a means
to make our voice heard. At this moment, this means has worked and
that's why it is necessary to stop it and get ready for the round
table," he added.
To the question whether there will be further protests, Petrosian
said: "If there is an arrangement about a roundtable discussion# What
will be after the round table will be after the round table# The
boycotting of classes until the round table is halted."
Press Review
November 15, 2017
"Haykakan Zhamanak" lambastes the government for ignoring the demands
of students protesting against a controversial bill restricting their
rights to draft deferments. "The government does not even think about
how to settle this situation to both satisfy the demands of the young
people and make reforms in the army. They simply say they don't give a
damn about the protest held by only several hundred students and are
not going to do anything. Moreover, in the parliament yesterday
pro-government lawmakers even hinted that behind the student movement
there are forces and countries that do not want the Armenian army to
be strong."
The editor of "Aravot" also writes on the topic ironically: "In
Armenia people are good at exposing conspiracies. When you don't like
something, you at once start saying: I know where it comes from. And
since we are largely influenced by Russian political culture, this
vague center of evil has concrete names - the West, Jews, Masons, the
world's power center, the LGBT community and, of course, [George]
Soros. Ideas that all the dark forces of the world are preoccupied
with doing something bad for Armenia and Armenians come from the
narrow world outlook."
"Zhamanak" says that a possible escalation of the situation connected
with the protests of students against the controversial law on army
service and the status of servicemen is "very undesirable" against the
backdrop of the planned signing of a new accord between Armenia and
the European Union. "This is a very important event for Armenia and
the region, including in terms of defense and security. Any
destabilization of the domestic situation in Armenia is fraught with
various risks for the accord," the daily writes.
Ahead of President Serzh Sarkisian's visit to Moscow where he is
scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
"Zhoghovurd" writes: "It is remarkable that the visit precedes the
signing of a new framework agreement between Armenia and the European
Union planned for November 24. It is difficult to say whether the
September 2013 scenario will be repeated this time. Back then, after
meeting with Putin, Sarkisian refused to initial a similar accord with
the EU. So far, the Armenian authorities have been giving assurances
that nothing imperils the signing of the new accord with the EU. But
considering the fact that Sarkisian behaves like the leader of an
`outpost' country in front of the Russian president, no development is
excluded."
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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