Author: Jane Topchian

The Friends of Maria Jacobsen Committee has organized a special memorial service Sunday, May 14, at a Solvang church to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,   reports.

The ceremony following the 11 a.m. worship service will be held in the courtyard of Bethania Lutheran Church at 603 Atterdag Road, a committee spokesman said.

Representatives of the Southern California Armenian community will lay a wreath in honor and memory of 1.5 million Armenian martyrs as well as Danish humanitarian and missionary Maria Jacobsen (1882-1960).

“We are honoring Maria Jacobsen’s memory on Mother’s Day,” said Dr. Garbis Der-Yeghiayan, chairman of the committee. “She is known as the beloved ‘Mama’ by her grateful former orphan children.”

Der-Yeghiayan said at the conclusion of the memorial ceremony, the committee will announce a student essay contest in Jacobsen’s honor.

The contest will be open to all high school students living in Solvang and all students attending Armenian, public or private high schools in Southern California, he said.

The essay theme is: “In the more than 100 years that have passed since the first genocide of the 20th century — the Armenian Genocide of bigotry, prejudice, intolerance, persecution, deportations and heinous plans to annihilate a nation — what do you believe your generation can do to make ‘never again’ a reality?”

The Armenian Ministry of Defense offers a new type of military service, which it defines as a mix of compulsory and contract-based service.

Conscripts wiling to serve at units carrying out military duty, will get a chance to opt for a new type of service. With an overall duration of three years, it will follow “1+1+2” formula, allowing servicemen to be “on the loose” for seven months starting from the 6^th monthon duty.

Servicemen will have to spend a week at the military unit, another week on vacation and two weeks on military duty at the frontlines.

Thus, after a 5-month training period, the conscript will start the service, spending 7 of the 31 months at home.

The servicemen will be paid for every week out. Upon the completion of the service they will get 5 million AMD on their accounts, which they can use for three purposes –acquire affordable housing, create a mini-farm (create a small greenhouse or purchase agricultural equipment) or pay the tuition fee.

The three programs are meant to help demobilized young people build their future in Armenia and deepen the ties with the homeland through long-term programs.

The service will be optional and anyone is free to choose the compulsory service currently in place.

In a second option called “I have the honor” the Ministry of Defense offers students to enroll in a program, in which it hopes to create a link between university deferment and future service as an Army Officer.

Every young many studying at an accredited university (state or private) will have an opportunity to apply for the program. In case he meets certain requirements, the student can enroll in the program with a view of serving as an Officer in the future.

Young people will have an opportunity to attend military training courses at the Military University after Vazgen Sargsyan every Saturday starting from the second year of studies at the their universities. Along with completing the Bachelor’s degree, students get the Lieutenant’s title and start a three-year military service in the Armed Forces.

The service is organized, taking into consideration the civilian profession, but in all cases at 1^st class units (frontline).

Thus, citizens with higher education get the opportunity to serve the homeland in a higher rank and with a competitive salary (at least 260,000 AMD a month). Upon successful completion of the service they get an additional financial bonus in the amount of the tuition paid during the time at the university. Should the serviceman choose to do a Master’s degree, the fee will again be compensated.

Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan presented the proposals at the “Nation-Army 2017” forum held in Yerevan today. The projects are subject to public discussion.

President Donald Trump congratulated Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his referendum victory, a sharp departure from the critical reception many European officials have given the vote to expand Erdogan’s powers, AP reports.

The White House said the leaders also discussed the war in Syria, which has complicated ties between the two countries.

The White House said the two leaders discussed the campaign against Islamic State, including “the need to cooperate against all groups that use terrorism to achieve their ends.”

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received a delegation led by IMF Armenia mission head Hossein Samiei. The Prime Minister and the Head of the IMF mission reviewed the findings of the final examination of the 2014-2017 program of Armenia-IMF cooperation, touching upon Armenia’s macroeconomic indicators and the trends of economic development, as well as discussing business environment improvement, foreign direct investment, fiscal and monetary policy-related issues.

Hossein Samiei said to have received positive indications about Karen Karapetyan’s government, including specifically the changes made to the tax and customs spheres in terms of reducing the shadow and improving fiscal administration. The Head of the IMF mission said that a more effective fight against the black economy implies continued efforts toward expanding the tax network.

“We attach importance to attracting foreign direct investment, and we are pleased that such measures are already being implemented by your government. We met with the representatives of the Center for Strategic Initiatives and were pleased to see that active steps are being taken to improve the business environment and attract new investment,” Hussein Samiei said.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of cooperation with the IMF, expressed appreciation for the assistance provided so far and refereed to the Government’s future programs. Karen Karapetyan noted that a second round is due in the field of customs and tax reforms, and that the Government will be consistent in this matter.

“Besides the fact that we have had a quantitative increase in our own revenue, we can see a qualitative change: the shadow is being brought into the field of taxation. We have given up the practice of prepayment. Moreover, those entities that had long-standing advance payments are gradually depleting it. A number of VAT-return-related decisions have been adopted to reduce the return period, etc. We will strive to broaden the taxation field and introduce the principle of fair play in the SRC system. We are firmly determined and confident that we will achieve our goal,” the Premier said.

Noting that the Government pays special attention to attracting foreign investments, Karen Karapetyan pointed out that necessary steps are being taken to that effect. He said that the Government is consistent in ensuring the 2017 State budget performance and the maintenance of predetermined performance indicators. Evoking his government’s drive for stepping up tax receipts and, accordingly, capital expenditures by 50 billion drams in 2017, the Prime Minister said he understands the critical task set before the SRC, adding that the decision was well calculated.

“Well aware of today’s situation, we are prepared to implement reforms in all areas, as we have a deficit of performance. We are going to develop a five-year development program for Armenia, in which we intend to set out ambitious landmarks,” the Head of Government emphasized.

Hossein Samiei welcomed the Government’s reform commitment and stressed that the IMF stands ready to provide necessary assistance for their implementation.

The Karabakh conflict is a typical struggle of a nation for self-determination, Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan has said.

“The people of Nagorno Karabakh were forced to protect that right with arms. They managed to do that under unequal conditions in an imposed war in early 1990s and build an effective system of governance, with elections held on a regular basis, with multi-fraction Parliament formed, with its own judicial and economic systems,” the Minister said at a briefing with Russian media representatives.

“In the course of the 24 years after the signing of the trilateral agreement on ceasefire, the people of Nagorno Karabakh have fully realized all mechanisms characteristic of statehood.  A whole generation has been raised in the unrecognized republic with an understanding that they live in a fully sovereign state, make their own decisions and there is no mechanism that could convince them of the opposite,” Vigen Sargsyan added.

“We are open to the negotiation process and actively participate in it. But we also consider that the search for solutions is directly linked to recognition of and respect for the right to self-determination. All other issues are derivative from this main issue and should be solved considering the need to ensure the security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and their right to free development,” Minister Sargsyan said.

The Defense Minister blamed Azerbaijan for constantly foiling the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group. “Baku is not interested in seeking solutions; it drags out the settlement of the conflict by building up arms, disseminating anti-Armenian rhetoric on all levels starting from the head of state to higher education establishments and schools. In that atmosphere of hatred, it is impossible to prepare the society for compromises,” Sargsyan said, emphasizing the explicit differences in the state administration systems of Azerbaijan and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

The Defense Minister said “we’ll maintain efforts towards peace, but must be ready for any development of events, considering the absolute lack of civil and democratic control over the armed forces, which means the risk of resumption of military actions could vary from 0 to 100 percent.”

He voiced hope that “Baku understands that any escalation can lead to large-scale war that will create chaos but will not help solve the Karabakh issue. There is no military solution to the conflict,” Vigen Sargsyan stated.

Armenian-Turkmen relations have been progressing over the past few years, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said at a meeting with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed that Turkmenistan is interested in and attaches great importance to the implementation of mutually beneficial projects and programs in various fields aimed at furthering and strengthening of cooperation with Armenia.

“Our peoples enjoy historically warm relations and ties. I am confident that your official visit can best contribute to the further development of our fraternal relations in various spheres of economy – energy, transport, agriculture, engineering, and industry. We have great potential for cooperation and stand ready to discuss your proposals and ideas,” the President of Turkmenistan said.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov asked to convey warm greetings to President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Karen Karapetyan thanked the President of Turkmenistan for the warm welcome and, in turn, conveyed President Sargsyan’s greetings to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Hailing the current level of Armenian-Turkmen relations, the head of the Armenian government noted that the economic cooperation does not correspond to this level.

“The purpose of my visit is to discuss in detail various issues and projects of economic cooperation that will make it possible to intensify economic interaction, increase trade turnover using the existing great potential,” the Prime Minister of Armenia said, expressing confidence that the two peoples’ friendship might provide a good basis for further development of exchanges between Armenia and Turkmenistan.

The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Turkmenistan discussed various issues of the economic sphere. Karen Karapetyan and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed conviction that economic cooperation could stimulate the growth of bilateral trade turnover.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed support for the implementation of mutually beneficial programs discussed between the two countries. The parties agreed to continue the discussions in April in Yerevan at the level of the working groups.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan heads into tonight’s Europa League Round of 16 second leg against FC Rostov with praise from Manchester United team-mate Chris Smalling ringing in his ears, according to the club’s official website. 

The Armenian has been instrumental in the Reds’ European progress, scoring against Zorya Luhansk, Saint-Etienne and in the first game at Rostov, and is expected to be a key figure as Jose Mourinho’s men look to reach the quarter-finals of a competition the club has never won.

After being withdrawn in the wake of Ander Herrera’s dismissal at Chelsea on Monday, a tactical sacrifice, the clever schemer will hopefully be raring to go against the Russians at Old Trafford.

When asked by tonight’s , the official matchday programme, if everybody is glad Mkhitaryan has returned from injury, Smalling replied: “Yeah, we are – it is great. He had missed a few games but he came back and had an instant impact like he had never been away. It is great to have such great attacking options and Micki has been brilliant for us, because he is a threat that is very hard to defend against.

“I think it could be a coincidence [he’s done so well in Europe] but, as a player, he is very unpredictable. Every player in the world knows who Henrikh Mkhitaryan is. But it is one thing to know him and another to deal with him. I am lucky that he is on our team and I am not playing against him.

“He is often thinking one step ahead [in training], whether it is a pass or a dribble. He is deceptively quick as well and he is probably quicker with the ball than he is without, which is rare for a lot of players. He is a great, great asset for us.”

Comparisons with Nazi Germany are “lines that should not be crossed”, the German foreign minister has warned his Turkish counterpart as they met to try to defuse a bitter row, the BBC reports.

But Sigmar Gabriel also emphasised his wish to return to “friendly relations”.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Germany of “Nazi practices” because of the cancellation of rallies involving Turkish ministers.

He is seeking new constitutional powers in a 16 April referendum.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu repeated the Nazi comparison on a visit to Hamburg aimed at drumming up support among some of the 1.4m Turkish voters who live in Germany.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the Nazi jibe as “unacceptable” and Mr Gabriel echoed her sentiment after a breakfast meeting in Berlin with Mr Cavusoglu.

“The Turkish side said it wanted to be treated equally with respect but I believe both sides have a responsibility and there are lines that must not be crossed and any comparison with Nazi Germany is one of them,” Mr Gabriel said.

But Mr Gabriel was also keen to stress the “success” of the two nations’ ties, and stressed his intention to avoid lasting damage to them.

Amnesty International has condemned the extradition of a blogger from Belarus to Azerbaijan. “Upon transfer to Baku on 7 February, Alexander Lapshin was taken immediately into custody. In Azerbaijan, he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment as well as an unfair trial. The criminal proceedings against Alexander Lapshin should be terminated, and he should be released immediately,” the Amnesty said in a statement.

Alexander Lapshin is a popular blogger, and a citizen of Russia, Israel and Ukraine. He was arrested on 15 December 2016 in Belarus, on request from Azerbaijan. Criminal proceedings were initiated by the Azerbaijani authorities against him under Articles 281.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (“public appeals against the state”, punishable by up to eight years of imprisonment and “illegal border crossing” punishable by up to five years of imprisonment, respectively).

Alexander Lapshin’s extradition order was issued on 17 January and on 26 January his appeal was rejected by the Minsk City Court. He was extradited only hours after his appeal to the Supreme Court of Belarus was considered and rejected on 7 February.

The accusations against him relate to his repeated visits to Azerbaijan’s breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, in 2011 and.

Amnesty International said it is “not aware of any other cases of extradition requests being made by the Azerbaijani authorities against individuals who have entered Nagorno-Karabakh without their permission. However, there are numerous individuals who have visited the territory without permission from the Azerbaijani authorities and been “blacklisted” by Azerbaijan – put on an official list of offenders who will be permanently refused entry to Azerbaijan.”

Amnesty International takes the view that the extradition and charges against Alexander Lapshin are a means of targeting him principally in connection with his blogs, in particular his criticism of the Azerbaijani border control system and the country’s social inequality. The charge of “public appeals against the state” has no legal basis, as the criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities in his blog falls entirely within the scope of his right to freedom of expression. With regard to the criminal charge of illegal border crossing, the organization maintains that irregular entry should not be treated as a criminal offence. As such, Amnesty International considers that his detention is arbitrary and calls for the criminal proceedings against Alexander Lapshin to be terminated. He should be released immediately.

Concerns were raised regarding the conditions of Alexander Lapshin’s detention in Belarus where he was held at the pre-trial detention center (SIZO) #1 in Minsk. He is also at risk of torture and other ill-treatment while in custody in Azerbaijan. Two days after Alexander Lapshin’s arrival and detention in Baku, he has been refused permission to contact his wife.

Amnesty International has documented numerous cases where individuals who criticized or otherwise publicly challenged the Azerbaijani authorities were arbitrarily arrested and sentenced to imprisonment following unfair trials, and in many cases tortured and otherwise ill-treated in custody. The Azerbaijani authorities have persistently failed to investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment and the Azerbaijani courts have on numerous occasions admitted as evidence “confessions” obtained under torture.

“In extraditing Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan, where he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment, amongst other human rights violations, the Belarusian authorities have failed to adhere to their obligations under international human rights law,” the Amnesty said.

Belarus ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1998, according to which “no State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

Russia is disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court of Belarus to extradite blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, TASS reports.

“The Russian side expresses its deep disappointment with this decision, which runs counter to the spirit of allied relations between Russia and Belarus,” the Ministry stressed.

“We are determined to take all necessary steps in the future to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Russian national with a view to securing his speedy return to his family.”

“According to available information, on February 7, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus examined the case at a closed-door session and did not satisfy the complaint of Russian and Israeli citizen, Alexander Lapshin, in response to a decision by the Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office on his extradition to Azerbaijan,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.