NAREG HARTOUNIAN’S LAWYER MOTIONS FOR RECUSAL OF JUDGE
hetq
13:44, March 22, 2012
At today’s opening criminal trial of Nareg Hartounian, his defense
lawyer, Hayk Alumyan, made a motion for the judge to recuse herself.
Alumyan argued that Judge Nelli Baghdasaryan could not serve in
an impartial manner because she has family connections with the
plaintiffs.
Judge Baghdasaryan called for a postponement to review the motion.
Baghdasaryan will issue her ruling at 3:00pm.
ZHOGHOVURD: EX PRESIDENT COMPLAINS OF SARGSYAN’S POLICIES IN MOSCOW?
Tert.am
22.03.12
The paper says it has learned from its Moscow sources that second
President Robert Kocharyan, who recently had a tete-a-tete with
Vladimir Putin, complained to Russia’s president-elect of Serzh
Sargsyan’s domestic and foreign policies.
He also reportedly expressed willingness to demonstrate activeness in
Armenia’s political life by organizing demonstrations in the country
but the paper says Putin did not approve the idea.
He asked Armenia’s ex-president to wait and gave him promises, the
paper comments.
Zhoghovurd later contacted Kocharyan’s spokesperson, Victor
Soghomonyan, but he reportedly did not answer the calls. The paper
expects Soghomonyan to make his answer public via the electronic media.
TODAY IS THE DEADLINE FOR NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES
armradio.am
22.03.2012 12:49
March 22 is the deadline for nomination of candidates in the
parliamentary elections. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC)
will accept applications by 6 p.m. Afterwards it will start the
registration of candidates.
As of March 21, proportionate party lists were submitted by the
Communist Party of Armenia, the Democratic Party and the United
Armenians Party, Press Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission
Hermine Harutyunyan told “Radiolur.”
Full information about the party lists and individual nominations
will be provided after 6 p.m.
Almost all forces running for parliament have already made public
their proportional lists, except for the Armenian National Congress.
TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN INCREASE COOPERATION
Dorian Jones
Voice of America
March 21 2012
Turkey and its neighbor, Azerbaijan, are increasing diplomatic and
economic cooperation following the collapse of rapprochement efforts
between Turkey and Azerbaijan’s rival, Armenia. Turkey is increasingly
aligning itself with its Azerbaijani neighbor.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Senior Turkish government ministers have been visiting Azerbaijan to
offer support to Baku in its efforts to reclaim the disputed enclave
of Nagorno-Karabakh. The majority ethnic Armenian territory declared
independence in 1988, triggering a six-year conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan that claimed 35,000 lives. The war ended in a cease-fire
in 1994, and repeated international efforts to broker a peace deal
have failed.
At an event in Istanbul last month commemorating the killing of 603
Azeris in the village of Khojaly during the conflict in 1992, Turkish
Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin delivered a passionate speech.
“As long as the Turkish nation stays alive, ” Sahin said, “that blood
will be answered for.”
The commemoration drew thousands of Turkish nationalists as well as
Azerbaijanis, many holding banners reading “one people, two states.”
Strong anti-Armenian sentiments were also a prominent feature of
the event.
Foreign policy shift
Political scientist Cengiz Aktar of Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University
says the fact that the Turkish interior minister attended the event,
and the language he used in his speech, are significant indicators
of a major shift in Turkish foreign policy.
“It’s a key moment, it’s an extremely important development; I
don’t recall anything of the kind [in] the last 10 years in Turkey.
Azerbaijan [is] fully back in the picture, forcefully back in the
Turkish political life,” Aktar said. Turkey has completely yielded
its Armenia and Armenian policies to this country [Azerbaijan],
[which] apparently now looks as though it’s running the show.”
Ankara angered Baku in October 2009, when it signed a protocol with
Yerevan aimed at restoring diplomatic relations and eventually ending
Turkey’s economic embargo against Armenia.
Sinan Ulgen, a former senior Turkish diplomat who now heads the Center
for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, an independent think tank
in Istanbul, says Ankara had calculated that improving relations with
Yerevan could empower it to help resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict. But Ulgen says that in the face of Baku’s opposition,
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan effectively froze efforts
to achieve a rapprochement with Armenia.
“The prime minister chose Baku essentially because of the strength of
the nationalist constituency in Turkey, because Turkey traditionally
has been and remains a very patriotic country. And there is a strong
nationalist constituency, and this is a widespread constituency;
it’s the grassroots of the ruling party, and many others also belong
to that, and Azerbaijan plays that card.” Ulgen stated.
Lucrative deals
A U.S. State Department report earlier this year strongly criticized
Erdogan for the current deadlock in Turkish-Armenian relations. But
Ankara has been handsomely rewarded by Baku. In the past few months,
Azerbaijan has signed a series of lucrative deals to supply gas to
energy-hungry Turkey, as well as another agreement for Turkey to be
a distributor of Azerbaijani energy to the wider region. Ankara is
seeking to make Turkey a regional energy hub. The deals also help
Ankara move away from energy dependence on Iran, which is facing
growing international economic sanctions.
But the former head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s strategic
planning department, Murat Bilhan, warns that despite growing ties,
Baku remains suspicious of Ankara. “Relations are not based on
confidence, not only because of the Armenian question. Turkey is
suspected by the Azerbaijanis [because] Turkey is a Sunni Muslim
country, and they are Shi’ites,” he explained. “But for certain reasons
there are converging interests — mainly the gas projects. And also
we have a railway project bypassing Armenia; that project is still
on the table.”
Rapprochement
But Azerbaijan will also be aware that Turkey has pressing reasons
to mend fences with Armenia. Ankara sees rapprochement with Yerevan
as key to stemming the persistent calls for Turkey to recognize the
mass killings of its Armenian minority during World War I as genocide.
Ankara strongly denies the charge, saying the deaths occurred during
a civil war.
Former Turkish diplomat Ulgen warns that the controversy is likely to
grow “Now we are approaching 2015, which is going to be the centenary
of those tragic events. So, again, Turkey has to take stock of that
and assess where its own interests lie. But practically what we
have seen is that Azerbaijan continues to hold a (blocking vote) —
if not to say a veto — at this point over Turkish policy,” he said.
Just last month, the genocide controversy provoked a diplomatic storm
between Turkey and France, after the French parliament passed a law
making it a crime to deny the mass killings of Armenians as genocide.
Another potential diplomatic storm looms with renewed attempts in
the U.S. Senate to recognize the Armenian genocide. But for Ankara,
the question of how to build bridges with Yerevan without alienating
Baku remains a challenge. Addressing that challenge is expected to
become a rising diplomatic priority.
AZERBAIJAN VIOLATED CEASEFIRE REGIME 1600 TIMES IN JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2012
news.am
March 22, 2012 | 00:48
YEREVAN.- In January-February 2012 Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire
regime with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic more than 1,600
times.
Two Armenian soldiers were killed and three were injured since the
beginning of the year as a result of Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violations
In 2011 Azerbaijan violated the truce 12,600 times, while in 2010 –
7,200 times.
Year by year Azerbaijan increases the number of ceasefire violations.
TURKISH AMBASSADOR DOESN’T ATTEND OPENING OF EXHIBITION IN BERLIN
19:31 . 21/03
The exhibition titled “Missing Homeland”, which tells about the fate
of 30 deported nations of Europe opened in Berlin yesterday. It also
presents the story of the Armenians’ genocide and deportation.
As our colleague Alla Serobyan informs, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
has honoured the exhibition with her presence and has delivered an
opening speech. Armenian ambassador to Germany Armen Martirosyan was
also present at the opening.
Turkish Ambassador to Berlin Husein Avni Karslioglu had also received
an invitation to visit the exhibition. However, learning that the words
“deportation” and “genocide” are used there on the story of Armenians,
he has refused to attend it.
Angela Merkel familiarized herself with the materials presented going
round the exhibition and said during her speech: “I believe one of
the problems of humanity is that the sorrow and memories of witnesses
must be taken seriously and that we must carry those memories to
the future. This is our task since these millions of people suffered
injustice and that injustice is a part of our joint history. People
will help no one if they try set aside or to erase that part of
history. We must learn more lessons from that history. And we’ll have
succeeded if we recall the history with its parts again. And the lesson
that we should learn from it is resistance to the developments with
their manifestations that transgress against human beings, as well
as is denying deportation once and for all, wherever they could be
in the world”.
According to publications of German media, the exhibition was attended
by a large number of visitors. It will last three months, after which
its parts may travel to other countries.
TURKEY ATTRACTS RUSSIAN TOURISTS BY ARMENIAN AND GREEK RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS
news.am
March 21, 2012 | 19:04
Turkey has developed a new religious tourism strategy for 2012 and is
expecting to host 4 million Russian tourists. By the given indicator
Russia is second after Germany, the Turkish Minister of Tourism
Ertugrul Gunay told ITAR-TASS during his visit to Russia.
“It would be nice if the number of Russian tourists increased and
that Russians came to Turkey not only to visit seaside resorts. We
make every effort to provide tourists also with religious and cultural
tourism,” the minister added.
“Currently Turkey is studying religious tourism. We do have something
to offer like the Sumela Monastery in Trabzon, the Armenian church
on Akhtamar island in Van province, also the churches and mosques in
Eastern Anatolia,” the minister said.
“There are already 10 places in Turkey which were included UNESCO
World Heritage List.”
GOOD PREREQUISITES EXIST FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND VATICAN
armradio.am
21.03.2012 12:07
Archbishop Marek Solczynski, the Holy See’s Nuncio to Armenia,
presented the copies of his credentials to Armenian Foreign Edward
Nalbandian.
“The high-level relations between Armenia and Vatican and our two
Christian Churches are based on the Christian value system, historic
bilateral ties, and a rich cultural and religious heritage. I’m
confident that like your predecessors, you’ll make an important
contribution to the reinforcement of bilateral cooperation,” Minister
Nalbandian said.
Archbishop Solczynski noted that good prerequisites exist for the
development of cooperation between the Holy See and Armenia and he
will do his best for the expansion and reinforcement of relations.
The interlocutors attached importance to Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan’s visit to Vatican and the meeting with His Holiness Pope
Benedict XVI in December 2011 as another evidence of the high level
of relations.
During the meeting the parties exchanged views on a range of regional
and international issues.
UN PARADOXE D’UNE PORTEE LIMITEE : LE CONSEIL CONSTITUTIONNEL ET LE NEGATIONNISME PAR THOMAS HOCHMANN
Stephane
armenews.com
mercredi 21 mars 2012
Un paradoxe d’une portee limitee : le Conseil constitutionnel et
le negationnisme
Le Monde.fr | 20.03.2012 a 08h58
Par Thomas Hochmann, docteur en droit
Après que le pays ait vivement debattu de la constitutionnalite de la
loi visant a creer un article 24 ter pour reprimer la contestation
de l’existence des genocides reconnus par la loi, le Conseil
constitutionnel a rendu son verdict. La loi n’est pas conforme a
la Constitution.
Cette decision n’est motivee, selon l’habitude du Conseil, que
de manière très vague et laconique. Or, nombre de commentateurs,
qu’ils l’applaudissent ou la fustigent, semblent vouloir lire dans
la decision bien plus qu’elle ne contient. La justification de la
censure tient tout entière dans son sixième paragraphe, compose
de trois phrases separees par des points-virgules : “Considerant
qu’une disposition legislative ayant pour objet de “reconnaître”
un crime de genocide ne saurait, en elle-meme, etre revetue de la
portee normative qui s’attache a la loi ; que, toutefois, l’article
1er de la loi deferee reprime la contestation ou la minimisation
de l’existence d’un ou plusieurs crimes de genocide “reconnus comme
tels par la loi francaise” ; qu’en reprimant ainsi la contestation
de l’existence et de la qualification juridique de crimes qu’il
aurait lui-meme reconnus et qualifies comme tels, le legislateur a
porte une atteinte inconstitutionnelle a l’exercice de la liberte
d’expression et de communication ; que, dès lors, et sans qu’il soit
besoin d’examiner les autres griefs, l’article 1er de la loi deferee
doit etre declare contraire a la Constitution”.
S’il est difficile d’identifier avec precision le raisonnement
du Conseil, une interpretation de sa prose peut etre proposee,
sans ignorer que le flou du langage employe permettra toujours de
contester sa justesse. Plus haut dans sa decision, le Conseil avait
rappele qu’une loi devait toujours revetir une portee normative,
c’est-a-dire qu’elle devait interdire, ordonner ou permettre quelque
chose. La première phrase indique donc qu’une loi qui se contenterait
de reconnaître un genocide serait contraire a la Constitution.
Tel n’etait nullement le cas de l’article 24 ter, qui penalisait
la contestation de l’existence d’un genocide. Le lecteur pense au
premier abord que le “toutefois” qui ouvre la deuxième phrase opère ce
constat. Mais c’est en realite autre chose que veut dire le Conseil
: alors qu’une loi ne peut, sous peine d’inconstitutionnalite, se
contenter de reconnaître un crime, la loi deferee reprime la negation
de genocides reconnus par la loi. En d’autres termes, l’article 24
ter, dès lors qu’il fait reference a la reconnaissance de genocides
par la loi, se fonde sur la realisation par le legislateur d’un acte
qui lui est interdit. Cette loi limite donc la liberte d’expression
d’une manière inconstitutionnelle.
Cette argumentation peut surprendre, car le grief
d’inconstitutionnalite tenant a l’absence de normativite d’une
loi qui se contente de reconnaître un genocide etait resorbe par
la loi deferee. L’article 24 ter mettait fin a la possibilite
meme d’une disposition non normative a l’egard d’un genocide :
toute reconnaissance d’un genocide, combinee avec l’article 24 ter,
mettait en place une restriction de la liberte d’expression, et donc
l’interdiction d’un certain comportement. En fondant sur l’absence
de normativite le constat d’une violation de la liberte d’expression,
le Conseil a rendu une decision paradoxale.
Surtout, il a evite de se prononcer sur la question essentielle qui
avait agite le paysage mediatique francais : l’incrimination de la
negation du genocide armenien est-elle permise par la Constitution ?
Le Conseil s’est concentre sur l’article 24 ter, et a refuse d’examiner
la norme qui resultait de l’adoption de ce texte combine a la loi de
reconnaissance du genocide armenien. Dès lors, l’affirmation, plus haut
dans la decision, selon laquelle une limite de la liberte d’expression
doit etre “necessaire, adaptee et proportionnee a l’objectif poursuivi”
ne joue aucun rôle. Lorsque la Cour constitutionnelle allemande, qui
a vraisemblablement inspire le Conseil sur ce point, enonce la meme
exigence, elle poursuit par un examen detaille de chacune de ces trois
conditions. Dans la decision du Conseil, cette annonce tient plus du
slogan que d’une methode de contrôle du respect de la Constitution.
Une double lecon peut donc etre tiree de cette decision. D’une part,
elle ne permet nullement de prejuger de la constitutionnalite d’une
penalisation de la negation du genocide armenien ou de tout autre
genocide. Le Conseil n’indique nullement si une telle limite serait ou
non “necessaire, adaptee et proportionnee” a son objectif. D’autre
part, tant que les membres du Conseil ne motiveront pas leurs
decisions, ils ne seront pas en mesure de jouer le rôle social
que tiennent nombre de leurs confrères etrangers. Un public qui se
passionne pour une question liee a une limitation des droits merite
mieux qu’une reponse qui reussit l’exploit d’etre a la fois brève,
floue et alambiquee.
Thomas Hochmann, docteur en droit
KUWAIT SUPPORTS AZERBAIJAN’S STAND IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
Trend
March 20 2012
Azerbaijan
Kuwait parliament speaker Ahmed Abdulaziz Al-Sadun on Tuesday received
Azerbaijan’s ambassador Tural Rzayev, Azerbaijani embassy said in
a statement.
Rzayev said at the meeting that friendly and fraternal relations were
established between the two countries. According to him, the official
visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Kuwait in 2009 opened
a new page in these relations.
The ambassador noted that the parliaments of the two nations also
enjoy warm working relationship, and expressed satisfaction with the
bilateral visits by MPs of Azerbaijan and Kuwait. He also briefed
his interlocutor about the details of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Al-Sadun said that his country has always supported Azerbaijan’s
just position in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, its territorial integrity
and inviolability of borders. The Speaker said that he would work to
develop bilateral cooperation in all areas.
He also said that he is waiting for his Azerbaijani counterpart Ogtay
Asadov to pay an official visit to Kuwait.