Author: Kajoyan Gevork

LE GOUVERNEMENT PROJETTE DES CHANGEMENTS DANS LES REGLES QUANT A L’ADOPTION D’ENFANTS ARMENIENS
Stephane ©armenews.com

armenews.com
mardi 11 octobre 2011

ARMENIE

Le gouvernement armenien projette de faire de nouveaux changements
potentiellement de grandes portees aux règles et procedures pour
les adoptions internationales d’enfants d’Armenie après un article
de RFE/RL suggerant qu’elles puissent toujours etre la cible de
corruption.

Des propositions appropriees redigees par le bureau du Premier ministre
Tigran Sarkissian aspirent a augmenter la transparence du processus
et reduire le rôle des obscurs intermediaires locaux travaillant pour
des agences d’adoption occidentales. Elles devraient aussi rendre
faciliter les adoptions pour les familles armeniennes.

” La racine de ce problème est un manque de transparence et nous
devions faire quelque chose ” a dit un haut fonctionnaire au service
armenien de RFE/RL.

Selon les règles existantes, le Ministère armenien du Travail et
des Questions Sociales tient un enregistrement national des enfants
disponibles pour l’adoption interieure et etrangère. La liste devait
etre accessible aux parents adoptifs.Mais selon un departement des
affaires sociales de la presidence, cela n’a pas ete le cas en realite
car meme les administrations publiques n’ont eu accès aux informations
concernant tous les enfants sur la base de donnees Manuk (Enfant).

Dans une declaration ecrite au gouvernement, le Ministère du Travail a
dit que la base de donnees comprenait un total de 171 enfants (135 eux
dans des orphelinats) a la date du 1er mai 2011. Cependant, le chef
d’une division du ministère traitant des adoptions, Lala Ghazarian,
a parle de seulement environ 90 orphelins quand elle a ete interviewee
par le service armenien de RFE/RL en avril.

Le departement des affaires sociales a suggere que la base de donnees
entière soit postee sur le site web du ministère et rendu disponible
pour chaque personne souhaitant une adoption en Armenie.

Le departement des ffaires sociales prevoit aussi la creation d’une
base de donnees separee des parents adoptifs. Ces derniers seraient
ainsi mis en contact direct avec des autorites appropriees dans les
etapes initiales du processus d’adoption.

Les fonctionnaires disent que cela reduira la portee des activites des
” faciliateurs ” recevant des sommes forfaitaires en provenance des
Etats-Unis et d’autres agences etrangères.

Hopscotch a paye 10500 $ par enfant au moins jusqu’en 2007, tandis
qu’Adopt Abroad actuellement verse aux ” facilitateurs ” des honoraires
d’un montant de 19000 $.

Selon le Ministère du Travail et des Affaires Sociales, 61 enfants
armeniens ont ete adoptes par des etrangers en 2010.

SARKOZY A HUMILIE L’AZERBAIDJAN
Stephane ©armenews.com

armenews.com
mardi 11 octobre 2011

AZERBAIDJAN

La visite du president francais Nicolas Sarkozy en Azerbaïdjan, qui
a dure seulement 2h30 a ete la visite la plus courte jamais realise
de facon officiellr se plaint le journal azeri Contact.az.

” Alors que Sarkozy est reste en Armenie près de 24 heures.

D’ailleurs, il a visite le Musee-Institut du genocide armenien, a
fait une forte declaration pour que la Turquie reconnaîsse le genocide.

Le president francais a egalement evoque le règlement du conflit du
Karabakh et le grand amour francais pour l’Armenie. Les presidents
armenien et francais ont signe egalement un accord sur la cooperation,
alors que Sarkozy n’a meme pas participer a la seance a Bakou.

Un tel comportement a ete une humiliation demonstrative pour
l’Azerbaïdjan. Ainsi, il n’est pas difficile de comprendre l’expression
de satisfaction sur la face du President armenien quand Sarkozy a
pointe le mont Ararat a l’aeroport d’Erevan rapporte Contact.az.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIAN EMBASSY TO BE SET UP IN VILNIUS
Petras Vaida

The Baltic Course
Oct 10 2011

Lithuania will soon have the embassy of Armenia, Armenpress reports.

At the end of last week, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh
Kocharyan presented the draft decision on the establishment of the
embassy at an off-site Cabinet meeting in the town of Artashat,
Ararat province.

The deputy foreign minister recalled that in 1991 Lithuania was the
first to recognise Armenia’s independence. In 2005 Lithuania’s Seimas
recognized the fact of the Armenian Genocide, he added. Armenia has
no embassy in the Baltic States. The ties with the Baltic countries
have been ensured by the Armenian ambassador to Poland who is residing
in Warsaw, writes LETA/ELTA.

The embassy in Vilnius will also contribute to more effective ties
with Estonia and Latvia, the Armenian deputy foreign minister said.

Lithuania established its embassy in Yerevan in 2007.

DAVID BAKRADZE: ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS ARE THE BASIS OF CAUCASIAN STABILITY

ARMENPRESS
17:22, 10 October, 2011

Political activity starts from economic cooperation, Speaker of the
Parliament of Georgia David Bakradze expressed this viewpoint during
the meeting with Chairman of the Armenian Oversight Chamber Ishkhan
Zakaryan in Georgia.

Georgian Parliament Speaker attached high importance to the
cooperation memorandum signed between the Oversight Chambers of
Armenia and Georgia. He noted that though Georgia also cooperates
with Latvia and Sweden, this cooperation with Armenia is peculiar, as
the Armenian-Georgian relations have been better improved especially
during the recent years. “Armenia is of primary significance for our
country, and the Armenian-Georgian relations are the basis of the
Caucasian stability,” David Bakradze said.

Head of the presidential staff of Georgia David Tkeshelashvili, too,
hosted the Armenian delegation in Georgia. He welcomed the signing
of the cooperation memorandum between the Oversight Chambers of the
two countries and noted that the oversight chamber is a serious and
influential structure both in Georgia and Armenia, and the signed
agreement will afford an opportunity of wider cooperation. Chairman of
the Armenian Oversight Chamber Ishkhan Zakaryan said that an agreement
on elaboration of programs and a timetable have already been gained.

“The working teams of the oversight chambers will meet in one-two
months and will work out the tasks for future,” Ishkhan Zakaryan noted.

To remind, the representatives of the Armenian Oversight Chamber were
in Georgia on a three-day visit. Within the frameworks of the visit a
cooperation memorandum was signed, which intends experience exchange of
the state oversight methodology, professional education and training,
as well as implementation of joint and simultaneous oversight.

ARMENIA-ARGENTINA PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDSHIP GROUP SET UP

ARMENPRESS
20:48, 10 October, 2011

A parliamentary friendship group with Armenia has been set up October
6 on the decision of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National
Congress of Argentina.

In the decisions on setting up friendship groups with Armenia it is
said that their main goal is promotion of cooperation, commercial
and economic, cultural, scientific and technical ties between the
parliaments of the two countries and exchange of information and
legislative documents.

AT LEAST 36 KILLED IN CLASHES BETWEEN COPTS AND EGYPTIAN SECURITY FORCES

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 10, 2011 – 21:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – At least 36 people were killed and 272 injured
in clashes between Coptic Christians and Egyptian security forces on
Sunday, October 9 near the state television building, known as Maspero,
in Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry said.

Egypt’s army rulers, meanwhile, imposed a curfew on Cairo’s Tahrir
Square and downtown area, the state media announced. Tahrir Square
was the epicenter of the February uprising that overthrew former
President Hosni Mubarak.

The clashes were prompted by an attack on a Coptic Christian church
in Merinab village in Aswan on Sept. 30 by Muslims who said the church
did not have the proper license to build a dome.

Sectarian clashes are frequent in Egypt where Copts, who make up 10
percent of the 80-million-strong population, have been the target
of attacks and have repeatedly accused the authorities of systematic
discrimination, Al Arabia News reported.

ARMENIA TRANSFERS 30 IRANIAN PRISONERS TO TEHRAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 10, 2011 – 18:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – 30 Iranian prisoners, serving sentence in Armenian
jails, were transferred to their native country. The transfer was
fulfilled on the initiative of Iranian Embassy in Armenia, according
to Iranian Public Television.

In February, Armenia transferred 24 prisoners to Iran, the country’s
media reported.

At present, approx. 20 Iranian prisoners are serving sentence in
Armenia.

RUBEN MELKONYAN: TURKEY APPEARED IN THE WORLD AS IRRESPONSIBLE COUNTRY

ARMENPRESS
15:41, 10 October, 2011

After the recall of the Armenian-Turkish protocols the foreign
pressure and all criticism are directed on Turkey, Turkologist Ruben
Melkonyan told a news conference today on the second year of signing
of Armenian-Turkish protocols. The “frozen” situation created because
of Turkey is not beneficial for anyone, but Armenia, unlike the
neighboring country, will benefit from the situation.

Melkonyan said because of the protocols Turkey appeared in the world
as an irresponsible country and the Turkish diplomacy showed its
unconstructive policy.

According to the speaker, the opening of the border has always been
in the agenda of the foreign policy of Armenia and Armenian-Turkish
protocols were the first step in that direction. “The protocols were
noticeable step for the establishment of diplomatic and inter-state
relations between the two countries, but the Turkish side made it
fail”, the Turkologist said, adding that according to the possible
scenario, Turkey will not enter the process without pre-conditions. “I
do not think that the issue of the Armenian-Turkish protocols will
enter the agenda in the near future. If nevertheless Turkey steps
back from forwarding preconditions Armenia will welcome this step,
but I do not consider this scenario possible”, he noted.

ASHTON CONCERNED OVER CONVICTIONS OF PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATORS IN AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 10, 2011 – 15:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, the High
Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued a statement on
further convictions of peaceful demonstrators in Azerbaijan.

The statement says that recalling EU statements earlier this year which
expressed concerns about freedom of assembly in Azerbaijan and the EU
statement of 26 August regretting the convictions of six participants
in the peaceful demonstration of 2 April 2011, High Representative
Catherine Ashton is very concerned about the sentencing of 4 more
participants in these events.

The High Representative considers that these convictions are not
consistent with Azerbaijan’s efforts to progress toward a pluralistic
democracy and are a discouraging signal.

The High Representative calls on the judiciary in Azerbaijan to ensure
a fair, transparent and evidence-based appeal process. In this context,
she also expresses concerns about the increasingly challenging working
environment for independent lawyers.

The EU Delegation has been instructed to closely monitor further
developments on this issue and remain engaged in assisting Azerbaijan
in fulfilling its commitments with regard to democracy and the rule
of law, the statement says.

Armenian school-children win 4 medals in Astrology International Olympiad
15:53 – 08.10.11

Armenian school-children have won one gold and three bronze medals at
the Astrology International Olympiad held in Almati, Kazakhstan from
September 22-30.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Education and Science,
a total of five Armenians were taking part in this Olympiad.

The gold medal went to Levon Stepanyan from Kvant College in Yerevan.
The winners of bronze medals are Vardges Mambreyan, Karen
Hambardzumyan and Virab Gevorgyan.

The Armenian delegation to these Olympiad was headed by Marieta
Gyulzadyan and Tigran Nazaryan.

Armenian school-children have for 15 years now demonstrated excellent
results in Olympiads in Astrology.

Tert.am