Author: Kajoyan Gevork

MANY EMIGRANTS, MANY WISHING TO EMIGRATE, ARMENIAN OFFICIAL SAYS

Tert.am
10:32 07.09.11

In an interview with the Urvagits (Outline) TV program, Head of the
Migration Service of Armenia Gagik Yeganyan said that the emigration
rate is exaggerated.

No special study of migration has been conducted in Armenia since
2008, he said. As regards the reports on 50 to 60 thousand emigrants
from Armenia, Yeganyan said that passenger traffic cannot serve as
a basis for studying migration as “not every passenger is a migrant.”

“They [analysts of the Armenian National Congress] take the passenger
traffic as a basis and claim that ‘so many people have left Armenia’.

This June, however, we registered a favorable balance. But let the,
following the same logic, say that so many people have settled down
in Armenia.”

Still others use this topic for political purposes, Yeganyan said.

He pointed out the need for serious studies, which are rather
expensive. The government has no funds for that. “In 1992-1994,
we registered an unfavorable balance of 100,000 as compared with 1991.

That was massive emigration indeed. In 2010, were registered 4,000
emigrants as compared with 2009,” Yeganyan said.

The number of those wishing to emigrate is increasing year by year.

According to Yeganyan, “emigration is an ethno-psychological phenomenon
typical of Armenians.”

On the other hand, prospective emigrants pointed out different
reasons. According to public opinion polls, most of the emigrants
pointed to social conditions, unemployment or low wages. Five to six
per cent of them mentioned injustice and lawlessness.

HOW NALBANDIAN ‘PULLED A FAST ONE’ ON SARKOZY FOR SERZH SARGSYAN: WIKILEAKS

epress.am
09.06.2011 10:08

Then French Ambassador to Armenia “knows, dislikes, and disparages
[then newly appointed foreign affairs minister Edward] Nalbandian,”
writes then US Charge d’Affairs in Armenia Joseph Pennington in a
confidential cable dated Apr. 23, 2008, recently released by WikiLeaks.

The US diplomat notes that Nalbandian, formerly Armenia’s ambassador
in Paris, is considered “pro-Moscow” and is disliked also by the
“foreign ministry rank and file” who are “similarly disenchanted”
with him. Pennington then describes an incident in which Nalbandian
deceived French President Nicolas Sarkozky:

“Both the French Ambassador and DCM [Deputy Chief of Mission] have
separately confessed to emboffs [embassy officials or officers]
that Nalbandian pulled a fast one on the Elysee Palace, which is
why French President Sarkozy’s effusive congratulations to Sargsyan
was among the very first such letter to arrive. It seems that a
Nalbandian contact in the Elysee Palace had shared with Nalbandian
an advance draft copy of a proposed Sarkozy congratulations letter,
and Nalbandian promptly released the text to the media as the final
product, correctly gambling that the French administration would find
it too embarassing to publicly disavow the draft.”

WHO HINDERS SEYRAN OHANYAN
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir.am News

10:43:46 – 07/09/2011

Those who oppose to demands on Seyran Ohanyan’s resignation or
allegations for deaths in the army and say that he cannot be blamed
immediately for everything are right.

Certainly, it is wrong to blame him immediately for everything. But
everything has happened immediately so far. Last year, the society was
shocked by the series of deaths in the army. The Minister of Defense
was supposed to take radical steps to tackle this situation but as
we can see the situation has got even worse.

Under such circumstances, bringing up the issue of Seyran Ohanyan’s
responsibility does not happen immediately but it is the result of
clear logic. If the situation in the army does not change, the issue
of responsibility of the Minister rises. Moreover, it should not be
done by the society but by the leadership of the country because the
issue is urgent.

Serzh Sargsyan must deal with this issue not through abstract
formulations but through definitely addressed signals. If he thinks
Seyran Ohanyan should remain in his office, Serzh Sargsyan must point
out those who hinder Ohanyan and must get rid of them. Perhaps it
is doubtless that the Armenian army needs serious changes and these
changes in turn need elimination of a greater part of the supreme
command staff of the army.

Armenia needs a new Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces with new
thinking, qualities and new values which will correspond to the modern
trends of the military art, the world’s military-political trends. The
greater part of the acting Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of
Armenia has no idea of these trends. Their ideas correspond to the
requirements of the Armenian traditional mechanism of reproduction
of government.

This situation has led to the plight of the army when a new tragedy
and a new victim at peace time is expected at any moment.

The problem must not be viewed in terms of statistics and it there is
no need to tell the society that fewer victims have been reported this
year compared with the previous year. The problem is the atmosphere.

Now, the general atmosphere in the army is revealed rather than
separate death cases. It is possible that no one will be killed or
tortured in this atmosphere for a week or for a year. This is not the
problem but the atmosphere itself because the current system of values
and relationships and atmosphere in the Armenian army mean violence,
psychological violence.

This atmosphere must be changed regardless of the death statistics.

TURQUIE: AHMET SIK ET NEDIM SENER DEJA SIX MOIS EN PRISON

Collectif VAN

07-09-2011

Le Collectif VAN vous propose ce Communiqué de Presse publié sur
le site des Reporters Sans Frontières le 6 septembre 2011

Reporters Sans Frontières

Turquie

Inculpés pour “terrorisme”, Ahmet Sik et Nedim Sener ont déja passé
six mois en prison

Publié le mardi 6 septembre 2011

“Six mois déja de détention illégitime et infondée, alors même
que le procès n’a toujours pas commencé. Chaque jour qu’Ahmet Sik
(Ahmet Å~^ık) et Nedim Sener (Nedim Å~^ener) passent derrière les
barreaux est un scandale qui rejaillit sur l’image de la démocratie
turque. Alors que la justice s’y refuse chaque mois, la première
audience du procès qui s’ouvrira prochainement doit absolument se
conclure par la libération conditionnelle des deux journalistes.

Ce serait un signe majeur pour montrer que la justice turque s’inscrit
pleinement dans la dynamique démocratique au sein de la société”,
a déclaré Reporters sans frontières.

La semaine précédente, le procureur Cihan Kansiz a enfin présenté
son acte d’accusation a la 16e chambre de la cour d’Assises d’Istanbul,
qui devra le valider et déterminer une date de procès. Il concerne
quatorze prévenus, dont Ahmet Sik et Nedim Sener ainsi que neuf
autres journalistes et écrivains, accusés d’avoir utilisé leur
activité médiatique et éditoriale au profit de l’organisation
terroriste présumée “Ergenekon”. La plupart des autres inculpés
sont des collaborateurs du site odatv.com, arrêtés entre le 18
février et le 3 mars 2011.

Le contenu détaillé du document de 134 pages ne sera connu que dans
les jours a venir, mais les éléments révélés pour l’instant
semblent correspondre en tous points a la rhétorique paranoïaque
du parquet général lors des premiers interrogatoires. Il sera
intéressant de voir si les six mois d’enquête ont permis au parquet
de rassembler plus d’éléments de preuves, en particulier contre
Ahmet Sik et Nedim Sener, que les comptes-rendus d’écoute tronqués
et les interprétations délirantes qui fondaient en bonne partie
les questions initiales du parquet.

Le maintien des journalistes en détention provisoire suscite
l’indignation jusque chez certains des magistrats chargés de statuer
chaque mois sur sa prolongation. Le juge Seref Akcay, président de
la 11e chambre de la cour d’Assises d’Istanbul, s’est ainsi opposé en
vain a cette mesure en soulignant que “l’enquête ne respecte pas les
principes d’impartialité, de justice et de morale”, que “les prévenus
ne sont pas en mesure de détériorer les pièces a conviction entre
les mains de la police”, et que “le livre [d’Ahmet Sik] n’est même
pas encore publié”. D’autre part, le magistrat note que le délit de
‘propagande d’une organisation illégale’ ne peut être constitué
que par des expressions élogieuses a l’égard de celle-ci, alors que
les textes incriminés critiquent seulement la conduite des procès
Ergenekon, sans pour autant se solidariser avec les prévenus.

Le 4 septembre 2011, au terme d’une visite a la prison de Silivri,
l’épouse d’Ahmet Sik, Yonca, a donné a Reporters sans frontières
des nouvelles des deux journalistes : “De manière générale, Ahmet
va bien, mais il est impatient de voir son acte d’accusation publié
et de connaître la date de sa comparution devant le tribunal. Il
a seulement mal au genou. D’après les médecins, il est possible
qu’il se fasse opérer du ménisque. Le médecin de l’établissement
pénitentiaire lui a prescrit le port d’une genouillère, mais la
direction de la prison a refusé que je la lui donne. Nedem Sener
aussi va bien. Il a maigri, car il fait beaucoup de sport”.

Le 6 mars 2011, a l’issue de leur garde-a-vue, les deux journalistes
d’investigation parmi les plus renommés de Turquie étaient
incarcérés en compagnie de leurs collègues d’odatv.com. Leur
arrestation et ses conséquences aberrantes ont soulevé une vague
de protestation inédite en Turquie comme a l’étranger, devenant un
symbole de l’attitude paranoïaque de la justice vis-a-vis des médias
dans ce pays et de la pratique largement répandue de l’incarcération
préventive.

Les journalistes paient leur couverture critique d’un sujet
ultra-sensible en Turquie : l’affaire Ergenekon, du nom d’une
nébuleuse militaro-nationaliste soupconnée d’avoir fomenté un coup
d’Etat contre le gouvernement du parti d’obédience islamique AKP.

L’arrestation des militaires conspirationnistes en 2007 a dans
un premier temps été saluée comme un progrès démocratique,
mais cette affaire est largement devenue le prétexte d’une vaste
chasse aux sorcières dans les milieux d’opposition. Reporters sans
frontières a publié un rapport d’enquête a ce sujet le 16 juin 2011.

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Reporters Sans Frontières

L’ATTACHE MILITAIRE ISRAELIEN RESTE A ANKARA MALGRE LA CRISE
[email protected]

armenews.com
mercredi 7 septembre 2011
TURQUIE

L’attache militaire israelien a l’ambassade de l’Etat hebreu a Ankara
reste en poste en depit de la crise diplomatique entre les deux pays, a
affirme mardi un haut responsable du ministère israelien de la Defense.

“Il n’y a pas de rupture avec la Turquie : la preuve en est que
notre attache militaire a Ankara reste en poste et que les services
consulaires (a Ankara) continuent a fonctionner”, a affirme a la
radio publique Amos Gilad, responsable des questions politiques et
securitaires a la Defense.

“Il faut trouver une solution a cette crise en utilisant une marge
de manoeuvre qui reste, notamment en faisant jouer l’OTAN ainsi que
les liens de la Turquie avec les Etats-Unis et l’Europe”, a ajoute
Amos Gilad

Selon lui, “la Turquie a beaucoup a perdre a mener une politique
extremiste”.

Vendredi, la Turquie a annonce l’expulsion d’ici mercredi de
l’ambassadeur d’Israël a Ankara et le gel des relations militaires en
guise de retorsion au refus d’Israël de presenter des excuses pour
l’abordage meurtrier d’un ferry turc en route pour Gaza (9 morts)
par un commando de marine israelien le 31 mai 2010.

ARMENIAN STAR CHAIN PURCHASES FRESH SUPERMARKETS

news.am
Sept 6 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- Armenia’s STAR supermarket chain has completed negotiations
on purchasing Fresh supermarkets.

The parties have already reached a final agreement. On this stage,
before the legal implementation of the agreement the treaty needs to be
confirmed by Armenia’s State Commission for the Protection of Economic
Competition, STAR press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“Purchasing Fresh supermarkets will enable STAR to increase sales
volume as well as to reduce logistic, distribution and administrative
expenses thus achieving desired efficiency, i.e. cut the expenses
by 15-20% in the new united trade chain,” said executive director of
STAR trade chain Vahan Kerobyan.

Legal implementations are expected to be completed in a month and will
be immediately followed by the phase of strategic program development.

In the nearest future the company will hold a press conference during
which the details of transaction and the further development plans
of the company will be announced.

Presently STAR trade chain operates 18 supermarkets, 17 in Yerevan
and one in Hrazdan town, while Fresh supermarket chain operates four
supermarkets under Fresh brand and 3 stores under Catherine brand in
Yerevan. Besides, STAR will soon open a new store.

PM: TURKEY TO IMPOSE MORE SANCTIONS ON ISRAEL, BOOST PRESENCE IN EAST MED

Today’s Zaman

Sept 6 2011
Turkey

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that Turkey is
completely suspending military and commercial ties with Israel
and will impose further sanctions on the Jewish state following its
refusal to apologize for the bloody raid of an aid ship in the eastern
Mediterranean last year that resulted in the deaths of eight Turks
and one Turkish-American.

“Israel has always acted like a spoiled child in the face of all
UN decisions that concern it. It assumes that it can continue to
act like a spoiled child and will get away with it,” Erdogan told
reporters on Tuesday.

Turkey downgraded its relations with Israel following a raid by the
latter on the Mavi Marmara, a ship that was part of an international
aid flotilla that was attempting to breach an Israeli blockade of
Gaza. Turkey said that relations between the two countries would only
return to normal if Israel offered a formal apology for the resulting
killings and paid compensation to the families of the victims.

However, Israel refused, saying its soldiers had acted in
self-defense. Months-long diplomatic efforts to mend relations failed
to produce an agreement.

A UN panel set up to investigate the deadly raid last year
repeatedly delayed releasing its findings to allow more time for
Turkish-Israeli efforts to heal their relations. The UN released
the panel’s findings last weekend, saying the Israeli soldiers used
“excessive and unreasonable” force against passengers of the Mavi
Marmara but, contrary to what Turkey has argued, it found that the
Israeli blockade of Gaza is legal.

Erdogan said the 2010 raid, which took place in international waters
in the Mediterranean, was “inhumane” and “an act of state terrorism
and savagery” and asserted that the UN panel’s report “holds no value
for us.”

“If the measures [we have] taken so far [against Israel] are part
of a Plan B, then there will also be a Plan C. Different steps will
be taken depending on the course of developments. … We are totally
suspending our commercial, military and defense ties. They are being
frozen entirely,” he added, without clarifying what the next round
of sanctions might include.

Officials at the Prime Ministry, however, elaborated later in the
day that commercial ties with Israel will not be affected, adding
that the commercial ties Erdogan mentioned refer to the commercial
aspect of defense relations. Turkey did not impose a trade embargo
on Israel but suspended ongoing defense projects and purchases from
Israeli defense firms.

The Turkish government last Friday announced a set of sanctions
against Israel, including the further downgrading of relations to
second secretary level — effectively expelling senior-level Israeli
diplomats — and measures it will take to ensure freedom of navigation
in the eastern Mediterranean after Israel made clear that it would
not apologize for the May 31, 2010 raid.

When asked to elaborate on the promised steps to ensure freedom
of navigation in the eastern Mediterranean, which observers have
indicated could mean clashes with Israel in international waters,
Erdogan replied: “The eastern Mediterranean is no stranger to us. Our
ships will be seen more frequently in those waters.”

Officials from the Defense Ministry were not available for comment.

According to a headlining story in the Sabah daily on Tuesday, Turkish
naval forces are expanding their operations in the Mediterranean. The
daily claimed that the naval forces will implement the “Barbaros
Plan” to expand the “Mediterranean Shield,” which it is expected will
increase naval support as the number of frigates will increase from
two to four, the number of assault ships from three to five and coast
guard vessels from one to three. The news report further indicated
that the Konya 3rd Main Jet Base Commandership and the Ä°zmir 2nd
Main Jet Base Commandership are also expected to provide support for
the Mediterranean naval forces.

The Turkish Naval Duty Group, established to support Turkey’s foreign
policy and secure naval routes that Turkish commercial vessels also
use, has made its presence known in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean in
the last three months. The group — which consists of four frigates,
one logistical support ship, three sea helicopters and special dive
teams — passed through the Suez Canal on June 2 this year and visited
the ports of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Yemen,
Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

There are several international operations in which Turkish naval
forces participate. One is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL) for which Turkish naval frigates patrol off the Lebanese
coast. In addition, as a member of NATO, Turkey sent two warships to
the Gulf of Aden on an international mission and where they have been
deployed off the coast of Somalia since 2009 in an attempt to prevent
piracy. Furthermore, five Turkish naval ships and a submarine have
been dispatched to help enforce UN and NATO rules in Libya.

Eyes turn to defense industry cooperation As Turkish-Israeli relations
increasingly sour, eyes have turned to the defense industry, one of
the most important areas of cooperation between Turkey and Israel.

Israel, as one of Turkey’s most important defense industry partners,
has enjoyed an beneficial balance in trade relations as Turkey
purchases advanced defense technology from Israel and Israel buys
military boots and uniforms from Turkey.

The defense industry has become one of the most important lines of
cooperation between Turkey and Israel since their signing of a defense
industry cooperation agreement on Aug. 28, 1996. In this regard,
Turkey’s Defense Ministry has been working with an Israeli company
to modernize Turkish F-4 jets.

Turkey’s total exports to Israel were around $2.082 billion in 2010
and $1.382 billion over the course of the first seven months of 2011.

Turkey imported goods from Israel totaling $1.359 billion in 2010
and $1.180 billion in the first seven months of 2011.

Last year, Turkey mainly exported automotive goods, iron and steel,
isolated wire, copper wire, cobblestones, ceramic tiles, jewelry
and electrical devices to Israel. It primarily imported oil and oil
products, tanks and armored war vehicles, chemicals, plastic goods,
scrap iron and steel, organic chemicals, medical devices and medicine
from Israel.

Recent Israeli investments in Turkey include the purchase of shares
by the Ofer Group in the Turkish Oil Refineries Corp. (TupraÅ~_). The
largest bank in Israel, Hapoalim Bank, purchased 57.5 percent of
shares in BankPozitif to invest in the Turkish banking industry. It
purchased the shares from C Faktoring for $100 million. In June 2006,
Israeli carpet company Karmel invested $9 million in Turkish industry
by buying 51.1 percent of Turkish Atlas Halı (carpet).

Turkish contractors have undertaken 104 projects in Israel so far,
worth a total of $580 million. The largest Turkish investment in Israel
is in the electric power plants Zorlu Group will construct. The group
of companies has undertaken to build four power plants in Israel
thus far.

Turkey and Israel signed a tourism cooperation agreement in Jerusalem
on June 1, 1992 and Turkey became the second most-popular tourism
destination for Israelis. Turkey received 511,435 Israeli tourists
in 2007; 558,183 in 2008; 311,600 in 2009 and only 109,600 in 2010.

OSCE SAYS MUTUAL CONFIDENCE NEEDED TO SOLVE KARABAKH CONFLICT

news.az
Sept 6 2011
Azerbaijan

‘It is clear that war will not resolve this conflict’.

‘The issue is not so much whether the parties need to show good faith
and confidence in the OSCE but rather, I think, that whether they have
confidence in each other to solve the Nagorno Karabakh problem’, the
OSCE Chairmanship’s special representative for protracted conflicts
Giedrius Cekuolis said in his interview to RFE/RL.

Cekuolis said what is very preoccupying is that the Armenian and
Azerbaijani governments are not preparing their societies for the
possibility of a negotiated solution of the conflict.

‘We think that the sides need to take measures to reduce tensions. My
representatives have visited the region, myself, my foreign minister,
everyone, so we are just looking and stressing the need for political
will for a negotiated settlement of the conflict, strengthening the
cease-fire regime, investigating skirmishes on the Line of Contact,
for example, removing snipers a little bit, you know, and establishing
a hotline, which is quite necessary and easy to do between local
field commanders.

And then probably also continue with confidence-building measures. We
are living in the 21st century and so only a negotiated solution
of the conflict is possible. I’m not an expert on military things,
but it is clear that war will not resolve this conflict’.

FREEZING OF TURKISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS WAS HUGE SACRIFICE BY TURKEY – TURKOLOGIST

news.am
Sept 6 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Turkey wishes to become leader in the Islamic world,
said turkologist Ruben Melkonyan during a press conference held today.

Reflecting on Turkish-Israeli relations, Melkonyan noted that military
cooperation was the most developed of those relations, and, by putting
military agreements on hold and bringing diplomatic relations to a
minimum, these relations will change considerably.

Reminding that Turkey had demanded from Israel to apologize for the
incident with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Ruben Melkonyan stated:
“This demand is made by a country which, for over 90 years, refuses
to apologize for 1.5 million victims. This demand is made by a country
which, for approximately 20 years, has unlawfully blockaded Armenia.”

He also added that Israel will step up its efforts toward recognition
of the Armenian Genocide. In Melkonyan’s words, certain countries try
to make use of the Armenian Genocide issue for political objectives
and that cannot be considered sincere, but rather order of the moment.

NO DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN ARMENIA’S FORMER AND INCUMBENT PRESIDENTS

news.am
Sept 6 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- There is no disagreement between Armenia’s former President
Robert Kocharyan and incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, said head
of Republican parliamentary group Galust Sahakyan.

His comments came after WikiLeaks scandalous website disclosed cables
regarding Armenia.

“I can not accept there is disagreement between Kocharyan and
Sargsyan. They are not people to be at war. Such people do not have
disagreements,” he told journalists on Tuesday.

According to the WikiLeaks-published cables, Kocharyan stood for more
aggressive position on the March 1 events than Sargsyan.