Author: Kajoyan Gevork

COE SECRETARY GENERAL CALLS ON AZERBAIJAN TO RELEASE OPPOSITION POLITICIAN ILGAR MAMMADOV

13:35 14/10/2014 >> IN THE WORLD

With reference to a recent judgment from the European Court of Human
Rights which it declared final on Monday, the Secretary General of
the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland,has called on the authorities
of Azerbaijan to release jailed opposition politician and commentator
Ilgar Mammadov.

“The court has now rejected the government’s appeal, which means the
judgment is final. I therefore call on the authorities to rapidly
implement the judgment and to release Mr Mammadov,” he said.

Ilgar Mammadov was sentenced to seven years in prison in March after
being charged with offences linked to street riots in the town of
Ismayilli in January 2013.

In May of this year, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that
Mr Mammadov had been arrested and detained without proper evidence,
and that the purpose of his detention had been to silence or punish
him for criticising the government and publishing information it was
trying to hide.

Source: Panorama.am

ARMENIAN ENERGY MINISTER AND ROSATOM CHIEF TO DISCUSS EXTENSION OF ARMENIAN NPP SERVICE LIFE

YEREVAN, October 14. / ARKA /. Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural
Resources Yervand Zakarian will meet with the head of Russia’s state
nuclear agency Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, to discuss a string of
issues related to construction of a new power unit for the Armenian
nuclear power plant, the press service of the Armenian ministry said.

It said the meeting will be held on the sidelines of the World Nuclear
Exhibition, to be held October 14-16 in Paris.

The Armenian ministry said Zakaryan and Kiriyenko will discuss the
possibilities of cooperation in extending the service life of the
Armenian NPP.

The exhibition is expected to be attended by about 500 companies and
experts in the field of nuclear energy. It will feature the latest
equipment and technology trends in construction of new nuclear power
plants, their safe operation, transportation and storage of spent
fuel and personnel retraining.

Earlier the minister said a major repair of the Armenian nuclear power
plant estimated to cost around $300 million is scheduled to start in
2017 in order to extend its service life until 2026.

On March 27 the Armenian government decided to extend the life service
of the facility for ten years due to delays in the construction of
a new nuclear reactor.

The Metsamor plant located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan, was
built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake
in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and devastated much of northern
Armenia.

One of the plant’s two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was
reactivated in 1995. The government wants to build a new facility that
is supposed to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed
facility. Metsamor currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia’s
electricity. But the government has yet to attract funding for the
project that was estimated as much as $5 billion.-0-

AZERBAIJAN SHELLS ARMENIAN BORDER VILLAGE

14:04 * 14.10.14

Azerbaijan’s armed troops opened fire on the north-eastern border
village of Chinari (Tavush region) on Tuesday, Tert.am has learned
from the community’s governor.

Samvel Sahhoyan said that the gunshots, heard early in the morning,
did not fortunately cause any damage or loss.

“The gunshots were in the morning. They have stopped now; we don’t
have any damage or ruin,” he told our correspondent.

Armenian News – Tert.am

IMF READY TO CONTINUE COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA, LAGARDE

YEREVAN, October 14. / ARKA /. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
is ready to continue cooperation with Armenia and to help it enforce
more structural reforms, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde
said during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan
in Washington, the Armenian government press service said today.

She was quoted as saying that Armenia is a reliable partner and the IMF
will continue to cooperate with it, to promote structural reforms aimed
at economic development of the country. Lagarde also said that “the IMF
is home to all, and Armenia is a full-fledged member of that family.”

Abrahamyan, in turn, praised the cooperation between Armenia and the
IMF and the latter’s contribution to the economic development and
institutional reforms in Armenia.

“The IMF has been and remains an important partner of Armenia.

Macroeconomic stability has been our most important achievement,
due also to the IMF support,” he said.

According to the prime minister, IMF’s new three-year development
strategy for Armenia, approved earlier this year by IMF Board of
Directors represents a new stage of development for the Armenian
economy. He expressed confidence that the implementation of this
program will take Armenia closer to ‘the camp of countries with
emerging markets.”

Abrahamyan said that the government is determined to continue reforms
in various fields, aimed at developing the economy and improving the
country’s competitiveness.

On March 7 the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund
approved a 38-month SDR 82.21 million (about US$127.6 million,
or 89.4 percent of Armenia’s quota) Extended Fund Facility (EFF)
arrangement with the Republic of Armenia to support the authorities’
economic program.

The program aims to support a rebound in economic activity, further
progress in poverty reduction, inflation stabilization, and a reduction
in outstanding fiscal and external vulnerabilities. -0-

EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION: ECONOMIST SAYS MEMBERSHIP MOSTLY POSITIVE FOR ARMENIA

POLITICS | 13.10.14 | 15:52

GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Even though on October 10 Armenia signed the membership agreement to
the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan,
the profitability of this cooperation is still a topic of heated
discussions in Armenia.

Candidate of Economic Sciences Vilen Khachatryan thinks that EEU
membership has positive prospects for Armenia in terms of cooperation.

“In this region we gain real partners and it directs us towards
partnership with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Certain risks
connected with concrete investments will also decrease, because in
that region we have quite a lot of investment. Besides, appearing in
a competitive field, we will have to reconsider the importing policy,
leaning not on import, but rather more on local production – thus,
import exchange policy will develop,” the economist told reporters
Monday.

Reflecting on the risks of EEU membership, Khachatryan said that
Armenia might lose in the competitive war, which will be negative.

“There also arise risks conditioned by Russia being the center,
financial regulations being realized in Kazakhstan, and judicial issues
being regulated in Belarus. From this point of view, in case of any
difficulty we will have to go to those countries,” Khachatryan said.

Concerning Europe’s reaction to Armenia’s membership to EEU, according
to the economist, it is natural that Europe will react negatively,
however, it might not express its attitude so deeply, trying not to
lose another partner.

DRAFT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS TO BE PRESENTED TO THE PRESIDENT TOMORROW

13:01, 14 Oct 2014

Lena Badeyan
Public Radio of Armenia

The draft Constitutional amendments will be presented to President
Serzh Sargsyan tomorrow. The Venice Commission has recently sent its
positive assessment and conclusions on the report to Armenia. The
package will be put on a final discussion at the Professional
Commission for the Constitutional Reforms today.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is the only non-governmental
force at the Parliament to back the constitutional reforms. It
submitted its proposals to the Commission and froze the cooperation
with other opposition forces. ARF’s future steps will depend on the
extent the proposals are accepted. The answer to the question is
still unclear at this point, member of ARF faction Artsvik Minasyan
told Public Radio of Armenia.

“We are not aware of the conclusions, as we are not represented in
the Commission on Constitutional Reforms. The conclusions will be
publicized on October 15, after which it will become clear whether
our proposals have been accepted or not,” he said.

DES FIGURES LEGENDAIRES RUSSES DES DROITS DE L’HOMME SOUTIENNENT LEYLA YUNUS

RUSSIE

Cette semaine, dans une lettre conjointe (disponible en anglais et en
russe), quatre defenseurs des droits humains ont attire l’attention
sur une situation insupportable : la repression systematique de la
societe civile et les defenseurs des droits de l’homme en Azerbaïdjan.

Dans leur appel, Alekseeva, Gannuchkina, Kovalev et Orlov proposent
une reaction du Parlement europeen : pour honorer Leyla Yunus, qui
a resiste a la pression autocratique pendant des decennies, en lui
donnant le prix Sakharov 2014 :

>.

Ils notent que Leyla Yunus a longtemps travaille a la reconciliation,
a des moments où peu d’autres ont ose :

>.

Ils attirent l’attention sur le risque couru par Leyla :

>.

Respectueusement,

Lyudmila Alekseeva

Svetlana Gannouchkina

Sergei Kovalev

Oleg Orlov

Les conditions dans les prisons azerbaïdjanaises sont très mauvaises.

Il y a deux semaines, une mission de surveillance anti-torture de l’ONU
a dû suspendre ses travaux en Azerbaïdjan en raison des obstructions
par le gouvernement, qui refuse a la mission d’acceder aux prisons.

Malgre des antecedents de problèmes de sante, Leyla n’a pas recu de
medecin, a ete harcele par des codetenus criminelles et a recemment
ete battu dans sa cellule. Cependant, son avocat – l’un des seuls
avocats des droits de l’homme qui restent en Azerbaïdjan – a ete
intimide et menace. Sans avocats respectables pour defendre les
prisonniers politiques en Azerbaïdjan et relayer des informations
sur les conditions et les souffrances de leurs clients, les voix des
militants tels que Leyla seront reduits au silence complètement.

Au Parlement europeen, 27 membres de divers groupes politiques ont
soutenu la nomination de trois defenseurs des droits de l’homme –
y compris Leyla Yunus – pour le prix Sakharov. Tanja Fajon, le
vice-president du groupe social-democrate, a joue un rôle cle dans
la collecte de signatures pour leur nomination.

Le groupe politique des Verts a nomme Leyla au nom de tous les autres
defenseurs des droits de l’homme en Azerbaïdjan. Ulrike Lunacek,
qui est egalement vice-president du parlement, a permis de mobiliser
ce soutien. Les co-presidents du groupe, Rebecca Harms et Philippe
Lamberts, ont declare : >.

Le 11 Septembre 2014 ministre des Affaires etrangères autrichien
Sebastian Kurz est alle a Bakou et a remis la liste des prisonniers
politiques au ministre des Affaires etrangères de l’Azerbaïdjan. Ce fut
un geste significatif, qui devrait etre repete par tous les ministres
des Affaires etrangères de l’UE en visite en Azerbaïdjan.

Kurz a egalement rencontre la journaliste d’investigation Khadija
Ismayilova, qui fait face a une arrestation possible, mais qui –
comme Leyla Yunus – a refuse de se laisser intimider.

Le 18 Septembre 2014, le Parlement europeen a adopte une resolution
sur l’Azerbaïdjan, qui a appele le gouvernement azerbaïdjanais
a liberer tous les prisonniers politiques >.

Enfin, cette semaine Anar Mammadli, un militant des droits humains
de l’Azerbaïdjan et defenseur du droit a des elections libres et
justes, a recu le prestigieux prix Vaclav Havel. Anar est en prison
depuis Octobre 2013 et a ete condamne a plus de cinq ans de prison
en 2014, c’est une decision prometteuse, juste, courageuse. Cela met
egalement en evidence l’echec dramatique par l’institution meme au
nom de laquelle ce prix est decerne, le Conseil de l’Europe, qui n’a
pas reussi a lutter contre la realite des prisonniers politiques en
Azerbaïdjan jusqu’a present.

mardi 14 octobre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

CHALLANDES : COMME DES LIONS

ARMENIE

Les reactions des deux selectionneurs, Bernard Challandes et Dick
Advocaat, après le match nul 1-1 entre l’Armenie et la Serbie samedi
dans le Groupe I des eliminatoires de l’UEFA EURO 2016.

Bernard Challandes, selectionneur de l’Armenie Mes joueurs etaient
comme des lions. Au debut du match, j’aurais signe pour un nul, au
vu du nombre de joueurs absents dans mon equipe, mais maintenant je
suis decu. Je suis fier de mon equipe et du match qu’elle a livre.

Robert Arzumanyan, defenseur de l’Armenie Aujourd’hui, on a prouve
que meme s’il manquait des joueurs, il y a de la force dans cette
equipe et on se bat jusqu’a la dernière minute. Bien sûr, c’etait
difficile, mais prendre un point face a une equipe comme la Serbie,
c’est une victoire pour nous. Je dois dire qu’on a ete plus près de
gagner le match que nos visiteurs.

Dick Advocaat, selectionneur de la Serbie Je ne dirais pas que c’etait
un fiasco, mais ce n’etait pas l’un de nos meilleurs matches.

L’Armenie a bien defendu et ca a ete très difficile de percer. Nous
devrions etre meilleurs que ca. Mes joueurs et moi comprenons qu’il
n’y aura pas de matches faciles et nous devons nous preparer pour la
match contre l’Albanie.

mardi 14 octobre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

LE SELECTIONNEUR ARMENIEN BERNARD CHALLANDES CRAINT LE PIRE POUR L’ARMENIE FACE LES BLEUS

AVANT ARMENIE-FRANCE

Fatiguee après son match heroïque samedi dernier face a la Serbie
(1-1), l’Armenie craint de sombre face a une equipe de France en pleine
forme, ce mardi en match amical a Erevan (18h). Bernard Challandes, le
selectionneur armenien affirme qu’il a >
et parle meme de > et de > !

Ce match de gala contre la France qualifiee d’office pour l’Euro 2016,
tombe au pire moment pour l’Armenie privee de quatre de ses meilleurs
joueurs dont Henrikh Mkhitaryan et Youra Movsissian.

Pour Bernard Challandes, le selectionneur suisse de l’equipe armenienne
(52e au classement FIFA), ce match tombe au pire moment. >
>.

Après l’exploit contre la Serbie (1-1), l’Armenie qui est passee tout
près de la victoire avant de ceder le but de l’egalisation serbe a la
90e minute peut-elle redoubler l’exploit ? Reponse demain soir a 18h.

Krikor Amirzayan

mardi 14 octobre 2014, Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

PRESIDENT OF UNION OF ARMENIANS OF RUSSIA: LEVON HAYRAPETYAN’S CASE IS RESULT OF A CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO BIG BUSINESSMEN

by Marianna Lazarian

ARMINFO
Monday, October 13, 16:12

Levon Hayrapetyan’s case is the result of a conflict between two
big businessmen, President of the Union of Armenians of Russia Ara
Abrahamyan told journalists in Yerevan on Monday.

He is sure that Hayrapetyan is not guilty. “We are glad that he is
now under house arrest and can receive necessary medical assistance,”
Abrahamyan said.

Hayrapetyan was arrested in Russia on July 16 on suspicion of
being privy to the activities of the notorious Kingisep criminal
group. The Russian special services are currently investigating
the case of Sergey-Finagin’s Kingisepp group, which together with
Alexander Matusov’s Schelkovo gang, is believed to have done a number
of contract killings first for businessman Georgy Safiyev (killed
in the United States) and then for former Senator Igor Izmestyev
(who is now in jail for life). And it was Izmestyev who said that
Hayrapetyan was privy to some of the killings, particularly, those
related to the Bashneft oil company.