Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIA’S MINISTRY OF ECONOMY EXPECTS GROWTH OF TRADE WITH CZECH REPUBLIC

YEREVAN, September 12. /ARKA/. Armenia’s ministry of economy
is expecting the trade turnover with the Czech Republic to show
year-on-year growth by the end of 2014, despite modest indicators
in the first half of the year, Armenia’s deputy minister of economy
Garegin Melkonyan said at the Armenian-Czech intergovernmental
commission on Thursday.

According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia’s foreign trade
turnover with the Czech Republic in January-July 2014 amounted to
$9.9 million, down from $13.26 million during the same period of 2013.

“The mutual interest and the activities of the intergovernmental
commission inspire hopes and some confidence the situation and the
indicators will improve in the near future”, Melkonyan said.

The Armenian deputy-minister also said there are currently some 25-30
joint ventures with Czechs in the country, and Czech investments in
Armenia amount to about $1 million only. The contractual and legal
framework should be enhanced to achieve improvements, he said.

In particular, the sides have already discussed the signing of an
agreement about promotion and mutual protection of investments and
of a number of other agreements, Melkonyan said.

Deputy minister of industry and trade of the Czech Republic, Vladimir
Bartl, said the platform for contacts between businessmen created as
part of the commission will help ensure businessmen have sufficient
information.

“We have started from scratch, but our working groups have made great
achievements as certain programs have been defined to be further
developed by entrepreneurs”, Bartl said. -0–

KENYA: SADLY, WHO TODAY WILL SPEAK OF THE KENYANS?

The Star – All Africa
Sept 11 2014

column By Patrick Gathara

When, following the Second World War, the surviving Nazi and Japanese
leaders, were arraigned in military courts to face charges of, amongst
others, crimes against humanity, Chief Prosecutor Robert Jackson
described the trials as “one of the most important tributes that Power
has ever paid to Reason”. However, given that only crimes of the Axis
Powers could be tried and that it was not a defence to argue that the
Allies had done many of the same things the Axis Powers were being
accused of, “one of the most important tributes that Power has ever
paid to Reason” turned out to be little more than victors’ justice.

Last week, we witnessed another example of victors’ justice in a crimes
against humanity trial. International Criminal Court prosecutor, Fatou
Bensouda, surprised no one with the admission that the case against
President Uhuru Kenyatta with regard to the 2007-08 post-election
violence had practically collapsed. It perhaps was never a strong
case to begin with and the ICC’s dismal track record in securing
convictions does not inspire much confidence. However, it would be
hard to deny that the death knell for the case was rung on the day
Uhuru and his fellow indictee, William Ruto, won the elections and
ascended to the highest office in the land.

The campaign that followed, which sought to intimidate both the
court and its witnesses, was unprecedented in its ferocity. And
it succeeded. Many of the witnesses had sudden changes of heart or
experienced what can only be described as an attack of conscience –
previously suppressed memories of being bribed and coached abruptly
surfaced. At the same time cartels were said to be hunting witnesses
down, the government was expending huge amounts of time as well as
diplomatic and fiscal resources trying to stop the trial and ignoring
the constitution. Specifically Article 143(4), which expressly allowed
for the prosecution of a sitting president.

As the President looks set to cast aside the “personal challenge”
he has succeeded in masquerading as a national problem, similar
things are happening in his deputy’s case. Meanwhile, we long ago
learnt that the other 4,500 pending PEV cases meant to be prosecuted
locally had similarly collapsed. The rub of it is that no one will now
be held responsible for the deaths of 1,200 Kenyans and the maiming
and displacement of hundreds of thousands of others.

Such impunity is, of course, nothing new in Kenya. In fact, it was
because of our scepticism over the ability of the local justice
system to deal with our high and mighty that many were ready to say:
“Let’s not be vague: It’s the Hague.” However, when it came down to it,
our incestuous elite closed ranks to protect one of their own. Nary
a voice was raised, even in the opposition, when the state subverted
the constitution, refused to cooperate with the ICC and failed in
its duty to protect witnesses. In fact, even before the election,
Uhuru’s bitter rival, Raila Odinga, had promised to scuttle the ICC
trials if he won. Few politicians on either side are perturbed by
the failure to prosecute more than a handful of PEV-related cases.

The collapse of these PEV cases, both locally and at the ICC,
is profoundly depressing because it reinforces the disposability of
Kenyan lives. The fact is, from the dawn of our history, Kenyans have
been regularly slaughtered in large numbers, mostly at the behest of
our ruling elites who picked up their bad habits from the colonials.

And throughout, impunity has been the order of the day. The Indemnity
Act, for example, gives blanket immunity to all government personnel
for crimes committed against the population of North Eastern during
the Shifta War in which up to 7,000 people died. No one has been held
responsible for the many subsequent massacres in the same region
nor for the government-instigated mass killings and displacements
in the 1990s. According to the Kenya Human Rights Commission, “from
1991 to 1996, more than 15,000 people died and almost 300,000 were
displaced in Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western. In the run-up to the
1997 elections, fresh violence erupted on the Coast, killing more
than 100 people and displacing over 100,000.”

Rather, the men on whose watch many of these murders and displacements
occurred are today feted, both in death and in life. Within the
last month we have solemnly marked 36 years after the death of
President Kenyatta and celebrated President Moi’s 90th birthday. At
these anniversaries, the many victims of their brutal rule remained
conveniently hidden and forgotten, their lives and suffering as cheap
today as it was when it was inflicted.

The fact that Kenya refuses to demand justice for its people is the
most telling sign of how low our lives are esteemed. The fact that
our people die nameless and are displaced in nice round numbers is
a reminder of our individual insignificance. There are no monuments
to remind us of those we have sacrificed for our elites, save for
the hidden camps for the displaced whose existence the government is
quite happy to deny. For most of the time they are invisible, their
unending suffering rendered meaningless. Even during the ICC trials,
they have mostly remained unseen.

The ease with which we have forsaken our brothers and sisters does
not bode well for the future. The charge of “crimes against humanity”
was first articulated in reference to the Armenian Genocide of 1915-18.

However, the Turks were never formerly prosecuted under international
law. This failure to hold them to account paved the way for the
Nazi Holocaust. As Adolf Hitler rhetorically asked his generals:
“Who today still speaks of the Armenians?”

Who today will speak of the Kenyans?

ARMENIANS DISAPPOINTED WITH EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 11 2014

11 September 2014 – 10:35am

According to social polls of Gallup International, the approval rating
of the idea to form the Eurasian Economic Union dropped from 67%
in April 2013 to 57% in August 2014, News.am reports.

The Russian Duma promised to ratify the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty
introduced by the president to the Duma 10 days ago. The ratification
date will be set on September 18. Leonid Slutsky, the head of the
Duma committee for CIS affairs, said that the ratification process
will be oriented towards ratification in Astana and Minsk.

The Armenian president said at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council
in Astana on May 29 that Yerevan was planning to join the treaty by
June 15. The final version of the document on Armenia’s joining the
Union was only sent to potential partners on September 3.

EUROPE NEEDS A NEW SOURCE OF OIL AND GAS, FAST

TIME Magazine
Sept 11 2014

Claude Salhani

The Ukraine crisis underscores the need for a new European energy
policy

Summer is over and many Europeans may have to keep warm this coming
winter by thinking about their summer holidays while wrapped in
blankets, praying for a short winter or for the world to come to its
senses. It both cases, they may well be disappointed.

The never-ending conflicts in the Middle East, mayhem in Libya,
uncertainty in the Gulf and a war in Ukraine are all going to take
a toll on the energy supplies this winter.

Russia sold 86 billion cubic meters of gas last year, all of which
passed through Ukraine. Given what’s happening there now, it is
highly unlikely that the Russians would allow their gas to transit a
country they are (unofficially) at war with. Just as it is unlikely
that Ukrainians would allow Russian gas access through its territory.

Result? Many cold Europeans, many angry Europeans and many very pissed
off Europeans. Many Europeans will have to make do without enough
gas to heat homes, offices and factories. That’s a bad prospect in
northern European countries, where winter is no laughing matter.

Winter defeated the armies of both Napoleon and Hitler.

And what does history tell us about cold, angry, pissed-off Europeans?

Well, whenever two opposing camps got cold, angry and pissed off
enough at each other in the past, they typically went to war.

War in Europe? In our time?

It’s not impossible. If current trends continue, it is not at all
impossible. Here’s why:

1. Mounting tension between Russia and the West over Ukraine —
a situation that is very likely to worsen as the United States and
European Union tighten sanctions on Moscow.

2. NATO forces edging dangerously close to Russian forces.

3. The spread of the violence and reach of the Islamic State. Besides
the havoc they are creating in the region, there is the added threat
of hundreds, if not thousands, of their supporters who have learned how
to fight in Syria and Iraq returning to their home countries in Europe.

4. Turkey, which in recent years has played a stabilizing role in the
region, is moving today in a different direction that could well lead
to a new point of conflict. From jumping head first into the Middle
East conundrum under former prime minister and now President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s new prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu,
started off by possibly igniting a new fight when he announced —
much to the pleasure of Azerbaijan, and certainly to the dismay of
Armenia — that “the liberation of occupied Azerbaijani lands would
be a strategic goal for Turkey.”

These remarks refer to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh and outlying areas that have been occupied by Armenia
since a violent conflagration around the time of the break-up of the
Soviet Union. Armenians and Azerbaijani troops have been engaging in
exchanges of fire on a daily basis over the past few months.

5: Mounting tension between Iran and Israel, and between Iran and an
unnamed former Soviet republic in the region that Iran says allowed
Israel to launch a drone from its territory to spy on Iran. Tehran
has promised a stern response. The country in question is thought to
be Azerbaijan, Armenia or Turkmenistan.

6. Continued mayhem in Libya, where the political turmoil is affecting
the flow of oil and gas to Europe.

7. The continued state of unrest in Israel/Gaza and the surrounding
area.

All these points of conflict are complicating Europe’s search for more
reliable sources of energy. Europe is hoping to solve its gas shortage
problems by purchasing Azerbaijani gas, but it’s unrealistic to depend
only on Azerbaijani gas, since Europeans would be at the mercy of
interruptions to gas and oil flows from this South Caucasus country.

What Europe desperately needs is a source of energy that with not
be interrupted by conflict or politics, that can be delivered via
pipeline or by sea, but will not need to transit through sea lanes
in areas of conflict.

And although EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said last week
that he is not worried about gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine,
that show of confidence did not stop him from going to Moscow to
plead Europe’s case with the Russians.

So where does that leave the Europeans other than out in the cold?

Trend energy analyst Vagif Sharifov believes the new bonanza of natural
gas lies in the Arctic, where more than 1,500 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas can be found.

But polar drilling comes with a high cost and huge challenges. Europe
might need to keep looking.

RUSSIA WILL NOT SUSPEND SERVICE TO AIR ARMENIA – COMPANY OFFICIAL

17:16, 11.09.2014

YEREVAN. – Air Armenia airline company has no debts to Russia. It
is just that it has not made payments, since the bank, through which
the transfers are made, is under sanctions.

Air Armenia representative Sirak Hambardzumyan told the abovementioned
to Armenian News-NEWS.am noting that the Russian media information,
according to which Air Armenia flights to Russia will be suspended
as of September 21, is not true.

“So, our airline company will continue its flights to Russia,”
Hambardzumyan added.

As for the debts which are said to be about $1.1 million, he noted
that these are current debts and common occurrences in such cases.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

‘WANTED’ BY JOURNALISTS

15:34 | September 10,2014 | Politics

The man in the photo yesterday hindered the work of A1+’s journalist
outside the National Assembly, using violence against a 20-year-old
girl, hitting her on the right arm and throwing her recording device
(iPad) to the ground.

Today he showed up at his workplace ‘as a hero’ and was immediately
engaged in his everyday activities. Let the police draw their own
conclusions.

According to media, the man in the photo is Karen Hayrapetyan, Head
of the National Security Service of the National Assembly.

GREECE PARLIAMENT RATIFIES BILL CRIMINALIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL

Jurist
Sept 10 2014

Parliament of Greece [official website] on Tuesday ratified a bill
that criminalizes the denial of the Armenian genocide. The revised
bill is titled “Fight Against Xenophobia,” and it was adopted by a
vote of 54-42, with 3 parliament members abstaining from the vote.

With Thursday’s vote, Greece joined [Armen press report] Switzerland
and Slovakia to become the third state to criminalize the denial of
the World War I era Armenian genocide [NYT backgrounder]. A violation
[Ria Novosti report] of the new bill is punishable by up to three
years in prison and a fine not to exceed 30,000 Euros. Further,
parties or associations that support racism may be deprived of
government funding for a period of one to six months and receive
fines up to 100,000 Euros.

In recent years, Armenian nationals have fought with the international
community to recognize the killings of 1.5 Armenian citizens that
occurred approximately 100 years ago and allegedly resulted in the
killing of 1.5 million Armenian citizens during World War I, known as
the Armenian genocide [JURIST news archive]. Turkey has long disputed
the numbers, alleging the killings were a result of a civil war that
took place after the collapse of the Ottoman empire. In December 2009,
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled [JURIST report] that
prosecutions for denying that the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire in 1915 was a genocide are an attack on freedom of expression.

In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed [JURIST report] a landmark accord
in Switzerland to normalize relations between the two countries and
open up borders. In 2010, a spokesperson for the US State Department
stated that the Obama administration opposed a vote [JURIST report]
before the House of Representatives on a resolution [HR 252 materials]
branding the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Turkish forces
as genocide.

ABRAHAMYAN HAILS ARMENIA’S 2014 EXPO AS MARKETPLACE FOR BUSINESS TIES

CISTran Finance
Sept 10 2014

September 10, 2014 6:00 AM
By Lisa Barron

Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan attended Friday’s opening
of Armenia EXPO 2014 at the Yerevan Expo exhibition hall, where he
welcomed visitors.

“I view events like this as the best platform for striking new business
ties and presenting our country on the international marketplace,”
Abrahamyan said. “I especially hail the contribution made to the
process of shaping a sound competitive field. Having a unique place
of its own within the family of international exhibitions, Armenia
Expo has achieved high productivity in terms of boosting cooperation
between the participants.”

The premier said he hoped the event, which features new products,
technologies and innovation systems, serves as a catalyst for future
cooperation between local and foreign enterprises.

“Our future success is directly related to the activation of the
economy, and I am confident that this type of initiatives may be
conducive to good results in this respect,” Abrahamyan said.

“Expositions can also promote business linkages.”

The exposition was attended by 70 companies from Armenia and countries
including Georgia, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Poland.

NATO DECLARATION KICKS UP KARABAKH ANGST

EurasiaNet.org
Sept 9 2014

September 9, 2014 – 5:07pm

The mention of Nagorno-Karabakh in a declaration issued by NATO members
at the conclusion of their recent summit in the United Kingdom has
sparked a fresh spat between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Allies “remain committed in their support to the territorial
integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia and the Republic of Modlova,” reads the September 5 statement.

NATO’s reaffirmation of territorial integrity caused chagrin in
Armenia, while producing statements of gratitude in Azerbaijan.

Armenian forces wrested control of Karabakh from the Azerbaijani
military in the early 1990s: the two sides have searched in vain for
a political settlement since agreeing to a 1994 ceasefire.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan acknowledged that the wording of the
NATO declaration constituted a “small victory” for Azerbaijan within
the Karabakh context. When considering a Karabakh settlement, Armenian
officials have long emphasized the principle of self-determination
of nations, or at least its understanding of it, over the principle
of territorial integrity.

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian criticized the NATO
declaration for having a “selective approach” that did not coincide
with that held by the Minsk Group, the international body that
oversees the long-running Karabakh peace process, according to a
report distributed by Armenian Public Radio.

While commending the NATO declaration, an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
spokesman took a swipe at the Armenian foreign minister. Nalbandian
“made it his business to justify the diplomatic failure of his
country,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdulayev.

In practical terms, NATO’s declaration doesn’t have much significance
for the Caucasus’ longest-running territorial dispute. Armenia is a
member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-led,
anti-NATO bloc. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, is at best NATO-curious,
willing to cooperate with the Atlantic alliance only to the degree
that does not cross a line with Moscow.

MIDDLE EASTERN CHRISTIAN LEADERS CONDEMN ‘BARBARIC’ PERSECUTION

Christian Today
Sept 10 2014

Published 10 September 2014 | Carey Lodge

Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has joined other
faith leaders in urging an end to the “global crisis” of religious
persecution.

Politicians, policy makers and faith leaders have urged the
international community to step up its response to religious
persecution in the Middle East.

Meeting for the inaugural IDC (In Defence of Christians) Summit in
Washington this week, representatives from Middle Eastern churches
condemned global inaction, insisting all nations must immediately
address the growing crisis in Iraq and Syria.

According to the Washington Post, Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros
Cardinal Rai, Maronite patriarch of Antioch and all the East, said:
“Far too long the world has stood there watching these atrocities
without lifting a finger while the local government has proved to be
utterly incapable of saving the lives of its citizens.”

The plight of Christians in the region has been of particular concern
after being targeted specifically by Islamic State (IS) militants in
a bid to create a caliphate.

Last week, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby noted that the Middle
East is the “birthplace of Christianity, and home to indigenous
Christian communities that have been an indispensible part of its
history”.

He warned that the region is “in desperate danger of losing an
irreplaceable part of its identity, heritage and culture.”

The IDC summit yesterday echoed this sentiment, with Aram I Keshishian,
Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
branding the crisis a “global evil”.

“Religious freedom is not just an American right, it’s a universal
right,” Cardinal Patriarch Rai, speaking before several members of
Congress, added.

“Religious freedom is an essential part of human dignity, and without
it, the world cannot know peace.”

Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of
Alexandria, who last week supported Archbishop Welby in his call,
said there is a collective responsibility to protect human rights
around the world.

“The international community, those who have any faith, any sense of
morals, any sense of ethics, any sense of right or wrong, cannot sit
by,” he said.

“What is happening in the Middle East now is unthinkable. It would
have been considered barbaric 1,400 years ago. Today it is absolutely
unacceptable.”

The Summit ends tomorrow.