Author: Kajoyan Gevork

RUSSIA’S VERY DIFFERENT TAKE ON UKRAINE CRISIS: WALKOM

There is little the West can do to force Russian troops from Crimea.

But we should try to understand why they’re there.

ALEXEY DRUGINYN / RIA NOVOSTI / EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s marathon press conference on
Tuesday was marked by whoppers, including that Russian troops in
Crimea are not Russian, but the West should try to understand why
the troops are there, Thomas Walkom writes.

By: Thomas Walkom National Affairs, Published on Tue Mar 04 2014

There are two things to keep in mind about the Ukrainian crisis.

The first is that, rhetoric aside, there is little that the West can
or will do to force Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops out
of Crimea.

The second is that Russia’s view of what’s happening inUkraine differs
dramatically from the one commonly accepted here.

If those who overthrew the old order in Kyiv are counting on the West
to protect them militarily from Moscow, they are almost certainly
doomed to disappointment.

The U.S., Canada, and other NATO members have made it clear that they
are not willing to go to war with Russia over Ukraine.

There has been talk of economic sanctions. But as both the West and
Russia know, these would cut two ways.

In the short run, Western Europe depends on Russian oil and natural
gas. Russian rubles grease Britain’s important financial industry.

As the BBC reported, British Prime Minister David Cameron has been
warned by his own officials against imposing sanctions that could
interfere with London’s role as a financial centre.

The West could expel Russia from the G8 group of big industrial
nations. But so what? Many countries, including China, get by perfectly
well outside of the G8.

Resolutions condemning Russia’s intervention in Ukraine’s Crimea
region, such as the one passed unanimously in the Commons Monday, may
make the participants feel virtuous. But they have no practical effect.

Lost in the clamour is the fact that Russia has an entirely different
take on what is happening in Ukraine.

In the West, last month’s revolution is lauded as a victory of
democracy over despotism. To Russia’s leaders, however, it was
a Washington-backed putsch designed to draw a region long deemed
essential to Moscow’s security into the enemy camp.

U.S. President Barack Obama says Ukraine can both be a friend to the
West and to Russia.

Putin’s press conference Tuesday was marked by whoppers, including
his claim that Russian troops in Crimea are not Russian.

But I suspect he was speaking close to the heart when he accused the
U.S. and its friends of playing a crucial role in the “coup d’etat”
that brought Ukraine’s new government to power.

“They sit there across the pond as if in a lab running all kinds of
experiments on the rats,” Putin said.

To Moscow, the decision to dig in now follows logically from what it
sees as two decades of Western double-dealing.

Canadians remember that the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Russia
remembers that, in return, the U.S. and its allies agreed to recognize
Moscow’s vital interest in its own neighbourhood.

In particular, then U.S. president George Bush pledged not to expand
NATO eastward.

Yet to Russia’s dismay, that pledge was soon broken as NATO welcomed
11 former Soviet satellites into its fold, including Poland, Hungary
and the Czech Republic.

In 2003 and 2004, Western countries backed so-called colour revolutions
in Georgia and Ukraine. In 2008, NATO agreed that both would eventually
be allowed to join the military alliance.

The West viewed all of this as the march of democracy. But Moscow
saw it as hypocritical meddling.

Russia knows that the U.S. accords itself the right to intervene
militarily in the affairs of its neighbours. It has famously done so
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Yet when Moscow does the same, it finds itself branded a pariah.

Being lectured on international law by the country that illegally
invaded Iraq almost certainly irks.

In a perfect world, Moscow would abandon its strategic interests in
Crimea (it’s been home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet since 1783). In
a perfect world, Russia would not care if a united Ukraine joined NATO.

In the real world, this is unlikely to happen. For this crisis
to end, Kyiv and Moscow will have to reach some kind of political
accommodation.

Moral and financial support from the West may be cheering for Ukraine.

But it won’t be enough.

INTERNATIONAL FORUM IN YEREVAN LOOKS INTO ARMENIA’S INVESTMENT CLIMATE AND BUSINESS DOING OPPORTUNITIES

YEREVAN, March 5. / ARKA /. Participants of an international
investment forum in Yerevan organized as part of regional investment
and trade facilitation project East Invest, looked today into Armenia’s
investment climate and business doing opportunities.

Araik Vardanyan, the executive director of Armenia’s Commerce and
Industry Chamber, recalled that Russia is the largest investor
in Armenia, followed by France that mainly invests in the
telecommunications sector and production of alcoholic beverages.

France is followed by the Netherlands that promotes greatly
implementation of an array of various projects. The Dutch are followed
by Germany and Argentina. The latter is a major investor in Armenia’s
transport and agriculture sectors.

Speaking about Armenia’s upcoming accession to the Customs Union,
Vardanyan downplayed what he described as ‘unfounded fears’ that
Armenia may reduce its traditional trade and economic relations with
the European states.

Deputy economy minister Tigran Harutyunyan said the level of foreign
investments in Armenia is still below the 2008 pre-crisis level. He
said as of last September, EU’s overall investments in Armenia stood
at $2.5 billion.

He said Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union should make the
country more attractive for foreign investors because of providing
them with direct access to the 170 million market.

According to Ludowik Sichanowski, head of trade and private sector
unit of the EU delegation in Armenia, the EU emphasizes business and
investment climate in Eastern Neighborhood countries.

Accoridng to official data, total foreign investment in Armenia’s
real sector of the economy in the first nine months of 2013 slashed
by almost 32 percent year-on-year to $395.6 million.

East Invest is a regional investment and trade facilitation project for
the economic development of the Eastern Neighborhood region, launched
in the framework of the European Eastern Partnership initiative.

It targets business support organizations and SMEs from the 6 Eastern
Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova
and Ukraine), who have potential for developing mutual cooperation
and investment relations with the European Union. -0-

– See more at:

UKRAINE HAS REVEALED THE NEW WORLD OF WESTERN IMPOTENCE

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

Behind the self-righteous bluster on Russia, all our leaders can do
to punish Putin is cancel summits, school places and shopping trips *
Simon Jenkins * + Simon Jenkins * * The Guardian, Wednesday 5 March
2014 Ukraine hague William Hague, the british Foreign Secretary, meets
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Ukrainian prime minister in Kiev on 3 March.

Photograph: ITAR-TASS/Barcroft Media

I am starting to lose this one. How dare anyone excuse a great power
hurling brute force against a small one, justifying it with some
nonsense about extremists and a “responsibility to protect”. There
should be no place for such cynical bullying in a 21st-century world
order. And for what? So a leader with a virility complex can play to
his domestic gallery. The whole thing is utterly unacceptable. There
must be costs and consequences.

But enough of Iraq. What of Ukraine? We can only gasp at the hypocrisy
of a British foreign secretary and an American secretary of state
lecturing Russia from a Kiev street corner on the evil of invading
small countries. Did no ghost of Iraq or Afghanistan, of Kosovo
or Libya, hover over their shoulders? To be sure there are motes in
Vladimir Putin’s eye, but they are nothing as to the beams in the eyes
of Washington and London. The occupation of Crimea is a village fete
compared with shock and awe over Baghdad and Belgrade and the killing
fields of Falluja and Helmand. As the western powers repatriate their
blood-stained legions, surely a twinge of humility is in order.

Apparently not. The west is now chanting psalms of
self-righteousness. David Cameron agrees with Barack Obama that
Crimea is “completely unacceptable”. John Kerry calls the occupation
“an incredible act of aggression … on a trumped-up pretext”. To
the Republican senator John McCain, “allowing” Russia to take Crimea
makes him “remember the 1930s when Hitler took the Sudetenland”.

The catchphrase for this crisis has become “costs and consequences”.

Obama threatens them, Cameron threatens them. The Commons Ukraine
committee chairman, John Whittingdale, wants them “to send a very
strong message” to Putin to “return to the table”. Nick Clegg froths
over them from his armchair. He is “absolutely not ruling out now
the kind of options we will look at in order to make it very clear
to Putin that there will be very real consequences”. Wow.

The only costs and consequences on which anyone can agree is to cancel
a G-something summit in a luxury hotel somewhere, and to ban oligarchs
from shopping at Harrods and sending their sons to Eton. We might also
keep our royals from their Paralympics. To this has the mighty British
empire fallen. For all its armies, fleets and nuclear warheads, it can
punish Russia’s bear with nothing more terrifying than Harrods, Eton
and the royal family. Putin must be rolling on the floor with laughter.

The truth is that western diplomacy has no language for the
new impotence. It used to get its way by “drawing red lines” and
threatening actual violence. So ineptly have post-cold war politicians
deployed this threat, so exorbitant has been the cost, that enemies
have come to treat it as bluff. Iran and Syria are the most recent
examples. By the time Cameron tried to threaten Damascus with bombs,
the British parliament had had enough. If Syria could call Cameron’s
bluff, how much more likely would Russia be to do so?

What has been encouraging about the Ukraine crisis so far has been
the unusual emergence of a “case to be made” on both sides. For once
we have seen a “revolution” with some balanced coverage. The BBC’s
Newsnight investigated the “fascist coup” in Kiev thesis, and found
some truth in it. The legitimacy of Viktor Yanukovych as elected
leader was contrasted with his manifest flaws, as was the motley
character of the Maidan crowd. We know of the divided loyalties of
Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

In the past week I have read more than I dreamed possible of the
vexed history of Crimea, of Ukraine’s role in Russian identity, and
of Putin’s complex relationship with Russian pride and paranoia. I
have seen Moscow’s re-occupation of Crimea as both understandable
and illegitimate. Its legal crudity – without even awaiting a local
referendum – compares with the political crudity of Nato’s attempted
encirclement.

This is a theatre on whose stage the fidgeting warmongers of London
and Washington fear to tread. Even when McCain crassly compares Putin
to Hitler, he nervously adds that he is against military action. The
west can huff and puff, but dare not bomb. In a Pavlovian trance that
requires “something to be done”, it cannot think what that might be.

Democratic leaders usually find foreign affairs easy. They can relax
into grandstanding, machismo and cliche, with little downside.

Regular foreign trips (Cameron is addicted to them) offer a break,
a stroll up a red carpet, and relief from the pestilential press.

Ukraine has changed that. It is proving fiendishly difficult for
compulsive interveners. Nothing seems fit for purpose. Every threat
sounds empty. But at least pragmatism is starting to break through.

On Monday the Foreign Office indicated as much in its new, exotic
form of press release: a document revealed to photographers on a
Downing Street pavement.

This indicated how far the government has moved since its Iran
belligerence. While William Hague was playing to the Kiev gallery,
his officials were studiously analysing the content of “costs and
consequences”. They concluded there should be no military contingencies
or economic sanctions on Russia, or at least none that might hurt the
City of London. There should be financial relief for the new regime
in Kiev, but for Russia merely the usual waffle about missions and
all-party talks. As with China over Tibet, London knows it is dealing
with a big, rich beast, not a small, poor one. It deals with care.

I find this encouraging. Britain is still searching for a new metaphor
for “punching below its weight”. Its leaders may invite Kipling’s
ridicule for “killing Kruger with your mouth”, but behind the verbal
bluster they seem to recognise the inanity of the Foreign Office’s
“department of meaningless gestures”. They may yet move towards
Germany’s department of sensible and measured response.

Angela Merkel is not hollering about costs and consequences. Why
waste her breath?

When I was visiting Russia in 2006 I asked a diplomat how Moscow
would react to Britain’s current invasion of Helmand in Afghanistan.

He smiled and said: “Don’t worry. We won’t boycott your Olympics.” He
had the measure of Britain’s foreign policy at the time. Today’s Russia
knows what it wants while Britain is playing games. If hypocrisy is
now cover for realpolitik, that is good. Less good is that we have
to learn it from Vladimir Putin.

impotence

BAGHDASARYAN: EIB-FINANCED PROJECTS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ARMENIA’S ECONOMY

YEREVAN, March 5. /ARKA/. The projects financed by the European
Investment Bank are very important for development of Armenia’s
economy, Arthur Baghdasaryan, the secretary of Armenian National
Security Council, said Wednesday as met with an EIB delegation headed
by Philip Simchak, chief of the bank’s division in charge of lending.

Baghdasaryan is quoted by the council’s press office as saying that
Armenia has experience in cooperating with the European Investment
Bank.

As an example of successful cooperation with the EIB, he pointed out
the modernization of three border crossings – Bagratashen, Bavra and
Gogavan. The European Investment Bank is co-financing this project.

In addition to the EBRD that has released 10.294 million euros,
also the European Investment Bank will release 30,316 million euros
to finance the modernization project. Funds will come also from the
European Union’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (12 million euros
in grants) and the United Nations Development Programme (more than
4 million euros as grant).

Simchak, on his side, said that the European Investment Bank
has embarked on the analysis of Eastern Partnership countries’
strategic needs and will finance projects in education health care,
infrastructure modernization, energy and SME areas.

As part of the integrated border modernization program, Bagratashen ,
Bavra and Gogavan border crossings will be modernized in conformity
with the best international standards to make it easier to cross the
border, to reduce corruption risks and red tape. .-0—

– See more at:

“NOBODY CARES FOR YOUR OPINION”. THE PRICE OF 700 MILLION DRAMS

Lragir.am
Country – Wednesday, 05 March 2014, 14:39

The government is likely to amend the law on the Control Chamber. The
draft amendments are on the agenda of the meeting of government
scheduled on March 6.

The bill proposed by the government will amend the article on the
public speeches, publications and statements of officials of the
Control Chamber, prohibiting any political evaluation and conclusion on
the legal implications of violations detected by the Control Chamber.

The bill states that the chairman of the Control Chamber shall not
utter political evaluations during the publication of annual reports.

The justification of amendment stated that the law on the Control
Chamber does not regulate some key matters which have caused
misinterpretations in enforcement.

Note that the address of the chairman of the Control Chamber Ishkhan
Zakaryan to the parliament last year caused controversies in the
National Assembly. Ishkhan Zakaryan announced that audit revealed
that the greater part of the budget, 700 billion drams, has been
dissipated. Ishkhan Zakaryan was reproached by Serzh Sargsyan.

Serzh Sargsyan stated that Ishkhan Zakaryan did not have the right
to utter political evaluations.

“Aren’t you a political personality? Do you understand that you are
supposed to reveal the facts? A person must be ready not to go for
any answer and statement. You must understand that nobody expects to
hear your opinion, nobody cares about your opinion on the prosecution
or anyone else,” Serzh Sargsyan publicly addressed Serzh Sargsyan.

– See more at:

FRENCH CITIZENS OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN OFFER HOLLANDE TO LAUNCH POSTAGE STAMPS DEDICATED TO THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Wednesday 5 March 2014 10:49

French citizens of Armenian origin offer Hollande to launch postage
stamps dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Armenian Genocide

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Along with several Armenian-French unions,
“Armenia” cultural organization submitted a request to the Elysee
Palace on launching a postage stamp on the occasion of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

In his interview to Mediamax’s own correspondent in Paris Ellada
Ghukasyan, Head of “Armenia”, journalist and caricaturist Grigor
Amirzayan said that the stamps could be launched at the expense of
private funds but a maximum result can be achieved if the stamps are
launched at state level.

“The official release of the postage stamp takes much time, and that
is why we have submitted the request this early and hope to get quick
response”, he added.

It would appear quite natural for Grigor Amirzayan if the authorities
made such a step even without their request as he believes that a
state, which has adopted a law on the Genocide, should take such
measures.

In accordance with the established procedures, the Elysee Palace should
approve the request prior to French President Francois Hollande’s
signing it. Those interested in supporting the initiative can join
the online signature collection process.

It should be noted that if Francois Hollande approves of the proposal,
postage stamps dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide will be launched in 2015 and will be used in the entire French
territory. The Armenian side has not come up with a stamp model yet and
in case of approval, the immediate issuer will commence relevant works.

REP. CICILLINE MARKS SUMGAIT, BAKU AND KIROVABAD POGROMS

12:23 05.03.2014

U.S. Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) offered strong condemnation
of the Azerbaijani massacres in Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad and spoke
out in support of the democratic right to self-determination of the
people of Artsakh in powerful statements issued in commemoration of
these crimes, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).

The complete text of the statement by Representative Cicilline is
provided below.

“Today we commemorate the 26th Anniversary of the horrific Sumgait
Pogroms. On February 27, 1988 organized mobs of Azerbaijanis aimed at
killing and driving Armenian Christians living in Sumgait from their
homes. Armed with sticks, axes and iron rods, they attacked Armenian
men, women and children by breaking into their homes and brutally
beating and killing them just because of their ethnicity. Despite
Sumgait’s 30 minute proximity to Baku, police allowed the pogroms to
go on for 3 days, during which Armenians were burned alive and thrown
from windows.

These acts were merely a continuation of the Azerbaijani authorities’
unswerving policy of racism towards Armenians and ethnic cleansing
of the Armenian population, with unpunished killings and deportations.

The Sumgait massacre is a black mark on history and sadly, this event
sparked further violence as Armenians would be targeted less than 9
months later in Kirovabad and again in Baku in 1990.

The Azerbaijani Government has shamefully continued to undermine
prospects for a lasting peace in the Southern Caucasus, recently in
2012, pardoning an Azerbaijani military officer Ramil Safarov who
brutally murdered Armenian military officer Gurgen Margaryan during
a NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace exercise in 2004. Safarov
confessed and was convicted in Budapest for brutally axing Margaryan
while he was sleeping. Safarov never showed remorse for the murder and
stated that he wished he had killed more Armenians. Immediately after
his pardon Safarov received a promotion in the Azerbaijani military,
an apartment, and years of back pay for his time spent in prison.

For more than 20 years, the people of Nagorno Karabakh have fought and
died for their independence. From the earliest days of its formation,
the Republic’s freely elected governmental bodies have helped build
an open democratic society through transparent elections and it
is critical that the United States support their independence and
autonomy.

As we reflect on these horrific outbreaks of ethnic violence, I join
with Armenians in Rhode Island, and across the world in remembering
these victims and renewing our commitment to justice, independence
and finding lasting peace.

I am proud to say Rhode Island was the first state in our
nation to pass a resolution to recognize the Independence of the
NagornoKarabakhRepublic and set an example for other legislatures to
follow, like Massachusetts, Maine and Louisiana. The time has come
for the United States Congress to do the same.”

REVUE DE PRESSE N2 – 04/03/14 – COLLECTIF VAN

Publie le : 04-03-2014

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN [Vigilance
Armenienne contre le Negationnisme] vous propose une revue de presse
des informations parues dans la presse francophone, sur les thèmes
concernant la Turquie, le genocide armenien, la Shoah, le genocide
des Tutsi, le Darfour, le negationnisme, l’Union europeenne, Chypre,
etc… Nous vous suggerons egalement de prendre le temps de lire ou
de relire les informations et traductions mises en ligne dans notre
rubrique Par
ailleurs, certains articles en anglais, allemand, turc, etc, ne sont
disponibles que dans la newsletter Word que nous generons chaque jour.

Pour la recevoir, abonnez-vous a la Veille-Media : c’est gratuit !

Vous recevrez le document du lundi au vendredi dans votre boîte email.

Bonne lecture.

Collectif VAN : l’ephemeride du 4 mars Info Collectif VAN –
– La rubrique Ephemeride est a retrouver
quotidiennement sur le site du Collectif VAN. Elle recense la
liste d’evenements survenus a une date donnee, a differentes
epoques de l’Histoire, sur les thematiques que l’association suit au
quotidien. L’ephemeride du Collectif VAN repose sur des informations
en ligne sur de nombreux sites (les sources sont specifiees sous chaque
entree). “4 mars 1943 — Auschwitz : en presence de l’ingenieur Prufer
de la firme > sont realises les premier essais
d’incineration au > : 45 personnes sont gazees dans le > et leurs cadavres > les fours du K II.”

Rwanda : “Simbikangwa avait le droit sur la vie et la mort” Le
temoignage d’Isaïe, le Tutsi “ami”, a pulverise la defense de
Simbikangwa en le presentant comme un homme puissant. C’est des
plus proches amis que peuvent venir les pires flèches. Pour Pascal
Simbikangwa, Isaïe etait “son” Tutsi. Celui qui lui ouvrait le portail,
celui qu’il saluait. Celui qu’il a sauve par trois fois des griffes
des Interahamwe sur le point de l’abattre comme un chien.

Procès Simbikangwa: un second temoin genant pour l’accuse Le procès
de Pascal Simbikangwa, premier Rwandais juge en France en lien avec
le genocide de 1994, est entre dans sa 5e semaine. Le defile des
temoins a la barre devant la cour d’assises de Paris se poursuit.

Lundi 3 mars, la cour a entendu un Tutsi sauve par l’accuse. Mais ce
temoignage s’est revele bien encombrant pour la defense.

L’info vue par la TRT (2) Le Collectif VAN vous propose cet article
publie sur la TRT (Television & Radio de Turquie). Les articles de
ce site ne sont pas commentes de notre part. Ils peuvent contenir
des propos negationnistes envers le genocide armenien ou d’autres
informations a prendre sous toute reserve. “Le president du Haut
conseil electoral Sadi Guven s’est exprime sur la tenue des elections
presidentielles, prevue pour le mois d’août sans annoncer toutefois
le jour exact”.

Hommages de Tutsi a Simbikangwa, accuse de complicite de genocide
Des Tutsi proteges par Pascal Simbikangwa en 1994 ont exprime lundi
leur reconnaissance envers l’ex-capitaine rwandais juge a Paris pour
complicite de genocide. Le procès, qui a debute il y a quatre semaines,
se penche cette semaine sur les temoignages de familles Tutsi cachees
et exfiltrees de Kigali par ses soins.

La famille d’Abdulhamid II reclame les biens immobiliers du > responsable du massacre de 300 000 Armeniens Abdulhamid
Kayehan Osmanoghlu, l’arrière-arrière petit-fils du sultan Abdulhamid
II, vient d’affirmer qu’il entendait par voie judiciaire, recuperer une
partie de la fortune du sultan Abdulhamid II. Ce dernier, sanguinaire
et responsable de la mort de 300 000 Armeniens entre 1894 et 1896
etait surnomme par la presse europeenne de >, de > ou de >.

Depeche de l’APA [ 04 Mars 2014 11:28 ] – Agence de Presse
d’Azerbaïdjan Le Collectif VAN vous propose un article de l’APA
(Agence de presse azerie) date du 4 mars 2014. Les articles de ce
site (ecrits generalement dans un francais rudimentaire) ne sont pas
commentes de notre part. Ils peuvent contenir des propos negationnistes
envers le genocide armenien ou d’autres informations a prendre sous
toute reserve. “Conformement au mandat du representant personnel du
President en exercice de l’OSCE, un suivi sera organise mercredi 5
mars sur la ligne de contact des armees situee non loin du village
de Kemerli du district de Gazakh de l’Azerbaïdjan”.

Article du journal franco-turc Zaman – 04/03/2014 – 2 Le Collectif
VAN relaye ici les articles du journal franco-turc Zaman (equivalent
du Today’s Zaman en langue anglaise, diffuse en Turquie).

Attention : ces articles ne sont pas commentes de notre part. Il s’agit
pour l’essentiel de traductions des versions turque et anglaise du
Zaman, journal proche du parti au pouvoir (AKP). “La proposition
controversee de l’AKP sur la fermeture des instituts de soutien
scolaire prives a ete adoptee par le Parlement vendredi 28 fevrier
au soir”.

Turquie: une loi vise les ecoles privees Le parlement turc a adopte
hier soir une nouvelle legislation ordonnant la fermeture des ecoles
preparatoires privees, dont une bonne partie constituent une source
majeure de financement et d’influence de Fethullah Gulen, accuse de
complot contre le gouvernement.

Le negationniste turc Haladjoghlu affirme qu’Erhan Tuncel, l’un des
commanditaires de l’assassinat de Hrant Dink est armenien Le celèbre
depute negationniste turc Yusuf Haladjoghlu du pari > a une nouvelle invention ! Il vient d’affirmer sans rire
au journal turc > qu’Erhan Tuncel, condamne comme l’un des
commanditaires du crime dans l’affaire de l’assassinat de Hrant Dink,
serait d’origine armenienne…

Retour a la rubrique

LE VILLAGEOIS ARMENIEN LIBERE PAR BAKOU

A 77 ans, le resident d’un village armenien de la frontière a ete
libere et renvoye en Armenie hier, après plus d’un mois de detention
en Azerbaïdjan.

Mamikon Khojoyan a ete rapatrie dans la section ouest de la frontière
armeno-azerbaïdjanais, zone fortement militarisee. Le transfert a ete
organise et effectue par des representants du Comite international
de la Croix-Rouge (CICR). Les responsables du CICR a Bakou avaient
rendu visite a Khojoyan lors de sa detention.

Il vivait a Verin Karmiraghbyur, un village de la region de Tavush au
nord de l’Armenie. Il est passe en Azerbaïdjan dans des circonstances
encore obscures le 28 janvier dernier. Il avait alors ete arrete par
des villageois azerbaïdjanais et remis aux autorites militaires.

Les autorites de Bakou ont affirme que Khojoyan faisait partie
d’un commando armenien qui a tente d’effectuer une incursion
transfrontalière. L’armee armenienne et le maire de Verin
Karmiraghbyur, Kamo Chobanian, ont ri face a ces revendications
officielles. Selon Chobanian, Khojoyan souffrait de troubles mentaux
et s’est egare sur le territoire azerbaïdjanais par accident.

Khojoyan est passe a la television azerbaïdjanaise peu de temps
après avoir ete capture. Il a ete montre assis sur son lit d’hôpital,
son bras droit dans le plâtre. Les fonctionnaires azerbaïdjanais ont
declare qu’il a recu une assistance medicale.

Khojoyan a ete pris en charge par l’hôpital de Tavush Ljevan pour
des examens immediatement après sa remise en liberte. Le ministère
armenien de la Defense a declare que les medecins ont constate ”
de nombreuses contusions, fractures et blessures ” sur son corps. Il
dit que Khojoyan a subi ces blessures pendant sa captivite.

Chobanian a declare que Khojoyan passera les prochains jours a
l’hôpital pour recuperer suite aux ” nombreuses traces de violence. ”
” Il ne reconnaît personne et parle peu “, a declare le maire du
village. ” Il a seulement dit a un medecin qu’il a dormi sur un
plancher en beton pendant tout ce temps. ”

mercredi 5 mars 2014, Claire (c)armenews.com

PAS QUESTION DE DEMISSION DU GOUVERNEMENT EN ARMENIE

ARMENIE

Le Parti republicain d’Armenie (RPA) n’a pas aborde la question de
la demission du gouvernement dans son programme politique a declare
Eduard Sharmazanov son porte-parole aux medias après la reunion de
l’organe executif du RPA.

Sharmazanov a fait la declaration en reponse a une demande de
commentaires sur l’intention des quatre factions minoritaires dans
le Parlement armenien d’engager un vote de non-confiance dans le
gouvernement de Tigran Sarkissian.

Les partis d’opposition en Armenie ont longtemps affirme que le
cabinet actuel des ministres a mal gere l’economie. En particulier,
ils soulignent que la direction du pays n’est meme pas a la hauteur
des attentes du president Serge Sarkissian, qui, lors de la formation
du cabinet en mai 2013, a appele a une croissance economique de sept
pour cent d’ici la fin de l’annee, tandis qu’en realite, l’economie
de l’Armenie a probablement augmente que de 4 pour cent en 2013.

Sharmazanov a dit que le President Sarkissian a presente son > sur les politiques economiques, tout en repondant
aux questions lors de la convention du 15 fevrier de l’union des
volontaires Yerkrapah.

En particulier, analysant les indices economiques de ces dernières
annees, Serge Sarkissian a ensuite conclu :