Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #725
March 1 2014

Successful Young Offender Scheme Ends as Cash Runs Out

Everyone agrees community-based rehabilitation has worked, but the
government doesn’t have the money to pick up the costs.
By Haykuhi Barseghyan – Caucasus
CRS Issue 725,
1 Mar 14

The closure of support centres for juvenile offenders across Armenia
due to the end of donor funding could lead to a rise in youth crime,
experts say.

With limited resources itself, the government has decided to focus on
creating a youth probation service. But the start-date for that has
been put back, leaving a gap in which there will be no alternatives to
detention for young offenders.

Rehabilitation centres for minors in trouble with the law were set up
from 2006 onwards under two different donor-funded programmes, both of
which ended in January 2014.

The PH (Project Harmony) International organisation set up 11 centres,
in Chambarak, Talin, Artashat, Ijevan, Echmiadzin, Kapan, Vanadzor,
Alaverdi, Gyumri and Metsamor, funded by the US State Department. In
2011-13, the Armenian Aid Foundation set up two more, in the capital
Yerevan and the town of Abovyan.

Instead of detaining and charging young offenders, police were given
the option of sending them to one of these centres, where they would
be given community service work.

Everyone involved in dealing with youth offenders seems to agree the
centres proved their worth.

“Assessments that we and the police have done show that the centres
had a 94 per cent success rate. Police officers say the centres have
helped prevent criminal behaviour and repeat offences,” Mariam
Martirosyan, director of the Armenian branch of PH International,
said.

In a written response to IWPR, the Armenian police force’s public
affairs department said, “The centres are unique in that police,
social workers, psychologists and volunteer staff work together to
carry out a broad range of work with juvenile offenders. The basic aim
behind the centres is to place adolescents in an environment where the
emphasis is on considering ethical and human values and raising their
self-esteem.”

The figures seem to bear out the effectiveness of the new approach.
The number of minors committing offences fell from 453 in 2011 to 349
in 2012 and a similar 352 last year. Repeat offences by convicted
juvenile offenders fell from eight in 2011 to zero the following year,
with two recorded in 2013. There are no statistics for the number of
convicted juveniles who reoffend as adults over the age of 18.

Tatevik Gharibyan, a lawyer with the Institue for Civil Society and
co-author of a report on how juvenile offenders are questioned in
court, agrees that the effect has been positive.

“Thanks to the community rehabilitation centres, the number of repeat
offences among young people has fallen. The children get the support
they need and they alter their behaviour, in contrast to those who end
up in correction centres for juvenile offenders,” she said.

Alvard Petrosyan, director of the youth centre in Abovyan, says that
not one repeat offence by a minor has taken place in the town in the
last three years, thanks to close cooperation between her centre, the
police and the municipal child protection department.

Alone, she said, the police simply did not have the resources to cope
with juvenile offenders. “With the closure of these centres, we have
lost one more mechanism for preventing crime,” she said. “Police
stations are not in a position to carry out thorough crime-prevention
measures themselves. We need an organisation that will work with
children whose life circumstances are difficult.”

Martirosyan said that while she regretted the closure of the rehab
centres, she understood why the government had decided to concentrate
its resources on a probation system.

“The government says the number of crimes committed by minors isn’t
large enough to necessitate the creation of a separate resource. It is
good and effective work, but we realise that the government isn’t rich
enough to run centres like these in every community,” she said.

The probation service has been conceived as an independent arm of the
justice ministry that will work with young offenders. It was due to
launch in January, but IWPR was unable to find anyone at the justice
ministry who could say when this would now happen, or what stage a
supporting piece of legislation had reached.

According to Gharibyan, the only alternative to the now-closed
rehabilitation centres and the planned probation system is detention
in a juvenile offenders’ institution.

At the moment, she said, the picture was one of “frequent use of
arrest and incarceration”, “a lack of effective alternative
punishments” for minors, and a failure to ensure that penalties were
designed to re-educate young offenders and reintegrate them into
society.

Gharibyan noted that as an alternative to custody, the courts could
impose fines or assign a young offender to a “special educational
institution”. But she argues that “fines are ineffective because it’s
the parents who are responsible for paying, and the latter provision
isn’t used because these educational institutions don’t actually
exist”.

The town of Abovyan is home to a juvenile penal institution which
currently has 16 inmates. Ten of them are on a vocational training
scheme run by the Special Creative Centre for Juvenile Offenders,
which the justice ministry set up in 2007.

The centre’s director Gayane Hovakimyan said that this year the plan
is to extend support programmes to young offenders after they are
released, and after they have reached the 18.

Hovakimyan said this step had been taken in recognition of the lack of
state support for offenders once they are released. This made things
especially hard for young adults who had spent time in a young
offenders’ institution, she explained, since their education was
likely to be deficient, they had few friends and social support
networks, and they were generally ill-equipped for life in the real
world.

“We are working with children, but it all comes to an end once they
are released,” Hovakimyan said. “They might learn a trade while in
detention, but they still need help to be able to make money from it
on the outside.”

One of the young people in the Abokyan institution is due for release
in three months’ time, and will be the first to benefit from the
centre’s continuing support programme, including assistance with
finding work.

Haykuhi Barseghyan is a reporter for the Armenian weekly Ankakh and
its web version.

The Victims of March 1, 2008

03.01.2014 11:19 epress.am

On Mar. 1-2, 2008, national police and military forces, called in to
disperse mass protests against electoral fraud by supporters of
unsuccessful presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian, used
“excessive force and violence” that left 10 people dead — 2 police
officers and 8 civilians — and many more wounded on the streets of
central Yerevan.

To this day, the murders are unsolved and no one has been held
accountable for these crimes.

Here are the victims, whose memory we honor today:

Gor Qloyan (or Kloyan) died on Mar. 1 from shrapnel wounds. Metal
pieces were removed from his body. According to the official report,
the cause of death was wounds from a Cheryomukha explosive.

Davit Petrosyan died from a gunshot wound to his chest from behind.

Tigran Abgaryan served in the special police forces. He was wounded on
Mar. 1, 2008, fell into a coma for 41 days, and died on Apr. 10, 2008.

Tigran Khachatryan died on Mar. 1 from an open craniocerebral injury.
A foreign body — a piece of metal — was removed from the cranial
cavity. The cause of death was from a Cheryomukha type of explosive.

Armen Farmanyan died from an open head injury; a foreign body was
removed from his skull. According to the official report, the cause of
death was from a Cheryomukha explosive.

Hovhannes Hovhannisyan died from a gunshot wound at the top of the
bridge at the intersection of Mesrop Mashtots Avenue and Grigor
Lusavorich Street.

Hamlet Tadevosyan, a police captain, was injured from a cluster bomb
of exploding bomb fragments. The incident occurred at 9:18 pm on Mar.
1, but he was taken to a clinic and died at 3:30 am on Mar. 2.
Posthumously awarded the rank of major.

Grigor Gevorgyan died at 9:30 pm on Mar. 1 at the intersection of Leo
and Paronian streets from a sniper shot.

Samvel Harutyunyan was fatally injured in an underground pedestrian
tunnel, from a shot fired from a Kalashnikov AKS rifle.

Zakar Hovhannisyan died at 1:30 am on Mar. 2 outside the Covered
Market on Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, from a shot fired from a Makarov
pistol.

ARMENIE
170 000 citoyens arméniens face au risque d’être expulsés de Russie

170 000 citoyens arméniens font face au risque d’être expulsés de
Russie a déclaré Svetlana Stepanova, un représentant de l’ambassade de
Russie en Arménie.

Ce sont des citoyens arméniens, a-t-elle dit, qui se sont rendus en
Russie et ont leurs permis de 90 jours en Russie expiré mais qui sont
restés dans le pays illégalement.

Svetlana Stepanova a dit que leurs noms sont dans la base de données
de l’agence des migrations, et que donc après avoir traversés la
frontière, ils seront interdits d’entrer encore une fois en Russie.

dimanche 2 mars 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

EQUIPE D’ARMENIE DE FOOTBALL
Dernière rencontre de Vartan Minassian à la tête de l’équipe d’Arménie
pour Arménie-Russie

Vartan Minassian qui avait démissionné en octobre dernier de son poste
de sélectionneur national conduira une dernière fois l’équipe
d’Arménie dans la rencontre qui l’opposera à la Russie le 5 mars à
Krasnodar. Il passera ensuite le relais au Suisse Bernard Challandes
qui vient d’être nommé sélectionneur national de l’équipe d’Arménie.
Vartan Minassian est actuellement toujours à la recherche d’un club.

Bernard Challandes prendra ainsi la tête de l’équipe d’Arménie qui
doit jouer deux rencontres amicales avant l’été. La première est face
à l’Algérie le 31 mai et la seconde face à l’Allemagne le 6 juin.
Roupen Haïrabédian, le président de la Fédération arménienne de
football a clairement défini l’objectif du nouvel entraîneur :
qualifier l’Arménie à l’Euro 2016.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 2 mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

FOOTBALL-23e JOURNEE DU CHAMPIONNAT D’ALLEMAGNE
Borussia Dortmund s’impose 3-0 face à Nuremberg avec un Mkhitaryan
buteur et l’homme du match

Samedi 1er mars après-midi, au Signal Iduna Park de Dortmund envahi
par 80 645 spectateurs, le Borussia Dortmund s’est imposé 3-0 face Ã
Nuremberg pour le compte de la 23e journée de la Bundesliga. Il a
fallu attendre la seconde partie du jeu pour que le Borussia Dortmund
ouvre le score par Hummels (51e). Trois minutes plus tard,
l’international arménien Henrikh Mkhitaryan qui avait eu deux ou trois
occasions de but est lui aussi tout proche de marquer de la tête mais
le cuir est dévié en corner (54e). L’Arménien sert parfaitement à la
64e Robert Lewandowski qui marque son 15e but de la saison. Puis
Robert Lewandowski sert à son tour Henrikh Mkhitaryan qui reprend un
ballon au point de penalty, mais Schäfer le gardien de Nuremberg sort
de nouveau la bonne parade pour priver l’Arménien de but (72²).

L’international arménien Henrikh Mkhitaryan l’homme du match du
Borussia Dortmund face à Nuremberg

Mais très en forme et d’une classe parfaite, Mkhitaryan tenace,
s’enfonce dans la défense adverse et inscrit un but magnifique du plat
du pied en trompant Schäfer des six mètres (83e). Remplacé pour les
dernières minutes (85e) par Milos Jojic, « le public réserve à Henrikh
Mkhitaryan une standing-ovation méritée » selon les termes même du
site officiel du Borussia qui crédite l’Arménien de la meilleur notre
de l’équipe avec un superbe (8/10). « Au four et au moulin, l’Arménien
a fait vivre le cÅ`ur du jeu comme il le doit. Des passes inspirées,
des combinaisons judicieuses et beaucoup de bons choix. Son but en fin
de rencontre vient le récompenser pour cette partition déroulée sans
fausse note » écrit le site officiel du Borussia Dortmund. De quoi
faire écarter tous ceux qui doutaient des performances de l’Arménien,
le 2e joueur le plus cher de la Bundesliga cette saison.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 2 mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com
– 753

ECHEC AU NEGATIONNISME AZERI
La propagande du consul d’Azerbaïdjan à l’Université Irvine de
Californie tourne au flop !

Une conférence négationniste réalisée par le consul d’Azerbaïdjan à
l’Université Irvine de Californie finit en fiasco ! Le diplomate azéri
avait tenté de profiter de cette conférence pour diffuser une
propagande pro-azérie et anti-arménienne à caractère négationniste.
Mais, manque de chance pour le consul d’Azerbaïdjan, les deux tiers de
la salle étaient remplis par des étudiants Arméniens et des membres de
la communauté arménienne de Californie. L’Union des étudiants
arméniens avait distribué à l’attention des participants, des recueils
présentant le véritable visage de l’Azerbaïdjan qui n’hésite pas à
envoyer en prison ses journalistes, à glorifier des assassins tels que
Ramil Safarov, d’organiser les pogroms anti-arméniens à Soumgaït,
Bakou et Kirovabad et piétiner le droit du peuple azéri. Le consul
azéri a lors de son discours affirmé que les Arméniens ont massacré
des Azéris (…) et que l’église de Kantsassar, haut-lieu religieux
des Arméniens du Haut Karabagh n’était en fait qu’une église
appartenant aux Aghouans, les ancêtres chrétiens des Azéris ! Mais
lorsqu’il fut questionné par l’assistance sur les évènements de
Soumgaït et autres violences de l’Azerbaïdjan contre la population
arménienne, le consul évita de répondre…et prit le chemin de la
sortie avant la fin même des débats, incapable de répondre aux
nombreuses questions qui accusaient l’Azerbaïdjan…Le consul azérie
trouva alors refuge en compagnie des organisateurs, dans une autre
salle voisine en attendant que la police intervienne pour les évacuer
en toute sécurité…

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 2 mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

USA
Sur un flacon, l’étiquette qui fait se poser des questions

Tandis que je chinais chez un antiquaire en Oregon, l’été dernier, une
petite bouteille de verre pleine de grains de riz accrocha mon regard.
Je la saisis et en lus l’étiquette : ” La Ration quotidienne pour les
750 enfants d’un orphelinat, le Near East Relief [Armenian] Orphanage,
est de 40 livres de riz [18,160 kg], moins de 7/8 d’once [24 grammes]
par enfant. Ne pouvant approvisionner plus que cette faible quantité,
ils refusent des enfants par milliers. Voulez-vous les Aider ? “.

L’étiquette portait les noms du président d’état Samuel C. Lancaster,
du directeur J.J. Handsaker et mentionnait une adresse, 606 Stock
Exchange Bldg., Portland, Ore. Aucune date ou autre information n’y
figurait.

Intriguée, j’achetai le flacon, l’emportai chez moi et le déposai sur
une étagère, me promettant de faire quelques recherches sur cet objet
un jour ou l’autre. C’est alors qu’entendant parler du programme 2014
de ” One book, One Glendale ” [Un livre, Un Glendale] qui a pour thème
le Génocide arménien, je repensai à la bouteille. La prenant de
l’étagère, je me suis installée à l’ordinateur et commencé une
recherche avec ” Near East Relief ” [Secours Proche-Orient].

Après quelques ” enter “, voici ce que j’ai appris :

Near East Relief a existé pendant un siècle à peu près, d’après le
site Internet de la Near East Foundation. Elle avait été créée en 1915
sous le nom de ” The American Committee for Syrian and Armenian Relief
” [Le Comité Américain de Secours Syrien et Arménien] pour répondre à
une crise humanitaire massive affectant des millions d’Arméniens,
Assyriens, Grecs et membres d’autres minorités.

D’après le site Internet, ” plus d’un million et demi moururent dans
la déportation, les marches forcées, la famine et les exécutions “.

Au cours de la crise, l’ambassadeur des États-Unis en Turquie, Henry
Morgenthau, réunit un groupe d’amis et de collègues qui – avec l’aide
du Président d’alors Woodrow Wilson – commença à solliciter des dons
auprès du public américain.

Nombreuses furent les réponses à cet appel, d’après le site Internet.
L’argent collecté permit de sauver au moins un million de personnes.

En 1919, la zone d’action de l’opération s’étant étendue jusqu’au
Moyen-Orient et l’Asie de l’ouest, son nom fut changé en ” Near East
Relief ” [Secours Proche-Orient].

Sur le site Internet de l’Armenian National Institute, j’ai trouvé un
article écrit par Rouben Paul Adalian, expliquant qu’au moyen de
campagnes dans les rues, de collectes dans les églises et avec
l’assistance d’organisations et de fondations caritatives, le comité
Near East Relief a réuni des millions pour son opération pour sauver ”
les Arméniens mourant de faim “.

Il semble donc que cette petite bouteille, encore pleine de grains de
riz presque centenaires, était l’appel habile de deux hommes d’Oregon,
Lancaster et Handsaker, pour aider la cause arménienne.

Selon Adalian, les fonds collectés ici aux États-Unis furent
transférés à l’ambassade américaine à Constantinople, qui confia aux
missionnaires et à ses consuls le soin de distribuer l’aide reçue.

” Entre 1915 et 1930, l’année où cette opération prit fin, la Near
East Relief géra 117 000 000 dollars d’aides “, écrit Adalian. ” Near
East Relief achemina des denrées, des vêtements et des produits de
soins par bateaux depuis l’Amérique. NER installa des camps de
réfugiés, des cliniques, des hôpitaux, des orphelinats et des centres
de formation professionnelle. On attribue à Near East Relief le
sauvetage de 132 000 orphelins arméniens disséminés depuis la région
de Tbilissi et Erévan jusqu’à Constantinople, Beyrouth, Damas, et
Jérusalem.

” Near East Relief était une oeuvre de philanthropique “, conclut
Adalian ” qui d’après l’historien américain Howard M. Sachar, ‘ a en
réalité littéralement maintenu en vie une nation entière “.

Par Katherine Yamada

12 février 2014

Traduction Gilbert Béguian

,0,269188.story

dimanche 2 mars 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

________________________________

Cette bouteille encore pleine de riz servait de support à un appel de
fonds pour les enfants d’un orphelinat, le Near East Relief [Armenian]
Orphanage, entre 1915 et 1930. (autorisation de Katherine Yamada/ 12
février 2014)

“La Ration quotidienne pour les 750 enfants d’un orphelinat, le Near
East Relief [Armenian] Orphanage, est de 40 livres de riz [18,160 kg],
moins de 7/8 d’once [24 grammes] par enfant. Ne pouvant approvisionner
plus que cette faible quantité, ils refusent des enfants par milliers.

Voulez-vous les Aider ?

Samuel C. Lancaster ,

Président d’état

J.J. Handsaker,

Directeur

606 Stock Exchange Bldg.,

Portland, Oregon”

GHN News Agency,Georgia
February 28, 2014 Friday

President of Georgia meets with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II

President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili has held meeting
with the Patriarch of All Armenians Karekin II within the official visit to
theRepublicofArmenia.

According to presidents Press Office information, the
Catholicos and the President discussed the religious-cultural relationship of
the centuries-old history of Georgian and Armenian peoples. In the conversation
with the Georgian President, Armenian Patriarch expressed his gratitude towards
Bidzina Ivanishvili for sponsoring the restoration of the monuments of cultural
heritage ofArmeniaby allocated appropriate funds from the Kartu
Fund.

The Armenian Patriarch presented Georgian president with an
icon of Mother of God; in his turn, Giorgi Margvelashvili handed over a picture
of Annunciation to the head of theArmenianApostolicChurch.

The meeting was held at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral and the
members of the Georgian delegation were also attending it.

After the meeting with the Catholicos, President
Margvelashvili visited the treasure of the Cathedral, the museum, where the
Biblical relics and the relics of saints are preserved.

Prior to departure to Etchmiadzin, the president’s farewell
was held at the President’s Palace inYerevan, at the end of which the two
presidents held a meeting again.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan: The fight against the authorities will be a
success only in case of consolidated efforts of the opposition and the
civil sector

by Tatevik Shahunyan

ARMINFO
Saturday, March 1, 18:25

The people and the opposition must exert genuine efforts to restore
justice after the post-election tragic incidents of March 1 2008, said
Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president of Armenia, Leader of the
Armenian National Congress, in his speech at the rally in Liberty
Square on March 1, 2014.

“Impunity will lead to new crimes. One of ANC’s prior tasks is to
achieve exposure of the March 1 2008 crimes and compensation. I assure
you that ANC is full of determination to fight till the very end to
achieve exposure of that crime. Concealment of that crime will mean to
desecrate the memory of the victims, and to make a crime shattering
our statehood,” he said.

As regards the heavy political and economic situation in the country,
Ter-Petrosyan said that the opposition has revealed the machinations
in the ‘gas deals’ with Russia that resulted in accumulation of a 300
million dollars debt to that country. He called the sale of the
Vorotan Cascade of HPPs another crime.

“The authorities stole 180 million, as that amount has been allegedly
transferred to a conspirational company Vorotan Cascade. Meanwhile, I
am not sure that the given amount was transferred that company. 180
million dollars is 7% of the budget revenue. Return of those 180
million to the state budget must become one of the public’s major
demands,” he said.

Ter-Petrosyan recalled that after nearly 4-year-long negotiations for
the EU Association Agreement, the country’s leadership let Europe down
and turned to the Customs Union in a moment.
“Our authorities have become so pro-Russian that even Russian
officials are surprised. Earlier, the authorities thought their
legitimacy depended on Europe, meanwhile, they rely on Russia. Anyway,
we do not assess elections, we speak of the status of a vassal Armenia
will have at the Customs Union. Look at the latest gas agreement,”
Ter-Petrosyan said. He spotlighted the unprecedented migration from
the country.

Nevertheless, the first president found “a ray of light in the realm
of darkness” praising the civil society and its recent activation. He
said that the civil sector and the opposition should consolidate to
fight the authorities.

“However, the authorities constantly try to split the cooperation of
the civil sector and the opposition,” the first president said.
Another reason for Ter-Petrosyan’s optimism is cooperation of the four
non- governmental forces (ANC, Heritage, Prosperous Armenia, ARFD –
editor’s note).

Armenia’s Ambassador meets US lawmakers

March 01, 2014 | 15:46

Armenia’s Ambassador to U.S. Tatul Margaryan on Friday met with Ed
Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to discuss
Armenia-US relations.

They exchanged views on regional developments, cooperation with the
Committee and other issues.

Ambassador Margaryan hailed consistent position of the Congressman on
the matters of concern for Armenia and Armenians. Congressman Royce
assured he would continue his position.

On the same day Ambassador met with Senator Mark Kirk to discuss
Armenia-US relations and broad range of issues on further prospects
for cooperation with U.S. Senate.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am