Author: Kajoyan Gevork

AZERBAIJAN/ARMENIA: CIVILIAN INTERNEES REPATRIATED UNDER ICRC AUSPICES

ICRC (Red Cross) Switzerland
March 20 2013

Geneva (ICRC) – Two Armenian civilians interned in Azerbaijan returned
to Armenia today under the auspices of the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC). .

The man and the woman were placed in the care of Armenian officials
on the road between the Azerbaijani town of Gazakh and the Armenian
town of Ijevan, at the international border.

ICRC delegates had visited the civilians prior to their repatriation
in order to assess their treatment and conditions of internment.

Acting as a neutral intermediary and in accordance with its mandate,
the ICRC facilitated this repatriation in conjunction with the
Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities. The internees had previously
confirmed to ICRC delegates that both were returning of their own
free will.

On the basis of its mandate under the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC
has been working in the area since 1992 in connection with the Nagorny
Karabakh conflict.

For further information, please contact: Ilaha Huseynova, ICRC Baku,
tel: +99450 316 00 24 Ashot Astabatsyan, ICRC Yerevan, tel: +37410
297 415 David-Pierre Marquet, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 25 02 or
+41 79 536 92 48

‘LEGION ARMENIENNE’ EXHIBIT OPENING AT FRENCH CULTURAL CENTER ON APRIL 4

BOSTON | MARCH 20, 2013 5:14 PM

BOSTON – The French Cultural Center in Boston will host a public
reception on April 4 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to mark the official
opening of an exhibit about the Armenian Legion in World War I.

Developed by the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) in
Watertown, this traveling exhibit offers a glimpse into the formation,
training, military action and postwar activities of the Armenian Legion
volunteers, who fought with the Allies to victory in the Middle East
during the Great War, and risked all in defense of human rights.

The story of the Armenian Legion forms a chapter in the long history
of relations between the French and Armenian peoples. The Legion
was formed during the darkest days of WWI, when the Allies (France,
England and Russia) were deadlocked in a military stalemate on both
the European and Middle Eastern fronts against the combined forces
of Germany, Austria and Turkey. Leaders of the Armenian Diaspora
determined to raise a volunteer fighting force to support the Allies.

In October 1916, an agreement was reached in London between the
Armenian representative Boghos Nubar Pasha and the governments
of France and Great Britain to form an Armenian Legion, made up
of volunteers who were to be organized, trained and led by French
officers.

Consisting of a force of more than 4,000 Armenians from all parts of
the world, the Legionnaires were trained in Cyprus and then joined
the Allied forces on the Palestine front, under the overall command
of the British General Edmund Allenby. Allenby’s brilliant military
strategy soon forced Turkey to withdraw from the war. The Armenian
Legion served as the advance guard as the Allied forces moved into
the Cilician region of Turkey, occupying Adana, Aintab, Marash and
Urfa, and other centers. Political conditions following the Great War
impelled the Allies to withdraw their forces from Turkish territory
and the Legion was disbanded.

The story of the Armenian Legion, told in this exhibit through
photographs and narratives, reflects the community’s attempts to come
to grips with the destruction and devastation following the Armenian
Genocide. It also represents the successful efforts of Armenians from
different social, economic and political backgrounds to work together
for a common cause.

ALMA’s traveling exhibit about the Armenian Legion has been exhibited
in several venues, from California State University, Fresno, to the
University of Michigan-Dearborn and Whitinsville (MA) Town Hall.

The opening is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be on
display from April 3 through May 1. The French Cultural Center is
located at 53 Marlborough St. For times and further details, visit

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTRY: VAN-YEREVAN FLIGHT’S PROFITABILITY RAISES QUESTIONS

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 19 2013

The Turkish Foreign Ministry and ambassador to Azerbaijan have
repeatedly voiced Ankara’s position on opening a Van-Yerevan route. A
flight is planned to be made by a private company, Azorean Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a news briefing today.

He said that it is not clear whether these flights will be profitable
and the required number of passengers chooses to fly.

Turkish private airline Bora Jet plans to begin making Van-Yerevan
flights in April.

HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR FIGHTING AGAINST BASELESS ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS CRITICISES VAN-YEREVAN FLIGHT PLANS

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 19 2013

Azerbaijan, Baku, 19 March / Trend A.Taghiyeva /

Head of the International Organisation for Fighting against Baseless
Armenian Allegations (ASIMDER) Goksel Gulbey has criticised the opening
of the Van-Yerevan direct flight, Pirsus Haber reported on Tuesday.

Gulbey urged the Ministry of Transport of Turkey to be more serious
in making decisions relating to Armenia.

According to Gulbey, the opening of air links between Van and Yerevan
will mark Armenia’s victory over Turkey.

“The air space between Turkey and Armenia has been open for a long
time. However, opening the flight from Yerevan to Van is especially
important for Armenians as they consider Van the capital of Western
Armenia,” he said.

Gulbey also noted that the opening of the flight as well as free
distribution of the Agos newspaper on THY international flights may
be misunderstood by the Azerbaijani side and cause damage to relations
between the two countries.

Turkish private airline Bora Jet plans to begin making Van-Yerevan
flights in April.

WRESTLER GOR OF TURKEY WINS SILVER MEDAL

Turkish Press
March 20 2013

Yakup Gor of Turkey won silver medal in European Wrestling
Championships in Georgia on Tuesday.

Gor was defeated by his Armenian rival David Safarian 2-0 in free
style, and won silver medal in the championships.

The championships took place in Tbilisi Sport Palace.

In all, 14 gold medals are on offer for men and seven gold medals
are on offer for women competitors.

It was the first time for Georgia to host the European Wrestling
Championships and it was also the biggest ever sporting event held
in the South Caucasus country since its independence.

Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is the patron of this
year’s European championships which feature men’s freestyle and
Greco-Roman style and women’s wrestling.

Georgia, a traditional nation of wrestling, collected one gold, three
silver and two bronze medals from last year’s European championships.

Russia finished atop all participating countries at last year’s
championships with five gold, two silver and eight bronze medals,
followed by Ukraine with a medal tally of four gold, as many silver
and three bronze.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS BEGIN REGIONAL VISIT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 20 2013

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Jacques Faure
(France) and Ian Kelly (USA) began a regional visit today, visiting
the unrecognised republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Trend news agency
cites Armenia Today as saying.

The co-chairs will hold negotiations with the leaders of the breakaway
republic, Bako Sahakyan and Karen Mirzoyan.

When asked about the Khojaly airport issue, Ian Kelly said that the
co-chairs are interested in a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

French co-chair Jacques Faure stressed that negotiations are under
way and it’s too early to talk about details. “We are working on
this issue and have some suggestions, which we are discussing with
the parties,” he said.

“After our visit we will publish a joint statement,” Russian
co-chairman Igor Popov is quoted as saying by the Trend news agency.

.

ARMENIAN NEWSPAPER EDITORS ASSESS DOMESTIC POLITICAL SITUATION

NEWS.AM
March 21, 2013 | 12:03

YEREVAN. – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and opposition Heritage
Party Chairman, former FM Raffi Hovannisian-who is declared runner-up
to the winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of
the presidential election that was conducted on February 18, but who
claims to be the real winner in the vote and who declared a hunger
strike on March 10 at capital city Yerevan’s Liberty Square-have to
sit down at the negotiating table. 168 Zham daily Editor-in-Chief
Satik Seyranyan and Aravot daily Editor-in-Chief Aram Abrahamyan
stated this during a press conference on Thursday.

Abrahamyan noted that the March 1, 2008 tragedy in Yerevan will not
repeat this time because neither Hovannisian nor Sargsyan want a
clash. In her turn, Seyranyan said a discourse is indispensable.

Both chief editors have the impression that the actions by Heritage’s
leader are unorganized and rudimentary. And as for which side’s
arguments are credible with respect to the Sargsyan-Hovannisian meeting
that was held at the Presidential Residence, Seyranyan said this knot
can be untied if the respective video recording is publicized.

In her words, the details that Sargsyan presented regarding this
talk are more pragmatic, whereas Hovannisian’s refutations are not
substantiated because we do not know what they actually spoke about.

In his turn, Abrahamyan suggested to believe in solely half of what
they said.

Speaking about April 9, Abrahamyan said on that day Serzh Sargsyan
will swear in on Armenia’s Constitution and the Bible while at the
Liberty Square, Raffi Hovannisian will swear in on another copy of
the Constitution and the Bible.

SAMVEL ALEKSANYAN’S SON-IN-LAW TO BE HARASSED, OR JHANGIRYAN REVENGES THE PROSECUTOR?

2013-03-21 13:19:28

By an amazing coincidence, as soon as Samvel Aleksanyan is away,
Koryun Nahapetyan is being suppresses in NA. Aleksanian has long
passed the ranks of “exelenc pupils” of parliament. He appears in the
National Assembly in good faith, votes by pressing a button, and there
has not been a case that he left the room without pressing a button.

So it was during the regular fourt-day session. On Monday, the
oligarch MP was in Parliament. On Tuesday, he was not there, they
said that he left Dubai to relax for at least two days. The next
day Koryun Nahapetyan was “attacked.” This time the striker was not
the assistant of general, and the general himself, former military
prosecutor Gagik Jhangiryan.

The occasion was the bill on amendments and additions to the law
“On the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.” In
this regard some amendments will also be in the Penal Code. The
former military prosecutor, feeling like a fish in water, found some
vulnerable points, and began his attack.

The keynote speaker, however, was the chairman of the Central Bank,
but the comments were sent to the head of Committee on Defense,
National Security and Internal Affairs of the Armenian parliament
Koryun Nahapetyan.

“The next task is to accompany the crime. Now you say that for this
article on money laundering, all criminal offenses are accompanying.

This means that the usual pickpocket or a bully can be accused of
money laundering. Unfortunately, our case law is precisely that way.

If you want to provide statistics with such ridiculous methods,
it does not do you honor, it’s a shame.

After his speech, the former prosecutor victoriously left the meeting
room. When journalists tried to get clarification on some professional
nuances, he hurried away, in all probability, presenting himself
already in place of Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepian.

In contrast to smug Jhangirian, Koryun Nahapetyan himself gave some
explanation.

“My colleague is concerned that the recovery of the property as a
means of criminal law remains as a kind of property confiscation.

However, the concept of confiscation of property has a completely
different content, recovery of property in criminal law can be used
not only in relation to condemn, but also towards third parties.

Consequently, the recovery of the property must be overlooking the
confiscation of property and means of criminal law. I think that the
observations of Mr. Jhangiryan, as a former prosecutor, are basically
unfair and unfounded.”

Lusine Kesoyan

I AM FOR ANY KIND OF OPPOSITION – PUBLICIST

14:43 21/03/2013 ” COMMENTS

It is unequivocal that changes are needed in Armenia and therefore I
am for any kind of opposition, poetess and publicist Marine Petrosyan
told reporters, explaining why she supports Raffi Hovannisian’s
movement at Liberty Square.

Mrs Petrosyan said she also supported the opposition in 2008, but the
current opposition is mild, “Raffi Hovannisian’s statements are mild,
which is a little strange to me.”

“Perhaps it is due to his American education, I don’t know. But I
think all methods should be tried to achieve a result. I am for more
clear approaches,” said the publicist.

The poetess added that she did not vote for Raffi Hovannisian in the
presidential elections.

Source: Panorama.am

FORESTRY LEGISLATURE OF ARMENIA MUST BE CHANGED :AGRICULTURE MINISTRY

YEREVAN, March 21. /ARKA/. The legal and legislative framework of
forestry sphere in Armenia must be changed and reformed, Artur
Petrosyan, Head of Forestry Department at Agriculture Ministry,
told ARKA on Thursday.

According to him, there are a number of flaws in the current
legislature.

“A working group was summoned that involved members of ministries of
agriculture, nature protection, territorial administration. The group
has prepared new legislative project related to forestry. In some case,
we had to shorten it, and in some place we had to add additional data
to make it meet the international standards,” Petrosyan said at the
conference “Steps towards steady forestry management” on the occasion
of International Day of Forests.

According to him, the push for summoning a working group arose after
a GIZ expert unveiled the analysis of the legislature, forestry policy
strategy and a number of rules about some protected areas.

Petrosyan commended the efforts of GIZ (German organization for
international cooperation) not only in conducting the analysis of the
legislative sphere of Armenia, but also elaborating some definite
programs on forestry advancement and the strategy of the rational
use of forest resources.

GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit) was
established by the government of Germany. It operates in over 130
countries worldwide mainly in public sector. -0-