VALERI PERMYAKOV OFFICIALLY CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE MURDER IN ARMENIA’S GYUMRI
17:19 * 14.01.15
The Investigation Committee of Armenia has decided to bring official
charge against Valeri Permyakov, who is the main suspect for a multiple
murder in Gyumri.
The Investigation Committee is taking all the necessary measures to
ensure an impartial and comprehensive investigation into the crime
and verify all possible versions.
UNE ANNEE DIFFICILE POUR LA TURQUIE SELON UN EDITORIALISTE D’HURRIYET
TURQUIE
Selon Murat Yetkin éditorialiste au journal turc Hurriyet “les
élections parlementaires prévues pour Juin sont susceptibles d’être
la principale question politique de la Turquie en 2015″.
Il a ajouté ” la politique étrangère est susceptible d’avoir une
série de problèmes en 2015. Malgré Davutoglu a énuméré les
visites des dirigeants a Ankara en tant que preuve du rôle de la
Turquie dans la politique internationale, il est un fait qu’Ankara
n’a pas d’ambassadeur dans les capitales égyptiennes, syriennes et
israéliennes depuis ces deux dernières années ; il n’y avait pas
d’ambassadeurs dans les capitales chypriote et arménienne déja”.
Puis il conclut ” les groupes arméniens du monde entier sont prêts a
mettre la pression en 2015 a la fois sur les Ã~Itats-Unis et la Turquie
afin de reconnaître officiellement les massacres de 1915 comme un ”
génocide ” des Arméniens sous la domination ottomane. Ce devrait
atteindre un pic en Avril. Cela signifie que presque toutes les
grandes questions politiques devraient apparemment avoir lieu dans
la première moitié de l’année en Turquie”.
mercredi 14 janvier 2015, Stéphane ©armenews.com
CHARLIE HEBDO WITH PROPHET MOHAMED COVER SELLING FOR MORE THAN 500 ON EBAY
14:20 14/01/2015 >> SOCIETY
Just hours after it hit newsstands in France, copies of the so-called
Charlie Hebdo “survivors issue” have begun appearing on eBay with
sellers charging many times their face value, The Independent reported.
Shops in Paris are selling the magazine for EURO 3 (£2.30), but online
listings are offering it for around in a direct purchase for around
EURO 50 – and auction lot bids in the UK and US have passed £500.
There has been huge demand around the world for Wednesday’s edition,
printed in an unprecedented run of three million copies.
Its front cover carries a cartoon of a crying Prophet Mohamed holding a
sign saying “Je suis Charlie”, a response to the killing of 12 people,
including eight journalists, at its Paris offices.
By 7am on Wednesday, most retailers in France’s capital had sold out of
the new edition. Long queues formed outside stores that opened later,
as the country’s creaky distribution system appeared to struggle with
the extraordinary demand.
The inflated eBay listings will be galling to some, particularly as
some of the proceeds from the souvenir edition are to go the families
of those killed.
But the bumper run will also save the magazine from what had been
seen as near-bankruptcy.
Source: Panorama.am
JEWELRY OUTPUT IN ARMENIA SHRINKS 48.6% IN JAN-NOV 2014 TO AMD 9.2 BILLION
YEREVAN, January 14. /ARKA/. Jewelry worth AMD 9 234.4 million were
produced in Armenia over a period between January and November 2014 –
48.6% less than in Jan-Nov 2013, the National Statistical Service of
Armenia reports.
The industry produced 1 170.5 kilograms of jewelry in Jan-Nov 2014
against 914.9 kilograms at the same period a year before – a 27.9%
year-on-year growth.
Some 52,255 karats of diamonds were produced over the mentioned period
– a 41.2% decline.
Precious and semiprecious stones worth $206.6 million were exported
from the country in Jan-Nov 2014 – a 17.9% growth, and imports totaled
$285.6 million – a 4.6% growth. ($1 – AMD 477.04). —0—-
‘RUSSIA SOLDIER’ KILLS ARMENIA FAMILY-OF-6
Sky News, Australia
Jan 13 2015
A Russian soldier accused of slaughtering six members of the same
family in Armenia has been detained, investigators say.Soldier Valery
Permyakov allegedly gunned down the family members in a bloody shooting
spree on Monday before disappearing from a Russian military base where
he was stationed in the Armenian city of Gyumri, about 120 kilometres
north of the capital Yerevan.The suspect was detained overnight by
Russian border guards patrolling Armenia’s frontier with Turkey,
a spokeswoman for Armenia’s investigative committee said.Russia is a
firm ally of ex-Soviet republic Armenia, basing thousands of troops in
the country and assisting it with guarding its borders with Iran and
Turkey.Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday expressed his
‘profound condolences’ over the incident and pledged support for the
relatives of the victims.’Nothing can justify such violence against
innocent people,’ Shoigu said in a statement.Moscow has set up a
special commission to investigate the incident headed by the deputy
defence chief, the statement said.
ARMENIA STRADDLES EAST-WEST DIVIDE
The Washington Post
January 8, 2015 Thursday
by Karoun Demirjian
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
YEREVAN, ARMENIA – When Armenia broke ranks last year with other
former Soviet states marching toward Europe and pledged to join
Russia’s new customs union instead, the goal of keeping a foothold
in both the East and the West didn’t seem all that challenging.
It wasn’t the first time the country had pulled off such a high-stakes
balancing act: For years, Armenia has been the only full member of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Russian-led military
alliance, to also participate in NATO peacekeeping missions. And with
the United States and European Union promising to continue economic
development efforts, there seemed little to lose by joining Russia.
But that was before the Ukraine crisis, before Western-Russian
relations sank to their lowest point since the Cold War, and before
the ruble started plummeting erratically – pulling down currencies
such as the Armenian dram along with it.
Now, as Armenia settles into its role as the smallest member of
Russia’s new Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the country is bracing
for what even government officials acknowledge could be a rough ride.
“I never heard of a situation where turmoil in a partner country was a
helpful thing,” said Vache Gabrielyan, deputy prime minister and head
of a new government ministry for international economic integration.
“The situation, of course, has changed,” he added. “But I don’t yet
see any change that fundamentally alters the choice we made.”
Armenia’s decision to scrap negotiations with Europe over an
association agreement – the sort that the E.U. recently signed with
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova – and join Russia’s nascent trade bloc
was announced abruptly after a September 2013 meeting between the
president, Serge Sarkisian, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in
Moscow. Western diplomats said they were surprised, and some members
of the opposition said the deal was the result of Russian blackmail.
Members of the Armenian government justified the decision as one that
will give Armenia the opportunity to improve economic ties with both
the E.U. and the EEU.
“In the framework of our humble abilities, we strive to serve as a
bridge for these two organizations,” said deputy foreign minister
Shavarsh Kocharyan, one of the key negotiators of the deal to bring
Armenia into the EEU. Picking a side was simply a necessity, he added,
because “nowadays, every state needs to be in an economic cooperation
bloc. Germany, France – are they on their own? Heh.”
The idea that Armenia could help build E.U.-EEU economic ties appears
to have some support in the Kremlin. Last week, Russia’s E.U.
ambassador told the EU Observer, a news Web site, that Armenia is
one of several countries that could facilitate trade between Russia’s
new customs union and Europe.
What few in the Armenian government will acknowledge, however, is
that in choosing to side with Russia, they didn’t have much choice.
Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union 23 years ago.
But Russia remains the tiny country’s most vital link to the outside
world.
Russia hosts the largest population of Armenians outside Armenia and
is the largest source of remittances, which accounted for more than a
fifth of Armenia’s national income last year. Russia has a monopoly
on selling Armenia cheap gas through 2043, and state-funded Russian
television broadcasts are how many Armenians get news and information.
While Europe remains Armenia’s largest export market, Russia is
the key destination for non-raw-material goods, which Gabrielyan
says will help Armenia diversify its economy – especially, he said,
because Armenia is not yet ready to compete in Europe.
Few public officials, even those who have criticized the president,
discount those ties. Last month, Armenia’s parliament voted
overwhelmingly to approve joining the EEU.
The EEU dealmaking process “was misguided and should have been done
differently,” said Vartan Oskanian, Armenia’s former foreign minister
and a member of Prosperous Armenia, parliament’s second-largest party.
But lawmakers backed EEU membership “given the importance we attach
to Armenia’s relations with Russia.”
Yet the most important factor driving Armenia’s participation in
Russia’s new economic union isn’t economic.
“We have a security issue which demands us to take faster steps,”
Kocharyan said, explaining that benefits of European association would
take longer to realize than joining the EEU. “Such long-term projects
are very important, but we can never exclude the possibility that
the day after tomorrow, we may have to impose peace on our neighbors.”
Russia is Armenia’s chief supplier of arms, at discounted prices, and
maintains a military base in the country. Armenians consider that a
vital asset in their two-decade-long, frozen conflict over the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan
that declared independence as the Soviet Union was coming apart.
There is fear of endangering the Russian military support especially
because there is no real Western alternative. Although Armenia is
recipient of one of the highest levels of U.S. aid per capita, that
money isn’t for buying weapons.
But some opposition members worry that joining the EEU may undermine
the economic and strategic security Armenia seeks to preserve through
closer association.
“Many Armenians think that Russia can only solicit Azerbaijan to
join the EEU by bargaining on Karabakh,” said Nikol Pashinyan, an
opposition member of parliament who spent a few years as a political
prisoner under Sarkisian’s presidency.
In recent years, Russia began selling arms to Azerbaijan – a
shift Armenia believes fueled a spike in cross-border skirmishes
last summer. And Armenia only narrowly avoided having trade with
Nagorno-Karabakh subjected to customs tariffs in EEU negotiations.
Pashinyan said EEU membership could also hurt deals between Armenia
and other neighbors, such as Iran, where a rollback of sanctions could
present lucrative opportunities to transport oil to Europe. Through
the EEU, Russia could stymie such plans.
Such concerns are why some government opponents maintain that joining
the EEU is tantamount to “surrendering by our own signature . . . the
independence we gained 23 years ago,” said Raffi Hovannisian,
the U.S.-born leader of Armenia’s Heritage Party who ran for the
presidency last year and made accusations of fraud after losing.
When asked about such scenarios, government officials said Armenia
will not shy away from vetoing EEU decisions it doesn’t like, even
under Russian pressure – and stressed that Armenia will still seek
closer ties with Iran, the West and others as an EEU member.
But even if Armenia is able to walk that geopolitical tightrope, some
believe that by moving toward Russia, the country lost something it
can’t replace.
“You know, yesterday, we were not Europeans, yesterday we were not
a democratic country. But yesterday we had the hope of becoming a
democratic country, with European standards,” said Stepan Safaryan,
a political analyst and former Heritage Party leader. “Tomorrow,
we will not have this hope. And that is the problem.”
ARMENIAN VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY TURN OUT FOR CALIF. DEMOCRATIC PARTY DELEGATE ELECTIONS
Tuesday, January 13th, 2015
The rain and long lines did not deter Armenian-Americans from voting
in Calif. Democratic Party delegate elections over the weekend.
GLENDALE–Armenian-Americans in various districts overwhelmingly turned
out to elect delegates to the upcoming State Democratic Convention
and elected members of the Armenian-American community to represent
their interests at this pivotal party convention.
In the 43rd Assembly District election, all 14 candidates of the
Democrats United slate were elected according to preliminary results.
The democrats on the slate are: Elen Asatryan, Aline Babaian, Jordan
Del Guercio, Mijin Fernandes, Jamie Garcia, Malcolm Johnson, Berdj
Karapetian, Silva Kechichian, Leonard Manoukian, Shant Sahakian,
Judith Smith, Steven Widdon, Gary Willis, and Tereza Yerimyan. Voters
elected delegate Berdj Karapetian to the influential Executive Board
of the State Central Committee.
The candidates of the Democrats United slate actively engaged the
grassroots and effectively mobilized their local communities, sweeping
the opposition and winning the elections by a sizable margin.
According to preliminary results, an unprecedented 739 ballots were
cast during the two-hour voting period, forcing eager voters to wait
patiently in a line that stretched nearly 500 yards. Several hundred
voters waited more than 25 minutes to make their voices heard.
The 43rd Assembly District includes the cities of Burbank, Glendale,
La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta-Montrose, as well as the Los Feliz
and Little Armenia neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Similarly, a late representing the Armenian-American community was
also elected in the 41st Assembly district. The democrats that were
elected in that slate are: Joanne Wendler, Michelle Bailey, Darla
Dyson, Alex Zucco, Linda Baker, Aida Dimejian, Teresa Lamb Simpson,
Tim Wendler, John Harabedian, Hoyt Hilsman, Peter Baker, Gar Byrum,
Sahag Yedalian and Garen Kirakosian.
The 41st Assembly District covers the cities of Altadena, Claremont,
East Pasadena, La Verne, Monrovia, Pasadena, San Dimas, Sierra Madre,
South Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, San Antonio Heights and Upland.
Other Armenians elected during this weekend’s vote are: Aram Kaloustian
(AD 46); Deanna Minasian (AD 06); Eleanor Garabedian (AD 23); Nareg
Khodanian, Marie Khatchaderian (AD 39)l and Murad Minasian (AD 58).
Over the last decade, Armenian participation in the delegate election
has steadily increased, but the 2015 elections marked a new milestone.
The Armenian-American community’s participation was the determining
factor of the election results. For the next two years, the group
of elected delegates will be tasked with representing the 43rd AD
constituency, electing party officers, promoting the California
democratic party agenda, endorsing candidates for statewide,
legislative and congressional office, voting to endorse resolutions
and ballot measures, and attending the party conventions.
According to the California Democratic Party Communications Director
Tenoch Flores, the results are not considered final until verified by
the State Party. The verification process takes anywhere from 10 -14
days. Final results, though not expected to change, will be posted
in the coming weeks on the party’s website.
PASTOR’S LETTER LEONIAN FOLLOWING THE MURDER OF THE YOUNG MICKAEL
Marseilles
“I am horrified by such an act.
We just we hand the dramatic events that have hit the press, the
police and the Jewish community in France there is less than a week.
We were far from thinking that the day after the Republican surge
of consciousness of yesterday, we were such an outrage in Marseilles
and more is within our Armenian youth to us so dear.
Surely the time is serious. Commemorations of the 100th anniversary
just started we live and painful memories rise to the surface of our
memory and trouble us in the depths of ourselves.
The death of this young person is unworthy and revolting in a democracy
such as France.
It adds to the pain our pain. However, be vigilant.
Do not fall into the trap of quick and easy amalgams that some will
stir up and operate.
While strongly condemning this heinous act, and asking the authority of
the state to find the culprits to stop them and punish them severely,
we need to step back and height to show blood cold, wisdom and make
our contribution to an analysis and an open and responsible dialogue.
Do not succumb to provocation.
The wealth of Marseille is its cultural diversity.
The integration process of our Armenian community is exemplary. We
are often shown as an example.
Do not let anyone the right to lead us in ways that could alter the
achievements of 100 years of struggle and dignified and brave to
be French of Armenian origin who do not have to be ashamed of their
dual identity.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family of this young teenager
who is going through a terrible page in their lives.
May God give them the moral and spiritual strength to overcome this
difficult time.
As a religious, political and community of our community, it is our
responsibility to surround the Assatryan family, friends Micha,
our youth, our support and our affection, to bring them comfort,
courage, a listening, a safe living environment, and give them reason
to continue to believe in the Christian and humanist values. ”
Pastor Gilbert Leonian
Tuesday, January 13, 2015, Jean Eckian © armenews.com
LEADER OF COUNTRY BEHIND ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SAYS MUSLIMS NEVER COMMIT MASSACRES
Front Page Magazine
Jan 13 2015
January 13, 2015 by Daniel Greenfield
There is no more Turkey. There is only Erdoganistan. And its deranged
Islamist dictator has been following his party’s line of claiming
that the Paris terror attacks are an anti-Muslim conspiracy.
“French citizens carry out such a massacre, and Muslims pay the price.”
Erdogan accused the West of having a double standard with regard to
Muslims. The Turkish leader said historically Muslims were never on
the side of terror, nor did they perpetrate massacres.
“The West’s hypocrisy is obvious. As Muslims, we’ve never taken part
in terrorist massacres. Behind these lie racism, hate speech and
Islamophobia,” Erdogan said.
Sure.
Muslims never carry out massacres. Especially not Turkish Muslims.
Just ask the Armenians.
Referring to last week’s deadly attacks in France, Erdogan said that
racism, hate messages and Islamaphobia stood behind the acts.
“We hope that those attacking nations, cease their assault on our
mosques.”
The Grand Mosque in Paris was open while the synagogues were closed,
but Turkey’s Islamist propaganda appears to be generating claims of
mass attacks on mosques.
So what is behind it?
“Take note that the acts of terror are not carried out in a vacuum.
The acts follow a predetermined script and we should be alive to a
plot against the Islamic world,” he added.
Erdogan is claiming there’s an unspecified conspiracy which is trying
to make Muslims look bad. Like his comrade, the Mayor of Ankara,
he probably blames the Jews. So Erdogan had to begin ranting about
the Jews.
The Turkish leader said that Netanyahu had no right to be at the
rally due to the civilian casualties in Gaza during this past summer’s
Operation Protective Edge.
“I also hardly understand how he (Netanyahu) dared to go there. For
once, you give an account for the children, women you massacred,”
Erdogan said in a joint press conference with Abbas in Ankara,
AFP reported.
That’s ironic coming from a regime that has obvious ties to Al Qaeda
and ISIS. And which has spent quite a lot of time killing Kurds and
appears to be orchestrating a massacre of them across the border.
TURKEY ARRESTS TWO POLICE OVER ARMENIAN JOURNALIST MURDER
Al-Arabiya, UAE
Jan 13 2015
By AFP | Istanbul
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Turkey on Tuesday arrested two police officers for failing to prevent
the 2007 murder of an ethnic Armenian journalist, local media reported.
Ozkan Mumcu and Muhittin Zenit have been charged with “negligence”
for failing to act on intelligence and prevent the murder of Hrant
Dink and of failing to carry out an effective probe.
They also face charges of “causing death by negligence” and “abuse
of power,” the Dogan news agency reported.
It is the first time state officals have been charged over the
journalist’s assasination.
Dink was shot dead in broad daylight by a teenage ultranationalist
outside the offices of his bilingual Agos newspaper, sending shockwaves
through Turkey.
Ogun Samast, then a 17-year-old jobless high-school dropout, confessed
to the murder and was sentenced to almost 23 years in jail in 2011.
The murder grew into a wider scandal after it emerged that the security
forces knew of a plot to kill Dink, but failed to act.
Turkey’s top court in July ruled that the investigation into the
killing had been flawed, paving the way for the trial of state
officials who could be implicated in the murder.
Seven other officials, including the then Istanbul police chief,
are currently on trial on charges of negligence.
Dink, 52, had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and
Armenians, but incurred the wrath of Turkish nationalists for calling
the mass killings of Armenians during World War I a genocide.