Author: Kalantarian Kevo

MAN STEALS ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT FROM ARMENIA’S MEGHRI CITY CANNERY PLANT

News from Armenia – NEWS.am
January 10, 2012 | 17:03

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Police Force received information Monday from the
director of Meghri city’s cannery plant that eight electrical engines,
a hoist control panel, a variety of equipment, copper cords, and other
merchandise-all totaling 800,000 drams (approx. $ 2,075)-were stolen
from the plant’s warehouse between December 29 and January 9.

It was found out that the theft was committed by a 33-year-old Alvank
village resident, who is taken into custody, police press service
informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

An investigation is underway.

A LONGED-FOR GUARANTEE?
Haik Aramyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 23:44:01 – 10/01/2012

Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree to approve the staff of the Committee
of Ethics of High-Ranking Officials. Meeting with the members of the
Committee, Serzh Sargsyan said that their activities will include
analysis and publication of declarations on the property and income
of high-ranking officials, detection of conflicts of interest and
violations of rules of ethics, as well as other functions.

The committee is important, indeed, considering who the high-ranking
officials in Armenia are, at least their 99.99%, the standards and
“merits” that made them such, their behavior, their wealth. They have
immense possessions, misusing their official position, committing
different crimes and unlawfulness, engaging in the sophisticated
schemes of corruption, ranging from misuse of the public budget to
becoming “shareholders” of different companies.

In this situation, the amount of work to be done by the committee
of ethics is huge, if the committee is certainly going to cover the
scope mentioned by Serzh Sargsyan. However, judging by the experience
of other committees and councils, this committee will deal with
laundering their property and legitimizing their behavior.

The Committee of Ethics is brand new and has done nothing yet
and may not do anything at all because after its establishment
the Armenian high-ranking officials may be more cautious to avoid
scandals and showing off. It is not ruled out that by establishing
a similar committee Serzh Sargsyan offers the so-called “longed for”
guarantees, setting his rules and logic of the game. The system lacked
these guarantees in the past few years and without them has become
an amorphous and dangerous threat for the government.

In other words, January 10 is officially an “amnesty day” and the
ground zero to set out again.

RPA DEEMS SHIFT TO PROPORTIONAL VOTING SYSTEM INAPPROPRIATE

PanARMENIAN.Net
January 10, 2012 – 16:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) member commented
on the proposal of opposition forces to shift to proportional voting
system. From legal perspective, Hovhannes Sahakyan ruled out the
possibility of implementing the shift due to the need to introduce
amendments to RA Constitution and Electoral Code.

“From political standpoint, the arguments issued by the opposition are
not weighty enough to justify the shift to the proportional system,”
Mr. Sahakyan stated.

RPA member further noted that majority system enables MPs to raise
issues of direct interest to voters, adding that distant rural
community members don’t familiarize themselves with party programs
preferring to trust the candidates they know in person.

In this context, Sahakyan cited U.S. and France as examples of
developed countries with 100% majority system.

Today, December 27, Heritage and ARF Dashnaksutyun opposition parties
issued a joint statement claiming authorities to drop majority election
system and shift to 100 % proportional voting one.

The parties noted that proportional voting system will ensure
equal competition for the political forces, expanding their public
responsibility, reducing the impact of both political and electoral
factors on election process.

FRENCH GENOCIDE BILL SPARKS RETALIATORY MEASURES IN ANKARA

Today’s Zaman
Jan 10 2012
Turkey

The Ankara City Council has decided to take action within the
municipality against France in retaliation for the French National
Assembly’s approval of a “genocide bill” last month.

The Ankara City Council convened on Monday to consider their reaction
to France in response to a bill which was approved by the French
National Assembly that proposes penalizing those who refuse to
recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians as genocide.

Convened under the chairmanship of City Council Deputy Chairman Ali
Ä°hsan Olmez, the council unanimously decided to take action against
France for its attitude toward Turkey.

The council’s decision read: “The genocide that France carried out in
Algeria is still in our memory, and Paris Caddesi, where the French
Embassy is located, will be renamed Algerian Street. The name of
another street, Dögol [a transliteration of “de Gaulle”], will be
changed to the name of an Algerian hero, and a monument in memory of
the deaths in Algeria will be built close to the French Embassy as sign
of the sympathy and support the people of Ankara have for the Algerian
people, who were the victims of French cruelty in the 20th century.”

The City Council’s decision was sent to the Nomenclature Committee
for approval.

Ankara Mayor Melih Gökcek first mentioned, at a reception on Jan. 4
held in honor of the 92nd anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s
first arrival in Ankara, that the municipality was waiting for the
French Senate to approve the bill before committing to its next steps.

Gökcek said at this reception: “We expect to start building a monument
for the Algerian dead because of the French by the end of February,
but now we are waiting for the French Senate’s decision. We will
monitor the attitude of the French Senate in February and decide
whether we will implement the steps or not.”

If it is approved in the French Senate, the bill will make it illegal
to deny that the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks
was genocide.

FRENCH SENATE TO VOTE ON BILL JAN 23

Hurriyet Daily News

Jan 9 2012-01-10

France is prepared to require all EU countries to penalize the denial
of Armenian genocide allegations by using an EU framework decision on
the Fight against Racism and Xenophobia approved by the EU Justice and
Interior Affairs Council on April 19, 2007, daily Hurriyet reported
yesterday.

The Presidential Board of the French Senate will include the bill
penalizing denial of 1915 incidents as genocide in its agenda today.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave instructions to French
bureaucrats and diplomats in Brussels to start a new initiative in
the EU Council and Commission.

If the French Senate approves the bill at the end of this month, then
French bureaucrats will lobby to make Armenian genocide allegations
a part of the EU’s framework decision. According to the EU framework
decision, EU member countries made legal amendments to fight against
racism and penalize the denial of Jewish genocide.

French officials believe if the French Senate approves the bill at the
end of this month, the passage will be “legal ground” for allowing a
regulation in all EU countries. The French lower house approved the
genocide bill December 22 and the Senate is expected to vote on the
bill between Jan. 23 and 31.

DOCTORS FIGHTING FOR LIFE OF YOUNG CONSCRIPT INJURED IN KARABAKH

epress.am
01.10.2012

Gevorg Edik Yeghiazaryan, 19, injured on Dec. 28 on the Line of Contact
between Karabakh and Azerbaijan military forces, continues to remain
in grave condition, Armenian Defense Minister’s spokesperson Davit
Karapetyan informed Epress.am today.

“The doctors are doing everything possible to neutralize [any] factors
threatening his life. There’s a positive shift, he regained his
consciousness, but everything will be clear in a week’s time,” he said.

In his opinion, Gevorg is currently fighting between life and death.

Recall, Gevorg was injured while on duty in one of the northeastern
(Martakert) defense positions. On Dec. 29, the young conscript was
quickly flown by helicopter from Nagorno-Karabakh to Yerevan. He is
currently at the Central Clinical Military Hospital.

ARMENIA’S CENTRAL BANK LEAVES BENCHMARK RATE UNCHANGED AT 8%
By Helena Bedwell

Bloomberg

Jan 10 2012

Armenia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 8
percent for a fourth month, Hayk Kirakosyan, a spokesman for the bank,
said today by e-mail from the capital, Yerevan.

HAUT-KARABAGH
Serge Sarkissian en visite dans région du Karabagh

Le président Serge Sarkissian a inspecté les installations militaires
dans la région du Haut-Karabagh et a rencontré les commandants de
l’armée lors d’une visite sur le territoire qui s’est terminée jeudi 5
janvier 2012.

Il a commencé le voyage de trois jours avec une visite des unités de
l’armée situées dans le quartier de Martuni, près de la « ligne de
contact », la ligne qui les sépare des troupes azerbaïdjanaises.

Accompagné par Bako Sahakian, le président non-reconnu du
Haut-Karabagh (NKR), Sarkissian a regardé les exercices de tir.

Sarkisian, qui a commandé les forces arméniennes du Karabagh en 1992
et 1993, a rencontré des militaires à Stepanakert mercredi. Seyran
Ohanian, le ministre de la Défense arménien, un autre ancien chef de
l’armée du Karabagh, était également présent.

Le président arménien, qui portait un uniforme militaire lors de la
visite, n’a fait aucune déclaration publique.

Sarkissian a également inauguré un hôpital militaire et un nouveau
complexe résidentiel à Stepanakert qui permettra de loger
principalement les familles des militaires et les vétérans de la
guerre 1991-1994.

L’Azerbaïdjan a qualifié la visite de Sarkissian de « provocatrice ».
« Toutes les organisations internationales et le monde entier
soutiennent l’Azerbaïdjan, » a déclaré le porte-parole du ministère
des Affaires étrangères Elman Abdullayev. « De telles actions et ces
provocations montrent le vrai visage de Serge Sarkissian ». Il a
ensuite annoncé que l’Azerbaïdjan finira par reprendre le contrôle sur
le territoire du Karabagh.

lundi 9 janvier 2012,
Laetitia ©armenews.com

Sergei Parajanov’s 88th birthday anniversary

13:36 – 09.01.12

Today, Jan 9, is the 88th birthday anniversary of the renowned
scriptwriter and film producer Sergei Parajanov.

Sergei Parajanov was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. He graduated from
Moscow Institute of Cinematography. He shot a number of films. But it
was Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (renamed Wild Horses of Fire for
most foreign distributor), a film created in 1964, made Sergei
Parajanov world-famous.

The Color of Pomegranates (1968), a film about the Tbilisi-based
singer Sayat-Nova, is among Parajanov’s masterpieces.

Later, for many years, the Soviet authorities did not allow Parajanov
to shoot films. In 1984, however, he was allowed to shoot The Legend
of the Suram Fortress and, in 1988, Ashik Kerib.

Parajanov was unable to complete his film Confession. Later, the
incomplete version served as a basis for ‘Bobo’ by Narine Lazarian
and Arsen Azatyan (1991), as well as for the semidocumentary entitled
‘Parajanov: the last spring’ by Mikael Vardanov (1992).

Parajanov received numerous awards. He is among the 50 most
outstanding film producers of the 20th century.

Sergei Parajanov died in Yerevan, Armenia, in 1990.

Tert.am

Armenian footballer says his ethnicity is the problem with Turkish coach

21:24 – 09.01.12

Armenian footballer Harutyun Abrahamyan, who plays for the Iranian
club Persepolis, will leave it over a row with the club’s
newly-appointed Turkish coach Mustafa Denizli.

Speaking to the Armenian sports news website Armsport.am, Abrahamyan
said that the only reason of the row is his ethnic background.

Abrahamyan reminded that he signed a contract with the Iranian club in
fall in 2010, and because of unsuccessful performance of the team the
chief coach was replaced.

`Mustafa Denizli was invited and by learning that I am an Armenian, he
categorically refused to work with me,’ said Abrahamyan.
`He has no right to dismiss me. He simply does not want to work with
me,’ said he.

Asked if there is any professional reason for the coach to do so,
Abrahamyan said that the only reason is his ethnicity.

`The only problem for the Turkish coach is that I am an Armenian. He
does not speak about it, but it is clear that there is no other
reason,’ Abrahamyan explained.

Tert.am