Author: Kalantarian Kevo

WOMAN ACCUSED OF ABUSING DAUGHTER-IN-LAW EXTRADITED FROM RUSSIA, ARRESTED IN ARMENIA

epress.am
12.13.2011

Haykanush Mikaelyan, 48, accused of torturing her 20-year-old
daughter-in-law Mariam Gevorgyan, arrived in Armenia on a
Moscow-Yerevan flight at 8:30 pm last night and was subsequently
arrested, said head of the Public Relations Department at Yerevan~Rs
Kentron Police Department Armen Malkhasyan, speaking to Epress.am.

Mikaelyan has been wanted since Jan. 21, 2011, under charges of
RA Criminal Code Article 112 Section 2 (~Sinfliction of willful
[life-threatening] bodily damage to two or more persons~T).

Recall, Mariam Gevorgyan is asserting that she was subjected to
physical and emotional violence by Haykanush Mikaelyan, as well as
by Gevorgyan~Rs husband, David Ziroyan. As reported previously,
Mariam and David married in 2009, then left for St. Petersburg,
where the husband~Rs family live. For 10 months, Mariam was subject to
repeated abuse by David and members of his family. After returning to
Yerevan, Mariam contacted police, who subsequently charged David with
~Sinflicting willful medium-gravity damage to health~T and ~Sbattery~T.

The general amnesty granted by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the
occasion of the 20th anniversary of Armenia~Rs independence earlier
this year, however, also applied to David and he was released. Prior
to marrying Mariam, David was married for 3 years to Monica, who
also asserts he abused her, leading to the loss of vision in one of
her eyes.

The case, however, was made public only a year later, when last
week local daily Hetq Online covered Mariam~Rs story. Subsequently,
the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women in Armenia organized a
demonstration outside the RA General Prosecutor~Rs office Monday,
demanding officials to re-open the case and conduct a fair
investigation.

Later on Monday, Mariam Gevorgyan and Coalition representatives were
invited to come speak with RA Deputy Prosecutor General Armen Danielyan
and head of the RA Prosecutor General Office~Rs Department for Crimes
against the Individual Vahram Shahinyan, who assured them that the
case has been re-opened and the Armenian General Prosecutor~Rs Office
is overseeing the matter.

USA
De plus en plus d’arméniens expulsés des Etats-Unis

Les rumeurs d’un grand nombre de prisonniers arméniens aux Etats-Unis
sont très exagérées.

Le consulat général d’Arménie a été informé que 151 citoyens arméniens
ont été arrêté dans la première moitié de 2011. Seuls quelques-uns ont
été condamnés à de la prison.

Selon les mêmes données, le nombre de citoyens arméniens dans des
prisons de Los Angeles n’excèdent pas 1000.

Cependant, le nombre des citoyens arméniens qui sont expulsés du pays
a récemment augmenté. En 2011 les autorités américaines ont fait appel
au Consulat général d’Arménie à Los Angeles en lien avec le renvoi de
50 citoyens d’Arménie. Ils sont principalement expulsés en raison de
la violation des lois sur le séjour aux Etats-Unis.

Le Consul général Grigor Hovhannisyan a visité une des prisons de Los
Angeles. Pendant la visite, Grigor Hovhannisyan a rencontré des
prisonniers d’origine arménienne, aussi bien que les citoyens
d’Arménie.

dimanche 11 décembre 2011,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

ARMENIE
Manuk Vardanyan : Le nombre des utilisateurs à Internet a été
multiplié par six en deux ans

Le ministre arménien des Transports et de la communication Manuk
Vardanyan a souligné l’importance de la stratégie du gouvernement dans
le développement de la communication, notant qu’elle a prouvé son
efficacité.

Manuk Vardanyan a présenté les réalisations dans la sphère des
transports et des communications au cours des dernières années, notant
que le domaine a toujours été au centre de l’attention du
gouvernement.

“Les indices ont considérablement augmenté grce à la politique
constante de notre gouvernement. La couverture des services mobiles
atteint 100% dans la république, le nombre d’abonnés de téléphonie
fixe a augmenté. Le nombre des utilisateurs à internet a augmenté de
six fois au cours des deux dernières années. Un tiers de la population
totale utilise internet aujourd’hui, les prix ont considérablement
baissé » a déclaré Manuk Vardanyan.

dimanche 11 décembre 2011,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Glendale News Press , CA
Dec 10 2011

Armenian political group seeks charter

By Mark Kellam, [email protected]
December 10, 2011 | 6:39 p.m.

The organization California Armenian-American Democrats, which
includes several local members, appears close to being fully chartered
by the California Democratic Party. Its bylaws would serve as a
template for organizations seeking charter approval in the future,
according to local officials.

The group was provisionally chartered in July and representatives went
before the state party’s executive board in November seeking a full
charter, said Caro Avanessian, interim chairman of the group and
president of the Glendale Democratic Club.

The board didn’t grant the organization a full charter because board
members wanted some changes to the group’s bylaws.

`They want it to be perfect,’ he said. `It’s going to be a sample in
the future.’

It would be the first statewide organization chartered by the state
party, Avanessian said.

The group initially sought to become a caucus, but those groups are a
part of the state party and don’t have much autonomy, Avanessian said.

With a charter, the group is independent. It can raise funds and make
endorsements in races and on issues where the state party hasn’t
endorsed.

Eric Bauman, head of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, led the
meeting as vice-chairman of the California Democratic Party and
chairman of the party’s organizational development committee.

He said most of the significant revisions to the bylaws have been
made, but the executive board wants the group to fix some grammar
problems and make sure that all requirements, such as the number of
days needed for meeting notices, are consistent throughout the bylaws.

Meanwhile, the organization is growing, Avanessian said, with 500
members as of Dec. 1 – the deadline to sign up in order to be a voting
member and run for office during the upcoming year.

The group will return to seek a full charter in February at the
Democratic convention in San Diego, Avanessian said.

,0,3216324.story

Jerusalem Post
Dec 10 2011

Meretz reaches out to Christian patriarchs
By MELANIE LIDMAN
12/10/2011 23:37

Haredi spitting at priests in Jerusalem has gotten worse in past six
months, say city councilors.

Jerusalem City Council members from the Meretz party met on Thursday
with the Armenian patriarch, to apologize for the increase in
ultra-Orthodox spitting at priests as they walk in the Old City.

According to Meir Margalit, the Meretz city councilor who holds the
east Jerusalem portfolio, the phenomenon of haredim spitting at the
ground as priests walked by has gone on for years but has gotten
considerably worse in the past six months. The issue was highlighted
in an October court case against a Greek Orthodox priest who punched a
haredi man who spat at him. The judge dismissed the case after saying
that the haredi man had provoked the priest.

`Needless to say, spitting toward the accused when he was wearing the
mantle of the church is a criminal offense,’ Judge Dov Pollock said in
the October 31 ruling.

Local Meretz activists joined city councilors Laura Wharton, Pepe
Alalu and Margalit for the meeting with Armenian Patriarch Archbishop
Torkom Manoogian. Two weeks ago, the group, along with two rabbis from
Rabbis for Human Rights, held a similar meeting with Greek Orthodox
Patriarch Theophilos III.

`We went to ask forgiveness in the name of the Jewish nation and the
citizens of Jerusalem,’ Margalit said on Friday.

`I grew up in Argentina during a period when there wasn’t a small
amount of anti-Semitism. When I heard this, it immediately brought me
back to Argentina. How can the Jewish people be doing something that
they used to do to us not so many years ago?’ Margalit asked.

Margalit said that both meetings with the church leaders had been
positive, and that Manoogian had said he believed the problem stemmed
from a lack of education in the haredi community.

Margalit said he would appeal to the haredi city councilors to ask
rabbis to denounce the practice. But he also encouraged the police to
stop it `once and for all’ by using the many security cameras in the
Old City to identify and arrest the men spitting at priests.

news.am, Armenia
Dec 10 2011

Iran constructs new power line with Armenia and Georgia to enter Europe

December 10, 2011 | 12:30

The new power transmission line which is being constructed in order to
increase the volume of electricity exchange between Iran, Armenia and
Georgia will become a new route for electricity transit and exchange
with Europe.

In an interview with Mehr agency Iran’s deputy Minister of Energy
Mohammad Behzad explained that the power line is being constructed in
order to provide Georgia with electricity at first and later Russia
and other European countries.

The power line currently exchanging electricity between Armenia and
Iran has a capacity of 230 kilowatt. The new power line will allow
transferring electricity from Iran to Georgia through Armenia.
Currently Georgia gets electricity from Iran through Azerbaijan.

Currently Iran is exporting electricity to Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iraq,
Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Global Insight
December 9, 2011

Armenia Will Not Join Post-Soviet Economic Integration Projects

by: Lilit Gevorgyan

Armenian prime minister Tigran Sarkisian has told media that his
country has no plans to join the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan
and Russia, which will make up the core of the Eurasian Union proposed
by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. Sargsyan explained that
Armenia maintains good commercial ties with all the Customs Union
member states but since it does not share a common border with them,
sees no real prospects of joining the bloc. He also added that there
has been no precedent of a country joining a customs bloc without
sharing a common border with its members. He clarified that for the
same reasons Armenia maintains only an observer status in the Eurasian
Economic Communist (EurAsEc). Nonetheless the South Caucasian republic
has recently joined the Russia-led Free Trade Zone Agreement which
includes Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Ukraine.

Significance:Sarkisian’s comments come shortly after his trip to
Brussels to push forward with a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
between Armenia and the European Union (EU). Although an active member
of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) a loose formation of some
of the former Soviet republics, Armenia is also a member of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) which the members of the Customs Union have
yet to join. Lack of common borders with the Customs Union to some
degree would also reduce the potential pressure by Russia on Armenia
to join its integration projects mainly involving the former Soviet
states. As for creating a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with
the EU, Armenia may have to wait until it holds its parliamentary
election and proves that its political leaders are truly committed to
improving the business environment and the judiciary.

Armenia to see a new wave of uprising in February, says oppositionist

16:49 – 10.12.11

Armenia will see a new wave of protests in February next year, an
activist of the opposition alliance of the Armenian National Congress
(HAK) has said.

Nikol Pashinyan made the statement on Liberty Square as the HAK
started a campaign dedicated to the anniversary of the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

`In February, a new wave of uprising will start so that non-elected
authorities will go away from Armenia,’ said Pashinyan who is also the
Chief Editor of local daily Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times).

`No state official will give us our rights. Citizens should by all
means demand their rights,’ he added.

HAK Coordinator Levon Zurabyan, in turn, said that it was due to the
pressure the HAK exerted on the ruling authorities that they released
those citizens arrested over the March 1 events.

Zurabyan also said that civil society is becoming more active in the
country and is fighting for its rights more actively then before.

Later the HAK supporters marched from Liberty Square towards to
Mashtots Avenue from where they will go to the area near Alexander
Miasnikyan statue – the area where most of the clashes with the riot
police took place in 2008.

At least ten people were killed, dozens wounded and arrested at the
post-election unrest in Yerevan in 2008 as citizens took to the
streets, claiming the presidential vote had been stolen.

Tert.am

RA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER SPEAKS ABOUT HIS BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN 2011

hetq
15:25, December 10, 2011

RA Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan~Rs December 10 speech at
Human Rights EXPO 2011

Dear guests,

With the aim of celebrating the International Human Rights Day, we
have initiated this exhibition, which differs from other expo’s due
to the fact that we are exhibiting not our success and achievements,
but stressing the difficulties, failures, pains and acute problems
of our society.

Now I~Rm not going to speak about child beggars, people in extreme
poverty, abused women, a prisoner or a military serviceman who is
inhumanly treated, a member of a minority group who has been subjected
to discriminatory treatment, a homeless and vulnerable refugee,
the unauthorized home detention of a disabled citizen.

About all of these individuals and circumstances, our booths which
will be opening in several minutes, as well as the wallpaper, films
and publications presented in those booths, will provide you with
much more thorough and impressive information.

Summing up the year 2011 we would like to present some positive and
negative developments from the point of view of the Human Rights
Defender proficiency.

Many of you are aware of my public initiative of requesting the
initiation of disciplinary proceedings for 3 judges. Yesterday the
Justice Minister expressed his solidarity to respective highest
judicial body and I received final rejections with regard to all the
three cases. This is my biggest disappointment in 2011.

Since the independence of Armenia, up to and including this year,
the sharpest and most challenging structural obstacle to human rights
protection has been the lack of a fair trial. Human rights protection
in any democratic country is ultimately the responsibility of the
judiciary.

Consuming all my legislative authorities to influence judicial reform
and current possibilities arising from them, I invoke my compatriots
to highlight especially the right of a fair trial in upcoming political
processes.

As the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia I~Rm asking
all political forces not only to present the current situation of
judicial authorities (everyone is aware of this and everyone talks
about this) in public debates of upcoming election period, but to
present to voters practical, realistic, short-term and long-term
projects of having a fair court.

Continuing to sum up the developments for 2011 I would like to
inform that that most part of the grounded complaints addressed
to our institution refer to the wrong calculation of a pension and
deprivation from the right of getting a family pension.

The highest number of positive solutions to the complaints addressed
to us were given from the RA Ministry of Defense. Our legislative
proposals were mostly accepted by the RA Ministry of Health and the
RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

The most improper and unacceptable response to our public criticism
we received from the RA Ministry of Education and Science. However,
we positively evaluate the fact that the Ministry, even after such
a response, undertook regulation of the formation of textbooks~R
evaluation thematic committees.

The greatest support from State bodies was our financial bid~Rs
uphold by the National Assembly during 2012 budget discussion. With
this regard I would like to express my special thanks to standing
committees presidents Mr. Aram Safaryan and Mr. Gagik Minasyan.

For promoting our financial independence and for making our
extra-budget independent from the RA Government~Rs confirmation we
are grateful to the RA Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and
RA the Finance Minister.

For toll-free provision and operation of the Human Rights Defender~Rs
116 Hot Line I would like to express my appreciation to the Public
Services Regulatory Commission and ~SArmenTel~T CJSC.

During the «Civil Society» forum held in June 2011 memorandums were
signed between the Human Rights Defender and more than 85 NGOs. I am
grateful to all of those NGOs, which have been by our side all this
time and today also.

For professional and material support to our institution during
2011 I would like to express my thankfulness to the Delegation of
the European Union to Armenia and the European Union Advisory Group,
United Nations in Armenia, US Agency for International Development,
Counterpart International Armenia, OSCE Office in Yerevan, Armenian
branch of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, World Vision Armenia, which
helped us to significantly enlarge our activity and implement human
rights protection and promotion programmes.

Last but not the least, I am thankful to those forty-six humane and
diligent people of my staff, who help thousands of our applicants
and who has made this event possible today.

THREE COALITION MEMBERS VOTE DOWN ARF-D’S NO CONFIDENCE BID

Tert.am
10.12.11

The local newspaper Zhoghovurd says it has learned from sources that
three lawmakers from the ruling coalition have abstained in the vote
of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun’s (ARF-D)
recent proposal on expressing no confidence to the cabinet.

The paper says it has found out that two members of the ruling
Republican Party faction in parliament, Vardan Avagyan and Gagik
Abrahamyan, and one representative of the Prosperous Armenia party
faction, Vachagan Khurshudyan, abstained from voting.

The bill was rejected with 13 votes in factor, 48 against and four
abstention, the paper says, adding that an independent lawmaker,
Lyova Khachatryan, was the fourth abstaining MP.