Author: Kalantarian Kevo

FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN MONOPOLIZED ECONOMY: WILL GOVERNMENT PLAN WORK?

11:33 * 20.02.15

A monopolized economy in any state reflects correspondingly on the
state procurement system, making fight against corruption almost
impossible, an anti-corruption expert said, commenting on the Armenian
cabinet’s decision to set up an anti-corruption council.

Speaking to Tert.am, Artak Manukyan, a procurement monitoring expert
at Transparency International, said the procurement system in Armenia
does not potentially allow competitiveness to develop.

“It creates extra opportunities for commissioners, allowing them to
win bids. So we will thus later acquire the same products for prices
higher than envisaged by the budget,” the economist noted.

He explained that a regular consumer wishing to purchase brandy,
for example, normally spends less when acquiring it directly from
the seller or the firm than does the state when procuring the same
product from the citizen.

The cabinet’s decision envisages creating immediately three bodies

Under the cabinet decision, it is planned to create simultaneously
three bodies: an anti-corruption council, an expert commission and a
monitoring department adjunct to the Government’s staff. The council
will be headed by the prime minister and comprise representatives
from the cabinet (chief of government staff, ministers of justice
and finance), the prosecutor general (upon consent), members of the
parliamentary opposition (one from each faction upon consent), the
president of the Public Council (upon consent), one representative
from the Communities Association of Armenia (upon consent) and two
civil society representatives.

Its major responsibilities will include considering and approving
the anti-corruption strategies and proposing changes upon necessity.

Manukyan said he estimates the risks in Armenia’s state procurement
system to be above the average level.

He added that the system hasn’t practically changed over the past
years, with only the transparency increasing a little in 2013 (after
when per capita procurements became available onegov.am but the
website wasn’t updated last year).

Commenting on the initiative, economist Ashot Yeghiazaryan said he
first of all emphasizes the importance of eradicating monopolies. “The
decision-maker in question should not enjoy much freedom in the
decision-makign process. For that, we need a favorable external
atmosphere. As for the internal atmosphere, it too has to focus on
reducing the risks to a minimum,” he said.

The economist added that corruption risks normally emerge in sectors
that allow for willfulness in the decision-making.

Sociologist Aharon Adibekyan says their surveys reveal that the
population predominantly finds the judiciary, the police, local
government and health sectors to be the most corrupt.

Asked what solutions respondents normally offer, Adibekyan said demand
increasing salaries as a possible way to combat corruption.

“The African states liberated from colonialism developed after those
in power started getting normal salaries,” he said, stressing the
importance of a properly functioning governance.

THREE COUNTERARGUMENTS QUESTIONING PROSECUTOR-GENERAL’S LETTER

11:36 | February 20,2015 | Politics

The Union of Informed Citizens has issued a statement saying the
Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia refuses to provide them a copy of the
letter Armenian Prosecutor-General sent to his Russian counterpart,
asking Russia to extradite a Russian soldier accused of murdering
seven members of an Armenian family in Gyumri.

“On February 19, the Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement saying
that the publications questioning the Armenian Prosecutor General’s
letter to his Russian counterpart are ‘absurd.’

In the letter, Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanyan requested his
Russian counterpart, Yury Chayka, to extradite the Russian soldier
Valeri Permyakov who is accused of murdering the seven-member
Avetisyan family in Gyumri, saying that the high-profile case should
be transferred to Armenian jurisdiction.

It is strange to hear that in the 21st century a letter sent
on February 3 could not have reached the addressee [Russian
Prosecutor-General] in several weeks. Even a messenger sent to Moscow
from Yerevan on a horse would have got to the destination by now.

According to the official report, in his letter Gevorg Kostanyan
referred to a provision of the Armenian-Russian agreement which allows
the refusal of the request. There is no reference to the previsions of
the law which will oblige the Russian side to extraditethe Russian
side.

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia has violated the
RA Law on Freedom of Information by refusing to provide the copy of
the letter to the Union of Informed Citizens and other media.

As long as the Prosecutor’s Office, in violation of the law, does not
give a copy of the letter or produces any evidence proving that the
letter has been sent to the Russian side, Armenians have the right
to claim that the Prosecutor’s Office is concealing some details from
the public, otherwise, they would reveal the content of the letter.

On February 13, the Union of Informed Citizens requested the
Administrative Court to force the Prosecutor’s Office to give us a
copy of the controversial letter. Let the public draw conclusions
from the aforesaid absurdity,” reads the statement.

Permyakov has been kept under arrest at the Gyumri-based Russian
military base ever since being arrested, for the murder of a
seven-member family in Gyumri – Seryozha Avetisyan, his wife Hasmik,
daughter Aida, son Armen, daughter-in-law Araksya, two-year-old
granddaughter Hasmik and 6-month-old baby boy Seryozha, who died of
his stab injuries a week later.

Kostanyan pledged to appeal to the chief Russian prosecutor when he
was confronted by angry demonstrators in Gyumri on January 15. They
were incensed by his earlier statement that the Armenian side is not
seeking Permyakov’s handover because Russia’s constitution forbids
the extradition of Russian citizens to foreign states.

PRESS RELEASE
The Genocide Education Project
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: (415) 264-4203
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Contact: Raffi Momjian at [email protected]

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PRESS RELEASE | February 18, 2015 | Contact: Roxanne Makasdjian
Join GenEd & the UC Berkeley Armenian Studies Program for an evening
with Dana Walrath, author of Like Water on Stone, a novel in verse for
young adults

Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Vaspouragan Hall
51 Commonwealth Ave, San Francisco

Like Water on Stone is a young adult novel in verse about the Armenian
Genocide of 1915. This haunting novel tells the story of
fourteen-year-old twins Shahen and Sosi who flee into the mountains
when Ottoman pashas implement their plans to eliminate all
Armenians. The orphaned twins and their younger sister hide by day and
run at night, crossing mountain ridges and rivers red with
blood. Lyrical language wraps the description of the Armenian genocide
in a note of magical realism with Ardziv, an eagle, describing the
children’s escape.

Dr. Walrath will speak about her experiences in Armenia as a Fulbright
Scholar, her travels to Western Armenia in 1984 and how these journeys
influenced the book, which is being adapted as an animated film,
premiering in Armenia in April, 2015, in commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Dana Walrath is the granddaughter of survivors of the Armenian
Genocide. She earned a PhD in anthropology from the University of
Pennsylvania, an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and
a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University. She completed Like
Water on Stone (Delacorte/Random House, 2014), her first novel, during
her year as a Fulbright Scholar in Armenia working on a project for
her award-winning graphic memoir series Aliceheimer ‘s (Harvest,
2013). When not in the mountains of Armenia, she lives in the
mountains of Vermont where she is on faculty at the University of
Vermont’s College of Medicine.

Praise for Like Water on Stone:
* 2015 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People & 2015
Notable Book for a Global Society
* “A shocking tale of a bleak moment in history, told with stunning beauty.” Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
* “I have walked through the remnants of the Armenian civilization in
Palu and Chunkush; I have stood on the banks of the Euphrates. And
still I was unprepared for how deeply moved I would be by Dana
Walrath’s poignant, unflinching evocation of the Armenian genocide.
Her beautiful poetry and deft storytelling stayed with me long after I
had finished this powerful novel in verse.” -Chris Bohjalian, author
of The Sandcastle Girls and Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Hosted by The Genocide Education Project and the UC Berkeley Armenian
Studies Program. For more information, email
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or call
(415) 264-4203.

Dr. Dana Walrath

—
The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3)
organization that assists educators in teaching about human rights and
genocide, particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and
distributing instructional materials, providing access to teaching
resources and organizing educational workshops.
Copyright © 2015 The Genocide Education Project, All rights reserved.

Relations of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan: Potential friends and enemies
By Bahman Aghai Diba, PhD International Law of the Sea
Feb. 18, 2015

Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan may seem as
potential close allies or at least two neighboring countries with very
good relations. The two countries have land, river and sea borders.
Iran, as the first and biggest Shiite country in the world, is run by
a Shiite clerics who claim to be promoting their religious messages
and supporting like minded trends. Therefore, Azerbaijan Republic, as
the only other mostly Shiite country of the world, should be Iran’s
best friend. Iran has a big Azeri minority that is from the same
cultural backgrounds as the people of the Azerbaijan Republic. In
fact, the Iranian Azeri minority is bigger than the entire population
of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, since the independence of the
Republic of Azerbaijan from the former USSR (1991), the Islamic
Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have had one of the
worst neighborly relations in the region and the existing trends
indicate that even worse relations may be in the way.

Problems between the two countries:

For a start, Iran and Azerbaijan Republic are both among the littoral
states of the Caspian Sea and the Caspian Sea littoral states have not
yet succeeded to define a commonly accepted formula for the legal
regime of the Caspian Sea and the two countries of Iran and
Azerbaijan have deep disagreement regarding what this regime should
be. (1)

The Azeris on both sides of the border of Iran and Azerbaijan have
common culture and language. They speak almost exactly the same
language, which is different from the Turkish language of the Turkey.
In fact some parts of the present Azerbaijan Republic consists of the
territories separated from Iran, after 20 years of unequal wars
between the Iran and Tsarist Russia, and by two imposed treaties.
Therefore, there are important unifying feelings on both sides. The
government of Azerbaijan has supported some of the separatist Azeri
groups of Iran that call for unity of Azerbaijan with the clear
intention of separating 4 Azeri provinces of Iran.(2) at the other
side, Iran fears Aliyev, backed by Israel and even the United States,
could support a revolt by its Azeris, who comprise about one-quarter
of the population. So it supports Azerbaijan’s regional rival,
Armenia, in its deadlocked dispute with Baku over Nagorno-Karabakh,
currently held by Armenia.

Shiitism: the two countries are mainly Shiite Muslims, but the
government of Azerbaijan has always been cautious not to let the
Shiite elements to get to any place of power. For the same reason, the
government of Azerbaijan has been systematically eliminating the
chances of Iran for influencing the Muslims of Azerbaijan. The
activities of the Shiite groups are strictly under control. And any
relations of these groups with Iran are under scrutiny. A number of
them have been arrested. (3)

Relations with Armenia and the issue of Nagorno Garabagh- due to the
military standoff with Armenia over the region of Nagorno Karabagh,
the Azerbaijan Republic has entered into an axis of
Azerbaijan-Turkey-Israel. Iran on the other hand is afraid of the
Western presence and considers this as a part of preparations for
possible military intervention in all or parts of Iran by US (after
getting the tacit agreement of the Russians who have always wished to
see the disintegration of Iran). In order to counter the Azeri moves,
Iran is supporting Armenia. `Azerbaijan believes the clear economic
and political support of Iran from the Republic of Armenia is a kind
of declaration of war against Baku’. (4)

Another point of contention is the foreign policy of the two
countries. Azerbaijan considers itself a European country and wants
to become a member of the European Union (EU) and NATO as soon as
possible. As the relations of Iran with Western countries goes bad due
to several issues (especially the nuclear program of Iran, Iran’s
intervention in the Middle East peace process, and support of Iran to
international terrorism), Azerbaijan is mentioned as one of the places
that may used by the West, especially the US, (instead of or along
with Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia) as a possible route for the
Western attack or against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

However, none of these are as important as the issue of relations of
Azerbaijan Republic with Israel. In 2008, Azeri daily Yeni Musavat
cited a political analyst at the University of Washington’s Institute
for Middle East Studies as pointing out `extensive covert and overt
preemptive cooperation in security, intelligence and military areas
between Azerbaijan and the Israeli intelligence services, Mossad’ in
the ex-Soviet republic. He also referred to installation of
`highly-advanced satellite espionage equipment on the Azeri soil,
wiretapping centers in frontier areas, eavesdropping centers in the
Caspian Sea and continuous training of Azeri intelligence and security
agents in Israel’ as instances of the collaboration. (5) According to
another report: ` Israel has been quietly building intelligence and
military links with oil rich Azerbaijan, a largely secular Muslim
state, since the collapse of the Soviet Union two decades ago. The
Israelis sell significant amounts of weapons and unmanned aerial
vehicles to the government in Baku, on the Caspian Sea, as its
intelligence services dig in along the border with Iran. That gives
Israel a forward operating base to monitor Iran, particularly its
contentious nuclear program, which Jerusalem views as a major
existential threat.’ (6)

Dr. Afshar Sulaimani, the former Ambassador of Islamic Republic of
Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan, has told `Diplomacy Irani’: `The
Republic of Azerbaijan has many important points for Israel,
including: Presence in the northern borders of Iran. The relations of
Israel and Azerbaijan Republic have more secret aspects than open
ones. Azerbaijan tries to use the Israeli lobby in the US in its
favor, use the capability of Israeli intelligence service for
identifying the Armenian elements mostly stationed in Lebanon who are
active against the Azerbaijan, getting help for curtailing the
political Islam, stopping the effects of Iranian media and remarks of
Iranian politicians, and eventually to contain the political worries.
On the other side, Israelis use their relations with Azerbaijan as a
model of relations with a Muslim country, and trying to get
recognition among the Muslim countries, reducing the influence of Iran
in Azerbaijan, and weakening Iran in order to cut its relations with
Hamas and Hezbollah and Syria, affecting relations with Turkey and
Russia’.(7)

At the same time, worsening of relations between the Western countries
and Russia has created a new atmosphere of closeness between the Iran
and Russia and at the same time, it has opened the way for concern on
the part of some regional countries, especially the Republic of
Azerbaijan. The new trend in Iran-Russian relations, combined with
harsh moves of Russians in Ukraine, the experience of Georgia and mild
reaction of the West to such developments, have important implications
in the regional context.

The Russians have historically been very active against the interests
of the people of Iran. The old Russian Empire tried to destroy Iran in
order to devour the smaller parts one after another. Peter the Great
left guidance to destroy Iran in order to get to the `warm waters’ of
the Persian Gulf. In 1907 and 1915, the Russians twice tried to
destroy Iran in collaboration with the British. The Russians separated
and devoured several parts of Iran (in 1813), including a major part
of the present territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Russians
have violated the rights of Iran in the Caspian Sea and at the moment
they have a position strictly against the position of Iran in the
Caspian Sea. However, the hardliners and extremists in Iran consider
the entire events in Ukraine as Western conspiracies and they persuade
the Iranian society for closer relation between Iran and Russia.

Conclusion

The main reason for unfavorable relations between the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic is not the dispute on the Caspian
Sea, the suppression of the Shiites or the religious people in
Azerbaijan Republic, and similar issues. The Islamic Republic is
really careless how other countries treat the Muslims when the
problems related to its survival and security are concerned. The
biggest example of this is the close relations of Iran with the
Republic of Armenia which has no special reason but trying to put
pressure on the Azerbaijan Republic (which is a Muslim Shiite
country). Also, Iran is careless to what is happening in the Abkhazia,
Chechen and Dagestan to the Muslims under the Russian rulers. Even the
opposition of Iran to plans such as Trans-Caspian pipelines should be
looked in the light of the following fact. The main reason for the
negative attitude of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the
Azerbaijan Republic is the close relation of Azerbaijan with the West,
and the increasing presence and activities of Israel.

Sources and references:

1. Regarding this point please refer to the author’s multiple articles
in `Payvand News of Iran’ on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea and
also to: Aghai Diba, Bahman, the Law and Politics of the Caspian Sea,
Booksuege, 2006, VA, US.

2, (3) and (4) Ali Jafari, writing for Alborz site.

(5) Press TV

(6) UPI

(7) IR Diplomacy

REMEMBERING GURGEN MARGARYAN: 11 YEARS AFTER THE BRUTAL MURDER

13:22, 19 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan was murdered in Hungary on this
day eleven years ago.

On February 19, 2004 Lieutenant of the Armenian Armed Forces Gurgen
Margaryan was hacked to death, while asleep, by a fellow Azerbaijani
participant, Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, in Budapest during a three-month
English language course in the framework of NATO-sponsored Partnership
for Peace program.

In 2006, Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary with a
minimum incarceration period of 30 years. He was extradited on August
31, 2012 to Azerbaijan where he was greeted as a hero, pardoned by
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev despite contrary assurances made
to Hungary, promoted to the rank of major and given an apartment and
over eight years of back pay.

Following Safarov’s pardon, Armenia severed diplomatic relations
with Hungary.

TURQUIE : LA LIBERTE DE L’INFORMATION MENACEE PAR LE NOUVEAU PROJET DE LOI

Publie le : 19-02-2015

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous invite
a lire ce communique de presse publie sur le site de Reporters sans
frontières le 17 fevrier 2015.

Legende photo : Les journalistes et les activistes des droits de
l’homme protestent devant le palais de justice d’Istanbul le 22
novembre 2011.

RSF

Publie le mardi 17 fevrier 2015

La police aura les mains encore plus libres pour reprimer les
journalistes

Le 17 fevrier 2015 commence l’examen au Parlement d’un paquet de
reformes “sur la securite interieure”, qui doit considerablement
renforcer les prerogatives de la police. Ces amendements,
essentiellement diriges contre les manifestations, sont egalement
lourds de menaces pour la liberte de l’information.

Alors que les journalistes turcs font deja quotidiennement face a
l’arbitraire policier, un nouveau train de “reformes sur la securite
interieure” prevoit d’etendre de facon alarmante les pouvoirs des
forces de l’ordre. Ce projet de loi, elabore par le ministère de la
Justice, a ete introduit au Parlement fin novembre 2014, suite aux
emeutes les plus violentes qu’ait connu le pays depuis trente ans. Il
est examine en première lecture a partir du 17 fevrier 2015.

Si les reformes envisagees renforcent surtout la repression des
manifestations illegales, elles risquent aussi d’exposer davantage
les professionnels des medias, notamment lorsqu’ils couvrent de
tels rassemblements. Les interpellations abusives, auxquelles ils
sont frequemment soumis, devraient se multiplier, de memes que les
fouilles arbitraires : le contrôle judiciaire sur ces actions est
limite a sa plus simple expression.

“La liberte de l’information est elle aussi menacee par ce projet de
loi, qui affranchit un peu plus la police du contrôle judiciaire,
denonce Johann Bihr, responsable du bureau Europe de l’Est et Asie
centrale de Reporters sans frontières. Les abus policiers contre les
journalistes sont deja chroniques : ils ont besoin d’etre prevenus
et reprimes, certainement pas encourages. Nous exhortons les deputes
a rejeter ou amender profondement ce texte, qui sape encore un peu
plus les fondements de l’Etat de droit.”

Perquisitions, fouilles et gardes a vue sans autorisation judiciaire

Si le texte est adopte en l’etat, “en cas d’urgence”, les policiers
seront habilites a mener des perquisitions et a fouiller des individus
ou des vehicules sur simple autorisation verbale de leur superieur
hierarchique, a condition que ce dernier la confirme ensuite par
ecrit. Ce n’est qu’a posteriori, dans les 48 heures, que cet ordre
devra etre valide par un juge. Les perquisitions abusives de redactions
et de domiciles de journalistes, deja repandues, n’en seront que
facilitees, au mepris du secret des sources.

La police n’aura besoin d’aucune decision de justice pour placer
un individu en garde a vue pendant 24 heures, notamment en cas
de manifestation illegale, voire pour 48 heures en cas de “grave
menace a l’ordre public”. Les journalistes etant deja frequemment
interpelles au meme titre que des manifestants lorsqu’ils couvrent
des rassemblements, il est a craindre que cet amendement n’aggrave
leur exposition a l’arbitraire policier.

De meme, on peut craindre que les forces de l’ordre ne s’emploient
a chasser les temoins sous couvert d’une nouvelle disposition qui
les habiliterait a “assurer la protection d’une personne qui menace
sa propre securite ou celle des autres, en l’eloignant du lieu des
evenements”.

Toujours moins de contrôle sur les ecoutes telephoniques

“En cas d’urgence”, le chef de la police nationale et son homologue
des services de renseignements n’auront plus 24 mais 48 heures pour
faire valider leurs ordres de mise sur ecoute par un juge competent.

Au meme titre que la police, la gendarmerie pourra elle aussi ordonner
des mises sur ecoute sans decision de justice prealable.

Le texte soumis au Parlement est sous le feu des critiques de
l’opposition, de la societe civile, du Conseil de l’Europe et
de diverses autres organisations internationales. Son examen a
ete repousse a deux reprises par des manoeuvres d’obstruction de
l’opposition. Outre les dispositions mentionnees plus haut, le projet
de loi facilite l’usage des armes a feu par les forces de l’ordre,
et prevoit des peines de prison pour les manifestants brandissant
certains slogans et pancartes ou qui se couvrent le visage. Il
confère aux gouverneurs provinciaux des pouvoirs très etendus “en
cas d’urgence”, y compris l’autorite de diligenter des enquetes.

Sur fond de lutte acharnee entre le president Recep Tayyip Erdogan
et ses anciens allies de la confrerie Gulen, l’executif ne cesse
de resserrer son emprise sur l’appareil d’Etat et de renforcer son
arsenal repressif. La Turquie occupe la 149e place sur 180 dans
le Classement mondial 2015 de la liberte de la presse etabli par
Reporters sans frontières.

Lire aussi :

Liberte de la presse : le classement mondial 2015 de RSF

Turquie: liberte de la presse etrangère sous caution

La liberte de la presse dans la Turquie d’Erdogan : La lettre poignante
d’un journaliste en prison

Amal Clooney accuse la Turquie d’hypocrisie sur la liberte d’expression
dans le procès sur le genocide armenien

Source/Lien : RSF

NKR FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN COMMENTS ON LACK OF HISTORY KNOWLEDGE OF HIS AZERBAIJANI COUNTERPART

17:59 18/02/2015 ” SOCIETY

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev in an interview
with the Azerbaijani websites Haqqin.az stated that the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic has never participated in any of the rounds of
talks on the development of the basic principles of Karabakh conflict
settlement.

Commenting on his Azerbaijani counterpart the spokesman of the NKR
Foreign Ministry Ani Sargsyan in an interview with Panorama.am noted,
“Mr. Hajiyev never misses an opportunity to demonstrate his stunning
ignorance of history and realia of the negotiation process.”

Note that in the final document of the Budapest summit of the CSCE in
1994 three parties of conflict are mentioned – Armenia, Azerbaijan
and the Nagorno Karabakh. This position was confirmed in Prague
summary of the OSCE Chairman on March 31, 1995. From January 1995 to
1997, the negotiations within the Minsk Group in accordance with the
Budapest summit decision were held between three parties – Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh.

Source: Panorama.am

DISSOLVED COMPANY’S WORKERS DON’T WANT TO SHARE THE FATE OF THE NAIRIT WORKERS

02.18.2015 15:55 epress.am

Today, the former employees of Kentron Makrutyun(Central Cleaning),
a company that dissolved late last year, gathered in a protest in
front of the Presidential Palace demanding their unpaid salaries.

“For three months we’ve been going back and forth from city hall
to the district municipality. We’ve lost all home in the district
municipality, that’s why we’ve come to ask for our money from the
President. If not, then we don’t have a president, we’ll petition to
the presidents of Russia or USA,” said one of the company’s former
employees, who did not wish to be named.

Protest participants said the company had not allowed them to take
their vacations for years, claiming that they did not have money for
vacation pays. “Among us, there are people who have worked for 10
years straight and have large sums of money to receive. For example,
I have 689,000 AMD ($1,440),” noted a protest participant.

A Presidential office staff member told demonstrators that a commission
has been created in the district municipality to deal with the
Kentron Makrutyun company employee issue. The staffer advised them
to go to the district municipality instead of protesting in front of
the Presidential Palace.

“They tell us to write a petition about how much debt we’re owed. As
if they don’t know? Will they give us 2 million, if we write the sum?

They going to look at it and count it, aren’t they? Basically, its
another way for them to trick us,” said a protester.

The former employees of Kentron Makrutyun fear that they will be
treated like the Nairit factory workers, that the company will respond
to them saying that it is impossible for them to pay the workers’
until the company’s property is sold.

Note, that Kentron Makrutyun company was dissolved on December 1,
2014, while the company’s 315 workers were informed about the news
on December 20.

TURKISH ENSEMBLE PERFORMS ARMENIAN FOLK SONG IN MEMORIAM OF APRIL 24

11:50, 18 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

An Armenian folk song (Aravodun Temin: At the Break of Dawn,
compiled by Arusyak Sahakian), has been arranged by AyÃ…~_e Tutuncu
and performed by 42 musicians. The song is dedicated to the memory
of April 24 victims.

“I was very moved to see an Armenian folk song, Aravodun Temin,
arranged and performed by a wonderful Turkish ensemble, arranged by
AyÃ…~_e Tutuncu, in memoriam of April 24,” lead singer of the System
of A Down Serj Tankian said in a Facebook post.

“Music transcends all boundaries in the name of truth,” Tankian said.

GARNIK ISAGULYAN ABOUT THE US STATE SECRETARY ASSISTANT. “NULAND PERHAPS COMES TO DISTRIBUTE PIES”

February 18 2015

“I do not know why Nuland is coming, perhaps, some people still need
pies and she will be distributing pies in the streets”, so commented
Chairman of “National Security” party Garnik Isagulyan, referring
to the question of Aravot.am of how he will estimate the US State
Secretary Assistant Victoria Nuland’s visit to Armenia.

Note that according to the press release issued by the US State
Department, Victoria Nuland will arrive in Armenia on February 18.

Here, she will meet with government officials, civil society
representatives and the youth representatives to discuss issues related
to Armenia-US political, economic and democratic ties. They will
address the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Garnik Isagulyan
assured that if people in the United States hope that all of this in
Armenia may look like Maidan, then they are strongly mistaken, and
continued, No one will allow them to interfere in Armenia’s domestic
political processes. Perhaps, they want to create an impression,
but I think it would also be the biggest mistake by them.”

In response to our question of whether they are expecting unexpected
developments in normalization of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mr.

Isagulyan replied, “You should refer this question to the government
authorities of Armenia. They are the ones who lead the country to
destabilization, while we are doing everything for the situation not
to be destabilized.” To our question of whether Serzh Sargsyan’s
speech dated February 12 was preventive, or on the contrary, it
also contributed to destabilization of the situation, Mr. Isagulyan
replied, “It definitely destabilized. Isn’t it noticeable that the
situation is more destabilized? This means that now I am to decide
the standards, for example, your hair is black, you cannot practice
journalism. His speck was within this style and even worse. Who
decides these qualifications? What examination did they pass? Did
they pass tests? Eventually, no one should go beyond the limit.”

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

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