Author: Kalantarian Kevo

GERMAN COMMUNISTS DEMAND REPORT ON KARABAKH FROM THEIR GOVERNMENT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 21 2014

21 October 2014 – 2:41pm

Orkhan Sattarov, the head of the European Bureau of Vestnik Kavkaza

According to information from a German parliamentary source, the
communist party Die Linke has requested a detailed report on the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the role of Germany
in the process from the German federal government.

The faction’s request stresses that according to resolutions of the UN
SC (822, 853, 874, 884), the UN General Assembly (62/243), the Council
of Europe, and other international organizations, Nagorno-Karabakh
is an integral part of Azerbaijan. The request specially notes that
the seven occupied regions near Nagorno-Karabakh were populated by
Azerbaijanis before the war.

Die Linke points out the particular role of Moscow in the process of
settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, as Russia supports
intensive relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Russia has
significantly developed economic and political ties with Azerbaijan.

Both sides cooperate in the sphere of joint preservation of borders and
prevention of penetration of armed militants from abroad to Dagestan,”
the request says.

“Azerbaijan joined the Nonaligned Movement in 2011. Unlike Georgia,
it doesn’t find membership in NATO interesting. In this context
Russia began to make more active efforts to find a balance between
the interests of the conflicting sides and settlement of the conflict
within international law,” Die Linke thinks. As an example of Moscow’s
special status and its influence on the conflicting sides, German MPs
speak about tension on the front line between Armenian and Azerbaijani
troops in August: “A trilateral meeting of the presidents of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia, which was initiated by the Russian side, was
aimed at stabilization in the front line and de-escalation of further
violence.” Considering these facts, the German communists are asking
the German government how Berlin, being a member of the Minsk Group,
supports peaceful efforts of Russia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Die Linke voiced 40 questions and sub-items in the letter, which are
connected with settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Among
others, German communists are interested in final results of an
investigation of the murder of an Azerbaijani boy Fariz Badalov
by an Armenian shooter on March 8th, 2011, in the village of Orta
Garvand near the front line. Moreover, the request touches on illegal
settlement of people in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, attempts
to open an airport in Nagorno-Karabakh, and direct financial support
of the unrecognized Karabakh regime by the U.S.

According to German laws, the government is obliged to respond to
the parliamentary request within 14 days. However, considering the
broad character of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Die Linke agreed to
prolong the period of its processing. Vestnik Kavkaza will inform
its readers on the response of the German government to the request.

ROBOT-BUILDING TO BECOME OBLIGATORY SUBJECT IN ARMENIAN SCHOOLS

10:47, 22 October, 2014

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Encouraged by the experience of
introducing chess as an obligatory subject in Armenian schools, the
Government of the Republic of Armenia plans to include robot-building
in the education program of schools, as well. Currently there are
over 50 robot-building teams operating after the classes, encompassing
500-700 pupils.

In a conversation with “Armenpress”, the chief engineer of Nairi
consortium Vahagn Poghosyan stated: “The second part of the program,
which is much more ambitious and comprehensive, is about the
establishment of Nairi laboratories in schools. These will include
more than just one facility, due to which the Armenian children will
be able to learn how to make their own robots or other product.”

EUROPEAN BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP: TWO ARMENIANS NAMED WINNERS

12:45 * 22.10.14

Two of the four Armenian sportsmen participating in the 2014 European
Boxing Championship in Zagreb (Croatia) celebrated a victory in the
Tuesday duels.

Ararat Gyulbangyan (64kg) gained advantage over Serbia’s Florian Sabo;
heavyweight Gnel Muradyan beat Poland’s Milos Wodeski.

The two other Armenian representatives, Spartak Tamaryan (56 kg)
and Tigran Melkonyan (69 kg) lost the battle to rivals.

Armenian News – Tert.am

VARDAN BOSTANJYAN: YOU CANNOT RAPE PEOPLE IN THIS WAY

14:05 | October 22,2014 | Politics

People in Armenia are not happy with the current situation, a former
lawmaker of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) said on
Wednesday.

Talking to reporters in Yerevan, Vardan Bostanjyan said the three
opposition parties are trying to make people’s voice audible to
the authorities through rallies. Bostanjyan’s opponent, Republican
Mkrtich MInasyan disagreed saying that a significant portion of the
public is satisfied with the authorities.

Bostanjyan stressed that only people can create a force majeure
situation and push for changes. The primary goal of the opposition
trio is to avert the authorities’ re-election. When asked about the
effectiveness of the trio’s actions, Mr Bostanjyan said, “Let us live
and see. The acting authorities do not want to cede power but they
cannot continue to rape our people in the same way.”

In his turn Mkrtich MInasyan said the trio does not have a definite
program, hence prospects. The October 10 rally showed how disorganized
the opposition is as each political force was trying to fascinate the
crowd. Besides, he thinks that BHK leader Gagik Tsarukyan is not an
advocate of revolutions.

EUROPE SUPPORTS TURKEY-ARMENIA NORMALIZATION

12:15, 22 Oct 2014

A member of the E.U.’s delegation to Ankara has said that Europe
has a “strong interest in supporting normalization” between Turkey
and Armenia.

Bela Szombati, a former Hungarian diplomat, was speaking in Ankara
on Tuesday at an event on the Armenia-Turkey ‘normalization process’
where he called for civil society groups to engage more in order to
overcome “deadlocked” relations, the Turkish Weekly reports.

The event was part of a program which brings together eight civil
society groups from Armenia and Turkey with the aim of improving
relations between the troubled neighbors.

Szombati, the deputy head of the E.U. delegation to Turkey, said:
“With this project the E.U. aims to support … the efforts civil
society is making towards the normalization of relations through
enhancing people-to-people contacts, expansive economic business
links, promoting cultural and educational activities and facilitating
dissemination of balanced information.”

“It remains that people in each country lack accurate knowledge about
the other,” Szombati said.

“Both societies suffer from mistrust and misinformation,” he added.

“The E.U. has a strong interest in supporting normalization between
Turkey and Armenia,” he said.

Referring to regional tensions, Szombati said: “Progress in
normalization could also have a positive impact on stabilizing the
South Caucasus region and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in particular.”

Progamme communication coordinator, Burcu Becermen from the
Istanbul-based Hrant Dink Foundation, said that the 18-month scheme
started in January 2013 and has a two million euro ($2.5 million)
budget.

Attending the event was the associate director of the Yerevan-based
Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Vazgen Karapetyan, who said that the
group was planning to invite Turkish mainstream media organizations
to cover politically significant events in Armenia.

ROBERTSON ON AUSTRALIAN TV: THE MASSACRES IN 1915 WERE CERTAINLY GENOCIDE

11:37, 22 Oct 2014

Leading human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC has appeared on the
ABC’s Lateline program and Sky News Australia to discuss his latest
publication on the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian National Committee
of Australia reports.

Robertson is currently in Australia to promote his latest publication
“An Inconvenient Genocide: Who now remembers the Armenians?”, which
was launched to the nation’s media at the National Press Club in
Canberra on Tuesday 21stOctober.

In an extensive interview with Lateline program host Emma Alberici,
Robertson “cleared up any confusion” that the Armenian Genocide was
“genocide”, and also called on Australia to fix its denialist position
on the matter.

His publication, published by Random House, is groundbreaking in
that the high profile Queen’s Council and former United Nations
Judge presents a compelling argument based on fact, evidence and
his knowledge and expertise of international law, proving beyond
reasonable doubt that the horrific events that occurred in 1915 do
indeed constitute genocide.

In this interview, Robertson stated: “I want to clear up any confusion
and to explain and I’ve been an international judge, that applying
the law, the genocide convention, which our own Doc Evatt introduced
to the United Nations in 1948, that what happened – the massacres,
the death marches in 1915 were certainly genocide.”

He added: “And the problem with the Turkish denial is that they
say, ‘Well, this wasn’t genocide, it wasn’t a crime at all. It was
relocation.’ Well it wasn’t relocation. It was death marching. And
it’s important to establish that you can’t claim military necessity
as some sort of defence to genocide, otherwise you find Rajapaksa
in Sri Lanka justifying the killing of 40,000 civilians get at the
Tamil Tigers. You find the Pakistanis justifying the killing of three
million Bengalis in the war in 1971.”

“These are genocides pure and simple and there is no defence of
military necessity of anything else to the destruction of a race or
part of it.”

He went on to draw parallels between the Armenian Genocide and the
landing at Gallipoli, and called Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie
Bishop “foolish” for denying the Armenian Genocide.

Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia
(ANC Australia), Vache Kahramanian, welcomed Robertson’s remarks on
national television.

Kahramanian said: “Geoffrey Robertson QC is one of the most respected
human rights lawyers internationally. His publication and remarks
on Lateline and Sky News will be a catalyst for changing Australia’s
foreign policy on the issue of the Armenian Genocide.”

The full Lateline interview can be watched at

ELLE INCARNE LA RESISTANCE DES KURDES

REVUE DE PRESSE

Depuis un mois, Kobane resiste aux attaques des fanatiques de Daesh. A
la tete des combattants kurdes, une femme, Nalin Afrin, au rang de
general. Un personnage qui est deja un mythe.

Elle a pour nom Nalin Afrin. C’est son nom de guerre. Car c’est une
femme. Une Kurde. Un general…

Nalin est en train de devenir une icône, ou une legende. Cette
combattante âgee de 40 ans est un des piliers dans la resistance de
la ville martyre de Kobane, a la lisière de la Turquie, en Syrie,
qui tient tete aux assauts de Daesh depuis le 16 septembre.

Depuis quelques jours, son nom circule, et quelques images aussi,
mais il n’est pas sûr que ce soit son vrai visage qui apparaisse sur
les videos et les reseaux sociaux. Mayssa Abdo, c’est son vrai nom,
a choisi comme tous les combattants kurdes, un nom de guerre. C’est
aussi un moyen de se proteger par rapport aux familles. Quand son
nom a commence a circuler, on ignorait son rôle exact. On la qualifie
desormais de >. Voila qui expliquerait aussi qu’il n’est
pas indispensable que son visage soit connu, surtout de ses ennemis…

Les rumeurs qui circulent sur son compte sont toutes très laudatives.

On admire son courage mais aussi sa capacite d’organisation, son sens
de la strategie. Elle est cultivee, intelligente, flegmatique. Elle
est soucieuse du mental des combattants. Mais, elle…

L’ARMENIE ET LE KARABAGH ACCUSENT L’AZERBAÏDJAN A PROPOS DE L’ESCALADE DES TENSIONS AU MILIEU DE LA VISITE DES MEDIATEURS

ARMENIE

L’Armenie a lie la recente escalade des tensions a ses frontières
avec l’Azerbaïdjan lors de la visite actuelle de mediateurs
internationaux dans la region ainsi que de prochains pourparlers
armeno-azerbaïdjanais.

Prenant la parole a l’Universite francaise en Armenie,le ministre
armenien de la Defense Seyran Ohanian a rappele que l’Azerbaïdjan a
intensifie les violations du cessez-le-feu a l’occasion de negociations
qui se sont tenues a differents niveaux auparavant.

ECHANGES VIFS ENTRE LE PARTI REPUBLICAIN ET L’OPPOSITION

Parlement

Le leader parlementaire du Parti republicain a eu un echange verbal
amer avec les parlementaires de l’opposition hier, après qu’il les
a accuse d’accepter de l’argent de l’Occident et de l’Azerbaïdjan,
trahissant l’Armenie.

“Nous avons assiste hier a un exemple classique de haute trahison”,
a charge Vahram Baghdassarian. “La tribune du Parlement a ete utilise
pour la diffusion de la desinformation de l’Azerbaïdjan et de la
Turquie. De fausses informations ont ete rendues publiques ici avant
une reunion entre le president de notre pays et son homologue azerie”.

“Il est clair pour moi que beaucoup d’argent a ete verse par l’Ouest”,
a-t-il dit. “Hier, j’ai senti les petrodollars du president Aliev
jusqu’ici”.

Baghdasarian a fait une allusion claire a une critique exprimee lundi
par Zaruhi Postanjian (Zharangutyun) et Nikol Pashinian, autre depute
d’un groupe d’opposition. Les deux hommes ont reagi furieusement a ces
allegations, demandant au president du parlement, Galust Sahakian,
qu’il arrete le discours de Baghdassarian.

KYRGYZSTAN WANTS TO JOIN CUSTOMS UNION, EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

14:40 21/10/2014 >> IN THE WORLD

Kyrgyzstan’s authorities have announced the country intends to join
the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union on January 1,
2015, the speaker of the Russian parliament’s upper house Federation
Council, Valentina Matviyenko, said after a meeting with Kyrgyz
President Almazbek Atambayev and Prime Minister Dzhoomart Otorbayev,
TASS reported.

“Kyrgyzstan states that they want to join the Customs Union and the
Eurasian Economic Union from January 1, 2015,” she said.

Kyrgyz Prime Minister Dzhoomart Otorbayev said Kyrgyzstan is doing
everything to become a member of the Eurasian Economic Union this year.

“Russia remains the main economic partner for us in Eurasian
integration processes,” Otorbayev said, adding that one of important
areas of cooperation with Russia was energy.

Kyrgyzstan also plans to supply more agricultural products to Russia.

“Our producers would like to supply their products to the Russian
market,” the premier said.

Source: Panorama.am