Author: Kalantarian Kevo

LES HANDICAPES NE PAIERONT PAS DE FRAIS DE STATIONNEMENT A EREVAN

ARMENIE

Les conducteurs handicapes ou les proprietaires de voitures
transportant des personnes handicapees seront exemptes de payer pour
stationner a Erevan a decide l’assemblee municipale de la capitale.

La proposition a ete soumise par le maire Taron Markarian. En vertu
de la decision adoptee a l’unanimite, des sections distinctes dans
tous les parcs de stationnement seront designes pour les voitures des
personnes handicapees. Il sera interdit pour les autres conducteurs
de stationner dans l’espace designe.

Par une autre decision, a partir de maintenant sur les conducteurs
a Erevan seront autorises a rester stationne a l’interieur des > gratuitement pendant un quart d’heure.

jeudi 3 juillet 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

L’OPPOSITION SE REUNIT POUR CONTRER L’AUGMENTATION DU PRIX DE L’ELECTRICITE

Energie

Les partis d’opposition se sont engages hier a exercer des
represailles contre la decision du gouvernement d’augmenter les prix
de l’electricite par des actions conjointes “adequates”.

“Si les autorites utilisent cette pause politique d’ete pour imposer
de telles decisions a la population, alors je pense que le quatuor
d’opposition donnera une reponse adequate a l’automne”, a declare
Ruben Hakobian (Zharangutyun).

Hakobian a parle lors d’une conference de presse commune avec les
leaders des trois autres parties, qui s’est tenue le lendemain de
la decision officielle rendue par la Commission de reglementation
de la fonction publique (PSRC) d’autoriser l’augmentation de 10 %
des tarifs de l’energie pour les menages.

Aram Manoukian, depute du Congrès national armenien, a dit que
les consommateurs sont injustement obliges de payer pour les
pertes massives affichees par la societe nationale de distribution
d’energie appartenant a un geant de l’energie russe. Il a affirme
que l’entreprise est mal geree en depit “d’enormes profits.”

Les representants de l’opposition n’ont pas elabore la teneur des
actions anti-gouvernementales prevues par leurs partis.

jeudi 3 juillet 2014, Claire (c)armenews.com

POLITICIANS ALSO TAKE PART IN THE ACTION (VIDEO)

11:49 | July 1,2014 | Social

HAK member Levon Zurabyan, Armen Martirosyan from “Heritage”, RA
president’s former candidate Andrias Ghukasyan, politician Styopa
Safaryan have also came to Saryan 22.

They are negotiating with the policemen by stressing that no protestor
violates the public order and the action is peaceful. According to
the activists, this time Valery Osipyan speaks with the people more
attentively.

The people are demanding to cancel the Public services regulatory
committee session. Electricity price issue is being discussed at
the session.

L’ARMENIE RISQUE UN RETARD DANS SA VOLONTE DE REJOINDRE L’UNION DOUANIERE DE MOSCOU

ARMENIE

L’Armenie a rejete des liens plus etroits avec l’Europe l’an dernier
et a annonce a la place qu’elle allait rejoindre l’Union douanière
dirigee par Moscou mais le processus d’adhesion va plus lentement que
ses dirigeants esperaient.

Les analystes disent que le retard est peut etre lie a des
sensibilites sur le territoire dispute du Haut-Karabagh. Lorsque le
president Serge Sarkissian a annonce en septembre dernier que
l’Armenie esperait devenir un membre de l’union douanière il a mis fin
a des plans pour un accord d’association avec l’Union europeenne.

Lors d’un sommet le 29 mai, trois membres de l’Union douanière en
vigueur – la Russie, la Bielorussie et le Kazakhstan – ont officialise
un accord pour construire une association plus complète, l’Union
economique eurasienne, qui devrait voir le jour l’an prochain.

En marge, un membre aspirant a l’Union douanière, le Kirghizistan, a
obtenu l’approbation pour aller de l’avant a l’adhesion. L’autre,
l’Armenie, ne l’a pas eu. Peu de temps après, le vice-ministre
armenien de l’economie Karine Minassian, qui avait dirige l’equipe en
charge de la negociation a demissionne. Aucune explication n’a ete
donnee.

Le president Kazak Nursultan Nazarbaev, qui presidait la reunion dans
sa capitale Astana, a promis que la demande d’adhesion de l’Armenie
sera examine en Juillet. De retour a la maison, le President
Sarkissian a minimise les preoccupations sur les progrès en raison de
l’adhesion differee.

a declare Stepan
Grigoryan, directeur du Centre d’analyse sur la mondialisation et la
cooperation regionale a l’IWPR. >.

Le Haut-Karabagh est gere par une administration armenienne separe
depuis la guerre du debut des annees 1990, mais il est encore
considere comme faisant partie de l’Azerbaïdjan par la communaute
internationale.

Bien que l’Armenie n’ait pas reconnu le Karabagh comme un Etat
independant, les deux pays partagent la meme monnaie et les banques,
et il n’y a pas de contrôles aux frontières entre eux. Si l’Armenie
rejoint l’Union douanière, les distinctions pouvaient etre aussi floue
que le Karabagh pourrait profiter egalement efficacement du bloc
commercial. Au sommet, Nazarbaev a clairement indique que cela ne doit
pas arriver. Il a clairement dit a Sarkissian que le Karabagh n’avait
aucune chance d’etre accepte dans le groupe puisque seuls les Etats
avec des frontières internationalement reconnues pourraient le
joindre. Aucune marchandise produite dans le Karabagh pourrait etre
echangee comme si elles venaient de l’interieur de l’espace economique
commun a-t-il dit.

Il a dit que l’Armenie doit >.

Cependant, il n’y a aucun signe que l’Armenie accepte de restreindre
la circulation des marchandises a partir du Karabagh, ou commence a
les traiter comme differents de ceux produits nationalement. Hovik
Abrahamyan le Premier ministre a dit deux semaines avant le sommet
d’Astana qu’il s’agissait d’une question de securite nationale. Les
analystes disent que toute initiative visant a creer des divisions
entre l’Armenie et le Karabagh serait impopulaire.

>.

Tigran Gevorgyan est un journaliste independant en Armenie.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

mardi 1er juillet 2014,
Stephane (c)armenews.com

SERGE SARKISSIAN CRITIQUE POUR SA REACTION TARDIVE AUX REMARQUES DU LEADER KAZAKH

ARMENIE

Il a fallu au president armenien Serge Sarkissian deux jours pour
reagir a la declaration controversee faite par le President du
Kazakhstan Noursoultan Nazarbaïev lors d’un sommet de l’Union
eurasienne a Astana, la semaine dernière.

Le 29 mai, M. Nazarbaïev, l’hôte de la reunion du Conseil supreme
economique eurasien, a lu une lettre du president azerbaïdjanais
Ilham Aliyev, dans lequel celui-ci a exige que l’Armenie soit admis
dans l’Union eurasienne qu’au vu de ses frontières reconnues par
l’Organisation des Nations Unies , c’est a dire sans le Haut-Karabagh,
qui est connu pour faire partie de l’espace economique armenien.

Malgre le fait que M. Nazarbaïev ait fait cette declaration comme
une faveur a Aliyev (ndlr : a declare le president armenien. >.

La declaration de Sarkissian a provoque des reactions orageuses en
Armenie. Le president a ete accuse d’etre pret a >
le Karabagh, de montrer un signe de faiblesse et meme d’accepter
l’offense. Le realisateur Vahram Martirosyan, par exemple, pense que
Sarkissian aurait dû dire immediatement a Astana que, dans ce cas,
tous les pays doivent entrer dans l’Union eurasienne au sein de leurs
frontières reconnues par l’Organisation des Nations Unies. Par exemple,
la Russie, qui a recemment englober la Crimee et que ce mouvement a
ete condamne par l’Assemblee generale des Nations Unies.

Cependant, la question la plus urgente est ce qui va changer au cours
de ces deux semaines ou un mois qui a ete donne a l’Armenie pour
resoudre tous les problèmes lies a son adhesion a l’Union eurasienne.

Les medias et les reseaux sociaux suggèrent diverses options jusqu’a
la reconnaissance de l’independance du Karabagh avec davantage de
reunification avec l’Armenie.

Le Comite central de la Federation revolutionnaire armenienne (FRA)
du Karabagh a publie une declaration proposant un accord strategique
entre l’Armenie et la RHK en vertu duquel l’Armenie devient le garant
de la securite et le bien-etre du peuple du Haut-Karabagh.

Il y a aussi une option celle que le Haut-Karabagh fasse une demande
d’adhesion a l’Union eurasienne. Cela semble particulièrement
realiste dans le contexte des evenements qui se deroulent dans une
autre republique autonome post-sovietique meconnue – l’Abkhazie. Un
changement de pouvoir a eu lieu dans cette republique separatiste
soutenu par la Russie en Georgie. La première declaration de
l’opposition qui est arrive au pouvoir a Soukhoumi etait sur la
necessite d’adherer a l’Union eurasienne.

Remarquablement, aucun parti politique majeur en Armenie n’a appele
les dirigeants armeniens a abandonner l’idee ou au moins de suspendre
le processus d’adhesion a l’Union eurasienne.

Par Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow

mardi 1er juillet 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

DERSIM AND THE ARMENIANS OF DERSIM

June 30, 2014

Tunceli, Dersim

Civilnet.am has prepared a documentary on Dersim and the Armenians in Dersim.

The idea of founding the Union or Dersim Armenians belongs to
Salaheddin Gultekin. He renounced his name Salaheddin and became
Mihran. In the same way, after long tribulations, he managed to have
“Christian” written on his identity card instead of “Muslim”. Mihran’s
relatives did not appreciate his actions, and their first reaction
was that they are being exposed.

The head of Dersim Armenians in Istanbul is Ismail Cem Halavurt who
says that “the Union of Dersim Armenians aims to unite the Armenians
of Istanbul and Dersim. Its aim is to bring Armenians who were forced
to abandon their own community, religion, language, because of the
ongoing cultural genocide following the Armenian Genocide, back to
their identity after a hundred-year break”.

Just like many other Dersim residents, Ismail Cem Halavurt has been
baptized. His baptism took place in Armenia. “I was asked to choose a
name during my baptism, and I chose Stepan. I like that name because
of a hero named Stepan in the book, “The 40 Days of Musa Ler” which
tells the story of the resistance of the Armenians from Musa Ler. The
book had a great impact on me. Stepan was the son of the resistance
commander” says Halavurt.

The Dersim territory, which is now officially called Tuceli, is
situated in the eastern part of modern Turkey. It coincides with the
Tsopq or Fourth Hayq administrative district of Historical Armenia.

According to Armenian tradition, the name Dersim came from the region’s
spiritual leader Der Simon, who convinced the local population to
convert to Alevi religion in the 17th century, thus escaping the
deportations. After the Armenian Genocide, many Armenians continued
living in the mountainous region.

“From a religious point of view, the majority of Dersim Armenians live
as Alevis, and from the national identity perspective- as Kurds or
Zaza, the majority is Zaza. But it does not matter, as I said, Dersim
is different. All the Kurds in Dersim know which family is Armenian.

That is never forgotten. Go to Dersim and say names, they will
confirm those are Armenians, or if you say a village name, they’ll
say it’s an Armenian village. That is never forgotten. Because they
managed to preserve their identity in various ways. They’ve always
lived together, the most beautiful tradition of Dersim Armenians was
inter-marriage. They never married girls from other areas. That is how
they managed self-preservation and survive as a unit” says Halavurt.

Savas Sahin was born in Dersim, in Kizilcik village of the Mazkert
region of Dersim; he’s a Kurd-Alevi. ” The village were I was born is
an old Armenian village” says Sahin. “When I was little, about 8 years
old, I remember the vineyards and mulberry trees in the village. When
we strolled around with my grandfather, he told me those were left
by the Armenians. So up to this day, we eat the grapes and mulberries
planted by the Armenians”.

In recent years, Union member Altinkaya often visits Dersim. His
family left during the 1938 Dersim massacres. “There are many hidden
Armenians in Dersim. I became acquainted with them two years ago, as
well as last year, during the Dersim festival. Without our asking,
they came to us and said that their grandfather or grandmother was
Armenian; that is they had Armenian roots. There are many hidden
Armenians” said Altinkaya.

Ismail Cem Halavurt

“I cannot say the exact number of Armenian in Dersim” says Halavurt.

“There are Armenian villages that have about 30 households with
3-4 members each. There are Armenians in Dersim who feel themselves
Armenian, but have nothing to do with Christianity having abandoned
their language and religion. They are Islamized, but not fully
accepted by Muslims or Alevis. After 1915, a portion of Armenians
was Islamized and they indeed live as Muslims. That is not the case
of Dersim Armenians. They adopted the Alevi religion, which is a very
tolerant religion, that’s why we cannot claim they are Islamized. They
don’t even consider themselves Muslims, and although Muslim is stated
in their documents, they have nothing to do with Islam, and there is
very little Alevi influence, and that’s on the culture, not on the
religion” says Halavurt.

“Some Armenians hide their true identity”, says Sahin. “There was a
house in the neighboring village, everyone said- Look Armenians live
there, and we looked at them strangely. They were the only Armenians I
knew, but years later, especially during the last 4-5 years, several
families started revealing their true identity more easily”.

The Union of Dersim Armenians currently has 80 members, but the leaders
state that if work is done among Dersim Armenians, the number could
grow from 500 to 1000. “Religion is not a precondition for being a
member, being Armenian is. Being Christian is not a precondition, and
Dersim Armenians coming to Istanbul are inclined towards the church”
says Halavurt, “they give their children Armenian names, want to live
by their own language and religion. But not all members of the Union
are Christian. If we stress the religion, we will separate Dersim
Armenians from one another”.

Speaking about the programs of the Union’s Cem Halavurt says: “our
main goal is to have a representation in Dersim, carry out some work
towards preserving the Saint Garabed Armenian church. The Saint Garabed
church, which operated until 1938, has a great importance both for
Armenians and Kurd-Alevis. Besides, we plan to implement some plans
towards the social and economic development of Armenian villages of
Dersim. We also want to be a bridge between the Dersim Armenians and
the Patriarchate in Istanbul, because if a Dersim Armenian goes to
the Patriarchate alone and wants to get baptized, he has to prove he
is an Armenian. So, on the one hand we prove to the state that we are
Armenians, and on the other hand- we prove this to the Patriarchate.

This is a very heavy burden for us Armenians. There is this perception
among Dersim Armenians that the Armenian community does not accept us,
since we have changed our names and abandoned our culture. And when
you go to the Patriarchate, which demands proof of your Armenianess,
setting criteria for you, usually the Dersim Armenian retreats,
takes a step back and gives up. Of course the Patriarchate has also
its reasons to act so. In this case, the Unioon of Dersim Armenians
tries to create relations based on mutual trust, acting as a bridge
between the Patriarchate and Dersim Armenians”.

The Dersim Armenians living in Istanbul give their children Armenian
names, send them to Armenian schools and take steps in learning
Armenian. Cem Halavurt also thinks about learning Armenian. In 2013,
the residents of Dersim commemorated the Armenian Genocide in their
native Dersim.

DIGITECH 2014 : BONNE OCCASION POUR EN APPRENDRE DAVANTAGE SUR LES NOUVELLES TECHNOLOGIES POUR LES ENTREPRISES LOCALES

L’économie souterraine d’Arménie peut être réduite sans pertes
avec l’application des technologies modernes dans les affaires,
et les hommes d’affaires en Arménie peuvent en apprendre davantage
sur une large sélection de ces technologies d’ores et déja, dans
le cadre de l’ouverture Forum International d’Affaires DigiTech.

> est la devise
de cet événement de deux jours qui comprendra une exposition, des
présentations d’affaires, des ateliers, des séances plénières, etc

Karen Vardanyan, directeur exécutif de l’Union des entreprises
des technologies de l’information (UITE), l’organisateur du forum,
a déclaré aux médias que le forum a été organisé en 2008 dans
le but d’élever le niveau d’application des technologies en Arménie
qui était faible a l’époque.

>.

Dmitry Slobodenyuk, un représentant de la société ARinteg, qui
est entré récemment sur le marché arménien et est l’organisateur
du forum d’affaires russo-arménien, a déclaré qu’en Arménie sa
société devra développer des approches entièrement nouvelles
en vue d’un objectif principal – les institutions financières,
notamment les banques.

> a déclaré
Slobodenyuk.

Le secteur des technologies et de l’information est l’un des secteurs
les plus en développement en Arménie, où 380 entreprises emploient
aujourd’hui environ 11 000 spécialistes, avec un chiffre d’affaires
annuel total du secteur estimé a plus de 379 millions de dollars. Le
secteur a enregistré une croissance annuelle moyenne de 22,8 pour
cent en 2008-2013.

Selon les experts, la pénurie de main-d’oeuvre et l’application
inadéquate des technologies dans les entreprises locales sont les
principaux obstacles a la poursuite du développement du secteur
en Arménie.

Par Sara Khojoyan

ArmeniaNow

lundi 30 juin 2014, Stéphane (c)armenews.com

OPPOSITION AND SINCERE FORCES MUST UNITE FOR NATIONAL SALVATION – OPINIONS

19:58 * 30.06.14

Preparliament member Tigran Khzmalyan believes that a national
salvation body should be formed to unite all the opposition and
sincere forces.

“We need to form a national salvation committee and be honest with
the people. It is high time for that. National salvation requires an
even broader platform for all the opposition and sincere forces to
cooperate,” Khzmalyan told Tert.am.

Struggling groups and political forces calling for struggle cannot
draw up a common agenda.

“If there is one aim and one enemy, it is only logical that efforts
must be combined. If we fail to combine our efforts, we’ll suffer
defeat as a nation,” he said.

According to Khzmalyan, ambitions are an obstacle.

“Political forces overestimate their potential. They are more thinking
of the party and personal interests than of national interests.”

Araik Harutyunyan, Board member, Civil Agreement, shares the opinion
of the need for combined efforts.

“Of course, there is a need for unification, but I do not see any
serious processes. The key political forces seem to have different
agendas, without being inclined to deal with one and the same problem,”
Harutyunyan told Tert.am.

“We have never stated our unwillingness to cooperate with any political
force. Rather, we stated a change of power was our priority.

And if there are political forces drawing up such a political agenda
and explaining mechanisms, Civil Agreement is ready to join this
political force in changing power.”

Agence France Presse
26 juin 2014 jeudi 10:46 PM GMT

Marseille: un buste du résistant Missak Manouchian tagué d’une croix gammée

Marseille 26 juin 2014

La communauté arménienne de Marseille a vivement condamné la
profanation du buste du résistant communiste Missak Manouchian
installé sur une place de la cité, qui a été tagué d’une croix gammée
dans la nuit du 25 au 26 juin, a-t-on appris vendredi auprès du
Conseil de coordination des organisations arméniennes de France région
sud.

“Cette croix gammée dessinée sur le buste de Missak Manouchian est un
rappel des atrocités générées par l’intolérance, la haine et le
racisme”, indique le CCAF sud dans un communiqué, rappelant que le
réseau Manouchian était composé de “chrétiens, juifs athées, venus de
Pologne, d’Espagne, de Bulgarie, d’Italie d’Arménie (qui)ont sacrifié
leur vie pour un monde de liberté , de paix et de fraternité”.

“Le CCAF Sud condamne fermement cette profanation qui est une atteinte
à tous ceux qui sont épris de justice et de liberté et demande aux
autorités publiques de tout mettre en oeuvre pour que les auteurs de
cet acte odieux soient recherchés et condamnés”, ajoute ce texte.

Le président du CCAF Sud, Jacques Donabedian, a indiqué à l’AFP qu’ils
envisageait de déposer plainte dans les prochains jours.

Daily Sabah, Turkey
June 29 2014

US HOUSE COMMITTEE PASSES ANTI-TURKEY BILL

Ragıp Soylu

WASHINGTON, D.C. ` A controversial anti-Turkey bill passed through the
U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Foreign Affairs on
Thursday after a week following pressure from the Turkish government,
weakening Turkish-American relations in a time of regional crisis in
the Middle East.

The Turkey Christian Churches Accountability Act directs the Secretary
of State to report annually to Congress until 2021 on the status and
return of confiscated or otherwise unreturned Christian churches,
places of worship and other properties in or from the Republic of
Turkey and in Northern Cyprus. The bill describes Northern Cyprus as a
land occupied by the Turkish military.

Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National
Committee of America, praised the move and congratulated senior
members of the committee, including Chairman Ed Royce, a Republican
congressman from California, which has a considerable Armenian
population, who also sponsored the bill. The Armenian American lobby
has conducted a large campaign to gather support for the bill within
the committee.

Turkish officials said that despite their lobbying efforts and their
own interactions with the representatives, they had failed to block
the progress of the bill. “Congressmen tend to seek more support from
their constituencies in upcoming congressional elections this fall. We
can say that the Armenian [American] lobby was successful merely
because of elections politics,” a Turkish official added.

In a statement released by Turkish Foreign Ministry it was said that
“while the clear and concrete steps that Turkey has taken for the
improvement of the rights and freedoms of all of its citizens,
including for the non-Muslim minorities are evident; attempts by
anti-Turkish circles in the US Congress, driven by domestic political
considerations, to push such unconstructive and baseless initiatives
are unacceptable. That these circles have focused on the heritage of a
single religion, and have neglected negative developments occurring at
the expense of other religions and their heritage is inconsistent with
universal values and contrasts starkly with the multi-culturality of
the United States.”

It is not clear whether the bill will be discussed in the general
assembly. Turkish officials vowed to work against the bill, and
Turkish American lobbies in Washington and New York are disappointed
by the result.

Ali Çınar, a well-known name within the Turkish-American community and
former head of the Federation of Turkish American Associations, said
that Turkish people must meet federal and local representatives to
prevent a further deterioration of relations between the two
countries. “We will meet federal officials this summer and work to
convince them not to support these bills,” he said in an email being
circulated within the community.