Author: Kalantarian Kevo

internet-corruption-Turquie-politique-élections-mobiles
Turquie : la justice ordonne la levée du blocage du réseau Twitter (médias)

(AFP) – Un tribunal administratif d’Ankara a ordonné mercredi la levée
de la décision très controversée du gouvernement turc de bloquer
l’accès au réseau Twitter dans le pays, ont rapporté les médias turcs.

L’autorité turque des télécommunications (TIB) a bloqué jeudi soir le
réseau de microblogging, accusé par le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip
Erdogan de propager les accusations de corruption qui visent son
régime à la veille des élections municipales du 30 mars.

Cette mesure est “contraire aux principes de l’Etat de droit”, a
estimé le tribunal de la capitale dans son jugement, cité par la
chaîne d’information CNN-Türk.

L’opposition parlementaire et plusieurs organisations
non-gouvernementales avaient saisi la justice après la décision des
autorités.

La TIB peut désormais faire appel de la décision du tribunal mais est
contrainte de lever sa décision en attendant que la juridiction
d’appel statue sur sa requête.

Le blocage de Twitter a été largement contourné par les internautes
turques mais il a provoqué une avalanche de critiques, qui ont dénoncé
une mesure de “censure” et la dérive autoritaire du régime
islamo-conservateur turc, au pouvoir depuis 2002.

M. Erdogan est affaibli depuis la mi-décembre par une vaste affaire
politico-financière, dont il accuse ses ex-alliés de l’organisation du
prédicateur musulman Fethullah Gülen, qui vit aux Etats-Unis, d’être
les instigateurs.

vendredi 28 mars 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Hraparak: Wedding of PAP MP Abraham Manukyan’s son and General Nerses
Nazaryan’s daughter to take place soon

12:22 28/03/2014 >> DAILY PRESS

The wedding of the youngest son of Prosperous Armenia MP Abraham
Manukyan and the daughter of General Nerses Nazaryan will be held on
April 27. According to Hraparak, some 800 people have been invited to
the wedding. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is among the invitees.

On the next day, April 28, ardent opposition party Prosperous Armenia
will make a demand for the resignation of the government in the
National Assembly.

Source: Panorama.am

Vartan Oskanian: Armenia may appear in the list of authoritarian states

16:30 | March 28,2014 | Politics

Armenia was to abstain from the vote on the UN resolution that
declared the Crimea referendum illegitimate, Vartan Oskanian, a
lawmaker of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), said in reply to the
queries about Armenia’s voting against the resolution.

“I shall explain why. The resolution that was submitted by the Ukraine
and has received majority of votes declares Crimea referendum
illegitimate, saying it was annexed by Russia. We cannot disagree with
the first statement as Armenia supports the right of
self-determination for all peoples. One the other hand, we cannot be
against the second clause, because after the Karabakh referendum [held
23 years ago] we have been negotiating with Azerbaijan over the issue
with the aim of achieving an agreed solution.

Considering these two factors, Armenia should have abstained from the
vote showing that the country adherence to its principles.

In addition, Armenia should have foreseen that it might appear in the
list of internationally isolated and authoritarian states,” said Mr
Oskanian.

AZERBAIDJAN
Un parti d’opposition affirme que le gouvernement est derrière
l’explosion de son QG

Un principal parti d’opposition en Azerbaïdjan a accusé le
gouvernement d’être derrière l’explosion qui a détruit son siège le 3
Mars. Les pompiers disent que cela été causé par des bonbonnes de gaz
stockés dans le sous-sol, bien que d’autres résidents nient que ce fut
le cas. Les autorités ont commencé à démolir le btiment considérant
qu’il est désormais dangereux.

L’explosion s’est produite à quatre heures du matin, dans la capitale
Bakou, où le Front populaire d’Azerbaïdjan avait ses bureaux qui
étaient en grande partie déserts. Il a détruit tout un rez de
chaussée.

> a déclaré le porte-parole du
parti Natiq Adilov à l’IWPR. >.

Au cours de la semaine précédente, la police a arrêté cinq militants
azerbaïdjanais du Front populaire, y compris le chef du bureau, pour
des raisons diverses. > a demandé Adilov.

Jusqu’en 2006, le Front populaire avait son siège dans le centre de
Bakou, mais les autorités de la ville ont fait condamné le btiment,
qui a été démoli, reconstruit et remis au bureau national d’audit.

Le parti d’opposition est resté sans-abri jusqu’en octobre de l’année
dernière, malgré des tentatives répétées pour louer un bureau.

Adilov rappelle que chaque fois que le parti a approché quelqu’un pour
louer un espace de bureau, >.

> a-t-il dit. Les deux membres du parti de service le matin du 3 Mars
– Nuru Nuruzade et Ruslan Nasirli – ont dit avoir entendu trois
explosions, qui ont été suivies par un incendie. Quand un reporter de
l’IWPR est arrivé sur les lieux plus tard, il y avait deux bouteilles
de gaz à l’extérieur du btiment. L’une d’elle était intacte et en bon
état, l’autre avait éclaté, mais les fragments étaient sales et elle
n’avait clairement pas explosé récemment.

Samir Muradov, qui loue le sous-sol, a nié qu’il ait jamais gardé des
bonbonnes de gaz. Le propriétaire d’un magasin voisin, qui ne voulait
pas être identifié, a également nié avoir utilisé des bonbonnes de
gaz, et dit que celles à l’extérieur avaient juste été mises là.

Siyavouch Novruzov, un membre du parlement du parti Yeni Azerbaïdjan,
le parti du gouvernement, a nié que l’explosion aurait pu être autre
chose qu’un accident. Il a dit à l’agence de presse Trend que le Front
populaire a été délibérément répandu des mensonges.

Le lendemain de l’explosion, Shahmar Ibadov, chef du gouvernement
local adjoint pour le district de Narimanov à Bakou, est arrivé au
siège du Front populaire et a dit aux militants du parti de partir
parce que le btiment n’était plus sûr. Ils ont refusé d’obéir malgré
des heures de négociations.

Elkhan Asadov, chef adjoint du département du ministère des Situations
d’urgence pour la sécurité des btiments, a déclaré aux journalistes
sur la scène que les locaux étaient dangereux et tout le monde devait
partir immédiatement.

Vers le soir, les travailleurs ont commencé à démolir l’ensemble du btiment.

Son propriétaire, Azer Askerov, qui passe le plus clair de son temps
en Turquie, est arrivé juste à temps pour le voir descendre. Il a
déclaré aux journalistes qu’il avait reçu des menaces parce qu’il a
loué l’espace au Front populaire. > a déclaré
Askerov qui a remis aux journalistes un enregistrement dans lequel la
voix d’un homme dit, >.

Une fois que le parti obtient une réparation il pourra rechercher de
nouveaux locaux, il pourrait même approcher son ancienne propriétaire,
Azer Askerov.

> a-t-il dit.

DIPLOMATIE
L’Arménie soutient la Russie à l’Onu

On attendait l’abstention, l’Arménie a finalement voté le soutien à
son allié russe lors du vote du jeudi 27 mars à l’Assemblée générale
de l’Onu sur une résolution réaffirmant l’intégrité territoriale de
l’Ukraine et proclamant l’illégalité du référendum organisé le 16 mars
en Crimée au terme duquel la Russie a annexé la péninsule. Le document
a été approuvé par 100 voix contre 11, 58 nations ayant choisi
l’abstention. Au nombre des pays ayant voté comme l’Arménie contre
cette resolution, figurant la Biélorussie, le Vénézuéla, le Soudan, la
Syrie, la Corée du Nord, le Zimbabwe et la Bolivie. La résolution, qui
n’a pas de valeur contraignante, a obtenu plus de soutien que prévu,
d’autant que le texte désignait clairement la Russie comme un
agresseur. L’Arménie, dont le ministère des affaires étrangères avait
laissé entendre avant le vote qu’elle choisirait l’abstention, a
préféré donc s’aligner sans équivoque sur son partenaire stratégique
russe, un choix d’autant plus important que les relations entre
l’Arménie er Moscou, et bien sûr aussi avec Kiev, font l’objet d’une
attention toute particulière, Erevan ayant de toute évidence renoncé à
cet accord d’association avec l’Union européenne qu’elle croyait
encore possible après sa volte-face du 3 septembre 2013 par laquelle
elle annonçait sa volonté d’adhérer à l’Union douanière constituée de
la Russie, de la Biélaorussie et du Kazakhstan. Le gouvernement
ukrainien avait protesté et rappelé son ambassadeur en Arménie après
que le président arménien Serge Sarkissian eut officiellement
cautionné le référendum de Crimée. S’exprimant à Erevan peu avant le
vote de l’Onu, un diplomate de l’ambassade d’Ukraine a toutefois
précisé que Kiev maintiendrait ses liens diplomatiques avec l’Arménie,
quel que soit son vote lors de la séance de l’Assemblée générale de
l’Onu dédiée à la Crimée. Igor Roman a aussi indiqué aux journalistes
que l’ambassadeur d’Ukraine en Arménie, Ivan Kukhta, qui avait été
rappelé à Kiev, reviendrait dans le courant de la semaine à Erevan
pour accomplir sa mission diplomatique.

vendredi 28 mars 2014,
Gari (c)armenews.com

AFFA PROTESTS TO ARMENIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 27 2014

Trend:

The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) has
protested to the Armenian Football Federation regarding the coaching
courses held in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, AFFA said on
March 27.

At the UEFA Congress in Astana, AFFA Secretary General Elkhan Mammadov
informed the European Football Union representatives about this issue.

He expressed his concern about the fact that the Armenian Football
Federation conducts the coaching courses in the territory of
Azerbaijan.

Mammadov also expressed AFFA’s concern during a meeting with Secretary
General of the Armenian Federation. The latter stated that the courses
do not have an international status and stressed that the protest
will be considered.

In 2008 AFFA joined UEFA Coaching Convention on the courses of “A”
and “B” categories, and two years later to the PRO convention. Only
AFFA is authorized to organize PRO coaching courses of “C”, “B”
and “A” categories on the territory of Azerbaijan, according to the
requirements of the convention.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are
currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

Translated by NH Edited by CN

MERDINYAN WINS AFTER BERKI FALTERS; IORDACHE TAKES VAULT

Gulf Times, Qatar
March 27 2014

By Sahan Bidappa/Doha

Harutyun Merdinyan created the biggest upset of the 7th FIG Artistic
Gymnastics World Challenge Cup 2014, when the Armenian won the Pommel
Horse event here at the Aspire Dome yesterday.

Going into the final, Merdinyan was one of the contenders for the
gold medal having topped the qualification rounds as well. But with
Olympic champion Krisztian Berki, rated as the best Pommel Horse
competitor of all time by the International Gymnastics Federation,
in contention, victory wasn’t a sure shot for Merdinyan.

However, it was Merdinyan who displayed an immaculate performance with
15.475 points. On the other hand, Berki was cheered vociferously by
the small Hungarian contingent, but the 2011 World Champion failed to
hit the right notes. He began his performance impressively, but slipped
off the beam and could garner only 14.775 points to finish sixth.

The second place went to Croatia’s Robert Seligman (15.275), while
Slovenia’s Saso Bertoncelj (15.150) came third. Qatar’s Ahmed Aldayani
came eighth with 12.625 points, but it was good show from the local
gymnast and the experience will serve him world of good.

The 2013 World champion Kenzo Shirai of Japan won the Floor event
comfortably. Shirai used his Worlds routine, including eye-popping
quadruple twist dismount — to post the highest score of the entire
meet so far (16.000). That mark, stemming from a 7.4 Difficulty-score,
easily topped second-placed Paul Ruggeri (15.150) of USA and China’s
Wang Peng (15.100), who finished.

Shirai was delighted with his performance and gunned another gold
medal in today’s Vault final, where he is also one of the favourites.

“I am very happy with my performance. It was quite clinical and I put
up a very good score, especially in the difficulty level. Now I want
to win the Vault gold as well,” said the Japanese.

In the women’s Vault, the 2012 Olympic medallist Larisa Iordache
of Romania won the event with a total score of 14.337, ahead of
Slovenia’s Teja Belak (14.100). Hong Kong’s Wong Angel Ying Hiu,
who had finished first in the qualification round, had to settle for
third place with a total score of 13.812 points.

“I expected to do well in all the events but to win the Vault event is
special. I had a good support from the crowd as well, which encouraged
me to do better,” said Iordache.

Olympic veterans Kristyna Palesova of Czech Republic did no harm to
her favourite tag as she won the Uneven Bars event, piping compatriot
Jana Sikulova.

Palesova tallied 13.425 points to Sikulova’s 13.175. Laura Schulte
(12.775) was third. Another Olympian Hiu Ying Angel Wong (10.800)
disappointed finishing in seventh spot.

In the Rings, the last event of the night, Armenians scooped one-two
spots with Artur Tovmasyan and Vahagn Davtyan taking the gold and
silver respectively. Tovmasyan tallied 15.575 points to Davtyan’s
15.425. Henrique Flore of Brazil also had same score as Davtyan,
but was third due to lesser Difficulty score to the Armenian.

It was a major upset in the Rings final, which also featured 2005 World
Rings champion Yuri van Gelder and Double Olympic silver medallist
Marcel Nguyen.

Van Gelder could only his fifth (15.375), while Nguyen, who was making
a comeback after taking break due to burn out, finished sixth (15.250).

Today will be the final day of the event but it promises to be as
exciting as yesterday. There will be five finals, with Olympic and
world horizontal bar champion Epke Jan Zonderland of the Netherlands
in action in the Horizontal Bars and Parallel Bars.

ARMENIA: PROGRESS REPORT SAYS EU COMMITTED TO COOPERATION DESPITE FAILURE TO INITIAL ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT

ENPI Info Centre
March 27 2014

27-03-2014

Last year saw intensive political dialogue between the EU and
the Armenian Government, according to the European Commission’s
ENP progress report on Armenia, released today. Negotiations on an
Association Agreement (AA), including a Deep and Comprehensive Free
Trade Area (DCFTA), were completed in July 2013, but they could not
proceed with its initialing, following Armenia’s decision to apply to
join the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. “Armenia
and the EU remained nevertheless committed to further cooperation
as they jointly stated in the margins of the Vilnius Summit,” the
report says.

The progress report was released by the European Commission as part of
the 2014 European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) package, which underlines
key developments and reform efforts in 2013, and makes recommendations
for the year to come.

It says Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements were both ratified
in 2013 and entered into force on 1 January 2014. And while Armenia
continued to address issues related to human rights and fundamental
freedoms, further work remains necessary, especially as regards the
implementation and enforcement of legislation. The report says the
February 2013 presidential elections were generally well-administrated
notwithstanding concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.

Despite ongoing reforms, public mistrust of the judicial system
remained high and there was a lack of convincing results in the fight
against corruption, including in police and judiciary. Allegations
of use of torture and ill-treatment in police custody were reported.

The report makes a number of recommendations with a view to a sustained
implementation of the ENP Action Plan in 2014, including greater
cooperation with and protection of civil society, implementation
of OSCE/ODIHR recommendations on elections, reform of governance,
public administration, judiciary and law enforcement, and efforts
towards settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

BOOSTING KEY SECTORS OF THE ARMENIAN ECONOMY WITH HELP FROM EU-SUPPORTED PROJECT

ENPI Info Centre, EU
March 27 2014

27-03-2014

Armenian government and private sector representatives met with
international experts in Yerevan yesterday as part of an OECD Eurasia
Competitiveness Programme project on enhancing the competitiveness
of key sectors of the Armenian economy. The project is implemented
with the financial assistance of the SME Panel of the European Union
Eastern Partnership.

During 2014, two working groups will formulate policy recommendations
to promote exports by Armenian agribusiness SMEs and to develop
construction material SMEs by establishing a supportive investment
climate for multinational construction materials firms.

Challenges already identified in the agribusiness value chain
include fragmentation of agricultural production, weak links between
agricultural producers and food processors, and difficult access to
global markets. Issues facing potential construction materials industry
investors include the cyclic nature of the local construction sector,
high transport costs, and the fit with available natural resources.

A high-level Armenian delegation will present the resulting
sector-specific recommendations at the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness
Roundtable during the week of 24 November 2014 in Paris. The Roundtable
will bring together high-level representatives from across the Eurasia
region and OECD member countries. (EU Neighbourhood Info)

ARMENIAN FOLK TRIO TO PERFORM MARCH 29

Worcester Telegram, MA
March 27 2014

There’s a haunting, evocative quality to the songs that are sung so
exquisitely by Zulal, an a capella vocal trio devoted to Armenian
folk music.

Zulal’s singers — Teni Apelian, Yeraz Markarian and Anaïs Tekerian —
have been performing together since 2002. “There’s so much in this
genre. We’re yet to extinguish our sources,” Apelian said.

“Zulal, A Folk Journey” at 4 p.m. March 29 in Holy Trinity Armenian
Apostolic Church, 635 Grove St., Worcester, will include Armenian
folk songs from different regions, both historic and present-day.

Similarly, the music is “very ancient and still very contemporary,”
said Apelian, who grew up in Worcester.

The songs can be light, while with pieces based on work you can almost
“hear the spinning wheels,” she said. Also, however, “Armenian culture
in general has a heavy melancholic line, which you hear a lot in the
music,” Apelian said. Tickets are $30. (508) 852-3328.

(Richard Duckett)