Author: Kalantarian Kevo

TRADE TURNOVER BETWEEN ARMENIA AND IRAN EXCEEDS $380 MILLION

August 06, 2013 | 20:11

Annual trade turnover between Armenia and Iran has exceeded $380
million despite sanctions, Armenian official said.

Head of Iran-Armenia’s Joint Chamber of Commerce Leon Aharounian noted
that the annual trade exchanges between the two countries surpassed
$380mln, over 90% of which pertains to (the import of) Iranian goods,
Fars agency reported. He also said that the figure is planned to
reach $1bln.

He also recalled that Iran and Armenia plan to build a 170mw power
plant on Aras River.

ANOTHER AGENCY TO INVESTIGATE MARO GULOYAN’S CASE

Tuesday,
August 06

“On June 17, 2013 Lusine Minasian – the representative the legal
successor of victim Maro Guloyan – and Coalition against Women’s
Violence filed an application to the Prosecutor General’s Office,
complaining about the illegal dismissal of Maro Guloyan’s case.

On June 24 Armenian Prosecutor General took a decision about revocation
of the RA Police Kotayk regional investigation department’s decision
about dismissal of the criminal case of Maro Guloyan’s suspicious
suicide.

On July 11 the legal successor’s representative Ms. Lusine Minasian
filed a new application to the Prosecutor General’s Office, with
the request to transfer the investigation of the case to Yerevan. On
July 26, based on the letter of Armenia’s Deputy Prosecutor General,
the case was sent to the head of the Main Investigation Department
of the Police Gagik Hambartsumian with the aim of instructing another
investigatory agency to conduct a preliminary investigation.

Expressing deep gratitude to Prosecutor General’s Office for ensuring
control over the legality of the preliminary investigation, the
aggrieved party hopes that the new investigatory agency will conduct
an impartial and professional investigation into Maro Giloyan’s death
under suspicious circumstances, without flagrant violations of the
law,” Lusine Minasian’s statement reads.

TODAY, 17:33

Aysor.am

PEOPLE WHO NEVER VISITED NAGORNO KARABAKH REPUBLIC APPEARED IN BAKU’S “BLACK LIST”

16:11, 6 August, 2013

YEREVAN, AUGUST 6, ARMENPRESS. The Senior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia
at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC Wayne Merry
condemned official Baku’s decision to declare 335 foreigners “persona
non grata” for visiting the Nagorno Karabakh Republic “without the
permission of the Azerbaijani authorities”. As reports “Armenpress”
in a conversation with “Turan” Wayne Merry stated that “this step
first of all harms the Azerbaijani authorities.”

Among other things Wayne Merry underscored: “It would be better
to invite all those people to Azerbaijan and suggest them to get
acquainted with the position of the other side as well.

Notwithstanding, the current policy adopted by Baku will give opposite
result and the people included in the “black list” will never know
Azerbaijan’s position, even if they want it very much. This stance
adopted by Azerbaijan is a striking example of self-isolation and
simple policy.”

Wayne Merry had been working in the Department of State of the United
States and official structures for 20 years. Wayne Merry is Senior
Fellow for Europe and Eurasia at the American Foreign Policy Council
in Washington, DC. He is widely published and a frequent speaker on
topics relating to Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Balkans,
European security and trans-Atlantic relations. In twenty-six years
in the United States Foreign Service, he worked as a diplomat and
political analyst specializing in Soviet and post-Soviet political
issues, including six years at the American Embassy in Moscow. He
paid a visit to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic last year and call on
the international community to pay more attention on this conflict.

It’s noteworthy that the list, which caused laughter of the whole
progressive mankind, contains the names of such people, who have never
visited the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, including Nicholas Wondra. “I
have never been in Karabakh, notwithstanding as far as I have been
included in the list, now I must visit Karabakh as an expert on
Caucasus,” Nicholas Wondra noted in a conversation with “Turan”.

The aforesaid funny list of “persona non grata” contains 14 deputies of
Russian Parliament, 5 reporters of German ZDF TV channel, president
of Berlin academy, deputies of Iranian, Slovakian, Argentinean
parliaments, famous Russian economist Victor Sheinis, Baroness Cox,
President of military academy of Denmark, Russian political scientist
Sergey Marcedonov, 14 deputies of French parliament, Italian singer
Al Bano, 8 deputies of European Parliament, reporter of Washington
Post in Moscow Will Englund, reporter of New York Times Anastasia
Taylor Wint, Phillip Kirkorov’s father – Bedros Kirkorov, famous
opera singer Montserrat Caballe, a deputy of Canadian Parliament.

The list also includes 6 American doctors, 7 British deputies, a
Greek deputy, 3 deputies of Swiss Parliament, editor in chief of EU
foreign policy magazine, former EU special representative in South
Caucasus Peter Samnabi, 5 deputies of Uruguayan parliament, famous
Swiss cosmonaut Claudi Nikolia, 6 Australian deputies, a deputy of
German Bundestag and other famous people.

IRAN’S NEW AUTHORITIES ARE READY FOR CONCESSIONS IN NUCLEAR PROGRAM – ARMENIAN SPECIALIST

August 06, 2013 | 15:05

YEREVAN. – The former US government policy toward Iran is no longer
topical.

Iranian Studies specialist Rudik Yaralyan said the aforementioned
during a press conference on Tuesday.

Yaralyan reflected on the tightening US sanctions upon Iranian oil
exports.

In his words, the US policy would be considered justified to some
extent in the context of the former political processes. But everything
is different now.

The analyst also noted that mutual concessions are a mandatory
precondition for the resolution of the nuclear issue.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ANCA COMMENTS ON OSCE MG U.S. CO-CHAIR APPOINTMENT

August 6, 2013 – 10:48 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
Executive Director Aram Hamparian offered a comment upon the
announcement of ambassador James Warlick as the next U.S. Co-Chair
of the OSCE Minsk Group.

“We can offer no better words of advice and guidance to Ambassador
Warlick as he enters this pivotal post than those of our President,
who entered the White House having publicly committed to the American
people that he would work for a lasting and durable settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict based upon America’s founding commitment to
the principles of democracy and self determination,” stated Hamparian.

SYRIA REBELS EXECUTE 450 WOMEN AND CHILDREN

09:29 06.08.13

Terrorists and militants of the extremist groups “Dzhebhat-en-Nusra”
and “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” who are fighting against
the Syrain army attempting to overthrow the president have committed
a new massacre in the north of Syria, Russia Today reported.

According to the Iranian TV channel “Al-Alam”, 450 Kurdish hostages
were executed by the “rebels” including 120 children, 330 women
and elderly.

The massacre took place on the border with Turkey in the city of
Tel Abyad.

The report did not specify when the massacre had been carried out
but it did say that all of the victims were members of the families
of soldiers belonging to the “Kurdish Brigades,” who had previously
been part of the so-called Free Syria Army, but later defected to
the Kurdish Self-Defense Forces.

Official sources have not confirmed the information being reported
by the Iranian TV channel.

According to the news portal Surya al-Ain, Al-Qaeda linked terrorists,
the same ones fighting against Bashar Al-Assad and backed by the West,
executed the prisoners as “revenge on the Kurds, for defeats inflicted
on them in recent weeks.”

Armenian News – Tert.am

HRAPARAK: ARMENIA’S DIPLOMATIC CORPS TO FACE MAJOR CHANGES

10:44 06.08.13

The paper says it has learned from Foreign Ministry sources that big
reforms are being planned in the diplomatic corps.

Mutual and active ties can hardly be a justification behind having
an Armenian embassy to Indonesia, the paper says, adding that people
familiar with delicate diplomatic matters explain the fact by the
personal ambitions and desires of certain figures representing the
wealthy class. Citing a source of the Foreign Ministry, the paper
says that only the diplomatic missions to the former Soviet republic
will remain unaffected by the expected changes. As for the embassies
accredited to European states, they are in store of big reshufflings,
adds the paper.

Armenian Ambassador to US Tatul Margaryan, who is reportedly the
brother of Armen Movsisyan, the energy minister, is going to be
replaced after eight years of service, says the paper.

“The Law on Diplomatic Service does not allow ambassadors to serve
endlessly in the same mission so they are replaced according to
the rotation principle and returned to their home country. It is
a different matter that the rule does not apply to everybody and
in any period. Margaryan has apparently surpassed all the limits so
he is now forced to return,” the paper says, noting that that before
being appointed an ambassador, the diplomat served as a deputy foreign
minister for about five years.

Armenian News – Tert.am

SENIOR US HOUSE MEMBERS SUPPORT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TRUTH & JUSTICE RESOLUTION – ANCA

11:14 06.08.13

Senior Congressional leaders serving on key foreign policy and
appropriations panels have lent their support to a groundbreaking
human rights measure that seeks improved Armenian-Turkish ties based
upon Turkey’s acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide and a just
international resolution of this still unpunished crime, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Among the top House Committee leaders supporting H.Res.227, the
Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution are: Representatives
Eliot Engel (D-NY), the Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs
Committee; Scott Garrett (R-NJ), the Chairman of the Financial Markets
Subcommittee on Capital Markets; Rush Holt (D-NJ), the Ranking Member
of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy; Steve Israel (D-NY),
the Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; Nita
Lowey (D-NY), the Ranking Member on the Appropriations Committee;
Grace Napolitano (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Water and Power; Devin Nunes (R-CA), the Chairman of
the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade; Janice Schakowsky (D-IL),
the Chief Deputy Whip; Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), the Vice Ranking Member
on the Budget Committee, Brad Sherman (D-CA), the Ranking Member on
the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, John Tierney (D-MA),
the Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee
on National Security; Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the Ranking Member on
the Budget Committee, and; Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Ranking Member
of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Introduced and spearheaded by Congressmen David Valadao (R-CA), Adam
Schiff (D-CA), Michael Grimm (R-NY) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) in May
of this year, the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution
reflects and reinforces previous US affirmation of the Armenian
Genocide as a crime of genocide, citing the US Government’s May
28, 1951 written statement to the International Court of Justice
regarding the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime
of Genocide, President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981 Proclamation
and Congressional adoption of Armenian Genocide legislation in 1975
and 1984. H.Res.227 builds on the record of past U.S. Executive
and Legislative branch affirmation of this crime, and calls on “the
President to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable
Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full
acknowledgment of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian
Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution
of this crime against humanity.”

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian discussed the very real, modern
day consequences of Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide – and
international community inaction in the face of that denial. “Turkey’s
obstruction of justice has, over the course of nearly a century,
allowed Ankara to consolidate its hold on the genocidal gains of its
crimes against the Armenian people, blocking the return to the Armenian
nation of key elements-indispensable elements-of viability that long
sustained the Armenian people on their ancient homeland,” explained
Hamparian, in a May 9th op/ed. “This denial poisons Armenian-Turkish
relations, fosters wave after wave of anti-Armenian intolerance within
Turkey, threatens Armenia’s and Artsakh’s security, and, of course,
fuels regional tensions.”

Prominent supporters of this bipartisan measure also include the two
Members of Congress of Armenian heritage, Congresswomen Anna Eshoo
(D-CA), the Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on
Communications and Technology; Jackie Speier (D-CA), the Ranking Member
of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy Policy,
Health Care and Entitlements; Tim Bishop (D-NY), the Ranking Member of
the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources
and Environment, and; Jim McGovern (D-MA), the Co-Chair of the Tom
Lantos Human Rights Commission, and Representatives Gus Bilirakis
(R-FL), Bruce Braley (D-IA), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Tony Cardenas
(D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA) , David Cicilline (D-RI), Chris Collins (R-NY),
Jim Costa (D-CA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Janice Hahn
(D-CA), James Langevin (D-RI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY),
Gary Peters (D-MI) , John Sarbanes (D-MD), and Dina Titus (D-NV).

Armenian News – Tert.am

DOUBLE DIFFICULTES : LES FEMMES HANDICAPEES EN ARMENIE SONT CONFRONTEES A DES PROCÈS SUPPLEMENTAIRES DANS UNE SOCIETE DESOBLIGEANTE

ARMENIE

Le coup de sifflet de la bouilloire bouillante appelle Seda a la
cuisine. D’une main elle met les feuilles de the, verse de l’eau
chaude avec l’autre et les coupes vitreuses se peignent en brun.

“Mes parents sont morts il y a quelques annees. J’aurais voulu avoir
une propre famille, des enfants ” dit Seda âgee de 65 ans (son nom a
ete change a sa demande). ” J’ai grandi avec des complexes, et mes
parents ont eu leur part de faute. Plutôt que de m’encourager, ils
n’ont pas arrete de me casser toute ma vie – je boite, je suis laide,
pas digne de rien, une education scolaire qui s’est arretee a huit ans,
qui m’epouserait ? ” questionne la femme avec amertume.

Seda travaille comme femme de menage dans un magasin d’Erevan, avec
un salaire mensuel de 40 000 drams (100 $). Elle dit que les femmes
handicapees sont plus vulnerables que les hommes handicapees dans
la societe, font face continuellement a des problèmes physiques,
sociaux et psychologiques.

“Je me sens comme une personne de second ordre, jamais eu besoin de
personne, n’a jamais eu de bonheur comme une femme, meme quand on
m’embauche on regarde ma jambe boiteuse et pense que je ne peux etre
d’aucune utilite “, dit-elle.

Seda est l’une des 87 420 femmes handicapees en Armenie, qui
representent 47 pour cent des personnes handicapees (ici le nombre
total est de 186 384).

Zaruhi Batoyan de l’ONG pour defendre les droits des handicapes ” le
pont de l’espoir ” explique dans une societe que l’image d’une femme
generalement ne correspond pas a l’image d’une femme avec un handicap.

“De ce point de vue dogmatique une fille ou une femme deficience
physique n’est pas attractive, pas sexy, ne peut pas se marier,
etre une bonne epouse et une mère, et cela aggrave l’attitude de sa
famille vis-a-vis d’elle “, dit Zaruhi Batoyan.

Christine Aghayan, psychologue au centre Agat de Gyumri pour les
femmes ayant des besoins speciaux, affirme que la fausse idee que le
handicap est une maladie est solidement ancree dans l’esprit des gens.

” Nous avons organise des enquetes dans les rues de Gyumri si une
fille avec un handicap pouvait se marier ou non. Certains ont dit
oui, d’autres ont dit qu’ils ne savaient pas, d’autres ont dit ”
bien sûr que non, elle peut seulement se nuire a elle-meme “. Il est
très difficile de briser la mentalite dogmatique, mais il est un fait
indeniable que tout le monde a le droit au bonheur personnel, a la
maternite et a une famille. Mais en tout cas, une femme handicapee
eprouve un conflit interieur sur la facon dont la societe estime sa
decision eventuelle de devenir mère ” dit-elle.

Zaruhi Batoyan estime que le problème ne peut pas etre resolu par des
projets au niveau de l’Etat et des projets sociaux, qui ne reflètent
pas les besoins de ces femmes. Aucun des nombreux documents sur
les droits des femmes ne fait reference aux femmes handicapees et a
leurs problèmes.

L’Armenie a adhere a la Convention internationale sur les droits des
personnes handicapees en 2006, dans laquelle une attention particulière
est accordee aux femmes handicapees. Les personnes en charge de cette
sphère affirment qu’ils mettent en ~uvre une politique du handicap
sur la base du modèle social, ce qui implique la protection des droits
des personnes handicapees et la creation de conditions egales pour eux.

La loi sur la protection sociale des personnes handicapees a ete
adoptee en 1993 en Armenie. Depuis 2009, un nouveau projet de loi
type est en cours d’elaboration. Anna Hakobyan, specialiste senior
au departement du handicap et des problèmes des personnes âgees
au ministère du travail et des affaires sociales, a declare que le
nouveau projet de loi considère le handicap comme une combinaison
de la personne et de l’environnement, et non comme une maladie,
comme autrefois.

Les ONG de defense des droits des personnes handicapees soulignent
le manque d’infrastructures dans l’environnement pour les rendre
accessible aussi aux personnes ayant des besoins speciaux, et dans
le cas des femmes cela provoque des difficultes importantes.

” Meme avec des installations sanitaires (toilettes), s’il y a des
hommes et des femmes handicapees dans la region qui n’ont pas accès
aux personnes handicapees, il est plus difficile pour les femmes que
les hommes de prendre en charge leurs besoins, tout simplement en
raison de leurs differences physiologiques. Les services de sante,
les cliniques ne sont pas accessibles aux femmes ayant des besoins
particuliers “, explique Zaruhi Batoyan.

Selon elle, la politique inclusive est un processus de developpement,
en veillant a l’accessibilite des services et des projets pour les
personnes ayant des besoins les plus divers il s’agit d’une situation
gagnant-gagnant pour tous, parce qu’ils parviennent a etre membres
d’une societe commune. Les ONG impliquees dans ce domaine vont essayer
de faire des suggestions qui contiennent une clause specifique sur
les femmes handicapees dans le nouveau projet de loi.

La psychologue Christine Aghayan dit que le pays rejoint diverses
conventions, adopte des lois, mais la realite a un visage different.

” Les femmes handicapees continuent de rencontrer des obstacles, a la
fois physique et social. Leurs droits ne sont pas pleinement proteges
en Armenie. En ce qui concerne les questions de maternite et de sante
genesique, ceux-ci sont rarement exprime, meme au niveau de l’Etat
” dit-elle.

Zaruhi Hakobyan dit que tout en travaillant sur le projet de loi,
elle a rencontre des gens de divers ministères et explique quels
changements sont necessaires : ” Malheureusement, nous avons manque
certaines choses, certaines dispositions sont absentes en depit de nos
efforts, mais rien n’est encore perdu, nous avons adopte ce chemin
et nous serons capables de changer beaucoup de choses. Le rôle de
chacun d’entre nous sera grand, quand la societe apprendra a changer
son point de vue sur les personnes handicapees, nous serons en mesure
d’apporter des changements profonds dans les politiques “.

Par Gayane Lazarian

ArmeniaNow

mardi 6 août 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

TURQUIE : UN “CODE RACIAL SECRET” POUR LES ARMENIENS

Fait-religieux.com, France
5 août 2013

La redaction | le 05.08.2013 a 11:40

En Turquie, le ministère de l’interieur a confirme le 4 août
l’existence de ” codes secrets ” pour les minorites ethniques
et religieuses, tels que les Armeniens, codes 2, majoritairement
chretiens dans un pays musulman. La revelation par un hebdomadaire
de leur existence, qui daterait de 1923 et de la fondation de la
Republique turque, avait declenche une polemique trois jours plus tôt.

La mère d’un enfant d’origine armenienne souhaitait inscrire son
enfant dans une ecole maternelle armenienne. L’ecole lui a demande de
prouver qu’elle avait le ” code 2 ” afin de verifier qu’elle n’avait
pas change de religion. D’après un document officiel du ministère
de l’education, publie par le magazine Agos, ” depuis 1923, les
certificats d’immatriculation d’identite ont un code racial secret “.

Ceci ” pour permettre aux groupes minoritaires de se servir de leurs
droits decoulant du Traite de Lausanne “, signe entre la Turquie et les
pays occidentaux, qui a conduit a la creation de la Republique turque
moderne, d’après un fonctionnaire turc. Dans la pratique, les Grecs ont
ete codes 1, les Armeniens 2 et les juifs 3. Les autres minorites ou
groupes n’ont pas recu de codes. Des deputes des partis de l’opposition
ont durement critique le document en question. ” Si cela est vrai,
c’est une erreur fatale. Cela doit etre examine. Je vais apporter cette
question a l’ordre du jour du parlement “, a declare Sezgin Tanrikulu,
chef adjoint du principal parti d’opposition au journal Hurriyet.