RAFFI HOVANNISIAN MEETS AMBASSADORS
16:11, February 22, 2013
Today Raffi K. Hovannisian has taken part in separate meetings with US
Ambassador John Heffern and later with Head of OSCE/ODIHR Observation
Mission to Armenia, Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini.
Hovannisian and the ambassadors discussed issues relevant to the new
state of affairs in post-election Armenia.
AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES FIRED TOWARDS AYGEPAR AND MOVSES VILLAGES
11:55, 22 February, 2013
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces keep
violating the ceasefire regime and breaking the peace of the Tavush
Province people. In a conversation with “Armenpress” the Head of the
Aygepar Community Andranik Aydinyan stated that they heard shooting
on February 21, which damaged the roofs of the houses, garages,
and streets.
The situation was also intense in the village of Movses. The Head
of the Movses Community Ararat Avalyan underscored that they heard
shooting in the evening at 19:00-22:20. The rival caused material
damage in this village too.
The Spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia
Artsrun Hovhannisyan stated that the situation is under the strict
control of the Armenian side and the appropriate response has been
organized to silence the rival. Fortunately no human casualties have
been recorded. The villages suffered merely material damage.
HAYATSK: NEW POSITIONS AND RESHUFFLES IN CABINET
10:59 22/02/2013 ” DAILY PRESS
New positions will be set up soon in the cabinet. In particular,
the newly appointed Prime Minister will have three deputies, Hayatsk
daily says.
The paper’s sources say Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan will be
appointed First Deputy Prime Minister. Police chief Vladimir Gasparyan
will become Defense Minister. Armen Yeritsyan will be appointed
police chief. According to unspecified information, young member of
RPA Khachik Asryan will be appointed Minister of Emergency Situations.
Source: Panorama.am
RAFFI HOVHANNISIAN TO HOLD RALLY DESPITE MUNICIPALITY’S REFUSAL
TERT.AM
11:45 ~U 22.02.13
Yerevan Municipality has refused to authorize the February 23, 24 and
25 rallies of the Heritage party leader Raffi Hovhannisian slated for
3-7 pm in the Freedom Square, deputy leader of party Armen Martirosyan
told Tert.am.
Citing Constitution and a number of international conventions, Armen
Martirosyan said these rallies will be conducted.
“The Constitution gives us positive right to conduct peaceful rallies,
besides we have joined a number of conventions including the Human
Rights Protection Declaration which mentions the above mentioned right
as well as the corresponding resolution of PACE, and we find that the
peaceful demonstrations should not be impeded,” Armen Martirosyan said.
The municipality representative returned Martirosyan’s applications,
citing Article 12 of Armenian law on Freedom of Rallies which says
that it is necessary to aware about conduction of rallies not later
than 7 days before it and not earlier than 30 days.
“Naturally, we know about it, but as far as the law lays the
authorities on municipality in organizational respect and in this
short-term period rallies are not being regulated, we have applied
them as relevant body,” he said.
Martirosyan said in conditions of incompleteness of the law, they
allow themselves to get use of their Constitutional right.
LES PRIX DES MARCHANDISES NON-ALIMENTAIRES EN ARMENIE EN HAUSSE DE 0,5 POUR CENT EN NOVEMBRE 2012
La hausse des prix des marchandises non-alimentaires en novembre 2012
a ete de 0,5 % compare a octobre 2012 selon les donnees du Service
National de la Statistique d’Armenie qui a precise que la croissance
des prix de marchandises culturelles a ete de 0,5 %, des carpettes
(0,8 %), de l’electronique grand public (0,8 %), de la chaussure
(1,1 %), des carburants (1,2 %), des habits et du textile (1,3 %)
et des medicaments (2,2 %).
Simultanement les prix pour la cosmetique et les marchandises de
jardinage ont baisse de 0,5 % et 0,4 % respectivement, tandis que
les prix des detergents restent inchanges.
vendredi 22 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com
DES ONG UKRAINIENNES PREOCCUPEES PAR L’ACCROISSEMENT DES MENACES AZERIES D’UTILISATION DE LA FORCE CONTRE L’ARMENIE
L’ONG ” All-Ukrainian Narodna Rada ” qui reunit 4500 ONG ukrainiennes
a exhorte l’OSCE a prendre des mesures effectives pour empecher la
politique anti-armenienne de l’Azerbaïdjan. Plus tôt, le meme appel
a ete faite par l’ONG Civilian Union international.
” Recemment, des declarations provocatrices par les autorites de
Bakou, les medias azeris et des ONG sur l’ouverture et l’exploitation
de l’aeroport international de Stepanakert sont devenues plus
frequentes. Les declarations contiennent des menaces directes d’une
utilisation de la force pour reprimer les vols civils. Nous attirons
votre attention sur le fait que cela entre en conflit avec les normes
juridiques internationales et humanitaires ” dit la declaration.
” Nous soulignons que c’est le seul aeroport de la Republique
du Haut-Karabagh et que la reprise de ses operations poursuit
des objectifs purement civils et humanitaires et aura un impact
considerable sur le developpement social et economique ” precise
le communique.
vendredi 22 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com
TENTATIVES PAR DES GROUPES ULTRANATIONALISTES D’AGRESSER DES DEPUTES DU BDP A SINOP
Un groupe de jeunes ultranationalistes a tente d’attaquer des deputes
du parti kurde de la paix et de la democratie (BDP) dans la province
de Sinop près de la Mer Noire, où ils etaient arrives pour une reunion.
L’organisation de la jeunesse ultranationaliste connue comme Ulku
Ocaklarie est affilie au Parti du Mouvement Nationaliste (MHP).
Les deputes du BDP s’etaient rendus a Sinop dans le cadre des efforts
pour expliquer aux gens de la region de la mer Noire, les pourparlers
de paix, qui ont commence quand les politiciens ont entame des
negociations avec le leader emprisonne du Parti des travailleurs du
Kurdistan (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan.
La police a eu du mal a contrôler le groupe en colère, qui a scande
des slogans tels que ” Nous ne voulons pas du PKK a Sinop ” et ”
les martyrs ne meurent pas ;. La patrie ne peut pas etre divisee ”
Le groupe a casse des fenetres du bâtiment où se trouvait les deputes.
L’un des membres du groupe qu’il etait a l’interieur du bâtiment
a tente de penetrer dans la salle où les deputes du BDP s’etaient
reunis, mais il a ete arrete par des policiers. Les manifestants ont
egalement jete des pierres et des ~ufs sur les vehicules transportant
les deputes.
Quand les manifestants ont refuse de se disperser après plusieurs
heures, la police a utilise du gaz poivre et des gaz lacrymogènes
contre la foule. Le groupe a quitte les lieux par la suite.
De nombreux drapeaux turcs ont ete accroches sur les murs exterieurs
des appartements residentiels ainsi que des magasins avant l’arrivee
des deputes du BDP dans la province, un geste apparent pour protester
contre leur presence.
Le groupe Ulku Ocaklari a avance que les negociations sont entrepris
pour diviser la Turquie et les deputes ont ete qualifies de traîtres.
vendredi 22 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com
AZERBAIJANI MP: TURKISH PRESIDENT’S CONGRATULATIONS OF ARMENIAN COUNTERPART WAS HASTY
Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 21 2013
Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s congratulation of Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sargsyan over his re-election was a hasty decision, head of
the working group on inter-parliamentary relations between Azerbaijan
and Turkey, MP Nizami Jafarov said today.
“I think that it was a hasty decision,” he told Trend today. “Of
course, we can not interfere in Turkey’s internal affairs. Also, in
terms of what is best for Azerbaijan, Gul could congratulate Sargsyan
later or not congratulate him at all.”
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, he said.
“We can neither protest against this congratulation nor accept it,”
he said. “Turkey has made such gestures towards Armenia before. Of
course, Turkey is a large country. In this sense, certain gestures
were intended to help normalize relations with Armenia, and perhaps
to persuade Armenians to fall silent on the ‘genocide’ question”.”
The MP said that the situation is in fact different. It became clear
that Armenia will not back down.
Therefore, it would be better if Turkey held a tough position against
Armenia.
Earlier, Turkish President Abdullah Gul congratulated Serzh Sargsyan
on his re-election as the Armenian president.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey’s predecessor, the
Ottoman Empire committed genocide in 1915 against Armenians living in
Anadolu. Their efforts have achieved the recognition of the ‘Armenian
Genocide’ by the parliaments of several countries.
AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL SCIENTIST: GUL’S CONGRATULATION INSULTING FOR TURKEY
Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 21 2013
Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s congratulation to Serzh Sargsyan
on his re-election is insulting for Turkey, Azerbaijani political
scientist Vafa Guluzade believes.
“Serzh Sargsyan is Turkey’s enemy. He accuses Turkey of the so-called
“Armenian genocide” and makes territorial claims to the country. It
is not clear why Abdullah Gul decided to be one of the first to
congratulate Serzh Sargsyan on his re-election,” political scientist
told Trend on Thursday.
It is clear when Sargsyan congratulates Russian President Vladimir
Putin – Armenia is a province of Russia. However, congratulations from
President Gul to the president of the occupant country are impossible
to understand, he said.
“It is known that Sargsyan has rigged elections in Armenia and is an
enemy of democratic-minded people of the country. Does Gul support
dictatorship in Armenia, by sending his greetings?” Guluzade said,
noting that the mentioned congratulation may only be interpreted
this way.
Turkey’s President congratulated Serzh Sargsyan on his re-election
as the head of Armenia.
JUDGE DENIES NEW TRIAL IN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM DISPUTE
BLT: Legal Times
Feb 21 2013
More than a decade after efforts began to build a museum memorializing
the mass slaughter of Armenians during World War I, litigation over
the failure of those efforts has consumed everyone involved.
Yesterday, a Washington federal judge denied a motion for a new trial
in the dispute and ordered the plaintiffs to pay the defendants $1.4
million in fees and costs.
Minnesota philanthropist and businessman Gerard Cafesjian tangled for
years with museum trustees over who was to blame for the project’s
failure and what should happen to buildings Cafesjian donated to
house the museum. Following a bench trial, U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly found that the buildings should return to Cafesjian.
Yesterday, she denied the trustees’ motion for another trial.
Over the trustees’ objections, she also ordered them to pay Cafesjian
$1.4 million in fees and costs, a figure based on recommendations
from U.S. District Magistrate Judge Alan Kay. Cafesjian’s legal team
was led by Jones Day attorneys.
Cafesjian’s lead attorney, John Williams of Cozen O’Connor – who until
recently was with Jones Day – said today that the rulings moved his
client one step closer to making the museum a reality. “It’s been a
struggle, but we’re getting closer and closer to having clean title
in order to go ahead,” he said.
Lead counsel for the museum trustees, Eric Abraham of Hill Wallack
in Princeton, N.J., could not immediately be reached for comment today.
The trustees moved for a new trial after learning new information
about one of Cafesjian’s co-defendants, John Waters Jr. They claimed
that according to a lawsuit that Waters filed against Cafesjian in
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Cafesjian had agreed
to pay Waters $400,000 to $800,000 for any work he did to help secure
a positive outcome in the D.C. litigation. Waters didn’t disclose that
information in the Washington proceedings, and the trustees argued
that it undermined his credibility in a way that warranted a new trial.
But Kollar-Kotelly disagreed, writing that there was no concrete
evidence that Waters’ allegations were true – his Minnesota lawsuit
was still in the early stages – and, even if they were, she said any
revelations wouldn’t have changed the outcome. The judge wrote that
from the beginning, she knew that almost everyone involved in the
litigation, including Waters, was biased because they had a financial
stake or their reputation was on the line.
“If true, the fact that Cafesjian promised Waters $400,000 to $800,000
in the event Cafesjian was successful in the litigation is consistent
with the bias the Court (and the parties) knew Waters possessed when
he took the stand,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote.
The plaintiffs appealed Kollar-Kotelly’s initial decision entering
judgment for Cafesjian, but that appeal was put on hold while she
weighed the motion for a new trial. Yesterday’s decision likely means
that the appeal is active again.
On the issue of fees, Kollar-Kotelley rejected the trustees’ argument
that they shouldn’t have to reimburse Cafesjian and Waters, as former
museum board members, for fees incurred through the litigation. The
judge had previously found that Cafesjian and Waters didn’t breach
their fiduciary duties to the museum, meaning they were covered by
museum by-laws requiring indemnification for legal costs.
Kay sifted through the defendants’ request for $2.8 million in
legal fees and costs – less than the nearly $4 million they claimed
their attorneys logged on the case – and issued a report last April
recommending they receive $1.4 million.
In yesterday’s opinion, Kollar-Kotelly found that Kay came up with a
reasonable formula for calculating fees that took into account any
possible excessive billing. Under Kay’s guidelines, the plaintiffs
were on the hook for half of attorneys’ “blended” billing entries,
meaning general entries for work done as part of litigation, such as
writing briefs or participating in the trial.