Author: Kalantarian Kevo

PATRICK DEVEDJIAN LARGEMENT EN TETE AU PREMIER TOUR
Ara

armenews.com
lundi 10 decembre 2012

Dans les elections de la 13e circonscription des Hauts-de-Seine dont
le premier tour s’est deroule hier Patrick Devedjian, est arrive en
tete avec 49,82% des voix face au chevènementiste Julien Landfried,
candidat de la majorite presidentielle qui a obtenu 32,52 %.

Le taux de participation est deux fois moins important qu’en juillet
(36,7% contre 63,54%). “Nous avons eu un premier tour excellent,
au-dela de ce que j’esperais, mais ne faisons pas de triomphalisme”,
a declare le president du conseil general des Hauts-de-Seine. Il s’est
felicite que ” l’agacement evident des electeurs de droite contre
l’UMP ne s’est pas transforme en demobilisation. C’est un message
national envoye au gouvernement alors qu’a gauche, la demobilisation
etait manifeste. ”

Ce premier tour avait ete pollue, a la marge, par les manipulations
communautaristes d’un site nationaliste turc, qui avait appele les
Francais d’origine turque a faire battre Devedjian, du fait de ses
engagements en faveur de la reconnaissance du genocide armenien
et de la penalisation de sa repression. Une manoeuvre denoncee par
son principal concurrent dans une lettre adressee a armenews.com (
?id_article=85112)

lundi 10 decembre 2012, Ara ©armenews.com

UN CINEASTE ARMENIEN DE SYRIE LIBERE
Stephane

armenews.com
lundi 10 decembre 2012

Le cineaste Avo Kaprealian, qui a ete detenu par les autorites
syriennes, a ete libere, selon la page Facebook creee par ses amis.

Avo Kaprealian a ete vu la dernière fois avec deux de ses collègues
avec un appareil photo dans un parc public a Alep. Il travaillait sur
un nouveau film sur la crise humanitaire causee par le conflit syrien.

Avo Kaprealian est ne a Alep en 1985. Il a etudie a l’Ecole primaire
armenienne Haigazian, puis au Collège armenien Jeppe Karen. Il est
diplôme de l’Universite de Damas avec un diplôme en theâtre et cinema,
et a travaille dans diverses productions cinematographiques il y a
quelques annees, avant de revenir a Alep et d’enseigner le theâtre
et l’art a l’Institut d’Akkad. Il a dirige le club du premier cinema
public dans la ville avec un groupe d’amis, et a ete reconnu comme
l’un des cineastes les plus remarquables de la nouvelle vague de
jeunes artistes en Syrie.

Avo Kaprealian a participe au 9ème festival du Golden Apricot d’Erevan
en juillet dernier avec son court metrage ” Two Steps Too Close “, qui
etait consacre au legendaire realisateur armenien Ardavazt Peleshian.

Les films de Kaprealian ont toujours aborde des questions humanitaires
; son dernier film, sur les personnes handicapees a Alep, n’a pas ete
projete en public en raison des problèmes qui ont touche la ville,
surtout au cours des quatre derniers mois.

lundi 10 decembre 2012, Stephane ©armenews.com

APPEL DE PRISON DU JOURNALISTE MUSTAFA BALBAY : ” NON a L’INJUSTICE EN TURQUIE ”
Jean Eckian

04.12.2012 –

Mes très chers confrères,

Je suis aujourd’hui détenu depuis quatre ans dans la maison
d’arrêt d’Istanbul-Silivri, officiellement qualifiée de ” camp
de concentration ”, en raison de mes activités journalistiques. Le
tribunal chargé de mon procès s’occupe uniquement des détenus de
cette maison d’arrêt.

La Turquie tend a ne plus être un Etat de droit. La justice se
définit désormais comme un instrument de vengeance politique. Le
procès dit d’ ” Ergenekon ”, ayant lieu a Silivri, en est l’exemple
le plus probant.

Les opposants ont été accusés a tort de conspirer contre l’Etat
et ont été emprisonnés.

C’est dans ce contexte que je me suis présenté aux élections
législatives de juin 2011 et que j’ai été élu député au sein
du CHP, parti principal d’opposition turque. Malgré mon statut
de député qui est sensé m’accorder l’immunité, le pouvoir en
place a ordonné mon jugement, décidant ainsi de mon maintien
en détention. Le procès du 13 décembre sera le théâtre d’une
limitation formelle des droits de la défense, d’une non considération
des preuves, et par conséquent d’une altération du jugement rendu.

Huit députés, près de cent journalistes, près de mille étudiants,
des milliers d’individus appartenant a diverses catégories
socio-professionnelles sont détenus car ils adoptent simplement une
attitude et des idéaux contraires a ceux prônés par le gouvernement
en place.

Nous vous appelons a réagir au procès d’Ergenekon du 13 décembre
prochain, en scandant, sur toutes les plate-formes et réseaux sociaux,
” non a l’injustice en Turquie ”

Mustafa Balbay, Maison d’arrêt Silivri

Le journaliste Mustafa Balbay est détenu depuis mars 2011. Il sera
jugé le 13 décembre, le même jour que Pınar Selek.

Sa lettre manuscrite

lundi 10 décembre 2012, Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

FRANCE AND TURKEY: NEW HORIZONS FOR A LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIP

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 11 2012

LAURENT FABIUS

Send to friend ” Share on linkedinThe president of the French
Republic has marked France’s will to establish a “stable and trusting
relationship” with Turkey. In preparation for his forthcoming visit
to Turkey, I would like to encourage us here and now to drive forward
our bilateral relations.

We often find that little is known about the importance of our
economic and trade relations. Who today knows that Turkey is our
12th customer worldwide, and our fifth largest market outside the
EU and Switzerland, well ahead of emerging countries such as Brazil
and India? In recent years, our trade has flourished with exports to
Turkey having increased by two and a half times in just 10 years.

France has an impressive network of 10 world-class, French-speaking
establishments in Turkey. In the scientific field, we conduct joint
world-class projects every year on the Programme Bosphore.

As NATO allies, France and Turkey take part in joint missions. Our
relationship offers all the more opportunities to work together,
since Turkish foreign policy has largely broadened its horizons this
last decade.

The Arab Spring has challenged some well-rooted principles and views.

The people have rallied and shown that the aspiration for freedom
and justice is universal. France and Turkey have acknowledged this
sea change by providing their support for the legitimate aspirations
of the Arab peoples and supporting their move towards democratic,
pluralistic institutions. Today our two countries are among the most
active in seeking a resolution to the Syrian conflict, increasing
the pressure on Bashar al-Assad’s regime for him to stand down.

I would like to tell the Turkish people how much I appreciate the huge
efforts made by their country to receive Syrian refugees on their soil.

When President Francois Hollande took office, he wasted no time in
stepping up high-level meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. My government is keen to develop our
relations with Turkey.

The European Union needs a strong Turkey with a sound, buoyant economy,
just as Turkey needs the European Union, which represents nearly 50
percent of its foreign trade.

With the adoption of the “Positive Agenda” and the prospect of visa
liberalization, we have a certain number of tools on the table. We
are set to take the negotiations forward on Turkey’s accession in
good faith, considering the past commitments without anticipating
the future in all its details. Since the protection of individual
and collective freedoms is a pillar of the European project, human
rights and civil liberties need to be promoted further. I subscribe,
in this regard, to President Gul’s words when he said that Turkey’s
relations with its Western allies are not just a foreign and security
issue but are based on common values which, he concluded, should lead
Turkey to continue down the reform road.

The question of the Armenian genocide is a sensitive and difficult
subject that has all too often cast a shadow over our bilateral
relations. In Turkey, many criticize France for embracing the “Armenian
theses.” In France, many feel that Turkey is trying to minimize, if
not deny the tragedy that befell the ancestors of our compatriots of
Armenian origin. Things are changing. My colleague Ahmet Davutoglu
has made encouraging statements. I quote, “The Armenians have before
them someone who is listening. This foreign minister does not claim
that nothing happened in 1915.”

For myself, I am not unaware of Turkey’s share of suffering during the
gradual dismantlement of the Ottoman Empire, with its succession of
massacres and exoduses. However, I do believe that the disappearance of
the Armenian civilization from Anatolian soil warrants some thinking on
Turkey’s part as to what is needed to heal the wounds opened in 1915.

I hope that one day soon, we can achieve a calm, fair reading of
history. In the meantime, we should try to learn to live with respect
for the diversity of the legacies of which we are the guardians.

We have a great deal to do and to develop in all sectors of our
cooperation, in the cultural and scientific areas, in internal
security, in justice, in agriculture, and in business, in particular
to encourage French businesses to work with the Turkish market and
to encourage Turkish firms to invest in France.

The progress made in these areas, and the progress ongoing, means
that today we can look forward to our future relations with optimism
and ambition. I welcome this progress and will personally work on
further developments with strength and conviction.

* Laurent Fabius is the minister of foreign affairs of the French
Republic. This abridged article was originally published in the Fall
2012 issue of Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ).

December/11/2012

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS SHOULD SUBMIT DOCUMENTS FOR REGISTRATION TILL JANUARY 4

Mediamax News Agency
Dec 10 2012
Armenia

Yerevan. December 10. /Mediamax/. The Central Electoral Commission
(CEC) endorsed the schedule of events for the preparation to holding
presidential elections in Armenia on February 18, 2013.

The presidential contenders should submit their documents for
registration to CEC in the period between December 25 and January
4, 2013.

Candidates will be registered on January 4-14, 2013.

The schedule and the order of allocating free and paid airtime for
presidential candidates on Public Radio and Public TV will be approved
on January 15.

The candidates have to submit an income and property declarations to
CEC by January 19.

The declarations will be published on the official website of CEC by
January 22.

ARMENIAN CLERGYMAN SPEAKS OF HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION IN ARMENIA’S PENITENTIARIES

tert.am
10.12.12

The celibate priest Ruben Zakaryan, who has lately visited a number
of penitentiaries in Armenia, shared his impressions at a discussion
the Civilitas Foundation organized on the occasion of Human Rights Day.

The human rights situation in Armenia’s penitentiaries is the same
as in the others areas of the country’s life, he said.

“Human rights protection largely involves society’s way of thinking.

As long as such principles as ‘where strength is there right is’ and
‘who pays enjoys the right’ dominate our thinking, we are going to
have numerous problems in human rights protection and slow progress,”
the clergyman said.

Human rights in Armenia’s penitentiaries should be considered in the
context of the country’s entire justice system.

“As long as we continue viewing the court as a punitive organ –
like it was in Soviet times – our courts will continue this policy,”
Zakaryan said.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT OBJECTS TO 2 POINTS IN ARF-D’S 7-POINT PROGRAM

tert.am
10.12.12

Hrant Margaryan, a Bureau member, Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D), informed yerkir.am that, on December 8,
he, as well as Armen Rustamyan, a member of the ARF-D Supreme Body,
held a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

Armenia’s president objected to the points on a switchover to
parliamentary system and Armenian-Turkish protocols.

“The president noted that he was right in the case of the
Armenian-Turkish protocols. As regards the parliamentary system, he
said it was not changing the government system that was the problem,”
Mr Margaryan said.

Considering the above, he believes the “consensus without the
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)” will remain in force.

VOTE 2013: TSARUKYAN-SARGSYAN REPORTEDLY MEET; PAP ANNOUNCEMENT SLATED FOR LATER THIS WEEK

News | 10.12.12 | 13:34

By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

Prior to the campaigns for president, the main focus of attention in
Armenia has been the long-anticipated and largely-speculated-upon
statement that the leader of the second biggest political force is
about to make. But before Gagik Tsarukyan would state his position in
the February elections, the Prosperous Armenia chairman reportedly met
the country leader upon return from his controversial visit to Europe.

According to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, “alternative” party leader
Tsarukyan and President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting on Saturday at
the presidential residence, during which they discussed issues related
to the February 18 presidential elections.

Presidential spokesman Armen Arzumanyan in his interview to RFE/RL in
fact did not deny the news about the Tsarukyan-Sargsyan meeting and
said that “every day the president has numerous working meetings which
do not get publicized”. Tsarukyan’s spokesperson Iveta Tonoyan, on the
other hand, said she does not possess any information on an official
meeting.

Tsarukyan’s statement that would shed light on his party’s position –
whether it’ll support the incumbent president’s candidacy or have its
own candidate – has been delayed for weeks now and is promised to be
made by the end of this week.

Meanwhile Tsarukyan led his team to Brussels last week, where he made
election-related comments qualified by the ruling Republicans as
“shameful” for the sharp criticism they contained against Sargsyan’s
administration.

PAP has released a preliminary statement, saying that during his visit
with European parliamentarians Tsarukyan criticized the current
authorities for the failure to fight corruption, saying that there
should be no expectation of curtailing corruption in Armenia so long
as the country itself was led by corrupt authorities. Later, however,
the party’s official press release summing up the visit, gave a
different formulation, saying that “Gagik Tsarukyan expressed his
concerns over the mechanisms and effectiveness of the anti-corruption
fight”.

Saturday the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun
Bureau member Hrant Margaryan and ARF Supreme Board member Armen
Rustamyan, too, had a meeting and a long discussion with Sargsyan
about ARF’s seven-point platform aimed at totally reforming and making
healthier the state-public and political life in Armenia. ARF press
secretary reports that the meeting concluded with an agreement to
continue the consultations.

As of Monday noon, the oppositional Armenian National Congress refused
to comment on these meetings, saying they are “busy preparing for the
march on the occasion of Human Rights Day” (December 10).

HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMENIA VIOLATED IN LABOR SPHERE MORE OFTEN- EXPERT

YEREVAN, December 10. /ARKA/. Violations of the human rights in Armenia
are more often reported in the sphere of labor, Avetik Ishkhanyan,
the chairman of Armenian Helsinki Committee, told reporters on Monday.

“The issues in this sphere are pretty serious. First of all, they
arise as there are no labor unions in our country,” he said at the
press conference dedicated to International Human Rights Day.

Judiciary branch is also challenged by a number of human rights
infringements, according to him.

“In our republic, the judicial system is dependent on the authorities,”
Ishkhanyan implies.

On his side, Edmon Marukyan, a National Assembly deputy, said human
rights are violated in Armenia due to lack of the mechanisms for
protection.

He also added that over the recent years, the state structures have
started working more transparently.

In 1948, December 10, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights. Since then, International Human Rights
Day is celebrated on December 10. -0-

AZERI DRONES REPORTEDLY SPOTTED OVER IRAN, KARABAKH BORDER

December 10, 2012 – 16:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Israeli-Azeri drones were reportedly spotted flying
over Iran and Nagorno Karabakh’s common border on a “spy mission”.

According to Iran’s Press TV, Azerbaijan has been enlisting the help of
“Israeli military advisors” in order to improve its drone capabilities.

The report said that Baku “has been using Orbiter ultra-light drones
assembled with the help of Israeli experts to carry out operations
along the border with Karabakh.”

Press TV quoted Iranian military experts as saying that Azerbaijan
uses Elbit Systems’ Hermes-450 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for
control and surveillance missions.

The experts said “Israeli satellites are closely cooperating with
Azeri drones, though they have a long way to go before reaching the
ideal level.”