Author: Kanayan Tamar

JOHN PRESCOTT SUSCITE LA POLEMIQUE
Laetitia

armenews.com
mercredi 18 janvier 2012

Le Congrès national armenien (HAK) a rejoint mardi 17 janvier 2012
d’autres groupes d’opposition pour critiquer un haut fonctionnaire du
Conseil de l’Assemblee parlementaire de l’Europe (APCE) qui observe
la situation politique armenienne.

John Prescott, une co-rapporteur de l’APCE, aurait fait l’eloge ”
des reformes democratiques ” dans le pays lors de sa rencontre avec
le president Serge Sarkissian et d’autres hauts fonctionnaires.

” Selon le co-rapporteur, des changements positifs sont evidents “,
a declare le bureau de presse de Sarkissian dans un communique.

Levon Zurabian, le coordinateur du HAK, a affirme que lui et d’autres
membres eminents de l’alliance de l’opposition pensent que l’evaluation
de Prescott n’est ” pas adequate “.

” Ils [les rapporteurs de l’APCE] viennent ici et tentent de verifier
la mise en ~uvre de reformes insignifiantes “, a declare Zurabian
a RFE / RL(Azatutyun.am). ” Cela n’a absolument rien a voir avec de
vrais processus democratiques. ”

Prescott a fait face a de sevères critiques venant des dirigeants
de la Federation de l’opposition revolutionnaire armenienne
(Dachnaktsoutioun) et du parti Zharangutyun (Heritage), après les
avoir rencontre lundi 16 janvier 2012. Ces derniers ont annonce que le
parlementaire britannique a rejete avec fermete leurs preoccupations
au sujet de la liberte et l’equite des prochaines elections
legislatives et au sujet de la situation politique generale. Un
leader Dachnaktsoutioun a suggere qu’il collabore secrètement avec
les autorites armeniennes.

Prescott a exhorte les autorites a tenir des elections veritablement
democratiques et a effectuer d’autres reformes politiques.

L’APCE a affirme que l’administration du president Serge Sarkissian
a largement surmonte les retombees politiques post-electorales de 2008.

Le HAK et le parti Zharangutyun ont vivement critique cette conclusion,
affirmant que les autorites n’ont pas reussi a enqueter correctement
sur la mort de dix personnes pendant les troubles.

Prescott a entendu des plaintes similaires lors d’une reunion avec
les parents des manifestants de l’opposition tues le 1er et le 2 mars
2008, lors des affrontements avec les forces de securite.

Les parents se demandent egalement pourquoi l’APCE a declare que ”
le chapitre sur les evenements de mars 2008 peut enfin etre considere
comme clos a l’Assemblee “.

Prescott a discute de l’enquete officielle sur les troubles avec le
Procureur general Aghvan Hovsepian et Karen Andreasian, mardi.

Le bureau d’Andreasian a declare que Prescott a evalue positivement
le processus des reformes democratiques en Armenie.

Prescott et Sarkissian ont discute des preparatifs pour les elections
parlementaires de mai 2012.

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS ISSUE STATEMENT ON HRANT DINK TRIAL

NEWS.am
January 17, 2012 | 15:06

Reporters Without Borders issued a statement on the end of the Hrant
Dink trail. The verdict will be probably passed on Tuesday.

“Whatever it decides, we do not expect a lot from this court. Five
years after Dink’s murder, this court has proved to be powerless to
shed light on all the complicity within the state apparatus and to
identify the masterminds. No one can regard this case as solved.

Elements within the police and judicial apparatus have been obstructing
the investigation up until the final moment. The end of this trial
will almost certainly confirm the failure of a judicial system that
did not give itself the resources it needed to get at the truth,”
the statement reads.

“There is only a faint hope that justice will finally be rendered
to Dink. Everything now depends on the desire and ability of the
prosecutor’s office to assemble enough evidence to open a new trial.

Countless aspects of this case still need to be clarified and a new
judicial investigation is absolutely essential. Together with Dink’s
family and colleagues, we hope the end of this sham trial will mark
a new start to the investigation and we will press for this with more
determination than ever.”

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN : HEUREUSEMENT IL Y A BADINTER !

Ouest-France

16 janvier 2012

Avec la precision, l’experience et l’autorite morale qui sont les
siennes, Robert Badinter vient de signer ce week-end, dans le journal
Le Monde date du 15 janvier, un long article contre la proposition
de loi votee par l’Assemblee nationale le 22 decembre 2011. Une
proposition de loi qui prevoit de punir d’un an d’emprisonnement et
de 45 000 euros d’amende ceux qui ” contestent ou minimisent de facon
outrancière un genocide reconnu comme tel par la loi francaise “.

Robert Badinter prend nettement position contre ce texte. ” Le
Parlement Francais n’a pas recu de la Constitution competence pour
dire l’histoire ” ecrit-il.

Photo : Franck Dubray Ouest France

En ajoutant, ” C’est aux historiens et a eux seuls qu’il appartient
de le faire “. Ancien president du Conseil Constitutionnel,
Robert Badinter ne minimise ni la douleur des Armeniens, ni les
responsabilites turques dans le genocide de 1915. Il a connu,
lui-meme, ” la douleur d’entendre denier la realite d’un genocide qui
a englouti vos proches les plus chers “. Mais il avant, un a un, les
arguments juridiques qui l’amènent a s’opposer a cette proposition de
loi. Notamment la nouveaute introduire en 2008 par la reforme de la
Constitution avec la possibilite, pour tout justiciable, de soulever
une question prioritaire de constitutionnalite. Or, cette possibilite
est tout a fait envisageable, car la loi reconnaissant le genocide
armenien, de 2001, est selon lui entachee d’inconstitutionnalite et n’a
jamais, d’ailleurs, ete deferee au Conseil constitutionnel. Dès lors,
cette question serait inevitablement soulevee dès lors qu’entrerait
en vigueur la nouvelle loi. En outre, la reference a ” l’incitation a
la haine “, cruciale, est absente du texte en discussion au Parlement.

Plus diplomatiquement et pour revenir, avec sensibilite, au fond
des choses, Robert Badinter prône la creation, par l’Unesco, d’une
commission composee d’historiens de renom international, a l’initiative
de la France.

Pendant ce temps, après que l’UMP ait fait voter l’Assemblee sur cette
proposition de loi, le PS a hâte de la voter au Senat, a en croire
son president de groupe… Drôle d’union nationale… Le texte sera
soumis aux Senateurs le 23 janvier prochain.

FRENCH SENATE`S EUROPEAN DEMOCRAT AND SOCIAL RALLY TO VOTE AGAINST BILL ON “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

AzerTac
Jan 15 2012
Azerbaijan

According to Agence France-Presse, European Democrat and Social
Rally (RDSE) of the French Parliament will vote against a bill of the
Lower Chamber of the French parliament on criminalizing denial of the
so-called Armenian genocide Baku, January 14 (AzerTAc). According to
Agence France-Presse, European Democrat and Social Rally (RDSE) of
the French Parliament will vote against a bill of the Lower Chamber
of the French parliament on criminalizing denial of the so-called
Armenian genocide.

Sixteen senators representing the Rally have an opinion that the
legislative body should not be involved in such disputes.

RUSSIA TO USE CAUCASUS DRILLS TO PREPARE FOR INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS

Russia Today

Jan 16 2012

The Ministry of Defense has started preparations for one of the
biggest military exercises of the year, the “Caucasus-2012” drills.

The exercises are taking place in Southern Russia, Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and Armenia in September 2012.

One purpose of the large-scale drills this year is to prepare the
Russian military for a possible armed conflict between the US and
Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.

“It would be a good demonstration of new Russian military power,”
Viktor Mizin from the Institute of Strategic Assessment told RT. “We
will show that Russia has undergone a revival of its military power,
and is now becoming not only a major economic and political player,
but also a major global military player.”

OSCE TO FOCUS ON UNRESOLVED CONFLICTS IN GEORGIA
By Ernest Petrosyan

The Messenger

Jan 16 2012
Georgia

Ireland will advance on so-called protracted conflicts existing in
OSCE space, involving Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova, which
remain unresolved some two decades after they first erupted in war –
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland and Vice Prime Minister Eamon
Gilmore has said, laying out his priorities for Ireland’s year as
Chairman of the 56-nation OSCE at its headquarters in Vienna.

Gilmore, the new OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, said, while emphasizing
his country’s chairmanship priorities, that Ireland would “seek
ways in which progress can be made towards lasting settlements of
a number of conflicts in the OSCE area”, including to the conflicts
“in Georgia regarding the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia”.

“The situation in Georgia is a matter of particular concern,” said
Gilmore, adding that Ireland strongly supports the Geneva discussions
– Russian-Georgian talks launched after the August war and co-chaired
by the EU, OSCE and UN.

As Ireland succeeds Lithuania with OSCE chairmanship, Irish diplomat
Padraig Murphy will assume co-chair of the Geneva talks from OSCE,
the next and nineteenth round of which is scheduled for March 28-29.

In his address Gilmore also said that he would be determined to pursue
the OSCE principles and aims “in a balanced and pragmatic manner”.

He said that experience of achieving a lasting settlement in Northern
Ireland “may be of benefit in facilitating the efforts which are
needed to resolve outstanding conflicts in the OSCE region”.

According to him, among the Irish OSCE chairmanship’s top priorities
Gilmore also emphasized prioritizing the organization’s human
dimension, making a focus on human rights, media and internet freedom.

The OSCE monitoring mission to Georgia, including its field office,
had been involved in the Tskhinvali region conflict for sixteen
years until the 2008 August War. The mission was terminated after
OSCE member Russia blocked extension of the mission’s mandate in 2009.

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergi Kapanadze, OSCE priorities
will remain the same under Irish chairmanship. “One of the priorities
is to resume the OSCE mission in occupied regions [Abkhazia and
so-called South Ossetia]. The second priority for the following
year is human rights protection monitoring in occupied regions, and
active involvement in regards to the IDP issue. Last year we managed
to actualize the IDP topic in OSCE, which had been idle for decades,”
said Kapanadze.

According to Paata Gaprindashvili, Georgia’s permanent representative
to OSCE, Ireland will continue implementation of mechanisms which can
be conformable to an OSCE full-scale mission. The Georgian Ambassador
emphasizes the idea of an “assistant group” announced under Lithuanian
chairmanship.

“It will be a group comprised of several persons, which will work
in Vienna in a conflict prevention centre, and assist the OSCE
plenipotentiary representative in conflict issues. This group should
have the opportunity to travel in the regions [Abkhazia and Tskhinvali
region] and stay as much as is required,” said Gaprindashvili.

Indeed, no one has any illusion that Irish chairmanship will be able
to escape the deadlock and make progress in regards to the mission’s
return to occupied regions. In fact, from previous chair countries
neither Greece and Kazakhstan, nor Georgia’s ally Lithuania could
manage to return the monitoring mission, as the OSCE decision-making
process requires a consensus of all member states including Russia.

PRESIDENT OF NAGORNO KARABAKH RECEIVES ANDRZEJ KASPRZYK

ARMENPRESS
JANUARY 16, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS: President of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic Bako Sahakyan received today Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

NKR presidential press service told Armenpress that at the meeting the
interlocutors referred to issues on the situation at the contact line
of the Artsakh and Azerbaijani armed forces and latest developments.

GAGIK MINASYAN: AZERBAIJAN INTERESTED IN MAINTAINING SITUATION AT CONTACT LINE

Panorama.am
16/01/2012

“Interesting developments are registered recently on mechanisms for
investigating the incidents at the contact line. Several questions
arise simultaneously, and I think the OSCE management and OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries should focus on them,” member of RPA
parliamentary faction Gagik Minasyan told a Panorama.am reporter,
commenting upon Azerbaijan’s position on working out mechanisms for
investigating the incidents at the line of contact between Armenian
and Azerbaijani troops.

According to the parliamentarian, first, Azerbaijan once again takes a
step back from the commitment it assumed back in 2010 March, at the
tripartite presidential meeting in Sochi, initiated by the Russian
President.

“Unfortunately, such conduct is peculiar to official Baku. On the one
hand, Azerbaijan approves the Co-Chairs’ proposals in their presence,
on the other hand, breaks its promise,” Minasyan said.

According to him, the second important circumstance is that it is
not the first time that Azerbaijan’s viewpoint is opposed to the
viewpoints of members of such an authoritative organization as OSCE,
because only Azerbaijan was against increasing the funds for the
Office of the OSCE CiO Personal Representative.

“And, most importantly, the necessity of creating these mechanisms
is directly connected with human losses, and Azerbaijan shows that
human losses, including the deaths of Azerbaijani soldiers, are of
no importance to itself. The Armenian side expects the international
community to pay much attention to these circumstances, because it is
evident that Azerbaijan is interested in maintaining the situation
at the contact line and takes no significant step towards settling
the situation, which is not peculiar to the Armenian side, nor does
it correspond to the main mission of OSCE Minsk Group.”

We will remind that on December 22, 2011, the OSCE Permanent Council
approved the Unified Budget of the organization for 2012. Along with
this, the Permanent Council discussed a request to increase the
funding for the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office (CiO) to ensure sufficient resources to investigate
potential incidents at the line of contact between the armed forces
of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in pursuance of the agreements
of February 6, 1995 signed by the three parties to the conflict
(Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) through the mediation of
the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Conference.

The idea of increasing the funds for the Office of the CiO Personal
Representative was widely supported by the OSCE member-states. It is
symbolic that the idea was opposed only by the Azerbaijani delegation,
which explained its position by the fact that it could not approve
additional funding for the Office until a final agreement on the
details of the mechanism of the incidents’ investigation was achieved.

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told has reporters today that at
the Sochi meeting in 2011 March the sides had agreed to investigate
the incidents at the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani
troops, with the international community supporting the initiative.

However, so far the sides have failed to carry out the investigation.

Azerbaijan is to blame for it, the Minister said.

STREET ACTION IN PARIS: CCAF CALLS FOR DEMONSTRATION

Feature photoGalleryGenocideGenocide | 16.01.12 | 12:36

The Coordination Council of Armenian organizations in France (CCAF)
is organizing a demonstration ahead of next weeks vote in the French
Senate on whether to criminalize genocide denial.

Last month the French National Assembly’s supportive vote sent a bill
to the senate that – although not mentioning the Armenian Genocide
specifically – would make it punishable by law for any French subject
to claim that genocide never happened.

The senate is to vote January 23, starting deliberations at 2 p.m. in
Paris.

The Council has called the demonstration, in anticipation of there
also being a large pro-Turkey presence outside the senate.

“Encountering a propagandist campaign, in particular with hateful
accent, organized by powers against the bill and the fact that the
street will be occupied by those falsifying the history, we call on
the citizens, praising justice, to condemn denial, which kills the
victims for the second time and spreads hatred and fanaticism. We must
say no to denial, racism and xenophobia,” says the Council’s statement.

ARMENIAN-FRENCH ACTRESS ROSY VARTE DIES AT 88

PanARMENIAN.Net
January 16, 2012 – 15:49 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – French actress of Armenian decent Rosy Varte died
in the American Hospital in Paris on January 14, 2012.

She died following a bout of bronchitis, which degenerated into
a lung infection, according to her husband director Pierre Badel,
foreign media reported.

Rosy Varte (born Nevarte Manouelian in Istanbul, Turkey on November
22, 1923) acted in more than one hundred plays in several theatres
in Paris.

She appeared in 95 film and television shows since 1949. She starred
in the 1972 film The Bar at the Crossing, featured at 22nd Berlin
International Film Festival.