Author: Kanayan Tamar

LES ETATS-UNIS CONTINUERONT A AIDER FINANCIEREMENT L’ARMENIE EN 2012
Laetitia

armenews.com
mercredi 21 decembre 2011

Le Congres americain a maintenu l’aide economique americaine pour
l’Armenie. Elle restera inchangee et s’elève a 40 millions de dollars.

Le president Barack Obama souhaite continuer a financer des projets
humanitaires dans le Haut-Karabagh.

Selon l’Assemblee armenienne d’Amerique (AAA), la somme est fixee dans
un projet de loi qui a ete approuve par la Chambre des Representants
et le Senat au cours du week-end. L’administration Obama a demande
plus tôt cette annee l’allocation de l’aide pour l’Armenie.

” Tout au long du processus de credits, l’Assemblee a travaille avec
la Chambre et le Senat pour s’assurer que le financement de l’Armenie
soit maintenu “, a declare Bryan Ardouny, le directeur executif AAA.

Le communique souligne que l’aide americaine a l’ensemble des pays en
Europe, en Eurasie et en Asie centrale diminuera de 10% pour atteindre
626,7 millions de dollars en 2012.

Le Congrès americain a alloue plus de 1,7 milliard de dollars a
l’Armenie depuis 1992. L’argent a ete depense en aide humanitaire,
c’est-a-dire pour l’amelioration des infrastructures, pour la
fourniture d’equipements et pour d’autres projets administres par
l’Agence americaine pour le developpement international.

Le gouvernement armenien a aussi recu 177 millions de dollars en aide
distincte de la Societe americaine du millenaire (MCC) pour renover
les reseaux d’irrigation du pays.

Le Premier ministre, Tigran Sarkissian, a declare ensuite que son
gouvernement ” fera tout ” pour repondre aux preoccupations americaines
sur les droits humains et la gouvernance en Armenie et ainsi redevenir
admissibles a un financement du MCC.

Le projet de loi au Congrès engage aussi l’administration Obama a la
parite et a fournir une aide militaire a l’Armenie et a l’Azerbaïdjan.

Aucun chiffre n’est precise. L’armee armenienne devrait recevoir
environ 4 millions de dollars americains cette annee.

Les legislateurs americains ont recommande en outre de continuer
l’aide aux victimes du conflit du Nagorno-Karabagh.

” Nous allons continuer a aller de l’avant pour assurer une aide
robuste a cet egard “, a declare Ardouny de l’AAA.

PARIS ET ANKARA S’AFFRONTENT SUR L’ARMENIE
Par Assiya Hamza

Europe1

20 dec 2011

La proposition de loi penalisant la negation le genocide armenien
pourrait entraîner une crise.

Le torchon brûle entre Paris et Ankara. Alors que l’Assemblee nationale
doit etudier jeudi une proposition de loi condamnant la negation du
genocide armenien, la Turquie multiplie les menaces de represailles
diplomatiques et economiques.

“Il n’est pas question pour nous d’accepter cette proposition de
loi (…) qui denie le droit de rejeter des accusations infondees et
injustes contre notre pays et notre nation”, a reagi dans un communique
le chef de l’Etat turc, Abdullah Gul, en exhortant Paris a renoncer
a une loi “inacceptable”.

La proposition de loi de Valerie Boyer, cosignee par plus d’une
quarantaine de deputes de la majorite presidentielle, propose
de sanctionner d’un an de prison et de 45.000 euros d’amendes la
contestation des genocides reconnus par la loi. Le cas armenien serait
donc automatiquement concerne.

1,5 million de morts entre 1915 et 1917 Pour les Armeniens et une
vingtaine d’autres pays, l’Empire ottoman a orchestre de 1915 a 1917
un genocide qui a fait 1,5 million de morts.

Son existence est reconnu par la France depuis 2001.

La Turquie, elle, refuse de parler de genocide. Ankara admet bien
la mort de 500.000 personnes mais seulement en tant que victimes des
aleas de la Première guerre mondiale.

Deux delegations turques, l’une composee d’industriels, l’autre
de parlementaires, ont ete envoyees a Paris pour tenter d’empecher
un examen du texte de loi. Ces parlementaires ont rencontre mardi
Jean-David Levitte, conseiller diplomatique du president francais
Nicolas Sarkozy, puis le ministre des Affaires etrangères Alain Juppe.

Si le texte est adopte, la crise entre la France et la Turquie serait
inevitable. Et les consequences plutôt fâcheuses. Très en pointe sur
les dossiers iraniens et syriens, Paris ne peut se permettre d’etre
persona non grata pour Ankara, incontournable pour le règlement de
ces deux questions sensibles.

Une mesure electoraliste pour les Turcs La Turquie accuse le
gouvernement francais de vouloir, avec cette loi, recuperer lors
de la presidentielle de 2012 le vote de quelque 500.000 “Armeniens
de France”. “Tous les cinq ans cette question revient avant les
elections” presidentielle et legislatives pour obtenir les voix des
Francais d’origine armenienne, s’est insurgee Umit Boyner, presidente
du patronat turc, TUSIAD.

Ankara pourrait egalement toucher au porte-monnaie. En 2010, les
echanges commerciaux avec la 17e economie mondiale, ont represente
près de 12 milliards d’euros pour la France.

En matière economique, “si cette loi est adoptee, il y aura beaucoup
de dommages et consequences pour les deux pays”, a estime lundi le
patron de l’Union des Chambres de commerce et des Bourses de Turquie
(TOBB), Rifat Hisarciklioglu.

Le millier d’entreprises francaises operant en Turquie pourrait se
voir priver de marches publics dans les domaines des transports, de
l’armement et du nucleaire. Sans oublier la cooperation culturelle,
scientifique et technologique turco-francaise.

Vers une adoption sans difficulte Pas de quoi intimider Paris. La
Turquie “est membre de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce et est
liee a l’Union europeenne par un accord d’union douanière. Ces deux
engagements juridiques impliquent un traitement non discriminatoire
a l’egard des entreprises de l’UE”, a replique mardi le ministère
francais des Affaires etrangères.

En depit de quelques voix discordantes, gauche et droite devraient
soutenir le texte.

PRESIDENT: TURKEY HOPES FRANCE WILL NOT SACRIFICE LONG-TERM FRIENDSHIP FOR POLITICAL SETTLEMENTS

Trend
Dec 20 2011
Azerbaijan

Turkey hopes that France will not sacrifice long-term friendship
between Ankara and Paris for the sake of petty political settlements,
TRT Haber TV channel quotes Turkish President Abdullah Gul, as saying.

President Gul also urged France to close issue regarding adoption of
legislation criminalizing denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

Earlier, the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that
Turkish-French relations should not depend on third party’s demands,
and if the French Senate approves the bill Turkey will respond with
all diplomatic means.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu threatened to sever
diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries if the
bill is adopted.

The French parliament is set to vote next week on a piece of
legislation that could make denying the 1915 events that took place
in Turkey as “genocide” punishable by up to one year in prison and
a fine of 45,000 euros. The Turkish reaction escalated over the
week from mild suggestion to the French to reconsider the voting,
to outright warnings that France will be facing severe consequences,
including the withdrawal of the Turkish ambassador from Paris, as
the day of the voting, Monday the Dec. 19, approached.

Armenia and its lobby claim the Turkish Republic’s predecessor, the
Ottoman Empire, committed genocide against Armenians in Anatolia in
1915. Pressured by Armenian propaganda, the governments of a number
of countries have recognised the so-called 1915 genocide.

TURKISH LAWMAKERS MEET FRENCH PRESIDENT’S ADVISER

Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 20 2011
Turkey

Turkish lawmakers had a meeting with French president’s adviser in
Paris today.

A delegation of lawmakers headed by Volkan Bozkır convened with
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s diplomatic adviser Jean-David
Levitte in Paris.

Turkish lawmakers are expected to once more stress that adoption of
a motion criminalizing denial of Armenian genocide claims regarding
the incidents of 1915 will harm Turkish-French relations.

The delegation will then meet French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe
and Parliament Speaker Bernard Accoyer.

Turkish lawmakers will then hold a press conference for Turkish and
French journalists.

The delegation headed by Bozkır and comprised of MPs Kasım Gulpınar,
Osman Koruturk, Haluk Koc and Yusuf Halacoglu are holding talks in
the French capital ahead of a vote in the French Parliament.

A French parliamentary commission adopted the mentioned motion on
Dec. 7.

The resolution will be voted at the general assembly on Dec. 22. It
envisages a “one-year prison term and a 45,000 Euro fine for those
who deny genocide recognized by French laws.”

ROMAN AMOYAN NAMED BEST SPORTSMAN AMONG JOURNALISTS

Panorama
Dec 20 2011
Armenia

According to poll results conducted by state federation of sports
journalists, the best sportsmen have been figured out. 42 journalists
specialized on sports have participated in the poll.

According to the poll results, champ of Greco-Roman wrestling Roman
Amoyan has been named the best sportsman 2011.

See the list of top ten sportsmen below:

1. Roman Amoyan G/R wrestling 346 points 2. Arsen Julfalakyan G/R
wrestling 300 3. Levon Aronian chess 296 4. Henrik Khitaryan football
237 5. Aghasi Aghasyan weightlifting 151 6. Artur Aleksanyan G/R
wrestling 145 7. Yura Movsisyan football 140 8. Harutyun Merdinyan
gymnastic 129 9. Vladimir Sarukhanyan boxing 124 10. Musa Murtazaliev
free style wrestling 111

The best team 2011 has been named Armenian men chess team that has
become the world champ. Armenian football team and national Greco-Roman
wrestling team follow the champions.

ARMENIAN ACTOR TO PLAY IN TURKISH TV SERIES

news.am
Dec 20 2011
Armenia

One of renowned English actors of Armenian origin Kevork Malikyan came
to Turkey to participate in a shooting of “One life is not enough”
TV series.

He is famous for his role in “Indiana Jones and the last Crusade”
(1989) featuring Harrison Ford. He left Turkey 50 years ago to study
in London.

TREE-MENDOUS IDEA: YEREVAN ZOO OFFERS TO RENT CHRISTMAS TREES

21.12.11 | 14:17

For those in Armenia who wish to welcome the New Year with a living
New Year Tree without promoting deforestation, the Foundation for the
Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets suggests an alternative
option ~V to rent a tree in a pot.

Over the years, mass logging in the Armenian forests resulted in
the disappearance of thousands of conifers. After the celebrations
the green symbols of the New Year are thrown away and appear in
garbage dumps.

As part of the SunChild project, this is the second year that FPWC
is promoting the initiative. The aim of this project is to convince
people to buy or rent small potted trees which later can be planted
instead of cutting mature trees.

Those who wish to take part in the initiative can come to the Yerevan
Zoo any day to choose their tree, which the organizers will deliver
free of charge. The tree will include an information brochure about
proper keeping and care of the tree. If rented, the tree can stay at
the customer~Rs home until January 15th.

The renting price is 25.000 AMD, ($65) the purchase is 40.000
AMD. ($105)

TURKS SEEK TO AVERT FRENCH ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL BY ALL MEANS
By Aryeh ben Hayim

Arutz Sheva

Dec 20 2011
Israel

The Turkish government is pulling out all the stops to get France to
shelve a bill criminalizing denial of Turkish crimes against Armenians

Turkey is doing its utmost to head off a bill in the French National
Assembly that would criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide
of 1915. The Armenians claim that one and a half million Armenians
died as result of mass deportations by the Turkish Ottomans.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned the French that they were
jeopardizing centuries of friendship in return for “small political
calculations”. The Turks view French president Nicolas Sarkozy as
hostile to them and a major roadblock in their quest to join the
European Union. The political calculations Gul referred to were
apparently Sarkozy’s wish to woo voters for the National Front who
regard France’s Muslim population with hostility.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan essentially warned the French
that they were opening a Pandora’s Box given French Imperial history.

He recommended that the French National Assembly investigate how
many people France killed during the war in Algeria or France’s
responsibility for the genocide in Rwanda.

The Turks are also raising the issue of free speech by claiming the
right to dispute the Armenian version. A Turkish academic interviewed
by the pro-government Zaman said “Neither those who say that it was
genocide nor those who say that it was not should be punished”. This
is a bit rich for a for a country that punishes people for insulting
“Turkishness.”.

The major Turkish retaliatory threat is in the economic realm. Turkey
can boycott French cars in a country where French carmakers have a 20%
market share. Turkey can refuse to buy Airbus planes thus impacting
the French job market.

As the Turkish economy grew by 8.2% compared with France’s anemic
growth the Turks believe that they hold the economic upper hand and
can force France to cave.

GOVERNOR OF SYUNIK PROTECTS PRIORITY PUBLIC INTERESTS WITH HIS FISTS

arminfo
Tuesday, December 20, 16:42

Several years ago a group of young activists, who were defending
Trchkan Waterfall, and members of EcoLur NGO paid a visit to Kajaran
village of Syunik region of Armenia.

Yeghia Nersisyan, a youth activist, says that the cortege of Governor
of Syunik region Surik Khachatryan could not find the road to Kajaran
village. As a result, a car was sent from the village, which showed
the road to Kajaran to the head of the Syunik regional administration.
“On arriving at the village, the governor immediately tried to solve
all the problems by his own methods. He aggressively asked why I had
come to Kajaran and, having received the answer, he clenched his hands
into hard fists and attacked me. Afterwards he advised our activist
Mariam Sukhudyan “to talk less otherwise something bad will happen
to her”, he says.

Nersisyan says that the Board of Zangezour Copper Molybdenum Plant
does its best to create problems for the residents of Kajaran and
to expel them from the place of their residence. For instance, the
Plant refuses pointblank to repair the drainage system and this has
caused impassable black ice on the road leading to the village.

“However, the villagers are going to defend their rights and refuse to
leave the village even for the compensation promised by the governor.
We saw with our own eyes the whole tragic situation of the residents
of Kajaran, which are forced to leave their own houses, and I think
that they need our society’s support. We have shot a film about that,
and the film will be made public in the near future”, Nersisyan said.

Under the decision adopted on April 28, 2011, the cabinet changed
the designated purpose of those lands and gave them to the Zangezour
Copper and Molybdenum Plant on lease.

Kajaran residents are against the decision as they are convinced that
it would pose serious environmental hazards, forcing them to leave
the village. The governor of Kajaran, Rafik Kajayan, had earlier
resigned and left the Republican Party, refusing to sign the lease
agreement. But the move hasn’t pushed the government to step away
from its decision.

BAKO SAHAKYAN VISITED IN MOSCOW THE ESTET JEWELRY HOUSE

noyan tapan
2011-12-20

On 20 December Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited in
Moscow the Estet Jewelry House, got acquainted with the work of the
jewelry factory and met head of the organization, president of the
Armenian Jewelers Association Gagik Gevorkyan. As informs Central
Information Department of the Office of the ARTSAKH REPUBLIC President,
issues related to the development of jewelry industry in Artsakh were
discussed during the meeting.

The Head of the State noted that Artsakh was interested in developing
that sphere and anticipated active participation of the Estet
Jewelry House in that process. President Sahakyan underlined that
the assistance of such an organization which possesses huge potential
and experience as well as wide international connections would give
a new impetus to the development of jewelry industry in our republic.

Special attention was paid to founding a jewelry school in Artsakh,
which is one of the prerequisites for the development of the industry.

NKR President’s adviser Armen Isagulov, head of the central information
department of the office of the Artsakh Republic President David
Babayan and NKR permanent representative to the Russian Federation
Albert Andryan accompanied the President.