Author: Kanayan Tamar

L’AFAJA DEMANDE LA LIBERATION DE SARKIS HATSPANIAN
Ara

armenews.com
mardi 31 mai 2011

L’Association Francaise des Avocats et Juristes Armeniens (AFAJA) a
pris acte que, sur proposition du President de la Republique d’Armenie,
le Parlement a adopte une loi d’amnistie visant des detenus condamnes
et notamment des prisonniers politiques.

Si l’AFAJA se rejouit de cette decision, elle constate avec regrets
qu’une nouvelle fois le ressortissant francais Sarkis HATSPANIAN a
ete prive, sans explication, du benefice de cette mesure de clemence.

Detenu depuis le 7 novembre 2008, il a ete condamne le 9 avril 2009
a la peine de trois ans et six mois de prison ferme en application
de l’article 333 du Code penal pour des faits correspondants a une
denonciation calomnieuse et la diffusion de fausse nouvelle.

Il a fait appel de cette decision mais la Cour d’Appel d’Erevan a
confirme sa peine le 2 juin 2009, puis la Cour de Cassation a rejete
son pourvois le 14 août 2009.

Le 19 juin 2009, l’Assemblee nationale armenienne a vote une loi
d’amnistie qui a ete publiee au Journal Officiel le 22 juin. Il n’en
a pas beneficie alors que les conditions d’application de cette mesure
en sa faveur etaient reunies.

L’Assemblee nationale vient de voter vendredi 27 mai 2011 une nouvelle
loi d’amnistie qui n’a pas conduit a la mise en liberte de Sarkis
HATSPANIAN, lequel sera maintenu en detention jusqu’a la fin de sa
peine, en fin de semaine prochaine.

L’AFAJA regrette vivement cette situation et denonce l’acharnement et
la discrimination dont Sarkis HATSPANIAN fait personnellement l’objet.

L’AFAJA restera attentive au sort qui lui sera reserve après sa remise
en liberte qui doit le conduire a regagner son domicile d’Erevan
auprès de sa femme et de ses deux enfants mineurs.

Paris, Erevan, le 30 mai 2011. Le Bureau de l’AFAJA.

AFAJA – 45 rue de Rennes, Paris 75006, France.

SITTING OF THE ARMENIAN-IRANIAN INTER-GOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION COMMISSION CONDUCTED IN TEHRAN

ARMENPRESS
MAY 30, 2011
YEREVAN

The regular 10th sitting of the Armenian-Iranian inter-governmental
cooperation commission is being conducted in Tehran. Spokeswoman
for the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry Lusine Harutyunyan
told Armenpress that Armenian delegation headed by minister Armen
Movsisyan has left for Tehran and will return back June 1.

The agenda of the sitting includes drafts on Armenian-Iranian economic
cooperation. Energy and Natural Resources Minister is also having
bilateral meetings. In Tehran Armen Movsisyan has already met with the
Energy Minister of Iran Mejid Namju. After the meeting the Iranian
minister stated about the construction of third electricity wire
between Armenia and Iran during the coming two weeks. The cost of the
800-900 megawatt power electricity wire is assessed as 110 million USD.

In Tehran the participants of the sitting also discussed the
construction of hydro power plant on the Arax River. Namju said an
Iranian consortium will deal with the construction of the plant. The
draft cost is 400-500 million USD.

“DEPORTED: A DREAM PLAY” STAGED IN BOSTON

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 30, 2011 – 12:37 AMT

Joyce Van Dyke’s “Deported: A Dream Play” was given a barebones
presentation on Saturday, May 28, in a rehearsal space at the Stan
Calderwood Pavilion in Boston.

Directed by Judy Braha, the play on the Armenian Genocide will receive
a full production next year at the Modern Theater, also in Boston,
and will run from March 15 to April 8.

Seven actors, dressed soberly in black and reading from scripts, played
22 parts, and Saturday night’s presentation lacked many ancillary
elements – music, dancing, video – that will be part of next year’s
full-blown run. The absence of these elements was compensated for
by the reading of stage directions by Ali Kerestly, The Armenian
Mirror-Spectator reported.

Although Van Dyke, of course, controls and shapes the final form and
content of the play, “Deported” is still a work in progress and it is
very much a result of collaboration. The story focuses on the memories
of the Genocide of two women, Victoria, played by Bobbie Steinbach,
and her friend, Varter, played by Paula Langton.

Van Dyke also introduces the issue of how the Genocide is treated
differently from the Holocaust with the depiction of a young, Jewish
reporter, who comes to interview Victoria in her old age.

Audiences are already familiar with Van Dyke’s works – “A Girl’s War”
and “The Oil Thief” Now she is working on a new play, which, she says,
has nothing to do with Armenian themes.

As a Huntington Playwright Fellow, Van Dyke won the Elliott Norton
Award in 2009 for outstanding new script, and has been a fellow at
the MacDowell Colony. Her rising reputation should ensure the growing
audience she deserves.

BAKO SAHAKYAN EXTENDS CONDOLENCES ON ABKHAZIAN PRESIDENT’S DEATH

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 30, 2011 – 15:31 AMT

President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan addressed a condolence
letter to the Vice President of the Republic of Abkhazia, Alexandr
Ankvab, on the death of President of the Republic of Abkhazia,
Sergey Bagapsh.

“Sergey Bagapsh will remain in the memory of his people as a true
patriot, who devoted life to the struggle for freedom and independence
of Abkhazia. As a wise and respected leader he made an invaluable
contribution to the formation of an independent Abkhazian statehood,
securing its safety, development and prosperity of his country. Under
his leadership Abkhazia’s independence gained international
recognition. On behalf of the people, authorities of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic and myself I express my deep condolences,” the letter said,
Central Information Department at Artsakh President’s Office reported.

Azerbaijan to launch its own communication satellite by the end of 2012
28.05.2011 16:37

Artak Barseghyan
`Radiolur’

Azerbaijan will launch its own satellite into the space by the end of
2012. The Azerbaijani side is negotiating the issue with the US. The
project is estimated $120 mln, only 15% of which will be covered by
Azerbaijani state budget. The rest will be paid by the US
Export-Import Bank.

Launching a satellite is truly an expensive pleasure, and not every
country can afford it. If the deal succeeds, it will be of great
importance to Azerbaijan, both technically and financially.

Military expert Artsrun Hovhannisyan notes that communication
satellites can be used for both civil and military purposes. However,
it’s still early to speak about the immediate threat it can pose to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Hovhannisyan told a press conference.

The military expert does not rule out that the satellite may serve as
an additional means of communication and serve for airing TV programs.
At the same time Artsrun Hovhannisyan is suspicious about the
efficiency of having an own satellite.

Kyiv marks the First Armenian Republic Day

May 29, 2011 – 18:01 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

Ukrainian capital Kyiv hosts celebratory events to mark the First
Armenian Republic Day, the 93rd anniversary of Armenian Independence
declared on May 28, 1918 following almost 600 years of Ottoman Turkish
oppression.

The First Republic of Armenia established on May 28 set the foundation
for today’s independent Republic of Armenia, which was one of the
first former Soviet Republics to declare independence on September 21,
1991.

A newly-formed executive council of Kyiv’s Armenian youth organization
will be presented in the framework of the events, the organization
Araik Khachatryan stated, Analitika.at.ua reported

Aram I to participate in Genocide 100th anniversary commemoration
committee sitting

May 29, 2011 – 17:33 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

On May 30, the Catholicos Of The Great House Of Cilicia Aram I will
participate in the first sitting of a state and international
committee in charge of p Armenian Genocide 100th anniversary
commemorative events preparation. On the morning of May 30, the
Catholicos will arrive in Yerevan to return to Antelias the next day,
the Catholicosate press service reported.

Trend News Agency, Baku, Azerbaijan
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
May 28, 2011 Saturday

Crisis Group: Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents’ next meeting to
determine parties’ intention

BY: E. Ostapenko, Trend News Agency, Baku, Azerbaijan

May 28–BAKU, Azerbaijan — The next meeting of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian Presidents will be crucial for the international community to
realize whether the parties of the conflict have a real commitment to
reach an agreement, the International Crisis Group analyst Sabina
Fraser said.

On Thursday, the presidents of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries
made a joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the G8 summit
in Deauville, France.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, U.S President Barack Obama and
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on the Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders to demonstrate the political will and to finalize
the work over the basic principles of [the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] during the upcoming Armenian-Azerbaijani
summit in June.

On one hand it sounds very close and the Presidents have not been
doing much yet to prepare their population for an agreement. But on
the other hand the basic principles have been on discussions till 2007
— four years of discussion, she said.

In Sochi in March they had a version of the basic principles which the
co-chairs believe is adjust and balanced basis for an agreement, she
said.

So at this point it is no longer about the basic principles, it is no
longer about actual words and a text, it is really about weather or
not the two Presidents feel that they can take the responsibility to
sign this agreement, she said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan have been holding the periodic meetings since June 2008 to
agree the positions to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Despite
this, the basic principles have not been agreed yet.

The statement in Deauville was extremely important. It was already the
third statement made by US, French and Russian Presidents for the past
few years. This statement is different from those of the past, because
it goes further than the previous statements, she said.

“If there is any use of force, it will be condemned by the
international community,” she said. “This is a very clear message for
both Azerbaijan and Armenia that there is no excuse to return to war.”

“Another thing that the statement says very clearly is that any
further delay for the signature of the basic principles would call on
commitments of the sides to reach an agreement,” she said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group — Russia, France, and the U.S. —
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.

KARABAGH
G8/Nagorny Karabakh : nouvel appel pour la paix du Groupe de Minsk (AFP)

DEAUVILLE (France), 26 mai 2011 (AFP) – Le Groupe de Minsk
(Etats-Unis, France, Russie), médiateur pour l’OSCE dans le conflit
qui oppose l’Azerbaïdjan et l’Arménie concernant le territoire du
Nagorny Karabakh, a appelé à nouveau jeudi toutes les parties à
aboutir rapidement à un accord de paix.

Dans un communiqué publié en marge du sommet du G8 à Deauville
(nord-ouest), les présidents des trois pays du Groupe de Minsk font
part de leur conviction que “le temps est venu pour toutes les parties
au Nagorny Karabakh de franchir un pas décisif vers un accord de
paix”.

“Seul un accord négocié peut conduire à la paix, la stabilité et la
réconciliation, ouvrant des opportunités pour un développement
régional et la coopération”, ajoutent l’Américain Barack Obama, le
Français Nicolas Sarkozy et le Russe Dmitri Medvedev.

“Nous exhortons fermement les dirigeants des deux parties à préparer
leur population à la paix, pas à la guerre”, précisent-ils.

Leur communiqué met finalement en garde contre tout report du
processus en cours, en appelant les présidents d’Azerbaïdjan et
d’Arménie à conclure un accord lors de leur prochain sommet en juin et
en leur garantissant une aide internationale pour le faire appliquer.

Après une guerre qui a fait 30.000 morts et des centaines de milliers
de réfugiés entre 1988 et 1994, le Nagorny Karabakh – rattaché à
l’Azerbaïdjan pendant la période soviétique – avait proclamé son
indépendance, non reconnue par la communauté internationale. Ce
territoire est soutenu par l’Arménie.

Un cessez-le-feu a été signé en 1994, mais Bakou et Erevan n’arrivent
pas à se mettre d’accord sur le statut de la région qui reste une
source de tension dans le Caucase du Sud, une zone stratégique située
entre l’Iran, la Russie et la Turquie.

dimanche 29 mai 2011,
Sté[email protected]

ARMENIE-PEINTURE
Richard Jéranian a offert 14 de ses `uvres à l’Arménie

Profitant de l’exposition qui lui était consacrée qui se déroule à la
Galerie nationale d’Arménie du 20 mai jusqu’au 3 juin, le peintre
arménien de France, Richard Jéranian a offert 14 de ses `uvres à
l’Arménie. Au total 11 peintures et 3 dessins furent remis à la
Galerie nationale d’Arménie par l’artiste. Parmi ces tableaux, citons
« Garni » (réalisé en 1964), « Jeune femme endormie » (2000), « Table
paysanne » (2000) « Les ponts de Paris » (2004), « La forêt de
Fontainebleau » (2004). Richard Jéranian a exposé à de nombreuses
reprises en Arménie comme dans de nombreux pays.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 29 mai 2011,
Krikor [email protected]