Author: Kanayan Tamar

ZARUHI POSTANJYAN APPEALS TO MINISTERS

A1Plus.am
27 May 2011

Heritage Party MP Zaruhi Postanjyan has addressed a letter to the
Minister of Health, Harutyun Kushkyan, Minister of Justice Hrayr
Tovmasyan, Head of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to Armenia Lorenzo
Caraffi, and Head of the Armenian Red Cross Society Anna Yeghiazaryan.

Postanjyan calls their attention to her brother Tigran Postanjyan
who started a hunger strike in Nubarashen penitentiary on May 11, 2011.

The Heritage MP urges the relevant bodies to provide proper medical
aid to the detainee.

In February 2011, a case was filed against Tigran Postanjyan, a leading
specialist in Yerevan’s Arabkir district and the brother of Heritage
MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, for receiving AMD 100,000 (about $274 US)
remuneration for turning a blind eye to illegal construction done in
his district. A few days later, Postanjyan was called to the National
Security Service for questioning where he was taken under arrest.

Zaruhi Postanjian denounced the case as baseless and politically
motivated and said it was coordinated attack against her, Heritage
and the whole defiant public.

AGAIN NO CONFIDENCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:13:10 – 27/05/2011

Member of Parliament Armen Rustamyan, head of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
Supreme Body, said today the motion of the party concerning a vote of
no confidence to the government was made after an assessment of the
past 3 years of the government which failed, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
thinks.

Rustamyan noted that they supported their motion with facts, and if
they were not grounded, the government would have easily answered
them. According to him, the government gives three reasons for its
failure – the heritage of the former government, nature and climate,
and external pressure. The ARF Dashnaktsutyun rejects all the three
and reminds that three years ago the present government felt obliged
to continue the former one and even praised it. Rustamyan says this
is a question of the government’s sincerity.

Rustamyan says the decision of most members of parliament not to
support their motion is determined by their agreement with the facts
noted by the ARF Dashnaktsutyun. He says there are a series of methods
to achieve resignation of government, such as collection of signatures
of 1/3 of the members of parliament. The ARF Dashnaktsutyun will
initiate it in September or October.

Rustamyan says it is necessary to adopt a parliamentary system of
government since experience shows that the elite formed around the
president controls the centralized economy.

NO APPROPRIATE MEDICAL AID WAS PROVIDED TO TIGRAN POSTANJYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:12:55 – 27/05/2011

Today Member of Parliament Zaruhi Postanjyan wrote a letter to the
minister of health Harutiun Kushkyan, the minister of justice Hrair
Tovmasyan, the head of the Armenian delegation of the ICRC, and the
head of the Armenian Red Cross Society Anna Yeghiazaryan on the hunger
protest of Tigran Postanjyan, the MP’s brother.

Tigran Postanjyan is on hunger protest since May 11, 2011 at the
penitentiary of Nubarashen. So far no appropriate medical aid has
been provided to him. Zaruhi Postanjyan demands appropriate medical
service for the detainee on protest.

OGUN SAMAST’S NAME TO BECOME TRADEMARK IN TURKEY?

Tert.am
27.05.11

Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogun Samast, currently on trial for
the assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the
Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, may soon become a popular figure in
his country.

According to the Turkish newspaper Radical, Samast’s family has asked
the Turkish Trademark Registration’s Institute (TPE) to register
their son’s name.

TPE has reportedly given its consent. The murderer’s family plans
to use the name Samast as a trademark for educational programs,
conferences, symposiums, sports and cultural events, entertainment
activities, as well as the publication of newspapers, TV and radio
broadcasts, photo services and research.

ZHAMANAK: OSKANYAN’S DREAM DIDN’T COME TRUE…

Tert.am
27.05.11

The paper says that according to the information it has, Armenian
former Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan was trying to become the
chairman of the board at an Armenian.

However, he was unable to get the job simply because he did not
qualify, the paper says, speculating that the bank in question could be
one of the banks owned by former President Robert Kocharyan’s family.

“According to the Russian publication Versia, the Kocharyans are
co-owners of the following banks: Artsakhbank, Areximbank, Unibank,
Haybusinessbank and Converse Bank,” the paper says.

Crown Prince asked to drop Azerbaijan trip
May 27, 2011
by Nina Berglund

Several leading human rights organizations are unhappy that Norway’s
Crown Prince Haakon plans to visit Azerbaijan early next month, part
of a Foreign Ministry-arranged trip to take part in a large oil and
gas conference. They’re calling on him to cancel the trip, because of
corruption and human rights abuses in the country.

[Photo: Crown Prince Haakon (center) was just on another official trip
to open Statoil’s operation of the Peregrino field off Brazil. Now
he’s catching criticism to attend an oil conference in Azerbaijan that
also involves Oil Minister Ola Borten Moe (left) and Statoil chief
Helge Lund (right). PHOTO: Arne Reidar Mortensen/Statoil]

`We have politely asked that he not travel to Azerbaijan now,’ Bjørn
Engesland of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee told Norwegian
Broadcasting (NRK) on Friday. Engesland and several of his fellow
human rights activists believe the trip `could be interpreted as
undeserved recognition of the regime that (Azerbaijan President) Ilham
Aliyev represents.’

Engesland told NRK that Azerbaijan’s authorities are `corrupt’ and
known for `skimming off oil profits’ for their own benefit. Human
rights abuses are rampant, he said.

Both the Human Rights House Foundation and the Rafto Fundation, which
awards the prestigious Rafto Prize to champions of human rights every
year, have joined the Helsinki Committee in writing a letter to Crown
Prince Haakon in which they asked that he cancel his trip to the
conference that begins on June 6 in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku. They
contend Azerbaijan’s regime is one of the most oppressive in the world
at present.

They have no objections to government politicians making the trip,
saying that the planned presence of Oil and Energy Minister Ola Borten
Moe and a state secretary in the foreign ministry, Espen Barth Eide,
are `a natural part of the foreign policy and economic commitment that
Norway’s political leadership has.’ Such visits can, they believe,
offer an opportunity to raise human rights issues with local
authorities and express Norwegian views.

Crown Prince Haakon is often called upon to “officially open” projects
and events, not least in the oil industry. PHOTO: Arne Reidar
Mortensen/Statoil

They object to the attendance of Crown Prince Haakon, however, because
they fear his presence will be `abused’ by what they called `one of
Europe’s last and most authoritarian’regimes. `The lack of freedom of
expression and absence of balanced debate in Azerbaijan’ may allow
authorities there `to put forward their own version of Crown Prince
Haakon’s reasons for coming to Baku,’ Engesland said. The role of
Norway’s royal family as a `non-political actor limits the Crown
Prince’s opportunity to take part in the public exchange that could
clarify the framework’ for his visit, he wrote in the letter.

In unusually strong criticism of the young royal’s decision to plan
the trip, Engesland and his colleagues Maria Dahle of Human Rights
House Foundation and Therese Jebsen of the Rafto Foundation wrote that
`we see it as an unfortunate signal from the Crown Prince, who is one
of the founders of the UN Global Dignity Campaign, to provide
undeserved recognition to the regime of President Aliyev, which is the
way … his visit to Baku is likely to be perceived.’

Recent pro-democracy movements have shown, according to Engesland,
that `old alliances with authoritative regimes soon can become a
burden, which does not serve the interests of the Royal Family in
Norway.’

Trip `thoroughly evaluated’

Eide of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry stressed that Crown Prince
Haakon’s participation had been `thoroughly evaluated,’ and that he
was traveling as the leader of Norway’s delegation to the conference.

The goal, according to Eide, is to support Norwegian business
interests in Azerbaijan, where Norway’s own oil and gas industry is
involved, not least state oil company Statoil. Eide claimed Crown
Prince Haakon, who just returned from opening a Statoil-operated oil
field off Brazil, would meet representatives of the `civil society’
and highlight the role civilian organizations can play in a land.

There was no immediate response to the human rights organizations’
request from the Royal Palace or Crown Prince Haakon himself.

Azerbaijan is also due to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest,
after winning it earlier this month. There was no word whether the
human rights organizations would also call on Norwegians to avoid
Eurovision as well.

BELGIUM MP: ARMENIA HAS TENSE SOCIAL SITUATION

Trend
May 27 2011
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is showing the world community that it is an open
tolerant country from the national and religious points of
view. It is impossible to say this about Armenia, the head of the
Azerbaijan-Belgium Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Philippe
Blanchard told media.

“There is very tense social situation in Armenia,” he said. “It is
impossible to speak about the presence of religious tolerance.”

Touching upon the relations between the Azerbaijani and Belgian
Parliaments, Blanchard said that it is planned to hold a meeting of
the friendship group in September.

“Azerbaijani MPs are well informed about Belgium, as opposed to Belgian
MPs,” he said. “We would like Belgian MPs to visit Azerbaijan often
and to closer familiarize with the development of Azerbaijan.”

STEPANAKERT AIRPORT WILL WORK WHEN NECESSARY SECURITY CONDITIONS ARE ENSURED
By Aghavni Haroutiunyan

AZG DAILY
27-05-2011

Within the bounds of 20th sitting of “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund Board
of Trustees, on May 24 a delegation composed of the representatives
of local bodies and the members of Board of Trustees led by the head
of executive department arrived in Artsakh.

The first meeting was with Prime Minister Ara Haroutunyan. According
to the NKR government webpage, the Prime Minister told about the
steps directed towards economic development and answered the raised
questions. Haroutunyan mainly marked out the fields of construction
and agriculture.

The Prime Minister hopes that socio-economic development of Artsakh
will be visible with the increase of construction. In 2005-2006 the
volume of construction was within the limits of 40-50 million dollars
now this index crosses the limit of 120-130 million dollars.

All-Armenian building promoted sharp rise in construction. The
representatives of the Fund follow the programs realized by means of
Artsakh Government carefully.

About the official opening of the airport and delay of
Stepanakert-Yerevan maiden trip the head of the Executive presented
the local bodies of the fund the position of the President: the
airport will function only if all safety conditions are provided.

Ara Haroutunyan spoke about the program of resettlement and creation
of new working places. It is noticeable that in the last 6-7 years
300 families were resettled in Qashatagh region.

SIBIL’S STRAINS ECHO ACROSS CITY AS TURKISH TV AIRS FIRST ARMENIAN MUSIC VIDEO

Hurriyet
May 26 2011
Turkey

The first Armenian music video is airing on Turkey’s leading music
channels and the state-run TRT. Well-known artists provided support
for artist Sibil Pektorosoglu’s album, which was released a few months
ago on the Ossi Music label. The Istanbul-born Armenian singer says
it was a dream to release her album and broadcast her music video on
Turkish TV

‘Namag’ (Letter) by Sibil Pektorosoglu, an Istanbul Armenian, has
been gaining mainstream popularity.

Turkey’s leading private music TV channels as well as the country’s
state-run broadcaster have broken new ground in airing the first
Armenian music video on popular stations in the nation’s history.

“Namag” (Letter) by Sibil Pektorosoglu, an Istanbul Armenian, has been
gaining mainstream popularity and can now be heard echoing from shops
along the city’s iconic Ä°stiklal Avenue. The lyrics were written by
master Armenian poet Hovhannes Å~^iraz while the singer’s music video
was produced by one of Turkey’s most famous directors in the field,
Ozkan Aksular.

Pektorosoglu said it was like a dream to release her album and
broadcast her music video on Turkish television. “When I hear my
songs on Ä°stiklal Avenue, I cry,” she recently told the Hurriyet
Daily News & Economic Review.

“Music is universal, it is above all identities. I can’t breathe
without singing; this is why this album is loved that much by my
listeners,” she said.

The song was the result of collaboration between Armenian and Turkish
artists, including Mercan Dede, an international star famous for mixing
Sufi music and ambient electronica, as well as Göksel Baktagir, a
master of the “kanun,” a zither-like stringed instrument. Released
on the Ossi Music label, the Pektorosoglu’s album was arranged by
Cenk TaÅ~_kan, an important figure on the Turkish pop music scene
for more than 40 years.

“I made the most of my 40-year experience for this album and it has
reached its goal,” TaÅ~_kan, who recently returned to Turkey on a
visit from his current home in Canada, told the Daily News. “I am
very pleased to be a part of this first-time work in Turkey, too.”

The works of TaÅ~_kan, who was one of the leading names in the revival
of Western-style Turkish pop music at the end of the 1960s and the
beginning of 1970s, have represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song
Contest many times.

Istanbul is inescapable

Even though he moved to Canada during the difficult aftermath of the
1980 coup, TaÅ~_kan said he often came to Istanbul and continued
working with Turkish artists, adding that he had created many new
grounds for the country’s pop music.

“Istanbul is my life, my everything; I can’t imagine a life without
it. I have even composed a song titled ‘Istanbul Istanbul,'”
TaÅ~_kan said.

Also an Istanbul Armenian, TaÅ~_kan’s real name is Majak ToÅ~_ikyan;
asked why he chose to use a Turkish name rather than his birth name,
he said: “Turkish artists, as well as many foreign artists, do not
use their own name. Changing my name does not mean that I have changed
my soul.”

Referring to events between the Turkish and Armenian people in the
past, TaÅ~_kan said: “We have lived together for thousands of years. As
a life philosophy, I’m interested in the future; it can remove the
traces of the past. It is necessary to open a new page. Otherwise,
even in 3050, people will still be talking about the same things.”

Addressing the arguments between Turkish and Armenian people as
to the artistic ownership of a number of Anatolian songs that are
now sung by both nations, TaÅ~_kan said: “We have been the people
of Anatolia for thousands of years. No nation has its own music;
instead the land has its own music.”

CENSURE SUR INTERNET: DES SITES VICTIMES DE CYBERATTAQUES EN TURQUIE

Source/Lien : Reporters Sans Frontieres
Publie le : 27-05-2011

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
propose cette information publiee sur le site des Reporters Sans
Frontières le 18 mai 2011.

Des sites victimes de cyberattaques après une forte mobilisation
contre la censure sur Internet

Plusieurs sites ayant soutenu pour manifestations anti-censure du
15 mai ont ete rendus inaccessibles ces derniers jours, a priori
par le biais d’attaques DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service). Parmi
eux, le site du quotidien de gauche Birgun, le site d’information
haber.sol.org.tr et le Reseau independant de communication Bia. “Nous
continuerons a publier sur des adresses alternatives, que nous
divulguerons sur Twitter et d’autres reseaux, au cas où nous serions
de nouveau la cible d’attaques”, a precise Bia dans un communique.

Plus de 10 000 personnes avaient proteste, dimanche 15 mai, a Istanbul
et dans une trentaine de villes, contre la censure d’Internet en
Turquie.

Les manifestants denoncaient la modification de la loi sur les medias
et la censure d’Internet, notamment une disposition instaurant un
filtrage obligatoire du Net dans tous les foyers. Cette mesure doit
entrer en vigueur le 22 août 2011.

L’OSCE (Organisation pour la securite et cooperation en Europe) et
l’Union europeenne se sont opposees a ce projet de loi, au nom de la
liberte d’expression, et ont demande a la Turquie de renoncer a le
mettre en ~uvre. Dunja Mijatovic, representante pour la liberte des
medias de l’OSCE a declare, le 17 mai : “Cette mesure limiterait le
droit des individus a acceder a l’information”. La porte-parole de la
Commission europeenne pour les questions liees a l’adhesion a l’UE,
Natasha Butler rappelle que “tout blocage de contenu internet doit
etre cible et proportionne et doit suivre une procedure judiciaire”.

Reporters sans frontières rejoint les positions de l’OSCE et de l’UE
et appelle les autorites a retirer leur projet de loi et a mettre fin
a la censure du Web qui touche abusivement des milliers de sites, en
commencant par modifier la loi 5651 relative aux delits sur Internet.

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