HAKOB HAKOBYAN ARRESTED?
19:07 | February 2,2015 | Politics
Hakob Hakobyan, a former lawmaker of the Armenian National Assembly,
is said to have been arrested today. A criminal case has been filed
against him by investigative service of the Finance Ministry.
The ministry neither denied nor confirmed the information and promised
to provide additional information later in the day.
PRESIDENT SARGSYAN SACKS MILITARY INSTITUTE CHIEF AFTER DEATH OF CADET
YEREVAN, February 2. / ARKA /. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has
sacked today Lieutenant General Martin Karapetyan as head of Vazgen
Sargsyan Military Institute of the Defense Ministry, the presidential
press service reported.
The decision to fire the general was prompted by the death of a
military cadet on January 29, who reportedly was killed by 4 fellow
servicemen. The cadet, Haykaz Barseghyan, was found hanged in a
military unit in Yerevan. The four fellow servicemen were detained.
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan held an emergency meeting on Saturday
in connection with the death of the soldier. Ohanyan blamed the crime
on vicious morals resulting from poor work of some officers and their
failure to comply with their official duties.
Ohanyan was also quoted as saying that all the responsible will be
punished to the fullest extent of the law. -0-
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ARMENIA TO HOST EXHIBITION OF ARMENIAN ARTIST TATIANA DANILIYANTS ENTITLED “THE LIGHT INSIDE”
by Emmanuil Lazarian
Monday, February 2, 12:11
“Light is a fundamental phenomenon not only for the art, but also for
life, in general. Light is not just physical specification of items,
but spirituality. Light illuminates not only the reality making it
visible, but also unveils the hidden qualities and features of human
soul.” This is how Tatiana Daniliyants, an Armenian artist, sculptor,
film director and poetess, feels the light. The artist lives and
creates in Moscow and Venice. Her exhibition of color photography and
Murano glass sculptures entitled “The Light Inside” will be open at
the National Gallery of Armenia on February 3-15 2015.
Daniliyants told Armenia, the special exhibition project “The Light
Inside” for the National Gallery of Armenia unites two expositions
that have been held in Russia and Europe earlier: Anima Russa (“Russian
Soul”) and Venice: Afloat.
Tatiana Daniliyants is an artist who works in three distinct media:
poetry, photography and film. she graduated as a Master of Fine
Arts from the Moscow Surikov Academy of Fine Arts and also at the
celebrated Higher Courses of Film Directing and Script Writing. She
also participated in a Master Class under the celebrated Polish
director Andrej Wajda in Krakow and has established The Butterfly
Angel film company. She is a member of the International Union of
Art Photographers and has published three volumes of poetry.
EEU MEMBERSHIP RIGHT DIRECTION FOR ARMENIA’S ECONOMY, EXPERT CLAIMS
YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Armenia’s accession to the EEU is a step
in the right direction for economic development, head of Armenia’s
Union of Local Manufacturers Vazgen Safaryan told reporters on
Saturday.
Currently 23% of Armenia’s foreign trade is with Russia, and the
opportunity of free movement of goods, services and labor will help
increase sales in Russia, according to Safaryan.
The expert stressed the importance of Armenia’s industrial integration,
through joint efforts with Russia that also needs to restructure
its industry.
The second aspect, according to Safaryan, is agriculture, as Armenia
has the chance to increase its fruit sales in Russia that restricted
agricultural imports from Europe.
He said Armenia’s ministry of agriculture is planning to export about
100,000 tons of agricultural products to Russia this year, as compared
to about 60,000 tons per year in 2013 and 2014. If taken, this niche
may help Armenia develop its agriculture, according to the expert.
Armenia became a full-fledged member of Russia-led Eurasian Economic
Union (EEU) on January 2, 2015. -0–
BERDZOR INCIDENT: NIKOL PASHINYAN PROPOSES GALUST SAHAKYAN TO SEND MPS TO KARABAKH (VIDEOS)
13:40 | February 2,2015 | Politics
The 7th session of the National Assembly of fifth convocation began
with the national anthem. At the beginning of the session, NA Chairman
Galust Sahakyan made a statement expressing his condolences over the
death of the Avetisyan family killed in Gyumri earlier this month
and the soldiers killed in recent ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan.
The National Assembly observed a minute’s silence in memory of the
victims.
In his speech, opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan said regardless
of their political affiliation, lawmakers become united in issues
concerning Karabakh.
“The appalling incident that occurred in Berdzor on Saturday was a
serious blow to Nagorno Karabakh. The incident has shocked our people
who are waiting for an answer. I have a proposal for you, Mr Sahakyan.
Let us form a delegation from lawmakers and send them to Stepanakert
to discuss the incident on the spot,” said Pashinyan.
Eduard Sharmazanov, Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly
urged his colleagues to address questions exclusively on the agenda,
while Galust Sahakyan said he would try to discuss this issue with
his colleagues from Karabakh.
Police in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped on Saturday members of the Founding
Parliament, a successor of the Pre-Parliament pressure group, who were
holding an automobile rally to Karabakh. Among the participants were
also Jirayr Sefilian, a former commander of Shushi special battalion,
and other veterans of the Karabakh war, who are said to have beaten up
by the Karabakh police and young men wearing special police task force
uniforms. The Founding Parliament says more than a dozen participants
of the automobile rally were injured in the incident that happened
on the Goris-Stepanakert highway near Berdzor. Journalist Anushavan
Shahnazaryan was also hospitalized with injuries in Goris.
HEAD OF KARABAKH OPPOSITION PARTY: ‘ARTSAKH AUTHORITIES ARE COMPETING TO WIN FAVOR OF PRESIDENT SARGSYAN’- VIDEOS
Vahe Sarukhanyan
14:47, February 2, 2015
Hetq speaks to Hayk Khanoumyan, president of the Azgayin Veratznound
(National Rebirth) political party of Artsakh regarding the January
31attack on an automobile convoy of political opposition activists
from Armenia as they entered Artsakh.
Hayk, were you expecting such a thing to happen or did it come as
a surprise? How did you find out about the incident that took place
near Berdzor?
For days, the authorities had been manipulating Artsakh public opinion,
trying to make the car convoy and its participants into monsters. And
they were playing with the most sensitive of all issues for Artsakh
residents; that of security. (According to reports, the authorities
had told residents that the participants had called on young men in
Armenia not to militarily serve in Artsakh – VS)
They were preaching hate towards those who initiated the car convoy
and its supporters. I expected violence, but not to this degree. The
first victims of violence were the Founding Parliament supporters
who traveled to Berdzor from Stepanakert. I heard about the attack
when these individuals had just been transferred to hospital.
Before the convoy, Artsakh government authorities had met with
representatives of the Founding Parliament organization, urging them to
call off the convoy. Later, the Artsakh Freedom Fighters Union declared
the convoy illegal and that they would voice their opposition to the
event. The convoy participants described the convoy as an informative
action where CDs would be handed out and that a meeting with Artsakh
students would be held. Is the public sector and internal situation
in Artsakh so fragile that such a car convoy could pose some kind of
danger, as argued by local authorities?
The Artsakh authorities are afraid of everything – every unsupervised
word, every Facebook post by a student, or protest.
The authorities are trying to create a closed-mouth society in
which they can continue to enrich them and rule through unparalleled
corruption. The state propaganda machine is even used against the
smallest undesirable Facebook post, discrediting them as ‘the enemy
behind the mountain’.
We have to remember that this is the last term of Artsakh President
Bako Sahakyan. Thus, there’s an internal contest being waged to win
favor with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan amongst the possible
presidential contenders for the next election. Even Bako Sahakyan
is involved in an attempt to remain in office until the end of his
tenure in 2017.
Serzh Sargsyan doesn’t look favorably on any expression of criticism
addressed to him emanating from Artsakh. Consequently, he fuels the
fire of this contest between Artsakh authorities. This policy led to
the unprecedented embarrassment that took place on January 31.
The Artsakh Police issued a statement arguing that the convoy had
elicited widespread negative reactions in the public and that a large
segment of the populace had decided to prevent the convoy from entering
Artsakh. Even though the police had seized cameras on the scene,
video clips clearly show how armed Special Forces and the police,
along with individuals wearing civilian clothes sporting armbands
attacked the participants and their cars with truncheons.
Reports claim that local authorities had urged Berdzor residents to
come out into the streets but that they had refused. Thus, the police
assumed the task. In your opinion, had the police done their duty and
escorted the convoy, would a confrontation have taken place between
convoy participants and average citizens in Berdzor, Stepanakert,
or elsewhere?
Let me note that most Artsakh residents weren’t even aware of the
Founding Parliament or the Pre-Parliament organization. Had the convoy
been allowed to pass, most local residents would have mistaken it for
a wedding party. The ‘negative reaction’ argument was created on the
orders of the Artsakh authorities themselves.
On January 31, I met with some freedom fighters that had come to
Berdzor on orders to oppose the convoy. They cursed the authorities
for misleading them and getting them involved in such a embarrassing
situation.
Today (this interview was conducted on Feb. 1 – VS), residents of
various Kashatagh villages telephoned me and expressed the same views.
It must be stressed that a large segment of the populace – freedom
fighters, representatives of youth organizations, civil servants and
police – are the direct victims of a huge conspiracy hatched by the
Artsakh authorities and President Bako Sahakyan in particular.
Hayk, nevertheless, we should note that only a few prominent
individuals that were never pro-government and you party publicly
condemned what took place from the get-go. Is it that other political
forces and average Artsakh residents are so fearful of speaking out?
Or is it the case that, on the whole, there is no diversity of opinion,
either politically or publicly, in Artsakh, especially since there
are posts in the social media justifying the actions of the attacker?
Sadly, representatives of the parties seated in the Artsakh parliament
(Azat Hayrenik, ARF, and Democratic Party of Artsakh) also participated
in the demonization of the process. But there are also posts in the
social media, especially by the new generation, that have condemned
what took place.
You correctly note that there haven’t been many statements by political
organizations criticizing the attack. But the regional representatives
of our party, which has a wide following in Artsakh and an initial
presence n 85 communities, are constantly telephoning me to express
their indignation.
Can we assume, based on the statements made by the police and the
presidential spokesman justifying the actions of law enforcement as
legal, that those who participated in the violence will go unpunished
in the eyes of the law?
Bako Sahakyan ordered the violence. The police are predisposed to
take a do-nothing approach.
Yesterday I went to the hospital to see our injured friends. For
a whole hour, the hospital administration refused to file a police
report even though it had admitted four individuals who were clearly
beaten. Finally, one of the injured, Kerob Ghazaryan, telephoned the
police and reported what had happened to him.
This entire situation goes to show that there will be no
accountability.
UNEXPECTED POINT: KARABAKH CONFLICT FEATURES AMONG CONDITIONS PACE SET TO RUSSIA
Analysis | 02.02.15 | 10:15
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Apparently, the Karabakh conflict is becoming one of the points of
confrontation in Europe and Russia. After Russia was stripped of the
right to vote at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), it was stated that one of the conditions of its return is
the Karabakh problem.
“The head of the Assembly Anne Brasseur said that… for the powers
to be returned to the Russian delegation it is necessary to carry
out the points of the resolution (“the withdrawal of troops from
Transnistria, the return of the Crimea, progress in resolving the
situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the release of [jailed Ukrainian pilot
and MP Nadezhda] Savchenko within 24 hours, etc.),” writes the Russian
official news agency RIA Novosti.
This is a rather unexpected point, because until now the West –
the United States and Europe – have not openly accused Russia of
preventing progress in the Karabakh settlement. The co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group on the Karabakh settlement are Russia, the United
States and France, and so far this format has played an important
role – maintaining the status quo, preventing the resumption of
hostilities, preparation of proposals and organization of negotiations
on the conflict settlement as well as prevention of the domination
of interests of one of the three mediating powers.
The co-chairmanship format exists even in conditions of the West-Russia
standoff when Moscow is subject to strict international sanctions
and isolation. The Karabakh subject is perhaps the only one on which
the presidents of the three countries in recent years have made four
joint statements.
Analytical circles in Armenia wonder why Europe has put forward
progress in the Karabakh conflict as one of the conditions for Moscow.
What is it that Russia doing or not doing in the Karabakh issue? What
are the positions of the West?
All three countries – the United States, Russia, France – once backed
the settlement plan that implies that Azerbaijan recognizes the rights
of the Karabakh people to self-determination, Karabakh troops withdraw
from part of the territory they currently control, communications are
unblocked and peacekeepers are introduced. In Armenia and Azerbaijan
they disagree with some points of this plan, but most importantly,
now it does not suit the mediator countries.
In particular, rapprochement between Russia and Azerbaijan is now
obvious as Baku gets most of its weapons from Russia today. Two other
mediators, as a matter of principle and by law, do not sell weapons
to Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan voted
against the resolution to strip Russia of its voting rights at the
PACE, and Armenia abstained in that vote.
Russia and Azerbaijan are being subjected to pressure from the West,
they suffer losses from lower oil prices, and Armenian experts say that
there comes a favorable moment to finally resolve the Karabakh problem
with the support of the West. This can be either the recognition of
Karabakh’s independence, for example, by Uruguay and other countries,
or forcing Azerbaijan to the sign the agreement that is unacceptable
to it. Moreover, it can be done in the context of the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide and the beginning of the revision of the
results of the First World War.
Although experts do not exclude that even now, like after the First
World War, some countries – Russia, Turkey, Germany – will manage to
come to agreement, and again at the expense of Armenians.
44% OF RUSSIANS SAY MAN CHARGED WITH KILLING FAMILY IN GYUMRI SHOULD BE TRIED IN ARMENIA
14:04, 02 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Sixty-eight percent of Russians are aware of the mass killing in
Gyumri and the developments that followed, while 32 % have not heard
about the incident, according to a study conducted by the Levada
analytical center.
48% of those, who have heard about the crime, consider that the case
should be investigated jointly by Armenian and Russian law-enforcement
bodies, 42% say it should be the Russian court, but the trial should
be held on the territory of Armenia (44%).
Twenty-five percent of those surveyed said the investigation should be
carried out by Russian law-enforcers, 21% consider the probe should
be conducted by Armenians. Thirty-seven percent said the criminal
should be tried by the Armenian court.
The study was conducted from January 23 to 26 among 1,600 people in
134 regions of Russia.
Remind that Russian soldier Valery Permyakov is the only suspect in
the slaying of a family of seven in Gyumri on January 12.
230 600 TONNES DE FRUITS ET LEGUMES RECOLTEES EN ARMENIE
ARMENIE
Quelques 230 600 tonnes de fruits et legumes, y compris les raisins,
ont ete recoltes en Armenie en 2014 selon le vice-ministre de
l’Agriculture Robert Makaryan.
Ce chiffre est en hausse de 3% ou 6700 tonnes a celui de l’annee 2013.
Le vice-ministre de l’agriculture a declare que 33 500 tonnes de
legumes, dont 23 100 tonnes de tomates, 13 100 tonnes de fruits et
184 000 tonnes de raisins ont ete achetes en 2014.
Les raisins ont ete vendus a un prix moyen de 152,1 drams par
kilogramme contre 146,2 en 2013.
lundi 2 fevrier 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com
LE MONDE DE LA MUSIQUE PLEURE LA DISPARITION D’UN JOUEUR ARMENIEN D’OUD
USA
Le journal turc Sabah a rendu hommage a John Bilezikjian celèbre joueur
de oud, qui est l’un des plus emblematiques instruments de la region,
qui vivait aux Etats-Unis et qui est decede le 19 janvier a l’âge de
67 ans en raison de problèmes de sante. >. Le journal conclut