Author: Kanayan Tamar

Un Conseil constitutionnel bien turcophile ?

Samedi 3 Janvier 2015 à 16:00 | Lu 1914 fois I 3 commentaire(s)
ANNE DASTAKIAN

Dans sa première livraison de l’année 2015, les Nouvelles d’Arménie
Magazine publie une enquête qui révèle un échange de mails troublants
entre le Français Hubert Haenel, ex-sénateur et membre du Conseil
constitutionnel, et le Turc Yasar Yakis, ancien ministre des affaires
étrangères, ardent francophile et lobbyiste turc en France.

La petite sauterie entre jeunes du FN et de l’UMP pour passer la nouvelle année

Nicolas Sarkozy n’a jamais défendu la laïcité

Nationalisations en Italie : Renzi fait la politique dont Hollande est incapable

Dans son premier numéro de 2015, l’année du centenaire du génocide des
Arméniens de 1915, toujours officiellement non reconnu par la Turquie,
les Nouvelles d’Arménie magazine, (NAM), le plus grand journal
français dédié à l’Arménie, publie une enquête pour le moins
troublante. Un échange de mails (voir ci-dessous) datant de février
2012, entre le Français Hubert Haenel, ex-sénateur et membre du
Conseil constitutionnel, et le Turc Yasar Yakis, ancien ministre des
affaires étrangères, ardent francophile et lobbyiste turc en France,
tend à prouver de bien dangereuses liaisons entre nos >, en
principe indépendants et garants de la Constitution française, et un
éminent agent d’influence étranger. L’échange a eu lieu au moment de
l’invalidation, le 28 février 2012, par le Conseil constitutionnel, de
la loi Boyer qui cherchait à pénaliser >, en clair, le génocide arménien.

Issu d’un groupe de discussion Yahoo toujours accessible sur internet
fin 2014, l’échange est éloquent. Le 1er février, Yasar Yakis écrit à
Haenel qu’il est >. recours dont il pense
qu’il a >. Rien
d’étonnant, certes, de la part du lobbyiste d’un Etat dont la
politique étrangère s’évertue à nier l’élimination de plus d’un
million d’Arméniens de l’empire ottoman, voici un siècle. On peut par
contre s’étonner de la réponse du > français à son >.

Le 28 février, jour du verdict, c’est avant même la publication du
résultat de la délibération du Conseil, qu’Haenel lui annonce la bonne
nouvelle.

Azerbaijan Starts the War

Haikazn Ghahriyan, Editor-in-Chief
Comments – 04 January 2015, 01:48

In the morning of January 3 when Armenia was officially a member of
the Eurasian Union, Azerbaijan launched two actions in the Armenian
direction, killing two and wounding one.

In December Azerbaijan again boosted tension at the border. In
addition, the northeast of Armenia was under intensive firing on New
Year’s eve. On those days the agreement on membership of Armenia to
the Eurasian Economic Union was being signed and ratified, and on
December 23 the EEU summit was being held in Moscow.

The summit in Moscow was marked by the following: Putin announced that
CSTO national armies would be connected to the Russian defense system,
which means that the armies will be managed by Moscow. In other words,
CSTO countries appear in the area of Russia’s security mandate.

During this meeting Putin announced that CSTO member states should be
ready for military actions in Central Asia and the Caucasus. After
NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan the “burden” of responsibility for
this region falls heavily on Russia. The national armies of CSTO are
seen as a resource for the next war.

The point is that it is clear to everyone except the Armenians that
Russia is not capable of acting as a guarantor of security and
implementing such objectives for its “allies”. Since only the
Armenians fail to understand this, this feature of Russia’s will be
especially intensive in Armenia’s direction. Armenia joined the EEU
referring to security and will experience the whole bitterness of
“security”. There is even some mysticism in this in a historical
perspective.

Russia annexed Armenia in its projects through its agents in Armenia,
as well as Azerbaijan and Turkey which did not wish Armenia’s
membership to the Euro-Atlantic organizations either. Russia has armed
Azerbaijan for the latter to attack Armenia, and those attacks were
many in 2014.

This is Azerbaijan’s commitment in Russian-Azerbaijani agreements.
Those attacks were thwarted because the Armenian army was capable of
sovereign decisions and defeated Azerbaijan. And now Azerbaijan again
wants to check whether the resolutions of December 23 may change the
state of play in the conflict area.

Azerbaijan is preparing to carry out most of Moscow’s conditions as
its relationship with the West has got complicated and it has been
“blocked” there. For its part, Moscow intends to strip Armenia of its
sovereignty altogether with the help of Azerbaijan and Turkey and make
it part of it. It is not accidental that recently Putin has been
“forgetting” about Armenia in its speeches.

Two obstacles are left on the way to depriving Armenia of its
sovereignty: Karabakh and the Armenian army. There is no doubt that
attacks on Karabakh will continue and intensify. Karabakh is
historically stuck in the “throat” of the Russian empire, and somehow
the destiny of this empire depends on Karabakh. It seems absurd but it
is not more absurd than the policy of the Russian empire. Besides,
Karabakh is the case when the Armenians won not just without the
Russians but in spite of the Russians.

They have already set out against the army through the resolution of
December 23. Azerbaijan will assume “responsibility” for Karabakh,
especially that Armenia within the EEU is limited in its actions,
including regarding Karabakh.

Azerbaijan must be punished within its own territory. This is the only
thing that influences Azerbaijan’s policy. Border incidents and
victims do not produce such an effect, only actions performed in its
territory do. In addition, capturing its territories must be among
such actions.

Karabakh is not an EEU member and does not have any international and
“Eurasian” commitments. Karabakh’s actions will be in line with the
international politics because Azerbaijan has appeared outside this
logic within the orbit of the Russian policy.

Big News Network
Jan 3 2015

Nagorno-Karabakh Accuses Azerbaijan Of Killing Two Soldiers

Saturday 3rd January, 2015

Defense officials in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh have
accused Azerbaijan of attacks that left two ethnic Armenian soldiers
dead.

A statement from the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said
Azerbaijani infiltrators crossed the buffer zone that separates the
region from the rest of Azerbaijan early on January 3 and opened fire.

Armenia warned Azerbaijan of consequences in case of more attacks.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denies entering the territory.

Nagorno-Karabakh is located within Azerbaijan’s borders but is
inhabited almost entirely by ethnic Armenians.

A 1994 truce ended six years of bitter fighting between the two sides,
but both sides frequently claim attacks despite the cease-fire.

Based on reporting by dpa and AP

ITAR-TASS, Russia
January 2, 2015 Friday 08:51 AM GMT+4

Armenia joining Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union

MOSCOW January 2.

. Armenia officially joins on Friday the Eurasian Economic Union
(EEU), a new economic grouping between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan

Armenia is becoming a full-fledged member-state of the bloc, under an
agreement signed in October, but will have a limited representation in
the EEU’s executive bodies until their term of powers expires in late
2015.

Armenia’s share in the customs duties from goods entering the
territory of the EEU will total 1.13 percent. At the same time, the
share of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia slightly decreases to 4.65
percent, 7.25 percent and 86.97 percent, respectively.

The country will join the agreements between the EEU member-states on
common grounds, and will switch to a common customs tariff in the
sphere of commodity trade step-by-step by 2022.

Until 2022, Armenia will be able to apply customs duties on a number
of goods, including meat and meat products, which differ from customs
rates of the bloc. The republic will have a separate tariff on certain
dairy products, eggs, honey until 2020 and until 2019 on some fruits
and nuts.

Besides, Armenia will apply zero customs rates on petrol until 2018,
and will switch to a common customs tariff in 2020.

Under the same principle, the level of customs rates will be subject
to regulation on some organic and inorganic chemistry products,
fertilizers, household chemicals, leather, plastic ware and rubber
ware, including car tires.

Up to 2021, Armenia will have separate customs rates in regard to some
kinds of fabric.

Armenia will launch talks with the member-states of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) on changing its commitments as part of the
organization due to joining the EEU.

BOURG-LES-VALENCE (DRÔME)
Le bal arménien du Nouvel An à Bourg-Lès-Valence (Drôme) a fêté
l’arrivée de 2015 dans une ambiance chaleureuse

Superbe ambiance arménienne en cette nuit de la Saint Sylvestre à la
salle > (Bourg-Lès-Valence) avec près de 400 invités
pour fêter le Jour de l’An. De nombreuses personnalités et
responsables d’associations arméniennes étaient présentent à ce
rendez-vous festif. Les chanteurs Koko Bardakjian et surtout Vrej
Sahakian (d’Alep) ont enchanté le public qui ne quittait pas la piste
de danse. L’arrivée de l’année 2015 fut sous le signe de la chanson
arménienne et les kotcharis. Bravo à l’équipe de Joseph Kazazian
l’organisateur de ce bal du Nouvel An sous les couleurs de la chanson
arménienne. Terminer l’année 2014 et débuter l’année 2015 sous le
signe de l’Arménie dans une ambiance chaleureuse de fête et de la
famille est aujourd’hui sans doute l’un des meilleurs atouts pour
affermir l’identité arménienne.

Krikor Amirzayan

jeudi 1er janvier 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Tax-News
Jan 2 2015

IMF Advises Armenia To Broaden Tax Base

By Tatiana Smolenska, Tax- News.com, Moscow
02 January 2015

Armenia’s plan to formulate a comprehensive tax code is an opportunity
to broaden the tax base and increase revenues, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

It said that higher tax revenues are needed to fund increased social
spending and spending on growth-enhancing infrastructure projects.
Improvements to the tax system should aim to eliminate gaps and ensure
greater equity, it said.

The IMF noted that Armenia may receive extra revenues from the
Eurasian Economic Union’s (EEU) common customs pool, but EEU tariffs
are expected to decline over the medium term. It commended what it
called the authorities’ “cautious approach” to evaluating the
sustainability of these additional revenues prior to incorporating
them in the budget.

The IMF said that, at present, fiscal stimulus policies are
appropriate, given the nation’s low fiscal deficit, but fiscal
tightening may be needed if the outlook for the country worsens. It
noted the importance of continuing to strengthen the capacity of the
tax authority.

The comments appear in the IMF’s first review of Armenia’s economic
performance as part of a three-year program under the Extended Fund
Facility (EFF). The review’s completion enables the release of about
USD17m, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to USD34m.

Times of India
Jan 2 2014

Restaurant Review: TBBQ – Terrace Barbecue

The author has posted comments on this articleAnil Mulchandani, TNN |
Jan 2, 2015, 12.00AM IST

Restaurant Review: TBBQ – Terrace Barbecue

TBBQ – Terrace Barbecue is a specialty restaurant of the Country Inn &
Suites By Carlson, Ahmedabad.

Decor
TBBQ is located on an open terrace with bamboo walls that give some
privacy from the neighbourhood. The terrace restaurant has open
kitchens where you can watch processes of making various kinds of
kebabs on charcoal grills or griddle pans (tawas). The cushioned
chairs are set around tables that have iron grills embedded in them
for those who want to heat their own kebabs and satays – you can even
ask for skewers of marinated semi-cooked pieces of meats or veggies to
grill yourself on your table.

Food
The kebab is the hero of this restaurant. You have two options – you
can ask for a pre-plated kebab combo (one kind of kebab with
bread/rice and other accompaniments) or the unlimited meal with
eat-all-you-want servings of kebabs on your table based on a daily
changing menu after which you get up and help yourself from a small
buffet with the mains, biryani/pulao and desserts of the day.
The Kakori Kebab here is soft and delicate, with the melt-in-the-mouth
quality of Awadhi kebab. The Peshawari Chapli Kebab is crisp and light
tava-fried minced mutton patties. If you like seafood, the Malai
Jheenga has plump prawns in a creamy marinade.

Among the vegetarian kebabs, the Paneer Tikka is well-marinated,
gently grilled so that its softness is not lost to the char-grill. The
house specials are Arbi ki Kakori, Chukandar Ke Kebab, Khumb Mutter
Til Tikka, Rajma Ki Galouti and Gulnar Seekh Kebab. They also have
Jain friendly versions of Gobi Razzila, Khumb Mutter Til Tikka and
Arbi ki Kakori. All the kebabs of northern India and the NorthWest
Frontier come with a bread (eg roomali roti), mirchi ka salan, salad,
mini-papads and chutneys. Grilled Corn with Chilli Saffron Butter is a
house special for those who do not eat onions, garlic and potatoes,
and comes with a veg momo and noodles.

While the Indian kebabs are delicious, they also have some innovative
international inspired kebabs from different parts of Asia that are
above average. The Lebanese Chicken Kebab and Moroccan Fish are quite
nice, but they lack for good pita bread and accompaniments like khubz
arabi, fattoush salad, hummus and muhammara dip are also at best
average. The Khorovadz Kufta is their take on the Armenian burger
patty which also comes with hummus and other dips. Vospov Kufta is a
vegetarian version of this Armenian kebab made from dal. Thai Chicken
Skewers are Indonesian style satays with a sweetish soy sauce marinade
served with peanut and coconut dips, which is plated as a combo with
chicken dumpling and noodles that are both rather disappointing and do
not compliment a Thai dish.
The desserts change daily – the jalebis, gulab jamun and seasonal
halwas are all excellent when they have them.

Plus and minus
Go to TBBQ -Terrace Barbecue when you are in the mood for lip-smacking
kebabs in the pleasing ambience of an open terrace. The special
feature of the restaurant is that it offers the flexibility of
ordering a la carte or opting for the eat-till-you-drop menu. Their
Indian kebabs are outstanding but the international ones lack good
accompaniments.

LA Magazine, CA
Jan 2 2015

New Year, New Laws

January 2, 2015 Shayna Rose Arnold Politics Add a comment

When the clock struck midnight on Thursday morning, a number of the
930 bills Governor Jerry Brown signed into law went into effect across
California. Here are 10 of the most interesting new rules to be aware
of now:

It’s now possible, legally speaking, to invade someone’s privacy with
a drone (if one is used to record a person in a private place).

Landlords can no longer prevent apartment and condo renters from
growing fruits and vegetables in portable pots.

Toy weapon manufacturers must design toy guns in bright colors so they
are less easily mistaken for real ones.

Members of same-sex couples can now check a box marked “parent” (an
alternative to “mother” or “father”) on birth certificates.

Students can no longer be expelled for “willfully defying” school officials.

Bitcoin and other “digital currencies” are now legal for transactions.

State entities can no longer display or sell the Confederate flag or
objects that show it, except for historical/educational purposes.

Large airports must designate a room located behind the security
checkpoint for mothers who are breastfeeding–restrooms don’t count.

Students can be taught about mass killings, such as the genocides in
Rwanda and Darfur and the massacre of Armenians during the Ottoman
Empire. Education officials must now consider teaching lessons about
these events.

The death certificates of transgender people will now list the gender
the deceased person identified with.

IMF predicts new challenges for Armenia’s economy

22:05 * 02.01.15

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently released its first
review under extended arrangements with Armenia, which enables the
disbursement of $17 million, Cistran Finance reports.

The report said Armenia saw steady growth between 2010 and 2012, with
growth slowing in 2013 and 2014. The growth rate is expected to be 2.6
percent in 2014, with only a gradual increase predicted for 2015.

Inflation fell below the Central Bank of Armenia’s (CBA) ideal range,
but it is expected to rise again as depreciation of the dram will
likely drive import prices up. Also, the further depreciation of the
Russian ruble affected the regional economic landscape at the
beginning of the year and again in November.

The IMF recommends that decisive action be taken by the government to
reform macro-economic conditions and boost growth. Part of this would
likely come from the creation of a financial space that would
encourage social spending and investments over the medium term.

Armenia becomes full member of Eurasian Economic Union

14:20, 02.01.2015

YEREVAN. – From January 2 Armenia became a full member of the Eurasian
Economic Union that also comprises Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Till the end of 2015 Armenia will be represented by three members sin
the Eurasian Economic Commission. They will have one vote without
assigning them spheres of competence.

Armenia’s share in customs duties will make 1.13 percent, while the
share of Belarus will reduce from 4.7 percent to 4.65, that of
Kazakhstan from 7.3 percent to 7.25, and Russia’s from 88 percent to
86.97.

As regards services, Armenia joins the agreement of members of the EEU
on a common basis, while on trade a gradual transition to the Common
Customs Tariff is provided.

Up to 2022 Armenia will be able to apply different rates from the EEU
customs duties on a number of products, including meat and meat
products. Until 2020 a separate tariff for some types of dairy
products, eggs, honey will be applied for Armenia, and for some types
of fruits and nuts till 2019.

In addition Armenia will use zero customs rates for gasoline till 2018.

In connection with the accession to the Eurasian Economic Union,
Armenia will begin negotiations with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) members to change their obligations under the WTO.

Armenia News – NEWS.am