Author: Kanayan Tamar

SAMVEL HARUTYUNYAN. “ARREST SURIK KHACHATRYAN, AND I WILL ATTEND THE POLICE.”

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

August 6 2013

“The only true thing in the police statement is that I refused to
attend the police station,”- assured co-chair of Regional Defense
Committee, mayor of Goris for the period of 1992-1994 Samvel
Harutyunyan in a interview with Aravot.am, today. To recall you
that the Police told “Pastinfo” that Samvel Harutyunyan was called
to the police regarding the statements made in the press, but he had
refused to attend. According to Samvel Harutyunyan, “In the past two
days, on April 3 and 4, I was called by Colonel Badasyan, deputy of
the Police Department to Combat Organized Crime, and invited to the
Police. When I asked why I should attend the Police, for what issue,
he motivated that with regard to the statement related to security.

He said that he has been assigned a task to meet on that issue. 
First, I would not mind meeting anyone but I would not go to the
Police just for my security. I have suggested meeting and talking in
my apartment or in any cafe. I said that I have made a lot of other
statements, which helped me to reveal numerous serious crimes of the
past 23 years made by the anti-hero of our time, the former governor
of Syunik Surik Khachatryan and his gang, and associated with all
of those things, unfortunately, up to now the Police continues to be
indifferent. The criminal inaction is still going on. It is not that I
refused attending the police station, I have said that it is amazing
that after terrifying crime in Goris, during which Avetik Budaghyan
was killed, and his brother Artak Budaghyan was seriously injured,
Surik Khachatryan was not arrested for this crime, not detained,
but he was not even involved in these criminal acts. 

I have made respective statements in connection with several dozen
crimes. A whole series of facts was published with regard to these
crimes, and so far, even a criminal case has been filed in connection
with my statements. I have said, Mr. Badasyan, finally let the police
or the prosecutor’s office initiate a criminal case, I would not only
attend the police, but I will do my best to help investigation to
completely disclose  Surik Khachatryan’s crimes.” Samvel Harutyunyan
believes that the criminal case will be filed, moreover, in case of
detaining  Surik Khachatryan and his gang, cousin Sasun Khachatryan
Khachatryan, Surik Khachatryan’s brothers, their ‘murderous sons’,
many citizens will be present and will state many other crimes
committed by them. “50 crimes presented by me, in a short period
of time, may become 500 or more. We know that, unfortunately, the
inaction by the law enforcement system against Surik Khachatryan’s
crimes is continued, they are calling me just to show that they are
doing something. This simply means an imitation and nothing more. I’m
waiting for the criminal case to be filed an hour early, a minute
early, and Surik Khachatryan will be detained, including a number of
key figures of the gang, and I will attend the police station, and
do my best. With regard to my security, I will never present before
the police for some little conversation. I think that no matter my
life is important for me, my family, my dynasty, and my friends,
much more important are the consequences of my statements.”

Hripsimeh JEBEJYAN  

Read more at:

PRESSE ARMENIENNE : REVUE DU 6 AOUT 2013

Publie le : 07-08-2013

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
presente cette Revue de Presse parue sur le site de l’Ambassade de
France en Armenie le 6 août 2013.

Ambassade de France en Armenie

Revue de la presse armenienne du 6 août 2013

En raison de cette periode estivale, plusieurs quotidiens ont arrete
leur parution.

I. Politique interieure

1. Le sit-in devant la Mairie se poursuit depuis maintenant 11 jours/Le
thème du transport en commun continue d’alimenter l’actualite. Le
Maire d’Erevan, Taron Margarian, se dit pret a dialoguer avec les
militants, determines a camper devant la mairie jusqu’au licenciement
des fonctionnaires municipaux ayant voulu mettre en ~uvre une hausse
du tarif de base sans concertation prealable. Les protestataires n’ont
pas accepte d’interrompre leur action a compter de la decision du maire
de maintenir pour l’heure le prix du ticket a 100 drams. L’entetement
des activistes est critique par certains milieux d’opposition qui
estiment inutile toute mesure de remplacement des fonctionnaires
en poste.

II. Questions regionales

1. Un homme d’affaire d’origine armenienne a ete tue dans une localite
près de Moscou/Le motif pourrait etre ses activites professionnelles.

Jamanak rappelle que c’est le deuxième assassinat en ce mois d’août
d’un Armenien dans la region de Noguin.

2. L’offensive de Moscou contre les immigres illegaux/Selon les
medias armeniens, les autorites russes traqueraient depuis cet ete
contre les immigres, notamment d’origine caucasienne. Joghovourd et
Jamanak condamnent les pratiques particulièrement rudes et humiliantes
appliquees par la police russe a leur egard. Selon Joghovourd, la
Federation de Russie tente par la de faire comprendre aux membres
de la CEI que seule l’adhesion a l’Union douanière garantit a leurs
ressortissants un accès libre en Russie. Le journal en deduit que fort
probablement les Armeniens auront prochainement besoin d’un visa pour
venir en Russie.

3. Le nouveau copresident americain du Groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE/Se
referant au site officiel du Departement d’Etat americain, la presse
en ligne annonce que M. James Warlick a ete nomme copresident du GDM.

Il assumera ses fonctions a partir de septembre.

III. Haut Karabagh

1. Communique du Ministère de la Defense de la RA/Un soldat armenien
a ete blesse la veille par un tir ennemi dans la region du Tavouche,
rapporte le service de presse du Ministère de la Defense.

Redaction : Sonia Machinian

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Ambassade de France en Armenie

DES DETENUS LIBERES EN RAISON D’UNE VIEILLE ERREUR JURIDIQUE

JUSTICE

PARIS (France), 06 août 2013 (AFP) – Un recent arret de la Cour de
cassation pourrait entraîner la liberation de “dizaines, peut-etre
des centaines” de detenus dont les peines seraient considerees
comme prescrites, selon Le Canard enchaîne a paraître mercredi. Le
ministère de la Justice a precise mardi soir qu’après verification
de la situation dans 10 cours d’appel (sur 36), 4 personnes, sur un
total de 628 condamnations, avaient ete remises en liberte.

Dans un arret du 26 juin, la Cour de cassation, plus haute juridiction
francaise, donnait raison a un franco-armenien, condamne par contumace
en 1989, et qui souhaitait regagner la France, après la prescription
de 20 ans en matière criminelle. Il lui avait ete oppose une serie
d’actes interrompant la prescription (delai a l’issue duquel la peine
ne peut plus etre executee). Or, la liste de ceux-ci avait ete fixee
par un decret de 2004 et la Cour de cassation a tranche que cette
liste ne pouvait etre fixee que par la loi.

La liste avait depuis ete etablie par une loi en 2012, mais la Cour
de cassation a donne raison au demandeur, qui contestait la validite
des actes interruptifs opposes a sa demande de prescription. L’arret,
qu’a consulte l’AFP, prevoit ainsi “qu’en l’absence de disposition
legislative applicable au litige, anterieur a l’entree en vigueur
de la loi n° 2012-409 du 27 mars 2012, les actes preparatoires a
l’execution d’une peine n’etaient pas de nature a interrompre le
cours de sa prescription”.

Selon le Canard enchaîne, la direction des affaires criminelles et
des grâces du ministère de la Justice a en consequence dû demander
aux differentes juridictions de verifier la situation “des personnes
condamnees et ecrouees au-dela du delai de prescription de la peine”
(20 ans pour les crimes, 5 ans pour les delits).

Elle a envoye une note a tous les parquets, selon l’hebdomadaire, leur
demandant de verifier si dans ces cas les actes interruptifs pris en
compte etaient valables ou pas et indiquant que dans ce dernier cas
“il conviendra de faire proceder immediatement a la levee d’ecrou”
(liberation). Le journal cite pour la juridiction de la cour d’appel
d’Aix le nombre de 245 cas “dont la situation doit etre immediatement
verifiee”.

Dans un communique, le ministère de la Justice a confirme avoir
demande “la verification des condamnations susceptibles d’entrer
dans le champ de cette jurisprudence restrictive sur la base d’une
estimation (…) qui s’elèverait a 3.499 pour l’ensemble des ressorts”
des cours d’appel. Les condamnations concernees sont celles prononcees
avant la loi du 27 mars 2012.

“En l’etat des verifications qui sont terminees pour 10 cours d’appel
(sur 36 en France, ndlr), pour un total de 628 condamnations, 4
personnes, dont les peines delictuelles (de 4 a 10 mois pour des faits
de violences conjugales, vol aggrave et degradation, abus de confiance,
falsification de chèques et usage notamment) avaient ete ramenees a
execution, ont donc ete elargies (remises en liberte, ndlr)”, a precise
le ministère. La Chancellerie affirme que “de nouvelles instructions
ont ete donnees pour que les verifications se terminent sans delai”.

Voir le lien en bas

mercredi 7 août 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

SUICIDE OU MEURTRE ?

Armee

Un officier des forces armees du Haut-Karabagh a ete arrete après
avoir ete accuse de mauvais traitements sur un soldat retrouve mort
la semaine dernière. Arman Muradian, 20 ans, est mort d’une blessure
par balle a la poitrine près d’une base militaire du Karabagh. Les
responsables militaires ont affirme qu’il s’etait suicide. Un
porte-parole du ministère de la Defense armenien a annonce que
l’adjoint du commandant de son bataillon, le major Emil Avetisian
a ete accuse d’avoir maltraite Muradian, ce qui l’aurait conduit a
se suicider.

Le père du soldat, Hovsep Muradian, pense toutefois que l’agent a
non seulement battu mais a egalement tue son fils Arman. Citant des
informations obtenues de sources anonymes dans l’unite de l’armee,
il a affirme que Avetisian a agresse son fils et deux autres soldats
pour ne pas avoir repondu a ses appels telephoniques depuis leur
poste d’observation.

” Il a tire sur mon fils. Je le sais “, a dit le père en pleurs,
resident d’un village du centre de l’Armenie.” Il devait etre
demobilise le 28 novembre. Pourquoi un sergent qui a servi pendant
20 mois se serait suicider ? “, a-t-il demande.

Hovsep Muradian a ajoute qu’il va essayer de rencontrer le ministre
de la Defense Seyran Ohanian. Beaucoup de militaires se sont suicides
au cours des dernières annees. En outre, les groupes de defense des
droits de l’homme mettent en doute les causes officielles donnees
pour les decès de militaires hors combat. Selon eux, l’armee a cache
beaucoup de meurtres pour sauver l’honneur de certains officiers. Le
ministère de la Defense nie ces allegations.

mercredi 7 août 2013, Laetitia ©armenews.com

NO, RUSSIA ISN’T ABOUT TO “LOSE” ARMENIA

The American Conservative
Aug 6 2013

By Daniel Larison ~U August 6, 2013, 11:13 AM

Walter Russell Mead wonders if Armenia will alter its security
relationship with Russia:

This festering tension has important geopolitical implications not
just for Armenia and Russia but also for Iran. Tehran has been making
overtures toward Yerevan recently, offering to expand economic and
security ties. But if Armenia chooses to turn instead toward the EU
and the West, and away from Iran and Russia, Iran might find itself
more isolated than it already is.

This isn’t going to happen, but it’s still worth considering why it
won’t. First, the Armenian government has no desire to rupture its
relationship with Moscow, and Armenia needs Russia as a patron far
more than Russia needs Armenia. Supposing that the Armenian government
wanted to end its post-Cold War security relationship with Russia, how
would it “turn” to the West? One of many reasons that Armenia remained
in Russia’s orbit for the last two decades is that the U.S. mostly
ignored Armenia and aligned itself with Armenia’s Turkish and Azeri
neighbors after the Karabakh war. Russia and Iran have maintained
good relations with Armenia for decades, and have prevented the
country from being economically isolated, so what incentive would
Armenia have to downgrade those relationships and seek closer ties
with states that pay much more attention to Turkey and Azerbaijan?

Even if Armenia successfully joins the EU, which will presumably be
a very long process in any case, it certainly isn’t going to become
part of NATO. Armenia wouldn’t be able to join the alliance while
the dispute over Karabakh remains unresolved, and there’s no evidence
that Armenians in or out of government want to do this. Joshua Kucera
summed things up last year in a report on Armenia’s relations with
NATO and Russia:

It’s just understood that Armenia’s ties with Russia are so strong
[bold mine-DL] that a few U.S./NATO cooperation programs here and
there aren’t going to make any difference.

As angry as the Armenian public may be at the moment, most Armenians
want to maintain good relations with Russia, a majority favors joining
Russia’s customs union, and as of 2011 75% of Armenians approved of
the performance of Russia’s leadership. This is not a country that
Russia is likely to “lose” anytime in the near future.

SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS IN A ‘DEMOCRATIC’ COUNTRY

EDITORIAL | AUGUST 6, 2013 4:05 PM
________________________________

By Edmond Y. Azadian

As the current Islamic administration tries to dismantle Ataturk’s
legacy, much dirt is being unearthed in Turkey.

The fallout from that ideological warfare has been benefitting the
minorities, albeit, inadvertently.

Recently a document has surfaced revealing the racist nature of
Turkey’s successive administrations following the establishment of the
Turkish Republic by Ataturk in 1923. The official document, prepared
by the Istanbul Provincial Education Directorate, states that Turkey’s
population administration system has been recording citizens who have
Armenian, Jewish or Anatolian Greek origins with secret “race codes.”

For example, citizens of Armenian origin are coded with the number 2,
while Greeks were given the code of 1, and Jews, 3.

An official from the Population Administration has told Radikal
newspaper that the practice was being conducted “to allow minority
groups use of their rights stemming from the Lausanne Treaty.” This
official Turkish explanation very much resembles the justification
efforts by Turkish authorities – until today – that during World War
I, the government was so concerned with the safety of the Armenian
minority that it deported members of that group to “safer zones,”
meaning the Der Zor desert, where, of course, they perished.

Armenians did not have to wait for this document to surface to find
out that they were treated as second-class citizens.

But as the taboos are being broken (though not removed), politicians
have begun to question these tactics and the treatment of minorities:
Altan Tan, a member of parliament from the Peace and Democratic
Party, has stated that “for a long time those allegations had been
circulating, but they were denied by the authorities.”

Tan urged Interior Minister Muammer Guler to make a statement on the
issue. “If there is such a thing going on, it is a major disaster. The
state illegally profiling its own citizens based on ethnicity and
religion, and doing this secretly, is a big catastrophe,” Tan said.

Even after the Genocide, the remaining Armenians in Turkey experienced
the brunt of this discriminatory racist policy. One expression of
that policy was the “wealth tax” (varlik vergisi), which was levied
on Armenians, Jews and Greeks in the 1940s; those who were unable to
pay the exorbitant taxes were sent to labor camps to perish.

Another policy which exists to this day is the appointment of Turkish
assistant principals at Armenian schools. The community is free to
hire an Armenian principal, but the power resides in the hands of the
assistant principal, who must be an ethnic Turk. In reality, Turks
serving in that capacity are the official government spies, placed
there to enforce restrictive government policies and to report to
higher-ups if any Armenian history is being taught secretly in those
schools. That is why young people graduating from Armenian schools
and emigrating to the West are dumbfounded to discover there is such
a thing called Armenian history.

The Kurds do not have any race codes because they had been designated
for assimilation. Beginning with Ataturk, who perpetrated the Dersim
pogroms against the Kurds, successive administrations have been trying
to convince the Kurds that there is no distinct ethnic group known
as Kurd; that the Kurds better consider themselves as “mountain Turks.”

Despite all atrocities and persecutions, no Kurd was ever convinced
to be anything but a Kurd.

The Kurdish minority – which accounts for one third of Turkey’s
population – is on the verge of emancipation. The establishment of
Iraqi Kurdistan has fueled aspirations of the Kurds throughout the
region and especially in Turkey. It looks like in the bloodbath of the
civil war in Syria, another autonomous region for Kurds is shaping up.

Painfully aware of the writing on the wall, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan is engaged in a guessing game with the Kurds. He has already
cut a deal with the jailed leader of the Kurds, Abdullah Ocalan,
to move the Kurdish guerillas out of Turkish territory. The Kurds
have accomplished their side of the deal and are waiting impatiently
for the government’s move: knowing Mr. Erdogan’s duplicity he will
either offer some cosmetic changes in the status of the Kurds or,
holding the unarmed population hostage, he will resort back to his
old habit of trying to impose a military solution to the Kurdish issue.

Without a question the Armenian community in Turkey is breathing
easier. Sixteen percent of confiscated community assets are promised to
be returned to the community. Newspapers like Agos are writing freely
about democracy which will benefit all the citizens of the country.

But Armenians are very cautious based on their historic experiences.

Once burnt, twice shy. The years 1909-1914 brought a period of hope
and expression of cultural freedom to all minorities in the Ottoman
Empire, only to be followed by the Genocide.

Later, during the 1950s and 60s, when Adnan Menderes was democratically
elected as prime minister (1950-1960), the dictatorial instincts of
the authorities were tamed. The Armenians, along with other minorities,
engaged in some freedoms. A representative of the Armenian community –
Mugurditch Shellefian – was even elected to the parliament.

But then the 1960 military coup sent Menderes to the gallows,
along with all the liberties that he had brought. Minorities again
experienced the brunt of the repression.

The last coup was staged by Kenan Evren in 1980 and the constitution
promulgated by his military regime in 1982 is still enforced in Turkey.

During Evren’s iron-fisted rule (1980-1989), Turkey’s minorities
experienced the worst period of repression.

At age 96 that tyrant is still alive in Turkey and very recently
boasted that after the military coup his hands did not shake when he
signed the death warrants of 35 politicians and said he would repeat
his act again at any time.

Recent documents also surfaced in which this bloodthirsty despot
justified the murder of 1.5 million Armenians as a “necessary” and
“legal” act.

Even the minister of defense in Erdogan’s previous cabinet had asked
the rhetorical question if Turkey would have enjoyed its present
vast territory if it had not deported its minorities. And yet the
West embraces Turkey as a “model democracy” for the Islamic world.

The Paris-based Reporters without Borders has referred to Turkey as
“the world’s biggest prison for reporters” and ranked it 154th out
of 179 countries, behind Iraq and Russia, in its 2013 ranking of the
world press index.

Turkey continues to be a minefield for the Armenians. They cannot
breath freely, despite current illusive trends. They know they have to
be cautious, as long as those bloodhounds are around and live freely
in the country.

They realize their race code 2 is still in force and they know they
are second-class citizens.

– See more at:

CLEVELAND COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND TEEN FROM ARMENIA SUFFERING FROM LEUKEMIA

COMMUNITY | AUGUST 6, 2013 4:11 PM
________________________________

Funds Desperately Needed for Costly Treatments

By Alin K. Gregorian

Mirror-Spectator Staff

CLEVELAND – When one thinks of a major Armenian community in the US,
certainly Glendale, Fresno and Watertown come to mind. However, it
seems when it comes to the true meaning of community, the folks in
Cleveland make up for their small size with their generous hearts.

The community, through St. Gregory of Narek Church and its pastor, Fr.

Hratch Sargsyan, is rallying around Stella Arakelyan, 17, a leukemia
patient from Armenia has been receiving care at the Cleveland Clinic
since May. Stella is accompanied by her mother, Iren.

In a letter to the Mirror-Spectator, she wrote, “Four days before
her prom in Yerevan, Armenia, she was diagnosed with Philadelphia
Chromosome Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This diagnosis came
as a shock to her family and friends and herself. At the tender age
of 10 she had already been diagnosed with another life-threatening
disease – diabetes. Stella had endured her illness with extraordinary
strength and maturity, but this new blow and the terrifying diagnosis
of cancer has put a stop to her dreams.”

Iren Arakelyan, speaking by phone from Cleveland, praised the community
for its warmth and support in this trying time.

Speaking in Armenian, she said, “I have no relatives here, no one or
nothing. Now I feel I am surrounded by people who are all dear to me
and my child. There are such good people here in Cleveland. They are
all taking care of me.”

Stella Arakelyan goes into Cleveland Clinic for monthly chemotherapy
treatments, her mother said. This month was the third such treatment,
the last part of a three-month cycle.

The results after this last round will be analyzed at the end of
August, at which time, the next course of action will be determined.

Iren Arakelyan, herself a physician as is her husband, Levon, said
that there is about an 80-percent chance that their daughter will
require a bone marrow transplant.

“It is very difficult,” Iren Arakelyan said. “Still, we are fighting
it. Stella is an excellent student. She wants to go to medical school
too and become a doctor,” said her mother. “She is very beautiful
and smart. We are fighting with God’s help. We have no choice.”

According to the church website, despite the deep discounts Cleveland
Clinic has given the young patient, the cost of the treatment is
exorbitant, hovering around $500,000 now and expected to rise if
there is the need for a bone marrow transplant.

“We are in the process of initiating a campaign to gather some funds
from charitable organizations, however Stella and her mother who are
now living in the St. Gregory of Narek parish house are trying to cut
even on their daily expenses to save for the treatment. Their needs are
not only monetary but spiritual and moral,” read the church’s website.

The Armenian-born Sargsyan took the helm of St. Gregory of Narek Church
in 2011, after short stints at St. John Armenian Church of Southfield,
Mich. under the guidance of its pastor, the Rev. Garabed Kochakian,
and St. Sahag Armenian Church in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

Sargsyan has opened the doors of the parish house to the Arakelyans
and parishioners take turns hosting the family, cooking for them or
transporting them.

“We mainly try to support them morally and with our prayers,” Sargysan
said. “We don’t give up hope.”

He added, “I feel joyful to see a challenging situation in which
fellow Christians and fellow Armenians all come together. Half a
million dollars will be hard to raise but for some reason, I don’t
lose faith. We need to find those generous people.”

He continued, “It is sad and difficult when I go to the hospital
to visit Stella. I just visited her today,” but, he added, she is
responding well to treatment.

In a statement, Iren Arakelyan wrote, “Father Hratch Sargsyan, the
spiritual leader of the community, is responsible for our free lodging
adjacent to the church and for the invaluable moral support to our
family. The benevolence, the atmosphere of constant care and material
support has created an ambience of being surrounded by family. Stella
is on the very beginning of her path to recovery and the amazing
warmth and moral support she is getting from the Armenian community
has an immense effect on the success of the healing process. There
are no words with which I can express my heartfelt gratitude to the
people who have become the pillar of our strength in these few first
days. On behalf of my family, I want to thank all who are supporting
us with their Christian generosity of spirit in this difficult time.”

Dr. Gevog Yaghjyan, a fellow physician in Armenia who works at
Yerevan’s University Hospital N1 with Stella’s parents, got a call
from colleague Dr. Bella Grigorian, a neurologist in same hospital,
asking for help for the young girl. “I told Bella the truth; the only
place where they can get not a cutting age treatment and support of
Armenian community will be in Cleveland. On May 23 I got the latest
lab results from Iren by e-mail and called Dr. Rafi Avitsian with
the question, ‘can we help this family. They need our help.’ Rafi’s
reaction was ‘Send all the results immediately.'”

Through Avitsian’s coordination with the Cleveland Clinic International
Department, all the paperwork and visa applications were completed
in two days.

Donations for Stella Arakelyan can be made via
or checks
can be mailed to St. Gregory of Narek Church, 678 Richmond Rd.,
Richmond Heights, OH 44143. Make checks payable to St. Gregory of
Narek, memo line: Stella Arakelyan.

Sargysan stressed that if anyone is interested in contacting him
about the case, he would be happy to speak to them at 440-264-3541
or [email protected].

There is also Facebook page at

– See more at:

SIT-IN ACTIVISTS INVITE YEREVAN MAYOR FOR TALKS (PHOTOS)

August 06, 2013 | 16:38

YEREVAN. – The youth, who are continuing their sit-in across the
Armenian capital city Yerevan Municipality building, invited Mayor
Taron Margaryan for talks on Tuesday at 5pm.

Sit-in activist Vahagn Minasyan told the aforesaid to Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

He also noted that misinformation is disseminated, according to which
Margaryan had paid them a visit.

“All of our actions, statements were transparent. The demand is
public. If he [i.e., Margaryan] invites us for talks, then he has
something to say.

“I think it should also be noted that we will not compromise in any
way, we will not accept any proposal unless our demand is met.

“If he has something to say, let him come down to openly and
transparently say it before the public,” Minasyan added.

To note, the activists-who are on the twelfth day of their sit-in-have
several demands, which include the dismissals of Municipality Transport
Department Chief Henrik Navasardyan and Yerevan Trans Company Director
Misak Hambardzumyan.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the Yerevan Municipality
recent decision to increase the public transport fares in the city
had brought about outbursts, several groups were formed in the social
networks, and the initiatives were staging protests and distributing
pamphlets against this decision. In addition, the Free Car initiative
was launched, along the lines of which Armenia’s numerous well-known
personalities, MPs, and ordinary residents were providing-with their
own vehicles-free transportation to the people.

And on July 25, Mayor Taron Margaryan suspended the decision on the
fare hike; but the wave of the aforesaid movement is still alive. The
activists demand that the persons, who made the decision on raising
the transport fares, be brought to account, and those officials,
who used violence against and cursed at the activists, be punished.

TURKEY KEEPS EYEING MINORITIES AS INFERIOR PEOPLE – DEBATE

16:23 06.08.13

A debate devoted to Turkey’s “minority code” was held Tuesday in
Yerevan to address the country’s discriminatory policies in relation
to the minority groups.

The participants – journalists and experts specialized in Turkey
affairs – focused particularly on the situation of Turkish-Armenians,
agreeing unanimously that the country’s attitude towards ethnic
minorities hasn’t changed since the 1900s.

It comes after the Turkish-Armenian publication Agos last week that
the identity documents of the Turkish minorities are given secret codes
under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. The figure for the Armenians is two.

Lilit Gasparyan, a journalist and Turkish studies specialist attending
the debate, said Turkey is the kind of state which has always pursued
discriminatory policies in relation to its minority members. “The
Ministry of Education said this is not an encryption, but rather a
measure to facilitate the minority children’s admission to schools.

That’s just ridiculous and unacceptable,” she said, adding that the
country’s stance on the minorities continues to remain the same.

“The so-called codification is one of the trump cards we can use,
but no one has addressed the topic now that a week has passed [since
the publication of the article]. Had such a revelation been made in
Germany, that would entail a change of regime,” Gasparyan continued.

Addressing the topic, the political analyst Ara Papyan blamed the
foreign ministry for being inactive despite having possibility to
react in a prompt manner. “Wouldn’t Turkey have used that to organize
the Armenian massacres? If Turkey fails to fulfill international
commitments to people, I doubt whether it will not in relation to
other states,” he said.

Aris Nalcin, a news director of the IMC TV channel who joined the
debate through Skype, said the Turkish Interior Ministry had to confirm
the minority codes after the government failed to take timely measures
to settle the problem.

As for the Armenian community’s response, he said the older generation
is greatly concerned over the revelation. “It turns out, actually, the
documents give a secondary role to the Armenians in Turkey,” he said.

PASSPORT RECEIVING PERIOD FOR SYRIAN AND LEBANESE ARMENIANS TO BE EXTENDED BY ANOTHER YEAR

20:05, 6 August, 2013

YEREVAN, AUGUST 6, ARMENPRESS: Syrian and Lebanese citizens of Armenian
origin will have opportunity to receive passports of the Republic of
Armenia in Armenian diplomatic representations and consular bodies
till September 1, 2014. “Armenpress” reports making a reference on
official website of Armenian government that the above-mentioned
issue is included in Government’s August 8 session agenda.

With this step Government extends the term of 2012 July 26 decision
which will expire on September 1, 2013, with one more year. The
project has been developed by Ministry of Diaspora.

Because of the conflict which started in Syria in 2011, many Syrian
Armenians leave for motherland and receive Armenian citizenship.