Author: Kanayan Tamar

Defense Ministry refutes Azeri reports on Armenian ceasefire violation

June 15, 2013 – 15:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Nagorno Karabakh defense army maintains the
ceasefire and takes retaliation measures only in case of necessity,
army spokesman said.

In a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, Senor Hasratyan
dubbed Azeri reports claiming ceasefire violation cases by Armenian
armed forces on June 14 `nonsense.’
RA Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan, too, denied Azeri
reports, citing different political and strategic reasons behind them.

According to Azerbaijan Press Agency (APA), Armenian ceasefire
violation cases were reported at contact line June 14 forcing Baku to
take retaliatory measures.

Armenian president congratulates Iran’s president-elect

16:06 – 16.06.13

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan addressed a congratulatory message
to the newly elected president of Iran Hassan Rouhani on his victory
in the June 14 presidential election.

`I am sure that the traditional friendship and high-level political
dialogue between Armenia and Iran will continue developing to the two
nations’ benefit,’ the Armenian leader’s message reads.

`I wish you good health and new achievements in enduring Iran’s steady
progress and aspirations of the Iranian people,’ the Armenian
president’s message reads.

Armenian News – Tert.am

United struggle must be waged – Heritage party vice-chair

14:42 – 16.06.13

Heritage party Vice-Chairman and member of the Yerevan City Council
Armen Martirosyan believes that the Pre-parliament’s task in its civil
struggle is the agenda to be proposed.

`We have never had any restrictions – if this is a civil or political
force. We have always believed we must wage a united struggle –
involving both political forces and individuals,’ Martiroyan told
Tert.am.

`Can any civil force accuse us that we, the Heritage party, did not
join them in any struggle? Can anyone say that the Heritage party was
given sufficient human and financial resources, but did not struggle?
So restricting the struggle to its civil aspect is unacceptable to
me,’ he said.

A united struggle must be waged to be effective because political
forces are part of society.

`We are for unification, but time will show the Pre-parliament’s
policy. Unfortunately, they are unwilling to unite. But I think they
will change their mind in the course of time,’ Martirosyan said.

Asked about possible use of arms in the struggle, he said: `I would
not say this possibility depends on the forces involved in the
struggle. It depends on the authorities that are absolutely cynical
now.’

The authorities’ policy will cause clashes. `That is, `we are not
going to yield power to you. Come and take it, if you can.”

Martirosyan voiced the opinion that the Pre-parliament will transform
into a political party in the course of time.

Armenian News – Tert.am

ARMENIE
Facilitation des procédures d’obtention de licences pour les taxis

Le gouvernement arménien a approuvé un ensemble d’actes législatifs et
de projets liés à la facilitation des procédures d’obtention de
licence pour les taxis.

Armen Yeghiazaryan, le directeur du centre national pour la régulation
législative, a déclaré que les modifications adoptées permettront au
secteur privé des économies annuelles de 1,5 milliards de drams sans
faire de préjudice pour le gouvernement.

Armen Yeghiazaryan a présenté les principaux changements législatifs
au cours de la réunion du gouvernement.

Ainsi, ceux qui vivent à l’extérieur d’Erevan bénéficieront désormais
de nouvelles procédures pour l’obtention de licences auprès des
administrations locales. Les chauffeurs de taxi n’auront plus besoin
de venir à Erevan pour obtenir leur licence.

En outre, les droits de l’Etat et le paiement des charges fixes seront
désormais fusionnés en un paiement à l’acte de 12 000 drams chaque
mois pour Erevan, et de 4000 pour les régions éloignées. La seule
redevance trimestrielle sera de 34000 et 120000 drams.

En échange il y aura de nouvelles exigences pour les conducteurs, un
code vestimentaire particulier et une meilleure communication avec les
passagers.

« A la demande de la police, des plaques jaunes ont été supprimés,
cela vous aidera à économiser 17000 drams » a déclaré Armen
Yeghiazaryan.

Certaines autres exigences ont été retirés. Parmi ces dernières celles
relatives au stationnement, à l’examen médical et technique. Cela
aidera les conducteurs à économiser encore 10 à 15000 drams par mois.

« Il n’y a pas de telles exigences dans le monde, et c’est
techniquement inapproprié pour nous de les avoir dans notre pays »
a-t-il ajouté.

Gagik Beglaryan, ministre des Transports et de la Communication, a
souligné ces modifications de manière significative peuvent aider le
gouvernement dans sles efforts visant à éliminer les monopoles dans
les services de taxi.

L’état des données officielles, il y a près de 9000 taxis officiels
dans la république, plus de 7000 d’entre eux sont la propriété de 500
services de taxi.

dimanche 16 juin 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

“ARMENIA HAS EXHAUSTED THE RESOURCE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS”

07:31 PM | JUNE 14, 2013 | POLITICS

Keeping opposition activist Tigran Arakelyan in prison does not bring
honour to Armenia, says Vladimir Karapetyan, a senior representative
of the opposition Armenian National Congress.

Together with ANC activists, Karapetyan was outside the Prosecutor’s
Office to demand release for Tigran Arakelyan “We are looking forward
to changes and we shall continue our Friday protests as long as
Arakelyan is in custody,” he said.

ANC activists Tigran Arakelyan, Sargis Gevorgyan, Artak Karapetyan
and David Kiramijyan were taken into custody after an August 2011
standoff with police officers in a Yerevan park. They were charged
with hooliganism against a representative of law-enforcement body
and sentenced to 2-6 years in prison. Arakelyan received the longest
prison sentence for what the Armenian police say was a key role in the
incident. The three activists were later released with only Tigran
Arakelyan remaining in prison. All the four activists denied police
claims that they had attacked law-enforcement officers maintaining
public order in the city center. The Court of Cassation has remitted
the appeal back to the Court of Appeals for review. ANC considers
Tigran Arakelyan to be a political prisoner.

Vladimir Karapetyan stressed that it is shameful to have a political
prisoner in Armenia and political forces should struggle against
the phenomenon.

“Armenia has already exhausted the resource of political prisoners
and the international community will give a rough assessment to it,”
he concluded.

US, RUSSIA, FRANCE PRESIDENTS TO SIGN STATEMENT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH PROBLEM AT G8 SUMMIT

Trend, Azerbaijan
June 14 2013

The presidents of Russia and the United States Vladimir Putin and
Barack Obama are planning to sign three documents after negotiations
in the framework of the G8 summit, including a joint statement of the
presidents of Russia, the U.S. and France on the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem, the Russian president’s assistant Yuri Ushakov told
journalists, RIA Novosti reported.

“With 100 percent certainty I can say that Obama, Putin and Hollande
(French President Francois Hollande) will adopt a statement on the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem,” Ushakov said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding
regions of Azerbaijan.

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 peace negotiations.

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

THE END OF THE EMPIRE — OR IS IT?

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 14 2013

CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON
[email protected]

When I arrived at New York Kennedy Airport the other night, I rang
my family to let them know that I had arrived safely and would catch
my connecting flight.

The first thing they said to me was that Turkey had been in the news
all day.

The world continues to watch as events unfold…

A Today’s Zaman headline in this past Wednesday’s newspaper read,
“Clashes in Ä°stanbul extend into night in Taksim, police clear
square.” What began as a peaceful demonstration against the park’s
redevelopment more than two weeks ago has grown into the biggest
test of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authority. The outrage
being expressed over a violent police crackdown on May 31 against
a peaceful sit-in in the park is now being covered internationally
around the clock.

As I watched some of the news on local American broadcasts, I realized
how few Western correspondents have an understanding of the situation
in Turkey. Though American news is trying to cover the events as best
they can, it is difficult to really fully understand the situation or
mentality unless you have some knowledge of the culture and language.

Having spent a significant time in the country is a plus!

In my piece today and the next one, I want to provide some cultural
insights and a brief historical summary for those of you around the
world who are watching the news about Turkey. To understand Turkish
society better requires a little knowledge about the general history
of Turkey, so let me start with the end of the Ottoman Empire: the
Treaty of Sèvres.

Before I left Turkey, a number of foreigners who live in Turkey were
wondering why some Turks are blaming the Gezi protest on America or
the West.

There have been accusations that foreigners instigated the Gezi
protest in Ä°stanbul. This is not an uncommon statement to hear when
a problem arises in Turkey. Having lived in Turkey since 1979, I have
noticed over the years that this accusation is often made in times
of trouble. You may wonder why Turks are quick to blame America or
the West.

I have previously written about how the Treaty of Sèvres impacted
the nation. I think this is an important historical point to be aware
of to understand the Turkish mentality and fear factor. Basically,
with the defeat of Germany at the end of World War I in 1918 came
humiliation for its Turkish ally. The Ottoman Empire was dissolved
by the crushing terms of the Treaty of Sèvres, signed in 1920 with
the victorious Allies (excluding Russia and the United States). The
regional map was redrawn: Turkey renounced sovereignty over Mesopotamia
(Iraq) and Palestine (including Transjordan), which became British
mandates; Syria and Lebanon, which became French mandates; and the
kingdom of Hejaz (meaning the loss of Mecca).

Perhaps the most controversial terms were those that compelled Turkey
to grant autonomy to the Kurds, to allow Armenia to become a separate
republic under international guarantees and to see Smyrna (now Ä°zmir)
and its environs put under an interim Greek administration, with the
final outcome to be decided by a vote for national self-determination
by the local electorate.

In Europe, Turkey ceded parts of Eastern Thrace and certain Aegean
islands to Greece and the Dodecanese and Rhodes to Italy, retaining
only Ä°stanbul and its environs, including the zones of the straights
made neutral and international. No part of Turkey was left fully
independent. Turkey also had to pay reparations, enabling the Allies
to tighten their control over Turkey’s economy. The Treaty of Sèvres
thus spelled the end of the Ottoman Empire, placed its lands in the
hands of the Allies and sparked the patriotic fire that drove Ataturk
to fight for an independent Turkish nation.

This treaty is considered one of the most serious acts of foreigners
meddling in domestic affairs. Certainly from this time onward, it has
not been unusual to blame foreigners for instigating problems. After
all, the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres were harsh. Many in the Ottoman
Empire were left angered and embittered by their treatment. The Treaty
of Sèvres territorially carved up an empire that had been known by
Westerners as the “Sick Man of Europe.”

In my next piece, we will look at how Turkish culture has evolved
and Turkey’s future as a democracy.

“The test of democracy is freedom of criticism.” –David Ben-Gurion

ARE THERE ETHICAL LAPSES IN THE TIMES’ STORY ON WILLIAM’S “INDIAN ANCESTRY”?

New Statesman, India
June 14 2013

Turning a front page story into an advert for Times+ is concerning.

BY ALEX HERN

Prince William’s great-great-great-great-great-grandmother was half
Indian, according to the Times’ front page today:

It has long been known that Eliza Kewark lived in western India but
she is usually described as Armenian. However, analysis of DNA passed
down the female line confirms that she was at least half-Indian…

Jim Wilson, a genetics expert at the University of Edinburgh and
BritainsDNA, who carried out the tests, said that Eliza’s descendants
had an incredibly rare type of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), inherited
only from a mother. It has so far been recorded in only 14 other
people, 13 Indian and one Nepalese. This DNA will have been inherited
by the Duke and Prince Harry but will not be passed on to their
children, although it is likely that their descendants will have some
of Eliza’s Asian genetic material.

The splash is actually vaguely mis-sold. Although Eliza Kewark was
indeed thought of as Armenian, it’s not particularly surprising that
she would have had Indian ancestors; the Armenian diaspora had been in
India for centuries at the time of her birth, and even the most insular
communities tend to experience genetic mixing over in that timescale.

Instead, it’s interesting that a specific type of mitochondrial DNA,
only found in Asian people, has passed all the way down through the
maternal line to Harry and William. In a far more concrete way than
normal, we can say that they have “Indian DNA”; though in practical
terms that is largely meaningless.

But there are two troubling sides to the splash.

The first is the Times’ motivation in running it. In the middle
of the double page spread which carries the story, readers are
exhorted to “Discover your ancient history”. The boxout is an advert
for BritainsDNA, the source of the story, promoting the company’s
“cutting-edge technology” which can “help to answer a fundamental
question-where do you come from?” Times+ members – people who subscribe
to the paper or its website – are offered a free upgrade package if
they order a DNA test.

Did the Times decide to run the story on the front page, and then
negotiate a deal for their readers? Or were they offered the story on
the condition that they ran a readership offer? The firewall between
editorial and advertising is typically stronger than this, and when
it breaks down, bad judgement can follow.

But that is a one-off concern. There is a wider issue at stake here,
which is that the story reveals information about the genetic make-up
of someone who has not consented to any DNA tests. Thanks to the
fact that mtDNA is exclusively inherited along the maternal line, the
company could test two other people with the same maternal heritage
as William and Harry, and then run the story on them instead.

Thankfully, this story is relatively trivial. But it feels like spying
nonetheless. There’s an obvious reason why the Times didn’t run the
story with Robin Dewhurst and Sarah Drury, the two distant cousins
of the princes who provided the actual DNA, on the front page. But
our DNA is the most basic data we have. No-one should have to find
out what it contains by looking at the front-page of a newspaper.

MANIFESTATIONS EN TURQUIE : LE PARLEMENT EUROPEEN APPELLE A LA RECONCILIATION

Publie le : 14-06-2013

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
presente cette information mise en ligne sur le site du Parlement
europeen le jeudi 13 juin 2013.

Photo: euronews

Parlement europeen

Manifestations en Turquie: les deputes appellent a la reconciliation
et mettent en garde contre des mesures sevères

Session plenière Relations exterieures – 13-06-2013 – 12:24

Les deputes ont exprime leur profonde inquietude face au recours a la
force, disproportionne et excessif, par la police turque en reponse
aux manifestations pacifiques et legitimes du parc Gezi d’Istanbul.

Dans une resolution adoptee ce jeudi, ils mettent en garde contre
l’adoption de mesures sevères a l’encontre de manifestants pacifiques
et demandent au Premier ministre d’adopter une position d’unite et
de conciliation.

Les responsables de violences policières doivent etre traduits en
justice, les manifestants pacifiques actuellement detenus immediatement
liberes et les victimes dedommagees, ont estime les deputes. Tout en
accueillant favorablement la reponse moderee du President Abdullah Gul
et les excuses du Vice-premier ministre Bulent Arinc, ils deplorent le
manque de volonte du gouvernement turc et de M. Erdogan de prendre des
initiatives en faveur de la reconciliation, de presenter des excuses
et de comprendre les reactions d’un segment de la population turque.

Societe inclusive

Les manifestants percoivent une absence de representation des voix
minoritaires et une partie de la population turque est mecontente
face a la règlementation du mode de vie, soulignent les deputes. Dans
une societe inclusive et une democratie pluraliste, il incombe a la
majorite d’inclure l’opposition et la societe civile dans le processus
decisionnel, ont-ils ajoute.

La tenue de manifestations pacifiques et legitimes atteste du dynamisme
de la societe civile turque mais le pays doit davantage ameliorer
ses institutions democratiques, l’etat de droit et le respect des
libertes fondamentales, affirme le Parlement.

Liberte d’expression et des medias

Les deputes ont egalement exprime leur inquietude face a la
deterioration de la liberte de presse, dont certains actes de censure
et d’auto-censure de plus en plus pratiques par les medias turcs. Les
principaux medias turcs ont ete silencieux sur les manifestations et
des utilisateurs de Twitter ont ete arretes. Le Parlement souligne
l’importance d’une presse independante, indispensable a une societe
democratique et le rôle du pouvoir judiciaire pour ameliorer la liberte
de la presse, citant le grand nombre de journalistes en detention ou
en procès.

Procedure: resolution non legislative REF. : 20130607IPR11391

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Parlement europeen

OPPOSITION ARMENIAN MP LEAVES PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

19:39 ~U 14.06.13

Gagik Jhangiryan, an MP from the opposition Armenian National Congress
(ANC) party has left the Standing Committee on Defense, Security and
Internal Affairs.

The press circulated the rumor that Jhangiryan and Committee Chairman
Koryun Nahapetyan had a conflict over the non-payment of salary to
the committee members.

Armenian News – Tert.am