Author: Kanayan Tamar

THE CREATION OF A MEAT PROCESSING FACTORY IS OF URGENT NEED

Monday, 28 January 2013 12:22

>From this year on there will be no problem of meat realization in the
Republic especially when the demand of the defence army will also be
met with the local meat, Minister of Agriculture Andranik Khachatryan
noted during the recently held press conference.

Besides, as the minister reported, the creation of a meat processing
factory is of urgent need and they are already conducting talks in
this direction.

By January 1, 2013, the livestock grew in the Republic as compared to
the previous year, which cannot be said about the poultry, the reduce
of which is stipulated by the increase of poultry slaughtering cases
at the end of the year. By December 1, 2012, the total number of the
poultry slaughtered mainly in the region of Martouni / ~SLusakert~T
poultry factory/ and Stepanakert was 447027, the agriculture minister
said.

THREE CANDIDATES REQUEST THE PUBLICATION OF THE LIST OF ABSENTS

01/28/2013 – 15:57

The three candidates for the presidency Hrant Bagratyan, Paruyr
Hayrikyan and Raffi Hovhannisyan issued a statement on the Armenian
Army Day calling all the citizens to take active participation in
the elections of February 18.

Congratulating all the citizens of Armenia on Armenian National Army
Day, the candidates considered their duty to present common concerns.

Emphasizing ~Swe are close to the most important historical event:
February 18 presidential elections~T the candidates expressed regret
that ~Swe have not yet succeeded in creating Armenia where the rule
of law, universal democratic standards and national values rule. The
formation of a government by the people through the elections has
remained a cherished dream~T the candidates said.

According to the authors of the statement ~Sthis bad situation dictates
us to come up with a number of initiatives~T.

In particular, candidates find it necessary to publish the lists
of the people missing from the republic, who, in violation of the
Constitution, are deprived of their right to elections. ~SWe think
that people that have been absent from the country for more than
180 days within the last year should be included in a separate list,
in order to exclude the possibility of voting instead of them~T.

According to the three presidential candidates, all candidates,
including incumbent President shall assume the obligation to (and
not in words, but practically implement) to eliminate the use of
administrative resources, including the pressure on the budgetary
sector employees: teachers, doctors, soldiers, police security forces
in the electoral process.

Candidates said that any kind of election defalcation or violation
will be considered by them as an unconstitutional act.

~SRespecting the call of our political partners and powers, we,
the undersigned candidates, at the same time consider our duty to
express our confidence that only with the consistent work and active
struggle can changes in our Homeland be possible~T Hrant Bagratyan,
Paruyr Hayrikyan and Raffi Hovhannisyan said in their joint statement.

Author: Factinfo

ARMENIAN ARMY: MEAT FOR CANNONS OR HISTORY?
Haik Aramyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

13:07 28/01/2013

A day to go before the Army Day the senior sergeant was killed by his
fellow conscript. There have already been several non-combat deaths
over the past month. Despite the pledges of the army leadership, the
“meat grinder” would not stop.

The authorities claim that the Armenian army leads in the South
Caucasus by its combat readiness. It may be so if we compare our
army with the armies of Azerbaijan and Georgia. However, the armies
of these two states have proved in action that they do not exist. And
comparison with them is just a consolation and a device of propaganda
used to cover up the plight in the Armenian army.

Army requires endeavor, efforts for progress and improvement, not
comparison. Considering the serious demographic and economic problems
of Armenia, the Armenian army needs fundamental reforms. Even Russia
already gives up the methodology of mass army of Soviet type. This
type of army was meat for cannons. It was apparent in Afghanistan
and Chechnya.

The Armenian army has inherited all the vices of the soviet army,
including hazing, corruption, methodology of combat readiness.
However, while the Soviet army had sufficient human and material
resource, Armenia lacks it.

The Armenian army has a serious mission in the modern world. Evidence
is the attention of the international community to the Armenian army.
The Armenian government also seems to have understood it, and one
of Serzh Sargsyan’s recent speeches was devoted to this. However,
awareness is one thing, and fighting the temptation of using the army
for other purposes is something else.

Meanwhile, all the governments of Armenia have been tempted to use
army in internal affairs to reinforce the criminal oligarchic system.
Serzh Sargsyan has even gone further and established the “right”
to use army in internal affairs.

However, the breakup of the main mission of the Armenian army and
the goals of the authorities has led to irreversible consequences.
Armenia’s partners are interested in the Armenian army considering the
upcoming stage of global change. The Armenian army gets considerable
international material and other support. In the context of the
“second generation” reforms the army reforms are an urgent requirement.

The ex-foreign minister Vartan Oskanian who was preparing for a
broader role, devoted one of his speeches to the army where army
was listed among the main obstacles to Armenian reforms. Since then
steps have been taken to remove from the army most odious and corrupt
“field” generals. However, this process is slow as a very small part
of new officers trained abroad are involved in the army. Corrupt
high-ranking officials continue to rule in the army. They use the
army resource for personal aims, from calories stolen from soldiers’
diets to use of army resource and troops for their own purposes.

With the current criminal and oligarchic system it is impossible
to consider combat readiness and missions. Modern and mobile armed
forces can fulfill such missions. An appropriate economy and political
system are required to have and support such armed forces. The current
economic and political system is unable to resolve such issues.

Erdoðan: Turkey considers Shanghai organization an alternative to EU

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan. (Photo: AA, Yasin Bülbül)
25 January 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, ÝSTNABUL

Turkey and the European Union have failed to make substantial progress
in their accession talks, pushing Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoðan to once again say that Turkey is seriously considering seeking
membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as an
alternative at a time when the EU’s future looks increasingly dim.
Speaking to reporters during a televised program aired in Kanal 24
late on Friday, Erdoðan said Turkey is now seeking alternative options
amid eroding hopes on the EU process with regard to adamant opposition
to Turkey’s membership by a number of EU member countries.

Touching upon a wide array of issues, Erdoðan said Turkey is seriously
considering being part of the SCO.

Turkey was accepted as a dialogue partner by the SCO at its annual
summit in Beijing on June 7.

“The fact is that we have not yet given up on the EU process. Egemen
Baðýþ makes his presentation on [Turkey-EU] relations at every Cabinet
meeting. He regularly travels throughout Europe,” Erdoðan said, citing
the government’s continuing interest in the EU despite the pessimistic
atmosphere.

Regarding ongoing peace talks with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK), Erdoðan said he is ready to take any risk to end the
dispute that has claimed the lives of thousands of people over the
past three decades. “I’m aware of the risk I have taken. If there is a
fire, extinguish it with water. If I can’t, I try to push it away from
me, to a point where it cannot hurt me.”

He said Turkey is in the process of finding a solution and that the
government is ready to use any instrument in this process to come up
with a viable solution.

He also touched upon an ongoing discussion on the definition of the
nation in the Constitution. Erdoðan said his party is ready to discuss
a new definition and urged other parties to decide whether defining
the concept of nation will take place though a constitutional change
or if the matter will be settled through a minor change to existing
law.

“Some of our friends from the Peace and Democracy Party [BDP] have
called me and I told them that it upsets me if they doubt my
sincerity,” Erdoðan said, calling on BDP deputies to lower the tone of
their remarks. Erdoðan said he would not be able to bear the harsh
remarks.

“They deliver speeches in Diyarbakýr. At the end of the speech they
say, ‘The prime minister, who backs peace efforts, is bombing our
Kurdish brothers.’ Why should I bomb my Kurdish brothers?” Erdoðan
asked, underlining that Turkey bombs terrorists in the mountains.

Erdoðan also lamented the poor cooperation between the EU and Turkey
in the fight against terrorism.

“Nearly three years ago [former French President Nicolas] Sarkozy told
me in a G-20 meeting that he had a surprise thing to tell me. He told
me France would turn one of the prominent leaders of the terrorist
organization over to Turkey. Sarkozy is gone but no one was turned
anyone over to us,” Erdoðan said.

PRESS RELEASE
RAFFI HOVANNISIAN CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]
Website:

26 January 2013

Raffi Hovannisian Visits Metsamor, Takes Campaign to the Regions

Yereva–Raffi K. Hovannisian kicked off his campaign tour of the
provinces today with a visit to the town of Metsamor, where the
scheduled town hall meeting had to be moved outdoors to accommodate
the hundreds of supporters who had turned out to listen to the
presidential candidate.

Hovannisian took the stage to offer his vision on sustainable
development of rural and urban communities, strengthening of local
self-governance, and improving legislation, and in doing so strongly
criticized the ruling authorities for ignoring the needs of the
people.

`We cannot continue on this path of unemployment, poverty, and
exodus,’ Hovannisian declared. `On February 18, we must put an end to
this national embarrassment.’

Hovannisian pointed out that the Armavir region, and particularly
Metsamor, offer vast opportunities to develop the agricultural sector
and increase production. `We must begin by subsidizing the price of
irrigation water by 70 to 80 percent, and in certain
cases–development of new lands, production of high value agricultural
goods, and setting up new gardens–up to 90 percent. As of now, this
precious resource flows uselessly out of the country’s borders,’ he
said.

Hovannisian further called for a significant increase in salary and
benefits for the staff of the Metsamor nuclear plant, who have been
delayed compensation under the current regime and deserve pay
commensurate with the high risk of their jobs.

Hovannisian explained that his Heritage Party made several budget
proposals targeted at Metsamor high school renovations, all of which
the government denied. Schools in Metsamor and other communities are
in strong need of repair, furniture, and academic materials.

The event closed on a lively exchange with the voters, during which
Raffi Hovannisian urged them to actively participate in the upcoming
elections, and to vote freely and without fear for their preferred
candidate.

Raffi Hovannisian Campaign Headquarters

Interfax, Russia
January 21, 2013 Monday 10:04 AM MSK

Obama cannot play as active role as Medvedev did in Karabakh settlement – Bryza

BAKU. Jan 21

Former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza said U.S. President
Barack Obama cannot pay as much attention to the Karabakh conflict as
Dmitry Medvedev did during his tenure as president of Russia.

Bryza, director of the International Centre for Defense Studies, based
in Tallinn, Estonia, told reporters he does not think Obama must play
as great a role in the settlement as Dmitry Medvedev did. This is
impossible and unrealistic, he said.

Bryza added at the same time that the U.S. president and secretary of
state can strengthen trust between the presidents and that without
this the co-chairs will never be able to bring this process to an end.

Several years have been lost in the settlement processes, Bryza said.

Turan news agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 18 2013

Azeri, Armenian NGOs launch joint website to promote conflict resolution

Baku, 18 January: A presentation of an Armenian-Azerbaijani website,
, took place at Park Inn Hotel on Friday. The
project was funded by the British embassies in Azerbaijan and Armenia
and implemented by the Institute for Peace and Democracy (Azerbaijan)
and Armenian NGO Region.

When countries are in a state of war, they should fight, not
negotiate. But when there are no combat operations, all the
opportunities should be used for a peaceful resolution of the
conflict, the head of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, Leyla
Yunus, said.

[Passage omitted: background information on the Institute for Peace
and Democracy]

As to the website, its formation started in October 2012. Parallel
interviews have been published on the website with the same questions
answered by both Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives. Such an
approach provides more opportunities to have a full picture of the
situation in conflicting countries. Topics of the interviews are
different ranging from social and public to conflict resolution and
opinions on peaceful negotiations.

Apart from it, the website contains online interviews with different
international experts, representatives of various organizations and
political experts. Among the interviewers are Thomas De Waal, Sabina
Fraser, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for
the South Caucasus Padraig Murphy, Minister for Reintegration of
Georgia Paata Zakareishvili and many others.

Meanwhile, from Azerbaijan only [MP] Rasim Musabayov and Ilqar
Mammadov [of REAL movement] took part in an online interview. They
answered questions of Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists live.

The protests of two women at the presentation, who evidently were
trying to disturb the event, added intrigue to the presentation. The
women were affected by the conflict and lost their relatives, they did
not fully understand what was going on at the event. They said that
they cannot understand how dialogue with Armenians can be built while
the territory is still under the occupation.

French ambassador to Azerbaijan Pascal Monye answered their questions
with kindness and sympathized with their loss and pain. He reminded of
the conflict between Germany and France which lasted for many years.
His relatives fought in that war but today it does not mean that the
conflict continues between representatives of both countries. He noted
that any war ends with peace. French diplomat thinks that the project
is very important, the more people from both countries communicate the
closer they are to peace.

German ambassador Herbert Kvelle said that the history of Germany is
about conflicts with neighbouring countries – with France and Poland.
However, it is important to look forward without glancing back. The
meeting was also attended by the Polish ambassador and first
secretaries of Swiss, Holland, US and British embassies. A similar
meeting took place in Yerevan on 16 January.

We should note that because of the project, the official media in
Azerbaijan attacked Leyla Yunus, blaming her for the betrayal of
national interests and cooperation with Armenians.

[Translated from Russian]

Agence France Presse
January 25, 2013 Friday 6:08 PM GMT

Turkey rights group condemns attacks against elderly Armenians

ISTANBUL, Jan 25 2013

A Turkish human rights group on Friday voiced concern over a spate of
attacks targeting elderly Armenian women in an Istanbul neighbourhood.

Turkey’s Human Rights Association (IHD) called the violence, which has
left one victim dead, a “systematic campaign” against some of the most
vulnerable members of the Armenian community in Samatya.

“It is a clear message to Armenians that they will not be allowed to
die in their beds in peace,” the group said in a statement.

The condemnation comes after five cases of violence or attempted
violence were recorded in recent months against elderly Armenians in
Istanbul’s historic Samatya neighbourhood.

In November, 87-year-old Turfanda Asik was found at her home severely
beaten by an unidentified attacker, IHD reported, adding that nothing
was stolen. The woman suffered fractures and lost sight in one eye.

A month later, 84-year-old Marissa Kucuk died after being stripped,
beaten and stabbed, according to IHD. Again, nothing was stolen.

Three more incidents occurred in January, where elderly Armenian women
were assaulted as they were walking home in Samatya, known for its
large Armenian community, the group said.

Turkey’s Armenian minority numbers around 70,000 people, most of them
living in Istanbul. They often complain of being considered
second-class citizens in the country.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed in a
1915-16 genocide by Turkey’s former Ottoman Empire. Turkey says
500,000 died of fighting and starvation during World War I and
categorically rejects the term genocide.

The head of passport division is charged
Sat, 01/26/2013 – 12:48

Another head of the police passport and visa division is on the
defendant’s chair. According to the indictment, the resident of
Ashtarak Gayane Hovhannisyan being the head of the passport and visa
division of Aragatsotn region from July 2006 to July 2012 abused his
official power and performed frauds, causing significant damage to the
state’s legitimate interests.

For those actions G. Hovhannisyan is charged with Article 308 (Abuse
of official authority) and Article 314 (Official forgery) of RA
Criminal Code.

Let us remind you that according to our recently published
information, the head of the passport and visa division of the
Aragatsotn region Arman Ayvazyan and the contractual employee of the
same division Ruben Sargsyan are charges with the abuse of the
official power (Arman Ayvazyan) and the latter for the fraud for
receiving bribes (Ruben Sargsyan).

Author:
Factinfo

REVUE DE PRESSE
Droits de l’homme : L’Unesco sensibilise les médias sur la prévention
des génocides

De Paris et en relation avec les bureaux de Dakar, Kinshasa,
Libreville et Yaoundé, l’Unesco, en collaboration avec le Mémorial de
la Shoa, a organisé une vidéoconférence autour du thème : « Médias et
génocide – Réflexions sur l’Holocauste ». Une rencontre qui a insisté
sur le rôle et la responsabilité des professionnels des médias face
aux violations massives des droits humains. En toile de fond, le
prétexte pour lancer le débat était cet exposé fait sur différentes
pages sombres de l’histoire de l’humanité. Celles-ci vont de
l’Holocauste au génocide du Rwanda en passant par l’extermination en
Arménie, comme expliqué par l’historien Yves Ternon depuis Paris. Ce
dernier, chirurgien et historien, s’est appesanti sur le travail des
médias dans l’accomplissement de ce qu’il appelle « la bêtise humaine
composée de ce qui s’est fait avec les Juifs, les Tutsi et aussi les
Arméniens ». Il a, d’un autre côté, évoqué la propagande nazie par le
truchement des médias et autres tenanciers de la supériorité de race.
Un dessein qui visait, selon lui, à préparer l’opinion afin que toutes
les exactions à mener soient rendues légales. A travers la presse,
explique Yves Ternon, ainsi qu’avec la cinématographie, « des hommes
des médias, par leur travail, ont appelé à la destruction d’autres
individus ». Avant cet exposé du spécialiste, M. Qian Tang, le
sous-directeur général pour l’éducation de l’Unesco, depuis Paris, a
insisté sur l’importance de la sensibilisation des médias pour la
lutte contre les génocides. De son point de vue, il est nécessaire
d’enseigner l’Holocauste dans les établissements pour faire comprendre
cette page sombre de l’histoire de l’humanité. A ses côtés, Karel
Francapane, administrateur de projet, section Education pour la paix
et les droits de l’homme de l’Unesco, a rappelé, en campant le débat,
qu’il n’est pas seulement question de commémorer la tragédie de
l’Holocauste. Mais il faudrait « regarder vers l’avenir, sensibiliser
surtout les médias et les mettre face à leurs responsabilités ».

L’Holocauste, une tche noire de l’histoire Cette rencontre devait
aborder, pour une grande part, la tragédie juive. Ce que fit Jacques
Fredj, le directeur du Mémorial de la Shoa. En présentant son « Ong
créée depuis 1943 pendant la 2nde guerre mondiale », il a expliqué le
but du Mémorial, qui est de permettre à ceux qui ont survécu de
raconter tout ce qu’ils ont enduré. Aussi, il a profité de cette
vidéoconférence pour se souvenir du rôle joué par la France durant
l’Holocauste avec ces 76.000 déportés dont 14.000 enfants. Ce livre
douloureux de l’histoire de l’humanité ré-ouvert, ce fut le tour de la
rescapée Ginette Kolinka de raconter son histoire. Cette femme de 88
ans a vécu l’enfer durant les 15 mois passés au camp de concentration
et d’extermination allemand d’Auschwitz-Birkenau. Avec force détail,
la petite fille qu’elle était s’est vu séparer de sa famille et vivait
dans la crainte perpétuelle de passer dans les crématoires allemands
ou de se faire gazer au « zyklon B ». Aujourd’hui encore plus, elle se
pose une seule question : « Pourquoi toute cette haine ? ». En
concluant les débats avec la réaction de différents journalistes des
bureaux de Dakar, Kinshasa, Libreville et Yaoundé, Mme Ann-Thérèse
N’Dong-Jatta, directrice du bureau de Dakar de l’Unesco pour
l’éducation en Afrique, tout en remerciant les différents
participants, a souligné l’importance de cette rencontre. Pour elle, «
les journalistes doivent jouer un rôle important dans la prévention
des génocides ».

Amadou Maguette NDAW

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dimanche 27 janvier 2013,
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