Author: nina hovnanian

ARMENIA’S FORMER ROAD POLICE CHIEF HAS LOT TO SAY IN NEXT TRIAL

news.am
February 14, 2012 | 15:05

YEREVAN. – “I am the only one from the four defendants who had no
connection with gasoline. I have many things to say,” Armenia’s former
Road Police Chief Margar Ohanyan stated during his trial on Tuesday, at
capital Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork Marash General Jurisdiction Court.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed, earlier in the hearing the
defendant, Police Force personnel Samvel Makhmuryan, refused a public
defender, and he also refused to testify. He asked that his pre-trial
testimony be accepted as basis. The next defendant, Police Force
personnel Ara Levonyan, likewise refused to give testimony, and the
prosecution was compelled to publically read his pre-trial testimony.

The two defendants also refused to answer the questions. The other
defendant, Police Force personnel Stepan Karakhanyan, also refused
to give testimony.

In contrast to the aforesaid defendants, however, Armenia’s former
Road Police Chief Margar Ohanyan expressed a readiness to give
testimony. “I am the only one from the four defendants who had no
connection with gasoline. I have many things to say,” Ohanyan noted,
and he asked for several days to prepare.

So, the Court adjourned until February 20.

To note, Margar Ohanyan is charged with abuse of official position
and large-scale embezzlement of property, and he is under custody
since August 30. If found guilty, he could face up to 12 years
in prison. In his capacity as Armenia’s Road Police Chief, Margar
Ohanyan is charged with appropriating 574,420 liters of gasoline,
which was allocated to the Road Police, and thus with causing the
state damages worth 160 million drams (approx. US$ 420,000).

J. APPATHURAI: “ARMENIAN NATION CAN BE PROUD WITH ITS SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN”

14.02.12, 10:45

On February 13 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan hosted special
representative of NATO Secretary General on South Caucasus and Central
Asia James Appathurai. Press service of Armenian President informs
about this,

The sides rated highly relations between Armenia and NAT on all
spheres and the strengthening cooperation.

Serzh Sargsyan considered the cooperation with NATO was very effective
on 2011 and noted that political meetings become more actively.

Armenian President also added that Armenia will increase its
participation in the International security support towards
Afghanistan. 2011-2013 Armenia-NATO cooperation program was approved.

NATO special representative thanked Armenian President, Armenian
Armed Forces and the whole Armenian nation for high-level service in
Afghanistan. According to him Armenian nation can be proud with its
soldiers in Afghanistan.

Sides also referred to the regional security challenges and spoke
about the last developments on NK issue settlement process.

EXPERT DEEMS ONE-PARTY SYSTEM DISASTROUS FOR KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 13, 2012 – 14:18 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Shift to single-party system will bring about
Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement in favor Azerbaijan, according
to Armenian political analyst.

“Unlike Russia, Armenia lacks resources for authoritarianism. The
further we consolidate the system in our country, the bigger will be
the threat to Karabakh resolution in favor of Azerbaijan,” head of the
Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation Stepan Grigoryan said.

In this context, the expert called on the authorities to accept the
changes in Electoral Code and shift to proportional system.

“Majority system cannot secure democracy in developing countries,” Mr.
Grigoryan said.

NEW TURKISH UAV TO BE IN SKIES IN SUMMER

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 13, 2012 – 14:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Anka, a medium-altitude and long-endurance (MALE)
unmanned aerial vehicle designed and produced by Turkish Aerospace
Industries for more than $150 million, should be in the skies this
summer, according to the manufacturers.

However, even the Anka’s makers can’t say how effective it will be
against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants, the
purpose for which it has been designed.

Efforts to design the Anka were launched in 2004 with $150 million
for five aircraft, and 8 years later, the drone, whose name was
inspired from a mythical flying creature, has made several partly
successful test-flights.

The drone’s A version is a reconnaissance unit and the planned
B version is projected to become the UAV’s unmanned combat aerial
vehicle. The A version is ready, but it is not known if the B version
will appear soon, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Turkey has increasingly been trying to use UAVs against PKK
capabilities in an area in its southeast, bordering Iraq and Iran.

Since the end of 2007, the United States has been involved in efforts
to provide the Turkish military with active intelligence against the
PKK. Using information gathered by U.S. drones, the military has hit
PKK positions in northern Iraq several times since then.

The U.S. has agreed to a request by Turkey to transfer four MQ-1
Predator drones used for that purpose to bases inside Turkey as the
U.S. forces prepared to withdraw from Iraq, moving the four drones
to the Incirlik base inside Turkey.

Turkey separately has requested to buy four MQ-1 Predators and two
MQ-9 Reaper drones from the U.S., to which a positive response has
yet to be given since the request was made in early 2009.

ASHOT MELKONYAN: CHAIN REACTION OF CRIMINALIZATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL IN EUROPE WILL NOT DWELL ON FRANCE
by Nana Martirosyan

arminfo
Monday, February 13, 14:14

Interview of Director of the Institute of History of Armenian National
Academy of Science Ashot Melkonyan with ArmInfo News Agency

What decision do you think the Constitutional Council of France will
make on the bill criminalizing the denial of genocides?

Certainly, the propaganda machine of Turkey spends a lot of funds on
making the Constitutional Council of France rule that the bill fails
to comply with the French Constitution. However, taking into account
the similar law criminalizing the denial of Holocaust, the Council
will make a positive decision for Armenians, and Nikolas Sarkozy will
ratify the bill in the near future.

If the bill is ratified in France, what effect will it have for
Armenia?

The more the world community speaks of the Genocide, the more countries
will condemn it and speak of reparations, and the safer the situation
for Armenia will be, for Turkey is not afraid of recognition of the
Genocide, it is afraid of reparations. The more we speak of the country
which committed the Genocide and the more intensively we conduct the
policy of criminalization of the genocide denial, the stronger we
insure ourselves against re-occurrence of such tragic cases.

Will the bill spread in other European countries and in the world
in general?

The democratic stance of France played a very important role in the
adoption of the bill. Some changes have occurred in Europe, and amid
these changes the criminalization of the denial of Armenian Genocide
may spread in other countries as well. In May the French officials
hindered the adoption of the bill, but in December the same officials
welcomed it. The change in the French high-ranking officials’ attitude
towards the bill demonstrates that the issue has been discussed in
other European countries as well, particularly, with the Chancellor
of Germany Angela Merkel. And it may probably be discussed in other
countries, too.

Nevertheless, the recent statement of the U.S. Secretary of State
fails to demonstrate that…

As regards the United States, one should always remember of the
duplicity characteristic of that country’s leadership. When stating
about the incompliance of the bill with the democratic principles
of the USA, Clinton displays demagogy. She had better recall the
USA’s activity over the past few years and afterwards speak of the
incompliance of the bill with the country’s laws, which are flexible
enough. However, I think that some countries will fall under the
USA’s influence in this matter and will not hurry to criminalize
the genocide denial. Moreover, the stances of the United States
and the United Kingdom are similar given that both do not recognize
the Genocide. However, the Schengen zone countries have a different
viewpoint about this issue and the chain reaction of criminalization
of the genocide denial will not stop. Moreover, the USA’s stance
in the Armenian-Turkish normalization process is unacceptable for
Armenia. In particular, the Zurich protocols should be immediately
removed from the Armenian Parliament’s agenda. Using these protocols,
the USA is trying to impose its influence on the region. By opening
the Armenian-Turkish border the USA will open Armenia for itself,
which has been closed so far and has been hindering the extension of
the American influence.

Has the meeting in Sochi become an accelerator of the Karabakh peace
process?

Due to Russia’s intervention during the meeting in Sochi, Azerbaijan
realized that the resolution of the conflict will remain within the
OSCE Minsk Group format and there are no solutions to the problem,
except the peaceful one. Maintenance of the peace talks is the most
important progress in the

Karabakh process. Turkey will never replace France as a co-chair
country of the OSCE Minsk Group in the Karabakh peace process. Such
important problems are resolved by superpowers, and if Russia, the
USA and France cannot resolve the conflict, such politically small
countries as Turkey will be unable to do that.

Taking into account the latest impulses in the region, do you think
France may assume the role of the initiator in the Karabakh peace
process?

I do not think it is possible at the present stage. Even if President
Sarkozy decides to take that step, he will do it after the presidential
election in France. Anyway, France may only be active, but it cannot
assume the whole responsibility. Rather the United States than France
will do it. But the USA may just as well start military actions against
Iran. Such scenario would be extremely undesirable for Armenia. In
that case the ethnic Azeris living in Northern Iran will cross the
Iranian-Armenian border. In the meantime, in case of military actions
against Iran, Armenia will not be subject to the USA’s pressure. They
in the United States realize that being in the blockade imposed by
Azerbaijan and Turkey, Armenia should be friends with either Russia’s
enemy Georgia or the USA’s enemy Iran.

Therefore, given these circumstances, no measures will be taken
against Armenia. The most dangerous thing for Armenia in case of
military actions against Iran would be possible violation of the
territorial integrity of the Islamic republic. One should not forget
that Azerbaijan has been dreaming to be connected with the northern
part of Iran (indigenous Atrpatakan) and to create the so-called
Great Azerbaijan, which will be very dangerous for Armenia and the
whole region.

AZERBAIDJAN : CINQ MORTS DE FROID, OUVERTURE DES POSTES DE SECOURS
Stephane

armenews.com
lundi 13 fevrier 2012

Les autorites azerbaïdjanaises ont annonce vendredi la mise en place
plusieurs postes de secours pour les sans-abri a Bakou, une première
depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale, après la vague de froid qui a
fait cinq morts dans la capitale depuis le debut du mois.

Les postes de secours seront installes près des grands centres
commerciaux et la principale gare de Bakou, afin de prevenir de
nouveaux decès, a declare le ministre azerbaïdjanais du Travail et
de la Protection sociale, Fizouli Alekperov, a des journalistes.

“Nous faisons tout pour prevenir les decès causes par le froid”,
a-t-il souligne, en appelant les habitants de la capitale qui voient
des sans-abri a en informer les autorites.

“Les employes du ministère vont chercher ces personnes, les placent
dans ces postes de secours temporaires et leur donnent un plat chaud
et un lit”, a ajoute M. Alekperov.

Les temperatures a Bakou ont baisse ces derniers jours jusqu’a -11°C,
un record de froid depuis 43 ans pour la capitale de ce pays du
Caucase sur les bords de la mer Caspienne.

EXPERT BELIEVES RUSSIAN SCENARIO POSSIBLE IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 13, 2012 – 13:35 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian political analyst, head of the Center on
Globalization and Regional Cooperation Stepan Grigoryan believes
reoccurrence of situation in Russia following parliamentary race
possible in Armenia in case of malfunction during forthcoming
elections.

“Russian scenario may repeat in Armenia if the President backs a
single political force,” the expert said, citing anti-government
rallies in Russia.

Dwelling on the impact of Russian developments on Armenia, Mr.

Grigoryan stressed the “importance of stability in the Russian
Federation for our country.”

French Bill to Stop the `Double Killing’ – Denial of Armenian Genocide

asbarez
Saturday, February 11th, 2012

BY KATE NAHAPETIAN
>From endgenocide.org

Recognizing and remembering past genocides is an important step toward
ending this cycle of violence. The denial of genocide is widely
recognized as the last stage – a `double killing.’ This double killing
continues today with regard to the Armenian Genocide. What is unique
about the denial of the Armenian Genocide is that it is promulgated by
a multimillion dollar state-sponsored campaign by Turkey. Countries
like the United States have acquiesced to Turkey’s threats and have
failed to recognize the genocide, while countries like France have
stood up and are taking action to prohibit denial.

On January 23, 2012, the French Senate followed the lower house of the
French Parliament in passing legislation criminalizing the denial of
all instances of genocide officially recognized by France, adding the
Armenian Genocide to an earlier version of the law prohibiting denial
of the Holocaust.

Turkey reacted with predictable fury, threatening irreparable harm to
bilateral relations, and trotting out its tired dog-and-pony show of
withdrawn ambassadors, irate declarations, and hypocritical sermons.
Turkey, which has prosecuted, jailed, and – according to the European
Court of Human Rights – effectively allowed the assassination of a
writer, Hrant Dink, for speaking honestly about the Armenian Genocide,
is today preaching to France about free speech and democratic values.

Unlike France, the United States continues to participate in this last
stage of genocide by aiding and abetting Turkey in this `double
killing,’ at tremendous cost to our nation’s credibility on human
rights.

When asked why the United States does not recognize the Armenian
Genocide, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed as recently as
January 26, 2012 `that this has always been viewed, and I think
properly so, as a matter of historical debate and conclusions rather
than political.’

Previously, almost four years ago to the day, then-Senator Clinton
stated that the Armenian Genocide was `a clear case of genocide’ and
that:

`[o]ur common morality and our nation’s credibility as a voice for
human rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be
recognized and remembered by the Congress and the President of the
United States.’

She had consistently cosponsored the Armenian Genocide resolution as a
Senator and had even demanded that President Bush recognize it on
multiple occasions. The only thing that changed prior to her very
public retreat from the truth is that she was subjected, as our
nation’s top diplomat, to Ankara’s high-pressure arm-twisting. Instead
of standing up to Ankara’s bullying, she – and the rest of the
Obama-Biden Administration – let Turkey impose a gag-rule on American
condemnation of a crime against all humanity.

As one French parliamentarian stated, it was precisely because of
Turkey’s state-sponsored campaign of denial and its rage against
France’s efforts to safeguard the truth that dictated the need for
passage of a bill on the Armenian Genocide. Denial of genocide is a
celebration of genocide and a warning that it can easily happen again.
Armenia and the entire region is under threat because of Turkey’s
denial. It is no accident that Turkey also provided political shelter
to the genocidal government of Sudan, with Turkish Prime Minister
Erdogan himself vocally denying Khartoum’s genocide in Darfur.

Help end the cycle of genocide, by standing up against Turkey’s denial
of the Armenian Genocide. Learn more and take action here.

The author is the Government Affairs Director at the Armenian National
Committee of America.

MP comments on Prosperous Armenia’s refusal to join EPP

February 11, 2012 – 13:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Prosperous Armenian coalition party member Naira
Zohrabyan commented on party’s refusal to join European People’s Party
(EPP), denying a link between the decision and close ties between
leader of the party Gagik Tsarukyan and Belarusian President Alexander
Lukashenko.

However, MP refrained from commenting on rumors claiming Armenian
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan hampered accession process to EPP.

On February 9, Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Orinats Yerkir and
Heritage opposition party became EPP members. The decision was taken
at EPP convention in Brussels.

Following four Armenian parties: RPA, Prosperous Armenia, Orinats
Yerkir and Heritage filed an application for EPP membership in 2011,
all of them getting confirmation except for Prosperous Armenia.

Turkish Minister says he can repeat his words about Armenian Genocide elsewhere

news.am
February 11, 2012 | 17:50

Turkey’s Minister for EU Affairs Egemen Bagis voiced anti-Armenian
statements during his recent interview with Euronews.

In response to the Euronews correspondent regarding the investigation
launched against Bagis for the Armenian Genocide denial in
Switzerland, he said that he can repeat what he had said in Zurich
everywhere.

Recognizing the 1915 Genocide is meaningless, based on our documents.
However, Turkey calls on Armenia and the third states also to open
archives, Bagis said.

`This is an execution without trial. Calling the 1915 events a
genocide based solely on information we have right now, comes from a
lobby that nurtures malicious hatred. We refuse to enter into their
games,’ he said.

Bagis considers it is unlikely that the bill criminalizing denial of
the Armenian Genocide will spread throughout the EU.