Author: nina hovnanian

Accused in Gang Case Pierces Himself with Sharp Object in Courtroom:
Trial Postponed

07.23.2014 18:04 epress.am

Today’s court session in the “gang case” was adjourned at the Court of
General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative
Districts of Yerevan after one of the accused, David Galstyan, harmed
himself.

As reported by the Epress.am journalist in the courtroom, Galstyan,
accused of committing a series of burglaries, pierced his hand with
something sharp (the Epress.am journalist was unable to see what it
was). Court bailiffs and police officers responded immediately, asking
those present to leave the courtroom while providing assistance to
Galstyan.

Galstyan committed the act of self-mutilation after the prosecutor
began to read the testimony he allegedly gave during the preliminary
investigation. During the trial, Galstyan has repeatedly said he gave
no such testimony and that police tortured him.

Asked whether there was an investigation (into the allegation of
police torture), he said no. “There was no interrogation. [I was]
taken, beaten, and told, the case of one year’s [burglaries] is on
you. They didn’t give [me] the opportunity to have counsel for one
year. I didn’t participate in the investigation because I was ill [as
a result of the beating],” Galstyan said, adding that he was
threatened that they would create problems for his family members.

Galstyan’s attorney Stepan Voskanyan informed Epress.am that his
client harmed himself because hearing the prosecutor read a testimony
he did not give, Galstyan relived all the torture which was applied to
him.

According to the attorney, attached to the case materials are the
results of the forensic examination that state that Galstyan has
serious mental health problems.

Voskanyan said that his client attempted self-mutilation once before,
after the death of one of the other accused, Armen Dallakyan.

Today’s court session was postponed to August 6.

Earlier, Galstyan read a statement in court [in Armenian only].

Edward Nalbandian: Turkey, which is striving to the EU, has shut down
the border to the neighboring state, whereas a principle of free
movement at the EU territory is one of the basic norms

by Marianna Lazarian

Arminfo
Wednesday, July 23, 16:28

By going on blockading the border to Armenia, Turkey hinders
normalizing of the bilateral relations and exploiting of
communications and transport ways with the European Union, Armenia’s
foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at the meeting with foreign
ministers of the EU Eastern Partnership countries, in Brussels, on 22
July.

‘Paradoxically, Turkey, which is striving to the EU, has shut down the
border to the neighboring state, whereas a principle of free movement
at the EU territory is one of the basic norms”, – Nalbandian said. He
welcomed appointment of Herbert Salber for the position of special
representative of the EU for South Caucasus.

To note, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union, and Stepan
Fule, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European
Neighbourhood Policy, took part in the meeting.

Azerbaijan is not preparing people for peace ` Armenian FM

14:54 ¢ 23.07.14

Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian participated on Tuesday in a meeting of
the EU and Eastern Partnership FMs in Brussels.

He expressed his regret that Azerbaijan is not preparing its people for peace.

Attending the meeting were EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Enlargement
and European Neighborhood Policy Åtefan Füle.

Armenia’s FM stated the country’s willingness to develop partnership
with the EU.

At the Vilnius summit Armenia and the EU re-affirmed their commitment
to consolidate their cooperation under the European Partnership
project, in all the areas of mutual interest. Armenia intends to take
further steps to create new legal grounds for cooperation, Nalbandian
said.

With respect to regional cooperation, Armenia’s FM said that Turkey
has been blockading its border with Armenia, thereby preventing the
establishment of Armenian-Turkish relations and Armenia’s transport
communication with the EU.

As regards the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Minister Nalbandian
stressed that, in response to the numerous calls by the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs, Armenia, in contrast to Azerbaijan, has consistently
re-affirmed its commitment to the international principles.

`We fully agree that people should be prepared for peace rather than
for war. Regrettably, Azerbaijan is doing quite the opposite by its
militant rhetoric, propaganda of intolerance and hate, which heightens
tensions on the Line of Contact with Artsakh and Armenia,’ he said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Andrew Mango obituary

Writer on Turkey who produced a notable biography of Atatürk

Jonathan Fryer
theguardian.com, Monday 21 July 2014 12.01 BST

Andrew Mango produced his best books about Turkey in his retirement,
including a biography of the founder of modern Turkey, Atatürk.
Photograph: Ben Mango

The polyglot bon vivant is a figure more usually associated with the
19th century than the 21st, but Andrew Mango, who has died aged 88,
proved that it was still possible to be a scholar – in his case of
Turkish studies – and a gentleman. For three decades he was based at
Bush House, then home to BBC World Service radio, initially working
for the Turkish and French language sections before becoming head of
the South East European Service until his retirement in 1986.
Successive Turkish ambassadors and others seeking expert advice beat a
path to his office door, assured of brilliant conversation over drinks
from his well-stocked cocktail cabinet.

Though he had published a couple of books on Turkey for the general
reader while still working for the BBC, it was during the long years
of his fruitful retirement at his home in Barnes, south-west London,
that he produced his most significant work, including a magisterial
biography of the founder of modern Turkey, Atatürk (2000), and From
the Sultan to Atatürk (2009). The scholarship was impeccable, but some
of his historical and journalistic interpretations were controversial,
notably his belief that the military coups of 1960 and 1980 had been
necessary to avoid the country slipping into civil war, and his
assertion that the Armenian massacres of 1915 did not amount to
genocide.

When Andrew was born in Istanbul, the Republic of Turkey was a mere
three years old. He was the middle of three sons of a successful
barrister, Alexander Mango, who was of mixed Italian and Greek origin,
and his wife, Adelaide Damonov, a refugee from Bolshevik Russia.
Despite the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the
first world war, Istanbul was still one of the great cosmopolitan
cities of the world and Andrew was soon fluent in a range of
languages, including both Ottoman and modern Turkish, English, French
and Greek. This enabled him, while still a youth, to get a job as a
translator in the press office of the British Embassy in Ankara during
the second world war – a post that qualified him for a second-class
diplomatic passport.

In 1947 he moved to Britain, to study at London University’s School of
Oriental and African Studies, culminating in a doctorate in Persian
literature. His older brother, Tony, moved to the US, but the youngest
sibling, Cyril, followed in Andrew’s footsteps, later becoming
professor of Byzantine and modern Greek at Oxford University.

Andrew Mango during his BBC years Photograph: Ben Mango

Andrew could easily have found a comfortable berth in academe himself,
but he was far too interested in politics and international affairs,
which made Bush House the ideal niche. He also kept abreast of what
colleagues outside the BBC were thinking through his membership of the
UK section of the Association of European Journalists. Though a
convinced European, he believed Turkey to be better off outside the EU
than in.

Until his final illness, Andrew was a regular visitor to Turkey, where
he was feted as an author who understood the complexities of the
country and its culture. He was awarded several honorary doctorates at
Turkish universities, as well as the Turkish Distinguished Service
Medal.

In 1956 he married the journalist Mary Muir. She survives him, as do
their children, Daphne and Benedict, four granddaughters and two
brothers.

* Andrew James Alexander Mango, author, born 14 June 1926, died 7 July 2014

TURQUIE
Le procès contre Pinar Selek recommence le 3 octobre

Le site dédié Ã la sociologue turque Pinar Selek, nous informe que le
3 Octobre 2014, le procès contre la militante féministe et écrivaine
recommence.

Nous venons d’apprendre que le procès contre Pinar Selek va
recommencer le 3 Octobre. 16 ans de procédure et ce n’est pas fini !
La torture continue.

La 9ème Cour de Cassation a annulé sa condamnation à la prison Ã
perpétuité le 11 juin 2014 mais rien n’est gagné. L’affaire est
renvoyée devant une nouvelle Cour Pénale qui va recommencer le procès.
C’est la 15ème Cour Pénale. Et la première audience sera le 3 Octobre
2014.

Les avocats organisent la défense et préparent leurs plaidoyers et
nous serons toutes et tous là pour cette prochaine bataille. Ils ont
reculé une première fois ; nous continuons d’avancer et btissons de
nouvelles solidarités. La répression ne fait pas taire celles et ceux
qui croient à la justice et à la liberté. Après 16 ans de luttes, le
procès n’est pas terminé. Mais la solidarité non plus !

Fille d’Alp Selek, un avocat qui a passé quatre ans et demi en prison
après le coup d’État de septembre 19801 et de Ayla Selek,
pharmacienne, elle est par ailleurs la petite fille de Haki Selek, un
des fondateurs du Parti des Travailleurs de Turquie. Ancienne élève du
lycée Notre Dame de Sion à Istanbul, Pınar Selek est actuellement
doctorante en sciences politiques à l’Université de Strasbourg2.

mercredi 23 juillet 2014,
Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

Coopération
Les négociateurs internationaux pleins d’espoir pour le sommet
arméno-azerbaïdjanais

Les médiateurs internationaux espèrent que les présidents de l’Arménie
et de l’Azerbaïdjan accepteront l’invitation de François Hollande de
tenir leur prochaine réunion de négociations à Paris, a déclaré hier
l’un d’eux.

Le président français a proposé d’accueillir une réunion entre le
président arménien Serge Sarkissian et son homologue azerbaïdjanais
Ilham Aliyev lors de sa visite à Erevan et à Bakou dans le cadre de sa
tournée régionale en mai.

Dans un entretien avec APA, l’agence de nouvelles de l’Azerbaïdjan,
James Warlick, co-président américain de l’Organisation pour la
sécurité et la coopération du Groupe de Minsk, a déclaré : “Nous avons
vu que des progrès sont possibles lors de leur dernière rencontre à
Vienne et nous croyons qu’une poursuite de cette discussion est une
étape importante vers la paix. Les coprésidents et les Etats-Unis se
tiennent prêts à les aider. ”

Il a de nouveau souligné qu’ ” il n’existe pas de solution militaire à
ce conflit ” et a déclaré que les médiateurs, y compris les
co-présidents de la France et la Russie, ont hte de rencontrer les
ministres des Affaires étrangères de l’Arménie et de l’Azerbaïdjan à
Bruxelles le 22 Juillet “pour discuter des prochaines étapes “.

Warlick a en outre déclaré : ” Nous sommes préoccupés par les pertes
humaines sur la frontière entre l’Azerbaïdjan et l’Arménie. Le nombre
d’incidents, de décès et de blessures est également un revers dans nos
efforts pour travailler pour trouver une paix durable “.

“Les États-Unis et les coprésidents du Groupe de Minsk se sont engagés
à aider les parties à trouver un règlement pacifique au conflit du
Haut-Karabagh,” a ajouté le diplomate.

mercredi 23 juillet 2014,
Claire (c)armenews.com

Life of the three persons injured in Kashatagh as a result of a
landmine explosion is out of danger

by Tatevik Shahunyan

ARMINFO
Tuesday, July 22, 18:10

The health condition of the three persons injured today as a result of
a landmine explosion in Kashatagh town of Nagornyy Karabakh, is
assessed as serious, but stable. At present they are in the casualty
unit of the medical centre “Erebuni”, Deputy Director of the Centre,
Mikael Manukyan, told Arminfo correspondent, He also added that their
life is out of danger.

To recall, Armavir town Mayor, Ruben Khlghhatyan’s son Aram died and
other three persons injured today as a result of the vehicle
explosion in a mined area in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. They have
been transported to capital Yerevan by a helicopter. The incident
occurred in the Kashatagh region.

Flickering Myth
July 23 2014

The Strain – Episode 1 Review

July 22, 2014 by Gary Collinson Leave a Comment

Martin Carr reviews the first episode of The Strain…

A Boeing 767 flying out of Berlin lands at JFK and goes dark. Its
fuselage is cold. Every window blind is drawn except one and the
passengers are silent. Someone calls in Ephraim Goodweather (Corey
Stoll) from the CDC (Centre for Disease Control) to investigate.
Together with Jim Kent (Sean Astin) and Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) he
begins ruling out viral possibilities before this new contagion
reaches Manhattan.

Meanwhile Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley), an old Armenian
pawnbroker, watches from his Harlem bolthole as media interest turns
to increasing concern. Something without conscience is intent on
eradicating the population, which will require more than the efforts
of one old man and a team of experts to quash. Elsewhere ailing
billionaire Eldrich Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) awaits the arrival of a
visitor. For both men know there will be no second chances.

In its opening minutes The Strain is most reminiscent of Soderbergh’s
Contagion crossed with 24. Time clocks pop up every other scene to
instil urgency, while physical contact stats are bandied around before
we even get on the plane. Character development feels unforced and
efficient while movie homages are rife. Guillermo del Toro and Chuck
Hogan have laid the groundwork here for others to follow. This
reinvention of the Dracula myth adapted from their trilogy is
intricately layered but ultimately character driven. Directed by the
man behind Pacific Rim and Pan’s Labyrinth, at its heart The Strain is
about the power a single emotion has to overrule all others.

Corey Stoll as ‘Eph’ pronounced ‘F’, is a separated father married to
the job, devoted to a son and attempting to save his marriage. David
Bradley as Abraham Setrakian has survived concentration camps, faced
down the most barbaric of humiliations yet remains resolute,
harbouring his devotion beneath a pawnbrokers shop in Harlem. Other
team members are not allowed to show any cards yet, hence Jim Kent
(Sean Astin) and Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) have little impact on
proceedings. What we do get to see is Stoll’s ‘everyman’ abilities,
which he so effectively showcased as manipulated congressman Peter
Russo in season one of House of Cards. However for all his running
around it is not Stoll, but David Bradley as a thinly veiled Van
Helsing archetype who leaves the larger impression.

Bradley recently played William Hartnell in dramatization An Adventure
In Space and Time, which charted the birth of Doctor Who. It is
however as Filch the caretaker of Hogwarts that most people will
remember him. Both himself and Jonathan Hyde as Eldritch Palmer have
minimal screen time but exploit these limits fully. In a role
originally played by John Hurt he proves adept at scene stealing. No
more so than when he is pressing a knife tip to the radial artery of
an assailant.

What ultimately appeals to me is the breadth which del Toro and Hogan
have worked into this first episode. There are holocaust references,
both in relation to Abraham and also the ‘Stoneheart’ group lead by
Hyde’s Eldritch Palmer. There are film ‘easter eggs’ throughout to Men
In Black, Schindler’s List, Don’t Look Now and Shallow Grave, not to
mention Fincher’s use of text messaging in House of Cards replicated
here. Moments of graphic violence are undercut with pitch black comedy
and delivered with a delicate touch. I would give you an example but
that would ruin the surprise. Suffice to say that after the
disappointment of Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro has thrown down the
gauntlet here redeeming himself in the process.

Christian Science Monitor
July 23 2014

>From Aleppo to Armenia: Syrian auto-repair tycoon starts over

In Aleppo, Sako owned an auto-repair business that employed 15
workers. Now the Syrian-Armenian, one of 11,000 to settle in Armenia
since the conflict began, runs a small falafel and shwarma stand.

By Karen Leigh, Syria Deeply

Yerevan, Armenia — A version of this post appeared on Syria Deeply, a
multimedia platform covering the Syrian war.

He still has the same cell phone, an early smartphone purchased in
Aleppo before Syria’s three-year-long conflict turned the life of this
formerly well-off businessman upside down. On it are photos of a life
now long gone – a happy extended family of Syrian-Armenians posing in
its well-appointed home, unaware of what was to come.

In Aleppo, Sako, aged 60, owned an auto-repair business that employed
15 workers. He made a substantial amount of money, he says – enough to
buy four apartments in Aleppo and two cars, and eat out regularly at
the city’s pricier spots. Then the war hit his business, forcing him
to flee with his wife to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, where years
earlier he had sent one of his sons to study to be a pharmacist.

Recommended: Do you understand the Syria conflict? Take the quiz

Now he rents and operates a small, tidy falafel and shwarma stand in
the center of town, while his wife, a former anesthesiologist, manages
another outpost next door. Here, they share a one-bedroom apartment
with several other family members. There are no more nice cars, few
restaurants, no employees to perform the manual labor.

Test your knowledge Do you understand the Syria conflict? Take the quiz
Photos of the Day Photos of the day 07/22

“It’s like going from a royal lifestyle to a gypsy lifestyle,” he says.

Sako and his wife, also 60, are among tens of thousands of people
seeking refuge in Yerevan. While hundreds of thousands of refugees
wear out their welcome in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, the government
of Armenia, which considers itself the global center of the diaspora,
sees the thousands of Syrian-Armenians fleeing the conflict as
undertaking a homecoming of sorts. UNCHR has estimated that there were
up to 80,000 Syrian-Armenians living in Syria before the conflict, and
that 11,000 of them have moved to Armenia.

On a hot summer day, Sako served falafel on the shady, tidy patio of
his kiosk and discussed adjusting to life now – and dealing with
memories of a different time:

“I left Aleppo two years ago and came directly to Armenia, it was
September 11, 2012. We were doing very well. We had four apartments in
Aleppo. We had a spare car-parts business in the industrial area.
That’s where our garage was.

Business was very good. And it was good even after the conflict
started. People still needed auto parts. But when violence finally
reached Aleppo, it stopped. Six months before coming to Armenia, the
business just stopped. Because of the lack of security on the roads,
we weren’t able to go to our workplace. It was 15 kilometers away from
my house, and the journey was very dangerous. I won’t give you an
exact figure, but I had a 93 percent drop in profits. There, I had 15
workers. Here, it’s just me. I am the only worker.

I had two cars, a Hyundai Sonata and a Kia. Then cars for my wife and
my son. At least once a week, we went to nice restaurants and cultural
events.

Before we came, we were very connected to Armenia because my oldest
son studied pharmacy here. I sent him here to study. A year before
coming here, we applied for Armenian passports. We came here to sign
the papers and things got even worse in Aleppo, so we couldn’t go
back. We stayed for good. Remember, Armenia is not taking all Syrians,
it’s taking only Armenian-Syrians.

A lot of Syrian-Armenians who are here now who came after the conflict
are not finding proper jobs, it’s been a lot more difficult. After we
came, we were here for nine months doing nothing. We had savings.
[Still], we didn’t have enough cash, but I had relatives who loaned me
money. After nine months I realized I wasn’t going back to Aleppo and
I would be here a long time. I knew I could prepare good food, good
sandwiches, so I decided to rent this place and start the business.”

Working longer hours

I used to wake up at 8 a.m. and go to work at 9 a.m. At 5 p.m. I would
close. But I did nothing with my hands, I was the boss and managed 15
workers. Now I wake up at 7 a.m., I go to the market at 8 a.m. At 10
a.m. I come here and open the kiosk and I work until 12, 12:30 a.m. at
night.

Now we go out maybe once a month. In the winter, I never go out at
night but in summer, once a month. Still, this all hasn’t affected me
much psychologically, because I like to work.

We are living in a one-room apartment, all of us together. We’ve been
trying to find another place close to this area but everything is too
expensive. Our main residence in Aleppo was 170 square meters, six
rooms. We had central heating and air conditioning. My kitchen was as
big as this [restaurant]. Our things are all still there, locked in
the apartment.

The other three apartments, I bought for my sons. My biggest worry now
is to be able to get back to Aleppo to sell everything and to have
money for me and my sons for the future. Everything is standing still,
locked, I can’t sell the apartments or do anything. I only wish to go
back to Aleppo in order to sell my homes and my workplaces. At the
time we left, I was in the middle of expanding my business.

Some of my workers went to Latakia and are working in different
places, some are in Beirut and some joined the Free Syrian Army. I’m
only in contact with the workers who are still in Latakia.

I miss my home, my lifestyle, my freedom, my social life. Some of my
friends are still in Aleppo, others have gone to Beirut, to the U.S.
At night when I can’t sleep, I stay awake and I talk to them. Before
the conflict, I didn’t have too much to worry about. Everything was on
track in my life. My sons had finished their military service, I had
secured their futures. I had done well.

I don’t have one particular outstanding fear. I’m healthy and working
and good. My major concern is to be able to go back and sell my
belongings so that I can buy a home here and establish myself. I’m not
thinking of going back, or staying here. I’m thinking about emigrating
to the U.S.”

Sako’s name has been changed and his answers have been edited for
clarity. Katarina Montgomery and Syria Deeply contributor Abu Leila
contributed reporting.

Another veteran of Karabakh war commits self-immolation in Azerbaijan

18:46 22/07/2014 >> SOCIETY

Another Karabakh war veteran commits self-immolation in Baku, the
Azeri news agency “Vesti.az” reports.

“Nureyev Joshgun Eyvaz oglu born in 1971, resident of the capital
city, doused himself with gasoline in front of his relatives and set
on fire. Relatives extinguished the fire, but they were unable to save
Nureyev. He died from burns after 8 hours being in hospital,” says the
publication.

The prosecutor’s office stated that according to the preliminary
investigation, Nureyev was single, did not work anywhere and by that
time was living with his relatives, next to whose house he set himself
to fire.

“Nureyev was Karabakh war participant. This fact had probably had left
an influence on his mental condition,” the prosecutor’s office noted.

Since December of the last year some of the disabled of Karabakh war
in Azerbaijan tried to reach out to the authorities of the country by
committing self-immolation acts. On December 25 of 2013, Karabakh war
2nd group disabled Zaur Hasanov committed a self-immolation in Baku as
an act of protest against the violation of his civil rights by Settar
Mehbaliev the chairman of Azerbaijan confederation of trade unions.
The disabled argued that the official seized his territory, where he
ran a small café. On January 27 a resident of Yevlakh district of
Baku, Karabakh war disabled Nizami Kerimov committed an act of
self-immolation in front of the building of the district department of
Social Protection Fund. He did that because of the corrupt officials.

Moreover, on January 29 a resident of Alpoud village of Barda region
of Azerbaijan, Maarif Veliyev, Karabakh war 2nd group disabled,
committed a self-immolation in front of the Barda town’s office of the
executive. Veliyev for many times had come to the office of the
executive of Barda region and asked them to give him a land at least
of 3-5 acres but everything was in vain.

On February 15, 2014 Malik Mejidov another disabled of Karabakh war,
who had doused himself with gasoline beforehand tried to set himself
on fire in front of the building of the Executive Power of Sumgait
city. The passers-by, however, did not allow him burn himself. The
disabled man wanted to set himself to fire because of the problems he
was facing in connection with his domicile.

Source: Panorama.am