Author: nina hovnanian

TARGETED PROMOTION OF ARMENIA AS A TOURIST DESTINATION IN THE RUSSIAN MARKET

16:05, September 12, 2013

On September 12-15, 2013 the National Competitiveness Foundation of
Armenia in partnership with the USAID-funded Enterprise Development and
Market Competitiveness Project and Armenia Marriott, will host Russian
media representatives of 9 major magazines and online newspapers
in Armenia.

Among the invitees are ELLE, Top Beauty, The Good Housekeeping,
Aeroflot Premium, Aeroflot, In Style, World of Impressions magazines,
the RATA-News online newspaper and the online version of the
Komsomolskaya Pravda.

The mission of the trip is to increase Armenia’s visibility in
the Russian tourism market as an attractive travel destination and
stimulate inbound touristic flows.

During the trip the journalists will explore various tourist
attractions of Armenia and will have the opportunity to enjoy the
rich historical, cultural and spiritual heritage of the country,
as well as the national traditions and modern life.

The trip will result in a series of publications and photos about
Armenia.

This initiative is one of the NCFA’s programs on Armenia tourism
promotion in the Russian target market.

Public Affairs Office

National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia

EU WARNS RUSSIA OVER TRADE ‘THREATS’ TO EX-SOVIET BLOC

12 September 2013 Last updated at 11:21

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Armenia rift fuels EU-Russia tension Moldova country profile Ukraine
cautious on Russian union

The European Commission has warned Russia that it is “unacceptable”
to use threats against ex-Soviet states which are seeking closer ties
with the EU.

The warning from EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele came after
Russia banned imports of Moldovan wine and spirits, citing quality
concerns.

Mr Fuele said the EU had no such issues with Moldova’s alcoholic
drinks.

Moldova called the Russian move unfair, echoing similar concerns in
Ukraine and Armenia about Russian pressure.

Russia is offering former Soviet republics a customs union – a
partnership that Belarus and Kazakhstan have already joined.

The Commission – the EU’s executive – is preparing to sign association
agreements with Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine in November. Such
agreements are seen as key milestones towards eventual EU membership.

But last week Armenia’s President Serge Sarkisian said his country was
interested in joining the Russian-led customs union. The Commission
responded with concern, saying Armenia could not operate two different
sets of trade rules.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes to establish a future “Eurasian
Union” – a trade bloc similar to the EU, but without the commitments
to democratic values and open competition which are fundamental to
EU membership.

Plea to Russia

In a speech to the European Parliament, Mr Fuele said “the development
of the Eurasian Economic Union project must respect our partners’
sovereign decisions”.

“Any threats from Russia linked to the possible signing of agreements
with the European Union are unacceptable. This applies to all forms
of pressure, including: the possible misuse of energy pricing;
artificial trade obstacles such as import bans of dubious WTO
[World Trade Organisation] compatibility and cumbersome customs
procedures; military co-operation and security guarantees: and the
instrumentalisation of protracted conflicts.

“This is not how international relations should function on our
continent in the 21st Century. Such actions clearly breach the
principles to which all European states have subscribed.”

Mr Fuele also said the EU’s association agreements “are not conceived
at Russia’s expense”. Rather, Russia would “benefit greatly” from
closer European integration, he stressed.

Moldova’s President Nicolae Timofti called the Russian import ban on
its alcoholic drinks “unfriendly and un-Christian”.

Romania – an EU member – has told neighbouring Moldova that it will
increase imports of Moldovan wine.

Mr Fuele said the Commission was also considering “how to further
increase the wine quota for Moldovan exports to the EU”, and would
provide technical help for Moldova to boost its exports in other
sectors such as poultry.

Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries, not helped by the
unresolved Trans-Dniester conflict, which left a big strip of its
land in the hands of pro-Moscow separatists.

Ukraine’s strategic importance for Russia historically far outweighs
that of Armenia or Moldova, and Ukraine’s heavy reliance on Russian
gas has given Moscow considerable leverage.

Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom has previously cut supplies to Ukraine
in the winter, complaining of overdue bills. Ukrainian politicians
have condemned what they see as political pressure from Moscow.

Ukraine says it is reforming its laws to comply with EU requirements –
but EU concerns about human rights remain a big obstacle. The EU has
urged Ukraine to release opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko from jail,
after a trial which was widely seen as politically motivated.

THE MULTIPOLAR REALITIES, MIDDLE EAST AND NEWS TICKER GENOCIDE (Part 2)

09.09.2013

Gagik Harutyunyan
Executive Director, Noravank Scientific Educational Foundation, Yerevan

“In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president
to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle
East or Africa should have his head examined.”

Robert Gates, US Secretary of Defense (2006-2011)

“The scenery after spring”

Today it can be stated that the developments initiated in the Arab
world have yet a long way to go: as some well-known ideologists dreamt
in the beginning of the 20th century, the revolution in Egypt becomes
permanent, and confrontation between Islamists and their opponents
has spread even into Turkey that had been considered a stable country.

Syria has to be reviewed separately, as war there entered its third
year, and we shall return to this issue later. Today one may summarize
some preliminary outcomes. Apart from somewhat different Tunisia, where
processes occur in a relatively soft manner, the overall result for
the countries of the region is their “destatization”1. For instance,
Libya used to have a certain degree of political influence and
economic development, and now it has actually turned from a state
into a “territory” with energy reserves and groups of population
clashing with each other. Characteristically, after the final act
of war, i.e. Gaddafi’s murder, Libya (or rather, “former Libya”,
as dubbed by some commentators) all of a sudden fell into the “grey
zone” of the world media, and even terrorist attacks on diplomats
just slightly enliven this country’s spot in the information space.

Egypt, which is considered the leader of Arab world, is now ruled by in
principle illegitimate “junta”, while the Muslim Brothers who won the
election, along with supportive Salafis try to restore ousted Morsi to
presidency. Regardless of the outcome of this standoff, the country’s
society has been split and degraded, perhaps irreversibly: the crime
rates skyrocketed (e.g. over the last 12 months the number of robberies
increased by 350%). Quite naturally, the economy plummeted, too: apart
from bare figures of IMF and other international organizations, what
speaks volumes is the fact that since 2011 4500 plants were closed
down and 25% of population fell below the poverty line (by Egyptian
standards) [9]. This combination of problems practically deprives
Egypt of any development prospects, at least for the near future.

Regardless of the mechanisms applied, Iraq was pushed into a status of
a “territory” even earlier. After the American invasion the country
is split along ethnic and confessional lines, the government system
practically does not function, while inter-confessional clashes and
terrorist attacks occur routinely. Thus, development prospects for
Iraq are as dubious as those for Libya and Egypt.

There is another commonality in the region. In Iraq, for instance,
after the reform of the state governance system the government is led
by representatives of the Shia majority, who do not concur with the
American policies on Syria, but rather have a largely pro-Iranian
stance. Situation was almost the same in Egypt, where no full
collaboration was achieved between the USA and Muslim Brothers
who took the power (that is despite the American “track record”
of ex-President Morsi, who at some point used to work in the USA).

Judging from the suspension of military aircrafts supply, things
did not work out well with the Egyptian military either, who are in
charge now. If any common pattern is to be observed among the “new
governments”, then it is only the “re-Islamization” of the region,
perhaps inspired by somewhat outdated ideas of the RAND Corporation
on “moderate Islamism” described in the project Building Moderate
Muslim Network2.

So it turns out that the traditionally main goal of the externally
inspired revolutions or direct interventions, i.e. forming loyal
governments (as in cases with Ukraine, Georgia or Afghanistan), was
not achieved. It follows that replacing the ruling regimes with “own
cadres” was not the main motive of what was happening. One may not rule
out previously mentioned assumption about independent actions of NGOs,
mass media or “states within a state”, while the US administration
had to face the fait accompli. But rather, the actions of these NGOs
and/or “states within a state” emphasize the complicated structure
of the concept of “national interest” in modern world, particularly
in America.

In this context, especially given the developments around Syria and
Iran, one of the main motives for transformation of the region’s
countries could have been ensuring the security of the “number 1”
ally Israel. Obviously, no matter how warlike is the governments’
rhetoric, if their countries are in condition of collapse, they could
pose no threat to the Jewish state that has a successful track record
of fighting terrorist groups. However, this is true only in the short
term, since further evolution of the existing situation is not all
that unequivocal and we shall return to this issue later.

Full implementation of this “regional scenario” is currently under a
big question mark. The mechanism of triggering an inner turmoil, or if
that is not enough, then staging a small military campaign to “save
the opposition from physical extermination” that ultimately results
in a country degrading in all senses, did not work in Syria. It is
the third year that a hard-fought war rages in this country, with
yet unknown outcome3.

“The Multipolar War I”

At the initial phases the processes in the Middle East kind of
followed the rules of monopole world. Even occupation of Iraq or
military intervention in Libya did not encounter serious opposition,
as the international community has already gotten used to disapproving
comments from leaders of some countries (including those of NATO member
countries) or rather devalued UN resolutions. Situation changed during
developments in Syria, where:

Relying on multiethnic population overwhelmingly loyal to the
authorities (note that Syria was not even included in the above
mentioned Revolting Index list), the government of Bashar al-Assad
exercised political will and started rigorously suppressing the
armed mercenaries, the actions of which targeted not only government,
but also peaceful population and religious/confessional minorities.

Mercenaries come to Syria (according to some estimates less than 20%
of the militants are Syrians) from the countries of the region and
even CIS (particularly from Azerbaijan, North Caucasus and Central
Asia). These include various terrorist groups, among which Al Qaida
and Jabhat al-Nusra stand out. The militants receive arms and materiel
from the USA, France and UK. Support of the militants is particularly
considerable from the countries of the region, first of all Turkey,
Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The events in Iran’s important ally Syria had a clear anti-Iranian
orientation from the very beginning and were perceived as “force
supplement” to the economic sanctions against Iran. Naturally,
Iranian government provided real military support to Syria (both
military hardware and volunteers from elite troops). Remarkably,
Syria receives support also from immediate neighbors: Iraq (Iraqi
Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia) and Lebanon’s Hezbollah (from
areas under Hezbollah control).

Capabilities of Syria-Iran tandem enabled Russia and China to more
persistently defend their national interests, and hence, their
pro-Syrian stances in the international arena. And this is not only
about diplomacy: Russia and Syria assist Syria both economically
and with military hardware supply (especially Russian-made, as in a
recent case of agreement to supply $4-5 billion worth of aircrafts
and missiles).

Thus, a rather large number of countries and religious, militant
and terrorist structures related to (and sometimes not so related
to) these countries were involved in the events around Syria. The
current conflict possesses all attributes of Cold War era local
conflicts: the countries widely use all possible diplomatic, military,
informational/psychological4, economic and terroristic leverages. The
intelligence services are particularly active in Syria, implementing
their specific information/diversion functions: there are numerous
media reports about participation of Turkish, French, British special
forces and Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the military operations.

All of this prompts that the Syrian crisis has gained a status of a
“global” one. An important element of the Syrian war is that first
time ever after the Cold War interests of Russia and NATO clashed in a
‘hot war” outside CIS. In some aspects reminiscent of the Vietnam War,
this conflict can be called the “Multipolar War I”. The following
has to be noted in this respect.

Although the military strength of the USA considerably exceeds that of
the other countries, the political and economic capabilities of this
superpower are significantly restricted. This reality is adequately
recognized by the USA and the American policy making structures
strive to use this already “temporary” advantage to strengthen their
positions to the best possible extent. However, this is understood
also by the opponents of the USA: their “disobedience” is caused
not just by the philosophy of the multipolar world order, but also
by specific calculations. The American project of turning the “New
Middle East” into a “turbulent territory” not only is intended to
deprive Russia and China of military/political and economic leverages
in one of the critically important regions, but also poses a threat
of “infecting” these two nations. Hence, their counteraction to such
plans is likely to be based on critical necessity. At the same time,
Russia-China-Iran relations have not grown yet into a large-scale
military/political cooperation. In this sense, positions of the USA,
Israel, their European and regional partners look much better, as over
decades they have gained a rich experience of strategic partnership
and a common political culture.

The list of above said factors playing important role in the Syrian
conflict can be expanded. Such multitude of variables makes it
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict outcomes of the
war in Syria.

Apparently, the anti-Syrian bloc’s assumption about a quick military
victory turned out to be a delusion. In the military respect the
government troops and supportive regional forces have overtaken the
initiative and the mercenaries suffer significant defeats. After
information became available that the terrorists have perpetrated
cruel acts of violence on prisoners of war and peaceful population,
the overall informational environment around Syria had changed, too.

There is no doubt that defeat in Syria will first of all disgrace the
USA. With this in mind, idea-wise repeating the provocative Iraqi
scenario President Obama accused the Syrian government in chemical
attack and decided to carry out at least some “limited strikes” on
Syria. It is rather hard to predict all repercussions of such a new
development, especially given the possible involvement of Iran in
military actions. Such war would definitely bring drastic changes to
the regional (and global) situation. However, regardless of various
military scenarios, the main outcome of the Syrian war is that it
became a catalyst in the process of shaping the multipolar world order
and was kind of a wakeup call not only to Iran, Russia and China, but
possibly to some other countries as well. If this wakeup call prompts
Russia and China to come closer (a silhouette of such rapprochement
is already observed to some extent), then it may put under a question
mark the correctness of the big strategy of the USA and its allies.

Yet this is not the only problem.

Some scenarios/predictions suggest5 that the crisis phenomena in the
current system of global governance may lead to fragmentation of the
global space along the civilizational or other lines. The segments
formed in this manner, i.e. associations of nations and peoples, strive
to isolate themselves from the globalizing world with its rules. With
the current realities and persistent trend of regional Islamization
it is possible that development of the NME countries may take this
direction. Needless to say, emergence of such a vast, ideologically
radicalized Islamic world may result in creation of geopolitical
ruptures and hence, higher likelihood for various conflicts in the
style of the Clash of Civilizations theory. Of course, it cannot
be ruled out that the final goal of the modern global political
technologists was exactly the creation of such “fragment” next door to
Russia and China. However, such structure with dominant anti-Western
sentiments in its societies and relatively easy access to nuclear
technologies would be extremely explosive and might result in dire
consequence for the USA itself, not to mention its regional allies.

Meanwhile, apocalyptic scenarios happen not only in future. Today
already a major humanitarian catastrophe is ongoing in the Middle East.

The News Ticker Genocide

Any attempt to accurately count casualties and refugees among the
peaceful population of the Middle East is doomed to fail. Data
provided by different sources (UN, UNICEF, statistical services of
the region’s countries, reputable organizations like The Lancet,
Costs of War Project, Business Survey, Associated Press, etc.) often
vary considerably. This is hardly surprising: amid the chaos reigning
in the region human life is worth little and necessitates no special
recordkeeping. However, having discarded some apparently exaggerated
figures and sticking to near-minimal numbers, we shall try to get at
least an approximate idea about the human dimension of the Middle
Eastern processes for the countries where armed hostilities had
taken place.

Table

These impressive numbers are comparable to those of casualties among
peaceful population of Vietnam (ca. 2 million people), though the
difference is that in Indochina the war in a way was classic, with
participation of regular (as well as other) troops, and also Americans
used chemical weapons, carpet bombed settlements, etc. Conversely, in
the Middle East extermination of people is mostly a result of actions
by the natives of the region. It would not be entirely correct to
describe these events as civil war, given the foreign intervention.

There is some evidence suggesting that in this case a somewhat unique
form of genocide is taking place6.

The UN convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group.”7This definition matches to what is happening in the Middle
East. However, unlike the previous instances known from the history,
such as the Genocide of Armenians in Turkey or Holocaust of Jews in
Nazi Germany, it is problematic to identify the perpetrators of the
committed crime. Perhaps the following paragraph of the convention
should be used as basis: “Deliberately inflicting on the group
conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction,
in whole or in part.” If the external interference theory is taken
as basis, it is possible that the designers of the current NME format
initially did not intend causing mass extermination of people. However,
sometimes it is useful to judge by the outcomes.

It is also characteristic that the new genocide has assumed a curious
informational guise. When several innocent marathon runners and
bystanders fall victim of a terrorist attack, it becomes a topic for
global discussions. At the same time terrorist attacks are carried out
on daily basis in Iraq and Syria, every day taking lives of hundreds,
but in the informational dimension currently they appear only in
news tickers.

1 Harutyunyan, G., New Middle East: Reality and Prospects.

2 $.pdf.

3 Harutyunyan G., War in Syria: Probable Scenarios

4 See, for example: aËÏÐÑÎ a., ðÒEÅÍÙ E ÓÐÏÓÏÂÙ
EÎÆÏÒÍÁÃEÏÎÎÏ-ÐÓEÈÏÌÏCEÞÅÓËÏCÏ ×ÏÚÄÅÊÓÔ×EÑ × EÎÆÏÒÍÁÃEÏÎÎÏÍ
ÐÒÏÔE×ÏÂÏÒÓÔ×Å ×ÏÀÀÝEÈ ÓÔÏÒÏÎ × oEÒEE. ãÅÎÔÒ ÓÔÒÁÔÅCEÞÅÓËEÈ ÏÃÅÎÏË
E ÐÒÏCÎÏÚÏ×. – í.: 2013.

5 Global Governance 2025: At a Critical Juncture. National Intelligence
Council, European Union Institute for Security Studies, September
2010,

6 aÒÕÔÀÎÑÎ c., îÁ âÌEOÎÅÍ ÷ÏÓÔÏËÅ ÒÅÁÌEÚÕÅÔÓÑ ÎÏ×ÁÑ ÆÏÒÍÁ CÅÎÏÃEÄÁ.

7 (III)

References

1.ôÅÒ – aÒÕÔÀÎÑÎà c., íÎÏCÏÐÏÌÑÒÎÁÑ E ÁÓEÍÍÅÔÒEÞÎÁÑ èÏÌÏÄÎÁÑ ×ÏÊÎÁ.

÷ÅÓÔÎEË aËÁÄÅÍEE ÷ÏÅÎÎÙÈ ÎÁÕË, #4(21), Ó.23, 2007.

2. aÅÒÌÕCØÑÎ c., ÷ÎÅÚÁÐÎÙ, ÎÏ EÎÏCÄÁ ÐÒÅÄÓËÁÚÕÅÍÙ. uËÓÐÅÒÔ, #29(859),
Ó.60, 2013.

3. Zakaria F. The post-American World. – N.Y.-L. : W.W.Norton, 2008.

4. ðÁÒÁC èÁÎÎÁ, ÷ÔÏÒÏÊ ÍEÒ. – í.: eÚÄ-×Ï , 2010.

5. ëÒÁÕÞ, ë., . – í.: eÚÄÁÔÅÌØÓËEÊ ÄÏÍ
cÏÓÕÄÁÒÓÔ×ÅÎÎÏCÏ ÕÎE×ÅÒÓEÔÅÔÁ – ÷ÙÓÛÅÊ ÛËÏÌÙ UËÏÎÏÍEËE, 2010. ëÏÌEÎ
ëÒÁÕÞ, oÔÒÁÎÎÁÑ ÎÅ – ÓÍÅÒÔØ ÎÅÏÌEÂÅÒÁÌEÚÍÁ. – í.: eÚÄÁÔÅÌØÓËEÊ ÄÏÍ
, 2012.

6. aÒÕÔÀÎÑÎ c., eÎÔÅÒÎÅÔ ÓÔÒÕËÔÕÒÙ × ËÏÎÔÅËÓÔÅ
E EÎÆÏÒÍÁÃEÏÎÎÏÊ ÂÅÚÏÐÁÓÎÏÓÔE. 21-Ê ÷ÅË, #4(16), Ó.3, 2010.

7. cÒEÎÑÅ× o., ðÏÌÅ ÂEÔ×Ù – ËEÂÅÒÐÒÏÓÔÒÁÎÓÔ×Ï. – íEÎÓË: èÁÒ×ÅÓÔ, 2004.

8. aÒÕÔÀÎÑÎ c., òÁÓÐÁÄ E ÆÏÒÍEÒÏ×ÁÎEÅ ÂÕÄÕÝÅCÏ. – åÒÅ×ÁÎ:
îïæ , 2011.

9. íEÒÚÁÑÎ c., òÅ×ÏÌÀÃEÑ ÐÏÛÌÁ ×ÒÁÚÎÏÓ. uËÓÐÅÒÔ, #27(858) Ó.54, 2013.

THE MULTIPOLAR REALITIES, MIDDLE EAST AND NEWS TICKER GENOCIDE (Part 1)

Return ________________________________ Another materials of author

A NEW KIND OF GENOCIDE HAS BEEN PERPETRATED IN THE MIDDLE
EAST Interview of Gagik Harutyunyan to ArmInfo Information
Agency[13.06.2013] REGNUM: NEW KIND OF GENOCIDE IS BEING PERPETRATED
IN SYRIA (from the press-conference of Gagik Harutyunyan)[16.05.2013]
ON SOME MAIN ISSUES OF INTEGRATION IN THE CONTEXT OF A VALUE
SYSTEM[29.04.2013] INTEGRATION PROCESSES AND INFORMATION POLICY
[28.02.2013] CHALLENGES TO ARMENIA IN THE GLOBALIZING WORLD[27.12.2012]
WAR IN SYRIA: PROBABLE SCENARIOS[04.12.2012] THE EUROPEAN UNION:
NEW TENDENCIES[03.07.2012] TURKISH NUCLEAR THREAT[26.04.2012] NEW
MIDDLE EAST: REALITY AND PROSPECTS [15.03.2012] NEW STATEHOOD AND
NEW CHALLENGES[20.09.2011]

STEFAN FULE: AA/DCFTAS NOT CONCEIVED AT RUSSIA’S EXPENSE

13:45 12.09.2013

“The Customs Union membership is not compatible with the DCFTAs which
we have negotiated with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia,
and Armenia,” Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood
Policy Å tefan Fule said, speaking at the plenary sitting of the
European Parliament.

“This is not because of ideological differences; this is not about
a clash of economic blocs, or a zero-sum game. This is due to legal
impossibilities: for instance, you cannot at the same time lower
your customs tariffs as per the DCFTA and increase them as a result
of the Customs Union membership,” he said.

“It may certainly be possible for members of the Eastern Partnership
to increase their cooperation with the Customs Union, perhaps as
observers; and participation in a DCFTA is of course fully compatible
with our partners’ existing free trade agreements with other
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) states,” the Commissioner
added..

“The development of the Eurasian Economic Union project must respect
our partners’ sovereign decisions. Any threats from Russia linked
to the possible signing of agreements with the European Union are
unacceptable, Commissioner Fule said, adding that This applies
to all forms of pressure, including: the possible misuse of energy
pricing; artificial trade obstacles such as import bans of dubious WTO
compatibility and cumbersome customs procedures; military cooperation
and security guarantees: and the instrumentalisation of protracted
conflicts.

“AA/DCFTAs are not conceived at Russia’s expense. On the contrary,
Russia will also benefit greatly from the integration of the Eastern
Partnership countries into the wider European economy. Our vision
is that these agreements should contribute in the long term to
the eventual creation of a common economic space from Lisbon to
Vladivostok, based on WTO rules.”

“So we encourage our partners to deepen their ties with Russia,
as we do ourselves, but in a way which is compatible with AA/DCFTA
obligations. The European Union is ready to work with its neighbours
to find ways to promote greater regulatory convergence between the
EU and members of the Customs Union. The last thing we want to see
is a protectionist wall cutting our continent in two. In today’s
ever-more-competitive global economy, we cannot afford to waste our
efforts on a regional geopolitical rivalry,” Commissioner Fule stated.

FIFA: ARMENIAN NATIONAL TEAM IS RANKED 54TH

September 12, 2013

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced
Thursday its new world ranking for the national teams.

And in line with the standings, Armenia’s squad climbed twelve spots
and is now ranked 54th, informs the Football Federation of Armenia
website.

The reigning world and European champions Spain continue to top the
ranking; they are followed by Argentina and Germany, respectively.

Armenia’s 2014 World Cup qualifier group opponents Italy are fourth,
Denmark are 23rd, the Czech Republic are 33rd, Bulgaria are 64th,
and Malta are 142nd.

NEWS.am Sport

TURQUIE : JOURNALISTES VICTIMES DE VIOLENCES POLICIERES

Publie le : 12-09-2013

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous invite
a lire ce communique de presse publie sur le site des Reporters sans
frontières le mercredi 11 septembre 2013.

Reporters sans frontières

Publie le mercredi 11 septembre 2013.

AU MOINS DOUZE JOURNALISTES VICTIMES DE VIOLENCES POLICIÈRES EN
DEUX JOURS

Reporters sans frontières denonce fermement le regain de violences
policières a l’egard des journalistes ces derniers jours en Turquie.

Alors que de nouvelles manifestations se propagent dans les grandes
villes du pays, l’organisation a denombre au moins douze professionnels
des medias agresses ou blesses en deux jours par les forces de l’ordre
a Istanbul, Izmir et dans la capitale Ankara.

” Force est malheureusement de constater que la police n’a tire
aucune lecon de sa gestion scandaleuse du mouvement de protestation
“Occupy Gezi”. Près de trois mois plus tard, les forces de l’ordre
ont recours au meme degre disproportionne de violence. Les acteurs de
l’information sont a nouveau deliberement pris pour cibles alors qu’ils
ne cherchent qu’a temoigner des evenements. Cette violence inacceptable
est nourrie par l’impunite totale dont ont beneficie les auteurs des
exactions commises de mai a juillet. Une fois encore, nous demandons
que des enquetes complètes et impartiales soient diligentees pour
identifier et sanctionner les auteurs de ces violences “, a declare
Reporters sans frontières.

Parmi les journalistes brutalises par la police dans la nuit du 10 au
11 septembre a Istanbul figurent le reporter Ali Acar (photo ci-dessus)
et le photographe Kaan Sagnak du quotidien Cumhuriyet.

D’après le journal, ce dernier a ete blesse au bras par ” un tir
de balle en caoutchouc effectue a deux mètres de distance “. Le
photographe freelance Ufuk Kosar a ete blesse au bras gauche (photo
ci-contre). Les reporters Ugur Can (Agence DHA), Bulent Doruk (Agence
Anatolie) et le photographe Ozan Kose (Agence France Presse) ont
egalement ete brutalises par la police a proximite de la place Taksim.

Le journaliste et photographe independant Ahmet Sik a declare a
Reporters sans frontières avoir recu une balle en caoutchouc a la
poitrine alors qu’il tentait de couvrir une interpellation sur l’avenue
Istiklal, non loin de la place Taksim. Avec plusieurs autres reporters
et cameramen, il a ete brutalement repousse par les forces de l’ordre
et empeche de temoigner de la situation. Un policier a pointe vers
lui son fusil a balles en caoutchouc en lui intimant l’ordre de ne
pas s’approcher.

Toujours dans la nuit du 10 au 11 septembre, Serdar Akinan,
proprietaire du site d’information , a declare sur Twitter
que la reporter du site, Rabia Celik, avait recu un coup de tete d’un
policier alors qu’elle prenait des images. Le casque du policier ne
portait pas de numero d’identification.

A Izmir (ouest du pays), le reporter du quotidien de gauche Gunluk
Evrensel, Metehan Ud, a ete passe a tabac par les forces de l’ordre.

L’Association des journalistes de Turquie (TGC) a proteste contre cette
nouvelle vague de violences, soulignant que près de 100 journalistes
avaient deja ete brutalises ou interpelles lors du mouvement de
protestation ” Occupy Gezi “.

Le 9 septembre, deux reporters de Gunluk Evrensel a Ankara, Hasan
Akbas et Birkan Bulut, avaient ete passes a tabac par des policiers
alors qu’ils tentaient de couvrir une manifestation dans le quartier
de Tuzlucayir (district de Mamak). D’après Hasan Akbas, les agresseurs
s’en sont pris aux journalistes en toute connaissance de cause, après
avoir vu leurs cartes de presse et s’etre assure qu’il n’y avait pas
de temoins.

Le meme jour, la reporter du quotidien de gauche Birgun, Berna Sahin, a
perdu connaissance quelques minutes après qu’une grenade assourdissante
ait eclate tout près d’elle dans le quartier d’Okmeydani a Istanbul. La
journaliste circulait alors dans une rue contrôlee par les forces de
l’ordre, s’etait clairement identifiee comme journaliste, et assure
qu’aucun manifestant ne se trouvait a proximite. Berna Sahin denonce un
” tir delibere “.

Le 6 septembre, un journaliste du quotidien Hurriyet, Riza Ozel,
avait ete blesse a la jambe par une balle en caoutchouc, alors qu’il
se protegeait d’une intervention policière contre une manifestation sur
le campus de l’Universite technique du Moyen-Orient (ODTU) a Ankara.

Il avait egalement ete touche a la tete par une pierre lancee par un
manifestant. Il avait perdu connaissance et ete transporte a l’hôpital.

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Reporters sans frontières

EDUARDO EURNEKIAN EST LE PRINCIPAL INVESTISSEUR EN ARMENIE

ARMENIE

Le volume des investissements etrangers en Armenie dans le premier
semestre 2013 a atteint 293,1 millions $, soit une diminution de
34,7 pour cent par rapport a la meme periode l’an dernier a indique
le service national des statistiques.

L’Argentine a remplace la France comme premier investisseur etranger
en Armenie avec des investissements totalisant 76 millions de dollars.

Les investissements francais ont baisse en raison de la reduction
des investissements d’Orange Armenie.

Pendant ce temps, les investissements argentins ont augmente
10 fois grâce a dles projets d’Eduardo Eurnekian. La plupart des
investissements d’Eurnekian sont axes sur le developpement du transport
aerien, moins sur l’agriculture et la construction.

La Russie est le leader dans les investissements directs avec 32
millions de dollars cette annee.

jeudi 12 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

HAJI ALLAHSHUKUR PASHAZADEH FEARS NAGORNO-KARABAKH PROBLEM MAY TURN INTO INTER-RELIGIOUS CONFLICT

APA, Azerbaijan
Sept 11 2013

[ 11 September 2013 19:24 ]

Sheikh: “We are making serious efforts to restore and preserve
completely destroyed or damaged religious places in the occupied
territories”

Baku. Mubariz Aslanov – APA. “We are making strenuous efforts
to prevent Karabakh problem from turning into the inter-religious
conflict,” Chairman of Caucasian Muslims Board (CMB) Sheikh-ul-Islam
Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh said at the meeting with residents of
Gazakh region, Caucasian Muslims Board told APA.

Pashazadeh noted that remaining committed to the spirit of
inter-religious dialogue they are making serious efforts to restore
and preserve completely destroyed or damaged religious places
in the occupied territories: “As Armenia hasoccupied 20 percent
of Azerbaijan’s territories, we fear that this may turn into the
inter-religious conflict and are making efforts to prevent it.”

Sheikh also said that the number of mosques rose from 17 to 2 000
in Azerbaijan within 20 years, Baku Islamic University, madrasas was
opened and believers gained opportunities to visit the holy places of
Islam: “Today, as an example of tolerance, Azerbaijan is in the focus
of attention of not only the region, but also of the entire world,
Baku hosts the most prestigious religious events, symposiums and
conferences. Thanks to the care and aid of the Head of the State Ilham
Aliyev, historical religious temples, sanctuaries are opened after
major overhaul and restoration, tens of new mosques are built. This
attitude is shown not only towards Islam and Muslims, but also towards
other monotheistic religions, irrespective of nationality and religion,
everyone living in our country feels as an equal-right citizen.”

FRENCH ARMENIANS PROTEST AGAINST “TURKISH AIRLINES” SPONSORSHIP OF “MARSEILLE” FC

Trend, Azerbaijan
Sept 11 2013

Azerbaijan, Baku, September 11 /Trend, A. Taghiyeva/

The Armenian diaspora in the French city of Marseille took protest
against Turkish Airline’s sponsoring of “Olympic Marseille” football
club, Dogan agency reported on Wednesday.

The Coordinating Council of Armenian Association issued a statement
where it criticized the sponsoring of “Olympic Marseille” FC by
“Turkish Airlines”.

The report said that Marseille is the capital of the Armenian diaspora
and sponsoring of its football club by Turkish or Azerbaijani companies
is unacceptable.

PASADENA APPROVES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL

U-T San Diego, CA
Sept 11 2011

By The Associated Press 8:46 a.m.Sept. 11, 2013

PASADENA, Calif. – Pasadena will commemorate the Armenian genocide
of 1915 with a monument in Memorial Park.

The Los Angeles Times reports ( ) the City
Council unanimously approved a design for the memorial, which will
include a stone water basin straddled by a tripod of three columns.

A single drop of water will fall from the highest point every three
seconds, with each “teardrop” representing one life lost.

The nonprofit Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee is raising
funds to erect the monument before the centennial observance of the
genocide in April 2015.

Organizers say Pasadena is a fitting home for the tribute because
the city was the first in Southern California to embrace Armenian
immigrants before and after the genocide.

The memorial was designed by Catherine Menard, a student at the Art
Center College of Design.