Author: nina hovnanian

L’INDEPENDANT, France
8 août 2013 jeudi

Carte blanche à Charles Aznavour

Habitué du festival « Y a d’la joie » et ami du grand Trenet, Charles
Aznavour aura toujours sa place sur les scènes de la cité narbonnaise.
Les deux hommes étaient, en effet, très proches. Trenet a suivi de
près la carrière d’Aznavour, de 11 ans son cadet.

« On lui doit tout. Il a inventé la chanson poético-populaire »,
déclarait ce dernier lors de l’inauguration de l’exposition « Trenet,
le fou chantant » à Paris, au mois d’avril. A cette occasion, il
l’appelait même « mon maître ». Cette année, la Ville donne donc carte
blanche à Charles Aznavour. Et à n’en pas douter, cet artiste
infatigable saura relever le défi. L’auteur-compositeur-interprète de
La bohème , For me formidable , Emmenez-moi , ou encore J’me voyais
déjà , ne compte plus le nombre d’albums à son actif. Des dizaines et
des dizaines de disques portent son effigie et son nom. Pour son
dernier album, Aznavour toujours , édité en 2011, il s’est entouré des
plus grands. D’ailleurs, l’?uvre n’apparaît pas comme un énième opus,
mais comme un véritable autoportrait. Charles Aznavour offrira un
programme inédit et des chansons de Charles Trenet, accompagné par le
trio du jazzman international Giovanni Mirabassi avec la participation
d’Alexis HK, Agnès Bilh et Yves Jamait. Hommage à l’Arménie L’homme
est aussi un acteur engagé multipliant les casquettes. On le connait
chanteur, acteur, écrivain, voire même danseur à ses débuts… Depuis
1988 et le terrible séisme qui a touché l’Arménie, Aznavour n’a de
cesse de se démener pour rendre hommage à un peuple qui a déjà tant
souffert. Cette année-là, il crée l’association Aznavour pour
l’Arménie. En 2008, le président de ce pays lui confère la citoyenneté
arménienne. En 2009, il est aussi devenu l’ambassadeur de l’Arménie en
Suisse et le représentant permanent de cet Etat auprès de l’ONU à
Genève, où il réside. A 89 ans, l’artiste s’affiche donc aussi
diplomate et ne se refuse rien. Il sera présent au Thétre/Scène
nationale mercredi 21 août, dès 21 h. Le concert affiche déjà complet.

Fars News Agency, Iran
Aug 11 2013

Armed Rebels Hijack Passenger Bus Carrying Armenian Citizens in Northern Syria

TEHRAN (FNA)- A group of armed rebels hijacked a bus carrying Armenian
citizens of Syria in Aleppo city in the Northern parts of the Muslim
country.

The passenger bus was heading to Armenia before its driver and all
passengers on board were kidnapped and taken to an unknown location by
the terrorist groups.

In a similar move, another four Armenian citizens of Syria had been kidnapped.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized
attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border
guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have
been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups
for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from
abroad.

Fait-religieux.com
10 août 2013

Un avocat marseillais s’obstine pour la reconnaissance du génocide arménien

Votée fin 2011 par l’Assemblée nationale, la loi Boyer, du nom de
Valérie Boyer députée (UMP) des Bouches-du-Rhône, visait à pénaliser
le négationnisme du génocide arménien. Elle a été ensuite rejetée par
le Conseil constitutionnel. L’émotion avait été vive autour de ces
débats. Les uns accusaient l’ancien président Nicolas Sarkozy de
vouloir flatter les électeurs d’origine arménienne, en négligeant
l’état des relations avec la Turquie, que de nombreux hommes
politiques de droite refusent de voir un jour faire partie de l’Union
européenne. Les autres reprochent toujours à la France de nier
l’existence de ce génocide, alors que des vagues entières de réfugiés
sont pourtant arrivées fuyant l’Empire Ottoman, allié de l’Allemagne
pendant la Première Guerre mondiale.

L’urgence de cette reconnaissance paraît plus cruciale aux membres de
la communauté qui souhaitent obtenir gain de cause avant 2015 et la
commémoration du centenaire de ces massacres.

Nombreux épisodes judiciaires

Comme le rapporte le quotidien La Provence, l’inspirateur de la loi
votée en 2011, un avocat marseillais, Me Philippe Krikorian, n’a pas
voulu se résoudre à accepter la décision du Conseil constitutionnel,
reprochant à Nicolas Sarkozy d’avoir trop tardé à promulguer la loi
votée.

Dans un premier temps, Me Krikorian a saisi le Conseil d’État, sans
succès. La haute juridiction administrative s’est déclarée
incompétente en la matière. Il s’est alors adressé en référé au
tribunal de grande instance de Marseille. Autre échec. Sa requête ne
sera pas transmise à la Cour de cassation, le juge estimant qu’aucune
« voie de fait » ne pouvait être reprochée au préfet des
Bouches-du-Rhône, qui représente l’État dans le département. Pour Me
Krikorian, en revanche, l’État « n’assure pas une protection
juridictionnelle effective aux requérants au regard de la Déclaration
des droits de l’homme et du citoyen du 26 août 1789 ».

La cour d’appel d’Aix-en-Provence vient d’être saisie d’une nouvelle
requête. Dans un mémoire de 392 pages, l’avocat réclame que la cour
d’appel impose au Premier ministre de déposer un projet de loi, et de
le faire en procédure accélérée.

Prééminence du droit européen ?

Me Krikorian bataille contre le refus par le gouvernement de
retranscrire en droit français une décision de l’Europe de 2008 « sur
la lutte contre certaines formes et manifestations de racisme et de
xénophobie au moyen du droit pénal ».

Sa démarche vise à obtenir la saisine de la Cour de justice de l’Union
européenne, après avoir épuisé les possibilités de recours en France :
« Actuellement, les victimes de négationnisme ne peuvent saisir la
justice que si les auteurs du génocide ont été condamnés par une
juridiction nationale ou internationale ». Ce qui exclut pour certains
juristes français le génocide arménien, qui n’a pas eu droit à
l’équivalent du procès de Nuremberg pour les dignitaires nazis.

S’il obtenait raison au terme de sa longue démarche judiciaire, la
France serait dans l’obligation d’adopter une loi pénalisant le
négationnisme du génocide arménien, du fait de la suprématie du droit
européen sur les réglementations nationales.

80.000 Arméniens à Marseille

On estime à 80.000 le nombre de Marseillais d’origine arménienne.
Chaque année, le 24 avril, ils sont plusieurs milliers à défiler
devant le consulat de Turquie et à écouter les discours de leurs
représentants. « La Turquie a très peur que la reconnaissance
internationale du génocide aboutisse de facto à la reconnaissance du
négationnisme d’État dont elle se rend coupable depuis un siècle »,
explique à La Provence Pascal Chamassian, conseiller municipal (PS) de
Marseille et secrétaire national du Conseil de coordination des
associations arméniennes de France (CCAF). Il s’est tout de même
félicité des avancées constatées dans la société civile turque : «
Cette année, les associations turques de défense des droits de l’homme
ont organisé plusieurs commémorations du génocide à Istanbul et dans
d’autres villes turques. C’est le signe fort d’une prise de conscience
qui, nous l’espérons, conduira les autorités à regarder enfin leur
Histoire en face ».

Boxscore
Aug 10 2013

Donaire set to face Darchinyan Nov 9th on massive HBO card, Armenian
wants catchweight

by Jordan Stoddart

The Boxing Observer: Aug. 10, 2013 – As we told you here weeks ago,
former super-bantamweight king Nonito Donaire is reportedly locked in
talks to face old rival Vic Darchinyan this November. The pair
famously fought back in 2007 with the Filipino knocking out the
Armenian at his peak back in 2007 in what was named `upset of the
year’ and `KO of the year’ by the Ring Magazine. Times have
drastically changed with the Filipino going on to become a four-weight
world champion whereas Darchinyan has endured mixed fortunes, although
he remains a three-division world champion himself. Ironically it is
Donaire (31(20)-2) who finds himself at a vulnerable point in his
career after a one-sided shock thrashing at the hands of new 122 lb
ruler Guillermo Rigondeaux earlier this year.

The word on the street is that Darchinyan (39(28)-5-1) wants to face
his old rival at a catchweight above 122 lbs, although it is widely
thought Donaire will debut at 126 lbs (featherweight) on November 9th
in what would double up as part of the Pacquiao v Rios 24/7 debut on
HBO, as well as Mikey Garcia defending his WBO featherweight crown
against Roman Martinez. It is thought that the former 8-time titlist
Darchinyan prefers the bout at 123 lb’s, although that could be a
problem for his potential foe who says he will struggle to make 126 as
it is. The US-based Armenian has badly wanted to nail down a rematch
with the returning Top Rank star, so it may just be that he will have
to back down on his demands and face-off at the featherweight limit.

Foreign Trade Statistics

In the first half of this year trade with Germany totaled 157,227,100
dollars. Trade with Germany exceeded trade with other EU member
states.

According to the National Statistics Service, after Germany comes
Belgium, the second trade partner of Armenia (118,052,300 dollars).

Next come Bulgaria (103,783,800), Italy (88,484,800), Romania
(51,201,800), the Netherlands (50,341,500) and Spain (33,778,500).

The volume of trade was small with Luxembourg and Cyprus, 544,900 and
769,900 dollars respectively.

Total trade with the EU member states was 779,150,500 dollars.

In the first half of this year, trade with CIS members totaled
755,006,300 dollars. Russia remains Armenia’s key trade partner in the
CIS space. Trade with Russia totaled 596,872,500 dollars. Next is
Ukraine (109,382,000 dollars).

Trade between Armenia and the United States totaled 117,862,100 dollars.

Total foreign trade was 2,671,206,400 dollars, growing
insignificantly, only 0.8% compared with last year.

The negative balance of trade of Armenia was 1,271,731,800 dollars in
the past six months.

18:26 10/08/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Western Style Banking in Armenia

Friday, August 9th, 2013

Ameriabank

BY VICTORIA ARARATIAN

YEREVAN (PanArmenian) – Armenia is moving forward with its western style
banking system – the use of debit/credit cards now being very much in
style. Presently, all commercial banks in Armenia offer various types
of plastic cards yet the quality of service varies. The customers do
get tempting offers. Many banks manage to attract new clients, yet
very few are able to maintain the relationship by meeting their needs
with affordable pricing. Hrachya Malkhasyan, the Head of Ameriabank’s
Regional Branches, in this interview with a PanARMENIAN.net
journalist, shares his professional insight on clients’ needs and some
of the ways that banks succeed or fail to support them.

PANARMENIAN: Currently, all commercial banks in Armenia offer various
plastic cards. How do you meet the competition in this market?

HRACHYA MALKHASYAN: The competition in this field isn’t just tough –
we are seeing `price wars.’ Ameriabank follows its course, trying to
avoid these wars as they seem to be ineffective in attracting clients.
We eye the business through the prism of each client’s needs and
thereby build communication channels and product line. First, we value
quickness and quality of service, as well as profitable lending
conditions. We also try to develop infrastructure, specifically by
increasing the number of ATMs and POS terminals. Here, a unique role
is given to the bank’s image and the brand, which helps attract
clients without being dragged into the so-called price struggle.
Special attention is paid to bolstering security to rule out any
possibility of leaks, a condition highly appreciated by the clients. I
would like to emphasize that Ameriabank highlights quality, starting
with the presentation of an application and through the entire service
process.

Also, Ameriabank card holders now profit from a special deal
Ameriabank has with more than 250 sales outlets. With their Ameriabank
cards our clients are able to get a 50% discount in all of the 250
sales outlets that Ameria has partnered with.

PA: What does Ameriabank do to make credit and debit cards more
available for the population?

HM: Ameriabank is one of the leaders in Armenia’s banking system in
terms of its ATMs and POS terminals. Now our customers have access to
90 ATMs across the country – 68 in Yerevan and 22 ATMs conveniently
located outside the capital. We work with many tourists from the
Diaspora. We want to make sure they have western style banking support
when they visit our historic sites, be it Dilijan, Tatev or
Tsaghkadzor. They can easily have access to an ATM when needed at
these sites. When in Yerevan, we welcome our customers to one of our
six branches in the capital. In addition, we have three branches in
the regions. Ameriabank also has an established branch in Stepanakert,
Artsakh.

PA: Western style banking also suggests the use of apps on smart
phones. Is Ameriabank there yet?

HM: I would like to note that Ameriabank is the first Armenian bank to
have an application available via the Apple Store. Once you download
the Ameriabank app, you are immediately connected to currency exchange
rates, news, and the locations of the bank’s branches and ATMs. The
Ameriabank app also has an interactive map.

Ameriabank offers a mobile application through the Apple App. Store

AP: With cashless payments gaining popularity in Armenia, what results
did the bank achieve for card transactions for the first half of 2013?

HM: In the second quarter of 2013, we have witnessed 8% growth for
card use versus the first quarter. In total we have released 42,000
cards. With the new app, increased ATMs, guaranteed quality of
service, and visits by Diaspora Armenians, we are looking at 50%
growth in cards for the rest of the year.

PA: What are some of the new programs and services that the bank
offers or will offer to its card holders?

HM: Now our customers can have both debit and credit cards with
advantageous interest rates versus single-type cards. Also the service
fees for credit and debit cards have been considerably reduced, and we
offer an overdraft protection service. In the mid-term we’re planning
to develop loyalty programs that will give additional incentives to
our clients for using Ameriabank’s services.

Despite the challenges and severe competition in the market of bank
cards, Ameriabank is stepping up to develop the plastic card culture
among the Armenian population, offering new approaches and secure
terms of use.

Ameriabank has received a number awards in the 2012-13 fiscal year

Ameriabank is a leading universal and retail bank with 68 ATMs in
Yerevan and 22 ATMs outside the capital of Armenia. The bank has
branches in Yerevan, provincial regions, and Stepanakert, Artsakh.
Ameriabank, a member company of Ameria Group, is a winner of multiple
global financial awards. It is the only financial institution in the
South Caucasus to be recognized as a Global Growth Champion at the
DAVOS World Economic Forum for its exceptional growth and expertise.
With more than 500 employees, $600 million in assets, and branches
across the country, Ameria is performing the most aggressive
development in Armenia’s financial and advisory market.

Head of Charbakh police department dismissed

14:49 10/08/2013 » LAW

Head of Charbakh department of Armenian police Nikolay Ohanyan was
dismissed and sent to reserve on order from Armenian police chief,
Lieutenant General Vladimir Gasparyan, according to Shamshyan.com.

By another order of Vladimir Gasparyan, police Lieutenant Colonel
Hrach Khosteghyan was relieved of his duties as deputy head of the 2nd
division of 2nd department of the general department of criminal
investigation of police and appointed head of Charbakh police
department.

Source: Panorama.am

Armenia has a technically advanced team: Kazakhstan under-U 23 team head
coach

13:36, 10 August, 2013

YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS: Armenian uner-U23 national team is
technically advanced team. `Armenpress’ reports making a reference on
Sport.kz that during press conference before the match between
Kazakhstan and Armenia about this announced head coach of Kazakh team
Sergei Borovski. The match will take place on August 11. `Our opponent
is wants to win and it is understandable. They came to Kazakhstan
after loss from Iceland.

It will not be ease game and it is for sure. In our group each team
wants to have the second position after France and we are not
exclusion,’ said the head coach of Kazakhstan national team.

Estimating the quality of Armenian national team Borovski mentioned
that Armenians are technically advanced and a player with good
dribbling. The coach spoke about Aghvan Papikyan.

On August 11 in Astana will take place EURO-2015 qualification match
between Kazakhstan and Armenia.

The Podium

Unfair trial in Turkey

By Peter Diamond
August 09, 2013

Last Monday, in Turkey’s notorious Ergenekon trial, 254 of the 275
defendants were convicted of membership in a clandestine terrorist
organization seeking to destabilize Turkey’s government. While Turkey
has a history of military coups, a dirty war against Kurds, and other
illegal activities, this trial had little to do with prosecuting such
real crimes and did not come close to the standards for a fair trial.

As reported, severe sentences were given to some members of the
military, but those convicted also include many civilians. As part of
a human rights mission from the International Human Rights Network of
Academies and Scholarly Societies, I visited Turkey to examine the
cases of eight scientists, engineers and doctors, each indicted in one
or two of four separate trials including this one.

To gather information about the trials, our three-person mission met
with government officials, diplomats, journalists, lawyers, and
academics and read widely. We met with four of these eight where they
were held in high security prisons, and one who had been released on
bail. While depressing, the prisons we visited were not the horrific
places past movies might suggest.

The Ergenekon trial included six of the cases we studied. All six were
convicted, with sentences ranging from 10 to 23 years. Two of the six
had been in prison for four years awaiting completion of this trial.
Another has been in prison for over a year and is awaiting another
trial as well. Five of these six are doctors and have been rectors of
universities. The sixth, a chemical engineer, formerly headed the
council that oversees Turkish universities and has been a Fellow at
Harvard’s Weatherhead Center. None have advocated violence; all are
outspoken secularists, while the government is Islamist. (The six are
Mehmet Haberal, Fatih HilmioÄ?lu, Riza Ferit Bernay, Mustafa Abbas
Yurtkuran, Kemal AlemdaroÄ?lu, and Kemal Gürüz.)

Multiple reports make it clear that the trials do not come close to
international standards for a fair trial. The European Union and the
United Nations have criticized Turkey’s human rights record related to
these trials. The State Department’s 2012 Human Rights Report for
Turkey reported that the `judicial system was politicized and
overburdened and authorities continued to engage in arbitrary arrests,
hold detainees for lengthy and indefinite periods in pretrial
detention and conduct extended trials. The secrecy of investigation
orders also allowed authorities to limit defense access to evidence
and fueled concerns about the effectiveness of judicial protections
for suspects.’

Gareth Jenkins, a widely respected Istanbul-based journalist,
described the trials as `a series of highly controversial judicial
cases targeting opponents of the Islamic conservative movement, which
have been found to suffer from deep flaws, inconsistencies, and
instances of outright fabrication of evidence.’ (Turkey Analyst, vol.
6 no. 3 13 February 2013.) He also referred to them as `characterized
by outlandish claims and numerous abuses of due process. The
indictments against the accused ran to thousands of pages. Yet not
only were they riddled with absurdities and contradictions, they
contained no convincing proof that either the Ergenekon organization
or the coup plot existed. On the contrary, some of the evidence
adduced to support the prosecutors’ claims had clearly been
fabricated.’ (MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 02 (June 2011).) With
the case for some falsification of evidence being strong, the lack of
fairness includes refusing to allow forensic experts to testify on
that issue.

There appears to be no credible basis on which to conclude that any of
these eight colleagues is guilty of committing the crimes of which
they have been accused. Intimidation of its critics and exaction of
revenge against secularists seem to be the government’s prime reasons
for many of the arrests. The situations faced by these colleagues are
illustrative of very many cases in Turkey that are tried under
antiterrorism legislation.

Turkey is at a crossroads with a country-wide diverse population of
demonstrators protesting over many issues. The government has
responded with widespread arrests. This is happening at a time when
Parliament is proposing to overhaul the constitution and elections are
approaching. Many have been looking to Turkey as a model for a
democracy in a state with a tradition of Islam. But modern Turkey can
hardly lay claim to democratic legitimacy if it persists in perverting
its justice system in pursuit of a transparently political vendetta.

Peter Diamond is an Institute professor emeritus at MIT and a 2010
Nobel laureate in economics; the report is available at

Resident of Armenian border village miraculously survives Azerbaijani fire

August 10, 2013 | 18:40

YEREVAN. – The 50-year old resident of border village miraculously
survived a shooting from the Azerbaijani side.

The man was working in the field hearing a sound of a bullet whizzing
past, head of Aygepar village Andranik Aydinyan told Armenian
News-NEWS.am. The villager managed to get out of the field and come
back home safely.

Aydinyan said fire from the Azerbaijani side is intensive, and
residents have to be very attentive. They have almost suspended
agricultural work, he added.

Earlier Azerbaijani snipers wounded 41-year-old serviceman Armenak Ayvazyan.