Author: nina hovnanian

MANOEUVRES MILITAIRES DE L’AZERBAIJAN AUX ABORDS DU KARABAGH

Le ministère azerbaïdjanais de la defense a annonce le 14 mai la
conduite de manoeuvres militaires de grande ampleur aux abords de
la ligne de contact separant les forces armeniennes et azeries au
Karabagh.

“Les forces armees de l’Azerbaïdjan ont commence l’etape suivante des
exercices militaires a grande echelle dans les zones frontalières”, a
indique le ministère azeri de la defense dans un bref communique. Les
exercices, qui mobilisent l’armee de terre et l’aviation azeries,
devraient se conclure a la fin de la semaine, precise le communique.

Ces man~uvres interviennent quelques semaines après les grandes
manouevres organisees par l’armee de defense du Karabagh, dans
un contexte de tension accru en raison des violations repetees du
cessez-le-feu armeno-azeri de 1994 ; des affrontements sporadiques
auraient fait une quinzaine de morts de part et d’autre de la ligne
de front en 2012. En fevrier dernier, l’armee azerie avait procede
a des exercices similaires près de la ligne de front pour tester de
nouveaux armements.

vendredi 17 mai 2013, Gari ©armenews.com

DEMIRCHIAN, UN ALLIE PROCHE DE LTP, CRITIQUE SON POSITIONNEMENT

Un allie cle du chef de l’opposition Levon Ter-Petrossian, a exprime
jeudi publiquement son desaccord avec sa strategie controversee de la
cooperation avec le Parti Armenie prospère de Gagik Tsarukian (BHK),
rejetant son positionnement d’opposant.

” Si le BHK n’a pas declare etre dans l’opposition, pourquoi me
posez-vous cette question ? Je ne comprends pas “, interroge Stepan
Demirchian, le leader du parti de l’opposition populaire de l’Armenie
(HZhK) dans une declaration a des journalistes.

Demirchian faisait reference a la remarque de Tsarukian selon
laquelle le BHK “ne peut pas etre dans l’opposition” en depit de ses
critiques de certaines politiques gouvernementales. Levon Zurabian,
vice-president du Congrès national armenien de Ter-Petrosian (HAK),
a minimise cette declaration mercredi, affirmant que le parti de
Tsarukian s’est “comporte comme une force d’opposition ” et demeure
un partenaire proche du HAK.

Demirchian, dont le parti a ete affilie au HAK lorsque celui-ci etait
une alliance de groupes d’opposition, a exprime de serieuses reserves
au sujet de cette cooperation. ” Par exemple, il peut y avoir et, en
effet, une cooperation avec le BHK a l’Assemblee nationale “, a-t-il
dit. “Mais nous ne pourrons parler de cooperation plus profonde que
lorsque le BHK se situera comme une force d’opposition.”

Demirchian a remis en question la strategie de Ter-Petrosian d’essayer
de capitaliser sur les contradictions entre le BHK et le gouvernement
. ” Nous avons deja dit qu’il est errone de conditionner les activites
de l’opposition aux desaccords qui pourraient exister entre les forces
gouvernementales a un moment donne, mais etre absent a un autre “,
at-il dit.

Demirchian a en outre declare que son parti est pret a cooperer non
seulement avec le HAK recemment restructure, mais aussi des groupes
d’opposition qui soutenaient Ter-Petrosian et sont maintenant en
desaccord avec lui. Les approches courtisanes de Ter-Petrosian a
l’egard du BHK ont ete une des principales raisons de la discorde
de l’opposition.

vendredi 17 mai 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

AUGMENTATION CONTESTEE DU PRIX DE L’ELECTRICITE

Les prix de l’electricite en Armenie sont egalement susceptibles
d’augmenter rapidement en raison de l’augmentation du coût du
gaz naturel importe de Russie, a annonce jeudi l’organisme de
reglementation des services publics de l’Etat.

La Commission de reglementation du Service Public (PSRC) a declare
jeudi avoir commence a “examiner” les tarifs de l’electricite suite
a une augmentation drastique du prix du gaz exige par le reseau de
distribution de gaz national de l’Armenie.

Selon le president du PSRC, Robert Nazarian, la Commission a ainsi
repondu aux souhaits exprimes de longue date par les compagnies
de production et de distribution d’electricite armenienne. ” Elles
ont longtemps voulu que nous revisions et augmentions les tarifs de
l’electricite, mais nous avons attendu, car il y avait un problème
cree par l’augmentation du prix du gaz”, a declare Nazarian aux
journalistes.

Selon la loi armenienne, le PSRC doit prendre une decision dans
les trois prochains mois. Nazarian a refuse de preciser l’ampleur
des hausses de prix prevues. Il dit seulement que la Commission va
probablement augmenter les prix de l’electricite fournie a la fois
au reseau national de distribution d’energie et aux menages.

Les frais d’electricite pour les consommateurs individuels sont restes
inchanges a 30 drams (7 cents US) par kilowatt / heure depuis 2009.

Les observateurs a Erevan notent que les hausses de prix prevues
viennent après la reelection du president Serge Sarkissianau
scrutin presidentiel du 18 fevrier et la victoire ecrasante du parti
republicain a l’election municipale du 5 mai a Erevan. L’Armenie aura
sa prochaine election majeure en 2017.

Samvel Avagian, un analyste economique, s’interroge sur la
justification officielle d’elever les prix de l’electricite, car selon
lui le seul prix plus eleve du gaz n’est pas un motif suffisant. Les
centrales thermiques fonctionnant au gaz naturel produisent moins
d’un tiers de l’electricite de l’Armenie.

” Aujourd’hui le gaz ne joue pas un rôle serieux dans notre bilan
energetique “, explique Avagian au service armenien de RFE / s ‘RL
(Azatutyun.am). “Peut-etre y a-t-il d’autres facteurs dont nous ne
sommes pas conscients. Peut-etre que le combustible nucleaire est
aussi devenu plus cher. ”

Un autre commentateur, Armenak Chatinian, a accuse les autorites de
vouloir ainsi compenser leurs depenses provoquees par l’achat de voix
dans les recentes elections. ” Les gens ne devraient pas avoir accepte
5.000 drams pour voter, ” a-t-il dit. “Lorsque vous vendez votre vote
lors des elections, vous devez etre pret a en payer les consequences.”

vendredi 17 mai 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

ARMENIA QUALIFIES FOR EUROVISION GRAND FINAL

01:15 17.05.2013

Tonight in the second two hour show of this year’s Eurovision Song
Contest, broadcasted LIVE from Malmo Arena, 17 countries took part
in the Second Semi-Final in order to qualify for the last 10 places
available in Saturday’s final.

Today’s qualifiers include: Hungary, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania,
Norway, Iceland, Armenia, Finland, Malta and Greece.

The second ten finalists (beside those already known: Germany, France,
Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and last year’s winning country Sweden,
but also those chosen in the First Semi-Final), will take part in the
Grand Final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place
on Saturday the 18th of May.

The result was determined by way of a 50/50 split between national
expert juries and televoting. The combined scores created the final
outcome.

Turkey, Iran, Syria Top List for Worst Journalism Countries

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Laurie Balbo

The online `zine Foreign Policy posted its `worst countries for
journalism’ with the Middle East grabbing three of the Top Ten slots.
As we scour the media, we already see how this fares for environmental
reporting which is practically non-existent in the Middle East.

How can change occur if we’re not free to write about sensitive issues
like human rights and the environment?

According to the 2012 census by the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ), there are 232 journalists in prisons worldwide, over half being
held in the Middle East, the most of them surprisingly in Turkey.

Bahrain = 1 Saudi Arabia = 4 Israel and
Occupied Palestine = 3 Iran = 45 Syria = 15
Yemen = 1 Uzbekistan = 4 Kyrgyzstan
= 1 Iraq = 1
Turkey = 49

Read about this region’s biggest muzzlers of free expression, below:

1. Turkey

The world’s most repressive country is showcase Muslim democracy and
NATO darling, Turkey.

A New Yorker article published last year stated, `According to the
Journalists Union of Turkey, 94 reporters are currently imprisoned for
doing their jobs. More than half are members of the Kurdish minority,
which has been seeking greater freedoms since the Turkish republic was
founded, in 1923.’

CPJ’s 2012 census counted 49 jailed reporters, but The Friends of
Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener (named after two imprisoned writers)
maintains a list of 104 journalists currently imprisoned there.
Another 800 face charges, and scores more have left their jobs because
of government pressure.

`The government wants to set an example; it wants to intimidate,’
investigative journalist Ertugrul Mavioglu told The Guardian.
`Journalists are being told, `There are limits on what you are allowed
to say.”

Andrew Gardner, Turkey specialist at Amnesty International, added,
`This prosecution forms a pattern where critical writing, political
speeches and participation at peaceful demonstrations are used as
evidence of terrorism offenses.’

Attorney Meral Danis Bektas said Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, openly threatened journalists and dictated what they wrote.
Bektas said: `All of the defendants stand trial for doing their jobs.
Free press and freedom of expression are cornerstones of democracy.
Without them, democratic political participation becomes impossible.’

The government denies the journalists were arrested for their work as
members of the press, instead citing terrorist offenses.

2. Iran

Iran earns the silver medal for jailed journalists, with 45 behind
bars as of December 2012.

The government controls all television and radio broadcasting, banning
coverage critical of specific topics and events including national
nuclear policy and the economy.

Internet access is skyrocketing, but content is restricted and
censored and users risk persecution for online activity.

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) was blocked following
the 2009 election and the number of disabled political sites grows
exponentially. A 2010 Computer Crimes Law legalizes government
internet surveillance and criminalizes online expression.

Cybercafes are obliged to record customers’ personal data and browsing
histories. Last year, a national intranet was finalized, aimed at
cutting Iranians’ connection to the worldwide web.

In 2012, Iran banned 250 ‘subversive’ books and closed the
professional association `House of Cinema’ that supported 5,000
Iranian filmmakers and artists. Don’t count on reading Lolita in
Tehran, and forget about seeing the movie.

3. Syria

Journalists receive reporting licenses at the pleasure of the prime
minister. According to the CPJ, 28 licensed writers were killed in
2012 and 15 more were incarcerated by the end of that year.

Syria’s 2001 Press Law gives the state full control over all print
media. It forbids reporting on issues of national security and allows
the state to determine whether information is factual or not. Violate
the law and face up to three years in prison with fines reaching
$20,000.

The 2011 Media Law guarantees the `right to access information about
public affairs’ and bans `the arrest, questioning, or searching of
journalists’, yet ironically bars publication of content that affects
national unity and security, and incites public unrest. Guess who
makes the determination?

Image of Turkish protestor under arrest by Sadik Gulec/Shutterstock.com

Azerbaijan Has Recognized the Independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) Not Only De Facto, but Also De Jure (Documents)

May 17 2013

Political scientist Gagik Hambaryan provided us with a few important
documents, according to which Azerbaijan’s leadership had de jure
recognized the independence of the NKR long before. `Information,
according to which Azerbaijan recognized the independence of the NKR
in such and such year, has been circulating in both the Azeri and the
Armenian press for one year now; even archive material is being spread
on websites and social networks. `Shavarsh Kocharyan, our Deputy
Foreign Minister, giving an interview last year, put forward a
document, according to which Azerbaijan recognized the independence of
the NKR on September 3, 1993. However, I must state that both the
Armenian side and the Azeri side provide somewhat wrong information.
To begin with, we have to clarify one thing that recognition is of two
types – de jure and de facto. That the NKR has existed for 20 years
now is a fact, which nobody can deny. And that the NKR hasn’t de jure
been recognized by the international community so far doesn’t
correspond to reality, because at the most intense moments of the NKR
conflict when the Azeri army was suffering one defeat after another,
that same Azeri elite, that same current Minister of Defense Safar
Abiyev, that same Heydar Aliyev who is considered to be the Ataturk of
the Republic of Azerbaijan, so to speak, requested a ceasefire and
negotiations from the NKR government. I can present a document, which
has the Azeri Defense Minister’s signature on it, is addressed to the
Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia, Karen Baburyan, and is
dated July 24, 1993 (see documents). `The content is as follows: if
both sides agree, military operations will be ceased for 3 days; the
treaty enters into force as of July 24, 1993, 4 p.m. They had been
negotiating before that too; the first document was on June 17. We
must state that one day before this document, the Armenians had
conquered Aghdam, a very important Azeri outpost, after 40 days of
fierce fighting. A lot of people think that the Azeri Defense Minister
unintentionally sent that letter to the Supreme Council of the
Republic of Armenia or was poorly informed. However, I think that this
was a special step, so that the Armenians were not able to prove
afterwards that the Azeri government recognized the NKR as far back as
in 1993 and negotiated with it, because Safar Abiyev and these letter
writers of his knew quite well that Karen Baburyan had nothing to do
with the Armenian Supreme Council and was the acting NKR Supreme
Council Chairman.’ According to the political scientist, the
government of the Republic of Armenia replied to the Azeri side that
Karen Baburyan had nothing to do with the Supreme Council of the
Republic of Armenia, and on the following day, July 25, a letter with
the same content was sent to Samvel Babayan, the NKR Defense Minister,
on behalf of Azeri Defense Minister Sabar Abiyev. `I am asking now:
`If the Azeri Defense Minister sends a letter-request for a ceasefire,
what is it, if not a document on de jure recognition of the NKR’s
independence by Azerbaijan?’ This is at the level of the defense
minister,’ Gagik Hambaryan says. Nune AREVSHATYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

`Armenia: The secret of stones’ exhibition opens in Strasbourg

16:41 18.05.20130

An exhibition titled `Armenia: The secret of stones’ was opened at the
foyer of the hall of sessions of the Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers. The solemn opening ceremony was attended by the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, PACE President, Chairman of the
European Court of Human Rights, heads of delegation of CoE member
states.

`Armenia is a country of high mountains, and it’s natural that the
stone has turned into the language of art. It’s primarily through
architecture that Armenia has managed to express its creative spirit,’
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at the opening
ceremony.

The Minister said it has developed into an indispensable part of world
culture. `We are glad to present this exhibition within the framework
of Armenia’s presidency of the Committee of Ministers,’ Edward
Nalbandian said.

Armenian wheat does not have stable classification – producer

May 18, 2013 | 03:26

YEREVAN. – The wheat in Armenia does not have a stable classification,
Avetik Poghosyan, the deputy director of a company that produces
Armenian flour, told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, this is one of the primary obstacles standing in the way
of purchasing more local flour.

`We give preference to local products, but it is more difficult to
obtain a sufficient quality in Armenia than in Russia. As a result,
you can get different-quality flour even within the boundaries of one
village [in Armenia],’ Poghosyan stressed.

In that regard, he noted that the Russian wheat is in an advantageous
position because by checking the specificity of the wheat, you can be
sure of the whole shipment.

`This creates a problem for the [local] producers. It causes confusion
as to why, for example, `they are picking up wheat from my neighbor,
but not from me.’ Not solely the size, but also the adhesiveness and
the transparency and other things are important for flour. The
producers need to be convinced,’ Poghosyan added.

In his view, the uniting of the seed fund may help to some extent. In
this way, as per Avetik Poghosyan, the products of the farmers will
become predictable for the producers, and this will stimulate
procurement in the domestic market.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Consequences of Prosperous Armenia Party leader’s statement – newspaper

May 18, 2013 | 08:12

YEREVAN. – According to the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) sources,
the party-member business circles’ concern over their own future has
somewhat lessened, 168 Zham daily reports.

`The PAP members consider that [Party Chairman] Gagik Tsarukyan’s
[recent] statement about PAP not being an opposition shows that they
are protected and can continue to stay in the PAP ranks.

[But] prior to this statement, many of them were claiming that if the
wish of [PAP MP, former FM] Vartan Oskanian and several other PAP
members comes true and PAP announces about becoming an opposition,
they would have to leave the party,’ 168 Zham writes.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Interfax, Russia
May 16 2013

OSCE chair-in-office to discuss Karabakh settlement prospects in Baku

BAKU. May 16

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara
will visit Azerbaijan as a leg of his South Caucasus tour of June
17-20, a diplomat told Interfax.

The tour will start from Azerbaijan.

The source said Kozhara would discuss OSCE-Azeri relations and
regional issues, including negotiations on peaceful settlement of the
Armenian-Azeri conflict held under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group,
while visiting Baku.
Te mk