Author: nina hovnanian

Karabakh defense minister receives personal representative of OSCE
chairperson-in-office

news.am
August 22, 2012 | 20:00

STEPANAKERT. – The Defense Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Movses
Hakobyan received on Wednesday the Personal Representative of the
Chairperson-in-Office on the Conflict Dealt with by the OSCE Minsk
Conference, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

During the meeting the sides discussed the situation along the line of
contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces, the
Karabakh MOD press service reports.

To note, Armenia’s Minister of Defense, Seyran Ohanyan received the
Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office on July 13 to
discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

UK Ambassador met Armenia’s Paralympics delegation

armradio.am
22.08.2012 13:46

`Even though Armenia will participate in the London Paralympics with
just two participants, I am confident that these two female athletes
will do everything to make Armenia proud of them,’ British Ambassador
to Armenia Jonathan James Aves stated Wednesday during his meeting
with Armenia’s disabled athletes.
`Our organization’s cooperation with the Embassy of Great Britain is
warm and friendly. It is the sole embassy [in Armenia] which showed
such interest before the Games. We are heading with two athletes, but
I believe we will participate with a larger team in the next Games.
With respect to the athletes, we have done lot more than possible. We
avoid speaking about medals. We have great hopes that we will have
marvelous Games,’ stated Hakob Abrahamyan.

Armenian church in Turkey’s Kars turns into mosque

tert.am
14:52 – 22.08.12

An Armenian church in the vicinities of the castle of Kars (Turkey)
has turned into a mosque, opening its doors only at the hours of the
Namaz, the Turkish website Sondakika.com reported.

The situation reportedly irritates tourists who come to see historical
place of warship.

`The local and foreign tourists who come to Kars first visit the
castle, but they cannot visit a church mosque as its doors are close,’
says the website.

The church built in AD 932-937 by the Armenian King Abas Bagratuni was
renamed in 1994 becoming a mosque. Visitors, however, urge for keeping
the building open permanently.

The tourists unable to enter the church immediately leave for Ani to
see ancient city’s ruins.

The Guardian: Stepanakert beginning to attract visitors

tert.am
16:12 – 22.08.12

By Dan Peleschuk

In many ways, Stepanakert resembles a small American town on the rise.
Its main boulevards have been repaved, locals stroll through the
renovated central square past its elegant fountain, and hotels have
sprouted on every other block to hold the new influx of visitors.

There’s just one thing: it doesn’t really exist, and neither does the
ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, of which Stepanakert is the
capital. According to the rest of the world, the region belongs to
Azerbaijan, and no one – not even Armenia, Karabakh’s patron state –
recognises it.

But that doesn’t stop the self-proclaimed country from celebrating its
20 years of de facto independence this year. Patriotic banners flutter
above Stepanakert’s streets, and posters of the soldiers who during a
bloody war in the early 1990s helped wrest the land away from
Azerbaijan line the sidewalks.

Not long ago much of the city was in ruins and the economy virtually
non-existent. Today locals meander along leafy streets lined with new
banks, stores and government buildings. A tourism industry is slowly
taking root, as travellers from across the world descend on the tiny
republic, population about 141,000, in increasing numbers.

But under the surface are scars of a war that left more than 30,000
dead and many displaced. War is the only reason the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic exists. War – the memories of it, the fears of its return –
is what makes it tick. Perhaps the best reminder of this is Aghdam,
the ghostly shell of a former Azeri settlement levelled by Armenian
forces in 1993. Just a short drive from Stepanakert, the one-time city
of around 30,000 was reduced to grassy craters and jagged stone
remnants of former apartments, schools and community centres. Visible
from the only road that leads north to Karabakh’s famed ancient
monasteries, it is easy to notice.

Yet ordinary Karabakh Armenians are trying to capitalise on the
relative post-war stability. Even as border tensions have escalated in
recent months, which have seen deadly skirmishes between Armenian and
Azeri forces, small-time businessman Ashot Simonyan says foreign
visitors have continued to stream through his spare rental apartments.

“Everyone who comes here really loves it,” he says with a salesman’s
grin. “We have everything a tourist needs – it’s completely normal
here.”

Armenian community of France to meet Presidnet Hollande in the
beginning of autumn

09:39, 22 August, 2012

YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS: The first meeting of Armenian
community in France with the President of the country Francois
Hollande will take place in the beginning of autumn. Armenpress was
informed about this from representative of press and public
organizations of Armenian National Committee of Europe Peto Demirjyan
adding that the meeting would take place by all means.

`In Europe vacation period begins from August and we tired to organize
the meeting before July 31 but did not manage. One of the reasons was
the fact that President was busy’ highlighted Demirjyan. He assured
that after vacations Armenian community would meet French President by
all means. It would be a meeting of the same level as the meeting of
Armenian community of USA with Barack Obama.

`During the meeting with Hollande only one issue will be discussed –
the issue of processing the bill criminalizing the denial of Armenian
Genocide. The President has already reconfirmed his promise’ reminds
Demirjyan. In his words the procedure of the bill will be the same –
discussion in National Assembly, than in Senate after which the
President must ratify it.

The bill criminalizing the denial of Genocides on December 2011 was
adopted by the National Assembly of the country. On January 23 French
Senate confirmed the bill. However, Constitutional Court of France on
February 28 recognized anti-constitutional the bill adopted by
National Assembly and Senate.

After the coming into force of the bill in the territory of France the
denial of Armenian Genocide will be punished by one year in prison or
45 000 fine.

Hurriyet, Turkey
Aug 22 2012

Investigations in Dink case settled out of court

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
by Erdem GüneÅ?

A recent response from Interior Minister to a question raised in the
Parliament reveals that 41 investigations against police officers
named in the case of assassinated journalist Hrant Dink were settled
out of court

The Dink family lawyers say they will take the case to the ECHR after
exhausting all domestic legal avenues one more time, while Dink’s
brother Orhan Dink says `this was the scenario’s last scene.’

The Interior Ministry has revealed that the police officers
investigated within the case of Hrant Dink’s assassination did not
receive any judicial punishment apart from the forfeiture of pay and a
reprimand.

Cem Halavut, one of the intervening lawyers of the case said
administrative punishments like forfeiture of pay and condemning an
officer were not what they demanded as they had asked for the officers
to be taken to court and tried.

`Prosecutors say they could not reach the evidences, administrations
of institutions say they did their share and that the ball is in the
prosecutors’ court. This shows that they pass the ball around well,’
Halavut told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday in a phone interview.

Any new investigation kicked off at this point will find it nearly
impossible to reach the evidence as six years have passed since the
murder, Halavut said.

He also said there were numerous documents and evidences revealing the
responsibility of public personnel in the murder.

The Interior Ministry announced the judicial and administrative
proceedings for the law enforcement officers who were found
responsible in the assassination of Armenian journalist Dink.
According to the announcement, no judicial investigation authority was
given to eight police officers, `no need for an additional
prosecution’ was decided for 31 officers, and two officers were
acquitted.

Orhan Dink, the brother of Hrant Dink, said his family was despairing
of justice.

`There is nothing to be surprised about this. We had demanded an
effective official investigation but it failed. The large part of the
State Supervisory Council’s (DDK) murder report argued that the
judicial process was problematic and that police officers were not
investigated since their chiefs’ permission was not taken,’ he told
the Daily News.

Dink said the authorities do not want to extend the case over a long
period of time to ensure the public forgets what happened.

Halavut also said they have been waiting for the Supreme Court of
Appeals’ verdict which will be the end of the domestic judicial
process. If necessary they will take the case to the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR).

After Hrant Dink, the chief editor of weekly Agos, was assassinated in
Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, judicial and administrative investigations
were launched against public personnel, including police and
gendarmerie, whose negligence was detected to be effective in the
murder. The results of the investigations were brought to the Turkish
Parliament’s agenda with the written parliamentary question issued by
the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chair Sezgin Tanrıkulu. The
Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å?ahin’s response to the question reached
the Parliament Speaker’s Office.

`Within the preliminary investigation about Hrant Dink’s murder, all
the necessary works were conducted in accordance with the orders of
Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, and all the information obtained
for the identification of offenders was sent to the chief prosecutor’s
office and added to the investigation file at the earliest possible
opportunity,’ Å?ahin said in a written response to the parliamentary
question.

Å?ahin also announced the results of the judicial and administrative
procedures launched for police and gendarme officers detected in
Trabzon and Istanbul. Å?ahin made 41 decisions about the officers and
each of them included impunity. `The authorized court decided to give
no judicial investigation authority to eight police officers, and
decided that there was no need for an additional prosecution for 31
officers. Two officers were acquitted and the prosecutor’s
investigation about one officer is still ongoing,’ Å?ahin said.

`Four gendarme officers were charged with four-month prison sentences,
one was charged with a six-month prison sentence and two officers were
acquitted,’ Å?ahin said about the gendarme officers.

`One officer got long-term suspension, five received forfeitures of
pay, three received reprimand and one received warning on the grounds
that their negligence affected the incident,’ Å?ahin said about the
administrative punishments given to the officers.
August/22/2012

ITAR-TASS, Russia
August 20, 2012 Monday 06:43 PM GMT+4

Russian national piloted plane that crashed in Sudan – embassy

CAIRO August 20

The plane that crashed in Sudan on Sunday was piloted by a Russian
national, First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Khartoum Yuri
Vidakas told Tass on Monday.

“Russian pilot Gennady Semyonov was commander of the aircraft,” the
diplomat said. He said the pilot had been working in Sudan on a
private contract at Alpha-1 Company. Besides, there was an Armenian
and a Tajik national on board the plane. “Unfortunately, all people on
board were killed,” Vidakas said.

According to the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority, the passenger
plane crashed early on Sunday as it was approaching to land in Talodi,
a town in the border state of South Kordofan, 650 kilometers southwest
of capital Khartoum.

Early reports say the plane crashed because of bad weather conditions,
as there was dense fog in the area. The airliner crashed into the
mountain and exploded. There were 31 people on board, including
Sudan’s Guidance and Endowments (religious affairs) Minister Ghazi
al-Sadeq, Mahjoub Abdel Raheem Toutou, state minister for youth and
sports, and Eissa Daifallah, state minister for tourism, antiquities
and wildlife, Maki Ali Balayli, chairman of Sudan’s Peace and Justice
Party, officials from political and law enforcement circles of the
party, as well as a production team from Sudanese television.

The plane was taking a delegation to Talodi to celebrate the Eid
al-Fitr festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,
state news agency SUNA said.

Iran’s deals via Armenia not realistic-economist

news.am
August 21, 2012 | 22:41

YEREVAN. – It is hardly realistic to speak about the financial deals
of Iran carried out through Armenia to bypass the international
sanctions, economist Tatul Manaseryan told Armenian News-NEWS.am
commenting on the publication posted by Reuters.

According to him, Armenia will hardly be able to replace the deals
which Western banks carried out with Iran. In early August the British
Standard Chartered bank was accused of making deals with Iran
amounting to $250 billion, while the stocks of Armenian banks made
only about $333 million last December.

Besides, Armenia is dynamically developing relations with many
countries, even with Turkey, it is hardly realistic to speak about any
deviations from the international norms, the expert concluded.

`Such developments will endanger Armenia’s relationship with the
developing and developed states. Armenia’s relations with Iran were
positively perceived by the world community. This is the reason that
such projects as railway construction and gas pipeline, received no
direct or indirect objection of the international community,’
Manaseryan said.

In an article `Iran looks to Armenia to skirt sanctions’ Reuters cited
the report by U.N. panel of experts that monitors compliance with the
sanctions against Tehran. The report said Iran is seeking ways to
bypass sanctions.

`One state bordering Iran informed the Panel of requests from Iran to
open new financial institutions,’ the agency cited the report. The
article said several diplomats familiar with the report confirmed the
state is Armenia.

Government and Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia answer questions
of oppositional factions about incident at Harsnakar

arminfo
Tuesday, August 21, 14:16

The Government and Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia answer
questions of the oppositional factions about the inquiry into the
incident at Harsnakar Restaurant.

A working group comprising representatives of the Armenian National
Congress, ARFD and Heritage parties’ factions sent a list of questions
about the incident at Harsnakar to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Talking to ArmInfo, Head of Heritage Party faction Ruben Hakobyan said
that they had no serious expectations from the above structures given
the general state of the justice in the country, on the one hand, and
not completed inquiry into the incident, on the other hand.

“We demanded official information from the Government and the
Prosecutor General’s Office on the measures taken for comprehensive
and impartial inquiry. We wanted to reveal the stance of the
authorities on the given issue. The parliament will launch sessions
shortly and the political life will activate. So, we may organize
hearings on the given issue. The government’s answer is the official
stance that will help us decide our further steps,” Hakobyan said.

The parliamentarian is sure that the incident at Harsnakar will not be
neglected as all the other similar tragedies with participation of
oligarchs and their guards, who managed to avoid punishment. “Tragedy
at Harsnakar is in the focus of attention of the active part of the
population and civil society, who have taken rather an unyielding
stance,” he said.

To recall, on June 17, the security guards of Armenian oligarch, Head
of the Football Federation of Armenia Rouben Hayrapetyan severely beat
Major Vahe Avetyan, Head of the HENT department of the Yerevan
military hospital, as well as doctor Artak Bayadyan and Senior
Lieutenant of the Armenian Armed Forces Garik Soghomonyan in Harsnakar
restaurant owned by Hayrapetyan. Avetyan was taken to hospital and
underwent brain surgery. He died on June 29 around 7 pm. A relevant
criminal case has been instituted. Under public pressure, Hayrapetyan
refused his deputy mandate. A number of public organizations and youth
initiatives have united into “Vahe Avetyan” movement and regularly
picket Harskaqar and Police buildings demanding punishment of all
guilty in that vendetta.

Janfida Mayoral Race – New Tractors as Voter Enticement?
Grisha Balasanyan

hetq
13:36, August 21, 2012

In the run-up to the September 9 race for mayor in the village of
Janfida, in Armavir Marz, the proverbial `new tractors’ have arrived
to entice prospective voters.

It’s a hotly contested race pitting independent Gourgen Sargsyan,
backed by the Prosperous Armenia Party, against Republican Party
candidate Rafik Yeghiazaryan.

Current mayor Edik Manoukyan was also in the running before dropping
out. He offered no explanation to Hetq other than `it was his own
business’.

A visitor to the village will spot the shining mini-tractors lined up
for all to see. Residents say the tractors were provided by the
Prosperous Armenia Party and have been on display for the past month.

Nobody can say for sure where and for whom the tractors will be used.
But it’s an election enticement that has become a tradition.

In the meantime, Mayor Manoukyan is busy installing street lights
along the village roads and completing the installation of gas pipes.

It seems that residents don’t care who is doing what work. Their main
concern is for peace and calm, something that not always results when
Prosperous Armenia and the Republican Party go head to head.