DEPUTY KHACHATUR SUKIASIAN BEING SEARCHED FOR PRESENTS HIMSELF TO PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE
NOYAN TAPAN
SEPTEMBER 2, 2009
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, NOYAN TAPAN. RA National Assembly deputy
Khachatur Sukiasian, who is a defendant on the 2008 March 1 case,
presented himself to Prosecutor’s Office on September 2. Reporting
this Lragir.am mentioned that now the deputy is at the Special
Investigation Service, where materials are being made to move him to
Kentron Police Station.
11:28 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 12:28 UK
Jail threat for donkey bloggers
Two bloggers from Azerbaijan are facing up to five years in jail after
posting a video of a donkey giving a news conference on YouTube.
Shortly after the video was released, Andnan Hajizade and Emin Milli
were held on hooliganism charges following a scuffle in a restaurant.
Their lawyer says the arrests were politically motivated.
But authorities insist they are investigating a simple criminal case.
In the video, the donkey extols the benefits of living in Azerbaijan
and praises the government for its positive attitude towards donkeys.
The video was seen by many as a send-up of government news
conferences, which critics say are often little more than propaganda
events.
"This incident is definitely politically motivated," said the
bloggers’ lawyer, Isakhan Ashurov.
"My clients did not beat anybody, quite the opposite."
The Azerbaijani government denies that the bloggers’ arrest was
politically motivated.
"People are not arrested in Azerbaijan because of political activity,"
said Ali Hasnov, a senior adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, in a
statement.
"There was a scuffle between some young people and some of them were injured.
"Law enforcement agencies are investigating the case and will give an
impartial assessment," he added.
‘Black spot’
Speaking to the BBC, Elsa Vidal – Europe desk officer with Reporters
Without Borders – said that press freedoms in Azerbaijan were almost
non-existent, making it "one of the black spots of the former USSR".
"The situation is still severe and local public servants enjoy virtual
immunity from an investigation from the press when they try and expose
corruption," she said.
"There are no grounds for the bloggers to be prosecuted. They should
be released and all accusations should be dropped.
"The authorities have more to lose in jailing the bloggers than in
freeing them, but who knows what will actually be said at the trial?"
she added.
The UN Human Rights Committee also raised concerns about the arrests,
saying there were "extensive limitations to the right to freedom of
expression" in Azerbaijan.
Supporters of the pair say the arrests might have backfired and given
the video far more prominence than it would otherwise have had.
A number of websites calling for the release of the two men have gone
live, along with a Facebook group with almost 1,000 members. There is
also a video petition.
"Before the arrest, only a few hundred people had seen the video,"
Erkin Karirli, a member of the bloggers’ support group, told the AFP
news agency.
"Since the arrest, the video has been seen by thousands and the number
continues to grow.
"The arrest has only promoted the video."
TURKEY, ARMENIA TO SIGN DEALS ON NORMALIZING TIES
By Ross Kerber
U.S. Daily
Aug 31 2009
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey and Armenia will sign two accords within
six weeks on normalizing ties between the two countries after a
century of hostility, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source told reporters
on Monday.
The two countries announced a roadmap in April to restore ties and
end almost a century of hostility.
Armenian government’s bailout efforts to last as long as necessary
YEREVAN, August 29. /ARKA/. Armenian government will be taking bailout
steps as long as necessary to rid the country of the recession,
Armenian Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan said Friday in Novosti
International Press Center.
He thinks that the cash injections already made and those still to be
made in the national economy will produce results later this year.
In his words, the real sector will see the effect from the resources
sent here in the fourth quarter, and some rally will be visible in
Armenia’s economy.
The minister said that the economy is an inertial system and any step
taken here produces lag, not immediate effect.
He said that reallocations in the state budget and transition of some
expenses to the fourth quarter were made under the governmental program.
Davtyan explained that some part of expenditure shrank, but other, not
planned expenses emerged for stimulating the economy.
`I mean additional expenses of AMD 24 to 25 billion intended for
recovering quake-stricken areas and AMD 15 billion for returning
exporters’ VAT overpayment.’
The minister also said that some seven or eight billion will be
targeted for lending money to the real sector of the economy.
`These expenses are intended for stimulating the economy and improving
GDP’, he said.
On March 26, 2009, Armenian government decided to make reallocations in
the 2009 state budget and ceased working out mid-term expenditure
program for 2010-2012. ($1 = AMD 376.09). M.V. –0–
Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am, Armenia
Aug 29 2009
Armen Gevorgyan: Armenian President’s refusal to visit Turkey present
to Baku
12:21 / 08/29/2009Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s refusal to visit
Turkey would be a `primitive’ way out of the present situation in the
Armenian-Turkish relations, the political analyst Armen Gevorgyan told
NEWS.am. According to him, this would be the very the step Baku and
Ankara are expecting of the Armenian leader. `President’s refusal to
visit Turkey will put an end the modern history of Armenian-Turkish
dialogue, which will be to Azerbaijan’s delight,’ the expert said.
Gevorgyan believes that the Armenian President must visit Turkey and
state the Armenian side’s goodwill despite the Azerbaijani and Turkish
politicians’ `counterproductive’ actions and statements.
`The Turkish side presents Abdullah Gül ‘s visit to Yerevan as
its constructive step, ignoring the fact that Gul could not visit
Armenia without being invited. Thus, Turkey’s constructive step was
the result of a good-will gesture made by Yerevan,’ Gevorgyan said. He
also pointed out that paying visits and watching football matches
cannot be an end in itself in interstate relations. So the Armenian
President stated that the border must be reopened.
`If the unblocking of the border is made conditional on the settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sargsyan has nothing to discuss with
Gul in Turkey. Armenia and Turkey will not be discussing the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But it is such a discussion that Turkish
politicians are inciting Sargsyan to by linking the two issues with
each other,’ Gevorgyan said.
According to him, the Armenian-Turkish dialogue is only possible
within the `roadmap’ agreed on by the two foreign offices ` `and
nothing can be discussed without the roadmap.’ However, the Armenian
President’s refusal to visit Turkey will be a `coat off the master’s
back’ for Azerbaijan and Turkey, which will at once construe Yerevan’s
decision as an attempt to avoid a dialogue. But, it will actually be
the result of coordinated actions by Baku and Ankara aimed at
frustrating the prospects for improving the situation in the region.
Gevorgyan mentioned yesterday’s telephone conversation between the
Azerbaijani President and the Turkish Premier. The two discussed steps
to thwart the Armenian President’s visit to Turkey. `This is a rather
grave problem for both Turkey and Azerbaijan, as they are seriously
pressured in this context,’ Gevorgyan said. Under the circumstances,
`Armenian diplomats must not take primitive steps.’ `A further
dialogue with Turkey in defiance of her will is a step to be welcomed
worldwide, while Turkey’s refusal to fulfill the roadmap commitments
is a position to be noticed and denounced by the international
community,’ the expert said.
On the other hand, the Armenia leader’s refusal to visit Turkey will
give occasion to a sharper criticism of his foreign policy by the
Armenian Opposition. `Like in any other country, the Armenian
Opposition’s principle is `the worse the better’. So the once ardent
proponents of Sargsyan’s visit to Turkey are now urging him to
refuse. Others are declaring utopian ideas, trying to implant
radicalism in society. The Armenian Opposition’s actions also show
signs of primitivism and, to a considerable extent, malicious
intent. They are eager to declare the failure of the very initiative
of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, what is known as &`football
diplomacy’. They could not care less what happens later,’ Gevorgyan
said.
Today’s Zaman , Turkey
Aug 30 2009
Arameans search for roots and rights in mardın
Father Malki GümüÅ?soy raises his hand toward the
heavens and starts his supplication in front of the locked iron door
of one of the eight closed churches of Dargeçit, Mardin, a city
in southeastern Anatolia famous for its multi-religious and
multi-ethnic character.
GümüÅ?soy represents one of these colors of
Mardin; he is an Aramean priest. Also known as Syriacs, Arameans speak
a Semitic language that dates back 3,000 years and was used by Jesus
Christ. However, 80-year-old GümüÅ?soy worries
about the young generation of Arameans in Turkey. They face a lack of
teachers and schools in which to teach even basic literacy.
He also worries about Turkey’s Aramean population, which has
diminished sharply due to mass migration — primarily to Europe. In
fact, two of his four children have opted to move to Europe.
The 1970s saw the last Aramean family leave Dargeçit, whose
former name was Kerboran, meaning `grapes’ in Aramaic. Now the
district is predominantly Kurdish and boasts a population of
14,000. It is no longer famous for its grapes, but for heavy clashes
between state security forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European
Union and the United States.
Security concerns in the region are one of the reasons for the massive
migration, but neither Father GümüÅ?soy nor other
members of the Aramean community are willing to even mention the other
reasons. They prefer to remain silent. The Aramean diaspora, however,
has a different attitude.
Daniel Gabriel, whose parents are from Dargeçit, hails from
Australia. He is a lawyer working for the human rights department of
the Syriac Universal Alliance (SUA), a worldwide umbrella organization
for all Syriac people and organizations. SUA is an NGO in special
consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social
Council.
`My father is not used to speaking about those days, but he was
harassed several times by Kurds. He was almost killed once, so he took
my mother, and they left for Syria in 1967. From there, they went to
Lebanon and finally to Australia,’ he says.
Gabriel was born there, in the diaspora, like many other Aramean
people whose roots go back to the Mardin region, known as Tur Abdin by
Arameans. Another is Johny Messo, the president of SUA. He is Dutch,
but his parents come from Midyat, another city in the province of
Mardin. The two are on a tour that started in Lebanon and moved to
Syria, where they were received by state officials and the grand
mufti. They invited Sunday’s Zaman to join them for their fact-finding
mission, focusing on the situation of the Aramean people.
Arameans want to be treated in accordance with Lausanne
According to Messo, there are no scientific statistics about their
population, but estimates state that there are 25,000 Arameans in
Ä°stanbul. In Europe they number around half a million, but in
their hometowns in the province of Mardin, there are only 3,500
left. Their Turkish ID cards list Christianity as their religion.
Messo says that unlike the Armenian, Greek and Jewish communities, the
Aramean community was not recognized as a minority group by the 1923
Treaty of Lausanne, the founding document of the Turkish
Republic. `Arameans were not able to enjoy the rights and freedoms
that were given by Lausanne,’ he says, adding that they need to be
designated a minority in order to survive in Turkey.
Since they were not given this status, they were not able to teach in
their own schools. The lack of an official status and its subsequent
consequences were another reason for them to migrate to Europe.
But they have other reasons, too. Meryem Demirel is an Aramean from
Dargeçit who has been living in Sweden for more than 40
years. `When I return to Kerboran for a visit, I burst into tears. I
am unable to recognize the town of my childhood. There is no single
person left whom I know. My hometown is a total stranger to me,’ she
says, adding that hers was one of the first families to leave
Dargeçit.
She says that when she was a child she really wanted to go to school,
but was not allowed to do so. `My parents did not send me to school,
fearing I would be kidnapped. The Kurds harassed us. My two brothers
were able to attend school, but I was not,’ she says.
She works for an Aramean women’s association in Sweden and worries
about the situation of Aramean women in Turkey. `Their situation is
very poor. They are still not well educated. They don’t hold any
jobs. We are thinking about what we can do for them and one of our
ideas is to start computer courses and establish Internet cafes for
them,’ she says.
Demirel is among a number of members of the diaspora who increased the
frequency of visits to their hometowns since the security situation in
the region improved.
But when those like her returned, they recognized not only their
hometowns, but also their land and farms. Some of them had already
fallen into use by surrounding villages, resulting in legal disputes.
Holidays celebrated together
Despite all these problems, the Arameans are not totally unhappy. In
some cases, life for them is getting better. Take, for example, the
residents of the village of Karagöl.
The village was evacuated by security forces in 1995 but is now being
reconstructed. Two families, including some members were part of the
diaspora, have returned to the village after being given permission by
the state to do so in 2001. They are renovating its ancient church,
which dates back to the fifth century and are excited about the
pregnancy of Ruhat Ergün, who was born in Germany, is a German
citizen, was educated there, but has decided to live in the village.
`We will not give up our home here,’ says Hazni Ergün, Ruhat
Ergün’s husband. He has to send his children to a boarding
school in the nearby Aramean village of Anıtlı, where
the Virgin Mary Monastery is located.
Relations with neighbors are not always problematic and do not always
involve lawsuits and courts. In and around Mardin, Arameans and their
Muslim neighbors invite each other to traditional iftars
(fast-breaking dinners) during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.
`We celebrate religious holidays together. Our village has since its
establishment been a mixed village, and we always have good relations
with our neighbors,’ says Numan Ä°Å?leyen. His wife,
Fehime, adds that women always cooperate in village work. The village
goes by the name of AltıntaÅ?, and it is here that
GümüÅ?soy serves as a priest.
When he finished praying in front of the locked door of the church in
Dargeçit, an old Kurdish man approached him. He said his name
was Abdullah Seyid and that he was 73 years old. He also said he was
very happy to see Arameans in Kerboran again — intentionally using
Dargeçit’s Aramean name. He then turned to Father
GümüÅ?soy and said: `The Arameans were sent away;
they were persecuted; it was very brutal. We later came to understand
that the important thing is being a human being. It is not important
who you are, but it is important to be a member of humanity.’
Monastery and villages face court cases
Several Aramean villages and the Mor Gabriel Monastery are facing
court cases over land disputes either with neighboring villages or
with the state, and sometimes with both.
Nail Demirel, who lives in Australia with his five children but spends
his vacations at the Dayro Daslibo Monastery, says there is an ongoing
dispute with neighbors and the case has made it to court.
Demirel says the monastery was once the home of more than 300 priests
and more than 5,000 books but was a scene of a massacre carried out by
neighboring villagers, which left 77 Arameans dead in 1914. He pointed
to a wall and claimed that the bodies were buried behind the wall
inside the monastery, which looks like a castle.
`They came here 80 years ago from the upper village and settled here
on our land. With time, they captured our land and now claim to own it
even though we have the title deeds and have been paying taxes on the
land. We tried to negotiate with them; we are six families and they
are more, so we offered them half of our land, but they wanted
more. Now we are all in court,’ he says.
Their case is not the only land dispute between Arameans and
surrounding villages, but sometimes the state is involved. The village
of Alagöz is facing just such a case. Only a few families are
left in this village, so few that there are only 13 students who
attend the small school it is home to. Most families from here have
long moved to Europe, though some have recently built new homes
here. Alagöz’s court cases deal with land registry and forest
regulations.
As part of the EU accession process, Turkey set up cadastre offices
for almost half of the country in less than five years. Remote areas
and places where records were not kept well expectedly became the site
of many land disputes. Additionally, new laws called for the transfer
of uncultivated land to the Treasury and in some cases labeled such
land a forested zone. Once this became the case, it became difficult
for former owners to use from the land.
The situation has become complex, with both villages and the Mor
Gabriel Monastery, the oldest active Christian monastery in the world,
facing similar court cases. The monastery won a case against
surrounding villages, but lost another to the regional forestry
directorate. Both verdicts have been appealed, and the other two cases
await rulings from the local court.
The lawsuits against the Mor Gabriel Monastery have turned into a
Muslim-Christian dispute since the surrounding villages claim the
monastery is involved in missionary work and acting against the
security of the state. The Arameans think villagers in those villages
were manipulated by circles trying to completely destroy their
community.
`The court cases against the monastery were a wake-up call for the
community. We decided to cooperate to resolve our problems,’ SUA’s
Messo says.
30 August 2009, Sunday
AYÅ?E KARABAT MARDÄ°N / MÄ°DYAT
VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN UNDER DEATH THREAT
os||society&pid=14976
13:33:48 – 24/08/2009
Tchobanyan Institute, France, has voiced concern regarding the
recent developments relating to Vahagn Chakhalyan, a Javakheti-based
Armenian political activist. It wrote a letter to the president of
the France-Georgia friendship group of the French parliament Daniel
Paul. The letter alarms that Vahagn Chakhalyan, the leader of the
democratic movement United Javakheti was arrested in July 2008 in
Georgia and is under threat of death. The letter informs that the
leader of the civic movement is in prison for demanding a status
of administrative language for the Armenian language. The letter
states referring to reliable sources that the Georgian government
may use violence against Vahagn Chakhalyan, especially considering
that on July 31 Chakhalyan was taken from penitentiary 8 of Tbilisi to
penitentiary 2 of Rustavi where it is easier to organize a provocation,
meanwhile the appeal against his verdict is in process.
The letter urges the president of the French-Georgian friendship
group to urge his Georgian counterparts to guarantee the security of
Chakhalyan, as well as his right to fair trial, enabling his advocate
to defend him.
DO THEY DEFEND MPS AGAINST JOURNALISTS?
A1+
9/08/24/national-assembly
07:52 pm | August 24, 2009
Politics
The new order of journalists’ accreditation in the Armenian Parliament
has been put into effect since August 24.
Three days ago Speaker of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan
passed the new order which immediately aroused deep resonance among
journalists as it somehow limits journalists’ rights.
Under the new order, an accredited journalist cannot have access to
the National Assembly at any moment. An accredited newspaper must
have at least 1500 readers and an Internet website 800 visitors.
"Not all newspapers can be accredited," said the spokesperson of the
National Assembly, Nairi Petrosyan.
They aim to apply various tools to know the circulation of Internet
media. For instance, they will use the information of Google Analytics.
Nairi Petrosyan says that the new order stems from the new law on
mass media, adopted on February 8, 2004.
Up to nowadays, the National Assembly has been guided by the
accreditation order of 1999.
The NA spokesman and Arpine Hovhannisyan, Advisor to the NA Speaker on
legal affairs, tried their best to convince the discontent journalists
of the need for the new order and its advantages.
Under the new order "an accredited journalist can step into the
National Assembly during NA sittings, briefings, parliamentary
hearings, press conferences and other events preliminary agreed upon
with the Information Department."
Nairi Petrosyan says there is not restriction in this point as
"a journalist shouldn’t spend all his/her time in the National
Assembly. This is common in all European countries".
Nairi Petrosyan says a journalist can meet an MP only after arranging
a meeting with him.
SEVERAL PEOPLE ARRESTED ON CASE OF MURDER OF DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE GEVORG MHERIAN
Noyan Tapan
Aug 24, 2009
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Several people have been arrested
connected with the murder of Deputy Chief of the Police Gevorg
Mherian. Chief of the Police, Major-General of Police Alik Sargsian
said this at the conference on August 21.
To recap, G. Mherian who had been appointed the Deputy Chief of the
RA Police on July 2, 2008 was killed at the entrance of his flat this
year on February 3.
"Disclosing such kind of murders is a very difficult process. We
must be patient. Later the Police will present information about the
murder. The disclosure of this case is a matter of honor and dignity
for us and it will be disclosed unequivocally," A. Sargsian assured.
CITY STARTS RAZING CHERKIZOVSKY
By Natalya Krainova / The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Workers tearing down Cherkizovsky Market, once Europe’s biggest market,
in northeastern Moscow on Tuesday.
City authorities on Tuesday began demolishing the sprawling
Cherkizovsky Market, which was closed in June over sanitary and safety
violations amid a broader crackdown on smuggling.
The once-bustling, 300-hectare bazaar was deserted except for several
photographers and reporters, a few guards and several migrants helping
clean out the market, who said they were not former vendors.
Earlier this summer, the complex in eastern Moscow employed tens of
thousands of migrants, but only a few dozen were there Tuesday. Some
managed to find jobs elsewhere in the city, but many have left for
home amid signs that City Hall wants them gone.
Dozens of illegal migrants were deported following the closure and
many others were left in dire financial straits.
The city has promised to help find new trading space for Russians
who had been selling domestically made goods, but Mayor Yury Luzhkov
said in July that helping accommodate "our friends from China is not
our job."
Several migrants hung onto a fence surrounding the market and silently
watched a crane lifting an empty pavilion onto a truck. They said
they came to see the market one last time.
Denis Saakyan, 38, and Artur Sarkisyan, 32, said they were going home
to Armenia after working at the market for nine years because they
didn’t hope to find another job in Moscow.
Saakyan said renting space at other Moscow markets was too
expensive. He lambasted authorities for closing down the market amid
a crisis. "They closed all of our options," he said.
Windows of many kiosks showed merchandise – boxes of cigarettes,
cookies and candy – scattered on floors. A man in sunglasses and a
baseball cap sat on a chair, waving a large Russian flag, not far
from one of the market’s open gates.
Asked whether he was guarding the kiosks from looters, he nodded. He
refused to say anything about himself.
The city plans to build a fourth ring road, sports facilities,
trade centers and office buildings through the market, a spokesman
for the Eastern Administrative District said on customary condition
of anonymity. He said there were some 15,500 kiosks to dismantle.
One tenant, Vernissage v Izmailovo, will dismantle its 600 kiosks by
2010, its director, Alexander Ushakov, told Interfax. He lamented
the closure, noting that it wasn’t the first time a sports center
had been planned for the area.
"Back in 1936, they were planning to host the Olympics. They were
building a huge stadium for 200,000 people, but then they froze
construction and the architect was shot," he told the agency.
A few days ago, a forest ranger in Malakhovka, 30 kilometers southeast
of Moscow, discovered a tent camp with some 200 Vietnamese who lost
their jobs at an illegal sewing factory that made goods for the market,
RIA-Novosti reported Monday.
Cherkizovsky was closed June 29 after inspectors found a host of
violations there. The crackdown followed a demand by Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin earlier that month for "convictions" in the 2008
seizure of $2 billion in goods purportedly smuggled from China.