Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

President Serzh Sargsyan today held consultations on issues of Armenian-French economic cooperation. Taking into consideration that the relations between Armenia and friendly France are on a high level and are described as privileged by both countries, the discussions focused on the current state of economic ties, the perspectives of development of mutually beneficial cooperation in different spheres.

Attending the meeting were Armenia’s Ambassador to France Vigen Chitechyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Head of the Armenia-France Deputy Friendship Group, MP Ara Babloyan, Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan, other officials.

The President noted that more than 140 companies with French capital are currently operating in Armenia, playing an important role in the country’s economic development.

He noted, however, that the trade-economic relations are on a high level and added that the commodity turnover between the two countries is not satisfactory.

Ambassador Vigen Chitechyan presented a detailed report on issues on the agenda of Armenian-French economic cooperation, the steps being taken in that direction, the existing problems and the future plans.  He noted that the bilateral economic ties intensified after 2007, making France Armenia’s second partner in term of foreign investments.

Iranians are voting in elections for their country’s parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that appoints the supreme leader, the BBC reports.

The poll is the first since Iran and world powers agreed a landmark deal over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Reformists and moderates who back President Hassan Rouhani have formed a coalition called The List of Hope that aims to reduce the number of hardliners in the two bodies.

Almost 55m people are eligible to vote.

The parliamentary elections are to elect 290 MPs for four-year terms. Voters will also select 88 clerics to the Assembly of Experts, who serve eight-year terms.

Voting started at 08:00 local time (04:30 GMT) and closes at 18:00. But officials say polling stations could stay open longer if there are queues and more time is needed.

– The City Council on Tuesday tried to nudge organizers of the proposed Armenian American Museum to relocate their project from next to the Glendale Civic Auditorium to Central Park in downtown.

More than a year ago, council members signed an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee to let the group design a plan for the museum on the 1.17-acre parking lot next to the auditorium at Verdugo Road and Mountain Street.

At the time, council members spoke enthusiastically about the project and its location. However, soon after, there was an outpouring of concerns from nearby residents about traffic.

“None of us on the council want to create a situation where we create a divide in the community from one community against another group. That’s not what we’re here for,” said Mayor Ara Najarian. “The idea of a museum is an excellent one … We’re all trying to find the best spot for it.”

City Manager Scott Ochoa suggested the Central Park location — near the corner of Colorado Street and Louise Street — as a potentially suitable site for the museum.

Councilman Zareh Sinanyan said the open space might be better suited for a museum, especially because of the downtown foot traffic.

“I think in the long term, it could be better for the committee because that’s our art and entertainment district. That’s where we’re trying to have a concentration of people,” he said.

While Sinanyan has also been a strong supporter of more parks in the downtown and south Glendale areas, he said he thinks the loss of Central Park could be made up down the road. Some projects he had in mind included closing Maryland Avenue between Harvard Street and Wilson Avenue to traffic and opening it up as a pedestrian promenade.

The committee has already presented a conceptual design for the 30,000-square-foot museum, which is slated to house permanent and traveling art exhibits as well as a research facility.

The Central Park site is just more than 3 acres. Ochoa called it a passive park, meaning it’s used more for activities such as picnics rather than athletics.

Council members directed Ochoa to meet with committee members and discuss the Central Park option, and possibly return with a new exclusive lease agreement.

But for now, the museum’s representatives are expressing disappointment.

“While there was a disagreement on the location, it was clear that everyone who spoke wanted to see the Armenian American Museum in Glendale,” said Tigranna Zakaryan, the museum’s community outreach director. “Although we see a number of difficulties in placing the museum at Central Park, we will take the time to properly evaluate this site before making a decision.”

When it comes to the lot next to the Civic Auditorium, the committee still needed to conduct a number of environmental reviews.

Councilwoman Laura Friedman said she’d rather discuss changing the project site now before hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on those reviews followed by a rejection by the council of the final proposal.

More than a dozen residents living near the parking lot addressed the council and supported a location change.

“This dialogue has been very, very encouraging … It’s inspiring, and we will rally behind it 100%,” said resident Kim Murphy.

Others, such as local teacher Taline Arsenian, said they felt as though changing the museum site will be a lost educational opportunity because Glendale Community College is just across the street.

She added that traffic concerns were overblown because the college has thousands of students, while the museum would bring in significantly fewer visitors, comparatively.

“A couple hundred museum-goers is not going to impact traffic grossly,” Arsenian said. “Traffic can be redirected; bus drop-offs can be staggered.”

On February 22, Armen Yeganian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Canada, had a meeting with John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada.

Highlighting the necessity of opening Embassy of Canada in Armenia, Ambassador Yeganian informed Minister that every year several thousands Canadian citizens visit Armenia and sometimes they experience the need of consular and immigration services of the Embassy.

The sides also discussed a number of issues concerning the recent flow of refugees to Canada. Minister McCallum underlined that he is well informed about the problems the Syrian-Armenians are facing while arriving to Canada. He stressed that the Canadian Government is implementing numerous assistance programmes, which in particular are aimed at the improvement of refugees’ social conditions. Ambassador Yeganian expressed his gratitude to Canadian Government for the support.

During the meeting thoughts on the current visa policies between the two countries were exchanged.

Armen Yeganian briefed on the commemorative events of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, organized throughout 2015 in different countries, including Canada.

The results of the 31st Ministerial Conference of the International Organization of La Francophonie, which took place last October in Yerevan, were discussed.

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Virginia McLaurin waited all her life to see an African-American in the White House. So, when she finally got a chance to meet President Obama, the 106-year-old woman couldn’t contain her excitement, according to .

She squealed with delight. She waved her cane in the air. And she danced — busting moves that have made her the newest Internet darling.

In a video posted by the White House Sunday night, McLaurin opens her arms wide, greets Obama with an excited “Hi!” and begins swaying.

“It’s an honor, it’s an honor,” she tells the President. McLaurin was at the White House to celebrate Black History Month.

Obama asks if McLaurin wants to meet the first lady and the answer is an obvious one. As she rushes over, Obama, who appears amused, says, “Slow down now. Don’t go too quick.”

The second round of Armenia-EU talks on the formation of a new legal basis for relations was held in Brussels on February 17. The Armenian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Nazaryan.

The first part of the negotiations was dedicated to political dialogue, reforms, issues of cooperation in the the fields of justice and freedoms.

The results of the first two stages of negotiations were summed up at a plenary sitting, during which the parties hailed the progress achieved so far and set the framework and timeframe of the future discussions.

The sides attached importance to the coordination of activities between different negotiating teams.

This week, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) submitted written testimony to the Helsinki Commission’s hearing entitled: “Update on the OSCE: Religious Freedom, Anti-Semitism, and Rule of Law,” citing Azerbaijan’s escalating and deadly cease-fire violations and urging additional action.

“As the Commission is aware, the Assembly remains deeply concerned about the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan, its jailing of journalists and abandonment of democratic values, particularly for America’s ally Armenia,” Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny’s testimony stated.

Chairman Smith opened the hearing by stating his concern for human rights crises in Europe and Eurasia. Smith described repression in Azerbaijan as “rife,” especially in regards to freedom of the press. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Azerbaijan is the leading nation in Eurasia for jailing journalists. The Human Rights Watch 2016 World Report states that “the [Azerbaijan] government’s unrelenting crackdown decimated independent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and media,” resulting in imprisonment, criminal investigations, harassment, or travel bans.

The Assembly, for its part, highlighted Azerbaijan’s continued ceasefire violations in 2014 and 2015, which have been marked by an unprecedented increase in civilian casualties, including the targeting of a kindergarten in Armenia’s Tavush region. There have been over 54,000 cease-fire violations committed by Azerbaijan on the line of contact from 2014 through 2015, with an estimated total of nearly 1 million shots fired.

“These violations constitute a clear disregard for the rule of law and pose a direct threat to fundamental freedoms,” Ardouny said.

During the hearing, Chairman Smith noted that members of the Commission recently traveled to Baku twice, where they met with President Aliyev in rather lengthy meetings on human rights issues on both occasions. As a result of these discussions, Chairman Smith introduced the Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015. Chairman Smith said the reaction by the Aliyev government and parliament was “startling.”  “They claimed the Armenians put me, Chris Smith, up to it. The Armenians had absolutely no input, advance notice, or anything else about the bill,” according to Smith. “So when I hear this coming from the parliament, and coming from major media and presidential spokesmen, I wonder about their credibility on other things,” he said.

The Assembly also welcomed the Royce-Engel initiative to U.S. Ambassador James Warlick, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, calling for: (1) an agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers along the line of contact; (2) the placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact; and (3) the deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations.

“We strongly urge the Commission to support this important initiative by convening a special hearing to examine the scope and nature of these violations as well as review steps needed to bring about a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” stated Ardouny.

Below is the full text of Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny’s testimony, which was submitted to the Helsinki Commission on February 11, 2016.

Testimony before the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
“Update on the OSCE: Religious Freedom, Anti-Semitism, and Rule of Law”

Submitted by Bryan Ardouny

Executive Director of the Armenian Assembly of America

February 11, 2016

Chairman Smith, Co-Chairman Wicker, distinguished Commissioners, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomes today’s important hearing. We share the concerns of the Commission with respect to threats to religious freedom and the rule of law as well as the specter of anti-Semitism, whether in Europe or beyond.

The Assembly especially appreciates the Commission’s ongoing vigilance in shining a bright light on human rights violations in an effort to bring about much needed change and to protect religious and minority communities. In particular, we remain deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of Christians and other minorities at risk in the Middle East and elsewhere. As ISIS continues its brutal targeting of innocent civilians, images of which evoke the horrors of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and other crimes against humanity, it reminds us all about the urgent challenges before us and the need to redouble our efforts to prevent atrocities from occurring.

We also appreciate the work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), as well as the OSCE Minsk Group which seeks to find a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We welcome the introduction of the Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015 by Chairman Smith, which sends a strong message that the United States takes the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms seriously.

As the Commission is aware, the Assembly remains deeply concerned about the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan, its jailing of journalists and abandonment of democratic values, and the impact it has on the region, particularly for America’s ally Armenia. Unfortunately, these authoritarian trends have spilled over into the OSCE-mediated Nagorno Karabakh peace process wherein the Azerbaijani government continues to violate the 1994 cease-fire agreement at an alarming rate and with more powerful weaponry.

According to reports filed with the United Nations (UN) and the OSCE, there were over 11,500 cross-border violations committed by Azerbaijan against Armenia from 2014 through 2015, constituting an estimate of more than 200,000 shots fired. In Armenia’s Tavush region, a kindergarten has been the repeated target of sniper fire. This is an outrageous violation. The targeting of innocent civilians and children must end.

With respect to the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, there have been over 54,000 cease-fire violations committed by Azerbaijan during the same period. These violations constitute an estimated total of nearly 1 million shots fired.

Some of the weapons used by Azerbaijan in its attacks against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh in 2014-2015 include: grenade launchers, large caliber machine guns, large caliber sniper weapons, mortars, and howitzers. Not surprisingly 2014 and 2015 have been marked by increased civilian deaths and casualties. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in a Joint Statement in December 2015 said “there is no justification for the death and injury of innocent civilians.” “We especially condemn the use of mortars and other heavy weaponry,” the joint statement highlighted “and regret deeply the civilian casualties these weapons have caused.”

These violations constitute a clear disregard for the rule of law and pose a direct threat to fundamental freedoms. Given these egregious violations, the Assembly welcomed last year’s initiative by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel to address the dramatic increase of deadly cease-fire violations. In their letter to Ambassador James Warlick, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, they called for three concrete steps to be taken. These include: (1) an agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers along the line of contact; (2) the placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact; and (3) the deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations. The letter was signed by 85 Members of Congress.

We hope that these recommendations are implemented to help ensure the safety and security of the people of Armenia and Karabakh. Further, we strongly urge the Commission to support this important initiative by convening a special hearing to examine the scope and nature of these violations as well as review steps needed to bring about a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The United States has a vested interest in advancing peace and bringing stability to the region – and a key to stability is respect and adherence to the fundamental tenets of the rule of law and human rights.

Chairman Smith and Co-Chairman Wicker, we commend you for holding this hearing and look forward to working with the Helsinki Commission on these and other pressing issues as we pursue shared values in promoting democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.

“As a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States will continue to work closely with the sides to achieve a lasting, negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the principles of international law, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Final Act,” Ambassador Daniel B. Baer, U.S Representative to the OSCE, said is a

“Regretfully, violence along the line of contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border has escalated over the past several months. The United States reiterates the concerns of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and condemns the use of mortars and other heavy weaponry that has caused civilian casualties. We echo the Co-Chairs’ appeals to the sides to take immediate steps to reduce tensions and protect lives,” he said.

“The status quo is neither acceptable nor sustainable, and we remind the sides that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The United States strongly supports the Co-Chairs’ efforts to facilitate an intensified dialogue between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan and to establish structured negotiations in order to make progress towards a peaceful settlement,” Amb. Baer said.

The Ambassador also urged the Azerbaijani government to respect and uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its citizens, consistent with its international commitments and obligations. This is not separate from, but indeed a central component of, achieving a comprehensive and sustainable security for Azerbaijan and the region.

He noted that the United States regrets the closure of the OSCE Office in Baku and hope that it is temporary because such a presence could contribute to this work, along with the work in other dimensions including the rule of law, human rights and countering transnational threats.

Photo: Getty Images

Prosecutors in Brazil are recommending that football star Neymar be charged over four counts of fraud in relation to a tax case prior to his transfer to Barcelona in 2013, the BBC reports.

It is alleged that companies were set up as fronts in order for the striker to pay a lower rate of tax.

Officials in Brazil say the allegations against the Barcelona striker cover a seven-year period from 2006.

The allegations are separate from a case heard in Spain on Tuesday.

Neymar appeared in court in Madrid in connection with fraud allegations surrounding his transfer. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.