Author: Toneyan Mark

A climate of tolerance and dialogue between the majority population and national minority groups generally prevails in Armenia, said the new published by the Council of Europe today. However, economic difficulties continue to adversely affect the population; more effort is required to ensure full access to education for all, and criminalise forced early marriages.

The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities () acknowledged the commitment of Armenian population and authorities to promoting the principles of equality and non-discrimination, including rights of national minorities. Notably, the amended constitution introduces a specific provision on the protection of the right to a national and ethnic identity; the new Electoral Code provides for parliamentary representation for the four largest national minorities in the country.

Other positive observations include the continued support of cultural projects and media for national minorities as well as improved possibilities for self-identification during the census of 2011 where the questions on ethnic affiliation and languages spoken were open-ended and optional. The Council of Europe experts also find it commendable that, in spite of economic difficulties, Armenia admitted into the country more than 20,000 people, mainly of Armenian and Assyrian descent, fleeing the conflict in Syria.

Newspapers and magazines in languages of national minorities continue to be published and the public radio broadcasts in minority languages. Support is provided to the artistic expressions of national minorities. However, the majority of cultural initiatives, although praiseworthy in themselves, tend to present a folkloristic picture of national minorities.

However, even though the authorities promote inter-ethnic tolerance and understanding in society, Armenia is widely perceived as a mono-ethnic homogenous and mono-religious state. This, coupled with lack of media attention, limits the visibility of minorities and leads to their side-lining.

The unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the closed borders with neighbouring states have led to socio-economic hardships, which are particularly acute in poorer regions in secluded mountainous areas, inhabited largely by the Yezidi national minority. This community has lately seen the most significant drop in numbers due to emigration. School drop-out rates for Yezidi children, in particular girls, continue to be high. The persisting tradition of arranged early marriages further undermines their chances of completing the compulsory 12-year education cycle.

Redoubling efforts to eliminate difficulties experiences by Yezidi children in access to education and reviewing legislation with a view to criminalising forced marriages conducted under pressure or abuse, are among recommendations for immediate action given by the Council of Europe experts to the Armenian authorities.

Other recommendations include ensuring participation of national minorities and civil society in preparing the new Law on National Minorities, which is called for under the revised Constitution, and other legislation, encouraging the use of minority languages in contacts with local administration, introducing a possibility of declaring multiple ethnic affiliations for future censuses, as well as reviewing criminal legislation to make racial hatred and other hate motives an aggravating circumstance for all crimes.

Germany says it has received 136 asylum requests from Turks holding diplomatic passports since the July coup attempt against the Turkish president, the BBC reports.

The figure is a total for the period August 2016 to January 2017, German media report.

Turkey has urged Germany not to grant asylum to any military officers. Some posted to Nato bases in Germany are thought to be among the group.

In Greece, two more Turkish soldiers have requested asylum.

The pair – reported to be commandos – are believed to have taken part in the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They are in Greek police custody, having applied for asylum last week in Orestiada, a small border town near Turkey.

Last month a Greek court rejected Turkey’s request to extradite eight other Turkish soldiers who fled after the coup attempt. Turkey is appealing against that ruling.

The German interior ministry did not identify the 136 Turks who requested asylum. Not only diplomats but also their spouses and children hold diplomatic passports.

It is not clear if any of them have been granted asylum yet.

On 20 February Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan voted at the 3/3 polling station of Stepanakert.

Bako Sahakyan noted that the new Constitution Referendum is a progressive step in the state-building process, expressing confidence that the referendum, as any such event in the state, would be held in a free and transparent manner, in full compliance with the international norms and principles.

Armenia has expressed concern over the recent missile test by North Korea.

“We are deeply concerned by the recent missile test by the  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which violates Un Security Council resolutions and endangers the stability and peace in East Asia,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Twitter post.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Monday.

The missile flew east towards the Sea of Japan for about 500km.

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia keep the situation at the border under control, Armenian Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan told reporters today.

“Cases of tension at the border are simple attempts on the part of the rival to destabilize the situation, and our task is not to allow these provocations reach the target,” Minister Sargsyan said.

Speaking about the Talish family’s request for asylum in Armenia, Minister Sargsyan said “it’s yet another proof of discrimination and inhumane treatment of ethnic minorities is part of state policy in Azerbaijan.”

“As soon as we received a request from the citizen of Azerbaijan, we discussed it and concluded that there were no grounds to refuse asylum,” Vigen Sargsyan said.

“We’ll work in cooperation with international organizations to do our best to protect the man’s rights and find a permanent asylum for him,” the Defense Minister said.

Blogger Alexander Lapshin’s extradition will not prevent the visits to Artsakh, Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

“Alexander Lapshin’s persecution and his extradition to Azerbaijan amount to a gross violation of the freedom of speech and movement and fundamental human rights,” Tigran Balayan said.

According to him, this is yet another testament to the deep gap between dictatorship and democracy.

“Definitely, the visits of political, public and culture figures, journalists an tourists to Artsakh will not stop and will even multiply,” the Spokesperson said.

Extradition of Russian nationals to third countries is unacceptable, Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, TASS reports.

“Russia keeps in touch with the Belarusian side concerning Alexander Lapshin case,” Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing today.

“We insist that the extradition of Russian citizens to third countries is unacceptable, Zakharova said, commenting on the possible extradition of blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan.

“We are in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and other relevant authorities,” she said.

Alexander Lapshin, who holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, was detained in Minsk in December 2015 at the request of Azerbaijan for his prior visits to Nagorno Karabakh.

Russian and Israeli diplomats have visited Alexander Lapshin in Minsk.

The independent global travel search site has included Armenia’s capital Yerevan among the best budget holiday destinations of 2017.

The website writes: “Give in to the minibus chaos to criss-cross your way through the city – for 100 Dram, and a loudly shouted “stop!” you’ll be dropped off at the Yerevan’s prized monuments. The pedestrian Northern Avenue takes you from the opera to the fountains at Republic Square. Imposing Soviet era buildings by day, elegant backdrop to a light and water show at night, the Republic Square is inevitably a must-see.

Enjoy the long summer nights in the pink city, as it’s called due to the pinkish stones of the buildings, at the café terraces, while snacking on lamehjun (Armenian-style pizza). Rebuilt to hide the scars of wars and natural disasters, most of Yerevan’s current attire is only a century old. Yerevan’s oldest heritage lies along the outskirts of the city where the Hrazdan River and deep gorge create a natural border.”

Other cities in the list include: Sofia (Bulgaria), San Antonio (Texas, USA), Valparaíso (Chile), Braga (Portugal), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Lviv (Ukraine), Pristina (Kosovo), Panama City (Panama), Kalamata (Greece), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

A new World Bank policy report urges developing countries and international development agencies to rethink their approach to governance, as a key to overcoming challenges related to security, growth, and equity.
The 2017 World Development Report: Governance and the Law explores how unequal distribution of
power in a society interferes with policies’ effectiveness. Power asymmetries help explain, for example,
why model anti-corruption laws and agencies often fail to curb corruption, why decentralization does not always improve municipal services; or why well-crafted fiscal policies may not reduce volatility and
generate long-term savings.
The report notes that when policies and technical solutions fail to achieve intended outcomes, institutions often take the blame. However, it finds that countries and donors need to think more broadly to improve governance so that policies succeed. It defines better governance as the process through which state and non-state groups interact to design and implement policies, working within a set of formal and informal rules that are shaped by power.
“As demand for effective service delivery, good infrastructure, and fair institutions continues to rise, it is vital that governments use scarce resources as efficiently and transparently as possible,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “This means harnessing private sector expertise, working closely with civil society, and redoubling our efforts in the fight against corruption. Without better governance, our goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity will be out of reach.”
The report looks at country examples, including state building in Somalia, anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria, growth challenges in China, and slums and exclusion in India’s cities. It identifies three winning ingredients of effective policies: commitment, coordination, and cooperation. As three core functions to produce better governance outcomes, institutions need to:
● Bolster commitment to policies in the face of changing circumstances. This would help, for example,
in cases where decision makers spend windfall revenues instead of saving them for the future, or when
leaders renege on peacebuilding agreements in the absence of binding enforcement.
● Enhance coordination to change expectations and elicit social desirable actions by all. Challenges
occur in many contexts, from finance to industrial clusters and urban planning. Financial stability, for
example, relies on beliefs about credibility. Just consider how despite the rationale for leaving their
money in the bank during times of distress, the public may rush to withdraw their deposits if they believe that others will too – ultimately causing the banks to lose liquidity and crash.

● Encourage cooperation: Effective policies help promote cooperation by limiting opportunistic behavior
such as tax evasion- often through credible mechanisms of rewards or penalties. Individuals may have
incentives to behave opportunistically. Not paying taxes does not prevent them from enjoying public
services that others are funding. Similarly, when groups fail to benefit from policies or feel short-changed (for example, by low-quality public services), it can further weaken compliance.

“Government officials do not act in a vacuum. Their decisions reflect the bargaining power of citizens who jockey with each other to advance competing interests,” said World Bank Chief Economist, Paul Romer.
“So this report launches a very important discussion for governments, their countries, and people in the
development community about how we can make sure that society is on a path that’s generating progress.
We need to confront a complicated political process in every country where power can influence the
outcome of that process and we have to ask how can make sure that process leads to progress for
everyone.”
According to the report, unequal distribution of power can exclude groups and people from the rewards
and gains of policy engagement. Yet meaningful change is possible with the engagement and interaction
of citizens, through coalitions to change the incentives of those who make decisions; elites, through
agreements among decision makers to restrict their own power; and the international community, through indirect influence to change the relative power of domestic reformers.
Based on extensive research and consultations in many countries over the past two years, the report
proposes principles to guide reform and change the dynamics of governance for equitable development.
The report finds that good policies are often difficult to introduce and implement because certain groups in society who gain from the status quo may be powerful enough to resist the reforms that are needed to
break the political equilibrium.
“This year’s World Development Report ‘Governance and the Law’ has a wealth of insights that will inform and further strengthen the Bank’s work on governance,” said Debbie Wetzel, Senior Director of the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice. “As the report notes, successful reforms are not just about
“best practice”. They require adapting and adjusting institutions in ways that build more effectively on local dynamics and address specific problems that continue to stand in the way of development that serves all

citizens.”

– NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has joked about her unpronounceable last name and says ‘just call me Gladys.’

But the new premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, is a pioneer – not just because she’s first Liberal woman to hold the job.

She’s part of Australia’s small but successful Armenian community. The 2011 census estimates there are about 10,000 Armenian speakers in Australia.

But a tragic history hangs over the Armenian diaspora. And could this complicate life for the new premier?

The ABC Radio has talked to  Stepan Kerkysharian, founding director of SBS Radio, about the Armenian identity, the Armenian Genocide, the Karabakh issue, etc.