Category: News

Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was elected the country’s new parliamentary speaker in the fourth round and with the covert support of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on July 1 in a sign of possible coming coalition between the two, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Yilmaz received 258 votes while Deniz Baykal, from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), garnered 182 votes in the last round, as none of four candidates from four political parties could attain a simple majority in the third round on July 1.  Only Yilmaz and Baykal remained in the last round as Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat from the Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) were eliminated in the third round.

“Our nation has been expecting a new constitution soon from the 25th term of parliament. The economic and democratic level that our country has reached today makes a new constitution an obligation for all of us,” Yilmaz said in his first remarks delivered in parliament after being elected to his new post.

The AKP group provided full support to its candidate in both the third and fourth rounds, but the victory came thanks to the MHP’s decision not to vote for Baykal. The support of the CHP group as well as around 50 votes from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) was insufficient to elect Baykal, the temporary speaker of the parliament, for the country’s number two place in the state protocol.

The MHP’s indirect support to the AKP’s candidate drew fierce criticisms from both the CHP and the HDP, which accused the nationalist party of acting like the crutch of the ruling party. The two opposition party executives also implied that such a composition revealed the potential partners of a coalition government.

Volkswagen has disclosed that a robot has killed a contractor involved in its installation. The fatal accident happened at VW’s Baunatal plant, north of Frankfurt on Monday, reports. 

Human error was likely to have been to blame and not a problem with the robot, said VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig late on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old victim was a member of a team setting up the stationary robot. It grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said.

The man was resuscitated at the factory but died later in hospital, he said.

The Baunatal plant in Germany’s central state of Hesse produces mainly transmissions and electric motors and employs about 15,500 workers.

The contractor worked for a firm from Germany’s eastern state of Saxony.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has mocked America’s decision to legalise gay marriage across all 50 states by vowing to travel to the White House and proposing to Barack Obama, reports. 

During his weekly interview with the national radio station, the Zimbabwean president joked that he planned to travel to Washington DC ‘get down on one knee and ask his hand’.

Mugabe, who is known for his brutal crusades against homosexuality, was responding in bizarre fashion to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees gays and lesbians the same right to marry as heterosexuals.

Speaking on Saturday, Mugabe said: ‘I’ve just concluded – since President Obama endorses the same-sex marriage, advocates homosexual people and enjoys an attractive countenance – thus if it becomes necessary, I shall travel to Washington, DC, get down on my knee and ask his hand.’

Striking a more serious tone, he added: ‘I can’t understand how this people dare to defy Christ’s explicit orders as our Lord prohibited mankind from sodomy’, going on to accuse the U.S. government of being run by ‘perverted Satan-worshipers who insult the great American nation.’

His comments came only hours after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to legalise gay marriage in all 50 states – prompting thousands of same-sex couples to immediately tie the knot.

The Socialist Party (PS) group of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Wednesday filed a motion for a resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide, Belgian La Libre reports. 

With this resolution the “Socialist Party and all its MPs give a clear signal of their position on the Armenian Genocide,” while advocating rapprochement between the Turkish and Armenian peoples.

In this proposal, the Parliament “considers that the tragic events between 1915 and 1917, for which the government of the Ottoman Empire is responsible, should be classified as genocide.”

The recognition by the Parliament does not, however, entail legal consequences, notes the PS group.

The Chamber is not intended to replace court to rule on the legal characterization of those events. “It poses a solemn political act of recognizing that due to their nature and their specificity, the massacres of which the Armenians were victims fit the definition of genocide contained as defined in the 1948 Convention,” the resolution reads. It also encourages national and international courts to rule on the subject.

The authors of the resolution file their initiative in “a spirit of support and friendship for Turks and Armenians.”

They also highlight the efforts made within Turkish civil society on this issue.

The resolution has been signed by signed by MP of Turkish descent Özlem Özen, as well as Stéphane Crusnière, Philippe Blanchart and Gwen Grovonius.

On Tuesday evening His Holiness Aram I presided over a special event on the Armenian Genocide organized by the communication department of the Catholicosate of Cilicia. Professor Taner Akçam, Professor of History and the Robert Aram, Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University, spoke on the topic, “The Armenian Genocide research, findings and current challenges.“ A large number of clergy, academics, students and members of the community attended the lecture given by the Turkish scholar at the Cilicia Museum Hall in Antelias, Press Service of the Catholicosate of Cilicia reports.

Very Rev. Sipan Kechedjian introduced Professor Akçam as a Turkish intellectual who teaches, publishes and openly discusses the Armenian Genocide. In his lecture, Professor Akçam spoke of the contribution that Armenian and non-Armenian scholars have made to the historical study of the Armenian Genocide and discussed his extensive research on the Ottoman archives. He stated that the Armenian Genocide was premeditated and well planned by the Turkish authorities of the time and that the First World War had provided the appropriate context and the time to the Turkish Authorities to execute their plan. He concluded his lecture by stating that there is a crying need for new historical research on the Armenian Genocide, and he encouraged Armenian youth to become actively involved in this research.

Following a question/answer period, His Holiness Aram I concluded the evening by thanking Taner Akçam for his courage and commitment to the Armenian Genocide and also for accepting to join the team of experts who filed the lawsuit with the Constitutional Court of Turkey on 27 April 2015, demanding the return of the property of the See of Cilicia in Sis. Stating that he shares Professor Akçam’s concern to have more youth interested in the history of and research on the Armenian Genocide, His Holiness Aram I announced his determination to assist interested candidates.

Around the world, people have been asking: “April 24^th has come and gone. What’s next for the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide?”

Armenia Tree Project has initiated a new campaign called the Living Century Initiative, which enables Armenians to plant trees in remembrance of the Genocide.

“Through the Living Century Initiative, we are establishing 10 forests in northern Armenia that are aligned with the major Western Armenian communities that were devastated by the Genocide,” explains Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian. “We are inviting Armenians from around the world to sponsor trees in living memory and in honor of their relatives and ancestral communities. LCI provides an opportunity to plant the new Adana, Kharpert or Marash forest, or wherever your family roots may have been.”

ATP has planted more than 4.7 million trees in over 1,000 locations throughout Armenia and Artsakh. These locations include Nor Kharpert, Musa Ler, and Zeytoun–transplanted names from communities in historic Armenia. “We have an ambitious goal to plant 300,000 trees by year’s end, including 250,000 forestry seedlings as part of the Living Century Initiative,” notes Papelian.

The 10 Living Century forest sites correspond to regions in historic Armenia and will be planted in the Shirak, Lori and Kotayk regions of modern Armenia. They focus on areas where ATP has been planting forests since 2004. “Our team has met with the local community leaders, and they are excited to work with us to establish these new forests as links to our ancestral homeland,” she adds.

Jeanmarie visited one of the new planting sites in May with outgoing director Tom Garabedian. Tom’s grandparents came to America from Kharpert, and the Living Century Initiative was inaugurated by planting a trees in the new Kharpert memorial forest in Arevashogh. This site in the Lori region is dedicated to families whose ancestors hailed from Kharpert before the Genocide.

“We hope you will join us in this celebration of life and perseverance through the planting of new forests throughout Armenia,” concludes Papelian.

ATP has launched a dedicated to the Living Century Initiative where supporters can read more about the campaign learn about the historic Armenian communities and make a gift to help populate these new forests. On the website you can select your ancestral city, town or village, or make a general donation to any of these new planting sites.

The Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme was launched in June by the European Union to support the cultural and creative sectors’ contribution to sustainable humanitarian, social and economic development in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

“The Programme will reframe the debate on the 21st century concept of culture among state bodies and key cultural players in the region and  promote an understanding of the positive impact creative industries can have on employment, small and medium businesses, the role of municipalities and social engagement,” said Renate Utzschmid, Programme Manager, EC Directorate-General Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.

Although a regional programme, it will be heavily country-focused with designated professional country coordinators as an essential part of our core team. The Programme will run for three years. The budget of the Programme is €4,2 million.

The Programme will focus on four main areas including research development of evidence-gathering mechanisms, capacity-building, raising awareness and providing opportunities for international cultural cooperation. Topics covered by the Programme will include project cycle management, cultural leadership, cultural and statistical research, advocacy, fund raising, cultural journalism and communication capacities.

The Programme’s activities will be carried out through workshops, intensive training, online learning platforms, study visits and partnership fairs, bringing together public and private actors, government and civil society.

“The need for partnership between the state, civil society and the commercial sectors in culture is central to any modern state. This can only be achieved through inclusive, jointly formulated national policy initiatives which have as their starting point a wide but clear understanding of culture and the role of culture in reform and positive change”, said Terry Sandell, Head of Programme.  

The culture and creative sub-sectors includes architecture, archives, libraries and museums, artistic crafts, audio-visual (film, television, video games and multimedia), tangible and intangible cultural heritage, design, festivals, music, literature, performing arts, publishing, radio and visual arts. Together they provide jobs in the EU for 8.3 million people and are worth €558 billion. The cultural and creative industries are also growing faster there than the manufacturing and the service industries.

Following a competitive tendering process the Programme will be managed by a consortium led by the British Council, in partnership with the Soros Foundation Moldova, the National Centre for Culture of Poland and the Goethe-Institut. The Programme builds on the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme I (2011-2014) that consisted of technical assistance and grant-funded projects.

The Public Services Regulatory Commission deems the position of Inter RAO chief Boris Kovalchuk on the situation around the Electric Networks of Armenia unacceptable. In a statement released today the Commission said it’s ready to prove this during discussions with international consultants.

The Commission insists that the Armenian tariff regulation legislature fully complies with international experience and is widely used worldwide.

“The attempts to seek justifications for own mistakes and omissions is unacceptable,” the statement reads.

Inter RAO Chief Boris Kovalchuk that “losses of Electric Networks of Armenia, controlled by Inter RAO, are caused by the existing management system in that country.”

The United States has asked Switzerland to extradite seven Fifa officials arrested on corruption charges in May, the Swiss authorities say, the BBC reports.

Formal extradition requests were submitted on Wednesday, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said.

The seven top Fifa executives arrested in Zurich are among 14 Fifa officials indicted on charges of “rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted” corruption.

The charges follow a major inquiry by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The FOJ said Zurich police, acting on its behalf, would give the seven Fifa officials a hearing over the extradition requests.

The officials and their lawyers would have 14 days to respond to the request, which could be extended “if sufficient grounds exist”, the FOJ statement said.

After that, the FOJ would give its decision “within a few weeks”, but that warned any ruling could be challenged in both the federal criminal court and the federal supreme court.

 

 

 

The Armenian National Assembly voted 98 to 1 today to approve a $200 million loan agreement with Russia.

Under the agreement Russia will provide Armenia with a $200 million loan to purchase sophisticated Russian weapons at a discount.

The loan will be given for the term of 13 years with a three-year grace period at a three percent interest rate, Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Ara Nazaryan  told a parliament session today.

“We are acquiring a kind of weapons, which have not been at the disposal of the Armenian armed forces previously,” Ara Nazaryan aid.

“Armenian armed forces will get new modern arms, which will have a substantial impact on balancing forces in the region,” he added.

The money will be spent to purchase modern Russian weapons at a discount in 2015-2017, he said.