The Danish Parliament is expected to consider a resolution on Armenian Genocide recognition at a plenary session today.
The issue has been brought to the agenda by Nikolaj Villumsen (EL) , Rasmus Nordqvist (ALT), according to the Danish Parliament’s official website.
It has been decided that the CSTO Secretary Generals will change according to a rotation principle. Naturally, if rotation comes into force, Armenia should naturally be the first to hold chairmanship of the organization (according to the Russian alphabet), Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told reporters today.
“The rotation had to come into force from January 1st, 2017, with Armenia’s representative appointed as Secretary General. There was lack of consensus during the previous summit, because Belarus was absent,” Shavarsh Kocharayn said.
“As a result, we have an acting Secretary General, because there had already been a decision, according to which Nikolay Bordyuzha could not retainoffice,” he said.
“The issue should be solved at the next summit of the CSTO. The position belongs to Armenia, and the Secretary General will be appointed as soon as a consensus decision is made,” the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
Photo: EPA
An Italian rescue official has said that a number of people have been killed after a hotel was hit by an avalanche, apparently triggered by an earthquake on Wednesday, the BBC reports.
Rescuers battled overnight to reach the hotel close to the Gran Sasso mountain in the Abruzzo region.
“There are many deaths,” Antonio Crocetta, the head of a mountain rescue team, was quoted as saying.
Up to 30 people were in the Rigopiano hotel at the time of the avalanche.
Rescuers said at least 20 tourists and seven staff had been inside the Rigopiano hotel when it was hit by the avalanche.
The mountainous region of Central Italy was hit by a succession of four earthquakes on Wednesday and further tremors were reported overnight.
The quakes came after the regions of Abruzzo, Marche and Lazio were hit by days of heavy snow. Many villages became inaccessible and emergency services worked through the night into Thursday to reach them.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia Edward Nalbandian and Sergey Lavrov held a meeting in Moscow today.
The Ministers discussed a broad range of issues on the agenda of the Armenian-Russian allied relations, the process of implementation of the agreements reached between the leaders of the two countries.
Edward Nalbandian and Sergey Lavrov referred to the preparations for the Armenian Prime Minister’s forthcoming official visit to Moscow.
The interlocutors discussed issues related to the implementation of the agreements on the Karabakh issue reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia exchanged views on urgent regional and international issues.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry insists he has always been a fan of Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, according to .
The Armenia international moved to the Red Devils in a £30m transfer from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund in the summer transfer window following Jose Mourinho’s appointment as the club’s new manager.
However, Mkhitaryan made a slow start to the 2016-17 season and made one Premier League start in August, September and October due to fitness problems and a lack of form at his new employers.
The attacking midfielder has come into his own in recent months, though, thanks to a return of three goals and three assists in his last 10 appearances in all competitions.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, former Arsenal striker Henry gave a glowing verdict on the Manchester United playmaker.
“I’ve always been a fan. He has come alive with Man United and hopefully he’s going to be a good player for them,” Henry said.
The 8th round of talks on a new Armenia-EU framework agreement was held in Yerevan on January 18.
The Armenian team was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Nazaryan.
Luke Devin, Director of the EU Department for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE, led the European delegation.
Political issues, also as common institutional and final volumes of the agreement were discussed. The parties reached an agreement on a number of issues.
Summing up the negotiations, the parties exchanged information on the results of negotiations in different spheres, including trade and outlined the terms of the next round of talks in Brussels.
Photos: AFP/OZAN KOS
On the 10th year of the murder, Hrant Dink was remembered where he was shotdead, Agos reports.
For many in Turkey, the 10 years that have passed since Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was murdered in broad daylight have not lessened the pain, accoridng to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Whenever I pass through this street, I am trembling. It’s very painful. How dare they kill such people?” Turkan Arslan told AFP on the street where Dink was killed by an ultranationalist outside the offices of his Agos newspaper in Istanbul.
Ogun Samast, then a 17-year-old jobless high-school dropout, confessed to the murder and was sentenced in 2011 to almost 23 years in jail.
However, mystery lingers over who orchestrated the killing, which sent shockwaves through Turkey and became a scandal after it emerged that the security forces had known of the plot but failed to act.
Arslan joined thousands of people including Dink’s wife Rakel and his colleagues who turned out to pay tribute to the journalist who founded the bilingual newspaper.
“It looks like the perpetrator of this murder was the state, at all levels,” said Rakel, whose was interrupted by the crowds shouting: “The murderer state will be brought to account!”
“This case is one of the keys to Turkey’s democratisation,” she declared.
Under the grey sky, a huge banner with a picture of Dink and the words: “We’ve been missing you for 10 years” hung from the building that housed the Agos offices.
“We are all Hrant, we are all Armenians” the crowds shouted, some people laying red and white carnations on the street where he was gunned down.
Yetvart Danzikyan, who holds Dink’s former job of Agos editor-in-chief, said: “We are still feeling his absence but we know that his words are still echoing.”
Asli Erdogan, one of Turkey’s celebrated novelists who was released from jail last month after being held on charges of terror propaganda, said: “It is a luxury to talk about justice in this country.”
“But we are still here 10 years on. We will also be here 20 years later. Maybe it is the only justice that we are here,” she told AFP.
But Arslan said she was optimistic that justice would be served in Dink’s case.
Although his assassin was rapidly arrested and sentenced, dozens of former public officials, including former police chiefs, have been on trial on charges of negligence over the killing, with Dink’s supporters losing confidence on the ability of Turkey’s justice system to shed light on the plot.
“There is the sun rising after every dark day… The sun will rise again,” Arslan said. “One Hrant is gone, one thousand Hrants will come.”
Photo: Reuters/Fatih Saribas
Turkish authorities must intensify their efforts to find the masterminds behind the killing of prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said today.
“Year after year, we remember the anniversary of Hrant Dink’s murder, honouring his brave words advocating for minority rights, and paying tribute to his exceptional efforts to create peace,” said the Representative. “But we do so knowing that even a decade on, the masterminds behind this tragedy are still at large.”
On 19 January 2007, Dink, the editor of the Armenian-Turkish bilingual Agos magazine, was shot dead in front of the weekly’s Istanbul offices. Although his murderer was arrested and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison, the investigation into uncovering the masterminds of the crime remains open.
“I urge the authorities of Turkey to increase their efforts to ensure that justice is served and to provide closure for the friends and family of Hrant Dink after an agonizing decade of questions. Authorities must reinforce the vital message to society that those who commit violence against journalists can not do so with impunity.”
The Representative has frequently called on OSCE participating States to end impunity for violence against and killing of journalists.
The Azerbaijani side used firearms of different calibers as it violated the ceasefire regime 70 times last night, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.
The rival fired over 600 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions. The Azeri forces used different types of sniper rifles in the southern, eastern and northeastern directions of the frontline.
The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army confidently continued with their military duty all along the line of contact and resorted to response actions in case of extreme necessity, the Ministry said.
“1.5 mln +1” Armenian. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. Dink was shot dead by a young Turkish ultranationalist outside the office of the Agos newspaper, where he was editor-in-chief.
Hrant Dink, who was respected inside and outside Turkey, was emphasizing the importance of Turkey’s democratization, freedom of speech in the country, protection of human and minority rights. He was a strong believer that the Armenian community would once be able to live in Turkey freely and without any pressure. Today the staff of the “Agos” newspaper he established strives to accomplish the work Dink left unfinished.
Looking back at the changes that have taken place in Turkey over the past 10 years, Agos editor-in-chief Yetvart Danzikyan says Turkey has maintained its policy with some quasi changes. The Armenian Cause remains a painful issue in Turkey. A vivid evidence is the suspension of MP Garo Paylan from Parliament for his “genocide” comments.
“Six or seven years after Dink’s assassination, the Turkish society was speaking more about the Armenian Cause. Today we keep trying to move along the path we have chosen, but the Turkish policy has changed, the word ‘genocide’ has started to trouble them,” Yetvart Danzikyan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.
The editor ensures that despite the obstacles and difficulties, they’re trying to build upon Dink’slegacy and raise awareness about the Armenian Cause. “Agos” is committed to its path and is still considered the microphone of Istanbul Armenians. Unfortunately, Hrant paid with his life for this,” he said.
Yetvart Danzikyan does not see perspectives for any melting in the Armenian-Turkish relations, as “little brother Azerbaijan” plays a role here.
Although his assassin, just 17 at the time, was rapidly arrested and sentenced, the trial into the killing still grinds on with Dink’s supporters losing confidence on its ability to shed light on the plot.
“The disclosure of Hrant Dink’s murder will be a confession on the part of the Turkish authorities,” expert of regional studies Sargis Hatspanyan said.
“The trial is in process, but the past ten years have shown that Turkey has no desire to solve the crime,” he said.