Category: News

A number of Turkish officers posted to Nato have sought asylum since the country’s failed military coup in July, Nato’s secretary-general has said, the BBC reports.

Jens Stoltenberg said the officers had requested asylum in the countries where they had been posted but gave no names, numbers or reasons for the requests.

The countries involved will consider the cases individually.

Turkey has dismissed, suspended, detained or arrested tens of thousands of people since the July coup attempt.

Many have been in the military, although others are teachers, policemen, judges and journalists.

Mr Stoltenberg said on Friday that “some Turkish officers working in the Nato command structure… have requested asylum in the countries where they are working”.

German media have carried reports that some members of the Turkish military have requested asylum in Germany.

Also on Friday, the UN rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, warned of a “grim” climate in Turkey since the failed coup.

He said: “The conclusions I would say are fairly grim and reflect what I think is a deep sense of restriction on freedom of opinion and expression throughout the country.”

– Nationalist Turkish Party Istanbul Chair Bilal Gökçeyurt and the chair of so-called Turan Organization Ercan Uçar have been acquitted in the case of the threat against Agos.  Agos’ lawyer Hakan Bakırcıoğlu objected to the ruling.

On April 24, 2015, a black wreath was put in front of the office of Agos newspaper and a declaration titled as “One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly” was read. Agos newspaper filed a criminal complaint against this threat. The trial was held today.

Nationalist Turkish Party Istanbul Chair Bilal Gökçeyurt and the chair of so-called Turan Organization Ercan Uçar have been acquitted on the ground that “there is no element of a crime”.

Editor-in-chief Yetvart Danzikyan attended the hearing on behalf of complainant Agos newspaper.

Speaking during the hearing, Danzikyan said: “They had put a black wreath, while the office was closed. We saw it in the morning. Then, we saw that they released a video about their action titled as ‘One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly’. We filed a criminal complaint. There had been similar actions when Hrant Dink was working in Agos. You know what happened to Hrant Dink. Thus, we considered this action as a threat.”

The suspects claimed that they exercised their right to democratic protest.

Agos’ lawyer Hakan Bakırcıoğlu objected to the ruling on the ground that it violates the law. He stated that the acquittal openly violates the law and rule, since there is solid evidence showing that the suspects committed the crimes of threatening and insulting.

In the indictment issued by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s office, it was stated that the suspects regard Agos as responsible for Armenia’s actions in Karabakh, though the newspaper has no influence over the actions of the Armenian state.

It was also stated that the suspects committed the crimes of threatening and insulting by reminding Hrant Dink with the title of “One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly” and releasing their press statement on the same day. The prosecution demanded prison sentence for the suspects on the charges of threatening and insulting.

Following “the case of black wreath”, RSF Turkey Branch made a statement via social media: “The threat against Agos goes unpunished and it is troubling. This ruling encourages similar attacks.”

The Turkish defense minister said Ankara was in talks with Moscow on the procurement of Russian S-400 air defense systems, reports.

“As for missile defense, work is continuing. We are negotiating on S-400 not only with Russia, but with other countries that have similar systems. Russia’s position on this issue now is positive,” Isik said in an interview with Turkey’s NTV broadcaster.

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said last month that Moscow and Anakara had agreed to work out the details of a possible cooperation on implementing the Turkish national missile defense system project.

“We hope that NATO member states would take this seriously, and our system will be compatible with the alliance’s requirements. But we do not in any way reject the Russian proposal, and are actively working on it. Our ultimate goal is to manufacture these systems at home,” Isik said.

New figures confirm that security is the main concern for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, and that combined support for independence or unification with Armenia grows from 91.7% in 2015 to 95.1% in 2016.

Hovhannes Grigoryan, CEO of the Institute for Political and Sociological Consulting (IPSC), presented results of a new opinion poll on socio-economic developments, public perceptions of foreign affairs, international recognition, and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. The poll was conducted in July 2016 (shortly after the Four-Day War) on a sample of 1,081 people in Stepanakert and the 7 regions of Nagorno-Karabakh, and cross-referenced with a similar survey conducted in March 2015.

The figures show an increase in the number of people who believe Nagorno-Karabakh should be independent, compared to those who prefer it become a part of Armenia. An even more significant trend was observed among younger and educated, who support the independence in a much higher proportion (61.2% of population between 18 and 30 years support independence; 53.6% of university educated support independence).

Furthermore, public’s approval of Government’s performance in the sectors of Defence and Foreign Affairs has decreased, while the perception that Nagorno-Karabakh is on the right track is still considerably high at 78.9% percent.

The question of peace and security remains the predominant concern for half of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, followed by unemployment and international recognition of the NKR. Despite these concerns, declared intentions for migration remain at a very low level.

Commenting on this last aspect, Hovhannes Grigoryan said that: “the poll has showed that the Four-Day war of April 2016 has not affected the migration tendencies of the Nagorno-Karabakh population, which remain the lowest in the South Caucasus region, when compared to figures from similar polls conducted in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In other words, people of Karabakh, regardless of the hardships of the unexpected war outbreak in April, are determined to stay in their country”.

Member of the European Parliament Frank Engel underlined the political maturity of people in Nagorno-Karabakh: “The Four-Day War changed the situation, but it hasn’t changed it fundamentally. People of Nagorno-Karabakh are very mature about their positions, especially on the independence of the Artsakh, and it is obvious that despite them becoming more critical of their state and authorities, they express strong loyalty to their country. Further tensions are likely to strengthen these sentiments, rather than to invalidate them.”

Following the presentation of the research, Diogo Pinto, EuFoA Director said: “The results of this latest opinion poll, conducted after April’s Four-Day war, very clearly show the determination and the resilience of the citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh, in spite of the continued Azerbaijani aggression and attempts for destabilisation. Although an overwhelming majority believes that further aggressions are likely to happen in the near future, they crave for peace and trust the OSCE Minsk Process and the international community. As European Friends of Armenia, we urge the international community and the EU in particular, not to let the people of Nagorno-Karabakh down. Pressure must be kept on Azerbaijan so that it understands that only a peaceful solution is acceptable and that no further violations of the cease-fire will be tolerated”.

For full results click.

 

 

 

A task force will be set up to promote the exports of Armenian goods, including food and agricultural products to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan has given the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments five days to discuss and present a project in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Healthcare and Agriculture.

PM Karapetyan said at a government sitting today that the task force should work with the Iranian side towards creation of institutional structures in Armenia with a view of ensuring the compatibility of Armenian products with Iranian standards, so that they can be exported to Iran according to a simplified procedure.

The Prime Minister said he expects the head of the task force to report on progress by December 25.

Karen Karapetyan also instructed the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments to hold discussions with interested bodies and enterprises the perspective of establishing a free trade zone at areas bordering Iran and present a proposal before December 25.

Manchester United attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be a good option in the No.10 role, claims former Chelsea and Celtic midfielder Craig Burley.

The Armenian has been overlooked by Jose Mourinho this season, however, can still be of use to the Red Devils according to the pundit.

The former Borussia Dortmund man has started just once for the side in all competitions since joining – against Manchester City in the Premier League – and has made a total of four appearances for United this season.

Despite this, Burley says the 27-year-old has much to offer the Old Trafford outfit.

“I would argue that Mkhitaryan, given a chance and longevity, could probably do a good job in that role, but that, for some strange reason, doesn’t see as if it is going to even get off the starters blocks,” said the Scotsman, as reported by ESPN.

The Red Devils host Arsenal this weekend at Old Trafford, with United looking to improve their current position of sixth on the Premier League table.

On November 18^th, 2016, 2 postage stamps dedicated to the theme “Museums of Armenia. Sergey Paradjanov Museum” have been cancelled and put into circulation.

The postage stamps with nominal values of 300 AMD and 380 AMD are printed in “Cartor” printing house in France.

The postage stamp with nominal value of 300 AMD depicts a part of the facade of the Sergey Paradjanov Museum and the stamp with nominal value of 380 AMD represents the collage image of the halls of the S. Paradjanov Museum.

The postage stamps were cancelled by the “HayPost” CJSC Trust Manager Juan Pablo Gechidjian, the President of the Union of Philatelists of the RA Hovik Musayelyan and the Director of the Sergey Paradjanov Museum Zaven Sargsyan.

Date of issue: November 18, 2016

Designer: David Dovlatyan

Printing house: Cartor, France

Size: 60,0 x 30,0 mm

Print run: 50 000 x 2

Photo: AFP

 

The dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as she sang “Happy Birthday Mr President” to John F Kennedy has been sold at auction for $4.8m (£3.9m), the BBC reports.

The figure-hugging Jean Louis gown, with 2,500 crystals, was bought by the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum chain, exceeding the $3m guide price.

The company’s vice president said it was “most iconic piece of pop culture that there is”.

Monroe died from a drug overdose just three months after the performance.

The sultry rendition for President Kennedy’s 45th birthday at a 1962 Democratic fundraiser at New York’s Madison Square was one of her last public appearances.

President Kennedy was shot dead a year later.

The dress, which the auction house said was so tight she had to be sewn into it, had previously been bought at auction for $1.3m in 1999 by the late business mogul and collector Martin Zweig.

Some bars in Russia have renamed Americano coffee into Russiano after a joke at the meeting of the Eurasian Inter-Governmental Commission held in Moscow on November 16.

It was reported earlier that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the name of the coffee was ‘politically incorrect’ and suggested to rename it.

The Russian 360 TV has revealed, however, that the idea was suggested by Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.

“Let’s rename Americano,” Medvedev joked. His Armenian counterpart continued the phrase, offering to call it Russiano instead.

And it was not Medvedev who suggested calling the coffee “Russiano”, but someone from the Armenian delegation.

— Rustem Adagamov (@adagamov)

8th Eastern Partnership Informal Ministerial Meeting is taking place in Yerevan on 17 November. Session on Research, Scinece and Innovation was hosted by Levon Mkrtchyan, Armenian Minister of Education and Science.

During the session Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and Carlos Moedas, EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation launched the EU4Innovation initiative together with the Eastern Partnership countries.

Commissioner Moedas commented “Innovation is crucial for competitiveness and addressing global challenges such as climate change and sustainable development. Our new initiative, EU4Innovation, will boost the innovation capacities of our Eastern partners. It will stimulate innovative ideas and support them on the way to market, while at the same time draw on the existing knowledge and networks we are building in the EU.”