Category: News

On 8 November President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan watched military exercises of the Defense Army conducted in the republic’s central section.

In his speech the President underlined that the Defense Army is the greatest achievement of our independent statehood, pivotal guarantee of our country’s independence, sovereignty and our people’s security, one of the most influential factors of maintaining peace and stability in the region.

“All of us, all Armenians  are proud of our brave soldiers, who due to their daily humble and courageous behavior fulfill the Motherland defender’s sacred mission with dignity, always ready to rebuff any encroachment of the enemy”, noted President Sahakyan.

According to Bako Sahakyan the highest command staff of the Defense Army and all the command units would make the necessary conclusions and carry out appropriate work for consistent increase of the Defense Army’s combat efficiency.

President Sahakyan handed in valuable gifts to a group of servicemen who had registered high results during the maneuvers.

On November 6, Heritage Party Chairman Raffi K. Hovannisian attended and addressed a special conference on Migration and Refugees organized by the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP).

The meeting, which brought together 40 political parties from more than 25 countries, was co-sponsored by the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party of Turkey.

Following inflammatory interventions by Azerbaijani and Turkish delegates, Raffi Hovannisian took the floor to present an Armenian perspective on historical and current developments in the region. He referred in particular to the unacceptability of the recent arrest of opposition MPs in Turkey and the crackdown on civil liberties which triggered flashbacks to 1915; the reality and legacy of the Armenian Genocide and Great National Dispossession of the Armenian and other peoples (Assyrians, Greeks, Kurds, Yezidis, and Alevis) as an unprecedented watershed in refugee creation; the Turkish official policy of denial and the untold story of thousands of righteous Turks who saved Armenian lives.

He underscored the tendency of states like Turkey and Azerbaijan to launch military activities in neighboring countries and then be compelled to manage refugee crises, seeking  international support for their solution; Armenia’s experience with Syrian-Armenian refugees; Azerbaijan’s failed war of aggression against the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic and the 500,000 Armenians who were displaced from Azerbaijan, Nakhichevan and other occupied Armenian lands; the imperative  to secure for all refugees and internally displaced persons a guaranteed  and equitable right of return to their places of origin, including the return of Armenians to and the establishment of communal life in Azerbaijan, Nakhichevan, and the western Armenian heartland in current-day eastern Turkey; and the need to be
self-critical in Turkey, Armenia, and all other countries and to take responsibility for developing just, democratic societies which are the only avenue to prevent non-conflict-driven emigration.

Upon completion of Hovannisian’s address, the vice chairman of the AK Party repeated Turkey’s denialist line and asked the reference to the word Genocide be deleted from the record.   Hovannisian condemned this approach as an unacceptable, characteristic attempt at official censorship.

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili tendered his resignation as governor of Ukraine’s southern Odessa region on Monday, accusing highly-placed officials in Kiev of obstructing his attempts at reform, Reuters reports.

Saakashvili, who is widely credited with cracking down on graft when he was president of Georgia from 2004-2013, was appointed Odessa governor in May 2015 by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Saakashvili has since repeatedly accused the Kiev leadership of lacking a real commitment to reform.

Vowing to continue to fight corruption which he said went to the very top of Ukraine’s establishment, he told journalists: “I have decided to tender my resignation and start a new stage of the fight. I am not giving up.”

In a clear rebuke of Poroshenko, he said: “In reality, in Odessa region, the President personally supports two clans.”

He said the work of reform-minded public officials had been repeatedly thwarted by higher authorities in Kiev interested in preserving the status quo.

Trial of the public officials as part of Dink case continues today. Before the 7th hearing that will be held on November 7, 8, 10 and 11, Friends of Hrant made a statement to the press in front of the court house, reports.

Reminding that the course of the case is changed in accordance with the political developments, Friends of Hrant stated: “We don’t care about the political developments. The murderers of Hrant Dink are not unidentified. Their names and positions are very well known. Their parts in this murder are obvious.”

Friends of Hrant pointed out that former chief of Istanbul Security Directorate Celalettin Cerrah, former chief of Istanbul Police Directorate Intelligence Branch Ahmet İlhan Güler and the former chief of General Security Directorate Intelligence Branch Sabri Uzun will be heard during this round of hearings and asked addressing the public officials who have been saying that they hadn’t seen the reports about the murder: “Will those public officials explain such absurdities? Will the court press them to explain? We will see soon enough.”

Friends of Hrant also mentioned the arrested writers of Cumhuriyet and MPs of HDP: “The operations against Cumhuriyet and HDP weaken our trust in justice even more. That is why we won’t forget who are the murderers and perpetrators. As HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been arrested a couple days ago, says: Fear may be contagious, but so is courage.”

Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan had a meeting with French Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier.

The Armenian Defense Minister attached importance to France’s efforts towards the settlement of the Karabakh conflict in its capacity as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair.

The interlocutors praised the high level of interstate relations and noted that there is a great potential for developing bilateral cooperation in the field of defense, especially in international peacekeeping.

The parties agreed to work towards intensification of cooperation in the field of defense and on the military-political level.

Reference was made to issues of regional security.

Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare, has donated mobile labs to the Health Ministries of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as part of its support to the CIS countries in fighting infections, RIA Novosti reports.

Rospotrebnadzor provides material and technical support to CIS participating states, reinforcing the capacities of the healthcare services in revealing and preventing the outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases.

The mobile labs are equipped with self-contained life support systems, have a high level of biological safety and are used to indicate the infectious agents through accelerated and rapid diagnosis methods.

Parallel to implementing a wide range of infrastructure projects throughout 2016, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has built scores of homes for Artsakh families with five or more children. With proceeds from its 2015 Telethon as well as contributions from individual benefactors, the fund will continue to construct homes for large families in Artsakh.

To date, a total of 28 such homes have been built or are in the process of being constructed in cities, towns, and villages across Artsakh, including Martakert, Martuni, Vorotan, Avetaranots, Vank, Nor Haykajur, Chankatagh, Mushkapat, Chartar, Khandzadzor, Mets Tagher, Aknaberd, Charektar, Yeghegnut, Mirik, Berdik, Krasni, Chapar, Kusapat, Mariamadzor, Noragyugh, Varanda, and Vurgavand.

Nine of the homes were recently completed and fully furnished, and are ready for occupancy. Previously, six other brand-new and fully furnished homes were presented to as many families. The beneficiaries are the Harutyunyan, Shirinyan, Baghdasaryan, Movsesyan, Petrosyan and Sargsyan families, who moved into their new houses in Chartar, Krasni, Martakert and Chankatagh.

As determined by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Board of Trustees and worldwide affiliates at their most recent joint meeting, proceeds from the fund’s 2016 Thanksgiving Day Telethon, on November 24, will be allocated to initiatives for rebuilding war-ravaged communities in Artsakh, various measures to ensure the safety and security of the peaceful population of the republic, and the construction of many more homes for Artsakh families with multiple children. The meeting has also affirmed that the fund’s donors will continue to have the option of supporting special projects of their choosing.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will visit Armenia on November 8 as part of his regional tour.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan confirmed the news to Public Radio of Armenia.

Within the framework of the visit Minister Gentiloni will hold meetings with the leadership of Armenia.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Italy Edward Nalbandian and Paolo Gentiloni will hold a joint press conference.

Chulpan Khamatova, the co-founder of Gift of Life Foundation has joined the Independent Expert Panel of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. The famous Russian actress, who has been involved in humanitarian activities for years, will take part in the assessment of the 2017 Aurora Prize nominations.

The Independent Expert Panel is part of the Aurora Prize Secretariat. The members of the Expert Panel assess all eligible nominations in accordance with the Aurora Prize Selection Criteria to narrow the overall list to 20-25 nominees for the Selection Committee’s attention.

“It is horrendous to read about the suffering of people who, even in this age, live on the line between life and death but it is also heartwarming for me to learn about these modern day heroes. Their existence, brave and committed actions prove that nothing is lost and human life still has an absolute value”, said Chulpan Khamatova. “I am extremely honored having an opportunity to become part of this humanitarian movement and contribute to the process of pre-selection of the 2017 Aurora Prize’s laureate. This is a very important and challenging experience.”

The Expert Panel is comprised of humanitarian professionals and leaders of humanitarian organizations. The members of the 2017 Aurora Prize Expert Panel are Dr. Comfort Ero, Crisis Group’s Nairobi-based Africa Program Director, Dr. Jonathan Fanton, President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Mr. Stephen Kurkjian, journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Ms. Lesley-Anne Knight, Mr. Pedro Mouratian, Expert-Consultant to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Former CEO of The Elders, Dr. Aryeh Neier, President Emeritus of the Open Society Foundations, Prof. Michael Posner, Co-Director of the Center for Business and Human Rights of New York University Stern School of Business, Ms. Nicola Reindorp, Campaign Director of Crisis Action, Mr. Eric Schwartz, Former US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration and Dr. Mego Terzian, President of Medecins Sans Frontieres France.

The pre-selected nominees of the Aurora Prize are being considered by the Selection Committee chaired by Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney. The Selection Committee will announce the 2017 Aurora Prize finalists in February.