Category: News

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.

More than 65 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were reported over the weekend.

The rival used weapons of different caliber as it fired over 1,200 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The Azerbaijani side also used a 60mm mine thrower in the northeastern (Talish) direction of the line of contact at 01:50, November 7.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army resorted to retaliatory actions to pressure the activeness of the rival and confidently continued with their military duty.

How to resolve media-related disputes without referring to the courts was the focus of a working seminar organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan on 5 November 2016 for journalists and media lawyers in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.

Around 25 participants, including journalists, lawyers involved in freedom of expression litigation, civil society members and representatives of the police took part in the event. Participants discussed the work of the Information Disputes Council (IDC), an extra-judiciary body that provides expert opinions on resolving media-related disputes. They examined a broad range of issues including cases of violence against journalists and the protection of journalists’ rights when covering civic unrest, defamation and insult, personal data protection and free expression, presumption of innocence, as well as pre-trial publicity and the media’s coverage of court trials.

“Extra-judicial dispute resolution mechanisms for media should be strengthened,” said David Gullette, Democratization Programme Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “They promote media quality and ethics, they can help minimize expensive and time-consuming court litigation and help maintain constructive dialogue between journalists, lawyers and other parties involved, over important aspects of journalistic work particularly on sensitive issues.”

Established in 2011, the mandate of the IDC is to protect freedom of speech and improve access to information, as well as to protect human dignity and the right to a private life by publishing expert opinions and recommendations based on Armenia’s constitution, international legal acts and ethical norms, in cases when judicial disputes occur. The IDC also identifies cases for intervention through its own initiative and advocates for improvements in the issues concerned. Where applicable it also issues joint decisions together with the Media Ethics Observatory, the media self-regulation body in Armenia.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan has been supporting the IDC’s work since its inception to help achieve better protection of free speech in Armenia in line with OSCE commitments in this field.

Christiano Ronaldo has signed his contract extension with Real Madrid in the Board Room of the Santiago Bernabéu accompanied by President Florentino Pérez, according to the club’s official website.

The Portuguese player is linked to the club until 30 June 2021. Following the signing, he received a replica of the Puerta de Alcalá and a shirt with his name and 2021 on the back.

“I thank the people at Real Madrid, the city of Madrid, my colleagues and everyone who helped me get to this point,” Ronaldo said.

“It is a special day for me, very important, as it continues my link with Madrid.

“As I’ve always said, it is the club of my heart and this is a unique moment in my life, to renew for five years.

“But it won’t be the last contract, that’s clear, because in the next five years I will continue doing the same.”

The bust of Missak Manouchian, National Hero of France, who participated in the Resistance Movement in France, was solemnly opened in Perdiguier Central Park of Avignon, France.

Attending the event were the Mayor of Avignon, Cécile Helle, Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Marseille Samvel Lalayan, President of the Armenian-French Cultural Association of Avignon Véronique Bruna-Mardoyan, Members of French Senate and National Assembly, author of the sculpture Marcella Kratz, representatives of local and regional governments, political and public figures, clergymen and French Armenians.

Mayor Cécile Helle presented the Missak Manouchian’s glorious path, emphasizing the respect and love he earned in France in response to his contribution to the anti-Fascist struggle.

Consul Samvel Lalayan referred to the friendly relations between Armenia and France, the effective cooperation between the Armenian community and the local authorities of Avignon.

The ceremony was followed by the screening of Robert Guédiguian’s film “The Army of Crime” (L’Armée du crime), dedicated to Manouchian and his group.

The event was widely covered in the local press.

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.