Category: News

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received a delegation led by Head of IMF Armenia Mission Hossein Samiei.

The Prime Minister and the Head of the IMF Mission discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation, current state of Armenia’s economy, upcoming changes in the tax code, improvement of the business environment, attracting investment, as well as fiscal and monetary policy.

Karen Karapetyan and Hossein Samiei stressed the importance of continued implementation of steps and programs aimed at improving the business environment and infrastructure.

Referring to the 2017 State budget bill, Prime Minister Karapetyan stressed that the Government is going to propose a realistic budget, without exaggerating the existing difficulties or overestimating the possibilities. Karen Karapetyan highlighted the need to ensure proper control and increased predictability from the perspective of effective functioning of government.

During the meeting, the interlocutors touched upon a number of other issues of mutual interest.

Armenia is ranked 79th (up from 82nd last year) in the released by the World Economic Forum today.

Switzerland tops the ranking followed by Singapore and the United States. Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as follows: Georgia – 59h, Azerbaijan – 37th, Turkey 55th, Iran – 76th.

Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Kazakhstan are ranked 43rd and 53rd respectively. Kyrgyzstan is 111th, no data is available for Belarus.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.

This year’s edition highlights that declining openness is threatening growth and prosperity. It also highlights that monetary stimulus measures such as quantitative easing are not enough to sustain growth and must be accompanied by competitiveness reforms. Final key finding points to the fact that updated business practices and investment in innovation are now as important as infrastructure, skills and efficient markets.

Zorya Luhansk visit Old Trafford as virtual unknowns to Manchester United fans on Thursday, yet Henrikh Mkhitaryan knows all about the Europa League foes from his time in Ukraine, according to . 

The summer signing played for Shakhtar Donetsk across three seasons from 2010, before moving to Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund to continue his personal ascension through the European leagues.

Mkhitaryan did not feature in two matches against Zorya during his debut season with Shakhtar, but his first appearance against them in 2011/12 was a great success, scoring twice in a thumping 5-1 away win at Avanyard Stadium that contributed to his team-mates winning the title that campaign.

The 2012/13 season was also particularly fruitful for Mkhitaryan in both home and away matches against Zorya as he netted in consecutive 3-0 wins. Those two finishes helped him to break the record for the most goals scored by a single player in a Ukrainian Premier League season (25).

In total, Mkhitaryan has scored four goals in three matches against Thursday’s Europa League opponents and the Armenian will undoubtedly hope to improve his impressive tally at Old Trafford, if fit and selected.

Henrikh has not featured for the Reds since the Manchester derby on 10 September, but Jose Mourinho suggested he is close to being available and may update that situation during his pre-match media conference on Wednesday at 13:30 BST, which you can follow live on ManUtd.com.

MKHITARYAN’S RECORD V ZORYA LUHANSK

Zorya Luhansk 1 Shakhtar Donetsk 5 | 16 April 2012 | Two goals
Zorya Luhansk 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 | 15 September 2012 | One goal
Shakhtar Donetsk 3 Zorya Luhansk 0 | 13 April 2013 | One goal

Member of the House of Lords, Baroness Caroline Cox and her delegation visited the military positions located in the eastern direction of the NKR Defense Army.

At the frontline they asked about the frequency of the ceasefire violations, examined the living conditions of the servicemen and the peculiarities of military duty.

Lusine Avanesyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Stepanakert

Member of the House of Lords, Baroness Caroline Cox is visiting Artakh accompanied by pilgrims. This time the Baroness and her delegation visited the frontlines and talked to the soldiers, who, she said, are protecting the border of Artsakh and not only.

“I’m not Armenian, but people like me should be grateful to the Armenian soldiers, who protect this border. They protect it not only for the Armenian people, but also for all Christians in the world. They are also grateful to the Armenian soldier,” the Baroness said.

This is the first time Caroline Cox is visiting Nagorno Karabakh after the April assault unleashed by Azerbaijan. Speaking to reporters in Artsakh, she denounced the work of western media.

“The international media work as they want, but we know what has happened in reality, and it’s our task to inform the world that Azerbaijan remains an aggressor. We know that Armenian soldiers have been brutally decapitated, some have been tortured. This is a harsh violation of international law,” Baroness Cox said.

The former Israeli PM and president, Shimon Peres, has died aged 93, the BBC reports.

He suffered a stroke two weeks ago and his condition improved before a sudden deterioration on Tuesday.

His son Chemi led tributes to “one of the founding fathers of the state of Israel” who “worked tirelessly” for it.

Mr Peres, who was one of the last of a generation of Israeli politicians present at the new nation’s birth in 1948, served twice as the country’s prime minister and once as president.

He won the Nobel Peace prize in 1994 for his role negotiating peace accords with the Palestinians a year earlier.

He once said the Palestinians were Israel’s “closest neighbours” and might become its “closest friends”.

Mr Peres died in a hospital near Tel Aviv early on Wednesday, with his family at his bedside.

He had been in the intensive care unit of the Sheba Medical Centre after suffering a major stroke on 13 September.

French lawmaker, member of the France-Armenia Friendship Group François Rochebloine visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today accompanied by Ara Babloyan, Head of the Armenia-France Friendship Group at the Armenian National Assembly.

The guests laid flowers at the memorial to the Armenian genocide victims and visited the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

François Rochebloine left a note in the guest book and planted a fir tree in the Memory Alley.

“Once again I’m excited to visit the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial. I would like to stress that this tree has been planted not only on behalf of me, but also on behalf of all Members of the French Parliament who have voted for the bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide,” Rochebloine said. He attached importance to the condemnation of the Armenian and all other genocides.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region announced that the filmmakers of the newly-completed Armenian Genocide-era film, “The Promise,” will attend and be recognized at the organization’s 2016 annual gala banquet to be held on Sunday, October 16 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

As a part of the program, a special presentation will be made which will include a short clip from the film with behind-the-scenes footage compiled especially for this event.

Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, “The Promise” is an epic human drama about a love triangle between Michael Boghosian, a brilliant medical student played by Golden Globe winning actor Oscar Isaac, the beautiful and sophisticated Armenian artist Ana played by Charlotte le Bon, and Chris Myers, a renowned American photo-journalist covering the war played by Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale. The film is also supported by an impressive cast of international actors. Their relationships unfold amidst the start of the Armenian Genocide, causing major upheaval of their lives and a struggle just to survive.

“It has long been the dream of every survivor and descendant of survivors to tell our story” said Kevin Matossian, production executive. “This is not only an important film for Armenians, but for every nation who has been unjustly persecuted. This is a human-rights story, that if untold, will simply repeat itself. We look forward to showing a special film clip to attendees of the ANCA-WR Gala, as this organization has consistently been at the forefront of the struggle for justice for the Armenian people.”

“The Promise” was directed by Academy Award-winner Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) and was written by Terry George and Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

Survival Pictures premiered the ground-breaking film at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, winning audience acclaim and accolades, mounting great anticipation and enthusiasm for potential viewers all over the world, and creating an expectation that upon wide release, the Armenian Genocide will finally be memorialized for a mainstream audience of both Armenians and non-Armenians. This international spotlight has already begun to shine.

Even before its festival premiere, “The Promise” has already become the international target of Genocide denialists and proponents of censorship who have initiated an online campaign to vote in droves to bring its iMDb rating down. Many celebrities, from Tyra Banks to Cher to Pharrell Williams and others have posted online tweets and comments generating excitement about the film to tens of millions of their followers. The sheer act of seeing the film through to completion has already been overwhelmingly successful in raising awareness, but much work remains to prevent the ongoing censorship efforts.

The ANCA has also called upon its grassroots activists to affirm the truth by breaking down walls of denial and opening the path to justice through this cinematic work of art by countering the efforts of Turkish propagandists, voting to maintain the film’s high stature and rating, and raising awareness among elected officials and circles of influence. Unlike the past when the Turkish government successfully blocked the production of an MGM epic film in 1934 based on Franz Werfel’s critically acclaimed novel, “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh,” Armenians of today are well-equipped and have gained enough experience and insight to overcome even the most well-funded Turkish lobbyists and denialist campaigns.

“The production of this unprecedented film was certainly a long journey filled with many challenges and obstacles, but with the late Kirk Kerkorian’s unflailing vision, resources and philanthropy, and the persistent dedication, commitment and sacrifice led by producer Eric Esrailian and his team to bring it to fruition, Armenians finally have the ability to reach millions with a message of truth and survival even from the ashes of Genocide. We are truly grateful to the filmmakers for standing strong in the face of a well-funded denialist campaign which has only just begun, and we pledge to stand together with them to ensure that this film fulfills its goal of engaging the public in our national story. After decades of work to secure recognition and justice for the Armenian Genocide, we are confident that an epic film of this stature will result in great strides for our Cause,” stated ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq.

The 2016 ANCA WR Annual Gala Banquet will be held on Sunday, October 16, 2016 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The main event will begin at 4:30p.m.with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction. A three-course dinner will follow at 6:00 p.m. with a powerful program and presentation of the awards.

In the last month, the organization also announced that it will honor California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson with the Man of the Year Award, Varoujan Koundkajian posthumously with the Legacy Award, California State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian with the Legislator of the Year Award, Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr and the Kerr family with the Humanitarian Award, and German Parliament Member Cem Ozdemir and the German Bundestag with the Freedom Award.

Individuals interested in attending and sponsoring the Annual Gala Banquet are encouraged to purchase tickets online at www.ancawrgala.org or call (818) 839-1918. To obtain corporate sponsorship information visit ancawr.org/gala/sponsorship or call (818) 500-1919. For up to the minute updates on the event follow ANCA Western Region on social media: facebook.com/ANCAWesternRegion, Twitter and Instagram: ANCA_WR

The ANCA-WR Gala Banquet represents the single largest annual gathering of Armenian American public policy leaders throughout the western United States, and is attended by over 1,000 prominent Members of Congress, state legislators and officials, community leaders, and many of the organization’s strongest activists and generous donors from California, Nevada, Arizona, and throughout the western United States.

An ethnic Armenian identified as George Mutafyan has been wounded in a shelling on the Armenian General Athletic Union field located in the Armenian-populated Azizieh neighborhood of Aleppo, Kantsasar newspaper reports.

According to the source, the French rocket attack has left two killed and 10 wounded.

Due to shortcomings in situation of democracy and political freedoms prior to and during the Referendum, including the voting day, the Referendum failed to meet requirements of election legislation and international commitments of the country with regards to democratic elections.

As a result of amendments to the NGO legislation, independent civil society is not able to operate freely in the country. Criminal investigation and large tax fines lingering over some foreign and domestic NGOs, along with restrictions of accessing the foreign funding prevented civil society organizations from meaningfully participating in the referendum and engaging in voter education and election monitoring.

Political repressions intensified during the Referendum resulting in increased number of political prisoners.

The Referendum day was marred with violations including ballot-box stuffing, multiple voting, group voting (carousel) and voting of persons without registration, similar irregularities from the previous elections. EMDS observed that voter turnout was artificially raised in majority of polling stations through multiple voting and ballot-box stuffing. The official turnout do not correspond to real figures.

Following the opinion of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan on the Constitutional Act on amendments to the main law of the country, EMDS published its opinion about the proposed changes and preparations to the Referendum, and called for consulting with the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe (the Venice Commission).

EMDS believes that comprehensive assessment of 26 September 2016 Referendum requires consideration of all stages of the referendum including evaluation of awareness raising among public on proposed changes, political situation and conditions prior to the referendum, the election legislation, conduct of the referendum day and vote tabulation against the international commitments of the country.

EMDS notes with regret that there was no open public debate or adequate awareness raising campaign among public on proposed changes to the Constitution which are essential for expression of people’s true will. Increased restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly and association in the last few years, along with very short official campaigning period (22 days) and refusal to register opposition campaign groups contributed to the lack of vibrant debate during the referendum.

EMDS believes that the government should demonstrate political will to restore mutual confidence in relations between the state and public, should create competitive environment for all political opponents and should release all political prisoners.

Moreover, as the Referendum fails to deliver adequate Constitutional reforms on separation of power and protection of human rights, the government should work together with the Venice Commission and civil society to address the issues in this field.