Category: News

We are a nation of gardeners, but grow into a nation-army at times of trouble, President Serzh Sargsyan Sargsyan says.

“The ‘Nation-Army’ doctrine offered by the Defense Minister aims to bring up a responsible citizen in the society,” President Sargsyan said at the “Nation-Army 2017” conference dedicated to issues of the military-educational sector.

“Today’s conference is a tool for strengthening the ties between our society, especially the youth, with the Armed Forces,” he added.

The President said the state will continue to take practical steps concerning its citizens, who have chosen to be Officers. “We’ll also maintain the policy of special care for handicapped soldiers and the families of fallen servicemen,” he added.

The President said he has instructed the Ministry of Defense to take practical steps to provide the families of fallen and handicapped soldiers with housing. “The issue must be solved by 2019,” he stated.

According to the President, the best defender of the country is the one who realizes the share of his responsibility towards the Motherland.

“Responsibility is not an abstract and sublime concept. Responsible is the one who has his own corner or is at least confident that he can earn that corner with honest work,” he said.

“Nation-Army 2017” has been organized by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education and Science.

Representatives from the defense and education sectors, heads of public and higher education institutions, teachers, lecturers, representatives of scientific centers and NGOs have been invited to participate in the forum.

India’s Vice President Hamid Ansari will embark on a five-day visit to Armenia and Poland from April 24 during which he will hold talks with the top leaders of the two countries on a wide range of issues, PTI News reports.

On the first leg of his visit, Ansari will be in Armenia till April 26. In Armenian capital Yerevan, Ansari will hold discussions with the President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

“The visit intends to further strengthen the cordial relations between the two countries, further develop cooperation and partnership on a wide range of issues of shared common interest,” Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Preeti Saran told reporters.

Ansari will also address students and faculty of the Yerevan State University.

“This year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relationship with Armenia and such high level visits will further deepn the relationship between the two countries,” Saran said.

Ansari will leave Yerevan for Warsaw on April 26 for a three-day visit to Poland.

French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron pledges to continue the tradition to commemorate the Armenian Genocide if elected.

“The date of 24 April is a strong symbol: it commemorates the murder of 600 Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 in Constantinople and the beginning of the first genocide. This is an important moment for the duty of memory and for the friendship between France and Armenia. I intend to continue this tradition by participating in the commemorations. I am also in favor of a day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide being included in our calendar,” Macron said in an interview with .

“In France, the penalization of the denial of the genocide could not be obtained and the decision of the Constitutional Council provoked much misunderstanding. I am convinced that we must continue to work in this direction. Law and memory cannot be incompatible,” the presidential candidate said.

“France and Armenia share a great friendship that I wish to further strengthen. Due to the presence of the Armenian community of course, but also to prolong a tradition that has its roots in the late nineteenth century when the French press was already taking position by denouncing the first massacres. This support continued with naval relief operations to the Armenians of Cilicia in 1909 and in 1915 and then with the recognition by France of the first Armenian Republic in 1918. Today, Armenia is a member of the Organization International of La Francophonie. The next summit of this organization is to be held in Yerevan in 2018! It will be a great moment for our two countries. Our privileged relationship is also due to the neglected economic opportunities in Armenia, where France must invest more, for example in the new technologies sector,” Emmanuel Macron said.

He said France must play its full part in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. “France is co-president of the Minsk Group, with Russia and the United States. It is working to find a negotiated solution to the Karabakh issue, in accordance with international law. It is within this framework that the question of recognition will arise. Our country must play its full part. After the Paris summit in 2014, the effort was not pursued. I therefore want to revive it to find a solution that respects both the integrity of states and the right of self-determination of peoples. The road is narrow, I know, but we can move forward,” Macron stated.

Presentation of the Head of the National Defense Research University (NDRU), MoD, RA, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, Lieutenant-General Hayk S. Kotanjian at the “Nation‒Army‒2017” Forum. Yerevan, 20.04.2017.

Dear Colleagues,

The analysis of the balance between the current military threats to the Republic of Armenia (RA) and the resources for overcoming them shows that the further development of the defense system should be based on innovative conceptual ideas with the use of the most modern means of national defense that would be consistent with the developments in the defense security thought and technologies of Armenia’s allies and partners. The “Nation Army” concept is such an idea of ​​strategic caliber, the introduction of which implies shaping cooperation of new level and depth between the society and the Armed Forces.

In this context, the importance of the recent monographic development of the “Nation-Army” concept in our University instructed by the Defense Minister should be noted – with the modernization of the traditional Armenian home guard phenomenon under the current digital technological revolution. It is clear that for effective launching of such innovative cooperation, the continuous education and training of senior officials with relevant knowledge and skills becomes a priority. It is no coincidence that since the first years of the Republic of Armenia’s independence, the formation and development of the military education system has always been and is at the center of attention of the country’s military-political leadership.

Under this policy, the RA Minister of Defense, the incumbent President of the RA Serzh Sargsyan instructed to learn the principles of activity of the US National Defense University (NDU) that nourishes the top US military-political leadership with the products of its academic research and provides the top leadership with interagency security education, and to develop the project of establishing its sister organization by localizing NDU’s model in Armenia – through the academic fellowships in this research-educational institution. The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia was founded through this multi-phase project.

During its activities, the INSS, as an academic basis of the future National Defense Research University, has taken steps towards creating a quality professional environment necessary for defense-security studies in Armenia. The research of this academic institution is aimed at becoming the innovative basis for the security education of future leaders, with the research staff being the intellectual core of the teaching faculty.

For this, the tools have been established in recent years for producing, publishing and systemizing the strategic knowledge to be taught in the future research university – “Working Notebooks” academic-applied journal of strategic studies, that includes the collective monographs of regional and functional studies with the coordination of the INSS experts and the involvement of leading domestic and foreign experts, as well as the first Postgraduate School within the Ministry of Defense of Armenia and the first Specialized Council conferring PhD degrees (candidate and doctoral) in Political Science.

The establishment of the Groups of Strategic Gaming and Cybersecurity in our INSS in cooperation with the US NDU is aimed at the gradual development of the research component. One of the main objectives of establishing the Strategic Gaming Group is to increase the level of precision of the results of the research carried out in the defense system through the use of innovative analytical methods under the high level of uncertainty in the predictions of the turbulent regional security dynamics. At the same time, the establishment of this group is aimed at introducing innovative teaching methods in the future educational activities, in particular, strategic games and scenario analysis of hard-to-predict dynamics of security processes.

One of the most significant results of the Cybersecurity Group’s activities is the drafting of the National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) within the framework of updating the National Security Strategy. This document has already undergone successful academic review in the College of Information and Cyberspace of the US NDU.

As for the educational component of the University’s activities, intensive work has been underway since September 2017 to organize pilot training courses at interagency and departmental levels. Taking into account the results of the Strategic Defense Review (SDR) conducted with the consultants of NATO, the CSTO, the United States and Russia, the basis for these courses is the product of the research (aimed at reforming the defense system) of the leading experts from the Ministry of Defense, the RA Armed Forces General Staff and of those we collaborate with in the defense security field. Later, Master Programs in the defense security field are planned to be developed on the basis of these courses to prepare the future generation of strategic leaders of the Republic of Armenia.

Through the organization of strategic defense security education in our University the military education reforms underway in Armenia will be completed resulting in the formation of a military education system that prepares personnel capable of effectively resisting current security challenges, and comprises all – from tactical to strategic levels.

World number two Serena Williams is pregnant and due in the autumn, her representative has confirmed, the BBC reports.

The 35-year-old had earlier posted a picture of herself on Snapchat posing in a mirror with the message: “20 weeks”, before deleting the post.

The American, who won an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam in Australia around 12 weeks ago, will miss the rest of the season.

This includes three Grand Slams – the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

Williams, who is engaged to the co-founder of community news and chat site Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, is top of the all-time list of major winners since Grand Slams accepted professional players in 1968.

She is second only to Australian Margaret Court on the list of women’s all-time Grand Slam singles titles leaders.

 

The Armenian Ministry of Defense offers a new type of military service, which it defines as a mix of compulsory and contract-based service.

Conscripts wiling to serve at units carrying out military duty, will get a chance to opt for a new type of service. With an overall duration of three years, it will follow “1+1+2” formula, allowing servicemen to be “on the loose” for seven months starting from the 6^th monthon duty.

Servicemen will have to spend a week at the military unit, another week on vacation and two weeks on military duty at the frontlines.

Thus, after a 5-month training period, the conscript will start the service, spending 7 of the 31 months at home.

The servicemen will be paid for every week out. Upon the completion of the service they will get 5 million AMD on their accounts, which they can use for three purposes –acquire affordable housing, create a mini-farm (create a small greenhouse or purchase agricultural equipment) or pay the tuition fee.

The three programs are meant to help demobilized young people build their future in Armenia and deepen the ties with the homeland through long-term programs.

The service will be optional and anyone is free to choose the compulsory service currently in place.

In a second option called “I have the honor” the Ministry of Defense offers students to enroll in a program, in which it hopes to create a link between university deferment and future service as an Army Officer.

Every young many studying at an accredited university (state or private) will have an opportunity to apply for the program. In case he meets certain requirements, the student can enroll in the program with a view of serving as an Officer in the future.

Young people will have an opportunity to attend military training courses at the Military University after Vazgen Sargsyan every Saturday starting from the second year of studies at the their universities. Along with completing the Bachelor’s degree, students get the Lieutenant’s title and start a three-year military service in the Armed Forces.

The service is organized, taking into consideration the civilian profession, but in all cases at 1^st class units (frontline).

Thus, citizens with higher education get the opportunity to serve the homeland in a higher rank and with a competitive salary (at least 260,000 AMD a month). Upon successful completion of the service they get an additional financial bonus in the amount of the tuition paid during the time at the university. Should the serviceman choose to do a Master’s degree, the fee will again be compensated.

Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan presented the proposals at the “Nation-Army 2017” forum held in Yerevan today. The projects are subject to public discussion.

Asbarez – The California State Assembly Public Employee, Retirement and Social Security Committee (PERSS) on Wednesday passed AB 1597 by a 5-0 vote, a bill authored by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, which calls for divestment by the main state pension funds from Turkey.

Nazarian has championed the issue in recent years, which also enjoyed the support of principal co-author Senator Scott Wilk. Passage by the PERSS Committee is the first step toward enactment of the bill, which if passed by both houses of the state legislature and is signed by the governor, would prohibit new investments or renewal of existing investments in the Turkish government by the pension funds—CalPERS and CalSTRS.

Following an impassioned presentation by Nazarian, and additional testimony by ANCA-WR Chief Legislative Consultant Haig Baghdassarian, the chairman of the committee, Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez voted in favor of the bill, and was joined by four of his colleagues, Vice-Chair Travis Allen, and Assemblymembers Sabrina Cervantes, Ken Cooley and Patrick O’Donnell.

One of Europe’s oldest human rights bodies is being urged to set up a far-reaching anti-corruption investigation next week, amid fresh allegations of vote rigging that have put its credibility on the line.

Two people with high-level experience of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly (Pace) have told the they believe its members have been offered bribes for votes by Azerbaijan. The 324-member body is made up of delegates from national parliaments who meet four times a year in Strasbourg.

Arif Mammadov, a former Azerbaijani diplomat turned dissident, alleged that a member of the oil-rich country’s delegation at the Council of Europe had €30m (£25m) to spend on lobbying its institutions, including the Council of Europeassembly.

“Everyone” in the Azerbaijani delegation had heard of this number, although “it was never written down”, he told the Guardian. “It was said this money was to bribe members of the delegations and Pace generally.”

Tobias Billström, a Swedish delegate to the assembly and former justice minister, said “very credible members” had told him they had been offered bribes to vote in a certain way. He is one of 64 parliamentarians to have signed a resolution calling for an independent investigation into “serious and credible allegations of grave misconduct” centred on an Azerbaijani vote.

Allegations of “caviar diplomacy” have swirled around the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly for years, with Azerbaijan accused of offering cash and luxury gifts in exchange for favourable votes.

The claims were first laid out in a 2012 report by the European Stability Initiative thinktank, but have gathered momentum since Italian prosecutors began investigating a former chair of the centre-right group, Italian deputy Luca Volontè.

Volontè is accused of accepting €2.39m in bribes from Azerbaijan in exchange for supporting its government in the Council of Europe. He faces a trial for money laundering, and Milan’s public prosecutor is appealing a decision to drop a corruption charge against him. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

Although one fifth of MPs at the Council of Europe called for an urgent inquiry in January, assembly leaders failed to take a decision at their last meeting in March.

Pressure is building on the assembly president, Pedro Agramunt, to ensure that a robust investigation is set up when it meets later this month.

Agramunt, a Spanish centre-right politician, is already facing criticism for meeting the Syrian president, Bashar al-Asssad, on a Syria visit organised by the Russian government. He was accompanied by Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, as well as MPs from Belgium, Italy and Serbia, according to Russian media.

Members of the assembly believe the trip, which came two weeks before chemical attacks near Idlib, could tarnish the credibility of the Council of Europe as a human rights defender. The Socialist group has declared itself “extremely concerned and worried” and the head of the French delegation has made an official complaint.

Critics say Azerbaijan uses the assembly to add a veneer of legitimacy to the authoritarian rule of its president, Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled the country since 2003.

One case concerns the decision of assembly members in 2013 to vote down a critical report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan by German social democrat Christoph Strässer. The Strässer report concluded that Azerbaijan’s judicial system was used to silence or intimidate critics of the Aliyev regime and was rejected by 125 votes to 79 with 20 abstentions.

Volontè is alleged to have played a key role in orchestrating the defeat with payments to him channelled through a company with a connection to Azerbaijan’s ruling family, according to a recent report by the investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

Strӓsser said he knew Azerbaijan was giving out money but had no proof votes were bought. He said he wanted to see an investigation “as a point of credibility”.

“If there is any suspicion that there could be corruption within these structures and this was ignored, I think it might be the end of the Council of Europe.”

Several events in Glendale are slated to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide during the coming days, the Glendale News-Press reports.

On Wednesday, the 16th annual Armenian Genocide commemorative event sponsored by the Armenian clubs at all of the high schools in the Glendale Unified School District will be held at 6 p.m. in the John Wayne Performing Arts Center at Glendale High, 1440 E. Broadway, Glendale.

Also Wednesday, a “Walk, Talk & Learn” event will be held at Rosemont Middle School during lunchtime — from around 12:15 to about 12:50 p.m. — to commemorate the Armenian Genocide and all genocides, according to event organizers.

On Thursday, an event titled “A Historical View of the Assyrian Genocide” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in the recital hall at Brand Library and Art Center, 1601 W. Mountain St., Glendale.

The annual Unified Young Armenians candlelight vigil will be held at 6 p.m. on Sunday in Parcher Plaza at Glendale City Hall, 613 E. Broadway, Glendale.

The local series of events will culminate with a commemorative event to be held at 7 p.m. Monday, which is the actual anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

 

Also, there will be a 1.5-mile March for Justice starting at noon on Monday at Pan Pacific Park, 7600 Beverly Blvd., and ending at the Turkish consulate at 6300 Wilshire Blvd., where there will be a rally. Among the speakers scheduled are Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank).

The Pegasus Airlines will start low-cost flights to Zvartnots Airport from June 1, 2017, Press Service of the Armenia International Airports CJSC informs.

The airline will operate three weekly flights to Zvartnots International Airport from Istanbul. The flights will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This airline currently operates flights to almost all European countries from Istanbul. Pegasus is one of the most active airlines in the region.