Category: News

On September 20, while paying a working visit to New York, Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with Edgars Rinkēvičs, Foreign Minister of Latvia.

The sides touched upon the organization of high-level mutual visits, attached importance to the expansion of legal field and intensification of inter-parliamentary ties.

The agenda of the meeting included issues related to the intensification of economic cooperation, as well as the preparatory works of the upcoming session of the Intergovernmental Commission.

Edward Nalbandian and Edgars Rinkēvičs discussed the negotiation process over the new legal framework of Armenia-European Union relations.

 Horizon Weekly – On Monday, September 19 2016, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) hosted a Reception on Parliament Hill, where over 50 Ministers, Members of Parliament, Senators and staff gathered to celebrate this milestone.

 During the event, following opening remarks delivered by the ANCC, MP Harold Albrecht (Former Chair of the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group), MP Arnold Chan (Current Chair of the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group), MP Alexandre Boulerice (Vice Chair of the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group) and His Excellency Armen Yeganian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in Canada offered their congratulatory messages.

Ambassador Yeganian’s speech is provided below:

Honorable members of Parliament,
Distinguished guests,

I am delighted to stand before you, within the grand walls of Parliament. First, I would like to thank Members of Parliament, especially those who are or have been the members of the Canadian-Armenian Parliamentary Friendship Group, for many years of mutual cooperation. Armenia pays great importance to the development and deepening of friendly relations with Canada. Together, we are strengthening relations between our two countries.

The cooperation of our respective parliaments within the framework of international organizations is ongoing and increasing. We work together closely within the International Organization of La Francophonie. I have to say that over the course of last 5 years we have had an unprecedented number of mutual visits on the level of parliamentary delegations. Jim Karygiannis and Stephane Dion visited Armenia and Artsakh, two parliamentary secretaries Deepak Obhrai and Chungsen Leung led the delegation that participated at our President’s inauguration, Jason Kenney in his capacity as Multiculturalism Minister visited Armenia in 2014 and last year we had Chris Alexander heading delegation for Centennial events and Christian Paradis participating at Francophone Ministers’ summit in Yerevan. Similarly we had number of Armenian MPs and Ministers paying visits to Canada.

The sincere attitude of Canada towards the Armenian people was displayed through the number of resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide, an approach, which was reaffirmed in 2015. In doing so, Canada emphasized its commitment to stand against injustice and crimes against humanity, and demonstrated its commitment to ensure such crimes perpetrated against mankind, will always be condemned and prevented.

We understand and respect Canadian government’s balanced position on the issue of conflict resolution in Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh.

Dear guests,

Armenia marked the 98th Anniversary of the establishment of its First Republic in May of this year, and I congratulate all of us on that occasion.

For us, this is the day to reflect on what our people were able to save and protect. In establishing the First Republic, we saved the last piece of our birthplace and the last remnants of our nation. It was a difficult matter to accept, but it was the reality. The bleeding Armenian nation, on the verge of annihilation, just three years after 1915 was able to stand up to the enemy, to prevail, and throw the enemy back. Many consider the heroic battles of May and their victorious outcome a miracle. We prevailed, we survived, and we finally liberated ourselves after 600 years of torture. Our independence and our statehood were not a gift to us. We paid the highest price possible. We did it alone; moreover, we did it against all odds.

At the same time, we mark the 25th Anniversary of Armenia’s Independence exactly in two days. The Armenian people’s thousand year long march has filled each page of our history books with countless memories, has filled it with tears of joy, pain of loss; it has filled it with resolve to rise in the face of adversary and struggle against injustice; it has filled it with the prayers of hopeless nights and promising victories that come with the first rays of sunlight as dawn breaks. Our people perfectly recollect every single page of our history, a history of their struggle. They remember those who have fallen as we advance on our age-old path and celebrate each day of our victorious unity. 25 years ago a new page was written in gold; inscribed in our history book. On September 21, 1991, an entire nation stood and unanimously announced to the world that they assume anew the burden, responsibility, and honor of mastering their own destiny. And every year, as we look ahead we vow that we are the guarantors of calm mornings for our children and peaceful sunsets for our parents, it is us, the united Armenian People.

The tongue we speak is Armenian, in which we prayed at the dawn of civilization and which can be heard today at the different corners of the world. It can be heard thanks to the absolute unity demonstrated by our people 25 years ago. That unity has not only granted us independence, but has also given us the power to fight and the spirit to create over the course of two and a half decades. The State, the Army, the market economy and civil society have been the institutions that we established as our unambiguous response to the chance given to us by time and challenges imposed upon us.

Dear friends,

September 21st marks revival of our people that survived the first genocide of the 20th century – one of the gratest crimes against humanity.

Yes, our history book is also filled with lines fraught with our people’s blood. We remember those lines very well. We will continue to remember it as long as the blood of our ancestors martyred by the Ottoman Empire’s sword in Van, Mush, Trabzon, Yerznka, Marash, Sebastia, Erzurum and Kharberd has not frozen in our veins. We distinguish ourselves by doing everything possible so that never again shall our people face the danger of annihilation. We hold dearly in our hearts the belief that in a world full of contradictions and dangers, the only true guarantor of the Armenian people is a sovereign and independent Armenian state. We know, beyond doubt, that people are the only source of power. We have confidence that unity will prevail when we arrive at decisive turns and monumental challenges as we march forward in time, writing our history book.

September 21 is the symbol of our faith, our convictions and our confidence. Once again congratulations on Independence Day!

Long live the Republic of Armenia!

On September 20, on the sidelines of the 71th regular session of the UN General Assembly, Edward Nalbandian, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, had a meeting with David Choquehuanca, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia.

The sides discussed issues concerning the bilateral relations and cooperation within the framework of international organizations, attached importance to the establishment of friendship group in the parliaments and the holding of regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries of two countries.

Edward Nalbandian expressed gratitude for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by both houses of the Bolivian legislative body back in 2014 and emphasized that it was an important input of the Bolivian people in the fight for the international recognition of crimes against humanity.

In course of the meeting, views were exchanged on the current international and regional issues.

President Serzh Sargsyan today met with heads of a number of structures functioning in the Diaspora and discussed various issues of pan-Armenian significance, President’s Press Office reports.

During the meeting President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan handed in the “Tigran Mets” order to Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan for selfless devotion and substantial contribution to the formation and strengthening of Artsakh statehood and solution of the issues of nationwide significance.

On September 20, at the UN Headquarter, Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed on behalf of Armenia the Agreement adopted in the result of Climate Change Conference held in Paris under the aegis of the United Nations.

The agreement outlines a series of steps of the international community aimed at confronting global warming.

Last year Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, participated in the opening ceremony and delivered remarks at the Paris Conference.

The UK’s Minister for Europe and the Americas, the Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan MP, congratulates the Armenian people on the occasion of the country’s 25^th Independence Day.

Sir Alan Duncan said:

“The UK enjoys a strong relationship with Armenia – a young country with a long history. We work closely with the Armenian government and people to promote democratic and governance reform and to strengthen our economic and cultural ties. We fully support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs to broker the resolution of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, building  a peaceful and prosperous future for Armenia and its neighbours. On behalf of Her Majesty’s Government I am delighted to send my congratulations to the Armenian people on the 25th anniversary of independence.”

The European Union has congratulated the Republic of Armenia and its people on the 25th anniversary of its independence. The message reads:

The Republic of Armenia has undergone profound developments in these past years and we as the European Union look forward to continuing to work closely with the country in the future. The  European Union has and will continue to support the development of strong democratic institutions, the rule of law, and economic prosperity, for the benefit of all citizens.

We look forward to the future EU-Armenia Agreement, which would, alongside our engagement in the Eastern Partnership framework, enable the European Union to enhance our dialogue with the Armenian authorities, to support them in their reform efforts and to increase our contacts with the population.

A preliminary by the Council of Europe’s constitutional law experts (the Venice Commission) criticizes draft modifications to the constitution of Azerbaijan, which will be put to a national referendum on Monday 26 September.

Many proposed amendments would severely upset the balance of power by giving “unprecedented” powers to the President, according to the Venice Commission opinion.

For example, the extension of the presidential mandate from five to seven years “cannot be justified” given the already very strong position of the President, who since 2009 can be re-elected without term limits.

Another reform gives the President power to dissolve parliament, which does not only make political dissent in parliament “largely ineffective”, according to the opinion, but also affects the independence of the judiciary, since parliament’s role in the approval of judges will be reduced.

The Venice Commission experts were “particularly worried” by the introduction of the figure of unelected Vice-Presidents, who may at some moment govern the country, and the President’s prerogative to declare early presidential elections at his convenience.

The opinion also criticizes the procedure of the referendum as having lacked proper debate in parliament and having been carried out too quickly and without real public discussion beforehand.

Indeed, due to time constraints, the opinion rapporteurs themselves were unable to visit Azerbaijan and did not benefit from direct consultations with the authorities, experts and other stakeholders. In this context, the Venice Commission regrets that the authorities of Azerbaijan did not consult it prior to submitting the draft to the referendum.

The experts praised proposed amendments in the human rights chapter of the Azeri constitution, such as the introduction of the concept of “human dignity” and of the right to “conscientious treatment excluding arbitrariness” by state bodies and of certain procedural rights. They also praised the proposal to elevate the “principle of proportionality” to the constitutional level, which means that every restriction to human rights should be proportionate to the aim the state seeks to achieve.

However, the experts expressed reservations with other proposed changes in the human rights chapter, in particular one which provides for limitations to public gatherings for the sake of “public order” and “morality”, since this provision risks to be too broadly interpreted. The opinion also is concerned about a proposed provision on withdrawing citizenship that “reduces the scope of the current guarantee” that prevents withdrawal of citizenship in absolute terms.

The President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades sent on Tuesday a congratulatory message to the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Armenia, underlining that “the bonds between Cyprus and Armenia are as strong and resilient as ever,” Cyprus Mail reports.

He further reiterates Cyprus’ commitment to the enhancement and deepening of bilateral relations and notes that “Cyprus will continue to stand in solidarity and in support of Armenia’s efforts for prosperity and regional peace”.

According to an official announcement, Anastasiades also notes that both countries share common values and traditions, as well as a historical and cultural connection.

He refers finally to the presence of a vibrant Armenian-Cypriot community in Cyprus, whose invaluable contribution and achievements, he notes, enrich all aspects of society.