Category: News

Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev has arrived in Moscow for a treatment, press service of the Kyrgyz president told on Friday.

“Following recommendations from specialists and at the invitation of the Russian side, the rpesident today, on September 23, has arrived in the Central Hospital in Moscow for further treatment with doctors, who earlier tested him and made treatment for a heart disease,” the press service said.

“On September 19, 2016, at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, the president felt bad – at the airport the Kyrgyz delegation planned a connection on the way to New York to participate in the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. The medical tests have shown symptoms of a heart disorder and the president was recommended to undertake urgent medical tests and to have doctors observe him.”

“As the president had to undergo medical tests,” he is now on a short break from September 20, the press service said.

A French-American man who helped stop a heavily armed gunman on a train in France in 2015 has received the country’s highest honour, the BBC reports.

Mark Moogalian and five other passengers overpowered the suspect, Moroccan national Ayoub El-Khazzani.

Mr Moogalian was shot in the neck during the struggle on the high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris.

The Legion d’honneur was given by President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace.

When a French passenger tried to enter a toilet on the train, he encountered the gunman and tried to overpower him.

Seeing the struggle, Mr Moogalian tried to intervene but was hit by a bullet.

Three other Americans – off-duty military servicemen Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos, and Anthony Sadler – then overpowered the attacker.

They also had the help of UK businessman Chris Norman.

The Americans and the Briton received the honour in August 2015.

Sorbonne professor Mark Moogalian, has lived in France for more than two decades,  but is originally from Midlothian and is of Armenian descent.

Armenia’s Acting Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with EU High Representatives for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on the sidelines of the 71^st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The EU High Representative congratulated Edward Nalbandian on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of Armenia’s independence, underlining that the EU will maintain support for the ongoing reforms in the country.

Federica Mogherini welcomed the agreement between the authorities and opposition on the new Electoral Code, noting that it was an important step ahead of the parliamentary elections expected next year.

The parties hailed the effective interim negotiations on a new Armenia-EU Framework Agreement held in Brussels on September 19.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the ongoing negotiations on political dialogue and trade issues.

Edward Nalabndian presented the agreements reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits, noting that Azerbaijan has been refusing to implement them up until now.

Federica Mogherini reiterated the full support of the European Union to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards finding a peaceful resolution to the issue.

Chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, the Government discussed today the preliminary version of the 2017 State budget bill.

Per-sector proposals on the draft text of the 2017 State budget bill were submitted by the heads and representatives of the following ministries and government agencies: Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ministry of Nature Protection, Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development, Ministry of Healthcare, State Committee of Science, National Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture-affiliated State Food Security Service, Ministry of Agriculture-affiliated State Water Management Committee, State Migration Service, National Statistics Service, as well as the Mayor of Yerevan and Marz Governors.

Moscow, Washington and Paris are ready to host high-level talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the OSCE Mink Group Co-Chairs said in a statement issued after their meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. The statement reads:

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, met separately with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly to continue discussions on a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“During the meetings, we paid special attention to implementation of decisions taken at the recent summits in Vienna (May 2016) and St. Petersburg (June 2016). In particular, we discussed further steps that could create an atmosphere for advancing substantial negotiations that could lead to a settlement.

We also exchanged views on proposals that could be discussed between the sides.

Our governments are prepared to host another meeting of the Presidents or Foreign Ministers at the appropriate time.

We plan to visit the region in the near future.”

Prime Minister Karen Karapetan received today the delegation of the Chinese AVIC International Corporation headed by its Executive Vice President Liu Jun.

The Prime Minister welcomed the delegation’s visit to Armenia and noted that the Armenian Government is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Liu Jun said “the AVIC International is interested in the implementation of investment projects in Armenia” and presented the directions of the corporation’s activity.

The interlocutors discussed prospects of cooperation and the possibilities of implementing joint projects in transport, energy, aviation and agriculture.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan welcomed AVIC International’s commitment to make investments in Armenia’s economy and expressed his government’s readiness to facilitate the cooperation.

The Prime Minister instructed the relevant departments to discuss in more detail the proposed investment programs in possible areas of cooperation.

Asbarez – President Barack Obama issued a letter Wednesday congratulating Armenia on the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s Independence. The Armenian National Committee of America called the letter “largely generic” with key omission about Armenia’s current realities.

“On behalf of the United States, I congratulate you and the people of Armenia as you celebrate 25 years of independence this September 21,” said Obama in his letter.

“The United States has been a steadfast partner of Armenia from the first days of its independence. We remain committed to the promise of those early years, when Armenians proudly raised their tricolor flag for the first time since 1920. Today, we again affirm our belief that a secure, prosperous, and democratic Armenia is essential for the security for the Armenian people and for the region more broadly,” added Obama.

“We thank Armenia for its support of our shared goals, particularly its response to the Syrian refugee crisis and its contributions to global peacekeeping operations and nuclear security. We will continue to work together to help Armenia realize its full potential. I wish you and the people of Armenia all the best as you celebrate 25 years of independence,” concluded Obama’s letter.

“The letter is also notable for what it leaves out, namely any mention of the Armenian Genocide, the issue that the President so very prominently used to secure Armenian American votes in 2008, but that he quickly abandoned once elected,” the ANCA response posted on its social media sites said.

“It also does not reference the President’s signature Armenian initiative in office, the Turkish-Armenian Protocols. Looking back, it’s clear that the President, having secured Armenia’s backing for these recklessly flawed (and now demonstrably failed) accords in the first months of his first term, never held Ankara to account for walking away from its agreement to end its illegal blockade of Armenia,” added the ANCA response.

“Also, no mention of Artsakh, which, in the context of Azerbaijan’s April offensive, represents a missed opportunity to challenge Baku’s aggression and press the case for peace. This silence sends a dangerous signal to the Aliyev regime,” said the ANCA.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan receives congratulations from the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Prime Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Lithuania, Government’s Press Ofice reports.

The eight International Hrant Dink Award was presented on Thursday, September 22nd with an award ceremony held at the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s awards were granted to Diyarbakir Bar Association, a civil society organisation that works for human rights and rule of law for many years and to Theresa Kachindamoto, a tribal chief from Malawi who works for children’s human rights and education rights.

The award ceremony was hosted by Ece Dizdar and the opening speech was made by the Chairman of the International Hrant Dink Award Committee, Ahmet İnsel. The award ceremony was opened with Mehmet Erdem’s performance of his song, ‘Hayat Bu’.

2016 awardees were announced at the end of the award ceremony. 2016 International Hrant Dink Awards were granted toTheresa Kachindamoto and Diyarbakir Bar Association.

2016 International Hrant Dink Award jury member, philosopher, Michel Marian and Yıldız Tar on behalf of the 2015 International Hrant Dink Award laureate Kaos GL presented the award to the 2016 International Hrant Dink Award laureate Theresa Kachindamoto; who has strived to overcome the economic difficulties that lead to early marriages in her country Malawi, by creating a fund to pay the tuition for daughters of poor families and encouraging efforts to strengthen children’s bonds to school life, and who has made tireless efforts that have changed the lives of so many young people. Theresa Kachindamoto in her speech, has said: ‘‘There is no doubt that I need to push against more of the old ways of thinking to achieve my ultimate goal of removing child marriage from Malawi, and giving all girls and boys the opportunity to complete their education…But we still have a lot of work to do, for which I am prepared.’’

The second laureate of the 2016 International Hrant Dink Award, has been Diyarbakir Bar Association, recognized for its impartiality, its sensitivity to human rights issues, its opposition to all manners of violence no matter who employs it or for what reason, for standing as a role-model in the region, for making constant and determined efforts to ensure effective investigation of human rights violations, its determined fight to prevent cases from being time-barred and to prevent impunity, for being able to use the language of peace at all times and never giving up its ideals for peace despite the heavy prices it had to pay.

On behalf of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, Ahmet Özmen received the award from the 2016 International Hrant Dink Award jury members Murathan Mungan and Rakel Dink.

Ahmet Özmen in his speech, has pointed out that in the last one and a half year, during the course of conflict in Şırnak, Sur, Silvan, Cizre, İdil, Yüksekova and Nusaybin, there have been significant violations of all fundamental rights and freedoms. Özmen stated that after the July 15 coup-attempt, with the declaration of state of emergency all around Turkey, the European Convention of Human Rights has been suspended. In his speech, he commemorated Tahir Elçi, the Bar Association President, who was killed by a bullet to his head in front of the Four-Legged Minaret in the Sur district on November 28, 2015 after his press statement demanding the protection of cultural heritage. Özmen concluded his speech, by stating that our fundamental and historic duty – not only to protect but also further flourish the legacy bestowed upon us by Tahir Elçi and Hrant Dink – is to demand peace and to raise our voice for building peace.

As part of the ceremony, the people and organisations from Turkey and from around the world, who raise hope for the future with their actions were saluted with the video ‘Inspirations 2016’. Among the inspirations of 2016 were Association of Bridging People from İzmir for supporting refugees to access their most fundamental human rights, in particular healthcare; Rana Choir from Israel formed by Jewish and Arab women for showing through their songs that coexistence is possible despite political differences and for voicing their call for peace in a multilingual manner; Ayse Celik, a teacher in Diyarbakır, for publicly sharing her message ‘Let people and children not die, let mothers not cry’, through a telephone connection in a television show which drew attention to the fighting and rights violations in Turkey’s East; a husband and wife Khalil Hasan and Ameena Saeed from Iraq for working to rescue Ezidi women kidnapped by ISIS; workers of Yeni Çeltek Mine in Amasya’s Suluova province for their resistance together with the support of their families against the closure of their mine, which paid off after more than a month’s effort; Wang Yan from China for spending his entire fortune to transform the slaughterhouse into a dog shelter and rescue centre; Academics for Peace from Turkey for their courageous and effective call thanks to their petition calling for an end to the violence and human rights violations taking place in the eastern provinces, which once again stressed the importance of freedom of expression in Turkey and News Watch journalists from İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir for gathering in the name of freedom of press and the right to accurate information in the eastern provinces, with their slogan ‘We seek the truth and support our colleagues’.

During the award ceremony, all the people who acted and spoken against the coup-attempt on July 15th in support of democracy, and who lost their lives were also commemorated regardless of their political party, religion, language, gender.

After the Inspirations video and before the announcement of laurates, Bajar and Istanbul Mosaic Oriental Choir had a musical performance.

The award jury for this year is composed of, 2015 International Hrant Dink Award laureate human rights activist Samar Badawi, 2015 International Hrant Dink Award lauraete LGBT association KAOS GL, director, scenarist and producer Atom Egoyan, philosopher Étienne Balibar, Reporters Without Borders Secretary General Christophe Deloire, philosopher Michel Marian, poet, writer and literature critic Murathan Mungan, feminist author and human rights activist Şirin Tekeli and the President of Hrant Dink Foundation Rakel Dink.

The International Hrant Dink Award was previously presented to Samar Badawi and KAOS GL in 2015, to forensic medicine specialist and human rights defender Şebnem Korur Fincancı and activist Angie Zelter in 2014, to human rights defender Nataša Kandić andSaturday Mothers / People in 2013, to writer İsmail Beşikçi and human rights organisation International “Memorial” Society Russia in 2012,  to journalist-writer Ahmet Altan and journalist, human rights defender Lydia Cacho in 2011, the Conscientious Objection Movement of Turkey and prosecutor Baltasar Garzón in 2010, to the journalist-writer Alper Görmüş and journalist-writer Amira Hass in 2009.

The Foreign Relations Committee of the Hungarian Parliament will consider an Armenian Genocide resolution next month, reports, quoting the Turkish Haberler website.

According to the source, the bill has been submitted by the Green Party, which holds five seats in the 199-seat Parliament.

Former head of Turkey-Hungary parliamentary friendship group Tamas Hegedus is confident, however, that the resolution will not be put on a vote.