Category: News

Photo: Ermenihaber.am

German parliament’s move to vote on a resolution to recognize the Armenian genocide fueled outrage in Turkey. A group of activists from the Homeland Party (VP) staged a demonstration outside the German Consulate in Istanbul to denounce the recognition vote, Daily Sabah reports.

Protesters said German parliament has no say in recognizing genocide, a thorny issue between Turks and Armenians dating back to the last decade of the Ottoman Empire.

Speaking on behalf of protesters gathered outside the German Consulate in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, VP Istanbul branch Chairman Erkan Önsel said the vote in German parliament could harm Turkish-German friendship.

He then recited a letter by Doğu Perinçek, VP chairman, addressed to Bundestag President Norbert Lambert. Perinçek gained international fame for remarks deemed genocide denial and was taken to court in Europe.

A Turkish nationalist politician has been jailed over controversial remarks suggesting “hunting for Armenians” after a concert last year by a renowned Armenian pianist in the ancient city of Ani in the eastern province of Kars, the reports.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Garo Paylan had filed a lawsuit against Tolga Adıgüzel, the Kars provincial head of the “Idealist Hearths” (Ülkü Ocakları), which has organic ties to the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), after Adıgüzel suggested “going out to hunt Armenians in the streets of Kars” as a counter-move after the concert.

The Kars third criminal court of first instance initially sentenced Adıgüzel to six months in prison, along with a pecuniary punishment of 11,240 Turkish Liras (about $3,800) on May 25 on charges of “overtly insulting some segments of the public based on difference of social class, race, religion, sect, sexuality or region.” The court then increased the sentence to seven months and fifteen days as the crime was committed via the media, which carries a heavier sentence.

Paylan described the court ruling as “hopeful” both for Armenians and for all parts of society in Turkey that believe in social peace and justice, vowing to fight against “all kinds of racist remarks and hate speech.”

World-renowned Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan and the Yereven State Chamber Coir gave a concert at Ani, on the Turkish border with Armenia, on June 21, 2015.

After the concert, Adıgüzel issued a press statement “strongly” condemning the performance, questioning its “aims,” and accusing its supporters of “treason.”

“Should we go out for hunting for Armenians in the streets of Kars? Can we give a concert at a place that they consider holy, or march our janissary band?” he had said.

Statement of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Azerbaijan’s fabricated accusations on the use of white phosphorus has been distributed in the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, the Armenian Foreign Ministry informs on Twitter.

 

 

On 25 May Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received a group of deputies of the Bulgarian Parliament representing the “National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria” party headed by its leader Valery Semeonov.

Issues related to developing Artsakh-Bulgaria parliamentarian ties were discussed during the meeting.

President Sahakyan signified deepening cooperation with the Bulgarian parliament considering it as a pivotal direction of strengthening bilateral relations.

NKR National Assembly deputy chairman Vahram Balayan and other officials partook at the meeting.

Since May 10, dozens of civil engineers and structural craftsmen based at the Robins Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Georgia have been working on important renovations at Yerevan Elderly Institute #1, improving the safety and conditions of 12 residential suites and the common area of the institute.

These members of the 116^th Civil Engineer Squadron of the Georgia Air National Guard came to Armenia as part of the U.S. military’s Humanitarian Civic Assistance Program. The military engineers replaced the flooring of the institute, making the entire facility safer for the elderly who rely on it. They also repaired bathrooms in the building, worked on sewage lines and electrical wiring, and replaced and refinished many walls. The renovation provided crucial skill-set training for the engineers, who were able to practice their skills in real-world settings. At the same time, the renovation continues the long-lasting friendship between the Armenian people and the citizens of the United States.

“We will be grateful for many years for the work you have done here,” said Khachik Sargsyan, director of Yerevan Elderly Institution No. 1. “The work carried out here will help our residents with hot water and heating and provide a safe and cleaning living environment.”

“These members of the Georgia Air National Guard represent some of the best of the best in the U.S. military, and now they have a personal understanding of the Armenian people that they can carry with them as they return home,” said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, Jr., who was joined at a ribbon cutting for the renovated facility on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, by the Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Issues Artem Asatryan.

This is the third year the U.S. European Command’s Humanitarian Civic Assistance Program has been active in Armenia.

“Through efforts such as this renovation, in partnership with the Armenian government and civil society, we at the Embassy are working to improve the lives of the Armenian people and help this historic nation have the secure, peaceful, and prosperous future it deserves,” Ambassador Mills said.

Today, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Commonwealth of Australia to the Republic of Armenia Peter Tesch (residence in Moscow) presented his credentials to the President of Armenia.

President Serzh Sargsyan congratulated the Ambassador on assuming his position and expressed hope that during his tenure he will spare no effort to develop friendly relations between Armenia and Australia. Wishing Ambassador Tesch all the best, Serzh Sargsyan assured that the state structures of Armenia will provide comprehensive support to the activities of the Ambassador aimed at the strengthening of the Armenian-Australian relations.

In the context of making the bilateral relations more substantial and elevating them to a qualitatively new level, the two parties stressed the importance of high-level reciprocal visits and regular contacts at different levels, including in the interparliamentary format, close and efficient cooperation in the framework of international and regional organizations as well as the development of economic relations in the mutually attractive areas.

Ambassador Peter Tesch spoke with esteem about the large Armenian community of Australia and stressed that in his country the Armenians have fully integrated into the social and political life of Australia and bring their input to the development of different areas and at the same time promote the strengthening of the Armenian-Australian friendship.

Photo: AFP

 

A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters has begun a campaign to expel Islamic State (IS) militants from land north of Raqqa, the BBC reports.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is believed to have deployed about 30,000 fighters.

US-led coalition warplanes will support the offensive and Russia has also given its backing.

The SDF did not mention any plan to take Raqqa, the de facto capital of the “caliphate” proclaimed by IS in 2014.

Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree pardoning Nadezhda Savchenko, who was sent to Kiev, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, reports.

“Relatives of the murdered journalists requested that Vladimir Putin pardon Nadezhda Savchenko as a humane gesture,” Peskov added.

Savchenko was sentenced in late March to a 22-year jail term in Russia for her part in killing Russian journalists in Donbass. On June 17, 2014, a court ruled that she had directed the artillery fire at a group of Lugansk militia and Russian journalists, which lead to deaths of Russian journalists Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin.

Two Russian citizens who had been jailed in Ukraine, Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov, have also been freed.

“The transfer of Nadezhda Savchenko to Ukraine and Russians Alexandrov and Yerofeyev to Russia has been completed. This happened on the basis of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, ratified by Russia and Ukraine,”Russian Upper House Speaker Valentina Matvienko said.

“This is not a prisoner swap,” she added.

The plane carrying Russian citizens Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov has landed at Vnukovo Internatinal Airport.

In May 2015, Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov were detained by Ukrainian forces near a front-line town in the Lugansk Region in eastern Ukraine. A Kiev court sentenced them to 14 years in prison, having found them guilty of terrorism-related activities.

No violations of the agreement on ceasefire were registered at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan last night, NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep the operational situation under control and take necessary steps to organize a reliable protection of the military positions.

Armenia duly fulfills its obligations undertaken under the UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, State Committee under the RA Government on Nuclear Safety Regulation (ANRA) said in a statement.

According to the committee, inspectors have conducted about 200 inspections: no any non-compliance or deviation from the requirements of international treaties has been recorded.

The full text of the statement is provided below:

In 1991, the Republic of Armenia (RA) joined the UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and then ratified the Agreement between the Republic Armenia and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the NPT and the Protocol Additional to the Safeguards Agreement.

In accordance with the Law of the RA on Safe Utilization of Atomic Energy  for Peaceful Purposes, the RA established the state system on accounting for and control of nuclear materials. The RA Government adopted relevant legal acts to ensure fulfillment of its obligations undertaken under the international treaties.

The RA performs continuous accounting for and control of nuclear materials that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.

In accordance with the NPT and the IAEA Safeguards Agreement, the state accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented at three levels:

1. The facility level: the accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented by the facility personnel.
2. The state level: the accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented by the state authority empowered by the legislation, i.e. the state committee under the RA Government on nuclear safety regulation.
3. The international level: the accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented by the IAEA inspectors.

In accordance with the mentioned agreements and the procedures established by the laws, the IAEA inspectors regularly conduct on-site inspections to verify the presence of the nuclear material accounted and reported. In its turn the RA submits relevant reports and declarations to the IAEA.

In accordance with the safeguards procedures, video cameras have been installed by the IAEA inspectors to continuously control the movement of nuclear material.

Nodes, installations, safe boxes housing nuclear materials are sealed by special IAEA seals any damage of which is recorded directly through the satellite by the IAEA special unit.

The IAEA inspectors have conducted about 200 inspections: no any non-compliance or deviation from the requirements of international treaties has been recorded.

The RA has participated in four Nuclear Security Summits held at the initiative of the US President. In this context a number of measures have implemented aimed at strengthening the safety of nuclear installations, nuclear and radioactive materials, enhancing their physical protection level as well as preventing the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials.

The RA duly fulfills its obligations undertaken under the international treaties.