Category: News

The Governments of Azerbaijan and Hungary have been asked by the European Court of Human Rights to respond formally to a case brought by the relatives of Armenian army officer Gurgen Margaryan, who was murdered by Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov in Budapest in 2004. Mr Margaryan’s relatives are represented by (based in Middlesex University), (Armenian NGO) and Nazeli Vardanyan, reports the 

Both men were attending a NATO-sponsored English-language course in Budapest. On 19 February 2004 Safarov murdered Mr Margaryan by decapitating him with an axe. In April 2006 Safarov was found guilty of murder by the Budapest City Court, and was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the possibility of conditional release after 30 years. The court found that Safarov had intended to kill two Armenian participants at the course on the anniversary of the beginning of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. After the Court of Appeal upheld this judgment in February 2007, Safarov began serving his sentence in a Hungarian prison.

In August 2012 the Hungarian Minister of Justice approved Safarov’s transfer to Azerbaijan with a view to his serving his sentence there (under the ). However, a few hours after Safarov was transferred on 31 August 2012, he was granted a pardon by the Azerbaijani President and set free. He was also promoted to major, awarded eight years’ salary arrears and offered a flat.

In a report published in December 2012, the Hungarian Ombudsman criticised the Hungarian Government for approving the transfer before any assurances about the treatment of Safarov had been received from the Azerbaijani authorities.

The victim’s family argue that Gurgen Margaryan’s right to life (Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights) has been violated by Azerbaijan – both because of his murder, and also because Ramil Safarov’s pardon has prevented the full enforcement of his sentence. They also argue that Mr Margaryan was the victim of an ethnically-motivated hate crime, which was later endorsed by Safarov’s pardon and release (in breach of Article 14 together with Article 2 of the Convention). In addition, they argue that Hungary has breached Article 2 of the Convention because it allowed Safarov to be transferred to Azerbaijan, without having obtained assurances that he would be required to complete his prison sentence in Azerbaijan.

The case is also brought by Hayk Makuchyan, an Armenian military officer whom Ramil Safarov was convicted of intending to murder during the same incident in Budapest.

Both governments are required to lodge their responses with the Strasbourg Court by May. The Court has also invited the Armenian Government to submit its comments, given Mr Margaryan’s nationality.

On 26 January 2016 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe  not to adopt a resolution on “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, based on a report by the British former member of the Assembly, Robert Walter. The draft resolution (which called on Armenia to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the Minsk process) was rejected by 70 votes against, 66 in favour and 45 abstentions.

On 16 June 2015, the Grand Chamber of the European Court found that both  and had violated the European Convention rights of civilian victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as they have been prevented from returning to their homes and land which they lost in the early 1990s. The Court has required the Governments to set up property restitution mechanisms for the victims of the conflict. The cases are discussed by Philip Leach in his blog . The implementation of the judgments will be considered by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in June 2016.

In December 2015, Thorbjørn Jagland, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, opened an into Azerbaijan’s implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights (under Article 52 of the Convention).

Two Turkish journalists face life in prison over a story alleging that the Turkish government was arming Islamist militants in Syria, the BBC reports.

Cumhuriyet newspaper’s editor-in-chief Can Dundar and its Ankara representative Erdem Gul have been charged with espionage.

Prosecutors accuse them of working with a US-based cleric to discredit the government.

The harsh punishment being sought has intensified press freedom concerns.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said he was “shocked” at the severity of the sentence sought by prosecutors.

Human Rights Watch said the two “were doing their job as journalists and no more than that”.

In its report last May, Cumhuriyet published video of police finding weapons in trucks that it said were linked to Turkish intelligence.

The Turkish authorities insisted the trucks, which had been intercepted near the Syrian border, were in fact bringing aid to Syria’s Turkmen minority.

Archbishop of Armenians in Western Iran Grigor Chiftchian said Iran’s Armenian community is quite ready to play their due role in prosperity of Iran, reports.  

On the occasion of Army day, a group of servicemen received high state awards and military distinction for their dedication, courage and outstanding service rendered in the course of their military duty. The award ceremony took place today at the Presidential Palace. The President of Armenia, Commander-in-Chief Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of Army Day and congratulated the awardees on receiving Motherland’s high awards and military ranks.

Congratulatory remarks by President Serzh Sargsyan on the occasion of Army Day

Dear Compatriots,
I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of Army Day.

This year, we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Armenia. It’s been a quarter of a century that we have a free and independent statehood. Throughout this time, we never doubted that our twenty-five year long journey would be possible without the Army which we created.

The Armed Forces of Armenia became the cornerstone which was laid in the foundation of our statehood. It was the dictate of the time and the region we live in. We knew all too well who we are and where we live. We are Armenians, and as one of the ancient nations of the Middle East and Western Asia, we had the millennia long experience.

Tragic events which are taking place today in the Middle East and in the areas which generally are very close to us, are painfully familiar to us and have been repeated regularly. We were the witnesses, contemporaries and chroniclers of similar events. They occurred right before our eyes in last centuries and during two millennia. Twenty-five years ago, when we assumed the responsibility for our own destiny, we were well aware that it was tantamount to entering a battlefield.

And we did. We entered the battlefield for the human and peoples’ rights, for freedom. We had already seen the smoke rising from the Armenian Church in Baku, and it was the last and most convincing sign for those who still had doubts. Later, in our days, the smoke rising from the burnt and blown up religious sites shuddered and astonished the world.

We shuddered in 1988, and the spontaneously formed self-defense units were our first steps in the struggle for survival. We also knew that the Fidayi movement would be doomed to failure, unless it became a regular army. The Armenian regular Army, our victorious Army, withstood the test of war because in those days Artsakh and Armenia, the entire Armenian nation became what a historian called the Askanazian nation, while the Holy Book calls it the Askanizian regiment, which represents the country, the nation and the armed forces.

Dear Soldiers and Officers of the Armenian Army, distinguished Veterans,

This glorious holiday is certainly a state and national holiday, but first of all it is your holiday. We trust in your dedication, in your professional skills, in your high combat spirit. We wish that from now no soldier is killed on the border. To you and our entire nation, I wish peace for our country’s freedom, for diligent work, which is a prerequisite for any progress.

Dear Awardees,

I congratulate you on the occasion of Army Day and on receiving Motherland’s high awards and distinctions.

It is thanks to you and your comrades-in-arms that the Armed Forces of Armenia are carrying out their mission, and fulfill the tasks set before them. You are doing it with honor and you are doing on a high professional level.

You are the worthy followers of those who in the fires of the heroic Artsakh war laid the foundation of our future Army. Many of them died, giving us life and freedom. Today, on this sacred day, we bow to their blessed memory. You are their worthy followers who are true to the behest of the martyrs and to the values they entrusted.

God bless the Armenian Land!
Long live the Armenian Nation and it warrior sons!

During an official ceremony on January 27, NASDAQ OMX Armenia marked the successful launch of the first securitized bond issuance in Armenia and announced the listing of these bonds at the stock exchange for the secondary market trade.  This landmark transaction was made possible through the joint efforts of USAID, Capital Investments, and universal credit organizations.  In attendance at the event were U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms Vache Gabrielyan, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Vakhtang Abrahamyan, CEO of NASDAQ OMX Armenia Konstantin Saroyan, CEO of Capital Investments Tigran Karapetyan, as well as representatives of international organizations and financial institutions.

“This event is important most of all because it will make more funds available for the development of rural areas – to help farmers expand production and entrepreneurs start businesses in rural villages – and for consumer loans. The first securitized bond issuance in Armenia is also an opportunity to support new financial products in Armenia.  This new type of financial product combines many development initiatives that we have pursued over the years – all focused on making more funds available in the credit system for the development of rural areas,” said Ambassador Mills.

While the microfinance industry is well established in Armenia, it cannot currently service micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) properly due to the lack of lending capital.  Microfinance institutions, such as universal credit organizations (UCOs), are not allowed to take deposits and this further limits their ability to extend credit to MSMEs. USAID, through its Finance for Economic Development (FED) project, worked with five UCOs – CARD AgroCredit, Garni Invest, Global Credit, Kamurj, and Nor Horizon – to help them issue bonds to attract lending capital.  USAID assisted with the design of the initial bonds through close coordination with the Central Bank of Armenia, UCOs, and USAID’s Development Credit Authority experts.

The bonds were issued by a newly established special purpose vehicle, the Loan Portfolio Securitization Fund I.  Managed by Capital Investments, the Fund was established in August 2015 with the purpose of securitizing the $2 million worth microfinance loans of the five participating UCOs.  The Securitization Fund is offering the bonds publically on NASDAQ OMX Armenia. To make this investment attractive and relatively risk-free for bondholders, a USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) guarantee was issued in late November 2015 to cover 50 percent of the bond’s principal.  Primary bondholders include pension asset managers and several banks, among other financial institutions.  The bondholders are collectively represented by a legal agent approved by USAID, as a guarantor for the transaction.

Arman Vardanyan, the CEO of pension fund manager, C-QUADRAT Ampega Asset Management Armenia, said: “We consider the launch of the asset-backed securities in Armenia as yet another step forward towards fostering the growth of capital markets. The continuity of such issuances is vital for building links between the real economy and the financial sector while providing additional investment opportunities for the long-term investors in the country.”

Will the failure of the anti-Armenian resolution at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe restrain Azerbaijan’s aggression? “No,” says Giro Manoyan, Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office.

“They have to divert attention from a growing number of problems inside the country,” Manoyan told reporters today. “Rejection of one anti-Armenian report and adoption of another one is like keeping the false balance,” he added.

According to Giro Manoyan, “one thing is clear, Armenia should make corrections in its foreign policy.” He suggests initiating new reports emphasizing Azerbaijan’s’ violence at the Armenian border, their actions against the peaceful population, the anti-Armenian statements of Azeri leaders.

Manoyan commended the latest statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs released before the discussion of the two reports. “We appreciate the interest paid by PACE members, but urge that steps not be taken which could undermine the Minsk Group’s mandate from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe or complicate ongoing negotiations,” the Co-Chairs had stated.

With a vote of 66 to 70 and 45 abstentions, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rejected the report on “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan.” The Assembly is currently debating amendments to a second report on the #Sarsang Reservoir and “deliberate deprivation of water” before a final vote.

The Assembly rejects the resolution on escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh – there are 66 votes for the text, 70 against, 45 abstain.

— PACE (@PACE_News)

On January 26, Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, received Nikolay Bordyuzha, Secretary-General of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the decisions of the session of CSTO Collective Security Council held in Moscow, the process of implementation of priorities of the Armenian chairmanship in the Organization.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Nikolay Bordyuzha presented to the Foreign Minister of Armenia the ongoing activity of the Organization, commended the extensive work undertaken by the Armenian chairmanship in the CSTO.

Edward Nalbandian and Nikolay Bordyuzha discussed issues on the agenda of Organization, touched upon preparatory works of the sessions of CSTO statutory bodies.

Visitors to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles can see for themselves what a legal battle that raged for five years was all about. Two brilliantly illuminated pages—part of a table of contents from the Zeyt’un Gospels, a Medieval Armenian bible—are on show as part of the exhibition Traversing the Globe Through Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts (until 26 June), reports.

The Getty bought eight of these contents pages, known as a canon table, for $950,000 from an Armenian-American family in 1994. But their proper ownership has been in question since 2010, when a US branch of the Armenian Apostolic Church brought a lawsuit against the Getty, maintaining that the pages had been looted during the Armenian genocide of the First World War.

The lawsuit was finally settled last year, when the Getty acknowledged the church as the rightful owner and agreed to pay undisclosed lawyers’ fees. The church agreed to donate the pages to the museum.

The pages are by the 13th-century Armenian master Toros Roslin, who worked in tempera and gold paint on parchment. A page on show at the Getty for the first time in more than a decade reveals how he blends natural forms such as twisting pomegranate trees and roosters with architecture, using a brilliant palette of green, gold, red and blue.