Category: News

Pedro Agramunt, a Spanish lawmaker and the chairman of the European People’s Party at the Council of Europe (EPP-CD) Group, will replace Luxembourgian lawmaker Anne Brasseur as the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is elected for one year by majority of votes and can be reelected once.

Last year he was the rapporteur on the functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s human rights organizations accuse him of bias.

He is also listed among those involved in “caviar diplomacy.”

Reported from Strasbourg by Aghavni Harutyunyan

Valery Permyakov, a soldier at a Russian base in the Armenian town of Gyumri, pleaded guilty to killing seven members of a family, RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

The family, including a six-month-old baby, was killed as a result of an armed assault on January 12, 2015.

Permyakov was arrested and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code.

On August 12, Permyakov was found guilty of desertion, theft of weapons and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The murder case was singled out for considering it in a separate procedure and passed to the Armenian authorities.

On October 13, Permyakov was found sane. According to experts, he was not in the heat of passion while committing the crime. He also could recognize the consequences of his actions.

On October 16, Permyakov was additionally charged with armed assault, home-invasion robbery and attempted border crossing.

The Delegation of the European Union issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Members States Heads of Mission in Armenia.

The EU is committed to supporting reforms in Armenia, in particular in the area of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and rule of law. Good governance and human rights protection are essential for the future of Armenia and increased public trust in the political and judiciary system.

The institution of Ombudsman is crucial for promoting and monitoring the effective implementation of international human rights standards at the national level and in advancing all aspects of the rule of law, including with respect to the judiciary, law enforcement agencies and the correctional system.

The high importance attached by the EU to the institution of the Ombudsman is confirmed also by the recently signed human rights budget support programme (2016–2018) for Armenia with value €12 million.  This is designed to support Armenia in tackling key issues related to anti-discrimination, child rights, prevention of torture, fight against domestic violence and enhancing electoral legislation. The programme was designed to contribute also to the strengthening of the Ombudsman´s office capacity in monitoring human rights education and providing recommendations, addressing concerns of minorities, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups as well as cooperation with state institutions. The programme aims at enhancing coordination and cooperation among relevant stakeholders and its implementation will be monitored by a steering committee co-chaired by the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ombudsman, Head of EU Delegation, and with the inclusion of civil society representatives to ensure a structured dialogue.

We learned with regret that Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has resigned and we commend him for his excellent work. It is of the utmost importance to ensure a proper selection of and to safeguard the full and unconditional independence of his successor. Therefore, the EU trusts that the next Armenian Ombudsman will be appointed by the National Assembly in a consensual manner and will be able to preserve the independence of this important institution. A more efficient follow-up by state bodies of the Ombudsman´s recommendations will certainly contribute to better human rights protection in Armenia.

Photo: Getty Images

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is in a much better place at Borussia Dortmund than he was a year ago. He reflects on his season and his relationship with Thomas Tuchel with .

DW: You were, at that time, the most expensive new player for Dortmund, and still are, but things on the pitch just didn’t go as you wanted, did they?

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: As well as being me, it was also the team’s game which wasn’t working very well. Everyone was trying but in the end we couldn’t win or score enough goals to win. After the first half of the season, we were in the bottom places, which was horrible for us. Then in the second half of the season we started to play better, we had a little bit of luck and in the end we qualified for the Europe League. This year I can say that the first half of the season is good enough because we’re still in the German Cup, we’re the second in Bundesliga and in the Europe League we have to fight with Porto. We’re going to try and do everything for this to continue at the highest level, to also be ready for next season.

And this is because the performance of the whole team is better. But this is also because you play much better…

Yeah, of course I am really excited that I can score a lot, I can assist a lot and play good, but I’m also very excited because of the team game. This year we’re playing amazing football, everybody has started to like our football style. And I think they will continue to like this. So in the near future it will be really very good for us.

In the first couple of games you scored and assisted more goals than in the whole last season. So there is also a dramatic change – a positive change – in your play. How did you yourself experience this development?

At first, if we compare: Last year, I didn’t do too much. It was five or six goals in the whole season and seven assists. This season, the first few games were really very important for me because I got confidence in scoring and assisting. So now we have to continue like that. I have to continue like that because I’m optimistic and I’m going to do everything to do the best that I can.

At the end of last season you had even thought about leaving the club. But then Thomas Tuchel came and there was also this so-called “famous phone-call” from him. Is it right that he called you even before the training session started and asked you to stay?

I met him for the first time in March and he convinced me to stay. I wanted to stay also, because I had some things to prove to the people, to show that I deserve to be here. That’s why I am trying to stay this year also, to show all my qualities in helping the team to win a lot of games.

And Mr. Tuchel obviously knew that you could do better. We also talked to him and whenever he mentioned your name, he became very enthusiastic, saying the nicest things about you. There must also be something special between the two of you, right?

Yeah, of course we have a good connection and I’m very happy that I have the chance to work with him. Because really, from the first talk we had he told me that “Miki, I can bring you to a level of high-class.” And yeah, at one point I doubted it because I was not really confident that after a bad season he could make me a high-class player. But he did it and I’m thankful to him.

So what does he do?

He just gives you the confidence you need and he lets you to do what you can do. And that’s the whole reason that all the team’s players are all shining this year.

Because he gets to you, he talks to you…

Not only to me! He talks to all the players and he gets into the right conversation with them. He gives a lot of advice. He can tell you where you’re right, where you’re wrong and then you start to think about it all and at the end you realize that he was really right.

Will he be able to convince you to stay longer?

I hope so. If he did the first step, why not the second?

Because there are more rumors that you could leave the club…

Nah… They’re rumors, just rumors. That’s right.

So let’s end with a look ahead. If you look at the second half of the season, where do you see Dortmund? What do you expect?

I want to see us in the highest places because, really, with this kind of football we deserve to be at a minimum, in second place. So we’re going to fight to qualify for the Champions League for next year, then to go again to Berlin for the German Cup Final and in the Europe League, to go as far as possible.

– You can’t become a knowledge economy by going after your brightest minds.

So says Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, speaking after Turkey’s highest education authority last week announced an investigation into more than 1,100 academics. They had signed a petition calling on the government to redouble efforts for peace in the southeast, where for months the military has been fighting an insurgency in largely Kurdish cities.

The petition was signed by international academics, including Noam Chomsky of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Judith Butler of the University of California, Berkeley, and faculty members at Turkey’s top universities. By the end of the week, professors in Turkey were subject to police raids, several had lost their jobs and at least a dozen were detained, according to press reports.

That pressure will have a “chilling effect,” according to Stiglitz, who said he intended to raise the issue when meeting Turkish officials at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Asbarez – The Armenian Bar Association’s 17 member Board of Governors has passed a resolution stating that an official policy of the organization is to help secure international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh Republic) as an independent, sovereign state under international law.

To emphasize the Armenian Bar Association’s commitment to secure under international law the right of self-determination of the citizens of the Artsakh Republic, the Board passed a further resolution which for the first time in its twenty-six year history, amended its mission statement to read as follows:

“A fundamental organizational purpose of the Armenian Bar Association is a commitment to take any and all steps permitted under international law to secure the recognition of the independence of the Artsakh Republic and to protect the right to self-determination of the people of the Artsakh Republic as guaranteed under international law.”

The resolutions were initially proposed by Chairman Ex-officio Armen K. Hovanissian, Vice-Chair Saro K. Kerkonian, Co-Chairs of the Armenian Rights Watch Committee Garo B. Ghazarian and Karnig Kerkonian and past Chairman and long-standing Board of Governors member Edvin E. Minassian.

On the occasion of the passage of the historic resolution, Armenian Bar Association chairman, Harry H. Dikranian, of Montreal, Canada, stated that “Every day, with the utmost courage and determination, Armenian men and women are putting their lives on the line to defend their right, guaranteed under international law, to exercise their self-determination. Today, the members of the Armenian Bar Association vow to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers and sisters in Artsakh and offer their legal expertise to assist them in their just quest to seek international recognition of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Artsakh Republic. We encourage all Armenian organizations world-wide to join in this effort.”

The Armenian Bar Association is the largest organization of Armenian attorneys, judges, law professors and other legal professionals in the diaspora. Founded by Raffi Hovannisian in 1989, for the past 26 years, through the work of its various committees, the Association has sought to promote the development of the rule of law in Armenia, defend the rights of Armenians anywhere through its Armenian Rights Watch Committee and provided free legal assistance to Armenian communities through the work of the Pro Bono Committee.

The Head of the Armenian Mission to the OSCE, Ambassador Arman Kirakosyan referred to the 9th anniversary of assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink as he addressed the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on January 21.

Ambassador Kirakosyan said he shares the expectations of OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović that the masterminds behind the murder will be brought to justice, which will demonstrate to the entire society the importance of freedom of expression.

He noted that “Armenia is consistent in its support for the freedom of the media and the security of human rights advocates.” “The persecution of journalists, community heads and human rights defenders in Turkey, the inability to react to the violence and assassinations create an atmosphere of impunity, thus encouraging intolerance against any idea contradicting the country’s official position,” the Ambassador added.

The Ambassador hailed the fact that a huge sector of the Turkish society went to the streets to commemorate the 9^th anniversary of Hrant Dink’s death, urging punishment for all masterminds behind the murder.

Arman Kirakosyan also urged the Turkish authorities to properly address those calls.

Photo: Getty Images

US pop star Mariah Carey and Australian billionaire James Packer are engaged to be married, the reports..

The couple went public with their relationship last June after they were seen on holiday together in Italy.

Mr Packer, 47, is Australia’s fourth-richest person, according to Forbes, with a fortune estimated to exceed A$4.7bn.

Mariah Carey, 45, released her first album in 1990 and is one of the biggest selling artists of all time.

Mr Packer, who inherited an Australian media empire from his father Kerry Packer, and now operates casinos, split from his second wife model and singer Erica Baxter in 2013.

Ms Carey announced her break-up from “America’s Got Talent” host Nick Cannon in 2014.

The newly appointed Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to Armenia Jashim Uddin (residence in Athens) presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan, President’s Press Office reports.

The President congratulated the Ambassador on his nomination and wished him success in carrying out his diplomatic mission in our country. He noted that because he is the first Ambassador of Bangladesh in our country, his mission is even more important and full of responsibility. The new Ambassador is called upon to create a strong basis for the continuous development of the bilateral interstate relations and to strengthen friendly relations between the two peoples. With regard to the development of bilateral cooperation, the President of Armenian stressed the importance of creating a legal base.

Noting that the Armenian-Bangladeshi relations date back to the 17th century, and that in the Armenian quarter of Dhaka – Armanitola, there still stands the Armenian Saint Harutyun Church, the interlocutors concurred that, unfortunately, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, there has not been done much to develop the interstate relations and establish cooperation in different areas.

According to the parties, the appointment of ambassador to Armenia and Armenia’s readiness based on the principle of reciprocity to appoint ambassador to Bangladesh, testify to the two countries’ political will and determination to develop relations between the two states.

At the meeting stressed was also the importance of strengthening the Armenian-Bangladeshi cooperation in the framework of international structures.