Author: Chaltikian Arsine

OSCE REVEALS SHORTCOMINGS IN ARMENIA’S JUSTICE SYSTEM

ArmInfo
2010-03-09 08:48:00

ArmInfo. The conduct of the trials that took place in the aftermath of
the March 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan reveals shortcomings
in Armenia’s justice system, concludes a report published on March 8 by
the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

As OSCE official site reports, the 114-page report, based on
the monitoring of 93 criminal cases during a 16-month period,
offers detailed recommendations on how to address the identified
shortcomings. "The trials took place amid high tensions, which made
the work of courts extraordinarily difficult and at the same time
raised the bar for their professional performance to the highest
levels. We hope that this report can give new impetus to the ongoing
efforts by the Armenian authorities to reform the country’s justice
system in line with international standards and OSCE commitments",
Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, ODIHR’s director said.

The report’s recommendations include limiting the use of pre-trial
detention and upholding the presumption of innocence. It also
recommends measures to ensure equality between prosecution and defence
in court and comprehensive investigations into all allegations of
torture or other ill-treatment in order to eliminate the use of
evidence obtained through illegal means.

"The OSCE stands ready to assist the authorities in further advancing
justice reform in Armenia. We are encouraged by the open attitude we
have encountered during the trial monitoring project and value the
authorities’ input in the process of preparing the final report. It
appears that some steps are already being taken to address the
identified shortcomings", Lenarcic said.

TURKISH-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION REACTS TO US TV’S BROADCAST ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
08.03.2010 17:24

The senior official of a Turkish-American association said on Sunday
that leading US TV channel CNN should be protested for its recent
broadcast on the incidents of 1915.

CNN, which broadcasted a program titled "Scream Bloody Murder"
in December 2008, has recently re-run the production which assesses
incidents such as the Holocaust, deceased Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s
chemical attack against Iraqi Kurds, as well as the incidents that
had taken place in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfour.

The program, presented by US journalist Christian Amanpour, briefly
points to the incidents of 1915 as well, and tells that "Christian
Armenian citizens were killed and forced to migrate, and consequently,
1 million Armenian people died at the time."

Releasing a statement on CNN’s program, Ali Cınar, vice president
of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), said that
the timing of the broadcast was significant, and called on everybody
to protest the TV channel immediately.

Noting that CNN’s broadcast would harm Turkish-US relations, Cınar
said associating the incidents of 1915 with the Holocaust and with
what had happened in Cambodia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfour was a "major
ignorance."

Cınar also said that the Turkish-American community would continue
to react against the unilateral stance displayed by the US media on
such matter.

THE 8TH OF MARCH IS A FEAST ALSO FOR THE FLOWER SELLERS

Aysor
March 8 2010
Armenia

On the 8th of March the man hurry to buy flowers for their women and
it’s good for the flower sellers too, as they try to get bigger profit
in a day.

Aysor.am turned around the city today to check the prices of the
flowers. One rose costs 550 AMD, a bouquet of narcissi is 1150 AMD.

There are young flower sellers on the streets full of violets, and
if on the other days those little bouquets cost 250 AMD today they
cost 600.

As for bigger flower bouquets the shred of 5 roses costs 5500 drams,
only today and a month later, on April 7, and it was the cheapest
price we saw on our way today.

JURIST
University of Pittsburg, School of Law
March 7 2010

Obama administration seeks to block House vote on Armenian genocide resolution
Jonathan Cohen at 3:02 PM ET

[JURIST] A spokesperson for the US State Department [official website]
said Friday that the Obama administration opposes [daily press
briefing] a vote before the full House of Representatives on a
resolution [H Res 252 text] branding the World War I-era killings of
Armenians by Turkish forces as genocide [JURIST news archive].
Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley said, "that any further
congressional action will impede the normalization process between
Turkey and Armenia." Even though Turkey has recalled its ambassador to
the US, Crowley said that the State Department believes:

that the best way for Turkey and Armenia to address their shared past
is through their ongoing effort to normalize relations. We have been
in contact with Turkish and Armenian officials at the highest levels
to urge timely ratification of the protocols, and we look forward to
continuing dialogue with them.

Crowley noted that the State Department doesn’t "think any further
congressional action is appropriate."

The US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs [official
website] passed the resolution [JURIST report] Thursday by a vote of
23-22, even after Obama administration officials had urged the
committee not to hold the vote [NYT report], fearing that such a
resolution could damage relations with Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Teyyip Erdogan [official website, in Turkish] condemned the
resolution [press release, in Turkish], and the Turkish government
pulled its ambassador to the US. A similar resolution was passed by
the committee in 2007, but it never reached the House floor [JURIST
reports].

rchase/2010/03/obama-administration-seeks-to-block .php

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 5 2010

Turkish Armenians oppose adoption of resolution on so-called Armenian genocide
05.03.2010 15:04

Turkish Armenians are protesting the adoption of a resolution
recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide by the U.S. House of
Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, CNN Turk reported.

Zadik Toker, head of the Armenian Church of the Turkish province of
Kastamonu, opposed this decision.

Turkish Armenians staged a protest against the decision of the
committee in the Turkish cities of Kayseri and Kastamonu.

U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted Thursday a resolution
recognizing the so-called genocide with 23 votes to 22.

Armenia claims that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Making greater efforts to
promote the issue internationally, Armenians have achieved its
recognition by parliaments of some countries.

The Turkish government has expressed dissatisfaction with the decision
of the U.S. Congress committee and said that it was a blow to
Turkish-American relations.

The intervention of a third party, in this case the United States, in
the relations between Armenia and Turkey complicates the process of
reconciliation between the countries, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said.

The adoption of a resolution recognizing the genocide indicates that
the U.S. Congress is very weak in developing a future political
strategy, the Turkish minister said.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed his regret after the U.S.
House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs approved the
resolution on the genocide.

Regarding approval of the resolution, Gul said that "this decision is
not reasonable. I strongly condemn it. It does not mean anything for
Turkish people. Turkey will not be responsible for the negative
outcomes of this voting."

A similar resolution was adopted in 2007 but as a result of former
President George W. Bush’s intervention, the resolution was not
brought for further discussion, Anadolu reported.

Edward Sharmazanov: I have never dreamed and will not dream about the
post of the president’s press-secretary

2010-03-06 12:28:00

ArmInfo. Secretary of the RPA parliamentary faction, press-secretary
of RPA Edward Sharmazonov disproved the information that he pretends
on the post of Armenian president’s spokesman.

As Sharmazanov told ArmInfo correspondent that together with his team
he is going to implement serious programmes in the legislative body of
Armenia, and he is not going to leave the parliament. ‘I would like to
tell those who are behind such publications that I have never dreamed
and I will not dream about the post of press-secretary of the Armenian
president. I implement my duties in the parliament with pleasure’, –
he said.

To recall, yesterday the information appeared in the press that
President Serzh Sargsyan is watching an opportunity of transferring
his press-secretary Samvel Farmanyan to Public TV and Radio Company.
Sahrmazanov was mentioned among the pretenders to the post of the
president’s press-secretary.

MONITORING OF CONTACT LINE

7024.html
12:42:11 – 03/03/2010

On March 3, in accordance with the earlier achieved agreement with the
NKR authorities the OSCE mission conducted Á regular monitoring of the
line of contact of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijani Armed Forces in
the northern direction of Talish settlement of Martakert region, NKR.

>From the positions of the NKR Defense Army the monitoring was
conducted by Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Irji Aberle( the Czech Republic) and Zhaslan
Nurtazin(Kazakhstan).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the planned schedule. No
violation of cease-fire regime was registered.

The monitoring mission from the Karabakhi side was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs.

TURKISH FM FOCUSES ON ARMENIAN PROTOCOLS IN RESPONSE TO ‘GENOCIDE’ VOTE

Hurriyet
March 5 2010
Turkey

Turkey’s foreign minister on Friday demanded a clear stance from the
United States on the Turkish-Armenian normalization process after a
congressional panel approved an Armenian "genocide" resolution.

"We don’t want to go through this crisis every spring," Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a press conference Friday.

"That is why we introduced the normalization of the relationship
with Armenia. We thought that this would begin to settle things,
and we really did not expect this kind of backlash."

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
passed a resolution calling for the U.S. administration’s official
recognition of the killings of Armenians in 1915 during the Ottoman
Empire as genocide.

"It made Turkey uncomfortable that the U.S. administration did not
show its strength in this regard," Davutoglu said. "We’re expecting
them to increase their efforts hereafter."

"We will not be pressured by these decisions," he added

"It is not for other parliaments to judge our history. Turkey is
capable of dealing with these issues alone. It is a matter of national
honor," he said.

Davutoglu said Turkey’s aim was to improve relations with Armenia,
and normalize the relationships between Turks and Armenians. He asked
for support to create a stable Caucasus region and a long-term vision
for peace.

"I know Obama has a vision of peace," he said. "We also expect Obama
not to perpetuate or exaggerate this crisis in April."

Obama is expected to make a speech to the American Armenian community
on April 24. On that date last year, Obama effectively avoided the
confrontation by replacing the term "genocide" with the Armenian word
for great tragedy.

"The question to America is simple: ‘Do you or do you not support the
peace process between Turkey and Armenia?’" Davutoglu asked. "Because
if you don’t then come out and say so we can align our policy
accordingly."

PETROL PRICE WENT UP

04 :08 pm | March 03, 2010

Social

Petrol price went up today morning in Armenia by 10 drams (3 percent).

After 10 a.m. the price of Regular petrol became 370 AMD and that of
Premium 390 AMD against former 360 and 380 AMD.

Employees of filling stations offered different reasons for the
advance in prices. Some said the increase of prices was ordered by
the central office others argued that the new prices are dictated by
the international market and gas price increase.

According to the National Statistical Service, compared with the same
period of 2009, the prices of petrol and diesel have hooked up by 44,2%
and 29, 8% respectively.

"INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS" PUBLISHES REPORT ON MEDIA VIOLENCE IN ARMENIA
Natasha Harutyunyan

2 010/03/03 | 15:24

media

A press conference was called today to announce the publication of
an extensive report entitled,"Violence, intimidation and legal cases
against journalists and the media in Armenia 2010â~@³.

The report, published by the Investigative Journalists, NGO, with
OSCE assistance, highlights acts of violence and legal intimidation,
directed at journalist and reporters in Armenia over the past two
years. Participating at the report launch were Karel Hofstran , OSCE
Deputy Director in Armenia and Liana Sayadyan, Deputy Editor of "Hetq".

Karel Hofstran noted the importance of the report’s subject, both
for Armenia and worldwide, and stated that principles guaranteeing
the freedom of the press have constantly been validated by various
international conventions.

The report is a compilation of articles already published in the pages
of Hetq and that most of the assaults against journalists featured
remain unresolved. The OSCE official said that the organization would
continue to assist "Hetq" for the vital contribution it renders to
the Armenian public.

Criminal cases initiated by the courts regarding attacks on
journalists are also analyzed from a legal viewpoint, based on Armenian
constitutional law and international legal norms.

"Hetq" Deputy Editor Liana Sayadyan said that during the past two
years there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of assaults
and other acts of intolerance against reporters worldwide. She stated
that 76 reporters have been killed during the past two years and that
in the first two months of 2010, four reporters have been murdered
and 190 arrested.

"There has been a parallel rise in violence and intimidation directed
against reporters in Armenia as well. During the past two decades, one
sees a clear tendency to silence the voice of journalist, especially
during politically active years. There has been no visible political
will on the part of Armenian law enforcement to expose those who plan
and commit such violence," Liana Sayadyan said