Author: Eduard Nalbandian

On 3 November Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan convoked a meeting of the Security Council. Issues related to army building were on the agenda of the meeting.

Defense minister Levon Mnatsakanyan delivered a corresponding report.

The President gave a range of instructions for proper realization of the discussed issues, underlining that army building and consistent improvement of the Defense Army’s fighting capacity would remain among our key priorities.

Photo: REUTERS/Nicolas Asfonri

 

– Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is being treated for a cold, his office said on Tuesday, prompting speculation that the illness was diplomatic.

The announcement was unusual because the presidential office rarely provides any comments on the state of the 76-year-old leader’s health, which is a state secret under Kazakh law.

But some, including Kazakh political analyst Aidos Sarym, say it was most likely an excuse to avoid visiting Armenia where the office of President Serzh Sarksyan had said earlier on Tuesday it expected Nazarbayev to visit on Oct. 13.

Armenia will host a top-level meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) on Oct. 14.

But Astana’s ties with Yerevan have been strained since April, when during the renewed military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan insisted on holding a meeting of another regional body, the Eurasian Economic Union, outside of Armenia which was due to host it.

Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim nations. Azerbaijan also tranships a significant share of Kazakh oil exports.

Still, Nazarbayev’s genuine health is a matter of concern for many, including energy majors who have invested billions of dollars in the country.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, visited one of the military units of the NKR Defense Army to meet with the commanders and soldiers.

The Catholicos was welcomed by NKR Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan.

“We have come to express our appreciation and love to you, and bring our tribute for your feats we witnessed during the April war. We saw how you rebuffed the attack of the Azeri troops and drove them sway from our borders. We bring our tribute to the brave soldiers –the hero sons of our nation, who defended our Motherland at the cost of their lives,” His Holiness Karekin II said at the meeting.

Noting that the protection of the Motherland is a sacred mission for every son of the nation, His Holiness stressed the importance to the power of faith.

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party was on July 14 ordered to pay PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan compensation for calling him a “sham dictator,”  the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

An Ankara civil court ruled Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), should pay 50,000 Turkish liras ($17,200) on charges of  insulting the president.

Kılıçdaroglu made the remarks at the party’s 35th Ordinary Convention on Jan. 16 and in a parliamentary group meeting on Jan. 19. His lawyer denied the allegation.

Erdoğan’s lawyer argued that Kılıcdaroglu’s comment constituted “extraordinarily weighty insults” with the intention of attacking his client’s image.

According to the Turkish Penal Code’s Article 299, it is also a criminal offense to insult the president. The offense carries a jail sentence of between one and four years.

The CHP is the biggest opposition party in Turkey, with 133 seats in the 550-member Turkish parliament. Kilicdaroglu has led the party since May 2010.

Legal successors of a family killed in the Armenian city of Gyumri in 2015 have lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Russia, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly’s Vanadzor office informs.

The family, including a six-month-old baby, was killed as a result of an armed assault on January 12, 2015. Valery Permyakov, a soldier at a Russian base in the Armenian town of Gyumri, 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.

He has pleaded guilty to killing seven members of the family.

In late June, a court in Armenia dismissed a lawsuit filed by the killed family successors seeking €450,000 in compensation from Russia for moral harm.

In the application filed with the ECHR the successors alleged that their rights had been violated under Article 2 (Right to life) and Article 13 (Right to effective remedy) of the European Convention of Human Rights.

They claim that Russia has not fulfilled its obligation for prevention of obvious threat to the victims’ lives, allegedly knowing that Permyakov could not be conscripted into the army and had no right to use weapon. They also insist in the complaint that Russia has not informed Armenian law enforcement officers about Permyakov’s desertion in time.

The fact that the successors of the murdered family have not received access to investigation conducted by Russian authorities is mentioned among procedural faults.  Thus, the applicants blew their chances for enforcement of their rights in the case including the right to file motions, challenge investigators’ decisions and others.

 

 

 

“The only fact that meetings are taking place and dialogue aimed at implementation of confidence-building measures is under way is a positive sign by itself,” French Ambassador to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier told reporters in Yerevan.

“Without dialogue there can be no political solution,” the Ambassador said, adding that dialogue is a chance to get acquainted with each other’s positions.

Ambassador Charpentier hailed the commitment of the parties to continue the periodic meetings and pledged France’s willingness to support the process.

Speaking about the Armenian-French relations, the Ambassador said those have always been on a high level. He said the activity of the French Embassy in Armenia is based on three pillars, the most important of which is the development of economic relations.

“It’s important to intensify the economic ties. The €50 mln commodity turnover is too little for the two countries, and does not correspond to the level of the French-Armenian political and cultural relations,” the Ambassador added.

According to Mr. Charpentier, another important direction is the promotion of social dialogue and any cooperation targeted the protection of human rights.

Italy are through to the last 16 of the European Championship finals after Eder struck late on to beat Sweden, the BBC reports.

The game looked to be heading towards a dull goalless draw before Eder raced onto Zaza’s knockdown to drive home from the edge of the box.

Sweden failed to produce a shot on goal for the second successive game, with captain and star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic kept quiet throughout.

Italy are top of Group E with six points while Sweden are third on one.

Turkey would have to suspend its agreement with the European Union to stem the flow of migrants into the bloc if there is no deal to grant visa-free travel to Turks, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told state broadcaster TRT Haber on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

In a live televised interview, Cavusoglu said the German government must make clear its stance is not in line with a German parliament resolution declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a genocide.

Former high-ranking FIFA officials Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Markus Kattner awarded themselves pay rises and bonuses worth $80m (£55m) over five years, say Fifa lawyers, the reports.

Football’s governing body revealed the contracts of ex-president Blatter, fired ex-secretary general Valcke and sacked former finance director Kattner one day after a Swiss police raid.

Documents and electronic data were seized during Thursday’s operation, which relates to investigations into Blatter and Valcke.

Photo: MOLA

 

Roman tablets discovered during an excavation in London include the oldest hand-written document ever found in Britain, archaeologists have revealed, the reports.

The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) said it had deciphered a document, from 8 January AD 57, found at the dig at Bloomberg’s new headquarters.

The first ever reference to London, financial documents and evidence of schooling have also been translated.

Over 700 artefacts from the dig will go on display when the building opens.

According to MOLA, the tablets reveal the first years of the capital “in the words of the people who lived, worked, traded with and administered the new city”.

Director Sophie Jackson said the findings had “far exceeded all expectations” and would allow archaeologists “to get closer to the first Roman Britons”.

Researchers believe this tablet, is the earliest ever reference to London predating Tacitus’ mention of London in his Annals which were produced about 50 years later.

Dated AD 65/70-80, it reads “Londinio Mogontio” which translates to “‘In London, to Mogontius”