Author: Mike Maghakian

Caroline Cox: Genocide of Armenians in Baku, Sumgait and Artsakh must be recognized

Mike Maghakian
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 6 2020


On Wednesday 5 February 2020, MEP Costas Mavrides (S&D Group, Cyprus) hosted a conference with the title “The forgotten refugees: What Happened to the Armenians of Baku?” in the European Parliament. The conference was co-organized by the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) and the Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union.

The keynote speakers were the British humanitarian, Life Peer and former deputy speaker of the House of Lords the Baroness Caroline Cox and eye-witnesses Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, an American-Armenian author and human rights advocate as well as David Babaev, a lecturer at “Université Libre de Bruxelles”. The latter are both survivors of the Baku pogroms.

Members of the European Parliament, EP advisers, students, representatives of the civil society and missions of various EU member states as well as Belgian citizens who are survivors of Baku pogroms, were present.   

In his opening remark, the EAFJD President Kaspar Karampetian welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of the anti-Armenian pogroms, in particular in the premises of the house of European democracy. “In its resolutions of 1990 the European Parliament unequivocally condemned the pogroms perpetrated against the Armenians by the Azerbaijani authorities, namely in Sumgait, Kirovabad and Baku,” stated Karampetian.

MEP Costas Mavrides announced that he had decided to host the event, among other reasons, because of his own experience as a child who had to flee for his life after the Turkish invasion in Northern Cyprus in 1974. He emphasized: “Remembrance is not about revenge but forgetting is unforgivable because it would lead us to the same crimes”.

His Excellency the Ambassador of Armenia Tatoul Markarian reminded that the anti-Armenian massacres in Azerbaijan were the first mass killings and ethnic cleansings in the post-Cold War Europe.

During their testimonies, Ms. Astvatsaturian Turcotte and Mr. Babaev shared their personal stories and what they witnessed as refugees fleeing Baku. “We spent months hiding in our apartment, hoping that the violence against Armenians would end. But it never ended. We left everything behind and fled. We barely escaped but we survived. Many of our neighbors and family friends were not so lucky”, said Astvatsaturian Turcotte.

Babaev underlined that the killings and pogroms in Sumgait and Baku had not come from nowhere and the ground was already fertile. He noted: “These atrocities: violence, intimidation, rape, murder and burning people alive should not stay unpunished.”

The Baroness Caroline Cox pointed out that the genocide of Armenians continued in Baku, Sumgait and Nagorno Karabakh-Artsakh and needs to be recognized so that it does not continue with impunity.

The guest speakers stressed that the Azerbaijani authorities still systematically incite and perpetuate Armenophobia as a state policy in Azerbaijan, a policy witnessed by the victims of Baku pogroms. They concluded by acknowledging the important role of the European Union as a soft power promoting dialog, peace and human rights.

The speeches were followed by a lively question and answer session, where the guest-speakers addressed the questions asked among others by Azerbaijani participants.

 

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/05/2020

Mike Maghakian 
                                        Wednesday, 

Tycoon Rebuked Over ‘Threat’

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia -- The national police headquarters in Yerevan, February 4, 2020.

A deputy chief of the Armenian police on Wednesday criticized a wealthy 
businessman close to the country’s former leadership for an angry statement 
which he made after being briefly detained in Yerevan on Tuesday.

The controversial businessman and former parliamentarian, Ruben Hayrapetian, 
spent nearly three hours in police custody and was set free without charge. The 
police said he was detained on suspicion of illegal arms possession.

Hayrapetian, who claims to own firearms legally, laughed off this explanation 
after his release. He said the police action was part of government attempts to 
intimidate him.

Speaking to journalists outside the national police headquarters, he also said: 
“One day I will make them lie on the ground and wipe my feet on them.”

The remark prompted strong condemnations from political allies of Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian. Andranik Kocharian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian 
parliament committee on defense and security, described it as a “blow” to the 
police and the government.

“I don’t remember anyone daring to make such a statement under police walls 
before,” Kocharian told reporters. He said that the police should have taken 
strong action in response to what he called a threat voiced by Hayrapetian.

But Vartan Movsisian, a deputy chief of the national police, reacted more 
cautiously to the controversial remark.

“I cannot evaluate at this point whether or not it was a threat,” said 
Movsisian. “It may have been a mere emotional outburst. But such statements are 
certainly not welcome regardless of who makes them.”

Movsisian also defended Hayrapetian’s detention, saying that the police did not 
break any laws.

Citing similar “suspicions,” the police also detained several anti-government 
activists last week. The latter denounced the police actions as politically 
motivated.




Authorities Move To Replace High Court Judges Through Constitutional Changes

        • Gayane Saribekian

Armenia -- Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian (C) reads out a ruling 
on an appeal lodged by former President Robert Kocharian, Yerevan, September 4, 
2019.

In a move denounced by the Armenian opposition, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
My Step bloc has drafted constitutional changes that would dismiss seven of the 
nine members of Armenia’s Constitutional Court locked in a bitter dispute with 
the government.

The amendments were unveiled on Wednesday one day before an emergency session of 
the Armenian parliament which will discuss a separate My Step bill limiting the 
court’s powers.

They call for the replacement of the court’s embattled chairman, Hrayr 
Tovmasian, and six other judges who were installed by the former Armenian 
governments.

An explanatory note released by 37 co-sponsors of the proposed changes argues 
that they are not covered by the 2015 constitutional changes envisaging shorter 
tenures for new members of the country’s highest court. It also claims that the 
court lacks “democratic legitimacy.”

“The three branches of government in Armenia were usurped by the former 
authorities: [former Presidents] Serzh Sarkisian and Robert Kocharian and their 
satellites,” said deputy parliament speaker Alen Simonian.

“The people of Armenia liberated the government and the National Assembly from 
their claws and they are now going to liberate the judicial system as well,” he 
added, referring to the 2018 “Velvet Revolution” that toppled Sarkisian and 
brought Pashinian to power.

Representatives of the two parliamentary opposition parties rejected the 
proposed changes and questioned their legality, however.

“This path chosen by the authorities carries a great danger for the rule of law 
in Armenia,” Edmon Marukian, the leader of the Bright Armenia Party (LHK), told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “It could set a bad precedent for any future 
government to oust judges and handpick new ones in the same way.”

Marukian also warned that the authorities risk putting Armenia at odds with the 
Council of Europe. “If they want to get Armenia in serious trouble and relegate 
us to the level of Azerbaijan, which is criticized for similar problems, then it 
means they … do not realize what dangers this decision is fraught with,” he said.

Tovmasian has faced in recent months growing government pressure to resign, with 
the ruling political team accusing him of maintaining ties to the “corrupt 
former regime” and impeding judicial reforms. Prosecutors charged him in late 
December with abusing his powers when serving as justice minister from 2010-2014.

The Constitutional Court chairman rejects the accusations as politically 
motivated. He said last week that he has no intention to resign.

Earlier in December, the parliament passed a government bill offering Tovmasian 
and the six other Constitutional Court judges financial incentives to retire 
before the end of their mandate. None of them has accepted the offer so far.

In a statement released on Monday, the president of the Council of Europe’s 
Venice Commission, Gianni Buquicchio, warned against “any undue political or 
personal pressure on the judges concerned.”

Speaking to reporters later in the day, Marukian said that the authorities are 
planning to hold a referendum on the draft amendments to the constitution. He 
deplored their unwillingness to have the Venice Commission examine the 
amendments before such a vote.

The parliament may debate the amendments as early as on Thursday. The official 
agenda of its extraordinary session, approved by the parliament leadership after 
repeated delays on Wednesday evening, includes a package of other legal 
amendments also drafted by the ruling bloc. They would allow the 132-member 
National Assembly, in which My Step holds 88 seats, to bypass the Constitutional 
Court to amend the constitution.

Under existing Armenian laws, the high court has to examine and validate any 
constitutional changes before they can be put on a referendum or be passed by 
the National Assembly.




Senior Armenian Official Held For Bribery

        • Robert Zargarian

Armenia -- Vahagn Vermishian, head of the Urban Development Committee, speaks at 
a news conference in Yerevan, July 1, 2019.

The head of the Armenian government’s Urban Development Committee, Vahagn 
Vermishian, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly taking bribes from real 
estate developers.

The National Security Service (NSS) arrested Vermishian as well as two other 
individuals hours after searching his office. NSS officers confiscated a 
computer and documents kept there.

In an ensuing statement, the NSS said Vermishian has admitted receiving five 
bribes, worth between 1 million drams ($2,100) and 2.5 million drams each, from 
private construction firms that were given privileged treatment by various 
government bodies in return. It said that the kickbacks were channeled into an 
architectural firm which the official had set up and registered in a friend’s 
name.

According to the NSS, Vermishian, who has headed the government agency since 
March 2019, also received $5,000 in cash and $4,800 worth of construction 
materials last October to secure a state award to the unnamed owner of several 
construction firms. It was not immediately clear whether that businessman was 
also taken into custody.

The high-profile arrest came nearly four months after Sarhat Petrosian, the 
prominent head of the government’s Cadaster Committee, resigned in protest 
against government policies on urban development. Petrosian hit out at 
Vermishian and the previous head of the Urban Development Committee, Avetik 
Eloyan, after tendering his resignation.

In particular, Petrosian claimed that Eloyan, who now works as an adviser to 
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, has used his position to win lucrative 
contracts for an architectural firm registered in his brother’s name in May 2019.

Avinian and Vermishian dismissed those claims at the time. The deputy prime 
minister also denied that government regulation of urban development in Armenia 
has “regressed” since the 2018 “Velvet Revolution.”


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

Armenian opposition MP on PACE and Venice Commission president’s statements

Mike Maghakian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 4 2020
Armenian opposition MP on PACE and Venice Commission president's statements Armenian opposition MP on PACE and Venice Commission president's statements

16:15, 04.02.2020

There were two statements, including one by the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for monitoring of Armenia and one by President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio. This is what deputy of the Prosperous Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia, member of the Armenian delegation to the PACE Naira Zohrabyan told reporters today.

According to her, the responses that followed these two statements in Armenia made her recall the past when the former authorities would try to present statements to their benefit. “The authorities and the political opposition each say they destroyed one another, but this isn’t about winning or losing. In both statements, there is a real concern about the situation regarding the Constitutional Court,” she said.

She emphasized that it is necessary to understand that the statements of the two organizations aren’t made to punish or encourage anyone, but rather they are made for drawing conclusions.

When asked if Armenia is obliged to accept these statements, Zohrabyan said there is no obligation, but there is a general rule of the political game. “If Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe and has assumed the commitment to consider the recommendations of the Venice Commission, it has to take them into consideration. Every government and opposition has to draw conclusions,” she said.

HSBC considering exit from Armenia, Greece, Oman, Turkey – Reuters

Mike Maghakian

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 20:51, 29 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. HSBC is considering selling its Turkey business amid concerns about the country's volatile currency and economic outlook, ARMENPRESS reports sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

As part of broader cost-cutting measures under interim Chief Executive Noel Quinn, the bank is also seeking to sell or shrink its business in some other markets, the sources said.

These include countries where it has small-scale operations that struggle to compete with local players, including Armenia, Greece and Oman, they said.

A spokeswoman for HSBC declined to comment.

HSBC will seek to sell its banking business in Turkey if it can find a local buyer, the sources said, adding that no final decision has yet been taken.

The bank's retreat from Turkey, where it has operated since 1990, would be one of the biggest exits from a country it has made in recent years as it shrinks its once globe-spanning empire.

HSBC has already shrunk its presence from some 315 branches and around 6,000 staff in 2013 to around 80 branches and 2,000 staff as of September last year, according to data from the Banks Association of Turkey.

Turkey has been a problem country for HSBC in recent years as volatility in the lira and economic problems have hit its returns, with the bank flagging rising expected loan losses there in its 2018 annual report.

A currency crisis in 2018 cut the lira's value by nearly 30%, brought on a brief but sharp recession, and prompted Ankara to clamp down on the financial sector with a series of new rules aimed at stabilizing the currency and kick-starting economic growth.

The lender previously attempted to sell its business in Turkey in 2015, Reuters reported at the time, with Dutch lender ING among the interested parties.

But the sale never went through, and the lender instead pursued branch closures and job cuts that saw it swing from a loss in 2014 and 2015 to a profit of 456 million lira ($77.02 million) in the first nine months of 2019.

Despite that improved performance, the risks from currency volatility and the economic situation mean HSBC still wants to exit, the sources said.

Interim CEO Quinn is expected to announce his cost-cutting measures when the bank reports annual results and its new strategy on Feb. 18.

Quinn is auditioning for the full-time CEO role under chairman Mark Tucker. He is tipped by insiders at the bank to get the job, although it could yet go to a surprise external candidate.

The bank is also shedding around 100 roles in its equities business as it scales back in continental Europe, Reuters reported earlier this month.

Azerbaijan responsible for Manvel Saribekyan’s death, ECHR rules

Mike Maghakian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 30 2020

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Azerbaijani authorities had been responsible for the torture and death of Manvel Saribekyan, an Armenian national who had been locked up in a military police cell in Baku.

The court held unanimously that there had been violations of Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and ill-treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court found in particular that applicants Mamikon Saribekyan and Siranush Balyan had made a prima facie case that their son, Manvel Saribekyan, had died as a result of the violent actions of others, notably personnel at the Military Police Department in Baku, where he was being held. It could not accept the Azerbaijani authorities’ version of events that he had hanged himself.

ECHR obliged Azerbaijan to pay the applicants 60,000 euros jointly in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 2,200 euros in respect of costs and expenses.

Manvel Saribekyan, 20, who resided in the Armenian village of Ttujur, inadvertently strayed into Azerbaijani territory due to bad weather conditions on 11 September 2010 and was taken captive by Azerbaijani officials. He died in the Baku military police cell on 5 October. 


Former NSS Director Artur Vanetsyan questioned by investigators

Mike Maghakian

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 11:59, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Former National Security Service Director Artur Vanetsyan has been questioned at the Investigations Committee, the investigative agency’s spokesperson Naira Harutyunyan told ARMENPRESS.

She said that Vanetsyan, who is also a former President of the Football Federation of Armenia, was questioned as a witness amid the criminal investigation into the 2018 wiretapping case as well as another criminal investigation into misconduct committed at the federation.

In 2018, when Vanetsyan was NSS Director, his phone conversation with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was wiretapped and the audio recording was leaked online. Vanetsyan’s phone conversation with Special Investigations Service director Sasun Khachatryan was also leaked. In the audio recordings they are discussing high profile criminal proceedings against ex-president Robert Kocharyan and Yuri Khachaturov, a former military commander who also served as CSTO secretary general. Separate investigations are underway, one to determine whether the discussions constitute obstruction of justice and another is focused on the illegal wiretapping itself.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Asbarez: ANCA Expands Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program with New Spring Session

Mike Maghakian

The ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program announced its new Spring Session, to take place March 30th through June 12th

Spring 2020 Application Deadline: February 20th for Unique Policy, Politics, and Media Washington, D.C. Job Placement Program

WASHINGTON—Following the successful placements of Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program fellows at the White House, Congressional offices, and top Washington, D.C. consulting firms, the Armenian National Committee of America will be expanding its hallmark career advancement program with a new Spring 2020 session.

Applications for the new Spring 2020 session must be submitted by February 20. The Spring Session will run from March 30th through June 12th, after which the ANCA will be hosting its ANCA Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship class.

“We are so proud of the achievements of our Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program alumni, who, since 2003, have been exploring and advancing their careers and policy, politics, media, and Washington, D.C.’s corporate world – increasing the Armenian American community’s voice in the nation’s capital,” said ANCA Programs Director Sipan Ohannesian, an alumnus who took a hiatus from a career in the Defense field to help grow the program. “The ANCA has helped over 200 Armenian Americans begin and expand their careers in the nation’s capital and this Spring Session will help build both program capacity and the services offered.”

Launched in 2003 with a founding grant by the Cafesjian Family Foundation, the ANCA CGP has emerged as the pre-eminent Armenian American career development program in the nation’s capital. Gateway Program fellows are offered three months of free housing at the ANCA’s Aramian House, located in the heart of Washington, D.C., in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, just blocks from the ANCA offices. Ohannesian and the Capital Gateway Program Advisory Committee coordinate a series of career placement workshops on a range of issues including resume and cover letter preparation, effective interview strategies, and networking. The CGPAC also connects fellows with mentors most closely aligned with their career goals for one-on-one advice and encouragement.

For university students interested in a quarter/semester in Washington, D.C., the ANCA CGP can assist with internship guidance and placements both at the ANCA headquarters and other public policy and government institutions. Students are offered up to three months of free housing at The Aramian House depending on space availability and along with assistance to ensure they meet their university program obligations.

Additional information about the ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program is available online, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 202.775.1918.

The ANCA CGP is named after Hovig Apo Saghdejian, a beloved young community leader who lost his life in a tragic car accident and whose eternal memory continues to inspire new generations of Armenian Americans. His family generously established the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Memorial Fund in his memory and, over the past decade, have played a vital role in the expansion of the program. Substantial support has also been provided by longtime ANCA benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Frank and Barbara Hekimian and the Armenian American Veterans Post of Milford, Massachusetts (AAVO).

The purchase of The Aramian House was made possible through a generous donation by the family of the late community leader and philanthropist Martha Aramian of Providence, Rhode Island. The Aramian family – led by sisters Sue, the late Margo, and the late Martha – have long been among the most generous benefactors of ANCA programs as well as of charitable projects in the Armenian homeland and the Diaspora.

PM Pashinyan meets US Ambassador and Kansas Adjutant-General

Mike Maghakian

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 17:47,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy and Kansas National Guard military commander, Kansas Adjutant-General Lee Tafanelli, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

“The Prime Minister attached importance to the Armenian-American cooperation in the defense sector and welcomed the general’s visit to Armenia especially during these days when the 28th anniversary of the Armenian Army is celebrated. Nikol Pashinyan added that the Government of Armenia is interested in raising the level of bilateral partnership and expressed certainty that Lee Tafanelli’s visit will contribute to this. During the meeting the interlocutors discussed issues related to the Armenian-American cooperation agenda in both defense and other sectors”, the PM’s office said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Sports: Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane: Armenia’s Aleksanyan beats Azerbaijan opponent in final

Mike Maghakian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 20 2020

By Lusine Shahbazyan

Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic champion, three-time World, four-time European, and European Games champion Arthur Aleksanyan won a gold medal at the United World Wrestling Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane in Nice, France.

In the final of his weight category, Armenia's Aleksanyan beat Azerbaijan's Orkhan Nuriyev 3-1.

This is Artur's first competition since returning from injury.

And Armenia's Karapet Chalyan won a silver medal in the final of the 77kg competition.

Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink’s office reopens as memorial 13 years after his murder

Mike Maghakian
AHVAL News
Jan 19 2020
Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink's office reopens as memorial 13 years after his murder

  • Jan 19 2020 04:12 Gmt+3
  • Last Updated On: Jan 19 2020 04:26 Gmt+3

Thirteen years since his assassination on the steps of an Istanbul-based newspaper he once ran, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink’s office has at long last been reopened to the public as a memorial, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Founder and editor of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Dink was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his Istanbul office in 2007 on Jan. 19.

The final result of Dink’s murder case has long been awaited, with his family and friends continuing on the quest for justice. A total of 76 suspects are on trial as part of the case.

Every year on Jan. 19, thousands gather in front of the building, where Dink was killed to commemorate the slain journalist.

Due to the “symbolic significance of the site and its place in the collective memory,” the Hrant Dink Foundation — founded after his assassination — turned the building into the 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory, named after an article penned by Dink in Agos on April 23, 1996.

Agos continues to circulate in Turkey in both languages, albeit from a different location where it moved in 2015.

“We gave this name [to the site] inspired by Hrant’s article, in which he talked about April 23 and 24 and said: ‘I wish we could combine these two days and promise a future encouraging hope at the end of these two days’,” Sibel Asna, a board member at Hrant Dink Foundation, said.

“April 23 is a holiday for sovereignty and April 24 is a tragedy for us all,” Asna said, adding: “The site was opened between these two days, and is called 23.5, which promises hope and kindness.”

Hrant Dink was repeatedly prosecuted for “denigrating Turkish-ness” over articles he wrote about Armenian identity and mass deportations of Armenians in 1915.

A plaque that reads: “Hrant Dink was murdered here, January 19, 2007, at 15:05” was embedded in the sidewalk in front of the building where Dink was killed, serving as a stark reminder for visitors and passers-by alike in Istanbul’s teeming Sisli district.

*This article was originally published in the Public Radio of Armenia Website.