Author: nina hovnanian

ZHOGHOVURD: POLICE EX-CHIEF’S FAMILY BUSINESS COLLAPSES SINCE DISMISSAL

10:45 * 03.03.15

What happened to the family business of ex-chief of the Yerevan Police
Department Nerses Nazaryan clearly shows the essence of economic ties
in Armenia.

For the years Mr Nazaryan was holding the post his family business
was thriving. Among other enterprises was the Moskvichka supermarket
chain in Armenia’s capital. However, after Mr Nazaryan was dismissed,
his business began declining.

Two years have hardly passed since Mr Nazaryan’s dismissal, but his
family business has almost collapsed. It suggests that it is a post
that can ensure your business success in Armenia. Otherwise, even with
contacts and old friends, you cannot do anything. This is the reason
why Armenia’s officials stop at nothing only to retain their posts.

UN SOLDAT ARMENIEN TUE HIER AU FRONT AU HAUT KARABAGH

HAUT KARABAGH

Le ministère armenien de la Defense de la Republique du Haut
Karabagh annonce que sur un point militaire de defense a la frontière
armeno-azerie au Haut Karabagh, un soldat armenien Arsène Garabedian
(20 ans) a ete mortellement blesse hier. La nuit dernière, sur la ligne
de contact entre le Haut Karabagh et l’Azerbaïdjan l’ennemi aurait
viole a 200 reprises le cessez-le-feu avec plus de 3 000 projectiles
tires par les azeris en direction des positions armeniennes sur
la ligne de contact. Le ministère de la defense a presente ses
condoleances a la famille et aux proches du soldat tue.

Il affirme que l’armee multiplie les moyens pour securiser la vie des
soldats Armeniens et contrôle pleinement la situation sur le terrain.

Krikor Amirzayan

mardi 3 mars 2015, Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

OSCE REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF MEDIA: THERE IS NO HOPE TODAY FOR LIBERALIZATION OF AZERBAIJAN

17:50 03/03/2015 ” SOCIETY

On the 10th anniversary of the death of Azeri journalist Elmar
Huseynov, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja
MijatoviÄ~G called on OSCE participating States to ensure journalists’
safety and the right to freedom of expression, the organization’s
website reports.

“On the anniversary of the death of Elmar Huseynov, the issue
of journalists’ safety must be raised. Attacks and harassment of
journalists in the OSCE region is growing while thorough investigations
are scarce, which has a chilling effect on free media,” MijatoviÄ~G
noted, calling on the governments of all OSCE participating States to
thoroughly and fully investigate all attacks on media representatives
for performing their professional duties.

“These horrific crimes must be publicly condemned and the perpetrators
must be brought to justice to prevent an environment of intimidation,
fear and impunity,” she added.

Elmar Huseynov, the founder and editor of the independent weekly news
magazine Monitor, was shot and killed outside his apartment on 2 March
2005. The magazine had been under constant pressure from authorities
for the critical nature of some of the articles published. Huseynov’s
killers remain at large, the statement reads.

Dunja MijatoviÄ~G also published an article on The Huffington Post
regarding the situation in Azerbaijan. She begins her article
remembering a talk she had with the Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev 4 years ago. Soon after her visit journalists and bloggers
were released from jail, there were moves to liberalize laws, there
was hope. But today that hope has ended.

“Journalists and free-expression advocates sit in Azerbaijani jails
in record numbers. Their lot is growing. Azerbaijan scores near the
bottom of every objective ranking of nations based on free media and
free expression criteria,” MijatoviÄ~G writes, pointing out to the fact
that it came as no surprise when Swiss authorities confirmed that human
rights defender Emin Huseynov was hiding out in its Embassy in Baku.

There are more than 10 members of the media, including journalists,
bloggers and social media activists, in prison today — one of the
largest numbers of any country that is part of the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the publication reads,
noting that as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja
MijatoviÄ~G has spoken out on numerous occasions.

In her article she mentions the names of arrested journalists and
human rights defenders, including Khadija Ismayilova, a journalist;
Rasul Jafarov, a free speech advocate; Seymur Hazi, a columnist for
the newspaper Azadliq; Omar Mamedov and Abdul Abilov, bloggers; Parviz
Hashimly, a journalist; Nijat Aliyev, editor-in-chief of azadxeber.org
news website, and Rashad Ramazanov, an independent blogger.

“The systematic shutdown of dissenting voices and their outlets are
clear violations of commitments on free media and free expression
that Azerbaijan has signed on to as a participating State of the
OSCE. But most of the world appears disinterested as Azerbaijan clamps
down even harder on the country’s nascent media and civil society,”
MijatoviÄ~G writes, asking whether it is simply a matter of business
interests trumping human rights.

MijatoviÄ~G hopes that a high-profile diplomatic row with the Swiss
might shake some countries from their somnolent state. Emin Huysenov,
Khadija Ismayilova and all other members of the media are now the face
of free media, free expression and civil society in Azerbaijan. They
have done nothing wrong — they are just doing a job. For this many of
them stand trial or have already been convicted, MijatoviÄ~G notes and
stresses that it is in the hands of President Aliyev to change course
and fulfill the dream of a modern, free and open Azerbaijan. “Few,
including me, a friend of Azerbaijan, are willing to assume he will.

But he must, as the first step, let all journalists go. He must set
them free. For the future of democracy in Azerbaijan,” she concludes.

EUFOA WELCOMES EPP RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

17:43, 03 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On 3 March, the European People’s Party (EPP) adopted a resolution
recognising and condemning the Armenian Genocide as well as paying
tribute to the victims in the 100th anniversary. The EPP, which is
the largest European political party, has adopted the resolution
following the initiative of its sister parties from Armenia.

European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) welcomes this resolution. EuFoA
Director, Mr Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, comments: “This text is meant
not only as a tribute, but also as a call for both historical justice
and historical reconciliation.”

The text adopted by the EPP political assembly refers to different
aspects of this atrocious crime, such as “…dispossession of
the homeland, the massacres and ethnic cleansing aimed at the
extermination of the Armenian population, the destruction of the
Armenian heritage, as well as the denial of the Genocide, all attempts
to avoid responsibility, to consign to oblivion the committed crimes
and their consequences or to justify them, as a continuation of this
crime and encouragement to commit new genocides…”

Moreover the resolution calls upon Turkey to recognise and condemn the
Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire as a base for the complete
normalisation and Europeanisation of its relationship along with its
international commitments and European aspirations. It also appeals to
international organisations, specially the EU and CoE member states,
to restore historical justice and pay tribute to the victims. This
political initiative puts also a strong accent on cultural and
religious component of this crime, noting that this heritage should be
repaired and returned to the Armenian and other relevant communities.

“I am particularly pleased to see the accession to EU political
families by Armenian political parties, in which I have invested
myself so intensely, has a mutually beneficial outcome also in such
transcendent matters as the Genocide” adds Mr Lorenzo Ochoa.

The EPP is the largest European-level political party of the
centre-right, which currently includes 78 member-parties from 39
countries (including 3 from Armenia: Republican Party of Armenia,
Heritage and Country of Law) the Presidents of the European Commission
and the European Council, 11 EU and 6 non-EU heads of state and
government, 14 members of the European Commission and the largest
Group in the European Parliament with 219 members.

CHRISTIANS IN MIDDLE EAST ARE ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION, ARMENIAN FM SAYS

March 3, 2015 11:14

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has
stated that the international community should take immediate steps
to protect Christians in Middle East who can be considered as one
of the most vulnerable groups in the region which are on the brink
of extinction.

Edward Nalbandian said this addressing a speech at UN-initiated
discussion on “Support to Christians’ Rights in Middle East” in Geneva.

“Unfortunately, Christianity in Middle East is seriously threatened
now. Beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts and brutal attacks against
Assyrians in Syria were only the recent episodes. Suffice it to say
that the number of Christians within the overall population decreased
from 20% in the early 20th century to less than 5% as of the early
21st century. Christians in Middle East can be considered one of the
most vulnerable groups which are on the brink of extinction demanding
immediate measures to protect and support them”, said the Armenian FM.

According to him, the fight against Islamic State, al-Nusra and other
terrorist groups should be carried out in the context of preventing
genocides.

Edward Nalbandian stressed that Armenia fully supports complete
fulfillment of relevant resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.

The Minister recalled the attacks against Armenian-populated Kessab
town by Al Qaeda-related terrorist groups and acts of vandalism against
religious and cultural heritage of Kessab and Armenian Saint Martyrs
Church in Deir-ez-Zor.

“This crime against civilization is the blatant reminder of such
barbarian acts in the past- cases of destruction of Buddhas’ Bamiyan
statues, Timbuktu Tombs and thousands of medieval Armenian khachkars
in Nakhichevan when thousands of monuments were demolished under the
Azerbaijani authorities’ careful supervision”, said the Armenian FM
calling for severely condemning such steps.

IRAVUNK: PROSPEROUS ARMENIA NOT TO JOIN COALITION

11:30 03/03/2015 >> DAILY PRESS

Naira Zohrabyan’s name is in the preliminary list of candidates
for Prosperous Armenia Party chairman, Vahan Karapetyan, member of
Prosperous Armenia parliamentary faction, told Iravunk newspaper. He
also said that the party will act in the opposition field after its
special congress on March 5. Karapetyan has ruled out the possibility
of forming coalition with the ruling party.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: AZERBAIJAN TO HOST EUROPEAN GAMES AMID WIDESPREAD AND RELENTLESS REPRESSION

13:15, 03 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Threats, physical violence and the imprisonment of government critics
have become the hallmark of the Azerbaijan regime as the country
prepares to host the first European Games, said Amnesty International
in a new report released today, 100 days before the opening ceremony.

Guilty of Defending Rights: Azerbaijan’s human rights defenders and
activists behind bars highlights the mounting persecution of government
critics, detained under false charges, beaten and threatened and
deprived of urgent medical care and lawyers.

“No-one should be fooled by the glitz and glamour of the international
show Azerbaijan is putting on to portray a squeaky-clean international
reputation and attract foreign business. Its authorities are among the
most repressive in Europe and would certainly be on the medal winning
podium if prizes were on offer for the number of activists and rights
defenders behind bars,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s
Director for Europe and Central Asia.

At least 22 prisoners of conscience are currently languishing in
prison or in detention in Azerbaijan awaiting trial following trumped
up charges ranging from fraud and embezzlement to abuse of drugs and
even treason.

In June 2014 President Aliyev stated in his address to the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that freedom
of expression, association and assembly are assured in Azerbaijan.

However, prominent human rights defenders spoke of a different
reality, detailing more than 90 instances of harassment, intimidation,
arbitrary arrest and politically motivated charges against human
rights defenders, journalists and others daring to criticize the
Azerbaijani government. The response of the authorities was swift;
within a matter of weeks, those who had given their testimony to the
Parliamentary Assembly were arrested, one after another.

“These latest arrests have effectively paralysed civil society and
closed the lid on freedom of expression – marking the nadir of the
country’s human rights record since independence,” said John Dalhuisen.

Leyla Yunus, a 60-year-old human rights defender and one of the most
outspoken and high profile critics of the government, was arrested
in July 2014 – a few days after calling for a boycott of the Games
because of the regime’s dire human rights record.

Leyla Yunus told her lawyer that a warden dragged her from her cell
to an empty room where she was thrown on the ground and kicked. On
another occasion a group of men made sexually threatening gestures
towards her. She has spent the last six months in prison awaiting
trial where the harsh conditions have aggravated her health problems.

She suffers from diabetes and hepatitis C.

Leyla Yunus was charged with treason, conducting illegal business,
tax evasion, abuse of authority, fraud and forgery. These trumped up
and politically motivated charges were the result of new regulations
brought in by the government to allow them to arbitrarily shut down
NGOs and imprison their leaders.

Crackdown on journalists

The authorities have intensified a crackdown on journalists critical
of the government. Award-winning investigative journalist, Khadija
Ismayilova, was detained on 5 December 2014 on an implausible charge
of inciting a former colleague to suicide.

Khadija had published a list of political prisoners and was also
investigating claims of links between President Aliiyev’s family and
a lucrative construction project in Baku. She previously received
anonymous threats that intimate photos of herself, believed to have
been taken by government officials covertly at her home, would be
published if she did not abandon her work.

Trumped up drug and hooliganism charges against youth activists

The authorities also target critical and outspoken young activists,
accusing them of drug-related offences or hooliganism. The allegations
used to secure their arrest are highly questionable and questioning
by the police focused on their political views.

Faraj Karimov, a popular blogger, claimed that he was beaten by
police to make him admit to drug-related charges. He was threatened
that unless he signed a “confession”, police would “cause problems
for his parents” by planting weapons at their house.

Violence is also rife in detention. Orkhan Eyyubzade, a 19-year-old
pro-democracy activist who was serving a 20-day administrative
detention for participating in an “unauthorized” peaceful gathering,
was viciously attacked by two policemen. He told his lawyer that police
forced him to lie on his stomach, handcuffed his hands behind his back,
tore off his underwear, punched and kicked him and threatened to rape
him with a bottle. No effective investigation into these allegations
has been carried out. Instead, he himself was accused of assaulting
police officers and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

“With their eyes on Azerbaijan’s petro-dollars, the international
community has been remarkably silent about the country’s repressive
tactics and human rights violations. This is horribly short-sighted
and a deep disservice to those currently languishing behind bars,”
said John Dalhuisen.

Amnesty International is calling on the Azerbaijani authorities to
immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience and
to fully and impartially investigate all allegations of ill-treatment
by state and non-state actors. Amnesty International further calls
on the authorities to cease from threatening and criminally charging
people for exercising their freedom of expression and association.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WON’T SEND OFFICIAL DELEGATION TO NEMTSOV’S FUNERAL

18:57, 2 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 2 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The official delegation of the European
Parliament will most likely not be attending the funeral of Russian
oppositionist Boris Nemtsov. “An official representative of the
European Parliament will most likely not be attending the funeral of
Nemtsov”,” Vice-President of the European Parliament Richard Charnetsky
mentioned, as “Armenpress” reports, citing RIA Novosti.

According to Charnetsky, that is due to the actions of the Russian
government, which recently refused to grant entry visas to two
representatives of the European Parliament, as well as to President
of the European Parliament Martin Schulz’s “precaution”, who “doesn’t
want to create further tension” in relations with Russia.

KOTCHIKIAN: ARMENIA SHOULD HAVE MADE BETTER USE OF TURKEY’S DISRUPTIVE AND UNCOMPROMISING STANCE

19:11 02/03/2015 >> COMMENTS

Panorama.am has spoken with Dr. Asbed Kotchikian, senior lecturer
at Global Studies Department at Bentley University (US) and
Editor-in-Chief of Armenian Review, on some issues related to the
current phase of the Armenian-Turkish conflict and of the US-Turkey
relations.

– Dr. Kochikian, the RA President has recently recalled the
Armenian-Turkish protocols from the National Assembly, a move which
followed 6 years of Turkish non-action and destructive stance full
of preconditions regarding the normalization of bilateral relations.

Could you please comment on this behaviour of Turkey? What policy do
you think lay behind this attitude?

– The first thing one needs to think about is why President Sargsyan
signed the protocols in the first place and why he is retracting it
now after the protocols were suspended for almost 5 years.

Returning to the issue of Turkey’s policies and preconditions, there
is nothing new about the official Ankara stance on normalizing its
relations with Armenia. Since the 1990s the two preconditions to
normalize relations with Armenia, Turkey has always put forward were
the withdrawal of Armenian forces from what Ankara considered to be
‘occupied territories’ in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian side
dropping the campaign to have Turkey recognize its responsibility
for the Genocide of Ottoman Armenians.

As for the reasons for such a policy, one has to realize that
Ankara’s solidarity with Baku over the past two decades is motivated by
geopolitical and economic interests that far outweigh the normalization
of relations with Armenia. In other words, normalizing relations with
Armenia could be viewed as a diplomatic achievement in Turkey and
nothing more, whereas antagonizing Azerbaijan would have economic
and financial consequences for Turkey in the form of decreased
Azerbaijani investments especially in Anatolia. By the same token,
linking normalization with Armenia with Yerevan dropping its support
to Genocide recognition campaign is directly related to the fact that
Ankara considers that as a nuisance and wants to settle the issue
of responsibility because of hears of territorial claims that might
follow such recognition.

– Despite the failure of the reconciliation process what gains, if any,
do you think the Armenian side has had during these years as a result
of its initiative to normalize the relations with Turkey? (What are
the lessons learned?)

– If I were to reformulate the question, I would ask “what gains could
the Armenian side have had with Ankara’s lack of interest to ratify
the protocols”? The main lesson I think is that Yerevan could have
played a more proactive role and could have used Turkey’s lack of
interest to ratify the protocols as a diplomatic initiative to show
the world that while Armenia is willing to normalize relations with
Turkey, it is the latter which comes up with hurdles and preconditions
to not open the border with Armenia. Had Armenia’s diplomacy been
more proactive, it would have taken a huge advantage of this fact
and could have levelled the playing field with Turkey by exercising
diplomatic pressure on Ankara. Imagine a situation where Armenia
could have publicized that it was all for normalizing relations with
Turkey without any preconditions and that it was Turkey which was
putting conditions and acting as a spoiler. That could have been a
great diplomatic move and would have changed the world’s perception
about Armenia’s foreign policy.

Other than the issue mentioned above, there have been no tangible
gains and lessons to learn, except for the fact that Turkey’s role
as an uncompromising and disruptive neighbour is further enhanced
in Armenian government and public circles. One thing that needs to
be added here is that the best strategy that Armenia can pursue to
resolve issues (or at least some of the issues) with Turkey is through
direct engagement with Ankara. In this context, direct engagement
means constant communication, discussions and the possibility to sign
agreements that deal with secondary issues (trade, transportation,
communication, etc.) to show that the Armenian side it making an
effort and it is Turkey that has been disruptive of the whole process.

– Don’t you think that Turkey is perceived as being uncompromising
and disruptive now in the eyes of the international community given
its respective behavior?

– I don’t think Turkey’s image in the international community is one
of uncompromising and disruptive in this case, mostly because of the
fact that Armenian foreign policy never used the non-ratification
of the protocols by Turkey as a diplomacy tool. True, there were
a lot of discussions in Armenian media about it but that was for
local consumption and the uncompromising position of Turkey was not
publicized in international circles as it should have been. This is
what I meant by a more proactive foreign policy and lost opportunity.

If Armenia really had wanted Turkey to ratify the protocols, then
it could have raised concerns about this and asked the guarantors of
that signature to pressure Turkey to ratify the protocols.

– What steps do you think should be taken to facilitate the awakening
of the civil society in Turkey, which is lobbying for the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government?

– One needs to realize that in the past decade or so, Turkey has gone
through a lot of socio-political changes and transformation. There are
more civil society groups and citizen initiative groups that advocate
for a more free and democratic Turkey. It is important to understand
that the recognition by Turkey of the Ottoman responsibility for the
Armenian Genocide can only occur in a democratic Turkey. That being
said, just focusing on civil society groups in Turkey which only
deal with campaigning for Genocide recognition is a wrong strategy,
any movement that aims at creating a more democratic and free Turkey
should be supported. As citizens of Turkey, many Armenians have taken
part in this process and big advocates for democratization in Turkey
knowing full well that a free and democratic Turkey would also be
a place where Armenians (and other minorities) can talk about their
past, present and future in Turkey.

In this context, Armenia can only have a supporting role for such
movements, but to avoid hypocrisy, Armenia has to also develop its
own track record and develop a stronger sense of citizen participation
in politics and society (and not just from one election to another).

Tacit approval of any group in Turkey might have an opposite reaction
and opponents of such civil society groups can easily claim that
Armenia is meddling in the internal affairs of Turkey and those groups
in Turkey could easily be discredited.

– Could you comment on the current phase of the relations (and
tensions) between the United States and Turkey?

– The main issue dictating US-Turkey relations today is the rise of
The Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and the change of the
military and geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. From a US
perspective, Turkey remains an important ally in the region however
there is a growing frustration in Washington that Ankara is not doing
more to curb ISIL activities in the region (especially considering
that Turkey has over 1,000 kms of land border with Syria and Iraq).

The lack of Turkish involvement (perhaps very limited involvement)
in this conflict has not stopped US policy makers to maintain that
Turkey remains a (semi)reliable partner in the region and an important
player to stop the danger from ISIL to spread.

Prof. Asbed Kotchikian is a senior lecturer at the Global Studies
Department at Bentley University where he teaches courses on the
Middle East and former Soviet Union. He has published articles and book
chapters in various venues including Demokratizatsya, Insight Turkey,
and Central Asia and the Caucasus. His book, entitled The Dialectics
of Small States: Foreign Policy Making in Armenia and Georgia, was
published in 2008. He is also the editor-in-chief of the academic
peer reviewed journal, Armenian Review.

ARTSRUN HOVHANNISYAN: AZERBAIJANI SIDE EMBARKS ON A NEW AND LOWER LEVEL OF OBVIOUS FALSIFICATIONS

17:19 02/03/2015 >> POLITICS

The Azerbaijani media have once again made use of falsifications
publishing a black-and-white mute video which, as the Azerbaijani
media claims, shows ‘the liquidation of two Armenian soldiers by the
Azerbaijani forces.’

Watching that video it is even impossible to claim that it was taken
in NKR or on the frontline: neither landscape, nor human figures,
nor their forms, and nor the moment of the ‘liquidation’ are seen.

Commenting on the video for Panorama.am, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a
spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, stated, “It is not
serious: another low-quality, obscure video in the Azerbaijani media.

The Azerbaijani side has embarked on a new and lower level of obvious
falsifications which looks plainly ridiculous. Earlier the Armenian
side officially confirmed the death of 2 NKR Defense Army soldiers;
the NKR Defense Army report also included the cause of their death.

I’ve got nothing else to add,” he concluded.

At the beginning of February, the Azerbaijani media spread a
42-minutes-long video of extremely low quality, which allegedly
demonstrated the footage of how the Azerbaijani soldiers liquidated
‘the Armenian subversion group of six in their attempt to cross
the minefield in the frontline.’ However, because of the quality of
the above-mentioned video it was impossible even to confirm that it
demonstrated soldiers. It was also difficult to tell by the landscape
and surroundings when or where it had been taken. It could only
be noticed that the video had been taken in the daytime; yet the
subversions, as it is well-known, do not take place in the daytime.

The very moment of the “diversionists'” liquidation is not observed
in the video.

Source: Panorama.am