Category: 2020

Armenia`s Television and Radio Commission issued a statement in connection with television piece about Hrayr Tovmsyan

Arbi Tashjian
Arminfo, Armenia
Feb 3 2020

ArmInfo.Armenia's Television and Radio Commission issued a statement in connection with the scandalous television piece about Hrayr Tovmsyan, released on the Public  Television Channel on January 29 in the "News" program.

Given the criticism of the Commission, its representatives examined  this report and decided to make a statement. In particular, the  statement notes: "The Commission reiterates that it is not authorized  to intervene in the content policy of the public broadcaster, as well  as other private broadcasters.

At the same time, the commission shares the position of the Ombudsman  that this television piece violated the principle of the presumption  of innocence, the requirement of which applies to everyone, including  the media. However, we consider it necessary to state that in this  case the SIS bears the primary responsibility for violation of the  above principle, "the statement emphasizes.

It is also noted that the violation of the principle of the  presumption of innocence is not regulated by the Television and Radio  Law and does not provide for the imposition of a fine or other  punishment. "We would like to remind you that the Commission has  repeatedly drawn the attention of executive and legislative bodies  and the public to the fact that these and similar gaps in the  legislation (in many other countries these issues are regulated by  law) reduce the Commission's ability to regulate and limit the right  of citizens to obtaining objective and impartial information, "the  statement says.

The Commission also regretted that violations of the presumption of  innocence, as well as the principles of impartiality of information,  diversity of opinion, right of reply, and journalistic behavior are  more common among private broadcasters, however, such behavior does  not receive political or public attention. 

"We express concern that the Council of Public Television and Radio  refused to provide its explanations to the public in connection with  the above mentioned video. Since, according to the law, it is the  Council that is responsible for the program policy, as well as for  observing the rules of professional conduct for journalists. Thus,  the Council was obliged to investigate cases of violation of the  rules of professional conduct of journalists on the basis of  complaints or on their own initiative.

Therefore, in cases of public appeal, the Council is obliged to  respond, maintain constant communication with the public, "the  statement of the commission notes. Regarding the allegations of some  persons, including the adviser to the Presidentof the Constitutional  Court of Armenia, to the Commission, its representatives stated:" The  Commission notes that it is an independent state body, and the  adviser to the President of the Constitutional Court should know that  before such public statements as "the Commission performs its  functions poorly" walk was to compare the current work of the  Commission to the fact that it was before. Or, clearly articulate the  norms stipulated by the Commission, according to which it was obliged  to bring to responsibility the program of the Public Television  Company. Moreover, the adviser is obliged to comply with the  standards of conduct of a public servant provided for by law, " the  statement notes.

It should be noted that on January 29 a broadcast about the new  details revealed by the SIS regarding the head of the Constitutional  Court Hrayr Tovmasyan was broadcast on the Public TV channel on the  News program. In turn, on the same evening, Tovmasyan's lawyers  circulated a statement accusing the country's television channel of  disseminating investigation materials, as well as of flagrant  violation of the presumption of innocence.

In turn, the Media Defender initiative also condemned the unilateral  propaganda information policy of the state-owned television channel,  existing at the expense of taxpayers. Representatives of the  initiative demanded that the Commission on Television and Radio of RA  "immediately stop its disgraceful information policy."

Chess: Armenian chess players to compete in Aeroflot Open

Garnik Zakarian
MediaMax, Armenia
Feb 3 2020
 
 
Armenian chess players to compete in Aeroflot Open
 
 
The annual Aeroflot Open chess tournament kicks off in Moscow on February 18. It is held in three groups: A, B and C.
 
In the main tournament, Armenia will be represented by men’s national team member Gabriel Sargsyan and young grandmasters Hayk Martirosyan and Shant Sargsyan.
 
In the B tournament, Armenia will have women’s national team members Elina Danielyan, Lilit Mkrtchyan and Anna Sargsyan, as well as international player Davit Gevorgyan.
 

Sports: Andranik Karapetyan wins gold for snatch in Fajr Cup

Garnik Zakarian
MediaMax, Armenia
Feb 3 2020
 
 
Andranik Karapetyan wins gold for snatch in Fajr Cup
 
 
Fajr Cup, a qualification event in weightlifting, is underway in Rasht, Iran.
 
The first member of Armenian national team to perform was Andranik Karapetyan (81kg). He lifted 160kg in snatch and won the gold medal for the exercise. In clean and jerk, Karapetyan lifted 185kg. The Armenian athlete finished 4th with combined result of 345kg.
 
Later, another Armenian weightlifter, European and World champion Hakob Mkrtchyan (69kg) will enter into the competition.
 
  

Azerbaijani press: Armenia making fraudulent attempt to distort int’l public opinion on Karabakh conflict

George Mamian
3 February 2020 17:24 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

The Armenian Foreign Ministry is making a fraudulent attempt to distort the international public opinion on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Peter M. Tase, strategic adviser on international affairs and public diplomacy to governments, universities and corporations in Europe and the Americas, told Trend.

The fact that Armenian high ranking officials are recently issuing controversial statements is nothing new in their ill-intentioned strategy towards continuing with the occupation of sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and causing more harm to regional economic and tourism prospects in the Caucasus, Tase noted.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia is making a fraudulent attempt to distort the international public opinion by pretending that in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan there are elected officials,” the US expert said. “What we really have in occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic of Azerbaijan, is simply an illegitimate autocratic puppet regime that is installed by Armenian government.”

Armenian government is making another futile attempt to show to international community and the OSCE that local-medieval rulers in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, are trustworthy elected officials, Tase added.

“The fundamental challenge is that Armenian government has committed crimes against humanity in sovereign territory of Azerbaijan,” said the expert. “The Armenian local authorities in occupied territories of Azerbaijan are not legitimate, are the authors of animosity and unlimited hostilities that are incongruent to principal democratic processes and to effective public policies, government transparency.”

“The statements made by Minister Mnatsakanyan are a ruthless crime against the democratic principles of consolidated societies and reflect the stereotypes of Armenian government that are grossly harming the regional security matrix in the outskirts of Europe,” Tase noted.

Armenian leadership is not transparent and strives to maintain the current status-quo, said the expert, adding that it is time for Armenian troops to go home.

“Azerbaijan is keen, deeply committed, to solve this conflict by peaceful means and has made every effort to secure a full integrity of its sovereign territories under the framework of UN Security Council and the principals of international public law,” Tase added.

In turn, Nathalie Goulet, French senator and vice-chair of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told Trend that the dissemination of such statements contrary to international law is a sign of a misunderstanding of history and a fraud.

“I believe that the OSCE Minsk Group should pay attention to the formulations used in this issue in order to avoid misunderstanding and mistrust,” Goulet said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.


Azerbaijani press: Political analyst: PACE doesn’t distinguish between occupied country and aggressor country

Emma Nadirian
3 February 2020 17:28 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

Trend:

The PACE resolution on so-called "political prisoners" in Azerbaijan on the eve of parliamentary elections in the country and its adoption by a majority of votes to recommend to the CoE Committee of Ministers is another step designed to strike at Azerbaijan's reputation, Ilyas Huseynov, a political analyst, told Trend, commenting on the PACE resolution adopted at its winter session.

According to Ilyas Huseynov, PACE, where deputies with pro-Armenian position make up the majority, has once again demonstrated a biased approach towards Azerbaijan.

"It is regrettable that PACE does not distinguish between the occupied country and the aggressor country. It is unacceptable that people arrested in Azerbaijan for specific criminal acts are called political prisoners," Huseynov said.

"Why was PACE silent when Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev were taken hostages by the Armenian armed forces, while they wanted to visit the graves of relatives in the Kalbajar district on July 11, 2014, when an illegal "court" sentenced Dilgam Asgarov to life imprisonment and Shahbaz Guliyev to 22 years of imprisonment? Therefore, this biased position taken towards Azerbaijan by PACE, which turns a blind eye to the inhuman attitude towards Azerbaijani "prisoners" and the conditions of their detention, can not be understood," the Azerbaijani political analyst added.

Ilyas Huseynov emphasized that some organizations demonstrate an anti-Azerbaijani position in their reports and decisions that are not based on the real situation and facts in the country, but mainly on the speculations by the radical opposition.

"The pro-Armenian forces, using the information of the radical opposition, which aims at discrediting the democratic electoral environment in the country, continue the campaign against Azerbaijan," Huseynov concluded.


Turkish press: Armenian population of Turkey dwindling rapidly: Patriarch – Turkey News

Emil Lazarian
  • 12:41:58

The Armenian population in Turkey, which makes up the largest Christian community in the country, “resembles an iceberg melting in the sea” with its some 60,000 members, the newly elected Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Istanbul has said.

“Our biggest problem is the demography. Our population has been decreasing rapidly. We lose 26 of our adult individuals per 12 newborns. It’s alarming,” said Sahak Maşalyan, or Mashalian, the 85th Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians, in an interview with daily Hürriyet.

He was enthroned as Sahak II in a ceremony held at the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchate Church in Istanbul on Jan. 11.

“We are like an iceberg in a sea of 82 million people. And we are melting. We are also facing emigration. Now, we make up the largest non-Muslim minority in Turkey with a population of between 50,000 and 60,000,” he added, recalling that the number of Greek Christians, another minority protected under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, has dropped below 2,000 in Istanbul.

The international treaty signed between countries including Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Greece ensures the rights of the Christian minority communities in Turkey, however, the necessary internal legislations and regulations have not been made, according to Sahak II.

“Even the Armenian Patriarchate has not been defined. It makes many things extremely difficult, including resorting to the law or obtaining property. Even this building housing us doesn’t belong to the patriarchate, it is the property of the church on the opposite side of the street. We have 38 churches and 42 foundations. But those 38 churches are like 38 different duchies,” he said.

Almost a third of Turkey’s population was Christian a hundred years ago, the Armenian patriarch recalled, pointing to Christianophobia and the recent murder of three missionaries in the eastern Malatya province.

On the other hand, Sahak II hailed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision to extend a message of condolences to the descendants of Armenians killed during World War I.

“We wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren,” said Erdoğan in 2014, then a prime minister, ahead of April 24 commemorations marking the killing of Armenians in 1915 as genocide, a claim Turkey strongly rejects.

“The incidents of World War I are our shared pain. To evaluate this painful period of history through a perspective of just memory is a humane and scholarly responsibility,” the statement also said.

The day of April 24 should bring a new vision for the future instead of recalling the past, said Sahak II.

“All we want is the understanding of the losses and sufferings of the Armenian people,” he added.

Born in 1962 in Istanbul with the Turkish name Şahin Maşalı, he was ordained a priest in 1992, receiving the name Sahak.

On Dec. 11, Sahak II won the election held among Armenian Gregorian churches across the country after receiving 102 votes out of 119 against his rival Aram Ateşyan, who had served as acting patriarch during the absence of Mesrob II, the previous patriarch who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease from 2008 until his demise on March 8, 2019.

Armenpress: Several Armenians denied boarding on Ural Airlines flight from Chinese city, embassy taking measures

Christine Harutyunian

Several Armenians denied boarding on Ural Airlines flight from Chinese city, embassy taking measures

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 17:34, 2 February, 2020

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. A group of Armenian passengers were not allowed to board an Ural Airlines flight from Xi’an to a Russian city despite having tickets. Among those who were refused check-in were also citizens of other countries.

“Given the situation over the coronavirus outbreak in China, a number of international airlines are gradually limiting their flights from Beijing and other Chinese cities. Citizens currently in China are required to contact the given airline beforehand to clarify information about the flight,” the foreign ministry of Armenia said.

“On February 1, a group of Armenian citizens were denied check-in with Ural Airlines flight tickets. At the same time, citizens of a number of other countries were also denied check-in to the same flight. They were compensated for the tickets. The Armenian Embassy in China has advised the Armenian citizens to head for the nearest city from where it will be possible to board another flight of other airlines to Armenia, and to clarify the given airline’s regulations beforehand. The embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia are taking measures to prevent such developments. At the same time, we inform that the Embassy is maintaining constant contact with all Armenian citizens who are in China and who have registered with the Embassy and is responding to all questions,” the foreign ministry said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




ACNIS reView from Yerevan #1, 2020_Editorial_To Govern Means to Capture People’s Hearts and Minds

Emil Karabekian
Editorial      

 24 JANUARY 2020 

Armenia’s public is in a state of disorientation.  If last year life was comprehensible—the game was on between the “blacks” and the “whites” and the line between heroes and anti-heroes, the honest and corrupt was discernible—currently everything has gotten mixed up.  The colors have lost their distinction and have begun to dissolve into gray.

Why did it come to this, who is to blame, for what did hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets in 2018 and effect regime change?  The answer to these questions is very important, not only to understand what happened then, but to clarify what the new government had to do thereafter.  Oddly enough, these points of inquiry are presently absent from the agenda of Armenia’s political mind at a time when they had to be the principal theme of political life.

The goal of the struggle launched more than 30 years ago, in 1988, was clear: “Karabagh is ours.”  And the authorities of the day solved that issue to the best of their ability.  They had assumed no other obligation before the public.  In the next phase, however, the people apparently began to present a new demand to the authorities, but this time they did not pay attention to it.  Let us try to understand in comparison what Armenia’s society was desiring and accordingly what the present-day governors had to do.

“To realize power” means first and foremost to carry out intellectual work, that is to assess the past and to present to the public a new conception for development.  And any such platform is based on understandings of philosophy and worldview.  Among the principal precepts of political theories are Liberty, Equality, and Justice.  Each of those has had interpretations during every historical epoch.  From ancient Armenia to the present those approaches have been analyzed variously and have been set at the foundation of administrative systems of sequential states.

The motto “Karabagh is ours” was a matter of liberty; in other words, the people of Artsakh has the right of freedom and self-determination, in the name of which many went to war and won and yet others paid with their lives.  With that Armenia’s public consciousness registered a degree of growth, but as human history has shown the idea of liberty alone is not sufficient to build an efficient and just society.  In 2018 the public came to present another demand and that, it seemed, was the demand for justice and equality.

Our objective here is not to present and interpret these tenets—for this, one would need to study the history of man and the evolutionary flows of ideas.  Those demonstrate that taking any idea to its extreme can result in adverse consequences.  In particular, absolute freedom leads to anarchy, as a result of which the political mind takes to one other extreme the concept of absolute equality—communism—in which case people are deprived of their liberty and electoral rights but are legally equal.  And absolute justice gives rise to an atmosphere of hate and the validation of totalitarianism because in this guilty world it is hard to find a perfectly just personality.  A situation comes about where everyone becomes the target and that completes the path to totalitarianism and the establishment of a “witch-hunt” state.

The “Reject Serzh” slogan consolidated a large mass of people, but the force that came to power was unable to explain what “serzhism” meant in order to clarify finally what we had rejected and where we are going.  The new government's refusal to choose any of the classical political “ism”s has placed it in an “intellectual trap” or, better perhaps, pressed it into a “vice of mental nothingness.”  It is no accident that in the National Assembly's non-governmental factions there are individuals who can influence public opinion, whereas the media under government-related control are incapable of formulating a public agenda.

To govern is to capture the hearts and minds of people and to offer platforms for development.  To such things we do not bear witness and, in all probability, we shall not—but that is not the worst news.  The worst news is that the other political forces also find themselves in mental collapse, and so at least for now the political alternative is absent from the scene.

 

 

ACNIS reView from Yerevan #2, 2020_Weekly Update_18-25 January

Christine Harutyunian
Weekly Update   

26 JANUARY 2020  

 

  • President Xi Jinping said China was facing a “grave situation” as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak jumped to 41, overshadowing celebrations of the Lunar New Year that began on Saturday, REUTERS reported. China also announced further transport restrictions. With more than 1,400 people infected worldwide, most of them in China, Hong Kong declared a virus emergency, scrapped celebrations and restricted links to mainland China. Australia confirmed its first four cases on Saturday, Malaysia confirmed four and France reported Europe’s first cases on Friday, as health authorities around the world scrambled to prevent a pandemic.
  • Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan believes that the President of Azerbaijan, the President of Artsakh and the Prime Minister of Armenia personally bear responsibility for peace and stability in the region, Armenpress said. “We are ready for constructive, normal work, as much as we understand how difficult of a work that is,” the PM said at a news conference on January 25. “But that’s our responsibility in the region. I have told my colleagues, that now we – the President of Azerbaijan, the President of the Republic of Artsakh and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia – are personally bearing the responsibility of the future of peace and stability in the region. This is a personal responsibility, and to some extent also a common responsibility, and bearing this responsibility and [dealing] with it with honor is a very difficult task,” he said. Asked to elaborate on the NK talks, the PM emphasized that there is no secrecy around the negotiations.  “It is described and termed in my speech at the 2019 March joint Security Council session of Armenia and Artsakh in Stepanakert”, Pashinyan said. “In that speech I had outlined our circle of discussions in the negotiations process. It is this circle that we are now talking about. Currently there is no paper on the table for us to discuss. And we must work together to approach a more specific, more substantiated discussion phase,” the Armenian PM added.

 

  • A gunman surrendered to the Armenian police after reportedly bursting into an office building in Yerevan and opening fire there on Thursday, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am) said. Police officers rushed to the Erebuni Plaza Business Center and cordoned it off shortly after the gunfire. “The situation is under control,” a police spokesman told reporters outside the building. In an ensuing written statement, the national police service said that its acting chief, Arman Sargsian, personally negotiated with the gunman and that the latter handed his weapon and surrendered as a result. The unidentified man was then taken to a police station in Sargsian’s car, according to the statement, “No citizens were injured,” added the statement. “All circumstances of the incident are being clarified.” The police said nothing about the man’s demands or motives.

 

  • Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said he is ready to meet his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in the near future, News.am said. When asked about the meeting by MP Arman Abovyan, Mnatsakanyan said they have certain arrangements. The Minister also noted that he attaches great importance to the participation of Karabakh in negotiations. “The issue of Karabakh’s participation in the peaceful settlement of the conflict remains on the agenda, and we have repeatedly explained the reasons. It is very important to have direct participation of an entity that has elected authorities, a political entity,” he added.

 

  • In the framework of the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Armen Sarkissian met with the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti, the Presidential Office informed. Noting that Armenia and EBRD are long-standing partners, President Sarkissian noted with satisfaction the efficient cooperation between the two and successful implementation of different projects in various areas. Suma Chakrabarti in his turn underscored the effective cooperation with the government of Armenia and said that EBRD was resolute to continue assistance to Armenia. President Sarkissian reiterated Armenia’s proposal to hold the 2021 annual meeting of EBRD in Armenia. The parties exchanged views on the prospects of implementation of new projects, development of the financial market, and new opportunities of cooperation in the IT area.

 

  • According to BBC, President Donald Trump's legal team, representing him at his impeachment trial, has demanded that he is immediately acquitted by the Senate. In a brief submitted on Monday, they called the impeachment "a dangerous perversion" of the constitution. Meanwhile House impeachment managers submitted their own brief, saying Mr Trump engaged in "corrupt conduct… to cheat in the next election". Impeachment hearings will begin on Tuesday at 13:00 (18:00 GMT). Mr Trump is charged with abusing his presidential power by asking Ukraine to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden – and of obstructing Congress as it looked into his conduct.

 

Sources: https://www.president.am, https://www.azatutyun.am/en, https://armenpress.am, https://news.am/eng/, https://www.reuters.com/, https://www.bbc.com/.

 

 

Azerbaijani press: Karabakh conflict discussed with US ambassador to Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian
29 January 2020 17:26 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29

Trend:

At the initiative of US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Lee Litzenberger, a meeting has been held with Head of the Azerbaijani community of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region Tural Ganjaliyev, Trend reports Jan. 29 referring to the community.

During the meeting, Ganjaliyev informed the US ambassador in detail about the Azerbaijani community of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The community head said that the members of the community are supporters of peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as conveyed to ambassador the main wishes and demands of the community members for the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories, the return of all Azerbaijani IDPs to their homes, restoration of the violated fundamental rights and freedoms, including property rights.

Ganjaliyev also informed that as part of the extraordinary parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, he put forward his MP candidacy from the Khankendi constituency No. 122, and, along with other candidates from this constituency, conducts an election campaign on equal and fair terms in accordance with the requirements of the law.

Lee Litzenberger emphasized that he is closely following the activities of the Azerbaijani community of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and is pleased with the meeting.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.