Category: News

Th European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) organised a briefing to assess the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on 2 April, and their consequences for the future of the Armenia-EU cooperation.

Heidi Hautala, Member of the European Parliament who led the EP’s delegation which was an integral part of the International Electoral Observation Mission (IEOM), was the speaker at this Briefing, which was moderated by Diogo Pinto, Director of EuFoA, and attended by more than 30 representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, diplomatic corps and international NGOs.

Mr Pinto thanked and welcomed the speaker and the participants, and reminded that these were the first elections held in Armenia following the constitutional amendments, approved in a referendum in December 2015, which reduced the powers of the President in favour of the Prime Minister and the Parliament, and changed the electoral system from a majoritarian to a largely proportional one, and that they took place just a couple of weeks after the initialling of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.

Ms Hautala, in her initial remarks, noted that the elections were preceded by an extremely constructive and inclusive process, which led to a new, consensual Electoral Code, and reminded that the EU contributed financially to the success of the elections, namely through the introduction of Voter Authentication Devices (VADs) and web cameras, which helped identifying voters and preventing multiple voting, impersonatio
n and fraud, significantly increasing the overall transparency. Ms Hautala added that despite the fact that the elections were well administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected, observers were confronted with credible information about vote-buying and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies, exerted by various candidates from different parties.

During the interesting debate that followed, both the Central Election Commission and the Precinct Election Commissions were praised for the professional and transparent way in which their work was conducted; the public TV channel H1 was acknowledged for devoting equitable coverage to all contestants in its newscast; but concerns were expressed regarding the ownership and the independence of the media, and the causes and effects of the phenomenon of vote-buying.

In conclusion, and despite the shortcomings which need further investigation so they can be eradicated and overcome, these elections confirmed that Armenia is on the right track to consolidate itself as a strong democracy, where both the government and the opposition are able to learn from mistakes and integrate criticism. In this context, the EU should continue to encourage reforms and support Armenia’s sovereignty and independence, namely through assistance promoting the independence of the judiciary, transparency of the political process and good governance, but also training for journalists and continued empowerment of civil society.

Mr Pinto, speaking after the briefing, said: “This was a successful event, and I am happy to see that it attracted the interest of so many people. We wish all the best to the recently elected members of the National Assembly of Armenia, and look forward to seeing a renewed cooperation with the EU. The signature of the new Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, which we hope will happen soon, will add impetus to that”.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

Controllers and scientists must wait until Thursday to hear from Cassini, the BBC reports.

The probe was due early on Wednesday to make the first of 22 dives in between Saturn’s cloudtops and the inner edge of its spectacular rings.

The daredevil flights are designed to gather pictures and other science data of unprecedented resolution.

But Cassini was out of radio contact for the duration of the plunge and is not scheduled to re-establish communications for another day.

Because the probe was moving so fast – at over 110,000km/h – there was some risk attached to flying through the ring plane.

An impact with even a tiny ice or rock particle at that velocity could do a lot of damage, and so the decision was made to point Cassini’s big antenna in the direction of travel, to act as a shield.

But, of course, that meant it could not also then talk to Earth at the same time.

Assuming all goes well, 21 similar dives will be made over the course of the next five months before the probe dumps itself in the atmosphere of Saturn. With so little fuel left in its tanks, Cassini cannot continue its mission for much longer.

The US space agency (Nasa) is calling the gap-runs the “grand finale”, in part because of their ambition. They promise pictures of unparalleled resolution and science data that finally unlocks key puzzles about the make-up and history of this huge world.

“We’re going to top off this mission with a lot of new measurements – some amazing new data,” said Athena Coustenis from the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France.

“We’re expecting to get the composition, structure and dynamics of the atmosphere, and fantastic information about the rings,” she told the BBC.

A key objective is to determine the mass and therefore the age of the rings. The more massive they are, the older they are likely to be – perhaps as old as Saturn itself.

Scientists will do this by studying how the velocity of the probe is altered as it flies through the gravity field generated by the planet and the great encircling bands of ice.

Armenian delegation led by Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan has left for Moscow to participate in the 6th Moscow Conference on International Security.

Minister Sargsyan is expected to hold a number of meetings on the sidelines of the conference.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Herbert Salber.

The interlocutors referred to Armenia-EU relations, parliamentary elections in Armenia, reforms to be implemented in different spheres, as well as the opportunities of furthering the negotiation process on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The EU Special Representative congratulated President Sargsyan on the successful conduct of parliamentary elections, underlining that Armenia made a serious step towards stability and reinforcement of democracy. Mr. Salber hailed the progress in Armenia-EU relations.

President Sargsyan, in turn, emphasized EU’s considerable contribution in the process of preparation of the elections, which helped organize elections meeting international standards.

Serzh Sargsyan and Herbert Salber discussed the perspectives of furthering the negotiation process, the existing problems and challenges, the ways of EU’s possible contribution to the process.

The EU Special Representative assured of the European Union’s willingness to contribute to the settlement of the conflict by supporting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs within the bounds of possibility.

Photo: AFP

 

Donald Trump has indicated he will scrap plans to find cash for his border wall in this week’s spending bill, the BBC reports.

The president’s close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must pass by Friday.

Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise.

Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown.

But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built.

Photo: Reuters

 

Police have arrested 1,000 people suspected of being part of a movement blamed for the failed 2016 coup, the BBC reports.

Another 2,200 were being sought as authorities targeted what they said was a secret structure within Turkey’s police force.

Turkey says a movement loyal to US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen organised the July 2016 plot to bring down President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Earlier this month the president won a referendum on boosting his powers.

As a result of the narrow victory Mr Erdogan can become head of the executive, beefing up the largely ceremonial role of Turkey’s president.

The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic today approved a resolution, condemning the genocide of Armenians and other religious and national minorities in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, Czech media repored. Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan confirmed the news in a Twitter post.

“The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic condemns the crimes against humanity carried out by the Nazis during the Second World War on the Jewish, Roma and Slavic populations in the controlled territories, the genocide of Armenians and other national and religious minorities in the Ottoman Empire during World War I,” reads the resolution, which passed with 104 votes.

The resolution was proposed by MEP Robin Bönisch from the CSSD. “I think it was the Czech Republic’s duty to formally recognize the genocide. And because yesterday it was the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide, I think it was very symbolic to recognize the genocide of the Armenians today,” Bönisch said, according to  iRozhlas.cz.

“I am glad that we have accepted the resolution because sometimes the truth has to be remembered. Of course, Turkey will react to it, but we have always supported human rights and today it is necessary to remind Turkey of genocide,” former Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) said, lidovky.cz reports.

President Milos Zeman also commemorated the Armenian genocide. On the occasion of the anniversary, the President sent a letter to Barsegh Pilavchian, the spiritual  leader of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic.

“I agree that history is not meant to be interpreted by politicians. At the same time, however, I believe that the events that cost 1.5 million innocent people represent a tragic chapter in the history of not only the Armenian nation but also of the entire civilized world,” Zeman wrote in a letter published on Tuesday.

 

 

 

“There cannot be two opinions regarding the killings of the innocent people, be it in this region, Asia, Africa or in Latin America. We are obliged to adopt the universal values,” India’s Vice President

India’s Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari met with students and faculty of the Yerevan State University today and visited the Matenadaran Institute of Ancient Manuscripts.

On a three-day official visit to Armenia, Vice President Hamid Ansari visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Tuesday to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. Speaking about the feelings, the Vice-President said “any killing of humans by other human beings can generate only one feeling.” He said “it’s part of history no one can be proud of.”

“There cannot be two opinions regarding the killings of the innocent people, be it in this region, Asia, Africa or in Latin America. We are obliged to adopt the universal values,” he added.

Hamid Ansari also revealed the message he left in the guestbook of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. “These materials are witnesses to the terrible violence that befell the Armenian people. Only through values like tolerance and mutual understanding can we hope for a peaceful and harmonious future,” he wrote.

Born in the city of Kolkata so dear to Armenians, India’s Vice-President emphasized the centuries-old Armenian-Indian ties and hailed the role of Armenians in the development of his country.

“I’ve come to a country far from India, but close to the individual and collective memory of Indians,” Hamid Ansari stressed. “This year we celebrate the 25^th anniversary of diplomatic relations and I hope high-level visits will contribute to the further deepening of relations,” he said.

Armenia has welcomed the adoption of a resolution by the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity.

“The resolution adopted by Czech lawmakers along with President Milos Zeman’s statements condemning the Armenian Genocide, are a valuable contribution of the Czech Republic to the prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.

Armenia is ranked 79th among 180 countries in the 2017 Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders.

According to the report, “the print media in Armenia are diverse and polarized, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, but pluralism lags behind in the broadcast media. In the crucial transition to digital TV, a future space for critical broadcasters will depend on the impartiality of the frequency bidding process.”

Other countries in the region are placed as follows: Russia – 148th, Georgia – 64th, Turkey – 155th, Azerbaijan – 162nd, Iran – 165th.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands are ranked as the countries with the highest degree of freedom for journalists.

North Korea ranked last, with Reporters Without Borders saying the country “continues to keep its population in ignorance and terror.Also at the bottom of the list, just ahead of North Korea, were Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria and China.