Armenian News... A Topalian... Breaking News Pashinyan resigns
Breaking News:
Pashinyan resigns paving way for snap elections
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 15 2018
Magnitude 2.5 earthquake registered in Armenia’s Kajaean
A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was registered 9km northeast of the city of Kajaran, Armenia, at 07:59 local time (03:59 UTC) today.
The quake measured 3 at the epicenter.
According to preliminary data, the earthquake measured 2-3 in Lernardzor community in Syunik.
168.am
October 15 2018
Istanbul Municipality renames one of streets of Şişli district after Hrant Dink
One of the streets of Şişli district of Istanbul has been renamed after late Istanbul-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Istanbul-based Agos periodical informs.
Founder and former editor-in-chief of Agos periodical Hrant Dink was killed on January 19, 2007 in front of Agos editorial office.
Bloomberg
Oct 13 2018
Putin Ally Leads Counter-Charge to Armenia's Velvet Revolution
By Sara Khojoyan and Anthony Halpin
Five months after a democratic “velvet revolution” that ousted Armenia’s former rulers, an ex-president with close ties to the Kremlin says he’s returning to politics to challenge the new government.
Robert Kocharyan, who’s facing possible imprisonment over the deaths of protesters at the end of his presidency a decade ago, criticized the “revolutionary romanticism” of the authorities under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the opposition leader swept to power in May by peaceful mass protests.
Pashinyan, who hosted world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a Francophone summit in Yerevan this week, remains hugely popular with Armenians angered by widespread official corruption and lawlessness under the old regime that left many citizens in poverty. He’s still striving to consolidate his hold on power as parliament is controlled by the party of Kocharyan’s hand-picked successor.
“I see the shortcomings of the government, they are very much in need of sound and rational criticism,” Kocharyan, 64, said in an interview in the capital, Yerevan, on Tuesday. He didn’t specify what he would change.
The Kremlin is watching events closely in the Caucasus nation of 3 million people that hosts a vital Russian military base and is engaged in a thirty-year conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The arrests of Kocharyan and other senior former officials prompted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to complain in July that Moscow had “brought our concerns to the attention of Armenia’s leaders on several occasions.”
Birthday Greetings
In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin phoned Kocharyan to offer “heartfelt birthday greetings,” according to the Kremlin.
Kocharyan said he and Putin “have been in regular contact all this time and have friendly personal relations.” The concern expressed by Russia over the treatment of former leaders is “quite natural,” he said, declining to say whether he and Putin had discussed the charges against him.
Still, Kocharyan shouldn’t expect Russia to support a comeback, even though it may not trust the new Armenian leadership yet, according to Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, a think tank in Yerevan. “The stakes are far too high to risk the real instability that will come from any such wager,” he said.
Pashinyan told supporters at a rally in August that he has good relations with Putin and that “the Armenian-Russian strategic friendship will be deepened,” even as he also seeks to strengthen ties with the European Union. Former officials being held accountable for crimes “are making phone calls to Russia to say that we are targeting Russia,” he said.
Kocharyan was president for 10 years before choosing Serzh Sargsyan to succeed him in elections in 2008 that sparked opposition protests against alleged ballot-rigging. He’s facing prosecution now over his decision to order police and troops to disperse protesters, resulting in violence that killed 10 people. Pashinyan, one of the opposition leaders, went into hiding and was later jailed.
Sargsyan’s attempt to extend his rule by switching to the premiership from president in April sparked the rebellion that led to his ouster, ushering in Pashinyan.
Robert Kocharyan during the interview in Yerevan on Oct. 9.Photographer: Nazik Armenakyan/Bloomberg
Jail Precedent
Armenia set a precedent in July when Kocharyan became the first former head of an ex-Soviet republic to be jailed after a court ordered his detention on charges of subverting constitutional order. He was later released on appeal. Kocharyan said he acted within his authority and that the case was driven by Pashinyan’s “personal hatred” of him.
Pashinyan is moving to secure his revolution by demanding snap parliamentary elections in December, arguing the legislature no longer reflects Armenia’s political reality after his supporters won 81 percent in voting for Yerevan’s city council last month. He’s threatened to resign as premier as early as next week to trigger the process of requiring parliament to call elections that are opposed by the Republicans.
While Kocharyan is wading into the political scene with criticism of the current government, he said he hasn’t set himself a goal of returning to the top role for now.
“Even if the revolutionary government fails, Kocharyan’s return is still unlikely,” said Lilit Gevorgyan, senior analyst at IHS Markit in London. “He offers no vision of change but rather a return to the oligarchy that enriched a handful and drove every third Armenian into poverty.”
The Mail, UK
Oct 13 2018
Gibraltar beat Armenia after national anthem mix-up
Gibraltar’s players could be forgiven for not joining in with the national anthem ahead of their Nations League match away to Armenia – because their hosts played Liechtenstein’s by mistake.
The Gibraltar Football Association said it was “very disappointed” by the mix-up ahead of the clash in Yerevan and that the Armenian FA had apologised.
A statement on the Gibraltar FA Twitter feed read: “The Gibraltar FA is very disappointed to note that, prior to tonight’s UEFA Nations League match versus Armenia, the national anthem of Liechtenstein was played.
Full time in Yerevan:
Armenia 🇦🇲 v 1 🇬🇮Gibraltar
“The Armenian FA has apologised to the Head of Delegation representing the Gibraltar FA in Yerevan for this oversight and an announcement has been made at the national stadium apologising for the error.”
Gibraltar got the last laugh on the pitch, though, as they claimed a shock 1-0 win thanks to Joseph Chipolina’s second-half penalty.
It was their first ever victory in a competitive match.
And next up for Gibraltar on Tuesday – Liechtenstein.
Aysor, Armenia
Oct 15 2018
¾ of Armenia’s economy comprises of Russian companies: Russian trade representative
While making political reforms it is necessary not to forget about formation of favorable atmosphere for investments, Russia’s trade representative in Armenia Andrey Babko told the reporters on Monday.
As to whether the political developments in Armenia affected Armenian-Russian trade relations and volume of investments, Babko said, “Our cooperation has been established before the political developments. They did not have any impact as the process continues as usual. Besides, we see that Armenia and Russia preserve and implement the arrangements reached during the previous years,” he stressed, adding that no changes have been registered in this regard.
“We see activation of contacts between Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Russia’s PM Dmitry Medvedev. Another thing is that while dealing with political reforms it is necessary to continue assisting formation of favorable environment for investments,” Babko said.
He though added that certain developments and “revelations” do not have positive impact on the process but expressed hope that everything will settle down.
“The Armenian political figures must understand what Armenia’s economy is comprised of, what companies work here. Let us openly say that the ¾ of them are companies with Russian capital, subsidiaries of Russian leading companies, so the political figures should take it into consideration too,” he said.
Aysor, Armenia
Oct 15 2018
Armenia-Russia trade turnover grows by 26% in January-June 2018
In January-June of 2018 the trade turnover between Armenia and Russia has exceeded the figures registered in the same span of the past year by 26%, Russia’s trade representative in Armenia Andrey Babko told the reporters today.
He said Russia is trying to promote not only export to Armenia but import from Armenia as well.
“Besides the import of usual agricultural products import of fish, textile and shoes has also been intensified. These are high-taste things demanded in Russia,” Babko said.
He emphasized Russia’s serious role in Armenia’s economy and said that about 37% of direct foreign investments in Armenia come to Russia’s share.
The Economist
Oct 1 2018
Obituary: Charles Aznavour
The French-Armenian troubadour died on October 1st, aged 94
FOR a small guy, Charles Aznavour liked his stage to be big. Really big. He would slip through the curtains at the back and slide into the spotlight, left hand in his pocket, ready to face his audience head-on. Wearing a black rollneck or a skinny tie, he projected an almost jaunty insouciance with his little crooked smile. But his fans knew he was a survivor, someone who got knocked down a lot but always rose again—someone a lot like them. As he lifted the microphone, his face showed a defiant chin, a circumflex of dark eyebrows, closed eyes. For a moment their lids were as white and as curved as a beach in Cuba (one of the many countries that broadcast hours of his music in the days after he died). His dark eyelashes fluttered like palm trees. And then came that voice, crashing on to the heart’s shore.
He was born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian near the Latin Quarter in Paris in 1924, and christened “Charles” by a French nurse who could not pronounce his name. His Armenian parents had taken refuge there while they waited for visas to America. Meanwhile, his father took over a restaurant that featured live music and offered free food to the less well-off. When the business inevitably went bust his mother took in work as a seamstress. But it was singing and performing for other émigrés that consumed the family. Both parents had been trained in the theatre. He made his inadvertent stage debut at three when he wandered in from the wings towards the lights.
President Macron's speech in Yerevan (in French)
It's 40 minutes long and you wish that we had such a political leader in the UK.
He mentions kind words at the start on how well Armenia organised the conference, that France will remember the Armenian Genocide, and his sentiments on losing Aznavour stressing his Armenian heritage that merged well with his role in French culture.
Look at how a lecture n tea tunes into a PR exercise for Turkey including its tolerance nd its adherence to democracy (what joke).
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