Armenian News...A Topalian...9 editorial

Armenpress.am

16 May, 2019

President Sarkissian signs the law on changing government’s composition

President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian signed a number of laws adopted by the Parliament, including the law on changing the composition of the government, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The laws concern making amendments and changes in the Law on Advertisement, Composition and Activity of the Government, Public Service, Code of Administrative Offenses and etc.

The Armenian Parliament on May 8 completely adopted the bill on changing the government’s composition. 79 MPs voted in favor of the bill, 41 voted against and 1 MP abstained.

According to the law, the government will consist of the following ministries:

 

Ministry of foreign affairs

Ministry of defense

Ministry of emergency situations

Ministry of justice

Ministry of labor and social affairs

Ministry of education, science and culture

Ministry of nature protection

Ministry of healthcare

Ministry of finance

Ministry of economy

Ministry of territorial administration and infrastructures

Ministry of high technological industry

 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenpress.am

16 May, 2019

Armenian government develops unemployment rate reduction program

The inter-agency commission of the government has developed a program for the reduction of number of unemployed people in Armenia, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said during today’s Cabinet meeting, adding that as of late 2018 unemployment comprises nearly 20% in Armenia.

“Our inter-agency commission has developed a program which is based on three pillars. The first one is the development of human capital, the second one – promotion of employment, and the third one are institutional reforms. Very concrete targets and deadlines will be set for these three directions”, Avinyan said.

The deputy PM tasked to set the deadline before June 15.

“The actions to be taken are completely ready. We just need to set the concrete targets, in other words, the concrete number results which are expected from each action, and the timetable through which we must move on”, the deputy PM said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

RFE/RL Report

Kocharian Claims Key Evidence Withheld In 2008 Unrest Case

May 16, 2019

Naira Bulghadarian

Former President Robert Kocharian on Thursday accused investigators of withholding evidence of his innocence in the 2008 post-election violence in 

Yerevan.

Speaking on the fourth day of his closely watched trial, Kocharian singled out a recently publicized video which purportedly shows a protester firing gunshots during the March 1, 2008 clashes between security forces and opposition supporters who had barricaded themselves in the city center. His lawyers 

submitted a copy of the video to the presiding judge.

Eight protesters and two police servicemen died in the clashes which broke out just over a month before Kocharian completed his second term in office and handed over power to his preferred successor, Serzh Sarkisian. The latter was the official winner of a disputed presidential election held in February 2008.

Sarkisian’s main challenger, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, refused to concede defeat, alleging widespread fraud. Ter-Petrosian and his supporters 

staged daily demonstrations in Yerevan’s Liberty Square to demand a rerun of the vote.

Kocharian told the court that the video in question was shot by Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS). He said the then NSS director, Gorik Hakobian, also showed him video evidence of “a number of other episodes” of the worst street violence in Armenia’s history.

“These were quite interesting materials: [they showed] how a grenade exploded, how the police captain (the first victim of the clashes) was killed by the grenade explosion,” he claimed. “All this was part of the materials [of the criminal case,] it’s not anymore.”

Kocharian declared a three-week state of emergency and ordered Armenian army units into central Yerevan late on March 1, 2008. He and his lawyers maintain that the crackdown was justified because the anti-government protests turned violent.

The trial prosecutors and the Special Investigative Service (SIS), which has conducted the probe, did not immediately respond to the allegation that they 

have withheld exculpatory evidence from the court.

The SIS says that Kocharian began massing troops in and around the capital one week before introducing emergency rule. It says that this violated Armenia’s 

constitution and amounted to an “overthrow of the constitutional order.”

The law-enforcement agency has brought the same coup charges against the former chief of presidential staff Armen Gevorgian and retired army Generals Seyran Ohanian and Yuri Khachaturov. Ohanian was the chief of the Armenian army’s 

General Staff while Khachaturov served as deputy defense minister in March 2008. All four defendants deny the accusations.

Armenian law-enforcement authorities blamed the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition for the 2008 violence until last year’s “velvet revolution” which brought Nikol Pashinian to power. They arrested and jailed in 2008-2010 dozens of Ter-Petrosian loyalists, including Pashinian, for organizing the “mass 

disturbances” in a bid to seize power. The latter denied the accusations as politically motivated.

The SIS first arrested Kocharian in July last year, two months after Pashinian was elected prime minister.

EuroNews, EU

May 18 2019

Armenian court frees ex-president Kocharyan from pre-trial arrest

TBILISI (Reuters) - An Armenian court on Saturday ordered former president Robert Kocharyan freed on bail from pre-trial detention, local news agencies reported.

The 64-year-old ex-president was arrested last July after peaceful protests drove his former ally and successor, Serzh Sarksyan, from power and propelled opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan into the prime minister's job.

Kocharyan, who was president from 1998 to 2008, has been charged with acting unlawfully by introducing a state of emergency in March 2008, following a disputed election. At least ten people were killed in clashes between police and protesters.

He was freed on bail of 1 million drams ($2000). He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Kocharyan told Reuters earlier this month that powerful opposition forces were coming together to challenge the country's new leadership soon, and that he hoped to be among them.

(Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Peter Graff)

PanArmenian, Armenia

May 17 2019

Iran home to Armenian manuscript that is the smallest in the world 

Armenian Vank Cathedral in Iran is home to the world's smallest manuscript that Armenian miniaturists have written in seven languages, IFP reports.

The Vank Cathedral, located in the New Julfa District of Isfahan, is considered one of the most beautiful churches in Iran, with historical paintings covering its ceilings and walls.

In the courtyard of the Vank Church, there is the museum and library, which has more than 700 manuscripts in Armenian and European languages common in the Middle Ages.

The ancient book weighs only 0.7 grams, has 14 pages and features the Lord's prayer in English, German, Dutch and other languages.

Built in 1606, the cathedral was dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of Armenian deportees who were resettled by Shah Abbas I during the Ottoman War of 1603-1618.

Panorama, Armenia

May 17 2019

Istanbul-Armenian writer Sevan Nisanyan grated Armenian citizenship

Istanbul-Armenian writer, linguist, reporter and columnist Sevan Nisanyan, who escaped prison and fled Turkey in 2017, has been granted Armenian citizenship.

“I received my Armenian passport and citizenship papers today from Mr Fadey Charchoghliyan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in Athens.

“I take pride in being a member of a peaceful and civilized nation that has withstood the tribulations of history by its labor alone.

“I thank Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and all others who helped me achieve this great honor,” he said in a post on Facebook. 

Nisanyan was jailed in Turkey in December 2014, for “construction infractions” and sentenced to over 11 years in prison. The charges that had him locked up stemmed from the renovations and additions to hishotels in Sirince, an old Greek village in Izmir that has become a tourist destination thanks to Nisanyan and his rustic hotel business. However, many intellectuals believed Nisanyan was jailed due to his book ‘The Wrong Republic’, in which he dared to criticize the official history of Turkey.

First Post

May 17 2019

When Politics and Football Collide

BY AAKRITI MEHROTRA

Century-long conflict could keep Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan out of the Europa League final in Azerbaijan

                                                                

Arsenal have the chance to put a mediocre domestic season behind them and secure Champions League football by winning the Europa League final against Chelsea in Baku, Azerbaijan. For reasons beyond their control though, the Gunners may have to do without the services of their mercurial midfielder, Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Mkhitaryan is Armenian. Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are, to put it mildly, hostile. The two countries, along with parts of Turkey, Russia and Georgia once formed the Transcaucasian Federation. When it disintegrated at the end of World War I, Armenia and Azerbaijan, now independent, went to war over some disputed territories. Enter the Soviet Union — the Big Fish.

Both countries were annexed by the communist behemoth and in 1923, the Soviets created an autonomous region called Nagorno Karabakh within Azerbaijan, with an ethnic Armenian majority. The reasons for this are not germane here — suffice to say that Soviet self-interest was at play.

Status quo reigned until 1988 when the USSR began to crumble. Nagorno Karabakh declared independence, Armenia sided with them and war broke out with Azerbaijan. 25,000 people were killed, more than a million displaced and horrific atrocities committed by both sides. A ceasefire, ironically brokered by Russia, came into effect in 1994 and Nagorno Karabakh has existed in a state of political limbo since then.

Meanwhile, the brutal war between Armenia and Azerbaijan has sowed the seeds for seething hatred that continues to this day. There are no international peacekeeping forces on the ground, which has resulted in regular skirmishes between both sides.

Citizens of Armenia, as well as those of other countries who are of Armenian descent or those who have ever visited Nagorno-Karabakh, are forbidden entry to Azerbaijan. For athletes or those participating in events, it is customary for governing bodies and ministries to sort these matters out. In 2012, Azerbaijan hosted the Eurovision Song Contest and Armenians were granted entry, although the contingent eventually withdrew from the competition.

In 2015, Baku hosted the first European Games, a multi-sport event. The Armenian delegation was granted visas and was amongst the 50 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to participate.

Even though the choice of a venue that is not welcoming to everyone for a showpiece final has been criticised, it is important to note that precedence and reassurances given by UEFA and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry suggest that Mkhitaryan will be allowed to participate and that “all necessary security measures would be in place”. An Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson even went on to add that “sports and politics are separate”.

That is nonsense of course. Sports and nationality are inextricably linked to politics. Borussia Dortmund opted to leave Mkhitaryan behind for their Europa League clash against Azeri club Gabala in 2015. Arsenal too opted to travel without the midfielder for their match against FK Qarabag in the current campaign. Qarabag coach Gurban Gurbanov had then claimed that the Gunners had “tried to save” Mkhitaryan from the “pressure” of playing in Azerbaijan. Well, yes.

Europe’s contentious history often throw up such situations. The Champions League final is being held in Madrid this year. Had it been in Belgrade, Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri may well have missed the summit clash with Tottenham. Shaqiri is a Swiss national who fled his native Kosovo to escape Serbian persecution and made the ‘double-eagle’ gesture – a symbol of his ethnic Albanian heritage — every time he scored during the 2018 World Cup. The Serbians were incensed, with players and fans exchanging verbal barbs.

Shaqiri did not travel with Liverpool for their Champions League group game against Red Star Belgrade this season, with manager Jurgen Klopp saying the decision was based on “common sense” and “to make sure we can be focused on football.” The Reds would go on to lose 2-0 but in the final reckoning it didn’t have much of an impact on their European ambitions.

Much more will be at stake when Arsenal meet Chelsea in the final. Despite their storied history, the Gunners have won only one European trophy of note — the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994. A Europa League win would go some way in filling this gaping hole in their resume. Not only that, having missed out on Champions League qualification for next season thanks to their fifth-placed finish in the Premier League, the only way they can do so now is by winning Europe’s second-tier tournament. Arsenal need all hands on deck.

Eventually, it will boil down to the collective choice made by Mkhitaryan and club management. The player has been pushed down the pecking order at the Emirates and didn’t start for Emery in both legs of the semi-final and the quarter-final. He could still be influential though — he has scored in a Europa League final before for Manchester United — but would his involvement be worth the risk? And will he be able to handle inevitable booing from the locals? The pressure may be too much, even for a footballer.

Eurasianet.org

May 18 2019

Arsenal’s return to Azerbaijan raises concerns for Armenian player

Austin Clayton is a writer based in Baku. 

Controversy over the issue is threatening to turn the expected attention from another high-profile Baku event into a PR debacle.

 Arsenal midfielder and Armenian national Henrikh Mkhitaryan is debating whether suit up for his team's upcoming match in Baku, reportedly concerned about his security. 

When English soccer team Arsenal meets its crosstown rivals Chelsea in the Europa League Final on May 29, it’s not certain that one of Arsenal’s top players will be on the field. The match will be held in Baku and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a native of Armenia, which has been at war with Azerbaijan since the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Controversy over the issue is threatening to turn the expected attention from another high-profile Baku event into a PR debacle.

When Arsenal met Azerbaijani club Qarabag in the tournament’s qualifiers in October, they left Mkhitaryan at home, reportedly over safety concerns. This time, the Azerbaijan Football Association has given Arsenal guarantees of Mkhitaryan’s security while in Baku. “Our government authorities provided guarantees to Uefa for Mkhi to come to Baku, so there is no issue of security and safety,” Elkhan Mammadov, the association’s general secretary, told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. “We at all times put the sport as something very separate from these political issues,” he said.

It’s not clear whether those guarantees are enough for Mkhitaryan and Arsenal, who as of the time this post was published had not made a decision. As of May 10, “acceptable guarantees have not been received” and the team is “hugely concerned [that] the location of the final could lead to Micki not being able to play,” an Arsenal spokesperson said. 

Azerbaijan has a long-running practice of denying ethnic Armenians, no matter their citizenship, entry into the country. The government does make exceptions, including for athletes: in the European Games of 2015, 25 athletes from Armenia participated. In that event the Armenians were often booed by local fans but there were no security incidents. 

The Mkhitaryan issue has been only one of the many controversial elements of holding the final in Baku. The British press has been full of withering reports of how difficult it is to get to Baku from London, the limited capacity of the Baku airport and hotels to handle the number of people who would want to see the final, and the denial of visas to British fans of Armenian origin. 

Many Azerbaijanis have taken offense at claims that Mkhitaryan would be at risk in their country. The national television network AzTV produced a segment titled “Failed Mkhitaryan Manipulation” in which political analyst Azer Hasrat claimed that more than 30,000 Armenians live in Azerbaijan outside of Karabakh without issue. He added that, “the Azerbaijani government promises to provide the safety of the Armenian player” and cited how Armenian-Ukrainian boxer Gevorg Manukyan took part in the European Games of 2015 in Baku; he was personally awarded a medal by President Ilham Aliyev. 

In a post on the controversy by Turan TV, one Facebook user commented that “hundreds of expats from England, Scotland and Ireland work in Azerbaijan, and they have no concerns, but when it comes to football, Azerbaijan is a dangerous country.” Another commented: “in 2015, Armenians came for the European Games, and the president even gave a medal to an Armenian athlete, so what are they worried about?”

Armenpress.am

16 May, 2019

‘Everything starts from the vision’: Armenian President delivers speech at opening of Kazakhstan’s annual economic forum

President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian participated in the opening ceremony of the 12th annual economic forum in the capital of Kazakhstan Nur-Sultan on May 16, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

This year the forum is being held under the name “Inspiring Growth: People, Cities, Economies”.

The forum is attended by current and former leaders of states, governments, international organizations, business leaders, economists who are discussing the global economic trends and structural changes.

The Armenian President was among the keynote speakers of the forum.

In his remarks President Sarkissian thanked the Kazakh President for inviting to take part in the forum and talked about the importance of having a vision. “Everything starts from the vision, the dream. I remember very well the early 90s when I visited here for the first time: it was a small city in the center of Kazakhstan. It reminded more a beautiful area, than a city. But there was a dream, a vision which was created and implemented by President Nazarbayev. Just few decades have passed. Look what happened to that dream and the vision. Now we are in a wonderful city – Nur-Sultan, which in some sense is the heart of Europe. Everything, really, starts from the vision”, he said.

According to the Armenian President, one of the visions relates to in which world we want to live in the coming 20-30 years. “Whether we want to live in a world that is divided, where there are more Berlin walls, or in a world that is really global? We are already a globally integrated world from where there is no path back. And this started not 20 years, but 100 years ago when the first Silk Roads have been constructed.

What is our vision for the next 20-30 years? In order to think about that, we need to go back for 20-30 years and see where we were. Whether you had the small devices which today govern our whole life, starting from family photos up to the whole information and financial analysis? But what will happen 20-30 years later, when we will apply artificial intelligence which will completely change, for example, our healthcare. Where we will be, when the communication will be completely different, with a higher quality, when all industrial products will be connected with artificial intelligence and management of great information? Whether we will afraid of this? The answer is the following – no. Because, in fact, these are great advantages. They will not reduce the number of jobs in the world, quite the contrary, will drastically increase them. This is a new era. This is a world which we must welcome. Whether we are ready for that? I am not sure for 100%. Can we be ready for that? Yes, I am sure for 100%. We should start to be ready and focus on education, preparing our kids to the next stage of the real 21st century”, the President said.

According to him, information and high technological companies, which are concentrated on artificial intelligence, rather than those dealing with natural resources, are becoming a locomotive in the 21st century. “This change is based on two factors. 

The first one is the person. In other words, an innovative person will be on the origins of the change, who has the tools of the 4th industrial revolution. These tools enable each individual to be creative, even being at home. And this will drastically change our approach to the business, will change how we will bring our contribution to the economy. An individual can carry out a creative work even at home or in a café through startups.

Look how the current giant companies have been created – in the garage, café, thanks to the dreams and qualified innovations of individuals. In other words, the driving force in the 21st century is the innovative and creative work.

The second factor is the 4th industrial revolution, but here I will insist that there is another revolution as well. We are moving towards the revolutionary evolution. Changes will not take place in 30 years. The world will change every day, and we must be ready for that”, the Armenian President added.

Talking about the place of Armenia in the global world, he noted: “I am looking at the future of my country and people with positive developments and vision. Our small state, the Republic of Armenia, is the home of the global nation because there are as many Armenians in our country as in Russia, Los Angeles is the largest Armenian-populated city after Yerevan, millions of Armenians live in France, they are spread from Singapore to Argentina. Therefore, we have a small state, but we are a global nation. We are part of the 21st century, integrated globally. And I encourage all to do the same, be globally integrated, creative and resilient towards changes. 

As this world is going to change every day, we should be ready for that. Everything starts from the young generation and education. Everything starts from the vision”.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan