Armenian News... A Topalian...5 posts

Panorama, Armenia

July 5 2019

Anti-president rally held in Armenian capital

Representatives of AntiFake.am website and Civic Consciousness NGO carried out a joint symbolic campaign in the Armenian capital on Friday, July 5 marking the Constitution Day in the country. 

The campaign titled “Save Constitution” started from 1 Baghramyan Avenue in downtown Yerevan. The participants next headed to the Armenian presidential residence.

The purpose of the symbolic action is to draw the Armenian citizens’ attention to the fact that President Armen Sarkissian, whose main function is to supervise the enforcement of the Constitution, not only turns a blind eye to the cases of its violation by various officials, but also breaches the Constitution himself, the head of AntiFake.am, Narek Samsonyan said.

The participants blew up white balloons featuring photos of the president, prime minister and other top officials during the rally.

After the action, the participants gifted the Armenian Constitution to passengers on different streets. 

Panorama, Armenia

July 5 2019

Court chairman: Strong, democratic Armenia can be built only under constitutional supremacy

Chairman of the Armenian Constitutional Court Hrayr Tovmasyan has issued a congratulatory message on the Day of Constitution and State Symbols celebrated on 5 July, stressing that a strong and democratic Armenia can be built exclusively under the constitutional supremacy.

“The Constitution is the backbone of the state, the core of the rule of law. The protector and the key guarantor of the country’s sustainable development, security and the functioning of state institutions is the Constitution,” the chairman said.

Tovmasyan stressed the Constitution of Armenia serves as the only legal basis for the legitimacy of exercising the whole public authority.

“I am deeply convinced a strong, democratic and developing Armenia can be built exclusively under the supremacy of the law and Constitution, rather than emotions. I believe we should be guided by this idea and together build a state adhering to the principle of separation of powers and mutual respect,” the statement read.

BBC Monitoring Trans Caucasus Unit

Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

July 4, 2019 Thursday

Journalist starts 'MeToo' campaign in Armenia

 

An Armenian journalist's initiative to publish online anonymous letters from survivors of sexual abuse has broken silence over sexual and domestic violence in Armenia. The campaign has also provoked a wave of criticism against the journalist herself.

 

Lucy Kocharyan has been publishing dozens of anonymous letters from sexual abuse survivors on her Facebook page under an Armenian hashtag that translates as #voice_of_violence.

 

The letters are stories of violence, rape and the sexual abuse of children, adolescents and women, sometimes on part of their close relatives. In her latest posts, Kocharyan said that she also received letters from men and will publish them too. She said she will continue publishing the letters despite the fact that she has been called a "Soros journalist" and someone "who undermines Armenian traditions". She also said that since she has also been accused of inventing all these messages, she will soon publish the screenshots of the letters.

 

Many social media users shared the stories on Facebook under #voice_of_violence hashtag. The campaign also gained traction on Twitter.

 

The movement started after Hetq.am website re-published an article on 29 June about a Czech female volunteer living in Armenia, who survived an attempted sexual assault.

 

In the article, told in first-person, the woman spoke about her hard experience, noting how difficult it was to speak out about sexual violence in Armenia and get justice from the court system. The English version of the article was published in April.

 

Reaction

 

Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan said that the stories were "terrifying" and that there must be zero tolerance for sexual or domestic violence in Armenia.

 

Torosyan said that the roots of violence, especially towards girls and women, ran rather deep, "even in a traditional culture". He criticised the comments blaming the victims and justifying the abusers. He said the state had much to do to prevent domestic and sexual violence and to protect its victims.

 

Information security expert Samvel Martirosyan said on his Facebook page that the Armenian campaign is similar to #metoo campaign. Martirosyan noted, however, that the format is different since the victims were speaking out through anonymous letters.

 

He added that those "who wash their dirty linen in public" are always considered traitors in Armenia.

 

The campaign has been met by a wave of negative reactions. An MP and a fringe anti-Soros activist have accused journalist Kocharyan of "brainwashing" the Armenian people and trying to force the government to ratify an international convention that seeks to prevent violence against women.

 

MP Arman Abovyan from Prosperous Armenia party spoke against the movement in a Facebook post, however, dismissing it as primitive manipulation. He said the campaign was an attempt to get the government to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

 

Founder of anti-Soros Veto campaign Narek Malyan said on his Facebook that he had been enjoying how the "mercenaries of a foreign agents' network" were brainwashing the "flock" with their anonymous letters. He claimed it was simply a preparation for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

 

Istanbul Convention

 

Police Colonel Nelli Duryan said that 1,090 case of violence had been registered in Armenia over the past year, with 100 of them regarding women. She said the ratification of the Istanbul Convention will make it possible to create mechanisms to prevent domestic violence.

 

On 3 July, Armenia and the Council of Europe launched a joint programme on "Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in Armenia: Continuing the path towards ratification of the Istanbul Convention", News.am said on 3 July.

 

The project will be implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe's Action Plan for Armenia for 2019-22.

 

Deputy Minister of Education Arevik Anapiosyan expressed hope that the Istanbul Convention will be signed soon. She said it was frightening that the society ignored the problem of domestic violence, News.am said.

 

Social Affairs Minister Zaruhi Batoyan said that the current government was interested in fighting domestic violence. She underscored the need to raise the society's awareness of the issue through media and non-governmental organisations, News.am said.

 

The Armenian parliament passed the law on prevention of domestic violence in December 2017. The initial title of the bill was expanded to "Preventing violence in the family, protecting victims of violence in the family and restoring harmony in the family". The move was criticised by women's rights groups, which said that changes resulted in a fundamental shift, moving the bill from the protection of an individual into "family harmony".

 

Armenia signed the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in January 2018.

[if this Swedish line of argument has been correctly reported, it is completely pathetic.There are a huge volumes of document with witness account, both Armenian and non-Armenian within numerous countries]

Anadolu Agency, Turkey

July 5 2019

 Sweden: Difficult to recognize 1915 Armenian events as 'genocide'

Atila Altuntas 

STOCKHOLM

Sweden’s foreign minister said on Friday that it is difficult for Sweden to recognize the 1915 Armenian events as ''genocide''. 

“It seems difficult for us to recognize the 1915 Armenian and Assyrian genocide allegations. You must have a strong evidence in order to declare a country massacrer,” said Margot Wallstrom in a press conference.

Wallstrom added that it was very difficult to obtain a result regarding the issue because now there is not any witness who experienced the events.

Turkey's position is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as “genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar

Banks.am, Armenia

July 5 2019

 Made in Armenia, sold in Europe: New fashion brand by Ani

 

 

In 2017, Ani Bagdasaryan started AYANI clothing company to create jobs, overcome obstacles and make an impact in her homeland.

 

The "5-minute office wear fix" clothes are made in a small family-owned factory in Armenia, while shipping and returns are done in Germany. Ani regularly travels to Armenia to oversee the factory work and take the clothes to Germany.

 

Banks.am has met with Ani on her last visit and talked about the challenges of Armenian-German business, the idea of establishing the company and the comfort of the dresses.

 

Choosing is a way of voting

 

I was born in Moscow, studied in the UK and then moved to Germany. I obtained a degree in Social Psychology with a strong focus on Marketing and Business Administration. Afterward, I got a job offer and moved to Berlin, and since then I have lived there for 7 years.

 

I was working in e-commerce, doing advertising campaigns for large companies like eBay, Zalando, Amazon on international markets. I realized what I was doing was meaningless: I was just making people buy more from companies that already had so much money.

 

Back in 2016, I started reading a lot of books and learning about what is actually going on in the world at the moment. So, I became more conscious about consumption, the impact of my money: where I eat, where I buy from, what companies do with the money that I give them, how they treat their employees. I realized that every time we buy a product, we give our money and support the organization behind it. And that is important to remember. Every one of us has this power.

 

This idea made me aware that I spent over 50 hours a week in the office just making people buy more products from companies, whose way of treating employees I don’t support. Eventually, I quit it to work full-time on my new idea, which was to create a “5-minute office wear fix”, dresses that you can quickly take off the hanger, put on and you are ready for the day. They are comfortable, elegant and they give you the professional look, yet at the same time they are affordable for the younger generation.

 

Where am I going to do the production?

 

My first thought was Armenia. Honestly, everyone was saying, “Don’t do that in Armenia, it will be overly complicated, do it in Russia or Turkey". Actually, there are many reasons, including the fact that Armenia does not produce the materials, all accessories, zippers, fabric, elastic... I import these products from Europe and Turkey.

 

I wanted to produce in Armenia because I know there are many difficulties and one of the ways to improve is to become a part of it and part of the movement to move it forward. I was offered to do it in Germany as well. Of course, it would be easier for me: I would not have to travel, all the changes could be done in front of me, etc. But my goal was to make an impact in Armenia, to provide jobs and hopefully to create a sustainable working business here.

 

Step by step

 

I saved money (I am not a big spender), around EUR 16,000-18,000, I also asked for a loan from my family to establish the business.

 

First, I did focus groups to check what the target needs. Second, I put together a financial plan, which was the longest, the hardest part. Once I saw that the numbers could work, I came to Armenia and started looking for factories. I traveled a lot, I talked to different factories.

 

Armenian problems

 

The thing is I didn’t know where to start. As somebody who lives abroad, the first way for me is to Google something, so I did it and there was almost nothing. I had to talk with so many people to get connected and find the right contacts. Somebody who doesn’t speak Armenian could never find this kind of information. It took at least one month of onground work. What also helped is getting in touch with DFA. One of the many people I spoke to eventually mentioned the organization. So got in touch with them to learn more about the sewing facilities in Armenia.

 

The number one thing that needs to be done is to make things available on the Internet, particularly in English for foreigners who want to set up a business in Armenia but do not know the language. Although I have seen some improvements on this side in the last months, I would love all laws in Armenia to be online: it makes the process easy for everyone, transparent and fast. I am ready to do even a crowdfunding campaign for it: 3-4 people, a 2-month project, translation into English, with an easy interface. Done.

 

Currently, I am cooperating with a small factory based in Yeghvard, which employs 6-8 people. The factory has its own brand Ustian, an own label. I am placing my orders there, I only do dresses.

 

Looking for a designer was easy. I am working together with local designer Nelly Serobyan on our latest collections. I love her designs, her sense for the brand and a professional working style which together is not easy to find.

 

I am basically everything

 

Marketing, sales, production, collaboration with the designer: I do everything except for sewing. At the beginning and the end of the production, I come and personally make sure that we deliver high quality garments.

 

I come from marketing background. I am not that aware of how the fashion industry exactly works, but I actually like it more because I came from a business project management approach, so in everything I do, I try to simplify things, find the most effective way. As I don’t know the rules, I create my own ones and I improve them, rather than take it as a standard.

 

In the fashion industry, sizing does exactly the standard, but we know that sizing does not always work because “M” is not the same for all women, what I am doing is changing standards a little bit to give the comfort, what the person who has been working at the fashion industry wouldn’t do.

 

 

Dresses for any occasion

 

The goal is to design clothes that you can wear at the office and for after work events. Basically the one dress you can wear at every occasion making you feel confident and beautiful. Comfort is our priority and I pay the closest attention to it. That is why we add large pockets for the smartphone on all of our dresses (the way that trousers have pockets, dresses don’t).

 

Work dresses are all super tight and uncomfortable for cycling, while many women in Europe bike to work. AYANI dresses are perfect for cycling to work or even attending weddings (as some of our customers already did).

 

AYANI’s flattering fits were tested on over 100 women with different sizes and body shapes. We select high quality fabrics which are made to last.

 

People can order AYANI dresses online and get them right away, because we have our models in all sizes stored.

 

As for the name, I wanted to put something Armenian in it. The most typical thing in Armenian is the ending -yan, I was playing around and at the end AYANI came out. It is feminine, short and has something Armenian.

 

Made in Armenia

 

Only 10-20 % of the work is done in Armenia, the biggest part of the business is in Germany: all the sales, the customer service. AYANI also offers a private fitting at our showroom in Berlin. A private fitting can be scheduled if the client contacts us and names the preferred date and time.I also organize pop-up stores in different locations around the city, with one happening next week in Berlin Mitte.

 

I would love to do it here in Armenia, but shipping will be impossible to the customers, it will take weeks for them to arrive. I sell Europe-wide through my online store and it only takes 2-5 days maximum around Europe. We also delivery to the US and Canada.

 

We are thinking of having a small office-showroom in Yerevan in the future, but at the moment my goal is to promote Armenia and present Armenian product to the world.

 

Amalie Khachatryan