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News, 18 Aug, 2009.
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Photojournalist successfully overturns amnesty given to him. A well-known Armenian photojournalist, who was controversially penalized for contempt of court, has successfully petitioned authorities in Yerevan to declare illegal the amnesty granted to him last month. Gagik Shamshian was tried and fined 350,000 drams ($950) earlier this year for allegedly insulting a judge during the trial of opposition activists arrested following last year’s post-election unrest in Yerevan. Armenia’s Court of Appeals ruled on July 15 that he qualified for the amnesty as adopted by parliament in June. The National Assembly made clear that the bill can not apply to those individuals who were convicted of crimes less than ten years ago and benefited from the previous amnesty declared by the Armenian authorities in 2001. Shamshian received a 30-month prison sentence on equally controversial charges in 2007. It was overturned by the 2001 pardon. Shamshian said on Monday that he pointed to this fact during his hearing at the Court of Appeals. "I said, 'Dear court, you have no right to apply the amnesty to me because that’s against the law,"' he told RFE/RL. "The judges said, 'Don’t make noise, we are doing you a favor.' But I don’t need favors."/ Also covered by ARAVOT
Daily criticizes Co-Chair Bryza for stance on N-K. GOLOS ARMENII published an article titled "Bryza is Not Going Far" discussing the rumored appointment of Minsk Group Co-Chair Matthew Bryza as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan and opining that Bryza's "contradictory statements have not affected his standing in Washington."
Co-Chair Bryza says the N-K negotiation process has never been linked to internal political developments. HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK reports that speaking to the Azerbaijani APA news agency, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Matthew Bryza said that the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process has never been linked to any internal political developments in Armenia or Azerbaijan. According to Bryza, the Co-Chairs have always been impartial and called on all sides to be constructive. They have also never put pressure on any of the disputing factions.
Armenian GDP declines 16.3% in the first half of 2009. According to the CIS Statistics Committee, the greatest GDP contractions in the region have been recorded in Ukraine at 20.3% and Armenia at 16.3%, in comparision to the first half of 2008. Russia ranks third at 13.4%. / News.am
Georgia set to leave CIS, Armenia will be without CIS border. Lragir.am writes that on August 18, Georgia will officially leave the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The process began a year ago after the Georgian-Russian war. Once Georgia leaves, Armenia will have no border with other CIS states.
ANC says President has committed "irreversible mistakes" in the Armenian-Turkish dialogue. President Serzh Sargsian’s decision on whether or not visit Turkey in October is "irrelevant" to the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, a top representative of the main opposition group, Armenian National Congress (ANC) said on Monday. Commenting on the matter, Levon Zurabian, the ANC’s Central Office Coordinator, said that President Sargsian has committed "irreversible mistakes" in his policy of rapprochement with Turkey, which has been welcomed by the West but strongly criticized by Armenian opposition groups. "Those mistakes cannot be rectified by his going or not going to Turkey," he told RFE/RL. "In that sense, his decision won’t solve anything." The full article can be accessed at http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1801616.html
ANC may hold rally before September 18. ARAVOT notes that ANC officials have not excluded the possibility of holding a rally before September 18.
ANC looking to curry favor with Washington? GOLOS ARMENII quotes ANC representative Vladimir Karapetian as saying that the visit of President Sargsian to Turkey is in the interest of Armenia. The newspaper opines that this statement "proves that the ANC once again is seeking favor with Washington and is pretending to be a political force that shares the same policy positions as those of the White House." The daily claims that the ANC needs foreign and financial support.
Arabkir District Head to become Chief of Staff of the Yerevan Municipality? HAYOTS ASHKHAR quotes its sources as saying that current head of the Arabkir District, Hamlet Margarian, was offered the position of Chief of Staff of the Yerevan Municipality. Deputy District head Armen Martoyan may take his place if Margarian resigns as District Head.
New customs and tax service to be established within the State Revenue Committee. HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK writes that according to its sources, a new customs and tax service will be established in the near future, which will be headed by Armen Avetisian, the former head of the Customs Committee. This new structure will be the Investigative Department for the State Revenue Committee.
President’s daughter new Chekhov School Director? HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK reports that according to some rumors, President Sargsian's daughter was appointed as acting head of the Chekhov School in Yerevan. The school's former director, Gayane Sarukhanian, will head the Department of Education for the Yerevan Municipality.
President and former Foreign Minister have a falling out? HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK writes that former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has been blacklisted by President Sargsian. According to the newspaper, Oskanian invited guests from the United States and France to participate in a seminar organized by his Civilitas Foundation. The event was supposed to take place in Aghveran, but when the guests reached Aghveran, National Security Service agents interrogated them, inquiring as to who was paying for their stay, why they came to Armenia, etc. This allegedly angered Oskanian, who proceeded to cancel the seminar. The daily concludes that this happened because of the recent negative comments the former Foreign Minister made about President Sargsian.
High ranking police official reports on police illegalities to the European Court of Human Rights. HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK reports that a high ranking police official (whose name was not mentioned by the daily for security reasons) has submitted written testimony to the European Court of Human Rights in regard to illegalities within the Armenian Police.
Activist charged with falsely claiming administrative abuses at a school for children with special needs. A young civic activist is facing criminal proceedings and the possibility of up to two years imprisonment for bringing to light alleged sexual and other abuses at a Yerevan school for children with special needs. The Armenian Police formally charged Mariam Sukhudian of the environmental protection group SOS Teghut with a “false denunciation” this past weekend after months of investigation into the allegations circulated by local media, including state television. Sukhudian was among about a dozen young people who worked as volunteers at the Boarding School No. 11 in Yerevan’s Nubarashen suburb in April-June 2008, as part of a United Nations project to boost educational standards in Armenia. In their subsequent public pronouncements, they accused the school administration of failing to ensure minimal standards of teaching and hygiene and routinely ill-treating students and leaving them malnourished. / Read the full article at http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1801406.html
“Haykakan Zhamanak” to acquire modern printing house. AZG writes that according to information it has received, Haykakan Zhamanak, the opposition daily newspaper, is going to acquire its own printing house outfitted with modern equipment. The daily says that other opposition newspapers will be printed there too, "which means that the Armenian opposition is getting ready for a long term battle, using its chief power, the press." The daily notes that Haykakan Zhamanak will be the only newspaper in Armenia to have its own printing house. |
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