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The song of Armenia at Eurovision 2014 “Not Alone” Aram MP3 viewed over 2.5 million times on (…)

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In two days, the representative of Armenia in Eurovision 2014 takes place in Copenhagen (Denmark), Aram MP3 enter the contest in the first semifinal. The video for the song “Not Alone” by the representative of Armenia has been viewed on arton99596-480x316YouTube more than 2.5 million times. Armenia would be according to some predictions and bookies-favorite of the contest Eurovision 2014 will be supported during the vote on the first semi-final of thousands of Armenians in the diaspora. We will give you further details on the vote for Armenia.

Krikor Amirzayan

Head of Azerbaijani police: I will kill Armenian girl and drink her blood

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To the question posed in Azerbaijani by one of the figurants in the video “why there were no police-woman officers escorting Leyla Yunus” the head of the police Head of Azerbaijani policeanswered that they did have women in police, but they were calmly sleeping at home, as they were brought up by Azerbaijani women in contrast to Leyla Yunus.

After the question was asked for the second time, the head of the police said that they sent for her a man police officer, as Yunus was neither a woman, nor an Azerbaijani.

“I will not only go after her (the Armenian – edt.) toilet, moreover I will kill her too and will drink her blood, just as they had done with thousands of our countrymen,” the head of the police stated.

When he was objected that there were other circumstances then – it was war, he noted that in peacetime Yunus must love Azerbaijani nation and not her own.

During the interview given to Yeni Musavat the head of the police Asadov also stated that the officer who allowed unethical actions against Leyla Yunus won’t be punished. “Everything is legal. The policeman was standing behind the door when she entered the toilet, in order to protect that blackmailer to cause injuries to herself. What if she hang there herself up?” Ismail Asadov stated.

Source: Panorama.am

Sarkisian called for a new deal between Armenia and the EU

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Friday, Sarkisian shouted the European Union to continue to deepen its relations with Armenia through a new framework for cooperation which would be “compatible” with the arton99382-480x270forthcoming accession to the Customs Union.

“We will take further steps with our EU partners, to create a legal foundation governing our relationship, on the one hand reflect the content of previous discussions between Armenia and the EU, and to the other will be compatible with other formats of cooperation, “Sarkisian said at a gathering of the Eastern Partnership program of the EU, which was held in Prague.

“Our conviction: no partner countries should be forced to pay a price because it decides to participate in one or another integration process. We do not make a choice between our allies we have as many friends as possible, “he said.

Sargsyan clearly alludes to the EU decision to abandon the planned association agreement with Yerevan following his unexpected decision last August. Some EU officials have repeatedly stated that the dominant component of the agreement is not “compatible” with the accession to the economic bloc led by Russia.

European leaders last fall rejected a proposal for an Armenian watered down version of the Association Agreement. Yerevan renewed the offer last month after quee Brussels signed the political segment of a similar agreement with Ukraine in solidarity with the pro-Western interim government in Kiev.

The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has excluded such a possibility, on March 23, citing Yerevan acceptance of the legitimacy of a disputed referendum in the Crimea led to the annexation of the region by Russia.

Then, four days later, Armenia voted against a pro-Ukrainian UN resolution. “Our vote at the United Nations has killed any chance of signing an association agreement,” said Alexander Arzumanyan, an opposition MP and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. “We stepped openly anti-European. ”

Another former senior diplomat said anonymously that many in Europe now consider Armenia as a “Russian satellite discredited. “He also said that the EU does not intend to sign a major political agreement with the Sarkisian government.

Armenia has a booth at the Expo Art Monaco 2014

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A delegation led by Marseille Didier Parakian, Deputy Mayor went to Monaco yesterday
arton99396-480x320Armenia has not missed the important appointment modern and contemporary art of the Riviera with a presence in a booth at Art Monaco Expo 2014 April 23 to 27. Lounge frequented by art enthusiasts and luxury thousands of fans from Europe to Monaco.

In the prestigious Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, accompanied by dozens of countries came exhibit, Armenia was present and marked his presence at this important international meeting in the field of art. A first for Armenia and opens a new window for the presentation of its artists on the international scene. Many galleries have contributed to this stand of Armenia was the quality of the works, one of the most remarkable Monaco Art Expo 2014. Organizer of the Armenian presence in Monaco was the Armenian Ministry Diaspora, with the head of the Department of Armenian Communities of Europe, Hratchya Aslanyan. The exhibition was co-organized by the Yerevan Art Gallery Bardzr Arvest with its founder and owner Sargis Grigoryan present in Monaco. The latter, who participated in many art exhibitions around the world is one of the most important collectors of paintings and objets d’art in Armenia.

Saturday, April 27, a delegation of fifty people led by Didier Parakian, Deputy Mayor of Marseille went to visit the stand of Armenia in Monaco. Furthermore Didier Parakian, the group was composed of numerous Marseille personalities such as former Mayor Councillor and municipal-14th and 15th-Garo Hovsepian, Richard Findykian responsible Ararat TV and elected in the 5th sector of Marseilles, Jacques Donabédian President of CCAF Marseille-Provence, Franck Ohanessian vice president of Armenia Marseille, Roland Jacques Avdoyan Vartanian and members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Franco-Armenian. Note also the presence of other personalities of the Marseille region and among them Benjamin and Maurice Deligazarian Abrahamian.

In Monaco, Marseille Hratchya Aslanyan received delegation led her to Armenia exhibition stand. Didier Parakian and fifty Marseille visitors then discovered the works of high quality artists Armenians presented on the international stage of the art market. Sargis Grigoryan began to Didier Parakian to transmit Jean-Claude Gaudin, Mayor of Marseille, a beautiful picture of an Armenian artist. The presence of Armenia which was very noticeable by the organizers of Art Expo 2014 Monaco honored Armenia and the Diaspora. Armenia-Turkey who like do not miss this important event in the art. Armenia won the Trophy of Excellence and Best Exhibition and Expo 2014 Monaco Pavilion of Art.

Photos Isahak Akkayan

Krikor Amirzayan

Azerbaijan presses on Arif Yunusov because of his cooperation with Armenians: He is hospitalized in pre-infarction condition

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Azerbaijani authorities “revealing the spy network” will put an end to the Armenian-Azerbaijani joint projects with the participation of independent NGOs. The Azerbaijani Arif Yunusovnews agency “Turan” reports referring to the joint statement of the Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus and Armenian journalist Laura Baghdasaryan on the prosecution of Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadirov in espionage.

“We are two women – a human rights activist and a journalist – two mothers, one from Azerbaijan and the other from Armenia, cooperating for almost ten years. We stand shoulder to shoulder in the difficult task of creating and reinforcing the social dialogue between the two nations which are in a war for over 20 years. We go hand in hand for almost 10 years, releasing joint articles, books and finally creating the first and only unique joint website – publicdialogues.info. This is a platform for establishing a dialogue between Armenians and Azerbaijanis,” the statement reads.

The authors note that on the site created by them the citizens of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, United States and European Union countries were talking, arguing, discussing important social problems. 

“We are against future wars! We are against the death and hatred between our children and grandchildren, we are against the policy sowing hatred, we are against the hatred atmosphere towards our neighbors,” write Leyla Yunus and Laura Baghdasaryan.

The statement notes that on April 19, 2014 the Azerbaijani authorities arrested Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadirov on charges of espionage for Armenia. He has been an active participant in numerous online and international conferences held on their websites. On April 22 by the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan a joint team of investigators and the Prosecutor General of Ministry of National Security was created aimed at “disclosing a large network of Armenia spies in Azerbaijan.” 

“It is easy to predict that this network is expected to include the members of our Dialogue. They have started to press on Laila already, the spouse of Arif Yunusov. Arif Yunusov, the author of eight books and over 230 articles on the modern history of the Caucasus, of the Karabakh conflict in particular, has been an active participant of international conferences in Armenian territory since 2001. Currently Arif Yunusov is hospitalized,” the statement reads. 

Azerbaijani news portal “Hakqqin.az” also reports that political scientist Arif Yunus, the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, is in a pre-infarction condition and is urgently hospitalized.

“Earlier media repeatedly disseminated information that Leyla and Arif Yunus may face the fate of detained journalist Rauf Mirkadirov because they also often visited Armenia and participate in projects of “people’s diplomacy,” writes the portal.

Rauf Mirkadirov, columnist of Azerbaijani newspaper “Zerkalo”, was arrested on April 18 in Ankara on charges of expiration of documents. On April 19 Mirkadirov was deported to Azerbaijan, where he immediately was arrested and put in custody by the MNS on suspicion of treason. On April 21 the court in Baku sanctioned his arrest for three months. Mirkadirov is accused of the cooperation with special services of Armenia, specifically, he is accused of making the transfers of the state secret information, including those about the dislocation of Azerbaijani Armed forces to Armenia during 2008-2009.

Source: Panorama.am

Congressional Delegation to Arrive in Armenia Wednesday

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YEREVAN (Arka)—From April 23 to 26, a U.S. Congressional delegation — including House Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), David Cicilline (D-RI), and Lois Frankel (D-FL) — will visit Armenia, the US embassy in Yerevan reported.

congress-delegatesThe delegation will meet with a number of officials from the executive branch and members of the National Assembly, as well as with civil society activists and political analysts. Other visits will include a meeting with the Catholicos at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, a tour of the Armenian National Engineering Laboratory (ANEL) and a discussion with the American Chamber of Commerce.

The delegation will participate in the commemorations of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan on April 24.

The Congressmen are all members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee: Congressman Royce serves as the Committee’s Chairman and Congressman Engel as a Ranking Member. The delegation is also visiting Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Armenia needs to intensify propaganda – expert

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Expert in Azerbaijani studies Sargis Asatryan is sure that Azerbaijan regularly violates the ceasefire before each monitoring of the Line of Contact.

Armenian need to intensify“During any monitoring mission sniping is intensified and, regrettably, neither the monitoring missions nor the international community gives an adequate response,” the expert said.

He pointed out the need for Armenia to implement a more active foreign policy. Azerbaijan is sparing no efforts for its anti-Armenian propaganda.

“We are acting in a different way not to incite hatred, but it is viewed in a different light. So we turn to be more passive than Azerbaijan.

We are strong because we are right in the context of historical truth. But we must more active present our truth to humanity,” Asatryan said.

Azeri Journalist Jailed For ‘Spying For Armenia’

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BAKU (RFE/RL)—A prominent Azerbaijani journalist and political analyst has been deported from Turkey and arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of high treason reportedly stemming from his repeated trips to Armenia.

RaudMinkadyarovRauf Mirkadyrov, a veteran columnist for the Baku-based newspaper “Zerkalo,” was put on a plane in Ankara at the weekend and flown to Baku, where was immediately detained by officers of the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry. Mirkadyrov’s lawyer told Azerbaijani media afterwards that his client has been charged with espionage.

Mirkadyrov was formally remanded in pre-trial custody on Monday. In a statement cited by local news agencies, Azerbaijan’s Office of the Prosecutor-General claimed that Mirkadyrov was recruited by Armenian intelligence agents in 2008. It said he repeatedly met with them in Armenia, Georgia and Turkey in the following years to pass on “information about the political, social and military situation” in Azerbaijan that included state secrets.

“We are also told that he has visited Armenia and held a number of meetings there without the knowledge of official representatives of Azerbaijan’s government,” the APA news agency reported earlier in the day.

“Zerkalo” scoffed at the espionage accusation. “Any honest Azerbaijani journalist can only work for them [Armenians,]” the Russian-language independent paper commented sarcastically on its website.

“Armenia occupied about 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and the war between the two states is still not over. Therefore, negotiations can only be conducted by the two heads of state,” Elchin Behbudov of the Azerbaijani Committee Against Torture was quoted by APA as saying in connection with the high-profile case.

Mirkadyrov’s analytical articles written for “Zerkalo” on an almost daily basis have generally focused on the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and broader regional geopolitics. Since late 1990s he has repeatedly visited Armenia for regional or Armenian-Azerbaijani forums sponsored by Western governments and private institutions. His most recent trip to Yerevan took place in December.

The Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD), a Baku-based non-governmental organization that has long organized meetings with Armenian civil society members, condemned Mirkadyrov’s arrest, saying that it heralds a government ban on people-to-people contacts with Azerbaijan’s arch-foe.

“After President Ilham Aliyev came to power [in 2003] the conduct in Azerbaijan of conferences organized by NGOs with the participation of invited colleagues from Armenia became impossible,” the IPD director, Leyla Yunus, said in a statement posted on the contact.az news portal. “For the past 10 years such joint meetings have been possible only outside Azerbaijan and in Armenia in particular.”

Yunus argued that such Western-backed contacts are important for a resolution of the Karabakh conflict in the absence of progress in the long-running peace talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments. She cited recent statements to that effect made by James Warlick, the U.S. mediator in the Karabakh peace process. Mirkadyrov’s arrest will preclude “further visits by Azerbaijani civil society activists to Armenia,” added Yunus.

The Azerbaijani authorities reportedly attempted to officially ban any contact with Armenians not sanctioned by them with a bill that was submitted to parliament a year ago. The proposed legislation was dropped following a domestic and international uproar.

Mirkadyrov has lived in Turkey with his family for the past three years. He is said to have told a colleague shortly before his arrest that he got in trouble with the Turkish authorities immediately after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s April 7 visit to Baku.

Another Azerbaijani journalist, Mahir Zeynalov, was deported from Turkey in February. He blamed the expulsion on his criticism of Erdogan’s government.

According to the New York-based Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ), at least eight Azerbaijani reporters were in jail in relation to their work prior to Mirkadyrov’s arrest. One of them, Tofiq Yaqublu, was sentenced to five years in prison last month for “organizing mass disturbances” in January 2013. The CPJ condemned the verdict as baseless and politically motivated.

Armenia, An exhibition and an international conference related to the Genocide Museum 100th anniversary of genocide

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April 21 at 10:00 begin the opening of the exhibition “The Armenian Genocide and the First World War” in Genocide Museum in Yerevan. Haig Demoyan, director of the Genocide Museum in Yerevan and secretary of the arton99138-370x278coordination of events related to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide has given few details concerning these commemorative events. At a press conference in Yerevan on April 18, Haig Demoyan stated that on April 21 at 10.30 charge conference related to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the First World War. Foreign scientists and guests from the Diaspora will participate in this conference in Yerevan.

Krikor Amirzayan