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Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Tandilyan steps down

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Minister Tandilyan steps down

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Mane Tandilyan has announced about resignation. ARMENPRESS reports she made a note on her Facebook page.

“During yesterday’s Cabinet meeting the issue of full induction of Mandatory Funded Pension System was discussed. You know my position on the component of “mandatory” which I expressed years ago. Being appointed Minister of Labor and Social Affairs I expressed my position on suspending the full induction of the “mandatory” component by a year and to amend the system based on public debates, creating different attractive solutions for the beneficiaries. This path also had some complications, but I have expressed readiness to initiate that work and to carry out large-scale works with the public to find the best solution acceptable for the public.

After long debates it became clear that my proposal does not enjoy the support of the Cabinet. Instead, another option was presented, which was approved at the Cabinet meeting.

This issue is of paramount importance to me. The component of “mandatory” had no and now has no public support, and its reasons are numerous. It has social, legal, political and systematic problems and I see no way for fully inducting the component of “mandatory” without discussing it with the public, discovering the problems and finding joint and acceptable solutions. I hoped that the new Government would take a new path of solving this issue. The imperative methods of solving issues characteristic of the previous authorities are not acceptable for me.

Dear compatriots, I have been against the mandatory funded system and together with my supporters I organized protests and now again I think that the mandatory system should include the principle of free expression of will and opportunity to make a choice, given the risks and longevity of the system.

With this note my powers as the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs are terminated, which were just tools for serving the citizens of Armenia.

I wish the present Cabinet numerous achievements and farsightedness for the benefit of democratic Armenia.

Taking into account the fact that I became a Cabinet member as a member of “Bright Armenia” party, I also suspend my membership to the party, resolutely supporting my friends in creating bright Armenia.

Starting from today I will continue to watchfully follow all the political developments as a citizen, sparing no efforts for the strengthening of the Armenian statehood”.

Only When #Israel have issue with #Turkey they Remember to recognize #ArmenianGenocide

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Israel’s Intelligence Minister sees no reason not to recognize Armenian Genocide

YEREVAN, MAY 16,. Transportation and Intelligence Minister of Israel Yisrael Katz said Wednesday he sees “no reason morally and historically” not to recognize the Armenian Genocide, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “is truly an enemy”, ARMENPRESS reports, citing ynetnews.com.

In an interview with Ynet on Wednesday, Minister Yisrael Katz called to support a bill proposed by MP Itzik Shmuli calling on the Israeli government to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide—the Ottoman government’s systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, mostly citizens within the Ottoman Empire, from 1915 to 1917.

Katz also slammed the Turkish president, saying Erdoğan “hates the State of Israel. He’s a man of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas’s mother-movement. Every time something happens in Gaza, he gets worked up and acts in a very extreme manner.”

“This is a man who slaughters the Kurdish minority in Turkey and now in Syria,” Katz went on to say. “He took 140,000 Kurds and transferred them from the region to replace them with other residents. The man acts cruelly and then preaches us. He’s the last one that can preach us, but the first one to do so.”

In the light of the escalation of relations between Turkey and Israel as a result of Gaza Strip developments, the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide has again appeared on the agenda of the Knesset. MPs Itzik Shmuli and Amir Ohana have announced that they will present a bill recognizing the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

 

Artsakh defense minister says ready to expand the security zone in case of a new Azerbaijani attack

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Artsakh Defense MinisterThe Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Defense Army will launch counter-offensive actions and expand the existing security zone should Azerbaijan initiate a new attack, Artsakh Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan told in an exclusive interview to Armenian Public Channel’s “Off the Agenda” program aired on Saturday evening.

“In case of a new attack we will inflict crushing blow on the adversary forces and certainly undertake counter-offensive actions. We will expand the width and the depth of the existing security zone during those counter-offensive actions. The few positions that came under Azerbaijani control in April 2016, will definitely be retaken,” Mnatsakanyan said.

Speaking of Azerbaijan’s policy to use its civilian population as a human shield and the incident  of July 4, Levon Martirosyan said the Armenian side regrets over the casualties among civilians, yet the Azerbaijani side bears the full responsibility.

“I would recommend to refuse using civilians as a human shield and remove firing points from civilian settlements, since our frontline units will retaliate in case of any shelling irrespective of the location of those firing points”

Speaking of the sabotage infiltration attempts by Azerbaijani forces and Armenian actions to thwart them, the minister said: “We can definitely state no sabotage infiltration attempts are registered today. That is due to the Armenian side disrupting them. We are controlling the situation across the entire Line of Contact including at nighttime. The last attempt was made overnight to February 24-25 of this year, and we all know the outcome. They suffered 6 losses with five of them leaving on the field and the one severely wounded who died afterward in the hospital. After that incident attempts of subversive attacks were permanently excluded.”

Speaking of the reports emerged in the aftermath of the April Four-Day war about the elimination of the so-called “052 Yashma” Azerbaijani elite special force unit, the Artsakh minister said: “The document certifying about the identity of 71st or 72nd group members of 052 brigade of “Yashma” was found at their bodies that were exchanged. It is believed that the 1000th serviceman was on the battlefield and was killed during those clashes.  That is being said the whole staff of the brigade was involved in military actions in the northern direction despite Azerbaijani claims they didn’t attacked. According to our data, they have around 400 losses in manpower in only that brigade. Today, they are engaged with assessment works, studying the military units, regiments, choosing special unit forces among conscripts aiming to restore their forces. I am pessimistic they will manage to recover from those losses in two years. They can augment yet their ability to solve serious matters remains open,” the minister noted.

Mnatsakanyan next reflected on the lethal cases on the frontline as a result of sniper fire calling on the necessity to strictly follow the security guidelines on the frontline as most cases are registered due to violation of those rules. In the minister’s words, works are underway aimed at reducing the sniper incidents.

Balance of power between Armenia, Azerbaijan never tilted amid Azerbaijani arms purchase – Artsakh Defense Minister

The balance of power between Armenia and Azerbaijan never tilted and will never change amid Azerbaijani purchase of new weapons, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan stated during the interview to Armenian Public Channel’s “Off the Agenda” program aired on Saturday evening.

“The balance never tilted and will not be shifted. It was shifted in 1992 with the Azerbaijani side having the full advantage in terms of the available armament. They failed to fulfill their task then and ended up with what was achieved in May 1994. That was the only period when the balance was tilted, while it will be maintained forever,” Mnatsakanyan stressed.

In the minister’s words, the Azerbaijani army faces serious problems in terms of efficient use of the obtained weapons as evidenced by the experience.

“We saw that in April once again. During the military actions of the Four-Day war in 2016 the adversary applied modern armament, Smerch multiple rocket launchers, TOS-1 artillery systems, T-300 Kasirga multiple rocket systems of Israeli and Turkish productions, combat drones with precision strike capability among them. With all that they claimed only limited success in certain directions. This comes to demonstrate that despite the weapon acquisition, they have problems in terms of exploiting them,” the minister said also questioning the Azerbaijanis ability to fully utilize them during border actions.

Asked whether the adversary is preferring offensive or defensive operations judging from the available intelligence data, Mnatsakanyan noted Azerbaijan voices its tactic of offensive predominantly in its public statements, while in reality carries out serious defensive works.

“Our surveillance systems provide information at a distance of 10-15 km deep into Azerbaijani territory with the adversary engaged in heavy engineering works. It shows that despite their statements, Azerbaijanis are forced to defend should the time come. The Defense Army will attack upon necessity and carry out tasks in those territories,” Mnatsakanyan added.

 

Source Panorama.am

Iraq: Arrest warrant issued for Iraqi Kurdistan oil minister over corruption: MP

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Iraqi Kurdistan oil minister Ashti Hawrami. Photo: AFP

Iraqi Kurdistan oil minister Ashti Hawrami. Photo: AFP

SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— The head of Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament’s natural resources committee, MP Sherko Jawdat, said on Saturday that a court in the town of Chamchamal has issued an arrest warrant for the region’s Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami on corruption charges.

Jawdat told NRT that he raised the issue with the court after obtaining evidence and documents pointing to misuse of power and corruption.

Jawdat also accused Hawrami’s former wife Chrakhan Rafiq of involvement in business dealings that purchased oil from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and sold it on the black market with for a monthly revenue of nearly $10 million.

Rafiq has fought back against allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds since May 2016.

Massoud Barzani issued a detention order for Rafiq at that time, according to the official website of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

“The court issued an arrest warrant for Ashti Hawrami and a number of other officials, saying they need to appear before court,” Jawdat said.

“A fake plant named Zipo is operating by Ashti Hawrami’s approval and specialist committees in the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

According to Jawdat, the Ministry of Trade and Industry confirmed that no Zipo plant exists in the region.

NRT however contacted an investigator working on the case who said Hawrami was not named among three defendants listed in the complaint.

The investigator added that the case has been transferred to the Sulaimani Board of Integrity for further investigation.

Need to be mentioned that Chamchamal city is located in the area which under control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK while Ashti Hawrami a member in the KDP party and live in the area which is controlled by his party.

Ashti Hawrami routinely accused of corruption by observers, Kurdish officials.

Many Kurdish politicians and observers believe that many of the oil industry projects in Iraqi Kurdistan are conducted in a non-transparent way. Some have even described them as secretive.

Members of Kurdistan Parliament have claimed that millions of dollars have gone missing from the region. The region’s Ministry of Natural Resources has rebutted those accusations as unfounded.

Massoud Barzani has been accused by critics of amassing huge wealth for his family instead of serving the population. Barzani’s son is the Kurdistan region’s intelligence chief and his nephew Nechirvan Barzani is the prime minister.

Source: http://ekurd.net/warrant-arrest-kurdistan-oil-2016-10-09

German Turkish minister: We expressed our view as MPs #ArmenianGenocide

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Turkish-German MP defaultWe realized that the resolution in connection with 1915 is a sensitive issue for Turks, but we should not expect everyone to have the same opinion, said German Turk Aydan Özoğuz, who is a Minister of State at the Federal Chancellery of Germany.

Speaking to German Deutsche Welle (DW) TV and radio company, the German Turkish minister stressed that they, as MPs, have expressed their view during the Bundestag voting of the aforesaid resolution.

“This resolution was adopted after long debates,” added Özoğuz. “You may disagree with the resolution, but it’s not right to threaten and insult those who voted for [this resolution]. Those in Turkey think that we, being Turks, represent Turkey in the German parliament; this is a wrong approach. We are the MPs of Germany, and, of course, we defend the local Turks, too. I want to stress again: I am not an MP of Turkey; I am an MP of Germany and of Turks living in Germany.”

On June 2, the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, with the aforesaid resolution and with only one vote against and one abstention. The resolution also notes that the Bundestag regrets that the German government at the time did nothing to stop this crime against humanity, and therefore the Bundestag also acknowledges the respective historical accountability of Germany.

French Minister of State: I’m happy for Bundestag voting on Armenian Genocide

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minister genocideI’m happy for the Bundestag voting on the Armenian Genocide recognition, Minister of State for European Affairs of France Harlem Désir wrote on his Twitter page.

France continues to struggle for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, he noted.

The Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, on Thursday formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, with the aforesaid resolution and with only one vote against and one abstention. The resolution also notes that the Bundestag regrets that the German government at the time did nothing to stop this crime against humanity, and therefore the Bundestag also acknowledges the respective historical accountability of Germany.

Minister: Azerbaijan’s actions on border cause problems for both Armenia and Diaspora

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minister-diasporaAzerbaijan escalates the situation on the border so as to damage various sectors of the Armenian economy, including tourism, and also to instill fear in residents of border areas, especially during a harvest season, Armenian Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan told reporters today.

“We should use our entire potential, capacities of Armenian organizations created by the Diaspora, activists from various countries to influence the authorities of their countries,” H. Hakobyan said stressing the need to exert influence on Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev from outside.

The minister recalled that in September 2014 representatives of Armenian organizations from various countries discussed priority tasks, including the settlement of the Karabakh problem.

“It is the problem of not only Armenia, but also the whole Armenian people. In case of growing border tensions, we appeal to our Diaspora Armenian organizations. They try to attract the attention of authorities of other countries to the problem by staging protests or by other means,” she said.

“Aliyev constantly seeks an opportunity to cause harm to Armenia, but we give a fitting rebuff, and our army’s morale is so high that we should not doubt its ability to deliver a counter-blow,” Hranush Hakobyan stressed.

She said that Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, honors its obligations. “Our republic wants to find a solution to the problem in the framework of the OSCE Group, and not by means chosen by Aliyev,” she added.

As was reported, two female residents of Berdavan village in Tavush province of Armenia were killed as a result of Azerbaijani shooting on September 24. A spokesman for the Armenian police, Ashot Aharonyan, confirmed this information when contacted by the correspondent of Panorama.am. Prior to that, information was received that an elderly woman who was a resident of Paravakar village in Armenia’s Tavush province, was also killed by Azerbaijani gunfire. Aharonyan specified that the woman killed by gunfire was Paytsar Aghajanyan, 83. “To stabilize the situation in the border zone and deter the enemy, the Armenian armed forces will take proportionate actions, the full responsibility for which will be borne by Azerbaijan’s military and political leadership,” the press service of Armenian Defense Ministry said yesterday.

Source: Panorama.am