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It would be insulting for Armenian people to make unilateral concessions to establish relations with Turkey

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It would be insulting for the Armenian people to make unilateral concessions to establish relations with Turkey, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said at the PACE winter session on Wednesday commenting on the question over the Armenian-Turkish relations.

“We do not understand well the demand of the Turkish side to do something. In 2008, after I got elected, I initiated the publicizing of the Armenian-Turkish relations, as a result of which a meeting was held between the Armenian and Turkish presidents,” he said.

The president reminded that Armenia and Turkey signed two documents on establishment of relations between the two countries in Zurich, Switzerland in 2009 at the presence of the foreign ministers of permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“Those documents clearly stated that these relations are to be established without any preconditions, but unfortunately the Turkish side has continued to come up with preconditions. In the international experience we have not come across similar examples, all terms are negotiated before signing a document. Nine years down the road we keep hearing from the Turkish side about allegedly taking a step. While the document very clearly states that the relations are to be established after which all the existing wrinkles between the two countries should be discussed,” Mr Sargsyan said.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed Armenia can never accept any preconditions.

“Turkey is a powerful state indeed, it has enormous potential, but this does not mean Turkey should speak from the position of power or in the language of preconditions. We do not accept such a stance,” he stressed.

The president observed that there are more powerful states with larger population than Turkey, adding if they spoke from the position of power with Turkey, the latter would never accept such an attitude.

“It would be insulting for our people to make unilateral concessions to establish relations [with Turkey,” he stressed.

Serzh Sargsyan once again announced that the Armenia-Turkey Protocols will be voided by Armenia before spring, urging Turkey to abandon its policies.

“I believe it would be appropriate and correct for the Turkish side to give up such a position and its support for Azerbaijan to maintain the fragile stability in the region. I want to remind that during the hostilities in April 2016 Turkey was the only state to publically voice support for Azerbaijan’s military actions,” he said.

PACE elects Arpine Hovhannisyan Vice President of EPP group

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The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has elected the head of Armenia’s national delegation as Vice President of the European People’s Party (EPP) group.

Arpine Hovhannisyan was among the top three candidates to secure a maximum number of votes at the PACE Winter Session in Strasbrug, her press secretary, Gohar Poghosyan, says in a post on Facebook.

 

A total of 20 Assembly members were nominated for the position.

German MP removed from PACE amid “Azerbaijani laundromat” revelation

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German MP Karin Strenz from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU)

who was accused of doing paid lobbying work for the Azerbaijani dictatorship, was removed from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, according to the decision by German officials.

A consortium of public broadcasters NDR, WDR and daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported earlier that a district chapter of Angela Merkel’s CDU received €28,000 ($33,114) from the state-run Azerbaijani oil and gas company Socar in contravention of German rules on party donations.

That reports revealed several German lawmakers involved money laundering and slush fund scheme dubbed the “Azerbaijani Laundromat.” A consortium of European newspapers and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published reports about the scheme, which allegedly funneled 2.5 billion euros from four UK-based shell companies through an Estonian branch of a Danish bank to buy luxury goods and pay European politicians and Azerbaijani elites.

The OCCRP report noted that the origin of the money is unclear, but there is “ample evidence of its connection to the family of President Aliyev.”

The parliamentarian Karin Strenz, who according to the paper did not disclose her work for an Azerbaijan-financed lobbying firm within three months as asked. The company is owned by former CSU politician Eduard Lintner, who has been doing lobbying work for Azerbaijan since 2009. In another possible indication of her sympathies with the authoritarian country, in June 2015 Strenz voted against a resolution by the Council of Europe to call on Azerbaijan to release its political prisoners — the only German MP to do so, according to an earlier report in the paper.

Along with Karin Strenz, the Head of German delegation at PACE Axel Fischer who until recently served as the chairman of the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP) was removed from the German parliamentary group.

 

Source Panorama.am

PACE Criticizes Azerbaijan On Human Rights, Justice System

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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has expressed concerns over Azerbaijan’s “unprecedented crackdown on human rights” and urged reforms to ensure the independence of the judiciary.

Meeting in a plenary session in Strasbourg on October 11, the parliamentarians adopted a resolution denouncing “the reported prosecution and detention of leaders of NGOs, human rights defenders, political activists, journalists, and bloggers,” although some of them were released last year.

PACE cited cases of “torture and inhuman or degrading treatment during arrest, in police custody, and in prisons, and the lack of effective investigations, violations of the right to a fair trial, and violations of the right to freedom of expression, association, and assembly.”

The resolution also called on Azerbaijani authorities to “begin real and meaningful reforms” to remove the obstacles to the work of journalists and rights defenders.

In another resolution adopted on October 11, the parliamentarians urged Azerbaijan to strengthen parliamentary control over the executive and to ensure the independence of the judiciary.

“Recent constitutional changes could make the executive less accountable to parliament,” PACE warned.

The assembly also urged Azerbaijan to establish a justice system “genuinely independent, impartial, and free from interference by the executive.”

The head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, Samad Seyidov, rejected the resolutions and denounced a “campaign of hatred against Azerbaijan” aimed at creating a “cleavage” between Baku and the Council of Europe.

Western governments and international human rights groups have criticized Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s government for persistently persecuting independent media outlets, journalists, and opposition politicians and activists.

Aliyev, who has ruled the oil-producing South Caucasus country of nearly 10 million people since shortly before his father’s death in 2003, has shrugged off the criticism.

Stella Kyriakides of Cyprus elected new PACE president

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Stella Kyriakides (Cyprus, EPP/CD) has been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe following the resignation of Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) on 6 October 2017.

She obtained a large majority over the other candidate, Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD), in the third round of voting. She will remain in office until the opening of the next ordinary session (Strasbourg, 22-26 January 2018), the Assembly’s website reprts.

Kyriakides will be the 30th President of PACE since 1949, the first Cypriot, and the third woman to take up the post.

“This election comes during extraordinary times for this Assembly, times that have seen our credibility and integrity questioned. Times that have led to the often wrong type of publicity for the work done in this Assembly, leading to the questioning of the principles of transparency and integrity of the institutions of the Council of Europe. These are challenges and responsibilities for us all. But mostly, for myself as a newly elected President of this Assembly,” said Ms Kyriakides.

“My decision to run for the Presidency stemmed solely from my firm belief in the Parliamentary Assembly, in democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and my passion to work tirelessly. Today you have given me the opportunity, with the trust you have placed in me, to work towards these. In the upcoming few months my priority is to bring about calmness, consensus, credibility and unity. To work tirelessly and openly against corruption. To raise the bar so that we all follow the same principles and code of ethics. To do this, I will need the support of all political groups, of the Secretary General and the staff of the Council of Europe. Because this is why we are all here,” she concluded.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in tense election for new president

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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is holding a third round of voting today to elect a new president with an intense competition between the proposed candidates Stella Kyriakides (Cyprus, EPP/CD) and Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD).

“The Armenian delegation gives preference to the candidate from Cyprus as an objective and impartial MP. The outcome of the previous two rounds of voting showed that Kyriakides has a greater chance,” head of the Armenian delegation to PACE told Panorama.am.

None of the candidates receives unilateral support from the EPP/CD as well. According to some news, the Azerbaijani and Turkish delegations voice support to Zingeris. The voting results will be announced today.

To note, none of the candidates received an absolute majority of the votes as a result of the second round of voting held on Monday. Stella Kyriakides gained 121 votes and Emanuelis Zingeris – 69 votes.

A candidate is required to receive 152 votes for absolute majority.

 

Source Panorama.am

PACE Bureau rejects Azerbaijani and Turkish delegates’ initiative to form new political group

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PACE Bureau rejects Azerbaijani and Turkish delegatesYEREVAN. – The initiative of Azerbaijani and Turkish delegates to form a new political group has failed during the PACE Bureau meeting, Armenian delegate Arpina Hovhannisyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The author of the idea is an Italian delegate, the group comprises Turks and Azerbaijanis as well as delegate Milica Markovic who is representing Bosnia and Herzegovina and is known for her anti-Armenian position.

The Bureau voted down the initiative with 11 votes “against” and 4 votes “for”, Hovhannisyan said.

The reason for Bureau’s decision is that 17 members of that group are still members of other political groups. Secondly, the charter of the group was “copypaste” from the charter of ALDE group.

PACE impeaches president in absentia – Samvel Farmanyan

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The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on Friday decided to impeach its president who has been under fire since March over a controversial visit to Syria.
Pedro Agramunt (EPP Group), who is also widely perceived as a pro-Azerbaijani lobbyist, was expected to announce his resignation on Friday in accordance with the established rules of procedure. But the Assembly Bureau had to impeach him in absentia as he didn’t attend the Spring Session, Samvel Farmanyan, a member of the Armenian national delegation, told Tert.am.
He added that the Assembly will have to pass an urgent measure to sack Agramunt if he persists demonstrating an evasive behavior.

“The PACE has now ‘initiated’ a backstage political plan. With no other choice left, the only thing to do is to persuade Pedro Agramunt’s family not to receive him in Spain,” Farmanyan said, describing the recent developments as a political disgrace.
He added that Agramut’s conduct will be on the agenda of the EPP General Assembly set to be held in Brussels.

The proposal to impeach him received support by 27 Assembly members; only three, including Spanish and Azerbaijani representatives, refrained from voting.
Agramunt has repeatedly faced criticism for covering up the human rights abuses in Azerbaijan in return for valuable gifts from the country’s ruling clan (President Ilham Aliyev’s family).

 

PACE and Azerbaijan: 56 NGOs appeal to investigate corruption allegations against MPs

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The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, together with other 55 prominent human rights and civil society organizations, has jointly signed an appeal to conduct a thorough and fair investigation on the corruption claims, related to the work of PACE on Azerbaijan, the Forum said in a released statement on Friday.

According to the source, the concern mainly stems from a recent report European Stability Initiative (ESI) issued in December 2016, denouncing the bribes offered by representatives of the Azerbaijani government to several PACE members in order to influence their work.

Recently, the PACE Secretary General Wojciech Sawicki presented to the Assembly Bureau a draft proposal suggesting possible ways to conduct an external and independent investigation. This, however, was not favourably welcomed and no agreement was reached on its implementation.
Also, according to the press office of the PACE, the Assembly President Pedro Agramunt commented that the Sawicki report was not admissible in the suggested draft, while denying the contribution of civil society organisations in the process.

The inappropriate conduct of PACE members had already been pointed out during the January PACE session by Mehman Huseynov – the chairman of Azerbaijani NGO the Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety -, who is now facing serious consequences for speaking up about corruption among PACE members.

For the above-mentioned reasons, the group of civil society organisations calls for a fair, accurate and independent investigation on such matters. More specifically, the appeal is directed to the PACE Bureau, requesting a plenary debate of the Sawicki proposal at the next PACE session (24th-28th April) and a system of civil society supervision, to ensure impartiality.

The statement also urges all members of the Assembly to support an appropriate investigation and therefore to sign the Declaration on the Parliamentary Assembly Integrity introduced in January 2017, as well as the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to make a very strong statement against corruption in the Parliamentary Assembly and, more broadly, in the Council of Europe.

 

PACE investigation into examining corruption involving high-ranking European politicians “Caviar diplomacy”

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To note most of the corruption allegations involving PACE delegates are linked with the Azerbaijani authorities. One particular example is the recent report by European Stability Initiative named “Caviar diplomacy: the European Swamp,” in which it describes blatant facts of corrupt schemes organized by the Azerbaijani authorities with the involvement of high-ranking European politicians.  Expensive carpets worth thousands of euros were given away as gifts; so many that one Azerbaijani embassy had its own room for them. Luxury Vertu smart phones, handmade in the UK, were presented to supporters. Expensive watches and jewellery, silver sets and MacBookswere handed over to politicians, officials, even secretaries. Business contracts and paid holidays were part of the benefits. And then there was money: large sums, given in cash or transferred via anonymous companies.

The Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has called on the Bureau of the Assembly to set up an independent external investigation body to assess the functioning of the Assembly and shed light on hidden practices that favour corruption.

As the declaration adopted the unanimously by the committee reads the investigation will be the only measure which would end impunity for abuses and restore confidence in the Parliamentary Assembly, its actions and decisions.

The decision comes after allegations of corruption and fostering of interests made against some members or former members of the Parliamentary Assembly.

“Whether they prove to be founded or false, such allegations undermine the Assembly’s image and credibility as an institution and, in turn, the reputation of each and every one of its members. A number of parliamentary delegations have voiced concern over the situation and called for a swift and resolute response,” reads a part of the adopted text, published by PACE website.

 

 

Source Panorama.am