Three Armenians elected to Lebanese parliament

May 7, 2018 By administrator

Three Armenians elected to Lebanese parliament

Three out of the four Armenian candidates running in the recently held parliamentary election in Lebanon have won seats in the country’s top legislative body.

All the four were nominees of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D). according to Azdag, a Beirut-based Aremnian publication. Hakob Bagratuni, Alexander Matosyan and Hakob Terzian garnered enough votes to be represented in parliament. Serj Chukhatarian failed to cross the required threshold.After the initial vote count late on Sunday, Bagratuni said the party was content with the result.

The publication reports that the election was all in all held in a peaceful atmosphere with the exception of only several districts breaches of security rules were reported. Several political forces earlier proposed prolonging the voting for two more hours but the plan wasn’t reportedly possible to realize.According to the Beirut-based Armenian publication, the election was tainted by fraud and vote-buying.

A total of 976 candidates had filed bids for the 128-seat parliament.

Azerbaijan blacklists three US lawmakers over visit to Nagorno-Karabakh

September 23, 2017 By administrator

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on September 22 called a recent visit to Nagorno-Karabakh by three US lawmakers a “provocation” and said it had blacklisted them, RFE/RL reports, citng Russian news agency Interfax.

Azerbaijan’s state-run APA news agency earlier in the week said the ministry had threatened to blacklist the three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Frank Pallone, David Valadao, and Tulsi Gabbard visited Armenia and made a side trip to Artsakh in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 20.

“Pallone, Valadao, and Gabbard paid an illegal visit to the occupied Azerbaijani territories, thus breaching Azerbaijani law,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev told Interfax. “All three are added to the list of undesirable persons in Azerbaijan.”

The legislators’ visit was “a provocation aimed at undermining efforts of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, including the United States, in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he told Interfax.

While in Artsakh, the U.S. legislators, who are members of the U.S. Congressional Armenian Caucus, met with Nagorno-Karabakh legislators and visited the Shushi Arts College and a cathedral.

Pallone said the legislators’ goal was to learn and educate the American public about the region.

“We try to learn about the military situation on the border and what measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the April war,” Artsakh Press quoted Pallone as saying. He was referring to a sharp uptick in violence in the region that occurred in April.

“One of the goals of our work is to contribute to the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group,and we believe that the people of Artsakh should have the right to self-determination and have security mechanisms,” Artsakh Press quoted Pallone as saying.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh for years.

Populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan amid a 1988-94 war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Internationally mediated negotiations involving the OSCE’s so-called Minsk Group helped forge a cease-fire in the region, which is not always honored, but have failed to produce a lasting settlement of the conflict.

Three Armenian troops killed in Azerbaijan’s subversive attack

December 29, 2016 By administrator

Three Armenian servicemen were killed in Azerbaijan‘s attempted subversive attack near the village of Chinari in Tavush province in the early hours of Thursday, December 29, a Defense Ministry spokesman said in a Facebook post.

“The Armenian Armed Forces neutralized the Azeri troops’ activity on the border and thwarted the attack, which resulted in deaths and injuries, including among our forces,” Artsrun Hovhannisyan said.

“Senior Lieutenant Shavarsh Melikyan, privates Edgar Narayan and Erik Abovyan were killed in the fighting that broke out after the diversionary attack was attempted.”

According to Hovhannisyan, the Armenian Defense Ministry possesses undeniable evidence of violation of the state border by Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijani military authorities bear the whole responsibility for the provocation,” he added.

Hovhannisyan said earlier that Azerbaijani troops attempted a subversive attack near the village of Chinari in Armenia’s Tavush province in the early hours of Thursday.

Armenia: Three opposition parties join forces for April 2017 elections

December 5, 2016 By administrator

three-party Three opposition parties have agreed to join forces and challenge the government in the legislative elections scheduled for April.
One of them, Hanrapetutyun (Republic), was the first to announce this cooperation on Thursday evening. “The three parties will make a joint declaration on 12 December,” he said.
The other two parties are the Civil Contract of Nikol Pashinian and Bright Armenia of Edmon Marukian. The two relatively young men.

Tbilisi: Three Armenians elected to Georgian parliament

October 10, 2016 By administrator

three-armenian-elected Three Armenians, Henzel Mkoyan, Samvel Manukyan and Ruslan Poghosyan were elected to the Georgian parliament, the website of the Armenian community in Georgia said.

All the three nominees represented the ruling Georgian Dream party, which decisively won parliamentary elections, firming its grip on power in the country, near-complete results showed on Sunday, October 9.

With 99.41 percent of the votes in, data from the Central Election Commission gave the Georgian Dream 48.61 percent of the vote and the opposition United National Movement (UNM) 27.04 percent, Reuters reports.

Georgia hopes to join the European Union and NATO one day even though that is something that Russia, its former colonial master, strongly opposes.

With political stability still fragile — the first peaceful transfer of power since the 1991 Soviet collapse only took place four years ago – the authorities were keen the election be widely seen as free and fair to avoid a return to the days when politicians tried to seize power by force.

Georgia is criss-crossed by strategically important oil and gas pipelines and a fifth of its territory remains under the control of pro-Russian separatists following a short war with Russia in 2008.

Georgian Dream, which is pro-Western but also favors closer ties with Russia, declared victory shortly after polls closed on Saturday.

“I congratulate you with a big victory Georgia!” Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili told jubilant supporters gathered outside the party’s headquarters in Tbilisi, the capital.

“According to all preliminary results, Georgian Dream is leading with a big advantage,” he said, as dozens of party members waved blue party flags and balloons.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said on Sunday the election had been competitive and that fundamental freedoms had been generally respected.

With some parties threatening to organize street protests if they do not get into parliament, the government is likely to use the OSCE’s assessment to bolster its assertion that the vote was largely fair despite some problems.

Reuters. Ruling party in Georgia decisively wins parliament vote

Three Coordinated bombings rock Saudi Arabia

July 5, 2016 By administrator

saudi bombing (DW) Three coordinated suicide bombings have shaken Saudi Arabia, including one near Islam’s second holiest site. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attacks which came a day before the end of Ramadan.

Saudi and Turkish backing of Islamist rebel groups – and, in the case of Turkey, turning a blind eye until last year to a stream of weapons and fighters entering Syria from its territory – have opened both countries to accusations of following policies that have help fuel the rise of “IS” and other extremist groups.

Three separate suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia on Monday left at least four police dead and several people wounded, just a day before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

There was no claim of responsibility for the coordinated attacks, including one near the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Islam’s second-holiest site and the burial place of Muhammad.

Tens of thousands had gathered to pray at the mosque for evening prayers when security guards approached a suspicious man at a nearby parking lot.

“Security forces suspected a man who was heading towards Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque) as he passed through a visitors’ parking lot,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

“As they tried to stop him, he blew himself up with an explosive belt causing his death, and the death of four security personnel,” said the statement. Five others were also injured.

Undeterred worshippers continued to pray, Saudi television showed, as a plume of black smoke rose near the mosque.

An attack on Islam

Al-Qaeda and the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) have regularly carried out attacks in the conservative Kingdom, which is considered heretical and corrupt by the global jihadist movements. IS has vowed to up the number of attacks during Ramadan, which officially ends on Wednesday with the start of the three day Eid al-Fitr (breaking the fast holiday).

Saudi journalist Khalid Al Maenna told DW News that groups like IS were trying to sow chaos and confusion in the Kingdom. He said an attack on one of Islam’s three most holy sites was an affront to all Muslims.

“To touch the Prophet’s mosque is very upsetting to any Muslim,” Al Maenna said, adding the attack showed the extremists were weak.

At the same time as the evening attack in Medina, in the east of the country a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in the Shiite-populated city of Qatif on the Gulf coast.

There were conflicting reports about causalities. The Saudi interior ministry said they were investigating the remains of three bodies, indicating there may have been more than one suicide bomber.

Mohammed al-Nimr, a resident of Qatif and brother of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed in January on charges of inciting anti-government protests, told the Associated Press that there were no casualties.

Al-Nimr’s execution caused a diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran, whose foreign minister Javad Zarif condemned the attack in Medina.

The two evening mosque attacks were preceded by an early Monday morning suicide blast near a mosque and the US consulate in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

Two security officers were wounded after they approached a suspicious looking man who blew himself up. The Saudi interior ministry said the bomber was a 35-year-old private driver from Pakistan who had been living in Jeddah for 12 years with his wife and her parents.

The German Embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh condemned all of the attacks.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been close regional partners, especially in Syria, where alongside Qatar and the United States they have backed Syria rebels groups in a bid to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Saudi and Turkish backing of Islamist rebel groups – and, in the case of Turkey, turning a blind eye until last year to a stream of weapons and fighters entering Syria from its territory – have opened both countries to accusations of following policies that have help fuel the rise of “IS” and other extremist groups.

Both countries deny the accusations and participate in the US-led coalitions against IS.

Three Teams of Coordinated Attackers Carried Out Assault on Paris, Hollande Blames ISIS

November 14, 2015 By administrator

President François Hollande on Saturday promised a “merciless” response to the wave of terrorists attacks across Paris that killed 127 people, describing the assault claimed by Islamic State group as an act of war against France.

Hollande declared a state of emergency and reinstated border checks.
Three teams of attackers seem to have coordinated the attacks in Paris.
352 people have been injured, 99 critically.
Eight of the attackers were killed, seven of them by using suicide vests.
Paris officials have warned that “accomplices” could still be on the loose.
The Stade de France stadium and five restaurants and cafés in the 10th and 11th arrondissements were hit (the Petit Cambodge restaurant, the Casa Nostra café, the Bataclan concert venue and the Belle Equipe café).
French authorities have a number for people looking for missing loved ones: +33 (0)1 40 27 40 27. There is also a special number for tourists: 0033(0)1 45 55 80 00.

Three Armenians Reclaim Seats in Turkish Parliament as AKP Wins Majority

November 2, 2015 By administrator

From left: Selina Ozuzun Dogan from the Republican People’s Party (CHP); Markar Esayan from the ruling AKP party and Garo Paylan from the pro-Kurdish HDP

ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)—The three Armenians who were elected in June to Turkey’s parliament, were re-elected Sunday in that country’s special election, which saw the ruling Justice and Development party leaping to victory.

Garo Paylan, who ran on the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) ticket, Markar Esayan from the AKP and Selina Ozuzun Dogan from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) won in the Sunday elections.

Turkey’s ruling AKP won the parliamentary election, regaining the majority it lost in June.

With almost all ballots counted, the state-run Anadolu news agency said the AKP had won 49.4% of the vote, with the main opposition CHP on 25.4%.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said voters had “shown that they prefer action and development to controversy”.

The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold needed to claim seats. The nationalist MHP will also take seats in Ankara.

With almost all of the results counted, the AKP had won substantially more than the 276 seats needed in order to form a government alone. However, it fell 14 seats short of the number needed to call a referendum on changing the constitution and increasing the powers of the president, AKP founder Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Hours after the landslide victory, AKP leader and interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addressed the pro-AK Party groups gathered in front of the party’s headquarters in Ankara on Sunday night. He adopted an inclusive stance concerning the country’s dissenters through his messages promising to establish peace across the country and to form a new civilian Constitution, reported Today’s Zaman.

In his balcony speech, Davutoglu called all political parties to come together and agree on a new Constitution following his party’s regaining of its parliamentary majority. He said; “Let’s work together towards a Turkey where conflict, tension and polarization are non-existent and everyone salutes each other in peace,” Reuters reported.

On the other hand, Davutoğlu spoke vaguely about pressing ahead with the peace process with the country’s Kurds but said Turkey was determined to continue its fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). “We won’t step back from our determination to find a solution or to fight terrorism,” the prime minister said.

Paylan told Today’s Zaman that if Davutoglu’s speech in Ankara is put into practice, then the country will feel relief.

“The HDP, as an opposition party, is ready to take its place at the negotiation table for a new Constitution that encompasses all segments of society by fulfilling their demands for a freer and democratic life. We don’t want tears and blood. The steps towards this end should be immediately launched so that social relief and healing is achieved. Turkey is in need of peace, not conflict,” Paylan told Today’s Zaman.

HDP leaders said that unfair election conditions and a deliberate policy of polarization by Erdogan explain the drop in numbers of votes garnered by the party.

The HDP was forced to cancel election rallies following two deadly attacks on pro-Kurdish gatherings since July. Television stations gave party representatives little air-time amid government attacks branding the party as the political wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered a terrorist organization by official Ankara.

HDP’s co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas told reporters that “there wasn’t a fair or equal election… We were not able to lead an election campaign. We tried to protect our people against attacks,” reported Today’s Zaman.

Co-chair Figen Yuksekdag said he HDP would analyze in a detail a drop in its support since the last parliamentary election in June, but said the fact the party had crossed the 10 percent threshold needed to enter parliament was nonetheless a success.

She said the HDP has faced the most challenging circumstances during this process and recalled that 258 civilians, including 33 children, lost their lives during the last five months since the June 7 election. “Yet, today’s success was achieved by those who walked against attacks,” she said.

OSCE Says Elections were Marred by Violence

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) charged in a damning report on Monday that Turkey’s election was marred by a media crackdown, violence and other security concerns, Agence France Presse reported.

It said the campaign for Sunday’s vote was characterised by “unfairness” and “fear” after a surge in violence.

“While Turkish citizens could choose between genuine and strong political alternatives in this highly polarized election, the rapidly diminishing choice of media outlets, and restrictions on freedom of expression in general, impacted the process and remain serious concerns,” Ignacio Sanchez Amor, special coordinator and leader of the OSCE observer mission, said in a statement.

Concerns over media freedoms were already running high in the run-up to the poll after riot police last week stormed the Ankara and Istanbul offices of two television stations critical of the Turkish strongman.

“Physical attacks on party members, as well as the significant security concerns, particularly in the southeast, further imposed restrictions on the ability to campaign,” Amor added.

A massive suicide bombing on a peace rally in Ankara last month killed 102 people in the worst attack in the country’s history, with political parties temporarily suspending campaigning.

“Unfortunately, the campaign for these elections was characterized by unfairness and, to a serious degree, fear,” said Andreas Gross, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) delegation.

He called on Erdogan to work for an “inclusive political process” to deal with challenges facing Turkey.

The elections were also held against a backdrop of a military campaign against Kurdish rebels in the southeast of Turkey and in northern Iraq after attacks on security forces by the militants.

Observers said the army’s operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeast hampered the ability of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to campaign.

“For an election process to be truly democratic, candidates need to feel that they can campaign and voters need to feel that they can cast their ballots in a safe and secure environment,” said Margareta Cederfelt, head of the OSCE parliamentary assembly delegation.

Three Armenian villagers killed in Azeri shelling: Defense Ministry vows ‘equivalent actions’

September 24, 2015 By administrator

Three Armenian civilians were killed as a result of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side on September 24.

By Siranush Ghazanchyan,

The rival used artillery weapons and mortars of different calibre as it opened fire in the north-eastern direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The shelling left three civilians killed in Tavuh Province (Paytsar Arakelyan, 83, Shushan Asatryan, 94, and Sona Revazyan, 41). report armradio.am

“As a rule, the Azerbaijani side resorts to provocative actions on the eve negotiations and meetings targeted at the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict, intentionally escalating tension at the border. This comes to prove that the military-political leadership of the neighbouring country ignores initiatives aimed at peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and periodically destabilize the situation at the line of contact,” the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

“The current situation is a result of insidious tactics of the Azerbaijani military-political leadership and contradicts the logic of negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and the principles of international humanitarian law,” the Ministry declared.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense urges the Azerbaijani side to refrain from steps aimed at escalation and take practical measures to stabilize the situation. It also urges residents of villages bordering Azerbaijan to avoid serving a shield for own Armed Forces.

“The Armenian Armed Forces will resort to equivalent actions to stabilize the situation and restrain the Azerbaijani troops,” the Ministry said, adding that “the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan will bear full responsibility for the consequences.”

Paris: Homicide investigation diplomacy France Turkey Kurds, “murderer of three Kurdish activists”

July 16, 2015 By administrator

murderer of three Kurdish activists

Paris, July 15, 2015 (AFP) – The Paris prosecutor requested on July 9 the reference to Güney Omer foundation for the assassination in Paris in January 2013 three Kurdish activists, including a part of the PKK, Sakine Cansız has said Wednesday AFP judicial and close the matter.

According to the source close to the dossier, the investigators, without having been able to demonstrate suspect after their investigations a “involvement of MIT,” the Turkish secret services, “in the instigation and preparation of assassinations” of Sakine Cansız which was probably the primary target of Dogan Fidan and Leyla Saylemez.

“It is established that Omer Guney had proven espionage”, “he has had numerous secret contacts with individuals located in Turkey,” “and that his plan of escape” from prison during the foiled instruction, “provided for the participation of a member of MIT,” detailed the source.

However, the investigation did “not establish” whether MIT agents possibly involved “attended these facts officially, with the approval of their superiors or if they did it to the Unbeknownst to their service in order to discredit or undermine the peace process “between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Sakine Cansız was a figure of the PKK, considered close to its historic leader Abdullah Öcalan. Dogan Fidan, killed by a bullet in the mouth, was it, a well-known activist in the European political class.

Güney, who denied the charges throughout the investigation, the subject of referral to special requisitions Paris Assize for murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise and association terrorist criminals, said the sources told AFP.

During the investigation, Güney, yet faced with very bothersome physical evidence, denied the allegations, offering a bewildering personality, according to sources close to the dossier.

Besides the thesis of the Turkish services were mentioned at the beginning of instruction those of the personnel dispute, the internal settling of accounts within the PKK or crime committed by the “Grey Wolves”, a group of Turkish extreme right.