Voskehat’s Dusty Streets: Catholicos Garegin II Was Born Here But Doesn’t Get Involved

10:45, May 19, 2012

Dusty streets and people with downtrodden, dour faces…

This is the general picture I get when visiting Armenia’s rural communities. Village residents have nothing but complaints to tell the reporter who stumbles into their realm. Turn on the tape recorder, however, and their tune changes – What hardships? What frustration?

Go to the village of Voskehat, in Armavir Marz, and you’re greeted with the same picture.

But the village has one proud boast under its belt – it’s where Catholicos Garegin II was born and where his brother Gevorg Nersisyan serves as mayor.

The village has its host of problems ranging from a dilapidated irrigation system to a school in need of urgent repair. Mayor Nersisyan’s answer is that the community just doesn’t have the resources to tackle these problems.

AGLA NY’s Statement In Response to the May 8th Terror Attack in Yerevan

The Armenian Gay and Lesbian Association of New York is appalled by the terrorist firebombing of DIY bar on May 8 and the subsequent hate crimes against the establishment this past week. We also condemn the proliferation of verbal, Facebook, Youtube and other online attacks lodged against the queer community of Yerevan. Furthermore, we denounce acts of hate speech and threats against anyone in Armenia deemed different or “threatening to society”, including artists, intellectuals, and other free-thinkers.  Read more... (409 words)

New Book by Liz Chater: ”Marble Hall Hong Kong – A Pictorial Review” Published

Liz Chater, a family history researcher, announces that the first book in a series of biographical ‘lifestyle accounts’ that highlight the remarkable life of Sir Catchick Paul Chater, an Indian Armenian businessman, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries has now been published.

This particular book ”Marble Hall Hong Kong – A Pictorial Review” also includes other residences associated with Sir Paul including his town house in Caine Road Hong Kong, Chater’s Bungalow in Kowloon and a feature on Buxey Lodge the home of Sir H.N. Mody who was a business partner and life long friend of Sir Paul in Hong Kong.  Read more... (266 words)

HAK Rep: A Large Segment of the Nation Resembles Msra Melik

20:18, May 7, 2012Mesrop Mesropyan, a representative of HAK who served on the campaign staff of Sasoun Mikayelyan, who was defeated in the recent parliamentary election, told reporters today that the “collective character of the Armenian people has become unfamiliar and strange to him.”In what appeared to be an argument for the HAK’s poor showing in the election, Mesropyan made references to the national epic Daredevils of Sasoun.“Even the most negative characters in our national epic, Tzenov Ohan and Tsran Vergo didn’t exemplify those despicable traits that now characterize a large segment of Armenia’s residents,” he said, adding that they now resemble Msra Melik, the epic’s main antagonist, due to their lying and maliciousness.Mesropyan said that he doesn’t think that Sasoun Mikayelyan was defeated.“People like Sasoun aren’t beaten. They can be sacrificed in the name of the fatherland, for the brighter days to come for our people, but never beaten.”  Read more... (157 words)

Armenian lawyers promise strike?

Defense lawyers may go on a strike in case the Cassation Court fails to revise its position on a civil lawsuit that could set a precedent for future cases, says Gevorg Gyozayan, a member of the Chamber of Lawyers.
“We are planning a session at the Chamber of Lawyers. That option is under consideration at the moment though it hasn’t been finalized yet,” he told Tert.am.
Gyozalyan had earlier said in a Facebook post that the Cassation Court’s new position actually allows lower courts not to explore evidence, which means that a failure to meet that requirement will no longer be considered a violation of judicial norms. The lawyer condemmed that policy, considering it violence against professional justice.
Speaking to our reporter, Gyozalyan explained that although the Cassation Court passed no case law ruling, the return of his complaint against lower [general jurisdiction and Cassation] courts’ failure to study circumstances in a civil lawsuit suggests a kind of “attitude” by the Cassation Court.“The lawfulness of any judicial act is based upon evidence, which means a court has to explore the facts before issuing a ruling. If the court fails to do so, a ruling cannot be legal. The lower court has not studied the facts while the Appeals [Court] failed to give its opinion, and the Cassation Court returned the complaint,” he added.
But that appears to be one side of the coin given that judicial acts adopted in similar cases can be treated as a precedent in other lawsuits (Article 15 of Judicial Code).
Asked what a lawyer’s strike could mean, Gyozalyan said they may not appear in courts for one day, thus delaying all hearings over a criminal cases (Criminal Procedure Code).
Gyozalyan added he is ready even to go to the European Court of Human Rights as he considers the measure a violations of his client’s interest, as well as a challenge to the entire community of lawyers.  Read more... (328 words)

New offer from VivaCell-MTS : The newest HTC One smartphones with the best price

VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of “Mobile TeleSystems” OJSC in line with its commitment to offering the most innovative telecommunications solutions at best prices on Armenian market, gladly presents HTC’s state-of-the-art One series smartphones – HTC One X, HTC One S and HTC One V.

These phones owe their unsurpassed capabilities to the latest Android 4.0 OS, HTC Sense 4 and a number of other technological novelties. It includes the lightning-fast Internet browsing experience, smooth graphics, crisp and bright imaging and an ability to photograph while recording a video.

The gray model of the HTC One X (349 000AMD) is available exclusively at VivaCell-MTS service centers.  Read more... (221 words)

U.S. Envoy Praises Armenian Elections

The latest parliamentary elections in Armenia marked a major step forward in the democratization of the country’s political system, John Heffern, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, said on Friday.

“We followed the elections carefully and very closely,” Heffern told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). “We think there was a lot of progress in several key areas.”

“Access to the media was much better than in the past,” he said. “That’s a good thing. The polling places were orderly and transparent and seemed to be consistent. The people were all trained, and having the videos inside seemed to help. So there were a lot of positive developments in these elections.”  Read more... (418 words)

NGOs Criticize Road Project Implementation

A grouping of Armenian non-governmental organizations criticized the government on Thursday for its handling of a multimillion-dollar project to upgrade the country’s road infrastructure.

The organizations monitoring the project’s implementation specifically expressed concern over the selection of a Spanish construction company tasked with rebuilding and expanding more than 90 kilometers of major Armenian highways as part of the scheme.

The company, Corsan Corvian Construccion, signed a $280 million contract with the Armenian Ministry of Transport and Communications late last month after winning an international tender called by the government last August. The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) will finance the bulk of that construction work from a $500 million loan which it pledged to provide to Armenia in 2009.  Read more... (417 words)

Sarkisian, Tsarukian Hold Post-Election Talks

President Serzh Sarkisian and Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian have met to discuss the possibility of cutting a new power-sharing deal as a result of this month’s parliamentary elections, it emerged on Thursday.

Galust Sahakian, a deputy chairman of Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that the meeting, not publicized by the presidential press service, took place on Wednesday. He said he does not know if they reached any agreements on the BHK’s continued presence in Sarkisian’s government.

“I can’t tell that because I didn’t take part in the meeting,” Sahakian said. He added that the HHK’s governing Executive Body should clear up the situation at a meeting that was due to take place late on Thursday.  Read more... (442 words)