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Eurovision’s dirty secret – BBC (video)

staff — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:08:55 +0000

With just a few days left until the Eurovision Song Contest, BBC Panorama has prepared a film about Azerbaijan to discover the truth about the 2012 host country and its approach to what it has called the world's most watched non-sporting event. Reporter Paul Kenyon finds out how the contest has been used as a tool of intimidation. The film, which lasts 30 minutes, uncovers all the facts that discredit Azerbaijan as a country which earned the right to organize the 2012 contest after its representatives, Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal, won the first place in Germany last year. According to Kenyon, Azerbaijan has taken advantage of the contest for political ends. He considers Eurovision a chance for the country to sing a song of respectability amid the criticism against its repressive regime. Kenyon recalls the country’s hostile attitude to Armenia’s 2009 participants, Inga and Anush Arshakyans, noting that Azerbaijan stopped the broadcast as the singers made their entry on the stage. The BBC reporter believes Armenia is not attending this year’s contest for security considerations. He has talked to Rovshan Nasril, an ethnic Azerbaijani, who voted for Armenia as a sign of protest against his country’s anti-democratic move. Kenyon has also interviewed the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK, Fakhraddin Gurbanov, and the organizer of the contest, Ingrid Deltenre, to know their opinion about the democracy situation in the country. The full film is below.

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Israel: Ten Arrested In Organ Trafficking Bust

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:19:59 +0000

21:47, May 23, 2012

Israeli police arrested ten people on Tuesday morning on suspicion that they belong to an international organ trafficking ring. They are also suspected of extortion, tax fraud, and inflicting grievous bodily harm. Among the suspects is one doctor.

The Israeli National Fraud Unit and the Tax Authority began a joint undercover investigation into the ring several months ago. In 2009, several countries contacted Israel to request an investigation into organ trafficking on its territory after the discovery of an organ trafficking victim in Kosovo who implicated Israeli citizens. European authorities investigating the Kosovo “Medicus” organ trafficking case provided the names of Israeli suspects they uncovered.

According to the Israeli police, the ten traffickers recruited poor day workers in Israel, and sent them to Kosovo and Azerbaijan where their kidneys were removed. The victims were promised US$10,000 per kidney, but the police believe few received any payment. Organ recipients paid between US$100,000 and US$150,000 per kidney. The traffickers did not inform the “donors” about the risks of surgery and kidney removal, and failed to provide them with medical care after the surgery.

In Israel, the victims were mostly young Turkish men, while the ring also recruited poor people from Russia, Moldova and Kazakhstan. Israeli police believe the transplant operations may have also been performed in an undisclosed third country in Asia. The investigation is still underway.

The suspects are scheduled to appear at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate court in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning.

http://www.reportingproject.net/occrp/index.php/en/ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/1515-israel-ten-arrested-in-organ-trafficking-bust

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Prosperous Armenia forced to form coalition

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:19:35 +0000

At his press conference on Wednesday, Aram Sargsyan, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA), voiced the opinion that the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) will certainly form a coalition with the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA).Otherwise, the PAP will lose many of its members.“The PAP is well aware of the consequences of its not forming a coalition. If joins the coalition, the PAP will find itself in a somewhat awkward situation. But they may change something and will remain in power, in their business interests,” Aram Sargsyan said.The best option would be the RPA being the only ruling party in Armenia, with all the responsibility placed on it. And, pursuant to its promises, it would implement reforms, Aram Sargsyan said.“They promised, so let them fulfill their promises. The negotiations are now focused on the following: a political force that has ensured seats in Armenia’s parliament for itself. Will it prove able to implement its program or ensure a more comfortable situation to prevent any problems in parliament or government,” he said.Armenia’s political parties are setting terms to one another, which does not meet public interests.The DPA leader noted that the current developments in Armenia’s domestic political life are illogical and do not lead to real reforms in the country.With respect to the candidate the DPA is likely to support in the next presidential election, Aram Sargsyan said that the party will discuss the issue at its congress and release an official statement.

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Armenian election campaign coverage: Tert.am leader

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:34:39 +0000

The Journalists for the Future NGO conducted monitoring of news websites, which showed that Tert.am provided the most extensive coverage of Armenian political parties’ election campaign.At his meeting with journalists, Suren Deheryan, Chairman of the Journalists for the Future NGO, noted that, with the sponsorship of the Open Society Foundations, the NGO conducted monitoring of ten websites: 1in.am, Lragir.am, News.am, Tert,am, Panorama.am, 7or.am, A1plus.am, Azatutyun.am, Civilnet.am, Panarmenian.net.The aim of the monitoring was to find out how the websites involved covered the nine parties’ activities, as well as the parties’ top three candidates, Deheryan said.Tert.am mentioned the parties’ activities 1,749 times, followed by 1in.am (1,479), Panarmenian.net (1,478), Panorama.am (1,475), News.am (1,253), 7or.am (1,039), A1plus.am (1,024), Lragir.am (798), Civilnet.am (573) and Azatutyun.am (476).The first five is the websites that chiefly report the information received from one source. The rest of the websites mainly focus on one subject, making analyses, Deheryan said.The NGO studied 5,374 reports, with 11,344 mentions of the nine political parties. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is the leader (3,580 mentions), followed by the opposition bloc Armenian National Congress (ANC) (2,000 times), Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) (1,740), Heritage party (1,176), Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) (1,154), Rule of Law party (838), Democratic Party of Armenia (313), Communist Party of Armenia (304), United Armenians Party (239).Also, the NGO classified the mentions as follows: unfavorable, favorable and neutral.Per party mentions were as follows: the RPA – 1,589 unfavorable, 1,648 neutral and 343 favorable mentions; ANC – 271, 1,540 and 189 respectively; PAP – 427, 1,098 and 215 respectively; Rule of Law party – 327, 418 and 30 respectively; Heritage party – 176, 846 and 154 respectively; ARF-D – 98, 906 and 150 respectively.The number of neutral reports is high, which is the result of efficient work. “In this case, a media outlet only reports information,” Deheryan said.

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Armenia hands over PABSEC chairmanship to Azerbaijan

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:34:33 +0000

The 39th plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) continued its work at the National Assembly of Armenia.The session discussed and approved reports and proposals concerning the activities of three standing committees. The meeting also approved a number of amendments discussed in Istanbul and Tbilisi.PABSEC Secretary General awarded a diploma to Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly Areg Ghukasyan.Armenia handed over PABSEC chairmanship to Azerbaijan. Ghukasyan handed the token hammer to Head of the Azeri delegation Asef Gajiev.PABSEC will hold its 40th meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 21 and 22.

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Knowing the neighbors: Armenia to raise the level of Caucasus studies

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:33:39 +0000

The Yerevan State University (YSU) says in the next academic year Caucasus studies will become available for undergraduate students.

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U.S. ‘Still Pushing For Turkish-Armenian Normalization’

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:32:30 +0000

The United States is continuing to press Turkey to unconditionally normalize its relations with Armenia, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, John Heffern, said on Wednesday.“We still are very hopeful that the process will resume as long as it’s not linked to any other issue,” Heffern told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). “So we are continuing to work with Turkey and to push Turkey to do the right thing.”He seemed to refer to the ratification of two U.S.-brokered protocols that were signed by Armenia and Turkey in October 2009

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Azerbaijan Blames ‘Armenian Lobby’ For Deepening Row With Iran

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:32:01 +0000

High-ranking representatives of Azerbaijan’s ruling party have blamed Armenia and the worldwide “Armenian lobby” for their country’s mounting tensions with Iran that led Tehran to withdraw its ambassador from Baku on Tuesday.The envoy was recalled “for consultations” after months of bitter recriminations traded by the two neighboring nations over alleged interference in each other’s affairs.Iran has accused fellow Shia Muslim Azerbaijan of helping Israel to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists and facilitating possible Israeli and U.S. air strikes against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities

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Sardarapat Movement to hold alternative election?

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:35:23 +0000

Alternative elections are an important tool for changing the ruling regime, according to Garegin Chugaszyan, a member of Sardarapat Movement. At a news conference on Wednesday, the activist said that the May 6 parliamentary polls did not reflect the real will of the people. “Our project will have pan-Armenian significance,” he said, proposing a two-phase plan for achieving a regime change. “It is planned to sign civil contracts to create an alternative civil pre-parliament. We will then convene a new legislature in the second phase” he explained. Characterizing the plan as the vision of a new Armenia, Chugaszyan stressed the importance of implementing the reforms without turmoil. “This should not be the will of just a few people; it has to reflect the desires of individuals and the entire society,” he added. Chugaszyan said they are launching the project today and expect outcomes in just a month. He noted further that the pre-parliament, and the new parliament to be formed subsequently, will bring together all those who wish to participate in its activities (including the Armenians residing abroad). “The vicious circle will be broken once we stop accusing our people of taking money. We have a nation that is in the dark; so we have to create the light,” he added.

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Beijing sets two flies standards for public toilets

staff — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:35:16 +0000

Authorities in the Chinese capital have set new standards for public toilets, including a stipulation that they should contain no more than two flies, BBC News reported.The new rules, published by the commission of city administration, also set standards on odour and cleaning litter bins.Toilets in places such as tourist spots must comply with the new standards.But it is not clear whether failing washrooms will be punished and if so, how.The new rules also cover cleaning, the use of equipment and training for attendants.There is an ordinance covering what is referred to as "discarded items" - there should be no more than two in any public convenience.The new standards also require signs in both Chinese and English to be installed in the toilets.They regulate advertisements displayed in toilets, saying they must not obstruct functionality and had to be legal, reports the Beijing Times.Beijing's Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment said in a statement that the regulations aimed to standardise toilet management at places such as parks, railway stations, hospitals and shopping malls.An unnamed official from the commission told local media that the guidelines on flies were meant for easy monitoring.However media reports cast doubt over whether the guidelines could be enforced.A commentary published in the Beijing News said one central Beijing district implemented a similar rule in 2008 when the city hosted the Olympic Games, but sanitation and hygiene still varied from toilet to toilet.Effort should be invested on educating the public to use public toilets in a better manner, said the commentary.

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