Arminfo: News

Elmar Mammadyarov: We propose to renew the mutual visits between Azerbaijan and Armenia that took place with the help of Russia

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:58:00 GMT

We should triple the efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in his interview with the Nezavisimaya Gazeta, APA reports.

"The negotiating table should be cleaned from complexities before the issue on the status is solved. In this case, this is the existence of military factor, use of force, presence of Armenian Armed Forces in Azerbaijan's territories, presence of socially explosive element, such as refugees and internally displaced persons. Azerbaijan
supports enhancing the confidence between the sides. We propose to renew the mutual visits that took place a few years ago with the help of Russia. Two visits were organized. But then Armenia prohibited this. It is a serious measure to build atmosphere of confidence," the Azerbaijani FM said.

Georgian air company "Georgian Airways" to start implementing flights at Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan route from 1 June till 26 October

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:57:00 GMT

The Georgian air company "Georgian Airways" will start implementing flights at Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan route from 1 June till 26 October.

As press-service of the air company reported, the flights will be implemented by Boeng 737 and CRJ 200 air planes.

By preliminary data, gas price for Armenia will rise by 18%

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:56:00 GMT

By preliminary data, 1 cu m of gas will cost the population of Armenia 156 AMD versus current 132 AMD, Head of the Tariff Department at the Public Services Regulatory Committee Garegin Baghramyan told media on May 23. He said that the Committee held discussions and calculated this tariff taken into account the state subsidies and other factors.

Following the rise of the Russian gas tariff for Armenia from the current $180 per 1,000 cu m to $270, ArmRusgasprom applied to the Public Services Regulatory Commission for increasing the gas tariff for the population by 67.4% - from the current 132,000 drams to 221,000 drams per 1000 cu m, and for the large consumers by 61.3% - from $243 per 1000 cu m to $392. The Government of Armenia is going to subsidize the Russian gas import price by 30%. However, the method of subsidizing will become clear after the negotiations with Russia, which is ready to export gas to Armenia for $180 per 1,000 cu m till the end of the negotiations.

XIth International film festival "One shot - one minute" to be held in Yerevan 2-9 June

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:43:00 GMT

The XIth International film festival "One shot - one minute" will be held in Yerevan on 2-9 June.

As president of the festival Gagik Kazare told Arminfo correspondent, more than 300 short films from 40 countries, including Argentina, Italy, Spain, Korea and Finland, will be presented at the festival. More than 100 films will be presented in the category "Cinema without border", and more than 200 films - out of contest.

The Centre for Comprehensive and Experimental Art has organized the festival, the key purpose of which is to open new interesting film makers and make their art
available to the wide circle of audience.

Amnesty International negatively evaluates situation with human rights in Armenia

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:39:00 GMT

Amnesty International Annual Report 2013: The state of the world's human rights negatively evaluates the situation with human rights in Armenia. Representatives of the organization visited Armenia in June 2012.

The report says that public attitudes were hostile towards topics which were perceived as unpatriotic. Conditions in prisons were reported to amount to inhuman treatment.

The report recalls that President Sargsyan's Republican Party won parliamentary elections on 6 May. While freedom of expression, assembly and movement were largely unrestricted around the election, monitors reported widespread vote buying as well as instances of pressure on voters.

As regards freedom of expression, the report says: "Freedom of expression was largely unrestricted. However, those expressing opinions perceived as unpatriotic or anti-nationalist faced widespread public hostility and occasionally violence. Police and local authorities appeared at times to be colluding in the attacks. They also failed to properly investigate or to publicly and unequivocally denounce such acts. Civil society activists attempting to hold a festival of Azerbaijani films in Armenia were subjected to violent attacks and forced to cancel the event on two occasions. On 12 April, dozens of protesters blocked the venue of the film
festival, scheduled in Armenia's second city, Gumri. They physically assaulted Giorgi Vanyan, the organizer and chairman of the local Caucasus Centre for Peace-Making Initiatives, and forced him to publicly announce that the festival was cancelled. Festival organizers reported that the local authorities had harassed and used
psychological pressure to dissuade them from holding the event.

On 16 April, another attempt to hold the film festival in the city of Vanadzor at the Helsinki Citizens Assembly (HCA) office also prompted public protests and violence. Approximately 200 people - including students, political party members and veterans from the Nagorno-Karabakh war - gathered in front of the HCA office. They
forced their way into the premises, vandalizing office equipment, throwing eggs and rocks and injuring one member of staff. Police officers present throughout failed to intervene to ensure the safety of the staff members or to stop the violence. Despite the HCA's requests, additional police did not arrive until after the incident.
After an investigation, one woman was fined for throwing a stone at the building, but no thorough or impartial investigation took place. The authorities failed to condemn the violence.

On 8 May, a gay-friendly bar in the capital, Yerevan, was attacked. Two people were caught on a security camera throwing Molotov cocktails through the windows. However, police reportedly only arrived at the scene 12 hours later to investigate the attack. Two young men were arrested as part of the investigation, but were bailed shortly afterwards by two MPs for the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutyun party (ARF). They condoned the attack, saying it was in line with "the context of societal and national ideology". Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesperson for the ruling Republican Party and Parliamentary Deputy Speaker was quoted justifying the violent attack in local newspapers."

The paragraph torture and other ill-treatment says that on 3 October, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture published a report following their visit to Armenia in December 2011. It stated that "virtually none of the recommendations made after previous visits as regards the detention of lifers have been implemented". The report also noted that the poor conditions at Kentron Prison in Yerevan made it unsuitable for lengthy periods of detention. The
Committee found that the detention conditions of life- sentenced prisoners held at Kentron amounted to inhuman treatment.

As for conscientious objectors, the authors of the report say that by the end of the year, more than 30 men were serving prison sentences for refusing to perform military service on grounds of conscience. Alternative civilian service remained under military control. On 27 November, the European Court of Human Rights, in its fourth decision against Armenia on conscientious objection, found that Armenia had violated the rights of 17 Jehovah's Witnesses in the case of Khachatryan and Others v. Armenia. The Court found that the rights of the Jehovah's Witnesses to liberty and security, as well as the right to compensation for unlawful detention, had been violated. They faced criminal charges and detention because they had left their alternative service when they realized that they were under military control.