Council of Europe Forum for the Future of Democracy: "European Democracy in the 21st century: Principles and Challenges" Call for applications for the next Forum which will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 20 October 2010 Please note the deadline for receipt of applications is 18 June 2010 Application form | Background note
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Armenia’s worst recession since the early 1990s has come to an end, Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan announced on 22 February, citing official statistics that show the Armenian economy growing last month for the first time in over a year. According to preliminary data released by the National Statistical Service, the GDP increased by 2.4 percent year on year in January after shrinking by 14.4 percent in 2009. Armenia Liberty
On 19 February, the police formally charged a pro-opposition businessman Khachatur Sukiasyan's brother Saribek Sukiasian with “imprisoning a person” in what the latter claims to be a case of persecution over his political views. Earlier, Saribek Sukiasian and his associate were held in police custody for three days on suspicion of threatening to kill a fellow entrepreneur and gun possession. Azatutiun
On 22 February, the police issued a statement on the incident during the procession held by the opposition ANC youth activists on 19 February to mark the second year of February 2008 presidential election. According to the police, the march was not sanctioned and disrupted the traffic. Six ANC activists were taken to the police for organizing an unsanctioned public event and released later upon signing an undertaking not to leave the city. A1+
A group of activists managed to succeed in the controversial case over Nubarashen Boarding School N11 where they accused the teacher in sexual harassment toward a mentally disabled teenager. Last week it became known a lawsuit was filed against Levon Avagyan, former teacher of Armenian language at the School, with charges of sexual misconduct accompanied with violence (Article 142 of the Criminal Code). As part of the UN special scholarship program, environmentalist Merriam Sukhudyan and other social activists alarmed about the case through Public TV. However, it was Sukhudyan who was charged with “false crime reporting” at the beginning, and later with “slander.” Sukhudyan’s criminal case has not been quashed yet. ArmeniaNow
Ombudsman Armen Harutiunian addressed a letter to the chief of police on 22 February highlighting the complaints received by the office and his follow-up assessment which revealed frequent cases of due process violations and denial of legal counsel during detentions carried out by police officers. Lragir
Turkey’s newly appointed Ambassador to the United States Namik Tan will hand his credentials to President Barack Obama on February 24. Ambassador Tan intends to convey Turkey’s concerns over the upcoming vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the US Congress. Panarmenian.net
From 15 to 19 February a team of NATO experts visited Armenia provided a positive assessment of implementation of Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership for Peace Program for 2009. The following topics were evaluated: political issues, relations with neighboring countries, judicial reform, human rights, fight against international terrorism, cyber security and defense. Panarmenian.net
Secretary of the National Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ann Ganzer discussed modernization of the border infrastructure and ensuring border security on 22 February. News.am
Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan, during his visit to Spain, called on the OSCE Minsk Group to speed up efforts towards settlement of the NK conflict. 7or
Today EU Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby will start a 2-day visit to Azerbaijan. News.am
Today the OSCE is carrying out a monitoring of the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan armies in Agdam area. Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry informed on 22 February about 76 instances of cease-fire violations over last week by Azerbaijan. 7or, News.am
Please use calendar box on the right side to select news digest for the day of your interest. Please note that digests below are sorted in cronologic order.
