Author: Aram Torosian

Yelk bloc will run for parliament under the slogan “Election, change, victory.” They pledge to be innovative, to offer new solutions in the campaign, to be open and transparent.

The alliance has decided to campaign in different regions of Armenia simultaneously. Edmon Marukyan, who leads the party list, will campaign in the northern provinces of Aragatsotn, Lori, Tavush and Shirak, Aram Sargsyan will work in the southern provinces of Armavir, Ararat, Vayots Dzor and Syunik. Nikol Pashinyan will mostly be in Yerevan, while Sasun Mikayelyan will travel to Gegharkunik and Kotayk.

Free Democrats have chosen the slogan “We can.” At a convention that marked the start of the campaign the party presented its election platform.

Ex-Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan, who sits second in the proportional list, referred to the hard social-economic conditions in the country, which ‘have led to large-scale migration.’

“Don’t rely on someone to come, invest in the country and develop its economy. You have to develop Armenia. China’s example is instructive,” Bagratyan said.

The Armenian Renaissance Party urges to “Vote for change, vote for renaissance.” the party chose to start the campaign with a press conference.

The party will present the provisions of its platform to voters separately. The Armenian Renaissance has prepared videos that will introduce to the 30 points of the party’s program.

Tsarukyan alliance says it’s “Time to change and build.” The bloc started the campaign from the borderline Tavush province. Divided into ten groups, members of the alliance traveled to different settlements of Tavush to deliver their messages to people.

Before the start of the campaign member of the bloc Varuzhan Babajanyan had reported pressures against their activists. Speaking to Public Radio of Armenia, Babajanyan said “all issues have been settled.”

The Congress-People’s Party bloc started the campaign without Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Presenting the platform, Congress’ Vice-President Levon Zurabyan said “it’s a program of telling people the truth.”

Addressing the public, member of the Armenian National Congress, economist Zoya Tadevosyan attached importance to eliminating monopoly in Armenia, attracting foreign investors.

The Republican Party of Armenia says it has the answers to the issues people are concerned with. “Elections meeting the letter and spirit of law will be the victory of all of us,” Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said at the start of the campaign.

The party, which has chosen “Security and Progress” as its slogan, considers they will be able to present their programs and outlook to people during the campaign.

The Communist Party of Armenia, which has chosen the “Motherland, labor, socialism” as its slogan, started the campaign from Tavush province.

The party aims to restore socialism in Armenia and intends to deepen the political, economic and cultural ties with Russia.

The Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian alliance will campaign under the slogan “Heritage, unity, victory.” Ex-Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan says they are coming to form a new-quality leadership and restore the faith of the public. He also promises to fight all problems.

The alliance has already published the election platform titled “365 days: everyday change.”

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation started the campaign under the slogan “New beginning, fair Armenia.”

Head of the ARF faction Armen Rustamyan, who heads the party list, says the upcoming elections will be unprecedented in Armenian history.

“While others are speaking about changes, we’re bringing about these changes,” ARF faction secretary Aghvan Vardanyan said at the start of the campaign.

A Norwegian friend of Armenia, presented his Norwegian language book, a love confession to Armenia and Armenians, to an excited audience in Oslo today, the Armenian Cultural Association of Norway reports.

Sven-Erik is an Armenia expert who has written articles and op-eds about Armenia and the Armenian genocide in national and local newspapers. He has led many public lectures about Armenia for different audiences. He has also led a tour for an enthusiastic group of Norwegian tourists. Sven-Erik Rise proudly calls himself an “Armenian-by-choice” and dreams of having an Armenian passport.

The book is a breathtaking story of his love to a country and its people, presented in a most intimate, humoristic and personal manner. In the book, the author takes the reader to a tour in Armenia, where he and his Turkish friend explore the country, meet many exciting people who have many good stories to share. The author discusses the Armenian Genocide, compares with the Jewish Holocaust, analyses the denialist industry and discusses the Artsakh conflict (Nagorno Karabakh conflict). This book is a good mix of a novel and a well researched and argumented work, which makes it easy to read and gives the reader a fascinating and exciting reading experience.

The introduction of the book is written by auther and veteran journalist of the state broadcaster NRK, Jahn Otto Johansen.

The book has got many good reviews, among others from author and TV personality Stein Morten Lier.

The master of ceremonies was Magnus Jensen. Among speakers were author and TV personality Stein Morten Lier, the leader of the Armenian Cultural Association of Norway Liana Arutyunyan, representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church Society Narine Harutyunyan and representative of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Lene Wetteland.

Half of the print copies were sold by the end of the book presentation.

 

 

Iran and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on closer consular interaction around seven months after abolishing mutual visa regime, Tasnim News Agency reports.

Armenia’s Defense Minister accused Ankara of pursuing “extremely destructive” policies in the South Caucasus region.

The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany rejected an appeal to annul the bill on recognition of the Armenian Genocide adopted by the Bundestag on June 2, 2016.

The German Constitutional Court did not accept the appeal, stating that there was insufficient evidence that recognition of the Armenian Genocide violated the law, Ermenihaber.am reports, quoting the Turkish Dogan agency.

Ramazan Akbas, a lawyer from Turkey who demanded the cancellation of the decision of the Bundestag, has announced an appeal will be filed to the European Court of Human Rights.

Earlier this week a Cologne court (Alliance of German Democrats.

The Alliance of German Democrats was founded o by entrepreneur Remzi Aru, lawyer Ramazan Akbas and Halil Ertem to prevent the adoption of the resolution on the Armenian genocide by the German Bundestag.

Photo: Berge Arabian

 

Garo  Paylan, Armenian Member of Turkish Parliament, wrote an op-ed for Turkey-based newspaper about being banned from three parliamentary sessions and subjected to verbal assault for speaking about the Armenian Genocide in.

The English translation can be read below:

Last week, I was in Berlin for attending the conference organized in memory of Hrant Dink. The day after the conference, I had a meeting with a group of deputies in the Bundestag (Parliament). When I entered Reichstag building where Bundestag is located, I heard a very nice piano melody. I asked the people who welcomed me where the melody was coming from. “From the hall of general assembly,” they answered.

I couldn’t help to peek inside the hall. They said that there was an event for commemorating the Holocaust. The hall was full. All deputies, Chancellor Merkel, and ministers were present at the hall of the General Assembly. All of the parliament warmly applauded this piano recital and speeches in memory of the Holocaust.

I must admit my envy. The German Parliament was commemorating the victims of the great crime that was committed by Nazi government. I was coming from an entirely different atmosphere; from my country, where the atrocities of yesterday haven’t been acknowledged and the atrocities of today go on with impunity… I felt sorry for my country and went to the meeting with teary eyes…

Just a week before this meeting, I was banned from Turkish Parliament because I mentioned what happened to my people at the end of Ottoman period. While I, as an Armenian deputy, wasn’t allowed to speak about 102-years-old sins, all German deputies, leftists, rightists, members of the ruling and opposing parties, were sitting side by side with great self-confidence in confronting their mistakes. And none of them were thinking that they were defaming German identity as a result.

The Constitution That Odyan Wrote

In Turkey, looking at the pages of the history is getting more and more difficult. Let me tell you how I experienced it. One week before the commemoration event in Berlin, I began to talk about the proposed constitutional amendments by saying, “We are about to make a historic mistake.” I said, “We long for a social contract, which everyone living in our common homeland can call ‘my constitution’.”

My purpose was to take the deputies back to the days when the constitution was discussed in the Ottoman period. I wanted to remind them of the mistakes that were made then. In fact, few people know that our first constitution was written in 1876 by a committee consisting of various identities. [Member of Ottoman Parliament] Krikor Odyan was the one who wrote it. The constitution was suspended by Sultan Abdulhamid and a period of autocracy started, which continued until 1908. And you know the rest… Seeking democracy, the coup by Talat and Enver, and the great disaster…

Today, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) defines the proposed amendments that had been discussed in the parliament as “the constitution of the Turkish nation.” It frightens me, because Talat and Enver had a similar mentality when they tried to implement the constitution of the Turkish nation. They regarded some people as acceptable citizens, while they ignored others. In fact, they even exterminated some of the people. During 1913-1923, great massacres, genocides, population exchanges, and pogroms took place. We lost majority of Armenian, Syriac, Greek, and Jewish people.

However, when I told about these facts in the parliament, all hell broke loose. An unprecedented punishment was imposed on me because I said “genocide.” I was banned from the discussions for three sessions. My speech was deleted from the parliamentary minutes.

Many of my friends who read about the incident on internet said, “Garo, you are right, but is this the right time to speak about the genocide? We are heading towards a dictatorial regime.” This was understandable, because media was making a fuss about the word “genocide.” My two cognates made statements to the press and said that they found my speech “irrelevant and untimely.” I wasn’t surprised. Some people just bow down in times like these. Fear and worry are understandable feelings.

“Well Then, You Name It”

My purpose was not to say “genocide” at all costs, in the midst of the uproar caused by the discussion on the amendments. In fact, I have said “genocide” and “Armenian Genocide” many times in parliament. There was no trouble before. This time again, I called what happened to my people “genocide” just like I always do.

However, something different happened: insults and crisis. I said, “Well then, you name it,” to the ones who objected me. That night, the MHP threatened the [ruling] Justice and Development Party (AKP) not to support the proposed amendments if I was not punished. Thus, I was banned from the parliament with the votes of the AKP, MHP, and the Republican People’s Party (CHP). I was subjected to the lynching campaign of the nationalist front.

I didn’t intend to cause controversy; my purpose was to make people learn from the past and prevent them from making the same mistakes. I wanted to talk about how the process of writing a constitution at the end of the Ottoman period led a pluralist society to a mentality of homogeneity, about the abuses and disasters caused by one-man-regimes, and about what all of this mean to us, who are trying to write a constitution in 2017.

I know very well that what happened to my grandfather and the great disasters took place in Anatolia were caused by the mistakes that politicians like us made. A system that abolishes the parliament would recreate the dreadful atmosphere created by Talat and Enver who abolished the same parliament. The proposed constitution makes the government dependent on one person; it imposes ideology of homogeneity. This is nothing but the repetition of the disasters that took place in the past.

I am aware of it and not talking about it would make me feel like I am betraying this country, these lands, and the people that I live with.

We Can Win Together

I am worried. The parliament that took action for “writing the constitution of the Turkish nation,” imprisoned Kurdish deputies with great enthusiasm and doesn’t have enough confidence to let its members vote secretly; no good can come of this.

Think about it. The Christian and Jewish peoples, who constituted 40% in the past, are just one out of 1,000 now, because of a mentality seeking for homogeneity. We suffered gravely. However, it is not only us; everyone is missing something. Everyone is tainted because of the mistakes of a couple of men.

For me, the problem is not only about the violation of my freedom of expression in the parliament, disrespect to the elected will, or whether I cannot use that word. These are important, of course, but what really matters is this: Turkey is determined to take the path about which its own history warns, is heading at full speed towards intolerance and an authoritarian regime that lacks a mechanism of balance and control.

The ones who will be ignored by the new period will either lapse into silence or revolt, or they will simply leave the country. Just like 100 years ago, the country will be damaged and impaired. We might live in a period during which we all lose.

However, we can win together.

On these tormented lands, in which we buried Hrant Dink 10 years ago, everyone lives in the restlessness of a dove. This restlessness is not groundless. We Armenians know it too well. That is why I am addressing you, the majority.

Let’s correct this historic mistake before it’s too late.

A portrait of the Queen by British photographer David Bailey has been reissued for her Sapphire Jubilee, marking 65 years on the throne, the BBC reports.

In the photo, the Queen wears sapphire jewellery given to her by King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947.

The Queen has become the first British monarch to reach a sapphire jubilee.

The portrait was among a series taken by Bailey in 2014, with one released for the Queen’s 88th birthday that year.

She became the UK’s longest-reigning monarch in 2015 at the age of 89.

The photographer’s subjects over the years include Princess Diana, the Beatles, and criminals the Kray twins.

The Research Center for Western Armenian Studies recently published documents on its website, proving that the King of Spain during the Genocide.

The Center has now published an official letter from Spain’s Representative to the Ottoman Empire addressed to Turkish Foreign Minister Halil Bey. In the letter dated May 10, 1916 Spain’s Ambassador Julian del Arroyo wrote that His Majesty King Alfonso XIII was asking Sultan Mehmed V to spare the lives of Aknuni, Daniel Varuzhan, Siamanto, and other prominent Armenians, reports.

Regrettably the Spanish King was unaware that these Armenians had been killed long before his praiseworthy intervention.

Several recently obtained documents indicate that Interior Minister Talat finally made up a fake story about the fate of these prominent Armenians. Talat wrote to Foreign Minister Halil Bey on July 25, 1916, asking him to advise the Spanish Ambassador that the Armenians in question, while being led to the Diyarbakir Military Court, had overcome their guards and escaped to Russia. Talat concealed the fact that the Armenian prisoners had been killed months before the Spanish King’s inquiry.

Under notes exchanged between the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Russia, citizens of the Russian Federation will now be able to visit Armenia without foreign passports.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan has instructed the National Security Service to settle all technical issues to ensure the entry of Russian nationals to Armenia with internal passports.

The Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, the State Committee of Tourism have been instructed to work with other interested bodies and the private sector to prepare a broad package of tourism services for Russian citizens.

 

 

 

Angelina Papikyan and Sabina Manvelyan will represent Armenia in the new music show “Ты-супер” (“You’re super”) to be hosted by the Russian NTV channel.

Angelina Pepanyan, 15, studies at the Gyumri’s boarding school after Fridtjof Nansen. Sabina Manvelyan, also 15, lives at children’s home in Vanadzor.

The project provides a chance to talented children without parents to express themselves. According to the rules of the project, every country should be represented by two participants.

The girls will leave for Moscow in the coming days and are looking forwards to the start of the show.