Author: Badalian Vardan

SYSTEM OF A DOWN’S SERJ TANKIAN: ‘WE DON’T HAVE A SET TIMELINE’ FOR NEXT STUDIO ALBUM

BlabberMouth
April 14 2015

In a brand new interview with SPIN.com, SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman
Serj Tankian was asked about the status of the band’s long-awaited new
studio album. He responded: “There is an openness to working together
again when we all have material that is mutually accepted. We don’t
have a set timeline or anything else to report. One thing we do all
agree upon is that it’s gotta be a leap from what we’ve done before.”

SYSTEM OF A DOWN bassist Shavo Odadjian said in a recent interview
with Madcap Music Review that the band has already worked on its first
new music in a decade, with plans to enter the studio in the coming
months to record a full-length album. Asked about the chances of the
group recording for the first time since 2005, Odadjian said, “Yeah,
there’s a very good chance. I don’t have a date. We’ve already gone.

We’ve written some songs. We’re keeping it to ourselves. We’re getting
back to the bullshit of being together.”

SYSTEM last released new music in 2005 with the “Mezmerize” and
“Hypnotize” albums, but started to tour again in 2011.

The band members have reiterated throughout the hiatus that they have
remained friends, although drummer John Dolmayan hinted last year at
some personal issues in the group, saying, “We probably would have
been in the studio making an album already, but for personal reasons,
one of our members cant be in the studio right now. It’s a positive
thing, but that’s all I can say on that right now.”

SYSTEM OF A DOWN recently added two more North American dates to
its upcoming world tour. In addition to a show in Quebec on June 18,
the band will now stop in Detroit on June 17 and Toronto on June 19.

The tour commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
and will feature SYSTEM OF A DOWN’s first-ever performance in their
homeland of Armenia, on April 23.

ERDOGAN CHASTISES POPE FRANCIS FOR OBSERVING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: ‘I CONDEMN HIM’

Breitbart News
April 14 2015

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he “condemns” Pope
Francis for his use of the expression “genocide” when referring to
the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Empire
from 1915-1917.

“Whenever politicians, religious functionaries assume the duties of
historians, then delirium comes out, not fact,” Erdogan said at a
meeting of the Turkish Exporters Assembly on Tuesday.

“I want to warn the pope to not repeat this mistake and condemn him,”
he said.

At a Mass with representatives from the Armenian Catholic church on
Sunday, Pope Francis referred to the event as an “immense and senseless
slaughter” and called it “the first genocide of the twentieth century,”
ending speculation whether the pontiff would risk alienating Turkey
by using the term “genocide.”

Francis said that remembering and honoring the victims of the massacre
was “necessary, and indeed a duty,” because “whenever memory fades,
it means that evil allows wounds to fester.”

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it!” he said.

The same day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded via
Twitter, claiming that the Pope’s words lacked legal and historical
credibility.

On Monday, the Pope seemed to justify his decision at his morning Mass,
insisting in his homily that Christians must be ready to proclaim the
truth boldly, imitating the first Apostles of Jesus who spoke “without
fear.” The way of the Church is that of “openness and speaking freely,”
he said.

President Erdogan said he greatly regretted the pontiff’s remarks.

Recalling the pope’s visit to Turkey in 2014, the president said he
thought Francis was “a different politician,” adding, “I don’t say
a religious functionary.”

“I won’t let historical events be brought out of their own course
and turned into a campaign against our country and nation,” he said.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution Wednesday
regarding the claims of an Armenian genocide. The body will decide
whether to officially name the year 2015 as the centennial of the
Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

The motion noted that an increasing number of EU member states and
national parliaments recognize the Armenian genocide. If passed,
the Parliament would “pay tribute, on the eve of the Centenary, to
the memory of the one-and-a-half million innocent Armenian victims
who perished in the Ottoman Empire.”

TURKEY PROTESTS TO POPE FRANCIS AFTER HE BRANDS ARMENIAN KILLINGS ‘GENOCIDE’

The Telegraph, UK
April 12 2015

Pontiff’s run-in with Ankara comes two weeks ahead of 100th anniversary
of start of Armenian killings

By Alice Philipson Rome

Pope Francis has sparked a diplomatic row with Turkey ahead of the
100th anniversary commemorations of the mass killings of Armenians
under Ottoman rule, after describing the events as “genocide”.

The Pontiff’s comments, made in an address to Armenian politicians
and Orthodox church leaders in Rome on Sunday, led to the Turkish
foreign ministry summoning the Vatican’s envoy to Ankara for an
official dressing down.

There had been intense speculation over whether the Pope would use the
controversial term during yesterday’s service, which came two weeks
ahead of what Armenia regards as the anniversary of the killings on
April 24. Doing so risks alienating a potential ally in the Catholic
church’s efforts to stop radical Islamists persecuting Christians in
the Middle East.

However, the Pope made his intentions clear just minutes into the
service on Sunday, labelling the slaughter “the first genocide of
the 20th century”.

His comments will be seen as a clear decision to ignore previous
diplomatic protests from Ankara after he spoke about Armenian genocide
in an unofficial capacity two years ago. On that occasion, a Vatican
spokesman was forced to deny that the pronouncement signified his
official stance.

Armenia and many historians believe that up to 1.5 million people
were systematically killed by Ottoman forces in 1915. The deaths are
regarded by Turks as casualties from a civil war .

At Sunday’s Armenian Catholic rite honouring the centenary – also
attended by Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenian President, Pope Francis said
that humanity had lived through “three massive and unprecedented
tragedies” in the last century, the other two being Nazism and
Stalinism.

“The first, which is widely considered ‘the first genocide of the
20th Century’, struck your own Armenian people,” he said: “Concealing
or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without
bandaging it.”

He told the audience that it was his duty to honour the innocent men,
women, children, priests and bishops who were “senselessly” murdered
by Ottoman Turks.

More than 20 countries around the world, including Italy, France,
Russia, Germany, Argentina and Cyprus formally recognise the
massacre as genocide. Britain says the evidence is not “sufficiently
unequivocal” to do so.

Turkey’s foreign ministry reportedly told the Vatican’s envoy that
it was “disappointed” by the Pope’s comments, and that they caused a
“problem of trust” between Turkey and the Vatican.

Andrea Gagliarducci, a Vatican expert, told The Telegraph that Pope
Francis had always been close to the Armenian community and that it
was not unusual for the Pontiff to risk “diplomatic implications”
for issues he cares deeply about.

Pope Francis has already linked the deportation of Armenians from
Turkey to the plight of Christian refugees in the Middle East today,
many of whom have been forced to leave their homes by Isil militants
and other militant forces.

“I think with sadness about those regions such as Aleppo [Syria],
which a hundred years ago were a safe harbour for the few survivors,”
Pope Francis said last week during a meeting with 20 bishops of the
Patriarchal Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church. “Recently these
regions have seen the endurance of Christians, and not only Armenians,
put at risk.”

AZNAVOUR, CABALLE, SPIVAKOV TO FEATURE IN A VIDEO DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

16:27, 15 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

World-famous celebrities will feature in a video “Millions of Lives”
to be released on the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, April17. Three friends Karen Margaryan, Tigran
Petrosyan and Grisha Aghakhanyan together with KMsounds Production
have initiated the project to once again remind the world about the
verity of the Genocide.

The video has been shot in different countries of the world, including
the US, Russia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, etc.

The lyrics are about the destiny of a little girl, who lost her family
and stayed alone in this world.

The video features outstanding Armenian and international artists,
who are friends of the Armenian nation and who share the sorrow of
the little girl and millions of families whose dreams vanished in
the desert sand.

Involved in the project are Charles Aznavour, Montserrat Caballe,
Armen Jigarkhanyan, Patrick Fiori, Vladimir Spivakov, Sebu Simonian,
Dmitry Kharatyan, Garik Martirosyan, Mariam Mehrabova, Erna Yuzbashyan
and others.

We can’t let the history be repeated. We don’t want any other nation to
experience the horror the Armenians went through. KMsounds Production
and each artist in the video address their message to the World:
“The violence of 1915 was Genocide. It must be recognized by the
whole world to prevent the repetition of the history.”

For details visit

PRESS RELEASE
Date: April 14, 2015

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
Contact: Taniel Koushakjian
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
Email: [email protected]
Web:

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY PRESENTS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EXHIBIT AT HOLOCAUST
MUSEUM OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

Turkish Consulate in Miami Attempts to Block Discussion of Armenian
Genocide

NAPLES, FL – On Sunday, April 12, Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly)
Communications Director Taniel Koushakjian presented the `Iconic Images of
the Armenian Genocide’ exhibit at the Holocaust Museum and Education Center
of Southwest Florida to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
which began on April 24, 1915.

With a capacity filled hall, Koushakjian discussed the systemic nature of
the killings step by step, and presented the 20-panel exhibit highlighting
details through the photographic evidence taken by eyewitnesses at the
time, including American missionaries and German officers. The fourth in a
series of digital exhibits released free of charge, ‘Iconic Images of the
Armenian Genocide’ brings together as a single collection key images
recording the brutal mistreatment of the Armenian population of the Ottoman
Turkish Empire and the utter destruction of their historic communities.

In an outrageous move to impede a program on human rights education, the
Turkish Consulate in Miami sent a letter trying to block discussion of the
Armenian Genocide. `It is a disgrace that the Armenian diaspora chooses to
identify itself with hatred of Turks, anti-Turkism in other words, as well
as with outright dismissal of any chance of reconciliation and better
relations between Turkey and Armenia,’ wrote Ozgur Kivanc Altan, Consul
General of the Republic of Turkey in Miami in the letter addressed to the
Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida. `This is disturbing, yet not
surprising, as the [Armenian] diaspora sought in recent years to hijack the
Holocaust in an attempt to garner support for a distorted presentation of
the events of 1915,’ read the Turkish complaint.

`We deeply appreciate the Holocaust Museum’s leadership in continuing the
program as planned and are confident that Taniel’s presentation was well
received,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “Despite cynical
attempts to silence the truth, the truth will prevail,” added Ardouny.

In addition to Sunday’s program, Koushakjian also gave a presentation of
the Armenian Genocide on Saturday, April 11 for a group of a dozen
educators from surrounding Collier, Hendry, Lee, and Monroe counties as
part of a public teacher workshop on Holocaust and human rights education
at the Holocaust Museum and Education Center of Southwest Florida.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and
awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR: # 2015-023

Photo Caption 1: Armenian Assembly Communications Director Taniel
Koushakjian speaking to the audience about the Armenian Genocide.

Available online at:

ARMENIA CALLS FOR EXPANSION OF ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAN

FARS News Agency. Iran
April 12, 2015 Sunday

TEHRAN (FNA)- Armenia’s new Ambassador to Tehran Artashes Tumanyan in
a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced
his country’s willingness to broaden economic ties with Iran.

“During my mission in Iran I will pursue the further expansion of
bilateral economic ties,” Tumanyan said during the meeting.

The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, pointed to Iran-Armenia
close relations and the two countries’ abundant cultural and historical
commonalities, and said, “It is necessary for Iran and Armenia to
broaden their relations in different areas.”

In late January, Zarif in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister
Hovik Abrahamyan in Yerevan underlined that Tehran sees no boundary
for the expansion of relations with Armenia.

“Iran is ready to cooperate with Armenia in different areas, including
telecommunications, railway, energy, gas, electricity and cleaning
of Aras River,” Zarif said during the meeting in the Armenian capital.

The Iranian foreign minister underlined that Tehran sees no limitation
for broadening relations with Yerevan.

Zarif pointed to the visit of Abrahamyan to Tehran, and thanked the
Armenian prime minister for his efforts to develop mutual cooperation
with Iran.

The Iranian foreign minister voiced his pleasure in the membership
of Armenia in the Eurasia alliance, and expressed the hope that the
membership would help to the expansion of Yerevan’s bilateral ties
with Tehran.

The Armenian prime minister, for his part, pointed to the status quo
of Armenia-Iran relations, and said, “The two countries are having
high-level political relations, but we should also try to expand the
level of economic ties.”

Abrahamyan also vowed to do his best to remove the problems of the
Iranian prisoners in Armenian jails.

He referred to the role of Iranian businessmen in the expansion of
Iran-Armenia relations, and said, “We can have joint agricultural
products and export our goods to the Euro-Asia member-states.”

Iran and Armenia have taken major strides towards widening and
deepening of their relations in recent years, particularly in the
economic sector.

In October, Abrahamyan, heading a high-ranking delegation, visited
Iran to confer with senior officials of the country on ways to develop
all-out ties.

Abrahamyan held meetings with a number of high-ranking Iranian
officials, including Zarif, during which they exchanged views on the
growing trend of the development of bilateral relations in all areas,
specially in economic, trade, infrastructures and tourism fields,
and underscored the necessity for removing the existing obstacles.

They also called for continued reciprocal visits by Iranian and
Armenian officials to consult and exchange views on the bilateral
relations and other issues of mutual interest.

I AM ARMENIAN: ‘AGHET – EIN VOLKERMORD’

US Official News
April 12, 2015 Sunday

The University of California has issued the following news release:

I Am Armenian: ‘Aghet – Ein Volkermord’

Tuesday, April 14, 2015 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm, UCLA Hammer Museum –
Billy Wilder Theater

Hammer Screenings

See below for additional information.

Admission

Free and open to the public.

Contact

Hammer Museum (310) 443-7000 [email protected] Website

Additional Information

Although there is an international consensus that up to 1.5 million
Armenians died in the Ottoman Turkish Empire between 1915 and
1918, the Armenian genocide is still not recognized by Turkey as a
historical fact. ‘Aghet – Ein Volkermord,’ acclaimed German director
Eric Friedler’s award-winning documentary, deals with the political
motives for this continuing silence. A Q&A with Eric Friedler follows
the screening. (2010, Dir. E. Friedler, 90 min).

I Am Armenian: A Year of Armenian Culture and History on Film In
commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
we dedicate 2015 to an exploration of multiple facets of Armenian
culture, history, and landscape through film.

GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO CALL FOR EVACUATING ARMENIAN KIDS FROM ALEPPO

12:02 * 14.04.15

The Armenian Government has offered its readiness to assist in the
evacuation Aleppo-Armenian children from the war-torn city.

“The Government is ready to host and offer the necessary conditions
to the children and pupils moving to Armenia from Aleppo,” a source
from the Government’s press service told Tert.am.

It comes after reports emerged about the continuing Islamist rocket
raids in the city’s Armenian-populated district, Suleymanie. The
attacks raised panic among the Armenians of Syria, with many voicing
calls in the social networks for evacuating children from the war zone.

U.S. EMBASSY ORGANIZES A “CLARA BARTON READING TOUR” ACROSS ARMENIA

12:34, 14 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

In celebration of the Armenian National Library Week, the U.S. Embassy
is organizing from April 13-17 a “Clara Barton Reading Tour” to
schools in Yerevan and in each of the five American Corners in
Armenia. Ambassador Mills kicked the week off with a Clara Barton
reading at the Yerevan American Corner.

Each participating school is being visited by a pair of Embassy
employees, one American and one Armenian, who will read the book Clara
Barton, Our Angel Too in both English and Armenian to the students,
followed by a short discussion about Clara Barton’s life and work. The
American Corners in Vanadzor, Gyumri, Charentsavan, and Kapan will
each host a Peace Corps volunteer to lead the discussions.

Clara Barton (1821-1912) is remembered as a friend to Armenia, and for
her compassion, humanitarianism, and commitment to helping people,
regardless of race or nationality. Clara Barton, a nurse during the
American Civil War, founded the American Red Cross. At the age of 74,
in response to the humanitarian crisis in the wake of the Hamidian
Massacres, she travelled to Constantinople and opened the first
American International Red Cross headquarters there. Her efforts
helped save tens of thousands of Armenians.

The United States has been a steadfast friend to Armenia, and has
stood shoulder to shoulder with Armenia in times of need. Clara Barton
is an example of that solidarity. Her life showed the power of one
person to make a difference for thousands.

KIM KARDASHIAN’S VISIT THE BEST PROMOTIONAL EVENT FOR ‘ARMENIA’ BRAND – POLITICAL TECHNOLOGIST

YEREVAN, April 14. /ARKA/. The visit of Kim Kardashian, an American
reality show star and photo model of Armenian descent, has become
the best promotional event for ‘Armenia’ brand, Vigen Hakobyan,
a political technologist, told journalists on Thursday.

Kim Kardashian, accompanied by her husband Kanye West, a rapper,
their daughter North and sister Chloe Kardashian, arrived in Armenia
on April 8 and departed from it on April 13.

In Armenia they filmed another episode for ‘Keeping Up with the
Kardashians’ reality show.

“The visit of Kardashian and her husband was a good promotional event
in boosting Armenia as brand and in enhancing public awareness of
Armenian Genocide,” Hakobyan said.

He said the Armenian community treated this visit quite pragmatically.

“We have to take into account things in the world, which show that
some persons, regardless of our approaches to moral principles,
score more than 70 million subscribers in social networks and this
is a powerful propaganda instrument,” he said.

Kim Kardashian has 31 million subscribers in Twitter, 24 million in
Facebook 29.9 million in Instagram. —0—–