Author: Badalian Vardan

LE COMITE TALAT PACHA SUR LA TOMBE DE SON HEROS

TURQUIE

Les sympathisants de Dogu Perincek ont commemore hier le 94e
anniversaire de la mort du principal artisan du genocide Armenien
Talat Pacha dans le quartier de Sisli a Istanbul.

Le lieutenant general Ismail Hakki Pekin president du Comite Talat
Pacha a pleure la perte d’un “grand revolutionnaire heros de la
liberte”.

“Un fedayin paie toujours le coût. Il a paye le prix pour la lutte
de sa vie,” a-t-il dit.

Cuneyt Akalin membre du Talat Pacha a egalement declare qu’ils
continueraient la lutte de Talat Pacha.

lundi 16 mars 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

JAVAKHK ‘DESERTERS’ CALL ON THE YOUTH TO RETURN AND ENRICH THE REGION

Kristine Aghalaryan

09:01, March 16, 2015

Students enrolled in Armenian private schools in Los Angeles have
been dropping 20cents every day into little collection boxes.

The coins, collected on a weekly basis, are then sent to a Javakhk
assistance committee launched by the Armenian Relief Society. The
student donations are finally forwarded to Javakhk.

Ashot Melkonyan, Director of the Institute of History of the Armenian
Academy of Sciences, recently visited Los Angeles and spoke to students
and faculty at twelve Los Angeles Armenian schools. He saw what was
taking place regarding Javakhk.

Melkonyan was overjoyed to hear that 6th-12th grade students were
learning about Javakhk and especially about those villages that,
over the ages, have produced prominent Armenian thinkers and activists.

Melkonyan brought news of this development back to the youth committee
initiated by the Javakhk Assistance Foundation (JAF), encouraging
them to get involved in the work being done in Javakhk.

“I regard myself as a deserter since I do not live in Javakhk. I
was born there but live a good life in Yerevan. All of us should be
in Javakhk. We must understand that being patriotic is a practical
matter and starts with living on the land and working there. Those
of you who go to the villages of Javakhk with a diploma in your hand
are the real patriots. The patriot isn’t the one who can only make
speeches from this podium,” Melkonyan told the Javakhk youth committee.

Ashot MelkonyanKarineh KhodikyanGagik Ginosyan

Melkonyan added that while the JAF doesn’t operate in opposition
to the Georgian government, many officials, especially in Javakhk,
view its activities with suspicion.

The dramatist Karineh Khodikyan, another founder of the JAF, called on
the youth to remain steadfast and courageous alongside the experience
and wisdom of their elders. “Any activity has real prospects when the
youth take their rightful place alongside their elders,” Khodikyan
said.

Gagik Ginosyan, founder of the Garin Folk Dance Ensemble, called
on the youth not to lose the traditional Javakhk stubbornness and
determination. “We will return and the prerequisite for this is in
the hands of the Javakhk youth,” he said.

Young Javakhk residents spoke about the various sector challenges
facing the region.

Javakhk native Karen Hakobyan, a maxillofacial surgeon who heads
the staff at the Yerevan State Medical University, believes that in
order to solve the health problems in Javakhk one must start with
the professionals. Hakobyan suggests that a plan be drafted whereby
medical students get tuition reimbursement in exchange for working
in Javakhk for a stated period after graduating.

Dentist Artur Manukyan states that Javakhk hospitals lack up to date
equipment and that there are no dental clinics in the region. He
describes the ones that exist as quite primitive in terms of
technology. Manukyan proposes training sessions and conferences
in Javakhk so that health professionals are brought up to current
standards.

Attorney Davit Mkoyan said that Javakhk residents faced legal problems
when it comes to protecting their property and singled out the right
of private property. Mkoyan points to the lack of information by
Javakhk residents, the speed of legal changes and, of course, the
political context as reasons for this problem. He suggests that
legal awareness seminars be conducted in Javakhk and, if needed,
legislative initiatives be made at the Georgian parliament.

Karen HakobyanDavit MkoyanMavr Lazarian

“Many of my peers in the current situation live as romantic pioneers.

The remaining minority lives according to the dictates of the day,”
says singer Mavr Lazarian, adding that there is no cultural life in
Javakhk. The reason, he says, is because there are no cultural centers
in the region. He adds that there aren’t any renovated concert halls
in Javakhk.

“In December 2012 we gave concerts in Akhalkalak, Ninotzminda and
Soukhlis. You can’t imagine the conditions. A thousand people showed
up in halls accommodating 600. There was no room left to stand. We
were seated near the electric heaters and drinking cognac just to
warm our hands. It makes no sense to hold any type of cultural event
in Javakhk from November to April.”

The singer would like to see cultural centers built in the rural
areas; one for several villages. He says that cultural life, to the
extent that it exists, is centered in the towns. He also wants to
see professionals receive training in Yerevan

His greatest wish is to organize a cultural festival in Javakhk that
will assemble local talent and create conditions to provide the best
with an education.

JAF Council President Sos Sahakyan said that this year has been
declared the year of Javakhk cultural centers and that renovations
will begin at such sites.

The first center scheduled for renovation is the center in the village
of Tamala in Akhaltskha.

To spur the development of sports in Javakhk, Street Workout and
Street Lifting NGO President Artur Harutyunyan and his partners have
proposed to create mini playgrounds in backyards as was the case in
the Soviet period.

DEMONSTRATION IN BAKU AGAINST MANAT DEVALUATION; PROTESTERS DEMANDED AUTHORITIES TO COMPENSATE FOR FINANCIAL LOSSES

13:17 16/03/2015 >> SOCIETY

An Azerbaijani opposition rally was held at the city stadium of the
sport club Mehsul in Baku under police surveillance. The participants
demanded to compensate the population for their losses which had been
caused by manat devaluation. The main slogan of the demonstration
agreed upon with Baku City Hall was “No to looting and deceptions!”

The demonstrators interrupted the speakers, chanting “Freedom!” and
“Resign!” Caucasian Knot reports.

According to the article, Ali Karimli, the chairman of the Azerbaijani
Popular Front Party (APFP), during his speech called on the government
of the country to compensate the population for their losses which
had been caused by manat devaluation. Deputy chairman of APFP Fuad
Gahramanli spoke up for the immediate release of the Azerbaijani
political prisoners. In his turn, the head of the National Council
of Democratic Forces Jamil Hasanli criticized allocating funds for
hosting the European Games in Baku.

“The Heydar Aliyev Foundation covers the expenses of building parks
and establishing monuments in foreign countries, while seriously ill
children’s parents turn to the people in the social networks asking
for help to pay for their babies’ treatment,” Hasanli protested.

The BBC Russian Service also turned to the topic highlighting
that thousands of people took part in the demonstration organized
by the Azerbaijani opposition in Baku, and that it is one of the
largest demonstrations of the Azerbaijani opposition for the recent
years. The next one is appointed on 5 April. In its turn, the magazine
Korrespondent.net adds that “oil-and-gas rich Azerbaijan” faces
dramatic financial problems because of the decline of the oil prices.

The website of RFE/RL reminds that during the demonstration Jamil
Hasanli declared that his Facebook account had been hacked ahead
of the protest in an apparent attempt by authorities to prevent
him from calling on people to join the rally. RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani
Service highlights that the day before the rally the Press Council
of Azerbaijan informed the site Qafqazinfo that a monitoring of the
journalists carrying out their duties was to be held during the rally.

However, Ogtay Gulaliyev, the National Council representative, said
he was not aware of that.

Azerbaijani information agency Turan reports that 4-5 thousand people
took part in the rally in Baku. In its turn, the Main Police Department
in Baku stated that there were around 600 demonstrators in the rally.

According to the agency, Gezal Bayramli, the deputy chairman of
APFP and member of National Council, noted in her speech that the
current situation in Azerbaijan comes as a logical result of the
“inconsiderate, robbing policy” carried out by the authorities of the
country. The head of the National Council Jamil Hasanli condemned the
lack of economical strategy of the authorities noting that the policy
of the authorities in Azerbaijan has a “spontaneous and inconsiderate
character.” He said that one of the forms of corruption in Azerbaijan
is the tax authorities’ tactics of extortion, as they – apart from
the official taxes – take cash of 10-15 thousands from the businessmen
explaining that by the lack of money for the European Games.

Turan also writes that Rovshan Ahmedov, Karabakh war veteran and a
member of the National Council, spoke up at the meeting stressing
that despite the fact that the war refugees and veterans cannot get
compensation in Azerbaijan for already 20 years, the authorities of the
country are ready to invite and pay the expenses of the representatives
of Armenia in the European Games.

Agence France Presse
March 13, 2015 Friday 4:07 PM GMT

Armenia forces kill second Azerbaijan soldier this week: Baku

Baku, March 13 2015

Armenian troops have killed a second Azerbaijani soldier this week,
Baku said Friday, threatening a “severe” response to the latest
violence in a long-standing conflict over the disputed Nagorny
Karabakh region.

“On March 13, the Armenian armed forces violated the ceasefire. An
Azerbaijani soldier was shot dead” in the latest border clash between
the arch-foes, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said in a statement.

“Azerbaijan’s counter-strike will be severe,” it added.

The incident comes after another soldier was killed in an attack on
Azerbaijani positions on Wednesday.

Baku and Yerevan have been locked in a dispute over Azerbaijan’s
Nagorny Karabakh region since a bloody war in the early 1990s.

Yerevan-backed ethnic Armenian separatists seized control of Karabakh
and another seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan during the conflict
that left some 30,000 dead.

Despite years of negotiations, the two sides have not signed a final
peace deal, with Armenian-populated Karabakh still internationally
recognised as part of Azerbaijan.

Karabakh’s ethnic-Azeri community — which before the war made up
around 25 percent of the population — was entirely driven out.

Threatening a shaky 1994 truce, clashes between Azerbaijani and
Armenian forces intensified again in January following an
unprecedented spiral of violence last year.

At least 18 people from both sides were reported killed and as many
wounded this year in sporadic flare-ups on the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border, and along the Karabakh frontline.

Baku, whose military spending exceeds Armenia’s entire state budget,
has threatened to take back the territories by force if negotiations
fail to yield results.

Armenia, backed militarily by Russia, says it could crush any offensive.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 14 2015

Hovik Abrahamyan meets with Egyptian President

Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan met with the president of
Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during his visit to Egypt, the press
service of the Armenian government reported.

The head of the Armenian government noted that Armenia attaches great
importance to developing relations with the Arab countries and that
Egypt plays a special role to it.
In turn, al-Sisi praised the role of the Armenian community in the
development of the country and noted that the Armenian Diaspora is a
good bridge for the expansion and deepening of Armenian-Egyptian
relations.

Armenia needs political diversity – Hakob Avetisyan

13:58 * 15.03.15

Hakob Avetikyan, Editor of the Azg (Nation) daily, shared his opinion
of constitutional reforms in an interview with Tert.am.

As a member of a traditional Armenian political party, he is not for
party merger. According to him, it is an artificial process.

Mr Avetikyan proposes that Armenia adopt European standards because
Europe affords opportunities for both traditional and new parties.

With respect to the statements that the reason for party merger is
that such a high number of political parties is unacceptable in a
country like Armenia, Mr Avetikyan said:

“Yes, 63 political parties are said to be registered in Armenia. But
being registered is a different thing. We have more than 4,000
non-governmental organizations. But only a few of them are capable of
anything. As regards party merger, it is an artificial process. What
is the basis? Are parties expected to join one another and form new
parties? I cannot understand it.”

Asked about solutions, Mr Avetikyan said:

“A solution would be reducing the threshold for parties running for
Parliament from 7% for political alliances and 5% for political
parties down to 1%. But it may be irrelevant as well. In Israel, for
example, small political parties may be influential reforms or
formation of a new government -even if they have a couple of their
representatives. And two major parties may counterbalance each other.
This is one of the ways of forming a multiparty system in Armenia, but
not by means of artificial party merger. Merger round what? Numerous
parties with different names joined the Prosperous Armenia party (a
list compiled prior to the 2012 parliamentary elections – ed.) What
was the ideological basis of that alliance?”

Elaborating on constitutional reforms, Mr Avetikyan pointed out their
advisability.

“I have not examined the concept so I cannot say anything. But my
principled stand is as follows: when we say ‘Constitution’, it must be
honored at any cost.

“As regards the proportional representation and first-past-the-post
voting systems, I would support proportional representation if
Armenia’s political parties were real political parties. Most of them
are one-man parties or money-parties. Very few parties are of global
importance in Armenia, and they are idle if they have no money or
power. They face serious problems in political integration. Therefore,
proportional representation or first-past-the-post voting systems do
not matter.

US Official News
March 14, 2015 Saturday

UC Berkeley Armenian Alumni Association (UCBAA): “Armenian Identity in
a Changing World” – Dr. Levon Abrahamian

Berkeley University of California has issued the following news release:

UC Berkeley Armenian Alumni Association (UCBAA): “Armenian Identity in
a Changing World” – Dr. Levon Abrahamian

Social Event | March 15 | 2 p.m. | Vasbouragan Hall

Location: 51 Commonwealth Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107

Sponsor: UC Berkeley Armenian Alumni Association (UCBAA)

Ô²Õ¡ÖÕ¥Õ¾Õ¶Õ¥Ö Cal Armenian Alumni, students, and friends!

The UCBAA invites you to a unique a talk on “Armenian Identity in a
Changing World” presented by Dr. Levon Abrahamian this Sunday at
2:00pm in San Francisco. Dr. Abrahamian is a visiting professor this
semester at Cal, where he is teaching a course entitled Modern
Discourse on Armenian Identity. We are fortunate to be able to welcome
him back to our community, after his first visiting professorship at
Cal back in 1997-98.

Dr. Abrahamian is an esteemed cultural anthropologist and the Director
of the Department of Contemporary Anthropological Studies at the
National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. He has written four books and
over 150 publications touching on Armenian anthropology and culture.

We hope that you will join for this engaging talk. Copies of Dr.
Abrahamian’s latest book, Armenian Identity in a Changing World (which
is sold out at most major bookstores) will also be available for
purchase during the wine and cheese reception after the event.

Target audience: Alumni

RP ONLINE, Deutschland
11 mar 2015

Hitler berief sich auf Armenier-Genozid

Der Völkermörder fragte kurz vor Kriegsbeginn 1939: “Wer redet heute
noch von der Vernichtung der Armenier?” Von Rolf Helfert

1915/16 ließ die türkische Regierung anderthalb Millionen Armenier
töten. Der Orientalist und Theologe Johannes Lepsius (1858-1926)
publizierte mehrere Studien über diesen Völkermord. 1914 gründete er
die “Deutsch-Armenische Gesellschaft”. Rolf Hosfeld, der das Potsdamer
“Lepsiushaus” leitet, analysiert in seinem Buch die armenische
Katastrophe detailreich.

Auf Befehl Sultan Abdul Hamids II. wurden schon 1895/96 rund 100 000
Armenier niedergemetzelt. Türkische Soldaten wüteten mit orgiastischer
Brutalität. “Plötzlich brach eine unkontrollierte Raserei aus. Türen
wurden eingeschlagen, Mauern niedergerissen, Brände gelegt, die Männer
ermordet, die Frauen auf dem Markt zum Kauf angeboten”. Lepsius
schrieb 1915 in Konstantinopel: “Es ist unsagbar, was geschehen ist
und noch geschieht. Die vollkommene Ausrottung der Armenier ist das
Ziel”.

Der stete Niedergang des Osmanischen Imperiums entfesselte jene
tödliche Lawine. Ihrer europäischen Kolonien verlustig gegangen,
glaubten die Türken, dass sogar Konstantinopel bedroht sei. Am meisten
fürchtete der Sultan Russland, das er verdächtigte, die christlichen
Armenier zu unterstützen, die Schutz gegen Plünderer forderten und
größere Autonomie erstrebten. Abdul Hamid wollte das geschrumpfte
Reich festigen, Kleinasien “türkisieren”, wo etwa zwei Millionen
Armenier lebten. Dabei hatte Armenien schon lange vor der osmanischen
Eroberung existiert. Obwohl sie 66 Prozent der Wissenschaftler und
drei Viertel der Industriellen des Reiches stellten, galten Armenier
als “Feinde im eigenen Land”.

“Jungtürkische” Revolutionäre erniedrigten Abdul Hamid 1908 zur
Nebenfigur; seit 1913 regierten sie diktatorisch. Erneut verübten
türkische Truppen Massaker, denen zehntausende Armenier zum Opfer
fielen. Laut Hosfeld habe türkische “Paranoia” die Armeniermorde mit
verursacht. Während des Ersten Weltkriegs kämpfte das osmanische Reich
an der Seite Deutschlands. Ende 1914 erklärte Russland der Türkei den
Krieg, die zahlreiche Niederlagen erlitt, wodurch der Hass gegen
armenische Christen zunahm, die angeblich Russland begünstigten, dem
das östliche Armenien gehörte. Nun verlangten jungtürkische Politiker,
die “Endlösung der Armenierfrage” herbeizuführen. “Wir Türken müssen
die Armenier entweder ausrotten oder zur Auswanderung zwingen”.

Das Militär deportierte die armenische Bevölkerung 1915/16 in Wüsten,
abgelegene Gebirge, unversorgte Gefangenenlager, um sie zu vernichten.
Bereits auf den Märschen dorthin starben viele Armenier bei
systematisch organisierten Massakern. “Wie Holz trieben die Leichen
unzähliger ermordeter Armenier auf dem Euphrat”.

An diesem von oben gelenkten Genozid nahmen Kurden teil. Ãœber
verwaiste armenische Kinder, deren Eltern liquidiert waren, schrieb
ein Deutscher: “Hier saßen sie, Kopf an Kopf, Knaben und Mädchen,
vertiert, verhungert, ohne die geringste menschliche Hilfe”. Die
deutsche Reichsleitung wusste alles, aber Kanzler Bethmann-Hollweg
dachte nicht daran, die verbündeten Türken zu kritisieren. 1918
flüchtete der ehemalige Innenminister Mehmet Talaat, der den
Völkermord gesteuert hatte, an Bord eines kaiserlichen U-Boots nach
Deutschland. In der Berliner Hardenbergstraße erschoss ihn 1921 ein
armenischer Student; die deutsche Justiz sprach den Attentäter frei.
Wer heute in der Türkei die Armenier-Massaker erwähnt, landet oft im
Gefängnis.

Hitler glaubte, dass die Mordtaten, die er plante, irgendwann der
Vergessenheit anheim fielen. “Wer redet heute noch von der Vernichtung
der Armenier?”, fragte er am 22. August 1939 auf dem Obersalzberg.
Dieses Buch macht das Schicksal der Armenier einer breiten
Öffentlichkeit bekannt.

EVENTS DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE HELD IN FRAMES OF GOLDEN APRICOT FESTIVAL

15:17, 13 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS: The Golden Apricot Yerevan International
Film Festival this year is devoted to the centennial of the Armenian
Genocide and on that occasion the Festival will have special
programs. The annual Festival will be held on July 12-19 in 2015.

The Project Manager of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International
Film Festival Michael Stamboltsyan stated at the meeting with the
journalists on March 13 that a great attention will be paid to the
Genocide in the framework of the Film Festival.

IF PUTIN IS DEAD, WHO CALLED THE ARMENIAN PRESIDENT?

EurasiaNet.org
March 13 2015

March 13, 2015 – 11:26am, by Giorgi Lomsadze

Reports about Vladimir Putin’s death might be slightly exaggerated,
but they have kept Internet-users entertained for two days now. Yet,
as journalists go chasing the vanished Russian president, perhaps
someone needs to talk to his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan,
who insisted that he spoke to Putin over the phone just yesterday.

According to the Armenian president’s office, Putin told Sargsyan
he was planning to come visit Yerevan on April 24 for Armenia’s
commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the massive slaughter of
ethnic Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

If the chat did take place, Sargsyan may be the last leader to have
spoken to Putin. A trip to Kazakhstan was canceled, as was a meeting
with a delegation from breakaway South Ossetia.

Armenia ranks as Russia’s main ally in the South Caucasus, so,
presumably, Sargsyan would know when he’s talking to Putin himself.

But how did Putin sound to the Armenian leader? For now, Sargsyan’s
office ain’t sayin’.

The chat, though, is likely to feed the fire of speculation since
Putin disappeared from public view after late last week. What began
as a “have you seen Putin?” whisper is turning into a wildly trending
“Putin died” phenomenon that some take seriously and others as a
total joke. Even an oracular website has been set up to let users
ask if Putin is dead or not.

Besieged by questions about the Kremlin chief’s health, Putin’s
irked spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has told reporters that they are
crazy. He insisted that his boss is up and kicking, and still delivers
a bone-crushing handshake.

But suspicions linger. It’s still remembered how, in Soviet times,
the Kremlin kept all hush-hush about leaders’ health, and how viewers
were not sure if Leonid Brezhnev was alive even when he waved his
hand to the Red Square crowds.

The Russian administration’s claim that Putin on March 13 met with the
chairperson of Russia’s Supreme Court, Vyacheslav Lebedev, failed to
dispel the rumors. No visual evidence or details, noted Ekho Moskvy
radio station.

Some media outlets, though, are taking a philosophical view of things..

In a sobering editorial, Russia’s Novaya Gazeta, a Kremlin-critic,
wrote that “Putin did not die. It is you who did if you think that
his death will make you free.”

The Russian gloating over the “dead” Putin is but a reverse of North
Korea lamenting Kim Jong-Il, the editorial said, and does nothing to
end a tradition of tyranny. “In both cases, serfs have one and the
same hope: that the new lord will be better than the last one.”