Author: Chaltikian Arsine

SUREN MANUKYAN: U.S. RECOGNIZED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN 1975

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 19, 2010 – 16:02 AMT 11:02 GMT

Armenia for the first time raised the issue of Genocide in 1965.

Discussions have been held since then, however, the present-day
situation is quite different, said Suren Manukyan, deputy director
of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute.

"Armenia doesn’t need to prove the fact of Genocide any more. Even
those countries, which refrain from official recognition due to
political reasons, do not doubt that the massacre of Armenians in
1915 constituted Genocide," Mr. Manukyan told reporters on April 19.

He also reminded that Young Turk leaders stood trial and were sentenced
to death in 1919 for "involvement of Turkey in WWI and annihilation
of the Armenian population."

Commenting on the possibility of recognition of the Armenian Genocide
by the U.S. this year, Mr. Manukyan said that the U.S. recognized
the Genocide in 1975, when the Congress passed a relevant resolution.

Aysor, Armenia
April 17 2010

Farid Mukhametshin: the `Hill of Honor’ is a `unique’ project

On April 16 in order to hold talks on resumption of the `Hill of
Honor’ in Gyumri took place a working meeting with the participation
of the head of `Rossotrudnichestvo’ Farid Mukhametshin from Russia,
Ambassador of Russia to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko, the governor of
Shirak region Lida Nanyan, Mayor of Gyumri Vardan Ghukasyan and the
head of the Armenian ` Russian beneficiary organization Andranik
Nikoghosyan.

The guists got acquainted with the currant construction, highly
praised the work which was done, stated that the construction is
really unique and pointed out its peculiarity as well as attached
importance to the deepening of the friendship and cooperation of the
Russian and Armenian nations. ‘ Farid Mukhametshin called the project
unique, informs the `Work of Honor’ Armenian ` Russian NGO.

As earlier we had informed in Gyumri is being realized the
construction of the cemetery named `Hill of Honor’ which is dedicated
to the Russian officers and doctors in service who died in Russian `
Turkish war.

As a result of the cooperation of the governor of the RA Shirak region
and the governor of the RF Ulianovsk region, by the support of the RA
and RF support on December started the works of deconstruction,
reconstruction and improvement. It was completely realized by the
Russian ` Armenian NGO `Work of Honor’, the co-chairs of which are
Viktor Krivopuskov and Andranik Nikoghosyan.

The construction is planned to finish in May 2010.

news.am, Armenia
April 17 2010

Likelihood of Protocols’ ratification decreases day by day: Zaman

14:31 / 04/17/2010`The likelihood that the protocols signed by Turkey
and Armenia in October will go into effect decreases by the day. As
the sides deviate from the point of agreement, they become influenced
by routine politics,’ Abdulhamit Bilici states in his article
published in Turkish Zaman daily.

`Yet with gangrenous problems like this, thinking outside the box and
trying new methods is a must in order to find a solution. If there was
any likelihood of progress, Obama would probably have wanted to meet
with the two leaders together since it would have been considered a
significantly important diplomatic success. Of course it is better
than nothing that Erdogan and Sargsyan both agreed during their
meeting that the protocols were not dead and indicated that their
respective foreign ministers would work together to continue the
process. Perhaps this development will allow us to avoid any problems
on April 24 this year. But if the Erdogan-Obama meeting concludes in
the same way, then the announcements the Turkish and Armenian leaders
made after their private talks do not point to any promising
developments in the near future,’ the author says.

`In this context, the stance of Turkey, which has a population of 72
million, an economy worth almost $1 trillion and a high profile in
international relations, can be understandable to a certain extent.
But is it not surreal for Armenia to expect results without giving up
on occupying Azerbaijan and leading a campaign against Turkey to
recognize the genocide despite the major problems it is facing?,’ the
source reads.

`Could the source of this surrealism in Yerevan be the lack of
international forces, which keep pressuring Ankara to open its border,
to speak out against the Armenian occupation?’ the author concludes.

A FAMILY QUARREL IS ABDULLAH GUL READY TO CHALLENGE RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN?

The Economist
April 15 2010

A Turk in his palaceTHE elegant office of President Abdullah Gul says
something about Turkey. Its bay window looks out over Ankara. On
a wall hang landscapes by an Armenian Ottoman court artist, Ivan
Aivasovsky. Under Mr Gul’s predecessor, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the
window was walled in and the Aivasovskys rotted in the cellar. A
dour former judge, Mr Sezer rarely travelled. Mr Gul completed his
61st foreign visit as president (to Oman) this week. Overtly pious,
yet pro-Western and a free-marketeer, Mr Gul symbolises the new global
ambitions of his country.

To most of the world Mr Gul is a moderate, who in five years as foreign
minister balanced the excesses of his mercurial prime minister, Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Erdogan publicly sparred with Israel, but Mr Gul
quietly lobbied Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. Mr Erdogan
stands for charisma, Mr Gul for common sense.

But now an undeclared battle is brewing: Mr Erdogan is believed to
covet the presidency, but Mr Gul wants to keep it.

One problem is that nobody, not even Mr Gul, seems to know when his
term expires. "Do I have seven years or five years? I don’t know,"
Mr Gul says. The trouble is that when parliament (dominated by Mr
Erdogan’s mildly Islamist Justice and Development, or AK, party)
elected Mr Gul to the job in 2007, it introduced changes to have the
next president directly elected by voters for a renewable five-year
term. The question is whether Mr Gul can benefit from this and run
again; or whether he, like previous presidents, can serve only a
single seven-year term and step down in 2014.

Legal opinion is divided, but politics will surely prevail. The
Gul camp argues that the president is entitled to another term. Mr
Erdogan’s allies disagree. "Mr Erdogan supported Mr Gul’s presidency.

It’s his turn to make sacrifices for Mr Erdogan," says a source close
to the prime minister. A general election is due next year. Should
AK win a third term, Mr Erdogan may be tempted to use the mandate
to elevate himself into the presidency. Some believe that the AK’s
latest attempts to reform the constitution, including measures to
enhance the president’s powers, are tailored for Mr Erdogan to take
the job. But what if Mr Gul decides to stand against him? That could
split the party and even bring down the government.

The party faithful ridicule this idea. In Islamic tradition,
they argue, the ambitions of any individual are set aside for the
common good of the umma, or community. They may be right. Mr Gul
and Mr Erdogan began their careers in Turkey’s Islamist movement and
have been close for years. They co-founded AK and secured its first
election victory, in 2002. Mr Gul was prime minister to start with,
as Mr Erdogan could not take his parliamentary seat until March 2003,
when he made Mr Gul foreign minister.

Differences between the two did not surface until 2007, when Mr Gul
announced his bid for the presidency, apparently against Mr Erdogan’s
wishes. The chief of staff, Yasar Buyukanit, promptly threatened a
coup, on the grounds that Mr Gul’s wife, Hayrunissa, wears the Islamic
headscarf (banned in state institutions), making her husband unfit to
be president. Mr Erdogan then called a snap election, giving Mr Gul
a platform to campaign for his presidency. When AK won again, with
an even bigger share of the vote than in 2002, Mr Gul duly got the job.

This was a huge blow to the generals. Had Mr Gul not stuck to his guns,
their views might have prevailed. Mr Gul’s mild demeanour disguises
the steely will that first led him to rebel against Necmettin Erbakan,
founder of Turkey’s political Islamists, who was ousted as prime
minister in a "soft coup" in 1997. Although he does not have Mr
Erdogan’s popular support, he retains influence inside AK.

But will he keep it when Mr Erdogan draws up candidates’ lists for
the next election?

Much may depend on the election result. Should AK do relatively badly,
Mr Erdogan’s presidential ambitions will be squashed and Mr Gul might
count himself lucky to have his seven years. What is clear is that,
so long as Turkey’s opposition parties are ineffectual, the only
serious challenges to AK come from within.

FRIENDSHIP GROUP TO BE ESTABLISHED IN URUGUAY PARLIAMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 16, 2010 – 15:55 AMT 10:55 GMT

Armenia’s Ambassador to Argentine and Uruguay Vladimir Karmirshalyan,
who is on a working visit to Montevideo, met with Uruguayan
Vice-President and Chairman of the National Congress Danilo Astori
on April 14. During the meeting, Amb. Karmirshalyan presented the
current situation of the Armenian-Uruguayan relations and confirmed
the Armenian authorities’ intention to boost them.

At the same time, the Ambassador noted that he arrived in Uruguay
to take part in the events dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. Mr. Karmirshalyan also expressed gratitude to the
Uruguayan Vice-President for the first-ever official recognition of
the Armenian Genocide by Uruguay.

For his part, Mr. Astori said that the Armenian community of Uruguay
is a part of the country’s society. "They are good Uruguayans, as well
as they are good Armenians, who remain committed to their culture,
traditions and language," the Vice-President noted, adding that
Armenians of Uruguay actively contribute to the country’s development.

They also discussed the Armenian-Uruguayan inter-parliamentary
relations. Specifically, Mr. Astori promised to deal personally with
the establishment of an Armenian-Uruguayan parliamentary group in
the Uruguayan parliament. The parties also paid attention to boosting
cooperation between the two countries’ parliaments.

Mr. Astori noted that he will be delighted to receive his Armenian
counterpart in Montevideo, as well as will visit Armenia at the first
opportunity, the press service of the RA Foreign Ministry reported.

ARTSAKH OFFERS DEEPEST CONDOLENCES AND SUPPORT TO CHINA

Aysor
April 16 2010
Armenia

Artsakh’s President Bako Sahakian sent Thursday a message of condolence
to President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao over the
deaths in damaging earthquake in China’s Qinghai province.

"On behalf of people, administration and myself I wish to express
our deep condolences and support to you and to the fraternal Chinese
nation over the earthquake that had hit Qinghai province, leaving
hundreds of people dead.

"The Armenian nation has experienced the same natural hazard and
its consequences.

"We stand with you in this difficult hour; our thoughts and prayers
are with families of all those who died in the damaging earthquake,"
said in President’s message.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: THERE ARE THINGS ARMENIA AND TURKEY HAVE COMMITTED TO DO

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 17, 2010 – 12:48 AMT 07:48 GMT

The U.S. Department of State assesses the recent discussions with
Armenian and Turkish top officials as "very meaningful."

"We continue to try to find the right formula working with both
countries. And clearly, we’re also supporting the Minsk process
regarding Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. We are – the process
has stalled from last fall when the countries signed the protocols
on normalization. We want to see Turkey and Armenia ratify those
protocols, normalize relations, open borders. That has significant
benefits for both countries. And we continue to work with both
to see if we can find the right formula, the right timing to see
ratification and the benefits that come with ratification," said
Mr. Phillip Crowley, State Department spokesman.

"We continue to work to see how we can – I mean, there are things that
both countries have committed to do. There are difficult processes
working with their respective parliaments. We have the same experience
in this country where the Executive Branch can make a commitment that
has to work with Congress in terms of implementing that or getting
ratification of that. We know this is a difficult process. We know
it involves emotion on both sides, risk on both sides, and we will
continue to work constructively with Armenia and Turkey to try to
see this process through," he said.

"TURKEY IS UNDER EXPECTATIONS AND PRESSURES "

Aysor
April 15 2010
Armenia

"All the pressures and the expectations in the frameworks of the
Armenian – Turkish reconciliation process are on Turkey," thinks
Richard Giragosian, Head of the Armenian Center for National and
International Studies (ACNIS). Today during the round table he said
that the pressures of Washington over Ankara are connected with the
disagreements between Turkey and the United States over the nuclear
program of Iran.

"The U.S. has issue a challenge to Turkey and not to Armenia. Armenia
has already done what it was able to do," he said.

According to the speaker in the situation created within the frameworks
of the Armenian – Turkish reconciliation process the most important
thing is that the powerful states do not consider the NKR issue as a
precondition for the normalization of the Armenian – Turkish relations.

"Turkey will not be able to present any demand concerning Karabakh
issue, as it will be impossible and will not be accepted," he said
and added that in that regard Armenia has taken a strategic vicyory.

"The strategic victory of Armenia is in keeping Turkish and Azerbaijani
relation in bad situation till now. Neither Baku nor Ankara can find
ways to improve their relations," R. Giragosian concluded.

TURKISH MP: JUST SETTLEMENT TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT IS A NATIONAL ISSUE FOR TURKEY

Today
April 15 2010
Azerbaijan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Armenia President
Serzh Sargsyan in Washington a couple of days ago. Will Turkey’s
position undergo any changes in terms of normalization of relations
with Armenia following this meeting?

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan made fundamental conditions, which
imply withdrawal of Armenian forces from all occupied Azerbaijani
territories, for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations clear
to Armenian president at the meeting. No dramatic political changes
in South Caucasus region are possible until Nagorno-Karabakh region
is de-occupied.

Turkey, as they say, is playing with cards on the table, because our
position is based on international law, a need for implementation
of four UN resolutions on the occupied Azerbaijani territories and
increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Turkey appreciates the peacekeeping mission of OSCE Minsk Group, and
will continue to support its efforts towards peaceful settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.

Last year Turkey did much to support the work of the OSCE Minsk Group.

At the same time, there is no doubt that Turkish parliament will not
ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols until Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity is restored. Capture of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia is a
glaring injustice which should be eliminated. In general, I note that
at a meeting with President Sargsyan, Erdogan voiced the same position
and principles which he declared from the rostrum of the Milli Majlis
(Parliament) of Azerbaijan.

Some people in Turkey claim that the government is not averse to
open border with Armenia without involving settlement of the Karabakh
conflict in this process. It is persistence of Armenians in the issue
of so-called "genocide" that prevents this…

A settlement of the Karabakh conflict is a national issue of the
Turkish state. Unfortunately, some political forces in Turkey strive
to make political struggle out of this problem with their baseless and
false accusations against the AKP which in its turn harms settlement
of the Karabakh conflict.

We have repeatedly told our political opponents that liberation
of all Azerbaijani territories is the strategic direction of the
state policy of Turkey and Azerbaijan. There can be no alternative
to this. An attempt to speculate on this issue in order to achieve
some kind of domestic dividends is not acceptable at all.

It should be noted some media outlets in Azerbaijan were also engaged
in this dishonest game. Some newspapers and television channels voiced
completely unfounded accusations against the AKP. This campaign is
still going on though Prime Minister and the President of Turkey made
it clear that relations with Armenia will not be restored without
the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh.

This month, U.S. President Barack Obama will make his annual speech
devoted to the events of 1915. Last year, Obama did not use the
word "genocide". The U.S. Congress Committee adopted a resolution
recognizing the "Armenia genocide" in early March. To what extent
will this fact impact position of the American president in evaluating
the 1915 events?

Interesting enough, Barack Obama is the most knowledgeable of
"genocide" among all the U.S. presidents. We know that he carefully
studied the history of the events of 1915 in the last 6-7 months.

Perhaps, American administration studied all the details of this
issue for the first time.

Thanks to Erdogan’s policy, Washington understood essence of aggressive
activities of Armenia, which, under the buzz around the far-fetched
"the genocide of 1915, committed real genocide in Khojaly and occupied
20% of Azerbaijani territory. I think that now Washington knows that
whom international law supports in this regard.

Armenia says it will not compromise in the issue of Karabakh and
"genocide"…

Turkish government coordinated all Armenia-related activities with
Azerbaijan from the very beginning. This policy aimed at restoring
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, opening communication and
establishing stability and building trust in the South Caucasus.

Erdogan government continues this policy to this day through both
bilateral meetings and within the format of OSCE Minsk Group. However,
Turkey should not be expected to address all problems in the region.

Settlement of the Karabakh conflict is a very complex process which
requires much effort. The position of Azerbaijan and Turkey are very
strong in this matter. Sooner or later, the Armenian authorities will
realize in what a difficult situation they have ended up.

Lately Turkish media reported that Ankara is going to negotiate with
the Armenian Diaspora in Europe and US…

The Armenian Diaspora has a very negative attitude towards Turkey. The
dialogue between Turkey and the Armenian diaspora is quite possible
and would be very helpful. Discussions are underway on this issue in
Turkey at the moment.

POLISH AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA THANKS ARMENIAN PEOPLE FOR SOLIDARITY AND COMPASSION

ArmInfo
2010-04-15 16:55:00

ArmInfo. Ambassador of Poland to Armenia Zdzislaw Raczynski has
thanked the Armenian people for its solidarity and compassion for
the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

The press service of the Embassy of Poland in Armenia quotes Raczynski
as saying that Apr 10 the Polish nation sustained an irretrievable
loss: the deaths of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his spouse and
an accompanying high-ranking delegation killed in an air crash near
Smolensk while going to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the
Katyn crime.

"Poland is deeply mourning this loss. At this hard time the Armenian
people has displayed solidarity and compassion for this great tragedy
of the Polish nation. Armenia’s political leaders, representatives
of political, public and religious organizations, ethnic minorities,
citizens and foreign diplomats working in Armenia have all paid tribute
to the memory of the people killed in the accident by visiting the
Embassy of Poland in Armenia and extending their deep condolences.

The compassion and moral support of the Armenian society has confirmed
that Armenian-Polish centuries-long ties are really strong. As
representative of the Republic of Poland and the Polish people in the
Republic of Armenia, I would like to thank all Armenians for their
compassion and understanding. Poland will always remember this,"
says Raczynski.