Author: Dabaghian Diana

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN: "THE TURKS HAVE MADE A SPLIT AMONG THE ARMENIANS."

AllVoice.com
April 19 2010

The leader of the parliamentary faction of the opposition party ARF
Vahan Hovhannisyan stated in Yerevan today that "the Turks have
a policy to split the unity of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the
homeland and the Diaspora, as well as within the diaspora."

According to him, the Armenian-Turkish protocols aimed at easing
the Armenian position, and the only way out of this situation is the
tip of Armenia under the signature of these documents. "Minutes can
have terrible consequences for us, especially in the context of the
arrogant behavior of the Turkish authorities, continues to lay down
preconditions for opening the border with Armenia," Hovhannisyan said.

In this context, he said, unilateral ratification of the Protocol,
Armenia does not lead to any results.

ARF representative expressed regret that the Armenian authorities
did not take adequate action in response to the steps of Turkey. "I
did not understand when sober end dates for the ratification of the
protocols," he admitted. According to Hovhannisyan, the actions of
the Armenian authorities often do not agree with their words, and
should give certainty and clarity.

Vahan Hovhannisyan said that no positive expectations from
the scheduled tomorrow working visit to Moscow by President of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. He expressed confidence that Russia in the
Armenian-Turkish relations is not acting on the side of Armenia.

RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS ENTERING A NEW STAGE

Aysor
April 19 2010
Armenia

The process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide
is entering a new stage of discussions, related to the issue of
responsibility and compensations, told journalists deputy director
of the Museum-Institute of Armenian Genocide Suren Manukyan.

"Today’s situation is radically different from previous stages. Its
main difference is that during the last years we were stimulating the
processes of recognition of the genocide; these processes were some
kind of preparatory stages, aimed at informing the world communities
and organisations about the 1915 Genocide against Armenians," he said
adding that today the issue of the 1915 Genocide is a undisputed fact
in the world.

"The world recognizes the 1915 Genocide and is ready to acknowledge
that the committed crimes must have its consequences. Today both in
Armenia and beyond it everything possible has already been done.

Documents and surveys are enough to provide a basis for neither
single doubt on the issue of Genocide. And the nations which haven’t
yet recognized the Genocide are taking this step due to political
considerations," he said.

"We are on the stage when we haven’t got problems with recognition,
and we are moving towards the second stage – we are solving issues
of responsibility and compensations," he said adding that relations
between Germany and Israel can be accepted as a model in this sense.

CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RA CONSTITUTION TAKEN PLACE IN THE NKR

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
2010-04-19 14:54

On April 17, a scientific-practical conference – "Vital Problems of
Constitutionalism Development" – took place at the National Assembly
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

Opening the conference, NKR NA Chairman Ashot Ghulian noted: "Holding
a similar scientific-practical conference in Artsakh testifies to
the availability of constitutional administration in the country and
confirms its multi-year efficiency".

NKR President Bako Sahakian made a greeting speech, in particular,
noting: "Development of constitutionalism is considered both in
Artsakh and Armenia as one of the key directions of consolidation of
independent statehood and integration with the civilized community.

Development of constitutionalism and the Armenian legal idea,
investigation of the leading states’ experience, and improvement of
the domestic legislative basis should be continued. This is one of the
principles of a democratic and legal state, which is an exceptional
value for us. For Artsakh, it is also one of the important directions
of international recognition of independence".

In their speeches, Chairman of the RA Constitutional Court Gagik
Harutyunian, Chairman of the NKR Supreme Court Ararat Daniyelian, RA
Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian, RA Minister of Justice Gevorg
Daniyelian, RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunian, NKR Ombudsman Yuri
Hairapetian, and others dwelt on various aspects of the process of
constitutionalism development in Armenia and Artsakh.

The conference was organized by the RA Constitutional Court, NKR
National Assembly, and the NKR Supreme Court, with the participation
of the International Association of Armenian Lawyers.

GUEST COLUMN: THE ‘G’ WORD
Andrew Garinther

Diamondback Online
est-column-the-g-word-1.1348291
April 19 2010

The term "genocide" was coined in 1944 by a Jewish lawyer named Raphael
Lemkin. Lemkin lived during the Holocaust, but for much of his life,
he studied the death of what some scholars believe to be 75 percent of
the Armenian population in the early 20th century. He specifically had
those events in mind when he created the word. Nearly 70 years later,
the United States and Turkey do not recognize these events as genocide,
even though 20 countries and 42 states do.

Much of the U.S. population has never heard of the Armenian genocide.

During World War I and its aftermath, the Turkish Ottoman Empire
attempted a systematic extermination of its ethnic minority, which
was mainly Armenians but also included Greeks and Bulgarians. Turkish
soldiers brutally murdered, raped and displaced as many Armenian
citizens as they could. Oftentimes, men were simply murdered while
women and children were sent on "death marches" through the desert
without food or water. An estimated total of 1.5 million Armenians
were murdered, leaving, by some accounts, fewer than 500,000 alive.

Today, there are 3 million Armenians living in Armenia, about 1.4
million in the United States and millions more living throughout
the world. While much controversy surrounds labeling these events
as genocide, any Armenian you ask could provide you with an account
of a gross human rights violation suffered by one of his or her
family members at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Although the United
States recognizes these events as tragic, presidents have always been
reluctant to hurt relations with Turkey by referring to the actions
as genocide. The United States uses Turkey as a strategic location
for military bases, most recently during the Iraq war. In addition,
Turkey has a history of diplomatic retaliation against countries
that recognize the Armenian genocide, such as when it recalled its
ambassador to Sweden, which officially recognized the events as
genocide earlier this year. Unwilling to jeopardize relations with
this valuable ally in the Middle East, the United States has held
its tongue.

Countries have recognized the Armenian genocide because they realized
the effect ignoring genocide could have on humanity. The Armenian
genocide is known as the first genocide of the 20th century, but it
was certainly not the last. At least 7 million died under Joseph
Stalin in Soviet Russia; about 6 million Jews were killed by the
Nazis in World War II; Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge killed more than
2 million in Cambodia; about 800,000 Tutsis were killed in Rwanda;
an estimated 300,000 have died in Darfur and about 200,000 have
died in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first and most important step in
stopping future genocides is having knowledge of past events, and it
is impossible to know about past genocides when they are incorrectly
labeled as civil wars, irrelevant footnotes or are even denied.

Denying genocide has long been a tactic of those who perpetrate
genocide, as exemplified by Adolf Hitler when he said to the Nazis:
"Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Everyone has heard of the Holocaust, but how many people know why
2 million Cambodian citizens were murdered by their own government,
or why a European country attempted an ethnic cleansing? A Holocaust
denier is deemed bigoted or crazy, yet the greatest democracy in the
world remains silent on the Armenian genocide. If the United States
recognizes the Armenian genocide, as proposed in a resolution passed
by the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, critics
fear relations with Turkey will be harmed unnecessarily. However,
history has shown that relationships between countries are mended
over time, and if we continue to deny the events of the past, we are
doomed to repeat them.

If anyone wishes to learn more about the Armenian genocide, the
Armenian Student Union will be sponsoring a commemoration of and
seminar on the genocide tonight at 6 p.m. in Terrapin Rooms B and C
in Stamp Student Union’s Student Involvement Suite.

Andrew Garinther is the vice president of the Armenian Student Union.

He can be reached at agarinther at gmail dot com.

Deux rebelles kurdes tués dans le sud-est de la Turquie

TURQUIE

samedi17 avril 2010, par Stéphane/armenews

Deux rebelles kurdes ont été tués et deux autres blessés dans des
affrontements mercredi 14 avril avec l’armée dans le sud-est de la
Turquie, ont affirmé des sources de sécurité.

Trois soldats ont été blessés, selon les mêmes sources à Diyarbakir (sud-est).

Les combats se sont produits au cours d’une opération de sécurité près
d’Eruh, dans la province de Siirt, après que les autorités ont reçu
des informations indiquant la présence dans la région de membres du
Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK, séparatistes kurdes de
Turquie).

Dans un incident séparé survenu dans la province de Sirnak, trois
soldats ont été blessés lorsque leur véhicule a été pris pour cible
par des tirs, ont annoncé les mêmes sources de sécurité, selon
lesquelles le PKK pourrait être à l’origine de l’attaque.

Le PKK a déclenché en 1984 une lutte armée pour l’autonomie de ces
régions du sud-est en majorité kurde.

Selon un bilan de l’armée turque, le conflit a fait 45.000 morts.

Aysor, Armenia
April 17 2010

It’s necessary to clarify the mood in Moscow

To schedule a visit to Moscow, following the visit to Washington, was
the expected step, told Aysor member of the Republican Party of
Armenia Lernik Alexanian.

`This visit, following a visit to Washington, is an expected step as
Russia is used to being involved in all processes of the South
Caucasus region. It’s necessary to clarify moods in Moscow after talks
in Washington,’ he said.

`To hold talks with Russia on all range of issues and to share
information with Russia is important to Armenia as for a strategic
partner,’ he added.

It’s worth mentioning that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit
to Moscow is scheduled for April 20.

LEGENDARY GUITARIST JOHN MCLAUGHLIN TO PLAY CONCERT IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net –
April 16, 2010 – 13:11 AMT 08:11 GMT

Legendary guitarist John Mclaughlin and his The 4th Dimension
jazz-fusion group’s concert will take place on April 28 at 19:00 at
the National Academic Theater of Ballet and Opera.

McLaughlin as a virtuous guitarist is admitted by world-known musicians
such as Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola, Jaco
Pastorius and others. Most of them have co-worked with McLaughlin in
multiple joint projects.

Armenian musician Arto Tuncboyajyan, the soloist of Armenian Navy
Band, who has already had the pleasure of playing with McLaughlin,
will join the concert as a guest with his original music and character.

Vibrographus, the organizer of the event, promises a real celebration
for those who know and love McLaughlin and for those who will listen
to him for the first time.

CONSTRUCTION OF DRINKING WATER PIPELINE FROM AVAN BOROUGH IN YEREVAN TO DOWNTOWN YEREVAN WILL BE FINISHED BY AUGUST

/ARKA/
April 16, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, April 16. /ARKA/. Construction of a drinking water pipeline
from Avan borough in Yerevan to downtown will be finished by August,
Gagik Ayvazian, head of a department of Yerevan Jur company said today.

He said the new gravity water pipeline will bring a higher quality
fresh drinking water to the central parts of the capital city and
will also result in substantial cut of electricity consumption.

He said at the proposal of the Yerevan municipality polyethylene tubes
are being laid along with water pipes that can be used in future for
laying optical fiber cables.

Construction of the 4.5 km water pipeline began on April 1. The
project’s cost is 263 million Drams, financed by a World Bank loan.

Yerevan Jur (Yerevan Water) is run by French Generale des Eaux that
won an international tender announced by World Bank to take up a
long-term management of the Yerevan network in 2006. It pledged to
upgrade the obsolete network and ensure 24-hour water supplies to
households. The company manages also drinking and waste water removal
systems in Ararat, Aragatsotn and Kotayk provinces.

Yerevan Jur has 339,370 customers producing 370 million cubic meters
of drinking water a year and managing 2,120 lm long water pipelines.

ACTION OF PROTEST IN FRONT OF RA ADMINISTRATIVE COURT

news.am
April 16 2010
Armenia

On April 16, about 500 supporters of the opposition Armenian
National Congress (ANC) held an action of protest in front of the RA
Administrative Court.

Coordinator of the ANC Central Office Levon Zurabyan stated that
grossly violated the law by deciding on written proceeding on a class
suit brought against ArmRusgasprom.

"Today’s action has no precedents – 7,230 families put their signatures
to a class suit, protesting against an economically unjustified sharp
rise in the gas price for the population. However, on the authorities’
order, the Administrative Court is doing its best to minimize the
possibility of public response to the proceedings. The law provides
for oral proceeding on cases eliciting broad public response. We have
gathered to demonstrate this public response," Zurabyan said. The
lawyer Vahe Hovsepyan handed the demonstrators’ application for oral
proceeding on the suit over to the Administrative Court, whereafter
the action was finished.

The RA Public Services Regulatory Commission approved ArmRusgasprom’s
application for a rise in gas price from April 1, 2010. The current
gas price is 132 AMD per cubic meter for the population and 243 AMD
per cubic meter for large gas consumers.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Assembly
April 16, 2010
Contact: Press Department
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 393-3434

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY CO-HOSTS COMMUNITY BRIEFING

Representatives Jackie Speier and Frank Pallone Jr. Discuss U.S.
Affirmation of the Armenian Genocide

Washington, DC – The Paros Foundation and St. Vartan Armenian
Apostolic Church, in cooperation with the Armenian Assembly of America
(Assembly) hosted a community briefing featuring Congresswoman Jackie
Speier (D-CA) and Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
during the April Congressional District work period.

Moderated by the Assembly’s Northern California Regional Council
(NCRC) Members Julie Kulhanjian Strauch and David Ojakian,
Representatives Speier and Pallone applauded the dedication of the
Armenian community and encouraged the more than 150 guests present to
continue to press forward on key issues, including genocide education
and affirmation. In particular, both Members focused on U.S.
reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide and the March 4th approval by
the House Committee on Foreign Affairs of H. Res. 252, the Armenian
Genocide resolution.

In reiterating their continued support for this important human rights
legislation, Speier and Pallone discussed next steps and expressed
their commitment to work with community leaders regarding passage of
H. Res. 252 by the full House of Representatives.

"We appreciate the tireless efforts of Representatives Speier and
Pallone and thank them for providing us with a timely briefing about
the next steps with respect to H. Res. 252," stated NCRC Member Julie
Kulhanjian Strauch. "As we come together this April and reflect on the
95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we urge Congress to adopt
H. Res. 252," she added.

"As a member of St. Vartan’s Church, and the Assembly’s Northern
California Regional Council, I want to thank the Paros Foundation for
making this event possible," stated David Ojakian. "We will continue
to promote Armenian issues and look forward to future events to
discuss critically important matters facing Armenia and the Diaspora,"
added Ojakian.

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
501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.