Author: Jagharian Tania

EVENT DATED TO 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE HELD IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 20, 2010 – 10:16 AMT 05:16 GMT

An event dated to the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in
the Ottoman Empire was held in Nekrasov central town library of Moscow.

The event was organized by Ararat Cultural Union and Culture Department
of Moscow.

Senior official of the Armenian Embassy to Russia Robert Ananyan
emphasized in his remarks that recognition and condemnation of the
Genocide will make it possible to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Political Science Ph.D. Alexander Svarants, Chairman of the
Russian-Armenian Cooperation NGO Yuri Navoyan and Deputy Chairman of
the Russian Union of Cooperation and Friendship with Armenia Vladimir
Osipov also delivered speeches.

Prominent Armenian and Russian politicians, science, art and culture
workers attended the event, RA MFA press service reported.

ARMENIAN DIASPORA MINISTER CALLS ON NATIONAL HOKEY TEAM TO VISIT MOTHERLAND OFTEN

ArmInfo
2010-04-19 21:48:00

Arminfo. Armenian Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakopyan received today
members of Armenian national hokey team

As press-service of the Ministry reported, having congratulated members
of the team on victories, the minister advised hokey-players to draw
mote attention to their education and called them to unite in order
to fight challenges of the XXI century. Hakopyan also presented the
programme "Ari tun" (come home) to the guests and advised them to
visit Motherland as often as possible.

ARMENIANS, GREEKS TO JOINTLY ATTEND GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION EVENTS

news.am
April 19 2010
Armenia

April 15, Greek Parliament Speaker Philippos Petsalnikos met with RA
Ambassador to Greece Gagik Ghalachyan.

The sides discussed further expansion of Armenian-Greek cooperation,
RA Foreign Ministry press service informed NEWS.am. It was noted that
formation of Armenia-Greece parliamentary friendship group in the
Greek parliament, as well as RA Speaker’s scheduled visit to Greece
in the second half of this year will give an impetus to the extension
of bilateral cooperation.

The officials also touched upon the current stage of Armenia-Turkey
reconciliation process.

Ghalachyan expressed gratitude for the Armenian Genocide resolution
approval by Greek Parliament 14 years ago, adding that this year
Armenians and Greeks will jointly participate in the events dedicated
to the 95th commemoration of Genocide.

LE JOURNALISTE ERNEST VARDANYAN DETENU POUR "TRAHISON" EN TRANSNISTRIE
Jean Eckian

armenews
lundi19 avril 2010

Droits de l’Homme

Le 7 Avril, le journaliste Ernest Vardanyan, un observateur
international independant travaillant pour l’Agence russe Novuy
Region (Nouvelle Region), a ete arrete en Transnistrie sous le chef
d’inculpation d’"Espionnage et Haute Trahison". Selon l’article
271 du Code penal de Transnistrie, la peine encourue est de 20 ans
d’emprisonnement.

Le journaliste, egalement pigiste pour le journal Pulse, a ete arrete
devant son domicile a Tiraspol par des hommes qui se sont identifies
comme des agents des services secrets de la region de Transnistrie
de Moldavie. Il a deux enfants.

Un Comite de soutien s’est immediatement mis en place a Yerevan qui
a deja alerte diverses ONG, dont :

Le Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les droits de l’homme
(HCDH)

Amnesty International en Moldavie

Human Rights Watch

Reporters sans frontières et le Comite pour la protection des
journalistes (CPJ)

La Transnistrie est une region (4000 km²) de la Moldavie, republique
autoproclamee depuis 1991, non reconnue internationalement. Sa
frontière est protegee par tanks et soldats armes.

L’Irak, le Caucase, l’Afrique noire… Ces regions en conflit ont au
moins un point commun : une partie des armes en circulation provient
de Transnistrie.

Depuis l’eclatement de l’URSS, la Transnistrie, region separatiste
de Moldavie et dictature neo-communiste, est devenue un " trou noir
", aux portes de l’Europe.

Cette zone de " conflit gele " est devenue un espace de passe-droit,
dirige par une clique corrompue.

Presque aussi hermetique que la Coree du Nord, a trois heures de vol de
Paris, la PMR n’a jamais fait l’objet d’aucune investigation serieuse,
tant il est difficile de penetrer son territoire.

Et pour cause ! La petite Transnistrie a tout a gagner a se faire
oublier : elle cache certains des plus grands entrepôts d’armement du
monde ! Elle est devenue une importante plaque tournante du trafic
de cigarettes, d’alcool et surtout d’armes, grâce a l’ouverture de
l’aeroport militaire de Tiraspol et l’accès au port d’Odessa.

Soupconnee d’etre impliquee dans le terrorisme international, base
arrière des marchands de canons, la Transnistrie inquiète desormais
la communaute internationale.

Le Guide du Routard deconseille vivement cette etape

International Press Institut , emu par le cas d’Ernest Vardanyan,
a publie jeudi dernier le communique de sa filiale South East Europe
Media Organisation (SEEMO), laquelle condamne fermement l’arrestation
arbitraire de ce journaliste très connu en Moldavie pour ses reportages
souvent critiques sur les fonctionnaires de l’Etat et des questions
d’interet public.

En outre, SEEMO exhorte le Ministère de la securite de Tiraspol
de retirer les accusations et les peines de prison. SEEMO tiens
egalement a rappeler au ministère de la Securite de Tiraspol que la
libre circulation de l’information est un principe fondamental de
toute societe democratique. ". Son Secretaire general Oliver Vujovic,
a declare : "Les accusations de haute trahison contre Vardanyan en
raison de ses critiques sont inacceptables."

Pushkin school in Yerevan and Pushkin schools in Russia are connected
with satellite communication

2010-04-17 17:56:00

ArmInfo. The Yerevan secondary school No 8 named after Pushkin is now
connected with Pushkin schools in Russia by means of satellite
communication. According to Viktor Krivopuskov, Head of the Armenian
Office of Rossotrudnichestvo (Federal Agency for CIS Affairs,
Compatriots Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation), for
the first time the satellite communication system has connected the
Russian and Armenian schools.

"Such systems will be installed at the schools of other CIS countries
no earlier than in a year or two. In Russia itself, where there are
around 60 thsd schools, approximately 1 thsd can use this
communication today. The fact that Armenia was the first once again
proves the reliability and high quality of the two countries’
relations",- said Krivopuskov. The "Yamal" facilities of the "Gazsprom
Space Systems" OJSC that have been installed at the Pushkin school in
Yerevan will allow delivering video-lessons with Russian schools, as
well as retraining the Russian language teachers in Armenia.

"The latter may also become very useful for Armenia as very few people
can afford going to Russia for retraining",- he said. Krivopuskov
added that the installed equipment costs about 1 mln RUR. "But
everybody knows that one should not save money on education. These
expenditures should be the priority, and this is not only our
obligation, but also call of the time",- he said.

Historical and cultural monuments are destroyed in Armenia annually,
an expert says

2010-04-17 17:48:00

ArmInfo. The historical and cultural monuments are destroyed in
Armenia annually, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and
Ethnography of the Armenian National Academy of Science Pavel
Avetisyan said at today’s press conference.

According to him, very often the monuments are destroyed as a
consequence of economic activity. Avetisyan pointed out that according
to the law, if historical and cultural monuments are found in the
place of construction, relevant specialists should be informed of this
to carry out the further exploration. "They strictly adhered to this
order in Soviet times, however, now the situation has changed a
little. Sometimes we cannot hinder the construction or learn about the
existence of a new historic monument too late",- said Avetisyan. He
pointed out the stone-quarry in Sisian. Though archaeologic layers
dated back to the first half of the 4th millennium B.C. have been
discovered in this place, the work in the quarry is still underway –
though aside from the excavations, nevertheless, in the territory of
the monument. The exploration work near the Teghut copper-molybdenum
deposit is an exception. This exploration is carried with the full
support of Teghut CJSC. A total of 12 complexes of monuments have been
discovered in the given area. "Their territory is specified and
passports have been provided to all the monuments. When researching 3
complexes of monuments in 2009, we discovered ancient repositories and
spinners in a perfect state",- he said.

Peace Breaks Out in Georgia

Why Russia is extending an olive branch to Tbilisi and other restive
regions.

By Owen Matthews | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Apr 15, 2010

Moscow and Tbilisi are still officially at war a year and a half after
Russian troops rolled into the breakaway Georgian republics of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia and declared them independent. But quietly, with minimal
fanfare on both sides, peace is breaking out. A crucial border crossing
reopened last month, direct flights have recommenced, and Russians have
begun issuing more visas to Georgian nationals.

The reason for this sudden warming of relations? In large part, the Olympic
spirit of peace-or at least Russia’s fervent desire to make the 2014 Winter
Olympics in Sochi a trouble-free success. With the Olympic banner now passed
from Canada to Russia, the Kremlin wants to do everything possible to ensure
that there won’t be any more flare-ups over Abkhazia, just 25 miles away
from Sochi.

That means soothing differences with Georgia and giving Tbilisi an economic
stake in keeping the peace by allowing cross-border trade, once a mainstay
of the Georgian economy. Opening the border also helps Russia’s main
Caucasian ally, Armenia, whose only road access to Russia is via Georgia and
which found itself also blockaded by default.

Yerevan has been begging Moscow to open the Georgian road, as the prospects
of an opening of the Armenian-Turkish border are receding despite an
agreement reached last year. At present, landlocked Armenia can trade only
with two of its four neighbors, Iran and Georgia, with the borders closed to
Turkey and Azerbaijan since 1992. Turkey has dialed back on its commitment
to open the border in part because of a U.S. congressional Foreign Affairs
Committee resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide, as well as pressure
from Azerbaijan, which wants an Armenian withdrawal from the enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

But of more immediate concern to Moscow is the prospect of terror attacks
from the North Caucasus, which is also in Sochi’s neighborhood. Last week
the International Olympic Committee expressed confidence that Russia would
be able to make the games secure, and on Monday Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin formed a security committee to oversee preparations for Sochi’s
Olympics. This week the chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)
announced that it had arrested or killed 170 militants in the region this
year, and had identified the masterminds of the recent suicide bombings on
the Moscow metro and in Dagestan.

But to really ensure a peaceful Olympics, President Dmitry Medvedev will
have to do a lot more than let Russian security forces continue business as
usual in the Moscow-controlled North Caucasus, arresting and murdering
suspects at will. Medvedev’s challenge is not only to pacify his empire’s
most restive corner but the whole explosive neighborhood as well. Making a
quiet peace with Georgia is one important step toward that goal.

Find this article at
© 2010

TURKISH PM SAYS NECESSARY MESSAGES GIVEN ON U.S. PRESIDENT’S APRIL 24 SPEECH

Journal of Turkish Weekly
rkish-pm-says-necessary-messages-given-on-u-s-pres ident-39-s-april-24-speech.html
April 14 2010

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the
necessary messages were given regarding the speech to be delivered
by U.S. President Barack Obama on April 24 during his talks in
Washington D.C.

Attending the opening of an exhibition in the U.S. capital, Erdogan
replied to questions of reporters on his talks in USA.

Upon a question on his expectations from Obama’s speech on April 24,
Erdogan said, "I delivered a statement on this issue before.

Personally, I do not expect such a thing. I believe the necessary
messages have been mutually taken".

Noting that he had a 1.5-hour meeting with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsian the other day, Erdogan said the ongoing process between
Turkey and Armenia was on the agenda of his talks with Obama as well.

Commenting on Sargsian’s recent remarks in which he stated that "Turkey
could not use a pre-conditioned language while talking to Armenia",
Erdogan said, "In addition to the expression ‘without pre-conditions’,
the texts signed by Turkey and Armenia in Zurich also consisted of
a very important statement, which was establishment of regional peace".

Replying to a question on whether the border pass between Turkey and
Armenia would be re-opened, Erdogan said the border gate between the
two countries had been closed due to Armenia’s invasion of Azerbaijani
territory in 1993, adding that Turkey’s border with Armenia could
be opened if a settlement was reached and peace was provided in
that region.

"Turkey does not have the intention of forcing the opposite party
to accept the records of its memory. But in the same manner, other
countries cannot force Turkey to do such a thing either," the Turkish
prime minister said.

Regarding the developments concerning Iran, Erdogan said Turkey
desired to solve the issue through a diplomatic and democratic way.

Assessing the Nuclear Security Summit as well, Erdogan said measures
to be taken against nuclear terrorism and sanctions to be imposed on
such matter were on the agenda of the gathering.

Upon completing his talks, Erdogan departed from the U.S. capital
for Turkey.

SEMINAR ON NATIONALISM AND GENOCIDE: THE CASE OF TURKISH NATIONALISM AND THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Kurdish Aspect
html
April 14 2010

Speakers: Recep Marasli, the author of the book " Armenian National
Democratic Movement and The 1915 Genocide"and Dr. Choman Hardi

Chair: Dr. Surhan Cam of Cardiff University

Date and Time: 22nd April 2010, @ 19:00pm

Venue: KLT, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University
of London

Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

Organised by Kurdish Studies and Students Organisation (KSSO) and
Kurdish Society at SOAS (KSSOAS)

Dr. Choman Hardi will open the seminar with a brief talk on
Nationalism and Genocide. Then Mr. Recep Marasli will talk about
Turkish nationalism and the Armenian genocide.

Genocide and Facing Historical Facts

Most of our planet is inhabited by multi-ethnic, multi-national and
multi-cultural groups of people. However the nationalist doctrines
and ethnic chauvinism combined with a policy of homogenization that
pushes all other ethnic entities to a secondary and dependent position,
are key forces that contribute to policies of genocide. For example
until the 20thcentury, the Ottoman Empire was significantly preserving
its multinational, multiethnic, multicultural nature. However the
conversion of this multi-national, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural entity
to the Turkish ethnic supremacy in the form of "nation state" was only
possible through systematic destruction and extermination policies.

The lives of some ethnic groups (Armenians, Assyrians-Syrians and
the Pontic Greeks) have beendestroyed through genocide, massacres,
direct/ indirect dispossession, and deportation in order to construct
a Turkish nation and facilitate the Turkisation of Anatolia. The
genocide of 1915 was the apex of this political process when the
Turkish nationalists annihilated the oldest inhabitants of Mesopotamia
and the ancient Near Eastern region. According to differert sources,
one and a half million Armenians have been killed (see Marashlian
1991, NoÃ"l 1994, Gaunt 2006, Henham and Behrens 2007,Schaefer
2008, Schaller and Zimmerer 2008) during systematic destruction and
extermination policies of Turkish nationalists. It is also the result
of such a political reality that the Kurdish nation today suffers
from ethnic discrimination, displacement, assimilation and genocide
(Fernandes2007) and linguicide(Hassanpour 1992). Despite an extremely
long-running political struggle and conflict it continues to remain
an internationally unrecognised and oppressed nation whose rights are
constantly denied. In this atmosphere of political confrontation it is
important for people to understand history of systematic destruction
and extermination policies of Turkish nationalist and their nation
building process.

Mr. Marasli states that he has started his research in prison "with
my desire to learn what actually happened. But during the research
I came to the conclusion that the fates of Armenian, Greek, the
Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriacpeople,Kurds and Arabs in this region are
interwoven and their history needs to be studied in relation to each
other. I attempted to analyse the shift from a multi-cultural region
to a single national, mono-cultural wasteland

How have these societies encountered a future, after experiencing
such a large scale of historical and social destruction? What kind of
problems has this destruction caused for different ethnic groups and
for the restructuring of the Turkish Republic? What role does this
historical tragedy play in the ethno-national conflicts and problems
experienced today?

The lack of analysis and condemnation of these tragic events plays
an important role in the repitition of the ethnic and national
discrimination, oppression and anhilitation policies in the 21th
century.

How can ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, assimilation and
intersectional national discrimination policies be prevented? How
can we change the mental structures implicated in these large scale
crimes against humanity? What are the obstacles and opportunities to
challenge the mental structure of nationalism?"

Mr. Marasli states that "when discussing historical events, of course,
what we really want to find out is how we can establish fair, equal
and peaceful societies. I believe that facing the facts of our own
history bravely and condeming genocide in everyday life including in
political, social, cultural practices and developing international
intervention policies against possible genocide can only help us to
create a more secure and peaceful world"

The UK Kurdish Studies & Student Organisation is a non-political body
that strives to promote greater awareness of the Kurds, their political
and cultural situation in the Middle East and as a significant minority
community in the UK.

US PRESIDENT ENCOURAGES ARMENIA AND TURKEY TO EXERT GENUINE EFFORTS TO NORMALIZE BILATERAL RELATIONS

ArmInfo
2010-04-13 10:50:00

ArmInfo. "The US President commended President Sargsyan for his
courageous efforts to achieve normalization of relations between
Armenia and Turkey and encouraged him to fulfill the promise of
normalization for the benefit of the Armenian people," the White House
said in a statement. Armenia and Turkey should "make every effort"
to advance the normalization process, Obama said, during the meeting
with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Radio Liberty reports.

The two presidents met late in the evening on Monday in Washington
as part of the Global Nuclear Summit. Earlier, on the same day,
Serzh Sargsyan met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.