Author: Kajoyan Gevork

UN Secretary General António Guterres has issued a message on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2017:

Journalists go to the most dangerous places to give voice to the voiceless.

Media workers suffer character assassination, sexual assault, detention, injuries and even death.

We need leaders to defend a free media. This is crucial to counter prevailing misinformation.

And we need everyone to stand for our right to truth.

On World Press Freedom Day, I call for an end to all crackdowns against journalists – because a free press advances peace and justice for all.

When we protect journalists, their words and pictures can change our world.

Cher has called on the UK Government to recognize as genocide the mass killing of Armenians during the First World War.

The 70-year-old star, whose father was Armenian-American, criticized Britain’s refusal to use the term to describe the 1915 atrocities when she attended the Los Angeles premiere of The Promise.

Cher said she believed the UK and US governments had not recognized the deaths as genocide because Armenia has “nothing to give them”.

She told the : “We’re small. Armenia is landlocked. We have no oil. We have nothing to give them.

“How much would it take (to recognize the genocide)?

“Armenians are a small group of people and we have nothing that they’re interested in.

“You’d think they’d do it out of the goodness of their hearts.”

Asked if she was hopeful President Donald Trump would recognize the killings as genocide, Cher replied: “No!”

The US singer was joined at the premiere by Kim Kardashian, who also has Armernian heritage and has previously called for the US to use the term to describe the mass killings.

The British Embassy in Yerevan has issued the following statement regarding the 2 April parliamentary elections in Armenia:

The UK shares the assessment of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Election Observation Mission that these elections were well-administered and fundamental rights were generally respected but that they were “tainted by credible information about vote-buying” and pressure on some voters.

The UK welcomed the inclusive process pursued by government, opposition parties and civil society in shaping the new electoral code. Along with other international partners – EU, Germany, US and UN – and the Government of Armenia, the UK supported the introduction of a new voter authentication system. We welcome OSCE/ODIHR’s assessment that this technology reduced the scope for voting irregularities. We note, however, the complaints and allegations relating to the overall electoral process and encourage the relevant authorities to deal with them efficiently and effectively.

The UK will continue to support all in government, parliament and civil society committed to strengthening democracy, prosperity and stability in Armenia for the benefit of its people.

Asbarez – Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge), Chair of the Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art and Cultural Exchange, introduced Senate Resolution 29 on Monday designating the month of April for commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. The Resolution also calls on the Republic of Turkey to return confiscated church properties to their rightful congregations.

April 2017 will mark the 102nd commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, which began in 1915. More than 1.5 million Armenians were persecuted and massacred by the Ottoman Turks in the first genocide of the 20th century. California has long and proudly recognized the Armenian Genocide. This is the first legislative resolution to declare April as a month of Armenian Genocide commemoration and also call for the immediate restoration of church properties under Turkey’s control.

In addition to genocide denial, religious discrimination and intolerance remain serious issues in the current Republic of Turkey. Discriminatory laws are still used to justify the confiscation of church property and prevent free worship. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom noted in its 2011 report that the Turkish government continues to impose serious limitations on freedom of religion or belief, thereby threatening the continued vitality and survival of minority religious communities in Turkey.

The Armenian Church has taken important steps to restore ownership to its religious sites within Turkey. In 2015, a lawsuit was filed with Turkey’s highest court seeking the return of the church’s headquarters, a sacred site in the south-central city of Kozan, which was confiscated in 1915 by the Ottoman authorities.

“Although the Californian Legislature has recognized and commemorated the Armenian Genocide, our research shows that the issue of church property has yet to be included in a resolution that passed a house of the legislature. Religious discrimination anywhere is against common human values,” commented Portantino. “I join with many historians who believe that historical Armenian churches represent the cultural heritage of the Armenian nation and should be returned to their rightful owners to be cherished and used for appropriate religious purposes,” concluded Senator Portantino.

SR 29 was co-authored by all the members of the State Senate California, Armenian & Artsakh Select Committee, including Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, Scott Wilk, Tony Mendoza and Josh Newman.

Sen. Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people in the 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank, Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Verne, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, San Dimas, San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, and Upland.

Peace of Art () will display a message of peace on electronic billboards on seven locations in Massachusetts, calling on the international community to recognize the first genocide of the 20th century.

Daniel Varoujan Hejinian, Peace of Art president, explained: “April 2017 is the month of remembrance of the Holocaust and all genocides in the world, and on this occasion we are calling on Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide by honoring the memory of the innocent victims of all genocides. The billboards reflect the historical moment, when His Holiness Karekin II, together with Pope Francis on behalf of the Armenian and Catholic community worldwide, released doves soaring towards Mt. Ararat, sending a message of peace to Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide.”

Every year since 1996, Hejinian has been displaying the Armenian Genocide commemorative billboards. In 2003 Peace of Art, Inc., began to sponsor the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Billboards. In 2015, Peace of Art, Inc. launched its Armenian Genocide Centennial awareness billboard campaign, “100 Billboards for 100 Years of Genocide,” in the U.S. and Canada to commemorate not only the victims of the Armenian Genocide but also the victims of all genocides.

 

Turkey affords steps and statements unacceptable in European diplomatic practice, Director of the Oriental Studies Institute, political scientist Ruben Safrastyan told a press conference today.

He refrained from calling the current stage in Turkey-EU relations as a period of distancing from each other, but noted some negative trends in the integration processes. “Europeans dislike many things, but do not burn bridges in the relations with Turkey,” he said.

“The European integration process, which is stalled for now, remains on the agenda,” Safrastyan added.

“This is part of Turkey’s adventurist policy. Turkey is raising the betting odds and playing a riskier game with Europe. We see Turkey has managed not to lose and even succeed in its gambles until now. This is what the calculations of policy-makers in Turkey are based on – to grab the utmost from Europe,” he said.

Ruben Safrastyan stressed that judging from history, one can assert that “Turkey does not meet the European values, the diplomatic methods, the system used in Europe.” He concluded, however, that based on geopolitical considerations, Europe leaves the door half-open to Turkey.

An Islamic State car bomb killed more than 40 people on Friday in a Syrian village held by rebels backed by Turkey, sources in the region and a war monitor said, a day after the jihadist group was driven from its last stronghold in the area, Reuters reports.

The blast hit a security checkpoint controlled by rebels fighting under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) banner in the village of Sousian, killing 41 people including 35 civilians, the sources in the region said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said 42 people were killed.

Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan received today Ambassador Günther Bächler, Special Representative of the OSCE Austrian Chairmanship for the South Caucasus.

The Defense Minister expressed support for the priorities of the Austrian presidency targeted at the settlement of conflicts, easing of tensions and establishment of an atmosphere of trust.

Presenting the worrisome situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact, Vigen Sargsyan attached importance to the efforts towards implementation of an investigation mechanism and stressed the importance of condemnation of the breach of all arm control commitments by Azerbaijan.

Referring to the situation around the OSCE Yerevan Office, Vigen Sargsyan valued the role of the Office and the OSCE at large in the development of democratic institutions in Armenia, modernization of electoral systems and improvement of human rights.

Noting that Armenia’s cooperation with the OSCE is based on common values and principles, the Defense Minister deemed the Azerbaijani policy of hindering the activity of the Yerevan Office and defaming the initiatives of the OSCE unacceptable.

Ambassador Günther Bächler reiterated the importance of intensification of the OSCE efforts towards settlement of the Karabakh conflict and easing of tensions. he voiced hope that the situation around the Yerevan Office would be solved in compliance with the interests of Armenia and the OSCE.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the mechanisms of cooperation during the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia.

The Court in Cologne has banned the Allianz Deutscher Demokraten (Alliance of German Democrats) Party, TRT reports.

The Court has justified the decision with the similarity of the party logo with the logo of the right-wing AfD party, which could lead to confusion in the vote.

The Alliance of German Democrats was founded 7 months ago by entrepreneur Remzi Aru, lawyer Ramazan Akbas and Halil Ertem to prevent the adoption of the Armenian Genocide reolution adopted by the German Bundestag.

Azerbaijan’s actions connected with blogger Alexander’ Lapshin’s detention and his further extradition were aimed at preventing visits to Artsakh, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a Q&A at the National Assembly.

He added, however, that the Azerbaijani so-called black list, which includes the names of outstanding public, political and culture figures, even statesmen and foreign ministers, “speaks for itself.”

“This never stopped the flow of people to Artsakh,” the Foreign Minister said. He’s confident the number of visitors will tend to grow in the future.

“Steps have been taken and will be taken in this direction,” Minister Nalbandian said without revealing any details.

The Minister noted that “by dragging third countries into such deals Azerbaijan pursues the aim of causing harm in different spheres. “We must not give in to the provocations and refrain from pouring water on Azerbaijan’s mill,” Minister Nalbandian stated.