Author: nina hovnanian

ANTI-ARMENIAN TALAT PASA COMMITTEE BARRED FROM ENTERING ATHENS

11:45, 12 Jan 2015

The Talat PaÃ…~_a Committee, a Turkish nationalist organization aiming
to counter recognition of the the Armenian Genocide, has been refused
entry to Athens, where it had gone to issue a statement in protest
at a recently approved Greek bill, Horizon Weekly reports.

The members of the committee left for Athens on Jan. 9 with the aim
of making a statement in front of the Greek Parliament.

The committee wanted to protest and demand the withdrawal of a
controversial bill approved by Greece’s parliament in September that
stiffens penalties for racially motivated crime and criminalizes the
denial of genocide and war crimes.

The delegation of 13 people was intercepted by police at the airport
and prevented from entering the city for “security reasons.” They
were sent back to Turkey on the next flight.

The Greek Parliament adopted by a vote of 54 to 42, on Sept. 9, 2014,
an anti-hate crime law — Combating Discrimination, Xenophobia, and
Racism — making it illegal to deny the Jewish Holocaust, and genocides
recognized by international courts or by the Greek Parliament, i.e.,
the genocide of Pontus Greeks, the genocide of Asia Minor Greeks,
and the Armenian Genocide. Those violating this new law would be
fined up to 30,000 euros, and imprisoned for up to three years.

The Greek law stems from the European Union’s 2008 “Framework
Decision against Racism and Xenophobia,” which urged all EU states
to adopt laws that punish racism, xenophobia, denial of genocide,
crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

THOMAS DE WAAL: ACCUSATION OF AZERBAIJANI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS FOR COOPERATION WITH ARMENIANS IS THE ONLY WAY TO DISCREDIT THE

14:45 12/01/2015 >> SOCIETY

Over the past year and a half, the government of Azerbaijan has taken
an increasingly nasty, authoritarian, and anti-Western character,
writes Thomas de Waal, the senior associate for the Caucasus at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the article titled “A
free-thinker loses his freedom in Azerbaijan” which is dedicated to
the Azerbaijani scientist Arif Yunus. The latter celebrates his 60th
birthday in prison. The article is published on the Open Democracy
site.

“Along with Arif and Leyla Yunus, several other well-respected
scholars, journalists, lawyers, and human rights activists, have been
put in jail on spurious charges. In the vocabulary of the Soviet Union,
all of these people can be characterised as dissidents,” Thomas de
Waal writes and recalls that on August last year after the house
arrest Arif Yunus was kept in an isolation cell in the prison of the
National Security Agency, the successor to the KGB. He is unable to
receive visits or letters.

He is also one of the few Azerbaijanis who actually went to Armenia.

Like many other natives of Baku, Yunus had an Armenian mother, but
unlike most he chose not to hide it.

“The charge of collaboration with the Armenians levelled against
Arif and Leyla Yunus is probably just a pretext, a way of blackening
their names in the eyes of the public. The Armenian card is also being
played against Rauf Mirkadirov, a well-known journalist and columnist,
who was arrested last April on similar charges after making one visit
to Armenia. The main reason for their arrests is probably Leyla Yunus’
human rights work,” notes de Waal.

In his article he presents Arif Yunus’ scientific and journalistic
activities, as well as turns to the unpublished collection of
first-person stories and anecdotes. He tells, for example, the tale
of the traffic policeman outside the town of Shemakhi who retired
but still parked his car in his customary spot by the roadside and
took bribes from passing motorists — who moreover gave them quite
willingly. The collection also presents a story of how President Heidar
Aliyev was given a library card to the new US library in Baku by then
American ambassador Richard Kauzlarich. Arif understood both sides
of the story: Kauzlarich who believed he was making a nice gesture,
Aliyev who was offended that he was being treated as though he was
any other citizen of Azerbaijan.

According to de Waal this irreverent and affectionate vision of
the real Caucasus does not fit with the scrubbed marble-clad Dubai
lookalike that the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to make of
their country, with international events like the Eurovision Song
Context or European Olympics.

“Azerbaijan’s leaders evidently believe that this virtual reality must
be defended from all questioning and scrutiny. That is the main reason
that they have now shut down the major source of independent news,
the US-funded radio station, Radio Liberty,” notes Thomas de Waal.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 11 2015

Ilham Aliyev: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is used as a means of putting
pressure on Azerbaijan

11 January 2015 – 5:39pm

Ilham Aliyev: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is used as a means of putting
pressure on Azerbaijan
Not only the destructive position of Armenia, but also the passivity
of the OSCE Minsk group can be blamed for the fact that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is still not fully resolved, the president
of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said at a government meeting.
“Not for us, nor for international mediators is it a secret that
Armenia does not want peace. Armenia does not want to see this
conflict resolved and does not intend to withdraw its troops from the
occupied territories. This is despite the fact that the heads of the
OSCE Minsk group have repeatedly stated the inadmissibility of the
status quo,” AzerTAdzh quotes Ilham Aliyev.
The statements by the OSCE Minsk Group chairmen are merely statements
which do not require concrete actions.
Aliyev said that Armenia should be forced to vacate the occupied territories.
“Officials make statements that simply remain on paper, just as the
four resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict do. Why are other resolutions executed on
time, while when it comes to us, the resolutions are forgotten? It’s
not fair, there are double standards,” the president said.
Ilham Aliyev said that the Azerbaijani people know the true causes of
the situation, including not only the opinion of Armenia on this
issue.
“It seems that there are forces in the world that are not interested
in resolving this conflict. Apparently, there are forces that want to
see this conflict frozen and use it as a means of putting pressure on
Azerbaijan,” he said.
The president of Azerbaijan reminded that the Armenian side has
repeatedly organized provocations throughout the last year.
“Both times, the Azerbaijani army gave a fitting rebuff to the enemy.
In the summer, more than 50 occupants were destroyed. The Armenian
provocation in November did not remain unanswered. The criminal regime
in Armenia is liable for these provocations,” Ilham Aliyev says.
He said that Azerbaijan is constantly attempting to resolve the conflict.
“We gave the Armenians a lesson and they still cannot get over it.
They are in a panic and hysteria. Today, they are trying to blame us
at various international events. But the question is: what are
Armenian soldiers doing in Agdam and Fizuli? What does the Armenian
army have to do there? Why does no one else except for us ask the
Armenians about it? Why do international mediators remain indifferent
to it? It is of course a rhetorical question, but we will pose it to
them at every international event,” the president said.
“I want to say again that the truth lies in the fact that the lengthy
occupation of our lands is not only the handiwork of Armenia. Armenia
is a poor, powerless country. If it did not have such strong backers,
the Karabakh conflict would have been justly resolved a long time
ago,” Aliyev said, promising that Azerbaijan will increase its
military capabilities.

Not only the destructive position of Armenia, but also the passivity
of the OSCE Minsk group can be blamed for the fact that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is still not fully resolved, the president
of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said at a government meeting.
“Not for us, nor for international mediators is it a secret that
Armenia does not want peace. Armenia does not want to see this
conflict resolved and does not intend to withdraw its troops from the
occupied territories. This is despite the fact that the heads of the
OSCE Minsk group have repeatedly stated the inadmissibility of the
status quo,” AzerTAdzh quotes Ilham Aliyev.
The statements by the OSCE Minsk Group chairmen are merely statements
which do not require concrete actions.
Aliyev said that Armenia should be forced to vacate the occupied territories.
“Officials make statements that simply remain on paper, just as the
four resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict do. Why are other resolutions executed on
time, while when it comes to us, the resolutions are forgotten? It’s
not fair, there are double standards,” the president said.
Ilham Aliyev said that the Azerbaijani people know the true causes of
the situation, including not only the opinion of Armenia on this
issue.
“It seems that there are forces in the world that are not interested
in resolving this conflict. Apparently, there are forces that want to
see this conflict frozen and use it as a means of putting pressure on
Azerbaijan,” he said.
The president of Azerbaijan reminded that the Armenian side has
repeatedly organized provocations throughout the last year.
“Both times, the Azerbaijani army gave a fitting rebuff to the enemy.
In the summer, more than 50 occupants were destroyed. The Armenian
provocation in November did not remain unanswered. The criminal regime
in Armenia is liable for these provocations,” Ilham Aliyev says.
He said that Azerbaijan is constantly attempting to resolve the conflict.
“We gave the Armenians a lesson and they still cannot get over it.
They are in a panic and hysteria. Today, they are trying to blame us
at various international events. But the question is: what are
Armenian soldiers doing in Agdam and Fizuli? What does the Armenian
army have to do there? Why does no one else except for us ask the
Armenians about it? Why do international mediators remain indifferent
to it? It is of course a rhetorical question, but we will pose it to
them at every international event,” the president said.
“I want to say again that the truth lies in the fact that the lengthy
occupation of our lands is not only the handiwork of Armenia. Armenia
is a poor, powerless country. If it did not have such strong backers,
the Karabakh conflict would have been justly resolved a long time
ago,” Aliyev said, promising that Azerbaijan will increase its
military capabilities.

Yepifantsev: It will be hard for Azerbaijan to take decision on war

The slump in oil prices created problems not only for Russia, but also
some other countries, including Armenia’s adversary – neighboring
Azerbaijan, Russian political scientist Andrey Yepifantsev said.

He wrote on Facebook that the oil price slump and financial losses
have delayed the start of a war that Azerbaijan regularly threatens to
unleash on Armenia.

“Why are we constantly focusing on the losses we suffered because of
the slump in gas and oil prices? Those prices also “sent their
regards” to Norway and Azerbaijan especially as these two countries
are more dependent on oil exports than we are. Besides, Norway is
facing problems as a result of sanctions against Russia as their most
profitable sector is oil production, followed by fish exports, and oil
profits are 15 times as much as those from fish exports. And now both
have suffered… Can you imagine the Norwegians’ shock?

At this price, it will be very hard for Azerbaijan to take a decision
to start a war with Armenia. It cannot be considered lucky – only
makes promises repeatedly,” Yepifantsev wrote in particular.

10.01.15, 15:26

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN
Un Britannique vend une photo du génocide arménien au Musée du
génocide à Erévan, puis retourne l’argent en signe de solidarité avec
la douleur des Arméniens…

Un collectionneur britannique qui avait vendu une photo sur le
génocide arménien, apprenant qu’elle était destinée au Musée du
génocide à Erévan, a retourné le montant de l’achat. Geste magnifique
rapportée aujourd’hui par l’agence Armenpress suite aux déclarations
de Haïk Démoyan, le directeur du Musée du génocide. La photo
représente des Arméniens fuyant le génocide. Sur le dos de la photo
est écrit >.

En cette année du 100ème anniversaire du génocide arménien, les mots
de ce collectionneur Britannique envers les Arméniens revêtent un sens
particulier.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 11 janvier 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Expert: Projects with Iran depend on effectiveness of Armenia’s joining EEU

17:46, 09.01.2015

YEREVAN. – Implementation of Armenian-Iranian projects will depend on
effectiveness of Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union,
expert in Iranian studies Rudik Yaralyan toldArmenian News-NEWS.am.

The issue of reviving Armenia-Iran economic cooperation is very
uncertain, because it is unclear what effect Armenia’s membership in
the Eurasian Union will have.

“I think that implementation of the mentioned projects will depend on
this. If we are able to effectively implement the projects that we
have applied for, positive changes in relations with Iran will be
notable,” he added.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

Azerbaijani police identify man who commits self-immolation

13:36 * 10.01.15

Azerbaijani police have identified a man who died on January 8 after
setting himself on fire and denied speculation that his
self-immolation was linked to the razing of homes in the capital,
Baku, RFE/RL reports.

The Yasamal District Police Department in Baku said late on January 8
that the man was 21-year-old Kamran Agayev.

Police said an investigation had been launched on suspicion of
incitement to suicide, but they did not say whether any particular
person or organization was suspected.

Agayev set himself on fire on a street where city authorities are
demolishing old buildings to make way for new development projects.

Residents have been protesting for months, seeking greater
compensation for their lost property.

District government official Samad Mamedov said “Agayev’s death has
nothing to do with compensation for demolished properties.”

There have been at least five self-immolations in Azerbaijan in the
last 13 months.

The death of a Nagorno-Karabakh war veteran who set himself on fire in
December 2013 to protest the poverty many veterans face prompted a
public outcry.

Vestnil=k Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 9 2015

Armenia: Economic Results and Pessimistic Expectations

8 January 2015 – 10:34am

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Specially for Vestnik Kavkaza

2014 was a disaster for the Armenian economy. Financial problems have
been added to many unresolved socio-economic ones. At the end of last
year, in just a few days the national currency devalued by 10%, its
ratio to the US dollar before was 410 drams. Although the Central Bank
managed to stop the fall of the dram, due to currency interventions,
the tendency of a rising price of the US dollar started to be observed
already in early January.

According to official statistics, the economy grew by 3-3.5% over 11
months of 2014, instead of the planned 5.2%. According to the former
chairman of the Central Bank, Bagrat Asatryan, this figure is quite
acceptable for countries with a normal level of economic development,
but in Armenia, with its numerous problems, growth of 3-3.5% will be
felt only by very limited stratum of people. “In the economies of
countries like Armenia, six percent is the limit after which broad
social strata begin to feel the economic growth,” says Asatryan.

Moreover, after assessing the economic growth it turns out that the
largest share is represented not by the industry, but by services and
trade. This correlation perfectly reflects the current situation in
the Armenian economy, where production plays an undistinguished role,
while imports exceed exports threefold.

Low rates of exports have become one of the most serious problems of
the Armenian economy, which some experts already call “sick”. The
negative trade balance has an important place in the overall number of
characteristics of a “sick” economy, such as lack of a competitive
business environment, development of big business at the expense of
small and medium-sized business, a once-and-for-all established
monopoly setup, and a reduction of the volume of transfers from
Russia, so important for Armenia.

According to a National Assembly deputy from the “Prosperous Armenia”
faction, Mikael Melkumyan, the presence of serious domestic production
could have become the most significant element in ensuring economic
security and, consequently, the ability to resist the influence of
external factors.

Another central problem of the economy, which, as well as the low
level of exports, makes Armenia vulnerable to external challenges, has
been a sharp reduction of investments, in fact, their absence. Zero
capital inflow suggests problems will not only appear today but also
in the future.

According to some experts, the 2014 economic year has been the most
difficult in comparison with all the years of independence. Meanwhile,
the problems of the past year created a base for a more complicated
2015. Since, in parallel to the slowdown of economic growth, the
social situation of the population is also becoming worse. “The
situation does not inspire any optimism for 2015 and 2016, as there
will not be any growth of transfers from Russia, the situation with
investments is deplorable, one can say, they almost do not exist, one
may even observe an outflow of capital,” said Bagrat Asatryan.

According to the ex-prime minister Hrant Bagratyan, the standard of
people’s living has fallen sharply, and the country will be able to
reach the level of 2013-2014 only by 2017. “Today Armenia lives 30%
worse than it lived yesterday, and, from this point of view, already
2015 will be difficult. It seems to everyone that the ratio of the US
dollar to the dram will return to 410 drams, but it will not,”
forecasts Bagratyan.

According to specialists, the rise of the price for the US dollar will
lead to an increase of services for gas. For instance, since
calculations of “Gazprom-Armenia” are based on the US dollar, which
the company uses for purchases of gas abroad, in the case of a rise in
price for the US dollar, the gas shall rise in price as well,
respectively.

Summing up the results of this year, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan
assured that the government has the capacity and experience to ensure
that the search for solutions to the problems faced by the country and
the people are to be continued in 2015. He also expressed the hope
that the government will be able to solve the problem of poverty and
to create jobs. However, will the authorities have enough power to
change the existing economic situation with monopolies, investment
climate and to create real competition in business, to overcome
unequal treatment of business representatives by officials and to
reduce the so-called “shadow” economy? Since, indeed, the current
model, based not on market rules, but on deals and on mutual agreement
between businessmen and, in the first place, importers and government
officials, has exhausted itself.

The Daily Star, Bangladesh
Jan 6 2015

An Armenian Christmas dinner

By Reema Islam

As we move into 2015 and bid adieu to the Christmas festivities of
2014, the Armenians start preparing for their Christmas, on 6 January.
Known as the first Christian country, Armenia remains one of the
strong holds of the Eastern Christian belief system. The Epiphany or
the revelation that the baby Jesus was indeed a blessed prophet is
commemorated on 6 January, along with a Blessing of the Water ceremony
in memory of his baptism in the Jordan River.

The Eastern Christians did not follow the Roman practice of
celebrating Christmas on 25 December and by the fourth century CE,
they were the only Eastern Christians to carry this tradition on till
this day.

The Armenians normally fast six days before Christmas Day and abstain
from meat during this time. But on Christmas, they consume rice and
fish dishes, barley soups and walnuts glazed in jelly.

I bring to you some of their classic dishes with a spin on the recipes
to make them healthier for the readers. Here’s wishing the Armenian
Diaspora a Merry Christmas, and a very happy New Year to all my
readers.

Barley and yoghurt soup

A cuisine that can easily be traced back to a pre Christianity era,
the Armenians use simple ingredients with an emphasis on flavour.
Barley thus plays a significant role in Armenian cuisine as the days
leading up to Christmas are spent in abstinence so a nutritious source
of calories is sought for Christmas.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ cup pearl barley
1 fresh bay leaf
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups Greek-style yoghurt or thick yoghurt
2 tsp dried mint (you can use fresh mint as well)
3 egg yolks
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp all purpose flour
2½ tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mint leaves, walnuts, or dried rose petals, to garnish
Olive oil

Method:
Sauté onion in the olive oil until softened. Add barley, bay leaf and
stock, and bring to a simmer. Partially cover the pan and cook for 30
minutes or until barley is tender. Combine yoghurt, dried mint, yolks
and lemon zest in a bowl and whisk to combine well. In another bowl,
stir the flour and lemon juice together to form a smooth paste then
combine with the yolk mixture. Stir the hot stock mixture into the
yolk mixture to combine well, then pour back into the pan. Stirring
often, bring mixture slowly back to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes
or until it thickens to your desired consistency.

Serving:
Serve with some sprinkling of mint and pepper on top.

Sou Boreg

Borek is a family of phyllo pastries with a filling, mostly of cheese
and sprinkled with sesame seeds on top. This family seems to spread
across the Balkans right into the Levant and the ends of the Middle
East as the Armenian Diaspora dispersed. Originating in the former
Ottoman territories, this delicious pastry with its layers of
decadence makes a winner of a winter snack.

Ingredients:
1 lbs Dhaka Poneer, grated
2 tbsp chopped parsley and pinch of basil
2 eggs
1 packet phyllo dough
Salt and pepper to taste (though a generous amount of pepper is recommended)
½ olive oil
½ cup sesame seeds

Method:
Mix the cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, basil and eggs in a bowl. Take
phyllo dough from package; lay flat on counter and cover with damp
cotton towel to keep from drying. After every 2 sheets fill in a layer
of the cheese-egg mix. Brush the top with olive oil. Preheat your oven
at 180 degrees then bake the phyllo at 350 degrees until golden brown.
About 10 minutes before they are done open the oven and sprinkle some
sesame seeds on top which will also get browned by the time the
pastries are done.

Serving:
To give it a Bangladeshi twist serve with coriander chutney.

Lamb Casserole

As Armenian cuisine is said to be up to 2000 years old, these Eastern
Christians absorbed the culture and cuisine of whichever area they
inhabited. From the sixteenth century till the twentieth century, the
Armenians were forced to travel extensively as their country was under
the Ottomans, who expelled them to countries far and wide. Thus the
Armenian Diaspora expanded and today this merry mixing of cultures
through cuisine shows exactly how widely spread the Armenians were as
their cuisine ranges from Turkish, Middle Eastern to Persian dishes.
Meat is of course an integral part of this agrarian culture just like
dairy products and cheese.

Ingredients:
½ kg lamb cubes, remove all fat
1 round eggplant, peeled and sliced
1 capsicum, sliced
1 onion, sliced
400g of tomato sauce (boil tomatoes with pinch of salt, pepper,
garlic and celery)
1 cup water, 1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp basil
½ c olive oil

Method:
Drench the eggplant slices in salt and leave for half an hour, then
wash the salt off and pat dry. Combine tomato sauce, water, black
pepper, and basil in small saucepan and simmer for ½ hour. Coat the
meat with flour and lightly fry them in ¼ cup of the olive oil till
slightly brown. Then sauté the capsicum and onion for 1 minute. Line
bottom of a casserole dish with the eggplant and top with meat and
vegetables. Pour sauce over mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Serving:
Serve over rice or noodles and sprinkle coriander or parsley and
squeeze some lemon on top as well.

Intermountain Jewish News
Jan 8 2015

Turkey, meet Japan

Thursday, 08 January 2015 08:42 IJN Editorial Staff

It is now the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. In 1915 and
for a few years afterwards, Ottoman Turks mercilessly cut down
Armenians with the intent to annihilate the race; and from 1915 until
today, a full century later, the Ottoman Turks and after them the
leaders of modern Turkey have tried to deny this genocide.

The Ottoman Turks murdered some one-and-a-half million human beings,
but not then, and not now, have they owned up to it. To the extent
that contemporary Turks deny the genocide, they are in a sense
complicit in it, though of course they did not walk and starve the
Armenians to death — the favored method of inhumanity practiced in
1915 and for a few years afterwards.

We do not claim to understand the mentality of the genocide deniers,
especially when these deniers were not the actual perpetrators. We
merely observe that, for whatever psychological reason, genocide
denial seems to be as deeply rooted as the hate itself.

On the same scale is the psychological disfigurement within the denial
of instances of national brutality that do not rise to the level of
genocide. Just as genocide denial spread beyond the Turks to the
heinous fans of Hitler and their denial of the Holocaust, so, too, the
denial of national brutality spreads.

Case in point, Japan.

The movie, “Unbroken,” raises the curtain on the massive Japanese
atrocities before and during WW II. Nine out of ten American POWs who
died during WW II died at the hands of the Japanese, writes James
Gibney, citing historian Daqing Yang. That sounds unfortunate. It was
far worse.

* The Japanese, like the Nazis, engaged in medical “experiments” on
the people they captured.

* The Japanese vivisected their prisoners.

* The Japanese beheaded their prisoners and ate some of the body parts.

The Japanese now condemn “Unbroken.” Don’t expect it to be shown in
Japan. The truth hurts. Members of the current Japanese government
would have us believe that the Japanese never forced women during WW
II into prostitution; and did not commit the Nanjing Massacre of
Chinese civilians in 1937; and, just like the Turkish government all
the way up to today, threaten journalists who write the truth. Turkey,
meet Japan.

What strikes us as particularly impenetrable is the mentality that
denies genocide even by people who were born afterward, who never
murdered anyone. In the case of Turkey, even the entire country was
born afterwards — modern Turkey emerged after the Armenian genocide,
committed by the Ottoman Turks. Likewise, few if any perpetrators of
the Japanese atrocities of WW II are alive. Yet, their descendants
feel the need to deny the facts of their past, and even to threaten
those who would do nothing but recite these facts.

Holocaust denial is to be expected not just by Germans or members of
the many nationalities that willingly collaborated with Germany’s
Nazis — the Lithuanians, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Ukrainians,
French and Dutch of WW II, for example. Holocaust denial is expected
from anti-Semites who had nothing directly to do with the Holocaust.
Their hatred, if also impenetrable, is all too familiar.

As to the actual perpetrators of genocide and their descendants — to
us their denial is opaque, beyond understanding. Which is no reason
not to shine the spotlight on them. If they can deny genocide once,
they can commit it again.