Author: nina hovnanian

SERGE SARKISSIAN INTERVIENDRA LORS DE LA PROCHAINE SESSION DE L’ASSEMBLEE
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 14 juin 2011

Viktor Yanoukovitch, Serge Sarkissian et Mahmoud Abbas, parmi les
personnalites qui s’adresseront a l’APCE lors de sa session d’ete

Les allocutions du President ukrainien Viktor Yanoukovitch (mardi 21)
et du President armenien Serge Sarkissian (mercredi 22), ainsi que
du President de l’Autorite nationale palestinienne Mahmoud Abbas
(jeudi 23), figurent parmi les temps forts de la session plenière
d’ete de l’Assemblee parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe (APCE),
qui aura lieu a Strasbourg du 20 au 24 juin 2011.

L’aide aux democraties emergentes du monde arabe formera le principal
thème de debat de la journee de mardi, lorsque les parlementaires
se prononceront sur la demande de statut de ” Partenaire pour la
Democratie ” auprès de l’Assemblee parlementaire deposee par le
Parlement marocain, qui sera suivie des interventions des Presidents
des deux chambres du Parlement, Abdelwahed Radi et Mohamed Cheikh
Biadillah. Le ministre tunisien des Affaires etrangères, Mohamed Mouldi
Kefi, prendra egalement part a un debat sur la situation en Tunisie.

Une discussion commune sera ensuite consacree au partage des
responsabilites a l’egard des demandeurs d’asile et des refugies
en Europe, ainsi qu’a l’interception et au sauvetage en mer
de demandeurs d’asile, de refugies et de migrants en situation
irregulière. Un certain nombre de refugies et demandeurs d’asile,
qui se sont reunis pour constituer une ” bibliothèque vivante “,
seront presents pendant la semaine de session pour faire part de
leurs experiences personnelles.

Mercredi se tiendra un debat sur les suites a donner au rapport du
Groupe d’eminentes personnalites du Conseil de l’Europe, ” Vivre
ensemble dans l’Europe du XXIe siècle “. Nikolaï Mladenov, ministre
bulgare des Affaires etrangères, s’adressera egalement a l’Assemblee
ce meme jour.

Jeudi, l’Assemblee tiendra son debat bisannuel sur la situation des
droits de l’homme en Europe. Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger,
ministre federale de la Justice de l’Allemagne, et Dominic Grieve,
Procureur general pour l’Angleterre et le Pays de Galles, prendront
part a une discussion commune sur les parlements nationaux, garants
des droits de l’homme en Europe, et sur le rôle des parlements dans la
consolidation et le developpement des droits sociaux en Europe. Cette
discussion sera suivie de la ceremonie de remise du Prix des droits
de l’homme 2011 de l’Assemblee parlementaire a l’ONG russe ” Comite
contre la torture “.

Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, ministre ukrainien des Affaires etrangères,
presentera la communication du Comite des Ministres a l’Assemblee
lundi après-midi, puis repondra aux questions des parlementaires.

Mercredi, il y aura egalement un debat sur la reforme de l’Assemblee.

Projet d’ordre du jour

L’Assemblee etablira son ordre du jour definitif a l’ouverture de
la session.

Lundi 20 juin (ouverture a 11h30)

· Allocution du President de l’APCE Mevlut Cavusoglu

· Election de Vice-Presidents de l’Assemblee au titre de la Finlande
et de l’Irlande

· Rapport d’activite du Bureau de l’Assemblee et de la Commission
permanente

· Communication du Comite des Ministres a l’Assemblee parlementaire,
presentee par Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, ministre des Affaires etrangères
de l’Ukraine, President du Comite des Ministres

· Debat joint : les budgets et priorites du Conseil de l’Europe pour
les exercices 2012-2013 et les depenses de l’Assemblee parlementaire
pour les exercices 2012-2013

Mardi 21 juin

· Eventuelle election d’un juge a la Cour europeenne des droits de
l’homme au titre de la France

· La demande de statut de partenaire pour la democratie auprès de
l’Assemblee parlementaire presentee par le Parlement du Maroc et
interventions de :

Abdelwahed Radi, President de la Chambre des representants du Maroc

Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, President de la Chambre des conseillers
du Maroc

· Discours de Victor Ianoukovitch, President de l’Ukraine

· La cooperation entre le Conseil de l’Europe et les democraties
emergentes dans le monde arabe

· La situation en Tunisie et intervention de Mohamed Mouldi Kefi,
ministre des Affaires etrangères de la Tunisie

· Debat joint : demandeurs d’asile et refugies : pour un partage des
responsabilites en Europe et l’interception et le sauvetage en mer de
demandeurs d’asile, de refugies et de migrants en situation irregulière

Mercredi 22 juin

· Vivre ensemble dans l’Europe du XXIe siècle : suites a donner au
rapport des eminentes personnalites du Conseil de l’Europe

· Discours de Serge Sarkissian, President de l’Armenie

· Discours de Nikolaï Mladenov, ministre des Affaires etrangères de
la Bulgarie

· Reforme de l’Assemblee parlementaire

Jeudi 23 juin

· La situation des droits de l’homme en Europe :

. Les parlements nationaux, garants des droits de l’homme en Europe

. Le rôle des parlements dans la consolidation et le developpement
des droits sociaux en Europe et interventions de :

Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, ministre federale de la Justice
de l’Allemagne

Dominic Grieve, Procureur general pour l’Angleterre et le Pays
de Galles

· Ceremonie de remise du Prix des droits de l’homme 2011 de l’Assemblee
parlementaire

· Discours de Mahmoud Abbas, President de l’Autorite nationale
palestinienne

· Eventuel debat selon la procedure d’urgence ou debat d’actualite

· Davantage de femmes dans les instances de decision economiques
et sociales

Vendredi 24 juin

· L’evolution de la procedure de suivi de l’Assemblee (juin 2010 –
mai 2011)

· Debat joint : vers une convention-cadre europeenne relative aux
droits des jeunes et la forte baisse du taux d’emploi des jeunes :
inverser la tendance

LES MILITAIRES ARMENIENS ” INTERESSES ” PAR DES LANCES-ROQUETTES RUSSES

armenews.com
mardi 14 juin 2011

L’Armenie a indique son desir d’acquerir des lances-roquettes
russes qui ont un rayon d’action de 90 kilomètres, selon un cadre de
l’industrie de defense russe.

Nikolay Dimidyuk de la societe Rosoboronexport cite par le magazine de
Moscou ” Voenno-Promyshlenny Kurier ” a indique que des fonctionnaires
armeniens ont montre de l’interet au BM-30 Smerch (la Tornade)
lances-roquettes multiples pendant une exposition sur les armes
a Minsk.

Dimidyuk a dit que ” des negociations interessantes ” se sont tenus
avec des representants de Rosoboronexport dans la capitale bielorusse.

” Celles-ci n’etaient pas de simples visites de politesse, nous avons
discute de questions concrètes ” a-t-il dit.

” Nous n’avions pas coopere de si près avec des etats membres de
l’Organisation du Traite de Securite Collective (CSTO) auparavant ”
a ajoute le fonctionnaire russe.

Le Ministère de la Defense Nationale armenien a refuse de confirmer
ou de nier cette information. ” Les forces armees de l’Armenie sont
constamment fournies en armes nouvelles et modernes ” a declare
le porte-parole du ministère Davit Karapetian au service armenien
de RFE/RL. ” Il n’est pas opportun de divulguer les details de nos
achats d’armes “.

Une source proche du Ministère de la Defense Nationale, qui a demande
de ne pas etre identifiee, a affirme que l’armee armenienne possède
deja des lances-roquettes Smerch.

Developpe au debut des annees 1980, Smerch est probablement le système
de lance-roquettes le plus puissant dans le monde. Il peut tirer
douze fusees de 300 millimètres en une simple salve qui dure moins
d’une minute. Les systèmes montes sur des camions sont actuellement
estimes coûter 12 millions de $ chacun.

LEVON TER-PETROSSIAN MET EN GARDE LE GOUVERNEMENT
Marion

armenews.com
mardi 14 juin 2011

Levon Ter-Petrossian a remis en question, vendredi 12 juin,
l’engagement du president Serge Sarkissian a negocier avec le Congrès
national armenien (HAK), et a declare que l’echec d’un tel dialogue
reposerait sur le gouvernement.

L. Ter-Petrossian a dans le meme temps minimise les declarations de
conseillers et allies politiques de S. Sarkissian qui rejetaient les
negociations avec le HAK.

S. Sarkissian a ouvert la voie a un dialogue le mois dernier en
assurant la liberation de tous les membres de l’opposition emprisonnes
et en ordonnant une nouvelle enquete sur les troubles post-electoraux
de 2008 a Erevan.

S’exprimant lors d’un rassemblement du HAK, le 31 mai, L.

Ter-Petrossian a decrit ces decisions du gouvernement comme la plus
grande ” victoire ” du mouvement d’opposition qu’il a initie. Cinq
membres du HAK devraient l’accompagner dans les pourparlers prevus
avec l’administration Sarkissian.

Karen Karapetian, chef de cabinet du president, a precise mardi
dernier, que le president et son gouvernement ne formeront pas
d’equipe de negociation car leur dialogue avec le HAK a commence ” il
y a longtemps “. Il a egalement declare que la conduite d’elections
nationales anticipees, principale revendication du HAK, est non
negociable pour les dirigeants armeniens.

D’autres hauts representants du Parti republicain d’Armenie (HHK)
ont fait des declarations similaires lundi dernier, alimentant les
speculations selon lesquelles le chef de l’Etat n’a pas l’intention
de faire davantage de concessions a l’opposition.

Dans des observations ecrites publiees par le quotidien Haykakan
Zhamanak vendredi 10 juin, L. Ter-Petrossian a rejete ces affirmations,
en declarant qu’elles proviennent de ” personnes ayant un rôle zero
dans la prise de decision ” et ” qui n’ont pas d’importance dans cette
affaire “. ” Par consequent, jusqu’a ce que Serge Sarkissian n’exprime
[personnellement] son avis, il sera vain de dire quoi que ce soit a
ce sujet. ”

” Il faut simplement garder a l’esprit que le dialogue est necessaire
non seulement pour l’opposition mais aussi pour les autorites “, a
poursuivi le premier president de l’Armenie. ” Dans le cas de l’echec
du dialogue, le Congrès n’aura rien perdu et gagnera meme peut-etre
du point de vue politique. Le principale perdant sera les autorites. ”

RESULTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN NEGOTIATION PROCESS – AZERBAIJANI FM

news.am
June 13 2011
Armenia

No one is satisfied with status quo over situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,
said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

Azerbaijan’s primary goal is achieving results rather than being
enagaged in peace process, Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference
with his Georgian counterpart Grigol Vashadze. Azerbaijani FM noted
that certain progress was reached in talks.

“There is coordination and rapprochement of the parties’ positions.

However, intensive negotiations on some issues should continue,”
said Mammadyarov.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan will meet his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev through
the mediation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Kazan on June 25.

Moscow hosted the meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Foreign
Ministers on June 11.

“EVIDENCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” PRESENTED IN YEREVAN

news.am

June 13 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Presentation of “Evidence of the Armenian Genocide” by
Harutyun Iskahatyan was held at National Library of Armenia on Monday.

The first volume was presented on September 2, 2010. The first book
included general conclusions from 92 editions in Armenia and foreign
(English, French, Arabic languages) on different stages of the Armenian
Genocide in 1894-1923.

The collection includes not only narrations, but also pieces of art
on the issue, as they are documents expressed in artistic language.

The second volume includes the results of a study of about 55 memoirs,
published in different periods.

According to Iskahatyan, the third volume of the book will be released
in three months.

ARMENIAN FM MEETS WITH US DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY

news.am
June 13 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received on
Monday Thomas Melia, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

The sides discussed Armenian authorities’ democracy building efforts,
progress reached in this direction and further steps, foreign office
press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

They also discussed international and regional issues of common
interest.

ARMENIAN YOUTH FEDERATION OF CANADA
45 HALLCROWN PLACE
TORONTO, ON M2J 4Y4

PRESS RELEASE
MONDAY, JUNE 13, 2011

CONTACT: Harout Manougian
PHONE: 416-988-3535
EMAIL: [email protected]

Demonstration at Turkish Consulate of Toronto

TORONTO – A group of 8 Canadian-Armenians ended a 72 hour hunger strike
in front of the Turkish Consulate of Toronto today, organized by the
Armenian Youth Federation of Canada. In light of the upcoming general
elections in Turkey, the demonstrators protested the ongoing human rights
abuses carried out by the Government of Turkey, including the denial of the
Armenian Genocide, the stifling of freedom of speech and press, the ongoing
occupation of Cyprus, and the oppression of its minorities.

The hunger strike culminated with an official demonstration, held Monday,
June 13, 2011 at 2:00pm in front of the Turkish Consulate of Toronto. The
demonstrators sent a strong message to the newly elected officials in Turkey
that Canadians and the international community at large will not remain
silent bystanders as the Turkish government deprives its citizens of their
basic human rights and continues its denial campaign against the memory of
the Armenian Genocide.

Unfortunately, the peaceful protest was met with a counter-protest by a
group of Turks, who aimed to disrupt the demonstration and silence its
message. Disrespecting the Canadian flag by holding it upside-down, they
resorted to racist slurs, calling Armenians `terrorists’, and `baby
killers’. They held signs that read `proud nation, proud history’ sending an
ominous message that they felt no remorse for the massacres of the Ottoman
government, or sympathy towards its victims. Although deeply troubled, the
Armenian demonstrators avoided any confrontation, as that seemed to be the
goal of the instigators.

A day earlier, the participants of the hunger strike held a candlelight
vigil in memory of the one and a half million martyrs of the Armenian
Genocide as well as hundreds of thousands of Christian Assyrians and Pontian
Greeks. It is troubling that even during their prayers, led by Very Reverend
Father Meghrig Parikian of St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church of Toronto,
a smaller group of men and women holding Turkish flags continued to hurl
insults aimed at those collected.

Ninety six years have passed since the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide
of the 20th century. The genocide has been recognized by countless
historians including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and
numerous countries including Canada, yet it is constantly denied by the
successive governments of Turkey.

A movement to recognize the Armenian Genocide has started in the Turkish
Republic, led by outspoken scholars and authors such as Orhan Pamuk, Hall
Berktak and Ragip Zarakolu. Unfortunately, Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code allows the government to lay charges against these journalists and
authors, threatening them with jail terms. Nevertheless, this April, for the
second year in a row, major cities in Turkey witnessed public events
commemorating the Armenian Genocide.

Mark Piliguian, one of the participants of the hunger strike, expressed,`We
understand that many of those trying to disrupt our message today grew up in
Turkey where they could not learn about the dark chapters of Ottoman
history. But we hope that now that they live in Canada, they take the
initiative to pull off the blindfold that their government tries to
maintain.’

##

PHOTO CAPTIONS

1.jpg: Canadian-Armenians protesting the ongoing violations of human rights
in Turkey

2.jpg: Canadian-Armenian protesters sending a strong message to the newly
elected Turkish government

3.jpg: Turkish counter-protesters disrespecting the Canadian flag

Kevorkian is recalled as braving the ‘wrath of society’ for assisting suicides

Mourners filed past the casket of Dr. Jack Kevorkian after a service
yesterday in a Troy, Mich., memorial park. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

By Associated Press June 11, 2011

TROY, Mich. – Friends, family, and supporters gathered yesterday to
pay tribute to the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian, remembering him for his
devotion to the cause of physician-assisted suicide, which cost him
his freedom late in life.

Some 150 people attended the service at White Chapel Memorial Cemetery
in suburban Detroit before Kevorkian was laid to rest. He died last
week at age 83 of a pulmonary blood clot.

Kevorkian’s stunning claim to have assisted in more than 130 deaths of
ill people in the 1990s brought him worldwide notoriety, but those who
stood behind his casket yesterday spoke also of his softer, less
public side.

A niece, Ava Janus, said Kevorkian had deep respect for anyone who was
competent at their craft, and was loyal to the Detroit Tigers no
matter the baseball team’s fortunes.

A friend, Ruth Holmes, recalled Kevorkian arriving at her home with
just a toothbrush and fresh underwear to escape media attention in
1998 after he assisted in the death of Thomas Youk, a man with Lou
Gehrig’s disease. He stayed with her family for six months.

It was video of Youk’s death aired by CBS’s `60 Minutes” that
eventually led to Kevorkian being convicted of second-degree murder.

`Few men are willing to brave . . . the wrath of society,” she said.
`That was our dear friend, Jack Kevorkian.”

The casket was draped with the US flag to signify his service in the Korean War.

His friend and attorney, Mayer Morganroth, noted that inmates lined up
to cheer Kevorkian when he was released from prison in 2007 after
eight years.

Kevorkian used throwaway parts to build a so-called suicide machine,
which injected lethal drugs. He helped people die in their homes,
motels, and in the back of his rusty Volkswagen van and often took
their bodies to hospital emergency rooms.

Fear Pervades Nuba Mountains that Sudan Government Intent on Genocide

Sat, Jun 11 2011
By: Samuel Totten

Tucked away in the hilly mid-section of Sudan lie the Nuba Mountains,
an isolated region that was the target of genocidal actions by the
Government of Sudan (GoS) in the early 1990s. This past week the Nuba
Mountains has exploded in violence again, and many of the inhabitants
fear that Sudanese President Omar al Bashir may be planning to
complete what he left unfinished many years ago.

Villages perched on steep hillsides in the Nuba mountains. (Source:
)
Left out of the referendum that resulted in southern Sudan severing
its relationship with the north, the people of the Nuba Mountains and
the Blue Nile region were, per the internationally brokered
Comprehensive Peace Plan, forced to remain with the north. That left
many in the Nuba Mountains devastated, frightened, and angry.

After all, boys and men from the Nuba Mountains fought for their
freedom with the south during the 20-year war between the north and
south, which resulted in some two million deaths. Not only that, but
many fear that without the support of the south’s massive military
might, the Nuba Mountains might, once again, face the scorn of the
GoS, be it in the way of a scorched earth policy and/or forced
starvation.

Exacerbating the entire situation was the recent `election’ of Ahmed
Haroun to the position of governor of South Kordafan, the state in
which the Nuba Mountains is situated. Running against a popular former
commander (Abdul Aziz) of the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army, the
rebel group responsible for forcing the north/south referendum,
Haroun, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on over 40
charges for crimes against humanity and war crimes for atrocities
committed in Darfur, won what many in the Nuba Mountains perceive as a
rigged election.

For the past six months the people of the Nuba Mountains have held one
rally after another, sometimes numbering in the thousands, which is
something to behold in such an isolated and sparsely populated area,
calling on Haroun to give himself up to the ICC. Cognizant of such
rallies, just three weeks ago Omar al Bashir flew to Kadugli, the
capital of South Kordafan, and warned, `If the people here [meaning
those in the Nuba Mountains] refuse to honor the results of the
[gubernatorial] election, then we will force them back into the
mountains and prevent them from having food just as we did before.’
According to Article 2C of UN Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide (UNCG), under certain conditions,
purposely and systematically depriving a people of food constitutes
genocide.

The people of the Nuba Mountains take his threat very seriously, for
they know what he and his cohorts are capable of doing. Unfortunately,
the threat turned into reality within a week’s time. Over the past two
weeks the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have attacked one town after
another in the Nuba Mountains, killing people indiscriminately and
destroying farms and people’s tukuls (homes). Many people have fled
into the mountains, just as they did in the 1990s. Having left behind
their only means of livelihood and source of food, their farms, the
Nuba Mountains people may be facing a repeat of the 1990s in which
they had no resort but to scour the rocky land for leaves, roots, and
weeds to eat.

Now is the time for the international community to act – before
starvation becomes a fact of life and before the attacks morph into
massive crimes against humanity and/or genocide.

The current and ongoing attacks sound very much like those that the
GoS has carried out in Darfur for the past eight years. Ample proof of
that is the following description of a recent attack on the Nuba
Mountains’ village of Fet, which I just received from an individual,
who must remained unnamed, residing in the heart of the Nuba
Mountains: `At 8 a.m., approximately 350 men dressed in green army
uniforms attacked. Some civilians ran inside their homes for
protection but when the attackers approached the homes they started
burning them and they continued to burn people that were hiding inside
their homes. One of the first houses attacked was burned with three
women locked inside. One of the women was pregnant. As the civilians
were running away they were shot. The attackers burned everything in
site (sic).’ While this all-day attack was carried out, the national
police, SAF troops and national security troops looked on and did
nothing. In fact, `it is reported that the forces were ordered not to
shoot.’

The most recent update I received today was ominous: `More and more
voices on the ground are now describing this as `ethnic cleansing’ and
comparing it to the genocide which took place in the Nuba Mountains in
the early 1990s. Urgent international response is critical!’

While the ongoing crisis in Darfur, which the U.S. Government in 2004
deemed to be genocide, and the recent referendum that resulted in the
south splitting from the north, thus creating the new nation of South
Sudan, have been spotlighted by the international media and various
human rights campaigns, the crises in the Nuba Mountains have largely
gone unnoticed. That must change, and now!

Wilkes Barre Times-Leader , PA
June 12 2011

Armenian Classical Guitarist to perform at Sem

Fans of dance, classical and jazz music, and musical theater are
invited to visit the Wyoming Seminary Upper School campus in Kingston
often this summer, as the students and teachers participating in the
Performing Arts Institute (PAI) present a series of free recitals,
concerts and performances in June, July, and August.

Now in its 13th year, PAI attracts more than 250 talented high school
students for an intensive three-to-six week learning experience in
instrumental and vocal music, theater and dance. Highly respected
musicians and teachers from around the country and around the world
present classes in advanced technique, music theory and performance
skills.

The schedule of 33 performances will begin on Monday, June 27 with a
Counselor Recital at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of Wyoming Seminary, 228
Wyoming Avenue, just north of Kingston Corners. The schedule concludes
with a Grand Finale on Saturday, August 6 at 7 p.m. in both the Great
Hall and the Buckingham Performing Arts Center, North Sprague Avenue,
on the campus of the Upper School.

Among this season’s highlights are a free performance by the U.S. Army
Field Band Federal Brass on Wednesday, June 29 at 7 p.m. at the River
Commons in Wilkes-Barre; a free concert on Monday, July 11 at 8 p.m.
in the Great Hall, featuring nationally recognized Armenian classical
guitarist Gohar Vardanyan; Clockwise, a South African classical duo,
featuring harpist Jacqueline Kerrod and violinist Mark Uys in a free
performance on Tuesday, July 19 at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall; an
exciting dance production featuring guest artists Carrie
Ellmore-Tallitsch, principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance
Company and Tim Early, founder of Opus One Dance Company on Sunday,
July 24 at 3 p.m. in the Buckingham Performing Arts Center; a free
performance of fascinating world music by the unique Quey Percussion
Duo on Sunday, July 31 at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall; and an exuberant
production of the Broadway hit musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum ” on Thursday and Friday, August 4 and 5 at 8 p.m. in
the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre. Tickets
are $18 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens and will be
available in advance and at the door.

The students work closely with these faculty members and have an
opportunity to demonstrate what they’ve learned in performances which
are open to the public, said Nancy Sanderson, PAI director.

Visit the PAI website at < > to hear the high quality of PAI
performances. For more information about the summer program or the
concert series, call the Office of Summer Programs at Wyoming Seminary
at 270-2186.