Author: nina hovnanian

APPETITE FOR EMERGING MARKET DEBT PROVES RESILIENT

06/04/15

A resurgent dollar and the drop in global commodity prices have,
with a few rare exceptions, roiled emerging markets over the past
few months. But there’s one corner of the EM universe proving to be
surprisingly resilient: debt.

Some $122.4bn in international bonds have been issued by emerging
countries so far this year, according to Dealogic.

While this is lower than the $151bn raised during the same period
in 2014 and is the asset class’s weakest start in four years, it’s
nonetheless a strong showing given the amount of uncertainty and
nervousness around emerging markets.

Armenia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Colombia are among the countries
that have successfully tapped the market in recent weeks, despite
anxiety over EM’s increasing vulnerability to capital flight and
their falling foreign reserve levels.

The issues were met with strong demand and, in the case of Colombia,
the Andean country managed to lock in the lowest rate ever rate for
a 30-year bond, with a coupon of 5 per cent.

As in the years past, demand for EM debt remains overwhelmingly driven
by the hunt for returns.

Even at 5 per cent, the yields on Colombia’s long-dated paper can be
seen as an attractive alternative when compared to those found in
the developed world, which range from -0.1 per cent for the German
5-year to 2.56 per cent for the US 30-year note.

The resilience in the level of issuance is all the more striking
considering the collapse in bond sales from traditional heavyweight
issuers such as Brazil and Russia.

In Latin America, issuance is down more than 80 per cent to $29.7bn
so far this year compared with last, according to Dealogic.

This is largely thanks to the absence of Brazilian names, as the
country reels from a corruption scandal surrounding state-controlled
oil major Petrobras.

Issuance for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) has
also struggled, falling to $36.7bn from $44.1bn, as Russia struggles
with western sanctions imposed on it for its involvement in Ukraine.

Asia-Pacific is the bright spot, with issuance up from $53.2bn to
nearly $56bn.

I VERY MUCH WANT TO BE USEFUL TO ARMENIANS, SAYS RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN SINGER

15:08 * 06.04.15

Excerpt from interview by David P. Vardazaryan

In an exclusive interview with Tert.am, Russian-Armenian pop-singer
Mariam Merabova spoke of her participation in the music project
The Voice of Russia, the Armenian jazz and her concert in the
Nagorn-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic.

“What happened after the blind auditions for The Voice of Russia is
impossible to describe. My Facebook page simply ‘exploded’; 3,000
messages at once … I wasn’t able to reply to anyone. It was terrible.

So many Armenians, all expressing their wishes from everywhere:
[United States of] America, Portugal, Germany. The Armenian diaspora
were writing to me from all the corners of the world,” she said.

Merabova said that the song Georgia on My Mind became her specific
visiting card as a kind of unique musical performance.

Asked what else she can consider her style outside the contest,
the singer replied, “Rhythm and blues, jazz, Etta James, Sara Wan
… That’s what is mine.”

As for the Armenian jazz, Merabova said she especially loves and
perceives as typical Armenian jazz music the works by Constantine
Orbelyan and Arno Babajanyan. “Babajanyan, by the way, is jazz for
me too, as [his pieces] are non-standard; they are not just ‘Soviet
variety music’. There is such a harmony in what they have created. But
I do not distinguish between Armenian and non-Armenian jazz. And I
do not absolutely suffer from such ‘craziness’. I am for good judgment.

So music is what I adore.”

Asked what Armenian song is included on her upcoming concert program
and whether she intends to perform anything by Komitas, the singer said
the repertoire includes only one song by composer Arthur Grigoryan. “It
will be an amazing song with its beauty. It isn’t just a song. It’s
something very important for me. It has already ‘pierced’ through my
heart once, and that’s all. I don’t think there is anything beyond
it …,” he added.

The singer further spoke of her ancestors who survived and fell victim
to Genocide. “We were a big family. My grandmother’s mother had 12
children. They were a wealthy family and had houses in Erzurum, Odessa,
Batumi and so on. Their job was carpet-making. My grandfather’s father
was a Maecenas. But in [19]15, a sister of my grand-grandfather,
aunt Sonya who studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Munich, was
killed in Erzurum. She was then on a vacation in Erzurum where the
family were having a rest. They killed her and the others…

“By the way, I have a great number of our photos with all our houses.

“My children are aware of all that. They know everybody by name.

“My grandfather’s paternal uncle, Soghomon, was killed too, during
the Genocide, together with two children aged three. It was an awful
tragedy for the family. Then uncle Vanya left for Hamburg; the rest who
remained alive – Minas, my grandpa’s father, and Mariam, my grandma’s
mother – stayed in Tbilisi. But their children were scattered here
and there, one went to Hamburg, the other – to Petersburg; uncle
George went to Moscow. But [19]15 was not the end of all that, as
1922 followed.”

One of the most influential Diaspora-Armenians on different ranking
indexes, Merabova says she very much desires to be very useful to the
Armenian nation. “I bow to everything Ruben Vardanyan does … I think
[people like him] are the nation’s glory. They see life the way it
will look in 100 years. One’s vision cannot be limited to three or
five years. You have to look 100 years ahead to see what your nation
will have. That’s the important thing,” she added.

Asked whether she isn’t afraid of being blacklisted by Azerbaijan for
her concert in Karabakh, Merabova said she doesn’t feel any discomfort
at all. She said other organizers had been planning her concert in
the country several years ago but didn’t succeed to.

The singer said she doesn’t care at all that after the concert in
Karabakh she will be back to a multi-cultural city like Moscow. “So
what does that change at all? Won’t anyone listen to me in Moscow
after that?” she aksed.

ABGAR MURADYAN DUET GIVES FIRST CONCERT

16:47, 6 April, 2015

YEREVAN, 6 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. On April 4, the Abgar Muradyan Duet
gave its first concert at Komitas Chamber Music Hall in Yerevan. Among
those attending the concert were Minister of Culture of the Republic
of Armenia Hasmik Poghosyan and Abgar Muradyan’s son Minister of
Health of the Republic of Armenia Armen Muradyan. As the Department
of Public Relations of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia reports
to “Armenpress”, the Abgar Muradyan Duet comprises Abgar Muradyan’s
student, clarinet player David Gyulamiryan and pianist Lilit Zakaryan.

The latter are members of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia and
have been performing with the orchestra since the very first day of
its establishment.

This is the third concert that Sergey Smbatyan’s State Youth Orchestra
of Armenia is dedicating to the memory of Merited Artist of the
Republic of Armenia, renowned clarinet player and teacher Abgar
Muradyan. Abgar Muradyan was one of the artists who helped establish
the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia and would do everything possible
to support the young musicians by giving them advice.

TURKEY DEPORTS GERMAN PHOTOJOURNALIST WHO WAS GOING TO COVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ARTICLE

12:04 06/04/2015 ” SOCIETY

Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine’s photojournalist was barred from
entering into Turkey and deported on the alleged suspicion of
being jihadist last week although German officials informed Turkish
authorities about the situation of journalist, an online news portal
reported, according to Today’s Zaman.

According to an article published on the Diken.com news portal, citing
Der Spiegel’s report over the incident, photojournalist Andy Spyra
sent back to Germany after being held Ä°stanbul Ataturk Airport’s
detention center over a night.

Spyra reportedly took a Turkish Airlines plane from Germany’s
Dusseldorf en route to Ä°stanbul on March 28 to cover an article
about the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. When he landed
in Ä°stanbul around 5.20 p.m. four civilians took him to a special
security area and told him to open his luggage. Police officers
searched the camera cleaning kit that, the journalist said, looks like
a little rocket but obviously to be a kit, looked at the photos inside
of camera’s memory card and also looked at his photos with peshmarga
taken his Iraq visit on his mobile phone. “They looked at these photos
taken with military vest. Their face were looking so serious,” he said.

Spyra reportedly tried to tell that he is a journalist and showed the
hotel reservation; however, couldn’t make police to listen him. The
journalist told that he would be sent to Dusseldorf next morning and
taken to Ataturk Airport deportation center.

While he was detention center, officials returned German
photojournalist’s mobile phone back and he called his colleague who
had been in Turkey and his editors in Germany. Journalist’s friend and
editors let German Consulate General in Ä°stanbul and German Embassy
in Ankara over the situation. He was taken to Dusseldorf plane on
9.55 a.m. next morning and welcomed by Federal police in the airport.

“Turkish authorities told their German colleagues that I am believed
to be jihadist due to khaki colored clothes and ‘military equipment’…

However, we later learned that the night that I was in the airport,
German Consulate General informed Turkish authorities that I am a
journalist and made a formal protest.'”

EUROPEAN DELEGATION TO CONVENE IN ISTANBUL 100 YEARS AFTER THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

14:06, 06 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On the occasion of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, AGBU
Europe and the European Grassroots Anti-Racist Movement (EGAM) will
lead a delegation to Istanbul, composed mainly of young people from
around Europe. They will be joined in the metropolis by numerous
other international visitors from around Europe who have chosen
to commemorate this event in the city where it all started. The
organization Armenian Project 2015 in particular has also called
on Armenians from around the world to join commemorations in the
Turkish metropolis.

The commemorations themselves will take place in Istanbul throughout
the day on April 24 and will culminate on the central Taksim square
at the symbolic time of 19.15. Commemorative events will also be held
at Haydarpasha train station, where community leaders were deported
from and at Sultanahmet, a former prison, where they were held prior
to their deportations. April 24 will also be an occasion to visit the
tomb of Sevag Balikci, a young Armenian conscript who was assassinated
by a fellow conscript on April 24, 2011 on account of his ethnicity.

The commemorations are organized by Turkish organizations, including
local EGAM member organization DurDe and the Turkish Human rights
Association IHD.

Numerous other events will be held throughout the week, including
a major concert on April 22 hosted by the foundation Anadolu Kultur
and featuring numerous international artistss. The AGBU Europe-EGAM
delegation will take the opportunity to engage with numerous audiences
at universities, non-governmental organizations and other location.

In advance of the commemorations, an appeal has been published
in a series of newspapers around Europe, calling on Europeans to
commemorate the Centenary in Istanbul in the name of “Justice,
Solidarity and Democracy”.

The Armenian genocide of 1915, which caused an estimated 1.5 million
dead, uprooted the entire Armenian civilization. Commemorations
have been held in many places over the years; but they have only
been allowed in Turkey since 2010. AGBU Europe and EGAM have led
international delegations to the former Ottoman capital city since
2013. Their approach has aimed to engage with Turkish society, and
particularly with those organizations who work for the awareness of
the genocide in Turkey, in the believe that their joint efforts can
help promote tolerance, democracy and justice.

GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS : 100 ANS POUR COMPRENDRE ET RECONNAITRE

REVUE DE PRESSE

À l’occasion du centième anniversaire du genocide des Armeniens, le
Memorial de la Shoah, dedie une exposition et une serie de rencontres
a ce meurtre de masse qui prefigure ceux qui se sont produits au
cours de ce siècle. Une exposition de plus grande envergure aura lieu
egalement fin avril a l’Hotel de Ville de Paris, qui accueillera le
memorial armenien d’Erevan consacre a la disparition des Armeniens
dans l’Empire ottoman.

Decimer une population

D’avril 1915 a decembre 1918, environ 1 500 000 Armeniens et Syriaques,
citoyens de l’Empire ottoman, sont assassines sur ordre du Comite
Union et Progrès.

Dans Memorial du genocide des Armeniens, Raymond H. Kevorkian et Yves
Ternon precise touts les details chronologiques de l’execution du plan
mis en oeuvre par Talaat Pacha, ancien ministre de l’Interieur, avec
l’appui massif des composantes musulmanes de la population ottomane.

Deux tiers de la population armenienne a ainsi ete decimee. A la fin
il reste 300 000 rescapes.

Quand ils ont pu survivre, après avoir ete pousses sur les routes
du desert syrien, et conserver un peu d’argent, ils ont reussi a se
maintenir a Deir Zor en Syrie, a s’infiltrer dans la ville d’Alep
au Liban.

Deir Zor est appele aujourd’hui le “Auschwitz” des Armeniens, puisque
c’etait la destination finale des convois de femmes et d’enfants
envoyes sur les routes dans l’immensite du desert.

Echanger histoire grandieuse contre meilleure situation geographique ?

Stigmatiser, Exclure, Detruire sont les trois etapes de ce processus
pour lequel le terme de “solution finale” a ete employe.

Quels evenements ont conduit a la destruction des Armeniens ? Claire
Mouradian, l’une des trois historiennes a l’origine de l’exposition,
explique la genèse du processus et le contexte international.

Le peuple armenien, a eu une histoire prestigieuse, autonome, mais
s’est trouve a la merci des appetits de ses voisins.

Pourquoi il s’agit bien d’un genocide

Pour se separer des Armeniens, l’Empire Ottomon les a presentes comme
des ennemis de l’interieur, aux mains de puissances etrangères, en
vue de le destabiliser. Dans un contexte de guerre mondiale, une
organisation parallèle a celle de l’armee ottomane a ete mise en
place. Avec des criminels sortis de prison, des groupes de tueurs
ont ete constitues pour chasser les Armeniens de leurs villages,
les pousser sur les routes du desert, les rassembler dans des camps,
et lorsque les camps etaient trop pleins, les deportes etaient amenes
dans le desert et tues.

Nier le genocide

Après 1916, l’Etat turc s’est construit avec les auteurs du genocide.

Reconnaître aujourd’hui l’existence d’une volonte de destruction
totale des Armeniens, revient pour l’Etat turc a incriminer ceux qui
sont a l’origine de son existence, autant dire que ses fondements
s’ecrouleraient.

Michel Marian, dans Le genocide armenien : de la memoire outragee a
la memoire partagee, qui vient de paraître chez Albin Michel, revient
sur la demande de reconnaissance de la catastrophe armenienne dans la
memoire universelle, et montre egalement le travail difficile qu’une
partie du peuple turc a engage depuis une decennie pour assumer un
passe coupable, alors que l’Etat turc au contraire, a jusqu’ici nier
les faits, les a meme falsifier en erigeant des monuments en hommage
aux soi-disant victimes turques des ennemis armeniens.

Y ALLER |

Memorial de la Shoah, Le genocide des Armeniens de l’Empire Ottoman,
du 3 avril au 27 septembre >>

Armenie 1915, Hotel de Ville de Paris, du 29 avril au 4 juillet >>

Le Musee-Institut du Genocide Armenien a Erevan >>

SUR LE WEB |

Imprescriptible, base documentaire sur le genocide armenien

BIBLIOGRAPHIE |

Comprendre le genocide des Armeniens : 1915 a nos jours, Hamit
Bozarslan, Vincent Duclert, Raymond H. Kevorkian, Tallandier, 2015

Le crime de silence : le genocide des Armeniens, sous la direction
de Gerard Chaliand, Archipel, 2015

La France face au genocide des Armeniens du milieu du XIXe siècle
a nos jours : une nation imperiale et le devoir d’humanite, Vincent
Duclert, 2015

Dans les ruines : les massacres d’Adana, avril 1909, Zabel Essayan,
traduit de l’armenien, preface et annote par Leon Ketcheyan, Libretto,
2015

Le fantôme armenien, Laure Marchand, Guillaume Perrier, dessin de
Thomas Azuelos, Futuropolis, 2015

Le reve brise des Armeniens : 1915, Gaïdz Minassian, Flammarion, 2015

Parce qu’ils sont Armeniens, Pinar Selek, traduit du turc par Ali
Terzioglu, Liana Levi, 2015 :

Refugiee politique en France, l’ecrivaine et sociologue turque livre
un temoignage impregne de souvenirs et de rencontres sur la vision
portee sur le genocide armenien dans la Turquie d’aujourd’hui. Elle
rappelle aussi l’education scolaire nationaliste et fallacieuse dont
le dessein est de supprimer toute trace de la presence armenienne et
de nourrir le deni d’une grande partie de la population.

L’echiquier armenien entre guerres et revolutions : 1878-1920,
Anahide Ter Minassian, Karthale, 2015

lundi 6 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

TANKIAN, DOLMAYAN HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

By Rupen Janbazian on April 2, 2015 in Headline, News

Join Akcam, Schiff, and Hamparian in Call for Justice

“Genocide is a disease that continues until today,” System of a Down’s
Serj Tankian told reporters on April 1. “As Armenian-Americans and
as band members who have had family members perish in this horrible
tragedy, it’s important for us not just to raise awareness, but to
help bring justice to this cause.”

Tankian and bandmate John Dolmayan joined Congressman Adam Schiff
(D-Calif.), Turkish historian Taner Akcam, and Executive Director of
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Aram Hamparian in
a telephone press call. The five discussed the upcoming centennial
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and efforts to push the Obama
Administration and the Turkish government to recognize the genocide.

System of a down will embark on an international tour called Wake up
the Souls, in commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

System of a down will embark on an international tour called Wake
up the Souls, in commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide. “For years, we had done a number of shows in Los Angeles
called Souls that brought attention to the Armenian Genocide,
and gathered funds for the cause. Being that this is the 100-year
commemoration of the genocide, we decided to make Soulsinto a tour,”
said Tankian.

Tankian and Dolmayan provided details about their April 23 show in
Yerevan, which will be the last stop for the tour. The show will be
the first time the band will be playing in Armenia. “It is a big
honor for us to be doing our first show there at the 100th year
commemoration of the genocide,” said Tankian.

Akcam: Wrong to pin national interests against morality

Akcam commented on the importance of the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the U.S., stressing that instead of backing a denialist
government in Turkey, the American government should instead support
the “expanding and maturing” Turkish civil society that is ready to
face its own history.

“To put national interests against morality is plain wrong,” said
Akcam, adding that attitudes in Turkey are slowly changing. “I
first started working on the Armenian Genocide in 1990. Since then,
Turkey has changed and is continuing to change, especially after the
assassination of Hrant Dink in Istanbul. People began commemorating the
Armenian Genocide in Turkey,” said Akcam. He also noted that he expects
hundreds of diasporan Armenians to join the ever-growing number of
Turkish citizens who bravely hold demonstrations in Turkey on April 24.

Hamparian: Real peace is built on justice

“Turkey not only denies the truth of the crime, but also obstructs
its justice,” said Hamparian, who provided details about ANCA’s March
to Justice campaign.

“We want to see real peace between Turks and Armenians,” he said,
adding that peace must be built on a foundation of truth and justice.

Hamparian explained that the March to Justice is an interactive global
online platform for the growth of sustained grassroots engagement in
support of justice for the Armenian Genocide and durable security for
the Armenian nation. Hamparian also explained how the ANCA has been
pushing President Barack Obama to honor his 2008 pledge to recognize
the Armenian Genocide, and working hard with congress to end Turkey’s
gag rule.

Schiff: We have moral obligation to speak the truth

“With only a handful of survivors left, we feel a moral obligation to
speak the truth about the genocide and ensure it is never forgotten,”
said Schiff, who also announced that on April 22nd, for an entire hour
on the House Floor, he will read names of Armenian Genocide victims.

“In a single hour, I will only be able to read the names of a mere
fraction of those who were killed,” said Schiff, adding that “to
read all of the names of the more than 1.5 million people murdered
at the time, would take many weeks and weeks.” Schiff said that he
hoped that the recitation of victims’ names will help call attention
to the magnitude of the crime. He also urged those who lost family
and loved ones during the genocide to send their names, all of which
will be entered into the Congressional Record.

Schiff also provided details about the Armenian Genocide Truth and
Justice Resolution, which was introduced on March 18 by Representatives
Schiff, Robert Dold (R-Ill.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), and Frank
Pallone (D-N.J.), along with 40 other members of the House of
Representatives. The bipartisan resolution calls upon the president
to work toward equitable, constructive, and durable Armenian-Turkish
relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgement
of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide.

LA MAIRIE DE PARIS VA ACCUEILLIR UNE EXPOSITION SUR LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

ARMENIE

Le 29 avril 2015, un exposition temporaire dediee au centenaire du
genocide armenien ouvrira a la Mairie de Paris. L’exposition “Armenie
1915 : Paris accueille la collection de l’Institut-Musee du Genocide
armenien d’Erevan” se deroulera du 29 Avril jusqu’au 4 Juillet.

Des photos presentant des fragments choquants du genocide commis
contre les Armeniens dans l’Empire ottoman au debut du 20ème siècle
seront exposees dans deux salles de l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris.

“C’est vraiment un evenement unique pour le musee. Conscient de
l’importance d’etre represente avec une telle exposition inegalee
a Paris, nous avons decide de presenter des pièces uniques dans la
capitale francaise, dont je suis sûr, qu’elles vont declencher un
grand interet. Je tiens a exprimer ma plus profonde gratitude a la
municipalite de Paris pour cette occasion, ainsi qu’a l’ambassade
de la Republique d’Armenie en France pour nous avoir aider sur les
questions d’organisation >>, a declare Hayk Demoyan, directeur de
l’Institut-Musee du Genocide armenien.

Près de 150 pièces qui composent la Collection de l’Institut-Musee
du Genocide armenien sont impliques dans cette exposition et chacun
d’eux contient des informations uniques sur differents fragments de la
tragedie humaine. Ces expositions, dont la majorite sont affichees pour
la première fois hors d’Armenie, impliquent des effets personnels des
victimes du genocide et des survivants, des documents, des journaux
intimes, des photos, des journaux, des souvenirs d’organisations
etrangères de secours pour la collecte de fonds et d’autres documents
d’origine.

Une collection de la survivante du genocide armenien Aurora
Mardiganian occupe une place unique dans les expositions presentees
par l’Institut-Musee du Genocide armenien, dont les originaux seront
affichees pour la première fois lors de l’exposition de Paris.

L’exposition comprend des affiches du film “Auction of Souls” où Aurora
Mardiganian a joue, ainsi que des photos, des effets personnels,
des articles de presse et d’autres articles uniques. Le film a ete
projete dans la salle Gaveau a Paris en 1919.

Des documents et des photos de la Bibliothèque Nubar de Paris sont
egalement inclus dans cette exposition

lundi 6 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

GERMAN MILITARY ARCHIVES IMPORTANT FOR ARMENIANS – RUBEN SAFRASTYAN

11:02 * 06.04.15

The military archives of Germany, which was Turkey’s military ally
during World War I, are of high importance for all that pertains to
the Armenian Genocide.

The archives are considered lost, but attempts to find them continue,
Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies,
told Tert.am.

Germany largely directed the Turkish army’s actions during World War I.

“For example, Germans were chief of the Joint Staff of the Turkish
armed forces throughout the war. About 17,000 German officers served
in the Ottoman army, and some of them witnessed the Armenian Genocide.

Evidence is available that some of them were involved in the Armenian
Genocide and took advantage of confiscation of Armenians’ property.

Therefore, Turkish military archives are of paramount importance for
us, but, regrettably, they are still unavailable,” Mr Safrastyan said.

Part of German military archives is considered lost, and many
scholars say that the files covering some periods are missing from
Germany archives. They are believed to have been either destroyed
or taken to the United States during World War II, when the allies
entered Germany. Attempts to find the archives in Germany or in the
USA continue, and if they are found, it will prove collaboration in
committing the Armenian Genocide.

In his earlier comment on Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s statement,
calling the on Armenian Diaspora to open archives, Mr Safrastyan
pointed out a most important role of the archives of Turkey’s Cadaster
and of parties, which are considered destroyed as well. Turkish
special services played a serious role in this process by “cleaning”
the archives.

Elaborating on German archives, Mr Safrastyan said that Germany’s
political archives are actually the Foreign Ministry’s archives,
which were first made public by Johannes Lepsius in 1919.

“But in that work Lepsius did his best to avoid showing Germany’s
involvement. And he made certain changes in documents,” Mr Safrastyan
said.

This is the reason why German scholar Wolfgang Gust undertook the
initiative to publish documents of the German foreign office and
received the Armenian president’s award for his great contribution
to international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

DES PELERINS CHRETIENS VENUS DU MONDE ENTIER CELEBRENT PEQUES A JERUSALEM

Palestiniens-Israël-christianisme-religion

Le patriarche latin de Jerusalem a appele les chretiens a tenir bon
face a la tragedie, au moment où des milliers de pèlerins celebraient
Pâques sur les lieux où Jesus a ete crucifie avant de ressusciter
selon la tradition.

“Nous sommes chaque jour au Moyen-Orient temoins d’evenements tragiques
qui nous rendent encore contemporains du Calvaire”, a affirme dans son
homelie de Pâques Mgr Fouad Twal, la plus haute autorite catholique
romaine en Terre sainte.

“Nous avons une grande responsabilite, celle de perseverer dans
l’espoir d’une vie de joie, en depit des nombreuses adversites”,
a-t-il poursuivi dans la basilique du Saint-Sepulcre. Cette eglise est
situee dans la Vieille ville de Jerusalem, dans le secteur palestinien
annexe par Israël qui abrite nombre de sites sacres juifs, chretiens
et musulmans.

Mgr Twal est revenu sur le sort des chretiens du Moyen-Orient, victimes
notamment des exactions de groupes jihadistes en Syrie et en Irak.

“Notre futur dans cette region et dans ce monde sont incertains, et
meme incomprehensibles, mais n’ayez pas peur”, a-t-il declare, appelant
les chretiens a etre “des signes d’espoir au-dela” des difficultes.

“Nombreux sont ceux qui viennent en Terre Sainte pour chercher le
Christ, tout en essayant de trouver ou retrouver leurs racines. Nos
racines sont ici, au sein de l’Eglise-mère, sur le Mont Golgotha et
dans ce tombeau vide”, a-t-il declare.

Le Saint-Sepulcre, qui abrite selon la tradition le lieu de
la crucifixion de Jesus (aussi nomme Calvaire ou Golgotha) et son
tombeau, est gere par six Eglises chretiennes : les Grecs orthodoxes,
les Catholiques de rite latin, les Armeniens apostoliques, les Coptes
egyptiens, les Syriaques orthodoxes et les Ethiopiens orthodoxes.

Chacune contrôle une partie soigneusement delimitee du bâtiment.

A l’exterieur des remparts de Jerusalem, devant la Tombe du jardin,
identifiee depuis le XIXe siècle comme un autre site possible de
resurrection de Jesus, environ 1.500 pèlerins chretiens du monde
entier se sont rassembles a l’aube sur fond de chants et de psaumes.

Parmi eux, Shagufta, quinquagenaire venue du Pakistan, qui se dit “très
emue” : “je n’avais jamais vu ca, des gens venus des quatre coins du
monde pour se retrouver la où Jesus a vecu”, lance-t-elle a l’AFP.

“C’est magnifique d’etre ici”, rencherit Miok, 41 ans, venue de Coree
du Sud. “Dans la Bible, Jerusalem est un foyer de prière pour le monde
entier, et aujourd’hui vous voyez des gens venus du monde entier pour
rendre grâce tous ensemble”.

Les orthodoxes, tout comme les catholiques palestiniens hors de
Jerusalem, celebreront Pâques et la resurrection de Jesus le week-end
prochain.

lundi 6 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com