Author: nina hovnanian

ACO Releases Statement on Armenian Genocide

By Contributor on January 26, 2015

The Action Chrétienne en Orient (ACO) Fellowship released the
following statement calling on its member churches to devote one
Sunday in 2015 to the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

The Action Chrétienne en Orient was originally created to provide
assistance to the victims of the genocide that struck the Armenian
people at the beginning of the 20th century. Pastor Paul Berron, from
Alsace, was a direct witness to the terrible sufferings, and he began
his assistance in Aleppo in 1922. Since that moment, this work of
solidarity between Eastern and Western Christians has continued and
expanded.1

In 1995 in Kessab, Syria, those who continued and expanded Pastor
Berron’s work gathered in a Fellowship, developing a community in
which Lebanese, Syrian, Iranian, Swiss, Dutch, and French partners met
on an equal basis.

Twenty years after the creation of this Fellowship, our community
wishes to remember the Armenian Genocide and the Chaldean-Assyrian
Massacre, which began on April 24, 1915, just one century ago. The
Turkish government still denies the existence of this genocide.

We do not wish for vengeance or revenge and we welcome the work of
Turkish citizens, be they journalists, philosophers, historians, who
no longer want to obscure these dark pages of the history of their
country.

When a group, a government, a society, wants to eliminate another
human group only because of its religious, cultural, or ethnic
identity, it is genocide. And this is the worst crime against
humanity. For, when one part of humanity decides that another part is
not allowed to exist in this world, all of humanity is attacked…

When a group, a government, a society, wants to eliminate another
human group only because of its religious, cultural, or ethnic
identity, it is genocide. And this is the worst crime against
humanity. For, when one part of humanity decides that another part is
not allowed to exist in this world, all of humanity is attacked, and
its anthropological unity is denied. Our Christian faith gives us the
conviction that every human being is created by God; that Christ gave
his life and rose for him/her and so s/he is called to live the
fullness of life, to receive forgiveness and to be loved. It is not up
to one human being to decide whether life is worth living or not.

The 20th century has known other genocides. And until now, religious
minorities in the Middle East have to suffer because of awful violence
against them. ACO-Fellowship finds that this Centenary should not be a
mere commemoration of tragic events of the past but a call for
vigilance against any speech that aims at excluding from the human
community one of its components. Such speech must be fought and firmly
rejected.

ACO-Fellowship finds that this centenary should not be a mere
commemoration of tragic events of the past but a call for vigilance
against any speech that aims at excluding from the human community one
of its components. Such speech must be fought and firmly rejected.

With people of goodwill, from all origins, in the name of the victims’
inalienable dignity, the ACO Fellowship wants to be a witness to what
happened then, which broke so many human lives. It also wants to be a
witness to Christ, who calls the whole of humanity to a reconciled
life.

The ACO-Fellowship invites all its member churches, as well as other
churches and local communities in the Middle East and in the western
countries, to devote one Sunday to the Commemoration of this event in
2015, either around April 24 or on the traditional Day of the Golden
Rule (the 2nd Advent), or at any other moment according to each
community’s own wish and pace.

On behalf of the Executive Committee of the ACO Fellowship,
Rev. Thomas Wild, General Secretary
Evangelical Synod of Iran
Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East
Action Chrétienne en Orient, France
National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon
DM-échange et mission, Switzerland
GZB, Netherland

1 In 1995, ACO-France worked in the Middle East with the National
Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL), the Union of Armenian
Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE), and the Evangelical
Synod of Iran; in Europe, with the Dutch churches through the
missionary body called GZB, and with the French-speaking Swiss
churches through their missionary department, called DM-échange et
mission.

KılıçdaroÄ?lu on Perinçek’s side

Uygar Gültekin 01.26.2015 15:34NEWS

CHP leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu made a statement regarding DoÄ?u
Perinçek’s case at the European Court of Human Rights: `We do not find
it right that Mr. Perinçek is being tried for a thought he expressed.
We must stand united for freedom of thought. All the modern world
should.’

CHP leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu held a meeting at the Sait Halim Pasha
Mansion with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, Armenian
Deputy Patriarch Archbishop Aram AteÃ…?yan, Syriac Catholic Deputy
Patriarch Yusuf SaÄ?, Syriac Orthodox Church Mor Filiksinos
Metropolitan Bishop Yusuf Çetin and Chief Rabbi of the Jews of Turkey
Ä°zak Haleva.

CHP Vice Presidents Murat Ã-zçelik and Sezgin Tanrıkulu, CHP Istanbul
Provincial Chairman Murat Karayalçın, Istanbul Sarıyer Municipal Head
Å?ükrü Genç and CHP member Talin ErgüneÅ? also took part in the meeting
held with the spiritual leaders.

CHP leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu took questions from the press after the meeting.

`We listened to their problems’

`We spent the most of our meeting focusing on their problems. The
leaders explained that a part of the problems stemmed from laws, and
some also stemmed from practices. As the CHP, it is our main principle
not to intervene in anyone’s life style, and not to question anyone
because of his or her faith or ethnic identity. Our members of
parliament will voice some of the problems they reported in
Parliament. There are also problems that stem from the language that
is used, which can be seen within the context of hate speech.
Intellectuals and people who carry the love of humanity in their heart
should display sensitivity towards all these problems.’

Perinçek case

Regarding the upcoming hearing of the Perinçek case, KılıçdaroÄ?lu said
the following: `We do not find it right that Mr. Perinçek is being
tried for a thought he expressed. We must stand united for freedom of
thought. All the modern world should.’

`Any application for parliamentary candidacy will be considered’

To a question regarding whether the CHP would nominate minority
members in the upcoming parliamentary elections, KılıçdaroÄ?lu
responded: `We have not made a decision regarding the issue yet. It is
too early to say anything on the basis of certain persons, but if
there is any such application, we will of course take it into
consideration.’

To a further question regarding the election results in Greece,
KılıçdaroÄ?lu responded: `It is of course great that a political party
with which we share the same worldview has succeeded in Greece.’

USA
Californie : l’héritage culturel arménien à la parade des roses de Pasadena

Info Collectif VAN РР>. , et le char arm̩nien ̩tait certainement inspirant avec
son titre approprié >. Le catalogue
officiel de la parade a publié la description élogieuse suivante ainsi
qu’une photo du char :

, et le portail
d’une église représentant l’architecture arménienne. Le char a reçu le
prestigieux >.

Sur le char de 16 m de long, 8 m de haut et 5 m de large, se
trouvaient plusieurs célébrités, dont Samuel Der Yeghiayan (premier
immigrant arménien devenu juge fédéral américain), Gabriel Injejikian
(fondateur de la première école arménienne de jour aux USA), Flora
Dunaians (humanitaire et philanthrope célèbre de Pasadena), l’avocat
très connu Mark Geragos, l’animateur de télévision Jill Simonian,
l’ancien chef de la police de Pasadena Bernard Melekian et l’actrice
Angela Sarafyan. Étonnamment, il y a exactement 100 ans, un homme
d’affaires arménien, Movses Pashgian, était le Grand maréchal de la
parade des roses en 1915 !

Bien que le coût de la construction du char se soit élevé à 300.000
dollars, cela en valait la peine, car la culture arménienne, pour la
première fois dans l’histoire, a été présentée à plus d’un milliard de
personnes dans le monde, au prix imbattable de moins d’un penny par
personne ! Quelques jours avant la parade, il manquait toujours
110.000 dollars au budget prévu par les organisateurs du char
arménien. Heureusement, ils ont reçu quelques autres dons ces derniers
jours, ce qui laisse un solde de 90.000 dollars. Les personnes
désireuses d’aider à combler ce déficit peuvent faire une contribution
déductible des impôts en se rendant sur le site

En raison de la grande couverture médiatique sur les chaînes
américaines et internationales, le char arménien a fait l’objet de
nombreux commentaires positifs dans les médias sociaux et les sites
Internet de part le monde. Certaines chaînes de télévision ont même
rapporté que 2015 coïncidait avec le centenaire du génocide arménien.

Étant donné que les Arméniens évoquent régulièrement la question du
génocide dans les cercles > [Nota CVAN : étrangers], la plupart
des non-Arméniens savent que les Arméniens sont une nation victime,
mais ils ignorent leur riche héritage culturel et leur civilisation
ancienne. Le monde devrait savoir qu’en dépit des sinistres efforts
des Turcs pour éliminer le peuple arménien, il a réussi non seulement
à survivre, mais aussi à prospérer !

Ceci est particulièrement important pour les jeunes Arméniens qui ont
besoin de grandir en se basant sur des modèles positifs et doivent
être fiers de leur passé, plutôt que de se sentir comme des victimes
opprimées en quête de pitié. Le char de la parade des roses a réalisé
un excellent travail en célébrant la culture arménienne et en
promouvant son image dans le monde.

Stimulés par la fantastique réaction populaire à leur participation au
Tournoi de la parade des roses cette année, les organisateurs ont
promis qu’il y aurait désormais un char arménien dans la parade de
Pasadena tous les ans !

(c)Traduction de l’anglais C.Gardon pour le Collectif VAN – 8 janvier
2015 –

mardi 27 janvier 2015,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Gyumri Investigation: Armenian police official says Permyakov may have
had accomplices

NEWS | 27.01.15 | 09:22

RELATED NEWS

Russian soldier charged with Gyumri murders interrogated by Armenian
investigators

14 injured in Gyumri melee as protesters demand Russian murder
suspect’s handover

Valery Permyakov, a Russian soldier charged with brutally murdering a
seven-member family in Armenia’s city of Gyumri, may have had
accomplices helping him, according to Deputy Chief of the Armenian
Police Hunan Poghosyan.

“All possible theories that emerged during the preliminary
investigation are being checked,” Poghosyan said, as quoted by A1
Plus.

A joint group of Armenian and Russian investigators is conducting the
probe. Permyakov, 19, is currently under arrest at the Russian
military base in Gyumri. He is said to have admitted to the murder
charges brought against him by the Armenian side. The Russian side has
also charged Permyakov with desertion.

At a press conference, the deputy chief of the Armenian police said
that he was convinced that the Russians are sincerely interested in
helping the Armenian side disclose the crime.

Many in Armenia believe that Permyakov should be held in Armenian
custody and that his trial should be held by Armenian laws. Russia,
however, appears to insist that its citizen is tried by Russian laws.

On January 15, the day when six members of the murdered family were
laid to rest in Gyumri, thousands of angry residents of the
northwestern city took to the streets to demand Permyakov’s handover
to Armenian authorities. Armenia’s prosecutor-general then promised to
write a letter to his Russian counterpart with that request.

Panorama, Italia
27 gen 2015

Pro Armenia. Gli ebrei raccontano il genocidio fantasma

Nel giorno della Memoria un toccante libro di Giuntina fa luce sul
primo genocidio del Novecento, quello degli armeni per mano dei
Giovani turchi

Anna Mazzone

Nel 1939, poco prima dell’invasione della Polonia, Adolf Hitler tenne
un discorso al comando delle SS, in cui ordinò come procedere per la
“soluzione finale” e lo sterminio degli ebrei attraverso un universo
concentrazionario fatto di sangue e orrore. Quando qualcuno dalla
platea gli fece notare che sterminare milioni di ebrei non sarebbe
passato inosservato, Hitler rispose: “Chi si ricorda oggi dello
sterminio degli armeni?”. Anche in questo Hitler è stato sconfitto.
Non si può cancellare un popolo né la sua memoria. E a mantenere vivo
il ricordo del genocidio armeno per primi sono stati proprio quattro
ebrei.

“Armeni, fratelli miei, è un ebreo che vi sta parlando…”. Nel giorno
della Memoria che ricorda l’Olocausto degli ebrei nella Germania
nazista della Seconda guerra mondiale e a settanta anni dalla
liberazione del campo di concentramento di Auschwitz, la casa editrice
La Giuntina dà alle stampe Pro Armenia. Voci ebraiche sul genocidio
armeno, un libro toccante e coraggioso a cura di Fulvio Cortese e
Francesco Berti, che racconta dello sterminio degli armeni per mano
dei Giovani turchi nel 1915.

Toccante perché le voci narranti di Metz Yeghern, il Grande male come
lo chiamano gli armeni, sono quelle di quattro ebrei. Coraggioso
perché, a distanza di cento anni dal massacro degli armeni, il loro
genocidio è ancora negato dai carnefici. Nessuna traccia sui libri di
scuola di tanti Paesi europei, nessuna traccia nei libri di scuola
della Turchia del presidente Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

E, a quanto sembra, nessuno traccia nemmeno nelle commemorazioni che
si terranno il 24 aprile a Berlino, visto che il ministro degli Esteri
tedesco, Frank Walter Steinmeir, ha recentemente dichiarato che “Il
governo (tedesco) è informato delle iniziative programmate dalle
comunità armene per il centenario degli eventi del 1915. Ma al momento
non è previsto il patrocinio queste iniziative”. Rispondendo nel
Bundestag a una serie di domande dei deputati di Die Linke, il capo
della Diplomazia tedesca ha detto che non c’è “certezza storica” del
genocidio armeno e che, per questo, la questione va risolta tra
Turchia e Armenia. .

Pro Armenia. Voci ebraiche sul genocidio armeno è un volume che
gronda sangue e memoria. La prefazione di Antonia Arslan squarcia il
velo di racconti serrati e tragici. Le parole di Lewis Einstein, André
Mandelstam, Aaron Aaronsohn e Rapahel Lemkin rievocano un genocidio
fantasma, che aleggia sull’Europa e la cui testimonianza impone una
doverosa riflessione. Il racconto in tempo reale di questi quattro
ebrei è ancora più significativo perché Einstein, Mandelstam,
Aaronsohn e Lemnkin furono tra le poche voci a cercare di portare
all’attenzione del mondo quello che nel 1915 stava succedendo in
Turchia. All’epoca i tedeschi erano a conoscenza e non fecero nulla
per fermare l’eccidio, rendendosi storicamente complici dei Giovani
turchi e del massacro di più di 1 milione e mezzo di armeni.

Sfilano nelle pagine di Pro Armenia le immagini di madri, padri,
bambini, anziani, ragazzi e ragazze, un intero popolo sterminato,
cacciato dalle proprie case, umiliato, offeso, torturato. I vagoni
merce che trasportavano gli armeni a morire nel deserto non erano
marchiati dalla svastica del Terzo Reich, ma dalla Mezzaluna
dell’impero ottomano, tuttora nella bandiera della Repubblica turca.
Immagini di morte e disperazione in bianco e nero, che prendono corpo
e vita, che respirano plasticamente attraverso il racconto di chi
c’era e ha provato a salvarli.

Quattro uomini giusti, quattro ebrei. Furono tra i pochi a squarciare
il velo dell’indifferenza su un genocidio che era il tragico antipasto
della mattanza ebraica cui il mondo avrebbe assistito solo un pugno di
anni dopo. Le quattro voci dei “fratelli” ebrei degli armeni provarono
a lanciare l’allarme, tentatono di fermare l’eccidio in una disperata
corsa contro il tempo. Ma la comunità internazionale colpevolmente
volse lo sguardo altrove.

Oggi, a cento anni dal genocidio armeno, non è più possibile chiudere
gli occhi e – anzi – è un dovere tenerli bene aperti. Perché, se –
come dice Elie Wiesel – l’ultimo atto di un genocidio è la sua
negazione, la demonizzazione dell’altro, l’antisemitismo e
l’armenofobia galoppante, alimentata negli ultimi anni sia
dall’Azerbaijan che dalla Turchia, è il segnale che un nuovo genocidio
potrebbe ancora compiersi, perché laddove non esiste “memoria”, il
Grande male può nuovamente affilare i suoi artigli.

Ebrei ed armeni, uniti nella memoria e nella condivisione di un
passato di morte e di una ferita lacerante che si riapre ogni volta
che la comunità ebraica e quella armena entrano nel mirino di
antisemiti e armenofobi. Non è casuale che nel giorno della memoria
della Shoah il presidente armeno Serzh Sargsyan abbia indirizzato alla
comunità ebraica mondiale un discorso, dicendo che “E’ verità
incontestabile che relegare le vittime di genocidi all’oblio e al
negazionismo, soprattutto se di Stato, rappresenti un altro passo
dello stesso crimine. E si tratta di un doppio crimine perché viene
commesso non solo contro delle vittime innocenti ma anche contro il
nostro presente ed il nostro futuro”.

Ma c’è una speranza. In un’Europa segnata da un antisemitismo
crescente, la Fondazione per la Memoria della Shoah e la Fondazione
per l’Innovazione politica, hanno diffuso i risultati di una ricerca
sulla “Memoria nel Ventesimo secolo”. Un’inchiesta condotta su 31.172
giovani tra i 16 e i 29 anni in 24 Paesi del mondo. Il 77% dei giovani
intervistati crede che nel 1915 in Turchia andò in scena il genocidio
degli armeni. E in Italia i numeri sono addirittura più alti.
Nonostante il silenzio dei libri di Storia, l’87% dei ragazzi italiani
interpellati non ha dubbi nel dire che quello degli armeni fu un
genocidio.

Alla faccia di Hitler e delle sue convinzioni assassine, la Storia ha
già parlato. E questo vale per gli ebrei, per gli armeni e per i
ruandesi. I tre popoli che nel Ventesimo secolo hanno attraversato
l’inferno del genocidio e ne custodiscono la memoria, tramandandola
affinché non succeda mai più.

Pro Armenia. Voci ebraiche sul genocidio armeno
a cura di Fulvio Cortese e Francesco Berti
Prefazione di Antonia Arslan
Edizioni La Giuntina
pag. 140, euro 12

International Business Times UK
Jan 27 2015

Holocaust Memorial Day 2015: We must stop denying the Armenian
Genocide by Ottoman Turkey a century ago

By Raffi Sarkissian
January 27, 2015 09:19 GMT

According to Prime Minster David Cameron, a national service of
commemoration at the Cenotaph in London on Anzac Day, 25 April, 2015,
will be a high-profile UK-Led event arranged in co-operation with the
governments of Australia and New Zealand, who have held a ceremony
there on that date for the last 98 years.

Unsurprisingly, the prime minister’s announcement also includes a
UK-led Commonwealth and Ireland ceremony at the Commonwealth War
Graves Commission Helles Memorial in Turkey on 24 April, 2015, the eve
of the Gallipoli landings. The Prince of Wales will be leading the UK
delegation.

But the year 2015 also marks the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide,
the first genocide of the 20th century, organised and perpetrated
throughout different regions of the Ottoman Empire by the government
of the Young Turks in 1915 during the course of World War I.

Armenian people across the world have been commemorating the Armenian
Genocide on 24 April every year.

The British Armenian Community has petitioned Downing Street every
year calling for official recognition of the veracity of the Armenian
Genocide by the government in the UK, urging our successive prime
ministers to stop the denial of the first genocide of 20th Century and
complying with Turkey’s policy of unjust denial.

In a blatant act of denial, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Edogan
invited Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to ceremonies marking the
Centenary of the Battle of Gallipoli in Çanakkale on 24 April 2015,
which coincides with the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

This is the first time that the Battle of Gallipoli will be
commemorated on 24 April.

President Sargsyan rebuffed Erdogan’s invitation by reminding Erdogan
of the invitation handed to him in person several months ago for the
events to be held in Yerevan, Armenia on 24 April, 2015 to mark the
Centenary of the mass killing of Armenians across Ottoman Empire, to
which the Turkish president has not ever responded.

Genocide scholars agree that 70% of the Armenian population, roughly
1.5 million, were killed mercilessly or fell victim to starvation and
illness during the forced deportations. Massacres and deportations
continued throughout 1916 and occurred with lesser intensity until
1923.

In an open letter addressed to Turkey’s Prime Minster in 2005, the
International Association of Genocide Scholars invited Turkey to face
its history and officially recognise the Armenian Genocide. Since 1965
over 20 countries and international bodies, including Germany, Canada,
France and Italy have recognised the veracity of the Armenian
Genocide.

Turkey and its allies remain adamant by denying the historical
validity of the Armenian Genocide. The UK, USA and Israel’s
governments fail to realise that by supporting Turkey’s policy of
denial, they promote injustice.

In the case of the British government, they deny their own history by
forgetting the fact that in the course of World War One the British
government revealed the truth about the genocidal fate of the
Armenians.

So why, 100 years on, does today’s British government refuse to
acknowledge that truth?

The first phase of the massacres and forced deportations of Armenians
began with the arrest, confinement and murder of 1,000 Armenian
community leaders, doctors, lawyers, merchants, pharmacists and
teachers in Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, capital of Ottoman
Turkey, on 24 April 1915.

This date is therefore significant and commemorative for Armenians
across the globe.

Given the recent changes in Turkey and following the assassination of
the Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the Armenian Genocide is
commemorated in Turkey every year. Turkish intellectuals openly
address the subject, inviting their government to change their policy
of denial.

The Turkish government should realise that after 100 years of denial,
it is time to acknowledge their past and accept that millions of
Armenians and other Christians fell victim to their ‘relocation’
policy of Christian minorities.

By acknowledging the truth, they will pave the way for Turkey’s
democratisation and progress bringing the country closer to European
values.

Raffi Sarkissian is a co-chair of the Armenian Genocide Centenary
Commemoration Committee

Armenian church of Mosul torched by Islamic State

16:34, 27.01.2015

ТÑ…е Islamic State insurgents have burnt down one of the oldest
Armenian churches in Mosul, northern Iraq,BasNews agency reported.

An Armenian church was torched in the Wahda neighborhood of the city.

`The church belongs to the Armenian Christians and was regularly used
for worship,’ said Saed Mamuzini, a KDP official from the city.

According to the agency, when insurgents took control of Mosul in June
2014, Armenians and Christians fled to the provinces of the Kurdistan
Region.

Report on tortures in Armenia

20:12 | January 27,2015 | Politics

Anti-torture Committee reveals police ill-treatment in Armenia, little
progress on situation of life-imprisoned

Strasbourg, 27 January 2015 – The Council of Europe’s Committee for
the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (CPT) published today its reports on the last two ad hoc
visits to Armenia, carried out in April 2013 and May 2014, together
with the responses of the Armenian authorities.

The April 2013 visit followed the emergence of reports outlining
persisting problems in the police treatment of persons deprived of
their liberty. The CPT’s delegation received many allegations from
detained persons that they had been subjected to physical or
psychological ill-treatment and excessive use of force by police
officers at the time of apprehension and during the subsequent
questioning; and received threats of repercussions for family members.
Sometimes the ill-treatment alleged was of such a severity that it
could be considered to amount to torture (e.g. extensive beatings;
infliction of electric shocks; simulated asphyxiation with a gas mask;
blows to the soles of the feet). The medical examination and the
consultation of medical files revealed injuries consistent with the
allegations made.

While acknowledging the Armenian authorities’ efforts to improve the
system of handling police ill-treatment cases and welcoming the
creation of the independent Special Investigation Service, the CPT
revealed flaws in the current system of documenting and investigating
such complaints. The CPT made specific recommendations on improving
the procedures for reporting injuries, and processing potential cases
of by prosecutors.

In their response, the Armenian authorities indicate that new
guidelines have been issued and that the training of police officers
has been enhanced to prevent instances of police ill-treatment.

The CPT also visited the Kentron Prison in Yerevan, and was seriously
concerned that hardly any of the recommendations made after previous
visits have been implemented as regards the situation of two
life-sentenced prisoners kept there. They have been continuously held
in solitary confinement for 13 years, without being offered any
out-of-cell activity other than outdoor exercise for one hour per day.
The conditions under which the two prisoners were being held could be
considered as amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment; given that
neither of them was receiving adequate psychiatric treatment, even
though they both suffered from severe mental disorders.

The CPT visited this prison again in May 2014, and registered certain
improvements in psychiatric care of the two prisoners. This, as well
as the intention of the Armenian authorities to amend the Penitentiary
Code to abolish the segregating life-sentenced prisoners from other
prisoners, was welcomed by the Committee. However, the situation with
regard to the detention regime of the two prisoners, restrictions on
contact with the outside world and the systematic use of handcuffs
remained largely unchanged at the time of the report.

The visit also covered Nubarashen prison in Yerevan. In both
establishments, the delegation received hardly any allegation of
physical ill-treatment from prisoners.

In their response, the Armenian authorities provide further
information on the draft legislation intended to significantly improve
the situation of life-sentenced prisoners and to facilitate the
granting of conditional release for them. In addition, the authorities
indicate that additional steps have been taken to provide the two
above-mentioned prisoners with adequate health care and more
out-of-cell activities.

IRNA – Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Jan 26 2015

FM says Iran keen on good relations with neighbours

Yerevan, 26 January: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
said on Monday [26 January] that the Islamic Republic of Iran is keen
on good neighbourly relations with the regional countries.

“We enjoy good relations with all our neighbours, especially with
Armenia. We deem necessary to develop ties as good-neighbourly
relations with neighbours has been a top priority ever since coming to
power of the government of President Rouhani”, Zarif told the
reporters at Yerevan Airport.

“Armenia is one of our neighbours, situated in a very sensitive
geographical position,” he added.

Zarif said that Iran has very broad relations with its neighbours,
including Armenia and uses the ties at the service of strengthening
the pillars of peace and security in the region, as well as to help
resolve the crisis based on international law.

“We found it necessary at this point of the government’s tenure that I
pay a visit to Armenia, although in the course of the past several
months the Armenian senior officials visited Iran,” he added.

Zarif was citing Armenian President’s presence in the swearing-in
ceremony of President Rouhani and the visit of the Armenian Prime
Minister of Tehran to attend the two countries’ Joint Economic
Commission.

Zarif is scheduled to meet with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan,
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan as
well as Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Azerbaijan shows open disrespect for int’l mediators, says Karabakh FM

KARABAKH | 27.01.15 | 09:46

It was impossible to make any real progress in the Karabakh peace
talks last year because of the destructive policy of Azerbaijan,
Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Karen Mirzoyan said on Monday.

As reported by News.am, at a press conference Mirzoyan said that the
Azerbaijani side has chosen unprecedented aggravation. He stressed
that such steps reveal Azerbaijan’s “open disrespect for the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairing states and the international community as a
whole.”

The top Karabakh diplomat said that a peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict and the international recognition of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic are priorities for the country in 2015.

Meanwhile, the OSCE Minsk Group’s American Co-Chair James Warlick said
on Monday that the international mediators continue to work with the
parties for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
at a high level.

“Soon we will hold meetings with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan
and Armenia. In addition, we are working on this year’s meeting of the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said, according to media in
Azerbaijan.