Author: Paul Hambardsumian

Samuel Forrest says his life turned upside down last year after he was faced with the devastating choice of giving up his wife or his newborn son with Down syndrome.

Now, a year later, both Forrest and his wife, Ruzan, are speaking out about life with their son, Leo.

“He’s generally a very happy kid,” Forrest of Auckland, New Zealand, told Tuesday in an exclusive interview. “He’s got a sense of humor … in many ways he’s not really different than a lot of other children. He’s got a lot of challenges, but to bring out the best of him you have to work with him differently than you would do another child.”

Forrest, 37, told ABC News last February that the day Leo was born in Yerevan, Armenia, on Jan. 21, 2015, he was told, unexpectedly, that Leo had Down syndrome.

After the news sank in, Forrest held Leo for the very first time: “They took me in to see him and I looked at this guy and I said, ‘He’s beautiful — he’s perfect and I’m absolutely keeping him,’” he said last year.

Forrest was living in his Armenian wife’s home country where she presented him with an ultimatum: Put the child in an orphanage, or she would leave.

He chose Leo and decided he would return to his native New Zealand, where he said they’d receive support from loved ones. Ruzan Forrest filed for divorce.

Now, he told ABC News Tuesday, “It was pretty clear that the main things were cultural and huge pressure. About three-and-half weeks later, Ruzan got in touch with me through a friend and we ended up having a candid conversation through Skype. I finally agreed to meet her and she held little Leo for the first time.”

“Before this, she had no idea what Down syndrome really was, or that there was hope,” he added. “The doctors had told her Leo would never learn to walk, or talk or feed himself.”

Leo was born in Yerevan, Armenia, but Forrest moved to New Zealand where he said they’d receive support from loved ones.

Ruzan Forrest, 30, told ABC News Tuesday that she felt the “world was against her” after her husband had shared their story globally.

“I read all the comments and there were some positive comments, but now when I look back, [they’d say] ‘Why would you leave your child?’” she said. “I didn’t like the feeling, it was really bad. I thankfully forgot about it. I am very grateful my family gave me a chance because I don’t know what I would do without them. It made me really happy.”

Samuel Forrest, who at the time was working as a freelance business contractor, enlisted help on his GoFundMe page, titled “Bring Leo Home”

The Internet quickly rallied, raising over $500,000 (U.S.) for little Leo and his dad, after Forrest’s Feb. 5, 2015, interview with ABC News.

The fundraiser was at 4,000 Australian dollars and then “I woke up in the morning and it was rolling over like a speedometer,” Forrest said. “…[It] was a big shock.”

The story was soon recognized by media platforms all over the world and Forrest received 18,000-plus messages from strangers, he said.

“The bulk of it was positive, then there was this huge negative story about Down syndrome, that the child should’ve been killed at birth,” Forrest recalled. “There was a nasty underbelly, [but] I’d say most of it was ignorance.”

During the media frenzy, Ruzan took to her Facebook page in an effort to defend her actions.

“Sam has never suggested joining him and bringing up the child together in his country,” Ruzan wrote in 2015. “Neither did he tell me anything … The only thing he kept saying was that he didn’t want us to separate, whereas my question what we should do always remained unanswered.”

Shortly after the couple reconnected through Skype when Leo was about a month old, Samuel and Ruzan reconciled. Forrest says she canceled the divorce before it was finalized and moved to New Zealand to live with her husband and son.

“She’s adapted to Leo’s therapy programs and she’s turned out to be a wonderful mother,” he added.

Forrest said Leo, who is receiving therapy both physical and intellectual development, is now crawling, pushing buttons and is able to say “dad” and tries to say “mom.”

Ruzan said Tuesday, “At first I was very, very scared because I didn’t know what Down syndrome was like. Doctors said he would be like a vegetable. It was very scary. I think I was also very selfish and then there was depression…[it was] all of that together.

“I love him [Leo] very much,” she added. “One year ago, I couldn’t imagine life with him and now, I can’t really imagine my life without him. He’s changed me so much. I can say I’m a different person now.”

On January 20, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian  met with Filip Vujanović, President of Montenegro.

Welcoming Foreign Minister of Armenia, President of Montenegro attached significant importance to the first high-level official visit from Armenia to Podgorica, expressing confidence that the agreements reached during the visit would advance the bilateral cooperation in different areas. “I have had number of meetings with Serzh Sargsyan, President of friendly Armenia on the sidelines of international conferences and I hope this visit will result in the further activation of mutual visits and cooperation.”

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Edward Nalbandian conveyed to the President of Montenegro the greetings of the President of Armenia and the invitation to visit Yerevan.

During the meeting, the sides stressed that traditional friendship between the peoples of Armenia and Montenegro creates solid basis for the development of relations and the use of their entire potential.

Ways on organization of high-level visits, intensification of trade and economic ties, holding of business forums, development of decentralized cooperation were discussed. In this regard, the interlocutors attached importance to the revision of Cooperation Agreement signed back in 1978 and establishment of ties between administrative units of the two states.

Negotiations between Edward Nalbandian and Igor Lukšić, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro took place in Podgorica.

Tête-à-tête negotiations were followed by talks in the extended format.

Welcoming the Foreign Minister of Armenia, the Foreign Minister of Montenegro considered quite symbolic the fact that Foreign Minister of friendly Armenia is the first foreign minister to pay official visit to Podgorica in 2016, and expressed confidence that the visit would give new impetus to bilateral relations.

Thanking Igor Lukšić for the invitation to visit the country and the reception, Minister Nalbandian said, “Your visit to Armenia in 2013 established basis for continuous political dialogue between two friendly countries. I am glad to be in Podgorica now, paying first official visit from Armenia to Montenegro.”

During the talks, the interlocutors discussed a number of issues on bilateral agenda, attached importance to the organization of high-level visits, expansion of the legal framework, promotion of trade and economic ties, visa facilitation, activation of people-to-people contacts, development of cooperation in the areas of education, science, culture, tourism, high technologies.

In the context of decentralized cooperation, the two touched upon the necessity of revision of Cooperation Agreement between the two capitals.

Issues on holding regular consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of two states, developing cooperation within international organizations, promoting inter-parliamentary cooperation were discussed.

Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro presented priorities of his country’s foreign policy, ongoing processes in the Balkan Peninsula and his country’s stance on them.
Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Montenegro exchanged thoughts on pressing regional and international issues, particularly, implementation of agreements reached over Iran nuclear program, developments in the Middle East, the fight against terrorism.

Foreign Minister of Armenia presented to his colleague the efforts of Armenia and OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

The meeting of the Ministers was followed by a press conference.

Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro hosted an official dinner in the honour of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

On the same day Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with Ranko Krivokapić, President of the Parliament of Montenegro.

During the meeting views were exchanged on the development of cooperation between two states, promotion of collaboration between legislative bodies, importance was attached to the establishment of Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Groups.

The Minister touched upon the tightening of cooperation within parliamentary formats of international organizations was outlined.

Foreign Minister of Armenia presented to the President of the Parliament of Montenegro events dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide held across the globe and their message.

Minister Nalbandian presented to Ranko Krivokapić recent developments in the negotiation process on exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Photo: AP

 

Germany has been sending an increasing number of migrants back to Austria every day since the beginning of the month, Austrian police say, the BBC reports.

Many had no valid documents, whilst others did not want to apply for asylum in Germany but in other countries, notably in Scandinavia, police said.

New Year’s Eve attacks on women in Cologne, blamed on migrants, have put pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Most of those sent back to Austria are not Syrians, who usually get asylum.

Instead, they are migrants mostly from Afghanistan as well as Morocco and Algeria, Austrian police said.

Singer David Bowie has died at the age of 69 following a battle with cancer, the BBC reports.

His son director Duncan Jones confirmed the news and a statement was released on his official social media accounts.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” it said.

“While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

An Armenian Christian church in Richmond is set to host a Christmas dinner in just less than two weeks time for Syrian refugees it’s sponsoring,  reports.

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6.

And on the weekend following that date, St. Gregory Church in Richmond will welcome up to 30 Syrian-Armenian families it is sponsoring, to celebrate the occasion.

“We’re trying to process more applications, because the need is there,” says Eddie Papazian with the church. “We just have to get them out of that country, out of that situation. It’s a private sponsorship. It’s not part of the federal push for the government sponsored [refugees].”

He says the election result has sped up his church’s ability to bring over Syrians of Armenian heritage who have been stuck in Lebanon and other countries in the region in less than ideal environments.

“With a change of the federal government and the prime minister’s policy of expediting things, that’s helped things move along,” says Papazian. “Most of our applications are going to be processed within [the next month or two].”

Papazian points out these refugees will have financial support primarily from the congregation, not the government.

An indictment of the investigation into negligence of public officials in the killing of prominent Armenian-Turkish journalistHrant Dink in Istanbul has been approved by the court, the reports.

A total of 26 police officers, including both current and former police chiefs, will be tried as the indictment in the nine-year-long investigation into negligence of public employees in the shooting death of Dink was recognized by the Istanbul 14th Court for Serious Crimes on Dec. 15 following its Dec. 9 approval by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The 26 police officers were charged with one count each of “forming or heading an armed terrorist group,” “membership of an armed terrorist group,” “power abuse on duty,” “manipulating, destroying and/or concealing official documents,” “deliberate murder,” “fabricating official documents by public employees” and “deliberate murder on negligence” in the case filed into negligence of public officials at the time of the assassination. All of the 26 were on duty at the time of Dink’s murder.

The move comes a week after the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Dec. 9 approved the indictment prepared against the 26 police officers into “negligence on public duty” in the shooting death of Dink, the editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, who was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul’s Şişli district on Jan. 19, 2007.

The indictment prepared by prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü was presented to the Istanbul 14th Court for Serious Crimes after it had been rejected by deputy chief prosecutor Orhan Kapıcı twice.

Having been rejected twice before, lawyers representing the Dink family expressed the reaction against the indictment in the investigation returning to Kökçü. The return means that cases will likely not be opened against the suspects.

The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office returned the indictment to Kökçü in early November, arguing that “evidence of voluntary manslaughter concerning some of the suspects was not revealed.”

However, Hakan Bakırcıoğlu, a Dink family lawyer, said on Nov. 4 that not opening a case against former police chiefs Ahmet İlhan Güler, Celalettin Cerrah, Reşat Altay, Engin Dinç and other suspects, would exclude their integral responsibility in Dink’s murder.

Recalling the first two versions of the indictment, the latest one drafted in late October, Bakırcıoğlu said the two indictments charged former police chiefs Ali Fuat Yılmazer, Ramazan Akyürek, Tamer Bülent Demirel and Osman Gülbel each with “voluntary manslaughter,” Engin Dinç, Reşat Altay and Ahmet İlhan Güler each with “voluntary manslaughter due to negligence” and Sabri Uzun and Celalettin Cerrah each with “malpractice.”

“Despite resistance and barriers in front of the interrogation and investigation of public servants who took part in Dink’s murder, they were interrogated and investigated by the prosecutor [in charge of the case],” Bakırcıoğlu said.

All the names of the suspects implicated in the investigation were reported to have been on duty in police departments in Istanbul, and the province of at the time of Dink’s murder.

Dink was shot dead outside his office building in Istanbul’s Şişli district on Jan. 19, 2007, by 17-year-old Ogün Samast.

Relatives and followers of the case have claimed government officials, police, military personnel and members of Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MİT) played a role in Dink’s murder by neglecting their duty to protect the journalist.

Armenians voted in a referendum Sunday on proposed Constitutional changes that would give more powers to the Prime Minister and Parliament at the expense of the President.

The polls opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m.

1,005,333 people or 39.17 percent of the eligible voters participated in the referendum on as of 17:00. The final data on voter turnout will be released at 9 p.m.

Photo: AP

 

Turkey and European leaders have struck a deal to try to control the flow of migrants to Europe, the BBC reports.

Turkey will receive €3bn  and political concessions in return for clamping down on its borders and keeping refugees in the country.

Talks on Turkey’s accession to the European Union will also be revived.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was a “historic day” in Turkey’s relations with the EU.

Under the deal, Turkish citizens may be able to travel without visas in Europe’s Schengen zone, which allows free movement between many European countries, by October 2016.

However, the rules will be relaxed only if Turkey meets certain conditions.

More than 720,000 migrants have arrived in Europe on Greek shores so far this year, the International Organization for Migration says, with most arriving from Turkey.

Many are fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and lived in makeshift camps in Turkey before their journey.

The €3bn will go towards helping Syrian refugees in Turkey. Ankara has already spent $8bn on helping those in need, Mr Davutoglu said.

“We are paying the price of the failure of the UN system not to solve the problem of the Syrian crisis at the earlier stages of the crisis,” he said after the meeting, referring to his country and the EU.

Australia’s first party representing Muslims intends to contest senate seats at the next federal election, the BBC reports.

Launching the party in Sydney, founder Diaa Mohamed told Fairfax he wanted a louder voice for Muslims.

“There are a lot of parties out there to specifically oppose Islam and Muslims, yet Muslims don’t have any official representation,” he said.

Australia has a number of anti-Islam parties, including one backed by Dutch MP Geert Wilders.

Mr Mohamed, a 34-year-old businessman, also defended launching the party immediately after terror attacks in Paris this week.

“There are going to be a lot of questions raised in the coming days of the events recently, and this is the whole reason we created this party,” he told the ABC’s AM program.

“So it is as good a time as any to launch it.”

Mr Mohamed condemned the attacks in Paris and said Islam strictly forbade the killing of innocent people.

But he said his party would never support the invasion of a Muslim country in response to an incident such as the attacks in Paris.

“Let’s look at how well that’s worked in the past. We’ve invaded Afghanistan … we’ve invaded Iraq, and we’re in the mess we’re in right now,” he said.

“So would I support something that’s never worked in the past? No.”

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan last night, NKR Ministry of Defense reported.

The rival fired more than 1,000 shots from weapons of different caliber, including 60mm mortars, in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army confidently continue with their military duty and resort to retaliatory measures if necessary.