Author: Vardanian Garo

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS TO MEET ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTERS IN EUROPE IN COMING DAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 6, 2010 – 15:00 AMT 10:00 GMT

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Yuri Merzlyakov of
Russia, Bernard Fassier of France, and Robert Bradtke of the United
States, released the following statement:

"The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov, the
Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier, France; Ambassador
Robert Bradtke, United States; incoming Russian Co-Chair Ambassador
Igor Popov) briefed the OSCE Minsk Group in Vienna May 5 on the
current status of negotiations, and thanked them for their continued
support for the Co-Chairs’ efforts. They underscored the commitment
of the parties to make progress on the elaboration of a settlement
based on the Madrid Principles as well as the elements contained in
the joint statement issued by Presidents of the Co-Chair countries
at the L’Aquila Summit of the Eight July 10, 2009.

In his last trip to Vienna as the Russian Co-Chair, Ambassador
Merzlyakov formally introduced Ambassador Popov to the Minsk Group as
the new Russian Co-Chair. The Co-Chairs expect to meet the Azerbaijani
and Armenian foreign ministers in Europe in the coming days to discuss
how to move negotiations forward."

FORCED AUCTION OF THE PROPERTY OF MILANO BOUTIQUE SUSPENDED

ArmInfo
2010-05-06 14:18:00

ArmInfo.The forced auction of the property of Milano boutique was
suspended two days ago, the head of the Judicial Acts Compulsory
Enforcement Service (JACES) of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia
Mihran Poghossyan said during a press-conference today.

In Jan 2007 the government of Armenia adopted a decision to implement
a number of construction projects in Yerevan for public needs. The
construction sites embrace also the area of Milano boutique in
Abovyan Street 4. Avo F.M.KH. LLC has acquired the right to launch
construction in the given territory. The compensation to Olypm
production cooperative, the owner of Milano, was estimated at some
207 million drams. Olypm declined the money. The court ruled that it
should vacate the premises. In Mar the JACES forced the owner out of
the shop with its property put up for forced auction.

LEVA KIRAKOSYAN TO DEFEND HIS TITLE AGAINST ERMANNO FEGATILLI

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 6, 2010 – 15:30 AMT 10:30 GMT

EBU jr lightweight champion, Armenian boxer Leva Kirakosyan (Russia)
will defend his title against Belgian Ermanno Fegatilli in Toulon on
May 29.

Last time, Kirakosyan defeated Scott Lawton (England) through a
technical knockout in the third round on February 19.

Leva Kirakosyan has started boxing in a professional ring since 1999.

Currently, he won 32 (22 knockouts) out of total 37 fights.

WAR DIARIES AND CIGAR LIGHT UP WINSTON CHURCHILL AUCTIONBEN HOYLE, ARTS CORRESPONDENT

Times Online
May 7, 2010

Instead, his dedication in a copy of Arms and the Covenant in October
1938 is short, effusive and loaded with irony apparent only with
hindsight: "To Guy Burgess, from Winston S Churchill, to confirm his
admirable sentiments."

The inscription offers a tantalising glimpse of the encounter
between one of Britain’s most notorious KGB spies and one of its
greatest heroes. It is part of an extraordinary cache of Churchilliana
amassed over 30 years by Steve Forbes, the US publishing magnate and
politician, which is to be broken up and sold by Christie’s in three
separate sales in London and New York over the next year.

Mr Forbes said that Churchill had been his hero "from the beginning
of my consciousness". Christie’s described it as "the most important
and comprehensive private collection of letters and books related to
Winston Churchill ever assembled".

The three sales are expected to attract between £3 million and
£5 million.

The first-edition volume of speeches dedicated to Burgess after an
afternoon interview has an estimate of between £12,000 and £18,000
at the first sale in London next month.

It will be one of around 150 lots, ranging from a baby photo from 1875
to an unsmoked Cuban cigar given to a guest at the Hotel Bristol in
Monte Carlo in 1963.

Thomas Venning, director of books and manuscripts at Christie’s London,
said: "Sometimes you work on a collection like this and by the time
you are finished with the catalogue you are sick of the sight of it,"
he said. "With this it got more and more fun. You get to see Churchill
as the extraordinary, eccentric, wildly enthusiastic, brilliant person
he was."

Mr Venning’s favourites are a letter from India in 1896 — where
Churchill responds to Turkish massacres of Armenians by suggesting
that the Russians take over Constantinople — and photographs from
the war showing him wearing "zip-up shoes".

"It is a reminder he was a very, very unusual person. British
20th-century politicians on the whole didn’t wear bow ties, they
didn’t smoke Cuban cigars all the time, they didn’t take a daily
siesta and they did not wear zip-up clothes," he said.

Other lots include a minute where Churchill refers to North Palestine
as "this worthless country", and a letter to a cousin in 1902 that
could imply a visit to a brothel. "I cannot remember the address of
Sunny’s friend, & I shall feel inclined to pay her a visit, so will
you write without fail a discreet letter . . . with the necessary
information."

The biggest draw is likely to be Churchill’s engagement diary for the
Second World War, priced at between £80,000 and £120,000. Thirty
engagement cards written by private secretaries give details of his
appointments from September 1939 to June 1945.

The catalogue said that they were "probably the most important
surviving source for Churchill’s daily activities during World War II".

The diary shows how Churchill established Tuesday lunch meetings
with the king and details his occasional moments of relaxation:
"Football match — Wembley Stadium 3.0pm" on October 4, 1941. A trip
to see Arsenic and Old Lace at the theatre and weekends at Chequers
with the heads of governments in exile.

The card for January 1943 includes the Casablanca conference with
President Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle. The US President and his
wartime emissary Harry Hopkins are referred to under the codenames
"Don Q[uixote]" and "S[ancho] P[anza]".

After late-night meetings and long lunches Churchill and Don Quixote
leave for Marrakesh, stopping for a "picnic on way".

Armenian National Committee of Texas
11301 Richmond Avenue # K108
Houston, Texas 77082

PRESS RELEASE
April 29, 2010
Contact: Vrouir Frankian

OHANIAN DELIVERS KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT HOUSTON GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION

HOUSTON, TX—On Sunday, April 25th, the Saint Kevork Armenian Church of
Houston hosted a community commemoration of the 95th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. The event, which drew over 100 members of the parish
community, took place at Tcholakian Hall commenced following a brief requiem
service for the victims of the genocide. Dr. Arbi Ohanian, from the Western
Region office of the Armenian National Committee delivered the keynote
address.

Ohanian, a Houston native, was warmly received by the audience and spoke
about the current Armenian Genocide resolutions in the US Congress. He also
emphasized the importance of civic engagement and the significance of
Armenian Americans entering the political arena. He noted that he first
became passionate about community involvement through the Armenian Youth
Federation’s "Dro" Chapter in Houston, which also opened the day’s event
with the flag presentation.

The audience, young and old, were able to engage Ohanian in a public
discussion of the issue and the current challenges faced by anti-genocide
activists both in Houston and beyond. Many of those in attendance also
participated in the previous day’s youth workshop about the Armenian
Genocide presented by Artyom Tonoyan, a Ph.D. candidate at Baylor
University’s Department of Religion, Politics, and Society.

"This was a great homecoming for me," noted Ohanian. "I think a lot of
people were motivated by the weekend’s commemoration activities to come
together and strengthen the collective voice of this community through the
ANC Texas."

The Armenian National Committee of Texas advances the social, economic,
cultural, and political rights of the area’s Armenian American community and
promotes increased Armenian American civic participation at the grassroots
and public policy levels.

KICKBOXING TOURNAMENT LAUNCHED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 5, 2010 – 14:21

A kickboxing tournament dated to the 65th anniversary of the victory in
Great Patriotic War was launched in Yerevan on May 5, bringing together
over 400 sportsmen from all regions of Armenia. The event was organized
by the Armenian Kickboxing Federation and the Ministry of Defense.

Welcoming the participants and guests, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan
said: "The tournament is dated to May 9 Victory Day and we thank our
veterans for their courage."

President of the Armenian Kickboxing Federation Garnik Hayrapetyan
told a PanARMENIAN.Net that the aim of the tournament is to promote
patriotism. "We are hopeful that this tournament will become
traditional," he said.

Upon completion of the tournament, Armenia’s national team will be
formed for participation in World Championships in June and European
Championships in September.

DENIAL, ANGER AND A BUNCH OF MOUNTAINS IN AZERBAIJAN – ACCEPTANCE, THAT’S SEVERAL STEPS LATER
Nicholas Clayton

/04/denial-anger-and-a-bunch-of-mountains-in-azerb aijan-acceptance-thats-several-steps-later/
Wed, May 5, 2010

Nicholas Clayton lives in Tbilisi, Georgia and works as a professor
of journalism and a freelance reporter covering the Caucasus. Having
studied NATO-Russian relations at Hertzen University in St. Petersburg,
Russia in 2007, Clayton began blogging about the geo-politics …

Last September, Slate columnist Christopher Hitchens wrote that
"engaging with Iran is like having sex with someone who hates you." If
that’s true, then the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process is
something like an orgy of mutually despising interlocutors, each only
agreeing to do it in the one position the other one hates.

With that visual in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising that after a year
of back-and-forths and ups and downs the process came to a screeching
halt last month as Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced he was
"suspending" discussion of the reconciliation protocols – a move that
was enthusiastically welcomed by his constituents.

But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean it’s back to the silent game.

Although the highly touted reconciliation protocols are considered
to be an important part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s foreign
policy ambitions in Europe, the move to freeze the discussions was
telegraphed by insiders well in advance and has even been endorsed
publicly by administration officials.

Why? Because few seem to have expected it to get this far the first
place.

The Turkish-Armenian relationship is fraught with unresolved
baggage mostly surrounding denial, anger and a bunch of mountains
in Azerbaijan.

Sargsyan’s announcement came 48 hours before the day that Armenians
regard as the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide – a nearly
decade long pogrom of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire that
killed an estimated 1.5 million people. Twenty countries and 44
U.S. states recognize the events that occurred from 1915-1923 as
genocide, and Armenians have been upset by their government’s efforts
to improve relations with Turkey without forcing Ankara to recognize
past crimes.

The last time Turkey and Armenia recognized one another diplomatically
was a brief period after the fall of the Soviet Union until 1993, when
their already rocky relationship hit a new low over Armenia’s support
for ethnic Armenian separatists in the Nagorno Karabakh (Russian for
Mountainous or Highland Karabakh) region in neighboring Azerbaijan,
a Turkish ally. Armenia continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh as well
as other Azeri territory and the two nations remain in a state of war.

In the end, despite the unprecedented nature of the breakthrough that
led to these talks, first announced in April 2009, neither side has
been a particularly considerate to each other’s needs, and it’s not
surprising both are saying they now need a break from each other.

The preexisting gripes quickly reclaimed the focus of the discussion
not long after it started; denial, anger and a bunch of mountains
in Azerbaijan.

In the initial aftermath of this most recent hiccup in the dialogue,
it’s not difficult to feel like both sides took one step forward and
two steps backward. In March, after Sweden and the U.S. House Foreign
Relations Committee recognized the Armenian Genocide, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Erdogan told the BBC that he was considering deporting
100,000 Armenians he claimed were living in Turkey illegally.

However, many observers see genuine progress amid the habitually
fiery rhetoric. Davit Alaverdyan, the chief editor of Media Max News
Agency in Armenia said that while he feels it is difficult to see
where the process will lead from here, he thinks both sides have made
achievements through the past year’s bickering – first and foremost
that the two sides were talking at all.

But there’s more to it than that.

When Obama gave a speech on the anniversary of the genocide last April
using the phrase "Medz Yeghern" – the Armenian word for the genocide,
meaning "Great Massacres" – he was falling short of using the G-word
like he promised during his campaign for president, but nonetheless
pleased many on both sides.

Suat Kiniklioglu, a member of the Turkish parliament and spokesman
of the Turkish Foreign Affairs Commission from the ruling Justice
and Development party told Media Max in an interview at the time,
"I believe that "Medz Yeghern" is an invaluable term for a positive
language about the events of 1915. "Medz Yeghern" is a term whose scope
should be widened. World War I and the events leading to the war,
namely the physical removal of Turks and Muslims from the Caucasus,
the Balkans and the Middle East was a Great Catastrophe for us as
well. Turks, Kurds and Armenians in the eastern front of the empire
truly experienced a Great Catastrophe […] The Armenians lost their
homes and property and had to leave Anatolia. There were many deaths
and it was an immensely sad chapter of this region’s history […] I
hope that when we establish diplomatic relations, open borders and
when our peoples get the chance of direct communication with each
other, we will be able to elaborate positive wordings."

It’s certain that there is no consensus for movement towards genocide
recognition in Turkey – it remains illegal to insult the Turkish
nation or ethnicity, a law that has been invoked to prosecute Turks
calling for genocide recognition.

But Armenians continue to point to various signs that an internal
dialogue within Turkey about its hard past is beginning. A few
hundred Turkish artists and intellectuals marched in Istanbul
commemorating the 95th anniversary of the genocide this year chanting
"never again." Also, information security analyst and blogger, Samvel
Martirosyan pointed out that new Turkish directives to its diplomats
encourage them to engage with Armenian communities abroad and publicly
discuss and debate the facts of 1915-1923.

All of this he said shows things are moving, albeit so slowly it’s
hard to actually see it. Meanwhile, Alaverdyan said in a Media Max
report that the temporary freeze with Turkey will give Armenia more
time to devote to resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict while
still appearing to be the one committed to the process.

While no one is quite sure when, eventually the orgy of malice and
mistrust will be in full swing again in the near future.

1457 GENERAL EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENTS ARE FUNCTIONING IN 2009-2010 ACADEMIC YEAR IN THE REPUBLIC

ARMENPRESS
MAY 4, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS: About 1457 general education establishments
are functioning in 2009-2010 academic year in the republic. Armenian
National Statistical Service told Armenpress that overall 1404 of
general education schools are state, 53 non-state. In Yerevan 220
out of 263 schools are state and 43 non-state. In urban communities
585 and in rural ones 872 educational establishments are carrying
out general educational programs.

The first with the number of pupils in schools is Yerevan – 120 622,
115 704 of which study in state and 4 918 in non-state schools. With
the number of pupils second comes Armavir with 37 227 pupils, followed
by Aragatsotn with 19 406.

Overall out of 392 946 pupils 386 954 are studying in state, 5 992
in non-state schools.

HISTORY AT THE FOREFRONT OF CURRENT US FOREIGN POLICY

EurActiv
n-affairs/history-forefront-current-us-foreign-pol icy-analysis-493656
May 4 2010

"Recognition of the Armenian genocide by the full Congress and [US]
President [Barack] Obama’s administration would pave the way for
Turkey’s eventual acknowledgement of these events," writes Harout
Harry Semerdjian, a foreign policy expert based in Washington, D.C.
and currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford,
in an exclusive op-ed for EurActiv.

The following op-ed was sent exclusively to EurActiv by Harout Harry
Semerdjian.

"It is an unlikely phenomenon that a historical issue from nearly a
century ago would affect modern-day relations between nations and have
far-reaching political implications on them. Last month the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives voted in favour of
recognising the Turkish killings of some 1,500,000 Armenians in 1915
as genocide – a term initially coined by a Polish-Jewish lawyer in
1943 after a thorough study of the Armenian case. As a consequence,
Turkey recalled its ambassador back to Ankara for ‘consultations’
and threatened US-Turkey ties.

Some of our elected leaders and average citizens may question the
rationale behind such resolutions in the US House of Representatives.

The answer is quite clear, however, and begs for explication. It is a
little known fact that American diplomats and Christian missionaries
posted in Turkey in 1915 were among the most vocal decriers of the
massacre of Armenians.

As the wholesale killings and deportations of Armenians were being
unleashed, Leslie A. Davis, the US Consul posted in the remote Turkish
town of Harput, sent a US diplomatic dispatch to Washington, D.C.

dated July 24, 1915 stating: ‘I do not believe there has ever been
a massacre in the history of the world so general and thorough as
that which is now being perpetrated in this region.’ While the word
‘genocide’ was not in existence in 1915, Consul Davis called the
killings a ‘general massacre’ and American Ambassador to Turkey Henry
Morgenthau labeled the events ‘murder of a nation’.

With global developments after WWI, Turkey’s importance for the
United States increased particularly in light of expansionist
Soviet policies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
threat of Islamic fundamentalism and US military efforts in Iraq
and Afghanistan helped fuel Turkey’s geopolitical prominence in
the region. In past assessments of regional strategic interests,
consecutive US governments have been reluctant to label the killings
by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

President Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who
affirmatively supported the recognition of the genocide as senators
and later as presidential candidates, have so far displayed a similar
reluctance to change our assessment of regional strategic interests.

Ironically, the US archives contain thousands of documents recording
the facts of the Armenian genocide. These documents include eye-witness
accounts by our own American diplomats – the most powerful form of
evidence in light of persistent denial. For example, upon visiting a
lake near his post in Harput, Consul Davis witnessed the thousands of
massacred Armenians along its shores and labeled this part of Turkey
‘The Slaughterhouse Province’.

He wrote: ‘What the order is officially and nominally to exile the
Armenians from these Vilayets [Provinces] may mislead the outside
world for a time, but the measure is nothing but a massacre of the
most atrocious nature. The shooting and killing of people a few hours
after their departure from here is barbarous and shows that the real
intension of the government is not to exile them but to kill them’.

Realism in the assessment of our regional interests requires sober
consideration of such powerful evidence offered by our diplomats. It
is consistent with transparent democratic debate of our values and
interests that the US House of Representatives brings up this relevant
issue for a vote given our own diplomatic observations of events in
Turkey at that time.

Sound foreign policy is built on realism, and genocide recognises no
statute of limitations. Our lawmakers are merely setting the record
straight given our own values of democracy and commitment to human
rights.

Today, 95 years after the killings, the Cold War era is over and new
global developments have changed the world order. France, Belgium and
Switzerland were among the first nations to recognise the Armenian
genocide after re-assessing their Cold War strategies. As the world’s
only superpower, we can find the political courage to discuss the
wrongs of our friends openly and not help conceal them.

April 24, the anniversary date of the killings, should be a day
that matters to all Americans who value human rights, transparency,
accountability and clear-eyed assessment of our strategic partnerships
in southwest Asia. Recognition of the Armenian genocide by the full
Congress and President Obama’s administration would pave the way
for Turkey’s eventual acknowledgement of these events – which will
not only help bring about a closure to this tragic chapter in world
history but also bring long-term peace and security in the Caucasus
and the Middle East.

Turkish acknowledgement of the genocide would also further Turkey’s
aspirations to join the EU and place the country one step closer to
the European family of nations as well as to the modern values they
uphold. Turkey would thus set a serious foundation for reconciliation,
peace and cooperation with its Armenian neighbour."

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN IN MAY

NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY
MAY 4, 2010
BAKU

BAKU, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit Azerbaijan in May to sign a
gas supply intergovernmental agreement. The agreement will be signed
by Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the 1news.az agency
reported quoting the Sabah Turkish newspaper. The two countries had
been negotiating over signing the agreement since last autumn.

According to Turkish Minister of Energy Taner Yildiz, official Ankara
and Baku agreed on the gas price last week. According to the Turkish
press, now Turkey will pay 220 USD to Azerbaijan per a cubic meter
of gas against former 120 USD.