Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

EVENT DEDICATED TO MARK ARAX AND ARIS JANIGIAN TO BE HELD IN GLENDALE

NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY
APRIL 29, 2009
GLENDALE

An event dedicated to Mark Arax and Aris Janigian will be held at
Glendale Public Library on June 1.

Almost a century ago, in the aftermath of the Armenian genocide,
Yervant Janigian made his way from Turkey to the Great Central Valley,
and soon convinced his nephew, Aram Arax, to join him. Together they
began picking fruits and vegetables, and putting down roots. Today,
two generations later, their grandsons Mark Arax and Aris Janigian
offer probing reflections on the West.

Mark Arax is a contributing writer at Los Angeles magazine and a
former senior writer at the Los Angeles Times. He teaches nonfiction
writing at Claremont McKenna College.

Aris Janigian is a professor of humanities at the Southern California
Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles. In 2007, he received Columbia
University’s Anahid Literary Award. His first novel Bloodvine was a
finalist for the William Saroyan International Writing Prize. He is
currently working on a third book.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS CONVINCED THAT START OF NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WILL HAVE POSITIVE IMPACT ON NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

NOYAN TAPAN
APRIL 28, 2009
YEREVAN

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are sure that the start of the process
on normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations will have a positive
impact on the process of Nagorno Karabakh settlement.

They stated it at the April 27 press conference.

MG French Co-chair Bernard Fassier said that the mediators have
no right to comment upon the "road map" signed between Armenia and
Turkey on April 22. At the same time, according to him, the signing
of that document became the first step aimed at normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations. "That document means the start of a new
process, which will require much time. We hope that this process
will create a favorable climate for settlement of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. And we, mediators, parallel with this process should exert
all efforts for solving the Nagorno Karabakh problem," the French
diplomat stated.

As to a connection between the process of normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations and Nagorno Karabakh settlement, B. Fassier
reminded that the Armenian authorities have repeatedly denied existence
of such a connection.

American Co-chair Matthew Bryza stated: "The document signed between
Armenia and Turkey had a good impact on increase of a positive
energy in the region. In its turn, that energy will contribute to
Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. We think that both processes,
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and Nagorno Karabakh
settlement, will proceed separately, that is, parallelly but with
different speeds."

THE FINANCIAL TIMES: THE AGREEMENT ON ‘ROAD MAP’ SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN RUSHED OUT TO ENABLE BARACK OBAMA TO ISSUE A STATEMENT COMMEMORATING THE 1915 MASSACRES WITHOUT USING THE WORD "GENOCIDE"

ArmInfo
2009-04-28 12:39:00

‘The agreement between Turkey and Armenia on a "road map" to normalise
their relations is very good news. Their historic animosity since
the slaughter and mass deportation of Armenians from the collapsing
Ottoman empire in 1915 has destabilised the region, poisoned internal
politics, isolated and impoverished Armenia, and cast a shadow over
Turkey’s relations with Europe and America. Now there is a chance of
beginning to heal the wounds’, The Financial Times wrote in an item
‘Armenia’s grief’.

‘Yet first a word of caution. Last week’s declaration gave no clues
to the precise terms of the agreement, nor a timetable. It seems to
have been rushed out to enable Barack Obama, US president, to issue
a statement commemorating the 1915 massacres without using the word
"genocide" to describe them. That marked a sensible retreat from his
election campaign position in order not to alienate Turkey.

The prize of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation is worth it, but the
process remains fragile and bedevilled by mistrust. Both sides are
still only inching forward, and both face strong resistance at home
to making any concessions at all.

The deal would provide for diplomatic recognition, and reopening
of the border between them, which was closed by Turkey in 1993
after ethnic Armenian forces seized control of Nagorno-Karabakh in
neighbouring Azerbaijan. Both moves would be done gradually to build
confidence. That is sensible.

On two vital points, however, there is still no clarity. A historical
commission is to be set up to investigate the events of 1915. How
will it be constituted and how will it work? If it decides that
the massacres did amount to genocide, or did not, it will still be
politically explosive unless there is agreement to abide by its
results. Second, what progress needs to be made on resolving the
Karabakh dispute for Turkey to reopen the border fully?

There seems to be a serious intent in both Ankara and Yerevan to find
a way forward in spite of opposition, including from the influential
Armenian diaspora in the US and European Union. But pressure on them
both from Washington, Brussels and – most significantly – from Moscow
for more progress and a clear timetable is still essential.

The one country that might try to scupper progress is Azerbaijan,
fearful that reopening the border would take away pressure for Armenia
to do a deal over Karabakh, or at least to withdraw from the buffer
zone where 500,000 Azeri refugees used to live. But the 19- year border
closure has done nothing to hasten an agreement on that score. All
sides have an interest in reconciliation, not confrontation’, the
newspaper reported.

MAYOR OF ARAGATSOTN RESIGNES

ARMENPRES
APRIL 27, 2009
ASHTARAK

Governor of the Armenian province of Aragatsotn Gabriel Gyozalian
stated about his resignation today. He agreed it with the withdrawal
of the ARF from the ruling political coalition.

G. Gyozalian was appointed in this office in 2003 before it in 1998
was general consultant to the governor Hrayr Karapetyan and then
his deputy.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT INSISTS ON DISCUSSION OF THE ROADMAP

ArmInfo
2009-04-27 11:40:00

Today’s sitting of the National Assembly started with discussion
of the problem about the necessity of holding of the parliamentary
hearings dedicated to the Armenian-Turkish relations.

The problem was risen by the opposition Heritage parliamentary faction,
which thinks it is very important to discuss the roadmap endorsed
in Switzerland and directed to settlement of the Armenian-Turkish
relations.

Moreover, representative of the faction Stepan Safaryan offered to
discuss the Madrid principles on Karabakh settlement as well.

For his part, speaker of the Armenian parliament Hovik Abrahamyan
assured that no important decision will be adopted without the relevant
decision of the National Assembly.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

AN ECUMENICAL GUEST REV. DR. SORITUA NABABAN JOINS COMMEMORATION SERVICES OF
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN ANTELIAS, AND DISCUSSES ECUMENICAL CONCERNS

Rev. Dr Soritua Nababan of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestant, HKBP, which
is the largest Protestant church in Indonesia, visited His Holiness Aram I
on Thursday 23 April 2009 at the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
(Antelias, Lebanon). Dr Nababan was Vice-Moderator during the first term of
His Holiness Aram I’s election as Moderator of the Central and Executive
Committees of the WCC.

Dr. Nababan has visited Antelias on several occasions, particularly around
24 April when the Church commemorates the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The
purpose of this visit was also to discuss urgent ecumenical issues. Dr.
Nababan and Bishop Nareg Alemezian, Director of Ecumenical Relations met
with His Holiness twice yesterday.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

PanArmenian News, Armenia
April 24 2009

Armenian commemoration: 6000 demonstrators in Paris

25.04.2009 13:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On April 24, six thousand people gathered at Arch of
Triumph on Champs Elysées. Many French politicians commemorated
20 th century’s first Genocide at Unknown Soldier’s Tomb, freelance
correspondent Jean Eckian told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Frederic Lefevre, member of parliament and friend of President Nicolas
Sarkozy, Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) spokesman reaffirmed
France’s opposition for Turkish accession to the European Union, but
hailed the steps for normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Artur Baghdasaryan: We shall perceive any decision of Dashnaktsutyun
Party with respect

2009-04-25 18:44:00

ArmInfo. "Dashnaktsutyun is a traditional Armenian party which has its
views and political convictions, and we’ll perceive any decision of
Dashnaktsutyun Party with respect",- Secretary of the Armenian National
Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan said at today’s press-conference
when commenting upon the rumors of possible withdrawal of
Dashnaktsutyun from the coalition. He pointed out that Head of the
Armenian Parliamentary Commission for External Relations,
Representative of ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party Armen Rustamyan was absent
from the April 25 sitting of the National Security Council.

VICTOR YENGIBARYAN: ROUTE MAP AGREEMENT IS A CHEAP SNARE LAID FOR ARMENIA

PanArmenian News
April 23 2009
Armenia

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "One of the most significant contributions to
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations was Armenian presidents’
agreement to normalize ties without preconditions. This has to be a
bilateral principle," Armenia’s European Movement President Victor
Yengibaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. "If Turkey demands
the return of "occupied territories of Karabakh" to Azerbaijan,
the Armenian diplomacy has to raise the issue of occupied Armenian
territories, as diplomatically, Armenia is fully entitled to them."

"Route map agreement is a cheap snare laid for Armenia by
Turkey. Turkish part wishes to receive final evidence that Armenia
will not use its rights and set preconditions, as in Sevre agreement,
stipulating for the return of Western Armenia’s territories. By taking
the bait, we’ll put paid to a possibility to give an adequate reply
to Turkey by opposing our preconditions to those set by Turkey,"
he said. If Armenian part signs the route map agreement, Turkey will
have a document confirming Armenia’s abandoning its territorial claims
to Turkey," says the Armenian expert.

According to Yengibaryan, if political games keep following this route,
we could give up on Armenian Genocide acknowledgment within the next
8 years. "It’s been 94years since the Genocide and we still can’t
achieve the final recognition. In 8 years it will be even harder to
do so," he stated.

The expert sees the solution in elaborate diplomacy on Armenia’s part,
to achieve Turkish authorities’ refusal from preconditions and opening
Turkish Embassy in Yerevan.

ARMENIA AND TURKEY HAMMER OUT NORMALIZATION ROAD MAP

hetq.am/en/politics/agn-4/
2009/04/23 | 13:09

Below is the full text of a joint statement, dated April 22, 2009,
of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the
Republic of Turkey and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

Turkey and Armenia, together with Switzerland as mediator, have
been working intensively with a view to normalizing their bilateral
relations and developing them in a spirit of good-neighborliness, and
mutual respect, and thus to promoting peace, security and stability
in the whole region.

The two parties have achieved tangible progress and mutual
understanding in this process and they have agreed on a comprehensive
framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a
mutually satisfactory manner. In this context, a road-map has been
identified.

This agreed basis provides a positive prospect for the on-going
process.