SILENT PROCESSION IN DOWNTOWN YEREVAN
A1Plus.am
21/04/10
The flags of 20 countries were hovering in Yerevan’s French Square
today symbolizing the countries that had recognized the Armenian
Genocide.
Heritage’s Hayk Youth Union today moved in silent procession
commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The
event features 25 activists.
The union thus expressed its gratitude to the countries that have
already recognised the Genocide and urged others to follow the example.
NEW RUSSIAN CO-CHAIR OF OSCE MINSK GROUP ARRIVES IN BAKU
NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY
APRIL 20, 2010
BAKU
Igor Popov – the new Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group
arrived in Baku. He was accompanied by the former Russian Co-Chair
Yuri Merzlyakov.
At Baku Airport, I. Popov told reporters that he would try to make his
contribution to the Karabakh conflict settlement. "Russia’ position on
the conflict is known and remains the same. The most important thing is
not to lose the high activity of the negotiation process," he declared.
In the words of Yuri Merzlyakov, there will be "serious discussions"
with Azerbaijani leadership. The U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Robert Bradtke also arrived in Baku, while the French Co-Chair
Bernard Fassier did not join his colleagues this time.
According to Azerbaijani mass media, the talks with Azerbaijani leaders
will be held in secret conditions: the press was not invited, and
the embassies of the co-chair countries do not comment on this visit.
Yerkir reports that earlier the Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman
Elhan Polukhov said that Baku expects the ch-chairs to inform it
about Yerevan’s position on the Madrid document.
SUICIDE OR MURDER?: DEATH CONTROVERSY IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Times.am
20 April, 2010, 10:56 pm
Relatives of Vahan Khalafyan, 24, who died last Tuesday under
questionable circumstances in the Charentsavan Police Department,
are sure that the police ruling of suicide is a cover-up for his
death at the hands of police.
Khalafyan along with three others was held on suspicion of burglary.
As the Police statement says, "being present at the office of the
prevention department chief of Charentsavan police, Khalafyan took
a kitchen knife from the shelf and stabbed himself in the abdomen.
Khalafyan was taken to the Charentsavan Medical Center by ambulance,
where he died."
However, Khalafyan’s mother stated that there were cross-shaped cuts
on his chest, as well as two holes on his abdomen, and the whole
body was covered with bruises. Yet on Saturday, April 17, RA Police
Chief Alik Sargsyan stated that Khalafyan was questioned calmly in
the Police department, and that no violence was committed against him.
Sargsyan also stated that Khalafyan had been stabbed only once.
In spite of the Police Chief’s allegations, a criminal case on
Khalafyan has been filed.
Human rights defender Arthur Sakunts, Head of Helsinki Citizens’
Assembly Vanadzor Office, says he has learned that Khalafyan and
others was abused by police.
"This is evidently a murder case, it is also obvious that physical
violence has been committed against other people taken to the Police
department, too," Sakunts told ArmeniaNow.
He also reported that they are going to follow up the developments
of the case, and currently they are waiting for the conclusion of
forensic examination.
SERZH SARGSYAN VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTION: NOR JAMANAKNER
Tert.am
20.04.10
Board of Nor Jamanakner Party (New Times) has sent a letter to the
President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, Gagik Harutyunyan,
accusing Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan of ignoring a Constitutional
Court ruling over the Armenia-Turkey Protocols.
It says that Sargsyan, ignoring the Court ruling submitted the
Protocols to the parliament’s ratification without involving the
requirements of those provisions fixed by the Constitutional Court’s
ruling. In this way, according to the authors of the letter, Serzh
Sargsyan violated Articles 5, 6, 100 and 102 of the Constitution.
The party has sent another letter with the same content also to the
Chair of National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan and the Justice Minister
of Armenia Gevorg Danielyan.
HOWARD BERMAN CRITICIZES LAWMAKERS WHO OPPOSED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
April 19, 2010 – 20:28 AMT 15:28 GMT
In an April 13 letter, Rep. Howard Berman chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, criticized lawmakers who opposed Armenian Genocide
resolution. Berman, a long-time backer of the measure, called some
of the arguments being made against the resolution as "morally-blind."
I disagree with many points in the letter, but I take particularly
strong exception to the use of the phrase ‘so-called ‘Armenian
Genocide Resolution," which casts doubt on the historicity of
the Armenian Genocide. In doing so, it flies in the face of the
overwhelming weight of unimpeachable historical evidence and the
virtually unanimous opinion of genocide scholars," Berman writes in
his Dear Colleague letter.
The California Democrat was referring to another Dear Colleague
letter, this one dated March 29 and signed by Reps. Steve Cohen Kay
Granger (R-Texas) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), the three co-chairs of
the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkish Relations. In their letter,
the three lawmakers asked their peers to call on Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.) to not let the resolution come up for a floor vote.
A spokeswoman for one of the members said it seemed as if Berman
misread their letter. "The chairman’s entire letter seems to emanate
from a misreading of the words he referenced. The words ‘so called’
modify or refer to ‘Resolution’ – not to ‘Armenian Genocide’ –
hence, the ‘so called Resolution’ or the ‘so called Armenian Genocide
Resolution,’" said Whitfield spokeswoman Kristin Walker.
Walker also said the letter has not been released to Pelosi yet and
has more than 20 lawmakers signing onto it so far.
In their letter, the three members argue the resolution will cause
"irrevocable harm" to U.S. foreign policy as well as "derail" the
normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, which has been
helped along by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, if it is
voted on by the full House. They also believe the measure could hurt
the U.S. economy, considering the more than $10 billion shipped to
Turkey in U.S. exports each year.
In his response, Berman takes issue with all of the Turkish Caucus
leaders’ points, saying that Turkey would not give up seeing U.S.
intelligence on anti-Turkey militants in Iraq or forgo U.S. investment
because of the measure. He also believes the normalization process
between Armenia and Turkey has stalled not because of the U.S.
resolution but because disagreements both sides have had on the
deal instead.
ERDOGAN MUST RAISE HIS GAME ON CYPRUS
Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk,
Monday 19 April 2010 17.00 BST
Hopes for Cypriot reunification are petering out, leaving Turkey’s
prime minister with much to do to secure EU accession
Tayyip Erdogan insists talks will continue despite the election
victory of nationalist Dervis Eroglu in northern Cyprus. Photograph:
Mohammed Obaidi/AFP/Getty
If, as most analysts agree, resolving the Cyprus problem is a
prerequisite for Turkey’s membership of the European Union club, then
Turkish Cypriot voters have just effectively blackballed Ankara’s bid.
But longstanding doubts about Turkey’s suitability and readiness to
join were in any case already reviving, thanks in large part to its
combative prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan.
Sunday’s presidential election victory by the veteran nationalist
Dervis Eroglu in the unrecognised, Turkish-backed republic of northern
Cyprus is a possibly terminal setback for the island’s UN-brokered
reunification talks. Erdogan was quick to insist the talks would
continue – and they probably will, at least for now.
But the positions of the two sides are diverging and hardening, with
key issues such as security and property nowhere near solution. The
process, resuscitated once after the Greek Cypriot rejection of the
UN’s Annan plan in 2004, is back on life support. Unless something
dramatic happens, it looks doomed to peter out, hastening the day
when partition becomes permanent.
Mehmet Talat, the defeated, left-of-centre Turkish Cypriot president,
warned earlier this month that victory for the hardline Eroglu would
kill the negotiations. "The Turkish Cypriots will be blamed and blame
will mean the consolidation of isolation. It will be a difficult time
for Turkish Cypriots," he predicted.
Now Talat’s worst fears have been realised, it could be a difficult
time for Turkey, too. The Cyprus impasse has severely impeded its
EU accession talks. Eighteen of the 35 negotiating "chapters" are
currently frozen, mostly because of this dispute. It’s possible that
the 12 chapters now under discussion may be completed this year,
at which point Ankara’s bid could hit a dead end.
Tempers are fraying. Cemil Cicek, Erdogan’s deputy, this month accused
"certain EU countries" of behaving "unethically" in using the Cyprus
issue to conceal a deeper hostility to majority-Muslim Turkey. This
was an allusion to opposition on political, religious and racial
grounds in countries such as Greece, Germany, Austria and France.
After recent unproductive meetings with Germany’s chancellor, Angela
Merkel, and France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy – both of whom urged
Turkey to settle for a second-class "privileged partnership" – Erdogan
was more forthright. "The EU will only be a Christian club without
Turkey," he said. As in Cyprus, the lack of progress has impacted
public opinion, with fewer Turks now favouring membership. This
trend could in turn hurt Erdogan who faces a strong nationalist,
secular challenge in elections due in July 2011.
Erdogan and his Justice and Development party (AKP) were, to some
degree, viewed in the west as tame Islamists after first winning power
in 2002. But his attempts to loosen restrictions on headscarves,
outlaw adultery, and raise taxes on alcohol and tobacco have rung
alarm bells at home and abroad.
These concerns have intensified as Erdogan has pursued a crackdown on
the military, alleging extensive plots to overthrow him, inserted
his own man in the presidency, and tangled with the judiciary
and independent media – all self-appointed guarantors of Turkey’s
secular Kemalist tradition. Contentious reform proposals currently
before parliament would alter, among other things, the way judges
are appointed. If the changes are blocked by the courts, it could
trigger a constitutional crisis and early elections.
Erdogan’s voluble opposition to new sanctions on Iran, his avoidable
row with the Obama administration over a congressional committee’s
vote to recognise the "Armenian genocide", and his fierce criticism
of Israel have given ammunition to those who argue Turkey is not and
never will be European.
Turkey’s outreach to Arab neighbours has, meanwhile, led the new
social democratic opposition party, the Turkey Movement for Change,
to suggest the republic’s traditional pro-western, transatlantic
outlook, embodied in its Nato membership, is being undermined.
Democratisation and reform are badly needed but Erdogan is going
about it the wrong way, said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for
European Reform. "A changing Turkey needs a new system of checks and
balances …
Nevertheless, the system that now seems to be emerging is flawed,"
she wrote. Erdogan’s reforms "smack of political manoeuvring and could
discredit the process of constitutional renewal" while the established
opposition parties "lack a vision for a modern, dynamic Turkey".
With polls suggesting the AKP may struggle to retain its overall
majority at the next election and with Turkey’s EU hopes clouded,
Erdogan needs to raise his game. A unilateral initiative to settle the
Cyprus issue by year’s end (his stated aim) starting, say, with staged
Turkish troop withdrawals, would be a bold beginning. For added effect,
he might even unveil it during his historic visit to Athens next month.
Armenian descendants reduced to just 200
STAFF WRITER 12:32 HRS IST
Amitava Das
Kolkata, Apr 18 (PTI) From a once robust 40,000 at the time of
Independence, the number of Armenian descendants in India has
nosedived to barely 200 now, most of them having migrated to the west.
The majority of them now live in Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and
Bangalore, the manager and pastor of Armenians in India, Father Khoren
Hovhannisyan, told PTI.
Kolkata, which once had the largest concentration of the community,
now hosts only 152 of them, which indicates the rapid dilution of the
city’s once-famous cosmopolitan profile.
They had once been an important constituent of the city’s business
community, mainly present in the manufacturing sector. Now they have
joined the tribe of professionals in a great way.
The present generation of Armenians in India practises mixed marriages
and are very tenuously linked to Armenia, their motherland,
Hovhannisyan said.
ndants-reduced-to-just-200
Armenians of Kuban call on Krasnodar region legislative assembly to
recognize Armenian Genocide
April 18, 2010 – 16:24 AMT 11:24 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –
A conference of the Armenian Genocide was held in Slavyansk-on-Kuban
town (Russia) on April 17, bringing together representatives of
Armenian NGOs functioning in the region. A documentary on Genocide was
screened, reported Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia.
Chairperson of the International Friendship Club of Slavyansk-on-Kuban
Anaida Meltonyan, chairman of Hamshen Center, member of town council
of Apsheronsk Artavazd Tulumjyan and editor-in-chief of Yerkramas
newspaper, representative of the Armenian National Council of Western
Armenia Tigran Tavadyan presented reports.
The event participants adopted a statement calling on legislative
assembly of Krasnodar region to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
El Paso Times (Texas)
April 16, 2010 Friday
Armenian-American picnic set for May 2
by Chris Roberts / El Paso Times Staff
EL PASO — The Armenian Cultural Community of El Paso will have its
annual Armenian-American picnic May 2 at Biggs Army Airfield.
The picnic will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at a shelter at Biggs Field
Park on Sergeant Major Boulevard. Charcoal grills are available for
barbecuing. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be available.
Information: 373-0840.
Erebuni museum to host Yerevan Beer from Urartu exhibition
April 17, 2010 – 15:53 AMT 10:53 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –
On April 18, Erebuni historical and archeological museum-reserve of
Yerevan will host an exhibition, where a technology on beer production
in Urartu will be presented.
Director of the museum Gagik Gyurjyan said that beer and wine were
produced in Erebuni already in IX-VII centuries BC. Meanwhile, the
exhibition will present technologies on beer production in ancient
Urartu, as well as modern brewing technologies of Armenia, Gagik
Gyurjyan told a press conference on April 17. The exhibition will be
conducted through cooperation with Yerevan Beer organization.
The exhibition is a part of Yerevan Beer from Urartu event dedicated
to International Day for Monuments and Sites that has been celebrated
on April 18 since 1983.
`UNESCO declared 2010 the Year of Agricultural Heritage. It is known
that Karmir Blur and Erebuni are considered to be an agricultural
granary. Currently, a commission of historians, archeologists and
architects that was established by the Armenian Prime Minister’s
instruction and through the assistance of the Ministry of Culture is
developing a project on restoration of Erebuni museum-reserve,’ said
Gyurjyan.
Erebuni is an ancient city founded by Urartian King Argishti I in 782
BC to serve as a military stronghold at Ararat valley. Erebuni ruins
are located on top of Arin-Berd hill on the outskirts of modern-day
Yerevan. Karmir Blur is a historical site and a part of Erebuni
museum. Items relating to the 7th century BC were uncovered during
excavations by Russian archeologist Boris Piotrovsky from the end of
1930s to 1971.