Author: Zargarian Hambik

GREATER WASHINGTON DC AREA ARMENIANS COMEMMORATE GENOCIDE

Armenian Weekly
Fri, Apr 30 2010

WASHINGTON-Armenian Americans from throughout the Southern Maryland,
Northern Virginia and Washington DC area joined together on April
18th at the Soorp Khatch Armenian Church Arabian Hall for the annual
community commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, hosted by the
Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of Greater Washington.

Participants young and old gathered to remember the 1.5 million
Armenians murdered by orders of the Ottoman Turkish Government,
honor the survivors, and recommit to efforts to secure justice for
the Armenian Genocide.

The Greater Washington Homenetmen Armenian Scout troop color guard
opened the program and escorted in honored guest, 105-year-old Armenian
Genocide survivor Yeretzgeen Sirarpi Khoyan.

Keynote speakers of the day included ANCA Eastern Region Board Member
Aram Sarafian, Esq. and Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural
Association Eastern U.S. Region Board member, Dr. Aline Baghdassarian.

Each focused on the role of continued community and political activism
to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide and vigilance to
end the cycle of genocide-already seen in the 21st century with the
ongoing atrocities in Darfur.

Ms. Talar Kachechian was the Mistress of Ceremonies of the program
which included musical and cultural interludes presented by the
Hamasdegh Armenian School students, who performed moving renditions of
Taniel Varoujan’s "Terenig," Gevorg Emin’s "Der Zor," and Hovannes
Shiraz’ "We Were Peaceful." The Hamasdegh Chorus sang several
songs including "Kedashen," Chelsea Erchenian presented a PowerPoint
presentation regarding the history of the Armenian Genocide, followed
by a closing prayer offered by Soorp Khatch Church pastor, Rev. Father
Sarkis Aktavoukian. Earlier in the day, Rev. Father Aktavoukian
had led the congregation in a special requiem service in memory of
the victims of the Armenian Genocide, attended by Tatoul Markarian,
Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. and other Armenian Embassy staff.

The commemorative program was part of a series of activities organized
by the local Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of Greater
Washington. Participating organizations include the Soorp Khatch
Armenian Church Board of Trustees, Soorp Khatch Ladies Guild, Hamasdegh
Armenian School, the ARF Sebouh Gomideh and its sister organizations
including the local Armenian National Committee, Armenian Relief
Society, Hamazkayine Armenian Educational and Cultural Association,
Armenian Youth Federation Seniors and Juniors, and Homenetmen
Armenian Athletic and Scouting Association. Homenetmen had held a
special program on April 16th marking the 95th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, with songs and poetry presented by the Homenetmen
Scouts and remarks offered by Armenian National Committee of America
Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

DIALOGUE BETWEEN ARMENIAN, TURKISH SOCIETIES IS A MUST
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
30.04.2010 17:11

The Armenian and Turkish societies should communicate with each
other to be able to solve political issues more easily, Chairman
of the Association of Youth Unions of Turkey Sali Yuse told a press
conference in Yerevan today.

Chairman of the Association of Youth Unions of Turkey Sali Yuse
has arrived in Armenia to tell about the importance of the dialogue
between the Armenian and Turkish societies and assure that it’s the
best way for solution of political problems.

"After Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to suspend the
process of ratification of the protocols it’s necessary to work to
launch dialogue between the Armenian and Turkish societies before
mid-2011," said Vahan Danielyan, Head of the Political Developments
Research Centre. The latter is assured that the process of ratification
of the protocols will continue after the 2011 parliamentary elections
in Turkey.

"Today Turkey has no political will to ratify the protocols," he added.

Turkish public figure Sali Yuse said "Turkish NGOs wish to establish
warm relations with Armenia." "If that happens, the issues of protocols
and opening of the border will be easily solved," he added.

Sali Yuse refused to speak about the Armenian Genocide saying "we do
not want to speak about the past, we think about what we can do in
the future."

SERIOUS POLITICAL CHANGES TO BE EXPECTED IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2010-04-29 14:14:00

ArmInfo. Serious political changes have been expected in Armenia,
deputy of ARFD parliamentary faction Ara Nranyan told journalists
today.

‘I am sure at present there is no serious reason for holding of
extraordinary all-republican elections in Armenia, though Armenian
National Congress demands them. But serious processes are necessary
for holding of extraordinary elections’, – he said and added that
saying political changes he means the fact that major part of the
opposition has been already closely cooperating with the authorities
in the matter of the Armenian-Turkish relations. ‘Moreover, there are
even the political forces in the republic which agree to compromises
from the Armenian party in the Karabakh conflict settlement process. I
think that external and internal political processes will give an
opportunity to the society to strictly define the difference between
the political parties’, – he concluded.

MEETING OF THE HEADS OF THE DELEGATIONS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN IN THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE IN STRASBOURG

National Assembly
April 29 2010
Armenia

On April 28 meeting of the heads of the delegations of Armenia and
Azerbaijan in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) in Strasbourg was held. In the course of the meeting, which
also attended the PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu , Davit Harutyunyan
and Samed Seyidov exchanged views on the Karabakh conflict too. It
was decided to hold the next consultation in June in broader format
with the involvement of one opposition member from the delegations.

ARMENIA AND TURKEY NOT READY FOR QUICK RESET
Sergei Markedonov

RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
April 27, 2010 Tuesday

The decision of President Serzh Sargsyan to take a break in the
process of normalizing the Armenian-Turkish relations has yet again
clearly demonstrated that any peace process progresses in a nonlinear
fashion. The difficult search for compromise solutions always faces
ups and downs, disappointments and even setbacks.

The parliamentary ratification of the two protocols signed by Ankara
and Yerevan last October in Zurich proved to be a barrier that neither
country could overcome. And the prospects for clearing this hurdle
are becoming slimmer with each passing day, writes Sergei Markedonov,
a political analyst.

First, far from everyone in Armenia and Turkey was prepared to cast
aside the prevailing myths, stereotypes and attitudes. Secondly,
both Ankara and Yerevan failed to realize the goals they pursued when
launching the "reset" process.

It would be naive to assume that diplomats initiated the process for
the sake of abstractions. Each party pursued very specific pragmatic
goals. Armenia was trying to drive a wedge between Ankara and Baku and
was successful to a certain point. However, in November 2009, Turkey
once again linked the progress in relations with Armenia with the
resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh. Turkey
was hoping to distance Yerevan from the Armenian diaspora, which is
demonized in Ankara and Baku. Just as their Armenian counterparts,
Turkish diplomats failed to isolate Armenia, which, as they hoped,
would have made it more compliant.

As the parties got further away from their goals, they lost interest
in the peace process. The result was the slowdown of the ratification
process and reiteration of the old claims and accusations. Therefore,
Sargsyan just called a spade a spade. It appears that the parties
have no new breakthrough ideas or resources to realize a transition
from normalization to reconciliation, the analyst writes.

However, a halt in the peace process does not mean its complete
cessation. The president of Armenia is not going to void Yerevan’s
signature on the Armenian-Turkish protocols, and does not intend to
freeze bilateral contacts. Despite the slowdown in the parliamentary
ratification, both parties remain interested in reconciliation. The
geopolitical isolation of Armenia objectively compels the country’s
elite to seek ways to normalize relations with Turkey. At the same
time, Turkey, which continues moving towards the EU, is interested in
having "zero problems with neighbors" (the formula of Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu). Hence, a new "reset" is forthcoming.

However, in anticipation of the new process, Yerevan and Ankara
should seek to minimize the costs of the current stalemate, Markedonov
concludes.

IL RICORDO DEL "GRANDE MALE"
Sonya Orfalian

La voce di Romagna
23 aprile 2010

Domani ricorre il Metz Yeghern: memorie da un genocidio

Era il 24 aprile del 1915 quando il governo dei Giovani Turchi diede
ordine di arrestare tutti i circa duecentocinquanta intellettuali e
notabili armeni di Istanbul, eliminando in tal modo i referenti civili
e religiosi della grande comunita armena della citta. Quello stesso
giorno il governo ordinò il massacro di tutti gli armeni residenti
in citta: l’ordine venne eseguito di lì a poco, e le vie di Istanbul
ben presto si riempirono di cadaveri e di sangue.

Questa data che ricorda l’inizio del primo genocidio del Novecento,
viene ormai per tradizione assunta simbolicamente come giorno della
memoria di quel crimine contro l’umanita. Ecco perchè il 24 aprile
di ogni anno in tutte le comunita armene sparse nel mondo, così come
anche nella Repubblica d’Armenia, si commemora quel Metz Yeghern (il
"Grande Male": così gli armeni chiamano il loro genocidio) che tra
il 1915 e il 1923 ha provocato un milione e mezzo di morti ammazzati,
la distruzione di un intero popolo innocente.

Novantacinque anni separano dunque questo 24 aprile 2010 dall’inizio di
quei terribili fatti, e mentre gli armeni tutti ricorderanno la loro
tragedia, contemporaneamente scattera ancora una volta inesorabile
il riflesso negazionista degli eredi di chi quel crimine commise:
il governo turco di oggi, conformandosi all’atteggiamento di tutti i
precedenti governi, neghera l’accaduto anche questa volta, secondo
tradizione. Come un orologio le cui lancette non riescano mai a
sovrapporsi, il tempo passera anche stavolta segnando due orari
diversi.

Se cercate nei testi il termine "genocidio" troverete diverse
informazioni interessanti. Il dizionario etimologico ad esempio vi
spieghera che il vocabolo deriva dal greco genos (stirpe) e dal latino
-caedere (tagliare a pezzi): due grandi culture mediterranee dunque
contengono e danno forma a questa parola. Altri testi ci ricorderanno
che è stato un ebreo a inventare il termine, praticamente a tavolino:
Lemkin, questo il suo nome, scelse quello che gli sembrò più adatto
a indicare la Shoah, e da quel momento il destino della parola
"genocidio" sara segnato per sempre. Altri ancora racconteranno che
il termine si deve allo svizzero Zurlinden, che alla fine della Prima
Guerra Mondiale parlera per primo di Volkermord riferendosi proprio
al genocidio degli armeni.

Chiusi i libri, tuttavia, molte altre cose restano fuori. Non possiamo
liquidare con una semplice parola la sofferenza spesso inenarrabile
di chi ha vissuto l’esperienza dei tanti massacri che, sommati l’uno
all’altro, hanno dato luogo a questo genocidio; e poi lo sperdimento
dei sopravvissuti, spesso bambini e donne sole e disperate.

Cancellare una razza programmando sistematicamente e nei minimi
dettagli le modalita di procedimento, non è forse una tattica di
combattimento in una guerra dichiarata unilateralmente? Come si
fa a fare una guerra senza dichiararla? In questo caso lo si fa
nascondendosi dietro un’altra guerra: la Prima Guerra Mondiale che
vide la Turchia alleata della Germania. Una guerra nella guerra,
quindi, fatta di imboscate, usando soldati regolari accanto ad altri
scovati nelle galere e liberati di proposito, e il cui compenso furono
le terre, i beni e le donne armene coi loro piccoli.

Cosa significa non dichiarare una guerra? Significa non dover mai
firmare una pace o una tregua. Significa che quando tutto si conclude –
in questo caso la mattanza degli innocenti – nessuno può rivendicare
nulla. Significa non considerare i morti come persone uccise in
un conflitto.

Significa non aver concesso ai soldati l’onore di combattere la loro
guerra, non aver dato l’opportunita alle donne di piangere la partenza
dei propri uomini. Significa non dare nessuna speranza di ritorno.

Nella nostra strana guerra i maschi (i padri, i fratelli, i mariti,
i nonni) venivano uccisi il più delle volte davanti alle loro mogli,
sorelle, figlie e madri, nelle proprie case, nella propria citta e
non in un fronte lontano. Non dichiarare la guerra è servito anche
a non concluderla mai, questa guerra. La negazione del genocidio
significa voler mantenere aperto il fronte, significa che quella
guerra è ancora in atto, una guerra che continua. Hrant Dink, il
giornalista e scrittore armeno di Turchia assassinato a Istanbul nel
2007 davanti alla sede del suo giornale Agos, è a tutti gli effetti
vittima di quella guerra non conclusa che lascia ancora una volta le
donne e i bambini (questa volta i suoi) da soli davanti allo sgomento
di una perdita violenta, improvvisa, immotivata.

I governanti turchi di oggi – ciechi, muti e sordi come tutti i
loro predecessori – continuano a negare ai figli dei sopravvissuti
un diritto civile elementare, il diritto alla verita: è questo che
noi armeni chiediamo, nella speranza di vedere un giorno le lancette
dell’orologio della storia segnare una sola ora, quella giusta.

2010-04-28"VIRAJ LOGIC" COMPANY CONTRIBUTES TO DEVELOPMENT OF IT SPHERE IN ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
APRIL 28, 2010
YEREVAN

The Armenian branch of "Viraj Logic" company is rich in experienced
specialists and has extended a serious activity in the republic
since its foundation. It has 135 employees and cooperates both with
Armenian and foreign IT sphere companies, Deputy Chairman of the
company Yervand Zoryan told Armenpress.

"We do our best for development of the IT sphere in Armenia," Y.
Zoryan said. He added that for this very purpose classes on the
IT sphere are conducted in Yerevan State University (YSU) with
participation of the students of the relevant faculties of the YSU
and of other higher educational establishments and specialists of the
sphere. The classes are organized by the specialists of the company’s
Yerevan branch and by the lecturers of the university.

"Viraj Logic" enables participants of the classes who have displayed
the best results to get employed in the Yerevan branch.

"We provide programs, techniques and specialists wishing to prepare
high-class specialists, who will replenish the IT sphere of Armenia,"
Y. Zoryan said. According to him, similar classes will be possibly
conducted in other Armenian universities, too.

Y. Zoryan said that the last 6 months have been favorable for the
company; the number of the employees has been doubled, as well as
the types of the products have been added. "We felt the impact of
the global crisis, too, but managed to get over it," Y. Zoryan said.

GARO MAFYAN COULDN’T BECOME A PILOT IN TURKEY FOR BEING ARMENIAN: HABERTURK

Panorama.am
12:56 28/04/2010

"It’s Your Word" Turkish TV program hosted Turkish citizen of Armenian
decent, famous musician Garo Mafyan.

According to Haberturk, Garo Mafyan referred to the discrimination
towards the national minorities in Turkey, highlighting the limitations
of this or that national minority representative’s opportunities in
making career. For example, the Armenian musician said, his wish to
become a pilot couldn’t be fulfilled only because he was Armenian.

WE NEED A REVOLUTION

Lragir.am
27/04/10

The RA NA parliamentary member from Heritage Zaruhi Postanjyan issued
a statement on April 27, 2010.

"…In Armenia…who dares to cherish such hopes, I would not
advise. They will be punished just from the beginning if they try to
solve issues through revolution. I do not accept this way either,
and the minister of internal affairs cannot be in an intermediate
place", said on these days the Armenian Chief of Police Alik Sargsyan.

Zaruhi Postanjyan says that high-ranking officials support the
interests of the authoritarian governors and regimes. They do not
refuse that first of all they came to defend the regime at any cost.

We not only witness public calls of violence of the chief of police
but we also see how police officers disperse peace protesters and kill
people in police departments. And all these crimes remain unpunished.

Zaruhi Postanjyan affirms that it is our right to carry out
a revolution and to rebel, to protest, to get rid of illegal
governments. She considers unacceptable such ministers who organize
acts of violence. Zaruhi Postanjyan affirms we need a revolution
today. A radical change of the public life which will establish a new
power belonging to people as it is set in the Armenian Constitution.

YEVDA ABRAMOV: "DRAFT RESOLUTION ON SO-CALLED "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE" WAS TAKEN OFF FROM THE AGENDA OF ISRAELI PARLIAMENT"

APA
April 27 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev – APA. A draft resolution on so-called
"Armenian genocide" scheduled to be discussed at the Israeli parliament
on Wednesday was taken off from the agenda, member of the Azerbaijani
parliament Yevda Abramov told APA.

The parliamentarian said he talked with the head of Azerbaijani-Israeli
friendship group at the Israeli parliament Robert Elatov on
Tuesday. Abramov proposed to take off the issue from the parliament’s
agenda and expressed his concern over that.

He said after several phone conversations he was told that the issue
was removed from the agenda and so-called "Armenian genocide" wouldn’t
be discussed at the Israeli parliament tomorrow.