Month: September 2013

SERZH SARGSYAN: WE LOST A GREAT ACTOR, A GREAT INTELLIGENT AND A GREAT ARMENIAN

Today – 12:35

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan sent a letter of condolences on the
occasion of death of Armenian great actor Sos Sargsyan. Press service
of Armenian President informs about this. The message by President
especially says:

“Today we all have great pain. We lost a great actor, a great
intelligent and a great Armenian.

Sos Sargsyan’s presence in our art and social life was important. He
made us kinder, more honest and better by his behavior. His roles
are a complete era in the history of our cinematography and theatre.

I present my deep condolences to the relatives, friends and
counterparts, fans of Sos Sargsyan’s art and the whole Armenian nation
on this terrible and great loss”.

CRYPTO ARMENIAN’S STORY PUBLISHED IN TURKEY

12:37 27.09.13

The head of a Turkey-based union of journalists has devoted his latest
book to his mother’s Armenian origins and her efforts to hide the
fact from absolutely all people, including the family.

In the book entitled “Hoshana’s Last Word”, Ahmet Abakay expresses
his astonishment on how an ethnic Armenian, who lived in an Alevi
community for 82 years, managed to disguise her true identity from
the surrounding world, reports T24 .

In the preface, the author describes how his mother revealed her secret
to him one day. “I don’t know what happened that she decided that
day to tell the truth to me, her elder son. The next day she died,
after losing consciousness in a car accident. Writing that secret of
Hoshana and certain episodes of her life, I felt the need to reveal
my youth to my children,” Abakay wrote.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

BELARUS DEPUTY PM: ARMENIA’S ACCESSION TO CUSTOMS UNION WILL FURTHER STRENGTHEN YEREVAN-MINSK RELATIONS

September 27, 2013 | 01:09

Reliable, sincere, and friendly relations are established between the
peoples of Armenia and Belarus, Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Tozik
of Belarus told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, there are active ties between the two countries.

“I cannot even name a domain where our relations are not developing.

In addition, they are developing quite fast. This satisfies us;
I believe [this satisfies] the Armenian side, too.

“I want for the friendship between our peoples to continue, especially
after when Armenia’s wish to join the economic union [i.e., the
Customs Union] of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus was announced; this
will be wonderful. We will be closer, the friendship will deepen,”
Tozik stressed.

To note, following the talks that were held on September 3 in Moscow
between Armenian and Russian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir
Putin, Sargsyan had announced that Armenia plans to join the Customs
Union and subsequently engage in the formation of the Eurasian
Economic Union.

The Belarus deputy PM also noted that education and health care are
the most promising directions in today’s social scene between Armenia
and Belarus.

“I believe we will get clear results soon,” Anatoly Tozik stated.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA TO HOST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON ROBOTIZATION OF SURGERY AND ONCOLOGY

September 27, 2013 | 02:17

YEREVAN. – During the congress, which will be convened on Friday and
Saturday in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan, the Armenian Association of
Hematology and Oncology will discuss the prospects for the robotization
of surgeries, the association told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The event will bring together renowned specialists from Europe and
the United States.

“The prospects for the robotization of surgeries will be discussed
in Armenia for the first time,” specifically reads the Association
statement.

Dr. Inderbir Gill (USA), who is one of the world’s leading specialists
in this domain, will deliver a presentation during the congress.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

SARKISIAN PLANS POWERFUL NEW LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY

Thursday, September 26th, 2013

Military prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan (left) has been nominated by
President Sarkisian for the office of Prosecutor General

YEREVAN-President Serzh Sarkisian on Thursday nominated military
prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan for the office of Prosecutor General of
the Republic of Armenia, replacing Aghvan Hovsepian, whose term of
service has ended.

In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia,
the President has forwarded his nomination to the National Assembly,
which votes to appoint the Prosecutor General.

In conjunction with this nomination, President Serzh Sarkisian has
moved to set up a new and powerful law enforcement agency that will
be tasked with conducting criminal investigations.

Sarkisian’s press office indicated on Wednesday that this “united
investigative body” will bring together corresponding divisions of
Armenia’s police, Defense Ministry and State Revenue Committee (SRC).

It said in a statement that this structural change is aimed at
increasing the effectiveness of inquiries into various crimes and
the independence of officers conducting them.

The statement made no reference to the investigating arms of the
National Security Service (NSS), the former Armenian branch of the
Soviet KGB, or to the Special Investigative Service (SIS), suggesting
that they will not be incorporated into the new agency. The SIS is
subordinate to prosecutors and charged with investigating crimes
committed by state officials and electoral violations.

The statement also announced that Sarkisian has formed an ad hoc
commission that will draft new laws and legal amendments required for
the creation of the new security agency. The commission is headed by
former Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian.

FORMER IRANIAN ENVOY: ARMENIA INCLINES TO COOPERATE WITH NEIGHBORS, NOT TO CONFLICT

12:53 27/09/2013 ” POLITICS

The Armenian authorities constantly make efforts to avoid conflicts,
Iran’s former Ambassador to Armenia Seyed Ali Saghaian told IRAS news
agency in an interview.

“Despite threats from its eastern neighbor, the Armenian authorities
constantly make efforts to avoid conflicts and try to resolve all
problems peacefully. In general, Armenia carries out peaceful foreign
policy which is aimed at strengthening cooperation with its neighbors
and not conflicting with them,” Seyed Ali Saghaian said.

Iran’s former Ambassador also said that the peaceful resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey and strengthening relations with
its neighbors, in particular Iran and Georgia, are the key foreign
policy priorities of Armenia.

Source: Panorama.am

ZHOGHOVURD: KHOSROV RESERVE WATCHMAN FOUND DEAD

10:23 27/09/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

The corpse of 50-year-old Mkhitar Sedrakyan, resident of the village of
Garni, Kotayk province, was found in Khosrov Forest Reserve yesterday
with a firearm injury in the left side of his chest.

Ashot Vardanyan, head of Garni village, told Zhoghovurd that Sedrakyan
was working as a watchman in Khosrov Reserve. He added that in all
probability, the watchman had been shot. “Nothing more is known. I
can only say that surveillance cameras will show what happened.”

Source: Panorama.am

AZERBAIJANI AMBASSADOR DISPUTES ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA’S RIGHTS TO SUBMIT TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS

13:09 27.09.2013

For the second time this year, the Armenian Assembly of America
(Assembly) was invited to submit testimony to Congress on issues of
concern to the Armenian-American community. This move drew the ire
of Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the United States Elin Suleymanov,
who expressed his “surprise” at the Armenian Assembly testimony and
attempted to dispute Armenian-Americans’ right to set the record
straight on Azerbaijan’s aggressive posture toward Armenians at a
Congressional briefing held earlier this year entitled “Troubled
Partner: Growing Authoritarianism in Azerbaijan.”

A new video released by the Assembly today showcases Ambassador
Suleymanov’s reaction and highlights segments of the Assembly’s
testimony, specifically Azerbaijan’s state-sponsored policy of
cultural genocide as seen in the destruction of an ancient Armenian
cemetery in Julfa, Nakhichevan; Azerbaijan’s plummeting human rights
record and deteriorating press freedoms; and the repatriation, pardon
and glorification of Azerbaijan soldier Ramil Safarov who brutally
murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe while the
latter was sleeping at a NATO Partnership for Peace training course
in Hungary in 2004.

“The government of Azerbaijan can shower American officials with
lavish junkets to their country and launch fancy public relations
gimmicks to try to turn American attention away from their petro-fueled
authoritarian oligarchy,” stated Assembly Communications Director
Taniel Koushakjian. “Fortunately, Americans, especially our elected
officials in Congress, are much better informed,” he said.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM-INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 2014 LEMKIN SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Today – 13:09

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute announces 2014 LEMKIN
SCHOLARSHIP program for foreign students and PhD candidates. Raphael
Lemkin scholarship is intended to enable foreign students, who
specialize in genocide studies, especially in the Armenian Genocide,
to visit Armenia for a month to conduct research in local scientific
institutions and libraries.

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute will provide researchers
possibility to carry out their research in AGMI, including necessary
research materials and consultation.

The deadline for application is on 15 December, 2013. The winner will
be selected by the Scientific Council of the AGMI on 25 December, 2013.

The beginning of the scholarship program is on 1 January, 2014.

Winners are free to select a month within 2014 except January,
February and December.

The duration of the scholarship is one month.

Winner of the Scholarship will provide article for International
Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies as a result of his/her research
within 6 months from the end of visit to Armenia.

The AGMI will cover all travel and accommodation expenses related to
the nominee. A separate funding will be provided to cover some per
diem and research expanses.

From: A. Papazian

MARK GERAGOS CALLS U.S. STANCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE HYPOCRITICAL

12:16, 27 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. American-Armenian attorney Mark
Geragos voiced about the Turkish strategy of the Armenian Genocide
denial and the double standards policy of the United States in
this issue. As reports “Armenpress” the participants of Anderson
Cooper 360 program unanimously condemned the policy adopted by Iran
regarding the Holocaust of the Jewish people by Nazis. Mark Geragos
has also participated in the aforesaid program and reminded the
interlocutors that the United States conduct similar policy in the
Armenian Genocide issue, which was followed by the other genocides of
the 20th century. Among other things Mark Geragos underscored: “Turkey
is our greatest ally in that region. But Turkey denies the Armenian
Genocide. As a presidential candidate Barack Obama stated that he will
recognize the Armenian Genocide, if he is elected. So in my opinion
the political dynamics in this issue is a little bit hypocritical.”

Mark John Geragos (born October 5, 1957) is an Armenian-American
criminal defense lawyer. Clients that he represented include Michael
Jackson, actress Winona Ryder, politician Gary Condit, Susan McDougal
and Scott Peterson.

As the Principal with the internationally known trial lawyer firm of
Geragos & Geragos, Mark Geragos cemented his national reputation as
a trial lawyer a dozen years ago with back-to-back State and Federal
Court jury trial acquittals for renowned Whitewater figure Susan
McDougal, later securing a presidential pardon for Ms. McDougal for
a conviction sustained prior to his representation of her.

During the last decade, Geragos has won two consecutive dismissals
of murder charges against clients by proving flawed eyewitness
identification. One of those clients later won a $1.7 million
settlement when the Geragos firm sued the City of Glendale for their
false arrest of that client. In another twelve-week murder trial where
the victim was the defendant’s four-year-old daughter, Geragos was the
lead lawyer where the jury did not convict his client. He convinced a
San Mateo Superior Court Judge to grant probation in a weapons and drug
case brought against Victor Willis, former Village People frontman, and
was the attorney who successfully represented Chris Brown last year.

Geragos won dismissal of prostitution charges against James Bond movie
director Lee Tamahori; dismissal of all felony charges – including
kidnapping and torture – for Hung Bao Zhong, the recognized exiled
leader of China’s shadow government with an estimated 38 million
followers worldwide; dismissal of murder charges for the third time
for a USC co-ed charged with murder in the death of her fetus; and
dismissal of a decades-old murder charge against Japanese national
Kazuyoshi Miura, a case christened the “Japanese O.J. Case” by
Japanese media.

Geragos was one of the lead lawyers in a pair of groundbreaking
Federal Class Action Lawsuits against New York Life Insurance and
AXA Corporation for insurance policies issued in the early 20th
century during the genocide of over 1.5 million Armenians by the
Ottoman Turk Regime, eventually settling these two cases for more
than $37.5 million. He is currently suing the Government of Turkey
for reparations arising out of the Armenian Genocide.

Geragos is the only lawyer besides Johnnie Cochran ever named “Lawyer
of the Year” in both Criminal and Civil arenas. California Law Business
Magazine named Geragos “One of the 100 Most Influential Attorneys in
California” three years in a row, and Geragos has repeatedly been voted
by his peers as one of Los Angeles’ SuperLawyers. His $59 million jury
verdict in a trade secrets case against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer
Corporation was voted both “Top Ten Verdicts in 2008 in California”
by the Daily Journal, as well as “Top Fifty Verdicts in the United
States” by the National Law Journal.

Mark Geragos has represented some of the most prominent figures in the
world. His client list has included former Congressman Gary Condit,
former first brother Roger Clinton, Academy Award-nominated actress
Winona Ryder, pop star Michael Jackson, Nicole Ritchie, singer Chris
Brown, hip hop stars Nathaniel “Nate Dogg” Hale and Sean “Diddy”
Combs (aka Puff Daddy), international arms dealer Sarkis Soghanalian,
and the Sarkisyan family, whose seventeen-year-old daughter died when
Cigna Corporation refused to authorize a liver transplant. For the last
several years, Geragos has represented Barry Bonds’ personal trainer,
Greg Anderson, in his matter relating to the Federal Investigation
into steroid use in Professional Sports.

Geragos has regularly appeared as both guest and legal commentator
on the “Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Dateline NBC,” “Larry
King Live,” “Greta Van Susteren’s On the Record,” “60 minutes,” and
“48 hours,” and has lectured extensively and authored numerous articles
and Law Review publications on the subject of Media and the Law.

Mark Geragos attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania as an
undergraduate, and later earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law
School. He was born in Los Angeles