Month: February 2015

AMERICAN BLOGGER: AZERBAIJAN EXERCISES FALSIFICATIONS BY PROPAGATING IMAGE OF VICTIM

19:48 16/02/2015 >> SOCIETY

“The Assembly of Friends of Azerbaijan,” an affiliate of Turkish
lobbying organization, associated with Fethullah Gulen, an influential
Muslim spiritual figure, sent invitations to Kansas Legislators to
attend a meeting titled “Remember the Khojalu Tragedy.” American
blogger of “Defining the Narrative” carried out a personal research,
ending up urging his friends in the Kansas Legislature not to be
misled by the Azerbaijani propaganda, as long as the events in Khojalu
were “not a genocide by any stretch of the imagination,” unlike the
Armenian Genocide committed by the Turks in 1915. He also warned
that some of the photos presented during the event, could possibly
be taken in other places, in Kosovo for instance, in 1999.

It’s noted in the article, that today Armenia is in good relations with
pretty much everyone other than its neighbors -Turkey and Azerbaijan,
who have blockaded the Armenians for 20 years following a war over
Nagorno Karabakh which left Armenia in control of NK; Azerbaijan is
unwilling to let it go.

The Azerbaijanis and the Turks call the Khojalu battle everything
from a tragedy, to a massacre, to genocide, the article reads. The
loss of civilian life in a war-zone is indeed a tragedy, but this
hardly constitutes a “genocide.” Especially, if the town of 6,000
had been warned beforehand to be evacuated, and a safe corridor was
available for that purpose.

Citing an excerpt from the Human Rights Watch 1993 report, the author
points out to the fact, that indiscriminate attacks commenced from
both sides. He also cites the British journalist Thomas de Waal,
who noted that the events in Khojalu were a result of a spontaneous,
rather than deliberately planned action.

“But the Azerbaijani websites such as ‘Azerbaijan.az’ serve as a
propaganda tool to absolve Azerbaijan of any wrong doing, playing
the victim, while placing all the blame for Khojaly at the feet of
Armenia. Did I mention there were somewhere between 1000-3000 Jihadi
mercenaries from Afghanistan and Chechnya fighting with the Azeri’s
during the war?” the blogger writes.

Also, making a research over the situation in Azerbaijan, the blogger
writes that the country is run by an autocratic regime of a clan
who controls just about everything including the banks, the oil,
the government, education and the media propaganda machine. The
clan run Heydar Aliyev Foundation propagates a favorable narrative
to perspective international partners and allies. Also SOCAR (the
State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic) hosted a large-scale
lobbying event in Baku. According to an article posted on the website
“The Washington Diplomat”, 317 delegates from 42 states, including
11 sitting members of Congress, 75 state representatives and three
ex-insiders of White House – political strategist David Plouffe,
former press secretary Robert Gibbs and ex-deputy chief of staff Jim
Messina took part in the event. The article read that Plouffe, Messina
and Gibbs were given five-figure sums to speak at the forum, praising
Azerbaijan. All in all, $1.5 million were spent on holding the event.

In its turn, CASILIPS (Citizens against Special Interest Lobbying
in Public Schools) noted that the organizer of the event was Kemal
Oksuz (“Kevin” Oksuz), who is a major player in the Gulen Movement
in Azerbaijan and has connections in various states.

On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to 300
people (according to Human Rights Watch, and 600 according to the
version propagated by Azerbaijan) were killed in unknown circumstances
near the city of Aghdam. They have been deliberately withheld by the
Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of the military actions.

Population of the village of Khojalu, which was one of the firing
points shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others)
was kept in the village for months by force and was not evacuated by
the authorities of Azerbaijan deliberately, in order to use them as
human shields later.

Residents of Khojalu coming out through the humanitarian corridor,
that the self-defense forces of NKR had left open, freely passed more
than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city controlled by the Azerbaijani
troops. Later, not far from the positions of Azerbaijani troops dead
bodies of the villagers were found. The exact death toll remains
unknown as the official Baku publishes data contradicting each other.

Parliamentary Commission investigating the tragic death of the
civilians at Aghdam city was dissolved by the order of Heydar Aliyev,
the investigative materials are kept secret.

From: Baghdasarian

KOCHARIAN TO SARGSYAN: BACK OFF ON MOVES AGAINST TSARUKYAN

17:05, February 16, 2015

Commenting on the recent attack by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
on Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukyan, Armenia’s
second president Robert Kocharian, in an interview with 2rd .am,
noted that he couldn’t understand why Sargsyan publicly slandered
Tsarukyan and, in any event, if Sargsyan’s goal was to weaken the BHK,
his attempt backfired.

“On the contrary, there are signs of the opposition uniting. Any
moves against the leader of the BHK will now be seen as a political
witch-hunt that lacks any justification,” Kocharian said in the
interview.

Kocharian said that given the social tension in Armenia and the
widespread support enjoyed by Tsarukyan and his party, further attempts
by the current government to cleanse the political field will only
increase unity against the regime and prospects for civic upheavels
in the country.

“It is not hard to predict how all of this will impact on the economy,
on the situation along the line of contact, and on the implementation
of upcoming events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the
Genocide,” Kocharian told 2rd.am.

Asked if he saw a way out of the current domestic political
confrontation now unfolding, Kocharian said it was incumbent on the
regime to avoid any administrative moves against Tsarukyan and to
remain within the parameters of oral debate.

“The plans broached by the ruling regime during the council session of
the Republican Party are not consistent with Armenia’s constitution
and merely serve to push the BHK and the opposition to organize mass
street actions whose consequences cannot be foreseen,” said Kocharian.

Armenia’s second president warned that arrests and repressive measures
would lead the country, already facing serious problems, into a deep
and long-term crisis.

MANOYAN: WITHDRAWAL OF PROTOCOLS A WELCOME STEP, BUT NOT ENOUGH

By Weekly Staff on February 16, 2015

YEREVAN (A.W.)–Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun
(ARF-D) Bureau member Giro Manoyan has called President Serge
Sarkisian’s decision to withdraw the Turkey-Armenia accord from the
National Assembly a first step to completely neutralize the protocols,
however, he stressed that Armenia must take this further. “This is
a welcome step, but is not enough. It is necessary to completely
neutralize and recall the signatures,” Manoyan told Yerkir.am, adding
that there has always been the possibility of withdrawing from the
protocols.

Giro Manoyan

According to Manoyan, Sarkisian mentioned the possibility of
withdrawing from the accord as early as September 2014, during
his speeches at the 5th Armenia-Diaspora Conference and UN General
Assembly.

He also noted that the ARF-D demanded the withdrawal of Armenia’s
signature from the very beginning, when it was clear that Turkey was
not ready to establish relations with Armenia without preconditions.

ANCA issues statement

Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director
Aram Hamparian released a statement stressing the importance of
withdrawing Armenia’s signature from the Protocols. “Withdrawing
these flawed and failed Protocols from Parliament represents a step
in the right direction–one that needs to be followed immediately by
the next logical step of withdrawing Armenia’s signature from these
Ankara-inspired accords,” said Hamparian.

Aram Hamparian

“As we stressed in 2009–and as is painfully clear today–Armenia
should never have signed these one-sided agreements. Once in
place, despite Turkey’s obvious lies and endless preconditions
and manipulations, this farce was allowed to continue for far too
long. Even through all of this, we remain encouraged that, despite
Ankara’s efforts–through the Protocols and other instruments of
denial– to downgrade the Armenian Genocide from an unpunished
international crime into a simple bilateral conflict, the Armenian
people–in our homeland and diaspora–remain united in our resolve
for a truthful and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide, ”
concluded Hamparian.

Earlier today, Sarkisian sent a letter to the Chairman of the
National Assembly Galust Sahakyan, informing him about his decision
to withdraw the protocols from the National Assembly of Armenia,
reported Armenpress.

On April 23, 2009, an agreement of “mutual understanding,” defined as
a “roadmap,” had been agreed upon by Armenia and Turkey assuring the
world that mutually beneficial relations between them were forthcoming.

In the days leading to the signing of the proposals, Sarkisian made
a tour of several Armenian communities around the world, including
New York, Paris, Beirut, and Los Angeles, only to be met with scorn
and outrage.

Public outcry had virtually no swaying influence on the resolve of the
Armenian authorities, and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian alongside
his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu signed the protocols in Zurich
on Oct. 10, 2009.

On April 22, 2010, only seven months after signing the accord,
Sarkisian made a statement, in which he made it clear that the
political majority in the National Assembly considered statements from
the Turkish side unacceptable, “specifically those by Prime Minister
[Recepy Tayyip] Erdogan, who has again made the ratification of the
Armenia-Turkey protocols by the Turkish parliament directly dependent
on a resolution over Nagorno-Karabagh.”

From: Baghdasarian

YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY SAYS OPPOSITION CANNOT HOLD ‘URGENT’ RALLY

19:47 | February 16,2015 | Politics

Yerevan City Hall has issued a statement saying the notification about
an ‘urgent rally’ submitted by the three opposition parties does not
comply with Articles 26 and 27 of the Law on urgent rallies.

“On February 16, the three opposition forces – Prosperous Armenia
Party (BHK), Heritage and Armenian National Congress (HAK), known as
the trio, submitted to the Yerevan Municipality a notification that
they are going to hold an emergency rally in Yerevan’s Liberty Square
on February 20.

We announce that the second point of Article 26 of the Law on “Freedom
of Rallies”; says “urgent” is a rally which is organized in order to
immediately react to a situation, otherwise that purpose is impossible
to be achieved if the notification deadline is met.

But it becomes clear from the content of the notification letter that
the rally is organized to respond to Serzh Sargsyan’s statement made on
February 12. The need to respond to Sargsyan’s speech eight days later
cannot serve as a ground to hold an urgent rally,” reads the statement.

From: A. Papazian

ARMEN MARTIROSYAN ABOUT THE SHOCKS. “DESTABILIZATION HAPPENS WHEN THERE IS NO PUBLIC CONFIDENCE.”

February 16 2015

Vice-President of “Heritage” assures that the people are in favor of
the opposition Aravot.am asked Vice-President of the “Heritage” party
Armen Martirosyan, who today, on February 15, attended the meeting of
the parliamentary Trio, whether he has no fear that the government
authorities will use all means to deprive the parliamentary Trio of
the resources, in that case, how they are going to involve the wide
public masses in the combat activities. “The opposition has only one
resource, it is the people’s confidence. No government authorities
can deprive the opposition of this resource. The opposition solely can
deprive itself of this resource if it does not fulfill the steps, which
RA citizens and the public demand. All other resources, basically,
are not comparable with the government, so there can be no talk about
these resources. The only powerful and the most important resource is
the people’s confidence, which is in the favor of the opposition,”
said Armen Martirosyan. We asked the Vice-President of “Heritage”
party whether shocks and destabilization are possible, especially
when the Parliamentary Trio had decided to hold a rally on February
20 and go to the end. “I cannot say anything from the government
authorities whether they will go for such moves or not, but as for
the opposition, it is excluded because destabilization can happen
only in the case when you do not public trust and support and you
are trying to implement artificial processes and steps. In our case,
I do not think that similar problem exists,” replied Armen Martirosyan.

Gohar HAKOBYAN

Read more at:

POSTANJYAN: ARMENIA SHOULD WITHDRAW SIGNATURE FROM ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS

The recall of the Armenian-Turkish protocols from the parliament is
not the solution of the problem as they may be included again in the
agenda at any time, MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, a member of Heritage faction,
told Aysor.am.

According to her, Armenia should withdraw its signature from the
protocols.

As was reported, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan today sent a letter
to Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Galust Sahakyan, informing
him about the decision to recall the Protocols on the Establishment
of Diplomatic Relations and on the Development of Relations between
Armenia and Turkey from the Armenian parliament.

16.02.15, 20:26

TWO ACTIONS OF PROTEST SIMULTANEOUSLY HELD IN YEREVAN

Monday, February 16, 18:40

ARMINFO
Two actions of protest were simultaneously held in Yerevan. The
demonstrators demanded their salaries.

ArmInfo’s correspondent reports from the scene that the employees of
Cleanness Center CJSC gathered near the Yerevan Municipality.

Cleanness Center was liquidated in December 2014, with 315 employees
left unemployed. The demonstrators demanded their salaries.

In 2014, Cleanness Center CJSC was declared bankrupt and its whole
property was purchased by Sanitek (Lebanon). Nearly 100 employees
joined the new company, however, the issues of their registration
and wages have not been tackled yet. Sanitek needs both employees
and drivers, however, the job conditions do not satisfy the former
employees.

In the meantime, the employees fired from Nairit Plant gathered near
the Government building. They also demanded their salaries. They
handed a letter to the relevant department of the Government. The
response will be ready on Friday.

To recall, 1,700 employees of Nairit Plant were fired on Feb 6. A total
of 478 employees remain at the Plant now. Nairit Plant has been idle
since April 2010. The Plant’s shares were given as security against
the CIS InterStateBank’s 70 mln USD loan provided in 2006 for 5 years
– till late Dec 2011 – at 12.5% p.a. In 2006, 90% of Nairit Plant’s
shares were sold to Rhinoville Property Limited (UK). The latter owns
an 89,999% stake in the plant, Armenian Ministry of Energy and Natural
Resources – 4,496%, Gazprom Armenia CJSC (previously ArmRusgasprom)
– 3,596%, and Yerevan Thermal Power Plant – 1,907%.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: THE ATTEMPTS OF THE AUTHORITIES TO DISCREDIT GAGIK TSARUKYAN HAVE FAILED BECAUSE OF INCONCLUSIVE REASONING

by Tatevik Shahunyan

Monday, February 16, 18:38

The Armenian authorities still have resources to stop radical processes
in the political life of the country through abandoning of any active
administrative actions against the leader of Prosperous Armenia Party,
Gagik Tsarukyan and returning to the field of political confrontation
with opponents, the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, said
in an interview with the 2rd.am portal, when touching on confrontation
between the Prosperous Armenia Party and Republican Party of Armenia
after the RPA session, when

President Serzh Sargsyan sharply criticized the PAP leader Gagik
Tsarukyan.

Commenting on the internal political developments of recent days,
Kocharyan, in particular, said: “I cannot explain why the president
needed that. If the calculation was that pressure on the Prosperous
Armenia Party (PAP) leader Gagik Tsarukyan will disintegrate the
PAP, then this effect has not been achieved. On the contrary, there
are clear signs of consolidation in the opposition field, a sharp
radicalization of vocabulary and objectives.”

Kocharyan described the arguments of President Serzh Sargsyan voiced
in his February 12 speech as “unconvincing”. “Any action against the
PAP leader will be now regarded by everyone as political persecution,
which lacks any legitimacy. And taking into account the degree of
social tensions and discontent in the country, as well as the PAP’s
and its leader’s wide popularity, the more vigorously the government
tries to “clean up” the political field, the stronger will be the
consolidation against the government and the more so real will be the
prospect of political upheavals. It is not hard to predict how this
all will affect the economy, the situation on the Line of Contact in
Karabakh and the holding of events marking the 100th anniversary of
the Genocide,” Kocharyan said.

Answering the website’s question on whether the government has a
way-out of this situation, the former president said. “I think it
still has. To stop and not to take any administrative action against
the PAP leader, to remain solely within the limits of a verbal duel,
to return to the political dimension of dealing with opponents.”

Kocharyan also expressed the opinion that the intentions expressed
at the ruling Republican Party council meeting “do not fit into the
framework of the Constitution” and “the PAP and the opposition are
literally forced to organize mass street actions, the consequences
of which are unpredictable.”

“Our country is already overloaded with serious problems and their
solution is possible only through the greatest possible consolidation
of society, on the basis of restoring people’s faith in the future
of the country.

What has happened, unfortunately, has become a strong signal in the
opposite direction,” said Kocharyan.

POLICE ARE BEHAVING OUTSIDE THE FRAME OF THE LAW: WHAT COULD HAPPEN DURING OPPOSITION RALLIES

02.16.2015 21:07 epress.am

The parents of dead soldiers, who were subject to violence by the
police during a peaceful protest in front of the Presidential Palace
on February 11, were told at the police that the officers present had
acted properly and “could have used their batons as well,” said Gohar
Ohanjanyan, mother of late Tigran Ohanjanyan, during a Media Center
discussion today. According to the woman, they wished to meet with
Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, however after they received such an
answer from a police representative named Hakobyan, they decided to
leave the building.

Referring to the incident on February 11, Defense of Rights Without
Borders NGO president Haykuhi Harutyunyan said that no such law can be
cited to justify the police for hauling demonstrators from one sidewalk
to another. “The republic’s president made a statement just a few days
earlier about fighting against violence, eliminating illegalities,
and the will to fight against all types of violations that appear. I
don’t think we’ve had a more obvious and appropriate case lately
where these words could be turned into action,” said Harutyunyan,
adding that those who made the command needed to be held accountable.

During the discussion, Helsinki Committee President, human rights
defender Avetik Ishkhanyan expressed conviction that because the
command giver and punisher was the same person, no police officer would
be held responsible. “You think that police officers are violent from
birth? No. This was a command,” said Iskhanyan.

Speaking of the police actions during the protests in recent years,
the human rights defender noted that the situation had become tense
especially after 2013; while the peak was reached when the Russian
president visited Armenia, when hundreds of people were detained.

Ishkhanyan said that such behavior was probably the result of a
political orientation.

“Armenia was relatively restrained in regards to human rights, because
Europe’s opinion was very important. Probably, one of the reasons
for the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) membership is that these those
values are entirely missing from those states,” said Ishkhanyan.

According to him, another reason is the current situation in Ukraine;
“When the civilized world’s attention is on a hot spot, they don’t
take into consideration the law and act violently.”

According to Ishkhanyan, both Armenian and international law state
that if a demonstration is peaceful, even if it’s restricted, the
police do not have the right to intervene, but rather have to be the
peace keepers of the peaceful protest.

The human rights defender expressed concern over the opposition rallies
in the coming days, noting that if during simple public demonstrations,
which do not present any threat to the authorities, the police behave
outside the frame of the law, then the opposition rally can result in
serious consequences, including the existence of political prisoners.

ARMENIANS IN ANATOLIA WAIT FOR CLERGY

Vartan Estukyan 01.26.2015 09:46 SOCIETY

Although there are Armenian churches in Diyarbakýr, Van and Kayseri,
regular mass cannot be held because religious clergy is not appointed
by the Patriarchate. There are no permanent religious officials in
churches in Turkey apart from the churches in Istanbul and the church
in Ýskenderun.

Although the Islamised Armenians in Anatolia face various difficulties
in retaining their identity, they continue to make an effort to return
to their roots and keep the culture of their forefathers alive. One of
the most significant obstacles they encounter is access to a church,
since most churches in Anatolia have been damaged. On the other hand,
although there are Armenian churches in Diyarbakýr, Van and Kayseri,
regular mass cannot be held because religious clergy is not appointed
by the Patriarchate.

At the moment, the only religious official who serves on a permanent
basis is Father Avedis Tabaþyan, the religious official of the Karasun
Manuk Church in Ýskenderun and the Surp Asdvadzadzin Church in Vakýflý
Koy. In addition to Tabaþyan, Father Krikor Damatyan and Deacon Artun
Damatyan visit churches across Anatolia in weeks following important
feasts and hold Badarak Mass with the local Armenian congregation.

Damatyan is actually a religious official of the Kadýkoy Church in
Istanbul, and is in Anatolia at the moment. However, the need for
permanent religious officials in Anatolia continues. Archbishop Ateþyan
responded to our question on the issue: “We cannot say that mass is
not held in Anatolia. Father Krikor Damatyan was in Elazýð last week,
and will be in Sivas this week. And Father Avedis Tabaþyan serves in
Ýskenderun.” However, Anatolian Armenians believe that there should
be permanent religious officials at their churches.

Diyarbakýr is the centre

Armen Galustyan, the President of the Daron Muþ Armenians Solidarity
Social Tourism Association, criticized the Patriarchate and argued
that there should be a religious official in a church in Anatolia:
“Diyarbakýr has a very central location, it is only an hour’s distance
to many cities in Anatolia. Not only Diyarbakýr, there could also be
a religious official in Van, but there should be a permanent religious
official at least in Diyarbakýr. And mass should be held at least twice
a month. There are Armenians living in many cities from Muþ to Batman
to Kayseri. These people have reverted to their identity, and they
want to keep it alive. The church is of paramount importance for that.”

Galustyan also states that the church for him has a cultural rather
than religious significance: “For me the Church is my culture. I want
my funeral to be held there, I want to get married in church. But
no one in Istanbul cares about this. The community here will never
become active if a representative is not sent from Istanbul.”

‘No churches have been left standing!’

Hikmet Bakýrcý, a resident of Adýyaman, states that the Armenians
in Adýyaman attend mass held at the Syriac Church. Bakýrcý says
that the majority of the congregation attending mass at the Ancient
Syriac Church are Armenians, and that since there are no Armenian
churches in good conditions to hold service in surrounding cities,
they are forced to hold their religious ceremonies in other churches:
“All the Armenian churches in this area have been destroyed. The church
in the best condition in this area is in Diyarbakýr, but that is quite
a distance. We can only go there on religious feast. The only church
we can hold mass in Adýyaman is the Ancient Syriac Church. We hold
mass once every two weeks, and sometimes three times a month. 80%
of those who attend are Armenians.”

‘Armenians have become Syriacized’

The circumstances in Diyarbakýr are different. Melike Dara Gunal, a
resident of Diyarbakýr, says that Armenians in Anatolia were either
Islamised over time, or lost their beliefs, whereas some Diyarbakýr
Armenians have adapted to Syriac culture. “Most Diyarbakýr Armenians,
for social and political reasons, have become Islamised or lost
their beliefs. Therefore, the appointment of a permanent religious
official to the church would have no affect on that group. The number
of Christian Armenians is sadly no more than a few. And they have
been influenced by Syriac theology, and have adapted to the culture
of the Syriac Church.”

Gunal adds that there are also some Armenians who want a permanent
religious official to be appointed to the Surp Giragos Church:
“Albeit a few, there are still some who want the appointment of a
religious official so that Christianity, a fundamental element of
Armenian culture, can be learned. The very few remaining Anatolian
Armenians are trying to keep their faith alive. However, the younger
generation of Armenians lose their identity, as they are detached from
the church; they either become Syriacized, Kurdified or Turkified. The
presence of a religious official is of great importance for the sake
of keeping Anatolian Armenians together.”