Month: February 2015

RUSSIAN EXPERT: RUSSIA WILL CONTINUE KEEPING AZERBAIJAN FROM ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT BY FORCE

by David Stepanyan

ARMINFO
Monday, February 16, 22:18

Considering Russia’s obligations to defend Armenia from external
threats, any attacks on the Armenian territory will give it a pretext
for interfering into the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian expert
Vladimir Yevseyav told ArmInfo on Monday.

“They in Azerbaijan are trying to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
by force, so, there may be new tensions in the area. But I don’t think
that this has anything to do with the Ukrainian crisis. Aliyev is
more interested in oil prices as this is the basis of his welfare,”
Yevseyav said.

The expert does not think that Russia should stop its military-
technical cooperation with Azerbaijan. “This would not benefit
Armenia, while Russia would lose its influence on Azerbaijan. If this
cooperation continues, the Russians can at one moment stop supplying
spare parts to the arms they have already supplied and this would be
a preventive step for Azerbaijan,” Yevseyav said.

He is sure that Russia will continue keeping Azerbaijan from attempts
to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by force. “Unlike the Americans,
the Russians seek no PR here,” Yevseyav said.

From: Baghdasarian

PREDICTION: THE GEO-POLITICS OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS WILL BE MUCH DETERMINED BY STRENGTHENING OF RELATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY AND RUSSIA AND IRAN

by David Stepanyan

ARMINFO
Monday, February 16, 22:17

The recent voting at PACE showed that there is no unity in Europe
regarding Russia. The initiators have managed to reach such a decision
with great difficulty and by means of great pressure, Russian political
expert, Vladimir Yevseev, told Arminfo correspondent.

To note, in 28 January PACE voted for depriving the Russian delegation
of the right to vote.

“And latter it will be more and more difficult for the Americans
to control Europe. I mean France which having a new leadership,may
occupy a more pro-Russian position”, – he said.

As for the geo-politics of the South Caucasus, the expert thinks
that it will be much determined by strengthening of relations between
Russia and Turkey and Russia and Iran.

He thinks that in future Moscow, Ankara and Teheran should make an
arrangement on setting up of a principally new system of regional
security, which will lead to decrease of the military and political
role of the USA in the South Caucasus.

From: Baghdasarian

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS WHO HAVE RECOGNIZED THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: UGUR UNGOR

By MassisPost
Updated: February 14, 2015

By Hambersom Aghbashian

Ugur Umit Ungor was born in 1980, in Erzincan, Turkey and raised in
Enschede , in the Netherlands. Currently, he is Assistant Professor
at the Department of History at Utrecht University and at the *NIOD,
which is an Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies
in Amsterdam.. He specializes in genocide, mass violence and
ethnic conflict. Dr. Ungor gained his Ph.D. in 2009 (cum laude)**
at the University of Amsterdam. In 2008- 2009, he was Lecturer in
International History at the Department of History of the University
of Sheffield, and in 2009-10, he was Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
at the Centre for War Studies of University College Dublin. His main
area of interest is the historical sociology of mass violence and
nationalism and his most recent publications include “Confiscation
and Destruction: The Young Turk Seizure of Armenian Property”
(New York/London; Continuum 2011) and the award-winning “The Making
of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1950”
(Oxford; Oxford University Press 2011).(1)(2)

“Confiscation and Destruction: The Young Turk Seizure of Armenian
Property” by Ugur Ungor and Mehmet Polatel is the first major study
of the mass sequestration of Armenian property by the Young Turk
regime during the 1915 Armenian genocide. It details the emergence
of Turkish economic nationalism, offers insight into the economic
ramifications of the genocidal process, and describes how the plunder
was organized on the ground. The interrelated nature of property
confiscation initiated by the Young Turk regime and its cooperating
local elites offers new insights into the functions and beneficiaries
of state-sanctioned robbery. By drawing on secret files and unexamined
records, the authors demonstrate that while Armenians were suffering
systematic plunder and destruction, a range of properties were assigned
to ordinary Turks for the purpose of their progress.(3)

Ugur Ungor’s book “The making of modern Turkey. Nation and State
in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1950” is a study which highlights how two
successive Turkish-nationalist regimes, from 1913 to 1950, subjected
Eastern Turkey to various forms of nationalist population policies
aimed at ethnically homogenizing the region and including it in the
Turkish nation state. Moreover, it examines how the regime used
technologies of social engineering such as physical destruction,
deportation, spatial planning, forced assimilation, and memory
politics, in order to increase ethnic and cultural homogeneity within
the nation state. The province of Diyarbakir, the heartland of Armenian
and Kurdish life, became an epicenter of Young Turk population policies
and the theater of unprecedented levels of mass violence. These violent
processes of state formation often destroyed historical regions and
emptied multicultural cities, clearing the way for modern nation
states(4). The book was the winner of the Erasmus Research Prize
(Praemium Erasmianum – 2010) and of the Keetje Hodshon Prize, awarded
by the Royal Netherlands Society of Sciences and Humanities. Besides,
he was awarded by the 2012 Heineken Young Scientist Award in History
by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences. (5)

In his article entitled “Prolific Young Scholar on Armenian Genocide
in Holland”, Aram Arkun wrote in “The Armenian Mirror-Spectator”, Feb.

7, 2012, Ugur Umit Ungor is one of a new generation of scholars
emerging from Turkey who deal forthrightly with the Armenian Genocide.

Ungor was led to his interest in the Armenian Genocide by reading
about the Holocaust, and in particular, “Rethinking the Holocaust”,
a book by Yehuda Bauer, and he made comparisons with other genocides,
including the Armenian one. Despite his own family origins in the
same region as this genocide, Ungor said, “I had never heard about
such an event and it sparked my curiosity. When I did my research, I
was amazed by the difference between the denial of official histories
in Turkey versus what the ordinary population in Eastern Turkey knew
about the Genocide. I traveled around Eastern Turkey and did many
interviews with old people, who openly spoke about the Armenians as
having been massacred by the government.”(6)

“Turkey Has Acknowledged the Armenian Genocide” is Ugur Ungor
article in The Armenian Weekly ( April 27, 2012), where he wrote
“Turkey denies the Armenian Genocide” goes a jingle. Yes, the Turkish
state’s official policy towards the Armenian Genocide was and is indeed
characterized by the “three M’s”: misrepresentation, mystification,
and manipulation. But when one gauges what place the genocide occupies
in the social memory of Turkish society, even after nearly a century,
a different picture emerges. Even though most direct eyewitnesses to
the crime have passed away, oral history interviews yield important
insights. Elderly Turks and Kurds in eastern Turkey often hold vivid
memories from family members or fellow villagers who witnessed or
participated in the genocide. There is a clash between official state
memory and popular social memory: The Turkish government is denying
a genocide that its own population remembers.(7)

—————-

*NIOD: Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam
, Neterlands, is an organization which maintains archives and carries
out historical studies into the Second World War. The institute was
founded as a merge of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation
(Nederlands instituut voor oorlogs documentatie, NIOD) and the Center
for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS).

**Cum laude is an honor added to a diploma or degree for work that
is above average. (with honor).

1- 2-

3-

4-

5- 6-

7-

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANCC THANKS BOLIVIAN GOVERNMENT FOR SPEAKNG THE TRUTH ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

February 16, 2015

Ottawa (Feb. 5) – A delegation of the ANCC (Armenian National Committee
of Canada) had the opportunity to personally thank Bolivian Ambassador
to Canada for his government’s recent adoption of a strongly worded
Armenian Genocide legislation.

It was important for the ANCC delegation to discuss with H.E. Edgar
Torrez Mosqueira Ambassador and First Secretary Claudia Rocabado
Mrden, who reiterated the importance for President Evo Morales and
the Bolivian government to condemn the genocide and all human rights
atrocities. The two parties exchanged on similarities (both countries
being landlocked, for example) and between the two countries and
insisted on establishing a more lasting and active friendship between
the Armenian Canadian community, Armenia and Bolivia.

Before leaving, Ambassador Torrez insisted that he would remind
President Morales of the Armenian government’s invitation to attend
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Armenia.

POLICE DISARM GAGIK TSARUKYAN’S SECURITY GUARDS

Monday, February 16, 23:22

The police have started disarming Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP)
leader Gagik Tsarukyan’s security guards following the deterioration
of relations between Tsarukyan and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

“Zhoghovurd” (People) newspaper says that the matter concerns 200
employees of the Police’s state security division, who were carrying
arms in full compliance with the law and guarding Tsarukyan’s business
facilities under a contract.

When commenting on the information, the Armenian Police press service
reports that the specified division of the Police allegedly undergoes
regular inspections aimed at enhancing the professional skills of
the staff and firing the unprofessional employees.

At the Feb 12 session of the Republican Party of Armenia Council,
Serzh Sargsyan strongly criticized Tsarukyan for his “pseudo-political”
activities and said that he is going to exclude Tsarukyan from the
National Security Council. Sargsyan also touched on Tsarukyan’s
competence level and pointed out his failure to pay taxes.

Following Serzh Sargsyan’s Feb 12 criticism against Tsarukyan,
the leader of PAP made a speech, saying that he “is persecuted”
because he refuses to help the President to retain power by means of
constitutional reforms. Tsarukyan pointed out that in his Feb 12 speech
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan hinted at the taxes that Tsarukyan
failed to pay. “During his term in office, all the enterprises
belonging to me and to my relatives repeatedly underwent audit”,
he said. “Meanwhile, the people perfectly know who is robbing the
budget at the state level and who is engaged in kick-backs”, he added.

From: A. Papazian

INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE: PERMYAKOV DID NOT ACT UNDER INFLUENCE OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL OR OTHER PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES

by Karina Manukyan

Monday, February 16, 23:26

Blood specimens collected from Valery Permyakov and another 12
conscripts of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia,
contained no drugs, alcohol or other psychotropic substances, the
Investigation Committee of Armenia says.

According to the source, Permyakov’s phone calls before the murder and
after it, including from the mobile phones he stole from the spot,
are available. All the subscribers who received or made calls to
Permyakov’s phones are being interrogated.

Over a dozen of servicemen and representatives of the Command of the
102nd military base have been interrogated over the case.

The investigation did not expose whether Permyakov used a suppressor
or not.

A family of six was killed by Russian soldier Valery Permyakov in
Gyumri on Jan 12. The only survivor, six-month- old Seryozha Avetisyan,
who received stab wounds, died in hospital on Jan 19. On 14 January
Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office reported that they did not
discuss the issue of handing over of Permyakov to the Armenian party,
as according to the Russian legislation, a Russian citizen cannot be
handed over to another country. But after numerous protest actions
near the 102-nd Russian military base in Gyumri and the meeting at the
president’s residence, Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan
said that the investigation of the case will be held according to the
legislation of Armenia and Russia through comparing the legislative
acts of the two countries. He emphasized that the criminal will
be imprisoned at the territory of Armenia and the process will be
transparent in order to avoid public resonance. In line with the
decision of the Russian Military Garrison Court, Valery Permyakov was
arrested and charged with murder of two and more persons as well as
abandonment of post under arms.

LEADERSHIP OF 102ND RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN ARMENIA TO BE REPLACED

by Marianna Lazarian

Monday, February 16, 23:11

Commander of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia,
Colonel Andrey Rudzinkiy will leave his post, according to ArmInfo’s
sources at the military base.

In addition, the psychologist of the military base – who was
responsible for the consultation of the servicemen in the period of
the family murder in Gyumri – was dismissed as well.

A family of six was killed by Russian soldier Valery Permyakov in
Gyumri on Jan 12. The only survivor, six-month- old Seryozha Avetisyan,
who received stab wounds, died in hospital on Jan 19. On 14 January
Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office reported that they did not
discuss the issue of handing over of Permyakov to the Armenian party,
as according to the Russian legislation, a Russian citizen cannot be
handed over to another country. But after numerous protest actions
near the 102-nd Russian military base in Gyumri and the meeting at the
president’s residence, Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan
said that the investigation of the case will be held according to the
legislation of Armenia and Russia through comparing the legislative
acts of the two countries. He emphasized that the criminal will
be imprisoned at the territory of Armenia and the process will be
transparent in order to avoid public resonance. In line with the
decision of the Russian Military Garrison Court, Valery Permyakov was
arrested and charged with murder of two and more persons as well as
abandonment of post under arms.

GRANDFATHER WAS ‘GENOCIDE’ VICTIM

Belfast Telegraph, Ireland
Feb 16 2015

A Northern Ireland man who believes his grandfather was killed and
buried in an Armenian mass grave has called on the British and Irish
governments to recognise the deaths as genocide.

Paul Manook said his grandfather was lined up alongside other men in
a village in modern-day eastern Turkey by Ottoman Turkish soldiers
a century ago. He was never seen again.

Turkey denies Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million people died in
an act of genocide during the First World War when troops targeted
the Christian minority.

Dr Manook said: “Because of the geopolitics of the region the UK
does not want to touch this. Ireland is a small country, probably
they will follow the UK because they are a small country and there
are quite a lot of links together.”

Turkey has resisted widespread calls for it to recognise as genocide
the 1915-16 killings, which followed mass deportations, but apologised
for the deaths.

According to the UN, genocide involves acts intended “to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.

The dispute about whether deaths caused by the Ottomans represented
genocide centres on the degree to which the killings were orchestrated.

The most notorious example of genocide is the Nazis’ attempted
extermination of the Jews. This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day was
marked across Britain and Ireland.

Mr Manook, 64, from Millisle in Co Down, said his grandfather Manook
Dishchekenian was removed from his village along with many other men.

“They lined them up and took them.”

He said his father was then aged six.

“My grandmother realised immediately, she just took my dad and four
aunts and they escaped the village. My father was a survivor of
the genocide.”

He said the fate for men left behind was grim.

“I have a strong feeling that they must have killed them and buried
them in mass graves.”

Armenians mark the date April 24 1915 as the start of what they regard
as genocide.

In Turkey public debate on the issue has been stifled, using the law
to prosecute writers who highlight the mass killings.

However last month Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, said:
“Having already underscored the inhumane consequences of the relocation
policies essentially enforced under wartime circumstances, including
that of 1915, Turkey shares the suffering of Armenians and, with
patience and resolve, is endeavouring to re-establish empathy between
the two peoples.

“Our 23 April 2014 message of condolence, which included elements
of how, primarily through dialogue, we may together bring an end to
the enmity that has kept our relations captive, was a testament to
this determination.

“Only by breaking taboos can we hope to begin addressing the great
trauma that froze time in 1915. For its part, Turkey has transcended
this critical threshold and relinquished the generalisations and
stereotypical assertions of the past.”

Edward Horgan, a former UN soldier from Ireland and peace activist,
said a group of politicians from the Dail in Dublin was being created
to lobby on the issue.

“Clearly it is an issue of language but the fact is that the Turkish
government, who were not involved in the genocide, has consistently
denied and prosecuted people in Turkey for highlighting and proclaiming
it was a genocide, that does need to be addressed.”

Last year previous Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
speaking on the eve of the 99th anniversary, offered condolences for
the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule.

Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller than Armenian
estimates.

A spokesman for the London embassy said: “Turkey is legitimately
challenging the Armenian views of history. This is based on documents
in archives, many scholarly studies as well as the memory of millions
of people in Turkey.

“I would like to highlight that genocide is a clearly defined crime
with specific conditions of proof. There is no verdict given by
a competent court or whatsoever, labelling the events of 1915 as
genocide.”

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay
recognise the conflict as genocide. The UK, US, Israel and others
use different names.

Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: “While the
terrible suffering cannot be forgotten and we must continue to remember
and honour the victims of the past, we believe the UK’s priority
today should be to promote reconciliation between the peoples and
governments of Turkey and Armenia and to find a way for these two
countries to face their joint history together.”

Printed also in

ARMENIA HALTS RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT WITH TURKEY

Associated Press Online
February 16, 2015 Monday 3:14 PM GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – The Armenian president has asked the country’s
parliament speaker to withdraw his signature from a groundbreaking 2009
agreement with Turkey meant to restore ties between the two nations,
his office said on Monday.

President Serge Sarkisian said in a statement on Monday that Armenia
would not ratify the agreement because of the “preconditions” that
Turkey is putting in place before it ratifies its part of the deal.

The agreement aims to restore diplomatic ties between the countries
as well as re-open the common border, which has been closed since 1993.

It was brokered by the United States and other nations.

In another sign of tensions between the countries, the Turkish
foreign minister recently urged Armenia to pull out its forces from
Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region of Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region and some adjacent territory have been
under the control of Armenian soldiers and local Armenian forces
since a 1994 cease-fire that ended a six-year war.

WINNERS OF QURAN COMPETITION HONORED IN ARMENIA

Iranian Quran News Agency
15 February 2015

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Top participants at a competition on memorization and
recitation of Surah Saf were awarded in a ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia.

According to yerevan.icro, the Quran competition was organized
by Iranian Cultural Center in Yerevan on the occasion of the 36th
anniversary of the Islamic Revolution’s victory.

Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) Cultural Center of the Blue Mosque in the Armenian
capital city also cooperated in holding the competition.

Promotion of the Quranic culture and paving the way for dissemination
of Quranic teachings in Muslims’ life particularly among the Iranians
residing in Armenia were among the objectives of the competition.

The three top participants in the competition were awarded in the
ceremony hosted by the Blue Mosque on February 12.

The program continued with a speech presented by Majid Moshki,
Iranian cultural attache in Yerevan, who talked about Islamic-Iranian
life style.

Participants at the ceremony recited Komeil Supplication at the end
of the program.