Month: April 2016

By Harut Sassounian 
Publisher, The California Courier

In last week’s large-scale attack on Artsakh (Karabakh), the Azeri military killed and injured dozens of Armenian soldiers and civilians, using the sophisticated weapons purchased from Israel and Russia for billions of dollars.

The Armenian government and Armenians worldwide accused both Israel and Russia of responsibility for the innocent Armenian lives lost in the recent Azeri invasion.

Prof. Israel Charny, a righteous Jew and a staunch defender of human rights, could not remain silent knowing that his country — Israel — had a bloody role in the Armenian killings. As Executive Director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, Dr. Charny sent a scathing commentary to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, under the provocative title: “Would Israel Sell a Used Drone to a Hitler?” Here is what he wrote:

“If the Nazis were not at all murdering Jews but ‘only’ were murdering say hated Slavs, Gypsies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses; and if our beloved State of Israel were in existence; would you agree to our selling arms to the Nazis?

“Israel is reported to have sold billions of dollars of arms including to governments that are killing or threatening to attack victim peoples. Last week, there came reports that an Israeli drone in the hands of Azerbaijan — a huge arms customer of ours — was responsible for the deaths of six Armenians in the Armenian enclave Nagorno Karabakh.

“I am ashamed!

“The Armenians were the victims of a major genocide 100 years ago that has even been called the ‘Armenian Shoah’ by some Israeli scholars, including from Bar Ilan University. A great deal of their national and cultural concern continues to focus passionately on the memory of that genocide (does that sound familiar to us Jews?). For many years now, we Israelis — whether led by Labor or Likud — have insulted and hurt the Armenian people by failing to recognize their genocide officially and formally. Would we ourselves tolerate another government — say the U.S. or England — failing to recognize the Holocaust because of their realpolitik interest with the perpetrator government?

“One senior Armenian official has written several of us in Israel to express his deep pain as well as indignation now not only at our cowardly and self-serving denials of the Armenian Genocide, but also at our thick military trade alliance with Azerbaijan. I am reminded of the prophet Nathan crying out to King David for an earlier though more delectable murderous act of self-interest: It’s bad enough that you killed him, are you also taking a profit from the sordid affair? The Azeris are a Turkic people who adhere to Turkey’s bizarre and fascist tradition of rewriting history and denying the Armenian Genocide.

“In general, how much do we Israelis want to strengthen our economy by lucrative arms sales? Of course, ‘everyone’ in the world is doing it, but do we have to also? Have we given up the image/dream of Israel as a moral leader of peoples on this planet? Is this idea tiresome, naïve, and childlike in a madly destructive and self-destroying world?

“An alternative concept could be that along with our building arms first and foremost for the defense of Israel, that we sell — or contribute — arms only to underdog peoples who are facing mass destruction, and/or to allies like the U.S., who are essentially committed to shared democratic values and peace. Of course, we will still be making some mistakes, but at least our conscience will be more clear that we have not delivered used arms to the ‘Nazis.’

“To my Armenian colleagues and friends, I can only say that as a Jew and as an Israeli, I am mortified — and angry.”

Prof. Charny’s harsh words are fully justified as both Israeli and Russian officials have shamefully pledged to continue shipping more weapons to Azerbaijan!

Dr. Charny has never shied away from expressing his critical views on Israel’s immoral policies on Armenian issues. In a scathing letter in 2001, he told Israel’s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres: “You have gone beyond a moral boundary that no Jew should allow himself to trespass…. As a Jew and an Israeli, I am ashamed of the extent to which you have now entered into the range of actual denial of the Armenian Genocide, comparable to denials of the Holocaust.”

Prof. Charny should be highly commended for his bold and righteous stand, taking to task the callous leaders of his own country!

A number of findings uncovered in the village of Yervand, Syunik Province date back to the Urartian times. The 200 items unearthed by a treasure hunter include poleaxes, works of art, bronze statuettes, etc.

“The findings date back to 8-6 centuries BC, the era of the Kingdom of Van,” Hakob Simonyan of the Ministry of Culture told reporters today.

The story came to light, when the treasure-hunter tried to sell the findings.

Archaeologist, art critic Hakob Simonyan says the collection is of great value and should be showcased not only in Armenia, but also the best known museums of the world.

Earlier this month, two brown bears, Masha and Girsha were relocated from the cramped quarters in a zoo in the Armenian town of Gyumri to the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Romania, bringing to a happy end to more than six months of efforts to rescue them, according to

The bears and three lions had been living a miserable life in captivity in a privately-owned zoo in Gyumri. The zoo had been featured in the British tabloid, Daily Mail, back in January as “the world’s saddest zoo.” The article, which went viral, said that the animals were starving and had been left to die by the owner who had abandoned the facility.

An absolutely wonderful place in Romania, Libearty Sanctuary, the largest brown bear sanctuary in Europe, agreed to provide homes for the bears. Just as critical, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation (BBF), France’s leading animal protection organization, agreed to fund the relocation of the bears.

In the following months individuals and organizations from Armenia (Yerevan and Gyumri), France, Spain, and Romania put together an impressive effort to rescue the Gyumri Zoo animals.

Turkey’s any interference with the Karabakh conflict settlement can only harm the process, because of Turkey’s unilateral stance and its mania of supporting Azerbaijan at any cost, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

“The aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact and Turkey’s provocative statements are the best proof of it,” he added.

Speaking at the Islamic Cooperation Organization, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speculated the ‘Islamic solidarity,’ thus trying to present Azerbaijan’s military actions against self-determined Nagorno Karabakh as a religious conflict. Kocharyan labelet it a “dangerous attempt.”

“The current policy of the Turkish authorities is a consequence of the wave of instability, terrorism and bloodshed both inside Turkey and outside its borders. With the above-mentioned provocative statement the Turkish Foreign Minister actually reveals its plans to extend the wave to the South Caucasus,” the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

“We’re confident that aware of the real goals of Turkey, our traditionally friendly Muslim countries, will not give in to Ankara’s provocations,” Shavarsh Kocharyan concluded.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today Nobel Prize winners in the area of medicine and adjacent areas Aaron Ciechanover, Ada Yonath, Dan Shechtman, John Robin Warren, and Ei-ichi Negishi.

These scientists, who were awarded the greatest prize in the area of science, have arrived to Armenia in the framework of the scientific event organized by the M. Heratsi State Medical University of Yerevan.

At the meeting, discussed were issues related to the development in Armenia of science, particularly of medicine and adjacent areas.

Member of the European Parliament Josep-Maria Terricabras (Spain) calls or international recognition of Nagorno Karabakh.

Addressing the EP plenary session, Mr. Terricabras reminded that on December 10, 1991 the people of Nagorno Karabakh voted for independence in a referendum and added that this democratic process was responded by a military offensive by Azerbaijan with more than 30 thousand dead.

“Subsequently, ceasefire between Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia was signed. The creation of the Minsk Group in 1992 was a breakthrough, but Azerbaijan has refused to implement a mechanism for monitoring the violations of the ceasefire, the MEP said.

“Nagorno Karabakh has fully democratic institutions, an exemplary judicial system, and low levels of corruption. For this reason we request the inclusion of representatives of Nagorno Karabakh in the negotiations of the Minsk Group, precisely because they determine the future of the country’s inhabitants,”Josep-Maria Terricabras said.

He concluded that the “for the resolution of the military conflict, it is necessary to recognize internationally the new independent state.”

Ahead of the debate on Nagorno-Karabakh in the European Parliament (EP) this evening, several European politicians have already expressed their views on the worrisome situation in the region, calling for different measures of support to Karabakh.

One of them is the Vice-President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, MEP Josep-Maria Terricabras. He has already taken the floor during the European Parliament plenary opening yesterday, demanding the inclusion of Nagorno Karabakh in the peace negotiations and calling for its full international recognition based on the democratic referendum of 1991, as well as Karabakh’s working democratic institutions, low corruption levels, and well respected judiciary.

Likewise, MEP Françoise Grossetête, who is Vice-President of the EPP group in the European Parliament has also referred to this matter. She has tabled a written question, deploring civilian victims and asking the EU High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini, for measures to enforce and respect the cease-fire.
Lastly, MEP Jordi Sebastia has sent an inquiry to the EU High Representative/Vice-President, underlining atrocities committed by Azerbaijan on Karabakhi civilians and asking the EU to stop “calls on both sides” in situations where there is clearly one culprit. MEP Sebastia has recently travelled to both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh accompanied by EuFoA.

European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) welcomes these important voices. “We are very proud that our awareness-raising activities are bearing fruit”, comments EuFoA Director, Mr Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa. “In our opinion, all our European friends have a constructive message that could help to bring a sustainable solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict”.

– Turkey has been making drastic decisions in different towns of the majority Kurdish southeast in the past few weeks. On March 21, Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government hastily passed legislation referred to as “urgent expropriation of the Sur district” of Diyarbakir province. On March 26, the government’s Official Gazette announced all the addresses of the properties to be expropriated.

These decisions have been met with local opposition, which has been silenced swiftly. But the Sur situation generated global reactions because of the town’s history — so much so that Galip Ensarioglu, a prominent AKP parliamentarian, told the press that the US Embassy had called him asking about the reports. Ensarioglu said the reports amounted to a smear campaign spreading false information about the confiscation process. Others beg to differ.

Indeed, the story of Sur evolves around historic churches and citadels of the town, which are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Months of fighting with the Kurdistan Workers Party have left the region in ruins, and ambiguous government statements furthered the frustration of civilians who were obliged to leave their homes. One of the concerned groups is Armenian. About 110 years ago, the region’s population distribution shows Sur was an Armenian majority town.

As aerial images of Sur expropriations started circulating on social media, Armenians all around the world became concerned, particularly about one church that was reopened only in 2011. Soon it became clear that several inalienable religious endowment properties, or waqf, along with the largest Armenian Church, St. Giragos Armenian Apostolic Church, were included on the list. About 82% of the district is estimated to have been expropriated by the government.

Raffi Bedrosyan, a Canadian-Armenian civil engineer and writer who was involved in the reconstruction of St. Giragos, spoke to Al-Monitor about its significance. According to Bedrosyan, St. Giragos is the largest Armenian church in the Middle East. “It dates back to the 14th century, and with several expansions, it served the large Armenian community of 100,000 in Diyarbakir until 1915,” he said.

After the Armenians were forced to leave the city, the church was made to serve different purposes, from an army barracks to a warehouse. Constant attempts to keep it functioning as a church were futile until a waqf foundation was able to reclaim the property.

“In 2009, a newly formed church charitable foundation showed the courage and determination to start reconstruction of [St.] Giragos. With organized fundraising from the Armenian community in Istanbul and worldwide Armenian diasporas, as well as some contribution from the local Kurdish municipal leaders, the church was renovated and opened in 2011, and more than 4,000 people attended,” Bedrosyan said.

He added, “It soon became a spiritual and cultural center for Armenian pilgrims from the diaspora and a meeting place for thousands and thousands of hidden Armenians living in the region, who are the descendants of 1915 orphaned Armenian girls and boys [who were] forcibly Islamized, Kurdified and Turkified. The [St.] Giragos Church Foundation also succeeded in having several properties … restored to church ownership.”

In 2012, Bedrosyan gave a memorable piano concert at the church. The church became a catalyst, bringing Christians and descendants of Armenians from all around the world to Sur, and it also served as a spiritual refuge for hundreds of Islamized Armenian survivors.

Aline Ozinian is a regional analyst for the Armenian Assembly of America and a correspondent for Agos, an Armenian daily published in Turkey. She described for Al-Monitor how the news of expropriation resonated among Armenians.

“First and foremost, it caused a loss of trust of the government. In the early years of the AKP, there was hope for a fresh start because the AKP appeared to be embracing the rhetoric of religious freedom. During the reconstruction process of [St.] Giragos, there was hope that, as citizens of Turkey, Armenians would have an achievement,” Ozinian said. “Yet with this expropriation decision, it is confirmed that this was a cheap illusion. The police mentality that yells at the Kurds ‘You are all Armenians’ has now been institutionalized. The expropriation of [St.] Giragos symbolizes a punishment for both Kurds and Armenians. It is highly probable that the AKP is punishing Armenians, as some Armenians have voted for the pro-Kurdish HDP [Peoples’ Democratic Party].”

The AKP has repeatedly denied expropriating churches. Ensarioglu vehemently rejected expropriation of any of the churches, saying, “We are only here to repair the churches and give them back to the waqfs.” Yet none of the locals seemed convinced by his statements. As the pressure built, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Sur on April 1.

Ozinian said, “Davutoglu’s first task at Sur was to pray at a mosque. This was a message. The church had rejuvenated the Islamized Armenians in the region, encouraging them to investigate their histories. It seems the Turkish government, intolerant toward differences, will resolve all problems by expropriating the church.”

She also emphasized the sudden turn in Turkish press coverage. “During the reconstruction process of the church from 2009 to 2011, the press coverage was extensive. The church was portrayed as a monument of ‘the AKP’s tolerance,’ yet the expropriation news barely made it into the mainstream media, and not to the headlines at all. In 1915, hatred removed and cleansed the Armenians from Sur, and now I fear a similar destiny awaits the Kurds.”

Indeed, Ozinian’s concerns have been repeated by several columnists from the region who say they fear the government plans to empty the region of Kurds and settle Syrian refugees as a buffer zone between Kurdish areas. Another concern is the greed factor. The AKP has prepared a video showing what the future of the historic Sur district would look like. Davutoglu likened it to the reconstructed city of Toledo, Spain. “I told my wife, we should own a house in Sur as well,” he added.

Locals were not satisfied with his words, as prominent columnist Nurcan Baysal penned a searing column titled “Take Toledo for yourself and leave Sur alone.” Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the HDP, had already submitted an inquiry about the ancient church and has been seeking to halt its expropriation.

Many believe this move by the AKP is another lucrative gentrification project for construction companies belonging to AKP cronies. In the midst of all this, the country’s biggest Armenian church appears to have met the same destiny as dozens of others in the region — it has become collateral damage.

The Armenian Community of Barcelona held a memorial service for the soldiers and the innocent civilians who were killed during the recent Azerbaijani offensive against Nagorno Karabakh.

Also there was special Prayer Service for the Steadfast Peace in Armenia and Artsakh, the Armenian Cultural Association of Barcelona informs.