Author: Alex Nanijanian

Varuzhan Sukiasyan will take charge of the Armenian national football team.

Sukiasyan’s candidacy was unanimously approved at the sitting of the Executive Committee of the Football Federation of Armenia.

He previously headed Yerevan’s “Ararat.”

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan visited today Gyumri town on the 27th anniversary of the 1988 earthquake.

The Head of Government laid a wreath and observed a minute’s silence at the Earthquake Memorial in the Holy Savior church of Gyumri.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will leave for Belgium Tuesday, Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

In Brussels, Minister Nalbandian is expected to attend the meeting of Foreign Ministers of countries participating in NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.

Photo: Reuters

Prosecutors in Brazil have requested the indictment of former international football player Edilson for involvement in a lottery fraud scheme, the BBC reports.

Edilson, 45, played in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning squad and for some of the country’s top clubs.

Investigators say he used his fame and prestige to persuade bank managers to cooperate with the scheme.

The gang produced false winning lottery tickets, which were validated by the managers.

The prize money was then paid into accounts set up by the gang.

President Serzh Sargsyan has offered condolences over the crash of the bus on Don federal road en route from Moscow to Yerevan. The statement reads:

“Dear compatriots,
It was with great sorrow that I learnt about the crash of the bus en route from Moscow to Yerevan and the irreversible consequences of it. The whole Armenian nation, any of us incurred a great loss last night. On this moment of sorrow I express my condolences and support to the families and friends of the victims.  I also wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

The President has instructed the law-enforcement bodies to take all legal measures to investigate the causes of the crash in cooperation with the relevant bodies in Russia.

The President has also instructed the law-enforcement bodies to present a plan of raising the security level of the interstate bus transportations based on a broad and comprehensive study of the causes of the accident.

The Armenian government and the Armenian Embassy in Russia have been assigned to take measures to provide necessary assistance to the families of the victims and those injured, and to organize proper medical treatment.

Over 300 people gathered at Our Lady of Dolours Catholic Church Chatswood on 13 October for a service of prayer and remembrance for the 100^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, reports. 

Hosted by the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay, Bishop Peter Comensoli welcomed His Grace Bishop Haigazoun Najarian of the Armenian Apostolic Church and dignitaries and members of the Armenian community, along with Bishop Robert Rabat of the Melkite Catholic Diocese, Bishop Bill Wright of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, representatives of the Greek Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, and Uniting Churches, and other religious, ecumenical and civic leaders.

In his homily, Bishop Najarian described the history of Armenian Christians which has been one of repeated struggle under persecution and at the same time resilience forged through faith and hope. Bishop Comensoli observed the genocidal impulses of our own time that link us to the remembered events of a century ago.  Prayers were read by representatives of various Churches, with the variety of liturgical vestments and customs mingling colourfully in a vibrant ecumenical tapestry.

An Armenian choir and a Catholic choir led the congregation in song, a remembrance wreath was laid at the Paschal candle (a symbol of hope and resurrection) and a minute of silence observed. The participation of Catholic and Armenian youth was a living symbol of hope. Parishioners of Our Lady of Dolours offered warm hospitality and supper. As Parish Priest Fr Paul Finucane noted, the evening was a truly ecumenical experience of prayer and solidarity.

Among the dignitaries attending in the service were Fr Shenouda Mansour, General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council; Sr Elizabeth Delaney, General-Secretary of the National Council of Churches Australia; Sr Giovanni Farquer, Sydney Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission; Mr Peter Hamill, Director, Broken Bay Catholic Schools Office;  The Hon. David Clarke MLC, representing the NSW Minister for Multiculturalism; Councillor John Hooper, Willoughby City Council.

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The Calfornia Courier

The Armenian Genocide Centennial State Committee unanimously adopted a resolution on September 26 in Yerevan to form a Pan-Armenian Council. Also present were representatives of Armenian Genocide Centennial Committees (AGCC) from 40 countries, with the exception of the AGCC’s of the Eastern and Western United States.

An Organizing Committee was formed composed of 12 individuals: Gagik Harutyunyan, President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia; Vigen Sargsyan, Armenian President’s Chief of Staff; Hranoush Hakobyan, Armenia’s Diaspora Minister; and representatives of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia, Armenian Catholic Church; Armenian Evangelical Church, Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Armenian Democratic League, Social Democratic Hunchakian Party, Union of Russian Armenians, and Armenian General Benevolent Union.

Possibly due to oversight, the Organizing Committee did not include a representative of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh). However, the adopted resolution clearly stated that the Pan-Armenian Council would include representatives of the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Artsakh, major Diasporan organizations, key Armenian state agencies, religious institutions, civil society, and political parties.

The resolution directed that:

— The Pan-Armenian Council be of advisory nature, have geographic and thematic committees, and meet annually in Yerevan;

— The Council include on its permanent agenda the following items: a) review of a comprehensive annual report on conditions of Armenians around the world, b) discussion on the recognition, condemnation and elimination of the consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and c) coordination of pan-Armenian activities;

— The Council hold its inaugural session in Yerevan on September 20, 2016;

— The Organizing Committee prepare and send to members of the State Committee and regional AGCC’s by April 15, 2016, a preliminary outline of the structure and composition of the Pan-Armenian Council; hold consultations on the direction, format and activities of the Council; plan the inaugural session of the Council; and by July 15, 2016 inform State Committee members of its date and place;

— The Diaspora Minister prepare the first report of “Conditions of Armenians Around the World,” in consultation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture, Education and Science, state agencies, and Diasporan organizations, including the State Committee and regional AGCC’s; present by May 1, 2016, a preliminary report to the State Committee and regional AGCC’s seeking their proposals; hold consultations with regional AGCC’s to prepare proposals regarding their relationship with the Pan-Armenian Council; and finalize the report by the Sept. 20th session of the Council.

During the discussion, Hrant Markarian, Chairman of the Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, suggested that, in addition to the Pan-Armenian Council, regional councils be formed in various parts of the Diaspora to help organize in 2016, the 25th anniversary of the independence of the Armenian Republic, and in 2018, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the first Republic of Armenia.

I took the floor next asking why the Pan-Armenian Council did not include representatives of the public-at-large, to ensure that the majority of Armenians, who are not members of any Armenian organization, are represented in the Council. The President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, responded that his staff had explored such a possibility, but had given up due to the difficulty of selecting representatives from the Armenian Diaspora. I mentioned that there are mechanisms for selecting representatives from the various Armenian communities. The President welcomed the suggestion and referred it to the Organizing Committee. President of the Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunyan and former Prime Minister Vazken Manoukian also commented on the possible inclusion of representatives from the general public in the Pan-Armenian Council.

As I have explained in previous columns, the Pan-Armenian Council would eliminate the need to form separate committees on the occasion of each Armenian crisis or issue. In my view, it would be preferable that Diasporan members of the Council be selected through democratic elections held in various Armenian communities around the world — a very difficult, yet rewarding task, if implemented successfully!

Finally, there was no discussion at the September 26 meeting on the role of the Diaspora Ministry after the Pan-Armenian Council is formed. This would be an important issue for the Organizing Committee to consider in its upcoming deliberations.

Kamp Armen, an Armenian orphanage built in Istanbul’s Tuzla neighborhood in 1962, faces the danger of demolition. Activists have been struggling since May to save the orphanage. Construction works have now been stopped under public pressure.

A few days after the Armenian Genocide Centennial, on May 6 in the morning of May 6th construction machines entered into the premises of Camp Armen and started destroying the building.

Activists are now holding vigil to protect the building. The resistance began when the current property owner tried to demolish the camp in order to realize his own project. All in all, 1,500 citizens joined the struggle, Kurds and Turks among them.

Garo Paylan, an Armenian MP of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has joined the vigil. Speaking to Public Radio of Armenia he said the struggle for the orphanage will continue.

“Hrant and Rakel Dink have done much to keep Kamp Armen since 1980. The orphanage could have a different fate if Hrant was alive. When the camp was first attacked on May 6, many people gathered to support us – the leadership of the Tuzla district, representatives of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, and many others. We’ll struggle until we achieve results. We are now waiting for the result of parliamentary elections, and we hope the issue will be solved,” Paylan said.

When visiting Kamp Armen one can see young people of different nationalities sitting side by side, because there is one thing uniting them all – the struggle for justice. Those who keep vigil often host guests, who come to encourage and give them advice. The head of Tuzla district has been supporting the activists since the start of the resistance.

Camp Armen was one of the most symbolic and important property belonging to the Armenian community and confiscated by Turkish authorities. In 1915, after the Armenian Genocide, there was no school left in Western Armenia and more than 1500 Armenian orphans were living in the camp and being taught the Armenian language.

In 1962, the Church Foundation administration, after receiving the necessary permissions from all relevant State institutions like the Foundations Regional Directorate and the Istanbul Governorate, purchased the land plot of the Tuzla Camp from Sait Durmaz, and registered the deed in the foundation’s name. Then, the children at the orphanage worked an entire summer to build the camp where hundreds of children would eventually attend.

On 6 July 1971, the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, by unanimous vote, approved the recognition as foundation vouchers of the 1936 declarations of community foundations that had no foundation voucher. This served as a legal provision to prevent community foundations from acquiring real estate properties directly or through inheritance.

When the General Assembly of the Court of Cassation approved the decree of the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation on 8 May 1974, the legal precedent was set. In cases filed following this approval, the great majority of immovable assets community foundations acquired after 1936 were seized.

On 23 February 1979, the Foundations General Directorate applied to the Kartal 3rd Civil Court for the cancellation of the deed held by the Gedikpasa Armenian Protestant Church Foundation and the return of it to its former owner. At the end of the case that lasted four years, the court ruled for the return of the property to its former owner. Thus, Sait Durmaz, retook the land he had sold in 1962 as an empty plot, without paying a single penny, and with the camp facilities built on it in the meantime. The Armenian Protestant Church Foundation was forced to return a property it had purchased years ago by fulfilling every manner of legal procedure to its former owner as if it had stolen it in the first place.

When in 2011, a change in the Law on Foundations triggered a process for the return of seized foundation properties; an application was made to the Foundations General Directorate for the Tuzla Children’s Camp as well. However, the Foundations General Directorate, on the basis of the legal cancellation of the sale of the Tuzla Camp, did not treat the file as a ‘seized property’ file, and thus the return of the camp or the payment of compensation did not take place.

Hrant Dink had described the Tuzla Children’s Camp where he grew up, met his future wife, and later assumed its administration along with his wife Rakel Dink as ‘the Atlantis Civilization’. This reference specifically underlines the contribution of the children’s own labor in the creation of the camp.

Photos by Armine Gevorgyan

Armenian international Yura Movsisyan may leave his current club Spartak Moscow this winter, football agent Roman Oreshchuk has said in an interview with NTV Football (НТВ футбол).

According to him, English clubs are interested in the services of the Armenian striker.

Movsisyan has scored three goals and provided an assist in the first seven matches this season.