Author: Andres-Papazian

PRIME MINISTER COMPLAINS ABOUT FLAWS IN NOTARY SYSTEM

Tert.am
21.04.11

There is a public discontent about notary services in Armenia, the
prime minister has said.

Speaking at the cabinet meeting on Thursday, Tigran Sargsyan said a
recent monitoring has revealed large-scale corruption in the system.

He said the sums charged for notary services exceed several times
the government-approved tariffs.

The government is proposing legislative amendments to reduce the
internship terms for notaries (the existing system envisages one year
internship with notaries before a qualification exam).

Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan told the cabinet that the notary
offices in the regions are facing a shortage of human resources.

“We don’t have people with one year internship experience. With
no amendments to the system, we may have a shortage of notaries in
several regions. We propose reducing the internship period, enabling
lawyers with five years’ professional experience to take qualification
exams without additional internship with notaries,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

BRITISH TO OPEN FOOD PROCESSING AND MINERAL WATER COMPANIES IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
21.04.11

Minister of Economy Tigran Davtyan said today that “British” will
engage in food processing and mineral water production in Armenia.

The company named Ararat Group will start operating by late 2011 in
Ararat region.

The government has granted the company privileges for importing
equipment. He said that “the British” have already invested $27
million in the project.

He added that it would create 220 new jobs in Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN MINISTER: KARABAKH PEOPLE ALREADY MADE THEIR DECISION

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 21, 2011 – 15:59 AMT 10:59 GMT

As part of his official visit to Romania, Armenian Minister of Science
and Education Armen Ashotyan met with Romanian Minister of Education,
Research and Innovation Daniel Funeriu.

During a press conference following the meeting, Ashotyan was
asked to comment on the Romanian President’s statement in Baku about
Nagorno Karabakh and say whether it will hamper the Armenian-Romanian
cooperation in the field of education.

Ashotyan said that the bilateral cooperation with Romania in the
field is based on civilized commonalities, but not on geopolitical
and economic interests.

Ashotyan noted that the Karabakh conflict settlement is based on
three main principles – the nation’s right to self-determination,
peace settlement of conflicts and territorial integrity.

According to the Minister, Karabakh people, using the right to decide
on their own destiny, made a decision long ago, while any opinion,
which contradicts this decision and stance of the international
community, cannot affect the fate of Artsakh.

On April 20, during his visit to Azerbaijan, Romanian President said
that Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan.

From: A. Papazian

IN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC COMMUNITY IT IS INDECENT TO DENY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 8, 2011

Turkish authorities insist they will open archive only if Armenia
does the same.

Turkey, at any rate, wants to drive the issue of Genocide recognition
to historical platform. Activation of the Turkish side always tops
out in April, when Ankara, worried about recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by new parliaments and governments of different countries,
starts to act in its usual mode: blackmail, threats and statements
about “innocence”.

All this, however distressing for Ankara, begins to play a smaller
and smaller role for the world community and, realizing this, Turkey
declares that Armenia is reluctant to open the genocide archives. To
begin with, there is almost no Ottoman archive in Armenia, neither
could there be, as at the time of the World War I, Eastern Armenia
was part of the Russian Empire and it’s natural that Ottoman records
in no way could come to be in the State Archives of Yerevan. Most
of the Ottoman records are kept in the Library of Congress, some –
in European countries. The largest collection of archival materials
is in the Library of Congress. Dispatches of the last U.S. ambassador
to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau are also kept there. Germany
possesses lots of documents too: ambassadors of the two countries
regularly reported on the situation in the empire. However, as for
Turkish archives, there is almost nothing known about them. There
is no doubt that some of the documents, directly pointing to the
deportation and extermination of the Armenian population have been
erased. It is also possible that they were erased still during the
time of Ataturk, i.e. immediately after proclamation of the Turkish
Republic. Turkish authorities insist they will open archive only if
Armenia does the same.

But this year, they began to talk that historians rather than
politicians should examine the Genocide proofs. Meanwhile, in
international academic community it is indecent to deny the Armenian
Genocide. However, Turkey is not disturbed by this fact. Most
interesting is that Ankara, though being perfectly aware of the
declarative nature of her statements, particularly regarding the last
verdict of the court of Argentina, nevertheless continues calling down
curses upon the countries that have recognized the Armenian Genocide.

But, in fact, all these threats prove to be empty. There will
definitely be no deterioration of relations between France and
Turkey, if the Senate votes for adoption of the law criminalizing
Genocide denial. Most likely, Turkey’s threats are addressed to the
Armenian diaspora, which looks even more confusing especially if
we recall the words of Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu,
who recently declared that the Armenians scattered around the world
are the Turkish diaspora. “They are descendants of our citizens; we
must communicate with them, work with them and not alienate them from
ourselves. They are our citizens,” Davutoglu said. To some extent,
Davutoglu is right: they are diaspora Armenians, law-abiding citizens
of the Ottoman Empire. But before communicating with them, Turkey will
have to explain something to them, without referring to the mythical
“fifth column of Russia” that “behind the back of the Ottoman Empire
tried to seize Western Armenia”. The question is whether the Turkish
state, represented by Erdogan and Ahmetoglu, is ready to say “Yes,
we slaughtered you because we didn’t like you. You were Christians
and you had a lot of money.” Most likely, Armenians will never get
apologies from the Turkish side for the massacre of 1915. And even
if they get, there will be living a generation in Armenia for whom
the events of 1915 are a remote past. Assimilation of the Diaspora
has been increasing, and in 20-30 years only a few will remember
who their ancestors were. Alas, such a thing could happen also in
Armenia. On April 24 most of the Armenian youth walk to the memorial
in Tsitsernakaberd, but they do it out of habit. From the day of
national mourning April 24 is gradually turning into simply a day off.

Probably, we ourselves are to blame for the depreciation â~@~Kâ~@~Kof
this day. But one thing gives hope: every year on this day burning
the Turkish flag, Armenian youth walk about the city to the memorial.

From: A. Papazian

ARAM DEMERJIAN: MY GRANDPA WAS TAKEN AWAY FOR QUESTIONING AND HIS FAMILY NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN
Submitted by Aram Demerjian

PanARMENIAN.Net

On the threshold of the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
PanARMENIAN.Net continues publishing stories of Genocide survivors.

The stories were provided by the office of U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff
(D-CA), who initiated the Armenian Genocide Congressional Record as
an effort to parallel H. Res. 252, the Congressional resolution he
introduced to recognize and commemorate the Armenian Genocide carried
out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923.

Congressman Schiff is the primary sponsor of H. Res. 252, the
Affirmation of the U.S. Record on the Armenian Genocide, which calls
on the President and the U.S. Government to properly recognize the
atrocities that occurred in the beginning of the 20th century and
resulted in 1.5 million deaths, as Genocide.

April 21, 2011PanARMENIAN.Net – My father, born in Diarbekir in 1901,
told me about the real events as I was growing up. His experiences
of what happened to his father and how he made to escape death were
not pleasant for me to hear. I was born in Lebanon. I would like give
you some of the accounts related to me.

My grand-father was an iron smith. He made hand-cuffs for the prison
inmates. His own hand-cuffs clamped his own hands by the Turks. He
was taken away from his home for questioning and his family never
saw him again.

I consider my father a very talented man. For instance, he could play
musical instruments, he could sing with a vibrant voice. He was not
fanatic about his religious practice. On his way to exile, he stopped
at many villages for few days or for few months. Some religious man
(sheikh) gave him shelter during one stop. This host noticed that he
has a good voice. So he invited my father to sing in the mosque. Of
course, having nothing to support himself, he could not refuse Sheikh’s
request. I forgot to mention that my Dad also spoke Kurdish.

Three months later, my father who is also a good horse rider, left
the village at night time. Not knowing anything about his destiny. At
this time, I have not many details about how he made to Aleppo (Syria).

Someday, I shall sit down to write many other events regarding his
brothers and his mother whom survived this genocide and how my Dad was
able to meet them again in Lebanon. His older sister was forcefully
taken away by a Turkish soldier.

I also have some recollections told to me by my mother’s side whose
family was also exiled from the town of Konia.

On my mother’s side, the story is different. Her father (Sarkis) was
a merchant. Sarkis owned some wealth. He converted his assets into
gold coins. But he did not make the exile with his family made of 3
girls, one boy and his wife (my grand-mother). Sarkis was taken away
one morning and never came back. The gold coins were hidden inside
underwear of the women. A local Turk helped them ride the train out
of Konia to Tartousse against a certain amount of monetary payment.”

From: A. Papazian

WAYS TO COUNTERACT AZERBAIJAN’S ANTI-ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA DISCUSSED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 21, 2011 – 16:15 AMT 11:15 GMT

Scientific conference, entitled: “Anti-Armenian Propaganda of
Azerbaijan and Ways for Opposition,” was organized by Noravank
scientific educational foundation and Armat club in Yerevan.

Director of Noravank foundation Gagik Harutyunyan said that any
scientific conference or discussion on the Azerbaijani-Turkish
propaganda is always topical, since Armenia permanently faces the
problem of anti-Armenian propaganda carried out by these two countries.

“The conference is of symbolic importance. On the eve of April 24 –
the day of the Armenian Genocide commemoration – we should conceive
that the Armenian Genocide recognition worldwide requires certain
efforts in the information field,” said Harutyunyan.

According to him, despite the existing skepticism, it should be noted
that Armenia recorded a considerable progress in information wars.

From: A. Papazian

OPPOSITION: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES MERELY IMITATE POLITICAL DIALOGUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 21, 2011 – 16:18 AMT 11:18 GMT

According to a member of Heritage oppositional parliamentary group,
Armenian authorities merely imitate a political dialogue in the
country.

At a discussion organized by the National Press Club and U.S. National
Democratic Institute (NDI), Armen Martirosyan stressed that the
authorities have never entered into political dialogue with Heritage.

Martirosyan cited the new Electoral Code, into which the party’s
suggestions were not included, as an example. The parliamentarian
expressed his support for transparency in a political dialogue.

A member of ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Ruzan Arakelyan, in turn, stressed
the importance of a dialogue with the public. “Political dialogue
is a necessity in preventing disagreements between the forces from
harming people,” she remarked.

From: A. Papazian

TIGRAN KARAPETYAN ACCUSES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT OF SECRET DIALOGUE WITH ANC LEADER

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 21, 2011 – 16:45 AMT 11:45 GMT

The leader of People’s Party Tigran Karapetyan accused Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan of a secret dialogue with Armenian National
Congress (ANC) leader.

As he noted at a discussion organized by the National Press Club and
U.S. National Democratic Institute (NDI), the authorities, who are
in fear of the Congress, are holding a dialogue with the ANC, yet
the people won’t benefit from it. Karapetyan expressed determination
to force authorities into entering the dialogue with him and his
supporters who struggle for an alteration of a current governmental
system in Armenia, in contrast to ANC.

The leader of Ramkavar-Azatakan party Eduard Atinyan, in turn,
stressed that Serzh Sargsyan and Levon Ter-Petrossian combined forces
to exterminate their political opponents. As he noted, the authorities
must be negotiated into initiating political reforms.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN-ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL TIES ROOTED ON SIMILARITIES OF CIVILIZATION

armradio.am
21.04.2011 16:58

The Armenian-Romanian relations in the field of education are rooted
on similarities of civilization rather than geopolitical and economic
interests, Armenian Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan
declared in Bucharest today, asked to comment on the statement of
the Romanian President in Baku and Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister’s
response.

Armen Ashotyan reminded that according to the approach of the
Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict is based on three main principles – the right of peoples to
self-determination, territorial integrity and non-use of force.

Using its right to determine its own future, the people of Nagorno
Karabakh has long made the decision and no opinion that goes against
the position of the international community and is made to flatter
the Azerbaijani authorities can have any influence on the fate of
the people of Karabakh, Ashotyan said.

The Romanian President declared in Baku that the Karabakh issue should
be solved on the basis of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. In
response to that Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan
declared: I would not like to believe that the President of an
EU member state could have made such a biased and non-constructive
statement. If he has really declared that, it contradicts the approach
of the international community, the OSCE and the European Union, as
well as the statement adopted at the presidential meetings in Helsinki,
Athens and Almati, the Astana summit, the joint statements issued
by Presidents Medvedev, Obama and Sarkozy in L’Aquila and Muskoka,
which clearly state that the status of Nagorno Karabakh should be
determined on the basis of free expression of will. Such statement
of the Romanian President is simply bewildering.”

From: A. Papazian

ISTANBUL DIARY: KARDES TURKULER USES MUSIC TO KEEP CULTURES ALIVE
Vahe Sarukhanyan

hetq
01:04, April 20, 2011

A CD has just been released entitled “The Child Has Rights”. It’s a
collaborative effort by the group Kardes Turkuler (Songs of Fraternity)
and Arto Tuncboyaciyan.

To promote the new CD, Kardes Turkuler and Arto will be giving a
series of concerts in various Turkish cities from April 23 to May 16.

During my conversation with Saro Oustan, a Turkish-Armenian who is the
producer of the group and also is its accordion player, he said it will
be the band’s first CD even though they have 4 albums under their belt.

Kardes Turkuler has been around for more than 15 years. It started
out at the Folklore Club of the Bogazici University in Istanbul. They
were people from all different cultural backgrounds who studied and
performed music at the same time.

“There are different religions, nationalities and cultures in Turkey.

We got the idea that it was necessary to keep these cultures alive
without animosity,” says Saro.

Currently, there are Turks, Armenia Kurds, Azeri Macedonians and
others in the group. Saro told me that once a year they stage a big
concert in Istanbul and invite other groups as well. There can be
60-70 musicians on the stage at once.

In 2008, Kardes Turkuler performed in Yerevan along with the Say
at-Nova Choir from Istanbul. The symbolic name for the concert was
“Open the Doors”.

“Armenia is kind of special for the Turks since the two peoples are
neighbors. But the doors are closed. As its musical base, the group
has selected cultural fraternity,” Saro explains, adding that they
are ready to return to Armenia on a moment’s notice but that there
are no plans to do so right now.

The group has been collaborating with Arto Tuncboyaciyan for the
past five years or so, But Saro has known Arto for much longer. They
first performed together in Istanbul in 2007, on the 40th day after
the murder of Hrant Dink.

The new DVD has 16 songs sung in a number of languages – Turkish,
Kurdish, Arabic, Chechen, Zaz, and Armenian. Saro jokes and tells me
that there’s also a song in what he calls “Arto’s language”.

He also points out that while such a collection is culturally rich,
the language problem always confronts the group. No one in the Kardes
Turkuler speaks all the languages they sing in.

To prepare for a Kurdish song, the group member who knows the language
goes over the words; their pronunciation and meaning.

The DVD is now in the stores. Saro says that the group has a specific
audience that prefers folk-based alternative music.

“You won’t catch us singing songs like Tata Simonyan or Turkish singer
Tarkan. This isn’t pop music. I wouldn’t be boasting if I said that
Kardes has a big following both in Turkey and in other countries with
sizeable Turkish and Kurdish communities.”

From: A. Papazian