Author: Andres-Papazian

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

“2011 YEAR OF ARMENIAN CHILD” DECLARED HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

In a recent Pontifical message addressed to the Diocesan Prelates and the
faithful, His Holiness Aram I declared 2011 as the year when Dioceses should
give special attention to the problems and concerns related to children and
reflect on the ‘UN Covention Rights of the Child’.

During the past decade, Catholicos Aram I has been trying to raise awareness
on global issues and their impact on the lives of different members of the
community. The year of the child comes soon after the year of women. It is
his wish that at the end of the year, there will be a vision statement
similar to the one written by the women. Such a statement will help the
leadership accompany the children and empower them towards their future
responsibilities, because they are the future of the church and the
community.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA IN SOCIETAL CRISIS, WARNS ARF’S RUSTAMIAN

Asbarez
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
YEREVAN

(Yerkir.am)-Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of
Armenia chairman Armen Rustamian Wednesday warned that Armenia was
embroiled in a societal crisis, saying the country was being controlled
by a “wealthy class” and citing the absence of democratic reforms,
during a press briefing.

As a result, Rustamian said, there does not exist a government that
is ruled by the people, but rather a plutocracy that is governed by an
elite class of wealthy Armenians who engage in wide-spread corruption
and disregard for rule of law.

Rustamian said “unwritten and unconstitutional laws” regulate the
country’s political, judicial and economic systems. In this climate,
he explained, the pursuit of justice becomes impossible, since the
ruling party, the leadership and the government has become one.

On the economic front, Rustamian’s assessment was equally bleak. He
cited certain estimations according to which 40 to 50 families control
Armenia’s budget, threatening the existence of a middle class.

As the ARF moves toward a pledged campaign for regime change, Rustamian
said Armenia needed a drastic change of the entire governing system
in Armenia, if it is to emerge from this crisis and flourish in a
truly democratic society.

Rustamian proposed a parliamentary system of government, explaining
that the presidential system has wreaked havoc on the country and
poses clear dangers for Armenian society. He also emphasized the need
to lift the immunity of parliament members and hold them accountable.

The people must hold their right to elect and vote in the highest
regard so that the government can be represented by the people and not
“some kind of an oligarchy.”

“The main component of democracy is the representative democracy. In
this case, I refer to the parliament, which needs to balance the
executive branch,” explained Rustamian. “Our parliament does not
represent the true picture. The parliament is not merely weak but,
for the executive branch, it is inept.”

He explained that there was a discrepancy between legislation that
is borne from the parliament to measures that are pushed by the
government. The ratio, he said, was 1 to 9.

“The other component [of democracy] is the participatory element,
based on which the population can impact the outcome of all decisions
being made in the country,” said Rustamian.

“The second component is the immediate democracy whereby the
people express their will through elections and referendums,” added
Rustamian. “However, the process has not been established in Armenia
since the will of the people is ignored.”

At the conclusion of the press briefing, Rustamian announced that
the ARF will host, on Thursday, a conference entitled “Challenges
of Democracy and Nation Building in Armenia,” during which
international experts, human rights advocates and representatives
from the Constitutional Court will make presentations. He explained
that the conference will also examine the importance of democracy,
the current state of democracy in Armenia and will propose ways to
remedy the current crisis.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIA TO DELIVER S-300 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS TO KAZAKHSTAN

RIA Novosti
December 8, 2010
MOSCOW

Russia will soon sign a contract on the supply of S-300 air defense
systems to Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

“The sides are working on a relevant contract at present,” spokeswoman
Irina Kovalchuk told journalists after a meeting between Russian
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his Kazakh counterpart Adylbek
Dzhaksybekov.

Kazakhstan signed an agreement with Russia to purchase 40 S-300PS
(NATO designation SA-10D Grumble) air defense missile systems in
March 2009, with deliveries to take place from 2009 to 2011.

The S-300PS model was introduced in the Russian Armed Forces in 1985.

It features 5V55R missiles which increased the maximum engagement
range to 90 kilometers (56 miles) and a terminal semi-active radar
homing (SARH) guidance mode.

Russia has announced plans to expand military-technical cooperation
with members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
and set up an integrated air defense network with them.

The CSTO is a post-Soviet security grouping comprising Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The Kazakh military believe that S-300 systems would “significantly
enhance the protection of the country’s airspace.”

From: A. Papazian

MASTERCARD ENDURES TURKS’ WRATH FOR GENOCIDE REFERENCE

Asbarez
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
LOS ANGELES

The US Consulate General in Istanbul was forced to mediate when in
2005 Turkish authorities accused MasterCard of “Insulting Turkishness”
after the credit giant published a visitor’s guide to Istanbul, in
which it made references to Kurdish aspirations for independence and
the Armenian Genocide, newly-published State Department cables leaked
by WikiLeaks revealed.

MasterCard, which was a corporate sponsor of the UEFA Champions
League Cup Final between Istanbul and Liverpool, published a 290-page
“Lonely Planet” guide on the host city and distributed it to visiting
athletes and fans. In the guide, the author, an Istanbul-based
British journalist depicted Istanbul as a city with an “Eastern”
mentality and made references to the Kurds and Armenians. It’s offices
received death threats and protests and, as a result, forced to close
to protect its employees.

“The breezy narrative noted that ‘Ataturk banned any expression of
Kurdishness in an attempt at assimilation,’ adding that major battles
and atrocities followed in the 1920s and 1930s, with the deaths of
more than 30,000 coming since 1984,” reported the cable written by
David Arnett, the then US Consul General in Istanbul.

“On the equally sensitive Armenian issue, the guide noted that
while most Armenians had remained loyal to the Ottoman Empire,
some had rebelled,” explained Arnett in his cable, adding that the
so-called rebellion “set off a powerful anti-Armenian backlash and the
‘widespread massacre of innocent Armenians in Istanbul and elsewhere.’

On June 5, 2005, the Hurriyet Daily News reported that “MasterCard
Europe’s CEO Alexander Labak sent a letter of apology to the Turkish
Ministry of Culture and Tourism over the guide, which the company
claims was mostly written by the Lonely Planet UK.”

“Given the sensitivities that exist here, inclusion of any material
on topics such as Turkey’s minority policy or the Armenian tragedy
in a sporting guide was in retrospect a serious mistake. The harsh,
instinctive reaction, however, shows the heightened sensitivities
and hair-trigger nature of public discourse here since the December
17th EU decision [Asbaerz: The 2004 decision by the European Council
decision to begin talks of Turkey’s membership in EU]. Post RSO has
reached out to Mastercard, which is an active member of the OSAC
Advisory Council, to ensure that they are satisfied with the police
response they have received and to provide assistance if needed.

Ironically, MasterCard announced on Monday that it would no longer
process payments to WikiLeaks and on Wednesday its Web site was
attacked by “Operation Payback,” a group that supports and protests
the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

From: A. Papazian

FRENCH SKEPTICAL ABOUT OSCE PROCESS, SAY WIKILEAK CABLES

Asbarez
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
LOS ANGELES

A high-level French foreign ministry official expressed skepticism
about the OSCE Minsk Group process for the Karabakh resolution and
cited the large Armenian community residing in France as a factor
in that country~Rs inability to push forward a resolution, State
Department cables published by WikiLeaks revealed.

The February 2010 cable, emanating from the US Embassy in Paris and
filed by political adviser Andrew Young, detailed statements by French
Assistant Foreign Minister on Continental Europe, Roland Galharague,
who was discussing a range of issues, which included the Caucasus.

~SThe Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations appear to be at a ~Sdead end,~T
Galharague averred, adding that ~QMinsk (The Minsk Group) is going
nowhere fast,~R~T said the cable.

~SHe noted that the French government is not in a position to push
the Armenians at the moment because French citizens of Armenian origin
~Qrepresent about 500,000 votes~R and French regional elections will
take place in March,~T added the cable.

Other factors may soon impact the Caucasus region, he warned, such
as instability in Iran. ~SAzerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkmenistan all
have important trade and energy ties with Iran and they could be
immediately affected by the Iran sanctions bill currently making its
way through the U.S. Congress,~T explained Galharague to the American
official, according to the cable. ~SAt the same time, the effort to
impose harsher U.N. sanctions may offer us an opportunity to further
engage with those three countries about their approach to Iran.~T

From: A. Papazian

NEW SATELLITE IMAGES CONFIRM COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF DJULFA CEMETERY

Asbarez
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
LOS ANGELES

The world’s largest body of scientists, the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, just released satellite image comparison
and analysis confirming the complete destruction of the ancient Djulfa
cemetery, located in an historic Armenian exclave currently occupied
by Azerbaijan.

The AAAS case study, including the satellite photos, is available here.

To urge UNESCO to hold Azerbaijan accountable for Djulfa’s loss send
an action alert from here.

Five years ago this month, more than 100 uniformed Azerbaijanis were
caught on tape destroying the burial monuments of the medieval Djulfa
cemetery, founded in the Armenian province of Nakhichevan during the
9th century and thriving as late as the early 1600s. The soldiers were
smashing Armenian monuments with sledgehammers, using a crane to remove
some of the largest monuments from the ground, breaking the stones into
small pieces, and dumping them into the River Araxes by a large truck.

Overall, an estimated 3,000 khachkars, or intricately carved burial
monuments, the craftsmanship of which is a UNESCO Intangible Heritage
Tradition, were erased from the face of the earth. Azerbaijan’s
president called the destruction report an “absolute lie,” and has
maintained that official denial ever since.

AAAS’ release, which can be read here, conclusively confirms the
destruction of a sacred place of memory.

“Azerbaijan’s war against indigenous Armenian heritage in Nakhichevan
cannot be justified in any way-including by the gridlock in
the negotiations over the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that fought for independence in the early
1990s from Azerbaijan precisely so that a destruction similar to
Djulfa’s would not take place there,” Simon Maghakyan, the founder
and project Manager at the Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum
(), said today in a widely circulated email to media
and advocacy groups.

“The loss of Djulfa was a blow to not just Armenian culture, but
also to all world heritage,” said Maghakyan, who first exposed the
destruction when he published his video footage of the crime in 2005.

Maghakyan criticized UNESCO, “the organization charged with protecting
our common heritage,” for its “shameful silence” on Djulfa’s
destruction and urged action to tell UNESCO that “its unequivocal
protest is long overdue.”

Maghakyan provides a more detailed account of the five-year rampage
against Djulfa in a special blog post on the Amnesty International’s
“Human Rights Now” blog. The post, titled “Cultural Oppression in
Azerbaijan can be read here.

From: A. Papazian

YEREVAN MAYOR [AKA “CHORNI GAGO”] RESIGNS OVER ASSAULT
Ruzanna Stepanian

08.12.2010

ARMENIA — YEREVAN MAYOR GAGIK BEGLARIAN.

Yerevan’s controversial Mayor Gagik Beglarian was forced to step down
on Wednesday after reportedly beating up a member of President Serzh
Sarkisian’s staff. (UPDATED)

The resignation was announced by the Mayor’s Office just hours after
Sarkisian effectively confirmed and condemned through a spokesman
Beglarian’s involvement in the assault on Aram Kandayan, an official
at the presidential administration’s protocol unit.

According to media reports, Kandayan incurred the ire of Beglarian
after asking the latter’s wife not to sit next to Sarkisian during the
November 3 concert in Yerevan of Placido Domingo, the world-famous
Spanish tenor. Such seats have traditionally been reserved for
Armenia’s prime minister, parliament speaker and the supreme head of
the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Armenia — The wife of Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglarian (L) at a concert
of Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, 3Dec2010.

Beglarian, who did not attend the concert, allegedly drove Kandayan
to one of his properties in Yerevan and beat up the young official
there the next day. Reports claimed that Sarkisian was infuriated by
the incident and demanded an official apology from the mayor.

“Unfortunately, an incident did take place,” the presidential press
secretary, Armen Arzumanian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “But the
media have exaggerated it. In particular, there was no kidnapping or
brutal beating.”

“The president has repeatedly made clear his position on such
deeds,” said Arzumanian. “Namely, such a conduct is unacceptable and
intolerable. The more so in the case of a state official.”

Neither Beglarian, nor his alleged victim could be reached for comment
throughout the day. The press office of the Yerevan municipality also
did not respond to phone calls.

It was not immediately clear who will perform the mayor’s duties until
the election of Beglarian’s successor by the city’s Council of Elders.

Most of the council seats are controlled by President Serzh Sarkisian’s
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK).

Beglarian became Yerevan’s first elected mayor in more than a decade
after leading the HHK to a landslide victory in disputed municipal
elections held in May 2009. The 46-year-old businessman, who is also
known to many Armenians as “Black Gago,” had previously governed the
Armenian capital’s central administrative district.

Beglarian has long held sway in a largely blue-collar section of the
district notorious for election-related violence against opposition
activists. Armenian opposition groups have for years accused him of
heading a local clan that rigs elections and bullies the government’s
political opponents. In particular, they implicated him in a December
2009 assault on more than a dozen young activists of the opposition
Armenian National Congress.

Both Beglarian and the HHK have denied these allegations. The ruling
party highlighted the mayor’s status as a key presidential ally when
it elected him to its decision-making Executive Body late last year.

From: A. Papazian

VANDALISM IN KIEV: RUBEN MANGASARYAN’S INSCRIPTIONS TORN FROM PHOTOS

AZG DAILY #227
09-12-2010

Kiev hosts “Media Forum of Europe and Asia” organized by Ria Novosti
agency among CIS, Baltic states and Georgia.

The exhibition titled “Photography” presents unique shots by Ruben
Mangasaryan. Some of Mangasaryan’s photos related to Artsakh; one
of which is an abandoned tomb and the other is a cross stone. The
organizers of the exhibition called those photos – “1993; Martakert,
Armenia.”

Soon after the first coffee break of the exhibition, the photographer’s
inscriptions were brutally torn, moreover, particularly the
inscriptions on those photos of Artsakh were torn.

It’s supposed that the Azerbaijani representatives to the forum have
torn the inscriptions, panorama.am reports.

From: A. Papazian

ANCA URGES SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI TO SCHEDULE VOTE ON H.RES. 252

AZG DAILY #227
09-12-2010

Armenian Genocide Update: 2010-12-09 00:15:09 (GMT +04:00)

Armenian National Committee of America has urged outgoing U.S. House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi to schedule a vote on the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.252). “The Honorable Nancy Pelosi will have
the unique opportunity to end her term as Speaker of the House
of Representatives with a strong moral stand. She holds the power
to schedule a floor vote on legislation urging the United States
President to accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate
annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide, to recall the proud
history of United States intervention in opposition to the Armenian
Genocide, and to make sure that the lessons of this atrocity are used
to help prevent future crimes against humanity. The Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.252) introduced by Representative Adam Schiff and 76
of his colleagues in March 2009 was approved by the Foreign Affairs
Committee chaired by Representative Howard Berman in March of this
year. The resolution was reported out of committee on September 22nd
for consideration by the entire House of Representatives. H.Res. 252
has gained the co-sponsorship of 148 House members. The actual
number of House members willing to vote for the measure is much
higher. This past summer, Speaker Pelosi, consistent with her long
record in support of Armenian Genocide recognition, committed to
schedule a vote on H.Res. 252 – a vote that she described as an
expression of the American conscience – as soon as it was clear
this human rights measure enjoyed the support of a majority in the
House of Representatives. The spirit of the victims of Genocide and
the voices of the survivors and their progeny are calling on the
Speaker to bring this resolution for a vote before the 111th Congress
adjourns in the next 10 days. Armenians and all the world deserve to
know where each member of the U.S. House of Representatives stands
on this vital expression of our common American conscience. There are
some members of the House who do not want to face their conscience and
would prefer avoiding having to take a stand against a clear case of
genocide. As in the past, they will offer every manner of excuse –
some old and others invented for this occasion. The fact remains,
however, that none of these excuses should be allowed to prevent the
elected representatives of the American people from the long overdue
opportunity to vote up or down on the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

The Speaker’s decision to bring H.Res. 252 to a vote will represent a
victory over the forces of denial, just as its adoption by the full
House will stand as a triumph of the truth. As you know, a vote on
Armenian Genocide resolutions by the entire House or Senate has been
blocked for more than a quarter century. Every manner of obstacle
has been thrown in the way of their adoption in 1985, 1987, 1990,
2000 and 2007 – ranging from foreign threats and domestic pressure
to parliamentary tactics and procedural motions. We look to the
Speaker to make sure that 2010 is the year this measure is brought
to the floor and adopted by the full House of Representatives. We
know Speaker Pelosi to be a woman of conscience and call upon her to
schedule a vote on H.Res.252 before the House adjourns,” reads the
letter of ANCA Western and Eastern U.S. leaders.

From: A. Papazian

HISTORY TOOK REFUGE IN DERSIM

AZG DAILY #227
09-12-2010

Dersim Genocide

The following is an interview, conducted by Keghart.com’s Hamo
Moskofian, with Seyfi Cengiz of the Desmala Sure journal and founder
of the Freedom Party of Dersim.

HM: Would you please introduce yourself and your role in the Dersim
Movement?

SC: The emergence of the journal Desmala Sure in 1991 marks the
beginning of the modern Dersim Movement although the concept of a
distinct Dersim identity in my mind occurred at an earlier time.

It was this journal that for the first time opened the debate on the
Dersim question and by so doing triggered a process of enlightenment
among the Dersimis both in diaspora and in Dersim. In 1997, the first
initiative for a political party of Dersim under the name of PSD
(Partiya Serbestiya Dersim, Freedom Party of Dersim) was made by the
followers of Desmala Sure journal. I am the founder and editor of
the journal and one of the initiators of the PSD. HM: What are the
aims and future projects of your organizations in Turkey, in Dersim
and in Europe?

SC: PSD advocates direct democracy in Anatolia and a democratic
self-rule in Dersim. The term “self-rule” doesnâ~@~Yt necessarily
mean a nation state. PSD favours autonomy as Dersim used to have
before 1938.

In our view regaining autonomy would be a proper and realistic
solution to Dersim question. We do recognize the differences inside
Dersim. It is important to consider that these differences in ethnic
origin, religion or language have not caused real conflict worthy
to be recorded, that is until Dersim became a disputed land between
the competing Turkish, Kurdish and more recently Zaza nationalisms
of the surrounding Muslim societies, which see this plurality as a
problem in search of homogeneity.

We are in favour of a democratic self-rule and a pluralistic society in
Dersim, which can well be an alternative model to the nation-building
projects that propagate the division of the country along ethnic or
linguistic lines.

In Europe we need to focus our efforts on the Initiative of Dersim
38 which aims to call public attention to the Dersim Genocide and
take the Turkish state to international court for this crime.

HM: What is your political and humanitarian stance concerning the 1937
Dersim massacres by Kemalist Turkey against the Zaza, KızılbaÅ~_,
Armenian and other ethnic minorities of Turkey living on this land
for centuries?

SC: “The initiative of Dersim 38” launched in March 2005 is a PSD-led
project regarding the genocide of 1937-1938. This campaign has raised
awareness and transformed the conscious of many people in diaspora and
in Dersim. It is a clear proof on where we stand on the matter. We
already have a Berlin-based lobbying center (“Dersim Zentrum 38”)
established in 2007 and are working to open new ones at a number of
other capitals. I think a brief explanation would be useful here. The
1937-38 was Kizilbash genocide. The term Kizilbash is another name
for Dersimis. Dersimis were massacred mainly because they were not
Muslims. Zazas are our Muslim neighbours. The 1925 massacres were
a Zaza genocide. My comrades and I are among the first who have
since late 1980s, recognized and advocated the existence of the Zaza
minority and defended their ethnic identity as well as their right
to a self-rule where they are the majority. At the same time, we have
often explained that Dersimis and Zazas are two distinct communities,
though closely related in ethnic origins and sharing a common language
more widely known as Dimilki. There are, of course, a few among the
educated who seek a subordinated identity for Dersim (also known
as Kırmanciye) in accordance with their individual choices to be
considered Turkish, Kurdish or Zaza. But these suicidal definitions
do not represent the totality of the people. Dersimâ~@~Ys view of
self is much more important for us than the perception of others
about the identity of the country. Dersimâ~@~Ys self-consciousness
tells us more about its identity that is based on the totality of
experiences. The identity of Dersim is not defined by race, blood
or language but by geography, history and culture. These are what
constitute Dersimâ~@~Ys identity. Dersim is not holding onto Turkish,
Kurdish or Zaza identities. Dersim is a community on its own. There are
deep cultural differences and differences of self-definition dating as
far back as the Ã~Galdıran War of 1514. The roots of the Dersim–or
Kizilbash question as some historical sources identify it–date back
to this war in the 16th century. The roots of Dersim question are the
Kizilbash genocides of the16th and the following centuries. The 1937-38
represents only a ring in the chain. Briefly, Dersim is a five-century
old question–occurring ages before the Kurdish and Zaza questions.

The Turkish model of nation-building strategy caused denial and
extermination of so many minorities one after another: Armenians,
Assyrians, Greeks, Zazas, Dersimis and Kurds. These are proven facts.

The Turkish state must come under pressure to acknowledge them. At
present there are few Greeks and Assyrians in Turkey. Genuine
cooperation among the victims is needed to prevent the same fate
for the rest. We support the Armenian demand that the 1915 Armenian
Genocide be recognized, and the Turkish-Armenian border be opened. All
Armenians who live in Turkey must be granted equal citizenship rights,
and the Armenians who wish to return to their motherland should be
given the right to do so with all the required guarantees. HM: After
your long years of experience, what message would you like to send
to our readers?

SC: Dersim is being depopulated. For this two arguments are being
used. One of them is the dam project over river Munzur. The other
is the alleged “struggle against terrorism”. These are pretexts to
complete the process that fell short in 1937-38.

Dersim therefore needs urgent solidarity. It wonâ~@~Yt be for the sake
of Dersimis alone, because history took refuge in Dersim. Many races
(including Armenians), many thinkers, religions, philosophies, many
cultures or civilizations that were persecuted throughout ages have
always found a safe refuge in Dersim. Not only Dersimis and Armenians,
but humanity in general can benefit by keeping this land alive.

From: A. Papazian