Author: Andres-Papazian

UN OFFICIER ARMENIEN INCULPE APRES LA DIFFUSION D’UNE VIDEO SUR LE NET
Marion

armenews
jeudi23 septembre 2010
Armenie

Le ministère de la Defense armenien a officiellement confirme, mercredi
22 septembre, l’identite d’un officier de l’armee, arrete la semaine
dernière pour abus de pouvoir sur ses subalternes. Il encoure cinq
ans de prison.

Cette arrestation fait suite a la diffusion d’une video amateur sur
Youtube montrant un militaire frapper et humilier deux conscrits
de l’armee au cours de ce qui ressemble a un pique-nique. L’armee
armenienne a ordonne une enquete suite a de vives reactions dans
l’opinion.

Le ministère de la Defense a, dans un premier temps, mis en doute la
veracite de la video. Les enqueteurs militaires ont ensuite traque
l’agent. Il s’agirait de Sassoun Galstian, commandant adjoint d’une
unite de l’armee deployee au Haut-Karabagh. Il a ete arrete et inculpe
vendredi dernier.

Le communique du ministère a egalement identifie les deux soldats
maltraites par Galstian, en affirmant qu’ils seront examines par
des medecins legistes. La video aurait ete tournee en juillet sur
un telephone mobile appartenant a un autre militaire, en presence
de son père et de son frère. Les trois hommes seront interroges par
les enqueteurs.

From: A. Papazian

LA NOMINATION DE L’AMBASSADEUR AMERICAIN EN AZERBAIDJAN BLOQUEE
Marion

armenews
jeudi23 septembre 2010

La senatrice americaine democrate Barbara Boxer a bloque, mardi
21 septembre, la nomination de Matthew Bryza, au poste de nouvel
ambassadeur americain en Azerbaïdjan.

Boxer a annonce sa decision de geler la nomination du diplomate,
quelques heures après que la Commission des Affaires etrangères
du Senat a approuve la candidature de M. Bryza. Avec le senateur
democrate Robert Menendez du New Jersey, ils sont les seuls membres
de la commission a avoir vote contre.

” Malgre ma gratitude envers les etats de service de M. Bryza comme
representant des affaires etrangères, je ne crois pas qu’il est la
bonne personne pour ce poste, a estime Boxer après le vote. Ce qui
me preoccupe, c’est que M. Bryza ne s’est pas exprime fermement suite
aux agressions de l’Azerbaïdjan contre le Haut-Karabagh. ”

Le Comite national armenien d’Amerique (CNAA) a rapidement salue le
vote de la senatrice. ” Merci a la senatrice Boxer, la diplomatie
americaine l’a echappe belle, a affirme le leader du CNAA, Aram
Hamparian. Cela aurait ete une grave erreur… que d’envoyer Matt
Bryza a Bakou en raison de l’escalade des menaces de reprise de la
guerre proferees par les dirigeants de l’Azerbaïdjan. ”

” Compte tenu de ses antecedents, il aurait clairement ete le mauvais
diplomate, au mauvais moment, au mauvais poste “, a ajoute Hamparian.

Boxer a deja force la commission du Senat a retarder le vote,
initialement prevu pour le 3 août. Le diplomate a dû s’expliquer sur
ses pretendus liens personnels avec la Turquie et l’Azerbaïdjan et
sur l’une de ses declarations pro-azeries en 2008.

Bryza, ancien secretaire d’Etat adjoint pour l’Europe et l’Asie
centrale et ancien negociateur dans le conflit du Haut-Karabagh a
Washington, a notamment insiste pour qu’une declaration soit mal
traduite du russe.

Le CNAA espère que Barack Obama rejettera lui aussi la candidature
de M. Bryza. ” En bloquant sa confirmation a ce poste d’ambassadeur,
la senatrice Boxer empeche tout examen du Senat sur la nomination de M.
Bryza. ”

From: A. Papazian

DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, HEAD OF SECRETARIAT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TATUL SOGHOMONYAN AWARDED MKHITAR GOSH MEDAL BY RA PRESIDENT’S DECREE

parliament.am
Sept 22 2010
Armenia

By the decree of RA President Serzh Sargsyan on the occasion of the
19th anniversary of declaration of the independence of the Republic
of Armenia the Deputy Chief of Staff, Head of Secretariat of the
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Tatul Soghomonyan was
awarded Mkhitar Gosh medal for his faultless work of many years.

From: A. Papazian

HAMAZKAYIN’S MOSAIC IV TO SHOWCASE THE DIVERSE TONE OF ARMENIAN CULTURE

Tert.am
21.09.10

The Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Society will bring
the progressive sounds of Armenian culture to the stage on October 17
with its latest Mosaic IV concert at the open air Ford Amphitheater
in Los Angeles.

In its fourth year running, Hamazkayin’s Mosaic concert will
celebrate the diverse sounds of Armenia and its progression into
the modern-age with performances by Viza, Armenian Space Station,
Echocell, A Splinter, and Armenian Public Radio, reports Asbarez.com.

The evening will prove to be a mosaic of musical genre and style, in
both Armenian and English. Within the framework of a single concert,
the audience will hear voices echoing from the distant past through
the postmodern future.

This borderless yet ethnic presence, created by young Armenians from
various generations of immigrant families will come to life in a
celebration of Armenian sound.

Concert-goers will be taken on a journey with global rockers, Viza.

Armenian Space Station will give the audience an epic performance of
compositions incorporating Aram Khachatryan’s stylings adapted by Greg
Hosharian on keyboard with the metal drum beats of Barrett Yeretsian.

Echocell will fuse the organic with the electronic to produce a
riveting Armenian soul experience.

A Splinter will guide guests on a journey through the humorous stories
of our Armenian realities, while Armenian Public Radio will connect the
audience to their roots through an acoustic revival of Armenian folk
melodies performed by Saro Koujakian, Ryan Demirjian and Mher Ajamian.

Proceeds from the event will benefit a scholarship program for students
pursuing music and art education.

The annual “Mosaic” concert is part of Hamazkayin’s goal to develop
programs that will pique the interest of young Armenians and encourage
their participation, while instilling in them a cultural identity.

From: A. Papazian

UN EXPERT CALLS FOR ACTION TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF ARMENIA’S DISPLACED

UN News Centre
Sept 20 2010

Walter Kalin, the Secretary-General’s Representative for the Human
Rights of IDPs

20 September 2010 – Armenian authorities need to do more to integrate
internally displaced persons (IDPs) into their new communities and
help those still living in difficult circumstances, a United Nations
human rights expert warned today after visiting the Caucasus country.

“Internally displaced persons in Armenia have been forgotten for
too long,” said Walter Kalin, the Secretary-General’s representative
on the rights of IDPs. “More should be done to improve the lives of
these people who have been displaced for two decades, and this needs
a concerted effort by the Government and the international community.”

During his two-day visit, which concluded on Saturday, Mr. Kalin met
with IDPs from the Dprabak village, and from the Gegharkurnik region.

The displaced populations there still face great problems with
respect to their economic and social rights, he said. They suffer,
in particular, from a lack of adequate housing and limited economic
opportunities.

While many IDPs in Armenia have integrated well into their
new communities, a considerable number still live in difficult
circumstances, he said. Others have not been able to return to
their homes in the border regions because of a lack of shelter and
livelihood opportunities.

During the course of his visit, Mr. Kalin met with Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, as well as Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan
and the First Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration. He also
met with the country’s ombudsman and representatives of both the
international community and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Mr. Kalin said he was encouraged by the Government’s envisaged
measures to help the displaced return to border villages or to
integrate within the villages to which they had been displaced,
adding that such initiatives must be supported.

“Armenia is in the enviable position of being able to solve
its remaining displacement cases and to be taken off the map of
countries still hosting internally displaced persons,” he said. “It
is imperative that the international community supports the Government
in its efforts.”

He said such efforts should focus not only on housing, but also
on improving social and economic conditions in the border regions –
including opportunities for steady household incomes, quality education
and prospects for youth.

Mr. Kalin stressed that the parties to the conflict and the
international community must strengthen their efforts to reach a peace
agreement, and that any such agreement must address the human rights
of the displaced, including their right to restitution of property
or compensation.

A Swiss law professor, Mr. Kalin has been the Secretary-General’s
Representative on the Human Rights of IDPs since 2004 and serves in
an independent and unpaid capacity, reporting to the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva. This is his second visit to Armenia since 2007.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA WATCHES TURKEY’S HOLY CROSS MASS WITH FRUSTRATION, RAGE
by Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet
Sept 20 2010
NY

A mass was held for the first time in 95 years at the 10th-century
Armenian Church of the Holy Cross in eastern Turkey, but in neighboring
Armenia, the event elicited little excitement.

Many Armenians claimed that the lack of a cross atop Holy Cross’s
dome diluted the significance of the mass. Members of the government
and representatives of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, the seat of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, did not attend the ceremony after local
Turkish government authorities asserted that the proposed cross
was “too heavy” to place atop the church. Restored by the Turkish
government, the church had been functioning as a museum since 2007.

Amid the row over the cross, Armenian travel agencies dropped flight
offers for the service on Lake Van’s Akhtamar Island (called Akdamar
Island in Turkey). Armenian media outlets also discouraged consumers
from making the pilgrimage to the church, known as Surb Khach in
Amenian. [For details, see the EurasiaNet.org archive].

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, as the Armenian Apostolic
Church’s representation in Istanbul is called, officiated at the mass.

Patriarchate representatives reported to News.am that only about
150-200 worshippers traveled from Armenia for the service. At the
same time, the head of the patriarchate’s Religious Council, Tatul
Anushian, noted that the number of attendees from Armenia was “more
than we had expected.”

The patriarchate estimated the overall number of ethnic Armenians on
hand for the mass at 1,000-1,500, including visitors from the United
States, Europe and elsewhere in Turkey. It put the total turnout
figure at 6,700 people, with half of that number supposedly coming
from the nearby town of Van.

Instead of broadcasting the Holy Cross service, Armenian television
aired scenes from a protest held at Yerevan’s Tsitsernakaberd, the
memorial to Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 slaughter of hundreds of thousands
of ethnic Armenians in eastern Turkey, an act most Armenians consider
as genocide. Prior to the September 19 service, Holy Cross had not
functioned as a church since the massacre.

Armenian television coverage depicted hundreds of poster-bearing
participants screaming “Shame, shame!” at Turkey. The leader of one
youth organization, Miasin (Together), Hakob Hakobian, claimed that
the protestors were continuing “the mass interrupted 95 years ago
… by the Turkish government.”

Meanwhile, some Armenian political figures suggested the cross dispute
offered fresh evidence that Turkey is not genuinely interested in
pursuing a diplomatic rapprochement with Armenia. Earlier this year,
a reconciliation process launched in 2009 ground to a halt. [For
background see EurasiaNet’s archive]. “The Turks with their sly
diplomacy want to demonstrate to the world that they are a democratic
country, but they failed to accomplish their show successfully,”
declared Eduard Sharmazanov, the chief spokesperson for the governing
Republican Party of Armenia. “What happened in Akhtamar [at the]
Holy Cross church was a failed show, and the whole world witnessed it.”

Referring to recent constitutional changes in Turkey, Ruben Safrastian,
director of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences’ Oriental Studies
Institute, claimed that a “rather tense” political situation in Turkey
dictated the decision by Turkish authorities to hold the mass without
a cross atop the church. [For background see EurasiaNet’s archive].

“By refusing to place the cross on the church, Turkey demonstrated to
the world that it is not ready to adopt European values,” Safrastian
said.

Opinion was mixed on the streets of Yerevan. Laura Harutiunian, a
61-year-old pharmacist, criticized the government’s stance. “It would
have been better had they gone to Akhtamar, which is ours, and there
express their opinion, rather than boycotting the mass,” Harutiunian
said. “‘I don’t even accept the event held in Tsitsernakaberd. I think
that … there could have been a better response than all that we saw.”

For 45-year-old Yerevan nurse Armine Navasardian, what matters is not
why Holy Cross was reconstructed, but that the church, a central part
of Armenia’s heritage, has been preserved. “The Turkish authorities
have reconstructed Akhtamar Church and it is not even important what
the reason was,” Navasardian said. “Akhtamar is our Armenian church
and people must go there.”

From: A. Papazian

EUCHARIST CELEBRATED IN ARMENIAN CHURCH FOR FIRST TIME IN 95 YEARS

Catholic Culture
Sept 20 2010

Armenian Orthodox Archbishop Aram Atesyan presided as the Eucharist
was celebrated for the first time in 95 years in a historic church
on the island of Van, in eastern Turkey.

The church on Aktamar Island had been closed since the days of the
Armenian genocide. After years of petitioning, Armenians have won
permission from the Turkish government to hold liturgical services
there once each year.

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJANI DIASPORA IN GERMANY SENDS LETTER OF THANKS TO CNN
T.Hajiyev

Trend News Agency
Sept 20 2010
Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani diaspora in Germany has sent a letter of thanks to CNN
for showing a film about Azerbaijan national hero Chingiz Mustafayev,
the State Committee for Diaspora of Azerbaijan told Trend on Monday.

Upon the advice of the Azerbaijani embassy in Germany, the coordination
center of the Azerbaijanis in Germany has sent a letter of thanks to
CNN vice-president Rick Davis and presenter Guillermo Adorno for the
program and called on the German public and other Azerbaijani diaspora
organizations add their voices of support. The letter was addressed
to all the Azerbaijani and Turkish diaspora organizations in Germany.

On Aug. 28-31, U.S. television channel CNN International broadcast
five times in four days a report on its “World View” program about
Mustafayev, an Azerbaijani television reporter who was killed in the
Karabakh war. The program marked the 50th anniversary of Mustafayev’s
birth.

Th courage of Mustafayev and other journalists led to the truth about
the Khojaly Massacre in February 1992 being exposed to the world.

Hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians from the town of Khojaly were
killed on Feb. 25-26 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. According
to international observers such as Human Rights Watch, the massacre
was committed by the Armenian armed forces.

The Armenian lobby was concerned about the CNN broadcast, which
presented to the world the position of Azerbaijan, and showed the
bitter realities of Azerbaijan’s modern history.

One of the most authoritative Armenian organizations in U.S., the
Armenian Assembly of America, appealed to Armenians to submit letters
of protest to CNN International. The Armenian organization also tried
to stop the story being broadcast.

From: A. Papazian

MUCH-NEEDED MRI MACHINE FOR ARMENIA

Keghart.com Team Editorial
20 September 2010

Some $300,000 was pledged for an MRI machine, to be donated to
Armenia, at the gala fundraiser of the Armenian-Canadian Medical
Association of Ontario (ACMAO) in Toronto on Sept. 11. Richard Muir
and his Jericho Foundation donated $150,000 of that amount. The event
featured guest speaker Dr. Raymond Damadian, the famed inventor of the
MRI machine. The 360 attendees at the Canadian National Exhibition’s
Liberty Grand building included 50 young professionals, in addition
to Armenians from a wide cross-section of the community.

At the top of the evening’s agenda was to raise funds to purchase,
transport and install an MRI machine with 1.5 Tesla (magnetic flux
density) at the Arapgir Children’s Hospital in Yerevan. It will be
the first and only one of this capacity in Armenia. It is anticipated
that the advanced machine will be installed next spring.

Dr. Gevork Mnatzakanian, the MC of the evening, opened the gala by
welcoming the audience. Dr. Avedis Bogosyan, president of the Armenian
Medical International Committee (AMIC), extended the greetings of
his group and underlined the important work ACMAO does in Artsakh
and in Armenia.

ACMAO president Dr. Jack Sakarya delivered a brief and touching
message, encouraging attendees to donate to the MRI fund. Dr. Berge
Minassian reviewed the work ACMAO has done in Armenia and in Artsakh.

He also presented a short video from Armenia, demonstrating the
difference a cutting-edge MRI would make in diagnosing and treating
patients.

Following Dr. Minassian’s presentation, keynote speaker Dr. Damadian
took to the podium. His wide-ranging speech included such topics as
creationism and the Na-K (sodium-potassium) exchange within a cell
whose investigation ultimately led to the invention of MRI. Through
video clips and vivid images he demonstrated what goes on inside the
body when a person is ailing. MRI, with its modern applications, not
only sees through the coverings of the body (skin and bone, etc.),
but also minute details within the target tissue. It can inspect the
entire body. For example, it can find the origin or extent of the
spread of cancer. The entire world has benefited from the invention.

It’s probably the most important contemporary medical discovery–and
it’s all the brainchild of the son of a Kayseretsi Armenian. Dr.

Damadian’s father was saved from the march to Der el-Zor–the
“Killing Fields of the Armenian Genocide”– by his brother in Boston
who sent money to bribe the Turkish gendarmes to sell him to a Turk
who delivered Damadian’s father to American missionaries.

Dr. Damadian’s speech was followed by an auction. Articles included
a wide variety of items, topping all was painter Armand Tatossian’s
“Serendipity” which has an estimated retail value of $22,000. As in
previous ACMAO’s gala events, the fundraiser was a success deserving
praise and congratulations.

We are all aware of the gloomy economic conditions in our homeland. We
know about the structural problems and the dire state of health care
delivery in Armenia. Let us complement the already-raised MRI purchase
funds to cover expenses related to the training of technicians and
radiology specialists who will operate the machine. The medical
gift to our Hayastan is a cause worthy of your support and is tax
deductible. It will make a substantial difference in health care
delivery in Armenia. To donate to the fund, please visit ACMAO’s
website .

From: A. Papazian

PRIME MINISTER RECEIVED THE DISTINGUISHED SPORTSMEN

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department
September 18, 2010

On September 17, the Prime Minister of Artsakh Republic Ara Haroutynyan
received the distinguished long jumper, the Chairman of Track and
Field Athletics Federation of the RA Robert Emmiyan, who had visited
Stepanakert to be present at the NKR track and field athletics open
championship. During a warm and immediate conversation the Premier
and the legendary sportsman touched upon development of track and
field athletics and perspectives of organization of international
championships in Artsakh. A.Haroutynyan noted that R.Emmiyan’s presence
will inspire young sportsmen, and impel them to new achievements. The
European record-holder, unsurpassed up till now, expressed readiness
to render assistance of all kinds to Artsakh sportsmen, including
their involvement into various measures.

The interlocutors exchanged memorable presents and spoke about further
joint programmes.

The NKR NA Deputy Chairman, Chairman of the NKR Track and Field
Athletics A.Tovmassian, and the NKR Vice Prime Minister, Minister of
Finance S.Tevosyan were present at the meeting.

From: A. Papazian