Author: Andres-Papazian

TURKISH UNIVERSITY HOSTS HAKOB PARONIAN-DEDICATED CONFERENCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 1, 2010 – 15:58 AMT 10:58 GMT

On May 5, Bogazici Turkish University will host a conference dedicated
to famous Armenian writer Hakob Paronian.

Turkish translators and Armenian researchers were invited to
participate. Agos newspaper representative Zakarya Mildanoglu will
read a lecture on creative work of Paronian.

The conference will be held within First Ottoman Vanguard Theater
program framework, ARAS YAYINCILIK reported.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA SEEKS TO DEVELOP TIES WITH CANADA

Aysor
June 1 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has met with Canada’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Lawrence Cannon,
in Ottawa.

“In the 21st century, the geographic location and the distance between
our countries can’t become an obstacle to expansion of cooperation.

Armenia successfully develops cooperation with countries located
1,000 kilometers far from us. And we are seeking for strengthening
of relations with Canada,” said Edward Nalbandian.

He said that there are nearly 20 companies of Canadian capital acting
in Armenia, and this number can increase by joint efforts.

Parties discussed a range of issues, including Armenian-Turkish
relations. Armenian Minister pointed that the process can have a
success if Turkey is ready to respect agreements on ratification of
protocols without preconditions and if it brings the signed protocols
into being.

Lawrence Cannon, in his part, said that Canada welcomes steps towards
normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey and opening of
the border.

From: A. Papazian

HRANT DINK MURDER CASE IN TRABZON REACHES FINAL STAGE

BIAnet.org

June 1 2010
Turkey

The Dink family lawyers demanded the punishment of the eight
gendarmerie officers in Trabzon on the grounds of “severe negligence”.

The defence lawyers requested additional time for preparing their
defence. The case was postponed to 28 July.

Erol ONDEROÄ~^LU [email protected] Trabzon – BÄ°A News Center01
June 2010, Tuesday Eight gendarmerie officers are tried at the 2nd
Magistrate Criminal Court of Trabzon (eastern Black Sea coast) because
of negligence prior to the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink. The Dink family lawyers demanded one last time to conduct the
defendants’ prosecution within the scope of the murder trial held
in Istanbul.

The eight gendarmerie officers tried in Trabzon are facing prison
sentences of up to two years each. In yesterday’s hearing (31 May),
the joint attorneys demanded to prosecute in particular former
Trabzon Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Oz and Captain
Metin Yıldız and the remaining six defendants under charges of
“causing death by means of neglect because of deliberately not acting”
according to article 83 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) (Voluntary
manslaughter by means of negligent behaviour).

Defence of Defendants postponed to 28 July The defendants’ lawyers
requested additional time in order to prepare their defence. Thereupon,
the court judge postponed the trial to 28 July.

The Trabzon 2nd Magistrate Criminal Court had decided for lack of
jurisdiction of the Trabzon High Criminal Court and subsequently of the
Criminal Court of First Instance. Upon the appeal of the prosecution,
the file came back to the Magistrate Court.

According to the joint attorneys of the Dink family, chances are very
low that the Trabzon court will send the file to a different court
due to another decision for lack of jurisdiction, now that the case
has reached its final stage.

19 January 20007

Despite information obtained one year earlier on a planned attack
against Agos newspaper founder Dink, Ogun Samast came from Pelitli
(Trabzon) to Istanbul and killed Dink in front of his office in
Å~^iÅ~_li on 19 January 2007. The number of detained defendants of
the murder case has gone down to three. Besides Samast, Yasin Hayal
is detained for alleged incitement to the murder as well as police
informant Erhan Tuncel.

Former Trabzon Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Oz,
intelligence branch officials Captain Metin Yıldız, military officers
Gazi Gunay and Huseyin Yılmaz, Command Sergeant Major Okan Å~^imÅ~_ek,
Special Sergeants Veysel Å~^ahin, Hacı Omer Unalır and Onder Araz
are facing prison sentences of up to two years on the grounds of
“negligence”. (EO/VK)

From: A. Papazian

GEVORG ZARGARYAN FUTSAL TOURNAMENT KICKED OFF IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 1, 2010 – 13:39 AMT 08:39 GMT

The Federation of Football of Armenia has organized a tournament
honoring the memory of Evropa goalkeeper Gevorg Zargaryan

Erebuni, Polytechnic, Kaghsi and Evropa teams are participating,
FFA press service told PanARMENIAN.Net

From: A. Papazian

‘RELATIONS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND TURKEY STRAINED ANYWAY’

news.az
June 1 2010
Azerbaijan

Turkish political scientist has commented on the Turkish-Israel
relations in the light of the recent incident with Flotilla of Freedom.

‘The relations between Israel and Turkey were strained anyway while
after this incident they will worsen even more’, said Turkish political
scientist, professor of the 21st century Ankara University Arif Keskin.

He said that Israel has bitten the hand that feeds it.

‘Turkey was the only Muslim country that has been supporting Israel
in the region for 60 years. By such actions, Israel has caused harm
to itself.

Meanwhile, Keskin ruled out the determined condemnation of Israel by
the world power centers.

‘These countries have created Israel. It is their child, which they
need to conduct their policy in the Middle East. Therefore, Tel-Aviv
relying on its supporters is confident about its impunity’, he said.

As for possible actions of Azerbaijan, Keskin said Baku should better
not interfere.

‘The community may express its condemnation of violence used by
Israeli soldiers but the government must stay cold-blooded. You are
now fighting Armenian lobby and it would not be good to gain an enemy
in face of the Jewish diaspora’, he said.

‘I would like to note that despite the worsening situation in the
Middle East was initiated by Israel and Iran, Turkey has to bear the
burden of this state. And time will show how it will overcome this’,
concluded the expert.

From: A. Papazian

ARARAT FC TAKES LEAD IN ARMENIAN FIRST DIVISION

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 1, 2010 – 15:07 AMT 10:07 GMT

On May 31, Pyunik2 -Ararat, Banants2 -Shengavit matches were held in
Armenian First Division 5th tour.

As a result, Pyunik lost 0:1 to Ararat; the match with Shengavit
ended in 6:1 victory for Banants 2. Ararat FC took lead in Armenian
First Division with 19 points to its score, followed by Gandzasar -2
and Banants 2 with 16 and 12 points respectively.

From: A. Papazian

NALBANDIAN MET THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES IN CANADA

Ayso
June 1 2010
Armenia

On the sidelines of the visit to Canada the RA MFA E. Nalbandian
had a meeting with Jason Kenney Minister of Citizenship, Immigration
and Multiculturalism.

Minister Kenney greeted the Armenian Foreign Minister, and said that he
is the friend and of Armenia and the Armenians that live in Armenia. He
mentioned that he is very attentive towards the developments that
take place in Armenia and the region. Edward Nalbandian expressed
his gratefulness for Jason Kenney’s contribution in developing the
Armenian – Canadian relations.

As the press and information department of the Armenian Foreign
Ministry informs the interlocutors also touched upon the regional
issues of the South Caucasus.

On the same day, at the evening, in the Armenian embassy in Canada,
Edward Nalbandian met with the representatives of the Armenian
community in Canada. He also presented his meetings to be held in
Ottawa, then he answered multiple questions referring to the foreign
policy of Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

COACHELLA VALLEY’S ARMENIANS REFLECT ON GENOCIDE, THRIVE IN DESERT

Desert Sun

June 1 2010
CA

Through the lens of history, Adolf Hitler’s killing machine looks a
lot like the Armenian Genocide during World War I.

An estimated 1.5 million of the 2.1 million Armenians living in Turkey
were killed or died of starvation in epidemics that swept through the
concentration camps, according to the Armenian National Institute,
a nonprofit “dedicated to the study, research and affirmation” of
the genocide.

Turkey has yet to acknowledge the 1914-1918 Armenian genocide.

“Because it is not recognized all over the world, it is a kind of
bleeding wound,” said Father Krikor Zakaryan of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, which formed in 1977.

Never heard of the Armenian genocide?

You’re not alone.

Hitler is purported to have said, according to reports by the
Associated Press bureau in Berlin in 1939, that those in his command
should “send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women
and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we
gain the living space which we need.

“Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

Only about 20 countries have officially recognized the Armenian
holocaust. The U.S. is not among them.

On the campaign trail, President Barack Obama promised to officially
acknowledge the nearly century-old massacres, but since taking the
White House has stopped short, instead calling it “one of the worst
atrocities” of the 20th Century.”

The genocide has become a part of their cultural fabric, Coachella
Valley Armenians say.

“It is a cancer in every Armenian’s heart,” said Alice Safoyan,
church treasurer.

Three years ago, the Armenian Apostolic Church began holding a memorial
service to remember genocide victims.

This year, the Tolerance Education Center in Rancho Mirage hosted
a 40-minute documentary called “The Armenian Genocide,” narrated
by actress Julianna Margulies, and a Q and A with a representative
from the Armenian Assembly of America, a Washington, D.C.-based
Armenian-American advocacy group.

“The Turkish identity is built on the denial of the Armenian genocide,”
said Yeghig L. Keshishian, the director of the western regional
office of the Armenian Assembly of America in Pasadena. “It was 95
years ago. Why remember?

“You can’t have a solid foundation for the present if you don’t
reconcile the past.”

New church on way

Like many of the valley’s settlers, the first Armenians to put down
roots here were farmers, said Velo Herbekin, the church historian.

Many of those farmers grew dates and grapes, bringing grape seedlings
from Armenia.

In the 1950s, roughly 15 Armenian families lived in the Coachella
Valley. Today, church officials estimate, that number is about 2,500
individuals in season.

Armenian residents have worshipped in the parish hall on Vista Dunes
in Rancho Mirage with visiting priests from St. Margaret’s Episcopal
Church in Palm Desert once a month.

Church members hope this year to move into their new sanctuary next
to the parish hall on Vista Dunes.

Zakaryan, the valley’s first full- time Armenian priest and only the
second in Riverside County, was ordained in the fall.

“If you have a church, then the Armenians want to move there because
this is the center of the community,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

ARF’S HOVHANNISYAN POINTS OUT DANGERS TO PRESIDENT SARGSYAN
Arman Gharibyan

2010/06/01 | 14:46

politics

ARF MP Vahan Hovhannisyan sees two other disturbing points in the
European Parliament’s Resolution 2216 other than the demand that
Armenian forces pull out of the “liberated” Karabakh territories.

For one, there is the proposal that the mandate of the Minsk Group
be transferred to the European Union. MP Hovhannisyan said that such
a move might lead to EU member states serving as co-chairs based on
the rotation system. During a meeting with reporters, the ARF party
official said that now was the time to warn President Sargsyan to
prevent such an occurrence.

The second concern of MP Hovhannisyan is that Armenia not participate
in calls to establish a “Black Sea Union” that will ultimately be
dominated by Turkey and Russia. “Armenia should never join such an
organization,” he stated.

From: A. Papazian

WE DON’T ALL WANT TURKEY TO JOIN EU

Tuesday June 01 2010

THE announcement by the Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin that
Ireland backs Turkey’s application for membership of the European
Community must have come as a shock to those of us who believed a
similar announcement by our president while on a visit to Turkey was
the expression of a personal wish only.

There are many in Ireland who would view the entry of Turkey into
the EU as the death knell of the European ideal.

Apart from its huge and divided population, which would present
problems for the cohesion of the community, the Turkish state has been
guilty of massive and repeated crimes against humanity, against the
Armenians, the Kurds, the people of Cyprus and against its own people.

The question should be asked, why is Ireland the first and indeed
the only EU country to support publicly the Turkish application for
membership, as it did previously for Romania?

Was it at the behest of the United States in support of its allies?

From: A. Papazian