Author: Andres-Papazian

EVENTS IN MEXICO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

18:53, 17 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

An event organized by Armenian communities of Mexico and the US
West Coast marked the start of the Armenian Genocide centennial
commemoration in Mexico.

Mexican intellectuals, scholars, politicians and public figures,
diplomats and journalists participated in the event.

During the event, Ambassador of Armenia in Mexico Gregor Hovhannisyan
presented the program of events to be held from March through November,
2015, in Mexico.

On March 15, holy liturgy, dedicated to the memory of innocent victims
of the Armenian genocide was served at the Mexico City Metropolitan
Cathedral by Archbishop of Mexico, Cardinal Norberto Rivera.

Archbishop of Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church Hovnan
Derderian and Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Catholic Church
in Latin America, Bishop Vardan Poghosyan attended at the liturgy.

At the end of the liturgy, on the behalf of the Armenian community of
Mexico an Armenian cross-stone was given as a gift to Mexico City,
that will become one of the exponents at Mexico’s National Museum
of Civilizations from now on. Ambassador Hovhannisyan, Archbishop
Hovnan Derderian, Director of the National Museum of Mexican Culture
Carlos Vasquez, as well as member of the Los Angeles City Council
Paul Krekorian, who specially arrived from California, took part in
the ceremony of cross-stone installation.

The liturgy was widely covered by the Mexican media.

From: A. Papazian

PEOPLE’S COUNCIL OF SYRIA HOLDS SESSION DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

12:21 18/03/2015 >> POLITICS

People’s Council of Syria on Tuesday held a special session dedicated
to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the press service
of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reports.

Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Jihad al-Laham opened the session.

In his remarks, he noted, “Looming days coincide with Centennial of
the Armenian Genocide, that was committed by the Ottomans against
the friendly Armenian people. In this regard, we express our absolute
solidarity with the friendly Armenian people, as well as our Syrian
Armenian compatriots, who fell victims to the heinous genocide
by the Ottoman authorities. Today we recall the most horrible and
tragic remembrance known to the history. We call on the international
community and all the peoples in the world to be side by side against
the murderers, executioners and terrorism that pose threat to the
Middle East – in order to prevent further crimes against humanity,
civilization and history.”

Afterwards, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham requested the parliamentarians
of the People’s Council of Syria to observe one minute’s silence in
memory of more than 1.5 million innocent victims.

During the session, more than 20 parliamentarians representing
different factions and chairpersons of the permanent commissions
delivered speeches, in which they strongly condemned the grave crime
committed against the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire, at the
same time, calling on the international community to condemn the
first genocide against humanity perpetrated in the 20th century.

From: A. Papazian

LE LIVRE > DE HASAN CEMAL EN FRANCAIS SORT EN LIBRAIRIE LE 19 MARS

LIVRES-GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS

Le livre best-seller > du journaliste
turc Hassan Cemal, petit fils du Cemal (Djemal) pacha l’un des trois
dirigeants Jeune-Turcs qui commirent le genocide des Armeniens vient
d’etre traduit en francais nous informe le journal armenien >
a Istanbul. Il sortira en librairie demain 19 mars par les editions
Les Prairies Ordinaires avec pour titre > (288 pages, 23 EURO). Le livre de Hasan Cemal avait paru en turc
en 2012 aux editions >. L’an dernier il fut traduit en
armenien et presente a Erevan par l’auteur. Avec une polemique lors
de cette presentation en Armenie. La traduction armenienne avait
ete amputee de quelques passages lies aux critiques de l’auteur sur
le terrorisme armenienne ainsi que la guerre de liberation du Haut
Karabagh.

Ci-dessous le resume du livre en francais realise par son editeur :

From: A. Papazian

“LET’S CALL THE THINGS BY THEIR NAMES – THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WAS A GENOCIDE.” EU DEPUTY

March 18 2015

“Let’s call the things by their names – the Armenian Genocide was
a genocide,” such an observation was made today by member of the EU
Parliament from the Czech Republic Jaromír Å tÄ~[tina at the Euronest
PA plenary session hosted in Yerevan. During the discussion of the
draft report on “Infrastructural Cooperation between the EU and the
Eastern Partnership Countries: road, rail and air transport joint
projects,” co-rapporteur Mher Shahgeldyan said that the report was
of great importance in the globalized world. “Communications is the
sector that are the priority for ensuring development. There were a few
items in the report that are principles: communication liberalization,
elimination of restrictions and blockades, and people’s security.

Unfortunately, many people in the Eastern Partnership countries die
due to road accidents. One more important principle is the free air
philosophy in our country too. I emphasize the need for reforms in our
country. Mher Shahgeldyan urges upon the items fixed in the report
not to remain on the paper, but to make significant steps in this
direction. It was welcomed by the delegates. The NA MP Hrant Bagratyan
said, “We must note two factors: it is time that the economic and
political matter in Europe are not mixed up together. Too often, the
political debates end with the economic blockade. We must work in this
direction. Europe is increasingly appearing in the framework of global
economy. A statistics problem occurs for the small countries. People
live in one country, but are engaged in the production or work in
another country. It causes problems.”

ARF deputy Artsvik Minasyan said, “The EU should apply pretty much
efforts towards elimination of closed borders in this region. Over
25 years, Turkey and Azerbaijan are applying the issue of the closed
border against Armenia. Without having an access to the sea, today,
Georgia becomes the only border for Armenia to Europe. We urge to
make efforts and put pressure on Turkey to open the border without
preconditions. We are talking about 35 percent of commodity turnover.

It should grow and Armenia should be integrated with Europe more
closely.”

Hripsime JEBEJYAN

Read more at:

From: A. Papazian

POLITICAL ANALYST: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL WILL ONLY CAUSE A STIR, NOTHING MORE (VIDEO)

13:39 | March 18,2015 | Politics

Political analyst Ara Papian believes that a de facto Kurdish state
will be formed on the territory of Western Armenia in the next
15-20 years.

“The creation of a Kurdish state has always been on the agenda. The
only problem is that the key players, specifically the USA, have not
made a final decision on the matter,” he said.

The political analyst says Turkey understood long ago that it cannot
resolve the problem in a military way. “About 6.5 million Kurds
live in its territory and Turkey’s authorities know that they can
achieve nothing with weapons. I think that Turkey will not prevent
the increase of an Armenian element among Kurds and will allow the
so-called ‘Kurdified’ Armenians to spread in the country. Then with
its policy aimed at ‘Armenifying’ the Kurds, Turkey will create a
political counterweight and prevent the creation of Kurdistan.”

Asked whether this will affect the process of the Armenian Cause,
Mr Papian said, “We are not fighting against anyone, we are fighting
against ourselves to understand who we are and what we want. The events
commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centennial will only cause a stir,
nothing more.”

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA LEADER: RUSSIA’S SELLING WEAPONS TO AZERBAIJAN IS A PROBLEM

19:49, 18.03.2015

YEREVAN. – President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan thanked Russia for the
support that the country has provided to Armenia since independence.

Speaking during a media forum in Yerevan, he said military and
technical cooperation plays a great role in relations with Russia.

“In this term, we are concerned about the fact that Russia, due to
different reasons, is selling weapons to Azerbaijan, and the problem
is not the quality of weapons, but the fact that an Armenian soldier
standing on the border realizes that they are trying to kill him from
Russian weapons,” President said during “At the Foot of Mount Ararat”
media forum.

Serzh Sargsyan said that the problem must be solved. On the other
hand, he emphasized that in his opinion, and the opinion of experts,
Azerbaijan does not have possibility to solve the Karabakh problem
by military means.

“The Nagorno-Karabakh army is efficient and ready to face any threat,”
he concluded.

From: A. Papazian

AT THE FOOT OF ARARAT: FIFTH ARMENIAN MEDIA FORUM DEDICATED TO GENOCIDE

12:54 * 18.03.15

The fifth Armenian international media forum, At the Foot of Ararat,
is this year dedicated to the Genocide centenary.

The event, which opened today at the Government’s Reception House,
has brought together over 100 journalists from different countries.

Ara Saghatelyan, the presidential spokesperson who greeted the guests,
said the topic now stands high on the country’s political agenda.

“We cannot circumvent the Genocide topic, seeing that the methods,
which Turkey applied in relation to the Armenians in 1915, are now
repeated in different corners of the world. Media’s role is big in the
prevention of genocide. And they face a higher degree of responsibility
today,” he said.

Saghatelyan further pointed to Turkey’s attempts to create an
information barrier between itself and Armenia despite the short
distance of just 20km.

“Many Armenian websites are blocked in Turkey just because they
address the Armenian Genocide issue. The Turkish authorities believe
that with the help of such barriers, they can ban the society’s access
to information. But that isn’t possible in the modern world. The role
for all of us today is to give Turkey’s society a chance to confront
its own history,” he added.

The spokesperson also referred to the Pan-Armenian Declaration which
he said reflects the entire nation’s approaches, reflecting at the
same time its solidarity with those Turks who dare to speak about
the Genocide as opposed to their government.

“The Armenia-Turkey border must open with urgent efforts, but Turkey
fails to demonstrate enough will,” he added.

From: A. Papazian

SERZH SARGSYAN’S NEXT ROLE

Haikazn Ghahriyan, Editor-in-Chief
Comments – 18 March 2015, 15:40

Putting forward the topic of amendments to the Constitution, Serzh
Sargsyan announced, “I will never ever run for the post of president
of the Republic of Armenia. If a way is chosen in the result of the
concluding discussion which will not match my wish, I mean the model
of parliamentary governance, I will not aspire to the post of prime
minister either. One person in Armenia must not contend for the
steering wheel of the country for more than once in his or her life.”

This caused contemplations that Serzh Sargsyan may aspire to the post
of speaker of the National Assembly.

The head of the board of the Armenian Pan-National Movement Ararat
Zurabyan who had met with Serzh Sargsyan said the latter assured him
that he will not aspire to the post of speaker of parliament either.

In other words, Serzh Sargsyan is not aspiring to the top three
administrative posts.

Speaker Galust Sahakyan said the amendments to the Constitution will
not be a hindrance to nominating Serzh Sargsyan as prime minister or
president, adding that every party is free in its nominations for one
post or another. “If he dislikes the model, he will not be nominated.

If the model of governance remains semi-presidential or presidential,
he will not be nominated,” Galust Sahakyan said.

During his meeting with the committee elaborating the draft amendments
Serzh Sargsyan said security issues must be taken into account in
changing the model of governance. In other words, the issue as to
which official will have powers to coordinate the security agencies
was put forward.

In fact, Serzh Sargsyan does not care about the model of governance
or the new hierarchy but which top official will be managing the
security agencies. He has suggested developing a model which will
give a clear answer to this question.

Should it be deduced that after clarifying this detail it will be
clear which office Serzh Sargsyan will be aspiring to? So far one
thing is clear – the amendments to the Constitution catalyzed domestic
developments, and Serzh Sargsyan got a chance to reshape freely the
field called political and neutralize the possible competitors and
set to create a “new government”.

In addition, this is accompanied with an interesting trick. Those
in charge of the country are regularly making unexpected, sometimes
contradictory leaks relating to the amendments to the Constitution,
which seem to be meant to keep up tension and hold the domestic
processes under control.

It should be noted, for example, that two draft amendments may be
put to discussion. Or, the number of members of parliament may be
reduced from 131 to 75. Officials also say that the Constitution may
not amended at all.

It is hard to tell whether this is a developed scheme or the government
has no final decision and is trying out different options to check out
public reaction. However, one thing is clear – the amendments to the
Constitution are not the main subject but a tool through which the
government’s plans relating to both domestic and foreign policies
must be implemented. The model of governance and Serzh Sargsyan’s
future role will be aligned to this.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA PRESIDENT: CLOSE COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA A KEY COMPONENT OF OUR SECURITY

19:04, 18.03.2015

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s foreign policy has always been based on the
principle of complementarity of different systems and accommodation
of the interests of great powers involved in the region, President
Serzh Sargsyan said in his address to the participants of “At the
Foot of Ararat” media forum.

“Joining the CSTO, the Republic of Armenia has simultaneously enhanced
its cooperation with NATO, by contributing to the strengthening of
international peace and security through its participation in the
peace-keeping missions. Our country has developed and continues to
develop allied strategic partnership with Russia. The Armenian-Russian
allied inter-State relations are anchored in the close historical
ties that existed between the two nations. The close collaboration
with the RF is a key component of our security, economic development
and stability. The RF is Armenia’s largest trade partner: in 2014,
our trade accounted for more than 1.4 billion dollars, there are 1.3
thousand enterprises with Russian capital in Armenia and the amount
of Russian investments in our economy have exceeded three billion
dollars. I am confident that for very many persons sitting in the
hall these numbers seem small and ridiculous, but believe me that for
a small state and a small economy such as Armenia these numbers are
extremely important. We cooperate with Russia in different sectors
– energy, infrastructure, industry etc. According to non-official
data, there are around 2 million Armenians living in the RF. We also
continue to deepen our collaboration with the RF within the framework
of international organizations – the Eurasian Economic Union, CIS
and CSTO. We attach great importance to the Russia’s efforts aimed
at a peaceful settlement of the NK conflict within the framework of
the OSCE Minsk Group.

Our foreign policy is also aimed at reinforcement of our friendly
partnership with the US and of the special relationship with France.

Since independence, Armenian-American relations have continued to
develop dynamically. Currently our bilateral agenda includes various
sectors – political, economic, human, security and other dimensions –
in which we have been making further progress year to year.

I must express my content with the fact that owing to mutual efforts
our partnership has now reached its highest level in the history of
Armenian-American relations. The reciprocal visits at various levels
conducted in the recent years bear testimony to this.

We highly appreciate long-standing US support for the RA’s economic
development, multi-sectoral reforms, consolidation of democracy and
civil society, which pursue the objective to strengthen our statehood.

We also place great value on the US role in the maintenance of security
and stability in the region, especially on its active involvement in
the peaceful settlement of the NK problem.

Armenia is very keen on continuing interstate relations based on
shared values and the age-old friendship between the Armenian
and French peoples. We value the achievements embellishing our
interstate relations during the last two decades, which involve regular
promotion of political, economic, cultural, scientific and educational
cooperation, and effective implementation of the assistance programs.

The consistent and concerted efforts in the relations between Armenia
and France have resulted in a crucial haven, special relations we
enjoy. France’s role is invaluable both in the condemnation and
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the highest
level, and in the peaceful resolution of the NK conflict within the
framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Of course, deepening and broadening of our traditionally friendly
partnerships with neighboring countries, particularly, with the Islamic
Republic of Iran and Georgia are top priorities for our country.

We highly appreciate our mutually beneficial and multifaceted
cooperation with Iran, which is rooted in historical and cultural
similarities, reciprocal economic interests and in common approaches
to a number of regional issues.

The multifaceted relationship between Armenia and Iran is maintained
at the high level. This is testified by our active and high-level
political contacts, and agreements reached therein pertaining to the
effective implementation of joint political, economic and humanitarian
projects.

We are closely following the negotiations between the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the P5+1 over Iran’s nuclear program. We wish the issue to
be resolved as soon as possible, and the settlement to be acceptable to
all the parties. We are hopeful that the agreements that have already
been achieved will result in a comprehensive settlement of this issue.

I must express my content with the fact that in recent years
the high-level contacts between Armenia and Georgia have tangibly
intensified. Our active interstate dialogue rooted in the traditional,
historical and good-neighborly friendship and mutual understanding
between our peoples establishes serious prerequisites to outline
new dimensions in our partnership. As a result, we are building
effective mechanisms to swiftly address any issue on our current
bilateral agenda.

We have always attached great importance to Georgia’s role not only in
the development of our bilateral relations, but also in strengthening
and maintaining security in the South Caucasus.”

From: A. Papazian

EU ASSIATANCE TO ARMENIA WILL REACH EURO 140-170 MILLION IN 2015-2017

18:32, 18 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Turkey has always been creating problems in the settlement of the
Karabakh conflict by supporting Azerbaijan’s non-constructive approach
on one hand, and trying to interfere with the activity of the Minsk
Group Co-Chairs on the other hand, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian said at a joint press conference with Johannes Hahn,
EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement
Negotiations.

“If Turkey really wants to contribute to the resolution of the
conflict, it should keep away from the process,” the Minister added.

Johannes Hahn said, in turn, that the status quo in the Karabakh issue
is unacceptable to the European Union and added that “the peaceful
settlement of the conflict remains a priority for the EU.”

The Commissioner noted that the EU supports the negotiations under way
within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. He urged the parties
to stay committed to the maintenance of the ceasefire regime and
called to show restraint and create an atmosphere conducive to the
settlement of the conflict.

“The European Union encourages further dialogue between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, including on the presidential level, which is extremely
important,” he said.

Johannes Hahn noted that 2015 is an important and decisive year
for the Armenia-EU relations, since both have undertaken to create
a firm legal framework for the cooperation. He stressed that the
EU is willing to continue to develop relations with Armenia, fully
respecting Armenia’s commitments in other integration formats, and
is ready to shape an agenda of cooperation that will comply with the
commitments of the Republic of Armenia.

The Commissioner informed that EU’s assistance to Armenia in 2015-2017
will reach EURO 140-170 million; the funds will be provided for the
development of the private sector, industry and the improvement of
the state governance system.

From: A. Papazian