Author: Andres-Papazian

UCSB’S ARMENIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION TO HOLD ANNUAL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION

Santa Barbara Independent, CA
April 23 2013

Source: UCSB ASA

On Thursday, April 25, 2013, the Armenian Student Association (ASA)
at the University of California, Santa Barbara will host their annual
Armenian Genocide Commemoration in remembrance of the 1.5 million
lives lost 98 years ago during the atrocities that occurred during
the First World War.

This year’s Commemoration will highlight the progress and successes of
Armenia since the Armenian Genocide until present day. By emphasizing
the achievements of Armenians and significant historical movements,
we aim to encourage the present generations of both Armenian and
non-Armenian descent to the advocate for the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, particularly the issue of human rights and genocide
in general. The event will also provide information in regards to
past and present genocides, such as the Holocaust, Darfur and the
current atrocities in Sudan.

The Armenian Genocide of 1915 is considered the first genocide of the
20th century. The enduring denial campaign on behalf of the Turkish
government promotes a continuous cycle of injustice. UCSB’s ASA has
also promoted the importance of educating the college population
about the political undertakings of the Turkish government by hosting
“The Stain of Denial” (the second annual simultaneous silent protest
which took place at the respective campuses of ASAs across the state
of California) back on January 31, 2013.

The Commemoration will include a musical performance by UCSB ASA
members. A recognized Armenian priest, Ter Vazken Movsesian, will
be speaking about the history of the Armenian Genocide, as well as
talk about his current work in Africa, promoting the importance of
preventing future genocides. A UCSB alumnus, Joseph Kazazian, will
be speaking on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of America
Western Region (ANCA-WR).

Students, faculty, and community members of all ages are encouraged
to attend the Armenian Genocide Commemoration on Thursday, April 25,
2013 at 7:00 pm at UCSB’s Life Sciences Building (Room 1001 by UCen
Road and Lagoon Road). The event is free of admission. Please visit
for more information about the Armenian Student
Associations throughout California.

Contact:

Leslie Aguilar, UCSB ASA Vice President [email protected] (818)
266-4014

From: A. Papazian

SUBJECTED TO BEATINGS OF DIRECTOR OF “EUROMOTORS” DIED

Subjected to beatings of director of “Euromotors” Arthur Yegoryan
his neighbour Haykaz Khachatryan at night on April 21 died in hospital.

Lurer.com learnt about this from Haykaz Khachatryan’s relatives.

Recall, on November 25, 2012 Haykaz Khachatryan was beaten by Arthur
Yegoryan and taken to the hospital, after which he was not yet
discharged from hospital and was under medical supervision.

On November 25 was Arthur Yegorian’s mother’s birthday. They had fun
until the morning, turning on loud music, forcing neighbours to become
“members” of their family fun. Their neighbour, who spent a sleepless
night, dared to rise up and remind them that there are also other
people who have the right of a peaceful sleep. Having accepted this
as a call of a personal insult, the owners were alarmed. Who is this
brave man who dared to knock on the door and demand respect. Fight
began. Excited boys went down to the first floor, in order to continue
the disassembly.

Because of the elevated noise brave young man Haykaz Khachatryan’s
father also came out of the house.

During the fight Yegoryan pushed Haykaz Khachatryan, as a result of
which he hit his head against the wall and with serious injuries was
taken to “Armenia” medical centre.

From: A. Papazian

POLISH GOVERNMENT READY TO LEND TENS OF MILLIONS OF EUROS TO ARMENIA

YEREVAN, April 23. /ARKA/. Polish government is ready to lend tens of
millions of euros to Armenia, Polish Deputy Economy Minister Tomasz
Tomczykiewicz said at a briefing in Yerevan after the Armenian-Polish
intergovernmental economic cooperation commission’s third session.

Answering ARKA News Company’s question, he said that the Polish
government is ready to lend this money for improvement of investment
infrastructures, not for commercial business.

Tomczykiewicz also offered another loan for purchasing goods from
Poland.

He said if Armenian side expresses interest in this offer, Poland
will wait for official request from Armenian government.

“Everything is at an initial stage now – offers were made just
yesterday, and they will be discussed by the two countries’ officials,”
he added. -0-

From: A. Papazian

IN ISRAEL, BOTH COALITION AND OPPOSITION URGE REMEMBRANCE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Ha’aretz, Israel
April 23 2013

Knesset members speak out despite the government’s efforts to achieve
a detente with Turkey.

By Jonathan Lis | Apr.23, 2013 | 8:17 PM

Both coalition and opposition members Tuesday commemorated the
Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks, despite Israel’s efforts to
patch things up with Turkey over the raid on the Gaza flotilla three
years ago in which eight Turkish nationals died.

During and after World War I, between 1 million and 1.5 million
Armenians died; the anniversary of the killings is marked this week.

Because of Jerusalem’s past close relations with Ankara, the government
has never officially recognized the events as genocide.

“How many of us are really familiar with the Armenian holocaust? Why
are we indifferent when Turkey does not take responsibility?” said
MK Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi). “We must confront our silence
and that of the world in the face of such horrors. No country stood
by the Armenians. No one cared about the genocide in Rwanda.”

MK Israel Hasson (Kadima) called on his colleagues to support
the Armenian people. “We’ve formed an Israeli-Armenian friendship
association, and I call on any MKs who want to express solidarity
to join it, even if the government has difficulty formulating a
statement.”

MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud), a former Knesset speaker, said “Turkey is and
will be an ally of Israel. The talks with Turkey are understandable
and even necessary from a strategic and diplomatic perspective. But
those circumstances cannot justify the Knesset ignoring the tragedy
of another people.”

MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) referred to the reconciliation talks with
Turkey as “an important and strategic process that I wholeheartedly
support, but it needn’t influence recognition of the massacre of
the Armenian people. It’s not that we have to either recognize the
genocide or have relations with Turkey; we can do both. The link
between the two harms Israel and its foreign relations.”

Ofir Akunis, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said
that “as Jews and Israelis we have a moral obligation to remember
human tragedies. One of them was the massacre of the Armenian people.

The State of Israel has never denied these terrible events.”

According to Akunis, “Investigating the related events must be done
through open debate, not by political declarations.”

In the end, the MKs decided that the Knesset House Committee would
choose which committee would conduct a broader debate on the issue.

From: A. Papazian

CRIMINAL ARMENIA GOES TO ELECTIONS – ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS MP

22:02 ~U 23.04.13

Criminal Armenia is going to elections, Aram Manukyan, an Armenian
National Congress (ANC) parliamentary group member, stated in
Yerevan’s Arabkir community as he referred to violence against ANC
members in Yerevan’s Ajapnyak community on Monday and a murder in
Gyumri on Tuesday.

“The authorities are buried in criminal. Otherwise, they would not
be able to retain power. The people are seeking to get rid of them.

During the presidential election, 18,000 people under age were on
the voters lists, which means 18,000 frauds,” Manukyan said.

“It is more difficult to rig elections in Yerevan. Raffi Hovannisian
won in Yerevan. And it is now a good chance to give Serzh Sargsyan
a noser,” he said.

Zoya Tadevosyan, who ranks second on the ANC list in the upcoming
elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders, said that Yerevan voters
are electing a Council of elders rather than a Yerevan mayor.

By voting for the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) they will actually
vote for Serzh Sargsyan, she said.

Vahagn Khachatryan, ANC candidate for the Yerevan mayor, called on
the residents to take part in the voting

.

From: A. Papazian

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN SUPPORTERS ACCUSE RPA AND PAP OF ELECTION VIOLATIONS

April 23, 2013 | 16:48

YEREVAN. – The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and the Orinats
Yerkir (Rule of Law) Party (RLP) as well as the non-governmental
Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) committed several violations during
the campaigning for the forthcoming capital city Yerevan Council
election. Former FM Raffi Hovannisian’s opposition Heritage Party-led
“Barev [Hello], Yerevan” bloc member Daniel Ionesyan stated this
during a press conference on Tuesday.

In his words, Armenia’s regional governors are gathering the passport
data of those living in the regions but are registered in Yerevan,
to secure votes in RPA’s favor. Also, RLP and PAP are posting other
stuff on the signboards that are intended for election signs. He
added that RPA and PAP are sometimes posting signs in areas where
the law does not permit.

In Ionesyan’s words, the”Barev, Yerevan” bloc activists were obstructed
from distributing pamphlets in some Yerevan administrative regions.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

BOOK AWARD FOR “THE GREEDY SPARROW: AN ARMENIAN TALE”

Reach and Teach News
April 22, 2013

Reach And Teach is pleased to share the news that, The Greedy Sparrow:
An Armenian Tale, has been honored with a Nautilus Silver Award in the
Childrens Picture Book category. When we first read this book last year
we knew it belonged among our “Books That Transform the World” series.

We’re so pleased that it has received this recognition and hope that
because of greater visibility more people will discover this book,
learn about the importance of standing up and saying “NO,” and also
become aware of one of the lesser talked about attempts at genocide
in the world’s history. (Yes – I know that putting Childrens Picture
Book and genocide in the same paragraph can seem somewhat shocking,
but books that transform the world often do that.)

Here’s how we reviewed the book:

Is there any point in discussion when dealing with a bully? Or should
you just give in to whatever the bully wants?

Just the other evening we were blessed to see To Kill a Mockingbird in
Ashland and one of the most profoundly moving scenes was when Scout,
a young girl, is trying to stop a lynching and also keep her own family
from being beaten or killed, and she calmly but forcefully talks to one
man in the mob whom she knows. She reminds him of their connection,
their humanity, speaking to him as a friend and neighbor, and asking
how he can think of hurting her family given their relationship. She
says to him, “You make sure you say hey to your son for me, you know I
go to school with him every day” as a way of saying you can go ahead
and do this terrible thing, but what are you going to say to your
son about killing one of his schoolmates? Scout saves the day through
one of the most powerful examples of nonviolent resistence ever seen.

The Greedy Sparrow reminds me of Scout’s encounter, although none of
the characters in this Armenian folk tale stand up to the bully as
they should. The tale is rich in imagery and makes a great launching
point for discussions about being nice, doing what we are asked or
told, what happens when you are selfish and greedy, and when it is
appropriate to say “heck no” and stand up to bullies. It also provides
an incredible opportunity to learn about the Armenian people and the
attempt that was made to erase them and their culture from the earth.

Here’s the full press release about this great award. Congratulations
Lucine Kasbarian!

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT: Marilyn McGuire; McGuire & Associates
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

“THE GREEDY SPARROW: AN ARMENIAN TALE” WINS 2013 NAUTILUS SILVER
BOOK AWARD

Belmont, MA and Teaneck, NJ, USA; April 19, 2013 — “The Greedy
Sparrow: An Armenian Tale” has won the 2013 Nautilus Silver Book Award
in the Children’s Picture Book category (readers 3 to 6 yrs.). The
tale is retold by Lucine Kasbarian, illustrated by Maria Zaikina,
and published by Marshall Cavendish (now Amazon Children’s Books).

“The Greedy Sparrow” is an English-language retelling of a traditional
Armenian folk tale about a bird who travels the countryside, encounters
natives practicing traditional folkways, and gets a comeuppance for
his trickery. Author Kasbarian and illustrator Zaikina convey ethnic
authenticity in their adaptation of this tale from the Armenian oral
tradition. The NJ and MA-based Kasbarian is a children’s author known
for her book, “Armenia: A Rugged Land, an Enduring People. Moscow-based
Zaikina is an illustrator beloved for her companion animation to
singer Hasmik Harutyunyan’s folk lullaby, Agna Oror.

“Witnessing near-annihilation and exile as a result of the Armenian
Genocide,” said Kasbarian, “my surviving grandparents felt that our
people might one day become extinct. From that grew a profound desire
to preserve as much of our culture as possible, such as our language,
songs, dances, cuisine and stories. While her infant children perished
in the death marches, my paternal grandmother managed to smuggle
out the deeds belonging to our family’s confiscated property. Those
were the only material possessions that made it to America. Thus,
non-material possessions, such as what was carried in memories,
become precious links to our identity and past. “The Greedy Sparrow”
tale was one such heirloom, and UNESCO calls such treasures part of
a people’s “intangible cultural heritage.”

“The Greedy Sparrow” was also named a 2012 Honor Book in the
Storytelling World Awards. It was in School Library Journal’s “Fuse
#8 Production” blog’s “100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2011”
and in the Children’s Literature Network’s “Snipp Snapp Snute”
blog’s “Favorite Folktales published in 2011.” Further information
is available at the author’s website: .

The Nautilus Awards recognize books that promote positive social
change, spiritual development and conscious living as they stimulate
the imagination and inspire the reader to new possibilities for a
better world. Usually, one Gold and one or more Silver awards are
given annually in each of 24 Adult and 4 Children’s/Young Adult
categories. Formal announcements about all Nautilus Award winners
will be made in at BookExpo America (May 30-June 1) in New York City:
.

The Nautilus Award is named for the pearl-lined mollusk that contains
spiral chambers of increasing size, built by this sea inhabitant to
accommodate its growth. According to the organization, the nautilus
symbolizes ancient wisdom and expanding horizons, as well as the
elegance of nature and a continual growth of understanding and
awareness. Past Nautilus Award winners have included the Dalai Lama,
Barbara Kingsolver, Dr. Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra, among others.

For further information, please visit:
.

From: A. Papazian

THE GUILTY OF 1915 ARMENIAN GENOCIDE – TURKISH PUBLISHER CALLS TO FOLLOW GERMANY’S EXAMPLE

15:28 ~U 23.04.13

The exterminators of Armenians in 1915 are not today’s Turks. That
time there was no national Turkish state. It was created eight years
after it, Turkish Radikal writes.

The author of the article Hussein Dermitas writes that the murderers
are the organizers of what happened, mentioning Enver-Taliat-Cemal
trio, governor of Trabzon Cemal Azmi, etc., those giving orders to
kill and the commanders following these orders to be implemented as
well as those who acquired the property of Armenians at cheap prices
and those who made use of the created situation and distributed the
property, the children of Armenians.

The author also says that those who have not apologized for what
happened and those who did not regret it are also guilty.

“It is first of all necessary to start from these issues. They are the
guilty of the Armenian Genocide and in the denial of it by Turkey. If
we start from revelation of real criminals we will not accuse the whole
people, whole nation. Thus, we will enter a new phase by rejecting them
as our ancestors. Just like the Germans did. What did they do? They
separated Hitler and those who committed genocide of the Jews and
rejected them, rejected their heritage and started a cleaning process
and created democratic Germany,” the author writes. “Only in this way
we may built a democratic Turkey. By revealing that time criminals,
by denying their heritage, and stating that we are not their sons,”
he said, adding that the reconciliation is possible only by coming
into terms with the past.

From: A. Papazian

ONE OF INJURED HAK ACTIVISTS SUFFERED BRAIN CONCUSSION

Tuesday,
April 23

Materials of yesterday’s incident, in which activists of Armenian
National Congress (HAK) were involved, are being prepared, court
medical experts will examine the injured man, Aysor.am was informed
by Armen Malkhasian, an employee of the police press service.

Two activists of HAK were assaulted yesterday by unknown men while
they were distributing campaign materials in a residential building
of Ajapniak district in Yerevan.

The deputy chairman of HAK Party Aram Manukian said that one of the
injured activists named Alexander was hospitalized. He suffered a
brain concussion and also had to have three stitches.

TODAY, 13:35

Aysor.am

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN DIASPORA ASSIGNS IMPORTANT ROLE TO ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES IN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION ISSUE

12:43, 23 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS: The participants of the “Armenian
language is in my heart” Pan-Armenian Youth Forum, initiated by the
Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia, held a discussion
at the Armenian Youth Foundation, dedicated to the forthcoming 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As Armenpress was reported by
the representative of the Armenian Cultural Association of the French
Lion city Ani Khachaturyan, in France during the last period some
changes had been registered in the opinions on the Armenian Genocide
issue. “We began to understand that all we have done during these
years was right, but we need to do more to change the mentality and
the objectives”, – said Ani Khachaturyan.

The representative of the Armenian Central Council of Germany Mariam
Madinyan stated that the Armenian community of Germany continued
working in the direction of recognition and the condemnation of
the Armenian Genocide. “On April 24 students are going to hold a
large-scale rally in front of the Turkish Consulate in Hamburg. We
want that the people get aware of what had happened. Many Germans do
not even know that such thing happened”, – stated Mariam Madinyan.

The representative of the Syrian Students Council Petros Davuryan
noted that the issue of the recognition and the condemnation of the
Armenian Genocide was one of the most modern issues to be resolved.

“Armenian language is in my heart” Pan-Armenian Youth Forum, initiated
by the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia was launched
on April 22. During the two-day Forum about 500 young people from
30 countries of the world will watch cognitive films and visit the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and Vanadzor, as well as follow the
works of the sessions of the Government of Armenia, participate in
the torchlight procession towards Tsitsernakaberd Memorial held on
the occasion of the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

From: A. Papazian