Author: Andres-Papazian

L’ANNEE 1915, MALEDICTION TURQUE

Publie le : 19-02-2015

Info Collectif VAN – – Cengiz Aktar, intellectuel
turc, specialiste des questions europeennes, a publie en francais dans
Liberation une tribune intitulee “L’annee 1915, malediction turque”.

Il s’interroge au sujet de la Turquie : “Sommes-nous frappes d’une
malediction couplee a un mensonge centenaire ?” L’auteur parle de
“degenerescence engendree par le genocide”. Pour memoire, Cengiz
Aktar est l’un des 4 initiateurs de la petition turque lancee en
decembre 2008 afin d’adresser des excuses aux Armeniens pour la
“Grande Catastrophe” de 1915, ce terme etant destine – de l’aveu meme
de l’un des quatre intellectuels turcs – a jeter aux oubliettes la
qualification de >, adoptee par de nombreux
parlements a travers le monde. L’article de Cengiz Aktar a d’abord
ete publie fin decembre en anglais sur Today’s Zaman, mais surtout,
et ce fait est essentiel, en turc dans Taraf. Un bon point pour Cengiz
Aktar qui a tendance d’ordinaire a tenir ce type de propos uniquement
a destination de l’Europe, pour montrer la “magnifique ouverture”
d’une certaine Turquie. Dommage que la traduction en francais soit
vraiment de piètre qualite. Une relecture du texte aurait ete d’autant
plus necessaire que le sujet ne supporte pas d’approximations.

Si les propos sont très forts, on aurait aime que Cengiz Aktar n’ait
pas pour seul objectif ce qui peut faire du bien aux Turcs (cette
fameuse >), mais qu’il parle egalement des
reparations dues aux Armeniens. La dimension de reconnaissance des
crimes enumeres et de denonciation du deni est irreprochable, mais
tout est uniquement axe sur le bien que cela ferait a la Turquie de
reconnaître ses crimes, et sur le mal que le genocide armenien a fait
a l’Anatolie. En somme, l’essentiel est que le meurtrier soit soulage.

La demande de justice de la victime n’est clairement pas l’angle
choisi.

Autre sujet d’inquietude : on ne sait pas comment cette mention
de la “malediction” des morts armeniens peut etre percue par des
ultra-nationalistes turcs. “Ah, ces Armeniens : meme morts, ils sont
toxiques. Quel lobby a eliminer d’urgence !”

Enfin, la relation de facto entre > est irrationnelle et partisane.

Pour etre credible, Cengiz Aktar aurait dû plutôt relier la > aux problèmes d’identite et de societe qui empoisonnent
la Turquie depuis un siècle.

Il serait bon de lire ou relire a cette occasion le texte du chercheur
turc Sait Cetinoglu, paru sur le site Repair (voir en fin d’article).

Cetinoglu y expose les raisons pour lesquelles les compensations et
indemnisations sont une necessite morale et explique pourquoi une
restitution sans condition des biens armeniens devenus propriete
d’Etat s’impose. Rappelant que . Nous allons suivre comment les
tenants actuels de l’Etat vont redoubler d’efforts, en Turquie
et a l’etranger, pour masquer cette honte. S’ils le pouvaient,
ils zapperaient l’an 2015 pour passer directement en 2016 ! La > negationniste, limitee a quatre thèses indignes -revolte,
collaboration avec l’ennemi, visees et provocations des imperialistes
et autovictimisation (>)- sera recitee dans de conferences encravatees. Nous
serons les seuls a ecouter cette chanson.

Et les 24 et 25 avril, des ceremonies officielles seront organisees
non a l’occasion du genocide, mais pour l’> aux
Dardanelles. Nous allons ecouter de nombreux contes heroïques sur
cette bataille, mais nous ne pourrons pas convaincre grand monde de
les entendre avec nous. Que faut-il qu’il nous arrive de plus pour
qu’on puisse regler nos comptes avec cette sanguinaire invention de
la nation ? Pour apprendre et commemorer l’extermination d’un peuple
travailleur et paisible par ses voisins martiaux et spoliateurs. Pour
pouvoir ressentir, ne serait-ce qu’un bref moment, l’ampleur de la
persecution au cours de ces sombres journees de l’ete 1915, aussi
glacial que la mort.

Pour laisser enfin de côte les devinettes stupides > et les mots croises sur >, et n’ecoutons que notre conscience : comment ce peuple armenien
de quelques millions d’âmes en 1915 a totalement disparu d’Anatolie,
comment les rares survivants doivent leur existence a la conversion
forcee et a une vie dissimulee.

Pour saisir, enfin, le genocide culturel parfait, selon les termes
du journaliste assassine Hrant Dink, et la perte immense d’une
civilisation.

Pour realiser que le genocide nomme a cette epoque par les Armeniens
la > n’a pas ete seulement la leur, mais aussi
celle de tout le pays.

Pour se rendre compte que le sort de nos citoyens non musulmans qui
ont ete tues, chasses et obliges a fuir est egalement une extermination
et une perte de culture et de civilisation.

Pour ressentir le blâme des enfants et petits-enfants après la
confiscation des biens et des proprietes. Pour s’impregner de
la sagesse de Yasar Kemal qui affirme : >

Meme ceux qui rejetteront, d’un revers de la main, toutes ces
verites, ne le feront qu’a cause de la degenerescence engendree
par le genocide. Le genocide armenien, la Grande Catastrophe
de l’Anatolie, est la mère de tous les tabous sur ces terres. Sa
malediction continuera de nous frapper aussi longtemps qu’on refusera
d’en parler, de la dechiffrer, de faire face. Son centenaire est
une occasion historique de laisser de côte tout ce qu’on a appris
par coeur, d’entendre et de comprendre l’Autre et de commencer la
therapie collective.

Lire aussi :

1915, Le peuple turc doit regarder la verite en face

Source/Lien : Liberation

From: A. Papazian

GAGIK PETROSYAN: NULAND SHOULD ADVISE AZERBAIJAN TO PETITION TO KARABAKH

February 19, 2015 10:51

Victoria Nuland should better give advice to the Azerbaijan government
to petition to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) authorities about
the future of the Azerbaijani saboteurs, NKR National Assembly member
Gagik Petrosyan said.

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 19, ARTSAKHPRESS: Petrosyan noted the
aforementioned with respect to the call by Victoria Nuland, the
US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs,
for making a humanitarian gesture and releasing the saboteurs. In
his words, Nuland should have expressed her view when Azerbaijan was
carrying out acts of sabotage and killing a sleeping man.

To note, Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan was killed in his
sleep by Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov with an axe, during a NATO
Partnership for Peace program in Budapest on February 19, 2004. “It
would have been better if the US Department of State had focused on
the fact that the Azerbaijani saboteurs are killing children. Had
they been prisoners of war, perhaps I would have agreed with Nuland;
but they are saboteurs,” Petrosyan stressed. The MP added, however,
that this matter can be discussed if Azerbaijan were to petition to
the NKR as equal states.

From: A. Papazian

ARF-D WANTS TO FORM COALITION WITH AUTHORITIES

20:38 / 18.02.2015

Nyut.am sources report that ARF-D leadership offered Serzh Sargsyan
to form a united coalition government but asked to do it in a way as
if the offer comes from Serzh Sargsyan.

The president though faces an issue: the other parliamentary forces
will not join the coalition and having the ARF-D having gathered just
5 is senseless. Though the Rule of Law may join too.

Anyway, only the ARF-D wins in the Sargsyan-Tsarukyan reconcilation
process. Speaking to reporters, ARF-D representative Armen Rustamyan
said, “If we see that the authorities display political will to
implement our proposals we are ready to form a coalition with the
authorities.”

Serzh Sargsyan took the ARF-D’s wish into consideration.

From: A. Papazian

BOOK BUYING TRADITION SHOULD ADD VALUE TO GIFTING BOOKS – ARMENIA MARKS BOOK GIFTING DAY TODAY

11:28 * 19.02.15

February 19, which marks great Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanyan’s
birthday, is also traditionally celebrated as a day of book gifting
in the country.

Literary critic David Gasparyan describes the day’s message as an
attempt to bring a human being closer to the book. According to him,
learning to buy books is even much more important than spreading the
culture of gifting them to people.

“We must speak about the book’s value today to attract people to
gift books to one another not only on this day but also on private
occasions. There are really wonderful books. So why don’t they buy
them? Because everything has its era, and books now seem to have fallen
out of fashion. Yes, not everybody reads, and books even used to be
considered part of the house furniture. But people knew the books’
value; they knew children must read,” Gasparyan said.

Asked whether he agrees that people do not spend money on books because
they are considered too expensive in a socially insecure country like
Armenia, the literary critic admitted the problem to an extent. “Social
problems do certainly exist because [a book] is not a cheap pleasure,
but anyway they are possible to overcome if one is dedicated to books,”
he added.

Commenting on readers’ preferences, Harutyunyan said most people now
tend to read historical-biographic literature.

“They prefer the books that contain a real history and human
biography,” he said.

Literary critic Meruzhan Ter-Gulanyan said he disagrees that the
advent of advanced technologies is likely to diminish books’ value.

Noting that such fears always existed after every new invention
(radio, television, computers), Ter-Gulanyan said he knows that life
has always proven the contrary.

“People reading books exist also today. It is simply important to
write well; an interesting book must be written. It is impossible
for a human being to be isolated from reading; as long as the human
being exists, book will keep living. Books are eternal. So our task
now is to revitalize the culture of reading books,” he added.

Ter-Gulanyan said he really expects the book gifting culture to gain
more attraction. “People will learn it. Everything new starts from
something little, so we are required to kind of infect each other,”
he added.

From: A. Papazian

LAKE SEVAN WATER QUALITY NOT FAVOURABLE FOR FISH IN 2014

14:05 February 18, 2015

EcoLur

In 2014 the quality of Lake Sevan water was not favourable for the
fish. Uner the annual certificate of “Environmental Impact Monitoring
Center” of Nature Protection Ministry for 2014, the concentrations of
ammonium ion, nitrite ion, vanadum, chromium and selenium exceeded the
maximum permissible concentrations, “Ammonium ion exceeded the MPC by
1.2-1.5 times, nitrte ion – 1.2-2.3 times, chromium – 1.2-3.4 times,
vanadium – 3.8-5.6 times. Based on long-year studies of the chemical
quality of the lake, such amount of vanadium is considered to be the
lake feature and isn’t considered as pollution. In separate parts
of Lake Sevan the maximum concentration of selenium was exceeeded
(1.2-1.9 times). The concentrations of other indicators were considered
to be within ranges,” the certificate says.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY PLANS TO INSTALL MEMORIAL PLAQUE HONORING GURGEN MARGARYAN

13:07, 19.02.2015

YEREVAN. – The Armenian community of Hungary plans to install a
memorial plaque on the building where Gurgen Margaryan was killed 11
years ago, deputy chairman of the Armenian organization of Hungary
Nikoghos Hakobyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

There is a khachkar in Budapest, and the Armenians and representatives
of Hungarian NGOs honor memory of Gurgen Margaryan by bringing flowers
to the khachkar, he said.

The organization has already addressed Hungary’s Defense Ministry
with a request to install a memorial plaque on the building where
Armenian soldier had been killed, and they are expecting the formal
reply from the Ministry.

Ramil Safarov, a then-lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, was
extradited on August 31, 2012 from Hungary, where he was serving a
life sentence for the premeditated axe murder of Armenian lieutenant
Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership for Peace
program in Budapest back in 2004.

Ramil Safarov’s return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of murder,
by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev’s government and much of
Azerbaijani society

And Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31, 2012
that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary.

From: A. Papazian

PROTOCOLS PROCESS: TURKEY REACTS TO ARMENIA’S DECISION TO RECALL NORMALIZATION ACCORDS FROM PARLIAMENT

NEWS | 19.02.15 | 11:03

By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Although on February 16 the Armenian president turned to the National
Assembly in order to withdraw the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, official
Ankara announced that as before they remain committed to the Protocols
signed in October 2009 in Zurich between the two nations with the
aim of normalizing their bilateral relations.

Nevertheless, in his letter to Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan,
President Serzh Sargsyan points out the absence of the political will
of Turkish officials, their attempt to distort the “letter and spirit”
of the Protocols with preconditions.

“Parallel to that, toward the centennial of the Armenian Genocide
their policy of denial and editing the history takes another wave. I
have many times spoken of time being limited, including in September
2014 from the UN General Assembly rostrum. Unfortunately, Armenia’s
calls were not heard by the Turkish government,” the letter said.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic described Armenia’s
decision of withdrawing the Protocols as “wrong and unfortunate,”
and Yerevan’s stance as “incoherent and insincere”.

“Yerevan has decided to withdraw the Protocol on Establishing of
Diplomatic Relations and the Protocol on Developing Relations in order
“to create a reason to accuse Turkey” ahead of the 100th anniversary
of the massacres of Ottoman Armenians. Turkey disagrees with the
attitude taken by the Armenian side and will remain loyal to regional
normalization process,” Bilgic said.

In an interview with the Armenian Public TV Armenia’s Deputy Foreign
Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said that “the ball is in the Turkish
court”, and it is obvious that interested states, the international
community would be waiting for Turkey’s steps.

“We can cancel the signatures at all, and we can also ratify them, I
mean, everything depends on further developments. How will the events
develop, what attitude will Turkey have, whether it will change or
not, and if yes, toward which side? Thus, we have moves in different
directions,” he said.

The chairman of the Armenian Institute of International and Security
Issues, political analyst Styopa Safaryan said that President
Sargsyan’s step was belated, because of which “we witnessed Turkey’s
“cynical policy”” – in the sense of planning the celebration of the
100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, which according to him,
is more directed toward the very problem of the Genocide.

“The Battle of Gallipoli battle becomes an event which is organized
to show to the world that these Armenians who only remember their pain
at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial on April 24, they actually forget and
ignore, and offend others’ grief, not remembering about them, because
the British, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians died here,”
Safaryan said, presenting the way Turkey wants it to be seen. “Had
we withdrawn the Protocols much earlier, there would have started an
international process, giving more time to work with world leaders,
to convince them.”

Member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) parliamentary
faction Lyudmila Sargsyan does not exclude that the NA withdraws the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols in order to bring the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) into the coalition.

“Their step of withdrawing the Protocols speaks of the fact that
they want to please the ARF. That step is ridiculous, because once
Serzh Sargsyan did everything to ratify them, in order to put the
fact of Genocide under suspicion, to prevent the Genocide from
recognition. I cannot say whether he did it purposefully, he is not
a mature statesman,” Sargsyan said.

Armenian officials and members of the ruling Republican Party have
denied that the protocols signed with Turkey in any way call into
doubt the fact of the Genocide or undermine the international process
of Genocide recognition. On the contrary, they have praised Sargsyan’s
policies on normalization with Turkey, saying that Armenia has shown
itself as a credible international partner.

There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey. Turkey
closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in response to the victories
of ethnic Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh war against Ankara’s
regional ally, Azerbaijan. In 2008 President Serzh Sargsyan initiated
the process of rapprochement with Turkey that resulted in the signing
of two diplomatic protocols in 2009.

From: A. Papazian

ANC “UNDERSTANDS” PAP DECISION, SAYS WILL HOLD RALLY ON MARCH 1

NEWS | 19.02.15 | 10:21

NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow

RELATED NEWS

Tsarukyan Beats Retreat: PAP leader advocates “political way” of
solving problems

The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) treats the decision
of its embattled ally to call off its participation in the February
20 rally with “understanding”, the party said in a statement.

The ANC again condemned the government crackdown against the Prosperous
Armenia Party (PAP), saying that it will use all methods of political
struggle to end violence against its partner.

After days of internal political tensions following an offensive
launched against him by President Serzh Sargsyan and his ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan on
Wednesday essentially signaled a retreat from his intentions to seek
Sargsyan’s ouster with sustained street protests.

After a reported meeting with Sargsyan, Tsarukyan issued a statement
saying that he wanted to settle problems “through peaceful, lawful and
political means”. The PAP, at the same time, said it will not take
part in the rally called by three opposition parties, including the
ANC and Heritage, in response to the RPA campaign against Tsarukyan.

In its latest statement the party led by first president Levon
Ter-Petrosyan vowed to continue “resolute struggle” to remove the
“illegal regime” and establish democracy in Armenia. It called on
opposition supporters to gather in Yerevan’s Liberty Square for an
“all-national rally” on March 1.

“At the rally, the current situation will be analyzed and further
plans of the popular movement will be presented,” the ANC said.

Heritage leader Raffi Hovannisian told reporters on Wednesday that his
party will make a decision on further actions later this week. He
invited everyone, including media, to Yerevan’s Liberty Square
where he plans to present the decision on Friday. Hovannisian again
criticized President Sargsyan’s policies and reiterated his demand
for his resignation.

From: A. Papazian

OVER 80 ADVISORS ARE EMPLOYED AT THE RA STATE AGENCIES

February 19 2015

Some of them even beat the record by the number of assistants Recently,
there are many complaints that the government agencies are excessively
overstaffed. And we decided to make a small “tour” to the official
websites of the state agencies to find out how many people give advice
to one official.

According to the president.am website, the president of Armenia
has 9 advisors, the next line is “shared” between Hovik Abrahamyan
and the Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan – 8 advisors each. It is
true that all the officials, in addition to advisors, have also an
assistant(s), but in this respect, the NA Speaker is the richest by
the number of them. According to parliament.am website, in addition
to numerous advisors, he also has 7 assistant and 4 referees. Health
Minister Armen Muradyan, according to the website of the Ministry
of Health, has 5 advisors; Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan – 6,
Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan – 3, Minister of Energy and
Natural Resources Yervand Zakharyan – 2, Minister of Culture Hasmik
Poghosyan – 2, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Gabriel Ghazaryan –
3, Minister of Territorial Governance and Emergency Situations Armen
Yeritsyan – 1. Urban and Finance Ministers advisers are not “reflected”
in the official websites of the agencies, however, this does not mean
that Narek Sargsyan and Gagik Khachatryan do not have advisors, or it
is not the case that listing less number of advisers meets the reality.

In addition, Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan has
4 advisor, Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan has 3 advisors,
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan – 3, and the
Justice Minister Hovhannes Manukyan – 2.

According to gov.am website, the Ministry of international economic
integration and reforms does not have a website, the government website
shows only Vache Gabrielyan’s biography. According to the same source,
Minister of Environment Aramayis Grigoryan has 2 advisors, Minister
of Economy Karen Cheshmarityan – 3, Minister of Diaspora Hranush
Hakobyan – 3, Minister of Transport and Communications Gagik Beglaryan
– 2, Yerevan City Mayor Taron Margaryan – 7 advisors. To the point,
the officials’ advisors’ list includes the names of already known
officials, or the names of their children and relatives. Not counting
the advisors to the Government adjacent agencies and defense minister,
it turns out that about 80 people are busy with giving advice to
high-level “boss”. Interestingly, if their number is cut down,
will the situation in the country become worse, or on the contrary,
be easier in terms of payment of excessive wages. Let’s not forget
also that the deputy ministers have not only advisers, but also
assistants. But this remains for another time.

Gohar HAKOBYAN

Read more at:

From: A. Papazian

NATURE PROTECTION MINISTRY ARMED

18:07 February 17, 2015

EcoLur

Nature Protection Minister Aramayis Grigoryan submitted for the
approval of the Armenian Government a draft resolution on providing
guns to a number of specially protected areas of nature. Under
the resolution, Directors, Deputy Directors, Department Heads
and Inspectors of “Sevan National Park”, “Dilijan National Park”,
“Arpi Litch National Park”, “Khosrov Forest” State Reserve, Zangezour
Biospheric Complex, and Reserve Park Complex will receive guns.

“Sevan National Park” will be in the first place with its armament
level, where 110 guns will be provided followed by Zangezour Biospheric
Complex – 74 guns, “Dilijan National Park” – 53, “Khosrov Forest”
State Reserve – 47, Reserve Park Complex – 21. The list will be
finalized by “Arpi Litch National Park” by 18 guns.

From: A. Papazian