Author: Ani Basmajian

In a dramatic move, Germany is set to become the first western nation and NATO member to break ranks and begin cooperating with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and set up an intelligence agency branch in Damascus, reports.

Although there has been no official announcement, anonymous sources quoted in the German Bild newspaper, confirmed that the federal government is keen to establish a branch of its Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in Damascus in an effort to counter IS.

The source said a decision on the move to renew ties with the Syrian intelligence agencies could be made as early as 2016 and may even involve reopening the German embassy in Damascus, which was closed in February 2012, when the German ambassador was withdrawn. The BND is reported to be anxious to quickly set up as a so-called Residentur in the Syrian capital, with a view to permanently stationing staff there.

There has been a long history of intelligence-sharing between Berlin and Damascus, which Germany believes is an important partner in the fight against radical Islamists. Diplomatic relations were broken off in 2012 when, the then Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, expelled the Syrian ambassador from Germany. The German ambassador to Damascus was withdrawn and the embassy closed for safety reasons.

 

Asbarez – With a favorable jet stream speeding their way, dozens of Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) leaders and activists arrived in Washington, DC last week for a two-day Capitol Hill advocacy campaign in support of peace and freedom for Artsakh.

The cross country trip by so many ANCA-WR leaders and activists was inspired by the ANCA Fly-In For #NKPEACE initiative, which drew activists from more than a dozen states to the nation’s capital, where they met with the offices of over 30 U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives, consulted with a broad range of senior foreign policy staff, and attended the annual Congressional event marking Artsakh’s commitment to peace and democracy. The Capitol Hill program, which drew a standing room only crowd, featured powerful remarks by Members of Congress, an address by Armenia’s Ambassador, and a keynote speech by Artsakh’s Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan.

The ANCA Fly In For #NKPEACE initiative was organized in the wake of a Congressional letter spearheaded this Fall by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY), and cosigned by over 80 of their House colleagues, outlining three concrete steps to address Azerbaijan’s escalating aggression: Withdrawing snipers, adding observers, and deploying gunfire locator systems. Their letter was addressed to James Warlick, who serves as the U.S. Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group and who was present at the event for Artsakh held on Capitol Hill on December 9, 2015.

“I am so proud of the smart and dedicated team of activists, and especially the youth and student leaders, who joined us on Capitol Hill last week to raise our collective voices – as American citizens – for the rights of the freedom loving people of Artsakh,” shared ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian. “With foreign governments like Azerbaijan and Turkey pumping millions of dollars into their lobbying efforts against Artsakh – it is essential for Armenian Americans of all ages to stand strong on Capitol Hill. We look forward to following up this ANCA Fly-In For #NKPEACE with additional targeted outreach that focus on key elected officials and advance our human rights agenda and to continuing to include the leaders of tomorrow in these efforts,” Hovsepian added.

The ANCA-WR leaders and activists who flew to Washington, DC spent two days meeting with a bi-partisan array of federal officials, including with the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce (R-CA), the Ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Intelligence – Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee – Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA),  Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA), Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA), Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) and senior aides for U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), among others.  The Capitol Hill meetings held by the ANCA-WR leaders and activists addressed a number of key issues – including the need for the U.S. Department of State to press the Aliyev regime in Baku to stop escalating violence and war rhetoric against the peaceful population of Artsakh and the need for the U.S. Government to support continued U.S. humanitarian and developmental assistance for Artsakh.

Among those joining the ANCA-WR delegation was Christine Dashdemirians, President of the CSUN Armenian Student Association. In 2014 Ms. Dashdemirians participated in the Armenian Youth Federation’s Youth Corps Summer Program, where she spent time teaching children in Armenia and Artaskh. “The ANCA Fly In For #NKPEACE was the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had,” she commented. “As a college student that loves to be involved in the Armenian American community, my two days on Capitol Hill were a great way to convey the stories of my students and their families from my AYF Youth Corps experience to members of the House and Senate.  In order for Artsakh to receive more aid from the United States, we all need to get active and let our federal representatives know how we feel about this human rights issue.  It really is as simple as that,” Ms. Dashdemirians added.

Alina Sakissian, an alumni of the ANCA Leo Sarkisian internship program, remarked about the importance of participating in the ANCA Fly In For #NKPEACE initiative.  “This ANCA initiative in support of Artsakh was a remarkable effort because it allowed young people to make a real difference for the Armenian Cause,” Sarkissian remarked.   “I was able to witness firsthand the allies and adversaries we have on Capitol Hill.  It is not until you are sitting in an office at the United States Capitol, waiting for a member of Congress to discuss Artsakh issues, that you fully realize how necessary these meetings are in order to advance the Armenian Cause and how important the grassroots work of the ANCA is,” she added.

On the evening of December 9, 2015, ANCA-WR leaders and activists joined Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Robert Dold (R-IL) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) at an event marking Artsakh’s independence.  House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Royce, was joined at the event by House Select Committee on Intelligence Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Dina Titus (D-NV), at the observance of Artsakh’s freedom.

 

 

 

Expert of monuments Samvel Karapetyan has been blacklisted by Georgia. He was denied entry to the country at the Sadakhlu checkpoint on October 18.

Speaking to reporters today, Karapetyan said he has never violated any laws in Georgia and is confident that he has been added to the “black list” because of the works dedicated to the destroyed or severely damaged Armenian monuments in Georgia.

The expert presented the works born as a result of his 20-yer-long activity. Among them is the book titled “The Georgian state policy and the Armenian cultural monuments,” which tells about the Armenian monuments demolished or desecrated as a result of Georgian state policy.

Exactly ten years ago the Azerbaijani authorities destroyed the Armenian cross-stones in Old Jugha, Nakhijevan. According to the expert, Iran is the only neighboring country, where there is no need to struggle for the preservation of Armenian monuments.

Asbarez – The closing night film at the Lake Van International Film Festival, the psychological thriller 1915 received a resounding ovation from the Kurdish and Turkish audience in attendance—and earned the Special Jury Prize at a ceremony in downtown Van on December 11, 2015. The film, co-directed by Garin Hovannisian and Alec Mouhibian, had been at the center of much controversy in the lead-up to the screening, as local anti-Armenian groups condemned the festival and threatened the festival organizer for inviting such a film to what is considered Eastern Turkey.

Executive produced by Armenia’s first foreign minister, Raffi Hovannisian, starring Simon Abkarian and Angela Sarafyan, and featuring an original score by Serj Tankian, the film is a tribute to the legacy of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Representing the film in Van, Garin Hovannisian took on Turkey’s century of denial and spoke out forcefully about the Armenian Genocide—at the same time recognizing the courage of those intellectuals and organizers who have initiated such a discussion 100 years later. In an interview with Van TV at the Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island, Hovannisian said: “This is the spiritual and symbolic heart of the Armenian kingdom. We do not feel like strangers in this land. We feel that we have come home.”

The Kurdish interviewers, in their turn, apologized to the Armenian people on behalf of the Kurdish and Turkish peoples. Even on national television, they did not mince words about “the genocide” and added: “We hope that we can have a common life here. We wish the past did not exist.” Similar sentiments were conveyed all through the week in Van, where a movement to recognize the Armenian connection to this land is well under way.

1915 was produced in partnership with the Armenian Center for National and International Studies and the RVVZ/IDeA Foundation.

Georgia’s Vice Premier and Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze considers “gas supplies to Armenia from Iran unacceptable” for the country, he said after a meeting with Gazprom Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee Alexey Miller on Thursday, TASS reports.

“It was hinted that they [Russia] can supply gas from Iran to Armenia,” he said, adding that “this is very bad for us and will not be accepted.”

France’s far-right National Front (FN) appears to have made big gains in the first round of regional elections, estimates show.

They put the FN ahead in at least six of 13 regions in mainland France.

The elections are the first electoral test since last month’s Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed.

The centre-right Republicans party led by former President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to be in second place ahead of the governing Socialist Party.

A second round of voting will be held on 13 December.

As the results became clear, the Socialist party said it was withdrawing from the second round in at least two regions, in the north and the south, to try to block a run-off victory for the FN.

Exit polls from Sunday’s vote predicted that the FN had won 30.8% of the vote, followed by Mr Sarkozy’s Republicans on 27.2% and President Francois Hollande’s Socialists with 22.7%.

FN leader Marine Le Pen, who stood in the northern region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, and her niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen, who stood in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur in the south, both looked to have won more than 40% of the vote, polls predicted, breaking previous records for the party.

Marine Le Pen told supporters it was a “magnificent result” which proved the FN was “without contest the first party of France”.

Alleged representatives of the so-called Islamic State (IS) released a video yesterday, which showed fighters speaking Georgian addressing the Muslim population of Georgia. The fighters urged them to support the ‘Islamic Caliphate,’ reports.

The fighters threatened to establish a ‘Caliphate’ in Georgia. One of the extremists stated “I would like to address the faithless people living in Georgia that have been fighting Islam for a long time. Everybody who has acted against Islam, no matter in Iraq or Afghanistan, will be judged by God’s law.”

The address, published on , emphasized that “God is very strict,” and called on [you] to stop persecuting Muslims. “Your actions against the Muslim will be not remain unanswered. Everybody will be accountable for it.”

Another group of fighters threatened Muslim Khoja and Muftis living in Adjara (Georgia), accusing them of misleading people. “You will pay for what you have done. Be afraid of Allah but not the dirty leaders, don’t be afraid of their orders, you will fulfil them without hesitation,” the group has stated.

Soon after the address, the Georgian State Security Service announced it was launching an investigation into the case. The Security Service did not wish to speak about any possible additional measures surrounding the issue.

One of the parents of one of the fighters in the video commented yesterday that the video is aimed at spreading panic and intimidating people, Ilia Gobadze boldly declaring “no one will come and blow us up.”

The head of the Press and Public Relations Department of the State Security Service, Nino Giorgobiani posted an update on her Facebook page telling the Georgian Media not to contribute to spreading the video footage via the internet.

“I ask the media not to contribute to spreading threatening video footage via the internet due to public security. The State Security Service is working on the issue. An investigation has already been launched,” the update read.

Three terrorist suspects have been killed in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis during a major security operation linked to the deadly attacks that rocked the French capital five days ago, a police source said. The targets of the raid are believed to have included the purported mastermind of the attacks, CNN reports.

Three people have also been arrested, according to BBC.

The focus of the operation is reported to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the Islamic State-claimed attacks that killed 129 people.

Roads have been blocked off around Rue de la Republique in Saint Denis, in the same district as the Stade de France, where suicide attackers detonated bombs on Friday.

Truckloads of soldiers joined armed police at the scene.

 

Tonight, at the Presidential Palace there took place the ceremony of bestowing the 2015 RA Presidential Award for the global contribution in the area of information technology. After the ceremony, a reception was held to honor the winner of the award, the world famous expert of cyber security, Director General of Kaspersky Lab – one of the leading private companies in that area, Eugene Kaspersky and his spouse Khu Shirong.

The Chairman of the Executive Council of the Award Committee of the World Information Technologies (WIT) Hovik Musaelian in his speech presented the achievements and dynamics of the IT area in Armenia – one of the most vigorously developing branches which has also been creating the highest added value. He underscored that in recent years, this sector has grown by 20-25 percent and its specific weight is close to 3% of the GDP. Hovik Musaelian spoke also about the cooperation of the Armenian government and the private sector which allows to implement initiatives aimed at the further development of the IT area. He presented in detail the prehistory of the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution in the IT area which was established by the executive order of the President, the guiding principles of the award committee and the international selection commission, mentioned the individuals who have already received this prestigious award and introduced the winner of this year’s award Eugene Kaspersky.

President Serzh Sargsyan handed the award to Eugene Kaspersky. At the reception which was held in honor of the winner of the award the President of Armenia made a statement.

During the event, the recipient of the award Eugene Kaspersky spoke the words of gratitude, “I am doing everything I can. I am motivating my employees and my company so that they do everything they can so that we become the best performers of this job in the world. I believe that we do this job better than anyone else in the world. It is my life, my destiny, my mission. I am very grateful to the President of Armenia, I thank the commission which has decided to bestow me with this award, and I am grateful to the sponsors who assisted in the organization of this event. I promise that I will work even better. We must save this world, not just the cyber world but the entire world since there is no longer a difference between the physical world and cyber space. They are intertwined, and we must create working systems and conditions which will allow to eliminate cyber attacks; they are problems that we simply do not need. I will do everything I can to make it a reality. This award is a very serious impetus for such a work. Thank you very much,” said the Director General of Kaspersky Lab Mr. Eugene Kaspersky.

Remarks of President Serzh Sargsyan at the ceremony of bestowing the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the IT area

Dear Mr. Kaspersky,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I salute you and welcome you at the Presidential Palace.

I was very pleased to carry out this enjoyable task – to hand to Mr. Kaspersky the 2015 RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the IT area.
There is no need to make a special introduction of Mr. Kaspersky and Kaspersky Lab; these names are familiar to millions of computer users all over the world. These names have become part of people’s day lives and help them to protect their private data.

Any system may be flawed or vulnerable. Structural flaws should be rectified, while vulnerable parts should be detected in time and protected from the internal errors and moreover so from the unwanted intervention. In this very area, for over twenty-five years Mr. Kaspersky has been working diligently, helping out millions of users.

In recent years, one of our most impressive achievements has probably been special attention towards the area of information technologies. Combining the efforts of the state and private sectors, we have been able to make IT a truly strategic area. The most pleasing, of course, is the continuous involvement of our young people in this sector.

However, it is important to realize that IT is not just an economic factor in the life of the Republic. Today, these technologies allow Armenia to step into modern life. Moreover, information technologies have become one of the most important means for the modernization of Armenia.

The system is defined not by the errors, but by the ability to address the errors. At this very point, those who fight viruses and other harmful elements come to our rescue. Among them Eugene Kaspersky and experts working in his lab undoubtedly hold a unique and very important place.

Today, we witness how retrograde forces are lifting heads all over the world. They are trying to strangle the modern world and ideology of modernization. I am not sure if Mr. Kaspersky knows the kind of antivirus we need to fight that evil, but I am sure that the contemporary world is flexible and wise enough to eventually find the antivirus to protect us from that menace. It will be a victorious response of progress and modernization to the virus of backwardness and bigotry.

Dear Mr. Kaspersky,

I cordially congratulate you on receiving this award. There can be no doubt that your work in appreciated not only in Armenia but all over the world. You and those like like you open new doors for the humankind and at the same time help unfailingly protect these doors. It is well known that much is expected where much is given.

I wish you and your family all the best, and new achievements in your gratifying work. And be assured that here, in Armenia we will always be proud and pleased with your achievements.

Thank you.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Paris November 5-6 to participate in the 38th session of the UNESCO General Assembly.

Minister Nalbandian is expected to address the assembly.