Author: Antonian Lara

LET US DIGEST MARCH 1

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17:02:30 – 22/03/2010

Despite disagreements regarding several issues, normal relations have
always been present between the Republican and the Bargavach Hayastan
parties, said on March 22 the RP vice-chair Razmik Zohrabyan.

Dwelling on the thesis mentioned by the Armenian former foreign
minister Vardan Oskanyan in an interview, about the change of the
government, Razmik Zohrabyan said: "Today, RP and the coalition have
enough force; we do not need new people. If necessary, we will turn to
Robert Kocharyan as a skilful official. In all democratic countries,
former officials help new governments and share their experience. It
is not right to often change officials: let us digest March 1",
says Zohrabyan.

‘Nig Aparan’ donated a song called ‘Ari Tun’ to the RA Ministry of Diaspora

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YEREVAN: On March 19, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan
received the delegation of the `Nig Aparan’ benevolent, patriotic and
non-governmental organization which donated a song to the Ministry
under the initiative of honorable chairman, RA Prosecutor General
Aghvan Hovsepyan.

The event began with welcoming remarks by Mrs. Hakobyan, followed by a
speech by Mr. Hovsepyan. According to Hovsepyan, the song donation is
an attempt to participate in the `Ari Tun’ project, which has already
become a state policy. Hovsepyan attached importance to the idea of
national unity promoted by the RA Ministry of Diaspora.

Following Hovsepyan’s speech was the live performance of the song `Ari
Tun’ by singer Leyla Saribekyan. The song was written by Sergey
Harutyunyan.

After listening to the performance, Mrs. Hakobyan said `even the
golden Armenian language could not express her feelings.’ `The song
`Ari Tun’ is a gift to our people and our unity.’

Inspired by the performance, the attendees tried to perform the song
and started a round-dance with Mrs. Hakobyan and Mr. Hovsepyan.

RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan handed a letter of gratitude
to Aghvan Hovsepyan for his `pro-national and patriotic activities,
unprecedented initiatives, for conveying the Armenian air and spirit
to the activities of `Nig Aparan’ patriotic union and contributing to
Armenia-Diaspora partnership’.

In the end, the Minister handed gifts symbolizing the `Ari Tun’
project to the participants and emphasized that only through working
together will Armenians be able to create a `strong Homeland and the
Homeland of our dreams’ in order for all Armenians to consider moving
back to the Homeland someday.

RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SUBMITTED IN THE BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT

ArmInfo
2010-03-19 18:13:00

ArmInfo. Bulgaria’s conservative Order, Law, and Justice (RZS) party is
submitting with the Parliament Thursday an official declaration asking
that Bulgaria condemns the Armenian genocide committed by Turkey.

The declaration is in connection with the Thursday visit of Turkish
Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, to Bulgaria and statements of
Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan that the country is prepared to
extradite 100 000 Armenians.

RZS is also requesting an official answer from Prime Minister, Boyko
Borisov, about the policy of the cabinet regarding the Armenian
genocide during World War I.

The party leader, Yane Yanev, says they aim at reaching a consensus
about Bulgaria’s assessment of the tragic events and giving a clear
statement in defense of historical truth as the US and Sweden have
done.

US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee and the Swedish Parliament
recently approved resolutions to brand the 1915 killing of Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, stirring outrage in Turkey.

ARMENIAN FM VOICES DISCONTENT WITH TURKISH PM’S STATEMENT ON DEPORTATION OF ILLEGAL ARMENIAN MIGRANTS

Today
4388.html
March 18 2010
Azerbaijan

Statements by the Turkish Prime Minister about deportation
of all Armenians from Turkey do not contribute to promoting the
Armenian-Turkish dialogue, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
said in a briefing with Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav LajÄ~Mák.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview with BBC
threatened to deport all Armenians illegally residing in Turkey.

According to him, today Turkey is home to around 170,000 Armenians,
of whom only 70 thousand are Turkish citizens.

This statement has provoked serious discussions inside Turkey itself,
and many do not understand how such a statement could be made, the
Armenian FM noted.

"We need to move forward and implement those agreements and
understandings reached between the two countries," Nalbandian added.

ERDOGAN: ARMENIAN MIGRANTS COULD BE DEPORTED

Southeast European Times
March 17 2010

ANKARA, Turkey — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday
threatened that some 100,000 illegal immigrants from Armenia might
be extradited from his country. "There are around 170,000 Armenians
living in our country. Of them, 70,000 are Turkish citizens and the
rest are illegal immigrants who have been on Turkish territory for
over 10 years. If the situation continues to develop like this, we
will have to review our attitude towards them," Erdogan said in an
interview with the Turkish service of BBC. The statement came after
a US committee and Sweden recently approved resolutions to brand the
1915 killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

On Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt issued a
statement expressing his regret over the parliament’s decision to
approve the document. "I informed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
on Saturday that I regret the decision of the Riksdag [parliament],
as it paves the way for a politicisation of historical events. I also
expressed my concern that this could be used by forces in Turkey that
are trying to put a stop to the process of reconciliation with Armenia
and the process of reform in Turkey," Reinfeldt said. Swedish Foreign
Minister Carl Bildt has also criticised the parliament’s move.

ARONIAN LOSES 2 BLINDFOLD CHESS GAMES AT AMBER TOURNAMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.03.2010 12:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian has lost 2
blindfold chess games at Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament going
on in Nice, France.

In the 1st round, Aronian lost a blindfold game to Russia’s Sergey
Karjakin, yet managed to win a quick chess game. In the 2nd round,
he was defeated by Norway’s Magnus Karlsen.

In the 3rd round, Aronian will play vs. Jan Smeets (Netherlands)

Currently, Aronian is the 11th. Ukraine’s Vasily Ivanchuk and Ruslan
Ponomariov are in the lead in the overall standings with 3 points from
4 games, followed at half a point’s distance by Vladimir Kramnik and
Peter Svidler.

Levon Aronian (born on October 6, 1982 in Yerevan) is an Armenian
Grandmaster. He is the winner of FIDE Grand Prix in 2008 and 2009 and
2009 World Rapid Chess Champion. He was honored with Movses Khorenatsi
order in 2006 and with an order of merit in 2008.

EuroNews, France
March 12 2010

Armenians happy with Swedish stance

The Swedish vote describing the killings of Armenians during World War
I as genocide has been welcomed in Yerevan. Armenia says up to one and
a half million of its countrymen died when they were deported ` either
from starvation and disease or killed by Ottoman troops.

`Recognition of genocide and crimes against humanity is very
important, not only for Armenians but for mankind,’ said Deputy
Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosyan.

Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised
internationally as genocide. Some 20 countries have done so ` others
hope more will follow suit.

`The Americans recognised that slavery existed in the United States,’
said economist Arthur Aghazhanyan, `the Germans have recognised the
Jewish holocaust on European territory. In the same way the Turkish
government should recognise the actions taken by their former rulers
that were not committed by themselves.’

The 1915 killings continue to poison Turkish-Armenian relations. This
is despite a historic accord the two countries signed last year,
establishing diplomatic ties and reopening their shared border.

Voice of America
March 12 2010

Swedish Parliament Labels Armenian Killings in Turkey Genocide

A U.S. congressional committee approved a similar resolution last week
and sent it to the full House of Representatives. The move prompted
Turkey to recall its ambassador to Washington.

Dorian Jones | Istanbul 12 March 2010

Photo: Members of leftist Workers’ Party march to the Sweden Consulate
in Istanbul, Turkey, 12 Mar 2010, a day after Sweden’s parliament
narrowly approved a resolution recognizing the 1915 mass killing of
Armenians in Turkey as genocide

The Swedish parliament’s passage of a resolution recognizing the
killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide is drawing strong
condemnation from Ankara. The vote comes after the U.S. Congress’s
Foreign Affairs Committee passed a similar motion earlier this month.

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Sweden and canceled a summit in
Stockholm after Swedish lawmakers passed the measure Thursday.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the vote calling
it irresponsible.

Similar sentiments came from all of Turkey’s main political parties.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, dismissed the Swedish parliament’s
vote. "We know very well how these decisions are taken," he said.
"This decision has no value on our part. Those who voted are neither
historians or scientists. No need to exaggerate this voting or make
it look like more important than it actually is," he said.

Armenians say Ottoman Turks slaughtered as many as 1.5 million people
from 1915 until 1923. Turkey recognizes that Armenians were killed,
but says the death toll is greatly exaggerated. It says the Armenians
died in a civil war which accompanied the collapse of the Ottoman
Empire.

A U.S. congressional committee approved a similar resolution last week
and sent it to the full House of Representatives. The move prompted
Turkey to recall its ambassador to Washington.

Like the U.S., Sweden is an important ally for Turkey. It is one of
the few country’s in Europe that still strongly advocates Ankara’s bid
to join the European Union.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt reached out to Ankara saying his
government opposed the parliamentary motion and did not want it to
undermine Turkish-Armenian rapprochement efforts.

Turkey and Armenia have been making inroads in restoring diplomatic
relations and resolving their historical differences. Last October the
Turkish and Armenian president signed a protocol to normalize
relations. Ankara has repeatedly warned that those rapprochement
efforts are undermined by countries passing motions accusing it of
genocide.

/europe/Swedish-Parliament-Labels-Armenian-Killing s-in-Turkey-Genocide-87470937.html

ROBERT KOCHARYAN WISHES TO PRESENT NKR IN TALKS: FASSIER

news.am
March 12 2010
Armenia

The sooner Nagorno-Karabakh becomes negotiating party, the better,
said OSCE MG French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier at March 12 NATO PA
Rose-Roth seminar in Yerevan. However, later it was dawn that the
issue is not a matter of an early date.

According to him, speaking of Nagorno-Karabakh participation in
the talks he does not mean Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as it is not
recognized by anyone. The aspiration of Karabakhi people to get
involved in the talks that affect their vital interests is fair,
but this might happen only when all Karabakh citizens including those
living there before the conflict return to their places of residence.

"Once people live in peace and perceive each other as neighbors, and
those living there before the conflict return to their settlements,
then they will have the right for demanding participation in
negotiations," Fassier stated adding that Robert Kocharyan himself
expressed a wish to present both Armenia and Karabakh in the talks.

"At some point Nagorno-Karabakh walked out of the talks and currently
both parties should give their consent to its return. The day when
Karabakhi people participate in the wide-ranging talks will come. And
the sooner, the better," French Co-Chair concluded.

SWEDISH PARLIAMENT RECOGNIZES ASSYRIAN GENOCIDE
Seyfo Center

Assyria Times
ews/article.php?storyid=3408
March 12 2010

The Swedish parliament is the first in the world to acknowledge
the Turkish genocide of Assyrians. The historical decision was taken
after a long debate in the parliament on Thursday. It was an extremely
narrow win as 131 parliamentarians voted for and 130 voted against.

Hundreds of Assyrians had gathered outside and inside the parliament
building in central Stockholm to witness the historical decision.

The Turkish embassador to Sweden was immediately ordered to leave the
country and Turkish prime minister Erdogan announced the cancellation
of his planned visit to Sweden the coming week.

Sweden’s pro-Turkish foreign minister, Carl Bildt was very upset by
the decision of the parliament and warned it will harm Swedish-Turkish
relations and Turkish-Armenian relations as the resolution called
for the recognition of not only the Turkish genocide on Assyrians
but also the genocides on Armenians and Pontic Greeks.

The Assyrians in Sweden have been lobbying their parliament for many
years to recognize Seyfo, as the genocide is called in Assyrian. On
Thursday they could finally celebrate their victory.