Author: Babajanian Karo

TSAKHKADZOR HOSTS ARMENIAN SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 9, 2012 – 19:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Sergey Mikaelyan finished first in the10km distance
race, winning champion’s title at Armenian skiing championships
in Tsakhkadzor.

Meanwhile Tadevos Poghosyan finished first in 15 km distance race,
covering it in 42:41.9 minutes, followed by Myasnik Gabrielyan and
Artur Eghoyan.

Katya Galstyan and Anna Mkhitaryan became winners among women, covering
5km and 10 km distances in 19:55.0 and 36:05.4 minutes respectively.

TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN – SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN
Igor Muradyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 18:04:02 – 09/02/2012

Turkey and Azerbaijan announce that they will not support sanctions
against Iran unless the UN approves those sanctions.

It should be noted that the welfare of the Turkish economy is mostly
related to Iran which has become its lead supplier of oil and gas
and is therefore the most important and closest market for several
branches of Turkey’s economy. The sanctions against Iran would do
great harm to Turkey. In addition, the Iranian direction of external
economic relations cannot be compensated in the visible future.

Unlike the Arab states which do not implement significant supplies
of goods (except for oil), Turkey depends on the external market
because its economics is mostly aimed at the external market of raw
materials and supply. Hence, sanctions against Iran mean sanctions
against Turkey.

At the same time, like Iran, Turkey fears the critical line in their
relations and will always observe the rules of the game, knowing that
a confrontation would lead to a regional catastrophe.

However, the present U.S.-Turkish relations when Turkey has accepted
most conditions of the United States have marked the place Turkey
has occupied in forming the anti-Iranian front. The Iranians do not
cherish illusions regarding the positions and functions which Turkey
performs in the U.S. strategy in the Near East and expects the worst
which apparently is something impossible thing, in other words,
an offensive on Iran.

However, these are only separate fragments in the Turkish-Iranian
relations but if the main goal of Turkey is concerned, it is the
restraint on the expansion of Iran in a long-term perspective.

Therefore, to say that Turkey does not participate in the sanctions
is profanation.

The same goes for Azerbaijan which has become a platform for the
intelligence activities of the United States and Israel in regard to
Iran. At the same time, Azerbaijan has become the main destabilizing
factor for Iran in the north. Iran has conducted deep and systemic
work for the failure of Azerbaijan as a state and society, and now
it no longer hides it. Azerbaijan needs strong backing and security
guarantees because Iran is viewed as enemy N1.

In this situation, Azerbaijan also understands that the sole real
guarantor can be only the United States and, of course, is ready to
do any service.

It is possible that Turkey and Azerbaijan have agreed the conditions of
their position and attitude towards Iran which will soon become known
one way or another. It is necessary to note that this speculative
position of Turkey and Azerbaijan must be conducted in terms of
arguments in clarifying the relations between the United States and
Armenia regarding the anti-Iranian sanctions if it has to be done.

J’LEM: MAN ARRESTED IN ARMENIAN QUARTER FOR ALLEGED RAPE
By MELANIE LIDMAN

02/09/2012 15:52

Police indicted a 71-year-old man from the Old City of Jerusalem
on Wednesday who is suspected of raping young girls in the Armenian
Quarter.

The man, Sharif Shawalha, owned a kiosk inside the Armenian monastery,
and is suspected of raping at least four girls inside the monastery
between 1999 and 2002.

The accusations came to light only recently because the girls were
worried about being ostracized in the small Armenian community in
the Old City, and kept silent for over a decade.

DISTINGUISHED SPY, USSR HERO GEVORG VARDANYAN COMMISSIONED HER GRANDDAUGHTER TO LOVE HER HOMELAND

ARMENPRESS
FEBRUARY 9, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS: Distinguished spy, USSR hero, graduate
of Yerevan Brusov State Linguistic University Gevorg Vardanyan was
guided in his life with the slogan “Spy is mistaken only once”. The
University organized today an event dedicated to the hero.

Rector of the University Suren Zolyan said the spy was always proud
of his university.

Journalist Gurgen Khazhakyan who has authored two books about
Gevorg Vardanyan presented the path the great spy passed. Being
a beginner agent he disclosed the plan of elimination of
Stalin-Roosevelt-Churchill. Vardanyan was an Iranian agent, Spanish
reporter, he married three times with the same woman. Vardanyan was
one of exclusive agents of the USSR who did not fail any assignment.

The USSR hero was convinced patriotism is the most important feature
of the spy. He was spending his vacation in the homeland, meeting
people with whom he got acquainted abroad.

The granddaughter of the hero Margarita Pahlevanyan noted that her
grandpa commissioned her to love homeland, family, be responsible. “He
was always giving right advices. He was the only person you could
talk about everything,” he said.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN MEETS SECRETARY OF THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

armradio.am
09.02.2012 16:51

President Serzh Sargsyan received the delegation headed by Nikolay
Patrushev, Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia.

“I’m glad that the Armenian-Russian allied relations are dynamically
developing. The high level of our political dialogue, the growing
volume of commodity turnover and the close cooperation in the
military-technical and humanitarian spheres reinforce the friendship
between Armenia and Russia,” President Serzh Sargsyan said, expressing
confidence that the visit of the Secretary of the National Security
Council would also contribute to the further reinforcement of relations
between the two countries.

Nikolay Patrushev said his meetings and discussions in Armenia were
productive. “During yesterday’s meeting we discussed issues related to
military and military-technical cooperation, elimination of disaster
consequences, etc.”

“Mr. President, your frequent meetings with the Russian leadership,
President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin give
positive impulses to the development of Armenian-Russian relations,
thus promoting the bilateral economic relations, as well. I think
our regular consultations also contribute to the reinforcement of
relations between our countries,” Nikolay Patrushev said.

During the meeting the interlocutors dwelt on regional issues and
challenges, the latest developments in the process of settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.

ARMENIAN GODDESS STATUE SHOULD HAVE ARMENIAN PASSPORT

news.am
February 09, 2012 | 15:29

YEREVAN. – The head and hands of the Armenia Goddess Anahit are
presented in the Hellenic section of the British Museum.

Board Secretary of the opposition Heritage Party Karine Hakobyan
considers the fact that the statue is exhibited in the Hellenic
section alarming.

“The statue is not presented as an example of the Armenian art,”
she said at a press conference on Thursday..

She offers not to bring the statue to Armenia but to raise the
question of granting it an Armenian passport. Member of the opposition
party said it is necessary to establish a legislative environment
to guarantee protection of cultural and historic monuments both in
Armenia and foreign countries.

PRESIDENT’S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO NOW ASSUME CASE OF PROTESTING HOMEOWNERS

epress.am
02.09.2012

Meeting on Wednesday with three of the protesting homeowners who
agreed to move into new apartments that were then resold to third
parties was Permanent Representative of the President to the National
Assembly Garnik Isaghulyan, who promised to deal with their case,
one of the homeowners, Sona Maghakyan, informed Epress.am

Recall, Heritage Party MP Anahit Bakhshyan, as promised earlier,
raised the matter in parliament, after which Isaghulyan, instructed by
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, began dealing with the issue. Until
then, the finance ministry’s chief advisor, Hayk Davtyan, was dealing
with the case.

The homeowners were again protesting outside the government building
today. After the regular Thursday government meeting, Bakhshyan
approached the protestors and said she raised the issue again in
parliament yesterday and appealed to justice minister Hrayr Tovmasyan
in writing, so that he meet with the protestors and listen to their
concerns.

Though the minister hasn’t yet respond to the letter, Bakhshyan said
that, according to the law, on the basis of a deputy’s intervention,
he has to organize a meeting soon.

Recall, in 2006, the residents (whose apartments on Aram, Buzand,
Yekmalyan and Saryan streets were recognized as public priority
interest) agreed to leave their homes on the condition that they
would be given apartments in new buildings to be constructed on the
same site. For this they signed an agreement with a developer by the
name of Gagik Papoyan, but the residents still haven’t received their
new apartments – in fact, the units have been resold to third parties.

Late last year, Armenia’s Special Investigation Service (SIS) launched
a criminal case against Papoyan, but he cannot be found. The homeowners
say the SIS informed them that that the case could take months as
hundreds of people have to be questioned in connection with the case.

ARONIAN-KRAMNIK: A DIAMOND-STUDDED ENCOUNTER

Chessbase News

Feb 9 2012
Germany

It will be the first match in history with an average rating of
over 2800. From April 21 to 28, 2012, the world’s number two, Levon
Aronian, will play the world’s number three, Vladimir Kramnik, in
the time-honored Hotel Savoy Baur en Ville in Zurich, Switzerland –
the venue of many a famous chess event in the past. The match is
sponsored by the diamond industry. Press release.

Zurich Chess Challenge: Kramnik vs. Aronian The Zurich Chess Club
announces a six-game chess match between Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)
and Levon Aronian (Armenia) from 21 to 28 April 2012. The numbers two
and three of the world ranking will meet in the time-honored Hotel
Savoy Baur en Ville at Paradeplatz, the venue of many a famous chess
event in the past. Kramnik and Aronian are the winners of the two most
prestigious tournaments of the last months. While the 36-year-old
Kramnik gained a convincing victory at the London Chess Classic in
December, the 29-year-old Aronian has just won the famous tournament
in Wijk aan Zee with an outstanding score.

Both players belong to the hottest candidates in the World championship
qualifier later this year. The Zurich Chess Challenge will be the
first encounter in the history of chess between two players with
a rating above the magical 2800 limit, and it is the first ever
friendly match at the top level. It is sponsored by Oleg Skvortsov,
IGC International Gemological Laboratories and Aspeco N.V., Antwerp.

About IGC International Gemological Laboratories IGC International
Gemological Laboratories is a Russian institute providing gemological
services, such as diamond grading reports, enhanced diamonds
identification, man-made/synthetic diamonds and imitation detection
as well as certification of diamonds, gemstones and jewelry in the
Russian Federation. IGC is the Russian branch of GCI – a group of
gemological laboratories located wordwide.

About Aspeco N.V.

Aspeco N.V. is a part of the K. Girdharlal Group of companies who are
one of the world’s leading diamantaires with sales offices around the
globe. In Antwerp, Aspeco N.V. is active in selling a large assortment
of polished diamonds originating from the group manufacturing. Aspeco
N.V. is also procuring rough diamonds from various renowned sources
both for trading and for manufacturing purposes.

About the Zurich Chess Club The Zurich Chess Club is the oldest chess
society in the World. In its long history it has staged numerous
world class events, regularly attracting the elite of the day. Two
years ago it celebrated its 200-year jubilee with a spectacular chess
show involving all living World champions. It has not been idle since
then as witnessed by the recent simultaneous displays by Viswanathan
Anand and Magnus Carlsen.

The Zurich Chess Club

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part I (1809-1914) 24.06.2009 – In
August there will be a spectacular event celebrating the 200th jubilee
of the oldest chess club in the world: the Schachgesellschaft Zurich,
which was founded in 1809. Attendees include Kasparov, Anand, Karpov,
Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov and Topalov. To prepare you
for the jubilee Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace the
historical development of the club.

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part II (1914-1945) 14.07.2009 – In
August there will be a spectacular event celebrating the 200th jubilee
of the oldest chess club in the world: the Schachgesellschaft Zurich,
which was founded in 1809. Attendees include Kasparov, Anand, Karpov,
Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov and Topalov. To prepare you
for the jubilee Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace the
historical development of the club.

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part III (1945-1961) 07.08.2009 –
Sunday, 9 August 2009, heralds the start of the events around the
200-year anniversary of the Schachgesellschaft Zurich, the oldest
chess club in the world. Attendees on the final weekend (August
22-23) include Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky,
Ponomariov and Topalov. Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace
the historical development of the Schachgesellschaft.

NACH LEUGNUNG DES VOLKERMORDS AN ARMENIERN

SWR Nachrichten

8 febr 2012
Deutschland

Schweiz ermittelt gegen turkischen Minister

Die Schweiz hat ein Ermittlungsverfahren gegen den turkischen
Europaminister Bagis wegen des Verdachts auf Leugnung des Volkermords
an den Armeniern eingeleitet. Bagis soll sich beim Besuch des
Weltwirtschaftsforums WEF in Davos entsprechend geaußert haben. Die
Leugnung von Volkermorden ist nach dem Schweizer Antirassismusgesetz
strafbar.

Von Reinhard Baumgarten, ARD-Horfunkstudio Istanbul

Egemen Bagis gilt innerhalb der AKP-Regierung als weltgewandter
intellektueller Hoff­nungstrager. 17 Jahre hat der Spross eines
Burgermeisters der sudostanatolischen Stadt Siirt in den USA gelebt,
er hat in New York studiert und spricht akzentfrei Englisch. Bagis
ist der erste Europaminister seines Landes. Er ist auch der erste
AKP-Minister, gegen den in der Schweiz staatsanwaltschaftlich ermittelt
wird. Bagis hat Ende Januar offentlich in Davos gesagt, es habe nie
einen Volkermord an Armeniern gegeben. Die Leugnung von Volkermorden
steht in der Schweiz unter Strafe.

Bagis bleibt bei seinen AussagenMinister Bagis gibt sich unnachgiebig:
“Der sehr geehrte Staatsanwalt in Zurich sollte nicht seine Zeit
verschwenden mit solchen Ermittlungen. Ich habe damals in der Schweiz
gesagt, dass die Ereignisse von 1915 nicht als Volkermord bezeichnet
werden konnen. Dazu stehe ich. Ich wiederhole es nicht nur heute, an
dieser Stelle, sondern ich bin auch bereit, es jederzeit wieder und
uberall zu sagen, wenn man mich fragt. Daran soll niemand zweifeln.”

Minister Bagis hat als ein Kind der knapp 90 Jahre alten Republik
Turkei gelernt, dass sich sein Land aus den Trummern des Osmanischen
Reiches gebildet hat und sich als Rechtsnachfolgerin des einstigen
Weltreiches begreift. Uber die kulturellen Errungen­schaften der
Osmanen, ihre militarischen Erfolge und ihre einstige Macht ist in
jungster Zeit viel in der Turkei zu erfahren. Uber mogliche dunkle
Kapitel wird bislang nur ansatzweise nachgedacht: “Verglichen mit
der Geschichte jener Lander, die sich anmaßen, uber die Turkei zu
urteilen, ist die Geschichte der Turkei rein. Niemand sollte so
vermessen sein, uns uber Geschichte, Ereignisse und bittere Vorfalle
in der Vergangenheit eine Lektion erteilen zu wollen”, so Bagis.

Schweizer Staatsanwaltschaft ermitteltEgemen Bagis mochte sich
in der Armenierfrage nicht belehren lassen. Sein Weltbild steht:
Es war Krieg, es gab Tote. Darunter waren viele Turken, darunter
waren auch – kriegsbedingt – Armenier. Aber, davon ist er uberzeugt,
es gab eben keinen Volkermord. Nun beschaftigt sich in Zurich die
Staatsanwaltin Christine Braunschweig mit dem Fall. Denn Bagis
soll mit seinen Äußerungen gegen den Antirassismusartikel 261 des
Schweizer Strafgesetzes verstoßen haben. Gegenwartig wird gepruft,
ob der 41-jahrige turkische Minister diplomatische Immunitat genießt
oder ob Anklage gegen ihn erhoben wird.

Egemen Bagis bleibt gelassen: “Ein derartiges Unterfangen ist unserer
Auffassung nach nicht rechtskraftig. Das wird auf uns keinen Einfluss
ausuben. Ich kenne keine Gewalt, die einen Minister der Republik
Turkei festnehmen konnte.” In der Turkei gilt Bagis als Reformer.

Eine Reform des Umgangs mit der ei­genen Geschichte, die einen
unverstellten Blick auf unangenehme Ereignisse ermoglicht, ware auch
im Sinne des angestrebten EU-Beitritts sehr angemessen.

UNE LOI POUR DEFENDRE LES ARMENIENS DES ACTES AVILISSANT LA MEMOIRE
Dzovinar Melkonian

Newsring

8 fevrier 2012

C’est bien derisoire d’argumenter contre la loi Boyer en s’inquietant
de savoir si la moindre conversation anti-armenienne (ne nous leurrons
pas, ce n’est QUE de cela dont il s’agit) surprise lors d’echanges de
“comptoir” au bistrot du coin pourrait etre poursuivie ? Pouvez-vous
serieusement soutenir un tel avis ?

Quand, lors d’expositions photographiques, les oeuvres retracant le
drame armenien ont ete arrachees des murs, lorsque des degradations
avilissent les steles de la memoire, qu’avions-nous jusqu’alors,
francais d’origine armenienne, pour nous defendre ? Rien.

Peut-etre comprendrez-vous notre desespoir devant l’impunite des
coupables, si vous-memes avez ete un jour confrontes a l’injustice.

Peut-etre alors conviendrez-vous de la necessite d’une loi pour
decourager de la tentation d’actes aussi meprisables.