Author: Babajanian Karo

SARKISSIAN PARTICIPE A LA MARCHE DE STEPANAKERT
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armenews.com
lundi 5 septembre 2011
HAUT-KARABAGH

Le president Serge Sarkissian a participe avec des milliers
de personnes vendredi a une marche a Stepanakert pour celebrer
le vingtième anniversaire de la declaration d’independance du
Nagorno-Karabagh proclamee par l’Azerbaïdjan.

Le Catholicos Kakerin II, chef supreme de l’Eglise apostolique en
Armenie, et les autorites politiques du Karabagh se sont rassembles
sur la meme place et ont marche vers le monument aux victimes de la
guerre 1991-1994.

Sarkissian et les autres dignitaires ont depose des fleurs au pied
du memorial et dans un cimetière contigu où des centaines d’Armeniens
du Karabagh tues durant la guerre ont ete inhumes. Un garde d’honneur
du Karabagh a rendu hommage aux morts durant la ceremonie.

Cette guerre atroce a laisse environ 30 000 morts dans les deux camps.

Elle a commence trois mois après que le conseil legislatif du Karabagh
a declare que ce territoire, essentiellement peuple d’Armeniens,
serait une republique independante le 2 septembre 1991.

Les celebrations officielles ont debute jeudi avec Bako Sahakian,
le president de cette republique encore non reconnue. Le personnel
militaire et d’autres residents locaux se sont vu remettre des prix.

Sarkissian a prononce un discours lors de la ceremonie.

” Demain est un jour heureux non pas seulement pour Artsakh (Karabagh)
mais aussi pour la nation armenienne “, a-t-il affirme. ” C’est une
fete de la liberte nationale et humaine, c’est un jour ferie pour la
dignite nationale et humaine, un jour ferie pour la restauration des
droits humains, c’est un jour ferie pour la victoire de la justice
historique “.

” Avant Artsakh etait la douleur de l’Armenie, aujourd’hui Artsakh
en est la fierte “, a-t-il ajoute. ” La Republique du Karabagh est
un Etat avec l’ensemble des structures essentielles “.

Sarkissian a commande les forces armeniennes du Karabagh entre
1991-1993. ” Nous avons choisi la vie, et nous celebrons aujourd’hui
la victoire de la vie sur la mort “, a-t-il ajoute.

Le president du Karabagh a reitere que les Armeniens ne seraient
jamais d’accord pour regler le conflit du Karabagh car il permettrait
a l’Azerbaïdjan de reprendre le contrôle sur la region. ” Ce qui etait
possible en 1923 n’est pas possible au XXIe siècle “, a-t-il affirme,
se referant a l’integration du Karabagh dans l’Azerbaïdjan sovietique.

Sarkissian et son predecesseur Robert Kocharian, egalement natif de la
region du Karabagh, ont exprime leur confiance plus tôt cette semaine
envers la communaute internationale pour reconnaître la secession du
Karabagh de l’Azerbaïdjan.

Kocharian, qui a gouverne l’Armenie de 1998 a 2008, a egalement
participe a la marche a Stepanakert. Il n’a pas souhaite faire de
commentaires.

D’autres haut-fonctionnaires armeniens ont participe aux celebrations.

Parmi eux, le ministre de la Defense Seyran Ohanian. Il considère la
societe du Karabagh comme un modèle pour l’Armenie.

” A Artsakh, il n’y a pas de fosse entre les dirigeants et le peuple,
et c’est un modèle exemplaire que nous pourrions appliquer ici
en Republique d’Armenie “, a annonce Ohanian lors d’une interview
accordee a RFE/RL.

” Karabagh a des raisons morales, historiques et legales pour que son
independante soit reconnue par le monde entier “, a affirme Arkady
Ghukasian, l’ancien president du Karabagh qui est aujourd’hui le
principal conseiller diplomatique de Sarkissian.

TURQUIE
Ankara lancera une procédure contre le blocus de Gaza la semaine prochaine

Le ministre turc des Affaires étrangères Ahmet Davutoglu a indiqué
samedi que la Turquie lancerait la semaine prochaine une procédure
judiciaire pour contester la légalité du blocus imposé par Israël sur
la bande de Gaza, a rapporté l’agence de presse Anatolie.

La Turquie déposera une requête devant la Cour internationale de
justice (CIJ) dans le courant de la semaine prochaine, a affirmé M.
Davutoglu au cours d’un entretien accordé à la chaîne nationale turque
TRT, selon Anatolie.

La saisie de la CIJ est une des cinq mesures de rétorsion contre
Israël annoncées vendredi par Ankara pour sanctionner le refus de
l’Etat hébreu de s’excuser après la mort de neuf Turcs dans un raid de
l’armée israélienne contre une flottille d’aide humanitaire pour Gaza,
en mai 2010.

`Il ne s’agit pas d’une affaire entre la Turquie et Israël, il s’agit
d’une affaire entre Israël et la communauté internationale, le droit
international et la conscience internationale`, a souligné M.
Davutoglu, cité par Anatolie.

En réaction, le vice-ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères, Danny
Ayalon, cité par la radio publique, a dit `déplorer la décision
turque`.

Il a estimé qu’`elle n’avait pas de chances d’aboutir après que la
commission de l’ONU a jugé que le blocus naval (imposé par Israël sur
Gaza) ne contrevenait pas au droit international`.

Le rapport d’enquête commandité par l’ONU, rendu public jeudi,
considère que l’armée israélienne, qui a tué neuf passagers turcs d’un
bateau d’une flottille de militants pro-palestiniens en route pour la
bande de Gaza, avait eu recours à une force `excessive et
déraisonnable`.

Mais le document onusien a jugé légal le blocus naval imposé par
Israël contre le territoire palestinien en Méditerranée.

Le chef de la diplomatie turque a également prévenu que l’attitude des
autorités israéliennes risquait de leur aliéner les nouvelles forces
politiques nées du `Printemps arabe`.

`Si Israël persiste dans ses positions actuelles, il va faire venir un
fort sentiment anti-israélien à l’ordre du jour de ceux qui dans le
cadre du Printemps arabe combattent leurs propres régimes
autoritaires`, a-t-il déclaré.

AFP

dimanche 4 septembre 2011,
Sté[email protected]

news.am, Armenia
Sept 3 2011

`Grandma’s Tattoos’ – movie about forgotten women of Armenian genocide

September 03, 2011 | 02:27

STOCKHOLM. – `Grandma Khanoum was not like others. As a child I
remember her as a wicked woman. She despised physical contact. This
was a grandma who never hugged or kissed. And she wore gloves, which
hid her hands and the tattoos. They hid her secret, this is how
Suzanne Khardalian, Stockholm, describes her grandmother, Asbarez
reports.

Khardalian is the director and producer of riveting new film
`Grandma’s Tattoos’ that reveals the veil of thousands of forgotten
Armenian women, who survived the Genocide but were forced into
prostitution and were tattooed to distinguish them from the locals.

`As a child I thought these were devilish signs that came from a dark
world. They stirred fear in me. I had no idea of these tattoos or who
had done them and why. But the tattoos on grandma’s hands and face
never spoke about it,’ explains Khardalian.

`Grandma’s Tattoos’ is a journey into the secrets of the family.
Eventually, the secret behind Grandma Khanoum’s blue marks are
revealed. According to the director, her grandma was abducted and kept
in slavery for many years in Turkey. She was also forcibly tattooed as
a property. The discovery of the story has shaken the author. Grandma
Khanoum’s fate was not an aberration. On the contrary, tens of
thousands of Armenian children and teenagers were raped and abducted,
and kept in slavery.

In 1919 the Allied forces reclaimed 90,819 Armenians, young girls and
children, who during the World War I years, were forced to become
prostitutes to survive, or had given birth to children after forced or
arranged marriages or rape. Many of these women were tattooed as a
sign that they belonged to abductor. European and American
missionaries organized help and picked up and saved thousands of
refugees who later were scattered all over the world.

The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
August 21, 2011 Sunday

Bodies, bombs and other mysterious adventures

Flowering Judas
Jane Haddam. Minotaur, 400 pages.

Gregor Demarkian is reluctant to leave his close-knit Armenian
community in Philadelphia for a consulting job in a small New York
town, especially because a good friend near his 100th birthday is in
the hospital. He’s not as reluctant to leave an apartment in
midrenovation where every available surface is covered in carpet, tile
and wallpaper samples.

A body has been found hanging from a billboard that advertises the
search for a man who has been missing for the past 12 years. Since
this is a mystery novel, the body is that of the missing man, whose
mother has funded a campaign to keep the search alive in spite of the
common assumption that he is dead.

After the man turns up newly dead, Gregor is brought in but faces what
seems to be an odd conspiracy to keep him from actually solving the
crime. In this strangely insular community, the police department’s
function seems to be sweeping things under rugs for the richest
citizens.

Jane Haddam turns in another engaging and readable story with
characters who could walk right off the page. I especially love the
99-year-old George, who’s still sharp as a tack and upbraids Gregor:
“You’re not on Facebook, Gregor. You should do something about it.
Social networking is a very good thing.” The Killer is Dying

Sydney Morning Herald , Australia
Sept 4 2011

Darchinyan wins in birth country Armenia

by Adrian Warren
September 4, 2011 – 11:29AM
AAP

Vic Darchinyan is eyeing a major boxing world title clash Panama’s WBA
bantamweight Super champion Anselmo Moreno after making a triumphant
return to Armenia.

Sydney-based Darchinyan retained his IBO bantamweight world title with
a convincing 12-round unanimous points win over South African
challenger Evans Mbamba in the Armenian capital of Yerevan early
Sunday (AEST).

It was Armenia’s first professional boxing promotion and Australian
citizen Darchinyan’s first bout in the country of his birth since his
amateur days more than a decade ago.

The Armenian president and several Russian dignitaries were among a
capacity crowd of almost 8000 who witnessed a dominant display by
Darchinyan (37-3-1, 27 KOs).

He controlled the fight after knocking down Mbamba (18-2, 9 KOs) in
the first round.

The game South African absorbed plenty of power punches, as Darchinyan
won 120-107 on two cards and 119-107 on the other.

“Evans Mbamba was very, very tough, he was extremely well conditioned.
He was a great warrior,” Darchinyan’s manager Elias Nassar told AAP.

Nassar revealed Darchinyan would probably fight again in December,
with Moreno (31-1-1, 11 KOs, the likely opponent.

Southpaw Moreno, 26, has won his last 25 fights since his only loss in 2002.

“Vic would consolidate his standing with a win there,” Nassar said.

Darchinyan, who needed some post-fight treatment on his face following
some head clashes with Mbamba, was accompanied into the ring by both
Australian and Armenian flags.

Nassar was stunned by the level of vocal support for Darchinyan in Yerevan.

“The crowd was just unbelievable, absolutely deafening…as we walked
into the ring it was just mind blowing,” Nassar said.

He was adamant Darchinyan hadn’t been affected by the many
distractions and calls upon his time.

Nassar revealed Darchinyan had taken and made hundreds of phone calls
in the leadup to the fight.

“Vic was on the phone up until three hours before the fight,” Nassar said.

‘He was the on phone a lot organising. He was the only one that could
speak Armenian for us and English and it was just very hard for Vic.

“It was a good experience, but there was a lot of hard work for
everyone trying to organise the thing.”

He said Darchinyan had got great support from several prominent
footballers back in Australia, including Brisbane AFL superstar
Jonathan Brown, Geelong AFL stars Cameron Mooney, Steve Johnson and
Andrew Mackie and Parramatta rugby league players.

news.am, Armenia
Sept 3 2011

Armenia mostly visited by Russian tourists

September 03, 2011 | 09:01

YEREVAN.- A total of 266,000 tourists visited Armenia in the first
half of 2011, while 274,600 people left for foreign states, says
National Statistical Service.

As compared with the same period in 2010 the number of holidaymakers
abroad increased by 18.3%, while the number of tourists arriving in
the republic increased by 15.6%.

Only 20% of tourists who arrived in Armenia stayed in hotels (about
55,000 people) against 12% last year. Armenia is mostly visited by
Russian tourists, 16% of the total number.

Armenia is also popular destination for tourists arriving from U.S.
(14.6%) and Iran (9.2% of the total number).

El Cronista
August 24, 2011 Wednesday

Argentina: Eurnekian group wants Banco Industrial

Eduardo Eurenkian, head honcho with the eponymous group, is actively
negotiating to acquire a majority stake in Banco Industrial, focused
in the corporate segment and foreign trade financing and 90%
controlled by the credit co-operative La Industrial. The move, if
successful, would be the first of Eurnekian in the financial sector.
Banco Industrial has 18 branches in major Argentinean cities, 667
employees, a new worth of Pesos$302mil and profits of Pesos$103mil
from Jan – June 2011. Estimates point its assets to be worth
US$120mil. Eurkekian group has been busy on August, divesting to Dufry
the free shops operating in the airports its has under concession
(Peru, Brasil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Armenia, Argentina) in a US$957mil
deal. It also is a partner with Engevix in the consortium that with a
US$110mil offer won the tender to operate an aiport in the Brazilian
state of Rio Grande do Norte. Meanwhile, the airports management
filial Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 has informed a change in its
ownership with SEA (la Societá per Azioni Esercizi Aeroportuali)
selling its 10% stake to Cedidor an Uruguayan based company which is
controller of 89% on Corporacion America, the Eurnekian arm for
airports management.

Trend News Agency, Baku, Azerbaijan
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
August 16, 2011 Tuesday

FM: It would be logical to hear Iranian Armed Forces Staff Chief’s
call to Armenia to withdraw occupying forces from Azerbaijani
territory

by E. Tariverdiyeva, Trend News Agency, Baku, Azerbaijan

Aug. 16–AzerbaijanThe Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has not received
an official response to a note of protest delivered to Iranian
ambassador in connection with the statements of the Chief of Staff of
the Iranian Armed Forces Seyyed Hassan Firouzabadi.

He spoke about the Azerbaijani leadership and people through the
Iranian news agency FARS, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry official
representative Elkhan Polukhov told Trend.

Commenting on Firouzabadi’s statements, Polukhov said that it was
strange to hear the military’s political appeals toward the country,
which he calls a friendly country.

It is also strange to see how his ministry cooperates with Armenia,
which holds 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territories under
occupation.

“It would be logical to hear Firouzabadi’s call and demand to Armenian
militarists to withdraw occupying forces from Azerbaijani territory
and to restore the violated rights of more than one million
Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons,” Polukhov said.

He said that in this case, Firouzabadi would perform a role more
corresponding to his position.

Azerbaijan delivered a note of protest to Iran due to unreasonable
statements made by the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces
Seyyed Hassan Firouzabadi toward the Azerbaijani leadership and people
posted on Iranian Fars news agency’s issue, Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry said.

Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohammad Bagher Bahrami was summoned
to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Receiving Bahrami Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Nadir Huseynov
delivered the Azerbaijani side’s protest note to him.

The Foreign Ministry’s note expresses strong protest against Iranian
official’s irresponsible slanders and notes that publication of
statements on the Iranian press against the Azerbaijani people and
government, which are contrary to Azerbaijan’s national interests and
security and distort domestic and foreign policy, contradicts the
existing friendly relations between the two countries and their mutual
obligations.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry demanded the Iranian side to prevent
further spread of such slanders, take the necessary steps so shat such
a situation was not repeated any more, and demanded an explanation on
the matter.

Panorama, Armenia
Sept 3 2011

Rahmonov-Sargsyan meeting took place in Dushanbe

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting today in Dushanbe
with President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmonov, President’s press
service reported. The two presidents have highly assessed bilateral
relations and cooperation in different fields.

Soon after the meeting with Mr. Rahmonov, Serzh Sargsyan attended CIS
summit dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the organization.
Presidents of Armenia, Russia, Ulraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan, Moldova and Tajikistan have been present at the summit.

As soon as the summit ends, President Serzh Sargsyan will head the
Armenian delegation back to Yerevan in the evening.

`The sorrow is driving my family crazy’

05:17 pm | September 01, 2011 | Social

Canadian-Armenian Lara Aharonyan has been living in Armenia for ten
years and has a 6 month old son. Although her son is 6 months old, she
is already concerned about his future. She and her son joined the
action called “Army without Murderers” organized near the government
building today.

“My son will decide to serve in the army or not, but I am fighting to
make sure there will be no murders in the army when it comes time for
him to serve,” Lara Aharonyan told “A1+”.

Citizens organized the action and had been holding heated debates over
the murders of soldiers in peace, particularly the murder of Aghasi
Abrahamyan at the “Yeghnikner” military unit of the NKR.

Joining the protesters were the parents of Tigran Hambardzumyan, who
was brutally murdered at the military unit in Karmrakar just two
months ago.

“I wouldn’t like to show photos of how brutally my son was killed. My
son was headless and he was tortured after his death. Nobody has been
arrested for his murder to this day. I demand that Serzh Sargsyan
reveal my son’s murder. The sorrow is driving my family crazy. If I
show those photos on the Internet, people will go crazy. After all
that, prosecutors want to prove to me that my son committed suicide
and removed the skin of his head. Do you understand? Bodies are sent
from the army every day. Where are we sending our sons?” Tigran
Hambardzumyan’s father, Benik Hambardzumyan told “A1+”.

The parents, who have been demanding revelation of their sons’ murders
for the past couple of years, assure that their struggle is only aimed
at ensuring the safety of all soldiers in the army.

“The murders committed in the army are not revealed since they are
under the patronage of RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan,” father
of deceased soldier Gegham Sergoyan says. According to the official
version, the commander shot his son for not wearing a hat and belt.

The parents of the deceased demand the revelation of their sons’
murders from corresponding bodies. They were demanding a meeting with
RA Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan, but the latter had left for the
NKR.

A similar action is scheduled to take place next week.