Author: Babajanian Karo

ACTIVISTS TO MEET IN SACRAMENTO FOR ANCA-WR’S ANNUAL ADVOCACY DAY

Monday, March 25th, 2013

ANCA activists with Assemblymember Khatcho Achadjian

SACRAMENTO-Activists from across California will join the Armenian
National Committee of America-Western Region and the California State
Legislature in commemorating the 98th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Monday, April 15.

The day’s events will include an Advocacy Day where activists will
visit various legislators’ offices to advocate for issue of interest
to the Armenian American community in California, a commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide on the State Senate and Assembly floor,
as well as a photo exhibition in the Capitol’s Rotunda showcasing
Armenian-American inventors who have contributed to the State of
California and the United States.

“This year’s Advocacy Day is of particular importance as we come
off an election year in which a large freshman class of legislators
has been elected,” said Armen Garabedian, Chairman of the ANCA-WR’s
Governmental Affairs Committee. “It is imperative that we educate
freshman and senior legislators alike on the historical importance
of genocide and genocide prevention and its impact on current affairs
in the Golden State.”

Historically, Advocacy Day has attracted more than 150 activists
from across California and has served as an important opportunity to
educate, motivate and activate advocates on the legislative process
as well as issues that will impact Armenian Americans living in the
Golden State.

This year, the activities will kick off on Sunday evening with a light
social mixer at a local bar in Downtown Sacramento where activists
from across California will have the opportunity to meet and greet
with one another. Advocacy Day will officially be underway on Monday
morning, when activists will have a first hand opportunity to witness
the floor vote commemorating the Armenian Genocide in the Senate and
Assembly chambers, participate in a reception in the State Capitol
where they will meet and greet with advocates from across the State
as well as various public officials, and also view a powerful exhibit
showcasing monumental contributions from Armenian American investors
in the field of medicine, engineering, among other areas.

Those interested in attending should register at itsmyseat.com/ancawr.

Transportation and lodging will be provided. The bus will depart from
the Pasadena Armenian Center on Sunday, April 14 and will return the
following evening, on April 15. Registration is $40 for students and
$60 for everyone else. Space is limited.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN TO RESPOND TO ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT – VIDEO

TERT.AM
18:46 ~U 25.03.13

Heritage parliament Chairman, Armenian ex-presidential candidate
Raffi Hovannisian opened the 7th meeting of the public council in
Yerevan Freedom Square.

He spoke of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s letter received on
Monday. “I am going to answer Serzh Sargsyan tomorrow and on Wednesday
I am going to meet with media representatives,” he said.

At a rally last Friday, Mr Hovannisian read out his letter to Armenia’s
president. He demanded that the candidates proposed by him be appointed
to important government posts.

In his letter of response, Armenia’s president called on Mr Hovannisian
to end his hunger strike and agree to “work together.”

Mr Hovannisian introduced Heritage party Secretary Styopa Safaryan
and Preparliament President Vardan Hakobyan.

On Tuesday, at the 8th meeting of the public council, Chairman of the
Democratic Homeland party Petros Makeyan and Chairman of the People’s
Way party Manvel Gasparyan will make speeches.

ISTANBUL-ARMENIAN ECONOMIST SAYS TURKEY’S COURTS ARE IN POOR CONDITION

March 25, 2013 | 02:12

Turkey’s development strategy for 2023 is unrealistic,
Istanbul-Armenian economist Daron Acemoglu said.

In an interview with Milliyet newspaper, he said it is difficult for
Turkish entrepreneurs to develop business.

“Economy is growing, but the people remain poor. Poverty can be found
in every corner of the world, but in Turkey it is different. This is
linked to the previous systems. Due to the absence of the dominant
of right, financial and banking system in Turkey suffers losses. The
courts are in poor condition, too. The problems will not be solved,
until there are structures to ensure the equality of people, and the
political system is upgraded,” he said.

Asked how the situation will change if Turkey goes to the presidential
form of government, Acemoglu said it would have a negative outcome.

“If you have rule of law, the presidential system is quite
good. The right must always go ahead of politics. If Turkey moves
to a presidential system with the existing problems, country will be
late in transition towards the rule of law,” he added.

Acemoglu was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from the
Galatasaray High School in Istanbul in 1986. He got his B.Sc. degree
from the University of York, UK and his M.Sc. degree in Econometrics
and Mathematical Economics and then his Ph.D. degree in 1992 from
the London School of Economics. He is currently Professor of Applied
Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and winner of
the 2005 John Bates Clark Medal. He is the 8th among most cited 20
economists in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc. In comparison,
Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman is the 13th.

LEVON ARONIAN- BORIS GELFAND. LIVE STREAM

18:08, 25 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS: 9th tour of World Championship
Candidates Tournament launched in London. Number one grandmaster of
Armenia Levon Aronian is competing with Boris Gelfand.

On March 25 Vladimir Kramnik is playing with Magnus Carlsen; their
first game ended in a draw.

The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world
chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine
the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The winner of the
Candidates earns the right to a match for the World Championship
against the incumbent World Champion.

POLITICAL EXPERT: RUSSIAN AMBASSADORS TO ARMENIA APPOINTED NOT BY MERE CHANCE

ARMINFO
Monday, March 25, 15:39

Vyacheslav Kovalenko was the most professional and trained diplomat
appointed to Armenia in the post-Soviet period, Sergey Minasyan,
First Deputy Director of Caucasus Institute, told media, Monday.

“It was not mere chance that Kovalenko was appointed as an ambassador
to Armenia. Before that, he worked in Georgia. While on the post of
the Ambassador to Armenia he was simultaneously covering the situation
in neighbor Georgia. Therefore, he arrived in Armenia with a team of
diplomats – specialists in Georgia,” Minasyan said.

He said that Kovalenko has had a significant contribution to the
Armenian-Russian strategic agreement extending deployment of the
Russian military base in Armenia in Aug 2010.

Minasyan said that the newly appointed Ambassador of Russia to
Armenia Ivan Volinkin is also a professional diplomat specializing
in the region.

“These diplomats are experts in the region. Besides Iran and Turkey,
official Moscow is interested also in Georgia as its relations
with that country has deteriorated aftethe August war of 2008,”
the expert said.

EX MAYOR OF YEREVAN: IN ORDER TO DEVELOP YEREVAN WE MUST SOLVE ITS ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

ARMINFO
Tuesday, March 26, 17:02

In order to develop Yerevan, we must first of all solve its
environmental problems, former Mayor of Yerevan, member of the Armenian
National Congress (ANC) Vahagn Khachatryan told journalists on Tuesday.

Khachatryan, who tops the ANC’s ticket for the May 5 elections into
Yerevan’s Elders Council, said that his party has a clear plan of
action on how to solve Yerevan’s environmental problems and to punish
those causing them.

“No single public officer must be allowed to permit construction over
a green zone,” Kachatryan said.

He said that the authorities are already preparing for rigging the
elections “but if the Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia
and Heritage pool their efforts, they will be able to prevent the
regime from reproducing itself,” Khachatryan said.

STATUE SYMBOLIZING FRIENDSHIP WITH RUSSIA TO BE INSTALLED IN YEREVAN

March 26, 2013 – 16:24 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – By the decree of Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan,
painter and sculptor Fridrikh Soghoyan’s state symbolizing
Armenian-Russian friendship will be installed in the city center.

The statue installation works will kick off already on the days
to come, Yerevan Municipality information and public relations
department reads.

CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS TO USHER IN REFORMS IN ARMENIA, ARFD PARTY SAYS

YEREVAN, March 26. /ARKA/. Yerevan city council election will be
the first step towards reforms in Armenia, secretary of parliament
faction of Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun (ARFD)
party Aghvan Vardanyan said.

“That’s why we have chosen “Yerevan, change Armenia” slogan”,
Vardanyan said.

The party’s greatest concern is that today about 95% of the Yerevan
municipality staff are members of the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia.

“Naturally, under these circumstances, it is impossible imagine they
could make their own decisions instead of the ones they were instructed
to make”, Vardanyan said.

Vardanyan said the party will do their best to win in the elections.

If political forces succeed, departization of the country will be
then launched.

Yerevan city council (Council of Elders) consists of 65 members
elected for four years.

The mayor of the city is elected by elders. Under the law, candidates
for mayor are nominated by factions in the Council of Elders. ARFD’s
proportional list for the election is headed by rep of ARFD supreme
body Armen Rustamyan, followed by Aghvan Vardanyan and ex minister
of labor Arsen Hambartsumyan. -0-

SARDARAPAT MOVEMENT MEMBER COMMENTS ON EX-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE’S STRATEGY

TERT.AM
14:47 ~U 26.03.13

The Sardarapat movement is well aware of the line beyond which it
may have an opinion different from Raffi Hovannisian’s.

However, the movement has so far viewed the Heritage party leader’s
strategy as a change of the system rather than of power, Tigran
Khzmalyan, a Sardarapat movement member, told Tert.am.

At a meeting with media representatives, Armenia’s incumbent
President Serzh Sargsyan said that if Raffi Hovannisian and his
supporters joined the coalition, the Heritage party would cease to
be an opposition force.

“As a rule I do not make comments on other people’s opinions. I can
only analyze. I do not care about Serzh Sargsyan’s opinion because,
for a long period, he has not said what he really thinks. Rather,
he is engaged in bargains and frauds. His statement is one more
fraud. In particular, speaking of terms of the opposition ceasing to
be such is absurd,” Mr Khzmalyan said.

In any case, a dialogue is in progress, with Serzh Sargsyan being a
party to it.

“Raffi Hovannisian states that Serzh Sargsyan is not legitimate any
more, while the latter says the former is not an opposition,” he said.

With respect to the Armenian president’s foreign policy, Mr Khzmalyan
said that “Serzh Sargsyan has no foreign policy at all.”

According to him, Mr Hovannisian’s strategy has entered its next stage.

“This is actually Serzh Sargsyan’s taste – a pen and paper. It is
obvious that the junta that seized power in Armenia has to listen to
what comes [from Freedom Square], which means the next stage as such.”

With respect to the Armenian president’s appeal to Mr Hovannisian for
ending his hunger strike, Mr Khzmalyan said: “Hunger strike is any
citizen’s personal and political choice. If he reserves the right to
advise, I would like to advise Serzh Sargsyan to fast. But there is
no point because he is this kind of man.”

GREEKS LIVING IN ARMENIA ROAST GOATLING FOR EASTER

12:45, 26 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian-Greek fraternal relations
have age old history. The small Greek community of Armenia occupies
its unique place in the life of the national minorities in Armenia.

The “Armenpress” reporter had a conversation with the Chairman of
“Illios” Greek Community NGO Slavik Raphayelidis.

– Mr. Raphayelidis, how many Greeks currently live in Armenia?

– The Greek community in Armenia counts 1200 people. The Greeks mainly
live in Alaverdi, Stepanavan, Vanadzor, Gyumri, Yerevan, and Meymana
village in Artsakh. I was there during the Constitution endorsement,
where I was invited as an observer.

– I would like to about the inside life of the community. What
occupations, feasts, and Memorial Day do you have?

– The Greeks have been living in Armenia for over 350 years. Their main
occupation was mining, they came here for the exploitation of mines
in Alaverdi. They taught the natives the peculiarities of mining. We
have our national holiday, which is celebrated on March 25.

On that day we grandiosely celebrate the liberation of Greece from the
Turkish yoke. Notwithstanding the most favorite feast for the Greeks
is Easter. The main dish for the Easter is roasted goatling. Each
year on May 15 we mark the day of commemoration of the Pontic Greeks
Genocide victims, when over 500,000 Greeks were massacred. We also
pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims on April 24.

– Are there specialties, which are characteristic for the community
members?

– There are no specialties, which are characteristic for the Greeks.

There are Greek lecturers, doctors, engineers, scientists, and other
Greek specialists living in Armenia. (THE FULL VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW
IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN) Interview by Hakob Vardanyan