Author: Babajanian Karo

Genocide against Yezidis committed in North Iraq, Yezidi community in
Armenia alarms

tert.am
14:21 – 18.08.12

Many Yezidis have been killed in different regions in North Iraq,
their national land, Sayid Avdalyan, chairman of the Association of
Young Armenian Yezidis NGO told news conference on Saturday.

`Genocide is being committed against Yezidis on their national land.
Under Iraqi laws, Yezidis are deprived of elementary rights, they do
not even have right to testify in courts, or file lawsuits, they can
only be defendants,’ he said.

Chairman of Sinjar Yezidi Union NGO Boris Tamoyan said Kurds are
forcing Yezidis to become Kurds. `They have nothing in common besides
certain language similarities which does not give any ground to
consider them the same,’ Tamoyan said, adding that many countries are
speaking in the same language but they are different states and
nations.

The young representatives of Yezidi community claim the aims of Kurds
may be dangerous for Armenia’s national security as 1,500 registered
Kurds are trying to present the 60,000 Yezidi community as Kurds and
in future may forward territorial demands.

Yezidis applied to the Armenian government, president and parties to
recognize the genocide against Yezidis in North Iraq.

Iranian citizens are poisoned by eating fish at Armenia’s Lake Sevan

news.am
August 18, 2012 | 12:56

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Police received a call from a capital city
Yerevan hospital, on Friday at 11:50pm, informing that two citizens of
Iran had come to the hospital on symptoms of food poisoning, and they
informed that they ate fish at LakeSevan and were poisoned.

Iranian citizen Abulfaz K., 26, informed the Police, on Saturday at
2:45am, that he and his two friends ate fish at a restaurant in
SevanPeninsula on Friday. But they fell ill, subsequently, and, coming
to Yerevan, went to hospital to receive medical assistance at 10:30pm,
the Police press service informs.

An inquiry is launched.

300 instances of Azeri ceasefire violation reported Aug.12-18

August 18, 2012 – 13:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – 300 instances of ceasefire violation by Azeri armed
forces were registered at the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh
and Azerbaijan from August 12-18.

Azerbaijan fired over 1200 shots from various caliber weapons towards
Karabakh positions, NKR defense army’s press service reports.

Artsakh defense army forces continued with their military duty in line
with ceasefire principles.

Catholicos of Great House of Cilicia calls upon Syrian-Armenian
community to be united

news.am
August 18, 2012 | 03:07

Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia of the
ArmenianApostolicChurch once again addressed the Syrian-Armenian
community and called upon them to be united in these difficult times,
just as Lebanon’s Armenian community did, during its difficult times,
Nouvelles d’Arménie monthly of France writes.

The Catholicos is following the community’s humanitarian needs, ever
since the beginning of the crisis, and, by way of Aleppo’s clergy, the
Great House of Cilicia recently provided financial assistance to the
needy families.

Also, the Catholicos asked the local diocese to help the Armenian
schools in Syria, and called upon Syrian Armenians living abroad to do
the same.

To note, around 60,000 Armenians live in Syria, and great majority of
them reside in Aleppo and Damascus.

It is twice more pleasant to raise Armenian flag in Turkey: Levon Aronyan

10:27, 18 August, 2012

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS: The next Chess Olympiad will kick off
on September 27 in Istanbul. This year too all strongest players will
be in the staff of national team. Armenpress tried to find out in
which condition the leader of the taem Levon Aronyan is.

-Some days later 40th chess Olympiad starts. How is the mood and in
which conditions are you?

– I think this time we have prepared well. We do everything in order
to be prepared. As always we will struggle for high positions. This
time I can surely say that we are one of the favorites as the team has
been untied for many years. The performances of last period show that
our grandmasters are in good conditions.

– Do you think that the fact that Olympiad wakes place in Turkey can
have any influence on the team?

– No, I do not think so. This is not the first time that we have to
play in Istanbul. We have such experience. It is twice more pleasant
when Armenian flag rises in Turkey than in another country.

– Which teams do you consider to be favorites of the Olympiad?

– As always there are chess superpowers which no matter of conditions
are always among favorites. Such countries are Russia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Israel. I have difficulty to say who will manage this
time.

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38 years old Arsen Ghspoladyan died in Syria

11:41, 18 August, 2012

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS: During the clashes between
governmental forces and riots in Bab Sharkgh district of Damascus near
Armenian cemetary early in the morning of August 18 was wounded 38
years old Arsen Ghspoladyan. After being transferred to hospital the
doctors did not manage save his life. The man was a civilian.

In Aleppo also clashes between governmental forces and opposition
continue near Armenian districts. Armenpress was informed from
facebook account of Aleppo Armenians that already for a week there is
not internet connection in the city.

Aleppo Armenians informed that during the last week because of clashes
more than 1000 Syrian citizens died. Two days ago because of bomb
blast was wounded our compatriot Mesrop Chinchinyan. After operation
his condition is stable.

Syrian SANA agency informed that armed forces continue to pursue the
armed groups in Aleppo. The latter had great losses because of clashes
there.

Armenian community so far has had more than ten victims, including
soldiers of Syrian Army.

ARMENIE
Le chef d’une ONG recommande vivement au gouvernement d’accélérer le
remplacement des minibus par des bus

Armen Poghosian, le président d’une organisation non gouvernementale
défendant les intérêts des consommateurs, a recommandé vivement au
gouvernement de respecter sa promesse et de réduire le nombre de
minibus dans la capitale aussi rapidement que possible. La
Municipalité d’Erevan a un plan pour réduire le nombre de minibus et
augmenter le nombre des grands bus dans le cadre d’un programme plus
large pour améliorer les services des transports en commun.

M. Poghosian, chef de l’Association des Droits des Consommateurs, a
dit selon les plans de la ville le nombre de minibus dans la capitale
doit être réduit représentant aujourd’hui 90 pour cent des transports
publics et devant atteindre le chiffre de 19.2 %.

A ce jour les autorités ont réduit leur nombre de 20 pour cent jusqu’ici.

Cette année l’Arménie a importé 249 bus chinois, une donation de
Beijing au peuple d’Arménie et introduira encore 300 bus, mais
M.Poghosian a soutenu que ce nombre de bus résoudra à peine le
problème des transports publics de la ville parce que « les bus
chinois sont de basse qualité ».

samedi 18 août 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Newspaper: Head of Armenian President’s Supervisory Service “presents”
his relatives with elite apartments

– arminfo
– Thursday, August 16, 17:45

Head of the Armenian President’s Supervisory Service Hovhanness Hovsepyan
has found himself in the center of a “housing scandal.” Zhoghovurd
newspaper writes that Hovsepyan keeps “presenting” his relatives with elite
apartments in the city center.

The official has already “presented” his relatives with over 20 apartments
with vehicle sheds in the elite building on Arami Street 72-80.

To recall, in May 2012 50 owners of the apartments in Arami Street 72-80
and Yerkmalyan Street 1-3, as well as 48 builders of the elite buildings in
the above streets went on a hunger strike in front of the president’s
residence. They were protesting against illegal, as they say, actions of
Gabbnakaran Company engaged in construction of elite buildings located in
the above addresses. The protesters said that the company resold their
apartments, while the right to ownership belongs to them. As for the
builders, they were protesting against delay of their wages for several
months. Sonik Margaryan,
Head of the Initiative Group to protect the rights of the apartment owners,
told lragir.am that a special commission set up at the government to study
the given issue was idling. She said that the owners launched independent
inquiry and found out that Hovhanness Hovsepyan is concerned in the story
with their apartments. Hovsepyan misappropriated 24 apartments in the
amount of $5 million in total and did not pay a penny.

As a result, the bankrupt head of Gabbnakaran Company Gagik Papoyan
was arrested. However, the initial owners of the apartment do not
blame Papoyan “as like them he is also a victim to the system.”

UNHCR: Fridtjof Nansen’s legacy lives on in hearts of Armenians

August 16, 2012 – 18:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) released the third in a six-part series
celebrating the life of the Father of UNHC, Armenian Cause advocate
Fridtjof Nansen.

`By the end of the First World War, the Armenian people had long been
vying for an independent state. Although members of the League of
Nations had agreed to assume state-like responsibility for Armenians
and an initiative had been proposed by President Woodrow Wilson, these
obligations were not fulfilled. At the same time, Armenia was facing a
number of challenges including drought, outbreaks of malaria and
tuberculosis, and threats along the Turkish border which made it
difficult to provide assistance to the growing number of refugees. The
refugee crisis at the end of the war had devastated Armenia, with an
estimated 1.5 million lives lost and thousands more displaced and
stateless, living in refugee camps, orphanages, and shantytowns.

Outraged by the international community’s lack of response to this
growing crisis, Nansen orchestrated international aid for the Armenian
people. Witnessing firsthand the devastation in Armenia in 1925,
Nansen later wrote an influential book, Armenia and the Near East, in
addition to numerous articles and speeches advocating the Armenian
cause.

Nansen provided hope for thousands of Armenians in need of urgent
assistance. Pushing himself to the point of physical exhaustion he
suffered a heart attack in 1930 from these efforts Nansen invested all
his energy to help the Armenian people. He personally assisted over
7,000 refugees to return to Armenia by 1928. Nansen’s creation of the
travel document which bears his name (the Nansen Passport)
significantly helped the Armenian Diaspora as well – Nansen Passports
were issued to some 320,000 individuals.

Although Armenia would not achieve independence until 1991, Nansen
helped the Armenian people prepare their nation for the post-war world
order. The Armenian public and the Diaspora have not forgotten
Nansen’s life-saving efforts and continue to recognize the important
role he played at a crucial time in the country’s history. Nansen not
only saved the lives of thousands of Armenians, but he also gave them
hope in believing that, as Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
has declared:

‘Inside a human being the goodness cannot be overtaken by evil. Is
there any greater mission than saving a belief, a belief towards the
human nature, a belief not only towards one’s own future, but also
towards the future of humankind?’

The spirit of Fridjtof Nansen remains alive in the special
relationship between Yerevan and Oslo, and is demonstrated by the many
monuments and public spaces across the country bearing his name.
Fridtjof Nansen’s legacy lives on in the hearts of Armenians today,’
the article reads.

Two Armenian boys climb Mount Ararat, unfurl Armenian national flag

tert.am
15:57 – 16.08.12

Two Armenian boys, 19-year-old Sevak and 16-year-old Sipan, reached
the top of Mount Ararat a few days ago.

The boys, who were born in France, told Tert.am what made them make
that ascent of Mount Ararat.

Their parents moved from Aleppo, Syria, to France 20 years ago. In
France they started a family, with three sons born to them.

Born in France, Sevak, Sipan and Solak could only speak Armenian at
the age of three. Now, however, they can speak, write and read
Armenian.

`Our parents proved to be an Armenian school for us. They did their
best for us to know about Armenian culture, write, read and speak
Armenian. And we are very proud of that. They also imparted their love
for Armenia and Western Armenia to us. True, we are living in a
foreign soil, but we have a feeling that this is our native land. It
was their and our dream to climb Mount Ararat, and we did not
hesitate. Atop the mount I felt pride and might. That was
unbelievable,’ Sevak says.

The boy’s parents intend to make an ascent of Mount Ararat next year,
and the boys are likely to accompany them.

Sipan says that the idea of climbing Mount Ararat came to him after
one of his friends, who made an ascent last year, shared his
impressions with him.

Karine Siseryan, their group head at the Armenian General Union of
Body Culture (Homenetmen – HMEM), accompanied the boys.
On Aug. 7 to 13, they were on a visit to Western Armenia. On Aug. 8,
they began their ascent and reached the top on Aug. 10. They unfurled
Armenia’s national flag there.

`It is a curious feeling to be atop Mount Ararat,’ Savak says.