Author: Babajanian Karo

SYRIAN REBELS KIDNAP ALEPPO-BASED ARMENIAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
August 9, 2012 – 15:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Syrian rebels kidnapped an Aleppo-based Armenian
Hovsep Balmanoukian (born in 1990) on border with Lebanon, a Syrian
Armenian said, preferring to remain anonymous.

As he told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, USD 20 thous. ransom is demanded.

“In all probability, parents will pay the ransom after being rejected
to reduce the price,” the Syrian Armenian said.

“According to the provided information, Syria’s Armenian community has
voiced readiness to pay the ransom,” the founder of “Outreach to
Syrian Armenians” Facebook page, writer/publicist Anahit Adamyan told
PanARMENIAN.

‘SANDCASTLE GIRLS’ INVADES BEST-SELLER LISTS NATIONWIDE; UK EDITION RELEASED

ASBAREZ
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012

Cover of the UK edition of the “The Sandcastle Girls” NEW YORK-Chris
Bohjalian’s The Sandcastle Girls continued to dominate many regional
and national best-seller lists on the second week of its release in the
U.S., while the book’s UK edition hit the shelves in Europe on Aug. 2.

In the Aug. 5 print edition of the New York Times (Book Review, p.
26), the novel is anchored at number 7 on the nation’s preeminent
best-seller list.

The Sandcastle Girls was number 3 on its second week on the New
England Indie Bestseller List (for the week ended July 29). The list
is compiled based on reporting from the independent booksellers of
the New England Independent Booksellers Association and IndieBound.

Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that the novel was
the fourth best-selling book in the nation’s capital.

The novel, which has sold tens of thousands of copies nationwide
within the first two weeks of its release, also figured prominently
on best-seller lists of individual bookstores. It was number one,
for example, on Harvard Bookstore’s July 30 best-seller list.

UK edition The UK edition of The Sandcastle Girls, released on Aug. 2,
was published by Simon and Schuster with a different front and back
cover (see photo). On the back cover, the following passage from
novel is highlighted: “How do a million and a half people die with
nobody knowing? You kill them in the middle of nowhere.”

For more information on the UK edition, click here.

SLAIN HARSNAKAR VICTIM REMEMBERED AT GLENDALE VIGIL
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN

ASBAREZ
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012

The crowd at Armenia’s Consulate General (photo by Avedis Sangigian)

GLENDALE-Almost 250 people gathered outside the Los Angeles Consulate
General of the Republic of Armenia to remember Vahe Avetyan on his
fortieth day remembrance and express indignation at the system that
allows such murders to take place.

Avetian’s sister attended and spoke, expressing her grief and demands
for justice. In particular, she emphasized the indignity of having her
family’s being jerked-around by law enforcement officials in Armenia
as they sought access to documentation they’re legally entitled
to receive..

Among the other speakers was a representative of veterans of Artsakh’s
liberation war who were well represented at the gathering. They had
come in uniform.

The approximately hour-long protest was a solemn event, with candles
distributed half-way through, then cleaned up per Glendale police
instructions not leave them and placards behind on the consulate’s
wall, since that would become litter.

The calls for justice included holding Rouben Hayrapetyan, the owner of
Harsnakar restaurant where the beatings of Avetyan and two colleagues
took place. In particular, calls were made for action against him
based on Armenia’s prohibition against “entrepreneurial activity”
while serving in parliament.

Ongoing protests will be held at the same location on Sundays at 1 p.m.

US EMBASSY HAS NO INFORMATION PROVING SYRIAN ARMENIANS SETTLEMENT IN KARABAKH

News.Az
Thu 09 August 2012

The US embassy has commented on the information in Armenian media
about settlement of Syrian Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh.

“We are watching the reports in press about the supposed settlement of
Syrian Armenians escaping from violence in Syria in Nagorno Karabakh.

However, we have no information which proves the reliability of these
reports”, the spokesman for the US embassy, Jonas Stuart said.

Armenian media reported that the separatist regime of Nagorno Karabakh
promises to ensure all living conditions for Syrian Armenians and
even offers an opportunity of free education though the diplomas of
the separatist regime in Azerbaijani lands are not recognized in the
world”, the statement says.

NEW ZEALAND FM TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN COLLEAGUE

news.am
August 09, 2012 | 13:13

Foreign Minister of New Zealand Murray McCully will meet with
his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian on Thursday to discuss
bilateral relations and issues related to the Asia-Pacific region,
Sunlive reported.

“This visit is an excellent opportunity to discuss further cooperation
between New Zealand and Armenia,” Sunlive quotes Mr McCully.

Minister Nalbandian will hold meetings with Speaker of the House
Lockwood Smith and Chief Justice Dame Sian Ellis, as well as members
of the local Armenian community.

Edward Nalbandian is on a tour to Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia
and the Philippines from August 8 to 15.

LA CHRONIQUE INTERNATIONALE: LA NEGATION DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

Publie le : 09-08-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – Le mardi 7 août 2012,
“La chronique internationale”, emission quotidienne de Frederic Encel
du lundi au vendredi de 7h47 a 7h51 sur France Inter, a ete consacree a
la loi de penalisation de la negation du genocide armenien Le Collectif
VAN vous invite a (Re)ecouter cette emission disponible sur le site
de France Inter jusqu’au 03/05/2015 07h47.

France-Inter

l’emission du mardi 7 août 2012

La loi de penalisation de la negation du genocide armenien

Un vrai debat democratique et citoyen necessite l’expression d’idees
contradictoires. Or, a chaque reapparition du debat sur la loi de
penalisation de la negation du genocide armenien, on lit et on entend
surtout ceux qui s’y opposent. Pourtant a chaque bon argument deploye
par les nombreux adversaires du texte, on peut opposer un argument
au moins aussi valable.

Premier argument : ” ce n’est pas au parlement de dire l’Histoire “.

Parfaitement exact ! Sauf que l’histoire du genocide armenien de 1915
a deja ete dite par ses contemporains, en l’occurrence des milliers
de rescapes, des diplomates, des militaires, des journalistes,
des intellectuels et meme des juges ! Il s’agit la simplement de
proteger une tragique realite historique de sa negation outrancière ;
pourquoi pas par le truchement de la loi qui incarne – selon la formule
consacree – ” l’expression de la volonte generale “. C’est donc bien
au nom du peuple francais que ses representants legifèreront. Ajoutons
que les historiens disent certes l’histoire mais sans en etre les
proprietaires exclusifs.

Deuxième argument : ” cette loi empechera les historiens de travailler
sereinement “. Cette crainte paraît sans fondement ; après tout
la loi Gayssot de 1990, qui punit la negation du genocide commis
par les nazis, n’a jamais empeche un historien de faire son metier
librement, et aucun d’eux ne s’est d’ailleurs plaint d’une entrave
intellectuelle. Et c’est logique, puisque sauf – et pour cause –
les faussaires negationnistes du genocide juif, nul historien
ne conteste l’evidence de la Shoah. Des centaines d’entre eux
travaillent actuellement sur les multiples aspects de ce genocide,
pourquoi en serait-il differemment avec le genocide armenien ? Et
s’il y a plainte abusive contre des historiens serieux, la Justice
tranchera evidemment en leur faveur.

Troisième argument : ” on risque d’ouvrir la boite de Pandore “.

L’inflation de textes est une preoccupation legitime, mais en
l’occurrence la loi en souffrance ne concernera sans doute que ” les
genocides reconnus par la France “. C’est a dire les seuls genocides
juif et armenien.

Et la Turquie dans tout cela ?C’est la grande absente du texte adopte
en janvier puis invalide par le conseil constitutionel. Non seulement
elle n’y est pas mentionnee, mais meme le regime precedent, celui
qui perpetra le genocide en 1915, c’est-a-dire l’empire ottoman,
n’est pas cite non plus ! Dans ces conditions, il apparaît tout de
meme difficile de parler de stigmatisation…

Enfin les menaces de represailles commerciales turques ne doivent
pas impressionner ; si la Turquie est souveraine, la France l’est
tout autant et sa representation nationale legitimee repetons-le a
legiferer au nom du peuple francais ; donc ni cynisme, ni lâchete ! De
toute facon, des represailles risqueraient d’entraîner une replique
europeenne et de coûter au final très cher a Ankara.

En definitive, une chose est sure ; le negationnisme est un fleau
a combattre, autant lorsqu’il provient d’Etats que de groupes ou
d’individus. La loi Gayssot constitue depuis vingt ans une arme
efficace, pourquoi celle protegeant la memoire du genocide armenien
ne le serait-elle pas ?…

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : France-Inter

MEDVEDEV EN OSSETIE DU SUD POUR LES QUATRE ANS DE LA GUERRE RUSSO-GEORGIENNE
Ara

armenews.com
jeudi 9 aout 2012

MOSCOU (Russie), 08 août 2012 – Le Premier ministre russe, Dmitri
Medvedev, est arrive mercredi en Ossetie du Sud a l’occasion du
quatrième anniversaire de la guerre eclair d’août 2008 entre la
Russie et la Georgie pour le contrôle de cette republique separatiste
georgienne pro-russe.

L’ancien chef de l’Etat russe a rencontre le president de cette
republique secessionniste, Leonid Tibilov, elu debut avril, après
plusieurs mois de crise politique, ont rapporte les agences de presse
russes. La Georgie avait declenche une offensive dans la nuit du 7 au
8 août 2008 pour reprendre l’Ossetie du Sud. La Russie avait riposte
en engageant une operation militaire d’envergure. La guerre eclair
de cinq jours s’est soldee par la reconnaissance par Moscou le 26
août 2008 de l’independance de l’Ossetie du Sud et de l’Abkhazie,
un autre territoire separatiste georgien.

Mercredi, le president russe, Vladimir Poutine, a indique que la
Russie avait preparefin 2006-debut 2007 un plan dans l’hypothèse d’une
attaque de la Georgie et avait dans ce but entraîne des miliciens
locaux. “Il y avait un plan, ce n’est pas un secret d’après moi”, a
declare M. Poutine, selon des images de la television russe. “De plus,
dans le cadre de ce plan, un entraînement de miliciens d’Ossetie du
Sud a ete effectue”, a-t-il ajoute. Reagissant a ces declarations, la
Georgie a estime qu’elles prouvaient que le Kremlin etait responsable
du conflit.

“Une telle confession n’avait jamais ete faite auparavant et c’est
un paradoxe qu’encore aujourd’hui des gens se disputent pour savoir
qui etait l’agresseur”, a declare le chef du Conseil national de
securite de Georgie, Giga Bokeria. Ces declarations de Vladimir
Poutine interviennent après la diffusion d’un documentaire, dans
lequel un ancien chef d’etat-major de l’armee russe, Iouri Balouevski,
accuse Dmitri Medvedev, alors president, d’avoir trop tergiverse
avant d’entrer en guerre, ce qui a augmente le nombre des victimes. M.

Balouevski n’etait cependant plus chef d’etat-major a l’epoque
des faits.

“Cela a ete fait a temps, suffisamment vite”, a de son côte reagi M.

Medvedev. Le president georgien Mikheïl Saakachavili a, quant a lui,
marque le quatrième anniversaire de la guerre en se rendant dans un
cimetière militaire de la capitale Tbilissi pour rendre hommage aux
victimes et a rencontre des familles de soldats tues.

Outre la Russie, seuls quelques Etats d’Amerique latine et du Pacifique
ont reconnu l’independance de l’Ossetie du Sud et de l’Abkhazie. Les
deux territoires sont de facto independants de Tbilissi depuis des
conflits armes qui les ont opposes aux forces georgiennes au debut
des annees 1990. La Russie maintient d’importantes forces dans ces
deux territoires depuis la guerre de 2008.

LE CATHOLICOS ARAM 1ER A REFUSE DE DONNER UNE INTERVIEW A UNE CHAINE DE TELEVISION TURQUE
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 9 aout 2012

Le Catholicos de la Grande Maison de Cilicie Sa Saintete Aram 1er a
de nouveau rejete la suggestion d’une chaîne de television turque de
donner une interview au journaliste turc Adnan Oktar.

Le Catholicosat a rejete l’invitation affirmant que Sa Saintete Aram
1er rejetterait de telles demandes tant que la Turquie n’avait pas
reconnu le Genocide armenien et indemnise les armeniens.

Dans l’invitation adressee au Catholicos il etait mentionne que
cela etait ” une offre amicale ” et que ” Dieu veut que la paix soit
etablie entre nos Nations “.

US AMBASSADOR VISITS SHENGAVIT ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVE

asbarez
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012

>From l to r: Mrs. Heffern, Shengavit director Tshagharyan, Ambassador
Heffern, Armenian archaeologist Armine Hayrapetyan, Erebuni director
Gurdjyan, RCHCH director Simonyan

BY JOSEPH DAGDIGIAN

YEREVAN-A delegation from the U.S. embassy in Armenia, headed by
US ambassador John Heffern, visited the Shengavit Historical and
Archaeological Culture Preserve across Yerevan Lake from the embassy
on July 25.

Heffern and his accompanied by his wife Libby, as well as Cultural
Affairs officer Sean O’Hara. Greeting the US delegation was Vladimir
Tchagharyan, director of the Shengavit preserve; Gagik Gurdjyan,
director of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Culture
Preserve which oversees Shengavit as well. Dr. Hakob Simonyan,
director of Armenia’s Research Center for Historical and Cultural
Heritage (RCHCH); and Dr. Mitchell Rothman, head of the anthropology
department at Widener University in Pennsylvania. Drs. Rothman and
Simonyan are both conducting excavations at Shengavit.

While examining excavations dating to the fourth millennium B.C.,
Gurdjyan explained why the study of the Shengavit site was important
not only for understanding the development of civilization in Armenia,
but for the study of the entire region as cultural developments here
were contemporary with developments in Mesopotamia, the Middle East,
and elsewhere. The visitors viewed ongoing excavations by Dr. Rothman
and Dr. Simonyan who both discussed the significance of their finds.

Following examinations of the excavations Shengavit director
Tshagharyan led the group to the museum in which a number of Shengavit
artifacts are on display. These include stone, bone, and metal tools
as well as pottery, a hearth, and jewelry. Of special interest to
Ambassador Heffern was a forensic reconstruction of a human head based
on skeletal remains found at the site. The reconstruction illustrates
what 4th millennium B.C inhabitants looked like. Of particular interest
was the fact that the forensic reconstruction was done by noted doctor
Antranig Tchagharyan, the father of Shengavit’s director.

Ambassador Heffern expressed amazement that Yerevan’s history goes
back not 3,000 years, as is often cited, but 6,000 years. Comparing
this with the brief history of the United States, he stated that
he would encourage all the staff members of the embassy to visit
Shengavit while expressing hope that the embassy and the Shengavit
preserve could work together to further develop the site. Director
Tchagharyan invited the ambassador to visit the site again. The visit
was followed by refreshments.

The Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA) is currently
working with the Shengavit Historical and Archaeological Culture
Preserve director to provide amenities for visitors, preserve the
aging museum building and its artifacts, and enhance the security of
the site.

Before archaeological excavations are conducted, however, it is
crucial that both government authorities and the participating
archaeologists agree on a detailed plan for the preservation of the
excavations and that adequate financing for preservation efforts
be allocated. Currently there appears to be no firm plan for the
preservation of the excavations and no available financing. Once
exposed to the elements, the archaeological structures can quickly
deteriorate preventing further scientific research and preventing
public examination of these important historical and archaeological
finds.

Details of CYSCA’s project may be found at More
information on Shengavit is also available on the Erebuni Museum web
site at

ARMENIAN PRESS: “AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN MUSICIANS TO PERFORM A JOINT CONCERT IN THE ALAND ISLANDS”

APA
Aug 8 2012
Azerbaijan

Shahin Rzayev: “Our aim is to popularize our folk songs and national
instruments”

Emin Afrasiyab: “Earlier I rejected the invitation, but while hearing
that Armenians will introduce tar as their musical instrument I decide
to go”

Baku. Sevil Zeynalgizi – APA. Armenian media outlets reported that
Azerbaijani and Armenian musicians will perform a joint concert
program in the Aland Islands, APA reports. “Haykakan Zhamanak”
newspaper wrote that 13 young musicians from Azerbaijan, Armenia and
the Aland Islands exchanged experience, organized master-classes, held
discussions in Mariehamn. The event aims to commemorate the victims
of Aland conflict. The “World’s islands” festival will start with the
concert organized by the Peace Institute. The newspaper writes that
Azerbaijani and Armenian musicians will share the same stage and
pianist, jazzmen Emin Afrasiyab, Isgandar Alasgarov (percussion),
Parviz Mammadov (bass-guitar), Malik Mansurov (tar, saz), Shirzad
Fataliyev (balaban) and Nazim Karimov participated in the event.

APA reports that the concert is organized by Music Institute of the
Aland Islands. This institute sent an invitation to Head of Azerbaijani
representation of the Great Britain War and Peace Research Institute
Shahin Rzayev for ensuring the participation of Azerbaijani musicians
in the concert. Shahin Rzayev addressed jazzman Emin Afrasiyab with
proposal to participate in the concert.

Rzayev told APA that the Music Institute organizes a concert every
year on the Hiroshima day. Various professionals are invited from
the conflicting countries to the concert: “Either journalists, or
musicians are invited every year. Swedish, Azerbaijani and Armenian
musicians were invited to the concert this year. The concert aimed
at popularization of its culture by every people. Five Azerbaijani
musicians led by Emin Afrasiyab were invited to the concert and they
will popularize Azerbaijan’s music and culture. The most important
is that Azerbaijan’s national music instruments, balaban, zurna, ud,
tar will be performed here. Our aim is to popularize our folk songs
like “Sari gelin”, “Gozalim sensen”, “Evleri khana-khana”, as well
as popularize in jazz arrangement and language that is understood
by Europeans”.

Shahin Rzayev said that this is not a joint concert with Armenians:
“Armenians write that we will give a concert together with them, it’s
not so, we have a different program. First Armenian, than Swedish
and Finnish, and the last Azerbaijani musicians will perform in the
concert to be held on August 10. According to concert program rules,
weak musicians perform first, but than the strong ones. The concert
organizers decided that our musicians will be called the last to
the stage, because their level is higher than the level of Armenian
musicians.

Jazzman Emin Afrasiyab told APA that earlier he rejected the
invitation, but than he heard that Armenians would introduce tar
as their musical instrument at the concert. I couldn’t stand this
and thought that we must respond them and show that tar belongs to
Azerbaijani culture. I decided to participate at the concert together
with tar player Malik Mansurov, balaban player Shirzad Fataliyev and
other musicians in order to prove the true owners of these musical
instruments”.

Emin Afrasiyab said that the concert will be held on August 10.

Azerbaijani musicians will perform “Sari galin”, Gozallim sansan”,
“Evlari var xana-xana” songs, “Segah” in tar and other mugam songs.

Jazzmen said that the popularization of Azerbaijani musical instruments
was held at the forum before the concert: “We demonstrated balaban,
zurna, tutak, udu and declared that these instruments belong to
Azerbaijani people. There are 1-2 days left before the concert.

Armenian tar player broke his hand for unknown reasons and will not
be able to perform at the concert”.