Author: Babajanian Karo

FATHER FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HIS WIFE AND HIS DOWN SYNDROME NEWBORN BECAUSE HER FAMILY ARE ‘TOO ASHAMED’ OF THE BABY’S CONDITION TO RAISE IT AS THEIR OWN

The Daily Mail, UK
Feb 6 2015

Samuel Forrest’s wife Ruzan Badalyan gave birth to their first child
Leo on January 21 in an Armenian hospital His mother quickly abandoned
him after learning he had Down syndrome The young mother feared his
condition would bring shame on her family She made Samuel choose
between her and their newborn son Samuel was handed divorce papers
a week after Leo was born First-time father is trying to crowd fund
money so he can raise Leo in his native New Zealand Fundraising page
has raised more than $100,000 in less than 24 hours

By Emily Crane for Daily Mail Australia

A heartbroken father has been made to choose between his wife and
his Down syndrome son because her family are too ashamed of the
newborn’s condition.

Samuel Forrest’s wife Ruzan Badalyan gave birth to their first child
Leo on January 21 in an Armenian hospital.

But just hours after the birth, Leo’s New Zealand born father was
given an ultimatum by his wife of 18 months – the woman he loved or
his newborn son.

Leo’s mother and her family abandoned him soon after he was born due
to his Down syndrome.

She refused to look at or even touch her son because Armenian culture
believes a child with a condition like Leo’s brings shame on the
entire family, according to Samuel.

When Leo was born, Samuel said he wasn’t immediately allowed to see
his son or wife.

‘This paediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle… She
had his face covered up and hospital authorities wouldn’t let me see
him or my wife,’ he told ABC News.

‘When the doctor came out, he said “there’s a real problem with
your son”.’

When he carried Leo in to meet his wife, she threatened to leave him
if he kept his son.

‘What happens when a baby like this is born here, they will tell you
that you don’t have to keep them,’ he told ABC News.

‘My wife had already decided, so all of this was done behind my back.’

Samuel’s wife filed for divorce a week later.

The first-time father is now desperately trying to crowd fund to flee
the eastern European country so he can raise Leo back in his native
New Zealand.

The fundraising page, titled Bring Leo Home, has already raised more
than $100,000 in less than 24 hours.

Samuel has been left stunned by the outpouring of support.

‘Leo and I found out in the wee hours of the morning that we had
crossed our target. He is a lucky guy to have the support of thousands
of friends around the world,’ he said.

The money will be used find a house in Auckland and to give Leo
education opportunities.

Samuel also plans to use some of the funds to support parents in
Armenia who are raising children with disabilities.

‘We’d also like to share the surplus funds with the only orphanage
in Armenia that regularly takes abandoned Down syndrome babies as
well as other organisations that can help these children,’ he said.

The initial goal for Samuel and Leo was to raise enough for a year
so he could get part-time work and care for his son.

To make a donation to Leo’s cause, visit:

Interfax, Russia
Feb 6 2015

Attack on Azeri territory was response to ceasefire violation –
Armenian Defense Ministry

YEREVAN. Feb 6

Artsrun Ovannisyan, press officer for the Armenian defense minister,
believes there is “a slow war” taking place on the Armenian-Azeri
border.

“The situation on the border has remained tense since January. There
is a slow war taking place on the border. If we lose this war, we will
lose positions, not people. If we don’t respond to the daily actions
taken by the enemy, we will begin to suffer defeat,” Ovannisyan told
reporters on Friday.

Armenian doctors earlier said a resident of the village of Nerkin
Karmirakhbyur, Tavush region of Armenia, was killed in an attack
coming from Azerbaijan.

In the meantime, Ovannisyan told reporters the Azeri military had
breached the ceasefire regime on all tracks along the border on the
Tavush region.

“Fire was opened on populated areas. Armenia opened fire on the Azeri
positions from which the shots had been fired,” he said.

Ovannisyan earlier said Levon Andreasyan, 85, an Armenian resident,
was wounded in an attack by the Azeri military on the village of
Movse, Tavush region of Armenia on February 4.

The OSCE on January 27 called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to exercise
restraint in resolving the Karabakh conflict.

The OSCE reiterated the importance of measures that could rule out the
possibility of incidents between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

av cy

SWEDEN READY TO BACKS PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 6 2015

6 February 2015, 16:00 (GMT+04:00)

Azerbaijani and EU relations within the Eastern Partnership Program,
as well as the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were
mulled in Baku.

Azay Guliyev, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Council of State Support
for NGOs has met Therese Hyden, official of the Swedish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Mirja Peterson, head of Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency and Tomas Danestad, Charge de Affairs
of Embassy of Sweden to Azerbaijan.

Hyden noted Sweden recognized Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity,
adding the country was ready to support peaceful settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus
neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing
efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely
fruitless so far.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000
Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost
100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian
withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been
enforced to this day.

Agence France Presse
February 6, 2015 Friday 3:56 PM GMT

Three killed in new Azerbaijan-Armenia clashes

Yerevan, Feb 6 2015

Three people were killed in renewed clashes between Azerbaijani and
Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region, officials
from both countries said Friday.

The victims included an Armenian civilian killed in his courtyard by
Azerbaijani shelling on villages along the Karabakh border, Armenian
defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovannisian told AFP.

In a separate incident along the Karabakh frontline, a 25-year-old
soldier was killed by Azerbaijani fire, the separatist enclave’s
defence ministry said in a statement.

The third victim was an Azerbaijani soldier killed on Thursday in a
shootout with Armenian forces, the defence ministry in Baku said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a decades-long conflict over
Nagorny Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan.

Despite years of negotiations, the two sides have not signed a final
peace deal, with Karabakh internationally recognised as part of
Azerbaijan.

Clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces intensified in January
following an unprecedented spiral of violence last year.

Six Armenian soldiers were reported killed last month in similar
incidents on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and along the Karabakh
frontline.

Ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of
Karabakh during a 1990s war that left some 30,000 dead.

Baku, whose military spending exceeds Armenia’s entire state budget,
has threatened to take back the region by force if negotiations fail
to yield results.

Armenia, which is heavily armed by Russia, says it could crush any offensive.

ABOUT 200,000 ARMENIANS MAY GET BANNED FROM RUSSIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 6 2015

6 February 2015 – 8:38pm

Gagik Yeganyan, the head of the Migration Service of the Armenian
Ministry for Territorial Governance and Emergencies, said that
50,000-60,000 Armenians had left Russia and could not return back
for violating the Russian migration law, News.am reports.

In his words, over 3 million people have violated the Russian migration
laws. They may get banned from Russia for up to 10 years.

About 180,000 of the violators are Armenians.

FOOTBALL-CHAMPIONNAT DE GRECE
Guevorg Ghazaryan a signé pour 6 mois à Kerkyra (Grèce)

L’international arménien, Guevorg Ghazaryan (26 ans) ex-milieu de
terrain de l’Olympiakos Pirée a signé pour 6 mois ai club grec de
Kerkyra évoluant dans le championnat de première division de Grèce.
Guevorg Ghazaryan portera au sein de son nouveau club le maillot
numéro 10. Le joueur de l’équipe d’Arménie qui était arrivé à
l’Olympiakos au début de l’été dernier était très souvent sur le banc
de touche. Au Kerkyra, l’Arménien aura l’occasion de s’exprimer
davantage en tant que titulaire.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 7 février 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

British Film Festival starts in Yerevan on February 14

07/02/2015 13:37:00 Oratert News

British Council Armenia, British Embassy Yerevan, Beeline Company, and
Ministry of Culture of RA announce the launch of the British Film
Festival 13th Love Edition which is dedicated to the idea of spreading
and keeping love. The festival will be held in Yerevan from February
14 to 20.

The festival will be opened by the movie «The Imitation Game» in
Moscow cinema at 16.30 on 14 February. The film is about English
mathematician and logician, Alan Turing, who helps crack the Enigma
code during World War II.

Here are the festival films:

– The Imitation Game
– Belle
– The Invisible Woman
– The Possibilities are Endless
– X+Y
– Virunga
– Love is All

From 14 to 20 February films will be screened at Moscow Cinema
(at 17: 00 in English at Red Hall, at 20: 00 with translation at Blue
Hall). During the festival days the films will be screened at Cinema
Star as well. The films will be screened with translation from 14 to
20 February at 19.00 at N1 Hall. Entrance is free for all the
screenings.

On 21 February at 18.00 in Cafesjian Center for the Arts a
special screening dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First
World War will take place with the film ”A Night at the Cinema in
1914” (85minutes) .

After the screenings in Yerevan, the festival will tour in
regions. The films will be screened in Dilijan, Armavir and Ararat.
– 5-7 March, UWC Dilijan
– 16-18 March, Ararat Cultural Centre
– 20-22 March, Armavir Cultural Centre

Information partners of the festival are Public TV of Armenia,
Laym and Shoghakat TV stations, Public Radio of Armenia, Radio Van,
Radio Hay and Radio FM 105.5.

Turkey to celebrate 100th anniversary of Battle of Gallipoli with 1915
meter long flag

16:42, 7 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 7 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. Turkey has decided to celebrate the
100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli (Çanakkale) by making a
Turkish national flag 1915 meters in length and 3 meters in width.

As “Armenpress” reports, citing the Turkish Haberler, it is assumed
that the flag to be placed according to the width of Dardanelle will
be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. The organizing having
initiated the making of such a flag with the half-moon and star 2
meters away from each other has announced that it will be organizing a
march dedicated to the Battle of Çanakkale in Çanakkale on March 18th,
having the participants carry that flag on their shoulders. March18th
is the day when Turkey usually celebrates the victory in the Battle of
Gallipoli.

French “Politique Internationale” Journal publishes article by
Armenian Foreign Minister

14:08, 07 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

One of the most prestigious publications in the political and
diplomatic world, the “Politique Internationale” Journal, printed in
Paris, published an article by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

In an extended article, entitled “Nagorno-Karabakh: Is a Solution
Visible?” Edward Nalbandian thoroughly presents the roots, the
settlement process, legal aspects and possible ways of the settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Edward Nalbandian thoroughly represents the efforts, exerted since the
early 1990s towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the
stages of the negotiation process, proposals presented by the OSCE
Minsk Group and recent developments.

“Azerbaijan rejected all versions of the Basic Principles of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement proposed by the Co-Chairs of the
Minsk Group, including the latest proposals submitted at
theSaint-Petersburg (June 2010), Astrakhan (October 2010), Sochi
(March 2011) and Kazan (June 2011) summits. Azerbaijan rejected all
the proposals, proposed by the Co-Chairs. Not only did it attempt to
change the essence of the negotiating process, but also to distort the
nature of the conflict within various international bodies, not
hesitating to mislead the international community by presenting the
consequences of the conflict as its causes”, writes Edward Nalbandian.

Attaching importance to the implementation of confidence-building
measures, proposed by the Co-Chairs, Foreign Minister stresses, “The
Co-Chairs proposed a number of Confidence and Security-Building
Measures (CSBM) — consolidation of the cease-fire, withdrawal of
snipers from the line of contact, creation of a mechanism to
investigate incidents and violations of the cease-fire agreement.
These proposals were endorsed by a number of major international
organizations, as well as the UN Secretary General. They were equally
welcomed by Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. But all of them were
rejected by Baku.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia touches upon the policy of
hatred against Armenians, propagated on the highest level and its
dangerous consequences, “In Azerbaijan, journalists, activists and the
intelligentsia are all persecuted as “Armenian spies” and “enemies of
the nation”, just because they are advocating peace and
reconciliation. The writer Akram Aylisli was ostracized for publishing
a novel, where he talks about the pogroms against Armenians in Baku
and Sumgait. His books were publicly burned and the writer had to
leave the country because of threats on his life.”

The Foreign Minister highlights, that many international organizations
warned about the flagrant cases of racism, intolerance and violations
of human rights in Azerbaijan and the policy of hatred against
Armenians. In response, Baku merely organizes fake conferences on
tolerance and freedom, in an attempt to impose its own distorted
perception of human rights on others.

Under the article sub-section, entitled “Azerbaijan, a Threat to
Regional Security”, Minister Nalbandian elaborates, “For the last
twenty years, Azerbaijan has done everything in its power to undermine
the cease-fire agreements. Military actions along the line of contact
and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border have resulted in significant
loss of life and greatly raised tensions on the ground. All the
statements and decisions by Baku’s authorities prove that Azerbaijan
has become a serious threat to security and stability in the South
Caucasus. This country has lost its sense of reality and is doing its
utmost to undermine the peace talks. That is why, despite the
intensive efforts of the three Co-Chair countries during the last six
years (twenty summits, several dozen ministerial-level meetings,
visits by the three Co-Chairs to the region), it has not been possible
to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations. In fact, Baku is not
interested in anything but its own advantage.”

Presenting the vision of Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement,
Edward Nalbandian writes, “We continue to believe that the principles
and elements outlined in the statements of the heads of the Co-Chair
countries over the last six years can be the foundations for reaching
a fair and lasting settlement of the conflict.

We absolutely agree that peoples should be prepared for peace, not
war. Unfortunately, until now the Azerbaijani leadership is doing just
the opposite.

We fully agree with the heads of the Co-Chair countries that the use
of force will not resolve the conflict, and that only a negotiated
settlement can lead to stability and peace, which will open new
opportunities for regional cooperation and development. The sooner the
Azerbaijani leadership understands this reality, the faster the
conflict can be settled.”

The article by Minister Nalbandian in English and French came out also
as a separate brochure – an annex to Politique Internationale Journal.

REVUE DE PRESSE
Le père arménien n’a pas pris l’avion pour la Georgie

Samvel Vartapetian, 31 ans, Georgien, demandeur d’asile à Albi depuis
2011, interpellé le 20 janvier à Carmaux lors d’un banal contrôle
d’entreprise, et retenu depuis au centre de rétention de Cornebarrieu,
n’est pas monté dans l’avion qui devait l’expulser vers la Georgie. Ce
père de jumeaux de 2 ans et d’un bébé de 15 mois est toujours maintenu
en centre de rétention, tout comme Armen Khanoyan, 41 ans, interpellé
en même temps à Carmaux (La Dépêche-du-Midi des 24 et 29 janvier)

Jeudi après-midi, les deux épouses avec leurs enfants, accompagnées
par une représentante de RESF 81, avaient réussi à voir leur mari au
centre de rétention. C’est en repartant que Manouchak Vartapetian a
appris, au détour d’une remarque lchée par un policier, que son mari
devait être mis dans un avion pour la Géorgie le lendemain.

Hier en fin d’après-midi, Patrick Garnier, le nouveau président du
secours catholique tarnais, a été reçu par le directeur de cabinet du
préfet, les deux épouses ont dû rester dans la salle d’attente.