Author: Babajanian Karo

Russian FM could discuss issue of Azeri saboteur with Nagorno-Karabakh
authorities – minister

14:37 * 27.01.15

Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan is holding a press
conference in Yerevan.

He commented on Russian FM Sergey Lavrov’s statement on the transfer
of one of the saboteurs convicted in Nagorno-Karabakh to Russia – he
is a Russian citizen.

Although Mr Ohanyan is not informed of such a statement by the Russian
FM, he said:

“International practice knows cases when convicted persons served part
of their sentences both here and there. This issue can be discussed
with the Nagorno-Karabakh leadership.”

Javad Zarif: We hope to tackle issue of Russia’s S300 supplies

14:27, 27.01.2015

YEREVAN. – Iranian Foreign Minister is happy to see that a platform
for broader cooperation had been created with Russia, he said during a
briefing in Yerevan.

Asked whether Iran is ready to receive supplies of S-300 missile
system from Russia, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the talks had been held
on the matter.

“We hope that the matter will be solved during talks. We are
supportive of solving this problem through dialogue and within
bilateral relations between Iran and Russia,” the Minister added.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu visited Tehran last week to
sign an agreement on military cooperation between the sides.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

Hammer Museum to Mark Genocide Centennial with Year-Long Film Series

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015
Hammer Museum in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES–Throughout 2015, the Hammer Museum will commemorate the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with a yearlong film
series, “I Am Armenian: A Year of Armenian Culture and History on
Film,” and a Hammer Forum discussion, “The Armenian Genocide: A
Century of Denial.” The year will be dedicated to exploring the many
facets of Armenian culture, history and landscape beginning with the
screening of “Calendar” (1993) on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m.

Attending a Hammer public program is free and tickets will be
available on site at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater Box
Office one hour before the program begins. More information about
admission is below and online at hammer.ucla.edu.

Announced Films:

“Calendar”
Wednesday, Jan. 28, 7:30 p.m.
A photographer traveling in Armenia for a calendar project realizes
that his wife, an Armenian translator, is falling in love with their
driver and unofficial tour guide. The Academy Award-nominated
director, Atom Egoyan (“The Sweet Hereafter”), reveals the unraveling
of a marriage through a series of flash-forwards. (1993, Dir. A.
Egoyan). Question and answer session with Dr. Carla Garapedian and
Robert Lantos, producer of Ararat, to follow.

“The Lark Farm” (“La Masseria Delle Allodole”)
Wednesday, Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m.
An Armenian family becomes caught up in the Ottoman Turkish
government’s annihilation of the Armenian people between 1915 and
1923. This Italian film by brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani is
adapted from the best-selling novel by Antonia Arslan. (2007, Dir. P.
& V. Taviani). Question and answer session with Dr. Carla Garapedian
and Dr. Siobhan Nash-Marshall to follow.

“Ravished Armenia”
Wednesday, March 25, 7:30 p.m.
The 1919 silent film Ravished Armenia tells the incredible story of
Aurora Mardiganian, an Armenian girl caught up in the 1915 Armenian
Genocide. After witnessing the murder of her family, Aurora was
kidnapped, forced to march over fourteen hundred miles and sold into
slavery before finally escaping to Europe and then the U.S. Her story
was the basis for a hugely popular book and film, starring Aurora
herself, which was seen by thousands of people around the world.
Filmmaker Carla Garapedian, from the Armenian Film Foundation, and
Anthony Slide, author of “Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora
Mardiganian” and former film historian of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, bring Aurora’s story to life with rare film
clips and photos.

“Aghet – Ein Völkermord”
Tuesday, April 14, 7:30 p.m.
The prizewinning film “Aghet” (Armenian for “the catastrophe”) by
acclaimed German filmmaker Eric Friedler tells the story of the
Armenian genocide, one of the darkest chapters of the First World War.
Though there is an international consensus that up to 1.5 million
Armenians died in the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Armenian genocide is
still not recognized by Turkey as a historical fact. “Aghet” deals
with the political motives for this continuing silence. This
innovative German documentary relies on authentic testimonies by
European and American personnel stationed in the Near East at the time
and Armenian survivors. Famous German actors give these eyewitnesses
finally the opportunity to make their voices heard. (2010, Dir. E.
Friedler). Director Eric Friedler will join for a discussion following
the screening.

Upcoming 2015 screenings, for which dates and information are to be
announced, include “The River Ran Red,” “The Color of Pomegranates,”
“Without Gorky,” “The Last Tightrope Dancer in Armenia,” “Vodka
Lemon,” “Here,” “Silk Stockings,” and “A Story of People in War and
Peace.”

Hammer Forum: The Armenian Genocide: A Century of Denial

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Armenians and human rights advocates around the world commemorate the
100th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide, in which
an estimated 1.5 million people were killed between 1915 and 1923.
Richard Hovannisian, a professor of Armenian and Near Eastern History
at UCLA, and David L. Phillips, director of the Peace-building and
Rights Program at Columbia University, offer an in-depth look at the
Turkish refusal to recognize the genocide and efforts to foster
dialogue and reconciliation between Turks and Armenians. Hammer Forum
is moderated by Ian Masters, journalist, author, screenwriter,
documentary filmmaker and host of the radio programs Background
Briefing, Sundays at 11 a.m., and The Daily Briefing, Monday through
Thursday at 5 p.m., on KPFK 90.7 FM.

Hammer Forum is made possible in part by Bronya and Andrew Galef.

Hammer Presents: Honoring the Armenian Masters

Sunday, April 19, 2:00 p.m.
Co-presented by the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
Members of the Armenian Music Ensemble at UCLA and the VEM String
Quartet present a chamber music program of masterworks by Armenian
classical music in commemoration of the anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide.

All Hammer public programs are free. Tickets for assigned seating in
the Billy Wilder Theater are required and available at the Box Office
one hour before each program. Early arrival is recommended. Tickets
are available one per person on a first come, first served basis.

As a benefit for their support, members enjoy priority ticketing and
seat selection, subject to availability.

Parking is available under the museum for a flat fee of $3 after 6PM.

All Hammer public programs are free and made possible by a major gift
from the Dream Fund at UCLA.

Generous support is also provided by Susan Bay Nimoy and Leonard
Nimoy, Good Works Foundation and Laura Donnelley, an anonymous donor,
and all Hammer members.

Visit hammer.ucla.edu for current exhibition and program information
and call 310-443-7041 for tours.

LIBAN
Le représentant du patriarche syriaque orthodoxe rencontre Sa Sainteté Aram I

Le 10 Janvier 2015 le Métropolitan George Saliba du Mont-Liban, de
l’Eglise syriaque orthodoxe, a rencontré le catholicos Aram Ier afin
de lui transmettre les salutations de Noël et du Nouvel An de la part
de Sa Sainteté le Patriarche Ignatius Ephrem II. Le Metropolitan a
également informé Sa Sainteté Aram I des activités qu’ils envisagent
pour commémorer le 100e anniversaire des massacres de leurs peuples
par les Ottomans.

mardi 27 janvier 2015,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Public TV, France
27 janv 2015

Amal Alamuddin : elle débarque en France !

Avant d’être l’épouse de George Clooney, la belle Amal est avocate de
profession et c’est à ce titre qu’elle débarquera en France, ce
mercredi, pour défendre l’Arménie devant la Cour européenne des droits
de l’homme.

La jolie Amal Alamuddin , qui a dit “oui” à George Clooney en
septembre dernier, débarquera en France dans quelques heures. Et non,
l’avocate internationale ne fait pas le déplacement pour la Fashion
Week Haute Couture mais bel et bien pour plaider.

C’est à Strasbourg qu’elle défendra l’Arménie et ce, devant la Cour
européenne des droits de l’homme. En décembre dernier, le pays la
choisissait pour une affaire concernant la négation du génocide
arménien.

La CEDH a confirmé, Amal est bel et bien “inscrite sur la liste des
juristes qui prendront la parole pendant l’audience”. Toutefois, cette
dernière précise “qu’une liste peut changer jusqu’au dernier moment.”

Quand le chat n’est pas là…

Alors qu’elle devrait en principe venir en Alsace sans son
célébrissime époux, va-t-il en profiter pour commettre quelques écarts
? En effet, à en croire le Mirror, George est au régime et Amel
l’exige pour l’admirer aminci lors de la cérémonie des Oscars, qui se
déroulera le 22 février prochain. Sept en kilos, voilà ce que doit
perdre l’acteur qui a quelques tentations : “Il trouve cela dur car il
adore la nourriture mexicaine et il lui arrive même d’aller dans
différents fast-food plusieurs fois dans la semaine, à Los Angeles”…
À la barre, il lui faudra plaider coupable s’il échoue.

Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian Warns Of Fresh Anti-Russian Protests in Gyumri

By MassisPost
Updated: January 26, 2015

GYUMRI (RFE/RL) — Primate of Shirak Diocese Archbishop Mikael
Ajapahian has warned angry street protests in Gyumri could reignite if
Russian authorities fail to hand over a Russian soldier charged with
killing seven members of a local family to Armenian law-enforcement
bodies. He said renewed anti-government and anti-Russian
demonstrations in Armenia’s second-largest city would have
“unpredictable consequences.”

“The people may again take to the streets if there is again a careless
statement or wrong approach and the people’s minimum demand is not
fulfilled,” Ajapahian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
“And what the people are demanding is not a big deal. The people’s
demands are feasible. They simply want the criminal to be handed over
to Armenian law-enforcers.”

“God forbid that the people feel that they have been rebuffed. That
would lead to unpredictable consequences,” added the head of Shirak
Diocese .

Arch. Ajapahian was worried about the kind of unrest that followed the
January 12 killing spree blamed on Valery Permyakov, a soldier from
the Russian military base headquartered in Gyumri. Permyakov has been
kept in the base ever since being arrested hours after the massacre.

Scores of people rallied outside key government buildings as well as
Russian facilities in Gyumri on January 14 and January 15 to demand
the suspect’s handover to Armenian law-enforcement bodies. Hundreds of
them clashed riot police outside the local Russian consulate.

While backing their demands, Ajapahian has deplored the violence. He
urged the Gyumri citizens to avoid further unrest last week as he held
a requiem service for 6-month-old Seryozha Avetisian, who died of his
stab wounds one week after his 2-year-old sister, parents, aunt and
grandparents were found dead in their home.

“I can’t work as a perpetual lighting rod,” the respected archbishop
said on Monday.

The Armenian and Russian authorities have scrambled since January 15
to reassure the locals that the gruesome crime will be fully solved.
They have pledged to coordinate their separate inquiries into the
killings and said that Permyakov will stand trial in Armenia. However,
a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated last week
that the 18-year-old will be tried in a Russian military court.

In Yerevan, meanwhile, Hunan Poghosian, a deputy chief of the Armenian
police, said on Monday that he personally visited the Russian base and
demanded Permyakov’s extradition immediately after the latter was
caught by Russian border guards deployed on the nearby Turkish border.
“But that’s not an issue that could have been solved on the basis of
demand,” said Poghosian during a news conference. “As you all know,
the issue is on the legal plane and should be solved within the
framework of treaties between the two countries.”

Phoghosian spoke of “unprecedented” cooperation between Armenian and
Russian officials investigating the crime.

The police general also confirmed reports that more than 100 Gyumri
residents have been summoned to local police stations and questioned
in connection with the January 15 violent protest. He said 27 of them
might face accusations of hooliganism or resistance to police. None of
them has been formally charged yet.

Charny, Smith, and Gaunt to Speak at Centennial Conference in NY

By Contributor on January 27, 2015

NEW YORK–Scholars Israel Charny, Roger Smith, and David Gaunt are
among the confirmed speakers at “Responsibility 2015,” the
international conference marking the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide, to be held on March 13-15, 2015, at New York’s Marriott
Marquis Hotel.

Israel Charny

Charny is the executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and
Genocide in Jerusalem, which he founded with the late Shamai Davidson,
M.D., and Elie Wiesel in 1979. He has been devoted to the study of the
Holocaust and genocide since the mid-1960’s. He is the editor of
Encyclopedia of Genocide, written by nearly 100 experts from many
countries. This 2-volume, 720-page reference tool, which brings
together the results of decades of scholarship in a single edition,
was published in 1999. He is a founder, alongside Helen Fein, Robert
Melson, and Roger Smith, of the International Association of Genocide
Scholars, which was established in 1994.

Roger Smith

Smith is Professor Emeritus of Government at the College of William
and Mary in Virginia, where he has taught political theory and the
comparative study of genocide. He has written extensively on the
nature, language, history, and denial of genocide. In addition to
numerous articles, he is the editor and co-author of Guilt: Man and
Society, and editor of Genocide: Essays Toward Understanding,
Early-Warning, and Prevention. Since 2003, he has been the director of
the Genocide and Human Rights University Program, and since 2004,
chair of the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (a division of the Zoryan Institute).

David Gaunt

Gaunt is Professor of History at Södertörn University College in
Stockholm, Sweden. He is a social historian who has written widely on
the history of minorities and everyday life. He is the author
ofMassacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in
Eastern Anatolia during World War I, a seminal work on the Assyrian
Genocide. Gaunt completed his doctorate at Uppsala University in 1975.

Earlier, the organizers had announced the names of other confirmed
speakers, including jurist Geoffrey Robertson, actor and playwright
Eric Bogosian, photojournalistScout Tufankjian, novelist Chris
Bohjalian, scholars Richard Hovannisian, Debórah Dwork,Raymond
Kévorkian, Roy L. Brooks, Elisa Von Joeden-Forgey, Janna Thompson,
andJermaine McCalpin, and journalists Robert Fisk, Laure Marchand,
Guillaume Perrier, and David Barsamian.

The “Responsibility 2015” Conference is being organized by the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern U.S. Centennial
Committee, under the auspices of the Armenian Genocide Centennial
Committee of America, Eastern Region.

Evening sessions bringing together policymakers, political leaders,
artists, and celebrities known for their activism and humanitarian
work will highlight the theme of responsibility to confront past
injustices and struggle towards preventing new ones.

The conference begins with a plenary sessions on Fri., March 13. The
final panel concludes on March 15 at 4:30 p.m. Registration will open
in February.

Photography and art exhibits with the theme of survival will be held
at the same venue for the duration of the conference.

The organizing committee is comprised of the following scholars and
activists: Khatchig Mouradian and Hayg Oshagan, co-chairs; George
Aghjayan, Kim Hekimian, Antranig Kasbarian, Sarkis Balkhian and Henry
Theriault.

For periodic updates, please contact conference coordinator Maral
Choloyan at [email protected], or visit the conference
Facebook page or the conference website,

Genocide denial an even graver crime ` Serzh Sargsyan

12:31 ¢ 27.01.15

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has addressed a message on
International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Armenian leader’s message reads:

`The Jewish genocide during World War II is certainly one of the
cruelest and most tragic chapters in human history.

`January 27, which is a symbol of liberation of the OÃ…?wiecim
concentration camp, proved one of the most important stages on the way
to put an end to the evil of Holocaust.

`Commemoration of the Holocaust victims and condemnation of that
genocide remains current as long as various manifestations of ethnic,
racial, religious hatred continue throughout the world and the threat
of recurrence of crimes against humanity remains.

`It is absolute truth that consigning genocide victims to oblivion and
denying, especially at the state level, is one of the stages of the
atrocity. It is an even graver crime not only against innocent
victims, but also against the present and future. The atrocities
committed under the veil of World War II could have been prevented if
the international community had adequately condemned crimes against
humanity committed during World War I and inflicted condign punishment
on those guilty.

`Once again paying tribute to innocent victims of the Holocaust, I
would like to express my support to the Jewish people and the Jewish
community of Armenia. The Armenian people, which is marking the
Armenian Genocide centennial this year, is fully sharing the Jewish
people’s pain.’

In his message, President Serzh Sargsyan re-affirms Armenia’s
commitment to continue a joint struggle to prevent crimes against
humanity.

Germany refuses to use term “Genocide”

01.26.2015 11:43NEWS

Responding to a parliamentary question, the government of Germany
announced that it would not use the term “Genocide” for the 1915
Armenian Genocide, and that the appraisal of 1915 was primarily the
responsibility of Turkey and Armenia.

A Der Tagesspiegel news report carried by Deutsche Welle Türkçe
reports that, responding to a parliamentary question submitted by The
Left Party, the government of Germany has stated that “the appraisal
of 1915 was primarily the responsibility of Turkey and Armenia” and
that “the mass killings and deportations of 1915/1916 should be
subject to the assessment of academists”.

The government also stated that it had no plans of holding a
commemoration event on 24 April 2015.

The Central Council of Armenians in Germany had expressed a desire for
government representatives to participate in commemorations. “The
Federal Government is currently examining the possibilities of
participation” was the government’s response.

Jelpke: Germany is evading responsibility

Left Party Member of Parliament Ulla Jelpke criticized the stance of
the government, stating that this amounted to evading Germany’s
responsibility in the crime. Jelpke added that the German Reich was an
ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, was aware of the
massacre, and was partially culpable.

There are more than 20 countries across the world that recognize the
Armenian Genocide. France, Italy, Poland and Russia recognized the
Armenian Genocide; while denial of the Armenian Genocide was declared
illegal in Greece, Switzerland, Slovakia and Spain.

ARMENIE
Président du Karabagh : le comportement de Bakou met en danger la
stabilité et la paix dans la région

Les violations flagrantes du régime de cessez-le-feu par l’Azerbaïdjan
mettent en danger la stabilité et la paix dans la région a déclaré le
président du Karabagh Bako Sahakian alors qu’il reçevait le
représentant personnel du Président en exercice de l’OSCE,
l’Ambassadeur Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Selon son bureau de presse, Sahakian a souligné que ces violations
sont “un coup sérieux aux efforts de médiation du Groupe de Minsk de
l’OSCE.”

Les questions liées à la situation le long de la ligne de contact
entre les forces armées du Karabagh et l’Azerbaïdjan ont également été
abordées lors de la réunion.

Le Président Sahakian aurait souligné la nécessité de “l’évaluation
correspondante de la politique destructrice de l’Azerbaïdjan par la
communauté internationale et la réalisation de mesures concrètes dans
cette direction.”

mardi 27 janvier 2015,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com