Author: Babajanian Karo

CHAIRMEN OF THE SUPREME COURT OF SLOVAKIA AND ARMENIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT LAY FLOWERS AT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CROSS-STONE IN BRATISLAVA

ARMENPRESS
APRIL 5, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. The chairman of the Supreme Court of
Slovakia Stefan Harabin, chairman of the Armenia’s Constitutional
Court Gagik Harutyunyan, chairman of Armenia’s Court of Cassation
Arman Mkrtumyan and other officials put a wreath at the cross-stone
dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Bratislava. An
official from forum of Armenian unions of Europe told Armenpress
that Stefan Harabin attached significance to the existnece of the
law criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide adopted by the
Slovakian government and parliament. Gagik Harutyunyan delivered a
speech and thanked Slovakia and Stefa Harabin for adopting the law.

US SUPPORT WITHDRAWAL OF SNIPERS FROM FRONTLINES – CLINTON

news.am
April 05, 2012 | 12:45

WASHINGTON, DC. -The United States remains deeply committed to
helping the sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reach a lasting
and peaceful settlement, said Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in
written response to questions submitted by Congressman Howard Berman.

In response to a question regarding Azerbaijan’s opposition to an OSCE
Minsk Group proposal, backed by both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh,
for the withdrawal of snipers from the front lines, Secretary Clinton
said US supports pulling back snipers, Armenian National Committee
of America reported (ANCA).

“We regret any loss of life and continue to call upon the sides to
take steps – including the withdrawal of snipers – to improve the
atmosphere for negotiations, prevent unnecessary casualties, and
strengthen implementation of the ceasefire,” she said.

“The U.S. has emphasized that the parties should show restraint in both
their public statements and on the ground to avoid misunderstandings
and unintended consequences. We reiterate at every opportunity that
there is no military solution to the conflict and that only a peaceful
settlement will lead to security, stability, and reconciliation in
the region.”

A STUDENT KNIFED IN YARD OF YSU

17:45 . 03/04

A student was knifed today near the Yerevan State University. The
student, Sargis Nazaretyan, 21 was taken to hospital with a wound in
the abdomen.

The circumstances of the case are being clarified in the police.

RA NA SPEAKER RECEIVES THE RF FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEY LAVROV

03.04.2012

On April 3 the RA NA Speaker Samvel Nikoyan received the delegation led
by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey
Lavrov. Welcoming the guest’s visit Mr Nikoyan considered symbolic
that it was taking place on the day of the 20th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia. IN
the NA Speaker’s word, the partnership and strategic relations between
the RA and RF, which are based on the friendship and brotherhood of
the two countries and peoples, have their immediate expression in
the inter-parliamentary relations, to which importance is given in
Armenia and Russia.

Mr Nikoyan underlined the effective activity of the Inter-Parliamentary
Committee on Cooperation between the RA NA and the RF Federal Assembly,
noting it had been succeeded to provide not only persistence of works,
but also considerable effectiveness, contributing to the deepening
of bilateral cooperation in the humanitarian, cultural, educational,
scientific, high technology and other spheres. The Committee also
played big role in the establishment of relations between the regions
of the two countries. The parties expressed confidence that also in
future the Committee would continue and more enliven its persistent
activity.

The RA Parliament Speaker expressed satisfaction in connection
with cooperation of the parliamentarians of the two countries in
international structures. In his word, the Armenian party attaches
great importance to the activity of the CIS and CSTO Parliamentary
Assemblies and actively takes part in the works being done within
that framework. Mr Nikoyan has also highlighted the cooperation in the
Inter-Parliamentary Union, OSCE, CoE Parliamentary Assemblies, noting
that there are still big potential and directions in those structures
for deepening the cooperation and making the works more coordinated.

The RA NA Speaker expressed confidence that the RF Foreign Minister’s
present visit would give a new impetus to the Armenian-Russian
relations, including the inter-parliamentary cooperation.

Thanking for the warm reception the RF Foreign Minister has
noted this year is also the 15th anniversary of the treaty signed
between the RA and RF on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Aid. He
has expressed gratitude that these jubilees are celebrated with
concrete works, noticing that progress is recorded in all spheres
of the Armenian-Russian relations. The bilateral goods turnover,
the volume of the investments, the quantity of the programmes
being jointly implemented, including the nuclear energy, high
technologies, tourism, agricultural, humanitarian, cultural and
other spheres have been grown. The RF Foreign Minister greatly
highlighted the inter-parliamentary joint work in the establishment
of cooperation and further expansion, due to which the legislative
basis of integration processes in the social security, as well as
in economic and humanitarian spheres. He has highly appreciated the
contribution that the RA and RF parliamentary delegations have in
international corresponding structures, at the same time sharing the
RA NA Speaker’s view that in that direction the cooperation still
has a considerable potential and the necessity of rapprochement. The
RF Foreign Minister emphasized the bilateral cooperation, as well as
the reinforcement of cooperation in inter-parliamentary structures.

Thanking the Armenian MPs for their participation as observers in
the elections held in Russia, Sergey Lavrov wished success in the
parliamentary elections being held in Armenia, noting that the Russian
party will have active involvement in different observation missions.

He has highlighted the bilateral visits being frequently organized
at the most different levels, during which new initiatives; new
directions of cooperation are also born.

During the meeting the NA Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov and
the Head of the RA NA Delegation in the PABSEC Gagik Minasyan also
presented their views. The parties also touched upon the process
of the Karabakh conflict settlement, the role of the Minsk Group,
bilateral and other regional problems.

CYPRUS PARLIAMENT DISMISSES NATIONAL BROADCASTER’S EUROVISION BUDGET

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 3, 2012 – 13:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Cyprus Parliament refused to approve state
broadcaster CyBC’s budget for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. This
means everyone working in the project is left without a single Euro.

CyBC employees go on strikes already, Oikotimes.com reports.

There seems to be a big issue in Cyprus, and CyBC Eurovision Team
even considers withdrawal from Eurovision 2012.

Ms Evi Papamichael from CyBC Eurovision team said that although she
is in the broadcaster for 30 years and considers it as home, she is
tired of the political games.

She emphasized that if the funds are not approved, the country will
be forced to withdraw from Eurovision due to take place in Baku.

LES ARMENIENS DE TBILISSI VEULENT UN LIEU DE SOUVENIR DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
mercredi 4 avril 2012

L’association ” La communaute armenienne de Georgie ” demande au
Conseil municipal de Tbilissi d’autoriser le placement d’un memorial
dedie au genocide armenien de 1915. ” Nous, Georgiens d’origine
armenienne, representons la deuxième et a Tbilissi la première minorite
nationale. Malgre nos demandes repetees, aujourd’hui nous n’avons
pas a Tbilissi une stèle pour le souvenir des victimes du genocide
armenien de 1915 a 1923. Nous demandons de prendre en consideration
notre demande justifiee et juste afin de nous autoriser a placer
plaque commemorative “. La demande est signee par ” La Communaute
armenienne de Georgie “, ” Union de la Jeunesse armenienne de Georgie
” et ” l’Union des Badanis armeniens de Georgie “.

Rappelons que jusqu’a present, malgre les très nombreuses demandes
de la communaute armenienne, les autorites de Tbilissi -proches de
Bakou et Ankara- font la sourde oreille.

TURKEY WELCOMES SWISS DECISION IN GENOCIDE PROBE

Today’s Zaman
April 3 2012
Turkey

Turkish Foreign Ministry welcomed on Tuesday a decision by Zurich
Prosecutors’ Office to drop charges against Turkey’s European Union
Minister Egemen BagıÅ~_ for his remarks in Zurich in January.

A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry hailed the
decision as the “victory of commonsense” and welcomed the fact that
there were no steps that would take freedom of speech hostage.

Swiss prosecutors dropped a criminal probe against BagıÅ~_, instigated
after he made remarks rejecting Armenian claims of genocide at the
hands of the late Ottoman Empire nearly 100 years ago, because he is
protected by diplomatic immunity.

Zurich prosecutors began investigating BagıÅ~_ after comments he
made at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, and also at a
concert in Zurich. Turkey summoned the Swiss ambassador in Ankara to
complain after the investigation was launched.

“After consulting with the Swiss foreign ministry, the prosecutor
has concluded that criminal charges against Egemen BagıÅ~_ cannot be
pursued because, as a Turkish EU minister, he enjoyed immunity during
his entire stay in Switzerland,” the prosecutor said in a statement
on Monday.

Commenting on a French Parliament move to criminalize denial of
the alleged genocide, BagıÅ~_ said in Zurich: “This [French] bill
is null and void for us. We believe that there are more people with
common sense than those without it in France. Switzerland is another
country where it is a crime to deny the so-called genocide. Here I
am in Switzerland today, and I’m saying the 1915 incidents did not
amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me.”

Armenians claim that the 1915 killings of 1.5 million Armenians as
the Ottoman Empire broke up was the 20th century’s first genocide,
and several European countries have recognized the massacres as such.

Switzerland has convicted people of racism for denying genocide.

But Turkey asserts that there was no systematic campaign to
kill Armenians and that many Turks also died during the chaotic
disintegration of the empire. It also argues that the death toll
is inflated.

Switzerland has a penal code article that punishes acts of racism,
including public denial of genocides, established against a backdrop
of right-wing attacks targeting asylum seekers in the country two
decades ago.

Swiss authorities have taken legal action against several people who
have denied the Armenian genocide claims. The most prominent case
is the conviction of Turkish politician Dogu Perincek, who was fined
3,000 Swiss francs in 2007.

In January, the French Senate approved similar legislation, prompting
an angry response from Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan termed the legislation “discriminatory and racist.”

The bill, however, was later annulled by France’s Constitutional
Council, which said it was contradictory to the principles of freedom
of expression enshrined in France’s founding documents.

SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY GENETIC CHANGES THAT MAY INCREASE RISK OF PTSD
By Alice Park

TIME Magazine

April 3 2012

Natural disaster, violent crime and war are traumatic experiences for
anyone to live through, yet some people recover quickly from these
events while others struggle with the flashbacks and hypervigilance
that characterize posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Why?

Scientists say they have pinpointed certain genetic changes that may
make some people more vulnerable to PTSD than others. The finding
could one day make it possible to screen people for increased risk
of developing the disorder.

Working with several generations of 12 families who survived the
devastating Spitak earthquake in Armenia in 1988, Dr. Armen Goenjian
and his colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles,
found that variations in genes that code for the brain chemical
serotonin can affect how profoundly people are affected by trauma.

Serotonin is implicated in a number of mood-related disorders,
including depression and anxiety. The neurotransmitter helps regulate
sleep, mood and feelings of satisfaction and satiety, and doctors
often prescribe medications that increase the amount of serotonin
available in the brain to treat both depression and anxiety.

Because PTSD often occurs together with depression, Goenjian wondered
whether serotonin-regulating genes might also be involved in PTSD. To
find out, he took samples from the inner cheek tissue of 200 adults
who survived the Armenian earthquake and conducted genomic analyses
on three specific genes that regulate serotonin production.

In his previous work on potential genetic contributors to PTSD,
Goenjian reported that about 40% of vulnerability to the mental
disorder was inherited. In the current study, he isolated two possible
variations of genes that code for an enzyme involved in serotonin
production that could contribute to this generational propensity
to PTSD. Together, the gene changes may account for 7% to 8% of the
variance in severity of PTSD symptoms.

Goenjian is under no illusion that he’s found the primary genetic
driver behind PTSD; it’s likely that the disorder is the result of
a combination of multiple genetic variants. But, he says, “we’re
pleased to have it. The next step is to pursue this finding in a
larger population and probably other ethnic and racial groups, and
to pursue other genes also.”

Still, the serotonin-related genes do provide a promising avenue for
developing a way to screen people for increased risk of developing
PTSD, and possibly to protect them from situations where they might
experience severe emotional and physical trauma. “If someone has
a vulnerability to developing PTSD, then we might be careful in
assigning them to a task, such as going to a high combat zone where
he might be exposing himself to a situation where he could be at risk
of developing [the disorder],” says Goenjian. The findings could
also help researchers create PTSD treatments that address changes
in serotonin and help people who are more vulnerable to traumatic
experiences recover from them more quickly.

BULGARIAN PM PAYS TRIBUTE TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM

Novinite
April 3 2012
Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov planted a pine tree outside
Yerevan’s Armenian Genocide Museum during his visit to the country
on Tuesday.

“A deep bow to the victims of this horrible tragedy. Such tragic
events should never be forgotten,” Borisov wrote in the book of the
Armenian genocide museum, according to the Focus news agency.

The Bulgarian PM also watered the tree once planted by former Bulgarian
President Georgi Parvanov (2002-2012).

Borisov’s visit to the Southern Caucasus states comes on the invitation
of the Prime Ministers of Georgia and Armenia, Nikoloz Gilauri and
Tigran Sargsyan.

The PM is accompanied by Minister of Transport Ivailo Moskovsky, Labor
Minister Totyu Mladenov and Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Naydenov.

CYPRUS GRATEFUL TO ARMENIA FOR PRINCIPAL POSITION IN THE CYPRUS ISSUE

ARMENPRESS
APRIL 3, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 3, ARMENPRESS: Armenia has never accepted and will
never accept the attempts of disintegrating the brotherly Cyprus. The
Cyprus issue must find its fair and legal solution, Foreign Minister of
Armenia Edward Nalbandian said at a joint press conference with Foreign
Minister of Cyprus Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Armenpress reports.

“Armenia is truly concerned about the Cyprus issue. In that regard
we stand up for Cyprus,” stressed Edward Nalbandian.

For her part, Foreign Minister of Cyprus expressed gratitude to Armenia
for principal position in the Cyprus issue. “We see a true partner and
friend in Armenia that supports the real principles, the UN Charter,”
Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis emphasized.