Author: Babajanian Karo

ANC-IL HOSTS FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR CONG. DOLD

Armenian Weekly
March 27, 2012

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.-Friends and supporters of the Armenian National
Committee (ANC) of Illinois gathered on Sun., March 11 at a fundraiser
for Congressman Robert Dold (10thDistrict, R), an Armenian community
champion in Congress. The event was hosted by Oscar Tatosian and
took place at Oscar Isberian Rugs, in Highland Park. An opportunity
to show support and give thanks to the Congressman, the evening was
widely attended by members of the Chicagoland Armenian community.

Congressman Dold with the ANC-IL Committee and ANCA National Chair
Ken Hachikian (Nairee Hagopian, Stephanie Killian, Ari Killian,
Congressman Robert Dold, Aline DerAlexanian-Barsoumian, Ken Hachikian,
Greg Bedian).

Dold is a primary co-sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution and
an initial co-sponsor of the Return of the Churches Resolution.

“Congressman Dold has been a strong advocate of issues important
to Armenian Americans since his election to office in 2010,” said
Aline DerAlexanian-Barsoumian, chairperson of the ANC-IL. “In only
the first year of his freshman term, Congressman Dold proved to be
a compassionate crusader for human rights and an advocate for justice.”

The program continued with Ken Hachikian, ANCA national chairperson,
who gave an update on the organization’s endeavors and emphasized
the importance of financially supporting elected officials who, like
Dold, have shown such great support for Armenian issues. Hachikian
then introduced the Congressman, who addressed the crowd on topics
ranging from Iran, Syria, and the Armenian Genocide Resolution. He
even reported on Sen. Mark Kirk’s (R-Ill.) progress since his stroke
this past January.

Attendees also had the honor to meet the Congressman’s wife, Danielle
Dold, and his parents, Robert and Judy Dold. Congressman Dold’s concern
for his constituents and issues of importance was evident with the
time he spent talking to attendees and addressing their questions.

NATO – POLITICAL STRAIGHTJACKET
Siranuysh Papyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 16:51:13 – 27/03/2012

Interview with Ashot Manucharyan, ex-member of Karabakh Committee,
on NATO-Armenia relations

Mr. Manucharyan, what are your thoughts on NATO-Armenia relations? Do
you see the alliance as a guarantor of security?

NATO is one of the objective realities of this world and we must
take it for granted, as we take for granted the sun, earthquakes
or tsunami. However, NATO has several peculiarities. NATO is an
instrument of the world of greed and wealth which has exhausted
itself. This world is already passing away, though its politics had a
colossal role in the history of mankind, insuring the development of
science, technology, exploiting the craving of man to have, possess,
forced to walk forward. Now, however, man has gone so high that it
is becoming an obstacle. NATO is an instrument of this system, and
nobody can explain the goals of the alliance in Iraq or Afghanistan,
for instance. NATO’s declared goals – democracy, civil society –
turn into a nuclear bomb at some moment. A few days ago 9 children
were killed in Afghanistan, and Armenia is an accomplice to this
because it takes part in NATO action.

Does it mean that we should not intend to join NATO at all?

I think NATO is a dangerous instrument for the future world. The
alliance must replace this philosophy fully but it does not mean that
we should not get in touch with it. Especially that NATO cannot change
its philosophy unless others keep contact with it. However, Armenia
had better publicly refuse participation in the action in Afghanistan.

Most people think that in the world of deals it is necessary to enter
into deals, prove one’s importance to the United States to make sure
it will give some money to buy a pair of jeans but why kill children
in Afghanistan? Three Jewish children were killed in Toulouse, and the
minister attended their funerals, but even the ambassador of France
did not attend the funeral of 9 children killed with the complicity
of France.

This is NATO’s philosophy, and the reason is that the issue of the
right of the great power to robbery is being addressed. Are we willing
to participate in this? NATO is the main support of the United States
and its main ally, the United Kingdom.

The ministry of defense attaches importance to the relations with
NATO in the process of reform in the armed forces. Is it possible to
consider this cooperation as successful?

NATO army is an army of mechanical people, robots. In certain cases,
it increases effectiveness but in some cases human qualities acquire
special importance. Especially when it is necessary to drop shells on
children, destroy people’s homes to make sure your country has access
to additional profit. I do not think that we need to learn from NATO.

I think at one time the Armenian army had a clear philosophy and
traditions. Look, there is no Turkish coffee in Vienna, there is
Armenian coffee because the Armenians had an important role in the
defense of Vienna. This can be observed in a number of world capitals
because the Armenians had an effective military system.

NATO is a military and political organization but in today’s world the
political cluster must occupy more space – 90% – while the military
cluster must be used in extreme cases. This is not in place in the
case of NATO because it resolves the problems of the predator-human
while it requires a lot of destruction to produce more later. Whenever
this philosophy is reviewed, it will be obvious that the problems in
the world must be resolved by political methods.

By what methods are they now resolved?

You join a big “team”, and it announces to support your security. In
fact, it addresses its own problems because security is ensured by
way of political components otherwise you will receive the brunt,
being a member of one system of another. NATO is a straightjacket
for these countries.

Hence, there is no difference between the CSTO and NATO?

This model of civilization has been artificially introduced in the
countries of the CSTO. But since it is not something familiar, it
acquires more vulgar forms. There is a similar system in the CSTO,
Russia and its expansion goal is also there. They simply want to
persuade us that if we leave one system and join another system, we
will have more security and democracy. In fact, democracy has nothing
to do with the power of people. This is an artificial cover for the
intentions of manipulation of countries. Democracy comes together
with its philosophy at the heart of which is the predator-human,
the consumer. A person craving for satisfaction always wishes to
improve enjoyment. This person depends on his own stomach. In a model
democracy the governments are formed by such people. The government
depends on this person, this person depends on his stomach, and the
planning center Washington decides how full this stomach should be.

In fact, everyone accepts the rules of the game?

Certainly, but let us admit that you and me are not there. I mean
those who appoint the president, ministers, oligarchs, who must lead
us along the assigned way. But since the Armenians are wily people,
we give Caesar’s to Caesar, and think what to do. We are not there
but we may appear there. Cooperation with NATO on the political and
civil platforms could be quite interesting. For instance, the alliance
has major problems with Iran, it has made a noise all over the world
but for whatever reason Pakistan’s nuclear bomb is not a problem
for the world. Who said that thousands of Pakistani daredevils are
not a challenge to the world whereas the nuclear bomb created by
Ayatollah Khomeini threatens the world? There must be no problems
with Iran in future but for this purpose we need to cooperate with
NATO in the political and civil sphere, human relations, which are
not sufficiently present in the machine of NATO.

NATO implements environmental, civil projects with Armenia.

There are main and additional projects, and I suggest interchanging
them. It will be so in the future world. For instance, it is necessary
to form a real platform for a deeper dialogue with Iran. It is possible
that the first dialogue will be between Christian Armenia and Islamic
Iran, a dialogue on what these civilizations want. There is no such
dialogue now, there are formats of inter-civilization dialogue worked
out by the Western civilization in which Iran participates but this
is not a deep dialogue on the future of the world, on how to achieve
it and resolve the current problems of the world in this context.

Didn’t NATO change its philosophy after the cold war?

We witness a war after another, constant militaristic threats.

Unfortunately, what NATO does now to defend the mercantile world is
expressed in more cruel requirements and actions.

Russia ensures the security of Armenia in both regional and global
terms. The global standpoint is that Pakistan which has not recognized
Armenia is a threat to it but if it tries to undertake something,
it will be prevented. Or Turkey which launches military action in
Armenia and is declared a friendly country by NATO has not recognized
the genocide yet. Moreover, it announced during the war in Karabakh
that it may intervene to support Azerbaijan instead of learning a
history lesson and admit that the Armenian people have the reason to
be offended. It was only stopped by Russia’s statement that it may
trigger World War III.

POLITICIAN: THE RULING COALITION IS BREAKING UP AS RPA AND PROSPEROUS ARMENIA ARE STRUGGLING FOR VOTES IN SINGLE-MANDATE DISTRICTS

arminfo
Tuesday, March 27, 16:53

The ruling coalition is breaking up as the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) and the Prosperous Armenia party are struggling for votes in
single-mandate districts, member of the Free Democrats party Anush
Sedrakyan told journalists on Wednesday.

“Unlike the Government, the opposition is consolidated and will run for
the parliament as one force. This time we have more chances to gain
a parliamentary majority. Together the Heritage and Free Democrats
parties may secure as many as 20% of the votes,”

RPA member Vardan Ayvazyan said that the RPA is looking to 50% of the
votes. “The opposition hopes for 25%, while we already have over 30%
and will struggle for more,” Ayvazyan said.

Regarding the reported contradictions between the RPA and Prosperous
Armenia, he advised the opposition to mind its own contradictions,
one of them being the nomination of the leader of the Heritage party
Raffi Hovhannisyan and member of the Armenian National Congress Nikol
Pashinyan in one and the same single-mandate district.

MILITARY PARADE TO BE HELD IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CAPITAL ON MAY 9

Tert.am
27.03.12

A military parade marking the 20th anniversary of liberation of Shuhsi
and formation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army is to take place in
Stepanakert, capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), on May 9.

“We are going to hold a grand military parade, with the participation
of the Defense Army and different military equipment,” Senor Hasratyan,
Head of the Information Department, NKR Defense Army, told Tert.am.

The Public Relations Department, Ministry of Defense of Armenia,
told Tert.am that no military parade is planned in Yerevan on May 9.

However, different festive events are expected to take place.

On May 9, 1992, Armenian troops liberated the town of Shushi in
Nagorno-Karabakh.

YEREVAN DRAMA THEATER TO STAGE PLAY ON GENOCIDE 100TH ANNIVERSARY

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 27, 2012 – 14:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Yerevan Hrachya Ghaplanyan Drama Theater is going
to stage a performance dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Armenian
Genocide.

The performance will be based on Perch Zeytuntsyan’s play, and
will present the story of 4 fighters of Armenian Secret Army for
the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), Armenia’s People’s Artist Arthur
Utmazyan and head of theater group Hovhannes Tekgyozyan told a press
conference.

Armen Khandikyan, artistic head of the theater will stage the play,
the title of which is still undecided.

It is worth reminding that ASALA announced about suspension of
its activities back in 1991, following declaration of independence
of Armenia.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN ON PROBLEMS IN HEALTHCARE FIELD

news.am
March 27, 2012 | 15:05

YEREVAN.- Armenia’s human rights defender Karen Andreasyan issued a
report on the activities of Ministry of Health in 2011. The following
shortcomings and positive developments are identified.

Shortcomings and problems identified

As a result of changes in the appropriate Government decision, the
threat of importing counterfeit medicines and pharmaceutical drugs
has increased, however the Ministry hasn’t foreseen any additional
mechanisms to reduce the threat, to increase control in this direction
in the pharmaceutical market. Moreover, the Ministry does not want to
prevent the counterfeit drug distribution, it even does not conduct
statistics of detection and punishment of such crimes.

Medical institutions have authorities to release from co-payment or
apply a lower threshold co-payment based on the patient’s degree
of solvency, which is decided by those institutions based on the
patient’s or his/her relative’s application. Certain criteria for such
decisions are not clearly prescribed by the legislation, as a result
of which in some cases differentiated and subjective approaches were
demonstrated by the medical institutions. Allowance and existence of
such approaches cause corruption risks.

The concept “medical error” is not defined by the legislation. That is
why negligence is not distinguished from the medical error, which in
its tern makes difficult to evaluate the case. Currently the medical
error is defined by various commissions without clear criteria, as a
result of which doctors are unfairly exposed to liability or unfairly
avoid it.

Though, the free in-patient care certificate program and a child’s
health profile for 7 years old children has been installed since
1st January, 2011, in certain cases parents, having a certificate
defined for free medical care of a 7 years old child, had to make
extra payments to certain doctors.

The Ministry didin’t provide the Ombudsman with information on how
many night-time monitoring it had conducted in medical institutions
and how many cases of human rights violations were revealed as a
result. Lack of the statistics or its non-provision significantly
reduces the public confidence towards efficiency of appropriate
supervisory functions of the Ministry.

Examination of complaints addressed to the Defender in the respect of
non-provision or improper provision of medical aid in the framework
of the Government order shows that people, being included in lists
of /special/ groups receiving free medical aid and service ensured
by state, were registered in an appropriate institution for receiving
such aid or had a certificate given by the Ministry of Health; however,
medical institutions refused to carry out their treatment or did not
provide them with a proper medical aid. In certain cases, as a result
of a change of a medical center, a citizen was deprived of the right
to surgery in the framework of the Government order. In some cases,
a disrespectful attitude was demonstrated towards patients receiving
treatment in the framework of the Government order.

Positive developments

Since 1st January the free in-patient care certificate program and
a child’s health profile for 7 years old children has been installed.

Since May 2011, the medical examination and treatment, if necessary,
of young people of 14 pre-conscription-age -is free of charge.

The quality of emergency medical service has been improved. 38 rural
and urban medical institutions received 88 modern ambulance cars, GPS
unified new system of call acceptance has been launched with operation
of a unified dispatcher center. As a result, speed of responding to
calls increased by 2 times. Salaries of medical staff raised for 1.5
up to 2 times.

Shadow business in health system was reduced by installment of the
co-payment program, 439.6 million AMD – formerly in shadow circulation
– was put in the state budget. Taxes from medical institutions-
paid to the state budget – increased by 39% or 735 million AMD,
salaries of medical staff, involved in the program of “co-payment”,
were raised for 1.2 up to 2.3 times.

Armavir, Ijevan, Hrazdan, Ararat and Goris medical centers were
staffed with modern technics and equipments, 20 new aid stations were
constructed and 30 community aid stations – repaired.

Provision of various certificates (not stipulated by law) by clinics
to citizens was terminated.

In 2011 the RA Ministry of Health received 78 written complaint
regarding activities/inactivities/ of healthcare centers’ officers;
147 complaints were received by the “Hot Line”. For elimination of the
revealed violations appropriate measures were taken. The Ministry’s
response to the complaints and taken measures are assessed positive.

Website of the Ministry of Health and easiness of access to its
information are positively assessed.

TURKISH NATIONALIST OPPOSES CALLING HRANT DINK A MARTYR

news.am
March 27, 2012 | 14:38

Leader of Turkish nationalist party criticized Minister of Family
and Social Policies Fatma Sahin for her proposal to declare Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink a martyr.

Head of Nationalist Movement party Devlet Bahceli slammed authorities
for their plans to declare civilian a martyr, T24 website reports.

Earlier the Minister said in case Dink’s family applies to the
province’s authorities, Dink may be declared a martyr by the decision
of the commission.

Hrant Dink, chief editor of the bilingual Armenian-Turkish Agos
newspaper, was killed near his office in Istanbul on January 19,
2007 by Turkish ultranationalist Ogun Samast.

THE KURDS WON’T SACRIFICE THEMSELVES TO THE WEST

27.03.2012

The declaration of the Kurdish state, which had been scheduled by the
leader of the Kurdish Autonomous Region Masoud Barzani for the 21st
March 2012, did not take place. Ishkhan Miroev, editor-in-chief of
“The Free Kurdistan” shared his thoughts in an interview with Pravda.Ru
about the failure.

In the course of history, the Kurds have fallen victim to domestic
and foreign enemies. As everyone already knows, the Serves World Peace
Treaty, signed in 1920 in France between Antanta and defeated Turkey,
granted Kurdistan permission to be independent. And, as we know, the
Kurds were deceived. All this led to their lands being immediately
divided up between a few countries, and that subsequently led to
tragedy. That was how Saddam Hussein managed to destroy 5000 Kurds
with chemical weapons. Or there’s the example of Syria, where, with
complete permissiveness, the government carried out a bloody conflict
in 2004, costing the Kurdish people dozens of lives.

That is why they do not trust anybody and play a careful game, for
they are afraid of once again becoming a gaming chip for other, more
powerful, countries. The Kurds have understood Reagan’s words well,
when he said that Kurdistan is a matchbox, that might at any moment
act in its own aims and interests.

Nevertheless, in view of what you have already said, the Kurds would
not utterly reject the idea of creating their own state?

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The question is would the other players let such a state be created?

Firstly, danger is emanating from Turkey, which is prepared to send
troops in to strangle the new state as it germinates. The Turks
know all too well that the situation in the Middle East is changing
very quickly and after Assad’s fall from power, the final hour will
come for the Iranians and Turks of Kurdistan. These dangers are not
coincidental; they all follow one another like links in a chain. And
of course it is possible that the “loudest” event might happen amongst
the Turks in Kurdistan itself, where almost half of all Kurds live,
around 20million people altogether. In spite of the fact that the
Turkish authorities are consciously trying to reduce the number of
Kurdish people, as by the way many other countries are also doing,
in reality the Kurds number more than 40 million people.

And what about Iran?

Even though certain steps have been taken by the government of Iran
in terms of the Kurds, at the heart of all this is the fact that
they do not solve problems, in as much as the question of cultural
autonomy has still not been decided, and they are fighting for their
constitutional rights. I have noticed that there aren’t any serious
problems between the Kurds and the Iranians themselves. They have a
lot in common; these are primordial but not alien inhabitants of a
region with a single Indo-European language at its core.

Nevertheless, the Iranian authorities are, to put it mildly, far
from sorting out the Kurds’ problems . Generally, when we talk about
the Kurdish situation it’s impossible to ignore the fact that in
Russia they have many more rights than in their homeland. It is no
coincidence that the brigade PJAK is active in the Iranian part of
Kurdistan, which is a military wing of the Russian Party Committee.

They are not insurgents or criminals, as they are depicted to be
in Tehran, rather they are simply people struggling for their human
rights.

In what way does this situation pose a threat to Armenia?

Armenia is no exception to the rule, since those countries which Kurds
live in also oppress them. Here we can observe a simply enormous
anti-Kurdish campaign. In many respects it has created a desire to
return to “Western Armenia” and does not exclude the fact that in case
of leaving this Kurdish border zone between the Armenian and Turkish
territory of Yerevan it will want to “get it back again” as it used
to be when in 1920 the Armenians attempted to create “Great Armenia”.

But nobody will give anyone anything that simply. A large part of these
lands which the Armenian revenge-seekers dream of are sitting on the
Turkish border-zone and is territory inhabited by Kurds. Of course, it
is impossible to ignore the question of the Kurds’ historical claim,
representatives of whom took part in the events of 1915-18 fighting
on the Turkish side, a fact which in Yerevan has not been forgotten.

It is appropriate at this point to mention an Armenian saying, which
states that “you can have a conversation with the Devil, but just not
with a Kurd.” This view has led to the almost total expulsion of the
Kurdish population from Armenia, with the exception of a few Ezidi,
a people from the North of Iraq.

The question then arises as to the precise borders of the future
Kurdish state. Will it accept and recognise the Iranian authorities?

After all, from the moment of the declaration of the autonomous region
of Iranian Southern Kurdistan, a number of disputed points had not
been resolved, but the most important ones had…

Barzani declared Kirkuk to be “the heart of the Kurdish state” which
they resolutely disagreed with in Baghdad. The thing is that Saddam
Hussein evicted Kurds from that strategically oil-rich region,
replacing them with Turks which signified the arising of future
conflict.

Sergei Balmasov

Pravda.Ru

Translated by Emily Ferris

ARMAVIA TO LAUNCH DIRECT FLIGHTS TO MILAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 27, 2012 – 13:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armavia Air Company launches new direct flights
to Milan.

The flights will be operated from April 5-October 25, 2012 on
Thursdays, the company’s press service reported.

Armenia’s national carrier weekly operates over 100 flights to over
40 directions of 20 counties of the world. Its fleet comprises Airbus,
CRJ, Boeing as well as Sukhoi Superjet Russian aircrafts.

FALSE BOMB ALERT IN ARMENIA’S CAPITAL

news.am
March 28, 2012 | 15:26

YEREVAN. – The alert that a bomb was planted in one of the residential
buildings in Yerevan turned out to be false, police press service
informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Earlier the Armenian Emergency Situations Ministry received a call at
2 pm on Wednesday saying a bomb is planted in one of the residential
buildings in Yerevan.