Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIA TO TACKLE POLICE TORTURE

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #771
March 25 2015

Human rights defenders sceptical that laws alone will change practice
of coercing suspects to confess.

Nune Hovsepyan Armenia is planning to change the law to redefine
torture in a way that meets international standards and makes it
easier for police officers to be prosecuted.

IWPR has learned that the criminal code will be amended in line with
the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and will set out a prison term
of four to eight years for offenders.

A statement sent to IWPR by the Armenian justice ministry underlined
that the legislation was still under review by other government
agencies so was far from finalised, but in its present form it would
require the state to pay victims compensation of three million drams
(around 6,000 US dollars).

A wide-ranging study by the Civil Society Institute called Torture in
Armenia 2013-2014 found that the use of torture was commonest in the
police force, as a way of extracting confessions from suspects. Bail
is rarely granted so suspects can be held in pre-trial detention
for months. There are plans to change the use of custody as the
default measure, but it has not happened yet. (See Armenia to Reform
Detention Rules.)

According to the Civil Society Institute’s head, Arman Danielyan,
“If torture is eliminated in Armenia, the police here won’t be able
to solve a single crime. They currently lack the professional skills
and the technical means to do so.”

In a report last year, the office of Armenia’s human rights ombudsman
listed the commonest torture methods as beatings with plastic bottles
filled with water, suffocation using polythene bags, and handcuffs –
all things that cause pain but leave no physical trace.

Armenia’s constitution prohibits torture, and the current criminal code
also bans it, although at the moment, the victim must file a complaint
against the perpetrator before the authorities will investigate. This
is at odds with the UN convention, which requires states to investigate
cases whenever there are reasonable grounds for suspicion.

The proposed amendments would rectify this.

As they are public officials, police and others are generally
prosecuted under separate criminal code provisions relating to abuse
of power. Figures from Armenia’s prosecution service indicate that
even these milder offences rarely get to court. Of the 82 complaints
filed last year, 68 resulted in criminal cases but only one involving
“abuse of office” went to trial.

In a report published earlier this month, the Council of Europe
(CoE) commissioner for human rights, Nils Muižnieks explained that
the criminal code’s definition of torture “does not encompass crimes
committed by public officials, but only those by individuals acting
in a private capacity”.

“As a consequence, no law enforcement agent or member of the security
services has ever been convicted of the crime of torture in Armenia.

If police officials and investigators are at all held accountable for
resorting to ill-treatment, the charges and convictions are for lesser
offences, i.e. abuse of authority or exceeding official powers. On
several occasions, persons thus convicted have been granted amnesty,”
the report said.

Lusine Sahakyan, a lawyer who represents torture victims, told IWPR
that “even when the police prepare documentation on torture cases and
the Special Investigation Service [police oversight body] initiates
a criminal case, we know right from the outset that the case will
later be closed, because the judicial system is not generally ready
to curb mistreatment”.

One high-profile case Sahakyan is handling is about to get even more
publicity as it has just been submitted to the European Court of Human
Rights. This is the case of Argishti Kiviryan, a lawyer and coordinator
of the Armenia Today website. He failed to get domestic courts to
hear his complaint that he was beaten up in a police car during a
demonstration. Instead, he was prosecuted for attacking the police.

Sahakyan says this case is by no means unique. Another problem
she noted was that the relatives of suspects were often detained,
mistreated and subjected to heavy psychological pressure.

As well as Muižnieks’s report based on his October trip to Armenia,
the CoE’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture reported on poor
practice following a May 2014 visit.

Like Sahakyan, Danielyan believes the annual reports put out by the
committee suggest there has been no progress.

The ombudsman’s office has recommended a number of practical reforms
such as installing CCTV in interrogation rooms and ensuring that
testimony extracted by torture cannot be used in court.

A new Criminal Procedures Code is currently before parliament is
supposed to address some of the issues, but Sahakyan believes it is
not the answer, either.

“Judges really need to do their jobs. They must stop ruling out
prosecutions for torture, and they must act in a consistent manner
when they are alerted to torture cases,” Sahakyan said. “If happens,
then believe me, both prosecutors and police will be forced to operate
within the law.”

Nune Hovsepyan is a freelance journalist in Armenia.

ARMENIA USES EUROBOND PROCEEDS TO COVER DEFICIT AND BUY BACK DEBT

Reuters
March 26 2015

YEREVAN, March 26 Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:29pm IST

YEREVAN, March 26 (Reuters) – Armenia has used proceeds of a recent
$500 million Eurobond to buy back part of an older issue and will
use another $85 million to cover its 2015 budget deficit instead of
selling domestic debt, the deputy finance minister said.

Pavel Safaryan told a government meeting on Thursday that Armenia
had received $487.4 million from the March 19 sale of a $500 million
10-year Eurobond.

Some of that money was used to buy back $205 million of its only
previous Eurobond, a $700 million seven-year transaction sold in
September 2013. The new Eurobond paid a yield of 7.5 percent, much
less than the 2020 bond’s 10 percent coupon.

“We will use 40 billion drams ($85 million) from the Eurobond issue
to cover the budget deficit in 2015 instead of an initial decision to
issue local treasury bills,” Safaryan said, adding this would avoid
overloading the domestic debt market.

The 2015 budget sees total government revenues of 1.191 trillion drams,
spending of 1.305 trillion drams and a deficit of 114 billion drams.

The dram has fallen sharply in value over the last year along with
Russia’s rouble, which has been hit by weak oil prices and Western
sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis. Armenia, a former
Soviet state of 3.2 million people, is closely tied to Russia through
trade and remittances.

The local currency was trading at around 473 to the dollar on Thursday,
compared to just 407 drams a year earlier.

Armenia is rated Ba3 with a negative outlook by Moody’s and B+ with
a stable outlook by Fitch.

Downgrading Armenia in January, Moody’s cited declining remittances,
uncertain foreign investment, exchange rate volatility and pressure
on foreign exchange reserves.

($1= 472.5 drams) (Reporting by Hasmik Lazarian; Writing by Margarita
Antidze; Editing by Jason Bush and Catherine Evans)

LOOKING EAST: ARMENIAN LEADER ON LANDMARK VISIT TO CHINA

ANALYSIS | 27.03.15 | 10:41

By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

Many experts describe the current state visit of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan to China as “historical” and a “breakthrough” in the
relations between the two countries.

While there is no definitive information on specific arrangements,
it is already known that China has agreed to support Armenia in the
current difficult period.

Armenia is a member of pro-Russian economic and military alliances
that at this moment appear unable or unwilling to support its economy
and security.

Moreover, membership in these units as well as the existing
Armenian-Russian bilateral agreements also appear to prevent
Yerevan’s from pursuing integration with the West, in particular,
in the security sphere.

China has become an alternative direction for Armenia as the
Russia-West standoff has aggravated. Despite the fact that China in
many cases supports the position of Moscow, Beijing is also engaged
in quite active dialogue with Washington and many call China a
“third pole”.

According to official information, China has agreed to provide a
preferential interstate credit to Armenia, and it is possible that
this allocation will be in Chinese yuans. However, nothing has yet
been reported on the possible volume of the credit, but private
reactions of Armenian officials are evidence that Armenia will get
significant investments.

Yerevan, in fact, has officially declared about its joining the Chinese
Silk Road Project. It is within this project that China will allocate
money for the construction of a North-South highway that will connect
Georgia and Iran through Armenia.

The matter also concerns the intention to invest in the construction
of an Iran-Armenia railway, as well as in the construction of a new
nuclear power plant in Armenia.

This are the largest Armenian projects that Russia had promised it
would take part in, but in fact torpedoed them. Despite the fact
that there had also been offers from France and the United States
to invest in the construction of a new nuclear reactor in Armenia,
Yerevan, under apparent Russian pressure, had to refuse to cooperate
with the West in the nuclear sphere. But it is unlikely that Russia
will obstruct Armenian-Chinese agreements in this field – relations
with Beijing are extremely dear to Moscow at present.

The joint Armenian-Chinese declaration signed by President Sargsyan
and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jiping earlier this week contains a
line that says “… to continue cooperation in the military sphere,”
including military assistance. China has already provided some types
of weapons to Armenia before, and this, military experts say, has
helped restore Armenia’s military balance with Azerbaijan, which is
actively buying weapons from Russia.

It is not clear yet whether there will be new arms supplies from China,
but the legal framework for that, as well as for China’s participation
in many infrastructure projects in Armenia has already been created.

Experts point out another major agreement – on cooperation in the
tourism sector. The consent of the Chinese leadership to include
Armenia in the list of current tours for Chinese travelers is a major
incentive for the development of tourism in Armenia.

INTERNET PRESS-CONFERENCE WITH ANALYST GORDON HAHN (USA)

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

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Gordon HahnÐ~Pnalyst
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On March 26 Internet press-conference for Armenian media with American
analyst, professor in several universities Gordon Hahn was held on
following topics: European and Eurasian integration processes and
security issues for the countries of our region; The current policy
of Russia in promotion of integration processes; Islamic extremism
in the post-Soviet countries and territories of Russia.

These “first-hand” comments Armenian journalists will publish in
their media outlets.

The internet press-conference with Gordon Hahn was organized within the
project “Topical Dialogues on the New Integration Agenda of Armenia”
of the “Region” Research Center supported by U.S. Embassy Public
Affairs Section.

David Stepanyan,

– Recently, the relations between the Europe, the USA and Iran
are gradually expanding the geopolitical functions mandated to this
regional superpower in the Greater Near East. Is it possible to foresee
a more significant role played by Iran in South Caucasus, considering
that such aspirations have multiply been voiced by Iranians, at least,
in expert circles?

Answer – It is true that Iran, including its Revolutionary Guards,
is being allowed to play a leading role in the battle against ISIL
in Iraq and that this could give Teheran a foothold in Mesopotamia
in might seek to expand and retain, increasing its power in the
region. Moreover, the nascent deal on Iran’s nuclear program could
relieve the burden of sanctions and allow Iran to develop both a civil
and military nuclear program while being able to export oil. In this
way, Iran’s economic and political power will be enhanced. This said,
I do not think Iran is focused all that much on Azerbaijan, having
more important fish to fry in the Middle east, Iraq, and Israel.

– The list of Azerbaijani public officials deprived of the right to
enter Western countries was the reaction of the West to the closer
relations between Moscow and Baku, by the way not only within the
multibillion arms sale deals, but also energy projects, including those
Rosneft is involved in. In its turn, the US has expressed readiness to
develop its relations with Armenia not only in the economy, but also
the defense. And this is regardless of the presence of Russian Military
Base 102 in Gyumri. Can we have new tendencies in the geopolitics of
the West and Russia in South Caucasus against this background?

Answer – It is possible that if the new ‘cold war’ continues to
escalate that Russian-Western competition in the Southern Caucasus
will intensify. This is already happening with NATO’s plan to expand
its ‘Atlantic Resolve’ military exercises to Georgia and the nearby
Black Sea region. In addition, the pipeline wars are likely only
to intensify as problems between Ukraine and Russia persist and the
EU seeks to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies. Russia’s
Turkey Stream project also signals that the South Caucasus is likely
to become a more coveted energy transit route. Russia’s successful
courting of Armenia to join the EEU is another sign of the region’s
growing geopolitization. The US is therefore likely to pay greater
attention to Baku as a counter to the Russian-Armenian axis.

– Has the Ukrainian crisis strengthened or weakened the positions
of this or that superpower in South Caucasus? In particular, do you
think the Ukrainian crisis has somehow readjusted the positions held
by the USA, Russia, and the EU in the region?

Answer – Much will depend on the outcome of the crisis. The destruction
and economic dislocation created by a crisis could serve as a lesson to
Azerbaijan and Armenia not to rely on the West because of the negative
reaction sure to come from Moscow. Moscow’s greater interests in
the region and greater willingness to protect those interests is
insurmountable as long as Europe refuses to expand to the region
and the US remains too distant from the region and preoccupied with
other issues to devote the resources necessary to challenge Russian
dominance there.

– The establishment of an actual customs point on the border between
Russia and Belarus has once again revealed the setbacks of the EEU
and the gap between the real politics and the integration projects
implemented by Moscow. Can we state today that the Eurasian integration
is still as topical as before and does this serve as a foundation
for the Russian aspiration for a bipolar world?

Answer – The customs posts are the consequence of Lukashenko’s policy
of embracing Moscow but maintaining a wandering eye on the other girls
in the neighborhood to keep his options open. Because of geography,
Belarus, like the other European former Soviet republics, is in some
ways more torn between Europe and Russian than are the other former
Soviet republics, and it tries to play both sides of the fence as
a result. I would not regard the EEU as an Eurasian integration
project to be a failure, unrealistic, or neo-imperial. Russia seeks
to consolidate a sphere of influence, security and markets near
its borders. This is normal for a great power, and it is likely to
succeed to some extent over time, as long as it is patient, develops
its own economy so it is an attractive partner, and limits the military
component of its foreign policy in the region.

Anahit Danielyan,

Against the background of European and Eurasian integration processes
and the security issues deriving from those, how probable do you
think the following are:

1. The peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict and in what way?

2. The international recognition of Nagorno Karabakh?

Answer – Unless Yerevan and Baku can come to terms on their own,
then with Russia’s close ties to Armenia long-standing and now
further consolidated under the EEU, there are only two options:
(1) continued conflict driven by the parties themselves and/or
by competition between Russia and the West with the latter taking
Azerbaijan’s side to counter the Russian-Armenian alliance or (2)
a resolution of the conflict sponsored and guaranteed by Russia.

Artak Barseghyan, Public Radio of Armenia,

– Mr. Hahn, do you think that the escalation of tension between Russia
and the West may lead to a confrontation and a new global war?

Answer – This is increasingly possible but remains more unlikely than
likely at the present moment. The military escalation in the form of
intensifying and expanding maneuvers between NATO and Russia marks
a new phase in the conflict. The West remains unwilling to recognize
Russia’s sphere of influence, so Moscow has decided to enforce it –
to make it a reality. If the West and NATO are as intent on denying
Russia this sphere of influence as Moscow is intent on securing it,
then war is a distinct possibility. If the Ukrainian war heats up
again, then Washington is likely to begin sending lethal military
equipment, which will prompt a harsh reaction from Moscow – likely to
be Russian troops’ full intervention in the Donbass and an offensive
to push Ukrainian forces beyond the borders of Luhansk and Donetsk
Oblasts and perhaps a drive to secure a land bridge to Crimea.

– What prospects for the Karabkh conflict resolution do you see in
the conditions of a continuous escalation, provoked by the Azerbaijani
party?

Answer –

– How interested is the US in the normalization of the Armenian
and Turkish relations, and is Washington ready to put the necessary
pressure on Ankara to make it recognize the Armenian Genocide and open
of the Armenian and Turkish border that has been closed since 1993.

Answer – The US has a full plate and is not very interested.

Washington’s policy of emphasizing human rights and democracy to
one extent or another is an obstacle to close relations with Baku,
but that could change under a Republican administration after Obama.

The ,,Hetq,, newspaper,

– How do you think the EU (Association membership) and EEU integration
of the countries in the so-called post-Soviet space will be reflected
on their security priorities and the security of Russia?

Answer – Unfortunately, the failure of the EU and Russia to negotiate
over Ukraine’s relationship with the EU and EEU – despite the divided
preferences inside Ukraine that remain to this day according to a
recent opinion survey – has led to a security crisis reflected in
Moscow’s withdrawal from the CFE treaty and recent trial balloons
regarding a European army. Washington will be pressuring NATO
member countries to comply with the 2% of GDP minimum for defense
expenditures, likely making a European army an overly expensive
luxury. The EU is forced to follow NATO which will be stepping up
its pressure on Russia, leaving Europe between two flames. Moscow
is likely to push gradually for the further militarization of SCO, a
more robust CSTO military potential, and semi-militarization of BRICS.

– In which regions (South Caucasus, Near East?) and in what issues of
international politics do the interests of the EU, USA, and Russia
coincide today, and how much are the parties able to build their
relations in a differentiate manner? Is the ISIL among the issues
that may unite the efforts of the conflicting parties – Russia and
the Western countries, including the USA?

Answer – I have repeatedly recommended that cooperation become the
cornerstone for trust-building in Russian-West relations in times of
tension. After all, despite the horrors of Stalin, we were able to
cooperate with the USSR against Nazi Germany. ISIL and AQ are no less
a potential problem, and Putin’s Russia is far better than Stalin’s
USSR. Unfortunately, the ubiquity and instantaneity of communications
keeps tensions higher than they should be. So has Ukraine. ISIL and
AQ are threats to the US, EU and Russia, so there is no reason not
to work together, and this threat is actually a good reason not be
fighting over Ukraine.

– Do you think the sanctions war between Russia and the USA
strategically justified? What can be a factor contributing to winding
down this war?

Answer – The West needs to impress upon Kiev that no economic
assistance will be forthcoming should the war be renewed and impress
upon Moscow that should it or its Donbass allies be the party that
renews the war, sanctions will increase multifold and NATO will beef
up its forces even further in eastern Europe. The West should offer
to agree to and help secure Ukraine’s non-bloc status, if Moscow
helps secure fulfillment of the Minsk II agreements.

Tatevik Ghazaryan,

– Mr. Hahn, from your point of view, do the United States of America
consider Russia a threat to its national interests and security taking
into account the crisis in Ukraine and the deteriorating relations
between the two former polars of the “cold war”?

Answer – Unfortunately, yes the US does now see Russia as a
threat. However, it fails to understand that it created this threat
by seeking to expand NATO to Russia’s borders, including Georgia and
especially Ukraine.

– How would you assess the perspectives of a new integration
organization – Eurasian Economic Union of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan
as well as Armenia, since January 2015?

Answer – I believe there is real geographic (proximity), political
(similar systems and political cultures), and economic logic for the
formation of a regional economic association in the former USSR. This
is the practice in every other region of the world.

Each country has reasons to join, but Russia’;s is ot any desire to
recreate the USSR or be a new ‘Third Rome.’

– Do you think that the international society, that is the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairing countries and the United States in particular,
make their best efforts and really have a political will to reach the
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (taking into
consideration the recent announcement by U.S Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland on the
need of an “humanitarian gesture” by the Armenian side concerning
the Azerbaijani diversants who killed a 16-year-old boy in
Nagorno-Karabakh)?

Answer –

Araks Martirosyan, The ,,168 hours,, newspaper,

– We are currently at the most dangerous point since the signature
of the ceasefire that ended the worst fighting between Armenian
and Azerbaijani forces twenty years ago. We can understand that
disagreements between Azerbaijan and Armenia continue, because sides
cannot reduce tensions. How can the West reduce Russia’s influence
on Armenia and Azerbaijan which, for many international experts, is
worrying? Many experts insist that Russia inflames tensions between
the conflicting sides to punish the West for the conflict in Ukraine,
and for the sanctions.

Answer – I do not believe Russia has an interest in inflaming the
conflict. The conflict is largely local and built on interethnic
distrust between Baku and Yerevan and the legacy of Soviet
state-building.

– Armenia has chosen to be a part of Eurasian economic union because
Armenia is dependent from Russia in security sphere. Can the West
give security guarantees to Armenia if needed?

Answer – This is unlikely. The US has enough problems on its plate,
and Yerevan appears to have made its choice in favor of Moscow as
a protector.

ng-Interviews

VILLAGERS ADDRESS A LETTER TO ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER OVER A TAILING DUMP OF AKHTALA MINING PLANT

by Karina Manukyan

Friday, March 27, 16:11

195 residents of Mets Ayrum rural community have addressed a letter
to Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan over the situation around
the tailing dump of the Akhtala Mining Plant. The letter has also
been sent to all parliamentary groups of Armenia, the OSCE Office
in Yerevan, Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection and the Standing
Parliamentary Commission for Agriculture and Environment.

The letter expresses concerns about the Government’s decision to
change the category of farming lands into industrial lands in the
light of construction of a new tailing dump of the Akhtala Mining
Plant on an area of 40 hectares. The letter stresses that despite
the discontent of the Mets Ayrum residents, on March 26, 2015, the
administration of Mets Ayrum made a positive decision on that issue.

Meanwhile, the exploitation conditions of the tailing dumps in Akhtala
and Mets Ayrum fail to meet the main environmental and safety standards
and endanger the health of the local population.

In addition, the rural residents have repeatedly complained of their
deteriorating health due to the impact of the Nahatak tailing dump.

The authors of the letter specify that the community people receive no
compensation for the damage inflicted to their health and environment.

In this light, the residents of Mets Ayrum come out against
construction of the new tailing dump and urge the Akhtala Mining Plant
to solve the problems related to re-cultivation and safety norms at
the old tailing dumps. In addition, the residents demand declaring
the Feb 26, 2015 decision null and void.

On March 24 and 25, a group of independent experts from Yerevan
monitored the situation in the areas adjacent to the Akhtala Mining
Plant. At a press conference on March 27, expert Seyran Minasyan said
that the group revealed tails in Alaverdi, Akhtala and Mets Ayrum. The
current management of the Akhtala Mining Plant takes no measures to
clean the specified areas from the tails.

The operating Nahatak tailing dump of the Mining Plant is also
criticized. The surveys conducted since 2013 have revealed that the
lead content in the 60-70% of peaches in Mets Ayrum is 2-4-fold higher
than the maximum admissible limit.

To note, in summer 2014 the former director general of the Zangezur
Copper Molybdenum Combine Maxim Hakobyan became the new owner of the
Akhtala Mining Plant. The plant had previously belonged to the Metal
Prince Ltd.

FULL SPEECH NAJAT VALLAUD-BELKACEM AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE CONFERENCE

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

Sorbonne March 25, 2015

[arton109586-480×320.jpg]

Ladies and gentlemen,

Mr. Rector of Paris, Chancellor of the Universities,

Distinguished Ambassadors

Distinguished professors,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Hundred years. There was about a hundred years one of the most
appalling episodes in the history of Europe and the world. The
political project of the Committee “Union and Progress” to the total
extermination of the Armenian people, would be implemented triggering
a mass crime, unprecedented in its scope and in nature.

Genocide, the first modern genocide – except for the genocide of
the Herero people in 1904, sometimes called “colonial genocide” –
was about to be committed.

JPEG – 4.7 MB

Today, one hundred years after the genocide, what better symbol that
the meeting of researchers, historians of the world put together in the
service of understanding, knowledge and recognition of what happened ?

What better answer to the barbarism that these intelligences gathered
here to relentlessly go further in the pursuit of scientific truth
and advance universal knowledge?

What better symbol finally, the desire to transmit to future
generations the memory, this prestigious and solemn place, the Grand
Amphitheatre of the oldest universities? That one even which welcomed
on 9 April 1916, the meeting in “Homage to Armenia” in the presence
of Paul Deschanel, President of the Chamber of Deputies, the writer
Anatole France and the Minister of Instruction public at the time,
Paul Painleve?

Paul Painleve then stood with others to denounce loudly the crime being
committed. I quote: “The nightmare has become a present reality. The
massacres that last year Armenia bloodshed beyond their scope and
the most atrocious cruelty legends of all ages and all countries. >>

Today, the echo of those voices still ringing in our ears.

I wish to thank the “International Scientific Council for the study of
the Armenian Genocide” and all its partners, including the mission in
2015 of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France
and the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, to organizing the biggest
event for the 1915 centenary This conference, under the patronage of
the President of the Republic, combines high places for French research
and knowledge transfer: the Sorbonne, but also the Memorial Shoah,
the School of Higher Studies in Social Sciences and the National
Library of France .

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It attests to the investment in research on the genocide of a large
community of scientists worldwide. It will, for the first time,
allow to question the balance of one hundred years of research on the
Armenian genocide, but also to examine, in a comparative dimension,
the specificity of the twentieth century in the history of humanity,
as the era of genocide and mass violence.

The role of history is crucial because the historian has the primary
role of establishing the truth of the facts to shed light on what
has been.

Subject to a commitment to systematic extermination, Armenians were
first victims of persecution. They were referred to as Armenians
because they were Armenians.

Because they represented the soul and the Armenian culture, artists,
intellectuals, men and women, were pursued and arrested.

They paid a heavy price.

On 24 April, the musician Komitas was arrested, as well as 650 other
intellectuals. The life of the greatest genius of Armenian music,
which was rescued from oblivion the most beautiful Armenian folk songs,
was broken at that time by the trials of deportation and torture. He
fell definitively into madness.

The poet Daniel Varoulan, one of the greatest poets of Armenian
literature, was also arrested on April 24 before being brutally
murdered 23 August 1915.

Novelist and poet Zabel Yesayan, was, too, targeted by the raid. She
miraculously escaped from it. She later worked tirelessly to collect
the testimonies of genocide survivors, until overtaken by another
barbarism, that of Stalin’s Gulag, where she disappeared in 1943.

The exterminator will continued relentlessly: the entire Armenian
people was intended.

The men were killed and their women and children were massacred or
deported in appalling conditions. They died on the way, exhaustion,
or locked up in camps. Killing in Syria, Mesopotamia, the cradle of
European civilization, occurred when other atrocities are committed
today.

Research has estimated that, from 1915 to 1917, two-thirds of the
Armenians, at least 1.3 million people lost their lives because of
the deportations, concentration camps and mass executions.

Research has helped to support and analyze these facts, and name the
genocide name. The rigorous study of sources, testimonies of survivors,
documents, has established this truth, that no longer debate in the
scientific community.

There is no more appropriate term in our language as coined by the
jurist Raphael Lemkin in 1943 to name the unnameable, to qualify the
will of systematic destruction of a people for what it is.

JPEG – 1.9 Mb

But if the work of historians is to know, it is also essential because
it sustains recognition.

The French Republic has taken note of the progress of historical
research and has registered in the single article of the law of 29
January 2001 “France publicly recognizes the Armenian genocide of
1915” .

This is essential because it is the recognition due to the 500 000
French of Armenian origin, descendants of survivors; to all of them,
refugees in France, as Missak Manouchian, fought for France and died
for her hero.

This recognition is, universally, due recognition to individuals
persecuted, oppressed minorities and peoples threatened their
existence.

This is also what led France to assert that denial is intolerable
because the law is what protects against all forms of manipulation. And
this is the position of France to the European Court of Human Rights.

The Armenian diaspora living in free countries have beautifully
illustrated how scientific knowledge is an essential weapon for
recognition and against Holocaust denial. Just like Archag Tchobanian,
arrived in Paris in 1895 in defense of his people rushed into the
Hamidian massacres, the Armenian intellectuals have the book and
writing a fight for the truth.

In the area of research, we owe much to Armenian historians, whether
the great French historians Anahide Ter Minassian, Raymond Kervokian
and many others, or American historians such as Vahakn Dadrian and
Richard Hovannisian.

In Turkey, the Armenians are working hand in hand with Turkish
intellectuals and historians, some of whom have paid with their lives
this fight for truth: I think in particular of Hrant Dink, murdered on
19 January 2007. I also want to acknowledge the political scientist
Bursa Ersanli and publisher Ragip Zarakolu, and thank them for being
here today.

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But researchers of Armenian identity n’Å“uvrent not alone. And
Event centenary installs Armenian historians in the heart of the
global history of social sciences genocide; it occasionally, and this
conference is the event of the passage of the Armenian Genocide to
the status of global history object. In France, the opening up of
the object of study, Ternon Yves and Pierre Vidal-Naquet, were the
precursors, continued with the contribution of the First World War
specialists: historians of the Great War ‘now fully include the study
and understanding of the extremes of war violence.

The contribution of turcologie was also crucial, experts of the
Turkish-Ottoman world who knew uncompromising approach the event.

Finally, in France, the comparative study of genocide has informed the
event in light of research on the Holocaust, but also for research,
booming, the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.

Today is strengthened by the sum of these searches we can collectively
remember and honor the victims. Research, the book of creation, are
also a calming pain of the memories. These are all bridges between
the past and the future.

Yes, the work of historians is finally allowing a nation to look
further into the future, and to prevent the killing of reproducing.

JPEG – 153.4 kb

The story, as the science of the past of nations, by teaching us
where we came from, also allows us to inform our future. Because,
thanks to her, we can project ourselves collectively, it helps us
build our citizenship.

Because republican citizenship is based on knowledge, understanding,
denial of fate, the school has a central role to play in this
transmission. It is she who can make real the promise of the Republic
his children to grow them in equality and tolerance. It is she who
can sow the seeds of a shared memory.

I want to pay tribute to all the history and geography teachers from
France who contribute everyday. The genocide of the Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire, which is part of our memory to all, is studied by
all during the compulsory school in 3rd grade.

At school, we transmit the awakening of citizenship, culture debate
of ideas, the struggle against prejudice and against all forms of
persecution. We learn the difference between the controversy, dialogue,
which is the source of knowledge, and manipulation or falsification.

At school, students must learn to understand the world, but also learn
to want to change it, to fully take their place as citizens. This
is the meaning of the reforms we adopt, with the introduction
next September moral and civic education throughout compulsory
education. Also with the reform of the college, which allows students
to be more involved in their learning.

JPEG – 1.3 Mb

But this transmission can not be done only at school, without the
support of research.

It must continue in higher education and research, where studies on
genocide should be able to better find their way, as “genocide studies”
could find their overseas particular.

The magnitude of the issues they cover, they concern numerous
scientific disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and
beyond. As we enter the second century of research on the Armenian
genocide, I would launch a mission study drawing up an inventory of
research on genocide to allow it to grow. Confronting perspectives,
understand what led to the tragic events of the past, this is what
will allow us to prevent the possibility of their repetition in the
future. This is what will allow us to continue the fight against
oblivion.

This is the sense I think the President of the Republic wished to
give this symposium, held under the high patronage.

Meanwhile on April 24, where I will go to Yerevan with President of
the Republic for outstanding international commemoration, I like to see
in the holding of this major international conference at the Sorbonne
sustainable Registration promise this story in the present and in
the future: the very definition of history according to Thucydides,
who called him “a treasure for eternity. >>

Thank you.

JPEG – 5 MB Friday, March 27, 2015, Claire (C) armenews.com

____________________________________________________________________________

Photos of Claire Barbuti

ARMENIA’S MEMBERSHIP IN EEU OPENS UP NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR EXPANSION OF ARMENIAN-CHINESE ECONOMIC RELATIONS

YEREVAN, March 26. / ARKA /. Armenia’s membership in the
Eurasian Economic Union opens up new possibilities for expansion
of Armenian-Chinese economic relations, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan said at a meeting with Chinese prime minister Li Keqiang
today, Sargsyan’s press office said.

The two men were said to have noted with satisfaction the progress
in bilateral trade and economic relations. According to the parties,
despite the significant increase in trade turnover that was worth last
year more than half a billion US dollars, and the growth of Armenian
exports to China, the countries should continue efforts to fully use
the available economic potential, to increase Chinese investment in
Armenia and implement joint programs.

They also discussed a set of issues on how to enhance Armenian-Chinese
cooperation in energy, transport, chemical industry, education,
science, culture, agriculture, aviation, tourism and infrastructure
sectors, the press service said.

It said Sargsyan and Li Keqiang emphasized also the work of the
joint Armenian-Chinese commission on trade and economic cooperation
saying the agenda of the next meeting of the commission to be held
in Yerevan in summer should include long-term Armenian-Chinese
cooperation projects.

Sargsyan once again welcomed the Chinese initiative to restore the
Great Silk Road saying Armenia can also contribute to that effort. In
this context they spoke about the projected Armenia-Iran railway and
the possible participation of Chinese companies in the construction
of a new Armenian nuclear power plant.

Serzh Sargsyan thanked the Chinese government for a 60 million Yuan
($9.7 million) donation that will be used to build a new pavilion
for Armenian Public Television.

Armenia’s foreign trade turnover with China in 2014 was $588, 4
million, an increase of 29.4% from the previous year. -0-

ALL PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF YEREVAN TO HOST ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION EVENTS

19:52, 26 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 26 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Aram Sukiasyan
convoked today a consultation with the principals of all primary
schools under the subordination of Yerevan Municipality. The deputy
mayor presented the events dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide, as well as the generalized approaches and principles for
organizing those events, as the Department of Information and Public
Relations of Yerevan Municipality reports to “Armenpress”.

“As you know, Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan is a member of the State
Commission on Coordination of the events for the commemoration of
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide led by the President
of the Republic of Armenia, and Yerevan Municipality, with its
subordinate structures, will also be actively participating in
holding the events. We also look forward to the active participation
of schools. There are several principles that are of pivotal
significance. The two components of the slogan “I Remember and Demand”
must be equally emphasized. The idea of renaissance and the episodes
of self-defense battles must also be emphasized. Importance must be
attached to the state and statehood, the achievements that have been
made over the past century and the activities that individuals have
carried out in this period,” Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Aram Sukiasyan
emphasized and added that the events to be held by the schools named
after Armenian writers killed in 1915 (Krikor Zohrab, Siamanto,
Daniel Varoujan and Ruben Sevak) are part of the municipality’s list
of events.

At the end of the meeting, Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Aram Sukiasyan
called on the school principals to engage the representatives of their
respective schools in the citywide cleaning day and tree-planting
ceremony to be held on April 11th ahead of the Centennial of the
Armenian Genocide on April 24th.

ASSYRIAN GENOCIDE AND RESEARCH CENTER, SEYFO CENTER, EXPRESSES ITS DEEPEST THANKS TO THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA FOR ITS RECOGNITION OF THE ASSYRIAN GENOCIDE

Midland Daily News
March 24 2015

The Assyrian Genocide and Research Center, SEYFO Center, publicly
thanks the Republic of Armenia for officially recognizing the Assyrian
Genocide of the early 20th century, on March 24th, 2015..

Los Angeles, Califronia (PRWEB) March 24, 2015

In 1915, during the First World War, Turkish and Kurdish forces
launched a campaign of genocide to exterminate the Assyrian people
living in the Turkish Empire. Lasting from 1915 to 1923, this campaign
of genocide is known as the “Seyfo,” or “The Sword” by Assyrians
worldwide.(1,2)

The centerpiece of a larger plan of ethnic and religious cleansing,
the Turkish state and its Kurdish allies conspired and murdered
millions of Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks 100 years ago during the
height of the First World War.

Descendants of those who escaped this genocide now campaign globally
for international recognition of the Seyfo and are demanding an
official apology from the Republic of Turkey for its role in the
murder of millions. (2)

Sabri Atman, director of the SEYFO Center, noted that “Today, March
24th, 2015, history is being rewritten in Yerevan, the capital of
the Republic of Armenia, as that nation officially recognizes this
terrible and shameful period in history. The Republic of Armenia’s
decision to recognize the Assyrian and Greek Genocide, (the Seyfo),
encourages Assyrians everywhere – it strengthens us to continue
our fight to have the Seyfo recognized by the whole international
community. We salute the Republic of Armenia for taking this most
human and principled stand.”

This recognition of the Assyrian Genocide also represents a challenge
for Turkey and its National Socialist forces who still admire their
Adolf-Hitler-like historical figure, Talat Pasha.

“Talat Pasha,” stated Mr. Atman, “Who served in various high
governmental position in the Turkish state during the First World
War, was the central architect in the genocide against the Armenians,
Assyrians and Greeks. He is a war criminal of monstrous proportions
and should be viewed in the same light as Hitler, Himmler or Eichmann.”

To date, 21 countries have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide
that was part of the Seyfo Genocide. The SEYFO Center will continue its
work until all the countries of the international community recognize
Assyrians and Greeks who also fell victim during the same genocide.

Assyrian Genocide Research, Seyfo Center, is an international research
center devoted to the research and documentation of contemporary
issues related to the history, politics, society and culture of
Assyrians around the world. It’s research is conducted to document
past and current events and to analyze their impact on individuals
and institutions in occupied Assyria and the diaspora.

(1) international Association of Genocide
Scholars recognizes the Assyrian Genocide
”

(2) Sweden: Parliament Recognizes the Assyrian Genocide
“”

For the original version on PRWeb visit:

WHO REMEMBERS THE ARMENIANS? 100 YEARS OF IMPUNITY

Amnesty International UK
March 24 2015

Event typePanel discussionDate Wednesday 22 April 2015 LocationAmnesty
International UK, Human Rights Action Centre 17 – 25 New Inn Yard
London EC2A 3EA Time18:30PriceFreeContactAmnesty International UK

-Exclusive free film screening and Q&A session -Reception with canapes
follows event

This event is free to attend but reserve tickets in advance via
eventbrite

Speakers:

Carla Garapedian, Armenian film Foundation and Project Leader, Armenian
Genocides Testimonies Collection Dr James Smith CBE, CEO of the Aegis
Trust and co-founder of the UK National Holocaust Centre Chaired by
Kate Allen, Director Amnesty International UK

It’s estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million people died through the
attempted extermination of Armenians from the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

April 24 marks 100 years since the start of that awful period in
Armenian history.

We’ll remember the victims on the night, through an exclusive film
screening. For the last three years, the Armenian Film Foundation has
been working with Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation and has collected
400 testimonies of Armenian genocide survivors and eyewitnesses,
filmed over the last four decades. This rare collection includes
Armenians, Greeks, Arabs, Assyrians and Yezidis. The Yezidis were
eyewitnesses to the Armenian genocide – and now, sadly, are seeing
history repeat itself.

After the screening, the panel will look at how impunity and failures
to bring to justice the perpetrators of atrocities leads to future
atrocities. We’ll focus on the Armenian genocide, and then look wider
to subsequent crimes against humanity and genocides committed in the
century since – right up to the emergence of ISIS in Syria and Iraq.