Author: Badalian Vardan

RIGHT TO WATER VIOLATED IN ARMENIA

14:45 February 10, 2015

Nelli Babayan, Aravot

The right to water is violated in Armenia in 2015. A group of NGOs has
studies and prepared a report on the violations of human rights in
a number of fields in our life with the support of the Open Society
Foundations Armenia. The report has been submitted to the UN Human
Rights Council. “Right to water” section records that the expansion
of mining activities, irresponsible construction of SHPPs and the
increase in fish farms endanger the quality and accessibility of water
in Armenia. Mining pollutes rivers, particularly, transboundary Debed,
Voghji and Aras rivers. These rivers are polluted by those mining
companies, the activities of which are related with these rivers in the
region: particularly, mining activities are carried out by Zangezour
Copper and Molybdenum Combine owned 60% by “Cronimet mining Gmbh”
Company, Kapan Ore Dressing Combine owned by “Dundee Precious Metals
Kapan”, Agarak Copper and Molybdenum Combine owned by “Geopromining
Gold”, Alaverdi copper smelting facility owned by “Armenian Copper
Program” and Akhtala Ore Dressing Combine – owned by “Metal Prince”.

Then referring to Lake Sevan, the report says that despite the ban of
any processing activities in the basin of Lake Sevan – a requirement
prescribed in RA Law “On Lake Sevan”, the lake is polluted because
of the activities of Sotq gold mine developed by “Geopromining Gold”
Company, which established a crushing complex in the lake basin.

“Under the information possessed by the civil society, two rivers
of Lake Sevan basin already have high concentration of arsenic,
antimony and other extremely toxic metals because of the mine
wastes,” the report says. Amulsar gold mine is another potential
source of danger, and, under the report, it’s an open pit mining,
where ore will be dressed on the spot. The report says that the Nature
Protection Ministry has approved the environmental component of the
mine development despite the negative opinion of the Scientific-Expert
Committee on Lake Sevan Preservation. As Inga Zarafyan noted, nothing
has changed in environmental section, as nothing has changed in regard
with Amulsar mine.

“What will change, if it’s an illegal project? The Scientific-Expert
Committee on Lake Sevan Preservation, which issued a negative
opinion to Amulsar project in 2012, refused to provide us the text
of the positive opinion this year. That is, the Nature Protection
Minister had to issue a positive opinion under the press, as its
concerns are reflected in its four requirements. That is, if there
are any requirements to change something negative in the project, the
Ministry must have rejected the project at once. The Amulsar project
says nothing about these requirements. The law doesn’t contain any
provision, which says requirements can be posed to a company, in case
its project doesn’t comply with the law, a negative opinion must have
been issued at once.

Another serious hazard for water resources is SHPPs. Under the report,
there are currently over 150 SHPPs, out of which 100 are located on
the rivers, and currently 16 rivers are in disastrous and 3 are in
critical situation. In this regard Inga Zarafyan said that the public
sector together with the Nature Protection Ministry will conduct a
monitoring of the SHPPs constructed on the rivers and will create a
database in the form of “green passports” to regulate this problem.

HRAPARAK: PROSPEROUS ARMENIA LEADER VISITS KOCHARYAN IN MOSCOW

09:10 * 11.02.15

The paper says it has learned from sources that the Prosperous Armenia
party’s leader left on Tuesday for Moscow to have meetings with very
important persons, including second President Robert Kocharyan.

Gagik Tsarukyan reportedly stayed at Ararat Hayat, the hotel where
Mr Kocharyan usually stops in whenever he visits Moscow, and where he
was recently reported to have met with Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

The paper says, citing its sources, that the premier himself told the
former president about plans to realize the proposed constitutional
reforms. It claims further that the PAP leader was also scheduled to
meet with State Duma Speaker Sergey Narishkin who is known to be on
quite good terms with Samvel Karapetyan, a prominent Russian-Armenian
businessman (owner of Tashir Group).

Speaking to the paper, a source from PAP said it is their leader’s
common habit to visit “geo-political centers” before big events. The
source reportedly referred to Tsarukyan’s trip to Brussels ahead of the
2013 presidential election, noting that European officials then voiced
their serious complaints about the level of corruption in Armenia.

25 YEARS LATER: THE REFUGEES OF HAKHTANAK VILLAGE IN ARMENIA’S TAVOUSH PROVINCE

Mаry Mamyan

17:58, February 10, 2015

Out of the 160 families residing in the Hakhtanak village of Tavoush
Province, 45 moved here in the late 1980s and early 1990s as refugees
from Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Like native residents, members of these families either work the land
or go abroad in search of seasonal work.

A few families still live in the village pension building, which
belongs to the community, where they all were housed when they first
arrived. They’ve been allocated the rooms free of charge.

Those who’ve remained in the pension never received housing under an
earlier program for refugees and haven’t been able to move elsewhere.

The Ayvazyan family was the first to be resettled in the pension that
still lives there. They arrived in Hakhtanak from the Tzalka region
of Javakhk in 1990.

The head of the household, Grigor Ayvazyan, leaves for Russia every
year for work. His eldest son has accompanied him these past few
years. His other two sons work in the village.

The family has converted their living space into a three room
apartment. Mr. Ayvazyan says he wants to repair the roof of the
building, change the windows and doors, but since the property doesn’t
belong to him he can’t.

“One day, they can tell us to leave. We’re in the air. You don’t know
whether to fix things or just leave them,” says Grigor’s wife Maro.

74 year-old Rima Hakobyan lives a few doors away. Neighbors call her
‘our Karabakh grandma’. She and her husband resettled in Armenia but
since he died, Rima lives alone. Sometimes her daughter and grandson
come to visit. Rima’s only complaint is that her pension barely is
enough to buy essentials and her medicine.

The woman would also like her 10,000 rubles in savings that turned
to dust with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The family of Rayik Miskaryan also lives in the pension. She and her
husband are engaged in agriculture. When we arrived, the husband,
as per the norm, was out working in the fields.

“This year we got three sacks of flour from the one hectare of land
we cultivated,” Rayik complained.

Rayik and her husband share the living space with their son, his wife,
and the two grandchildren. Their son Artour served in the army as
a contract soldier and then left for work overseas. He’s currently
unemployed.

She doesn’t want her son to sign up with the army again since she’s
fearful of a flare-up on the border. Anyway, the mother believes that
she already has a permanent soldier in the person of her daughter
who lives in the Tavoush village of Baghanis.

“We finished with that one (pointing to her son) but my girl is still
there. She also has a young child and is expecting another. There is
firing all the time there. They come here when they get afraid and
then go back,” says Rayik.

Unlike his neighbors, Armen Shahverdyan came to Hakhtanak from
the town of Vanadzor in Armenia. He says that at the time the
Bagratashen-Sadakhlu market was bustling and that they had work.

That’s no longer the case. He lives in the pension with his wife,
his son and daughter-in-law, and the grandchild.

“We get by. We have no side income, just the one cow. We’ve been here
for twenty years,” says Armen’s wife Elmira. “They allocated houses
to the refugees but left us dangling.”

In 2001, some of the Hakhtanak refugees were resettled in the fourteen
houses built with financing from the Norwegian government.

Karo Harutyunyan’s family now lives in one of these houses located
in a neighborhood appropriately called ‘Norway’.

The family resettled in Armenia from the Vardashen region of
Azerbaijan. What matters to Karo and his wife Knarik above all else
is that they and the families of their three sons all live in Armenia.

Most of Karo’s relatives live overseas. He’s been invited to join
them on many occasions and to work alongside them, but Karo and Knarik
have so far refused.

“I told them no. Armenia is under threat. If I go and the others go,
who will stay?” Karo says.

“This is our country. Here, we can walk freely,” adds Knarik.

ARMENIE : LES HUIT CHOSES QUI NE S’ADDITIONNENT PAS SUR LES MEURTRES A GYUMRI

ARMENIE

Deux semaines après le meurtre d’une famille dans la ville armenienne
de Gyumri, il y a plus de questions que de reponses concernant
les actions et les motivations de l’individu accuse d’avoir commis
l’assassinat de masse, le soldat de 18 ans de l’armee russe, Valery
Permyakov.

Certaines reponses peuvent paraître simples, tandis que d’autres,
compte tenu de la sensibilite de l’affaire, ne pourront jamais etre
divulguees par les enqueteurs russes et armeniens.

Selon les accusations officielles contre lui, Permyakov est entre
dans la maison des Avetisian a Gyumri au debut de la matinee du 12
Janvier, soi-disant a la recherche d’un verre d’eau. Il aurait tire
ou poignarde a mort tous les membres de la famille ; soi-disant par
crainte que les Avetisian informeraient la 102e base militaire russe a
Gyumri qu’il avait deserte. Six morts sur place ; la septième victime,
Seryozha Avetisian, 6 mois, est decede le 19 Janvier. Un tribunal
militaire russe en Armenie va juger Permaykov, mais le nom de son
avocat – un citoyen russe qui vit en Armenie – n’a pas ete divulgue,
selon le service de nouvelles de Russie Interfax.

Les deux pays ont mis en place des commissions parlementaires
pour surveiller le travail des enqueteurs, et les responsables des
deux pays ont maintes fois promis que justice sera faite. Mais le
public armenien reste sceptique : les manifestants sont a nouveau
descendus dans les rues le 26 Janvier dans la capitale armenienne,
Erevan, afin d’exiger que le procès de Permyakov ait lieu devant un
tribunal armenien. Compte tenu de la mefiance du public, les questions
persistantes entourant l’enquete criminelle pourraient devenir un
handicap politique pour le gouvernement armenien.

Les questions sans reponse entourant les actions de Permyakov sont :

1. Pourquoi avoir deserte avec seulement un pistolet et des balles ?

Les enqueteurs armeniens disent que Permyakov a quitte la base de
102 ème armee a Gyumri a 4h du matin le 12 Janvier avec un fusil AK-74.

Permyakov aurait affirme qu’il allait “faire une promenade.” Pourtant,
la question est de savoir pourquoi Permyakov avait choisi d’abandonner
son poste sans autres fournitures qu’un pistolet et des balles. Selon
le service meteorologique du gouvernement, ArmHydMed, les temperatures,
le 12 Janvier sont tombees a moins 17-20 degres Celsius – un peu
glaciale meme pour un natif de Siberie comme Permyakov.

2. Comment Permyakov est-il entre dans la maison des victimes ?

Les Avetisian vivaient dans une residence securisee, une maison privee
dans le centre de Gyumri, a trois a quatre kilomètres de la base
militaire. Les voisins ont declare aux journalistes que la famille
laissait habituellement la porte deverrouillee. Une nouvelle porte
plus forte a ete achetee pour la maison, deux jours avant les meurtres.

Le Service d’enquete special de l’Armenie affirme que Permyakov a
casse une fenetre pour entrer dans la maison. L’accuse a dit seulement
qu’il voulait boire de l’eau. Il affirme qu’il ne connaissait pas la
famille, ni les parents des Avetisian . Les enqueteurs, cependant,
n’ont revele aucune hypothèse pour expliquer pourquoi il a choisi
cette maison fermee notamment dans sa recherche presumee d’eau.

2. Si Permyakov voulait de l’eau, pourquoi juste ne pas demander ?

Pour de nombreux habitants, habitues depuis longtemps a partager
nourriture et des cigarettes avec des soldats russes, c’est la
question la plus etrange. Permyakov etait arrive recemment, mais ceux
qui ecrivent sur la page de la base 102e sur le reseau social russe
VKontakte parlent ouvertement de traditions d’hospitalite a Gyumri
envers les soldats dans le besoin.

Permyakov a-t-il rencontre de la resistance ? Dans une interview le
17 Janvier avec Aysor.am, l’avocat armenien, Tamara Yayloian, qui,
au depart, a assiste aux interrogatoires de Permyakov, a affirme que
le soldat avait dit qu’il avait tire sur le premier Avetisian quand
il allait prendre le telephone après s’etre reveille, l’avoir vu et
avoir crie sur lui.

Après avoir entendu des voix dans une pièce adjacente, Permyakov
a allègue qu’il est entre et il a tue deux personnes. Il se serait
ensuite deplace dans la troisième chambre voisine, et aurait fait
deux morts et, lorsque son fusil s’est enraye il a poignarde les deux
enfants avec sa baïonnette. Un couloir relie les trois chambres. Pour
beaucoup, ce qui etait a craindre est que les occupants des autres
chambres auraient ete reveilles au son des coups de feu, et auraient
essaye d’arreter l’intrus, qui avait des difficultes a trouver son
chemin dans la maison dans l’obscurite.

Une video de la scène du crime, cependant, montre que six des sept
membres de la famille sont morts dans leurs lits. Certains se demandent
ouvertement si Permyakov agi seul, mais aucune preuve n’existe pour
soutenir une telle speculation.

5. Pourquoi personne n’a-t-elle entendu les coups de feu ?

Les Avetisian vivaient dans le centre de Gyumri, une ville de 146 355
personnes, sur une route non loin de la station de l’hôtel de ville
et de la gare. Les maisons des voisins etaient a quelques mètres.

Pourtant, etonnamment, bien que les enqueteurs disent qu’ils ont
interroge 30 temoins, aucune information n’existe au sujet d’une
personne qui aurait signale l’audition des coups de feu ou d’autres
faits.

Dans un pays où les gens prennent un vif interet dans les activites
de leurs voisins, ceci suscite aussi des soupcons. Les enqueteurs
armeniens estiment que les meurtres ont eu lieu a environ six heures
– un moment de la journee où les gens pouvaient entendre une mouche
voler dans la residence d’un voisin a affirme le criminologue Sergei
Galoian lors d’une conference de presse le 14 Janvier. Rita Petrosian,
un parent de la famille, a seulement decouvert les meurtres autour de
midi, quand elle est allee a la maison pour un cafe comme d’habitude.

Les rapports officiels ne font aucune mention d’un silencieux.

6. Quelqu’un a-t-il altere la scène de crime ?

Les rapports officiels indiquent que les bottes militaires avec le nom
de Permyakov inscrites sur elles, une carabine AK-74 avec des balles
5,45 mm, une cartouche avec 30 balles, et l’autre avec une seule balle
ont ete retrouves eparpilles sur les lieux. L’uniforme de Permaykov
a ete constate soigneusement plie dans la maison. Selon l’histoire
officielle, Permyakov aurait quitte la maison des Avetisian habille
dans les vetements du fils du proprietaire, Armen. Une explication
des raisons pour lesquelles le suspect aurait ete si negligent a
laisser derrière ces elements de preuve n’est pas claire.

7. Pourquoi personne n’a-t-il vu Permyakov dans la rue ?

Bien que Gyumri n’est pas anime en debut de matinee, un russe marchant
seul a pied a travers la campagne en hiver vers la frontière turque
aurait ete susceptible d’avoir attire l’avis de quelqu’un. Pourtant,
aucun detail n’a ete donne sur l’emplacement exact de l’arrestation
de Permyakov, comment les gardes-frontières russes l’ont reconnu,
ni comment, alors qu’il venait d’arriver dans la zone, il a su où
se trouvait la frontière. En Armenie, où la couverture des scènes de
crime est riche de temoignages, cette absence d’information apparaît
anormale.

8. Pourquoi Permyakov ne beneficie-t-il pas plus tôt d’un contrôle
pour maladie mentale ?

Le 24 Janvier, l’agence russe Interfax a cite une source anonyme
qui a declare que les tests seront executes “dans un proche avenir”
pour evaluer la sante mentale de Permaykov, ainsi que comparer les
echantillons d’ADN. Les tests seront effectues dans la base 102 de
l’armee selon la source. Les raisons pour attendre plus de deux
semaines après l’arrestation du suspect pour effectuer de telles
analyses n’ont pas ete fournies.

Marianna Grigoryan

eurasianet.org

mercredi 11 fevrier 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

COMMUNIQUE DU COMITE DE SOUTIEN A VARDAN PETROSYAN

ARMENIE/FRANCE

Vardan PETROSYAN, artiste franco-armenien qui a survecu a un accident
de voiture mortel en Armenie, a ete condamne a la peine de cinq
ans d’emprisonnement le 29 janvier 2015 après quatorze mois d’une
procedure judiciaire aussi absurde qu’arbitraire.

Il a ete etabli que Vardan PETROSYAN n’etait ni alcoolise ni sous
l’emprise de produits stupefiants au moment de l’accident. Surtout,
aucun element n’a permis de demontrer qu’il avait pu commettre une
faute d’imprudence ou de negligence.

Le 9 novembre 2013, la justice armenienne ordonnait la detention
provisoire de cet artiste emmene en prison sur un brancard et a moitie
inconscient, dans une coupable indifference des autorites francaises.

Aujourd’hui, la justice armenienne condamne ce meme artiste et citoyen
francais innocent a la peine de cinq annees d’emprisonnement pour
un accident de voiture dans lequel il a failli perdre la vie, sans
que les autorites francaises ne s’en emeuvent. Jusqu’où la France
va-t-elle cautionner cette mascarade qui met deliberement en danger
un compatriote qu’elle se doit de proteger ?

Le silence de la France dans cette sombre affaire ne saurait
se justifier plus avant sans se transformer en complicite. Et
plus personne ne comprend desormais, ici comme en Armenie, ce
qui empeche notre pays de lui venir en aide. Le 24 avril 2015,
le President de la Republique francaise sera en Armenie pour
commemorer le 100ème anniversaire du genocide des armeniens. A
cette occasion, la France doit enfin apporter son soutien officiel a
Vardan Petrosyan et exiger que ce ressortissant francais recouvre la
liberte. Associations armeniennes de France prenez une position claire
! Comite de soutien a Vardan Petrosyan Site :
Facebook : Twitter :
@ : [email protected]

mercredi 11 fevrier 2015, Ara (c)armenews.com

5 THOUSAND PEOPLE IN JAVAKHETI SECRETLY BECOME CITIZENS OF ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 10 2015

10 February 2015 – 12:41pm

In Georgia, 5 thousand inhabitants of Javakheti of Armenian descent
have acquired Armenian citizenship, hiding this fact from the
authorities.

They took this decision in order to simplify entry to Russia as
labor migrants.

“We decided to acquire Armenian citizenship to be able to freely
travel to Russia and get work,” haqqin.az cited the new citizens of
Armenia with reference to the TV channel ‘Rustavi 2’.

However, everyone who acqired Armenian citizenship lost their
citizenship of Georgia, as the country’s constitution allows dual
citizenship, but it’s forbidden to have two citizenships.

ARAM I: THE GUARDIAN OF THE CAUSE

February 10, 2015

By Dania Ohanian

The international conference on the Armenian Genocide: from recognition
to reparation, took place at the Catholicosate of Cilicia, in
Antelias, Lebanon, from February 23-25, 2012. The philosophy of such
a thought-provoking conference flew academicians from around the world
and was organized by His Holiness Aram I, a visionary church leader.

The objective of the conference was to bring experts from around
the world to cogitate the legal dimensions of reparations for the
Armenian Genocide. Why a religious institution was to organize a
conference with a topic on reparations? His Holiness Aram I wrote
in the International Criminal Law Review[1] “Human rights are not
optional; they are integral to Christianity. What is more, human
rights are essential to the vocation of church institutions. Human
rights in general and the Armenian Genocide in particular are part of
the missionary calling of the Armenian Church and occupy, therefore,
an important place on its agenda.”

The conference on “Recognition to Reparation” validated that this
indispensable issue is crucial to collectively be addressed in the
circles of scholars and specialists.

Armenian Communities around the world are preparing to commemorate
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24,
2015. The sobering experience of the Genocide, the profound shock
will reverberate and hundred years of continued denial will yield on
into the future.

In September 2014, His Holiness Aram I shocked the world during his
dynamic and courageous speech at the Fifth Armenia-Diaspora Conference
in the capital city Yerevan, Armenia. “The Great House of Cilicia will
soon petition to Turkey’s Constitutional Court to demand the return
of Sis Catholicosate to its owner, namely the Armenian Church and
Armenian people. We can not remain indifferent to the violated rights
of our nation, as indifference is treason,” His Holiness said. The
Catholicos gave the Armenian Nation a hope for the future by bravely
announcing that He has chosen to embark on a new challenge with an
extraordinary resilience.

The idealistic church leader writes in the International Criminal Law
Review “Church properties represent a central and unique place in any
reparative process. Both spiritually and culturally, the church has
for almost two millennia been at the center of Armenian existence and
identity. Thus, the return of church lands and buildings, particularly
consecrated churches, is perhaps the most meaningful starting point
for the restoration of Armenian identity.”

Far from cause for satisfaction, this claim only highlights the tragedy
of a Nation and seeks justice beyond retribution. Is retribution
included in Transitional Justice?[2] This petition will make wider
claims about the mechanisms of Transitional Justice and will intend
to integrate researchers who concentrate on issues of legal transition
and institutions and mechanisms of “dealing with the past”.

It is indisputable, that His Holiness Aram I will warmly welcome and
encourage any assistance by policy makers addressing decision making
and legitimacy issues.

[1] International Criminal Law Review, Volume 14, No. 2, 2014,
Special Issue, Armenian Genocide Reparations

[2] Transitional Justice has become an increasing field of research
and academic discussion during the decades after World War II. What
originally was a subject mainly for historians and lawyers has now
become a field for sociologists and political scientists.

LE LIVRE DE KADIR MISIROGLU > EST UN LIVRE NEGATIONNISTE DE PLUS

TURQUIE-NEGATIONNISME

La Turquie n’epargne pas ses efforts en moyens financiers importants et
ouvertement negationnistes pour contrer > en cette annee du 100ème anniversaire du genocide. Le dernier
element de cette campagne orchestree par Ankara est la sortie du livre
de Kadir Misiroglu > (La question
armenienne et les violences de l’histoire jusqu’a nos jours).

L’auteur dedie l’ouvrage a president turc Recep Erdogan. Le livre
reserve l’un de ses chapitres aux combats de l’Artsakh et des
evènements de Khodjali. Bien evidemment K. Misiroglu nie l’existence
du genocide armenien mais affirme que ce sont les Armeniens qui ont
commis des actes violents contre les Turcs et les Azeris. En somme,
un livre qui traduit une nouvelle fois la position officielle de
la Turquie qui est encore loin de revisiter serieusement les pages
sombres de son histoire, un siècle après les crimes.

Krikor Amirzayan

mardi 10 fevrier 2015, Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

ARMENIA FACES SERIOUS NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE

16:00 / 10.02.2015

We should have seriously thought about the national security and the
development of the country, director Tigran Khzmalyan said, speaking
at a news conference today.

“I am not speaking about the simple North-West contradiction but of
course it has its core significance and our political and economic
election will show whether we will enter the 21st century as a country
or as a nation as till now we had not done it,” Khzmalyan said.

The other speaker of the news conference, leader of National Security
party Garnik Isagulyan agreed that unfortunately Armenia does not
have the place and the role it could really have.

“I have many times stated my opinion, I had been thinking that after
the collapse of the Soviet Union Armenia was to appear in the most
difficult and desperate situation. But our people and our generation
having left the disastrous earthquake behind managed to overcome
this tragedy and win in the imposed Karabakh war. It seemed that
after all it the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
cannot only say what they want but have a serious role in the region
and the world,” he said, stressing that best example for Armenia is
Israel which being smaller country and having less potential declared
its independence in 1948 and in 1967 in 6-day war won five Arab state
surrounding it and enlarged its territory more than thrice. “We too
had such opportunity, Armenia could have bigger chances than Israel.

But after 19 years of our independence in 2013 we signed the agreement
on accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, which of course is a
tragedy,” he said.

The party’s leader said that it was very important for Armenia to be
able to keep balanced stance with the West, East, North, South and
have same level relations with all.

“Unfortunately, in all times, the Armenian authorities have not viewed
the national and state interest as a prior issue,” Isagulyan stressed,
adding that unfortunately Armenia’s national security issue is in
desperate situation and if it continues in this way it is a big
question whether we will be able to keep our state or not.

THE TERM “EASTERN ANATOLIA” DOESN’T EXIST: TURKOLOGIST

17:38, 10 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 10 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. Associate professor of the Faculty
of Oriental Studies at Yerevan State University, Turkologist Lusine
Sahakyan says Armenians should be very active on the Internet and
be able to give adequate responses to the false propaganda spread by
circles of Turkologists. According to her, Turkish bloggers are working
very actively on distorting Armenian toponyms and presenting Armenian
words as words of Turkish origin on the Internet. In an interview with
“Armenpress”, Lusine Sahakyan mentioned that there are especially
several blogs and websites that the Turks have created ahead of the
100thanniversary of the Armenian Genocide and where they engage in
heated debates over Armenian words and falsify Armenian history.

In addition, Sahakyan emphasized that Armenia needs to address
Western countries and the media to stop using the term “Eastern
Anatolia”. “Eastern Anatolia doesn’t exist. It’s an artificial word.

It’s absurd. Translated, it means “east of the east”. Armenia has a
lot of work to do in this regard so that not only the real history
is presented, but also the real toponyms are not distorted,” Lusine
Sahakyan said.