Author: Badalian Vardan

“Memory of Ararat: 100 years of the most forgotten genocide” book is
presented in Spain

11:22 – 14 / 02 / 2015

Event dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide was held in Aleppo
Newly-appointed US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills hands over his
credentials to President
Italian Senate accepts a bill to ban denial of Genocides
Newly-appointed Ambassador of the USA hands copies of credentials to
E. Nalbandian
Belgian MEP files a bill to recognize the Armenian genocide by Turkey

On February 11, presentation of the book, titled “Memory of Ararat:
100 years of the most forgotten genocide” was organized in Madrid. The
author of the book, Xavier Moret, is a well-known writer, journalist,
author of a range of books, articles and TV shows, won the Grandes
Viajeros (Great Travelers) Award for his book “Islandia, la isla
secreta” (Iceland, the secret island) in 2002. Press and information
department of the RA Foreign Ministry informs about this.

The book “Memory of Ararat: 100 years of the most forgotten genocide”
is comprised of 270 pages. The book is not just a list of historical
events. In the story, written in traveler’s note style, the author
presents to the reader his and his photographer friend’ trip to
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Stressing that the memories of the Armenian Genocide are found in
almost every Armenian family the author expresses his admiration for
the ability of Armenian people, despite endured inhumane sufferings,
to rebirth, establish independent statehood and preserve its rich
spiritual heritage both in Armenia and in Diaspora. In the epilogue
the author mentions, “Yes, it is rather difficult to find yet another
nation in the World, that is spread this much, but, this much united
and sticking to its roots. It is true saying then, that wherever an
Armenian meets an Armenian they create their own Armenia”.

Newspaper: Armenia ex-official gives advice to diaspora businessman

10:38, 12.02.2015

YEREVAN. – Former governor of Armenia’s Lori Region, ex-Minister of
Transport Henrik Kochinyan has a new position, Hraparak daily
reported.

“He, several months ago, started working at the Hovnanian
International organization belonging to prominent [Diaspora-Armenian]
businessman and philanthropist Vahakn Hovnanian. This is a large, very
rich company; it has about 400 employees, and it is known in Armenia
as the Ltd. that has designed and built the Vahakni [Residential
Community] district [in the outskirts of capital city Yerevan].

“Henrik Kochinyan works there [, at Hovnanian International,] as
adviser, and he gets a pretty big salary.

“To the question as to specifically what projects he is involved in at
Hovnanian’s organization, Kochinyan responded: ‘With whatever,'”
Hraparak wrote.

U.S. will commemorate the tragedy of 1915 with the Armenian people:
U.S. Ambassador

18:25, 13 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 13 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. Embassy in Armenia will
join the Armenian people in mourning and commemorating the victims of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard
Mills assures that he knows many Americans for whom the Centennial
events are of important significance.

“I, as Ambassador, and our Embassy will show the world that the U.S.
and Armenia will stand by the Armenian people’s side to commemorate
the horrible, tragic events of 1915 during which 1.5 million Armenians
were killed and displaced. We also expect to see many Americans here
to pay tribute to the victims,” the Ambassador said during a February
13 press conference, adding that he still doesn’t know who will
represent Washington during the Armenian Genocide Centennial
Commemoration ceremony to be held at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian
Genocide Memorial Complex on April 24th, as “Armenpress” reports.

Hurriyet Daily has presented Zabel Yesayan as an Armenian feminist in
the Ottoman Empire

February 13, 2015

The Turkish Hurriyet Daily has covered Armenian writer, publicist,
translator, literary critic Zabel Yesayan, presenting her as a
representative of the renaissance of Armenian culture and a supporter
of feminism in the Ottoman Empire, writes Artsakhpress.

Yesayan was one of the few Armenian intellectuals who were able to
avoid the arrests and displacement by the Young Turks on April 24th.
However, in 1923, she moved to Soviet Armenia where, in 1935, she
published the famous book entitled “Gardens of Silihtar”. In 1937, she
was arrested under the charge of espionage, was exiled and died in a
prison in Baku in 1943.

According to Panorama.am, the newspaper mentions that Yesayan’s
growing feminism was growing with the conservatism of her community
that was dying out.

“Those young women couldn’t leave their homes alone. Some were even
forced to get married to men whom they ignored. They couldn’t dress
however they wanted to. Apparently, they were deprived of the most
basic rights and were afraid that they would become mothers sooner or
later-something that they wanted to escape from so that they could
start living the life that they wanted to live,” wrote Zabel.

GAGIK TSARUKYAN: THE KEY SUBJECT OF SARGSYAN’S SPEECH WAS I RATHER THAN THE PEOPLE AND THEIR PROBLEMS

by Nana Martirosyan

Friday, February 13, 15:49

All I have done over the last years was aimed at discussing and
solving the problems of my people, the leader of Prosperous Armenia
Party Gagik Tsarukyan said at the party’s meeting on Friday.

“My only goal as a politician was to help my country and my people and
to consolidate the basic political forces. My goal has never been to
offend people or to sow discord and my position has not changed after
Mr. Sargsyan’s speech: we will continue to be tactful and will never
come to using slang in political debates. Mr. Sargsyan’s speech was
all about me.

He didn’t say a word about his people and their problems. Not a word
about ruined economy, shrinking investments and growing poverty. No
single explanation why business has become a state policy, why more
and more people are leaving the country each day, why tensions on our
borders are growing, why Turkey and Azerbaijan are getting pretty
brazen. That man didn’t say a word when Nazarbayev was humiliating
him. He preferred to stay in Baden-Baden when there were high tensions
on the border last Aug. That man was silent when there was panic about
depreciating AMD and when people were protesting after an outrageous
murder in Gyumri,” Tsarukyan said

HERITAGE RESPONSE: PRESIDENT’S ATTACK OF TSARUKYAN “INAPPROPRIATE”

POLITICS | 13.02.15 | 15:54

Photolure

GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

RELATED NEWS

Raising the Stakes: Sargsyan ushers in new political conditions by
tackling former coalition partner

The Deputy Chairman of Heritage Party, Armen Martirosyan, told
reporters Friday that President Serzh Sargsyan’s comments about
Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan were inappropriate.

(See related articles.)

Martirosyan, standing in for party chair Raffi Hovannisian who was
called to a meeting with Tsarukyan, told media that the president’s
attack of Tsarukyan changed the process of political developments.

“Political processes have changed; they gain speed and Armenia’s
government might speed up, Armenia becoming a North Korea might speed
up, I do not know which direction we will choose. Discussions will show
what will happen,” Martirosyan said adding that on February 18 is “the
second anniversary of false presidential elections, and that day Raffi
Hovanissian will meet the reporters, on the occasion of the second
anniversary he will make a speech and answer questions completely.”

According to Martirosyan, it is difficult for him to say what made
Sargsyan speak as he did, but he thinks that the government gets
nervous only when the matter refers to “the preservation of their
rule”.

“Our government gets nervous in relation to neither foreign problems
nor internal affairs; we have never witnessed the government getting
nervous because of the country’s horrible social-economic state,
they do get nervous when it is about their rule,” Martirosyan said
adding that Sargsyan’s words were everything but politics.

PROSPEROUS ARMENIA LEADER DEMANDS EARLY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

February 13, 2015 13:49

Serzh Sargsyan and Gagik Tsarukyan

Photo: PAN Photo

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Leader of Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan
addressed a speech at the session of the political board of the PAP
responding to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s speech delivered
yesterday.

Leader of PAP noted that he would discuss “single package of joint
steps” with the leaders of the Armenian National Congress (ANC)
and Heritage Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Raffi Hovhannisyan

In his speech, Gagik Tsarukyan called Serzh Sargsyan “this man”.

The PAP leader advanced a number of claims concerning foreign and
domestic policies and social-economic situation to the authorities
and President in person.

Commenting on his exclusion from the National Security Council, Gagik
Tsarukyan stated that he in fact didn’t work in the structure for
already 6 months and “didn’t leave the structure upon his (President’s
– Mediamax) personal request”.

“The situation formed from yesterday needs to be handled. I am sure
that complete change of the power through early presidential elections
is the only solution”, stated Gagik Tsarukyan.

– See more at:

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER UNVEILS CONDITION FOR OPENING BORDER WITH ARMENIA

YEREVAN, February 13. / ARKA /. Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said his government would open the sealed border with Armenia, but
on condition that Armenia returns at least one of several regions,
surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, to Azerbaijan, Novosti-Armenia reported
citing RIA Novosti.

“If Armenians withdrew from at least one district, the border could be
opened,” Davutoglu said at a meeting with the leaders of non-Muslim and
non-governmental organizations in Ankara, according to Haber Turk TV.

He added that Armenians living in Turkey are part of the country and
should not suffer because of the strained relations between Ankara
and Yerevan. “The Armenian Diaspora is not an enemy to us, it is our
Diaspora,” he said.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations. Turkey closed
its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally,
Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh,
the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan then.

There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of
normal relations between the two countries, particularly, Ankara’s
blatant support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the mass
killings of Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire as
genocide. -0-

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN MEETS POLISH AMBASSADOR JERZY NOWAKOWSKI

13-02-2015 15:22:21 | Armenia | Politics

Yerevan–Raffi K. Hovannisian, Heritage Party chairman and founding
director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS), met today with H.E. Mr. Jerzy Nowakowski, Ambassador of
Poland in Armenia. They discussed a wide range of issues concerning
the country’s domestic and foreign policy, and exchanged views on
regional and geopolitical developments, discussed the place and role
of two countries, Poland and Armenia in the changing world. Heritage
Party Press Service

News from Armenia and Diaspora – Noyan Tapan

– See more at:

REPORT: KOCHARYAN MAY REACT TO SARGSYAN’S STATEMENT

POLITICS | 13.02.15 | 12:43

Raising the Stakes: Sargsyan ushers in new political conditions by
tackling former coalition partner

Robert Kocharyan may provide his reaction to the unusually strong
criticism of President Serzh Sargsyan against Prosperous Armenia Party
(PAP) leader Gagik Tsarukyan, the former president’s spokesman Victor
Soghomonyan said today, according to

“Kocharyan returned [to Armenia] last night, there has not been a
discussion yet. Today I will discuss [the matter] with him, and if
there is a need for a reaction, he will provide that reaction by all
means,” said the spokesman, according to the news website.

During a February 12 meeting of the Council of the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia, President Sargsyan lashed out at Tsarukyan,
describing his political activities as “evil” for the country.

Stressing the “ignorance and illiteracy” of Tsarukyan, Sargsyan
effectively urged the RPA to work towards ousting Tsarukyan from the
political arena.

PAP leader Tsarukyan was expected to respond to the criticism on
Friday afternoon.

Many in Armenia believe that Tsarukyan and the PAP are a political
support base for Kocharyan, who contemplates a return to active
politics. One of the obstacles to such a political comeback, many
experts believe, may be the constitutional reform initiated by the
Sargsyan administration and opposed by the PAP and other opposition
groups.