Author: Badalian Vardan

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 27 2015

Armenia submits claims of hundred years’ prescription to Turkey

27 January 2015 – 12:21am

Recently, the Turkish newspaper Habertürk reported that Armenia and
the Armenian lobby are preparing a claim to land in Turkey, where
Istanbul Ataturk International Airport and the Cankaya Palace in
Ankara are located.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby in connection with the centenary of the
so-called “Armenian genocide” filed a lawsuit against Turkey for the
return of lands, which, according to them, were taken from some
Armenians during the events of 1915.

In addition, a resident of the United States, writer of Armenian
origin Haroot Sassouniyan, said that in the very near future Armenia
and the Armenian lobby intend to take serious steps to ensure that
this claim was considered by the court.

On January 3 of this year the writer of Armenian origin Zuart Sutsiyan
residing in the United States, raised the issue that land in the
Turkish town of Diyarbakir, where the airport is located, belonged to
his grandfather. Sutsiyan appealed to a court of Turkey and presented
documents that alleged the land on which the airport is located
belonged to his grandfather. The court is now exploring the
authenticity of submitted documents.

With the upcoming 100th anniversary of the so-called “Armenian
genocide”, commemorated on April 24, more claims and accusations are
being heard against Turkey. Territorial and financial claims against
Turkey have become a kind of leitmotif of Armenian public opinion both
in Armenia and in the diaspora, mainly in the western one.

The correspondent of the Vestnik Kavkaza asked Turkish historians and
political scientists, whether the Armenian claims are justified and
have a legal basis, and why exactly this time Armenia risked making
such dangerous political manoevres for the whole region?

Historian and author of “The Armenian Question in 120 Documents from
Russian State Archives” Mehmet Perindzhek noticed that after the
deportation in 1915 part of the property that the Armenians left
passed into public ownership or is used by individuals. He pointed out
that even before the end of the First World War, the Ottoman
government by order of the allied states returned property to Armenian
returnees or their heirs. “Return of property was also implied by the
Lausanne Peace Treaty for all those who returned, without any mention
of the Armenian population in the treaty itself,” the historian
claimed.

Perindzhek noted that under this treaty many people received their
lands, but some claims, because of the great period of time passed,
were not satisfied. “As a result, today it is impossible to return the
property to the heirs of deported Armenians,” the historian said.

Another Turkish political analyst, Cenk Bashlamyshly, said that in
Turkey property owned by Armenians who fled the country in 1915 can
actually be returned.

“Certainly, if there are unfair moments, they should be considered,
and the property returned to the heirs. But the main question is how
it will be proved that it actually belongs to them?” wondered the
analyst, adding that lawyers and jurists should express their opinion.
Despite this fact, Bashlamyshly is sure that the requirements of the
Armenian side are taken from the world of “fiction”, because it is
impossible to believe their appropriateness.

Political analyst also noted that the campaign for establishing claims
on property and territories in Turkey was made by Armenians on the eve
of the 100th anniversary of the events of 1915 and was expected, and
the closer April 24 approaches, the more the accusations against
Turkey will be strengthened.

“The most interesting thing is why these claims are heard only now, on
the eve of the anniversary of those events? Of course, we express our
condolences to those who lost loved ones. But events show that some
representatives of the Armenian diaspora are looking at this issue as
a matter of personal gain,” the analyst concluded.

Ekklesia, UK
Jan 27 2015

‘Keep the memory alive’: Holocaust Memorial Day 2015

by Simon Barrow on 27 January 2015 – 7:45am

Events are taking place around the British and Irish isles to mark
Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday 27 January 2015. The theme for this
year is ‘Keep the memory alive’.

Seventy commemorative candles designed by Anish Kapoor are being lit
in every part of the country, to represent the 70 years since the
liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Earlier this week, Channel 4 television showed a remarkable
documentary entitled ‘Night Will Fall’ about the story of those who
filmed the terrible scenes in the Nazi death camps for a movie by
Sidney Bernstein (with assistance from Alfred Hitchcock) which was not
completed or shown immediately after the war, due to the sensitivity
of the material.

It contains some of the most graphic and horrific documentary evidence
of the crimes committed, and is a difficult to watch as it is
important. It also features filmmaker Branko Lustin, a producer who
filmed in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and who gave his account of
what it was like to film inside the camps. “I had peered into hell…
it is hard to describe,” he said.

‘Night Will Fall’, which lasts 80 minutes, has been screened in over
15 countries in the run up to Holocaust Memorial Day, and will be
available online for another 27 days, as well as on catch-up TV
provider services.

Meanwhile, the HMD website contains a good overview article on ‘The
Holocaust and the Genocides’ (plural) which sets out the horror that
afflicted many millions under the Nazis, and other atrocities,
including the Armenian Genocide, which is still not officially
recognised by Turkey, Israel and others.

In fact the term ‘genocide’ was first used in 1933, in a paper
presented to the League of Nations by the Polish lawyer, Raphael
Lemkin. He devised the concept in response to the atrocities
perpetrated against the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire
between 1915 and 1923.

On 11 December 1946 the General Assembly of the United Nations
resolved that genocide was a crime under international law. This was
approved and ratified as a Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide on 9 December 1948.

The Convention defines genocide as “any of the following acts
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
– killing members of the group
– causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
– deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated
to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
– imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
– forcibly transferring children of the group to another group”.

Gregory H Stanton, President of Genocide Watch, has developed a
typology of the Eight Stages of genocide which explains the different
components that lead to genocidal outcomes.

References and resources:

* ‘Night Will Fall’ (C4):

(Deemed unsuitable for younger viewers)

* Viewers stunned by ‘harrowing and shocking’ Channel 4 documentary
(Metro, with a quote from me):

* Holocaust Memorial Day site:

* The Eight Stages of Genocide:

* More on HMD from Ekklesia:

* ‘From 1915 to 2015: the challenge of the Armenian Genocide
centenary’, by Dr Harry Hagopian, Ekklesia:

(c) Simon Barrow is co-director of Ekklesia.

Reuters
Jan 27 2015

OSCE urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to stop clashes

By Margarita Antidze
TBILISI Tue Jan 27, 2015 10:44pm IST

Jan 27 (Reuters) – Europe’s main security and rights watchdog urged
Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday to stop renewed fighting along their
border and around the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Violence that has intensified since the start of this year underlines
the risk of broader conflict in the South Caucasus, a region
crisscrossed by oil and gas pipelines.

Armenia-backed forces seized Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding
Azeri districts in the early 1990s. Repeated efforts to secure a
lasting end to hostilities have failed despite mediation led by
France, Russia and the United States.

The fresh skirmishes affect the border between the two former Soviet
republics and around Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region within
Azerbaijan that is controlled by its majority ethnic Armenian
population.

Sporadic clashes between the two countries have thwarted international
efforts to end a conflict that broke out over Nagorno-Karabakh in the
final years of the Soviet Union and killed about 30,000 people.

“I would like to urge the sides to ensure a full ceasefire and
cessation of hostilities,” Ivica Dacic, the Serbian foreign minister
and currently the rotating chairman of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, said in a statement.

“I deplore the upsurge in acts of violence resulting in loss of lives,
and I call on the sides to demonstrate responsibility and avoid steps
that would lead to further escalation.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan gave conflicting death tolls and disputed who
was to blame for the recent spike in violence.

The Azeri Defence Ministry said three of its own and 17 Armenian
soldiers had been killed. Nagorno-Karabakh separatists put the death
toll at 10 Armenian and 26 Azeri soldiers.

Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to global majors including BP , Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take the mountain region back
by force, and is spending heavily on its armed forces.

Armenia, an ally of Russia, says it would not stand by if
Nagorno-Karabakh were attacked. (Additional reporting by Hasmik
Lazarian in Yerevan and Nailia Bagirova in Baku, Writing by Margarita
Antidze; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

IHS Global Insight
January 26, 2015

Central Bank of Armenia raises interest rates in extra meeting in bid
to curtail inflation expectations

by Venla Sipila

The monetary policy committee of the Central Bank of Armenia CBA) on
22 January 2015 called an unscheduled policy meeting, in which it
decided to increase its key refinancing rate by 100 basis points, from
8.5% to 9.5%. The previous rate revision had been an increase from
6.75% to 8.5% in December. The deposit rate was also increased from 7%
to 8%, whereas the Lombard repurchasing rate was lowered from 20% to
17%. These additional rate moves follow the policy direction taken in
December (seeArmenia: 29 December 2014:Central Bank of Armenia raises
interest rate as rapid dram depreciation lifts inflation
expectations). The next scheduled meeting of the monetary policy
committee will take place on 10 February. According to ARKA News, this
will be followed by publication of a detailed monetary policy
programme for the first quarter of 2015. The latest inflation results
from the Armenian National Statistical Service had shown that consumer
prices in December increased by 4.6% year on year (y/y), following the
November gain of 2.6% y/y. Prices jumped by 3.0% from November. The
average consumer price inflation rate for 2014 measured 3.0%,
following 5.8% in 2013.

Significance:While inflation at present fits within the CBA’s target
range, which is determined 2.5 percentage points on either side of the
central target of 4%, inflation expectations in the country are
elevated (seeArmenia: 14 January 2015:Armenian inflation accelerates
at end-2014, trend is likely to continue). This is mostly due to the
recent depreciation of the dram: over 2014, the AMD/USD exchange rate
weakened by 17%, while it slid by nearly 10% during December alone,
even as the central bank engaged in currency market interventions.
Weakening had continued in the first days of January, whereas
cumulative depreciation by 21 January since the turn of the year was
relatively modest, at 0.3%.The central bank hopes that the latest
interest rate moves will help in suppressing inflation expectations
and keeping inflation in target. The further rate rise is somewhat
surprising in its urgency, but not regarding the general policy
direction. Indeed, we believe that Armenian inflation is likely to
continue accelerating in at least in the near term, while it is not
unconceivable that inflation for 2015 as a whole will exceed the
target. Even as the low international oil prices and the overall
weakness of the economy have an opposite impact, we believe that the
depreciation of the dram will be the decisive factor determining near
term inflation developments. Given Armenia’s dependence on Russia for
remittances and export markets, combined with the very weak outlook or
the Russian economy, weakening pressures on the dram are unlikely to
disappear yet.

Perinçek leaves for Strasbourg to attend an appeal hearing by Armenia
over Genocide denial case

18:54, 27 Jan 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Turkish opposition Labor Party leader DoÄ?u Perinçek left for
Strasbourg yesterday where he will attend an appeal hearing by Armenia
over his denial of the Armenian Genocide, Daily Sabah reports.

Perinçek was cleared of charges of racial discrimination and genocide
denial by a Swiss court where he made remarks defining the Armenian
Genocide as an `international lie.’ Armenia decided to be a
co-plaintiff in the case at the next hearing on January 28.

The politician was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2007 after he made
a speech calling the genocide `an international lie’ during an event
in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2005. A Swiss court ruled that his remarks
had racist motives, pointing to anti-racism laws in place that
criminalize the denial of genocide.

In a 2013 decision in favor of Perinçek, the European Court of Human
Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Swiss legislation criminalizing the denial
of genocide violated the principle of freedom of expression. However,
the ECtHR approved an appeal by Switzerland to the ruling last June,
much to the chagrin of Ankara, which described the move as
`politically motivated.’

Speaking at the airport in Istanbul as he left for Strasbourg,
Perinçek, accompanied by 200 members of his party and opposition
Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Masum Türker, said he expected the
court to uphold the previous ruling.

Inside Toronto, Ontario/Canada
Jan 27 2015

High Park artist’s mixed-media piece commemorates 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide

Arleen McCallum hopes to publicly showcase artwork

Bloor West Villager
By Lisa Rainford

Genocides like the Holocaust and in Rwanda, where an estimated one
million Rwandans were killed in 1994, are well-known tragedies in
modern history.

Perhaps little known is the Armenian Genocide – the first genocide of
the 20th century – that saw two million Armenians living in Turkey
eliminated from their historic homeland through forced deportations
and massacres from 1915 to 1918.

High Park-area resident and artist Arleen McCallum hopes to raise
awareness of the massacre through a mixed-media piece she has created
in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in
Turkey. The centennial will be marked through events around the world
on April 24.

Her work, entitled Hepimiz Ermeniyiz (We are all Armenian), also
acknowledges the assassination of Armenien journalist and editor Hrant
Dink, who was killed in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007. Dink was murdered
for continuously maintaining that the Armenian genocide did actually
occur, an allegation considered a crime against the state.

Inspired to visit Turkey for its architecture, art and culture –
particularly its rug-making, McCallum said her travels prompted her to
learn more about its history.

“Then Hrant Dink was murdered and I found myself focusing my attention
– and my work – on the historic plight of the Turkish Armenians and
the issue of freedom – freedom of speech and of religion,” she said.

McCallum remained glued to the TV to watch hundreds of thousands of
Turks, Armenians, Muslims, Jews and Christians march in the streets of
Istanbul to mourn Dink and protest his murder. Many carried signs that
said, ‘Hepimiz Hrant Dink’iz’ (We are all Hrant Dink) and ‘Hepimiz
Ermeniyiz’ (We are all Armenian).

“It was the masses of people in the streets that really got my
attention,” said McCallum during an interview at her home. “I hadn’t
known about the Armenian genocide. I started reading about it. There’s
this whole Turkish denial – ‘We didn’t do it, it was just part of the
war.'”

To produce the piece, a diptych in acrylic and mixed media, McCallum
experimented with recycled materials like foil, fabric and found
objects as well as archival photographs. She wanted to create an art
work that would “bear proper witness to a disastrous historical event
and the suffering and bravery of those who were targeted.”

Although, she didn’t want to include any of the “horrible” and
“barbaric” images of the genocide.

The work includes portraits of Armenian survivors and witnesses, the
Armenian flag, a reference to Dink’s funeral procession and a map
marking the sites of concentration camps and massacres.

McCallum hopes to display the artwork publicly in honour of the centennial.

For further information about McCallum’s commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide, visit

Nalbandian: Armenia appreciates Iran’s balanced position on Karabakh

14:45 27/01/2015 >> POLITICS

Armenia appreciates Iran’s balanced position on the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a joint
press conference with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif.

“During the talks I briefed my counterpart on the efforts by Armenia
and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries aimed at achieving an
exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict,” Nalbandian said.

Mohammad Javad Zarif said for his part that Iran stands for a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and his country is in
favor of peace and stability in the regional countries.

Source: Panorama.am

Talks on free trade zone between Israel, Eurasian Economic Union in
progress: Israel FM

17:44, 27 Jan 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The negotiations on establishing a free trade zone between Israel and
the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and
Armenia may switch to a final stage already this April, Israel’s
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an exclusive interview with
TASS on Tuesday.

“We are now considering and very intensively working on creating a
free trade zone [with the Eurasian Economic Union]. This will allow us
to significantly boost our mutual trade,” Lieberman said, marking good
progress in this issue.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel’s foreign minister held a meeting with
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. “We discussed this.
If we speak about the real time framework, we hope that in April they
will switch to a final stage,” he said.

Lieberman reminded that the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and
Russia signed similar documents with Vietnam. “This is the first such
model and we hope to be the second one,” he said.

The minister said both sides have been working rather intensively and
are rather satisfied by the effort. “This is a complex system and a
complex agreement which includes many parameters: standardization,
customs procedures and many other things, but everything is going
forward normally,” he said.

“President said- we’ll punch you in the face”: Manvel Grigoryan (video)

17:27 | January 27,2015 | Politics

On January 26 at the session dedicated to the 23rd anniversary of
Armenian army, YKM Chairman, NA HHK party deputy Manvel Grigoryan
assessed Serzh Sargsyan’s speech adequate.

“He didn’t speak strictly, he just said “Behave yourself”, if not we
will punch you in the face, that isn’t strict, taking actions would be
strict,”- he said by adding that ahead of the 100th anniversary of the
Genocide Turkey prods Azerbaijan and they want to divert the attention
of the international community ahead of the 100th anniversary of the
Genocide.

He thinks that large-scale war is both possible and impossible.

Turning to Gyumri tragedy Manvel Grigoryan highlighted that it was an
inhuman act and independent of the nationality he must get the
punishment he deserves, “If we stress the nationality, it means that
it has been politics. I have no doubt that the Russians will be
stricter as they have no moral right not to be strict.”

He is also against the withdrawal of Russian military base from
Gyumri, as he thinks that Russian border guards keep the border with
Turkey.

“The day when Turkey learns that our army is not strong, it will start
a war, as long as there is no war it means that our army is powerful
and capable,”- answered Manvel Grigoryan the question of “A1+”
journalist.

Gyumri tragedy accused did not act alone?

15:32, 26.01.2015

YEREVAN. – The ongoing investigation is also considering the theory
that Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, who is the accused in the
recent murder of the Avetisyan family in Armenia’s Gyumri city, had
not acted alone.

The First Deputy Chief of Police of Armenia, Hunan Poghosyan, noted
the abovementioned at a press conference on Monday.

The deputy police chief informed that the investigation puts forward a
variety of theories, which are investigated, and, subsequently, either
dismissed or corroborated.

“The Armenian and Russian law enforcement is working, and everything
will be clear after the completion of the investigation,” Poghosyan
noted.

In addition, he dismissed the rumors that, on the day of the tragic
incident, six other soldiers had fled the Russian military base in
Gyumri.

“Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, I requested for those in
charge of the military base, who gave us clarifications,” Hunan
Poghosyan stated.

As reported earlier, six members of the Avetisyan family–including a
two-year-old girl–were shot dead, and a six-month-old baby was wounded
in their house in Gyumri on January 12; but the baby boy died in
hospital on January 19.

Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian Military Base in
the city, stands accused in this crime. Permyakov was apprehended by
the Russian border guards near the Armenian-Turkish border on the same
night, he was arrested on January 14, and he is held in custody at the
Russian military base.

The soldier is charged under Russian law, with “the murder of more
than two people” and “desertion with a service weapon.” And on January
21, the Investigative Committee of Armenia also filed a criminal
charge against Permyakov, and with “premeditated murder of two or more
persons.” The Russian soldier has accepted the charge.

Armenia News – NEWS.am