Author: Badalian Vardan

Armenian MoD presents details of diversion

14:08 02/08/2014 >> SOCIETY

On August 1-2 the Azerbaijani troops have suffered losses – 5 victims
and 3 injured, due to the diversion organized by the Azerbaijani side
to Martakert direction. This has been confirmed by the Azerbaijani
Defence Ministry. In direction of Martuni the rival has also had 2
victims and more than 4 injured. The NKR MoD press service reports.

As the MoD informs as a result of confrontation with RA troops the
rival has left a big amount of arms and technical equipments in the
battlefield.

At the back of the rival around the Sarijal village 2 helicopters have
been noticed by the Armenian watchmen. The helicopters probably have
arrived for transporting the corps and the injured.

The information about losses from the Armenian side extended by the
Azerbaijani side are groundless and do not correspond to reality.

During the mentioned activities the Armenian side has suffered one
loss and three servicemen have been slightly injured.

Source: Panorama.am

HAUT KARABAGH
Huit soldats azerbaïdjanais tués dans des accrochages
ATTENTION Рajoute r̩action des Etats-Unis

Bakou, 1 août 2014 (AFP) – Huit soldats azerbaïdjanais ont été tués
cette semaine dans des accrochages avec les forces arméniennes dans la
zone frontalière, à proximité de la région du Nagorny-Karabakh que se
disputent les deux pays depuis des décennies, a annoncé vendredi le
ministère azerbaïdjanais de la Défense.

“Les forces armées arméniennes ont intensifié leurs efforts ces
derniers jours (…) en attaquant les positions” des garde-frontières
azerbaïdjanais, a indiqué le ministère dans un communiqué. “Au cours
des trois derniers jours, huit soldats azerbaïdjanais ont été tués
dans des affrontements” avec des “groupes de diversion” en provenance
d’Arménie, a-t-il précisé.

Pour leur part, les forces arméniennes ont affirmé avoir tué 14
soldats azerbaïdjanais lors d’un dernier accrochage survenu dans la
nuit de jeudi à vendredi, les accusant d’avoir tenté de franchir
illégalement la frontière et assurant n’avoir subi aucune perte de
leur côté. Les accrochages se multiplient ces derniers mois autour du
Nagorny-Karabakh, les deux camps s’accusant de lancer des attaques qui
ont provoqué la mort de plus de 14 soldats cette année avant ce nouvel
affrontement.

Les Etats-Unis, qui réagissent régulièrement sur ce conflit, ont
appelé vendredi soir “les parties à prendre des mesures immédiates
pour faire baisser les tensions et respecter le cessez-le-feu”. “Il
n’y a pas de solution militaire au conflit”, a plaidé le département
d’Etat dans un communiqué, assurant que ses diplomates “se tenaient
prêts à contribuer à sceller un règlement durable”. Selon l’analyste
militaire azerbaïdjanais Uzeir Jafarov, “des affrontements ouverts
entre l’Azerbaïdjan et l’Arménie se sont multipliés, et les deux
parties subissent des pertes”.

“L’Azerbaïdjan n’a pas subi de telles pertes depuis mars 1994”, a-t-il
déclaré à l’AFP. L’année dernière, près de 20 soldats des deux camps
avaient été tués lors d’accrochages à la frontière.

Rattachée à l’Azerbaïdjan à l’époque soviétique, le Nagorny-Karabakh
–une région séparatiste à majorité arménienne– a été l’enjeu d’une
guerre qui a fait 30.000 morts et des centaines de milliers de
réfugiés entre 1988 et 1994. Un cessez-le-feu a été signé en 1994,
mais Bakou et Erevan n’arrivent pas à se mettre d’accord sur le statut
de la région, qui reste une source de tension dans le Caucase du Sud,
une zone stratégique située entre l’Iran, la Russie et la Turquie.

samedi 2 août 2014,
Ara (c)armenews.com

ARMENIE
Le déploiement de l’armée arménienne au Liban prévu pour octobre

L’Arménie prévoit de rejoindre une mission de maintien de la paix des
Nations Unies au Liban avec un petit contingent de soldats en Octobre
vient d’annoncer un haut diplomate arménien.

Selon le ministère des Affaires étrangères à Erevan, l’ambassadeur
d’Arménie auprès de l’ONU, Zohrab Mnatsakanian, a fait cette annonce
lors des audiences sur les opérations de maintien de la paix à travers
le monde qui ont eu lieu au Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU à New York.

Les plans pour le déploiement de quelque 60 soldats arméniens près des
frontières du Liban avec Israël et de la Syrie ont été annoncées par
Erevan en juin de l’année dernière.

Un haut général de l’armée arménienne a visité l’Italie peu de temps
après pour discuter des modalités pratiques de leur participation à la
Force intérimaire des Nations Unies au Liban (FINUL).

La mission multinationale dirigée par un général italien dispose de 11
000 soldats de plus de 30 pays, dont l’Italie, l’Allemagne et la
Turquie.

L’envoi de soldats arméniens au Liban doit être approuvé par le
parlement d’Arménie. L’Assemblée nationale a déjà permis au
gouvernement d’envoyer des contingents de maintien de la paix
similaires au Kosovo, en Irak et en Afghanistan.

Quelque 120 soldats arméniens sont actuellement déployés en
Afghanistan, tandis que 35 autres servent au Kosovo.

samedi 2 août 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

His Holiness Aram I is invited to attend an Ecumenical Justice and Peace
Conference to be held in Seoul, South Korea

Antelias – On Tuesday His Holiness Aram I received a delegation from
South Korea. The newly appointed Ecumenical Officer, V. Rev. Housig
Mardirossian also attended the meeting. The delegation invited the
Catholicos to the international conference on justice and peace they
are organizing in Seoul.

The Catholicos welcomed the guests and their plan for the conference and
said, `Presently, many people, like the Armenians, continue to demand
their human rights. It is my firm conviction that there cannot be peace
without justice.’ He then invited religions to work for just peace
through deeper involvement in interfaith dialogue and cooperation.

The Prelate of Peria (Syria), briefs His Holiness Aram I on his pastoral
visit

Antelias – 30 July 2014. As reported last week, Archbishop Shahan
Sarkissian, accompanied by clergy and the lay leadership of the
community in Syria, visited the coastal towns where many families have
sought refuge from the internal fighting. The Archbishop celebrated the
liturgy in Tartous, Banias and Safita, organized meetings with the
community, registered the displaced families and distributed material
aid. The delegation then went to Latakia and met with the Church
Council, the Board of the School and the Committees for Humanitarian
Assistance.

In the region of Kessab, their last destination, they consecrated the
restored altar of St. Mary’s Church in Karaduran village, desecrated
by the rebels when they briefly occupied Kessab. On Sunday, 27 July,
which was the Feast of Transfiguration, the Archbishop celebrated the
Holy Liturgy, performed the ceremony of the blessing of the water and
held a special memorial for the victims of the civil war. He concluded
with special prayers of Thanksgiving for the return of the population to
their homes in Kessab.

Honorable Jason Kenny Canadian Minister of Multiculturalism meets with
His Holiness Aram I

Antelias – 28 July 2014. On Monday Hon. Jason Kenny and his delegation
met with His Holiness Aram I. Rt. Rev. Housig Mardirossian, the
Ecumenical Relations officer, was also present.

The Minister is in the region on a special mission to assess the
political situation and discuss the problems of Christian communities in
the region. The Minister discussed the role of Canadian Armenian
community in Canadian society, the commitment of Canadian authorities to
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and his government’s
perspectives on the conflict in the Middle East.

His Holiness thanked Minister Kenney for Canada’s support of the
Armenian community and the Armenian cause, and he described and shared
his concerns about the situation of Armenians in Syria and Lebanon. The
Catholicos and the Minister discussed the 100th Anniversary
commemorations of the Genocide and the negative attitude of Turkey
towards the just cause of the Armenian people.

Before leaving, the Minister and his delegation visited the Martyr’s
Chapel in Antelias and paid tribute to the memory of the victims.

His Holiness Aram I announces appointments of clergy to new positions

Antelias – 26 July 2014. On Friday, His Holiness Aram I announced the
following new appointments:

Archbishop Nareg Alemezian, Pontifical Vicar, Diocese of Cyprus.
Very Rev. Housig Mardirossian, Director, Office of Ecumenical Relations
and Head of the office of Communication.
Rev. Torkom Donoyan, Dean, of Theological Seminary.
Very Rev. Paren Vartanian Grand Sacristan, St. Gregory the Illuminator
Cathedral.
Very Rev. Vaghinak Meloyan, Director, Programme for the Formation of
married priests.

His Holiness Aram I and His Holiness Ignatius Aphram II Patriarch Meet
in Bikfaya

24 July 2014. Catholicos Aram I and Patriarch Ignatius Aphram II of the
Syriac Orthodox Church met in Bikfaya, at the Summer Residence of the
Catholicosate.

V. Rev. Paren Vartanian, and the Dean of the Seminary, Rev. Torkom
Donoyan, were also present. The two spiritual leaders discussed the
situation of Christians in Syria and Iraq, the forthcoming International
Ecumenical Conference on the Middle East, issues related to the on-going
bilateral theological dialogues with the World Anglican Communion and
the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the imperative of strengthening the
historical ties between the two churches.

His Holiness Aram I monitors the Humanitarian Assistance and
Rehabilitation Programmes for Armenians in Syria

Antelias – Archbishop Shahan Sarkissian, Prelate of the Diocese of
Peria (Syria) recently arrived in Antelias to brief His Holiness Aram I
on the situation of Armenians in Aleppo, Damascus, Jezireh, Lattakia and
Kessab. He also informed the Catholicos on the provision of humanitarian
assistance and rehabilitation efforts.

The Catholicos expressed his appreciation to the work of the committees
and their courage in defending the rights of the vulnerable Armenian
communities. Soon after the meeting, the Archbishop left for Tartous to
meet with the clergy and the lay leadership and then to continue
meetings in Lattakia, Kessab and other cities and towns in Syria.

On Sunday, 27 July 2014, the Archbishop celebrated the Holy Liturgy in
Kessab and anointed the newly restored altar of the Church. At the end
of the Liturgy, Archbishop Shahan transmitted the blessings of His
Holiness Aram I and assured the faithful of the support of the
Catholicos and his determination to continuing to respond to their
urgent needs.

Youth are the life force of our Church and People

Anthelia’s – 24 July 2014. On Wednesday evening the Youth Committee
of the Catholicosate, accompanied by Rev Barouyr Shernezian, director of
the Youth Department, met with His Holiness Aram I.

The committee presented its activity report and the findings of the
survey they had carried out with its 50 members. The purpose of the
survey was to identify the expectations of youth from the Church. It was
decided that after the compilation of the report and identification of
priorities, the committee would expand its study to all other dioceses
of the Catholicosate.

His Holiness thanked the members of the committee for the study and
said, `the Armenian youth are the life force and future of our Church
and society. They should not remain passive members, but should
participate in and contribute to all aspects of our community life. He
then told the committee that he was committed to empowering the youth
who are ready to act in order to safeguard the memory, traditions and
values of the Armenian people.

# #

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 30 2014

Turkish actors turn down role depicting Dink’s life

German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akın, known for the films `Soul
Kitchen,” `Head-On’ and, most recently, `The Cut,’ has complained
that no Turkish actor has accepted his offer of the lead role in a
movie depicting the life of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink.

According to the report by Agos daily, the award-winning Akın has
written a script depicting the life of Agos newspaper editor-in-chief
Hrant Dink, who was shot in broad daylight on Jan. 19, 2007 outside
his newspaper’s offices by a neo-nationalist teenager.

Akın has had to postpone the project because Turkish actors have
turned down a role in the movie as they found the script `tough.’

Complaining that he failed to convince the actors he had met so far to
star in the film, Akın said that — while penning the script — he was
inspired by Dink’s 12 articles previously published by the Agos daily.

Akın told the Agos daily that he has been forced to freeze the movie
project after it was turned down by several Turkish actors, adding: “I
have attached great importance the film being a ‘Turkish movie.’
Apparently, the time is not yet ripe to shoot a film concerning the
life of Dink. His inspiring articles regarding the 1915 events [a date
marking the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks] are
fascinating. After I read his articles I carried out in-depth research
on the issue.’

Worldcrunch
July 30 2014

In Russia’s Orbit, Searching The Sleepy Economy Of Armenia

by Aleksei Boyarskii (2014-07-29)

YEREVAN — There used to be trains that connected Moscow and Armenia’s
capital of Yerevan. But for different reasons, mostly an array of
regional tensions in former Soviet republics, Armenia is no longer
connected to Russia by rail.

To get to Yerevan from Moscow, you can either drive for 48 hours
through the North Caucasus and Georgia, or you can take a flight of
less than three hours. I chose the latter.

The entire time I was in Armenia, I was struck by how calm it was. The
country has the lowest crime rate among all of the former Soviet
states, and has a per-capita crime rate nine times lower than
Russia’s. What’s more, 90% of the criminal activity in the country
happens in Yerevan, the capital. But that is Armenia’s best statistic.
In terms of its economy, Forbes ranked Armenia the second-worst
economy in the world in 2011.

Indeed when people learned that I’d come here to write about Armenia’s
economy, the response I got over and over again was something like,
“Wait, you are trying to write about something that doesn’t exist.”

According to the 2012 census, Armenia has 3.2 million residents, 3
million of whom live in the country permanently. But according to the
economist and former Yerevan Mayor Vahagn Khachatryan, Armenia has
closer to 2.2 to 2.5 million residents. “Our GDP is around $10
billion,” Khachatryan says. “Private transfers — remittances sent back
from Armenians working abroad — make up $1.8 billion per year. That
sum doesn’t take into account the money that is brought back in cash.
If you count the cash transfers, I think it would add up to $2.5
billion per year.” He estimates that 90% of that money is coming from
Russia.

This total dependency on Russia is about more than remittances.
Russian companies own 100% of Armenia’s electrical grid, and the
majority of the power plants. All of the gas pipelines, including the
one that comes from Iran, are owned by Russia. Of Armenia’s three
mobile phone companies, two are Russian and the third is French. In
the banking sector, 21 of the 25 banks active in Armenia are
foreign-owned.

Gold, cognac and high-tech

Have you ever heard that Armenia is an international center for
jewelry manufacturing? People tell me that 7% of the world’s famous
jewelers are Armenian. I’m not so sure about the world leadership bit,
but it’s true that after mining for copper and molybdenum, jewelry
production is the second most important industry in the country.

Yerevan’s gold market is in a building that used to house the city’s
public baths. It has nine floors: The first two are shops, the others
are jewelry workshops. There are 800 shops and up to 6,000 salespeople
and jewelers. Everything sold in the building is also made there. I
see gold bullion with the stamp of Swiss banks that is going to be
melted down for jewelry. The jewelers also melt down gold that people
sell in the jewelry shops downstairs. You can buy knock-offs of Rolex
and Tissot watches, made to order within 24 hours.

Agriculture is the Armenian economy’s third-largest industry. Most of
the income in agriculture comes from making cognac. Yerevan’s most
important tourist sites are two famous cognac factories next to each
other: Ararat and Noi. Both factories formerly made the famous
“Ararat” cognac, but now only one company has the rights to that
brand. That company’s stocks have long been owned by Pernod Ricard, a
French company.

In addition to “Ararat,” Armenia has another 27 cognac producers.
Shakhnazaryan, one of the newer cognac producers, has a factory
located near Yerevan in the city of Yeghvard. The company’s owner,
Samvel Shakhnazaryan, had lived in Ukraine for years before returning
to Armenia eight years ago. At first he sold liquor, then he decided
to get into cognac production. The factory opened, from nothing, in
2010, and in 2014 it is expected to sell four million bottles.

Shakhnazaryan says that 95% of the sales go to Russia. I noticed,
though, that although the company has only been around for four years,
its oldest cognac is aged 15 years.

“Does that mean that you buy other people’s cognac to resell?” I asked
the older head of wine production. “Here in Armenia, there is no
‘other.’ It’s all ours,” he responded. In fact, they do think there is
no such thing as “fake” Armenian cognac. As long as it is made from
local grapes, it is genuine.

Lastly, in fourth place in Armenia’s economy is the IT sector. It
makes sense for a small, mountainous country without many natural
resources to orient itself towards intellectual products. In Yerevan,
the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies holds classes in digital
technology, web development and game development, among other
subjects, for children from 12 to 18 years old. The classes are open
to all and are completely free, and in total around 5,500 kids take
classes there twice a week.

PicsArt, a photo editor for mobile devices, is located on the
building’s second floor. The company is American, but its founder is
from Armenia and all of the operations are in Yerevan. It’s still a
start-up, but it’s gaining traction, and now has 45 million active
users per month.

Looking at Ararat

Armenia is poised to join the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan, but people here feel trepidation about joining its former
Soviet States. “Until last September, when we were told that we would
be joining the Customs Union, Armenia was preparing to join the
European Union, along with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine,” says Vahagn
Khachatryan.

In 2013, Armenia exported $334.5 million worth of goods to Russia,
$8.6 million to Belarus and $7.3 million to Kazakhstan. The total GDP
of the Customs Union countries is 230 times larger than Armenia’s GDP,
and the per capita GDP is 3.5 times higher. Theoretically that could
help Armenia’s economy. Armenia’s economy can expect more investments
and more exports due to joining the Customs Union, and it will also
likely add jobs.

But there are also clear disadvantages. First of all, it will be in a
different camp from Georgia, which is joining the EU, and that could
complicate trade and transit. In addition, the Customs Union will
cause a large number of imported goods to become more expensive —
everything from food to cars. Most experts say Armenia’s decision to
join the Customs Union is a tribute to history, not based on economic
needs.

For Armenia, Mount Ararat is everything. It is the famous cognac
brand, the legendary soccer team, the name of the hotel I stayed in.
The snow-covered peak is easily visible from Yerevan, but the mountain
itself is in Turkey. The loss of Ararat, as well as memories of the
genocide of Armenians living in Turkey in 1915, still influences
politics.

Turkey is so close that on the road through Ararat’s valleys my mobile
phone switched to a Turkish mobile network. “Do you see over there, on
the other side of the Aras River (the border between Armenia and
Turkey), those bright lights?” our driver asked, pointing into the
darkness. “That is a NATO base.” Which is why Russian military bases
in Armenia give the locals peace of mind.

In Armenia, no matter what you ask, you will get an answer that makes
reference to war with Turkey or to the genocide. “There are bells on
the historic gates to warn of the arrival of the Turks,” someone might
say. Or, “this is a watch tower to look out for Turks,” etc.
Azerbaijanis are also called “Turks,” and Armenia’s borders with both
Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed.

With its other neighbor, Iran, it has a normal relationship, but Iran
is also a Muslim country. With these sorts of neighbors, the small
country needs a strong ally. Historically, that strong ally has always
been Russia.

Breitbart
July 30 2014

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem Accuse Israel of Genocide

by Shmuley Boteach

What do Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz know about genocide? Well,
apparently enough to know that Israel is committing one in Gaza
against the Palestinians and Hamas.

But seeing their public declaration to that effect, I wondered about
their immersion in the subject.

What, for example, is their position on Erdogan’s Turkey, and why it
is against the law to acknowledge the 1.5 million Armenians
slaughtered by the Ottomans during the First World War?

And what of the Holocaust? Are Penelope and Javier, who are married,
concerned about the repeat of the genocide of the Jews, especially
since the Hamas charter explicitly calls for the murder of all Jews
wherever they may be found, which is in fact a true call for genocide?

And what of the Cambodians. Have Penelope and Javier studied the
killings fields where one third of the Cambodian population was
murdered by Pol Pot and the Khmeier Rouge? Have they at least read
Samantha Power’s excellent book on genocide, A Problem from Hell, and
if so, why have we not heard anything from them on the subject until
now?

Where, for example, were Penelope and Javier in April of this year
during the twentieth commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide? I, of
course, saw Samantha in Kigali. I knew she would never miss it, even
if she were not the American Ambassador to the UN. But Penelope and
Javier were absent. Perhaps they were making a movie. Or perhaps they
were tanning in Malibu. Regardless, are they familiar with the
Interahamwe Hutu militias that macheted the Tutsi to death? Is this
the first time they’ve heard the word? Have they ever reached out to
President Kagame of Rwanda to ask him what a true genocide looks like,
and how to define it?

For that matter, did Penelope and Javier travel to the former
Yugoslavia to gain a better understanding of the genocides that took
place, there, in Bosnia, Srebrenica, and Kosovo?

In other words– before they parroted the obscene, depraved, repulsive
lie that the Jews are committing a genocide of the Palestinians – a
charge laid out by arch anti-Semites Roger Waters and Recep Tayipp
Erdogan, both of whom compared the Jews to the Nazis – did they bother
to even study the Arab-Israeli conflict?

Are they aware that Arab leaders, stretching back to the Mufti of
Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, and going all the way up to Hamas and
Iran in the present day, call for the total annihiliation of the
Jewish State of Israel with its six million inhabitants?

If Israel wants a genocide against the Palestinians, then why does it
allow 1.5 million Israeli Arab citizens to live with total human
rights as citizens of Israel, with more freedom than Arabs anywhere in
the Middle East?

If Israel seeks a genocide of the Palestinians, why did it withdraw
fully from Gaza in 2005? And why, with Hamas firing rockets at most of
Israel’s cities, doesn’t Israel just carpet bomb Gaza? After all, it’s
what the British and we Americans did to Germany and Japan when they
fired rockets against London and other British cities. Churchill’s
response was Hamburg and Dresden, both flattered to the ground.
Roosevelt and Truman’s response was Berlin, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and
Nagasaki, all of which were pulverized.

Indeed, didn’t Penelope and Javier ask themselves why Israel, widely
assumed to possess stockpiles of thermonuclear warheads, didn’t just
decide to nuke Gaza if they want a genocide?

And whoever heard of a genocidal power that uses text messages, phone
calls, leaflets, and other alarms to warn civilians to leave buildings
being used by Hamas to fire rockets? Did the Nazis warn the Poles that
they were going to bomb Warsaw? Did the Hutu warn the Tutsis they were
about to unleash an orgy of killing?

And if it is the Jews, rather than the Hamas who wants dead
Palestinians, then why is Hamas turning Palestinian children into
human shields, walking rocket silos, and human bomb bunkers?

No, one must simply conclude that Penelope and Javier are very
talented actors and dismal students of history. Yet another Hollywood
couple whose talent lies in impersonating characters and who are now
trying to impersonate human rights activists and historians.

That’s bad enough. But when accusing Israel specifically of genocide,
Penelope and Javier have crossed the line from vacant and hypocritical
Hollywood human rights grandstanding into unforgivable anti-Semitism.

And that’s pretty tragic.

Shmuley Boteach, “America’s Rabbi” whom The Washington Post calls ‘the
most famous Rabbi in America’, is the international best-selling
author of 29 books, and will shortly publish “The Fed-up Man of Faith:
Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy and Suffering.” Follow him on
Twitter @RabbiShmuley.

Trend, Azerbaijan
July 31 2014

Sargsyan: Nagorno-Karabakh settlement possible exclusively though
peaceful means

Armenia sees the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict exclusively via peaceful means, under the
negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan said.

He made the remarks during the meeting with the EU Special
Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia,
Herbert Salber, ARKA agency reported.

Sargsyan stressed that one of the major reasons for this approach is
that over more that 20 years the OSCE Minsk Group has gained extensive
experience.

Armenian president believes that the principles laid down by the Minsk
Group can be a basis for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

Meanwhile, the president underscored that the OSCE Minsk Group is only
a mediator in the process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement and makes every effort within its mandate.

He praised the support of the European Union for the peaceful
settlement of the conflict in accordance with the international
principles and with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Salber, for his part, pointed out that his appointment signals the
EU’s willingness to participate in the settlement of existing
conflicts and to cooperate, adding that this is the purpose of his
trip to the region.

During the meeting, Sargsyan and Salber also touched upon the
cooperation between Armenia and EU.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result
of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent
of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven
surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 31 2014

Hrant Dink’s lawyer: PM protecting those involved in Dink murder

Fethiye Çetin, an attorney representing the family of slain
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, slammed Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan on Thursday for his recent remarks about the Dink
murder case and claimed that the government is trying to protect those
who were involved in the assassination.

According to news portal T24, Çetin criticized Erdoðan for saying that
the Hrant Dink case was merely personal and not a complex plan,
saying: “The prime minister is protecting his staff [government
officials] with those words. For example, [former Interior Minister]
Muammer Güler is still a deputy of the Justice and Development Party
[AK Party]. Furthermore, Engin Dinç is chief of intelligence. We also
have Celalettin Cerrah, Reþat Altay… The list can go on. Erdoðan said
those words in order to protect those people and many more.”

Former Trabzon intelligence chief Engin Dinç, who has been accused of
obstructing justice in the Hrant Dink case, was assigned to be the
intelligence chief of the National Police Department. Cerrah is a
former Ýstanbul police chief and Altay was the chief of police in
Trabzon at the time of the murder.

Presidential candidate and Prime Minister Erdoðan made a statement to
the Vatan daily last week while on his way back from an election rally
in Diyarbakýr. “The Hrant Dink case was personal. It is not possible
to compare that with the parallel state [referring to the Hizmet
movement–a civil society organization that Erdoðan has claimed seeks
to overthrow his government]. This parallel state is a security issue.
They [Hizmet movement] intend to take control of government
institutions. It would be a mistake to compare the Dink matter with
the parallel state,” Erdoðan said.

Çetin has claimed that Erdoðan called Hrant Dink’s family after the
assassination in 2007 and told them that he was being targeted, too.
“In a phone call to Hrant Dink’s family, Erdoðan said that those who
murdered Hrant Dink were after him, too. Now I want to ask Erdoðan a
question. Are those who want to kill him just three youngsters? Is it
that simple? Furthermore, how can a person who is running for
president comment so easily on an ongoing investigation?” Çetin asked.

Claiming that the prime minister used the Dink case as political
material in order to weaken his enemies, Çetin said that Erdoðan has
decided not to manipulate the case further for now. “Erdoðan brought
the opposition to its knees. He either put them in prison or he has
them under great pressure. That is why he is no longer using the Dink
case as political material. He used Dink in order to start the
Ergenekon investigation [an investigation of a criminal network that
started five years ago]. But obviously, he does not need it anymore.
If he needs it in the future; however, I believe he could use it
again.” Çetin added.

Dink was shot and killed by an ultra-nationalist teenager in broad
daylight seven years ago. The hitman, Ogün Samast, and 18 others were
brought to trial. During the process, the lawyers for the Dink family
and the co-plaintiffs in the case presented evidence indicating that
Samast did not act alone. Another suspect, Yasin Hayal, was given life
in prison for inciting Samast to murder. However, Erhan Tuncel, who
worked as an informant for the Trabzon Police Department, was found
not guilty of the murder.

Rober Koptaþ, editor-in-chief of the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos,
where Hrant Dink was editor-in-chief at time of his murder, also made
a statement to the T24 news portal on Thursday, saying: “It seems like
the prime minister is not afraid of anything or anyone on his way to
Çankaya [presidential palace] from Kasýmpaþa [the Ýstanbul district
where Erdoðan grew up], but look how he has ended up. The Hrant Dink
assassination is an obvious source of fear for him. In order to cover
up the case, Erdoðan is trying to leave the Hizmet movement holding
the bag. This is a perfect example of Erdogan’s U-turn,” Koptaþ said
in his statement.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Sezgin
Tanrýkulu also criticized Erdoðan on Wednesday for his recent remarks
on the Dink case, claiming that the government is trying to bury the
case.

In a written statement released on Wednesday, Tanrýkulu accused
Erdoðan of not taking any concrete steps in order to capture the
players behind the scenes in the Dink murder. “Dink’s assassination
was not a result of personal enmity. It was nothing but an organized
crime. Although Prime Minister Erdoðan knows about every single person
involved in this murder, the real players still got away with what
they did. Only the gunman was sentenced to a prison term,” Tanrýkulu
said in his written statement.

Indiana Gazette, IN
July 31 2014

Commentary: Sensible immigration reform needed
by DAN THOMASSON on July 30, 2014 10:10 AM

President Barack Obama three weeks ago attended July 4 ceremonies for
25 members of the U.S. armed forces who were sworn in as newly minted
American citizens. It was a quiet, dignified and impressive event that
punctuated the importance of somehow solving what has become the
nation’s most pressing domestic problem: the lack of coherent
immigration policy.

More than that, it seemed an oasis of sanity in the political upheaval
that is bound to be a major issue in the coming midterm elections and
the crisis that deepens daily, aggravated by an onslaught of homeless
children at our borders and the refusal of the Congress to pass the
fiscal wherewithal to deal with it before the coming August recess.

If House Speaker John Boehner is to salvage any hope of being regarded
in history as anything even close to mediocre, he needs to get his
majority Republican troops in line with a reasonable solution or reach
some compromise with the administration.

The president has asked for more than $3 billion to meet the current
challenge, and under the circumstances, it seems like a reasonable
request. If Republicans on the far right don’t think so, Boehner
should demand they at least propose their own solutions.

What’s the alternative? Should we haul tens of thousands of children
back to some jungle or urban nightmare and just dump them?

Be that as it may, during his brief remarks to the new citizens Obama
noted that they had stepped up to risk their lives to prove the
sincerity of their intentions, that as a nation of immigrants millions
before them had proven that democracy would never have been sustained
without their sacrifice.

The president quoted no less an authority on what it means to be an
American than a naturalized citizen whose own youthful escape from the
horrors of oppression early in the last century is an inspiration for
us all.

Master chef, restaurateur, author, entrepreneur and philanthropist and
Presidential Medal of Freedom winner George Mardikian survived the
genocidal policies imposed on his Armenian homeland to dedicate his
life to promoting the freedoms he found here.

“You who have been born in America, I wish I could make you understand
what it is like not to be an American — not to have been an American
all your life — and then, suddenly, to be one for that moment and
forever after,” Obama quoted Mardikian, whose 1956 book, the “Song of
America,” has sold millions of copies.

The president noted that in many sites around the country that same
day immigrants were becoming citizens. Many had sacrificed for years
to get “to this moment and forever after.”

Whatever one thinks of this president, to believe that nothing from
now through the election of a new chief executive two years from now
can be expected is perhaps the saddest and in many ways the most
frightening prospect this nation has seen in a long time. Immigration
needs to be solved as do a half dozen crucial issues or why should we
elect a Congress?

Mardikian’s biography lists his political affiliation as Republican
but it was a Democrat president, Harry Truman, who awarded him the
nation’s highest civilian honor for his contribution to liberty.

He was a friend of Herbert Hoover, a Republican, and is quoted by a
Democrat, Obama.

Is it not possible today then for Republicans and Democrats to
recognize the contribution of each other for the good of the whole
without sacrificing one’s convictions? If not, Mardikian and those who
were inspired by his view of a shining, welcoming country where one
could live in peace and freedom and prosper is increasingly fantasy.

Ideology certainly has a place in politics but it should not override
every reasonable consideration. One’s social beliefs are his or her
own but they need not be imposed on those who hold other ideas, and
there always should be room it seems to me for compromise.

An unwillingness to reform what clearly requires fixing, a capricious,
hide-ously expensive (in both money and its toll on our citizenry)
lack of coherence in immigration policy, could be the rock this
country eventually founders on.

If we don’t find a way to accommodate the Mardik-ians among the masses
who want to huddle here, where will we be ultimately?

,20318943/