Author: Badalian Vardan

ANCA-SGV ENDORSES TONY MENDOZA FOR STATE SENATE

Wednesday, January 29th, 2014

Tony Mendoza (center) with ANCA-SGV representatives

MONTEBELLO–The Armenian National Committee of America- San
Gabriel Valley is pleased to announce their endorsement of former
Assemblymember Tony Mendoza for the California State Senate seat in
the 32nd district. Primary elections for newly-drawn district will be
held on June 3. The two top vote-getters will move on to the general
elections on November 4.

The Chairman of the ANCA-SGV, Viken Pakradouni stated “Tony Mendoza is
a highly-qualified candidate with years of experience in this region.

We believe that he can make a significant difference for the
communities in this district. The Armenian-American community can
count on Tony Mendoza to advance our issues of concern and prioritize
our community’s needs.”

Mendoza has been an elementary school teacher in East Los Angeles
for over ten years. In 1997, he was elected to a seat on the Artesia
City Council, which he would hold for three successful terms. After
a successful campaign in 2006, Mendoza was elected to the California
State Assembly as the representative of the 56th district. Tony
Mendoza has demonstrated a strong track record of tackling challenges
and working for the betterment of the communities he represents.

Throughout the years, Mendoza has been a tireless advocate for
underserved communities, authoring several bills that promote access
to health and education.

The 32nd Senate district incorporates the communities of Artesia,
Bellflower, Buena Park, Cerritos, Commerce, Downey, Hacienda Heights,
Hawaiian Gardens, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Lakewood, Los Nietos,
Montebello, Norwalk, Pico Rivera, Rose Hills, Santa Fe Springs and
South Whittier.

The Armenian National Committee of America- San Gabriel Valley is a
local chapter of the largest and most influential Armenian-American
grassroots advocacy organization in the United States. The ANCA-SGV
advances the issues of the region’s Armenian-American community on
the local, state and federal level.

VIDEO. HOLLANDE : “LE TRAVAIL DE MEMOIRE” DE LA TURQUIE SUR LE DRAME ARMENIEN “DOIT ETRE FAIT”

Francetv info-
27 janv. 2014

Le president francais s’est exprime a ce sujet a Ankara, lors de la
conference de presse conjointe avec son homologue turc, Abdullah Gul.

Par Francetv info

Mis a jour le 27/01/2014 | 18:32 , publie le 27/01/2014 | 18:22

Pour Francois Hollande, la Turquie devrait faire son “travail de
memoire” sur lesmassacres de centaines de milliers d’Armeniens par
l’empire ottoman en 1915. C’est ce qu’il a dit lors de la conference
de presse conjointe avec son homologue turc, Abdullah Gul. “Le travail
de memoire est toujours douloureux, mais doit etre fait”, a estime le
president de la Republique, lundi 27 janvier. La Turquie a toujours
refuse de qualifier les evenements de 1915 de “genocide”.

Interroge sur une eventuelle nouvelle loi francaise reprimant la
negation du genocide, le chef de l’Etat assure que la France “fera
le droit et rien que le droit”. Les relations franco-turques sont
emaillees de crises a repetition depuis l’adoption, en 2001, par le
Parlement francais, d’une loi reconnaissant le genocide armenien,
suivie de tentatives legislatives avortees pour en reprimer la
negation.

La dernière en date, adoptee en decembre 2011 par le Parlement avec le
soutien de Nicolas Sarkozy, a ete invalidee en fevrier par le Conseil
constitutionnel. Juste après son election, Francois Hollande avait
confirme qu’il souhaitait penaliser la negation du genocide armenien.

LA FRANCE DEFEND LA CAUSE ARMéNIENNE EN TURQUIE

Respect Mag – France
28 janv. 2014

28 JANVIER, 2014
Par: Matthieu Windey

En déplacement en Turquie le 27 janvier, Francois Hollande a appelé
le gouvernement de Recep Tayyip Erdogan a assumer son ” travail de
mémoire ” sur le génocide arménien.

En visite a Ankara, Francois Hollande a défendu le devoir de l’Etat
turc a reconnaitre le génocide arménien. Les relations entre la
Turquie et la France se sont refroidies ces dernières années,
notamment sous la présidence de Nicolas Sarkozy. Ces tensions
remontent a l’adoption d’un texte reconnaissant le génocide arménien
par le Parlement francais. En réaction a l’appel du président de la
République francaise, son homologue turc Abdullah Gul a déclaré : ”
Il ne faut pas faire revivre aux générations futures les souffrances
vécues il y a cent ans ”.

Mardi 27 janvier, Francois Hollande rencontrera Rakel Dink, la veuve
d’un journaliste arménien abattu par un nationaliste turc en 2007. Peu
après son élection, le président francais s’était engagé en faveur
d’une pénalisation de la négation du génocide arménien en France.

HISTORICAL NEIGHBORHOOD REBUILT IN DOWNTOWN FRESNO

ABC30.com, CA
Jan 28 2014

Gene Haagenson
More: Bio, E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Articles by Gene Haagenson, News Team

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A tiny new neighborhood in Downtown Fresno
is waiting to be brought back to life.

The City of Fresno moved and rebuilt five old houses in the area known
as Armenian Town. The houses are tucked in right next to the Highway 41
Freeway on the corner of M Street and Santa Clara. Fresno’s Historic
Preservation Officer, Karana Hattersley-Drayton said the neighborhood
the oldest part of the city.

“This whole neighborhood was part of the original Central Pacific,
later Southern Pacific railroad town, meaning the original grid mix
of people and then by the First World War in particular it was almost
exclusively Armenian and that’s why they say this is part of that 60
block area called Armenian Town,” Hattersley-Drayton said.

Around the turn of this century the houses were going to be torn
down to make way for a state Court of Appeals building and a proposed
commercial development. But historic groups including Heritage Fresno
went to court to force the city of Fresno’s Redevelopment Agency
to save them. After the legal battles the houses were moved to one
parcel and sat there for a decade before finally being restored.

“RDA and their consultants did a fabulous job they took it to heart,
so all pieces were catalogued and saved. Some things were old, they
fell apart, but everything was stripped painted, kept, stained glass
windows repaired,” Hattersley- Drayton said.

Now the homes are in limbo. The recession stalled plans for an adjacent
development. And the dissolution of the city’s Redevelopment Agency
by the state has made things complicated. The plan to turn the houses
into homes or offices appears to be stalled.

Doug Vagim is with Heritage Fresno, the group that fought to save
the houses. He believes it’s time for the houses to be put to use.

“The only way to make the best of it is to open this up, get this
fence out of here and let those who are interested in doing something
to actually come in and do what they want to do. Right now no one
can do anything,” Vagim said.

The director of Fresno’s former redevelopment agency, Marlene Murphy,
said the hope is to have the original developer of the Armenian Town
project, Gunnar Andros Construction take over. Murphy said another
plan is to sell the homes to an interested party, within the next year.

HOLLANDE IN TURKEY IN BID TO IMPROVE TIES

RFI (English)
January 27, 2014 Monday

French President Francois Hollande, in Turkey for a two day visit
aimed at improving relations between between the two countries,
on Monday attended a ceremony at the mausoleum of modern …

He then met his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, on what is the
first state visit by a French president in 22 years.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s outspoken opposition to
any future membership of the European Union for Turkey strained
relationships between Paris and Ankara.

And relations hit an all-time low after French lawmakers passed a
bill in 2011 making it a crime to deny that the mass killings of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I constituted genocide.

Although the legislation was later declared invalid by France’s
constitutional court, it severely damaged business ties.

However France is now keen to benefit from Turkey’s economic growth
and Hollande is accompanied by seven cabinet ministers, and a business
delegation.

Deals are expected to be signed in various fields including nuclear
energy and infrastructure projects.

France’s share of the Turkish market halved to three percent between
2009 and 2012 just as Turkey was growing as an emerging economic power,
tripling the size of its economy over the 10 years to 2012.

But French companies enjoyed a more successful 2013, sealing deals
in Turkey worth 15 billion euros.

Following his talks in Ankara, Hollande will head to Istanbul
to attend an economic forum bringing together Turkish and French
business leaders.

On the political front, the trip comes at a particularly difficult
time for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is embroiled
in a widening corruption scandal that has implicated members of his
inner circle, including ministers and reportedly his own son.

Erdogan blames his woes on what he says is a coup plot by supporters of
an erstwhile ally, US-exiled Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who hold
positions of influence in many parts of the state apparatus including
the police and courts.

But his response to the graft probe, a wholesale purge of police and
prosecutors and moves to tighten government controls on the judiciary,
has provoked deep concerns about the state of democracy in Turkey.

Hollande is expected to follow the line of European leaders who met
Erdogan on his visit to Brussels last week aimed at advancing Turkey’s
EU membership bid.

Paris wants to press home the point that accession talks will not
progress unless Ankara upholds its commitments “to the rule of law,
separation of powers, independence of the judiciary and the respect
for basic freedoms,” a presidential source said.

Negotiations between Brussels and the country of 76 million people
only resumed in November; after a three-year freeze.

Hollande has so far deflected questions on his own view towards Turkey,
saying the EU has ruled out membership before 2020, after his first
term in office ends.

This is also President Hollande’s first trip abroad since his
announcement on Saturday that he has split from his longstanding
partner Valerie Trierweiler.

RITES-OF-PASSAGE TALE SKILFULLY EXPLORES ETHNIC TENSIONS

The Independent (London)
January 27, 2014 Monday
First Edition

BYREVIEW BY LUCY POPESCU

Pg. 42

Aka Morchiladze’s extraordinary novella opens and closes in Georgia
following the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the civil unrest
that ensues, 24-year-old Gio and his slacker friends discover, if
you’re not a member of the “mkhedrioni” militia in Tbilisi there’s
little to do except drink, smoke and get laid.

Gio comes from a wealthy family and wants for nothing, but is tired of
his aimless existence and a domineering father who makes most of his
decisions for him. The previous year, Gio had fallen for a beautiful,
melancholy prostitute: “Yana was everything to me. She embodied
something I never even knew I wanted, something I had never even
dreamed of. I think she represented the very thing people live for.”

His father disapproved of their relationship and when Yana became
pregnant with his child they were forced to split up.

Now, listless and with nothing better on offer, Gio is persuaded by
his best friend Goglik to drive them across the border to Ganja in
order to buy cheap drugs for an acquaintance. But this is a road trip
with a difference. As darkness falls, Gio unwittingly drives into
Karabakh, a hotly disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and the friends are chased and shot at by a menacing group of Azeris
in a 4×4. Taken prisoner, the hapless pair are beaten up and thrown
into a cell with Rafik, an Armenian military commander. In the middle
of a shoot-out, Gio escapes with Rafik, leaving Goglik behind.

Over the next four days, in a remote village, supposedly a guest of
Rafik and his gaggle of Armenian soldiers, Gio reflects on his past,
his family and the girlfriend they refused to accept. He admits to
himself, “If there’s one thing I know for sure it’s that I don’t know
anything.” Morchiladze’s narrator may be volatile but he’s honest.

Despite being in the middle of a war zone, Gio starts to feels more
tranquil. Liberated from familial constraints, he is finally able to
think for himself. When three Russian journalists turn up to write
about the Armenian side of the conflict, Gio realises that he may not
be as free as he had thought and plans a daring and dangerous escape.

Gio’s rite of passage through geographical and emotional conflict
is as entertaining as it is illuminating about ethnic tensions in
the region. His increasing cynicism and despair is also emblematic
of Georgia’s own strife as various factions fight for control. As
Morchiladze wryly suggests, sometimes the fight for liberty throws
up more limitations than the repression it seeks to escape.

Order for £10 (free p&p) from the Independent Bookshop: 08430 600 030

POLICE BLOCK ARMY DAY DEMONSTRATORS, USE FORCE ON MOTHERS OF SLAIN SOLDIERS (VIDEO)

01.28.2014 19:23 epress.am

Police officers prohibited members of the initiative Army in Reality
and four mothers of slain soldiers to approach the National Academic
Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Alexander Spendiaryan, where
there was a gala concert to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of Armenia’s
Armed Forces.

Rally participants demonstrating under the slogan “No to violence
and killings in the army” today at 4:45 pm gathered near Aram
Khachaturian’s statue, where about a dozen police officers awaited
them, forming a human chain and preventing demonstrators from
approaching the opera building.

Later, when demonstrators attempted to approach the building from
Mashtots Blvd., police used force, pushing and shoving the peaceful
demonstrators.

At 5:15 pm, demonstrators gathered near the back entrance of the
building, but again a dozen police officers blocked their way.

Later, demonstrators were allowed to enter Liberty Square (adjacent
to the opera building) to rally. At this time, well-known activist
Vardges Gaspari lay down on the red carpet outside the opera entrance
and was promptly detained by police.

VARUJAN VOSGANIAN AGAIN INTRODUCES IN NOBEL PRIZE OF LITERATURE

15:10, 28 January, 2014

BUCHAREST, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. The Writers’ Union of Romania
on January 27 decided to offer Varujan Vosganian’s candidature in
2014 Literature Nobel Prize. Three other Romanian writers novelists
Nicolae Breban, Norman Manea, as well as poet Mircea Cãrtãrescu are
included in the list of the candidates.

“Armenpress” reports citing Romanian MEDIAFAX News Agency that the
Chairman of the Writers’ Union of Romania Nicolae Manolescu informed
that “literary value of their works and translation into foreign
languages” served as a standard for introducing above mentioned four
writers in Nobel Prize.

Author of “Whispers” novel which was translated into many languages
and won international fame Varujan Vosganian was as well introduced
in Nobel Prize of Literature by three countries at the same time last
year – Romania, Armenia and Israel.

The Book of Whispers begins in a picturesque register, on a lane
of the Armenian quarter of Focºani in the 1950s, among the steam of
freshly roasted coffee and the scents of grandmother Armenuhi’s larder,
among the old books and photographs of grandfather Garabet.

But the reader is not left to savour the intimacy of this hearth
and home and nor is he invited to chat with the merry folk who in
peacetime spin stories about Ara the Fair and Tigran the Great. Varujan
Vosganian’s “old Armenians from childhood” have no delectable tales to
tell, but rather events that are thoroughly disturbing. In narrating
these events, they attempt to disburden themselves of a trauma –
their own and that of their forbears.

The history of the 1915 genocide against the Armenians, the history
of the interminable convoys of those banished into the Circles of
Death, into the Deir ez Zor Desert, the secret history of Armenian
freemasonry in Romania, of General Dro’s army, the history of the
Armenians who followed the path of exile in the Stalinist period –
all these and many other biographically filtered histories are to be
found illustrated in the pages of this unsettling book.

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDS ARMEN HOVHANNISYAN WITH 1ST DEGREE MEDAL “FOR SERVICES DELIVERED TO HOMELAND”

15:32, 28 January, 2014

YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. By the decree of the President Serzh
Sargsyan the military servicemen who displayed exceptional bravery and
personal courage in the protection of borders of homeland, professional
high preparedness, selflessness when displaying service duty under risk
of life-threatening conditions, as well as the servicemen who threw
back the rival and suspended the attempts of penetration of subversive
groups of the rival in line of contact of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani
opposing armies in the north-eastern direction at night on January
19-20 were awarded with high state awards on the occasion of Army Day.

“Armenpress” was informed from the Department for Mass Media and Public
Relations of the President’s staff of the Republic of Armenia that
Armen Levon HOVHANNISYAN section leader of No. 49971 military unit,
Junior Sergeant (posthumously) was awarded with 1st degree medal
“For services delivered to homeland”.

US, BRITISH SPIES USE ‘ANGRY BIRDS’

12:44 * 28.01.14

US and British spy agencies routinely try to gain access to personal
data from Angry Birds and other mobile applications, BBC News says,
citing a report.

A National Security Agency (NSA) document shows location, websites
visited and contacts are among the data targeted from mobile
applications.

It is the latest revelation from documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

In a statement, the NSA said it was not interested in data beyond
“valid foreign intelligence targets”.

“Any implication that NSA’s foreign intelligence collection is focused
on the smartphone or social media communications of everyday Americans
is not true,” the statement said.

The report, published by the New York Times, ProPublica and the
Guardian, said the NSA and Britain’s GCHQ have worked together since
2007 to develop ways to gain access to information from applications
for mobile phones and tablets.

The scale of data gathering is unclear.

But the reports suggest data is gained from a variety of mapping,
gaming and social networking applications, using techniques similar
to the ones used to intercept mobile internet traffic and text
message data.

The documents also reveal the two agencies are increasingly convinced
of the importance of mobile applications data.

The joint spying programme “effectively means that anyone using Google
Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system” one 2008
document from the British intelligence agency is quoted as saying.

Another GCHQ report, in 2012, laid out how to extract information
from Angry Birds user information from phones on the Android operating
system. The game has been download 1.7 billion times across the world.

The British spy agency said it would not comment on intelligence
matters, but insisted that all of its activities were “authorised,
necessary and proportionate”.

Another NSA document described a “golden nugget” – a perfect scenario
where NSA analysts could get broad selections of information from
the applications, including networks the phone had connected to,
documents downloaded, websites visited and “buddy lists”.

Other applications mentioned by the documents include the photo-sharing
site Flickr, movie-based social network Flixster and applications
that connect to Facebook.

Armenian News – Tert.am