Author: Badalian Vardan

APA, Azerbaijan
June 9 2012

Abdullah Gul: `Insha’Allah, all territories of Azerbaijan occupied by
Armenia will be liberated’

[ 09 Jun 2012 13:13 ]

Baku. Konul Jafarli – APA. Turkish President Abdullah Gul held a
briefing for journalists during his visit to Igdir province of Turkey
and touched upon the future of the Caucasus.

Gul said they were working much for ensuring peace in the Caucasus,
APA reports quoting IRIB. `Insha’Allah, all territories of Azerbaijan
occupied by Armenia will be liberated, the events happened in the past
will be forgotten mutually. Insha’Allah, we will ensure long-lasting
peace in the Caucasus and the region will be a gate between Asia and
Europe’.

Voice of America
June 9 2012

Honoring Rights Workers In Armenia
Civil society plays a critical role in securing fundamental freedoms and rights.

On a recent visit to Armenia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
commended the country for `continuing to work to strengthen [its]
democratic institutions to promote transparency, advance the rights of
a free press, root out corruption, respect universal rights and
freedoms.’

Civil society plays a critical role in securing fundamental freedoms
and rights. That’s why Secretary Clinton along with the British
Embassy, the OSCE, the EU, and Counterpart International honored
Armenian civil rights activists, government officials, and media
representatives for their work to promote human rights, accountable
government, and free speech.

Artur Sakunts received the Freedom Defender Award for defending all
minorities, especially those that are the target of intolerance, such
as ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities.

The Woman of Courage Award went to Tsovinar Nazaryan for her military
reform efforts to bring about a more modern, effective, and humane
force for Armenia. Deputy Chief of Police, Major-General Artur
Osikyan was recognized for his contributions to police reform, laying
the foundation for a transparent and accountable police force that
works for the citizens of Armenia.

The award for media excellence went to the editors of Epress.am —
Sonya Apresova, Yuri Manvelyan, and Armen Melikbekyan — for their
fair and balanced coverage and commitment to human rights reporting.
Such journalism plays an important part in advancing democratization
in Armenia.

Finally, several environmental activists – Apres Zohrabyan, Yeghia
Nereseyan, Gor Hakobyan, Mary Khachatryan, and Ruzanna Grigoryan –
were honored for their grassroots campaign to promote environmental
conservation in Armenia.

These men and women, said Secretary Clinton, demonstrate that `change
begins with a group of courageous activists who fight to stop
environmental degradation so Armenians can live healthier lives,
begins with journalists who raise awareness about human rights
violations, and a dedicated public servant who pushes the police to
reform.’

Interfax, Russia
June 8 2012

NATO and Azerbaijan want to broaden relations – alliance official

BAKU. June 8

NATO is pleased with the level of relations it has with Azerbaijan, a
contributor to the peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan, the
alliance’s Liaison Officer on the South Caucasus Region William Lahue
told journalists on Friday.

Azerbaijan and NATO are interested in further promoting and expanding
their relations, he said.

A vivid example of it is the peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan, he added.

Commenting on Azerbaijan’s role in the non-aligned movement, Lahue
said that every country is entitled to make its own choice of policy.

Every country makes its own choice regarding its policy, Lahue said,
adding that Azerbaijan’s position was not standing in the way of its
relations with NATO.

NATO supports the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) Minsk Group, which has been mediating in Armenian-Azeri talks
on a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said.

Xinhua General News Service, China
June 8, 2012 Friday 10:25 AM EST

Vietnamese leaders meet with Armenian President in Hanoi

HANOI June 8

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central
Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and
National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung respectively met with
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in capital Hanoi on Friday during
his visit to Vietnam.

At the meeting, Trong spoke highly of Serzh Sargsyan’s official visit
to Vietnam, saying that Vietnam always attaches importance to
relations between the two countries.

Trong applauded the remarkable results Armenia has achieved in recent
years and expressed his hope to further develop the fine relationships
between Vietnam-Armenia for the benefit of the two nations and
regional stability.

For his part, Serzh Sargsyan congratulated Vietnam’s achievements in
the innovation progress under the leadership of the Vietnamese
Communist Party and applauded Vietnam’s role and position in regional
and world arena.

Armenia is willing to further cooperate with Vietnam in all fields,
especially in economics, trade, science-technology, education and
training, and tourism, he said.

On the same day, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and
National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung met with Armenian
President respectively, during which both sides agreed to promote
bilateral ties in the coming years.

UN Committee Against Torture concerned over Armenian Criminal Code

news.am
June 09, 2012 | 20:24

YEREVAN. – The Armenian Government must take legislative measures to
eradicate torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) report on Armenia
states.

CAT is concerned, as the Armenian Criminal Code does not define
torture properly and does not make officials accountable for torture.
The issue of the Armenian Army has also attracted the attention of
CAT. The Committee is concerned over the deaths of Armenian servicemen
who annually die because of suicide or incited suicide.

The Committee calls on the Armenian Authorities to conduct independent
investigations on such incidents, to punish the guilty and to
compensate the families of the dead soldiers. To note, the report was
published after the consideration of the report on the implementation
of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment by Armenia.

ANCA Endorse Shuttleworth Against Moran

by Armenian Weekly
June 7, 2012

Northern Virginia Challenger Seeks to Unseat Incumbent who Opposes
Armenian Genocide Recognition in June 12th Democratic Primary

WASHINGTON – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has
endorsed challenger Bruce Shuttleworth, a retired Navy fighter pilot
seeking to unseat incumbent Representative Jim Moran in Virginia’s 8th
Congressional District, which spans Arlington and Alexandria to
Springfield, McLean, Annandale, and Falls Church, home to a large
Armenian American community. The Democratic primary will be held on
June 12.

ANCA Endorse Shuttleworth Against Moran
Both candidates filled out the ANCA’s candidate questionnaire with
Shuttleworth standing out as the only candidate to unequivocally
support Armenian Genocide recognition, Nagorno Karabakh’s right to
independence and U.S. pressure on Turkey to end its blockade of
Armenia.

`The ANCA is proud to endorse Bruce Shuttleworth, a war veteran, who
understands that we can neither advance our interests nor enhance our
security by running away from our core values,’ said ANCA Government
Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian, who lives in the 8th Congressional
District.

`We look forward to informing the Armenian American community in
Virginia’s 8th District of the stark choice they face and getting out
the vote in support of Mr. Shuttleworth, who will be a courageous
voice for truth and integrity in American foreign policy in the
region,’ explained Sevan Kolejian, ANCA of Greater Washington
Co-Chair.

Shuttleworth, who spoke with the ANCA at the recent Alexandria
Armenian Festival and was recently profiled in The Washington Post, is
a graduate of Annapolis, who flew missions over Somalia and Bosnia.
He has received an MBA from Harvard and works as a management
consultant. His campaign, which stresses his commitment to ethical
governance, has pushed to increase accountability for conflicts of
interest in Congress.

`I will be proud to be a passionate voice in Congress in support of
Armenia and their long-oppressed rights. The world will be a better,
safer place when more world leaders acknowledge facts, even
uncomfortable and inconvenient ones. With more than one million
Armenians killed between 1915 and 1923, there should be no doubt that
what happened was a crime against humanity that should rightfully be
classified as genocide,’ said Shuttleworth, in a statement to ANCA of
Greater Washington, DC.

Shuttleworth has explained, `The most enviable of all titles is that
of an honest man and that title is my special interest.’

Moran began his service in the U.S. House as a supporter of Armenian
American issues, but has shifted into opposition to the community’s
concerns, most notably in the form of his high-profile efforts, in
league with genocide deniers, to block legislation commemorating the
Armenian Genocide.

In the last session of Congress, Moran received an `F’ grade from the
ANCA. He has opposed Armenian Genocide resolutions, explaining, as he
did in a 2010 constituent letter, that `it has drawn sharp opposition
from Turkey and could significantly undermine U.S.-Turkish relations
and complicate efforts to sustain the U.S. military effort in Iraq.’
In response to the 2012 ANCA Questionnaire, Moran explained his
willingness to compromise America’s moral stand against genocide by
noting that he `conditioned [his] support on implications this
resolution may impose on our military and national security interest
in the Middle East.’

Despite having a considerable Armenian American constituency, Moran
has not supported a single Armenian American initiative in the past 5
years, yet has spearheaded a bill to negotiate a free trade agreement
with Turkey, although Turkey has repeatedly ignored the United States’
calls to end its blockade of landlocked Armenia, which is impeding
vital East-West trade routes and undermining U.S. interests in the
region. He has also cosponsored H.R.2362, an unprecedented bill,
which would exclude all countries, except Turkey, from eligibility for
trade and investment preferences on Indian tribal lands. This
preferential pro-Turkey legislation was opposed by the ANCA, American
Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), PSEKA, and the
Armenian Assembly. In addition, Rep. Moran did not cosponsor the
Return of Churches resolution (H.Res. 306), which enjoyed strong
bipartisan support, overwhelmingly passed the House in December, 2011,
and called on Turkey to return church properties and respect religious
freedom. He did, however, cosponsor H.Res.638 in the last Congress,
which, ignoring Turkey’s discrimination and oppression of its
minorities, claimed that `the United States and Turkey share common
values of democracy, diversity, tolerance. . . .’

The Democratic primary will be on Tuesday, June 12th and the ANCA
looks forward to encouraging Armenian Americans to get out and vote in
support of Bruce Shuttleworth.

To learn more about how you can support the Shuttleworth for Congress
campaign, visit:

Will Turkey Intervene?

NATO is reviewing the policy and position of Turkey but this discussion is
still an informal conversation with a certain extent of openness and
scrutiny, rather than official or working discussions.

NATO member states which have certain agreements on common and other
political issues have launched relevant consultations, involving also the
military. Earlier the main initiators of this discussion were France and
Greece but now basically all NATO member states are interested in it. NATO
cannot be isolated from common political problems and processes and is
involved in the political discussion in one way or another which dwells on
the problems of behavior of different states.

Recently the United States has been interested in spreading this discussion
but is trying to stay an outsider, enabling other states to take the
initiative on the problems of the Turkish policy.

The opinion that Turkey formally observes NATO statutes is not true. Turkey
is setting forth increasingly more unrealistic demands on behalf of NATO,
first of all on the issues of activities of the alliance regarding
different defense and security issues. Besides the problems of Cyprus,
Turkey demands from NATO major efforts to ensure its defense and security
although there are no real threats. For instance, it has demanded
assistance to attend to minor misunderstanding on the
borderwith Syria.

In other words, not only is it trying to involve NATO in the regional
conflict but gets involved in these processes itself, using the legitimate
decision of NATO. During the preparation of NATO summit in
ChicagoTurkey
demanded not to change the communiqué on conflicts and crises,
including the Karabakh conflict. It totally contradicts to the goals of
NATO and the nature of its policy. A more important problem is the
destructive position of Turkey on the Security Pact signed between the EU
and NATO.

Experts think NATO and the EU are becoming increasingly worried about
Turkish activities in the Balkans where it supports unilaterally the Muslim
countries and ethnicities, which is contrary to the principles and policy
of the West. According to experts, NATO’s activities in the Mediterranean
and the Near East could
be more active were there not the threat of Turkey’s military intervention
as a member of NATO.

The military maneuvers of the United States, Greece and Israel in the
Mediterranean did not involve Turkey on the latter’s wish. At the same
time, new interests of different countries and groups are forming in the
Mediterranean who are creating new regional blocs. In the West
Mediterranean new realities will emerge in defense and security areas.

Currently the relations between Greece and Turkey in the areas of defense
and arms are transparent, they know about each other everything they need.
But it does not mean that there are no problems in these relations. Turkey
wants to lead the race for weapons and Greece has reported this to NATO for
a number of times.

Greece is not trying to form a military or a political bloc in the Balkans
against Turkey. That would be absurd and impossible, considering the
legality of Greece to NATO and the European Union. Nevertheless, it is
impossible to overlook Turkish expansion in the Balkans. Greece thinks that
it has played an important role in defending the rights of orthodox people
in the Balkans with war and missions of NATO. The situation in the region
could have been different, much fairer if Greece did not participate in
NATO discussions and peacekeeping missions.

The key issue in the relations of the EU and NATO with Turkey remains the
issue of Cyprus. At the same time, there is a more serious issue with a
long-term and strategic meaning, namely the regional policy of Turkey which
worries the West. This aspect of the problems will render the Turkish
policy a leading factor of the new crisis in NATO. This crisis has already
begun.

Considering the recent developments, of interest are the reflections on a
possible Turkish intervention in a possible conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan and NATO’s point of view on the Turk-Azerbaijani treaty on
defense and security. Nothing can be ruled out in the large-scale war,
especially if Azerbaijan is defeated. NATO has no evaluations. There are
evaluations of the state of the military forces of the South Caucasian
states based on information from different sources of the region.

Despite considerable acquisition of weapons by Azerbaijan, Armenia and
Azerbaijan still maintain the balance and to some extent Armenia continues
to have advantage in terms of both arms and effectiveness of military
personnel. Azerbaijan has a lot of problems in the army and is not ready to
launch a war in accordance with the plans it has worked out. Turkey knows
about this.

The key external preventive factor is the cooperation of Armenia with
Russia and CSTO. In the regions of the Black Sea and the Caucasus the
balance between the key states of Russia and Turkey is maintained.

NATO and the EU do not approve Turkish interference in the possible
development, and if Turkey makes up its mind, the issue of its stay in NATO
will be brought up automatically. However, it will have big trouble because
it will thus lose its role in international and economic relations, tough
sanctions will be imposed which will be difficult to overcome. NATO and the
EU, as well as the United States and France are interested in Armenia, and
they are ready to help not only the preparation of Armenia to war but also
hold a pro-Armenian position in the dialogue with Turkey.

The agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan is not legitimate from the
point of view of NATO statutes and rules. Turkey has not discussed this
agreement with NATO and has thus withdrawn it from consideration by the
alliance. In accordance with this agreement, Turkey must provide military
assistance to Azerbaijan, that is military intervention. However, it is
contrary to NATO statutes and rules. NATO members have no right to military
actions without a resolution of NATO or UN. No resolution is expected from
either in case of a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The result of
Turkish intervention will be its secession from NATO.

As to how decisions on defining the aggressor in a possible war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan will be made, NATO and the international community
will know who the aggressor will be but they will hardly give a unilateral
assessment. NATO and the EU will try to stop military actions, using
political levers.

The U.S. administration has good information on the situation in the South
Caucasus and has no illusions regarding the simplicity of the settlement of
the Karabakh issue. The United States will most probably try to demonstrate
to the affected side – Azerbaijan – and to its ally Turkey its readiness to
make efforts to resolve this problem. Obama administration would also like
to demonstrate its positive attitude to Armenia and the U.S.-based
Armenians.

The United States aims to ignore the French and Russian policy in the
region, first of all regarding the Karabakh issue. At the same time, there
are no significant differences between the U.S. relations with the United
States and France. The Americans allow for the political and diplomatic
efforts of France and intends to use its influence on Armenia. Russia is
given the role of an independent actor in the process of settlement,
keeping its role in the Minsk Group. Although, there may be a U-turn in the
U.S.-Russian relations on the Caucasian region.

These thoughts reflect the real state of things, and it would be wrong to
deny the main constraints on Turkish intervention in the war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan but in a big regional war the reality will be
significantly modified. The U.S. and NATO proceed from the assumption of a
controlled war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which will allow them
prevent further escalation in the region on which the current views of the
Atlantic policy makers and politicians are based.

Will Turkey be reluctant to see its protectorate Azerbaijan defeated,
especially if it understands that all its partners in NATO want the
military defeat of Azerbaijan and, at the same time, a strong
Turkish-Russian confrontation to show Turkey its real place in the regional
policy?

Igor Muradyan

16:21:30 – 09/06/2012

49 Marriages During the Previous Month

Friday, 08 June 2012 13:21

In May 49 marriages were recorded in Artsakh. As we got informed at
the NKR Ministry of Justice 18 of the 49 marriages were registered in
the Registry Office of Stepanakert.

Of all the regions most marriages were registered in Martouni and
Mardakert with 9 and 7 marriages respectively. No marriages were
recorded in Shahoumyan.

5 of 10 divorces fall to Stepanakert. During May no divorces were
registered in the regional registry offices of Mardakert, Hadrout and
Shahoumyan.

Within the mentioned period 226 births were recorded in the Republic,
the greater part of them, 105 births, were registered in Stepanakert.
According to the number of births Askeran region is in the second
place with 26 births and Mardakert is the third with 25 births.

In May 107 deaths were recorded in the Republic with 46 of them in Stepanakert.

Karabakh-open.info

A railway resthouse and a train of thoughtR. V. Smith

[image: down memory lane 11]
down memory lane 11

The death of Aubrey Ceastan recently was a reminder of the contribution of
the Armenian community to the country’s history

After Faridabad, the Tughlakabad railway resthouse holds a special place of
interest for those nostalgic about times past. One may doubt the story of
the Bhawal Sanyasi having visited it in the course of his wanderings for
justice, which he eventually got when Sir Dingle Foot, Q.C. (Queen’s
Counsel) proved before the Privy Council in London that he was indeed the
Kumar of Bhawal State (now in Bangladesh). He had been poisoned by his rani
(the wife of his elder brother, whom he had married as per custom after the
former’s death). But as fate would have it, his funeral pyre was doused by
a sudden thunderstorm and a group of sadhus passing by, seeing signs of
life in him, rescued the Kumar. The grateful prince accompanied the sadhus
through jungles and towns for 12 years, until he was in a position to stake
his claim in the Calcutta High Court and provide proof of his royal
identity at the Privy Council.

Why he came to Tughlakabad is not known but, according to the grapevine, he
had come to seek the blessings of an Armenian seer in his quest for
justice. The holy man had once been a railway employee, but a dream and a
meeting with a wizard made him adopt monastic life. But why did this
Armenian sadhu decide to make his home in that suburb of Delhi? There are
no clear-cut answers available, though it was once believed that some
Armenians had settled down in that place after the massacre of Armenians in
1739 during the invasion of Nadir Shah.

Kishanganj, between Old Delhi and Sarai Rohila stations, has a cemetery
where some Armenians and Dutch, who at one time were notable members of the
royal court at the Red Fort, are buried. Like the Bourbons, these Armenians
also bade goodbye to Delhi in the reign of Mohammad Shah Rangila. The
Bourbons were worried about their women being forced by the pleasure-loving
emperor to join his harem.

They found refuge with the Raja of Narwar, where one night several of them
were murdered by the raja’s men for some unknown reason in 1778. The rest
escaped to Bhopal where they earned the patronage of the Nawab, who made
them his courtiers and one of them (Salvadore) even became Prime Minister
and his wife came to be known as Madame Dulhan. The Armenians did not find
a godfather after their ouster from Delhi. Whether you believe the story of
the Armenian seer and the Bhawal Sanyasi is a moot point. He may have
travelled this far, certainly not on foot but by train, for Tughlakabad has
always been an important railway link.

One had to make a night halt there a long time ago when a passenger train
to Delhi from Agra Cantt was stalled for several hours because of
disruption on the track. A friendly off-duty train driver, who was to stay
at the Tughlakabad resthouse before getting charge of a down train, took
one to the resthouse, and the remainder of the night was spent in drinking
endless cups of tea and listening to yarns, like the one about the Bhawal
Sanyasi and the Armenian connection.

The Armenians came to India during the reign of Akbar and settled down
mostly in Delhi and Agra. They held high posts at the court, and one of
them, Abdul Hayee, even became Chief Justice. Notwithstanding their names,
they were all Christians, some prefixing them with the honorific Khwaja or
Khoja. In course of time the Armenian community dwindled in North India.
Many of them found a new home in Kolkata, where the Armenian Church and
Armenian Street are famous landmarks. The Armenians merged with the
Anglo-Indians and became big names like the enterprising Arathoons. Mrs
Gandhi during her first term as Prime Minister visited Yeravan, in Armenia,
to review old links.

One such link in India was the Ceastan family. The name was derived from
Siestan, a region of Armenia. The death of Aubrey Ceastan recently opened
the floodgates of memory. His father was a big, burly mustached man, who
resembled Dr. Watson of Sherlock Holmes stories and retired as driver of
Mail and Express trains.

His uncle was an absented-minded, soft-spoken man, who looked like Robinson
Crusoe and could speak impeccable Urdu with the grace actor Tom Alter does
now. Aubrey, a fine athlete and good boxer, also joined the Railways (as a
guard) and retired 18 years ago. His major achievement was volunteering to
take an essential supplies train for the Army to the northern border during
the second conflict with Pakistan, necessitated by the Bangladesh War.
Imagine the train moving on endangered tracks with bomber planes flying
around and Ceastan holding his nerve, as in the boxing ring. One heard a
graphic account of his odyssey while once travelling with him to Delhi.

One’s last meeting with him was two years ago. He had come up from
Tughlakabad and was waiting for a bus at Shankar Road en route to R.K.
Puram. Ceastan was proud that his son had become a teacher in the same
school where he and his father had studied. It too had once been an
Armenian institution, and thus an old link survives.

SCO is considering granting Armenia a status of observer

15:49 . 09/06

The Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is
examining the matter of granting observer status to Armenia and Sri
Lanka, Cyril Barsky – Russian President’s Special Representative on SCO
Affairs – told news reporters.

News.am informs he noted that Sri Lanka is presently SCO’s dialogue
partner and submitted an application for an observer’s status on the
day before the summit in Beijing.

`Armenia likewise has submitted a formal application,’ said Barsky,
and added that the applications are being examined.

Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are
included in SCO. Mongolia, India, Iran and Pakistan have a status of
observer. Belarus and Sri Lanka have a status of a dialogue partner.
During the summit in Beijing on June 6 Turkey also received such a
status and Afghanistan received an observer’s status.