Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WESTERN ARMENIA RESPONDS TO RADIKAL JOURNALIST

tert.am
26.04.12

In response to Turkish publicist Orhan Kemal Cengiz’s recent article
urging Turkey to apologize to the Armenians for the Genocide,
the National Council of Western Armenia has issued a statement,
characterizing the move as yet another attempt to “feel the pulse of
the Armenians”.

It particularly focuses on the publicist’s statement saying that
international courts can no longer hold Turkey accountable for the
massacres. given that none of their perpetrators is alive (Tert.am
11:55 ~U 10.04.12).

“Turkey can say, for instance, that the 1915 events constituted one of
the biggest tragedies against the mankind, and we admit the fact. We
condemn its organizer, the regime led by the Union and Progress party,
and apologize to our Armenian brothers, and their descendents,”
Cengiz said in his article published in the Turkish daily Radikal.

Arguing the Turkish publicist’s position, the council raises a question
about the successor of the Ottoman Empire, emphasizing that the crime
of Genocide has no period of limitation.

“It means that the present-day Republic of Turkey, as a successor of
the Ottoman Empire, is responsible for the 1894-1923 xenophobic, racist
and anti-Armenian policies implemented by the three Turkish governments
– the Ottomans, young Turks and the Kemalists,” says the Council.

“The Armenian Genocide is not restricted to 1915. If we turn over
the pages of the history of the past 150 years, we will revive the
1894-1896 massacres of Cilicia and the 1909 pogroms of Adana, as well
as 1915-17 massive genocide against the Armenians across the Ottoman
empire and the 1918-23 massacres, killings and deportation.”

Addressing Cengiz’s demand for financial redress that overshadows
territorial issues, the Council further says: “On November 22, 1920,
28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson ratified the
Arbitral Award on the Turkey-Armenia border, a fact that the Radikal
journalist could have hardly been unaware of.”

The Council further condemns the Turkish publicist’s proposal for
individual compensation.

“Isn’t it the Turks that forced the Armenians out of their homes,
talking them into taking their personal documents? Which individual are
they going to give compensation to – to those they beheaded on the way
to the Deir-ez-Zor [desert] or to the children, grandchildren and the
grand grandchildren that were never born…?” the Council members ask,
considering the proposal a false deal aimed to hush up a big crime.

“The crime was committed against the nation so the compensation too,
is for the nation,” they claim.

From: Baghdasarian

OSCE, EU TRAIN ARMENIAN POLICE IN PUBLIC ORDER MANAGEMENT

armradio.am
26.04.2012 12:47

The OSCE and the EU concluded 4-weeks of strategic and tactical
planning training for Armenian police today in Yerevan.

The training courses aimed to develop the capabilities of some 100
senior, middle and junior level Armenian police officials dealing
with public order management. Topics included operational planning,
effective command and control, negotiation techniques in line with
international standards, threat and risk assessment, use of information
and intelligence, legality, accountability and transparency, as well
as relations with the media and communication methods.

“Maintaining public order throughout the whole electoral period and at
the polling stations on election day is an important responsibility of
the police that can impact on the conduct of electoral processes,” said
Ambassador Andrey Sorokin, the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “We
believe that effective planning as well as proper negotiation between
the police and any crowds is a key to ensuring safety and security,
especially in the pre-election period”.

“Free and fair elections are an important pre-requisite for the
development of EU-Armenia relations. The role of the police in the
electoral process is essential in terms of ensuring transparency,
as well as public confidence,” said Traian Hristea, the Head of the
EU Delegation to Armenia.

Fifty-five representatives of the Fourth Special Battalion troops
of the Police Patrol Regiment who are directly involved in crowd
management practised the techniques during the last week of the
training.

The two recent guidebooks on police conduct, use of force and
negotiation techniques in public order management developed with OSCE
support last year were used during the training course.

The training is part of a 1.7 million euro project on strengthening
electoral processes in Armenia in line with international standards,
implemented by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and financed by the EU.

From: Baghdasarian

REPRESENTATIVES OF ARMENIA’S ETHNIC MINORITIES NOT INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGNING – OSCE

NEWS.AM
April 27, 2012 | 13:37

YEREVAN.- OSCE has not received reports on involvement of ethnic
minorities’ representatives in illegal actions during the election
campaign, OSCE representative said on Friday.

The OSCE Yerevan office convened a working meeting to discuss the
rights of ethnic minorities.

“We have not received any reports on attempts to involve the
representatives of ethnic minorities in illegal campaigning,” said
Vladimir Chuntulov, head of OSCE Yerevan office’s program on human
rights.

The meeting brought together representatives of president’s staff,
Foreign Ministry, Government, Ombudsman, ethnic communities.

The parliamentary elections in Armenia are scheduled for May 6, 2012.

From: Baghdasarian

WWF-ARMENIA: FIGHT AGAINST POACHING IS NOT CONDUCTED PROPERLY

arminfo
Friday, April 27, 15:06

The fight against poaching is not conducted properly, Head of
WWF-Armenia Karen Manvelyan told ArmInfo.

“There is a shortage of employees and resources. Cars, petroleum
and high salaries are needed”, Manvelyan said. He added that all
these problems can be resolved with the state support and first of
all by means of political will, which will improve the system of the
Environmental Inspection.

He said that in the Environmental Inspection the personnel policy
should be changed and the number of employees for each region should
be increased.

He pointed out that only 4 or 5 inspectors control Syunik region,
whereas at least 12-14 people for each region should be involved in
the Environmental Inspection. “4 inspectors are not enough, because
one of the key tasks is to control and to patrol in order to prevent
poaching”, Manvelyan said.

Environmentalists think that in Armenia poaching is rather amusement
than business, as mostly wealthy people do illegal hunting. The local
residents also make their contribution to the poaching prosperity,
because they organize hunting for foreign tourists.

From: Baghdasarian

BELGIAN-ARMENIAN YOUTH BACKS ARMENIA’S ENVIRONMENTALISTS

tert.am
27.04.12

The Armenian Students’ Union of Belgium has issued an open letter,
addressing the environmental problems in Armenia and expressing
solidarity with the activists combating the potential environmental
hazards of Teghut forest (Lori region) and the kiosks in Yerevan’s
Mashtots Park.

The Union says particularly that the Armenian youth in Belgium follows
the environmentalists’ campaign with great enthusiasm, considering
their movement a serious effort towards reviving the Armenian youth and
urging the authorities take the people’s opinion into consideration.

“Several mines are being already operated in gross violation of
environmental rules. The ruthless exploitation of the lithosphere
without observance of the necessary environmental norms will, beyond
doubt, lead to disastrous aftermaths in the foreseeable future, causing
pollution of water, air and soil; desertification; depopulation of
villages and an increasing exodus.

The continued implementation of mining programs will in the near
future call into question the existence of our state and motherland.

It is not tolerable, as the future generation will not forgive those
who impose this ominous plan on our nation for the sake of their
own interests.

Therefore, we express our solidarity with, and gratitude to, all those
who do their best to fight against the destruction of the marvelous
forests in Teghut and the illegal installation of kiosks in Mashtots
Park. We call upon the Armenian authorities to take urgent measures
to deal with these extremely crucial issues,” the authors of the
letter say.

The note at the end that the Armenian environmentalists’ successful
campaign for the protection the Trchkan waterfall inspires hopes that
all the problems will find a positive solution some time in future.

From: Baghdasarian

HIDDEN ARMENIANS OF TURKEY – STATE SECRET

news.am
April 27, 2012 | 03:17

Ten thousands of Armenian women, girls and children were kidnapped,
forced to convert to Islam and forced to marriage during the 1915
Genocide. Many Turks reveal that one of their ancestors was an
Armenian, French journalists Ariane Bonzon writes in Slate.fr.

Existence of those ‘hidden Armenians’ is a state secret. According to
a historian Ara Sarafian, around 100,000-200,000 Armenians escaped from
death or deportations running to desserts during the year. Some of them
were hidden by ‘kind’ Turks, some were kidnapped or forced to marriage.

The French journalist decided to shot a video on hidden Armenians.

However, she was not encouraged. It seemed to be almost impossible to
find those people. Anyway, the journalist managed to shot her video,
where those Armenians did not differ at all from others. She brought
an example of an Armenian from a village, who, revealing his real
identity, moved to Istanbul, to convert to Christianity again. But
he feared for his family who still lived in a village in Anatolia.

According to a Turkish lawyer of Armenian origin Luiz Bakar, the
quantity of re-converters is increasing. He encourages that those
hidden ones again became Christians, and expressed their identity
and religion openly in Turkey.

From: Baghdasarian

LE PRESIDENT SARKISSIAN FAIT LE POINT SUR SA POLITIQUE ETRANGERE
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 27 avril 2012

Lors d’une reunion a Erevan, le chef de l’Etat a fait le point
sur la politique etrangère du pays, qu’il a qualifiee de politique
” d’initiative “, se felicitant du renforcement de l’autorite de
l’Armenie sur la scène internationale. En Russie, en Europe, aux
Etats-Unis ou encore en Asie, l’Armenie est percue comme un partenaire
fiable. L’Armenie a renforce son système de defense dans le cadre de
l’OTSC. En d’autres termes, des mesures concrètes ont ete prises afin
de prevenir toute eventuelle guerre. L’Armenie continue a apporter son
soutien au HK et est convaincue que le jour viendra où il participera
aux negociations sur la recherche d’un règlement. La reconnaissance
internationale du droit du peuple du HK a l’autodetermination demeure
prioritaire.

Le chef de l’Etat a en outre estime que la facilitation du regime
des visas avec l’UE et la creation d’une zone de libre-echange
constitueront la pierre angulaire de l’amarrage europeen de l’Armenie
et auront des consequences très positives sur son developpement
economique.

L’Armenie redoublera d’efforts pour obtenir la reconnaissance
internationale du genocide. Toute negation du genocide est consideree
par le parti Republicain comme poursuite du crime. L’adoption,
en France, de la loi penalisant le deni du genocide armenien a
ete pour beaucoup un signe d’espoir, meme si la decision du Conseil
constitutionnel les a decus. Le chef de l’Etat a appele au sang-froid
et a la patience, puisque ” defendre les droits et les interets du
peuple armenien sur l’arène internationale est une tâche de longue
halène “.

Haykakan Jamanak rend compte de la declaration des biens et revenus du
President Sarkissian, qui montre que par rapport a 2007, le patrimoine
du chef de l’Etat s’est accru, notamment en ce qui concerne le montant
de ses comptes bancaires : au 1er mars 2012, il avait sur ses comptes
200 000 euros. Il a declare posseder un appartement a Stepanakert,
une seule voiture et des objets antiques dont des tableaux d’une
valeur totale depassant 16 000 euros.

Selon Hraparak, le corps enseignant des universites, notamment de
l’Universite d’Etat, serait activement implique dans la campagne
electorale. En particulier, les enseignants de l’Universite d’Etat
se rendraient dans les regions pour soutenir la campagne du parti
Republicain.

Ambassade de France en Armenie

Service de presse

From: Baghdasarian

LA PRESSE ARMENIENNE SALUE VIVEMENT LE FAIT ” SANS PRECEDENT ”
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 27 avril 2012

La presse armenienne salue vivement le fait ” sans precedent ” que le
President Sarkozy et Francois Hollande ont commemore l’anniversaire
du genocide armenien aux côtes de la communaute armenienne de France,
se rendant, tous deux, au pied de la statue de Komitas. Elle souligne
que c’est la première fois dans l’histoire qu’un President de la
Republique francaise rend hommage aux victimes du genocide avec la
communaute armenienne. Il s’est a nouveau engage, comme il l’avait
promis, s’il est reelu, a presenter dès le mois de juin, un nouveau
texte penalisant la negation du genocide sur le territoire francais.

Francois Hollande, qui s’est egalement adresse aux Francais d’origine
armenienne, a reaffirme sa position quant a une proposition de
loi visant a penaliser la negation du genocide armenien, appuyant
sur le fait que la question devait etre parfaitement etudiee afin
qu’on ne se retrouve pas dans la situation qui a conduit le Conseil
constitutionnel a abroger la loi Boyer. Il a egalement promis a
la communaute armenienne, s’il est elu President de la Republique,
de venir chaque 24 avril se recueillir a ses côtes pour commemorer
les victimes du genocide. Hayots Achkhar relève egalement qu’a
l’occasion du 24 avril, le maire de Paris a recu des representants
de la communaute armenienne de Paris.

Ambassade de France en Armenie

Service de presse

From: Baghdasarian

DANS LES PETITS PAPIERS DE L’ARMENIE

Charente Libre
,1092048.php
25 avril 2012
France

Des milliers d’Armeniens ont defile hier en Armenie ainsi qu’au
Liban et en Israël pour commemorer le 97e anniversaire des massacres
d’Armeniens sous l’Empire ottoman, un genocide selon Erevan, terme
rejete par la Turquie. Le president americain Barack Obama a appele
hier a une “reconnaissance totale, franche et juste des faits”. En
France, campagne presidentielle oblige, cette commemoration a ete
marquee par la presence hier a Paris des deux pretendants a l’Elysee.

La communaute d’origine armenienne en France compte environ 600.000
membres, dont 400.000 nes dans l’Hexagone, soit la plus importante
communaute armenienne en Europe occidentale. Nicolas Sarkozy et
Francois Hollande, n’entendent donc ni l’un ni l’autre ceder un pouce
sur le vote armenien. Chacun a pu ainsi confirmer son engagement a
faire adopter rapidement un texte de loi reprimant la negation du
genocide armenien de 1915. La participation des deux candidats a
la ceremonie, une première pour Nicolas Sarkozy, une habitude pour
Francois Hollande, a ete saluee hier par les responsables de la
communaute armenienne.

Le Conseil constitutionnel avait censure, le 28 fevrier dernier, une
loi votee le mois precedent par le Parlement francais qui penalisait
la negation de ce genocide.

Le vote de cette loi, par des parlementaires de tous bords, gauche
et droite confondues, avait donne lieu a une gigantesque brouille
entre Paris et Ankara.

Dès la decision du Conseil constitutionnel connue, Nicolas Sarkozy
avait promis un nouveau texte prenant en compte la decision des Sages.

Le Conseil constitutionnel avait juge la loi contraire a la liberte
d’expression.

Francois Hollande, candidat PS a la presidentielle, s’etait egalement
empresse d’annoncer, après la censure du Conseil constitutionnel, qu’il
reprendrait, s’il etait elu president, la question du genocide armenien
“dans l’apaisement et la tranquillite”, soulignant que la date choisie
pour cette proposition de loi n’avait “pas forcement ete la meilleure”.

En mars dernier, le president Sarkozy est revenu a la charge en
assurant la communaute armenienne que “malgre la decision du Conseil
constitutionnel”, il “ne se resignait pas”. “La communaute armenienne,
comme les autres, a le droit d’etre protegee du negationnisme par la
loi”. Le premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan avait accuse le
president Sarkozy de “rechercher des gains electoraux en utilisant
la haine du musulman et du Turc”.

Quelque 1,5 million d’Armeniens, hommes, femmes et enfants, ont ete
massacres, selon les historiens, en Anatolie entre 1915 et 1917.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN QUESTION: DESPAIR AND HOPE

Today’s Zaman

April 26 2012
Turkey

As a person who lives in Turkey day in and day out, sometimes I become
very hopeful, and sometimes I find myself in such a pessimistic mood.

And these two moods may follow each other one day after another.

The other day I attended a debate on one of the most popular TV
channels in Turkey. The topic was the “Armenian question.” An
Armenian intellectual, Garo Paylan, and I were on one side of the
debate. The other “front” was a nationalist block, consisting of a
former Republican People’s Party (CHP) politician and two academics,
one of whom was from the Turkish Historical Society (TTK).

The debate was extremely suffocating. All of a sudden many official
“arguments” were raining down on us. It was really annoying to
see that these people never change their arguments one bit. They
do not even try to be smarter or more sophisticated. But the most
annoying thing came at the end. The debate was very hot, sometimes
very intense and our “official historian” uttered some words,
which shocked us. He cautioned Garo by saying that “he may end up
in California” like his ancestors. This gentleman is a historian in
Turkey’s official historical institution, and he is responsible for
the Armenian question.

Can Turkey move forward an inch with this kind of “historian”? I left
the TV channel having a serious headache and very seriously concerned
about the future of this country.

However, the other day I read an interview with one of the founders
of the ruling party who is the Ä°stanbul deputy from the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) for the time being. I become very hopeful
once again. I underlined some of his remarks, which were published
in the Radikal daily. Let’s read them together:

“In 1915, an ‘abnormal thing’ that had not occurred before in the
1000-year history and civilization codes of this nation happened.

Historians must bring to light all related documents. A single
repository of these documents must be created and politicians should
assess the resulting findings. Then, the international community
should make a decision to assess the situation. This is my personal
proposal. I believe that what our Armenian citizens, our Armenian
friends experienced was not ‘genocide’ but a ‘genoxile’. If genocide
had been the true aim, then the methods of destruction used by
the Spanish and the Portuguese against South African natives or by
Americans against Native Americans or by Germans against Jews would
have been used. It was the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)
that was responsible for the pain and sufferings of Turks, Armenians
and all citizens at that time. This is not acceptable in the least.”

“If you try to create a nation-state, you will pit people against
each other. We [The Turkish Republic] are not responsible for those
incidents, but the CUP is. Yet we should be able to say, ‘We apologize
for those incidents in our past.’ I personally offer this apology for
the ‘genoxile’ [a portmanteau meaning ‘sending a race to exile’]. If
you confuse the fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) with
the ‘struggle against a people’, a very tragic situation will emerge.

It can not be explained. The massacre performed by Armenian gangs
in cooperation with some foreign countries is one thing and the
relocation of our Armenian citizens is another thing. The CUP
confused the Armenians gangs with innocent Armenian citizens. And
it made all Armenians pay the price. In history, there are other
examples of forced relocation. People being relocated must be sent
with extreme security. Is this what happened with the Armenian
relocation? No… No person should settle in the home or country of
other people. I don’t do this. Today, the properties belonging to
the foundations established by some religious minorities are being
returned. This should not go unnoticed.”

“If the Armenian nation and the Turkish nation work together, they
can solve this problem. God, the Qur’an and prophets allow themselves
to be questioned and discussed. God says, “If there had been multiple
gods, there would be chaos.” But we cannot discuss certain taboos.

When you talk about them, they raise the hell. We must overcome this.

Everyone will believe and live as they believe. No one will impose
certain lifestyles or beliefs on other people. This is the main
point… I cannot hold the Armenian nation as separate from the
Turkish nation. Their sorrows are ours. No human is more ‘human’ than
others. No one is privileged. We should be open to criticism. At that
time, people took sides and acted with racist attitudes. This should
be open to discussion… Turkey should open the border crossing on
its common border with Armenia while the status of the Azerbaijani
lands occupied by Armenia is being discussed. These people who have
lived together with us and who have shared the same feelings with us
and who have used the same literary language should be relieved of
their sorrows. Such things should not be sacrificed to the political
tensions.”

Whether I agree with every word or not, AKP deputy Ä°smet Ucma’s words
give me hope again. I wish more people like him would come forward and
speak out openly. The key to any solution for the Armenian question
lies in the hands of these non-nationalist people amongst both Turks
and Armenians. God bless them!

From: Baghdasarian