Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

‘KHLOE AND LAMAR’ RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Armenian Weekly
March 13, 2012

‘Armenian Genocide’ 10th Most-Searched Term on Google after Show
Watched by 2.1 Million HOLLYWOOD, Calif.-The internet and social
media were abuzz about the Armenian Genocide on Sunday after millions
viewed the hit E! Network series “Khloe and Lamar,” which featured
information about the Armenian Genocide from The Genocide Education
Project (GenEd) and images and footage of Armenian Youth Federation
anti-denial protests by alumni Armen Varadian and Justin Kaladjian.

Khloe and Lamar According to Google’s published statistics, the term
‘Armenian Genocide’ was the 10th most-searched term on Sunday, March
11th, and continued at an impressive 16th most-searched term on for
most of Monday. Over 2.1 million were reported to have watched the
Armenian Genocide episode, which was rated in the top-5 most viewed
shows in the 18 to 49 age category for that day. Tweets by Khloe
and her sister, Kim Kardashian, earlier in the day about the topic
reached well over 13 million followers.

“Khloe and Lamar informed millions in America and worldwide about the
Armenian Genocide yesterday, and The Genocide Education Project was
glad to help,” said GenEd Executive Director Raffi Momjian. “Sadly the
failure of the international community to either prevent or punish
the Armenian Genocide set a dangerous precedent, that paved the way
for the Holocaust and genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and most recently
Darfur. The more the public learns about these atrocities and stands up
to their ongoing denial – the sooner we will see governments worldwide
taking real, decisive action to end forever the cycle of genocide.”

The discussion of the Armenian Genocide focused on whether Khloe
Kardashian’s husband, NBA Star Lamar Odom, would play basketball in
Turkey, a particularly sensitive point given the Kardashian family’s
pride in their Armenian heritage, and Turkey’s legacy as an unrepentant
perpetrator of genocide against the Armenian people. In the end,
Odom continued to play in the NBA, with the end of the NBA ‘lockout’
on December 8, 2011.

E! Network producers reached out to The Genocide Education Project
(GenEd), after seeing film footage and photography from an educational
video that Varadian and GenEd Education Director Sara Cohan had
prepared as part of a human rights curriculum project funded by the
Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. The documentary featured
photo’s of AYF-organized anti-genocide protests in New York and
Washington DC taken by Kaladjian, as well as photography and video
taken by Varadian in Armenia.

Screen shot of Google search term rankings on March 11, 2012 “We
really appreciate the show’s interest in learning more about the
efforts of young Armenians to raise public awareness of the Armenian
Genocide, and are very excited by the fact that this weekend millions
of people around the world – many for the first time – learned about
our work for a truthful and just resolution of this terrible crime,”
said Varadian and Kaladjian, in joint remarks.

“The AYF has been at the forefront of demanding justice for the
Armenian Genocide through protest and politics for over 50 years,”
said AYF Eastern U.S. Central Executive member Yervant Kachichian.

“Khloe and Lamar took that message viral this weekend, dealing a
powerful blow against genocide denial.”

It should be noted that at the very beginning of the show, in what
sounded like a “disclaimer,” the Armenian Genocide was characterized
as a huge “controversy” and was framed with a “Turks say, Armenians
say” approach-essentially reducing it to a disagreement over history
between Turks and Armenians. There was no mention that the Armenian
Genocide is accepted by historians worldwide as a historical fact.

From: Baghdasarian

IRAN SEES NO ALTERNATIVE TO THE PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH ISSUE
Nvard Davtyan

“Radiolur”
13.03.2012 15:02

A scientific conference dedicated the 20th anniversary of establishment
of Armenian-Iranian diplomatic relations kicked off at the National
Academy of Sciences today upon the initiative of the cultural center
of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Armenia.

“There is a firm historical-cultural bridge between Armenia and Iran,
which, I think, is leading towards progress,” Iranian Ambassador to
Armenia Seid Ali Saghaian said in his opening remarks.

He reminded that Iran was the first to recognize the Armenia’s
independence. “The heads of world power seem to be calling for war
today, while Iran stands for peace in the region, and is one of the
important poles of peace,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there exists a false propaganda in the world against
Iran, but Iran has developed its foreign policy on the basis of the
principles of peace and friendship, especially as regards the neighbor
countries. Iran has proved this on many occasions, demonstrating a
balanced and position on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict,”
the Ambassador added.

He stressed once again that Tehran sees no alternative to the peace
resolution of the issue. “We support any peaceful action the parties
initiate,” he stated.

From: Baghdasarian

NOTEWORTHY DETAILS ON ARMENIAN BUSINESSWOMAN’S ACTIVITIES – NEWSPAPER

news.am
March 13, 2012 | 09:26

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd daily writes that its sources have given fairly
interesting details on Armenian businesswoman Silva Hambardzumyan. And
according to them, Hambardzumyan was collecting and exporting copper
and aluminum in the 1990s.

“She herself had coordinated the metal receiving centers that had
emerged in the entire country, and as a result she was at the center
of attention of law enforcement in those years. But she resolved her
matters very quickly and continued to flourish the business. Ms.

Hambardzumyan gave a negative response to Zhoghovurd’s question as
to whether she had had problems with the law enforcement, and she
denied this information,” Zhoghovurd writes.

From: Baghdasarian

TURKISH JOURNALIST, WHO WROTE BOOK ON HRANT DINK, IS RELEASED

news.am
March 13, 2012 | 10:01

ISTANBUL. – Ahmet Sik, Nedim Sener and two more journalists, who were
arrested in March 2011 and in connection with Turkey’s Ergenekon Case,
were released from prison.

According to the court ruling, the four imprisoned journalists were
released taking into consideration the period of their time served
and that the charges laid against them could be commuted, Milliyet
daily of Turkey informs.

Coming out of the prison, Nedim Sener, who had written a book about
the murder of Hrant Dink-the founder and former chief editor of
Istanbul’s Agos Armenian bilingual weekly, who was gunned down in
2007 in front of his office building-, stated that their objective
is not to let Dink’s blood to remain spilled on the ground.

“I said ‘for Hrant, for justice,’ and I went into prison. And I
am saying the same words when coming out of prison. My first news
[article] will be in connection with Hrant Dink,” Nedim Sener said.

Sener’s book, titled “Dink’s Murder and Intelligence Lies,” had
received a huge response in Turkey, and, as a result, the police
had filed a lawsuit against the journalist, but the court ultimately
acquitted him.

From: Baghdasarian

VACHE, HRAYR AND VICTOR “REPUBLICANIZED”

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:31:41 – 14/03/2012

We have learnt that justice minister Hrayr Tovmasyan, finance minister
Vache Gabrielyan and independent MP Victor Dallakyan applied to join
the Republican Party.

There is no official confirmation though it is expected today or
tomorrow.

From: Baghdasarian

SUPER PAC THAT HELPED DEFEAT KRIKORIAN MAY HAVE VIOLATED LAW
David Krikorian

asbarez
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

USA Today published reported on Tuesday that a mystery Super-PAC
that funded robocalls in support of Armenian-American Congressional
candidate David Krikorian’s opponent, William R. Smith, may have
violated election laws.

“Four days before Ohio’s primary election, Democratic voters in the
2nd Congressional District received a blitz of automated telephone
calls supporting William R. Smith, a candidate who didn’t campaign,
raised no money and gave no media interviews before the election,”
begins the story by USA Today’s Gregory Korte and Fredreka Schouten.

Smith won the Democratic primary against Krikorian with 59 votes.

“The ‘Victory Ohio Super PAC’ claimed credit for the ‘robocalls,’
but it is not registered with the Federal Election Commission and
hasn’t disclosed any contributions or spending to federal regulators,”
USA Today reports.

“Campaign-finance experts say the group probably has violated federal
election law. Under federal rules, groups must report last-minute
activity to the FEC if they spend more than $1,000 on automated calls,
mailings or advertising that directly advocate the election or defeat
of a federal candidate. Such spending must be reported within 24
hours,” adds the USA Today.

Read the entire USA Today story.

From: Baghdasarian

L’Union, France
11 mars 2012

Patrick Fiori, homme d’instinct

Publié le dimanche 11 mars 2012 à 11H00

MARNE. Le chanteur Patrick Fiori sera ce jeudi 15 mars en concert au
Millesium d’Epernay. Celui qui fut révélé au grand public par son rôle
au sein de la comédie musicale Notre-Dame de Paris en 1998, y
interprétera entre autres les chansons tirées de son dernier album «
L’instinct masculin », sorti en 2010.

Rencontrer Patrick Fiori, c’est comme discuter avec un ami, un grand
frère. Le chanteur prend le temps, simplement, de parler de lui, de
son album, de ses coups de c`ur. Nous l’avions ainsi rencontré lors de
sa venue à Reims il y a quelques mois pour parler de « L’instinct
masculin », un album dont il chantera de larges extraits sur la scène
du Millesium d’Epernay ce jeudi 15 mars.

Pour lui, cet opus est sans doute le plus personnel. « Cela fait
maintenant près de 30 ans que je chante. Je suis plus posé. Il y a
aussi derrière moi l’expérience, les rencontres, les collaborations.
Avec tout ça, on ne peut pas tricher. Cet album est celui de
l’intimité. Il parle du parcours de vie d’un homme avec tous les
sentiments qui peuvent traverser ses périodes. Qu’est-ce qui intéresse
plus les femmes que le c`ur des hommes ? C’est pour ça que j’ai eu
envie d’évoquer cet instinct masculin dont on ne parle jamais. Nous
les hommes, on est très secret. On a été élevé avec le principe : soit
fort, soit fier… mais ça ne marche pas tout le temps ! On n’aime pas
livrer nos sentiments. Pourtant le masculin fragile, les femmes
adorent ! ».
Goldman, Hallyday…

Pour cet album, il s’est entouré de Jean-Jacques Goldman, avec lequel
il collabore depuis dix ans. « C’est une très belle personne, un
chouette homme. Il a un sens de l’observation, de l’écoute incroyable.
On se rencontre, se téléphone, on discute de tout et de rien et il
arrive à capter toutes les fibres de ma personnalité. Il me comprend
bien. Quand il me propose un texte ça me colle, ça me va. C’est moi.
Il est toujours dans le mille, ça, c’est très fort. ».

Ce fut le cas notamment avec une très belle chanson sur les racines
arméniennes du chanteur. « Là encore Jean-Jacques a réussi à faire
quelque chose d’incroyable sur un sujet pas facile. L’histoire de
l’Arménie est compliquée mais cette chanson parle de tout ce qui m’est
cher : la Corse, l’Arménie, mon fils Sevan. Je suis fier de mes
origines même si je les découvre petit à petit. Je suis attaché depuis
tout petit à ce mélange des cultures. Enfant, à la maison, j’ai vu un
monde de toutes les couleurs. Ma mère gardait des enfants de la Dass.
Au lieu d’être cinq nous étions quinze et c’était des grands moments.
J’ai la chance d’avoir des parents qui ont un c`ur énorme, d’avoir
grandi dans cet amour. La famille, les amis sont des choses
essentielles pour moi. »

Autre moment fort de l’album, le duo avec Johnny Hallyday : « Ça a été
un beau cadeau pour tous les deux. Cela faisait longtemps que Johnny
n’avait pas chanté. Il avait eu ses soucis de santé. Moi j’ai juste
réalisé un rêve de gamin. A 5 ans, je chantais du Johnny dans ma
chambre ! Ce duo, « Je viendrai te chercher », c’est une histoire
d’homme à homme, d’artiste à artiste. Pas un truc monté par nos
maisons de disque. »

Sur scène, il y aura aussi une petit touche personnelle, avec le
morceau la chanson « Je crois me souvenir de toi » où l’on entend les
pleurs de son fils Sevan : « Ce n’était pas du tout prévu qu’il soit
sur le disque ! Je suis plutôt un papa discret. Quand il est né je me
suis demandé comment fêter ça sans trop l’impliquer. J’ai imaginé une
chanson avec les sentiments, les émotions que l’on pouvait ressentir
en étant dans le ventre de sa mère. Je n’avais pas prévu d’y mettre un
son de Sevan. C’est venu par hasard. Il pleurait en fait beaucoup à sa
naissance. Comme j’étais assez inquiet, j’ai enregistré ses pleurs
pour les emmener au pédiatre. Il n’y avait rien de grave. Et puis un
jour, alors que je finissais une chanson, j’ai glissé sur le morceau,
je ne sais pourquoi, le fichier de ses pleurs qui était resté sur mon
ordinateur. Sevan était à côté de moi. Je lui ai demandé : « T’es
d’accord pour que je mette ta voix sur ma chanson ? » Comme il ne m’a
pas contredit, je l’ai gardé ! En tournée, cette chanson est la
dernière que je chante sur scène. C’est une façon de l’avoir à mes
côtés tous les soirs. »

Grégoire Amir-Tahmasseb
Jeudi 15 mars, 20h30, le Millesium, Epernay.

From: Baghdasarian

Greens demand that trade pavilions in Mashtots Park be dismantled by Mar 16

arminfo
Monday, March 12, 19:08

The greens demand that the trade pavilions placed in Mashtots Park be
dismantled by Mar 16.

They continue their round-the-clock sit-down strike.

They are protesting against the municipal authorities’ decision to
turn the park into a trade center.

A number of well-known public figures have joined the protesters, with
as many as 5,000 signatures collected against the pavilions.

From: Baghdasarian

Human rights activists call for boycotting Eurovision

15:30 – 12.03.12

Considering Azerbaijan’s poor record of human rights, international
human rights organizations call for boycotting the Eurovision 2012
Song Contest in the country’s capital, Baku, late in May.

Amnesty International has once again slammed the Azerbaijani
authorities for banning the opposition’s peaceful protests and jailing
reporters.

In an interview with the Guardian, John Dalhuisen, deputy director of
the organization’s Europe and Central Asia programme, said the country
cannot credibly present itself as a rights-respecting democracy so
long as it continues to beat up and imprison peaceful protesters.

“The regime must realise that hosting glitzy events such as Eurovision
won’t mask the extent of the country’s human rights violations. They
need drastically to change their attitude to peaceful protest.”

Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

Hrazdan Hooliganism: Investigators Urge Eyewitnesses to Come Forward

hetq
14:48, March 12, 2012

Based on a report that appeared in the February 12, 2012 edition of
Hetq, on March 8, criminal charges of `hooliganism’ have been
initiated against Ashot Danielyan.

Danielyan is being charged with verbally abusing a number of
unidentified individuals who had filmed him during what appeared to be
the distribution of 5,000 AMD bribes during the recent mayoral
election in the town of Hrazdan

The report stated that according to eyewitnesses, individuals were
handing out 5,000 AMD bribes from the office of a local real estate
board during the recent mayoral election in the town of Hrazdan.

Kotayk police investigators have urged eyewitnesses to contact them at
(0223) 2-54-88.

From: Baghdasarian