Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ANCA: WE REAFFIRM OUR COMMITMENT TO CHALLENGING AZERBAIJAN’S AGGRESSION

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 29, 2012 – 10:24 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – U.S. Representatives Gary Peters (D-MI), Howard
Berman (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and have offered
U.S. House floor statements over the past week marking Azerbaijan’s
pogroms and massacres against ethnic Armenian civilians in Sumgait,
Kirovabad, and Baku, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

These four legislators join with Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), the
Co-Chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, and Judy Chu
(D-CA), who made Congressional statements regarding these massacres
earlier this month, and with Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI),
who issued a public statement this week marking these human rights
atrocities.

“We join with friends of Armenia and advocates of human rights from
California, Michigan, Rhode Island, Virginia and across America in
thanking each of Members of Congress who has joined with Armenians
worldwide in marking the Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku pogroms,”
said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “In pausing to remember
these atrocities we reaffirm our commitment to challenging Azerbaijan’s
aggression and threats of renewed war, and, more broadly, to protecting
the innocent and promoting peace for all the peoples of the Caucasus
region.”

From: Baghdasarian

NGO FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST TURKEY MINISTER FOR SUPPORTING RACIST SLOGANS AGAINST ARMENIANS

epress.am
02.29.2012

Human Rights Association’s (IHD) Istanbul branch filed a criminal
complaint against Turkish Interior Relations Minister Ä°dris Naim
Å~^ahin, whom they claim supported the controversial slogans uttered
against Armenians at Khojaly massacre demonstrations held in Istanbul
on Feb. 26, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Meral Cıldır, the head of IHD’s Istanbul branch, said Armenian-origin
Turkish citizens called upon their association after the meeting,
saying they felt themselves in danger and targeted. Cıldır said
Å~^ahin’s speech in the meeting area was open support for those
who carried racist banners. The protest, which commemorated the
Khojaly massacre in which hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians
were killed, had staged some racist comments and slogans such as
“You are all Armenians, you are all bastards.” Another banner said
“Today Taksim, tomorrow Yerevan will be conquered.”

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the
banners consisting hate speech in the march were singular examples.

“A few marginal and singular banners carried in the protest cannot
put our solidarity and sorrow into the shade. We will not forget the
Khojaly massacre and we will not let them forget,” Erdogan said in
the group meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday.

However, AKP deputy Ayhan Sefer Ustun, also the head of Turkish
Parliament’s Human Rights Research Sub-Commission, said those banners
were racist and discriminative, daily Radikal reported yesterday.

Ustun called on the prosecutors to investigate the march.

“The law is obvious. The ones who commit discrimination crimes must be
punished. They [non-governmental organizations] demand us to prepare
a bill against hate crimes, but firstly we need to implement the
current law against those crimes,” Ustun said.

From: Baghdasarian

PRESS-SERVICE OF NATO: NATO REPRESENTATIVES ARE IN YEREVAN WITH A WORKING VISIT

arminfo
Wednesday, February 29, 14:49

Press-service of NATO told Arminfo correspondent that at present NATO
representatives are in Yerevan with a working visit.

“This is a regular working visit by representatives of the Alliance
to the country which is NATO’s partner. Such kind of visits are not
public. For this reason, I cannot tell you the agenda of the visit
either”, – representative of the press-service said.

For its part, NATO Information Centre in Armenia reported that
Frank Boland, the head of Force Planning Department of NATO Defence
Policy and Planning Division, and Ambassador Huseyin Dirios,
NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning,
arevisiting Yerevan. Today they will have meetings in Armenian Foreign
Ministry and Defence Ministry to discuss the results of IPAP and PARP
fulfillment by Armenia.

From: Baghdasarian

TWO MORE ARMENIANS DIE AFTER MOSCOW BAKERY BLAST

news.am
February 29, 2012 | 11:02

MOSCOW. – Another Armenian, who was injured in the recent explosion
in a Moscow bakery, has died.

As Interfax News Agency learned from medical circles, the woman lost
her life on Tuesday, and she was a resident of Armenia.

Thus the woman became the eighth casualty of the bakery blast.

Another resident of Armenia, Vrezh Sargsyan, 22, had died on February
26, LifeNews informs.

The explosion occurred on February 19 in a Moscow bakery where
employees from CIS states were working.

The bakery’s owner, Rafik Markaryan, was arrested for ten days.

In the list of injured parties, which was publicized after the
explosion, there were nine Armenians and two Tajiks. The Tajiks,
a woman by the surname of Sargsyan, as well as Karen Hakobyan and
Vrezh Sargsyan had died in hospital. The last victim’s identity is
not yet disclosed.

From: Baghdasarian

ANCA CHAIRMAN CALLS FOR JUSTICE FOR GENOCIDE

news.am
February 28, 2012 | 12:46

Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian
offered a broad vision of how Return of Churches movement reflects
and also materially reinforces the broader international movement
to hold the Republic of Turkey responsible for a truthful, just,
and comprehensive resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

Hackikian offered his remarks, at the recently concluded three-day
international conference, “The Armenian Genocide: From Recognition to
Reparation,” hosted by His Holiness, Vehapar Aram I, Catholicos of the
Great House of Cilicia, and organized by the Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia. The conference featured presentations by dozens of leading
academics and thought-leaders from across the globe, all addressing
the topic of securing the reparations owed by Turkey to the Armenian
nation for the Armenian Genocide of 1915 to 1923. Hachikian’s speech
offered first-hand insights into the ANCA’s pivotal role in the
passage of the Return of Churches resolution, H.Res.306, and outlined,
in broader terms, how this effort fits into the cause of justice for
the Armenian Genocide and the future viability of the Armenian nation.

Hachikian stressed, in a speech that addressed the moral and material
aspects of the justice owed the Armenian nation, that, “As we approach
the end of a century in which all the moral and material costs of the
Armenian Genocide have fallen upon the victims of this crime, we seek,
for ourselves and all humanity, a new era, a better century – guided
by the ethic that the burdens of this genocide – and all genocides –
will, as they rightly must, be borne by its perpetrator.”

He added that, “The return of churches, Turkey’s surrender – voluntary
or otherwise – of the thousands of church properties it stole from
Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Syriacs, and other Christians prior
to, during, and after the Armenian Genocide era, would represent
a meaningful first step by the Turkish government toward accepting
its responsibility for a truthful and just resolution of this still
unpunished crime against humanity. It would, as well, mark a major
blow for the cause of international religious freedom, in a corner
of the world sadly known not for its pluralism, but rather for the
depths of its intolerance.”

Hachikian, explained, during his presentation, that Armenians are
“not seeking truth simply for the sake of truth, for all the world,
and certainly we as Armenians, know all too well the reality of the
Armenian Genocide and the ongoing consequences of this crime. We are
in no need of further affirmation. Nor of vengeance or vindication.

No. We seek truth in the name of justice. And justice in the interest
of survival. That is why we struggle so mightily against Ankara’s
denial of truth and obstruction of justice.”

From: Baghdasarian

PAYS-BAS : LE ” CERVEAU ” D’UN RESEAU D’ORDINATEURS PIRATES ARRETE
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 28 fevrier 2012

Un Armenien, soupconne d’etre ” le cerveau ” a l’origine d’un reseau
d’ordinateurs pirates qui utilisait des serveurs situes aux Pays-Bas,
a ete arrete a l’aeroport d’Erevan (ouest de l’Armenie), a annonce
mardi le parquet national neerlandais.

” Un Armenien de 27 ans, soupconne d’etre le cerveau a l’origine
du reseau Bredolab, a ete arrete a l’aeroport national d’Erevan “,
la capitale de l’Armenie, dans la nuit de lundi a mardi, a indique
le parquet national neerlandais dans un communique.

Le reseau Bredolab, un ” cheval de Troie informatique “, etait capable
d’infecter ” trois millions d’ordinateurs par mois ” et aurait infecte
au total ” au moins 30 millions d’ordinateurs a travers le monde “,
selon la police judiciaire neerlandaise, citee dans le communique. Fin
2009, quelque 3,6 milliards de courriels infectes par Bredolab etaient
envoyes chaque jour, a precise le parquet.

Le reseau, qui utilisait 143 serveurs situes aux Pays-Bas desactives
lundi par les autorites neerlandaises, etait l'” un des plus importants
au monde “, a affirme a l’AFP Wim de Bruin, un porte-parole du
parquet national.

Une fois infectes, les ordinateurs pouvaient etre contrôles ou
manipules a distance, pour ensuite envoyer des courriers indesirables
a d’autres ordinateurs, realiser des cyberattaques ou encore fournir
aux delinquants les donnees bancaires de leurs proprietaires.

Les Pays-Bas n’ont pas demande l’extradition du suspect mais sont
” en contact ” avec les autorites armeniennes pour que le suspect
soit juge en Armenie, a assure M. de Bruin, selon lequel l’Armenie
ne livre jamais ses citoyens a d’autres pays.

From: Baghdasarian

UN PORTE-PAROLE DIT QUE DINK ETAIT L’AMORCE ET L’AKP LA CIBLE
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 28 fevrier 2012

Le porte-parole du parti AKP a dit que le meurtre du journaliste
armenien en 2007 etait une amorce et que la cible etait le parti
Justice et Developpement (AKP) afin de fomenter le chaos dans le pays.

” Dink a ete choisi comme une amorce, la cible reelle etait le parti
AKP ” a affirme Huseyin Celik, qui est aussi vice-president de l’AKP
lors d’une conference de presse.

M.Celik a ajoute que le procureur a dit que le meurtre est le travail
d’une organisation en ce qui concerne l’organisation du crime. Il a
dit qu’il croit que ce n’etait pas seulement plusieurs personnes qui
ont assassine Hrant Dink et qu’il y a des preuves.

M.Celik a dit que ceux qui ont tue Dink voulaient fomenter le chaos
en Turquie et destabiliser le pays.

From: Baghdasarian

DéCISION DE L’UE DE LANCER DES NéGOCIATION POUR UN ACCORD DE LIBRE-éCHANGE COMPLET ET APPROFONDI (ALECA)
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 28 fevrier 2012

L’ensemble de la presse rend compte de la décision de l’UE de
lancer des négociations pour un accord de libre-échange complet et
approfondi (ALECA) avec l’Arménie en vue de stimuler sa croissance
économique.

Selon le commissaire européen au commerce, Karel De Gucht, l’ouverture
des négociations marquera un tournant dans les relations commerciales
entre l’Arménie et l’UE. ” Nous entrons dans une nouvelle phase qui
se traduira par la mise en Ŕuvre de projets plus ambitieux ”, a-t-il
dit, rappelant que l’UE était le principal partenaire commercial de
l’Arménie et que l’établissement d’une zone de libre-échange lui
offrirait un meilleur accès au marché européen. Le Commissaire a
l’élargissement et a la politique européenne de voisinagetefan
Fule, a, quant a lui, estimé que le lancement des négociations
constituait un pas en avant en matière d’intégration économique,
ce qui est l’une des pierres angulaires des relations de l’UE avec
les pays partenaires du Partenariat oriental. [L’accord de création
d’une zone de libre-échange fait partie de l’Accord d’association
en cours de négociation avec l’Arménie depuis juillet 2010 dans le
cadre du Partenariat oriental. L’UE vise a renforcer la stabilité
politique et la sécurité en Arménie par le biais d’une intégration
économique plus étroite. La zone de libre-échange a pour objectif de
diversifier et de renforcer la capacité d’exportation de l’Arménie
et de lui ouvrir l’accès au marché de 500 millions de consommateurs
de l’UE]. Dans son communiqué, la Commission européenne ajoute que
l’Arménie doit poursuivre ses efforts afin de créer un environnement
économique stable, transparent et prévisible, condition essentielle
pour attirer des investissements étrangers.

Ambassade de France en Arménie

From: Baghdasarian

ZHIRINOVSKI: “KARABAKH HAS MORE MORAL, HISTORICAL GROUNDS TO BE RECOGNISED”

19:23 . 27/02

The resolution of the Karabakh issue can be presented in two planes.

Karabakh joins Armenia and becomes one state or Russia recognizes
Karabakh as an independent state, Russian presidential candidate
Vladimir Zhirinovski has presented such a position during his meeting
with the Armenian community in Moscow.

“We have recognised South Ossetia, Abkhazia, while Karabakh has more
moral, historical grounds to be recognized as an independent state. We
give the formula for it, the other four candidates don’t say a word
about the Caucasus, Near East, the military actions expected there
and Armenia. As if there is nothing beyond Voronezh and Rostov,
there is only a desert,” he has said.

Touching upon the military-political actions started in the Caucasus
and Iran, he has stressed that the aggravation of the situation will
have undesired consequences also for Armenia.

“The meeting with the Armenian community is first of all conditioned
with the fact that the political situation is aggravating and will
aggravate even more till summer this year. The decision of war against
Iran is already taken, and the date is defined. The most undesired
consequences may be for Armenia.

In the result of the war Azerbaijan will get money for lease of its
aerodromes, Americans will get the right to dispose the Iranian oil,
Israel will get security in the result of destroying Iranian atomic
bombs, Turkey will no more have a rival and will become leading in
Near East. Russians will get price rise on oil and combat experience
of the army. But what will Armenians get…?”

From: Baghdasarian

U.S. MANS NEW RADAR DEFENSE SITE IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 27, 2012 – 21:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – American forces are now manning a new radar defense
site in Turkey that could help defend Europe from a potential Iranian
ballistic missile attack, the U.S. Army’s commander in Europe said.

“We have the forces in place … at a radar site in southern Turkey,”
Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said in an interview at Montenegro’s main
military airport in its capital, Today’s Zaman reported.

It is the first time a senior US commander has confirmed reports that
the NATO defense shield radar – which has caused tensions between
Turkey and its Muslim neighbor Iran – has been operational in the past
few weeks. The radar is a key element in a planned ballistic missile
defense system that also would put other land- and sea-based radars
and anti-missile interceptors in several European locations over the
next decade.

“I can only speak for the ground base air defense units,” Hertling
said. “But I will tell you that we make constant coordination (with
the US Navy and Air Force), and I think we are well on track to
conduct missile defense.”

From: Baghdasarian