Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

WikiLeaks: Ottoman archives `purged’ of documents on Armenian Genocide

September 10, 2011 – 10:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A Turkish Professor told U.S. Consul General in
Istanbul that there were efforts to `purge’ the Ottoman Archives of
incriminating documents on the Armenian Genocide, according to a cable
recently released by the whistleblower site WikiLeaks.

Asbarez reports that in a cable dated July 12, 2004, Sabanci
University professor Halil Berktay told then U.S. Consul General to
Istanbul David Arnett that `there were two serious efforts to `purge’
the archives of any incriminating documents on the Armenian question.’

`The first’ Berktay explained, `took place in 1918, presumably before
the Allied forces occupied Istanbul. Berktay and others point to
testimony in the 1919 Turkish Military Tribunals indicating that
important documents had been `stolen’ from the archives.’

`Berktay believes a second purge was executed in conjunction with
Ozal’s efforts to open the archives by a group of retired diplomats
and generals led by former Ambassador Muharrem Nuri Birgi (Note: Nuri
Birgi was previously Ambassador to London and NATO and Secretary
General of the MFA),’ Arnett wrote in the cable.

`Berktay claims that at the time he was combing the archives, Nuri
Birgi met regularly with a mutual friend and at one point, referring
to the Armenians, ruefully confessed that `We really slaughtered
them,” the cable read.

`Tony Greenwood, the Director of the American Research Institute in
Turkey, told poloff separately that when he was working in the
Archives during that same period it was well known that a group of
retired military officers had privileged access and spent months going
through archival documents. Another Turkish scholar who has researched
Armenian issues claims that the ongoing cataloging process is used to
purge the archives,’ said Arnett in the cable.

From: Baghdasarian

WIKILEAKS: OTTOMAN ARCHIVES ‘PURGED’ TO HIDE GENOCIDE

asbarez
Friday, September 9th, 2011

A Turkish Professor told US Consul General in Istanbul that there were
efforts to “purge” the Ottoman Archives of incriminating documents
on the Armenian Genocide, according to a cable recently released by
the whistleblower site WikiLeaks.

In a cable dated July 12, 2004, Sabanci University professor Halil
Berktay told then US Consul General to Istanbul David Arnett that
“there were two serious efforts to “purge” the archives of any
incriminating documents on the Armenian question.”

“The first” Berktay explained, “took place in 1918, presumably before
the Allied forces occupied Istanbul. Berktay and others point to
testimony in the 1919 Turkish Military Tribunals indicating that
important documents had been ‘stolen’ from the archives.”

“Berktay believes a second purge was executed in conjunction with
Ozal’s efforts to open the archives by a group of retired diplomats
and generals led by former Ambassador Muharrem Nuri Birgi (Note:
Nuri Birgi was previously Ambassador to London and NATO and Secretary
General of the MFA),” Arnett wrote in the cable.

“Berktay claims that at the time he was combing the archives, Nuri
Birgi met regularly with a mutual friend and at one point, referring to
the Armenians, ruefully confessed that ‘We really slaughtered them,'”
the cable read.

“Tony Greenwood, the Director of the American Research Institute
in Turkey, told poloff separately that when he was working in the
Archives during that same period it was well known that a group of
retired military officers had privileged access and spent months
going through archival documents. Another Turkish scholar who has
researched Armenian issues claims that the ongoing cataloging process
is used to purge the archives,” said Arnett in the cable.

From: Baghdasarian

GAREGIN AZARYAN OF CEC DIED

Lragir.am News

23:51:34 – 09/09/2011

We have learned that the chairman of the Central Election Commission,
Garegin Azaryan, died today from infarction.

From: Baghdasarian

FOREIGN MINISTER OF URUGUAY: NK IS THE HISTORICAL PART OF ARMENIA AND MUST BE INDEPENDENT

ARMENPRESS
21:45, 9 September, 2011

Foreign Minister of Uruguay Luis Almagro has come forth with an
unprecedented statement. The ARF press service told Armenpress
that Almagro, referring to NK issue, particularly stated, “Today we
study the issue for expressing a viewpoint on a state level, but I am
personally sure that NK is the historical part of Armenia and must be
independent and joined with Armenia in a short period of time. This
is the only solution to the Artsakh issue”.

The Minister made this statement during a conference dedicated
to Armenia-Uruguay relations and undertaken by Armenian National
Committee of South America and Uruguay-Armenia parliamentary group.

During the meeting head of NA ARF faction Vahan Hovhanniyan, who
presented there Armenia, qualified this statement as unprecedented.

“For the first time an advanced and democratic state like Uruguay
expresses a viewpoint, which proves about the position of ruling
political forces. But Uruguay is a democratic state and its statement
must still be discussed, and it will take some time and work,”
Mr. Hovhannisyan added.

Uruguay was the first state to recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965.

From: Baghdasarian

NK SETTLEMENT UNDER CONTROL OF EXTRA-REGIONAL FORCES

Aysor.am
Friday,September 09

The control function of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem is neither
in Armenia nor in Azerbaijan; the process is under control of
extra-regional forces, ex-Foreign Minister of NKR Arman Melikyan
told reporters.

According to him, “the conflict parties cannot help but take into
consideration the position of Moscow and Washington.”

Regarding resumption of military operations, Melikyan said: “I think
there are no preconditions for war. There will be no war in the coming
year, nevertheless, we would rather be ready for war than be quiet.”

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN CHURCH IN NY TO HOLD ANNUAL FEST TO MARK 9/11 ANNIVERSARY

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 9, 2011 – 14:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs in Bayside,
New York, will hold its annual Oceania Street Festival Saturday
in deference to the 10th anniversary of September 11, YourNabe.com
reported.

“This is our major fund-raiser for the year. We’ve been holding it
annually for over three decades,” , Co-chairman Thomas Fourounjian
said.

>From noon until 9 p.m. Sept. 10, Oceania Street between 58th Avenue
and the Horace Harding Expressway will be filled with vendors,
rides for children and – if past years have been any indication –
hundreds of people from various cultures enjoying ethnic food and
live entertainment, Fourounjian said.

“We used to call it the Armenian Picnic. Now its the Oceania Street
Festival. It’s open up to the whole community. We want people from
as many different cultures as possible to come,” he said.

Traditional Middle Eastern foods will be served, Fourounjian said.

The epicureans in the crowd can even pre-order dishes from the Hye
Market and take them home at the end of the day.

A rock wall, clubhouse and slides will be available for children
from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and performers from the Holy Martyrs Aradzani
and Hye Bar Dance Groups, the Greek American Folk Dance Society and
Kristy and Julie Asriyan from the Vanush Khanamiryan Dance Academy
will entertain festival-goers.

Fourounjian said last year’s festival featured a Mexican dance group,
and he is looking to replace a Korean dance group that had to make
a last-minute cancellation.

“Basically, the church has been here since 1958. To date, we have an
Armenian language school, a day school and Sunday school. We have a
large parish with 1,500 to 2,000 members and we’re very involved in
the community,” he said.

Fourounjian said that next year he hopes to expand the festival over
the course of several days.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA, LITHUANIA TO COLLABORATE IN EDUCATION SECTOR

Tert.am
09.09.11

The Ministry of Education and Science is negotiating with the
Lithuanian education ministry to develop bilateral collaboration in
the sector, the Minister of Education has said.

At a news conference held jointly with his Lithuanian counterpart,
Gintaras Stepanovich, Minister Armen Ashotyan expressed belief that
Lithuania’s experience as an EU country would be useful for Armenia.

The two ministers discussed possibilities of enhancing the quality
of education and implementing reforms.

“The negotiations revealed that Armenia’s reforms in the education
sector are in line with European standards. We are planning to send
a group of experts to Lithuania to study the reforms in the country
and reinforce the ties between our universities,” Ashotyan said.

Highly praising the bilateral collaboration initiative, the Lithuanian
minister said that a decision was made to launch exchange programs
for university students in Armenia and Lithuania and elaborate joint
educational projects.

“Lithuania is ready to collaborate with Armenia in the frameworks of
EU programs. We seek to make the bilateral relations effective, and
we are confident that the collaboration will soon produce positive
results,” he said.

Stepanovich noted that the Armenian State Agrarian University had
previously collaborated with one of the university’s in Lithuania. He
further stressed the importance of promoting collaboration between
NGOs, and introduced the education funding and teacher training
programs in his country.

From: Baghdasarian

PACE CLOSES CHAPTER ON MARCH 2008 EVENTS IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 9, 2011 – 13:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The outcome of the latest general amnesty in Armenia,
the renewed impetus to investigate the 10 deaths during the March 2008
events, and the resulting start of a constructive dialogue between the
opposition and ruling coalition mean that the chapter on the March
2008 events can finally be considered closed, said the Monitoring
Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE).

In a draft resolution, based on a report by Axel Fischer (Germany,
EPP/CD) and John Prescott (United Kingdom, SOC), the committee welcomed
the political will demonstrated by ~Sthe authorities and indeed all
political forces to resolve this issue in line with Council of Europe
standards and recommendations~T.

According to the committee, the 2008 events and their aftermath have
set clear priorities for the democratic development of the country:
~Sthe conduct of genuinely democratic parliamentary elections; the
creation of a robust democratic and pluralist political environment
that has the full trust of the Armenian public; the establishment of
an open and pluralist media environment; the reform of the police
and the reform of the judiciary with a view to guaranteeing its
independence both in law and practice~T.

The adopted text welcomes the ~Sclose and constructive co-operation~T
between the Assembly and the Armenian authorities, which it considers
to be ~San example~T for the development of co-operation in the
framework of the Monitoring Procedure of the Assembly, PACE said on
its website.

From: Baghdasarian

ISRAELI FM OFFERS PLAN TO BACK ARMENIANS FOR PUNISHING TURKEY

Tert.am
09.09.11

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has decided to adopt a series of
harsh measures in response to Turkey’s latest anti-Israeli moves,
the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

Senior Foreign Ministry officials convened Thursday to prepare for
a meeting to be held Saturday with Lieberman on the matter. They
reportedly agreed that Turkey is not interested in an Israeli apology
at this time and prefers to exploit the dispute with Jerusalem
in order to promote Ankara’s status in the Muslim world. Lieberman
therefore decided there was no point in seeking creative formulas for
apologizing, instead choosing to focus Israel’s efforts on punishing
Turkey.

One of the proposed plans is to facilitate cooperation with Armenians.

During his visit to the United States later this month, the Israeli
FM is reportedly planning meetings with leaders of the Armenian lobby
to propose anti-Turkish cooperation in Congress.

According to the Israeli paper, the implication of this move could
be Israeli assistance in promoting international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, a measure that would gravely harm Turkey. Israel
may also back Armenia in its dispute vis-a-vis Turkey over control
of Mount Ararat.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA’S FIRST PRESIDENT WEST’S FAVORITE

Tert.am
09.09.11

The best option for the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) is
to continue the dialogue. But the ANC must be able to act with credit
with respect to “this young man [Tigran Arakelyan],” Arman Melikyan,
the former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, told journalists as
he spoke of ANC rally to be held today, Sept. 9.

He does not think the ANC is capable of seriously exacerbating the
situation now. The people are not so enthusiastic about changing
power now as they were in 2008, he added. Changing power in Armenia
requires external assistance, which is impossible now because “Serzh
Sargsyan has ensured strong international positions as well.”

The ANC’s positions are weak, especially for the reason that it
position on Nagorno-Karabakh are not much different from the incumbent
authorities’ positions, Melikyan said. While still in the making, the
ANC should have revised its approaches, he added. “Levon Ter-Petrosyan
is a really favorite political figure in the West now irrespective
of the Wikileaks revelations,” Melikyan said.

Even this failed to help the ANC to get external aid. “May be, the
ANC leader is afraid of going back on his word,” he said.

Melikyan believes that the Nagorno-Karabakh factor will not play any
role in the forthcoming elections unless the ANC modifies its approach

From: Baghdasarian