Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

VOICE OF RUSSIA: TURKEY MAY OPEN BORDER WITH ARMENIA

by Ashot Safaryan

Thursday, February 13, 13:35

Turkey may open its border with Armenia shortly, according to an item
published on the website of the Voice of Russia Radio.

Referring to a Turkish newspaper Aksam, the author of the item says
that Turkey is going to open up-to- date border crossings on the
border with Armenia and Iran with the support of the EU. Demining
activities have been launched in the eastern direction of the border.

The project will cost nearly 52 million EUR. The Armenian-Georgian
border undergoes modernization simultaneously.

The Turkey-Armenia-Georgia route may become quite busy, because
Brussels never wastes money, though the Turkish-Armenian border is
so far closed and the two countries have no diplomatic relations.

Armenia and Turkey signed the “Protocol on the establishment
of diplomatic relations” and the “Protocol on the development of
bilateral relations” in Zurich on October 10 2009. Following Turkey’s
unwillingness to ratify the protocols and attempts to link ratification
with the Karabakh conflict made President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
sign a decree on suspension of the procedure of ratification of the
Armenian -Turkish protocols. Nevertheless, the relations of the two
countries experience certain changes.

The author outlines the new geopolitical realities in the South
Caucasus, Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union and then to the
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). For Turkey the border with Armenia
may get a status of the border with the EAEU.

“According to Today’s Zaman, after the P5+1 and Iran agreed on
a landmark deal in Geneva, Tehran is gradually getting out of the
international isolation and becoming a big player in the region. Due
to its stable trade and economic relations with Armenia, Iran gets
a direct access to the Customs Union via Armenia – something that
Turkey lacks so far. Consequently, the closed border with Armenia
will no longer be a measure of political pressure for Turkey. It
may become a problem of the lost economic opportunities. As regards
Turkey’s relations with Azerbaijan and its stance on the Karabakh
conflict, it would be right encouraging Baku and Yerevan to establish
a dialogue and achieve agreements. The experience of the so- called
Arab spring and the Syrian conflict shows that such policy of Turkey
just aggravates the situation and impedes the possibilities of the
Turkish diplomacy. It was not for nothing that Turkey welcomed the
meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents after a two-year
interval, which may lead to a ‘road map’ on the Karabakh peace process.

Modernization of the Turkish-Armenian border and demining on the
near-border areas shows that Ankara has a positive scenario and seems
to be preparing to lift the blockade of Armenia,” the author writes.

From: Baghdasarian

RWANDA 1994: RENCONTRE-PROJECTION AU MéMORIAL DE LA SHOAH

Publié le : 13-02-2014

Info Collectif VAN РРVingt ans apr̬s le
génocide des Tutsi au Rwanda, le Mémorial de la Shoah organise ce
jeudi 13 février 2014 a 19h, une rencontre suivie d’une projection. Le
Collectif VAN vous présente le programme de la rencontre publié
sur le site d’Ibuka France.

Ibuka France

Le génocide des Tutsi au Rwandaâ~@~I:â~@~Ipremier procès en France

jeudi 13 février 2014 a 19 h

Rencontre suivie d’une projection

(Dans le cadre de la vingtième commémoration du génocide des Tutsi
au Rwanda (1994-2014)

20 ans après le génocide des Tutsi, un premier procès s’ouvre
en France du 4 février au 28 mars 2014. Celui du capitaine Pascal
Simbikangwa, ancien officier de l’armée rwandaise, chargé des
renseignements intérieurs sous le régime de Juvénal Habyarimana. Il
est poursuivi pour ” complicité de génocide ” et ” complicité
de crimes contre l’humanité ”.

En présence de maître Patrick Baudouin, président d’honneur de
la FIDH, Michèle Hirsch, avocate, et Marcel Kabanda, président
d’Ibuka France.

Bruxelles – Kigali de Marie-France Collard

(Belgique, documentaire, 118 mn, 2011, Cobra films / Zeugma Films)

En novembre 2009, la cour d’assises de Bruxelles, jugeait par défaut
Ephrem Nkezabera, banquier et dirigeant des milices extrémistes Hutu
Interahamwe, fer de lance du génocide des Tutsi et du massacre des
opposants politiques Hutu au Rwanda en 1994.

En présence de Marie-France Collard, réalisatrice.

Reprise de la programmation autour de la 20e commémoration en
avril 2014.

Mémorial de la Shoah 17, rue Geoffroy-l’Asnier 75004 Paris Métro :
Saint-Paul ou Pont-Marie

Entrée libre sur réservation sur

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Ibuka-France

From: Baghdasarian

L’ECONOMIE DE L’ARMENIE POURRAIT AUGMENTER JUSQU’A 10 POUR CENT SELON TATUL MANASERYAN

ARMENIE

L’economie de l’Armenie pourrait augmenter jusqu’a 10 pour cent et
meme plus, a dit Tatul Manaseryan, chef de groupe de reflexion >.

>a-t-il dit a des journalistes.

Tatul Manaseryan a declare que les propositions et les moyens de les
mettre en oeuvre sont precisees dans un plan de developpement des
ressources economiques et humaines de l’Armenie prepare par son ONG.

Il a dit qu’afin de parvenir a une croissance economique elevee, il est
necessaire de faire le bilan des ressources humaines et naturelles du
pays, de reveler ses avantages concurrentiels, ainsi que de developper
un modèle clair de competitivite nationale qui fonctionnerait dans
un environnement favorable, sans chercher de rapprochement soit avec
l’Occident ou l’Orient.

Selon Manaseryan, une attention particulière devrait etre accordee
a assurer la securite economique et militaire du pays en mettant
l’accent sur l’utilisation de sources d’energie alternatives.

jeudi 13 fevrier 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

TIGRAN HAMASYAN DESSINE L’ARMENIE

Liberation, France
12 fev 2014

12 fevrier 2014 a 19:16

Après dix annees passees sur les routes, Tigran Hamasyan, le petit
prince armenien du piano, a pris le chemin du retour pour se plonger
dans la tradition populaire litteraire et musicale de son pays, et
ecrire un futur intime a ses racines (lire Liberation du 25 août). Il
fait sien l’imaginaire de cet art ancestral du theâtre d’ombres qu’il
compare et se penche sur les berceuses seculaires transmises de
generation en generation par les femmes. Après A Fable, en solo, Shadow
Theater affirme en quintet le sens raffine du langage harmonique et
l’ivresse des palinodies rythmiques du prodige qui entre dans chaque
note de son clavier. Branche tout courant de Led Zep a Meshuggah,
Monk et Rachmaninov, Tigran, 26 ans, croise ecriture erudite et
onirisme poetique, comme impro et electro. D.Q. Photo Karen Mirzoyan

En concert ce soir, 20 heures a la Gaîte lyrique, 3 bis, rue Papin,
75003. Demain a Nice, samedi a Bruxelles. CD :
(Verve/Universal).

From: Baghdasarian

DINK’S FRIENDS: RETRIAL PROCESS SHOULD SATISFY PUBLIC OPINION

Cihan News Agency, Turkey
Feb 12 2014

Speaking after the fourth hearing of the retrial into the assassination
of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, friends of the murdered
journalist said on Wednesday that the retrial should bring about
justice and satisfy the public.

In May 2013, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a court’s original
ruling which dismissed the existence of an organized criminal network
in the case.

Speaking in behalf of Dink’s friends, Agos newspaper columnist
Karin KarakaÅ~_lı told the press that seven years had passed since
the murder and through all that time, state institutions have been
pointing at each other to acquit themselves in the eyes of public.

Dink was shot by an ultranationalist teenager, Ogun Samast, on Jan.

19, 2007, in front of the Agos newspaper office, where he served as
editor-in-chief. In January 2012, a court ruled on life imprisonment
for Yasin Hayal on charges of instigating the murder; another suspect,
Erhan Tuncel, was acquitted of murder charges.

The lower court, which found no evidence that a terrorist organization
was involved in Ogun Samast’s assassination of Dink in 2007, had
acquitted the suspects of claims that they had been forming a terrorist
organization. The court did, however, say they were guilty of forming
an illegal and armed organization to commit a crime, prohibited
under Article 220 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). However, after
the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals, a retrial started in May.

From: Baghdasarian

IRAN, ARMENIA TO RAMP UP EFFORTS TO REDUCE ARAS RIVER POLLUTION

Tasnim News Agency, Iran
Feb 12 2014

February 12, 2014 – 20:10

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian energy minister and Armenia’s minister of
environmental protection agreed on Wednesday to step up Tehran-Yerevan
joint efforts to monitor and reduce water pollution in the Aras River.

Print

The Iranian capital of Tehran saw Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian,
and the visiting Armenian minister of environmental protection,
Aram Harutyunian, holding a meeting today to discuss a range of
environmental issues, including active cooperation to tackle the Aras
River pollution.

The rising pollution levels in the border river have been blamed
mainly on the discharge of untreated sewage from an Armenia-based
copper factory into the river water.

In the meeting, the two ministers, accompanied by their senior
advisers, decided that Iran and Armenia should put efforts into
monitoring water pollution in Aras online and take measures to stop
the discharge of toxic waste from the copper factory into the river.

The Aras is a river located in and along the countries of Turkey,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Its total length is 1,072 kilometers.

Given its length and a basin that covers an area of 102,000 square
kilometers, it is one of the largest rivers of the Caucasus.

The Aras River rises near Erzurum, Turkey. It meets with the Akhurian
River southeast of Digor, flows along the Turkish-Armenian border,
and then near a corridor that connects Turkey to Nakhchivan.

It then flows along the Iranian-Azerbaijan and the Iranian-Armenian
border. The river then flows along the border between Iran and
Azerbaijan to meet with the Kura River at the village of Sabirabad. It
then directly flows into the Caspian Sea.

From: Baghdasarian

GARO AND ALICE GUREGHIAN DONATE $300,000 TO FRESNO COMMUNITY CENTER

Wednesday, February 12th, 2014

Mr. & Mrs. Garo and Alice Gureghian

FRESNO–The son of late Asbarez editor Melik-Shah, Garo Gureghian and
his wife Alice announced a donation of $300,000 to the Fresno Armenian
Community Center–the Asbarez Center–during a meeting Sunday with
Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US Central Committee chairman
Dr. Viken Hovsepian and other CC and Fresno Tehlirian chapter leaders.

A part of the donation is slated to be used for much-needed renovations
to the center, which has been the hear beat of the Fresno community
for generations and housed the Asbarez editorial offices, when the
newspaper was published in Fresno. Another part of the sum will
bequeathed to the Fresno Center for future projects.

ARF Fresno Tehlirian chapter member and noted community activist
Mheir Chekherdemian conveyed the news of the donation to Asbarez,
and recalled his long-time friendship with the Gureghian family.

“Since they [the Gureghians] did not have children, they view all
the youth in the center–Homenetmen scouts, athletes, AYF members and
juniors–as their children. With this princely donation they asked that
the center undergo improvements that will serve the youth and become
a place where they can hold their activities,” said Chekherdemian.

The Asbarez family is proud that the son of one of its influential
editors, Melik-Shah (1949-52, 1969-1970), has taken such a generous
step, while at the same time congratulating Mr. & Mrs. Gureghian on
their 50th wedding anniversary wishing them a long and healthy life
so they can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

From: Baghdasarian

PUBLIC OUTCRY MAKES YEREVAN CINEMA THEATER TO CANCEL PREMIER OF LARS VON TRIER’S NYMPHOMANIAC

YEREVAN, February 12. / ARKA /. Cinema Star movie theater in Yerevan
has thought better of premiering February 13 the scandal-courting
Danish director Lars von Trier’s new movie Nymphomaniac (volume1)
because of public outcry.

The movie is starred by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard,
Christian Slater, Uma Thurman and newcomer Stacy Martin.

The film tells the story of Joe, played by Gainsbourg, and her sexual
awakening from birth to age 50.

The picture opens with Joe lying beaten in an alleyway when the kindly
intellectual Seligman (Skarsgard) comes upon her and takes her home
with him. She begins confiding her life story, including how she lost
her virginity in a degrading encounter with a man who will repeatedly
surface in her life.

Grasping her “power as a woman” over men who want sex from her, Joe
enters into a competition with a friend as to who can seduce the most
strangers on a train within an hour, with extra points for conquering
a devoted married man. -0-

– See more at:

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN VILLAGE MAYOR WITHDRAWS PERMISSION TO MINING COMPANY TO BUILD TAILING DUMP

02.12.2014 15:59 epress.am

Hakob Lazarian, head of the Melikgyugh rural community in Aragatsotn
marz (province), yesterday called a special council meeting to discuss
the construction of the third tailing dump of Mego-Gold LLC’s Tukhmanuk
gold mine, reports local dailyZhoghovurd.

Melikgyugh residents have repeatedly protested against construction
of the tailing dump, arguing that there are already serious health
and environmental problems in the village as a result of the mining.

The mining company, the newspaper reports, held public hearings on
Feb. 10, which, however, had a low turnout. The hearings were a cause
of concern for the community, and for this reason, the village council
and village mayor decided to suspend the discussions until relevant
companies conduct in-depth research.

“At the moment we are reviewing our decision because we were unfamiliar
with the program. When I became acquainted with certain aspects of this
program, I saw the extent of the threat posed to our village. After
the council meeting I will call the company director and tell him to
cancel tomorrow’s discussion and move it to the village. Until a dozen
relevant companies express their opinion on the matter, I won’t give
permission. This is horrible because there is an expected high risk,”
Lazarian informed the newspaper.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN-POPULATED DISTRICT OF DAMASCUS COMES UNDER ARTILLERY ATTACKS

Wednesday,
February
12

Armenian-populated Jaramana district of Damascus came under an
artillery attack. There were injured people and damage was done,
Azdak reported, noting clashes between government troops and rebels
continue in eastern suburbs of the capital.

It is relatively calm in downtown Damascus and those suburbs where
the sides have concluded an armistice.

The population of Damascus has increased sharply in recent days:
people are moving from suburbs to the capital city where they feel
more or less secure, according to the mass media.

Aysor.am

From: Baghdasarian