Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ARMENIAN DANCES MUST BE “EXPORTED” WORLDWIDE: CHAIRMAN OF INTERNATIONAL DANCE COUNCIL

15:21, 29 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 29, ARMENPRESS. The 2014 World Dancing Congress
will considerably be held in Yerevan. As reports “Armenpress” the
Chairman of the International Dance Council Alkis Raftis stated
that if everything goes in accordance with the schedule, than that
significant event of the dancing world will be held in Yerevan.

Among other things Alkis Raftis noted: “Today millions of people
celebrate the International Dance Day worldwide. April 29 also
symbolizes the activity we have carried out during these years.” In
his opinion each country of the world has its style of dancing,
and it’s of a certain importance that along with the national dances
international dancing is widespread in Armenia as well.

Also Alkis Raftis touched upon the future programs and underscored
that they are planning to “export” Armenian dances in future.

Summing up Alkis Raftis emphasized: “We want to spread and make the
Armenian dances fashionable in entire world, like Spanish Flamingo,
Argentine Tango, and Cuban salsa. I imagin Kochari spread throughout
the world.”

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF LE MONDE WILL INTRODUCE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN NEW ALBUM

09:39, 29 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 29, ARMENPRESS. Advancing the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, French-Armenian photographer Antoine Agoudjian
intends to introduce a photo album, where he will sum up his works
for the period of about 30 years. In a conversation with “Armenpress”
Antoine Agoudjian stated that starting from 1988, each year in April
he pays visits to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Javakhk, Lebanon,
Syria, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Turkey to get acquainted with the
lifestyle of the local Armenian communities.

Among other things the author emphasized: “The album will bear
some more artistic and creative character, than informational or
journalistic. I mean, the photos introduce stories.” According to
him he will keep working and collecting new photos till April 2015
to complete the album. The album dedicated to the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide will be published in the U.S. and France.

From: Baghdasarian

CBS Boston
April 29, 2013

BOSTON (CBS) -`Misha’ Found In Rhode Island, Cooperating With Investigators

CBS Boston
April 29, 2013

BOSTON (CBS) – `Misha,’ the mysterious man linked to Boston Marathon
bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has been located in Rhode Island.

Misha, whose full name is Mikhail Allakhverdov, lives with his elderly
parents in their apartment in West Warwick.

Reporters camped outside the complex Monday, but there has been no
sign of him.

According to the Tsarnaev family, Misha converted Tamerlan to a strict
form of Islam and may have radicalized him. Misha told the New York
Review of Books he did know Tamerlan, but he had not spoken to him in
three years.

He also said he never met the family members who accused him of
radicalizing Tamerlan, but he would not describe the nature of their
relationship.

`I wasn’t his teacher. If I had been his teacher, I would have made
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sure he never did anything like this,’ Allakhverdov, 39, told the
review.

He claimed he’s met with the FBI and has turned over his laptop and
cell phone.

`He’s been cooperative, according to the people I’ve spoken to,’ CBS
News Senior Correspondent John Miller said Monday.

`They asked him for all the stuff they ask for in these things, can we
have your computer, can we go over your phone, they’re going to want
to mirror his hard drive and see what his contacts were. They say he
handed everything over, explained the relationship, said (he) wasn’t a
radicalizer.’

`He’s a guy who’s now from Rhode Island, who was up in Boston at the
time, knew the family, but he doesn’t emerge as any fiery preacher or
anybody of significance. So it’s interesting to hear the family
version of this svengali who came in and, to use their words, `took
over our sons’ brain’ and this guy who said, you know, `I gave him
some perspectives on life, but that was about it.”

So what was the motive for the bombings?

It’s still not known, but Miller said profilers are looking for `that
stressor in life’ if there wasn’t some individual who guided him this
way.

`What was that thing that pushed them over the edge?’ Miller said.

`Once Tamerlan realized `I’m not going to represent the United States
in the Olympics on the boxing team’… that’s a concept of what you
can’t have, you turn against.’

From: Baghdasarian

Lawyer for West Warwick man linked to Marathon bomber says he’s
cooperating with authorities

Breaking News

Providence Journal (Providence, Rhode Island)
April 29, 2013 1:04 pm

By Karen Lee Ziner

WEST WARWICK, R.I. — A lawyer representing the family of Mikhail
“Misha” Allakhverdov, who has been linked to one of the men suspected
in the Boston Marathon bombings, said Monday that Allakhverdov had
been cooperating with authorities and had answered all the questions
asked of him.

Atty. Richard Nicholson spoke briefly about 12:30 p.m. Monday to a
group of reporters who had gathered outside Allakhverdov’s River
Street apartment, following the publication Sunday of an interview
with Allakhverdov in The New York Review of Books.

That story said that Allakhverdov confirmed that he had known one of
the alleged bombers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but denied any role in the
marathon bombings.

Nicholson said Allakhverdov’s elderly parents, who live with him in
the River Street apartment, were upset when reporters showed up Sunday
night outside the apartment. The media group had grown to more than 20
by Monday morning.

“This is a trying time for Yuri and his family,” Nicholson said,
referring to Allakhverdov’s father.

Nicholson said he was there to calm their anxiety.

“I told them to go about their normal business,” he said.

Nicholson also said he expected that authorities would complete their
review of Allakhverdov soon.

From: Baghdasarian

GYUMRI RALLY TO TRANSLATE IDEA OF PREPARLIAMENT INTO REALITY – MEMBER

16:27 ~U 30.04.13

The rally to be held in Gyumri on May 9 will translate the idea of
Preparliament into reality, the Preparliament member Tigran Khzmalyan
told journalists on Tuesday, in response to Tert.am’s question.

“Why so late? We did not want to do it earlier. Well aware of the
crucial moment and even of the tragic blunder being committed,
we considered it a priority to inform the movement leaders [Levon
Ter-Petrosyan and Raffi Hovannisian]. But now we have made sure it
has no sense,” Khzmalyan said.

According to him, a force should prepare a program first and present
it to the public rather than holding public meetings before drafting
a program.

The Preparliament’s rallies in Gyumri on May 9 and in Yerevan on May
17 will inaugurate a series of rallies.

The first phase is mobilization of the people, and the second is
organization of really free and democratic elections, which are the
means of overthrowing the “occupation regime and the entire system
that is leading Armenia to colonization.”

The concept of “opposition” is in danger in Armenia now, Khzmalyan
said. Despite the numerous parties and groups, none of them is
defending the interests of society and working people.

“Claiming you remain an opposition force is not enough. We must form
a political body that would defend society’s interests,” he added.

What is a political struggle for many, is nothing but political
wrangling for the feudal capital.

The reason is the third stage of “redistribution of property.” The
first stage was in early 1990s and the second in late 1990s.

Seeing that the so called opposition forces’ real aim was a change of
power rather than a change of the system, the Preparliament decided
against supporting any of them.

Armenia’s society has two lessons to learn: no political party defends
society’s interests and no leader is able to accomplish his mission.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

AZERBAIJAN ACCUSES MEMBERS OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OF BRIBERY

15:18 30.04.2013

Speaker of the Milli Mejlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan Oktay Asadov
will appeal to the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.

Asadov said at a session of Parliament on Tuesday that his appeal
would concern “MEPs bribed by the Armenian Diaspora.”

According to the speaker, “a number of MEPs, including representatives
of international organizations issue statements in connection with the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which run counter to international norms.”

The speaker also noted that a tough position should be taken against
international organizations applying double standards in relation
to Azerbaijan.

Following the speaker’s speech, the deputy Faraj Guliyev noted that
Azerbaijan should reconsider its attitude towards the countries some
MEPs represent.

Members of the European Parliament’s EU-Armenia Friendship Group
visited Tsitsernakaberd on the Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day
on April 24.

The MEPs headed for the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, where they met with
President Bako Sahakyan. Representatives of the European Parliament
said it’s time to recognize the independence of Artsakh.

From: Baghdasarian

Fresno resolution is another circle of the integral chain

Wednesday, 24 April 2013 18:30

The resolution of the US administrative region of Fresno about the
recognition of the NKR independence was welcomed in Stepanakert.
According to NA chairman Ashot Ghoulyan similar events will be
time-constant and over and over again we shall hear of issuance of
similar resolutions.

`We have entered upon a process which is aimed at developing a fair
and unbiased attitude towards Artsakh in different cities and
countries of the world, even in different parts of these countries.
And wherever there are similar conceptions we will surely have such
kind of feedbacks. I think it is one of our successive achievements
but this is only another circle of an integral chain,’ the NA chairman
said.

According to Ashot Ghoulyan the main precondition of the successful
continuation of the mentioned process is the creation of a
law-governed democratic state. `The NKR must continue its way of
creation of a law-based democratic state to prove to the authorities
having recognized the independence and the determination right of the
Artsakh people that we stand steadily on our way.’

From: Baghdasarian

US Official News
April 26, 2013 Friday

Washington: HON. JOHN P. SARBANES OF MARYLAND IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, April 25, 2013

Washington

The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the
following news release:

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the memory of the
innocents that perished in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide.

With a systematic barbarism visited upon them, countless Armenians
made their way to Syria seeking refuge from persecution. Today, the
world is aghast at the horrific violence engulfing Syria and the
Armenian people are once again threatened with upheaval and
dislocation.

Each year, the United States Congress has the opportunity to stand
with justice and recognize the Armenian Genocide. Such action would
fortify America’s moral standing in the family of nations and send a
strong message to our NATO ally Turkey that it must examine the dark
chapters of its past and the discriminatory impulses of its present.

Turkey has repeatedly thwarted efforts by Congress and successive
administrations to recognize the Armenian Genocide by threatening all
manner of retaliation should recognition be accorded. I submit that we
do no favors to Turkey by acquiescing in its cynical campaign.
Turkey’s path to the European Union, its abysmal relations with its
ethnic and religious minorities, particularly its violent conflict
with the Kurdish people, would all improve if the Armenian Genocide
was addressed openly and honestly.

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015,
it is time for the United States to formally recognize this tragic
chapter in world history and to bring some measure of peace and
healing to those of Armenian descent.

For more information please visit:

From: Baghdasarian

US Fed News
April 25, 2013 Thursday 6:42 AM EST

SEN. MENENDEZ COMMEMORATES 98TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

WASHINGTON, April 25 — The office of Sen. Robert Menendez issued the
following statement:

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, stood in solidarity with the Armenian community on
Wednesday commemorating the 98th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

“We commemorate the 98th anniversary of one of the darkest events in
human history,” said Menendez. “We will not forget, we cannot ever
forget. To me, genocide is genocide and I continue to support a
resolution to recognize the Armenian genocide and to use the lessons
of what clearly was an atrocity of historic proportion to prevent
future crimes against humanity. The world remembers 98 years later,
the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the survivors
and those who perished. Here in the halls of Congress and around the
world, people of goodwill everywhere remember and will never forget.”

From: Baghdasarian

US Official News
April 25, 2013 Thursday

Washington: SPEECH OF HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY OF MASSACHUSETTS IN THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2013

Washington

The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the following Speech:

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, parev, pari yegak (Hello, welcome!).

I am very proud to represent Watertown, Massachusetts in Congress.
Watertown has the third highest percentage of Armenian-Americans of
any community in the Nation. I

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am also a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues
led by Representatives Pallone and Grimm.

The Armenian-American community is one of the greatest success stories
in this Nation’s history. I was meeting recently with a group of my
Armenian-American constituents to discuss some of the current issues
affecting US-Armenian relations and I commented that in my experience,
I have never met an unsuccessful Armenian!

As an Irish-American, I know what it is like to come from a troubled
land. My grandfather and grandmother came to Boston from Ireland in
1902. Just as the core of the Irish-American community was formed out
of the refugees of the Potato famine and the Irish Civil War, the core
of the Armenian-American community was formed from those who fled the
Genocide and their descendants.

Today, we remember and commemorate the Armenian Genocide, the first of
many genocides we saw in the 20th Century. The Armenian Genocide that
began in 1915 is sometimes called the “forgotten genocide,” but we
must never forget!

I was proud to be present at the opening of the Armenian Heritage Park
in Boston in May of last year. This beautiful park and its haunting
monument are a lasting testament to the 1.5 million Armenians who were
slaughtered by the Ottoman Empire. This monument reminds us that we
must be ever vigilant and not allow such horrors to occur again.

In order to prevent future genocides, however, we must recognize those
of the past. For many years the U.S. House of Representatives has had
before it a resolution which clearly affirmed that the Armenian
Genocide did occur.

I have been a strong supporter and vocal cosponsor of this resolution
in every Congress, and I remain so today.

Almost one-hundred years have passed since the Armenian Genocide, yet
the suffering will continue for Armenians and non-Armenians alike as
long as the world allows denial to prevail.

Already, 43 states and 22 nations have officially recognized the
Armenian Genocide, and it is long overdue for the United States to do
the same.

Unfortunately, the Republic of Armenia’s challenges have continued
even after it gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

In the face of ongoing blockades from Turkey and Azerbaijan, the
United States must provide assistance to Armenia while working to
reestablish the Turkish government’s commitment to normalized
relations in order to ensure peace and stability in the Caucasus
region. I strongly support these efforts.

The Armenian people are true survivors. Despite the reappearing themes
of invasions and land loss that the Armenians have dealt with for over
3,000 years, coupled with the loss of between one-half and
three-quarters of their population in the early 20th century, the
people of Armenia have prevailed.

The journey of the Armenian people continues today, with our shared
responsibility to ensure that the Armenian people are able to build
their own, independent and prosperous future.

I look forward to continuing to work with the Armenian-American
community to address the issues facing this longtime friend and
important ally of the United States. Together we can continue to build
something positive, something hopeful, something good for the
future–an Armenia that is respected and honored by its allies and
neighbors.

And this cannot come without universal acknowledgement of the horror
that was the Armenian Genocide.

Shnorhagal em (Thank you).

For more information please visit:

From: Baghdasarian