Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Europe Online
Jan 28 2015

European court hears case of Armenian genocide denier

Europe
28.01.2015

Paris (dpa) – The European Court of Human Rights heard arguments
Wednesday in a case brought by a Turkish politician convicted of
racial discrimination in Switzerland for denying the existence of the
Armenian genocide.

Dogu Perincek, 72, called the idea of a genocide against the Armenian
people by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 an “international lie” during a
conference he attended in Switzerland as a member of the Turkish
Workers’ Party.

The remarks prompted a criminal complaint from the Switzerland-Armenia
association, and Perincek was found guilty in 2007 by a Lausanne court
of racial discrimination for his purported counter-historical
statements.

Perincek appealed to the regional court on the grounds that the
decision in Switzerland violated his freedom of expression.

Wednesday’s proceedings were partially overshadowed by media interest
in one of the members of counsel for the defence, human rights lawyer
Amal Clooney, whose husband is the well-known actor George Clooney.

While a decision in the case is not expected for many months, the
hearings underscore political tension around the genocide even as
100th anniversary commemorations are organized.

More than 20 countries have officially recognized the genocide as a
historical event, while many Turkish leaders vehemently deny it.

Between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians are believed to have
perished during systematic executions and forced labour carried out by
the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

The European Court of Human Rights was set up in 1959 to rule on
alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is
not part of the European Union institutions.

From: Baghdasarian

PRESS RELEASE
UCLA Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies
Contact: Prof. S. Peter Cowe
Tel: 310-825-1307
Email: [email protected]

2015 Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies
Friday, February 6, 2015 =95 UCLA Royce Hall 314
The event is free and open to public

9:30 – 10:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 – 10:10 Opening Remarks

Daniel Fittante – Project Director, 2015 Graduate Student Colloquium
in Armenian Studies

Dr. S. Peter Cowe – Professor and Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies at UCLA

PANEL 1 – ARMENIANS IN THE RUSSIAN AND OTTOMAN EMPIRES
Chair: Ani Shahinian – Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA

10:10 – 10:30 Stephen B. Riegg – Department of History,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
`Spies and Settlers: Armenians in the Russian Service, 1804-13′

10:30 – 10:50 Urban Jaksa – Department of Politics, University of York (England)
Geopolitics of Genocide: Comparing the Ottoman and Russian Empire’s
Ethnic Cleansing Policies against Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and
Circassians in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries’

10:50 – 11:00 Discussion

PANEL 2 – PREHISTORIC PASTORALISM
Chair: Kristine Olshansky – Archaeology, UCLA

11:00 – 11:20 Hannah Rachel Chazin – Department
of Anthropology,
University of Chicago (US)
`Understanding Pastoralist Activities in Prehistoric Armenia:
Integrating Zooarchaeology and Isotope Analysis’

11:20 – 11:25 Discussion

11:25 – 11:45 Coffee/Tea Break

PANEL 3 – DIASPORA AND IDENTITY
Chair: Ara Soghomonian, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA

11:45 – 12:05 Hakob A. Matevosyan – Institute for the Study of Culture,
Leipzig University (Germany)
`Dimensions of Diasporic Identities: Armenians in Hungary’

12:05 – 12:25 Syuzanna Barseghyan – Institute of Archaeology and
Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia (Armenia)
`The Role of Ethnic Media in the Armenian Diaspora’

12:25 – 12:45 Karen Jallatyan – Department of Comparative Literature,
University of California at Irvine
`Cinematographic Constructions of Armenian Identity in the Films of
Gariné Torrosian and Atom Egoyan’

12:45 – 1:05 Artak Beglaryan – Drastamat Kanayan Institute for National
Strategic Studies (INSS) of the Republic of Armenian Ministry of Defense (Armenia)
`U.S. Armenian Lobbies and their Involvement in the Artsakh Cause’

1:05 – 1:25 Discussion

1:25 – 3:00 Lunch

PANEL 4 – MERCANTILE ACTIVITY
Chair: Anatolii Tokmantcev – Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA

3:00 – 3:20 Sona Tajiryan- Department of History, University of California
at Los Angeles (US)
`Agha di Matus, 1635-1709: An Armenian Diamond and Gem Merchant in
Livorno and Venice”

3:20 – 3:40 Kathryn Jane Franklin – Department of Anthropology,
University of Chicago (US)
`A Route of Trade and a Road to Progress: the Silk Road in Medieval
and Contemporary Armenian politics’

3:40 – 3:50 Discussion

PANEL 5 – LEXICOGRAPHICAL MANUSCRIPTS
Chair: Ani Honarchian – Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA

3:50 – 4:10 Ester Petrosyan – Department of
Medieval Studies, Central
European University (Hungary)
`Syriac Manuscript 11: A Tri-lingual Dictionary Kept in the Library of
the Franciscan Order in Cairo (A Detailed Examination)’

4:10 – 4:15 Discussion

4:15 – 4:35 Coffee/Tea Break

PANEL 6 – GENDER AND FAMILY DYNAMICS
Chair: Rosie Aroush – Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA

4:35 – 4:55 Milena Oganesyan – Department of Anthropology, University
of Montana-Missoula (US)
`Living on the Fault Lines: A Study of Armenian-Georgian Intermarriage in Georgia’

4:55 – 5:15 Elli Ponomareva – Department of Anthropology, European
University at Saint Petersburg
`Male Street Culture in Yerevan and its Manifestation in Various Social Contexts’

5:15 – 5:35 Ani Jilozian – Global Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine
at Mount Sinai (US)
`Giving Women a Voice: Perceptions & Experiences with Contraception &
Abortion in Rural Armenia’

5:35 – 5:50 Discussion

5:50 – 6:00 Guest Speaker – Marc Mamigonian, Director of Academic
Affairs of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)

6:00 – 6:10 Presentation of the Berekian Armenian Collection of Manuscripts
and Printed Books

6:10-7:00 Reception

Free and open to the public.

Pay-by-space parking and all day parking ($12) available in Lot 2 & 3.
Parking Pay Station Map | Interactive UCLA Campus Map

From: Baghdasarian

Turkey should engage with Armenia, not Armenian diaspora: Etyen Mahcupyan

18:43, 28 Jan 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Turkey should turn the centenary of the 1915 incidents into an
opportunity to engage with the Armenian state and society rather than
the Armenian diaspora, as the former is more open to dialogue, Turkish
prime ministerial adviser Etyen Mahcupyan has said, the Hurriyet Daily
News reports.

Mahcupyan said reciprocal steps by Turkey and Armenia on the centenary
of the 1915 events would change relations between the two states in a
“healing” way, adding that the initial phase should be between Turkey
and Armenia, rather than the Armenian diaspora.

“Armenia and its society are more ready to engage in with Turkey than
the diaspora. But because we hear the state’s voice and as the state
speaks as a state, it seems bold,” said Mahcupyan.

Stating that when one spoke to the people on the streets of Armenia,
one could understand that they are seeking closure, Mahcupyan said the
same was true for Turkey.

He added that although the two nations were the “children of the same
culture” and there was a “longing” between them, the world’s current
state system had drawn borders between nations, making inter-state
relations more formal and cold.

Mahcupyan said relations should be built starting from the informal
and societal level, rather than the state-to-state level, suggesting
women’s movements in the two countries coming together as an example.

From: Baghdasarian

Russia acted as “third party” in Armenia-EU relations, Barroso states

January 28, 2015 10:31

Serzh Sargsyan and Jose Manuel Barroso

Photo: REUTERS

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Former European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso believes that Armenia’s decision to refuse to sign the EU
Association Agreement was affected by Russia.

Barroso stated it in an interview with “Ukrayinska Pravda” (Ukrainian
Truth) Newspaper, Mediamax reports.

An excerpt from the interview:

– What plan did the EU have for Ukraine after the Vilnius Summit? Did
you already accept that the “loss” of Ukraine?

– No, I don’t agree with that. I respect countries and their choice.
It was clear at the Vilnius Summit that Ukraine is not ready to sign
the agreement. And we did not aim to compel them to do it.

We were running counter to Russian propaganda which, was claiming that
this entire situation is a plot against Russia to make Ukraine part of
the European Union. However, we didn’t pursue any such aim.

For example, Armenia told us they are not ready to sign the
Association Agreement. In all likelihood, Russia acted as a third
party in their decision. But we respected their [Armenia’s] choice.
However, things were different with Ukraine – there was already public
response to the failure to sign this agreement – Maidan.

From: Baghdasarian

Haut-Karabagh
Une intervention militaire russe pour aider l’Arménie est inutile

L’armée arménienne est assez forte pour contenir l’Azerbaïdjan et
maintenir le statu quo au Haut-Karabagh sans intervention militaire
directe de la Russie, a indiqué hier Seyran Ohanian.

Le ministre de la Défense a déclaré que l’Arménie ne fera donc pas
appel à l’OTSC dirigée par la Russie pour l’aider à faire face à ce
qu’il appelle la croissante violations du cessez-le-feu par les forces
azerbaïdjanaises. “L’armée arménienne a prouvé qu’elle est une force
en constante amélioration et je ne pense pas que ces foyers de tension
pourraient nous obliger à faire appel à l’OTSC”, a t-il déclaré lors
d’une conférence de presse.

“Nous sommes maintenant prêts pour toute action” a t-il ajouté,
faisant écho aux menaces exprimées par le président Serge Sarkissian
lundi.

S’adressant aux hauts gradés de l’armée arménienne et aux hauts
responsables du ministère de la Défense à Erevan, Sarkissian a averti
qu’il pourrait ordonner des frappes plus fortes contre l’armée
azerbaïdjanaise. Ses remarques ont suivi une recrudescence de combats
meurtriers dans la zone du conflit du Karabagh.

Le ministère de la Défense de l’Azerbaïdjan a écarté les menaces de
Sarkissian hier. “Les forces armées de l’Azerbaïdjan vont se battre
pour la restauration de l’intégrité territoriale du pays jusqu’à la
dernière goutte de notre sang”, a indiqué le ministère dans un
communiqué.

Malgré ces alertes de représailles arméniennes fortes, Ohanian a
déclaré qu’une nouvelle guerre arméno-azerbaïdjanaise est encore peu
probable, malgré la dernière escalade. “Le responsable d’une structure
militaire ne peut se permettre d’exclure 100 % des hostilités”, a t-il
dit. “Mais nous ferons tout – et notre leadership politico-militaire
travaille dans cette direction Рpour emp̻cher que les violations du
cessez-le-feu ne se transforment en une guerre tous azimuts”.

mercredi 28 janvier 2015,
Claire (c)armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

Nagorno-Karabakh freer compared to Azerbaijan – report

12:51 * 28.01.15

The international human rights watchdog Freedom House has given
Nagorno-Karabakh a higher status of freedom compared to Azerbaijan.

In its recent report, which includes also disputed territories,
Nagorno-Karabakh has been rated as a Partly Free state as opposed to
Azerbaijan, which is among the Not Free countries.

Armenia also has been rated as Partly Free , together with Georgia and
Turkey. Azerbaijan; Iran and Russia accomplish the list of Not Free
states.

The organization’s experts have pointed out to downward trends in
countries considered important regional role-players including
Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan)

On the index comprising 195 countries, a total of 89 states (46) have
been named as Free, 55 (28%) – as Partially Free and 51 (26%) – as Not
Free.

From: Baghdasarian

Armenian Army celebrates 23rd anniversary today – Generals on
military’s achievements and failures

10:48 * 28.01.15

January 28 marks the Day of the Armenian Army. The national armed
forces’ foundations were laid in 1992 when the country was leading a
battle for the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). Twenty-year
after its establishment, the military still has certain shortcomings,
and nevertheless, it is efficient enough to ensure the protection of
the country’s borders. For a detailed outlook on the national army’s
accomplishments and failures, Tert.am has talked to veteran heroes of
the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Congratulating the Armed Forces on their professional holiday,
Major-General Felix Gzoghyanwished the Armenian army a serene sky,
stressing the importance of consolidated efforts towards fightuing the
continuing border tensions and resisting the challenges.

“Our army’s efficiency is very high today – as it was several years
ago. We have very good supreme commanders who always keep the army
efficiency on a high level. May the sky be serene and may our soldier
and nation always live in peace,” he said, remembering the heroes
killed in the national liberation fight.

The major general said he is confident that the Armenian soldier is
now as powerful today as he was in the 1990s harsh battle to repress
the enemy.

“We are very sorry that our children are killed, but that’s for the
protection of our nation and our borders’ defense. People defended
borders in the Soviet times too; so they do now. Nowadays, however,
they protect our nation,” he added.

Major-General Astvatsatur Petrosyan also agreed that the national army
has enhanced its efficiency, raising the personnel’s professional
level.

“As Minister [of Defense Seyran Ohanyan] says, we really need a
literate officer; hence it is very important to break the image of the
one embodying viciousness. We now have a complement of officers
trained in different countries, and soldiers who are intellectually
more developed, but the development of a mobile army is still a
problem,” he added.

Petrosyan said he knows that the Armenian Army now has special-task
detachments and professional servicemen powerful enough to lead a
battle against an entire town or division.

“The Armenian soldier’s wit is not to be replaced, so it is necessary
for us to further strengthen our borders. But that first of all
requires a political process that could help withdraw the unnecessary
forces deployed along the border. The new generation in the two
countries – Armenia and Azerbaijan – has to sit around a table of
negotiations with the adversary,” he added.

Commenting on the shortcomings, Petrosyan said he thinks that the
problem stems partially from the society too. “The army is the artery
of the entire nation. What we see among the people – including
different behaviors and morals – exists also in the military. What has
to be paid attention to is the ideological upbringing of both the
complement of officers and the soldiers. It is a difficult task, but
we must do our best to have an educated soldier returning home after
two years of service,” he added.

Major General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan (aka Komandos) compared the
Armenian Army with a military vehicle which he said must be the pride
of the each and every person.

“Though the Azerbaijanis have many weapons, they do not have the same
fighting spirit as we do. Our guys today know their elder generation
has won, but what the adversary’s generations know is that their
elders escaped the battlefield. What spirit can they have? Arms and
ammunition are nothing if their combat-readiness is on a zero-level,”
he added.

Admitting that illicit morals often penetrate into the military too,
the legendary war veteran noted that the incidents have essentially
decreased in number in the recent years.

“Our army’s leadership spares no effort for that; it’s very
complicated work. But I have to say that the problem is even greater
in the Azerbaijani army, as we are a mono-ethnic nation, having fewer
foreigners in the military, while in Azerbaijan, 60% or more [of the
armed forces] are representatives of foreign nations,” he added.

“But our army has become open in the recent years. In the past,
parents never knew what was going on in military, but today, soldiers
have their commanders’ phone numbers, so whenever anything happens,
they may immediately contact them to have the problem solved. We have
to nonetheless upgrade the human relations to an appropriate level to
make every soldier feel the important role he plays for the
fatherland’s protection,” he added.

From: Baghdasarian

Non-recognition of Armenian Genocide led to Holocaust – statement

15:55 * 28.01.15

Rimma Varzhapetyan-Feller, President of the Jewish Community of
Armenia, Gershon Meir Burstein, Chief Rabbi in Armenia, Willy Weiner,
President of Jewish Cultural Center ‘Menora’ issues the following
statement:

“Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish
people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever
be a warning to all peoples of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism
and prejudice,” a UN GA resolution reads.

We witnessed the rebirth of Nazism, anti-Semitism, rampage of
terrorism and violence over the last years.

The deplorable example of non-condemnation and non-recognition of the
fact of Armenian Genocide by some states led to the Holocaust, and new
acts of genocide.

The Scripture of Prophet Joel (1, 2-3) reads,

“Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything
like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?

Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their
children, and their children another generation”.

We are responsible for the future of our children and are obliged to
spare no effort to rear the youth in a spirit of tolerance,
inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.

Conceiving the sad historic heritage of two peoples, very much like
each other in fortune, we should make efforts so that those appalling
facts of history never recurred. The unacceptable silence and
indifference of international community to a committed crime against
humanity and civilization, on the whole, non-recognition and
purposeful denial of the fact of any act of genocide in the world will
always pave a way to the resurfacing of new acts of violence on ethnic
and religious grounds.

Independent of geopolitical or other interests, the international
community should stand together in the recognition, condemnation and
punishment of all genocides. Today we keep witnessing new waves of
violence and expressions of almost all the forms of intolerance and
xenophobia in many corners of the world, which is a result of the
policy of double standards and absence of solidarity on this issue.

The barbarism of terrorists in Europe and inhuman actions by HAMAS in
Israel are horrifying.

Genocide prevention is a component of complex mechanism of protection
of human rights, the right to live.

Being a part of the Jewish people, we appeal to all those, who mourn
with us, shares our Pain and Protest – The remembrance days of any
crime against humanity – the Shoah (Holocaust), the Armenian Genocide
(Mets Yeghern), remembrance days in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and
remembrance days of victims of violence and terror should be days of
mourning not only for the descendents of victims, but for the
descendents of the perpetrators.

From: Baghdasarian

Fioletovo Gold Mining Project Expertise Suspended

13:02 January 26, 2015
EcoLur

The expertise of Fioletovo gold mining project has been suspended
based on the solicitation of “Grade Redmet” company, as Henrik
Grigoryan, Deputy Direction of “Environmental Expertise” SNCO of
Nature Protection Ministry stated at the meeting on 23 January.

Under the press release of the Public Council, the company reached
this conclusion taking into consideration the negative opinion of the
local population about the mining project.

During the discussion four committees of the Public Council opposed to
this mining project taking into consideration cultural and historical,
soil and environmental problems of the mining project.

Yuri Javadyan, the member of the Public Council, Chairman of
Agricultural Committee, urged “Grade Redmet” company to submit a
closed mining project, which will enable neutralizing possible damage.

The representative of “Grade Redmet” company noted that they can’t
implement the project without the consent of the community residents
at the same time raising the question of damages. As a positive side
of the mining, he outlined the presence of the working places.

The negative decision of the Public Council members will be submitted
to Public Council Chairman Vazgen Manukyan, as well as Armenian PM
Hovik Abrahamyan.

From: Baghdasarian

Armenian President’s message on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

12:43, 27 Jan 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has issued a message on the
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the
Holocaust. The message reads, in part:

“The genocide perpetrated against the Jewish people during the years
of theWorld War Second is, indeed, one of the most cruel and tragic
pages in human history. January 27, which symbolized the liberation of
the Auschwitz concentration camp, became an important haven for
stopping the evil of the Holocaust.

The commemoration of the Holocaust victims and the condemnation of
this genocide is urgent as long as there are most different
expressions of hatred and intolerance based on national, racist and
religious ground, and as long as the threat of reoccurrence of crimes
against humanity is there.

It’s an unequivocal truth that consigning of the victims of genocide
to oblivion and denying the genocides, especially on a state level, is
one of the stages of that crime. It’s a double crime not only against
the innocent victims, but also against the present and the future.
Perhaps, it could be possible to prevent the crime perpetrated under
the cover of World War Second, had the crime against humanity
perpetrated during World War First been dully condemned by the
international community.

Once again bowing before the memory of the innocent victims of the
Holocaust, I would like to express my support and solidarity to the
Jewish people, the Jewish community of Armenia. The Armenian nation,
which is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
more than understands the pain of the Jewish people.

I reiterate our commitment to fight jointly to prevent the crimes
against humanity with a resoluteness to say “never again.”

From: Baghdasarian