Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

THE ARMENIAN DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL IS THE ARMENIAN NATION SPREAD ALL OVER THE WORLD: TIGRAN SARGSYAN

ARMENPRESS
31 July, 2012
YEREVAN

Yerevan, July 31, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian development potential is the
Armenian nation spread all over the world, so the state should create
such tools to unite the Armenians and multiply the organization level
of our people. As “Armenpress” reports the Armenian Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan states this in the meeting with the students of
“Light” foundation in the “Ayb” high school.

To Prime Minister’s opinion “Armenian World” factor will become
more significant year by year along with the changes taking place in
the world forcing us to be more united as a nation. “In this sense
“Light” foundation, the National Competitiveness Council with the
public-private partnership, which includes Armenians succeeded in
different states of the world, are important tools. The council aims
to increase the national competitiveness. The creation of a number
of Armenian organizations and unities are among the tools”, briefed
Tigran Sargsyan.

The Prime Minister noted that there are few countries in the world
which are in such a difficult situation as Armenia is: it has no sea,
no diplomatic relations with the two neighbors Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The international sanctions against Iran also complicate the situation
in Armenia. “It is clear that such a situation creates difficult
conditions for the economy, raises political risks and so on. In
other words we are to take into ground these objective trends while
discussing our economic model”, mentioned Tigran Sargsyan.

The Executive director noted that another means of the Armenian
development are integration and market expansion. The country should
use all its features to provide maximum integration with Georgia,
Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran. “However, taking into consideration the
fact that the settlement of the relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan is
quite a difficult problem, we should focus on the country’s internal
resources and on the better organization of the “Armenian World”
potential”, highlighted the Prime Minister.

During the meeting Tigran Sargsyan performed a lecture on “Armenian
World”, touched upon the changes taking place in the world and the
Armenian development trends, regional processes and the content of
the new world.

Since 2012 July 150 students of “Light” foundation within the program
“Develop Armenia” have worked in the Armenian and Artsakh ten
communities, towns and villages, discovered the development events
and programs, that are presented to the head of the government during
the meeting.

From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY AND ISRAEL HAVE COMMON INTERESTS AND NEEDS EACH OTHER

News.Az
Mon 30 July 2012 05:25 GMT | 6:25 Local Time

News.Az interviews Can Yirik, Israel Analyst in GPoT Center and
co-author of the book “Turkish-Israeli Relations 1949-2010”.

How deep is the crisis between Turkey and Israel after the known
incident in the Mediterranean?

Mavi Marmara raid that resulted in the death of nine Turkish citizens
led to the biggest crisis in the history of Turkish-Israeli relations.

It is the first time that Turkish citizens were murdered by a foreign
army. Following the incident, Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Tel
Aviv and requested that Israel issue an apology, offer compensation
the families, accept an international inquiry. Israel accepted
an international inquiry under the auspices of United Nations and
announced that it was ready to pay compensation. However, Israeli
decision makers have clearly expressed that they would never issue an
apology from Turkey. In response, Turkish government announced that the
relations would not be restored unless Israel apologies from Turkey
and lifts Gaza embargo. Political and diplomatic relations have been
frozen, military cooperation agreements and joint military exercises
were cancelled and there is an huge decline in tourism. This is the
biggest crises in Turkish-Israeli relations.

May Turkey and Israel reject all preconditions for sake of
normalization of bilateral relations?

Turkey bound the fate of its relations with Israel to certain
requirements; apology and Gaza embargo. Any policy change in Ankara’s
stance towards Israel would undermine Turkey’s regional prestige
which is very high in the Arab world. Turkey wants to be the pivotal
state in the region. If Turkey drops any of those conditions, it will
lose its credibility and chance for becoming a regional power. Thus,
Turkey will not be able to retreat from its position.

How real is a threat that Israeli Parliament will recognize 1915
events in Ottoman Empire as “Armenian genocide”?

In every legislative term, Israel’s Meretz party proposes Knesset to
recognize the so-called Armenian genocide. The proposal was discussed
in Culture and Education Committees in this year. Despite Meretz’s
yearly attempts, the other parties and state officials do not want to
use the Armenian issue as a leverage against Turkey. Turkish-Israeli
relations are very fragile and Israel wants to restore the relations
as soon as possible. They know that Armenian issue will make problems
much more complicated.

How may the Turkish-Israeli crisis touch Azerbaijan and its relation
with Israel? Does Turkey want Azerbaijan to restrict this cooperation?

Turkey is very angry to Israel. Turkish government implements a policy
based on isolation of Israel in regional and international platforms.

Henceforth, Turkey has been using its veto power in order to block
Israel’s participation to any platform that Turkey takes part.

However, Turkey does not criticize any country just because that it
has close ties with Israel. This is not Turkey’s policy. On the other
hand, Turkey has serious problems with Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia,
Armenia. Turkey needs to keep its close relations with Azerbaijan.

Thus, I do not think that the close Azerbaijani-Israeli ties affects
Turkey’s relations with Azerbaijan or any other state in the region.

And may Azerbaijan do something to assist reconciliation between
Turkey and Israel?

Unfortunately none of the states that have close relations with Turkey
or Israel can play a role for mending Turkish-Israeli ties. Turkey’s
position is very obvious. Without apology and without any improvement
in Israeli-Palestinian peace process, there will be no improvement in
the relations. Given the recent developments in the region, Turkey
and Israel have common interests and needs each other. Azerbaijan
can play a role only if it gets Israel to apologize from Turkey.

From: Baghdasarian

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN MET ARMENIAN ATHLETES

ARMENPRESS
31 July, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS: President Serzh Sargsyan in the capital
of United Kingdom in the evening of July 30 held a meeting with
Armenian athletes who take part in Summer Olympic Games 2012 in London.

Armenpress was informed from President’s press office that President
wished successes our athletes assuring that they would perform
with honor. Serzh Sargsyan mentioned that first of all the athletes
themselves put that issue towards them realizing that succeeding in
Olympiad is a difficult nut at the same time possible mission. The
most important in President’s words is the fact that our athletes will
be able to use their opportunities fully. President of the Republic
highlighted that the successes of Armenian athletes are feats and they
must seek to do it giving moments of joy to our nation and making
Armenia more known in the world. President Serzh Sargsyan mentioned
that before Olympiad the National Olympic committee of Armenia had
done its best in order our athletes are ready for competitions.

From: Baghdasarian

SETTLEMENT OF NK CONFLICT WILL REMAIN AMONG POLITICAL PRIORITIES OF PUTIN

ARMENPRESS
31 July, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS: From OSCE Co-Chair countries Russia
understands the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict best of all.

Armenpress reports that, calling Azerbaijani media that such
declaration made ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of
Russian federation to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin.

“The conflict is very difficult and has very old roots. The positions
of the sides are very different and because of it the settlement of
the issue becomes more difficult but there are some results. Both
in framework of the meetings of Presidents which were organized by
Dmitry Medvedev and during meetings of Foreign ministers there are
many materials. It means that it will not be right to say that there
have not been results during these twenty years. Sides should continue
in this direction. There is not alternative to peaceful settlement”
said Dorokhin.

In his words Armenia and Azerbaijan will always be neighbors and they
should continue searching the solution of the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is well aware of NK conflict,
understands both opportunities and responsibility of Russia in this
issue. Russian ambassador assured that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will
be among political priorities of Vladimir Putin.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN ARYAN ORDER: ARMEN SHAHBAZYAN IS NOT OUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE

hetq
12:12, July 30, 2012

Armenian Aryan Order is announcing that the U.S. office of the Armenian
Aryan Order (AAO), which is called the Armenian Aryan Fist (AAF) has
a history of 10 years, and is regulated solely by the orders of Armen
Avetisyan, the leader of the AAO and the Supreme Council of the AAO.

After an attempt on the AAO leader’s life, in November 2009, when
comprehensive inspections were carried out in the Diaspora offices
of the AAO, Armen Shahbazyan, who was in charge of the U.S. office of
the AAO, was dismissed from the organization, and replaced by Vardan
Zohrabyan, one of the dedicated members of the American-Armenian
office of the AAO.

The former leader, Armen Shahbazyan, had been dismissed on the
grounds of embezzlement committed in the course of many years, as
well as his failure to notify the AAF members about the activities
of the AAO and its orders in their entirety. For many years, Aryan
American-Armenians have been organizing fund-raisers to support the
activities of the AAO. However, the abovementioned person, formerly in
charge, had been appropriating a part of that money, taking advantage
of our trust in him.

All the damages and illegal activities were fully exposed in November
2009 and, by the decision of the Supreme Council of the AAO, Armen
Shahbazyan was dismissed from the AAO (including the U.S. office),
along with a few of his “partners.”

However, recently he has been appearing on some American-Armenian
TV shows in Los Angeles, using the symbols of the AAO-AAF, which is
impermissible and is a deliberate provocation against the AAO.

Recently he has presented himself as “the head of the U.S. office of
the AAO”, which is a fraud and an outright lie.

The Supreme Council of the AAO is informing the Diaspora Armenians,
especially the American-Armenians, that Vardan Zohrabyan is the one
in charge of the Armenian Aryan Fist, the U.S. office of the AAO,
and that Armen Shahbazyan cannot represent any AAO office. And if any
agreements have been signed with him until now, the AAO is making an
official announcement that it carries no responsibility.

The Supreme Council of the AAO is addressing the Armenian authorities
with request to have the Armenian Embassy in the U.S. (or the Consulate
General) call him to account and teach a lesson to Armen Shahbazyan
and his followers based in Los Angeles, since the political wing
of the AAO, the Armenian-Aryan Party of Armenia, is an organization
registered at Armenia’s Justice Ministry and operates under the laws
of the Republic of Armenia. A corresponding letter will also be handed
to Eduard Nalbandyan, Foreign Minister of Armenia.

The Supreme Council of the AAO is also addressing the U.S. authorities
to call U.S. citizen Armen Shahbazyan, resident of Los Angeles, to
account for deliberate exploitation of the name of our organization
operating under the laws of the Republic of Armenia, which, I am
certain, is also a violation of the U.S. laws, since a U.S. citizen
is violating our copyright and damaging the reputation of our
organization. A corresponding letter will be handed to the U.S.

Embassy in Armenia.

Armenian Aryan Order Supreme Council

From: Baghdasarian

DAVID HOVHANNISSYAN: DESTABILIZATION OF THE SITUATION IN SYRIA HAS BEEN CAUSED BY THE EXTERNALLY IMPOSED INFILTRATION
by David Stepanyan

arminfo
Tuesday, July 31, 12:06

Interview of Director of Center for Political and Culturological
Studies of Yerevan State University, Orientalist, Professor David
Hovhannissyan with ArmInfo News Agency

Mr.Hovhannisyan, would the current aggravation of the domestic
situation in Syria be possible without external sponsorship? Is the
Syrians’ discontent based on domestic factors or is it restricted to
the so-called “export of democracy”?

If the so-called “rebels” were not sponsored from outside and if
there were no permanent infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood and
Salafis-Wahabis from the territory of Turkey and Iraq, I do not think
Syria would face the current situation. I do not want to say that
the Syrian system of governance is ideal. On the contrary, it is
authoritarian. In the meantime, though Syria experienced hard times
because of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it has become a serious state and
one of the key players in several spheres since the current president’s
father Hafez Assad came to power. These are the Arab-Israeli conflict,
the allied relations with Iran, the USSR, and present Russia. I
should say that alongside with the growth of Syria’s significance,
the level of public welfare was also growing. Certainly, there were
also discontent people, particularly, the Muslim Brotherhood.

When the Alawi minority was at power, it guaranteed quite harmonious
co-existence of various ethnic and confessional groups of the
population of Syria, which is a unique country, in which almost
all the well-known branches of Christianity and Muslimism got along
together perfectly, except the most marginal and radical ones. This
period of domestic stability has always been highly estimated by
the population of Syria. Thus, the destabilization of the situation
in Syria has been caused by the externally imposed infiltration,
activation of foreign forces.

I am quite well aware of this country, its moods and the people
discontent with Bashar Assad’s regime. On the other hand, the
statements that democracy will come to Syria after Assad’s resignation
is a real bluff. There can be no such a thing as there are very few
people with liberal-democratic moods in Syria, which represent no
organized force. On the other hand, the Muslim

Brotherhood and the Salafis may just as well find a foothold among
the Syrians given that the Sunnis constitute the major part of the
Syrian population.

Do you agree with the opinion that on the whole Bashar Assad himself
is a liberal, at least as compared to the Muslim Brotherhood?

Since Bashar Assad came to power, he has really been trying to hold
reforms to liberalize the country, to contribute to more openness
of the society, demonopolization of economy; private banks were
launched in Syria. Thus, Assad conducted a policy aimed at enhancing
the competitiveness; however, all his efforts not only failed but
are also used against him now.

Which of the foreign actors doesn’t need Assad’s Syria and why?

Now that the Americans have withdrawn their troops from Iraq, they
are eager to break the Iran-Iraq Shi’a chain, where Syria is a strong
link. Moderate Sunni Turkey would like to see Syria ruled by a Sunni
government. In such a case its influence would grow, while that of
Iran would decline. In its turn, Saudi Arabia sponsors a radical Sunni
network and would like Syria to be controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood
or the Salafis, better known as Al Qaeda. In fact, this network acts
against both Turkey and Iran. So, you should not confuse the interests
of Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The interests of the Europeans are quite
contradictory. The United Kingdom supports the United States. France
has traditionally supported the Alawis but today its policy has
changed. As regards the Germans, they are quite detached.

A couple of days ago, expert on the Caucasus of the CIS Institute
Mikhail Alexandrov called on Armenia to be more active in this field.

Has the voice of our Foreign Ministry any chances to be heard?

Armenia should make its position known to the international
organizations that are concerned about the situation in Syria. We must
be active in this matter as we are very close to Syria and are closely
connected with the local Armenians. There are also lots of Armenian
cultural and spiritual values in Syria, like churches, libraries, etc.

And we must do our best to preserve them – something we will not be
able to do if Armenians leave Syria. We should use all of our lobbying
channels to guarantee the safety of our compatriots and their property
in Syria. However, I do not think that the Armenian factor in Syria
may disappear. Some Armenians are leaving that country but most of
them prefer to stay at home. They have families, jobs, businesses,
houses. They are pragmatic people and will not leave all this to the
mercy of fate.

What trends do you observe in Syria given the latest developments?

The July 18 acts of terrorism have shown that the operation against
Syria is well-organized. Still I think that the disorders in Damascus
and Aleppo will be gradually suppressed. The key task of the Syrian
authorities is to regain control over the Turkish and Iraqi borders.

Things are still far from settlement, but the key actors are already
negotiating this possibility as the examples of Egypt and Libya have
shown how dangerous such situations can be. In fact, the Syrians have
already got tired of all this and wish to live normally again. At
some moment, this tiredness may turn into displeasure with the Assad
family. On the other hand, it is unclear who can replace them: the
Liberals are not known, the Muslim Brotherhood is unpopular. In fact,
most of the Syrians still support Assad, so, he still has chances to
retain his power.

The foreign mass media have recently started speaking of the Syrian
chemical weapons. What are they doing it for?

Israel is organizing a special operation to find and seize Syria’s
chemical weapons. It is still possible that Bashar Assad will be
replaced by uncontrolled people, so, it is necessary to quickly solve
this problem. My biggest concern is that some external forces may use
this as a pretext for entering Syria for ‘deactivating’ the weapons.

The Syrian authorities have repeatedly said that their chemical
weapons are a response to Israel’s nuclear arms. But while Assad is a
predictable partner for Israel, the people who may come in his place
will not be so. Hence, Israel needs to find and seize the weapons as
soon as possible.

From: Baghdasarian

ANOTHER MAN DIES IN ARMENIA’S LAKE SEVAN

news.am
July 31, 2012 | 00:43

YEREVAN. – The details are known in connection with the discovery
of a dead man’s body at a public beach in Armenia’s Lake Sevan. The
dead body of Artur Chilingaryan, 41, was found on the Lake, Special
Water Rescue Squad Commander, Colonel Samvel Lazarian told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

Artur Chilingaryan was from the capital, Yerevan, and the initial
examination found no traces of violence on his body.

Lazarian believes that the man died either from an infarction or a
stroke because Chilingaryan’s body was found on top of the water.

According to Lazarian, he had drowned, his body would have sunk.

Also, the fatal incident did not occur where the body was actually
found, but rather 50 meters away; simply, the wind had dragged the
man’s dead body.

To note, the dead body was noticed nearby a public beach at Lake Sevan,
and the Rescue Service had received this information on July 29 at
11:30am. A special water rescue squad was dispatched to the scene,
and the rescuers had removed the man’s dead body from the Lake.

From: Baghdasarian

CRIMINALLY INCLINED? HOW COME SO MANY ARMENIANS FROM RA TURN TO CRIME IN U.S.?
Edik Baghdasaryan

hetq
11:52, July 30, 2012

During my recent trip to the States, I found myself waiting in the
office of an Armenian attorney in Glendale. I wanted to speak to some
of his clients.

A man of about 40 entered with his wife of the same age. I had made
some acquaintances with members of the Armenian Bar Association and
the contacts were bearing fruit.

On the day in question, I was serving as one of their assistants.

I began to perform my duties – to listen attentively to their
stories and familiarize myself with their cases. For the most part,
the clients were former residents of Armenia.

I took notes and was amazed with what I heard – robbery, fraud,
bank embezzlement, credit card theft…Here’s one of their tales.

A woman wound up in a police entrapment scheme. Her husband had forced
her into committing the crime. When the lawyer told her the prosecuting
attorney was asking for a 180 jail sentence, the woman broke into
tears. Sitting alongside, her husband told her “keep your mouth shut”.

The husband was wearing a thick gold chain around his thick neck. In
Glendale, sporting a thick gold necklace is tantamount to saying one
also drives a BMW. No matter how poor they are or in debt, all former
RA residents in Los Angeles must have a BMW and thick gold chains.

Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, when the banks are closed,
this family racked up $25,000 of purchase on a fake credit line of
$2,000. In one store, they purchased a $1,500 computer. Three hours
later they came back and bought three more. Elsewhere, they purchased
a meat grinder and other household goods.

When the woman made a feeble attempt to weasel her way out, the
attorney pulled out an envelope, leaned over, and showed her the
photos taken on closed circuit cameras. Everything was there in black
and white. The woman said nothing more and began to wail even louder.

The attorney advised them to come clean so that he could draft an
appropriate defense.

The crafty pair had started out with a small purchase on their credit
line. Then, with the use of a cell phone, they gave a bank account
number from which to draw more funds for the credit line. It later
turned out that the account had been frozen in 2010.

Since it was Friday evening and the banks were closed, the fraud was
only discovered a few days later.

The attorney asked what they had done with all those computers and the
couple, in tandem, said they had sent them as gifts to Armenia. He
then asked who had used the fake bank account and credit line. The
woman said nothing and looked at her husband.

The husband, hands placed on the table, was trying to convey the
fact that he had done the dirty deeds but, in reality, he had made
her an accomplice.

“I have no idea where the money came from. Whoever did it should come
forward and say so,” said the play acting husband. He then told his
wife to leave the room.

The attorney raised his voice a bit and told the man he shouldn’t
have ordered his wife to leave.

“Brother, you committed the thefts by purchasing those items. It
was your credit card and you knew about the $2,000 limit. They have
all the photos. If you have the money, you’d better pay them back,”
the attorney advised.

The man responded that they didn’t have that amount of money. The
attorney advised him to pay at least a portion to avoid a jail
sentence. The man said he’d go and think about it.

I have no idea how the case will end. Go to Los Angeles and you can
hear countless similar tales on a daily basis.

Mark Bledstein, a local attorney who has served Armenian clients for
many years says the following about Armenians charged with various
crimes.

“For many just coming from Armenia, it’s not a crime to cheat the
government. At least this was the general perception of the first wave
of immigrants. This country is awash in money and they think they
can steal some of it. The second generation has changed a bit. The
third generation will have become Americans and won’t think like that
at all.”

I decided to sit in at some of the trials. The first was at the court
in Burbank. I looked at the trial schedules affixed to the wall. I
spotted three Armenian names involved in criminal and six names for
civil trials.

(To be continued)

From: Baghdasarian

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

SIX NEWLY ORDAINED CELIBATE PRIESTS CELEBRATE THEIR FIRST HOLY LITURGY

Forty days ago, His Holiness Aram I presided over the ordination of six
deacons to the priesthood. According to the Church tradition, the newly
ordained clergy spent forty days in seclusion for a time of prayer and
meditation. Having completed the forty days, yesterday they celebrated their
first Holy Liturgy in different parishes in Lebanon.

As of Monday, they will assume their monastic responsibilities according to
the tasks assigned to them by Catholicos Aram I.

From: Baghdasarian

Dalida Keuroghlian Awarded Ellis Island Medal

asbarez
Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Dalida Keuroghlian after receiving the Ellis Island Medal

GLENDALE – Community activist Dalida Keuroghlian received a very
prominent and prestigious award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor
hosted by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, otherwise
known as NECO on May 12.

The Ellis Island Medal of Honor was presented to American citizens
from across the country for their outstanding contributions to their
communities, their nation and the world.

Keuroghlian has planted seeds in various projects such as political
campaigns and church and cultural organizations that give back to
Lebanon and America but focusing on the Armenian Diaspora here in Los
Angeles and in Armenia.

There’s not a single person who knows her that does not have a story
of her selflessness, kindness and generosity. She truly is one of the
most intelligent, compassionate and sincere woman that you can come
across. To be honored with this Medal in May was her lifetime
achievement award. Her family and dear friends take pride in the
legacy she has built.

From: Baghdasarian