Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

” PROMENADES LITTERAIRES EN PROVENCE DES LIEUX, DES LIVRES, DES ECRIVAINS… ” DE LYDIE BELMONTE
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 26 mai 2012

Lydie Belmonte -marseillaise nee de mère armenienne- nous avait offert
un livre sur ” De la Petite Armenie au boulevard des Grands Pins ”
(Editions Jeanne Laffitte) qui retracait l’histoire de la communaute
armenienne de Marseille a travers le Boulevard des Grands Pins
a Saint-Loup. Livre preface par Charles Aznavour et qui recut la
mention du Grand Prix historique de Provence 2000 et Prix Georges
Goyau de l’Academie Francaise 2001 (premier ouvrage portant sur un
sujet armenien recompense par l’Academie Francaise).

Lydie Belmonte vient de publier un nouvel ouvrage, ” Promenades
litteraires en Provence Des lieux, des livres, des ecrivains… ”
(aux editions Memoires Millenaires). Le livre de Lydie Belmonte est un
guide qui propose de suivre les traces des grands auteurs dans un decor
qui fut le temoin de leur passage et auquel ils etaient intimement
attaches en Provence. Pour chaque ecrivain, une presentation de sa vie,
de son ~uvre et des lieux qu’il a frequentes (ou decrits dans ses
ouvrages) vous guidera dans ces promenades litteraires a Marseille,
Cassis, Aix-en-Provence, Aubagne, Avignon…

16 grands ecrivains sont reunis dans cet ouvrage (Simone de Beauvoir,
Albert Camus, Blaise Cendrars, Rene Char, Alexandre Dumas, Jean Giono,
Jean-Claude Izzo, Frederic Mistral, Marcel Pagnol, Arthur Rimbaud,
Emile Zola…) avec en complement les interviews exclusives de
4 auteurs de la nouvelle vague des auteurs provencaux (Gilles Del
Pappas, Olivier Descosse, Philippe Carrese et Rene Fregni).

Le livre est en vente en librairie et sur le web – 15,20 ~@. Pour
son lancement, aujourd’hui samedi 26 mai a la librairie Maupetit
a Marseille (142, La Canebière) organisera une visite guidee dans
la ville sur les pas des ecrivains (Alexandre Dumas, Albert Cohen,
Marcel Pagnol, Jean-Claude Izzo, Jean Giono, Arthur Rimbaud Simone de
Beauvoir). Cette promenade avec l’auteur, Lydie Belmonte, debutera a
10 h 30 (depart depuis la librairie – duree 1 h environ). Dedicace
du livre de retour de la promenade entre 12 h et 13 h. Reservation
pour la promenade au 04 91 36 50 50.

samedi 26 mai de 19h a 21h au CNTL (Cercle Nautique), quai Marcel
Pagnol, Marseille, a l’occasion de l’Humanitarian’Sail Cup (pour les
hôpitaux d’Armenie) dimanche 27 de 19h a 21h au CNTL, quai Marcel
Pagnol, Marseille, a l’occasion de l’Humanitarian’Sail Cup.

Signature le samedi 2 Juin de 14 h a 18 h au centre Culture La
Valentine a Marseille (rencontre & dedicaces). L’auteur peut-etre
contactee par mail ([email protected]) ou par tel. (06 61 73
16 08). Adresse de l’editeur : Editions Memoires Millenaires 7 rue
Auguste Pegurier, 06200 Nice. Tel. : 04 93 17 75 52, Fax : 09 70 61
08 39, Web : memoiresmillenaires.com.

From: Baghdasarian

URUGUAY SUPPORTS PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT

APA
May 25 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA. “Uruguay supports the negotiations
held within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and advocates for
peaceful solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict”, Uruguay’s Foreign
Minister Luis Almagro said during his meeting with Azerbaijan’s
Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay Mammad Ahmadzadeh, spokesman
for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elman Abdullayev
told APA.

Abdullayev said Ambassador Ahmadzadeh met Luis Almagro in Montevideo to
discuss the current situation and development prospects of bilateral
relations, the development of political dialogue and bilateral
contractual basis, as well as strengthening economic and humanitarian
cooperation. They exchanged views on regional problems, including the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Minister Almagro said his country supported
the negotiations held within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group for
peaceful settlement of the conflict. Ambassador Ahmadzadeh informed
him about the documents adopted by the international organizations
on the conflict, the current process of negotiations and settlement.

Armenian press reported that during his visit to Armenia, Uruguayan
foreign minister Luis Almagro said they supported the settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on the basis of self-determination.

Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs tasked the embassy in Argentina
to investigate the reports spread by the Armenian press.

From: Baghdasarian

POLICE IN AZERBAIJAN ARREST PROTESTERS AT EUROVISION RALLY
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

New York Times

May 25 2012

BAKU, Azerbaijan – About 50 antigovernment demonstrators were arrested
Friday evening in Baku while trying to stage a flash rally in the
city center, as opponents of President Ilham Aliyev sought to use
the Eurovision Song Contest to draw international attention to human
rights abuses.

The Eurovision finale will be held in Baku on Saturday night, and a
dress rehearsal was under way when plainclothes police officers began
arresting protesters. The demonstrators said they were demanding the
release of political prisoners. It was the third time this week that
the police arrested protesters hoping to take advantage of the buzz
around the Eurovision contest.

International human rights organizations say that the Aliyev government
routinely suppresses political opponents and free speech.

The attempted rally on Friday was led by the youth branch of the
Popular Front, an opposition party. It began roughly an hour after
about 70 pro-government demonstrators staged their own action outside
the home of the Popular Front leader, Ali Kerimli. The police did
not interfere with that rally.

“In our country, there is no freedom of assembly,” Mr. Kerimli said
in a telephone interview. “Only one place is free for demonstrations,
that is in front of my house. They can always organize their rally
without a problem.”The pro-government demonstrators accused Mr.

Kerimli of being a traitor and demanded that he leave the country. In
the interview, Mr. Kerimli said he could not leave Azerbaijan because
the government had refused for seven years to issue him a passport.

Government opponents in Azerbaijan have sought to use the huge
public attention focused on Baku for the Eurovision contest, an
event that draws 125 million television viewers, to put a spotlight
on abuse cases. The authorities say the complaints by opponents and
international watchdog groups are exaggerated, but acknowledge that
the country has a history of responding roughly to dissent.

Security around the Eurovision contest has been extraordinarily
tight, with every ticket matched to an attendee’s passport or other
identification number.

Organizers of Eurovision, who have been under pressure to condemn
abuses in Azerbaijan, say the annual competition is a cultural event
and should not be complicated by politics.

On Thursday, adding to the pressure, the European Parliament issued
a strongly worded resolution demanding that Azerbaijan institute
widespread reforms and release political prisoners. The resolution
also condemned the arrests of protesters who held a demonstration in
downtown Baku on Monday as many international guests began arriving
for the Eurovision festivities.

The resolution called on the government “to immediately stop all
actions aimed at suppressing the freedom of expression and assembly”
and “to allow peaceful protests and to prohibit police interference
in the work of journalists covering demonstrations.” The resolution
also urged Azerbaijan “to step up its efforts to reform all aspects
of the judicial system: prosecution, trial, sentencing, detention
and appeals.”

The government of Azerbaijan said it planned to formally protest
the resolution.

In a separate development, the European Broadcasting Union, which
organizes the Eurovision contest, warned neighboring Armenia that
it would face fines and possibly a ban from participation in the
competition next year if it did not broadcast the full event on
Saturday night.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are longtime enemies because of a dispute
over the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenia had
threatened not to broadcast the event or show the performance by
Azerbaijan’s contestant, Sabina Babayeva.

A spokeswoman for the broadcast union, Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser,
said any such action would have consequences.

From: Baghdasarian

RUBEN SAFRASTYAN: NATO ASPIRES TO GET DEEPER INVOLVED IN PROCESSES TAKING PLACE IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
Anna Nazaryan

“Radiolur”
25.05.2012 18:17

The NATO summit in Chicago demonstarted the aspiration of the Alliance
to get deeper involved in processes taking place in the South Caucasus,
Director of the Oriental Studies Institute of the Armenian National
Academy of Sciences Ruben Safrastyan told a press conference today.

According to Safrastyan, there are two factors that come to prove
this. First, Georgia was granted a real chance to join NATO. The
second important factor was the inclusion of the provision on the
peaceful settlement of conflicts in the South Caucasus and Moldova
in the final declaration of the summit, which gives preference to
the principle of territorial integrity.

This contradicts the approach of the Minsk Group Co-chairs of solving
the Karabakh issue on the basis of three principles of international
law – the right of peoples to self-determination, territorial integrity
and non-use of force. Taking into consideration the existence of this
unacceptable and biased wording, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
was right to turn down the invitation to participate in the summit,
Safrastyan said.

“Although the NATO documents are not legally binding, Azerbaijan may
use them to justify its policy during the negotiations within the
framework of the Minsk Group,” the expert said, adding that Baku might
increase the pressure on Armenia and Karabakh through organization
of provocations at the line of contact.

From: Baghdasarian

RUSSIA MUDDIED SITUATION IN SOUTH CAUCASUS SO BADLY THAT IS CANNOT BE WORSE – POLITICAL SCIENTIST

news.am
May 26, 2012 | 00:15

The results of the NATO summit in Chicago show that Georgia became
closer to the alliance but it still has a long way to go, the President
of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies,
political scientist Alexander Rondeli told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to him Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s statement
about Georgia entering NATO in 2014 is a mere wish.

“It is good that the Georgian president and PM Nikki Gilauri show such
commitment for bringing Georgia to NATO. But it must be understood
that Georgia has much work to do. Besides it is not known yet whether
or not the Alliance will be expanded during the next summit in 2014,”
Rondeli mentioned.

According to the political scientist, on Georgia’s way to NATO there
are many obstacles which must be considered by Georgian government.

“Entering NATO does not depend only from Georgia. There is still the
international situation, those for it and against it… Today the
main obstacle is Russia which does not want to see Georgia in the
North-Atlantic Alliance. Moscow will do everything to prevent such
developments, and that is very problematic for Georgia,” the political
scientist mentioned. “The south Caucasus must aim towards integration
and not fragmentation. The NATO countries have few problems and they
are being solved quickly and that suits Georgia. Anyhow, it cannot
get worse as Russia has muddied the situation in the South Caucasus
so badly that it is impossible to make it worse.”

From: Baghdasarian

FRENCH SENATORS HAVE THE RIGHT TO PAY VISITS, WHICH THEY CONSIDER NECESSARY

20:01 . 25/05

Commenting on three French Senators’ visit to Nagorno-Karabakh,
the French Embassy in Azerbaijan has stated that within the frames
of the mandate received from the people and in accordance with
the constitutional principles of distribution of the authority,
the members of the French parliament have the right to pay visits
which they consider necessary, tert.am informs about this making a
reference to Azerbaijani sources.

“This visit doesn’t change France’s official position on the
[Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict and doesn’t make France responsible.

Should a French senator call the international community to accept
Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence, in that case he/she would present
only his/her position,” the release of the embassy states.

From: Baghdasarian

FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA RECEIVES DELEGATION OF FRENCH SENATE

ARMENPRESS
25 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS: Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward
Nalbandyan received French Senate members Sophie Joissains, Philip
Marini and Bernard Fournier.

Welcoming the guests, Edward Nalbandyan highly assessed the personal
contribution of the French senators to enhancement and expansion of
Armenian-French relations and to development of the cooperation of
the Armenian ad French parliaments, Foreign Affairs Ministry press
service told Armenpress.

The Armenian FM hailed the visit of the French senators to Nagorno
Karabakh, stressing that analogous visits enable to personally see
and get informed on the running developments.

The French senators, for their part, expressed gratification on their
visit to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and shared with the impressions
of the meetings held in Stepanakert.

At the meeting a wide range of issues concerning the Armenian-French
friendly relations were thoroughly discussed.

The interlocutors dwelled on Armenia-European Union cooperation,
as well as referred to a number of regional and international issues.

From: Baghdasarian

ANCA ENDORSES STEVE ROTHMAN

asbarez
Friday, May 25th, 2012

ANC of NJ activists with Congressman Rothman (L to R), Yervant
Keshishian, Ani Tchaghlasian, Rep. Steve Rothman, James Sahagian,
and Karine Shnorhokian.

June 5 Primary pits Rothman, a strong pro-Armenian advocate, against
Pascrell, the garden state’s lone congressional opponent of Armenian
issues.

RIDGEFIELD, NJ-The Armenian National Committee of America, the
nation’s largest grassroots Armenian American advocacy group,
has enthusiastically endorsed Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ) for
re-election in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District.

The battle for the Democratic seat between incumbents Rep. Steve
Rothman (D-NJ-9) and Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-8), which is expected to
be a very close, represents a stark choice between Steve Rothman’s
strong record of support, and Bill Pascrell’s opposition and
indifference to Armenian issues.

The ANCA will be working to ensure that Armenian American voters will
be present at the polls on June 5th in favor of long time supporter,
Steve Rothman. Redistricting has forced the two incumbents to face
each other in the Democratic primary slated for June 5th, and the
Armenian American vote will be critically important in helping reelect
Rep. Steve Rothman.

“Congressman Rothman has been a strong advocate of issues of concern
to the Armenian community throughout his 16 years in Congress,”
stated Karine Shnorhokian, ANCA of NJ co-chair. “He has been a leading
advocate in Congress for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
a fair and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, and
the economic and democratic development of Armenia,” Shnorhokian added.

“The choice could not be starker or the stakes higher,” said Aram
Hamparian, a New Jersey native who serves as Executive Director of
the ANCA. “Congressman Rothman, our friend and champion on each and
every issue of concern to our community, is facing the lone Member of
Congress from New Jersey who has opposed recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and failed to support scores of pro-Armenian initiatives
that have crossed his desk during his long years in Washington.”

The Rothman Record: Strong, Consistent Support for Armenian Issues
Congressman Rothman was one of the original co-sponsors of the recently
passed H. Res. 306, which called upon the Secretary of State to press
Turkey to return stolen Christian church property and allow full
freedom of faith for religious minorities. As a senior member of the
House panel responsible for foreign aid, he has helped appropriate
hundreds of millions of dollars for vital programs in both Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh.

It was through Congressman Rothman’s efforts several years ago
that the Armenian American community learned about the true nature
and purpose of the ill-fated and controversial Turkish Armenian
Reconciliation Commission, which he learned was being funded by the
State Department. Congressman Rothman has also consistently supported
the full range of pro-Armenian legislative initiatives, and attended
events to commemorate the Armenian Genocide and support Artsakh’s
independence. He joined the Armenian American community again this
year for the annual Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide commemoration.

Rep. Rothman has consistently received an “A” grade on the
Congressional Report Cards issued every election cycle by the ANCA,
while Rep. Pascrell has frequently earned “D” grades from the ANCA.

Pascrell: Indifferent or Opposed to Armenian Issues Congressman Rothman
is facing a difficult primary challenge from Congressman Pascrell,
who currently is the incumbent in New Jersey’s 8th Congressional
District. Unlike Rep. Rothman, Rep. Pascrell has not cosponsored the
Armenian Genocide resolution for over a decade, and has been mostly
indifferent to many issues of concern to Armenian Americans. He
did not cosponsor the Return of Churches resolution (H.Res. 306),
which Congressman Rothman cosponsored and overwhelmingly passed the
House of Representatives in December 2011. Pascrell was, in fact,
the only member of Congress to withdraw his cosponsorship of the
Armenian Genocide resolution in 2000.

At times, Rep. Pascrell has stood out as the only member of the New
Jersey Congressional delegation not to support Armenian American
initiatives. Moreover, instead of attending the annual Capitol Hill
Armenian Genocide commemoration, Congressman Pascrell was one of only
a few members to attend the opening of new offices for an Armenian
Genocide-denying organization, the Turkish Coalition of America.

These two incumbent New Jersey Democrats are facing each other in
the newly drawn 9th congressional district primary on June 5, due to
the Census-driven loss of one Congressional seat in New Jersey. The
newly constituted 9th District includes parts of Bergen, Passaic,
and Hudson Counties. It is a district that several thousand Armenian
Americans call home.

Learn more about the Rothman campaign.

From: Baghdasarian

FRENCH SENATORS: IT IS ALL THE SAME TO US HOW AZERBAIJAN WILL REACT TO OUR VISIT

ARMENPRESS
25 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS: Chairman of National Assembly Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations Armen Rustamyan met Friday with
French senators Sophie Joissains, Philip Marini and Bernard Fournier,
National Assembly press service told Armenpress.

French senators informed that they accepted the invitation to visit
Nagorno Karabakh with pleasure and familiarized themselves with the
strivings of Nagorno Karabakh people and the wonderful nature of that
country. They stated they are admired by the firmness, consistency
and warm reception of Nagorno Karabakh people.

“I hope that Azerbaijan’s reaction to your traveling to Nagorno
Karabakh has not disappointed you,” said Mr Rustamyan, noting with
gentle humor: “In the Azerbaijani “Black list” you will surely find
good friends.”

“It is all the same to us how Azerbaijan will react to our visit,”
said Philip Marini with a smile.

During the meeting the parties referred to peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenian-Turkish relations, Iranian
nuclear issue and regional security.

From: Baghdasarian

CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS AT INSTITUTE OF CIS STATES BACK ARTSAKH’S STANCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 25, 2012 – 20:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On May 24, the Institute of CIS States held round
tables chaired by the Institute’s Director Konstantin Zatulin. The
topic of the round table was “The Domestic and Foreign Threats for the
Caucasus against the Background of the Crisis in the Middle East”, with
leading Russian experts on the region, representatives of the Embassies
of Nagorno Karabakh, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Abkhazia participating.

The NKR was represented at the round table by Advisers to Foreign
Minister Ruben Zargarian and Arsen Melik-Shakhnazarian. In his speech,
Mr. Zargarian made an analysis of the threats by Turkey and the
conflicts it is provoking towards the region’s states, as well as
the territorial claims of Azerbaijan against all its neighbors and
official Baku’s denial of the norms of international law. The speaker
substantiated the role and significance of the NKR in the establishment
of peace and stability in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean,
exposed the illegal attempts of the Baku administration to cast doubt
on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the NKR.

It was emphasized that the delay of the NKR final recognition
seriously complicated the inter-state relations; it was stated that
international law imperatively demanded the NKR recognition. Ruben
Zargarian presented the NKR position on the international-legal
settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, which was actively
supported by all the participants of the round table.

The propagandistic attempts of the representative of the Azerbaijani
Embassy to deny the existence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic were
exposed by many participants of the forum who emphasized in their
speeches that six international entities existed in the South Caucasus
and the NKR was one of the most established and stable states in the
region, NKR MFA press service reported.

From: Baghdasarian