Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

BREAKING NEWS: RI LEGISLATURE CALLS FOR US TO RECOGNIZE KARABAKH
BY KHATCHIG MOURADIAN

asbarez
Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Speaker Fox welcomes representative Avetisyan (L, standing)

State House Calls on U.S. Government to Recognize Nagorno Karabakh
Republic’s Independence

PROVIDENCE, (Armenian Weekly)-The Rhode Island House passed a
resolution today calling on the U.S. President and Congress to
recognize the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The
resolution also encouraged the republic’s “continued efforts to
develop as a free and independent nation,” and praised Artsakh’s
“constructive involvement with the international community and its
efforts to reach a lasting solution to the existing regional problems.”

“I thank the Rhode Island House for passing this resolution in support
of Karabakh’s aspirations for freedom, and hope that the legislature’s
commitment to our shared values of human rights and justice will set
an example for other legislatures in the U.S. and beyond,” said Robert
Avetisyan, the permanent representative of NKR in the U.S. and Canada.

The resolution was voted on the House floor in the presence of
Avetisyan, whom House speaker Gordon Fox (D) warmly welcomed in his
introductory remarks. Fox also welcomed a delegation from the local
Armenian community accompanying Avetisyan: Chairman of the Armenian
Cultural Association of R.I. Hagop Donoyan, youth advisor to the AYF
of R.I. Levon Attarian, member of the board of trustees of the Sts.

Vartanantz Church Stephen Elmasian, and member of the ARF Eastern U.S.
Central Committee Ani Haroian.

Dozens of local Armenian-Americans filled the gallery of the House
during the session.

Almost concurrently, on Capitol Hill, Congressmen James Langevin
(D-R.I.) and Congressman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) made statements
on the House floor in support of the people of NKR. Senators Sheldon
Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), in turn, issued statements.

“It is more important than ever that the United States maintain
a principled stand for peace in this region, show that democracy
can be born from conflict, and support Nagorno-Karabakh,” said
Langevin. “It is my sincerest hope that Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to
self-determination can be affirmed without further loss of life.”

“20 years ago, the people of Nagorno Karabakh fought and died for their
independence from Soviet Azeri repression and discrimination,” said
Cicilline. “I join the people of Nagorno Karabakh today in recognizing
the 20th anniversary of their independence and the formation of the
Republic’s Army and the liberation of Shushi.”

Representative Avetisyan will continue his meetings in Rhode Island
over the next several days, pursuing economic development opportunities
for NKR. His visit will conclude on May 20 with a community-wide
celebration of the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Shushi

From: Baghdasarian

UNE ENCYCLOPEDIE SUR LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN VA ETRE PUBLIEE
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 18 mai 2012

Le defi le plus important de l’institut-musee du genocide armenien au
cours des prochaines annees sera la construction d’un nouveau bâtiment,
qui est prevue pour etre achève en 2014 selon le Directeur du Musee
Hayk Demoyan.

” Les calculs preliminaires du projet ont deja ete acheves et nous
commencerons le travail ce mois. On s’attend a ce que les travaux
soient finis en 2014 et au cours de la meme annee, nous serons capables
de realiser des expositions sur le genocide dans notre nouvel et plus
large espace ” a mentionne Hayk Demoyan.

Parlant des autres projets pendant cette annee, Hayk Demoyan a souligne
l’importance d’imprimer la première encyclopedie du genocide armenien.

” Dans le meme temps la creation et la diffusion d’une exposition
mobile aura un rôle vital “.

” Cette annee on s’attend a ce que cinq expositions soient ouvertes
dont l’une a deja eu lieu a Beyrouth “a mentionne le directeur du
Musee-Institut.

En 2012, l’Institut-Musee va publier environ 25 livres en anglais,
francais et russe consacres a des episodes du genocide, qui n’ont
pas ete etudies jusqu’ici.

Au cours de ce mois le Musee-Institut (AGMI) organisera un evenement
consacre a la memoire du fondateur de la Croix-Rouge americaine Clara
Bartoni, qui a aide les armeniens.

From: Baghdasarian

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN

asbarez
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

The title is my first thought when I heard the message from my mother,
left this morning, about the death of one of my grand-aunts. Those
morning calls always seem to bear ill tidings.

Now, only one of the seven sisters (and one infant boy who died
during the Genocide) remains. This is it for me, covering both sides
of my family.

Meanwhile, the bastards in Ankara continue their smug denialism. No
doubt they snicker over sentimental-seeming articles such as this one.

No doubt their calculus is to “wait it out” so that with the passing
of all the survivors (how many are left now? a few hundred, or is
it time to start counting by dozens?) our resolve to regain what’s
rightfully ours will diminish.

The people enjoying the riches stolen from all of us rendered the
lives of millions, across four generations, abnormal– a tale of
repeated dispersal, loss, rebuilding…

In my Apposs Auntie’s case, it was doubly Turkish induced. You see
her husband, born in Adana, had ended up in Cyprus, another land
infested by Turkish invaders/expansionists.

And still, the progeny of the murderers and looters and
Genocide organizers go on gloating over our pain, loss, and their
ill-gotten-gain of land, loot, and the strangled souls of 1.5 million
humans. As a friend said just yesterday, “the Turks must be very proud
of what they’ve accomplished.” It’s very difficult not to tar all of
them with one brush. Yet the shining hopes of Turkey are the likes
of Ragip Zarakolu, a publisher, and AyÅ~_e Gunaysu, a human rights
activist, the latter of whom I had the pleasure and honor of meeting.

This whole thing just acts like a rasp on skin. We died, they deny. We
struggle for miniscule gains along the path to justice, they spend
millions through their government, and now, ordinary citizen, minions.

They even have people functioning under the guise of religion
and “promoting understanding” (as one legislator told me) among
people–these are the Gulenists. They have a guy in Massachusetts
who made his money selling products to the U.S. defense establishment
and is now funding the astroturf (fake grassroots) efforts of Turkish
denialists in the U.S.

And another of my Genocide survivor grandaunts has died, with all
this vileness intact.

Get out there in the various arenas of our struggle, and act.

Soon it’s going to be “and then there were none.”

From: Baghdasarian

LE CANADA SOUTIENT LA FONDATION AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

Publié le : 17-05-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
invite a lire cette information publiée sur le site du Premier
ministre du Canada Stephen Harper le 14 mai 2012.

Premier ministre du Canada

Le Gouvernement du Canada soutient la Fondation Auschwitz-Birkenau

14 mai 2012

Ottawa (Ontario)

Le gouvernement Harper est déterminé a soutenir l’éducation,
la recherche et la commémoration relatives a l’Holocauste, afin
que cet acte odieux ne soit jamais ni oublié ni répété. Ã~@
cette fin, le 14 mai 2012, le Premier ministre Stephen Harper a
annoncé une subvention de 400 000 $ a l’intention de la Fondation
Auschwitz-Birkenau, pour contribuer a la préservation du site
commémoratif d’Auschwitz-Birkenau, en Pologne. L’annonce a été
faite au cours de la visite du Premier ministre polonais, Donald Tusk,
au Canada.

Le soutien du Canada pour le site commémoratif aidera a la
conservation des bâtiments, du terrain et des milliers d’objets
historiques menacés par l’érosion et la détérioration. Le site
commémoratif s’étend sur presque 200 hectares, où se trouvent
155 bâtiments, 300 ruines, notamment celles des chambres a gaz
et des fours crématoires, plus de 100 000 objets personnels ayant
appartenu aux victimes, des documents d’archives et des Å”uvres d’art
réalisées par des prisonniers. Le camp de la mort d’Auschwitz est
le seul endroit du genre inscrit a la liste du patrimoine mondial de
l’UNESCO, et plus de 1,3 million de personnes s’y rendent tous les ans.

Le soutien du Canada pour le site commémoratif d’Auschwitz-Birkenau
sera versé par Affaires étrangères et Commerce international Canada.

Ce soutien donne suite a une demande du Premier ministre polonais qui,
au mois de février 2009, a sollicité de la part des dirigeants de
plus de 40 Ã~Itats un soutien financier concret pour ce projet.

La Fondation Auschwitz-Birkenau est une organisation non
gouvernementale polonaise qui a pour mission de préserver l’ancien
camp de concentration et d’extermination nazi en recueillant 120
millions d’euros pour le fonds perpétuel, dont le seul objectif
est de couvrir les frais de conservation du site commémoratif
d’Auschwitz-Birkenau. La Fondation a été créée au mois de
janvier 2009 par le professeur WÅ~BadysÅ~Baw Bartoszewski, ancien
prisonnier d’Auschwitz et président actuel du conseil d’administration
d’Auschwitz.

Le Premier ministre Stephen Harper avait visité le site commémoratif
d’Auschwitz-Birkenau en Pologne, au mois d’avril 2008.

Voir la vidéo ICI

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Premier ministre du Canada

From: Baghdasarian

L’ASSOCIATION DES ARMENIENS D’ARLES ET DE SA REGION A RENDU UN VIBRANT HOMMAGE A AVAK KAYZAKIAN
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 17 mai 2012

L’Association des Armeniens d’Arles et de sa region a rendu un vibrant
hommage a AVAK KAYZAKIAN, son President fondateur, lors de la 97ème
commemoration du Genocide Armenien de 1915 qui a eu lieu le 28 avril
2012 devant la stèle erigee dans le Jardin d’ete .

Cette commemoration s’est deroulee en presence des nombreuses
personnalites dont Messieurs SCHIAVETTI , Vice-President du Conseil
General , Maire d’Arles, Monsieur Michel VAUZELLE President du Conseil
Regional Provence Alpes Côtes d’Azur, Monsieur Rolland CHASSAIN
, Maire des Saintes Maries de la Mer, de nombreux membres elus,
representants d’associations, adherents et amis de l’Association des
Armeniens d’Arles et de sa region.

Cette annee, le decès brutal 15 jours avant la commemoration, d’ Avak
KAYZAKIAN qui presidait aux destines de l’Association depuis 1988,
a donne un relief particulier a cette manifestation.

Un vibrant hommage lui a ete rendu , son ~uvre, son implication tout
a la fois dans la vie arlesienne et a ses attaches armeniennes ont
ete retracees . Avak etait un militant engage et devoue. Il avait
recu la medaille de la Region lors de l’inauguration de la stèle
rendant hommage aux victimes du genocide de 1915 et fait Chevalier
de l’Ordre National du Merite en fevrier 2011.

Aujourd’hui, le nouveau President , Laurent ISRAELIAN reprend le
flambeau ; après cet hommage a Avak, il a insiste sur l’importance du
devoir de memoire , la force de l’union associative pour voir aboutir
la reconnaissance du genocide, un combat quotidien des defenseurs
des Droits de l’Homme face aux thèses negationnistes .

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA: PARLIAMENTARY AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WITHOUT ANY CHOICE

Vestnik Kavkaza
May 16 2012
Russia

David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK

The results of the parliamentary elections in Armenia surprised
nobody in Armenia. The election campaign created an atmosphere in
which administrative resources were working actively and accompanied
encouragements and threats. Citizens were forced to participate in
demonstrations in favor of the ruling party in order to listen to
election slogans of Republican Party of Armenia voiced by President
Serge Sargsyan.

People were forced to come, but nobody could resist the process,
including three parties’ United Election Headquarters, that stated
their political will and readiness to resist falsifications. Only
words – no action, while the process was rather open. On election day
citizens and observers saw how people were taken to polling stations
in the same way they were forced to take part in demonstrations.

Republicans showed their special love for disabled people, whom they
carried to ballot stations in expensive cars. So the result of the
elections was predetermined due to administrative resource, rather
than money. The coalition party Prosperous Armenia loudly stated
in the United Headquarters about its resolution to resist bribery,
but right after the session the headquarters went to regions and gave
bribes to citizens. The results of the elections were determined by
two forces which formed a similarly apolitical atmosphere.

Due to their work, the RPA won the elections with 44.02% of the votes,
with second place taken by Prosperous Armenia (30.12%) and the Armenian
National Congress gaining 7.08%. As the Republicans have an absolute
majority in the parliament, they don’t need to form a new coalition
to compose the government. However, in February 2013 the presidential
elections will take place, and Serge Sargsyan needs the support of
PA at least. That is why the intrigue of the future government is
still fresh.

The other forces who entered the parliament face only one problem –
to accept or to reject their mandates. If they accept their mandates,
they will have to end their political careers and show society that
they are anti-constitutional unities similar to the pro-government
parties. Rejection of the election results is the only way to justify
their participation in power games. But that is ridiculous. The point
is not whether international observers will recognize the elections as
legitimate or not. The West will recognize them as legitimate if the
Armenian parties do so. If the Armenian parties reject their mandates,
international observers won’t recognize the elections as legitimate.

However, there is no hope these parties will reject their mandates. At
the moment only the leader of the ANC, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, and the
leader of the party Republic, Aram Sarkisyan, have done so, because
Ter-Petrosyan intends to participate in the presidential elections
in 2013, while Sarkisyan wants to leave the ANC coalition and join PA.

In general, the results of the elections show that the Armenian society
hasn’t come to any conclusions and hasn’t learned anything from the
events of recent years, especially March 1st 2008. The problem is not
in society itself, but in its orientation towards political forces. Six
parties got into the parliament, but society cannot rely on them. In
Armenia political parties do not solve any fundamental problems.

The only relief in the current situation are the 53 thousand ballots
declared invalid and purposely spoiled. These 53 thousand citizens
still hope for sobriety in Armenian society. These 53 thousand voters
saw that they are being cheated. And it makes us hope for changes in
the social mentality and changes in the country.

From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY: HOLLANDE ARRIVES AND ANKARA DREAMS OF EUROPE

ANSA Med

May 16 2012
Italy

EU bid stalled by Sarkozy veto, Berlin expects revival 16 MAY, 12:49

(ANSAmed) – ANKARA, MAY 16 – The end of the Ottoman empire was perhaps
the last time that Turkey had so openly supported a candidate in the
French presidential elections. Now, with Francois Hollande’s victory
and the exit of Nicolas Sarkozy, the “veto man”, Ankara is once again
dreaming of Europe.

After the freeze in relations over the last few months, aggravated
by the position taken up by Paris over the Armenian genocide,
which Ankara denies, Turkey has reacted very warmly to Hollande’s
election, with congratulatory messages and phone calls from President
Abdullah Gul and the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The press
in Ankara and Istanbul are now looking towards a revival of talks on
EU accession which were opened in 2004 and proceeded at snail’s pace
due to reticence shown at the time by Berlin, and stopped completely
in 2010 by Sarkozy. In 8 years, Brussels and Ankara have opened only
5 of the 35 negotiation chapters, concluding just one.

Of course, there has been no shortage of problems. It is difficult to
imagine integration of an enormous Muslim country of 75 million people,
the size of Germany into a European Union that is already wobbling
politically due to its enlargement to the east and close to monetary
implosion under the weight of speculation. But Turkey has changed
considerably in the last few years. The country has taken on board
a large number of EU regulations, has been stabilised politically
since the rise to power in 2002 of Erdogan’s conservative Islamists,
and is now in the midst of an economic boom, with growth at 8.5%
(with a peak of 11% in the first quarter of 2012). The country is a
sort of new promised land for European businesses, with hundreds of
billions in investments due between now and 2023, and currently has
the world’s 16th largest economy, aiming to become the 10th in the
world within 10 years. Moreover, the country is already in line with
the parameters of Maastricht. It appears that ideas are changing with
regard to Turkey’s bid to join the EU. Some are even starting to think
that the EU could need the country, a regional and political power
and an emerging economy. “It can provide an economic, geopolitical,
strategic and cultural boost to a demographically old and tired Europe,
which is not full of economic impetus,” the Italian Prime Minister
Mario Monti said last week after a summit with Erdogan in Rome. Italy
is strongly in favour of an acceleration of EU talks with Ankara.

Hollande, who in recent months has called for “fair” talks with Turkey,
could now give Paris’s approval, and with the blessing of Berlin. The
German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, said in Istanbul yesterday
that he expected talks to resume. The thorny issue of Cyprus, however,
still remains. The Nicosia government has the rotating EU presidency
between July and December. Ankara, which has occupied the north of
the island since 1974 and does not recognise the Cypriot government,
has announced that it will boycott EU meetings during the Cypriot
term. Meanwhile, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule,
arrives in Ankara on Thursday. The Turkish Press believes that the
economic and monetary chapter in negotiations could be opened by
July. Failing this, all talks will be put back to 2013. Erdogan has
said on several occasions that Ankara is still focussed on the EU. But
as the winner of the Nobel Literature Prize, Orhan Pamuk, points out,
Europe “has broken many hearts in Turkey”.(ANSAmed).

From: Baghdasarian

CULTURE MINISTRY CONSIDERS RENOVATION OF TBILISI CHURCH

tert.am
16.05.12

A working group from the Ministry of Culture has left for Georgia
to estimate the post-collapse damages to Tbilisi’s St. Nshan church,
a Ministry official has told Tert.am.

“Our working group is now in Tbilisi to discuss the situation together
with Georgian specialists,” said Artur Poghosyan, a deputy ministry
of culture.

According to him, the church’s renovation plan will be later discussed
and revised with the experts of the Historical and Cultural Monuments
Protection Agency.

“We will hold discussions at the Agency after the specialists’
return to bring the project in compliance with the today’s demands,
and submit it to the Georgians,” he said.

The church’s bell tower collapsed in the wake of that Sunday flood
that damaged several buildings in Georgia’s capital.

Poghosyan said the renewed plan will require more expenses, adding in
the meantime that the Georgian side has agreed to increase the funding.

Citing a statement by Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument
Protection, Newsgeorgia.ru reported that restorers have already begun
the renovation of the 18th century Armenian church.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN FLAG WILL ALWAYS BE FLYING OVER ANCIENT SHUSHI
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 16, 2012

Aliyev’s propaganda may speak of poverty in Armenia and weakness
of the Armenian army as much as it wishes. In fact, all of this is
pathetic attempts to pass the desirable for reality.

It has just so happened that for the past 10 years I have been
visiting Shushi on May 9. It has already become a sort of tradition,
almost a ritual. And every year the weather in Nagorno-Karabakh is
just disgusting these days: fog, constant rain and cold. But this is
not what is worst.

PanARMENIAN.Net – Simply every year you see with pain and bitterness
that Shushi is almost unchanged; construction progresses rather
slowly. By and large, one can understand the NKR authorities: war
is not over, there are threats coming from Baku, the cease-fire
is violated every now and then. The fragile peace could collapse
overnight, and then all hopes would be centered on the army. The
famous aphorism “If you do not want to feed your army, you will have
to feed someone else’s” could be accurately applied to the NKR Defense
Army. Defense expenditures are growing each year. To be more accurate,
Karabakh people are forced into an arms race in the hope that they
will not endure this weight and will give up. But let us say once and
for all in order not to revert to this issue: Azerbaijan can dream of
what she pleases, no one forbids, but the flag of Azerbaijan, as Ilham
Aliyev likes to reiterate, will never be flying over the presidential
palace in Stepanakert. Not one generation of Azerbaijanis needs to
be changed, so that this people would look at the world through their
own eyes and not through those of the Aliyev clan.

Narrates Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan: “We consecrated the church in
Shushi. It’s windy; rain is starting. And suddenly, as if by magic,
as soon as I start telling “Our Father”, the wind drops and clouds
literally hang over the church, revealing a piece of blue sky. We
consecrated the church and then a hurricane started…” New buildings
are being erected in Shushi, but construction is progressing rather
slowly: so far there’s a new cultural center, the hotel “Shushi Plaza”,
attempts of cosmetic repairs on the buildings looking the same as
20 years ago – smoky openings of windows, empty entrances. As if
life has gone out of the town and is now thinking whether it should
return to the old ashes or not. But, to all appearances, life will
return, and the historical capital of Nagorno-Karabakh will not be
inferior to others. And above all this rises the enormous bulk of
Ghazanchetsots as a reproach and a reminder that we must think not
only of God but also of the laity. Compared to Shushi, Stepanakert
looks beautiful and well-groomed – clean, embellished, as if there
had been no war. It’s true that on the outskirts of the city there
still are houses affected by the bombings, but they do not spoil
the overall picture. There is the great business center “Europe”
constructed. Nice of course, but not really fitting into the overall
architectural image of the city. However, image as such does not
exist – a typical Soviet provincial town with a couple of different
supermarkets, which, in fact, are just big stores.

But what pleases you is the increasing number of children on the
streets. Archbishop Martirosyan says that every time he baptizes
infants, he constantly says to their parents: “It’s too few, give
birth to another.” “I have baptized 6 children of one couple, and
they are going to have another soon. Children are never too many.”

To our remark that it is difficult to bring up so many children, the
archbishop says laughing, “Let them be four instead of three. They
will grow up, and nothing will become of them.”

Anyway, we won and established the second Armenian state on our own
lands. And, in reality, this government is much more democratic than
that of neighboring Azerbaijan, which is “famous” for its persecution
of dissidents and lavish shows at a time when its own people are
beginning to lose patience in despair. Aliyev’s propaganda may speak
of poverty in Armenia and weakness of the Armenian army as much as
it wishes. In fact, all of this is pathetic attempts to pass the
desirable for reality. God be their judge of all. The main thing is
that the Armenian flag will always be flying over ancient Shushi.

And lastly, casually becoming a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council, Azerbaijan will now consistently, with or without reason, turn
to the Security Council with the Karabakh issue. On May 8 Azerbaijan
“demanded” from the Security Council members to “express an opinion”
on the Karabakh conflict, although the views of the U.S., France,
Russia, Britain, and China have long been known. Or is it possible
that Baku seriously thinks that the UN Security Council could change
its position?

From: Baghdasarian

DRUG DEALER GANG ARRESTED IN ARMENIA

news.am
May 16, 2012 | 18:51

YEREVAN. – A gang of drug dealers is arrested in Yerevan by Armenia’s
police department on fight against organized on Tuesday, the Armenian
News-NEWS.am own source reports adding the gang members are criminal
authorities.

Among the arrested criminals are Hayk Petrosyan, 44, Aram Hakobyan,
49 Aram Hambartsumyan, 43, and David. All of them have previously
been convicted for several times.

According to the reliable data, all the arrested are not random
people in the criminal world and are considered to be the main drug
suppliers. The arrest put some imprisoned people in panic as they may
have connection to the gang and the chain of crimes may be disclosed.

From: Baghdasarian