Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

EXHIBITION “SUR KOLAJ” DEDICATED TO HENRIK IGITYAN’S MEMORY TO BE OPENED

ARMENPRESS
10 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS: Personal exhibition of Armenuhi
Harutyunyan-Igityan “Sur Kolaj” will be opened in Children’s work
museum of National Art centre after Henrik Igityan on May 15.

“In the exhibition is included my work for one year, some of which
has been done in Paris” director of Children’s work museum Armenuhi
Harutyunyan-Igityan told Armenpress. In her words in almost 100 kolajs
is represented her so named “kolaj” campaign.

“I think the creations will make us think” mentioned the author. She
also informed that she dedicated the exhibition to her husband Henrik
Igityan’s memory.

The exhibition will be opened for the visitors till May 25.

From: Baghdasarian

WILL THOSE DISSATISFIED TAKE TO STREETS?
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:06:07 – 10/05/2012

During the election the Republican Party teased the other parties
and continues teasing people. Samvel Nikoyan says were the elections
rigged, people would have taken to the streets. It is true that he
admitted there had been cases of electoral bribes but he promised to
think about a new technology for the next election.

The next election will be held in 7-8 months. Armenia will elect a
president. Will new technologies be used in the presidential election?

Since the parties appear likely to take up the mandates, and nobody
takes to the street, the technology was successful.

When the parties expressed concern about the violations and did
not lay down the mandates and did not urge people to boycott the
election results, they signed their verdict to death. In fact, they
proved that they can tease us and announce at the end that they are
satisfied because those dissatisfied would have taken to the streets.

The chairman of the CEC Tigran Mukuchyan says the breaches did not
affect the results. The parties disagree.

The coordinator of the ANC Levon Zurabyan pointed two groups of
breaches, the ink which disappeared soon after stamping the passport,
enabling multiple voting, and electoral bribes and coercion. He thinks
thus 600,000 additional votes were ensured, including 500,000 for
the Republican Party.

Heritage Party stated that the use of the administrative resource
created unequal opportunities for the parties. The Heritage Party
states that residents of the regions were temporarily registered in
Yerevan and could vote to majority candidates. As a result, the votes
for majority candidates affected the result of the election. The
passport departments of the police thus enabled multiple voting.

The ARF announced that the elections did not reflect the will of
people and the real arrangement of forces. The ARF stated that
total electoral bribes were planned and implemented outside polling
stations. The members of the coalition government had high results
by way of total use of unprecedented amount of money for bribes and
the administrative resource. The bribes had a crucial influence on
the result of voting, the ARF stated.

Vartan Oskanian of PA shares this opinion. “Turnout was about 1,500,000
which is up by 160,000 compared with 2007, while so many people have
emigrated from Armenia since 2007. It means the number of voters is
exaggerated by several hundreds of thousands and it is clear where
these votes go to,” Oskanian said.

All these statements sound pharisaic while all the parties will
attend the first meeting of parliament with pleasure and recognize
the results of teasing people and them.

From: Baghdasarian

VANADZOR OFFICE OF HELSINKI CIVIL ASSEMBLY SUING POLICE CHIEF FOR SLANDER

hetq
13:25, May 10, 2012

The court case in which the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil
Assembly is suing RA Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan for slander
is scheduled to continue tomorrow at the Kentron and Nork-Marash
District Court.

The NGO is suing Gasparyan for remarks he made during an October 2011
interview with the hraparak.am news site and a program called Zinouzh.

The organization claims that some of the remarks slandered their
good name.

From: Baghdasarian

ASHOT MANUKYAN ON THE ELECTIONS – “IF HE’S NOT CAUGHT IN THE ACT, HE’S NOT A THIEF”.
Adrine Torosyan

hetq.am
13:20, May 10, 2012

Ashot Manukyan ran as a HAK (Armenian National Congress) candidate
in the race for a seat in parliament from Election District 30.

He lost the race in the winner take all district that includes the
town of Vanadzor and environs. Manukyan is highly sceptical that
the RA Constitutional Court will annul the election results as being
fraudulent and rigged.

Manukyan labels the May 6 elections a “disgrace” and says they were
conducted according to the principle “If he’s not caught in the act,
he’s not a thief”.

“Bribes were handed out all over the place. Everybody knows this. But
it’s hard to nail down because the givers and takers aren’t talking.

They all come out clean,” says Manukyan, who heads the HAK office
in Vanadzor.

He says such cases need to thoroughly investigated through legal
channels but given that the government is behind the violations,
the courts and prosecutors are actually hindering, not helping,
such investigations.

Manukyan says the entire process is a closed chain whose links are
hard to break.

He claims that the government’s main resource in its recent crushing
victory at the polls was due to the 700,000 additional names on the
voter rolls.

Manukyan said that when opposition forces applied to the Constitutional
Court to allow for the publication of the names of those who had voted,
it was aimed at avoiding precisely this type of manipulation.

He argues that the ruling authorities have honed their mechanisms for
rigging the elections, moving away from the obvious ballot stuffing
and beatings to more subtle means and pressure.

From: Baghdasarian

NAMES OF THOSE GUILTY

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:43:28 – 11/05/2012

The activists of Mashtots Park continue their struggle demanding
prosecution and punishment of the municipality for the illegal decision
of building boutiques in the park. The activists Gor Hakobyan, Yeghia
Nersisyan, Arpine Galfayan and Ruzanna Grigoryan stated this in a
press conference today.

They say though their main demand was met, and the boutiques are
dismantled, this way of solving problems and misuse of presidential
powers is unacceptable for them.

“The municipality was the sole responsible for the solution of the
problem while the president could only guarantee the Constitution
and bring up Constitutional issues to resolve the issue by way of a
legal procedure,” Ruzanna Grigoryan said.

The activists demand prosecution of the policemen for using violence
and illegally arresting the peaceful citizens protecting their
constitutional rights. Gor Hakobyan said the proceedings launched
against the activists should have been launched against the policemen,
for misuse of their powers.

The activists reminded that on April 29 the police arrested 7 activists
and used violence. They demand that the special investigative service
investigate the case because the police cannot conduct an impartial
investigation.

The activists said their further steps will aim at seeking for ways
of holding the city hall responsible for the unlawful decision. They
mentioned the names of people who are guilty: Mayor Taron Margaryan,
chief architect of Yerevan Narek Sargsyan, and the police officials
Karen Movsisyan, Valery Osipyan, Robert Melkonyan, who directed the
policemen on April 29. Then they need to see into the share of guilt
of the municipal council.

They will not overlook the issue that the boutiques had been located
on Abovyan Street which is also a public area and were thus illegal.

The activists will pursue improvement of the park and its conservation
as a cultural area.

“Our struggle resulted in a new culture of political struggle in
Armenia, it was possible to achieve change in a country ruled by the
criminal and oligarchic system for 20 years,” they said. Further on
the activists will focus on the issue of mines.

From: Baghdasarian

FILM ABOUT JERUSALEM ARMENIANS TO BE SHOT

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 11, 2012 – 13:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The story of the Armenians of Jerusalem, a
fascinating tale of courage, hope and endurance, sprinkled with the
inevitable grains of turmoil and tragedy, is planned to be told,
for the first time in a feature film, The Armenian Reporter says.

While there have been previous attempts to tell part of the story in
a book or a film, the focus has always been too narrow to encompass
the whole gamut of the Armenian presence in this city regarded by
many as the centre of the world.

Australian-Armenian journalist/foreign correspondent Arthur Hagopian,
the former Press Officer of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem,
who has been acting as consultant on a 3D IMAX film currently being
shot in Jerusalem, is heading the project to bring the story of the
Armenians of Jerusalem to the big screen.

“I have already had talks with leading film production companies and
key players in the motion pictures industry, and they are ready to
jump on board,” Hagopian says. “They have the chutzpah, connections
and expertise necessary to bring this project to life.”

A few years ago, Hagopian launched a website project
() aimed at
preserving and maintaining the history, culture and traditions of the
“Kaghakatzi” (native/city dweller) Armenians of Jerusalem, one of
the three groupings of Armenians in the city. The “Kaghakatzi” bear
the distinction of being the first Armenians to settle in Jerusalem,
staking out the Armenian Quarter of the OId City as their choice of
domicile. The other major grouping are known as the “Vanketzi”. They
are mainly genocide survivors or their descendants and live within
the confines of the convent (“vank”) of St James, seat of the Armenian
Patriarchate.

The “Kaghakatzi” project is also tracing and cataloging the ancestry
of the denizens of the Armenian Quarter, a community that is a
genealogist’s dream: every single “Kaghakatzi” is related to every
other “Kaghakatzi,” either directly or indirectly, in an unbroken
chain that goes back centuries, according to Hagopian.

The “Kaghakatzi” enterprise has so far netted over 3,000 names, culled
from the official “domar”s (records) of the Armenian Patriarchate,
personal recollections, and the odd document or two: but at its
peak, the whole Armenian contingent in Jerusalem, the “Kaghakatzi”,
“Vanketzi” and the small number of Catholic converts, totaled more
than 15,000.

“Armenians have left an indelible mark on the annals of the golden city
of Jerusalem,” Hagopian remarks. “Their history is one of unbridled
vigor and depthless vitality as manifested, for example, in the
monuments they erected and the art they produced. The Cathedral of St
James is unarguably the most magnificent Christian edifice in Jerusalem
while their ceramics and pottery are incomparable in their artistry.”

“We are planning to tell our story through the medium of a feature
film that will delve deep into the soul of this unique segment
of humanity and answer the question: what makes the Armenians of
Jerusalem tick?” Hagopian says.

Hagopian will be writing the script and is thinking of directing
the film.

From: Baghdasarian

NGOS URGE PUBLISHING LIST OF VOTERS

12:44 pm | Today | Politics

The parliamentary elections that took place in the Republic of Armenia
on May 6, 2012 unfortunately do not assist the process of genuine
democratization of the country and do reflect the lack of political
will of the authorities to reform elections institutionally.

Confidence of the Armenian public in the electoral process
has gradually diminished starting from 1995. All elections were
marred by widespread harassment, threats, and vote buying, and in
2008, the elections were followed by tragic events resulting in
casualties. The need to conduct proper elections and to restore
public trust in the electoral processes has become a core issue
in the relationship of Armenia vis-a-vis other states and various
international organizations; it has been, in particular, reflected
in resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
and the Association Agreement talks of Armenia with the European Union.

Despite these factors and the repeated public promises of the Armenian
authorities to hold “exemplary” elections, the Armenian public could
not witness democratic elections in May 2012, either, and both our
and the international community’s expectations were not met.

Besides certain positive improvements relative to the previous general
election (such as the mass media securing a “level playing field”
for the political forces during the campaign, the regulation of the
distribution of printed campaign materials, the clear assignment of
polling stations for voters on the voting day, and others), major
steps have not been implemented to secure fair elections reflecting
the free will of the voters. Vote buying, abuse of administrative
resources, political imposition and harassment of employees by the
public sector and private employers, and the use of numerous other
illegal “techniques” have affected the voting process and the election
result to an unprecedented scale. The law-enforcement agencies have,
as a rule, failed to act in prevention of irregularities and holding
the guilty ones responsible. Numerous cases of these practices were
reported by civil society organizations and individual voters.

Disappearing ink in the passport stamps that were introduced to
preclude the fraud further exacerbated concerns over inflated voter
lists.

The validity of the electoral process was strongly affected by
widespread poverty – unemployment, lack of protection for individual
citizens, and impunity for others have deprived scores of citizens of
the possibility to make a free, informed, and conscious choice. The
formation of this moral and psychological atmosphere was largely
due to the fact that the Armenian authorities have so far failed to
exert sufficient efforts to identify and punish those in charge of
organizing and carrying out the 1 March 2008 bloodshed, as well as
those responsible for the fraud in the 2008 and following elections.

On the eve of the 2012 May election, the National Assembly adopted
a contentious Law on the Legal Regime of the State of Emergency,
which allows the interference of the armed forces in the domestic
political process and was, as such, perceived by many as a threat.

As civil society representatives engaged in the promotion of human
rights and democracy, we are profoundly concerned over perpetual
sophistication and “improvement” of election fraud mechanisms, as
well as the impunity of those implementing the fraud. We believe that
both local and international organizations should draw appropriate
conclusions from yet another failure of Armenia to honor her
international commitments of implementing democratic reforms.

We find that the list of voters that participated in the 6 May 2012
elections must be published in order for democratic elections to
become institutionalized in Armenia. It is the primary step that
can demonstrate the will of the Armenian authorities to reconstruct
the real outcome of the election and to dispel the public skepticism
regarding the results of the vote.

Armenian Helsinki Committee Protection of Rights Without Borders NGO
Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center Journalists’ Club
“Asparez” NGO Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor Office Open
Society Foundations – Armenia Menk Plus NGO Arena of Education NGO
Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression Collaboration for Democracy
Center Journalists for the Future

From: Baghdasarian

HOMETOWN HYE-LITE: HEJINIAN TURNS ARTWORK INTO ACTION
by Tom Vartabedian

May 11, 2012

CHELMSFORD, Mass.-Anyone with a prominent Armenian name like Daniel
Varoujan might be adding poetic justice to the Armenian Genocide.

Daniel Varoujan Hejinian Not necessarily Daniel Varoujan Hejinian. This
talented expressionistic is sending his message through art. All you
have to do is lift your eyes while driving along Watertown to see
samples of his work on billboards.

He’s got one on Arsenal St. and another on Mount Auburn St.,
drawing attention to President Barack Obama’s negligence in properly
recognizing this moment in history. The illustration shows the nation’s
leader with his back turned on the Armenian Genocide.

A third commemorative billboard can be found near Gillette Stadium in
Foxboro, home of the New England Patriots, with the message: “Honoring
the memory of 1.5 million lives. Recognize the Armenian Genocide.” The
illustration is another grabber, written against an image of Der Zor
covered with 1.5 million lights, one for each life lost.

The gesture is nothing new for Hejinian who’s been funding these
billboards out of his own pocket for the past 16 years as part of his
peacekeeping mission called “Peace of Art,” while using his gifts as
an educational tool to bring awareness to the human condition.

Over this time, he’s funded close to 50 billboards and caught the
wrath of opposition from Turkish dissidents who deny the genocide. A
few years ago, some callous individual climbed atop one of those
buildings in the dead of night and defaced a billboard.

Such a vile act really raised awareness from the Boston press, drawing
the sympathy of thousands who may have read about the retaliation. To
say he’s been putting his life on the line may be a mild assumption.

“Doubting and denying the genocide is to repeat the crime against
humanity,” said the artist. “Debating it is an insult to the memory
of 1.5 million Armenians who were slaughtered. For Obama to turn his
back on his promise is morally wrong.”

A resolution from the Massachusetts General Court cited Hejinian
for his lifelong efforts to promote peace through art, combining his
talents with an insatiable desire to bring justice to our people.

Perhaps his most provocative work occurred in 2009 when he unveiled
his “Colors of Liberty” exhibit at the Massachusetts Statehouse. It
included his painting “The Missing Stripes,” dedicated to those
Americans who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks of Sept.
11, 2001.

Hejinian remains a visionary throughout the Armenian community,
looking for ways to articulate his artistry. When the call came
out to design a rather significant memorial by Lowell City Hall,
he offered his services gratis.

The end result was an elaborate design of a khatchkar with a woman’s
hands weaving lace, done in a three-dimensional motif while capturing
the textile city theme right to the stitch.

“Knot by knot, her hands weave the history of her people,” he said,
in applying a suitable inscription to the stone.

“Armenians weave their hopes and dreams as they grow and prosper.

Weaving a lace cloth into stone reminds us all of the hard work and
sacrifice these immigrants endured. To them goes our deepest respect
and gratitude.”

From: Baghdasarian

EDWARD NALBANDIAN: IT HAS BECOME A ROUTINE FOR AZERBAIJAN TO VIOLATE FUNDAMENTAL NORMS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

armradio.am
11.05.2012 10:53

Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished colleagues,
I am pleased to return to Egypt, a country, where I have lived and
worked for forteen years. I have fond and warm memories of that years,
the country and its people.

I am pleased to be here today to address the Ministerial Meeting of
Non-Alignment Movement, a Family of Nations, which are associated by
the shared values of Respect for fundamental human rights and for the
goals and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Being an
obsrever state of this Movement, Armenia fully shares its values.

Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished colleagues,

All of you understand well, the propagandistic nature of Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister’s statement of today, which does not require any
further comments.

I am convinced that it is important to personally share with this
distinguished audience the truth about the manipulation with the
inclusion by Azerbaijan in the declaration of this meeting of the
paragraph 382. Being a member of the Non-Aligned movement for only
a year Azerbaijan is already abusing its membership, by misleading
the member states and orienting them against the approaches of the
international community. This paragraph presents the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue in such a manner that could hamper the mediation efforts of the
Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the only internationally mandated negotiating
format and could undermine the ongoing peace process.

It is regretful, that this paragraph is in contradiction with the
wording, logic and spirit of the ongoing peace process, based on the
statements made by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries – France, Russian Federation, and the United States in
the framework of G8 summits in Deauville (2011), Muskoka (2010)
and L’Aquila (2009) as well as the relevant statements made in the
framework of the 56 member countries of the OSCE Astana Summit (2010)
and Ministerial Councils in Vilnius (2011), Almaty (2010), Athens
(2009) and Helsinki (2008).

These declarations highlight the importance of the three principles of
international law – non-use of force or threat of force, equal rights
and self-determination of peoples and the territorial integrity –
which are considered the key elements for the peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Unfortunately, paragraph 382 selectively addresses the above-mentioned
principles ignoring the principle of self-determination of peoples and
does not use the internationally accepted term of the “Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.”

Such an approach is not only endangering the negotiating process,
and the fragile peace on the ground, but is contrary to the
founding principles of the Non-Alignment movement. The principle of
self-determination was and is one of the basic pillars since the very
first day of foundation of this movement, which was voiced in the
majority of the Ministerial statements delivered yesterday and today.

Unfortunately it has become a routine for Azerbaijan to disregard
internationally reached agreements and violate fundamental norms of
international law, therefore it is not surprising that being a member
of this organization, Azerbaijan is continuously violating almost all
“Bandung principles” – propagating racism and ethnic hatred. How
else one can assess the statement of Azerbaijani leadership that
Azerbaijan’s “main enemies are Armenians all over the world”. The
International organizations had appropriately reacted to numerous
cases of xenophobia, intolerance and racism in Azerbaijan.

Mr. Chairman, The continuous threats to regional peace and security,
the war-mongering, bellicose and hatred-disseminating provocative
statements of the leadership of Azerbaijan, which are in vivid
contradiction with the Bandung Principles, are not befitting a NAM
member state, moreover, they undermine the authority of this important
organization.

Mr. Chairman, In conclusion, I would also like to thank the Egyptian
authorities for hospitality and for the excellent organization of
this meeting.”

From: Baghdasarian

WHAT DO TURKS EXPECT FROM HOLLANDE AND WHAT CAN HE DO?

15:07 . 10/05

The comments on the relations with France in the Turkish media and
among the politicians have resumed after a relative pause.

Now the newly elected president Francois Hollande is in the axis.

Before being elected a president he has promised to criminalise the
denial of the Armenian Genocide.

In official Ankara, however, they express hope that during Hollande’s
presidency it will be possible to restore the relations with NATO
member-ally France. The Turkish deputy foreign minister Naci Koru
has said in his interview to the media they hope that during the new
administration, the problems existing with Paris will be settled,
however, according to him, it is still difficult to draw definite
conclusions, and therefore they will follow France’s position.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has also made comments on this
occasion:- “The Turkish-French relations have started in the old times
and consequently Turkey expects that Hollande will take steps in the
direction of reestablishing the relations”.

The Turkish Ambassador to France Tahsin Burcuoglu hopes that during
the new period started by Hollande, France will not veto EU membership
despite the fact that Sarkozy has suspended 5 of the 35 “negotiation
chapters” on Turkey’s membership to EU. According to the Turkish known
political analyst Mehmet Ali Birand the only positive side of France’s
presidential elections is that the elected president is not obviously
against Turkey unlike Sarkozy. However, Birand warns the authorities
of his country not to be very happy, as the new president is “more
resolute” in the issue of the Armenian Genocide than Sarkozy was and
that the Armenian issue will continue to remain the main obstacle in
the bilateral relations.

“We should not make a mistake, Hollande, unlike Sarkozy is not
principally against Turkey’s membership to EU and doesn’t investigate
the issue of Turkey’s “Europeanisation”. He sets forth the condition
that Ankara should recognize the Armenian Genocide in order to become
an EU member, and apparently, he is not one who will abandon his
approach easily,” Birand has said.

To note, though really Hollande hasn’t been noted for a stressed
anti-Turkey position, but has clearly spoken for the criminalization
of the Armenian Genocide’s denial. Morevoer, after he was elected
France’s presdient Francois Hollande once again stated he will make
efforts in order the law on the criminalization of the Armenian
Genocide enters into force.

“France must not have different approaches on the genocides it has
recognized,” France’s newly elected president has said.

From: Baghdasarian