Author: Chmshkian Vicken

AGBU EUROPE PUBLISHES CANDIDATES’ POSITIONS BEFORE 2009 EURO-ELECTIONS

Inside europe
June 5, 2009

Paris/Brussels, 5/06/2009 – On the eve of the vote in the European
elections in most European countries, AGBU Europe President Alexis
Govciyan called upon Euro-Armenians to vote.

This call follows an extensive campaign in which AGBU and other
organisations asked candidates to state their position on 7 key
issues. 25 political parties from 12 countries have responded to
the AGBU questionnaire. The answers provided are a useful tool
for citizens who wish to influence European policy in practical
ways. They have been published, along with the 7 questions asked,
on

Candid ates were asked 7 questions on a variety of topics of interest
or concern to Armenians in Europe. For instance: what can the EU do
to help prevent war in Karabakh or to promote cooperation in Armenia’s
neighbourhood? What are Armenia’s prospects for European integration?

Turkey is knocking at Europe’s door: what can and what will the EU do
to press that country to radically break with its hostility towards
Armenians, engage with Armenia and recognize the Armenian genocide? The
EU is committed to multilingualism and intercultural dialogue: what
will be the place of Armenians in the European cultural landscape?

By bringing these issues to the parties before the European elections,
AGBU has provided candidates with an op portunity to communicate their
views directly to their electors who are Armenian or are interested
in Armenian questions. Over the next legislature, AGBU will have
the opportunity to work with those who were elected so that these
pre-electoral commitments can be translated into European policy.

AGBU wishes to thank all those political parties and candidates who
have played the democratic game and taken the time to make their
views known to their electors.

AGBU Europe is the European branch of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union (AGBU). Established in 1906, AGBU (
or ) is the world’s largest non-profit Armenian
organization and is headquartered in New York City. AGBU works to
preserve and promote the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually serving
some 400,000 Armenians on five continents.

For more information please contact: Anush Nazaryan

Tel: 00 32 2 762 67 97

Email:[email protected]

CALIFORNIA SENATE ADOPTS GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

Noyan Tapan
June 5, 2009

WASHINGTON, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. California State
Senate passed Genocide Res.234 which was presented by Senator Mark
Wyland.

According to the bill, it is envisaged to include genocides’ histories,
including the history of Armenian Genocide committed in the Ottoman
Empire in 1915-23, in the state’s educational institutions’ curricula.

Announcing this, the Armenian Assembly of America greeted Senator
M. Wyland and the adoption of the resolution.

It is envisaged that the Resolution will be signed by Governor of
California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

ARMENIA ASSUMES UNCONSTRUCTIVE POSITION ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH – AZERI FOREIGN MINISTER

Interfax
June 3 2009
Russia

Armenia assumed an unconstructive position at a recent meeting between
its President Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, said
Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The minister said he could not share optimism of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs regarding a possible breakthrough in the talks on settling
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

"This is important if the co-chairs have a positive view on the
process. But, on the other hand, I can say based on what I heard myself
that the Armenian side assumed an unconstructive position in Prague
[at the meeting between Aliyev and Sargsyan]," he said.

Mammadyarov suggested that a constructive position would have
implied that Armenia had been really interested in achieving peace
and stability in the region.

It would become clear whether Yerevan has changed its position at the
next meeting between Aliyev and Sargsyan in St. Petersburg on Thursday,
Mammadyarov said.

INVALID ELECTIONS IN THREE POLLING STATIONS

A1+
12:20 pm | June 04, 2009

Official

According to Part 4, Article 40 of the RA Electoral Code, in the case
of invalid results of elections, the present materials are presented
to the prosecutor’s office to instigate a criminal case.

On June 4, the RA Central Electoral Commission presented the RA
Prosecutor’s Office with the decisions of the electoral commissions of
the #7 and #8 precincts on recognizing the results of the elections
in the 7/7, 7/9 and 8/15 polling stations based on the corresponding
grounds, the packets of documents at the 7/7, 7/9 and 8/15 polling
stations and the registers of the commissions, as reported by the
CEC press service.

SARGSIAN-ALIYEV RECURRENT MEETING TOOK PLACE

AZG Armenian Daily
05/06/2009

Karabakh conflict

Serzh Sargsian – Ilham Aliyev meeting took place yesterday at Baltic
Star Hotel in St. Petersburg, RA President’s press office reports.

In the process of Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement it was the
fifth meeting between Serzh Sargsian and Ilham Aliyev. The meeting
started with participation of the two countries’ Foreign Ministers
Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs
Yuri Merzlyakov, Matthew Bryza and Bernard Fassier, and the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andzey Kasprzyk.

WALID AL-MOALEM: SYRIA SUPPORTS SOVEREIGNTY AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF COUNTRIES

APA
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. "The trade turnover between Azerbaijan
and Syria will increase after Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is put into
operation," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the
briefing after meeting with his Syrian counterpart Walid Al-Moalem,
APA reports. Elmar Mammadyarov said that ongoing processes in the
Near East, Syria’s position on it, settlement of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict and Azerbaijan’s position on it, expansion of political,
economic and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries were
discussed at the meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister.

"Great Azerbaijani poet Imadeddin Nasimi was buried in Syria. We
asked Syria to offer opportunities for Azerbaijani tourists to visit
the poet’s grave in Syria," he said.

Walid Al-Moalem said he was in Azerbaijan three years ago and expressed
his satisfaction with the changes in Baku. He said they discussed
with his Azerbaijani counterpart the visit of Syrian President Bashar
Al-Assad and his wife to Baku. The Minister considers that this visit
will pave the way for the development of the relations between the two
countries. Touching on the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
Syrian Minister said his country supports and respects international
norms, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries.

"During my meetings here and in Armenia I said if Nagorno Karabakh
conflict remains unsolved, it will harm the region and Syria," he said.

Walid Al-Moalem mentioned that since 1968 Syria and Israel had
territorial dispute over Golan Heights, Syria is trying to solve the
problem in a political way, but lack of political will of Israeli
leadership impedes the solution to the conflict.

"I hope the political will of Azerbaijani and Armenian leadership
concerning the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will produce results
tomorrow," he said.

MUDSLINGING AHEAD OF LEBANON VOTE

Maktoob
004661/Mudslinging_ahead_of_Lebanon_vote/Article.h tm
June 3 2009

With just days to go before Lebanon’s general election, mudslinging is
at a peak as candidates trade insults touching on religion, corruption
and even each other’s personal lives.

One candidate calling an opponent "a thief" on national television and
another accusing a contender of spying for Israel, all is fair game
in the battle pitting a Western-backed faction against a Hezbollah-led
alliance supported by Iran and Syria.

"I would say that it’s crunch time, do-or-die, go-for-broke," said
Elias Muhanna, editor of the political blog Qifa Nabki. "You might
as well sling all the mud you can before Sunday."

And sling the mud they have before the June 7 vote – on billboards,
television talk shows, campaign rallies and in private meetings
secretly caught on tape.

One audio-recording broadcast on television has an official badmouthing
the country’s Armenian community, whose main political bloc has
decided to support Hezbollah’s faction during the election.

"F— the Armenians," the official is overheard saying in the
recording. "What do they have to do with us?"

Candidate Nayla Tueni, 26, was in the hot seat this week after a
rumour that she had converted to Islam spread like wildfire.

Tueni, a Greek Orthodox who is seeking to fill the seat left by her
slain father Gebran Tueni, was forced to go on air to refute the
allegation, even displaying a document showing she had not renounced
her faith.

Religion plays a key role on all levels in Lebanon and the country’s
top government positions and the 128 seats in parliament are allocated
along confessional lines.

The president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a
Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.

Seats in parliament are equally divided between Christians and Muslims.

Mudslinging in the run-up to the vote has not been restricted to
political foes with even allies slamming each other.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a member of the ruling majority,
was recently red-faced over remarks he made during a meeting with
religious leaders of his community during which he denigrated his
Maronite Christian allies, calling them a "bad breed".

Jumblatt later downplayed his comments saying they were unintentional
and taken out of context.

With tempers running high, some political leaders have not spared
their own constituents.

A video making the rounds on television and on YouTube has Christian
leader Sleiman Franjieh, who is allied with Hezbollah, calling a
group of his followers "dogs" and "donkeys" as he warns them to
refrain from violence on election day.

"I have 30,000 idiots in this village, that’s what I have," an angry
Franjieh is seen telling a small crowd in his stronghold of Zgharta,
in northern Lebanon. "If one of you dares raise his fist (during the
election), you’ll have to answer to me."

HAYASTAN ALL ARMENIAN FUND CONGRATULATES VAHAKN DADRIAN AND WOLFGANG GUST, AMONG WINNERS OF PRESIDENT PRIZE

Noyan Tapan
June 1, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Hayastan All
Armenian Fund congratulates all winners of the 2008 President Prize,
including intellectuals Vahakn Dadrian and Wolfgang Gust, who were
awarded the prestigious prize for their valuable contributions to
the study of Mets Yeghern as well as efforts to secure worldwide
recognition for the first genocide of the 20th century. It was
mentioned in the Fund’s report.

Gust received the President Prize for his groundbreaking research of
German state archives pertaining to the 1915 Genocide. His landmark
2005 study, The Armenian Genocide During the First World War: Documents
from German State Archives, reveals the deep-rooted relations between
imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire during the first part of the
20th century, particularly as documented in the secret correspondence
of the German consul and ambassador in Istanbul with the Turkish
government.

Gust’s 675-page volume includes 218 secret and top-secret telegrams,
letters, and communiques, most of which have never been published
previously.

A renowned journalist and scholar, Gust has long been dedicated to
the study of the Genocide. An Armenian translation of his first work
related to the subject, 1993’s The Armenian Genocide: The Tragedy of
the Oldest Christian Nation, was published in Armenia in 20 02. In
recognition of Gust’s achievement, His Holiness Garegin II, Catholicos
of All Armenians, bestowed on him the St. Sahak and St. Mashtots
medal in 2001.

Professor Vahakn Dadrian, who has devoted his entire career to the
study of the Genocide, received the President Prize not only for his
past achievements but ongoing research within his field. Currently
serving as Director of Genocide Research at the Zoryan Institute in
Arlington, Massachusetts, Dadrian is the author of numerous pioneering
studies on the Genocide, German complicity, Turkish denial, parallels
between the Genocide and the Holocaust, and related topics.

The President Prize’s special category, Valuable Contribution to
the Recognition of the Genocide, was instituted in 2005. The prize
for the category includes a certificate of achievement, a medal, and
a monetary award in the amount of ,000. To date, nine scholars and
public figures, including four Armenians, have received the President
Prize in this category.

Established in 2000 by the Boghossian Foundation, the President
Prize promotes excellence in the Armenian arts, sciences, and
Genocide-recognition efforts. It also includes the President Youth
Prize, which awards young talents in various fields. Administered by
the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, the juried annual prize is bestowed
on recipients by the President of the Republic of Armenia, during
a rewards ceremony held at the presidential residence. T his year
the prize was awarded to 21 individuals, for achievements in one of
nine categories.

U.S. EMBASSIES TO INVITE IRANIAN DIPLOMATS TO JULY 7 CELEBRATIONS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 12:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Obama administration has authorized its embassies
to invite Iranian diplomats to U.S. Independence Day celebrations on
the Fourth of July.

Officials say the State Department sent a cable to all its embassies
on Friday, telling them they "may invite representatives from the
government of Iran" to their annual holiday parties.

The gatherings, hosted by U.S. embassies around the world on or around
July 4, generally feature fireworks, red, white and blue decorations
and typical American food such as hot dogs and hamburgers, as well
as remarks about American history.

The cable was first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday, and
then confirmed by the Associated Press. The State Department says the
move is part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s effort to reach out to
Iran and improve relations between the two countries after decades
of hostility.

It is not yet known how many embassies will invite Iranian diplomats
to their Independence Day celebrations, and whether any Iranians will
accept those invitations, VOA News reported.

Iran and the United States cut all diplomatic ties after the seizure
of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979.

In March, President Obama recorded a videotaped message for the Nowruz
holiday, saying he wants "a new beginning" in relations with Iran. He
said he is committed to diplomacy to resolve "serious differences"
between the two countries.

DISCUSSIONS ON THE BOOK "NAGORNO KARABAGH: FACTS AGAINST LIE" TOOK PLACE AT THE NKR MFA

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

2009-06-02 16:41

Discussions on the recently published book "Nagorno Karabagh: Facts
Against Lie. Information-Ideological Aspects of the Nagorno Karabagh
Conflict" by Arsen Melik-Shakhnazarov took place at the NKR MFA.

NKR Deputy Foreign Minister Vardan Barseghian, NA Deputies,
experts, and MFA employees participated in the discussions. The
book was introduced by journalist and writer, activist of the
Karabagh National-Liberation Movement Maxim Hovhannisian who noted
the importance of Arsen Melik-Shakhnazarov’s work as documentary
description of NKR people’s struggle for self-determination in the
context of the information-propagandistic war unleashed by Azerbaijan.

In his turn, the book’s author emphasized that the Azerbaijani
propaganda created false stereotypes and distorted the gist of the
Karabagh conflict, due to which the truth about the conflict should
be introduced to the international community.

Translation of the book into the English and other languages was
recommended. The NKR MFA expressed its readiness to facilitate the
book’s translation and distribution.