Author: Ekmekjian Janet

Souhayr Belhassen, a appelé à la libération immédiate des prisonniers
politiques en Arménie

ARMENIE

vendredi9 avril 2010, par Stéphane/armenews

Le 37ème congrès de la FIDH, par la voix de sa présidente, Souhayr
Belhassen, a appelé aujourd’hui à la libération immédiate des
prisonniers politiques en Arménie. La FIDH a également réitéré sa
demande d’une enquête indépendante et crédible sur les évènements de
mars 2008 et sur l’usage disproportionné de la force par les services
de sécurité. Enfin, la FIDH a exprimé ses préoccupations sur les
conditions d’organisation et de tenue des scrutins électoraux et sur
les obstacles à la liberté de l’information.

« Nous avons exprimé ces préoccupations à plusieurs reprises ces
derniers mois aux autorités arméniennes au plus haut niveau – et ce
matin encore au Président de la République, comme nous l’avons promis
hier aux familles des victimes et des prisonniers politiques », a
déclaré Souhayr Belhassen. « L’ensemble de ces points préoccupent le
congrès de la FIDH tout entier qui aujourd’hui, par ma voix, lance un
appel aux autorités : nous espérons des réponses concrètes à ces
préoccupations. Nous persisterons jusqu’à les obtenir », a-t-elle
ajouté.

`Libérer tous les prisonniers politiques et poursuivre en justice les
responsables de la mort de dix personnes lors des événements du 1er
mars, sont deux des conditions essentielles pour une justice efficace
en Arménie’, a conclu Artak Kirakosyan, représentant du Civil Society
Institute, organisation membre de la FIDH en Arménie.

HISTORY COMMISSION MAKES ‘NO SENSE,’ SAYS SARKSYAN

Today’s Zaman
April 8 2010
Turkey’

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan appears to have taken a step
back from two protocols signed with Turkey on the normalization of
relations, saying a commission of historians proposed in the documents
would be pointless.

"Creating such a commission would mean questioning the fact of genocide
against our people. We’re not prepared to do that," Sarksyan said
in interview in the German weekly Der Spiegel’s latest issue. "A
commission would make sense if Turkey would admit its guilt. Then
historians could work together to uncover the causes that led to
this tragedy."

Turkey and Armenia signed the protocols to restore their diplomatic
relations and open their mutual border last October. The documents
envisage the establishment of a joint commission which will be tasked
with normalizing ties. It will be divided into several subcommissions,
one of which will engage in an "impartial scientific examination of
historical documents and archives."

"Ankara is only trying to delay decisions," Sarksyan told Der Spiegel.

"Whenever a foreign parliament or government approached Turkey
with a request to recognize the genocide, the response would be,
‘Wait for the results from the commission’."

The Armenian leader also said Mount Agrı (Ararat) in eastern Anatolia
will always be in Armenians’ hearts but asserted that Armenia has no
territorial claims in Turkey. "I feel certain that a time will come
when Mount Ararat is no longer a symbol of the separation between our
peoples, but an emblem of understanding. But let me make this clear:
Never has a representative of Armenia made territorial demands,"
he said.

ORDINARY ARMENIANS ‘WANT PEACE’

news.az
April 8 2010
Azerbaijan

Aydin Mirzazade News.Az interviews ruling party MP Aydin Mirzazade,
deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Defence.

How do you assess the possibility of Azerbaijanis and Armenians living
side by side?

I think the coexistence of Azerbaijanis and Armenia is possible. Our
people had good relations for 200 years, since the appearance of the
first Armenian settlements in Azerbaijan. There have been good times,
despite some unpleasant situations. I think ordinary citizens in the
Armenian community of occupied Nagorno-Karabakh also want peace.

For example, there was the recent case of an Armenian citizen driving
into Azerbaijan with his family. However, I think coexistence is
possible only within the framework of the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan after the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied
lands. I do not think coexistence is possible before then.

Though ethnic Armenians live in Azerbaijan today and do not experience
any discrimination, coexistence throughout our territory, the exchange
of cultural traditions, newspapers, TV channels and holidays are
possible only after the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

Do you think visits by Azerbaijani intellectuals to Nagorno-Karabakh
help bring a settlement closer?

The visits promote the conflict settlement, they direct the negotiation
process, but separatist visits are inadmissible.

Is it possible to say that the Karabakh settlement is nearing
completion?

This is not clear, but Azerbaijan does everything that depends on it.

I think it is time for Armenia to draw serious conclusions. The choice
of the Armenian side is the choice of Armenian statehood.

What position should Azerbaijan take in the information war?

We should stick to our current position. First of all, it is necessary
to cover the process objectively, to show history as it is, to
look for and strengthen Azerbaijani interests in the international
environment. Our information policy should be Azerbaijani and include
some part of international information systems.

WTO: CONTINUED REFORM AND DIVERSIFICATION OF THE ECONOMY ARE KEY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH

The Financial
April 9 2010
Georgia

The FINANCIAL — Armenia’s accession to the WTO in 2003 consolidated
a process of trade liberalization and institutional reforms that
started soon after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

This process has continued since accession and Armenia has now a
liberal trade and investment regime, according to a WTO Secretariat
report on the trade policies and practices of Armenia.

Economic stability, along with foreign remittances and investment
from the large Armenian diaspora, led to high levels of economic
growth up until the global financial crises hit Armenia in 2009 and
produced a sharp drop in economic activity.

The report says that continued efforts to improve implementation of
institutional and regulatory reforms and to develop a more diversified
economy are key to Armenia’s future economic growth.

The report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Armenia,
is the basis for the first Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Armenia by
the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 6 and 8 April 2010.

ARKADY TER-TADEVOSYAN PREDICTS NEW WAR IN KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 8, 2010 – 13:30 AMT 08:30 GMT

There is a high possibility of resumption of hostilities in Karabakh,
as the talks reached a deadlock, according to Major General Arkady
Ter-Tadevosyan, Commandos.

"The conflicting parties are trying to merge irreconcilable
contradictions – the principle of territorial integrity and the right
of nations to self-determination. Additional tension is created by
the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement process. At that, failure of
the dialogue will increase the possibility of war," he said when
responding to a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter’s question during a press
conference on April 8.

"Azerbaijan and Turkey have been coordinating their foreign policies
since 1919. I can’t say for sure that war will start this May but
it will start anyway – if not this year, so next year for certain,"
Commandos said.

ARMENIAN CHURCH TO BE HOME OF CULTURE IN CENTRAL ANATOLIAN

NOYAN TAPAN-ARMENIANS TODAY
APRIL 8, 2010
ANKARA

ANKARA, APRIL 8, NOYAN TAPAN-ARMENIANS TODAY. Surp Yerotutyun,
an Armenian church constructed in 1881 in the town of Sivrihisar
in Eskisehir province and one of the largest in Anatolia, will
be restored. Mayor of Sivrihisar Fikret Arslan said. "We want to
renovate historical buildings in Sivrihisar, and this includes an
Armenian church constructed in 1881 and an Armenian bath," Arslan said.

According to Fikret Arslan. "Angel figures in the entrance gate of
the church draw attention. It is visited even in this situation,
and the number of visitors has increased in recent years."

The restoration of the Surp Yerortutyun Church will be sponsored by
the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

According to "Hurriyet", the church will be turned into a home of
culture. It’s planed to restore also the roads to the church.

DETECTIVES PROBE ARMENIAN-RELATED RESTAURANT HOMICIDE
Liana Aghajanian

ianyan magazine

April 6 2010

Four Armenian men were shot and killed at a Mediterranean restaurant
over the weekend in North Hollywood’s Valley Village district, with
Los Angeles Department Homicide Detectives still struggling to find
the suspects or a motive.

On April 3, around 4:30 p.m., suspects walked into the Hot Spot
Cafe on Riverside Blvd and fired multiple gunshots, according to a
statement released by the LAPD.

Hayk Yegnanyan, 25, Sarkis Karadjian, 26, Harut Baburyan, 28 and
Vardan Tofalyan, 31 died as a result of gunshot wounds.

Although the shooting does not appear to be random, the motive for the
crime is unknown. Law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition
of anonymity to the Los Angeles Times said they believed the shooting
was tied to Armenian or Eurasian organized crime but are unsure of
the motive.

The LAPD declined to comment to ianyan regarding any details of the
case and calls to Hot Spot Cafe went unanswered.

The Times also reported that Baburyan, of Glendale had a criminal
record according to court records and interviews.

"He was convicted in 2000 of receiving stolen property and sentenced
to 18 days in jail and five years’ probation, according to the Los
Angeles County district attorney’s office," reported The Times. "
Six years later, he pleaded no contest to illegal possession of a
semiautomatic weapon and was sentenced to 16 months in prison."

It also unknown if the shooting was gang related, however unnamed
law enforcement sources told the Times on Sunday, April 4, that they
believed the shooting might have involved gangs.

The most prominent Armenian gang in Los Angeles is known as "Armenian
Power," which rose after the collapse of the Soviet Union caused
Armenian immigration waves to the area.

Sam Salazar, senior lead officer of the Los Angeles Police Department’s
Northeast Division, which patrols much of Armenian Power’s turf, first
encountered AP in 1988 when the owners of a now-defunct Hollywood
carwash complained about the gang’s graffiti.

Salazar met with the gang’s leader, Vahag "Boxer" Hagopian, a
powerfully built man Salazar remembered as "5 foot, 9 inches tall
and as wide as an ox," according to a 1997 Los Angeles Times article.

The shootings come just one week after the slaying of Karine Hakobyan,
who was found by her 14-year-old daughter fatally shot behind the
wheel of her car.

Hakoyban’s killing came a little more than a year after her husband
Khachik Safaryan, 43, and their 9-year-old daughter Lucine were found
shot to death outside their apartment in Hollywood’s Little Armenia
on Dec. 11, 2008.

Detectives investigating the killing of her husband said there appeared
to be a link between the crimes, reported the Associated Press.

EACH YEAR ARMENIANS SUFFER TRAGEDY AND HUMILIATION: CALGARY HERALD

news.am, Armenia
April 7 2010

"April is the cruelest month for the people of Armenia, who every year
at this season suffer a continuing tragedy and a humiliation," reads
the article by Christopher Hitchens on Calgary Herald website. The
author recalls that Turkish authorities deny that mass killings
of Armenians occurred in Ottoman Empire in the beginning of last
century. Hitchens says that first time the word "genocide" was used
in 1943, though he prefers the wording "race extermination," that
was applied by the former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau.

Speaking about present Turkey’s policy and deportation threats voiced
by Turkish Premier Erdogan, the author notes that illegal Turkish
workers can be found throughout EU. "How would the world respond if a
European prime minister called for the mass deportation of Turks? Yet,
Erdogan’s xenophobic demagoguery attracted no condemnation from
Washington or Brussels," he deems.

"It is not just a disaster for Turkey that its prime minister
suffers from morbid personality disorders. The dead of Armenia will
never cease to cry out. Nor, on their behalf, should we cease to
do so. Let Turkey’s unstable leader foam when other parliaments and
congresses discuss Armenia and seek the truth about it. The grotesque
fact remains that the Turkish parliament is forbidden by its own law
to do so. While this remains the case, we shall do it for them, and
without any apology, until they produce the one that is forthcoming
from them," the article reads.

SHIRIN EBADI NUANCE LA SITUATION DES DROITS DE L’HOMME EN ARMENIE
par Marion

armenews
mercredi7 avril 2010
Armenie

La situation des droits de l’homme en Armenie n’est pas aussi mauvaise
qu’on pourrait le croire, a affirme mardi Shirin Ebadi, l’une des
dissidentes du regime iranien et laureate du Prix Nobel de la paix,
lors d’une conference internationale a Erevan.

Ebadi fait partie des quelque 300 militants assistant a la conference
annuelle de la Federation internationale des droits de l’homme (FIDH).

S’exprimant lors d’une conference de presse conjointes avec les
dirigeants de la FIDH, elle a rejete les allegations selon lesquelles
le colloque enverrai un message negatif sur le bilan des autorites
armeniennes sur la question des droits de l’homme.

" Nous savons qu’il existe des violations des droits de l’homme dans
ce pays. Toutefois, lorsque nous l’avons compare avec d’autres pays
de la region, nous avons estime que la situation n’etait pas aussi
mauvaise que dans d’autres pays. "

" Nous allons tous travailler ensemble pour la rendre meilleure ",
a-t-elle ajoute.

Avocate et ancienne juge, Ebadi a remporte le Nobel de la Paix en
2003 pour ses efforts dans la promotion de la democratie et des
droits de l’homme, en particulier pour les femmes et les enfants
iraniens. Elle est devenue la première iranienne et première femme
musulmane a recevoir le prix.

Cette reconnaissance internationale n’a pas ameliore ses rapports avec
le pouvoir iranien. Les autorites iraniennes ont notamment interdit,
en 2008, l’organisation non gouvernementale de premier plan qu’elle
avait fondee en 2001.

" Il existe de nombreux journalistes qui sont emprisonnes en Iran,
en ce moment, a ajoute Ebadi. Nous ne pouvons pas tenir des reunions
de ce genre dans mon pays. Meme moi, je n’ai pas le pouvoir d’etre
active en Iran. "

Cependant, le 37ème congrès de la FIDH, par la voix de sa presidente,
Souhayr Belhassen, avait appele le jour meme a la liberation immediate
des prisonniers politiques en Armenie. La FIDH a egalement reitere sa
demande d’une enquete independante et credible sur les evènements de
mars 2008 et sur l’usage disproportionne de la force par les services
de securite. Enfin, la FIDH a exprime ses preoccupations sur les
conditions d’organisation et de tenue des scrutins electoraux et sur
les obstacles a la liberte de l’information.

" Nous avons exprime ces preoccupations a plusieurs reprises ces
derniers mois aux autorites armeniennes au plus haut niveau – et ce
matin encore au President de la Republique, comme nous l’avons promis
hier aux familles des victimes et des prisonniers politiques ", a
declare Souhayr Belhassen. " L’ensemble de ces points preoccupent
le congrès de la FIDH tout entier qui aujourd’hui, par ma voix,
lance un appel aux autorites : nous esperons des reponses concrètes
a ces preoccupations. Nous persisterons jusqu’a les obtenir ",
a-t-elle ajoute.

"Liberer tous les prisonniers politiques et poursuivre en justice les
responsables de la mort de dix personnes lors des evenements du 1er
mars, sont deux des conditions essentielles pour une justice efficace
en Armenie", a conclu Artak Kirakosyan, representant du Civil Society
Institute, organisation membre de la FIDH en Armenie.

MOTHERS OF BEST RA DEFENSE MINISTRY SERVICEMEN AWARDED WITH MEDALS AND HONORARY DIPLOMAS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 5, 2010 – 14:41 AMT 09:41 GMT

On April 6, RA Ministry of Defense hosted an event in celebration of
Motherhood and Beauty Day.

Mothers of best servicemen, as well as Defense Ministry servicewomen
will be awarded with medals and honorary diplomas, ministerial press
service reported.