Author: Garnik Tadevosian

Breaking: Michigan Recognizes Artsakh Independence

Garnik Tadevosian
The Armenian Weekly
Sept 28 2017

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LANSING, Mich.—Michigan became the 8th U.S. state to recognize the independent Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) today, with the overwhelming passage of S.R.99, spearheaded by Senator David Knezek (D–5th District). The bipartisan measure calls upon the U.S. to establish economic and cultural ties with the Artsakh Republic and support peace and stability across the South Caucasus, reported the Armenian National Committee of Michigan (ANC of Mich).

Michigan became the 8th U.S. state to recognize the independent Republic of Artsakh today

“The Michigan Senate vote for Artsakh independence represents a resounding reaffirmation of our enduring American commitment to democratic self-determination and an equally powerful blow against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s ongoing aggression against this peaceful republic,” said ANC of Mich. Chair Lara Nercessian. “Armenians from the Great Lakes State and across the U.S. commend Sen. Knezek and his fellow State Senators for standing strong with the people of Artsakh.”

Lead sponsor of Republic of Artsakh recognition measure Sen. David Knezek with NKR Representative to the U.S. Robert Avetisyan and ANC of Michigan Chair Lara Nercessian

“Artsakh’s story is a very American story—one of freedom, self-determination, democracy, and peace,” said MI State Senator David Knezek. “Michiganders are proud to join Artsakh in saluting these shared values as we work to expand U.S.-Artsakh cultural and economic ties and support a lasting peace in the region.”

Senate consideration of the Artsakh independence measure, shared live on the ANCA Facebook page, began at the opening of the Sept. 29 session with remarks by Sen. Knezek and an introduction of Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh Representative to the U.S. Robert Avetisyan, who was on hand for the historic vote.

Below is video of the passage of the resolution, courtesy of the Armenian National Committee of America—Eastern Region.

“We would like to thank Senator Knezek for supporting the democratic aspirations of Artsakh and his longtime leadership on the issues of concern to our compatriots living in the Republic,” said Avetisyan. “We are grateful to the ANC of Michigan for their tireless efforts in defending Artsakh’s security and promoting the international recognition of Artsakh. We hope Michigan’s recognition—the eighth U.S. state to do so—will be an example for democratic societies around the world.”

Earlier in the morning, members of the ANC of Mich., Armenian Relief Society (ARS), Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Association, and Michigan State House candidate for the 40th District Mari Manoogian joined Senator Knezek, House Representative Klint Kesto (R-39th Dist.), and Avetisyan for a breakfast briefing prior to the vote.

Michigan Salutes Artsakh Republic’s Independence

“As a Chaldean-American, I come from a community that has long been persecuted based on religion and ethnicity,” said Rep. Kesto. “I understand the needs and aspirations of the Armenian community, and I stand with the Armenian people in their quest to continue their manifest destiny and freedom as an independent nation and self-preservation.”

Adopted by a voice vote, S.R.99 discusses Artsakh’s historically Armenian roots and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s 1921 decision to force the South Caucasus region under Soviet Azerbaijani control.  Peaceful efforts by the Artsakh people seeking independence were met with pogroms in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku and the cities of Sumgait and Kirovabad and a six-year war for Artsakh independence, which concluded with a tenuous cease-fire in 1994.

Michigan Armenian community leaders in the Senate Chambers for the State Senate recognition of Artsakh Republic

“The Armenians of Artsakh remain resolute in their efforts to exercise the right to self-determination and live free from violence and repression, and by recognizing the government of Artsakh, the international community can help put to rest this century-old conflict,” notes the Michigan Senate Resolution.

The measure calls on the “President and Congress of the United States to recognize a free and independent Republic of Artsakh,” and “to strengthen and solidify our country’s economic and cultural relationship with the Artsakh Republic.” It goes on to support Artsakh efforts with the international community to “reach a lasting solution to the existing regional problems and establish peace and stability in the strategically important region of South Caucasus.”

Sen. David Knezek introduces NKR Representative to the U.S. Robert Avetisyan on the MI Senate floor as senators vote to recognize Artsakh’s independence

Michigan joins Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Louisiana, California, Georgia, and Hawaii in adopting legislation supporting the independence of Artsakh. The full text of the Michigan Senate resolution is available below.

***

A resolution to urge the President and Congress of the United States to recognize the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh, also known as Artsakh, to establish economic and cultural ties with the nation, and to support the peace and stability in South Caucasus.

Whereas, The region of Artsakh is located in the South Caucasus and has historically been Armenian territory. The region is populated by an overwhelming majority of Armenians; and

Whereas, Despite its historical and cultural ties to Armenia, in 1921, Joseph Stalin arbitrarily severed Artsakh from Armenia, and in violation of the national, territorial, and human rights of the Armenian people, the severed region of Artsakh was placed under the administration of Soviet Azerbaijani; and

Whereas, For decades, the Armenian peoples’ peaceful demonstrations for national independence, for individual freedom, and in opposition to the Soviet Azerbaijani repression and discrimination were met with acts of violent repression by Soviet Azerbaijani forces who refused to allow the self-determination of the people of Artsakh. Soviet Azerbaijani’s bloody response resulted in the deaths of ethnic Armenians in Sumgait (Feb. 1988), Kirovabad (Feb. 1988), and Baku (Jan. 1990) and the forced deportation of more than 350,000 Armenians from Azerbaijani. In the aftermath of the Sumgait tragedy, the United States Senate unanimously passed Amendment 2690 to the Fiscal Year 1989 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 4782), concerning the Karabagh conflict and called on the Soviet government to “respect the legitimate aspirations of the Armenian people…” and noted that “dozens of Armenians have been killed and injured during the recent unrests…”; and

Whereas, The people of Artsakh overwhelmingly voted to support independence. On Dec. 10, 1991, despite continued violence against the people of Artsakh, a popular referendum proclaiming an independent republic took place during the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Under the watchful eye of more than 50 international observers, and in full compliance with international standards for a free and fair election, more than 80 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot, and the measure passed with 98 percent in favor. On Jan.6, 1992, the democratically-elected Parliament of Artsakh adopted the Declaration of Independence of the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic; and

Whereas, Despite a cease-fire agreement between the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijani, and Armenia that ended years of intense fighting, the security and sovereignty of Artsakh continue to be threatened by regional tension and hostile acts. The Armenians of Artsakh remain resolute in their efforts to exercise the right to self-determination and live free from violence and repression, and by recognizing the government of Artsakh, the international community can help put to rest this century-old conflict; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate, That we urge the President and Congress of the United States to recognize a free and independent Republic of Artsakh; and be it further

Resolved, That we memorialize the United States government to strengthen and solidify our country’s economic and cultural relationship with the Artsakh Republic and its citizens and continue to promote the humanitarian and economic rehabilitation of the region; and be it further

Resolved, That we support the Republic of Artsakh’s continued efforts within the international community to reach a lasting solution to the existing regional problems and establish peace and stability in the strategically important region of South Caucasus; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.

Azerbaijani press: Armenian MPs to attend Euronest PA conference in Baku

Garnik Tadevosian
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Head of the Armenian delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Armen Ashotyan and delegation member Mane Tandilyan will take part in a conference of the Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society, which will be held in Baku on Sept. 22, Fuad Muradov, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Assembly, told APA.

 

Muradov said that he lacks information about the time of arrival of the Armenian deputies in Baku.

 

Akif Tavakkuloglu, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Parliament, told APA that there is no correct information about their [Armenian MPs] arrival in Baku. “However, they are expected to attend the Euronest PA conference in Baku.”   

 

The conference, titled “The role of parliaments in promoting women’s health and gender equality in Eastern Partnership countries within the framework of the 3rd and 5th Sustainable Development Goals”, will be held in Baku on September 22.  

 

The event will be co-organized by the Azerbaijani Parliament, the Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society of the Euronest PA, the UN Baku Office and the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development.

 

The conference will bring together representatives of the European Parliament and deputies of the Euronest PA member states, UN officials, representatives of the Inter-Parliamentary Union of the European Parliamenton Population and Development, and international experts.

Azerbaijan Runs $2.9 Billion ‘Laundromat’ but Soros and the ‘Armenian Lobby’ Are to Blame

Garnik Tadevosian
Global Voices
Sept 9 2017
Posted 9 September 2017 11:03 GMT

In a series of new investigations, a network of investigative journalists have discovered the government of Azerbaijan was the driving force behind a $2.9 billion secret slush fund that may have helped it pay off European politicians.

Dubbed “Azerbaijani Laundromat”, the secret slush fund was put in operation between 2012 and 2014, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project:

The Azerbaijani Laundromat is the name given to a complex money-laundering operation that handled US$ 2.9 billion over a two-year period thanks to four shell companies registered in the United Kingdom. Between 2012 and 2014, Azerbaijan’s kleptocratic ruling elites pumped the money through the companies’ Estonian bank accounts. The companies’ true owners were hidden behind unknown offshore shareholders.

The money transfers made into the accounts of politicians in Europe may have helped persuade the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to vote against a critical report of Azerbaijan in 2013 calling for an adoption of the resolution on political prisoners, although that has not been proven.

OCCRP explains:

Money-laundering operations like the Laundromat are common in the former Soviet republics and are often deeply integrated into their economies. They may be used by government officials, organized crime groups, or even ordinary businesses for purposes such as disguising the origins of money, evading taxes or sanctions, paying bribes, bypassing customs fees, moving funds to Europe or other markets, or embezzling funds.

The Azerbaijani operation, too, was likely designed primarily to obscure the origin and destination of dirty money. It was also used as a slush fund to pay off people (both inside and outside the country) who served the interests of the political elite in Baku; to buy luxury goods; or to move money abroad for various purposes.

Crucially, OCCRP allege:

[Azerbaijan] used the slush fund to buy silence and praise from influential European figures during a time when the government in Baku threw around 90 activists, journalists and opposition politicians into prison on politically motivated charges.

Following the release of the OCCRP investigation patriotic trolls stormed online to accuse journalists of spreading unverified information and maintaining ties to an ill-defined “Armenian lobby”.

The patriotic trolls used the same texts when commenting under the OCCRP story shared on Facebook.

The positions of the trolls were mirrored almost exactly by Azerbaijani officials, blocked access to OCCRP’s website for good measure.

While Azerbaijan’s MFA spokesperson seethed:

The Soros-hatred makes sense in so far as billionaire philanthropist George Soros’ Open Society Foundation has provided grant money to OCCRP in the past. But Hajiyev might have asked the president’s media department to remove this picture from its page before embarking on a full-scale offensive.

While Azerbaijani authorities were busy refuting any connections with the reports, movers and shakers in Brussels demanded investigations into the deeds of the leaders and politicians named in the investigations.

Moreover, Bulgaria’s state prosecutor ordered an investigation into new information about payments made by Azerbaijani companies into the accounts of Kalin Mitrev, the country’s representative on the board of directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

OCCRP published a comprehensive list of reactions to the project’s findings on September 8.

Given that corruption provides the basis for the Azerbaijani state and has infested its international relations with the West it is unsurprising that journalists and organisations that draw attention to this problem face serious hurdles and even imprisonment.

Khadija Ismailova, one of the main investigators in the laundromat series, was sentenced to over seven-and-a-half years in prison on trumped up charges in 2015. Although she was released the following year after one-and-a-half years’ jail time in total, the charges against her were not dropped.

Transparency International, perhaps the world’s most famous anti-corruption body announced just this month that its Baku office was closing down due to restrictive laws put in place to prevent locally-based civic organisations receiving funding from abroad.

It remains to be seen whether European policymakers will impose similar restrictions on dirty money coming from a certain oil-rich, ex-Soviet state in the South Caucasus.

       

Written byArzu Geybullayeva  
For Video and Tweets, go to

Djulfa.com Calls on UNESCO Chief to Resign Over Corrupt Azerbaijani Payments to Her Husband

Garnik Tadevosian
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UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova

Djulfa.com has consistently criticized UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova’s unflinching and hitherto inexplicable support of oil-rich Azerbaijan, despite the latter’s deliberate desecration of ancient archeological sites. As such, we are outraged yet unsurprised to learn from The Guardian’s September 4, 2017 report that Director-General Bokova’s husband has received over half-a-million-dollars as part of an all-too-obvious Azerbaijani ‘quid pro quo’ corruption and money laundering scheme.

In November 2013, four months after accepting a $5 million donation from Azerbaijan on behalf of cash-strapped UNESCO, Irina Bokova helped unveil the absurdly-titled “Azerbaijan: A Land of Tolerance” exhibit in Paris, where the organization is headquartered. She has since made several trips to the Azerbaijani capital for the ‘Baku World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue;’ praised president Ilham Aliyev for “fostering new forms of dialogue between cultures;” allowed Azerbaijan to appoint UNESCO staff as “loaned personnel;” and has given Aliyev a platform at the UNESCO Leaders’ Forum to lecture the world on tolerance and shift the blame of cultural genocide to Armenians.

That Azerbaijan, a top jailer of journalists ranked as the world’s 5th most-censored country, is no land of tolerance is widely-known, but few are aware of its state-sponsored eradication of the region’s vast medieval Christian heritage. Since inheriting the presidency from his father in 2003, and emboldened by Azerbaijan’s oil-revenues due to the 2005 launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Ilham Aliyev has spearheaded the complete destruction of Western Azerbaijan’s entire medieval Christian heritage – consisting of hundreds of churches and thousands of cross-stones – due to the latter’s association with the region’s indigenous Armenian civilization.

While Azerbaijan’s destruction of Armenian monuments started in 1988 following widespread calls for the return of Armenian-populated Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Armenia as the Soviet Union was collapsing, the systematic eradication of every trace of medieval Armenian memory was launched and completed nearly two decades later under the current presidency. In December 2005, alone, over one-hundred Azerbaijani soldiers carried out a week-long operation to obliterate the world’s largest medieval Armenian cemetery – Djulfa, an archaeological wonder that also constituted Eurasia’s largest collection of historic Christian cross-stones. Despite eyewitness video and photo evidence, verified by the American Association for the Advancement of Science through satellite analysis, the Aliyev regime denied the destruction of Djulfa, claiming that the cemetery never existed in the first place.

According to Research on Armenian Architecture, a nonprofit institute that meticulously documents medieval monuments in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan has bulldozed and flattened 218 medieval Armenian churches in Nakhichevan – the region that includes Djulfa. In comparison, according to the Assyrian International News Agency, ISIS terrorists have destroyed a mere 16 churches in Syria, many of which may be subject to restoration upon liberation. Despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, the Aliyev regime proclaims that it preserves Armenian heritage by pointing to the physical existence of a state-confiscated 19th-century Armenian church in downtown Baku, while unfoundedly accusing the twin states of the Armenian homeland – Armenia and the internationally-unrecognized republic of Artsakh – for the systematic destruction of Islamic monuments.

While Irina Bokova has repeatedly and justifiably condemned ISIS vandalism of Assyrian, Christian, Islamic, Yezidi, and Hellenistic sites, she has failed to do so in the case of Azerbaijan’s state-sponsored, deliberate, and systematic targeting of medieval Armenian monuments despite UNESCO’s awareness of Djulfa’s destruction, as evidenced by its World Heritage Centre director Francesco Bandarin’s 2011 official correspondence with our organization.

General-Director Bokova’s general cooperation with a regime that has destroyed more Christian heritage than ISIS might have been necessitated by America’s 2011 defunding of UNESCO, an unfortunate circumstance brilliantly analyzed by former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver. But her husband’s personal acceptance of laundered money from Azerbaijan appears to shed a light on Irina Bokova’s intransigent refusal to acknowledge, let alone seek accountability for, Azerbaijan’s destruction of medieval Djulfa and other monuments of the region’s ancient Armenian civilization.

In light of her husband’s connection to the recently-revealed Azerbaijani money laundering scheme, we call on Director-General Bokova to resign before November’s expiration of her second and final term. Additionally, we call on Director-General Bokova to publicly oppose the Aliyev regime’s candidate for UNESCO director-general, Polad Bülbüloğlu, who was Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture at the time of Djulfa’s destruction.

Founded in 2007 by Denver-based educator and activist Simon Maghakyan, the Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum – Djulfa.com partners with institutional and individual cultural rights defenders across the world to document, publicize, and pursue accountability for the intentional destruction of the largest medieval Armenian cemetery at Djulfa, originally called Jugha and often spelled as Julfa or Culfa, as well as other monuments of the earliest Christian civilization in the Azerbaijan Republic’s formerly-Armenian exclave of Nakhichevan, today known as Naxçıvan.

Senate Appropriations Committee Ensures Continued Funding to Artsakh

Garnik Tadevosian

ARMENIAN
ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 7, 2017

Contact: Danielle
Saroyan

Telephone:
(202) 393-3434

Web: www.aaainc.org

 

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE ENSURES
CONTINUED FUNDING TO ARTSAKH

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Appropriations Committee
adopted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 State, Foreign Operations, and Related
Programs (SFOPS) appropriations bill, which ensures continued funding to
Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), reported the Armenian Assembly of America
(Assembly).

 

The
“Committee recommends assistance for the victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict in amounts consistent with prior fiscal years, and for ongoing needs
related to the conflict.” The Committee urges a peaceful resolution to the
conflict, which, given Azerbaijan’s recent and unprecedented attacks against
Armenia and Artsakh, underscores the importance of implementing an accurate
cease-fire monitoring system along the line of contact.

 

In the
Assembly’s testimony earlier this year to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny urged robust funding for Artsakh to
help meet the ongoing humanitarian and development needs for its people.

 

The
Committee also adopted an amendment offered by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD),
which would prohibit arms sales to the Turkish Presidential Protection
Directorate in light of the vicious attack by Turkey’s security detail in
Washington, D.C. against peaceful protesters on May 17, 2017. Last week,
nineteen people, including 15 Turkish security officials, were indicted as a
result of this attack in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence during
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit.

 

The bill
also maintains Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, restating the six
customary exemptions for humanitarian and other assistance to Azerbaijan. The
Assembly continues to call for full enforcement of Section 907 given
Azerbaijan’s hostile and aggressive actions against Armenians.

 

“The
Armenian Assembly applauds the bipartisan work of the Senate Appropriations
Committee and especially appreciates the efforts of Senator Van Hollen in
helping to ensure continued funding to Artsakh. His leadership on critically
important priorities for U.S. engagement in Armenia and Artsakh is vital, and
we look forward to continuing our work with him during this critical
time,” stated Armenian Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van
Krikorian.

 

“Moreover,
with recent developments by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting
Project (OCCRP) shedding light on money laundering by President Ilham Aliyev
and his family, known as the ‘The Azerbaijan Laundromat,’ we are seeing the
exposure and rejection of caviar diplomacy done for years,” the Assembly
Co-Chairs added.

 

As part of
the Manager’s amendment package, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) included bill
language on visa restrictions for Azeri officials “about whom the
Secretary of State has credible information have been involved in the wrongful
imprisonment of Mehman Aliyev, the director of Turan, Azerbaijan’s last
remaining independent news outlet.” Similarly, Senators James Lankford
(R-OK) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) included language regarding visa denial for
Turkish officials involved in prolonging the unlawful detention of U.S.
citizens in Turkey.

 

The bill
also promotes international religious freedom and protection for persecuted
religious minorities, particularly in the Middle East. The $25 million programs
also includes $5 million for atrocities prevention programs.

 

Established
in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.

 

###

 

NR#: 2017-063

 

Photo
Caption: Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS), Senate
Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senate Subcommittee
on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Chairman Senator Lindsey
Graham (R-SC), and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)


Available
online at:


Senate Approps 2017.jpg
JPEG image

Public defender: Let the court think of a way out (video)

Garnik Tadevosian
  • 18:23 | August 30,2017 | Politics
  • Armenian:

Garegin Margaryan, a public defender involved in the case of 14 members of the Sasna Dzrer (Daredevils of Sassoun) group, announced in the courtroom that he refuses to defend the interests of Smbat Barseghyan and Areg Kyureghyan.

“I cannot defend them without their agreement. I obey your decision and I remain in the courtroom but I refuse to defend the two men because I also obey the decision of the Public Defender’s Office.” Margaryan said.

Garegin Margaryan did not leave the courtroom throughout the hearing. Lawyer Lusine Sahakyan says a public defender is an attorney appointed to represent the defendant’s interests; otherwise, his presence in the courtroom is incomprehensible.

“If a defender is appointed by the state, he is obliged to defend the rights of a defendant in due order. If he fails to perform his duties properly then the responsibility lies on the state,” she said.

In reply to journalists’ question whether he understood that his presence in the courtroom might endanger defendants’ right to defense, Margaryan said he did.

“If it is so, let the court think of a way out. I am here [in the courtroom] because there is a court decision which obliges me to stay here,” he said.

Lusine Sahakyan says with his action Garegin Margaryan violates the provisions of the Code of Conduct for lawyers. “A lawyer cannot abide by all court decisions,” she said.

“He was expected to leave the hall. But if he stays as a public defender, then he is supposed to carry out his obligations and defend the interests of defendants,” Lusine Sahakyan said.



Sports:Armenian basketball team to compete in Division B

Garnik Tadevosian
Panorama, Armenia

Aug 22 2017

The Armenian national basketball team will compete in Division B following a failure to qualify for the 2019 World Championship.

As the National Olympic Committee reported, the group stage draw is slated for August 24 in Munich.

As expected nine European teams will be included in Division B to be divided in three subgroups and struggle for four qualification places. The marches are slated for November of the current year, the source said.

NAASR/Gulbenkian Foundation Lecture Series to Feature Dr. Henry Theriault

Garnik Tadevosian
The Armenian Weekly

Aug 17 2017

By Contributor on  

The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)/Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lecture Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues will present “Setting the Agenda: Genocide Studies Today and the Place of the Armenian Genocide.” The program will feature a conversation with Dr. Henry Theriault, who was recently elected president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and is associate vice president for academic affairs at Worcester State University.

The event will take place on Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m, at the NAASR Center (395 Concord Avenue, Belmont, Mass.).

Professor Henry C. Theriault (Photo: Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Toronto)

Joining Dr. Theriault in conversation will be NAASR Academic Director Marc Mamigonian. They will discuss the state of genocide studies today and the place of Armenian Genocide studies within the field.

Theriault has served as founding co-editor of the peer-reviewed journal Genocide Studies International, and he chaired the Armenian Genocide Reparations Study Group; he was lead author of its 2015 final report. His autobiographical narrative, “Out of the Shadow of War and Genocide,” was included in Advancing Genocide Studies: Personal Accounts and Insights from Scholars in the Field (2015), edited by Samuel Totten. After 19 years on the faculty in the philosophy department at Worcester State, in 2017 he became associate vice president for academic affairs there.

A scholar who has been a leading voice among of genocide studies over the past decade and more, and now as president of IAGS, a position to which he was elected in June 2017, Theriault is among those setting the agenda for genocide studies. In his IAGS inaugural address, he stated that “genocide studies has been at the forefront of recent human rights advances…. Demagogues attack the sensibilities [that] genocide studies engenders. Our work is a crucial challenge to their propaganda. IAGS must strive against this marginalization while innovatively expanding the field, especially creating space for emerging scholars particularly vulnerable to this backlash.”

Turkish authorities make another encroachment on the Armenian Church

Garnik Tadevosian 
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
August 7, 2017 Monday
Turkish authorities make another encroachment on the Armenian Church
Yerevan August 07
Tatevik Shahunyan. From the stones of Armenian church of Varaghavank
in the Turkish province of Van (the territory of Western Armenia) a
new mosque, houses and other structures are being built. This was
reported to the local media by the head of the Union for the
Protection of Cultural Monuments of Van Ali Kalchek.
Currently, Armenian church is studying the Qur'an for local children,
the Turkish edition of Yeniozgurpolitika reports. The Armenian church
of Varagavank was built in the 7th-8th centuries AD. The temple was
badly damaged during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Later the efforts of
the Turkish Armenians restored the church.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 08/02/2017

Garnik Tadevosian 
                                        Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Jailed Oppositionist Goes On Trial
 . Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Opposition activist Andrias Ghukasian goes on trial in
Yerevan, 2Aug2017.
The trial began on Wednesday of an Armenian opposition activist
accused of aiding gunmen that seized a police station in Yerevan last
year to demand President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation.
The arrested activist, Andrias Ghukasian, was one of the organizers of
demonstrations held in support of the gunmen affiliated with a fringe
opposition group. The charges levelled against him stem from one of
those rallies that was organized on July 29, 2016 in Yerevan's Sari
Tagh neighborhood close to the besieged police base.
Riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesters
after they refused to march back to the city center. Several
organizers of the protest were arrested and charged with provoking
"mass disturbances." All of them except Ghukasian were subsequently
released from custody.
Armenia's Special Investigative Service (SIS) claims that Ghukasian
urged supporters to throw stones at the police officers in Sari
Tagh. The 47-year-old also stands accused of planning to have the
protesters break through a police cordon, join the gunmen and thus
prolong their standoff with security forces, which left three police
officers dead.
Ghukasian denies the accusations as politically motivated. His lawyers
say that they are based on false testimony given by a man linked to
the police. They say the testimony runs counter to videos of the July
2016 protests featuring Ghukasian.
Ghukasian has also accused SIS investigators of committing numerous
violations of the due process during their nearly yearlong criminal
inquiry. At the opening session of his trial, the presiding judge did
not allow to read out a statement detailing the alleged violations.
The judge went on to adjourn the hearing, citing the absence of the
oppositionist's lawyers. He said the trial will resume after they
return from vacation.
Armenia - Riot police disperse protesters in Yerevan's Sari Tagh
neighborhood, 29Jul2016.
Two other opposition activists arrested in connection with the Sari
Tagh violence, Davit Sanasarian and Davit Hovannisian, also attended
the first court hearing that lasted for only several minutes. Both men
decried the criminal case against their comrade. Hovannisian, who was
freed on bail in June, claimed that the Sari Tagh crowd could have
easily broken through the police cordon had the protest organizers
indeed planned to join the gunmen.
More than 60 protesters were injured and hospitalized in the Sari Tagh
violence. The police say that 36 of their officers were injured by
stones thrown from the crowd shortly before the violent breakup of the
protest.
In a January report, Human Rights Watch said that the use of force
against the protesters was "excessive and disproportionate." The
crackdown has also been criticized by Armenian human rights activists.
A former business executive, Ghukasian was a maverick candidate in
Armenia's last presidential election held in 2013. He garnered about
0.6 percent of the vote, according to the official election results.
Despite being held in pre-trial detention, Ghukasian ran in the April
2 parliamentary elections as a candidate of the opposition ORO
alliance led by former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and former
Foreign Ministers Raffi Hovannisian and Vartan Oskanian. ORO polled
only 2 percent of the vote, falling well short of a 7 percent
threshold for having seats in Armenia's current parliament.
Armenian Village Shooting `Linked To Money'
 . Anush Muradian
Armenia - Forensic experts inspect a dining hall in the village of
Shamiram where four men were killed and seven others wounded,
1Aug2017.
A mass shooting in an Armenian village, which left four people dead,
was the result of an unpaid debt, a leader of Armenia's Yazidi
community claimed on Wednesday.
The killings were committed in Shamiram, a Yazidi-populated village 50
kilometers west of Yerevan, on Tuesday during a gathering of several
hundred local men marking a religious feast. Four of them were shot
dead and seven others wounded by a gunman who fled the scene.
The Armenian police identified the presumed shooter as Telman
Kalashian, a 50-year resident of another village. Kalashian remained
on the run as of Wednesday evening.
Aziz Tamoyan, who leads the largest organization of Armenia's ethnic
Yazidis, attributed the carnage to $100,000 which he said was long
owed to Kalashian. In his words, Kalashian shouted that "I won't shoot
you if you give me my money" moments before opening fire. Three of the
four murdered men were related to each other, said Tamoyan, who
visited Shamiram earlier in the day.
"I know that Telman's father very well," Tamoyan told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "He is a kind and good person, a
wonderful individual. I can't understand why that guy took such an
action."
Meanwhile, the mayor of Kalashian's village of Miasnikian said that
the fugitive suspect is a herdsman who was not known for violent
conduct. "He is a normal working man who has raised livestock," Tigran
Baghdasarian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "He has a
wife, three daughters and one son."
The mayor also said that the homes of the Kalashians and their
relatives were placed under police guard shortly after the shootings.
Russia To Suspend Gas Supplies To Armenia
Russia -- A logo of the Russian Gazprom company during the 16th
Neftegaz International Exhibition in Moscow, April 18, 2016
Supplies of Russian natural gas to Armenia will be suspended on
Thursday due to capital repairs on a pipeline in Russia, the Armenian
national gas distribution network announced on Wednesday.
The Gazprom-Armenia operator said they will resume 30 days later,
after the completion of "construction works" at a North Caucasus
section of the pipeline transporting Russian gas to Armenia via
Georgia. Gas supplies to individual and corporate consumers will
continue "without limitations" in the meantime, it added in a short
statement.
The company owned by Russia's Gazprom energy giant will presumably tap
its massive underground gas storage facilities north of Yerevan during
that period. It might also use additional volumes of natural gas which
Armenia imports from neighboring Iran.
Armenia already asked Iran to supply it with much more natural gas
during a similar month-long suspension of gas imports from Russia last
summer. A Georgian section of the pipeline underwent major repairs at
the time.
Armenia has imported up to 500 million cubic meters of Iranian gas
annually ever since it built in 2008 a gas pipeline connecting it to
the Islamic Republic. By comparison, Russian gas supplies to the South
Caucasus country total around 2 billion cubic meters.
With Armenia paying for Iranian gas with electricity, Iran is due to
at least triple the gas supplies after the construction of a third
power transmission line connecting the two states. Work on the $120
million line is slated for completion in 2019.
Natural gas generates more than one-third of Armenia's electricity. It
is also used, in liquefied or pressurized forms, by most car owners in
the country.
Press Review
Panorama.am reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin's press
secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has expressed concern over reports that the
United States is considering supplying weapons to Ukraine. "The
Kremlin believes that countries aspiring to a role in the resolution
of the conflict in Ukraine must avoid actions that could provoke a new
period of tension in Donbass," Peskov said. The online publication
finds this argument disingenuous. It points out that Russia itself has
sold weapons to Azerbaijan despite being a mediator in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
"The sales of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan are the main reason for a
transformation of Russian-Armenian relations," writes Lragir.am. It
says that not only Armenia's government and opposition forces but even
the parents of soldiers serving in the Armenian army criticize Russian
arms sales to Baku. It also argues that neither the United States nor
France, the two other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, has signed
major arms deals with Azerbaijan.
"Aravot reports on President Serzh Sarkisian's statement that
unspecified "experts" are now looking into the possibility of
supplying Iranian natural gas to Europe via Armenia. Artyom Tonoyan,
an expert on Iranian affairs, tells the paper that Yerevan has already
made clear before that it would welcome such an ambitious project. He
suggests that the project is still far from being implemented due to
"technical issues" such as the small capacity of the existing pipeline
in Armenia transporting Iranian gas and the high cost of delivering
that gas from Georgia to Europe via the Black Sea. "Generally
speaking, the area of energy is at the center of Armenian-Iranian
relations and is one of the most dynamically developing directions,"
he says, pointing to the ongoing construction of a third
Armenian-Iranian electricity transmission line.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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