Author: Jalatian Sonya

The  NKR Human Rights Defender has issued on  facts of human shielding and use of indiscriminate weapons against the civilian population of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijani military forces.

The report reminds that since 2 April 2016, the Azerbaijani military forces have committed numerous grave violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law by aggressively attacking the entire Line of Contact between the NKR-Azerbaijani forces, as well as the Nagorno Karabakh settlements near the Line of Contact and deep in the rear.

According to the statement, Intentional deployment by Azerbaijan of its military units and artillery in the vicinity and within civilian settlements and using them as firing positions goes against the obligations imposed upon by the Geneva Convention (IV, Article 28) to which Azerbaijani  is a State Party and which reflects fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, as well as other obligations under customary international law.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today the Ambassadors of EU member states accredited to Armenia and the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia.

Minister Nalbandian presented the situation established as a result of Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno Karbakh and briefed the Ambassadors on the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards elimination of its consequences.

Edward Nalbandian stressed the inadmissibility of violation of the 1994-1995 agreements on ceasefire and its reinforcement, and emphasized the importance of their unconditional implementtaion.

The second victim of the bus blast in Yerevan has been identified as Ruben Balayan, Spokesperson for the Investigative Committee informs.

The 55-year-old man has also been identified as the owner of the SIM card found at the scene of the explosion. A DNA test has been conducted.

Rep. Adam Schiff took to the house floor to present an open letter to President Obama:

I dearly hope, as do millions of Armenians descended from genocide survivors around the world, that he will take this final opportunity as President to speak plainly about the genocide. To say that the Ottoman Empire committed the crime of genocide when it sought to wipe out the Armenians, and very nearly did. That their campaign of extermination nonetheless failed. And that, above all, we will never forget and we will never be intimidated into silence.

Mr. President, there is no higher moral calling than speaking the truth in the face of genocide denial. Please, this year, add your voice to the millions who speak out for those who died in the desert, for the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

 continues its annual Armenian Genocide commemoration campaign in various Massachusetts cities during the month of April with digital billboards dedicated to the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The first billboard “double-themed” went up in Foxboro on April 2 near Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.  The first screen is a group Photo of Armenian orphans who survived the genocide.  Its bright yellow text says: “1.5 million victims. 150,000 Orphans.”  The letter O was replaced by a bouquet of yellow roses.  The follow-on screen says: “In Remembrance of the Victims of All Genocides, 101st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.” The floral background with forget-me-not flowers represents the demanding eyes of the victims screaming for recognition and justice.

“On April 24, 2015 at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide memorial in Yerevan, I participated in the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  I witnessed Armenian children presenting a yellow rose to each of the many foreign leaders and dignitaries, including French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the presidents of Serbia and Cyprus.  Together they placed their roses into the main Centennial wreath.

It would have been wonderful to see the U.S. president himself in attendance, placing a rose in memory of the 1.5 million Armenian Christian victims of 1915 to 1923.  Unfortunately, President Obama has yet to make good on his widely-publicized 2008 campaign promise to formally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide,”  said Daniel Varoujan Hejinian, president and founder of Peace of Art, Inc.

Since 1996 Hejinian has been sponsoring the Armenian Genocide Awareness billboards campaign, and this project was taken over in 2003 by Peace of Art.  While in the past the constant message was “Recognize the Armenian Genocide,” this year the message is of remembrance.  The Centennial memorial wreath and its central floral bouquet, constructed rose by rose by world leaders, served as our visual inspiration.

“Despite the bitter rain, cold, and body-piercing wind in Yerevan on April 24, the children of the free and independent Armenia stood as honor guards, paying the world’s respects to the memory of the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide.  Images of the youngest victims of that genocide resurfaced before my eyes; thousands of defenseless and frightened beings, screaming FORGET ME NOT…” said Hejinian.

In 2015, Peace of Art, Inc. launched its Centennial genocide awareness billboard campaign, “100 Billboards for 100 Years of Genocide,” in the U.S. and Canada to commemorate not only the victims of the Armenian Genocide but also the victims of all genocides.

On April 1^st, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) and the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) sent a joint letter to Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop.

The joint letter addresses the issues and concerns of both the Armenian and Assyrian communities in regards to the decision made by Turkey to take ownership of more than 6000 properties in the Sur district of the Diyarbakir region, including Saint Giragos Church, which is the largest Armenian Church in the Middle East, as well as the Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church.

This expropriation comes after a violent crackdown on the Kurdish minority in the region, further contributing to the questionable human rights record that Turkey has with respect to the treatment of its minority groups.

The letter makes references to the reports covering this ruling. It also references statements made by Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament and member of the Kurdish Peoples’ Party (HDP), the Co-chair of the HDP, Figen Yüksekdag, as well as the Diyarbakir Bar Association.

The letter stressed that this “immediate expropriation” violates the right of property, and explicitly contradicts the Turkish Constitution’s Expropriation Law, and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The letter stated that there could be no justifiable “security” grounds to expropriate churches and other religious sites or property. Even more so because of Turkey’s atrocious record of destroying and desecrating both Armenian, Assyrian and Greek religious and cultural heritage, especially during and after the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in 1915.

It was stressed that this was a renewed attack by President Recep Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the Christian Communities of Turkey whose heritage and existence is increasingly under threat.

ANC Australia and the AUA jointly call upon the Australian Government urgently to:

1. add its voice to our Communities’ concerns;
2. convey its objection to the expropriation of these Churches (and all other religious sites and property) to the representatives of the Republic of Turkey; and
3. request the immediate return of all Churches and other religious sites and properties back to their rightful owners.

ANC Australia Executive Administrator, Arin Markarian said: “It is important that in times like these we stand united with our minority partners and ensure that religious and cultural centres for people to gather in are not under Turkish state control.”

“That is why the Armenians and Assyrians strongly condemn these expropriation actions taken by Turkey, and urge the Australian government to condemn this decision as well.”

Samuel Forrest says his life turned upside down last year after he was faced with the devastating choice of giving up his wife or his newborn son with Down syndrome.

Now, a year later, both Forrest and his wife, Ruzan, are speaking out about life with their son, Leo.

“He’s generally a very happy kid,” Forrest of Auckland, New Zealand, told Tuesday in an exclusive interview. “He’s got a sense of humor … in many ways he’s not really different than a lot of other children. He’s got a lot of challenges, but to bring out the best of him you have to work with him differently than you would do another child.”

Forrest, 37, told ABC News last February that the day Leo was born in Yerevan, Armenia, on Jan. 21, 2015, he was told, unexpectedly, that Leo had Down syndrome.

After the news sank in, Forrest held Leo for the very first time: “They took me in to see him and I looked at this guy and I said, ‘He’s beautiful — he’s perfect and I’m absolutely keeping him,’” he said last year.

Forrest was living in his Armenian wife’s home country where she presented him with an ultimatum: Put the child in an orphanage, or she would leave.

He chose Leo and decided he would return to his native New Zealand, where he said they’d receive support from loved ones. Ruzan Forrest filed for divorce.

Now, he told ABC News Tuesday, “It was pretty clear that the main things were cultural and huge pressure. About three-and-half weeks later, Ruzan got in touch with me through a friend and we ended up having a candid conversation through Skype. I finally agreed to meet her and she held little Leo for the first time.”

“Before this, she had no idea what Down syndrome really was, or that there was hope,” he added. “The doctors had told her Leo would never learn to walk, or talk or feed himself.”

Leo was born in Yerevan, Armenia, but Forrest moved to New Zealand where he said they’d receive support from loved ones.

Ruzan Forrest, 30, told ABC News Tuesday that she felt the “world was against her” after her husband had shared their story globally.

“I read all the comments and there were some positive comments, but now when I look back, [they’d say] ‘Why would you leave your child?’” she said. “I didn’t like the feeling, it was really bad. I thankfully forgot about it. I am very grateful my family gave me a chance because I don’t know what I would do without them. It made me really happy.”

Samuel Forrest, who at the time was working as a freelance business contractor, enlisted help on his GoFundMe page, titled “Bring Leo Home”

The Internet quickly rallied, raising over $500,000 (U.S.) for little Leo and his dad, after Forrest’s Feb. 5, 2015, interview with ABC News.

The fundraiser was at 4,000 Australian dollars and then “I woke up in the morning and it was rolling over like a speedometer,” Forrest said. “…[It] was a big shock.”

The story was soon recognized by media platforms all over the world and Forrest received 18,000-plus messages from strangers, he said.

“The bulk of it was positive, then there was this huge negative story about Down syndrome, that the child should’ve been killed at birth,” Forrest recalled. “There was a nasty underbelly, [but] I’d say most of it was ignorance.”

During the media frenzy, Ruzan took to her Facebook page in an effort to defend her actions.

“Sam has never suggested joining him and bringing up the child together in his country,” Ruzan wrote in 2015. “Neither did he tell me anything … The only thing he kept saying was that he didn’t want us to separate, whereas my question what we should do always remained unanswered.”

Shortly after the couple reconnected through Skype when Leo was about a month old, Samuel and Ruzan reconciled. Forrest says she canceled the divorce before it was finalized and moved to New Zealand to live with her husband and son.

“She’s adapted to Leo’s therapy programs and she’s turned out to be a wonderful mother,” he added.

Forrest said Leo, who is receiving therapy both physical and intellectual development, is now crawling, pushing buttons and is able to say “dad” and tries to say “mom.”

Ruzan said Tuesday, “At first I was very, very scared because I didn’t know what Down syndrome was like. Doctors said he would be like a vegetable. It was very scary. I think I was also very selfish and then there was depression…[it was] all of that together.

“I love him [Leo] very much,” she added. “One year ago, I couldn’t imagine life with him and now, I can’t really imagine my life without him. He’s changed me so much. I can say I’m a different person now.”

Photos by Tom Smart, Deseret News

ABC 4 Sports – Six years ago, after helping RSL win the MLS Cup, Yura Movsisyan could not pass up the opportunity and big money to play overseas. But after playing in Europe and Russia, Movsisyan was itching to come back to MLS, and Real Salt Lake was the only team he wanted to play for.

“When I decided to come back to MLS a couple years ago, I told them that I only wanted Salt Lake,” Movsisyan said. “Salt Lake is home for me. I had success in Salt Lake.”