Author: Jane Topchian

Pope Francis commented on Britain’s decision to leave the European Union saying it must be followed by “guarantees” for the good of both Britain and countries on the continent, Vatican Radio reports.

Speaking to journalists aboard the Papal plane during his journey to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, the Pope said the referendum result must be respected because it was wanted by the people.

“It was the will expressed by the people and this requires a great responsibility on the part of all of us to guarantee the good of the people of the United Kingdom, as well as the good and co-existence of the European continent” he said.

Pope Francis also expressed his satisfaction for the signing of a ceasefire in Columbia between the government and the FARC rebels.

“I am happy for this news that I received yesterday. Over fifty years of war, of guerrilla warfare, so much spilt blood”. It was good news” he said.

And he expressed his hope that the nations that have worked to mediate the accord manage to set it in stone so that it can never be reversed.

“My best wishes go to Colombia that is now taking this step” Pope Francis concluded.

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

As if Turkish President Rejep Erdogan did not have enough headaches, he now faces a new accusation that he may have forged his college diploma. If true, he would be forced to resign from his presidential seat and possibly go to jail or into exile.

Rumors have been circulating for some time that Erdogan may not have a college degree which would disqualify him from his presidential position according to Article 101 of the Turkish constitution which requires that presidential candidates “have completed higher education.”

Journalist Cengis Candar, in an Al-Monitor.com June 15 article titled: “Is Erdogan’s university diploma forged?” exposes the serious suspicions regarding the validity of the Turkish President’s college diploma.

As Candar explains, “Erdogan went to an imam-hatip school, a high school-level institution that educates religious preachers. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, graduates of those schools could pursue their higher education only in theology.” Nonetheless, when Erdogan ran for President in August 2014, he presented to the Higher Electoral Board a photocopy of his diploma claiming to have received a college degree in 1981 from the Dept. of Economic and Administrative Sciences of Marmara University.

The problem here is that Marmara University was founded only in 1982, making it impossible for Erdogan to have graduated a year before the University came into existence. Since the Dept. of Economics was established only in 1983, Erdogan could not have graduated from that department in 1981, as he claimed. Unfortunately, none of these suspected allegations can be thoroughly investigated in Turkey by the media or civil society in view of the dictatorial nature of the Erdogan regime which routinely shuts down newspapers and prosecutes all opponents.

The President’s aides are adamant that the accusations against Erdogan are not valid, as they emanate from members of opposition parties. The first complaint came from former judge Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu who presented to the Higher Electoral Board his suspicion that Erdogan did have a college degree because of the existing discrepancies in the photocopy of his diploma. The Electoral Board promptly rejected the judge’s appeal.

A second challenge was mounted by extreme Turkish nationalist Gokce Firat who presented detailed arguments to support the claim that Erdogan’s diploma is a forgery. Firat demanded to see Erdogan’s original diploma rather than the photocopy he had submitted to the Higher Electoral Board. The Turkish nationalist accused the President and Dean of Marmara University of aiding and abetting in the crime of forging Erdogan’s diploma. He claimed that the signatures of the President and Dean of Marmara University seen on the copy of Erdogan’s diploma do not match the ones on Firat’s own diploma from the same university. He also questioned the validity of the sequence of the number found on Erdogan’s diploma. Finally, Firat claimed that even the design of the Turkish President’s diploma is different from the ones held by other graduates.

Earlier this month, the pro-Kurdish HDP Party submitted an official parliamentary inquiry, asking Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz “to clarify the mystery surrounding the validity” of Erdogan’s university diploma. In response to a similar request to the Higher Electoral Board, the HDP received a notarized copy of the Turkish President’s diploma. However, the HDP announced that it will continue to challenge the validity of the diploma.

In his article, Cengiz Candar raised serious concerns about Erdogan’s legitimacy as President of Turkey should it be proven that his diploma is forged: “If taken seriously, the follow-up to the controversy could create monumental legal questions in Turkey. If it turns out Erdogan was never qualified to be elected president, whatever he has signed or implemented would have to be considered null and void from a purely legal point of view. Politically, it would provide an armory of ammunition to his critics whose numbers abroad are rapidly increasing. And if Erdogan’s university diploma proves to be a forgery, that would naturally provide ammunition to his international opponents to bring up the argument of whether his title is legitimate.”

While President Erdogan is demanding a DNA test to verify the ethnic origins of the 11 Turkish members of the German Parliament who voted to recognize the Armenian Genocide, it may be more appropriate to carry out a chemical analysis of his diploma. Erdogan should also undergo a psychological examination to evaluate his persistently irrational psychotic behavior!

The ceasefire was mostly observed along the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh an Azerbaijan last night, NKR Defense al Ministry reports.

The rival used firearms in some directions of the frontline.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army refrained from response actions and confidently continued with their military duty.

The authorities in Iran have thwarted a plot by Sunni militants to bomb targets in the capital Tehran and other cities, the intelligence ministry says, the BBC reports.

The ministry said members of an “anti-Islamic terrorist takfiri group” had been arrested and explosives seized.

The intelligence ministry gave no further details about the suspects.

“Takfiri” is a term used by officials in Shia Iran to describe Sunni extremists who declare other Muslims as apostates deserving of death.

Iran is currently helping both the Syrian and Iraqi governments battle the jihadist group, Islamic State (IS), which considers Shia to be infidels for their veneration of the Prophet Muhammad’s family and other beliefs and practices.

Asbarez – A new book highlighting various aspects of Armenian history and culture has just been published as an initiative of The 100 Years, 100 Facts Project.

Impact of an Ancient Nation: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future with 100+ Facts about Armenia and Armenians by Lena Maranian Adishian and Nareg Seferian is a follow-up to the hugely successful year-long online educational initiative that the pair ran to mark the centennial of the Armenian Genocide in 2015.

“Our thinking as we laid the groundwork for our project was: how do we share our rich legacy as Armenians with a worldwide Diaspora – and with the world at large – in a powerful way during the genocide centennial? To reach the widest audience, we featured our educational series online through our website and social media platforms. But now, a year later, we decided it was time for a printed, commemorative book – something that lasts in a different way, a medium that can be shared across individuals and generations in what we hope will be meaningful and, well, impactful,” Lena said.

Impact of an Ancient Nation includes updated and revised versions of the 100 facts published on the project’s website. In addition, there are five bonus facts researched and written just for the book. The facts cover Armenian history, including entries on the Armenian Genocide, as well as profiles of Armenian Diaspora communities around the world, famous Armenians, music and dance, religion and language, and even sports and entertainment.

“Lena and I really wanted to put together a work that showcases the depth and breadth of the Armenian experience. Certainly, we cover the Armenian Genocide as the major turning point in modern times, but we also highlight many other notable aspects to Armenian history and culture that are worth knowing about, celebrating, and sharing. We hope this book makes its way into households and schools and libraries and classrooms, whether being perused by Armenians or non-Armenians,” Nareg added.

Impact of an Ancient Nation is an excellent educational resource – as a family reference book, Sunday school library addition, a commemorative gift to odar friends, or as a way to share the Armenian heritage with a new generation of children and grandchildren, nephews and nieces, cousins and community members. The page-long facts serve as a great overview of a particular aspect of Armenian history and culture, with resources for further research available in the book’s reference section.

The book is a not-for-profit publication made possible with the generous support of the Arshag and Eleanor Dickranian Foundation (Los Angeles) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon).

Impact of an Ancient Nation is available through the online store at:

The 100 Years, 100 Facts Project ran from April 24, 2014 to April 24, 2015 in six languages receiving more than 150,000 visitors from over 120 countries and all fifty of the United States, garnering thousands of followers through social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Reddit.

On 15 June Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan met with first deputy head of the General Staff of the Republic of Armenia’s Armed forces, lieutenant-general Enrico Apryamov and RA deputy defense minister David Pakhchanyan.

The meeting addressed issues related to army building and cooperation between the two Armenian states in this sphere.

Artsakh Republic defense minister, lieutenant-general Levon Mnatsakanyan partook at the talks.

Photo: Getty Images

 

Turkey is discussing “countermeasures” against Germany after its lawmakers voted to label the 1915 mass killings of Armenians an act of genocide, a Turkish official said on Wednesday, adding Berlin should distance itself from the resolution, Reuters reports.

The official, who was speaking to members of the foreign media in Istanbul, also said that discussions with the European Union to resolve an impasse over visa-free travel for Turks to the bloc were “on the right track”.

German lawmakers this month overwhelmingly voted to endorse the resolution, infuriating Turkey.

“Countermeasures are being discussed,” the official said, declining to be identified. He did not give any details about what kind of measures Ankara could take.

Armenia is placed110th (down from 91^st last year) among 162 countries in the 2016 Global Peace Index released by the Institute for Economics and Peace today.

The world has become increasingly violent with deaths from conflict at a 25-year high, terrorist attacks at an all-time high and more people displaced than at any time since World War Two, the 2016 Global Peace Index showed on Wednesday.

The annual index, which measures 23 indicators including incidents of violent crime, countries’ levels of militarization and weapons imports, said intensifying conflicts in the Middle East were mostly to blame.

But beyond the Middle East, the world was actually becoming more peaceful, researchers behind the index said.

Armenia’s neighbors in the region are ranked as follows: Georgia – 85th, Azerbaijan 134th, Turkey -145th, Iran – 133rd. Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Belarus are placed 151st and 106th respectively, Kazakhstan is 75th, Kyrgyzstan is 124th.

Iceland is the world’s most peaceful country listed in the index, followed by Denmark, Austria, New Zealand and Portugal.

The least peaceful country is Syria, followed by South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

 

 

 

The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the German Bundestag was a serious psychological and moral blow to the Turkish side, a blow to its policy of denial, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) Hayk Demoyan told reporters today.

“Turkey had a small field for maneuvering in its policy of denial before this decision,” Demoyan said, adding that almost nothing is left of that policy today.

According to him, the importance of the vote further grows, considering that Germany is a key country in the European Union, the locomotive of the EU. “Turkey is well aware that this recognition will lead to many others,” he said.

Hayk Demoyan said there is certainly a political pretext behind the decision, a restraining message to Turkey from the German side.

What will this recognition give us? “We understand that adoption of such resolutions never leads to concrete legal consequences, but this is serious and weighty step towards creation of a legal package,” AGMI Director said.

“Such recognition will logically lead to new inquiries and research on where the Armenian property has gone,” Hayk Demoyan said. He believes results in that direction are possible, if correct archive materials are revealed and presented with a view of pursuing a legal and financial reimbursement.

As for UK’s failure to recognize the Armenian Genocide, the AGMI Director said: “Great Britain does not recognize the Armenian Genocide not because of fearing to spoil relationship with Turkey, but because of close partnership with Azerbaijan.”

“United Kingdom’s recognition of the Armenian genocide would be very important to us, but we have to remember that it does not stem  from  UK’s  business goals,”  he added.

“The history of the UK is rich in examples of humanism. Our museum is preparing a special exhibition of exclusive items from the archives. We want to introduce them to the British people and awaken their memory,” Hayk Demoyan said.

Three Armenians were injured in a suicide attack in a Christian neighborhood of Syria’s northeastern  town of Qamishli, reports, quoting its sources.

Two IS suicide bombers struck the center of Qamishli Sunday. According to reports, three Christians were killed and 15 wounded in the bombings.

The Armenians were identified as Khachik Karapet, Samvel Parsum and David Taltryan.