Author: Kajoyan Gevork

CHARLES AZNAVOUR DENIES THE WORDS ON INTERNAL GENOCIDE IN ARMENIA ATTRIBUTED TO HIM

Mediamax
Dec 14 2011
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. World famous chanson singer Charles Aznavour denied
the words on internal genocide going on in Armenia attributed to him.

The singer stated talking to Armenpress: “I have never said such
things and I think it’s a translation mistake”.

It should be recalled that the Russian Life Showbiz site quoted Charles
Aznavour as saying: “Armenia is currently undergoing an internal
genocide. I think it politically unacceptable. Not letting Armenia
breathe, its government deprives the country of young people – they
are leaving the country. In this regard, the problem is already not a
political but a universal one. And it should be immediately resolved”.

ARABIC LANGUAGE DAY OBSERVED AT UN IN ARMENIA

Panorama
Dec 14 2011
Armenia

Students, authorities, civil society and international community
representatives, and journalists discussed the use of the Arabic
Language at the UN during a first ever observation of the Arabic
Language Day in Armenia.

The event was organized by the UN Department of Public Information
(UNDPI) jointly with the Embassies of Egypt, Lebanon and Syria and
with students of the Yerevan State University, Russian-Armenian
University and Syrian Arabic Union.

The UN officials, representatives of the Embassies of Egypt, Lebanon
and Syria spoke about the importance of the Arabic language for the
UN and the usage of Arabic language, culture and music in Armenia.

UN Department of Public Information Representative, Maria Dotsenko
said: “It is my pleasure to see so many young bright people in the
UN House today. It is important that Armenians are learning Arabic,
which will help them to open the borders to the Arabic world, will help
them to be citizens of the world. Arabic is the key to understanding
the Arabs, their culture, and their literature. It is considered the
bond that unifies over 200 million native Arabic speakers residing
in 22 countries that have declared Arabic as their official language.”

The audience enjoyed some Arabic dances, music, theatrical performance,
poetry and tasted Arabic traditional food. The students from the
Yerevan State University made presentations on: “Arabic Language in
the World and in Armenia”, as well as on the Arabic language version
of the UN () website.

Arabic Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 18 December, the date
on which the United Nations General Assembly designated Arabic as
the sixth official language of the United Nations in 1973.

Starting in 2010, the United Nations Department of Public Information
in New York has announced the launch of “Language Days at the United
Nations”, a new initiative which seeks to celebrate multilingualism
and cultural diversity. The UNDPI Yerevan Office is marking days of
all official languages of the UN throughout 2011.

LEGISLATION SAFEGUARDING CHRISTIAN HERITAGE IN TURKEY UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Order of St. Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Dec 14 2011

The House of Representatives unanimously adopted via a voice vote, H.
Res. 306, urging the Republic of Turkey to safeguard its Christian
heritage and to return confiscated church properties to their rightful
owners, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

“This bipartisan bill reflects America’s values and represents
an important step towards preserving the heritage of the Armenian
community and other minority communities within Turkey,” stated the
Legate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, Archbishop
Vicken Aykazian in Washington, DC.

Prior to today’s action, the Armenian Assembly sent a letter to
all Members of Congress urging a “YES” vote. H. Res. 306, which was
introduced by Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), along with Representatives
Howard Berman (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA),
Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Jim
McGovern (D-MA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Joe Baca (D-CA), David Cicilline
(D-RI), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Gary Ackerman
(D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NJ), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA),
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Bruce
Braley (D-IA), Frank Wolf (R-VA), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis
(R-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), Dan Lungren
(R-CA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Doug Lamborn
(R-CO), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), and Robert Dold
(R-IL), reflects America’s values with respect to freedom of religion
and human rights.

In addition to resolution sponsor Congressman Royce, who along with his
colleagues invoked the memory of the Armenian Genocide and Turkey’s
continued genocide denial, the following Representatives spoke in
favor of the legislation: Howard Berman, Adam Schiff, Brad Sherman,
Eliot Engel and Frank Pallone, Jr. Turkish Caucus Co-Chair Edward
Whitfield (R-KY) claimed time in opposition to the bill.

As considered on the House floor, H. Res. 306 mirrors a bipartisan
amendment (Berman-Cicilline) that overwhelmingly passed in the House
Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 43-1 earlier this year. During
the committee process, the Assembly joined with the Eastern and Western
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America in sending a letter to all
House Foreign Affairs Committee Members urging its adoption.

The legislation urges Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage and
to return confiscated church properties by doing the following:

1) end all forms of religious discrimination;

2) allow the rightful church and lay owners of Christian church
properties, without hindrance or restriction, to organize and
administer prayer services, religious education, clerical training,
appointments, and succession, religious community gatherings, social
services, including ministry to the needs of the poor and infirm,
and other religious activities;

3) return to their rightful owners all Christian churches and
other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, monuments,
relics, holy sites, and other religious properties, including movable
properties, such as artwork, manuscripts, vestments, vessels, and
other artifacts; and

4) allow the rightful Christian church and lay owners of Christian
church properties, without hindrance or restriction, to preserve,
reconstruct, and repair, as they see fit, all Christian churches and
other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, monuments,
relics, holy sites, and other religious properties within Turkey.

“We commend this bipartisan measure in support of religious freedom
in Turkey,” stated Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “In
particular, we applaud the efforts of the resolution’s sponsor and
supporters, especially those Members that spoke so eloquently on the
House floor,” added Ardouny.

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
501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

[Source: Armenian Assembly of America]

RATIO OF ARMENIAN STATE DEBT TO EXPORTS IS DANGEROUS

Vestnik Kavkaza
Dec 14 2011
Russia

The former Armenian Finance Minister, Doctor Edward Sandoyan, head
of the Russian-Armenian University, said that the ratio of Armenian
state debt to exports is 400%, which is dangerous, ARKA reports.

The indicator in Estonia is 12%, Russia – 30%, Georgia – 100%, Greece –
490%, Japan – 790%.

The more developed economy a state has, the more opportunities it has
to attract finances to cover the debt, for example, by issuing bonds,
the way the US did.

Armenia does not have such mechanisms, he says. The situation in
Greece proves how risky such a problem may become.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that the Armenian debt
is 40% of GDP, a medium-sized debt.

The Armenian National Statistical Service said that, according to
September 30, the state debt was equal to 1508 billion drams. The
Finance Ministry said that domestic debt was 199.9 billion drams,
an increase of 10.9% compared with the start of the year. The foreign
debt increased by over $3.515 billion (6.6%).

$1 = 382.27 drams.

ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT OF 17TH CENTURY SOLD AT SOTHEBY’S

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:37:36 – 14/12/2011

Wasn’t the Sold Gospel Stolen from St. Amenaprkich Church of Isfahan?

Tehran’s Arax weekly reported that an Armenian manuscript of 17th
century was sold at the famous Sotheby’s Auction. The initial price of
the book was estimated to be 4-6 thousand pounds, and was sold at
13.750 pounds, panarmenian.news reports.

The manuscript is composed of 271 pages. It is full of miniatures.

Gold was used with natural colors.

The weekly demands explanations from the Armenian Diocese of Isfahan
in this connection because in case the manuscript turns out to be one
of the treasures stolen from St. Amenaprkich Church of Isfahan, the
Diocese members will be the main suspects.

On June 12, in London, two Armenians tried to sell relics of the
Armenian national heritage belonging to St. Amenaprkich Church of
Isfahan. The board of the Diocese has not released the list of the
stolen object yet though three suspects have been detained in Isfahan.

DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT CHARLES’ WORDS
Hayk Aramyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:45:25 – 14/12/2011

The Armenian authorities immediately set out to refute Charles
Aznavour’s statements. Armenpress asked the singer to comment on his
recent statements and Aznavour answered that he did not say such a
thing and it was a translation error. According to the Life Showbiz,
Aznavour said: “Currently, in my country, an internal genocide is
being perpetrated. It is politically unacceptable for me. The Armenian
authorities don’t let the country breathe and deprive it of the youth
which leaves. In this sense, the issue is not political but human. It
must be immediately solved.”

This is not the first time Aznavour makes such statements. This is the
attitude of a real intellectual – to voice the plight in the country.

This is not something new, even for the Armenian authorities. The new
thing is that in Armenia they are not used to hearing such statements
from intellectuals, especially one at a state post. Aznavour is
Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland.

In Armenia, intellectuals must criticize the “external enemy” and
defend the government from the “internal ones”. External enemies,
besides the Turkish and Azeri people, are also those who dwell on
the issues of the country, complain of illegalities and impunity,
and stress the necessity to establish Constitutional order. They
participate in the election campaigns justifying illegalities.

Charles speaks about people, their problems and their right to a
dignified life. For the greater part of the Armenian intellectuals,
human life has no value. For them, abstract concepts, such as nation
and fatherland, are important, to which humans are subdued. Armenian
man or woman does not exist in their “works”, and it cannot exist
because it is the “flash” of the abstract values rather than their
content.

That is why it is difficult for the Armenian official sets to accept
the true attitude of an intellectual which is something exotic in
Armenia, while in the civilized world it is normal, even a must.

ARMENIAN OFFICER MURDERER MAY BE EXTRADITED TO AZERBAIJAN?

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 14, 2011 – 11:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Baku doesn’t give up attempts to extradite the
murderer of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan to Azerbaijan.

“Extradition of Ramil Safarov is possible if Azerbaijan and Hungary
achieve a relevant agreement,” chairman of the Azerbaijani Supreme
Court Ramiz Rzayev said. “We are working to that end.”

Lieutenant of the Armenian Armed Forces Gurgen Margaryan, 26,
was hacked to death while asleep by fellow Azerbaijani participant
Safarov in Budapest during a three-month English language course in
the framework of Partnership for Peace NATO-sponsored program.

In accordance with Budapest District Court sentence dated April 13,
2006, Ramil Safarov was life imprisoned for murdering Margaryan. On
February 22, 2007, Budapest Court rejected the Azerbaijani military
officer’s appeal against the verdict which excluded possibility
of pardon for the initial 30 years. The appeal court ruled that the
ruling brought by Budapest District Court against 30-year-old Safarov,
should stand.

LES ALAOUITES DE TURQUIE DEFENDENT L’ACTION D’ASSAD ET DEFENDENT SA CHUTE
Stephane

armenews.com
mercredi 14 decembre 2011

A Antakya, petite ville turque cosmopolite aux confins de la Syrie,
les prises de position d’Ankara contre le regime de Damas ne font pas
l’unanimite. Au sein de la forte communaute alaouite de la ville,
on defend l’action du president Assad, un alaouite, et on redoute
sa chute.

“Nous savons très bien qu’il n’y a pas d’oppression en Syrie. Bien
sûr qu’il y a quelques petits problèmes (…) Mais il faut laisser du
temps au regime du president Bachar al-Assad pour mettre en place les
reformes democratiques”, affirme Ali Yeral, president de l’association
Ehli Beyt des alaouites d’Antakya.

“Des millions de gens sortent dans la rue pour soutenir ses reformes.

Mais certaines televisions, en particulier Al-Jazeera, font tout pour
passer ca sous silence et vont au contraire montrer 200 ou 300 membres
d’une organisation terroriste sanguinaire en train de manifester”,
poursuit le responsable associatif.

Les alaouites, une confession musulmane heterodoxe proche du chiisme,
sont près de deux millions en Syrie, où ils sont fortement representes
dans les rangs de l’armee et du parti Baas au pouvoir.

En Turquie, la communaute, arabophone -a ne pas confondre avec les
alevis anatoliens, turcophones et kurdophones-, est forte de plusieurs
centaines de milliers de representants vivant principalement dans
la province d’Antakya et entretenant des liens etroits avec l’autre
côte de la frontière. “Tout est calme dans les villes (syriennes). A
Lattaquie (nord-ouest) il n’y a rien, les gens qui passent chez nous
disent qu’ils vivent normalement”, assure Suheyla Kocak, comedienne
au theatre municipal d’Antakya, dont la troupe, la première a monter
une pièce en arabe en Turquie, a joue plusieurs fois en Syrie. “Où
est-ce que les incidents se produisent ? Dans des zones reculees,
a l’ecart, la où les gens sont ignares et où ils peuvent facilement
perdre la tete. C’est dans ce genre d’endroits qu’ils se battent et
s’entretuent”, commente l’artiste alaouite.

Pour Yusuf Mutlu, restaurateur, les fauteurs de troubles, ce sont
les Frères musulmans, un mouvement interdit en Syrie, où il a
ete violemment reprime par l’armee en 1980 a Jisr al-Choughour
(nord-ouest), près de la frontière turque, puis en 1982 a Hama
(centre).

“Est-ce qu’il s’agit d’une armee ou bien d’un parti des Frères
musulmans ? En tout cas, tout ceux qui creent des incidents sont des
Frères musulmans”, declare M. Mutlu, lui aussi alaouite, qui regarde
avec peu de sympathie les quelque 7.500 Syriens refugies dans la
province d’Antakya et leurs recits sur des devastations commises par
l’armee syrienne.

L’homme n’est pas convaincu non plus par les appels d’Ankara a
une demission d’Assad et la mise en place de sanctions economiques
pour contraindre le regime de Damas a mettre fin a la repression des
mouvements d’opposition, qui a fait plus de 4.000 morts en neuf mois,
alors que les relations entre les deux pays etaient au beau fixe il
y a encore un an.

Mais surtout, il craint une assimilation de la communaute alaouite
avec le regime. “En tant qu’alaouite, ca m’a profondement blesse (…)
qu’un responsable de la Republique turque fasse de la discrimination
confessionnelle”, declare-t-il, denoncant des propos du vice-president
du parti AKP (islamo-conservateur) au pouvoir, Huseyin Celik, qui
debut septembre avait souligne le rôle des alaouites dans les organes
du pouvoir syrien.

Car derrière cette assimilation se cache la menace de represailles
contre la communaute, en Syrie et ailleurs, previent Ali Yeral. “En cas
de renversement d’Assad, c’est evident qu’il va y avoir un massacre
des alaouites. Après ca, le Hezbollah libanais sera dans la ligne
de mire, puis l’Irak, puis l’Iran, et ca s’etendra a la Turquie et
a l’Arabie saoudite…”, annonce-t-il.

LES EXCUSES DU PASTEUR GILBERT LEONIAN AU CATHOLICOS
Ara

armenews.com
mercredi 14 decembre 2011

Nous publions a la demande du pasteur Gilbert Leonian, la lettre
d’excuses qu’il a adressee au Catholicos, a la suite d’un courrier
controverse parût dans le N°180 de NAM.

Sa Saintete, Vehapar Hayr, Je reconnais avec humilite que je
n’aurais jamais dû ecrire cette lettre qui est parue dans la revue
“Nouvelles d’Armenie Magazine.”(Decembre 2011, rubrique “courrier des
lecteurs”). C’est pour cette raison que je vous exprime publiquement
mes sincères excuses pour tout le prejudice moral et spirituel que
j’ai pu porter a votre personne et pour tout le trouble que cela a pu
provoquer au sein des fidèles de l’Eglise apostolique armenienne.Je
vous en demande pardon.J’invoque votre clemence et votre indulgence
pour m’etre laisse aller a commettre une faute aussi grave.

La hierarchie des Eglises evangeliques armeniennes de France n’est
en aucune manière concernee par ma faute dont je porte seul la
responsabilite.

Depuis 38 ans que Dieu m’a appele a Le servir au sein du peuple
armenien,dans toutes les villes où je suis passe et jusqu’a
aujourd’hui,j’ai toujours manifeste et je manifeste encore,mon amour,
ma loyaute et mon profond attachement a notre Eglise mère.

Je prie afin que Dieu benisse richement votre ministère, aussi bien
en Armenie que dans la diaspora.

Recevez l’assurance de mes salutations fraternelles en Jesus-Christ.

Badveli Gilbert Leonian.

TURKISH MEDIA FEARS FRANCE WILL RATIFY BILL TO PENALIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 13, 2011 – 12:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish media outlets are concerned that French
Senate’s ratification of a bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide
denial is an actual possibility. Some are certain that during his
visit to Yerevan French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed unequivocal
intention to support the bill.

The publications explain Sarkozy’s position by an attempt to counter
another presidential hopeful Francois Hollande who pledged to adopt
the bill upon his election, while both are vying to garner Armenian
community votes.

On December 7, the Judiciary Committee of the French National Assembly
passed the bill on criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial
introduced by MP Valerie Boyer (UMP).

The bill envisages a 45,000 euros fine and a one-year imprisonment
for the denial of the Armenian Genocide, which was recognized by
France back in 2001.

Later, Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement, warning France
against “unrecoverable steps.” “At a moment when Turkey and France have
entered into a process in which they could increase their cooperation
at bilateral and international level, we hope no unrecoverable steps
will be taken,” the statement said.