Author: Kajoyan Gevork

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 27, 2009
Armenian National Committee of Central MA
Contact: George Aghjayan
Tel: 917-428-1918

HUMAN RIGHTS LEADER: CONGRESSMAN JAMES MCGOVERN
ARRESTED OUTSIDE OF SUDANESE EMBASSY

Washington, DC- Rep. James McGovern (D-MA-3), in protest over the
expulsion of humanitarian aide missions from Darfur, today was
arrested at the Embassy of Sudan, reported the Armenian National
Committee of Central Massachusetts.

In 2006, Rep. McGovern, following a similar act of civil
disobedience, noted that "Words are no longer enough.  It is time
for action.  This is the first genocide of the 21st century.  The
world has said, ‘Never again.’  Those words must mean something."
Rep. McGovern, along with at least four other representatives
including John Lewis (D-GA), Donna Edwards (D-MD), Keith Ellison
(D-MN) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)-and Darfur activist leaders were
arrested.

The Armenian National Committee of Central Massachusetts (ANC-CM)
fully supports Rep. McGovern’s principled actions to draw attention
to the continuing genocide in Darfur.  George Aghjayan, chairman of
the ANC-CM, stated, "Congressman McGovern consistently and
persistently fights for human rights and its place in U.S. foreign
policy.  We are proud and thankful to have him represent our
district."

The ANC CM met with Rep. McGovern on Wednesday, April 22, 2009,
accompanied by  Armenian Genocide survivor Mrs. Alice Khachadoorian
Shnorhokian.  Last week, Rep. McGovern sent a personal appeal to
President Barack Obama urging the proper recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by the White House.  In his powerful remarks, he
commented "When is the right time? When the last survivor, the last
witness, is no longer with us?"
####

Photo Caption: Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA-3) with Armenian Genocide
survivor Alice Khachadoorian Shnorhokian in Washington, DC.

Interfax, Russia
April 24 2009

Presidents Aliyev, Gul discuss Turkish-Armenian settlement

BAKU April 24

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev
discussed the situation with Turkish- Armenian settlement during a
phone conversation, the Azeri presidential press service reported on
Friday.

During the conversation, which took place on the initiative of the
Turkish president, Gul informed Aliyev that Turkey is conducting
negotiations with Armenia, the press service said.

Aliyev, in turn, communicated to Gul the position of Azerbaijan on the
matter, says the report.

The foreign ministries of Armenia and Turkey and the Swiss Federal
Department of Foreign Affairs issued a joint statement on Thursday,
regarding the settlement of Armenian-Turkish relations and the
preparation of a diplomatic quot;road map.quot;

Armenia and Turkey still have no diplomatic relations. The stumbling
block in relations between the two countries are the events that
occurred in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The killing of Armenians in
the Ottoman Turkey in 1915, in which over 1.5 million people are
believed to have been massacred, has been recognized as genocide by
several countries. Armenia is demanding that Turkey officially
recognize the events as genocide, but Turkey refuses to do so.

Turkey is demanding that the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan be
respected in the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)
April 25, 2009 Saturday
The Virginian-Pilot Edition

Armenians call for Turkey to say slayings were genocide

Tens of thousands of Armenians marched through the capital Friday to
commemorate the 94th anniversary of the start of mass killings by
Ottoman Turks, many calling on Turkey to recognize the slayings as
genocide.

Armenia and Turkey said Thursday that they are close to restoring full
relations and reopening their border after 15 years. But neither side
has indicated how they might resolve the dispute over the killings
that President Barack Obama on Friday referred to as one of the 20th
century’s "greatest atrocities."

Throngs marched through the Armenian capital, Yerevan, with torches
and candles to mark the anniversary of the rounding-up of a few
hundred Armenian intellectuals in what was then known as
Constantinople – present-day Istanbul – by Ottoman authorities. Their
arrest was swiftly followed by the military’s forced evacuation of
ordinary Armenians from their homes in actions that spiraled into the
mass slaughter of the Armenian population.

Scholars widely view the event as the first genocide of the 20th
century. Obama, who had referred to the "Armenian genocide" during his
presidential campaign, on Friday omitted the term, referring instead
to the event as the "one of the greatest atrocities of the 20th
century." He also refrained from using the term "genocide" during a
recent visit to Turkey, saying only that his views were on the record.

The United States is known to be cautious on the issue while the two
countries repair their relations.

Friday’s procession began with a burning of Turkish flags, and many
carried placards blaming Turkey for spilling the "blood of millions"
and calling on Ankara to acknowledge the killings as genocide. It
ended in central Yerevan at a monument to the victims of the killings,
and a liturgy was served at churches throughout the country.

OBAMA AVOIDS ‘G-WORD’ IN ARMENIAN REMEMBRANCE MESSAGE
Emil Danielyan

RFE/RL
25.04.2009

Backpedaling on one of his election campaign pledges, U.S. President
Barack Obama on Friday refrained from terming the 1915 massacres of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey a genocide as he commemorated "one of
the great atrocities of the 20th century."

In a keenly anticipated message to the Armenian community in the
United States, Obama used instead the Armenian phrase Mets Yeghern,
or Great Calamity, to mark the 94th anniversary of the World War
One-era mass killings and deportations.

"Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who were
subsequently massacred or marched to their death in the final days
of the Ottoman Empire," read a statement released by him on Armenian
Remembrance Day. "The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories,
just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people."

Obama made clear at the same time that he stands by his earlier
public statements on the subject. During his election campaign Obama
repeatedly referred to the 1915-1918 slaughter of more than one million
Ottoman Armenians as genocide and pledged reaffirm such declarations
once in office.

"The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion or
a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by
an overwhelming body of historical evidence," he sai d in a January
2008 statement on his campaign website. "America deserves a leader who
speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully
to all genocides. I intend to be that president."

Obama implied on Friday that he will not utter the word now to avoid
antagonizing Turkey and setting back its ongoing rapprochement with
Armenia.

"My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgment of the facts," he said. "The best way to advance that
goal right now is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the
facts of the past as a part of their efforts to move forward."

"I strongly support efforts by the Turkish and Armenian people to
work through this painful history in a way that is honest, open,
and constructive," he added. "To that end, there has been courageous
and important dialogue among Armenians and Turks, and within Turkey
itself. I also strongly support the efforts by Turkey and Armenia to
normalize their bilateral relations."

The U.S. president cited and welcomed in that regard the announcement
by the Turkish and Armenian governments that they have agreed on a
"roadmap" for the normalization of bilateral ties. The Turkish-Armenian
agreement, many details of which are still not known, was announced
less than two days before Obama’s statement. Analysts believe that
the timing all but precluded a formal U.S. recognition of the genocide.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul predicted earlier on Friday that
Obama will likely stop short of announcing such recognition. Gul
told reporters that they discussed the question "very broadly" during
Obama’s visit to Turkey earlier this month and that the U.S. president
"is now better informed."

Armenian-American leaders were quick to denounce Obama’s stance. One
prominent campaigner called it a "setback" for the Armenians.

"The guy broke his word and lost a massive amount of credibility,"
he told RFE/RL.

"Today’s statement does not reflect the change the President promised,"
Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America
said in a statement. "His failure to affirm the proud chapter in
U.S. history, the American response to the first genocide of the 20th
century, has needlessly delayed the cause of genocide affirmation
and diminishes U.S.

credibility with regard to genocide prevention."

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), another influential
advocacy group, voiced its "sharp disappointment" with Obama’s failure
to honor his campaign pledge. "In falling short of his repeated
and crystal clear promises … the President chose, as a matter of
policy, to allow our nation’s stand against genocide to remain a
hostage to Turkey’s threats," Ken Hachikian, the ANCA chairman said
in a statement.

B oth the ANCA and the Assembly are now expected to step up their
efforts to push through the U.S. Congress a draft genocide resolution
introduced by them recently. It has already been co-sponsored by over
100 members of the House of Representatives, including Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi urged Armenian-American organizations on Wednesday to intensify
their grassroots activities aimed at facilitating the passage of the
bill. The White House has not yet formulated its position on the bill.

WAKE UP ACTION TO BE HELD AT U.S. EMBASSY IN YEREVAN

PanArmenian News
April 22 2009
Armenia

Hayland.am social network has initiated Wake Up action which will
take place at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan on April 23.

At 1.30 p.m. local time the action participants will proclaim the
hour of change with switching on alarm clocks.

"It’s the time to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Join the voice
of justice, change the world, keep your promise," says a statement
issued by the initiative group.

PRESS RELEASE
[email protected]
Glendale, California

`Free Silva’ Effort to Secure Release of Iranian Prisoner Launches Web Site

FreeSilva.org Asks Concerned Public to Join Silva’s Family in a Global
Online Appeal

A worldwide online appeal has launched for the release of Silva
Harotonian, a young Armenian-Iranian woman detained by Iranian
authorities since June 2008.

The international Web site []
`will help us bring global attention to Silva’s
situation and build a broad, cross-border appeal for her release,’
said Klara Moradhkan, a cousin of Silva’s, whose family has
established the site and accompanying online petition.

Silva, now 34 years old, was hired in late 2007 to serve as a program
coordinator in Yerevan, Armenia, for the International Research and
Exchanges Board (IREX). IREX, a non-governmental, non-profit
organization, was establishing an international exchange for Iranian
healthcare professionals to share best practices with American
experts.

The Maternal and Child Health Education and Exchange Program (MCHEEP)
was based on a program previously supported by Iran in 2006 and run by
another independent organization. Silva’s job included coordinating
logistics for the 20 Iranian participants, managing budgets and
travel, briefing participants and overseeing other administrative
details.

During a visit to Iran in late June 2008 to meet with participants,
Silva was arrested for allegedly participating in efforts to overthrow
the Iranian government through `soft revolution.’ She stood trial and
was sentenced to three additional years in prison on January 19,
2009. An appeal is now underway.

`Silva is a gentle and compassionate person, who hoped to help others
and improve her home country of Iran through her work,’ said
Moradkhan, a Los Angeles-area resident of Armenian descent. `Silva was
working to build a better life for herself and her family through this
job, and she has sadly become caught in a misunderstanding.’

Visitors to [] FreeSilva.org can sign an
appeal `respectfully urging the leaders of the Islamic Republic of
Iran to grant the release of our loved one, Silva Harotonian.’ They
can also register for email updates from Silva’s family members as
they work toward her release.

Since its launch on Sunday, the online appeal has already collected
almost 600 signatures from 38 countries, `a sign of the many voices of
encouragement for Silva’s well-being and safe return,’ said Moradkhan.

`Many friends and loved ones of Silva’s have asked for a way to help
secure release for my beloved cousin. She needs our voice, so we must
speak up,’ she said. `On behalf of Silva’s mother, who is currently in
Iran, and other family members, we are touched by the support of the
Armenians, Iranians, Americans and citizens of other countries who
have already joined us in this effort.’

Since Silva’s detainment, her family has utilized multiple avenues to
secure her release. In addition to following the legal process in
Iran, Moradhkan and others have pursued diplomatic channels and have
written directly to Iranian officials.

Iran and Armenia share deep cultural, economic and religious
connections that benefit both countries and their communities. `For
decades, the Islamic Republic has ensured the safety and religious
freedom of its Armenian community,’ said Moradkhan. =80=9CSilva’s
release would represent yet another gesture of generosity toward
Iran’s Christian Armenian minority.’

NEVER AGAIN!

Eugene Elander

OpEd News
by-Eugene-Elander-090420-319.html
April 22 2009

This is the official time of mourning over the Nazi Holocaust, which
took place more than sixty years ago, but is not forgotten, and never
will be. Jews often hear that they should "get over it already" and
let the Holocaust recede into the past, along with the many other
brutalities and tragedies of history. But the Holocaust must not be
relegated to that historic dustbin, no matter how many wish that it
would be gone and forgotten.

Many reasons can be given for the ongoing attention to the Holocaust.

Even after so many decades, we are learning new dimensions of the
event. For example, Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial museum,
has been studying the "killing fields" where many European nations
joined the Nazis in executing Jews merely for being Jewish. As time
takes its toll on the remaining survivors of the Holocaust, we must
record their stories before it is too late, so that we can understand,
and learn, what truly happened.

Nor was it only Jews who were abused and sent to concentration camps;
the Romany people, commonly called Gypsies, were so treated, as were
some priests and ministers, labor union leaders, those considered
mentally or physically defective, and anyone objecting to the Nazi
regime. But for the Jews there was a special role, that of eternal
scapegoats, as they still are today in Iran, whose leaders have decreed
that Jews have no right to a nation. Meanwhile, a well-known Austrian
writer is on trial for not only denying the Holocaust, but for praising
Hitler’s Final Solution as well.

Nor was the Nazi Holocaust the only such atrocity of the Twentieth
Century. The Turks killed over one million Armenians early in that
Century, and when Hitler was asked how he could get away with the
Final Solution to the Jewish Question, he asked his henchmen, "Who
remembers the Armenians?" The Soviet leader Josef Stalin killed tens
of millions of his own citizens during the decades when he was in
power. More recently, the world has seen genocide in Rwanda, Somalia,
and other African nations.

There is one overriding lesson of the Holocaust which the world has yet
to learn. Contrary to the myth that the Nazi atrocities were unique,
they were rather the logical conclusion of nearly two thousand years
of anti-semitism and mistreatment: the inquisition, the expulsions,
the pogroms, and many other earlier abuses directed at Jews. It is far
too easy to dismiss the Holocaust as the result of Nazi bestiality,
when in truth beasts do not behave in this fashion, only humans do so.

Those people in many European nations who joined the Nazis during
the Holocaust had had Jewish friends and neighbors for decades, even
centuries. We need to understand how someone can sell groceries to
such neighbors one day, and shoot their men and women the next.

We need to understand how Jewish and non-Jewish children could play
together, and shortly afterwards the Jewish children could be executed
by their non-Jewish friends’ parents. The lesson to be learned is that,
sadly, anyone can be a Nazi; they were not necessarily degenerates,
they were much like us.

Until that lesson is learned once and for all, and no future genocides
are perpetrated, each of us must vow: Never Again! And we must mean
that vow, and we must act on it. Those are our obligations, not only
to all of the victims of the Holocaust and other genocides, but to
ourselves as well.

Author’s Biography Eugene Elander has been a progressive social and
political activist for decades. As an author, he won the Young Poets
Award at 16 from the Dayton Poets Guild for his poem, The Vision.

TURKEY TELLS EU NOT TO BLOCK BID WITH IRRELEVANT POLITICAL ISSUES

Hurriyet
April 22 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Turkey delivered a message to European Union officials
demanding entry negotiations not be blocked by political issues that
are irrelevant to the negotiations process, during the Turkey-EU
Troika foreign ministers’ meeting in the Czech Republic’s capital of
Prague on Tuesday.

In Tuesday’s talks, it was decided to open the chapters on Social
Policy and Employment and Taxation to negotiations during the EU
presidency of the Czech Republic, Anatolian Agency, or AA, reported.

The Cyprus issue was also discussed in detail in the meeting, the
agency also reported citing diplomatic sources.

Turkey has informed EU authorities that Turkey’s guarantorship in
Cyprus will continue and that Turkey supports a bi-zonal partnership
based on political equality, the agency said.

EU officials have told Turkish authorities that they are pleased to
see improvement in relations between Turkey and Armenia, AA reported
adding that they expressed that "opening of the Turkish-Armenian border
will help the solution of a problem between Azerbaijan and Armenia".

Noting the frozen Karabakh conflict, EU authorities said that they
understand Azerbaijan’s sensitivity.

EU NEGOTIATOR BAGIS ARRIVES IN PARIS

Turkey’s Chief EU Negotiator, Egemen Bagis, who participated in the
EU Troika meeting, traveled to Paris where he will discuss the current
situation in Turkey-EU relations with French officials.

Bagis will first separately meet with French Minister of Agriculture
and Fisheries Michel Barnier and the chair of the French Parliament’s
EU Committee, Pierre Lequiller, on Wednesday.

He will also meet with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
the same day before attending a dinner to be hosted in his honor by
Secretary of State in charge of European Affairs Bruno Le Maire.

France is one of the loudest opponents of Turkey’s EU bid and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy has continually proposed a privileged
partnership option as an alternative to full membership.

France, which up till now vetoed opening of five negotiation chapters
directly related with Turkey’s full membership, allowed two chapters
to be opened during its term as EU president.

HRANT DINK’S HIT MAN WAS NOT SAMAST, CLAIM NEW WITNESSES

Today’s Zaman
April 21 2009
Turkey

Five individuals convicted of unrelated crimes testified as witnesses
yesterday in the murder trial of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, who was shot dead in broad daylight by an ultra-nationalist
teenager outside the office of his newspaper, Agos, in Istanbul on
Jan. 17, 2007.

Witness Volkan Eryol, who testified in the Istanbul 14th High Criminal
Court yesterday, said he had heard a cellmate named Ertugrul Balci
state that it was not Ogun Samast, the teenager who is currently
standing trial as the suspected hit man, but another person who shot
Dink on that day.

Another witness, Sinasi Senturk, said he had heard details from
Balci. The two witnesses said they had petitioned the court to testify
when they heard the information Balci gave them in prison. In his
testimony, Senturk said: "Balci told us that the individuals that are
currently suspects in the Dink incident actually did not have anything
to do with the murder. Normally, we wouldn’t have paid attention,
but Balci corresponded with important people. He also said he knew
who the real murderer was."

The Dink family lawyers had previously stated their suspicions that
a second person accompanied Samast on the day of the murder. Veli
Halis Celik, another inmate at the Silivri Prison Complex where the
other witnesses are also serving jail time for unrelated crimes,
gave the same testimony.

Photo: A group of people identifying themselves as "Friends of Hrant"
held a demonstration yesterday on Barbaros Boulevard in Besiktas. The
group complained that authorities were unable to uncover who had issued
the order to kill Dink although more than two years have passed since
the murder. The group later sang songs in memory of Dink and dispersed
without major incident.

Celik said Balci, who gave the information to the witnesses, was
the son of Sukru Balci, a former police chief at the Istanbul Police
Department.

The witnesses also noted that they were moved to a different ward after
petitioning the court to testify as witnesses. Two other witnesses,
named as Orcun Curek and Adil Orhan, reiterated the testimony of the
earlier witnesses in yesterday’s trial. Curek said Samast was used as a
"pawn."

Court questions Samast Samast, the prime suspect in the Dink murder
trial, was questioned by the Dink family lawyers yesterday. Samast
refused to respond to the lawyers’ question on whether he had testified
at the Prime Ministry Inspection Board. In response to a question on
how he was able to find the location of the Agos daily in Istanbul,
he said he had asked around. Samast appeared reluctant to reply to
the lawyers’ questions in court yesterday.

French delegation following Dink trial A delegation of five lawyers
from France also followed yesterday’s trial. The French lawyers said
they came to show solidarity with the Dink family. The Istanbul Bar
Association released a press statement on the delegation’s visit,
saying the Paris Bar Association had requested to join the trial as
observers; a request which was denied by the Istanbul Bar Association
on the grounds that if delegation was granted observant status,
it could harm the independence of the judiciary. The Istanbul Bar
Association said they had invited the delegation from Paris to monitor
the trial not as an institution, but as individuals.

NEXT MEETING OF ARMENIAN IT MANAGERS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 8-10 2009

ArmInfo
2009-04-18 14:04:00

ArmInfo. The next informal meeting of Armenian IT managers will take
place in Agveran May 8-10 2009, says the executive director of the
Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) Karen Vardanyan.

The parties will discuss communication problems, mechanisms of state
financing of IT sector, the government’s comments on customs reforms.

Director of Enterprises Incubator Foundation Bagrat Yengibaryan says
that the parties will also discuss Sales Force, a new program aimed
at promoting Armenian IT products on foreign markets.

Similar meetings will take place in Dilijan Sept 8-10 and Agveran
Nov 14-16.

Representatives of almost 70 local and international IT companies
and government officials take part in the meetings.