Author: Kajoyan Gevork

RUSSIAN GENERAL PROSECUTOR RECEIVES KOSTANYAN’S LETTER: CONTENT NOT REVEALED

02.24.2015 16:01 epress.am

Armenian General Prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan’s petition sent to
Russian General Prosecutor’s office is currently being discussed by
the Russian colleagues, reported a statement by Armenia’s General
Prosecutor. Kostanyan had petitioned for the criminal case of the
murder of a 7-member Gyumri family be transferred to Armenian law
enforcement.

“As to statements about the publication of the content of the RA
General Prosecutor’s petition, according to the Article 1.3 of the
Law on Freedom of Information, the letter contains materials related
to the preliminary investigation that is not subject to publication,
hence in the interest of safeguarding the case’s pluralistic side and
its objectivity, at this moment, the content of the petition can not
be revealed.

The General Prosecutor calls for Armenian citizens to refrain from
making ungrounded, non-professional opinions around this issue,”
said the General Prosecutor’s statement.

Note, that the Union of Informed Citizens NGO demanded that the
Administrative Court provided a copy of Gevorg Kostanyan’s petition
addressed to his Russian colleague.

Recall, six members of the Avetisyan family were murdered on January
12 in their Gyumri home. The family’s seventh member, 6-month-old
Seryozha Avetisyan, who had serious injuries, was transferred to the
hospital and died 7 days later. Russian soldier Valery Permyakov is the
central murder suspect of the case. Currently, Russian officials are
not transferring Permyakov to Armenian law enforcement, although Russia
is supposed to under an agreement signed between Armenia and Russia.

“DIGGING INTO THE FUTURE – ARMENIA” TO PREMIERE ON PBS STATIONS

12:59, 24 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Digging into the Future – Armenia will premiere on select PBS stations
in April as part of the commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide, Massis Post reports.

Hosted by Joseph Rosendo, Digging Into The Future is produced by
the Emmy-winning team behind the PBS series, Joseph Rosendo’s
Travelscope(R). Joseph joins archaeologists from UCLA’s Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology on a journey through Armenia. During this
archeological adventure Joseph crisscrosses Armenia to ancient sites
where some of the world’s oldest artifacts have been discovered. Every
site offers viewers insights into how the Armenians of the distant
and near past lived – and what is discovered about the past serves
the present.

In keeping with the show’s focus on cultural connections, Joseph
meets modern-day Armenians in roadside fruit stands, riverside wine
stalls, bustling markets and is welcomed into their homes to witness
traditional artisans at work and join in religious and communal
celebrations that inspire, enlighten and reveal the Armenian heart
and soul. While this documentary encompasses more than the Armenian
Genocide, it is covered in the show and illustrates the resiliency
of the Armenian people.

Broadcast Dates:

Chicago – WYCC Monday, April 6, 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 7, 2:00 a.m.

Los Angeles – KVCR Thursday, April 16, 8:00 p.m.

Friday, April 17, 5:00 p.m.

Boston – WGBH/Channel 2 Sunday, April 19, 11:30 a.m.

San Francisco / Bay Area – KQED Sunday, April 19, 6:00 p.m. KQED
Saturday, April 25, 4:00 p.m. KQED World Saturday, April 25, 6:00
p.m. KQED Plus

New York – WYNE/NYC Life Sunday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 24, 1:00 a.m.

ARE ARMENIANS THE ONLY VICTIMS OF 1915?

Nayat Karaköse 01.30.2015 17:02

The Armenian Youth Federation is using the hashtag #Turkeyfailed
to create awareness as part of an informative action. The group has
prepared posters about people who migrated to the United States from
Turkey either after or just before 1915, and about their discoveries
or inventions that have affected our daily lives.

Each massacre, Genocide or atrocity devastates the country it takes
place on. From 1915 to the Roboski Massacre, Turkey has suffered
immensely and what we have today is merely a shadow of the past.

Armenians and Syriacs were not the only victims of 1915, the present
and future of this country was a victim, too.

In order to understand the significance of the Genocide, as much as we
seek the path of truth in the tragic stories of victims, we also need
to go after the inspiring stories of survivors, like Asatour Sarafian,
who was born in a cave in Kayseri, but became a great inventor in
the US.

Below are a few other names the Armenian Youth Federation has singled
out for our attention:

Raymond Damadian: Born in New York in 1936, mathematician and doctor
Raymond Vahan Damadian is the son of Vahan Damadian who fled Turkey
in 1915 to the USA. In 1969, he invented the MRI machine.

Luther George Simjian: Born in Antep in 1905, Simjian lost his
family during the atrocities of 1915; hem migrated first to Beirut,
then to Marseille and finally to the USA to seek refuge with his
relatives in Connecticut. He was the inventor of the ATM machine and
the teleprompter.

Arthur Bulbulian: Born in Isparta in 1900, Bulbulian migrated to the
USA in 1920, and invented the A-14 oxygen mask used in World War II
by the US Army and Air Force.

Asatour Sarafian: Sarafyan was born in Kayseri in 1895 in a cave
his parents took shelter to escape the massacres of the Hamidiye
cavalry regiments, and migrated to the USA in 1914. He invented the
automatic transmission for automobiles, a pneumatic inoculation gun,
and a seawater purifier.

Alex Manoogian: Born in Ä°zmir in 1901, Manoogian migrated to the
USA in 1920. An industrial engineer, Manoogian’s most significant
invention was the delta faucet, a faucet that allowed one-handed use.

And there are many more inspiring life stories. Karekin II, Catholicos
of All Armenians, had announced that in 2015, the victims of the 1915
Genocide would be proclaimed saints. I would suggest that as much as
those who lost their lives, those who survived against all adversity
could also be proclaimed saints. After all, if we exist today, and if
we have managed to keep our culture and language alive, it is thanks
to their great contribution.

NEW BATMAN AIRPORT LAND DISPUTE

Uygar Gultekin 02.19.2015 10:05

Following the land dispute involving the plot on which Diyarbakır
Airport today stands, the land plot on which Batman Airport stands
has also become the subject of a lawsuit. Zuart Sudjian has filed a
case claiming that the State had built an airport on the plot she
had inherited. Sudjian’s land in nearby Diyarbakır had also been
appropriated by the State, and the Diyarbakır Airport was built on
a part of her plot.

Zuart Sudjian is an Armenian whose family roots go back to Diyarbakır.

Sudjian is a member of the Basmacıyan family from Diyarbakır, and
she lives in Diyarbakır today. Sudjian found out that the land she
had inherited from her family had been appropriated by the State during
cadastral work, upon which she launched a legal process and applied to
court for the return of her land. According to her application, like
in Diyarbakır, an airport had been built on Sudjian’s land in Batman.

The Batman 2nd Court of First Instance accepted her application and
opened a lawsuit.

Villagers claim rejected because it belonged to ‘disappeared’ Armenians

The story of the land is also interesting. According to the case file,
after the family left Turkey, the land was used by villagers for many
years. The cadastral survey in question was carried out in 1960.

However, during the cadastral work, the villagers claimed that the
use rights of the land belonged to them, and filed a lawsuit for the
land to be given to them. In 1963, the Batman Cadastral Court rejected
the application of the villagers. In its reasoned decision, the court
stated that the land plot in question had been transferred to the
Treasury from Armenians who had ‘disappeared’ 40 years ago and belonged
to the Treasury since then, and that the villagers who had filed the
lawsuit had no rights over the land, and rejected their case. This
is the most important official document on the ownership of the land.

Court accepts case

Sudjian’s lawyers presented the 1963 decision of the Cadastral Court
as evidence in the new case. The lawyers stated that the registration
carried out by the Treasury was “irregular” and demanded the annulment
of the registration, and the payment of compensation.

The lawyers also pointed out to the fact that in the other case
involving the Diyarbakır Airport land, the prior decision of the
court to reject the case on the basis of the expiry of the 10-year
period involving the loss of rights had been annulled by the Court
of Cassation and demanded the acceptance of the file. The court thus
accepted the file and launched the case. The court will begin survey
work following the examination of the cadastral records of the land
plot and the land deeds presented by the lawyers.

DECINES, LA DOUBLE CULTURE DES ARMENIENS

La Croix, France
19 fevr 2015

Des Armeniens se sont installes dès les annees 1920 dans cette
commune proche de Lyon. Leurs descendants se sentent francais mais
entretiennent toujours des liens avec leur pays d’origine. Decines
(Rhône). De notre envoyee speciale

par ROTIVEL Agnès

Edouard Mardirossian habite au 16 rue du 24-Avril-1915. Ce jour-la,
la rafle des intellectuels armeniens de Constantinople marque le debut
du genocide qui va faire disparaître environ 1,2 million d’Armeniens
dans l’empire ottoman. À quelques mètres de chez lui se trouve le
centre de la memoire armenienne. Impossible de rater ce bâtiment
moderne et le memorial, sur le trottoir d’en face le premier a avoir
ete bâti en Europe. Toujours dans la meme rue, les Armeniens ont leur
maison de la culture et deux eglises, l’une evangelique, l’autre
apostolique. On est a Decines, commune de la banlieue lyonnaise,
” la petite Armenie ” qui accueillit en 1920 les premiers refugies.

Pourquoi Decines? ” Maurice Cuzin, industriel lyonnais, avait
construit une usine de soierie artificielle. Il avait besoin de
main-d’oeuvre. Il a fait venir des orphelins armeniens de Grèce
où ils avaient ete regroupes par des missionnaires americains “,
explique Edouard Mardirossian, memoire de la communaute.

Le Centre national de la memoire armenienne tente de garder intact ce
passe. ” Avec la memoire, on transmet le trauma, le deuil collectif,
explique la directrice, Katia Boudoyan. Le centre de Decines en est
le receptacle. Mais pour ne pas etre centre sur la seule douleur
d’etre Armenien, et pour bien vivre, il faut s’etre approprie une
autre culture. ”

Accomplir ce chemin demande du temps. ” Les Armeniens issus de la
première vague d’immigration, arrives dans les annees 1920, se sentent
francais. Ils se sont assimiles et parlent moins l’armenien, explique
Katia. La seconde vague, arrivee entre 1976 et 1985, est venue du
Liban et de Syrie, fuyant la guerre civile. En Orient, ils vivaient
entre eux, sans se melanger. Ils cultivaient l’entre soi jusqu’a ne
pas parler l’arabe. Arrives en France, ils continuent a vivre entre
eux , dans la douleur de l’exil. ” Ils ont meme donne le nom de Bourj
Hammoud, nom du quartier armenien de Beyrouth, aux immeubles dans
lesquels ils vivent a Decines. ” Petit a petit, ils vont s’integrer
“, assure Katia.

Les derniers arrivants la troisième vague , sont les Armeniens
d’Armenie, venus dans la foulee de l’eclatement de l’Union sovietique.

” Leur Armenie n’est pas la nôtre, observe Katia. Notre terre a nous,
c’est l’Armenie ottomane, la leur, l’Armenie russe. ”

Cent ans plus tard, le lien des Armeniens avec leur pays d’origine
reste encore très fort. Dans le salon d’Edouard Mardirossian, la carte
de la Turquie est affichee au mur ainsi que des photos de famille
prises lors de ses nombreux voyages a Kharpert où vivait sa famille.

En 1970, cinquante-cinq ans après avoir fui, sa mère avait retrouve
deux de ses frères dont elle avait ete separee. Depuis 2003, Edouard
a fait six voyages et ecrit Le Monde de Kharpert, dans lequel il
retrace, sous forme de dictionnaire, l’histoire armenienne de cette
ville aujourd’hui turque et où il entretient toujours le contact avec
sa famille.

Les parents de Katia Boudoyan ont fait le voyage vers leur village
d’origine proche de Van, dès les annees 1960. ” Ils partaient en
voiture pour sept jours de voyage a l’est de la Turquie. J’ai fait 20
fois le trajet. ” D’autres plus craintifs hesitent a aller en Turquie.

Dans les familles, personne n’a oublie les difficultes d’integration
de leurs grands-parents. ” Ils ont ete victimes de racisme, insultes,
exclus “, confie Edouard Mardirossian. Ils ne parlaient pas le
francais, sont arrives en guenilles. ” ” Ils etaient très marques
physiquement “, ajoute Katia Boudoyan qui, dans ses ateliers destines
aux enfants, explique que ” vivre ensemble, ca se travaille, ca n’est
pas facile “.

L’integration s’est faite après 1947, quand les Armeniens ont ete
naturalises. Auparavant, ils etaient apatrides. Elle s’est faite
aussi par l’attribution de prenoms francais. Dans les annees 1920,
l’administration francaise n’enregistrait pas les prenoms armeniens.

Et par la langue francaise. L’armenien, de moins en moins parle dans
la communaute, n’est plus le seul vecteur de la culture.

Elle s’est faite aussi par l’accession a des postes politiques.

Georges Kepenekian, en est l’exemple. Premier adjoint au maire de Lyon
et adjoint a la culture, il se defend d’etre ” l’Armenien de service
“. ” En France, il est possible de s’inserer a la Nation “, dit-il. ”
On n’est plus communautariste, on ne donne plus de consigne de vote
“, rencherit Edouard Mardirossian, qui ne veut pas etre represente
comme une minorite.

Aujourd’hui, tous se sentent francais. ” Être armenien, ca ne se mesure
pas. On le ressent en soi, precise Georges Kepenekian. Ma culture
est une combinaison de tout. On peut etre quelque chose et une autre. ”

RELATIONS TURCO-ARMENIENNES : A DEUX MOIS DE LA COMMEMORATION DU GENOCIDE, LE DIALOGUE PEUT-IL REPRENDRE ?

Les Yeux du Monde, France
21 fevr 2015

Par Nicolas MOULIN, le 21 fevrier 2015

Le president armenien Serge Sargsian a retire du Parlement le 16
fevrier dernier les protocoles sur la normalisation des liens et
l’etablissement de relations diplomatiques avec la Turquie. La raison
avancee sont les dernières bravades du premier ministre turc Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. Se dirige-t-on vers une aggravation de la situation ?

>, >, les
accusations s’echangent entre Erevan et Ankara depuis le debut
de l’annee.

Pourtant la situation il y a 6 ans avait l’air de s’ameliorer. A Zurich
le 10 octobre 2009 etaient signes les protocoles sur la normalisation
des liens et l’etablissement de relations diplomatiques avec la
Turquie. Le but etait d’ouvrir la frontière entre l’Armenie et la
Turquie. En avril 2014, Erdogan avait meme offert des condoleances
sans precedent aux descendants des familles armeniennes massacrees
en avril 1915. Mais depuis le debut de l’annee et avec l’approche du
centenaire du genocide la tension monte. Tout a commence fin janvier
2015 avec l’invitation, envoyee par Erdogan a Sargsian, pour assister
le 24 avril prochain a la commemoration de la bataille de Gallipoli.

Or cette date est justement celle de la commemoration du genocide
armenien. Le president armenien a alors accuse Ankara de vouloir
faire diversion alors que la bataille de Gallipoli s’est deroulee
sur plusieurs mois et que n’importe quelle autre date pouvait donc
etre choisie par la Turquie pour commemorer la campagne.

Le president Sargsian a donc repondu debut fevrier dans une lettre
ouverte pour denoncer ce procede et a rappele qu’Erdogan n’avait
pas repondu a son appel de venir pour les commemorations du genocide
armenien de 2014 :

BAKU: LETTER FROM MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS, THE PARLIAMENT OF THE UK TO PRESIDENT ALIYEV

The Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency
Feb 23 2015

>From Members of the House of Lords, the Parliament of the United
Kingdom:Lord David Evans, Baroness Detta O’Cathain, Lord Risby, Lord
Michael German, Lord Anthony St John, Viscount Trenchard, Baroness
Zahida Manzoor

23.02.2015 [14:33]

Dear President Ilham Aliyev,

We, the undersigned, write to express our solidarity with the people of
Azerbaijan as you commemorate 23rd anniversary of Khojaly massacre,
killing of 613 innocent civilians by the invading Armenian armed
forces with the support of the Soviet infantry regiment 366 in the
town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992. We share the grief of Azerbaijani
people on this very sad anniversary and support your tireless efforts
to settle the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno
Karabakh on the basis of the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the
occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Many of us have been to Azerbaijan
and have witnessed the plight and sufferings of IDPs at refugee camps.

What happened in the town of Khojaly is undoubtedly a human tragedy
and it is important that perpetrators are brought to justice. The
ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh
represents obstacle to bringing lasting peace and stability to the
Southern Caucasus. As an important strategic and economic partner
of your country, United Kingdom has long-standing interest to see
the conflict resolved peacefully making South Caucasus a stable and
peaceful region. Therefore, it is essential that international peace
talks conducted under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group further
intensify with a view to starting the work on comprehensive peace plan.

Your Excellency, please accept our condolences on this very sad day
for your people.

Yours sincerely,

Members of the House of Lords:Lord David Evans, Baroness Detta
O’Cathain, Lord Risby, Lord Michael German, Lord Anthony St John,
Viscount Trenchard, Baroness Zahida Manzoor

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES ‘GOVERNMENT CRISIS’

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 24 2015

24 February 2015 – 4:14pm

Today the discussion on the draft declaration of the power crisis in
the country continued in the National Assembly of Armenia.

The draft was introduced by ‘Prosperous Armenia’, ‘Heritage’ and
the Armenian National Congress in October 2014. Faction leader Levon
Zurabyan, presenting the project, said that the government had admitted
failure in all areas of life -economic, social, domestic and foreign
policy. The sharpness of the discussion that followed revealed the
depth of the split not only between the government and the opposition,
but also among the opposition itself.

The co-authors of the draft statement, the PAP faction, boycotted
the session because of the “difficult and tense internal political
situation”, and the press secretary of the Republican Party, Edward
Sharmazanov, accused them of an inability to “unite even their
partners.” The Armenian National Congress’s MP Nikol Pashinyan,
whose project of President Serzh Sargsyan’s impeachment bill failed
yesterday, expressed confidence that the authorities in Armenia will
not be replaced for another 20 years in such circumstances.

The press secretary of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Tigran
Urikhanyan, told ‘Vestnik Kavkaza’ that the faction decided to skip
yesterday’s session as a “manifestation of the political position,
including instruments to influence the situation, to which political
organizations often resort”.

“A concrete step, a specific boycott, it is generally accepted in the
civilized world as a political tool, a method of reaction to what is
happening,” Urikhanyan said.

According to him, “the political landscape which there is in the
country, requires, firstly, a reassessment of the situation.”

“We must note that many things need to be revaluates, priorities
established according to the beliefs, the position, the policy and
the program provisions for which we stand. At the moment, ‘Prosperous
Armenia’ is developing a position and an action plan for the near
future, which will be appropriate to the current internal shuffling,”
Urikhanyan said, adding also that according to information about the
possible resignation of Gagik Tsarukyan, an official statement will
be made soon.

ALIYEV’S VISIT: STRENGTHENING AZERBAIJAN-TURKEY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP – ANALYSIS

Eurasia Review
February 23, 2015 Monday

By Kamer Kasim

The relationship between Turkey and Azerbaijan can be defined as a
true strategic partnership. Since its first days of independence,
Azerbaijan has always had the support of Turkey in its struggle to
recover its territorial integrity. The motto of “two states, one
nation” has frequently been used to define the relationship between
the two states. And now, the tension originating from misconceptions
surrounding around the Turkey-Armenia protocols has been swiftly
resolved. The high-level visits and intense frequency of contacts
between these two countries have help to preserve their strategic
partnership.

The fact that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev chose Turkey as
the first official destination visit abroad after being elected
highlights the importance that both countries ascribe to their special
relationship. Indeed this year was not the only year that Ilham Aliyev
made Turkey the first destination of his choice; he also did so in
2013. Additionally, Azerbaijan was the second country after the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus to be visited by Recep Tayyip Erdogan after
his election as a President. The two leader met on 2-3 September 2014.

Aliyev’s most recent visit to Turkey coincided with the fourth meeting
of the Turkey-Azerbaijan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council,
which resulted in a joint declaration between the two countries
being issued on 15 January 2015. It was also here that a series of
agreements were signed endorsing bilateral cooperation to combat the
funding of terrorism via money laundering as well as the formation
of a partnership committee between Turkey’s Ministry of Customs and
Trade and Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.

Matters of economic and energy cooperation have always enjoyed a
predominant place in Turkey-Azerbaijan affairs. During Aliyev’s
visit, President Erdogan expressed the objective to increase the
trade volume between the two countries to 15 billion dollars by 2023,
up from its current level of approximately 5 billion dollars. The
development of mutual investments is also another important topic in
the economic relationship between Azerbaijan and Turkey. This can be
demonstrated in the 5 billion dollar investment of Azerbaijan on the
construction of the Star refinery in Turkey. Additionally, when it
comes to the flow of energy between the two countries, in addition to
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines, the mega
project seen in the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) will be of
significant importance. The intergovernmental agreement on the project
was signed in 2012 and the pipeline is expected to become operational
in 2018. This pipeline exhibits a capacity of 16 billion cubic meters
(bcm) by 2020, 23 bcm by 2023 and 31 bcm by 2026. The purchase contract
for TANAP’s main pipeline that was signed on 14 September 2014 between
Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as the completion of the project,
is a cornerstone of energy cooperation between the two countries.

Another topic that was discussed during Aliyev’s visit was the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project. Here, President Erdogan stated that
the railroad will be open for usage by the end of 2015. During the
visit, president Erdogan also invited all heads of state to attend
the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign, announcing that
himself and Aliyev plan to meet for the event on 24 April 2015.

Among one of the many factors that have continue to affect
Turkey-Azerbaijan relations is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Similar views shared by Turkey
and Azerbaijan in this conflict have expressed the intensity of
existing Turkey-Azerbaijan strategic partnership. Because of this
that Azerbaijan has closely followed the dealings between Turkey and
Armenia. The worsening relations between Russia and the West after
the 2008 Russo-Georgian conflict have now come to be characterized by
an atmosphere reminiscent of the Cold War after Russia’s annexation
of Crimea and the escalation of conflict in Eastern Ukraine. In this
environment, Azerbaijan’s relationship with Turkey has become all the
more vital. Even though Azerbaijan has not experienced any significant
problems in its relations with Russia, its northern neighbor’s use of
force to redefine borders and its formation of spheres of influence
are nonetheless a cause for concern. The presence of Russian military
forces in Armenia is another factor that should not go unnoticed.

While Armenia, which continues to occupy Azerbaijani territory, has
now became a part of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union project,
Azerbaijan declined and has instead opted to maintain its course of
multi-lateral diplomacy. In this way, Aliyev’s policy can be seen as
an extension of Azerbaijan’s dedication to preserving its independence.

Recent international conjunctures have also increased the degree to
which Turkey attaches importance to its relationship with Azerbaijan.

Close cooperation with Azerbaijan in the field of energy could turn
Turkey into a prominent actor in the European energy market seeing
that Europe aims to decrease its dependence on Russian energy
resources. In an environment in which Russia draws the lines of
its own economic sphere with the Eurasian Economic Union, states
that are left out of this constellation such as Azerbaijan are
important for Turkey in terms of their ability to facilitate access
to the markets of the Asia-Pacific. In terms of access routes to
the People’s Republic of China and eventually to the Asia-Pacific,
the Turkey-Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan corridor is an important project.

Turkmenistan already enjoys a very special relationship with China
and improvements are being seen in its relations with Azerbaijan.

Seeing that it is an item of central importance for Azerbaijani
foreign policy, Armenia’s continued occupation of Karabakh and the
reclamation of these occupied provinces is in turn a critical topic in
Turkey-Azerbaijan relations overall. In this sense, Azerbaijan had been
nervous about the lack of any mention of the Karabakh issue throughout
Turkey and Armenia’s process of developing bilateral protocols. The
thought that Turkey would turn around on its commitment and open
its land borders with Armenia without a resolution to the Karabakh
issue caused concerns to rise in Azerbaijan. However, in what may
be considered as Azerbaijan’s most valued moment of Aliyev’s visit
to Turkey, President Erdogan stated that Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity should be assured through peaceful methods and that Turkey
would never back step on its support and dedication to the Azerbaijani
cause throughout the Turkish-Armenian protocol process. Yet, during
this time a significant rise has been observed in the amount and
intensity of propaganda aiming to open the Turkish-Armenian land
border. However, Turkey sealed these borders because of the Armenian
occupation of Karabakh; therefore, it would be contradictory for
Turkey to open the borders without a resolution to the Karabakh issue.

Moreover, opening the borders would not pose an economic gain for
Turkey, and even if they were to be opened, contrary to the beliefs
of some Western countries, Armenia may not come to focus on the West
seeing that it is now a part of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Furthermore, opening the borders would not free Turkey of the
allegations of genocide that it is confronted with, as the well-rooted
Armenian diaspora will continue to push the issue.

Turkey and Azerbaijan’s continued efforts to strengthen their strategic
partnership will bolster both countries’ positions in the region and
worldwide. The protection of this partnership and intimate state of
bilateral relations will continue to depend on the exertion of the
two countries’ leaders as well as the maintenance of comprehensive,
continuous inter-institutional dialogue.

*This article was first published in Analist Monthly Journal’s February
issue in Turkish language and was translated into English language
by Ã…~^eyma Okutan

ARMENIAN, YAZIDI COMMUNITIES OF CANADA TO HOLD JOINT EVENTS COMMEMORATING GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

22:47, 24 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenian Ambassador to Canada Armen Yeganian had a meeting with Mirza
Ismail, the Head of the Yazidi community of Canada.

Issues related to the further development of cooperation between
the Armenian and Yazidi national structures, and the organization
of joint events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide were discussed.

Ambassador Yeganian hailed the centuries-long friendship between
the two peoples and praised the contribution of the Yazidis to the
development of Armenian statehood. He said the Yazidi community has
always enjoyed the special attitude of the Armenian government.

The parties expressed concern over the atrocities against the
Yazidis in the north of Iraq and emphasized the importance of larger
involvement of the international community in the protection of the
rights of the Yazidi people.

The interlocutors agreed that the crimes against the Yazidi, Christian
and other ethnic or religious minorities in the Middle East should be
properly assessed by international structures and the guilty should
be held accountable, since impunity results in new crimes.