Author: Kajoyan Gevork

TASHIR DOESN’T COMMENT ON INFORMATION ON SAMVEL KARAPETYAN’S MEETING WITH GAGIK TSARUKYAN

February 17, 2015 10:57
EXCLUSIVE

Karen Karapetyan and Samvel Karapetyan

Photo: Press office of Yerevan Municipality

Yerevan /Mediamax/. The press service of Tashir Group doesn’t comment
on the information according to which President of Tashir Group Samvel
Karapetyan met with the leader of Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik
Tsarukyan in Yerevan to stabilize inner political situation in Armenia.

Mediamax was informed about it at the press service of Tashir Group.

News.am reported a day before that head of Tashir Group Samvel
Karapetyan and former Yerevan Mayor, Vice President of Gazprombank
Karen Karapetyan who had arrived in Yerevan on February 16 met with
leader of Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan.

According to the news agency’s information, Samvel and Karen
Karapetyans try to persuade Tsarukyan to reach agreement with the
authorities. The source of the agency didn’t rule out that Samvel
Karapetyan and Karen Karapetyan might also meet with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan.

EREVAN SE RETIRE DU PROTOCOLE DE NORMALISATION DE SES RELATIONS AVEC ANKARA

L’Orient-Le Jour, Liban
16 fevr 2015

AFP

L’Armenie a annonce lundi son retrait du processus de ratification
des accords historiques qu’elle avait signes en 2009 avec la Turquie,
denoncant l'”absence de volonte politique” d’Ankara de normaliser
leurs relations.

“Il faut constater l’absence de volonte politique du gouvernement
turc, l’alteration constante qu’il cause a l’esprit et aux termes du
protocole”, a accuse le president armenien Serge Sarkissian dans une
lettre au president de l’Assemblee armenienne. “C’est pour cela que
j’ai pris la decision de retirer l’Assemblee nationale de l’Armenie
des accords signes le 10 octobre 2009 dans le cadre des protocoles
de Zurich”, a-t-il indique.

Constitue de deux volets, prevoyant l’etablissement de relations
diplomatiques et la reouverture de leur frontière commune, cet accord
visait a normaliser les relations entre les deux pays. Mais, plus de
cinq ans après leur signature, il n’a toujours pas ete approuve par
les Parlements des deux pays.

Erevan accuse Ankara de vouloir lier les efforts de reconciliation
bilateraux au conflit entre l’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan voisin sur le
Nagorny-Karabakh, territoire azerbaïdjanais peuple majoritairement
d’Armeniens.

L’Armenie reproche aussi a la Turquie de ne pas reconnaître comme un
genocide les massacres d’Armeniens sous l’Empire ottoman (1915-1917),
alors qu’Erevan s’apprete, le 24 avril, a commemorer le centenaire
de cette tragedie.

La Turquie s’est toujours refusee a admettre une elimination planifiee,
evoquant le massacre par l’Empire ottoman, lors de combats ou a cause
de faminesde quelque 500.000 Armeniens, qui s’etaient ranges du côte
de son ennemie la Russie.

2015, CENTENAIRE DE LA NEGATION DU GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS

Al Huffington Post – Maghreb (Morocco)
16 fevr 2015

Jacques Ouloussian , President de l’association pour la recherche et
l’archivage de la memoire armenienne

“Mal nommer les choses, c’est ajouter aux malheurs du monde”, disait
Albert Camus.

1915-2015, c’est le siècle de la negation du genocide des Armeniens
par les gouvernements successifs de la Turquie. C’est le sens que
l’on doit donner aux commemorations du centenaire qui debutent.

Le XXème siècle est aussi celui des promesses non tenues par les
responsables des Etats de ce monde. Mais ce n’est pas nouveau, car
deja en son temps Nicolas Machiavel disait “Le Prince ne doit tenir sa
parole donnee hier que si elle peut lui apporter des avantages”. Ce
siècle a vu la “Bete sur la lune” enfanter “La Bete immonde” sans en
tirer les enseignements pour que cela cesse!

Ce siècle a ete aussi celui de toutes les trahisons et de tous les
reniements pour des interets economiques.

2015, c’est finalement le centenaire de la negation du genocide des
Armeniens par les gouvernements turcs successifs. Si cette situation
perdure depuis un siècle, c’est grâce a l’obstination des dirigeants
turcs, mais aussi grâce a la passivite des dirigeants de ce monde
qui ont prefere l’hypocrisie et le silence aux valeurs de droits de
l’Homme et de justice.

Ce siècle est la defaite de la prise de conscience universelle des
droits de l’Homme et la raison du plus fort reste la meilleure.

Nous en sommes les temoins aujourd’hui, cent ans plus tard au meme
endroit, dans ces paysages arides de Mesopotamie, où des legions de
bourreaux fanatises exterminent les minorites ethniques et religieuses
qui ont pour seul tort de vouloir vivre sur leurs terres ancestrales,
selon leurs croyances et leurs traditions.

Une barbarie contagieuse qui est venue, en ce debut de mois de janvier
2015, repandre la haine, la mort et la terreur dans les rues de Paris.

Nous devons avoir tout ceci a l’esprit, non pas pour desesperer de
l’Homme, mais pour resister et se maintenir debout, vivant.

Cent ans… Certains seraient tentes de vouloir nous conter cette
histoire en debutant par “Il etait une fois, il y a un siècle”… Non!

Le souvenir des morts ne se rattache point a une histoire banale tiree
d’un roman, il s’agit d’un genocide et ce crime n’appartiendra jamais
au passe, il peut se reproduire au present, ca n’est pas la page que
l’on peut tourner sans risque.

D’autres pages doivent etre tournees, celle du ressentiment, de la
haine de l’autre et de l’esprit de vengeance.

Le souvenir des morts n’a pas a craindre de l’oubli.

Pour ce faire, le travail de memoire et sa transmission sont les
meilleurs boucliers contre le voile infâme de l’amnesie.

Cent ans deja! Et pourtant, c’est une victoire contre l’usure du
temps. Qui aurait cru que cent ans après, nous en parlerions encore?

Que des livres seraient ecrits sur le sujet? Que partout dans le
monde où une personne d’origine armenienne vit, la memoire vit.

C’est la reconstitution d’une belle elite, engagee et au service
de la cause armenienne. Artistes, createurs, chercheurs, ecrivains,
historiens etc. sont legions en Armenie mais aussi dans la diaspora
eparpillee en France et dans le monde.

C’est la reconnaissance du genocide des Armeniens par de nombreux
Etats.

C’est la chute du mur de Berlin, la liberte retrouvee, l’independance
de la Republique d’Armenie, l’autodetermination du Haut-Karabagh…

C’est la solidarite des naufrages de la terre qui se rejoignent enfin.

Le mensonge d’Etat entretenu par les dirigeants de la Turquie contre
la verite historique est pour nous une blessure profonde. Mais le
temps a change le cours de sa contagion, qui affecte a present ses
propres enfants.

Le temps ne travaille plus au profit de l’imposture, voila qu’il
prend le parti des justes.

C’est le temps de la verite, de la justice, et de la reparation qui
s’est mise en marche.

Nous sommes forts de notre passe, conscients des difficultes du moment,
mais l’avenir reste ouvert a la jeunesse.

Cent ans, c’est beaucoup de temps, mais c’est aussi trop peu pour
mettre a genoux un peuple dont l’histoire est trois fois millenaire.

Mais comme au commencement, rien ne nous sera epargne, il nous
faudra continuer a combattre, pour la memoire et compter avant tout
sur nous-memes.

—- Depuis 2006, Jacques Ouloussian preside l’association pour
la recherche et l’archivage de la memoire armenienne. Il a ete
le premier president du “Comite du 24 avril Marseille” en 1997,
collectif regroupant les associations representatives de la communaute
armenienne de France. Son attachement a la reconnaissance du genocide
des Armeniens se traduit a travers sa volonte de sauvegarder et
transmettre la memoire.

AZERBAIJAN READY FOR KARABAKH TALKS

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 16 2015

16 February 2015 – 7:44pm

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a meeting with
the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Pierre Andrieu (France), Igor
Popov (Russia) and James Warlick (U.S.) – and Personal Representative
of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andzej Kasprzyk today that Azerbaijan
was ready for serious talks on a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, Trend reports.

He said that the withdrawal of the Armenian Armed Forces from
Azerbaijan would be essential for the negotiating process and gaining
trust.

Mammadyarov noted that Armenia should leave the territories according
to international law and four resolutions of the UN Security Council.

The Azerbaijani minister and the OSCE officials discussed the action
plan for peace agreements and exchanged opinions about the negotiating
prospects.

FAMOUS ARMENIAN BUSINESSMAN COMMITS SUICIDE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 16 2015

16 February 2015 – 8:04pm

Abram Amirkhanyan, 61, a famous Armenian entrepreneur, the director of
Levon Amirkhanyan LLC, has committed suicide. The Nor Achen medical
center reported about the discovery of the businessman’s body in a
house in the Pargevashen District of Nor Achen at about 10.40am today,
NEWS.am reports.

The director allegedly shot himself in his bedroom at around 8.30am.

Levon Amirkhanyan specializes in construction of multi-storey apartment
buildings and multifunctional buildings. The company has lately been
experiencing financial problems.

WINNERS OF QURAN COMPETITION HONORED IN ARMENIA

Iranian Quran News Agency
15 February 2015

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Top participants at a competition on memorization and
recitation of Surah Saf were awarded in a ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia.

According to yerevan.icro, the Quran competition was organized
by Iranian Cultural Center in Yerevan on the occasion of the 36th
anniversary of the Islamic Revolution’s victory.

Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) Cultural Center of the Blue Mosque in the Armenian
capital city also cooperated in holding the competition.

Promotion of the Quranic culture and paving the way for dissemination
of Quranic teachings in Muslims’ life particularly among the Iranians
residing in Armenia were among the objectives of the competition.

The three top participants in the competition were awarded in the
ceremony hosted by the Blue Mosque on February 12.

The program continued with a speech presented by Majid Moshki,
Iranian cultural attache in Yerevan, who talked about Islamic-Iranian
life style.

Participants at the ceremony recited Komeil Supplication at the end
of the program.

INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE: PERMYAKOV DID NOT ACT UNDER INFLUENCE OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL OR OTHER PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES

by Karina Manukyan

Monday, February 16, 23:26

Blood specimens collected from Valery Permyakov and another 12
conscripts of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia,
contained no drugs, alcohol or other psychotropic substances, the
Investigation Committee of Armenia says.

According to the source, Permyakov’s phone calls before the murder and
after it, including from the mobile phones he stole from the spot,
are available. All the subscribers who received or made calls to
Permyakov’s phones are being interrogated.

Over a dozen of servicemen and representatives of the Command of the
102nd military base have been interrogated over the case.

The investigation did not expose whether Permyakov used a suppressor
or not.

A family of six was killed by Russian soldier Valery Permyakov in
Gyumri on Jan 12. The only survivor, six-month- old Seryozha Avetisyan,
who received stab wounds, died in hospital on Jan 19. On 14 January
Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office reported that they did not
discuss the issue of handing over of Permyakov to the Armenian party,
as according to the Russian legislation, a Russian citizen cannot be
handed over to another country. But after numerous protest actions
near the 102-nd Russian military base in Gyumri and the meeting at the
president’s residence, Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan
said that the investigation of the case will be held according to the
legislation of Armenia and Russia through comparing the legislative
acts of the two countries. He emphasized that the criminal will
be imprisoned at the territory of Armenia and the process will be
transparent in order to avoid public resonance. In line with the
decision of the Russian Military Garrison Court, Valery Permyakov was
arrested and charged with murder of two and more persons as well as
abandonment of post under arms.

THE NEXT STEP IS TO TAKE BACK ARMENIA’S SIGNATURE FROM THE PROTOCOLS

19:15, 16 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 16 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutyun believes President of the Republic of Armenia
Serzh Sargsyan did the right thing by withdrawing the Turkey-Armenia
Protocols from the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. At
the same time, the Dashnaktsutyun believes Armenia has to go all the
way and take back its signature from the Protocols as well.

In an interview with “Armenpress”, representative of the ARF-D Bureau
for the Armenian Cause and Political Affairs Kiro Manoyan mentioned
the following: “The Dashnaktsutyun was against the Turkey-Armenia
Protocols from the very first day, and after it became clear that
Turkey didn’t want to establish relations with Armenia without
preconditions, we urged the President to take back his signature from
the Protocols. Withdrawing the Protocols from the National Assembly
is commendable, but not sufficient since the justifications presented
in the President’s letters were suffice for Armenia to take back its
signature from the Protocols as well. It’s the right step, but the
President has to go all the way,” Kiro Manoyan emphasized.

The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) also positively assesses
the President’s initiative to withdraw the Turkey-Armenia Protocols
from the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. Chairman of
the SDHP Narek Galstyan emphasized that what’s especially important
is the fact that this is happening on the threshold of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. “The SDHP has criticized the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols several times. We believe the initial
signing of the Protocols in Zurich was a step back. Over the past
six years, we have had many occasions to call on withdrawing the
Turkey-Armenia Protocols when the official Ankara showed that it’s
not ready and doesn’t want to melt the ice in the Armenian-Turkish
relations in any way. Thus, we positively assess Serzh Sargsyan’s
initiative, which is commendable as it is ahead of the 100thanniversary
of the Armenian Genocide,” Narek Galstyan said.

THE TIME HAD COME FOR ARMENIA TO WITHDRAW THE TURKEY-ARMENIA PROTOCOLS: RUBEN SAFRASTYAN

21:17, 16 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 16 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. The time had come for Armenia to
withdraw the Turkey-Armenia Protocols from the National Assembly of
the Republic of Armenia since Turkey, with its actions and denial,
proved that it’s not ready for normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations. This is what Director of the Oriental Studies Institute
of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia,
Turkologist Ruben Safrastyan said. “The time had come, and the Turkish
authorities’ position on Armenian-Turkish relations and their denial
ahead of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide played a huge role,”
Ruben Safrastyan said in an interview with “Armenpress”, adding
that the withdrawal was very influential and that Armenia is on the
right track. Safrastyan stressed the fact that the international
community can’t have different views because it had already set the
Turkey-Armenia Protocols aside, based on calculations.

On February 16, President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
sent a letter to Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia Galust Sahakyan informing him about his decision on withdrawing
the Armenia-Turkey Protocols from the National Assembly of the Republic
of Armenia. The letter particularly runs as follows:

“Dear Mr. Sahakyan,

We have clearly imagined all the possible options of the future
developments while beginning the process of regulation of the
Armenia-Turkey relations without preconditions. We were ready for
both the comprehensive regulation of the ties via ratification of the
protocols and the possibility of their failure, as we had nothing to
hid and it would become clear for the international community whose
fault it actually was that the last closed border of Europe was not
opened and the chance was missed.

It has been six years since the signing of the Armenia-Turkey
protocols. During this entire period Armenia has shown a consistent
standpoint in the issue of realization of the protocols.

Notwithstanding, one should mention the lack of political will of the
Turkish authorities, distortions of the protocols’ letter and spirit,
and continuously putting forward preconditions. The policy of denialism
and editing history has simultaneously received a new impetus on the
threshold of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

I have stated for a number of times that time is not endless. I
reflected on this issue in September 2014 and at the UN General
Assembly. That’s a pity that this call of Armenia fell on deaf ears
of Turkey’s leadership.

Hence, I have made a decision on withdrawing the “Protocol on the
Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Armenia
and the Republic of Turkey” and “Protocol on Development of Relations
between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey” from the
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia” signed in Zurich on
October 10, 2009.”

POSTANJYAN: ARMENIA SHOULD WITHDRAW SIGNATURE FROM ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS

The recall of the Armenian-Turkish protocols from the parliament is
not the solution of the problem as they may be included again in the
agenda at any time, MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, a member of Heritage faction,
told Aysor.am.

According to her, Armenia should withdraw its signature from the
protocols.

As was reported, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan today sent a letter
to Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Galust Sahakyan, informing
him about the decision to recall the Protocols on the Establishment
of Diplomatic Relations and on the Development of Relations between
Armenia and Turkey from the Armenian parliament.

16.02.15, 20:26