Author: Kajoyan Gevork

NEW MEMORIAL AT SUNSET PARK TO HONOR VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

KNPR Radio, Nevada
Jan 21 2015

Wed, Jan 21, 2015
By Regina Revazova

Clark County accepted a donated memorial to Armenians killed in the
early 1900s, which will be built in Sunset Park.

Design, construction and installation costs put the entire project at
about $120,000, and all of it will be paid by the Armenian American
Society.

County Commissioner Mary Beth Scow said the monument will not open
the door to dozens of other privately funded memorials.

“We had probably fifty people representing the Armenian community
that came to several of our commission meetings requesting this,”
Clark County Commissioner Mary Beth Scow said, “We felt that this
did rise to the level of something that would dignify the monument,
but we did want to be careful that we are not opening the doors to
everything and anything.”

This proposal rose to that level for the commission because it serves
as an important reminder of historic events no one wants repeated.

“2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, where a
million and a half Armenians were killed during World War I,” said Andy
Armenian, a board member of an Armenian American Society of Las Vegas.

Every year on April 24 thousands of Armenian Americans gather to
commemorate the horrific time, which was carried out by leaders of
the Ottoman Empire. Besides those who were killed, thousands of people
were deported and put into concentration camps.

“The monument will serve as a destination to reflect and place some
memorial flowers,” Armenian said.

The Armenian American Society hopes to have the project completed in
about a year.

GUESTS:

Andy Armenian, Board Member of Armenian American Cultural Society of
Las Vegas

Mary Beth Scow, Clark County Commissioner, District G

NAGORNO-KARABAKH SAYS 1 SOLDIER KILLED IN FIGHTING

Associated Press International
January 20, 2015 Tuesday 4:11 PM GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – The defense ministry of the separatist
Nagorno-Karabakh region says one of its soldiers has been killed
while repelling an Azerbaijani incursion.

Nagorno-Karabakh is in Azerbaijan but has been under the control of
local ethnic Armenian forces and Armenian soldiers since 1994 when
a cease-fire ended six years of fighting.

Attempts to negotiate a peaceful settlement have stalled, and the
sides engage in frequent shootings along the buffer zone.

Tuesday’s statement from the Nagorno-Karabakh military said the
soldier died while repelling an incursion by Azerbaijani forces. It
said Azerbaijani troops made eight attempts to cross the buffer zone
on Monday and Tuesday, but were pushed back.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry rejected the claim in a statement
carried by the Interfax news agency.

RUSSIA SAYS ITS SOLDIER WILL FACE TRIAL IN ARMENIA

Associated Press International
January 20, 2015 Tuesday 3:29 PM GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – The head of Russia’s main investigative agency
says a Russian soldier suspected of killing a family in Armenia will
stand trial in that country.

The soldier, who served with a Russian military base in Gyumri, is
suspected of shooting six family members dead in the Armenian city
last week and stabbing a six-month-old baby to death. He was captured
and is held at the Russian base.

Alexander Bastrykin, chief of Russia’s Investigative Committee told
Armenian President Serge Sarkisian Tuesday that an open trial in
Armenia reflects a shared “desire for justice.” He didn’t specify if
the soldier would be tried by Armenian authorities or in a Russian
military tribunal.

Bastrykin’s visit followed rallies by thousands in Gyumri demanding
that the soldier be handed over to Armenian authorities.

MURDER IN GYUMRI AGGRAVATED TENSION

WPS Agency, Russia
January 20, 2015 Tuesday

BYLINE: Alexei Gorbachev
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, No 8, January 20, 2015, p. 3

RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES SHOULD HAVE RESPONED AT ONCE TO STREET PROTESTS
IN ARMENIA; Expert: Russia is too arrogant when it talks to its
foreign allies.

Russian Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin went to
Armenia to investigate the murder of an Armenian family in Gyumri by
Russian soldier Valery Permyakov. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Serj
Sargsjan had discussed the tragedy and its effect on the relations
between the two countries over the phone.

The murder in Gyumri was committed on January 12. Following that,
Permyakov tried to escape into Turkey. He was caught at the border
and returned to the Russian military base. He is to be tried as a
deserter, a nuance that enables Russia to deny Armenia its requests
that Permyakov be given over to the Armenian court. When the news that
Permyakov was returned to the Russian base became public knowledge,
mass street protests began in Gyumri and Yerevan.

Putin phoned his Armenian counterpart Sargsjan with condolences. The
president assured his colleague that the investigation would be swift
and thorough and that the guilty would be prosecuted. Putin also said
that Russian doctors were ready to try and save the only survivor
Serj Avetisjan, barely six month old. (Serj died yesterday despite
their efforts.)

The Russian Defense Ministry dispatched its own delegation to
Armenia.. to apologize for the crime in person and assist with the
investigation.

The Gyumri murder sparked mass protests in Armenia. The police
dispersed them with unusual brutality… enabling local experts to
comment that the authorities of Armenia were tied to the Kremlin’s
chariot. Sources claim that protests took place even in Gyumri itself,
always a fairly pro-Russian town.

Armenian human rights activists maintain that a good deal of crimes
in Gyumri were committed by the personnel of the Russian military base.

“That’s because the Armenian authorities do not control the base. The
impression is that its personnel are a law onto themselves. We know
for a fact that armed Russian servicemen participated in operational
investigative activities in Gyumri. How come armed personnel of a
foreign military base on the territory of Armenia function beyond
their own compound?” human rights activist Arthur Sakunts said.

Experts point out that Russia’s allies cannot help being wary. “It
all is a corollary of Russia’s foreign policy and manners,” said
Konstantin Kalachev of the Political Expert Group. “It is not
just absorption of the Crimea I’m talking about. Russia is all too
frequently arrogant when talking to its allies. It neglects to consider
their interests. Russia’s allies cannot help being offended.

Nobody wants to be back in the USSR anymore. It is equality and mutual
respect that everyone aspires to.”

In a word, Russia responded to the tragedy only when its echo affected
the pro-Russian regime in Yerevan.

Kalachev said, “Official Moscow should have expressed condolences right
away… By and large, the Kremlin is overly focused on propagandistic
aspect of establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union… and not on
economic expediency.”

[Translated from Russian]

ANC Australia’s #OnThisDay Campaign Reveals Archived Coverage of
Armenian Genocide

Tuesday, January 20th, 2015

ANC Australia will publish articles from Australian news sources
reporting on the Armenian Genocide from 1915 to 1923

SYDNEY–The Armenian National Committee of Australia has announced the
official launch of a social media campaign, titled “#OnThisDay.”

This year-long campaign, dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian
Genocide, is designed to better educate the wider Australian public on
the horrors of 1915 – 1923.

The Australian media was a world leader in reporting the massacre of
Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, which resulted in
unprecedented coverage throughout all Australian newspapers of the
day.

ANC Australia has compiled an extensive catalogue of these newspaper
clippings from Australian archives, including from the Australian, the
Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Argus and other notable
publications of the day, and will be releasing them on a daily basis
via ANC Australia’s Facebook page.

ANC Australia’s Executive Director, Vache Kahramanian said: “This is a
ground-breaking initiative, one which ANC Australia has been working
on for some time.”

“There is an incredible array of articles, which cover the horrors of
the Armenian Genocide as well as the extensive humanitarian aid
provided by Australia at the time,” Kahramanian added.

The #OnThisDay campaign, which is running in conjunction with the
Armenian National Committee of America’s #GenocideDiary campaign, will
result in an unprecedented amount of material being released from
Australian and American newspaper archives.

ANC Australia has also been working on a publication titled “The
Armenian Genocide… As Reported by the Australian Press: Volume 2,”
which will be published by Armenia Media, Inc. later this year.

Follow ANC Australia’s Facebook page to get updates on this daily
campaign via your Facebook news feed.

World Bulletin. Turkey
Jan 20 2015

Armenian baby latest casualty of Russian soldier’s killing spree

Several thousand people staged protests last Thursday in the capital
Yerevan and in Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city where the
shootings took place, demanding the soldier’s handover.

World Bulletin/News Desk

A six-month-old boy became the seventh member of an Armenian family on
Monday to die after a killing spree blamed on a Russian soldier
serving at a military base in the tiny Caucasus nation that has
strained ties between Moscow and Yerevan.

Armenia’s law enforcement officials say the soldier is their main
suspect after military uniform boots with his name on them were found
at the site where six members of the Avetisyan family were killed last
week.

The baby, Sergei, died in hospital of his wounds.

The soldier’s motive remains unclear. Several thousand people staged
protests last Thursday in the capital Yerevan and in Gyumri, Armenia’s
second largest city where the shootings took place, demanding the
soldier’s handover.

Russia’s defence ministry has confirmed that a soldier went missing
before the killings, which it called a tragedy, but has given no other
details.

The incident has whipped up tension between Russia and Armenia, a
former Soviet republic which normally enjoys close ties with Moscow
and has signed up to a Russian-led Customs Union, a pet project of
President Vladimir Putin.

In a telephone call on Sunday with Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan,
Putin promised a swift investigation to bring the culprits to justice.

Local officials said the suspect was being held at the Russian military base.

In 1999, a court in Gyumri sentenced two soldiers from the same
Russian base to 14 and 15 years in jail for killing two people and
wounding several more in indiscriminate firing in the city, local
media reported at the time.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 20 2015

DavutoÄ?lu commemorates Dink, calls for new page in ties with Armenians

Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu has commemorated slain Armenian-Turkish
journalist Hrant Dink and called on those who believe in
Turkish-Armenian friendship to contribute to a new start under the
guidance of Dink’s efforts.

In a statement released on Tuesday to commemorate Dink a day after the
eighth anniversary of his assassination, DavutoÄ?lu said the journalist
was an important Anatolian intellectual who sought ways and methods to
build a common future between the Turkish and Armenian people.

DavutoÄ?lu stated that Turkey also wants to open doors in people’s
minds and hearts in light of Dink’s efforts to surpass deep-rooted
pains and to remember historical togetherness. He called on everyone,
particularly those who believe in a “Turkish-Armenian friendship,” to
make a contribution to a `new start.’

He mentioned that Turkey had previously stated that relocation
policies, including the events of 1915, took place under the harsh
conditions of World War I, and added that Turkey shares the pain of
the Armenians and is making a patient and pertinacious effort to
rebuild sympathy between the two societies. He said that President
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an’s statement last year — back when he was prime
minister — extending Turkey’s condolences to the grandchildren of
Armenians who lost their lives in 1915 showed that Turkey has a
positive attitude toward bettering ties.

`The way to leave behind the trauma that froze time in 1915 starts
with breaking taboos. Turkey, for its part, has surpassed this point
and has left behind stereotypical expressions and generalizations
inherited from the past,’ DavutoÄ?lu stated, stressing that it is
possible for old friends to understand each other and look to a common
future.

In his statement, he recalled that the Turkish and Armenian people
share a common geography and history. He said these nations can only
speak amongst each other and seek for solutions together. `It is a
must for us to develop mutual trust and cooperation, re-learn each
other in light of our 800-year-long common history and engagement in
human affairs. We hereby invite our Armenian friends to visit Turkey
more and lift reciprocal prejudices,’ he said.

`Our desires to share pain, heal wounds and re-establish friendships
are sincere. Our prospect is friendship and peace,’ DavutoÄ?lu said.

Last week, reports emerged that ErdoÄ?an had invited his Armenian
counterpart to the 100th anniversary celebration of the World War I
Çanakkale (Dardanelles) Campaign to commemorate Armenian and Turkish
soldiers who fought and died together in the same ranks during the
war. However, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan said that before
organizing such a commemorative event, Turkey has a much more pressing
obligation toward the whole of humanity to recognize and condemn the
Armenian `genocide’ in response to ErdoÄ?an’s invitation.

Turkey categorically denies the claims of Armenian genocide, saying
there were deaths on both sides when Armenians revolted against the
Ottoman Empire during the years of World War I to create their own
state in collaboration with the Russian forces then invading eastern
Anatolia.

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Jan 20 2015

PM DavutoÄ?lu hopes 2015 renews friendship between Turkey and Armenia

ANADOLU AGENCY
LONDON

Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu wished Tuesday that 2015 would be the
year when Turkey and Armenia rekindled and shared their friendship
instead of regenerating animosity.

His remarks came a day after the eighth death anniversary of prominent
Turkish-Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, who was assassinated in broad
daylight in front of his office in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007. Dink was
one of the founders of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.

“Hrant Dink was an invaluable Anatolian intellectual who, without
compromising either his Armenian heritage or his loyalty to Turkey,
sought to help find the ways and means through which Turks and
Armenians may build a common future,” he told the media at the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel in London.

The year 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of 1915 events what Armenia
calls “genocide” and the Battle of the Dardanelles that took place in
Canakkale province’s district of Gallipoli, which marked a turnaround
in favor of the Turks against Allied Forces during World War I.

DavutoÄ?lu said he wished 2015 would be the year of regenerating
friendships out of war grief of both peoples. “We all must make an
effort to build a new world for peace,” he said.

About Turkish-Armenian friendship, he added that Turkey was making a
natural and humanitarian call as a moral duty, something which slain
journalist Dink always deemed was his “reason for being” throughout
his life.

Earlier Tuesday, Turkish premier issued a written statement to
commemorate the anniversary of Dink’s murder. He called on all
Armenians and all those who believed in Turkish-Armenian friendship to
“contribute to a new beginning.”

“Throughout his life, he strived, mind, heart and soul, to shed light
on one of the major issues that the Ottoman Empire passed down to the
Republic of Turkey. As someone who personified Turkish-Armenian
friendship, he worked selflessly and gave his all, so that the bonds
of a historic coexistence could be remembered, and the deep-rooted
suffering overcome,” said the statement.

DavutoÄ?lu said they wished to open new paths into hearts and minds as
they commemorate the anniversary of his demise, and guided by the
seeds of friendship he sowed.

The premier reiterated that the relocation policies applied
essentially enforced under wartime circumstances yielded inhumane
consequences, including that of 1915. DavutoÄ?lu said Turkey shares the
suffering of Armenians and, with patience and resolve, is endeavouring
to re-establish empathy between the two peoples.

“Only by breaking taboos can we hope to begin addressing the great
trauma that froze time in 1915. For its part, Turkey has transcended
this critical threshold and relinquished the generalizations and
stereotypical assertions of the past,” he added.

He believed that both Turks and Armenians, the two ancient nations,
can demonstrate the wisdom to understand each other and contemplate a
future together.

“Having shared the same geography and a long history, it is only Turks
and Armenians who can effectively address their issues together and
work jointly to find ways forward,” he added.

Turkish premier also emphasized the need to foster a sense of mutual
trust and cooperation, to get reacquainted against the backdrop of an
800 years-old common history and promote human interaction.

He also invited their “Armenian friends” to pay more visits to Turkey
and do away with respective prejudices.

“We will press ahead with resolve to give due recognition to the
Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey and to those Armenian
personalities who made inestimable contributions to Ottoman/Turkish
culture,” he said.

DavutoÄ?lu added that Turkey’s desire to share in the pain, to heal the
wounds and to re-establish friendships is sincere. “Our course is set
towards a horizon of friendship and peace.”

Relations between Turkey and Armenia have historically been poor
because of incidents that took place during World War I. The Armenian
diaspora and government describe the 1915 events as “genocide” and
have asked for compensation.

Turkey officially refutes this description, saying that although
Armenians died during relocations, many Turks also lost their lives in
attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.

Ankara has also long been calling for Armenia and its historians to
make a joint academic research and study into the archives of both
countries.
In April 2014, President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an-at the time prime
minister – offered condolences for the Armenian deaths that occurred
in 1915-a first for a Turkish statesman.

Russia Beyond the Headlines
Jan 20 2015

Moscow and Yerevan to jointly investigate Gyumri murder

16:08 January 20, 2015 Interfax

An investigation against Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, who is
suspected of murdering an Armenian family in the city of Gyumri, will
be conducted in Armenian territory, Russian Investigative Committee
spokesman Vladimir Markin said, referring to committee head Alexander
Bastrykin.

“When coordinating the work of investigative groups, Bastrykin and
chairman of Armenia’s Investigative Committee Aghvan Hovsepyan agreed
that the parties would work jointly in order to ensure a
comprehensive, complete and objective inquiry as part of the criminal
cases opened in both countries,” Markin told Interfax.

Bastrykin “assured his counterpart that an investigation and a trial
of serviceman Permyakov will take place exclusively in the territory
of Armenia,” Markin said.

“The criminal inquiry and all procedural measures connected with it
will abide by the norms of international law, the January 22, 1993
Convention on Legal Aid and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and
Criminal Cases, the March 16, 1995 Treaty between the Russian
Federation and the Republic of Armenia concerning the presence of a
Russian military base in the territory of Armenia, as well as the
Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia
on judicial and mutual legal assistance in issues linked with the
presence of the Russian military base in the territory of Republic of
Armenia, dated August 29, 1997,” the spokesman said.

“Today, the heads of the two countries’ Investigative Committees also
met with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and informed him of the
course of this joint inquiry. They assured him that the person guilty
of this cruel murder would be punished with the utmost vigor of the
law,” Markin said.

During his visit to Armenia, Bastrykin was also brought up to date on
the progress made in the investigation opened against Permyakov,
Markin said.

According to earlier reports, a family of six, including a two-year
old child, were murdered in Gyumri, northern Armenia, on January 12.
The only survivor, six-months-old Sergei Avetisyan, was hospitalized
with a stab wound. He died on January 19.

Valery Permyakov, a serviceman from Russia’s 102nd military base, who
is deployed in Gyumri, was detained shortly after the attack. He is
now on the territory of the military base. Criminal charges were
brought against him on January 14 based on the Russian and Armenian
Criminal Codes.

On January 15, protests broke out in Gyumri. Their participants
demanded that Permyakov be handed over to the Armenian justice system.
Fourteen people, including five policemen, were hospitalized after
clashes between the demonstrators and police.

On January 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin called his Armenian
counterpart Serzh Sargsyan to again extend his condolences to the
victims’ relatives and all people of Armenia in regard of the tragedy
in Gyumri.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Jan 20 2015

Russian embassy in Armenia says Gyumri murderer will be punished

20 January 2015 – 12:32pm

The Russian embassy in Armenia has expressed its condolences over the
death of six-month-old Sergei Avetisyan, fatally injured during the
tragedy in Gyumri, and promised that those responsible will be
punished.

“We are mourning with the people of Armenia. Until the last moment, we
hoped and prayed for Seryozha Avetisyan.

Armenian and Russian doctors were struggling to save his
life.Unfortunately, a miracle did not happen, although we hoped for it
and believed in it,” TASS quoted the text of statement.

“The loss of a child is a terrible grief. There are no words to
relieve the pain of this tragedy. However, even in such a situation,
we should remain human beings. Most people understand this. Mourning
is grief and prayers,” the embassy stressed.

“We all should learn lessons from this tragedy and do everything to
prevent such crimes in future. We can assure everyone that the
criminal and those who might have backed him will get their deserved
punishment,” the Russian side promised.