Author: Kajoyan Gevork

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

The 12th General Assembly of the Brotherhood of the Catholicosate of
Cilicia was held in Antelias 3-4 April 2014
“Taking the Church to the people and building the church of the people is
our mission,” said His Holiness Aram I.

Antelias – The members of the Brotherhood met at the Meeting Hall of the
Gulbenkian Museum in Antelias under the leadership of His Holiness Aram I.
Following the election of the officers of the Assembly, in his opening
message, the Catholicos Aram I reminded the clergy that such meetings were
times to take account, to assess, to learn and to plan. He said, “This
process requires spiritual renewal and formation of intellectual
capabilities based on the principles of love, reciprocity and service to the
people.”

After the adoption of the agenda, the Assembly received the annual report
of the outgoing Committee of the Assembly. During the first two sessions of
the meeting, the Assembly discussed a draft report on “clerical
dress-codes,” and the final draft of “the by-laws of the Brotherhood.” At
the end of the discussions the officers of the Assembly invited individual
comments to be sent in writing to the drafting group. The final draft will
be approved and made public in a Pontifical Letter by the end of the month.

The next six sessions of the Assembly were devoted to presentations on and
discussions of the history of the Catholicosate of Cilicia from Sis
(Cilicia) to Antelias (Lebanon). The speakers presented research papers
describing the conditions under which the Catholicosate was uprooted, its
properties confiscated, and its spiritual and cultural heritage destroyed.
Papers also covered the early decades of settlement, the cold war,
Turkey-related conflict during the leadership of Catholicos Zareh I, the
Armenian Bishops Conferences, the renewal of the church and rising
challenges.

His Holiness Aram I concluded the meeting, and said, “As we move towards
the second century of the Catholicosate in Antelias, in order to take the
Church to the people and build the church of the people, we must continue
our journey with deepened faith, renewed spirituality and a strong
commitment to survive.”

The Assembly adjourned with the hymn “apostles of Jesus” and the Cilicia
anthem.
##

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

His Holiness Aram I congratulates Syriac Orthodox Patriarch-elect
Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim

Antelias – 31 March 2014. On Monday the morning His Holiness Aram I
accompanied by the Prelates of the Dioceses of Lebanon, Syria and Tehran,
visited Patriarch-elect Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim at the Atchaneh Monastery in
Lebanon.

During their conversation they discussed the centuries-old relationship
between the two churches and the urgency of continuing to work together in
the Middle East.

The Council of Religion and the Prelates of all Dioceses of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia meet in Antelias

Antelias – 1 April 2014. In the morning His Holiness Aram I presided over
the meeting of the Council of Religion with the participation of all the
Prelates.

The members of the Council received reports on ecumenical and interfaith
activities of the church, discussed interim reports on coordinating the
rites of the Church and classification of Saints. In relation to the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Council decided to:
1..
Celebrate the Blessing of the Holy Muron on 19 July 2015, in Bikfaya
near the Genocide Memorial.
2..
Have the Dioceses in the diaspora organize a pilgrimage to Antelias from
13-20 July 2015.
3..
Provide urgent assistance to the displaced Armenian population of Kessab
in Latakia, all those who have left their homes within Syria, and the
refugees in Lebanon.

His Holiness Aram I receives the Baroness Valerie Amos , the UN
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief

Anteilias – 2 April 2014. On Wednesday evening the UN-Undersecretary
Baroness Valerie Amos, who was on a one-day visit to Lebanon to discuss the
status of Syrian refugees, met with His Holiness Aram I in Antelias.

His Holiness Aram I welcomed the Under-Secretary and expressed his
appreciation to her for including the situation in Kessab in her report to
the Security Council. The Catholicos explained the circumstances under which
the population had left and their current situation in Latakia. His Holiness
also spoke of the precarious situation of all Armenians, those displaced
from their homes in other parts of Syria and the current refugees in
Lebanon. He then provided the Baroness with reports and fact sheets on the
situation in both countries.
Kurt Cardinal Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity visits His Holiness Aram I

Antelias – 29 March 2014. On Saturday morning, Cardinal Kurt Koch,
accompanied by his staff and the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon Gabriele
Giordano Caccia, visited His Holiness Aram I. Archbishop Nareg Alemezian,
the Ecumenical Officer of the Catholicosate, was also present at the
meeting.

The Cardinal and His Holiness covered a wide range of issues, starting
with the ecumenical movement and the Roman Catholic Church, the activities
of the Middle East Council of Churches, bilateral dialogues, problems and
concerns related to the life of the two churches and interfaith matters.
They also discussed the centuries-old relationship between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Catholicosate of Cilicia. In this context Catholicos
Aram I proposed that current relations between the two churches be further
strengthened on international, regional levels.

The meeting ended with an update on the situation in Lebanon and the
forthcoming presidential elections.
##

TURKISH LAWYER DEMANDS WARNING BEFORE NOAH SCREENING OVER RELIGIOUS CONCERNS

18:05 * 07.04.14

A lawyer in Istanbul has filed a complaint about Russell Crowe’s
latest movie Noah, demanding that a warning be displayed before its
screening to clarify that the movie is not related to the prophet
mentioned in the Quran, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Lawyer Yusuf Erikel reportedly stated in his petition that the movie is
“against religious beliefs” and “offends the Prophet Noah.”

According to Erikel, the warning should state that the movie is
completely the scriptwriter’s fiction and that the character of Noah,
as well as the incidents in the movie, has no relation to either
Islam or the real prophet named in the Quran.

The Culture Ministry and the company that holds the movie’s publishing
rights are named as the “opposition side” in the interlocutory
injunction demand.

Much of the Muslim world, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia
and Indonesia, have banned the movie, finding it “un-Islamic” because
of its visual depiction of the Prophet Noah.

Armenian News – Tert.am

PEOPLE LIVING IN CRIMEA AND KARABAKH SAW NO FUTURE FOR THE COUNTRIES THEY WERE ATTACHED TO

ArmInfo’s interview with Sergey Markedonov, Ph.D. (History), assistant
professor at the Regional Studies and Foreign Policy department of
the Russian State University for Humanities

by David Stepanyan

Monday, April 7, 21:11

Could you give your vision of the causes of the conflict over Crimea.

Today the stances on Crimea are rather precise. Russia has proved in
the minority not because it is wrong. That is not the question. The
point is that the balance of power in the world is shifting in
favor of the U.S. and its allies for a range of issues. That is
why the situation with Crimea is interpreted in the light of the
aforementioned. And the response from both the parties of the global
conformation is tough.

Do the positions of the South Caucasus nations on Crimea reflect the
latest real politik tendencies?

Today the position of being above the struggle for the Crimea would be
the best for any Caucasus states. We see that at present the struggle
for tones and half-tones is taking place practically everywhere.

Georgia which for many years was watching Ukraine as a strategic
partner, thinks that the West is its strategic choice. But on 6 March
when sanctions against Russia were discussed in the parliament, the
“Georgian dream” did not support the project. It only criticized
that and abstained from effective measures. As for Azerbaijan, for
which Ukraine has always been an important partner in many sectors,
the current authorities of Baku do not like Maidan’s ghost very much,
and they do not want to have similar Maidan in Azerbaijan. On the other
hand, Azerbaijani opposition is very much inspired by this sample,
although the Crimea has become the true price of the Maidan. Armenia
is Russia’s strategic partner. But there are many cases which Yerevan
did not want to make a point of. For this reason, an open supporting
of the referendum in the Crimea by Yerevan may push the West to raise
an issue of “Nagorno-Karabakh occupation”. Yerevan was not happy for
the events in Georgia in 2008. But because of the clear reasons it
did not want to support Russia. So, for all the Caucasus republics
it would be right to stay aside and not to interfere in the conflict
which is actually strange to them. No country of the South Caucasus
has vitally important interests in the Crimea or Ukraine to fight for.

The situation over Crimea is more or less clear, unlike the future
of Southeastern Ukraine. Do you have a scenario for this region?

Comparing the situations in Crimea and in the southeast of Ukraine is
wrong, as the phenomenon of the large-scale Crimean separatism existed
yet long ago. Meanwhile, Leonid Kuchma, Yulia Timoshenko, Alexander
Turchinov, Viktor Yanukovich and a number of oligarchs are from the
east of Ukraine. They are not natives of Galich. Therefore, all these
territories have always been included in the all-Ukrainian process.

Meanwhile, Crimea has always had certain selfness. As for the
southeast, it is also very different. Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk are
more integrated in the Ukrainian processes amid pro-Russian processes
in Lugansk. In Donetsk the processes are less pro-Russian. I can
see no pro-Russian parties there to come out as Moscow’s agents with
relevant messages. In the meantime, there has always been a Russian
community in Crimea. Speaking of Crimea, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, many
go in geopolitics not even noticing the views of the people that live
there. Meanwhile, no geopolitics is able to change the public opinion.

The Crimea and Karabakh issues did not originate from any geopolitical
interests, simply the people living there saw no future for the
countries they were attached to in the Soviet times without any
referendum. However, the problem of Ukraine is the problem of power.

“In any revolution, there is always a political force able to control
and monopolize violence. Ukraine, there is no such leader so far.

Therefore, the scenario of a full collapse of power in Ukraine and
Russia’s inevitable interference is still possible. However, there
is also another scenario according to which Kyev finally displays
reasonability and begins to negotiate.

Transdniestria is already asking to join Russia. Some people are
also mentioning Nagorno-Karabakh. Do you think that Crimea has become
a precedent?

Russia’s foreign policy is not selling boxes: Crimea’s joining Russia
does not mean that the same will happen to Transniedstria. Still
many are sure that Russia’s policy today is aimed at collecting
territories. In reality, Russia’s policy in the post-Soviet area is
not only what it does to others but also what others do to it. When
Georgia tried to force the Russians out of the South Ossetian peace
process, they got South Ossetia. When Ukraine began defying them,
they got Crimea. But if Moldova acts differently, they will not get
Transdniestria. Growing confrontation with the West is the last thing
Russia wants. Everybody perfectly understands that one day Russian
resources may end as may the patience of the West.

Are there real opportunities to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
that are being missed?

Very often they in the West mistake the wish for the reality. Some
people think that things here depend on whether the West and Russia
will be able to come to terms though the real problem comes from
the reluctance of Armenians and Azeris to make peace. The West and
Russia came to terms when they adopted the Madrid Principles but
that did not bring Armenians and Azeris closer. The problem is that
those principles contain lots of contradictions. For example, the
point concerning the interim status of Nagorno-Karabakh contradicts
the one confirming Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. With the world
community refusing to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh and its authorities,
it is not clear who will govern that region during the period of
the interim status. So, the only term for the Madrid Principles is
imitation. The West and Russia are just aiming to show that they
do have common grounds. The other aim they have in view is to keep
Armenia and Azerbaijan at the negotiating table so as to create an
illusion of negotiations and to prevent a new war.

Is there a country interested in comprehensive peace in
Nagrono-Karabakh. What are the interests of geopolitics today?

Despite absolute absence of consensus, the parties to the Karabakh
conflict should nevertheless be interested in reaching a universal
peace settlement. I think that today everybody, even Turkey and Iran,
are interested in reaching the compromise option. Not geo-politics
but the parties to the conflict should make a compromise. In that
case, Armenia will get the opened borders. And Russia will not be
forced to tack between Yerevan and Baku preserving certain influence
in both countries. However, unblocking of the border to Armenia by
Turkey without settlement of the Karabakh conflict is impossible,
taking into consideration the domestic political significance of
this issue for Turkey. The West which thinks the Bosnia and Kosovo
are its success, goes on developing the project on opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border to reach another “success”. The EU has long
ago stopped producing creative ideas. The Europeans declare grandiose
success in democratizing and assure to reach bigger success. Meanwhile,
there is nothing of the kind and no democratizing is taking place. It
is good that regime has changed in Georgia for the first time for the
last 20 years, but it is not clear. what was Bidzina Ivanishvili’s role
in all that. “If it is democracy, in that case, let the USA and Europe
choose the Deng Xiaoping reforms for themselves too. What democratizing
success does Azerbaijan have? If we compare Serzh Sargsyan with Robert
Kocharyan, we may probably find dynamics. Nevertheless, I still do
not see a system of the functioning democratic institutions in Armenia.

Has the Eastern Partnership program lost its prospects or will it
gain a new momentum, with all ensuing consequences for Russia?

The program has prospects but at the same time, it does not have them.

It has no prospect as its moderators do not understand true images.

Allegedly, it is a hostage of the lost capacities and invented myths
which it follows. However, it has prospects as its member-states
still have a demand for Europe. They travel to Europe and see
the situation there, but they do not understand that for becoming
Europe they have to work like Europe but not to wait for democracy
brought by the Europeans. However, if there is a demand, there are
also bilateral impulses towards Brussels. The main problem of the
“post-Soviet” countries and the European security system in general
is that they do not try to take Russia as a partner in a big European
concert. Many people say that real politics is bad. But the policy
based on the myths and illusions is even worse as many people will be
disappointed with it. Of course, Russia will not become a member of
the EU, but its voice should be heard there. Moscow does not admit
the out of control extension of NATO like an exchange for beautiful
words. Nobody has canceled competition and conflict of interests.

Is Ukraine a part of this conflict of interest? Or things are much
more complicated?

Undoubtedly, the situation in Ukraine is more complicated than it
seems at first sight. First of all, it is a test for statehood that
arose from inside from the very first day. Actually, everybody,
including Russia pass this test in the Caucasus, Povolzhye, etc.

Besides Karabakh, Azerbaijan passes this test in the Talish and
Lezgin issues too. The same has been happening in Ukraine. The point
is about the identity which fits the population of the country. For
this reason, I would offer another two volumes to Leonid Kuchma’s book
“Ukraine is not Russia” – “Ukraine is not Galicia” and “Ukraine is not
Maidan”. They have to understand that and all the viewpoints should
be taken into consideration. Even if Maidan gathers one third of the
population of Ukraine, it is just one third. But if Ukraine wanted to
be entire, it had to understand that before the Maidan. The Georgians
also had to understand that and create privileged conditions for the
Abkhazs so that to preserve the borders of Georgian Soviet Socialistic
Republic. Today many people blame Vladimir Putin for supporting Ramzan
Kadirov. But such is the price of the issue, the price that Moscow
pays for having Chechnya within Russia. Many people in Russia do not
like such a position. For this reason, the root of the problem should
be fist of all looked for in Ukraine. And later all the rest external
factors overlapped that.

NAIRA ZOHRABYAN DEMANDS THAT PACE SHOULD ASSESS TURKEY’S BEHAVIOR IN KESSAB

by Marianna Lazarian

Monday, April 7, 20:21

Armenian MP from the Prosperous Armenia Party Faction, Naira Zohrabyan,
demands that PACE should send an observation mission to Kessab to
assess Turkey’s behavior.

Zohrabyan has told ArmInfo that on the first day of PACE’s spring
session she stressed in her speech that what has happened in Kessab,
Syria, is another human tragedy.

It is undisputable that the Islamist fighters attacked Kessab from
the territory of Turkey, she said. That brutal attack resulted in
deportation of the Armenian population of Kessab, she added.

Zohrabyan also pointed out that the Islamist fighters desecrated the
Armenian churches, robbed and destroyed the Armenian houses and the
Armenians had to flee to avoid another genocide.

At the same time, the MP stressed that there are photos clearly
demonstrating the fighters easily moving from Turkey to Syria and
that there are Turkish armed forces’ soldiers among these fighters.

She added that some Turkish politicians’ statements that they allegedly
know nothing about it are nothing but a display of Turkism.

“Any use of force against civilians regardless of ethnic or religious
affiliation should be condemned and our Assembly must respond to the
developments in Kessab and demand specific explanations from Turkey’s
authorities. Next year will mark the 100 years of the Armenian Genocide
in the Ottoman Empire. Let us not allow the history to be repeated”,
she said.

LE JEU DE GAZPROM EN ARMENIE

ARMENIE

Gazprom, le Goliath russe de l’energie, continue a faire son shopping
en Armenie.

La version russe du magazine Forbes a indique que Gazprom negocie
l’achat des reseaux electriques d’Armenie , 36000 km de fils
electriques qui fournissent de l’electricite a 950 000 clients sur
une population de plus de 3 millions de personnes dans le pays.

Si l’affaire est conclue, le reseau d’electricite changera de mains
d’une societe russe Inter RAO UES, a l’autre. Mais Gazprom n’est pas
bien sûr que juste une autre societe russe. C’est la baguette magique
du Kremlin pour sa politique etrangère.

En tant que principal fournisseur du gaz naturel et de la securite
(et peut-etre de l’electricite) de l’Armenie,la Russie possède
pratiquement le pays.

En 2013, a la suite de la decision de l’Armenie d’opter pa surprise
pour l’Union douanière de la Russie Gazprom a pris plus de 100 pour
cent des parts de l’entreprise en charge de l’approvisionnement en
gaz naturel de l’Armenie, ArmRosGazprom.

L’Armenie produit environ un tiers de son electricite a partir du gaz
naturel, selon la Banque mondiale, de sorte que cela apparait coherent
que Gazprom s’interesse a la societe nationale d’electricite ? Mais
le service d’investigation armenien Hetq.am suggère que ce n’est pas
une tendance recente.

Le Reseau electrique armenien d’Inter RAO a commence a afficher
des pertes en 2012. La societe a ensuite blâme la crise sur le prix
qu’elle devait payer pour l’achat d’electricite a partir de l’une des
centrales thermiques en Armenie contrôlees par gazprom. Cet achat
peut avoir contribue a la derive de la societe Reseaux electriques
d’Armenie vers une faillite possible pretend Hetq.

Maintenant, la bouee de sauvetage selon Forbes est l’offre que Gazprom
a offert de 50 millions de dollars a Inter RAO pour les reseaux
electriques d’Armenie. Inter RAO n’a pas confirme les pourparlers
avec Gazprom, mais a dit qu’il examinerait a vendre ses actifs en
Armenie pour un bon prix.

Eurasianet

lundi 7 avril 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

France needs to admit role in 1994 genocide: Rwanda
A Rwandan girl visits the graves of some of the 800,000 people killed
in the 1994 genocide. (File photo)
Sun Apr 6, 2014 10:52PM GMT

Related Interviews:

‘CAR to face massive genocide’

Rwanda has asked France to own up to its role in the 1994 genocide in
the African country that left hundreds of thousands dead.

On Sunday, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said France had
to face up to the “difficult truth” of its involvement in the massacre
if Paris wants the reconciliation efforts between the two countries to
move forward, AFP reported.

“For our two countries to really start getting along, we will have to
face the truth, the truth is difficult, the truth of being close to
anybody who is associated with genocide understandably is a very
difficult truth to accept,” Mushikiwabo said.

She said it was “impossible for our two countries to move forward if
the condition is that Rwanda has to forget its history in order to get
along with France,” adding that “We cannot move on at the expense of
the historical truth of the genocide.”

In an interview with the weekly Jeune Afrique, Rwandan President Paul
Kagame denounced France and Belgium for “involvement in the genocide,”
when the ethnic majority Hutus killed some 800,000 people, mainly
minority Tutsis, during a span of 100 days.

In the interview, published on Sunday, Kagame denounced the “direct
role of Belgium and France in the political preparation for the
genocide.”

“Twenty years later, the only thing you can say against them (the
French) in their eyes is they didn’t do enough to save lives during
the genocide,” Kagame told Jeune Afrique.

“That’s a fact, but it hides the main point: the direct role of
Belgium and France in the political preparation of the genocide and
the participation of the latter in its very execution,” Kagame said.

Kagame’s remarks sparked a diplomatic spat on the eve of the
anniversary of the killings.

French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira pulled out of attending the
Monday’s events in the capital city of Kigali.

France has repeatedly denied involvement in the genocide, despite
findings by Rwanda’s MUCYO commission of inquiry in 2008, according to
which France had trained the militias that carried out the killings.

Relations between Kigali and Paris were completely frozen from 2006 to 2009.

The tainted relations between the two countries, however, have
improved notably since last month, when in a landmark ruling, France
sentenced former Rwandan army captain, Pascal Simbikangwa, to 25 years
in prison for his role in the massacre.

MN/MAM/AS

Fars News Agency, Iran
April 6 2014

Syrian Community in Chicago Condemns Turkish Support for Terrorists

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian community in the US city of Chicago condemned
in a stand the blatant intervention of the Turkish government in
Syria’s internal affairs through supporting terrorists in Kasab.

The stand was organized by the Syrian-American Forum with the
participation of the National Armenian-American Committee in front of
the Turkish Consulate on Saturday, Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

Rawa Serrieh, a member at the Forum, said that members of the Syrian
community in the USA express their pride over the heroism of the
Syrian Arab Army in confronting the terrorists in Kasab and all the
Syrian territories.

The participants stressed their absolute rejection of the US
interference in Syria’s affairs and the direct support to the
terrorist groups, carrying the Syrian flag and banners that say “Save
Syria…Save Kasab” and “Work for Syria”.

International Policy Digest
April 6 2014

The Southern Caucasus within the Context of the Crimea Crisis

By Farhad R. Najafov

The Crimea incident, which occurred against the background of
heightened tensions between the West and Russia, might reveal the
ambitions of some political forces that took advantage of the
opportunity in Kiev.

Although I am not passing judgment on either the West or Russia it
must be said that the escalation of this type in the post-Soviet era
is not promising for the future of the region. During the crisis,
views within the Southern Caucasus differed significantly from other
post-Soviet states. Even before the crisis it was clear that Georgia
leaned heavily towards the West. However, Armenia’s favoring the
Russian initiated Customs Union instead of the Association Agreement
with the European Union, which was to have been signed in Vilnius in
November of 2013 along with Ukraine, surprised the world community.
While surprising, it should be taken into account that from 2007-2013
the European Union gave Armenia grants in the amount of EURO 295 million
for development and reconstruction projects. This amount exceeded 10%
of the Armenian budget in 2013.

Azerbaijan voted in the UN General Assembly on the adoption of a
resolution calling upon states not to recognize changes in the status
of Crimea and was one of the 100 states that voted in favor of the
territorial integrity of Ukraine. Garen Nazarian, the Armenian
Ambassador to UN, tactfully accused those who voted for the resolution
of colonialist behavior. It is not surprising that this accusation by
the Armenian Ambassador was called shameful by Alexandre Arzumanyan,
an Armenian MP. In contrast, Elmar Mammadyarov, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, openly declared Azerbaijan’s support of the
territorial integrity of Ukraine. International law does recognize the
principle of self-determination.

The Armenian state was established in 1918. Shortly after regaining
independence in 1991 20% of Azerbaijan territory was occupied and
almost 1 million people were expelled and became IDPs. Even today
people of the Southern Caucasus, both Armenians and Azerbaijanis, are
suffering from the consequences of this conflict. Recently, Wayne
Merry, at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC voiced
a very interesting conclusion. According to Merry, the US lost an
opportunity of being involved in the Southern Caucasus in several
regional projects.

Serzh Sargsyan, the President of Armenia, called Russian President
Vladimir Putin and expressed his support of the Crimean referendum.
Prior to this, Andranik Manukyan, the Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine
had been invited to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to
identify whether Armenia supported the referendum. In addition, the
Armenian population of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh
held a solidarity rally complete with rhetoric in support of the
Crimean referendum. The slogan of the rally was the right of
self-determination of nations.

However, Russia does not recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
separate from the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. In addition,
Russian journalist Maxim Shevchenko, in an interview said: “Attempts
to compare the Crimea and the Karabakh conflicts are radically wrong.
Status-quo over Karabakh is a result of war and there are thousands of
people were killed and some hundred thousands were expelled to leave
the lands where they used to live for centuries. As opposed to
Karabakh conflict, there was not any ethnic cleansing in the Crimean
crisis.” According to Shevchenko, in order to hold a legal referendum
on self-determination in Karabakh, displaced Azerbaijani from Karabakh
have to return back to their homeland and only then will the
referendum be legal.

The Crimea crisis has produced both political and legal assessments.
The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe,
composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law,
adopted a resolution on March 21st on the legality of the Crimean
referendum. An excerpt from the resolution reads: “The principle of
territorial integrity commands very widespread recognition – whether
express or tacit – in constitutional law. On the other hand,
constitutional law just as comprehensively rules out secession or the
redrawing of borders. This should come as no surprise since that
branch of law is the very foundation of the state, which might be
deprived of one of its constituent parts if such possibilities were
provided for.”

The position of Armenia regarding this conflict is not accepted by the
West. Carl Bildt, Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs suggested that
it is impossible to consider conditions in Armenia in the same
political league as Ukraine.

In the final analysis Ukraine played a role of a political training
ground for both the West and Russia. It is too early to forecast
winners, however the position of the US in this conflict was peaceful
and constructive, which deserves merit because the legal fact is that
Russian forces violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Maybe
the following conclusion by George Firedman of Stratfor Global
Intelligence is helpful: “Having encouraged Ukrainian independence,
the United States — in trying to protect that independence and the
independence of other countries in the region — is creating an
alliance structure that will include countries, such as Azerbaijan…”

Al-Manar (Hezbolla News Media) – Lebanon
April 6 2014

US Senate to Vote on ‘Armenian Genocide’ Draft

The Armenian lobby in the US have presented the US Senate with a draft
decision backing their version of events in the Turkish-Armenian
clashes in 1915.

The draft presented by Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chief Robert
Menendez and Republican Senator Mark Kirk aims to label the death of
Armenians during the war as a ‘genocide’.

Democrat Senetors Barbara Boxer and Ed Markey are among those to pen
their names to the draft, which must now be voted on by the Senate.

Then, with the approval of the Democrat majority leader Harry Reid,
the draft may be brought to the attention of the Senate’s General
Assembly.

However, even if the draft is accepted, it will not be binding.