Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Forum for Environmental Issues in Armenia – Sun Apr 21

For centuries, the Armenian nation has persevered through countless
hardships. The latest danger confronting our compatriots in the
homeland comes in the form of deforestation and mining. The land’s
threatened state requires immediate attention from members and friends
of the Diaspora.

Currently, there are over 400 mines operating in Armenia! Most of them
are open pit mines that destroy forests, pollute rivers, and cause
considerable environmental damage. The latest project is a massive
mining operation in the village of Teghut, located in the pristine
forests of northwestern Armenia. Please see the accompanying fact
sheet for more details about Teghut or go to

The LA-based Teghut Fund Task Force was formed in the months after a
public forum was held on December 16, 2012. It featured renowned
environmental activist Yeghia Nersesian. Many people were inspired to
do something about this problem. The task force was created to help
protect our homeland’s environment and our people’s right to safe and
healthy living conditions.

You can play an important role in the improvement of Armenia’s
environmental conditions, starting NOW. We invite you to a public
forum on Sunday, April 21st to learn more about the issue, its impact,
and how you can get involved. Please view the attached flyer for the
event.

Date: April 21, 2013
Time: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Armenian Society of Los Angeles, 117 S. Louise St. Glendale, CA 91205

Agenda:

– Background on the Teghut Environmental Crisis
– Introduction to Teghut Fund
– Idea generation / brainstorming session by teams
– Idea prioritization session by teams
– Presentation of three prioritized ideas/action projects by each team
– Final de-duplication and selection of projects to pursue
– Formation of teams to plan and implement the selected project

We appreciate your time and look forward to meeting you on April 21st.

Kind Regards,

Teghut Fund Task Force

Los Angeles, CA

As a grudge-holding person, Serzh Sargsyan will not forgive Gagik
Tsarukyan for his independence

ARMINFO
Saturday, April 13, 18:14

The priority of the Armenian National Congress is to ensure a
bourgeois- democratic revolution in Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the
first President of Armenia, said at today’s Constituent Congress of
the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Party.

“Without breaking from the bonds of the incumbent regime, Armenia will
not be a prosperous democratic country. The whole democratic world has
passed this path, and the only difference is that earlier the
bourgeois class was getting rid of feudalism, and now we should get
rid of the criminal regime. Earlier Khachatur Sukiasyan was a
representative of the bourgeois class, but in 2008 he realized his
mistake and joined the opposition and received a blow from the
authorities. However, Sukiasyan found himself in such a situation only
because he acted alone and if other oligarchs had followed his
example, the situation would have been quite different”, said
Ter-Petrosyan.

The ex-President thinks that today oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan is also on
this path. He left the coalition, did not support Serzh Sargsyan at
the election and contributes to the fight against the ruling regime.
Ter- Petrosyan considers that as a grudge-holding person, Serzh
Sargsyan will not forgive Tsarukyan for his independence. During the
May 5 election to the Yerevan Elders’ Council, the ruling regime may
not allow the Prosperous Armenia Party to obtain the needed number of
votes as the regime is afraid that Tsarukyan’s independence will
become a contagion.

The ANC Party congress is being held at the Sports and Concert Complex
named after K. Demirchyan. Head of the ANC Parliamentary Faction
Levon Zurabyan says 1100 delegates have been invited to the Congress
alongside with numerous guests. The congress agenda comprises such
issues as approval of the ANC’s Regulations, program, election of the
chairman and the Board, as well as the Supervisory Committee.
Representatives of the People’s Party of Armenia headed by Stepan
Demirchyan, Hnchakian Social Democratic Party led by Lyudmila
Sargsyan, ARFD led by Armen Rustamyan and Prosperous Armenia Party led
by Stepan Margaryan have attended the event.

Levon Ter-Petrossian elected ANC party chairman

April 13, 2013 – 16:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – First president of Armenia, leader of the Armenian
National Congress (ANC) bloc Levon Ter-Petrossian has unanimously been
elected as ANC party chairman.

According to Ter-Petrossian himself, Aram Manukyan and Levon Zurabyan
have been elected as deputy chairmen of the party.
The participants of the ANC founding congress further started
chanting, `Levon, Levon’ and Armenia’s national hymn.

La Croix, France
Jeudi 4 Avril 2013

La Turquie face à son histoire arménienne

ESSAI Ce travail de terrain de deux journalistes français évoque le
rapport de la Turquie contemporaine à la question arménienne

par ROTIVEL Agnès

La Turquie et le fantôme arménien de Laure Marchand et Guillaume
Perrier Actes Sud, 224 p., 23 EUR

Longtemps la question arménienne fut taboue en Turquie, elle ne l’est
plus aujourd’hui. Non par la volonté des autorités turques. Mais parce
que les fantômes des victimes du génocide arménien ne cessent de
réapparaître dans la vie des Turcs. Le pays ne peut y échapper, même
s’il a tout fait pour gommer leur existence.
Lorsque Laure Marchand et Guillaume Perrier, tous deux journalistes
français, s’installent en Turquie en 2005 comme correspondants pour Le
Figaro et Le Nouvel Observateur, et Le Monde, un comité d’historiens
turcs organise pour la première fois une conférence intitulée: « Les
Arméniens ottomans au moment du déclin de l’Empire ». La conférence
suscite des réactions haineuses de la part des partis nationalistes, «
mais, se souvient Laure Marchand, pour la première fois, le mot
génocide était prononcé publiquement ». Le tabou était brisé.

Lors de leurs reportages dans le pays, les deux journalistes se
rendent compte que la présence arménienne est partout, contrairement
au discours officiel qui ne reconnaissait la présence que d’environ 60
000 Arméniens à – Istanbul et plus un seul en Anatolie.

La réalité est en fait bien différente. « Dans le pays, nous
rencontrions des hommes et des femmes qui nous chuchotaient qu’ils
étaient arméniens. Soit ils avaient caché leur véritable identité
pendant toutes ces années, soit ils avaient été islamisés. On se
rendait compte que ces gens-là avaient traversé le XX e siècle dans
l’ombre. » D’où l’idée d’écrire un livre sur ces fantômes qui hantent
le pays. D’autant qu’une fois de plus, le 19 janvier 2007, l’actualité
les rattrape, lorsque le journaliste arménien Hrant Dink, militant de
la réconciliation, est assassiné.
Sur la question arménienne, ils découvrent que la société turque est
plus en avance que l’État, dont le discours officiel nie toujours les
massacres. « Les Turcs ont de plus en plus conscience qu’il s’est bien
passé quelque chose et que l’Empire ottoman a eu une responsabilité
dans ces événements. » Ce que montrent les témoignages rapportés tout
au long de leur livre.

La publication du Livre de ma grand-mère, de Fethiye çetin, est un
événement. L’auteur turque y raconte comme elle découvre que sa propre
grand-mère est arménienne, un fait qui lui a toujours été caché. « Ce
livre a vraiment débloqué les mémoires et les consciences. Tout le
monde se sentait concerné », poursuit Laure Marchand. L’histoire a
bouleversé les Turcs, levant le voile sur des secrets similaires dans
de nombreuses familles.

En 2015, les Arméniens commémoreront le centenaire du génocide, ils
espèrent que ce sera l’occasion aussi, pour la Turquie et ses
responsables politiques, de regarder son histoire et, peut-être, d’en
faire une nouvelle lecture.

Monopolies basic cause of our problems today – Oskanian

20:32 – 14.04.13

Former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, who represents the Prosperous
Armenia party (PAP) in the Yerevan municipality elections, has cited
political monopolies as a basic reason behind the political problems
existing today.

At a meeting with voters in the administrative district of Shengavit,
the politician called for electing PAP, promising the party’s best
efforts to improve the capital city. `If you really trust the
municipal power to us, I assure you that our party will guide itself
by three basic principles. We will be commited to this city, working
devotedly for its interests, not for our personal bias. And the
Yerevan election today is the first opportunity for us to do away with
the political monopoly,’ he said, adding that Armenia’s political
arena has seen no real counterbalance since 1991.

Oskanian, who is a top candidate on the PAP’s proportional
representation list, promised to adopt comprehensive approaches in
case of being elected to ensure the proportional development of the
capital.

Naira Zohrabyan of the PAP faction in parliament later delivered a
speech, reiterating the party’s slogan. `We will change everybody’s
life together with you. Any political force saying it will resolve all
the problems in one day will demonstrate but adventurism, as the
situation in the country today requires painstaking work for finding a
way out,’ she said, warning the crowd against believing the prejudiced
remarks that the ruling party’s victory is predetermined.

Gurgen Arsenyan, another lawmaker of Prosperous Armenia, addressed
domestic problems. `They vote for us, and we say there will be 12 more
kindergartens. The next thing we can do is to address pensioners’
problems. Pensioners will be offered a free access to the public
transport,’ he said, promising the city authorities’ support to the
Yerevan residents in case of PAP’s success in the upcoming polls.

Armenian News – Tert.am

SYRIE
Les principales forces rebelles à Alep, dans le nord syrien

Après neuf mois de combats, la rébellion tient plus de la moitié
d’Alep, dans le nord syrien. Deux courants se partagent la gestion de
cette zone `libre` : les jihadistes tiennent le haut du pavé, suivis
par les combattants soutenus par la Coalition de l’opposition.

Seul un tiers nord-ouest de la capitale économique est encore tenu par
l’armée, ainsi qu’une partie du coeur historique de la ville autour de
la citadelle, les rebelles resserrant leur étau autour de l’armée sur
un arc reliant le nord-est au sud-ouest.

Les trois plus importantes forces rebelles y sont le Front Al-Nosra et
Ahrar al-Cham, deux mouvements jihadistes implantés dans toute la
Syrie, ainsi que Liwa al-Tawhid, un patchwork de brigades de
déserteurs de l’armée et de civils ayant pris les armes.

Liwa al-Tawhid, qui revendique 8.000 combattants, est présent sur tous
les fronts de la ville, tandis qu’Al-Nosra et Ahrar al-Cham combattent
autour des bases militaires pour y prendre des munitions.

Aucune des deux dernières formations ne se réclame de l’Armée syrienne
libre (ASL) chapeautée par des officiers déserteurs basés en Turquie.

Le chef de Liwa al-Tawhid, Hadji Marea siège au sein du Conseil
militaire suprême de Sélim Idriss qui dépend de la Coalition de
l’opposition, largement dominée par les Frères musulmans.

Il assure ne recevoir ni financement ni armement d’aucune
organisation. Cependant, la Coalition affirme mettre des fonds à
disposition de la rébellion armée.

Selon Hadji Marea, seuls `cinq à six étrangers` combattents au sein de
Liwa al-Tawhid. Al-Nosra et Ahrar al-Cham, qui se refusent à donner le
nombre de leurs hommes, comptent en revanche de nombreux étrangers,
venus principalement de pays arabes.

Al-Nosra s’est démarqué de l’annonce de parrainage faite par la
branche irakienne d’Al-Qaïda mais son chef, Abou Mohammed al-Joulani,
a dit `prêter allégeance à cheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri`, le numéro un du
réseau extrémiste.

Le Front, placé par Washington sur sa liste des organisations
terroristes, a revendiqué des dizaines d’attentats à travers la Syrie,
dont de nombreux attentats suicide.

Les chefs connus d’Ahrar al-Cham sont en revanche tous Syriens.

En revanche, Ahrar al-Cham appartient au Front islamique syrien, une
coalition salafiste regroupant depuis 2012 onze organisations qui sont
favorables à un Etat islamique. Ils n’ont aucune affilitation
internationale.

AFP

dimanche 14 avril 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

HEAD OF ARFD FACTION DOES NOT THINK THAT RAFFI HOVANNISIAN’S MOVEMENT IS FADING AWAY

ARMINFO
Friday, April 12, 19:00

Head of ARFD Parliamentary Faction Armen Rustamyan said in Friday
briefings in the Parliament that he disagrees with the opinion that
Heritage Party Leader Raffi Hovannisian’s movement is fading away.

Dashnak MP thinks that the final goal is fundamental reform,
system changes in the country, which is a long process that requires
consistent and competent actions, and consolidation of the opposition
forces.

On April 9 simultaneously with Serzh Sargsyan’s swearing-in ceremony.

Raffi Hovannisian took an oath in front of the people in the Liberty
Square and then organized a march along Baghramyan Street to the
president’s residency. As a result, there were clashes with the
police. Heritage Party Deputy Head Armen Martirosyan and journalist
of Aravot newspaper Ripsime Jebejyan were beaten up. Some activists
were detained.

“Unfortunately, the incidents in Liberty Square on April 9 happened on
the scenario ARFD had repeatedly warned about. Actually, the movement
was divided into three wings: the first wing was quite radical and
wanted to take the president’s residence by storm, the second wing
moved to Tsitsrnakabert together with Hovannisian, while the third
one had no idea what to do. Nevertheless, I don’t think that the
movement is fading away,” Rustamyan said.

The upcoming elections to the Elders’ Council of Yerevan, Rustamyan
said, is another chance for the opposition to take power in the city
and initiate changes in the political system.

HUCHAKYAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBER DR. YEGHIA JEREJIAN REPORTED MISSING IN LEBANON

Friday, April 12, 18:59

Huchakyan Social Democratic Party Central Committee Member, former
MP of Lebanon, Dr. Yeghia Jerejian is reported missing, lradou.com
reports citing Al-Jamahiriya newspaper.

The source reports that on April 11 in the second half of the day Dr.

Jerejian had a phone talk with his wife and told her he is leaving
office for home. Unfortunately, he has not arrived home. The police
have initiated investigation on the given fact.

LAWYERS PLANNING STRIKE

Over 30 lawyers are preparing to strike against Court of Cassation,
Pastinfo reports referring to Hayk Alumyan, member of the coordinating
group of the protest. The strike will

most likely be held in May. Alumyan finds it hard to say how many
lawyers will participate this time, noting that the number is not
important.

Over a year ago, the lawyers formed a commission which gathered the
cases relating to which the Court of Cassation used double standards
or ignored breaches and stroke promising to protest with their clients
if the issues are not solved.

After their first protest, the president convened a meeting with the
participation of the head of Chamber of Advocates who presented the
complaints of the lawyers.

Pastinfo 16:53 12/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

HRANUSH HAKOBYAN EXHORTED ARMENIAN YOUTH OF LITHUANIA TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN PANARMENIAN PROGRAMS

14:40, 12 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS: The Acting Minister of Diaspora of the
Republic of Armenia Hranush Hakobyan hosted the Head of the Armenian
community of Lithuania Arayik Tunyan. As Armenpress was informed by the
Press and PR Department of the Ministry of Diaspora of Armenia, during
the meeting issues related to the Armenian community of Lithuania,
as well as on presentation of the Armenian culture in Lithuania and
assistance of the Ministry of Diaspora in the abovementioned programs
were discussed.

Hranush Hakobyan presented the programs implemented by the Ministry
of Diaspora of Armenia and exhorted that the Armenian young people of
Lithuania should have an active participation in the implementation
of the Panarmenian programs especially, aiming at the fostering of
the preservation of the native language, Armenian history, cultural
knowledge and Armenian identity.

An agreement was achieved that in the result of a closer cooperation
with the Ministry of Diaspora of Armenia the representatives of the
Armenian communities of not only Lithuania, but also other Baltic
countries would be involved in the development of the Panarmenian
programs.

Expressing his gratitude for the hospitality Arayik Tunyan on behalf
of the community invited Hranush Hakobyan to Lithuania to meet the
representatives of the Armenian community.