Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ANCA to host roundtable on U.S.-Armenia trade and investment promotion

15:55 02.02.2013

Armenian American public policy professionals and friends of Armenia
will join, on Wednesday, February 6th, with representatives of the
Department of State and the Armenian Embassy at an Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) roundtable discussion about efforts to
expand U.S.-Armenia bilateral trade and investment.
The town-hall format meeting, which will be held in the Aramian
Conference Room on the 4th floor of the ANCA’s Washington, DC
headquarters, will feature brief presentations and then a question and
answer session and an opportunity for an open exchange of views.

Another regional war can not re-emerge in Nagorno-Karabakh

2013-02-02 15:00:04

Yesterday, when the main topic of the Armenian media was an
assassination attempt on the candidate for presidency Paruyr
Hayrikyan, analytical article about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
published by the American edition The National Interest remained in
the shade.

The author notes, that in the conflict zone stretching from Syria to
Afghanistan lies another war waiting to re-emerge: Nagorno-Karabakh.

A major arms race is underway, fueled by Azerbaijan’s oil and gas
wealth and by Armenia’s support from Russia. Azerbaijan is acquiring a
distinct advantage in military technology and firepower, but Armenia
retains major advantages of terrain and operational skill. Azerbaijan
has a patron in Turkey, which feels a fraternal commitment, but
Armenia has a treaty-based security alliance and historical
partnership with Russia.

“Unfortunately, the Armenian-Russian relations are such that for any
analyst does not remaint an alternative. This is the truth “, in an
interview with Lurer.com similar opinion was expressed by the
political analyst Ruben Mehrabyan.

Political analyst disagree with another regional war can re-emerge, no
country can have the benefit of this war. No matter what the
consequences will be in the region, the incident will blow the North
Caucasus by Russia’s own bosom, in addition, it will have
unpredictable effects on the energy programs. Taking into account the
fact that in the Middle East there are some probllems, Turkey does not
need this incident, and they are well aware of it.

Nelli Avetisyan

1,000 shots in the direction of Armenian positions in the past week

15:17 02.02.2013

According to the data of the NKR Defense Army, about 250 cases of
ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the
line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijan from January 27 to February 2.

The rival fired more than 1,000 shots from weapons of different
caliber in the direction of the Armenian positions.

Committed to the maintenance of the ceasefire regime, the front
divisions of the Defense Army confidently carried out their duty all
along the line of contact.

Writing a novel about Armenian massacre in Azerbaijan was aimed to
repent for our deeds. Akram Aylisli

13:44, 2 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS: Political protests have become a
frequent phenomenon in Azerbaijan. Literary protests, not so much.
But a new novel by a respected Azerbaijani writer prompted angry
demonstrations this week, with angry crowds gathering outside a Baku
apartment block, shouting “Shame!” and setting photos of the author,
Akram Aylisli, alight.

The protesters’ complaints were hardly aesthetic. Few, in fact,
appeared to have read the book, “Stone Dreams,” which has not been
published in Azerbaijan and only recently appeared, in translated
form, in the Russian literary journal “Druzhba narodov”, reports
Armenpress referring to rferl.org.

Instead, it’s the subject matter of the novel that’s raising tempers.

In particular, “Stone Dreams” looks at the conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian-majority separatist region, located
within Azerbaijani territory, was the source of a brutal six-year war
in the 1980s and ’90s and remains the subject of simmering tension
between Baku and Yerevan.

Azerbaijan and Armenia see the conflict in vastly different terms,
with each side blaming the other for the bulk of the atrocities.

“Stone Dreams” turns that equation on its head, with Aylisli
portraying brutal campaigns by his fellow Azerbaijanis against
Armenians — including the notorious January 1990 massacre in Baku,
Agulis and Khojali in which Armenians were beaten, murdered by the
dozens, and expelled from the cities.

Akram Aylisli in an interview given to Kulis.az stated that in 1988,
when the first version of his novel about Agulis was published, he
warned that they should not start a fight against the Armenians, as
they may lose it. `And what did we gain in the result of the war? I
was factually right,’ he noted. The Azerbaijani writer also drew
attention to the impossibility of holding a dialogue with the
Armenians of Karabakh due to the hostile propaganda against them.

`We will have another variant if no Armenian will be left there. But
it is impossible. As for Agulis, there really occurred a massacre in
that village in 1919. This is a history, a fact. Any aged resident of
Agulis can attest it, because they saw it with their own eyes. My
uncle, my mother, my grandmother saw this. As for the publication of
the updated version of novel, it is my protest against the current
politics. It is not directed against the people. Tomorrow we will have
to make it up with the Armenians. We are doomed to it. In connection
with the events in Sumgait, we must bravely talk about every fact of
injustice and call a spade a spade. If not the writer then the people
of Azerbaijan will have to do it. The novel was aimed at showing
repentance for our deeds,’ the Azerbaijani writer stated.

“The Hill”:In 2005 Azerbaijan committed cultural genocide against
thousands of Armenian religious monuments in Jugha

14:10 02/02/2013 » REGION

Aliev’s regime embarked on a Taliban-style cultural genocide in 2005
against thousands of medieval Armenian religious monuments in Jugha,
Nackichevan. This has been well-documented by video footage,
photographs and advanced satellite imaging, scientist of Oxford
University Harout Semerdjian says in the article in `The Hill’s’
Congress Block responding to the note of the Azerbaijani journalist
Emil Agazade residing in London.

Mr. Semerdjian writes that in his article Agazade `passes all limits
of journalistic ethics and crosses into the boundary of hate and
ignorance.’

`Instead of attempting to give Congress a counter-lesson on history
and geopolitics, I would highly suggest that Emil Agazade first help
put his own house in order. Transparency International consistently
ranks Azerbaijan among the most corrupt countries of the world, and
its president Ilham Aliyev was recently named the `world’s most
corrupt leader’ by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting
Project,’ the scientist writes.

The article also says that the journalists in Azerbaijan continue to
suffer from violence and threats, and pro-democracy activists have
been beaten and imprisoned in recent years and the European Parliament
has explicitly condemned Azerbaijan for `increasing number of
incidents of harassment, attacks and violence against civil society
and social network activists and journalists in Azerbaijan,’ the
report says.

The author also notes that the International diplomats have been
repeatedly banned by Azerbaijani authorities from visiting Jugha,
including past and present U.S. Ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Matthew
Bryza and Richard Morningstar. `While the petro-dollars of the Aliyev
regime fund lobbyists such as Emil Agazade to monitor the global media
and attempt to suppress freedom of information, it would be much wiser
for Azerbaijan’s leadership to spend the money at home, where over 40
percent of the rural population live below the poverty line,’ Harout
Semerdjian writes.

Source: Panorama.am

Azeri lawmakers recommend Ekrem Eylisli be stripped of his citizenship
because of his book “Stone Dreams”

arminfo
Saturday, February 2, 11:22

A novella by an Azeri author that portrays ethnic Armenians
sympathetically has provoked an uproar in Azerbaijan, with Azeri
lawmakers denouncing the work and protesters burning the author’s
portrait outside his house, the New York Times says.

The novella, “Stone Dreams,” was published in mid-December by Ekrem
Eylisli, a former lawmaker, but condemnation grew strident only over
the last week, after mainstream news outlets began reporting on and
discussing it.

On Thursday, a crowd of several dozen people gathered around Mr.
Eylisli’s house and burned his portrait. At a session of Azerbaijan’s
Parliament on Friday, lawmakers attacked the novel, with one
recommending that Mr. Eylisli be stripped of his citizenship and
urging him to move to Armenia

Another lawmaker, Melahet Ibrahimqizi, said, “He insulted not only
Azerbaijanis, but the whole Turkish nation,” a reference to passages
in the book that discuss historical Turkish violence toward Armenians.

“The work tells the story of two Azeri men who try to protect their
Armenian neighbors from ethnic violence, an incendiary topic in
Azerbaijan, a country still gripped by the war it fought two decades
ago with Armenia. Since the war ended, Azerbaijan has been trying to
regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnically
Armenian enclave within its borders, and secure the return of Azeris
who were forced from their homes”, the source says.

Mr. Eylisli, 75, said he knew there might be an uproar over his book,
which he finished in 2007. He said he decided to publish it last year
in a relatively obscure Russian-language journal, Friendship of
Peoples, because Russian-language speakers tend to be better educated
and more progressive.

“Armenians are not enemies for me,” he said in an interview. “How can
they be? I am a writer living in the 21st century. A solution to
Nagorno-Karabakh is being delayed, and hostility is growing between
the two nations. I want to contribute to a peaceful solution.”

He added that he was shocked by the ferocity of the reaction. “I did
not say anything insulting, I did not betray my country,” he said. “I
describe how an Azerbaijani helps an Armenian. What is bad about
this?”

On Friday, protesters placed a copy of the journal containing “Stone
Dreams” in a coffin and held a mock funeral at a monument in honor of
Azeris who were killed in the war.

Via social media, young people discussed passages in the book that
they found particularly distasteful, like a description of the young
hero’s impulse to convert to Christianity and “ask God to forgive
Muslims for what they did to the Armenians.” Armenia is predominantly
Christian, while most Azeris are Muslim.

Qan Turali, 28, a popular novelist, said he saw the book’s artistic
merit but believed that Mr. Eylisli had chosen the wrong time to
publish a book portraying Armenians in a positive light.

“He is a great writer, the novel is good, but the time is not right,”
he said. “Azeri people still feel pain and are aggressive. Instead of
increasing tolerance toward Armenians, the writer caused more hatred.”

He said Mr. Eylisli’s work would have been received better if he had
added depictions of Azeris being killed by Armenians. Another writer,
Oktay Hajimusali, 32, was blunter, saying that it is “nonsense to
promote peace with Armenians.”

Paruyr Hayrikyan’s health condition is stable

12:19, 2 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS: Health condition of presidential
candidate, leader of union for “National Self-Determination” Paruyr
Hayrikyan is stable after assassination attempt against him. This was
noted by Deputy Director of’St. Grigor Lusavorich’ medical center
Gagik Minasyan in the interview with journalists. `His health state is
stable, so he is walking, blood pressure and hemodynamics are stable,’
Armenpress quoted Minasyan. Deputy Director noted Hayrikyan was in
high spirits and there was no food restriction.

Hayrikyan even walked out from Department of Intensive Care all by
himself. Despite doctors urged not to walk, Hayrikyan noted he felt
well, so he could even go home. As Armenpress was informed form
Hayrikyan’s nephew Varujan Ter-Tribunyan, Hayrikyan was already in
good health state.

Presidential candidate, leader of union for “National
Self-Determination” Paruyr Hayrikyan was shot around 11:30 PM, January
31 in Tpagrichner Street, Kentron district of Yerevan. Hayrikyan got a
gunshot wound to shoulders’ area and has already been operated on in
“St. Grigor Lusavorich” medical center.

Criminal case under article 34-305 of Armenian Criminal Code has been
already initiated.

ARMENIE
Tentative de meurtre contre le candidat à l’élection présidentielle
Parouïr Haïrikian

Le déroulement paisible de la campagne électorale a été troublé par la
tentative de meurtre contre le candidat Parouïr Haïrikian. Deux balles
tirées en sa direction, dont l’une l’a touché à l’épaule, près de son
domicile, hier soir vers 23h15, n’ont cependant pas mis sa vie en
danger. Selon l’article 52 de la Constitution, les élections sont
reportées de deux semaines en cas d’empêchement de l’un des candidats.

En cas de persistance de cet empêchement, de nouvelles élections sont
annoncées 40 jours après l’écoulement de cette période. La première
question qui se pose, c’est de savoir à qui profite cet incident. Même
si les élections ne sont pas reportées, le processus électoral et
l’image de l’Arménie sont irréparablement ternis, estiment les médias.

Selon Jamanak, du point de vue politique, ce ne serait nullement dans
l’intérêt du candidat au pouvoir Serge Sarkissian. Le président de
l’AN Hovik Abrahamian, le PM Tigran Sarkissian, Hrant Bagratian et
d’autres candidats aux élections, ainsi que des députés et des
personnalités politiques ont rendu visite à la victime à l’hôpital.

Tigran Sarkissian a condamné ce crime, qualifiant cet acte de « coup
porté contre l’Etat ». « Ce crime a des motifs politiques et doit être
élucidé » a déclaré le président de l’AN Hovik Abrahamian.

La presse en ligne annonce que l’intervention chirurgicale s’est bien
passée et relève des propos de l’avocat de M. Haïrikian, déclarant
qu’un éventuel report d’élections dépendait maintenant de son client.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Arménie en
date du 1er février 2013

samedi 2 février 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

15 JUDOKAS TO REPRESENT ARMENIA AT EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

YEREVAN. – The national judo team of Armenia will compete at the
European Open Championship that will be held from Friday to Sunday
in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Hovhannes Davtyan, Artur Vardanyan, Gor Lazarian, Grigor Ivanyan
(60 kg), Armen Nazaryan, Tigran Varosyan, Arsen Barseghyan (66 kg),
Narek Sukiasyan, Artur Yeranosyan (73 kg), Mher Karapetyan, Andranik
Chaparyan (81 kg), Karen Janoyan, Rafayel Davtyan (90 kg), Hagop
Arakelyan (100 kg), and Azat Abrahamyan (+100 kg) will represent
Armenia at the event.

Head Coach Tigran Babayan and Coach Nairi Matevosyan will head the
national squad. Also, Armenia’s Olympic referee Davit Khitaryan will
officiate at the tournament, Armenia Judo Federation informs.

ASSAULTS ON ARMENIAN WOMEN IN ISTANBUL UNSETTLE CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS

By James Martone Catholic News Service

ISTANBUL (CNS) — As a light snow fell, Bahija Geyimli exited
Immaculate Conception Armenian Catholic Church after Mass in the
Samatya neighborhood, the heart of Istanbul’s Armenian community. If
recent attacks in the area had scared her, she wasn’t showing it.

Wrapping a wool scarf around her head, Geyimli, 71, descended the
church’s ancient stone steps.

“There are robberies,” she acknowledged Jan. 27 in response to a
question about a series of assaults that have targeted Armenian women
like her.

Geyimli said she thought the women had been attacked because
“Armenians are known for keeping money and other valuables.”

“It’s for money. … It’s not because they were Christian,” she told
Catholic News Service.

She walked through the church courtyard and headed for an empty
Samatya side street, alone, carrying a big black purse.

Four attacks have occurred since December in Samatya, a
once-flourishing Christian Armenian and Greek neighborhood bordering
the Marmara Sea. The area today mostly is inhabited by Muslims who
make up the vast majority of Turkey’s population of 75 million.

Turkish media reported that all of the victims — at least three of
whom were in their 80s — were Armenian Christians; three were
assaulted in their homes while one was stabbed to death. One woman was
assaulted on her way to church by three men who tried to kidnap her
before they were chased away by passersby, according to the reports.

Valuables were stolen in at least three of the incidents.

An estimated 120,000 Christians of different denominations and about
25,000 Jews live in Turkey. Muslim minority groups live among the
larger Sunni majority.

“Of course we deplore such attacks,” said a senior member of Turkey’s
35,000-member Catholic community who asked to remain anonymous because
of a growing apprehension in the wake of the crimes. Though the
victims have been Orthodox Christians, he said attacks on any of the
country’s religious minorities were worrisome.

He also cautioned against jumping to conclusions about who or what was
behind the assaults.

“That can be counterproductive,” he said.

Turkey’s relationship with its minorities is a long and sometimes
murky one. The country’s present government and those before it
dispute international claims that tens of thousands of Armenians and
other Christians were victims of genocide in 1915 in what was then the
Ottoman Empire.

Circumstances surrounding more recent attacks on Christians remain
controversial. The killings of Father Andrea Sontoro in Trabzon in
2006, the shooting death of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the
killing of three Christian missionaries in Malatya in central Turkey
in 2007, and the slaying of Bishop Luigi Padovese of Anatolia in 2010
serve as reminders to members of religious minorities of the
challenges they continue to face.

Turkey’s Human Rights Association suggested in a report released Jan.

25 the Samatya attacks were part of an “ethnic cleansing” campaign.

Responding to the report, a prominent Armenian journalist based in
Istanbul said it was too early to say what motivated the assaults on
the women, but bemoaned what he considered an insufficient government
response.

“Now, people are waiting in fear. The Interior Ministry should
establish a commission and should conduct a very thorough
investigation,” journalist Robert Koptas told Today’s Zaman, an
English-language newspaper in Turkey.

Shortly after Geyimly left Mass, a group of about 500 people gathered
in a main square nearby to protest the attacks. The demonstrators,
including residents, members of local organizations and elected
officials, held signs reading “Don’t touch our Armenian neighbors,”
and “I will not let you hurt my brothers and sisters.”

“We walked (through) Samatya from side streets and it was lively,
there were many people in their windows applauding the crowd, and old
women were crying,” said Oyku Tumer, one of the demonstrators who
called herself “a Turkish citizen … against hate crimes.”

Later, Mustafa Demir, a local politician, visited the victimized women
in their homes and said police were conducting a thorough
investigation in an effort to find the assailants, according to media
reports.

The next day, Cengiz Kahveci, 60, an electrician, sat waiting for
customers in his Samatya spare parts shop. He said the recent attacks
perplexed him, but he refused to believe they were religiously
motivated because Muslims, Christians and Jews have always lived
“happily together.”

“Armenian people are good people,” Kahveci told CNS, describing
himself as a nonpracticing but “believing Muslim.”

“I have maybe 10 friends who are Armenian and (even) they don’t
believe (the attacks) are political … it is for money,” he said.