Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ATTENDS CEREMONY OF BLESSING OF LAND FOR CONSTRUCTION OF HOLY MARTYRS’ CHURCH

17:57, 22 April, 2015

YEREVAN, 22 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. President of the Republic of Armenia,
chairman of the State Commission on Coordination of the events
for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide Serzh Sargsyan attended today the ceremony of blessing
of the land for construction of the Holy Martyrs’ Church, which is
located next to Komitas Park (Pantheon). The ceremony was conducted
by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians. The contribution for construction of the church was made
by Russia-based benefactor Samvel Karapetyan, and the creator of the
project is architect Artak Ghulyan, as the Public Relations and Mass
Media Department of the Structure to the Office of the President of
the Republic of Armenia reports to “Armenpress”.

The President of the Republic of Armenia had talked about the
construction of the Holy Martyrs’ Church during a public presentation
of the plan for the Komitas Museum-Institute at Komitas Park in 2012.

“I believe the construction of the Holy Martyrs’ Church in central
Yerevan can serve as one of the ways of eternalizing the memory of
Komitas and all the Armenian martyrs. Several secular and mundane
figures have expressed the desire to build such a church. The Holy
Martyrs’ Church will embody the memory of our innocent victims and
martyrs of all times and will be the guarantee for our everlasting
remembrance,” President Serzh Sargsyan had said.

ARMENIA INDEBTED TO URUGUAY FOR RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 50 YEARS AGO

14:27 * 22.04.15

Armenia’s government has approved an Armenian-Uruguayan cooperation
agreement signed on July 9, 2014.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan noted that Armenia is
indebted to Uruguay, its people and authorities, for recognizing the
Armenian Genocide half a century ago.

“Fifty years ago, Uruguay was the first of the world’s more than
twenty states that have to date recognized and condemned the Armenian
Genocide,” Mr Abrahamyan said.

LA COUNCILMEMBER: OBAMA’S REFUSAL TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS SHAMEFUL

13:25, 22.04.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Diaspora, Turkey
Theme: Politics

City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, the first Armenian-American
elected to city government in Los Angeles, responded to President
Barack Obama’s refusal to refer to the mass killing and deportation
of 1.5 million Armenians beginning in 1915 in what is today Turkey
as a genocide, Asbarez reported.

Paul Krekorian said:

“America has always been a beacon of hope to people throughout the
world who yearn for freedom and seek to escape tyranny and oppression.

It is especially shameful that our government yields its own freedom
to a foreign power, especially one that bears responsibility for
one of the most grotesque examples of tyranny and oppression in
world history. Turkey’s paranoid obsession with denying its moral
responsibility for the Armenian Genocide is an outrage in the modern
world. By allowing Turkey’s leaders to decide how we can or cannot
speak about historical truth, our own government fails to uphold its
own fundamental principles of freedom. Turkey’s supposed importance as
an ‘ally’ is a miserable excuse, especially since that government has
so often failed to support American military and foreign policy needs,
and even now is failing to take reasonable steps to stop Islamist
outrages in Syria and elsewhere in the region. Our country was born
when we stood up against the mightiest nation on Earth–certainly
we should now have the strength and moral courage to stand up to
Turkish denialists.”

FROM POPE TO KARDASHIAN: INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF ARMENIA AHEAD OF GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

GENOCIDE | 22.04.15 | 16:18

Satenik Tovmasyan
ArmeniaNow intern

Armenia has been in international media spotlight these days. A
number of leading international periodicals and broadcasters have
turned their attention to the South Caucasus nation due to approaching
centenary of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey.

The German “Deutsche Welle” broadcaster’s website writes that on the
100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the German Bundestag will
back a draft resolution calling the killings “genocide.”

The Los Angeles Times mentions that U.S. President Barack Obama
once again will not use the word “Genocide” in his annual statement
to the Armenian community. “Armenian hopes crushed after the White
House officials decided that President Obama will not use the word
“genocide” to describe the killings of more than 1 million Armenians
at the hands of Ottoman Turks when he commemorates the deaths Friday,
the 100th anniversary of the massacres.”

The visit of Armenian-American TV star Kim Kardashian to her ancestral
home country, Armenia, coinciding with the centennial of the Armenian
Genocide, was widely highlighted by U.S. and international media. The
New York Times writes that Kardashian’s visit was a good chance to
grab the world’s attention to the crime perpetrated a century ago.

Italy’s biggest newspaper Corriere della Sera in its turn posted
an article on how Turkey reacted to Pope Francis’ references to the
Armenian killings as “the first genocide of the twentieth century”
made during a Holy Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica on April 12.

“President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Vatican’s
actions, hoping that it would not again commit an error of that type,”
the president’s official statement claims. “We will not allow that
historical facts are extrapolated from one context and turned into a
campaign against our country, politicians and religious leaders should
not take charge of the work of historians,”” the publication concludes.

International media could not keep away from the concert tour of the
world famous rock band System of a Down and its frontman Serj Tankian,
devoted to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Rolling Stones
writes that on April 23, System of a Down will play their first-ever
concert in Armenia when they perform a free gig at the capital city
of Yerevan’s Republic Square. It invites the reader’s attention to
the fact that the Armenian genocide has long been a subject of System
of a Down’s music.

The Guardian devotes an extensive article to Armenia under the headline
“A small country but a big nation: how genocide shaped the Armenia
of today”. In it the leading British paper also gives the floor to
ordinary Armenians speaking about the upcoming commemoration of the
Genocide Centennial.

It is officially known that a number of foreign officials and
dignitaries will visit Armenia, among them will also be French
President Francois Hollande as well. The French Le Figaro also refers
to this event, adding that during his visit to Armenia Hollande will
meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The two leaders are
expected to discuss the latest developments in the Ukrainian crisis.

TURKEY DOES NOT ALLOW DODIK TO FLY OVER ITS TERRITORY

17:36, 22 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Milorad Dodik, president of the Republika Spska, is waiting for two
and a half hours in Burgas in Bulgaria, because Turkish relevant
institution still did not give him approval to fly over the territory
of this country, Bosnian daily Nezavisne Novine reports.

Dodik earlier got permission to fly over Turkey.

Dodik is flying to Yerevan, on invitation of President of Armenia,
where he should participate in the events dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Dodik said several days ago that he submitted a resolution to RS
Assembly seeking to mark mass killing of Armenians in Turkey in 1915
as genocide.

ISRAEL CHARNY CALLS FOR ESTABLISHING ORGANIZATION OF PEOPLES THAT SURVIVED GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, April 22. / ARKA /. Speaking at the international social
and political Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide in Yerevan
today the executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and
Genocide in Jerusalem, Israel Charny, called for establishment of an
organization of peoples that survived genocides to be led by Armenia.

He said this organization will become a powerful blow to the policy of
genocide denial. Its main function should be prevention of genocides,
he said adding also it is time for experts in genocide studies to
get engaged in the prevention of crimes against humanity.

Speaking about the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, professor
Charny stressed that it actually began in 1895, when Sultan Abdul Hamid
issued an order for Muslims to start killing of Christian Armenians.

He said this fact alone shows that Turkey’s counter-arguments are
baseless. Charney said then calls for jihad against Armenians are
actually the same calls made by the Islamic State.

The gathering in Yerevan is part of a long string of events
commemorating the centennial of the Armenian genocide. The two-day
gathering has brought to Armenia 600 delegates from different
countries.

Addressing the forum Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan said one of
the topics to be discussed during the forum refers to the role of
the memory and truth in overcoming the consequences of genocide.

‘That is, truly, the most accurate way to pin it down since, as far as
the crimes of genocide are concerned, the remembrance and contemporary
reality are unavoidably interlaced. Genocide is a crime of such a vast
scale, with such a severe damage inflicted that even many decades
later its impact is felt by the descendants of both the victims and
perpetrators, as well as by the entire international community.

For us, Armenians, remembrance is a moral obligation and, at the same
time, inalienable individual and collective right. It is our moral
duty and right to commemorate the one and a half milion of victims,
inhumane sufferings endured by the hundreds of thousands, loss of the
material and spiritual heritage accumulated by our people throughout
millenia, extermination of the substantial part of the early 20th
century Armenian intelligentsia, who mainly resided in Constantinople,
that led to the mass slaughter. It is because of this cohesion of the
right and duty that we have adopted the motto “I remember and demand”
for the commemoration events.

It is impossible to disagree with the Holocaust survivor and Nobel
Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who notes that “to forget the dead would be
akin to killing them a second time.” Remembrance, meanwhile, is the
best remedy for the descendants of those who perpetrated genocide
to face their own history, and the best opportunity to restore the
justice.” -0-

COURT OF APPEALS REFUSES TO FREE ANOTHER FOUNDING PARLIAMENT MEMBER

17:55 | April 22,2015 | Politics

Armenia’s Court of Appeals today refused to set free Varuzhan
Avetisyan, another arrested member of the Founding Parliament movement
that is going to start street protests against the regime starting
April 24.

Earlier this week, the court rejected lawyers’ appeals against a lower
court’s decision to keep Founding Parliament leaders Zhirayr Sefilyan,
Pavel Manukyan, Gevorg Safaryan and Garegin Chukaszyan in two-month
pretrial custody.

Senior members of Founding Parliament – Zhirayr Sefilyan, Pavel
Manukyan, Garegin Chukaszyan, Varuzhan Avetisyan and Gevorg Safaryan
-were arrested on April 7 on suspicion of planning to stir up ‘mass
disturbances’ at the sites of genocide centenary commemorations on
April 24.

All were taken into two-month custody pending trial. Another Founding
Parliament activist, Aram Hakobyan, was charged with keeping arms
and ammunition, but was released on bail.

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From: Mihran Keheyian
Subject: Court of Appeals refuses to free another Founding Parliament member

Court of Appeals refuses to free another Founding Parliament member

17:55 | April 22,2015 | Politics

Armenia’s Court of Appeals today refused to set free Varuzhan
Avetisyan, another arrested member of the Founding Parliament movement
that is going to start street protests against the regime starting
April 24.

Earlier this week, the court rejected lawyers’ appeals against a lower
court’s decision to keep Founding Parliament leaders Zhirayr Sefilyan,
Pavel Manukyan, Gevorg Safaryan and Garegin Chukaszyan in two-month
pretrial custody.

Senior members of Founding Parliament – Zhirayr Sefilyan, Pavel
Manukyan, Garegin Chukaszyan, Varuzhan Avetisyan and Gevorg Safaryan
-were arrested on April 7 on suspicion of planning to stir up ‘mass
disturbances’ at the sites of genocide centenary commemorations on
April 24.

All were taken into two-month custody pending trial. Another Founding
Parliament activist, Aram Hakobyan, was charged with keeping arms and
ammunition, but was released on bail.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH SPEAKER OF SYRIAN PEOPLE’S COUNCIL MOHAMMAD JIHAD AL-LAHAM

18:31 * 22.04.15

Within the frame of the social and political global forum “Against
the Crime of Genocide” that has started today in Yerevan, President
Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, Speaker
of the People’s Council of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Serzh Sargsyan welcomed the dignitary to our country and thanked
for his participation in the forum, which, according to the Armenian
President, once again speaks of the sincere respect of the friendly
Syrian people for the Armenian people. Serzh Sargsyan expressed
his gratitude to the People’s Council of Syria for its steps aimed
at the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The President praised
the special session of the People’s Council of Syria held this March
in connection with the Armenian Genocide and the influential speech
delivered by Mr. Jihad al-Laham.

Mr. Jihad al-Laham conveyed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s warm
regards and best wishes to President Serzh Sargsyan and stressed that
Syrians have a special attitude towards Armenia and the Armenian
people. He noted that the participation of his delegation in the
Yerevan forum bears witness to the fact that Syria recognizes the
Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire. The Speaker of
the People’s Council of Syria said that the global forum “Against the
Crime of Genocide” is a good opportunity to mobilize the efforts of
the international community and prevent the repetition of such crimes
in the future.

At the meeting, the interlocutors touched upon the relationship
between Armenia and Syria that has been developing dynamically since
the establishment of diplomatic relations in which the parties agreed
the Syrian-Armenian community has played a major role. President
Serzh Sargsyan was sorry to mention the internal political situation
prevailing in Syria for more than four years now and expressed the hope
that the friendly country of Syria will grow stronger as a result of
this hardship and will manage to ensure domestic peace and stability.

At the meeting, the parties also attached value to the strengthening
of inter-parliamentary ties which lie at the core of the friendship
between Armenia and Syria.

ARMENIAN MPS HAND FORGET-ME-NOT PINS TO TURKISH, AZERBAIJANI DELEGATES TO PACE

14:14, 22 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

This morning member of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe Naira Zohrabyan handed forget-me-not
pins and souvenirs symbolizing the Armenian genocide to the Turkish
delegates.

MPs Naira Zohrabyan and Arpine Hovhannisyan also left forget-me-not
souvenirs in the room of the Azerbaijani delegation, as well, MP
Vahan Babayan said in a Facebook post.

KIM KARDASHIAN NAMED ONE OF VARIETY’S ‘POWER WOMEN’ OF NEW YORK DUE TO HER CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

11:22, 21 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Kim Kardashian will be recognised by Variety’s Power Of Women: New
York luncheon for her work supporting the Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles, the Daily Mail reports.

The 34-year-old will be among those named as an Inspiration Impact
Honoree at the publication’s April 24 event, which will pay tribute
to some of the industry’s most charitable women, according to Page Six.

The hospital is no doubt near and dear to Kim’s heart, who has paid
visits to the medical centre with her sister Kendall Jenner and
husband Kanye West in the past.

‘Together we will further magnify the beautiful spirit the Power of
Women series exemplifies.’

Kim will share the bill with Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Lena Dunham,
and Rachel Weisz, who will also be named Inspiration Impact Honorees.

And Kim has already received the backing of fellow honoree Whoopi.

The Children’s Hospital is not the only cause the reality star has
thrown herself into.

She recently returned from an trip to Armenia, where Kim attended
a memorial commemorating the victims of the Armenian genocide 100
years ago.

The family have even met with Armenian Prime Minister Abrahamyan,
who praised the family’s contribution to ‘international recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian genocide’.