Author: Kalantarian Kevo

HOW OLIGARCHY WASTES ARMENIA
HAKOB BADALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:31:53 – 23/03/2012

It is difficult to guess how much money the government will spend on
the parliamentary elections. I don’t mean the budget money – everything
is clear with the costs of all the election campaign solutions, such
as the social benefits for public servants, subsidy of car fuel for
village people, the so-called tax amnesty etc.

I mean the costs which will not be reported anywhere. I mean
the election bribes both for the majority system and proportional
representation, the coalition candidates and lists of the RPA, BHP and
OYP. I mean the funding for the “appointed” candidates and forces,
when the ruling forces or government’s nominees in precincts try to
tuck different candidates between them and the opposition in order
to deceive the society. I mean the practice of buying undesirable
candidates who will be sold out very easily in most cases. I mean
the costs of buying the commission members, as well as the observers.

In short, looking at all these costs, one understands that the
government will spend tens of millions of dollars and maybe even
hundreds of millions of dollars. The Armenian oligarchs, the oligarch
officials, the criminals and the local strongmen will empty their
pockets for the reproduction of the government, especially considering
the necessity to reproduce in silence.

The Nagorno Karabakh government, dwelling on the reconstruction of
the liberated territories, says it is unable to tackle this issue
alone since it needs a lot of money. It is difficult to say whether
the government of Karabakh will have its portion in the money to be
spent on the parliamentary election in Armenia and whether they have
political and business interests in the parliamentary election in
Armenia, but it is beyond doubt that the official-criminal-oligarchic
class of Armenia, instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars
on parliamentary mandates, could spend them on strategic goals,
developing the population of the liberated territories.

The official-criminal-oligarchic class of Armenia takes a lot of
social, energy and other loans on behalf of the state to spend their
millions which have been made by way of state levers, to become MPs,
to form a parliamentary majority instead of investing them in the
strategic development of the country.

It would be possible to implement big programs in Armenia on the
money spent on election bribes. It would be possible to develop one
of Armenia’s towns into a university campus where the potential of
the Armenian youths would be generated. All kinds of programs could
be implemented but all of them have the same characteristic – they
don’t enable the oligarchs to double and triple the spent money in
the next five years, while the reproduction of power does.

While investments in strategic programs may not ensure immediate
return they will get the positive reaction of the society and even
“remission of sins”, in other words, public amnesty of the capital.

The society may forget all kind of questions on how those millions
appeared and how those people became rich. The society could see such
programs as a start from square one.

But the owners of these millions do not need this. All they need is
power and money here and always.

For this purpose, the official-criminal-oligarchic class of Armenia
will invest billions to get a parliamentary seat but will spend no
cent on strategic programs which may not ensure fast return of money
or return at all.

This is real investment and not the flowers given to women in Yerevan
streets, or all kind of other demonstrative charity when the charity
subject and object know where the charity comes from and where it
goes to, forming another link in the chain around the neck of the
Republic of Armenia.

CHEATED HOMEOWNERS CONTINUE PROTEST, PROMISE ‘SURPRISE’ DURING ELECTION

epress.am
03.23.2012

Homeowners of apartments on Aram, Buzand, Yekmalyan and Saryan streets
continued their protest outside the Armenian president’s office today.

Recall, in 2006, the homeowners agreed to leave their homes on the
condition that they would be given apartments in new buildings to be
constructed in the same area. For this they signed an agreement with
a developer, but not only did they not receive their new apartments,
but also their units were resold to other parties (sometimes not once,
but twice).

The disgruntled homeowners protesting today added another demand
to their demand of acquiring the apartments they say is theirs –
to release from duty head of the presidential oversight (control)
service Hovhannes Hovsepyan.

Protestor, homeowner Sona Maghakyan informed Epress.am that they
recently found out Hovsepyan, who was dealing with their issue,
has taken ownership of 25 apartments.

According to Maghakyan, he was silenced, by being provided with
apartments, so he doesn’t move their case forward.

No one from the president’s office has yet come out to speak to
the protestors today. Assistant to the president Armen Abelyan has
explained that he’s busy.

“Those in the president’s office don’t know yet what we’re going to
prepare for the elections. We’re planning a surprise. We’re going
to come with bottles filled with gasoline and immolate ourselves –
what does it mean, to leave us outside for 8 years?” said another
protestor, Mrs. Flora.

Police supervising the situation on the scene are urging the protestors
“not to get aggressive and protest in a civilized fashion.”

EMBASSY VEHICLES IMPERTINENTLY VIOLATE TRAFFIC RULES IN ARMENIA – EXPERT

news.am
March 23, 2012 | 11:40

YEREVAN. – The vehicles belonging to foreign embassies and consulates
in Armenia regularly and openly violate the traffic rules, and the
setting of administrative penalties against them causes problems,
Eduard Hovhannisyan, “Achilles” Center for the Defense of Drivers’
Rights NGO Chairman, stated during a press conference on Friday.

In his turn, Deputy Road Police Chief, Police Colonel Hayk Sargsyan
did not deny this fact, but he diplomatically noted that no one can
evade responsibility.

“A record is made on the vehicles belonging to the armed forces and
[those] equivalent to them, and they are sent to the armed forces
where disciplinary penalties are set,” Police Colonel Sargsyan noted.

ARMENIANS IN GERMANY NEED HELP IN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION CAMPAIGN

news.am
March 22, 2012 | 06:13

The Federal Chancellor of Germany is collecting ideas for the next
legislation. The proposal of the Armenians in Germany about recognizing
the Armenian Genocide and condemning its denial is the third among
thousand proposals, Nouvelles d`Armenie informs.

In order to maintain that place or move forward the Armenians of
Germany need the votes of all Armenians especially because there are
not many Armenians living in Germany. The voting process is very simple
and does not need registration. The voting will last till April 15,
and one can vote every hour.

This is how the voting for recognizing the Armenian Genocide is to
be done:

1. Go by the link [

2. Find ‘Gesetz gegen die Leugnung des Volkermordes an den Armeniern
und Aramaern’

3. Click on Ja, ich unterstutze diesen Vorschlag

4. A window will pop up where it will be asked to copy password to
the anti-spam field. Enter the password.

5. Click on Absenden

This is a unique possibility to attract Germany’s attention towards
the Armenian Genocide reminding Germany about its responsibility as
a partner of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

LES ARCHIVES NATIONALES D’ARMENIE VONT PUBLIER DES TEMOIGNAGES SUR LE GENOCIDE
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 22 mars 2012

Les Archives Nationales d’Armenie publieront trois volumes contenant
les comptes-rendus de temoin oculaire du genocide armenien de 1915,
a annonce le directeur des archives Amatuni Virabyan pendant une
conference de presse.

Selon M.Virabyan, chaque volume sera appele ” Vshtapatum ” et
comprendra 500 pages.

” Le premier volume est pret et est actuellement traduit en russe
et anglais. Le deuxième volume est pret pour la publication. Le
premier volume est consacre a la province de Van, le deuxième a la
province de Bitlis, le troisième a la province d’Erzurum (Garin)
” a explique M.Virabyan.

La publication est financee par une donation.

M.Virabyan a explique que cette initiative est une suite d’un effort
commence en 1916 par l’auteur Hovaness Tumanian, qui a forme une
commission pour reunir les temoignages de survivants du Genocide. Ces
documents ont ete archives en Armenie.

M.Virabyan a exprime l’espoir que cet effort contribuera a la
reconnaissance internationale du Genocide armenien.

Le directeur des archives a aussi averti que la Turquie intensifie
ses efforts afin de falsifier l’histoire et de nier le Genocide a
l’occasion du 100ème anniversaire.

Il a cite le nouveau livre ” la Question armenienne dans 120 documents
d’Archives russes ” de Mehmet Perincek actuellement en prison en
Turquie comme un autre exemple de revisionisme historique.

Selon M.Virabyan ” Dans des bibliothèques de Moscou, on peut voir
au moins dix livres anti-armeniens ecrits par des auteurs azeris en
russe. Les livres sont publies avec des conceptions agreables et sont
disponibles a un prix raisonnable ” ajoutant que l’Armenie n’a pris
aucune initiative.

ABE FOXMAN EPITOMIZES THE FAILURE OF JEWISH LEADERSHIP
By Pamela Geller

American Thinker

March 21 2012

We saw the lengths to which the left will go to demonize and destroy
its opponents this week, when in the New York Jewish Week on March
16, Abraham Foxman charged that I am “in many ways no better than
Farrakhan or Buchanan.” I am proud of my work as a patriot and a
passionate Zionist; to be compared to Jew-haters by a man who styles
himself a leader of the Jews is abominable.

Foxman charged me with bigotry for my work with Stop Islamization of
America, a program of my organization, the American Freedom Defense
Initiative. So now defending free society from an ideology that makes
war against free speech and equal rights for women and non-Muslims is
“bigotry.” Defending Jews from an ideology that features a more deeply
ingrained and violent anti-Semitism than any other in the world is
“hatred.”

We have seen the likes of Abe Foxman before in Jewish history: the
reviled traitor among us — Dathan in The Ten Commandments. The idea
that this greasy quisling still leads the Anti-Defamation League is
a stunning indictment of the failure of Jewish lay leadership. Worse
still, a Jewish press is publishing this collaborator. I called Gary
Rosenblatt, the editor of Jewish Week, several times over the last few
days, but he was always (surprise!) on the other line when I called.

He did finally agree to print a letter from me, but he refused to
give me the space he eagerly gave to Foxman to defame me.

The capacity for humiliating, destructive behavior from Abe Foxman
(and those Jews who fund the Anti-Defamation League) continues to
astound and repel proud Jews across the world.

Foxman’s record of poisonous activity that is ultimately harmful to
the Jewish community is longstanding. His denial of the Armenian
genocide is monstrous. If we as a people cannot stand with other
victims of genocide, then who can? Here is a man who refuses to
call the Armenian genocide of two million Christians a genocide,
but who expects the Holocaust to be considered as such. What’s the
difference? And if he can dismiss that genocide, what differentiates
him from, say, an Ahmadinejad, who denies the Holocaust? Foxman went
so far as to fire an ADL regional director for disagreeing with him
over the Armenian genocide.

Foxman has defended Barack Obama’s egregious betrayal of Israel,
saying, in the teeth of all the evidence, “I don’t see this as
the president throwing Israel under the bus.” He has (only once)
acknowledged that “the greatest threat to the Jewish people and
the highest priority for the ADL was that which came from Islamic
extremists.” However, he has issued thousands of press releases over
the last seventeen years, and less than three percent of them have
had anything to do with the Islamic jihad or Islamic anti-Semitism.

Once, in 2010, Foxman showed that he still had some remnants of
a conscience and the courage to do the right thing when he voiced
opposition to the Ground Zero mosque. But immediately after that,
he began prostrating himself in front of any mosque or madman who
would listen, trying to make amends. He even launched the “Interfaith
Coalition on Mosques” in September 2010; its objective is to fight for
monster-mosque construction rights. What’s wrong with this? Imagine an
“Islamic Coalition to Build Synagogues in Muslim Countries,” or the
“Islamic Coalition of Muslims to Build Coptic Christian Churches in
Egypt,” or the “Islamic Coalition to Build Hindu Temples in India,
Kashmir, and Pakistan.” (OK, you can stop laughing now.)

Foxman is building coalitions to construct mega-mosques that will
almost certainly teach the most vile anti-Semitism on the planet today,
as do 80% of mosques in America. Foxman also came out in support of the
Islamic school in Brooklyn whose principal was forced to resign because
of her involvement in anti-Semitic “Intifada NYC” t-shirts (see here).

Foxman demonizes proud Jews who love Israel and fight for freedom,
while he kowtows to the Islamic jihad. And Jewish Week happily serves
it up to its subscribers.

Our Jewish leadership has failed us miserably. Foxman must go.

Pamela Geller is the publisher of AtlasShrugs.com and the author of
the WND Books title Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical
Guide to the Resistance.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TO SPEAK WEDNESDAY AT BOVEE UNIVERSITY CENTER

Central Michigan Life

March 21 2012

Robert Melson was 4 years old in 1941 when Adolf Hitler’s troops
gained control of Poland and started rounding up the local Jews to
be sent to concentration camps.

Melson and his parents escaped the Nazis by posing as the Zamojskis,
a family of Polish Catholics.

“Our camouflage was assuming the identity of a Polish aristocratic
family,” Melson said.

On Wednesday, Melson will share his story in lecture titled
“The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust: As Viewed Through the
Extraordinary Experiences of Two Survivors Who Outwitted Their Killers”
as the keynote speaker for the spring 2012 Dr. Harold Abel Endowed
Lecture Series in the Study of Dictatorship, Democracy and Genocide,
presented by the College of Humanites and Social and Behavioral
Sciences. Melson is being paid $2,000 for the appearance, said Rae
Barrett, CHSBS special events coordinator.

Melson will speak at 7 p.m. in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.

The event is free and Melson will hold a book signing after the
lecture.

In the lecture, Melson will compare his family’s story, which he
published in 2000 in his book, “False Papers: Survival and Deception
in the Holocaust,” to that of Grigoris Balakian, an Armenian who
survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1918.

Balakian, whose memoir, “Armenian Golgotha,” was published in 2009,
chronicles his escape from a caravan of Armenians being led to be
massacred. To avoid recapture, Balakian posed as a Turk, a Jordanian
soldier and a Greek farm worker, Melson said.

“I’m going to look at the larger events through the lens of specific
people and try to generalize from these two specific instances,” Melson
said. “I’m going to ask what motivated ordinary men to participate
and become the perpetrators of these events and what accounted for
these people’s survival.”

The Armenian Genocide, Melson said, is considered the first genocide
of the 20th century. An estimated one million people were killed over
the three-year period in the Ottoman Empire.

The Holocaust, carried out by the Nazis in Germany and the territories
they invaded in World War II, killed an estimated six million Jews
and other minorities.

“We will look at the two cases side by side and look at their
similarities and causes,” he said.

By examining these similarities, Melson said we can learn how to
prevent similar events in the future.

FARMINGTON’S BARNEY LIBRARY TO PRESENT ‘GROWING UP ARMENIAN’ NEXT WEEK

Hartford Courant
,0,2422716.story
March 21 2012

– Nearly a century ago halfway around the world, an estimated 1.5
million Armenians were killed by starvation and diseases, with some
butchered outright at the hands of Turkish citizens.

Next Wednesday, the horror of what is referred to as the Armenian
genocide will be described during a presentation by John D. Balian,
a former Armenian citizen who faced unimaginable tragedy in what is
now Eastern Turkey.

The author of “Gray Wolves and White Doves,” Balian will discuss his
experiences growing up in Turkey as well as the process of writing
his debut novel, which focuses on the struggle between good and evil.

Balian is a graduate of Columbia University and Tufts University
School of Medicine, and is a senior executive of a US.-based global
corporation.

His presentation will take place at 7 p.m. on March 28 at the Barney
Library, 71 Main St.

To register for this free program, please visit farmingtonlibraries.org
or call the adult department at 860-673-6791 ext. 3.

WE SHOULD HAVE A HOLIDAY DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN POETRY: CHAIRMAN OF WRITERS UNION OF ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 21, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS: Every year on 21 March UNESCO
celebrates the World Poetry Day. A decision to proclaim 21 March as
World Poetry Day was adopted during the UNESCO”s 30th session held in
Paris in 1999.

Chairman of Writers Union of Armenia Levon Ananyan said during a
literary event in the union that poetry has always played an important
role in Armenian literature, according to Armenpress.

“That we celebrate the World Poetry Day in Armenia means we appraise
our poetry,” said Levon Ananyan. He noted Writers Union of Armenia has
joined “World Poetry” movement, which is a European initiative.

Levon Ananyan stressed that next to international holidays, the
national poetry should have its day in the Armenian calendar.

“National poetry deserves that right and I see that perspective,”
Chairman of the Writers Union of Armenia added.

U.S. REPORT LISTS TURKEY AMONG WORLD’S WORST VIOLATORS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 20, 2012 – 21:25 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A U.S. report has listed Turkey among the world’s
worst violators of religious freedoms.

According to Today’s Zaman, the report, which was leaked to the
Associated Press on Monday by the bipartisan US Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), grouped Turkey among 15
other nations in its “countries of particular concern” category for
its “systematic and egregious limitations” of religious freedoms. The
ranking was a sharp downgrade from Turkey’s less-severe status as a
watch-listed country in years past.

Expected to be released on Tuesday, the report also listed Tajikistan,
Myanmar, North Korea, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan,
China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam in
its “countries of particular concern” category.

Namık Tan, Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, defended recent efforts
by the Turkish government to reverse decades of discrimination, telling
AP that “any unbiased eye will immediately realize that that’s not
where Turkey belongs in the USCIRF annual report.”

Among other problems, the report criticizes Turkey for regulating
non-Muslim groups by restricting how they can train clergy, offer
education and own their places of worship, AP stated.