Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Political News
March 9 2012

Sens. Scott Brown, Feinstein, Kirk Lead Senate Effort To Fight For
Religious Rights In Turkey

Senators introduced the Return of the Churches Resolution,which calls
on the Government of Turkey to return all churches and places of
worship to their rightful owners end all religious discrimination

PoliticalNews.me – Mar 09,2012 – Sens. Scott Brown, Feinstein, Kirk
Lead Senate Effort To Fight For Religious Rights In Turkey

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Scott Brown (R-MA), Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the Return of the Churches
Resolution, which calls on the Government of Turkey to return all
churches and places of worship to their rightful owners and end all
forms of religious discrimination.

`Religious liberty is a core value of our democracy and I believe we
should stand for the rights of people of faith around the world,’ said
Senator Brown. `I am proud to lead this effort to speak out for those
who are suffering discrimination in Turkey.’

`Freedom of religion is one of our most cherished values,’ said
Senator Feinstein. `This resolution is a simple but clear statement of
support for Christian communities in Turkey who should be able to
practice their faith freely.’

“This resolution sends an unequivocal message to the Government of
Turkey that it must respect the rights of its Christian minority and
reaffirms America’s commitment to religious freedom around the world,”
said a spokesperson for Senator Kirk.

“I join with Armenian Americans from across the Commonwealth in
sharing our gratitude with Senator Brown for his leadership, along
with Senator Feinstein, in championing religious liberty and the
return by Turkey of stolen Christian church properties,” said George
Aghjayan, a Westminster, Massachusetts, resident who serves as
Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, Eastern United
States. “In introducing the Return of Churches resolution in the
Senate, they are building on the overwhelming bipartisan adoption of
this freedom of faith measure by the House, and increasing pressure on
the Administration to reaffirm – in both words and concrete actions-our
nation’s fundamental commitment to the return of religious sites to
their rightful owners. We look forward to working with Senator Brown
and his colleagues in support of the timely adoption of this
resolution.”

Specifically, the Return of the Churches Resolution calls on the U.S.
Secretary of State to emphasize in all official contacts that the
Government of Turkey should end all forms of religious discrimination,
return all Christian churches and other places of worship to their
rightful owners, and allow owners of Christian churches to preserve,
reconstruct, and repair churches and other places of worship as they
see fit.

According to the Congressional Research Service, between `1915 and the
establishment of the Turkish republic in 1923, the Ottoman Empire
adopted a policy during World War I… to deport most of its Armenian
population from Anatolia… The abandoned properties of the
Armenians – including those belonging to Armenian Orthodox, Catholic,
and Protestant churches – were largely confiscated by the state and
either retained or redistributed to its Muslim inhabitants.’

Turkey remains on the 2011 `Watch List’ of the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The USCIRF
stated in its 2011 report that `the Turkish government continues to
impose significant restrictions on [religious minorities’] rights to
own, maintain, and transfer both communal and individual property, and
to control internal governance, and to train religious clergy. These
kinds of restrictions have led to a critical shrinkage of these
communities, and in many cases, make it impossible for these religious
institutions to chart a sustainable and vibrant future for
themselves.’

The Return of the Churches Resolution passed the House of
Representatives in late 2011 by voice vote and with broad bipartisan
support.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 8, 2012 Thursday 05:04 AM GMT+4

Sarkozy vows to secure adoption of law condemning genocide of Armenians

PARIS March 8

French President Nicholas Sarkozy has promised that he would secure
the adoption of a law introducing criminal punishment for denying the
genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the
20th century.

He declared this intention at a meeting with representatives of the
Armenian community at the Elysee Palace.

“The Armenian community, like any other, has the right to legal
protection from negationism (illegitimate historical revisionism –
Itar-Tass). Therefore I have asked the government to draft a new
version of the document. I promise you I shall be prepared to bring
this undertaking to a logical outcome,” Sarkozy said, adding that he
would not backtrack even despite the decision by the Constitutional
Council.

At the end of February the French parliament voted for a bill
introducing a punishment of up to one year in prison or a fine of
45,000 euros for denying any cases of genocide, recognized by the
country’s government.

However, the Constitutional Court ruled that the bill was
unconstitutional and violated the right to the freedom of speech.

Canadian Museum For Human Rights to focus on Armenian Genocide

March 9, 2012 – 13:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Breaking the Silence gallery of Canadian Museum For
Human Rights will focus particularly on the five genocides officially
recognized by Canada’s Parliament, including the Armenian Genocide.
The gallery will highlight Diaspora communities in Canada who have
successfully fought to break the silence regarding genocides against
their group, according to the letter submitted by the Museum to
Canadian politician of Armenian descent Sarkis Assadourian.

`…Given your experience as a Member of Parliament during the time
the Armenian Genocide was officially recognized by the Government of
Canada, we would be honored if you would be willing to meet with us to
discuss your experiences and insights into breaking the silence about
the Armenian Genocide,” the letter reads.

In this context, Mr. Assadourian expressed appreciation and gratitude
to Prime Minister of the country Stephen Harper, the Government of
Canada for their moral and financial support towards the realization
of this unique project.

Sarkis Assadourian, politician from the Liberal Party of Canada,
became the first Armenian-Canadian to be elected to the House of
Commons, with great support of the Armenian community of Toronto.

Assadourian was first elected as member for Don Valley North in 1993.
In 1997 he moved seats to Brampton Centre. Generally considered a
Chrétien loyalist, he did not run in the 2004 election after the
election of Paul Martin as leader. The Liberal Party candidate was
instead Ruby Dhalla.

Mr. Assadourian has always been an active member of Armenian community
in Canada. He initiated a number of pro-Armenian resolutions and
projects both in the country’s parliament and community circles,
simultaneously backing the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission
(TARC).

Realistic Cooperation with NATO

ARMAN GALOYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 17:38:24 – 09/03/2012

The deputy minister of defense Davit Tonoyan has held different
positions in the NATO Allied Command Operations staff. In 2004 he was
appointed representative of the RA Armed Forces to NATO. Lragir.am
held an interview with Davit Tonoyan on NATO-Armenia relations

You were the representative of the RA Armed Forces to NATO for many
years. Now Armenia merely implements different programs with NATO,
without being a member of this alliance. In your opinion, is the
membership of Armenia to NATO expedient for Armenia?

Before dwelling on the main question, I would like to note that
Armenia is not merely implementing different programs with NATO as you
say but participates in the International Security Assistance led by
NATO, sometimes outnumbering the troops of some NATO member states,
provides structured advice on political, security and defense issues,
organizes military exercise, and recently the first North-Atlantic
Council + Armenia meeting has been held in which the president of
Armenia participated. We have high-level relations with NATO, and the
implemented programs are systemic and are related to the defense
reforms in Armenia. In more general terms, I can state that we
participate in cooperative security with NATO. As to collective
security, the results of evaluation of the security climate and
threats now and in the foreseeable future show that it is possible to
fulfill this through membership to the CSTO on the basis of the
Armenian-Russian strategic alliance. There are several circumstances
which make collective security within NATO unrealistic.

Georgia indents to join NATO, Turkey is a member of NATO. So is it
expedient to join the CSTO instead of NATO?

In terms of its capacity and abilities NATO is an effective security
organization in the world but in terms of national interests Armenia
conducts a realistic and multi-vector policy. An important
circumstance is often ignored. The membership of Armenia and other
countries to the alliance does not depend only on the wish of that
country, it must be agreed by all the member states. As you mentioned
Georgia, the example of Georgia shows that the will of one country or
even several countries is not enough to join NATO. All the suggested
political preconditions of all the member states must be met.

Certainly, if Georgia joins NATO in future, it will bring about
certain new geopolitical realities to the region, and as a state we
need to take this factor into account.

For the sake of the full regional security pattern, we should not
forget to note that we have two other bordering states which are not
NATO members. We do not have diplomatic relations with them, and on
top of all, we hear daily threats from them. NATO neighborhood does
not necessarily suppose membership. Over 40 non-members cooperate with
NATO, 5 are in Western Europe, another 7 do not have common borders
with NATO members however Cooperative Security satisfies their
national interests. Among them are Switzerland and Austria.

What hinders Armenia’s membership to NATO? For instance, one of the
representatives of the political forces stated that we cannot walk
towards NATO unless Turkey, a NATO member, carries on the blockade of
Armenia.

As I said, in the process of membership the preconditions are set by
the accepting side, not the applicant. Since there is no wish for
membership and subsequently a process, I think it is unnecessary to
talk about the obstacles.

In regard to Turkey, I would like to note that this country does not
bring about serious obstacles for NATO-Armenia practical cooperation
though the complicated relations with the latter have a negative
impact on the social rating of Armenia. At the same time, the issue of
membership has not been raised by Armenia, therefore no obstacles on
behalf of Turkey cannot be concerned.

Is Russia an obstacle to NATO membership?

Since there is no way to it, I leave it up to theoreticians to discuss
the obstacles. But I would like to advise theoreticians to view the
security of Armenia from the point of view of our common interests and
political priorities with the CSTO and NATO rather than a
confrontation between them. We can see them in the practical plane.

In your opinion, is the CSTO a more effective security system than NATO?

If we are in the CSTO, it means that the CSTO is an effective system
of ensuring security. Moreover, we do everything to make it more
dynamic. This year the military training of the CSTO fast reaction
forces will be held, and we will have the possibility to check the
effectiveness of activities of the past few years.

By the way, the issue of NATO membership is not discussed at a state
level or at the level of political forces, nor is it in public
discussions. Why is it so? We do not understand its importance or
value?

Today the absence of the prospect of NATO membership in the agenda of
the main political and social forces of Armenia is evidence to the
realistic understanding of the political realities by the political
forces and the society. There are no premises for even theoretical
discussions.

We appreciate NATO. Moreover, we can see its importance in
implementing large-scale reforms, development and capacity building in
the armed forces, cooperation with NATO is realistic, predictable and
effective.

FRANCE
Des milliers de Kurdes manifestent à Strasbourg pour la libération d’Öcalan

Des milliers de Kurdes ont manifesté samedi à Strasbourg pour demander
la libération du chef historique du Parti des travailleurs du
Kurdistan (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, détenu en Turquie depuis 1999, et
interpeller les pays européens.

Selon la préfecture, ils étaient `entre 9.500 et 10.000` près de la
gare de Strasbourg au départ de la manifestation, qui devait parcourir
plusieurs kilomètres avant un rassemblement en début d’après-midi dans
un quartier du sud de la ville.

D’autres participants devaient ensuite rejoindre le cortège, ont
affirmé les organisateurs, qui tablent sur `30.000 personnes`, venant
de toute l’Europe, et surtout de France et de l’Allemagne voisine.

Cette manifestation est organisée tous les ans à Strasbourg pour
commémorer l’arrestation en février 1999 d’Abdullah Öcalan, détenu en
Turquie.

Sur les nombreuses banderoles brandies par les manifestants, en
anglais, français ou encore en allemand, on pouvait notamment lire :
`La liberté d’Öcalan est celle du peuple kurde` ou encore `Paix au
Kurdistan`.

`Il faut libérer Öcalan, c’est un personnage incontournable si on veut
parvenir à la paix`, a dit à l’AFP Eyyup Dorus, représentant en Europe
du parti turc pro-kurde BDP (Parti pour la paix et la démocratie).

`La situation des Kurdes en Turquie se dégrade, les arrestations se
multiplient, l’Europe ne doit pas cautionner ça`, a-t-il ajouté,
expliquant le choix d’une manifestation à Strasbourg par la présence
du Conseil de l’Europe, de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme et
du Parlement européen.

Cette manifestation, `c’est un appel à la communauté internationale et
notamment aux pays européens`, a dit une autre porte-parole des
manifestants, Yurtsever Tekiner, de la confédération des associations
kurdes d’Europe.

Quelque 200 militants kurdes avaient déjà manifesté jeudi devant le
Parlement européen. La moitié d’entre eux avaient gagné Strasbourg à
pied, à l’occasion d’une marche de près de 400 km en provenance de
Genève.

Les affrontements entre l’armée turque et le parti séparatiste PKK se
sont intensifiés ces derniers mois. Le conflit kurde en Turquie a fait
des dizaines de milliers de morts depuis le début de l’insurrection en
1984 du PKK, considéré comme une organisation terroriste par la
Turquie et de nombreux pays.

vendredi 9 mars 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Jan 10 2012

Senators Urge U.S. Secretary of State to Adopt Anti-Turkish Resolution

Saturday, 10 March 2012

Several U.S. senators urged U.S. Secretary of State to adopt
anti-Turkish resolution, said in Senator Scott Brown’s page on the
website of the U.S. Senate.

Senators Brown, Feinstein and Kirk urged Secretary of State to
strengthen the fight against religious discrimination in Turkey on
March 8.

The draft resolution provides the return of churches and temples to
“rightful owners” and the cessation of all forms of discrimination on
religious grounds.

“This resolution sends an unambiguous signal to the Government of
Turkey that it must respect the rights of Christian minorities, and
reaffirms America’s commitment to religious freedom around the world,”
a spokesman for Senator Kirk said.

The draft resolution also calls Turkey to return all confiscated
church property, as well as churches, monasteries and holy places and
personal property, i.e. works of art, manuscripts, church plates, etc.

Senators also urge to call Turkey not to restrict the freedom of the
Armenian and Greek churches in religious matters.

Saturday, 10 March 2012

Source: Trend AZ

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 10 2012

Russian gas transit through Georgia to Armenia stopped for a few days

Because of an accident at a section of the North-South Georgia
pipeline (MG) the transit of Russian gas to Armenia was temporarily
stopped, ITAR-TASS reported. This was announced today by the Minister
of Energy and Natural Resources of Georgia, Aleko Khetaguri. He, along
with the Director General of Oil and Gas Corporation of Georgia
(CNGG), Zurab Janjgava, visited the scene of the accident.

Khetaguri said that the accident was caused by a landslide near the
village of Mamkoda in the Mtskheta District. According to him, “a
landslide damaged a gas main on-site welding of pipes, to repair the
damage we need to cut out the damaged section and replace it with a
new one, which takes several days.” “Work on clearing up the accident
has already been initiated, presumably the transit of Russian gas to
Armenia will be restored in the evening of March 12, at the most
extreme – the morning of March 13,” Khetaguri said.

In turn, Janjgava told reporters that the incident “will not affect
the gas supply to the population of Georgia, as the main gas supply is
intended only for Armenia.”

It should be noted that in recent years Georgia’s gas supply comes
almost entirely from gas supplies from Azerbaijan. Georgia does not
receive gas directly from Russia. In accordance with a previously
signed agreement between Georgia and Russia, Georgia, as payment for
transit of Russian gas to Armenia receives about 10% of its amount.
This 10% is about 10% of the gas in the country – the remaining 90%
comes from Azerbaijan to Georgia.

The suspension of Russian gas transit through Georgia is not a problem
for the gas supply to Armenia, as this country has a gas storage
facility, which can provide the country with gas for nearly two
months.

Targeted News Service
March 9, 2012 Friday 9:31 PM EST

Feinstein Calls for Religious Freedom in Turkey

The office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., issued the following
news release:

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) joined with Senators Scott Brown
(R-MA), and Mark Kirk (R-IL) to introduce the Return of the Churches
Resolution, which calls on the Government of Turkey to return all
churches and places of worship to their rightful owners and end all
forms of religious discrimination.

“Freedom of religion is one of our most cherished values,” said
Senator Feinstein. “This resolution is a simple but clear statement of
support for Christian communities in Turkey who should be able to
practice their faith freely.”

“Religious liberty is a core value of our democracy and I believe we
should stand for the rights of people of faith around the world,” said
Senator Brown. “I am proud to lead this effort to speak out for those
who are suffering discrimination in Turkey.”
“This resolution sends an unequivocal message to the Government of
Turkey that it must respect the rights of its Chris-tian minority and
reaffirms America’s commitment to religious freedom around the world,”
said a spokesperson for Senator Kirk.
“I join with Armenian Americans from across the Commonwealth in
sharing our gratitude with Senator Brown for his leadership, along
with Senator Feinstein, in championing religious liberty and the
return by Turkey of stolen Christian church properties,” said George
Aghjayan, a Westminster, Massachusetts, resident who serves as
Chairman of the Ar-menian National Committee of America, Eastern
United States. “In introducing the Return of Churches resolution in
the Senate, they are building on the overwhelming bipartisan adoption
of this freedom of faith measure by the House, and increasing pressure
on the Administration to reaffirm–in both words and concrete
actions-our nation’s fundamental commitment to the return of religious
sites to their rightful owners. We look forward to working with
Senator Brown and his colleagues in support of the timely adoption of
this resolution.”

Specifically, the Return of the Churches Resolution calls on the U.S.
Secretary of State to emphasize in all official con-tacts that the
Government of Turkey should end all forms of religious discrimination,
return all Christian churches and other places of worship to their
rightful owners, and allow owners of Christian churches to preserve,
reconstruct, and repair churches and other places of worship as they
see fit.

According to the Congressional Research Service, between “1915 and the
establishment of the Turkish republic in 1923, the Ottoman Empire
adopted a policy during World War I… to deport most of its Armenian
population from Anatolia… The abandoned properties of the
Armenians–including those belonging to Armenian Orthodox, Catholic,
and Protes-tant churches–were largely confiscated by the state and
either retained or redistributed to its Muslim inhabitants.”

Turkey remains on the 2011 “Watch List” of the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom (US-CIRF). The USCIRF
stated in its 2011 report that “the Turkish government continues to
impose significant restrictions on [religious minorities’] rights to
own, maintain, and transfer both communal and individual property, and
to control internal governance, and to train religious clergy. These
kinds of restrictions have led to a critical shrinkage of these
communities, and in many cases, make it impossible for these religious
institutions to chart a sustainable and vibrant future for
themselves.”

The Return of the Churches Resolution passed the House of
Representatives in late 2011 by voice vote and with broad bipartisan
support.

Mediamax, Armenia
March 10 2012

`Artsakh has been and will continue to be Armenian’, Serzh Sargsyan stated

Saturday 10 March 2012 14:34

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said today that
`Artsakh [Nagorno Karabakh] has been and will continue to be
Armenian’.

Serzh Sargsyan said this speaking today at the Republican Party of
Armenia Convention.

`The Republic of Armenia has provided and will continue to provide
all-inclusive assistance to Artsakh’s political and economic
development. International recognition of the right of the people of
Artsakh to self-determination will be the foundation for the peaceful
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem. We will continue our works
in the ongoing negotiations aimed at the engagement of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic as a full-fledged party in these negotiations.
Efforts of Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora will be aimed at the adoption
in the international organizations of the decisions which preclude
military option for the resolution of the conflict’, Serzh Sargsyan
said.

Iran to export power to Syria, Lebanon in May

Iran is capable of exporting 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Syria
and Lebanon in the first phase of power transfer.

press tv
Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:22PM GMT

Iran has guaranteed to provide Iraq with adequate power resources and
the Iraqi side has accepted to prepare the ground for the transfer of
Iranian electricity to Syria and Lebanon in May.”

Majid Namjou, Iran’s Energy Minister

Iran’s Energy Minister Majid Namjou says the Islamic Republic is ready
to start electricity exports to Syria and Lebanon via the Iraqi power
grid in May 2012.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with Iraq’s
Electricity Minister Abdul Kareem Aftan on Saturday, Namjou said Iran
can export 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the two countries in
the first phase of power transfer.

The Iranian official added, `Iran is currently exporting 1,000 MW of
power to Iraq but the available facilities of both countries makes it
possible to increase the transfer capacity to 1,200 MW.’

`Iran has guaranteed to provide Iraq with adequate power resources and
the Iraqi side has accepted to prepare the ground for the transfer of
Iranian electricity to Syria and Lebanon in May.’

Iran is currently exchanging electricity with Afghanistan, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Nakhichevan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

Iran’s total annual power generation capacity stands at 63,403 MW
while the total length of the power grid exceeds 780,000 km.

According to the Iranian Energy Ministry statistics, the country will
be exporting up to USD 1 billion worth of electricity by March 2012.

Iran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has
attracted more than USD 1.1 billion in investments to build three new
power plants.