Author: Kalantarian Kevo

American Armenian Float to Debut in 2015 Rose Parade on January 1st

By MassisPost
Updated: December 31, 2014

PASADENA — On January 1, 2015 New Years Day the Tournament of Roses
will celebrate its 126th Rose Parade presented by Honda. The theme of
the parade is “Inspiring Stories” which “pays tribute to those who
have loved unconditionally, persevered courageously, endured patiently
and accomplished much on behalf of others.”

The first Armenian American Rose Float Association (AARFA) float will
be joining the rest of the floats in the Parade and show the inspiring
people and stories from the American Armenian community.

The colorful float features the head of an Armenian woman wearing a
headdress in the center under a bush of Armenian plums, also known as
apricots, and a tree of pomegranates, a symbol of Armenia. Bushels of
grapes, representing the discovery of the world’s earliest known
wine-making facility found in Armenia, are also featured.

An old carpet-weaving machine and a carpet leans against a structure
representing the Armenian architectural style going back 4,500 years.
On the opposite side of the float are two men playing the duduk, a
woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia.

The round Armenian eternity sign, an Armenian national symbol, white
storks and the Armenian alphabet is also found throughout the design.

Several prominent American Armenians with inspiring stories will also
ride on the float during the parade, including:

Gov. George Deukmejian and his wife Gloria, who served as the Governor
of California from 1983-1991

US Federal Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, the first Armenian immigrant
federal judge in the United States.

Actress Angela Sarafyan who can be recognized from her roles in The
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and The Immigrant.

Attorney Mark J. Geragos, internationally celebrated trail lawyer who
is a regular legal commentator on several TV networks.

Coach Jerry Tarkanian aka “Tark the Shark” famous Basketball coach at
Long Beach State, Fresno State and University of Nevada Las Vegas
where he lead them to a Championship during 1989-1990 season and the
Final Four in the subsequent year.

Pasadena native Flora Dunaians AIWA-LA Founder and Executive Board
Member. She has been involved with several community service
organizations for more than 20 years.

Jill Simonian, Television Host, Reporter and Founder of popular blog
The Fab Mom.

PRESSE-GENOCIDE ARMENIEN
> consacre un dossier sur >

> (n°653-décembre 2014-janvier 2015), le magazine
de la LICRA consacre 13 pages au > avec
en couverture une photo de manifestants défilant à mémoire de Hrant
Dink le journaliste arménien assassiné par un nationaliste turc à
Istanbul en janvier 2007. Dans son éditorial, le rédacteur en chef,
Antoine Spire rappelle > car écrit-il >.

> consacre plusieurs articles au génocide
arménien. Sous le titre >, le
magazine rappelle sur une page les dates importantes de cet évènement
depuis 1915 jusqu’en 2015. Puis un article signé d’Alain Barbanel et
titré > le journal fait un
rappel des ouvrages historiques -dont le dernier livre d’Yves Ternon
et Raymond H. Kévorkian >. > présente également une interview de l’historien Yves
Ternon, spécialiste du génocide arménien, sous le titre , une
large part est consacré à Jacques Kebadian (1977) d’Henrik Malyan, > (1982)
de Sarky Mouradian, > (1991) d’Henri Verneuil, >
(2002) d’Atom Egoyan, > (2015) de Fatih Akin et >
(2015) de Valérie McCaffrey et Gary Titizian. Enfin le dossier > se termine par une tribune libre de Séta
Papazian qui appelle à une solidarité des victimes des génocides et
conclut>.

Contact : Le Droit de Vivre (le magazine de la Licra), 42, rue du
Louvre, 75001 Paris. Tél 01 45 08 08 08, courriel : [email protected].
Site internet :

Krikor Amirzayan

jeudi 1er janvier 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

ARMENIE-DEFENSE
Le président arménien rend visite aux soldats du front pour le Nouvel An

A quelques heures du Nouvel An, le président arménien Serge Sarkissian
a rendu visite sur l’un des points de défense au sud-ouest de la
République d’Arménie, faisant face au Nakhitchevan. Le président
arménien était accompagné par le Catholicos Karékine II ainsi que du
ministre de la Défense Seyran Ohanian. Le président arménien a
rencontré les soldats ainsi que les officiers pour examiner leurs
conditions de vie sur les positions de défense. Autour d’une table
festive, le président Serge Sarkissian a partagé avec les militaires
le repas de fête et conversé avec nombre d’entre eux. Il a rappelé
l’importance du rôle des soldats pour la protection de la patrie et la
sécurité des citoyens tout en insistant sur le moral exemplaire des
militaires arméniens qui ont au cours de l’année écoulé, répondu avec
réussite aux attaques ennemies.

Krikor Amirzayan

Le président arménien Serge Sarkissian a rendu visite aux soldats du front
Le président arménien partage le repas de fête du Nouvel An avec les
soldats au front, au sud-ouest de l’Arménie

jeudi 1er janvier 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Lavrov says EEU treaty is Russian diplomacy success

16:35, 29.12.2014

YEREVAN. – The signing of the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union
(EEU), which will be launched on January 1, 2015, became the
unequivocal success of the Russian diplomacy and its major
contribution to the strengthening of regional and international
stability.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the aforementioned to
Interfax news agency of Russia.

“Armenia will become its full member in several days. Kyrgyzstan’s
accession treaty was signed on December 23.

“Numerous [other] states’ aspiration to join the EEU, or sign a free
trade agreement with it, bespeaks the successfulness of the project,
[and it] confirms its being in demand,” the Russia FM specifically
noted.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

The Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency
Jan 2 2015

All of Armenia’s efforts are aimed either at not holding the
negotiations or at conducting them for the sake of imitation

02.01.2015 [15:17]
Baku, January 2, AzerTAc

“But unfortunately the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved this year either. The reason
for this is the criminal and bloodthirsty regime of Armenia. Armenia
does not want peace. All of its efforts are aimed either at not
holding the negotiations or at conducting them for the sake of
imitation,” President Ilham Aliyev has said in his message of
congratulation to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day
of Solidarity of Azerbaijanis of the World and the New Year.The
Azerbaijani President noted: “This year the mediators were more active
– we have to acknowledge that. The leaders of Russia, USA and France
held consecutive trilateral meetings in August, September and October.
I appreciate that and am grateful to these countries. However, Armenia
acted insincerely at these meetings. Moreover, less than two weeks
after the Paris meeting it began a large-scale military exercise on
occupied territories. The exercises pursued only one goal – to provoke
Azerbaijan, to commit an act of sabotage and undermine the process of
negotiations. We observed the same in the summer months when Armenian
sabotage groups attacked Azerbaijani positions. But the Azerbaijani
army gave them a fitting rebuff, killing more than 50 occupants.
Similar events took place at the end of this year. And again, the
Azerbaijani army gave an adequate response to the enemy.” “The
occupying state should know that a strong Azerbaijani army may restore
the territorial integrity of our country at any time. We still hope
that the negotiating process can produce a positive result, and there
are many factors enhancing this hope. We have political power,
economic potential and a powerful army. Next year, about $5 billion
will be spent on the development of our army, twice the total budget
of the impoverished Armenia.””The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh can be resolved only on the basis of norms and
principles of international law. UN Security Council resolutions must
be implemented. The occupying forces must withdraw from the occupied
Azerbaijani lands and the territorial integrity of our country must be
restored. These are the basic principles. On the basis of these
principles we are ready to sign any agreement,” the head of state
added.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 31 2014

Obama’s strong finish in 2014

Ã-MER TAÅ?PINAR
December 31, 2014, Wednesday

It has been a strange year for Barack Obama. Despite a strong economy,
the Democrats lost the midterm elections to the Republicans in a
humiliating way. The Senate is now in the hands of the opposition and
Obama is the walking definition of a lame duck president. With his
legislative agenda hampered, everyone expected Obama to accept his
fate and finish his last two years in search of a legacy and a voice.
Yet, to the surprise of many, Obama now appears more determined than
ever to fight Republican obstructionism with the prerogative of the
executive office.

In many ways, Obama is not only legally but also politically entitled
to do so. After all, the economy has been stronger than ever in the
last 10 years, with growth restored to healthy levels and unemployment
below 2005 levels. The healthcare law passed and the number of
uninsured Americans is down by 10 million. There is also good news on
the budget front, with the national debt and fiscal deficit in a
downward trend.

Yes, Obama lost the mid-term elections despite such good economic
data, mainly because of income stagnation. But with incomes beginning
to rise as of last month, consumer confidence is coming back. This is
why Obama believes he deserves more political credit than what the
polls seem to indicate. After the mid-term defeat he decided to keep
his chin up and use his last two years in power without much
reservation.

Only two months have passed since the elections, and Obama has shown
his determination to do so in three major cases. First came his visit
to China and the Asia-Pacific region, with historic agreements made
after years of negotiations in climate, economic and military talks.
The visit symbolized a pivot to Asia with substantial results.
Needless to say, Obama badly needed some foreign policy points after a
disastrous spring and summer, during which Russia annexed Crimea and
the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) conquered large parts
of Syria and Iraq.
After his successful trip to Asia, Obama decided to focus on domestic
politics. The issue he selected was one of the most polarizing items
in American politics: immigration reform. In a prime-time speech to
the nation, Obama declared that he will bypass the House of
Representatives, which blocked Senate’s immigration bill. It was time
to honor his political commitment to the millions of mostly Hispanic
voters asking amnesty for undocumented immigrants at risk of
deportation. Not surprisingly, Obama’s executive order to pardon 5
million future Democratic voters infuriated the Republicans, who
wanted to savor their mid-term victory by emasculating him.

Finally, as 2014 was coming to a close, Obama finished the year in
style with an astonishing declaration that the US was restoring
diplomatic relations with Cuba. Needless to say, this final salvo
exacerbated Republican frustrations even further.

Why all this should be relevant for Ankara? 2015 will be a critical
year for Turkish-American relations. It is no secret that the White
House is very frustrated with the Turkish reluctance to play ball
against ISIL.

The common refrain that I hear in Washington is that this is not the
way a NATO ally should behave in times when solidarity is of essence.
The current situation is a litmus test for arguments about Turkey’s
much-taunted geo-strategic importance. After all, what good is
Ä°ncirlik Air Base if it is not used in times like today, against a
barbaric foe like ISIL?

One should also remember that Turkey counts on its strategic
importance each time Congress considers resolutions about the Armenian
genocide. In case Ankara continues to drag its feet regarding ISIL, an
unhinged Obama may decide to use his new-found executive voice with an
unexpected recognition of the Armenian genocide on the centennial of
the tragedy. If Ankara is complacent about the centennial on the
grounds that the Republicans are dominating Congress, it is time to
think twice. Obama may be running out of patience with Ankara.

WorldBulletin, Turkey
Jan 2 2015

Muslims unite at 13th MAS-ICNA in Chicago

Organised after the Sept 11 attacks, Muslims unite in Chicago with
Turkish Americans attending for the first time.

World Bulletin / News Desk

First set up after the September 11 attacks, Muslims in America have
come together for the 13. MAS-ICNA meeting in Chicago held at the
McCormick Place convention centre, organised by MAS and ICNA and took
place between 25-29 December. With Muslims attending from all corners
of the globe, the event had activities, artistic performances,
exhibitions, business meetings and a Quran reading contest and an
exhibition.

The yearly meeting initially started with 500 attendees, with this
years numbered at 15,000, and the main sponsor being the Turkish
backed American Zakaat Foundation. The Foundation was founded by Halil
Ibrahim Demir, and in a short time has achieved a strong backing and
appreciation from the Muslim community in America. As them ost
attended stand of the exhibition, it collected a sponsorship of 550
orphans in 15 minutes. Attendees collected $600 per child bringing the
total sponsorship amount to $330,000. In a statement, Demir said,
“After the twin tower attacks in NYC, this pushed Muslims to be more
confident and united them to act as one and so at the end of 2001,
they came together forming ICNA. After 9/11, even innocent muslims who
were targeted just for their belief felt the need to come together”.

With the fair bringing Muslims from different cultures and
backgrounds, it was the first time a Turkish-American organisation
took part with the Turkish-American Will attending for the first time.
Stating that they intended to participate at ICNA each year, the
association officials said that, “We are part of the Muslim community
in America. We must find common solutions to our shared problems. Here
many of the Muslims were unaware of the Turkish-Armenian dispute and
we have distributed brochures for them to be informed”.

With the slogan, “All for Turkey” adopted by the association, they
believe they will attract other Turkish organisations to the fair
hoping to strengthen the community.

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Jan 2 2015

Government to hold 2015’s first meeting with religious communities

NURBANU KIZIL

Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu is expected to hold the first official
meeting of 2015 on Friday at a luncheon with representatives of
non-Muslim communities in Turkey under the scope of raising awareness
about Islamophobia.

The meeting comes after the recent National Security Council
highlighted that racism and discrimination against Muslims and
Islamophobia is on the rise in Europe and the situation is alarming.

As part of the efforts to take action against the situation, the
meeting is expected to bring different religious leaders together to
emphasize the idea that Islamophobia and racism are unacceptable and
contrary to the teachings of all religions. Community leaders are
expected to express a common stance against Islamophobia and mosque
attacks in Europe, while they will convey messages against terrorism
and discuss the issue of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham (ISIS) in the region.

Representatives from Turkey’s different religious communities will
also discuss the developments and current state of events in Turkey as
well as in the world.

Greek Patriarch Bartholomew I; Aram AteÃ…?yan, the Armenian Pontiff of
Armenians in Turkey; Ishak Haleva, the Chief Rabbi of Turkey; Levon
Zekiyan, the Armenian-Catholic Archbishop in Turkey and a number of
representatives from the Latin Catholic community, Assyrian Orthodox
communities and others are expected to be present at the meeting.

The President of Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs and some
ministers will also participate and discuss issues with
representatives of religious communities in Turkey.

As part of democratization efforts, the Turkish government has carried
out a number of reforms to improve the rights and freedoms of
minorities in the country. A new sense of all-encompassing identity is
being encouraged by the government, which accepts all citizens
regardless of ethnic or religious background.

The government has lifted a number of legal obstacles faced by
foundations (vakıfs) of non-Muslim communities which prevented them
from owning real property. This has resulted in the return of
significant monuments such as the Mor Gabriel Monastery in Mardin to
the Syriac community. The Greek community was also given permission to
reopen Aya Todori elementary school in Gökçeada, while the Sümela
Monastery in the city of Trabzon along the Black Sea and the Akdamar
Church in the eastern city of Van, – both of which functioned as
museums- were reopened for religious services. The Armenian community
was also given permission to build a school for the first time since
the establishment of the Turkish Republic.

Radio Sweden
Dec 31 2014

Protest grows against Armenian family’s deportation

A photographer who refused to take passport photos of a toddler is the
latest person to join a protest against the Swedish Migration Board’s
decision to deny the girl and her family asylum.

Share

The photographer was asked to take pictures of the family’s youngest
member, a two-year-old girl, but refused. He thereby joined several
politicians, church leaders and NGOs in objecting to the Migration
Board’s decision.

The passport photos were to be used in the deportation process, local
media reported.

“I don’t want to play a part in her deportation,” the photographer,
Martin Karlsson, told local newspaper PiteÃ¥-tidningen. “If the
Migration Board has made its mind up, then they can take the picture
themselves,” Karlsson added.

The girl, who will turn three in March, was born in Sweden to Armenian
parents who are suffering from psychological problems and are not well
enough to care for her or her two year older brother. The parents and
the older child came to Sweden in 2010.

The girl has been living with a foster family outside Piteå in
northern Sweden since she was seven days old. Her brother lives with a
foster family in the town of Skellefteå. In Armenia, the two children
reportedly risk being placed in orphanages since the parents are
unwell. The mother receives psychiatric care in Sweden, having been
apathetic for several years.

The Migration Board’s decision to deport the family came just before
Easter after their asylum application was denied for the third time.
The Board said there is not enough evidence to support the family’s
story. The mother claims she and her son were assaulted and threatened
in Armenia, while the father claims he was tortured by security
services.

Vahan was big patriot – Armenian FM on late ambassdor

19:59 * 02.01.15

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has expressed his sorrow over the
untimely demise of Vahan Hovhannesyan, Armenia’s ambassador to
Germany.

“Vahan was unfortunately an ambassador for a very short period. He had
big plans and a great enthusiasm. He played a big role in foreign
policy, representing Armenia in different parliamentary assemblies. He
was a bright personality,” he told reporters at the politician’s
requiem mass on Friday.

“It is hard to imagine that Vahan is no longer with us. Those who have
known and communicated with him know and understand that he is with
us. He was a big patriot, a champion, a state and political figure, a
good husband and a loving son.”

Hovhannesyan passed away after a long decease on December 28. He was
Armenia’s ambassador to Germany since December 2013.