Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 30 2014

Relations between Georgian and Armenian churches

30 July 2014 – 2:02pm

A sketch with an incident in the background

By Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

Recent events at the Surb Echmiadzin church in Tbilisi city center
drew attention to relations between the Georgian and Armenian
churches. The clash between Georgians and Armenians in the Avlabar
District of Tbilisi is unique and was followed by an uncompromising
stand in finding the causes of the conflict. Any professional
conflictologist can say that even if it was an ordinary quarrel, it
was based on the interests of two communities.

This is why this ordinary quarrel has such broad interpretations. The
Georgian side asserts that a local Georgian woman was irritated by an
Armenian cleric blocking a drive by parking his car. The Georgian
Eparchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) said that two
congregants tried to help the woman and a conflict started. Imagine
two courteous young men helping a lady and she just keeps shouting and
insulting Armenians and their church.

There is no point in searching for all the nuances and huddles of
motivations for the quarrel. What is more important is that it
highlighted religious tensions between the two states and communities.
If we do not look so deep as into the schism of the Dyophysites and
the Miaphysites and take the last 25-year history, we can say that
differences were first seen at the start of the construction of the
St. Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi in 1989.

The patriarchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) decided to build
a huge temple on a hill near an Armenian cemetery. The territory of
the church, Armenian officials say, will take part of the territory of
the cemetery. The sides managed to keep that problem down. The St.
Trinity Cathedral was built and Georgia cannot be imagined without it,
the building fits so well into the architecture and the ecclesiastical
life of the Georgian capital.

There are no dogmatic disputes between the churches, because the
differences had long been established and recognized. The Armenian
church insists on the return of closed churches on Georgian territory,
mainly the Surb Norashen Church in Tbilisi.

The fate of the church became tragic after the failure of the AAC and
the GOC to decide its ownership. According to the Georgian narrative,
often cultivated by Georgian clerical and near-clerical confidants,
the Surb Norashen and other churches in Georgia were actually Georgian
until they were bought by Armenian clerics with lies and gold. One
needs only to see the architecture of Surb Norashen to be confident
that it is an Armenian church.

The Armenian diplomacy is to keep the church closed if it cannot be
handed over to the AAC. So the statuesque Christian church remains
empty, gradually becoming desolated and crumbling. Armenian officials
visiting Georgia often visit it and stand at the half-broken chancel
with stern faces.

Armenian Patriarch Karekin II discussed the problem during his visit
to Georgia. It almost turned into a row when it appeared on social
networks. In the recording, the Armenian patriarch was scolding his
Georgian counterpart for refusing legal status to the eparchy of the
AAC. Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II is a soft and polite man, he tried
to object.

Georgian President Saakashvili decided to intervene and, with the help
of the parliamentary majority, he gave the Armenian eparchy legal
status.

In its turn, the GOC patriarchy declared the foundation of the
Agarak-Tashir Eparchy, stretching throughout the Lore Province that
Georgia and Armenian had fought for in 1918. The GOC assures that the
region has Georgian Orthodox churches and they should be under the
control of the GOC. The Holy Echmiadzin, expressing no doubts that the
churches there exist, said that they do not belong to Georgia.

Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili proposed restoration of all Armenian
churches in Georgia at his own expense. The GOC did not give him the
permission. But even if his benevolent project succeeded, the problems
of ownership of churches, control of the AAC eparchy and renewal of
worship in Surb Norashen would have not been resolved.

Unlike in the age of the Council of Chalcedon, when there were no
Georgians or Armenians in their modern understanding and there were
Dyophysites and Miaphysites instead, the relations between the GOC and
the AAC are affected by their nation-building function, based mainly
on ethnicity.

Global Post
July 30 2014

Azerbaijan charges prominent rights activist with treason

Prominent Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus was charged
Wednesday with treason, her lawyer Dzhavad Dzhavadov said.

The award-winning campaigner was also charged with tax evasion,
large-scale fraud and falsifying documents.

Her husband Arif, an independent political analyst, was also charged
with treason and fraud, Dzhavadov added.

Earlier in the day Yunus was bundled into a car in the courtyard of
her apartment building in Baku and taken away by three plain-clothes
men, family spokesman Yusif Agayev said.

A fierce critic of Azerbaijan’s poor rights record, Yunus is head of
one of Azerbaijan’s leading rights groups, the Institute for Peace and
Democracy in Baku.

She was detained and questioned for several hours in April.

Yunus has long worked with Armenian activists advocating the
reconciliation of the two countries, which have been locked in a
decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

She has won several foreign prizes and honours for her work.

Any display of dissent in Azerbaijan is usually met with a tough
government response.

Rights groups say the government has been clamping down on opponents
since President Ilham Aliyev’s re-election last year.

Aliyev, 52, secured a third term in October polls — seen as flawed by
international observers — extending his family’s decades-long grip on
power in the tightly controlled Caspian Sea nation.

He first took power in 2003 following a disputed election after the
death of his father Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB officer and
communist-era leader. (AFP)

300 tons of diesel fuel disappears from Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum
plant every month (video)

15:34 | July 31,2014 | Social

Amazing discoveries were made at the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum
Combine Ltd after the replacement of the plant director Maxim
Hakobyan.

Recently, the new administration has revealed that about 300 tons of
diesel fuel disappears from the plant every month.

For more details watch the video of Sosi TV

Imperial Valley News
July 30 2014

Vargas Praises Passage of H.Res. 683

Details Created on Wednesday, 30 July 2014 17:31 Written by IVN

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51) praised the
House Foreign Affairs Committee for unanimously passing House
Resolution 683. H.Res. 683 expresses the sense of the House of
Representatives on the current situation in Iraq and the urgent need
to protect religious minorities from persecution at the hands of Sunni
Islamist insurgent and terrorist group, the Islamic State in Iraq and
Levant (ISIL), as it expands its control over areas in northwestern
Iraq.

“I commend the Foreign Affairs Committee for shedding light on this
important topic and for supporting our nation’s need to be vocal in
the face of these horrific crimes against humanity,” said Rep. Vargas.
“I introduced this resolution because of the urgent need to protect
religious Christians in Iraq’s ISIL-held territories. Religious
freedom is the cornerstone of any free society and we must do
everything in our power to provide immediate protection and
humanitarian assistance to Iraqi civilians fleeing persecution.”

Iraq is currently embroiled in a political and religious insurrection
stemming from an ISIL-led offensive that began in the Anbar province
and has spread to locations such as Mosul, Tikrit and Samarra,
engulfing the region in violence and instability. Iraq’s population
is approximately 31.3 million with 97 percent identifying themselves
as Muslim and approximately 3 percent religious minorities, including
Christians, Yezidis, Sabean-Mandaeans, Bahais, Shabaks, Kakais and
Jews. Over 500,000 people have been displaced by the current
situation in Iraq and reports have surfaced of targeted harassment,
persecution and the killing of Iraqi religious minorities by ISIL with
little to no protection from the Iraqi government and other security
forces.

Once ISIL established its control over northwestern Iraq and Syria, it
declared a caliphate, warning Christians living under its jurisdiction
to convert to Islam, pay a cumbersome religious tax, or be executed.
Since this declaration, over 10,000 Iraqi Christians have packed their
belongings and fled to neighboring communities in Kurdistan, Syria,
Lebanon and Jordan. The last 1,500 families to leave were robbed at
an ISIS checkpoint and there are reports that there are no more
Christians in Mosul.

This mass exodus represents the largest forced displacement in the
Middle East since the Armenian genocide in Turkey about 100 years ago.

The resolution reaffirms the House of Representatives’ commitment to
promoting and protecting religious freedom around the world and
providing relief to minority groups facing persecution. In addition,
the resolution calls on the United States Department of State to work
with the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi Central Government,
neighboring countries, the diaspora community in the United States,
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other key
stakeholders to help secure safe havens for those claiming amnesty.
Furthermore, it requests the addition of a Special Representative for
Religious Minorities to be included in Iraq’s newly reconstructed
government.

Vargas represents California’s 51st Congressional District which
includes the southern portion of San Diego County, all of Imperial
County and California’s entire US/Mexico border. Vargas is currently
serving his first term in Congress. He represented the 40th
California State Senate District from 2010-2012, the 79th California
State Assembly District from 2000 – 2006 and served on the San Diego
City Council from 1993 – 2000.

Agence France Presse
July 31, 2014 Thursday 4:50 PM GMT

No Turkish actor would play slain Armenian journalist: director

ISTANBUL, July 31 2014

An award-winning Turkish-German director, Fatih Akin, says he dropped
plans to make a film about an Armenian journalist murdered in 2007
because no Turkish actor wanted to play the lead role in a movie about
the hugely sensitive case.

In an interview with Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Akin said he
instead turned to making another controversial film, “The Cut”, which
deals with the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
during World War I. Those slaying are seen in Armenia and several
other countries — but not by Turkey — as a genocide.

Akin said he had finished a script based on the murdered Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink — who worked for Agos — but he had to drop the
project after the Turkish actors he approached for the role found it
“too harsh”.

Dink, 52, had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and
Armenians, but incurred the wrath of Turkish nationalists for saying
the 1915 massacre amounted to a genocide.

He was shot dead in broad daylight by a teenage ultranationalist
outside the offices of the Agos newspaper in a crime that still has
not been fully elucidated.

Akin’s difficulties in making a film about his life and death
underline the continued sensitivity of the case.

“I couldn’t persuade any Turkish actors to play Hrant’s role. All of
them found the script too harsh. That’s why I had to cancel the
project,” he said, without naming the actors.

“I did not want any actor to get hurt. But it was important to make a
‘Turkish film’ about Hrant. An American or French actor could not play
Hrant. We have to deal with this issue ourselves.

“But obviously the time is not yet ripe for it.”

– Young actors covet role –

Following Akin’s comments, two popular young Turkish actors took to
Twitter to lament that they had missed the chance to star as Dink.

“If I were old enough, I would have wanted to play Dink,” wrote Riza
Kocaoglu, who stars in the popular Turkish drama series “Karadayi”.

“I wish I could play Dink,” tweeted Sarp Akkaya, who most recently
starred in “Magnificent Century”, another hit Turkish television show.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed during World War I
as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, a claim supported by several
other countries but long disputed by Turkey.

Akin said Turkey was now ready, however, for a film like “The Cut”,
which tells the story of an Armenian man who survives the 1915
killings and embarks on a journey across the world to find his
daughter.

“For those who are afraid of this film, I tell them: ‘This is just a
film’. But I am now sure that Turkish society, of which I am a member,
is ready for this film,” he said.

“The Cut”, starring French actor Tahar Rahim, will premiere at Italy’s
Venice International Film Festival in late August.

Co-produced by Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Poland, Canada and
Turkey, the film is the latest part of the director’s Love, Death, and
the Devil trilogy, which includes the arthouse hits “Head-On” and “The
Edge of Heaven”.

– ‘Flawed’ probe into journalist’s murder –

Dink’s assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey and grew into a
wider scandal with accusations of a state conspiracy. A 17-year-old
dropout was found guilty of the murder but the Dink family have always
insisted that higher forces were involved.

Turkey’s top court however ruled earlier this month that the
investigation into the killing of Dink had been flawed, paving the way
for potential further trials against new suspects.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in April expressed his
condolences over the World War I massacres of Armenians, which he
called “our shared pain”, in Turkey’s most significant gesture yet
over the tragedy.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 31 2014

Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan
31 July 2014 – 10:00pm

Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan Leyla
Yunus arrested

Mikhail Belyayev. Exclusively for VK

On July 30 the Azerbaijani authorities once again struck at the
pro-Western “civil society”, which now does not feel at home in this
South Caucasian state. Civil activist Leyla Yunus was arrested as she
tried to flee the country together with foreign diplomats. Before her
unsuccessful escape she ignored four calls to attend interrogations by
the General Prosecutor’s office. The law-enforcement agencies have
been keeping an eye on the activist for several years. She called for
the liberation of the terrorists from the Sadval group, convicted for
launching a terrorist attack on the Baku metro in 1994. She even
included the terrorists on a list of political prisoners submitted to
European lawmakers.

The activist also defended the people responsible for promoting
inter-ethnic hatred in the country, where people of different ethnic
origins have always been treated as equals. For instance, Azerbaijani
Jews have always been respected and cherished. Many of them now live
in the United States or Israel. Remembering their past in Azerbaijan,
these people contribute much to the development of the US-Azerbaijani
and Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. There has never been ethnic hatred
in Azerbaijan, however, there are those who would be happy to change
the situation for the worse. Leyla Yunus supported not only
terrorists from Sadval, but also Alikram Gumbatov.

The separatist Gumbatov, who has been sentenced to capital punishment,
Yunus believes to be “a victim of the Azerbaijani authorities.” The
“victim” now lives in Holland and (not without help provided by the
Armenian special services) tries to incite a separatist movement in
southern part of the country. taking into consideration Leyla Yunus’
past, it’s quite clear why the law-enforcement agencies have started
an investigation into her activities. The questions raised were quite
numerous. Whose interests does she represent? Who supports her
financially? Are her activities transparent? Is she an honest
tax-payer? The results were remarkable. Yunus has been charged with
high treason, tax evasion, fraud and illegal entrepreneurship. These
are the charges she was arrested on.

It would be unwise to decide whether she has actually committed all
these crimes before the lawsuit is over. However the very fact is
quite eloquent. Tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurship are serious
crimes. It seems like the law-enforcement agencies have been
investigating her activities for a long time before bringing the
charges. It seems probable that Yunus has embezzled foreign funds
allocated for promoting democracy and human rights. One more activist
and recipient of foreign financial aid, Rasul Dzhafarov, often pays
visits to European capitals. A couple of years ago he launched a
campaign named “Sing for Democracy”, aimed at politicizing the
Eurovision song contest held in Baku. Dzhafarov recently tried to flee
the country as well. His bank accounts are now frozen.

It has been decided to turn to the harsh actions and inspections of
pro-Western activists when relations between Azerbaijan and the West
are far from being at their best. The Azerbaijani Ambassador to the
OSCE, Ghalib Israfilov, has even openly responded to criticism coming
from the United States by publicly reminding Americans about not
fulfilling their obligations to close Guantanamo Bay prison. Former
Ambassador of the U.S. to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar, after he
made veiled comments about the possibility of a “Euromaidan” in
Azerbaijan, has been highly criticized by the Azerbaijani government
and Azerbaijani media.

In general, starting from last year, Western institutions and
initiatives in Azerbaijan have had a hard time. The status of the OSCE
mission in Azerbaijan was downgraded to fulfilling the mission of a
Project Coordinator, the Office of American Democrats NDI was promptly
closed, while the University of Azad Fikir was temporarily closed. A
pro-Western revolutionary youth organization known as Nida was also
neutralized by the Azeri special services. Finally, the Eastern
Partnership with the EU, developed by Poland and Sweden, was
practically ignored by Baku, which did not express any desire to sign
the association agreement.

This is another reason for western politicians to reconsider their
approach to their partners. The Azerbaijani government has
consistently strengthened economic and political relations with the
Kremlin and their actions have caused irritation in Western capitals.
It is obvious that the foreign policy and the weakening of the
positions of the West in the South Caucasus region result in the
gradual loss of the positions of pro-Western agents of influence in
Azerbaijan, especially when their activities violate local laws.

The arrest of Leyla Yunus, regardless of its legal framework, is just
one of many manifestations of a greater political process ongoing in
the region. However, it is another reason for Western politicians to
reconsider their approaches to their partners in the post-Soviet
space. One-sided criticism and attempts to bring “orange” revolutions
there, as well as the sanctions and double standards applied by the EU
and the United States with respect to post-Soviet republics, will not
work in countries where the ruling elite have access to significant
financial reserves and where there is a clear understanding of the
national interests.

Russian Embassy in Armenia gives a harsh response to the U.S. Embassy

by Karina Melikyan
Thursday, July 31, 20:08

In response to the statement of the United States Embassy in the
Republic of Armenia, Russian Federation’s Embassy in Armenia has
expressed its official stance: “It does not become a diplomatic
mission to dictate the host country’s authorities with whom and how
they should maintain ties, especially using suggestive threats against
the sovereign state. We suppose that the business community of Armenia
is also able to independently see into the matter of business conduct
and does not need any prompts”, says the Russian Embassy’s statement
sent to ArmInfo.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia had to appear with
such a statement in relation to the U.S. Embassy’s statement
disseminated among the state and business structures of Armenia. The
U.S. statement concerns the risks stemming from the cooperation with
the Russian companies and individuals on the list of the U.S.
sanctions.

“We are concerned about the U.S. attempts to complicate the activities
of Russian business in Armenia. All the Russian companies in Armenia,
including VTB Bank (Armenia) and Areximbank-Gazprombank Group are
under the jurisdiction of Armenia, operate within the limits of
Armenia’s legislation, obtain profit and pay taxes in Armenia and
secure the employment of the major part of Armenia’s population. The
calls to stop the contacts with the Russian companies disavow the U.S.
representatives’ hypocritical statements about their willingness to
contribute to Armenia’s economic development. One also definitely
observes obvious elements of dishonest trade and economic competition
in the USA’s actions”, says the official statement of the Russian
Embassy in Armenia.

The Russian Embassy takes the opportunity to reiterate the
contrivedness and illegitimacy of the United States’ anti-Russian
sanctions, which will only complicate the Russian-U.S. relations and
create an extremely unfavorable environment in international affairs.
“Giving the impression of “consistency” in its current behavior,
Washington, in fact, is trying to escape responsibility for the tragic
developments in Ukraine and to settle accounts with Russia for the
latter’s independent policy”, says the Russian Embassy in its
statement.

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Up to 45% of Armenian citizens are potential emigrants

by Karina Manukyan
Thursday, July 31, 15:37

43.3% of Armenian citizens are potential emigrants, the head of the
“Sociometer” sociological centre, Aharon Adibekyanm said at today’s
press-conference, The public opinion poll held among 4400 adults in
100 settlements of Armenia are evidence of it.

According to the survey, the emigrant moods were obvious most of all
in the Kotayk, Aragatsotn, Shirak, Vayots Dzor and Ararat regions of
Armenia. So, 61,5% of respondents in Koyak are potential emigrants,
51,1% – in Aragatsotn, 50% – in Shirak. 14,8% of respondents from
Vayots Dzor have already decided to leave the native land, 8,9% –
from Aragatsotn and 7,7% – from Shirak.

39% of Yerevan residents are potential emigrants and 7% are ready to
leave the country. The expert said that 1/3 of Armenia’s population
are ready to leave the country, if able to cover the transport
expenditure.

He also added that the roots of such a complex situation should be
looked for in the social and economic situation in the country. He
said that there are families in the regions of Armenia with a monthly
income per capita 20-25 thsd AMD ($50-60), which is very much low,
taking into account the growing expenditure for utility.

The survey is evidence of the fact that 11% of families in Armenia get
funds from abroad. And as a result of traditional trips to abroad to
earn money, the number of the sole parent families in Armenia have
grown.

Charges Against Leyla Yunus are Trumped Up: Amnesty International

07.31.2014 12:57 epress.am

The treason charges against Leyla and Arif Yunus are trumped up and
are part of a process of on-going harassment against them in
connection with Leyla Yunus’s activism, believes Amnesty
International.

“Leyla Yunus is yet another independent voice in Azerbaijan who, for a
long time, the government has tried to silence through threats and
intimidation. Failing to achieve this, they have now resorted to
trumped up charges and detention in order to punish her for
criticizing the government,” said Natalia Nozadze, Amnesty
International’s researcher on Azerbaijan.

The persecution of human rights activists continues unabated in
Azerbaijan, in spite of the obligations the country committed to as a
member of Council of Europe and currently a chair of its decision
making body, the Committee of Ministers, Amnesty International said
today.

“Today’s detention is yet another example of the unrelenting
suppression of critical voices that is a regular feature of life in
the country. Members of the Council of Europe must challenge the
Azerbaijani authorities for flouting the principles of the human
rights body which Azerbaijan is chairing at the moment,” said Nozadze.

Amnesty International currently counts at least 19 prisoners of
conscience behind bars solely for peacefully expressing their views.

Note, on July 30, a Baku court placed Leyla Yunus under a three-month
pre-trial detention and Arif Yunus with travel restrictions. According
to media reports, authorities charged Leyla and Arif Yunus with
treason and other charges related to fraud and tax evasion. According
to the spouses’ attorney, the couple deny all charges against them.

Leyla Yunus has repeatedly said that the persecution against her is
tied to the desire of the country’s authorities to “expose a group of
Armenian spies”. She has been repeatedly questioned in the case of
Azerbaijani Russian-language newspaper Zerkalo reporter Rauf
Mirkadirov, who has been in custody for more than 3 months on charges
of “collaborating with Armenia’s secret police”.

Issues of Armenia-USA cooperation discussed in RA Government

12:25 31.07.2014

RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of
Armenia John Heffern and the head of Armenian Office of U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID/Armenia), Karen Hilliard.

Stressing the importance of continued development of U.S. – Armenian
relations, the Prime Minister highly valued the U.S. Government’s
support for Armenia reforms and reiterated his government’s
willingness to further them ahead. In this context the Premier
highlighted the reforms made in the sphere of Civil Aviation.

Ambassador John Heffern stressed, in turn, the importance of
implementation of new projects aimed at extending the cooperation
between the two countries. In this context, Karen Hilliard gave a
detailed outline of the ongoing projects and upcoming assignments in
the domains of justice, territorial management, health, labor and
social affairs, tourism and other areas.

The interlocutors also made a reference to u number of issues related
to Armenian-American cooperation.