Author: Kalantarian Kevo

SYRIAN OPPOSITIONISTS ACCUSE THE REGIME OF SHELLING CHURCHES IN DER ZOR

Al-Sharq al-Awsat (In Arabic)
London, UK
May 28 2013

Syrian oppositionists accuse the regime of shelling churches in
Dayr al-Zawr.

Reports say 170 military personnel defected near the border with Israel

Syrian activists affirmed that the regular forces targeted several
churches belonging to the Christian Sect in the City of Dayr al-Zawr,
eastern Syria. Opposition websites posted on the Internet videos
showing the extent of damage that these churches suffered as a result
of shelling by the regular forces.

An activist based in Dayr al-Zawr told Al-Sharq al-Awsat that the
regime’s planes shelled two churches belonging to the Orthodox
Syriacs. He added that all Christian families fled the city when it
came under heavy bombardment as clashes between the opposition and
the regime forces intensified.

Member of both the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces and the National Council Abd-al-Ahad Istifu confirmed
that regular forces shelled churches in Dayr al-Zawr.

Speaking to Al-Sharq al-Awsat, he said that all Christian families
left the city because of the excessive violence in the city.

He added: “The Christians, especially the Armenians who form a
considerable section of the population in the area, have a bad memory
of persecution. This prompts them to emigrate quickly when any form
of violence takes place.” Istifu held the Syrian regime responsible
for displacing the city’s Christians. He noted that a climate of
fanaticism and extremism helped in frightening the Christians and
prompting them to leave.

Elsewhere, the opposition local coordination committees said yesterday
that more than 170 military personnel, including officers, defected
from the regular forces in the City of Al-Qunaytirah near the occupied
Golan. Syrian oppositionists posed on YouTube a video showing the
defected military personnel being protected in Al-Qunaytirah.

Opposition activists said that the military personnel defected with
help from the Abu-al-Ward Salafi Jihadist Group that operates in the
Khan al-sheikh complex in the western countryside, in cooperation
with fighter battalions.

According to the opposition sources, this defection comes after 13
military personnel, including officers, announced that they defected
from the 143rd Battalion and the 160th Company in the Town of Tasil
in Dar’a during clashes that have been going on for some time now
along the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel.

The free army in the City of Al-Qunaytirah is engaged in violent
clashes with the regular forces in a persistent attempt to storm the
Al-Saraya Building where the 90th Brigade is deployed.

For its part, the opposition Sham Network reported that the free army
provided protection for three military personnel who defected from
the Dayr al-Zawr Airfield.

Also, seven conscripts belonging to the Alawite Sect defected from
the Al-Khazzanat Roadblock in the Khan Shaykhun area in Idlib, the
coordination committees said.

Meanwhile, clashes continued in the Syrian capital Damascus, namely
in the District of Jawbar where the free army has established posts
only hundreds of meters from the Al-Abbasiyin Square.

According to sources in the opposition, several shells fell in the
District of Al-Qabun wounding some of the district’s residents. Also,
sounds of several explosions were heard in the capital’s countryside.

In another development, clashes intensified around the Al-Thalathin
Street in the Al-Yarmuk [Palestinian Refugee] Camp in the south of
the capital. Activists said that large-calibre weapons were used
in the clashes. A fire broke out in the camp’s Safad Street after
snipers belonging to regular forces fired incendiary bullets, the
activists said.

In Homs, activists reported that violent clashes broke out in the
districts of Jawbar and Al-Sultaniyah between regular forces and
battalions of the free army as the daily confrontations continue in
Al-Khalidiyah and Baba Amr, which is now under the regular forces’
control.

Meanwhile , fighting continued in the City of Al-Raqqah, which was
controlled by the opposition battalions a while ago. The clashes took
place around the post of the besieged 17th Division in the city’s
countryside. Clashes also continued in areas in Aleppo and Idlib where
scores of people were killed in rocket and artillery bombardment and
clashes around military bases, the coordination committees reported.

[Translated from Arabic]

PM URGES BUSINESS PEOPLE TO PRESENT THEIR PROJECTS TO GOVERNMENT

YEREVAN, March 29. / ARKA /. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
urged today representatives of small and medium-sized businesses
to more actively present their business plans to the government
to seek its support as he spoke at a meeting with some 100 local
business people.

“Our strategy is to be as objective as possible: we will inform
the public about the criteria we use to decide whether to support a
business or not. We are primarily interested in those companies which
have great export potential, which can prove that they will use the
government support to create jobs, which are managed skillfully,”
he was quoted as saying by the government press office.

He also said the government will pay special attention to programs
which are able to rally business people for their joint implementation.

The key speakers at the event were economy minister Tigran Davtyan,
the chairman of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Arsen
Ghazaryan and the chairman of the Union of Domestic Manufacturers
Vazgen Safarian. —0—

SEPT FORMATIONS POLITIQUES PRENDRONT PART A L’ELECTION MUNICIPALE DE LA VILLE D’EREVAN

Le 21 mars, dernier jour pour soumettre a la Commission electorale
centrale les documents requis pour prendre part au scrutin municipal
d’Erevan, 6 partis politiques et une alliance electorale ont saisi la
CEC. Les partis politiques sont le parti Republicain (liste dirigee
par le maire actuel d’Erevan, Taron Margarian), Etat de droit (liste
dirigee par le Ministre des situations d’urgence, Armen Yeritsian),
FRA/Dachnaksoutioun (liste dirigee par le deputee Armen Roustamian),
Armenie prospère (liste dirigee par Vartan Oskanian), CNA (liste
dirigee par l’ancien maire d’Erevan, Vahagn Khatchatrian) et le parti
nouvellement cree Mission (liste dirigee par le President du parti
Mesrop Arakelian). Une alliance a ete formee entre le parti Heritage
et cinq autres groupes d’opposition, notamment des anciens partis du
CNA, dont Voie democratique, Patrie democratique, Parti Conservateur
etc. L’alliance s’appelle ” Bonjour Erevan “. Le vice-President du
parti Heritage, Armen Martirossian est la tete de liste de cette
alliance. Haykakan Jamanak relève que le nombre d’electeurs d’Erevan
inscrits sur les listes est de 824 000. Les partis politiques devront
recueillir 6% des suffrages pour etre representes au Conseil municipal
d’Erevan, tandis que les alliances devront en obtenir 8%.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 22 mars 2013

vendredi 29 mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

L’ARMENIE A RECU 4 653,6 TONNES DE MARCHANDISES D’AIDE HUMANITAIRE

Entre janvier et novembre 2012 l’Armenie a recu 4 653,6 tonnes de
marchandises d’une valeur de plus de 22,3 milliards de drams ou 55,9
millions de dollars, selon le Service national de la statistique se
referant au Comite national des impôts.

L’aide humanitaire est principalement assure par les Etats-Unis, la
Chine, la Suisse, l’Iran, l’Allemagne, la France, l’Italie et la CEI
(Communaute des Etats independants).

vendredi 29 mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

ANCA-SFW ACTIVIST NICHAN KULUKIAN AT INAUGURAL BANQUET

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

ANCA-SFW members with Nichan Kulukian

ENCINO-The Armenian National Committee of America, San Fernando
Valley West Chapter has announced that it will be honoring long time
community activist Nichan Kulukian with the Hai-Tahd Award. The award
will be presented to Kulukian at the ANCA-SFW inaugural banquet which
will be held on April 7 at 5 p.m. at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in
Universal City.

“I’m honored to be receiving the Hai-Tahd Award from the ANCA-SFW
Chapter” stated Kulukian. “I consider it my duty to promote the ideals
and activities of Hye Tad” he added.

Nichan has a distinguished record of service in the positions he has
held. Kulukian was first active in the Montreal Armenian Community
where he volunteered to teach Armenian Culture and Language in Sourp
Hagop Saturday school from 1971 to 1981. He later helped found the
Horizon weekly newspaper in 1979, which is still in circulation today.

Kulukian also helped establish the Sourp Hagop Armenian School in
Montreal Canada in 1974. During later years, under his chairmanship
the school expanded to a full high school serving 800 students,
before his departure to Los Angeles in 1988.

In Los Angeles, Kulukian continued his service to the community and its
education by teaching various subjects at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High
School until 1991; and becoming principal of ARS “Anahid” Chapter’s
Saturday School from 1999 to 2002.

Nichan continued his service to his community in other spheres. In
2001 he was appointed to the California Universal Access Task Force
(UAWG) commissioned by the then Governor as consumer representative,
to find ways to improve programs and services offered through Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) used by consumers with disabilities.

Kulukian has also been an active member of the San Fernando Valley.

Since 1995 he has served as an Executive Board Member and as past
Chairman of ANCA San Fernando Valley West Chapter, and for the last
three years he concurrently serves as Board member with the ANCA San
Fernando Valley North Chapter also.

“Nichan Kulukian has an exemplary record for organizing activism in
the Armenian community,” stated ANCA-SFW Executive Board Member Talar
Derderian. “His tireless service to the community is inspirational
and we are overjoyed to be honoring him” concluded Derderian.

To purchase tickets to the banquet, visit

The Armenian National Committee of America, San Fernando Valley West
advances the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of
the area’s Armenian American community and promotes increased civic
participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.

For more information visit Facebook.com/ANCASFW and
twitter.com/ANCASFW.

NKR PM: ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN DEAL ON KARABAKH UNLIKELY

09:37 29.03.2013

Azerbaijan and Armenia are unlikely to reach a deal this year over
Nagorno-Karabakh and there is a risk of the region sliding towards
a war, NKR prime minister Arayik Haroutiounian said.

“If we manage to end the year peacefully then that will be
constructive, but in terms of concrete accords to resolve the conflict,
I’m not optimistic for this year,” Arayik Haroutiounian told Reuters
in Paris during a visit to meet Franco-Armenian investors.

“Neither Karabakh nor Azerbaijan would benefit from a war as I don’t
think either country would win outright, but we can’t rule it out,”
Haroutiounian said.

While he said that Nagorno-Karabakh would not strike first, his
administration had, like Azerbaijan, steadily increased arms imports
to ensure it could defend itself.

“I think that a new war would lead to a huge humanitarian crisis and
be extremely bloody,” he said.

“The losses would be much greater than before – hundreds of thousands
killed and injured – because of the arms race of the last few years.”

Haroutiounian, who fought in the 1991-1994 conflict, said that for
the moment public opinion in Azerbaijan and Armenia was not ready
for a compromise, making it much harder for their leaders to accept
any settlement.

FM: GEORGIAN-TURKISH-AZERBAIJANI COOPERATION SENDS CLEAR MESSAGE TO ARMENIA

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 28 2013

Georgia, Tbilisi, March 28 / Trend, N. Kirtzkhalia /

The cooperation between three regional countries – Turkey, Georgia
and Azerbaijan sends a clear message to Armenia, Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a press conference in Batumi today.

“Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan have created a platform for cooperation
in all areas and are working to ensure the development of the region,”
he added. “This is the message to our neighbor – Armenia.”

Armenia must end its occupation of Azerbaijani lands, withdraw its
troops from Nagorno-Karabakh and begin constructive activity to ensure
stability and security in the region, he stressed.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

Why Erdogan Wants Peace With the PKK

The End of An Insurgency

Article Summary: Last week, Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), declared a cease-fire in his party’s
nearly three-decade-long struggle with the Turkish state. His
announcement came at an opportune time, not least because Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems ready to pursue peace with
the Kurds as a way to consolidate his own power. Still, regional
developments might be a stumbling block around which neither party can
maneuver.

Foreign Affairs
March 27, 2013

By F. Stephen Larrabee

Last week, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK), declared a cease-fire in his party’s nearly three-decade-long
struggle with the Turkish state. Before then, the insurgency — which
had claimed some 40,000 lives — had seemed intractable. Ankara’s
attempts to put it down had only inflamed Kurdish nationalism and made
the PKK stronger. But with Ocalan now apparently ready to try to
resolve differences peacefully, the prospects that the uprising will
come to an end have improved.

Ocalan’s announcement came at an opportune time. Several factors had
already made the moment ripe for peace. First, the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) and the broader Turkish public had come to
recognize that trying to end the insurgency with force was a dead end
and that the government would have to make a more determined effort to
find a political solution to the Kurdish conflict.

Second, the Kurdish issue is closely linked to Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s political ambitions. Under AKP bylaws, Erdogan cannot
run for another term as prime minister when his second term ends next
year. Instead, he is widely expected to try to run for president. If
he wins, he will be the first popularly elected president in Turkish
history, capping his political career and giving him the chance to
shape Turkish politics until 2023, the hundredth anniversary of the
founding of the Turkish Republic.

The one problem is that, currently, the presidency is largely a
ceremonial post. Erdogan has thus signaled his intention to amend the
Turkish constitution to give the president stronger executive powers
and to diminish the authority of the prime minister. The AKP lacks the
votes in parliament to make such changes to the constitution; to do
so, it needs the support of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
(BDP), which has 33 seats in parliament. A peace accord with the PKK
and promises to revise the constitution to expand Kurdish cultural
rights and to broaden the definition of Turkish citizenship would help
Erdogan’s government secure the BDP’s allegiance. In effect, to build
the presidency he wants, Erdogan will need to strike a grand bargain
with the Kurds. However, this prospect worries many Turks, who believe
that a new constitution along these lines would concentrate too much
power in the hands of one man and open the way to greater
authoritarianism.

The final factor that has improved the prospects for peace is a
rethinking in AKP circles of Ocalan’s role in any attempt to bring the
PKK insurgency to a close. In November 2012, Ocalan helped end a
67-day hunger strike of more than 600 Kurds. His personal intervention
demonstrated his influence and the necessity of involving him directly
in any peace plan. It was thus not surprising when, a month after
Ocalan’s mediation, Erdogan announced the opening of exploratory talks
with Ocalan aimed at ending the PKK insurgency. On the Turkish side,
Hakan Fidan, head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization and a
close confidant of Erdogan’s, is leading the discussions. He and
Ocalan have focused on developing a strategic road map for a peace
accord.

Of course, peace is still far from a done deal. Several issues could
derail an accord. For one, the question of amnesty could pose
difficulties. Many Kurdish groups — and Ocalan himself — insist that
PKK fighters must be granted amnesty as part of any
agreement. However, much of the Turkish population considers the PKK
fighters terrorists and strongly opposes letting them walk.

In addition, Ocalan might want peace and he might have great sway
within the Turkish PKK, but the organization is no longer his baby. It
has become a transnational movement with networks and operations
across the region. Not all of them are under his control. Even if
Ocalan can persuade large segments of the PKK to support a peace
agreement, some hardcore nationalist groups might still be unwilling
to lay down their arms. After all, many PKK commanders see no future
for themselves outside of the armed struggle.

Regional developments have also complicated the peace talks. In Syria,
the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from five Kurdish-dominated
towns along the Syrian-Turkish border in July 2012 created a political
vacuum that the Democratic Union Party (PYD) — which has close ties
to the PKK — rushed to fill. The speed and ease with which the PYD
was able to establish control raised Turkish suspicions that Assad
might have orchestrated the withdrawal to strengthen the PKK at the
expense of Turkey and the Sunni-dominated Syrian opposition. Now
Turkish officials worry that the PYD-held areas could become a base
for PKK attacks against Turkish territory and security forces. Turkey
has threatened to intervene militarily if such attacks take place,
raising the chance that any scuffle could quickly expand.

In Iran, as in Turkey, the government has faced a Kurdish
insurgency. The movement there is led by the Free Life Party of
Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the PKK. On occasion, Turkey and Iran
used to coordinate efforts and share intelligence to combat PKK and
PJAK attacks. However, the two countries’ relationship has grown
strained over Syria, leading to a sharp reduction in
cooperation. That, in turn, has weakened Turkey’s ability to deter PKK
attacks. Moreover, according to Turkish officials, Iran has started
clandestinely supporting the PKK. Iran has little interest in the PKK
insurgency coming to an end, since that would eliminate one of
Tehran’s main levers for putting pressure on Turkey.

F. STEPHEN LARRABEE holds the Distinguished Chair in European Security
at the RAND Corporation.

TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian School
1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Tel: 323-461-4377
Fax: 323-323-461-4247
Contact: [email protected]

TCA-ADS Celebrates Its 32nd Annual Dinner Dance Over $25,000 Raised To
Support School Funds

Los Angeles, March 28, 2012 – Guests, parents, teachers, students and
supporters of TCA Arshag Dickranian School gathered at the Walter and
Laurel Karabian Hall on Friday, March 22nd, 2013 to celebrate the
school’s 32nd Annual Dinner Dance, organized by the Parent-Teacher
Organization. The theme of the evening was `Greek Night’ offering
Greek food catered by Kitchen X and the Hellenic tunes of Ellas
Entertainment Company and DJ Chris.
The event was sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Ara and Julia Aghishian. Mr.
Aghishian, a prominent attorney, was a former member of the Board of
Trustees of TCA Arshag Dickranian School. He currently serves as the
president of Hayastan All Armenian Fund’s U.S. Western Region. Mrs.
Aghishian is a volunteer teacher at Dickranian School and teaches
first grade and high school grades. Among the guests attending the
event were the Rev. Archpriest Manoug Markarian, school benefactress
Mrs. Laurel Karabian, retired judge the honorable Armand Arabian and
wife Nancy, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Boyadjian, whose presence was aptly
recognized by Dr. Yeranossian
The celebration started with the opening remarks of ADS alumna and 3rd
grade teacher Mrs. Violet Tatoian, who acted as the MC of the event.
In her welcoming message, Mrs. Tatoian made a point to expound on the
purpose of the evening, after which she invited the Rev. Archpriest
Manoug Markarian for the invocation. First on the program were the
messages by PTO chairperson Mrs. Armine Gasparyan and Principal Dr.
Maral Yeranossian. Mrs. Gasparyan thanked the attendants for
supporting the school emphasizing on the importance of keeping the
Armenian educational identity alive. Dr. Yeranossian spoke of her
goals as new principal, stating that throughout her 15 years at
Dickranian School, first as counselor and now as principal, she has
learned that ADS students are persistent, passionate and prudent, and
their hunger for education gives them the determination to excel in
their quest for learning. She then proceeded by inviting guest of
honor Mr. Ara Aghishian, Esq., to the podium.

Mr. Aghishian presented his remarks in fluent Armenian. `I have seen
the school grow in size and I am proud to see our graduates’
accomplishments and successes, but there is a lot more to be done for
which we need the community’s financial support to keep up with the
advances in educational technology.’ Said Mr. Aghishian, adding that
assisting to all other organizations is essential as well, but
assisting an educational institution is far more important to prepare
better Armenian-Americans in the Diaspora.

The event progressed with guests enjoying the delicious menu and live
music, while students ventured from one table to another, selling
raffle tickets and collecting donations. The grand raffle prize of the
event was a one week paid vacation in Greece donated by the
Aghishians, the event’s guests of honor, which was won by 5th grade
teacher Mrs. Laura Atteukenian.

Next, the guests of honor were invited to cut the cake, after which
Dr. Yeranossian took the podium again and thanked all those who
participated in the fundraising. She also thanked the PTO members for
their selfless devotion and diligence in organizing and presenting
this event.

Over the years, the PTO has been instrumental in holding various
educational and social functions and, most importantly, organizes the
annual banquets, all for the sole purpose of upholding the welfare and
educational mission of Arshag Dickranian School.

The traditional take home memento of the event was the special booklet
printed for the occasion, which contained the greetings of the
chairman of the Board of Trustees as well as the congratulatory
remarks of sister-chapters and supporters.

Finally, young and old filled the dance floor stepping and swaying to
the lively music of the DJ till the wee hours of the morning.
Located at 1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, the TCA Arshag
Dickranian Armenian School is a federally tax exempt, Pre-K to 12th
grade private educational institution. For more information visit the
school website at

ARFD TO HOLD TRADITIONAL TORCH-LIGHT PROCESSION ON APRIL 23

Friday,
March
29

The ARF-Dashnaktsutyun Party will hold an annual torch-light procession
on April 23. The participants will go to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial
to the Victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman
Turkey. Yerevan Municipality has already sanctioned the action whose
participants will pay tribute to the memory of 1.5 million innocent
victims of the Genocide.

According to the press service of Yerevan Municipality, the procession
will start at 6:00 pm local time from the area near Monument to Aram
Khachatrian in Liberty Square of Yerevan.

28.03.2013, 20:50

Aysor.am