Author: Kalantarian Kevo

FORMER BRITISH OFFICIAL REBUKES BAKU OVER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

00:53, 16.04.2015
Region:World News, Azerbaijan
Theme: Politics

Azerbaijan may be excluded from the organization “The Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative” (EITI) due to its treatment
with human rights activists, said the Chairman of the organization
and former British Secretary of state for International Development
Clare Short, Financial Times reports. The organization expresses
concern about the use of force by Azerbaijani authorities against
human rights activists.

EITI, which includes state authority representatives, extractive
companies, investors and oil-refining unions, stated that it has
lowered the status of Azerbaijan to the level of state-candidate,
which means that the country will be excluded if it doesn’t start
improving the situation within 12 months.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

ERDOGAN TURNS TURKEY INTO A COMBAT ZONE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 15 2015

YAVUZ BAYDAR

April 15, 2015, Wednesday

The elections on June 7 are all about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It is about his future, position, legitimacy and survival.

This bitter fact, which diminishes further hopes for Turkey ever
coming closer to a “democratic order,” has turned all parties, but
especially the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of which he is the
de facto chairman, to mere players that follow. All the four major
parties position themselves in relation to him, rather than each
other.

Having managed with this strategy so far, Erdogan sees Turkey as a
combat zone, keen to maintain the political stage as a minefield;
identifying and handpicking enemies — most of them imaginary, a few
of them only determined rivals — and attacking them with full force.

As the elections approach, the scope of warfare is being broadened.

Erdogan is fully aware that the only ways to succeed with the combat
strategy are a) remaining defiant of the clauses of the Constitution
by being “partial” and active in politics, b) defending himself with
constant, fierce attacks on those who his followers do not have any
sympathy for and c) further fear-mongering injected into the judiciary
and media, both of which will be very “useful” until and after the
elections.

For long enough Erdogan had entrenched himself in denial of the
Armenian genocide, and now the Pope declaring it as such comes in very
handy for domestic use. If the European Parliament issues a similar
resolution, it will also add to the ammunition to assemble the
conservative votes around the AKP on the basis of Muslim-Christian
divisions and the “us and them” divide.

At home, his pattern in the “combat zone” is multi-faceted. It comes
either in the form of direct moves to further clip the wings of the
judiciary or intensifying attacks on institutions and individuals.

The most dramatic move in the latest phase of attacks is visible in
the investigation launched into the prosecutors and a judge in the
Dec. 17-25 graft probes: Celal Kara, Muammer AkkaÃ…~_ and Suleyman
Karacöl. They are accused of “abuse and oversight of power,” charges
associated with a sentence of three years of prison, by the Supreme
Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). Needless to say, this confirms
the gloomy predictions by law circles that foundations are being laid
for a) deterrent actions against the judiciary to encourage it to
become subordinate to power and b) establishing impunity for all the
allegations of corruption and abuse of power.

The move makes it clear that the battle for executive power now
engulfs both the police and judiciary and is bound to cause turbulence
within those segments. If the AKP has another sweeping victory on June
7, it is most likely that the judiciary will be forced to give up on
the remnants of its independence.

Turgut Kazan, a veteran lawyer who staunchly fought against what he
saw as wrongdoings in cases such as Ergenekon, pointed out this
dramatic turn in an interview yesterday for Hurriyet daily with a
focus on the HSYK.

“It has been problematic before,” he said, referring to the state of
the body before the critical referendum on Sept. 12, 2010. “Now the
judiciary is a battlefield for different political groups. In the near
future, the government will gain full control over it. There is no
more hope for the judiciary or justice in Turkey anymore. I see no way
to struggle for these.”

There is more.

As pressure on the bulk of the state-run or private media for biased
election coverage in favor of the AKP increases, Erdogan has once more
targeted Turkey’s influential business organization, the Turkish
Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TUSÄ°AD). Not so long
ago, its new chairwoman, Cansen BaÃ…~_aran-Symes, had spoken out using
carefully chosen words to say that the worsening economic situation
could be explained by a loss of credibility in international arena.

She found herself personally attacked by the president, who did not
respond to the content of her critical views and instead chose to take
a jab at her. “We know what sort of damage she caused before to this
country,” he said, adding in vague terms that she be exposed for what
she has done.

This is deliberate. Erdogan clearly aims at facing the big business
community down, to clear the path for a victory without strong,
critical voices.

The result is further polarization and increased fears of a path now
opening to fascism.

Armenian Genocide Commemoration Week
100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

`A Century of Rebirth’

Armenian Students Organization and Armenian Studies Program
keep alive the memory of the Armenian Genocide

Contact : Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Armenian Studies Program Director.
Office: (559) 278-2669 or cell (559) 917-1382.

Armenian Students Organization President Marine Vardanyan: (559) 288-7299

Fresno, CA April, 2014 – April 24th marks the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide . To commemorate this tragic event and honor the
1.5million victims, their families, and the survivors of the
atrocities committed by the Turkish government, the Armenian Students
Organization of Fresno State will hold several events.

Monday, April 20, Noon-2:00pm
`Genocides Around the World’
Campus awareness activity-`We Are Still Here’
Musical Performance and photo booth
Free Speech Area/Speaker’s Platform-Fresno State

Thursday, April 23, 7:30pm
Dedication and Opening of Armenian Genocide Monument
Armenian Genocide Monument/Maple Mall-Fresno State

Friday, April 24, 12:00pm-1:00PM

Annual Commemoration Program of the Armenian Genocide

A commemorative event will be held, featuring speakers, recitations, and musical performances.

Keynote speaker: Prof. Arakel Arisian, Finance & Business Law Department, Former Armenian Students Organization President

Armenian Genocide Monument/Maple Mall-Fresno State

All students, faculty, and staff are urged to join in the activities being
held on campus and in the community. All events are open to the community and the public is welcome.

—
Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Coordinator
Armenian Studies Program
5245 N. Backer Ave. PB4
Fresno CA 93740-8001

ASP Office: 559-278-2669
Office: 559-278-2669
FAX: 559-278-2129

Visit the ASP Website:

L’APPEL A L’AIDE DES ARMENIENS D’ALEP

Syrie

Les Armeniens d’Alep appellent l’Armenie pour les aider a evacuer la
ville syrienne ravage par la guerre, où des combats meurtriers entre
les troupes gouvernementales et les rebelles se sont intensifies ces
derniers jours.

Les forces rebelles auraient bombarde en fin de semaine dernière le
district de Suleymaniya, a l’ouest d’Alep, principalement peuple par
des Armeniens et d’autres chretiens. Des rapports en provenance de
Syrie ont parle de devastation grave et de lourdes pertes parmi les
civils, causees par des obus et des roquettes.

Face a cette violence, un nombre croissant d’Armeniens de Syrie
semblent prets a se refugier en Armenie ou ailleurs. Certains ont
lance un appel aux autorites d’Erevan, directement ou par le biais
de leurs parents vivant en dehors de la zone de guerre.

“Nous demandons seulement au gouvernement armenien de nous aider a
rejoindre Erevan”, a declare Hranush Arakelian, une femme armenienne
pris au piège dans Alep avec une de ses filles et trois autres membres
de la famille, dont un enfant en bas âge.

Elle a averti, dans une conversation telephonique avec sa deuxième
fille vivant a Erevan : “Le quartier chretien a ete bombarde et toutes
les personnes sont dans la clandestinite.”

“Il n’y a pas les Armeniens parmi les morts. Mais un certain nombre
d’entre eux ont ete blesses “, a t-elle ajoute.

“Ils n’en peuvent plus rester la-bas, a declare la fille habitant
a Erevan, Narine Sarkissian. Dieu seul sait comment ils ont survecu
cet hiver.”

Arakelian a expllique que sa famille et de nombreux autres Armeniens
d’Alep veulent fuir la ville assiegee mais n’ont pas d’argent pour
payer un voyage vers des regions plus sûres de la Syrie contrôlees
par le regime du president Bachar al-Assad.

En reponse a ses appels, un haut fonctionnaire au ministère de la
Diaspora a Erevan s’occupant des refugies armeniens syriens a indique
que le gouvernement d’Armenie ne peut pas evacuer en masse les gens
d’Alep sans decision officielle des dirigeants de la communaute
en Syrie.

Zakarian a revele en meme temps que le Premier ministre Hovik
Abrahamian a charge le gouvernement de preparer l’evacuation des
enfants armeniens d’Alep. Mais il n’est pas entrer dans les details.

jeudi 16 avril 2015, Claire (c)armenews.com

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL POISONS TURKEY’S RELATIONS WITH THE WORLD

MercatorNet
April 15 2015

Turkey is furious after the Pope lamented the first genocide of the
20th century.

Michael Hesemann

April 24 is being commemorated as the 100th anniversary of the
commencement of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks at the
beginning of World War I. While other world leaders have been reluctant
to take sides in the controversial issue, Pope Francis has waded in.

Earlier this month he described the deaths of up to 1.5 million
Armenians as “the first genocide of the 20th century”. The Turkish
government was furious and recalled its ambassador to the Vatican. “We
will not allow historical incidents to be taken out of their genuine
context and be used as a tool to campaign against our country,”
said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

To clarify the issues involved, MercatorNet interviewed the German
author of a recent book on the Armenian genocide, Michael Hesemann.

* * * * *

MercatorNet: Do you think that Pope Francis’s intervention in the
bitter dispute over the Armenian genocide was wise?

Michael Hesemann: It was not only wise, it was prophetic. It was the
victory of truth over diplomacy. A Christian should never be afraid
of the truth! I participated in the solemn Mass commemorating the
centennial of the Armenian martyrdom and was very proud of Francis.

Once again he has proved that he is a great political Pope, the
moral conscience of the world, a religious leader who uses his
popularity to lend his voice to the voiceless, the victims. It was
a beautiful manifestation of the “ecumenism of the blood”, of the
interdenominational solidarity with all persecuted Christians.

Wherever the Armenian diaspora is influential, people acknowledge the
existence of a genocide in 1915. But the Turkish government denies it.

Is there another side to the issue?

No, there isn’t. There are the historical facts and there is the
Turkish propaganda denying those facts. I have studied 2500 pages
of hitherto unpublished historical documents in the Vatican Secret
Archives, which gives a very detailed insight into the events of
1915/16. They prove every single claim of the Turkish version of
those events wrong.

Was the deportation of Armenians planned before the alleged uprisings
in the spring of 1915?

There were no uprisings in 1915. There was a group of young Armenian
deserters who were being sought by the Turkish police and who hid in
the ruins of an abandoned monastery. Under siege by the Turkish police,
they defended themselves, killed some policemen and were eventually
killed themselves.

In the second case, in the city of Van, the Armenian community learned
about Turkish massacres in the villages of their province. When Turkish
soldiers and their commander arrived to recruit all male Armenians,
they were afraid that their wives and children would be massacred,
too. They offered a smaller number of men, they offered the usual fee
payable by those who refused to serve in the troops. When the Turkish
threats got more violent, they barricaded themselves in a suburb
with an Armenian majority. They were besieged by the Turks until the
Russian army conquered the province of Van and forced the Turks to
withdraw. There was no contact between the Armenian resistance in
Van and the Russian invaders.

The Turks have never presented a shred of evidence for any Armenian
conspiracy against the unity of their ottoman homeland. Instead,
several Vatican documents mention a long-term plan of the Young Turk
government to exterminate the Christian minorities in the country.

Indeed, the Young Turks were Turkish nationalists literally possessed
with the idea that religious and ethnic pluralism weakens a nation
when homogeneity would strengthen it.

And that’s exactly what the Turkish Secretary of the Interior,
Talaat Bey, told Johann Mordtmann of the German Embassy: “the Turkish
government uses the Great War to get rid of their interior enemies –
the local Christians of all denominations – without any diplomatic
intervention from the foreign nations.” And indeed Christians of all
denominations – Chaldean, Assyrian and Greek Orthodox and Catholics –
were persecuted as well as the Armenians.

Did Armenians do anything which could have justified harsh reprisals
by the Turkish government?

No, they certainly didn’t. When the war broke out, both the
Armenian Church and the Dashnak party, the leading nationalist
party, pleaded for loyalty with the Ottoman Empire. Yes, there were
Armenian politicians who requested equal rights for Armenians and
equal representation in the provincial administrations, but both
claims were legitimate. In a 20th century nation there should be no
second-class citizens without political rights.

The Turkish government had a legitimate right to fight against a
conspiracy or revolt if it had existed. But instead of arresting
suspects and prosecuting those whose guilt was proven, a great number
of Armenian men were massacred and Armenian women, children and elderly
were deported to concentration camps in the Syrian desert and sent
on endless death marches through the Anatolian highlands. Nothing can
ever justify the extermination of a whole nation, women and children
included. Besides, as pointed out before, not only Armenians were
affected but also Christians of other denominations.

Three separate and mutually suspicious Armenian communities were
recognised by the Turkish state as separate ethnic groups. Were any
of them given favoured treatment?

Yes, the Armenians were split into Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant
communities. Only the Protestants were mostly spared, obviously to
keep Germany happy, because it was an ally of Turkey in World War I.

Was the deportation of Armenian communities necessary for their
own safety?

Not at all. It is true that the northeast provinces of Turkey were
invaded by the Russian army, but the Orthodox Russians spared the
Armenians. Besides, most deportees originated from provinces far away
from the frontier – including Central Anatolia and even the south.

There was only one reason to send them on those endless marches through
rocky highlands and into the Syrian desert: to kill them by fatigue,
starvation, thirst and disease – and to massacre those who remained.

To what extent does the Armenian policy of the Young Turks satisfy
internationally recognised criteria for genocide?

According to the UN resolution 260 (A) of 9 December 1948, genocide
means “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,
as such: a. Killing members of the group; b. Causing serious bodily
or mental harm to members of the group; c. Deliberately inflicting on
the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical
destruction in whole or in part (…) e. Forcibly transferring children
of the group to another group.”

This is exactly what happened to the Armenians in 1915/16. Indeed
the term “genocide” was originally defined by the Polish lawyer
Raphael Lemkin after he studied the legal consequences of the events
in Anatolia 1915/16. Therefore the Armenian genocide can rightly be
called “the original genocide”. It even inspired Adolf Hitler when
he planned the Holocaust.

Is there any sign that the Turkish position on the genocide is
changing?

Unfortunately, there isn’t. Instead, in April last year, Turkey’s
president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sent his condulences to the Armenian
community, as you would do it for a natural disaster. But the Armenian
genocide was not a natural calamity, but a man-made one. It was planned
and performed by Turks. In this moment, the Turkish government is
fighting a lost war, a war against the truth. It cannot, will not and
should not win this war, since every cover-up of a genocide encourages
other genocides.

As Adolf Hitler stated before he marched into Poland: “Who still
speaks of the extermination of the Armenians?” We cannot allow later
generations to protect the murderers of 1915/16. If Turkey wants to
return to the community of civilized nations, it only has one option:
to admit the truth and to apologize for it!

As a Catholic, I believe that any sin can be forgiven if the sinner
confesses and repents it. Without confession and repentance there is
no forgiveness, no reconciliation. Those wounds will never heal!

Michael Hesemann is the author of a recent history of the Armenian
genocide (Volkermord an den Armeniern). More information can be found
at his website.

MASS FOR THE CENTENARY OF THE ARMENIAN METZ YEGHERN: JESUS FILLS THE ABYSS OF SIN WITH THE DEPTH OF HIS MERCY

States News Service
April 13, 2015 Monday

VATICAN CITY

The following information was released by the Vatican Information
Service (VIS):

On the second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis
celebrated Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to commemorate the
centenary of the martyrdom (Metz Yeghern, or Great Evil) of the
Armenian People, and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church St. Gregory
of Narek (c. 951 c. 1003), Armenian monk, theologian, poet and
philosopher, whose feast day is celebrated on 27 February.

His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Patriarch of Cilicia of the
Armenian Catholics concelebrated with the Holy Father, in the presence
of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia. The president of the Republic of Armenia, Serz Sargsyan,
also attended the Mass.

In his homily, the Pope commented on the Gospel of St. John, who
was in the Upper Room with the other disciples on the evening of
the first day after the Sabbath, and who tells us that Jesus came
and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ and He showed
them His hands and His side; He showed them His wounds. And in this
way they realised that it was not an apparition: it was truly Him,
the Lord, and they were filled with joy. On the eighth day Jesus
came once again into the Upper Room and showed His wounds to Thomas,
so that he could touch them as he had wished to, in order to believe
and thus become himself a witness to the Resurrection.

To us also, on this Sunday which Saint John Paul II wished to dedicate
to Divine Mercy, the Lord shows us, through the Gospel, his wounds.

They are wounds of mercy. It is true: the wounds of Jesus are wounds
of mercy. ‘With His stripes we are healed’. Jesus invites us to behold
these wounds, to touch them as Thomas did, to heal our lack of belief.

Above all, He invites us to enter into the mystery of these wounds,
which is the mystery of His merciful love.

Through these wounds, as in a light-filled opening, we can see the
entire mystery of Christ and of God, said Pope Francis: His Passion,
His earthly life filled with compassion for the weak and the sick His
incarnation in the womb of Mary. And we can retrace the whole history
of salvation: the prophecies especially about the Servant of the Lord,
the Psalms, the Law and the Covenant; to the liberation from Egypt, to
the first Passover and to the blood of the slaughtered lambs; and again
from the Patriarchs to Abraham, and then all the way back to Abel,
whose blood cried out from the earth. All of this we can see in the
wounds of Jesus, crucified and risen; with Mary, in her Magnificat, we
can perceive that, ‘His mercy extends from generation to generation’.

He continued, Faced with the tragic events of human history we can
feel crushed at times, asking ourselves, ‘Why?’. Humanity’s evil can
appear in the world like an abyss, a great void: empty of love, empty
of goodness, empty of life. And so we ask: how can we fill this abyss?

For us it is impossible; only God can fill this emptiness that evil
brings to our hearts and to human history. It is Jesus, God made man,
Who died on the Cross and Who fills the abyss of sin with the depth
of His mercy.

The saints teach us that the world is changed beginning with the
conversion of one’s own heart, and that this happens through the
mercy of God. And so, whether faced with my own sins or the great
tragedies of the world, ‘my conscience would be distressed, but it
would not be in turmoil, for I would recall the wounds of the Lord:
He was wounded for our iniquities. What sin is there so deadly that
it cannot be pardoned by the death of Christ?’.

Keeping our gaze on the wounds of the Risen Jesus, we can sing with
the Church: ‘His love endures forever’; eternal is his mercy. And
with these words impressed on our hearts, let us go forth along the
paths of history, led by the hand of our Lord and Saviour, our life
and our hope, concluded the Pontiff.

L’ARMENIE, UNE MEMOIRE QUI RESISTE

La Vie

Editorial

Jean-Pierre Denis Directeur de la redaction La Vie

ERDOGAN THREATENS TO DEPORT ARMENIAN CITIZENS IN TURKEY

Cihan News Agency, Turkey
April 15 2015

CIHAN | ISTANBUL- 15.04.2015 19:50:21

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey retains the right
to deport the roughly 100,000 citizens of the Republic of Armenia
who live and work in Turkey, at a time when there is an increasing
tendency, particularly in Europe, to recognize the 1915 mass killings
of Armenians during World War I under Ottoman rule as genocide.

Speaking to reporters before his departure to Kazakhstan for an
official visit, Erdogan also criticized the European Parliament (EP),
which was set to vote to acknowledge the 1915 events as genocide on
Wednesday in its plenary session.

Downplaying the importance of the EP’s vote, Erdogan said that
regardless of the outcome, Turkey will not take it seriously and
the EP’s decision will go “in one ear and out the other” for Turkey
and that it is not possible for Turkey to accept responsibility for
such a crime. The president added that the roughly 100,000 Armenian
nationals working in Turkey are not Turkish citizens and that the
country can deport them if it wants to. “We can deport them, even if
we haven’t yet,” he said.

President Erdogan also said that he does not have to defend Turkey’s
position because the country has no stain on its conscience such as
genocide. He added that he does not understand why the media or the
Turkish nation adopt a defensive position on this matter and that if
one includes Turkish citizens of Armenian origin, there are in total
120,000 Armenians living in Turkey and that they all have access to
public services.

Since independence from the Soviet Union, Armenia has struggled with
economic problems and Turkey is one of the best options for thousands
of Armenians to live and work.

This is not the first time that Erdogan has brought up the deportation
threat for Armenians. He expressed the same idea back in 2010 and
asked the Armenian diaspora, which has been actively working around
the world to lobby governments to acknowledge that the 1915 events
constitute genocide, to act responsively.

This year is set to be particularly tough diplomatically for Turkey,
with Armenians preparing to commemorate the centennial of the start
of the 1915 events on April 24. Yerevan will be hosting a number of
world leaders during commemoration ceremonies.

In an unexpected move, Pope Francis employed the word “genocide”
to describe the 1915 massacres during Mass last Sunday, prompting
Turkey to recall its envoy to the Holy See.

(Cihan/Today’s Zaman)

RA OMBUDSMAN’S REPORT: ILLEGAL TREE FELLING IN 2014 MORE THAN PAST TWO YEARS

15:11 April 15, 2015

EcoLur

In 2014 the indicators of illegal tree felling exceeded the indicators
of the past two years. In this regard, the Ombudsman’s report “On
Human Rights Defender’s Activities and Violation of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms in Armenia for 2014” outlines as the Ministry’s
dereliction of duty, “In 2014 proper supervisions and effective
prevention measures were not carried out to prevent illegal tree
felling, which resulted in exceeding the number of felled down trees
as compared with the indicators for the past years.

In 2013 the total number illegally felled down trees accounted for 2031
as compared with 1860 in 2012, while the number of the illegally felled
down trees was recorded 2114 trees in 2014. As compared with 2013,
the number of detected violations increased for 2014, while damage
caused to environment because of violations boosted by 75,400,000
AMD as compared with 102.450.000 AMD recorded for 2013.

Proposal: to take effective preventative measures to prevent illegal
tree felling, as well as to enhance supervision particularly to
exclude tree felling in specially protected areas.”

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA REPLACES WORDS “ARMENIAN MASSACRES” WITH “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

13:55 16/04/2015 >> SOCIETY

The Encyclopædia Britannica has edited the article about the Armenian
Genocide, replacing the words “Armenian massacres” with “Armenian
Genocide.”

The article reads, in part: “Armenian Genocide, brutal campaign
conducted against the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire by the
Young Turk government during World War I (1914-18).The hundreds of
thousands of deaths that occurred are the subject of intense debate
between scholars and governments. Armenians charge that the campaign
was a deliberate attempt to destroy the Armenian people and, thus,
an act of genocide. The Turkish government has resisted calls to
recognize it as such, contending that, although atrocities took place,
there was no official policy of extermination implemented against
the Armenian people as a group.”