Author: Kalashian Nyrie

REALITY TV STAR CALLS FOR PEACE BETWEEN ARMENIANS AND TURKS

news.az
Feb 22 2010
Azerbaijan

Kim Kardashian American reality TV star Kim Kardashian has urged
Armenians and Turks to live in peace.

The Armenian and Turkish people should be brothers, the show business
star and nude model told Hurriyet reporters.

"I am not too competent on the issues of policy to comment on the
process of the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations but I
believe that neighbours should be friends. I know that the history
of Armenian-Turkish relations is full of conflicts," Kardashian said,
adding that it takes time to heal past wounds.

95TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE COMMEMORATED IN TIMES SQUARE

Asbarez
armenian-genocide-to-be-commemorated-in-times-squa re/
Feb 23rd, 2010

NEW YORK-On Sunday, April 25, 2010, for the 25th year, thousands of
Armenian Americans and people against genocide will gather in Times
Square from 2-4 PM to commemorate the first genocide of the 20th
Century, the Armenian Genocide.

This year’s commemoration will underscore the theme: "Turkey is the
Question, America is the Answer."

This historic event will pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who
were annihilated by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire
(1915-1923) and address the consequences plaguing humanity till
this day.

The commemoration will come amid heightened attention on Armenia
and Turkey. Government leaders and the news media have recently been
preoccupied with Turkish-Armenians relations and the prospects for
opening the closed borders in the Caucasus.

Major political figures will speak at the memorial event as well as
civic, humanitarian, and educational leaders.

This event is sponsored by the Knights & Daughters of Vartan, a
national fraternal organization, and co-sponsored by the Armenian
General Benevolent Union, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian
National Committee of America, Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, and
the Armenian Council of America. Participating Organizations include
the Diocese of the Armenian Church, Prelacy of the Armenian Church,
Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Missionary
Association, Armenian Evangelical Union, Armenian Catholic Eparchy,
and several national Armenian youth organizations.

MORE HAMAS KILLING SUSPECTS FOUND

BBC NEWS
iddle_east/8530354.stm
2010/02/23 12:30:24 GMT

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has identified four more users of
European passports suspected of involvement in the killing of a Hamas
leader in Dubai.

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing,
was found dead in a hotel on 20 January.

The killing has been widely blamed on the Israeli secret service.

Israel has refused to confirm or deny involvement.

At least 15 people using European passports have been identified as
suspects in the case.

The British Foreign Office has confirmed it has received information
from the UAE about another two suspects carrying British passports,
bringing the total number of British passports used to eight.

The Irish Foreign Ministry has said it too has been informed about
two more suspects who used Irish passports with genuine numbers but
fake names and photographs.

A total of five Irish identities were used.

Dubai authorities had already released the identities of 11 people
who travelled under the false passports. French and German identities,
as well as British and Irish ones, were used.

The UK government denies it had any prior knowledge of the fake British
passports being used, although shadow foreign secretary William Hague
said it was "entirely possible" the government had been alerted.

OSCE TO MONITOR THE LINE OF CONTACT

armradio.am
22.02.2010 17:01

The recurrent monitoring of the line of contact between the Armed
Forces of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan will be carried
out in Aghdam region on February 23.

>From the Azerbaijani side the monitoring will be conducted by the
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk
and his Field Assistants Vladimir Chuntulov and Peter Kii.

>From the Armenian side the monitoring will be carried out by
Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Jaslin Nurtazin and Irzhi Aberle.

New Children’s Publication, `Gakavig,’ Unveiled

n%e2%80%99s-publication-%e2%80%98gakavig%e2%80%99- unveiled/
By Asbarez Staff on Feb 19th, 2010

BURBANK – `Gakavig’ children’s magazine was launched in Los Angeles on
February 3. The unveiling of the magazine was hosted by the `Shoghart
Gallery’ located in Burbank. Among the attendees were representatives
from the community media, Armenian schools, the Western Diocese and
Western Prelacy of the United States as well as friends and supporters
of Gakavig.

`As exciting and pleasant the initiation of such a project can be it
is also a very responsible production, full of future challenges and
obstacles. I fully realize the extent of the responsibility this
venture entails and feel completely ready to overcome them’, says the
managing editor of the magazine and the person behind this project,
Juliette Davtian.

Mistress of Ceremonies Liza Jiguerian-Manoyan welcomed the guests and
invited Rev. Ardag Demirdjian representing Western Prelate Archbishop
Moushegh Mardirossian and Very Rev. Hovsep Hagopian representing
Western Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian to perform the official
blessing ceremony of Gakavig.

In her opening remarks Jiguerian-Manoyan welcomed such a long awaited
magazine in the Armenian community wishing Gakavig future success and
growth. She expressed hope that the children’s magazine will reach
every child in the Armenian community and will play its unique role in
the Armenian education of our future generation.

Subsequently, Jiguerian-Manoyan read the congratulatory letter
received from the Armenia’s Diaspora Minister Hranoush Hagopyan who
stated, `During these difficult times I wish you a peaceful path and
successful creative achievement as you have begun the sacred mission
of trying to preserve the Armenian language, the most powerful weapon
of our nation within the hearts of our future generation.’

In her remarks, Davtian said, `If up until a few hours ago Gakavig was
the result of my personal vision and desire, starting from now it
belongs to all of us here and to the entire Armenian community and it
must be everyone’s responsibility to safeguard this magazine and help
in it’s growth and enhancement.’

Davtian expressed her sincere gratitude to the major sponsor of the
magazine, Haigoush Keghinian-Kohler, for her genuine enthusiasm and
input in this project. Davtian declared Keghinian-Kohler the official
godmother of the publication and thanked her for her vision and
guidance. Davtian also also thanked Mr & Mrs Neshan Peroomian for
their financial contribution.

Following the welcoming remarks, the traditional unveiling ceremony
took place with the participation of editors, guests and benefactors
in attendance, who anointed the inaugural issue with wine.

Gakavig is a colorful monthly intended for 3 to 7 year olds. The
magazine has colorful artwork and features stories, poems, riddles,
songs, cut-and-paste projects, children’s cooking projects, a bit of
science, and more. Using classical Armenian spelling, the magazine is
in both Eastern and Western Armenian.

Gakavig is available through several Armenian schools and in Southern
California grocery stores. Subscriptions are available by calling
1-818-548-2438 or writing [email protected].

‘FOOTBALL DIPLOMACY’ LEADS TO ANOTHER FRONT AT THE FOREIGN POLICY

Aysor
Feb 18 2010
Armenia

"In the context of Armenia-Turkey reconciliation, Russia sought for
just protocols’ signing, not border’s opening," said at the press
conference member of the oppositional Armenian National Congress
David Shakhnazarian.

According to the politician, Russia’s government has initiated the
process to suppress Turkey and force Turkey to make some concessions.

Russia succeeded to reach some agreements with Turkey at the expense
of Armenia, pointed David Shakhnazarian.

The U.S.’s position is to discuss issue of the Genocide, as this is a
measure to press Armenia and Turkey. "The U.S. is trying to save the
situation, and now is forcing Armenia to ratify protocols first. The
U.S. will recognize the Genocide neither now, nor tomorrow and in
the near future," he said.

Armenia will ratify the protocols under pressure of the international
communities, said David Shakhnazarian. In addition, Turkey will still
be expecting progress in the process of settlement to the Karabakh
conflict.

"So, in this situation, process of normalisation of relations between
Armenia and Turkey has turned into a conflict. Actually, this is a
new conflict. The ‘football diplomacy’ led to another front at the
foreign policy."

RUSSIA DELAYS ANTI-AIRCRAFT SYSTEM DELIVERY TO IRAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.02.2010 15:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Alexander Fomin, First Deputy Director of Federal
Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC of Russia) said
Russia will deliver anti-aircraft system o-300 to Iran only after
eliminating the revealed technical defects.

According to him, the delivery will be fulfilled, when all the
technical problems are resolved.

However, he didn’t specify the kind of technical problems or how long
it would take to eliminate them, Interfax reported.

PROTOCOLS RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION- NECESSARY CONDITION TO UNLEASH ARMENIA’S POTENTIAL

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.02.2010 17:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ If Turkey-Armenia rapprochement, initiated by
Armenia, supported by the most influential actors of the international
arena, namely Russia, USA and EU that led to the signature of bilateral
protocols on 10 October 2009 were to succeed, it would deeply transform
and enhance the strategic posture of both Armenia and Turkey. Moreover,
its spill-over effect would have the potential to firmly stabilize the
region and turn it into a vibrant pole of global economy, Dr. Sargis
Ghazaryan , Senior Research Fellow at European Friends of Armenia
organization told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"In the recent history of Armenia, strategically important decisions
over political and macro-economic planning and vision of Armenia’s very
identity have all been shaped by its hostile geopolitical environment
in terms of armed conflicts, galloping race of arms, war rhetoric,
competition for hegemony, closed borders, illegal and unilateral
embargoes and lack viable mechanisms for regional cooperation. While
the degree of regional segmentation is high in the region, the degree
of security is alarmingly low.

The ratification of the protocols and full implementation of their
provisions are a necessary condition to overcome geography and to
unleash the real potential of Armenia and eventually, of the South
Caucasus. The success of such a process can put an end to nationalism
and populism and boost diversity, multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism.

I think that we are witnessing the genesis of one of the most
unprecedented and epochal transformations that the South Caucasus
and the wider geopolitical macro-region have undergone in the last
century. Armenia is contributing, in good faith, to the transformation
into reality of such a process that only a few years ago political
analysts and commentators would call utopia.

It’s up to the Turkish leadership, now, to prove its commitment to
this process, without using preconditions and pretexts to derail it.

After all, it’s about the very credibility of Turkey as a member
of the International Community and a candidate to EU membership,"
Sargis Ghazaryan stated.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNRESOLVED KARABAKH CONFLICT LIES WITH OSCE MINSK GROUP

news.az
Feb 17 2010
Azerbaijan

OSCE OSCE Minsk Group is fully responsible for the unresolved
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

"Instead of dealing with their immediate responsibilities in the
negotiations for a peaceful settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group are interfering
with Turkish-Armenian relations", said Vugar Gadirov, chairman of
the youth organization of refugees and internally displaced persons
in Azerbaijan, member of the Council of State support to NGOs under
the President of Azerbaijan, at the event, dedicated to the 18th
anniversary of the Khojaly genocide.

"The mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group in the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is ineffective and unsuitable. The OSCE
Minsk Group member-states created conditions for the spread of the
conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The 366th motorized infantry regiment of
the Soviet Army took part in the termination of civilians in Khojaly.

France has long had close ties with Armenia. But Washington has not
lifted Amendment 907 to the Act of Promotion of Freedom, directed
against Azerbaijan, and use it as leverage of pressure on official
Baku," he stressed.

KAZAKHSTAN NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR OSCE MINSK GROUP

news.am
Feb 16 2010
Armenia

Kazakhstan’s seeking a more active role in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process as OSCE chairing state can by no means be viewed as Astana’s
intention to replace the OSCE Minsk Group formed to deal with the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the former Armenian Ambassador to Syria,
orientalist David Hovhannisyan told NEWS.am.

"The Kazakh Foreign Minister may have made a statement on Astana’s
contribution to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the
context of Kazakhstan’s role in establishing the cease-fire in the
conflict zone, which, however, does not at all mean that Kazakhstan
can replace the OSCE Minsk Group in the negotiation process,"
Hovhannisyan said.

The expert Alexander Manasyan, in turn, stated that the success of
Kazakhstan’s mission depends on Astana’s balanced attitude to the
conflicting parties. "Kazakhstan is stating now that it is well
informed on the essence of the conflict, but Astana must prove
it. If, during this period, Kazakhstan has not only been kept track
of the negotiations, but has also elaborated balanced and effective
proposals for the settlement, its claims on mediation may be crowned
with success. But if Kazakhstan states it is well informed of the
essence of the conflict, but it is really misinformed, Astana’s
mission is doomed to failure," the expert said.

NEWS.am reminds the readers that at a recent news conference
in Yerevan, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Kazakh Foreign Minister
Kanat Saudabayev stated that Kazakhstan is well informed of the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem and is keeping track of the negotiations. "We
intend to give possible impetus to the resolution of the problem. But
the key is in the conflicting parties hands. We are cautiously
optimistic about Nagorno-Karabakh peace process," Saudabayev said.