Author: Kanayan Tamar

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER MEETS EU AMBASSADORS

Vestnik Kavkaza
March 28 2012
Russia

Armenia’s first president, leader of the opposition Armenian National
Congress (ANC), Levon Ter-Petrosyan met the EU ambassadors at the EU
Delegation Embassy on Wednesday, News.am reports.

As the press service of ANC informs, the aim of the meeting was to
discuss the upcoming parliamentary elections and ANC’s actions.

The ambassadors asked Levon Ter-Petrsoyan to present his considerations
on the legitimacy of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

SENATE SPEAKER, CHAIRMAN OF ARMENIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MET IN ALMATY

Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 28 2012

Kazakh Senate Chairman Kairat Mami met with Chairman of the National
Assembly of Armenia Samvel Nikoyan on the sidelines of the sitting
of the Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly on Tuesday
in Almaty.

The parties discussed the issues on development of Kazakh-Armenian
relations. Mami congratulated Nikoyan on his election as Chairman of
the National Assembly of Armenia.

The Kazakh Senate Speaker noted the active participation of the
Armenian colleagues as international observers in the elections in
Kazakhstan. He said that the deputies of the Senate would join the
mission of observers for the parliamentary elections in Armenia in
May this year.

Nikoyan said that “the CIS IPA is a platform where we can work together
and strengthen our bilateral relations.” According to him, Kazakhstan
is home to a large Armenian Diaspora. He expressed his gratitude to
the Kazakh people and its leader for the current policy of peace and
tolerance in society.

EARTHQUAKE HITS IN ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza
March 28 2012
Russia

Armenia was hit by an earthquake 5 km north of Artashat of the Ararat
Region at 11.43 am today. It had a magnitude of 2.7, Aysor reports.

The earthquake center was registered 7 km deep 40.030 north latitude
and 44.550 east longtitude with a magnitude of 3-4.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3 points was sensed in Artashat,
Verin Dvin and Aygestan.

GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES UNDERMINE JAVAKHK COMMUNITY MEETING

asbarez
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

In Brussels Gabrieylan (right) met with Traian Ungureanu (left)
member of the Euro-Parliament Committee of Foreign Relations with
Kaspar Garabedian (center)

JAVAKHK (A-Info.)–Georgian authorities directly undermined a community
gathering during which the coordinator of the Council of Armenian
Organizations (NGOs) of Javakhk and director of the A-Info news agency
Artak Gabrielyan was scheduled to brief the Armenian community about
his meetings with European officials in Brussels earlier this month.

The organizers of the community forum had invited leaders and
representatives of human rights, political, cultural and education
organizations as well as the media from throughout Javakhk, including
Akhalkalak, Nino-Dzminda, Akhalktskha and Dzalka.

However, according to organizers, hours before the meeting was
scheduled to begin, members of organizations began calling to say that
they had received calls from “above” dissuading them from attending
the community forum. The organizers were also not allowed to use a
municipal hall for the gathering.

During his meetings in Brusseles, Gabrielyan introduced the plight
of the Armenian community Javakhk, highlighting that his visit to
Brussels comes as a result of the refusal of Georgian authorities to
meet with representatives of the Javakhk Armenian community.

According to Gabrielyan, the move to impede participation in the
community forum demonstrates the importance of the gathering and
signals a direct involvement by the Power Structures–Prosecutor’s
Office, Internal Ministry and Armed Forces–which is a serious concern
for the Armenian of Javakhk.

The community forum instead was held at the offices of the Council
of Armenian Organizations (NGOs) with only 30 participants who were
briefed about the meetings and a Memorandum to the European Parliament,
which details the issues facing Javakhk and highlights demands that
have been put forth by the Council of Armenian Organizations (NGOs)
of Samtskhe-Javakhk.

The demands Samtskhe-Javakheti Armenians include: 1. Granting of
autonomous territorial status (with its own directly elected assembly)
to Samtskhe-Javakheti and the adjacent Armenian majority Tsalka
district within a federal Georgia; 2. Allowing the use of the Armenian
language in public administration in those municipalities–such as
Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda–in which Armenians make up a majority;
an unfulfilled accession commitment Georgia undertook when it joined
the Council of Europe in 1999, namely the signing of the European
Charter for Regional and Minority Languages; 3. Social and economic
development projects for the region to bring it up to par with the
rest of the country; 4. Improved Armenian representation in local
and state institutions; and 5. An end to social engineering by the
settlement of ethnic non-Armenians from other parts of the country
in Samtskhe-Javakheti.

In addressing the authorities efforts to undermine the forum,
Gabrielyan expressed disappointment that community members were
deprived of the opportunity to hear, first hand, about the meeting in
Brussels and will have to now get their information from second-hand,
unreliable, sources.

Gabriyelian reiterated the position that Georgia must become
a federated state, a concept, which he said was echoed by many
of the European officials he met in Brussels. He stressed that he
viewed Javakhk’s future as an autonomous entity within the proposed
federated Georgia.

In Brussels Gabrieylan (right) met with Traian Ungureanu (left)
member of the Euro-Parliament Committee of Foreign Relations with
Kaspar Garabedian (center)

AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA NOT READY TO SOLVE KARABAKH CONFLICT – BRYZA

News.Az
Wed 28 March 2012 15:55 GMT | 16:55 Local Time

Azerbaijan and Armenia are not yet ready to solve the Nagorno Karabakh
problem.

The statement came from former ambassador of the United States to
Azerbaijan, Matthew Bryza, APA reports.

“The Nagorno Karabakh problem will be solved. Leaders of both countries
have a framework agreement on their tables. One needs to have 4-5 or
6 important conditions to solve the issue. The presidents of both
countries must undertake the solution of the problem and trust to
each other. This is a great political risk, because Azerbaijani and
Armenian societies are not ready to adopt a decision for the solution
of this problem, either both societies must change their views or
the presidents must undertake great political risk”.

GEORGIA BANS OFFICIALS FROM ARMENIAN NGOS COUNCIL MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 28, 2012 – 15:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On March 27, Council of Armenian Organizations (NGOs)
of Samtskhe-Javakheti (Javakhk) held a meeting, with the coordinator
of the council Artak Gabrielyan presenting the outcomes of the trip
to Brussels and meetings with European officials.

Heads of all districts of Javakhk, representative of human rights
defender in Akhalkalaki, as well as representatives of various NGOs,
youth, state and cultural organizations were invited to the meeting.

Before the start of the gathering, many of those invited called and
warned they wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting due to “pressure
from the authorities.” As a result the event was held in A-Info news
agency’s office.

Mr. Gabrielyan said that he had briefed the officials on the following
5 main principles that would help to tackle the problem of Javakhk: 1)
to stop forcibly changing Javakhk’s demographic picture; 2) to increase
Armenian representation in the regional and government institutions;
3) to implement a series of social and economic projects that would
bring the economic development of the region in line with the rest of
Georgia; 4) to allow the use of the Armenian language in institutions
of administrative regions densely populated with Armenians; 5) to
grant autonomy to Javakhk and Tsalka. The coordinator of the council
expressed regret at the absence of local administration representatives
at the gathering.

Upon completion of the meeting, Mr. Gabrielyan rendered the future,
security, development and democracy in Javakhk possible only in the
framework of autonomy.

NKR DEFENSE ARMY: ARTSAKH COMMITTED TO PEACE

Panorama.am
29/03/2012

“Artsakh is committed to peace, and is committed to defend it on his
own, which will be displayed during the military parade on May 9,”
Senor Hasratyan, NKR Defense Army spokesman told Panorama.am asked
to remark on the forthcoming military parade on occasion of the 20th
anniversary of Shushi Liberation and criticism made by Azerbaijan.

Answering to a question that Azerbaijan claims military parade is an
element destabilizing the situation, Mr. Hasratyan said: “Azerbaijan
would be better to be responsible for activities destabilizing
situation on the contact line. Azerbaijan isn’t committed to the
terms of ceasefire regime.”

FOLLOWING DEFEAT OF GENOCIDE BILL IN FRANCE, FRENCH ARMENIANS PIN HOPES ON SARKOZY’S OPPONENT

epress.am
03.29.2012

French Bureau of the Armenian Cause [Bureau Francais de la Cause
Armenienne (BFCA)] director Hratch Varjabedian, at a press conference
in Yerevan today, said he is convinced that Turkey spent about $100
million in the past year to simply eradicate the French Senate bill
criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide.

“Appropriate action against these steps by Turkey is expected from
our country, because Turkey has put its full weight on ‘eradicating’
(said in quotation marks) the Armenian Diaspora, particularly the
segment residing in Europe. They will try everything to organize this
eradication politically,” he said.

According to Varjabedian, France today is divided between pro-Armenian
and pro-Turkish parties.

“Fortunately, 80% of the French people are pro-Armenian, but on a
political and intellectual level and in the press, France is divided
into two parts and that’s a fact,” he said.

Armenia’s pledge to succeed, Varjabedian said, is in the unity and
conviction of France’s Armenian community.

“The text of the French Senate bill criminalizing denial of the
Armenian Genocide shouldn’t be prepared quickly, as was the case
this time. It has to have legal protection and it has to be presented
quickly – not on the mandates’ last days, so that it can succeed.

There is one goal, for Turkey to be unable to ensure the number of
senators that it had this [last] time voting against [the bill]. This
bill shouldn’t have been presented so quickly, and that, at the last
moment, when there are electoral accounts in France,” said another
speaker at today’s press conference, BFCA representative Mourad
Papazian, adding that both current French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and presidential candidate Francois Hollande guarantee that following
elections, they will ensure all the necessary conditions for adoption
of the bill.

“As for why Sarkozy didn’t sign [the bill], I don’t want to comment –
he simply didn’t. We already have this practice with Sarkozy, that he
didn’t fulfill his promise, while Hollande promised and went halfway
– but the other half wasn’t in his hands. We have to have those ties
with Hollande that we didn’t have with Sarkozy, so that we could’ve
obliged him to stand up to his promise. For 15 years, we’ve had these
ties with Hollande, as for whether he’ll stand up to his promise,
the future will show. In this case, our hope is greater,” said the
French Bureau of the Armenian Cause representative.

ASSYRIANS AWARD TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST PUBLISHING BOOKS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

news.am
March 29, 2012 | 17:11

Turkish famous human rights advocate and head of the Belge publishing
house Ragip Zarakolu, currently in prison, was granted the Assyrian
Cultural Reward by the Assyrian Culture Centre in Stockholm, Sweden.

The awarding ceremony took place on Tuesday, Suriyaniler.com reports.

Zarakolu was arrested for allegedly being a member of KCK (Kurdish
PKK institution). The court demands 10 years of imprisonment accusing
him of ‘being a member of a terrorist organization’.

The Belge house has published numerous books on the Armenian Genocide,
while Zarakolu visited Armenia last February.

CANCER PATIENT NEEDS $3,000 EVERY 20 DAYS FOR VITAL MEDICATION
Marine Madatyan

$3000-every-20-days-for-vital-medication.html
13:47, March 29, 2012

Elen Kalashyan is facing the fight of her life.

What started as breast cancer has now spread throughout her body. In
order to have any chance of surviving, Elen must get a dose of every
twenty days. Each dose costs $3,000.

Elen’s salary is 80,000 AMD per month ($205). She is scheduled to
receive her next dose by April 10. The young woman doesn’t know where
to turn for the money.

According to her physicians, Herceptin remains Elen’s only hope.

After being diagnosed with cancer, Elen underwent surgery at the
Shengavit Medical Center in Yerevan. She was told that chemotherapy
would be the next step in her treatment regimen.

Elen put off chemotherapy due to financial constraints. The cancer
metastasized.

The staff at the Armenian-American Mammography Center in Yerevan
knows Elen by name. They were surprised by the aggressive form of
breast cancer Elen was diagnosed with.

Ani Hakobyan, who runs the Radiology Unit at the Center, believes that
the cancer could have been controlled had Elen undergone chemotherapy
in time.

“Unfortunately, Elen started her chemo after the cancer had already
spread. Her condition is serious. Herceptin isn’t the only medication
she’s taking but it’s the most important one,” said Hakobyan.

The full herceptin regimen includes 18 doses at a cost of $54,000.

Elen has already received 13 and remembers the history of each.

“Two doses were given free of charge by the Ministry of Health. I
purchased the rest with the assistance of friends, family and donors.

The Tsarukyan Fund and ArmenTel made large financial donations,”
Elen relates.

She says that a friend opened a facebook page for her. Elen is thankful
for the moral and monetary support she has received as a result of
the news getting out regarding her illness.

Doctors overseas suggested herceptin to Elen after she sent her
diagnosis and medical files to a hospital in Israel. She was also
told about herceptin by physicians in Moscow and Germany.

When Elen consulted her doctors in Armenia, she was told that the
medicine was prohibitively expensive. They advised against the drug.

They told her she needed a mastectomy. Elen didn’t want to hear
anything about it. It wasn’t a treatment option for her.

Radiologist Hakobyan says the drug seems to be working. The metastases
in her liver have disappeared and the bone cancer has “hardened”

Hakobyan says that Elen needs to get the full herceptin regimen or
else everything done up till now will be for naught.

Elen meanwhile dreams of getting her next dose in time.

She would like to see the government be mandated to cover the medical
costs of women suffering from cancer, rather than the hit and miss
charity now being extended.

“Who can be covered when such an illness occurs? Where will I
possibly find a job that pays $3,000 every twenty days? My research
shows that there are some countries that actually cover the costs of
herceptin-based treatment.”