Author: Kanayan Tamar

ARAM I CALLS FOR RETURN OF STOLEN ARMENIAN CHURCHES

ARMRADIO.AM
25.02.2012 13:59

A two-day international conference titled “The Armenian Genocide:
from Recognition to Reparation” was held in Beirut in the presence
of experts from all over the world, ambassadors, current and former
government ministers and members of the Lebanese Parliament, heads
of Armenian religious communities and representatives of Armenian
political parties and other institutions, Asbarez reports.

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia welcomed
the guests and the participants and explained the background leading
to the conference. Discussing the issue of reparations, Aram I said,
“Turkey must return the church and community properties confiscated
by the Ottoman Turkish authorities to their legal owner, the Armenian
Catholicosate of Cilicia. As the Catholicosate of Cilicia, we claim the
ownership of our properties confiscated by the Turkish authorities.”

The Catholicosate of Cilicia held jurisdiction over more than 200
Armenian churches in the Ottoman Empire before World War I. Other
Armenian churches, close to 2,000, were under the jurisdiction of
the Patriarchate in Istanbul, the Catholicosate in Aghtamar, the
Catholicosate in Etchmiadzin, and the Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

“The decision of US House of Representatives to urge Turkey to return
confiscated churches and church properties to their rightful owners,
and the approval of a bill by the French Parliament and the Senate
making it a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide, along with the
Turkish government’s aggressive reaction, have, once again, brought
the Armenian Genocide to the fore of international headlines. The
Armenian Genocide is no longer an exclusive concern of Armenian-Turkish
relations; it has become integral part of the global agenda,” His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, said in
his introductory remarks.

“For decades we have focused on the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by Turkey and the international community. In fact, the
recent Court cases against American, Turkish and French insurance
and private companies; the decision of US Congress to urge Turkey
to return churches and church-related properties to their owners,
and the Turkish government’s decision on 27 August 2011decided to
return to the minorities the properties confiscated since 1936, came to
re-emphasize the crucial importance of reparation. Indeed, recognition
of truth implies reparation; these acts are intimately interconnected.

This is at the heart of international law,” the Catholicos stated.

“On the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, should we accept
a symbolic formal apology and recognition by Turkey of the genocide?

Should we claim financial compensation for the victims of Genocide
and for the properties? Or, should we claim the return of church,
community and personal properties? Further, should we demand that
reparation include the damages that the Armenian people were subjected
to during the “white genocide,” namely the constant threat to the
Armenian identity in a diaspora situation that was caused by the “red
genocide”? Should we, finally, consider land reparation within the
provisions of international law? The formal recognition of the Armenian
Genocide is a conditio sine qua non for any attempt or process aimed at
restoration of justice. And, as a first concrete step in the direction
of reparation, Turkey must return the church and community properties
confiscated by the Ottoman Turkish authorities to its legal owner, the
Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia. As the Catholicosate of Cilicia,
which was established in the 10th Century in Cilicia, south-western
part of present Turkey, and which was in 1915 forcefully uprooted
from its historical seat, we claim the ownership of our properties
confiscated by the Turkish authorities,” His Holiness Aram I said.

CELLIST NAREK HAKHNAZARYAN GIVES PHENOMENAL PERFORMANCE IN U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 25, 2012 – 13:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Strathmore Mansion, Maryland, was chock full
of patrons (including cellists and other string players) to hear the
23-year-old Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan give a phenomenal
account of some musical thrillers by Cesar Franck, Frederic Chopin,
Dmitri Shostakovich and Mstislav Rostropovich, says an article in
The Washington Post.

Franck’s late Sonata in A, the evening’s opener, and Shostakovich’s
Sonata in D minor, Op. 40, call on every dimension of a performer’s
technique and expressive means.

Hakhnazaryan impresses with a degree of freedom that comes hard-won
from discipline of the highest order. And he had a brilliant
pianist, Noreen Cassidy-Polera, to support that level of artistry,
the article says.

The cellist won first prize at last year’s International Tchaikovsky
Competition in Moscow. He is already a seasoned performer in first-rate
concert halls with major orchestras around the world.

Hakhnazaryan’s talent was obvious from the opening phrase of
Franck’s late Sonata (originally for violin). Whether pianissimo or
triple forte, his bow was ever emphatic, and his emotive power and
subjective intensity captured the listener immediately, never letting
go. The whole thrust of the piece – especially the third movement –
is a monumental fantasia, requiring the cellist to hurl through its
wavering thematic transformations while seeming to improvise.

Shostakovich’s Op. 40 demands control and fortitude from both players.

It was all there, with both players evenly matched.

Hakhnazaryan’s two blazing encores weren’t enough for the audience,
who clamored for more, the article says.

K. AVAGYAN: AZERBAIJAN’S INSIDIOUS POLICY LEAVES CASUALTIES

Panorama.am
24/02/2012

“Azerbaijan continues its insidious policy leaving casualties as an
aftermath,” Karen Avagyan, head of NATO PA Armenian delegation, told
Panorama.am remarking on a casualty registered on February 23 as an
Armenian armed forces soldier was shot dead by an Azerbaijani sniper.

OSCE and UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon called on the parties to
withdraw snipers from the front line. Armenian side has repeatedly
declared it was supporting the initiative. While the Azerbaijani
side maintains a position that withdrawal of snipers doesn’t meet
any problem. According to Azerbaijani “Doctrina” organization eight
Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in 2011, though informal data refer
to several dozens of casualties.

The MP has underlined it’s obvious why Azerbaijan refuses the
withdrawal of snipers.

“Azerbaijan creates obstacles for the negotiating process and proves
another time that is not committed to agreements reached beforehand,”
he said.

Armenian Armed Forces soldier Albert Armenaki Adibekyan was shot dead
on Thursday at 13:50 by an Azerbaijani sniper in a military position
located near Chinari village.

AZERI HACKER REPORTEDLY ATTACKS SEVERAL ARMENIAN WEBSITES

APA
Feb 22 2012
Azerbaijan

[translated from Azeri]

Baku, 22 February: Several Armenian websites have come under hacker
attacks today. Among the affected websites are the websites of the
Armenian Handball Federation, an Armenian airline, the Armenian
Bowling Federation, the Babylon translation system and others. The
attacks were reportedly carried out by a hacker nicknamed Ferid23.

A photo of Azerbaijani National Hero Cingiz Mustafayev, and photos
and videos of Xocali [town in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh where hundreds
of Azerbaijanis were massacred in 1992] and information relating to
it in foreign languages have been posted on the websites.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE DESCRIBES KARABAKH CONFLICT FROM ARMENIAN POSITION

Trend
Feb 23 2012
Azerbaijan

A resolution proposed by some members of the Californian legislative
Assembly on the day of remembrance of the Karabakh conflict on
February 27, seriously distorts the historical facts It has a
one-sided view on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and seeks to
make California legislators take an unfair and biased position in
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict according to a letter of the President
of the Azerbaijani-American Council Ismail Rustamov to members of
the Assembly.

Several members of the California Assembly submitted a draft of
resolution (ACR 96) on January 30, which is likely to be approved
on February 27, 2012, the day when victims of Armenian pogroms in
the Azerbaijani cities of Sumgait, Ganja and Baku in 1988-1990 will
be remembered.

The draft resolution deliberately ignores the mention of the Khojaly
massacre of Azerbaijani civilians, whose anniversary will be celebrated
on February 26, 2012, Mr Rustamov wrote in a letter.

According to the Human Rights Watch, the killing of 613 civilians
including 106 women and 63 children was a mass murder of civilians
during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

The petition against the resolution which has more than 2500
signatures collected in two days was attached to the letter to
the congressmen. American media has already responded to the draft
resolution.

A bill introduced in the Californian Assembly describes the events in
the separatist region of Azerbaijan – Nagorno-Karabakh, a surprisingly
biased and U.S. view, the newspaper Monterey Herald said.

The bill does not mention that the Armenians killed 613 Azerbaijanis,
including 106 women and 63 children in the town of Khojaly four
years later, after 1988. Azerbaijanis have long been trying to draw
attention to this event by making it known throughout the world,
the newspaper said.

“The question arises: why is the California Assembly by studying the
events of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict only seeing it in terms of
recognition of the Armenian losses in this conflict and why now?” the
author of the article asks.

In his opinion, the ACR 96 bill reflects the overwhelming influence
of the Armenian population of California. The document does not seek
simply to organise a day of remembrance. It is an attempt to use
the tragic events as a political game surrounding the conflict. ACR
96 provoked an angry reaction from Azerbaijani representatives in
Washington and Los Angeles, the newspaper said.

“The legislature must remain impartial and find a peaceful solution,
recognising the views of both sides” the article says.

The Armenian military forces committed genocide in Khojaly on Feb. 26,
1992. Some 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women
and 70 old men. A total of 1000 civilians were left disabled during
the genocide. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one
parent and 25 lost both. Additionally 1275 innocent residents were
taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.

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.

MORE FDI IN AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA THAN GEORGIA

The Messenger
Feb 23 2012
Georgia

Although the rate of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Georgia
has increased year-over-year, it still lags behind neighbouring
Caucasian countries.

In 2011, Azerbaijan received more than $3 billion USD in FDI. Within
this amount, $1.4 billion came from the UK. Substantial investment
also came from the United States, the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, and the Asian Development Bank. That same year,
Armenia received more than $1 billion USD.

Georgia’s National Statistics Office has so far not revealed the
final FDI figures for 2011. For the first three quarters of the year,
Georgia accumulated $643 million USD.

IRAN VS. ISRAEL: BESIDES A-BOMB FEAR, COULD ISRAEL’S HUGE GAS FIND TRIGGER HOSTILITY?

International Business Times News
February 22, 2012 Wednesday 7:35 PM EST

A large pocket of offshore natural gas could shift Eastern
Mediterranean geopolitics on its head. As the threat of war looms
between Israel and Iran, the newly found gas could add extra friction
between the two countries.

Last year, Houston-based Noble Energy discovered vast tracts of
natural gas off the coast of Israel and Cyprus. It had been exploring
for 13 years.

So far, the find has been a bonanza, especially for energy poor
Israel. Noble has found 35 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.

By September, this offshore find could yield as much as 100 million
cubic feet of gas a day.

“It is a great advantage for Israel,” Dilshod Achilov, assistant
professor of political science at East Tennessee State University,
said in an interview.

Investors have taken notice: the Tel Aviv 100 Index has gained more
than 4 percent so far this year. Shares of Noble Energy have nearly
doubled over the past year and are trading around their 52-week high
of $105.

Meanwhile, the price of a barrel of oil was $105.95 Wednesday as
fears of conflict in the Middle East continued.

For the first time since its founding in 1948, Israel could become
self-sufficient in energy and even an exporter. Israelis for years
joked that God made a mistake leaving them contemporary Israel as a
“promised land” when it was surrounded by oil-rich neighbors like
Saudi Arabia.

But now, Israel’s government is debating whether or not to set export
quotas, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The country of 7 million is
also considering setting up a sovereign wealth fund for its citizens.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in his repeated denunciations
of Israel has never mentioned this potential competition. Instead,
he’s focused on Iran’s plans to develop nuclear energy, which Israel
fears would lead to atomic weapons to threaten its security.

Possible Pipeline to Greece

Jerusalem expects to have an oversupply of natural gas which Israel
could use to forge international agreements within the Mediterranean
and with energy giants like China and Russia, Haaretz said. Israel
now enjoys excellent relations with both countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Cyprus last week to talk
about energy. He met with Cyprus’s ethnically Greek President. The
island nation is planning to build a natural gas treatment plant that
would be jointly operated by Noble Energy and Israel’s Delek Group.

Last year, Netanyahu flew to Greece for discussions about possible
construction of an undersea pipeline. Now that the Athens government
has fallen as a result of the euro zone crisis, the status of any
tentative deal reached with former Prime Minister George Papandreou
remains unclear.

Delek, the Tel Aviv-listed vehicle of Isaac Tshuva, 64, a Libyan-born
immigrant to Israel who made his first pile in real estate and later
bought New York’s Plaza Hotel, is Israel’s biggest energy company.

Delek has energy investments worldwide. Its prominence has received
attention.

“The new findings do not only shift the geo-strategic balance in the
region, but also send a major strategic blow to Tehran,” said East
Tennessee’s Achilov.

How?

Iran has the world’s largest known natural gas reserves, second only
to Russia. As of January 2011, the country was said to have 1,046
tcf of gas, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated.

Iran now exports just a small fraction of that natural gas to Turkey
and Armenia via pipeline. If these countries start importing natural
gas from Israel, or decide to get in on the gas play themselves,
Iran’s natural gas exports could become irrelevant.

Israel enjoys excellent trade ties with both Turkey and Armenia.

Huge Undersea Gas Potential

The U.S. Geological Survey in March 2010 published its assessment of
the Levant Basin – the region offshore Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus –
and determined there is a 95 percent chance at least 50,000 billion
cubic feet of natural gas could yet be discovered. The USGS estimates
there could be as many as 227,430 billion cubic feet of natural gas
and 483 million barrels of oil offshore.

“In bigger context, this may instigate a large-scale regional
competition to search for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean
as Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria and Turkey, may launch their own search
missions,” Achilov said. “Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, will
probably act fast within the Lebanese government to push hard to seek
its share of the pie.”

Lebanon has technically been at war with Israel since 1948. So in the
wake of the Israeli finds, the country could stake a claim to some
of the Israel strike. The Israeli gas finds could very well extend
into Lebanese territory, but so far Noble Energy has not entered the
area for exploration.

Meanwhile, Iran would be shut out of the new gas bonanza. After years
of successive sanctions, Tehran hasn’t been able to fully develop
most of its natural gas resources.

Israel, which imported 40 percent of its energy from Egypt in 2008
and continues to obtain it despite last year’s fall of longtime
ally President Hosni Mubarak, will become energy independent, East
Tennessee’s Achilov predicted.

Israel could also sell its new gas to Iran’s traditional customers,
especially in Asia, like Japan and South Korea, which enjoy excellent
relations with the Jewish state.

Still, as with anything in the Middle East, there are wrinkles.

Potential Obstacle to Development

First, history teaches the Eastern Mediterranean is historically
earthquake prone. Noble Energy, Delek and other offshore drillers may
have to install extra precautions. Israel’s very active environmental
movement might sue to enjoin drilling on these grounds.

Next, Israel’s neighbors in the Levant Basin, Lebanon and the Palestine
Authority, might challenge Israel’s rights and demand their own share.

Achilov warned that Israel might risk possible conflict with Lebanon.

“In terms of energy politics, Israel will probably compete with Iran
indirectly. To be more precise, Israel will have to compete with the
Hezbollah-dominated Lebanese government,” Achilov said.

One reason is that Israel discovered gas close to the Lebanese border,
triggering conflict over undersea rights. “A possible conflict between
Israel or Hezbollah should not be discounted in the near future,”
the energy expert said.

Indeed, Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006, which saw
Hezbollah’s rockets fall into Haifa and other cities as Israel Army
units invaded parts of southern Lebanon. The Israel gas search had
begun before that conflict.

But in general, Achilov said he is unsure that Iran could respond in
any direct fashion to stop Israel from exporting natural gas.

In the end, it all comes back to this: good neighbors promote good
business.

Israel could be just the alternative needed for other regional
exporters to become more agreeable to Western powers, said William
Martel, associate professor of International Security Studies at the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Western powers could be more enticed to purchase natural gas and oil
from a democratic Israel, Martel said, potentially being the catalyst
needed for certain regimes in the region to change their tone, or
lose business.

“I can only imagine that the competitive pressures will be exacerbated
in the region,” Martel said.

An energy exporting Israel could actually have a stabilizing effect
on the region. That’s because customers would buy from a democratic
supplier rather than an aggressive or totalitarian regime, the Tufts
expert said.

Of course, all bets are off should there be war between Israel and
Iran, Martel said.

“If this nuclear issue gets resolved,” said Martel, “[The natural
gas in years to come] will increase Israel’s regional geo-political
footprint.”

YEREVAN’S CHIEF ARCHITECT CLAIMS “IGNORANCE” REGARDING MASHTOTS PARK STOREOWNERS
Janna Sargsyan

hetq
22:05, February 23, 2012

Today, the RA Public Council discussed the ongoing debate regarding
the construction of storefronts in Mashtots Park.

While Yerevan Chief Architect Narek Sargsyan assured those concerned
that the structures were of a temporary nature (2-3 years), he
confessed that the identity of the storeowners wasn’t known and that
no contracts had been signed by the Yerevan Municipality.

An amazing confession indeed but not all that credible.

There isn’t one square meter of space in Yerevan, especially downtown,
that is being developed where the owners haven’t provided the Chief
Architect with their building plans.

In fact, Hetq has learnt that the Yerevan Municipality has granted the
Eastern Oasis Ltd with a building permit for the Mashtots Park. The
permit has an expiration date of 2028.

ARMENIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST TO APPLY TO EUROPEAN COURT

Tert.am
24.02.12

Free movement is almost always restricted in Armenia, especially
during rallies.

The Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly intends to
apply to the European Court of Human Rights and lodge a complaint
about the violations, Artur Sakunts, Chairman of Helsinki Citizens’
Assembly-Vanadzor, told journalists on Friday as he presented the
2011 report on free movement in Armenia.

The restrictions are not only a political tendency, but also a
civil one. “The restrictions were reported not only during the
rallies organized by the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC),
especially during the sit-in, but also during the protests by owners
of cars with Georgian plates,” he said.

According to the report, monitoring was conducted in the bus terminals
in Vanadzor, Alaverdi, Stepanavan, Tashir and Spitak, as well as along
the Vanadzor-Yerevan highway. Last year’s monitoring registered 79
cases of restrictions in 30 settlements in eight Armenian regions.

“Police and passenger transportation companies committed violations,”
Sakunts said. Without any legal grounds, policemen stopped and searched
taxis and fixed-run taxis and made them turn back.

Restrictions can only be imposed in conformity with law. However,
the restrictions in question were accompanied by gross violations.

The human rights activist noted that, at a meeting with journalists,
the ex-chief of Armenia’s police Alik Sargsyan had refuted the
restrictions on free movement though he admitted “limited posts”
had been set.

Besides registering violations of law, the Helsinki Citizens’
Assembly-Vanadzor, took steps. “We sent three reports, two statements
and one complaint to the Prosecutor General’s Office. Two of the three
reports were sent to the Lori investigation department,” Sakunts said.

In both cases the complaints were rejected.

The office appealed against the law-enforcement agencies’ decision,
but did not succeed. So the organization intends to lodge a complaint
with the European Court of Human Rights.

Sakunts also urges all the political forces not only report violations,
but also demand legal actions on them during the forthcoming elections.

COMPAGNIES TURQUES ET CHINOISES SIGNERONT POUR 1,38 MD USD DE CONTRATS
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 23 fevrier 2012

Des entreprises chinoises et turques vont signer mercredi des accords
pour un montant de 1,38 milliard de dollars, a declare le ministre
turc de l’Economie, Zafer Caglayan.

Aujourd’hui, les societes turques et chinoises vont signer des accords
qui portent sur environ 1,38 milliard de dollars, a-t-il dit, cite
par l’agence Anatolie, lors d’un forum d’affaires Turquie-Chine a
Istanbul auquel participait le vice-president chinois Xi Jinping,
en visite en Turquie.

Mardi, les deux pays avaient signe plusieurs accords de cooperation
dans les domaines de l’agriculture et des finances notamment, en
marge d’une entrevue a Ankara entre M. Xi et le chef de l’Etat turc
Abdullah Gul.

Les banques centrales des deux pays ont par ailleurs conclu un accord
d’echange de devises (swap) d’un montant de 10 milliards de yuans
(1,58 milliard de dollars) et d’une duree de trois ans.

Le vice-Premier ministre Ali Babacan, qui participait lui aussi
au forum sino-truc, a souligne pour sa part que son gouvernement
souhaitait vivement que les banques chinoises s’implantent en Turquie.

Nous desirons aussi que les banques turques soient plus actives en
Chine, a-t-il dit, selon Anatolie.

La visite de M. Xi en Turquie, mardi et mercredi, dernière etape
d’une tournee qui l’a conduit aux Etats-Unis puis en Irlande, porte
sur le renforcement des relations commerciales, la multiplication
des investissements mutuels et des questions regionales.

Le volume des echanges commerciaux sino-turcs est passe d’un milliard
de dollars en 2000 a 19,5 milliards de dollars en 2010.

Les deux pays souhaitent porter ce chiffre a 50 milliards de dollars
en 2015.

M. Xi, considere comme le futur numero un de la Chine, devait quitter
la Turquie mercredi au terme d’un court deplacement touristique a Izmir
(ouest, sur l’Egee).