Author: Kanayan Tamar

AZERBAIJANI AMBASSADOR TO U.S. PROTESTS EVENT ON SELF-PROCLAIMED “NKR”

Trend
Sept 15 2011
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Ambassador to the U.S. Yashar Aliyev voiced a protest
against the event associated with the self-proclaimed separatist
regime of “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic”, a representative of Azerbaijani
Embassy in Washington told Trend.

Protesting against the event, hosted September 13 in Washington by
the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in cooperation with the
Armenian Embassy and a number of Armenian-American organizations,
Yashar Aliyev sent a letter on September 11 to all 435 members of
the U.S. House of Representatives.

The letter lists the facts of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan,
occupation of Azerbaijani territories, forced displacement of hundreds
of thousands of Azerbaijanis as a result of this occupation, as well
as the establishment by Armenia of an illegal regime in the occupied
Azerbaijani territories that is not recognized by any country in
the world.

At the same time, the letter notes that the event organizers aimed to
divert the attention of members of Congress and the American public
from the fact of the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani territories,
and thereby to consolidate the results of the occupation.

In view of this, the ambassador urged lawmakers not to participate in
the event, intended against the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan, which is a strategic partner of the United States.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding
regions.

MINISTRY: AZERBAIJAN HAS NO RELATION TO UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE CRASHED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Trend
Sept 15 2011
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has no relation to the unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in
the Armenian-occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s
Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier, Armenian media outlets reported on shooting down an
Azerbaijani unmanned aerial vehicle.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 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 the 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.

MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS ON KARABAKH TO MEET IN LATE SEPTEMBER

news.az
Sept 15 2011
Azerbaijan

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are planning to hold the next meeting
on Karabakh settlement.

The meeting is to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly
in New York.

The statement came from the official spokesman of the Russian Foreign
Ministry Alexander Lukashevich.

“The next meeting of the co-chairs is scheduled for the last decade
of September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in
New York”, he said.

EMBOSSED WOMEN, EMBOSSED LIVES: INTERVIEW WITH SUZAN KHARTALYAN: INTERVIEW BY ASTGHIK IGITYAN

Panorama

Sept 15 2011
Armenia

On September 21 a film by Suzan Khartalyan, who lives in Sweden,
titled “Tattoos of grandma” will be presented in Stockholm. The film
tells about Armenian Genocide, the women who survived those years,
but happened to have their fates embossed.

“Ermenihaber.am” had an exclusive interview with publicist and director
Suzan Khartalyan. Read the second part of the interview below.

-Suzan was your granny talking about her tattoos?

– Never. I remember my granny wearing white gauntlets to hide
her tattoos. She was trying hard to hide, to escape her life she
used to have in genocide years. She has cleared her memory and we
couldn’t speak about it at home. We were hiding that page of her
life in darkness. Until 16-17 I knew nothing about genocide. I knew
my granny for 20 years, but I knew nothing about her. As if she was,
but she wasn’t and in this dilemma she was keeping her secret.

-You said your granny’s sister also had some tattoos. Wasn’t she
speaking about it either?

My granny’s sister also had those tattoos. She also refused any talks
about it. I used to ask her why she didn’t speak about it, and one
day she got angry with me and said: “Do you want me to tell you that
Turks have done this? Does it really differ?”

– Did they do those tattoos against the women’s will?

Surely. Nobody asked them about it. There are hundreds of stories
how those women were clearing their tattoos after their slavery. Some
even used some chemical stuff to clean them.

– How those women managed to live bring those “embossed fates” on
their shoulders?

They were rejected by the Armenian men. Yet in 1924 Armenian women
were trying to restore their virginity through plastic surgery in
Beirut. Those women who were tattooed were rejected by Armenian men;
those tattoos told everybody their shared life with other men, with
Islam. Some pages of history we’ve been keeping secret because it
was shameful.

-Is it possible to show through documentary the emotional part of
the issue?

It was very important to show both the emotional part and the facts.

The film is interesting when you can find yourself there.

Read also: Tattoos of Grandma – film about Armenian Genocide

GEORGIA DISCOVERED MURDER OF ARMENIAN FAMILY COMMITTED 17 YEARS AGO

news.am
Sept 15 2011
Armenia

TBILISI. – Georgian law enforcement agents discovered a murder case
of an Armenian family, committed 17 years ago.

Special operational staff of the Department of Georgian Ministry of
Interior Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office Anti-Corruption Department
disclosed a crime committed 17 years ago. They arrested three people,
who committed triple murder, Georgia News informs quoting Ministry’s
press service.

The murder case refers to the family of Nshan and Flora Minasyans
and their son Vazgen. The murderers also injured Minasyan’s daughter
Gayane in front of Vazgen’s spouse and small child. Seven people
are presecuted for the murder: Vakhtang Gvitishvili, his broter Koba
Gvitishvili, Georgi Otarashvili, Gela Kavtaradze, Revaz Demetrashvili,
Aleksandr Revazishvili and Malkhaz Modebadze.

The investigation revealed that above mentioned people first kidnapped
Vazgen on January 18, 1994 and demanded $150,000. They released him
after receiving a buyout in the amount of $15,000. However, the rest
of the buyout should have been paid in several days. Later the gang
decided to kill the whole family to cover the kidnapping.

Police arrested only three people from the gang: Otarashvili,
Demetrashvili and Revazishvili. The rest are wanted. Nothing is
informed on when they were arrested.

Protection of the accused has not yet made any comments for media.

STRENGTHENING AND DEEPENING TIES WITH GERMANY IS SUBSTANTIAL FOR ARMENIA – PRESIDENT

news.am
Sept 15 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Strengthening and deepening ties with Germany is substantial
for Armenia, said the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan at the
meeting with officials of South Caucasus parliamentary group of German
Bundestag on Thursday.

Sargsyan noted that he highly values the visit of the delegation to
Armenia in the context of deepening the mutual trust. The president
appraised different high-level efforts aimed at strengthening bilateral
relations between Germany and Armenia. He thanked the German government
for cooperation and assistance provided to Armenia in various sectors,
presidential press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

ARMENIANS OF BAYSIDE GATHER FOR ANNUAL FESTIVAL
By Jason D. Antos

Western Queens Gazette
Sept 14 2011
NY

Hundreds attended the Oceania Street Festival.

Photos Jason D. Antos The Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs
at Oceania Street and the Horace Harding Expressway in Bayside,
celebrated its annual Oceania Street Festival in observation of the
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 10.

Hundreds of people, mostly of Armenian descent, feasted on Middle
Eastern food that included chicken kebabs, salads, a variety of pita
breads, baklava, coffee, imported teas, wine and beer.

A band provided musical entertainment with ethnic dance performances
and modern musical selections.

Children~Rs rides, games and festival foods were located at the
far end of Oceania Street. Youngsters enjoyed slides, a rock wall,
a bouncy house, cotton candy, ice cream and a ring toss.

Dozens of vendors sold Armenian themed novelties and gifts, including
books, music, movies and jewelry.

Admission to the festival was free and, unlike last year~Rs downpour,
festivalgoers were thankful that the weather held out.

TURKEY, US SIGN AGREEMENT ON NATO RADAR DEPLOYMENT

Today’s Zaman
Sept 14 2011
Turkey

Ambassador Francis Ricciardone signed the agreement on behalf of the
US. (Photo: AA)

Turkey and US officials have signed a memorandum on the deployment
of US radar as part of a NATO-backed missile defense system designed
to protect European members of the alliance from missile threats.

According to the memorandum, the X-band radar system will be deployed
at a military base in the eastern province of Malatya, private NTV
television reported on Wednesday. It also said the agreement was signed
by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun SinirlioÄ~_lu and
US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone at the Turkish Foreign
Ministry on Wednesday morning.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed that the radar system would
be deployed in Kürecik, Malatya. â~@~The site surveys and relevant
legal arrangements have been finalized, and accordingly a military
installation in Kürecik has been designated as the radar site,â~@~]
a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

NATO members agreed to an anti-missile system over Europe to protect
against Iranian ballistic missiles at a summit in Lisbon last year. A
compromise was reached with Turkey, which has cultivated close ties
with its neighbor Iran and had threatened to block the deal if Iran
was explicitly named as a threat.

At the NATO summit of heads of state and government in Lisbon last
year, Turkey formally backed NATO plans to build a missile defense
system, saying it will also contribute to national defense against
the growing threat of ballistic missile proliferation.

The summit came after months of discussions between Turkey and the US,
in particular over some aspects of the proposed shield, most notably
whether countries such as Turkey’s neighbors Iran and Syria should be
named as potential threats. Ankara insisted that the proposed system
should provide protection for all territories of member states and
that reference to any country would undermine the defensive nature of
the shield by antagonizing countries singled out as a threat. Turkish
insistence paid off in the end as the NATO summit endorsed the missile
defense system plans without naming any country as a potential threat.

Ankara on Sept. 2 announced its decision to host the early-warning
radar system as a contribution to NATO’s missile defense system.
Turkey’s decision annoyed Iran, which said Tehran would not tolerate
any aggression against its national interests. â~@~The West claims
the radar system [in Turkey] is to confront Iranian missiles, but they
should be aware that we will not tolerate any aggression against our
national interests,â~@~] Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was
quoted as saying by Iranian state TV.

The Turkish and US governments say the radar system will help spot
missile threats coming from outside Europe, including potentially
from Iran. The system, provided by the United States, is to become
operational later this year.

OSCE CONFLICT PREVENTION CENTER DIRECTOR DISCUSSES NAGORNO-KARABAKH PROBLEM IN YEREVAN

Trend
Sept 14 2011
Azerbaijan

Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center Adam Kobieracki has
held meetings with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and
Secretary of Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan in Yerevan today.

Mediamax reported that Edward Nalbandian presented the latest
development in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Kobieracki and Baghdasaryan discussed the issues related to the
cooperation between Armenia and the OSCE in the security sphere The
conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when
Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed
forces have occupied 20 percent 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding
regions.

AZERBAIJANI FM COMMENTS ON ARMENIAN EVENT IN US CONGRESS

Trend
Sept 14 2011
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry commented on the evening organized by
the Armenians in the U.S. Congress regarding the 20th anniversary of
“establishment” of the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Pro-Armenian members of the U.S. Congress booked a hall for a certain
amount in favor of the nationalist Armenian diasporas, which again
shows the bias of these congressmen, and conducted this event,”
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s official Elman Abdullayev told Trend.

The evening dedicated to the 20th anniversary of “establishment”
of the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh was held at the Golden
Hall of the Congress. The event was attended by U.S. congressmen.

Abdullayev said that the official U.S. position is that the country
supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and does not recognize
the separatist regimes.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding
regions.