Author: Kanayan Tamar

REVUE DE PRESSE N°1 – 06/06/11 – COLLECTIF VAN

06-06-2011

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN [Vigilance
Arménienne contre le Négationnisme] vous propose une revue de presse
des informations parues dans la presse francophone, sur les thèmes
concernant la Turquie, le génocide arménien, la Shoah, le génocide
des Tutsi, le Darfour, le négationnisme, l’Union européenne, Chypre,
etc… Nous vous suggérons également de prendre le temps de lire ou
de relire les informations et traductions mises en ligne dans notre
rubrique

Par ailleurs, certains articles en anglais, allemand, turc, etc,
ne sont disponibles que dans la newsletter Word que nous générons
chaque jour. Pour la recevoir, abonnez-vous a la Veille-Média :
c’est gratuit ! Vous recevrez le document du lundi au vendredi dans
votre boîte email. Bonne lecture.

IsraÔl et le génocide arménien : ” Trop tard, trop moche ”
Info Collectif VAN – – ” Il y a onze ans,
lors de la 85e journée de commémoration [Nota CVAN : du génocide
arménien], je suis allé a l’église arménienne de Jérusalem, et
en tant qu’” être humain, en tant que Juif, en tant qu’Israélien
et en tant que ministre de l’éducation de l’Ã~Itat d’IsraÔl ”
– c’est ainsi que je me suis présenté – j’ai parlé de la justice
historique qui devait être rendue, de l’engagement spécial du peuple
juif envers le peuple arménien, et de mon projet d’enseigner a nos
étudiants la signification universelle du génocide. Le scandale
a éclaté immédiatement. Mon Premier ministre s’est opposé a moi
avec virulence, et Ehud Barak a été rapidement rejoint par Shimon
Peres: ” Ces événements, a-t-il dit, ” devraient être laissés
aux historiens et non aux politiciens.” ” L’homme politique israélien
d’extrême-gauche Yossi Sarid analyse ici dans un article publié dans
Haaretz le vote unanime de la Knesset visant a autoriser un débat sur
le génocide arménien, au sein du Parlement d’IsraÔl. Le Collectif
VAN vous propose la traduction de cet article publié le 27 mai 2011.

La CEDH, Hrant Dink et la liberté d’expression en Turquie Info
Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous propose
un article de Tristan Zimmermann publié le 1er juin 2011 sur son
blog hébergé sur le site de Tribune de Genève. “Le journaliste
et écrivain turc d’origine arménienne Firat Dink, plus connu
sous son nom de plume Hrant Dink, a été assassiné par un jeune
nationaliste turc de 17 ans devant les locaux de son journal bilingue
(turc-arménien) Agos le 19 janvier 2007. Cet assassinat faisait suite
a une condamnation pénale dont Hrant Dink avait fait l’objet pour
une série d’articles publiés dans son journal Agos, dans lesquels
il aurait dénigré la turcité (Turkluk).”

UNESCO : Exposition Art des khachkars Рcroix de pierre arm̩niennes
Info Collectif VAN – – Paris : du mercredi 15 juin
au vendredi 24 juin 2011, se tiendra a l’UNESCO, l’exposition “Art
des khachkars – croix de pierre arméniennes”. L’art des khachkars,
stèles de pierre sculptées d’une ou plusieurs croix, inscrit en
novembre 2010 sur la Liste représentative du patrimoine culturel
immatériel de l’humanité, est l’une des expressions artistiques
les plus originales de la culture arménienne.

L’exposition, composée de photographies et de films documentaires,
tend a illustrer la richesse de la tradition de l’art du khachkar
et a évoquer la transmission du savoir-faire du VIIe siècle a nos
jours. Un “varpet”, tailleur de pierre, sculptera sur place. Des
pièces d’enluminure, de dentelle ainsi que des sculptures sur
bois seront également exposées. Le Collectif VAN vous livre cette
information publiée sur le site de l’UNESCO.

Scénario pour rééditer le modèle libyen en Syrie…

Le vendredi est désormais une journée attendue dans les médias pour
prendre le pouls des ” révolutions arabes ”. Comme il se doit, la
situation en Syrie vient en tête des préoccupations libanaises et
les médias libanais lui accordent régulièrement la première place
; il y a ceux qui mettent en évidence l’horrible sort réservé au
jeune Hamza el-Khatib et ceux qui préfèrent axer leur approche sur
les réformes annoncées et qui commencent a être exécutées par le
régime. Ce qui est sÔr pour l’instant, c’est que, deux mois après
le déclenchement de la révolte populaire, le régime syrien résiste
mais fait face a de sérieux problèmes. Lâché par le Qatar, il
bénéficie encore de l’appui de la Russie, alors qu’avec la Turquie,
les relations restent hésitantes. Selon des spécialistes libanais
de la situation syrienne, la Turquie d’Erdogan tient a maintenir le
régime actuel, tout en cherchant a inclure les Frères musulmans au
sein du pouvoir.

Le Président chypriote a inauguré le centre arménien de Larnaca
Le Centre Culturel Arménien de Larnaca a été inauguré par le
Président de la République de Chypre Demetris Christofias le 5
mai. Le Centre Culturel est une nouvelle maison dédiée a la culture,
l’ethnologie et l’art arménien. Le Centre présentera et promouvra
l’histoire et la culture de la nation arménienne en général et de
la communauté arménienne de Chypre en particulier avec comme but
l’approfondissement de la compréhension et de l’appréciation de
l’héritage culturel.

Abyei : le Soudan oppose une fin de non-recevoir aux Nations unies Le
gouvernement de Khartoum a rejeté l’appel du Conseil de sécurité qui
exige que l’armée du Nord se retire d’Abyei. Cette ville située a la
frontière entre le nord et le sud est occupée depuis le 21 mai par
les forces d’Omar el Béchir. Le ministre des Affaires étrangères
a affirmé que les troupes se trouvaient en territoire soudanais et
qu’elles y resteraient jusqu’a ce qu’un accord soit trouvé.

L’info vue par la TRT (2) Le Collectif VAN vous propose cet article
publié sur la TRT (Télévision & Radio de Turquie). Les articles
de ce site ne sont pas commentés de notre part. Ils peuvent contenir
des propos négationnistes envers le génocide arménien ou d’autres
informations a prendre sous toute réserve. “Le ministre turc des
Affaires étrangères Ahmet Davutoglu a évalué les développements
en Syrie lors de son périple en Italie”.

Première comparution de Ratko Mladic a La Haye Le criminel de guerre
présumé Ratko Mladic a fait son apparition vendredi dans la première
chambre du tribunal de la Haye.

Un rescapé du massacre de Srebrenica se souvient avec douleur de
son calvaire

Pendant neuf heures, il est resté immobile au milieu des cadavres. La
nuit tombée, Mevludin Oric s’est enfui, alors que les hommes de
Ratko Mladic pensaient s’être assurés que tout le monde était
bien mort. Ce rescapé du massacre de Srebrenica est revenu pour la
première fois jeudi sur l’un des sites où 8000 hommes et jeunes
garcons musulmans furent exécutés par les forces bosno-serbes en
juillet 1995 en Bosnie.

Art sacré et témoignage avec ” Les Ã~Iglises arméniennes du
Liban ”, de Raffi Gergian ” Les Ã~Iglises arméniennes du Liban ”
de Raffi Gergian ( 205 pages- collection Espaces religieux du Liban
РUniversit̩ Saint-Joseph) est un livre remarquable et hors des
sentiers battus. Il est disponible a la bibliothèque de la faculté
des sciences religieuses (USJ), au musée national et dans toutes
les librairies de la capitale.

Hassan raconte la répression sanglante a Lattaquié En arrivant au
poste frontière qui sépare la Syrie de la Turquie, Hassan était
prêt a mourir. “J’ai montré mon passeport. J’étais fiché.

Je m’attendais a être arrêté. Le flic syrien m’a regardé d’une
manière terrible. Je lui ai dit : ‘Soit tu me laisses passer,
soit tu me tues ici. Mais si tu veux me tuer, laisse-moi faire une
dernière prière.’ Le flic m’a jeté mon passeport et m’a dit :
‘Dégage et ne reviens pas !'”

L’adieu de Mary Yovanovich au président arménien Serge Sarkissian
Hier 4 juin le président arménien Serge Sarkissian recevait pour
ses adieux, l’Ambassadrice des Etats Unis en Arménie, Mary Yovanovich
qui quitte officiellement ses fonctions en Arménie. S. Sarkissian a
remercié M. Yovanovich pour sa mission diplomatique en Arménie et
salué l’entente entre le gouvernement arménien et l’Ambassadrice
Américaine.

L’Azerbaïdjan veut reconquérir le Haut-Karabakh, une région rebelle
Le ministère azerbaïdjanais de la Défense a déclaré que ses
forces finiraient par aller reconquérir le Haut-Karabakh, territoire
peuplé en majorité d’Arméniens et qui a fait sécession, échappant
au contrôle de Bakou, rapporte ce samedi l’agence russe Interfax.

L’info vue par la TRT (1) Le Collectif VAN vous propose cet article
publié sur la TRT (Télévision & Radio de Turquie). Les articles
de ce site ne sont pas commentés de notre part. Ils peuvent contenir
des propos négationnistes envers le génocide arménien ou d’autres
informations a prendre sous toute réserve. “La visite au Turkménistan
du président de la République Abdullah Gul continue de faire écho”.

Syrie : “Bachar Al-Assad triche, il essaye de gagner du temps”, selon
un opposant syrien Maamoun Al-Homsi, ex-député syrien âgé de 55
ans, est venu a Antalya, en Turquie, pour la première conférence
de l’opposition syrienne en exil. “Le premier prisonnier politique de
Bachar Al-Assad” explique au Monde ce qu’il attend de cette rencontre.

Retour a la rubrique

LA CEDH, HRANT DINK ET LA LIBERTé D’EXPRESSION EN TURQUIE

Source/Lien : Tribune de Gen̬ve Рblog
Publié le : 06-06-2011

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
propose un article de Tristan Zimmermann publié le 1er juin 2011
sur son blog hébergé sur le site de Tribune de Genève.

Tribune de Gen̬ve РLe blog de Tristan Zimmermann

” Le Conseil de l’Europe face a l’intolérance et a la discrimination
”

La Cour EDH, Hrant Dink et la liberté d’expression

Le journaliste et écrivain turc d’origine arménienne Firat Dink, plus
connu sous son nom de plume Hrant Dink, a été assassiné par un jeune
nationaliste turc de 17 ans devant les locaux de son journal bilingue
(turc-arménien) Agos le 19 janvier 2007. Cet assassinat faisait suite
a une condamnation pénale dont Hrant Dink avait fait l’objet pour
une série d’articles publiés dans son journal Agos, dans lesquels il
aurait dénigré la turcité (Turkluk). Cette dernière se comprendrait
comme ” l’ensemble des valeurs nationales et morales, composées des
valeurs humaines, religieuses et historiques ainsi que de la langue
nationale, des sentiments nationaux et des traditions nationales ”.

M. Dink a déposé quelques jours avant son assassinat une requête
devant la Cour pour se plaindre d’une violation de sa liberté
d’expression. En cela, il sera suivi par certains de ses proches
parents qui invoqueront également une violation des obligations
positives de l’Etat turc eu égard a l’art. 2 CEDH protégeant
le droit a la vie. En effet, les autorités turques auraient dÔ
prendre des mesures pour protéger la vie de M. Dink dans ce climat
de hautes tensions.

Concernant la liberté d’expression de M. Dink, la Cour relève que
la condamnation pénale infligée a M. Dink pour dénigrement de la
turcité dans la série d’articles qu’il a publiés dans son journal
constitue effectivement une violation de sa liberté d’expression. Les
propos de M. Dink sont protégés par l’art. 10 CEDH selon la Cour
qui ne les considère pas, contrairement aux autorités turques,
comme un discours de haine. La Cour n’a pas estimé que les articles
en question comportaient un caractère gratuitement offensant ou
injurieux, pas plus qu’ils n’incitaient a l’irrespect ou a la haine.

La Cour ajoute par ailleurs que ” l’article 10 § 2 de la Convention
ne laisse guère de place pour des restrictions a la liberté
d’expression dans le domaine du discours politique ou de questions
d’intérêt général ”. Par voie de conséquence, le gouvernement
turc a effectivement violé la liberté d’expression de M. Dink en
le condamnant pénalement pour sa série d’articles.

En sus, cette condamnation pénale a participé au dénouement
tragique que l’on sait. En effet, le cumul du ” manquement des forces
de l’ordre a leur devoir de protéger la vie de Fırat Dink contre
l’attaque des membres d’un groupe ultranationaliste et le verdict de
culpabilité prononcé par les juridictions pénales en l’absence
de tout besoin social impérieux a aussi entraîné, de la part du
Gouvernement, un manquement a ses obligations positives au regard de
la liberté d’expression de ce requérant ”.

Ce blog est édité par Tristan Zimmermann, doctorant a l’Université
et constituant socialiste (Assemblée Constituante de la République
et du Canton de Genève, Suisse).

Retour a la rubrique

ARFD CONCERNED OVER SARGSYAN-MEDVEDEV-ALIYEV MEETING IN KAZAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 6, 2011 – 14:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The head of ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group
is seriously concerned over the oncoming Armenia-Russia -Azerbaijan
presidential meeting in Kazan.

“I don’t consider Deauville statement favourable. Eventually, progress
in negotiations doesn’t really depend on the statements. The parties
must work on specific document, i.e. Madrid Principles for Karabakh
conflict settlement,” Vahan Hovhannisyan remarked, refusing to predict
the results of Kazan-hosted meeting.

As the head of parliamentary group, increased pressure of international
community on Karabakh issue has been observed.

REPUBLICAN PARTY NOT SET TO NEGOTIATE OVER SNAP ELECTION – GALUST SAHAKYAN

Tert.am
06.06.11

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has no plans to negotiate
with the opposition over snap elections, says a top Republican
parliamentarian.

At a news conference on Monday, Galust Sahakyan, the leader of the RPA
faction in parliament, said the opposition alliance Armenian National
Congress holds on to early elections in an attempt to attract the
society to its side.

“They think early election is something to be discussed by the ANC and
the authorities, while others are not being taken into consideration.

In this way Dashnaktsutyun and Heritage are becoming secondary forces,”
he said, adding that all the forces on the political arena should be
given a chance to debate and consider issues on a peer-to-peer basis.

Sahakyan further stressed the importance of discussing strategic
issues.

“We are ready. But we don’t have time to focus on one problem only,”
he said.

The politicians said they are ready any format of debate (round tables,
discussions) except for delegations.

Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement That Shattered the Party

asbarez
Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Republican Gomorrah
BOOK REVIEW BY LEVON KIRAKOSIAN

Republican Gomorrah
Max Blumenthal
Nationbooks
Available at your local bookstore and anywhere else that books are sold.

In April 1915, the snow had just begun to melt from the peaks of Mount
Ararat and run into the villages nestled in its valleys. In the shadow
of the mountain lay the idyllic town of Van, which the Rushdoony clan
had called home for nearly 2,000 years. That spring brought
catastrophe for the Rushdoony’s. The Ottoman army laid siege to their
town, hoping to quash the only fortress of resistence against the
military crusade to eradicate the Armenian race. When the Ottoman
cannons opened fire, Y.K. Rushdoony and his wife fled for the hills,
embarking on a harrowing horseback trek westward through Europe, a
voyage across the Atlantic, and a trip from one end of the American
continent to the other, finally to begin a new life in California.

In 1916, the year of their arrival in the United States, Y.K.’s wife
gave birth to their second son, Roussas John `RJ’ Rushdoony. (R.J.’s
older brother had been one of the 1.5 million who perished in the
Armenian Genocide.) ……., and as a son of survivors of a recent
genocide the young Rushdoony was raised on tales of the slaughter that
uprooted his family’s ancient Christian heritage. The above is an
excerpt from Max Blumenthal’s book, Republican Gomorrah: Inside the
Movement That Shattered the Party. Soon `RJ’ Rushdoony became an
ultraconservative Orthodox Presbyterian minister, started his campaign
to `restore purity’ to the fallen world and nurtured the sprouting
conservative counterculture.

R.J. Rushdoony, who’s almost unheard of, influenced the Christian
right and provided them with their plan for what they saw as the
promised land, which is a actually theocratic dystopia, a virtual
hell. He advocated substituting theocracy for the Constitution, wrote,
thousand-word tomes explaining how this would work out during the
1960s, during the battles for desegregation, and the extreme right.
Under Rushdoony’s plan, disobedient children, witches, blasphemers,
adulterers, abortion doctors would all be executed, according to,
Leviticus case law.

As extreme as it sounds, it had an enormous impact on the right-wing
evangelical movement as it moved from the pews into the political
realm, because it gave them something to campaign for, even if what
they were going to get was going to be more along the lines of a
Shattered Republican Party.

It was astonishing to find at the center of a radical theocratic
movement that has influenced and provided a moral blueprint for the
emerging conservative counter culture, RJ Rushdoony, a son of Armenian
immigrants. After I finished reading this book I kept thinking about
RJ Rushdoony and asking myself how could a son of Armenian immigrants,
who witnessed the annihilation of their people, possess such
intolerance for those who have been pushed out to the margins of
society. Strangely, I have seen this on a personal level meeting young
men who have emigrated to the U.S. from socially conservative
countries of the Middle East, however, not to such an extreme level
from those who have lived their entire lives and have been educated in
the U.S

Reasonably one would think that a man whose family escaped mass murder
and were victims of the same ideology would go on to encourage
compassion, solidarity, and understanding, but Rushdoony went the
other way, taking literally the 613 laws in the Book of Leviticus.

In 1973 RJ Rushdoony wrote The Institutes of Biblical Law.his magnum
opus, outlined his philosophy of Christian Reconstructionism and it
greatly interested racist southern pastors in America, particularly
Jerry Falwell. Rushdoony’s writings were a major influence on the
Christian Right’s philosophy. In his book he advocates capital
punishment for `disobedient children, unchaste women, apostates,
blasphemers, practitioners of witchcraft, adulterers.’ He wanted
nothing less than to grasp the reins of government to force a
theocratic society; there are so many parallels to the goals and
aspirations of the Taliban.

Gary North, the Presbyterian Christian Reconstructionist, is his
son-in-law, and, while not backing down on the mass death penalty,
advocates stoning rather than burning at the stake, because stoning is
cheaper. As for who would be doing the killing it would be Christians.
We thought that such ideology could be harbored in foreign places such
as Afghanistan regrettably it is being advocated in the U.S. today.

During the early 1950’s Rushdoony befriend Robert Welch who shared his
visceral hatred for anyone who liberal tendencies. Welch had retired
as a candy manufacturer and used his wealth to create the John Birch
Society. (Its headquarters was in Glendale California.) This fringe
group gained notoriety by red baiting prominent public figures such as
President Truman, President Eisenhower, and Allen Dulles, director of
the CIA. On the fateful day that President John F. Kennedy visited
Dallas, November 22, 1963, Birchers welcomed him by mounting posters
around the city showing the president’s head at the center of rifle
crosshairs. Rushdoony was impressed by the Birchers actions, he wrote,
`The key to the John Birch Society’s effectiveness has been a plan of
operation which has strong resemblance to the early church.’

For the leadership of the Christian right, race was the issue that
galvanized their political activism. But as America grew increasingly
weary of overt, ugly displays of Dixieland racism, their resentment
transmuted into a more palatable moral crusade. The strategy to win
that crusade -propelled the Christian right close to Rushdoony’s
theocratic vision of government.

The G.O.P. of the 21st century bears scant resemblance to The Party of
Eisenhower. It has been co-opted by authoritarians like James Dobson
and Tom DeLay, people who, as predicted by psychologist Erich Fromm
nearly 70 years earlier, in an attempt to deny their own human flaws
have risen to power by donning the armor of religious, bullying
self-righteousness and imposing their misdirected anger on others.

The Party of President Eisenhower has been seized by the religious
right the Republican Party of today bears very little likeness to that
of the G.O, P. of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Eisenhower.

President Eisenhower was fascinated throughout his presidency (and
probably before), with Eric Hoffer’s book The True Believer which was
likely influenced by social psychologist and psychoanalyst Erich
Fromm’s Escape From Freedom. It is the latter who argues that popular
movements are people eager to surrender their freedom to a cause,
people who seek personal transcendence through authoritarian political
parties, causes and heroes. They allow the tyranny of the majority and
permit small groups to control their movement why not their Party.
Hoffer puts it this way: `Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable
extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.’ Blumenthal
throughout his book refers to Fromm`s teachings as he explores the
many scandals, cover-ups and hypocrisies of the ever more radical
Republican Party.

This hardbound book was a fascinating read, Max Blumenthal has written
for The Nation Magazine, Media Matters For America, the Huffington
Report and the Daily Beast, which constitutes much of his reporting. I
learned a great deal about the Republican Party, the Christian Right’s
culture of personal crises, and that they’re as out of control as
America’s future is. I highly recommend it so you may better
understand the sad, but true story behind this mass movement.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting, UK
CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, No. 593
May 30, 2011

COMMENT

STANDING UP FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN ARMENIA

People who join NGOs do so out of commitment, not careerism, founder
of Women’s Resource Centre says.

By Lara Aharonyan

You don’t work for women’s rights just for the fun of it, or to get
rich. Yet some people, especially those suffering from an excess of
nationalism, believe that’s why we are doing it, rather than to
advance women’s rights.

You hear all these remarks about how we’re just after foreign grants,
how we’re only doing it for the money. They say that Armenia doesn’t
have domestic violence issues, that there isn’t rape, sexual
harassment or gender inequality here, and that we are making a noise
about it just so we can have a job and get rich.

We get comments like, `They’re probably being paid by foreign states
to destroy our families and weaken our borders. They’re a bunch of
promiscuous feminists trying to push our girls into sexual activity
before marriage.’

Over time, these comments become more and more entertaining. However,
their purpose is to intimidate those who are seeking advancement for
women’s rights, and to pressure them into choosing another path in
life.

If I’d wanted to become rich, I think I would have chosen business or
even politics, but I’d never have considered working for an NGO, where
it’s a constant struggle to make changes happen, where you need to
report regularly on every little step you take to improve women’s
lives and improve their rights in society. You often find yourself
working late to keep things on track, because there aren’t enough
hours in the day for the work that needs doing.

Because funding for women’s rights is limited, you end up doing the
jobs of seven people and being paid far less than one.

And on top of all that, you have to deal with all the threats,
criticisms and stress.

Then you stop and ask yourself: seriously, why am I doing this?

Armenia is a small republic that has struggled on many fronts, both
domestic and external, since it became independent in 1991.

Unlike in many other places in the world, women are not
decision-makers. They are all but absent from politics and from
economic life.

When I settled in Armenia in 2003, having grown up in Montreal, it was
a dream come true. But soon enough, I realised that as women, we are
still considered second-class citizens. Even though the laws guarantee
equality between men and women, in reality things are very different.

A couple of years ago, we marched on March 8 – International Women’s
Day – to protest against the traditional red apple ceremony that
celebrates a bride’s virginity. People called it a scandal. Virginity
is sacred and a sure way to control women’s bodies and sexualities,
and challenging that was seen as a direct attack on Armenian identity
and sacred traditions.

At that moment, I understood that it’s absurd to talk about women’s
political involvement and rights if we, as women, don’t even have the
right to our own bodies.

Today, hundreds of young women register for the `My Body, My Right’
workshop we hold at the Women’s Centre, where we try to unlearn what
is keeping us from advancing, to reclaim our bodies and our sexuality,
and to empower ourselves to take critical decisions in our lives.

If sexuality is taboo in Armenia, talking about sexual violence is
even more difficult, and almost impossible in some cases. When
patriarchal values are so deep-rooted in a nation, women are naturally
considered objects, often available to satisfy all kinds of needs for
a man, including sexual ones.

Two years ago, when we first started discussing sexual violence during
round-tables at our centre, the perception of most women was that if
you were being sexually harassed or assaulted, it surely meant that
you were at fault for being in the wrong place, wearing revealing
clothes or staying out late. It was never the man’s fault. Women had
to take the blame and live with their guilt.

Therefore, most of them never reported such incidents to the police,
and did not even discuss them with their families. They were afraid of
seeking any kind of help.

We are working persistently to change this mentality and to define
sexual violence as a criminal act, by helping women talk about it. It
is taking a lot of energy.

The struggle is not only to help survivors, but also to fight against
obstacles created by the local authorities. Last year, the mayor’s
office refused us permission to advertise our hotline service in the
metro and other public places. It said that those kinds of adverts
were oppressive and created psychological trauma by frightening women.

As a result of those adverts alone – in the previous three months when
we had been allowed to advertise – hotline calls increased by 50 per
cent. This means that the need is there, and that once the information
and service is available, women do call for help.

Working for women’s rights is not an easy task anywhere in the world.
Some do it out of anger and frustration and refuse to remain the
victim, because they had enough of being treated as less than human
because of their sex. Others believe that it is natural to have women
participate equally in all spheres in a democratic society.

I do it because I can’t stand injustice. And this injustice has been
going on for too long, right in front of my eyes, on my own body, in
my neighbourhood, among my loved ones, in my city, amongst strangers,
in my country, in the world.

So when I see comments demeaning or mocking my work and that of
activists like me, I don’t get angry any more. I just smile
peacefully, because I know that I need to save my energy for the
important struggle that awaits me every morning as I leave my house to
go to the women’s centre.

Lara Aharonyan is co-founder of the Women’s Resource Centre in Armenia.

People singing Kurdish, Armenian songs not arrested in Turkey any more

June 4, 2011 – 14:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – People singing songs in Kurdish would have been
arrested five years ago, the Diyarbakır state prosecutor told an
audience Friday, June 3, adding that rational people do not stand
against change, but instead encourage it.

Durdu Kavak, the chief prosecutor of the southeastern province,
attended a ceremony Friday that was organized by Dicle University and
featured conservatory artists singing songs in Turkish, Kurdish, Zaza
dialect and Armenian.

`Had I participated such a program in 2006, when I first came here,
and had such a piece [in Kurdish] been sung, I would have immediately
left the ceremony, and then detained and arrested everyone singing the
song,’ Kavak said following the ceremony, adding that Diyarbakır has
gone through many changes in general, Hurriyet Daily News reported
citing Anatolia agency.

`The song called `Leyla’ was especially beautiful. Leyla is the name
of a girl I once fell in love with while in university,’ Kavak added.

Diyarbakır Gov. Mustafa Topark and university rector AyÅ?egül Jale
Saraç were also present at the ceremony, which was organized for the
university’s Medicine Faculty being granted the `ISO 900′ certificate.

`They say the only unchangeable thing is change itself. Anyone who is
rational does not stand [against] change, but rather encourages
change. I thank you all for encouraging such a change,’ Kavak said in
his speech.

Russian-Armenian physicist discovers new chemical element

12:31 – 04.06.11

A group of Russian physicists has discovered two new chemical elements
that will be registered in the Periodic Table of Elements of Dmitry
Mendeleyev.

International experts have already confirmed that the substances are
new ones and will be registered as 114th and 116th elements in the
Mendeleyev table.

The experiments have been conducted under the supervisions of
Russian-Armenian academician Yuri Hovhannisyan and Vladimir Utenkov.

The names of the two super-heavy elements have yet to be decided. The
elements will be added to Mendeleyev’s tables once they are given
names.

`The commission is examining so that the names are universally
accepted, relevant to the tradition, planets, to the geographical
place of the discovery or to the names of outstanding scientists,’
Yuri Hovhannisyan has said.

Tert.am

Ministry of Defense refutes the Azeri misinformation

armradio.am
04.06.2011 12:31

`The NKR Defense Army has already refuted the information,
disseminated by Azeri media, according to which an Azerbaijani
civilian had been allegedly killed by the Nagorno-Karabakh armed
forces. If the Azerbaijani side has evidences, it can present them to
relevant international bodies to start investigation. I think the
dissemination of such information is the recurrent provocation ahead
of the presidential meeting in Kazan, and Azerbaijan is thus trying to
win political dividends,’ Press Secretary of the Ministry of Defense
Davit Karapetyan said.

According to Karapetyan, the Armenian forces strongly observe the
ceasefire regime. “It’s the Azerbaijani side that increases the number
of violations day by day and tries to ascribe them to the Armenians
side. Such policy of Azerbaijan is destined to fail, since it’s hard
to explain to the international community which is the interest of the
Armenian side in aggravating the situation at the conflict zone and
violating the ceasefire. The Armenian armed forces are capable of
responding to any Azerbaijani provocation,” he stated.

FRANCE 2 DIMANCHE 5 JUIN 9H30
« Génocide arménien de 1915 : l’hommage aux victimes »

A voir dimanche 5 juin à 9h30 sur France 2, une émission religieuse,
présentée par Thomas Wallut. Réalisation : Michel Carrier.

Le génocide de 1915 en Turquie a fait plus de 1.500.000 morts. Deux
tiers des arméniens ont péri dans cette extermination organisée.
Chaque 24 avril la communauté en France rend hommage et prie pour les
victimes à Notre Dame de Paris dans une messe en rite arménien.

Parallèlement à cette divine liturgie, des historiens expliquent
pourquoi ces arméniens innocents et chrétiens ont été victimes d’un
des plus grands génocide du XXe siècle. Une famille donne son
témoignage sur la transmission de cette mémoire à travers les
générations : comment vivre alors que l’on est des descendants de
rescapés ?

Rencontres avec : Mgr Grégoire Ghabroyan, évêque de l’Eglise
arménienne catholique en France

Yves Ternon, historien du génocide

Raymond Kayvorkian, historien du génocide

Une famille arménienne rescapée du génocide

samedi 4 juin 2011,
Jean [email protected]