Author: Kanayan Tamar

EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO ARMENIA TO BE OPENED AT NEW YORK’S METROPOLITAN MUSEUM – PHOTOS

10:37, 2 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. An exhibition devoted to Armenia
may be held in one the world’s most prominent cultural centers the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, located in New York City in 2017. The
representatives of the museum’s Department of Medieval Art and
the Cloisters are currently in Armenia discussing the details of
organization of the possible exhibition.

On March 1, the head of Department of Medieval Art and the Cloisters
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Griffith Mann and Helen Evans, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Michael Jaharis Curator for Byzantine Art,
visited the History Museum of Armenia, toured in the cultural centre,
and watched the exhibits.

Following the tour, Helen Evans, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s
Michael Jaharis Curator for Byzantine Art, talked to the journalists
and noted that everything was great, but they are particularly
interested in the medieval art.

As reports “Armenpress”, among other things, Evans noted: “We in
our museum have a tradition to discuss the exhibitions 3-5 years
beforehand and clarify all things. It’s noteworthy that the Armenian
art was introduced in a row of exhibitions. The Armenian samples
became a part of three different exhibitions.” In addition, Helen
Evans stated that she is hopeful that an exhibition dedicated to
Armenia will be held at Metropolitan in 2017.

Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge of the Department of Medieval Art
and the Cloisters Griffith Mann underscored that he was particularly
impressed that history is introduced by the objects.

IN 1999, RUSSIA WANTED TO TRY ITS TWO SOLDIERS ACCUSED OF MURDER IN GYUMRI; ARMENIA REFUSED

Zaruhi Mejlumyan

13:02, March 2, 2015

In the first installment of this article comparing the cases of
murders committed by Russian soldiers, the first in 1999 and the
second in January of 2015, I have concluded, after researching case
materials at the Shirak Provincial Court that in the 1999 incident
Armenian and Russian law enforcement bodies worked collaboratively,
but that the Armenian side took the lead.

This is affirmed by various written material and even agreements
reached between the Armenian and Russian parties regarding technical
issues and various.

Take the following points showing that the Armenian side led the
investigation in 1999:

1-The two Russian soldiers, Aleksey Kamnyev and Denis Popov, were
arrested by Armenian law enforcement

2-An Armenian court prescribed pre-trial detention for the accused

3-Detention was served at the Gyumri #2 Investigative Solitary
Confinement Unit

4-In-house psychological testing was performed at the Nubarashen
Psychiatric Ward

5-Two volumes of investigative material amassed by the Russian Military
Prosecutor was handed over to Armenian law enforcement

6-The trial of the two Russian soldiers took place at the Shirak
Provincial Court.

Furthermore, that criminal case included a letter of V. Gorobets,
President of Russia’s North Caucasus Military Court, in which he
requests that all the materials collected by Armenia’s Military
Prosecutor be handed over to the Russians in order that the two
cases be combined and that the trial be conducted by the Russian
military court.

In his letter, Gorobets writes that according to Russia’s Criminal
Code a full, objective and multifaceted examination of the incident
would take place.

However, Shirak Provincial Court President Edvard Manukyan responded
that handing over the case to the Russian side was impossible given
that according to Article 498 of Armenia’s Criminal Procedure Code the
case was subject to the jurisdiction of the Shirak Provincial Court.

It was only after this response by the president of the Shirak
Provincial Court that Russia’s military prosecutor handed over the
two volumes of case materials to Edvard Manukyan.

In the case files is a letter written by defendant Denis Popov
requesting a meeting with Russia’s Consular General.

Familiarizing myself with the case materials, I noted that in
comparison to similar criminal cases that took place in the 1990s,
there were many photos (around forty) taken at the crime site, of
physical evidence and at the examination of the corpses.

Denis Popov during the case investigation

Another interesting fact is that the two Russian soldiers were never
handcuffed during the case investigation.

Alseksey Kamnyev during the case investigation

Also of note is that the prosecuting attorney only sought 15 and 14
years, and not the death penalty, respectively for Aleksey Kamenev and
Denis Popov who had been indicted on ten serious charges according
to the criminal codes of both Armenia and Russia. And why the court
itself didn’t sentence them to death.

In any event, the court sentenced them as per the demand of the
prosecuting attorney. They have since been released from prison.

Top photo: Valery Permyakov, Aleksey Kamnyev, Denis Popov

SURVEY: 45 PERCENT SAY DEPRECIATION OF RUSSIAN RUBLE WILL NEGATIVELY AFFECT THEIR FAMILY

17:13 02/03/2015 >> SOCIETY

11 percent of the respondents of a recent Armenian survey, conducted
by the Gallup International Association, have said Armenia’s accession
to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) was desired, Aram Navasardyan,
director of Gallup International Association’s Armenian office,
told reporters on Monday.

The respondents were asked whether the country’s accession to the
EEU was desired.

53 percent of the respondents answered “probably yes,” 17 percent said
“probably no,” 13 percent found it difficult to answer, 11 percent said
“definitely yes,” and 6 percent said “definitely no.”

The survey was conducted in November 2014 in Yerevan and Armenia’s
provinces among 1,067 people.

The respondents were also asked whether the depreciation of the Russian
ruble will negatively affect their family and Armenia’s economy.

45 percent answered that it will have a negative impact on their
family and 62 percent said it will negatively affect the economy. 21
percent said it will probably negatively affect their family and 26
percent think it will probably negatively affect the economy.

Le Parisien, France
Mardi 24 Février 2015

Valls inaugurera le collège arménien

VAL-DE-MARNE; ALFORTVILLE

Le futur groupe scolaire Kevork- Arabian en construction à Alfortville
sera inauguré le 4 juillet. Une cérémonie à laquelle est attendue le
Premier ministre. Cette inauguration dans une commune où réside une
forte communauté arménienne devrait permettre à Manuel Valls Enhanced
Coverage LinkingManuel Valls -Search using:News, Most Recent 60
DaysBiographies Plus NewsFind An Executived’évoquer la question du
génocide arménien, en cette année du centenaire. Le collège, destiné à
300 élèves et qui s’étendra sur 1 600 m2, accueillera dix classes, une
cantine, une bibliothèque, une salle d’informatique et un laboratoire
de sciences. La première classe ouvrira en septembre.

Mehr News Agency, Iran
March 1 2015

Iranian MPs condemn ISIL terrorist acts in Syria

TEHRAN, Mar. 01 (MNA) – Some representatives of Iran’s Parliament took
part in a press conference held in Mehr News Agency on ISIL crimes
over Assyrian Christian men, women and children last Monday.

During the conference, they unanimously condemned the terrorist act by
ISIL group who attacked residents of about 10 lightly guarded Assyrian
villages south of the Khabur River in northeastern Syria, killing the
residents, burning homes and churches and taking hostages.

Nearly 1,000 Assyrian families in northeastern Syria have run for
their lives in the wake of the abduction of at least 150 members of
the community by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

Iranian MP Yunaten Bet Kelia, who represents the Assyrian and Chaldean
communities in the Parliament, has written a letter to UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon where he called the UN to prepare
‘appropriate response’ to ISIL’s recent kidnapping of 250 Assyrians in
Syria.

Iranian MP representing the Armenian Christian community in the north
of the country Karen Khanlari, while condemning the recent tragedy
occured by ISIL terrorist group against Assyrians in Syria, expressed
regret over Security Council and United Nation’s silence and inaction
over terrorist crimes against innocent people in Syria.

He called upon the world to make their efforts to eradicate ISIL which
is more like the advent of Nazism in Europe.

Iranian MP Vahid Ahmadi also slammed the heinous crime by ISIL and
said the terrorist group aims at provoking panic and horror against
innocent people.

He criticized some enemies who support ISIL and ensured if they stop
backing terrorism, the world can get rid of those groups who endanger
the lives of people in the region.

Iranian MP representing the Armenian Christian community in the south
of the country Robert Biglari also strongly criticized the
international community for remaining silent against terrorism. He
underlined more serious measures and acts on behalf of UN and Security
Council against ISIL terrorist group, urging them to revise the
obligations they are committed to.

He said ISIL is a multidimensional phenomenon which acts beyond
national dimensions.

“In addition to recruiting forces from all over the world,” Biglari
said, “ISIL terrorist group brainwashes its recruited forces and has a
high influence on their thoughts and beliefs.”

Asked about Iran’s diplomacy over treating ISIL and regional issues,
Mr. Ahmadi said the Islamic Republic of Iran uses strategies like
condemnation, objection, sending messages to international community
and Iranian foreign ministry’s consultations with Assyrian community
to pursue the event.

Los Angeles Times, CA
March 1 2015

For Syrian Armenians, exodus evokes flight from genocide a century ago

By Glen Johnson

Snare drums rustle and trumpets blare. Chocolates from a famed
confectioner in Syria are handed out among the crowd. The hall falls
silent. A minute of remembrance is observed for the more than 200,000
killed during almost four years of civil war in Syria.

Hundreds of ethnic Armenians from Syria, among the thousands who’ve
fled here to escape the fighting, gathered recently in downtown
Yerevan. They came together to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the
Armenian Central High School in Aleppo, Syria, a cornerstone of
Armenian identity in a city now devastated by war.

We are the descendants of those who survived the genocide. I fear
history is repeating itself.- Lena Halajian, who heads a
nongovernmental group helping refugees in Yerevan, Armenia

“Armenian schools keep Armenian identity alive,” said a woman who fled
Aleppo as rebels rolled into the city in July 2012, and who, like
others interviewed, did not want to be identified for security
reasons. “My parents went there, I went there, the school is like…”

“A treasure for Armenians,” another young woman chimed in.

The attendees had left their homes and businesses, schools and
farmlands, fleeing to Armenia’s capital as Syria descended into chaos.
Many are descendants of people who had gone to Syria to escape the
Armenian genocide of 1915 to 1918 under the Ottoman Empire, which
became the modern republic of Turkey. The Turkish government disputes
that a genocide took place.

The current exodus is one of the most significant movements of ethnic
Armenians since then.

lRelated Middle EastRelatives await word on Assyrians abducted by
Islamic State in SyriaSee all related
8

“We are the descendants of those who survived the genocide,” said Lena
Halajian, who heads the Center for the Coordination of Syrian
Armenians’ Issues, a nongovernmental group here helping refugees
adapt. “I fear history is repeating itself.”

Participants at the celebration here read Armenian poetry as a video
of the Aleppo school — showing a modest library and students, their
hands stretched upward, fingers twitching as a teacher asked a
question — flashed on a screen. A quartet including well-known Aleppo
violinist Hovhannes Moubayed plays Dance of the Rose Maidens, by Aram
Khachaturian, the late Soviet Armenian composer.

The violinist, 44, fled Aleppo more than two years ago, and, like
others, he said he had embarked on a new life after leaving most of
his belongings behind.

Pope Francis’ visit to Turkey puts spotlight on region’s Christians
Umar Farooq
Dressed in a neatly pressed dark suit, Bedri Diril, 41, stood
patiently Saturday among a crowd of hundreds in front of St. Esprit
Cathedral in Istanbul awaiting the arrival of Pope Francis.
Dressed in a neatly pressed dark suit, Bedri Diril, 41, stood
patiently Saturday among a crowd of hundreds in front of St. Esprit
Cathedral in Istanbul awaiting the arrival of Pope Francis. ( Umar
Farooq )

“Now I try to work as a music teacher,” said Moubayed, who directed a
state music school in Aleppo. “I’ve started [in Armenia] at the very
bottom. But step by step, maybe I can survive.”

Some refugees had been targeted by militants.

“They handcuffed and blindfolded me once they knew I was Armenian,”
said a Syrian Armenian who gave his name as Krikor. “Then they whipped
and burned me.”

Gnarled scars stretch up his forearms now, and he shuffles uneasily.
In summer 2013, Krikor said, fighters with Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra
Front abducted him from a shuttle bus in northwestern Syria’s Idlib
province. He escaped hours later and made his way to a government
checkpoint, and safety. The experience convinced him it was time to
leave.

cComments

The Ottoman Empire that slaughtered millions of Armenians was the most
recent Islamic Caliphate and ISIS plans to surpass it by building a
GLOBAL Islamic Caliphate, governed by the barbaric system of Islamic
injustice known as Sharia Law, which many global Muslims already
support:…
ZeroDarkThirty
at 8:09 AM March 01, 2015

Add a comment See all comments
1

Other Syrian Armenians have been kidnapped for their perceived wealth.
Still others have been killed in the crossfire or for sectarian
reasons. Syrian Armenians, part of the country’s 10% Christian
minority, have been targeted by militant Sunni Muslims, who have
become the dominant part of the opposition.

Most Syrian Armenians speak Arabic and Armenian, a fact that has
helped speed their assimilation in Yerevan.

Armenian schools play an integral role in preserving cultural roots
among the massive Armenian diaspora. The Armenian General Benevolent
Union, a nonprofit group promoting Armenian identity globally,
provides funds for the Aleppo school. The high school remains open,
but the population has plummeted.

Historic rug woven by Armenian orphans goes on display at White House
Matt Hansen
Lawmakers and members of the Armenian American community gathered in
Washington on Tuesday to mark the weeklong display of a historic rug
linked to the Armenian genocide, calling it significant for a nation
that helped support Armenians during some of their darkest chapters.
Lawmakers and members of the Armenian American community gathered in
Washington on Tuesday to mark the weeklong display of a historic rug
linked to the Armenian genocide, calling it significant for a nation
that helped support Armenians during some of their darkest chapters. (
Matt Hansen )

“The problem is that it can be dangerous for students to travel
there,” said Hagop Mikayelian, 71, a former administrator at the
school who was kidnapped by a rebel group and held for ransom in 2013.

In September, Islamic State militants reportedly bombed an iconic
Armenian church and museum in the eastern Syrian city of Dair Alzour
that memorializes victims of the Turks. Lost were rare documents
detailing the mass killings, say community members, who also note that
bones of some of those who perished were laid in the foundations of
the now-destroyed monument.

“The memorial was living proof of what happened to Armenians,”
Halajian said. “They want to erase our history.”

As Armenians worldwide prepare for centennial memorials in April,
Turkish backing for Syrian insurgents is further fueling Armenian
outrage. The government has supported sundry rebel factions, including
radical Islamists, as it aggressively pursues its goal of ousting
Syrian President Bashar Assad.

And last March, extremist fighters poured into the Syrian Armenian
town of Kassab from across the border in Turkey. Most of the town’s
population fled south to territory still under control of the Syrian
government. Kassab is celebrated among Armenians as a refuge for those
who fled Turkey a century ago.

At the school anniversary gathering, a choir sings Armenian hymns as
ceremonies come to a close.

Generations of graduates flood the stage, embracing while a
photographer clicks away.

Special correspondent Johnson was recently in Yerevan. Times staff
writer Patrick J. McDonnell in Beirut contributed to this report.

Arts & Book Review
February 28, 2015
First Edition

TRAGIC TALES OF THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN

THE FALL OF THE OTTOMANS BY EUGENE ROGAN (Allen Lane, £25) » Order at
£20 inc. p&p from the Independent Bookshop

by GEORGE ARNEY

IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE soldiers having to face more nightmarish
conditions in the Great War than they did on the Western Front. But
that may be true of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, which was
intended by British politicians and generals to deliver a swift
knockout blow to the Ottoman Empire, but instead ended in an Ottoman
triumph and lengthened the conflict. Although casualties were fewer,
combatants who served on both fronts said that conditions at Gallipoli
were yet more vile. In France, troops could take leave well behind the
front lines; here there was no respite from the incessant shelling,
sniping and mines. The unburied bodies which lay between entrenched
enemy lines stank in the summer heat and attracted swarms of flies
carrying sickness from the dead to the living.

Amidst these horrors, there were moments of fraternity between the
armies. “Johnny Turk” was not demonised by the Western Allies as the
Germans were. At some points, the trenches were so close that gifts
could be exchanged. A Turkish soldier remembered throwing cigarettes,
raisins and nuts to the Anzacs, who reciprocated with cans of fruit
and jam. Another eyewitness account tells of a private in the
Lancashire Fusiliers who saved the life of an Ottoman soldier during a
battle and subsequently had his own life saved by the same man.

Such personal stories drawn from diaries and memoirs enliven Eugene
Rogan’s satisfyingly straightforward narrative, and nowhere more so
than in his account of the genocide perpetrated by the Young Turk
leadership against the Empire’s Armenian subjects.

The horrors of the enforced “death marches” are especially vivid.
Thousands were murdered by bands of armed men. Stragglers were
finished off by the guards. Others committed suicide by hurling
themselves into rivers, including the mother of one survivor, a
nine-year-old boy who was taken in by Kurdish villagers as the columns
of wretched Armenians passed through to their planned exile in the
Syrian deserts.

The creation of a homeland for Armenians in the Caucasus was one
outcome of the First World War. The dismemberment of the Ottoman
Empire led to many other territorial changes, above all in the Middle
East, where new borders were drawn by the triumphant Western allies to
further their imperialist ambitions. These borders have endured for
nearly a century – until last year, at least, when Isis declared an
Islamic Caliphate and abrogated the border between Iraq and Syria.

The last Caliph was the Ottoman Sultan, who theoretically exercised
religious authority over Muslims worldwide. British and French fears
that his call for jihad would inflame Muslim subjects in their
colonies turned out to be largely exaggerated. Rogan raises the
question of whether 21st-century fears of global jihad are equally
misplaced.

But the post-war settlement imposed by greedy and sometimes perfidious
European powers have left the Middle East riven with conflicts, not
least between Arabs and Israelis, to this day.

HAUT KARABAGH
Deux soldats Arméniens tués hier après-midi lors d’une attaque au
nord-est du Haut Karabagh
L’armée azérie compte également des morts dans ses rangs

Hier à 14h25 les soldats Azéris ont tenté de violer la frontière
arméno-azérie au nord-est de la République du Haut Karabagh en
s’attaquant dans une opération de sabotage à des positions
arméniennes. Les troupes arméniennes ont détecté cette tentative
d’incursion azérie et réagi très vite en leur occasionnant des pertes
humaines. Les Azéris ont du battre en retraite. Malheureusement
l’armée arménienne compte deux pertes, le soldat Ardak Aghékian (36
ans) et Haïk Baronian (20 ans). Le ministère de la Défense de la
République du Haut Karabagh a présenté ses condoléances aux familles
de ces deux soldats morts au front.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 1er mars 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Trend Daily News (Azerbaijan)
February 26, 2015 Thursday 1:29 PM GMT +4

Roll Call: US supports Armenia to detriment of its allies – Azerbaijan, Georgia

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.26
By Elena Kosolapova – Trend:

Armenia is neither an important nation, nor an ally of the US, Jason
Katz, the principal of Tool Shed Group, a consultancy that advises
foreign governments, NGOs and corporations in the realms of strategic
communications, politics and policy, said in his article published in
the US Roll Call online newspaper.

He is also the former head of Public Affairs and Public Relations for
the American Jewish Committee, based in Los Angeles.

Katz reminded that in fact, Armenia recently turned away from the West
by joining Eurasian Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

“Armenian borders and airspace are even patrolled by the Russian
military,” the author wrote.

Katz also reminded about the recent official newsletter from Brad
Sherman, representative from California, democrat. In this newsletter,
Sherman talked about his efforts to strengthen ties between the US and
Armenia.

Moreover, Sherman wrote that as a senior member of the House Committee
on Foreign Affairs, he has focused on recognizing the “Armenian
genocide”, increasing aid to Armenia and Armenians of
Samtskhe-Javakheti (Georgia), as well as the separatists of
Nagorno-Karabakh and “holding Azerbaijan accountable for its actions.”

“Why would a member of US Congress go so far to offend not one, but
two of America’s most important regional allies, Azerbaijan and
Georgia?” the author asked, adding that in reality Armenia is not an
important nation to the US, but indispensable to the Iranians and
Russians.

Therefore, it is especially strange that some Congress members
actively promote the interests of Armenia and Armenian people before
the voters.

Katz wrote that the whole world, including the US admit that
Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region has been illegally occupied by
Armenia.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result
of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent
of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven
surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

As for Samtskhe-Javakheti, it is a region within Georgia with compact
Armenian minority and subject to territorial claims by some more
radical Armenians, according to the article.

Katz assumes that Sherman has a significant Armenian-American
community in his district, therefore he supports Armenians. “He should
represent their interests – as long as those interests do not go
directly against those of the US nation as a whole.”

Edited by SI

Daily Nation (Kenya)
February 26, 2015 Thursday

Court to hear Artur Margaryan case against Raila

by MAZERA NDURYA -1

Artur Margaryan accused Mr Odinga of defamation in the case filed in 2006.

A case in which one of the Armenian brothers accused of mercenary sued
former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will be heard before the High Court
on Thursday.

Artur Margaryan accused Mr Odinga, the then Liberal Democratic Party
leader, of defamation in the case filed in 2006.

The file is among the cases that the Judiciary will be seeking to
either conclude in the shortest time possible or dismiss in a move
aimed at clearing the backlog in the courts.

The case will be heard by Justice Luka Kimaru. It is one of the 15000
old cases that the Judiciary wants to dispense of in an exercise
dubbed Justice@last.

The court has been hearing about 3000 cases per day. Over 4000 cases
have already been dismissed, according to report from Judiciary.

Artur and his brother Artur Sargasyan hit headlines in 2006 over
allegations of connections in the government.
There were allegations that they were mercenaries and their conduct
was discussed in parliament.

The brothers were deported in June 2006 after a gun drama at Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport.

Mr Margaryan had at some point offered to withdraw a defamation case
against Mr Odinga.

“If you are apologetic any time, I am ready to withdraw the case and
forgive you,” he told journalists at a press conference at his home in
Runda in April 2006.