Author: Kanayan Tamar

LE PREMIER MINISTRE ARMENIEN EXCLUT DES ELECTIONS ANTICIPEES

ARMENIE

Le Premier ministre armenien Hovik Abrahamian a rejete les appels de
l’opposition pour un changement immediat de gouvernement, en disant
que si un tel changement doit avoir lieu, ce ne sera pas par le biais
d’elections anticipees.

Tous les processus, selon Hovik Abrahamyan, devraient etre “dans le
cadre de la Constitution >> et >.

Les prochaines elections legislatives en Armenie ne tiendront qu’en
2017.

S’adressant a des dizaines de milliers de partisans sur la Place de
la liberte a Erevan le 24 Octobre, Gagik Tsarukian le chef du parti
Armenie prospère a exhorte les dirigeants actuels a se conformer a
leur demande de modification des lois electorales en supprimant les
elections parlementaires a scrutin majoritaire et ne laissant que des
elections avec des listes de parti. Il a averti que sinon l’opposition
“va forcer le gouvernement a demissionner et organiser des elections
anticipees avec des manifestations de rue en presence de centaines
de milliers de personnes”.

Repondant a une question de service armenien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am)
le Premier ministre Hovik Abrahamian a souligne que le Parti
republicain d’Armenie (HHK), dont il est un membre eminent, est pret
a discuter des questions “soulevees par tout parti politique. ”

“Nous sommes prets a discuter de toute question. Nous allons en
discuter, venez avec un denominateur commun ; nous allons exprimer la
position de notre parti et ils devraient formuler leurs propositions
“, a-t-il dit.

Le porte-parole du HHK Eduard Sharmazanov, quant a lui, a egalement
parle avec dedain des exigences du BHK et de ses allies de l’opposition
plus radicaux – le Congrès national armenien et le parti Heritage –
pour une transition du pouvoir a travers des elections prematurees.

vendredi 31 octobre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

PROGRESS OVER KARABAKH IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT MEDIATION EFFORTS

12:15 * 30.10.14

In an interview with Tert.am, an expert from the Armenian Center for
Political and International Studies commented upon the latest rounds
of Armenian-Azerbaijani talks over Nagorno-Karabakh, ruling out the
possibility of progress without international mediation.

Ruben Melkonyan said he finds that Azerbaijan’s consistent efforts
to create an enemy image of Armenians greatly disrupt peace efforts,
eliminating the chances of a direct dialogue.

“We eventually see that these diplomats, the co-chairs [of the Minsk
Group], are no longer able to act up to resolving this conflict. And we
see the need for heavy mediation efforts to push for agreements between
the sides. And this too, can be viewed as an indirect pressure upon
the parties. I support this, so I don’t think that a final resolution
is possible without exerting pressure,” he said, adding that decisions
seeming unpopular are not likely to pave way to a final settlement.

Mehrabyan said he doesn’t think that a solution is likely to be
100% satisfactory to both sides. “This will require both countries’
authorities to ensure a certain level of legitimacy and to conduct
explanatory work with the societies,” he added.

Armenian News – Tert.am

I WILL GO TILL THE END, TILL THE SITUATION IN ARMENIA CHANGES – GAGIK TSARUKYAN

14:30 / 30.10.2014

Leader of Prosperous Armenia party Gagik Tsarukyan gave an interview
to Zham.am.

– Mr. Tsarukyan what conclusions have you made after October 24 rally?

– When the Freedom Square, the nearby streets and parks are
full of consolidated hundred thousands of resolute people, when
another hundred thousands are impatiently waiting for the events,
the conclusions should be made not by me but by the authorities. I
just register that there is serious dissatisfaction in the country,
in all the social clusters. A pan-national movement has been formed
and the issue is to give structural and organizational solutions to
this movement. Only in this way we will manage to make radical changes.

– What about your speech? Which were the main messages? Who were they
addressed to?

– First of all they were addressed to the gathered people, all those
who share our viewpoints but follow them from their working places and
homes, those who were forced to leave Armenia because of bad social
conditions. For us to be more convincing, besides criticizing and
evaluating the situation we must clearly present our proposal and
what we are going to do in near future.

We do not have long time to wait. Armenia’s economy is in extremely
grave situation, the social condition of people worsens from day to
day. The official statistics says the poverty rate is 32% which is a
tragedy. We need urgent and in-depth solutions. No one believes in
empty promises. If this uncertainty and degradation continues our
country will stop being competitive. I think there is no need to
explain its consequences.

– When you say there is a need of new quality power and new policy,
what does it mean?

– I will divide the issues in two parts: in political respect we
must break the political monopoly which brings to degradation. In
economic respect we must make such step which will intensify our
economy and change the general atmosphere in the country. I clearly
know these steps and I can without any hesitation enumerate them. For
instance, the small-sized business must be freed from all taxes. No
representative of the authorities must have right to demand anything
from a person who has own small business to keep his family.

Exclusive conditions must be created for medium-sized business for
them to be able to overcome the crisis and develop. This will mean
new jobs and activation of the economy.

No monopolies must be in Armenia. Even if our country is small,
the same products may be imported by 10 or 20 people, as much as the
market will allow. Armenia must again become industrial country. Each
province must have at least one industrial zone with corresponding tax
and other privileges. Armenia must also become a country of modern
technology. It must become a country which produces final product
and not just raw material.

Armenia needs big foreign investments like air and water. There is
no such investments as there are no trust, no guarantees, no programs.

This is what we want to change. These are steps which will essentially
change the business environment in our country.

– You also rated high the participation of Diaspora communities in
the domestic life of Armenia. Do you see its real mechanisms?

– Today too I apply to the responsible of our Diaspora communities. We
must review the whole system of Armenia-Diaspora relations. We must
finally be able to use the real potential of the Diaspora. We must
not view Diaspora just for begging money, or cheating on them,
but we must view them as equal and cooperate with them as with a
powerful potential. I have discussed it with Diaspora representatives,
I offer them to work together, consolidate the efforts of all of us
with new approaches and new mechanisms. I am really ready to become
both organizer and initiator.

– October 24 rally ended. The life passed to its normal routine, to
the same atmosphere. Which are the next steps you and your political
partners are going to make?

– I do not agree that the atmosphere is the same. I am sure the
authorities have seen the wave of complaint and I hope they understood
that the old methods and steps will take them to deadlock. The people
voiced the demand of changes, changes both in political, economic,
social spheres.

The pan-national movement must grow, and in general, nothing will
happen without the consent of the people.

-When will the headquarters of the pan-national movement be formed
throughout the country?

– I have stated in the rally that ‘today we start formation of the
headquarters’ and consequently the process started from October 24. We
are going to agree our steps with the three political forces. We will
consult with associate extra parliamentary parties, NGOs, political
movements. We will engage them in this activity. I suppose that these
will be united political and organizational centers, and the most
important thing is that each citizen can enter there at any moment
and present the issue he/she is concerned with and voice opinion,
and receive consultation and support if necessary. And finally these
offices will allow to organize big rallies at the right moment not
only in Yerevan Freedom Square but in all the provincial centers and
big settlements.

– Mr Tsarukyan, people from different circles say you will not go
till the end and you may have certain arrangement which may limit
you in your activity.

– I know who these people are and whose order they implement. Still
in 2009 I was saying that there are rough mistakes in our economic
policy. In 2012 after parliamentary elections, getting about half
million of votes, the PAP refused to make part of political coalition.

This was my principle and one of the most right decisions I have ever
made. We were proposed high offices but not with our own programs
and approaches. I have stated that time that my issue is not getting
posts, my issue is to be useful to the state and the people. I have
been asked, why I need it. And really why do I need it personally? I
solve no personal issue with it. But I cannot be indifferent when I see
Armenia weakening, when I see people losing hope, when I see how the
small and medium-sized business is being eliminated, how the country
is facing great losses. I have no way back. I will go till the end,
till the situation in Armenia changes, till people’s issues are solved,
till Armenia starts breathing again. I am happy that I have strong
army of political partners and associates, and like all have seen,
a huge pan-national support.

LE MEDIATEUR AMERICAIN DECRIT LES POURPARLERS DE PARIS SUR LE KARABAGH COMME UNE >

ARMENIE

James Warlick, le co-president americain du Groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE,
a decrit les pourparlers de lundi a Paris a propos du Haut-Karabagh
comme positifs.

Le president de l’Armenie et de l’Azerbaïdjan, Serge Sarkissian et
Ilham Aliyev, ont tenu leurs premières negociations en tete-a-tete
a l’initiative du president francais Francois Hollande. Les deux
dirigeants ont ensuite ete rejoints par les copresidents du Groupe de
Minsk, les ambassadeurs James Warlick (Etats-Unis), Igor Popov (Russie)
et Pierre Andrieu (France), ainsi que le Representant personnel du
President en exercice de l’OSCE Andrzej Kasprzic . Ils ont egalement
tenu une reunion trilaterale organisee par le President Hollande plus
tard lundi.

“Je pense que l’accord des presidents de l’Armenie et de l’Azerbaïdjan
au sommet de Paris etait une etape positive >>, a ecrit le co-president
americain sur Twitter.

“Merci a Francois Hollande,” a ajoute James Warlick.

jeudi 30 octobre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

168 ZHAM: AIR ARMENIA SELLS TICKETS WITHOUT CARRYING OUT FLIGHT

10:01 * 30.10.14

Air Armenia did not carry out an earlier-announced flight from Yerevan
to Paris on Wednesday despite having already sold out the tickets.

What’s even worse, the passengers who spent hours at the airport, were
uninformed of the plan, the paper says, adding that the company had
earlier cancelled flights to the Russian cities of Novgorod and Sochi.

According to the paper, Air Armenia representatives dismiss the
reports about bankruptcy.

The paper says it yesterday contacted Vahan Harutyunyan, the company’s
owner, who reportedly switched off his phone knowing that the call
was from a journalist.

“Regrettable though it is, Air Armenia is day by day plunging deeper
and deeper into problems. The only Armenian airline, it has been
carrying out passenger transportation for just a year, but a poor
management and competition with foreign companies pose the risk of
speeding up the repetition of its predecessor Armavia’s bankruptcy
experience,” writers the paper.

Armenian News – Tert.am

“THE SEVEN DISTRICTS NEED TO BE LIBERATED FIRST”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 29 2014

29 October 2014 – 2:12pm

By Vestnik Kavkaza

Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan agreed to continue peaceful dialogue to
settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The agreement was reached at the
Paris meeting organized by Francois Hollande. After bilateral talks
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders with the French president,
the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group had a meeting with the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk,
then a closed-door meeting.

Professor Alla Yazkova, the head of the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Center of the RAS Institute of Europe, the head of the Council of
Mediterranean and Black Sea Research, commented on the results of
the talks in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

“The Nagorno-Karabakh settlement is a complicated problem associated
with a whole set of foreign factors, notably powerful international
factors. The sides have absolutely different positions. In Paris, they
agreed that there would be no attempts to solve the problem by force.

This is important because the problem reached quite harsh declarations
that could provoke a solution by force; in particular, Baku said that
Armenians were living on Azerbaijani lands, while Yerevan said that
Karabakh was primordially an Armenian territory,” says Yazkova.

In her words, the territory was populated by Armenians and
Azerbaijanis, it is so interlaced that solving the problem is very
complicated.

Yazkova feels suspicious that a new generation with a view on the
Karabakh problem formed by mass media and school education has grown
in the last 20 years. The expert considers it hard to find common
grounds even at a public level, all such attempts have failed.

She noted: “The South Caucasus is a very complicated territory in
general, there are basic routes for delivery of energy resources to
Europe. Armenia is isolated. It cannot export its products through
Georgia (but after Georgia signed the EU Association Agreement the
situation became intricate, customs duties were raised) or through
Iran. But Tehran will never support the positions of Armenia at
the expense of Azerbaijan, because 2/3 of ethnic Azerbaijanis live
in Iran.”

Yazkova pointed out that 2015 will coincide with the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian genocide. Azerbaijan, according to her, will certainly
try to prevent Armenia from strengthening its positions in the world.

The Armenian diaspora, including communities in Russia and the U.S.,
may complicate the situation further, the analyst proposes.

The decision of the sides to solve the problem peacefully is the
most real result, the expert says. According to Yazkova, a dialogue
on liberation of the Azerbaijani districts occupied by Armenia, the
so-called “safety belt”, is the most important development: “There are
seven districts. Azerbaijan agreed on different variants at different
stages, including [a variant] to not liberate all districts at a time,
just five of the districts. But today, that is where the danger comes
from, there is exchange of gunfire, there are victims. The districts
are becoming the stumbling block to security in the region.”

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont-Quebec H2V 3H2
Contact: Deacon Hagop Arslanian,
Tel: 514-276-9479
Fax: 514-276-9960
Email: [email protected]
Web:

!/home.php?sk=group
_220828927929836

By pressoffice

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church
of Canada announces to the beloved members of the Diocese that
following lengthy, laborious and difficult efforts and meetings, the
crisis evolved by the issue of the uncompleted church building project
of Laval Holy Cross Parish, on Souvenir Street, has been resolved. The
handling of this church building project, particularly during the past
4-5 years has often been controversial and has been shown by now to be
unwise, judged by the results which have led the Holy Cross parish and
the Diocese into an unprecedented financial and moral crisis.

Indeed, not only the construction project has been brought to an
unresolvable standstill, but also the Holy Cross parish and the
Diocese have been submitted to enormous debts, and have become subject
to judiciary pursuits that threatened the very existence of the Holy
Cross church.I n view of this extremely serious situation, in
application of the directive given on this matter by the Annual
Diocesan General Assembly of May 31st, and in application of article
106 of the Diocesan Bylaws ,
the Diocesan Council and the Diocesan Board of Trustees, with the
participation of the Holy Cross parish council and of its diocesan
delegates, have embarked upon a serious pursuit of the resolution of
this crisis with a high sense of responsibility. Following a series of
intensive meetings and consultations and after all logical and
realistic alternatives have been considered, it was decided, as an
optimal solution, to sell the land on Souvenir Street with the
unfinished building structure. By the joint decision of the Diocesan
Council, the Diocesan Board of Trustees, the Holy Cross Parish Council
and Delegates, on September 25, 2014, the offer by the local Coptic
community to buy the land on Souvenir Street was accepted at a best
negotiated price, for a project of building a church.The resolution of
this issue has, on the one hand relieved the Holy Cross parish and the
Diocese from the heavy and unprecedented debts, and on the other hand
has put back the Holy Cross Church in sound financial status, so that
finally the Holy Cross parish will be enabled to resume more
optimistically the pursuit of owning a new church. In fact we affirm
that as a result of this selling process, after closing all financial
debts and clearing judiciary actions, the remaining sum from the
transactions will definitely be available to the Holy Cross parish’s
intended objective. On this occasion the Diocesan Council expresses
profound appreciation to all those who over the past many years have
contributed large or modest amounts of donations for the project of
construction of the Holy Cross Church and assures that those donations
will thus find their use towards the sacred project of acquiring a
church. As a point of information, the Diocesan Council will submit to
the Annual Diocesan Assembly a corresponding financial and activity
report.In conclusion, we convey our best wishes of success to the
Parish Council and Auxiliary organizations of the Holy Cross Church in
their mission dedicated to the church and the nation.

Diocesan Council, Diocesan Board of Trustees of the Diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of Canada

PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV MET WITH PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA SERZH SARGSYAN IN PARIS

The Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency
Oct 28 2014

Paris, October 27, AzerTAc

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President
of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan have had a joint meeting
with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in Paris.

Then, a meeting of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President
of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan was held.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan had another joint meeting with the co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group.

A joint meeting of President of the French Republic Francois Hollande,
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President
of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan was also held with the
participation of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

After the meetings, a dinner reception was hosted on behalf of French
President Francois Hollande in honor of Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

WHY DOES NO-ONE REMEMBER THE ASSYRIAN VICTIMS OF TURKEY’S CHRISTIAN HOLOCAUST?

International Business Times UK
Oct 28 2014

By Uzay Bulut
October 28, 2014 12:10 BST

You may have heard of the Armenian genocide. You’ve probably heard of
Stalin’s starvation of the Ukrainians, and the atrocities committed
by the European empires in Africa. You’ve definitely heard of the
Holocaust.

Yet chances are you’ve never heard of the Assyrian genocide, even
though this was just as brutal and costly. It was perpetrated alongside
the Armenian massacre, yet only one of the twin programmes has lived
on in infamy.

The Assyrian genocide occurred 100 years ago, and decimated a people
whose territory stretched from the areas now known as Iraq, Turkey,
Syria and Egypt. Today, this very same area is the world’s fiercest
conflict zone, the wounds which opened a century ago showing no sign
of healing.

Which makes it all the more important that we remember the horrors
inflicted on the Assyrians all those years ago.

Ethnic cleansing

Historians today describe the Assyrian Genocide as a programme of
extermination carried out by the Ottoman Empire upon the Chaldean,
Syriac and Assyrian populations. All three peoples were Christian, and
the Ottomans attempted to wipe them out during a wider ethnic cleansing
campaign, which also included the Armenian and Greek genocides.

The Assyrian extermination campaign actually lasted from 1914 to 1923,
Turkey’s rulers carrying on the killing long after their empire had
been dismantled. The death toll varies depending which historical
scholar or record you consult.

“Estimates on the overall death toll vary, with some contemporary
reports placing the figure at 270,000, and estimates range to as many
as 750,000,” reported Dr. Israel W. Charny, the editor of two-volume
Encyclopedia of Genocide and executive director of the Institute on
the Holocaust and Genocide.

Charny groups the Assyrian Genocide together with the massacre of
Greeks and Armenians in a “Christian Holocaust”, which he claims was
“the precursor to the Jewish Holocaust in WWII.”

“To this day, the Turkish government ostensibly denies having committed
this genocide” Charny adds.

Ottoman Jihad against native Christian populations

Sabri Atman, who is also one of the most well-known lecturers on the
Assyrian Genocide, said in an interview with the Armenian Weekly this
year that the Ottoman Empire was bent on “ethnically annihilating
all non-Muslim citizens living under the Ottoman occupation, with
the objective of homogenising Turkey in accordance with their goal
to create a nation of ‘One Religion’.

“Their motto was ‘One Nation, One Religion.’ To achieve their goal,
jihad (or holy war) was declared on Nov. 14, 1914 in all of the
Ottoman mosques… The main plot was to get rid of all the Christian
minorities of Turkey,.”

Atman added that “Denial is a form of continuation of the genocide. It
is to be killed twice.”

Hannibal Travis, a Professor of Law at Florida International
University, wrote an article on the Assyrian Genocide in 2006,
suggesting that “the Ottoman Empire’s widespread persecution
of Assyrian civilians during World War I constituted a form of
genocide… a deliberate and systematic campaign of massacre,
torture, abduction, deportation, impoverishment, and cultural and
ethnic destruction.

“Established principles of international law outlawed this war of
extermination against Ottoman Christian civilians before it was
embarked upon, and ample evidence of genocidal intent has surfaced
in the form of admissions by Ottoman officials.

“Nevertheless, the international community has been hesitant to
recognize the Assyrian experience as a form of genocide.”

The Assyrian Genocide still causes controversy today. Here Turks
in Australia protest their state parliament’s adoption of a motion
recognising the genocide.Reuters Advertisement

Finally, a monument

An Assyrian genocide monument, in memory of the Assyrian victims of
the Christian genocide of the Ottoman Empire during World War One, was
erected on 19 October in Athens. The monument’s opening was attended
by Kyriakos Betsaras, the president of the Assyrian Union of Greece,
as well as the current and former Mayors of Athens.

Sabri Atman spoke at the ceremony, called on “Turkey and all nations
around the world to recognise this historical reality,” adding: “In
recent years, Assyrians have been working diligently towards greater
public awareness and worldwide recognition of the Assyrian Genocide.

“The ethnic extermination of hundreds of thousands of our people and
the destruction of our lands forever changed the demographics of the
area we called home for thousands of years. We Assyrians standing
here today are the children of a nation which was almost completely
eliminated from the face of the earth,” he said.

“I’m also proud to stand in front of you today knowing that over
20 countries have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. It
is my hope that in the future, countries will continue to follow in
this pattern, and will also include the recognition of Assyrians and
Greeks as victims of the same Genocide.”

Monuments commemorating the victims of the Assyrian genocide have
also been erected in Sweden, Belgium, France, Armenia, Australia,
Wales and the United States. Whether Turkey follows suit, however,
remains to be seen.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS TO MEET AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS IN FEW HOURS

Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 27 2014

Trend:

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will met with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in a few hours,
US co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick tweeted on Oct.27.

Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents are expected to meet in Paris on
Oct.27 at the initiative of French President Francois Hollande.

Previously, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents met in a trilateral
meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 10 in Sochi.

Prior to that, Russian president held bilateral meetings with
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.

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 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.

Edited by SI