Author: Kanayan Tamar

Promoting Innovative Rural Tourism (PIRT) In the Black Sea Basin region

Exchange Visit to Turkey
24-10-2014 16:35:01 | Armenia |

24 October, 2014, YEREVAN Heifer Armenia’s partner from
Turkey-Gumushane National Educational Provincial Directorate hosted
around 30 representatives of travel agencies and tourism sector
service providers from Armenia, Bulgaria and Georgia on 18-22 October
2014 in the framework of the EU funded Promoting Innovative Rural
Tourism (PIRT) project. The project is implemented by Heifer Armenia
as a lead partner in cooperation with Heifer Georgia, VEDA (Varna
Economic Development Agency in Bulgaria) and Gumushane National
Educational Provincial Directorate from Turkey.
The regional group of tourism sector service providers and
representatives of travel agencies were in Turkey on exchange visit to
discover the flavor of Turkish rural tourism and learn from the best
practice of Turkish partners on how to promote rural tourism and
productively run their businesses serving the tourism sector in their
home countries. This exchange visit in addition to the exchange visits
to Armenia, Bulgaria and Georgia organized within the project provided
one more opportunity to the participants to cooperate with the
partners engaged in the regional network of tourism service providers
from 4 countries.
“The tour was very impressive and very productive too”, said Anahit
Ghazanchyan, Heifer Armenia Country Director. “We visited such
attractions of Turkey as Gumushane Karaca cave, Bayburt Baksi Museum,
Aydintepe underground city, Trabzon Uzungol, Sumela Monastery,
Ayasofya church, Rize ayder plateau, tea, nut and sucuk factories and
Bed and Breakfast businesses etc. all along or close to the Black Sea
coast”, noted Ms. Ghazanchyan. Ms. Ghazanchyan added that the exchange
visits to Armenia, Georgia and Turkey provided wonderful opportunity
to travel agencies and service providers from the region to share
their practice, gain from each other and identify how they can work
together to attract tourists for travelling to the Black Sea Basin
region within one single package (Single cross border visitor’s
package) developed within the project.
Ms. Medea Tsitskishvili, PIRT Project Coordinator from Georgia
stressed the importance of the visit in terms of strengthening the
network and cooperation between the service providers from partner
countries for future joint initiatives. “The service providers and
travel agents from Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria and Turkey had one more
chance to meet, network and discuss opportunities of future
cooperation to foster rural tourism in the region”, said Ms.
Tsitskishvili.

The PIRT project is directed at supporting regional cooperation and
cross border partnerships for economic and social development in four
Black Sea Basin countries (Armenia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia) based
on combined resources through creation of rural tourism networks in
order to promote joint tourism development initiatives and traditional
products.

In the framework of the project a network of trained and capable local
service providers in rural tourism and travel agencies will be
established which will develop and sell a unique touristic product
Single Cross-border Visitor package (SCBV package). The SCBV package
will increase the inter-flows of visitors on the regional level and
contribute to unprecedented cooperation between national authorities
in the region and intra-country, aimed ultimately to sustaining the
cross-border impacts of rural tourism.
PIRT is co-financed by the European Union in the amount of 472,923.43
EURO through the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument. The
project began in November 2013 and its duration is 18 months.

News from Armenia and Diaspora – Noyan Tapan
– See more at:

Media tour in Dahnak Mountains

New generation of IP and GPS surveillance cameras for wildlife
monitoring in the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge

24-10-2014 16:57:30 | Armenia | Science and Technology

During a tour organized for media representatives, the Foundation for
the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) with its
General Partner VivaCell-MTS, have presented a new generation of IP
and GPS surveillance cameras for wildlife monitoring in the Caucasus
Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is located near Urtsadzor village in
Ararat region. The cameras, which were acquired within the framework
of the joint project, provide a unique opportunity for round the clock
surveillance of animals in the area. While the IP cameras provide a
continuous real-time video stream that can be watched and recorded on
computers and screens far away (for example in the ranger station or
in FPWC’s office) the GPS cameras are triggered by motions. As soon as
there is a movement in the area the GPS camera immediately sends
reports and images through an SMS-message or electronic mail. This
provides not only the opportunity to get information about passing by
animals but it also reveals any illegitimate human intruder in the
area for example poachers. Cameras work during day and night, and in
any weather conditions, ensuring high quality images and accuracy.
The launching of the cameras was made possible by the high-speed
internet coverage available in the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge, provided
by VivaCell-MTS. Adjacent to the Khosrov Forest State Reserve in an
uphill area (on a mountain 1300 meters above sea level) the company
has set up a base-transceiver station providing uninterrupted internet
and mobile connectivity. Mobile access to voice and data services will
also support the development of eco-tourism in rural areas, especially
in the Ararat region.
In order to provide electricity supply to the base station, an
electricity transformer was installed, and a 1.5 km-long high voltage
power line was carried on from the major supply line to the top of the
mountain, using wooden poles. Thanks to VivaCell-MTS, another power
line was provided to the center, for pumping water from the river and
for watering 2,000 newly-planted trees needing regular irrigation.
Moreover, during the media tour the participants were introduced to
the unmanned surveillance system that was established within the
Caucasus Wildlife Refuge’s project. Both the camera and the
surveillance system have the capacity to constantly monitor remote
locations, delivering real-time information and data about the
territory. As already noted the system will also serve as an effective
tool in the fight against poaching.
This video surveillance system, that is the most innovative approach
in Armenia to receive necessary data about wildlife in remote areas,
has been made possible by the generous support of FPWC’s General
Partner VivaCell-MTS.

News from Armenia and Diaspora – Noyan Tapan
– See more at:

The United States wants to tear off the Armenian programming
specialists from Russia, but instigates to Russia’s “arms”

October 25 2014

The US Embassy in Armenia is trying to “cut off the foot” of the
Armenian programming specialists from America. The point is that it
has been a long time since the Consular Service of the Embassy “with
and with no reason” denies US visa entry to the employees of the IT
sector in Armenia. The Armenian specialists believe that the denials
are due to the political reasons, particularly with regard to
Armenia’s decision to join the Eurasian Economic Union. In the
conversation with Aravot.am, one of the employees of the IT industry
who recently was also rejected told that they are rejecting for such a
silly reason that he sees an intention in such activities by the US
Embassy. As said by our interlocutor, the high-tech employees were
leaving for America on business trip for years, with the so-called
business visa. This is prescribed for business meetings, for meetings
to discuss business project, or for training for any project. In other
words, the specialist of this industry with this type of visa have
travelled to the US to present the project and so on. Whereas the
Embassy consular officer, as told by one of the rejected, is asking,
“Why are you leaving?” “I’m going on business trip to present a
project,” after receiving this answer from the Armenian programming
specialist, the Embassy employee is asking again, “Do you work on a
computer?” Naturally, the IT industry representative was not going to
present the project by paper and pen, so, the latter has told the
Embassy employee, “Yes, I work on a computer.” “Hence, you are going
to work, you have applied for a wrong visa, you should have applied
for a work visa rather than a business visa,” this is how the
Consulate employee substantiated the rejection. Similar questions and
rejections is absurd for the IT sector employees, because these
specialists are actually leaving for the United States on a business
trip. Our interlocutor said, “The work visa is for other conditions,
first, if the specialist leave by the work visa, then it is a
long-term and should be paid by the company of given country. In our
case, there is no such thing.” In addition, the embassy also brings
another ridiculous excuse for rejection. The specialist leaving for
the US on business trip was asked, “Why are you going to present the
project there, do it by the telephone?” And the explanations that
there is a 12-hour difference between our countries, and it is no
appropriate to present such projects by the phone, though, there are
some projects that I present through the . This type of
rejections are not 10-20, we can say, hundreds, they reject the
employees of all the companies. Karen Vardanyan, Executive director of
the Union of Information Technology Enterprises, also sees a political
objective in such activities by the US Embassy, because these
obstacles began since last summer. Note that it was the period when
Armenia’s stance to join the EaEU was visible. Since last November,
the embassy began the rejection process more frequently. According to
Karen Vardanyan observation, the US, probably, has decided to somehow
“tear off” Armenia from Russia, and as the IT sector is more active,
such as “Dem em” movement, and has calculated to raise a wave of
protest against the EaEU with the help of these specialists. “Maybe,
people in the US think that there are professional revolutionaries in
the IT industry, and someone sends such an instruction to the
embassy.” But this move by the US, according to Mr. Vardanyan, to
leave the reverse reaction, the Armenian companies can cooperate with
the same Russia, China, Singapore, Taiwan, India and other countries
companies. “We are talking about 12 thousand specialists, there is a
deficit of such scale of specialists in any market. If the US State
Department has made such a decision, then it is a stupidity. This
problem needs an urgent solution, because our IT sector is a
fast-growing one and it is one of the most important branches of the
economy, and with these artificial obstacles, they cause suffer to our
companies,” said Karen Vardanyan.

Nelly BABAYAN

Read more at:

Yerevan refutes information on direct flights to Simferopol

Saturday, October 25, 2014

The Main Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia (MDCA) refuted the
reports about the launch of Yerevan-Simferopol flights.

“The Main Department of Civil Aviation did not receive – and therefore
did not examine – a bid for operation of direct flights from Yerevan
to Simferopol,” MDCA spokesman Ruben Grdzelyan told Interfax news
agency on Saturday.

Transport Minister of Crimea Anatoly Tsurkin earlier told the news
agency that Grozny Avia airline planned to launch Simferopol-Yerevan
flights from November 16.

TODAY, 17:36
Aysor.am

Las Vegas Community Gathers for St. Garabed Church Cultural Center and
Koujakian Hall Opening

Friday, October 24th, 2014

The Prelate leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony

LAS VEGAS–The weekend of October 18 and 19 was a momentous one for
members of St. Garabed Church of Las Vegas who celebrated the grand
opening of the Cultural Center and Koujakian Hall, signifying the
successful completion of the project which had begun in 2009. The
weekend’s festivities commenced on Saturday, October 18 with a
celebratory banquet held at Cili Restaurant of Bali Hai Golf Course.
The official opening of the new complex was conducted by Western
Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian on Sunday, following Divine
Liturgy. Executive Council members participated in the events.

On Sunday morning the Prelate celebrated Divine Liturgy and delivered
the sermon at St. Garabed Church, assisted at the altar by Parish
Pastor Rev. Fr. Arsen Kassabian. His Eminence began his address by
congratulating and commending the parish members on their latest
achievement, in particular Mr. Larry Barnes, the Dream Fund at UCLA,
and the Fattal, Yemendijian, and Koujakian families whose generosity
was vital to the project. His Eminence reminded the parish that though
they have completed the final phase of their project, their mission is
not over, stating “The mission of maintaining this church and cultural
center, of fostering our faith and heritage, is an ongoing one”.

He turned their attention to the day’s Gospel reading to hear what is
expected of all of us as faithful and active Christians. The passage
is of Jesus reading a Scripture by Isaiah proclaiming Him as the
Savior, with the spirit of the Lord upon Him, sent to proclaim “The
Good News of Salvation”. The Prelate went over the mission of our Lord
found in the passage; to preach the good news of God’s love and mercy,
to heal the brokenhearted and bring comfort and hope to others, to
free those bound by sin, to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, to
free the weak and oppressed, and to proclaim the day of judgment. His
Eminence noted that the day before was the feast of the Holy
Evangelists, the four Gospel writers who faithfully fulfilled the
commission entrusted to them by Christ and in doing so taught us how
we too can and must do the same. “The spirit of the Lord is with us
today in this sacred house of worship. As children of God and devotees
of Christ, His mission, detailed above, is one that is required of us
each and every one of us. In our unique capacities, we are all
commissioned to continue the work our Savior, in the example He set
forth during His earthly ministry”, exhorted the Prelate.

The Prelate stated that the progress achieved by the community is
proof of their commitment to carrying out the mission entrusted to
them. However, he urged for continuous work to maintain both the
church and the cultural center; to preach the Gospel of Christ and
draw new faithful to the church, and to preach the beauty and value of
our language and culture and bequeath our heritage to generations.

At the conclusion of the service, guests gathered in the courtyard for
the grand opening ceremony, which began with the ribbon-cutting.
Inside the complex, sponsors were in attendance for the unveiling of
plaques. The newly renovated Koujakian Hall, sponsored by the Fattal,
Yemenidjian, Koujakian families, was unveiled by the grandchildren of
Apraham and Verjine Koujakian in whose memory the hall is dedicated.
The grandchildren of Dr. and Mrs. Raffi and Shoghag Hovanessian
unveiled the three paintings by artist Sarkis Hamalbashian donated by
the sponsors. Also unveiled were the kitchen by Mr. and Mrs. Raffi and
Siran Nersessian, the Boardroom by Mr. and Mrs. Adroushan and Nora
Armenian, two classrooms by Alex Karabajakian and Mari Rose Simon, and
the Game Room by Oshin Harootoonian. The ceremony culminated with the
unveiling of the St. Garabed Church and Cultural Center dedication
plaque of main benefactor Larry Banes, in memory of his wife Seda Der
Garabedian Barnes, and the Courtyard sponsor plaque of Mr. and Mrs.
Adroushan and Nora Armenian.

Guests enjoyed a reception hosted by the Fattal, Yemendijian, and
Koujakian families in memory of their parents. A cultural program
followed in the newly remodeled courtyard where students of the ARS
Verjine Koujakian Saturday School recited poems and sang Armenian
songs, and students from the Armenian Dance School of Las Vegas
performed dances.

The Prelate once again congratulated and commended the parish members,
benefactors, and faithful on their great accomplishment and wished
them continued successes in the years to come.

Lighting of candles by the sponsors was a highlight of the banquet

Banquet
On Saturday evening the Prelate presided over the celebratory banquet.

The program began with welcoming remarks by Master of Ceremonies Mrs.
Houry Darakjian, followed by the invocation by Parish Pastor Rev. Fr.
Arsen Kassabian and congratulatory remarks by Congresswoman Dina
Titus. Guests then enjoyed dinner accompanied by a musical
performance. On behalf of the Parish Council, Adroushan Armenian gave
an overview of the three phases of the construction process, beginning
from 2009. He thanked the donors and supporters for their generosity
and encouragement, owing to which he said the parish has made great
strides in the last five years. Keynote Speaker Arda Yemenidjan
expressed gratitude to all those who made the dream of a Church and
Cultural Center a reality. She thanked the Prelate for his leadership,
benefactor Larry Barnes and Dream Fund at UCLA for their generosity,
Parish Pastor, Parish Council, and Building Committee members for
their tireless work, and the Armenian Relief Society for planting the
seeds of education in the community. Consul General of Armenia Sergey
Sarkisov addressed the gathering, conveying his congratulations to the
community.

The Prelate was then invited for the presentation of plaques, which
were awarded to Building Committee members Levon Gulbenkian and Koko
Darakjian in appreciation for their dedicated service to the project
since its inception, and to Mr. and Mrs. Greg and Annie Gevorkian for
completing the construction in a timely and efficient manner. In honor
of the Year of the Elder, Parish Council Chair Mr. Garabed Bedirian
and his wife Zaruhi received special recognition for their service to
the parish and community.

The Prelate began his message by thanking God for the occasion and
praying for His blessings upon the parish as they begin a new phase of
their mission. “The Western Prelacy family rejoices with you today,
evidenced by the number of Executive Council members here tonight, the
presence of the honorable Consul General Sergey Sarkisov, and the
guests who have come from near and far to share in this joy with you.
You are a wonderful example that with faith and trust in God, nothing
is impossible”, stated His Eminence. He applauded the unity and
collaboration of the community, which he said has led to the
successful completion of the complex where faithful of all ages can
safely gather in a warm family atmosphere to celebrate our language
and culture and pass down our heritage to the younger generations. The
Prelate expressed joy especially for the upcoming launch of the Sunday
School and programs for the elderly. Thus, he commended all those who
had a hand in this latest accomplishment, the Parish Pastor, Parish
Council, Building Committee, generous sponsors, most notably Mr. Larry
Barnes and the Dream Fund at UCLA, donors, and faithful friends. He
commended also the Fattal, Yemenidjian, and Koujakian families for
their generosity in sponsoring the hall memorializing their parents.
The Prelate concluded his message by urging the parish to continue
their service with faith, humility, brotherly love, enthusiasm, and
harmony.

The cutting of the cake and candle-lighting ceremony followed. The
official program came to a close with the benediction, Cilicia and the
Armenian national anthem.

Karen Movsisyan at World Senior Championship

14:37 25/10/2014 >> SPORT

Armenia’s Grandmaster Karen Movsisyan started with a win at the World
Senior Chess Championship (50+) in Katerini, Greece, the official
website of Armenian Chess Federation reported.

Source: Panorama.am

Beeline and Cafesjian Center for Arts launch two new learning programs
for school-age children

YEREVAN, October 24. / ARKA /. ArmenTel telecom (trading as Beeline)
and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts have announced today the launch
of two learning programs, designed for school-age children.

ArmenTel said in a press release that the first program called
“Kochar: Challenging the Time” is dedicated to the 115th birthday
anniversary of the renowned Armenian artist Yervand Kochar. It will
offer tours of the gallery and a documentary about the artist.

The second program is part of an exhibition called “The choice of the
Yerevan collectors: Ruben Angaladyan – letters in the plate.”

The exhibition presents famous Armenian culturologist, writer and
collector Ruben Angaladyan, featuring a selection of unique art plates
from his rich collection. It brings together seventy-seven works by
sixty-four artists, revealing the bright character and aesthetic
mindset of the Collector, as well as the rich cultural environment, in
which those pieces of applied arts found their artistic expression.

Tatev Harutyunyan, the head of ArmenTel’s public relations unit, said
the joint programs with Cafesjian Center for the Arts will allow
children and their parents to learn about the history of art and
replenish their knowledge.

Astkhik Mehrabyan from the Cafesjian Center for the Arts said, “We
believe that these programs, as well as all the previous ones will
serve as an incentive for children to make new discoveries that will
contribute to the development of their ‘s imagination and creative
thinking.”

The programs are free. For more information and pre-registration one
should call 37410 54 19 32; 37410 54 19 34.

Beeline and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts have been collaborating
since 2011 by conducting joint creative workshops, children’s and
youth programs, classical music concerts and other educational
projects focused on the aesthetic education of children and the youth.

ArmenTel is owned fully by Russian VimpelCom. It provides fixed and
mobile telephony as well as high-speed Internet.

The Cafesjian Center for Arts in Yerevan, which opened in 2009, is one
of the foremost centers for contemporary art. It consists of Visitor
Center, a shop, a lounge and an area for special events and
exhibitions on 11,000 square meters. -0-

ARMENIE
Les cultures de blé d’Arménie en hausse de 85,4%

Les cultures de blé brut en Arménie ont augmenté de près de 156 000
tonnes ou 85,4% au cours des quatre dernières années et elles
atteignent environ 340 000 tonnes en 2014 a déclaré le ministre de
l’agriculture Sergo Karapetian lors d’une réunion du gouvernement.

Certains problèmes ont été trouvés, mais de bons résultats ont été
enregistrés au cours de la mise en oeuvre du programme de culture de la
graine, a déclaré le ministre. La productivité des semences a été
améliorée – de 21,2 quintaux à l’hectare en 2010 à 32 quintaux cette
année, selon Sergo Karapetyan.

En dehors de cela, la superficie des cultures a augmenté de 29 300
hectares, soit 18,4% au cours des quatre dernières années et est
maintenant 188 600 hectares face à la tendance à la baisse enregistrée
avant 2010.

samedi 25 octobre 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Génocide : la justice vue d’Arménie

vendredi 17 octobre 2014

Génocide arménien : reconnaissance et réparations

Point de vue d’Arménie

Génocide : la justice vue d’Arménie

Lilit Gasparyan

Journaliste d’Arménie

Les Arméniens du monde entier, en Arménie et en Diaspora, s’apprêtent
à l’échéance de 2015 pour commémorer à travers divers événements le
100èmeanniversaire du Génocide des Arméniens. La commémoration du
Génocide dans la société arménienne a été accompagnée en général
d’exigences de réparation et de revendications territoriales.
Cependant, l’absence de mention de réparation dans les résolutions et
les lois adoptées par différents parlements reconnaissant le Génocide
arménien a créé une impression erronée selon laquelle la seule
revendication arménienne vis-à-vis de la Turquie est la reconnaissance
du Génocide, ce qui est tout à fait faux.

L’exigence de réparation s’est exprimée de différentes façons à
différentes époques et de la part de divers milieux, telles que >, >, >, etc.

Dans les années 1920-30, le 24 avril était célébré principalement en
Diaspora, par des cérémonies religieuses. Pendant les premières années
de la soviétisation de l’Arménie cette date était surtout commémorée
dans les églises et plus tard, avant 1965, la mémoire des victimes du
Génocide était commémoré essentiellement dans les familles, en tant
que jour de mémoire des parents et des proches. C’étaient surtout des
organisations politiques qui revendiquaient des réparations de la part
de la Turquie sous forme aussi de restitutions territoriales en
saisissant par leurs demandes différentes instances internationales ou
milieux politiques.

Vers la fin de la Seconde guerre mondiale, en 1945, les partis
politiques et mouvements arméniens de la Diaspora se sont adressés à
l’Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU) nouvellement créée et à
d’autres instances internationales avec une demande de soutien afin
que les Arméniens puissent se faire restituer leurs territoires dont
les frontières avaient été précisées par la décision arbitrale du
président américain Woodrow Wilson, le 22 novembre 1920.

En 1946, le Commissariat du peuple de l’Arménie soviétique (ministère
des Affaires étrangères) prépare le dossier spécial N°410 intitulé > où, à grand
renfort d’arguments, explique pourquoi l’Union soviétique doit
revendiquer à la Turquie certains territoires arméniens.

Aux premières années de la guerre froide les revendications
arméniennes devinrent moins insistantes, sans cesser pour autant. Pour
les Arméniens vivant en Occident il n’était pas facile politiquement
de revendiquer des territoires à un Etat membre de l’OTAN, la Turquie,
pour les rattacher à l’une des républiques de l’URSS, l’Arménie
soviétique. Il était plus facile de parler de la nécessité de punir
les responsables des massacres arméniens que Raphael Lemkin, le père
de la Convention pour la prévention et la répression du crime de
génocide adoptée par l’ONU en 1948 avait qualifiés de génocide, sans
pour autant négliger le problème des réparations.

Le 24 avril 1965, le 50ème anniversaire de la commémoration des
victimes du Génocide arménien est célébré pour la première fois en
Arménie soviétique au niveau de l’Etat. En marge de l’événement
officiel, une manifestation regroupant des milliers de personnes sous
le slogan > porté sur des pancartes a lieu à
Erevan.

La même année, la question de la reconnaissance internationale du
Génocide arménien est soulevée à l’ONU et l’Uruguay le reconnaît par
une loi. On assiste parallèlement à la politique négationniste turque
qui va grandissant.

En 1973, l’une des sous-commissions onusiennes se penche, pendant des
années, sur la question d’inclure le Génocide des Arméniens dans son
rapport spécialisé, ce qui se concrétise finalement en 1985.

A cette période, il était question principalement du fait de génocide.
Quant à l’exigence adressée à la Turquie pour que celle-ci le
reconnaisse, comme cela était le cas pour la résolution du Parlement
européen du 18 juin 1987, il était noté que la Turquie d’aujourd’hui
ne pouvait pas être responsable de la tragédie arménienne vécue sous
l’empire Ottoman, soulignant que >.
Cette > témoigne du fait que la question de revendications
vis-à-vis de la Turquie a toujours existé, c’est pourquoi le Parlement
européen a souhaité y faire obstacle.

C’est dans ce climat que le Soviet suprême (parlement) de l’Arménie
soviétique met en place, le 23 septembre 1989, la commission >.

Dans le message à la nation du 24 avril 1998 du président de la
République d’Arménie, Robert Kotcharian, on lit : >. Le 20 avril 2005, Robert Kotcharian affirmait : >
L’année suivante, il disait à la même date : >

Le fondateur du parti >, le tout premier ministre des
affaires étrangères d’Arménie Raffi Hovhannissian qui à maintes
reprises a parlé du Génocide arménien et de la responsabilité turque,
énonçait dans son programme électoral de candidat présidentiel en 2013
:

Le 27 mai 2014, Erevan accueille la quatrième séance de la commission
d’Etat de coordination des événements dédiés au centenaire du Génocide
présidée par Serge Sarkissian. Dans son discours il explique : . Le GERGA présente les
propositions suivantes concernant les réparations du Génocide arménien
fondées sur cinq composantes de réparations complètes.

(1) Punition

>

(2) Reconnaissance, pardon, enseignement et devoir de mémoire

>

(3) Soutien aux Arméniens et à l’Arménie

>

(4) L’assainissement de la Turquie

>

(5) Restitution de biens et indemnisation des biens, ainsi que pour le
décès ou la souffrance causés. >>

Des sommes allant de 70 milliards à 105 milliards d’USD sont fixés. Le
groupe d’études considère que le territoire fixé par la décision
arbitrale du président Woodrow Wilson est la meilleure solution de
réparation politique, mais il considère d’autres solutions aussi.

Dans son discours de clôture adressé aux 700 participants à la
cinquième conférence Arménie-Diaspora Serge Sarkissian dit >

L’un des quatre thèmes de la même conférence portait sur le C’était la première fois que du haut de la
tribune de l’ONU un président arménien évoquait la perte de la patrie,
même si Sarkissian l’avait déjà rappelé à d’autres occasions.

>, >, >, >,
ce sont les maîtres mots que les Arméniens utilisent lorsqu’ils
parlent de la solution du problème du Génocide. Il semble que le
centenaire est l’occasion pour que ces mots soient entendus aussi par
la communauté internationale et surtout par la Turquie.

PARIS
Hasan Cemal à l’UGAB : l’honneur de la Turquie

Comment en venir à reconnaître le génocide des Arméniens quand on est
le petit fils de Djémal Pacha, l’un des trois organisateurs avec Talt
Pacha et Enver Pacha de l’entreprise d’extermination ? Comment
accomplir ce geste quand de surcroit votre grand-père a été victime
d’un commando de justiciers arméniens ? Ce sont les affres de cet
accouchement intellectuel, à la fois très intime et très symbolique de
la mauvaise conscience de son propre pays, dont est venu parler
vendredi soir Hasan Cemal à Paris. L’homme qui se trouvait sur
l’estrade du centre Alex Manoogian de l’UGAB avait eu une autre vie
avant de cheminer vers la reconnaissance du génocide arménien. Il
était éditorialiste à Milliyet, journaliste très connu en Turquie.
Considéré comme l’un des faiseurs d’opinion du pays, il avait de
surcroit l’oreille des autorités. Un statut social qui a subi les
conséquences de la publication de son livre événement intitulé, 1915 :
le génocide arménien, sorti en 2012.

Cet ouvrage qui a suscité la controverse et dont il est venu expliquer
la genèse fait écho au plan personnel au questionnement auquel
commence à se livrer la Turquie sur ce crime fondateur érigé en
véritable tabou national. Un interdit d’Etat qui n’a commencé à se
fissurer que dans les années 70-80, avec le surgissement de la cause
arménienne dans l’actualité internationale, puis qui a été érodé par
le travail des premiers intellectuels éditeurs et historiens turcs sur
la question dans les années 90, mais qui a surtout été fragilisé grce
à l’action de Hrant Dink. Le travail, les mots, puis le tragique
assassinat du journaliste d’origine arménienne devant le siège du
quotidien Agos à Istanbul en janvier 2007 ayant été le catalyseur de
la libération de la parole sur le génocide des Arméniens,
expliquera-t-il.

Hasan Cemal, Samson Ozararat, Alexis Govciyan.

Hasan Cémal a posé devant une salle comble une série de questions très
profondes sur les tabous, les fléaux que constituent le nationalisme,
le racisme, le négationnisme, mais aussi sur la fonction des
intellectuels dans son pays. Comment peut-on vivre dans un
environnement qui oblige à cacher son origine ?, s’est-il interrogé en
évoquant le cas de deux de ses illustres confères chroniqueurs, Mehmet
Ali Birand et Ilhan Celik, dont il a fallu attendre la mort pour
apprendre que le premier était de mère Kurde et le second de mère
arménienne. Des secrets qu’ils avaient cachés tout au long de leur
vie. Ce sont ces interdits, générés par l’idéologie dominante turque,
laquelle a aussi longtemps emprisonné sa propre pensée, qu’Hasan Cemal
a décortiqués devant un public arméno-turc qui buvait ses paroles.

Hasan Cemal à la tribune.

Evoquant a lancé Hasan Cemal à la salle. >. Et pourtant, .
Quand bien même l’exercice fut-il douloureux. Pour Hasan, celui qui a
fait le plus >, jusqu’à y perdre sa vie, c’est
Hrant Dink, avec lequel il raconte avoir noué un dialogue imaginaire,
dans l’enceinte du mémorial du génocide à Erevan, en ce jour de l’été
2008 où il s’y était recueilli. Un hommage à son ami qui clôturera ce
beau discours écrit, qu’a traduit simultanément Kirkor Adjéranian et
dont le contenu sera publié dans la presse turque du 25 octobre.

La salle pleine (photo Krikor Djidjirian)

La soirée s’est poursuivie par des questions posées par le public.
Hasan Cemal y précisera notamment qu’il a peu de famille. Juste deux
cousins qui n’ont pas critiqué son livre. Il a évoqué le petit fils
d’Enver Pacha, qui travaillait en Turquie pour une firme d’arme
américaine et la fille de Talät Pacha, chimiste, que le hasard a amené
à travailler un temps avec son père, fils aîné de Djémal Pacha, dans
une entreprise de ciment. Il n’a aucun contact avec eux. Sur la
question des réparations, Hasan Cemal a répondu qu’il n’était pas
expert en la matière et a renvoyé le public à son livre, indiquant
tout de même les réactions épidermiques que suscitait l’évocation de
ce problème en Turquie… Il pense néanmoins que la Turquie finira par
reconnaître le génocide. Citant les difficultés de la France à
regarder en face la guerre d’Algérie et même celles de l’Allemagne (
il a affirmé que 65% des Allemands s’étaient dits hostiles au geste de
Willy Brand qui s’était agenouillé à Auschwitz), il estime que la
Turquie n’est pas le seul pays au monde à refouler les pages sombres
de son passé, quand bien même il combat cette attitude. Il a qualifié
également de crime contre l’humanité le fait que les Arméniens aient
été arrachés à leurs terres dont il pense qu’ils gardent la nostalgie.
La réunion s’est terminée par la signature du livre de Cemal. Un
ouvrage en turc qui attend sa traduction en Français.

Séance de dédicaces(photo Krikor Djidjirian)

L’intellectuel était accompagné par Samson Ozararat, qui dirige avec
Kirkor Adjéranian SOS Arménie-côte d’Azur, co-organisateur de la
réunion avec l’UGAB ile-de-France.

Alexis Govciyan, président de l’UGAB-Europe, qui a introduit et
clôturé cette réunion en annonçant à juste titre qu’elle revêtait un
caractère exceptionnel, a rappelé, fort à propos, les mots de Raymond
Aron : >. Un
sentiment largement partagé par l’auditoire de cette soirée.

Hasan Cemal et Kirkor Adjeranian (photo Krikor Djidjirian)
Photo Krikor Djirdjirian
Photo Krikor Djirdjirian

samedi 25 octobre 2014,
Ara (c)armenews.com