Author: Kanayan Tamar

L’ARMENIE CONDAMNE L’ATTAQUE DE L’AVION CIVIL DANS LE CIEL UKRAINIEN

Catastrophe aerienne

L’Armenie a toujours condamne l’utilisation de la force contre des
avions civils, a declare vendredi un porte-parole du ministère des
Affaires etrangères a Erevan, en commentaire du crash de l’avion de
la Malaysia Airlines survenu en Ukraine la veille.

L’ensemble des passagers, soit 298 personnes, ont ete tuees a bord d’un
Boeing 777 qui a survole la region du Donbass en Ukraine orientale,
zone d’operations militaires actives. L’avion allait d’Amsterdam a
destination de Kuala Lumpur, avec a bord des citoyens des Pays-Bas,
de la Malaisie mais aussi d’autres pays.

L’Ukraine a accuse les separatistes pro-russes dans ses regions
orientales, tandis que Moscou tient Kiev comme responsable de
l’incident.

L’Armenie est choque par la tragedie, a declare un porte-parole de
Tigran Balayan, selon le site officiel du ministère des Affaires
etrangères.

“Nous exprimons nos condoleances aux familles des victimes innocentes,
a tous les pays dont les citoyens ont perdu la vie a la suite de la
tragedie. Le president de la Republique d’Armenie, au nom du peuple
armenien, a deja envoye des lettres de condoleances aux chefs d’Etat
de la Malaisie et les Pays-Bas “, a t-il dit.

Balayan a declare que “seule une enquete approfondie de l’accident
peut faire la lumière sur les causes du crash.”

“L’Armenie a toujours condamne et continue a considerer l’utilisation
de la force et de la menace contre les aeronefs civils absolument
inacceptables”, a conclu le porte-parole du ministère des Affaires
etrangères.

lundi 21 juillet 2014, Claire (c)armenews.com

DJIVAN GASPARYAN: I WILL NOT BE SAD IN THIS WORLD/MOON SHINES AT NIGHT REVIEW – HAUNTING INSTRUMENTALS

Robin Denselow
theguardian.com, Thursday 17 July 2014 22.00 BST

Buy it from

Buy the CD
Djivan Gasparyan
I Will Not Be Sad In This World + Moon Shines At Night
All Saints Records
2014

Djivan Gasparyan is one of the world’s most distinctive, haunting
instrumentalists. He’s a master of the oboe-like duduk, made of apricot
wood and traditionally played by shepherds in his native Armenia, with
which he creates surely the most plaintive and atmospheric noises on
the planet, as heard on Ridley Scott’s Gladiatorand Peter Gabriel’s
soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. Now
comes the re-release of two of his classic recordings. On I Will
Not Be Sad in This World, an instrumental set released in Russia in
1983, his pained, expressive playing is matched only against gentle
drone effects. Brian Eno said it was “one of the most beautiful and
soulful recordings I have ever heard”, and brought him to London to
work with producer Michael Brook. The resulting Moon Shines At Night,
released in 1993, is even more intense, with Gasparyan singing on
two tracks. Exquisite.

ALI HASANOV GIVES WARNING TO ICRC AZERBAIJANI REPRESENTATION

APA, Azerbaijan
July 18 2014

[ 18 July 2014 14:06 ]

Aghdam. Teymur Zahidoglu – APA. Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of
the State Committee for Work with Refugees and IDPs, Ali Hasanov
has given a serious warning to the Azerbaijan representation of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Hasanov noted that the failure to arrange a meeting with those who
have been taken hostages in Kalbajar region within a week casts some
doubt on the activity of ICRC, APA’s Karabakh bureau reports.

“Which Armenian hostage has been tortured in Azerbaijani? Why does
ICRC immediately apply to Azerbaijani side for meeting when any
Armenian is taken hostage? Why Armenian side does not act so?

Therefore, I seriously warned the ICRC Azerbaijani representation that
if we do not achieve it, serious measures will be taken toward the
ICRC representation, even up to banishing from the country… They
should take necessary measures,” Ali Hasanov said.

ARMENIA’S ECONOMY TO SUFFER FROM U.S. SANCTIONS

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
July 18 2014

18 July 2014, 14:13 (GMT+05:00)
By Jamila Babayeva

The U.S. has widened sanctions on Russia due to its interference in
Ukraine’s crisis. The Russian state companies Gazprombank and Rosneft
are among the latest Russian entities coming under U.S. sanctions.

The sanctions ban these companies’ entrance to the U.S. financial
markets. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin condemned the latest
sanctions. He said the sanctions will strain bilateral relations and
hurt Russian and U.S. joint businesses.

Gazprombank and Rosneft have significant share in Armenian market. So
pressure on these companies’ will affect inevitably the Armenian
small economy.

The Russian Gazprombank has a subsidiary Areximbank- Gazprombank Group
in Armenia. The assets of this group amounts to around $344 million. A
few months ago Rosneft stated it would examine opportunities for
investing in Armenia’s Nairit Rubber Plant, which is facing serious
financial difficulties.

Armenian Economy Minister Karen Chshmarityan acknowledged that U.S.

sanctions will affect Armenia negatively, local media reported.

“I think that sanctions will have some effects,” he told reporters.

Armenia’s small economy strongly depends on Russia. Local experts
said the second package of sanctions against Russia will certainly
affect Armenia’s economy.

“The sanctions will directly affect Armenia’s economy because the
Russian companies may refuse to invest in Armenia further,” they noted.

AZERBAIJAN THREATENS TO SHOOT DOWN KARABAKH PLANES

July 18, 2014

The new airport terminal near Stepanakert

RFERL – Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down civilian planes flying
to Nagorno-Karabakh if the sole civilian airport in the disputed
region reopens as planned.

The Karabakh Armenian leadership dismissed the threat, saying that
the first commercial flights between the territory and Armenia in
two decades would start as planned in May.

Arif Mammadov, the director of Azerbaijan’s Civil Aviation
Administration, said the Azerbaijani government warned the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) last October that
it did not authorize any flights to Karabakh.

“We notified that the airspace over Karabakh is closed,” Mammadov said,
according to the APA news agency. “The law on aviation envisages the
physical destruction of airplanes landing in that territory.”

Mammadov said Baku sent another letter to the ICAO recently warning
that the disputed region’s airspace was closed and “at the disposal
of Azerbaijan’s Air Force.”

“We asked the ICAO to notify the opposing side in order to prevent
negative incidents,” he said, adding that the Montreal-based body
forwarded that letter to Armenia.

Bako Sahakian, the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
republic, condemned the threat and warned through a spokesman that
any attempt to thwart the planned flights would meet with an “adequate
response” from the Karabakh Armenian military.

“If Azerbaijan resorts to such actions, it will trigger unpredictable
developments,” Sahakian’s press secretary, Davit Babayan, told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service.

“Such threats do not scare us, they only discredit Azerbaijan,” Babayan
said. “We will go ahead with exploiting our airport as planned.”

Flights to and from the airport, located 8 kilometers east of
Stepanakert, were discontinued in 1991 amid intensifying armed
clashes in and around Karabakh that degenerated into a full-scale
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.

Transport communication between the territory and the outside world
has since been carried out by land, via Armenia.

The Karabakh government decided in 2009 to reopen the airport, severely
damaged during the 1991-94 war. Its $3 million reconstruction is now
nearing completion.

A regular flight service between Stepanakert and Yerevan is scheduled
to be launched on May 9, a public holiday in Karabakh that will mark
the 19th anniversary of a major military victory over Azerbaijan.

Dmitry Atbashian, head of the local civil aviation authority, assured
journalists earlier this year that flight security “will be ensured 100
percent,” despite the airport’s proximity to the heavily militarized
“line of contact” separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.

Atbashian also announced that the Stepanakert-Yerevan flights would be
carried out by a newly established Karabakh airline, Artsakh Air. He
said its fleet of aircraft would consist of three Canadian-made CRJ200
passenger jets.

NEWS: NATO AND AZERBAIJAN: AN UNBALANCED PARTNERSHIP

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

Armenian Assembly of America News

1334 G Street, N.W., Suite 200

Washington, D.C. 20005

Tel: (202) 393-3434

Fax: (202) 638-4904

E-mail: [email protected]

Web:

NATO and Azerbaijan: An Unbalanced Partnership

By Peter Kechichian and Gevorg Shahbazyan

AAANews Blog

July 18, 2014

Last week, Azerbaijan was again the focus of a U.S. foreign policy
discussion. On July 1st, the Atlantic Council hosted a forum
in Washington D.C. entitled, “NATO in the Caucasus: The Case of
Azerbaijan.” Moderated by Mr. David Koranyi, the Deputy Director of the
Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, the panel featured
influential analysts who cover this strategic region. These included
Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim, the head of the Azerbaijani mission to
NATO, Mr. Eric Ruben, the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau
of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. State Department, and
Dr. Brenda Shaffer, a visiting researcher at Georgetown University. The
forum was introduced by Frederick Kempe, the President and CEO of
the Atlantic Council. Kempe mentioned in his opening address that the
Atlantic Council is a “strong supporter for independent Azerbaijan,”
while Ambassador Ibrahim praised that Atlantic Council for “promoting
the agenda of Azerbaijan.”

The forum represented a new chapter in the public discussion on
Azerbaijan and the wider region. It focused on U.S foreign policy in
the South Caucasus, possible NATO expansion in Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Moldova, and European energy security in general. Although
NATO has had a footprint in the region since the dissolution of the
Soviet Union, the increased expansion by NATO in the area is almost
unprecedented and will have a major impact on the geopolitics of the
wider region. This has become increasingly relevant, particularly
in light of major examples of Russian aggression in Georgia in 2008,
and Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The Caucasus,
due to its strategic location, has always fallen under the firm
influence of larger powers, such as Russia, Iran and Turkey. Hence,
the expansion of NATO in the region causes a direct challenge to
Russian influence in the South Caucasus.

The forum represented a wide-ranging discussion touching on many
differing aspects of NATO’s relationship with Azerbaijan, which
developed as a NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) member since 1994.

Chief among these was energy security, energy infrastructure
protection, and ensuring future and reliable energy flow to European
markets. Ambassador Ibrahim emphasized that Azerbaijan is an “energy
provider to many NATO members,” highlighting its importance to NATO
while painting Azerbaijan as a “very strong, active partner.” A common
theme among the energy security discussion was about lowering Europe’s
dependence on the Russian dominated gas supply system and diversifying
Europe’s energy sources. Eric Ruben of the State Department was very
clear about this, proclaiming that some countries “are dependent on
Russian gas,” while Dr. Shaffer declared that energy security should
not be thought of as separate to security in general. The Southern Gas
Corridor is a major European energy project that will bring Caspian
oil and gas into Europe via Turkey. It is a “highly strategic choice”
and one that “we talk about… a lot in Washington, D.C.,” Dr. Shaffer
said. Other areas mentioned include Azerbaijan’s relationship with
Israel, its support in the U.S.

war effort in Afghanistan, and combating human trafficking,
counter-terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and land mine
clearance.

However, what the writers found interesting about the forum is what was
not covered. There was very little mention of Azerbaijan’s bilateral
relationship with Russia. Interestingly, there was absolutely no
mention of Azerbaijan’s acquisition of $4 billion worth of modern
weaponry from Russia, including some of the most technologically
advanced offensive weapons. The influx of Russian weapons has resulted
in a regional arms race which has further fueled instability in a
region already rife with daily cross-border attacks that have left
at least 18 soldiers dead on both sides of the Azerbaijani-Armenian
conflict, this year. These actions run counter to Russia’s repeated
claims of maintaining military parity and balance in the region
towards both Azerbaijan and Armenia. This is in addition to the
numerous trade and energy projects that Azerbaijan continues to
enjoy with Russia. Just last month, high-level Russian officials
traveled to Baku, such as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy
Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Economic Minister Alexei Ulyukaev,
and Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin, to name a few. The sheer size
of the delegation and the number of trips taken highlight Moscow’s
intention to deepen its relationship with Azerbaijan. “It is a very
painful subject and our people are worried that our strategic ally
sells weapons to Azerbaijan,” Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan told
Argentina’s “Clarin” newspaper last week.

An Armenian Embassy representative, Deputy Chief of Mission
Andranik Hovhannisyan, was present at the forum and noted the
extensive relationship that Armenia also enjoys with NATO. For
example, Armenia, which has also developed relations with NATO
since 1994 as a PfP member, continues to maintain a significant
peace keeping mission in Kosovo, while Azerbaijan withdrew its
peace keeping force from Kosovo in 2008, he said. Ibrahim referred
to this withdrawal during the conference as a “political decision,”
due to his government’s stance against the internationally recognized
principle of self-determination. It is also worth noting that Armenia
has contributed significantly to NATO-led operations in Afghanistan,
most notably with the deployment of over one hundred combat soldiers.

In addition, Armenia assisted the coalition’s combat operations during
the Iraq war. Neither Azerbaijan nor Turkey contributed combat troops
to the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While the discussion generally attempted to portray Azerbaijan as
an indispensable partner to NATO, one could make the case that the
NATO-Armenia relationship is as advanced, if not more so, than the
level of partnership enjoyed with Baku. Furthermore, the Azerbaijan
government’s pardon, promotion and glorification of an Azerbaijani
soldier, Ramil Safarov, who was convicted in Hungary for the 2004
murder of an Armenian officer, Gurgen Margaryan, is unbecoming of a
NATO aspirant. Margaryan was murdered in his sleep by an ax-wielding
Safarov during a NATO PfP English language training course. One
could also argue that this is not the type of behavior that should be
rewarded, as it runs counter to the purpose of the NATO PfP which is to
“increase stability, diminish threats to peace and build strengthened
security relationships between partner countries NATO.”

Available online at:

ARMENIAN MINISTER MAY DISCUSS TRANSIT OF GAS IN TEHRAN

YEREVAN, July 18. / ARKA /. Armenia’s minister of energy and natural
resources Yervand Zakarian will travel to Iran before a regular
session of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission, Iranian
ambassador to Armenia, Mohammed Reisi, said today, but he declined
to say when the session could take place or when the minister may go
to Tehran.

According to the ambassador, the Armenian minister may discuss in
Tehran among other things also a possible transit of gas through the
territory of Armenia.

He stressed that Iran has repeatedly declared its readiness to
cooperate with Armenia in all areas, however, before starting transit
of gas through the territory of Armenia an appropriate infrastructure
must be built, more precisely, a new pipeline with wider diameter.

“If a necessary infrastructure is created, and a new pipeline with
wider diameter is built for the transit of gas through the territory
of Armenia, we do not see any problems in the organization of this
process,” said the ambassador said.

However, according to him, creation of such infrastructure requires
huge investment. He said construction of a railroad alone requires
an investment of $4 billion.

‘The same can be said about the gas pipeline – it requires huge
investments and time,” he said. -0 –

TURKISH COURT RULES DINK CASE AS ‘INEFFECTIVE INQUIRY’

Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey
July 17, 2014 Thursday

The court decided unanimously that the rights of the Dink family were
violated due to an “ineffective investigation.”

Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled the 2007 murder case of Turkish
Armenian writer, Hrant Dink, an “ineffective investigation” on
Thursday.

Ogun Samast murdered Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in January
2007 claiming Dink insulted “Turkishness”. Dink was editor-in-chief
of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos and was considered
among the most prominent Armenian voices in Turkey.

The court decided unanimously that the rights of the Dink family were
violated due to an “ineffective investigation.”

The wife of Dink, Rakel, the deceased’s brother Orhan, and his children
Delal, Arat, and Sera appealed individually to the Constitutional
Court, showing reason they were not keep up to date with the progress
of the legal investigation.

Dink’s killer, Samast, was jailed for 22 years in 2011. Police
investigations following his capture, however, revealed a possible
link to an ultra-nationalist organization.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

[ Part 2.1.2: “Attached Text” ]

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 17, 2014

Contact: Taniel Koushakjian

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (202) 393-3434

Web:

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Church Calls on President Obama, Congress to Recognize and Condemn
Armenian Genocide

WASHINGTON, DC – During the annual Presbyterian Church (USA) General
Assembly, held last month in Detroit, Michigan, a resolution was
adopted officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide, reported the
Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). The resolution also urges
Presbyterian congregations to commemorate the Armenian Genocide
centennial in 2015, and directs Church leadership to “call on the
President and the Congress of the United States of America to recognize
and condemn the death and expulsion of the Armenians.”

During the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide the Presbyterian Church
directed relief funds to Armenians, and its General Assemblies
vehemently protested the “atrocities,” according to a statement on
the PCUSA website.

Over the last 50 years, Presbyterian support to struggling Armenian
communities has come through the Jinishian Memorial Program (JMP)
which operates relief, development and spiritual missions through
inter-church partnerships in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jerusalem,
and Armenia.

“The late Vartan Jinishian established his endowment as a direct
response to the needs of the Armenian orphans of the genocide,” stated
former Assembly Board of Directors Chairman Michael Haratunian. “He
was a Presbyterian and entrusted the Presbyterian Church of America to
manage his foundation for the benefit of needy Armenian families. As
a member of its advisory committee, my colleagues and I worked to
ask the church to reassert its long history of support for Armenian
Genocide recognition and they did so this year with this unanimously
adopted resolution,” Haratunian said.

This historic resolution – the first of its kind for a major American
church body – was adopted by the 1.8 million-member Church in response
to overtures from three of its regional presbyteries: Chicago, Los
Ranchos (southern California), and Palisades (New Jersey). Other
major religious institutions have passed resolutions recognizing the
Armenian Genocide, such as the National Council of Churches in 2007,
the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1989, and the World
Council of Churches in 1983.

Rev. Dr. Christine Chakoian, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian
Church in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Rev. Dr. Vartkes Kassouni,
a retired pastor in Southern California currently serving as Parish
Associate in Tustin Presbyterian Church, were the overture advocates.

Also lending his testimony as an ecumenical partner was the Rev. Fr.

Garabed Kochakian, Pastor of St. John’s Armenian Church in Southfield,
Michigan.

The Jinishian Memorial Program leadership played a key role in
initiating and supporting the process. JMP director Eliza Minasyan
says the JMP global team feels encouraged by the acknowledgement this
action brings to the communities served by the Jinishian program:
“Especially for our colleagues in Syria right now – these are genocide
survivors of great faith and courage who are helping children and the
sick and displaced in a time of great danger – this brings them hope
that they are not abandoned.”

In summary, this resolution takes four key actions:

First, urges member congregations to recognize the Armenian genocide;
to express deep sympathy to the Armenian people and designate April
24 every year as the day of remembrance; and to honor the provisions
of American and international law to prevent recurrence of such crimes.

Second, supports the designation of genocide for the death of 1.5
million Armenians and the expulsion of one million more from the
Ottoman Empire in the years 1915-1923.

Third, directs the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly to call
on the President and the Congress of the United States of America
to recognize and condemn the death and expulsion of the Armenians;
to communicate this resolution to our ecumenical partners nationally
and internationally.

Fourth, encourage official observance of the 100th Anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide in worship services on Sunday, April 26, 2015
in all PC (USA) churches.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the
largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public
understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR: # 2014-040

Available online:

[ Part 2.2, Image/JPEG 33KB. ]
[ Unable to print this part. ]

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS RULING IN WASHINGTON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM CASE

Published: Thursday July 17, 2014

The former National Bank of Washington and adjacent properties in
downtown Washington. Courtesy image

Related Articles

Cafesjian Foundation prevails in Genocide Museum lawsuit

Court sets deadline for property transfer in Armenian Genocide
museum case

Hirair Hovnanian continues to block Genocide memorial & museum in DC

MINNEAPOLIS – In a July 15 ruling U.S. Court of Appeals upheld
an earlier federal court’s decision that returned a series of
Washington properties to the Cafesjian Family Foundation. The appeal
was launched by the Armenian Assembly of America almost three years
ago, in September 2011.

The panel that included Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland, Circuit
Judge Robert L. Wilkins and Senior Circuit Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg
considered the parties’ arguments and ruled to affirm judgments of the
District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued in January and May
2011. The judges concluded their 37-page opinion by expressing hope
that their decision could “serve as the last word on this dispute’s
protracted journey through the courts.”

“We are both happy and relieved that this lengthy legal process has
finally come to an end,” said Kathleen Cafesjian Baradaran, chair of
the Cafesjian Family Foundation. “I just wish my father was alive to
see this day.”

Mr. Cafesjian passed away in September 2013.