Author: Kanayan Tamar

ANCA PRESSES ADMINISTRATION ABOUT TURKEY’S ROLE IN KESSAB ATTACK

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014 | Posted by Contributor

Smoke over the Kessab after the invasion by Al Qada-linked terrorists
in March

Seeks Transparency and Accountability for Depopulation for Armenian
Town by Terrorist Group

WASHINGTON-The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
continued to press the Obama Administration for straight answers about
Turkey’s role in a March 21st cross-border attack by extremists
that depopulated the historically Armenian town of Kessab, Syria.

In an exchange of letters with the Department of State, ANCA Chairman
Ken Hachikian has stressed that Armenian Americans remain “very
troubled by the Administration’s continued reluctance to
provide a simple answer to a straightforward question: ‘Is it
the considered judgment of the U.S. government that the Republic of
Turkey aided, abetted, facilitated, or otherwise played a role in
the March 21st attack on Kessab?’”

The ANCA’s May 15th letter, addressed to Assistant Secretary of
State Victoria Nuland, noted that: “As Americans, citizens of
a nation bound to Turkey by our NATO treaty obligations, we deserve
to know if this U.S. ally has conspired with extremists – officially
designated by our government as terrorists – in a cross-border attack
against a peaceful population. If our government’s investigation
has found that Turkey played no role in this attack, the Administration
should make this view known, challenging widespread media accounts
of Ankara’s complicity. If, however, our government’s
investigation has confirmed a Turkish role, the Administration should
forcefully and publicly confront Turkey for conspiring with an al
Qaeda-linked group to drive thousands of civilians from their homes. In
either case, we ask the Administration to cooperate with all relevant
Congressional investigations.” Congressman Brad Sherman has
played a pivotal role in ensuring that Members of Congress have been
briefed by Administration officials concerning the attack on Kessab.

In a May 2nd State Department letter to the ANCA, which came in
response to an ANCA meeting with Administration officials following
the March attack, Assistant Secretary Nuland commented indirectly
about Turkey, noting that: “We have reminded Turkey of its
responsibilities for protecting civilian populations along the border
and for ensuring that armed groups are not able to use Turkish
territory for actions against civilians.” Despite extensive
evidence of Ankara’s facilitation of this assault, Assistant
Secretary Nuland passed along the Turkish government’s denial,
without any critical commentary: “Turkish authorities have stated
that they had no involvement in the displacement of the population
of Kessab and did not allow armed groups to cross the border into
Syria.” In this letter, Assistant Secretary Nuland underscored
the U.S. government’s position regarding “the importance
of ensuring that Armenian Christians can continue to live and flourish
in the land of their ancestors, and we understand that the situation
in Kessab is particularly fraught.”

Read ANCA’sletter to Assistant Secretary Nuland.

kessab-attack/

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS RECEIVED THE ATTENDANTS OF UK ROYAL COLLEGE OF DEFENCE STUDIES

18:17 03.06.2014

On May 3, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received a delegation
of attendants representing different states of The Royal College of
Defence Studies of the United Kingdom, who arrived in Armenia.

Minister Nalbandian presented to the attendants of The Royal College
of the UK the main directions of Armenia’s foreign policy, efforts
exerted by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards the
settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, regional issues and
Armenia’s stance on ways of their settlement, the process of Armenia’s
membership in the Eurasian Union, European Union-Armenia cooperation.

TEYMOURIAN HEADS TO BRAZIL WITH IRAN WORLD CUP SQUAD

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014

Andranik Teymourian celebrates Iran’s win against South Korea in a
decisive World Cup 2014 qualifiyng match

TEHRAN–Iran coach Carlos Queiroz on Sunday named a 24-man squad for
the World Cup, pending the elimination of one player from the official
final line-up because of injury worries. 31-year-old national team
veteran Andranik Teymourian was named as a starting midfielder for
the squad.

Teymourian, who currently plays for Tehran’s Esteghlal, has also
played for three clubs in the English Premier League, including
Bolton and Fulham. Teymourian, an ethnic Armenian born in Tehran,
has had 78 appearances for the Iranian national team and has scored
8 goals. His performance against South Korea in a decisive World Cup
qualifying game was instrumental in securing a spot for Iran in Brazil.

“No game is going to be easy for us,” Andranik Teymourian said to
reporters at a training camp in eastern Austria last week. “But
playing against Iran is not going to be easy for any of our opponents.”

Iran start their fourth World Cup against Argentina, Nigeria and
Bosnia-Herzegovina in Group F. They have never made it past the
first round.

They head to Brazil, however, having topped their Asian qualifying
group ahead of South Korean — a fact the players will not let
anyone forget.

“This shows the enormous fighting spirit shown by the players,
proven in the qualifiers, and the fact that we could qualify is an
absolutely tremendous achievement for our team and I personally hope
that we can be one of the favorites also,” Teymourian said in Austria.

The 24-man team, as selected by coach Carlos Quieroz, is as follows:

Defenders: Hossein Mahini (Persepolis), Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour
(Vancouver Whitecaps), Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal), Jalal Hosseini
(Persepolis), Amir-Hossein Sadeghi (Esteghlal), Ahmad Alenemeh (Naft),
Hashem Beikzadeh (Esteghlal), Mehrdad Pouladi (Persepolis).

Midfielders: Javad Nekounam (Kuwait SC), Andranik Teymourian
(Esteghlal), Reza Haghighi (Persepolis), Ghasem Haddadifar (Zob Ahan),
Bakhtiar Rahmani (Foolad), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan).

Forwards: Ashkan Dejagah (Fulham), Masoud Shojaei (Las Palmas),
Alireza Jahanbakhsh (NEC Nijmegen), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Charlton),
Karim Ansarifard (Persepolis, on loan to Tractor Sazi), Khosro Heydari
(Esteghlal).

L’ARMENIE INTREPIDE FACE A LA VENTE D’ARMES RUSSES A L’AZERBAIDJAN

ARMENIE

L’Armenie ne croit pas que l’equilibre actuel des forces dans la zone
du conflit du Karabagh sera perturbe a cause des dernières livraisons
d’armes de la Russie a l’Azerbaïdjan.

Parlant aux medias le ministre de la Defense Seyran Ohanian a
egalement repondu aux recents rapports sur les livraisons russes de
chars modernes et d’autres armes a Bakou.

> a commente le ministre armenien.

Prie de dire si les livraisons d’armes russes a l’Azerbaïdjan
perturbent l’equilibre militaire, Ohanian a declare : >.

Interroge sur les dernières tensions frontalières et l’intensification
des violations du cessez-le-feu, le ministre a dit que l’on doit
realiser que les tensions seront la

EURASIAN UNION: OUTLOOK OF YEREVAN

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
June 2 2014

2 June 2014 – 9:57am
By Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

The presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the Treaty
of the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) at the end of a session of
the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana on May 29. President
Serzh Sargsyan (Armenia) asked members of the EaEU to set terms for
Armenia to join the organization before June 15.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that Armenia will
have joined the EaEU by July 1 on condition of resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Nazarbayev noted that the leaders of Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan had received a letter from the Azerbaijani
president the previous day. The letter emphasized that the WTO norms
Armenia had adopted were in force only within the borders recognized
by the UN: You have joined the World Trade Organization the same
way, there is a precedent,” the Kazakh president told his Armenian
counterpart. Thus, Armenia was offered to join the EaEU without
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Kazakh leader’s statement was doubtlessly
made in accordance with the opinions of the presidents of Russia and
Belarus. Armenia has not reacted to the statement in any way.

Back in December 2013, Nazarbayev approved the road map for membership
in the Customs Union (CU) for Armenia, though he warned that Kazakhstan
will sign the road map with a special view because the borders of the
Customs Union had not been fixed due to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

It is noteworthy that functionaries have been making optimistic
declarations for six months that Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh were
a common economic space and the presence of customs offices on the
border of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh was out of question.

“Nagorno-Karabakh and we will be a single territory. No other
formulation can be given in this issue,” Prime Minister Ovik Abramyan
has recently said.

On May 31, at a meeting with representatives of youth organizations
of the Republican Party, the president declared contrary views. In his
words, there were no obstacles for membership of Armenia in the EaEU.

“What Nazarbayev said was unpleasant, but it would not harm us.

Initially, it was wrong to talk about the borders. What borders are we
talking about? The Karabakh dispute is not an issue of the EaEU. Who
said we were joining the EaEU together with Nagorno-Karabakh? It has
never happened and will never happen because Nagorno-Karabakh is not
part of Armenia, according to our law.”

This provokes two questions: why did the Armenian leader, who is so
confident that the EaEU cannot set borders, not address the statement
to his Kazakh counterpart, and why has Sargsyan suddenly changed his
attitude after assuring the public that Armenia would join the EaEU
without Nagorno-Karabakh?

The answer to the questions can be found in a statement by Vagram
Bagdasaryan, the head of the parliamentary faction of the Republican
Party. He said that Serzh Sargsyan’s actions were harmonized with
superstates. In this context, harmonization is most likely pressure.

The controversial steps of the Armenian president show that he is
trying to hold on to power by supporting Russia, a state interested
in seeing Armenia in the EaEU.

On the other hand, apart from the declarations of the president and
his Republican Party, Armenia has a public and a parliament, where
the government controls about 55-56 out of the 131 members. A bigger
problem is the president’s backers, many of whom were on the front
lines of the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Notably, Armenia has not joined
the CU or the EaEU, despite all the declarations of striving to sign
the membership treaties.

FAAE: Artsakh must make a statement on joining Armenia

by Nana Martirosyan

Friday, May 30, 13:57

Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe (FAAE) urges the authorities
of Artsakh to come out with an initiative of joining Armenia, FAAE
says in a statement.

“The meeting on establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union,
particularly, the stances of the EAU leaders, showed that Armenia has
no authority with those countries and the threat of losing Artsakh is
growing with every minute,” the FAAE says. It calls for adequate
response to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s statement on the
need to create customs points between Armenia and Artsakh. In this
light, FAAE urges Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Artsakh
President Bako Sahakyan to make a joint statement on Artsakh’s joining
Armenia.

To recall, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on the heels of a
Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan,
Thursday, that Armenia is ready to sign the Treaty on Eurasian
Economic Union before June 15. President of Russia Vladimir Putin
said that the document can be signed no sooner than on 1 July, as
Armenia is yet to fulfill some commitments. President of Kazakhstan
Nursultan Nazarbayev, in turn, said Azerbaijan claims that Armenia can
join the Eurasian Economic Union (EAU) within the same borders it
joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). We have received the
Azerbaijani president’s letter saying that Armenia joined WTO with a
reservation that the provisions must apply to the territory of Armenia
within its international borders recognized by the UN. It is an issue
for discussion,” the Kazakh president said. President of Armenia made
no statement in response.

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Homenetmen Australia marches to commemorate Armenian Independence – Photos

Caroline Geroyan
armenia.com.au | Monday, 26 May 2014

Homenetmen Australia Scouts and Armenians outside of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Sydney

On Sunday the 25th of May approximately 140 Armenian Homenetmen
Australia Scouts, as well as a large number of Armenian-Australians
marched from the Armenian Apostolic Church, in Macquarie Street,
Chatswood, to the Armenian Cultural Centre in Willoughby. This event
was to celebrate the first Republic of Armenia, which was announced on
the 28th May, 1918, after successful battles in Sartarabad,
Gharakilise and Pash Abaran.

Before the commemorative march, the church was filled with proud
Armenians, some of whom participated in Holy Mass and undertook Holy
Communion. Bishop Haigazoun Najarian also blessed the Homenetmen
Australia Scout members, emphasising the key role that Homenetmen
plays in maintaining the strong Armenian culture and traditions that
are carried out within the Australian diaspora.

As well as the scouts, numerous representatives from the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Australia and affiliates of various
fellow sister regional organisations took part to show their
commitment and support.

The scout group created much momentum and awareness as they marched
honourably and with their heads held high throughout the streets of
Sydney. Once at the cultural centre, the separate scout chapters,
including Homenetmen Antranig, Ararat and Navasart performed
commemorative piece honouring Mayis 28 (May 28).

Despite the short tenure that the Armenian Independence which was
attained in 1918 endured, this momentous phenomenon marked the first
time that this small country stood on its own as a sovereign nation.
The honourable legacy that was left behind still resonates within each
and every “Homenetmenagan” and Armenians across the world, which was
evident through the scout members and the .

Partratsir Partsratsoor (rise and let rise).

Scouts Performing at the Armenian Cultural Centre, Sydney

Armenians outside the Armenian Apostolic Church, Sydney

Vache Kahramanian officially launches his candidacy for Willoughby
Council’s Sailors Bay Ward

Caroline Geroyan –
armenia.com.au | Saturday, 31 May 2014

Sydney – Vache Kahramanian truly is the man of the moment. As
someone who was born and bred in Willoughby, he feels that it is time
that he not only gives back to the area that he loves so much, but
time to make a difference, which drove his decision to run for council
in the upcoming June 14 by-election.

“I was a Willoughby son, a Willoughby student, a Willoughby
professional and now a Willoughby husband, a Willoughby ratepayer, a
Willoughby shopper and a Willoughby diner.”

Kahramanian will be contesting the vacant Willoughby City Council seat
in the electorate’s Sailors Bay ward, with polling day being Saturday
June 14th, 2014.

The official campaign launch event was on the 29th of May 2014, at the
Northbridge Golf Club on Sailors Bay Road. This event came about 2
weeks after Kahramanian made his decision to run.

“We have hit the ground running,” Vache says of himself and his campaign team.

“By Friday 30th of May I would have door knocked 1300 homes across
Northbridge, Castlecrag, and Willoughby which has included a new pair
of shoes along the way. And by Sunday we would have distributed
distributed over 12,000 pieces of material across the Sailors Bay
Ward.”

Among the various supporters who attended Kahramanian’s launch party
were current Councillors, and the NSW Member for Willoughby, Gladys
Berejiklian, a fellow Armenian-Australian.

“I know making a difference matters to Vache,” Berejiklian said. “It
has mattered to him and motivated him in everything that he has done
in his community activities and now this is the next step in his
contribution to the broader community.”

Berejiklian also commented on Vache’s background as a certified
practising accountant, and how the experience that he has acquired
through working with global firms such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers will
help with the tribulations that are currently facing the council.

“Willoughby Council has challenges regarding infrastructure, a lot of
challenges regarding growth and these are all issues that councils
have to deal with on a daily basis. I know Vache will embrace these
issues with vigour and with enthusiasm.”

Also at the event was Armenian Bishop Haigazoun Najarian, who
officially closed the launch event by blessing the Vache for Sailors
Bay campaign.

Armenia TV (Australia) kicks off with a massive 1,500 views, releases Episode 3

armenia.com.au | Friday, 30 May 2014

SYDNEY: Armenia TV has quickly become a hit among
Armenian-Australians, with the first two episodes of the programs
receiving over 1,500 combined views on YouTube.

Armenia TV, a product of Armenia Media Inc., is Australia’s premiere
regular television program broadcasting news, views, interviews,
reports and events to the Armenian-Australian community and the
Armenian community at large.

In Episode 1, which received over 600 views, there was a live
interview with Harut Sassounian and coverage from Australia’s Armenian
Genocide Commemoration.

In Episode 2, which received over 900 views, there was a live
interview with Vahe Berberian and coverage from Galstaun College’s
#SAVEKESSAB Fundraiser.

Armenia TV has now released Episode 3.

Highlights in this episode include:
– A Special Report of the Homenetmen Australia March, dedicated to the
96th Anniversary of Armenia’s first independence day;
– A Special Report from Hamazkaine Hagop Baronian Theatre Group’s
“Verchin Tadasdane” play;
– A Special Report of Galstaun College’s Kindergarten Open Day;
– A song dedicated to the 107th anniversary of Kevork Chavoush’s passing;
– News in English;
– News in Armenian;
– Music Videos;
– More!!!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO WATCH IF YOU DON’T SEE IT BELOW.

‘Be free without tobacco’ concert in Yerevan’s Lovers Park

11:33 * 01.06.14

The concert ‘Be free without tobacco’ took place in Yerevan’s Lovers
Park on May 31.

The concert was organized by the ‘Be Informed’ NGO and Youth
Foundation of Armenia (YFA).

The performers – Hasmik Karapetyan, Narine Dovlatyan, Kim Grigoryan,
DJ Serjo, DJ Vakcina, The Band, DerHova, Eva – urged people not to
start smoking.

“Our aim is to inform people of the harmful effects of smoking and
ways of breaking the habit. But we are also advocating a healthy
lifestyle,” said DJ Vakcina.

X-Factor winner Kim Grigoryan has a 9-year smoking experience.

“I have told my sweetheart I am going to give up smoking now because
this habit will first of all cause harm to my baby,” she said.