Author: Kanayan Tamar

EGLISE ARMENIENNE
Armavir a inauguré l’église Sourp Krikor Narégatsi, la première église
de la ville

Hier le président arménien a assisté à Armavir, à l’inauguration de
l’église Sourp Krikor Narégatsi (Saint Grégoire de Narèg). La première
pierre de cette basilique avait été posée en 2012 en présence du
l’évêque Sion Atamian, le représentant de l’Eglise arménienne à
Armavir.

L’église Sourp Krikor Narégatsi à Armavir (Arménie)

L’église qui est l’oeuvre de l’architecte Mikhaïl Mkrdtchian a été
financée par le bienfaiteur Karen Mkrdtchian. Ce dernier a confié
qu’il avait fait il y a 16 ans déjà le voeu de construire cette église
et que c’était le rêve de sa mère de disposer d’une église dans la
ville d’Armavir où Karen Mkrdtchian est né avant de s’installer et
faire fortune à Saint Petersbourg (Russie). Le père Sion Atamian a
offert au généreux bienfaiteur, la médaille Sourp Krikor Loussavoritch
(Saint Grégoire l’Illuminateur) de l’Eglise arménienne tandis que
Roupen Khlghatian le maire d’Armavir lui attribuait le titre de
Citoyen d’honneur de la ville. La ville d’Armavir qui ne disposait pas
d’église jusqu’à ce jour pourra désormais marier ses jeunes qui se
déplaçaient souvent à Yerevan pour leur mariage. (photos News.am)

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 1er juin 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

AVAZ HASANOV: BY ELIMINATING EXPERTS ON KARABAKH THE AUTHORITIES HELP ARMENIANS

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
May 24, 2014 Saturday

Baku/24.05.14/Turan: The arrest of the journalist Rauf Mirkadirov and
ensuing requirements for NGO leaders to cease contact with Armenian
colleagues , caused confusion in the Azerbaijani society. Civil society
does not know how to be – to continue previous work or to stop it in
order to avoid danger.

Head of the Society for Humanitarian Research Socity, Avaz Hasanov,
tried to give answer to these questions:

Question: At a joint press conference of presidents of Azerbaijan and
France , foreign journalists asked about the reason for the arrest
of the journalist Rauf Mirkadirov and the persecution of the human
rights activist, Leyla Yunus. The essence of the answer was that it
is an internal affair of Azerbaijan. What do you think about this?

Answer: Lately it has become a trend to believe that human rights are
an internal affair of state. This was said by the President of Syria,
President of Morocco, and others wanting to distort the principle of
unlimited human rights specified in international conventions. They
want human rights to be regarded as an internal affair of state.

I believe that human rights is an unlimited value, and Azerbaijani
legislation should be harmonized with international law, in accordance
with the Convention on Human Rights which Azerbaijan joined .

Of course, our government does not want to be criticized about it. In
the past 10 years, Ilham Aliyev said that as long as the social
situation of people which is an economic component of the state is
not improved, the economy is not developed, the living standard is
nor improved, it is early to speak about human rights in Azerbaijan.

I am sure that if the government be more attentive to human rights,
it would be possible to create a guaranteed welfare state. It is
impossible to bring people to the streets and cause massive protest in
the state that provides all the rights of the people. Our population
is not protected from anything: 20% of our lands were seized, and
people believe that the state violates all of its rights.

Question: The society discussed the arrest and prosecution of
R.Mirkadyrov and L.Yunus . You know these people, you worked with
them. Rauf told from the detention facility that he was arrested by
order of Russia.

A journalist Azer Rashidoglu, questioned on this business said there
will be more arrests. L.Yunus said that the arrest of Mirkadirov was
organized to eliminate civil society in Azerbaijan. Can Mirkadyrov
be Armenian spy?

Answer: While in prison , Mirkadyrov told through a lawyer: those who
put me in jail , will answer for it before God. This means that Rauf
is completely innocent.

It is difficult to find another in journalist in Azerbaijan who would
drove our opponents into a corner like Mirkadyrov, and who is so much
read and quoted abroad. Former Russian diplomat , a pro-Armenian
political scientist Kazimirov, posted three articles per every
publication of Rauf.

I read “The Mirror” only because of Mirkadirov and his articles about
Karabakh. He is the only journalist who skillfully used the available
literature on the subject.

I cannot say that I knew Mirkadirov very well. Twice I was with him at
the conference. But I can say that the charges of espionage is absurd.

He was arrested because he was at the wrong time in the wrong place:
living in Ankara he criticized Erdogan. I read the status of a Turkish
journalist tweeted that Mirkadyrov is a sharp critic of Erdogan,
and raises the dirty facts about his party.

Mirkadyrov also sharply criticized Putin, despite the fact that the
“Mirror” is quite balanced newspaper. His last 10 articles ( “Putin and
Hitler” and others) show that Rauf was arrested by the order of Russia.

But I wonder who he interfered in Azerbaijan. He very correctly wrote
about Ilham Aliyev , never touched the ruling family , adhere to
ethical standards. If this country arrested people for criticizing
Aliyev, then many people would be arrested.

Q: Probably the investigation wants to identify Mirkadirov’s links with
L.Yunus that works closely with the Armenian human rights activist
Laura Baghdasaryan. There were searches in the offices of Yunus,
and her partner Matanat Azizova.

Answer: I think his articles written by order of human rights
organizations , will be put forward as evidence for the prosecution,
despite Rauf used only open facts in his artciles.

We – human rights activists, appealed to the President with request
to punish those who have provided a rough pressure on the couple Yunus.

Question: Are the arrests of members of civil society possible?

Answer: Maybe I’m wrong, but my 20 years of experience in the Civil
Society tells me that arrest of NGO members is not possible. They
put pressure on NGOs without state registration. At the time, the
government passed a law on the inadmissibility of unregistered NGOs,
and now wants to say that without state registration, NGOs will
not work.

If you remember, when Ruslan Bashirli and members of NIDA were
arrested and accused of spying, the TV showed for days and nights
their testimony and secret video. A month passed since the arrest of
Rauf, and the authorities keep complete silence. That is, there is
no evidence of his guilt.

It is possible that his analytical reports written by request of the
organizers of the project will be used as the “evidence.”

Question: The arrest of Rauf was the reason for the government
to require the Azerbaijani NGOs to end the relationship with their
Armenian colleagues. And at the same time, the OSCE Minsk Group again
put forward the principle of settlement, part of which is contacts
between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities. Official Baku has
adopted this plan, then how to understand the ban on contacts with
Armenians?

Answer: We do not have enough competent experts on the Karabakh issue
to imprison some of these people. I do not know even mid-level experts
in the power capable of responding to the Armenians. I remember a
few people representing power, which can be delegated to the forum
at any level with the participation of Armenians.

Our lobbyists abroad are populists who are not able to say more than
two sentences to an international audience. So why do the authorities
eliminate such experts? Do they want to help the Armenians? -0 –

WHY BRITISH AWKWARDNESS CAN MAKE IT TOUGH HAVING A FOREIGN NAME

New Statesman, UK
May 30 2014

>From being given a curious stare to having your CV overlooked, having
an ethnic name can bring out the worst in British awkwardness.

by Anoosh Chakelian

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published its reaction this week to the
recent British Social Attitudes Survey results, concluding that racial
prejudice is “bad economics”. The piece also remarks upon a DWP study
that showed people with “names associated with ethnic minority groups”
were almost a third less likely to be called for a job interview than
someone with a ‘White British’ name.

In fact, there are examples of people changing the name they put at
the top of their CVs in order to aid them in their job hunts. Only
last year, Virgin Atlantic was taken to an employment tribunal by a
man called Max Kpakio, who claimed they had turned him down because
of his name, as they accepted him when he reapplied under the name
“Craig Owen”. (Although he eventually lost the tribunal, because he’d
changed more than just his name on the second application).

As someone without a ‘White British’ name – though, as it’s Armenian,
I suppose it is the very definition of Caucasian – this brought to
mind the various implications of having a foreign name in modern
Britain. Among decent people, these are mainly socially awkward,
often superficial, repercussions, but it’s easy to see how they could
filter up to a prospective employer’s mindset. It’s the British
propensity for wanting an easy life. A seemingly innocuous, often
endearing attitude. But not when it means avoiding someone because
their name’s a bit funny.

First, pronunciation. This is a factor that plays out a splurge of
Britain’s neuroses in one botched jumble of syllables. Working out
how to converse with a stranger, while constantly feeling on the
brink of offending them. With different accents involved. It’s just
one big two-way apology.

Because if we’re going to start a conversation with someone new
– already a highly unsavoury idea for many of us, let’s admit –
a supposedly difficult name makes this minefield even trickier
to navigate. And then we have to make sure we remember the name in
question, as it would be unthinkable to slip into terms of endearment
(“Mate”) or the weird gender-political mess of “Sir” and “Miss”
– these options are conveniently anonymous, but too despicable to
contemplate for a decent professional human person.

And then once you’ve met someone with a foreign name – particularly
if you’ve read it rather than heard it from the scary, cosmopolitan
horse’s mouth – how to ensure you pronounce it correctly? We couldn’t
possibly ask. That would require a potentially awkward conversational
opener. So people generally just go for it, eyes forward, resolutely
spluttering through each impossible syllable, or avoid the issue
completely.

I’ve encountered this problem of politeness in all sorts of contexts:
missing a doctor’s appointment for not recognising my mispronounced
name being called; a family I stayed with on holiday consistently
calling me “Louche” for the entirety of my stay (when I hadn’t
once lounged on their chaise longue); the presenter on Radio 5 Live
soldiering through an interview repeatedly addressing me as “Anoosh
Shake-a-Line”. Which is not how it’s pronounced, but meant a more
amusing 10.45pm weekday news slot for my listening friends, at least.

Essentially, it’s the conversational equivalent of when BBC newsreaders
take a deep breath and just power through those ambiguously pronounced
names that crop up from time to time. Boko Haram. Sven-Goran
Eriksson. Gaddafi. Farage.

But mispronunciation isn’t the biggest problem. It’s usually by the
politically correct and polite people who just want to say your name
with minimal fuss; their hearts are in the right place, even if their
diphthongs aren’t. No. It’s the “oo-er, that’s exotic” aspect that’s
worse. Because introduce yourself to someone with perhaps more Ukippy
credentials than you’d hope, and you’ll usually receive the response:

“So where are you from?”

To which I take great pleasure in replying “London”, and watching
them nod bemusedly, their eyes betraying insurmountable confusion
that I haven’t regaled them apologetically with tales of a journey
from the harsh plains of Anatolia to Zone 3.

These irritating, occasionally vaguely xenophobic, social implications
of having a foreign name in Britain aren’t nearly as bad as being
declined for a job interview on account of it. But it’s worth
remembering that awkwardness in conversation could easily translate
to awkwardness in considering CVs. And that, mate, is discrimination.

ARMENIA AND KYRGYZSTAN TO JOIN EURASIAN UNION WITHIN MONTHS

Tengrinews, Kazakhstan
May 30 2014

Friday, 30.05.2014, 15:30

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have vowed to join the Eurasian Economic Union
of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus this year, Tengrinews reported from
the Supreme Eurasian Council in Astana.

During the meeting Armenia’s president Serzh Sargsyan asked “to set
a deadline for signing a treaty on Armenia’s joining the Eurasian
Economic Union to June 15 this year”. He continued by saying that it
will take only 2 or 3 days “to find on mutually acceptable terms that
would satisfy both us and our partners”.

Sargsyan expressed hope that the signing of the Treaty establishing
the Eurasian Union also signified the beginning of its future
enlargement. On his part, Armenia’s president promised to do everything
possible to bring forward the issue of joining the Union to the
national parliament.

Another post-Soviet state – Kyrgyzstan – also hopes to join the Union
in the near future. The country’s president Almazbek Atambayev said
that it was impossible for him to declare “as did his excellency
President Sargsyan that all questions will be solved in a matter of
days”. He, nevertheless, said that Kyrgyzstan hoped to “meet the new
year in the same union” with its larger neighbors. The president also
said he was hoping to receive support both from the Kyrgyz parliament
and the member-states of the new Union.

Atambayev also noted that integration with the Eurasian Union is
a significant decision it terms of selection of direction of the
country’s economic development. At the same time, he stated that
“the member-states of the Union are not only our economic partners,
but above all, they are congenial nations that shar a common history
and have no language barrier”.

Commenting on Armenia’s and Kyrgyzstan’s intention to join the
Eurasian Economic Union, Putin said: “The attitude of our colleagues,
both Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan is serious, pragmatic and based on their
national interests. It is a clear desire to achieve the set milestones
and rely on our joint efforts. We will support and facilitate this
process.”

The president of Belarus Lukashenko declared that as long as the
countries reached the appropriate level of readiness and fulfilled
all the conditions, they were welcome to join the Union: “I think we
will be delighted to accept these countries into our ranks”.

However, there were sensitive chords struck during the meeting.

Nazarbayev asked Armenia’s president to consider the position
of Azerbaijan on the issue. Nazarbayev reminded that Azerbaijan
sent a letter requesting to accept Armenia into the union with a
reservation that regulations of the unions will be in effect only at
the internationally recognized territory of Armenia, in particular
that recognized by the UN.

Azerbaijan’s worries arise from the territorial dispute over
Nagorno-Karabakh – an ethnically dominated Armenian enclave within
the Azerbaijani territory.

Reported by Asel Satayeva and Altynai Zhumzhumina, writing by Dinara
Urazova

CONCERNS LINGER ABOUT SEXUAL MINORITY RIGHTS IN GEORGIA

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, Italy
May 30 2014

Onnik Krikorian | Tbilisi

Following last year’s rampage by conservatives targeting LGBT activists
intent on marking 17 May as the International Day Against Homophobia
and Transphobia (IDAHOT), the Georgian Orthodox Church this year
instead declared the day as one celebrating family unity. And while
civil society did not take the attempt to hijack IDAHOT lying down,
some are concerned that this is just the start

In yet another blow to gay rights in Georgia, there was no marking
of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT)
in Tbilisi this year. In a statement released by IDENTOBA, an NGO
working on LGBT issues in the country, the environment was considered
too dangerous to hold any events following the violence that erupted a
year earlier. Instead, in what activists saw as an implied threat of
additional violence and confrontation, the Georgian Orthodox Church
declared 17 May to be the “Day of Families and Parents.”

“Unfortunately, LGBT activists are unable to organise or plan any
counter protest to this absurd situation due to security reasons and
state’s inability to ensure their safety,” IDENTOBA’s statement read.

“Until now, neither we, nor other human rights actors, have been able
to meet with the representatives of the police to discuss security
concerns for that day. It is expected that not only the streets of
Tbilisi will be dangerous for LGBT individuals […]”

Meanwhile, the premier of a gay comedy film made in Georgia originally
planned for the same day as IDAHOT was postponed. “We took the very
painful and adverse decision not to present ‘We Are Mad’ on May 17,
2014,” Democracy & Freedom Watch quoted the director, Otar MIkeladze,
as saying. “The premiere will be held when Georgia becomes an European
country.”

National values

In neighbouring Azerbaijan, the situation was different with the Nefes
Azerbaijan Alliance holding a LGBT ‘rainbow flag’ flashmob, although
the head of the nationalist Karabakh Liberation Organisation, Akif
Tagi, did accuse the group, as well as the Embassy of the Netherlands,
of ‘enmity’ against the country. Meanwhile, In Armenia, leading LGBT
organisation PINK Armenia held no events, but did issue a statement
alleging ‘state sponsored intolerance and discrimination.’ However,
the situation in Georgia is of most concern especially with the
signing of its EU Association Agreement set for 27 June.

The counter-event, announced by Georgian Patriarch Ilia II and
attended by many hundreds of believers, was also used to protest the
recent passage of anti-discrimination legislation required as part
of Georgia’s Visa Liberalisation Action Plan with the European Union.

Ironically, gay rights activists already consider the law, which was
adopted on 2 May and came into effect five days later, as watered
down in its second reading following criticism from the Church. “The
legalisation of illegality is a very serious sin,” the Patriarch
declared. “There are issues which can not be allowed.”

A petition to call for the removal of references to sexual orientation
and gender identity in the law was also launched on 17 May, something
that could resonate positively among a large number of Georgians.

According to the results of an opinion poll released by the National
Democratic Institute (NDI) earlier this month, while 73 and 79 percent
of respondents said that they believed the protection of religious
and ethnic minority rights was important, only 24 percent said the
same for sexual minorities.

And in a survey held by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC)
following the violence on 17 May last year, 50 percent of respondents
felt “physical violence can be acceptable towards those people or
groups who endanger national values.” Only 46 percent disagreed,
with 57 percent believing that a “successful, peaceful celebration
of IDAHOT would have endangered Georgia.”

The invisibles

But if the Church’s influence in a highly traditional society
appears to have achieved its aim, civil society did not shy away
from counter-actions. The next day, for example, 100 pairs of shoes
appeared on the street adjacent to Tbilisi’s Freedom Square ‘on behalf
of the invisible and against invisibility.’

“Today, these empty shoes stand instead of those humans, who dared,
one year ago, to stand up against the invisibility of one social group,
the LGBTQ community, those who tried to unmask how merciless we are
[…],” the organisers of the action wrote. “This is a protest for the
invisible and against invisibility. Despite that fact that we couldn’t
yet manage to recognise and appreciate each other, we still exist,
with our desire to speak […]. Turning a blind eye and covering
our ears won’t erase our existence, won’t smooth over our wounds,
and won’t take away our ability to feel empathy and love.”

And on 19 May, in a flashmob staged in the early hours of the morning,
steps next to the Freedom Square metro station were painted in the
colours of the LGBT rainbow flag while posters appeared throughout
the city. “I am here against homophobia,” they read. “I cannot find
a reason to justify your hatred.”

Hysteria

But despite the ‘hit and run’ tactics to protest homophobia in
society, the trend remains negative. Just days before IDAHOT,
the manager of the gay-friendly ‘Cafe Gallery’ posted an update on
Facebook alleging that police had visited the venue’s premises to
demand the names, addresses, and phone numbers of staff members who
were members of Tbilisi’s LGBT community. Meanwhile, on IDAHOT itself,
at the demonstration organised by the Church, believers openly accused
and displayed aggression towards anyone they suspected on appearance
alone of being gay or even ‘different.’

As evidence of the hysteria emerging among some traditionally minded
Georgians, a scuffle even erupted between two homophobic males who
accused each other of being homosexual.

In such an environment, IDENTOBA’s Irakli Vacharadze sees new threats
emerging in the future if the government does not adequately respond
to the potential dangers now. “The church is flexing its muscles and
sees the anti-discrimination law as taking away their right to freely
attack minorities,” he told Osservatorio. “The danger is that this
rhetoric could give birth to independent — even Neo-Nazi — groups
that the church can’t control. We have already seen anti-immigrant
groups emerge, but that could be just the beginning. The worst might
yet be to come.”

And this could prove to be a major obstacle to the country’s gradual
integration with Europe.

“It should be understood that the issue is not about so-called
propaganda for a certain lifestyle but about ensuring basic
rights to all human beings,” Thomas Hammarberg, EU Special Adviser
on Constitutional and Legal Reform and Human Rights in Georgia,
wrote in a September 2013 report. But civil society activists such
as Vacharadze argue that the government is still not ready to tackle
this issue in earnest. The rainbow flag painted on the steps close
to the Liberty Square metro station is another example of that.

A week after it appeared, it was removed in what ostensibly appeared
to be construction work. IDENTOBA, along with many Georgian Facebook
users, remain unconvinced.

CALIF. ASSEMBLY ADOPTS MEASURE MANDATING GENOCIDE EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Thursday, May 29th, 2014

Assemblymembers Adrin Nazarian (right) and Khatcho Achadjian

SACRAMENTO–On Wednesday, May 28, the California State Assembly
unanimously passed the Armenian Genocide Education Act (AB 1915)
with a sweeping vote of 77-0, requiring the inclusion of the Armenian
Genocide in the list of studied subject areas for the adopted courses
of study in Social Science for 7-12 reported the Armenian National
Committee of America Western Region.

AB 1915, which received unanimous support in the California State
Assembly Appropriation Committee just last week as well as in the
California State Assembly Education Committee in early April has now
moved to the Calif. Senate Rules Committee for consideration.

“This landslide victory is yet another testament of what grassroots in
action can achieve. The ANCA WR applauds the California State Assembly
for taking such a strong stance on this critical education bill and
Assemblymembers Nazarian and Achadjian for their leadership,” stated
Elen Asatryan, Executive Director of the ANCA-WR. “We look forward
to continuing our work alongside our elected officials on the senate
side and our grassroots to ensure that future generations learn about
the atrocities that took place during the Armenian Genocide of 1915,”
added Asatryan.

In his introductory remarks, lead author of AB 1915 Assemblymember
Adrin Nazarian, discussed the importance of the bill and stated “It
is imperative that the Armenian Genocide be added into the teaching of
human rights issues because it set the stage for subsequent genocides
of the 20th century,”while Principal Co-Author Assemblymember Katcho
Achadjian noted “We cannot change what has happened in the past,
but we can choose how we move forward. This bill represent a step
forward in the healing process. AB 1915 will increase awareness of
the Armenian Genocide among our youth in hopes that such tragic acts
will not repeat themselves.”

Specifically, AB 1915: 1. Requires each school district to include
instruction on the inhumanity of the Armenian Genocide as a part of
its social science course of study in grades 7 through 12, inclusive.

2. Encourages the California Department of Education to incorporate
into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for
teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction,
trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private
organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with the subject
frameworks on history and social science that deal with the Armenian,
Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan Genocides.

3. Encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and
witness testimony into the teaching of the Holocaust, and Genocide,
including, but not limited to, the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur,
and Rwandan Genocides.

4. Encourages all state and local professional development activities
to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist
in teaching about the Armenian Genocide.

5. Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), when the
history-social science curriculum is revised as required by law,
to consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan
genocides in the history-social science curriculum framework.

6. Defines the Armenian Genocide as “the torture, starvation, and
murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the
Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and exile
of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to
1923, inclusive.

Last week, ANCA Western Region Executive Director Elen Asatryan
submitted a strongly worded letter in support of AB 1915 on behalf
of the organization noting “Despite the existence of the provision
within the framework (pursuant to AB 1273 which was enacted in 1985),
the Armenian Genocide is not taught in the overwhelming majority of
our public schools. The State Assembly recently passed AB 659 which
encourages inclusion of oral history components in the instruction of
human rights issues, including the Armenian Genocide. This law is a
step in the right direction, but not enough to achieve the objective
of instruction across all public schools across the state. What is
necessary is enactment of AB 1915 which would mandate such instruction
while providing teachers with the tools that they need”.

In the weeks leading up to State Assembly consideration of the measure,
the ANCA Western Region worked closely with legislators to ensure
they learned of the broad, enthusiastic support for the measure,
especially during the organization’s 2014 Advocacy Day when over
350 activists from California including a group of students from San
Marino High School who have taken up the Genocide Education as their
senior project, met with over 70 California legislators.

On Wednesday April 9th, ANCA Western Region Education Committee Chair
Alice Petrossian and ANCA Western Region Education Committee Executive
Member and writer Kay Mouradian testified in front of the California
State Assembly Education Committee in support of the bill along with
joint author of AB 1915 Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian. Assembly
Education Committee members, Chair Joan Buchanan and Assemblymember
Rocky J. Chavez offered supportive remarks prior to its unanimous
passed.

Earlier this year, the State Assembly Education and Appropriations
Committees unanimously adopted AB 659, another bill introduced by
Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian. The bill, which is on its way to the
California State Senate, encourages schools to use oral histories when
teaching about the Armenian Genocide and other acts against humanity.

AB 659 set the stage for the presentation of AB 1915.

Once adopted by the State Senate and signed into law by the Governor,
AB 1915 would codify the Armenian Genocide into the curriculum of
7th to 12th grade Social Science and History classes. It would also
recommend publication about the Armenian Genocide and other genocides
including Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur in instructional materials
provided to instructors about crimes against humanity.

Currently, California is one of 11 states, including Georgia, Illinois,
Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode
Island, and Virginia, which have the Armenian Genocide included
in their curriculum. The California Model Curriculum developed
by the Department of Education, includes the Armenian Genocide as
a recommended topic to teach. However, schools aren’t required to
follow this Model Curriculum.

Co-authors of AB 1915 on the Assembly side include Assembly Members
Ammiano, Ian Calderon, Fox, Gatto, Hall, Holden, Nestande, Patterson,
and Wilk. Co-authors on the Senate side include Senators Berryhill,
Lara, Vidak, and Yee.

Legislators who voted in support of the bill included Achadjian, Alejo,
Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford,
Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chavez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong,
Fox, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernandez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen,
Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.

MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN: SYRIA IS IN THE SAME SITUATION AS ARTSAKH WAS IN 1993-94

14:49 30/05/2014 >> POLITICS

Currently, Syria is in the same situation as Artsakh was in 1993-94,
political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan said at a conference
titled “Syria: Terrorism, Armenians, Elections” organized by Voskanapat
analytical center.

“The Syria crisis is not a civil war. There is no classical opposition
and the rebel forces, the extremist Islamic organizations have mostly
been sent from other countries to fight against the legal authorities
in Syria,” the expert noted.

According to Melik-Shahnazaryan, Azerbaijan tries to get rid of
Islamists and sends them to fight in Syria. He stressed that we must
admit that Saudi Arabia is the most powerful force in Syria.

The expert also said that Turkish troops directly participated in
the military operations in Latakia.

Source: Panorama.am

NAZARBAYEV IS AN OUTSPOKEN ADVOCATE OF PAN-TURKIST IDEOLOGY

19:07 | May 30,2014 | Politics

Nazarbayev’s statement was expected, political analyst Levon
Melik-Shahnazaryan said, commenting on the precondition Kazakhstan
President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Astana-hosted meeting of
the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council where it was suggested that
Armenia establish a customs border with Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
(NKR) to join the Eurasian Economic Union.

The political analyst says this is not the first time Nazarbayev speaks
about the precondition and he wants everyone to know that Kazakhstan
President is an outspoken advocate of Pan-Turkist ideology although
he tries to conceal it.

“Aliyev had addressed his letter to three presidents – Nursultan
Nazarbayev, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko and Nazarbaev
made the statement in reply to Aliyev. He had two reasosn for it:
first Kazakhstan was a host country where the meeting was being held,
second, he is in the same team with Aliyev.

“Nazarbayev wanted Aliyev to understand that he did what Aliyev
expected him to do, everything else was not his business,” said Levon
Melik-Shahnazaryan.

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ABOUT 40 % OF ARMENIA’S EMPLOYED POPULATION IS INVOLVED IN AGRICULTURE

YEREVAN, May 30. / ARKA /. About 40% of Armenia’s employed population
is involved in agriculture, agriculture minister Sergo Karapetyan
said today. He added that in rural areas the figure is about 80 %.

Speaking at a workshop in Yerevan titled From Stability to Development,
he said the share of agriculture in the overall GDP is more than 20 %;
together with agro-processing products it constitutes 25%.

According to the National Statistical Service, the agricultural GDP
in January- March 2014 amounted to about 68.5 billion drams in current
prices, an increase of 5.2 percent from the same time span of 2013.

The minister said also that one of the most important problems of
the agriculture today is to ensure a decent standard of living for
rural population in order to keep young people from emigrating to
other countries in search of work . He also noted that at the moment
Armenia has about 340,000 farming households.

According to the National Statistical Service, the number of
economically active population in 2013 was about 1.384 million, of
whom 1.164 million were employed and 224,600 were unemployed. ($ 1 –
413.37 drams). -0-

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EAU INTEGRATION IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT KARABAKH – ARMENIAN MP

16:45 * 30.05.14

An Armenian opposition MP said Friday that he doesn’t expect any
government to agree to country’s integration into the Eurasian Economic
Union (EaU) without Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armen Rustamyan of the ARF-D (Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaksutyun) parliamentary faction made the remark as
he addressed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s letter (which
Kazakhstan’s president read out at the Supreme Eurasian Economic
Council’s meeting on Thursday) that ruled out the possibility of
Karabakh’s membership in the common economic area.

Rustamyan said he is under the impression that Norsultan Nazarbaev
made his speech on behalf of someone else, without expressing his
personal position. “When the membership issue is solved, there will be
an occasion not to avoid or ignore the questions raised by Nazarbaev.

If you have opened [the topic], be kind enough to delve deep into it;
it is a good opportunity for us to be able to protect interests,”
he told reporters.

The opposition MP said he doesn’t find Nazarbaev’s speech a surprise
move, adding that the Kazakh leader has always backed the interests
of Turkey and Azerbaijan. “It was originally clear that Kazakhstan
was carrying out their lobbying. The more Armenia’s full membership
is discussed, the tenser the agenda, because Azerbaijan, which is
withdrawing from the process, will do everything possible to prevent
the Eurasian Union from strengthening its positions. Azerbaijan
will do all its best to seek favorable formulations on the Karabakh
[conflict] settlement through the membership,” he noted.

Asked whether he expects Armenia to abandon the Eurasian Union
membership plans, Rustamyan said he thinks that a demand for the
Karabakh recognition could be the only decisive factor. “If it is
stated that we are ready not to join the Eurasian Union at such a price
– I mean not joining with Karabakh – I don’t think any authorities
will agree to that,” he said.