Author: Kanayan Tamar

CENTENNIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN GERMANY MAKING PREPARATIONS

14:19 ~U 11.10.13

About 5 million Turks are living in Germany, but the Armenian community
in Berlin is carrying out activities as the centennial of the Armenian
Genocide is nearing.

Zhirair Kocharyan, a working team member, told journalists on Friday
that the Armenian community is not so strong in Germany, but it
organizes actions every year on April 24.

“We are not so strong to oppose the Turkish community. So we are
cooperating with other national communities,” he said. Although
the results are not so obvious, Germany’s mass media and academic
community have not a single doubt about the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian community goes on publishing books about the Armenian
Genocide, and more than 15 volumes have so far been released. The
most important thing is that the German government has allotted a
plot of land for a monument to Armenian Genocide victims. However,
the plot is at one of the pantheons, but the Armenian community wants
to set up the monument in a public place.

With respect to the group’s activities aimed at getting the Armenian
Genocide internationally recognized, Zh. Kocharyan noted that
it is a non-Armenian organization, with most of its members being
Germans, which is cooperating with Greek, Assyrian, Aramaic-speaking
Christians, as well as with all those considering genocide a crime
against humanity.

With the German Bundestag’s resolution on the Armenian Genocide, Zh.

Kocharyan said that the Bundestag does not recognize the Armenian
Genocide, laying emphasis on Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.

This year, the group has addressed letters to four parties represented
in the German Bundestag urging them to revise the resolution on the
threshold of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

“We want the German State to make Turkey realize what actually
happened. From their answers we understood that they did not want to
do anything,” Zh. Kocharyan said.

DELEGATIONS VISITING YEREVAN PAY TRIBUTE TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS MEMORY

14:06, 11 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The members of 31 delegations
from 17 countries of the world visited the Tzitzernakaberd memorial
to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. The
First Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Kamo Areyan accompanied the guests. The
members of the delegations placed flowers by the unquenchable fire and
honored the memory of the innocent victims by a minute of silence. The
Information and Public Relations Department of the Yerevan Municipality
informed “Armenpress” that the guests also paid a visit to the Armenian
Genocide Museum-Institute and made notes in the memorial book.

The delegations visited Armenia to participate in “Erebuni-Yerevan
2795” celebrations and attend the International Conference of capital
cities of the Council of Europe member states.

On 11 October 2013 an International Conference of capital cities of
the Council of Europe member states will be held in Yerevan, Armenia.

Co-organised by the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe and the Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities, it will address the issues related to the
particular role of capital cities and metropolises in the overall
development of local democracy and in political, economic, social
and cultural life. John WarmishamVice-President of the Congress
(United-Kingdom, SOC), Armen Gevorgyan, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Territorial Administration of Armenia, and Taron Margaryan,
Mayor of Yerevan, will open the conference. Conclusions of the sessions
will be presented at the end of the conference which will be closed
by John Warmisham and Kamo Areyan, the First Deputy Mayor of Yerevan.

On the days of “Erebuni-Yerevan 2795” celebration Yerevan will have
a beautiful festive decoration.

52 advertising boards placed in the administrative districts, 48
smaller boards placed in Kentron district as well as 29 e-displays
will announce of the coming holiday. Advertising and information
boards will be also placed in underground and overground public
transport of Yerevan, and advertisement ribbons will be stretched
along the streets. The new screens of the timetables and the metro
stations will also complete the information.

2795 years have passed since the foundation of our city.

The name of the city of Yerevan goes back to the period of Urartu
and originates from the name “Erebuni”. It is known from the Urartian
studies that the Urartian sound “B” sounds like “V” in Armenian. Thus,
the name Erebuni has been transformed and has become Yerevan. Yerevan
is located on the edge of the Ararat valley on both banks of the
river Hrazdan, at an altitude of 900 – 1200 above sea level. The
climate is acutely continental with hot and dry summer and relatively
severe winter. By its administrative border the city is adjacent to
the marzes Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir and Kotayk.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

HAMPARIAN: CITIZENS OF AZERBAIJAN AND THEIR NEIGHBORS IN ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH DESERVE BETTER THAN A PETRO-MONARCHY

12:34, 11 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS: Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian’s offered a comment regarding
presidential elections in Azerbaijan and the State Department’s
assessment issued earlier on October 10, Armenpress reports.

“The State Department says Azerbaijan’s election ‘fell short of
international standards,’ while, in truth, it didn’t even come close.

This wasn’t an election at all, but rather a poorly stage-managed
spectacle, designed to provide some semblance of political cover for
an international community that, sadly, long ago chose to stand aside
as the Aliyevs consolidate their private ownership of Azerbaijan and
push their one-family rule into a second half-century. The citizens
of Azerbaijan – and their neighbors in Armenia and Artsakh – deserve
better than a petro-monarchy that siphons off the nation’s wealth,
abuses its own citizens, is driving the region toward renewed war,”
said Hamparian.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

GROUP OF MEDIA PROFESSIONALS IN ARMENIA KEEN ON LAUNCHING ‘REAL’ PUBLIC TV

Society | 11.10.13 | 15:37

Photo: Gohar Abrahamyan/ArmeniaNow.com

By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

A group of media professionals in Armenia have committed themselves
to materializing the idea of a “Real Public Television Company of
Armenia”. They plan to set up an initiative council, convene a founding
meeting, decide on the most effective way of legal organization,
map out a plan of action and start implementing it.

The initiative to set up a satellite, people’s television belongs to
Levon Barseghyan, the chairman of the Asparez Journalists’ Club. Among
those who have joined it are A1+ TV company director Mesrop Movsesyan,
Yerevan Press Club President Boris Navasardyan, Committee to Protect
Freedom of Expression Chairman Ashot Melikyan, media expert Mesrop
Harutyunyan and others. They believe there is a real demand for a
television company like that in Armenia today.

Newscasts every15 or 30 minutes, interviews in different formats,
debates, analytical programs, live broadcasts from mass public
events, documentaries, other television production that would meet
the goals and objectives of this TV, social ads, limited commercial
advertising that will not interrupt programs – this is how members
of the initiative group picture the “real” public television’s work.

“The idea is not new, and professionals who have been in television
business for more than 20 years have always seen the problem and
realized that we haven’t got a public television. We’ve had a state
television, a TV company set up by the state, a TV company bearing
the name of ‘public’ but having profound interests in the advertising
market, a television that in a broader sense has not served the
public’s interests,” said Barseghyan during an open public discussion
on Thursday.

He added that the mission of the “Real Public Television” will be to
have a television company that will provide a comprehensive coverage of
problems and developments in Armenia and will do it with professional
honesty, a television company that will be public by its essence and
nature, will not seek profits and will be independent of any political
party or the government.

Satellite programs of the “real” public TV are expected to be
available for viewing throughout Armenia and people will also be able
to watch them in Europe, Russia, North America, as well as online,
and if there is a desire from other broadcasting companies in Armenia,
including cable broadcasters, they can become available also through
their channels.

The estimated cost of launching the company and ensuring its first
year of operations is $850,000 to $1.2 million.

According to Melikyan, several organizations have often harshly
criticized representatives of the broadcasting sphere and the
establishment of such a television company will be “a constructive
answer to the question about what a public television company should
be like.”

The state-funded Public Television Company of Armenia has often been
criticized for its low-quality serials and programs. Critics also
say that the news on H1 not always reflect the whole picture.

Particular criticism has been voiced recently over the decision of the
Public Television Company to sign a contract with Russian citizen Maxim
Kisilev, who in the past has worked for leading television companies
in Russia, for the position of acting general producer till the end
of the year. The recently changed logo of the Public Television and,
in particular, the fact that it has “lost” its Armenian letter “H”,
has also provided an occasion for discussions.

Many took it as a way of copying the Russian Public Television’s logo.

ArmeniaNow asked the Public Television of Armenia to comment on the
plans for a “rival” public TV in Armenia as well as on the allegations
about the quality of its programming and the change of the logo,
but the public broadcaster did not provide any response by the time
of this publication.

Meanwhile, Navasardyan said that an initiative to set up a similar
“real” public television also existed in neighboring Azerbaijan,
where satellite broadcasting was supposed to be carried out from
Prague, but the project did not prove viable and was shut down in 2007.

“The whole program was aimed at donor assistance and when a decision
was made by international donor organizations that it wasn’t
necessary, the initiative was dead,” said Navasardyan, adding that
this is why they have decided not only to avail themselves from donor
organizations, but also carry out large-scale fundraising activities.

He said that in the matter of securing funding and developing
strategy they expect a broad involvement of citizens of Armenia,
Diaspora Armenians, organizations and foundations.

BAKO SAHAKYAN VISITS NATIONAL CENTER OF ARMENIAN MEMORY IN DECINES

18:35 11/10/2013 ” SOCIETY

Today Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan laid a wreath at the
monument to the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide in Lyon.

Then he visited the National Center of Armenian Memory in the city
of Decines.

The President highlighted the existence of such monuments and
institutions in the Diaspora both from the viewpoint of maintaining
historic memory of our people and presenting the truth to the
international community.

NKR Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Aghabekyan, NKR Foreign Minister
Karen Mirzoyan, Ambassador of Armenia to France Vigen Chitechyan,
Consul General of Armenia in Lyon Nikolay Sarkisov, NKR Permanent
representative to France Hovhannes Gevorgyan and other officials
participated in the events, reported the Central Information Department
at the Artsakh President’s Office.

Source: Panorama.am

SYRIAN ARMY TROOPS RETAKE TWO SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF DAMASCUS

October 11, 2013 – 14:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Syrian army troops and Shi’ite militia fighters
loyal to President Bashar al-Assad retook two southern suburbs of
Damascus on Friday, Oct 11, killing at least 70 people, opposition
activists said, according to Reuters.

The militia, including fighters from the Lebanese Shi’ite movement
Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi’ites backed by Syrian army tanks, combed the
suburbs of al-Thiabiya and Husseiniya, a Palestinian refugee camp,
after overrunning them, the sources said.

Meanwhile, in a report published Friday, Human Rights Watch said that
Jihadi-led rebel fighters in Syria killed at least 190 civilians and
abducted more than 200 during an offensive against pro-regime villages,
committing a war crime.

The Aug 4 attacks on unarmed civilians in more than a dozen villages
in the coastal province of Latakia were systematic and could even
amount to a crime against humanity, the HRW said in a 105-page report
based on a visit to the area a month later.

Witnesses said rebels went house to house, in some cases executing
entire families and in other cases killing men and taking women and
children hostages. The villagers belong to the minority Alawite sect,
an offshoot of Shiite Islam which forms the backbone of President
Bashar Assad’s regime – and which Sunni Muslim extremists consider
heretics.

Lama Fakih of Human Rights Watch said the rebel abuses in Latakia
“certainly amount to war crimes,” and may even rise to the level of
crimes against humanity.

A NUMBER OF RESIDENCES IN ARTSAKH HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH INTERNET ACCESS

Friday, 11 October 2013 13:48

Having completed the wireless /over the air OTA/ network extension
activities during a few weeks “Karabakh Telecom” CJSC provided a number
of Artsakh villages with Internet access. As reported by the “Karabakh
Telecom” CJSC having successfully completed the network expansion and
the large-scale testing activities the company is henceforth able to
provide Wi-Fi based Internet service to Kovsakan town and Aygehovit
village in Qashatagh region, Gishi and Avdur villages in Martouni
region Shosh, Lusadzor, Khnatsakh and Noragyugh villages, Tumi, Mets
Tagher, Tsakuri, Togh, Taghaser and Taghut villages of Hadrout region,
Chapar and Vanq villages of Martakert region, Ajapnyak and Nor Aresh
districts of Stepanakert city.

“Karabakh Telecom” CJSC representatives arrived in the mentioned
communities and explained to the residents the Internet service
details. Several villagers signed subscriber contracts on the spot and
to everybody’s delight the Internet service was immediately activated.

Meanwhile on the occasion of back to school Karabakh Telecom donated
mobile telephones with prepaid SIM cards as well as Karabakh Telecom
commemorative souvenirs to the schoolchildren of Artsakh. As reported
by Karabakh Telecom CJSC this year the graduating grade schoolchildren
of the following villages received mobile phones: the village of
Drakhtik, Hadrout region, Yeghtsahogh village, Shoushi region, Chldran
village, Martakert region, Nakhijevanik village of Aseran region.

CUSTOMS UNION FORMER SECRETARY GIVES ADVICE TO ARMENIA’S PM – NEWSPAPER

October 11, 2013 | 08:48

YEREVAN. – “I have great respect for the Prime Minister of Armenia
[Tigran Sargsyan], but I would advise him to carefully read the
agreement which he wanted to sign with the EU.”

Sergey Glazyev, who is former Executive Secretary of the Customs
Union and advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, told
the aforesaid to Aravot daily.

“We asked Mr. Glazyev how they were preparing to work with an official
[i.e., Tigran Sargsyan] who was against, in principle, Armenia’s
inclusion in this system [i.e., the Customs Union].

‘”Had the Prime Minister of Armenia carefully read what he was
preparing to endow to Brussels, that he was preparing to renounce
Armenia’s sovereignty, [and] subordinating it to trade and economic
relations, I believe he would have reviewed his methodology,'” Aravot
quotes Sergey Glazyev as saying.

To note, following the talks that were held on September 3 in Moscow
between Armenian and Russian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir
Putin, Sargsyan had announced that Armenia plans to join the Customs
Union and subsequently engage in the formation of the Eurasian Economic
Union. Aside from Russia, Belarusand Kazakhstan likewise are members
in the Customs Union.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ALL PROVISIONS OF ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS ARE TO THE DETRIMENT OF ARMENIA – ZHIRAYR KOCHARYAN

October 11, 2013 | 12:38

YEREVAN. – Armenia would turn into Turkey’s colony if the protocols
were ratified, Zhirayr Kocharyan, member of the working group on the
Armenian Genocide recognition in Germany.

“All provisions of Armenia-Turkey protocols are to the detriment of
Armenia, as Ankara would implement neither of the provisions if the
documents were signed. There are dozens of examples when Turkey signs
a treaty, but does not implement the provisions,” he said.

Zhirayr Kocharyan is convinced that Armenia-Turkeytalks are a very
good occasion for the major powers to justify their inaction on
recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.

“The powers say they would refrain from actions, so as not to hinder
the beginning of the process,” he added.

In October 2009 Armenia and Turkey signed protocols in Zurich to
normalize diplomatic relations between the states. The documents
had to be ratified in both countries’ parliaments. However, in
2010 the Armenian president suspended the process due to Turkey’s
non-constructive stance. Ankara set preconditions and linked the
reconciliation process to resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Finally
Turkey decided to remove the protocols from parliament’s agenda.

TURKISH FM CONCERNED BY CONSTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT IN SWITZERLAND

October 11, 2013 | 13:36

YEREVAN. – On the day of the fourth anniversary of the signing of the
Armenian-Turkish protocols in Zurich, Switzerland, Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday met with his Swiss counterpart
in Bern.

During the talk, the Turkish FM reflected on the monument devoted to
the victims of the Armenian Genocide, which is under construction in
Geneva, Switzerland, reports Dogan news agency of Turkey.

Davutoglu informed that Turkey is concerned by the construction of
such monument ahead of 2015; that is, the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide.

To note, during the meeting Ahmet Davutoglu proved yet again that
Turkey is not a reliable partner. He stated that the Armenian-Turkish
protocols will be ratified solely after the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, even though the protocols were signed without preconditions.