Author: Kanayan Tamar

8E ANNIVERSAIRE DE LA STATUE JEAN ALTHEN

ALTHEN DES PALUDS

La Municipalite d’Althen des Paluds a le plaisir de vous inviter a
feter traditionnellement l’anniversaire du retour de la statue de
Jean Althen dans notre commune.

Ce 8e anniversaire aura lieu le dimanche 22 septembre, a 11h, place
de la Mairie, en presence de Gerard AGOPIAN, joueur de duduk.

Nous accueillerons avec un grand plaisir les associations armeniennes
de notre region et comptons sur votre presence.

Cette meme journee, nous organisons la Fete des Associations. Un repas
est prevu, place de l’Europe, où chacun pourra se retrouver en toute
convivialite. Nous trouverez en pièce jointe, le programme detaille
de cette journee.

programme_fete_assoc_althen 22 sept 2013 mercredi 18 septembre 2013,
Stephane ©armenews.com

NOUVEAU PROCES EN TURQUIE DE L’ASSASSINAT DE HRANT DINK

Challenges.fr, France
17 sept 2013

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Le nouveau procès de l’assassinat de Hrant
Dink, un journaliste turco-armenien dont la mort avait suscite
des rassemblements monstres, s’est ouvert mardi a Istanbul où des
manifestants ont accuse les autorites de “couvrir” les commanditaires
du meurtre.

Le journaliste a ete abattu par balles en janvier 2007 devant le siège
du journal qu’il dirigeait, Agos. Hrant Dink critiquait la politique
d’Ankara a l’encontre des 60.000 membres de la petite communaute
armenienne de Turquie.

Il s’etait attire les foudres des nationalistes turcs en evoquant
le “genocide armenien” et avait ete poursuivi plusieurs fois pour
“insulte a l’identite turque”.

En 2011, le tireur, Igun Samast, 17 ans au moment des faits, a ete
condamne a 23 ans de prison par un tribunal des mineurs. L’an passe,
un deuxième suspect, Yasin Hayal, a ete condamne a la reclusion
criminelle a perpetuite pour avoir ete l’instigateur du meurtre.

Mais une cour d’appel a juge en mai que ces deux hommes n’avaient
pas agi seuls et faisaient partie d’un complot plus large, ouvrant
la voie a ce nouveau procès où comparaissent huit accuses.

La famille du journaliste et ses partisans affirment cependant que
la justice ne vise toujours pas les veritables responsables de sa
mort et deplorent qu’elle ne se soit pas penchee sur une possible
implication des nationalistes du reseau Ergenekon, condamnes le mois
dernier pour avoir voulu renverser le gouvernement islamo-conservateur
de Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Qui aurait pu mener avec succès une enquete sur un meurtre dans lequel
tous les organes de l’Etat etaient impliques”, s’indigne sa famille
dans une lettre publiee mardi sur le site internet du journal Agos.

“Ce cirque doit cesser, les auteurs veritables doivent etre traduits
en justice”, a declare Gulten Kaya, veuve du chanteur kurde Ahmet
Kaya, qui manifestait avec 200 personnes environ devant le tribunal
d’Istanbul aux cris de “L’Etat meurtrier rendra des comptes”.

Le procès a ete ajourne au 3 decembre.

Ece Toksabay, Henri-Pierre Andre pour le service francais, edite par
Gilles Trequesser

TURKEY BEGINS RETRIAL OVER SCRIBE’S KILLING

Peninsula On-line, Qatar
Sept 18 2013

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

ISTANBUL: A court in Istanbul began a retrial yesterday over the
murder of an ethnic Armenian journalist.

Hrant Dink, who incurred the wrath of Turkish nationalists for calling
the World War I massacre of Armenians a genocide, was shot dead in
broad daylight in 2007 outside the offices of his bilingual weekly
newspaper Agos.

The killing of the 52-year-old sent shock waves across Turkey and
triggered a wider scandal after reports that state security forces
had known of the murder plot but failed to act.

An Istanbul court in 2011 sentenced Dink’s self-confessed killer Ogun
Samast to 23 years in jail. He was tried as a juvenile as he was only
17 at the time of the murder.

A year later, the court sentenced the so-called mastermind of the
murder, Yasin Hayal, to life in prison for inciting the killing but
acquitted 18 defendants, ruling that there was no conspiracy.

In May, Turkey’s appeals court ordered a retrial to look into whether
he and another 18 acquitted defendants belonged to a criminal network.

Hayal and another seven of the defendants are being retried.

RVVZ FOUNDATION CONDOLES WITH THE FAMILY OF GERARD CAFESJIAN

12:50 17/09/2013 ” Society

Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend on behalf of RVVZ Foundation
Board express condolence with the family of Mr. Gerard Cafesjian who
passed away at the age of 88.

“I met with Gerard Cafesjian about 4 years ago and regret that I
didn’t have the chance to meet this great man earlier to support his
endeavors. Gerard Cafesjian was sincerely and unselfishly aspired to
be useful for his motherland and will remain in the history as one
of the most remarkable Armenian philanthropists. Gafesjian Center of
Arts at Cascade set up by Gerard Cafesjian became one of the symbols
of new Armenia and we all should make the efforts to continue the
cause of the great benefactor”, Ruben Vardanyan said.

ARMENIA’S IT SPHERE INTRODUCED IN “IT’S ARMENIA” SEMINAR IN TOKYO

16:32, 17 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Embassy of the Republic of
Armenia to Japan in association with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan, the
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the Japan Association for
Trade with Russia & NIS (ROTOBO), and the Japan Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (JCCI) organized a seminar titled “IT’s Armenia”,
which was held in Tokyo on September 13. The Press, Information, and
Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Armenia informed “Armenpress” that the aforesaid seminar
was dedicated to the IT sphere in Armenia. The Embassy of the Republic
of Armenia to Japan invited the head of the Enterprise Incubator
Foundation (EIF) Bagrat Yengibaryan, Founder of “Instigate CJSC”
Vahagn Poghosyan, the Head of Viasphere International and Viasphere
Technopark Tony Moroyan (USA), and the Head of Engineering Department
of Mentor Graphics Corp. Ara Markosyan to introduce the Armenian IT
sphere. About 150 representatives of Japanese companies, scientific
research centers, and governmental structures attended the seminar.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

ARMENIA’S ARMAVIR REGION: EMIGRATION OR POPULATION RISE?

20:52 17.09.13

Governor of Armenia’s Armavir region Ashot Kagramanyan told Tert.am
that, despite the hail-caused AMD 25bn damage, the villagers are
not emigrating.

However, the villagers told the opposite to Tert.am.

“Very many villagers are leaving. The authorities promised to provide
us with fertilizers, but have not kept their promise. We are in a
grave situation,” one of the villagers, Mgrashat, told Tert.am.

In response to the complaints, Governor Kagramanyan cited figures. He
does not deny emigration.

“This year we have 185 more first graders than last year. Our village
has not any serious population loss. Otherwise, we would not have
more first graders,” he said.

Kagramanyan noted that villagers normally go to seasonal work.

Head of the Aigeshat village community Aramais Mkhitaryan told Tert.am
that the hail-caused damage made many of the villagers go to other
countries.

A resident of the Amasya village told Tert.am that “ten people left
the village in the Soviet times, while 110 are leaving now.”

Governor Kagramanyan said that Armenia’s government rendered aid
estimated at AMD 7-8bn.

Armenian News – Tert.am

INTEGRATION ASPIRATIONS OF ARMENIA AND SOME ISSUES OF THE MILITARY AND POLITICAL SECURITY OF THE REP. OF ARMENIA AND NKR

12.09.2013

Sergei Sargsyan

Both Moscow and Brussels, which diplomatically and ornately state
that there are no contradictions between the integration of Armenia
in European and Customs Unions, nevertheless, hint that the suit of
documents necessary for signing the EU Association Agreement and
entering Customs Union contain some insuperable contradictions,
which in fact present RA and NKR with a crucial dilemma of choice.

In fact, formally the point is not “either/or”; the pivotal problem is
that Armenia has to make a choice of a main vector of its integration,
meanwhile the additional vector of political and, firstly, economic
cooperation will be inferior.

At the same time it looks like Moscow and Yerevan do not quite clearly
understand mutual reaction to the integration aspiration of Armenia.

It seems to be caused particularly by two main key divergences.

Firstly, today the same situation as in 90s and early 2000s when Russia
ensured Armenia’s military security and in economic and political
sphere the West played key role, is not possible. Both the situation
in economy and policy of these countries, power centers and Russia (its
geopolitical weight) have changed. Today Moscow regards ally relations
exclusively as common military-political and economic complex.

Secondly, Armenia considers signing of the EU Association Agreement as
another step in the direction of strengthening of its complementary
foreign policy and Moscow considers it as another step to the moving
stairway after which Yerevan will have little chances to “jump off”
and Armenia will inevitably become an ally and partner of the EU, i.e.

Russia’s geopolitical competitor, no matter what the diplomats and
politicians say.

On this assumption Russia, seeing that pro-European moods if not
among the majority in general, but at least among the majority of
media-active representatives of the expert community of Armenia are
prevailing, sharply activated its policy in regard to Armenia in
several directions simultaneously. In particular:

It intensified negotiations on all the joint military-political
and military technical projects which are on different stages of
implementation; It supplied heavy offensive arms worth $1 billion
to the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. They informed about it in the
June. This, on the one hand marked the process of marketisation of its
relations not only with Baku but also with its military and political
ally in the region – Yerevan, and on the other hand it strengthened
Armenia’s dependence on military technical and moreover military and
political support of Russia in Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

Russia is not the only but one of the main suppliers of weapons to
Armenia and Azerbaijan. The fact of selling large amount of weapons
by Russia – co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is responsible
for Nagorno-Karabakh settlement by peaceful means, affords ground for
diplomatic rhetoric, but this will not change the situation because
race of armaments began in the region long ago. And not only Russia
but Turkey (by the way, it is also a member of the OSCE Minsk Group)
supplied arms to Azerbaijan too.

But in this case Russia – Collective Security Treaty Organization
member, supplied weapons to Armenia which is member of the CSTO too,
and to Azerbaijan – which is not the CSTO member and which is in the
state of war with Armenia. Though according to the Article 2 of the
Collective Security Treaty “member-states will consult with each other
on key issues of international security, which affect their interests,
and coordinate their stances” and nothing more.

The similar example is the military sales by the NATO member countries
to Turkey, which is also a NATO member country and to Cyprus, which is
not a member of NATO and part of its territory is occupied by Turkey.

And Great Britain and the US used to arm Pakistan – their CEATO ally
(South-East Asia Treaty Organization, 1955-1977) and its rival India
in the period between escalations of the longstanding conflict and
imposing an embargo during the full-fledged military operations
(Second Kashmir War in 1965 and Third Indo-Pakistani War in 1971).

For Moscow it is both policy and business.

Business:

– It does not lose solvent Azerbaijan as a market for its weapons
and military equipment;

– It boosts its military industrial complex not only in the aspect
of production but also in the aspect of guarantee and post-guarantee
maintenance, modification, after market support, supply of ammunition,
etc.

– It receives additional financial dividends from training of the
operators of the modern weapons systems, etc.

Policy:

– It consolidates it positions:

in military and technical cooperation with (at least) Azerbaijan;
over the whole range of military-technical, military-political and
military-economic cooperation with Armenia. After the $1 billion worth
military sales to Azerbaijan, re-equipment and modification of both the
102nd Russian military base in Armenia and Armenian Armed Forces are
expected. In particular, it has already been stated about initiating
additional armament of the RA Air Force with combat aircrafts. Besides,
part of the armaments, military equipment, ammunition and components
will be produced at the military industrial facilities of Armenia. It
is clear that re-armament and modification will be carried out with
the consideration of current needs and broad range of equipment which
was supplied or is planned to be supplied to Azerbaijan;

– Russia strengthens its military and political presence in the South
Caucasus region in general: Consecutive visits of the secretary of
National Security Council of Russia N.Patrushev (June 23-25) and
Secretary General of the CSTO N.Bordyuzha (June 26-27) to Armenia
took place. During these visits a number of documents were signed and
several projects, which promote not only bilateral military-technical
and military-political partnership but also regional growth of
significance of Armenia, were initiated.

In particular, regional infrastructure of joint reserves will
be created – “ArmRosreserv”. The topicality of this project is
conditioned by the increase of the productivity and level of the
military-industrial cooperation between Armenia and Russia and will
allow solving crucial problems of ensuring security of Armenia, first
of all economic one, and it will also be of regional significance
because its infrastructure is of civilian designation (food, technical
equipment, etc.)

During the visit the Secretary of National Security Council of Armenia
A.Baghdasasryan and CSTO Secretary General N.Bordyuzha signed a
protocol, which consists of 20 points, stipulating deepening of the
cooperation in some directions within the framework of the CSTO of
both bilateral and multi-lateral character. It is supposed to create:

– special rescue units;

– mechanisms of cooperation between police agencies, constant dialogue
between special services and law-enforcement agencies;

– new joint enterprises in the sphere of military industry.

Besides, within the framework of decision of the CSTO about the
creation of the CSTO Troops, Collective Air Force – from Armenian Air
Force units and air units of the 102nd Russian military base will be
formed. Their goals will be:

– Implementation of troops carrier missions to the necessary regions
during the operations carried out by the CSTO

– Air defence of the CSTO operations.

And in general the CSTO Air Force will support armies of the member
countries during the protection of their sovereignty and territorial
integrity,

During the visit the issues of strengthening and modernization of the
Air Force of the RA, air units of the 102nd Russian military base in
Gyumri and modernization and re-equipment of the Antiaircraft Defence
of Armenia were also discussed.

* * *

Currently the military security of the Republic of Armenia is
guaranteed by:

– Armed Forces of the Rep. of Armenia and Army of Defence of NKR;

– Membership in the CSTO, and first of all military-political and
military-technical cooperation with Russia, 102nd Russian military
base and “Armenia” tactical group of Border Troops of FSS (Federal
Security Service) of Russia;

– Availability, maintenance, readiness and constant modernization of
the engineering facilities along the confrontation line in the area
of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At the same time, as the Russian emperor Alexander III stated at the
end of the 19th century: “Russia has only two allies – its army and
fleet”, Armenia, generally speaking, also has only two allies – Armed
Forces of the Republic of Armenia and Army of Defence of NKR. And
these two pieces are of paramount importance at the chess board of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

August, 2013

“Globus” analytical journal, #8, 2013

Return ________________________________ Another materials of author

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‘AND INJUSTICE FOR ALL’: THE RECENT ATTACKS ON ACTIVISTS IN ARMENIA

Monday, September 16th, 2013

Activists have been gathering in front of Yerevan’s municipal building
on a daily basis in peaceful protest

BY VARAK KETSEMANIAN

YEREVAN-For the past 20 days, activists in Yerevan have been staging
protests against corruption, inflation, controversial construction
plans, and President Serzh Sarkisian’s recent decision to join the
Russian-led Customs Union, among other issues. They have been met with
violence, by both police officers and organized gangs on the streets.

Observers claim the violent reactions have a common thread. The police
say they are investigating the incidents, but activists are skeptical
about the willingness of the authorities to reveal the perpetrators.

Many protestors affiliated with anti-corruption organizations have
taken to the streets to demand the resignation of two municipality
members-Misak Hambardzumyan, the director of Yerevan Trans, and
Henrik Navasardyan, the chief of the Transport Department-and the
implementation of reforms to diminish widespread corruption. The calls
for resignation are the ultimate manifestation of anti-corruption
and anti-inflation sentiments among the activists, who continue their
peaceful protests by gathering in front of the municipality building
on a daily basis.

Since the first days of the protests, during a period of two weeks
between Aug. 22 and Sept. 5, there have been numerous life-threatening
attacks against activists, including members of such organizations
as Transparency International or the Anti-corruption Center. Many
accuse the police of ignoring the reports filed by the victims, and
failing to carry out proper investigations. One activist who had been
detained by police on multiple occasions claimed they were acting in a
systemized and predetermined manner. The attacks reportedly have some
similarities: They occurred during the night. The victims reported that
once they left the protest scene (the vicinity of the municipality
building) and were a few streets away, a group of 5-10 men-clad in
the same black uniform and armed with blackjacks-approached and asked
whether they had taken part in the municipality protests. After getting
a positive response, the victims were beaten for a couple of minutes.

To cite a few examples, on Sept. 5, political activists Haygag
Arshamyan and Suren Saghatelyan were attacked by a group of eight men,
resulting in serious injuries, including swelling and nose fractures.

Another case was reported by 21-year-old Arman Aleksanyan, who was
attacked and beaten, with an injury to his head, on the night of Sept.

4. Many other protestors, such as Anushavan Krikorian, Mihran
Markarian, Papken Der-Krikorian, and Mikayel Donoyan, were similarly
attacked and injured during recent days.

Most of the victims claim there is a direct correlation between the
perpetrated attacks and the police department’s reluctance to arrest
the criminals. Argishti Kiviryan, the editor of Armenia Today and a
civil activist, told the press that the government in Armenia is using
its two main pillars-the police and the criminal world-to break the
emerging civil activism. Others have voiced their loss of trust in
the police, while some have warned that they will resort to private
means of self-defense.

What has perplexed activists is the fact that most of the victims
say the attacks took place on streets with security cameras, leading
some to believe the police are concealing the sequence of attacks. The
above-mentioned municipality members are seen as the primary culprits
behind the aggression and the attacks. “I have no guarantees today that
while walking in the streets of Yerevan some people won’t approach me
and subject me to some kind of violence. I am dealing with political
persecution in terms of my professional and public activities. It
can’t be defined as anything else,” said Kiviryan.

Meanwhile, tensions increased between the authorities and protesters
when President Sarkisian announced Armenia’s decision to join a
Russian-led economic union on Sept. 3. The news led to widespread
condemnation and complaints on behalf of political parties and NGO’s
who see the move as a violation of basic democratic principles. In
a Sept. 6 press conference, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
political affairs director Giro Manoyan emphasized that a government
elected by its own people must not take such decisions without the
consent or even the approval of its people and of parliament. In the
days that followed, protesters gathered at the presidential palace
to voice opposition to Armenia’s membership in the Custom’s Union.

On Sept. 6, demonstrators also gathered outside the Republican Party
headquarters to protest Sarkisian’s decision, which they saw as an
attempt to restore the Soviet Union. Police reportedly outnumbered
the journalists and protesters on the scene. Talking to reporters,
Levon Barseghyan said activists are displeased that the public was
not sufficiently informed of the details of the agreement with the
Custom’s Union. Clashes between police and activists continued when
the latter attempted to continue their demonstration outside of the
Presidential Palace. Several people were detained.

In light of the ongoing violence, Denis Krivosheev, the Europe and
Central Asia deputy program director of Amnesty International, said
in a press release that the Armenian government must ensure that
the work of the activists is carried out without any obstacles and
interference. Kriovsheev concluded that an impartial investigation
must proceed in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The police force of a given government has the duty to provide
protection against any aggression that may endanger the life of
its citizens. Yet, we are witnessing the exact opposite in Armenia,
where the police are supporting the interests of the ruling elite
at the expense of all other citizens. Are we witnessing a return to
the Hobbesian state of nature, where-in the absence of justice and
a law enforcer-each person is obliged to resort to personal means to
defend himself?

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT SENDS LETTER OF CONDOLENCES ON GERARD CAFESJIAN’S DEATH

17:16, 17 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The President of the Republic of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan sent a letter of condolences to the Cafesjian
family on the death of national philanthropist Gerard Cafesjian. The
Media and Public Relations Department of the President’s Office
informed “Armenpress” that the aforesaid letter particularly runs
as follows:

“Mr. Cafesjian significantly contributed in the strengthening of the
Armenia-Diaspora ties years along. His activity was a good example for
all those people, who desired to provide a palpable support to Mother
Armenia. I highly appreciate his patriotic enterprises. His abilities
of an experienced organizer and gracious and unselfish benefactor have
found their brilliant expression in the transformation of Yerevan’s
Cascade and establishment of the Cafesjian Centre for the Arts,
which became one of the favorite and popular places in Yerevan.

At this moment of grave loss I offer deepest condolences to Gerard
Cafesjian’s relatives and friends.”

American-Armenian businessman and philanthropist Gerard Cafesjian
died at the age of 88 on September 15. The Cafesjian Centre of the
Arts informed “Armenpress” about this. The cause of death has not
been announced yet.

Gerard Cafesjian was born April 26, 1925 in the Bensonhurst
neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. His parents had come to the United
States preceding the Armenian Genocide by the Turks in 1915.

After amphibious training, he served in the United States Navy in WWII
aboard JP Morgan’s yacht, the Corsair III, built in 1895 and renamed
the USS Oceanographer. The ship did extensive survey work in and
around Guadalcanal and other Solomon Islands. He also served aboard
the USS Andres (DE45), a destroyer escort for convoys from the United
States to North Africa. When he returned after the war he married
Cleo Thomas, a nurse he met during the war. He earned a degree in
economics from Hunter College, and a doctorate of jurisprudence from
St. Johns University Law School, both in five and a half years. He
is a member of the New York Bar Association.

He began his career with West Publishing as a legal editor in New York
City. He was the first employee in the history of the 100-year-old
company to be transferred from any subsidiary company into the home
office in St. Paul, Minnesota. At West Publishing he rose through the
ranks to the position of executive vice president; overseeing sales,
marketing, customer service, public relations, all Westlaw office
training and development. At West, he also conceived of and started
the West Legal Directory and a well-known program, “Art and the Law”,
which earned he and West numerous awards.

Mr. Cafesjian retired from West Publishing when it was sold to Thompson
Publishing in 1996. He felt his destiny was to help the country of
Armenia, which had gained its independence after hundreds of years
of subjugation under various rulers. The time and circumstances
and confluence of resources would help him make a difference for
the country.

After attending to his family needs, Mr. Cafesjian established
the Cafesjian Family Foundation. Through that Foundation he
devoted millions of dollars to Armenia on relief projects including
renewable energy, headed a TV station, ran a newspaper, contributed
to the clearing of land mines by specially trained dogs, founded a
bank, insurance company, and supplied the resources for many other
projects. If any of the projects were to prove successful, the profits
were to remain in Armenia for further development.

He received accolades and recognition from both the United States
and Armenia institutions, including the Ellis Island Award in 2000.

Mr. Cafesjian completely renovated the Cascade site in downtown
Yerevan, Armenia. The Cascade was a huge old crumbling Soviet structure
of epic proportions. He opened the Cafesjian Center for the Arts at
the Cascade in 2009. Over one million people have visited the Center
annually since its opening. His goal was to bring some joy into the
lives of the Armenians through exposure to art. The Museum enjoys a
world-class sculpture garden with works by Botero, Flanagan, Chadwick,
Plensa and Lalanne, to name a few. Admission to the sculpture garden
is free and it is now the most prominent meeting place in Armenia.

Mr. Cafesjian also assembled a group of properties in Washington,
D.C., two blocks from the White House. The intention was the building
of an Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial, but due to continuing
litigation, the project remained unrealized and still in limbo awaiting
the outcome for still another time killing appeal. Mr. Cafesjian won
the basic lawsuit and was awarded the property to do with as he wished.

The community was hoping the museum will be built by April 2015 in
time to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the 1915 Genocide.

IT’S TIME TO CLOSE DOWN FOREIGN MINISTRY

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia welcomes Russian-American
agreement to destroy Syria’s chemical weapon and achieve a peace
settlement in Syria.

This is the first statement of the Armenian foreign minister after
Serzh Sargsyan’s statement on Armenia’s membership to the Customs
Union. The MFA was not distinguished for initiatives but attempts
at diversifying political priorities allowed room for Armenia to
maneuver. However, many people assessed September 3 as the final loss
of the right to foreign policy.

Now Armenia will have to walk behind Russia. And the statement on
Syria is evidence to this.

Armenia’s foreign policy has its unique aspects due to the existence
of the Armenian Diaspora which exceeds the population of Armenia 2-3
times. On the one hand, the Diaspora provides lobby, financial and
other means of foreign policy. However, it must also be an object
of foreign policy which must insist on national interests all over
the world.

This refers to Syria and Turkey and the entire Bigger Near East
which is on the verge of transformation. Armenians living in Turkey
do not call themselves Diaspora because they live in their historical
territory. But it is their duty to protect Armenia, as a duty of the
descendants of the genocide victims.

Unprecedented things are happening in Turkey. In Diarbekir
(Tigranakert) a monument in honor of the victims of the Genocide
of Armenians and Syrians was opened. The monument was dedicated by
the mayor of Diarbekir Abdullah Demirtas. “We the Kurds are asking
absolution from Armenians and Assyrians for what our ancestors did in
1915. We will continue our endeavor for compensation to the innocent
victims,” Demirtas said.

The Armenian MFA did not react to this unprecedented event, as well as
to Aghvan Hovsepyan who stated earlier in summer to launch a process
of legal claims to Turkey. It is not known whether the process will
continue in the light of membership to the Customs Union. Obviously,
the MFA was unable to give it a state or national status. Moreover,
Shavarsh Kocharyan had to disavow his statement under foreign pressure.

Appeals to establish a united Armenian army appeared on social
networks. But first it is worthwhile to create a united Armenian MFA
which will work out an integrated policy, express a stance and pursue
national interests. Because Armenia’s foreign political isolation
could expose to threat the interests of the whole nation, and not
only Armenia. Armenia’s foreign policy has already exposed state and
national interests. It is time to close down the MFA, given that its
building has already been sold to a Diaspora Armenian.

Naira Hayrumyan 17:12 17/09/2013 Story from Lragir.am News: