Author: Kanayan Tamar

CASES OF VIOLATIONS OF JOURNALISTS’ RIGHTS GROW IN NUMBER – EXPERT

14:14 ~U 23.04.13

Chairman of Freedom of Speech Protection Committee Ashot Melikyan
presented today the committee’s report on mass media rights’ violation
during the first quarter of the running year.

He said the number of violations has reduced as compared with the
same span of the past year.

“In the first quarter of the running year 2 cases of physical violence
against journalists have been registered, 13 cases of pressures
on journalists and 3 cases of impeding the process of getting
information,” he said, stressing that the growth of the cases are
agreed with the February 18 presidential elections.

He said three out of 13 pressures were registered on the election day.

In the first quarter the Article 164 of the Criminal Code was
applied which envisages punishment for impeding the legal activity
of journalist.

“Our observations show that during the elections when the interior
political situation becomes tense the pressures on mass media increase
and unfortunately, the recent elections were not an exclusion. Of
course, we can’t compare them with the ones in 2008 but some cases
have been registered,” he said.

Melikyan also said that during the first quarter a number of mass
media have been sued with the history seeming to repeat when a mass
media was appearing in financially complicated condition.

Armenian News – Tert.am

GERMANY COULD HAVE AVERTED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE – HISTORIAN

14:18 ~U 23.04.13

A study of historical records reveals that Germany could have easily
prevented the Armenian Genocide in the World War I period, an Armenian
historian said Tuesday, addressing the 20 century’s first brutal
atrocity against the mankind.

“It is unquestionable that Germany could have averted the Armenian
Genocide. So why didn’t it? Because its only purpose in the war was
to hold a victory, whatever the cost,” an expert studying Germany’s
genocide archives, told a news conference entitled, “The Armenian
Genocide in the Context of the German-Turkish Alliance”.

The expert noted that Germany was Turkey’s only ally in the war
period, being the only world country to have a diplomatic presence
in the Ottoman Empire.

“The diplomatic records made public over the recent period helped
find an answer to several questions about the Genocide,” he said,
adding that the study focused particularly on the country’s role
during the tragedy.

Hayruni further spoke of documentary evidence which he said cannot
give Germany any grounds to present justifications officially.

He called attention to two basic factors proving Germany’s ability
to prevent the crime.

“Armenians in Smyrna and Constantinople [Istanbul] did not face
displacement. And nor did the Baghdad-Armenian settlers of Mosul,”
he said, adding that the displacement did not take place thanks to
a ban by a high-ranking German official. “A German official imposed
a ban at his own will, without asking for Berlin’s [permission],
It was unprecedented in the Armenian Genocide history.”

The historian added that the Mosul population wasn’t displaced after
Fonder Golds, a high ranking German military official, disobeyed the
Ottoman military officer, Enver Pasha. Though he later resigned from
office, Enver backed away from his order once and for all.

The historian said that the Germans prevented the displacement on
strategic considerations, as the depopulation of Armenians was not
in their own interests.

“Two servicemen managed to do that without a superior’s instruction;
so imagine what things the German state could have done at all!” said
he, adding that the Turkish military officer backed away from his plan,
knowing that Germany could hold it back at any moment.

GENOCIDE ISSUE MAY GET LEGAL SOLUTION

Last year’s proposal of the British barrister Geoffrey Robertson
to submit the issue of the Armenian genocide to the International
Court of Justice might appear on the agenda of the commission formed
in Armenia, the head of Museum-Institute of Armenian Genocide Haik
Demoyan told Lragir.am.

“We record the voice of people who still are able to talk, are not
bedridden and do not have mobility problems, we collect data as legal
evidence. We will alsouse data from Geoffrey Robertson’s “Was There
an Armenian Genocide?” Demoyan added.

Geoffrey Robertson has studied the issue of recognition and
compensation of the genocide since 1998. He studied facts and concluded
that the events of 1915 comply with the international legal definition
of genocide in the UN Convention adopted on 9 December 1948.

Karine Ionesyan 13:07 23/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: EXPORT VOLUME FROM ARMENIA DECREASES

09:28 ~U 23.04.13

The paper says according to the National Statistical Service
information during the first three months of the running year the
export volume from Armenia as compared with the same span of the past
year has gone up by 3%.

The paper says it is remarkable taking into consideration the
circumstance that in the first two months of the running year the
export volume grew by 30%. The paper says it appears that in March
the volume has sharply declined which may be agreed with the global
reduction of copper prices. As compared with January-February the
tempo of export growth has reduced 10 times.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Zhamanak: Nerses Nazaryan Collected Shadow Taxes

12:00 23/04/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

Citing its sources, Zhamanak daily reports that former Yerevan police
chief Nerses Nazaryan used his official position to collect monthly
shadow taxes from bars, restaurants, casinos and night hotels in
Kentron administrative district of Yerevan, closing his eyes on the
lawlessness taking place there.

“The authorities now try to “make an inventory” to find out how far the
“tax terror” of former Yerevan police chief went and how much shadow
taxes he used to collect in one month,” the paper says.

Source: Panorama.am

“HELP YOUR BROTHER” MEMBERS VISITED CILICIAN COLLEGE

11:57, 23 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS: The initiative “Help your brother”
continues its activities implementing aid programs for the Syrian
Armenians living in the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh Republic. As
Armenpress was reported by the “Help your brother” initiative group,
the initiative responsible Vahan Hovhannisyan, Lilit Galstyan and
Khachik Jozikyan visited the Cilician College, carrying out teaching
by the Syrian educational program.

The members of the initiative visited the College to get acquainted
with the educational process, as well as pass the promised presents
to the pupils. The initiative “Help your brother” presented all the
pupils of the Cilician College with “Toms” sports shoes, provided
by the Metsn Nerses Charitable Organization, promising to cheer the
Syrian Armenian pupils in the future as well, keeping their problems
in the center of attention.

About 300 Syrian Armenian children get education in the 1-9 grades
of the Cilician College.

MAJORITY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVORS IN ARMENIA ARE WOMEN

11:28, 23 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS: 55 pensioners, who survived the
Armenian Genocide, get pensions at the State Social Security
Service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic
of Armenia. As Armenpress was informed by the Head of the Social
Sphere and Nature Protection Division of the National Statistical
Service Nelly Baghdasaryan, by the data of April 2013, 55 people,
who survived the Armenian Genocide implemented by the Ottoman Turkey,
got pensions in Armenia – 42 of them were women and 12 men.

By the data of 2011, 141 Genocide survivors lived in the Republic of
Armenia – 109 of them were women and 32 men.

Three years before that the number of the Genocide survivors living
in the Republic was 250.

Since 2006 the pension for the Armenian Genocide survivors, who
had been born in the Western Armenia or Ottoman Turkey before 1915,
has been added by extra 25,000 AMD, instead the former 5,000. By the
decree of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Genocide
survived pensioners are provided with privileged conditions.

At the years of the World War I Turkey massacred 1,5 million Armenians
in the Western Armenia, making hundreds of thousands people refugees.

The fact of the Armenian Genocide has been recognized by 26 states
of the world, 41 American States out of 50 and international
organizations, including the European Parliament and the European
Council.

By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan, a state Commission was established and the Commission Staff
was defined to foster the international recognition and condemnation
of the Armenian Genocide and to coordinate the events devoted to
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The Chairman of the
Commission is the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

UN RASSEMBLEMENT A TIMES SQUARE COMMEMORE LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

Des milliers d’Armeniens ont honore dimanche leurs parents lors d’un
rassemblement a Manhattan qui a commemore le massacre de 1,5 million
armeniens il y a près d’un siècle.

” Si nous ne reconnaissons pas le genocide, si nous n’apprenons pas
de nos erreurs du passe ” a declare Anahid Ugurlayan, 37 ans, alors
” nous sommes tenus de les repeter “.

mardi 23 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

L’INSTITUT-MUSEE DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN A PUBLIE LA MONOGRAPHIE ” RECONNAISSANCE ET LA CONDAMNATION : LES PROCES JEUNES TURCS (1919-1921 ET 1926) PAR MELINE ANUMYAN

L’~uvre est dediee a l’etude des poursuites emises sur les massacres
et les deportations des Armeniens par des tribunaux militaires de
l’Empire ottoman durant 1919-1921 et les procès des Jeunes Turcs qui
s’est tenue devant les tribunaux independants de la Republique turque
en 1926.

L’atmosphère politique en Turquie après l’armistice de Mudros ainsi
que les discussions sur les deportations et les massacres armeniens
qui ont emerge dans la presse ottomane et dans les deux chambres du
Parlement a la fin de 1918 sont presentees dans le premier chapitre
de la monographie actuelle. L’auteur se refère egalement aux enquetes
lancees au cours de cette periode en Turquie contre les responsables
du genocide armenien.

Les cas sur les deportations et les massacres de 1919-1921 deposes
devant les tribunaux militaires d’Istanbul et les procès des Jeunes
Turcs au cours de 1919-1920 sont etudies dans le second chapitre. Les
developpements politiques en Turquie au cours des annees 1923-1926 sont
discutes dans le troisième chapitre. L’auteur presente les raisons
pour lesquelles les Jeunes Turcs vont apparaître dans les premières
lignes de l’opposition après la proclamation de la Republique turque,
ainsi que la tentative d’assassinat planifiee a Izmir contre Mustafa
Kemal, le president de la Republique turque. Les Jeunes Turcs avaient
eu un rôle important dans la lutte nationaliste.

Le troisième chapitre est egalement consacre a l’etude de la plainte
deposee au cours de la tentative d’assassinat a Izmir et celle a
Ankara sur l’affaire ” bande noire “. Les deux affaires ont ete
entendues par les tribunaux independants de la Republique turque. A
la fin du chapitre, l’auteur fait une comparaison entre les procès
des Jeunes Turcs de 1919-1921 et ceux de 1926, et insiste sur le
fait de preserver la tradition Ittihad au sein de l’ideologie et de
la gouvernance de l’Etat dans la vie politique de la Republique turque.

mardi 23 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

HRAIR OULOUBABIAN ” LE GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS A SOUMGAIT DOIT PREOCCUPER LES DEFENSEURS DE LA CAUSE ARMENIENNE ”

L’historien et journaliste Hraïr Ouloubabian a affirme que les
pogroms dont les Armeniens furent victimes de la part des Azeris a
Soumgaït est un ” genocide ” qui doit etre presente comme tel par les
militants de la Cause armenienne auprès des instances internationales
de Justice. Une conference sur le sujet s’est tenue le 22 avril au
Centre d’art Naregatsi a Erevan dont le thème etait ” Le genocide des
Armeniens a Soumgaït en tant que question pour la Cause armenienne “.

Hraïr Ouloubabian qui a ecrit un ouvrage sur les massacres de Soumgaït
a ete l’un des responsables de la defense des familles armeniennes
refugiees des pogroms de Soumgaït. Selon H. Ouloubabian qui connait le
dossier et represente les interets des familles rescapees de Soumgaït
plus de 100 Armeniens ont ete victimes de ces massacres en fevrier
1988 et non de 26 a 29 comme l’affirment les sources officielles
azeries ou sovietiques.

Krikor Amirzayan

mardi 23 avril 2013, Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com