Author: Kanayan Tamar

HAROUT PAMBOUKJIAN WILL SING OLD AND NEW SONGS ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ DAY

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Harout Pamboukjian will have a concert
on the occasion of International Students’ Day and International Youth
Holiday in Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex on November
16. The concert has been initiated by the Youth Foundation of Armenia
and the Youth Organization of the Republican Party of Armenia.

The Youth Foundation of Armenia informed “Armenpress” Harout
Pamboukjian will sing old and new songs at the concert.

For the tickets of the upcoming concert people can turn to the Youth
Foundation of Armenia or the student’s councils of the universities.

American-Armenian singer and musician Harout Pamboukjian, commonly
known as Dzakh Harut was interested in musical instruments and learnt
to play guitar, drums, saz, bouzouki and piano. Harout formed a band
called Erebouni and started to perform various musical works ranging
from rock and rabis to chanson.

Due to restrictions under the Soviet Union, Harout and most of his
family left Soviet Armenia in 1975. After a year in Lebanon, he went
to Los Angeles and took up residence in Hollywood.

ARFD STARTS POLITICAL CONSULTATIONS ON THE THRESHOLD OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 2013

ARMINFO
Thursday, November 8, 13:49

ARF Dashnaktiutyun has started the number of political consultations
with political forces and public and civilian sector of the country
on the threshold of the presidential election on 18 February 2013,
a representative of ARFD Supreme Body, Armen Rustamyan, said at
today’s press-conference.

Several priority issues are on the agenda of the consultations –
holding of competitive presidential election in Armenia, formation
of the electoral system which takes into account the will of the
people, making of constitutional reforms till 2015 on transition to
the parliamentary government system, participation of the opposition
in fighting corruption, controlling the power structures and the
activity of the Audit Chamber, providing an independent legal power
and making economic reforms targeted at opening of new job places
and decrease of poverty.

As for the foreign policy agenda of the consultations, it foresees
recalling of Yerevan’s signature from under the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols and normalizing of relations with Turkey taking into
consideration national interests of Armenia and historical justice.

They will also touch on the prospect of signing of the military
and strategic contract between Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh.

IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION WILL CREATE NEW OPPORTUNITIES – ARMENIAN DEPUTY PM

news.am
November 08, 2012 | 10:30

Armenia’s Deputy PM, Territorial Administration Minister, and
Armenian-Iraqi Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Economic
Cooperation Co-Chair Armen Gevorgyan held several meetings in Baghdad
on Wednesday.

During his talk with the representatives from Iraq’s railway
management, they discussed the opportunities for interaction in
the area of communication. Gevorgyan reflected on the Iran-Armenia
railway construction and stated that this project will create new
opportunities in terms of freight transport in the region. The parties
made arrangement on holding bilateral discussions.

Next, Armenia’s Deputy PM met with Iraq Oil Minister Abdul Karim
Luaibi. They examined issues of cooperation in the domains of
energy and natural resources and underscored the great potential for
collaboration. Gevorgyan reflected on Armenia’s ongoing projects in
the energy sector. In his turn, Abdul Karim Luaibi deemed helpful
the using of Armenian specialists’ skills in modernizing Iraq’s
electricity power plants. Also, the interlocutors reflected on the
opportunities for the Armenian side’s involvement in the extraction
of oil and natural gas and made arrangements, whereby the working
groups will study the possibilities for carrying out joint programs
in the oil and natural gas industry.

Also, Armen Gevorgyan met with Iraq’s FM Hoshyar Zebari. They
discussed the avenues for deepening ties between both countries and
the cooperation in foreign policy. Gevorgyan noted that Armenia is
interested in developing bilateral cooperation within international
organizations and conducting a political discourse with Iraq.

In his turn, Hoshyar Zebari informed that Iraq has a political position
of deepening relations with Armenia and that the future opening
of Iraq’s Embassy in Armenia will contribute to this objective,
too. In addition, he appreciated Armenia’s friendly ties with Arab
countries. Reflecting on Iraq’s Armenian community, Zebari noted that
although numerous Armenians have left the country during the years
of war, now, Iraq stands ready to welcome them back with open arms.

The interlocutors expressed confidence that the coming years will
open up new prospects for developing bilateral relations. Armenia’s
Deputy PM and Iraq’s FM exchanged views on regional matters as well.

PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
E-mail: [email protected]

NAASR cHISTMAS OPEN HOUSE TO FEATURE LECTURE
BY LERNA EKMEKCIOGLU ON ARMENIANS IN THE EARLY TURKISH REPUBLIC

Dr. Lerna Ekmekcioglu, McMillan-Stewart Career Development
Assistant Professor of History at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, will give a lecture entitled “Wishful Thinking or Insidious
Camouflage? Armenians Responding to the New Turkey (1923-1933),”
highlighting NAASR’s 2012 Christmas Open House on Thursday, December 6,
2012. The Open House will begin at 6:00 p.m. and conclude at 11:00
p.m., with Ekmekcioglu’s talk set for 8:00 p.m. The evening’s events
will take place at the NAASR Center, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA.

Special Book Sale and 2013 Project SAVE Calendar Available

Both before and after the lecture, NAASR’s bookstore will be
open and feature a one night only 20%-off sale, with additional
discounts of 40% or more on selected titles. Numerous recently
published titles will be available.

Ruth Thomasian, Founder and Executive Director of Project
SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives, will be on hand with the 2013
calendar “Armenians a Century Ago: in the Homeland and Diaspora.” The
calendar, as always featuring remarkable photographs from Project SAVE’s
enormous archival collection, provides a glimpse of the diversity of
Armenian life during the pre-genocide years.

A Look at Armenians in the Early Years of the Turkish Republic

Dr. Ekmekcioglu will be speaking at NAASR for the first
time. Her lecture will examine the previously under-studied Armenian
community in Turkey in the first decade of the Turkish Republic. How did
Armenians respond to the establishment of the new Turkey in 1923? Was
this Republic really “new” for them? What can we learn about the early
Turkish Republic when we look at it from the perspective of its Armenian
citizens?

Focusing on 1920s and 30s Armenian spokespeople,
intellectuals, and lay and religious leadership, Ekmekcioglu will
demonstrate that Armenian responses to the state’s policies
(homogenization, secularization, Westernization) included cooperation,
accommodation, and camouflaging, as well as certain forms of more overt
resistance that took the shape of calls to preserve Armenianness inside
those spaces in which the state did not care or dare to interfere. She
argues that neither the Turkish Republic’s policies nor the Armenian
responses were completely new. The Ottoman past mattered much more than
either group would admit.

Dr. Ekmekcioglu joined M.I.T. in 2011 after a post-doc year
at the University of Michigan’s Armenian Studies Program. The holder of
a doctorate from New York University, she teaches courses related to the
modern Middle East, with a focus on its ethnic diversity and
majority-minority relations. She is also affiliated with the Women and
Gender Studies Program and teaches courses on gender in the Middle East
and North Africa. As the holder of the McMillan-Stewart Chair she
organizes lectures that pertain to women in the developing world.

She is currently working on a monograph titled Surviving the
New Turkey: Armenians in Post-Ottoman Istanbul, which analyzes the ways
in which survivors of the Armenian genocide who continued living inside
Turkish borders crafted themselves a new presence to be able to co-habit
peacefully with the perpetrator society.

More information about Ekmekcioglu’s lecture, the NAASR
Christmas Open House, or NAASR and its programs for the furtherance of
Armenian studies, research, and publication may be had by calling
617-489-1610, faxing 617-484-1759, e-mailing [email protected], or writing to
NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.

Belmont, MA
November 9, 2012

ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY MARKS 30 YEARS IN UK

Published: Friday November 09, 2012

ARS celebration cake in London.

LONDON – A special function was organized in London’s “Navasardian”
Center, celebrating ARS Great Britain’s 30th Anniversary on October 14.

Chairperson of ARS Central Executive Board Mrs. Vicky Marashlian
arrived in London on October 12, for a visit to the ARS chapter
in Great Britain. Among the invitees, were the representative of
the local ARF Gomideh, Mr. George Hovhannesian, and Attache to the
Armenian Diplomatic Mission in the UK, Mr. A Markaryan, both of whom
addressed the gathering, congratulating the Chapter’s Executive and
all ARS members on the auspicious occasion of the ARS Great Britain’s
30th Anniversary.

Next, the Pastor of the St. Yeghishe Church, Father N. Arch-Priest
Nersesian congratulated the ARS and its members, whose humanitarian
assistance reaches the needy, wherever they are found. ARS Great
Britain’s Chairlady, Mrs. Jannette Mardirossian offered a brief
description of the chapter’s activities and thanked each and
every member for her dedication to the humanitarian goals of the
organization.

Invited to address this Anniversary gathering – attended by
representatives of several organizations, including the Chairman of the
Armenian Community Council, Mr. A Palamoudian, and a large number of
ARS members and their families – Mrs. Vicky Marashlian aptly depicted
the past and present world-wide operations of the centenarian Armenian
Relief Society, putting the emphasis on its orphan assistance programs
carried on over the decades in various forms. The Chairlady highly
praised the ARS chapter in Great Britain for not only supporting
the local community but for also participating in all pan-Armenian
efforts of the Armenian Relief Society, covering the homeland to
Armenian communities in the Middle East and elsewhere. Mrs. Vicky
Marashlian’s presentation was enhanced by an informative audiovisual
piece bringing to life the 100-year service of the Society.

The very next day, on October 15, Mrs. Marashlian participated in
a special general membership meeting held in the “Navasard” Center,
where the Chapter-at-Large Chairperson, Mrs. Jeannette Mardirosian
introduced the ARS Chairperson to the membership, inviting Mrs.

Marashlian to convey the Central Executive Board’s message to the
gathering. After congratulating the Chapter on its 30th Anniversary
and three decades of service to the community and the Homeland, the
Chairlady answered questions elucidating certain issues concerning the
Society. Her remarks were concluded by the awarding of a beautifully
framed appreciation plaque by the ARS Central Executive Board to
ARS Great Britain for 20 years of devoted support to the Society’s
Sponsor-A-Child Program. That same evening, two veteran ARS members,
Jaqueline Karanfilian and Satenig Andonian were awarded with special
25-Year Service breast pins.

It is worth noting that on October 16, Mrs. Marashlian, accompanied
by the Chapter’s Executive Members, paid a visit to two ailing veteran
ARS members, Roubina Boghosian and Hasmik Gasparian.

ARS-Western U.S. co-sponsors domestic violence awareness film screening

The Armenian Relief Society (ARS) of Western USA and the Glendale
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) partnered to feature a
screening of the short film “Loves Me, Loves Me Not” at the Glendale
Central Library on October 25. The 28-minute film brings awareness to
the issue of domestic violence by focusing on a violent relationship
between a couple.

The program began with moderator Christine B. Powers, staff liaison
to the CSW, inviting Denise Miller, Chairperson of the CSW, and Lena
Bozoyan, Chairperson of the ARS of Western USA, Regional Executive,
for remarks to the audience. Both Miller and Bozoyan focused on the
efforts of their respective organizations, including raising awareness
of important social issues, such as domestic violence.

After viewers attentively watched the film, Powers introduced a
4-member panel to address the audience during a question and answer
period. The panel included Dr. Levon Jernazian, a psychologist and
co-founder of the ARS Child, Youth, and Family Guidance Center;
Detective Steve Corrigan of the Glendale Police Department; Raquel
Ortiz, Domestic Violence Program Manager at the YWCA of Glendale;
and Heather Poole, a private immigration attorney who volunteers for
the Domestic Violence Project of the LA County Bar Association.

Audience members were able to raise questions surrounding the film
and domestic violence, in general, and received feedback from each
of the panelists in their respective fields of expertise. As such,
information was exchanged from the legal perspective, where to seek
support and resources, how the police department handles domestic
violence cases, restraining orders, as well as the psychology of the
victim and offender.

The ARS of Western USA, established in 1984 and with regional
headquarters in Glendale, CA, has 27 chapters and more than 1,500
members in five western states. The ARS-WUSA operates a Social Services
Division, a Child, Youth, and Family Guidance Center, and funds
numerous youth programs, scholarships and relief efforts. For further
information, please visit or call 818-500-1343.

1915 : LA TURQUIE, SES HEROS, SES ASSASSINS

Publie le : 09-11-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – , la > de 1915.

Malheureusement, cet humaniste est aussi un ardent defenseur des
fameuses Cela fait longtemps que j’ai
lu pour la première fois le livre Cehenneme Ovgu, Gundelik Hayatta
Totalitarizm (Prisonniers de nous-memes : le totalitarisme dans la
vie quotidienne) de Gunduz Vassaf, mais je me souviens toujours de
cette phrase qu’il contenait. À chaque fois que j’entends le mot >, je ne peux m’empecher d’y accoler celui de >.

Vassaf raconte comment nous echappons a la liberte via les heros et
comment nous recreons l’ordre, encore et toujours. Les heros nous sont
presentes comme des hommes de sacrifice qui font preuve de courage
et non de faiblesse humaine. Ce sont des leaders, des militaires,
des religieux, des revolutionnaires, des combattants de la liberte
et autres.

Tout peuple a ses propres heros. Lorsque nous essayons de ressembler
a ces heros, nous devenons des hommes qui desirent l’ordre dans
lequel nous sommes. J’ai recemment etudie un heros qui n’etait pas un
dictateur. Ce heros ne ressemble pas aux autres. Et nous, le peuple
de Turquie, nous ne le connaissons pas, car le connaître requiert
de passer par un processus inhabituel tant cognitif que spirituel,
une confrontation enorme, et des remords.

Il y a la un grand paradoxe. Si nous pouvions le connaître, nous
serions plus riches et nos âmes seraient plus tranquilles. Cependant,
pour se familiariser avec lui, nous devons tout d’abord passer par
une perturbation spirituelle et un etat d’inconfort. Nous savons qu’il
existe grâce aux films etrangers. En regardant La liste de Schindler
de Steven Spielberg ou Hotel Rwanda de Terry George, en realite, nous
assistons a sa vie. Cependant, la culture dans laquelle nous avons
grandi nous empeche de mieux le connaître. Nous ne connaissons pas
la signification du refus de participer a une campagne d’assassinats
sur la base du remords individuel et de la conscience, tandis que
la societe et l’Etat commettaient un crime immense et que ce crime
devenait une partie de notre vie quotidienne et le symbole d’un
nouveau statu quo.

Nous avons des Schindler d’Hollywood, mais il n’y pas eu de films
sur eux dans ce pays. Leurs noms ne figurent pas dans les livres
d’histoire. Du point de vue de notre histoire formelle, ce sont des
traîtres. Je pense que l’une des grandes pertes associees a notre
echec de nous confronter a la tragedie de 1915 est d’etre prives de
la possibilite de les connaître. De fait, nous avons un sentiment de
culpabilite dans notre subconscient. Mais nous ne connaissons pas les
histoires de ces gens qui n’ont pas participe aux actes horribles,
tandis que toute la communaute etait impliquee, ceux qui ont refuse
d’obeir aux ordres et qui ont abrite chez eux leurs voisins armeniens.

Nous ne les connaissons pas. Nous ne savons pas ce que pensait Urfalý
Hacý Halil du monde exterieur, lorsqu’il refermait la porte de sa
maison, lui qui a cache ses voisins armeniens chez lui pendant un
an, a apporte du pain pour huit personnes supplementaires; comment
ses relations avec la communaute ont change ou a quel point il avait
peur de ces decrets qui punissaient de mort tous ceux qui cachaient
des Armeniens chez eux. Afin que nous puissions savoir et sentir
tout cela, nous devrions tout d’abord nous confronter aux mensonges
de notre histoire et ressentir l’atmosphère des massacres et des
tragedies dans ce pays.

Si nous reussissions a passer ces etapes, nous connaîtrions, non
seulement Hacý Halil mais egalement les bureaucrates ottomans qui
n’ont pas obei aux ordres de deportation des Armeniens et qui ont
ete executes ou exiles pour desobeissance. Le gouverneur Celal de
Konya, le gouverneur Hasan Mazhar d’Ankara, le gouverneur Resit Pasa
de Kastamonu, le gouverneur Feri de Basrat, le gouverneur Mehmet Cemal
Bey de Yozgat, le gouverneur Faik Ali Ozansoy de Kutahya, le gouverneur
Bedii Nuri de Muntefek, le gouverneur Huseyin Nesimi Bey du district
de Lice et le gouverneur Sabit Bey du district de Batman nous guideront
tous sur le chemin de la purification spirituelle et de la serenite.

Si nous pouvions supporter la douleur et regarder notre histoire avec
honnetete, les gens croyants de ce pays promouvraient la tradition
honorable des musulmans qui se sont fortement opposes aux assassinats
des Armeniens a Bogazlayan, soulignant qu’il n’y a pas de meurtre
de personnes innocentes dans le Coran. Si nous pouvions regarder
1915 honnetement et parler ouvertement de tout, nous commencerions a
rencontrer les vrais heros. Bien sûr, cela viendra après une immense
douleur et le deuil. Ils seront nos vrais heros.

Après tant d’annees, nous avons fait quelques progrès dans la
confrontation au passe, mais il reste un long chemin a parcourir. Je
pense que ces heros nous guideront dans ce voyage. Je m’incline devant
eux avec un grand respect.

(c)Traduction de l’anglais C.Gardon pour le Collectif VAN – 6 novembre
2012 – 6:00 –

Version originale en turc :

1915: Katiller ve kahramanlar

Lire aussi :

1915, le crime >

Genocide : un procès turc contre des Armeniens et Sarkozy

L’Etat turc encourage les meurtriers de Malatya

Pour les turcophones :

Ermeni soykýrýmý ve toprak

1915, Dersim, yuzleþme…

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Today’s Zaman

SYRIE: UN AVION ARMENIEN CONTRAINT D’ATTERRIR EN TURQUIE

20minutes.fr
8 nov 2012
France

Les autorites turques ont contraint ce jeudi un avion armenien en
route vers la Syrie a atterrir et ont procede a son inspection dans la
ville d’Erzurum, dans l’est de la Turquie, rapporte la presse locale.

Le 15 octobre dernier, un premier avion armenien en route vers la Syrie
et contraint de se poser en Turquie avait finalement ete autorise a
repartir après une inspection qui avait confirme qu’il transportait
bien de l’aide humanitaire. Selon la chaîne d’information turque NTV,
l’avion intercepte jeudi transporte egalement de l’aide humanitaire.

Les vols syriens interdits en Turquie

La Turquie a ferme mi-octobre son espace aerien aux vols civils syriens
quelques jours après l’interception d’un avion syrien en provenance
de Moscou dont la cargaison contenait, selon Ankara, du materiel
militaire destine aux forces syriennes. Les relations entre Ankara
et Damas, anciens pays allies, se sont deteriorees depuis le debut,
en mars 2011, du soulèvement populaire en Syrie violemment reprime
par le regime de Bachar al-Assad.

La Turquie, au premier rang des adversaires du gouvernement de
Damas dans ce conflit sanglant qui dure depuis 19 mois, a bombarde a
plusieurs reprises en octobre des positions de l’armee syrienne après
la chute d’obus de mortier sur son territoire, dont l’un a fait cinq
morts parmi la population civile debut octobre.

– Avec Reuters

NATIONAL GRANT AIDS EDUCATOR NANCY KALAJIAN
by Tom Vartabedian

Published: Wednesday November 07, 2012

Nancy Kalajian with Mary Poppins during a visit to New York City.

Boston – Nancy Kalajian is not one to rest upon her many
laurels. The long-time educator took advantage of a grant from
the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to take a food and
immigration-related course this summer in New York.

Titled “Recipe for America: New York, Immigration and American
Identity through Culinary Culture,” the experience touched a number
of important parameters for Kalajian, a well-read journalist in the
Armenian-American community.

Kalajian was among 25 participants from throughout the country at a
3-week school teacher institute dealing with matters of immigration,
assimilation and food culture in New York City during the 19th and
20th Centuries. Over 200 applications were received. Kalajian was the
only resident from Massachusetts to win the honor and one of two from
New England.

To apply for the Institute, Kalajian prepared a 4-page essay and
secured references from two school administrators from the Tewksbury
Public Schools where she works as a Title I reading teacher for grade
three and four students.

The Institute investigated immigration, cultural diffusion and
assimilation through a consideration of ethnic food ways, moving
from early European immigration to experiences of African-American,
Caribbean, Chinese and Asian communities.

The Institute was hosted by the New York Public Library and was
presented in conjunction with “Lunch Hour,” a major NYPL exhibition
about food in New York City which draws from the library’s vast
materials, including its unique cookbook and menu collections.

The program addressed cultural traditions, the formation of ethnic
neighborhoods and interactions with the broad American culture.

“It was an extraordinary experience,” said Kalajian. “We had lots of
reading to do each night, and by day were basically in class with the
NYPL curators or with expert culinary historians, conducting on-line
research or research using primary documents available at the library,
or were on walking tours through the Lower East Side, Harlem, Jackson
Heights and other areas. As exhausting and intense as it was, this
was one of the best educational experiences I ever had,” continues
Kalajian. “Can you imagine being able to touch and read a diary that
an immigrant wrote at the turn of the century that describes foods
eaten, holidays celebrated and games played? Plus it was a powerful
experience – being in the same library building that many immigrants
have used in the past 100 years to enrich their learning.”

Cultural ties are in Kalajian’s blood. She’s on the Board of Directors
of the Ethnic Arts Center founded by Dora Tevan, her sister. She
also serves the Board of Directors for the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister
City Association.

After returning from a teaching stint overseas, she established
Building Cultural Bridges in order to help people in cultural
transition like those relocating from one country to another.

In the past, she also attended the NEH Landmarks of American History
and Culture Workshop titled “Inventing America: Lowell and the
Industrial Revolution,” learning about people who endured hardships
while working in the textile industry.

Among the sites visited during her stay in New York was Ellis Island.

“It was fascinating to again see all the huge photos on display at
Ellis Island, along with passports and personal artifacts from so
many immigrants,” added Kalajian. “Among the many photos I snapped
were those showing Armenians in their homeland.”

“During my New York experience, I naturally reflected on the food
ways and immigrant experiences of my Armenian ancestors and had
a chance to do some related research,” she resumed. “In the last
decade throughout the Boston area, I interviewed and recorded oral
histories of some Armenian immigrants and their food memories. These
historical and cultural connections were ever-present as I explored
other immigrant groups.”

“One of our lectures was held in the NYPL Trustees Room, and near its
entrance, I was happy to see a nice portrait of Dr. Vartan Gregorian,
former NYPL President.” shared Kalajian. On weekends, visiting the
Metropolitan Museum and viewing exhibits on Armenian khatchkars,
pottery and coins, attending church services at St. Vartan Cathedral,
and visiting with Armenian friends and relatives living in the region
rounded out her Armenian experiences. Seeing some musicals added to
her New York cultural experience; “Porgy and Bess was so poignant,
with such impressive acting, and really shed light on the disparity
and struggles for those so convincingly portrayed.”

Kalajian has taught elementary age students for more than 20 years,
including a 4-year stint overseas at American International Schools
in Germany and Egypt. She has also worked in school publishing where
she wrote teacher’s manuals for reading programs. Occasionally, she
writes food, education, arts and human interest-orientated articles
as a freelance journalist and correspondent for such organs as The
Armenian Mirror-Spectator and various Boston-based newspapers.

Kalajian is a member of the Culinary Historians of Boston. Many years
back, she created an Armenian pudding recipe that won third prize in
a nationwide “Raisins and Rice Contest.”

“Looking back upon my experience,” adds Kalajian, “the well-organized
Institute deepened my understanding of the humanities through reading,
discussion, writing and reflection. Soon, I’ll be able to apply what
I learned to my present teaching surroundings and enrich the lives
of students.”

POLITICAL EXPERT: “FOOTBALL DIPLOMACY” HINDERS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

ARMINFO
Wednesday, November 7, 17:02

The Armenian-Turkish “football diplomacy” hinders international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, political expert Yervand Bozoyan
said at today’s press conference.

“As long as the “football diplomacy” exists and the protocols are
in the Turkish and Armenian Parliaments, Ankara will formally demand
that the international community should not hinder normalization of
the relations with Armenia”, he said. He added that such a policy of
official Ankara is a deception, and the Armenian authorities have found
themselves in a Turkish trap. “The result of the “football diplomacy”
is that for the first time over the past 20 years the U.S.

presidential candidates have failed to touch on the Armenian Genocide
issue in the election programs”, said Bozoyan. He added that the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the USA mostly depends on the
international weight of Armenia. Bozoyan thinks that if Armenia’s
weight is small, the USA will be able to evade even the expression
“Armenian disaster”, therefore, the hope for the USA’s recognition
of the Armenian Genocide and large-scale pressure on Turkey is very
small. “It is another thing if we ourselves can exert certain impact
on deepening of the Genocide problem in the USA”, he said.

To note, the Armenian-Turkish protocols were signed in Zurich on 10
October 2009. However, the protocols have not been ratified by the
Armenian and Turkish Parliaments, as Ankara was constantly laying
down preconditions. Later on, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
decreed freezing the process of ratification of the protocols in the
Armenian Parliament.

POLITICIAN: IF THE SECOND PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA RUNS FOR PRESIDENCY, HE IS SURE TO WIN

ARMINFO
Wednesday, November 7, 17:41

The Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) will have to nominate its own
candidate during the 17 Feb 2013 presidential elections in Armenia,
otherwise the party risks to sing its swan song, Leader of National
Accord Party, Aram Haroutyunyan, said at today’s press conference.

He also pointed out that the PAP’s candidate will create problems
for the incumbent power. In this context, he stressed that the first
president of Armenia, Leader of the opposition Armenian National
Congress Levon Ter-Petrosyan will offer his hand to the PAP during
the presidential elections. “Levon Ter-Petrosyan has no chances for
victory, as his Armenian National Congress obtained only 7% of votes
during the parliamentary elections in 2012”, Haroutyunyan said.

As regards the media reports about possible nomination of the second
president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan’s candidacy, the politician
said that in case of nomination Kocharyan will undoubtedly become the
first in the presidential race. “If Kocharyan announces his intention
to run for presidency, even the incumbent President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan will doubt his own nomination”, Haroutyunyan said.

He added that the incumbent authorities of Armenia have no chances
to remain at power given the critical socio-economic situation in
the republic.