Author: Karagyozian Lena

A1+

COMMANDER APPEARED IN COURTROOM IN HANDCUFFS
[07:48 pm] 05 May, 2008

Today the RoA Appellate Court heard the case of Husik
Baghdasarian, commander of a Masis regiment. Husik
Baghdasarian has been sentenced to a three-year
imprisonment by a Masis Court. He is charged with
carrying illegal weapon / Article 235, Penal Code/.
Today the RoA Appellate court heard Baghdasarian’s
appeal against the court decision. Husik Baghdasarian
was taken to the courtroom in handcuffs.

`Why have you chained Husik? Shame on you! How dare
you chain an Armenian hero?’ cried out indignant
people.

`The charges brought against Baghdasarian are
groundless. He is accused of carrying 16
fowling-pieces,’ said barrister Vardan Zurnachian.

Vardan Zurnachian is surprised that while bringing in
a verdict the judge didn’t pay attention to a few
extenuating circumstances. Husik has an underage
child. Besides, he has performed significant services
to the country which might assuage the punishment.

The barrister voiced surprise that during a similar
court sitting the defendant was sentenced to a 1.5
years’ imprisonment.

During today’s court sitting he filed a few petitions
concerning the conduct of a new investigation, but
they were all rejected.

Upon the request of Vardan Zurnachian the court
sitting was delayed till May 8.

IN DEFENCE OF HUSIK BAGHDASARIAN
Today some dozens of Armenian citizens held a protest
action in front of the Appellate Court. They stretched
out their fists for an hour shouting, `Free Husik
Baghdasarian,’ `Now,’ `Freedom’ etc. The protesters
were also signing patriotic songs.

`Husik has been `chased’ after he voiced support for
Ter-Petrossian. During a February search in our flat
Husik handed over his legal arms with cartridges.
While now they say those are not fowling-pieces,’ said
Husik’s wife Mariam Baghdasarian. `The police have
looked in twice over the past four years but they
haven’t protocolled any weapon. Therefore, I think
Husik’s arrest is politically motivated. He
participated in all rallies, sit-down strikes and was
Ter-Petrossian’s proxy in Masis. My husband is a
political prisoner.’

We all know well that all these people are tried for
their political dissent. Shame on the authorities! We
live in an autocratic country,’ added Armenian
civilian Roza.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext. 202
Fax: +37410. 565601
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

175-06-05-2008

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has a Meeting with f French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Paris

The first official meeting of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
and French Foreign Minister, Minister of European Affairs Bernard Kouchner
took place on May 5 in Paris. During the meeting the ministers discussed
bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The Ministers praised the current level of bilateral relationship, which is
a solid basis for further development of the interstate cooperation in all
areas. The two agreed to deepen cooperation in bilateral, European and
international formats.

Edward Nalbandian presented to Bernard Kouchner policy priorities of the
Armenian Governmental coalition, formed after presidential elections, as
well as Armenia’s position on the regional security, the resolution of
existing conflicts and the development of the cooperation. In this context,
a special attention was paid to the Nagorno Karabakh problem settlement
process and its perspectives. Minister Nalbandian reiterated Armenia’s
willingness to continue the negotiations on the basis of the proposals of
the OSCE Minsk group Co-chairs and appreciated their efforts in this
process.
Armenian and French Foreign Ministers also discussed Armenia’s relations
with the European Union in the context of French Presidency of EU in the
second half of this year.

At the end of the meeting Minister Nalbandian invited Minister Kouchner to
visit Yerevan. The invitation was accepted.

Right after the meeting a press conference was held in French Foreign
Ministry. Answering to the questions of the journalists the Armenian
Minister confirmed Armenia’s willingness towards the peaceful settlement of
the Karabakh problem and stated," Today there is a strong need of
establishment of mutual trust between the sides and creation of a
constructive atmosphere for the negotiations. Today there is a strong need
to confirm that there is no alternative to peaceful and negotiated
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. Tomorrow I will meet
my Azerbaijani colleague in Strasburg and I hope to continue the
constructive dialogue to find ways of solution to the problem with the help
of the mediators".

Commenting on Armenian-Turkish relations, Minister Nalbandian stated that
the present generation of the two nations has a heavy heritage from the
past, and in order to turn over that black page the political leaders
should take joint steps. "Armenia is ready to establish relations without
any precondition, This will beneficial for the whole region and our
peoples",
stated Mr. Nalbandian.

In the evening of the same day Edward Nalbandian left for Strasburg to take
part in the 118th session of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers.

Later today in Strasbourg Minister Nalbandian will meet Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group. -0-

Panorama.am

16:38 02/05/2008

NKR PRESIDENT RECEIVED PILGRIMAGE GROUP

Today the president of the NKR received the group of
pilgrimage. The Meeting took place in the house of
culture and youth in Stepanakert. The member of the
pilgrimage were blessed by the Supreme Patriarch of
All Armenians and reached Shushi Saint Savor Church.

The president of the NKR said it is nice to meet
Armenians from all over the world in the group.
`History is the evidence of the fact that Armenians
managed to meet any problem when they were together
and joined. This initiative covers that element of
being together. It symbolizes the relation among
state-society-church,’ said the president.

Source: Panorama.am

NKR PRESIDENT WELCOMES THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE PAN-ARMENIAN PILGRIMAGE TO SHOUSHI

armradio.am
02.05.2008 15:10

On May 2 NKR President Bako Sahakyan and the leadership of eth
republic met with participants of the Etchmiadzin-Shoushi pan-Armenian
pilgrimage.

Addressing the participants, NKR President Bako Sahakyan said:

"Dear friends, Dear compatriots,

I’m glad to welcome you on the Artsakhi land. Theparticipates of the
pilgrimage were blessed at the pan-Armenian religious centre of the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and continuing their rally, reached
the St. Ghazanchetsots Church of Shoushi. This includes a deep meaning
and determines the path of our future victories.

It’s pleasant to note that most of the pilgrims are Armenian young
people from different sites of the world. It is the best proof of
the fact that unity is one of the main features characteristic of
our nation.

Over the whole course of its history the Armenian nation has managed
to overcome any difficulty with honor if it has been united. This
unprecedented initiative involves the most essential components of
this unity. It symbolizes the state-society-church link.

Appreciable is the fact that the soldiers of the liberation war
and the Ministry of Defense are actively participating in this
pan-Armenian event.

I attach a huge importance to the participation of different
generations and representatives of social groups in such national
undertakings. Public and political figures and intellectuals,
soldiers of the liberation war in Artsakh, mothers of the killed
heroes, as well as representatives of the younger generation are
here today. Participants of the pilgrimage represent different parts
of the Armenian nation, once again underscoring the role of the
Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora unity in our life.

I welcome the fact representatives of different nationalities, who
are citizens of Armenia, participate in the pilgrimage.

More than ever, today our people need to unite, be united and live in
concord. The numerous challenges and issues that face our two Armenian
republics can be solved only this way. The history of out nation has
proved on many occasions that we have no other way out. It is the
imperative of the time and the main guarantee of our victories. We
should continue along this path, build our Motherland and welfare
future of our generations.

On behalf of the people and authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, I once again welcome all the participants and organizers
of the pan-Armenian pilgrimage, all those who initiated and realized
this important mission. I wish you success and all the best.

I’m sure that this exceptional pan-Armenian event will have its
important role in consolidating the united will and spirit of
our people for the benefit of the Republic of Armenia, the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic and the strengthening and prosperity of world-spread
Armenians.

DARCHINYAN TITLE FIGHT PUT BACK
By Adrian Warren

Fox Sports, Australia
April 30 2008

April 30, 2008 VIC Darchinyan’s challenge to Russia’s IBF Super
flyweight world champion Dimitri Kirilov has been pushed back four
weeks to August 2, but the Australian will make an appearance of a
totally different kind next month.

Sydney-based Darchinyan, the current IBO super flyweight world champion
and former IBF and IBO flyweight world titleholder, was originally
scheduled to challenge Kirilov on July 5.

Their Las Vegas clash has been deferred four weeks to allow another
big super flyweight fight to appear on the card.

Filipino Glenn Donaire, the only professional to defeat Darchinyan,
is also scheduled to fight on the new date.

Darchinyan’s manager Elias Nassar revealed Donaire could challenge WBO
super flyweight world champion Fernando Montiel in the main support
bout on the card, which still has to be locked into a specific venue.

The deferral will give Montiel some extra time to recover from his
May 3 title defence against former Darchinyan victim Luis Maldonado.

Nassar revealed Darchinyan would be one of the boxers in the new
Prize Fighter Don King computer game which goes on sale next month.

He added that Darchinyan was the first Australian boxer to appear in
a computer game.

Darchinyan has spent the last month training in Armenia the country
of his birth and will return to Australia shortly.

REP. VAN HOLLEN ISSUES STATEMENT COMMEMORATING 93RD ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

US Fed News
April 29, 2008 Tuesday 8:14 AM EST

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. (8th CD), issued the following statement:

United States Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today released
the following statement commemorating the 93rd anniversary of the
Armenian genocide:

"I rise today to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were
killed by Ottoman authorities during World War I.

"On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman government began its genocidal plan by
arresting and murdering over 250 Armenian intellectuals and political
figures in Istanbul. In the interior of the Ottoman Empire, where the
bulk of the Armenian population lived, the government then arrested
and killed village leaders. Meanwhile, most able-bodied Armenian men,
who had been conscripted into the Ottoman army, were separated into
labor battalions and subsequently murdered. Next, in various provinces,
gendarmes and the army massacred Armenian villagers outright, while in
other provinces the remaining Armenian population of women, children
and the elderly were forcibly deported over the mountains and into the
scorching deserts of Syria, without food and water. Many of the female
deportees were raped and killed en route, while other deportees died
of starvation and dehydration. By the end of 1915, the centuries-old
Armenian civilization of eastern Anatolia no longer existed.

"U.S. diplomats who were stationed in Anatolia at the time were
some of the main eye-witnesses and chroniclers of that horrific
period. U.S. Consul Leslie Davis, stationed in Harput in eastern
Anatolia, wrote the following in a cable to U.S. Ambassador Henry
Morgenthau, dated July 24, 1915: "It has been no secret that the
plan was to destroy the Armenian race as a race, but the methods
used have been more cold-blooded and barbarous, if not effective,
than I had first supposed." He also wrote in this same cable: "I
do not believe there has ever been a massacre in the history of the
world so general and thorough as that which is now being perpetrated
in this region or that a more fiendish, diabolical scheme has been
conceived in the mind of man."

"This cable, and many others of a similar nature, is housed in the
U.S. National Archives only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol and
the White House. They provide unambiguous, documentary evidence
of what occurred. Yet there are those who still refuse to properly
characterize what happened to the Armenian people during World War I
as genocide. Although the word "genocide" was not invented in 1915,
what these diplomats described was indeed genocide of a people.

"I am deeply disappointed that many of our current officials avoid
characterizing what occurred as "genocide." The avoidance does a
disservice to the memory of the victims and their descendants and
hurts our moral standing in the world. I hope that one day soon, this
legislative body and the U.S. Administration will properly characterize
what happened to the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire.

"Many of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide settled in the
United States. Bearing painful physical and emotional scares,
they nonetheless re-established their lives here, worked hard,
and became proud American citizens, thankful for the opportunity to
live in freedom. Many of their descendants have become leaders in the
fields of science, business, academia, and the arts, and have served
their country bravely in military uniform. They have also created a
vibrant community. Yet they also bear the pain of what their parents
and grandparents went through and are actively engaged in the effort
to seek proper recognition of what happened to the Armenian people in
1915. Today, as we recall the events of the Armenian Genocide and pay
homage to the victims, we also honor the Armenian-American community
for its unwavering commitment to this human rights struggle."

MEMBER OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS ARMENIA’S AGGRESSIVE POLICY

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
May 1 2008

Azerbaijan, Baku, 1 April / Trend News corr S. Ilhamgizi/ On 30 April,
the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Adrian
Severin, the Romanian member of the European Parliament, Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry reported.

The European MP noted the importance of Azerbaijan’s special position
in the European Neighbouring Policy to establish strategic cooperation
between the organization and the country and said that Azerbaijan
has the potential. He added that not only is the oil and gas policy
of Azerbaijan important for the European Union, but its geopolitical
situation as well, dynamic development of economy and the contribution
which Azerbaijan can make in cooperating between EU and Middle Asia.

Mammadyarov informed Severin that the first report on the fulfilment
of Azerbaijan’s Action Plan on EU Neighbouring Policy had already
been developed and that integration with Europe resulted in progress
in a range of fields in the country. He suggested researching the
opportunities to establish the GUAM Friendship Group at the European
Parliament.

Regarding the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, Mammadyarov and Severin
condemned the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory and said ethnic
cleansing carried out by Armenia on the principle of ‘determination
of its future’ are intolerable.

The Romanian representative said not national minorities but nations
may ‘determine its future’ and the Armenians have already determined
themselves within Armenia.

They noted the necessity to improve the knowledge about Azerbaijan
at the European Parliament, to organize visits of MPs to Azerbaijan
and also discussed lobby activities.

ART AS EVIDENCE

Guardian
April 29, 2008 11:45 AM
UK

Arshile Gorky’s moving double portrait is a testimony to the Armenian
suffering the Turkish government still deny

Record of a tragedy … detail from Arshile Gorky’s The Artist and
his Mother (1926 – 36)

The artist Arshile Gorky was a survivor of a genocide that officially
didn’t happen. To this day, the government of Turkey denies that in
the dying days of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 to 1918, the Armenian
population of Turkey was deliberately eradicated. Yet there is ample
evidence of what happened. There are written eyewitness accounts,
there are photographs – and there is Gorky’s painting The Artist and
his Mother (1926 – 36).

Can a painting be historical evidence? Can it "prove" something
happened?

Those who still deny the historical reality of the Armenian genocide
are capable of ignoring or explaining away photographs of emaciated
bodies in heaps, photographs that back up contemporary written
evidence that starvation was a key element in the pogrom. Armenian
men were shot dead in their tens of thousands. Women and children were
driven on forced marches towards Syria and Iraq without food or water,
in a herding intended to kill.

At least one million people were massacred.

Gorky’s family were peasants who lived beside Lake Van. In 1915,
when he was 12, the Armenian ordeal began – for him a grim adventure
of siege, flight, and hunger. His mother Shushan died of malnutrition
in March 1918 after giving every scrap of bread to her children. Gorky
reached America in 1920 and went on to become a great artist, one of
the generation that created abstract expressionism. His two versions of
his memory picture The Artist and his Mother – one is in the Whitney
Museum in New York, the other in Washington’s National Gallery –
are based on a photograph of the young Gorky with his mother.

If all other evidence of the fate of Armenians in Turkey in 1915 –
18 were to vanish, this moving image would endure as testimony to what
happened. You know, looking at it, that it records a tragedy. It is a
painting of distance and loss: the artist meditates on the distance
history has imposed between him and the place he came from, him
and the child he was. There’s a dry hardness to the figures that’s
at odds with his natural grace as a painter – it communicates his
sense of remoteness. His mother is frozen forever in his photographic
memory. You want to know the story: you find out about the painting
and discover the horrifying facts. The victims of this genocide still
haven’t been properly acknowledged. But Gorky gave at least one of
them a face. How can the government of Turkey look Gorky’s mother in
the eye and still deny the facts?

Tampa Tribune, FL
April 27 2008

Before The Holocaust

By KURT LOFT
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 27, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG – The systematic murder of European Jews by the Nazis
forms what may be the darkest chapter in human history, but it by no
means exhausted mankind’s capacity for genocide.

>From the massacre of American Indians to the Boer War to Darfur,
governments have shown not just malevolence, but also a penchant for
evil that often escapes description, much less our ability to
understand it. This is why social historians focus on the message of
these terrible events and why each new generation must look it in the
eye.

So it is with "The Greatest Crime of the War: The Armenian Genocide
During World War I," a new exhibition at the Florida Holocaust
Museum. Often overshadowed by the Holocaust of World War II, the fate
of the Armenians at the hands of the Turkish government remains
central to man’s inhumanity to man, says Erin Blankenship, the
museum’s curator of exhibitions and collections.

"For so long, Armenians have been struggling to have this recognized,"
she says. "It’s important for an institution like ours to say, ‘Yes,
this happened before the Holocaust, and we can learn from it.’"

Human rights groups around the world each year honor the victims of
genocide on April 24, when, in 1915, more than 200 Armenian
intellectuals were arrested by the Committee of Union and Progress, a
reformist political power within the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the
Young Turks, the group labeled the Armenians a threat to the empire’s
security and began the planned expulsion of an entire people from
their 2,500-year-old homeland.

An estimated 2 million Armenians were forced to march southwest into
what is now the Syrian desert, where most succumbed to thirst, hunger
and exposure. The horrors and indignities suffered by the fleeing
population — torture and rape were common — underscore the vehemence
of the perpetrators. Many others died within their own borders,
bringing the estimated total number of deaths to about 1.5 million.

The exhibit begins with the history of the Armenian people and follows
the political and international events leading up to World War I and
tensions in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). The exhibit makes strong
use of photos — families being deported, stoic orphans — to explain
the scale of human suffering.

It ends with panels discussing the denial and lack of justice
surrounding the mass deaths, how the event prompted an international
outcry of "crimes against humanity," and its legacy today.

Turkey does not deny that many Armenians died but says that most of
the deaths were part of the general unrest during the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire. Some countries are sympathetic to Turkey’s position.

The United States, which was aligned with Turkey during the Cold War,
has not officially recognized the events as a genocide. Last year, the
House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution labeling it a
genocide. Turkey reacted by warning that the action threatens its
strategic partnership with the United States.

By recognizing the Armenians’ plight as a planned destruction of a
nation’s people, societies can better understand similar events that
followed — and those that wait to unfold, says Carolyn Bass, the
museum’s director.

"Hitler himself said, ‘Who remembers the Armenians?’ but he was able
to build his own philosophy on it," she says. "Nothing happens in a
vacuum. You need to study all holocausts and what could have been done
to stop them."

ON VIEW

The Greatest Crime

of the War

WHEN: Through Oct. 19; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

WHERE: Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 Fifth St. S., St. Petersburg

HOW MUCH: $12; $6 for students, free for ages 6 and younger; (727) 820-0100

/tr-before-the-holocaust/

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN CYPRUS URGES TURKEY TO ACKNOWLEDGE GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.04.2008 17:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian community in Cyprus yesterday marked
the 93rd anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, with a call to
Ankara to recognize its historical crimes.

The anniversary was marked by a series of events under the auspices
of House of Representatives President Marios Karoyan.

Yesterday’s event involved a service at the Armenian Church, and a
march in Nicosia.

Vartkes Mahdessian, Armenian Representative at the House, said that
the message the Armenian people wanted to send was one of continuous
struggle to internationalize and resolve the Armenian question,
and also to receive acknowledgement and condemnation of the genocide.

"Armenians will continue their struggle until the final justification,
a duty owed to the victims of the genocide," Mahdessian said. "It
is time that the political leadership of Turkey found the courage
to recognize the crimes the previous Turkish governments committed,
justifying the victims of not only the Armenian genocide but of the
Greeks, Cypriots, Kurds, Arabs, Pontic Greeks and other peoples,
in the hope that it will at some point join the European Union."

Karoyan, in an official statement, reiterated the support of the
House to the demand of the Armenian people for the recognition of
the genocide.

He called on Turkey to recognize and admit its crime and to apologize
to the Armenian people and humanity as a whole.

"We do not beg, we do not implore. We demand justice from the
contemporary democratic humanity, the entire international community,
all the nations and all the peoples. Nothing more, nothing less,"
he said, Cyprus Mail reports.