Author: Karapetian Hovik

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WITH US ARMENIAN DIASPORA

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 13, 2010 – 19:42 AMT 14:42 GMT

On April 12, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with representatives
of the Armenian National Committee of America in Washington,
DC. Armenia-Diaspora relations, as well as strengthening of cooperation
were in the focus of discussion.

The Armenian President also discussed the current stage of
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations with ANCA leadership,
the presidential press service reported.

ARMENIA IS CALLING ME
Liana Aghajanian

ianyan magazine

April 13 2010

When I was an awkward 12-year-old, trying to make friends, fit in and
figure out my place in the world, I got plucked from a public school
and put into a private Armenian institution for two years. It wasn’t
by choice. The school district had a problem with the fact that I
lived one street over from their designated city line and so off to
Armenian school I went, for better or for worse.

It took one year (and countless horrific hours memorizing Armenian
conjugations and reciting snippets of ancient Armenian history in
front of a bunch of bored prepubescents) but I finally felt like I
had made a place in this strange, yet comforting environment.

As the end of junior high approached, classes were routinely taken on
trips to Armenia as a last hurrah before venturing off to the scary
world of high school, where you end up right back down at the bottom
of the hierarchy again.

Not my class.

For the first time in the history of this annual trip, we were instead
shipped off to Washington D.C. to experience the nation’s capital
in all its glory. At the time, it seemed like a pity – hundreds of
students before us had gotten to travel thousands of miles to land
in a place where you couldn’t escape being Armenian ( more than you
couldn’t escape it in Los Angeles anyway) as did those after us,
yet we had gotten the short end of the bargain.

More than 12 years later, after a time in high school when I didn’t
want anything to do with being Armenian, to college where the
foundations of ianyan were planted in my mind, I look back and feel
lucky. I feel lucky that Armenia has been left in the pot, stirring,
bubbling and growing as savory as ever, cooking in my mind until
somewhere, somehow a timer went off and everything made sense.

I’m glad I never made it back then, because Armenia is calling me
now and everything about her song feels right.

She calls me in my sleep, piercing my dreams with visions of
Vernissage, Republic Square, Lake Sevan and Dilijan.

She swirls luscious apricots and pomegranates above my head and
transports me to open air markets with sights and sounds and smells
that are too vivid to be just encapsulated in just dreams.

She takes me to hear the beats of Reincarnation Band and see the Cinema
Moscow Open-Air Hall before it’s gone. She’s inviting me to turn my
virtual connections with some of the most incredible and amazing people
– journalists, activists, authors, filmmakers and just good-hearted,
genuine people – into real life ones, cementing memories I will never
forget and world wind conversations over amazing food and drinks that
will change my life.

She’s asking me to put faces behind organizations I so strongly believe
in like the Women’s Resource Center and Pink Armenia and the Armenia
Tree Project.

She doesn’t just want to show me the beautiful life. She takes me
through the mountains and hills and tells me of the human rights
struggles, the animal protection issues and the political prisoners
and the discrimination and marginalization of those who are made
to feel that their life is worth less than their fellow humans. She
wants me to see the poverty, the orphanages, the people and places
calling out for their government to make changes and enrich their
lives. She wants me to see all of this and meet the people who have
risked everything trying to make a difference.

And Ararat, oh Ararat. I don’t know if I will be able to stare a
sight so beautiful for too long.

The road signs will be in Armenian. The store fronts will be in
Armenian. I will be in the core of my being, swallowed from the
inside out.

It’s as if the stars of the universe have aligned and every part of
my life has been culminating for this moment. My path, I’m unsure of,
my strength will have to just get stronger, and my emotions will get
the best of me.

Armenia is calling to me and I’m listening. It’s now not a question
of if, but a question of when. I hear you, Armenia. I hear you. I
hope you keep calling.

TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian School
1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Tel: 323-461-4377
Fax: 323-323-461-4247
Contact: [email protected]

Los Angeles, April 13, 2010 – The 8th grade students of TCA Arshag
Dickranian School went on their March 26-31 six day educational trip to
Washington D.C. and New York., escorted by Ms. Alvard Uzunyan, their home
room teacher. The trip was organized by Armen Mkhsian and was accompanied
by several parents.

On their first day in Washington DC, the group toured the nation’s capital
exploring the memorial sites of presidents Thomas Jefferson, Abraham
Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later in the afternoon, the group
visited the Arlington Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Walls and
the Korean War Veterans Memorial, reflecting upon the soldiers who gave up
their lives for their country.

On day two, the students first visited the White House and after spending
valuable time, the group headed towards the National Mall observing
various statues and paintings of famous people in American history. While
there, the 8th graders also watched a documentary about the Revolutionary
War and the Independence of America, which they found very informative.

On their third day of the trip, the group was very excited to visit the
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, where they spent three hours meeting
with the staff of the Embassy and touring the several rooms that display
artifacts from Armenia, such as rugs, statues and paintings.

The next morning, the group boarded their bus heading towards New York
with a short stop in Philadelphia to visit the Independence Hall and the
Liberty Bell. The students were amused with all the horse carriages in the
plaza. Upon arriving to New York City, the students spent the rest of the
day taking a stroll in Time Square with stops at Hershey’s and the
McDonald’s famed to be the biggest one in the world.
The final fifth and sixth days of the trip were spent by site seeing the
world famous and historic locations of New York such as the Wall Street,
the Statue of Liberty, the Rockefeller Center, the meat packing factory
and Time Square.

Upon their return the students found their week long excursion very
enjoyable and informative, whereas parents expressed their high level of
satisfaction of the program and the way it was organized.

Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, the TCA Arshag
Dickranian Armenian School is a federally tax exempt, Pre-K to 12th grade
private educational institution. For more information visit

TURKEY CANNOT SPEAK WITH PRE-CONDITIONS TO ARMENIA: SARGSYAN

Tert.am
12.04.10

Armenia’s President Sezh Sargsyan visited Woodrow Wilson’s tomb in
the Washington National Cathedral. The President placed a wreath on
the tomb.

Afterwards Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with American-Armenians
elaborating on his meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.

Our correspondent in Washing ton says that Sargsyan said he had
told Erdogan that Armenia has not changed its approach over the
Armenia-Turkey normalization, that Turkey cannot speak with Armenia
with pre-conditions, and that Armenia will never allow anyone to
question the fact of Genocide.

"This morning I met with Turkish Prime Minister. Our approach has been
and remains very clear. Turkey cannot speak with pre-conditions to
Armenia. We will not simply allow that. We cannot allow the fact of
Armenian Genocide be a subject to examination or pretend that Turkey
can play a positive role in the Karabakh conflict settlement process.

Any new foreign policy line is subject to trial because we are passing
through an untrampled path. We are sure that Armenia will pass this
way with honor too," said Sargsyan.

Earlier a meeting took place between Serzh Sargsyan and Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in the framework of the World Nuclear Security
Summit. There were reports that the main issue on the agenda would be
the Armenia-Turkey normalization and the ratification of Armenia-Turkey
Protocols.

Besides Serzh Sargsyan Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan,
President’s Deputy Chief of Staff Vigen Sargsyan were participating
in the meeting.

>From the Turkish side together with Erdogan Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Turkey’s Deputy Undersecretary Feridun
Sinirlioglu participated in the meeting that took place in a room
behind transparent windows in the background of the World Nuclear
Security Summit wallpaper.

LEADING ARMENIAN AMERICAN GROUPS URGE PRESIDENT SARGSYAN TO PRESS FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION DURING HIS U.S. VISIT

armradio.am
12.04.2010 10:51

On the eve of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Washington,
DC for the Nuclear Summit, leading Armenian civic, religious and
social service organizations have called on the Armenian leader to
urge President Barack Obama to honor his pledge to recognize the
Armenian Genocide and reject Turkish government efforts to use the
Turkey-Armenia Protocols to delay international affirmation of this
crime against humanity, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

The April 9th letter cited the Armenian American community’s ongoing
efforts to secure U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, including
the recent House Foreign Affairs Committee favorable consideration of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252). This measure passed the
panel with a vote of 23-22, despite strong opposition from the Turkish
Government and a last minute attack from the Obama Administration. The
letter noted broad-based community outrage over the use of the
Turkey-Armenia Protocols by opponents of this legislation serving
on the Committee, and, more broadly, by those seeking to block U.S.
support for a truthful and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

The letter goes on to urge President Sargsyan to stand by his own
words against the misuse of a so-called "historical commission" to
call into question the Armenian Genocide, and also to directly call
upon President Obama and other international leaders to recognize the
Armenian Genocide. The signatories pressed the Armenian President to
announce that the Turkey-Armenia Protocol discussions cannot continue
"given Turkey’s unconstructive and antagonistic posture" throughout
the process.

During his April 12-13th visit to Washington, DC, President Sargsyan
will join with Armenian Genocide survivors and Armenian Americans
at the tomb of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, sending a powerful
message about both America’s legacy of support for the Armenian Cause,
as well as the enduring commitment of all Armenians to a truthful
and just resolution of Turkey’s still unpunished crime against the
Armenian nation.

A wreath-laying ceremony, scheduled for Monday, April 12th at ,
will include blessings by Armenian American clergy including: His
Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of Eastern U.S.; His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,
Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Eastern
U.S., and His Eminence Bishop Manuel Batakian, Third Exarch of the
Armenian Catholic Church of America.

The ceremony will be followed by the presentation of a letter from
Genocide survivors to the President and remarks by the President.

ACA CALLS ON OBAMA TO RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
12.04.2010 14:44

On April 12, the Armenian Council of America (ACA) Executive Board sent
United States President Barack Obama a letter. In the letter, the ACA
addressed the upcoming anticipated meeting between the President and
his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian and Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as the annual April 24th presidential
statement on the Armenian Genocide issue.

With the letter, ACA urges President Obama to advocate for greater
democratic reforms within the region and honor his promise to recognize
the Armenian Genocide on its solemn 95th anniversary of April 24,
2010, instead of the ill conceived Armenian Turkish Protocols.

"On behalf of the Armenian Council of America and Armenian Americans,
we urge you to follow through with your pledge to the community and
recognize the tragedy that occurred 95 years ago as a historical
fact by acknowledging the events by its rightful name, the Armenian
Genocide.

Distorting the significance of the Armenian Genocide in favor
of international or domestic political and economic gain is
counterintuitive to progress and continues the precedent for allowing
future genocides and human rights violations to occur as evident in
the recent genocide in Darfur.

While some in your Administration may advise you to encourage
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to ratify the Armenian Turkish Protocols, we instead
ask you to encourage the leaders to adopt democratic principles in
their respective nations in order to promote future solidarity and
friendship in the region.

The protocols signed by Armenia and Turkey whose history of continuous
conflict dates back to the end of the 19th century appeared as a
symbolic step towards normalized relations between the two estranged
states. Peace and cooperation are components to the region’s prosperity
and the Armenian Council of America is willing to work towards that
endeavor, however, these important elements cannot be achieved at
the cost of a historical accuracy or through undemocratic means.

It is vital for neighboring nations to co-exist in peace, yet the
protocols present a facade of harmony and good-will between Armenia
and Turkey. Its intentions are being manipulated and concocted by the
Turkish government to set preconditions and unequivocally continue
the atmosphere of distrust within the region.

Turkey has closed its borders unilaterally and should open its borders
unilaterally without any pre-conditions. The statements that have been
made by Turkish leaders regarding the protocols negate all claims of
the non-existence of preconditions.

President Obama, Armenian Americans strongly insist that you do what
is in the best interest of human rights and democracy; advocate for
greater democratic reforms within the region and honor your promise
to recognize the Armenian Genocide on its solemn 95th anniversary of
April 24, 2010," the letter reads.

news.am, Armenia
April 9 2010

Armenian-Turkish process dead: Heritage party

13:39 / 04/09/2010Unfortunately, official Yerevan cannot make a
political decision on withdrawal from Armenian-Turkish process,
Heritage faction leader Stepan Safaryan said in RA National Assembly
briefing commenting on forthcoming Sargsyan-Erdogan meeting in
Washington.

`Nothing is unexpected. Official Yerevan unfortunately cannot make a
political decision on walking out of Armenia-Turkey reconciliation
process. However, no matter what they say of initiative policy,
withdrawal from it might negatively affect both parties,’ Safaryan
noted.

According to him, on the threshold of Washington meeting Armenian
diplomacy is weak. `Turkey will take advantage of this meeting as a
proof of dialogue continuation. Ankara keeps on buying time and
showing the world that process goes ahead, whereas actually it is
dead,’ MP concluded.

A.G.

news.az, Azerbaijan
April 10 2010

US attempts to press on Yerevan to make concessions in Karabakh, Armenian expert
Sat 10 April 2010 | 07:37 GMT Text size:

Stepan Grigoryan News.Az interviews Stepan Grigoryan, head of Armenian
think-tank the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional
Cooperation.

Turkish Premier will visit the United States on April 12-13. Which
results do you think can be expected after his meeting with US
President Obama?

The Turkish prime minister and the US president have a lot of issues
for discussion including the issues of military cooperation and the
future of US military bases in Turkey, war in Iraq, peacekeeping
operations in Afghanistan, the problem of Turkey’s rapprochement with
Syria and Iran. The Iranian issue becomes even more relevant in the
context of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, about which the six
countries (USA, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany) have
serious fears and concerns. Here, even Russia has recently agreed on
sanctions against Iran. Against this background, the signing of
Turkey’s multibillion gas contracts with Iran, significantly weakening
the effectiveness of sanctions against that country, looks like a
serious challenge to the international community.

This background will have a significant impact on the results of the
US-Turkish negotiations, as well as discussions of issues related to
the Armenian-Turkish relations.

Obviously, the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and the
possible ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols in the Turkish
Parliament will be critical during the meeting the of Prime Minister
of Turkey and the US president also because they affect the issue of
personal prestige of Barack Obama. The world remembers the promises
made to them during the pre-election presidential campaign in 2008
regarding the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, committed in the
Ottoman Empire in 1915, in the event of his election as the US
president.

And the purpose of the visit of the Turkish Premier to Washington is
important here? If he goes to the United States for "linking" the
issue of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations with progress in
resolving the Karabakh conflict, then today we can say that the
negotiations will not succeed and will lead to a sharp increase in the
probability of recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 from the
US side. I think it comes to this, because recently official Ankara
has again assured Azerbaijan that it would discuss the Karabakh
problem in Washington.

It is important to understand what the problem is not in Armenia and
its policies. It is rather in the fact that both the United States and
Russia have now a consensus on the fact that the Armenian-Turkish
relations should be separated from the Azerbaijani-Armenian issues.
Both powers understand the difficulty of simultaneous settlement of
two complex issues in the region, and besides, it is clear that Russia
is not interested in the soonest settlement of the Karabakh conflict
(because it does not "see" the possible implications of this for it).
Against this background, Turkey’s attempt to "force in" its vision on
solving this problem in the United States can backfire.

I would also like to add that Washington will host a meeting of
President Serzh Sargsyan with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. A trilateral meeting between Obama, Erdogan and Sargsyan is
also possible when necessary (depending on the results of two other
bilateral meetings).

How will this meeting impact Washington’s position in the
Armenian-Turkish issue?

As is was earlier said, in case Turkey binds the Armenian-Turkish and
Azerbaijani-Armenian relations (if exactly, bind ratification of the
Armenian-Turkish protocols to `progress’ in the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict) this will lead to the growing possibility of the
recognition of Armenian genocide by the United States.

Indeed, the fact that Azerbaijan was not invited to the Summit on
nuclear security in Washington (as is known, nether Turkey, nor
Armenia or Georgia are not nuclear superpowers, however, they have
received an invitation from President Barack Obama) shows the US
position, which is against binding the Armenian-Turkish and
Azerbaijani-Armenian relations with each other (especially because the
negative position of Azerbaijan to possible ratification of the
Armenian-Turkish protocols in the Turkish parliament is clear).

Which issues can Sargsyan and Obama discuss in Washington and how can
this meeting influence the further developments?

The meeting will discuss two issues: the way Barack Obama should
overcome the situation with recognition of the Armenian genocide of
1915 (in the case the Turkish parliament does not ratify the protocols
until April 24) and the issue of Armenia’s readiness for compromises
in the Karabakh conflict settlement. I think Washington will try to
put some pressure on official Yerevan for their readiness to make
concessions in the Karabakh issue.

In order not to be subjected to pressure in Washington, Armenia should
speak with a number of initiatives until April 12. For examples, the
National Assembly of Armenia could have ratified both Armenian-Turkish
protocols regardless of the actions to be taken by the Turkish
parliament and Armenia also could offer Azerbaijan to sign a framework
agreement based on the Madrid principles. This would prove the
reliability and predictability of the Armenian actions in the complex
process of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement and would also create a
favorable background before the meeting of the leaders of the United
States, Turkey and Armenia in Washington.

What do you expect from the traditional speech of President Obama on April 24?

Though odd it may seem, the US president’s speech on April 24 will
strongly depend on Turkey’s position in the ratification of protocols.
If Turkey does not ratify protocols until 24 April 2010, the
possibility of the use of the word `genocide’ in Obama’s message will
be extremely high.

Can we expect a breakthrough in the Karabakh conflict settlement soon?

It is naive to expect a great breakthrough in the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict against such an unfavorable background when even the
foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia `exchange’ sharp and even
abusive statements. The level of mutual trust is extremely high in the
societies. But even it such conditions it is possible to find
intermediate solutions. For example, Armenia could state readiness to
sign Madrid principles on the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, as
they contain the elements concerning all conflict parties (the
principle of territorial integrity, right of nations for
self-determination and solution of conflict without use of force). The
signing of the framework agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia
could become enough for ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols
in the Turkish parliament.

Kamala Mammadova
News.Az

President Sargsyan to attend the Nuclear Summit in Washington

armradio.am
10.04.2010 16:22

On April 11 President Serzh Sargsyan will leave for the United States
at the invitation of US President Barack Obama to participate in the
Global Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.

The Presidents of Armenia and the United States are expected to have a
face-to-face meeting, President’s Press Office reported.

President Sargsyan is scheduled to meet also Turkey’s Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Interfax, Russia
April 9 2010

EU commission urges parties in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to seek
peaceful settlement

BAKU April 9

All sides involved in the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict must seek a
peaceful settlement, said the European Union’s Enlargement
Commissioner Stefan Fuhle.

This conflict must be settled peacefully, he said in Baku on Friday,
adding that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia must assume
definite responsibilities.

Fuhle said that he had discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh problem with
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and met with Azeri refugees.

He said it was important for him to see everything with his own eyes.
However attentive one may be to refugees and displaced persons, they
need to return to their native land, he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory inside Azerbaijan with a
population largely made up of ethnic Armenians.