Author: Kharatian Ani

STUDENTS DISRUPT GENOCIDE MEMORIAL
by Melody Chiu

Daily Trojan Online, CA
University of Southern California
April 24 2008

Students trample flowers and signs erected in honor of the Armenian
genocide.

A peaceful demonstration was disrupted Wednesday when two students
stepped on flowers and knocked down signs at a memorial service
honoring those who died in the Armenian genocide between 1915 and 1923.

The memorial was organized by several Armenian student organizations,
including the Armenian Graduate Student Association and the Armenian
Student Association, and consisted of 1,500 carnations in honor of
the estimated 1.5 million victims of the genocide.

Members of the organizations began planting the flowers in McCarthy
Quad at 4 a.m., and fact sheets were put up with information about
the Armenian genocide along the perimeters of the walkways.

"We were trying to have a very silent and powerful way to
raise awareness of the Armenian genocide on campus," said
Kanakara Navasartian, president of the Armenian Graduate Student
Association. "Everyone has a right to honor their past, and this
wasn’t just about the Armenian genocide. This was about crime against
humanity, period."

Navasartian said two students approached the display and began knocking
down the fact sheets.

The Ottoman Empire has been accused of deliberately and systematically
destroying the Armenian population during World War I, starting in
Istanbul in 1915.

Turkey does not recognize the term genocide as an appropriate
description of the events.

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed the week of April
22 through April 29 as "Days of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide."

Helen Kuiumdjian, president of the Armenian Student Association,
said another member of the organization called her to tell her two
students were disrupting the memorial.

"She said the girl and her boyfriend were yelling and stomping on
all the signs and flowers," Kuiumdjian said. "I was notified by [the
Department of Public Safety] and they said they were looking for the
girl and that they had found her."

DPS officials declined to comment.

Kuiumdjian said the students damaged the groups’ display, but they
were able to rebuild it.

"They broke our signs and our plants were hanging," she said. "It
was a wreck, but a bunch of members worked and fixed it back up in
about 20 minutes."

Kuiumdjian said students passing by the memorial also helped fix
the display.

Students said the disruptive behavior was inappropriate.

"I don’t have any definite examples of what else they could’ve done,
but something more peaceful," said Daniel Bay, a sophomore majoring
in business administration.

"You can hate someone as much as you want, but they shouldn’t have
the right to do that," he said. "They have their own beliefs and they
shouldn’t have acted out so negatively."

ARMENIAN-LEBANESE MARK ‘GENOCIDE DAY’
By Anthony Elghossain

Daily Star – Lebanon
April 25 2008

Thousands attend vigil to remember massacres

BEIRUT: "History has not yet witnessed a more terrible crime – a crime
against humanity – than that of genocide," the Tashnak Party said
Thursday in a statement issued to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of
"Genocide Day," which marks the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman
Turkish forces during World War I.

Nerses Bedros XIX, the Armenian Catholic patriarch, in a ceremony
held at an Achrafieh cemetery for victims of the massacre, said that
"we are here today to plead the conscience of the global [community]
in hopes of bringing wider recognition of the massacre of Armenians."

The patriarch emphasized "our [the Armenian population’s] commitment
to the Armenian struggle and to the active role we have played in
the Christian struggle in Lebanon and the world."

The Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church in Lebanon held
a Wednesday-evening gathering in the mountain town of Bikfaya to
remember the victims of the killings and reflect upon the meaning of
those events on the Armenian community today.

Aram I, archbishop of Cilicia, sought to convey the need for
remembrance and unity in the Armenian Lebanese experience, touching
upon memory, the assertion of rights and unity as a source of force.

"Memory is one of the more important facets of human existence –
indeed, human beings live in memory," the archbishop said. "The
Armenian genocide, organized and executed by the Ottoman state,
will forever remain etched in the Armenian memory."

The archbishop added that "peoples have, alongside their duties, rights
that must be asserted in case of marginalization [of those rights]."

Referring to divisions that have plagued the Armenian community and
stressing the need for communal unity, Aram I urged Armenians in
Lebanon to coalesce around their "national struggle," saying that
"a people can only grow strong through the unification of its sons
and placing common cause above all differences."

He also linked the Armenian and Lebanese "struggles" to one another,
stressing that "while Turkey oppressed the Armenian people, Lebanon
embraced [them] … Turks butchered Armenians, but in Lebanon we
found a nation of renaissance, life, and continuity."

Despite an intensifying political standoff, both the Lebanese Forces
and the Free Patriotic Movement issued statements "on this painful
commemoration" condemning the "massacre of the Armenian people."

During World War I, beginning in 1915, Ottoman Turks executed over
1.5 million Armenians in present-day Turkey, and prompted thousands of
others to flee to neighboring areas in the region, including Lebanon.

Several states recognize the killings as genocide, but Turkey neither
recognizes the killings as genocide nor assumes legal responsibility
for their execution.

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF OMBUDSMAN

KarabakhOpen
23-04-2008 17:54:59

Albert Voskanyan, head of the Center of Civil Initiatives NGO,
a human rights activist, welcomes the appointment of the ombudsman
of Nagorno-Karabakh. The correspondent of Regnum in Karabakh reports
that the human rights activist thinks the country which has not been
recognized but has declared democratization as a national policy and
is shaping a civil society needs this institution.

"I am sure that the human rights defender – and Yuri Hairapetyan is a
professional lawyer, a real citizen, a person of honor and action –
will make decisive steps for promoting democracy and shaping a real
civil society in our country," Albert Voskanyan said.

The parliament of NKR elected the ombudsman a few days ago through
secret ballot. According to the NKR Constitution, the ombudsman is
appointed by three fifths of the members of parliament for a term
of six years. The ombudsman cannot be removed from office. The same
person cannot be ombudsman for more than two terms. The ombudsman
has immunity.

PRIESTS EXCHANGE BLOWS OVER RELIGIOUS RIGHTS

Melbourne Herald Sun
April 22 2008
Australia

DOZENS of Greek and Armenian priests and worshippers exchanged blows
on Palm Sunday – while the Pope was in New York praying for an end
to such violence.

The brawlers pummelled police with palm fronds when they tried to
break up the fight in Christianity’s holiest shrine.

The fight was caused by rivalry over religious rights at the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the site where tradition says Jesus
was buried and resurrected.

It erupted when Armenian clergy kicked a Greek priest out of their
midst, pushing him to the ground and booting him, witnesses said.

The Holy Sepulchre is shared by several denominations, but each
jealously guards its share.

Fights over worship rights have intensified in recent years, often
between Armenians and Greeks.

Father Pakrad, an Armenian priest, said the presence of the Greek
priest during Armenian observances was a violation of their rights.

"Our priests kicked the Greek out," he said.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch in the Holy Land, Theofilos III, said the
Armenians were pushing to change the rules of worship at the church,
behaviour he called "criminal and unacceptable".

In New York yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI paid a solemn visit to the
site of the attacks of September 11, 2001, before celebrating a huge
Mass at Yankee Stadium to close his US visit.

The Pope pleaded for an end to sectarian hatreds as he prayed at
Ground Zero.

"We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace to all
who died here," Benedict beseeched God after blessing the ground in
all four directions.

"Heal the pain of still-grieving families. Bring peace to our violent
world. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are
consumed with hatred," he said.

RA AND NKR FMS DISCUSSED KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT PROCESS

DeFacto Agency
April 21 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, 21.04.08. DE FACTO. The Karabakh conflict settlement process
was discussed on April 19 in Stepanakert at a meeting of the NKR FM
Georgy Petrossian and the RA FM Edvard Nalbandian.

In the course of the meeting the interlocutors discussed the issues
referring to recent events in the conflict settlement process,
situation in the region, deepening cooperation between the both
Republics’ MFAs.

The talks’ participants underscored the necessity of closer contacts
to verify the parties’ stands and coordinate joint efforts in foreign
policy, the NKR MFA Press Office reports.

ARMENIAN FM DISCUSSES KARABAKH CONFLICT REGULATION WITH NKR PRESIDENT

ARMENPRESS

YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS: Karabakh President Bako Sahakian
received on April 18 Armenian newly appointed Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian.

Armenian Foreign Ministry press service told Armenpress that during
the meeting the Karabakh president congratulated the minister on
his appointment and underscored the fact that he has paid his first
visit in new position to Karabakh, adding that there is a necessity
of paying such visits frequently.

Afterwards the interlocutors referred to the Karabakh conflict
regulation process and its prospects as well as to the cooperation
of the Karabakh and Armenian foreign ministries.

ENERGY MINISTRY RENAMED

ARMENPRESS
April 18, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS: The presidential press service said
President Serzh Sarkisian decreed today to make a change in the order
of the president of Armenia of March 16, 2002.

It said under today’s decree the following change was made in the
government structure-the Ministry of Energy was renamed the Ministry
of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia.

YURI HAIRAPETYAN WAS ELECTED OMBUDSMAN

KarabakhOpen
16-04-2008 15:00:23

Today’s meeting of the parliament of Karabakh will probably be
remembered as the parliament which elected the human rights defender.

Through secret ballot the only candidate was elected – the chair of
the NKR National Assembly Committee for State and Legal Affairs Yuri
Hairapetyan. Speaker Ashot Ghulyan said this candidature was agreed
to by all the factions.

In his speech Yuri Hairapetyan thanked his colleagues for confidence
and informed that he has over 30 years of experience as a lawyer.

The law on the human rights defender was passed several years ago,
and in May 2005 the office of the human rights defender should have
been set up.

However, the issue was put off, either for the lack of a suitable
candidate or for other reasons, until the provision on the human rights
defender was set down in the Constitution in December 2006. Afterwards
a presidential election was held, and only now the parliament decided
to elect an ombudsman.

It is gratifying that it is an experienced lawyer who has been the
chair of the Committee of State and Legal Affairs for two terms.

TERRY DAVIS: PARTIES TO THE CONFLICT ARE CLOSE TO AN AGREEMENT

armradio.am
16.04.2008 16:56

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis declared
that the parties of the Karabakh conflict are close to reaching
an agreement.

"I met with the Foreign Ministers of the two countries and held
discussions with them. I have the impression that the parties are
close to coming to an agreement. I think we can hope that an agreement
will be reached in the near future," Terry Davis said during today’s
press conference.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe expressed regret for the
protraction of the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict. "For
a long time the OSCE Minsk Group has been trying to find a solution
to the conflict. But we must agree that it is impossible to force
the parties to the conflict to accept the ways of solution proposed
by the OSCE Minsk Group. The Minsk Group can only play the role of
a mediator," Davis said.

Mr. Davis expressed confidence that the peaceful resolution of the
conflict first of all corresponds to the interests of the residents
of the region.

The CoE Secretary General added that "the militaristic spirit has
calmed down in the region, which will help to reach peace."

GEORGIA INCREASING MILITARY SPENDING TO THREATEN ABKHAZIA, S. OSSETIA – LEADERS

Interfax News Agency
April 15 2008
Russia

Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh and South Ossetian President Eduard
Kokoity have said they believe that the fact that Georgia is increasing
its military spending threatens their republics and vowed to jointly
oppose this threat.

"Why is Georgia arming? It is doing so not against Russia, Armenia,
or Azerbaijan. It will fight against South Ossetia and Abkhazia. We
should be united in case there is a military threat against one of
our republics – Abkhazia, South Ossetia, or Transdniestria," Bagapsh
said at a press conference in Sukhumi on Tuesday.

All steps taken by the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics are
aimed at ensuring security of their peoples, he said.

"We also have friends and foes. We pin our hopes on the Russian
Federation and do not conceal this. What Russia is doing in relation
to Abkhazia and South Ossetia these days lies within the framework of
that great phenomenon that is called mutual assistance," Bagapsh said.

Kokoity noted that growing military spending "cannot be something
Georgia should be proud of, as it has no neighboring countries
threatening its security."

He also insisted that the existing conflicts cannot be resolved
militarily.