Author: Maghakian Mike

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST MIKAYEL DANIELIAN: TALK ABOUT AMNESTY IS A SHOW FOR EUROPEAN STRUCTURES

Noyan Tapan
May 29, 2009

YEREVAN, MAY 29, NOYAN TAPAN. By speaking about his readiness to
grant an amnesty, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan just wished to
continue the show that is being held before European structures for
a long time. Human rights activist Mikayel Danielian, the Chairman
of the Helsinki Association, expressed such an opinion at the May 29
press conference. Touching upon S.

Sargsyan’s words that political organizations and the Public Council
should tell him that there is a demand of amnesty in society,
M. Danielian said that the President should not say such a thing,
as it is a "conduct of a child."

"Who should apply to him: the Republican Party, the Bargavach
Hayastan or the Orinats Yerkir?," M. Danielian asked stressing
that those political forces will never speak about the necessity
of amnesty. Speaking about the Public Council, the human rights
activist reminded that Public Council Chairman Vazgen Manukian had
stated from the very start that he will not attend to the issue of
political prisoners.

GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING: ONE CUP OF COFFEE AT A TIME
Allen Yekikan

ots-fundraising-one-cup-of-coffee-at-a-time/
May 27th, 2009

Hrag Satjian spent his Memorial Day weekend with members of his AYF
chapter, selling Armenian coffee to raise money for the ANCA Endowment
Fund. The one-day effort collected nearly a thousand dollars for the
upcoming Endowment Fund Telethon and is a testament to the power and
potential of grassroots activism.

A member of the Crescenta Valley ‘Zartonk’ chapter of the Armenian
Youth Federation, Satjian, 23, worked alongside his fellow chapter
members for some ten hours on Sunday May 24, making and selling cup
after cup of Armenian coffee at the Little Armenia Independence Day
Festival in anticipation of the telethon on May 31.

"All it really takes is a team of dedicated individuals to raise
that amount of money in such a short amount of time," Satjian
explained. "It’s hard not to be motivated when you know you have a real
opportunity to help strengthen an organization that has consistently
proven itself vital to our community."

For Satjian, the telethon will not only help the Endowment Fund’s
mission to develop the Armenian-American community’s institutions
and activities, but also provide the necessary funding to protect
the interests of Armenian-Americans into the coming years.

"I think this telethon will help our community by ensuring that
we will have what it takes to protect our interests and Armenia’s
interests in this challenging time our nation faces," he said.

Ani Nalbandian, another member of the AYF ‘Zartonk’ chapter who
sold coffee on Sunday, said she felt as though her efforts at the
festival were going to make a difference for the Endowment Fund and
its activities. "Being a contributor to the telethon through work and
money makes me feel like I have a real role in it and my community,"
she stressed. "It’s an extremely good feeling and I hope everyone
else can find the time to help out."

This feeling-that each of them would have a role in something greater
than themselves-is what motivated the chapter to pitch in for the
fundraising effort, Nalbandian explained. Members worked different
shifts throughout the day, some making the coffee and manning the
booth, while others roamed the festival with coffee pots and cups
in hand.

"Because the profits from our booth were going towards a good cause,
it created a concerted effort throughout the AYF "Zartonk" chapter
to donate supplies and help with our efforts," Nalbandian said. "Our
customers also appreciated the vallue of what we were doing. Many
people happily bought cup after cup of coffee because they knew the
proceeds were going to the ANCA Endowment Fund.

It would be impossible to have this level of fundraising while working
on an individual level, according to Aris Hovasapian, the chapter’s
chairperson. "The network of members that we can tap into is extremely
valuable because it’s a group of enthusiastic individuals that are
ready and willing to put in a great deal of work for a common purpose."

"Its only natural that the AYF takes up projects such as this,"
explained Zartonk alumnus, Vicken Sosikian, who donated the coffee
to be sold at the event. "The Armenian Cause, is the people’s cause,
so it makes sense that they took the message of the telethon straight
to the festival, encouraging each person there to donate just two
dollars to something they believe in."

"Through this coffee booth, members collectively contributed more
than 30 collective hours of their day to generate financial capital
to contribute to the telethon. One should never underestimate the
potential of the youth to grasp the urgent need to take ownership of
our cause," he added.

This same group of individuals will be working to raise more money
for the telethon this Saturday, washing cars at the 76 gas station
on 3402 Foothill Blvd in La Crescenta from 10am to 3pm.

HISTORIAN ASHOT MELKONIAN: ALL ARMENIANS SHOULD STRIVE FOR CREATING UNITED HOMELAND

Noyan Tapan
May 27, 2009

YEREVAN, MAY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. State independence is the guarantee of
any nation’s future. Ashot Melkonian, a historian, the Director of
the History Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia,
expressed such an opinion at the May 27 press conference estimating
the significance of independence the Armenian people achieved on
May 28, 1918. According to him, though after the fall of Kilikia
the Armenians for the first time achieved independence in 1918,
nevertheless after 1043 there were "some functions of a state"
among the Armenians. Touching upon the heroic fights of Sardarapat
and Gharakilisa, A. Melkonian said that Armenian regular detachments
including seven thousand soldiers proved to the world that an Armenian
can be a good soldier.

According to A. Melkonian, the facts that historic Armenia was
divided between two different superpowers for several times left a
negative trace on Armenian people’s psychology, and the Eastern and
Western Armenias were formed as a result of it. Those two Armenias,
according to the historian, were turned into political notions in
the course of time, which is very painful. In A. Melkonian’s words,
all Armenians should strive for creating a united homeland pursuing
solution of the Armenian Cause (Hay Dat). As to Armenian-Turkish
relations and recognition of the Armenian Genocide, they are not purely
the problems of the Republic of Armenia, but of all Armenians. "From
Eastern Armenia one should not speak and make decisions on Western
Armenia, as it is up to the Diaspora to say the final word," A.

Melkonian said. According to him, it is time for formation of RA
plenipotentiary bodies in RA that will attend to all-national issues.

ERDOGAN FINALLY ADMITS TURKEY PRACTICED ETHNIC CLEANSING
By Harut Sassounian

/27/erdogan-finally-admits-turkey-practiced-ethnic -cleansing/
May 27, 2009

In a daring statement, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
admitted for the first time that the expulsion from Turkey of tens
of thousands of ethnic Greeks in the last century was a "fascist"
act, Reuters reported.

Some commentators viewed Erdogan’s remarks as a reference to the
expulsion of 1.5 million ethnic Greeks from Turkey to Greece in
1923. The large-scale population exchange between the two countries
also included the transfer of more than 500,000 ethnic Turks from
Greece to Turkey.

Other observers thought that Erdogan was referring to the pillaging
of thousands of Greek shops and houses by Turkish mobs in Istanbul on
Sept. 6-7, 1955, following the spread of false reports that Ataturk’s
house in Thessaloniki, Greece had been burned down.

Beyond the expulsion of Greeks, Erdogan made an indirect reference
to the tragic fate of other ethnic groups, such as Armenians, in
Turkey. "For years, those of different identities have been kicked
out of our country. … This was not done with common sense. This
was done with a fascist approach," Erdogan said on May 23, during
the annual congress of the Justice and Development Party, held in
the western province of Duzce.

"For many years," Erdogan continued, "various facts took place in this
country to the detriment of ethnic minorities who lived here. They
were ethnically cleansed because they had a different ethnic cultural
identity. The time has arrived for us to question ourselves about
why this happened and what we have learned from all of this. There
has been no analysis of this right up until now. In reality, this
behavior is the result of a fascist conception. We have also fallen
into this grave error."

The Turkish prime minister’s candid remarks were harshly criticized by
opposition parties. Onur Oymen, vice president of the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP), said that associating Turkey’s history
with terms like fascism based on hearsay was not right. He also said
that no Turkish citizen had ever been expelled because of his or her
ethnic background. Oktay Vural of the opposition MHP party added:
"Erdogan’s words are an insult to the Turkish nation."

In sharp contrast, liberal Turkish commentators praised Erdogan
for his conciliatory remarks: "For the first time you have a prime
minister who wants to admit that mistakes were made in the treatment
of religious minorities. This is historic," wrote journalist Sami
Kohen in Milliyet. "But whether this rhetoric will be followed with
deeds remains to be seen."

Hurriyet Daily News added: "Erdogan’s speech was historic; it was the
first time that a high official accepted there have been unlawful and
undemocratic practices against minorities in the past. This sentiment
was echoed by Professor Halil Berktay in Vatan newspaper: ‘That
statement was the most courageous thing ever said by Erdogan.’ Baskin
Oran, another academic well-known for his liberal views, told Star
newspaper that he was ‘proud of a prime minister who denounces ethnic
and religious cleansing.’"

CNN-Turk news director Ridvan Akar was more skeptical about Erdogan’s
true intentions. He wrote in Vatan: "Minority rights as well as
those of religious foundations are a structural problem within the
Turkish state. Of course, Erdogan has taken a step forward with this
declaration. But the sincerity of his words will depend on facts to
back them up, such as the restitution of rights to those who have
been expelled, the return of confiscated properties, or compensation."

The prime minister’s statement is encouraging, if it is an indication
that Turkey’s leaders have finally decided to face the ugly chapters
of their country’s past.

However, it would be wrong to draw overly optimistic conclusions from
this single statement. Erdogan has made similar comments about the
Kurds in Turkey, only to have their hopes dashed by taking unexpected
repressive measures against them.

The fact is that Erdogan is not the master of his political domain. The
"fascists" he attacks are not buried in an Ottoman historical grave,
but are alive and well in Turkish society and occupy the highest
echelons of the military and judiciary.

Yet, Erdogan is politically shrewd enough to realize that his
condemnation of fascism will resonate at home and in the West, and
win him accolades and support against his powerful domestic opponents.

Erdogan’s battle against the ghosts of the Turkish past is in fact a
fight for his political survival against those in today’s Turkey who
view him and his Islamic party with deep suspicion, and are determined
to counter his every move, ultimately seeking his downfall from power.

ARAM SARGSYAN SAYS SELF DETERMINATION RIGHT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKG IS SET

Panorama.am
14:18 26/05/2009

"I think that Armenian diplomacy has finally got that the so called
Madrid principles are not for us. And most probably that’s why they
became so rough and the Azeri understood that the Armenians don’t
want to discuss those principles in that format," Aram Sargsyan,
the head of Democratic Party said in a press conference.

According to him all the documents and principles can not satisfy the
Armenian party because the self determination right of Nagorno-Karabakh
is solved. "If this is not the position to defend we can not regulate
any problem. If after some years we agree to make a poll to find out
whether Nagorno-Karabakh can be self determined then we put under
question all the way we have passed," A. Sargsyan said.

The politician says that the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh to
the negotiations is a must, otherwise the conflict will not be set.

TURKISH ARMENIAN RELATIONS: BREAKING THE VICIOUS CIRCLE

Journal of Turkish Weekly
May 26 2009

Sabanci University, Communication Center, Bankalar Cad, No.2, Karakoy,
Istanbul

On May 29th, 2009, Friday, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies
Foundation (TESEV) will organize a press conference and a panel on the
TESEV Foreign Policy Programme Publication entitled "Turkish-Armenian
Relations: Breaking the Vicious Circle".

The report that was prepared jointly by TESEV and the Caucasus
Institute has been published from TESEV publications and analyzes
the recent rapprochement process between Turkey and Armenia by
touching upon the latest regional developments and offers some policy
recommendations to both sides.

The report aims to contribute to the latest debates on Turkish-Armenian
relations which is one of the most important foreign policy issues
facing Turkey and Armenia.

The panel to follow the welcoming remarks will be moderated by Mensur
Akgun, Advisor to TESEV Foreign Policy Program.

The speakers of the panel will be Aybars Gorgulu, PhD student at
Sabanci University and Assistant Program Officer at TESEV, Alexander
Iskandaryan, the Director of Caucasus Institute and Richard Giragosian,
the Director of Armenian Center for National and International Studies.

AZERBAIJAN’S FOREIGN MINISTRY FALLS THROUGH

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
26.05.2009 18:06 GMT+04:00

Certain disappointment is seen in the statement of Azerbaijan’s
foreign minister, that can testify unsuccessful endeavors of the
Azeri diplomacy to organize a comprehensive isolation of Armenia
and provoke a powerful political and diplomatic pressing on Yerevan,
told to a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter Andrey Areshev, political scientist
and a member of the Strategic Culture foundation.

According to him, Armenian-Turkish reconciliation and unambiguous
insinuations, that relations between Ankara and Yerevan are not
tightly linked to the Nagorno Karabakh settlement, have apparently
highlighted new trends, which Azerbaijan hasn’t expected to face.

"Attempts to involve in Nagorno Karabakh settlement the European
organizations, UN and recently Russia under certain conditions were
connected with this. The wish "to see a note of constructiveness from
Armenian part" seem at least strange against the radical position of
the official Baku.

So, if there is somebody to blame, it is yourself in the first
place. Nagorno Karabakh is the same disintegration product of the
Soviet Union, as Azerbaijan, Abkhazia or Georgia.

It is time to speak seriously about compromise steps, which Azerbaijan
is ready to make, and those steps must be sound enough against the
background of what has Armenia said.

Security guarantees of the Nagorno Karabakh population cannot be
in the spotlight for negotiators, which are impossible to achieve
without regional demilitarization and stopping hostile propaganda.

However, negotiations dynamics do not inspire optimism and prompt
that the meeting of two presidents in St. Petersburg will be a mere
formality again, Mr. Areshev stressed.

Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s presidents continue discussing questions in
St. Petersburg, which are still unsolved in the framework of peaceful
settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict , said Azerbaijan’s foreign
minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

Despite development of a new situation in the region, Armenia,
unfortunately started negatively influencing the peaceful
process. While we have achieved everything in peaceful process with
Armenia’s past administration, we have not achieved anything with
current authorities. From the day of coming to authority of a new
person in Armenia sides haven’t budged an inch," Azerbaijan’s foreign
minister Elmar Mammadyarov said yesterday.

Transeuro Energy Corp.: Management Request Trading Halt

Last Update: 5/26/2009 12:15:05 AM

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, May 26, 2009 (Marketwire via COMTEX) —
Transeuro Energy Corp. ("Transeuro" or the "Company") (TSU)(OSLO:TSU)
announces that it has requested the Oslo Bors Stock Exchange to
suspend trading of its shares today as the Company is in the final
stages of a debt restructuring process. Parties related to the
restructuring now possess information that is currently not available
to the public and the Company cannot control information that may be
considered price sensitive.
The Company will release further information on the restructuring as
soon as the various parties have finalized their response to proposals
made by the Company so that normal trading can resume as soon as
possible.

Transeuro Energy Corp. is involved in the acquisition of petroleum and
natural gas rights, the exploration for, and development and
production of crude oil, condensate and natural gas. The Company’s
properties are located in Canada, Armenia and Ukraine.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

David Worrall, CEO

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the targeted
results. The Company relies upon litigation protection for forward
looking statements.

ARMENIA, NORWAY INTERESTED IN DEEPENING BILATERAL RELATIONS

armradio.am
26.05.2009 10:49

The newly appointed Ambassador of Norway to Armenia, Mr. Knut Houg
(seat in Moscow), presented the copies of his credentials to the
Foreign Minister of Armenia, Mr. Edward Nalbandian.

Greeting the guest, Minister Nalbandian wished success to the
Ambassador in his diplomatic mission, expressing hope that his
appointment would contribute to the expansion of cooperation between
Armenia and Norway in bilateral and multilateral formats. The Minister
noted that Armenia was interested in the development and deepening
of political and economic relations with Norway.

The interlocutors attached importance to the intensification of
cooperation between the two countries and the further development of
trade-economic, educational and cultural relations.

Minister Nalbandian and Ambassador Houg referred to a number of
regional and international issues.

CYPRUS CITIZEN AWARDED "ANDRANIK OZANYAN" MEDAL

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.05.2009 15:43 GMT+04:00

RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan has today received Vahram Kazhoyan,
RA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Cyprus. Parties
discussed current stage of Armenian-Greek and Armenian-Cyprus relations
and considered prospects for cooperation.

During the meeting, Mr. Kazhoyan told Defense Minister that Harutyun
Anmahuni, an Armenian Maecenas living in Cyprus, expressed willingness
to provide annual financial support to RA Armed Forces. Besides,
Anmahuni has allocated additional sum to Armenia on the occasion of
the 17th anniversary of its independence. At the Maecenas’ request,
Ambassador handed the sum to RA Defense Ministry.

Considering Kazhoyan’s investments in patriotic initiatives,
RA Defense Minister awarded him with "Andranik Ozanyan" medal, RA
Defense Ministry’s press-service reports.