Armenian Fernant Nikoghosyan was injured as a result of shelling in Aleppo on Monday, Kantsasar newspaper informs on its Facebook page.
More than 30 people have been killed in the most lethal rebel bombardment of the city of Aleppo since Syria’s conflict started four years ago, a group monitoring the war said, Reuters reported.
34 people were killed, including 12 children, and about 190 were wounded in the bombardment by rebels who are seeking control of the city.
Armenia is ranked 91st among 162 countries in the Global Peace Index 2015.
Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as follows: Georgia – 79th, Azerbaiajn 132nd, Turkey – 135th, Iran – 138th.
As for Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union, Russia is 152nd, Belarus is 110th, Kazakhstan is 87th and Kyrgyzstan is 121st.
The Global Peace Index measures the state of peace in 162 countries according to 23 indicators that gauge the absence of violence or the fear of violence. It is produced annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace.
The 2015 Global Peace Index shows that the world is becoming increasingly divided with some countries enjoying unprecedented levels of peace and prosperity while others spiral further into violence and conflict.
This year the results show that globally, levels of peace remained stable over the last year, however are still lower than in 2008.
The most peaceful countries are Iceland, Denmark and Austria.
The country that suffered the most severe deterioration in peace was Libya, which now ranks 149th of 162 countries. Ukraine suffered the second largest deterioration, falling to 150th position.
Syria remains the world’s least peaceful country, followed by Iraq and Afghanistan.
On June 17, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan at the Omar pass.
From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic) and Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain), as well as by representative of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group (HLPG) Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nepokritikh (Russia).
From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and his Field Assistant Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) as well as by representative of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group (HLPG) Colonel Tuncay Sevim (Turkey).
The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered.
From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.
Four tourists who posed naked on a mountain in Malaysia have been given jail terms and fined, the BBC reports.
Briton Eleanor Hawkins, Canadians Lindsey and Danielle Peterson, and Dutchman Dylan Snel admitted causing a public disturbance.
The group was blamed for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake after stripping on Mount Kinabalu, which is considered sacred.
They were jailed for three days, but their sentences were back-dated to reflect time already served.
A judge at Kota Kinabalu Magistrates’ Court said the four had shown remorse and ordered the jail terms to run from 9 June, meaning the group is free to leave.
He also fined each defendant 5,000 Malaysian ringgit ($1,331).
DARCHINYAN CLAIMS THIRD IBO WORLD TITLE
ADRIAN WARREN
Sydney Morning Herald
May 20 2010
Australia
Australia’s Vic Darchinyan became the first boxer in history to win
three IBO world titles, as he demolished Filipino Eric Barcelona in
their clash for the vacant bantamweight title at Parramatta Leagues
Club on Thursday night.
Sydneysider Darchinyan removed any fears about a reported injury to
his left hand by twice knocking down Barcelona in the fifth round and
once more in the 11th on his way to recording a convincing unanimous
12-round points win.
The three judges scored decisively in Darchinyan’s favour by the
scores of 120-103, 118-105 and 116-108.
The Armenian-born slugger added the IBO’s bantamweight belt to the
ones he had previously won at flyweight and superflyweight.
The victory set the 34-year-old southpaw up for a major fight in the
United States in mid-year.
He could meet the winner of either the Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez
featherweight bout in Los Angelos on Sunday or the victor of the other
big fight on that card between Columbia’s IBF bantamweight champion
Yonnhy Perez and Mexican challenger Abner Mares.
Barcelona, who had never been knocked down or stopped in his previous
72 professional bouts, proved a willing and rugged opponent.
He wasn’t afraid to mix it with the Australian and was penalised a
point for low blows in the sixth and 12th rounds.
He landed some decent single shots, but couldn’t maintain any pressure
against Darchinyan, who piled up points with his right jab and some
accurate power punching.
It wasn’t a pretty fight with the Filipino slipping to the canvas a
number of times and frequently grappling with Darchinyan, who ruled
the contest with his greater punch output and more accurate blows.
Barcelona landed a good overhand left in the opening round, but
Darchinyan started to open up towards the end of the second and third
and started the fourth aggressively before ratcheting the pressure
up in the fifth.
He wasn’t able to immediately capitalise on the two knockdowns, the
first of which seemed almost as much a slip as a punch, though the
second was definitely due to a venomous left hand shot.
Barcelona tried to pressure Darchinyan at the start of the 11th, but
the tiring Filipino paid the price as he was put down for a third time.
Darchinyan tried to close the show in style and almost succeeded as he
wobbled Barcelona with a left to the chin inside the last 10 seconds.
EDWARD NALBANDIAN THANKS PATRICK DEVEDJIAN FOR CONTRIBUTION TO HAYASTAN FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 20, 2010 – 19:37 AMT 14:37 GMT
On May 20, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met French
Minister for Economic Recovery, Hauts-de-Seine General Council
President Patrick Devedjian.
Welcoming the guest, Edward Nalbandian gave high assessment to
Armenia-France relations, emphasizing Patrick Devedjian’s personal
contribution to strengthening of bilateral ties.
Armenian Foreign Minister thanked Patrick Devedjian for contribution to
Hayastan Foundation programs on agricultural infrastructure improvement
of Tavush region.
Parties specifically noted parallel development of governmental and
decentralized cooperation, with the fact proved by frequent mutual
visits and programs implemented.
ARMENIA DENIES NEW ‘ROAD-MAP’ IN TURKEY RELATIONS
RIA Novosti
May 21, 2010 Friday 1:04 PM GMT+3
Russia
There is no new road-map for Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, the
Armenian foreign minister said on Friday.
"This is false information," Eduard Nalbandyan told a news conference.
News about a new road-map appeared after a high-ranking official from
Armenia’s ruling Justice and Development party’s said on Thursday
in Washington that Armenia and Turkey would not comment on their
relations as there was a new document on the agenda to be discussed.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey took a major step forward on
October 10, 2009 when Nalbandyan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Devutoglu signed protocols on establishing diplomatic relations and
developing bilateral relations.
The documents, signed in Switzerland, have to be ratified by both
countries to come into force.
But in April 2010 Armenian President Serzh Sargysan signed a decree
putting a hold on the ratification saying Turkey was not ready to
continue the reconciliation process.
The Armenian-Turkish border was closed in 1993 on Ankara’s initiative.
Bilateral relations between the countries are complicated by Turkey’s
support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over Nagorny
Karabakh and differing positions on the killings of ethnic Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire during World War One.
SEYFO CENTER BRANCH OPENS IN MOSCOW
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 20, 2010 – 13:23 AMT 08:23 GMT
On May 19, the Seyfo Center opened its branch in Moscow to promote
the worldwide campaign for recognition of the Genocide of Armenians,
Assyrians and Greeks in the Ottoman Empire.
The Russian branch is resolved to raise the issue of recognition of the
Genocide of Assyrians and Pontian Greeks in the Russian State Duma,
as well as to call on the U.S. Congress to recognize the Armenian
Genocide.
FAAE PRESIDENT ASHOT GRIGORIAN AND SLOVAKIAN PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN FRANTISEK MIKLOSKI TO VISIT TSITSERNAKABERD MEMORIAL COMPLEX ON MAY 21
NOYAN TAPAN
MAY 19, 2010
YEREVAN
Delegations led by FAAE President Ashot Grigorian and Slovakian First
National Council President, currently National Council deputy Frantisek
Mikloski will visit Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex on May 21 at 12:15
and will lay a wreath, FAAE Spokesperson Sergey Barseghian informed NT.
He said that the Genocide Resolution was introduced at the Slovakian
National Council by F. Mikloski and Slovakia officially accepted the
fact of Armenian Genocide on November 30 2004.
Who burned down Izmir?
Today’s Zaman
Turkey
May 19 2010
I believe that facing the truth is an extremely therapeutic exercise.
It is this way for both individuals and for nations. But, of course,
there is a price to pay for facing the "truth."
You have to be ready to feel some anguish, at least, but most of
the time, you have to be ready to feel pain. There are two reasons
for this: When you face a truth that you’ve covered up, it rattles
your sense of self. Facing any kind of truth that has been hidden or
concealed will make you have to redefine yourself. Of course, there
are also a series of "illusions" predicated on these concealed truths.
As a result, accessing a concealed fact about the past leads to the
devastation of many other things that are based on the lie you told
yourself. It is for this reason that coming to terms with the past
is not easy.
Since nationalism is a state of constantly serving one’s own interests,
all "establishment" stories of nationalism contain many fictitious
elements. From a nationalist perspective, "others" are almost always
flawed, wrong and unfair. It is for this reason that "nationalism"
is actually a collective form of "egocentrism." The inevitable outcome
of egocentrism is the inability to grow or mature.
For this reason, nationalism prevents society from facing its past.
Confronting the past dismantles egocentrism and inevitably leads
to the development of the ability to have "empathy" for others. You
can’t be very nationalist when you empathize with others.
The meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime
Minister George Papandreou showed how much the two nations actually
need to have "empathy" for each other. If this empathy continues to
develop, the "Aegean" could turn into a sea of peace.
Turks and Greeks are brothers. If we could put the "dogfight"
in the Aegean aside and sit down and talk, we would be able to
see that we have many things in common. Turks and Greeks have made
many contributions to each other. If a long-term friendship can be
established, they will have a lot to offer each other and the world.
A nationalist Greek regards Turkey as a power that occupied his land
for 500 years. He forgets that the Ottoman Empire was a continuation
of the Byzantine Empire. A nationalist Turk forgets the fact that the
Ottoman Empire dominated Greek lands for 500 years and only recalls
how Greek forces invaded Anatolia. This kind of selective memory is
necessary in order to sustain nationalism.
I want the steps of friendship taken between Greece and Turkey to be
long term and to improve much further. To achieve this, I think the
common history of the two nations needs to be rewritten. I would like
to make a call to everyone at this point. Come, let us rewrite the
common history of Turkey and Greece by liberating it from the effects
of nationalist nonsense. As a small supplement to this, I would like
to point out an article written by Emre Aköz, a valuable writer in
the Turkish press, in the Sabah daily’s April 8, 2010, edition. In
the article below, Aköz tracks the real story behind the "Great fire
of Ä°zmir." I am hopeful that these efforts will go beyond the limits
of newspaper columns and evolve into writing an honest common history:
"Confessions of a Kemalist: Why were we burning down Ä°zmir?
One of the books that best explains Ataturk is without a doubt
‘Cankaya’ by Falih Rıfkı Atay, who is a trueborn Kemalist.
Occasionally Rıfkı would have dinner at the palace. He observed
Ataturk close-up. He wrote several books and articles that explained
him to the younger generations.
About five years ago, I read a striking passage from the book
‘Cankaya.’ I was shocked.
I looked and looked again at the copy I had but I could not find the
same part.
Apparently, I had a censored version of the book.
I bought an old edition from a second-hand bookseller. It was two
volumes. This time I found the part that had been censored.
Towards the end of the first volume, Rıfkı explains the fire that
took place in Ä°zmir in September 1922 in these words…
(I have provided the exact wording below. I would like to draw your
attention to the sentence in which he refers to the forced migration
of Armenians)"
***
"’Why were we burning down Ä°zmir? Were we afraid that if waterfront
konaks, hotels and taverns stayed in place, we would never be able to
get rid of the minorities? When the Armenians were being deported in
the First World War, we had burned down all the habitable districts
and neighborhoods in Anatolian towns and cities with this very same
fear. This does not solely derive from an urge for destruction. There
is also some feeling of inferiority in it. It was as if anywhere that
resembled Europe was destined to remain Christian and foreign and to
be denied to us.
‘If there were another war and we were defeated, would it be a
sufficient guarantee of preserving the Turkishness of the city if we
had left Ä°zmir as a devastated expanse of vacant lots? Were it not
for Nureddin Pasha, whom I know to be a dyed-in-the-wool fanatic and
rabble-rouser, I do not think this tragedy would have gone to the
bitter end. He has doubtless been gaining added strength from the
unforgiving vengeful feelings of the soldiers and officers who have
seen the debris and the weeping and agonized population of the Turkish
towns which the Greeks have burned to ashes all the way from Afyon.’"
(Cankaya, 1958, Dunya Yayınları p. 212-213)
[The translation of the above passage is from
myrna]
***
"Rıfkı wrote the part above while İzmir was being burned down. He
later used it in his book ‘Cankaya.’
The main points that stand out in Rıfkı’s narration are these:
– Ä°zmir was burned down by Nureddin Pasha dubbed ‘Bearded,’ the
commander of the first troops that entered the city.
– Aside from various social complexes, the concern about minorities
claiming rights in the future was involved in this choice.
– A similar fire was started to burn down Armenian assets during the
forced migration in 1915.
(Note: I don’t know if it was genocide but I am sure it was ‘ethnic
cleansing.’)"
***
"This is my look at the incident:
We know that Nureddin Pasha’s men rushed from one place to the next
with gas cans in their hands but… Let us assume that Greeks (or
Armenians) started the fire in Ä°zmir.
That doesn’t change the fact that we did not stop the fire in Ä°zmir.
We let the city be devastated.
At that time, in 1922, Ä°zmir was one of our most advanced, most
modern and most Westernized cities. In fact, perhaps it was our only
city like that.
But no one stopped the fire from burning it down.
So who started the fire?
Let me put it this way. We’re 90 percent sure but since we’re not 100
percent sure, we’re left dealing with censors who act on the small
10 percent gap.
But we know for sure who didn’t stop the Ä°zmir fire.
There another question: Where was the ‘Great Savior’ when all this
was happening?
That’s a question that needs to be answered not by me but by those
who veered from liberalism to nationalism."