Author: Maral Takmazian

Today, in Paris President Serzh Sargsyan participated at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Conference, which is presided over by France, is attended by the Heads of state and government from 150 countries and by thousands of delegates. At the beginning of the meeting, delegations present at this Conference with the unprecedented high level of participation paid a one minute silence tribute to the memory of the victims of the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. According to the organizers, the presence of numerous world leaders at the Paris Conference in the wake of these tragic events proves that when it comes to confronting challenges presented to the entire humankind, civilization and solidarity are stronger than barbarity.

In their opening remarks the President of France Francois Hollande, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Laurent Fabius, who is presiding over the meeting, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Prince Charles of Great Britain and speakers after them underscored the importance of the 21st Conference for the future of planet Earth and humanity and noted that today people from all over the world are looking at Paris, expecting that as a result of the deliberations on the gravest challenge faced by the human kind – disastrous change of climate, with no delay there will be adopted a groundbreaking decision. The speakers concurred that the Final Agreement of the Conference to be adopted on December 11, should not be just about good intentions: in their statements the world leaders should come up with clear-cut and strong political messages to ensure that safe future of the humanity has no alternative.

In the statement made at the Conference, the President of Armenia first expressed gratitude to the President of France Francois Hollande for the excellent organization of the Conference on Climate Change and hospitality despite the terrorist attacks which shocked France and entire civilized world.

Considering climate change a global challenge, Serzh Sargsyan underscored that it threatens equally all states, regardless of their size or level of development. Even though Armenia’s share in global emissions is not large and does not exceed two hundredth of a percent, according to the President Sargsyan Armenia attaches great importance to the need of combining efforts of all countries to address this issue and as a developing nation has committed herself to contribute to this global endeavor.

“The Armenian national position was reflected in the “Plan of Actions defined at the National Level” adopted by our Government. It is built upon the following principles:

First, global emissions of the greenhouse gases shall be limited at the threshold, which would keep the temperature increase below the two degrees Celsius.

Second, we shall adopt an approach that is “general but differentiated,” and take into account the varying degree of the current and historical responsibility of the numerous countries.

Third, the responsibility and burden-sharing for limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases shall be distributed by taking into account the rights of the contemporary and future generations to utilize the climate resources.
And, finally, four, not to do anything that would make the developing countries to slide back.

Armenia stands ready to undertake a commitment of a quantitative limitation to the increase of the emissions of greenhouse gases,” said the President of Armenia. In conclusion, Serzh Sargsyan underlined that the challenge of climate change, as well as other contemporary global threats that are of concern to us, recognize neither national borders, nor international law, nor any civilizational norms. According to the President, a challenge that a country may face in the modern interdependent and globalizing world is, in a collective sense, a challenge to all of us. Therefore, the solutions shall be comprehensive, agreed upon, and coordinated. The President of Armenia said that it is important for us to evaluate anew foundations of the global cohabitation, and refine the toolbox at our disposal. According to President Sargsyan, joint response to the challenges of climate change, should it be successful, may become a precedent for a new kind of endeavor.

Photo by Reuters    

Kurdish peshmerga forces have started clearing parts of the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar and have established positions along an Islamic State supply route between its two main strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the coalition said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes, the Kurds launched an offensive in the early morning designed to cordon off Sinjar, take control of strategic routes and establish a buffer zone to protect the town from artillery.

A victory in Sinjar could give the Kurds, government forces and Shi’ite militias momentum in efforts to defeat Islamic State, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria and has affiliates in Libya andEgypt.

So far the Kurds have captured three villages and penetrated parts of Highway 47, a supply route between Raqqa in Syria and the Iraqi city of Mosul, both of them Islamic State bastions.

“The ground assault began in the early morning hours of Nov. 12, when peshmerga units successfully established blocking positions along Highway 47 and began clearing Sinjar,” said the coalition in a statement.

“The peshmerga will continue operations to re-establish government control over key portions of the areas.”

Islamic State overran Sinjar more than a year ago.

Photo by the Russian Ministry of Interior Affairs

The Yerevan-bound bus crashed in Russia’s Tula region because the driver fell asleep at the wheel, Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Interior Affairs Alexander Savenkov has said, RIA Novosti reports.

According to him, the number of road accidents has increased because of the violation of the work and rest periods.

A passenger bus en route from Moscow to Yerevan crashed in Russia’s Tula region, leaving eight dead and 48 injured.

After the accident the Moscow Traffic Police banned the exploitation of two similar buses transporting pasersengers from Moscow to Yerevan.

Photo from AFP

A major rescue operation is under way to save dozens of people thought to be trapped in rubble after a factory collapsed in Lahore, Pakistan, the BBC reports.

At least 17 people died when the factory, which was under construction, collapsed on Wednesday.

Cranes and bulldozers are being used and the army is assisting in the rescue efforts.

The cause of the collapse is still unknown. Building safety levels are often below standard in Pakistan.

Two floors of the factory, in the Sundar Industrial Estate on the outskirts of the city, were operational, while a third was being built.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) charged in a damning report on Monday that Turkey’s election was marred by a media crackdown, violence and other security concerns, AFP reports.

It said the campaign for Sunday’s vote was characterised by “unfairness” and “fear” after a surge in violence.

The election delivered a clear victory to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a dramatic turnaround after it lost its parliamentary majority in June.

“While Turkish citizens could choose between genuine and strong political alternatives in this highly polarized election, the rapidly diminishing choice of media outlets, and restrictions on freedom of expression in general, impacted the process and remain serious concerns,” Ignacio Sanchez Amor, special coordinator and leader of the OSCE observer mission, said in a statement.

Concerns over media freedoms were already running high in the run-up to the poll after riot police last week stormed the Ankara and Istanbul offices of two television stations critical of the Turkish strongman.

“Physical attacks on party members, as well as the significant security concerns, particularly in the southeast, further imposed restrictions on the ability to campaign,” Amor added.

A massive suicide bombing on a peace rally in Ankara last month killed 102 people in the worst attack in the country’s history, with political parties temporarily suspending campaigning.

“Unfortunately, the campaign for these elections was characterized by unfairness and, to a serious degree, fear,” said Andreas Gross, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) delegation.

He called on Erdogan to work for an “inclusive political process” to deal with challenges facing Turkey.

The elections were also held against a backdrop of a military campaign against Kurdish rebels in the southeast of Turkey and in northern Iraq after attacks on security forces by the militants.

Observers said the army’s operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeast hampered the ability of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to campaign.

“For an election process to be truly democratic, candidates need to feel that they can campaign and voters need to feel that they can cast their ballots in a safe and secure environment,” said Margareta Cederfelt, head of the OSCE parliamentary assembly delegation.

The Westminter Abbey is holding a special service to celebrate the lives of the newly-Sainted Armenian Martyrs of 1915.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Prince Charles have arrived at the Westminter Abbey to participate in the event.

This prayer will also symbolize the victory of life, righteousness and fraternity over the death, injustice and enmity. It is also a unique event to give tribute and respect memories of those   who helped Armenian refugees giving them shelter and their Churches I late 19th century and beginning of 20th aftermath of WWI.

The ecumenical prayer will be led by the leaders of the Armenian and Anglican Churches. The Armenian songs “Deep Mystery” and “Holy Holy” will be performed by internationally known Armenian and British celebrate and choirs. There will be prayers, reading of Gospels and speeches both in Armenian and in English.

By Harut Sassouian
Publisher, The California Courier

In the case of Dogu Perincek vs. Switzerland, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sustained in a 10-7 vote the Turkish politician’s right to free expression, finding that Swiss courts had wrongly convicted him for denying the Armenian Genocide.

More importantly for Armenians, the Grand Chamber contradicted the Lower Chamber’s unwarranted opinion of Dec. 17, 2013, which had questioned the validity of the Armenian Genocide. On October 15, 2015, ECHR’s Grand Chamber rectified that jurisdictional issue, ruling that the Court was “not required to determine whether the massacres and mass deportations suffered by the Armenian people at the hands of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 onwards can be characterized as genocide within the meaning of that term under international law, but has no authority to make legally binding pronouncements, one way or another, on this point.” This was the judgment of the majority of 10 judges who ruled in favor of Perincek.

The remaining seven judges, not only disagreed with the majority’s ruling in support of Perincek, but went on to set the record straight on the Armenian Genocide: “That the massacres and deportations suffered by the Armenian people constituted genocide is self-evident…. The Armenian genocide is a clearly established historical fact. To deny it is to deny the obvious. But that is not the question here. The case is not about the historical truth, or the legal characterization of the events of 1915. The real issue at stake here is whether it is possible for a State, without overstepping its margin of appreciation [limited room to maneuver], to make it a criminal offence to insult the memory of a people that has suffered genocide. In our view, this is indeed possible,” the seven judges wrote in their dissenting opinion.

Nevertheless, the Grand Chamber still reached some unwarranted conclusions that defy logic and common sense. The majority of the judges advanced the meaningless argument that since 90 years had passed between Perincek’s statements and “the tragic events” of 1915, there was no need for Switzerland to regulate his speech. Supposedly, the passage of time had made his denial less traumatic on Armenians. As the dissenting seven judges pointed out, the majority’s position violates “the principle that statutory limitations are not applicable to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The majority of the judges also put forward a questionable argument to justify why denying the Holocaust was a crime, and not a violation of freedom of expression. They considered Holocaust denial an “antidemocratic ideology” and “anti-Semitism,” whereas they claimed that Perincek’s denial of the Armenian Genocide did not result “in serious friction between Armenians and Turks” in Switzerland. Furthermore, while asserting that there was a direct link between Holocaust denial and many of the European “States which had experienced the Nazi horrors,” they found no such link between Switzerland and the Armenian Genocide.

There are several problems in the Judges preceding arguments:

— There should not be a double standard in dealing with denial of any genocide. If denial of the Holocaust is a crime, so should the denial of other genocides. The preferential treatment of victims of certain genocides, but not others, is shameful and disgraceful. As editor of a newspaper in the United States, I naturally support the highly protective American notion of freedom of expression rather than the European model of a more restrictive freedom of speech. However, regardless of which legal system one adheres to, discrimination among genocide victims is not acceptable.

— Majority of the judges repeatedly claimed that since Perincek’s denial did not result in causing public disorder by the Armenian community, Swiss courts should not have convicted him. Ironically, by making such a dangerous assertion, the Grand Chamber is actually inciting Armenians to resort to violence to satisfy the Court’s requirement that genocide denial could only be criminalized if it is followed by some sort of violent reaction. Since Swiss-Armenians acted in a civilized manner by calling the police and filing a lawsuit instead of bashing Perincek’s head, they are now being told that their legal claim is invalid because they did not cause a public disturbance!

— It is historically wrong to state that there was no link between Switzerland and the Armenian Genocide. Over 400,000 Swiss citizens signed a petition in 1890’s to protest the Hamidian massacres. Swiss missionaries saved countless orphans during the Genocide and helped provide new homes for them in Switzerland.

Fortunately, the Grand Chamber did not require Switzerland to amend its laws on genocide denial, implying that the law was simply misapplied in Perincek’s case. Therefore, Greece, Cyprus, and Slovakia also do not need to change their laws on criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Thankfully, the Court rejected Perincek’s claim that he is entitled to 135,000 euros ($142,000) in damages and court costs.

International lawyers Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Clooney, and Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevork Kostanyan should be commended for their exceptional efforts in representing Armenia in Court and defending the truth of the Armenian Genocide.

Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone suffered multiple stab wounds after an incident at a bar near Travis Air Force Base, where he is stationed, the official said.

Stone is being treated for his latest injuries at a hospital and is in stable condition, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Thursday.

Further details about the stabbing weren’t immediately available.

Stone was one of five men who officials say stopped a gunman from attacking passengers of a Amsterdam-to-Paris train in August.

He also tended to one of his fellow heroes, Armenian-American Mark Moogalian. The latter was shot while confronting the gunman, and Stone, after the gunman was subdued, was credited with helping stop Moogalian’s bleeding.

All five were feted. Stone, Moogalian and the other three — Briton Chirs Norman and Stone’s two American friends, Anthony Sadler and Army National Guard Spc. Alek Skarlatos — received France’s highest recognition, the Legion of Honor.

Professor Taner Akçam, Kaloosdian/Mugar Chair inHolocaust and Genocide Studies, recently was lauded at a Congressional reception organized by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF), where President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan presented the Wallenberg Medal to Robert Morgenthau, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.

During the Sept. 30 reception in Washington, Akçam received recognition for a project he completed on behalf of the IRWFthat involved leading research identifying 180 “unsung heroes”—Turkish and Kurdish rescuers of Armenians during the Genocide of 1915. The report, which has been conducted by Burçin Gerçek under Akçam’s supervision, published as an E-Book, is a free resource for Foundation members. It is available in Turkish, English and Armenian, and soon in Spanish.

The event moderator explained the research project, then urged Akçam to stand and be recognized as she led applause.

“This was a great honor for me,” said Akçam, “and I’m humbled by the recognition they showed toward  me and to Clark University.”

The event was attended by leaders of the Armenian community and two dozen congressmen including U.S. Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Congressmen Adam Schiff, Brad Sherman,  Jacqueline “Jackie” Speier, Robert Dold, Jim Costain, Dave Trott, David Valadao and Judy Chu.