Author: Nadirian Emma

AL PACINO TO BE SHOT IN ROLE OF DOCTOR JACK GEVORGIAN

Noyan Tapan
June 5, 2009

HOLLYWOOD, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Producer Berry
Levingston decided to shoot a film about American Armenian doctor
Jack Gevorgian who is known to the world as "Doctor Death." According
to the Marmara weekly, famous actor Al Pacino will play the role of
Jack Gevorgian.

Doctor Jack Gevorgian is a supporter of euthanasia and "has helped"
130 incurables to die. He has carried on a struggle for many years to
give such people a right of death. In 1999 Jack Gevorgian was sentenced
to imprisonment in Michigan and was released only in 2007 because of
suffering from cancer. Last year Doctor Jack Gevorgian took part in
the USA Congress elections receiving only 2.7 percent of the votes.

HERITAGE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE TO FILE A COMPLAINT TO PACE AGAINST OFFICIAL YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
05.06.2009 15:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Heritage Parliamentary Faction representative, CE
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) RA Delegation member Zaruhi Postangyan
addressed a letter to PACE Monitoring Committee Head Serhi Kholovati,
expressing her dissatisfaction with fulfillment manner of PACE
recommendations, worked out for Armenia on the basis of resolution
on last year’s March events.

"Prosecutor General’s Office and RA judicial authority failed to
organize a fair judicial procedure on March disorders, resulting in
10 people’s death and 200 being injured. Moreover, the authorities
are reluctant to start serious investigation on these tragic events,"
the letter says.

In her letter Zaruhi Postangyan reminded that court verdicts were given
based on police officers evidence. She also reminded that until now,
RA President hasn’t used his constitutional right to grant amnesty
to those involved in March events, like PACE recommendations advised.

In conclusion, Zaruhi Postangyan noted that "imperfections in RA
Election Code, pressure towards Media representatives, lack of free
speech and restrictions in meetings and rallies’ organization, set
a foundation for unfair, unequal and non-transparent elections into
Yerevan Council of Elders."

CHIEF OF POLICE DEPARTMENT: INFORMATION ON THE ATTACK TO POLAD BUL-BUL OGLU’S COUNTRY HOUSE IS UNTRUE

Today.Az

June 4 2009
Azerbaijan

Media has recently published materials that the country house of
Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia Polad Bul-Bul oglu, located in the
village of Nardaran of the Sabunchu district of Baku, was attacked. And
Armenian journalists associated this attack with the planned visit
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives self-declared Nagorno
Karabakh.

In order to clarify this issue, correspondent of Day.Az contacted the
head of the 14th Police department of Sabunchu Zaur Badalov, who said:

"Information about the attack to the country house of the Azerbaijani
ambassador to Russia is untrue and unfounded. Polad Bul Bul oghlu
has a country house in Nardaran and there is an empty piece of land
of 1 hectares near it.

There was erected a fence on this empty area which was then demolished
by unknown persons. The statement of the Ambassador of Azerbaijan
in Russia regarding the visit to the separatist "Nagorno Karabakh"
and the incident in Nardaran are just a coincidence, and there is no
political motivation", said Z. Badalov.

GENOCIDE AWARENESS ACT" CLEARS CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE

-awareness-act-clears-california-state-senate/
Jun 4th, 2009

SACRAMENTO, CA – Despite intense opposition from Turkish lobby groups,
the California State Senate unanimously passed the "Genocide Awareness
Act" (SB 234) on Tuesday.

The legislation, which seeks to explicitly include an oral history
component to the already mandated genocide education curriculum,
would expand the perspective through which California students learn
about this crime against humanity. Both the current legislation and
the current curriculum directly reference the Armenian Genocide as
well as several other 20th Century genocides.

"Survivor, witness and personal testimony represent powerful ways of
educating California’s students about the true horrors of genocide,
the ongoing cycle of mass atrocities that continue to plague our world,
and – of course – the urgent need for us, as Americans, to work with
each other and the international community in eradicating this crime
forever," said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. "We value the
leadership of Senator Mark Wyland and are proud that the California
state Senate has remained at the vanguard of genocide education by
adopting this measure."

The Armenian National Committee of America led the Armenian American
community effort to support this legislation. ANCA activists traveled
to Sacramento and sent WebFaxes to their Senators earlier in the
year and throughout April to raise awareness about the importance of
the bill. The bill was introduced by California Senator Mark Wyland
(R-northern San Diego County).

On April 29, during a hearing in the California State Senate Education
Committee, Armenian American activist Harry Boghossian, a resident
of San Diego County traveled to Sacramento to testify before the
committee in support of the bill.

As part of his testimony, Boghossian referenced US Ambassador
Henry Morgenthau noting that the Ambassador had "the willingness
to record the atrocities as a credible, U.S. government document,
readily available in the U.S. archives. This document serves as a
legitimate itemization of the Genocide. In so doing, he kept the
remembrance of the Armenian Genocide alive in the face of today’s
Turkish government plot to cover up the truth and deny that the
Genocide ever existed. We must never live in the denial of the
truth." (Read more about Boghossian’s testimony)

Genocide denial lobbyist Bruce Fein was dispatched from Washington,
DC to testify at that same hearing in opposition to SB 234. Fein
is a Board Member of the Turkish Coalition of America and active
with the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, a front organization
promoting genocide denial through similar testimony and lawsuits
against prominent civil rights groups, including the Southern Poverty
Law Center (Read more about the lawsuits). During the hearing Senator
Joe Simitian was outspoken in confronting Fein’s denial the Armenian
and Cambodian genocides as well as ongoing genocide in Darfur. (Read
more about Fein’s efforts in Sacramento).

"Truth and our commitment to education won today. Having worked with
students in the classroom on this subject I know that oral histories
are fundamental in helping convey the lessons we need to learn in
order to prevent genocide and punish its perpetrators," remarked
Shant Hagopian, an ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship alumnus and recent
graduate from the University of California, Berkeley where he also
volunteered with the Genocide Education Project.

Having cleared the California State Senate, SB 234 now moves to the
California State Assembly for consideration and approval. Should it
be approved by both chambers Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would
then have the opportunity to sign the legislation into law.

CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE APPROVES GENOCIDE AWARENESS ACT

armradio.am
04.06.2009 14:43

Earlier today, the California State Senate passed Senate Bill 234, the
"Genocide Awareness Act," reported the Armenian Assembly of America
(Assembly). The Assembly, an early proponent of the measure introduced
by State Senator Mark Wyland (R), activated its ARAMAC grassroots
network in California to encourage support and passage of the bill.

On April 29, the Senate Education Committee voted unanimously in favor
of SB 234. During the public witness hearing, Armenian Genocide denier
Bruce Fein and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA)
testified against treating the Armenian example and parallel cases
in Cambodia and Darfur as genocide. In response to the opposition’s
testimony, State Senator Joe Simitian (D), a member of the Education
Committee, expressed his disappointment, especially given the
incontestable historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and asked,
"Why is it that genocide happens over and over and over again?…It
happens because we are unwilling to step back and confront man’s
inhumanity to man." The truth of the Armenian Genocide, Simitian
stated, "has long been settled."

State Senator Christine Kehoe (D), Chair of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, moved the bill directly to the Senate floor for a vote,
stating, "The continuing events in Darfur remind me of the words of
philosopher George Santayana who wrote: ‘Those who do not learn from
history are doomed to repeat it.’ Those horrific events only serve to
raise the importance of acknowledging and learning from past events
like the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. Making sure that Senate
Bill 234 becomes law will help make sure that the Armenian Genocide
is not forgotten for this and future generations."

"The Armenian Assembly applauds Senator Kehoe for promptly bringing
this legislation to the floor for a vote," stated Yeghig Keshishian,
the Assembly’s Western Region Director. "The Assembly would also like
to commend Senator Wyland for introducing this legislation and thereby
once again placing California in the forefront of national politics
as it pertains to human rights education and genocide prevention."

Upon successful passage in the California State Assembly, State Senator
Wyland’s "Genocide Awareness Act" would then be signed into law by
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill requires the California
Curriculum Commission to vote on the inclusion of an oral history
component related to genocides as part of its high school curriculum,
including the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. California pioneered
new education standards by adopting the Model Curriculum for Human
Rights and Genocide, which includes the Armenian Genocide.

MOSCOW LAUDS EFFORTS TO ADVANCE DIALOG ON GARABAGH

AzerNews Weekly
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

The meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders due in
St.-Petersburg, Russia on Thursday displays the resolve of the
two governments to continue dialog on settling the Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict, the Russian president`s spokeswoman has said.

Natalya Timakova told journalists that talks of Presidents Ilham Aliyev
and Serzh Sarkisian with their Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev
demonstrate the continuation of the process that started with the
signing of a declaration on Garabagh settlement in Moscow last fall.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders signed the document on
November 2, 2008 after trilateral talks held on President Medvedev`s
initiative. The first document inked by the two heads of state in
the past 16 years, it called for a political solution of the Garabagh
conflict through further dialog brokered by the mediating OSCE Minsk
Group (MG).

Timakova pointed out the significance of Presidents Aliyev and Serzh
Sarkisian coming to St.-Petersburg, saying this will enable the parties
to convene again and discuss the current state of the peace process.

"The very fact that dialog continues, the sides` displaying readiness
for it and their accepting Russia`s mediating role in this is
important," the presidential spokesperson said.

According to the MG co-chairs, the parties have provided their consent
for the upcoming presidential meeting. Shortly before the talks,
the two leaders are scheduled to meet with the Russian president.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for nearly
two decades. Peace talks that kicked off after hostilities in the
early 1990s have brought little tangible result so far but are still
under way. The negotiations are mediated through the MG by Russia,
the United States and France.

ARMENIA’S PUBLIC SERVICES REGULATOR APPROVES ENA’S 65.5 BILLION DRAMS WORTH INVESTMENT PROGRAM

ARKA
June 3, 2009

YEREVAN, June 3. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory
Commission (PSRC) approved today ENA’s (Electric Networks of Armenia)
2009-2011 investment program worth 65.5bln drams (without VAT).

This year, the company plans to invest some 34.8bln drams, said Yuri
Gavrilenko, head of the ENA investment programs department. "The
investments aim at enhancing services, particularly reducing power
cutoffs and voltage errors," Gavrilenko was quoted as saying.

Analyzing the 2008 program execution, ENA found out that actual
investments were by 70% lower than expected due to the global financial
recession and the Russian-Georgian conflict."Almost all unrealized
investments are included in the 2009-2011 program," Gavrilenko added.

He pointed out that ENA would invest 13.5bln drams for eliminating
power cutoffs in Armenia in three years, with this year’s investments
totaling 5.9bln drams. To eliminate voltage errors, the company will
spend some 3.5bln drams (1.2bln drams in 2009). Three-year allocations
for expansion of subscribers’ network will amount to 11.5bln drams
(2.6bln drams in 2009). Some 18.9bln drams will be earmarked for
special projects (17.7bln drams in 2009).

Some 10.3bln drams will be allocated for revisions to the commercial
accounting system (3.5bln drams in 2009). Three-year investments in20
operation safety and re-equipment will total 2.3bln (1.1bln in 2009).

In his turn, PSRC Chairman Robert Nazaryan said ENA had improved its
mid-term investment program.

Subsidiary of Russia’s electricity trader INTER RAO UES (owned by
Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom since April 2008), ENA owns
220 kW-110,000 kW electric networks in Armenia and is the country’s
exclusive electricity distributor. ENA has 935,000 subscribers. ($1 –
369.93 drams).

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN INSISTS ON AMNESTY

Interfax
June 1 2009
Russia

Armenian Human Rights Ombudsman Armen Arutyunian has urged President
Serzh Sargsyan to announce an amnesty.

I ask the Armenian president to announce an amnesty. Also, I appeal
to political forces, public figures and the Public Council to use
this exclusive occasion and ask the president to suggest an amnesty
to the National Assembly, he said.

Sargsyan said last week that he was ready to amnesty persons convicted
for the March 2008 riots.

The previous amnesty was held in 2006. The idea of a new amnesty has
matured, and I am ready to use my constitutional right, he said.

The Armenian opposition led by former president Levon Ter- Petrossian
refused to recognize results of the presidential elections held on
February 19, 2008, and organized protests. The protests developed into
clashes with the opposition on March 1. Ten people died and more than
250 were injured.

Former foreign minister Alexander Arzumanian, deputies Myasnik
Malkhasian, Sasun Mikaelian and Akop Akopian and opposition activists
Shant Arutyunian and Suren Sirunian were the main defendants.

They were charged with organizing massive riots in December 2008.

Arutyunian was set free on May 13 as doctors said he was temporarily
insane during the riots. His case was suspended.

MOSCOW ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO THE MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009 19:06

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The oncoming meeting of Russian President with RA
and Azeri Leaders to be held on Thursday in St. Petersburg, testifies
to parties’ intention to proceed with negotiations on peaceful
settlement of NKR conflict, Natalya Timakova , RA President’s Press
Secretary stated.

"RA and Azeri Leaders’ arrival to St. Petersburg to participate in
a forum will allow them to once again discuss current situation. The
important thing is that the parties demonstrate their readiness to a
dialogue and acknowledge Russia’s role of intermediary in NKR issue,"
Timakova emphasized.

JUSTICE MINISTER OF ARMENIA: ASSOCIATING ELECTIONS WITH VIOLATIONS OF LAW HAS BECOME TRADITION IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-06-01 13:30:00

ArmInfo. The public in Armenia closely associates elections with
various violations of the law, Justice Minister of Armenia Gevorg
Danielyan says regarding the elections to the Elders’ Council of
Yerevan held on May 31.

He said the elections were legal and met international criteria. ‘Such
perception has already become a ‘good’ tradition. However, it is
not accidentally that most of the alarms of violations often do
not correspond to reality. I have got an impression that the past
elections were much calmer than the previous ones and the pressure
on mentality was weaker’, the minister said.