Author: nina hovnanian

EURONEST PA MEMBERS RAISE NAGORNO-KARABAKH ISSUE AT MEETING WITH ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

Trend
Feb 24 2012
Azerbaijan

Euronest Parliamentary Assembly members raised the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh at a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan,
Azerbaijani MP Faraj Guliyev told Trend in an interview following
his visit to Armenia today.

“At a meeting with the Armenian president, the MPs raised the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem,” he said. “In particular, Azerbaijani MPs
told Sargsyan they cannot visit the graves of Azerbaijanis, who were
buried in the occupied territories. The importance of organizing a
meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities in Nagorno
Karabakh was stressed.”

When Sargsyan said Nagorno Karabakh is not part of Azerbaijan, the
Azerbaijani MPs reminded him of the four adopted UN resolutions on
the need for the unconditional liberation of the territories.

Despite the fact that it was proposed to discuss the ways to resolve
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with the assistance of the EU, Sargsyan
opposed this, saying he prefers that the OSCE Minsk Group plays the
chief role in the conflict settlement.

Guliyev said when the Azerbaijani MPs arrived in Yerevan, the Armenian
border guards at the airport escorted them to a detention center.

Azerbaijani MPs Rovshan Rzayev, Faraj Guliyev and Azay Guliyev visited
Armenia to attend the meeting on Feb. 21-23.

Euronest includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

AZERBAIJANI EURO MPS DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH WITH ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 24 2012
Russia

Members of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly have discussed the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan,
Azerbaijani MP Faradzh Guliyev told Trend on Friday.

Azerbaijani officials told Sargsyan that they cannot visit graves of
their compatriots on the occupied territories. They also noted the
need to organize meetings of Azerbaijani and Armenian communities
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

President Serzh Sargsyan responded that Nagorno-Karabakh is not part of
Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani MPs reminded about 4 UN resolutions demanding
withdrawal from the occupied territories.

Sargsyan rejected the initiative of EU assistance in resolving the
conflict, expressing preference of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Guliyev said that Armenian border guards escorted them to an isolator
at the airport in Yerevan.

Azerbaijani MPs Rovshan Rzayev, Faradzh Guliyev and Azay Guliyev
visited Armenia to attend the social committee of the Euronest PA on
February 21-23.

Euronest consists of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

CIRCUIT SIDES WITH INSURER ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CLAIMS
Ginny LaRoe

Law.com

Feb 24 2012

SAN FRANCISCO – After three rounds at the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court
of Appeals, lawyers at Mayer Brown pulled off a full win for a German
insurer fighting claims by survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

A unanimous en banc opinion said the California law that allowed for
Armenian Genocide survivors to bring suit for certain insurance claims
is preempted under the foreign affairs doctrine.

“This disposes of all remaining claims,” said Neil Soltman, a Los
Angeles-based Mayer Brown partner who argued Movesian v. Munich,
07-56722, before the court three times. “If the Supreme Court doesn’t
take it, the case is over.”

Mayer Brown represents German Munich Re, the parent company of the
insurance companies in the suit. Nearly a decade ago, survivors of
Armenians killed or persecuted in the World War I era brought the
class action over payments on life insurance policies, claiming breach
of contract and unjust enrichment, among other things. California
passed a measure in 2000, California Code of Civil Procedure §354.4,
that allowed California courts to hear insurance claims by “Armenian
Genocide victims.”

The Ninth Circuit has grappled with the case for years. It issued
two panel opinions – one for the insurance company, another for the
plaintiffs after Senior Judge Dorothy Nelson changed her position –
before Thursday’s en banc ruling by Judge Susan Graber.

Her ruling relies on analysis in a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision
in another case handled by Soltman and Mayer Brown, Am. Ins. Ass’n v.
Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396.

Graber wrote that it’s “clear that the real purpose of” the California
law is “to provide potential monetary relief and a friendly forum
for those who suffered from certain foreign events.” That’s the
same purpose held unconstitutional in Garamendi. However “laudable”
the goal may be, Graber wrote, it’s not an “area of traditional
state responsibility, therefore the statute is subject to a field
preemption analysis.”

Graber then determined that the law intrudes on the federal
government’s “exclusive power to conduct and regulate foreign affairs.”

Graber rejected plaintiffs’ argument that the California law
concerned an area of traditional state responsibility because it
regulated insurance. Kathryn Lee Boyd of Schwarcz, Rimberg, Boyd &
Rader in L.A., argued for plaintiffs.

The appeals court remanded with instructions to dismiss the claims.

Also on the panel were Judges Mary Schroeder, Stephen Reinhardt, Sidney
Thomas, Barry Silverman, Margaret McKeown, Raymond Fisher, Richard
Paez, Johnnie Rawlinson and Sandra Ikuta and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski.

FALSE BOMB ALERT IN YEREVAN

08:17 pm | Today | Social

At 6:15 p.m. the police received a report that a bomb was placed at
56 Pushkin in Yerevan.

A task force of the police, National Security Service, Ministry of
Emergency Situations and fire brigade arrived at the scene on receiving
the bomb alert. However, no bomb was found in the given address.

In the meantime, the police controlled the Office of the Human Rights
Defender.

The director of a nearby pharmacy learnt about the bomb alert from
police officers.

“We have neither rivals nor enemies,” said the perplexed director.

EXPERTS IN HOLOCAUST TO STUDY MYTHS IN BAKU

arminfo
Friday, February 24, 20:20

The managers of an international organization Yahad-in Unum
(“Together”) based in Paris, which is studying the Holocaust problem,
have been in Baku since February 19.

The organization researches the facts of massacres of World War
II of 1.5 million Jews and Gypsies by the Nazis and their allies,
the identification of Eastern Europe, places of mass executions and
burials of the victims, by fixing the eyewitness of those crimes. So
far, there are over 2,000 evidences, Turan reports.

The purpose of their visit to Azerbaijan is the scientific study
of the resettlement of Jews from the Eastern Front to Azerbaijan,
their rescue from destruction, and the study of the “Khojaly tragedy
of Azerbaijan people”.

It was decided that in 2012, 15 researchers of Yahad-in will pay two
week visits to Azerbaijan. Each mission of Yahad-in will bring 40-50
of witness interviews.

The visit of the leaders of Yahad-in is taking place at the invitation
of the society of Azerbaijanis of Europe.

MENSOIAN: PLEASE TELL ME WHY IT WOULD MATTER IF…?
by Michael Mensoian

February 24, 2012

Please tell me why it would matter if the world recognizes the Armenian
Genocide if our hopes and dreams for mer Hayasdan(our Armenia)
are not fulfilled? Please tell me why it would matter if the world
recognizes the Armenian Genocide and our brothers and sisters in
Artsakh (Karabagh) have lost their freedom and independence? Please
tell me why it would matter if the world recognizes the Armenian
Genocide and historic Armenian Javakhk has been emptied of its people?

The situation in Armenia represents the classic struggle between the
selfless revolutionaries and the forces that have enslaved a hapless
society. Granted, this may be an overly dramatic description of the
present situation, but however the situation is described, it is an
absolute must that our leaders are accepted by the electorate as the
21st-century political incarnation of our honored fedayees and not
part of the established political system that seems unable to change
their condition.

We are at a most crucial moment in the modern history of the Armenian
nation, engaged as we are in a century-long struggle for Hai Tahd
(Armenian Cause). However, ultimate victory will remain an elusive goal
if our party fails to win the mind and heart of the Armenian worker
and his family. If success is to be achieved two objectives must
be realized: 1) to create a system based on equality, opportunity,
and justice for all our citizens irrespective of age, infirmity,
intelligence, or talent; and 2) to maintain the ongoing effort of
genocide recognition. This requires joining these two objectives to
form a unified coordinated effort within and outside Armenia.

An apparent weakness in our present effort stems from the fact that
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) is no longer the monolithic
political party that operated in the diaspora from 1920-91.

During those years its principal political objective was to confront
the Turkish policy of genocide denial and historic revisionism in
the international arena. Since Armenia’s independence, the party
has become, as a result of legal requirements and the relocation
of the leadership to Yerevan, a bifurcated party. Operating within
the Homeland (Armenia, Artsakh, and Javakhk) is the Hayasdan ARF,
and beyond the Homeland the diasporan ARF. The end result has been
an inability or at least a tacit acceptance that there is no need to
implement a common agenda except in the broadest of terms (Hai Tahd).

Given this situation the issues of cooperation and coordination
necessary to achieve these dual objectives simultaneously have not
been properly addressed.

The principal effort of the diasporan ARF is still geared toward
influencing countries to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Once a
critical mass is reached (however many nations that might require)
proponents of this strategy believe that a rising tide of sentiment
in Turkey to revisit its past will eventually require Turkish leaders
to face their history, as President Nicolas Sarkozy and others have
suggested. However, only time and events will determine how Turkish
leaders and citizens will interpret their past, if and when it is
confronted. Once this stage is reached recognition proponents expect
the ensuing dialogue will open the way for meaningful negotiations
between Ankara and Yerevan. What role the leadership of the ARF will
have is problematic at this time.

Although the groundwork would have been achieved through the efforts of
the diasporan ARF, the expected dialogue or any follow-up negotiations
that may result cannot be expected to include participation by the
Hayasdan ARF leadership given its current status.

At best, the Hayasdan ARF is a marginal political party within
Armenia. It will remain marginal until it can appreciably increase
its number of members in parliament (presently 16 out of 131) in the
forthcoming parliamentary elections. Any hoped-for increase will be
directly related to the party’s perception by the Armenian electorate
as a reliable catalyst for needed change.

Given this fact, the Hayasdan ARF must provide a credible comprehensive
plan with specific legislative proposals to create a system based on
equality, opportunity, and justice for all citizens.

The ARF has yet to be perceived by the electorate as committed to their
concerns. Public opinion is swayed as much by perception as it is by
substance. The situation in Armenia represents the classic struggle
between the selfless revolutionaries and the forces that have enslaved
a hapless society. Granted, this may be an overly dramatic description
of the present situation, but however the situation is described, it
is an absolute must that our leaders are accepted by the electorate
as the 21st-century political incarnation of our honored fedayees
and not part of the established political system that seems unable to
change their condition. The results of the forthcoming parliamentary
election will test the voters’ acceptance of the ARF as a reliable
and effective champion of their concerns.

Only when the political base of the party expands, measured by a
significant increase of members in parliament, can our leaders expect
to have a voice in any forthcoming dialogue or negotiations. Make no
mistake, the struggle we are engaged in will be won or lost by our
party’s success and acceptance in the Homeland. Without a significantly
expanded political base our leaders will lack the influence to have
any effective voice in protecting the interests of the Armenian nation
vis-a-vis Turkey or any likely cabal that represents interests at
the expense of the nation.

As for Yerevan, the question that must be answered is, How effective
can any government be at some time in the future in representing
the interests of the Armenian nation if young people and families
continue to emigrate in search of a better quality of life; if the
national population has continued its steady decline; if high rates of
unemployment and underemployment continue to persist; and if wealth and
power remains concentrated in the hands of an economic and political
elite? These issues have a profound adverse impact on Armenia’s future
development and weaken any government’s position in negotiations with
Turkey. These are conditions that must be vigorously, aggressively,
and persistently confronted in concert by the Hayasdan ARF and the
diasporan ARF.

(An interesting note: The population of Armenia when independence was
declared in 1991 was about 3.6 million. Assuming an annual increase
of only 1 percent (which is relatively low) and little emigration or
immigration occurring, the population of Armenia today should be about
4.4 million, which is 1.4 million greater than its current estimated
population of only 3 million.)

It would appear that neither the Hayasdan ARF or the diasporan ARF
accepts redressing existing conditions in the Homeland as holding
the key to ultimate victory. The diasporan ARF seemingly ignores the
situation in Armenia as it continues its quest for what has become
the Holy Grail of Hai Tahd: genocide recognition. No one is denying
the importance of these moral victories that have been achieved by
our ungers and ungerouhis. These victories are important not only
in maintaining the support of the diasporan constituencies, but in
adding public moral pressure to the Turkish leadership. However,
after having said that, do the proponents of this strategy really
believe that the cumulative weight of genocide recognitions or
legislative acts criminalizing public denial of the genocide are
capable of providing the final victory we all seek if unsupported by
an Armenian government that can be relied on to effectively represent
the interests of the nation?

Our cause would be infinitely easier to achieve if we could amass our
resources, meager as some claim them to be, solely against the Turkish
policy of denial and historic revisionism. Given the approximately
70 years in the diaspora, the ARF is adequately structured through
its Getronagan Gomidehs (Central Committees) and Gomidehs (local
committees) to pursue this single objective on nearly a world-wide
scale.

The Armenian Genocide is an established fact of history based on the
enormous weight of evidence and the determination of unbiased and
credentialed genocide scholars and historians. Yet, only about 10
percent of the 193 members of the United Nations have recognized it.

Other nations have accepted the fact of the genocide, but recognition
has fallen prey to political considerations. However, reaching
the critical mass of supporting nations required to influence the
Turkish leadership still remains a daunting task. There can be no
denying that the struggle to have nations recognize the genocide
keeps our struggle for justice before the public, infuriates the
Turkish leadership, and satisfies our diasporan constituency. There
can also be no denying that this strategy must be part of a more
comprehensive and coordinated effort that includes improving the
debilitating conditions that afflict our people in the Homeland.

We should recognize that whatever success the diasporan ARF achieves,
it is the government of Armenia that will complete the process. For
the ARF not to be represented in any hoped-for dialogue or negotiations
that affect the future of Armenia cannot be acceptable.

For over 120 years, the ARF has devoted itself to representing the
interests of the Armenian nation. Now, as we move closer to victory,
is the ARF willing to abandon its historic role because it failed to
aggressively and heroically confront the woeful conditions in Armenia?

Hopefully not!

What is being expected is a Herculean task especially for the
leadership of the Hayasdan ARF. Unfortunately, viable options do not
exist. In a few years, a century will have passed since the genocide
to destroy our nation was unleashed by the Ottoman-Turkish government.

Only a handful of survivors remain with us. This is a struggle not
only to secure justice, but to determine the future course of Armenia.

It is a struggle that must integrate the efforts of the Hayasdan ARF
and the diasporan ARF. It cannot be the responsibility of one and not
the other. And it is a struggle that cannot afford to fail because
the efforts were uncoordinated, or poorly conceived, or improperly
executed, or ineffectively staffed, or simply because of internal
bickering. Whatever victories are achieved in the diaspora will
not provide us our ultimate objective if we cannot claim victory in
the Homeland.

NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT KHOJALY: “BETWEEN HUNGER AND FIRE: POWER AT THE EXPENSE OF LIVES”

Panorama.am
24/02/2012

A new documentary film []
about the events between November 1991 and February 1992 has been
launched in Yerevan, telling about the breakthrough of the blockade
of Stepanakert (capital city of Nagorno Karabakh Republic), as well
as criminal activities of the political elite of Baku which led to
the tragic deaths of civilians in Khojaly.

A two-part documentary, entitled “Between hunger and fire: Power at
the expense of lives” [],
presents a bunch of compelling evidence about criminal activities
of the political elite of Baku, which victimized women, elderly
and children.

The research group, which initiated the film-investigation, reports
that the documentary for now will be launched in Russian and English,
while 7 more language translations will follow soon.

Utilizing a huge number of documentary materials, the film will be
of interest not only for wider audience, but also to research and
expert community. The archive, assembled during the investigation
of tragic death of civilians in Armenian-populated Stepanakert
and Azerbaijani-controlled Aghdam region, entails grounds for
wider-scaled documentary projects. The latter will shed light on a
range of traditional speculations and manipulations by Azerbaijan,
which was tasked to deport the civilian population of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic from their ancestral homeland.

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN: “PUBLICATIONS ABOUT ARF-D LIST ARE NOT SERIOUS”

15:50 . 24/02

According to NA ARF-D faction leader Vahan Hovhannisyan, the authority
may not but allow a layer of the society to be nominated and become
an MP. All the layers have a constitutional right to be elected. It
is another question whether the authority will be able to make an
oligarch who has become an MP to promote a legislative activity and
not do business.

He doesn’t want to answer the politicians who slander ARF-D from time
to time.

“I know very well who the aged from them is and who has lost the
public’s confidence. But since I am a well-brought up man, unlike them,
I will not say that. The public doesn’t pay attention to such foolish
statements since long ago, since we have seen both their behaviour
and their belief, and have seen how often the distinguishing badges
of parties change on their coats. What a comment I should give on
them?” Vahan Hovhannisyan has said.

To recall, the statements of RPA member Rafik Petrosyn and Union of
Self-Determination Party Leader Paruyr Hayrikan are meant here.

Hovhannisyan doesn’t take seriously sociologists’ polls, either,
but the reason is not their professional qualities.

“I just know our public well. I know that they, as a rule, don’t
give correct answers to those questions with known reasons,” the MP
has said.

Vahan Hovhannisyan also advises not to take seriously the publications
on ARF-D’s proportional list in press. He says the list hasn’t still
been discussed and it is not clear who will lead it.

“Is it important who is in which place? The list is a complete
document. I don’t consider discussing its separate parts to be
correct,” ARF-D faction leader has said.

Asked if ARF-D will form a coalition in the parliament after the
coming elections, if there is a need to form a coalition and if
there are forces with which ARF-D has ideological similarities, Vahan
Hovhannisyan didn’t give names of any concrete political forces. He
positively evaluated Vardan Oskanyan’s membership to PAP: Oskanyan will
pass new political qualities to PAP and will have a party platform
to express his views. According to Vahan Hovhannisyan, the recent
viewpoint expressed by Oskanyan that the coalition memorandum doesn’t
function any more since the coalition forces are going to participate
in the elections with different lists was not only Oskanyan’s opinion.

DEAL ON THE SALE OF TUMANYAN’S HOUSE CONCLUDED IN TBILISI
Alisa Gevorgyan

“Radiolur”
24.02.2012 18:06

The $145 thousand deal on the sale of Hovhannes Tumanyan’s house was
concluded in Tbilisi yesterday. The keys were handed to Levon Ananyan,
Chairman of the Union of Writers of Armenia. The sum was provided by
the Mayor of Gyumri, Vardan Ghukasyan, and his brothers.

What destiny awaits Tumanyan’s house in the future? According to Levon
Ananyan, the house will still be managed by the Fund of the Union of
Writers, and this is the best solution for now.

Later the Armenian Government, the Georgian Armenian Diocese and the
Armenian community of Georgia will decide the destiny of the Tumanyan
residence. One thing is clear at this point: it will have exceptionally
a cultural mission and will carry Hovhannes Tumanyan’s name.

LARISA ALAVERDYAN: PROCESSES IN RULING CAMP INVISIBLE TO SOCIETY

Panorama.am
24/02/2012

The authorities have sufficient willpower and willingness to hold
peaceful parliamentary elections in compliance with international
standards, member of RPA parliamentary faction Karine Achemyan told
a news conference in Yerevan.

Heated processes in country’s domestic life are normal in the
pre-election phase, said the MP.

In return, member of Heritage parliamentary faction Larisa Alaverdyan
described the situation in the country as “superficial.”

The processes in the ruling camp are invisible to society, according
to her.