Author: nina hovnanian

LANDLOCKED ARMENIA RESULT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE – AUSTRALIAN MP

Tert.am
16.12.11

Andrew Rohan, a member for Smithfield in the NSW Legislative Assembly,
declared in a parliamentary statement that modern-day Armenia remains
landlocked as a result of the Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman
Turkish government.

Rohan, who was elected to parliament in the March 2011 election, rose
in the House to describe the impact the Armenian Genocide continues
to have on the Republic of Armenia.

He said: “As a result of the Armenian Genocide, the modern state of
Armenia remains landlocked and does not constitute all of the lands
once historically occupied by Armenians.”

He continued: “Turkey, the successor state and beneficiary of the
Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian, Hellenic and Assyrian Genocides,
currently maintains an economic blockade of Armenia which endangers
the socio-economic viability, security and sustainability of a people
subjected to genocide less than a century ago.”

Rohan also talked about the efforts of the Republic of Turkey to
impede a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

He added: “The Turkish Government continues to destroy Armenian
cultural monuments and churches; Turkish educators teach students a
revised version of history, claiming that no genocide took place;
and under article 301 of the Turkish penal code, courts prosecute
and sentence anyone who openly accepts the occurrence of the Armenian
Genocide.”

ARMENIA IS PROMISING AND INTERESTING MARKET FOR CHINESE INVESTORS

/ARKA/
December 15, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, December 15. /ARKA/. Armenia is a very promising and
interesting market for Chinese businessmen and investors, Johnny Hon,
head of the Global Group of Companies from Hong Kong told a news
conference in Yerevan today.

“Having studied the Armenian market, I came to the conclusion that
cooperation between our two countries in economy is not as active as
we would like it to be and we decided to come here and to look into
untapped reserves on ground”, he said.

Johnny Hon is heading a delegation of Chinese businessmen, who are
in Yerevan at the initiative of the Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs of Armenia. According to Hon, in Armenia they are
scheduled to have a series of meetings and discussions with the
businessmen and government officials.

British Baroness Caroline Cox, who has arrived in Yerevan together
with the Chinese delegation, and is one of the initiators of their
visit, noted the importance of cooperation between Armenia and China.

“I visit Armenia often and was close to your people in very difficult
times, but this time I have come with colleagues from China, who are
planning to contribute to Armenia’s economic development”, she said.

The Global Group of Companies is registered in Hong Kong with venture
capital engaged in funding a variety of commercial enterprises in
various countries around the world.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN VISITED TODAY THE CITY HALL OF VENICE

15.12.2011

President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the City Hall of Venice. The
President of Armenia attended the ceremony of signing the agreement
which commences the process of declaring Yerevan and Venice
sister-cities. The document was signed by the Mayor of Yerevan Taron
Margarian and Mayor of Venice Giorgio Orsoni.

The Mayor of Yerevan thanked his counterpart, Mayor Giorgio Orsoni for
his readiness to support the process of announcing Yerevan and Venice
sister-cities and for the warm welcome. Taron Margarian noted that
both cities have rich historical and cultural heritage and excellent
prospects of cooperation. He expressed confidence that cooperation
between the sister-cities will be more efficient, encompassing
all areas specified in the agreement. T. Margarian invited the
Mayor of Venice to Yerevan to participate on April 23, 2012 at the
celebrations dedicated to Yerevan ~V the World Book Capital event,
and in October together with the delegation from Venice to participate
at the celebration dedicated to the 2794th anniversary of Yerevan.

Giorgio Orsoni noted that Venice was greatly please to sign agreement
with Yerevan on becoming sister-cities. In his words, this a great
event for the peoples of both countries which signifies a new step
in the sixteen ages long road connecting Venice to the Armenian people.

Mayor Orsoni underscored that throughout history, the bilateral
relations have strengthened and enriched with new achievements not
only between Venice, Mkhitarian Congregation but also between Venice,
the Armenian state and active and large Armenian communities all over
the world. According to the Mayor, the Armenians are part of Venice~Rs
history starting from the very origin of the city and has always been
instrumental in the economic, cultural and spiritual development of
the city.

Mayor Orsoni said that it was enigmatic that the day before, at the
discussions in the City Hall dedicated to the agreement on establishing
sister-cities status a question was raised why Venice had not signed
such agreement with the capital of Armenia decades ago.

After the signing ceremony, President Serzh Sargsyan congratulated the
Mayors of Yerevan and Venice and thanked the City Hall of the city for
highlighting the importance and necessity of such document. According
to the President of Armenia, it is called to proved once again that
the two nations are no strangers to each other and ages-long friendly
relations inherited from our ancestors should be continue and elevated
to a new higher level.

Concluding his working visit to Italy and Vatican, delegation headed
by the President of Armenia today has returned to Yerevan.

GAS SUPPLY TO ARMENIA TO BE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED

ARMENPRESS
DECEMBER 16, 2011
YEREVAN

Georgian gas-transport company has officially informed “ArmRusGasProm”
about temporarily suspending the natural gas supply to Armenia from
December 16 10.50 am. An official from “ArmRusGasProm” told Armenpress
that the Georgian company is planning to implement restoration works
on the gas pipe. The Georgian side convinced that the works will
be implemented in shortest period of time. The gas consumers will
receive gas without limitations.

AUSTRALIAN MP SAYS ARMENIA LANDLOCKED BECAUSE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ARMENPRESS
DECEMBER 16, 2011
SYDNEY

Member for Smithfield in the NSW Legislative Assembly, Andrew Rohan,
declared in a parliamentary statement that as a result of the Armenian
Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government, the modern
state of Armenia remains landlocked.

Armenian National Committee of Australia reports that Rohan, who was
elected to parliament in the March 2011 election, rose in the House
to describe the impact the Armenian Genocide continues to have on
the Republic of Armenia.

He said: “As a result of the Armenian Genocide, the modern state of
Armenia remains landlocked and does not constitute all of the lands
once historically occupied by Armenians.”

He continued: “Turkey, the successor state and beneficiary of the
Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian, Hellenic and Assyrian Genocides,
currently maintains an economic blockade of Armenia which endangers
the socio-economic viability, security and sustainability of a people
subjected to genocide less than a century ago.”

Rohan also talked about the efforts of the Republic of Turkey to
impede a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

He added: “The Turkish Government continues to destroy Armenian
cultural monuments and churches; Turkish educators teach students a
revised version of history, claiming that no genocide took place;
and under article 301 of the Turkish penal code, courts prosecute
and sentence anyone who openly accepts the occurrence of the Armenian
Genocide.”

Turning to the issue of Nagorno Karabakh, the Australian
parliamentarian condemned the Azerbaijani aggression. Rohan said:
“Azeri military commanders continue to train snipers to shoot and
kill innocent Armenians near the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan border;
the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev consistently employs war
rhetoric, threatening to pursue a military solution to the issue
of Nagorno Karabakh; and the Republic of Azerbaijan, like Turkey,
maintains an economic blockade of the Republic of Armenia and the
Armenian Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.”

“I raise these issues today because Australia and the international
community must support a just resolution of the Armenian, Assyrian and
Greek Genocides; and I raise these issues today because Australia and
the international community must acknowledge the Republic of Nagorno
Karabakh’s right to self determination.”

“While Turkey and its ethnic brethren in Azerbaijan maintain
anti-Armenian policies, the issue of the Armenian Genocide remains
unresolved,” he said.

Armenian National Committee of Australia says Mr Rohan’s statement, on
public record, makes a significant contribution to the just resolution
of the Armenian Genocide.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

December 16, 2011
_______________________________________________

FR. SHNORK KASPARIAN: 50 YEARS OF SERVICE

The Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Church of Belleville, Ill., hosted an
exciting weekend centered on celebrating the 50th ordination anniversary of
longtime parish pastor (and current visiting pastor) the Very Rev. Fr.
Shnork Kasparian.

Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian presided over the gala banquet
at the Cedars Ballroom in, St. Louis, Mo., on Friday, December 9, which was
also attended by honored clergy including Bishop Robert Shaheen, the
Maronite Eparchial Bishop of Our Lady of Lebanon Eparchy, and the Very Rev.
Fr. Aren Jebejian, pastor of Chicago’s St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian
Church.

Nearly 100 people attended, including guests who had traveled from New York,
Canada, and Chicago to honor Fr. Kasparian. Mark Marifian and Adrienne
Krikorian served as Masters of Ceremony. Tributes and congratulatory letters
presented included those from U.S. Senator Mark Kirk and from clergy
throughout the United States. A video tribute spanning Fr. Kasparian’s life,
prepared by George and Nina Marifian, was also shown.

Archbishop Barsamian addressed the gathering, sharing his experiences with
Fr. Shnork, and emphasizing the piety of this humble servant of the Lord. He
also presented the honoree with an Encyclical from His Holiness Karekin II,
the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, which Fr. Aren
Jebejian read to a standing audience.

At last, Fr. Kasparian reflected on his many years of service, expressing
thanks to people around the world to whom he had ministered. To conclude the
program, parish council chairman George Marifian presented Fr. Kasparian
with a new laptop computer from the parish.

As part of the banquet, Archbishop Barsamian presented diplomas to the
parish’s recent Sunday School graduates: Erik Stryshak, Adrienne Krikorian,
Gabrielle Krikorian, Gregory Marifian, and Mark Marifian.

The anniversary organizing committee, co-chaired by Raffi Krikorian and Jane
Matoesian, included committee members Lisa Bedian, Caroline Kernan, Lydia
Kachigian Krikorian, Adrienne Krikorian, Mark Marifian, Nina Marifian, Rose
Nersesian, Tamara Noubarian, and Arleen Stryshak, assisted by parish council
chair George Marifian.

A native of Alexandra, Egypt, Fr. Kasparian studied at the St. James
Armenian Seminary of Jerusalem, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1961.
He served in Brazil and Uruguay prior to arriving in the Eastern Diocese,
where he continued his theological studies at Marquette University in
Milwaukee, Wis., and was assigned to serve at St. John the Baptist Church in
Greenfield, Wis.

In 1969, he was invited by His Holiness Vasken I, the late Supreme Patriarch
and Catholicos of all Armenians, to serve as the dean of the theological
seminary at Holy Etchmiadzin. He returned to the Eastern Diocese in 1972,
and went on to serve in Worcester, Mass., Providence, R.I., Milwaukee, Wis.,
and Belleville, Ill.

Fr. Kasparian has also served in the Canadian Diocese, at the Armenian
Patriarchate of Constantinople, and at the Armenian Patriarchate of
Jerusalem.

###

Photo attached: Archbishop Barsamian presents Fr. Shnork Kasparian with an
Encyclical from His Holiness Karekin II.

ZHOGHOVURD: SAMVEL ALEKSANYAN TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF NIG-APARAN

Tert.am
17.12.11

The paper claims that Armenian MP Samvel Aleksanyan, will at the 5th
congress of the patriotic union Nig-Aparan, to be held on Saturday,
be elected as the union’s president.

In this position Samvel Aleksanyan will replace Haykaz Navasardyan,
director of a school .

The paper further reminds that Nig-Aparan has two more honorary
presidents – Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan, and the owner of
Tigran Mets publishing house Vrezh Markosyan.

BE MAN OF YOUR WORD, ERDOGAN TELLS SARKOZY

Hurriyet

Dec 17 2011
Turkey

Prime Minister Erdogan has reminded France’s President of his earlier
vows not to pass a bill punishing Armenian ‘genocide’ denials in a
strongly worded missive

This file photo shows Turkish PM Erdogan (L) welcoming French leader
Sarkozy, who faces a dire warning on the ‘genocide’ bill. DAILY NEWS
photo, Selahattin SONMEZ Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the
French President Nicolas Sarkozy to keep earlier promises to forestall
legislation that would criminalize the denial of Armenian “genocide”
as Ankara turned up pressure on Paris, warning French businesses of
serious consequences to trade links.

The bill, to be voted on Dec. 22, is threatening a fresh crisis
in Turkish-French ties, long poisoned by strong French opposition
to Turkey’s EU accession, just when signs have emerged of a rare
rapprochement between the two countries as part of international
efforts to end the turmoil in Syria.

In a letter to the French president, Erdogan urged Sarkozy “to keep
his promise that such legislative attempts would not be finalized and
block irreparable developments” in bilateral relations. Prime Ministry
sources said the remark was a reference to statements Sarkozy made
after a similar bill was approved at the French Parliament’s lower
house in 2006, but could not make it to a vote in the Senate. The
French president said at the time that “he had no intention to take
the bill to the Senate and did not want things to get worse,” the
letter said, adding that this position was also confirmed in talks
with special representatives of the two leaders.

“The advancement of such attempts will have grave consequences for
ties between Turkey and France in all fields – political, economic
and cultural,” Erdogan said, dubbing the bill as a “hostile” move
targeting Turkey and the Turkish community in France.

Erdogan said that if approved, the bill would harm also efforts to
normalize Turkish-Armenian ties and deal a blow to free speech. Turkey
has already said it will recall its ambassador from Paris if the bill
is passed.

Economic ties at stake

In an effort to enlist support from the business world, Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu summoned representatives of French businesses
in Turkey and Turkish companies trading with France for a meeting on
Dec. 15.

The minister underlined the recent “positive momentum” in
Turkish-French relations and warned that the approval of the bill would
“inevitably” harm bilateral trade at a time when France is under the
threat of economic depression, diplomatic sources said.

Turkish business leaders also mobilized to help head off the bill,
under which anyone in France who publicly denies the genocide could
face a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($58,000).

The head of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges
(TOBB), Rıfat Hisarcıklıoglu, visited French Ambassador Laurent
Bili to convey his concerns over the economic repercussions of “this
very serious problem that could profoundly shake relations,” a TOBB
statement said.

“It’s so bad that our long-term relationship is being jeopardized
in the name of short-term expectations,” Hisarcıklıoglu said,
referring to France’s presidential elections next year.

The chairwoman of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSÄ°AD), Umit Boyner, said she was already in contact
with French counterparts ahead of a visit to Paris next week. A joint
TOBB-TUSÄ°AD delegation will hold a series of meetings with French
business groups and urge them to use their influence over French
politicians to stop the bill, she said.

French firms may also send letter to Sarkozy

Leading French firms in Turkey are preparing to sign a letter to be
sent to French President Nicholas Sarkozy, according to the chief of
one of the largest French firms operating in Turkey, the Hurriyet
Daily News has learned. The letter is expected to deliver a united
message against a draft bill at the French parliament that will
introduce punishment for the denial of the “Armenian genocide.”

“We have accepted the invitation of TOBB, regarding a letter addressing
the French Presidency and showed our sensitivity in respect to
the matter,” said Emre Uge, general manager of Sodexo Turkey, in a
written response to questions from the Daily News. “We are expecting
this draft, which is a clear barrier to freedom of expression, to
be rejected by the French parliament. I hope this initiative [at
parliament] will be limited to being one of the negative moves that
we have been seeing prior to almost every election in France.”

“Currently there is a draft letter to be sent to French President
Nicholas Sarkozy,” said a TOBB source, speaking on condition of
anonymity. The source said French firms operating in Turkey will
put their name and signature on the letter. On Dec. 16, company
representatives were discussing the content and the tone of the letter,
the source added.

“French firms are used to such crises – this is not the first time,”
Banu Antonetti, board member of the Turkish-France Business Council,
told the Daily News Dec. 16. “Political tensions would not bring a
huge change in bilateral trade and investment ties. However, companies
might face difficulties regarding big tenders in both countries.”

Antonetti, also a prominent lawyer based in Istanbul, said French
companies in Turkey have not displayed any concern regarding their
business.

As the Daily News went to print on Dec. 16, BNP Paribas and Carrefour
had not yet replied to questions. Bayraktar Holding, the Turkish
distributor of Citroen, Schneider and Club Med declined to comment
on the issue.

COURT RULES AGAINST SAMAST’S ARREST

Today’s Zaman
Dec 16 2011
Turkey

An Ä°stanbul court on Friday ruled against the arrest for terrorism
charges regarding Ogun Samast, who was sentenced to 21 years, six
months for “premeditated murder” of the Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink.

As the hearing of the trial against Samast for membership in terror
organization was held at the Ä°stanbul 2nd Juvenile High Criminal
Court, the presiding judge, Celal Unal, ruled that he would no longer
be tried under terrorism charges and his arrest in that regard would
be removed.

However, Samast, who is being tried in juvenile court because he was
a minor at the time of the crime, will remain under arrest because
of other charges against him.

TURKEY WARNS FRANCE AGAINST ARMENIAN “GENOCIDE” BILL

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Dec 16 2011
Germany

Ankara – Turkey raised ths stakes against France Friday, with its
prime minister warning President Nicholas Sarkozy of ‘terrible’
consequences if the French parliament passes a bill which would
punish anyone denying that the mass killing of Armenians in 1915-18
constituted ‘genocide.’

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million Armenians citizens of the Ottoman
Empire were either killed or died of neglect on deportation marches
to the Syrian desert in 1915-18.

Turkey admits that some 300,000 Armenians died, but argues it was
because of unrest during the First World War when Russian forces
invaded eastern Turkey, where the bulk of the Armenians lived.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s warning, conveyed in a letter,
came two days after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rebuked
French legislators, saying their desire to ban free debate on the
Armenian killings harked back to the Middle Ages.

‘If this bill is passed, France will lead the return of a medieval
mentality to Europe,’ Davutoglu told Turkish legislators.

However, the bill is widely supported in France’s National Assembly
and is expected to pass when it goes to the vote on December 22.

France has half a million citizens of Armenian origin, and is holding
legislative and presidential elections in next year.

A delegation of five members of Turkey’s parliament is flying to
Paris on Sunday to lobby their French counterparts against the bill.

An immediate consequence of the bill’s approval will be the recall
of Turkey’s ambassador and the freezing of Turkish-French relations,
a spokesman for the Turkish Embassy in Paris, Engin Solakoglu, told
the Hurriyet Daily News.

Erdogan wrote to Sarkozy that if the bill is passed, ‘the result
will be terrible for the multi-faceted relations between Turkey and
France – on the political, economic, cultural levels and, in fact,
on every level,’ the semi-official Anatolian Agency reported.

Turkey and France have an annual bilateral trade of 10.5 billion
dollars, and there are 1,000 French companies operating in Turkey.

Erdogan reminded Sarkozy, who came to Ankara in February, that the
French leader had once said he had no intention of allowing a bill
on the Armenian issue to become law.

Turkish-French relations should not be held hostage by the demands
of third parties, the prime minister said in his letter, referring
to France’s Armenian community.

Advocates of the French bill argue it is hate speech to deny that
the 1915-18 killings constitute ‘genocide’, and that hate speech is
beyond freedom of expression.

Turkey maintains that an equal number of Muslim Turks died in the
fighting.

Turkey denies the Armenian killings were a case of genocide, saying
there was no systematic policy to kill Armenians. But Armenians
hold that the killings and deportation marches were ordered by the
government, and that the sheer number of deaths amounts to genocide.

In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement known as the Zurich
Protocols under which they promised to normalise their relations, open
their common border, and set up an independent historical commission to
investigate whether the events of 1915-18 constituted genocide or not.

But the protocols have never been ratified as they fell foul of the
dispute between the two countries over Armenia’s support for the
separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan –
a close ally of Turkey.

In a press conference for French journalists on Thursday, delegation
leader Volkan Bozkir, a former Turkish ambassador and chairman of
the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said it was regrettable
that the Armenian issue always emerged when France was on the verge
of elections.

There is a small but growing number of Turkish intellectuals who
believe that the Armenians were killed deliberately. Two years ago
about 150 academics, columnists and writers signed a petition in
which they apologised to Armenians for the 1915-18 killings.

Furthermore, a book on the killings, A Shameful Act, by the Turkish
historian Taner Akcham, concludes they did amount to genocide, and
is sold in mainstream bookshops in Ankara and Istanbul.