Author: nina hovnanian

ATTACKERS ON KESAB IN SYRIA CAME FROM TURKEY – ARMENIAN FM

The Voice of Russia
April 3 2014

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian addressed
UNSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressing concerns about the fate
of ethnic Armenians from Syria’s city of Kesab: more than 600 local
Armenian families had to leave their homes for Latakia following the
seizure of the city by armed extremist groups.

According to the document, all available evidence as well as the
geographical position of Kesab indicate that the latest attacks were
launched by the terrorist groups related to al-Qaeda, which crossed
the Turkish border. Violence against the civilians of Kesab has led to
forced deportation of the population. Radical groups desecrated the
Armenian temples of Kesab and inflicted substantial loss on people’s
property. These actions could be qualified as gross violation of
human rights, stressed the Armenian Foreign Minister. These horrific
armed assaults put the realization of 2139 and 2118 Syria’s peace
resolutions, passed by the United Nations Security Council, at
significant risk.

Nalbandian wrote to the UN Secretary General that Armenia had
repeatedly called for the protection of ethnic and religious minorities
in Syria. As the humanitarian crisis continues, Turkey should undertake
all the necessary measures to prevent Turkey-Syria border-crossing
by radical militant groups. Armed violence against civilians should
be resolutely condemned, according to Nalbandian. The international
community should guarantee the security of forced migrants, including
Armenians, provide them with humanitarian aid and create all the
necessary conditions for the return to their homeland.

Russia’s representatives urged the United Nations to conduct an
investigation regarding the latest events in Kesab. Russia also has
intentions of providing humanitarian assistance to refugees in Latakia.

ARMENIA’S PRIME MINISTER STEPS DOWN

Business Standard
April 3 2014

Armenia’s prime minister says he has submitted his resignation,
a move that comes in the wake of a court ruling against a pension
reform he has championed.

Tigran Sargsyan announced his move on Facebook today, but did not
give his motives.

Edward Sharmazanov, a deputy speaker of parliament and member of
the ruling Republican Party, said Armenian President Serge Sarkisian
accepted the prime minister’s resignation.

The new prime minister will be nominated by the ruling party. He’s
to be named within 10 days, according to the Armenian law.

The resignation of Sargsyan, who served as prime minister since 2008,
is widely believed to be linked to a pension reform that has drawn
public criticism.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that the pension
legislation violated the law.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY CONDEMNS EXTREMIST VIOLENCE IN SYRIA, URGES UN SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE

RIA Novosti
April 1, 2014 Tuesday

MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly
condemned the recent attack on the Armenian-populated villages of
Kesab in Syria and urged the UN Security Council to immediately examine
the issue, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We denounce the atrocities committed by extremists in Syria. The UN
Security Council must bring the Kesab attack to the agenda and take
a principled stand on this issue,” the Ministry said.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says that the goal to seek for the Syrian
government and opposition’s concerted efforts to combat terrorism
and extremism in the country has become particularly acute under
current conditions.

“Any pretexts to put aside practical steps in this direction until an
interim government is formed, let alone attempts to justify terrorism
in Syria, are absolutely unacceptable. The issue requires immediate
actions,” the statement says.

Kesab, which is home to thousands of ethnic Armenians, is located in
northwestern Syria near the border with Turkey. On March 21 militant
groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and al-Nusra Front crossed the Turkish
border and attacked the Armenian civilian population of Kesab. About
700 families were reportedly evacuated to safer areas.

The incident has sparked a massive public outcry. Demonstrators
gathered outside the UN office in Yerevan calling for an end to
ethnic purges by armed opposition groups in Syria. At the same time
the Armenian government thanked Syrian authorities for protecting
Armenians in Kesab.

Earlier on Monday Russia’s deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov
urged the UN Security Council to launch an immediate inquiry into
the Kesab attack.

“It is essential that the UN Security Council should take urgent
measures to investigate the situation,” Gatilov posted on his twitter.

TURKISH FM: TURKEY’S DOORS WIDE OPEN TO KESSAB ARMENIANS

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 2 2014

2 April 2014, Wednesday /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that Turkey’s doors are
“wide open” to the largely Armenian residents of the Kessab region of
Syria, which is under threat from clashes between Syrian rebel forces.

Speaking to journalists accompanying his visit to Brussels on Monday,
Davutoglu said a wrong impression had been created that Turkey is
providing help to an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group that is killing
Armenians.

“This is not the case,” said Davutoglu. Since the beginning of the
clashes around Kessab, Davutoglu said Turkey has made official
statements and informed the acting Armenian patriarch and other
minority leaders in Turkey, adding that Turkey’s doors are wide open
for the Armenians living in Kessab.

He added that Turkey would help anyone fleeing the Syrian war and
will welcome the Armenians without any discrimination, just as it
has been helping hundreds of thousands fleeing from Syria.

Fighters from an array of rebel groups, including the al-Qaeda-linked
al-Nusra Front — designated as a terrorist group by the US — seized
control of the town of Kessab on March 16, two days after the rebels
launched an offensive. Most of the Armenian residents of the town,
which is located in northwestern Syria and is administratively a part
of Latakia province, had fled after the attacks began.

The Syrian government, as well as several Armenian websites, claim
the rebels entered Syria from Turkey. In a strongly worded statement
released on March 24, the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) quoted its chairman, Ken Hachikian, as saying, “The attacks
on the predominantly Armenian-populated village of Kessab over the
weekend represent an attack on all Armenians.” ANCA asked the US
Congress and the White House to put pressure on Turkey to end its
alleged support for Syrian rebels.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on March 26 that the claims of
alleged Turkish support for Syrian opposition forces in Kessab by
allowing them to use Turkish territory or in any other manner are
“entirely baseless.”

Armenian sisters from Kessab come to Turkey

Three residents of the largely Armenian town of Kessab came to Turkey
on Monday, the Turkish press reported.

According to reports, the two Armenian sisters, Satenik (82) and
Surpuhi (80) Titizyan, along with a Turkish-speaking woman called
İsman Hizar (90), all Kessab residents, arrived in Yayladagı, a
district in Hatay province, after being escorted by Syrian rebels to
the Turkish-Syrian border. Hizar said she is originally from Aleppo and
wanted to go there to be with her son. The three women were welcomed
by the district governor, Turan Yılmaz, and after being offered food,
the women called their relatives in Turkey.

Hizar said she had lived in Kessab for 30 years and that she had not
been aware of the clashes until some Syrian rebels came to her house
and offered to help her leave the region. Hizar also said the two
Armenian sisters were from a village called Karaduran and that they
too had not been aware of the clashes until the rebels came to their
town. The sisters asked the rebels to allow them to go to Turkey to
be with their relatives, and the rebels then escorted them to the
border, reports said. Hizar said they are all thankful for Turkey’s
hospitality.

Kardashian tweets about Kessab

Popular American TV personality Kim Kardashian has called on her
fans to save Kessab, saying in a Twitter message, “If you don’t know
what’s going on in Kessab please Google it…As an Armenian, I grew up
hearing so many painful stories,” on March 30. In another tweet, she
said: “Please let’s not let history repeat itself!!!!!!Let’s get this
trending!!!!” with the hashtags “Save Kessab” and “Armenian genocide,”
suggesting that she is linking the flight of Kessab residents to the
deaths of Armenians in 1915 under the Ottoman Empire.

Ankara denies claims that the events of 1915 amounted to genocide,
arguing that both Turks and Armenians were killed when Armenians
revolted against the Ottoman Empire during World War I in collaboration
with the Russian army, which was then invading Eastern Anatolia.

DEFENDING THE CITY OF GOD

Kirkus Reviews (Print)
April 1, 2014, Tuesday

A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem

NONFICTION

The author of The Real History Behind the Templars (2007) chronicles
how the first two crusades helped establish the face of the Middle
East. Pope Urban II’s First Crusade brought a minor lord of France,
Baldwin of le Bourq, to the Holy Land, and he married an Armenian
noblewoman. It was their daughters, Melisende and Alice, who ended
up ruling Jerusalem and Antioch-but it was far from a foregone
conclusion. As Newman (Death Before Compline: Short Stories, 2012,
etc.) writes, “[i]t would have been a brave prophet who would have
dared to predict that Melisende would become queen of anything.” The
author provides solid insight into the violent history of an area
alternately claimed by Turks, Armenians, Jews, Franks (as the crusaders
were called), and Shia and Sunni Muslims. Newman builds her story on
the few sources available-e.g., the writings of Fulcher of Chartres
and Ibn al-Qalanisi, both of which are decidedly skewed-and that
difficulty impedes the flow of the narrative as it necessarily jumps
from kingdom to kingdom. The author follows the daughters of Baldwin
as their husbands are chosen: Melisende’s husband, Fulk of Anjou,
was grandfather to Henry II of England, and he was to be a co-ruler
and defender of her kingdom.

Alice’s husband, Bohemond, died in battle, leaving her to defend and
eventually rule Antioch. Raymond of Poitiers was brought in to be
husband to Alice’s daughter, Constance, and he became uncle to Eleanor
of Aquitaine, soon to arrive as part of the disastrous Second Crusade.

“The damage done by the failed Second Crusade,” writes the author,
“led to the rise of the emir Saladin and the fall of the city of
Jerusalem to him twenty years after Melisende’s death.” A brief,
useful history of the conquerors who came from East and West to build
a series of states that continue the fight to this day

Publication Date: 2014-04-29 Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Stage:
Adult ISBN: 978-1-137-27865-4 Price: $28.00 Author: Newman, Sharan

WHY IS RUSSIA SILENT ON IRAN’S GAS COURTSHIP OF ARMENIA?

EurasiaNet.org
April 2 2014

April 2, 2014 – 1:23pm, by Marianna Grigoryan

Natural gas flares at a processing facility of the South Pars gas
field near the Iranian town of Kangan in January 2014. Armenia
recently announced an agreement to increase its import of natural
gas from Iran to two billion cubic meters per year – an increase of
75 percent. (Photo: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images)

Mystery is swirling around a deal to boost Iranian natural gas exports
to Armenia: why does the Kremlin seem to be going along with the idea?

On March 19, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian announced that
Armenia plans to increase its imports of gas from neighboring Iran
to 2 billion cubic meters per year, an increase of nearly 75 percent
over the current annual volume. In exchange, Armenia would export
electricity to Iran.

The announcement marked a sudden turnabout for Armenia: just late
last year, officials in Yerevan rebuffed Iranian overtures concerning
additional gas sales. Armenian leaders have not commented about what
prompted them to change course. Further details are expected when the
two countries’ intergovernmental commission meets this May, and if
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, as announced, visits Armenia “soon.”

A curious aspect to the new Iranian-Armenian relationship is the
Russian reaction, or lack thereof: Gazprom, the state-controlled
energy giant that now controls Armenia’s entire gas-pipeline system
and furnishes most of the country’s gas, has not commented on the
deal. Its current silence is a sharp departure from the behavior of
Russian officials back in 2007, when they pushed forcefully to limit
the diameter of the 140-kilometer-long Iranian-Armenian pipeline
to preclude the possibility of large-scale exports beyond Armenian
borders.

Local observers offer a variety of explanations for Russia’s current
position.

Some believe that Russia’s silence is connected with its desire
to bring Armenia into the Moscow-led Customs Union by 2015. While
the Armenian government is committed to joining the union, popular
enthusiasm for it appears to be lagging. Going along with larger and
cheaper Iranian gas sales, then, may be a way for the Kremlin to help
the Armenian government “sell” the Customs Union to the population.

>From Moscow’s perspective, the importance of Armenian membership in
the Customs Union has increased in the wake of the winter’s events
in Ukraine, where an EU-oriented government replaced the disgraced,
pro-Moscow administration of Viktor Yanukovych.

“Since it was the Iranian side who first spoke about the low prices
of their natural gas, Russia had to give its ‘permission’ to Armenia
… as a strategic ally,” said political analyst Styopa Safarian,
a member of the opposition Heritage Party. “Otherwise, it would turn
out that Moscow was not a friend, but an enemy who acted against our
national interests.”

The price of the proffered gas has not been determined, but Iranian
Ambassador Mohammad Raiesi described it as “incomparably low.”

Other observers in Yerevan suggest that Moscow’s silence is the product
of the recent, radical change in geopolitical conditions: given the
widening divide between Russia and the West over the Crimea crisis,
the Kremlin is reshuffling the deck of energy cards that it plays in
order to further its diplomatic aims.

“The situation has changed and Russia has to adjust itself to those
transformations,” commented Manvel Sargsian, director of the Armenian
Center for National and International Studies.

An unanswered question surrounding the Iranian exports concerns the
potential for Armenia to re-export a portion of Tehran’s gas. Such
a possibility would seem to go against Moscow’s interests, given
that the European Union is now heavily dependent on Russian gas,
thus providing the Kremlin with considerable diplomatic leverage.

Conversely, the United States and EU likely wouldn’t mind seeing
Armenia serve as a corridor for Iranian exports to Europe, something
that would contribute to the EU’s goal of diversifying its sources
of gas imports.

“The United States seems much more willing to have Iranian gas and
oil brought to the market, as both a reward for the positive talks
with Iran and as a way to hurt Russian President Putin and exploit
Russian dependence on high energy prices,” said Richard Giragosian,
director of the Regional Studies Center.

The United States, which announced in November 2013 a six-month break
in its sanctions on Iranian crude-oil exports, has not commented
about the intended Iranian gas sales to Armenia. In recognition of
the economic impact of Turkey and Azerbaijan’s blockades of Armenia’s
western and eastern borders, Washington has tended to turn a blind
eye to Yerevan’s trade dealings with its southern neighbor, Iran.

Representatives of the Ministry of Energy could not be reached for
comment about any discussions with the US about the Iranian deal.

Galust Sahakian, a senior member of President Serzh Sargsyan’s
Republican Party of Armenia, told EurasiaNet.org that any US objections
would be “a matter for negotiation.”

Responding to a query from EurasiaNet.org, a US Embassy representative
in Yerevan emailed the following statement: “We have direct discussions
with the Armenian government concerning US and international sanctions
against Iran. We are in constant communication on what activities
and transactions are sanctioned and what are not, and we appreciate
Armenia’s cooperation in this area.”

Armenia’s reason for seeking “cheap” Iranian gas is clear: the consumer
price of Russian gas is a painful issue for Armenians.

Consumers currently pay 158,000 drams or $391 per 1,000 cubic meters,
a huge sum for a country where one-third of the population of roughly
2.97 million people lives in poverty. Adding irritation to frustration,
that price is at least 7.5 times higher than consumers pay in Belarus,
a non-gas-producing member of the Customs Union.

Prices could soar still higher if an expected 4.2-percent-increase
in the wholesale price of Russian gas goes through on July 1.

Already skittish about demonstrations after election-related political
upheaval last year, the Armenian government has no interest in seeing
energy again become a cause for protests. Nonetheless, questions
still persist about how Armenia can import a large volume of Iranian
gas and keep Russia, its prime economic and military partner, happy.

On March 28, President Sargsyan described the border price ($189) paid
for Russian gas as ” the lowest possible price that Russia sells to
any country,” and claimed that “no one” talks anymore about the price
of gas. He called on Energy Ministry officials to do a better job of
raising public awareness that the cost of overhauling infrastructure
is responsible for the dramatic difference in the border price and
consumer cost, the Regnum news agency reported.

With no attempt at irony, Sahakian, the senior Republican Party
official, called Iranian gas Armenia’s “reserve program.”

Analysts doubt that Yerevan makes any decisions on its own about gas.

Even if Iran, as promised, supplies bargain-basement-priced gas to
Armenia, Gazprom, with its control of distribution, will influence what
consumers ultimately pay. “The real question is how much freedom and
flexibility Moscow will allow Yerevan to have in terms of expanding
its relations and energy deals with Tehran,” said Giragosian.

Editor’s note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.

ARMENIA VOICES CONCERN OVER ATTACKS AGAINST COMPATRIOTS IN SYRIA — FOREIGN MINISTER

Itar-Tass, Russia
April 2 2014

About 120,000 ethnic Armenians live in Syria, and they suffer from
military actions and humanitarian situation in the country, says
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian

MOSCOW, April 02. /ITAR-TASS/. Armenia has been doing its utmost to
ensure the interests of compatriots in Syria, as follows from the
latest statements by the country’s chief diplomat.

“About 120,000 ethnic Armenians live in Syria – in Kessab and other
areas. Military actions and the humanitarian situation have forced
ethnic Armenians to leave the city. About 700 families are staying in
Latakia, Syria’s principal sea port. About 70-80 families have found
shelter in churches,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
said on Wednesday.

“Ethnic Armenians in Kessab are in dire need of humanitarian aid. We
have made corresponding statements. We have sent letters to different
international organizations, including to UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon,” he said.

“We praise Russia’s reaction to the events,” Nalbandian said.

“Al Qaeda-linked armed groups have penetrated into Kessab from Turkey.

We should prevent terrorists from penetrating into Syria and attacking
peaceful civilians,” he said.

WASHINGTON: ARMENIAN POPULATION FLEES AS TOWN IS ATTACKED BY ISLAMIC REBELS

US Official News
April 1, 2014 Tuesday

Washington

Religious Freedom Coalition has issued the following news release:

Christian Armenian town of Kessab attacked from Turkey

KESSAB (Combined Sources) — Asbarez newspaper reported that the
Armenian-populated town of Kessab and its surrounding villages were
the targets of three days of brutal cross-border attacks from Turkey
by al Qaeda-affiliated bands. The attacks have cost 80 lives and forced
the civilian population of the area to flee to neighboring hills.

Some 670 Armenian families, the majority of the population of Kessab,
were evacuated by the local Armenian community leadership to safer
areas in neighboring Basit and Latakia.

One initial report suggested that government forces have repelled
the rebels, butlater the report was disputed.

The Catholicos of All Armenians Karekinâ~@~HIIâ~@~Hwas in contact with
Catholicos Aram I of theâ~@~HSee of the Great House ofâ~@~HCilicia
regarding the state of the Armenians in Syria and asked for the
shelling and murders to stop.

Social Democrat Hunchakian Partyâ~@~HChairman Narek Galstyan said in
a facebook post that the rebels are moving toward Latakia, where many
Armenians have found refuge.

A scene from the damage on the attack on Kessab by gunmen from Turkey

A scene from the damage on the attack on Kessab by gunmen from Turkey

In a written statement, the Armenian National Committee-International
(ANC-I) condemned the attacks and Turkey’s active role in aiding
and abetting extremist groups in their targeted attacks against the
Christian and minority populations in Syria. “For months, we have
warned the international community of the imminent threat posed by
extremist foreign fighters against the Christian minority population
in Syria,” noted the ANC-I statement. “These vicious and unprompted
attacks against the Armenian-populated town and villages of Kessab
are the latest examples of this violence, actively encouraged by
neighboring Turkey.”

The ANC-I called on all states with any influence in the Syrian
conflict to use all available means to stop these attacks against the
peaceful civilian population of Kessab, to allow them to return to
their homes in safety and security. “In the last one hundred years,
this is the third time that the Armenians are being forced to leave
Kessab and in all three cases, Turkey is the aggressor or on the side
of the aggressors,” the organization charged.

According to news reports, the armed incursion began earlier on
Friday, with rebels associated with Al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front, Sham
al-Islam and Ansar al-Sham crossing the Turkish border and attacking
the Armenian civilian population of Kessab. Snipers targeted the
civilian population and launched mortar attacks on the town and the
surrounding villages. According to eyewitness accounts, the attackers
crossed the Turkish border with Syria openly passing through Turkish
military barracks. According to Turkish media reports, the attackers
carried their injured back to Turkey for treatment.

For further information please visit:

CHAIRMAN ROYCE, RANKING MEMBER ENGEL INTRODUCE TURKISH RELIGIOUS FREEDOM LEGISLATION

Congressional Documents and Publications
March 31, 2014

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) News Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking
Member of the Committee, introduced the Turkey Christian Churches
Accountability Act (H.R. 4347). The legislation requires an annual
report from the State Department on the status of stolen, confiscated
or unreturned Christian properties in territories controlled by Turkey.

Chairman Royce said: “This legislation holds Turkey accountable for
its international obligations to protect and promote human rights,
and it calls attention to Turkish leaders’ broken promises to return
church properties to their rightful owners. Over decades, Christian
church properties, particularly those belonging to the Armenian,
Syriac, and Greek Orthodox communities have been either violently
overtaken or illegally confiscated by Turkish authorities under
various excuses. These churches under Turkish control have been
looted, converted to mosques, storehouses, casinos, vandalized and
often irreparably damaged.”

“Vulnerable religious minorities deserve more than just piecemeal
returns of their stolen religious properties. It is important that the
United States continue to encourage Turkish leaders to uphold their
commitments and return all remaining properties without further delay.

This bill will make promoting religious freedom and tolerance in
Turkey a U.S. diplomatic priority.”

Ranking Member Engel said: “The Republic of Turkey, and indeed
all nations, have a responsibility to protect, restore, and return
religious properties which have been unlawfully seized from their
communities and rightful owners by state authorities. Armenian,
Syriac, and Greek Orthodox communities in Turkey have for many years
been seeking the return of their confiscated properties. The claims of
these communities must be respected and addressed in a comprehensive
and timely manner. This legislation calls on the Republic of Turkey
to meet its international obligations, and urges the United States
to prioritize the return of unlawfully seized religious properties in
order to begin to resolve the legitimate claims of these communities.”

Read this original document at:

IDLING ENTERPRISES IN ARMENIA MAY BECOME PART OF RUSSIA’S INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

by Elita Babayan

Tuesday, April 1, 18:37

The scientific-and-technical and industrial potential of Armenia may
become part of Russia’s policy of industrialism, Vazgen Safaryan,
Head of the Union of Native Producers, told reporters, Tuesday.

He specified that there are several dozens of idling enterprises in
Armenia and their modernization, including on Russia’s investments,
would make it possible for the country to restore its industrial
capacities.

According to Safaryan, the country’s industrial potential is
concentrated in the capital city (nearly 40.8% or some 500 bln of
the total industrial produce in the country). Syunik region is on the
second place with16.5% (200 bln drams), Kotayk region is the third with
13.4% (166 bln drams). Ararat region is the 4th with 123 bln drams (10%
of total industrial produce in the country in 2013). Then goes Lori
region with what Safaryan thinks inadmissible level of industrial
production – 75.2 bln drams (6% of total). In Shirak region, the
industrial produce for the last year totaled 42.6 bln drams (3.4%)
with a 3.5% decline comparing to the indicator for the previous year,
he said.

The expert thinks Yerevan should be unloaded from industrial
facilities. As for the problems of enterprises in the regions, he
said that businessmen in the regions need the government assistance,
first of all. Part of them, particularly, producers of confectionery,
ask electric power subsidies. Developers, in turn, demand unloading the
market from the building materials delivered from the capital city and
allowing the regional producers to use their own building materials.

Safaryan promised the local businessmen to raise their problems at
the government to find optimal solutions to them.