Author: nina hovnanian

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN’S URGENT CALL TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO STOP VIOLENCE IN KESSAB

13:00 31.03.2014

Armenia, Kessab, Syrian Armenians

Armenian Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan has sent an urgent
message to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights
Commissioner of the Council of Europe, the International Ombudsman
Institute, the European Ombudsman Institute, the International
Committee of the Red Cross, the Human Rights Watch, and the Freedom
House. The message reads:

“On March 22-25 horrifying events took place in the Armenian-populated
town of Kessab and its surrounding villages in Syria. The civilians
were the targets of a three day brutal attacks, assumed to be committed
by Al Qaeda-affiliated bands. It has been reported that there have
been already 80 civilian causalities, 670 Armenian families and the
majority of the population of Kessab, were evacuated to safer areas
in neighboring Basit and Latakia. We are highly troubled not only for
the Kessab but for the Syrian population in general, as the issues
in Syria have always been of paramount importance for us.

Sadly the history of Kessab is still adolescent. In the years 1909
and 1915 as a result of the Armenian Genocide by Turkish legions,
Armenians were forced to leave Kessab, and today’s killings and forced
deportation of Kessab Armenians is the third in their history, as again
the intent behind those events is to destroy, in whole or in part,
a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. These actions must
be considered a serious challenge and threat to the international
community and to the fundamental principles of human rights law
recognized by all civilized nations.

Taking into account that the Kessab events have the elements of the
crime of Genocide as established in the 1948 Genocide convention,
Rome statute and also that the prevention of Genocide is considered
as an erga omnes norm recognized by the UN International Court of
Justice, now more than ever, we call on the international society and
international organizations to undertake thorough inquires aimed at
establishing whether neighboring countries such as Turkey, or other
states had effective control of the operations and gross human rights
violations committed in Kessab and to safeguard the Syrian population
of Armenian or other origin.”

ARMENIAN WOMAN FELL IN A COMA AFTER GIVING BIRTH BECAUSE OF DOCTORS’ ERROR: ATTORNEY

03.31.2014 15:17 epress.am

A repeat forensic examination into the case of Lilit Nalbandyan, who
fell into a comma after giving birth in May at the Vanadzor Medical
Center and has since been on life support in Yerevan’s Erebouni Medical
Center, completely rejected the claims that there was no medical error
and the patient had thromboembolism. This was conveyed to Epress.am
by Helsinki Association for Human Rights representative and Lilit’s
attorney Arayik Papikyan, based on whose motion a criminal case was
launched last year.

The re-examination results showed that had there been proper
supervision by medical staff, the deterioration of the woman’s health
might have been detected on time.

“It’s palpable that the first conclusion contains obviously false
conclusions: doctors’ numerous shortcomings and omissions are
undeniable — the patient does not have thromboembolism. Moreover,
the first conclusion claimed that the thromboembolism was confirmed by
examining the chest at Erebouni Medical Center; meanwhile, according
to the conclusion of the re-examination of the clinical data and
and the examination conducted at the Erebouni Medical Center, Lilit
Nalbandyan was not diagnosed with pulmonary embolism,” said Papikyan.

According to Lilit’s attorney, the experts who arrived at the first
conclusion knew quite well what they were signing.

“They wanted to maintain ‘professional loyalty’ and save their
colleagues from criminal liability. But they didn’t take into
consideration the fact that Nalbandyan sustained severe irreversible
damage to her health. Till today, for more than 10 months, she has
been in a coma and there is almost no hope of recovery,” he said.

Based on these facts, the attorney petitioned the General Prosecutor
of the Republic of Armenia to launch criminal proceedings against the
draftees of the forensic examination commission conclusion appointed
on May 31, 2013: docent G. Harutyunyan, PhD; Professor, RA Ministry
of Health chief expert R. Abrahamyan; Professor I. Malkhasyan, PhD;
and expert G. Gafaryan.

“At the same time, considering the fact that operating physician
Davit Shahverdyan and anesthesiologist Alvard Hayrapetyan with their
wrong actions, and later also their inaction, did not fulfill their
professional duties, leaving the patient in danger, and did not provide
assistance, which led to a life-threatening situation, we petitioned
to have them charged under RA Criminal Code Article 128 (abandonment
in danger) Section 2, Article 129 (failure to help a patient) Section
1, and Article 130 (failure to implement or improper implementation
of professional duties by medical and support personnel) Section 1,”
said Papikyan.

L’OMBUDSMAN HONGROIS CRITIQUE LE GOUVERNEMENT DE BUDAPEST SUR L’EXTRADITION DE RAMIL SAFAROV

HONGRIE

L’ombudsman hongrois Laszlo Szekely a adresse un rapport sur
l’extradition en 2012 du meurtrier azeri Ramil Safarov qui a tue a
coups de hache son homologue armenien Karen Andreasyan.

Dans son rapport, l’ombudsman a critique les actions du gouvernement
hongrois, en particulier celles du ministre de la justice, conduisant
a l’extradition de Safarov vers Bakou.

Ramil Safarov, officier de l’armee azerbaïdjanaise, qui purgeait une
peine a perpetuite en Hongrie pour la mort d’un lieutenant armenien
Gurgen Margaryan pendant un cours de langue de l’OTAN a Budapest
en Fevrier 2004, a ete extrade vers l’Azerbaïdjan et gracie par le
president azerbaïdjanais Ilham Aliyev a la fin Août 2012. Erevan a
reagi en suspendant ses relations diplomatiques avec la Hongrie. La
Hongrie a dit qu’elle avait renvoye Safarov vers l’Azerbaïdjan après
avoir recu l’assurance du ministère azerbaïdjanais de la Justice que
la condamnation de Safarov serait appliquee.

Dans son rapport adresse a l’ombudsman armenien Szekely a egalement
critique son gouvernement pour ne pas avoir exige des garanties que le
criminel continuera de purger sa peine en Azerbaïdjan, ainsi que >.

Comme Szekely l’a souligne dans son rapport, >.

lundi 31 mars 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand
March 30 2014

Review: Serj Tankian

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

Serj Tankian’s sole New Zealand concert in Christchurch was
intriguing, provocative and riveting stuff; an event which proved that
innovative music can demolish established musical boundaries.

In every sense, this was an epic production which presented the CSO
with the challenge of extending itself well beyond its comfort zone to
perform on an equal footing with a man and his music possessing such
explosive energy.

If the gamble failed, the performance could have sunk without trace –
especially when confronted by a responsive and vocal audience largely
composed of dedicated Tankian fans.

The Armenian-American musician, composer, poet and singer has walked
an interesting road since the days as lead singer with the rock band
System of a Down. Today Tankian’s compositions carry the essence of
jazz, electronic, classical and cabaret music to create something
which defies precise definition. Post-Modernist Romanticism perhaps?

Saturday’s concert focused on the Elect the Dead symphony,
orchestrated by New Zealand composer John Psathas and Orca, Tankian’s
most recent work. The first, arguably more song cycle than symphony,
relies on a soloist with a truly dramatic vocal range to succeed.
Tankian’s voice could never be described as pretty but it’s
unforgettable and it refused to be dominated by the orchestra.
Together the CSO and Tankian gave a gripping raw, lyrical and dark
hued performance.

I confess to being less smitten by the Orca Symphony which carried
more than a hint of a cinema soundtrack. That was before the arrival
of the fourth movement featuring a traditional Armenian oboe, the
Duduk, played with soulful eloquence by Vardan Grigoryan. Personally,
this was the most extraordinary moment in an evening of extraordinary
musical revelations.

Serj Tankian and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. The Orca and
Elect the Dead Symphony.

Tour: Saturday March 29, the CBS Arena, Christchurch.

Center for Research on Globalization, Canada
March 30 2014

Suleiman Shah and Turkey’s Election Invasion of Syria: Wag the Dog
Turkish-Style or Something More?

By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya

The Turkish opponents of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his
beleaguered government have claimed that a distressed Erdogan may try
to start a conflict with Syria and even invade Syrian territory. The
Republic People’s Party (CHP) and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of
the CHP, have even warned the Turkish military not to attack Syria.
According to the CHP and Erdogan’s other opponents, the aim of a
Turkish invasion of Syria by Erdogan is to invoke patriotic sentiments
domestically. The aim of a conflict with Syria is to manipulate the
Turkish population for electoral reasons, they have warned…

Turkey is slated to hold municipal elections on March 30, 2014. Prime
Minister Erdogan’s declining Justice and Development Party (AKP) is
nervous about the Turkish municipal elections. The AK Party is afraid
that it will perform badly.

A series of events have taken place which have given credence to the
arguments and accusations against the AKP leadership. The first starts
with Ankara’s claims that it was concerned about a historic relic
inside Syrian territory known as the Tomb of Suleiman Shah. As a
result of the purported and questionable threats by the Syrian
anti-government forces against the Tomb of Suleiman Shah, Turkey
authorized its troops on March 16, 2014 to enter Syrian territory to
protect the historic site.

The historic figure’s crypt is located inside Syrian territory. On the
basis of an agreement signed by France and the Grand National Assembly
of Turkey in 1921, before Syria became an independent republic (and
the Ottoman Empire was officially dissolved), Suleiman Shah’s grave is
considered Turkish territory. Turkish troops have been stationed there
as guards since that time to protect the historic site.

Following Ankara’s proclamation that it would defend the Tomb of
Suleiman Shah, Turkey downed a Syrian military jet on March 23, 2014.
The downing of the Syrian jet signaled the escalation of tension
between the AKP government and the Syrian government. That, however,
was interrupted by a shattering political scandal tied to YouTube.

The conversations of Turkish officials discussing how to manufacture a
pretext to invade Syria were leaked through YouTube on March 27, 2014.
The YouTube videos are analogous to the Ukraine regime change leak of
the US State Department’s Assistant-Secretary Victoria Nuland. The
Turkish leaked conversations also fit into the patterns of an internal
struggle inside Turkey under which the conversations of Erdogan and
Turkish officials had been leaked earlier.

The Downing of a Syrian Aircraft by Turkey

If the claims of Erdogan’s Turkish opponents are factual, what do they
disclose about the shooting of a Syrian military jet by the Turkish
military in late-March 2014? Ankara originally claimed that the Syrian
aircraft had violated its airspace alongside another Syrian warplane
that reversed course after Turkish jets were scrambled. The Turkish
government also alleged that it gave four warnings to the Syrian
military jet before shooting it down, but the Syrian government
responded by saying that Ankara was categorically lying and that the
Syrian jet was on a combat mission inside Syrian airspace over the
Latakia District.

The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces released a statement
about the incident near the Syrian-Turkish border. The Turkish
military statement is an omission of guilt that supports what the
Syrians have said. Putting a shadow of doubt on Ankara’s claims that
its airspace was violated, the Turkish military affirmed that the
Syrian warplane crashed 1.2 kilometres inside Syrian territory. The
statement of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces says that
the Syrian aircraft went down at

The geography of Kasab is important. It is a predominately-Armenian
northern town near the Turkish border that is situated in the
Governate of Latakia and its constituent Latakia District. Although
Latakia Governate is mostly known for being the Syrian province with a
high concentration of Alawites, it has a diverse population and its
northern part is inhabited by many Christian Armenians. Towns like
Esguran and Karadash are populated by ethnic Armenian. Kasab is also a
name to remember; it will be mentioned again by other sources. The
reports around the Syrian town paint the picture of some type of
Turkish operation in the area and new push to open a new front in
Syria or to reinforce the northern front.

It is also worth noting what the British-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights has said about the downing of the Syrian jet by Turkey.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is no friend of the Syrian
government. It has supported regime change in Syria and has been
caught fabricating vast amounts of information about the Syrian
conflict just to promote the anti-government militias and ideas
promoting regime change in Damascus. Despite its anti-government
position, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also contradicts the
AKP government’s claims about downing the Syrian jet for violating
Turkish airspace. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights has stated that the Turkish military while
the Syrian military plane was engaged in an attack on the
anti-government insurgents.

Regardless of the facts, Prime Minister Erdogan and his government
have gone out of their way, in their characteristic wind-baggery, to
threaten a against the Syrians. Days after the Syrian
aircraft was shot down by the Turkish military, Ankara also started a
rhetorical campaign to portray a picture of itself as a victim that
was only reacting to provocation. The AKP government claimed that (1)
Turkish warplanes were scrambled previously to prevent a Syrian
aircraft from violating Turkish airspace and (2) that the Syrian
military had been continuously harassing Turkish military jets
patrolling their own Turkish airspace by intimidation through putting
a radar lock on the Turks for targeting or firing purposes. Two points
should be clarified about the latter Turkish grievance about the radar
lock: it has no legal bearing nor does it signal any aggression
against Turkey by the Syrians. Unlike frequency jamming, locking onto
a target with a radar tracking system is not an act of aggression or a
violation of sovereignty.

Ankara’s grievance was purely rhetorical and contrary to the facts
about defensive military procedures. The units that are the target of
any radar lock may become aware they are being monitored by a
defensive tracking system that could fire on it, but this is not an
offensive move. The radar locking is a clearly a defensive stance on
the part of Damascus which the Syrians and any other country have the
right to do.

What Syrian units were doing with the Turkish jets is a clear
indicator that Syria does not trust the Turkish government whatsoever.
The Syrian military monitors Turkish warplanes inside Turkish airspace
as a security precaution. The reasons for this are that the Syrians
believe that Turkish warplanes could violate Syrian airspace or
conduct some type of mission against Syria at any given moment.

A Turkish Offensive in the Governate of Latakia?

Focus must turn to the Tomb of Suleiman Shah now. Away from Latakia
Governate and the Mediterranean coast, this mausoleum is located in
the northern part of the Aleppo Governate of Syria. Before the downing
of the Syrian military jet, Prime Minister’ Erdogan’s AKP government
had repeatedly said that it was worried about the safety of the
historic crypt.

Suleiman Shah was a Central Asian tribal chieftain from Merv, which is
located in modern-day Turkmenistan. What makes him significant is that
he was the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire.
This is why Suleiman’s tomb has historical importance to Turkish
history and to Turks.

Despite the three years of fighting, the Turkish-guarded historic site
was never threatened by either the government or insurgent camps
inside Syria. Ankara, however, begun claimed that it was afraid that
its own insurgent allies in Syria would attack the historic site. Thus
an alarm was sounded by the AKP about the safety of the mausoleum.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu even held a conference from
Van to address his government’s concerns about the relic’s safety.

Foreign Minister Davutoglu, however, went beyond the airing of
concerns from Turkish authorities. Davutoglu vowed that Turkey would
retaliate without the slightest hesitation to any attack on the Tomb
of Suleiman Shah. He also clarified that Turkey had made preparations
to intervene if the site or the Turkish guard unit stationed there
should come under any form of attack. Vatan, a Turkish newspaper,
quickly outlined that what Davutoglu meant was that Turkey was
preparing to send troops across the Syrian border into Aleppo.

Threats in the form of a video against the historic site in Aleppo
Governate were uploaded on YouTube days later. In the uploaded video
the anti-government insurgents fighting in Syria warned the Turkish
government that Ankara had a few days to surrender the historic site
or that they would alternatively destroy it. The AKP used this to
support its newest pretext for intervention into Syria. The video was
uploaded on March 21, 2014.

In the same timeframe as the downing of the Syrian military jet, it
was also reported by Turkish sources with varying degrees of emphasis
that the Turkish Armed Forces had sent military ground units into the
Syrian town of Kasab and its environs. Some sources said that the
Turkish units were illegally escorting anti-government insurgents into
Syrian territory, that wounded insurgents were also being taken back
to Turkish military field hospitals (similar to the ones that Tel Aviv
has setup in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the insurgents),
and that the Turkish military was getting involved in expanding the
combat zone in Syria.

Erdogan and the Turkish government were clearly planning something
alongside the entire Syrian-Turkish border. Turkey has militarily
helped the insurgents in their armed offensive on Kasab and Latakia
District against the Syrian military. The downing of the Syrian
aircraft was part of the Turkish support for this operation against
Syria. The anti-government forces inside Syria would claim that they
captured and secured government-controlled town of Kasab during this
time period too.

In the United States, the Armenian Bar Association would send a letter
of distress to the US government on March 25, 2014. The group would
demand that the Obama Administration condemn the Turkish military
incursion into Kasab. Members of the Armenian community would blast
Turkey as being legally responsible for the violence in Syria and for
the hardships and deaths of ethnic Armenians in Kasab and the
Governate of Latakia.

Leak Wars: Erdogan, Davutoglu Caught Red Handed like Nuland, Catherine Ashton?

Bombshell revelations were made shortly after. Leaked conversations
between Turkish officials about their plans in Syria were released.
The leaks were made through two YouTube videos that were uploaded on
March 27, 2014. One video was a little over seven minutes long, while
the other was about nine minutes long.

Before this, Prime Minister Erdogan had been facing a steady stream of
leaks exposing his government’s backdoor dealings and activities.
Erdogan and AKP officials have blamed the Gulenists, an influential
international movement run by a US-based Turkish preacher, for the
previous leaks. Although the latest leaks could possibly be part of
the internal conflict between Erdogan and the Gulenists inside Turkey,
they could also be the work of a foreign intelligence agency.

Leaks of US and European Union officials have proven the increasing
efficiency that divulging the secret conversations of governments has
on exposing the underlying agendas of Washington and its cohorts. The
leak of US Assistant-Secretary Victoria Nuland and US diplomat
Geoffrey Pyatt illustrated how the goal of Washington in Ukraine had
been regime change in Kiev and installing Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the
prime minister of Ukraine. A later leak involving Catherine Ashton
being told by Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet that the head
doctor for the Euromaidan protesters expressed views that Yatsenyuk
and lead opposition politicians could have been involved with the
killing of civilians also put into serious question the narrative
being peddled by the US, Canada, and the European Union about the
protests in Kiev.

The Turkish leaks illustrate that Turkish authorities have been
planning on manufacturing an incident with Syria. The basis for this
could have and could be political motivations aimed at securing an AKP
victory in the Turkish municipal elections being held at the end of
March. The leaks revealed that, during a conversation, Foreign
Minister Davutoglu tells Hakan Fidan, the chief of the Turkish
National Intelligence Organization (MIT), that an attack could help
them.

Ahmet Davutoglu says, the Davutoglu is positing the use of an
incident at the historical mausoleum as a pretext for a Turkish
incursion into Syria. It remains to be seen if he was talking about
the upcoming municipal elections strictly or if he could have been
talking about the insurgent’s military offensive in northern Syria or
even something else.

Hakan Fidan’s response, however, goes further. The MIT boss responds
to Davutoglu with the following proposal:

Suleiman Shah’s Tomb: Where Ottoman History’s Start is Where Neo-Ottomanism Ends

The reaction of the Turkish government to the leaks was quick. AKP
authorities have said that the leaks are manipulated to paint the
dialogue in a malicious way to undermine their government and Turkey.
The AKP has called the leaks a serious threat to Turkish national
security. As a result the Turkish government quickly blocked all
YouTube use and access inside Turkey. This was done so that the
Turkish population could not get access to the leaked conversations.

Several things needed to be analyzed and reflected on. The timing of
the leaks, released only days before the March municipal elections in
Turkey, is worth reflecting on. So are the assertions by the AKP that
there is a conspiracy to topple the Turkish government.

Regardless, the unraveling events bring new life to the
failures of Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Davutoglu.
Their visions of Turkey as an imperialist power have crumbled and the
final nails are being hammered into its coffin. Some would argue that
their neo-Ottomanism was really the whole time.
The two and the AKP have been slowly digging their own political
graves through their Syria policy.

In a case of historical irony, Turkish history may in conceptual terms
start at the Tomb of Suleiman Shah whereas Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
seems like it may start its ending there. There is a lot of grumbling
in the lower ranks of the AKP about Erdogan. He has lost a lot of
popularity, even among AKP loyalists. The municipal elections are a
litmus test for Prime Minister Erdogan and his AK Party. If the AKP
does badly, Erdogan and his close associates will face an internal
revolt in the AKP. This is why the municipal elections are so
important for them and why it is unfathomable that they would create a
new crisis with Syria for the sake of protecting their political
careers.

A Response to the Events in Ukraine?

This entire scandal is more than a Turkish-style case of The consequences are unpredictable and could lead to escalation.
They also come at a time where there is a US and NATO buildup on the
western borders of Russia and Belarus in Eastern Europe and the Black
Sea.

The Eurasian chessboard is in motion. The events in Syria and Turkey
should not be viewed in a vacuum from other events in the broader
world as if they are unrelated to one another. The pieces are moving
on the geopolitical chessboard. Some type of confrontation between
Turkey and Syria could very well be an answer to the events in Ukraine
and Crimean reunification with Russia. In other words, a Turkish
conflict with Syria may not merely be a ploy to help the AK Party
during the March 2014 elections alone.

Additionally, the leaks further expose the involvement of the Turkish
government in supporting the insurgency in Syria. Whatever remaining
doubts that members of the AKP grassroots had that the AKP leadership
is not corrupt, should go flying out the door. AKP leaders are not the
pious Muslims they portray themselves as, they are conniving
businessmen and liars that hide behind faith.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Lieutenant-General
Yasar Guler is also part of the leaked conversation between Davutoglu
and Hakan Fidan. Lieutenant-General Guler describes that what was
being discussed between the Turkish officials was the ignition of a
war between Turkey and Syria. In context of what was being discussed,
he recommends during the conversation that Turkey increase its combat
support for the insurgents inside Syria by making additional
deliveries of weapons and ammunition to their fighters.

Before these leaks, in January 2014, a scandal was caused when Turkish
law enforcement personnel stopped an undercover MIT truck heading to
Syria secretly. The MIT truck was filled with weapons for the
insurgent fighters killing civilians and trying to topple the Syrian
government. An embarrassed AKP claimed that “supplies” were merely
being delivered to Syrian Turkmen and then refused to say anything
more citing national security for the secrecy.

As a result of the increasing global public cognizance about the
nefarious role of the Turkish government in destabilizing Syria,
Turkey’s own collaborators and allies have been publicly distancing
themselves from Prime Minister Erdogan and the AKP slowly — at least
in part. Ankara should take note: there are now reports with unnamed
officials from places allied to Turkey that are washing their hands
clean of the actions of Turkey — making it sound like Turkey has been
a maverick supporting Al-Qaeda with no US or NATO involvement. These
same people will not hesitate to abandon Turkey after it does their
dirty work in the Black Sea or Middle East for them.

The original article was published by the Moscow-based Strategic
Culture Foundation (SCF).

Business 2 Community
March 30 2014

#SaveKessab Campaign Gathers Pace as Blink 182²s Travis Barker Gives Support

By Duncan Riley

The campaign to save the Syrian Armenian town of Kessab gathered pace
today as Blink 182²s Travis Barker gave support.

Along with posting a #SaveKessab picture to his Instagram account, Barker wrote:

#StopGenocide #SaveKessab I have a lot of Armenian friends I love &
support that are like #FAMILY to me@mrfamouscheese @r_men818
@famous_crow#ISupport

Campaign supporters have been targeting celebrities and politicians
alike on Twitter in an attempt to get the word out about a story most
of the mainstream media is ignoring.

As we wrote yesterday, the town was over run by Al-Qaeda aligned
militants on March 21st.

Reports are mixed on how many people were killed, with the most common
number quoted being 80. The town has been looted, along with Christian
churches being desecrated and destroyed.

The town of Kessab has a strong historical significance for Armenians
worldwide as the town was a center of forced deportation during
Turkish Armenian genocide of 1915. The town was also part of the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the 11th century.

To join the campaign tweet the hashtag #savekessab on Twitter.

!BZoIh

Also in

NEWS.GNOM.ES
March 30 2014

Rogers: Troop movement, ‘covert operation’ suggests Putin not
finished in Ukraine

March 23, 2014: An anti-war rallier with a sign depicting Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Independence Square, in Kiev,
Ukraine.NEWS.GNOM.ES

Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing telltale signs that he
intends to extend his control over Ukraine and perhaps elsewhere in
Eastern Europe, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers
said Sunday.

Beyond assembling military armor and tens of thousands of troops along
the Russia-Ukraine border, Putin is moving troops in northern Georgia
and planting intelligence officers in Ukraine, the Michigan Republican
told “Fox News Sunday.”

He said Russian troops in the northern region of Georgia, known as
South Ossetia, are on the move, perhaps to go into Armenia or toward
the Baltic Sea.

“There’s no way I’d take this as any other way than Putin is working
for a land bridge,” Rogers said.

He said the Russian president also is engaged in a more “covert
operation” by sending intelligence officers and special forces into
eastern Ukraine to try to convince citizens to allow Russia to annex
their country, like Putin did with Ukraine’s Crimea region earlier
this month.

Russian officials have argued they are only trying to protect their
interests in Ukraine amid months of political turmoil that results in
the ouster of that country’s Moscow-backed president several weeks
ago.

They have also said the troop buildup along the Ukraine border is part
of routine military exercises.

However, Rogers says the real concern is the kind of buildup, which
includes heavy armor as well as light and heavy infantry.

Rogers says he has no way of knowing Putin’s exact intentions and is
basing his analysis on how he has acted in the past.

Besides annexing Crimea, Putin sent troop into Ossetia in 2008 to take
control of the region.

St. Leon Church to Host Lecture on Seizure of Armenian Assets in Aintab

By Contributor // March 29, 2014

Umit Kurt

Ã`mit Kurt, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of History at Clark
University, will present a lecture entitled `The Emergence of the New
Wealthy Class, 1915-1922: The Seizure of Armenian Property by Local
Elites in Aintab,’ on Thursday, April 10, 2014, at 7:45 p.m. at the
St. Leon Armenian Church, Abajian Hall, 12-61 Saddle River Road, Fair
Lawn, N.J. The lecture is jointly sponsored by AGBU Ararat, Armenian
Network of America- Greater NY, Hye Doon: Armenian-American Support &
Education Center, Knights of Vartan Bakradouny Lodge of NJ, the
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), NY
Armenian Students Association, St. Leon Armenian Church, Tekeyan
Cultural Association- Greater NY Chapter, and Tibrevank Alumni. A
reception will follow the lecture.

The genocide and deportation of Aintab’s Armenians were carried out by
local notables and provincial elites. These local actors prospered and
became a new wealthy social class through the appropriation of
Armenian property and wealth. By examining the carefully planned
confiscation of Armenian property as an integral part of the genocide,
Ã`mit Kurt sheds light on how the property of massacred and deported
Armenians changed hands.

Ã`mit Kurt will also discuss the Abandoned Properties Laws that dealt
with the administration of property `left behind’ by Armenians. He
argues that these laws are not only a structural element of the
genocide in 1915, but today’s legal system in Turkey. As such, they
could continue, to this very day, to preserve the rights of Armenians
to their properties.

Ã`mit Kurt, a native of Aintab, holds a Bachelor of Science degree from
Middle East Technical University in Political Science and Public
Administration and a Master’s from Sabancı University in the
department of European Studies. He is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in
the Department of History at Clark University and an instructor at
Sabancı University. He is the author of numerous articles and several
books, including most recently Kanunların Ruhu: Emval-i Metruke
Kanunlarında Soykırımın İzlerini Aramak (The Spirit of Laws: Seeking
for the Traces of Armenian Genocide in the Laws of Abandoned Property,
2012), with Taner Akçam, an English-language translation of which is
forthcoming. His main area of interest is confiscation of the Armenian
properties and the role of local elites/notables in Aintab during the
Armenian genocide.

For more information contact St. Leon Armenian Church at 201-791-2862.

PRESS RELEASE
Date: March 28, 2014

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
Contact: Taniel Koushakjian
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
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ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA WELCOMES NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
STATEMENT ON KESSAB ARMENIANS

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly)
welcomed the National Council of Churches (NCC) letter to President Obama
stating: “While Syrians of all religious communities are caught up in this
horrible conflict, of particular concern to us are the Christian
communities, which are often the most vulnerable,” reported the Assembly.
The same day the Assembly and the Diocesan Legate met with Administration
officials at the State Department to discuss U.S. assistance and support
for the Armenian community in Syria.

“One situation that has just come to our attention is the attack on the
Armenian villages of Kesab. Though this attack comes in the wider context
of the overall Syrian conflict, it nevertheless has brought death and
destruction to the Christian communities there,” the NCC letter reads in
part. The letter specifically urged the President to “safeguard the
vulnerable Christian communities” and to “restore stability to the Armenian
communities of Kesab.”

Founded in 1950, the NCC has been a leading force for ecumenical
cooperation among Christians in the United States. The 37 NCC member
communions — from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox,
Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches — include
45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities
across the nation.

“On behalf of the Armenian Assembly and the entire Armenian American
community, we welcome the efforts of the National Council of Churches and
appreciate their solidarity and willingness to help end the suffering of
the Christian Armenian community in Syria,” stated Assembly Executive
Director Bryan Ardouny.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and
awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.

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NR: # 2014-012

Editor’s Note: The NCC letter to President Obama is available online at:

CRIMEA: WHO VOTED IN FAVOR OF RUSSIA AT THE UN ASSEMBLY-AND WHY

Liberty Voice
March 28 2014

Thursday a vote of 100 for-11 against, with 58 abstentions, showed
general support for the resolution condemning the Crimean referendum.

Eleven of 193 nations voted in favor of Russia and pro-Russian
Crimeans: Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, North Korea, Nicaragua,
Sudan, Syria, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Russia itself.

Russia’s ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, began by calling on all nations to
“respect [the] voluntary choice” Crimea had made by reunifying with
Russia after the referendum. Historical justice had been served,
said Churkin, and the unnatural state of affairs, wherein Ukraine
possessed Crimea by an arbitrary 1954 Soviet decision, had been
righted-the Russian government could not refuse the Crimeans’ right
to self-determination.

Churkin spoke against the militarized camp of Maidan protesters where,
he said, law enforcement had been the target of violence and snipers
had fired on police and demonstrators, trying to provoke a violent
coup of the Ukrainian government, which succeeded. The government was
then replaced by a “government of victors”-radical nationals who were
racist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic and hated everything Russian, and
who revoked the legal status of the Russian language in Ukraine. These
were the reasons for Crimeans’ decisions to join Russia, Churkin said.

The Armenian representative, Garen Nasarian, said that Armenia took
a “principled position on the promotion of democracy” and rights and
freedoms, particularly the right of self-determination-a right embraced
by the UN Assembly and the Charter. Armenia promoted democracy,
decolonization and self-determination. The key, according to Nesarian,
was to abide international law and seek peaceful resolutions through
dialogue among all concerned parties.

Belarusian Ambassador Evgeny Lazarev stated his support for mechanisms
for bringing a peaceful resolution other than the General Assembly,
such as the Observer Mission on Human Rights in Ukraine.

Bolivian Ambassador Sach Sergio Lllorentty Soliz voted as a
demonstration against major world powers who exercised double
standards and threatened international security, such as the U.S.,
who, Soliz said, was building a “unipolar world” through the use
of its military and economic strength. Bolivia could not accept
Ukraine’s unconstitutional regime change-which occured through of a
democratically elected government, Soliz said.

Cuba’s ambassador, Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez stressed self-determination
and the invalidity of Ukraine’s unconstitutional government, which had
been established through a violent overthrow. Cuba accused Western
States of double standards and hypocrisy, and opposed sanctions
against Russia. NATO, Rodriguez stated, endangered European peace
and stability by trying to expand its treaty, and the U.S. and its
allies threatened the sovereignty of other states with their military
doctrines, violating international law.

North Korea’s representative, Ja Song Nam, blamed the U.S. and other
Western nations for the crisis in Ukraine. North Korea recognized the
legitimacy of the referendum, which had been conducted in accordance
with the UN Charter, the ambassador said. Ja Song Nam asserted that
the North Korean government opposed attempts to oust legitimate
governments.

Nicaragua’s representative stressed non-interference in the internal
affairs of nations. Ambassador Maria Rubiales de Chamorro accused those
who spoke of democracy at the Assembly of having used anti-democratic
methods. Nicaragua supported self-determination through the ballot. The
nation rejected unilateral methods, such as sanctions against Russia,
which, Chamorro said, were illegal under international law. Chamorro
also spoke of the danger of double standards, pointing to terrorist
actions that had targeted countries which had ignored their interests
and instead established new types of colonization and slavery.

Venezuela Ambassador Samuel Moncada cited his government’s opposition
to Ukraine’s ousting of its democratically elected president, Victor
Yanukovich. Moncada emphasized the need for constitutional order to
be reestablished in Ukraine. Moncada also spoke of a trend wherein
extremists groups linked to foreign nations responsible for World
War II had overthrown constitutional governments.

Statements from the UN ambassadors of Sudan, Syria and Zimbabwe were
not located.

By Day Blakely Donaldson