Author: nina hovnanian

L’ALLEMAGNE ET L’ARMENIE DISCUTENT DU SOMMET DE L’UE

Europe

Le ministre des Affaires Etrangères Edouard Nalbandian a rencontre
de hauts responsables allemands a Berlin jeudi soir pour discuter
de l’avenir des relations de l’Armenie avec l’Union europeenne a la
suite de sa decision inattendue de rejoindre l’Union douanière.

Il a declare avoir discute avec son homologue allemand Guido
Westerwelle et l’un des principaux collaborateurs de la chancelière
Angela Merkel pour le prochain sommet europeen a Vilnius. Les
declarations publiees n’ont pas donne plus de details sur ces
pourparlers.

Le sommet de Vilnius mettra l’accent sur les liens entre l’UE et
six anciennes republiques sovietiques inclus dans le programme de
Partenariat oriental. L’UE a signe un accord d’association de grande
envergure avec l’une d’elle, l’Ukraine, et envisage des accords
similaires avec la Georgie et la Moldavie.

Armenie etait egalement en bonne voie pour finaliser un accord
d’association avec l’UE jusqu’a la decision surprise du president
Serge Sarkissian de rejoindre l’Union douanière.

Sarkissian et Nalbandian ont egalement discute des preparatifs du
sommet avec Philippe Lefort, l’envoye special de l’UE pour le Caucase
du Sud, a Erevan mercredi. Les sources officielles armeniennes n’ont
signale aucun accord concret obtenu lors de ces pourparlers.

Sarkissian a reaffirme l’engagement pris par son gouvernement pour ” le
système de valeurs europeen “,alors qu’il rencontrait plusieurs membres
du Parlement europeen jeudi. Il leur aurait assure que ” rapprochement
europeen ” restait sur l’agenda de la politique etrangère armenienne.

lundi 4 novembre 2013, Claire ©armenews.com

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 3 2013

Islamized Armenians in Turkey represent age-long assimilation policy

3 November 2013 /LAMÄ°YA ADÄ°LGIZI, Ä°STANBUL

The Islamization of Armenians in Turkey is the product of a long-term
and systematic political strategy of assimilating and Turkifying the
Armenian community, according to documents from the late Ottoman era,
said Taner Akçam, a Turkish-German historian and sociologist, at the
Conference on Islamized Armenians held in Ä°stanbul over the weekend.

`The term `genocide’ has always been defined in relation to the
Holocaust. The genocide of European Jews has always been at the center
of discussions. Whether a mass killing should be called genocide or
not has always been decided by comparison with the Holocaust. If the
case resembles the Holocaust it is a genocide; if not, it cannot be a
genocide,’ said Akçam on Saturday, adding that the same applies to the
mass killing of Armenians that some call the Armenian genocide. The
Conference on Islamized Armenians was held by the Hrant Dink
Foundation, which is named after a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was
fatally shot outside his office by an extremist in 2007.

Many academics and analysts came together at Ä°stanbul’s BoÄ?aziçi
University for a three-day conference which addressed the overlooked
and unknown stories of Armenians who converted to Islam since 1915,
when Armenians say the Ottoman Turks began to commit an alleged
genocide against more than 1 million Armenians.

Speaking at the conference’s opening ceremony, Rakel Dink, the widow
of Hrant Dink, illuminated the conference’s purpose, saying, `We are
going to open the pages of history that have so far never been
questioned and hear and witness the riddles that have never been put
into words.’

`We never want to hear what they have done. We never talk about what
has happened to them and how it occurred. Our conscience was only able
to deny the genocide,’ Dink said in her opening speech, adding that
the facts should not be kept hidden in the dark.

Dink’s widow emphasized that Dink was paying special attention to the
issue of Islamized Armenians, saying, `Hrant wanted this issue to be
discussed, not only for the ones who passed away but for the ones who
are alive.’ There is a claim that Dink was killed because he began to
research Islamized Armenians across the Ottoman Empire.

Addressing the conference, Akçam said that as the alleged Armenian
genocide had for a long time been researched and defined in connection
with the Holocaust, the very important issue of assimilation was
disregarded and the events were understood only in terms of the number
of dead and exiled Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during
World War I.

The alleged Armenian genocide is a sensitive issue in Turkey, as Turks
and Armenians have not reached a common understanding of events. While
Armenians all over the world urge the international community to
recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide, Turkey denies
that those deaths constituted genocide. Ankara says both Christian
Armenians and Muslim Turks died in large numbers during the war while
the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Akçam, who is the first Turkish academic to acknowledge and openly
discuss the topic, said that the Armenian community has been crushed
by the denial of the `genocide’ by the Turkish government, and that
for quite a while Armenian academics have studied the issue by drawing
parallels between the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust. `And thus
they have ignored and separated some parts of the genocide such as
forcible conversions to Islam, forced relocation of Armenian kids into
the orphanages and accommodation of Armenians in certain regions of
the country, as they did not fit into the framework of the Holocaust,’
Akçam said. He also added that the Turkish policies of assimilation
for Armenians were not considered systematic for a long time, as
Armenians who converted from Christianity to Islam were even moved
from modern Turkey to other parts of the empire. `However,
assimilation was an integral part of the genocide since its start,’ he
underlined.

In Armenian society, those who converted from Christianity are
generally not considered to be Armenians. Sergey Vardanian, an
Armenian scholar from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, began with this
topic in his speech.

Saying that the history of Armenians has been a “history of
victimization,” Vardanian told the audience about the Islamized
Armenians of HemÅ?in, a town in Rize province in the Black Sea region
of Turkey. He said that HemÅ?in Armenians were forcibly converted to
Islam, and that they converted “in order to survive.” However, “they
have never forgotten that they are Armenian, and they never married
with other Muslim groups,” according to Vardanian.

Neither diaspora Armenians nor those in Armenia have fully studied and
discussed Islamized Armenians yet. However, academic research has
begun in recent years, and the Conference on Islamized Armenians aims
to raise public awareness of the issue and will be continuing until
Nov. 4.

Taron Margaryan does not rule out public transport fare rise starting
from January 2014

by Nana Martirosyan

ARMINFO
Saturday, November 2, 15:12

Public transport fare rise in Yerevan is inevitable, Mayor of Yerevan
Taron Margaryan told the media.

“I have repeatedly said that I would like transport services to be
free. But all of us understand that it is impossible. Safe and
high-quality transport services are impossible at the current
tariffs”, said Margaryan. He does not rule out that the public
transport fare may rise starting from January 2014. The commission set
up to regulate the transport fare is discussing this issue and the new
fare will be announced upon completion of the commission’s work.

When asked whether the Municipality is afraid of public protests,
Margaryan said that the Municipality cares not only for the present,
but also for the future. “Let them recall the serious transport
problems in the early 1990s. I wish we never returned to those times”,
he said.

To recall, on July 20 the Municipality of Yerevan announced 50% rise
in the public transport fare in Yerevan. However, this decision was
suspended following wide-scale public protests.

Samvel Alexanyan Revealed of Burden of Kickbacks

The situation of procurement in the sphere of health has improved
considerably, the minister of health Derenik Dumanyan told Lragir.am
commenting on mismanagement revealed about a year ago.

Almost a year has passed since the scandal of kickbacks but not a
single person has been punished. The State Commission for Protection
of Economic Competition has found out that 92 of 134 state medical
institutions have infringed upon the legislation on state procurement
and misused state funds. The requirement for tenders was altogether
ignored, and the heads of medical institutions bought the necessary
goods from their preferred vendors, and some kinds of medicine were
bought at exaggerated prices. Most deals without tendering were with
Natali Pharm which is owned by Member of Parliament Samvel Alexanyan.

As to his opinion that people who misused public funds went with
impunity, Minister Dumanyan said, `As far as I remember, no amounts
were mentioned. And as far as I remember, those were not big sums for
each medical institution. Had those amounts been big, they would have
been arrested for sure.’

Note that the SCPEC found that annual damage to the public budget was
1.5 billion drams. He explained that the question why nobody has been
dismissed should be asked to the relevant bodies. `Those medical
institutions are under the mandate of the offices of governors or the
City Hall of Yerevan. They are supposed to apply sanctions.’

At the same time, Derenik Dumanyan assures that the heads of medical
institutions do not misuse public budget now. He noted that special
mechanisms have been worked out for the medical institutions as to how
they must administer public procurement, and the ministry provides
advice permanently.

`After the revelations we analyzed the gaps and took these measures.
For example, up to this year we bought one unit of insulin at 12,000
dram, now we will buy at 3.30 dollars. We have a lot of savings which
is all spent on ensuring 100% availability and procurement of new
brands of medicine,’ the minister said.

16:01 02/11/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Three of four fugitive soldiers return to hospital

14:08 – 03.11.13

Three of the four soldiers that fled the military hospital on Saturday
have returned, Spokesman for Armenia’s Ministry of Defense Artsrun
Hovhannisyan told Tert.am.

On Saturday evening, two soldiers had an argument and a fight with an
officer at the hospital. They attacked the doctor and then fled. Two
other soldiers fled later.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Armenian MPs critical of expenses on Armenian officials’ trips abroad

12:25 – 03.11.13

With respect to the criticism of Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan using charter flights, representatives of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) explain that Armenia’s premier and
ministers must be represented at a high level abroad because it is the
country’s reputation.

`It is obvious that budgetary funds are being scattered rather than
used to resolve grave socio-economic problems,’ Khachatur Kokobelyan,
Chairman of the Free Democrats party, told Tert.am.

`Of course, Armenia’s high-ranking officials must represent the
country at a proper level, but no one has the right to use budgetary
funds like officials in developed countries. But in our case, the
situation is quite opposite. We can spend huge funds on visits, but we
always lack funds on social expenditure or benefits,’ he added.

`The fact is that government officials never think of the budget
deficit, and a poor country’s premier and government members can
hardly afford such expenses on official visits,’ Styopa Safaryan, a
Heritage party member, told Tert.am.

`Yes, country leaders may afford luxuries provided they solve the
population’s social problems. Otherwise, the authorities have no moral
right to spend so much money,’ he added.

`It is inadmissible. And when the problem is raised, the opposite camp
responds immediately. They claim it to be populism and high-ranking
officials must use charter flights because it is the matter of the
country’s reputation. No! It is not charter flights that make the
country’s reputation. It is democracy and the well-being of the nation
that determine the country’s reputation. Unfortunately, we have
serious problems in this respect.

`And if your country is the region’s poorest country, with people
fleeing it because of a disgraceful socio-economic policy, how can an
official reserve the right to use charter flights? And their official
explanations that their visits are justified because most serious
financial documents are signed are absurd. It means that if they fly
business class the documents will not be signed,’ she said.

ARMENIE-ENERGIE
Une panne géante d’électricité a paralysé hier Erévan et d’autres
régions d’Arménie hier matin

Hier matin, pour une raison inconnue l’électricité d’une grande partie
de la capitale arménienne fut coupée durant de longues heures. Les
autorités étant débordées par les appels téléphoniques des
consommateurs demandant la remise en état du courant électrique.
Natalia Saradjian, la responsable de presse de « Hayastani Elekragan
tsanster » (Réseau électrique d’Arménie) a affirmé que presque la
quasi-totalité d’Erévan était privée d’électricité. L’origine de la
coupure viendrait du Ministère de l’Energie. Le courant revint
progressivement au bout de quelques heures. A noter que d’autres
villes d’Arménie, telles que Hogdemperian, Dilidjan, Ararat étaient
également privées d’électricité. Le Ministère des Situations d’urgence
a quant à lui affirmé qu’il ne connaissait pas l’origine de cette
panne géante qui causa d’énormes problèmes dans le métro d’Erévan
ainsi que d’autres lieux privés et publics où les services de secours
débordés par les appels devaient intervenir.

Quelques heures plus tard, le Ministère arménien de l’Energie publiait
un communiqué sur les raisons de la panne en écrivant que « la coupure
d’électricité intervenue à 10h24 était en raison de l’isolement du
réseau d’électricité arménien par celui de la République islamique
d’Iran ». L’Iran aurait coupé la fourniture d’électricité à l’Arménie
alors que depuis le 22 septembre la Centrale thermonucléaire
arménienne était déconnectée du réseau arménien pour maintenance et
refourniture de la matière nucléaire. Cette action devant durer 54
jours. Aussi l’Arménie importait d’Iran 190 mégawatts d’énergie pour
faire face à cet arrêt de la centrale thermonucléaire de Medzamor.
Rappelons que vers 11h30 l’électricité était revenue à 70% dans la
majeure partie des villes et des villages d’Arménie touchées par cet
arrêt massif de courant.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 3 novembre 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

RUSSIAN OFFICER: WE WOULD INTERVENE IN KARABAKH AGAINST AZERBAIJAN

EurasiaNet.org
Nov 1 2013

November 1, 2013 – 10:55am, by Joshua Kucera

The commander of Russia’s troops in Armenia has said those troops
could be used in a conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh, the
first time that a Russian officer has publicly made such a claim. The
commander of Russia’s 102nd military base, Colonel Andrey Ruzinsky,
made the comments in an interview with the Russian military newspaper
Krasnaya Zvezda (via RFE/RL):

“If Azerbaijan decides to restore jurisdiction over Nagorno-Karabakh
by force the [Russian] military base may join in the armed conflict
in accordance with the Russian Federation’s obligations within the
framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).”

It’s never been entirely clear how Russia would see the collective
security provisions of the CSTO in the event of a conflict over
Karabakh. While they would seem to clearly obtain if Azerbaijan
attacked Armenia itself, since Karabakh is in de jure Azerbaijani
territory, one could easily imagine Russia saying that a conflict
restricted to that territory would be none of its business. But there
really isn’t any room for interpretation there, and this seems like
a clear Russian shot across Azerbaijan’s bow.

Azerbaijan took a while to respond, prompting the opposition news
agency Turan to criticize official Baku for ignoring Col. Ruzinsky’s
statement. But when Baku finally did respond, it naturally, blamed
Armenia:

“No treaty envisages the involvement of the Russian base into the
hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh on Armenian part”, MP and political
scientist Rasim Musabayov….

“I believe that this is the Armenian interpretation of the statement of
the Russian military. The Russian colonel can also be just incompetent
or bribed by Armenians and can say things that are beyond his powers”,
the political scientist said.

And in a commentary on Vesti.az, Barkham Batyev described the reaction
in Yerevan to the colonel’s comments as the “screeching” of “squealing
pigs” and, not without reason, sees it as a calculated attempt to
pressure Baku:

The interview can be considered as a threat against Azerbaijan: don’t
even think of regaining Karabakh by force, at least before the end of
the Sochi Olympics. Or, as a request in disguise: guys, our military
industry is dying, please buy a few dozen pieces of military hardware,
or two or three air defense systems and we’ll allow you to recover
your jurisdiction.

But in Moscow they have somehow forgotten that Azerbaijan doesn’t
have to ask anyone’s permission when and how it wants to carry out
a counterterror operation to restore jurisdiction over Karabakh and
this is not the beginning of the 90s or even August, 2008. And the
double standard of this type of interview encourages aggression,
inflames animosity and prevents the peaceful resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict, Moscow also has forgotten. And still,
one desperately wants to believe that the leadership in RUssia is
not so stupid and divorced from reality to participate in aggression
against Azerbaijan…

The second part of that, the blustering against Russia, is not likely
to convince anyone in the Kremlin. But the first part could definitely
be valid, and that Col. Ruzinsky’s statements are merely an attempt
to threaten Azerbaijan. But that also suggests that, should conflict
break out, Russia may well decide it’s worth it to intervene against
Azerbaijan.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF ISRAEL RAISING FUNDS FOR GENOCIDE AND HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL

November 01, 2013 | 22:07

“Ararat” Armenian community of Israel is raising funds for construction
of memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide and Holocaust.

The decision on construction of the memorial complex was made back
in 2009, community representative toldArmenian News-NEWS.am.

The plan of the monument was confirmed and the permission for
construction was received in 2011.

A special foundation was set up in October to raise funds for the
construction of memorial complex.

VICTOR SHEYNIS, “THE GUARANTEE OF THE SECURITY OF KARABAKH IS THE KARABAKH PEOPLE ITSELF AND, SURELY, ARMENIA”

Monday, 28 October 2013 14:41

At the scientific conference recently taken place at the NKR National
Assembly on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Artsakh
people’s National-Liberation Struggle – the Karabakh Movement, senior
researcher at the World Economy and International Relations Institute
of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professor, and political figure
Victor Sheynis presented his observations on the disputable region
and the options of peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh
conflict.

He didn’t read his report; Addressing the participants, he reminded
a man who, since the first days of the Karabakh Movement up today,
true to his principles, has kept his position of defending our people’s
liberation struggle, who deeply perceived the struggle of the Artsakh
people, sharing their joy and pain of losses on the path of this
struggle. Making a regular speech from the podium of the Parliament
of the Artsakh Republic, he noted the significance of statehood as an
exceptional value, as well as of the people’s will and determination
in building its future with steady steps.

Speaking of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict against the background
of the current realities, Victor Sheynis drew the participants’
attention to the negotiation process, stressing, in particular, that
it is impossible to achieve the conflict settlement, basing on the
Madrid Principles, so the disputes about them are senseless. According
to him, maybe the implementation is possible in the future, but only
in case of satiating its content. The latter is impossible, due to
the position of the Azerbaijani party. He doesn’t see any prospect
of changing this position.

Touching upon one of the options of the Karabakh conflict peaceful
settlement – peace against the exchange of territories, the speaker
noted that first it had seemed more or less reasonable. But, the issue
of territories exchange failed and it cannot ever take place, because
ensuring the security of Karabakh is a must. One cannot retreat from
this position. According to him, one cannot accept some diplomats’
assertions that part of the territories should be yielded.

It isn’t either reasonable to hope for international observation
or mediation. The professor recalled the events in Bosnia, when the
Serb forces, led by General Radko Mladich, were killing the people of
Srebrenitsa in front of the international mediators. Pointing to the
Azerbaijani leadership’s policy of arms race, he, in particular, said,
“What does assumption of commitments mean under a certain regime,
which doesn’t intend at all to implement these commitments even
swearing on whether it is the Bible, Koran, or Constitution?”

As the speaker reminded, after the World War I, the Versailles Peace
Treaty forced Germany to demilitarization, but when Hitler came to
power, he violated the Versailles arrangements and unleashed the World
War II. And the international community did not have the determination
to counteract the Nazi ruling. If it had had the determination,
it would have prevented the World War II.

Victor Sheynis also spoke about the public sentiments in Nagorno
Karabakh, considering them the most important factor, which he couldn’t
ignore. To show the mentality of an NKR citizen, he cited his visit
to Tigranakert and his conversation with the director of the local
museum. The director, a young person and a Yerevan University graduate,
said to Mr. Sheynis that his vocation was not to teach history at
school, but to restore the history of Artsakh from the ruins, which
have been preserved to our days. The Russian guest was impressed
by the young man’s words, “The man, who will yield the region,
including Tigranakert, will become my personal enemy”. “How can the
rooted sentiments of the people of Nagorno Karabakh be ignored?”,
concluded the political figure. There is no alternative to the peaceful
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict – Mr. Sheynis considered
quite reasonable the idea that the peaceful solution is written in
the pages of history. It is an imperative that the Karabakh conflict
cannot be resolved by force. But, is the reality considered also
by the other party, which is concerned only about accumulation of
weapons and multiplication of its military expenses? While the oil
profits can be spent wiser, for instance, for improving the living
standards of the refugees.

At the same time, the speaker believes that the probability of
passing from the threats of the Azerbaijani leadership to real
military activities isn’t so big, as the Armenians showed how they
can fight. Finally, the superpowers, which disagree on a range of
issues of the international political agenda, are not interested,
for different reasons, in resuming the hostilities. He stressed the
high combat readiness of the Karabakh Army, saying that he saw how
the soldiers were educated, and basing on this, he finds that one
should not rely on a military solution to the problem.

Speaking about the superpowers having geopolitical interests in the
region, the professor drew the participants attention to the views
voiced at the conference, according to which, as the conflicting
parties cannot come to an agreement, so international observation
is needed. According to the speaker, hopes should not be pinned
on the superpowers. There will be no observation, the superpowers
will not be able to do anything, they just reiterate skillfully
the principles of territorial integrity and peoples’ right to
self-determination. According to him, the speakers at the scientific
conference showed also their incompatibility. The conflicting parties
were obliged to follow the third principle – nonuse of force or
threat of force, but this arrangement, as known, is violated by the
Azerbaijani party. Every time, the Minsk Group co-chairmen gather
together, reiterate the three principles, and…no result.

Who is the guarantee of the security of Nagorno Karabakh?

Answering his own question, Mr. Sheynis answered that it wasn’t,
surely, international observation. The guarantee of the security of
Nagorno Karabakh is just the Karabakh people and, surely, Armenia.

Then he added that he had seen Karabakh in the years of bloodshed. He
shared the pain of losses with the residents of Shahumian and saw
the people’s suffering.

Visiting each time our Republic and witnessing its reviving capital
town of Stepanakert, the friend of Artsakh is sincerely happy. It isn’t
about the new buildings at all. He likes to walk in the Renaissance
Square in the evenings, to look at the children walking with their
parents, at the youth of Stepanakert, and to imagine the future of this
country. The speaker finds that the youth of Artsakh doesn’t differ
from those of Moscow, Paris, Shanghai, or New York. The people’s
confidence of tomorrow and its readiness for building and defending
the future are obvious.

Victor Sheynis recalled the words of MEP, leader of the EU-Armenia
Friendship Group Eleni Theocharous expressed at the scientific
conference that Karabakh possesses such a system of values, which is
based of the principles available in the Western civilization. Such a
view is very near and very dear to him. According to him, it is very
important to maintain the values, the manner of conducting elections,
which he has witnessed in Artsakh for years. In Russia, he often says
that he would like to see elections conducted like in Karabakh.

The people of Artsakh should preserve its determination to live as
it likes – this is our friend’s good wish.

At the end, he found it necessary to raise a painful issue, which
concerned him as a representative of Russia. At the beginning of
the Karabakh Movement, the Russian democrats were quite active in
defending the rights of the Karabakh people. Much has changed with
the time; people are concerned about their everyday problems and not
about resolving such complicated issues. The former determination to
jointly defend the fair cause is lacking. Therefore, it is necessary
to develop democracy as a factor of business card and to activate
the public movement for the protection of human rights.

Ruzan ISHKHANIAN