Author: nina hovnanian

AZERBAIJAN WILL NEVER AGREE TO IRAN’S INVOLVEMENT IN KARABAKH MEDIATION MISSION – ARMENIAN ANALYST

May 07, 2013 | 07:59

YEREVAN. – The role of the OSCE Minsk Group is very important in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, and it is the one that takes real
steps in this direction.

Iranian Studies specialist Vardan Voskanyan told the aforesaid to
Armenian News-NEWS.am, reflecting on Iran Parliament Speaker Ali
Larijani’s recent statement that official Tehran is prepared to become
a mediator in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“But the Iranian side’s efforts, statements and proposals toward the
stability of the region are important and, in my view, they deserve
encouragement,” Voskanyan added.

In his words, the Armenian party has always responded positively to
such statements, and it stands ready to accept any mediation initiative
that will bring peace and stability to the region.

“And even though the Azerbaijani party, based on the rules of
diplomatic ethics, today does not explicitly reject the Iranian
initiative, Azerbaijan will never accept any mediation with the
participation of Iran,” Vardan Voskanyan concluded.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ON POLITICAL VIEW OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN SYRIA

06.05.2013

Vahram Hovyan
Expert, Center for Armenian Studies, “Noravank” Foundation

Events in Syria are of some interest for the Armenian academic and
analytical circles not only in the aspect of regional and geopolitical
changes which will also influence Armenia, but also for the reasons
of safety of the Armenian community in Syria.

According to the official data the number of the Armenian community
before the Syrian crisis was 100 thousand people. According to
non-official data its number was more modest – 60-70 thousand.

Despite its size the Armenian community in Syria is one of the
most organized and established communities in the Diaspora. It is
considered to be the central community of the Diaspora due to its
early formation and geographic proximity to the motherland. Being
one of the oldest ethnic groups in Syria, Armenian community could
not but express its attitude towards the current crisis. Its stance
has two plains of manifestation – practical and theoretical.

1. Political stance of the Armenian community in Syria regarding the
Syrian domestic political conflict in practical plain is reduced to
the positive neutrality;

2. In the theoretical plain the issue is reduced to the political
affiliations of the Armenian community.

Political affiliations of the Armenian community in Syria under the
current Syrian crisis throw light on challenges it faces.

Positive neutrality

The managing organizations of the Armenian community till now try to
hold it away from the direct involvement in the Syrian crisis. But
being the citizens of Syria and inseparable part of the society of
this country, the Armenians could not stay indifferent to the events.

Correspondingly, the positive neutrality was the optimal approach.

Officially this approach was manifested in the joint statement made
by the heads of three Armenian confession communities – head of the
Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Shahan Sarkisian, head of the Berian
Dioceses of the Armenian Catholic Church Archbishop Petros Mariatian
and head of the Armenian Evangelical community in Syria Rev.

Haroutioun Selimian.

The peculiarity of the positive neutrality is that it supposes
not only rejection of support of any side in this conflict but
it also implies contribution to the settlement of the conflict and
setting peace. According to the content of the joint statement of the
representatives of the three Armenian churches, the positive neutrality
of the Armenian community is Syria under the current Syrian crisis
is reduced to the following four points:

1. Staying off the armed conflict. For the Syrian Armenians it is
obvious that involvement in the armed conflict on one of the sides
will prejudice against them the other side, thus stirring their
hostility. And this imperils the security of the Armenian community.

Thus, being against the bloodshed and terror, the Armenian community
supports neither authorities, nor opposition in this domestic war1.

So, “… all the attempts to mire the Syrian Armenians in the combat
actions in Syria are doomed to failure”2.

2. Denial of violence. For the Armenian community in Syria the violence
in political struggle is unacceptable, especially when it leads to the
fratricidal wars and mass distructions and victims. Such an approach
is also based on the interests of the Syrian Armenians.

Even not being directly mired in the conflict the Armenians in Syria
still continue to feel its negative effects. Under the constant
fights, explosions, bombardments, anarchy and chaos the Armenian
community has suffered considerable losses for recent two years –
about 60 people were killed, many wounded, much harm is done to the
private (house, stores, etc.) and community (church, school, etc.)
property of the Syrian Armenians. Thousands of Armenians (according
to some figures about one third of them) left the country.

Therefore, under the current Syrian crisis, “the Armenian community
is totally against any atrocity and bloodshed and, undoubtedly,
it will continue to deny any violence and military encounters”3.

3. Protection of peace. The Armenians in Syria stand for the protection
of the peace and peaceful co-existence of different strata in the
Syrian society, which differs in its ethnic, religious and other
varieties. Consequently, “…today the Syrian Armenians support the
peaceful existence, which had been obtained in Syria for decades”4.

4. Supporting dialogue and resolution of the problems by peaceful
means. The Armenian community considers dialogue and negotiations
as the only key for setting the domestic conflict in Syria. The
Syrian Armenians believe that “peace and reconciliation can be set
in the country only by means of the dialogue; only dialogue can prove
peaceful co-existence of all the communities, based on the principles
of tolerance, respect and love”5.

On political affiliations of the Armenians in Syria

No matter how hard the managing organizations try to detain the
community from being drawn into confrontation and maintain its
positive neutrality, it is impossible to fully avoid expression of
some political affiliations towards on of the conflicting sides.

The opinion that the Armenian community is of pro-governmental
orientation is widespread. This point of view is also based on the
fact of the support rendered by the Syrian Armenians to Bashar al
Assad at an early stage of the crisis. In 2011 the Syrian Armenians
organized a demonstration in support of the ruling regime in Syria.

The circumstance that under the Assads6 Syria carried out friendly
policy in regard to the national and religious minorities, particularly
in regard to the local Armenian community, is mentioned in the media
and analytical terrain. Here, besides the appreciation, two other
factors are important:

1. Prosperity in the past. Under the Assads the Armenian community in
Syria, just like the rest of the Syrian society, lived in stability
and prosperity. The Syrian Armenians had security guarantees, exercised
civil rights and liberties as well as some privileges of the community
life. The Armenian community was the only national minority in Syria
which had a right to teach history of Armenia and religion in their
native language. Tolerant policy of the Syrian authorities also
served as a ground for the economic prosperity and well-being of the
Armenian community because in a result of this tolerance “…it has
been wonderfully integrated into the Syrian society”7.

As a result, the Armenians there saw the main guarantee of their
living in that country in preserving the ruling regime8.

2. Vague prospects. In case of overthrowing the Assad regime the
Syrian Armenians will face the prospect of a vague future which is
conditioned by the following factors:

– A possibility of accession to power of the radical Islamists.

According to many viewpoints, the “Arab spring” in the Middle East is
a result of the rise of the radical Islam. In this case “…the main
peculiarity of the processes going on in the Arab world are that the
ruling for a long time powers, which had a nationalist orientation, now
make room for the Islamist powers, which have very negative attitude
towards all the Christian communities living in those countries,
including the Armenians”9.

As for Syria, according to the expert assessments, political conflict
here is gradually transforming into a religious one. It is not excluded
that after a possible overthrowing of Bashar al Assad in Syria the
radical Islamists may come to power too, because “the powers fighting
today against Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria are mostly of radical
Islamist orientation”10.

At this juncture the security of the Armenian community in Syria
is menaced because, according to one of the Syrian Armenians who
arrived to Armenia, “…all the Christians will be obliged to leave
the country”11.

– Turkish factor. Unfolding of the revolution wave in Syria had been
accompanied by the permanent deterioration of the Turkish-Syrian
relations. The level of tension in the Turkish-Syrian relations
allows saying that both countries are on the threshold of war which
is, among other facts, also proved by the dislocation of the NATO’s
“Patriot” anti-missile defense system at the Turkish-Syrian border.

Ð’ Ñ~MÑ~Bом конÑ~BекÑ~AÑ~Bе Ñ~AамÑ~Kм
Ñ~AÑ~CÑ~IеÑ~AÑ~BвеннÑ~Kм Ñ~OвДÑ~OеÑ~BÑ~AÑ~O Ñ~Bо,
Ñ~GÑ~Bо во внÑ~CÑ~BÑ~@еннем Ñ~AиÑ~@ийÑ~Aком
кÑ~@изиÑ~Aе ТÑ~CÑ~@Ñ~FиÑ~O (вмеÑ~AÑ~Bе Ñ~A
СаÑ~CдовÑ~Aкой Ð~PÑ~@авией и Ð~ZаÑ~BаÑ~@ом)
поддеÑ~@живаеÑ~B мÑ~OÑ~Bежников. ЭÑ~Bа
поддеÑ~@жка пÑ~@оÑ~OвДÑ~OеÑ~BÑ~AÑ~O:

In this context the most crucial is the fact that in the domestic
Syrian crisis Turkey (alongside with Saudi Arabia and Qatar) support
the rebels. This support manifests itself in:

1.Armament of the rebels

2.Their financing

3.Their training

According to some data the headquarters of the Free Syrian Army was
established in Adana12.

The victory of the rebels will cause the raise of the political
influence of Turkey in both Syria and region in general, because
“official Ankara managed to take advantage of the processes going on
in the world and in a result the regime, which have warmer relations
with Turkey, come to power”13, and this is fraught with serious
consequences for both Armenia and Armenian community in Syria.

Thus a possible growth of the political influence of Turkey in the
Middle East automatically conditions the sympathies of the Armenian
community towards Bashar al Assad.

– Experience of other Arab countries. The experience came to prove
that the regimes which substituted the old ones in Egypt and Tunisia
are no less despotic. As it is said overthrowing of despotism by force
brings to a new despotism. And this, as the experience of Egypt proves,
is fraught with drawing county into a sustainable instability, because
the masses, which overthrew one despot, will have to fight with another
one. Prospects of such a scenario in Syria hint that the Assad regime
with all of its shortcomings is more preferable than the sustainable
instability and disturbance.

Thus, the Armenian community in Syria under the Assad regime had
definite guarantees of security and community autonomy, which is
more preferable than uncertainty and vague future prospects. At the
same time drawing into a military conflict is a serious threat to the
security of the Armenian community in Syria. This is the circumstance,
which conditions the sympathies of the Syrian Armenians towards the
ruling regime in the theoretical plain and positive neutrality in
the practical plain.

1 The Armenian Clergy in Syria Stated that Their Stance in the
War is Neutral and they would support neither authorities not the
opposition,

2 Heads of the Armenian Churches in Syria made a joint statement,

Malatya-Sebastia: Threats and Stolen Video Camera
Grisha Balasanyan

11:11, May 5, 2013

Rouzanna Grigoryan, an election monitor from Transparency
International, was threatened and her video camera was stolen at the
8/08 polling station in Malatya-Sebastia.

Grigoryan told Hetq that the culprits were from the ruling Republican Party.

(Fenya Khachatryan)

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 5 2013

France sending mixed signals in relations with Turkey

5 May 2013 /GÃ-ZDE NUR DONAT, ANKARA

Relations between Turkey and France have not made the progress many
expected over the past year, as negative signals continue to come from
France with regards to its lax attitude towards the terrorist
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its opposing stance to Turkey
regarding the Armenian question.

`Even though at the leadership level France is trying to improve
relations with Turkey, there is a de facto enmity in French political
circles in the senate. And one of the cards they play most frequently
against Turkey is the Kurdish question. Their stance is not objective
on that issue,’ said a Turkish politician, who wanted to remain
anonymous, to Sunday’s Zaman.

Turkish-French relations nosedived after deputies from then-President
Nicolas Sarkozy’s party tried to pass legislation criminalizing the
denial of Armenian claims of genocide. Economic, political and
military contacts between Turkey and France were at the point of being
seriously damaged due to the legislation, but shortly afterwards it
was deemed unconstitutional by France’s top court and the crisis was
seemingly averted.

The Turkey-France Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, abolished
shortly after the French resolution, has recently been re-established
and deputies have started to exchange visits.

When first elected, incumbent President François Hollande gave signals
that he would improve relations with Turkey, as he used a more
moderate tone with regards to the so-called genocide issue, one of the
main sources of tension between Turkey and France.

But the position of the lower political circles in France does not
point to easy relations with Turkey. The description of PKK members,
deemed `terrorists’ by the West, as `activists’ in a report that was
prepared for the Council of Europe (CoE) by Josette Durrieu, a deputy
from the Socialist Party of France, of which Hollande was the former
party leader, could be an example of such a position. The description
has sparked reactions from Turkish officials.

The description stands in sharp contrast to earlier reports,
decisions, declarations and recommendations adopted by the Council of
Europe’s institutions, as the group is listed as a terrorist
organization by the EU, the US and Turkey.

In an earlier development, three Kurdish women with ties to the PKK
were killed in January in Paris. The crime also shone the spotlight
once more on France’s lax attitude towards PKK terrorists.

The alleged perpetrator of the crime has been arrested by the French
police, but the political motives behind January’s events have not yet
come to light.

Furthermore, France is said to have disappointed Turkey by failing to
respond to Turkish calls to sign an agreement that aims to limit the
financial sources of the terrorist PKK in its territory.

Turkey has been working to convince France to sign an anti-money
laundering and terror financing agreement since 2010, but the French
have refused to sign the agreement offered by Turkey, according to
Turkish officials who wanted to remain anonymous.

Stating that developments such as the change in terminology coming
from a French deputy with regards to the PKK would not be `pleasing’
for relations between the two countries, Ã-zdem Sanberk, the head of
Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) and
a retired Turkish diplomat, claimed that Turkey and France would not
very easily change the stances they had in past disputes.

`Some disputes will be there to stay in Turkish-French relations. We
are recovering after a long, unfriendly process in the past; we cannot
walk into a rose garden,’ Sanberk commented in a phone interview with
Sunday’s Zaman.

While stating that the bilateral relations are showing signs of
improving, he also said that France’s own problems, such as the
economic situation, the French military operation in Mali and the
worsening public opinion of Hollande, prevent it from taking more
courageous steps in improving relations with Turkey, a controversial
subject in French politics.

French stance on Armenian issue

The remarks made by French Education Minister Vincent Peillon
reaffirming Armenian allegations over the incidents of 1915 in the
Ottoman Empire on April 24 — the anniversary of the so-called
Armenian genocide — have also caused a reaction in Turkey. Peillon
made his remarks during an event to commemorate the events of 1915 in
Paris, during which he laid a wreath at the Komitas Monument — a
monument to the alleged genocide in France.

“It is even more unfortunate that such remarks, which unfairly
denigrate our history and foment hatred, were made by a government
member responsible for education,” read an official statement from the
Turkish Foreign Ministry, issued following Peillon’s remarks.

However, the attendance of a French minister, and not of President
Hollande, at the annual event in Paris has been seen as a goodwill
gesture on the part of the French government to Turkey, but the usual
dispute between Turkey and France could not be avoided.

ÇaÄ?rı Erhan, a political science lecturer at Ankara University, stated
that the French stance on the issue would continue to annoy Turkey as
the 100th anniversary of 1915 events is approaching. `The Armenian
lobbies are pushing for a new initiative for 2015, in France as well
as in the US. We can expect a negative step on the issue from the
French side,’ Erhan noted.

Significant progress in economic relations

France is one of Turkey’s biggest trading partners, as data from the
Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) show that Turkish exports to
France in 2012 were worth $6.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the country has an significant level of investment in
Turkey, from the automotive to the food and service sectors.

A French-Japanese consortium has recently won the tender to build
Turkey’s second nuclear energy plant. French utility group GDF Suez
will operate the plant, joining Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
Ltd., which is leading the project.

Furthermore, Turkish discount carrier Pegasus Airlines made a large
jet order from Airbus, in which France has a major share, in December
2012. This is an important development for France, at a time when it
is trying to shake off the effects of a Europe-wide financial crisis
along with other EU members.

Cengiz Aktar, a Turkish journalist and academic who thinks Turkey and
France are enjoying very good relations, especially in economy,
compared to the past, criticized the French leadership for not making
an official visit to Turkey for more than two decades.

Stating that the last visit of a French president to Turkey was in
1992 by then-President François Mitterand, Aktar said that `this is a
desperate situation’ for bilateral relations.

The future will show whether Turkey is able to use these close
economic ties with France as political leverage with the country.

, Turkey
May 5 2013

Armenian author says gunmen attack church in Ýstanbul

Garo Paylan, an Armenian intellectual, wrote in his Twitter feed on
Sunday that gunmen attacked the church but no one was injured. He said
the fear prevailed among the church attendants.

World Bulletin / News Desk

Unidentified assailants have fired on people celebrating Easter in an
Armenian church in Ýstanbul’s Kumkapý neighborhood.
Garo Paylan, an Armenian intellectual, wrote in his Twitter feed on
Sunday that gunmen attacked the church but no one was injured. He said
the fear prevailed among the church attendants.

In his second tweet, he said an ultra-nationalist group also burned
the Armenian weekly newspaper Agos in border province of Iðdýr on
Saturday.

Recently, the ultra-right group International Association to Fight
Unfounded Armenian Allegations (ASÝM-DER) was active in the social
media, targeting Armenian agencies, schools, churches, foundations and
individuals in Turkey as part of an anti-Armenian hate campaign.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 5 2013

Armed man opens fire near Armenian church after liturgy

ISTANBUL

An armed man opened fire near the Surp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Church in
the European-side neighborhood of Kumkapı today following Eastern
liturgy.

The unidentified assailant opened fire into the air seven times before
walking off on foot. The attack caused huge panic among those
attending the service, but no one was injured.

Police were deployed to the church after the incident and launched an
investigation to search for the whereabouts of the assailant.
Following the first inspection, police determined that the seven empty
cases belonged to the same gun.

In December 2012, a number of elderly members of the Armenian
community in nearby Samatya were attacked by an unknown assailant. The
suspect, a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin, was detained in March
after a thorough police investigation.
May/05/2013

Armenian chess players at U.S. Championships

19:05 05/05/2013 » SPORT

GMs Varuzhan Akobian, Melikset Khachiyan and FM Samuel Sevian have
scored one point each out of two in the U.S. Championship in Saint
Louis. In the second round, Sevian, with black pieces, drew with GM
Yury Shulman.

WGM Tatev Abrahamian beat WGM Camilla Baginskaite in the Women’s
Championship. Tatev has 2 points, and leads the tournament together
with WGMs Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush, armchess.am reported.

Source: Panorama.am

Armen Rustamyan: I voted for change of power

14:38 05/05/2013 » POLITICS

I voted for serious, radical and profound changes, moreover, I voted
for a change of power that will start with Yerevan and will end with
Armenia, Armen Rustamyan, head of ARFD parliamentary faction, number
one candidate of ARFD, told reporters after casting his ballot at 3/23
polling station.

Asked if he believes that something will change, Rustamyan said, `Of
course I believe. We will achieve nothing unless we believe it. We
have to believe and struggle in order to succeed.’

Source: Panorama.am

Canadian Youth Join Yerevan Election Observation Mission

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

Young Canadian-Armenian arrive in Yerevan to monitor municipal elections

BY TAMARA S. VOSKANIAN

YEREVAN – On May 2, Armenia welcomed three young volunteers from Canada
who will join the monitoring mission for Yerevan’s May 5 mayoral
election. Anoush Frankian of Toronto, Ararad Torosyan of Montreal, and
Rupen Janbazian of Toronto will join more than 100 other diasporan
Armenians who will be monitoring the election alongside 1,700+ local
monitors.

For each of the three youth, this trip to Armenia is a welcome
opportunity to return to the homeland. Each has spent months at a time
in Armenia as volunteers, and has shown long-term commitment to
participating in Armenia’s development and democratization. In
Anoush’s words, `Armenia has great potential to flourish. Devoting
myself, and encouraging others to partake in its development is
critical to the country’s success.’

Anoush, Ararad and Rupen hope that their decision to fly to Armenia
for the election will heighten enthusiasm in the diaspora for the
political changes happening in Armenia. `We believe this is the
minimum Diasporan youth can do to contribute to the development of a
democratic Hayastan where the rule of law prevails, something that is
critical to ensure that emigration stops and hopefully repatriation
becomes larger in scale.’

For more information about how the Local-Diaspora monitoring mission
began, watch:

Armenian ex-presidential contender’s health worsens

May 05, 2013 | 01:14

YEREVAN. – The health condition of Armenia’s opposition National
Self-Determination Union (NSU) Chairman, ex-presidential candidate
Paruyr Hayrikyan, who survived a suicide attempt and underwent a
surgery in Belgium, has taken a turn for the worse.

Complications have emerged after his operation, Hayrikyan’s nephew
Vrezh Zatikyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

`They placed something in Hayrikyan’s body, which [that is, the thing]
should permeate over the course of months. [But] now, a bloody fluid
comes out from the surgery spot, [and] the doctors are extracting it.
According to the physicians, this should not have happened. It seems
his body does not accept [it]. They hope the secretion is because of
this and [his body] will adapt over time,’ Zatikyan said.

In his words, it will become clear by next week as to the cause of
this bloody oozing, and Hayrikyan is under medical supervision.

The NSU leader wanted to return to Armenia on Monday, but this did not
materialize due to the worsening of his health. It is not known when
he will return to the country.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, Paruyr Hayrikyan was
wounded as a result of an assassination attempt that was staged
against him on January 31 at around 11:20pm in downtown Yerevan, in
front of his home, and during the campaign season for the presidential
election that was held on February 18. First, he was transferred to
capital city Yerevan’s Surb Grigor Lusavorich (Saint Gregory the
Illuminator) Medical Center, where he was operated on. Subsequently,
he was taken to the rehabilitation center of the Armenian Red Cross
Society. Next, Hayrikyan headed to Belgium for treatment, and he
underwent a surgery there.

To note, on March 28, the Government of Armenia allocated 20,500,000
drams (approx. $50,000) to the Health Ministry to pay for the costs of
Paruyr Hayrikyan’s medical treatment to be conducted abroad. The
amount was allocated from the Government reserve fund.

In the criminal case that was launched into this assassination
attempt, ex-presidential candidate, non-party affiliate, and epic
poetry specialist Vardan Sedrakyan – who is imprisoned – is charged with
organizing the attempted murder of a state, political, or a public
figure. Two others, namely, Khachatur Poghosyan, is charged with
attempted murder of a state, political, or a public figure and with
illegal acquiring, possession and use of a weapon; and Samvel
Harutyunyan is charged with attempted murder of a state, political, or
a public figure.

According to our information, the first court hearing into this case
is scheduled for mid-May.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

News from Armenia – NEWS.am