Author: nina hovnanian

VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CAN BE UPLOADED TO SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS AT END-2014

YEREVAN, April 23. /ARKA/. Virtual Museum of Armenian Genocide
and virtual Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial will be available in
applications for smartphones and tablets by the end of the next year,
Arman Zaqaryan, Director of Armenian affiliate with Memco Inc, told
reporters on Tuesday.

Memco Inc. has designed and gifted to Museum of Genocide in Yerevan
a virtual Armenian Genocide Museum and Tsitsernakaberd Memorial,
dedicating it to the 98th anniversary of the first genocide in the
past century.

“Users of smartphones and tablets can start using the virtual museum
by the end of 2014. The application will be working on Android and
iOS systems,” Zaqaryan said.

Thus, it will be possible to have a virtual tour around Museum of
Genocide, get familiar with the documents, photos and other evidence
related to the Armenian Genocide, as well as “lay” flowers at the
“eternal fire.”

“For a virtual tour one has to follow
link and download the application. Then, the virtual museum and complex
will open for the visitors who can choose day or night mode,” he added.

Anna Petrosyan, a press officer for Memco Inc, said the online museum
is the best option to visit the memorial for those who can’t do so
due to health issues or residence place.

“There are many people who can’t be in Yerevan on April 24 for many
reasons, and out project can help them to express their feelings. In
addition, the online museum is another opportunity to remind the
world about the Genocide, the Armenian tragedy which happened in the
Ottoman Empire in 1915,” Petrosyan said.

According to Memco Inc. head, Karen Melikian, the idea of creating a
virtual Genocide museum came to him when living in the United States,
he could not attend every year the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial
in Yerevan.

The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide committed in the XX
century. Turkey deeps denying the fact of the Genocide and painfully
reacts to any critics coming from the Western world.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Russia, Germany, France,
Netherlands, Vatican, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Venezuela, Lebanon,
France, 42 U.S. states, as well as by the parliaments of Greece,
Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium, National Council of Switzerland, Canada,
Poland, Italy, other countries as well as the European Parliament,
the World Council of Churches. -0-

” POUR LA PREMIèRE FOIS LA TRAGéDIE DE 1915 SERA COMMéMORéE AVEC UNE DéLéGATION éTRANGèRE ”

Le journal turc Today’s Zaman rapporte que pour la première fois les
Turcs commémoreront le 98e anniversaire des événements tragiques de
1915, rejoints par une délégation étrangère composée de 20
représentants anti-racistes et arméniens originaires de 15 pays : UGAB
Jeunes professionnels de Bulgarie, le Centre Roms en Roumanie,
travaillant pour les droits des Roms, l’UGAB France, ainsi que des
représentants des Pays-Bas, de la République tchèque, Italie, Croatie
et Bosnie-Herzégovine.

La délégation a rencontré cette semaine les représentants des
organisations de la société civile turque a Istanbul, dont
l’Association des droits de l’homme et de la solidarité pour les
peuples opprimés (Mazlum-DER), la Fondation Hrant Dink et
l’Association des droits de l’homme (IHD).

” C’est historique pour la délégation de commémorer le 24 Avril a
Istanbul. C’était impensable il ya 10 ans ”, a déclaré Benjamin Abtan,
président du mouvement populaire antiraciste européen (EGAM), qui a
été créé il y a deux ans pour lutter contre le racisme et
l’antisémitisme. l’EGAM a des partenaires dans plus de 30 pays, et son
partenaire en Turquie est Durde !

La cérémonie se déroulera a 12h30 au Musée Sultanahmet des Arts turcs
et islamiques, ancienne prison en 1915 où ont été emprisonnées
d’importantes personnalités arméniennes, puis tuées.

La délégation se rendra ensuite sur la tombe de Sevag Balıkcı, jeune
homme d’origine arménienne qui a été tué le 24 Avril2011, alors qu’il
servait dans les Forces armées turques (TSK) comme soldat enrôlé. Sa
mort est considérée comme un crime de haine commis en raison de
l’origine ethnique de la victime.”, écrit Today’s Zaman.

mercredi 24 avril 2013,
Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

LE COMTE DE FRESNO A RECONNU L’INDEPENDANCE DU HAUT-KARABAKH

Le comte de Fresno est devenu le premier Comte de Californie a
reconnaître officiellement l’independance de la Republique du
Haut-Karabakh.

Mardi 23 avril, le Conseil de Surveillance du Comte a adopte une
resolution parrainee par le superviseur Andreas Borgeas qui reconnaît
officiellement la Republique du Haut-Karabakh ” très heureux d’etre
aux côtes de nos amis armeniens – ici, en Armenie et en Artsakh –
et j’espère que Sacramento reconnaîtra egalement officiellement
l’independance du Haut-Karabakh. Alors que le comte de Fresno est
le premier comte en Californie a adopter une telle resolution, mon
but est que cette initiative aide a inspirer davantage d’efforts de
reconnaissance a travers l’Etat, le pays et finalement Washington,
DC “, a-t-il declare.

Le Representant permanent de la Republique du Haut-Karabakh aux
Etats-Unis, Robert Avetisyan, a declare : ” nous sommes reconnaissants
de cette initiative, et nous esperons que l’adoption de la resolution
approfondira la cooperation en matière de stabilite, ainsi que la
prosperite democratique et economique dans notre region. Le Consul
General de la Republique d’Armenie a Los Angeles, Grigor Hovhannisian,
a declare pour sa part que’ “toute etape vers la reconnaissance de
la Republique du Haut-Karabakh est une etape vers la paix et des
relations amicales dans le Caucase du Sud.”

Trois Etats US ont deja reconnu la Republique du Haut-Karabakh :
Rhode Island, Massachusetts et Maine.

mercredi 24 avril 2013, Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

COMMUNIQUE DU PARTI SOCIALISTE A L’OCCASION DE LA COMMEMORATION DU GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS

À l’occasion du 98eme anniversaire du genocide des Armeniens, le Parti
socialiste se joint aux Francais d’origine armenienne et a tous les
Armeniens pour commemorer ce triste anniversaire du 24 avril 1915,
date du declenchement des massacres qui ont abouti a l’extermination
par le regime de l’epoque de 1,5 millions de personnes, toutes sujets
de l’empire ottoman.

Il rappelle la position qui, toujours, a ete la sienne. Meme
si le gouvernement actuel turc n’a aucune responsabilite dans le
declenchement du genocide armenien, sa reconnaissance par la Turquie
contribue non seulement a un travail de memoire necessaire a l’amitie
entre les peuples mais aide aussi a la paix et a la stabilite entre
l’Armenie et la Turquie.

Harlem Desir, Premier secretaire du Parti socialiste

Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, Secretaire national a l’International et
a l’Europe

mercredi 24 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

EU COMMISSIONER CECILIA MALMSTROM WELCOMES THE SIGNING OF THE EU-ARMENIA READMISSION AGREEMENT

European Union News
April 22, 2013 Monday

Brussels

European Commission has issued the following press release:

Today, the European Union and Armenia signed an agreement on
the readmission of persons residing without authorisation. A visa
facilitation agreement with Armenia, opening the way for easier travel
and people-to-people contact across Europe, was already signed on 17
December 2012.

“The signature of a readmission agreement is a concrete step forward
in EU-Armenia relations.” said Cecilia Malmstrom, Commissioner for
Home Affairs. “The visa facilitation and readmission agreements are
very tangible results of the Eastern Partnership and will promote
interaction between citizens of the EU and Armenia and strengthen
our cooperation in the fight against irregular immigration. I am very
pleased that both agreements have now been signed – this means that
Armenians will be able to travel more easily while facilitating the
effective management of irregular migration”.

Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements with Armenia

In September 2011, the Commission proposed to open negotiations
on agreements to facilitate the procedures for issuing short-stay
visas as well as on the readmission of irregular migrants between
the European Union and Armenia (IP/11/1053).

The visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Armenia was signed
on 17 December 2012. It makes it easier and cheaper for citizens of
Armenia, in particular those who travel most, to acquire short-stay
visas allowing them to travel throughout the EU. A short-stay visa
is a visa for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period of
180 days.

The readmission agreement sets out clear obligations and procedures
for the authorities of both Armenia and the respective EU Member State
as to when and how to take back people who are irregularly residing on
their territories. These obligations cover nationals from Armenia, the
EU Member States and those from third countries and stateless people,
provided the latter have a clear link with the requested party (e.g.

visa or resident permit). A special accelerated procedure will apply
to persons apprehended in common border regions who can be returned
more quickly. The agreement contains the necessary safeguards with
regard to data protection and the protection of fundamental human
rights. Full respect of Human Rights as provided by the European
Convention of Human Rights will be guaranteed during the application
of the readmission agreement.

The European Parliament now needs to give its consent before both
Agreements can be concluded.

The visa facilitation and the readmission agreements will enter into
force simultaneously, which will be on the first day of the second
month following the date on which the two parties notify each other
that the internal procedures have bee

The UK and Ireland do not participate in the Visa facilitation
Agreement; Denmark and the Schengen associated Countries (Switzerland,
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are invited to conclude bilateral
Visa facilitation Agreements in similar terms as the EU-Armenia Visa
Facilitation Agreement.

The UK, Ireland and Denmark do not participate in the readmission
agreement.

So far, the EU has signed visa facilitation and readmission agreements
with ten countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Russia,
Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia. Yesterday, on 18 April, the EU signed a
readmission agreement with Cape Verde, which is also coupled with an
agreement on visa facilitation.

Negotiations are furthermore ongoing with Azerbaijan, and negotiating
mandates are in place for Belarus.

ALI HASANOV: “AZERBAIJAN’S NATIONAL INTERESTS SHOULD BE “RED LINE”, INVIOLABLE PRINCIPLE FOR EACH OF US”

APA, Azerbaijan
April 23 2013

“Any local or foreign organization, any person exerting pressure on
Azerbaijani state, staining it, should know that hatred of people,
public reprimand of intellectuals, scientists, writers, journalists,
parliamentarians and officials expect them”

Baku. Mubariz Aslanov – APA. “I have always considered that a
great love and disinterested service to the national statehood,
people, Motherland and strong commitment to the justice ideals
and irreconcilability against the enemies are the main features
characterizing a true citizen. Regardless of their social status,
position and views, if every official, intellectual, politician,
activist and ordinary person remains committed to their state and
national interests and closely unite around the National Leader,
who is leading the state to development and prosperity, the desire
of strong state and sustainable development can become a reality,”
chief of socio-political department of the Presidential Administration
Ali Hasanov told APA.

Ali Hasanov also noted: “Not giving a principal response to the some
foreign circles, including anti-national elements, who are going
to shake this unity, lead the country to confrontation, anarchy and
chaos, and not exposing them, we not only demonstrate indifference
to our significant successes achieved up to now, but also avoid the
responsibility before young generations, whom we are going to present
the independent and strong Azerbaijan. Therefore, our Motherland’s
initiative, national and statehood interests, our material and moral
resources, national and moral values of vital importance should be
“red line”, inviolable principle for every Azerbaijani.

Don’t those who receive grants from Armenian lobby, pro-Armenian
circles, stain this state from the international platforms, describe
Armenians as oppressed and Azerbaijanis as barbarians, tell lies to
the foreigners visiting our country deserve national hatred? Any
local or foreign organization, any person exerting pressure on
Azerbaijani state, staining it, should know that hatred of people,
public reprimand of intellectuals, scientists, writers, journalists,
parliamentarians and officials expect them. If this is not so at
present, it means that parliamentarians, officials, public figures,
national media and civil society institutions should think more about
their activities,” he said.

Department chief said he always backs his views.

“The statement made by respectable Rabiyyat Aslanova on Radio Liberty
that I am emotional when I call on the public to demonstrate principled
approach, reprimand to the anti-Azerbaijani local and organizations,
is groundless. I am not in the position or age to pass decisions,
make important challenges basing on emotions. These statements are
my principled civil position, well-weighed official position, I will
not retract from this position,” he said.

DID AN ARMENIAN CONVERT RADICALIZE THE BOMBERS?

The Inquirer, Philly.com, Philadelphia
April 23 2013

POSTED: Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 5:53 PM
Trudy Rubin, Inquirer Opinion Columnist

Of all the strange aspects of the tragic Boston Marathon story, this
may turn out to be the strangest:

Both Tamarlan Tsarnaev’s uncle Ruslan Tsarni, and his former brother
in-law have told the Associated Press that he was radicalized in the
Boston area by a Muslim convert of Armenian origins named Misha. This
happened in 2008 or 2009, after which Tamarlan became an ardent reader
of jihadist websites and gave up writing and playing music, according
to his relatives.

“I heard about nobody else but this convert,” Tsarni told AP. “The
seed for changing his views was planted right there in Cambridge.”

We all know that converts can be more zealous than those born to a
faith, but an Armenian native who converted to a radical brand Islam?

As the world knows, Armenian Christians suffered their own holocaust
at the hands of Muslim Turks early in the 20th century, during the
break-up of the Ottoman Empire.

AP has been trying to find Misha for several days but no success yet.

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE MONOPOLY IN POWER

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
April 23 2013

23 April 2013 – 9:44am

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan, exclusively for “Vestnik Kavkaza”

The elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders on May 5 promise a real
political struggle and intrigue, in contrast to the presidential
election which took place on February 18, where the outcome was known
in advance. The central question is the monopoly of power of the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). The main objective of the
Republican Party has become the reproduction of its power, and the
task of opposing political forces is to eliminate this monopoly, which
hinders progress in all spheres of the life of the country.

The monolithic nature of the power, which is based solely on the power
of the president, offers its own philosophy founded on the mutual
relations of the ruling elite. This fact, in turn, is due to the lack
of an actual institution of elections in Armenia, which is replaced by
a well-functioning machine falsifying election results at all levels.

Officials of any rank elected as a result of such elections become
hostages of the system and do not have any independence in making
certain decisions, even at local government level. A power structure
formed on such principles is completely deprived of initiative and is
not accountable to the voters, which affects the efficiency of the
administration at all levels.

In the framework of the established system, officials simply do not
have a defined self. A striking product of this philosophy is the
incumbent mayor, a board member of the Republican Party, Taron
Margaryan. He solves many problems related to transport and other
communications, but in general, as one of the links in the power
chain, he remains only one of the buttons on a remote control in the
hands of President Serzh Sargsyan. It is impossible to evaluate the
level of work done by Margaryan or any other previous mayor, since
they have never led an independent policy because of the current
system.

The current system of election fraud in Armenia is aimed at ensuring
the monopoly of the ruling Republican Party, while the power system
established on these principles becomes an obstacle to any
developments in the field of democracy, human rights, economics,
economic freedom, etc.

The ruling party intends to retain the existing hierarchy on May 5,
since any deviation, given the dissatisfaction of the population,
could lead to serious consequences for the system of government. The
proportional list of the Republican Party alone, which the local media
has labelled as a list of “fathers and sons,” indicates that the
Republican Party is committed to preventing the destruction of its
monopoly on power. The proportional list of the Republican Party is
headed by the current mayor Margaryan and includes sons and in-laws of
such pillars of the regime as an RPA deputy elected by the majority
system, Ashot Aghababyan, nicknamed Burnash, a crime boss nicknamed
Mher Tokhmakhsky, etc.

The opposition forces, such as the Armenian National Congress (ANC),
“Prosperous Armenia” (PAP) and the ARFD, declare their intention to
cease the monopoly on power of the Republican Party and cooperate in
gaining control over the elections, just as they did in the
parliamentary elections on the 6th of May last year. Moreover, there
are calls for the formation of a single coalition after the elections
to the Council of Elders. There are ideological differences between
these parties, but they realize that will not be able to defeat the
current regime separately.

“We need to cease the political monopoly. This is not an efficient way
of government and progress can be achieved only through division of
responsibilities and a system of counter-balances. The presence of
more than half a million people in the country who are unhappy with
the regime indicates that people want change. Today, municipal
elections are our main means to eliminate political monopoly,”
ex-Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, who is first on the proportional
list, believes.

Formally, elections to the Council of the Elders are local, but given
the number of unresolved problems in the country, the extreme
dissatisfaction of the population and the existence of political
forces that reflect the mood of the overwhelming majority of citizens,
these elections have become almost equal to the parliamentary ones.

What is the balance of power on the eve of the election, and how
consistent is the objective of the opposition with its actual
potential?

Each opposition party has its representative in the electoral
commissions. In addition, three leading opposition forces will have
their representatives working at each polling station. “Prosperous
Armenia” plans to install video cameras at all polling stations. It
should be noted that the PAP has great financial, human and
considerable information resources.

The financial and human resources of the ANC in comparison with the
PAP are limited. This party has only one newspaper and one internet
site. However, representatives of the ANC have been very active in the
media.

The ARFD also has information resources, including “Yerkir Media”. But
the bulk of its electorate mainly lives in the provinces.

The opposition has lots of resources, although much less than the
authorities. After all, the latter have the administrative resources,
which are not accessible to the opposition. It is possible that the
government will even use criminal resources.

The main task of the opposition is not to let the ruling party gain
more than 40% of the votes. With a well-organized campaign and
coordinated cooperation in monitoring the elections, the opposition
forces even have the opportunity to advance their own candidate for
the mayor of the capital.

A MORAL OBLIGATION

Israel Hayom
April 23 2013

Eitan Belkind, of the Nili underground, which operated in Palestine in
the early 20th century, infiltrated the Turkish army during World War
I and witnessed how Circassian soldiers in the Turkish army burned
thousands of Armenians alive. Belkind recounted how the soldiers
ordered the Armenians to gather kindling and pile it in a pyramid:
“After that, they tied the Armenians, nearly 5,000 people, hand to
hand, surrounded them with the kindling in a ring and set it on fire.

The fire rose to the heavens, together with the screams of the
wretched.”

The Armenian genocide, commemorated annually around the world on April
24, took place between 1915 and 1918. The Turks marched hundreds of
thousands of Armenians into the Syrian Desert and to the outskirts
of Turkey. Every day, thousands were killed along the way. In one
of these journeys, which lasted 60 days, only 180 people survived,
out of 170,000. The survivors of the expulsion marches were taken
to 25 different camps, where many more died of exposure or hunger,
or were killed in various ways.

The holocaust that befell the Armenian people happened nearly 100 years
ago. It was different than the Jews’ Holocaust, smaller in dimension,
and far less organized and effective. Turkey slaughtered only its
own citizens, while Nazi Germany sought to exterminate Jews everywhere.

But beyond the differences, and there are more, the Armenian people
underwent their own genocide. Countless researchers and historians
have recognized the Armenian genocide, in which between a million and
1.5 million people were exterminated, as have more than 20 countries
worldwide, including France, Italy, Holland, Poland and Russia. But
one of the countries that still refuses to recognize the Armenian
genocide is, shamefully, the country that harbors the Jews, who
experienced a more terrible and systematic holocaust.

Professor Yair Oron, whose curriculum on 20th century genocide was
shelved by the Education Ministry because it included a chapter on
the Armenian genocide, has remarked repeatedly that on the eve of
the Jewish Holocaust, in August 1939, Hitler arrogantly asked his S.S.

officers: “Who remembers today what happened to the Armenians?”

But in the name of political “interests,” on its 55th Independence Day,
Israel revised the biographies of the 12 honorees selected to light
torches in the annual torch lighting ceremony because one of them,
Naomi Lenvandian, of Armenian descent, had written that she was a
“third generation survivor of the Armenian holocaust.”

In another instance, Israel also censored a documentary film called
“Journey to Armenia” and prevented it from being aired on Channel 1.

The Israeli government also rid itself of two brave ministers:
former Education Minister Yossi Sarid, who served under Ehud Barak,
and former Immigration Absorption Minister Yair Tzaban, who served
under Yitzhak Rabin during the latter’s second term. Both ministers
had attended a memorial service at the Cathedral of Saint James,
the Armenian church in Jerusalem.

Turkey continues to deny the Armenian genocide and reject any
responsibility. In the past, the Turkish government banned the book
“The Forty Days of Musa Dagh,” written by Austrian Franz Werfel,
which describes the experiences of 5,000 exiled Armenians. Turkey
successfully pressured MGM Studios when it wanted to produce a film
based on the book. Turkey maintains a grip of terror over countries
wishing to recognize the Armenian genocide.

Israel’s reputation in this regard is not only shameful, but also
embarrassing. In the past, Israel lobbied for Turkey in the U.S.

Congress, and was even quick to win the big prize, scooping up the
arms deals that Turkey rescinded when France decided to recognize
the Armenian genocide.

There is no need to explain to current Education Minister Shay Piron,
formerly a fellow of the Israel Democracy Institute in the field of
human rights, how immoral and low Israel’s conduct is. If Piron’s
campaign promises are true, and an age of “new politics” is really at
the gate, and indeed “something new is starting,” and the Education
Ministry, as Piron described it, really is the “holy of the holies,”
the education minister should honor the Armenians with his presence at
the annual memorial service for the Armenian genocide in Jerusalem. He
should put all political interests aside, whatever they may be.

After all, Israel would never accept a refusal to recognize the Jewish
Holocaust on the basis of economic or security considerations. It
is true that the Jewish Holocaust is probably unprecedented, even
in comparison with the Armenian genocide, but the moral standard
shouldn’t be any different.

IN QASHATAGH AND SHAHOUMYAN REINFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES WILL HAVE BEEN COMPLETED BY 2015.

Tuesday, 23 April 2013 16:07

In his recent press conference chairman of Committee of the NKR Real
Estate Cadastre Karlen Petrosyan summed up the results of the agency’s
working activities of 2012.

As the Minister reported 10 programmes at a total amount of 330
mln drams were realized during the year. Speaking of one of the
programmes, more precisely, of the reinforcement activities of the
administrative borders of the NKR regions and communities Karlen
Petrosyan informed that during the year large-scale activities aimed
at the reinforcement of the administrative borders of 30 communities
in Hadrout region have been implemented. In the regions of Martakert,
Martouni, Askeran and Shoushi and in Stepanakert city the mentioned
activities were completed in the previous years.

The reinforcement activities of the administrative borders are going
to be completed by 2015.

To Karabakh-open.info’s question how the things with the topographic
survey of the dwelling houses and personal plots of the two regions
are Karlen Petrosyan answered that only during the past 6 months in
Qashatagh region topographic plotting of 2157 ha lands was carried
out. Last year 300 of the 900 property units were inventoried and
catalogued, the inventory of the remaining 600 units is scheduled
for this year. The survey of the personal plots has been completed in
all the other regions, this year we are going to coordinate all the
territories, to specify the administrative borders of the communities
after which the community heads will definitely know what part they
should grant on lease, what parts form the state and community reserve
funds, etc” the chairman of the committee added.