Author: Takmazian

TER-PETROSSYAN: THE CASE OF SEVEN HAS HAD AN INGLORIOUS END

ArmInfo
2009-05-01 17:14:00

ArmInfo. During an opposition rally today the first president
of Armenia, the leader of the Armenian National Congress Levon
Ter-Petrosyan made a statement concerning the so-called Case of Seven.

The press service of the Armenian National Congress quotes
Ter-Petrosyan as saying: "Even though the Armenian National Congress
has issued a special statement regarding this problem on 2 April
of this year, I do not think it is unnecessary to explicate the
importance of that significant event once again in front of this
large audience. To understand the essence of the so-called "case of
seven" (in reality in should be "case of eleven"), we should first
try to understand why the case had been initiated. There can be no
doubt that the goal was to prove to the world that the opposition
was trying to take over with the use of violence, which then would
justify the authorities’ response, which included opening fire on
peaceful protesters, murdering ten people, and the declaration of
the state of emergency.

Accordingly, the court had been instructed to wrap up the case quickly
and to render the stipulated verdict, which would confirm the official
version of the events of 1 March. However, because of the perseverance
of the popular movement, the courageous stance of the political
prisoners, the competent strategy of the defense lawyers, as well as
the intervention of the international organizations, that goal was
stillborn. To save face, the authorities were forced to make serious
changes in the criminal code, then to reformulate the charges on the
bases of those changes and to dissolve the case into several cases.

With that, and particularly with the revoking of the charge under
Article 300 of the Criminal Code, the authorities in effect confessed
hat the "case of seven" was fabricated from the start and that there
has been no usurpation or even an attempt at usurpation of power
by the opposition. Separating the case of the murders, meanwhile,
amounts to a confession that the opposition’s actions had nothing
to do with them. Thus the official version of the events of 1 March
has finally gone up in smoke, and what we are left with is the blood
hilling crime committed by the authorities themselves, every detail
of which is going to be revealed sooner or later.

A question then arises as to what motivated the inadequate, or
actually barbaric, behavior of the authorities on 1 March. Perhaps
the mass disturbances organized by the opposition, which is what the
reformulated charge against the aforementioned seven individuals
is? Not only the fact of charging seven individuals as separate
organizers of the same mass disturbance is a legal ignorance or
downright absurd, there can be no doubt that these separated cases
are going to have the same fate as the "mother case," because
no representative of the opposition has so far been charged with
committing violent acts, burning cars or looting shops personally. Even
if the court succeeds in issuing verdicts violating the law, these
cases are going to go up in smoke in the European court.

As for who organized the mass disturbances, the burning of cars, and
the looting of shops, I have spoken about it in front of a smaller
audience during the first convention of the Armenian National Congress
on 21 December 2008, stating in particular the following: "Based on
information from reliable sources, we have determined that the burning
of cars, the looting of shops, and other provocations on 1 March have
been carried out by certain gangs, which have had 950 members between
them. These gangs were formed, equipped, and put under the command of
a center that was coordinating their activities by five high-ranking
officials and four oligarchs…. The central office of the Armenian
National Congress has made all the evidence about that available to the
Fact-finding Group, to the Commissioner on Human Rights of the Council
of Europe Thomas Hammarberg, and several foreign ambassadors stationed
in Armenia." The credibility of this information is confirmed by the
fact that the Armenian authorities have categorically forbidden the
Fact-finding Group to conduct an inspection at a Defense Ministry
warehouse, which has provided the clothing to the aforementioned
gangs. Respecting the confidentiality of the work of the Fact- finding
Group, we will refrain from making the names of the leaders of those
gangs public for now. These people are still holding high offices
and influential economic positions. There should be no doubt that the
day will come when we will make those names public, and everybody is
going to see the sort of despicable criminals, who are holding the
fate of Armenia and the Armenian nation in their hands."

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATED IN TURKEY
Ayse Gunaysu

an-genocide-commemorated-in-turkey/
April 27, 2009

ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)-On April 24, the Istanbul branch of the Human
Rights Organization of Turkey organized an event commemorating the
Armenian Genocide in Istanbul. The commemoration was held in what
was formerly the "tobacco warehouse," now renovated and being used
for exhibitions, events, and meetings.

The event opened with Armenian and Assyrian songs performed by the
group "Kardes Turkuler" (Songs of Brotherhood).

Lawyer Eren Keskin greeted the audience, numbering around 150,
and said: "Today is the 24th of April, the 94th anniversary of the
arrests in Istanbul which started the Armenian Genocide in 1915." She
added, "The official history [in Turkey] denies the genocide, but we
know what happened and we believe it’s important to tell people the
truth. So, today we will commemorate the most brilliant intellectuals
of the Ottoman Armenians: the poets, writers, physicians, lawyers,
and members of parliament, who were taken away on the 24th of April,
1915 and murdered."

The Bosphorus Performance Arts Group presented the life stories
and poems of three great Armenian poets who perished during the
genocide-Roupen Sevag, Siamanto, and Taniel Varoujan-as well as the
life and work of writer, lawyer, and parliamentary member Krikor
Zohrab, who was also killed during the genocide. The presentation was
accompanied by photographs projected onto a screen and Armenian folk
music played in the background.

Publisher Ragip Zarakolu talked about Teotig, the Armenian writer who
was arrested together with the others but escaped miraculously, and
his famous book Hushartzan Abril Dasnimegi, which will be published
in Turkish soon by the Belge publishing house. An exhibition of
pages from this book was held in conjunction with the event, with
lit candles under each page. A brief Turkish translation of each page
was also provided.

In turn, Eren Keskin talked about Gomidas, while songs performed
by Gomidas himself (recorded in 1912 in Paris) were played in the
background and his photographs projected on the screen. At the end,
Eren Keskin said, "Let’s leave the last word to Gomidas Vartabed." And
Gomidas’ song "Karun a" was heard while images of the deportation of
Armenians were projected on the screen.

ACCOMPANIED BY RA MINISTERS OF ECONOMY, ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE CHIEF OF GOVERNMENT STAFF, PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN VISITED NAIRIT PLANT CJSC

Tuesday , 28 April 2009

Accompanied by RA ministers of Economy, Energy and Natural Resources
and the Chief of Government Staff, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
visited Nairit Plant CJSC. The Prime Minister walked round the
workshops, got acquainted with the plant’s existing capacity and
development opportunities.

Tigran Sargsyan said to be pleased with the fact that Nairit is
operational, produces rubber and stressed the need for determining
the plant’s actual capacity and the possibilities for increasing
output, including the launching of butadiene-based rubber production
by this end-of-year. The head of government indicated that Nairit has
vast development opportunities as it can produce other products in
addition to rubber. Once brought to the projected maximum capacity,
the plant can trigger out tens of other factories with thousands of
jobs available. As a first priority, the Prime Minister singled out
the need for bringing in highly qualified labor.

Nairit is of significant importance to our State as it may add a new
relish to Armenia’s economic pattern. Nairit is a source for domestic
chemical industry because it may foster research and development. In
general, chemical industry is a prospective branch for Armeni a’s
economics. Breakthrough is impossible in this sector without this
plant. This is why the plant is of top relevance to the State,"
Tigran Sargsyan has said.

COMPANIES WITH RUSSIAN CAPITAL – THE LEADERS IN THE LIST OF BIG TAXPAYERS OF ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-04-27 18:15:00

According to the results of the first quarter 2009 the companies
with the Russian capital continue leading in the list of the biggest
taxpayers of Armenia.

Armenian trade company "Alex-Grig" is heading the list of 300 big
taxpayers in January-March 2009, published by State Income Committee
of Armenia, as it paid 3,5 bln drams to the state budget. The company
imports food and medicines and belongs to the deputy of the Armenian
parliament Samvel Aleksanyan.

Armenian-Russian CJSC "ArmRosgasprom", 80% shares of which belong to
the Russian "Gasprom", occupies the second place in the list as it
paid 3,4 bln drams to the state budget. "ArmenTel" telephone company
(subsidiary of the Russian "Vympelcom") has occupied the third place
as it paid 2,8 bln drams to the state budget. Then comes "Flash"
having paid 2,2 bln drams. "K-Telecom" (subsidiary of the Russian MTS)
mobile communication company occupies the fifth place , as it paid
2,05 bln drams to the state budget.

Incidentally, according to the results of 2008, "K-Telecom" occupied
the first place in the list of big taxpayers of Armenia and "Alex-Grig"
was the fifth. CJSC "Zangezur cooper and molybdenum plant" was the
forth last year but is the 45th according to the results of the first
quarter 2009. "South Caucasus railway" company was the 8th in 2008,
but at present it occupies the 51st place in the list of the big
taxpayers of Armenia.

Xinhua General News Service, China
April 24, 2009 Friday 11:40 AM EST

Turkish president appeases Azerbaijan over talks with Armenia

ANKARA April 24

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Friday that all initiatives
with Armenia were serving the best interests of Turkey and Azerbaijan,
the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Gul made the remarks at the Esenboga Airport in Ankara before heading
for Bulgaria. He said he had spoken to Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev for many times regarding the talks between Turkey and Armenia.

quot;Therefore, there are not any problems,quot; said Gul, adding that
Turkey hoped that there would be firmer cooperation in the region, and
problems would be solved.

Late on Wednesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement
in which it said Turkey and Armenia had agreed on a comprehensive
framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a
mutually satisfactory manner.

On April 7, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan confirmed in Istanbul
that his country has held talks with Armenia for months to normalize
ties.

quot;We are working on a comprehensive solution and our talks are
going well. We have made significant progress so far and both parties
have declared satisfaction over the process several times, quot; said
Babacan.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan
during its conflict with Armenia over the Upper Karabakh region.

Armenia claims that more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide in the hands of the Ottomans during World War I
before modern Turkey was born in 1923.

But Turkey insists the Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and
governmental breakdown as the 600-year-old empire collapsed in the
years before 1923.

CANDIDATE FOR PACE NAGORNO KARABAKH SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMANSHIP TO BE AGREED WITH AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

APA
April 24 2009
Azerbaijan

Strasburg. Fuad Gulubayli – APA. Election of new chairman of
subcommittee on Nagorno Karabakh is in the focus of attention
of president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
PACE Secretary General Mateo Sorinas told journalists, APA’s Europe
bureau reports.

He said that the nomination of the new chairman should be agreed with
heads of Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations. PACE President Lluís
Maria de Puig is expected to meet with heads of the delegations of
the two countries during the spring session.

Spring session of PACE will begin on April 27.

MEDVEDEV PROPOSES SARGSYAN TO DISCUSS ALL BILATERAL ISSUES

ITAR-TASS
April 23 2009
Russia

ZAVIDOVO, April 23 (Itar-Tass) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
has proposed his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan to discuss all
issues of cooperation between the two countries, including security
and the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

Medvedev said, "Let’s discuss economic, political, humanitarian and
regional problems. Of course, let’s talk about Nagorno-Karabakh."

Sargsyan agreed with Medvedev. He noted that the countries maintained
cooperation in many fields. Among other priorities, he named security
cooperation. "We watch Russia’s efforts on a new European security
treaty," he said.

Medvedev said the dialogue between Russia and Armenia developed
intensively. Medvedev and Sargsyan met six times last year and they
met twice this year. "The oftener we’ll meet the easier we’ll solve
problems," the Russian president added.

THOUSANDS TO DEMAND END TO CYCLE OF GENOCIDE AT TURKISH CONSULATE ON APRIL 24

Asbarez
/2009_1
Thursday, April 23, 2009

As Obama Seeks To Stop Genocide in Darfur, Calls Intensify for
Affirmation of Turkey’s Genocide of Armenians

LOS ANGELES – The United States has the best chance in a generation to
help end the cycle of genocide and recommit the world to the noble and
necessary cause of a future without genocide. Inspired by this fierce
urgency of now, thousands across the state of California will rally
at the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles (6300 Wilshire Boulevard) on
Friday April 24 at 4pm to call for an end to over a century of race
murder, fueled by Turkey’s ongoing denial of its genocide against
the Armenian people.

Last year, nearly 15,000 activists converged on the Turkish Consulate
amid intensified activity by the Turkish government to prevent the
U.S. House of Representatives from recognizing the Genocide.

"We as Armenian-Americans know that our nation should properly
recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide, and all subsequent
genocides," said Vache Thomassian, the chairman of the AYF. "Now,
more than ever, we have to rise above political expedience and take
a moral stance against genocide ‘s and I firmly believe Barack Obama
has the integrity to be the leader that does so."

This year’s demonstration converges with global expectations pertaining
to President Obama’s numerous campaign pledges to reaffirm the
U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide. Earlier this month, President
Obama traveled to Turkey and stated, "My views are on the record and
I have not changed views," when asked in a press conference about
his promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

The President also referenced the Armenian Genocide in his speech
to the Turkish Parliament where he stated, "History, unresolved,
can be a heavy weight. Each country must work through its past. And
reckoning with the past can help us seize a better future."

As a Senator and as a presidential candidate, President Obama was
a strong advocate of proper Armenian Genocide recognition and swift
action to stop the Darfur Genocide. During his 2008 campaign for the
White House, Obama repeatedly pledged to "respond forcefully to all
genocides," including the one currently raging in Darfur.

"Genocide, sadly, persists to this day, and threatens our common
security and common humanity. Tragically, we are witnessing in
Sudan many of the same brutal tactics’sdisplacement, starvation,
and mass slaughter’sthat were used by the Ottoman authorities
against defenseless Armenians back in 1915," Obama said in the
statement. "America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the
Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend
to be that President."

Previous Presidents have wavered in their commitments to accurately
recognize the genocide in their annual statements on April 24.

This year, activists across the U.S. are expecting the President
to break that trend and bring a long overdue change to U.S. policy
on genocide.

Two weeks ahead of the annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
on April 24, President Obama commemorated the 15th anniversary of
the genocide in Rwanda by urging the United States and its world
partners to deepen their commitment to ending the cycle of genocide
begun in 1915.

Activists will draw attention to Turkey’s expanding multimillion dollar
campaign to erase all memory and culpability of its crime against the
Armenian people and how it has spawned a string of genocides, from
the Nazi Holocaust to the worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Organized by the Armenian Youth Federation, this year’s protest comes
a month after U.S. legislators introduced a resolution calling on
the U.S. president to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide.

The demonstration will also take place against the backdrop of a
series of anti-genocide events organized throughout the U.S. and
around the world during Genocide Prevention Month.

In Washington DC, human rights activists will be participating in
three full days of Congressional visits to demand U.S. action against
the genocide in Darfur and support for the adoption of the Armenian
Genocide Resolution. The annual grassroots advocacy campaign, from
April 22-24th, is being organized by the Armenian National Committee
of America and the Genocide Intervention Network.

Earlier this month the ANCA launched a nationwide effort to urge
concrete action by the U.S. government in fully recognizing the
Armenian Genocide end finally ending the genocide in Darfur.

Echoing Martin Luther King’s famous remarks at the Lincoln Memorial
in August, 1963, the ANCA’s "Fierce Urgency of NOW" campaign has
been mobilizing anti-genocide activists across the country to visit
to learn how the atrocities in Darfur fit into the
cycle of genocide that started with the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.

The website provides simple ways for citizens to call on President
Obama to show "unstinting resolve" in the effort to stop the Darfur
Genocide and end U.S. complicity in Turkey’s international campaign
of genocide denial.

In 1915 the Ottoman Turkish government set out to annihilate the
indigenous Armenian population inhabiting the lands under its
dominion. Between 1915-1923, the government executed a systematic
campaign to exterminate the Armenian people and remove them from
their historic homeland. The Armenian Genocide, recognized as the
first genocide of the 20th century by historians the world over,
resulted in the death of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and the
loss of millions of dollars in property and land now under occupation
by the Republic of Turkey.

ARMENIA GAVE TURKEY TIME

A1+
08:23 pm | April 23, 2009 | Politics

"The joint statement was the best way of giving Turkey time. The
Armenian side signed the statement without realizing that one of the
expectations and goals of Turkey was to pass the April 24 deadline,"
told "A1+" NA Deputy, member of the "Heritage" faction Stepan Safaryan
in regard to the joint statement made by the Armenian and Turkish
Foreign Affairs Ministries and the Swiss Foreign Affairs Federative
Department.

"Instead of using the Turks fear of April 24 and Obama’s address for
serious promises and steps, Armenian diplomats did the opposite. After
the unacceptable statements, the Armenian side agreed to simply give
time to Turkey without responding to the statements and demanding
explications," said Stepan Safaryan and clarified that the sides
will convince the international community that the international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide should not interfere in the
process that has begun with new agreements and the comprehensive
framework which the sides are working on.

"Two days ago Ali Babacan made Turkey’s strategy almost clear and
said that Turkey is discussing all issues that need to be discussed or
expects to be discussed. That is definitely a lie because historic and
modern issues are circumvented and are put aside for future committees
to solve in the best case scenario," says Stepan Safaryan. He went on
to say that the discussion of those issues will require a lot of time.

"Even if the Turkish side includes those issues in its agenda,
they will take years to solve and Turkey will use the time given
by Armenia and flaws to prevent pressure that could have seriously
promoted improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations."

According to Stepan Safaryan, the important thing now is for Armenian
diplomats to be very careful when it comes to such negotiations.

"The U.S. and the international community must understand that not
recognizing the Armenian Genocide and not using the term genocide does
not help solve the issues; rather, it allows Turkey to show a more
unserious approach to these relations. The U.S. will stimulate the
process if the president pronounces the word genocide and the fact of
genocide is recognized through a resolution. The U.S. administration
will always use that against Turkey, while recognition of genocide
will encourage Turkey to enter the process of normalization without
preconditions, not bargaining Turkish-Armenian relations and showing
that it has revised its policy on Armenia."

ISKANDARYAN: NO PROMOTION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WITHOUT POWER STATES

Panorama.am
20:01 22/04/2009

Without the world powers like Russia, the USA and Europe the promotion
of Armenian-Turkish relations is impossible and these powers make
pressure both on Turkey and the states in the South Caucasus, the head
of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan said at Yerevan-Moscow
telebridge on Armenian-Turkish relations.

"The promotion of relations with Turkey is possible without any
preconditions despite the statements made by the Turkish party being
quite different," he said. According to the politician, there are
some perspectives for reconciliation. "I don’t say this will happen
necessarily or will happen soon. Nevertheless, the possibility for
the continuation of this process is not equal to null," Iskandaryan
said, underscoring that the significance of Russia in this process
is indisputable.