Category: News

The Parliament of Aragon has adopted a declaration recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide. The text, which was tabled by MP Gregorio Briz Sánchez, pays homage to the over 1.5 million Armenian victims killed by the Ottoman Empire and asks all Turkish Institutions, including the government, to acknowledge this historical fact, the European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) reports.

Given that 2015 marks the centenary of the Armenian Genocide many international organizations,such as the European Parliament,and political bodies have adopted motions commemorating it. Pope Francis also added his voice and recognized the Armenian Genocide in a declaration made in April. These events were all referred to in the document adopted by Aragonese parliament.

In addition, the text pays tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in a spirit of solidarity and European justice.  It underlines that the European Union should make genocide prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity a top priority.

The resolution calls also on the government of Turkey to use the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide as an opportunity to recognize it, open its archives and choose the path of reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian people. It also highlights that a growing number of Turkish intellectuals, politicians and members of civil society have acknowledged the Armenian Genocide and encourages Turkish institutions to do the same.

‘It is very encouraging to see that this year, not only the European, but also member states and regional parliaments have adopted resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide’ Comments Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, director of European Friends of Armenia. ‘I believe that this sends a strong message to Turkey, that Europe is waiting for them to recognize their history. Today it also sends a clear signal to the Armenians: Aragonese people arestanding with them in recognizing the first genocide of the 21^stcentury’.

He adds.The text furthermore calls on Spain to help ensuring Turkey keeps to it promise to protect and preserve the Armenian cultural heritage on its territory and to havea more active role in facilitating reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey. European history provides ample examples of reconciliation between nations which can serve as a model.

Aragon is an autonomous community in the north-east of Spain, bordering with France. It has a population of 1.2 million people and with a size of 47,719 km² (slightly bigger than Estonia). It is the fifth region in Spain that has recognized the Armenian Genocide, after the Basque Country, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Navarre.

Picture by Edward Artsrunyan

The application on inclusion of the “Kochari: The traditional group dance” in UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was discussed within the framework of the 10th session of the Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Windhoek, Namibia.

The Committee reviews its stance on the initial decision of the expert group thanks to the arguments presented by the Armenian delegation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia reports.

As a result of discussions between the members of the Committee, the experts and the Armenian delegation, the Committee confirmed that “being an expression of national identity, the Kochari group dance is widely spread in Armenia and the Diaspora.” Armenia will present an amended application for further consideration of the Committee.

The Alliance has decided to reconvene NATO-Russia Council to maintain political contacts, Jens Stoltenberg said, Sputnik News reports.

Photo: Alexander Scherbak/TASS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday he is ready to meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council due on December 3-4 in Belgrade, TASS reports.

“The Turkish side has been insistently calling for organising a face-to-face meeting with the Turkish foreign minister on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council,” Lavrov said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart in Nicosia.

“We will not avoid this contact. We will listen to what (Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut) Cavusoglu says. Maybe something new compared with what has been said in public.”

Lavrov said he spoke with his Turkish counterpart the next day after the November 24 downing of the Russian Su-24 jet. “I heard nothing new compared with what the Turkish leadership said in public, justifying its unacceptable criminal act.”

The Russian foreign minister noted that relations between Moscow and Ankara could no longer develop in accordance with the ‘business as usual’ principle after the attack on the Su-24 jet.

“It is clear that the relations between Russia and Turkey cannot develop in this situation on the basis of the ‘business as usual’ principle,” he said. “We regard this step by Turkey as contravening the task of combating terrorism.”

Lavrov also pointed out that Russia’s relations with Turkey cannot continue in accordance with the ‘business as usual’ principle after the attack on the Sukhoi Su-24 jet.

“It is clear that the relations between Russia and Turkey cannot develop in this situation on the basis of the ‘business as usual’ principle,” he said. “We regard this step by Turkey as contravening the task of combating terrorism.”

With his martial arts skills Steven Seagal once saved the world from nuclear attack and ruthless oil corporations – in Hollywood blockbusters, reports.

But now the Under Siege star has been asked to transfer the skills he showed on the silver screen into real life and train up Serbian special police forces in Aikido, the Japanese martial art.

“When you have such a famous star coming to Serbia, who loves our country and our people, our desire is to have him back again,” said the mayor of Belgrade, Sinisa Mali.

During a three day visit to Serbia’s capital Belgrade, the 63-year-old who starred in the reality show Steven Seagal: Lawman which saw him perform duties as a reserve deputy sheriff in Louisiana and Arizona, met with the country’s Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, and the pro-Russian president, Tomislav Nikolic.

While in the city, Seagal received an award from the Belgrade-based Brothers Karic Foundation for his humanitarian work and said he was proud to get the same honor that Russian President Vladimir Putin once did.

The head of the Karic family, Bogoljub Karic, was given asylum in Russia after he fled Serbia when its previous government charged him with corruption and the embezzlement of millions of dollars in state funds.

It is unclear whether he will have time to train the forces however as he has a number of movies set to be released next year.

Photo: AP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family members are directly involved in illegal oil deliveries from Islamic State (IS) oil fields in Syria, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.

These oil revenues are used not only to enrich the Turkish leadership but to arm terrorists as well, the General Staff stated.

Oil from IS-controlled areas in Syria is shipped to refineries in third countries after being transported to Turkey, the head of the Russian General Staff’s operative command said Wednesday.

“Space reconnaissance has reliably showed that after crossing the border, tank trucks carrying oil head to the ports of Dortyol and Iskenderun,” Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy told reporters.

Russian deputy defense minister said that Russia will continue to provide facts that Turkey steals from its neighbors, adding that it’s a surprise no one in the West ever noticed that Erdogan’s son is the owner of one of the largest energy companies, while the president’s son-in-law was appointed energy minister.

Russian Defense Ministry’s information on IS oil trade will be published online.

Moscow calls on Ankara to provide access to places where, according to Russian data, IS oil trade centers are located, Antonov said.

“I am certain that there will be claims that everything you’ve seen here now is false. Well, if there are no such things, they [Turkey] should grant access to the places we showed journalists today,” Antonov said after presenting satellite data and photos said to prove Turkey’s involvement in illegal IS oil trade.

A  bill that would make it a crime to deny that the 1915 killings of Armenians was genocide will be voted on by the French Parliament on Thursday, Today’s Zaman reports. 

The bill – prepared by Valerie Boyer, a deputy from the main opposition party, the Republicans – states any denial of the genocide and the crimes against humanity committed in the 20th century should be a punishable crime.

The bill was discussed by the parliamentary Justice Commission on Nov. 25.

Turkey had suspended military, economic and political ties with France when the lower house of the French Parliament passed a similar bill in December 2011.

The French Senate then also passed the bill in January 2012, ignoring warnings from Turkey that passage of the legislation would lead to additional sanctions.

A month later, France’s Constitutional Council overturned the bill.

The presents the photo of an Armenian woman sitting in her studio and freshly painting a pot in the Old city of Jerusalem as today’s Photo of the Day.

One of the four quarters of Jerusalem’s Old City is the Armenian Quarter. It’s located between the Yafo and Zion gates.

Armenians have been in Jerusalem since the fourth century CE. Though many arrived only after the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey.

The entire Armenian quarter consists of no more than around 1,000 people.

But there you can find genuine (Jerusalem-style) Armenian pottery and artwork, and even watch as it’s made.

NATO foreign ministers welcomed tiny Montenegro into their fold on Wednesday in the alliance’s first expansion since 2009, Reuters reports.

Jens Stoltenberg, the head of Nato, said it was a “historic decision,” according to BBC.

While Montenegro has now been invited to join NATO, it can take up to 18 months for a country to formally join. NATO diplomats say membership is likely to be cemented at the summit of alliance leaders next July in Warsaw.