Category: News

 

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

I just became aware of an important interview Pres. Serzh Sargsyan had given to Turkish journalist Cansu Camlibel of Hurriyet newspaper on April 24, 2015 in Yerevan. The article was buried under the avalanche of media coverage during the commemorations of the Armenian Genocide Centennial.

Here are key excerpts from Pres. Sargsyan’s lengthy interview as published in the Turkish Daily News, the English edition of Hurriyet:

— The President rightly pointed out that “the emotional and non-diplomatic reaction of the Turkish leadership [to Pope Francis’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide in The Vatican on April 12] was yet another proof that Turkey continued its policy of evident denial pursued at a state level, thus taking upon it the burden of the responsibility for the crime perpetrated by the authorities of the Ottoman Empire.”

— “As a mighty power and champion of democratic values, the United States has on numerous occasions stated its position regarding the Armenian Genocide. Out of 51 U.S. constituent states 44 recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide. Throughout history various American presidents, such as Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, described the atrocities against the Armenian people as genocide. Even those U.S. presidents, that had not used the word ‘genocide’ during their tenure, had used that term while campaigning. It means that they never questioned the veracity of what had happened, and only due to certain political considerations refrained from uttering the word ‘genocide.’” While Pres. Sargsyan correctly characterized U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, there were a couple of inaccuracies in his answer: The United States has 50, not 51 states; and Gerald Ford acknowledged the Armenian Genocide as a Congressman, before becoming President.

— “The Turkish proposal of establishing the so-called commission of historians has only one goal, which is to delay the process of the Armenian Genocide recognition, and divert the attention of international community from that crime. That is not only our view but also the view of the international community that goes on recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide. The protocols contain no clause of establishing any commission on historical studies. The respective paragraph in the protocol envisages a dialogue aimed at restoring mutual confidence between the two nations, which entailed the establishment of a sub-commission. Throughout the negotiations, the Armenian side has stressed on numerous occasions at various levels also to the Turkish side that the veracity of the genocide cannot be questioned under any circumstances.” Armenians who opposed to the Protocols, including this writer, had made similar objections.

— “It is already the sixth year since the protocols have been signed: when is the expedient time? …The years past have demonstrated that Turkey is looking forward not to some convenient moment, but instead is trying to prevent the manifestation of the unambiguous position of the international community on the Armenian Genocide by imitating a process of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, claiming that recognitions were something that hindered the reconciliation. The process of the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation was launched upon my initiative, and pursued a very simple goal — to establish diplomatic relations without any preconditions, and unseal the last closed border in Europe, safeguarding peaceful and neighborly coexistence of our nations. Unfortunately, the lack of political will on the part of the Turkish authorities, distortion of the letter and spirit of the protocols, fresh manifestations of denial, and continuously brought up preconditions intended to feed groundless demands of Azerbaijan thwarted the implementation of the protocols…. After six years of unfulfilled expectations, I have decided to recall the protocols from the parliament. On one occasion I said the Armenians are not going to wait indefinitely for the Turkish authorities to be able to find a convenient moment to finally ratify those protocols.” In my opinion, the Armenian Foreign Minister should immediately withdraw his signature from the Protocols and declare them obsolete.

— “The Republic of Armenia has never declared any territorial claims either on Turkey or any other country since our independence. There has never been such an issue on the foreign policy agenda of our country, and there is none today. That is a clear-cut position.”

If not read carefully, Pres. Sargsyan’s last answer could easily be misunderstood. He is neither saying that Armenia has territorial claims from Turkey nor that it does not! Armenia simply has not raised this issue officially because doing so could have serious national security implications given its powerful and hostile neighbor on the Western Front. Political parties, organizations, and individuals like this writer have frequently made territorial claims from Turkey, but it is understandable that Armenia’s Head of State has to be much more circumspect in his public pronouncements.

Pres. Sargsyan stated several years ago that he leaves the pursuit of Armenian territorial claims to a future generation, which implies that Armenia does indeed have territorial demands from Turkey!

Top officials from Armenia and Iran pledge to expand the bilateral cooperation on the basis of the deeply rooted friendship between the two countries.

At a meeting in Yerevan Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and Iran’s First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri discussed a wide range of issued related to the expansion of trade and economic relations, energy projects, transport infrastructures, the perspectives of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education and culture.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Armenian Prime Minister said they  discussed the construction of the third high-voltage power line, which is expected to e completed by 2018. They also agreed on the future steps connected with the construction of Meghri HPP and gas distribution network in Armenian villages bordering Iran. The parties referred to the North-South highway and the Armenia-Iran rail project, stressing their key role in the improvement of regional cooperation and economic growth.

PM Hovik Abrahamyn assured of the willingness of the Armenian Government to contribute to the establishment and deepening of cooperation between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), particularly in the context of a future free trade agreement.

The Armenian PM praised the positive momentum reached in the talks on Iran’s nuke program and stressed that agreements reached within that framework will benefit the region, contribute to regional and international security and steady development, as well as open perspectives for the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Iran’s First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri noted, in turn, that “there is no obstacle for the development of relations between the two countries.”

“The success achieved within the framework of 5+1 talks creates new and positive conditions for the development of relations and opens new spheres for the development of bilateral economic cooperation,” he said.

He said construction of the third high-voltage power line that had been halted for a while is currently under way and will be completed in the shortest term.

“We held discussions on the railway and cargo transportation, and we are confident we’ll link the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea within the framework of cooperation with other countries of the region,” the Vice-President said.

He added that Armenia’s accession to EEU opens a new window from the perspective of development of economic relations between the two countries.

Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom is fighting for life after being found unconscious at a brothel in Nevada.

Following news of former LA Laker’s alleged overdose, his ex-wife Khloe Kardashian rushed to be by his side at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. She was quickly followed by sister Kim Kardashian West and mother Kris Jenner, who was pictured looking distraught outside the hospital in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Doctors are currently treating Odom’s case as a non-suicidal drug-overdose, according to a source at the hospital who spoke with E! News. The source says that doctors found ‘virtually every drug imaginable’ in the 35-year-old’s system. Other sources told TMZ that he suffered multiple strokes is on kidney dialysis and has just a 50/50 chance of survival.

The exact kind of stroke Odom is believed to have suffered involves a blood clot blocking blood flow to the brain, and is often a result of a cocaine overdose, the reports.

Odom is reportedly on life support in a coma, with his heart, lungs and kidneys failing.

Armenia has sent out invitations to the heads of a number of international parliamentary structures to observe the referendum on Constitutional amendments scheduled for December 6 with a view of holding the referendum in an open and transparent manner in compliance with democratic standards.

Armenian  Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan in the name of the RA National Assembly has sent invitations to the Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko, the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, the OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva and the PACE President Anne Brasseur.

The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament, the OSCE PA and PACE have been invited to observe the referendum.

Russia emphatically disagrees with the conclusions included in the of the Dutch Safety Board following a probe into the MH17 flight disaster, the deputy chief of Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsiya, Oleg Storchevoy has told the media, TASS reports.

“We’ve studied the document and I can say with responsibility that the Russian commission categorically disagrees with the report’s conclusions. These are fundamentally wrong and contradiction to logic is out of proportion,” he said.

“It seems the commission was picking evidence. The report does not have enough facts confirming the trustworthiness of the investigation,” Storchevoy said.

 

 

Anakara’s police, intelligence and security chiefs have been suspended in the wake of bombings that left 97 people dead in Turkey’s capital, the BBC reports.

The interior ministry said the move would enable a “robust” investigation.

The attack, the worst in Turkey’s modern history, triggered widespread anger against the government.

Turkey’s president visited the site of the bombing on Wednesday. The prime minister said both Islamic State and the PKK could have played a role.

Turkish officials have said two suicide bombers carried out Saturday’s attack, which targeted crowds gathering for a rally against violence between Turkish government forces and the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party).

Authorities said on Wednesday that they had detained two people with alleged ties to the PKK on suspicion of having prior knowledge of the attack.

Initially, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said IS, the PKK and far-left groups were all capable of such an attack. On Monday, he said IS was the prime suspect.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid flowers for the victims as he visited the site of the attack with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

 

 

 

My wish is to see the copy of Tsitsernakaberd Memorial opened in Turkey, Turkish writer Kemal Yalcin told a press conference in Yerevan.

Kemal Yalcin is a Turk and a Muslim. He has nothing to do with Armenians. As a student he read in Turkish textbooks that Armenians were traitors. He met the first Armenian in Germany, where he has been living since 1980. It was Meline, an Istanbul Armenian teacher.

“Meline was teaching us, telling about different countries – China, Finland, India, but never about Armenia and Armenians. ‘It’s impossible to tell about our pain,’ she said, when I asked her why she avoided telling about her Motherland and her people. When I revealed my plans to write about Armenians, she made me promise I would visit Cilicia to find the heirs of Genocide survivors and talk to them. Only after that she agreed to speak about her pain,” Kemal Yalcin said.

The Turkish writer visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today. “I’m shocked and extremely excited,” he said. “I have dedicated more than 5,000 pages to the Armenian people and the Armenian Genocide, but I know it’s nothing compared to the sufferings the Armenian people went through. Believe that I carry that pain in my soul and I’m aware I have a lot to do to support your just cause,” Kemal Yalcin added.

The author’s dream is to see the copy of Tsitsernakaberd built in Ankara. “I want Turks to lay flowers at the memorial to the innocent victims every April 24 just like Armenians do,” he concluded.

Iran’s First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has arrived in Armenia for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

PM Hovik Abrahamyan welcomed Eshaq Jahangiri at Zvartnots Airport.

The Armenian Prime Minister and the Iranian Vice-President will hold a meeting at the Government and will make a statement for the press.

Yanair, a regional airline from Ukraine, will launch Kiev-Yerevan flights from November 24. The flights will be operated with Boeing 737 aircrafts twice a week – on Tuesdays and Fridays, reports.

The plane will take off from “Kiev” Airport at 07:50 and  land in Yerevan at 12:30. The flights from Yerevan are scheduled for 13:45 local time.

The one-way tickets will cost $140, a return ticket will cost at least $225.

Moscow urges the parties to the Karabakh conflict to refuse form application of force and demonstrate political will to reach a compromise, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova has declared, RIA Novosti reports.

“Unfortunately, the renewal of political dialogue gets more complicated because of escalation of situation in the conflict zone, increased number of victims, including civilians,” she said, adding that “further escalation is simply inadmissible.”

“We call on the parties to refuse from the use of force and demonstrate political will necessary for reaching a compromise,” she said.

According to her, the issue of Karabakh conflict settlement was discussed in detail during the visits of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers to Moscow in April-May.

“The topic is on the agenda of Russian FM Sergey Lavrov’s contacts with foreign counterparts. We are working in that direction in close cooperation with France and the United States. The Minister recently held a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the sidelines of the 70^th session of the UN General Assembly, during which the parties referred to practical issues of conflict settlement ahead of the forthcoming visit of the mediators this month,” Zakharoca said.