Category: News

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) held a productive and positive meeting with the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), on a wide variety of topics, including efforts to bring peace and freedom to the independent Republic of Nagorno Karabagh (Artsakh). The meeting was held at the Chairman’s district office in Brea, California on August 17, 2016 and included the participation of national, regional and local ANCA officials. The ANCA has had a long and constructive relationship with Chairman Royce based on the outstanding work of the ANCA of Orange County and accompanied the Chairman during his 2014 Congressional Delegation visit to the Republic of Armenia.

“Armenian Americans living in California’s 39th Congressional District are fortunate to have a senior Member of Congress like Ed Royce, who chairs the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, representing them in Washington, DC,” expressed ANCA Western Region Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. after meeting with Chairman Royce. “Chairman Royce is unique because of his total command and understanding of issues ranging from Artsakh to the Armenian Genocide. We look forward to continuing our work with Chairman Royce to secure peace and freedom for Artsakh and to secure justice with respect to the Armenian Genocide. The ANCA is especially eager to work with Chairman Royce in the coming days to secure implementation of the Royce-Engel initiative,” Hovsepian added.

The meeting with Chairman Royce focused on the pressing need to make sustained progress on the Royce-Engel initiative launched last year by the Chairman and the Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY). The Royce-Engel initiative, which is strongly backed by the ANCA, includes three common-sense measures to secure Artsakh peace. 1.) An agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers, heavy arms, or new weaponry along the line of contact. 2.) The placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact. 3.) The deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations. Armenia and Artsakh have long agreed to all three measures; Azerbaijan opposes their implementation. The Royce-Engel proposals, have received the support of over 90 U.S. Representatives through two Congressional letters sent to the Obama Administration in November of 2015 and March of 2016.

ANCA leaders also highlighted the reckless nature of the “Madrid Principles,” which are being discussed in the context of a final settlement for Artsakh. Originally discussed in 2007 with the specifics largely kept secret until recently, the “Madrid Principles” set forth a proposed formula which purportedly calls for Artsakh’s up-front surrender of 7 regions of its sovereign territory in return for only a vague promise that Azerbaijan will allow a future “expression of will” that would determine its status, setting the stage for continued conflict and increased regional instability. The ANCA shared with Chairman Royce that the organization considers the “Madrid Principles” to be reckless, irresponsible and – as noted by many Members of Congress – not a sound recipe for peace.

Next month, ANCA leaders will join Chairman Royce at the In Defense of Christians (IDC) national advocacy convention in Washington, DC. The IDC convention, which is being sponsored by the ANCA, is seeking to safeguard health and welfare of the remaining Christians in the Middle East. During the 114th Congress, Chairman Royce was a powerful force in advancing legislation that led the Obama Administration to label the crimes against humanity occurring today against Christians, including Armenians, and other minorities in the Middle East – as a genocide.

The Armenian translation of Turkish historian Taner Akcam has been published in Yerevan, Akunq.net reports.

The book titled “Forced Islamization of Armenians: Silence, Denial and Assimilation” consists of three parts. In the first part the author speaks about the impossibility of an unbiased study of the Armenian Genocide issue in Turkey, about the difficulties and persecutions he has passed through.

The second part presents the story of discriminatory and biased discussions on the Turkish edition of Armenian Officer Sarkis Torossian’s Memoires, which raised a second wave of criticism against Taner Akcam, who tracked down Torossian’s family in America.

In the third part the author presents the policy of forces Islamization and assimilation of Armenians between 1915 and 1918. Taner Akcam describes this as a structural element of the Armenian Genocide.

The book has been translated and prepared for publication at the Research Center on Western Armenian Studies. Meline Anumyan has translated the book from Turkish, Haykazun Alvrtyan is the managing editor.

The book published under the sponsorship of the Jerair Nishanian Foundation is dedicated to the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

A cross-stone dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims was solemnly opened and consecrated in the yard of the Armenian Church of St. Virgin Mary in the Swedish city of Södertälje. The ceremony was led by His Grace Bishop Markos Hovhannisyan.

Armenian Ambassador to Sweden Artak Apitonyan, Södertälje Major Boel Godner and Fr. Tiran Petrosyan, Pontifical Legate for Central Europe and Scandinavia, offered opening remarks.

Attending the event were representatives of Swedish state bodies and sister churches, members of the Armenian community.

Ambassador Apitonyan noted that “the first-ever cross-stone dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims unveiled in Sweden is not only of religious and cultural value.” “It also symbolizes the devotion of the Armenian community of Sweden to national identity, as well as the decisiveness of the Armenian nation to continue the struggle for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide,” he said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel told Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper on Tuesday that people with Turkish roots living in Germany should be loyal to the country, reports.

“We expect that people of Turkish origin who have been living in Germany for a long time should develop a high level of loyalty to our nation,” Merkel said.

“Therefore we are trying to have open ears to hear their concerns and to understand them. And for this we are also keeping in close contact with immigrant associations.”

Merkel’s talk of loyalty comes as the government is considering new measures to combat terrorism, including getting rid of dual citizenship. Members of Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) have said that dual nationality poses a “huge obstacle to integration”.

The Chancellor also commented on the current situation in Turkey where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been cracking down on suspected dissenters in the wake of a failed coup last month. She urged Germany’s Turkish community to remain calm despite the circumstances dividing the country.

“Freedom of opinion and to demonstrate are meant for everyone who lives here in Germany, but of course everyone must peacefully express their differences of opinion,” Merkel said.

Erdogan and his supporters in Germany criticized German authorities when officials denied the Turkish president the chance to speak via video link to a rally of tens of thousands in Cologne at the end of last month.

Photo: TASS

 

Russia will not compete at next month’s Paralympics in Rio after losing an appeal against a ban imposed for state-sponsored doping, the BBC reports.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) upheld the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) ban on all Russian competitors.

The IPC made the decision in light of the McLaren report.

The Paralympics begin on 7 September.

The IPC’s decision to ban the entire Russian team “was proportionate in the circumstances”, according to the Cas panel, which said it would publish the full grounds of its decision later.

It added that the Russian Paralympic Committee did not file any evidence contradicting the facts put forward by the IPC.

Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, accused of killing a family of 7 in Armenia’s second city of Gyumri has been sentenced to life.

The family, including a six-month-old baby, was killed as a result of an armed assault on January 12, 2015.

Permyakov was arrested and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code.

On August 12, Permyakov was found guilty of desertion, theft of weapons and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The murder case was singled out for considering it in a separate procedure and passed to the Armenian authorities.

On October 13, Permyakov was found sane. According to experts, he was not in the heat of passion while committing the crime. He also could recognize the consequences of his actions.

On October 16, Permyakov was additionally charged with armed assault, home-invasion robbery and attempted border crossing.

On August 23, 1990 the Supreme Council of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia adopted Armenia’s Declaration of Independence, ending decades of Soviet rule and beginning a new chapter in history.

The adoption of the Declaration marked the start of the process of establishment of independent statehood positioning the question of the creation of a democratic society based on the rule of law.

The country was renamed the Republic of Armenia and a year later, on September 21, 1991 Armenia became an independent state.

With the purpose of guaranteeing the security of the Republic of Armenia and the inviolability of its borders, the Republic of Armenia created its own armed forces, internal troops, state bodies and public security under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council.

Under the Declaration, the Republic of Armenia guaranteed the use of Armenian as the state language in all spheres of the Republic’s life, created its own system of education and of scientific and cultural development.

 

About 30 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night, NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The rival fired more than 30 shots from firearms of different calibers in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep full control of the situation at the frontline and continue with the reliable protection of the military positions.

Photo: EPA

Turkey has bombarded so-called Islamic State (IS) targets in northern Syria amid reports Syrian rebels are to launch an offensive against the group, the BBC reports.

Artillery positions inside Turkey fired on IS as well as Kurdish YPG militia targets in the towns of Jarablus and Manbij.

Some 1,500 Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are thought to be in the Turkish town of Gaziantep waiting to attack.

This follows a bomb attack on a wedding there that killed more than 50 people

On 22 August Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited one of the borderline sections located in the south-eastern part of the republic, met there the command staff, got acquainted with the course of service and current situation.

RA and NKR defense ministers Seyran Ohanyan and Levon Mnatsakanyan and other officials partook at the meeting.