Category: News

A car bomb at a crowded market in northern Baghdad has killed at least 64 people and wounded 87 others, Iraqi police and medical sources say.

It happened at the Shia district of Sadr City during the morning rush hour.

So-called Islamic State (IS) claimed it was behind the attack, which it said had targeted Shia militiamen.

The Sunni group, which controls swathes of northern and western Iraq, has frequently targeted Shia, whom it considers heretics.

Many of the victims included women and children, officials said. Several of the injured were said to be in critical condition.

The blast damaged nearby buildings and other vehicles.

On May 11, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted reinforced monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijanin the north-western direction of the Talish village of the NKR Martakert region.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and staff member of the Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden), as well as by Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Thomas Lenk (Germany).

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain), as well as by Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Gunther Bachler (Germany).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered.

From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

During the Holocaust, Aznavour’s home gave shelter to Jews and Armenians who fled from the Nazis. The International Raoul Waldenburg Foundation paid  a visit to Mr. Charles Aznavour to learn the details.

Aznavour’s parents hid Jews people in their apartment during the Holocaust. “My sister and I were sleeping on the floor,” Aznavour said.

The Raoul Wallenberg Foundation established about twenty years ago focuses on rescue of people, on people who risk their lives to save others.

Up to now Charles Aznavour has said very little about an especially humane and heroic chapter in his and his family’s life: Their decision to shelter and save Jews, Armenian deserters and underground activists in their home during the German occupation of France during the war, and their involvement in anti-Nazi activity.

Now Aznavour has decided to tell the whole story, in Hebrew, in a self-published book, “Matzilim (Tzadikim) Ve’Lohamim” (“Righteous Saviors and Fighters”), by genocide researcher Prof. Yair Auron.

The latter spoke at length with Aznavour and his sister, Aida Aznavour-Garvarentz, who told him about their lives under the German occupation and what led their family, especially their father, to take part in rescue missions despite the many risks. The book, which will also be translated into French and Armenian, recounts a specific case, but offers a moral lesson on human behavior under conditions of widespread terror, and political and ideological violence. Above all, it is the moving story of survivors of one genocide who, at great personal risk, felt compelled to help victims of another.

Photos by Anush Babajanyan

 

– Anush Babajanyan, a photojournalist from Armenia and a member of the 4Plus collective, traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh by minibus to cover the conflict during the recent escalation.

She found a soldier returning to war on the bus as well as families who were forced to leave, frustrated and scared.

“The people expected the military to hit military posts, not a village” says Babajanyan. “There is no question that these people will fight for their land.”

Asbarez – The Vice Chair Michelle Steel of the Orange County Board of Supervisors proposed a resolution that was unanimously supported by her fellow Board of Supervisors to officially designate each April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. The reoccurring event will be dedicated to commemorating those who perished during the Armenian Genocide from 1915 to 1923.

“Orange County needs to continue leading the way to ensure that this historic tragedy is never forgotten and the victims of genocide continue to be honored,” said Vice Chair Steel.

“Over one hundred years have passed since the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, and there isn’t anyone left to try or convict. But, there is still an opportunity to set the record straight. As a County, we denounce these horrendous crimes against humanity and commemorate the lives of the Armenian men, women, and children lost.” Said Vice Chair Steel

The Armenian-American community of Orange County turned out with representatives from community organizations, churches and school filling the Supervisors’ Chambers.

Garo Madenlian, representing the Armenian National Committee of America Orange County chapter addressed the meeting, voicing his support and extending his gratitude to the Board of Supervisors.

Also taking turns at the dais were pastor of the Forty Martyrs Armenian Church, Rev. Karekin Bedourian; pastor of the St. Mary’s Armenian Church, Rev. Mushegh Tashjian, Orange County Superior Court Judge Gasia Apkarian; and Brea City Councilman Marty Simonoff.

On 11 May Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan and the second President of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharyan held a meeting in Stepanakert.

A range of issues related to the large-scale combat operations launched by the enemy along the Karabakh-Azerbaijani borderline from 2 to 5 April and their consequences was on the agenda.

President Sahakyan underlined that Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity constitutes the basis of victories, stressing the importance of consolidated stance demonstrated by political forces and effective measures undertaken by them to support Artsakh.

Asbarez – On Friday, May 13, 2016 the Armenian American Museum will host an exclusive screening of the documentary film “Journey to the Homeland” at the Brand Library & Art Center. The film will be followed by a discussion panel led by the director, Nora Hovsepian, Esq.

“Journey to the Homeland” is a poignant documentary about Hovsepian’s personal pilgrimage to the Anatolian landscape to which her grandparents were forcibly exiled during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The film shows the remnants of an ancient and resilient Armenian culture after Ottoman Turkey attempted to systematically wipe out its Armenian population residing on ancestral lands. The film is a companion to the book, “Historic Armenia, After 100 Years: Ani, Kars, and the Six Provinces of Western Armenia,” by Matthew Karanian, Esq., who will accompany Hovsepian along with Rebecca Berberian and Nora Yacoubian.

Nora Hovsepian, Esq., has been a lifelong advocate for the Armenian Cause and proudly serves as the Chair of the Armenian National Committee of America- Western Region. In 2014, she was honored by the California State Assembly as one of its 80 statewide Women of the Year for her leadership and advocacy. “Journey to the Homeland” won the 2015 Audience Choice Award in the Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto, Canada and was an Official Selection in the Los Angeles CineFest, the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, and the IndieFEST.

This program is one in a series taking place in conjunction with “Armenia: An Open Wound” an exhibition presented by The City of Glendale and the Library, Arts & Culture Department in partnership with the Armenian American Museum and curated by the Museo Memoria y Tolerancia [Museum of Memory & Tolerance] in Mexico City. The exhibit will be on view at the Brand Library Art Galleries through June 11, 2016 during the library’s regular hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12-8 pm, Wednesday 12-6pm, and Friday and Saturday, 10am-5pm. All events are free and open to the public.

German-Turkish film director Fatih Akin and other artists urge Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Bundestag to finally call the Armenian genocide as such, reports.

In an open letter the artists call “to take a stand on 2 June and to refer to the crimes committed against the Armenian people as “genocide.” This is more than a historical period, more than an apology to the descendants of the victims. “Imagine you lived in Germany and the Holocaust would be denied – would that not be a continuation of the actual fact?”

Among the signatories of the open letter are Markus Rindt, Head of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, German-Turkish-Armenian composer and guitarist Marc Sinan director of Kampnagel theatre in Hamburg Amelie Deuflhardand the general director of the Saxon State Library, Thomas Bürger.

In the open letter to Merkel and the deputies the art workers write : “We therefore call on you today to stand by the fundamental European values and find the correct wording. The Armenian Genocide denial creates the basis for violence in the present. In 1915 the Armenians were called terrorists, their property was expropriated, only in 2015 more than 5,000 Kurds have been killed in Turkey because they are supposed to be terrorists. This became possible because Turkey systematically refuses to face its history.”

“The Bundestag and its predecessor institutions have been silent on the Armenian Genocide for 100 years now,” the artists say.

The Bundestag is set to vote on a cross-party bill on Armenian Genocide on June 2.

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

Kicking and punching are becoming a daily routine in the Turkish Parliament. Whenever Armenian or Kurdish Members of the Parliament criticize the government, they are viciously attacked by a gang MPs from Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

In recent days, AKP Parliamentarians have hurled insults and physically assaulted Garo Paylan (an Armenian) and Ferhat Encu (a Kurd) who represent the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Parliament.

Paylan delivered an unprecedented speech in the Turkish Parliament on April 21, 2016. After greeting the deputies in Armenian, by saying “Parev tsez,” he boldly continued: “Once World War One began on April 24, 1915, Armenian intellectuals, opinion leaders and parliamentarians were, unfortunately, the first to be arrested…. Although they had immunity, they were arrested and taken to Ankara, Ayash, Urfa and Diyarbekir, and on the way, the deputies were murdered by bandits. Of course, after the community’s opinion leaders and MPs were made powerless, and their claims to solve issues through democratic processes became redundant, the Armenian and Assyrian peoples suffered great massacres by decree and were evicted from the ancient lands where they had lived for thousands of years.”

Paylan dared to raise the shameful legacy of the Armenian Genocide which persists to this day in Turkey: “Look at the names of Talat Pasha, Jemal Pasha, and Enver Pasha. In 2,500 places in the country, streets were named after them. Today, unfortunately, we walk in streets named Talat Pasha. Can you imagine going to Germany and Berlin today and walking in streets named after Hitler and Goebbels? Would such a thing be acceptable? Well, in 2,500 places in our country, we walk in streets and avenues named Talat Pasha.”

During his remarks, Paylan recited the names and displayed enlarged photographs of several Armenian members of the Turkish Parliament, including Krikor Zohrab, who were arrested on April 24, 1915, and brutally murdered. The Armenian MP fearlessly proposed that a parliamentary committee be formed to investigate the circumstances of their deaths, identify those responsible for their murders — those who ordered their killings and actually carried them out — locate where their bodies were buried, rebury them with appropriate funeral services, and restore their dignity. Not surprisingly, Paylan’s proposal was rejected by the majority of Parliament.

After expressing his respect for the memory of the perished Armenian members of the Turkish Parliament in 1915, Paylan concluded his speech with traditional Armenian words of condolences for the departed: “Asdvads irents hokin lousavore” (May God enlighten their souls). Throughout his lengthy and courageous remarks, Paylan was repeatedly interrupted by taunts and threats from AKP MPs.

On May 2nd, as a parliamentary committee met to strip opposition members of their immunity from prosecution, Paylan was kicked and punched over 100 times by Erdogan’s AKP members during a 10-minute all-out brawl. Paylan described the assault as “a premeditated lynching because of his Armenian heritage.”

After the attack, when HDP members walked out of the hearing, the committee voted to approve the AKP proposal to lift the immunity of pro-Kurdish HDP MPs. This inflammatory measure is expected to be approved by Parliament shortly! Most Kurdish members along with Paylan will then be arrested on trumped-up charges. Most probably Erdogan plans to announce new parliamentary elections, hoping the AKP will win additional seats vacated by the HDP, giving him enough votes in Parliament to amend the Constitution and establish a powerful autocratic presidential regime.

Meanwhile, Paylan’s fate seems to be sealed! He will either serve a long jail term or suffer the same tragic fate as Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was assassinated in cold blood by Turkish extremists in Istanbul on January 19, 2007!

All people of goodwill around the world must raise their voices in condemnation of Erdogan’s increasingly despotic rule. It is ironic that Paylan, who was lamenting the killing of Parliamentarian Krikor Zohrab a century ago, may end up dead himself, unless the international community issues a serious warning to the Turkish government to take the strictest measures to ensure the safety of the Armenian MP. Regrettably, nothing seems to have changed in Turkey in the last 100 years!

 

 

 

“It’s absolutely central to have peace and security in the region in order to pursue development perspectives,” Bradley Busetto, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Armenia, told reporters on the sidelines of the “Armenia: Tracking Progress on the Millennium Development Goals and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” event in Yerevan.

He refrained from further comments on Azeri barbarities during the military actions in early April.

“The UN Secretary General said a few weeks ago that he wants secession of hostilities and return to negotiations,” he reminded.

As for the sustainable development, Bradley Busetto said: “This is not just some sort of UN effort, government effort. All of society should get together and figure out what are the development goals for Armenia.”