Armenia has a booth at the Expo Art Monaco 2014
A delegation led by Marseille Didier Parakian, Deputy Mayor went to Monaco yesterday
Armenia has not missed the important appointment modern and contemporary art of the Riviera with a presence in a booth at Art Monaco Expo 2014 April 23 to 27. Lounge frequented by art enthusiasts and luxury thousands of fans from Europe to Monaco.
In the prestigious Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, accompanied by dozens of countries came exhibit, Armenia was present and marked his presence at this important international meeting in the field of art. A first for Armenia and opens a new window for the presentation of its artists on the international scene. Many galleries have contributed to this stand of Armenia was the quality of the works, one of the most remarkable Monaco Art Expo 2014. Organizer of the Armenian presence in Monaco was the Armenian Ministry Diaspora, with the head of the Department of Armenian Communities of Europe, Hratchya Aslanyan. The exhibition was co-organized by the Yerevan Art Gallery Bardzr Arvest with its founder and owner Sargis Grigoryan present in Monaco. The latter, who participated in many art exhibitions around the world is one of the most important collectors of paintings and objets d’art in Armenia.
Saturday, April 27, a delegation of fifty people led by Didier Parakian, Deputy Mayor of Marseille went to visit the stand of Armenia in Monaco. Furthermore Didier Parakian, the group was composed of numerous Marseille personalities such as former Mayor Councillor and municipal-14th and 15th-Garo Hovsepian, Richard Findykian responsible Ararat TV and elected in the 5th sector of Marseilles, Jacques Donabédian President of CCAF Marseille-Provence, Franck Ohanessian vice president of Armenia Marseille, Roland Jacques Avdoyan Vartanian and members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Franco-Armenian. Note also the presence of other personalities of the Marseille region and among them Benjamin and Maurice Deligazarian Abrahamian.
In Monaco, Marseille Hratchya Aslanyan received delegation led her to Armenia exhibition stand. Didier Parakian and fifty Marseille visitors then discovered the works of high quality artists Armenians presented on the international stage of the art market. Sargis Grigoryan began to Didier Parakian to transmit Jean-Claude Gaudin, Mayor of Marseille, a beautiful picture of an Armenian artist. The presence of Armenia which was very noticeable by the organizers of Art Expo 2014 Monaco honored Armenia and the Diaspora. Armenia-Turkey who like do not miss this important event in the art. Armenia won the Trophy of Excellence and Best Exhibition and Expo 2014 Monaco Pavilion of Art.
Photos Isahak Akkayan
Krikor Amirzayan
In Israel, 500 demonstrators in Tel Aviv for the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
In Tel Aviv (Israel) about 500 protesters gathered on April 24 in front of the Turkish Embassy to demand the recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey. The demonstrators were mostly members of the Armenian community of Israel from many cities. According Medel Korsounski, Secretary of the Armenian Cultural Association “Noyan Tapan”, members of Israeli youth organization had joined the protest, as well as members of the Israeli Social Democratic Party “Meretz”. The writer and Israeli journalist Yair Oron was also present. The latter, in his speech called on the Turkish authorities to recognize the Armenian Genocide. He also asked the government of Israel to cease its military cooperation with Azerbaijan. After the event, a mass was given to the Armenian church in Jaffa.
Krikor Amirzayan
600 people marched in Valence (Drôme) on April 24 for the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
About 600 people marched on April 24 in Valencia at the 99th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. The parade, part of the Place du Champ-de-Mars borrowed the boulevards and the streets of Armenia, leading to the monument of the Armenian genocide, the work of Toros, the square Manoug Stepanian face instead Missak Manouchian. In the audience, the presence of many young people was noted.
In public, many religious and political figures and members of associations
Marlene Mourier, Mayor of Bourg-Les-Valence recalled that in the world, especially in Yerevan, hundreds of thousands of Armenians commemorate the Armenian Genocide. MP Patrick Labaune, referring to statements by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan addressed to Armenians said “dialogue appears to be possible (…) but beware, this dialogue does not mean dirty.” Finally Nicolas Daragon the Mayor of Valencia firstly argued that the massacres and atrocities were victims Armenians in 1915 has a name: genocide. Nicolas Daragon recalled the struggle of Armenians for justice and recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey. “This long way (…) still faces the official silence of Turkey, even the statement of Turkish Prime Minister may be, I mean perhaps an encouraging sign. But it remains well shy or timid then filled with ulterior motives, “he said. A phrase that sums up the thoughts of numbers of Armenians face the Ankara ambiguous position … only one year of the 100th anniversary. Finally, note the very good intervention MEP Michèle Rivasi who had recently visited Nagorno-Karabakh and was one of the defenders of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 2001. Sources: Dauphiné Libéré. Photos Sonia Sarkissian
Krikor Amirzayan
Cease-fire: Two decades of “neither war nor peace” after the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh
Next month marks the 20th anniversary of the cease-fire in the zone of the Karabakh conflict that ended hostilities and bloodshed in a war that lasted nearly three years, but after two decades of state ” neither war nor peace “, the still quivering conflict continues to hang like a sword of Damocles over the heads of the peoples of the region.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict that began in the early 20th century, but has been “frozen” during the Soviet period, broke out in 1988, devouring thousands of lives, whose blood has reached the current borders of the region.
In the active phase of the conflict that lasted from 1988 to 1994, including military operations from 1992 to 1994, the Armenian side, including the armed forces of Armenia, Defense Army of Nagorno-Karabakh and units self-defense, have lost 6500 lives. According to data released by the authorities in Baku in January 2014, the number of victims to the Azerbaijani side was 11557. But in 1993 President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan spoke of 16,000 victims. And in February 2007, a number of organizations and non-governmental experts of Azerbaijan reported about 24,000 victims and 4,000 missing soldiers.
Towns and villages in ruins, displaced people, broken lives, but also a liberated country and access to independence … Finally, a cease-fire was signed in May 1994. Signed Bishkek between representatives of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan with the mediation of Russia and reiterated Moscow marked the beginning of a new period of tension – a war of nerves.
On 5 May 1994, in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, the leaders of the parliamentary structures of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh signed what became known as the Bishkek protocol called for ceasefire from 9 May The same day, the authorized Russian President Vladimir Nagorno-Karabakh Kazimirov representative arranged a cease-fire for an indefinite period of time which was signed by the Azerbaijani Defense Minister Mamedrafi Mamedov; May 10 in Yerevan, he was signed by the Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, and May 11, in Nagorno-Karabakh was signed by Samvel Babayan army commander Karabakh. The cease-fire came into force on May 12 at midnight.
Many believe that the absence of major hostilities between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past 20 years is the one great success of international mediation in place to negotiate a lasting solution to the conflict.
But nearly 20 years after the conclusion of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in its annual report for 2013, recognized that the search for a lasting political settlement of the Nagorno- Karabakh remains “one of the most complex challenges” in the OSCE region.
“Despite the declaration of a cease-fire in 1994, shootings in the region are common and violations of ceasefire are reported on an almost daily basis. Five civilians and 32 soldiers were wounded by gunshot in 2013 and 14 other casualties. In the same period, the team of Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk visited the contact line 16 times, and nine times the border, “notes the OSCE report published earlier this month.
The spokesman of the Armenian Defense Ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that the cease-fire of 1994 was important for Armenia, but regrets that it is not viable and is not become a legal document.
“Our decisions and opinions are always the same: we want peace and we have always advocated this position. It would be nice if the opponent also had this approach, “said Hovhannisyan, noting with regret that after the signing of the cease-fire the Armenian side had every year up to a dozen victims because violations by the Azerbaijani side.
“As strange as it may be, but the opponent has forgotten that in 1994, he was the one who asked the ceasefire, we have copies of this call,” added the spokesman of the Ministry of Defence .
There a few years ago the former Russian co-chair of the Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimorov wrote about it on the site of the Regnum news agency of the Russian Federation. He said that it is the President of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Rasil Guliyev and his vice president Afiyatdin Jalilov who said Moscow and Bishkek it was necessary and urgent to sign a cease-fire. According Kazimirov in 1994 Baku thought only how to keep Barda and Tartar to stop the Armenians reaching the Kur River.
Until today, many in Armenia continues to assert that the cease-fire was the first concession made by the Armenian side as it was more necessary for Azerbaijan who had been at that time in a state of total disrepair and his army were completely demoralized after suffering a number of heavy defeats. Many also believe that the Armenian army, despite the shortage of manpower and material resources, had discharged his duties and without this agreement, Armenian units would have been much more favorable positions on the field today and Azerbaijan was forced to sign a pro-Armenian peace.
Political analyst Tigran Abrahamyan think war is not the way to resolve the conflict and from this point of view the only conclusion of the cease-fire was necessary and important for all parties. At the moment, says Abrahamian, the conflict took enormous resources to Armenia and Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, where the main problems had been accumulated.
“The signing of the agreement established relative peace in the region, which, however, was not a guarantee against the resumption of hostilities. Nevertheless, the agreement allowed the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process shift on the field of peaceful negotiations, “said the analyst.
Director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies Manvel Sargsyan, who in 1992-1995 was Permanent Representative of Armenia and Karabagh in 1994 was also an advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of NKR and participated in the negotiations of the after the war, says the war has never stopped since it began again with Turkey and probably will continue indefinitely. According to him, the Armenians have just managed to stop this war for some time.
“We managed to create the most important thing – the army. We managed to keep balance based on the power of the army, which is very essential. This is an unprecedented situation in the history of Armenia when we managed to defend ourselves. If you allow someone else to enter the territory, he disarms you and you will not be able to do anything, “said Sarkisian.
According to the Armenian political analysts, the number of violations of the cease-fire along the contact line increases and decreases depending on attempts of Azerbaijan to show the international community that the Nagorno-Karabakh is not frozen. Moreover, they say, by committing violations Azerbaijan also tries to resolve moral and psychological problems that have emerged in the country after the end of the war. Observers believe that before a final solution aggressive behavior Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh will not cease and that under these conditions Armenia needs to create effective defense mechanisms.
“Already two decades, our army and the entire Armenian people lived in a state of” no war, no peace “, it is a particularly difficult situation for any army and every soldier and officer took separately. But throughout this period, our army has fulfilled its mission with honor, “said Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his congratulatory speech on the occasion of the Army Day marked on January 28.
ArmeniaNow
Turkey, hidden in the discovery of their past Armenians (Reporting AFP)
The Ottomans called them “remnants of the sword.” Hundred years after the massacres of 1915, more and more Turks of Armenian origin, son and daughters of those who converted to survive, rediscover their identity and dare to take the open.
Berkin is one of these Armenian “hidden”. In this day of Easter, a young man of 17 years joined the Surp Vorodman church in the Sultanahmet district of Kumkapi. With dozens of other believers, he came to pray. Naturally.
High in good Turk in the Muslim religion, Berkin has just discover its Christian origins. By chance, because her parents never had told him that “big secret”. In the early twentieth century, his family was Armenian.
“When my grandmother spoke at home, I stretched ear. Because it was neither Turkish nor Kurdish. My grandfather was like, “said the young student. “So I started doing research. And that’s how I learned that my great-grandfather was a survivor of 1915. ”
On 24 April this year, the Ottoman Empire kicks off the first genocide of the twentieth century. In less than a year, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were deported, many of them killed, most of their possessions confiscated.
Almost one hundred years later, these events remain a taboo, that the authorities of Turkey vigorously refuse to qualify as genocide.
As the grandfather Berkin, tens of thousands of Armenians were converted to Islam to escape the killings and their identity hidden deep in their memory. For decades, the Turkish official discourse exalting one people, Sunni Muslim, has made these “Dönme” these “converted” illegal.
“I studied in a traditional school. We always refers to as the enemy, “laments Berkin,” we argue a lot during the course of history because we tell them that we are not traitors. ” However, in recent years, the leaden covering this history began to crack. And the past of Armenians in Turkey resurface.
– “Knowing the truth” –
Of course, the movement is slow, difficult. Many members of this community, which counts today millions in Turkey, according to historians, are still reluctant to appear. But others, like Berkin, have taken the plunge.
“This young understood, he knows how blood flows in his veins, he understood the events of the past,” enthuses Diane Hekibashyan who attends the same church in Istanbul. “He knows that we do not ask much, that we want peace.”
Among other signs of this conservative renaissance, the success of Armenian courses. Such as animated by Talar Silelyan, which meets weekly ten people in search of their identity hidden, like her.
“Those who learned later on that they were Armenian first start by learning Armenian,” said the young engineer.
“Previously, we were afraid to talk about it, but now we are more courageous, we can discuss some things,” says Talar Silelyan, “and on the other side, some Turks are ready to talk too, people want know the truth. ”
Officially, the position of the Turkish authorities has not changed. The word “genocide” remains prohibited source and strong diplomatic tensions.
But under pressure from some intellectuals in particular, vocabulary changes, step by step. In December, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke deportations of Armenians as a “mistake”, an “inhuman act”.
“Finally, we can celebrate our holidays together in our churches,” rejoices in his side Tuma Özdemir, President of the Association of Christians in the East.
But the approach of the centenary of the 1915 events raised fears of new tensions.
But in an important step, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed for the first time Wednesday condolences Turkey victims of this tragedy.
“We hope that the Armenians who lost their lives in the circumstances of the early twentieth century rest in peace and we express our condolences to their grandchildren,” he has expressed in a statement.
“It does not require major repairs for what happened, we just want them (the Turks) recognize,” says Berkin. “We have not lost, we’re here, the footprint of our ancestors is there and we claim our origins.”
Even against the advice of his parents, the young man is determined to complete his homecoming. Once an adult, he became a Christian.
By Philippe ALFROY
AFP
Azerbaijan presses on Arif Yunusov because of his cooperation with Armenians: He is hospitalized in pre-infarction condition
Azerbaijani authorities “revealing the spy network” will put an end to the Armenian-Azerbaijani joint projects with the participation of independent NGOs. The Azerbaijani news agency “Turan” reports referring to the joint statement of the Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus and Armenian journalist Laura Baghdasaryan on the prosecution of Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadirov in espionage.
“We are two women – a human rights activist and a journalist – two mothers, one from Azerbaijan and the other from Armenia, cooperating for almost ten years. We stand shoulder to shoulder in the difficult task of creating and reinforcing the social dialogue between the two nations which are in a war for over 20 years. We go hand in hand for almost 10 years, releasing joint articles, books and finally creating the first and only unique joint website – publicdialogues.info. This is a platform for establishing a dialogue between Armenians and Azerbaijanis,” the statement reads.
The authors note that on the site created by them the citizens of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, United States and European Union countries were talking, arguing, discussing important social problems.
“We are against future wars! We are against the death and hatred between our children and grandchildren, we are against the policy sowing hatred, we are against the hatred atmosphere towards our neighbors,” write Leyla Yunus and Laura Baghdasaryan.
The statement notes that on April 19, 2014 the Azerbaijani authorities arrested Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadirov on charges of espionage for Armenia. He has been an active participant in numerous online and international conferences held on their websites. On April 22 by the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan a joint team of investigators and the Prosecutor General of Ministry of National Security was created aimed at “disclosing a large network of Armenia spies in Azerbaijan.”
“It is easy to predict that this network is expected to include the members of our Dialogue. They have started to press on Laila already, the spouse of Arif Yunusov. Arif Yunusov, the author of eight books and over 230 articles on the modern history of the Caucasus, of the Karabakh conflict in particular, has been an active participant of international conferences in Armenian territory since 2001. Currently Arif Yunusov is hospitalized,” the statement reads.
Azerbaijani news portal “Hakqqin.az” also reports that political scientist Arif Yunus, the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, is in a pre-infarction condition and is urgently hospitalized.
“Earlier media repeatedly disseminated information that Leyla and Arif Yunus may face the fate of detained journalist Rauf Mirkadirov because they also often visited Armenia and participate in projects of “people’s diplomacy,” writes the portal.
Rauf Mirkadirov, columnist of Azerbaijani newspaper “Zerkalo”, was arrested on April 18 in Ankara on charges of expiration of documents. On April 19 Mirkadirov was deported to Azerbaijan, where he immediately was arrested and put in custody by the MNS on suspicion of treason. On April 21 the court in Baku sanctioned his arrest for three months. Mirkadirov is accused of the cooperation with special services of Armenia, specifically, he is accused of making the transfers of the state secret information, including those about the dislocation of Azerbaijani Armed forces to Armenia during 2008-2009.
Source: Panorama.am
Georgia President warns West against alienating Russia over Ukraine
April 26, 2014 – 13:51 AMT
The president of Georgia warned Western countries on Friday, April 25, against alienating Russia over the Ukraine crisis, the Associated Press reported.
In an interview with the AP in Prague, Giorgi Margvelashvili said that could have consequences for the rest of Europe.
“I don’t think it’s a right choice to alienate Russia, to cut relations with Russia,” Margvelashvili said. “Because alienating Russia makes Russia even more aggressive, unpredictable and dangerous.”
He said diplomats should instead make it clear to Russia “that relations between neighbors or countries around the world aren’t built through military interventions.”
Georgia plans to sign a political association agreement with the 28-nation European Union in June to boost ties and get a free-trade deal and visa-free travel. Moldova is another post-Soviet republic planning to sign a similar agreement.
Ukraine did so on the same day last month that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed parliamentary legislation annexing Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula.
Russian forces crushed the Georgian army in a brief 2008 war over Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The two regions then immediately claimed independence but have been recognized only by Russia and a few of its allies.
Margvelashvili said it was important to convince Russia that “this is not an anti-Russian track.”
He said his country was not afraid of any retaliation by neighboring Russia for the EU move but added: “We are cautious.”
“This is a sovereign decision of our nation and I don’t think that anyone has the right to punish either Georgia, or Moldova or Ukraine, for taking sovereign decisions in the 21st century,” Margvelashvili told reporters earlier Friday.
Margvelashvili was in Prague for a two-day summit of presidents of post-Soviet nations with their European Union counterparts.
99th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Montebello, CA three part Video
LOS ANGELES—The Armenian community of Greater Los Angeles commemorated the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on Thursday, April 24, at the Armenian Genocide Monument at Bicknell Park, 910 Via San Clemente, Montebello, CA.
99th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Montebello, CA three part Video Part 1
99th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Montebello, CA three part Video Part 2
99th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Montebello, CA three part Video Part 3
Turkish Writer Erdoğan and the Armenians
MUSTAFA AKYOL
akyol@mustafaakyol.org
Right on the eve of April 24, the day that Armenians all across the world commemorate the Meds Yeghern, or the “Great Calamity” that Turks inflicted on them in 1915, Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan took a surprising step. He published a two-page message, which honored the loss of the Armenians in a way that no Turkish statesmen has before. “We wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in peace,” Erdoğan said. “And we convey our condolences to their grandchildren.”
This certainly fell short of submitting to the common Armenian demand of “recognizing the genocide,” which I doubt will ever happen. Because most Turks see 1915 as an ethnic cleansing in an era in which, they, too, were subjected to the same horrors in other parts of the crumbling empire.
Yet still, published in nine different languages, including “West Armenian” and “East Armenian,” Erdoğan’s message was clearly a well-calculated effort to reach out to the Armenians at a time when the centennial of 1915, which is expected be globally significant, is only one year ahead. It also comes at a time when Erdoğan was criticized, at home and in the world, for his authoritarianism and conspiracy-theory-rich nationalism.
In other words, one can say this was a pragmatic move, rather than a conscientious mea culpa. But it was still a significant step for Turkey, which used to either deny or trivialize the suffering of the Armenians. Hence, Erdoğan deserves to be commended for taking it, no matter how “political” his feelings were.
At this point, let me also note that this relatively more open-minded stance on “the Armenian issue” by Erdoğan and his party, compared to the rigidity of former political elites of Turkey, has some ideological roots as well. In a nutshell, Erdoğan’s “Ottomanism” simply gives him more room to be reformist vis-a-vis the Armenians (and the Kurds, for that matter), than the “Turkish nationalism” that the former elites subscribed to.
The reason is “Ottomanism” implies a broad umbrella under which Turks co-existed peacefully with other peoples of the empire, including the Armenians and the Kurds. The tragic expulsion of Armenians in 1915 was not an outcome of this pluralist Ottoman paradigm. It was an outcome of the fall of that paradigm. The Young Turks, who decided on the exodus, were subscribers of a new ideology called “Turkish nationalism,” which was, as one must see, a response to the Serbian, Greek and Bulgarian nationalisms of the Balkans.
Soon after the foundation of the Republic, the more secularist version of the Young Turk ideology evolved into Kemalism and became the official creed. Today, Erdoğan’s AKP (Justice and Development Party), which had defeated the Kemalist establishment, is building a post-Kemalist Turkey. In this view, the expulsion of Armenians and the forced assimilation of the Kurds are historic mistakes that should be corrected.
In short, the very ideology of the AKP allows itself to take formerly unthinkable steps to reconcile with the Kurds and Armenians. Yet, the same ideology is not an asset, but a roadblock when it comes to reconciling with Alevis or secular Turks – and no wonder Erdoğan’s problems with these two camps are deepening, because, as the Americans say, there is no free lunch. Every ideological hegemony comes with new strengths, but also new shortcomings.