Azerbaijan questions the safety of the Metsamor Nuclear Power plant at the Nuclear Security Summit in the Hague.
Environmental activists disrupt a conference on mining in Yerevan and offer polluted water to ministers.
The agreement on Armenia’s entry into the Customs Union to be signed in May and also watch our continuing coverage on the situation of Armenians in Kesab, Syria.
Russia’s actions in Crimea ‘completely understandable’ – German ex-chancellor
Moscow’s actions in the Crimea are comprehensible, former German chancellor, Helmut Schmidt said, criticizing the Western reaction to the peninsula’s reunification with Russia.
President Vladimir Putin’s approach to the Crimean issue is “completely understandable,” Schmidt wrote in Die Zeit newspaper where he’s employed as an editor.
While the sanctions, which target individual Russian politicians and businessmen, employed by the EU and the US against Russia are “a stupid idea,” he added.
The current restrictive measures are of symbolic nature, but if more serious economic sanctions are introduced “they’ll hit the West as hard as Russia,” Schmidt warned.
He also believes that the refusal of the Western countries to cooperate with Russia in the framework of the G8 is a wrong decision.
“It would’ve been ideal to get together now. It would certainly do a lot more to promotion of peace than the threats of sanctions,” the ex-chancellor explained.
But the G8 itself isn’t that as important as the G20, in which Russia remains a member, he added.
According to Schmidt, the situation in Ukraine is “dangerous because the West is terribly upset” and it’s “agitation” leads to “corresponding agitation among Russian public opinion and political circles.
The ex-chancellor refused to speculate of the possibility of Russian troop deployment to eastern parts of Ukraine, but added that the West “shouldn’t fuel Russia’s appetites.”
Schmidt executed the duties of chancellor of West Germany in 1974-82, also working as the country’s finance, economy and defense minister.
Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were officially accepted into the Russian Federation on March 21, with president Putin signing a relevant decree.
The peninsula’s withdrawal from Ukraine was triggered by an armed ultra-nationalist coup in Kiev, which saw country’s president Viktor Yanukovich ousted.
After the law allowing regions to give Russian and other minority languages the status of a second official language was revoked by the new parliament, Crimea – home to an ethnic Russian majority – has held a referendum on its future as part of Ukraine. On March 16, over 96 percent of Crimean voters decided to cut ties with Kiev and rejoin Russia.
The US and its EU allies were outraged by the move and replied with individual sanctions against Russia’s top politicians and businessmen. The blacklisted Russian citizens are banned from travelling to US and EU, with their American and European assets frozen.
Crosstalk Collapsing Ukraine (Video)
Armenian Genocide Commemoration at Boston’s Temple Israel
BOSTON, Mass.–The rabbis and congregation of Boston’s Temple Israel cordially invite the Armenian community to a commemoration of the Armenian Genocide during Friday evening services on April 11. “A Shabbat of Remembrance and Empowerment: Commemorating the 99th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide” will feature Dr. Dikran Kaligian who will speak on the genocide and the quest for recognition in face of denial. Following the service, there will be an opportunity for discussion over refreshments.
Rabbi Ronne Friedman, Temple Israel’s senior rabbi, is a leader of the Coalition to Recognize the Armenian Genocide, a grassroots group comprised of members of the Boston-area Armenian and Jewish communities. Together with Rabbi Howard Jaffe of Lexington, Rabbi Friedman has been active in educating the Jewish community about the Armenian Genocide and in working toward its recognition.
Temple Israel is located at 477 Longwood Avenue, Boston. The service will begin at 5:45 p.m. For directions and parking information go to: http://www.tisrael.org/directions.asp
Source: the Armenian weekly
Turkey attacks Armenian Kessab: Completion of Genocide?
This Friday, March 21, 2014 at the dawn of the village Kessab Syria, near the Turkish border, was attacked by jihadist militants from Turkey.
Kessab being the only Armenian village of the former Ottoman Empire situated outside the boundaries of modern Turkey, is mostly populated by Armenians who were able, after the genocide, return to their land.
This attack on the initiative of the Turkish state, this last living survivors of the Armenian genocide and forced nearly 670 families to flee their villages to leave their homes and seek refuge in Latakia (with friends, churches …). For the third time, Armenian Kessab are forced Turkey to leave their homes and their historical land (in 1909, 1915 and this time in 2014).
The rebels sent by Turkey also looted the houses, destroyed government buildings and killed Syrian soldiers who tried to defend the village. This assault indicating a willingness of ethnic cleansing reminiscent of the darkest pages of Turkish history. This also echoes many Armenian departures from this region following about a rebellious Turkmen (Syrian Turkish origin) in October 2012 the Armenian population warning: “Let the Armenian Kessab leave before the offensive of ‘Free Syrian Army, otherwise they will be civilian casualties and still complain about a perpetrated by the Turks “genocide.
On the eve of the centenary of the Genocide of Armenian young activists of the Armenian cause in France can not contain their sense of revolt against the intolerable jeopardizes Turkey.
FRA Nor Seround expresses its deep indignation against the situation of Armenians Kessab and denounces the willingness of Turkey to perfect the genocidal act by attempting removal and displacement of Armenians residing on their historical lands.
National Bureau FRA Nor Seround – France
Jean Eckian © armenews.com
Armenia recognizes the right to self-determination, not the annexation of Crimea
Yerevan authorities have informed the German ambassador in his telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart at the beginning of the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has recognized the right of people to self-determination, but not recognized directly the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
Yesterday, Ambassador Reiner Morell himself confirmed.
Sargsyan had a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin on March 19, the day after the referendum challenge to the annexation of Crimea to Russia.
The press service of Sargsyan said that during the conversation, the two leaders also “talk about the crisis in Ukraine in general and ways out of this situation. ”
Two days later, Ukraine formally recalled its ambassador based in Yerevan, warning of serious damage to bilateral relations and demanding an official explanation regarding the acceptance of the disputed referendum in Crimea by the Armenian government. Earlier in the day, U.S. Ambassador John Heffern Armenia expressed his disappointment at Washington this decision of the Armenian government to recognize the actual annexation by Russia in the Crimea, strongly condemned by the West.
Ambassador Morell said that, following a conversation with the Armenian government, the German embassy understood that “President Sargsyan just wanted to emphasize the right to self-determination of peoples, because of the situation in Nagorno- Karabakh. But that does not mean that the country recognizes the annexation of the Crimea. ”
Asked whether it was fair to its interpretation or if the Armenian government had clearly not recognized this annexation, the German ambassador said: “This is information that we arrived here. ”
Claire © armenews.com
Turkey A thief cannot be a hero main opposition CHP call Erdogan
Turkey shoots down Syrian plane as elections heat up
Turkey — by shooting down the Syrian plane in Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi in Hatay province — has now inflicted a second revenge against the shooting down of a Turkish RF-4E Phantom with its two pilots over the Mediterranean near the Syrian border in 2012. On Sept. 16, 2013, Turkey had shot down a Syrian M-17 helicopter over Yayladagi with F-16 fire.
One plane left the scene but the other resisted
According to a statement by Turkey’s Chief of General Staff, two Syrian MiG-23 planes were detected at 1:01 p.m. local time by the Diyarbakir Air Control Center when they were 80 nautical miles away. The planes were warned four times when they were within 10 miles of Turkish airspace. After the warnings, one of the planes disengaged and left the area without entering Turkish airspace but the other, around 1:13 p.m., violated the Turkish airspace for about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in the area of the Camli Tepe border post. The plane then turned west and flew about 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile) in Turkish airspace. At 1:14 p.m., a Turkish F-16 that was on patrol in the region hit the Syrian plane with a missile as per rules of engagement. The plane that was hit crashed in Syrian territory about 1,200 meters (nearly 4,000 feet) from the border in the region of Kassab.
According to official Syrian news agency SANA, “The pilot of the plane that was shot down while chasing terrorists safely ejected by parachute.”
Damascus: Erdogan mired in corruption
The Syrian Foreign Ministry accused the Turkish government of “an unprecedented hostile attack without any valid reason against Syrian sovereignty and territory.” It also accused Turkey of opening artillery and tank fire against Syrian territory to facilitate the crossing of armed terror gangs from Turkey to Syria. The statement said, “This is nothing but a declaration of failure and bankruptcy by Erdogan, who is mired in corruption and is not wanted by his people. The Syrian government calls on [the] Erdogan government to put an end to its aggressions and abide by international law.”
The shooting down of the plane came hours after the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic Front jointly captured Kassab, where Alevis and Armenians live. Many fighters wounded in three days of clashes were evacuated to Turkey.
As the clashes continued, Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, sent a complaint to the Security Council that said, “Some regional states and other foreign powers are insisting on supporting terrorism. On Friday, fire was directed at the Kassab area from the border of Turkey when the militants who crossed the border were repulsed by units of the Syrian Arab Army. The Turkish army gave logistical and military support to the attacking groups.”
On the morning of March 23, the militants who captured the Kassab border crossing post jubilantly celebrated their victory. Turkey’s defense minister, Ismet Yilmaz, said people were evacuated from some Turkish villages along the border.
“A thief cannot be a hero”
Erdogan, who was accused by nationalist quarters for not doing enough after the shooting down of the Turkish plane in 2012, on March 23 displayed pride in having taken revenge this time. In several election rallies, Erdogan loudly boasted of the shoot down and served notice to Syria. In his Kocaeli rally he showed his intent to use the shooting down of the plane as campaign material when he said, “Another assassin [the Syrian plane] violated our airspace. Our F-16s took off and hit it. Why? If you continue to violate our airspace, our slap will be harder next time. Led by our chief of the General Staff, I congratulate our honorable pilots and air force. This is all there is to it.”
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said the matter is being exploited in election rallies, adding, “We will never criticize the action taken when the rules of engagement are violated, but we also don’t want the boast of ‘I am a hero.’ A thief cannot be a hero.”
Clashes in the Kassab area were observed with concern from Hatay. The Alevi massacre by armed groups in August 2012 at Latakia deeply shook the Alevis of Hatay.
Although the shooting of the plane may appeal to nationalist sentiments, with the deep rifts in Turkish society caused by the Syrian crisis, Erdogan may not have the power he may want.
Moreover, even Erdogan’s own constituency widely shares the anxiety that military reprisals may well drag Turkey into the swamp.
Fehim Taştekin is a columnist and chief editor of foreign news at the Turkish newspaper Radikal, based in Istanbul. He is the host of a fortnightly program called “Dogu Divanı” on IMC TV. He is an analyst specializing in Turkish foreign policy and Caucasus, Middle East and EU affairs. He was founding editor of Agency Caucasus.
Turkish army artillery pounds west Syria
PressTV Report
Turkish army has fired several rounds of artillery toward western Syria as Ankara seeks to renew its assistance to foreign-backed militants fighting against the Damascus government.
On Wednesday, Turkish forces fired across the frontier into a border region, which is administratively part of Syria’s western province of Latakia.
The development comes after Turkey shot down a Syrian fighter jet on Sunday.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country’s F-16 military aircraft shot the Syrian warplane down after it strayed into Turkey’s airspace.
Syria called the shoot-down an act of “blatant aggression,” and said the downed plane was flying over northern Syria at the time.
Meanwhile, three Turkish policemen and two suspected militants of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been injured during an anti-terror operation in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul.
Turkish special forces and anti-terror units stormed several buildings in the Umraniye neighborhood of Istanbul on Tuesday evening. Suspects fired back at security forces before they were shot and captured.
The police operation was launched after it was announced that the ISIL was behind a deadly attack on security forces in Turkey’s central province of Nigde on March 20.
Three people were killed and five others, including a Turkish gendarmerie soldier and a police officer, were injured during the assault.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Some sources say over 140,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by Western-backed militants.
Fierce fighting raging in Syria’s Latakia governorate, near Turkish border
BEIRUT – Agence France-Presse
A rebel fighter checks a launcher near the village of Kasab and the border crossing with Turkey, in the northwestern province of Latakia. AFP Photo
Fierce battles raged March 26 in Syria’s coastal Latakia province near the Turkish border, days after rebels seized a frontier crossing, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On March 25, the rebels captured a hill known as Observatory 45, which strategically overlooks opposition-held areas of Latakia, the historic heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s clan and his Alawite sect of Shiite Islam.
The latest fighting raged around Kassab, home to the border crossing seized at the weekend, as well as Observatory 45 and Samra, also captured by rebels this week.
According to Omar al-Jeblawi, an activist on the ground, the army was retaliating with heavy shelling including air strikes near the Turkish border.
“There is heavy shelling on Kasab, using tanks and planes,” Jeblawi told AFP by phone. On March 23, Turkey downed a Syrian jet which Ankara said had violated its airspace. Damascus described the downing as “a flagrant act of aggression”.
The Observatory and opposition sources said the army has deployed a large number of fighters to battle the rebels, including pro-regime National Defence Force militiamen.
A rebel fighting the army said the clashes in flashpoint areas of Latakia were fierce. “There are thousands of (opposition) fighters ready to strike back against the army,” said the rebel, who identified himself only as Samer.
Nearly half of Syria’s population has been displaced by the three-year war and more than 146,000 people have been killed.
Kessab events: activists hand letter over to UN office in Armenia
Civil movement representatives have gathered in front of the UN office in Armenia to protest the UN’s silence on the events in Syria’s Kessab on March 21.
In defiance of all the international commitments, Turkey shelled the settlement of Kessab. Supported by the Turkish government, terrorists were looting and destroying. The local population was expatriated. It is no secret the Armenian-populated Kessab has always been a target for Turkey, activist Arman Mkhitaryan said as he read out the letter addressed to the UN office.
“Under the circumstances, the UN’s silence is at least strange, and we have decided to remind the UN of its aims. We condemn the UN’s silence.”
As a UN member, Turkey is grossly violating the UN Charter, and the activists demand that the UN denounce and make a legal assessment of Turkey’s terrorist acts.
UN Resident Coordinator Bradley Busetto met with the activists and took the letter.