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Israeli President recognizes the Armenian genocide at the UN

January 29, 2015 By administrator

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Wednesday before the General Assembly of the United Nations as “cynical” accusations against Israel of genocide and war crimes detrimental to the world body’s ability to fight against the real thing.

Speaking to mark the International Day of Holocaust Remembrance before the assembly, Reuven Rivlin mentioned the Armenian genocide of 1915 – killed more than a million Armenian citizens of Turkey – which is nevertheless not recognized as a genocide by Israel says Haaretz.

Rivlin said: “In 1915, the days of the Armenian Genocide, Avshalom Feinberg of the underground NILI [A Jewish spy network in Ottoman Palestine] wrote the following:” My teeth were clenched in anger, which is the next? I stepped on the holy and sacred land, on the road to Jerusalem, and wondered if this time we were living in 1915 or in the days of Titus or Nebuchadnezzar? And I wondered if I could weep for the hurt of the daughter of my people and if Jeremiah would not have shed tears of blood as for Armenians? “

Rivlin added, “Feinberg wrote that there are exactly 100 years. 100 years of hesitation and denial. In the Land of Israel of that time, on which I was born, no one has denied the murder occurred. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, my parents saw them coming by the thousands, hungry, burning like sticks snatched from the fire. In Jerusalem, they found refuge and their descendants live there to this day. “

Reuven Rivlin called on the United Nations to set red lines beyond which the international community should intervene to stop the genocide. He then said: “At the same time we must remember that the fixing of red lines forces us to stop diluting and cynically exploit them in the name of pseudo-objectivity, as is done in the rhetoric of rights Man with the use of terms such as “genocide” for political purposes. “

Citing the “shameful” UN resolution later invalidated, on Zionism as “his greatest enemy” racism, Reuven Rivlin continued:

“Nevertheless, the absurd comparisons such as this that we Israelis are exposed constantly … not only confuse allied with the enemy, but they undermine the ability of this House to fight effectively against the genocide phenomenon.”

In his introduction, delivered in English, Reuven Rivlin called attention to the current fighting in the north, saying they represented Israel’s struggle against the global challenge of “terrorism.”

“I am here at a time of great tension in our region. My heart and my thoughts are with my people Israel. Terrorism does not distinguish between the blood. In this war, all of us, all the United Nations, the countries of the free world, must form a united front, “said Rivlin.

He delivered the body of his speech in Hebrew – “the same language in which my Jewish colleagues shouted” Shema Israel “as they marched to the gas chambers. The language of my brothers and sisters, we honor today. “.

Thursday, January 29, 2015,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Armenia president starts his visit to Jordan

October 30, 2014 By administrator

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan started his official visit to Jordan at the invitation of King Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein

The head of Armenian held private meeting with King Abdullah II to discuss prospects for development of relations in different areas. They noted importance of political dialogue, deepening of economic cooperation and efficient use of existing potential.

The private talks were followed by an extended meeting with the participation of delegations, signing of documents aimed at strengthening and deepening of Armenia-Jordan cooperation in the field of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, lifting of visa requirements for citizens having diplomatic passports, cooperation on healthcare, investments, tourism, agriculture, civil aviation. They also touched upon creation of Armenia-Jordan business council.

A working dinner was given in honor of the President of Armenia.

Greek president to visit to Armenia next week

September 27, 2014 By administrator

Upon the invitation of his Armenian counterpart, the Greek leader will start a working trip to the country on Monday.

In the course of the visit, Karolos Papoulias is set to have meetings with President Serzh Sargsyan, Speaker of the National Assembly Galust Sahakyan and Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan. He will also visit the Armenian Genocide memorial to pay respect to the victims of the big tragedy.

Bilateral cooperation agreements will be signed between Greece and Armenia at a special ceremony to be held at the Presidential Palace. The two presidents will later hold a joint press conference to sum up the outcomes of the talks, reports the presidential press service.

President Papoulias is also scheduled to take part in an Armenian-Greek business conference together with the Armenian leader.

He will later visit the historical-cultural reserve museum of Garni (Kotayk region).

Armenian President at UN called ISIS barbarians not related to faith

September 25, 2014 By administrator

NEW YORK. – What is happening in Syria and Iraq should be viewed as a crime against humanity, said Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his speech in the UN General Assembly’s 69th session.

President Sargsyan in his speech once again voiced the commitment to join international efforts against ISIS terrorists. In his speech Armenian leader stressed:

“Today in front of all of us terrible events are taking place in Syria and Iraq, where religious and ethnic minorities become targets of groups committed to hatred. Two days ago terrorists blowed up the Der Zor of the Holy Martyrs Armenian Church, which was a grave of many martyrs who died during Armenian Genocide. Such barbarism is a crime that has no relation to any faith.

In Syria and Northern Iraq there is a catastrophic situation that is constantly deteriorating, and today it is a direct threat to hundreds of thousands of innocent people, including tens of thousands of Armenians in Aleppo. This is a very dangerous situation that must be considered to prevent crimes against humanity. Armenia voices the need to protect the Syrian people and the Iraqi Kurdish population in the north-west and we are encouraged to see the international community stand united on this issue.”

Armenia News – NEWS.am

Iran leader to visit Armenia

July 28, 2014 By administrator

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani intends to visit to Armenia later this year to discuss issues of mutual interest, and regional and global developments.

“We are pursuing the issue, but due to the president’s busy schedule the time of the trip cannot be specified exactly. However, the trip will occur,” FARS News Agency quotes Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Raeisi as saying.

The website reports that Iran and Armenia have taken major strides toward promoting their bilateral relations over the recent years, particularly in the economic sector. It reports the Iranian Commercial Attaché in Yerevan, Hamaiak Avadis Yanes, as saying that the trade turnover between the two neighboring states hit $293mln in 2013

Fouad Massoum is the new president of Iraq

July 24, 2014 By administrator

Massoum, 76, is one of the founders of current President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party. He is considered a soft-spoken moderate, known for keeping good relations with Sunni and Shiite Arab politicians, AP reported.

The vote for president — a largely ceremonial post — was delayed for a day when the Kurdish bloc requested more time to select a candidate. They named Massoum as their pick late Wednesday.

Under an unofficial agreement dating back to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s presidency is held by a Kurd while the prime minister is Shiite and the parliamentary speaker is Sunni.

Armenian Organization Backs Turkey’s Presidential Challenger Demirtas

July 17, 2014 By administrator

ANKARA—A Turkish-Armenian organization, Nor Zartonk (New Renaissance), has declared its support for Selahattin Demirtas in the presidential elections to be held on Aug. 10.

Issuing a written statement, Nor Zartonk said: “The people, workers, and all the excluded have an alternative in these elections against the conservative, nationalist, and statist tradition,” pointing to Demirtas.

Nor Zartonk emphasized that the candidate of the ruling party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been a person continuing to pursue a century-old state policy of denial, adding that the joint candidate of CHP-MHP Ekmeleddin İhsanoglu is “a candidate to be the new face of the moderate Islam project”.

Nor Zartonk added:

“The people of Turkey are not condemned to these two right wing candidates, one being an exact copy of the other despite their being promoted in that way. The candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Selahattin Demirtas, as ‘the candidate of the people and of change’ is the hope of all the working people in the August elections.

“Against the two self-same candidates who are in favor of the continuation of the statist policies and the policies of denial, our presidential candidate is Selahattin Demirtas, who marches hand in hand with the people from Sivas to Lice, who exclaims the reality of the Armenian genocide in parliament, has struggled against all kinds of discrimination throughout his life and who defends the rights of the workers, LGBTI individuals and all the oppressed.”

Nor Zartonk (Renaissance) is an Armenian organization defining itself as the “self-organization” of the Armenian people. Having as their point of focus the Armenian people living in Turkey, Nor Zartonk says they struggle for the co-existence of all the peoples of Turkey and the world in equality, peace and fraternity. Nor Zartonk also declares that they have no hierarchical structure or administrative positions amongst themselves.

Assad sworn in for 3rd term as Syrian president

July 16, 2014 By administrator

Proclaiming the Syrian people winners in a “dirty war” waged by outsiders, President Bashar Assad was sworn in on Wednesday, marking the start of his third seven-year term in office amid a bloody civil war that has ravaged the Arab country, The Associated Press reported.

Syrian state television broadcast what it said was a live ceremony from the presidential palace in Damascus during which Assad took the oath of office.

The TV showed Assad arriving at the People’s Palace in the Qassioun Mountain, the scenic plateau that overlooks the capital from the north. A band played the Syrian national anthem after which Assad was seen walking a red carpet past an honor guard into a hall packed with members of parliament and Christian and Muslim clergyman.

Wearing a dark blue suit and a blue shirt and tie, Assad placed his hand on Islam’s holy book, the Quran, pledging to honor the country’s constitution.

“I swear by the Almighty God to respect the country’s constitution, laws and its republican system and to look after the interests of the people and their freedoms,” he said.

He then launched into a speech in which he praised the Syrian people for holding the vote and for “defeating the dirty war” launched on the Syrian people.

He won 88.7 percent of the ballots cast in the first multicandidate elections in decades. The voting didn’t take place in opposition-held areas of Syria, effectively excluding millions of people from the vote.

Egypt’s Sisi sworn in and hails ‘historic moment’

June 8, 2014 By administrator

Abdul Fattah al-Sisi pledged to ”fully care about the interests of the people”

Ex-army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has been sworn in as Egypt’s new president after a landslide win in May elections.

He said his election was “a democratic, peaceful handover of power” that represented “a historic moment and turning point” for the nation.

Security forces were deployed at key locations around the capital Cairo for the ceremony at the Supreme Constitutional Court.

The retired field marshal overthrew President Mohammed Morsi last July.

He has since been pursuing a crackdown on Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which urged a boycott of the elections.

Liberal and secular activists, including the 6 April youth movement which was prominent in the 2011 revolution that ousted long-serving President Hosni Mubarak, also shunned the 26-28 May poll in protest at the curtailing of civil rights.

‘No coup’

Mr Sisi, 59, was sworn in for a four-year term at a ceremony shown live on television.

He signed the document authorising him to take over power from interim president, Adly Mansour.

Mr Sisi said: “Throughout its extended history over thousands of years, our country has never witnessed a democratic peaceful handover of power.”

He said it was time “for our great people to obtain the fruits of their two revolutions… the time has come to build a more stable future”.

Mr Sisi’s victory came almost a year after he ousted Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi, following mass protests against his rule.

At the swearing-in, the Supreme Constitutional Court deputy head, Maher Sami, said the ousting was not a coup, and that Mr Sisi had responded to the will of the people.

Justices present for the ceremony applauded after Mr Sisi took the oath.

Who is Egypt’s new president?

Born in Cairo in 1954
Had long military career, latterly specialising mainly in military intelligence
Appointed army chief under Mohammed Morsi
Key figure in interim government after ousting Morsi in July 2013

Profile: Abdul Fattah al-Sisi

Mr Sisi vowed he would “establish a new Egypt – a strong, just and secure country which enjoys prosperity”.

In the May elections, Mr Sisi secured 96.9% of the vote and his sole challenger, left-winger Hamdeen Sabahi, received only 3.1%. Turnout was less than 50%.

Crowds are expected to flock to Cairo’s Tahrir Square to celebrate his victory, the BBC’s Orla Guerin in the Egyptian capital reports.

Mr Sisi inherits a nation that is divided and weary, our correspondent says. Experts warn that if he cannot deliver in the next year or two he could also face a mass revolt.

One student, Israa Youssef, told Reuters: “Sisi has to do something in his first 100 days, people will watch closely and there might be another revolution. That’s what people are like in this country.”

Mr Sisi faces an array of challenges, including fixing the economy, preventing further political crises and easing poverty.

More than a quarter of Egyptians live below the poverty line. Mr Sisi has pledged to build 26 new tourist resorts, eight new airports and 22 industrial estates.

He has promised to restore security in a country where attacks by Islamist militants have left hundreds of security personnel dead over the past 11 months.

The militants have stepped up attacks in response to the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, in which more than 1,400 people have been killed and 16,000 detained.

Mr Morsi and other senior leaders of the Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist organisation, are standing trial on a series of charges. They strongly deny any wrongdoing.

Armenia to host Switzerland president

June 3, 2014 By administrator

June 03, 2014 | 16:33

YEREVAN. – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swiss Confederation President, and Head of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs Didier Burkhalter will arrive in Armenia on Tuesday evening, and on an official visit.

Within the framework of the trip, the Armenian and Swiss presidents’ bilateral talks, and, subsequently, the extended negotiations—with the participation of official delegations—are slated, informed the Press Office of the President of Armenia.

At the end of these talks, Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Didier Burkhalter will hold a joint news conference.
In addition, the Switzerland president will pay a visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial and pay tribute to the victims of genocide.