Armenian News

Correction:

The following email was received from Harut Sassounian, publisher of the

California Courier:

Could you kindly resend my column to the list you sent previously, with my name

in it this time, as I have it below. Could you please cc me on the new posting?

Also could you ask wherever plagiarized column to re-post my column to his

e-mail list with my name in it? And please ask him to cc me on his re-posting.

The original article was received by email and copied to the distribution list not

knowing there was an error.

The article with correct attribution is repeated at the end with apologies.

Please note that the highlighting is mine.

PARK STUCK IN REGIME'S THROAT

HAKOB BADALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 10:47:28 - 02/04/2012

When the boutiques of Abovyan Street in downtown belonging to the

criminal-oligarchic class were resoundingly dismantled, the authorities

perhaps thought self-confidently that it was a wonderful campaign

move, thinking that the society, excited about the liberation of the

Abovyan Street, would ignore the fact of having them assembled in

Mashtots Park.

The government perhaps thought that even if an individual or a group

notices them, there will not be a major backlash. But the issue of

Mashtots Park is here to stay. Most importantly, Mashtots Park is

like the government's swan striptease during which the government

takes off its clothes, showing off the unlawful philosophy and legal

bankruptcy of the system.

For already two months, the government has failed to bring any

reasonable argument to the citizens who demand removal of boutiques

from the public area since their placement there violates the

Constitution of Armenia and the laws, civil and public interests and

only meets the personal interests of a small group of people.

In answer to the citizens' constitutional claim, the authorities

together with their agencies are trying to do something about,

but whatever they do is unlawful, and the system gets more and more

puzzled and trapped. The City Hall and the Police are not just trying

jointly to defend their private property, like Mayor Margaryan used

to assure. Subconsciously, they are protecting the borders of their

trap to prevent them from getting stuck any deeper.

However, in this selfless desire for self-defense, they fail to notice

that the more they try to protect the internal borders of the trap,

the broader the external become.

The essence of the trap is that in the tiny Park the government,

intentionally or not, demonstrated the philosophy of independent

Armenia which could not be explained better than by what is happening

in the Park. The ruling system of Armenia has used and continues using

the state maintained on the taxes of citizens and will use it for the

preservation of its philosophy and system of values, to legitimize and

defend the willful identification of the private capital with the laws.

However, thanks to the consistent and accurate legal and cultural

formulations by the citizens fighting for Mashtots Park, the government

clashed with the reality that the philosophy of the system has been

inactive for already two months. The park got stuck in the system's

throat while it seemed to be just a crumb compared with the rest done

by the system through the period of independence.

Even if the system is able to get away with it, it will hurt its

throat badly and it will be uncertain whether it will be further able

to swallow anything else.

TUVALU ESTABLISHED LINKS WITH ARMENIA WITHOUT ANY 

FINANCIAL BENEFIT

NEWS.AM

April 02, 2012 | 12:47

The permanent secretary of Foreign Affairs in Tuvalu says the decision

to establish diplomatic links with Armenia has nothing to do with

reaping financial reward, Radio New Zealand International reports.

According to Tapugao Falefou, there have been no financial pledges.

"Not that I know of, there is no financial support that we have

received from Armenia and there was no financial support that has

been pledged by Armenia as far as I am aware," said Falefou.

He stressed that Armenia is just one of the countries Tuvalu has

approached as part its policy to build up diplomatic relations.

Radio New Zealand International says the move was criticized my

certain states, including Azerbaijan. They claim Armenia established

relations with Tuvalu for it to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange

for financial support.

ARMENIA TO HAVE AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL

Panorama.am

02/04/2012

President Serzh Sargsyan has signed a decree pluralistically appointing

Armenian Ambassador to Egypt Armen Melkonyan as Armenian Ambassador

to Israel (seat in Cairo), President's press office reported.

KARABAKH TO EXPAND COOPERATION WITH THE AGBU

ARMENPRESS

APRIL 2, 2012

YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. President of the Artsakh Republic Bako

Sahakyan met on April 2 president of the Armenian General Benevolent

Union's (AGBU) representation in Armenia Ashot Ghazaryan and first

deputy chairman of the Armenia Chess Federation Smbat Lpoutyan.

Press office of the NKR president told Armenpress issues related

to carrying out different projects in Artsakh were discussed during

the meeting.

President Sahakyan noted the importance of the AGBU's contribution

to the development of Artsakh underlining the necessity of further

widening mutual cooperation.

The NKR president also expressed satisfaction with active participation

of the organization in assisting sports noting that it substantially

contribute to strengthening ties between different parts of the

Armenian people.

CHURCHES IN AGULIS RAZED TO THE GROUND, EXPERT SAYS

Panorama.am

02/04/2012

Azerbaijanis have razed to the ground the Armenian churches in Agulis,

Nakhijevan, monument studies expert Samvel Karapetyan told a news

conference.

According to him, for many years, we had received no news about

Armenian cultural heritage in Agulis because unlike Nor Jugha, which

is located close to the Iranian border, Agulis is located deep in

the territory.

"We had doubts that Armenian monuments in Nakhijevan have suffered

the same fate as the Armenian cemetery in Nor Jugha, and our doubts

were confirmed: the churches in Agulis are razed to the ground,"

said the expert.

BRITISH QUEEN'S COUNSEL TO ASSESS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 

IN ARMENIA

epress.am

04.02.2012

The state has to assume responsibility for freedom of expression, said

Queen's Counsel, barrister Gavin Miller in Yerevan in his speech on

the topic of "Free Elections and Free Speech as Essential Conditions

for a Democratic Society" at a seminar and training titled "Reliable,

Responsible and Balanced Coverage of the 2012 Parliamentary Elections"

organized by the Europe in Law Association, the OSCE Yerevan office

and the US Embassy in Armenia, taking place in Congress Hotel from

Apr. 2-3.

Miller said that he often represents the interests of media agencies

and professionals in the UK on different matters in court, and as the

basis of his work, he cited Article 10 of the European Convention on

Human Rights which provides the right to freedom of expression.

Freedom of expression is often restricted during the election period,

he said, and sometimes issues arise in court to defend both the the

right to vote and freedom of expression.

Speaking about the situation in Great Britain, the barrister with

Doughty Street Chambers talked about state intervention. According to

him, during elections, political advertising is prohibited in Britain

and the news media is monitored, as they have to cover all candidates

on equal terms.

When a political issue is discussed on television, editors have

to ensure the participation of all parties. During this period,

programs on political parties, which last 5-10 minutes, are broadcast

on television. Parties are allotted time in these programs based on

how many votes they received during elections. Those parties that

didn't run in the elections have a hard time getting air time.

According to Miller, during the two-day seminar in Yerevan they will

have the opportunity to better understand how freedom of expression

and the right to vote are restricted in Armenia, and make corresponding

assessments.

ARMENIA MAY GET ADDITIONAL $150 MILLION FINANCING FROM

WORLD BANK

/ARKA/

APRIL 2, 2012

YEREVAN

YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. Armenia may receive from the World Bank

additional financing in the amount of $150 million, prime minister

Tigran Sargsyan said Saturday at the meeting of the Board of Trustees

of the National Competitiveness Fund. He said the World Bank praised

Armenia's successful implementation of bilateral programs.

"This means that the surplus funds of the World Bank will be

reallocated in our favor and we will get additional funding to the

tune of $150 million, which will help us carry on with the reforms" he

was quoted as saying by the government press office. He also reminded

that Armenia has improved its position in the Doing Business ranking

by six notches, moving up to the 55th position.

"We need to give additional force to our work to achieve new successes

- that is to continue the implementation of major reforms" he said.

The prime minister also informed that the IMF has completed the

monitoring of its extended fund facility programs implemented in

Armenia.

"The work we have done and its results were assessed excellent.

Moreover, we have over-fulfillment and in this regard we have received

high praise from the IMF", said Sargsyan.

Armenia is likely to get a fresh tranche of the International Monetary

Fund (IMF) in the amount of $56 million by the end of May, head of

the Armenian IMF Mission Mark Horton said at a press conference last

week following the visit of the IMF mission to Armenia. Funds will be

provided on the basis of the fourth and final inspection of Extended

Fund Facility and the Extended Fund Facility programs.

Sargsyan said the International Monetary Fund praised Armenian

government for securing macro-economic stability. 'Now we can look

calmly to the future", he said.

The prime minister also expressed satisfaction with cooperation with

the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian

Development Bank. The latter has pledged $500 million to finance the

construction of North-South transport corridor.

According to Sargsyan, the cooperation with EU is also successful;

as a result, the EU said it will start soon negotiations on the deep

and comprehensive free trade area with Armenia.

SWISS DROP GENOCIDE PROBE AGAINST TURKISH MINISTER

Expatica

April 2 2012

Switzerland

Swiss prosecutors said Monday they would drop a probe into alleged

remarks by Turkey's EU affairs minister denying the Armenian genocide,

as the official enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

"After consultations with the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs,

prosecutors of canton Zurich came to the conclusion that no criminal

proceedings would be opened against Egemen Bagis, because as a Turkish

EU minister he enjoyed immunity during his entire stay in Switzerland,"

said prosecutors in a statement.

Denial of the Armenian genocide is a crime under Swiss anti-racism

laws.

Bagis reportedly made the comments to a journalist during a visit to

Zurich after attending the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in

end-January in Davos.

According to Turkey's English-language newspaper Today's Zaman, he

was asked about his views on a newly-adopted French bill criminalizing

denial of the Armenian genocide and responded: "Switzerland is another

country where it is a crime to deny the so-called genocide".

"Here I am in Switzerland today, and I'm saying the 1915 incidents

did not amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me."

The paper said a complaint had been filed by members of Switzerland's

Armenian community.

Armenia says that planned massacres and deportations under the Ottoman

Empire left more than 1.5 million of its people dead in 1915, but

Turkey maintains there was no genocide, saying there were no more

than 500,000 fatalities as a result of civil strife and the impact

of World War I.

MINISTER: ADVOCACY OF FRIENDLY ATTITUDE TO ARMENIA IS 

IMPOSSIBLE IN AZERBAIJANI TEXTBOOKS

Trend

April 2 2012

Azerbaijan

Advocacy of friendly attitude toward Armenia and Armenians is

impossible in educational institutions and textbooks, Azerbaijani

Minister of Education Misir Mardanov said at a meeting of the Committee

on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society of Euronest

PA during the second session of the organization, answering a question

of an Armenian MP.

"Imagine that as a result of the Karabakh conflict, the entire family

was killed except for one member. How can he be friendly towards

Armenia and the Armenians?" he said.

Mardanov said there is a huge chasm between the two societies.

"I do not know what is written in your books, as well as you do not

know what is written in our. So I do not think that it is possible to

find an answer to this question during a one day or within a single

event. These questions require serious research of professionals,"

added Mardanov.

A member of the Armenian delegation, Aram Safarian, addressed

Azerbaijani Minister of Education Misir Mardanov with question: Are

hostility, hatred of the Armenians promoted in Azerbaijani schools

and textbooks?

[deft way of avoiding answering the question]

US Recognized Armenian Genocide In 1951, World Court Document Reveals

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

June 19, 2008

While President Bush and several of his predecessors have avoided characterizing

the organized mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide, it has recently come

to light that 57 years ago the United States government officially recognized the

Armenian Genocide in a document submitted to the International Court of Justice

(ICJ), also known as the World Court.

This half a century old reference to the Armenian Genocide was discovered by

Prof. William A. Schabas who posted it on the website "PhD Studies in Human

Rights," on June 4, 2008. Prof. Schabas, a world-renowned expert on genocide

and international law, is director of The Irish Center for Human Rights at the

National University of Ireland, Galway.

This document, filed by the Government of the United States with ICJ, is included

in the May 28, 1951 ICJ Report titled: "Reservations to the Convention on the

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."

The specific reference to the Armenian Genocide appears on page 25 of the

ICJ Report: "The Genocide Convention resulted from the inhuman and

barbarous practices which prevailed in certain countries prior to and during

World War II, when entire religious, racial and national minority groups were

threatened with and subjected to deliberate extermination. The practice of

genocide has occurred throughout human history. The Roman persecution

of the Christians, the Turkish massacres of Armenians, the extermination of

millions of Jews and Poles by the Nazis are outstanding examples of the crime

of genocide."

This is a very significant statement as it was made by the American government

of that time with the sole intent of telling the truth, without taking into account

any political or other considerations. Neither Armenians nor Turks had lobbied

for or against the U.S. statement. In other words, it was simply made on the

basis of historical facts.

How different is the situation today when the White House readily caves in to threats

and pressures from the Turkish government to prevent the House of Representatives

from passing a commemorative resolution on the Armenian Genocide!

Now that this critical filing by the United States government before the International

Court of Justice has been discovered, it is no longer necessary to exert excessive

efforts to try and reaffirm the facts of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S. Congress,

particularly since the House of Representatives adopted Resolutions 247 and 148 in

1975 and 1984 respectively, to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

Furthermore, there is no particular reason to insist that the next President of the

United States acknowledge the Armenian Genocide since President Ronald

Reagan, back on April 22, 1981, issued Presidential Proclamation Number 4838

which stated: "Like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of

the Cambodians which followed it - and like too many other such persecutions of

too many other peoples - the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten."

Of course, should an elected official issue a statement reaffirming the facts of the

Armenian Genocide, such an acknowledgment would be most welcome by Armenians

worldwide. On the other hand, should a public official either deny or refuse to

acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, Armenian-Americans would have good reason

not to support his or her election.

Regardless of whether one agrees with Pres. Reagan's politics, most people acknowledge

that he was a man of principle. His successors - Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton

and George W. Bush - failed to display such moral leadership. During their presidential

campaigns, they misled voters by pledging to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, and

broke their promises after the election. These three recent U.S. presidents went far beyond

not keeping their word; they did everything in their power to prevent the adoption of

congressional resolutions on the Armenian Genocide. The names of these infamous

denialists should be etched in perpetuity on a special "Wall of Shame," so future generations

will not forget their reprehensible behavior.

On the basis of the official statement submitted by the Government of the United States

to the World Court in 1951, combined with the two House resolutions adopted in 1975

and 1984, Pres. Reagan's 1981 Proclamation, and resolutions adopted by more than

forty U.S. states and hundreds of U.S. cities, Armenians should now classify the United

States among the more than 20 countries that have officially recognized the Armenian

Genocide.

All those who claim that the United States has not recognized the Armenian Genocide

are misrepresenting the U.S. government's clear record on this issue.

This e-mail June 19^th, 2008 does not include the name of President Obama, who thus far has

not kept his promise to Armenian Americans either!!