Sunday 28 December 2014

Armenian News...Is the most important information to keep you up to date with Armenian affairs internationally!


armradio.am
SITUATION IN ARMENIAN-POPULATED KESSAB UNSTABLE, 

RESIDENTS EVACUATED TO LATAKIA
24 Dec 2014

The situation in the Armenian-populated Syrian town of Kessab is
again unstable, Yerakouyn reports.

The town, that just started reviving after the tragic events in spring,
came under shelling two days ago, after a rocket strike on the nearby
Leghi Jur checkpoint.

The majority of the Kessab population was reevaluated to Latakia.

Groups of armed militants could be seen at the border with Turkey,
according to military sources. 


ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN RANKS AMONG TOP MILITARIZED 
COUNTRIES IN WORLD
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 24 2014


Armenia and Azerbaijan have found themselves among the 10 countries
with the highest levels of militarization in the world, according to
the Global Militarization Index 2014 revealed by the Bonn International
Center for Conversation.

Neighboring states Armenia, ranked third, and Azerbaijan, 10th,
both belonging to Europe, show very high levels of militarization
and have initiated major increases in their military expenditures
over the past few years, according to a statement released by the
organization to announce index results.

Military expenditure in 2013 by Armenia reached $427 million, while
expenditures in Azerbaijan have grew to $3.4 billion, demonstrating
the countries' focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the South
Caucasus.

While Azerbaijan has enjoyed economic prosperity thanks to a drastic
increase in its oil revenues and boosted its military spending as well,
Armenia showed only relatively moderate economic growth resulting in
a comparably slow growth in military expenditures.

However the report still adds that "Azerbaijan and Armenia aim at
comprehensive modernization activities for their outdated weapons
systems for which they are highly dependent on Russian support,
and that support is provided to both countries."

The report also says "the high levels of militarization in these two
countries must be seen in the overall context."

It notes Russia, which holds fifth place in the index rank, delivers
arms to both South Caucasian republics and has been pursuing a
comprehensive military reform since 2008.

The Global Militarization Index (GMI) depicted the relative weight
and importance of the military apparatus of one state in relation to
its society as a whole.

Along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, Israel, Singapore, Syria, Russia,
Greek Cyprus, South Korea, Jordan and Greece rank amongst the 10
countries with the highest levels of militarization. Three of the
countries are in the Middle East, two in East Asia and the remaining
five in Western and Eastern Europe.


asbarez.com
Davutoglu’s Armenian Aide Says Leave Genocide Row ‘To 
Coming Years’ 
Etyen Mahcupyan 

ANKARA—Turkey and Armenia should not expect to resolve their 
“long-running dispute” over the Armenian Genocide on the 100th 
anniversary of the event in 2015, a top adviser to the Turkish prime 
minister said, AFP reports.

Etyen Mahcupyan , who is himself a member of Turkey’s Armenian 
minority, told AFP in an interview that 2015 would be a “tough year” 
because of the anniversary and major breakthroughs would have to 
wait for later.

“I believe symbolic steps could be taken this year and a more 
emotional relationship could be established,” said Mahcupyan, who 
is a senior adviser to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. 

“But I believe more political or historical issues will be left to the 
coming years and then it will be easier,” he added. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered an expression of 
condolence for the massacres in April when he was still prime minister, 
describing the killings as “our shared pain.”

But this went nowhere near far enough for Armenians, who want the 
deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people recognized as a campaign 
of genocide ordered by the top security leadership of the Ottoman 
Empire from 1915-1918.

Mahcupyan, one of very few Armenians to have held a government 
post, said the priority for the future should be establishing relations 
with Armenia as well as the millions-strong diaspora, many of whom
 harbor a deep hatred of Turkey.

“I don’t think we need to hurry 100 years on. What happens later on 
should proceed more healthily,” he said.

Armenia will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Genocide on 
April 24, the date when in 1915 hundreds of Armenian intellectuals 
and community leaders were rounded up and later massacred in 
Constantinople (now Istanbul) marking the start of the killings.

Pointing to the striking “rapprochement” in relations between Russia 
and Turkey over the last months, Mahcupyan said Moscow could 
play a role “that facilitates this issue,” he said. 


CAVUSOGLU: WE WON'T ALLOW ARMENIA TO PRESENT THE 
1915 EVENTS AS GENOCIDE
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 25 2014


Turkey won't allow Armenia to present the 1915 events as genocide,
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Thursday.

"Turkey watches Armenia's activities on this issue," he said in his
interview with the TRT Haber TV channel.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 2014 Armenia and
the Armenian lobby were particularly active on this issue. "But that
doesn't mean that Turkey will leave it unanswered," Trend quotes
Cavusoglu.


Extracts from Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister of Employment 
and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism, during his 
keynote speech at the launch of the Armenian Canadian Conservative 
Association in Toronto on Nov. 22, 2014.

Published on Dec 20 , 2014 



“The Armenian Nation is not just the four-million people living within 
the borders of the Republic of Armenia. The Armenian Nation is an 
idea that transcends borders. The Armenian Nation is a spirit of tenacity, 
of survival, of overcoming adversity, of fidelity-- fidelity to your faith and 
to your ancestors.

“To be Armenian throughout history has meant to make a choice. 
To make a choice to overcome very often waves of persecution and 
violence and dislocation, but to maintain that fidelity at an incredibly 
high price.

“To be Armenian means never to forget. Not just 1915 but never to 
forget that yours was the first Christian Nation. Never to forget what 
that meant during all of those years in Anatolia, in the Middle East, 
and in the world-wide Diaspora."


armradio.am
THE 6 MOST ANCIENT COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: ARMENIA 
AMONG THEM
25 Dec 2014


The first states emerged about 6,000 years ago, but not all of them
have survived. Some disappeared forever, others have only their name
left. A Russian website presents the six modern countries that have
maintained links with the Ancient World. These include Armenia, Iran,
China, Greece, Egypt and Japan.

"The history of Armenians statehood counts 2,500 years, but its roots
should be looked for even deeper, in the Kingdom of Arme-Shupria
(12th century BC), which, according to historian Boris Piatrovsky,
grew into a Scythian-Armenian union in the 7-6th centuries BC,"
the russian7.ru website reminds.

According to the report, Ancient Armenia was a conglomerate of
kingdoms and states, which existed simultaneously or successes each
other. The website notes that the term "Armenia" was first mentioned
in the Behistun inscription (521 BC) of the King of Persia, Darius I,
who used the name to describe the Persian satrapy on the territory
of the disappeared Kingdom of Urartu.

The Kingdom of Ararat that was later formed in the valley of Araks
Ruver served as a basis for three others - Sofena, Lesser Armenia and
Great Armenia. Starting from 3rd century BC the center of the political
and cultural life of the Armenian nation moved to the Ararat Valley.


RFE/RL Report
China Allocates More Aid To Armenia
23.12.2014


China will provide$9.6 million in fresh economic assistance to Armenia
next year, the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan said on Tuesday.

A ministry statement said that the Chinese ambassador to Armenia, Tian
Erlong, formalized the "technical aid" allocation with an agreement
signed with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Manasarian. It gave no
details of the aid, saying only that it will be provided in Chinese
yuans.

"The two sides are holding negotiations towards agreeing on a number
of other programs," the statement added without elaborating.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the Chinese government has
supported Armenia financially on an annual basis ever since 1999. The
Chinese aid totaled $37 million between 2012 and 2014. That included
an $11 million grant provided by Beijing in early 2013 for the
construction of a Chinese school in Yerevan and the purchase of
equipment for the Armenian customs service.

Citing "friendly relations" existing between the two nations, Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang promised $16 million in additional funding when he
met with his then Armenian counterpart Tigran Sarkisian in Beijing
later in 2013. Li said his government will also encourage Chinese
businesspeople to invest in the Armenian economy and import more
Armenian goods.

China has also donated hundreds of public buses and ambulance vehicles
to Armenia in recent years.


FILMS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE SHOWN IN 20 COUNTRIES 
IN 2015
by Karina Manukyan
ARMINFO
Wednesday, December 24, 14:57


Films on Armenian Genocide will be shown in 20 countries in
2015. The program is being implemented by the Golden Apricot Yerevan
International Film Festival with the support of the Armenian Ministry
of Culture.

Raffi Movsisyan, event coordinator at Golden Apricot, has told ArmInfo
that the films will be shown from February to June 2015 in France,
Germany, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Belarus, Russia, and Turkey (on the margins
of the Istanbul International Film Festival).

Movsisyan says that meetings will be held with historians, movie
critics and filmmakers, who will discuss the topic of the Armenian
Genocide.

In 2015, the events dedicated to the centennial anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide will include concerts, exhibitions, photo
expositions, etc. in Armenia and abroad. Armenian State Philharmonic
Orchestra and the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia will give concerts.

Expositions on Armenian Genocide will be held almost on all continents.


armenianweekly.com
ARMENIAN AND KURDISH VILLAGE NAMES RESTORED IN VAN
By Weekly Staff on December 24, 2014


VAN, Turkey (A.W.)--The Van Metropolitan Municipal Council restored
the old names of 704 neighborhoods, Turkish newspapers reported.

Sign in Armenian in the town of Edremit in Van (Photo by Khatchig
Mouradian)

The municipality has said that it will use these old names in its
official documents. In each local municipality research was conducted
to identify the old names of the neighborhoods.

In BaÅ~_kale 81 villages and neighborhoods received their old names
back; in Caldıran 86; in Catak 34; in Edremit 18; in ErciÅ~_ 105;
in GevaÅ~_ 37; in Gurpınar 174; in Ä°pekyolu 50; in Muradiye 41;
in Ozalp 53; and inside the city proper 25.

The decision was approved by members of the council who were from the
pro-Kurdish party as well as the ruling party. Reportedly, village
signs will also be changed and include the Kurdish and Armenian names.

Before the Genocide, there were around 90,000 Armenians living in
350 villages in what is today the province of Van, according to
Les Arméniens dans l'Empire Ottoman a la veille du génocide by
historians Raymond Kevorkian and Paul Paboudjian. There were 382
churches and 65 monasteries in the area.


horizonweekly.ca
COMMEMORATION OF THE CENTENNIAL OF THE ARMENIAN 
GENOCIDE IN DIYARBAKIR
22-24 APRIL, 2015


Why Diyarbakir (Dikranagerd)?

The Gomidas Institute, with the support of the Turkish Human Rights
Association, is organising a series of commemorative events in Diyarbakir
between April 22-24, 2015 to mark the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.
The focus on Diyarbakir is for good historical and political reasons.

Diyarbakir was a major theatre of the Armenian Genocide

The Ottoman province of Diyarbakir was a key theatre of the Armenian
Genocide. Its governor Reshid Bey in 1915 played a prominent role in the
mass murder of Armenians. Some of the victims - such as the local prelate
Mgrdich Chlghadian - were killed in the city, thousands more were killed
outside, and even more further afield.

Diyarbakir already recognises the Armenian Genocide

Today, the people living in Diyarbakir recognise the Armenian Genocide and
wish to make amends. The city's co-mayors and regional representative's at
the Turkish Parliament speak out on the Armenian issue with a clear voice.
Diyarbakir city has already supported the reconstruction of Sourp Giragos
church, one of the largest Armenian churches in the world. Armenians can
live freely in this city. At last year's commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide, the men and women who stood up for Armenians represented millions
of people. They included prominent politicians, lawyers, human rights
activists, and others.

Making a common stand in Diyarbakir

A strong Armenian presence in Diyarbakir this coming April will have great
moral and political significance by strengthening reconciliation between
Armenians and Kurds, challenging the official Turkish denial of the
Armenian Genocide.

The Gomidas Institute has been active in Turkey since the 1990s. While
opposing the official denials of Turkish state intellectuals, the Institute
has also built bridges with Turkish civil society and sought just
resolution of outstanding issues. The Institute has organised successful
projects in Diyarbakir before, including the commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide - and this coming year's commemoration builds on earlier successes.


COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAMME DIYARBAKIR APRIL 22-24, 2015
April 22
Gathering and welcome in Diyarbakir city.

April 23
Morning: Visit the major massacre site where over 600 Armenians, including
the Diyarbakir Armenian leadership, were slaughtered.
Afternoon: Visit the gravesite of Mihemedê Mistê of Ã=8Alih, the Kurdish
tribal leader who opposed the Genocide of Armenians.
Evening: Visit special events and exhibitions in the city or gather at
Sourp Giragos with human rights activists and supporters.

April 24
Morning: Visit the old prison and the governor's building, where many
victims were held before being killed.
Noon: A commemorative ceremony in the ruins of St. Sarkis church followed
by a public rally with featured speakers organised by the Diyarbakir Branch
of the Human Rights' Association. This event will be followed by serving
"helva" in memory of all the victims of 1915 and their descendants.

Additional : Kharpert to Diyarbakir
For those interested: We plan to  fly to Elazig (Harput/Kharpert) on April
19th and go to Diyarbakir overland, covering a major deportation route and
crossing key sites related to Armenians and the Genocide of 1915.

No comments: