keghart.com....you can make a difference/petition

23rd November 2008 - Canada On November 17, 2008, Mr. Edik Baghdasaryan, a highly respected journalist, Chief Editor of the Armenian daily Hetq (Track) and the President of Investigative Journalists’ Association of Armenia, sustained severe head injuries after being attacked by three assailants as he was leaving his workplace; the attackers also stole Mr. Baghdasaryan's camera. This incident occurred following repeated “warnings” and "threats" received by the Hetq staff. This assault on Mr. Baghdasaryan highlights a disturbing trend of physical violence and other forms of intimidation on Journalists since the February 2008 presidential elections. On August 11, 2008, Ms. Lusineh Barseghian, the correspondent of the Armenian daily Haikakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times), was assaulted and also sustained head injuries outside her home. A week later, Mr. Hrach Melkumian, Acting Head of the Yerevan Office of the Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was also attacked. None of the culprits has been brought to justice. The police are unperturbed at best and appear to be intent on harassing the journalists and their staff. The circumstances related to Mr. Gagik Hovakimian, Ms. Anna Zakharian, Mr. Gagik Shamshian, and Ms. Gohar Vezirian, are all examples of police intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention. Violence against Armenian journalists and their staff seems to be a common-place occurrence these days. We strongly condemn these acts of violence and intimidation, and call upon the authorities to investigate these crimes and prosecute the assailants. The international community has also taken note of the frequent violations of basic freedoms of the press. For example, the Paris-based organization, Reporters Without Borders (RWB), has dropped Armenia from 77th to 102nd position on a list of 173 countries ranked by their press freedom. The perception of foreign observers following the beating of Edik Baghdasaryan was succinctly captured in a letter addressed to Mr. Edward Nalbandian, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mr. Miklos Haraszti, who wrote: "Violence against journalists is not 'crime as usual', because it undermines a basic institution of democracy - the free press".

Please ask your MP's to attend !

Dear Friends,

You are warmly invited to both of these meetings on the Minorities of Turkey and the Minorities of Iraq and hopefully to participate in the discussions

RSVP to ensure a seat

Regards,

Eilian Williams

A warm invitation to two important meetings to mark the 60th anniversary of the UN Genocide Convention, on tuesday, 9th December

1 "The Minorities of Turkey face the continuing Cultural Genocide"

In Committee Room 17 of the House of Commons

at 12 noon, 9th december

Agenda:

1 The recent comments by the Turkish Prime Minister and Defence Minister

Prime Minister Recep T. Erdogan, on 4th November 2008 (at the press conference for the visit of the Lebanese Prime Minister, Fuad Siniora),said that "Turkey consists of one nation, one flag and one land and that anyone who is not in agreement with this should leave the country".

On the 10th november in Brussels,Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül celebrated the genocide of Armenians, praising the policy of what he termed the "deportation", because it allowed the construction of the Turkish nation. And he added: "Would it be possible today to maintain the same national State if the existence of Greeks in the Aegean region and of Armenians in several regions of Turkey had continued as before?"

2 The Human Rights of Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Crypto-Armenians, Crypto-Assyrians

Speakers: Des Fernandes

Prof Gregory Stanton (President of International Assoc. of Genocide Scholars)

An Assyrian speaker from Turkey

Sponsor and Chair : Dr. Bob Spink MP (Independent)

Co-organisers : Solidarity with the Victims of All Genocides,(SVAG)

Nor Serount Cultural Association

CHAK (Centre of Halabja)

supported by

Seyfo Centre

RSVP to eilian@nant.wanadoo.co.uk 07876561398 or 07718982732

---

2 The present ethnic cleansing of the Minorities of Iraq-

will Britain take some responsibility for a solution?

in Room 2A of the House of Lords

on Tuesday, 9th December

6.30 p.m. till 8.00 p.m.

Co-organisers: "Lobby for the Christians and other Minorities of Iraq"

Centre of Halabja, (C.H.A.K.)

Confirmed speakers:(all speeches will be brief)-

:Dr Layla Alrummi of the Mandaean Human Rights organisation

Researcher Nicola Craven on Mandaean refugees in Syria

Archbishop Toma,(Syriac Church) , Fr. Khoshaba Georges,(Ancient Church of the East) Fr Habib (Chaldean Church)--- one joint statement

Neville Kyrke-Smith, the National Director of Aid to the Church in Need UK

Adnan Kochar of CHAK (Halabja Centre) on Yezidis and Kurdish-Minority relations

The Syrian Ambassador HE Dr. Sami Al Kiyami on aid to refugees in Syria

Themes of the discussion

1 Protection of, and aid to Minorities in Iraq

2 Aid to minority refugees in Syria ..

3 The UK's closed doors to Iraqi Minority assylum seekers

4 Co-ordinated lobbying of the government and parliament

5 "What leverage, if any, does the UK have on the Iraqi government?"

5 "Towards an Assyrian-Kurdish dialogue"

Sponsor and chair: Lord Alton

Details RSVP to eilian@nant.wanadoo.co.uk 07876561398 or 07718982732

adnankochar@hotmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pirates of the Mediterranean‏ - Gibrahayer

GIBRAHAYER e-magazine www dot gibrahayer dot com The largest circulation Armenian emagazine Circulates every Wednesday Established in 1999

PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

By Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra for Gibrahayer e-magazine - Nicosia Tuesday 25 November- On Monday, 24 November 2008, two exploration vessels searching for hydrocarbons in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone were harassed by a Turkish warship to the south of Limassol. This is NOT Turkey’s first attempt to impede Cyprus’ oil exploration, as a similar incident took place less than two weeks ago, on 13 November, when two Turkish warships harassed another exploration vessel 27 nautical miles off the coast of Paphos. According to the Foreign Minister, Marcos Kyprianou, a formal protest was lodged with the United Nations and the European Commission: "Such moves by Turkey are illegal according to international law and violate the very principles of international law. Certainly we are not going to accept this", he added. Government Spokesman, Stephanos Stephanou, told that “we are monitoring this situation very closely to protect and exercise our international rights of the sea and economic interests”. President Demetris Christophias declared that “we will protect our sovereign rights”. Cyprus has received applications for oil exploration permits for a 70.000 Km² area in the Mediterranean, to the south and southwest of the island. Officials say provisional data indicate that there are substantial oil and gas deposits in a sea area separating Cyprus from Egypt and Lebanon. Cyprus has exploration and exploitation deals with Egypt and Lebanon, prompting angry protests from Turkey. Incidents like the ones that transpired this month take us back to different times and places, when the seas were a dangerous place to be, as your life was under constant threat by pirates, and your belongings were hard to keep your own for long. They take us back to a time where no International Sea Law existed, and they once again remind us of the many Turkish violations of the United Nations’ mandates and resolutions.

ARMENIA WINS CHESS OLYMPIAD... AGAIN

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - DRESDEN, Germany (RFE/RL) - Armenia has won the gold medal of the Chess Olympiad, securing a second World Chess Olympiad title in a row at the biannual event in Germany. The news from Dresden on Tuesday sparked celebrations among chess fans in Armenian capital Yerevan and throughout the country. Many of them had followed live the final round action between Armenia and China in a closely packed Chess House in central Yerevan. The long-awaited victory was met with prolonged jubilations. Armenia's men - the winning team of the previous World Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006 - beat China 2.5-1.5 in the 11th and final round of the tournament to secure an overall victory in Dresden and a heroes' welcome at home. Grandmaster Levon Aronian, Armenia's current No. 1, drew with China's Wang Yue on the top board, with Vladimir Hakobian, Gabriel Sargsian and Tigran L. Petrosian finishing the job respectively against Bu Xiangzhi, Ni Hua and Li Chao B. Armenia's only winning point, however, came from Petrosian on the fourth board. Speaking to RFE/RL from Dresden, Armenian Chess Federation deputy head Vanik Zakarian described the win as fantastic for a small country like Armenia. “It is a very amazing result, a fantastic result.” President Serzh Sargsyan, who also heads Armenia's Chess Federation, has been in Dresden since Monday to encourage the team before the crucial match against China. According to Zakarian, Sargsyan had made the symbolic first move for Aronian, who played with black pieces. Before that, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov did the same on behalf of Aronian's Chinese opponent. “Our team had been seeded as ninth at this Olympiad. But there is no other team among the Olympiad participants that would have the same solidarity and level of organisation. The victory comes very natural,” Zakarian added. Armenians have traditionally excelled in chess, which is one of the most popular sports in Armenia. The country's leading players enjoy domestic stardom compared to that of top soccer players abroad.

ARAM I AND POPE BENEDICT VXI DISCUSS COMMON EASTER DATE AND A COMMON CHRISTIAN MARTYRS DAY

Holy See of Catholicosate of Cilicia - Antelias – On the first day of his official visit to the Vatican, during a private meeting with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia has shared with the Pope, according to the delegation accompanying the Catholicos, two concrete ideas: first, setting a common date for Easter celebration and a common Christian martyrs day to be commemorated by world Christendom. Catholicos Aram I believes that such an ecumenical initiative will significantly help to give visible manifestation to Christian unity. His Holiness Aram I believes that the Roman Catholic Church, the World Council of Churches, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Christian World Communions and regional ecumenical organizations should join their efforts to reach a common agreement on these important questions. The discussion between the two heads of the churches has also included issues and concerns related to inter-church relations, inter-religious dialogue and generally Christian presence in the Middle East.

ARMENIA-TURKISH RELATIONS

1- Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian arrived in Bolis on Monday to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) member states. Armenia recently assumed the structure's rotating chairmanship. He met with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan later in the evening for talks that reportedly lasted more than two hours and were held behind closed doors. Listen to Nalbandian's remarks at the BSEC - click here

2- In a move likely to contribute to the recent thaw in bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey, which gained momentum when President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan in September, Turkey's national airlines has been preparing to launch charter flights to the Armenian capital.

3- Armenia is to start conveying electric power to Turkey in March, 2009, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan said on Monday. Armenia will export electricity to Turkey under the agreement signed by Armenian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Armenian High Voltage Electricity Grid and UNIT, the company importing and distributing electric power in Turkey.

GEORGIA WINS JUNIOR EUROVISION ARMENIA FINISH 8th AND CYPRUS 10th

Limassol - By Anna Hassapi - The Cyprus Mail - Georgia was the the big winner of the sixth Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Limassol on Saturday. The winning song ‘Bzz’ by musical trio Bzikebi got 154 points, stealing the show with their buzzing song about the sound of wasps. Despite some complaints on transportation and organisation, the CyBC got the thumbs up for the JESC production, its first grand-scale project. “The 2008 JESC is over and the city of Limassol can be proud that Europe enjoyed the best Junior Eurovision since its launch in 2003. Despite the huge problems with the organisation, the TV outcome was simply superb,” commented oikotimes.com, a Greece-based Eurovision blog. Ukraine came second with 135 points and Lithuania came third with 103 points. The voting was determined 50 per cent by televoting and 50 per cent by jury committees in each participating country. All net profits from the televoting will be donated to UNICEF, although the amount of proceeds has not been announced yet. Critics argued that the voting resembled the adult Eurovision Song Contest voting trends, where neighbouring countries usually vote for each other. Cyprus got top points from Greece and gave seven back; Belarus gave their 12 points to Russia, FYROM gave top points to Serbia and Armenia gave 12 to Georgia. There were, however, still some surprises such as the 12 points Georgia got from Russia and the five points Greece gave to FYROM. Monika Manucharova of Armenia secured 8th place while Elena & Charis of Cyprus came tenth with 46 points with ‘Yioupi Yia’.

81mm MORTAR FROM TURKISH-OCCUPIED NORTH MAKES A FLIGHT TO A ROOF-TOP OF A NICOSIA HOME

Cyprus Mail - It was a lucky miss for one Nicosia resident yesterday morning as a Turkish mortar shell crashed through her roof and into her bedroom while she was at work. Panicked neighbours rushed to call emergency services as the practise shell – which fortunately wasn’t live – flew over the Green Line from the north, causing what witnesses described as a “deafening crash” as it came down. No one was hurt in the incident but concerned local residents highlighted the fact that there is a primary school just a few metres down the road. During their meeting last week, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat apologised to President Christofias over the incident. Christofias said, “These incidents should be avoided because they cause unnecessary tension. Mr Talat was truly saddened by the accident and I am conveying this message to the owners of the house. “It was an accident. I don’t know the exact trajectory of the shell, which was a practise shell – it was blank. If the shell was loaded with explosive material it would have been catastrophic.” The President added that after discussing the incident and the prospect of moving firing ranges away from the Green Line, it was his understanding that the military was withdrawing from the area. “You also have to understand that [military camps] are not up to Talat but are a concern of the Turkish Military. In any case, we will continue to discuss these issues,” he concluded. According to the conclusions of investigations conducted by the National Guard, the police and representatives of the UN peacekeeping force, the projectile came from the occupied region. An announcement by the Defence Ministry described the shell as an “81mm, mortar projectile of Turkish origin”.

MP VARTKES MAHDESSIAN ACCOMPANYING CATHOLICOS ARAM I OF CILICIA TO ROME

Gibrahayer - Nicosia 24 November - 2008 - The Vatican announced that His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of Cilicia is visiting Rome this week, participating in a series of ecumenical events. Amongst other high-ranking representatives of the the Holy See of Cilicia, accompanying him is the Armenian MP in the Cyprus Parliament Vartkes Mahdessian and his wife Maggy. more details about the visit to the Vatican in our next issue.

IMAGES FROM MARIOS GAROYIAN'S FIRST EVER VISIT TO ARMENIA

Click on the above image to visit more images

AN ARMENIAN CYPRIOT ELECTED ON REGIONAL BOARD

Gibrahayer - Nicosia 21 November - An Armenian Cypriot has been elected on the Nicosia Parents Association Board of Elementary Schools. Louise Aynedjian was elected in a General Meeting that took place on Saturday 15 November 2008 among representives from 122 elementary schools from the district of Nicosia.

AREV CHRISTMAS CARDS Four different Card Sets are for sale at EUR 5.00 (for 6 cards and 6 envelopes)

Arev Benevolent Foundation (ABF) is cooperation with Nareg Primary School in Nicosia has published 24 Christmas cards and is offering the cards for sale to raise money. The cards were created by pupils of the School aged 8 to 12 year old and photographed by art teacher Mrs Vart Tofaridou - Spyrou. ABF is a new philanthropic organisation based in Cyprus whose objective is to provide relief and assistance to poor and disadvantaged Armenian families living in Cyprus. For more information please visit www dot arevbf dot org Founding members of Arev are: Ani Adourian, Aleen Melikian Andreou, Hagop Bohdjelian, Harutune Kouyoumdjian, Vartkes Mahdessian, Dickran Aram Ouzounian, Parsegh Kevork Zartarian.

Card Sets are available for sale from following locations:

Nicosia: A&A Optical, Armenia Kiosk, Bidi Ay.Elenis Str, Charalambides Kids Centre, Charalambides Car Wash, Eldorado Sup, Golden Star Sup, Kochlias Bookshop, Kouyoumdjian Textiles, Magazino Kiosk, Micromania, Nova Cyprus, Pankypria Bakery Esperidon Street, Pastellidou Pharmacy Iphigenias Str, PopLife Kennedy Avenue, Premium Kiosk, Prodromos Hadjikyriacos Latsia, Prinos Fruit Market Prodromou Ave, Solonion Book Centre, Toyota Showrooms, Troodos Electric Engomi, Zartarco Prodromou Ave. Limassol: Bidi, Nareg School, Toyota Showrooms. Larnaca: Bidi, Nareg School, Toyota Showrooms. Also you can order by email to : contact@arevbf.org

News in brief by Sevag Devletian

The United States and Armenia signed an Open Skies air services agreement. This agreement will allow air carriers of the United States and Armenia to make decisions on routes, capacity, and pricing based on commercial considerations. It includes liberal doing business rights and provides opportunities for cooperative marketing arrangements, including code sharing. Turkey-based monthly "Yeni aktuel" magazine wrote that the music of "Chirpinirdi Gara deniz" belonged to Armenian ashug Sayat Nova. The magazine writes that Sayat Nova, who lived in the 18th century, devoted this song to his kamancha. Nationalists in Turkey changed the words of the song in 1960. Armavia, Armenian national air company, is planning to launch new regular flights to Berlin and Zurich in April. Nana Avetisova, press secretary of the air company, said that the flights will be operated twice a week and air fares won't be higher than other European airlines. The Social-Democratic Hunchakian Party has issued a statement on Monday criticising Serzh Sargsyan for formally ending the hopes of Karabakh to regain its status as a party to the internationally mediated peace talks by signing a declaration, along with the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, calling for a direct dialogue between Yerevan and Baku.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ANORTHOSIS Vs Werder Bremen NOVEMBER 26, 2008 AT 9.45 pm GSP Stadium Nicosia and on cable networks you can also watch the big game on AYMA's big screen ACCOMPANIED WITH SOUVLA AND KEBAB

Letters to the Editor

Dear Simon, After reading your article in last week's issue, I saw it published in Phileleftheros. Thanks for voicing your thoughts. I am sure they also represent the sentiments of the majority of Greek Cypriots. Antonis Papakyriakou - Nicosia

"THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF ADANA AND ITS DISTRICTS"

Adana will be the focus of a special workshop at Bosphorus (Boğaziçi) and Bilgi universities in Istanbul on November 21-22, 2008. The focus will be the development of Adana in the 19th century. The papers include a serious Armenian content and are organised in four sessions. Hilmar Kaiser: "Local Entrepreneurs and the German-Levantine Cotton-Company in the Çukurova (Cilicia): The Limits of Foreign Economic Penetration." Meltem Toksöz: "Çukurova (Cilicia) from Nomadic Life to Commercial Agriculture: The Making of a Regional Economy." Halis Akder: "Agricultural Labor in Çukurova (Cilicia)." Ara Sarafian: "Structure and Change: Armenians in Adana Vilayet 1860-1908." Zafer Toprak: "Movements of Capital in Adana Region (TBC)." Vahe Tachjian: "Armenians of Adana: A Distinctive Identity at Odds with Nationalisms." The workshop will lead to a discussion: “Where do we go from here?" Suggestions and remarks for further historical research.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We Demand Justice - dikran.a@rogers.com

Dear friend,

If you agree with the content of the letter appearing below, please click on We Demand Justice [ http://justice.keghart.com] to add your name. You may access the list at the end of the text in the site which is updated weekly.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

23 November 2008, Canada

We Demand Justice

On November 17, 2008, Mr. Edik Baghdasaryan, a highly respected journalist, Chief Editor of the Armenian daily Hetq (Track) and the President of Investigative Journalists’ Association of Armenia, sustained severe head injuries after being attacked by three assailants as he was leaving his workplace; the attackers also stole Mr. Baghdasaryan's camera. This incident occurred following repeated “warnings” and "threats" received by the Hetq staff.

This assault on Mr. Baghdasaryan highlights a disturbing trend of physical violence and other forms of intimidation on Journalists since the February 2008 presidential elections. On August 11, 2008, Ms. Lusineh Barseghian, the correspondent of the Armenian daily Haikakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times), was assaulted and also sustained head injuries outside her home. A week later, Mr. Hrach Melkumian, Acting Head of the Yerevan Office of the Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was also attacked. None of the culprits has been brought to justice. The police are unperturbed at best and appear to be intent on harassing the journalists and their staff. The circumstances related to Mr. Gagik Hovakimian, Ms. Anna Zakharian, Mr. Gagik Shamshian, and Ms. Gohar Vezirian, are all examples of police intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention. Violence against Armenian journalists and their staff seems to be a common-place occurence these days.

We strongly condemn these acts of violence and intimidation, and call upon the authorities to investigate these crimes and prosecute the assailants. The international community has also taken note of the frequent violations of basic freedoms of the press. For example, the Paris-based organization, Reporters Without Borders (RWB), has dropped Armenia from 77th to 102nd position on a list of 173 countries ranked by their press freedom. The perception of foreign observers following the beating of Edik Baghdasaryan was succinctly captured in a letter addressed to Mr. Edward Nalbandian, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mr. Miklos Haraszti, who wrote: "Violence against journalists is not 'crime as usual', because it undermines a basic institution of democracy - the free press".

We, the undersigned, deplore any undertaking that hampers the growth of democracy. The world will be watching and expecting concrete and prompt action from the authorities in Armenia.

Ani Boghossian BA, Toronto, Canada Hasmig Kurdian MEd, Toronto, Canada
Antranig Bedrossian BA, B. Comm. CMA, Montreal, Canada Hratch Tourikian PHC KCSO, Toronto, Canada
Aram Adamyan MSc, MBA ACCA, Toronto, Canada Kate Tairyan MD MPH, Vancouver, Canada
Ardavast Avakian, Boca Raton, Florida, USA Kevin McGill, Activist, Canada
Arsine Attarian, Activist, Montreal, Canada Koko Yerevanian P. Eng., California, USA
Artin Boghossian PhD, Toronto, Canada Nader Rastegar MBA, London, United Kingdom
Avo Bedrossian MASc., P. Eng., Ottawa, Canada Ohannes Hagopian PhD, Ridgewood NJ, USA
Berge Minassian MD, FRCP(C), Toronto, Canada Raffi Chitilian B. Eng., Montreal, Canada
Prof. Davit Zargarian, Ottawa, Canada Rita Charchyan, Toronto, Canada
Prof. Dennis R. Papazian, USA Ruth Cooper BSW (Hons.) RSW, Waubaushene, Canada
Dikran Abrahamian BA, MD, Penetanguishene, Canada Shirley Fersch RPN, Penetanguishene, Canada
Edgar Manukian PhD, Toronto, Canada Unus Ali BA, Midland, Canada

Hagop Kouyoumjian MA, Architect, Beirut, Lebanon Vigen Ghazarian CFA, Toronto, Canada

Hagop Sevakian, Management Consultant, Toronto, Canada Viken L. Attarian P. Eng. MSc MBA, Montreal, Canada
Haig Baltadjian DDS MScD, Montreal, Canada Virginia Misakyan B. Comm., Toronto, Canada
Haig Misakyan P. Eng., Toronto, Canada Vrejouhy Atikian RN, Calgary, Canada

Nous demandons Justice !

Le 17 Novembre 2008, Edik Bagdassarian, le très respecté journaliste, rédacteur-en-chef du quotidien arménien Hetq et Président de l' « Association des journalistes d'investigation d'Arménie », a subi de graves blessures à la tête après avoir été attaqué par trois assaillants alors qu'il quittait son lieu de travail. Les agresseurs ont également volé son appareil photo. L'incident s'est produit après des «avertissements» et «menaces» répétés reçues par le personnel de Hetq.

Cette agression souligne une tendance inquiétante vers des actes de violences et autres sur des journalistes depuis les élections présidentielles de Février 2008. Le 11 août 2008, Mme Lusineh Barseghian, correspondante du quotidien arménien Haikakan Zhamanak, avait aussi été agressée et également blessée à la tête sur le seuil de sa maison.Une semaine plus tard, Hrach Melkumian, chef de service du bureau arménien Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty à Erevan, a également été attaqué. Aucun des coupables n'a été traduit en justice. La police ne semble pas s'émouvoir plus que de raison, privilégiant le harcèlement des journalistes. Les circonstances relatées par Gagik Hovakimian, Anna Zakharian, Gagik Shamshian, et Madame Gohar Vezirian, sont autant d'exemples d'intimidation policière, harcèlement, arrestation arbitraire et détention illégale. La violence contre les journalistes arméniens et leur personnel semble être devenue un événement commun ces jours-ci.

Nous condamnons fermement ces actes de violence et d'intimidation, et lançons un appel aux autorités pour qu'une enquête soit diligentée sur ces crimes aux fins de poursuivre les agresseurs. La communauté internationale a également noté ces fréquentes violations des libertés fondamentales de la presse. Ainsi l'organisme Reporters sans frontières (RSF), basé à Paris, a déclassé l'Arménie de la 77ème à la 102ème position sur une liste de 173 pays classés par rapport à la liberté de la presse locale. La perception des observateurs de l'étranger faisant suite au passage à tabac d'Edik Baghdassaryan a été succinctement évoquée dans une lettre adressée à Edouard Nalbandian, Ministre des affaires étrangères d'Arménie, par le Représentant de l'OSCE sur la liberté des médias, Monsieur Miklos Haraszti ; lequel a écrit: «La violence contre les journalistes n'est pas «crime habituel», parce qu'il sape une institution fondamentale de la démocratie - la liberté de la presse ».

Nous, les soussignés, déplorons toute entreprise qui entrave la croissance de la démocratie. Le monde reste vigilant et s'attend aux concrètes et promptes actions de la part des autorités d'Arménie.

Copies of this document will be forwarded to the Catholicosates in Etchmiadzin and Antelias, Honourable Edward Nalbandian (Foreign Minister of Armenia), Honourable Hranush Hacobyan (Minister of Diaspora), Mr. Armen Harutyunyan (the Ombudsman and Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia), PEN Canada, PEN International, Journalists for Human Rights, other Human Rights organizations, and the public at large..

www.keghart.com

16/12/08

Dear friend,

Please check the Visitors' Comments for updates .We Demand Justice is ongoing.

Respectfully,

Dikran Abrahamian

Turks’ Apology for Armenian Genocide: Good First Step, but not Good Enough By Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier, 18 December 2008 It is hoped that when Turkey’s lobbyists call on the White House to block U.S. acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide, Pres. Obama would reject their request and hear the voices of thousands of Armenian and Turkish signatories who support reconciliation based on truth and justice. read more...
Massachusetts is no place for swastikas or ADL hypocrisy By David Boyajian, The Belmont Citizen Herald, 10 December 2008 The national ADL’s stance against Armenians lends credence to those who accuse it and groups like AJC of exploiting the Holocaust for political purposes and of being insincere about others’ human rights. read more...
And whereto here forth? By Edgar Martirosyan, Policy Forum Armenia, 8 December 2008 Stability presupposes slow, but steady, development of civil society; of economy; of affluence; of national security. Armenia, contrarily, is experiencing a regression in most of these fields, if not all. read more...
Divisions deepen in Armenia as country braces for MPs' trial Duncan Campbell, guardian.co.uk, Yerevan, Monday 15 December 2008 "Armenia is not totalitarian but it is not democratic. There is still limited freedom of expression. The television stations, both public and private, are under the control of the authorities." read more...
Stories That Matter In Tough Times By Kelly Toughill, The Toronto Star, Toronto, 13 December 2008 It is significant that when some of the smartest, most respected people on the planet came together to figure out how they could best help the world, one of the first things they chose to do was to encourage the telling of stories that matter. read more...
"I Plead Guilty" By Viken L. Attarian P.Eng, MBA, Mount Royal QC "I was involved in distributing the works of "banned" writers, which included Milan Kundera and Vaclav Havel, who later became the president of the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~