Politics

RA President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II on September 24. The RA presidential press office informed NEWS.am that the sides discussed the State-Church relations and the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement. President Sargsyan informed the Catholicos of his plans to go on a week’s tour and hold meetings with representatives of the Armenian communities in Paris, Los Angeles, Beirut and Rostov-on-Don (Russia). The Armenian leader plans to listen to their opinions on the present stage of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement. The Armenian President stated the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement process is at the all-important stage of public discussions, which is a good opportunity for voicing opinions irrespective of whether the Protocols will be ratified or not. The President admitted that some points in the Protocols, as well as some moments in domestic political consultations, arouse concern. The reason is Armenian cultural monuments and ancestral homes of the descendants of victims of the Armenian Genocide. The President also pointed out an emotional aspect of the discussions. “It cannot be a different way. A great part of our people is a generation that fell victim to the Genocide. Moreover, our sacred places, churches, capital and, for many, the ruins of ancestral homes, are across the border,” the President said. “I understand. In some cases I myself try to suppress my inner emotions. However, I am sure that such discussions are necessary,” the President said. Catholicos Garegin II welcomed the Armenian leader’s initiative. He pointed out that the Diaspora, an important and integral part of the Armenian people, will have an opportunity to know about of the Armenian leaders’ position on this all-important issue.

Representatives of political parties, associations, and religious denominations visited the Armenian Embassy in Washington on Thursday and met with Ambassador Tatoul Markarian to express their concerns on the Turkey-Armenia protocols, reported the Asbarez newspaper. The delegation handed Ambassador Markarian a letter highlighting the fact that the protocols have created serious concern and frustration among the Armenian community in the U.S., as in all other diasporan communities. The letter rejected the idea of negotiating over historical matters and stressed that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a precondition to any negotiation. It also noted that recognizing borders and territorial integrity means renouncing our struggle for justice.

Israel’s Consul General in Los Angeles, Yaakov Dayan, besides his immediate duties, decided to engage in foreign policy activities, particularly in lobbying for Azerbaijan’s interests.

Referring to Azeri mass media, the Asbarez newspaper reported that Yaakov Dayan called on Jewish communities across the United States to support advance Azeri interests in the United States. Lobbying for Azeri interests must be the Israeli diplomat’s new hobby or means of earning money. He also may have been “left holding the bag.”

The “Stop the Protocols” Campaign, a broad-based coalition of Armenian youth groups and organizations across the United States, demonstrated Friday against the Turkey-Armenia protocols at the Swiss Consulate in Los Angeles. The protest sought to inform the Swiss government of the contradictions in participating in a process that has seen the drafting of a set of one-sided protocols that threaten Armenia and undermine the rights of all Armenians. During the demonstration Caspar Jivalagian Haroutin Haroutinian met with Consul Brigitta Schoch Dettweiler to deliver a written letter to the Swiss government expressing the campaigns concerns. "The meeting with the Swiss Consul General was an important step in expressing our community’s disapproval of the protocols and course being taken in the Turkey-Armenia negotiations process. “We explained to the Consul that the protest was not against the Swiss government but against the mediation process,” added Jivalagian. “The voice of our community needs to be heard by all those involved in making decisions affecting the fate of the Armenian nation,” said Caspar Jivalagian.

Expressing respect toward the demonstrators for taking time to make their voices heard, Schoch Dettweiler promised she would relay the letter to her government, as well as the demonstrators’ overall message that the protocols go against fundamental Swiss values, reported the newspaper.

The Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF) has issued a statement opposing the protocols between Armenia and Turkey, reported Nouvelles d'Arménie, the newspaper published by the Armenian community in France.

The statement says in part: “The Armenian Genocide is not negotiable and it cannot be examined by a sub-intergovernmental commission. History is already written, no one can deny this fact acknowledged as genocide by historians, lawyers, international institutions, and over 20 states, including France.

”Moreover, genocide requires moral, political and material compensation. The CCAF is therefore requesting clarification on the 5th paragraph of the Protocol on establishing diplomatic relations that the two countries, “affirm their mutual recognition of their existing border as defined by relevant treaties in international law”.

“The right to self-determination, the right to participate in the political settlement of the conflict, ensured security, live peacefully on their land directly should be clearly recognized to the Republic of NK.

”For the Armenian taboo to disappear irreversibly in Turkey, we ask Ankara to stop its state denial and to abrogate as soon as possible its repressive arsenal – 301 and 305 articles of the penal code – that threatens anyone who would offend the dignity of Turkey by evoking publicly the genocide of the Armenians…

“The CCAF, in favor of a sincere Armenian-Turkish dialogue and of the establishment of relations between Armenia and Turkey, also asks Ankara to stop the blockade it has been exerting on Armenia since 1993.

Finally, the CCAF reaffirms its attachment to the Armenia-Diaspora strategic partnership and calls on all the components of the Armenian nation to reinforce it.”

“We are children and grandchildren of those who, bearing the burden of great desolation, along with hope, came here to save there children,” Doctor Diana Itutmazian says in her article published by the Argentina-based Diario Armenia newspaper.

She pointed out that those people lived with a strong desire to return one day. They believed that was temporary exile enforced by their butchers, and they would see their Homeland again. “With that desire in our souls we embarked on long and difficult way of the Diaspora, seeing years and decades pass, but the humanity will not recall what happened once. The pilgrim Armenia started building schools for its children not to forget Mesrob Mashtots’ language, doing its best to inculcate the national history and culture in them and preserve national identity. Churches were built for people not to lose their faith and spiritual strength, which had always united them and reminded them of the 1.5 million victims, Komitas, Khmiryan, Dro and other outstanding representatives of the Armenian people,” writes Diana Itutmazian. She pointed out that there can be no political or economic justifications for the policy of denying historical truth. “Should it happen, our martyrs will be buried under lie, conspiracy and impunity. The Memory and Justice, banners of the 94-year-long struggle, will fall into oblivion…”

Each individual, especially one with intellectual facilities, takes delight in hearing such expressions as “freedom of speech”, Paitsik Galajyan says in an article published by the Zartonk newspaper published by the Armenian community in Lebanon. On the other hand, it is the most “dangerous” right: using this expression, an individual expresses his or her discontent with a situation and a wish to change it. So it poses threat to both human rights activists and government agencies. Galajyan pointed out that the "expression’ manifests itself by means of the press and public lecturers. However, regretfully, in exercising their right to freedom of speech, people often distort facts in their own narrow interests. For example, one of the most respected Lebanese newspaper, An-Nahar, “gives the floor” to those denying the Armenian Genocide. The newspaper staff is well aware of the problem and the truth, and it would be a good thing if they did not publish statements made by some wretched bloggers.

“Studies show that, if we publish a book on the Armenian Genocide every year, dozens of books denying the Armenian Genocide will be published abroad during the same period. It is especially typical of German scholars, who are willingly presenting their anti-Armenian arguments to the reader. No doubt, most of the initiatives are sponsored by Turkey,” the author says.

“I am not a religious person. I am not Kurdish. I am not gay. I am not Christian. I am not Armenian. I am not Roma. But I have spent all my life defending these people's rights,” the lawyer and writer Orhan Kemal Cengiz says in an article published by the Turkey-based Zaman newspaper. He calls himself a human rights defender. “When I describe myself, I say I am a human rights defender, a lawyer and a writer. It was during my first time in London in 1998 that I realized, no matter what I do, I was a &‘bloody Turk’ for some people. Ironically, I was working for the Kurdish Human Right Project there, and we were taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights, as a result of which I felt deeply threatened by the deep state elements in my country. When I met with the Armenian community in London, I turned into a representative of Turkey. It was the first time my &‘Turkishness’ took precedence over all my qualifications.

Massacres of Armenians were orchestrated and organized by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) — which came to power through a military coup — while the Ottoman Empire was falling apart. After these massacres and as a result of the lack of confrontation with our past, the CUP and its gangs changed their format and turned into the &‘deep state’ in Turkey. These deep state elements continued their massacres and manipulations and drenched Turkey with blood during the Republican era. We have these deep state elements, but we also have many people fighting against them with or without knowing the history. The Ergenekon trial, in this sense, is a turning point in this endeavor in Turkey. You can think of the Ergenekon gang as the armed wing of the CUP in today's Turkey. The massacres of Armenians were carried out by a certain mindset, by a political movement. Unfortunately, this political movement also created the official Turkish history, one in which there is no place for Armenians. And the state is in complete denial of what happened in Turkey in the past. This denial unfortunately gives strong support to a racist approach toward Turkey and its people,” the author writes.

He goes on, saying that “the pathology of amnesia and the pathology of blind hatred are two sides of one coin. They both serve the same purpose: Both leave Turks and Armenians as deeply neurotic people. In the midst of all this madness, Hrant Dink was a safe haven of reason, wisdom and compassion. He had a deep understanding of Turkey and the trauma we have been suffering for so long. He was killed because he was the hope in the face of this madness. He could have been killed by an Armenian racist. But instead, he was killed by Turkish racists, of course, under the guidance of the deep state. Dink was a bloody Turk for Armenian racists and an Armenian traitor for racist Turks. He was a dangerous figure for all who wanted to continue this vicious circle of hatred. During his funeral, we chanted, &‘We all are Hrant Dink.’ We all need to be Dink if we wish to contribute to reconciliation. I bow respectfully before his memory.”

Among the preconditions Turkey may set to Armenia is consigning to oblivion the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians murdered by Turks, Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, says in his letter addressed to the Armenian authorities, reported blagovest-info.ru. “The wave of concern over the possible Armenia-Turkish diplomatic relations has swept over the Armenian Disapora throughout the world. We are most of all concerned over the recognition of the Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey and the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process,” Aram I wrote in his letter. He submitted a 7-point proposal to the Armenian authorities, stressing the necessity for a cautious approach to establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey. “Being well aware of the delicate political debate at the initial stages of new Armenian-Turkish relations, we believe the Armenian side must take a firm stand on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Understand, please, we are descendants of those annihilated (murdered, burned, buried alive, those who died from starvation and cold, emaciation and humiliation during the deportation from their own lands) and have no right to allow oblivion to win the competition with political debate,” Aram I said in his letter. President Serzh Sargsyan must dispel all the doubts of the millions-strong Armenian Diaspora, stated Aram I.

The three leaders of a group of pro-Turkish lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives late Wednesday voiced full support for a protocol recently signed by Armenia and Turkey aimed at normalizing relations between the two neighbors, reported the Turkish Hürriyet newspaper.

“It is our understanding that the ‘Protocol for the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey’ confirms the decision of the two governments to open their shared borders and to establish full diplomatic relations once the protocols enter into force,” said Robert Wexler, Ed Whitfield and Kay Granger, co-chairs of the congressional caucus on U.S.-Turkish relations in a joint letter to all the 435 members of the House of Representatives.

“We are heartened by the significant progress made by Armenia and Turkey toward normalizing their bilateral relations. This historic development between Armenia and Turkey is critical to ensuring peace, security and prosperity in the South Caucasus region,” Wexler, Whitfield and Granger wrote.

The newspaper points out that the “pro-Armenian lawmakers in the House, for their part, are working to pass a resolution qualifying the Armenian killings as ‘genocide’.”

Society

The Gibrahayer magazine published by the Cypriot Armenian community reported that Armenian language courses have been opened at the education center of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus. The courses are designed to teach students oral and written communication. The Armenian community’s initiative can only be welcomed, as the language is a means of preserving national identity and values.

A certificate of foreign member of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) was awarded to Ara Warkes Darzi, the world-famous British surgeon of Armenian descent. The Yerevan newspaper published by the Armenian community of Russia reported that, appreciating Mr. Darzi’s services and cooperation with Armenia, ANAS elected him foreign member last year. This is his third visit to Armenia. The first time he came to his historical homeland to perform operations, and the aim of the second visit was delivering lectures. Ara Warkes Darzi is known in Armenia due to his charity in the field of medicine. He is actively involved in modernizing the country’s health system. A robot presented by Professor Darzi to the Malatiya medical center enables doctors to perform endoscopic surgeries.

The Argentina-based Diario Armenia newspaper reported that RA President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree September 17 awarding Mkhitar Gosh medal to the Argentine diplomat, Dr. Leandro Despouy. Dr. Leandro Despouy is a lawyer and was a U.N. ambassador for human rights. He wrote a number of works on the field. Under the military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983) he was a political exile. Dr. Leandro Despouy greatly contributed to the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

On Sunday evening about 150 Armenians in Kolkata celebrated Armenia’s Independence Day, reported Samay Live. “We are celebrating the independence day tonight (Sunday night), as tomorrow is a holiday (Eid-ul-Fitr) here,” the community's spiritual head in the country, Father Khoren Hovhannisyan, told IANS. Armenians have a history of more than 300 years in the city that has three Armenian churches and five cemeteries. The city has a 187-year-old Armenian College, though it now has only 78 students. “We teach subjects like the Armenian language, literature and history in the college,” said Father Khoren.

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the Armenian Relief Society Central Executive Board—along with several ARS regional entities—allocated more than $500,000 to educational programs both in Armenia and the Diaspora, reported Asbarez. “Alongside our decades of continuous assistance to educational efforts in the Diaspora, we are obligated to initiate similar programs in Armenia – particularly in Artsakh and Javakhk,” said Chairperson of the ARS Central Executive Board, Vicky Marashlian, who recently returned from Javakhk, bringing with her the blueprints of the very first ARS “Soseh” Kindergarten in that region.

Established in 1910 and headquatered in the United States, the ARS has offices in 24 countries and 18,000 members.

Culture

This August, Armenian specialists undertook an unprecedented scientific expedition to study petroglyphs in the Nakhichevan Republic, reported the Yerkramas newspaper published by the Armenian community in Russia. The participants in the expedition said that it would have been a failure but for the Nakhichevan side.

In the north-eastern region of Ancient Armenia over 5,000 clusters of Stone Age art, petroglyphs, can be found. They were dated to the 3rd millennium B.C. About 2,000 of them are near the slopes of Mount Aragats, and about 12,000 are near the mountains of Gegham and Vardenis, over 6,000 in the mountains of Syunik and Zangezur. The last named is the worst studied, as it is located in the Ordubad region, Nakhichevan, specifically in the ancient district of Gohtan, on the western slope of the eastern peak of the Zangezur mountain range, Mount Kaputjug (3,906 meters above sea level), which is also known as Navasar or Tapanasar, near Khachi Aghbyur (the well of the Cross) and Gzhi Aghbyur (the well of the Deranged). The petroglyphs were left by tribes that started practising farming along with hunting. A comparative analysis of the newly discovered petroglyphs with the thousands previously discovered ones shows the same culture.

Spanish mass media reported that a monument dedicated to Armenian-Catalonian friendship was unveiled in Barcelona. An Armenian khachkar (cross-stone) was set up in front of the Royal Palace. The ceremony was organized on the initiative of the Friends of Armenia NGO headed by David Hambartsumyan. The participants were blessed by vicar of the patriarch’s delegate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Spain and Portugal Sasoun Zmrukhtyan. Attending the ceremony were members of the Catalonian Parliament, personal representative of the Barcelona Mayor, RA Consul Mher Badalyan and abut 500 Armenians.

Sport

The Armenia-based Football-365 weekly tells its readers about Antonio Joaquín Boghossian (born in Montevideo, June 19, 1987), a Uruguayan professional footballer of Armenian origin. He currently plays as forward for Newell's Old Boys, a football club from Rosario, Argentina.

No doubt, Boghossian will consolidate the Armenian national team. However, will the one nicknamed as “Armenio” by the Uruguayan press agree to play for the Armenian national team? The Football Federation of Uruguay is most likely to pay its attention to the young footballer. Anyway, it is worth trying to get him for the Armenian team…