Armenian Defense Minister Attends NATO Sitting in Brussels

On February 27, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan participated in the meeting of the Defense Ministers of the countries contributing to NATO-led operation in Afghanistan and the sitting of the Euro-Atlantic Council dedicated to issues of defense capacity development and cyber crimes.

During the sitting, the participants discussed the ISAF mission which is coming to an end in 2014 and the new initiatives to be launched from 2015.

Within the framework of the visit to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Mr. Ohanyan took part in the commemoration ceremony dedicated to the 26th anniversary of the Sumgait massacre against the Armenians in Azerbaijan.

Source: Public Radio of Armenia

Honoring Yura Movsisyan, Moe Movsisyan, and Al Nazarian for their support of Unified Young Armenians (UYA)

“Unified Young Armenians” (UYA) Offers Condolences to the Podolsk Crash Victims and Families

The UYA Family's thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families following the tragic accident which occurred on July 13, 2013. The lives of many families have been affected as a result of the heartbreaking incident which occurred in City of Podolsk of Russian Federation. We cannot help but to recall the many lives lost and dreams shattered. Thus, we extend our genuine sympathies to the relatives and friends of those who perished.

We hope that through a just, thorough, and humane investigation and trial, the facts of this case will be determined and the individuals or entities at fault will be held to answer for their deeds. However, an inhumane trial will not only go against the ideals of justice, but it will also be a direct insult to the memories of the victims lost. It is important to note that the authorities have unfortunately failed to create the necessary conditions for the fair trial of Hrachya Harutyunyan by pandering to forces of xenophobia and racism. In these emotional times, we should not let this dark moment to tarnish the old kinship among the two people.

We highly value and praise the public commitment made by the Armenian community of Russian Federation, specifically that of Mr. Ara Abarahamyan, to assist the families of the victims.

As a tribute to the lives lost and to mark the 7th day of this tragic incident, our Organization's website will go dark on July 20th.

May we all pray for their souls to rest in peace and find comfort.

Unified Young Armenians (UYA)

Armenian Defense Minister’s helicopter reportedly comes under Azeri fire

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan arrived in the military unit in Noyemberyan at about 11 a.m. this morning.

The Azerbaijani air forces opened fire at the Defense Minister's helicopter, aravot.am reports, citing eyewitness accounts.

Minister Ohanyan spent about two hours in the military unit, where a soldier was killed last week. He returned to Yerevan on the same helicopter, the paper informs.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan neither confirmed, nor refuted the information about the shooting. He said only there were no traces of bullets helicopter.

Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act introduced in US Congress

As Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Erdogan continues his official U.S. state visit, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives introduced the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act, a new measure calling upon the President to build upon the U.S. record of having recognized the Armenian Genocide by working toward improved Armenian-Turkish relations based upon Turkey's full acknowledgement of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

"We welcome today's introduction of the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "This innovative bipartisan initiative, building upon the U.S. record of having recognized the Armenian Genocide, calls for a new U.S. approach to Armenian-Turkish ties that reflects our America values and recognizes that our national interests require an end to Turkey's denials and a truthful, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime."

The Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act, introduced by Representatives Michael Grimm (R-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), reflects and reinforces previous U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide as a crime of genocide, citing the U.S. Government's May 28, 1951 written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, President Ronald Reagan's April 22, 1981 Proclamation and Congressional adoption of Armenian Genocide legislation in 1975 and 1984.

"Almost a century ago, over a million Armenian men, women, and innocent children were mercilessly put to death by forces of the Ottoman Empire in a horrifying attempt to wipe them from the face of the earth," said Rep. Grimm. "The U.S. has tirelessly defended justice and human rights throughout the world, and we have a solemn duty to recognize, once and for all, the injustices of the Armenian Genocide. On behalf of the Armenian community in New York City, I am proud to join with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in introducing Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act."

"The facts of history are well-settled – 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were deliberately murdered in the first genocide of the 20th Century," Rep. Schiff said. "With each passing day, we lose a few more of the dwindling number of survivors. We should all feel a powerful sense of urgency, and the profound call of moral duty to recognize the Armenian Genocide unequivocally and without delay."

Congressman Valadao stated, "Many of those able to flee during the genocide immigrated to the United States and settled in California. Today, their families continue to grow, thrive, and instill their cultural heritage in their adopted communities. However, the sense of loss as a result of these horrific acts runs deep as many Armenian-Americans in my district personally know a friend or family member who was unable to escape the genocide. We must ensure that the United States government properly acknowledges what so many already know to be true."

"The time for the U.S. to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide is long overdue," said Congressman Frank Pallone, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues. "Armenia stands as a resilient ally of the United States and a nation dedicated to democracy and regional stability, and the Resolution introduced today shows that we will not stand idly by when the truth of this genocide is distorted by the Turkish government."

May 9: 21st Anniversary of Shushi's Liberation

Greek President Karolos Papoulias: Both Greeks and Armenians were butchered in the past by their common enemy, the Turks.

"Both Greeks and Armenians were butchered in the past by their common enemy, the Turks, Greek President Karolos Papoulias has been quoted as saying. “We were butchered by the same barbarian,” Papoulias was quoted as saying by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) during a meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarksyan, on Tuesday."

On Tuesday Papoulias also appeared to blame Turkey for his country’s financial crisis, saying Greece might well have avoided resorting to International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union loans if it were not for maintaining the armaments ratio with Turkey. “We spend more money than any of our allies on armaments and that is unfair for a peaceful people,” Papoulias said. -Today's Zaman, Turkish Daily, January 20, 2010 (Turkish Time)

Harut Sassounian: Turkish Prime Minister Shoots Himself in the Foot Again

Prime Minister Erdogan embarrasses himself and his government just about every time he opens his mouth! His angry statements, often bewildering and insulting, give Turkey a black eye internationally and provide fresh ammunition to his domestic opponents.

A year ago, the Prime Minister threatened to deport 100,000 Armenians from Turkey, thereby reminding everyone around the world that Ankara’s present leaders are not much different from their bloodthirsty forefathers who deported and killed 1.5 million Armenians during the Genocide of 1915-23. After he was roundly condemned at home and abroad, Erdogan explained that he had meant to deport only undocumented workers from Armenia. When told that the 100,000 figure included both native and foreign Armenians, the Prime Minister blamed his aides for giving him faulty population figures!

Erdogan made another faux pas early this month during a visit to Kars, when he called for the demolition of a gigantic monument symbolizing "Armenia-Turkey Friendship." The 100-foot, 1,500-ton unfinished statue was commissioned by the city’s former mayor who believed that reconciliation and open borders with Armenia would boost his city’s sluggish economy. The monument depicted the figure of a man sliced into two, extending a hand of friendship to his other half. Calling the statue "freakish" or "grotesque," the Prime Minister urged the new mayor to have the $1.5 million monument torn down before his next visit.

By calling the Kars monument an "ugly" work of art, Erdogan unleashed a torrent of criticism and triggered a chain of events that made him the laughing stock of the world:

-- Erdogan’s political opponents accused him of pandering to the city’s Azeri voters who vehemently oppose any reconciliation with Armenia. They attributed the Prime Minister’s demolition order to crass electoral motives rather than to his artistic taste.
-- Turkey’s Culture Minister tried to come to Erdogan’s rescue by claiming that the Prime Minister had called the surrounding shanty houses "freakish," rather than the statue itself. Undeterred. Erdogan embarrassed his Minister by rebuking him and repeating his earlier statement. Next, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc jumped into the fray by wishing that "God would spare him from finding himself in the same awkward situation as the Culture Minister."
-- Even Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s much-touted Foreign Minister, got into the act, vainly trying to make his Prime Minister look good. Davutoglu claimed that the real problem with the monument was that it "fails to blend into the Seljuk, Ottoman and Russian character" of Kars. In a sarcastic retort, The Economist of London accused Davutoglu of conveniently erasing the city’s "Armenian legacy," adding that "a long-abandoned tenth-century Armenian church recently reopened -- as a mosque!"
-- Mehmet Aksoy, the well-known sculptor of the monument, compared Erdogan’s order to the Taliban’s demolition of ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan. Aksoy warned that Turkey’s image would suffer terribly should the monument be blown up. He threatened to sue the Prime Minister for insulting his artwork.
-- The international media excoriated Erdogan by ridiculing his artistic taste and exposing his crass political motives. The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the Associated Press, Radio Free Europe, Reuters, BBC, the Washington Post, Liberation, and hundreds of other media outlets, condemned Erdogan’s destructive directive.
-- Several Turkish journalists questioned the Prime Minister’s right and authority to have a statue removed and destroyed.
-- Armenia’s Foreign Minister reacted indignantly to Erdogan’s statement and urged him to build a new foundation for normalizing bilateral relations, rather than damaging them. Most commentators interpreted the Prime Minister’s detrimental words as the last nail in the coffin of the unconsummated Armenia-Turkey Protocols.

Not surprisingly, Mubariz Gurbanli, a member of Azerbaijan’s Parliament, expressed his pleasure with Erdogan’s order to demolish the "Armenia-Turkey Friendship" statue. Gurbanli was correct in pointing out: "There is no need to erect a monument to the non-existent friendship with Armenia."

Of course, tearing down monuments is nothing new for Azeri and Turkish officials. A few years ago, Azerbaijan demolished thousands of historic Armenian khatchkars (cross-stones) at a cemetery near Julfa, Nakhichevan, seeking to emulate the Turkish government’s wholesale destruction of hundreds of Armenian churches and monuments ever since the Genocide. Indeed, Erdogan himself is continuing the age-old tradition of his predecessors in ordering the destruction of the Kars "friendship" statue.

If Davutoglu and Erdogan are truly sincere in promoting Armenian-Turkish friendship, they should promptly demolish the monstrous "genocide monument" built in Igdir in 1997, consisting of five 130-foot swords thrust towards the sky, intended to perpetuate the great lie about Armenians killing Turks!

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier