Vahe Berberian Sagayn – in Toronto, Nov 13, 2009, 8:30 pm at ACC
Vahe Berberian Sagayn in Toronto at ACC
Armenia rejects Turkish demand on rebel region
YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia's foreign minister has rejected Turkish calls for concessions in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange for the historic rapprochement between Yerevan and Ankara.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Yerevan, October 30, 2009. Nalbandian has rejected Turkish calls for concessions in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange for the historic rapprochement between Yerevan and Ankara. (REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili)
peaking to Reuters late on Friday, Edward Nalbandian said negotiations between Turkey and Armenia were over and both sides were obliged to move quickly to establish diplomatic relations and open their border under accords signed this month.
Turkish leaders say they want to see progress in negotiations between Armenia and Turkish ally Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh before parliament in Ankara ratifies the accords, a link Armenia rejects.
"Why did we sign two protocols if we are not going to ratify and implement them?" Nalbandian, 53, said in an interview in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
"I think the whole international community is waiting for quick ratification and implementation and respect for the agreements which are in the protocols," he said, speaking in English.
"If one of the sides will delay and create some obstacles in the way of ratification and implementation, I think it could bear all the responsibility for the negative consequences."
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with fellow Muslim Azerbaijan in its war with Armenian-backed ethnic Armenians in the mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Former Soviet Armenia and NATO-member Turkey have no diplomatic ties, but a relationship haunted by the World War One killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, a defining element of Armenian national identity.
But after a year of negotiations, Armenia and Turkey this month signed accords looking to bury a century of hostility.
"SEPARATE PROCESSES"
The deal has encountered opposition in both countries, but full rapprochement and an open border carries huge significance for Turkey's clout as a regional power, for its bid to join the European Union and for landlocked Armenia's crisis-hit economy.
But Ankara's Turkic-speaking ally Azerbaijan has reacted angrily, fearing it will lose leverage over Armenians in their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The dispute threatens to tilt energy policy in Azerbaijan, a supplier of oil and gas to the West through Turkey but which is also being courted by Russia.
Diplomats and analysts say Turkey, before it ratifies the accords, is seeking at least a small sign of progress in negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, where a fragile ceasefire has held since 1994 but a peace deal has never been agreed.
Such a link is political dynamite for Armenians. The domestic opposition and Armenia's huge and influential diaspora say Turkey must first recognise last century's killings as genocide before ties can be restored.
Nalbandian said the Armenian-Turkish thaw and the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations were "two separate processes."
"This is not only the Armenian approach but the approach of the international community," he said, adding that negotiations between Turkey and Armenia were over.
"Negotiations were finalised at the beginning of February."
Analysts are uncertain how firm the Turkish condition for ratification really is, and say pressure on Ankara could mount with next April's 95th anniversary of the killings, when the U.S. president traditionally issues a statement of commemoration.
Armenia says the killings were genocide, and wants U.S. President Barack Obama to stick to an election campaign pledge to say the same. Turkey rejects the term, saying many people died on both sides of the conflict.
Mediators from the United States, Russia and France say they are making progress towards a peace deal on Nagorno-Karabakh in talks between Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev.
But Nalbandian played down talk of an imminent breakthrough.
There is a "positive dynamic", he said. "But to say that tomorrow or in one month's time or in a very short period of time we will come to the agreement, I don't think this is very serious."
source: Toronto Star
Canadian court gives longest possible sentence in historic Rwanda war crimes case
MONTREAL — A Canadian judge has imposed the toughest sentence possible on a man convicted of committing atrocities during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, described as the worst possible crime a human being can commit.
In a historic case, Desire Munyaneza was sentenced Thursday to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 25 years.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Andre Denis handed down the sentence in a case international legal observers followed closely because of the implications it could have on similar prosecutions both here and abroad.
He is the first person convicted under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, enacted in 2000.
Munyaneza's crimes included raping women, participating in the slaughter of hundreds inside a church, and using sticks to beat children tied in sacks.
"The accused, an educated man from a privileged background, chose to kill, rape and pillage in the name of his ethnic group's supremacy," Denis wrote in his judgment.
"The sentence I am imposing is severe because the law considers the crimes committed by the accused to be the worst in existence.
"History has shown that what happened there (in Rwanda) can happen anywhere in the world, and that nobody is immune to such a tragedy."
With time already served since his arrest, the 42-year-old man will only become eligible for parole in 2030.
The defence is appealing the verdict, but a hearing before the Quebec Court of Appeal isn't likely until next year and both sides agree the case will ultimately wind up before the Supreme Court of Canada.
"We've got what we believe to be a pretty strong appeal," defence lawyer Richard Perras said outside the courtroom.
A life sentence was anticipated but the lawyers for the 42-year-old father of two had asked for leniency, saying the acts were not premeditated so parole eligibility should have come after 20 years.
But Denis ruled that the acts were clearly premeditated, despite the accused's constant denials.
Denis said as much when Munyaneza was found guilty last May on seven charges related to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus massacred between April and July of 1994.
About 800,000 people were murdered.
Munyaneza, the son of a wealthy businessman from the Butare area, was arrested by the RCMP at his Toronto-area home in 2005 after a lengthy investigation.
He had arrived in Toronto in 1997 seeking refugee status but his claim was rejected.
The nearly two-year trial involved hearings in Canada, Europe and Africa, with 66 witnesses often heard behind closed doors. Human rights advocates and genocide experts such as former Canadian general Romeo Dallaire also testified.
The entire endeavour was quite costly and observers hope that the government will continue to support other cases.
"I think the will is there among the independent observers of this kind of trial," said Bruce Broomhall, a law professor at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal who followed the trial closely.
"I hope concerned parliamentarians will put the question to the government and we'll see an increase in the budget for investigations and prosecutions in the future."
Crown prosecutor Pascale Ledoux said Thursday that she was satisfied with the end result.
"It underlies the importance of the fight against crimes against humanity and the application of law - no matter where those (accused) are," she said.
As he pronounced his sentence, Denis also addressed genocide naysayers.
"Denying that a genocide occurred is killing the victims a second time," Denis said, listing off 20th century atrocities in Namibia, Armenia, Cambodia, the Balkans and Nazi Europe.
"So it must be said and repeated: there is no worse crime than genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes which are still occurring today."
A Montreal Rwandan genocide survivor support group that first turned the RCMP's attention toward Munyaneza applauded the sentence and said it would continue its efforts to pursue other criminals.
"We're going to keep working for justice for the survivors," Jean-Paul Nylinkwaya said.
A Forgotten Genocide and the Century-Long Struggle for Justice
A Lecture by Michael Bobelian Journalist and lawyer Friday, November 13, 2009 – 8:00 p.m.
Alex Manoogian Cultural Center
930 Progress Avenue, Scarborough, Ont.
A reception and book signing will follow the program.
A Forgotten Genocide and the Century-Long Struggle for Justice
From 1915 to 1923, around 2 million Armenians were driven from their ancestral homeland and some 1.5 million of them were killed. While there was an initial global outcry and a movement to aid the “starving Armenians,” the promise to hold the perpetrators accountable was never fulfilled and a curtain of silence soon descended on one of the worst crimes of modern history. Now, almost a century later, the Armenians are still fighting for justice.
The grandson of Genocide survivors, journalist Michael Bobelian struggled to rationalize how an event as widely reported as the Armenian Genocide could fade from public consciousness. Why was the Genocide ignored, forgotten, and, worse, relegated to fiction for so long? What role did America’s national self-interest play in helping Turkey evade public accountability? Why did decades of silence pass before a new generation of activists arose who would renew the fight for justice?
Based on years of archival research and personal interviews, Bobelian’s groundbreaking Children of Armenia is the first book to trace this post-Genocide history and reveal the events that have conspired to eradicate the “hidden holocaust” from the world’s memory and the story of the Armenians who struggled to seek redress in the face of recalcitrant perpetrators and an indifferent world.
Michael Bobelian is a graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. A lawyer and journalist, he has written for Forbes.com, American Lawyer, and Legal Affairs magazine and has been featured on NPR’s Leonard Lopate Show. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.
source: AGBU Toronto
Homenetmen Foul Breakfast
Homenetmen Foul Breakfast will be held at the Armenian Community Center, 50 Halcrown Place, Toronto, Ontario on Sunday Novembe 1st 2009.
and here is the event poster taken from www.armenian.ca
Homenetmen Foul Breakfast
Hamazkayin “Klatsor” Chapter 40th Anniversary – Saturday 24 October 2009
Hamazkayin "Klatsor" Chapter 40th Anniversary will be held at the Armenian Community Center, 50 Halcrown Place, Toronto, Ontario on Saturday 24 October 2009.
and here is the event poster taken from www.armenian.ca
Hamazkayin "Klatsor" Chapter 40th Anniversary - Saturday 24 October 2009
Zach Bogosian the first Armenian NHL player
Zach Bogosian (born July 15, 1990 in Massena, New York) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman and an alternate captain of for the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League. The first NHL player of Armenian descent, Bogosian played major junior hockey with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League before joining the Thrashers.
Playing career
Bogosian attended Cushing Academy High School and was mentored and taught there by Bruins legend Ray Bourque. He recorded 33 points in his rookie major junior season with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Going into the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Bogosian was the third ranked prospect out of the OHL. He improved to 61 points in 60 games the following season and was drafted 3rd overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft behind Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty.
On September 4, 2008, Bogosian signed an three-year, entry-level contract worth $2.625 million with the Thrashers. He immediately made the Thrashers roster out of training camp, making his NHL debut on October 10, 2008, against the Washington Capitals. During this game, he got into a fight with Washington forward Donald Brashear, one of the best enforcers in the NHL. He became the youngest player in team history to appear in an NHL game at 18 years and 87 days old (Ilya Kovalchuk appeared in his first game with the Thrashers at 18 years and 172 days old).[3] Eight games into the season, however, on October 28, Bogosian broke his left leg in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Prior to rejoining the Thrashers, Bogosian was sent to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, for conditioning. After playing five games with the Wolves, including scoring his first professional goal on January 3, 2009 against the Rockford IceHogs, Bogosian rejoined the Thrashers for the remainder of the season.
He scored his first NHL goal against the Nashville Predators on January 17, 2009. On February 16, 2009, Atlanta played the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center. The night was billed as "Armenian Heritage Night", as California's sizable Armenian-American community came out to watch Bogosian, who is half Armenian on his father's side. Bogosian registering three assists in a Thrashers shootout victory.
Interesting, NO? want to read more goto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Bogosian
“Serzh Sargsyan has sold 9 million Armenians”
Canadian Armenian businessman Vardan Martirosian will never forget October 10 - the day of signing of Protocols between Armenia and Turkey.
"The authorities have sold us. They have sold 9 million Armenians. I felt as an invalid in front of the TV set. While Nalbandian was signing the Protocols I felt terror and couldn't utter a word. Never had I experienced such a shiver in my life," Mr. Martirosian told A1+.
"Serzh Sargsyan has sold us to Barack Obama," added the businessman.
"I am convinced that the whole Diaspora experienced the same shock on October 10. The Diaspora is displeased with Armenia's leadership. We have always supported our homeland and today we receive the authorities' ignorance.
They say they don't visit the Diaspora to learn our opinion. It is really offending and a bad approach to Diaspora Armenians.
Vardan Martirosian was born in Turkey. In a year his family migrated to Iraq. Today Vardan is a successful businessman in Canada. His wife and daughter are presently in Abu Dhabi.
"My wife is an architect and my daughter a manager. We are going to move to Armenia. I visit Armenia every two months. Though I am in deep despair Armenia is my homeland and I am going to settle in Armenia. I shall let no one to take a decision for me."
source: A1+
Seed of Pomegranate child-youth theater festival to start in Yerevan
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The second stage of the ninth child-youth theater festival "Nran Hatik" (Seed of Pomegranate) will start in Armenia October 24 and will last until November 1. As the chairman of the festival Hasmik Ter-Karapetyan informed, this year's festival will be devoted to 140th anniversary of the great Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan.
The festival opening ceremony will be held in the house-museum of Hovhannes Tumanyan, then the festival be continued in the "Metro" theater, where the troupe named after Avetik Isahakyan will present the play "Staging Tumanyan": all tales of Hovhannes Tumanyan in one performance. 23 child- youth theatre troupes, including 12 debutants will take part in the “Seed of Pomegranate” festival.
source: Pan Armenian Network