Sept. 27 Public Rally to Protest Protocols

The public is urged to take part in a rally on Sept. 27 in Glendale to protest the protocols on the establishment and development of Armenia-Turkey relations.

The rally will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at Pelanconi Park (on the corner of Glenoaks Blvd. and Grandview Street). Click here for directions The rally stemmed from consultations between political parties and organizations that began after the announcement of the protocols. Over the weekend the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US Central Committee met with leaders of the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party and United Young Armenians.

This meeting further reinforced that the main political forces in the community are opposed to provisions of the protocols, which they believe will endanger Armenia’s national security and violate the nation’s historical rights.

The United Young Armenians brought together major forces in the community for a televised discussion Sunday that aired on AMGA TV. Taking part in the panel were representatives of the ARF, the Armenian Youth Federation, the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party, Armenian Democratic League (Ramkavar Party), the Armenian National Committee, the Armenian Assembly of America, as well as experts and representatives of youth and student organizations.

The panel discussion will be broadcast on Horizon TV tonight at 9:00pm. Tune in or watch online at:

Click Here for Directions to the Rally

President Serzh Sarksian extended an invitation Monday to leaders of political parties in Armenia to discuss the protocols on Armenia-Turkey relations, announced his press secretary Samvel Fermanian.

The meeting will be part of the protocol-mandated domestic discussion of the documents. A similar effort was kicked off in Turkey Friday, when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with pro-government and opposition parties to discuss the matter.More…

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday launched a round of talks aimed at winning the opposition’s support for the government’s plans to normalize relations with Armenia by opening the mutual border and restoring diplomatic ties.

Davutoglu met with Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin. Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, skeptical of the rapprochement process with Armenia, accepted a request from Davutoglu to meet to discuss the planned steps. The two will meet next Tuesday. More…

Azerbaijan will eventually invade and occupy Nagorno-Karabakh if the Karabakh Defense Forces are forced to withdraw from the liberated territories surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation serving as a deputy in Karabakh’s National Assembly warned on Monday.

War will break out if If Karabakh loses the territories and is forced to only maintain a narrow corridor to Armenia, Armen Sargsyan told reporters Monday.

“Azerbaijan will sooner or later attack it to divide this part from Armenia,” he warned.More…

The Armenian General Benevolent Union’s Central Board of Directors issued an announcement Monday on the protocols for the establishment and development of relations between Armenia and Turkey. More…

Armenia is seeking a “comprehensive development” of its friendly relationship with China in all possible fields, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said Monday in an interview with the state run Xinhua news service. “During the negotiations in Beijing,

I had a chance to discuss ways to further strengthen and deepen cooperation in a bilateral format and multilateral frameworks,” said Nalbandian, who was in China for a five-day official visit. More…

Reports alleging that Azeri military helicopters violated the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s airspace on September 11 are false, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said Monday.

The reports, which came from the “Armenian Times,” paper cited sources in the Karabakh Defense Army who said that 8-10 helicopters crossed the line-of-contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijan and returned after a number of minutes of flying around the area. More…

Eurovision has concluded an investigation into charges that Azerbaijani officials harassed people who voted for the Armenian entry in May’s Eurovision Song Content and will soon decide whether to sanction Azerbaijan, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports. Svante Stockselius, the executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, told RFE/RL on

Friday that Eurovision’s Reference Group – which consists of eight members – has met in Oslo and made a decision regarding Azerbaijan.
The decision will be sent to the European

Broadcasting Union’s Television Committee, which will announce its decision on Azerbaijan in the coming days. More…