Marlen Haas Condemns Determination Of Azeri Women To Award Murderer Ramil Safarov With HERO'S Status

Marlen Haas, Secretary General of Socialist International Women organization, condemned the Azeri women who make a national hero out of Ramil Safarov, murderer of Gourgen Margarian, Armenian officer, at today's press conference in Yerevan ArmInfo reported.

Ramil Safarov Has Been Proclaimed “Man of the Year” in Azerbaijan, and he was honored with this title for beheading the sleeping Armenian lieutenant "Gurgen Margaryan" with an axe.

worth mentioning, that former Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan Iskander Hamidov had persistently insisted on honoring the Azeri murderer and said:

“I don’t care how Safarov killed the Armenian officer. The more Azeris kill Armenians, the less Armenians there will be. If every Azeri soldier had killed an Armenian the war would have ended with the victory of Azerbaijan”.

These monstrous words, PanArmenian news noted, need no comments. It should only be mentioned that they belong to a person who has been a very important figure in the government of Azerbaijan and up to now represents the viewpoint of a considerable part of Azeri society and political elite. It should also be mentioned that Hamidov’s point of view is quite popular in the Azeri parliament where there are several committees supporting Ramil Safarov.

Honoring the Azri axe murderers like that, was perhaps the most vivid expression of anti-Armenian hysteria, which currently reigns in Azerbaijan

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Happy Women's Day Hayohiner !

Today marks the International Women's Day, and on this occasion I would like to congratulate all the Armenian Women, and I encourage you all to do so ...

Congratulate them all, the mother, the sister, the wife, the daughter, the fiancee and the friend. Make them feel special this day, and let them know that "They Do Matter"...

Armenian Women need to be recognized for their outstanding role in Armenian Communities & in Armenian struggle to survive, their role in preserving the Armenian identity and passing it to their children, and their key role in keeping the Armenian family together...


We call our language "Mayer Lezuo" [Mother Tongue], maybe that's because we learn it from our mothers !!



In this occasion I wanted to share with you an interesting Bibliography of Works in English on Armenian Women prepared by Armenian International Women's Association , to learn more about Armenian Women's role through out our history.

Armenian Nation's Leaders Congratulate Armenian Women...

H.H. Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II issued a congratulatory address to the Armenian women over the International Women’s Day marked on March 8. Yerkir reported .

“We wish that the holiday that begins with the spring bring joy to all women and their hearts and souls be always lit by trust, hope and love,” the address reads in parts.

"May Lord protect our mothers, sisters and daughters in the name of bringing up their children and strengthening of families, it further reads."

President Robert Kocharian also, issued a congratulatory address to the Armenian women over the Women’s Day marked on March 8, reported Yerkir , saying “Women have contributed a lot in the prospering of Armenia.”

The address says in part, as reported PanArmenian News :

“Dear women. I congratulate You on the International Women’s Day. It is hard to name all the fields where Your participation is traditionally great. Women have always played an important role for Armenia’s prosperity. No one realizes the importance of peace and sustainable development better than women do. I especially congratulate our mothers. You maintain our century-lasting traditions. Your upbringing forms the image of our next generations. I wish you the happiness of being proud of this future. Congratulating You on this wonderful spring holiday I wish to remain beautiful and charming and let warmness and love reign in your families.”

Speaker of the Parliament Artur Bagdasaryan and Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan also congratulated women with the holiday. They wished health women, happiness, love and family warmth.

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Ambassador Evans to be Recalled For Acknowledging the Genocide

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
March 9, 2006

Ever since last year, when John Evans, the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, during a tour of the Armenian American community, broke rank with his superiors and publicly acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, there have been persistent stories circulating about his possible recall.

Last year, during a public gathering at the University of California at Berkeley, Amb. Evans courageously said:

"I will today call it the Armenian Genocide…. I informed myself in depth about it. I think we, the US government, owe you, our fellow citizens, a more frank and honest way of discussing this problem. Today, as someone who has studied it … there’s no doubt in my mind [as to] what happened…. I think it is unbecoming of us, as Americans, to play word games here. I believe in calling things by their name."

Referring to the Armenian Genocide as "the first genocide of the 20th century," he said: "I pledge to you, we are going to do a better job at addressing this issue." Amb. Evans also disclosed that he had consulted with a legal advisor at the State Department who had confirmed that the events of 1915 were "genocide by definition."


Within days of making these statements and after complaints from Turkish and Azeri officials to the State Department, Amb. Evans was ordered by his superiors to issue "a clarification" in which he said that "misunderstandings" might have arisen as a result of his earlier comments. He said that he had used the term "genocide" in his "personal capacity."

The very next day, Amb. Evans was further embarrassed when he was ordered to issue "a correction" to his "clarification," amending the words "the United States policy on the Armenian Genocide" to "the United States policy on the Armenian tragedy." The Turkish press reported that the State Dept. had forced him to make this "correction," after receiving complaints from Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington.


Several months later, under pressure from the State Department, the American Foreign Service Association took the very unusual step of rescinding a "Constructive Dissent" award that it had decided to grant Amb. Evans during a special ceremony that was to be held at the State Department on June 17, 2005. It is highly ironic that Amb. Evans was deprived of a “dissent” award for deviating from official U.S. policy! Around that time, he was abruptly summoned to Washington, D.C. by his superiors for consultations.

After months of uncertainty, it now appears that the rumors about his possible dismissal have finally become reality. The State Department recently finalized the decision to recall him. According to reliable Armenian governmental sources, Amb. Evans informed high-ranking Armenian officials last week about his departure in the coming months, pending the Senate approval of his likely successor, Richard E. Hoagland, who is currently the U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan. Knowledgeable U.S. sources in Washington have confirmed to this writer that Amb. Evans was being recalled because of his candid remarks on the Armenian Genocide. Neither the Ambassador nor the State Dept. has made any public comments regarding these developments.

It is noteworthy that during a hearing before the House International Relations Committee last month, Cong. Adam Schiff (Democrat of California) asked US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice several pointed questions regarding Amb. Evans. Cong. Schiff asked that Secretary Rice explain in writing if the State Dept. played any role in the reversal of the decision to grant Amb. Evans the "dissent" award. Cong. Schiff also asked the Secretary State to assure the House Committee that the Department of State has not taken, and will not take, any punitive actions against Amb. Evans for speaking out about the Armenian Genocide. Secretary Rice has not yet responded to these questions.

Amb. Evans has taken a principled stand for which he is sacrificing his diplomatic career. Even if it is too late to reverse the State Dept.’s decision, Armenians in general and Armenian-Americans in particular need to express their objection to the State Department’s punitive action against a distinguished diplomat for telling the truth about the Armenian Genocide.

Unless Armenians take a strong stand, they would be sending the wrong signal to the U.S. government that the Armenian Genocide is not an important issue for them! If they remain quiet on this occasion, never again would another U.S. diplomat dare to speak up on the Armenian Genocide, knowing full well that he would jeopardize his career and no one would care.
Write to your congressional representative and send a complaint to the Secretary of State at: http://www.state.gov/ . Click on " contact us" and then click on "send a message to the Secretary of State .”

Make your voices heard loud and clear!

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