EDITORIAL - Turkish Road-map - by Jean Ipdjian

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2008-2009 were promising to present quite a few diplomatic challenges to the Foreign Ministry in Turkey, which needed to exert all its manipulative powers and persuasion to surmount them. This coming December, during the upcoming meeting of the leaders of the European Union Turkey’s progress in addressing thorny issues, such as the finding of a solution to the Cyprus problem and the opening up of its ports to Cypriot vessels, human rights in Turkey, the treatment of minorities, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and other such matters, are to be assessed. Furthermore, on the other side of the ocean, the United States have a new President who on numerous times during pre election speeches and interviews had openly and categorically expressed his views on the Armenian Genocide, views that surely sent shivers up the spines of those in power in Turkey and more so horrified those who yield real power from the dark shadows of the Turkish state. Also, there was the fast arriving date when the US Congress was once again going to debate the mater of the resolution for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide which this time, with Obama an obvious fan of the theme, stood real chance of being adopted. And Turkey, being Turkey, has already dived nose first into its manipulations and diplomatic and not so diplomatic moves in order to neutralise these threats. Therefore, regarding the solution of the Cyprus problem, it has started together with her agent Mr. Talat, the leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community or as they and Turkey like to call, the pseudo President of the pseudo Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, making all the right kind of noises European leaders so love to hear. This has been greatly assisted inadvertently by the election of a ‘soft’ president in the south, who was ready to make a sincere effort to find a mutually acceptable agreement to a solution of the Cyprus problem. The negotiations that have already started have now reached to a point where the Greek Cypriot ‘soft’ President has been manoeuvred to find himself being forced to warn his counterpart Mr. Talat of suspending the said negotiations, thus risking being considered as the intransigent one and being blamed for making progress difficult. And naturally, the Europeans in order not to complicate matters any more, in order to maintain the good climate and in order encourage Turkey to continue playing a positive role, have stopped pressuring her to abide by the her agreements and obligations towards the EU and its member states. In the meantime, Turkish ports remain closed to Cypriot vessels, and Turkey refuses to recognise the Cypriot government. And as long as some kind of a negotiation process is underway, Turkey is off the hook, because no one would dare antagonise her and risk being accused of hindering the negotiations. As for matters on her eastern frontier and the problems she has with the Armenian side, there also there are positive results. With a curious twist of events and coincidentally, at a most convenient time for Turkey, rapprochement has become the order of the day, negotiations and efforts by the Swiss government, have resulted in the pencilling of two declarations of a set of Protocols between the governments of Turkey and Armenia. These have eventually to be ratified by both parliaments. It is not my intention to analyse the protocols here. They have been done and redone sufficiently elsewhere. However, what I would like to point out is that whatever the eventual fate of this exercise, whatever the final outcome, Turkey has already reaped the fruits of her diplomatic dance. The President of the United States, Mr. Obama, felt obliged to refrain from calling the Armenian Genocide, a Genocide, contrary to his stated beliefs and pledges, in order not to antagonise a particularly difficult Turkey and thus jeopardise the then secret negotiations between Turkey and Armenia. After the 180 degree u-turn done by the President, the US Congress will surely follow suite as in the past and refrain from discussing the proposed resolution. On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union is happy with Turkey and the constructive stance she has apparently adopted of late. Naturally, Turkey expects and hopes to be amply and properly rewarded by the EU. Moreover, these negotiations have nudged the Armenians a little further away from the Russians. But most of all, Turkey and these negotiations have been able to turn the existing crack between Armenia and its vast and resourceful Diaspora into a gaping gorge. Sadly, it seems that the political power wielded by the Armenian Diaspora throughout the world is appreciated more by Turkey than by the government of Armenia.

It would be extreme naivety to think that these processes are not the result of the machinations and a road-map that Turkey herself has drawn. As far we are concerned, there are two triangles of issues involving Turkey: one is the triangle Turkey-Greece-Cyprus and the other Turkey-Azerbaijan-Armenia/Diaspora. Unfortunately for Cyprus, one of the sides of the first triangle is the ‘motherland’ Greece, who has mostly acted as a eunuch would in an Ottoman palace. As for us, the Armenians and the second triangle, we find ourselves in a more unfortunate and impossible position since the part of the eunuch is played by the one half of the side of the triangle, which is supposed to represent us, the Armenian government. In the case of both triangles, if care is not taken and vigilance shown to ensure that the historic and rightful concerns and national issues are kept in proper perspective, then surely both nations will be led into an abyss from which it will be impossible to retreat or recover. Therefore, all of us who are not ready to pay the ultimate price of signing away our heritage, in signing away of the memory of all those who have given their lives for their country and to sign away the future of our fatherlands in order to have open borders, in order to be regarded as ‘good boys’, in order to be able to lick at the honey that is going to stick to our fingers from promised economic booms, we have to thunder our resounding ‘NO’ to all attempts to woe our leaders into capitulation to the whims and ambitions of Turkey. Our heritage and inheritance are not for sale or to be lightly given away! Jean Ipdjian - London - 2009

Photojournalist Anush Kostanyan was the "summer signing" to Gibrahayer e-magazine's growing global team. Anush will be sharing her "clicks" with our subscribers with images from Armenia. She begins her journey with us with "First Day at School".

IN RESPONSE TO JEAN IPDJIAN'S EDITORIAL

I agree in general with whatever Mr Ipdjian has said, I also agree that AGBU's own members are blinded by the old glorious days of AGBU which don't exist any more. AGBU has turned into a corporation (where politics and money play very high role), there's nothing there benevolent anymore.

Selling MEI or preparing the grounds to close Melkonian was in long works and some of us thought it was just rumour at that time, but where's there's smoke there's fire. So the decision was made to the horror shock of many and to some not so at all as they knew it but didn't object to it based on their own personal experiences and ideas. At the end of the day we in the Diaspora have lost another institute to sustain us in education and character. I know of some in Larnaca who were hoping to send their kids to MEI, but their hopes have been dashed.

The kids now are registered to local Cypriot schools. A lot of children in the Gulf, EU ... who could have benefited from MEI however the CB of AGBU and not to mention their contacts in Armenia didn't want to pursue that direction. There's no lack of students who want to attend MEI but there was lack of support from AGBU in the last 15-20 years in my view to encourage and support kids from all over to come and study there. Now the school has been leased to a local Cypriot school (as the Cypriot school as far as I know is under reconstruction) and what will happen when the lease is done and the Cypriot school is ready?!!! Will MEI be left like that till some kind of 'paper' rises from AGBU allowing them to sell the whole or whatever is left of the property??? They are waiting for the property prices to come up to sell it? Who needs another school in Armenia? MEI was not aimed to move to Armenia...and what's the point of having anything of MEI in Armenia when the whole purpose is the Diaspora and its survival? Do AGBU and its partners think that every Armenian will move to Armenia? Or have they forgotten how many of the Armenians are leaving the mother land to go to America or anywhere else?!! I am not judging of course these people who are moving away but I questioning and so many of us have questioned the wisdom (if there's any) in closing down MEI! I still remember before leaving Lebanon how much pressure we faced and how many times we faced walls of rejection and sarcastic remarks...and how some of our articles that the Alumni in Lebanon had prepared to be published in Zartonk were sometimes rejected (Thankfully Aztag, Dgazghig and Ararat were around)...because we were daring to question AGBU and its 'vision and plans' to MEI. To all our arguments AGBU CB have came back with either no response or vague answers or 'plans to move MEI to Armenia.." or on top of all one of the pathetic excuses that it was not up to standard which we all know are just excuses and excuses as AGBU knows where MEI stood in Cyprus with its standard along with the other high standard schools. In all cases, MEI was never to be blamed for any of reasons given by AGBU for closing down, at the end AGBU didn't want to run it properly nor bring it further into the 21st century they just bid their time and manipulated every situation and lobbied whoever they can. Sending Mr Anderson (if I am not mistake with his name) was the biggest sign we didn't realise nor wanted to believe that AGBU could be so underhanded...but there you go. He was hired to do all the work...not leaving room to anyone to oppose to him in meetings with the school's board of directors... If only I had or have the knowledge and power to bring life back to MEI, better than before, I would do it and I know so many would join in making this happen. United we were and always will remain strong regardless how many time Mr Setrakian would say "...soon they will forget about Melkonian" or something along those lines. Of course my comments and questions would be...where is the Melkonian fund now? How much of the money they lost? Where was it spent...? Who and where is the income from the leased property is going to? Is it going into MEI's fund/account (where correctly and logically should be) or into AGBU account just because they were handed the management? Supposedly MEI was "a loss making institute", why as AGBU who is collecting millions of donations didn't make an effort to cover the loss if there was any? Isn't it what AGBU is supposed to do? Should we ask to their other clubs and schools and the churches in Beirut how much support they are getting from AGBU?...Isn't AGBU supposed to be clear and open Benevolent Union? It was - but not anymore unfortunately. I have repeatedly said before I have nothing against AGBU for what is used to stand for in the past in every community - but that has changed dramatically in the last decades. Mottoes have shifted, directions have changed under the guide of "modern needs". To all AGBU educational centres, schools...clubs in the Diaspora...you are all on the waiting list to see the same fate as MEI. I hope I am wrong... for no community must be deprived from having the choice of educating their kids in Armenian schools.. We in Cyprus need MEI so do all the EU- ME -Gulf member Armenian communities and minorities. Sometimes I wonder if it's better to split AGBU into 2 parts, USA and Southern American countries, EU-Middle East/Gulf. Each to have its own CB directors and manage whatever is in their areas according to their jurisdiction and laws. They can have annual meetings to update each other without having anyone influence or control the other. It's just a thought anyway, it might be a way to reopen MEI by help of EU laws for minorities. In all cases, thank you for reading and your time spent. Please have in mind my aim is not to insult anyone but to give my opinions through my experiences without passing judgements on anyone, even the ones who insulted and talked behind my back for defending MEI, as I do understand that most of them were employed somewhere by AGBU so obviously they couldn't raise their finger too to object or they would lose their income! At the end of the day, our legacy from Melkonian Brothers- to remain alive, to defend our culture and heritage where ever we may be however we can. Taline Babikian

NANOR'S GLASS ART JEWELLERY SHOW STILL ON EXHIBIT AT VARTAN'S GALLERY

Nanor's new glass art jewellery collection is still on display at Vartan Gallery in Nicosia. Her new collection features her new fused glass jewellery as well as unique flamework, all one of a kind pieces. Feel free to bring a friend along and spread the news! For more information, visit www.nanorart.com, Vartan Gallery, 27 C & D Athalassa Ave., 2012 Strovolos, Nicosia +357-99623068

TURKISH AND ISRAELI JOURNALIST HONOURED WITH HRANT DINK AWARD

17.09.2009 - PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish journalist, columnist of Taraf newspaper Alper Gormus and Israeli journalist Amira Haas were honoured with Hrant Dink International Award during an annual ceremony in Bolis. The event was attended by state minister, Turkey's chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis, DTP party member Aken Birdal, EU representatives and well-known musician Arto Tuncboyaciyan, who performed with "Turk Brothers" band. Dink's widow Rakel Dink and Ali Bayramoglu, chairman award committee of the International Hrant Dink Foundation established by the Dink family, delivered speeches. Last year the award went to publisher and publicist Ragip Zakaroglu.

THE GOMIDAS QUARTET IN CYPRUS SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 7:30 PM PALLAS THEATRE - NICOSIA

organised by the Office of the Armenian Representative, on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the birth of Gomidas Vartabed

to view Gomidas Quartet on youtube click here

ANI ... HAUNTED BY HISTORY

By Owen Matthews | NEWSWEEK - From the magazine issue dated Sept 14, 2009

The ruins of the ancient Armenian capital of Ani are haunting, and haunted. On what is now a windblown patch of grassland enclosed in colossal walls and dotted with ancient cathedrals, there was once a great city. You can still see the ghosts of its streets outlined in the turf, and inside the granite churches you can make out the fading faces of saints and kings painted on the ceilings more than a millennium ago. On one side of the city, a dramatic single-span bridge, now ruined, brought the Silk Road across the gorge of the Akhurian River. On the other, the road wound on across the Anatolian plains to Constantinople and the great trading cities of the Mediterranean. Once, Ani was close to the center of the world. Today, it feels like the end of the earth.

Only a few determined tourists make it to this remote patch of borderland on Turkey's frontier with Armenia (it's just four years since it became possible to visit the site without special permission from the military). In its heyday, being at the crossroads of empires made Ani as large and as wealthy as Venice. But for most of history, that crossroads has also been a cursed place. The Seljuk Turks took Ani from the Armenians in the middle of the 11th century. After that, it's hard to name an Asian conqueror who didn't stop off at Ani—the Mongols, Tamerlane, the Persians, the Ottomans, and the Russians all tramped through. But the ghosts I'm talking about are much less ancient than the medieval walls and churches—and less serene. The Anatolian plateau around Ani witnessed some of the worst slaughter of World War I. On the orders of a megalomaniacal commander, 90,000 Ottoman soldiers froze to death fighting the Russians in the snowy passes. Meanwhile, Ottoman troops and vigilantes were deporting the region's Armenians for allegedly sympathising with the Russians. More than a million died on forced marches to Syria. Today, no Armenians remain in what was the cradle of Armenian culture since pre-Roman times. I don't believe in ghosts. But maybe I believe in the spirit of a place. And in Ani, and all over ancient Armenia—now eastern Turkey—there's something missing. There's a feeling that the place has been abandoned by history, and by the people who made the place's history. Lately, though, the governments of both Turkey and Armenia have been feeling their way toward reconciliation. Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the 1915 massacres as genocide matters less to the Armenians of Armenia than it does to Armenian expatriates. The locals care much more about cross-border trade, cheaper electricity supplies, tourism—the nuts and bolts of daily life. And the elements of diplomacy have been falling into place: a friendly soccer match, an equally friendly return match, and presidential visits. A few soccer matches don't efface the murder of a whole population from memory. But perhaps Ani supplies a clue as to how the future world might look. Ani's two greatest cathedrals served Christianity for less than 70 years before being converted to mosques by the Seljuks. But the Turkish conquerors left most churches as they were, side by side with new mosques. Like all the great trading cities of the medieval world, Ani was a promiscuous mix of faiths and peoples—a crossroads, a meeting point, a place of equal footing. Perhaps with the opening of the border, this corner of the world could start to become a crossroads again, instead of a lonely dead end.

Harut Sassounian has 10 major concerns regarding Turkey - Armenia protocols

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Letters to the Editor

"But it is not the Board and Central Committee which are wholly to blame for the sale of the Melkonian. A lot of the blame should also be shared by the ordinary members of the AGBU, the different Alumni of the school and by the Ramgavar party leaders to whom the AGBU owes unofficial allegiance." Please add here: the Armenian Republic ex-council of ministers and the Catholicos, who are the main responsible parties for this anti-Armenian act. Edouard Selian, PhD - Los Angeles

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The Pivotal Role of Lebanon's Armenian Christians by Gary C. Gambill

Lebanon's parliamentary elections demonstrated the growing political significance of the country's seventh largest ethno-sectarian community. Due to a number of political and historical factors, Armenian Christians lined up predominantly on the side of the opposition and helped propel it to victory in Lebanon's largest Christian district. The balance of power in the next election cycle may well hinge on whether they stay this course.

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Daniel Sagherian responds to Gibrahayer Facebook article

I read this article, as well as Ara Sanjian's chronology of events to the 2009 Elections. Both, among other things, fail to highlight two main points that the Armenian Lebanese community, the heart of the Armenian Diaspora demands, is facing : (1). Sunni petro-dollars are taking over both Lebanon and Syria; repatriating Palestinians in Lebanon; ... Read more and kind of exchange lost Palestine with gaining of Lebanon and Syria. This plays to the tune of Israel, USA, Saudis, and Turkey, against Shiite/ Iranian/Russian aspirations. Loss of the last Christian remnants of the ME are the collateral damage to this policy, Armenian Lebanese being part of this loss. (2). In a 50/50 Parliament, which appoints the Prime Minister and the Army General and the Governor of the Central Bank, and elects the President and the Speaker, subdued independent Armenian Bloc is what awaits ALL Christians. Beirut, all Greater Syria, is nothing but Sunni for them, and Armenians nothing but French intrusion. Some Maronite extremist leaders think all Christian Lebanese are OBLIGED to speak a Maronite tone. Some Sunni extremist leaders think partitionist Christians who even collaborated with Israel in massacring Arab Muslims should be fought back by Sunnifying Beirut, similar to Tripoli, Saida, and beyond... thus putting petro-dollars into their own ... Read more mouths, and redistricting, bribing, imposing Tai'f Accords, buying the votes of a 50:50 Parliament ( the key to EVERY political office)... And there is an Armenian Lebanese leadership and masse, that strives to say NO to both, and dare to stay as independent as possible, EVEN at the cost of losing rubber-stamp seats and assignments...

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Saturday 26 September 5:00pm - Armenian Evangelical church service, in The Greek Evangelical church, 20 Gladstonos street, Nicosia. Speaker: Hrayr Jebejian Sunday 27 September at 10:00 am at Sourp Kevork Church in Limassol - Divine Liturgy and Madaghorhnek on the name feast of Sourp Kevork Wednesday 28 October 8:00pm - Public Lecture organised by the Armenian Evangelical church. Title: HAY ASDVADSASHOUNCIN SHAHEGANOUTIOUNE- BADMAGAN AGNARG YEV NERGA OREROU HRAMAYAGANERE. Speaker: Dr. Ari Topouzkhanian (Laser Physicist- French National Center for Scientific Research - Lyon, France). The lecture will take place in the Armenian Prelacy’s Utudjian Hall, Nicosia Friday 30 October 8:30pm - Public lecture organised by the Armenian Evangelical church. Title: HAVADK YEV KIDOUTIOUN - 21 RORT TAROU HAY YERIDASARTIN PENDERDOUKE. Speaker: Dr. Ari Topuzkhanian (Laser Physicist- French National Center for Scientific Research- Lyon, France). The lecture will take place in the Armenian Prelacy’s Utudjian Hall and is dedicated for the “2009- Year of Youth” Saturday 31 October 7.30pm at Pallas Theatre - Concert by Gomidas Quartet of Armenia, organised by the Office of the Armenian Representative, on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the birth of Gomidas Vartabed Saturday 31 October 4:30pm Armenian Evangelical church service in the Greek Evangelical Church, 20 Gladstonos street, Nicosia. Speaker: Dr. Ari Topouzkhanian (Laser Physicist- French National Center for Scientific Research- Lyon, France). The service will be dedicated for “TARKMANCHATZ” Thursday 26 November - Annual Telethon of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund. Your contributions can be sent to The Armenian Prelature of Cyprus. Telephone: 22493560 Sunday 29 November 4:00pm at the Cleopatra Hotel, Nicosia - Annual Christmas Charity Tea and Handicraft Bazaar organised by The Armenian Relief Society (HOM) Cyprus ‘’Sosse” chapter. As always the proceeds from the Charity Tea will be used to fund the numerous charity programmes sponsored by our Society

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