Indian Government Partners with Armenia Fund
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Thursday, 30 September 2010
ANCT Hosts Reception for Town of Markham Candidates
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For Immediate Release September 28, 2010 MARKHAM, Ontario - On Saturday, September 25, 2010, The Armenian National Committee of Toronto (ANCT) organized a reception on behalf of the Armenian community of Markham for a number of candidates running for leadership positions in the upcoming Town of Markham municipal elections. The event was held in the home of ANCT member and Markham resident, Nshan (Mark) Atikian who welcomed a number of candidates including: Deputy Mayor Jack Heath; Regional Councillor Gordon Landon; current Councillor for Ward 6 and Regional Council candidate, Dan Horchik; Councillor for Ward 8, Alex Chiu; and Councillor Candidate for Ward 6, Khalid Usman. Mr. Atikian said about the event, "Today served as an excellent opportunity for the candidates from the Town of Markham to meet with the Armenian National Committee's election team, as well as their own constituents, to express their vision for the Town of Markham, while also hearing the questions and concerns of the Armenian community."
The candidates were each given the opportunity to speak on the issues they feel are most important to the continued growth and success of Markham. They spoke about issues such as taxes, waste management, energy, public transportation and traffic.
ANCT Chair, Vahan Ajamian noted, "This reception served as a good way to discuss issues of concern with candidates looking to be our elected representatives for the next four years. The ANCT will be publishing our endorsement list very shortly for key races in the Town of Markham and City of Toronto. I am sure our community will take it into consideration and go and make its voice heard on October 25, 2010." For more information, or to volunteer with the ANCT during the election campaign contact: Araz Hasserjian - araz.hasserjian@anctoronto.org or 416-491-2900. About ANCT |
FATHER FRANK’S RANTS - Art of Murder
Rant Number 413 1 October 2010
‘On Murder, Considered as One of the Fine Arts’ is a tract by the English writer Thomas De Quincey. A witty and provocative oration. Ranging from Cain and Abel through the medieval Assassins and on to Burke and Hare, via the murders, real or imagined, of thinkers like Descartes, Spinoza and Kant. But murder as a moral or judicial act did not much interest De Quincey. Rather, he dealt with the subject aesthetically, from the point of view of a philosophy of ‘good taste’. England had seen societies for the promotion of vice, Hell Fire Clubs, even an association formed for the suppression of virtue. (A topical concept, surely. It now exists and it rages on.) Could not a new society be set up for the encouragement of murder, he wondered? Or, more euphemistically, a society for the aesthetically curious in homicide, the connoisseurs in murder? The murder-fanciers, so to speak? Good job De Quincey restricted himself to satire, black humour and literary conceit, or Scotland Yard might have haunted him.
Although Brazilian artist Gil Vicente might never have heard of On Murder, his art has distinctly Quincean echoes. Nine of his charcoal drawings currently in the Sao Paulo Biennial exhibition depict him about to slaughter some recognisable public figures. Israel’s Ariel Sharon, Brazil’s President Lula, George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Benedict, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the like. For the artist’s, they are all ‘enemies’. ‘They kill so many people’ he allegedly claimed. Most of them he just shoots, whereas for his own President he chooses the butcher’s knife, cutting his throat, like a sheep offered in primitive sacrifice.
The chosen sitters evince a certain shrewdness or low cunning in the artist. Sharon’s execution might have aroused fearsome pro-Israeli wrath. (The comatose ex-PM is virtually dead, anyway. What would be the point of killing a corpse?) Ahmadinejad’s shooting redresses the balance. Despite his apparent daring the painter follows a sensibly bourgeois via media. He gives ‘un colpo al cerchio e uno alla botte’, as we say in Italian. The maverick Iranian leader has become everyone’s favourite whipping boy. I don’t reckon Sao Paulo is teeming with vengeful Shia Muslims. You know how to play it safe, Gil.
Murdering the Pope? That is not so irrational. I don’t mean to invoke the strident atheist brigade and the liberal lovelies that agitate against Benedict. It is not that. As a living icon of Christ, the Pope is called not only to serve and follow Jesus but also to represent him in a deeper way. He has to be, as Supreme Pontiff, an Alter Christus, another Christ. As human intolerance and hatred of the light murdered Christ 2000 years ago, it would not be unfitting for the Pope to fall victim to the same odious inhumanity. Indeed, the drawing shows the Pope raising up his hands towards his murderer, as if he was acting as High Priest, celebrating the great sacrament of the Eucharist. So, if the drawing was meant as a smart-alecky joke, it has actually turned out to symbolise something really true and significant. The image conveys a mystical truth – and the joke actually is on the painter.
The assassination of the Queen the priest cannot make any sense of. She is a constitutional monarch. Indeed, a mere figurehead. As such, she reigns but does not rule or govern. When she opens parliament, she simply reads out speeches written for her by the Prime Minister. She is not morally responsible for the actions of her government and ministers. The anarchists and nihilists of old might have felt justified in butchering Tsars and other tyrants. (None of Vicente’s Enemies is a dictator, strictly speaking. They all came to power after elections.) Shooting in the back an 84-year-old grandmother, however, is no act of bravery. It makes me really angry. I am trying to think of a condign punishment for this impudent Brazilian cuss....oh, yes! I have it! I’d have him bitten to death by the Queen’s corgi dogs. Those lively Welsh pets with short legs, long ears and sharp teeth. They would savage the impudent fellow ferociously. It would serve him right.
One thing is certain, Gil. You are no Michelangelo or Leonardo. Not even a Salvador Dali. Your drawings look like the sort of cheap stuff aimed at tourists you can see hanging here in London at week-ends on Green Park railings. Monochrome and crudely representational, they are telltale. Yes, they tell the tale of the utter mediocrity, the poverty of your craftsmanship. You spent too long training with the gun, perhaps. Shooting at close quarters requires no great skills but painting...oh, man, the painter’s hand needs real training. And flair. And genius occasionally, too. De Quincey’s murders were example of Fine Arts. I see nothing fine or artistic in your exercises. Sorry, I have got to break it to you – cruel to be kind - you are in the wrong job.
Preaching, moralism and didacticism are perennial artistic temptations. Artists who succumb to them end up producing crap. Rarely, they succeed, like in Picasso’s Guernica, or in Goya’s Caprichos. Most of the time, however, the conjunction of art and virtue results in the stultifying banalities of Soviet art, the banal socialist realism sponsored by Stalin and his ilk. And artists who pursue the romantic model, who turn their own lives into a work of art, usually do so at their peril. But at least a Byron and a Van Gogh and a Burroughs put their own lives on the chopping block. They had guts. What could Gil do to emulate them? Hmmm, tricky.
The legend about the mysterious Austrian actionist Rudolf Schwartzkogler could perhaps serve as a model. That chap allegedly displayed bits of his own body in various exhibitions. Starting with innocent nails clippings and hair. Then he moved on to mutilating other bodily parts, a finger, an ear and...I’ll spare you the gory details. A remarkable collection that must have been in art galleries. It seems the artist at last expired through his art. Mad as a hatter, sure but...I kind of respect the guy. He turned his own body into iconography. Brave man!
Is the Spirit of painting trying to tell you something, Gil?
Revd Frank Julian Gelli
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
LOUSSAPATZ 852
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ARTICLE BY KHACHIG JANOYAN LOS ANGELES, U.S.A
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Sunday, 26 September 2010
News, Action and Weekend Events
Dear Friends,
Given the U.S. Senate’s action on the nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan and the announcement of the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia’s Diaspora Tour this week, we thought you would appreciate the following list of items for your consideration along with announcements regarding two events this weekend.
THANK SEN. BOXER FOR BLOCKING BRYZA
Despite serious concerns regarding Matthew Bryza’s unusually close ties to Azerbaijani government officials, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to approve his nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan on September 21. Following the vote, Senator Barbara Boxer placed a “hold” on the nomination, which prevents fast-tracked Senate consideration of the Bryza nomination, effectively blocking his confirmation for this ambassadorial post. To learn more, please visit http://anca.org. Please take a moment to thank Sen. Boxer for blocking the Bryza nomination by calling (202) 224-3553.
AMBASSADOR MARIE L. YOVANOVITCH TO VISIT ARMENIAN DIASPORA IN THE U.S.
On October 3-14, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch will travel to the U.S. to meet with representatives of the Armenian-American Diaspora community in Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. She looks forward to exchanging views on current developments in Armenia, U.S-Armenian relations, and U.S. assistance to Armenia.
In all of the cities, the Ambassador will hold public Town Hall Meetings with all interested members of the Armenian community. In addition, she will meet with members of youth groups, representatives of community organizations, as well as clergy.
The Town Hall Meeting in San Francisco is scheduled for October 7, 2010, 7:00 pm at the San Francisco Marriot Marquis. Additional information about the Ambassador’s trip, as well as updates to the schedule, will be posted on the U.S. Embassy Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usdos.armenia. Updates will be also available through Twitter at www.twitter.com/usembarmenia. Finally, the public can email questions about the tour to DiasporaTour@state.gov.
EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Saturday September 25, 2010
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s 120th anniversary event at Saroyan Hall has been cancelled.
Sunday September 26, 2010, 2:30 pm
UC Berkeley Armenian Alumni and Bay Area Armenian National Committee wine and cheese reception with photographer and “How We Live” author Sara Anjargolian
St. John’s Church
275 Olympia Blvd.
San Francisco, CA
Free admission. Books will be available for purchase. $40 cash/check only please.
Email contact@ucbaa.com for more information.
For more information about Sara’s projects visit www.SaraAnjargolian.com.
---
Armenian National Committee
San Francisco - Bay Area
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: 415-387-3433
Fax: 415-751-0617
mail@ancsf.org
www.ancsf.org
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3122
Armenian Genocide News
Security tightened at Senedd for Armenian exhibition
Sep 25 2010 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail
SPECIAL security measures have been put in place at the Senedd to protect
an exhibition marking what Armenians describe as genocide committed
against their nation by Turkey nearly 100 years ago.
The exhibition is the first of its kind to be held at any legislature in the world,
and is being hailed by the Armenian diaspora as a major step forward in their
campaign to get international recognition for the genocide claim.
However, many Turks bitterly resent the suggestion that their nation committed
genocide in 1915 and some have resorted to violence against those who make
the claim.
In 2007, Hrant Dink, the editor of a Turkish Armenian newspaper, was
assassinated in Istanbul after writing articles that were critical of what he saw as
Turkey’s failure to come to terms with its past.
A year later, a memorial cross erected outside Cardiff’s Temple of Peace was
smashed the night before a gathering to commemorate the first anniversary of
Dink’s murder.
Today, the photographic exhibition about the dark moment in European history
will be opened on the first floor in the Senedd.
Usually, such exhibitions are unmanned, but because of the perceived threat from
Turkish opponents, those wanting to see it will have to be accompanied by security
volunteers.
The events involved massacres and deportations in forced marches under
conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of
resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been 1-1.5 million.
It is acknowledged by many historians to have been one of the first modern
genocides, with scholars pointing to the systematic, organised manner in which
the killings were carried out.
It is the second most studied case of genocide after the Holocaust.
The majority of Armenian diaspora communities were founded as a result of what
happened.
John Torosyan, a leading member of the Welsh Armenian community, said:
“There is no doubt that Wales is leading the rest of the UK in the long overdue
recognition for the Armenian genocide.
“That is clearly demonstrated by the unveiling of the Khatckar [memorial cross]
“That is clearly demonstrated by the unveiling of the Khatckar [memorial cross]
at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff – the only monument in the UK on public grounds
– in November 2007, the Holocaust Memorial Day event in January 2010 in which
the Armenians were mentioned for the first time in 10 years, the message of
sympathy we received from First Minister Carwyn Jones in April this year, and now
this exhibition.”
The exhibition, which is sponsored by Plaid Cymru AM Dai Lloyd, has been put
together by Armenian historian Vardan Tadevosyan.
He said: “This is an exhibition about the genocide which took place, but also tells
of the links between Armenia and the UK.”
The exhibition is on show until next Friday.
Armen Hareyan
HULIQ.com
Sept 22 2010
The truly historic religious service in Holy Cross (Surp Khach - in
Armenian) church of Akhtamar Island in eastern Turkish province of Van
successfully took place on September 19, without any unduly incident.
Around 500 policemen with dogs supervised the peace for the worshipers
and pilgrims.
Akhtamar Armenian church, a silent remnant of the Armenian 10th century
heritage on those lands got renovated by the European-oriented Turkish
government of AK party in 2007, months after Hrant Dink was murdered
in front of his newspaper offices. Back then the church was opened
up only as a museum, uncrossed, unhallowed, and exclusively under
jurisdiction of Ministry of Culture. The things remained there for
the years leading to the first-ever religious ceremony in 95 years,
despite earlier hopes to the positive developments.
With this in mind, the fact that this church is renovated is much
better than thousands of those Armenian churches in Turkey still
in ruins.
>From September 20 and onwards the developments around the island
will be of more interest for those who believe in the power of the
so-called "Sevres syndrome". As a nation that lives with its past
side by side, the Armenians - both from Diaspora and Armenia-proper -
will discover the lost lands of their ancestors and, perhaps, the
wealthiest of them will start investing there, paving the way to the
Reconquista. Ironically, if this happens Armenians in Yerevan will be
more negative about border-opening and normalization on the principles
signed in Zurich 2009.
The first signs of this happened just on the ceremony day.
A guy from now-Turkish Mush province, as Turks call those - a donmeh
or an Islamized Armenian - was offering the pilgrims to enjoy grapes
from his hometown, and was quoted by some outlets as "being satisfied
with the sole fact of seeing Armenians smiling".
Another donmeh, a 70-year now-Kurdish Armenian woman who didn't ever
get married and didn't have any heirs, was quoted as saying she "felt
perfect, since she was there in search of her roots". This quote seems
to be quite symbolic since around 1000 Armenians from every corner of
the world went to Akhtamar in search of something on September 19 -
lost home and property, to give a traditional kiss to the land and
drink the water, and, at the end of the day, in search for oneself.
As new groups of Armenians traveling in those territories of Eastern
Turkey - they will have more and more chances to interact with locals,
which, in turn, will have no immediate, but sound consequences in
the years to come.
Written by Hovhannes Nikoghosyan Mr. Nikoghosyan is a research fellow
at Yerevan-based Public Policy Institute.
Armenian News
News from Armenia - NEWS.am
Difficult to be Armenian in Turkey, Agos Editor says
September 25, 2010 | 12:32
In an interview with one of the Turkish TV channels Rober Koptas, the
Editor of Agos bilingual Armenian-Turkish daily, spoke of difficulties
of being an Armenian in Turkey.
He noted that his relatives called him Rober, though his passport name
is Murad, as his father did not want his son to have difficulties
because of his name, while serving in the army. Speaking about school
years, Rober mentioned that he did not want to sing Turkey's anthem.
According to the Agos editor, it is very difficult to be an Armenian
in Turkey. The word `Armenian' is used as swearing. One of his
friends, who is not Armenian, was not allowed to take a taxi, as he is
working for Agos newspaper, Rober stressed.
Rober Koptas also commented on the religious service in Surb Khach
church on Akhtamar Island, saying that it should remain a church, not
a museum. The Agos editor stressed that he believes in sincerity of
authorities' Armenian initiatives.
Turkey treads cautiously on question of Armenian past
By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Van, Turkey
*The Turkish government wants to improve relations with Armenia, but is it
ready to leave behind decades of nationalist dogma and fully confront the
country's past?*
>From the vantage point of the ancient castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop,
you can see the whole of the city of Van, spread out between the dazzling
blue of the great lake and the jagged mountains to the east.
It is a featureless sprawl of ugly apartment blocks that you might find in
any provincial Turkish city. Nothing suggests that it has any history going
back more than a few decades.
If you then look to the south, directly beneath you is an area of rough
grass, criss-crossed by a maze of paths, with just a few fragments of
buildings still visible. The story of how the Armenians vanished is not discussed
September 25, 2010 | 12:32
In an interview with one of the Turkish TV channels Rober Koptas, the
Editor of Agos bilingual Armenian-Turkish daily, spoke of difficulties
of being an Armenian in Turkey.
He noted that his relatives called him Rober, though his passport name
is Murad, as his father did not want his son to have difficulties
because of his name, while serving in the army. Speaking about school
years, Rober mentioned that he did not want to sing Turkey's anthem.
According to the Agos editor, it is very difficult to be an Armenian
in Turkey. The word `Armenian' is used as swearing. One of his
friends, who is not Armenian, was not allowed to take a taxi, as he is
working for Agos newspaper, Rober stressed.
Rober Koptas also commented on the religious service in Surb Khach
church on Akhtamar Island, saying that it should remain a church, not
a museum. The Agos editor stressed that he believes in sincerity of
authorities' Armenian initiatives.
Turkey treads cautiously on question of Armenian past
By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Van, Turkey
*The Turkish government wants to improve relations with Armenia, but is it
ready to leave behind decades of nationalist dogma and fully confront the
country's past?*
>From the vantage point of the ancient castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop,
you can see the whole of the city of Van, spread out between the dazzling
blue of the great lake and the jagged mountains to the east.
It is a featureless sprawl of ugly apartment blocks that you might find in
any provincial Turkish city. Nothing suggests that it has any history going
back more than a few decades.
If you then look to the south, directly beneath you is an area of rough
grass, criss-crossed by a maze of paths, with just a few fragments of
buildings still visible. The story of how the Armenians vanished is not discussed
in Van today
This is Old Van, a city that, until its destruction, had been continuously
inhabited for more than 3,000 years.
And a large part of the people who inhabited it were Armenians - it had once
been at the heart of a great Armenian empire.
Today there are almost none.
The only two buildings still standing there are mosques. Of the dozen or so
churches, there is no trace.
The story of how the Armenians vanished from their historic homeland is not
discussed in Van today.
The city proudly describes the waves of invaders who have passed through -
Parthians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Seljuk Turks - but the Armenians who
dominated the city just a century ago are hardly mentioned.
This is not surprising really, when you consider that the Ottoman Empire's
biggest minority was driven out of Anatolia in 1915 on ghastly death
marches.
At least half, maybe much more, of the original population died, in
This is Old Van, a city that, until its destruction, had been continuously
inhabited for more than 3,000 years.
And a large part of the people who inhabited it were Armenians - it had once
been at the heart of a great Armenian empire.
Today there are almost none.
The only two buildings still standing there are mosques. Of the dozen or so
churches, there is no trace.
The story of how the Armenians vanished from their historic homeland is not
discussed in Van today.
The city proudly describes the waves of invaders who have passed through -
Parthians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Seljuk Turks - but the Armenians who
dominated the city just a century ago are hardly mentioned.
This is not surprising really, when you consider that the Ottoman Empire's
biggest minority was driven out of Anatolia in 1915 on ghastly death
marches.
At least half, maybe much more, of the original population died, in
what many historians call the modern world's first genocide.
Today the inhabitants of Van are mainly Kurdish, some probably the
descendants of those who killed and seized the property of the Armenians.
The current Turkish government is the first one to seek some kind of
accommodation with its Armenian past.
It needs to if it is to fulfil its ambition to be a regional power and to be
part of the European Union.
That is why it permitted a Christian service to take place last Sunday in
the beautiful little church on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van.
It is the only historic Armenian building still standing in eastern
Anatolia, and among the most holy for Armenian Christians.
*'Bittersweet'*
I happened to be in a bus with an Armenian choir from Istanbul who had been
invited to sing at the service.
They were being treated as VIPs - the municipal government wanted them to
feel welcome - and we were being given a tour. About 1,000 Armenians came
Today the inhabitants of Van are mainly Kurdish, some probably the
descendants of those who killed and seized the property of the Armenians.
The current Turkish government is the first one to seek some kind of
accommodation with its Armenian past.
It needs to if it is to fulfil its ambition to be a regional power and to be
part of the European Union.
That is why it permitted a Christian service to take place last Sunday in
the beautiful little church on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van.
It is the only historic Armenian building still standing in eastern
Anatolia, and among the most holy for Armenian Christians.
*'Bittersweet'*
I happened to be in a bus with an Armenian choir from Istanbul who had been
invited to sing at the service.
They were being treated as VIPs - the municipal government wanted them to
feel welcome - and we were being given a tour. About 1,000 Armenians came
to the rocky island for the service
Our guide was a young local woman called Fatima. She had won over her
Our guide was a young local woman called Fatima. She had won over her
guests by singing some lovely renditions of old Armenian ballads.
But when she pointed out the wasteland that is the old city today, all she
could say was that the Armenians had, in her words, "disappeared".
For a few moments the bus went quiet then everyone broke into song again.
None of the Istanbul Armenians wanted to talk about the past. They are a
very small community, acutely aware of their vulnerability.
The Armenians who had come from the United States for the service were more
forthright.
"It's bittersweet, coming here," said one man whose grandparents had fled
from Van during the killings.
"We're like parallel cultures, we even look the same," he said, "only we
hate each other."
He said there had been strong pressure on him from other American Armenians
not to come - they saw the one-off church service as a cynical publicity
stunt by Turkey.
At times on Sunday it did seem like that.
The local government had invited an army of journalists to witness the
service who threatened to overwhelm the congregation. It also invited local
Muslims, who talked and laughed all the way through it.
No-one made any effort to respect the sanctity of the ceremony.
A local boatman told me he was puzzled by the way they were praying.
But when she pointed out the wasteland that is the old city today, all she
could say was that the Armenians had, in her words, "disappeared".
For a few moments the bus went quiet then everyone broke into song again.
None of the Istanbul Armenians wanted to talk about the past. They are a
very small community, acutely aware of their vulnerability.
The Armenians who had come from the United States for the service were more
forthright.
"It's bittersweet, coming here," said one man whose grandparents had fled
from Van during the killings.
"We're like parallel cultures, we even look the same," he said, "only we
hate each other."
He said there had been strong pressure on him from other American Armenians
not to come - they saw the one-off church service as a cynical publicity
stunt by Turkey.
At times on Sunday it did seem like that.
The local government had invited an army of journalists to witness the
service who threatened to overwhelm the congregation. It also invited local
Muslims, who talked and laughed all the way through it.
No-one made any effort to respect the sanctity of the ceremony.
A local boatman told me he was puzzled by the way they were praying.
He had never seen a Christian service before. "And why are they crying,"
he asked? He had no idea.
*No discussion*
The Turkish government still fiercely defends its version of history - that
what happened in 1915 was a tragedy, not a war crime.
In Van, it points out, the Armenians took up arms. For a while they
controlled the city and later they helped enemy Russian forces to occupy it.
Today, most of the population of Van are Kurds
In the chaos of war, it says, large numbers of Turkish Muslims also died.
But the annihilation of the Armenians is simply blanked out of the
*No discussion*
The Turkish government still fiercely defends its version of history - that
what happened in 1915 was a tragedy, not a war crime.
In Van, it points out, the Armenians took up arms. For a while they
controlled the city and later they helped enemy Russian forces to occupy it.
Today, most of the population of Van are Kurds
In the chaos of war, it says, large numbers of Turkish Muslims also died.
But the annihilation of the Armenians is simply blanked out of the
history taught in Turkish schools.
There is no discussion, and real dangers await those who try to start
There is no discussion, and real dangers await those who try to start
one.
It is less than four years since the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was
murdered in Istanbul by a young nationalist for calling for just such a
debate.
"This church service is pointless if the Turkish government only wants
It is less than four years since the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was
murdered in Istanbul by a young nationalist for calling for just such a
debate.
"This church service is pointless if the Turkish government only wants
to appear more tolerant," one Armenian journalist told me.
"It has to change the mindset of the people. Make them confront their
"It has to change the mindset of the people. Make them confront their
past."
In the dreary avenues of modern-day Van, that process has not started yet.
Its history is still buried under layers of concrete and by Turkey's
uncompromising nationalist dogma.
*How to listen to: From Our Own Correspondent*
Radio 4: Saturdays, 1130. Second weekly edition on Thursdays, 1100 (some
weeks only)
In the dreary avenues of modern-day Van, that process has not started yet.
Its history is still buried under layers of concrete and by Turkey's
uncompromising nationalist dogma.
*How to listen to: From Our Own Correspondent*
Radio 4: Saturdays, 1130. Second weekly edition on Thursdays, 1100 (some
weeks only)
Akhtamar mass spurs search for Armenian legacy in Turkey's East:
Hurriyet Daily News
10:52 - 25.09.10
The historic religious ceremony held September 19 at Sourb Khach
Church (Saint Cross) in eastern Turkey will have long-lasting effects,
according to Armenians who anticipate more churches being restored and
more people reclaiming their ethnic identities, writes Hurriet Daily
News.
"Families from all corners of Turkey are coming to us in search of the
roots of their families. Members of my own family have changed their
identity cards to be listed as Christian," Archbishop Aram Atesyan,
Deputy Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, told the
paper. "Many people who had 'Muslim' written in their identity cards
are confessing that they are hidden Armenians."
Following the Armenian Genocide in the waning days of the Ottoman
Empire, many of those remaining in the area changed their names and
assumed identities as Kurdish Muslims. According to Atesyan, the
current process of democratization in Turkey is slowly eliminating the
fears that led people to take such measures.
That process had perhaps its most dramatic manifestation to date in
the rite at the Sourb Khach on Akhtamar Island near the eastern
province of Van, the first such service to be held there in 95 years.
Though that church has been the subject of intense media focus, it is
only one of several Armenian monasteries and churches in the province,
where a number of villages are still known by their Armenian names.
Local residents say many of the buildings have been demolished,
especially since the mid-1990s.
In the village of Nareg, 40 kilometers north of Van, only a few
stones remain of the Naregevank Monastery complex, which a
man who identified himself only as Mahmet said the village people
were ordered to demolish in the 1990s. Homes have been built on
the former site in Nareg, a village named for the 10th-century
prominent philosopher and poet St. Grigor Narekatsi. Mahmet, 95,
who said he is of Kurdish origin, also claimed the governor's
building in the center of Van was built from the stones taken from
the Naregevank Monastery.
Varakavank Monastery to be restored
The Varakavank Monastery in the village of Yukari Bakracli, also known
as "seven churches," is little better off than its counterpart in
Nareg. Only one floor is left of the once-impressive monastery, built
in 1003 by the Armenian King Senekerim. All of the invaluable
manuscripts once held in its library have been lost.
The Van Governor's Office told the Daily News in August that the
monastery will soon be restored, as will the Ktuts Monastery on
Varakavank Monastery to be restored
The Varakavank Monastery in the village of Yukari Bakracli, also known
as "seven churches," is little better off than its counterpart in
Nareg. Only one floor is left of the once-impressive monastery, built
in 1003 by the Armenian King Senekerim. All of the invaluable
manuscripts once held in its library have been lost.
The Van Governor's Office told the Daily News in August that the
monastery will soon be restored, as will the Ktuts Monastery on
Lake Van's Carpanak Island, part of efforts to turn Van into the
culture and tourism center of Turkey's East.
The owner and guardian of the now-defunct Varakavank Monastery is an
Armenian who hides his ethnic identity. Kerim avoided revealing his
family name and introduced himself as a Kurdish Muslim. Kerim said
when his father died he left the monastery's land to him and said he
should protect the church at any cost, in the name of Christ.
"His wish surprised me. We were Muslim and I did not understand
The owner and guardian of the now-defunct Varakavank Monastery is an
Armenian who hides his ethnic identity. Kerim avoided revealing his
family name and introduced himself as a Kurdish Muslim. Kerim said
when his father died he left the monastery's land to him and said he
should protect the church at any cost, in the name of Christ.
"His wish surprised me. We were Muslim and I did not understand
why he wanted me to protect the church in the name of Christ,"
Kerim said, adding that he only learned upon insistent questioning
of older relatives that the family was in fact Armenian.
Kerim said he worked as the village imam for all his life and lived as
a pious Muslim. He keeps the monastery locked and maintains strict
control over the visitors who are allowed to enter. He cleaned the
interior on his own and laid all the stones in a corner, in numerical
order, in hopes that it will one day be restored. Because he is
influential in the village, no one interferes with his efforts, but
Kerim said he has experienced a lot of difficulties in his life.
"It was not that easy to protect this place," he said.
Fears and hopes of finds
The small steps toward reclaiming Van's Armenian past have aroused
some controversy and speculation. Mehmet Tuncel Aga, the guide who
accompanied the Daily News to the villages in the area, said the lands
Armenians had to leave in 1915 are now under the control of his Buriki
clan, one of the biggest in eastern and southeastern Anatolia. The son
of Fariz Aga, the head of the clan, Tuncel Aga said members of the
Turkmen tribes who settled in the homes abandoned by the
Kerim said he worked as the village imam for all his life and lived as
a pious Muslim. He keeps the monastery locked and maintains strict
control over the visitors who are allowed to enter. He cleaned the
interior on his own and laid all the stones in a corner, in numerical
order, in hopes that it will one day be restored. Because he is
influential in the village, no one interferes with his efforts, but
Kerim said he has experienced a lot of difficulties in his life.
"It was not that easy to protect this place," he said.
Fears and hopes of finds
The small steps toward reclaiming Van's Armenian past have aroused
some controversy and speculation. Mehmet Tuncel Aga, the guide who
accompanied the Daily News to the villages in the area, said the lands
Armenians had to leave in 1915 are now under the control of his Buriki
clan, one of the biggest in eastern and southeastern Anatolia. The son
of Fariz Aga, the head of the clan, Tuncel Aga said members of the
Turkmen tribes who settled in the homes abandoned by the
Armenians feared their houses would be reclaimed by Armenians
who came to attend the Aktamar rite.
According to Tuncel Aga, there was considerable uneasiness among them
before the ceremony, and many people came to share their fears with
the leaders of the tribe. "We said the fears are groundless and that
the Armenians were just coming for the ceremony," he said, adding that
he made every effort to host the Armenians from Istanbul who came to
Van for the event.
Tuncel Aga also said Victor Bedoyan, an Armenian-American
According to Tuncel Aga, there was considerable uneasiness among them
before the ceremony, and many people came to share their fears with
the leaders of the tribe. "We said the fears are groundless and that
the Armenians were just coming for the ceremony," he said, adding that
he made every effort to host the Armenians from Istanbul who came to
Van for the event.
Tuncel Aga also said Victor Bedoyan, an Armenian-American
entrepreneur who tried to set up a business in Van in 2002, was treated
unjustly. "He opened a hotel here with the name Vartan, but some did
not want to see an Armenian managing a hotel. It was closed by the
Culture Ministry. We did not object to it. We made a mistake. We did
not foresee the current situation," Tuncel Aga said.
If the opportunity to open the hotel had not been taken from Bedoyan,
then the region would see more tourists today, he added.
If the opportunity to open the hotel had not been taken from Bedoyan,
then the region would see more tourists today, he added.
Armenians of Istanbul complain of lack of Diaspora's assistance in
financing of Armenian schools
September 24, 2010 - 17:57 AMT 12:57 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Coordinator of an educational commission created by Armenian
foundations of Istanbul at Yesilkoy School, Garo Paylan said that the
Armenian schools of Istanbul lack teachers of Armenian language, as a
result of which children gradually forget their mother tongue.
Besides, chairs of Armenian language do not operate in Turkey's
universities yet.
"The number of people who know Western Armenian at an academician
level is very limited in Turkey - only 5-10 people," said Paylan,
adding that they also face problems with books.
He noted that problems of security and existence of Armenian schools
are partially solved today. "After the murder of editor-in-chief of
Agos paper Hrant Dink, the Armenian educational institutions were
receiving letters with threats. And some parents did not want their
children to attend Armenian schools. However, these difficulties have
been overcome partially. Financing is another important issue. The
Turkish government does not allocate a penny. There are 16 Armenian
schools in Istanbul with 3,000 students. Until 1974, the Turkish state
had been paying for each student under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Currently, the community allocates funds, while the Diaspora does not
assist anyhow the Armenian educational institutions of Istanbul,"
Bianet agency quoted Paylan as saying.
financing of Armenian schools
September 24, 2010 - 17:57 AMT 12:57 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Coordinator of an educational commission created by Armenian
foundations of Istanbul at Yesilkoy School, Garo Paylan said that the
Armenian schools of Istanbul lack teachers of Armenian language, as a
result of which children gradually forget their mother tongue.
Besides, chairs of Armenian language do not operate in Turkey's
universities yet.
"The number of people who know Western Armenian at an academician
level is very limited in Turkey - only 5-10 people," said Paylan,
adding that they also face problems with books.
He noted that problems of security and existence of Armenian schools
are partially solved today. "After the murder of editor-in-chief of
Agos paper Hrant Dink, the Armenian educational institutions were
receiving letters with threats. And some parents did not want their
children to attend Armenian schools. However, these difficulties have
been overcome partially. Financing is another important issue. The
Turkish government does not allocate a penny. There are 16 Armenian
schools in Istanbul with 3,000 students. Until 1974, the Turkish state
had been paying for each student under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Currently, the community allocates funds, while the Diaspora does not
assist anyhow the Armenian educational institutions of Istanbul,"
Bianet agency quoted Paylan as saying.
Tert.am
Spivakov's concert brings Azerbaijani musicians to Armenia
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
Video clips from Akhtamar opening ceremony, only in Armenian
language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eUFNV-0T9k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRrnD-fkmoc&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrpDl2SA4k&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=158myd5NFtU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0JHmrAxIY0&NR=1
Armenians of Istanbul complain of lack of Diaspora's assistance in
financing of Armenian schools
September 24, 2010 - 17:57 AMT 12:57 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Coordinator of an educational commission created by Armenian
foundations of Istanbul at Yesilkoy School, Garo Paylan said that the
Armenian schools of Istanbul lack teachers of Armenian language, as a
result of which children gradually forget their mother tongue.
Besides, chairs of Armenian language do not operate in Turkey's
universities yet.
"The number of people who know Western Armenian at an academician
level is very limited in Turkey - only 5-10 people," said Paylan,
adding that they also face problems with books.
He noted that problems of security and existence of Armenian schools
are partially solved today. "After the murder of editor-in-chief of
Agos paper Hrant Dink, the Armenian educational institutions were
receiving letters with threats. And some parents did not want their
children to attend Armenian schools. However, these difficulties have
been overcome partially. Financing is another important issue. The
Turkish government does not allocate a penny. There are 16 Armenian
schools in Istanbul with 3,000 students. Until 1974, the Turkish state
had been paying for each student under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Currently, the community allocates funds, while the Diaspora does not
assist anyhow the Armenian educational institutions of Istanbul,"
Bianet agency quoted Paylan as saying.
Tert.am
Spivakov's concert brings Azerbaijani musicians to Armenia
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
Video clips from Akhtamar opening ceremony, only in Armenian
language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eUFNV-0T9k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRrnD-fkmoc&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrpDl2SA4k&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=158myd5NFtU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0JHmrAxIY0&NR=1
Armenian News
News from Armenia - NEWS.am
Difficult to be Armenian in Turkey, Agos Editor says
September 25, 2010 | 12:32
In an interview with one of the Turkish TV channels Rober Koptas, the
Editor of Agos bilingual Armenian-Turkish daily, spoke of difficulties
of being an Armenian in Turkey.
He noted that his relatives called him Rober, though his passport name
is Murad, as his father did not want his son to have difficulties
because of his name, while serving in the army. Speaking about school
years, Rober mentioned that he did not want to sing Turkey's anthem.
According to the Agos editor, it is very difficult to be an Armenian
in Turkey. The word `Armenian' is used as swearing. One of his
friends, who is not Armenian, was not allowed to take a taxi, as he is
working for Agos newspaper, Rober stressed.
Rober Koptas also commented on the religious service in Surb Khach
church on Akhtamar Island, saying that it should remain a church, not
a museum. The Agos editor stressed that he believes in sincerity of
authorities' Armenian initiatives.
Turkey treads cautiously on question of Armenian past
By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Van, Turkey
*The Turkish government wants to improve relations with Armenia, but is it
ready to leave behind decades of nationalist dogma and fully confront the
country's past?*
>From the vantage point of the ancient castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop,
you can see the whole of the city of Van, spread out between the dazzling
blue of the great lake and the jagged mountains to the east.
It is a featureless sprawl of ugly apartment blocks that you might find in
any provincial Turkish city. Nothing suggests that it has any history going
back more than a few decades.
If you then look to the south, directly beneath you is an area of rough
grass, criss-crossed by a maze of paths, with just a few fragments of
buildings still visible. The story of how the Armenians vanished is not discussed
September 25, 2010 | 12:32
In an interview with one of the Turkish TV channels Rober Koptas, the
Editor of Agos bilingual Armenian-Turkish daily, spoke of difficulties
of being an Armenian in Turkey.
He noted that his relatives called him Rober, though his passport name
is Murad, as his father did not want his son to have difficulties
because of his name, while serving in the army. Speaking about school
years, Rober mentioned that he did not want to sing Turkey's anthem.
According to the Agos editor, it is very difficult to be an Armenian
in Turkey. The word `Armenian' is used as swearing. One of his
friends, who is not Armenian, was not allowed to take a taxi, as he is
working for Agos newspaper, Rober stressed.
Rober Koptas also commented on the religious service in Surb Khach
church on Akhtamar Island, saying that it should remain a church, not
a museum. The Agos editor stressed that he believes in sincerity of
authorities' Armenian initiatives.
Turkey treads cautiously on question of Armenian past
By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Van, Turkey
*The Turkish government wants to improve relations with Armenia, but is it
ready to leave behind decades of nationalist dogma and fully confront the
country's past?*
>From the vantage point of the ancient castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop,
you can see the whole of the city of Van, spread out between the dazzling
blue of the great lake and the jagged mountains to the east.
It is a featureless sprawl of ugly apartment blocks that you might find in
any provincial Turkish city. Nothing suggests that it has any history going
back more than a few decades.
If you then look to the south, directly beneath you is an area of rough
grass, criss-crossed by a maze of paths, with just a few fragments of
buildings still visible. The story of how the Armenians vanished is not discussed
in Van today
This is Old Van, a city that, until its destruction, had been continuously
inhabited for more than 3,000 years.
And a large part of the people who inhabited it were Armenians - it had once
been at the heart of a great Armenian empire.
Today there are almost none.
The only two buildings still standing there are mosques. Of the dozen or so
churches, there is no trace.
The story of how the Armenians vanished from their historic homeland is not
discussed in Van today.
The city proudly describes the waves of invaders who have passed through -
Parthians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Seljuk Turks - but the Armenians who
dominated the city just a century ago are hardly mentioned.
This is not surprising really, when you consider that the Ottoman Empire's
biggest minority was driven out of Anatolia in 1915 on ghastly death
marches.
At least half, maybe much more, of the original population died, in
This is Old Van, a city that, until its destruction, had been continuously
inhabited for more than 3,000 years.
And a large part of the people who inhabited it were Armenians - it had once
been at the heart of a great Armenian empire.
Today there are almost none.
The only two buildings still standing there are mosques. Of the dozen or so
churches, there is no trace.
The story of how the Armenians vanished from their historic homeland is not
discussed in Van today.
The city proudly describes the waves of invaders who have passed through -
Parthians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Seljuk Turks - but the Armenians who
dominated the city just a century ago are hardly mentioned.
This is not surprising really, when you consider that the Ottoman Empire's
biggest minority was driven out of Anatolia in 1915 on ghastly death
marches.
At least half, maybe much more, of the original population died, in
what many historians call the modern world's first genocide.
Today the inhabitants of Van are mainly Kurdish, some probably the
descendants of those who killed and seized the property of the Armenians.
The current Turkish government is the first one to seek some kind of
accommodation with its Armenian past.
It needs to if it is to fulfil its ambition to be a regional power and to be
part of the European Union.
That is why it permitted a Christian service to take place last Sunday in
the beautiful little church on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van.
It is the only historic Armenian building still standing in eastern
Anatolia, and among the most holy for Armenian Christians.
*'Bittersweet'*
I happened to be in a bus with an Armenian choir from Istanbul who had been
invited to sing at the service.
They were being treated as VIPs - the municipal government wanted them to
feel welcome - and we were being given a tour. About 1,000 Armenians came
Today the inhabitants of Van are mainly Kurdish, some probably the
descendants of those who killed and seized the property of the Armenians.
The current Turkish government is the first one to seek some kind of
accommodation with its Armenian past.
It needs to if it is to fulfil its ambition to be a regional power and to be
part of the European Union.
That is why it permitted a Christian service to take place last Sunday in
the beautiful little church on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van.
It is the only historic Armenian building still standing in eastern
Anatolia, and among the most holy for Armenian Christians.
*'Bittersweet'*
I happened to be in a bus with an Armenian choir from Istanbul who had been
invited to sing at the service.
They were being treated as VIPs - the municipal government wanted them to
feel welcome - and we were being given a tour. About 1,000 Armenians came
to the rocky island for the service
Our guide was a young local woman called Fatima. She had won over her
Our guide was a young local woman called Fatima. She had won over her
guests by singing some lovely renditions of old Armenian ballads.
But when she pointed out the wasteland that is the old city today, all she
could say was that the Armenians had, in her words, "disappeared".
For a few moments the bus went quiet then everyone broke into song again.
None of the Istanbul Armenians wanted to talk about the past. They are a
very small community, acutely aware of their vulnerability.
The Armenians who had come from the United States for the service were more
forthright.
"It's bittersweet, coming here," said one man whose grandparents had fled
from Van during the killings.
"We're like parallel cultures, we even look the same," he said, "only we
hate each other."
He said there had been strong pressure on him from other American Armenians
not to come - they saw the one-off church service as a cynical publicity
stunt by Turkey.
At times on Sunday it did seem like that.
The local government had invited an army of journalists to witness the
service who threatened to overwhelm the congregation. It also invited local
Muslims, who talked and laughed all the way through it.
No-one made any effort to respect the sanctity of the ceremony.
A local boatman told me he was puzzled by the way they were praying.
But when she pointed out the wasteland that is the old city today, all she
could say was that the Armenians had, in her words, "disappeared".
For a few moments the bus went quiet then everyone broke into song again.
None of the Istanbul Armenians wanted to talk about the past. They are a
very small community, acutely aware of their vulnerability.
The Armenians who had come from the United States for the service were more
forthright.
"It's bittersweet, coming here," said one man whose grandparents had fled
from Van during the killings.
"We're like parallel cultures, we even look the same," he said, "only we
hate each other."
He said there had been strong pressure on him from other American Armenians
not to come - they saw the one-off church service as a cynical publicity
stunt by Turkey.
At times on Sunday it did seem like that.
The local government had invited an army of journalists to witness the
service who threatened to overwhelm the congregation. It also invited local
Muslims, who talked and laughed all the way through it.
No-one made any effort to respect the sanctity of the ceremony.
A local boatman told me he was puzzled by the way they were praying.
He had never seen a Christian service before. "And why are they crying,"
he asked? He had no idea.
*No discussion*
The Turkish government still fiercely defends its version of history - that
what happened in 1915 was a tragedy, not a war crime.
In Van, it points out, the Armenians took up arms. For a while they
controlled the city and later they helped enemy Russian forces to occupy it.
Today, most of the population of Van are Kurds
In the chaos of war, it says, large numbers of Turkish Muslims also died.
But the annihilation of the Armenians is simply blanked out of the
*No discussion*
The Turkish government still fiercely defends its version of history - that
what happened in 1915 was a tragedy, not a war crime.
In Van, it points out, the Armenians took up arms. For a while they
controlled the city and later they helped enemy Russian forces to occupy it.
Today, most of the population of Van are Kurds
In the chaos of war, it says, large numbers of Turkish Muslims also died.
But the annihilation of the Armenians is simply blanked out of the
history taught in Turkish schools.
There is no discussion, and real dangers await those who try to start
There is no discussion, and real dangers await those who try to start
one.
It is less than four years since the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was
murdered in Istanbul by a young nationalist for calling for just such a
debate.
"This church service is pointless if the Turkish government only wants
It is less than four years since the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was
murdered in Istanbul by a young nationalist for calling for just such a
debate.
"This church service is pointless if the Turkish government only wants
to appear more tolerant," one Armenian journalist told me.
"It has to change the mindset of the people. Make them confront their
"It has to change the mindset of the people. Make them confront their
past."
In the dreary avenues of modern-day Van, that process has not started yet.
Its history is still buried under layers of concrete and by Turkey's
uncompromising nationalist dogma.
*How to listen to: From Our Own Correspondent*
Radio 4: Saturdays, 1130. Second weekly edition on Thursdays, 1100 (some
weeks only)
In the dreary avenues of modern-day Van, that process has not started yet.
Its history is still buried under layers of concrete and by Turkey's
uncompromising nationalist dogma.
*How to listen to: From Our Own Correspondent*
Radio 4: Saturdays, 1130. Second weekly edition on Thursdays, 1100 (some
weeks only)
Akhtamar mass spurs search for Armenian legacy in Turkey's East:
Hurriyet Daily News
10:52 - 25.09.10
The historic religious ceremony held September 19 at Sourb Khach
Church (Saint Cross) in eastern Turkey will have long-lasting effects,
according to Armenians who anticipate more churches being restored and
more people reclaiming their ethnic identities, writes Hurriet Daily
News.
"Families from all corners of Turkey are coming to us in search of the
roots of their families. Members of my own family have changed their
identity cards to be listed as Christian," Archbishop Aram Atesyan,
Deputy Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, told the
paper. "Many people who had 'Muslim' written in their identity cards
are confessing that they are hidden Armenians."
Following the Armenian Genocide in the waning days of the Ottoman
Empire, many of those remaining in the area changed their names and
assumed identities as Kurdish Muslims. According to Atesyan, the
current process of democratization in Turkey is slowly eliminating the
fears that led people to take such measures.
That process had perhaps its most dramatic manifestation to date in
the rite at the Sourb Khach on Akhtamar Island near the eastern
province of Van, the first such service to be held there in 95 years.
Though that church has been the subject of intense media focus, it is
only one of several Armenian monasteries and churches in the province,
where a number of villages are still known by their Armenian names.
Local residents say many of the buildings have been demolished,
especially since the mid-1990s.
In the village of Nareg, 40 kilometers north of Van, only a few
stones remain of the Naregevank Monastery complex, which a
man who identified himself only as Mahmet said the village people
were ordered to demolish in the 1990s. Homes have been built on
the former site in Nareg, a village named for the 10th-century
prominent philosopher and poet St. Grigor Narekatsi. Mahmet, 95,
who said he is of Kurdish origin, also claimed the governor's
building in the center of Van was built from the stones taken from
the Naregevank Monastery.
Varakavank Monastery to be restored
The Varakavank Monastery in the village of Yukari Bakracli, also known
as "seven churches," is little better off than its counterpart in
Nareg. Only one floor is left of the once-impressive monastery, built
in 1003 by the Armenian King Senekerim. All of the invaluable
manuscripts once held in its library have been lost.
The Van Governor's Office told the Daily News in August that the
monastery will soon be restored, as will the Ktuts Monastery on
Varakavank Monastery to be restored
The Varakavank Monastery in the village of Yukari Bakracli, also known
as "seven churches," is little better off than its counterpart in
Nareg. Only one floor is left of the once-impressive monastery, built
in 1003 by the Armenian King Senekerim. All of the invaluable
manuscripts once held in its library have been lost.
The Van Governor's Office told the Daily News in August that the
monastery will soon be restored, as will the Ktuts Monastery on
Lake Van's Carpanak Island, part of efforts to turn Van into the
culture and tourism center of Turkey's East.
The owner and guardian of the now-defunct Varakavank Monastery is an
Armenian who hides his ethnic identity. Kerim avoided revealing his
family name and introduced himself as a Kurdish Muslim. Kerim said
when his father died he left the monastery's land to him and said he
should protect the church at any cost, in the name of Christ.
"His wish surprised me. We were Muslim and I did not understand
The owner and guardian of the now-defunct Varakavank Monastery is an
Armenian who hides his ethnic identity. Kerim avoided revealing his
family name and introduced himself as a Kurdish Muslim. Kerim said
when his father died he left the monastery's land to him and said he
should protect the church at any cost, in the name of Christ.
"His wish surprised me. We were Muslim and I did not understand
why he wanted me to protect the church in the name of Christ,"
Kerim said, adding that he only learned upon insistent questioning
of older relatives that the family was in fact Armenian.
Kerim said he worked as the village imam for all his life and lived as
a pious Muslim. He keeps the monastery locked and maintains strict
control over the visitors who are allowed to enter. He cleaned the
interior on his own and laid all the stones in a corner, in numerical
order, in hopes that it will one day be restored. Because he is
influential in the village, no one interferes with his efforts, but
Kerim said he has experienced a lot of difficulties in his life.
"It was not that easy to protect this place," he said.
Fears and hopes of finds
The small steps toward reclaiming Van's Armenian past have aroused
some controversy and speculation. Mehmet Tuncel Aga, the guide who
accompanied the Daily News to the villages in the area, said the lands
Armenians had to leave in 1915 are now under the control of his Buriki
clan, one of the biggest in eastern and southeastern Anatolia. The son
of Fariz Aga, the head of the clan, Tuncel Aga said members of the
Turkmen tribes who settled in the homes abandoned by the
Kerim said he worked as the village imam for all his life and lived as
a pious Muslim. He keeps the monastery locked and maintains strict
control over the visitors who are allowed to enter. He cleaned the
interior on his own and laid all the stones in a corner, in numerical
order, in hopes that it will one day be restored. Because he is
influential in the village, no one interferes with his efforts, but
Kerim said he has experienced a lot of difficulties in his life.
"It was not that easy to protect this place," he said.
Fears and hopes of finds
The small steps toward reclaiming Van's Armenian past have aroused
some controversy and speculation. Mehmet Tuncel Aga, the guide who
accompanied the Daily News to the villages in the area, said the lands
Armenians had to leave in 1915 are now under the control of his Buriki
clan, one of the biggest in eastern and southeastern Anatolia. The son
of Fariz Aga, the head of the clan, Tuncel Aga said members of the
Turkmen tribes who settled in the homes abandoned by the
Armenians feared their houses would be reclaimed by Armenians
who came to attend the Aktamar rite.
According to Tuncel Aga, there was considerable uneasiness among them
before the ceremony, and many people came to share their fears with
the leaders of the tribe. "We said the fears are groundless and that
the Armenians were just coming for the ceremony," he said, adding that
he made every effort to host the Armenians from Istanbul who came to
Van for the event.
Tuncel Aga also said Victor Bedoyan, an Armenian-American
According to Tuncel Aga, there was considerable uneasiness among them
before the ceremony, and many people came to share their fears with
the leaders of the tribe. "We said the fears are groundless and that
the Armenians were just coming for the ceremony," he said, adding that
he made every effort to host the Armenians from Istanbul who came to
Van for the event.
Tuncel Aga also said Victor Bedoyan, an Armenian-American
entrepreneur who tried to set up a business in Van in 2002, was treated
unjustly. "He opened a hotel here with the name Vartan, but some did
not want to see an Armenian managing a hotel. It was closed by the
Culture Ministry. We did not object to it. We made a mistake. We did
not foresee the current situation," Tuncel Aga said.
If the opportunity to open the hotel had not been taken from Bedoyan,
then the region would see more tourists today, he added.
If the opportunity to open the hotel had not been taken from Bedoyan,
then the region would see more tourists today, he added.
Armenians of Istanbul complain of lack of Diaspora's assistance in
financing of Armenian schools
September 24, 2010 - 17:57 AMT 12:57 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Coordinator of an educational commission created by Armenian
foundations of Istanbul at Yesilkoy School, Garo Paylan said that the
Armenian schools of Istanbul lack teachers of Armenian language, as a
result of which children gradually forget their mother tongue.
Besides, chairs of Armenian language do not operate in Turkey's
universities yet.
"The number of people who know Western Armenian at an academician
level is very limited in Turkey - only 5-10 people," said Paylan,
adding that they also face problems with books.
He noted that problems of security and existence of Armenian schools
are partially solved today. "After the murder of editor-in-chief of
Agos paper Hrant Dink, the Armenian educational institutions were
receiving letters with threats. And some parents did not want their
children to attend Armenian schools. However, these difficulties have
been overcome partially. Financing is another important issue. The
Turkish government does not allocate a penny. There are 16 Armenian
schools in Istanbul with 3,000 students. Until 1974, the Turkish state
had been paying for each student under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Currently, the community allocates funds, while the Diaspora does not
assist anyhow the Armenian educational institutions of Istanbul,"
Bianet agency quoted Paylan as saying.
financing of Armenian schools
September 24, 2010 - 17:57 AMT 12:57 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Coordinator of an educational commission created by Armenian
foundations of Istanbul at Yesilkoy School, Garo Paylan said that the
Armenian schools of Istanbul lack teachers of Armenian language, as a
result of which children gradually forget their mother tongue.
Besides, chairs of Armenian language do not operate in Turkey's
universities yet.
"The number of people who know Western Armenian at an academician
level is very limited in Turkey - only 5-10 people," said Paylan,
adding that they also face problems with books.
He noted that problems of security and existence of Armenian schools
are partially solved today. "After the murder of editor-in-chief of
Agos paper Hrant Dink, the Armenian educational institutions were
receiving letters with threats. And some parents did not want their
children to attend Armenian schools. However, these difficulties have
been overcome partially. Financing is another important issue. The
Turkish government does not allocate a penny. There are 16 Armenian
schools in Istanbul with 3,000 students. Until 1974, the Turkish state
had been paying for each student under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Currently, the community allocates funds, while the Diaspora does not
assist anyhow the Armenian educational institutions of Istanbul,"
Bianet agency quoted Paylan as saying.
Tert.am
Spivakov's concert brings Azerbaijani musicians to Armenia
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
Video clips from Akhtamar opening ceremony, only in Armenian
language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eUFNV-0T9k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRrnD-fkmoc&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrpDl2SA4k&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=158myd5NFtU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0JHmrAxIY0&NR=1
Armenians of Istanbul complain of lack of Diaspora's assistance in
financing of Armenian schools
September 24, 2010 - 17:57 AMT 12:57 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Coordinator of an educational commission created by Armenian
foundations of Istanbul at Yesilkoy School, Garo Paylan said that the
Armenian schools of Istanbul lack teachers of Armenian language, as a
result of which children gradually forget their mother tongue.
Besides, chairs of Armenian language do not operate in Turkey's
universities yet.
"The number of people who know Western Armenian at an academician
level is very limited in Turkey - only 5-10 people," said Paylan,
adding that they also face problems with books.
He noted that problems of security and existence of Armenian schools
are partially solved today. "After the murder of editor-in-chief of
Agos paper Hrant Dink, the Armenian educational institutions were
receiving letters with threats. And some parents did not want their
children to attend Armenian schools. However, these difficulties have
been overcome partially. Financing is another important issue. The
Turkish government does not allocate a penny. There are 16 Armenian
schools in Istanbul with 3,000 students. Until 1974, the Turkish state
had been paying for each student under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Currently, the community allocates funds, while the Diaspora does not
assist anyhow the Armenian educational institutions of Istanbul,"
Bianet agency quoted Paylan as saying.
Tert.am
Spivakov's concert brings Azerbaijani musicians to Armenia
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
12:13 - 25.09.10
The CIS Youth Symphonic Orchestra had a concert late on Friday in
Yerevan's Opera House, conducted by famous Russian violinist, Art
Director of the Virtuosos of Moscow and SSSR Folk Artist Vladimir
Spivakov.
The concert had brought five young Azerbaijani musicians in a rare
Baku-Yerevan flight. Accompanied by former Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatyan, also Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia Polad
Bulbuloglu was attending the concert.
Before the concert would begin, Mikhail Shvidkov, advisor to Russian
president on cooperation in cultural issues, welcomed the initiative.
He said that this is a very brave decision as also Azerbaijani
musicians were taking part in the concert.
"These youth have come into this world to teach us that we must live
in peace," said he.
After the concert famous Armenian duduk master, Jivan Gasparyan,
shared impressions.
"It is a wonderful idea. This is the good will of the peoples, it
symbolizes peace. All the people must leave in peace together," said
he.
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and first lady Rita Sargsyan were
also present at the concert.
Video clips from Akhtamar opening ceremony, only in Armenian
language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eUFNV-0T9k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRrnD-fkmoc&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrpDl2SA4k&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=158myd5NFtU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0JHmrAxIY0&NR=1
Armenian Economic News
LOWEST WAGES IN ARMENIA
news.am
Sept 22 2010
By September 1, 2010, the average monthly wages in Armenia had reached
105,600 AMD (about U.S. $283), the Statistical Service of Armenia
reports. The average monthly wages decreased by 7.7% as compared with
last month. The average monthly wage is 572.7 lari (about U.S. $318)
in Georgia, and 317.4 manat (U.S. $396) in Azerbaijan. In Russia,
the average monthly wages are 15,200 roubles (about U.S. $490) - a 2%
decrease as compared with 2008, reported the Russian Federation of
Independent Trade Unions.
The average monthly pension is U.S. $48 in Georgia, about U.S. $60
in Armenia, about U.S. $110 in Azerbaijan and U.S. 230 in Russia.
news.am
Sept 22 2010
By September 1, 2010, the average monthly wages in Armenia had reached
105,600 AMD (about U.S. $283), the Statistical Service of Armenia
reports. The average monthly wages decreased by 7.7% as compared with
last month. The average monthly wage is 572.7 lari (about U.S. $318)
in Georgia, and 317.4 manat (U.S. $396) in Azerbaijan. In Russia,
the average monthly wages are 15,200 roubles (about U.S. $490) - a 2%
decrease as compared with 2008, reported the Russian Federation of
Independent Trade Unions.
The average monthly pension is U.S. $48 in Georgia, about U.S. $60
in Armenia, about U.S. $110 in Azerbaijan and U.S. 230 in Russia.
ARMENIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH SLOWS
news.am
Sept 22 2010
According to Armenian National Statistical Service, GDP growth rate in
Armenia made 3.1% in the January-August period of 2010. The economic
growth in the country is still slow.
The GDP in Armenia peaked in May, making 8.8%. The Armenian authorities
explain the economic downturn by 18% decline in the agricultural
sector. For the first time, a fall was registered in the construction
sector - 2.4%. The economic growth was preserved due to the industrial
growth, totaling 11.5%.
According to forecast of the Armenian budget, annual GDP growth is
to total 1.2%.
ARMENIA'S FOREIGN TRADE BALANCE UNHEALTHY
news.am
Sept 22 2010
This January-August, Armenia's exports totaled U.S. $600m, and imports
U.S. $2.3bn, reported the Statistical Service of Armenia.
The unfavorable foreign trade balance reached U.S. $.1.76bn. and
constituted 32.7% of GDP. In this respect, Armenia is the "leader"
in the CIS and West Europe.
The increased unfavorable foreign trade balance proves Armenia failed
to overcome the economic crisis, and the Government's efforts to
boost local production failed to produce the desired results.
TWO COMPANIES DOMINATE ARMENIA'S DAIRY MARKET
news.am
Sept 22 2010
The Commission for Protection of Economic Competition of Armenia
conducted a survey of the country's dairy market and found companies
dominating the market.
The Commission decided to enter the companies' names in the relevant
register. The following companies are dominating the long-life and
pasteurized milk market: Dustr Marianna, Ashtarak-Kat and Chanakh,
their market share being 69.4%. Dustr Marianna and Ashtarak-Kat
are dominating the sour cream market, their share being 85.1%. The
following three companies are dominating the ice-cream market: Tamara,
Ashtarak Kat and Grand Candy, there market share being 67%. The
Ashtarak Kat Company has until recently dominated the ice-cream market.
Dustr Marianna, Ashtarak-Kat and Chanakh were also found dominating the
matsoun (fermented milk) market, their share being 74.4%. Ashtarak Kat,
Art Wine and Brand Leader were found dominating the yoghurt market
(78.9%).
The following companies are dominating the kefir market: Dustr
Marianna, Ashtarak-Kat and Bio Kat (88%).
Dustr Marianna, Ashtarak-Kat and Chanakh are also dominating
Armenia's curds market now, their share being 86.8%. Dustr Marianna
and Ashtarak-Kat are dominating the curds cake market as well (96.2%).
ECONOMIC FREEDOMS IN ARMENIA HAVE DETERIORATED FOR
2 POINTS: FRASER INSTITUTE
Tert.am
23.09.10
Leading Canadian think tank Fraser Institute has released its annual
report on economic freedoms of 141 states across the world.
Armenia's positions have deteriorated for two points. In the previous
report Armenia was the 48th in the list but now it is the 50th.
Georgia has dramatically improved its positions (by 20 points) in
terms of economic freedoms. In the 2009 report Georgia was the 43rd
country, but now it is the 23rd in the list.
Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran are far behind Armenia. Turkey is the 74,
Azerbaijan is the 93 and Iran is the 107th in the list prepared by
Canadian specialists.
The analysis is based on such parameters as size of the government,
legal system and property rights, sound money, and freedom to trade
internationally, regulation, credit market regulation, labor market
regulation and business regulations.
The picture in the European countries is as follows: Untied Kingdom
(10), Estonia (12), Denmark (14), Austria (15), Cyprus (20), Germany
(24), Hungary (28), Serbia (97), Moldova (87), Croatia (87), Macedonia
(72).
Among CIS countries Russia is the 84th, while Ukraine is the 127th.
The top five includes Hong Kong (1), Singapore (2), New Zealand (3),
Switzerland (4) and Chile (5).
Tert.am
23.09.10
Leading Canadian think tank Fraser Institute has released its annual
report on economic freedoms of 141 states across the world.
Armenia's positions have deteriorated for two points. In the previous
report Armenia was the 48th in the list but now it is the 50th.
Georgia has dramatically improved its positions (by 20 points) in
terms of economic freedoms. In the 2009 report Georgia was the 43rd
country, but now it is the 23rd in the list.
Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran are far behind Armenia. Turkey is the 74,
Azerbaijan is the 93 and Iran is the 107th in the list prepared by
Canadian specialists.
The analysis is based on such parameters as size of the government,
legal system and property rights, sound money, and freedom to trade
internationally, regulation, credit market regulation, labor market
regulation and business regulations.
The picture in the European countries is as follows: Untied Kingdom
(10), Estonia (12), Denmark (14), Austria (15), Cyprus (20), Germany
(24), Hungary (28), Serbia (97), Moldova (87), Croatia (87), Macedonia
(72).
Among CIS countries Russia is the 84th, while Ukraine is the 127th.
The top five includes Hong Kong (1), Singapore (2), New Zealand (3),
Switzerland (4) and Chile (5).
armenianow.com
BEST "CITY OF THE WORLD": ARMENIAN PAVILION AT
SHANGHAI-EXPO WINS GRAND PRIX
23.09.10
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Shanghei Expo-2010, China
Armenia celebrated its National Pavilion Day on Tuesday at Shanghai
Expo 2010 with the official unveiling of its pavilion titled, "City
of the World."
Attended by Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the event came
on the 19th anniversary of Armenia's independence from the Soviet
Union and featured a special performance titled "Armenia: The Art
of Creation".
According to official statistics from Shanghai Expo, more than 20,000
people visit the Armenian Pavilion daily. So far 2 million, out of
more than 53 million people who have visited the Expo, have been to
the Armenian pavilion.
According to the Shanghai Expo 2010 website, the pavilion invited
architects around the world to submit designs for their 'ideal city'.
"Armenia calls itself the motherland of the apricot and the pavilion
features an Apricot Garden. Visitors can taste various delicacies,
while listening to music of a flute made from apricot wood. The
'Gold and Silk' exhibition covers China-Armenia trade history,"
reports the Shanghai Expo website.
The "Expo-Shanghai Online Bureau" granted the Grand Prix to the
Armenian Pavilion for excellent organization and presentation. The
virtual pavilion also won a silver medal for best technological
solutions and best implementation.
23.09.10
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Shanghei Expo-2010, China
Armenia celebrated its National Pavilion Day on Tuesday at Shanghai
Expo 2010 with the official unveiling of its pavilion titled, "City
of the World."
Attended by Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the event came
on the 19th anniversary of Armenia's independence from the Soviet
Union and featured a special performance titled "Armenia: The Art
of Creation".
According to official statistics from Shanghai Expo, more than 20,000
people visit the Armenian Pavilion daily. So far 2 million, out of
more than 53 million people who have visited the Expo, have been to
the Armenian pavilion.
According to the Shanghai Expo 2010 website, the pavilion invited
architects around the world to submit designs for their 'ideal city'.
"Armenia calls itself the motherland of the apricot and the pavilion
features an Apricot Garden. Visitors can taste various delicacies,
while listening to music of a flute made from apricot wood. The
'Gold and Silk' exhibition covers China-Armenia trade history,"
reports the Shanghai Expo website.
The "Expo-Shanghai Online Bureau" granted the Grand Prix to the
Armenian Pavilion for excellent organization and presentation. The
virtual pavilion also won a silver medal for best technological
solutions and best implementation.
ECONOMIC CONCERNS: ECONOMIST WARNS OF PRICE HIKES
Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow
Manaseryan spoke on price hike and alarming issues of the current
economic development.
Deputy National Assembly , economist Tatul Manaseryan, said today that
he is concerned about the recent economic developments in Armenia,
pointing out the indexes of economic growth registered in Armenia
during the first eight months of this year.
"We had an 8.8 percent economic growth during the first five months,
and a serious regress was registered during the next two months,
which should be alarming for all of us," Manaseryan says.
The regress led to a sharp decline of the growth index down to 3.1
percent (according to data of the National Statistical Service of
Armenia) during the first eight months of this year.
Manaseryan is most of all concerned about the decline in agricultural.
According to the economist, a policy must be developed in the
agricultural sector, which would reduce price fluctuations. Bringing
potato as an example he said: "Last year, because of excessive
production, the minimum price per kilo of potato was 25 drams (7
cents), this year it is ten times more expensive."
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of the National
Assembly Vardan Ayvazyan told journalists at a press conference
Thursday that currently all the necessary measures are taken to
suppress price hikes in Armenia.
"If there were no such measures, the price hike would have been
even greater. The current price hike in Armenia is mainly the 'gift'
presented by the foreign market; and I do not think it is caused by
monopolies in the market," Ayvazyan says.
economic development.
Deputy National Assembly , economist Tatul Manaseryan, said today that
he is concerned about the recent economic developments in Armenia,
pointing out the indexes of economic growth registered in Armenia
during the first eight months of this year.
"We had an 8.8 percent economic growth during the first five months,
and a serious regress was registered during the next two months,
which should be alarming for all of us," Manaseryan says.
The regress led to a sharp decline of the growth index down to 3.1
percent (according to data of the National Statistical Service of
Armenia) during the first eight months of this year.
Manaseryan is most of all concerned about the decline in agricultural.
According to the economist, a policy must be developed in the
agricultural sector, which would reduce price fluctuations. Bringing
potato as an example he said: "Last year, because of excessive
production, the minimum price per kilo of potato was 25 drams (7
cents), this year it is ten times more expensive."
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of the National
Assembly Vardan Ayvazyan told journalists at a press conference
Thursday that currently all the necessary measures are taken to
suppress price hikes in Armenia.
"If there were no such measures, the price hike would have been
even greater. The current price hike in Armenia is mainly the 'gift'
presented by the foreign market; and I do not think it is caused by
monopolies in the market," Ayvazyan says.
INFLATION RATE EXCEEDS PLANNED INDEX IN ARMENIA
Aysor
sept 23 2010
A 7.7 percent inflation rate is recorded in Armenia exceeding the
index stipulated by the law On State Budget, Chairman of the National
Assembly Standing Committee on Financial-Credit, Budgetary and
Economic Affairs Gagik Minasyan told a news conference.Aysor
sept 23 2010
A 7.7 percent inflation rate is recorded in Armenia exceeding the
index stipulated by the law On State Budget, Chairman of the National
Assembly Standing Committee on Financial-Credit, Budgetary and
Meanwhile Minasyan positively assessed GDP index over the first 8
months of 2010.
According to him, unfavorable agricultural year, problems in domestic
markets, particularly, in grain market, resulted in rise in inflation.
The expert said that during the year CBA used mechanisms to suppress
the inflation, otherwise inflation rate would have been much higher.
He noted that inflation rate will approach the planned index by the
end of the year.
Armenian News
HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: NEW WAVE OF MIGRATION FROM ARMENIA
news.am
Sept 22 2010
Armenia
According to statistical data, published by the General Department of
Civil Aviation at the RA Government, during the first 8 months of 2010,
the number of passengers permanently leaving Armenia from the Zvartnots
and Shirak airports made 61.000. The Haykakan Zhamanak daily reports,
574.000 passengers departed and 513.000 arrived in Armenia.
According to the Armenian National Statistic Service, the rate of
migration made 48.000 in 2008 and 2009.
According to the daily, before the March 1 events the rate of
migration in Armenia comprised 3.000 "According to" reliable sources,
the Armenian leadership was informed, a new wave of migration has
started since 2008. This wave was relatively called "a third wave",
as the migrants are mainly from privileged families," the daily reads.
news.am
Sept 22 2010
Armenia
According to statistical data, published by the General Department of
Civil Aviation at the RA Government, during the first 8 months of 2010,
the number of passengers permanently leaving Armenia from the Zvartnots
and Shirak airports made 61.000. The Haykakan Zhamanak daily reports,
574.000 passengers departed and 513.000 arrived in Armenia.
According to the Armenian National Statistic Service, the rate of
migration made 48.000 in 2008 and 2009.
According to the daily, before the March 1 events the rate of
migration in Armenia comprised 3.000 "According to" reliable sources,
the Armenian leadership was informed, a new wave of migration has
started since 2008. This wave was relatively called "a third wave",
as the migrants are mainly from privileged families," the daily reads.
RFE/RL Report
Russian Official Warns Of Karabakh Conflict Escalation
24.09.2010
Emil Danielyan
A continued lack of further progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks could increase the likelihood of another full-scale armed
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry
official warned on Friday.
In an interview with the Azerbaijani APA news agency, Andrei Kelin,
head of a ministry department on former Soviet states, also spoke out
against Turkey's involvement in international efforts to resolve the
Karabakh conflict.
Kelin said that the conflicting parties still have `fundamental
difference' on some of the key basic principles of a Karabakh settled
favored by Russia, the United States and France. He declined to
elaborate on those principles, saying only that `there are really not
many of them' and that both sides should display a `political will' to
overcome these disagreements.
`If we don't do that, then the situation will probably continue to
escalate,' Kelin said. `It is already quite tense, skirmishes on the
line of contact are not subsiding, there are more and more [armed]
incidents, and both sides are beefing up forces. Therefore, there are
fears that sooner or later this escalation will develop into something
more large-scale.'
The European Union's special envoy to the South Caucasus, Peter
Semneby, issued a similar warning during a recent visit to the
conflict zone. Speaking to Reuters, Semneby said intensified
skirmishes there risk spiraling out of control and called for the
strengthening of the ceasefire between Armenian and Azerbaijani
forces.
The U.S., Russian and French mediators acting under the aegis of the
OSCE Minsk Group regularly urge the parties to respect the
Russian-mediated truce that stopped the first Karabakh war in
1994. Nonetheless, truce violations along the `line of contact' around
Karabakh appear to have become more frequent in recent months.
Armenia and Azerbaijan claim to largely agree with the proposed basic
principles of a Karabakh settlement, while making diametrically
opposite interpretations of their essence. Baku says it will never
accept the loss of Karabakh, while Yerevan rules out any settlement
that would place the Armenian-populated territory back under
Azerbaijani rule.
The three Minsk Group co-chairs held on Wednesday separate meetings
with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York to
discuss their next steps to be taken ahead of the OSCE's December
summit in Kazakhstan. Whether or not they hope to achieve more
progress in the stalled peace process in time for the summit is not
yet clear.
Interviewed by several Azerbaijani media outlets late last month,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow wants the parties
to sign an interim framework agreement that would leave out the `two
or three issues' that have not yet been agreed upon. He said both
Washington and Paris support this idea.
Lavrov did not specify whether this is what Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev proposed to his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts during
their trilateral talks in Saint Petersburg last June. The Armenian
side reacted positively to Medvedev's undisclosed proposal, whereas
Baku rejected it as unacceptable.
In remarks that will be welcomed by Armenian officials, Kelin also
made clear that Moscow is against Turkish involvement in the
co-chairs' activities. `Turkey has attempted to actively participate
in this endeavor lately,' the Russian Foreign Ministry official told
APA. `We consider that counterproductive because we have a unique
situation in which the positions of the USA, France and Russia
converge and ... this allows us to guarantee that future agreements
will not collapse. And France and the USA support us on this.'
Turkey has stepped up its interest in the Karabakh conflict over the
past year as part of its efforts to allay Azerbaijan's concerns over
its rapprochement with Armenia. Ankara now makes the normalization of
Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on the conflict's resolution.
Armenia rejects this linkage and remains strongly opposed to any
Turkish role in the Karabakh peace process.
RFE/RL Report
Russia Provides Food Aid To Armenia
24.09.2010
Hovannes Shoghikian
Armenia has started receiving thousands of tons of grain and cooking
oil in humanitarian assistance provided by Russia's government, a
senior government official said on Thursday.
Emergencies Minister Armen Yeritsian said the 5,000 tons of grain and
1,000 tons of sunflower will help the country cope with a recent sharp
increase in international prices of these foodstuffs.
The price hike followed a severe summer drought that devastated crops
across Russia and led the Russian government to ban all grain
exports. The measure pushed up the cost of wheat in international
markets to the highest level since the 2007-08 global food crisis. As
a result, bread prices in Armenia soared by more than 20 percent in
July and August.
Imported wheat, most of it coming from Russia, meets nearly two-thirds
of Armenia's domestic demand estimated at roughly 600,000 metric tons
per annum. Armenian officials have repeatedly assured the population
in recent months that the Russian export ban will not lead to wheat
shortages in the local market.
Speaking at a weekly meeting of Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian's
cabinet, Yeritsian said nearly half of the sunflower oil donated by
Moscow has already been shipped to Armenia. `The rest of the oil will
be imported within one week, after which we will start grain
shipments,' he told fellow ministers.
An official at the Armenian Emergencies Ministry told RFE/RL's
Armenian service that the grain deliveries will start on October 4.
It is not yet clear just how the authorities in Yerevan plan to use
the food aid. Yeritsian said only that it will be stored at warehouses
of his ministry's Agency for State Reserves for the time being.
Government critics believe that the impact of external factors on
domestic food prices would have been less severe had lucrative imports
of wheat and other basic foodstuffs to Armenia not been effectively
monopolized by a handful of government-linked businessmen.
The government, for its part, says the best way to guard against
international price fluctuations is to ease Armenia's heavy dependence
on wheat imports. It approved in July a five-year plans of actions
which officials said will boost domestic wheat output to over 350,000
tons by 2013.
24.09.2010
Emil Danielyan
A continued lack of further progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks could increase the likelihood of another full-scale armed
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry
official warned on Friday.
In an interview with the Azerbaijani APA news agency, Andrei Kelin,
head of a ministry department on former Soviet states, also spoke out
against Turkey's involvement in international efforts to resolve the
Karabakh conflict.
Kelin said that the conflicting parties still have `fundamental
difference' on some of the key basic principles of a Karabakh settled
favored by Russia, the United States and France. He declined to
elaborate on those principles, saying only that `there are really not
many of them' and that both sides should display a `political will' to
overcome these disagreements.
`If we don't do that, then the situation will probably continue to
escalate,' Kelin said. `It is already quite tense, skirmishes on the
line of contact are not subsiding, there are more and more [armed]
incidents, and both sides are beefing up forces. Therefore, there are
fears that sooner or later this escalation will develop into something
more large-scale.'
The European Union's special envoy to the South Caucasus, Peter
Semneby, issued a similar warning during a recent visit to the
conflict zone. Speaking to Reuters, Semneby said intensified
skirmishes there risk spiraling out of control and called for the
strengthening of the ceasefire between Armenian and Azerbaijani
forces.
The U.S., Russian and French mediators acting under the aegis of the
OSCE Minsk Group regularly urge the parties to respect the
Russian-mediated truce that stopped the first Karabakh war in
1994. Nonetheless, truce violations along the `line of contact' around
Karabakh appear to have become more frequent in recent months.
Armenia and Azerbaijan claim to largely agree with the proposed basic
principles of a Karabakh settlement, while making diametrically
opposite interpretations of their essence. Baku says it will never
accept the loss of Karabakh, while Yerevan rules out any settlement
that would place the Armenian-populated territory back under
Azerbaijani rule.
The three Minsk Group co-chairs held on Wednesday separate meetings
with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York to
discuss their next steps to be taken ahead of the OSCE's December
summit in Kazakhstan. Whether or not they hope to achieve more
progress in the stalled peace process in time for the summit is not
yet clear.
Interviewed by several Azerbaijani media outlets late last month,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow wants the parties
to sign an interim framework agreement that would leave out the `two
or three issues' that have not yet been agreed upon. He said both
Washington and Paris support this idea.
Lavrov did not specify whether this is what Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev proposed to his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts during
their trilateral talks in Saint Petersburg last June. The Armenian
side reacted positively to Medvedev's undisclosed proposal, whereas
Baku rejected it as unacceptable.
In remarks that will be welcomed by Armenian officials, Kelin also
made clear that Moscow is against Turkish involvement in the
co-chairs' activities. `Turkey has attempted to actively participate
in this endeavor lately,' the Russian Foreign Ministry official told
APA. `We consider that counterproductive because we have a unique
situation in which the positions of the USA, France and Russia
converge and ... this allows us to guarantee that future agreements
will not collapse. And France and the USA support us on this.'
Turkey has stepped up its interest in the Karabakh conflict over the
past year as part of its efforts to allay Azerbaijan's concerns over
its rapprochement with Armenia. Ankara now makes the normalization of
Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on the conflict's resolution.
Armenia rejects this linkage and remains strongly opposed to any
Turkish role in the Karabakh peace process.
RFE/RL Report
Russia Provides Food Aid To Armenia
24.09.2010
Hovannes Shoghikian
Armenia has started receiving thousands of tons of grain and cooking
oil in humanitarian assistance provided by Russia's government, a
senior government official said on Thursday.
Emergencies Minister Armen Yeritsian said the 5,000 tons of grain and
1,000 tons of sunflower will help the country cope with a recent sharp
increase in international prices of these foodstuffs.
The price hike followed a severe summer drought that devastated crops
across Russia and led the Russian government to ban all grain
exports. The measure pushed up the cost of wheat in international
markets to the highest level since the 2007-08 global food crisis. As
a result, bread prices in Armenia soared by more than 20 percent in
July and August.
Imported wheat, most of it coming from Russia, meets nearly two-thirds
of Armenia's domestic demand estimated at roughly 600,000 metric tons
per annum. Armenian officials have repeatedly assured the population
in recent months that the Russian export ban will not lead to wheat
shortages in the local market.
Speaking at a weekly meeting of Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian's
cabinet, Yeritsian said nearly half of the sunflower oil donated by
Moscow has already been shipped to Armenia. `The rest of the oil will
be imported within one week, after which we will start grain
shipments,' he told fellow ministers.
An official at the Armenian Emergencies Ministry told RFE/RL's
Armenian service that the grain deliveries will start on October 4.
It is not yet clear just how the authorities in Yerevan plan to use
the food aid. Yeritsian said only that it will be stored at warehouses
of his ministry's Agency for State Reserves for the time being.
Government critics believe that the impact of external factors on
domestic food prices would have been less severe had lucrative imports
of wheat and other basic foodstuffs to Armenia not been effectively
monopolized by a handful of government-linked businessmen.
The government, for its part, says the best way to guard against
international price fluctuations is to ease Armenia's heavy dependence
on wheat imports. It approved in July a five-year plans of actions
which officials said will boost domestic wheat output to over 350,000
tons by 2013.
RFE/RL Report
Armenia To Open New Embassies
23.09.2010
Armenia will soon open embassies in Japan and the Netherlands, raising
to more than 30 the number of its diplomatic missions abroad,
President Serzh Sarkisian's office announced on Thursday.
Sarkisian signed a corresponding decree earlier in the day. He has yet
to name the Armenian ambassadors to be based in the two nations.
Armenia currently has 29 embassies around the world, including
virtually all major Western capitals. Many of the diplomats heading
them also serve as ambassadors to other states lacking permanent
Armenian missions.
In one such example, Sarkisian assigned on Thursday his Athens-based
envoy in Greece, Gagik Ghalachian, to also perform the duties of
Armenia's ambassador to Serbia.
The upcoming opening of the Armenian embassies in Tokyo and The Hague
reflects a slow but steady expansion of Armenia's diplomatic presence
abroad since the early 1990s. Yerevan opened an embassy in Madrid,
Spain earlier this year.
It is not clear whether the upcoming launch of the new missions will
be fully financed by the Armenian government. The Armenian state
budget for this years sets aside only 37 million drams ($102,000) for
the purchase of new embassy buildings.
Many of the existing embassy premises were purchased and donated to
Armenia by wealthy members of its worldwide Diaspora.
Wales-Armenia Solidarity Press Release
"We accuse Turkey of Continuing Cultutal Genocide in Turkish-controlled
Armenia""
Welsh Armenians, fearful of a repeat of the attack on the Armenian
Genocide Monument at the Temple of Peace, Cardiff which happened on
Holocaust Day 2008, will put an all-night guard on the monument this
friday night, in advance of a major exhibition at the Senedd building of
the National Assejmbly of Wales in Cardiff Bay,The opening will be at
3.30 p.m. on Saturday. This will be preceedesd by a Badarak, (Armenian
Mass) in Ararat Baptist Church, The Common, Whitchurch, Cardiff at 11
a.m. on Saturday morning. Details of the exhibition are below.
The exhibition sets the record straight on Turkey's policies towards its
minorities. We believe rhat no-one will be fooled by the " magnanimous"
gesture by the Turkish government of allowing Armenians to worship once
a year in what was once Aghtamar Church, on lake Van , but now
confiscated and turned into a museum. While one church has been restored
as a museum (deleting all evidence of its Armenian heritage), hundreds
of Churches have been plundered and demolished, and anf the descendants
of those Armenians forcibly converted during the Genocide of 1915 are
still fearful of openly living as Armenians.
Major Exhibition on Cultural Genocide in "Turkish" Armenia in the
National Assembly
This exhibition, showing how Armenian churches and monasteries were
destroyed by the modern Turkish Statein the years following the 1915
Genocide and up to thepresent time , will take place in the main
"Senedd" building of the National Assembly of Wales in Cardiff Bay
between the 25th and the 30th September.
You are warmly invited to visit the manned exhibition at any time during
this period, especially on Saturday, 25th September for the "opening",
at approx 3.30 pm, following a Badarak(Armenian Mass) by the Very Revd.
Dr.Vahan Hovhanessian in Ararat Baptist Church, The Common,
Whitchurch, Cardiff, CF14 1PT at 11 a. m. (the very first time a full
Armenian mass will have been celebrated in Wales)
Also on Thursday, 30th September at 12 30.p.m. a guided tour of the
pictures will be provided (and every 15 minutes till 1.30 p.m.)
This exhibition shows shows that the genocide did not end in 1915 but
continues as Cultural Genocide to this day.
23.09.2010
Armenia will soon open embassies in Japan and the Netherlands, raising
to more than 30 the number of its diplomatic missions abroad,
President Serzh Sarkisian's office announced on Thursday.
Sarkisian signed a corresponding decree earlier in the day. He has yet
to name the Armenian ambassadors to be based in the two nations.
Armenia currently has 29 embassies around the world, including
virtually all major Western capitals. Many of the diplomats heading
them also serve as ambassadors to other states lacking permanent
Armenian missions.
In one such example, Sarkisian assigned on Thursday his Athens-based
envoy in Greece, Gagik Ghalachian, to also perform the duties of
Armenia's ambassador to Serbia.
The upcoming opening of the Armenian embassies in Tokyo and The Hague
reflects a slow but steady expansion of Armenia's diplomatic presence
abroad since the early 1990s. Yerevan opened an embassy in Madrid,
Spain earlier this year.
It is not clear whether the upcoming launch of the new missions will
be fully financed by the Armenian government. The Armenian state
budget for this years sets aside only 37 million drams ($102,000) for
the purchase of new embassy buildings.
Many of the existing embassy premises were purchased and donated to
Armenia by wealthy members of its worldwide Diaspora.
Wales-Armenia Solidarity Press Release
"We accuse Turkey of Continuing Cultutal Genocide in Turkish-controlled
Armenia""
Welsh Armenians, fearful of a repeat of the attack on the Armenian
Genocide Monument at the Temple of Peace, Cardiff which happened on
Holocaust Day 2008, will put an all-night guard on the monument this
friday night, in advance of a major exhibition at the Senedd building of
the National Assejmbly of Wales in Cardiff Bay,The opening will be at
3.30 p.m. on Saturday. This will be preceedesd by a Badarak, (Armenian
Mass) in Ararat Baptist Church, The Common, Whitchurch, Cardiff at 11
a.m. on Saturday morning. Details of the exhibition are below.
The exhibition sets the record straight on Turkey's policies towards its
minorities. We believe rhat no-one will be fooled by the " magnanimous"
gesture by the Turkish government of allowing Armenians to worship once
a year in what was once Aghtamar Church, on lake Van , but now
confiscated and turned into a museum. While one church has been restored
as a museum (deleting all evidence of its Armenian heritage), hundreds
of Churches have been plundered and demolished, and anf the descendants
of those Armenians forcibly converted during the Genocide of 1915 are
still fearful of openly living as Armenians.
Major Exhibition on Cultural Genocide in "Turkish" Armenia in the
National Assembly
This exhibition, showing how Armenian churches and monasteries were
destroyed by the modern Turkish Statein the years following the 1915
Genocide and up to thepresent time , will take place in the main
"Senedd" building of the National Assembly of Wales in Cardiff Bay
between the 25th and the 30th September.
You are warmly invited to visit the manned exhibition at any time during
this period, especially on Saturday, 25th September for the "opening",
at approx 3.30 pm, following a Badarak(Armenian Mass) by the Very Revd.
Dr.Vahan Hovhanessian in Ararat Baptist Church, The Common,
Whitchurch, Cardiff, CF14 1PT at 11 a. m. (the very first time a full
Armenian mass will have been celebrated in Wales)
Also on Thursday, 30th September at 12 30.p.m. a guided tour of the
pictures will be provided (and every 15 minutes till 1.30 p.m.)
This exhibition shows shows that the genocide did not end in 1915 but
continues as Cultural Genocide to this day.
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 22, 2010 - 16:21 AMT 11:21 GMT
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at Yerevan Perspectives
International Music Festival in the Armenian National Opera & Ballet
Theatre on September 22, 2010.
The first concert will be conducted by Eduard Topchjan while pianist
Boris Berezovsky will be the soloist.
The program includes Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 and Shostakovich
Symphony No.5.
The second concert will feature opera singers Barsegh Tumanyan and
Hasmik Papyan.
Perspectives XXI International Music Festival was renamed into Yerevan
Perspectives International Music Festival by request on European
Festival Association.
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