Armenian News

BBC SPORT:
Trapattoni hails 'important win'

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni says his side's

1-0 win over Armenia was "an important one".

"It was hot out there and we made some mistakes in our passing

in the first half as the players were a bit tense," said the Italian

after the match.

"We reorganised a bit at half-time, our movement was better after

the break and Keith Fahey did well to get the goal."

"It was great to be involved and the ball just bounced for me and I

put it way," added match winner Fahey.

"I was instructed to go out and get involved and that is what I did.

"Armenia looked dangerous on the break and at set-pieces

but we managed to keep them at bay."

Midfielder Liam Lawrence said the Republic "had to work hard,

dig in and grind out a result".

"We got the ball into the area as quickly as possible and tried to

put them under pressure - it was a fantastic finish by Keith to

secure an amazing result."

RFE/RL Report

Another Deadly Firefight Reported In Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh -- Karabakh Armenian soldiers hold military exercises.
01.09.2010
Lusine Musayelian

At least two Azerbaijani soldiers have been killed in renewed fighting
with Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, it emerged on Wednesday.

The deadly clash reportedly occurred on Tuesday in a northern section of
the main Armenian-Azerbaijani `line of contact' that recently saw the
worst ceasefire violation in the Karabakh conflict zone in over two
years.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said an Armenian `sabotage group' attacked
its troops stationed in the area late in the afternoon and was pushed
back by them. A ministry statement cited by Azerbaijani media said two
Azerbaijani and three Armenian soldiers died in the firefight.

Military officials in Armenia and Karabakh blamed the Azerbaijani army
for the incident and insisted that there were no fatalities among
Karabakh Armenian forces. `The opposite happened. As always, they are
spreading false reports,' Armenia's Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian told
journalists in Yerevan on Wednesday.

`Azerbaijan has again shown its face,' said Ohanian. `After meeting with
a worthy response from our frontline troops, [Azerbaijani troops] fled
the battlefield and suffered casualties.'

Karabakh's Defense Army, meanwhile, claimed that Azerbaijani forces
suffered seven casualties in a failed `sabotage attack' on its positions
in the disputed territory's northern Martakert district. The army
spokesman, Senor Hasratian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service that the
incident occurred early in the morning.

According to Hasratian, only one Karabakh Armenian soldier, identified
as Rudik Manaserian, was wounded in the skirmish. Doctors at a military
hospital in the Karabakh capital Stepanakert told RFE/RL on Wednesday
that the 19-year-old conscript has undergone surgery and is now in a
`satisfactory' condition.

The same section of the frontline was already the scene of deadly
fighting between the warring sides as recently as on June 18-19. It left
one Azerbaijani and four Armenian troops dead and raised more fears of
another Armenian-Azerbaijani war.

Each party blamed the other for that firefight, which was took place the
day after the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Saint
Petersburg for fresh talks hosted by their Russian counterpart, Dmitry
Medvedev. The Armenian side accused Baku of deliberately provoking the
incident to torpedo the peace process spearheaded by the United States,
Russia and France.

It pointed to the fact that the Azerbaijani soldier, Mubariz Ibrahimov,
was shot dead in Armenian-controlled territory. His body has still not
been handed over to the Azerbaijani side.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev bestowed the posthumous title of
`national hero' on Ibrahimov in late July. Aliyev also ordered his
government to name a school and a street after the dead soldier.

Armenian Radio

No Cross for Holy Cross

YEREVAN (ArmRadio)—Turkish authorities on Friday announced that

they will not be installing a cross on the dome of the recently renovated

Holy Cross church on the island of Akhtamar.

Located in the Southeastern province of Van, the Holy Cross Church

was reopened and converted into a museum by local authorities following

renovations. The move caused an outcry among Armenians in Turkey

and abroad, who condemned the government’s defilement of the holy

site. After much local and international pressure, the Turkish government

ostensibly agreed to install a cross on the church in time for its first liturgy

and allow limited services to be held.
But the government is now backing down on

its promise, according to the editor of the Istanbul-based Agos Daily,

Sarkis Seropyan. “The cross had to be installed a few days before the

liturgy. Everything was ready and the cross was already brought to Van.

However they say they are not going to put the cross because of technical

reasons,” Seropyan told ArmRadio.

According to Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, the Deputy Patriarch of

Constantinople, the governor of Van had said that installing the cross,

weighing at 200 kg, would require a special tower that would not be

available until after the liturgy. Ateshyan said the governor said the cross

would be “shown to everybody on September 19 and fixed on the dome

after the liturgy.”

Seropyan said the Armenian community of Turkey will still attend the

church service, despite the government’s roundabout over the cross.

“For me the most important thing is that the church of Akhtamar was

reconstructed,” Seropyan said. “The Armenian community is going to

participate in the liturgy in any case to show that it does not refuse to

use its own holy places.”

According Seropyan, a delegation of clergy from the Mother See of Holy

Etchmiadzin will arrive in Van a day before the liturgy to bless and

decorate the church.

Earlier this week, the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Aram I, said he

would not send a delegation to attend the September 19 church service,

arguing that the restoration of the church and its transformation into a

museum are “an attempt to convince the European Union and UNESCO

that Turkey safeguards the cultural heritage of its occupied lands.” He

further condemned the act as “an attempt to obscure its consistent policy

of denying the Armenian Genocide and the rights of its survivors.”


asbarez.com

CNN International to feature Armenia's Tatev revival project

Story focuses on world’s longest aerial tramway set to open Oct 16 in

Southern Armenia

CNN International will feature this weekend the story of a groundbreaking

effort underway in Armenia that will bring to life its greatest ancient

monastery and spur the revival of tourism and development throughout the

country.

The segment, produced by Yerkir Media for broadcast on CNN, will present

the massive $50-Million Tatev Revival Project to the international arena and

share with viewers worldwide the project’s ambitious vision to construct the

world’s longest aerial tramway.

The report by Yerkir Media correspondent Gayane Avetisyan will air on

CNN International on the following dates and times:

Friday, Sept. 3: 10:30PM PST
Saturday, Sept. 4: 6:30 AM PST
Sunday, Sept. 5: 6:30 PM PST
Monday, Sept. 6: 1:30 AM PST
Tuesday, Sept. 7: 8:30 PM PST

It will also be available online Monday at http://www.cnn.com/worldview

Spearheading the massive $50-million Tatev Revival Project is the National

Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia. This public-private partnership is

set to officially launch the Project on October 16 with the grand opening of

the $13 million aerial tramway. Under construction since last fall, this 3.5-mile

tramway will link Armenia’s main regional highway to the village of Tatev and

allow visitors to bypass a 90-minute drive in and out of the rocky Vorotan River

Gorge to reach the monastery.

Asbarez columnist Paul Chaderjian was in Tatev this summer to report on the

project and the groundbreaking event. His report, published on August 4, 2010,

is titled ‘Tatev Revival Project Grand Opening in the Fall of 2010’

Chaderjian also wrote a personal travelogue about his visit to the village of Tatev

and his interactions with its villagers in our “Three Apples” column titled, ‘Seat of

the Armenian Soul on July 9, 2010.

Keghart.com Team Editorial

Shame in the Sun

1 September 2010

Another summer expires, and another vacation season starts to wind down,

except for citizens of Armenia heading to Antalya, where the season continues

well into October.

In 2009 some 50,000 such Armenians vacationed in Turkey, many of them in

Antalya on the Mediterranean. In 2010 that embarrassing statistic soared by

30% for tourists headed to Antalya. Next year’s expected increase in the

number of Turkey-bound Armenian tourists will be even more painful and

incomprehensible to people who see the vacations as an insult to the

Armenian nation.

At least two charter flights per week served the Yerevan-Antalya route in July

and August. The aircraft were leased from Armavia, Armenia’s national airline.

Ani Tour, one of the Armenia tour packagers, is planning to offer next year

additional Turkish destinations such as Bodrum.

These shameful vacations by citizens of Armenia are a knife into the heart of

the Armenian nation. Let’s consider why they are wrong, wrong, and wrong.

It’s immoral for an Armenian to vacation in Turkey, including the “pilgrimage”

to Aghtamar in mid-September.

These selfish vacationers, who are opting for Turkish destinations, are

sabotaging the Armenian campaign to persuade Turkey to recognize the

Genocide, and to make reparations.

These unconscionable tourists send the wrong signal to the government of

Turkey and to governments around the world, making them believe that we

have conceded defeat in our struggle against Turkish intransigence and

denialism.

These sunny vacation destinations are located in areas where Armenians

inhabited for thousands of years, and where they were either slaughtered

or driven out by the Turkish government barely a century ago.

These outrageous vacations help boost the economy of our enemy—the

same enemy which is blockading Armenia and is aiding Azerbaijan

(Turkey Jr.) politically, diplomatically and militarily.

Impoverished, cash-strapped Armenia can’t afford the outlay of millions of

dollars, via these abominable vacations.

A typical one-week Yerevan to Antalya vacation costs $750, while other

vacations can have a price tag as high as $2,000. According to global

economic surveys, the average annual income of an Armenian citizen is

101,700. This is about $2,700 per year or $225 per month. In other words,

the price of an Antalya vacation is equal to three months of wages for the

average Armenian. Imagine a North American, with an annual income of

$50,000, spending $17,000 for a week’s vacation.

So who are these citizens of Armenia who are spending $750 for a week’s

vacation in the enemy’s resorts? Obviously, not the average citizen of

Armenia, but the financial elite who have swallowed the Western Dream

(the divine bottom line, the focus on the pleasure principle, taking care of

numero uno first and foremost) and don’t give a dram for the national

interests of Armenians.

It’s not as if these outrageous vacationers have no non-Turkish options. I

n northeast Black Sea, hour or so flying time from Yerevan, there are seven

Russian towns dedicated to tourism, according to Oliver Bullough’s recent

book—“Let Our Fame Be Great.” Anapa, at the northern tip of the Black

Sea Riviera, has 600 hotels, reports Bullough. South of it are the

mostly-resort towns of Novorossiysk, Gelenzhik, Arkhip Osiparka, Tuapse,

Lazarevskoye, Sochi, and Adler. Near Sochi is Krasnaya Polyana, the

locale of the Winter Olympics in 2016. West of Anapa are the famed resort

areas of Crimea and the Sea of Azov.

Away from the former Soviet resort areas are other great tourist destinations

such as Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, perhaps Iran.

Closer to home are Shusha and Kelbajar, top vacation destinations in Soviet

times. But typically, the government of Armenia has shown no initiative, other

than talk, about building an airport in Artsakh. Thus a trip to these two Artsakh

destinations involves four hours of driving. And typically for the government of

Armenia, it allows its national airline—Armavia—to lease planes to the

money-hungry opportunists who want to send Armenians and Armenia money

to Turkey. A month ago, when the Jordanian opposition parties and unions

protested the Amman government’s decision to allow the promotion of tourist

packages to Israeli-occupied Arab Jerusalem, the government backed down.

Why don’t Armenian political parties, which are opposed to these disgraceful

Turkish tour packages, don’t tell the Serzh Sargyan government to discourage

these vacations? Meanwhile, the Armenian government has no accurate

statistics about the number of Armenians vacationing in Turkey because

Yerevan-based tour packagers are reluctant to reveal the disgraceful numbers.

Last but not least…Turkey isn’t the safest country for Armenians—resident or

vacationer. This past summer a pregnant Armenian vacationer (Ann Davityan)

was killed in Antalya. Her body, which the murderer(s) dumped into a canal,

had signs of torture. Because Yerevan and Ankara have no diplomatic relations

-- thanks to the latter’s bellicosity--it took many days to transport Ms. Davityan’s

body to Yerevan. As well, members of an Armenia family vacationing in Turkey

were beaten by the staff of their hotel and then detained by police. After spending

a night in jail, the family was allowed to return to Armenia. Yet Yerevan did not

protest to Turkey or inform citizens of Armenia what could happen to them on

a Turkish vacation.

When Armenia became independent, thousands of small merchants—many

of them women—travelled to Istanbul, to import consumer goods to Armenia.

This was an unfortunate but understandable development since Armenians

were desperate for consumer goods and the budding amateur merchants

—nicknamed “suitcase bizinessmeny”—were in dire need of money. That

phase was something the Armenian nation could understand, but vacationing

in Turkey is another kettle of fish.

These vacationing Armenians are putting their pleasure ahead of the vital

interests of their people. They are stomping on Armenian national rights for

a week in the sun. They are selling their national patrimony for a suntan.

In the ‘60s, when Turkish movies began to appear on Beirut theatre screens,

the Armenian community successfully urged Armenians not to attend these

asinine Turkish soap operas and comedies. If the Lebanese-Armenian leaders

could drive the made-in-Turkey movies out of town, why can’t the Sargsyan

administration put a stop to this humiliation?

One wonders what the “Armenian” vacationers think as their Airbus 300 flies

over historic Armenia. Do they look outside the plane’s porthole and think of

our countless scarred and imprisoned monuments 30,000 ft below? Do they

invest a second in thinking of Haig Nahabed, Medzn Dikran, the Mamigonians,

Movses Khorenatsi, Toros Roslin, the Cilician Kingdom, Khrimian Hayrig,

Taniel Varoujan, Gomidas, Kachn Antranig, Aghpur Serop… and the

1.5 million Armenians slain by the government of Turkey?

“Amot” to these vacationing pseudo-Armenians.