Swiss Probe Turkish Minister for Denying the Armenian Genocide Chairman of EU Parliament Calls on Turkey to Confront its History

Swiss Probe Turkish Minister for Denying the Armenian Genocide Chairman of EU Parliament Calls on Turkey to Confront its

History

The best ever reports are in this issue of Loussapatz... uptodate news... You read it here first.

Sorry I was not able to publish the Armenian lettering on this occasion.

Egemen Bagis and Martin Schulz

ZURICH -- Following a meeting Tuesday with Turkish Minister for the EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ege- men Bagis, president of the European Parliament Martin Schulz told media that the minister should face his country’s genocidal past.

“My best advice to Turkey will be to come into terms with its own history as only in that case it will be possible to build the future of the state,” Schulz said.

In his words, his homeland, Germany, too had complicated history but it treats its history with sensitivity till

now.

“You must allow free investigations connected with what happened in 1915 and if the investigation shows that what happened in 1915 is genocide, you should admit it,” Schulz said.

Bagis is currently under investigation in Switzerland on whether he should face charges for recent statements he has made is which he denies that the Armenian Genocide took place.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Switzerland’s Canton of Zurich launched an inquiry against the Turkeish Minister for EU Affairs.

9The proceedings were launched after Bagis had stated in Zurich, and while returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, that there was no Armenian Genocide, Hurriyet daily of Turkey informs.

And in an interview with Anadolu News Agency, Zurich’s Prosecutor Christine Braunschweig confirmed the launching of this investigation against the Turkish minister, and stressed that it is underway pursuant to the Swiss Criminal Code.

In Zurich, Egemen Bagis had said: “I declare in Switzerland today that the events of 1915 were not genocide. Let them come and arrest me. Those laws are nothing but a piece of paper.”

Under Swiss law it is a crime to deny that the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War One constituted an act of genocide.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, later said Turkey had summoned the Swiss ambassador to Ankara to tell him that the probe was "unacceptable."

Census 2011: Armenia's Population has Declined to 2,871,509

YEREVAN -- At a press conference Tuesday head of the National Statistical Service of Arme- nia, Stepan Mnatsakanyan said that the results of last October’s census show a population of 3,285,767, but that the number did not reflect those who are out of the country – primarily in Rus- sia.

Armenia’s “real” population is believed to be 2,871,509, some 400,000 less than the official 3.2 million.

“We will have the number of the permanent population after deducting the number of those temporarily present in the country and adding the index of those who were absent up to 1 year. Then we will make recoding, enter the data and the program will process all the questionnaires. This pro- cess will be over in October 2012,” Mnatsakanyan said, adding that some information on absent families had been gathered from neighbors and other sources.

The previous 2001 census showed Armenia’s population makes 3,458,303.

During the last ten years 173,000 left the Republic, while 12.6% of enumerated citizens are out of Armenia.

Secretary Clinton Karabakh with

Nalbandian and Aliyev

MOSCOW -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was briefed on the results of the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Russia during separate talks with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian held over the weekend.

Clinton met with the two men on the sidelines of an annual conference on global security that took place in Munich, Germany. She made no public statements after those meetings.

In a short statement, Aliyev’s press office said the Azerbaijani leader and the chief U.S. dip- lomat had a “broad exchange of opinions on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno- Karabakh conflict.” It did not elaborate.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said Nalbandian and Clinton “discussed in detail the latest de- velopments in the negotiating process of the Karabakh settlement” and, in particular, Aliyev’s Jan- uary 23 meeting with President Serzh Sargsyan that was hosted by their Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in the Russian city of Sochi. Nalbandian shared her with her details of the summit, a ministry statement said.

A senior U.S. State Department official told U.S. journalists ahead of the Munich Security Conference that the Karabakh issue is “something the Secretary takes a personal interest in.” “The Secretary wants to talk to both sides about the results of that [summit] and the follow-on from that and how we can help move the process forward,” the official said.

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According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry statement, Nalbandian stressed the importance of the U.S. involvement in the process. The statement also quoted Clinton as saying that Washington will continue to lend “full support” to the conflict’s resolution by “in a solely peaceful way.”ort pe- riod.”

Ragip Zarakolu Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Swedish MPs

Ragip Zarakolu

ZURIKH -- Members of the Swedish Parliaments have submitted Turkish human rights de- fender Ragip Zarakolu as a candidate for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ragip Zarakolu was imprisoned for publishing articles on the Armenian Genocide and Kurdish problem. Despite the pressure, he goes on defending freedom of speech, says the letter.

Ragip Zarakolu is among the best known Turkish intellectuals struggling against denial of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey. This is the reason for authorities repeatedly prosecuting him on the basis of Article 301 of Turkey’s Criminal Code.

In 2007, Ragip Zarakolu was imprisoned for six years for “insulting Turkishness” because he dared translate Franz Werfel’s The Forty Days of Musa Dagh and publish the book at the Belge pub- lishing house.

Recently Zarakolu wrote to the Turkish parliament calling on the lawmakers to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.

“It is not only an obligation towards the victims but also a duty for securing healthy way of thinking for the so- ciety. The acknow-ledgement of the genocide will not belittle Turkey but will strengthen it,” Zarakolu wrote.

Russia Promises Support For Armenian Agriculture,

Nuke Construction

YEREVAN -- High-ranking Russian officials pledged to help spur agricultural activity in Ar- menia and reaffirmed Moscow’s stated support for the construction of a new Armenian nuclear plant during separate visits to Yerevan on Tuesday.

Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov held what he described as “quite produc- tive” negotiations with Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian that focused on bilateral economic ties and, in particular, agricultural assistance requested by the Armenian government.

“We agreed on the main directions of our cooperation that concern agriculture in the first in- stance,” Sarkisian told a joint news conference after the talks. “We need support and assistance from our Russian partners in the areas of cattle and seed breeding and in the provision of agricul- tural equipment.”

“We mapped out very important areas of cooperation ... and that applies to agriculture and seed breeding in the first instance,” confirmed Zubkov.

Armenia already began importing large quantities of high-quality grain seed from Russia in late 2010 as part of a government plan to significantly increase domestic wheat production. About 150 farmers and agricultural firms received such seeds last year.

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Sarkisian and Zubkov said that a Russian-Armenian “working group” will meet in Moscow within the next month to flesh out their preliminary agreements. According to the Russian vice- premier, one of them envisages the establishment of an Armenian subsidiary of Russia’s Rosagro- leasing enterprise that provides tractors and other equipment to farmers. He also said that a leading Russian agricultural bank should open a branch in Armenia and start extending loans to local farm- ers and food-processing companies.

Zubkov also welcomed a 16 percent increase in the volume of Russian-Armenian trade that ex- ceeded $1 billion registered in 2011. But he said the two governments should strive to raise it fur- ther.

Zubkov’s delegation comprised Transport Minister Igor Levitin, who co-chairs a Russian- Armenian inter-government commission on economic cooperation together with Tigran Sarkisian. The two men visited later on Tuesday the premises of a Russian-owned research institute in Yerevan that that will soon be turned into a tax-free zone for hi-tech firms. Levitin told reporters that a Rus- sian-Armenian joint venture will complete preparations for the launch of the tax haven in the next six months.

The talks coincided with a separate visit to Armenia by Sergei Kirienko, head of Russia’s state-run Rosastom nuclear energy corporation. Kirienko met with President Serzh Sarkisian after visiting the aging nuclear power station at Metsamor and inspecting the adjacent site of a new nu- clear plant which the Armenian government plans to build in the coming years.

A statement by Sarkisian’s office said the two officials discussed “the development of interac- tion on the construction” of the new nuclear facility. Kirienko was quoted as praising Yerevan for its “open” dealings with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Union.

“This is a very correct approach in terms of operations of the existing plant, additional safety measures taken there and the new [facility’s] construction,” he said before receiving a Medal of Honor, a top Armenian state award, from Sarkisian.

Armenian Troops Withdrawn From Kosovo

Soldiers of the Armenian army's special Peacekeeping Brigade

YEREVAN -- Armenia has ended its participation in NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo eight years after sending troops to the former Yugoslav region, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian confirmed on Wednesday.

Ohanian said a 35-strong platoon of the Armenian Armed Forces has returned to Yerevan be- cause of an ongoing reduction in the size of NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) that reflects improved security conditions in the newly independent state. Speaking at a news conference, he specifically pointed to the pullout of most of a Greek peacekeeping battalion stationed there since 1999.

The Armenian contingent was part of that battalion deployed in eastern Kosovo, an area con- trolled by KFOR’s U.S.-led Multinational Brigade East.

In a separate interview with the Mediamax news agency, Ohanian said Armenia is ready to send its troops back to Kosovo if another NATO member state agrees to cover their logistical ex- penses in place of Greece. He said the Armenian military has already received a relevant offer from Hungary and is now considering it.

The deployment of Armenian soldiers in Kosovo in February 2004 marked the start of Arme- nia’s first-ever military mission abroad. Yerevan contributed dozens of troops to the U.S. occupa- tion force in Iraq and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan

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in the following years. The number of Armenian troops serving in Afghanistan was almost tripled to about 130 in June 2011.

These missions have highlighted Armenia’s growing military ties with NATO and the United States in particular. A senior U.S. defense official said last summer that the Pentagon will continue to assist in the ongoing expansion of an Armenian army unit that provides military personnel for multinational operations abroad.

Armenia participation in such operations is envisaged by Yerevan’s Individual Partnership Ac- tion Plan (IPAP) with NATO launched in 2005. The cooperation framework also commits the coun- try, traditionally reliant on close military ties with Russia, to implementing wide-ranging defense reforms.

Congressmen Schiff and Berman Discuss Development of Ethnic Armenian Areas in Javakh with Georgian President

Saakashvili

Reps. Adam Schiff and Howard Berman

WASHINGTON, DC -- Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide resolution, and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Com- mittee, met with Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, on Thursday to discuss the bilateral rela- tionship between the United States and Georgia and to ask the president to focus more attention on the ethnic Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, which borders the Republic of Armenia. Eco- nomic opportunity, education, and development in Samtskhe-Javakheti have lagged behind that of predominantly Georgian areas of the country.

During the meeting in the U.S. Capitol, President Saakashvili expressed a willingness to work with Schiff and Berman to direct more resources to Samtskhe-Javakheti and said that he would fully support additional American assistance to the region.

“I was very pleased with the discussion we had with President Saakashvili,” Schiff said. “He was unhesitating in expressing support when we asked for additional efforts to aid Armenian- Georgians.”

“I will continue to fight for the fair treatment and equal rights for the ethnic Armenian com- munity in Georgia,” said Howard Berman, the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Com- mittee and a longtime champion of Armenian causes.

President Saakashvili has been in Washington for several days meeting with a variety of senior American officials, including President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and congressional leaders.

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Dink’s Assassin had Connections with Ergenekon

Erhan Tuncel

ISTANBUL -- Turkish nationalist Erhan Tuncel, a suspect in Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink’s murder case, has unveiled new details of the plot after being detained and subse- quently released by a court ruling.

In an interview with Turkish Star newspaper Tuncel insisted Ergenekon has connection to the murder.

He has recommended studying the list of those who visited the perpetrator, Yasin Hayal, in prison. According to the Turkish newspaper Radikal, Tuncel suspected Hayal of having connections with the ultra-nationalist organization Ergenekon.

Tuncel, who was released from jail 19 days ago, was quoted as telling Star newspaper on Sun- day that Hayal did not have any intent to kill Dink before being detained over a bomb plot in a Trabzon McDonalds. He was reportedly taken to a psychiatric hospital from prison cell, but the court never had any access to the list of people who visit him in that period.

According to the Turkish paper, the plaintiffs in the Dink assassination trial demanded that re- tired General Veli Kucuk, who is now in detention over the Ergenekon plot, visited Hayal in prison.

Tuncel further claimed that Yasin often visited the Trabzon police.

“Why didn’t the six police agents of the Trabzon gendarmerie stand a trial? Dink murder case will not be resolved until Resat Altay, former gendarmerie head sheds light on everything,” Tuncel said stressing that many police officers must reveal the facts of the murder case.

Grandmaster Levon Aronyan Warns FIDE He Will not Play in Azerbaijan

Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronyan

YEREVAN -- Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronyan, FIDE’s current number two player, has applied to Chairman of the International Chess Federation Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and members of FIDE Executive Committee, noting he will refuse to play in Baku, if the qualifying tournament is conducted there.

In his open letter Levon Aronyan specifically writes: 14

”I was informed from the media, that the Chess Federations of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria had submitted an application on holding the Candidates Tournament of World Championship.

I’d like to inform you that general atmosphere in Azerbaijan and continuous tensions between our countries make my participation in such high ranked tournament in Azerbaijan impossible. A re- sponsible and important event, such as the Candidates Tournament, requires peace of mind and spe- cial concentration. No circumstances, if they are not chess-related, should prevent the grandmaster from demonstrating all of his skills.

Unfortunately, at this moment no Armenian can find favorable or adequate psychological at- mosphere in Azerbaijan, whereas that is something absolutely necessary. In my opinion, all the par- ticipants should be in equal conditions, which is impossible in case of holding the tournament in Azerbaijan. Security guaranties and any kind of additional support cannot be a remedy.

Taking into account the above-mentioned considerations, I inform you that I would be de- lighted to take part in Candidates Tournament in any other country, but my participation in the can- didates tournament in Azerbaijan has to be excluded.

I hope you will take into account these considerations while discussing the issue of the tour- nament venue at the Presidential Board Meeting.”

Interview: Judge Schneider: Anti-Trust Legislation Can't be Enacted by

Government Officials Engaged in Business

Grisha Balasanyan Hetq.am

Hetq speaks with Mr. Markus Schneider Presiding Judge at District Court of Hamburg (En- forcement), and a specialist in unfair economic competition issues.

What dangers do monopolies pose for small nations like Armenia and what are the pri- mary measures to be taken to combat it?

While I am not an expert in monopolies, in Germany there exists an anti-trust structuure that primarily deals with preventing such manifestations. But I can say that monopolies can pose both economic and cultural problems for a country.

Monopolies are problematic from a democratic perspective, as well from a human and political stance. It all comes down to just how strong the anti-monopoly agencies are in your country and whether they can prevent the creation of monopolies. The German anti-trust body is quite severe when dealing with such issues.

But aren’t such anit-monoply measures purely for show, when you have government offi- cial and MP’s who are engaged in business activities?

In Germany, the courts deal with such questions and the courts enjoy the highest degree of in- dependence. A minister or other government official cannot exert any influence on the courts. The anti-monopoly agency also enjoys a fair degree of independence regarding its actions, but the main question of import is whether the entire sector is being regulated legislatively and to what degree are the laws being applied.

If there are laws on the books but they remain on paper, then it’s a tragedy. In Germany, with- out doubt, the laws must be applied.

Presently, the process of oligarichization is taking place throughout the world and is progress- ing at a fast clip in Armenia. Naturally, given this situation, the role of anti-monopoly structures takes on heightened significance.

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Now, if government officials and MP’s, that’s to say the ones who are responsible for enacting anti-trust legislation and other measures, are also involved in business, then there’s a very en- trenched problem here.

But I must say that based on what I have seen from your State Commission for Economic Pro- tection my impression is that their work isn’t just for show.

Take for example the recent sour cream scandal. The Commission took the correct decision. Naturally what I have witnessed is just a tiny fragment of the entire picture you have amassed.

What about the fact that the owner of the sour cream company found violating the law is an MP? Then again, the company of another MP has been churning out knock-off vodka for years and the Commission’s decisions have no real effect?

This is a question dealing with legal culture. In the case where a real legal culture exists, the violating business owner should not be able to continue operating in such a manner if fined or shut down.

If a business continues to flout the law after being fined then I am at a loss how to describe the situation. The fines levied must be so prohibitive as to halt such behavior. They just can’t be at the level of another business expense.

Press Freedom Opposition Paper Journalist Freed Amid Media Uproar

YEREVAN-- Facing an uproar from Armenia’s leading press freedom groups and independent media outlets, law-enforcement authorities released on Monday Hayk Gevorgian, a veteran editor and correspondent with the pro-opposition daily “Haykakan Zhamanak,” who was arrested on con- troversial charges on Friday.

Gevorgian linked the case with his professional activities as he walked free from Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison early in the afternoon.

Gevorgian was detained for allegedly hitting and injuring another man with a car driven by him on January 13. The Armenian police say he did not help the middle-aged man, Armen Frangulian, and instead verbally abused him before fleeing the scene.

Frangulian confirmed this version of events in a police video report broadcast by Armenian television over the weekend. Wrapped in a blanket, he said he has still not recovered from the inju- ries despite spending several days in a Yerevan hospital. The report also featured a hospital doctor saying that those injuries were of “medium gravity.”

Nikol Pashinian, the “Haykakan Zhamanak” editor dismissed those claims and claimed that the incident was a police provocation organized in retaliation for Gevorgian’s scathing articles about Vladimir Gasparian, the chief of the national police. One of those articles was published on January 13.

Gevorgian likewise alleged personal retribution by Gasparian after his release. “They just wanted to show what happens to those who write negative things about him,” he told RFE/RL’s Ar- menian service (Azatutyun.am) outside the Nubarashen jail. “This is simply persecution.”

“I had no doubts that they will arrest me because, thank God, I know the intellectual level of that [law-enforcement] system very well,” he said. “They prepared the arrest for 20 days. Even in those circumstances they did it with huge violations, which made my dream come true.”

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Gevorgian at the same time refused to comment on details of the January 13 incident. “They will commit more mistakes during their further investigation and the trial. If I recount details now they may avoid some of those mistakes,” he explained.

The Yerevan Press Club and the Armenian Committee to Protest Freedom of Speech in a joint statement expressed outrage at the police actions. “For more than ten days Hayk Gevorgian was on the police wanted list while continuing his journalistic activities and entering government build- ings,” said the statement issued on Saturday.

The two media watchdogs also described as “fairly plausible” the “Haykakan Zhamanak” claims that Gevorgian was prosecuted for his coverage of the police and Gasparian in particular.

“Haykakan Zhamanak” is the country’s best-selling daily strongly supporting the main opposi- tion Armenian National Congress (HAK). Pashinian, who is also a senior member of the HAK, has spent about two years in prison on controversial charges stemming from the 2008 post-election vio- lence in Yerevan.

Protagonist – The Deal

By Naira Hayrumyan

Haik Gevorgyan’s arrest shadowed the election passions in the press thought the main “political” events took place last week.

The point is about the statement of Member of Parliament Vardan Bostanjian, Bargavach Hayastan Party, that their party will support Serzh Sarkisian in the presidential elections. After this statement, the magic word “deal” ap- peared in the press which will apparently become fundamental in the upcoming elections.

So far, elections have been just deals between parties, more exactly people of financial, force, criminal and par- ty resources. “Elections” were first held among these figures. First they agreed on votes, and only then the official elections were held. The role of the society was limited to “signing” the deal.

In 2008, this procedure was changed because they failed to involve Ter-Petrosian in the deal then. Fair elections were held: on the one hand, the political forces which made a deal, on the other hand, those who rejected it. The re- source of the first group was prevalent.

The disagreement between the Republicans and the Bargavach Hayastan Party allow us to hope there will be no deal this time, and fair elections will be held. But both parties seem to have decided that fair elections are more dan- gerous for them than the most favorable deal.

The change of rhetoric of this party shows that the deal has been made. The Hraparak Daily even published the text of the deal on the single-member districts. The paper reported that in the January 30 meeting of Serzh Sarkisian, Gagik Tsarukian and Artur Baghdasarian, it was agreed that Republican candidates will be nominated in 23 districts, BHP will nominate in 7 and Orinats Yerkir in 4. In these election districts, coalition partners will not put forward candidates against each other. In the remaining 4 districts, the Republicans and the Bargavach Hayastan Party will fight for parliamentary seats.

If the elections are based on deals again, it will mean that the politicians learned no lessons from what happened in the Arab countries, and what is now happening in Russia. In both places, the civil society has stepped onto the po- litical arena, demanding to remove dictatorship and hold fair elections without deals. These two demands are insepa- rable because the ruling regime was unable to hold free elections from the beginning. It has always preferred deal even at the cost of losing part of its power.

Will the Armenian society be able to self-organize like the Arab states and Russia and to impose the first de- mand of change of power and then the demand of free elections? After the 2008 presidential elections, it almost hap- pened but apparently the society found Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s leadership as “alternative authoritarianism” and made little effort to support him. In this sense, the best way for the Armenian National Congress to regain the support of the society is to refuse to run in elections and launch a campaign demanding elimination of dictatorship and free elec- tions.

Armenian Bar Association Accepting Applications for its Seventh Annual Scholarship Program

Los Angeles, California: – The Armenian Bar Association is pleased to announce that it is ac- cepting applications for its Seventh Annual Scholarship Program. The Program is designed to sup- port meritorious students of Armenian descent attending, or accepted for admission to, an approved law school in the United States, Armenia or elsewhere. Recipients must demonstrate an outstanding academic record as well as a strong commitment to the Armenian community, particularly in hu- manitarian and/or law-related endeavors. The Scholarship Program is primarily funded by dona-

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tions and by fundraising events hosted by the Armenian Bar Association. In addition to the Schol- arship Program, the Armenian Bar Association supports Armenian law students through its varied programs and events including the mentorship and internship programs and presentations by legal scholars.

Students interested in applying for an Armenian Bar Association scholarship should obtain an application at the Armenian Bar Association’s website (www.armenianbar.org). The application deadline is April 30, 2012. The application must either be postmarked by April 30, 2012 or if e- mailed, it should be received no later than midnight (PST) of April 30, 2012.

The Armenian Bar Association is the largest organization of Armenian lawyers in the world. The Armenian Bar Association performs many functions on behalf of the Armenian community, such as responding to the press or media about topics relating to Armenians, educating American- Armenians regarding their legal rights, and advocating the rule of law in Armenia, all of which are important aspects of advancing both the economic and the humanitarian well-being of Armenia. The Armenian Bar Association also has engaged in many cross-national efforts between the United States and Armenia, such as hosting Armenian attorneys and judges in the United States and pro- moting Armenian-American attorneys’ involvement in the Armenian business and legal world, both as educators and as advisors.

On May 17- 19, 2012, the Armenian Bar Association will hold its 23rd Annual Meeting in Glendale, California. For information on how you can register for this meeting, go to the Armenian Bar Association’s website at www.armenianbar.org.

Singer Ruben Matevosyan Celebrating 70th Birthday Anniversary

People’s Artist of Armenia Ruben Martirosyan is celebrating his 70th birthday anniversary and 50th anniversary on the stage.

“I’m only looking ahead. Otherwise, I will cease to be a singer. But my wish is to breathe life into the songs that I have not yet sung,” Matevosyan said. He recalls his first performance, title, award. He is grateful to God for his voice and to his teachers

Gregory of Narek and the Narekian Fathers: The Mystery of Love from the Commentary of Song of Songs

to the Book of Lamentations

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ANN ARBOR, MI -- University of Michigan Armenian Studies program has organized a lec- ture by Levon Petrosyan titled "Gregory of Narek and the Narekian Fathers". The event will be held on Tuesday, February 14 in the International Institute, room 1636, 1080 South University, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109

This lecture will examine the life, poetry and theological school of Gregory of Narek, also known as the Armenian medieval author Xth c. Gregory of Narek spent his life in the Monastry of Narek with his father Bishop Xosrov and his teacher Abbot Anania. These three authors form the School of Narek, a particular spiritual and theological school in the vein of the philokalic spiritual- ity.

At a young age Gregory of Narek prepared a Commentary on the Song of Songs which consid- erably influenced his teaching method. He became a singer of the Divine Love, erotic and agapic at the same time, and he taught people the Sacramental way of its Consumption. Over the years, the poetic style of Gregory of Narek achieved a high level of perfection and he presented his Book of Lamentation as a speech of the Bride to her beloved Groom, a soul's discourse to God. If the Divine Love is the poetic muse of Gregory of Narek, the discourse with God is the expression of his deep feelings for Him: Love should be always confessed!

Manoogian Foundation post-doctoral fellow Levon Petrosyan received his Pd.D. in history from the University of Paris and Pd.D. in Theology from St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute of Paris in 2008 and 2006 respectively. In 2010 his Pd.D. dissertation titled "Grégoire de Narek. Commentaire sur le Cantique des cantiques" ("Gregory of Narek. Commentary on the Song of Songs") was published in Rome. His areas of research interest include Armenian literature, history of Armenia and the Armenian Church, and intercultural and interreligious dialog. Dr. Petrosyan is teaching a course in winter 2012 on Armenian Christianity.

Singer Ruben Matevosyan Celebrating 70th Birthday Anniver- sary

People’s Artist of Armenia Ruben Martirosyan is celebrating his 70th birthday anniversary and 50th anniversary on the stage.

“I’m only looking ahead. Otherwise, I will cease to be a singer. But my wish is to breathe life into the songs that I have not yet sung,” Matevosyan said. He recalls his first performance, title, award. He is grateful to God for his voice and to his teachers.

Raisa Mkrtchyan, Nune Yesayan, Alla Levonyan Arman Hovhannisyan, and other performers are taking part in the jubilee concert.

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Armenians Need to Pursue Their Cause With More Confidence and Commitment

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier This week’s column deals with the self-defeating attitude of some Armenians whose negative out- look manifested itself once again with the latest news about the French bill criminalizing denial of the Ar-

menian Genocide.

Some people hold the skeptical view that any project undertaken by Armenians is doomed to fail-

ure. A few years ago, I was advised by several readers not to call for dismissal of the Los Angeles Times

Managing Editor for censoring an article by Mark Arax on the Armenian Genocide. On another occasion, I

was advised not to ask Time magazine to apologize and make amends for disseminating a Turkish denialist

DVD. I ignored the defeatist suggestions that countering such powerful publications would be futile and

even counter-productive. It was not an easy struggle, but I am happy to report that Armenian activists pre-

vailed in both campaigns.

It is noteworthy that such apathetic individuals not only fail to offer any assistance or encourage-

ment, but go to great lengths to discourage those who are furthering the interests of the community. Inter-

estingly, those who sit on their hands are usually the ones who complain the most about others who are

serving the common cause.

Imagine if twenty years ago the small band of Armenian freedom fighters had listened to such nay-

sayers and decided that it was not possible to liberate Artaskh (Karabagh) from Azeri and Soviet occupa-

tion forces! Would I be here today if my ancestors, the brave people of Zeitoun, located in the heartland of

the Ottoman Empire, had not fought against powerful Turkish armies and won more than forty battles and

hundreds of skirmishes to preserve their safety and autonomy?

Returning to our own times, how often are we told by misinformed Armenians with an “all-

knowing” attitude that the U.S. Congress will never recognize the Armenian Genocide, when in fact it was

recognized in 1975 and 1984! Or how many times these misguided fortune-tellers have prophesized that no

U.S. President will ever recognize the Armenian Genocide because Turkey is too important, unaware that

Pres. Ronald Reagan recognized it in a Presidential Proclamation on April 22, 1981!

These same Armenians were confident that the French Parliament would not adopt a bill criminaliz-

ing denial of the Armenian Genocide last December, either because there would be a last minute snag or

that Pres. Sarkozy was tricking Armenians to get their votes in the forthcoming Presidential elections. Yet

the Parliament approved the legislation by a wide margin. When the bill made its way to the Senate on

January 23, 2012, once again the skeptics confidently predicted that an unexpected development would

block its passage. The bill was adopted by a vote of 127-86.

Last week, when some French legislators, aided and abetted by the Turkish Ambassador, appealed

the bill to the Constitutional Council, some Armenians fell into deep depression. They insisted that there

was an anti-Armenian conspiracy, claiming to have known all along that the initiative would end up in fail-

ure. These people do not seem to realize that the appeal does not necessarily mean defeat of the bill. In fact,

should the Council determine that the bill is constitutional, those who would be arrested for denying the

Armenian Genocide could no longer challenge the new law.

However, should the Constitutional Council reject the bill, it would not be the end of the world, as

Pres. Sarkozy has pledged to amend it and resubmit it to both legislative houses. Nevertheless, the pursuit

of the Armenian Cause does not depend on any particular bill. Armenians have many other major demands

from Turkey under international law.

Rather than simply deploring that the bill has ended in the Constitutional Council, Armenians

should demand that certain members of the court disqualify themselves from this case due their impermis-

sible affiliation with Turkish Think Tanks or for having made prejudicial statements on this issue. It is

noteworthy that six of the French Senators who filed for the appeal are currently enjoying themselves in

Azerbaijan as guests of the state, tasting Caspian caviar and indulging in other Azeri “delicacies.”

Far more important than any bill is Armenians’ solemn determination to continue the struggle for

their rightful cause, undeterred by setbacks or obstacles. Having survived several millennia of occupation,

pillage, massacres, and genocide, Armenians cannot succumb or surrender at the first sign of adversity!

Armenians can go forward only when they purge themselves of their self-defeating attitude and

subservient mentality, left over from centuries of Ottoman Turkish subjugation and servitude.

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Knights and Daughters of Vartan Partner with Armenia Tree Project to Honor Vartan Mami- gonian’s Dream

By Paul Yeghiayan

In 450 AD, one year before the famous Battle of Vartanantz, General Vartan Mamigonian led his troops to the re- gion of Kazakh to defend Christian Armenia against the Zoroastrian Persians. After defeating the Persians, Mamigonian led his troops back home and along the way stopped in an area today known as Aknaghbyur, Armenia. Exhausted, hungry, thirsty and tending to their wounded, they amassed by a spring, later known as Vartan’s Spring.

At this moment, Vartan Mamigonian performed a notable act. He planted an acorn to celebrate the recent victory. This deed represented his un- wavering commitment to a free and prosperous Armenia. It symbolized the hope that lies within all Armenians who believe in the future of our homeland. Vartan Mamigonian, who was politically savvy, knew that the odds for Arme- nia were grim, and as a soldier, he must have also known that he would not live long enough to see that acorn turn into an oak tree.

That acorn did turn into a mighty oak and survived for more than 1,500 years before it was struck down by lightning in 1960. Vartan Mamigo- nian’s Oak Tree is a legend in Armenia and people travel from all over the world to pay respects to what is now an outdoor shrine. For generations, Armenians would travel to what is now the village of Aknaghbyur and drink from Vartan’s Spring and pray next to Vartan’s Tree. They did so for strength in battle, to heal the sick, to pay homage to Vartan Mamigonian and to hope for a better Armenia.

Today, the remnants of Vartan’s Tree remain for all to see. A khachkar and a small church border his tree. Marshal Hovannes Baghramian visited the site in 1976 and planted three new oaks. They now reach for the sky in the same way that Vartan’s Oak did. Today the border village of Aknaghbyur is struggling to survive. Under the constant threat of violence coming from the Azerbaijani border, the villagers eke out a living through subsistence farming. Others have left the village, seeking oppor- tunities elsewhere. The Mayor of Aknaghbyur, Karen Dolmazian, approached ATP more than a year ago requesting fruit trees be donated to the village, since most of the productive trees have died or are too old to produce fruit.

According to Anahit Gharibyan, ATP’s Community Tree Planting program manager, “We wanted to help, but the village did not have irrigation, so we were worried that the trees would die.” Last summer, Armenia Fund installed both gas and irrigation lines in the village, so the opportunity was ripe for ATP to get involved.

“When we learned about the story of Vartan Mamigonian’s tree, I couldn’t help but see the connection between his act of hope and ATP’s reason for coming into existence 15 years ago, which was also an act of hope,” said Carolyn Mugar, ATP’s founder.

Jeff Masarjian, ATP’s executive director, said “The only thing stopping us now is funding for the project, so we thought to approach the Knights and Daughters of Vartan for assistance.” After several meetings with the senior leadership of the Knights, it was decided that ATP would start a campaign to raise money to provide 1,800 fruit trees for the village.

“With around 180 families in Aknaghbyur, our goal is to provide 10 fruit trees for each family and to provide them with training and ongoing support to en- sure that these trees have a high survival rate and are productive so the families have food,” said Masarjian. “The trees that we will provide have been grown in our state- of-the-art nurseries for four to six years. They are the highest quality fruit trees avail- able in the Caucasus, so we are confident that they will be of benefit to the villagers in Aknaghbyur.”

Haig Deranian, Avak Sbarabed of the Knight of Vartan, states “This was an easy decision for us. The connection with Vartan Mamigonian is strong and this project allows the Knights and the Daugh- ters to directly improve the lives of villagers in Aknaghbyur, Armenia.” Deranian states, “We understand the connection between food security and national security, so this is a very important project for the Knights and Daughters. We have every confidence in ATP, who has proven itself time and again. If this project goes as well as we hope, the possibility for future collaborative projects remains a strong possibility.”

States Masarjian, “Many of our supporters are also members of the Knights and Daughters of Vartan. Their com- mitment to improving the lives of Armenians is unquestionable and we are proud to work with them to assist the village of Aknaghbyur.” The project, entitled “Honoring the Past, Investing in the Future” will take place over 2010-2011.

Since 1994, Armenia Tree Project has planted and restored more than 3,500,000 trees at over 800 sites around the country and created hundreds of jobs for impoverished Armenians in tree-regeneration programs. The organization’s three tiered initiatives are tree planting, community development, and environmental education. For additional information and to support ATP’s mission, visit the web site www.armeniatree.org.

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