Loussapatz - The Dawn - ԹԻՒ 991 ՇԱԲԱԹ, 6 ՅՈՒԼԻՍ 2013

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COVER PAGE Vahan Derian (Վահան Սուքիասի Տէր-Գրիգորեան; January 28, 1885 – January 7, 1920) was an

Armenian poet, lyrist and public activist. He is known for his sorrowful, romantic poems, the most famous of which are still read and sung in their musical versions.

Derian began his short life in the Gandzani village of Javakheti region in Russian Empire (now in Georgia). Schooled in Tiflis, he then studied at the Lazarian College in Moscow, where he was exposed to symbolism and joined the Russian Social Democrats. He was jailed by Czarist police for his political activity.

He published his first book of poems, "Dreams at Dusk", in 1908, which made him an immediate sensation, Hovhannes Tumanian calling him the most original lyric poet of his age. He later published "Night Remembrance", "The Golden Legend", "The Return", "The Golden Link", "In the Land of Nairi" (where he substituted the word 'Nairi' for each instance where the word 'Armenia' would have suited), and "The Cat's Paradise". His poems are filled with images of rain, mist, pallid fields and shapeless shadows, symbols of sorrow, despair and eventually, peace.

In 1913, Derian left Moscow University for the University of St. Petersburg, where he majored in oriental languages, intensifying his political involvement. After the revolution he became representative of Armenians in the Ministry of Nations, personally working with Lenin and Stalin. He died in Orenburg of tuberculosis shortly before his

35th birthday. Each year there is a commemoration of his life in Javakhk region (Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalak), at Gandza village, where he was born.

In 1916, Vahan Derian published a collection of poems entitled Land of Nairi (in Armenian: Yerkir Nairi), in which he uses Nairi in place of Armenia. Likewise in 1923, Yeghishe Charents wrote a satirical novella entitled Land of Nairi, using once again Nairi as a synonym for Armenia. Hayastan Yeghiazarian, interestingly, used Nairi Zarian as his pen-name, replacing his first name, Hayastan (which is what Armenians call Armenia in their own language since the Late Middle Ages) with Nairi.

NEW APPOINTED

MEMBER OF THE DEPUTY JUDGES COUNCIL

BY THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO

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Dear friend,

I am pleased to inform you that I was appointed as a part-time Member of the Deputy Judges Council by the Government of Ontario. This appointment is with the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario.

At this time, I would like to thank all of those who were involved in this process.

Following information I would like to share with you describing the function and the membership of the council.

Function: The council will review and approve standards of conduct for deputy judges as established by the Chief Justice, review and approve a plan for the continuing education of deputy judges as established by the Chief Justice, and make recommendations on matters affecting deputy judges.

Membership: The council is composed of, (a) the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Justice, or another judge of the Superior Court of Justice designated by the Chief Justice; (b) a regional senior judge of the Superior Court of Justice, appointed by the Chief Justice; (c) a judge of the Superior Court of Justice, appointed by the Chief Justice; (d) a provincial judge who was

Vahan Derian 2011 Armenian stamp.

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assigned to the Provincial Court (Civil Division) immediately before September 1, 1990, or a deputy judge, appointed by the Chief Justice; (e) three persons who are neither judges nor lawyers, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the Attorney General's recommendation. The Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Justice, or his or her designate, shall chair the meetings.

Sarkis Assadourian ( M.P. 1993 -2004, CIC Judge 2005 -2008 )

SARKISIAN ADDRESSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DURING VISIT TO NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP IN POLAND

LYUBLIN, POLAND -- President Serzh Sarkisian addressed the issue of the Ottoman-era Genocide against Armenians as he visited a World War II concentration camp in Poland last Wednesday as part of his official visit to the country.

The Armenian leader visited Majdanek located near Lyublin, which now serves as a memorial complex.

After laying a wreath in the mausoleum of the complex and paying tribute to the memory of the tens of thousands of victims which were barbarically exterminated by the Nazis in this concentration camp, Sargsyan made a speech, in which he shared his emotions and feelings as well as called for the condemnation and prevention of similar crimes in the future.

“From hushing up and denying the reality up to criminal silence and nonchalant connivance – these are the conditions in which the gravest crimes in human history are taking place. Majdanek might have not happened if the first genocide of the 20th century perpetrated against the Armenians had received universal condemnation and had the perpetrators received their due punishment,” said the Armenian leader, according to his press office.

“It would be remiss of me if I did not recall the words of the one of the greatest sons of the Polish nation, a person utterly devoted to the all-human values and solidarity among the people - John Paul II, “The Armenian Genocide had become a prelude to the horrors which were to take place during the two World Wars, in the concentration camps and countless regional conflicts, claiming millions of lives.

“There is no condemnation without prevention and there is no prevention without condemnation. I believe that fate, which had compelled the survivors of the Genocide and their descendants to go through the crucible of Eghern, had also left a behest to learn from the past and to struggle consistently to enroot the absolute understanding of the inadmissibility of the Genocide and to protect the future generations from the similar monstrosity.”

ARMENIA FUND ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT

LOS ANGELES -- Armenia Fund, Inc., the United States Western Region affiliate of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, is pleased to announce the election of its new President/Chairman, Mr. Antranig Baghdassarian.

On Wednesday, June 19, 2013, the Corporate Board unanimously elected Antranig Baghdassarian as the organization’s next President.

“We welcome Mr. Baghdassarian to our international family of Armenia Fund. We are always encouraged when a generous benefactor decides to step up and lead the fundraising efforts of an affiliate. We wish Mr. Baghdassarian a productive term as we embark on another critical project of pan-Armenian importance, the Vardenis-Martakert highway,” stated Ara Vardanyan, Executive Director of “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Antranig Baghdassarian is the President and CEO of Karoun Dairies Inc. in California. His entrepreneurial spirit and attention to detail have been recognized in the form of 150 Gold, Silver and

Bronze medals at the U.S. and World Cheese Championships. He is married and has three children.

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“It is an honor and a privilege to be associated with such a monumental organization as Armenia Fund, where Armenians of all walks of life put their differences aside and lock arms with the only goal to assist the people of Armenia and Artsakh. We have a lot of work to do and no time to spare,” stated Antranig Baghdassarian.

Armenia Fund’s Corporate Board thanks the outgoing chairman of the organization, Ara Aghishian, Esq., who has been an active part of the organization’s leadership since 2001. Armenia Fund’s Corporate Board is composed of the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian Cultural Foundation, the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of U.S., the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Relief Society of Western U.S.A., the Nor Serount Cultural Association, the Nor Or Charitable Foundation, the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

RUSSIAN AID FOR ARMENIAN AIR FORCE ANNOUNCED Sargis Harutyunyan

www.armenialiberty.org -- Russia will help Armenia expand and modernize its relatively small air force within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), top security officials from the two countries said on Thursday.

CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha and Artur Baghdasarian, the secretary of Armenia’s National Security Council, made the announcement after signing a memorandum in Yerevan.

The memorandum deals with the implementation of a recent decision by the presidents of six ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led military alliance to set up joint army contingents operating under the CSTO aegis. According to Bordyuzha and Baghdasarian, they will comprise not only ground troops but also air force units.

“Collective security forces are being formed in the South Caucasus region where Armenia is the sole CSTO member state. Joint air forces will also be set up here,” explained Baghdasarian.

“Armenia’s air force will be expanded,” he told a joint news conference with Bordyuzha. “Not only the air force but also the air-defense system in general will be modernized and re-equipped. The Russian military base [in Armenia] will also re-equipped. In terms of modernization, 2014 will be a very important year.”

Baghdasarian gave few details of the planned modernization. He said only that an Armenian air force base in Gyumri is likely to be upgraded with the help of the Russian company Vertolety Rossii that manufactures military helicopters.

The Armenian air force mainly consists of several dozen Russian-made Su-25 warplanes and Mi-9 and Mi- 25 helicopter gunships operating as part of the country’s air-defense system. Armenia’s airspace is also protected by two dozen MiG-29 fighter jets belonging to the Russian military base.

In recent years, Armenia’s arch-foe Azerbaijan has purchased dozens MiG-29s as well as advanced Russian helicopters as part of a massive military build-up fuelled by its oil revenues. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again declared on Wednesday that the buildup will eventually enable his country to win back Nagorno-Karabakh.

Commenting on Aliyev’s statements, Bordyuzha warned against attempts to end the Karabakh conflict by force. “There can be no military solution to the Karabakh problem,” he said.

The CSTO secretary general also praised Armenia’s defense capability. “Intensive military-technical cooperation [with Russia] and deliveries of military products as an assistance ... allows one to speak of a fairly high degree of security in the Republic of Armenia,” he said.

DEFENSE CHIEF DISMISSES AZERI BUILDUP

www.armenialiberty.org -- Azerbaijan cannot clinch “unilateral” Armenian concessions with its massive arms purchases and regular threats of a military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said on Friday.

Ohanian also insisted that the Armenian-Azerbaijani war is unlikely to resume soon despite the ongoing Azerbaijani military buildup fuelled by billions of dollars in oil revenues.

Baku put its increased military might on display during a military parade held on Wednesday. Addressing the troops participating in the parade, President Ilham Aliyev said his country will continue buying more weapons. He

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said the buildup will eventually allow it to regain control over Karabakh and Armenian-controlled territories surrounding the disputed enclave.

Ohanian said such statements are designed to bolster Aliyev’s domestic political positions and force the Armenian side to make more concessions in long-running negotiations on a Karabakh settlement. “Forcing us to make any unilateral concessions is impossible today,” he told journalists. “We all want this problem to be solved in a political way and in peaceful conditions of mutual understanding. If there is mutual understanding things will move forward little by little.”

Asked about chances of renewed war for Karabakh Ohanian said, “The danger of war always exists for a defense minister. We prepare for war and improve our skills and capabilities every day. But its likelihood today is not very high.”

In his speech, Aliyev stressed the fact that Azerbaijan’s military budget in 2003 was $163 million while now it is $3.7 billion. The figure exceeds Armenia’s entire state budget.

The Azerbaijani leader presided over the parade one week after it emerged that Russia has begun supplying Azerbaijan with hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles and artillery systems worth around $1 billion in accordance with contracts signed two years ago.

Ohanian again downplayed the arms supplies denounced by the Armenian media and some opposition groups. “Military-technical cooperation between Armenia and Russia is at a higher level and we are maintaining the balance in qualitative terms,” he said. He reiterated that Armenia is placing the emphasis on the efficiency of its armed forces and acquisition of long-range weapons in the arms race with Azerbaijan.

Ohanian also confirmed another top Armenian official’s announcement that Russia will soon help the Armenian military enlarge its modest air force. But he gave no details.

The minister talked to the press during an air show held at a military airport just outside Yerevan. The event featured demonstration flights by Armenian warplanes and helicopter gunships.

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GAZPROM SETS TERMS OF GAS PRICE DISCOUNT

FOR ARMENIA Anush Mkrtchian

www.armenialiberty.org -- Russia’s Gazprom energy giant has expressed readiness to lower the price of its natural gas supplied to Armenia in return for gaining full ownership of the country’s gas distribution network.

The two sides began negotiating over the possibility of the Armenian government ceding its remaining 20 percent share in the ARG network to Gazprom after the gas price officially rose from $190 to $270 per thousand cubic meters this spring. The government pledged to subsidize the new price by 30 percent with financial support which it hopes to obtain from Moscow.

Armen Movsisian discussed the matter with Alexey Miller, the Gazprom chairman, in Moscow on June 17. Movsisian denied afterwards any connection between the gas tariff and his government’s apparent readiness to raise the Russian share in ARG from 80 to 100 percent. He said proceeds from the sale of its 20 percent stake in the gas distributor would not be enough to finance the subsidy.

Russia -- Gazprom chief Aleksei Miller at the annual general shareholders meeting in Moscow, 28Jun2013

However, Miller’s spokesman Sergey Kuprianov affirmed such a link in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Thursday. “The price for Armenia has indeed gone up, and we are now holding negotiations over which scheme could lower that price,” he said. “There is an understanding that we can agree on lower prices in Armenia because our joint venture [ARG] operates there. We will probably be able to increase our stake and that will create an additional possibility of

reducing the price.” The Armenian Energy Ministry refused to comment on Kuprianov’s statement on Friday, citing Movsisian’s

absence from the country. It was not clear whether the minister again flew to Moscow for more talks. Movsisian told journalists earlier this month that the government is ready in principle to make Gazprom the sole owner of ARG. This prompted strong criticism from Armenian opposition groups. They say that Armenia will now have even less of a say in the management of the domestic gas network.

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Kuprianov’s remarks were construed by Vahagn Khachatrian, a senior member of the opposition Armenian National Congress, as further proof that Yerevan and Moscow have already reached a “tentative agreement” on the sale of the minority stake in ARG. “The Armenian authorities are hiding everything from their citizens,” he said.

CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL IN HONOR OF VAHE AVETYAN

YEREVAN -- Members of the Vahe Avetyan civil movement have set up a memorial stone in front of the Harsnakar restaurant in Yerevan to remember the military doctor who was brutally beaten to death there last year.

The inscription on the stone reads: “A stone commemorating officer of the Armenian army, military doctor Vahe Avetyan will be set up here.”

Avetyan and his friends were beaten following an argument with staffers of the restaurant owned by influential businessman Ruben Hayrapetyan. The incident happened on June 17, 2012. Avetyan, who suffered severe head injuries, died in hospital 12 days later.

Dozens of civil activists, public figures and opposition Preparliament memebesr gathered in front of the Harsnakar restaurant. Speakers at the event expressed their discontent with the course of the current trial in the case, with some asserting that it was a display of cynicism on the part of the authorities.

“What is going on in court everyday is a slap on our face if we fail to make this trial a punishment for the criminal elite, which enjoys impunity. In this case we must not have a sleep of the just. I am calling on everyone to join us. This is not an ordinary murder. Rather, this is a murder aimed at the Armenian army.” Armenia’s ex- ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan stated in a speech.

Vice-Chief of the Yerevan Police Department Valeri Osipyan tried to prevent the placement of the memeorial stone, but failed.

But later in the evening, after staging a march and returning to the place they found that the stone had been removed.

A police officer told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that it was civil activists themselves who removed it. But Vahe Avetyan group activists excluded that such a thing could happen, accusing the police of removing the stone. They said they would decide on their further actions after discussing the incident among themselves.

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: TENSIONS RUNNING HIGH BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

NEW YORK -- Tensions are running high between Azerbaijan and Armenia with further escalation in arms race, the International Crisis Group said in its monthly report.

“On June 19 Azerbaijan announced delivery of $1bn worth of sophisticated Russian weaponry including nearly 100 top-line T-90 tanks, sophisticated rocket launchers, self-propelled artillery units. President Aliyev 26 June presided over huge military parade in Baku which also featured air fighter sorties and demonstrated new drone capabilities, pledged if necessary to re-take all lost territory as well as Armenian lands. Unconfirmed Armenian defense ministry source countered by claiming Armenia is guarded with long-range offensive missile systems capable of hitting any target in Azerbaijan; unclear if claim referred to Russian systems delivered directly to Armenian armed forces or to Russian forces in Armenia,” reads the report posted on the official website of the International Crisis Group.

“Also on 26 June, head of Russian CSTO-led military bloc and Russian NSC chief visited Yerevan to sign upgraded defense pact, pledged arms and more support. Truce continues to be violated with sporadic clashes, shooting. OSCE Special Representative for Conflicts 12 June warned that simmering conflict between the two may explode; voiced continuing concern Armenia might attempt to launch regularly scheduled fixed-wing air flights between Yerevan and Karabakh, causing near certain Azerbaijani reaction; also lamented reluctance of leaders to hold another bilateral meeting to diffuse tensions,” the report says.

According to the Crisis Group, OSCE attempts to jump-start talks in June failed according to OSCE Minsk Group sources cited by media. U.S., French and Russian presidents whose countries co-chair mediation efforts 18 June expressed regret over impasse in talks; called for sides to re-activate efforts to reach settlement.

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HUNGARIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT PRESIDENT APOLOGIZES TO ARMENIAN PEOPLE

YEREVAN -- The Hungarian court’s decision sentencing Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov to life imprisonment was not strict enough, Péter Paczolay, President of the Hungarian Constitutional Court, told reporters at the Armenian National Assembly, http://www.panorama.am reports.

The Hungarian official is in Armenia to attend the pan-European Conference on “The European Legal Standards of Rule of Law and the Scope of Discretion of Powers in the Member-States of the Council of Europe.”

Mr Paczolay said that Hungary extradited Safarov to Azerbaijan so that he would serve his imprisonment in that country, not be pardoned and released. The Hungarian official added that he cannot say anything on behalf of his country’s government since he is not familiar with the conditions of the extradition, and

apologized to the Armenian people for the consequences of Hungary’s extradition of the convicted Azerbaijani axe- murderer.

The two-day pan-European conference kicked off in Yerevan on Monday. The conference is held within the framework of the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The event has brought together about 80 representatives from 32 countries and international organizations.

Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Hovik Abrahamian, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, President of the European Court of Human Rights Dean Spielmann and President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio offered opening remarks.

ECHR President Dean Spielmann said the first achievement of the Armenian presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was the signing of the Protocol no. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. According to him, finalization of the Protocol no. 16, which provides a great potential for the development of national courts, could be Armenia’s second achievement.

President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio said he’s glad that the conference takes place in Yerevan under the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. He urged to make decisions taking into consideration the social realities, not forcing the courts to blindly follow the law, as he believes the laws cannot consider all spheres of application.

According to Buquicchio, modern states should be flexible to be able to react to all issues. He considers that the respect for human rights requires the authorities to be balanced.

ARMENIAN INFLATION SURPASSES GOVERNMENT TARGET Emil Danielyan

www.armenialiberty.org -- After several consecutive years of decline consumer price inflation in Armenia has

soared in the last few months, surpassing a maximum target rate of 5.5 percent set by the authorities for this year.

The National Statistical Service (NSS) reported on Friday that annual inflation increased from 5.2 percent in

May to 6.5 percent in June primarily due to rising food prices in the country, which were up by 9 percent year on

year.

Data from the NSS shows that the food price index in June was pushed up by an 18 percent surge in the cost of

fruits, vegetables and potatoes apparently resulting from relatively bad weather. Weather conditions in Armenia

were considerably better last year, one of the reasons why inflation fell to 2.6 percent in 2012, the lowest level since

2005. Inflation eased in 2010 and 2011 as well.

The Armenian government and Central Bank hoped to keep it within a target band of 4 percent (±1.5

percentage points) in 2013. However, these projections were called into question following a 50 percent rise in the

price of natural gas imported from Russia, which was announced last month. The development led Armenian utility

regulators to allow double-digit rises in the gas and electricity fees for households.

The higher energy tariffs will take effect early next month, meaning that inflationary pressures on the

Armenian economy will grow further. Artur Javadian, the Central Bank governor, said earlier this month that they

will likely push up the full-year inflation rate by 2 percentage points.

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BROTHER OF JAVAKHK-ARMENIAN ACTIVIST VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN AND 30 OTHERS ARRESTED

Head of Hayatun cultural center of Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Church Hovannes Chitiryan and chairman of the Multi-National Georgia NGO Arnold Stepanyan confirmed Georgia Online’s information about arrest of brother of Javakhk-Armenian activist Vahagn Chakhalyan – Armen Chakhalyan. The Georgian media was informed about it late in the evening by an Akhalkalaki resident.

Armen Chakhalyan is reported to have been accused of ‘organization of unrest in Ninotsminda.’ Tert.am tried to contact with Vahagn Chakhalyan but he does not respond. Speaking to Tert.am Arnold Stepanyan said that there was no unrest, it was a brawl between Armenian

young men. “Some guys phoned Chakhalyan’s brother and asked him to go down and help. He was at a birthday party but went to help. At that very moment special squad appeared and without any accusations took them to the police station. It was not a massive brawl but there were many people, about 60,” Stepanyan said.

Stepanyan said about 30 activists are among the arrestees.

“There are few hypotheses. The one is that Chaklyan’s brother’s arrest was a signal for him not to interfere into public-political life, the other is it was a signal in case he plans unrest,” Stepanyan said.

In any case the NGO chairman said the appearance of special forces is inexplicable as nothing ‘extraordinary’ happened.

Stepanyan said the most interesting revelation is that after the ‘first melting Saakashvili’s policy of viewing Javakhk-Armenians as colony’ is gradually returning.

Asked what it is agreed with, Stepanyan said, “We have analyzed a lot, spoke, discussed. The thing is that the state does not know how to overcome the risks in Javakhk as still new Georgian state approach is being worked out, and someone came to the conclusion that the previous system existing during Saakashvili’s ruling is very convenient regarding oversight,” he said.

KARABAKH ARMENIANS TRIED FOR SPYING

STEPANAKERT -- Two young men have gone on trial in Nagorno-Karabakh on charges of collaborating with Azerbaijani intelligence through the Internet.

Rafael Avagian, a 22-year-old Karabakh Armenian soldier, and his friend Davit Barseghian stand accused of high treason and espionage stemming from their communication with an obscure foreigner through a Russian online social network. They both admit having passed sensitive information on to the man but insist that they did not know that he was an intelligence officer.

Avagian, the main suspect in the case, told a Stepanakert court on Wednesday that the alleged Azerbaijani agent identified himself as Samvel Azatian and claimed to be an Istanbul-based representative of an Armenian Diaspora charity when they started communicating about a year ago. He said Azatian claimed that the charity plans to launch benevolent activities in Karabakh and needs detailed information about the disputed territory’s armed forces as well as civilian institutions and infrastructures.

“We made friends and fully trusted each other,” continued the defendant. “Some time later he said that they want to provide assistance to the [Karabakh] Defense Army and needs ... details of army units for that purpose . That is why I sent him information afterwards.”

Avagian said he sent pictures and other details of Karabakh army units and received about $1,000 and several other “gifts” in return. He said he then paid Barseghian $200 to travel to an Armenian-controlled district south of Karabakh to take pictures of Syrian Armenian settlers living there.

According to Avagian, the online interlocutor afterwards asked him to make a written pledge to carry out “secret tasks” for money. The soldier serving in the Karabakh army on a contractual basis said he signed a corresponding document sent from Istanbul shortly before his and Barseghian’s arrest.

The arrests were announced by Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) on June 25. In a statement, the NSS also reported the detention on similar charges of a 31-year-old woman serving in the Armenian army.

The NSS said the woman, Mane Movsisian, communicated through Facebook and other online networks with an unnamed Azerbaijani intelligence officer based in Turkey. It claimed that she gave him classified “information of military nature about Armenia.” No further details were reported.

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BAKO SAHAKYAN VISITED A NUMBER OF WORKSHOPS TO BE OPENED AT THE SITE OF FORMER KARABAGH SILK PLANT

Noyan Tapan -- On 1 July Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited a number of workshops to be opened at the site of former Karabagh silk plant.

The Head of the State got acquainted with the preparatory works carried out in the workshops of processing wool, as well as yarn, fabric and carpet production.

Bako Sahakyan highlighted the existence of such small enterprises for boosting local industry, adding that they would also promote the development of light industry in Artsakh.

Prime-minister Ara Haroutyunyan, vice-premier Artur Aghabekyan and other officials accompanied the President.

MONITORING TO BE CONDUCTED

NKR MFA Press Service -- On July 4, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission will conduct a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan near the village of Talish, the NKR Martakert region.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring will be conducted by Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Christo Christov (Bulgaria) and Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic). From the opposite side, the monitoring group will be led by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The NKR authorities have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members.

ARMENIAN TOMBSTONES FOUND IN TAKSIM SQUARE

ISTANBUL -- Armenian graves have been found in Istanbul's Taksim Square at the course of the construction activities, according to Turkish Demokrathaber.net, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Ömer Çelik and opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrikulu stated this.

Among other things the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Ömer Çelik noted that 16 tombstones and walls of historic monuments dating back to the 19th century have been found at the course of the construction works. Experts from the Archaeology Museum of Turkey arrived at the square, after the tombstones were found.

From 28 May 2013, protests raised against the plans of replacing Taksim Gezi Park with a reconstruction of the historic Taksim Military Barracks (demolished in 1940), with the possibility of housing a shopping mall. The protests developed into riots when a group occupying the park was attacked by police. The subjects of the protests have since broadened beyond the development of Taksim Gezi Park, developing into wider anti-government demonstrations. The protests have also spread to other cities in Turkey, and protests have been seen in other countries with significant Turkish communities.

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ARMENIAN PATRIARCH URGES THE SETTLEMENT OF THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN SYRIA

ISTANBUL -- Armenian Acting Patriarch of Istanbul Aram Ateshian has urged the world’s politicians to forget about their countries’ interests and instead pursue the humanity being destroyed in Syria.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Çemil Çiçek met with Turkey’s religious leaders during the 22th Parliamentary Assembly of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) held in Istanbul June 30, using the occasion to voice his hopes for a more tolerant and respectful world, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

“I hope your calls reach to those who should hear and understand,”Çiçek told those present at the gathering, who included Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, Armenian Patriarch Aram Ateshian, Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva, and

Mehmet Paçaci from the Religious Affairs Directorate. The leaders made speeches at a special session promoting dialogue and cooperation over the issues of racism,

intolerance and xenophobia. “We are supposed to choose dialogue rather than division, tolerance instead of extremism and consensus

rather than discrimination as role models,” Bartholomew said in his speech. Ateshian, for his part, touched on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria in his address. “We invite the

world’s politicians to mercy, to forget about their countries’ interests and instead pursue the humanity being destroyed in Syria,” he said.

THE NEW YORKER EXPLORES THE ARMENIAN PAST OF THE TAKSIM SQUARE IN ISTANBUL

Taksim Square, like Tahrir Square and Zuccotti Park before it, is just another space in a city: it could have been one more spot to meet friends, or to read a book under a tree. But Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, decided he’d like to replicate the Ottoman-era Taksim military barracks on the site, and build it into a shopping mall and a mosque. In late May, several dozen environmentalists began protesting Erdogan’s designs in Gezi Park, the island of trees within the Square, and were attacked by Turkish police with tear gas and water cannons. Soon, as Elif Batuman wrote, “only fifteen per cent were protesting the destruction of trees, while forty-

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nine per cent were protesting police violence against the kinds of people who were protesting the destruction of the trees.” Since then, nearly eight thousand protesters have been injured. By now, the protest has broadened into an objection to Erdogan’s religious agenda and authoritarian rule. Today, “Taksim Square” is no longer just a tangle of people and plazas but a byword for a clash of ideas, a movement, a battleground.

Considering the symbolism with which the site has been imbued, it is an uncanny and unpleasant fact of history that, for an entire people, Taksim Square already represents the demolition of the past. In an alleyway in Gezi Park, activists recently installed a makeshift tomb marked “Armenian Cemetery Sourp Hagop, 1551-1939: You took from us our cemetery, you will not have our park!”

Unknown to most of Istanbul’s brave protesters is that, centuries ago, members of Istanbul’s Armenian community were buried beneath the place where they stand. In the sixteenth century, when Suleiman the Magnificent was sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a group of conspirators is said to have approached an imperial chef, Manuk Karaseferyan, with a plan for him to poison the sultan’s dinner. Karaseferyan, however, reported the assassination plot to Suleiman, who offered him a favor in return. Karaseferyan requested a place for his people, the Armenians, to be buried. The Pangalti Armenian cemetery would become the largest non-Muslim cemetery in Istanbul’s history, although, after an outbreak of cholera in the eighteen-sixties, Armenian burials moved to the city’s Sisli district.

When the First World War began, there were two million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire; by 1922, fewer than four hundred thousand remained—a slaughter of 1.5 million that historians call a genocide. (The word “genocide” was coined by Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish lawyer and Holocaust survivor, after his study of the Armenian massacres.) The campaign against Armenians involved confiscating their land, such as the cemetery; it was razed in the nineteen-thirties. Now part of Gezi Park, it is the site of hotels, apartment buildings, and a Turkish Radio and Television center. Gravestones remain on view, however: they were used to construct stairs. (This is not the only instance of repurposed gravestones: Tablet published a photo series this summer of Jewish gravestones built into artists’ workshops, basketball courts, and children’s sandboxes around Poland.)

Nearly a hundred years later, the Turkish government has not recognized the Armenian genocide. Few Armenians remain in Turkey. The Washington Post recently published an article about an elderly woman named Asiya—the last Armenian in Chunkush, a town that once had ten thousand.

In 1919, a memorial to the Armenian genocide was built in the Pangalti cemetery, but it was destroyed in 1922, years before Gezi Park was erected. Every year, a Turkish human-rights group called DurDe organizes a silent commemoration on April 24th, when, in 1915, several hundred Armenian intellectuals were rounded up for execution. It intends to reinstall a memorial in Gezi Park, but pressure from nationalists has prevented this thus far. Cengiz Algan, a member of DurDe, told Le Monde, “All the political parties are killing each other, but when it’s about Armenians, there is always a consensus.”

Those protesting against Erdogan in Turkey, in complicated straits, wish to practice their liberties and honor their past, free of tear gas, bloodshed, denial, or pain. They are not alone.

DESPITE LAVISH PUBLIC PRAISE,

U.S. IS DEEPLY TROUBLED BY ERDOGAN

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

Some months ago I wrote a column titled “Obama is Exploiting Turkish Leaders’ Craving for

Flattery,” explaining that the U.S. President is able to persuade Prime Minister Recep Tayyip

Erdogan to do his bidding by taking advantage of his weakness for lavish praise!

Those aware of Erdogan’s authoritarian streak -- on full display during the recent brutal attacks

on protesters in Istanbul and other Turkish cities -- have been deeply troubled by U.S. officials’

repeated mischaracterization of the Prime Minister’s dictatorial regime as ‘a role model for the

Islamic world.’

The insincerity of such assessments was exposed when WikiLeaks made public thousands of

confidential diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, indicating that American officials’

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real opinion about Erdogan is the exact opposite of what they have been stating in public.

The Embassy dispatches, published by the German magazine Der Spiegel, described the Turkish

Prime Minister “as a power-hungry Islamist surrounded by corrupt and incompetent ministers.” In a

May 2005 cable, the U.S. Embassy surmised that Erdogan never had a realistic view of the world and

believes he was chosen by God to lead Turkey. A knowledgeable source told American officials that

“Tayyip believes in God ... but does not trust him.”

U.S. diplomats report that the Prime Minister gets almost all his information from Islamist-

leaning newspapers, ignoring the input of his own ministers. The Turkish military and intelligence

services no longer share with him some of their reports. He trusts no one completely, surrounding

himself with “an iron ring of sycophantic (but contemptuous) advisors.” Despite Erdogan’s macho

behavior, he is reportedly terrified of losing his grip on power.

Although the Turkish leader declared war on corruption when he first assumed office, informants

told U.S. Embassy officials that corruption exists at all levels, even within the Erdogan family. A

senior government advisor confidentially told a journalist that the Prime Minister enriched himself

from the privatization of a state oil refinery. An Energy Ministry official alleged that Erdogan asked

Iranians to sign a gas pipeline deal with a Turkish company owned by an old schoolmate.

Furthermore, two American sources claimed that the Prime Minister had eight Swiss bank accounts.

Erdogan has denied all such allegations, insisting that his wealth is mostly derived from gifts received

at his son’s wedding, and acknowledging that an anonymous Turkish businessman has been paying

the expenses of his four children to study in the United States. Such explanations are viewed by the

American Embassy as “lame.”

The Embassy’s cables contain many other startling accusations against Erdogan. Informants have

told U.S. officials that when his political party’s candidate lost the Trabzon mayoral race, the Prime

Minister allegedly funneled millions of dollars from a secret government account to his close friend

Faruk Nafiz Ozak whom he had named as head of the local Trabzonspor football club. The money

was for hiring top players so that the soccer team’s victories would overshadow the accomplishments

of the elected mayor.

According to a cable sent by former U.S. Ambassador Eric Edelman, Erdogan’s appointees

lacked “technocratic depth.” While some “appear to be capable of learning on the job, others are

incompetent or seem to be pursuing private ... interests.” High-ranking Turkish officials have

informed the American Embassy in Ankara that they are appalled by the Prime Minister’s staff.

Erdogan reportedly appointed as his undersecretary a man exhibiting “incompetence, prejudices and

ignorance.” The Women’s Minister Nimet Cubukcu, an advocate of criminalizing adultery, obtained

her position because she happened to be a friend of the Prime Minister’s wife. Another minister is

accused of “nepotism, links to heroin smuggling, and a predilection for underage girls.”

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, highly-praised by U.S. officials in public, also comes under

private scrutiny and criticism. According to confidential American Embassy cables, Davutoglu

“understands little about politics outside of Ankara.” In fact, U.S. diplomats are alarmed “by his

imperialistic tone ... and his neo-Ottoman vision.” In a January 2010 dispatch, the American

Ambassador reported that Turkey has “Rolls Royce ambitions but Rover resources.” Former Defense

Minister Mehmet Gonul was also critical of the Foreign Minister, warning American officials about

his “Islamist influence on Erdogan,” and calling him “exceptionally dangerous.”

Having spoiled Erdogan through lavish public praise, despite privately acknowledging his

character flaws, U.S. officials must now assume full responsibility for the Prime Minister’s reckless

behavior at home and abroad!

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ARMENIAN IN THE TOP TEN OF WORLD’S WEIRDEST LANGUAGES

Armenian has been included in the top ten of the world’s weirdest languages.

Chalcatongo Mixtec, spoken by 6,000 people, is the weirdest language in the world. That’s what linguist Tyler Schnoebelen of Standford University and the researchers at Idibon, a natural language processing company, found when they statistically compared 239 languages to see how like or unlike they were to one another, the Foreign Policy Magazine reports.

Using the World Atlas of Language Structures, Idibon coded the languages for 21 characteristics including, for example, how subjects, objects, and verbs are ordered in a sentence, or how a language makes clear that a sentence is a question.

When Schnoebelen ran the numbers, Chalcatongo Mixtec, spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico, was the least like the majority of the world’s other languages. And it is pretty unusual: Schnoebelen describes it as a “verb-initial tonal language” that has no mechanism for demonstrating questions (so “You are alright.” and “Are you alright?” sound the exact same).

It’s probably not surprising that some of the strangest languages are some of the most obscure. The second weirdest is Nenets, spoken in Siberia, followed by Choctaw, a Native American language from the central plains.

But some of the weirdest languages are widely spoken. The seventh-strangest language, Kongo, is spoken by half a million people in Central Africa. After that comes Armenian, then German. English ranks fairly high as well, coming in 33rd. There’s also no particular region of strange languages – the top 25 weirdest – are scattered across every continent.

Schnoebelen notes that while Germanic languages are all pretty weird, Romance languages run the full breadth of the strangeness spectrum, from Spanish, which falls in the Weirdness Index’s top 25, down to Portuguese, which ranked as one of the most mundane languages.

ARAM KHACHATURIAN YEAR KICKS OFF IN LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles -- A gala concert at the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles marked the start of the Aram Khachaturian year. A number of events dedicated to the great composer will be organized in famous halls in Los Angeles by the end of the year.

The concert organized at the initiative of the Armenian Consulate General in Los Angeles featured soloists of the Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras of Los Angeles, the Dilijan Chamber Orchestra, representatives of the music- loving society of the US West Coast and the Armenian community.

Well-known works by the great composer were performed at the concert, archive materials about his activity were presented. The video of Aram Khachaturian’s visit to Los Angeles in 1974 was screened. Those who had organized the composer’s visit were also invited to

participate in the event. Plans to establish a group of friends of the Philharmonic orchestra of Armenia were revealed at the event.

The group will help present the Armenian classical music to the world. The next event dedicated to Aram Khachaturian’s 110th birthday will take place in one of the Hollywood

cinemas, the “Aram Khachaturian” film will be screened at the famous Egyptian Theatre. The film won the first prize at the Beverly Hills Film festival two years ago.

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Chief conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia Edward Topchyan offered a lecture at California University. He presented the life and work of the great composer.

In the near future Aram Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto will be performed in one of the concert halls in Los Angeles.

Armenians in Dhaka - Bengal

THE LAST OF THE ARMENIANS

http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/the-last-of-the-armenians/

Once a flourishing community in Bengal,

Armenians have dwindled in number to such an

extent that only one man now represents the

entire community in Dhaka. He is known by his

Anglicised name of Michael Joseph Martin.

When Martin, now in his late seventies,

dies, it will throw into doubt the future of the

Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy

Resurrection, one of Dhaka’s most beautiful

churches.

Martin, whose Armenian name is Mikel

Housep Martirossian, shoulders the

responsibility of preserving the building against

the ravages of the weather and pollution.

The cemetery in the church is akin to a

huge history book, chronicling the history of the Armenian people in the region.

Founded in 1781, the Armenian Church is a historically significant architectural monument situated in

Armanitola in old Dhaka. The church bears testimony to the existence of a significant Armenian community in the

region in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Following the domination of their homeland by the Persian powers of the time, Armenians were sent by their

new rulers to the Bengal region for political and economic reasons. They came to Dhaka for business and traded in

jute and leather. The area where they lived came to be known as Armanitola.

The now famous church was built on Armenian Street in Armanitola, then a thriving business district. The

site was an Armenian graveyard before the church was built, and the tombstones that have survived serve as a

chronicle of Armenian life in the area. Agaminus Catachik, an Armenian, gave away the land to build the church.

In the fifty years following the church’s construction, a clock tower was built on its western side. It is said

that the clock could be heard four miles away, and people synchronised their watches with the sound of the tower’s

bell. The clock stopped in 1880, and an earthquake destroyed the tower in 1897.

The church plan is rectangular. Features include an arched gate and an arched door. There are four doors and

27 windows. The main floor is divided into three parts: a pulpit enclosed by railings, a middle section with two

folding doors, and an area separated by a wooden fence for seating women and children. There is a spiral staircase

leading into the church.

Today, the church is usually closed. It has been the subject of BBC and AFP documentaries, and has received

recognition from the Bangladesh government as an archaeological site.

Martin, the custodian of the church, came to Dhaka in 1942 during World War II, following in the footsteps

of his father who had settled in the region decades earlier.

In his advanced age, he now worries about who will look after the church. “This is a blessed place and God

won’t leave it unprotected and uncared for,” he told an AFP interview.

He added, hopefully: “When I die, maybe one of my three daughters will fly in from Canada to keep

our presence here alive.”

Sources: The BBC, AFP, The Independent and works of Muntassir Mamoon and Sushil Chaudhury.

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ARMENIANS TO CELEBRATE 360 YEARS IN MADRAS

The Republic of Armenia is planning to organise a grand celebration in September this year in the presence of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, to commemorate 360 years of the Armenians’ existence in Chennai, The New Indian Express reports.

The Armenian presence in Chennai began to increase since 1688. The first known house of an Armenian at Fort St George is called Admirality House today.

The Marmalong Bridge now called ‘Maraimalai Adilagar Bridge’ was originally built in 1726-28 by the Armenian Merchant Mr. Cogia Petrius Uscan at his own expense.

The Armenian Church, constructed in 1712 and reconstructed in 1772, is one of the oldest churches of the Indian subcontinent.

In addition to all the works done by them, The Armenian constitution project for the Armenians named Vorogait Paratz was written in Chennai by Hakob Shah Amirian and the Madras Group.

The Armenians settled here not only for trade, but also built several historical artifacts which are famous worldwide.

“EULOGY” — OHANNES HANNESSIAN

By Alin Anoush Hannessian

A child of the turning tides, my “Medzbaba” (Grandfather) was a man born on the silver lining. Although reading and writing always beckoned, he consistently found time for indulgences of the heart, whether in music, gardening, or gratuitous and spontaneous expressions of love. He would say, “When I see you, all my life is excellent.”

But soon, like smoke slipping through the cracks of my fingers, I felt him fading. A process irreversible and unrecoverable by all means. Until one day the embers cooled, the smoke softened, and all that was left was ash.

In the time since his passing, the days have been longer, our hearts heavier, and my world that much dimmer.

Over the years, I watched Medzbaba refine like grapes to wine, liquid to gas, an optic spectrum to white light itself.

And while his ailments did indeed take a toll, in another respect, it transformed him into an emblem, an ideal of the human condition.

With a heart the standard size of a human fist, he emitted enough light to touch every living creature in this world that the earth itself would stop in its orbit to see the sun smile in awe.

In a moment of doubt, mine or his own, Medzbaba would remove a small notebook tucked under his breast pocket to find assurance in what I came to understand as his mantra, roughly translated: “Keep your head cool, your feet warm, and your stomach satisfied.” Knowing Medzbaba, there are a slew of subtleties and nuances contained in this one phrase that I have yet to fully understand. But that which I have analyzed I’ve come to understand as the perennial search for balance, and a means by which to maintain reason—a pursuit which largely drove Medzbaba’s goals, both personal and academic. In fact, it is in those very pursuits that Medzbaba has left us a remedy for the very heartbreak that plagues us.

Keep your head cool—allow reason to be your guide in times of strife. Do not burden your mind with the task of finding an existential meaning in his passing. Fully explore your anger, your sadness, and then let go.

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Keep your feet warm—let your passion be the force that drives you to achieve. May the fire under your feet keep you from the temptation of stagnancy. Use that motivation to do what Medzbaba no longer can, and keep his triumphs, challenges, and inquiries alive.

Keep your stomach satisfied—avoid anything of dearth or excess. Strive for equilibrium. Find solace in the fact that this is exactly what Medzbaba did, and that both his stomach and life were not only satisfied, but fulfilled.

And just as any other dichotomy in nature, positive and negative, good and evil, there is life, and there is death.

However, unfortunately the mind does not always understand the ways of the heart, and so even reason may not be enough to console us. In that respect, we still have much to learn. And perhaps it is therein that Medzbaba, a teacher in his very essence, continues to teach us in this very moment.

Although he is no longer physically present, it is not his physicality that defines him; it is not his tangibility that marks his existence. To say otherwise would be to argue that other ideals, such as happiness, sorrow, and love likewise do not exist—a statement we know to be untrue. With that said, I stand before you now asking what will likely be the greatest request I ever ask of anyone. Right now, in this moment, hold the spirit of my medzbaba ever so dearly in your hearts, so that as these tides turn one final time, we can all say that together, we know happiness, we know sorrow, and we know love.

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