A Volunteer from Turkey in Vanadzor‏ - Read more from The Armenian Weekly

Armenian Weekly (armenianweekly@hairenik.com)Schedule clean-up 15:57 To: trendseta Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Recent Articles from the Armenian Weekly... A Volunteer from Turkey in Vanadzor ANC-NJ to Hold Workshop on ‘Effective Grassroots Advocacy’ Sassounian: Playing Partisan Politics with Artsakh Damages Armenian Interests Yegparian: Pretty Amazing NAASR Christmas Open House to Feature Paul Ignatius Violence Claims More Armenian Lives in Syria Armenians of China Celebrate Opening of ‘Maxian Hong Kong Armenian Center’ Search Armenian Weekly A Volunteer from Turkey in Vanadzor In Vanadzor, Armenia, there are exactly 10 foreigners. Pelin Özmen knows all of them, and without her, there would only be 9. She is probably the only Turkish resident of the city of approximately 100,000 people, located in the Lori Province of northern Armenia. (L-R) Armine Sadikyan, Pelin Özmen, Daniel Laaber, Opfelia Zalyan. (Photo by Vardine Grigoryan) Özmen is quite experienced at adapting to new environments, and has always defied easy categorization. Born in Yeşilyurt, a small town in the Tokat province of Turkey in 1989, she moved at the age of three with her family to Voralberg, Austria. Members of the Alevi minority, the Özmen family is all too familiar with the dark side of Turkish nationalism and its intolerance of deviation from the state-approved cultural mold. Özmen’s recently published paper about the Alevi perspective on the Kurdish Question in Turkey appeared in the Vienna Kurdish Studies Yearbook. Özmen had always been sympathetic to the Armenian... Read More » • Email to a friend • Article Search • ANC-NJ to Hold Workshop on ‘Effective Grassroots Advocacy’ RIDGEFIELD, N.J.—On Wed., Dec. 4, the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New Jersey, in conjunction with the ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund, will host a social workshop for community activists featuring Tim White, the vice president of public affairs with Beckerman, an independent full-service strategic communications agency. The event will take place at Bibiz Lounge & Restaurant in Westwood from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Open to professionals and community activists in the New Jersey and New York area, the event will focus on developing an effective grassroots advocacy campaign. “We look forward to having Tim White speak to our local activists, and help us further engage and collaborate on pressing issues facing our community,” said James Sahagian, chair of ANC-NJ. “Grassroots mobilization and leadership are the key components and foundation of the Armenian National Committee of America. White’s insight will add significantly to help strengthen our effectiveness.” Tim... Read More » • Email to a friend • Article Search • Sassounian: Playing Partisan Politics with Artsakh Damages Armenian Interests Since every Armenian around the world passionately upholds the interests of Artsakh (Karabagh), many wonder why the government of Armenia has not yet officially recognized its independence from Azerbaijan. Armenia’s leaders are concerned that recognizing Artsakh’s independence prematurely would undermine the peace process with Azerbaijan and possibly subject Armenia to international pressure and sanctions. Moreover, President Serge Sarkisian has announced that Armenia would recognize Artsakh in case Azerbaijan resorts to war. Opposition political figures assert that Artsakh’s recognition is long overdue and blame Armenian officials for not formally recognizing its independence. They also wonder how Armenians can expect other countries to recognize the Republic of Artsakh without Armenia taking the lead. Based on these arguments, opposition Heritage Party members periodically bring up a resolution to the Armenian Parliament for the recognition of the Republic of Artsakh.... Read More » • Email to a friend • Article Search • Yegparian: Pretty Amazing Yup, pretty amazing, and that’s putting it mildly. You saw the news item. But it was presented so matter-of-factly, so blandly, that it might as well have been just another news release from just another organization about just another run-of-the-mill dinner dance. But to me this was epic. The ARF, the Turkish government’s bogeyman, its bête-noire, its version of evil incarnate, held a meeting in broad daylight in Constantinople for the first time in 80 years. The much mythologized and maligned “terrorist Tashnags” of successive Turkish governments’ fevered imaginations and propaganda machines are back in town. Wow! The meeting was no clandestine affair with some shadowy group; rather, it was a legitimate political party operating in Turkey with elected members of the country’s parliament. Making things even more impressive is the nature of that political party, the BDP—it is primarily Kurdish. Yes, those same Kurds, some of whom massacred our ancestors. The same Kurds... Read More » • Email to a friend • Article Search • NAASR Christmas Open House to Feature Paul Ignatius BELMONT, Mass.—On Thurs., Dec. 12, Former Secretary of the Navy Paul R. Ignatius will speak in conjunction with the publication of his new book, 5 x 3: Fifteen Books by Three Great Armenian Writers (by NAASR’s Armenian Heritage Press), highlighting NAASR’s 2013 Christmas Open House. The Open House will begin at 6 p.m. with Ignatius’s talk set for 8 p.m. The evening’s events will take place at the NAASR Center, 395 Concord Ave., in Belmont. Paul R. Ignatius NAASR’s bookstore will be open both before and after the lecture, and will feature a one night only 20 percent-off sale, with additional discounts of 40 percent or more on selected titles. Numerous recently published titles will be available. Refreshments will be served. Ignatius’s book 5 x 3 will be available for purchase and signing by the author. A descendant of Armenian parents from the Kharpert region of Historic Armenia, Ignatius is a native of Glendale, Calif., and a graduate of the University of Southern... Read More » • Email to a friend • Article Search • Violence Claims More Armenian Lives in Syria DAMASCUS, Syria (A.W.)—In recent weeks the Syrian conflict has claimed a number of Armenian victims, including two children, whose loss has shocked the community. On Nov. 11, as students were released from the Holy Translators Armenian National School (Azgayin Surb Targmanjats Jemaran) in the Bab Tuma district, a mortar fell by the main gate of the school, while two other mortars fell on the school buses parked by the gate, reported Perio News. Around a dozen people were injured and five were killed. Two Armenian students were among those killed: first grader Hovhannes Atokanian, and third grader Vanessa Mikho Bedros. Their funerals took place on Nov. 13, at the St. Sarkis Armenian Church, which stands steps from the school. Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin II condemned the attack, adding that the Christian community of Syria was being targeted. He offered condolences to the families of the victims. On Nov. 17, a requiem service was held at the Mother Cathedral of... Read More » • Email to a friend • Article Search • Armenians of China Celebrate Opening of ‘Maxian Hong Kong Armenian Center’ HONG KONG—On Sat., Nov. 9, the Armenian community of China, known as “ChinaHay,” along with more than 100 guests, including many from overseas, gathered in Hong Kong to attend the official opening ceremony of the newly established Jack & Julie Maxian Hong Kong Armenian Center. A group photo from the celebration Honorary guests included His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; His Grace Bishop Haigazoun Najarian, Primate of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand; His Eminence Archbishop Aram Ateshian, Patriarchal Vicar of Constantinople; His Excellency the Armenian Ambassador to China, Armen Sargsyan; and the Honorary Consul of Armenia to Thailand, Arto Artinian. The two-day celebration began with a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by the blessing given by Catholicos Karekin II at the beautiful center altar built especially for religious events. “Armenian couples will marry here, and Armenian kids will be baptized in this house,”... Read More » • Email to a friend • Article Search •