Author: Babajanian Karo

TANER AKCAM TRADUIT EN JUSTICE PAR DES ” INTELLECTUELS TURCS ET AMERICAINS ”
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 16 juillet 2011

Le journal turc ” Vatan ” informe que des ” intellectuels Turcs et
Americains ” s’appretent a traduire en justice l’historien Turc Taner
Akcam qui reconnait le genocide armenien. Parmi ces ” intellectuels
“, Hakan Yavuz professeur a l’Universite de l’Utah accuse par
Taner Akcam de recevoir des financements de l’Etat turc pour son
travail de propagande en faveur des thèses officielles d’Ankara et de
negationnisme du genocide armenien. ” Nous recevons nos salaires de
l’Universite. On sait d’où vient l’argent d’Akcam. Il nous a mis dans
la cible des dashnaks et des hentchaks. Notre vie est en danger. Nous
avons decide de lutter contre Akcam au nom de la justice ” dit H.

Yavuz qui precise que ” Taner Akcam recoit son argent de la diaspora
armenienne “.

ON ART: SHUSHAN EGOYAN’S CANDID CANVAS
By Robert Amos

Victoria Times Colonist

July 15 2011

She takes understandable pride in being the mother of renowned
filmmaker Atom Egoyan and world-class pianist Eve Egoyan. And, despite
the aches that come with age, she continues to paint with diligence
and integrity in her small studio, where we sat down for an engaging
conversation last week.

Her interiors are based on a natural understanding of design.

“Once you know art and design, really know it,” she mused. “What I do
now is easy. I take it as a canvas when I do a project. I’m not selling
tables or chairs. I think of the room as a canvas, and I make it work.”

Her candour is legendary. “I am not a bluffer,” she asserted. “That
is one thing I am not. I can work with anything, even if I don’t like
the style of furniture. Because if I consider it, there is no way
I can work. I am too honest. I am honest . . . or I keep my mouth
shut. But sometimes it’s not that easy. ”

Egoyan was born and raised in Cairo, a very civilized city.

“My mother was from Alexandria,” she told me. “For generations they
were there. My father came just before the [Armenian] massacre. He
was born on the Turkish side of what is now Turkey. He was a young
fellow and they knew something was coming. He came out. The Armenians
were the first people accepting Christianity, in the sixth century,
and that’s why they were massacred, because we were Christians.”

“I won a scholarship to go the States,” she continued, “but there
was no way my mother would allow it – an Armenian girl going to the
States by herself! Then I went to the university in Cairo to study
art and, being Christian and female, it was the hardest time of my
life. I was really persecuted and I had to leave it.”

So she took lessons at the private studio of a well-known teacher. “He
was a very good teacher, a very classical teacher. And the group of
the students were very capable, which makes a big difference. So
that’s where it was, completely. That’s all I knew. I don’t know
anything about sports.”

It was there she met her future husband, Joseph Egoyan, also from
Cairo, who had been studying in America. “Joe had gone to the studio
as a young fellow so when he came back [from the U.S.] he went to the
studio and that’s where we met. The reason I got married with Joe was
because I loved the style he painted in in the States. Still life,
beautiful work. I had never been exposed to that type of art. I was
very fascinated by that period.

“When I met Joe he said ‘I’m planning to open an art gallery. Why
don’t you help me?’ I was not his girlfriend, nothing. And there was
no way my parents would let me go to work. It was a different society –
girls can’t do this, can’t do that. There was no way they’d let me.

And so he said, ‘Then why don’t we get married?’ That’s Joe.”

She was 22 years old. “In that society they expected you to get
married, and I never wanted to. And this is a weird way of proposing.

I liked his work, and the idea of having an art gallery – the person
had nothing to do with it.

“So we opened this gallery, which was a beautiful gallery and, like
most galleries, we couldn’t survive. So we designed some furniture
to put in the gallery, to have a sitting area. And people were more
interested in buying those chairs than the art in the gallery. So
that’s how it started.”

At the time there was political turmoil in Egypt, she said, and the
U.S., Canada and Australia opened their doors.

“One day my brother came – we were just newly married – and he said,

‘I have put my name down for Canada.’ I said we don’t want to go –
life is really comfortable there – but we were one of the first ones
to be accepted.”

Joe went first to Chicago, but soon he had had enough of the snow
there. So they came to Vancouver, looking for a teaching position, but
without Canadian credentials. “There was a furniture store, Don Adams,
and Joe went in and said we used to have a design store. Adams said, ‘I
am going to Victoria. Why don’t you come with me?’ On the way back to
Vancouver he said to Joe, ‘I want you to take over the Victoria store.’

“Joe said, ‘I’m not a businessman,’ but [Adams] sponsored us,
introduced us to all the people he was working with and trusted us
with the money, too. It was located right here. We came in 1962. Atom,
our son, was two years old, and Eve was born here.”

The store they took over was an art gallery, too – the loft upstairs
was the meeting place for a group of artists called the Point Group,
an outgrowth of Herbert Siebner’s activities. “They used to run this
place as if it was theirs,” Egoyan said with a laugh.

When she had the temerity to exhibit other artists, they decamped and
reformed as the Limners. “We had Maxwell Bates’s first show here . . .

and nobody was interested,” she remembered. One of his paintings hung
on the wall behind her as we spoke.

Shushan Egoyan remembered that and much else. Her office, like
her home, is richly stocked with precious artworks from Victoria’s
recent past. Among the canvases are her own early paintings, her
husband’s watercolours of birds, and the strong impasto of her latest
cloudscapes.

Truly, hers has been a life in the arts.

OSCE SUPPORTS TRILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS FORMAT OF KARABAKH TALKS

news.am
July 15 2011
Armenia

Agreement on Basic Principles and elaboration of Karabakh conflict
peace resolution acceptable for the three sides [Armenia, Russia,
Azerbaijan] is still a prior issue, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office,
Lithuanian FM Audronius Azubalis told at an interview with Azerbaijani
Trend agency.

OSCE is ready to support the trilateral negotiation format between
Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents.

“Though the sides have not accepted any basic principles in Kazan,
I am inspired that they are ready to regulate the conflict through
negotiations,” Azubalis added.

According to him, Armenia and Azerbaijan should take measures on
lessening intensity, finishing the exchange of captives and investigate
cases on the contact line.

ITALIAN SCULPTORS OFFERED TO ESTABLISH ART SCHOOL IN ARMENIAN CAPITAL

news.am
July 15 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Yerevan city Mayor Karen Karapetyan offered Italian
sculptors to organize international symposium on sculpture and set the
sculptures on Italian Street. The mayor met the artists, who arrived
from Italy to participate in the first international symposium on
sculpture in Shushi city.

Karapetyan welcomed the guests and also thanked the participants of the
event for readiness and mission that they will implement in Artsakh,
press service of city hall informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The Mayor offered to hold similiar event in Yerevan as well. He offered
to setup the sculptures on Italian Street. Karapetyan also offered
to establish art and design school in Yerevan and apply Italian best
art traditions in Armenia.

Italian side is ready to discuss the offer and issues on exchange
programs. Guests believe that correct approaches and initiatives on
art can serve for many opportunities.

ARMENIA AND EU DISCUSSED VISA REGIME SIMPLIFICATIONS

news.am
July 15 2011
Armenia

BRUSSELS. – On the second session of subcommittee on justice,
freedom and security of Armenia-EU collaboration parties discussed
simplification of EU entrance visa regime and migration issues.

The participants of the session also discussed issues on fight against
organized crime and border administration. Thoughts were exchanged
on the latest legislative developments in Armenia and EU, judicial
amendments implemented in Armenia and EU support in this field,
press service of Armenian MFA informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Representatives of Armenian MFA, Ministry of Justice, Migration
state agency, police and Chief Prosecutor’s office participated in
the session.

LISTENING TO EASTERN CHRISTIANITY THROUGH THE ‘MELODY OF FAITH’
posted by Dylan Pahman

Acton Institute

July 15 2011

Armenian Orthodox theologian Vigen Guroian’s The Melody of Faith
(2010) seeks to provide an introduction to the basic dogmas of Eastern
Christianity, harmonizing various Eastern Christian traditions (and
making significant mention of a few Western ones) through continual
reference to their writings, to their icons, and especially to
their hymnody. The book, however, makes no claim to “constitute a
systematic account of the Christian faith in the Germanic style of
rational academic theology” (xi). Instead, Guroian muses,

It may be that theology is nearer in origin and character to music than
to architecture, despite modern assumptions to the contrary…. In
primitive culture, music is inherently religious, expressing basic
beliefs about beginnings and endings as it is employed in worship
of deity. Music originates at the well-spring of human emotions and
expresses an experience of the numinous. (xii)

Ironically, as an American of German descent I cannot help but point
out that the category of the “numinous” was first articulated by the
German theologian and scholar Rudolf Otto. It may be that Guroian is so
naturally ecumenical he has even unintentionally found something true
and beautiful in that “Germanic style” he seeks to avoid. And, I must
admit, his insight and approach are both imaginative and refreshing.

Indeed, despite the fact that four of the six chapters are revisions
of articles previously appearing in scholarly publications, The Melody
of Faith reads with a natural fluidity, at times more reminiscent
of a devotional memoir than an introduction to theology. Yet, it
maintains a clear focus, each chapter addressing a specific theme,
moving from creation in the first chapter, to eschatology in the
next, to salvation, to Mariology, to the Crucifixion, and finally
to the Resurrection. The resulting whole is a sacramentally- and
synergistically-oriented symphony of vibrant Christian faith and
living tradition.

This sacramental and synergistic emphasis addresses several of
the Acton Institute’s core principles, especially human dignity,
human freedom, and human sin. With regards to sin, Guroian writes,
“Sinning is an offense to God, but the state of sin is an illness that
morally weakens the patient” (55). Consistent with traditional, Eastern
Christianity, he emphasizes that sin is more than legal offense,
humanity’s problem more than juridical guilt, but rather spiritual
and physical sickness or corruption which leads to death. The cure
is “divine therapy” or healing. According to Guroian, “Christ is the
surgeon who removes the sting of death (1 Cor. 15:15) with the sharp
instrument of the cross. And his body and blood are the medicine
of our immortality” (55). Christ is the physician who operates;
we are the patients who must willingly take our medicine, which we
find primarily in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Indeed, “God has
created [humankind] in his own image as a personal and free being”
(16). Just as Christ was not conceived and all humanity was not saved
apart from the consent of the Virgin Mary, we as individuals are not
healed and deified by his gracious presence apart from our active
participation either. Anything less would denigrate our dignity as
bearers of the imago Dei.

The Melody of Faith does not seek to be comprehensive, but its success
lies in its accessibility and ecumenical sensitivity. To the outsider
looking in, Eastern liturgy and theology can appear confusing, even
dissonant, but to many such concerns The Melody of Faith provides a
fitting and elegant resolve.

MILITARY EXPERT: AZERBAIJAN MAKES A ZOMBIE OUT OF ITS OWN PEOPLE

Panorama
July 15 2011
Armenia

“Azerbaijani media reports on this incident surpass the previous ones
in ridiculousness. This time we “fired” some extraordinary bullets,
which “killed” a child who for some reason had appeared on the contact
line. This time their imagination has gone far away,” military expert
Artsrun Hovhannisyan told Panorama.am.

Note that some Azerbaijani media, citing unofficial sources, say that
allegedly a 13-year-old Azerbaijani child has been killed as a soft
toy exploded in the village of Alibeyli, Tovuz region of Azerbaijan,
bordering Armenia. In Azerbaijan, rumors were spread that the soft toy
had appeared in Azerbaijan via an Azerbaijan-Armenia border river and
allegedly this was a diversion by Armenia. While the Defense Ministry
or Interior Ministry of Azerbaijan do not issue an official comment
on a diversion by Armenia.

“Making such explosives is a very difficult process which requires
much expense. The explosive toy would have targeted a high-ranking
official, not a child. Besides, with an explosive inserted inside,
the toy would have been so heavy that it would never float on the
river surface but would have sunk to the bottom,” the expert said.

“For some reason, Azerbaijani children are usually killed in similar
incidents, with no photo, no address or other data, and no relative
speaking about the alleged incident and condemning it.”

“This is obviously the continuation of Azerbaijan’s post-Kazan
searches. We have repeatedly said Armenians never kill children. We
call on proper bodies, for instance, an independent commission, to
investigate such incidents. Last time, our call remained unresponded.

Azerbaijani side’s ambitions, its falsehood, its attempt to make
a zombie out of its own people are not something new. While indeed
everybody knows who is a child killer and who is humanitarian, and
it will not take long to make sure of it,” A. Hovhannisyan said in
his remarks.

V. GULUZADE URGED SEVERE ATTACKS AGAINST YEREVAN

Panorama
July 14 2011
Armenia

Azerbaijani political expert Vafa Guluzade says Azerbaijan must attack
Yerevan if Armenia does some adventure, “1news” website informs.

Guluzade underlined that not only Yerevan but Gyumri, Kapan and other
big cities must be attacked. He said Azerbaijan must attack so severely
that the Armenian side can never forget about it.

Guluzade said Azerbaijan has purchased in the recent years a great deal
of military armaments that other countries could but dream of that.

CONSTRUCTION AT GANDZASAR STOPPED

06:18 pm | July 14, 2011 | Social

Coating of tiles on the gates of St. John the Baptist Church or, as
the people call it, Gandzasar Church has currently stopped. This is
what Head of the NKR Department of Tourism and Monument Preservation
Slava Sargsyan told “A1+”, adding that activities at Gandzasar had
been illegal to begin with.

“They did whatever they wanted to do and it was all agreed upon. We
had prohibited such activities in January,” said Slava Sargsyan.

According to him, a committee will be formed to take a decision on how
to renovate the monastery’s gates. The committee, which will include
architects from Armenia, will decide what to do with the tiles that
have already been coated. Slava Sargsyan says it is still unclear as
to when the committee will be formed.

Let us remind that the gates of the 13th century St. John the Baptist
Church was being renovated through funding provided by Moscow-based
Levon Hayrapetyan from Artsakh. As a result, the church was losing
its historical-cultural value. The use of concrete could have served
as an obstacle for UNESCO to include the complex in the list of World
Cultural Heritage.

Would the construction have stopped if it weren’t for the concerns
expressed on social networks?

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 13, 2011
Contact: Press Department
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 393-3434

SENATOR MENENDEZ DESCRIBES ADMINISTRATION POSITION ON ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE AS “UNTENABLE”

Armenian Assembly of America reserves judgment until it reads
nominee’s responses to written questions

Washington, DC – Mr. John Heffern, the Administration’s nominee to
serve as Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of
Armenia faced a series of questions on a range of issues during
today’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing chaired by Senator
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), reported the Armenian Assembly of America
(Assembly).

Presiding over the hearing, Foreign Relations Subcommittee Chair on
European Affairs, Senator Shaheen began the round of questioning and
touched on the Protocols between Armenia and Turkey, the current
status of the Nagorno Karabakh talks and prospects for peace, as well
as the importance of democracy and free and fair elections, especially
in the context of the upcoming national elections in Armenia in 2012
and 2013. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) emphasized the importance of
democratization and queried Mr. Heffern about the steps he would take
to assist Armenia’s development.

In response to Senator Shaheen’s questions, Mr. Heffern indicated that
the United States strongly supported the Protocols signed between
Armenia and Turkey in October of 2009, and indicated that the
Administration remains “committed to doing whatever we can to
encourage the two parties to get the protocols back on track.” Mr.
Heffern also stated that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “has made
it clear” that “the ball is in Turkey’s court.” With respect to the
Nagorno Karabakh peace process, Mr. Heffern noted that President
Barack Obama and Secretary Clinton have been “deeply involved” and
“remain committed” to the OSCE Minsk Group process to find “a lasting,
peaceful and just solution to this conflict.”

On the democracy front, Mr. Heffern noted a series of positive steps
that the Armenian government has taken in the last six months and
indicated that if confirmed he would continue to build on this
progress and the work of former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

The Armenian Assembly has consistently supported the presence of a
U.S. Ambassador in Armenia to build on the positive and growing
bilateral relationship. In Mr. Heffern’s opening testimony, he
indicated that “the Obama Administration has strengthened U.S.
relations with Armenia” and noted that last April the Presidents “of
our two countries held their first bilateral meeting in 10 years and,
when Secretary Clinton visited Yerevan last year, it was the first
visit by a Secretary of State to Armenia in 19 years.”

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) welcomed Mr. Heffern’s opening
statement which reiterated President Obama’s position on the Armenian
Genocide: “President Obama has recognized and deplored the horrific
events that took place in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. He
has publicly called the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians at this time
one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. The President has
urged Turkey and Armenia to work through their painful history to
achieve a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts. If
confirmed, I will do my best to fulfill the President’s vision.”

Senator Menendez outlined the facts and discussed several historical
documents pertaining to the Armenian Genocide, including various
cables from U.S. officials serving at the time of the Genocide as well
as Article II of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Menendez asked Mr. Heffern if he
disputed any of the facts presented, of which Mr. Heffern did not.
Senator Menendez also asked if Mr. Heffern believed that the facts
presented, including those in Mr. Heffern’s opening statement fit the
definition of Article II of the Genocide Convention. Heffern responded
in the affirmative, but indicated that the characterization of the
events was a policy decision as reflected in the President’s April
24th statement.

In closing, Senator Menendez expressed his continued frustration with
Administration policy by stating that this is “an inartful dance that
we do. We have a State Department whose history full of dispatches
cites the atrocities committed during this period of time. We have a
Convention from which we signed on to as a signatory that clearly
defines these acts as genocide. We have a historical knowledge of the
facts which we accept that would amount to genocide, but we are
unwilling to reference it as genocide. And if we cannot accept the
past we cannot move forward, and so I find it very difficult to be
sending diplomats of the United States to a country in which they will
go, and I hope you will go, as some of your predecessors have, to a
Genocide commemoration and yet never be able to use the word genocide.
It is much more than a question of a word. It is everything that
signifies our commitment to saying ‘Never Again’ and yet we cannot
even acknowledge this fact and we put diplomats in a position that I
think is totally untenable.”

“The Armenian Assembly welcomes the continued efforts of Senator
Menendez to ensure that the facts of the Armenian Genocide are brought
to the forefront and not denied. We concur with the Senator that the
Administration’s current policy is untenable.” The Assembly strongly
believes that America’s long-term interests would be better served by
speaking the truth and squarely affirming the Armenian Genocide,” said
Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

Also attending today’s hearing were the Assembly Terjenian-Thomas 2011
Interns, including Evelina Beknazaryan and Aram Bagrazyan. “I
appreciate the U.S. government’s assistance in promoting democracy and
human rights in Armenia,” stated Beknazaryan. “Also creating a
positive economic environment for international investments as well as
U.S. efforts directed towards a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict are important,” she added.

Aram Bagrazyan commented that “the hearing provided insight into the
workings of America’s foreign policy. I learned more about the
American political perspective with respect to U.S.-Armenian
relations, as well as with other countries.”

The next step in the confirmation process is to allow Senators to
submit questions in writing to the nominee. After the Senators have
an opportunity to review the nominees’ responses, the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee will hold a business committee meeting to vote on
Heffren’s candidacy.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public
understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR#: 2011-036

Editor’s Notes:

Photo Caption 1: Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

Photo Caption 2: 2011 Interns with Vartuhi Asaturian, Minister
Counselor at the Embassy of Armenia, outside of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Room

To read Mr. Heffern’s opening statement visit: