Author: Boshkezenian Garik

ARMENIAN, AZERI LEADERS CONFIRM WILLINGNESS TO CONTINUE KARABAKH TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.01.2009 19:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in
Zurich today, the RA leader’s press office told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting began with participation of Armenian and
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and
Special Representative of the OSCE CiO.

Then the Presidents continued talks in private.

"The Armenian side assessed the meetings in Zurich as constructive
and positive. The Presidents instructed their Foreign Ministers to
continue talks with collaboration of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. An
agreement on mediators’ regular regional visit was achieved," says
a statement issued by the President’s press office.

After the meeting, Armenian President departed for Davos to attend
the World Economic Forum.

PRESS RELEASE
Institute of Armenian Studies
University of Southern California
Taper Hall of Humanities, Suite 252
Los Angeles, California 90089-4015
Tel: 213-821-3943
Email: [email protected]

USC INSTITUTE OF ARMENIAN STUDIES

Dear Friends of USC Institute of Armenian Studies,
We are happy to report that the Institute has successfully ended
another semester. The Fall 2008 semester proved to be very productive
as indicated below:

CURRICULAR INITIATIVE
The Institute was pleased to offer the core course for a planned Minor
in Armenian Studies: MDA 330 — The Armenian Heritage: History, Arts &
Culture. This new course was taught on Mondays and Wednesdays 12-1:45
by Prof. Richard H. Dekmejian, Mr. Vatche Mankerian, and a group of
visiting scholars and artists. The course consisted of a
multidisciplinary exploration of Armenian history and cultural heritage,
its evolution and forms of expression through the ages including
folklore, traditions, religious practices, literature, architecture,
painting, sculpture, music, theater, and film.

LECTURE SERIES FOR MDA 330 AND THE COMMUNITY
A distinguished group of scholars and artists were invited to the MDA
330 class as guest lecturers throughout the semester which allowed the
Institute to present a lecture series in conjunction with the course.
The lectures were well attended by many guests from the campus and the
community. The guest speakers included Prof. Peter Cowe, UCLA; Fr.
Vazken Movsessian, USC student chaplain; Fr. Muron Aznikian, Prelacy of
the Armenian Church; Ruth Thomassian, Project SAVE; Prof. Mihran
Agbabian, USC; Lucina Hubbard-Agbabian, USC Thornton School of Music;
Alidz Agbabian, folklore specialist; film director Hank Saroyan, nephew
of the great author William Saroyan; Harut Sassounian, The Lincy
Foundation; Dr. Garbis Der-Yeghiayan, President of Mashdotz College;
Prof. Donald Miller, USC; artist Seeroon Yeretzian; Myrna Douzjian,
UCLA; Gala Danilova, HALO Trust; and Vartkes Yeghiayan, Esq., author of
a newly published book on Raphael Lemkin.

SAROYAN CENTENNIAL EXHIBIT ` A GREAT SUCCESS
At a gala reception on October 19, the Dickran Tevrizian Fellowship
Program and USC Institute of Armenian Studies celebrated the William
Saroyan Centennial, with the opening of a month long exhibition of
photographs of William Saroyan. The gala reception and exhibition were
hosted by the Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles (NLS-LA), at
their Adams Square Building in Glendale. The exhibit featured a rare
collection of photographs taken by Boghos Boghosian, the official
photographer for many newspapers in Armenia and the Soviet Union, during
Saroyan’s last visits to Armenia in 1976 and 1978.
Over 250 guests, filling the galleries to capacity, were welcomed by
Neal Dudovitz, Esq., NLS-LA Executive Director, and Dr. R. H. Dekmejian,
Director of USC Institute of Armenian Studies. The guest of honor,
Judge Dickran Tevrizian, spoke about the Fellowship, which he
established at the NLS-LA. The Dickran Tevrizian Fellowship supports an
attorney working at Neighborhood Legal Services to address the legal
needs of Southern California’s growing low-income Armenian-American
Community. The program ended with an upbeat speech by Hank Saroyan,
nephew of William Saroyan, who chronicled his fond memories of his uncle
Bill. Due to popular demand, the exhibition was extended through
November.

SAROYAN BOOK PRESENTATION
On December 18, the Institute, in collaboration with Abril Bookstore of
Glendale, presented Boghos Boghosian’s book titled SAROYAN — His Heart
in the Highlands. The newly published volume of photographs and essays
of Saroyan was edited by Varujan Der Simonian and presented by the
renowned photographer Ara Oshagan.

DIRECTOR’S ACTIVITIES
On September 12, Prof. Richard Hrair Dekmejian joined a panel of
scholars to discuss the issues arising from the recent Russian-Georgian
war. The Colloquium was presented by USC College of Letters, Arts &
Sciences.
On September 30, Prof. Dekmejian lectured on `Islamist Terrorism:
Future Trends’ and `The Russian-Georgian Conflict and Armenian Interests’
at United Armenian Congregational Church in Hollywood.
On November 15, Prof. Dekmejian was keynote Speaker at the AAEF Fourth
Anniversary Gala Banquet. AAEF is a philanthropic organization that
supports schools and educational projects in Armenia.

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS
The Institute continued administering Armenian Proficiency Exams to USC
students; providing advisement and counseling on Armenian Studies and
related subjects; tutoring students interested in Armenian language and
literature; and providing guidance and advisement to the USC Armenian
Student Association, USC Armenian Graduate Student Association and USC
Armenian Alumni Association.

FUTURE PLANS OF THE INSTITUTE ` SPRING 2009 SEMESTER
Ã` New Course Offering, Spring 2009 — Colloquium in Armenian
Studies: Social and Cultural Issues in Globalized Society, MDA 333 —
Mondays 12:00-1:50, taught by Prof. R. H. Dekmejian and V. Mankerian
Ã` Weekly Lecture Series
Ã` Collaboration with NLS in promoting the Dickran Tevrizian
Fellowship Program
Ã` Co-Sponsoring of Society of Armenian Studies 35th Anniversary
Conference to be held at UCLA, March 27-29, 2009
Ã` Institute Book Series Publications ` First volume to appear in
April 2009

ALIYEV AGREES TO MEET SARKISIAN

AzerNews Weekly
Jan 21 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has agreed to meet with his Armenian
counterpart Serzh Sarkisian in Davos, Switzerland on the sidelines
of an economic forum that is due January 28, international mediators
said after talks in Baku on Tuesday.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is brokering a settlement
to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, indicated that as agreed,
they could not elaborate broadly on the discussions held.

Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chair, said the mediators sensed
from the meetings held in the Azerbaijani capital that there were
tendencies toward reaching progress in the peace process.

"The issue of resolving the Garabagh problem on the basis of basic
principles remains on agenda. If the presidents` meeting takes place,
certain clarifications could be made and changes introduced to some
of the principles."

French co-chairman Bernard Fassier added that a peaceful solution
was the only option to settle the long-standing dispute.

The intermediaries met with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov. Later in the day, they left for the Armenian
capital Yerevan. The co-chairs have expressed hope that President
Sarkisian would also agree to the next round of presidential talks
on Garabagh settlement.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders last met in Moscow on November 2,
2008. A declaration was signed in conclusion of the talks, which took
place on the initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in
the late 1980s due to Armenia`s territorial claims. Armenia has been
occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally-recognized territory
since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire
accord was signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by the US,
Russian and French mediators have been fruitless so far.

ARMENIAN JUDOISTS TO TAKE PART IN WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT FIRST COMPETITIONS

Noyan Tapan

Jan 23, 2009

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Judo World Cup Tournament first
tour’s competitions will be held on January 24-25 in the capital city
of Georgia Tbilisi. 7 sportsmen will perform from Armenia. They were
accompanied to Tbilisi by newly elected principal coach of the RA
national team Artur Gevorgian.

Women will also compete in the capital city of Bulgaria Sofia in the
same days. Anush Hakobian (52 kg, Nor Hachn) will represent Armenia
in this tournament.

BAYVIEW OFFERS TASTES OF ITALY, FRANCE, ARMENIA

The Olympian
Jan 21 2009
WA

Bayview School of Cooking will take a European tour with three classes
next week.

Monday: Enoteca, Italian Wine Bar Revisited with Christine
Ciancetta. Students will prepare four antipasti, "small plates,"
with matched wines. $50.

Tuesday: Pot-au-Feu: A Rustic Country French Supper with French Chef
Thierry Liot. Translated "Pot on Fire," this French dish of meat and
vegetables produces two entrees: a rich broth topped with bread,
and a savory stew. Thierry also will create an apple and caramel
tarte tatin. $45.

Jan. 28: From the Armenian Kitchen with instructor Roxanne Krieg. Krieg
will share recipes and cultural insights into the country influenced
by Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Eastern European flavors. $40.

All three classes take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the kitchen at
Bayview Thriftway in downtown Olympia. For more information or to
register, call 360-754-1448.

NALBANDIAN: YEREVAN DOESN’T MIND MINISTERIAL MEETING IN SWITZERLAND

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.01.2009 18:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Regular meeting between Foreign Ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan may take in Switzerland, RA FM Edward Nalbandian
said when responding to a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter’s question during
today’s news conference.

"The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group offered to hold a ministerial
meeting ahead of presidential talks in Davos. The Armenian side is
positive about the idea and I am hopeful that the meeting will take
place," he said.

Earlier today, Day.az news agency quoted Azeri FM Elmar Mammadyarov as
saying that Presidents and Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan
can meet in Switzerland in the near future.

WEBSITE OF ARMENIAN ANALYTICAL CENTER ‘MITQ’ ATTACKED BY AZERI HACKERS

ArmInfo
2009-01-20 17:38:00

ArmInfo. The website of the Armenian analytical center "Mitq" has
been attacked by Azeri hackers.

Chairman of "Mitq" Eduard Abrahamyan told ArmInfo correspondent that
the attack on the website started around 2 am and has continued up
to the present moment. "The hackers place a propaganda leaflet with
Azerbaijan’s flag, Ilham Aliyev’s photo and some inscription in the
Azeri language. The website of "Mitq has been actively operating
over the past 2 weeks, and the hackers regularly made unsuccessful
attempts to crack the website.

Furthermore, I have an impression that the hackers are sponsored by
the Azeri authorities",- Abrahamyan stressed.

DINK REMEMBERED AT SPOT OF ASSASSINATION

Hurriyet
Jan 20 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Red carnations and a small sculpture of a brown pigeon
were lying on the ground in Istanbul’s central district of Å~^iÅ~_li
yesterday just where Hrant Dink, the prominent Turkish-Armenian
journalist, was shot to death two years ago.

Candles were lit in front of the multilingual weekly Agos, where Dink
was the editor in chief. Banners reading "For Hrant. For Justice,"
were also on the ground marking the place of his death. Thousands of
people with one voice were chanting, "Just to spite fascism, you are
my brother Hrant," as they gathered to commemorate Dink on the second
anniversary of his murder.

Groups calling themselves anarcho-communists, other small leftist
groups, some members of the opposition Republican People’s Party,
or CHP, or just ordinary people without any links to political groups
were there to commemorate Dink, along with many journalists.

"I am still so sad. My heart is burning," said 52-year-old Jale,
who declined to give her surname. Jale is a retired mechanics artist,
who said she has no connection with any political group. "I live in
Å~^iÅ~_li. I just came here as soon as I heard on TV that Dink was
murdered," she said. Jale was wearing a poÅ~_u, a type of scarf that
symbolizes the Palestinians, and held in her hands small photographs
of Dink and a handful of needles to attach the photographs. Members
of the crowd carried banners in Kurdish, Armenian and Turkish.

A famous song called "Yigidim Aslanım Burda Yatıyor" (My Brave Man
Is Lying Here) that used to be a symbol for murdered journalist Ugur
Mumcu was also played. Police took safety measures around the area,
while traffic stopped during the commemoration ceremony. Dink’s family
was also at the site. Famous actor, Halil Ergun, addressed the mass
as a representative of Dink’s friends and said he apologizes from
Dink and the Armenian community for what happened to Dink. "The fire
burns the place it falls," said Sona AÅ~_cı, 84, who said that Dink
was her mother’s cousin.

The crowd gathered for Dink was somehow a relief for AÅ~_cı,
who said she was not hopeful that the murder would be solved in the
ongoing Dink case. Meanwhile near Harbiye Officer’s Club, a group had a
conflict with the police after the crowd in front of the Agos building
dispersed. Some members of the group wanted to march to Taksim and
throw stones at the police. A police officer fired a gun into the air
to stop the group. Police also used tear gas and water. Group members
fled to nearby streets, while the conflict went on in Taksim Square.

–Boundary_(ID_cErIrOAKLCYoUIsCNu0Wug)–

System Of A Down NEVER PLANNED TO PRESENT ARMENIA AT EUROVISION

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2009 16:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish media regularly reports false stories
and makes exaggerated claims. The latest example of misinformation is
the Turkish claim of preventing the participation of the world famous
American-Armenian rock band System of A Down (SOAD) in the May 2009
Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Harut Sassounian, Publisher of
The California Courier, writes in his editorial.

The article goes on:

"What are the facts? Last August, in an interview with Asbarez
newspaper, SOAD’s lead singer Serj Tankian said that a Finnish
journalist had asked him if he would be interested in participating in
"a song competition" which would raise "awareness about the Armenian
Genocide." Tankian told the reporter that it was "an interesting
idea." When the reporter asked if he would be interested in
participating in such a song contest, Tankian said, "Maybe, yeah."

Soon after the Finnish interview, Tankian said he was inundated with
media reports that he was "going to take System of A Down to do this
Eurovision thing." He told Asbarez: "It was all a misinterpretation
and a misunderstanding to a point where I had to actually call my
label reps [representatives] in Finland and asked them to please tell
the journalist to retract those statements, since I never said that."

Despite Tankian’s attempts to lay these rumors to rest, the Armenian
and Turkish media continued to report that SOAD would be presenting
a song on the Armenian Genocide on behalf of Armenia in the 2009
Eurovision Song Contest. Armenian public TV officials, who have the
task of selecting Armenia’s official representative to the Eurovision
Song Contest, repeatedly announced that they had received no such
request from SOAD.

Nevertheless, Parliamentarian Akif Ekici, a member of an opposition
Party, speaking in the Turkish Parliament, urged Prime Minister Erdogan
to act quickly to prevent SOAD from presenting a song dedicated to the
Armenian Genocide in the Eurovision Contest. Worried that hundreds
of millions of viewers throughout the world would become aware of
the Armenian Genocide, Ekinci asked Erdogan: "What will happen
if this group wins the contest with its song on [the] so-called
‘genocide?’ Would the world recognize [the] genocide?" Ekinci also
wanted to know if Erdogan had taken any steps in this regard with
the Armenian government.

Having invented a fictional participation by SOAD in Eurovision,
the Turkish media went further in misleading the public. Last week,
Kanalturk proudly announced a decisive Turkish victory, claiming
that as a result of Turkish complaints, the SOAD song on the Armenian
Genocide was left out of the Eurovision competition.

Turkish State Television claimed that Armenia was forced "to withdraw
the SOAD group" from Eurovision because of "the great reaction" of the
media "reaching all the way to the Turkish Parliament." Kanalturk
further alleged that Armenian officials did not find SOAD’s
participation in Eurovision appropriate, at a time when they were
trying to reconcile with Turkey. Regrettably, Lragir, an opposition
newspaper in Armenia, reprinted these false allegations last week,
claiming that Armenia withdrew SOAD from the Eurovision Song Contest
at Turkey’s demand.

To set the record straight, once and for all, this writer contacted
Serj Tankian who stated: "This whole Eurovision thing has been a funny
and interesting phenomenon. It started with a Finnish journalist asking
me if I would ever be interested in participating in Eurovision,
(which I had no idea what it was), and use it as a way to promote
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. I told him I didn’t know what
it was but I’d look into it. He kept on re-raising the issue over and
over, and I said ‘you’re making it sound like a good idea’ so I’ll look
into it. I never said to him or anyone else that I would do anything
regarding Eurovision, let alone get SOAD involved in it. In fact,
after the initial reports I called our Warner label rep in Finland and
asked them to call the journalist and have him retract the statement,
because it’s false. Nonetheless this has spread. I have denied it in
the press numerous times already."

Tankian further noted: "Neither I nor anyone I know has spoken to
the Armenian government about Eurovision. However if the Turkish
government doesn’t fess up to its own history and recognize the
Genocide, it may be something to consider."

It would be highly ironic if Turkish claims of success in suppressing
the dissemination of information about the Armenian Genocide through
music trigger a popular demand for the participation of SOAD in
Eurovision, which would dramatically raise the issue of the Genocide
before a worldwide audience!"

THE GLOBAL CRISIS AND THE PERSPECTIVES OF ARMENIA’S ECONOMY
Hasmik Dilanyan

"Radiolur"
19.01.2009 17:11

The whole world is in search of ways to resist the global economic
crisis, and Armenia isnot an exception. According to the Chairman
of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance-Credit and
Budgeting, Gagik Minasyan, it’s simply necessary to work reasonably
for a few more months and the financial crisis will not be terrible
any more.

Recently the professional (and not only) circles have been frequently
referring to the global financial crisis. Although government bodies
were declaring for a long time that there was no financial crisis
in our country, it became impossible to resist the second economic
phase of the crisis, which the senior official declared about. To
overcome the crisis it is suggested to establish a Pan-Armenian Bank,
construct the Meghri-Batumi, i. e. the North-South highway and call
to life the Armenia-Iran railway project.

The crisis is not a classical phenomenon. Therefore, the approaches
should also be non-classical, Gagik Minasyan considers. "The scenarios
implemented do not promise an essential break. From the point of view
of efficiency, they do not fully correspond to classical approaches."

To overcome the global financial crisis the authorities have initiated
financial assistance to agriculture and industry. Gagik Minasyan
informed also that attempts are made to create temporary jobs in
Syunik and Lori marzes to avoid unemployment. The residents of these
marzes feel the consequences of the crisis more than others, since
mining industry is concentrated in these regions.

These are not the only ways for overcoming the crisis, Gagik Minasyan
says.

"In such a situation the most mobile spheres are the small and
medium-sized businesses. Big businesses are connected with more
complex financial flows. The same is not true for small businesses."

"All the means from international organizations will be allocated to
small and medium-sized businesses," Gagik Minasyan declared.