Author: Jabejian Elizabeth

Fresno Bee (subscription), CA

Gina Yedalian, right, Anoush Yaralian, center, and Eugeni Massoyan,
left, pour oil into the mix of onions and spices as they prepare the
first part of the mixture for stuffed grape leaves for the Grand
Armenian Festival. Photo

Armenians’ 800-year-old sweet grape tradition to go public this
weekend

By Vanessa Colón / The Fresno Bee

09/21/07 05:37:57

For decades, a group of Armenian-American families and friends has
gathered privately at a Del Rey ranch to observe an 800-year-old
Armenian harvest tradition.

Starting today, the Grand Armenian Festival will give the public the
opportunity to experience it.

The festival, at the California Armenian Home on East Kings Canyon
Road in southeast Fresno, runs through Sunday, and features Armenian
folk dancing, a mock Armenian wedding and traditional Armenian
needlework exhibits.

But the main attraction unfolds at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. That’s when a
batch of a sweet grape molasses froth called prpoor will be finished,
signaling the start of a harvest party that features traditional
Armenian dances — and a chance to sample the syrupy sweet liquid.

The festival is traditionally held on the last day of the grape
harvest and gives Valley Armenians a chance to relive the experience
of their ancestors.

The festival has "been a long-kept secret. This is a huge, gigantic
undertaking," said Diko Chekian, a member of the Armenian Cultural
Foundation, which is organizing the festival.

The festival is expected to draw 5,000 people, according to Fresno’s
chapter of Armenian Cultural Foundation, a nonprofit organization made
up of several groups such as the Armenian Youth Federation and the
Armenian Relief Society.

The foundation decided to sponsor a public festival after hearing that
Valley Armenian families wanted to experience the celebration held for
years in Del Rey, Chekian said. The foundation was not involved in the
Del Rey event, although some of its members have been participants.

More than a hundred people have come each year to the Santikian family
ranch in Del Rey, where they ate, danced and waited for prpoor.

The autumn harvest festival is said to have begun in a village in
Kessab, Syria, according to the Armenian Cultural Foundation.

Village children crushed grapes with their feet. The juice was then
boiled for hours over a wood fire to create a thick molasses,
according to the foundation. An appointed leader scooped up a
gourd-full, held it high and ribboned the molasses through the air to
check its consistency. When it was ready, the leader shouted "prpoor,
prpoor" to start the party.

Families in the Valley have kept the tradition by re-enacting it at a
Del Rey ranch for years.

"I grew up with it. It’s something you look forward to. … It’s an
act that seems to reinvigorate cultural feelings," said Hoorig
Santikian, daughter of the Del Rey couple who have hosted the
celebration.

Hilda Santikian, 58, said the Del Rey celebration was started by her
husband’s uncle and has been a tradition for decades. The Santikian
family still plans to do their private celebration in two weeks.

Vicken Kalamkarian, 18, of Fresno said the celebration is one of his
favorite cultural events because he gets to revisit the past and have
a great time. Kalamkarian plans to come to the festival even though he
has gone to the Del Rey ranch event since he was a young child.

"It’s not going to have that same warmth … but the fact there’s
going to be more people, it will enhance it," Kalamkarian said.

The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559) 441-6313.

WNBC, NY

Gabe’s View: Mass Slaughter Then And Now

POSTED: 10:24 am EDT September 20, 2007
UPDATED: 5:32 pm EDT September 20, 2007

The New York Times has just published some newly discovered
photographs of SS men and women enjoying themselves back in 1944 after
a hard day’s work slaughtering Jews and other undesirables like Poles,
Ukrainians and Gypsies at Auschwitz.

The SS people are sunbathing in beach chairs, playing with a dog,
enjoying a feast of blueberries and having a sing-along with an
accordionist leading them. The pictures show the butchers of Auschwitz
having fun like normal people, smiling, enjoying life as they take a
break from their normal routine of administering death. Millions
perished in the gas chambers of this most notorious of all Nazi
extermination camps. When you walk through Auschwitz today or study
the photographs of the Nazi exterminators, you are reminded of Hannah
Arendt’s words about the "banality of evil."

After the atrocities of World War II were discovered, the slogan for
Jews and others became, "Never again!" But genocide is far from
extinct. Elements of the human race are still practicing it — and
people by the hundreds of thousands are still being wiped out.

In Darfur, tens of thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have
been driven from their homes in a struggle between African fighters
and the Arab-controlled central government. The secretary-general of
the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, who has just visited the region,
warns that that this is "a society at war with itself … tribe
against tribe, warlord against warlord." He thinks the solution may be
complex but that the world must find it, lest many more innocent
people die.

A U.N. worker said, "The people of Darfur are frustrated. They’re
demoralized by a crisis that seems to have no end. They are angry to
see their children born and growing up in camps, rather than at home,
in peaceful villages. Still, they keep on struggling to regain their
dignity."

In the last century, Armenians, Rwandans and many others have been the
victims of genocide. Presumably, many of those committing the
slaughter led "normal" lives when they weren’t engaged in killing.

Sadly, as the newly discovered photographs of SS officers enjoying
themselves in 1944 make clear, genocide has existed in every
generation. And the people committing genocide have been
normal-looking folks, seeking pleasure in their off-hours.

Matthew Levinger at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has written:
"The 20th century has been called ‘the century of genocide’ — with an
estimated 170 million people murdered by governments between 1900 and
1999."

Will the 21st century be any different?

Azeri Press Agency

One more Azerbaijani soldier killed in Armenian
ceasefire violation

[ 21 Sep 2007 13:02 ]

One more soldier of Azerbaijani Army was killed, APA’s
Karabakh bureau reports.

20-year old Muradov Elman who was drafted from Tovuz
military registration and enlistment office was killed
during Armenian ceasefire violation in Aghdam
direction. The enemy shot him on his throat. Muradov
would have completed his military service in 3 months.
Azerbaijan Defense Ministry’s press service told the
APA, they have no information about it. /APA/

SERGEI LAVROV: KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE WILL HAVE A CHAIN REACTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2007 17:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "One-sided proclamation of Kosovo independence will
cause a chain reaction throughout the continent," Russian Acting
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday after a meeting with
his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.

"I do not understand how one-sided proclamation of Kosovo independence
can stabilize Europe. It will evoke a chain reaction. Russia want to
avoid the scenario," he said, ITAR-TASS reports.

"ARMENIA HAS TURNED INTO A LAUNDRY"

A1+
[04:11 pm] 19 September, 2007

"Dram revaluation is quite unnatural in a country like Armenia,"
economist Zoya Tadevosyan said.

According to her currency appreciation is abnormal in a country having
40 per cent unemployment, economic crisis and abject poverty. "I can
call this phenomenon a disease, an Armenian syndrome, which focuses
on one’s own interests," she added.

During today’s seminar titled "Behavior" of the RA dram, economic and
political motivations and outcome" experts stated that the abnormal
dram revaluation testifies to the authorities’ indifference to the
country and absence of will-power.

Ms Tadevosyan finds the widely-accepted belief that foreign transfers
contribute dram appreciation illogical. According to the economist,
transfers first of all harm the most vulnerable stratum of the society
– the poor.

On the other hand, "It is vital to promote export in a developing
country like Armenia. The gap between export and import has greatly
deepened over the past years. Foreign goods prevail over local goods
at Armenian markets and are sold at high prices. For instance, sugar
importers have had 70 per cent superprofit"

Zoya Tadevosyan noted that any investment in the country is pointless
because of the current artificial state. "Currency policy reigns in
Armenia which is aimed at strengthening shadow economy and enriching
oligarchs. In this sense, our country can be considered risky for
investments. A number of legislative amendments are needed to change
the situation as Armenia resembles a laundry where everyone wants to
wash his dirty clothes," she said.

Economist Tatul Manaseryan referred to economic paradoxes. Once
he worked overseas and returned to Armenia with pockets full of
money. Therefore, he does not agree with analysts who suggest turning
transfers into investments.

On the other hand, it is due to mention that there is capital overflow
in Armenia. Well-off Armenians make investments abroad which means
they don’t inspire confidence in investments. We should attempt to
reveal whether this is determined by economic growth, political state,
etc" he said.

Each of us is guilty of the current situation, Manaseryan concluded.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SETS UP INTERAGENCY COMMISSION TO FIGHT AGAINST "BLACK" ECONOMY

ARKA
September 18 2007

Under the instruction of the Armenian President Robert Kocharian
an interagency commission was set up headed by the Chief of Nation
al Taxation Service of Armenia Vahram Barseghian. The aim of the
commission is to increase the level of tax collection through making
the "shadow" turnover of imports and sales liable to taxes.

Among the members of the commission are representatives of the
presidential administration, State Customs Committee, the Police,
Service of National Security and the Office of Prosecutor General,
the Press Service of Armenian president reported.

The necessity to set up such a commission was established during
the recent consultations on strengthening the taxation policies,
the President said. He also pointed out that the percentage of tax
revenue in GDP should be brought up to the level existing in civilized
countries, the Press Service of the President reported.

According to the President, through its activities the commission
should seriously notify that "there are no inviolable persons and
spheres, nobody can serve a roof for somebody and one should work
only within the legal framework".

According to the President, some of the existing phenomena would be
impossible without patronage by the government agencies.

"People who engage in protectionism must be detected and punished to
the full extent of the law," the President said.

TURKISH SINGER HIRES THE ASSASSINS OF SANTORO AND DINK

AsiaNews.it
09/18/2007 12:21
Italy

The song, preformed by a popular Turkish folk singer, inspired an
even more explicit video : at the line "Stop ringing the bells"
the face of the murdered priest appears, while the dead body of Dink
appears while singer says the verse "if a person betrays the country,
he is finished off."

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – "Stop ringing the bells" says the song and
the video shows the face of don Andrea Santoro, (the priest killed
in February 2005); further on the dead body of Hrant Dink, the
journalist of Armenian origins killed at the beginning of the year,
appears while singer says the verse "if a person betrays the country,
he is finished off.".

The video which was prepared for folk singer Ismail Turut’s last
song named "Don’t make any plans" is opening old wounds and stirring
controversy. Written by Ozan Arif, a poet with a large ultranationalist
following, the song and video appeared on YouTube only to be
immediately withdrawn. Beyond the images, which the singer claims to
have had no prior knowledge, the lyrics laude the authors of the two
murders, hiding their names in a clever play on words. For the most
part the references are all too clear: in the case of don Santoro’s
murder, after having said to stop ringing the bells, the text adds:
"people do not want to put up with this, not in the region of the
black Sea", the same region where the Italian priest was killed.

There were immediate reactions: Dink’s family say they will bring both
the singer and writer to court, as does the Turkish section of Human
Rights Association (IHD). Controversy is on the rise regarding the
inaction of the judicial system, regarding the entire episode of the
assassinated Armenian journalist. "If it hadn’t of been Dink – says
Yucel Sayman, one time president of Istanbul’s lawyers association –
the district attorney would have already made his move".

REGULAR ATTACK ON A JOURNALIST
Arthur Hovhannisyan

Hayoc Ashkharh
Tuesday 18 September 2007

On September 15 at around 7.00 p.m. editor-in-chief of former "Iravunk"
(right) and present "Iskakan Iravunk" (real right) newspaper Hovhannes
Galajyan was over again subjected to a cruel violence and attack.

The following information is placed in the official website of the
police regarding the before mentioned incident.

"On September 15, at 7.20 p.m. the Central Department of the police
received an alarm call from an unknown person, informing that the
editor-in-chief of "Iskakan Iravunk" newspaper located in Khanjyan
19/a Hovhannes Galajyan, born in 1963, has been severely beaten by
two unknowns."

Hovhannes Galajyan who has been taken to "St Grigor Lusavorich"
hospital reported to the operative group that the same day at around
1.00 p.m. he has been severely beaten by two unknowns with iron
cudgels. H. Galajyan was given a pass from the forensic doctor. The
circumstances are in clarification process. Investigation is on."

First of all we should underscore that according to Hovhannes Galajyan
(and not only) in fact the attack took place not at around 1.00
p.m. but 7.00 p.m. Hardly would Galajyan give wrong information
regarding the time of the attack, especially 6 hour’s difference.

Consequently, the only thing that rests with us to assume is that
the slip-up in the time of the assault is the manifestation of the
negligence of the police but this is not essential.

One year and 9 days before the assault of September 15, on September 6,
2006, at around 10.00 a.m. after leaving home H. Galajyan was subjected
to violence by two unknowns.

Unfortunately, by now, Arabkir department of the police hasn’t
disclosed the before mentioned crime. Whereas we are almost sure
that had they revealed and punished those who ordered and committed
the crime, thus they would have prevented the bloodshed of September
15, 2007.

Yesterday when we visited "St Grigor Lusavorich" hospital, H.

Galajyan has been just shifted from the intensive care department to
the neuro-surgical. His head was bandaged and he was taking intravenous
feeding. We asked him to tell us about the assault as much as he could.

" I was in the editorial office up to 7.00 p.m. In the morning someone
called me, introduced himself as certain Manuk, a correspondent of
"Azg" newspaper. He called me home in the morning and I invited
him to the editorial office. In the afternoon he failed to find the
editorial office. At around 6.45 p.m. he called again and we arranged
to meet at 7.00 not far from the editorial office, near the building
of the football federation. I decided to go down, because I needed
cigarettes. At that time I was alone in the office.

Later my colleagues told me that there is a journalist by the name
Manuk, who writes articles on economic issues for "Azg" newspaper
and he also works in the radio station. But I’m not sure whether he
was the one who called.

When I was going down the steps, between the 4th and 5th floors a
young, tall man, around 30, with short fair hair and a cap (with a
sportswear and a sport backpack) said hello. I didn’t even manage
to respond to his hello. He immediately hit me on my head with his
cudgel. I managed to knock him down, pinioned his arms, and was trying
to take his cudgel.

It was cold and I understood that it was an iron cudgel. At that moment
the second one appeared and started to hit on my head and other parts
of my body with the cudgel. At that moment I was on the floor with the
first one. I only noticed that the second one was shorter. My hands
grew weak and I left the first one. I think the first one gave stronger
strokes. During this period no bad language and no demands were heard."

Later according to Galajyan the unknowns kicked him and left. With
great difficulties Galajyan managed to stand and go to the 7th floor,
to the editorial office. He was going to faint, but anyway he managed
to call Hayk Babukhanyan by the local phone. After some time the guard
went upstairs because of the noise. They called the ambulance. In
10-15 minutes Babukhanyan came and called the police.

According to H. Galajyan, they haven’t published any article in the
newspaper during the recent days that could have served as a reason
for this crime.

"I can only suspect that the assault has been committed by the same
group. I think this assault and the one that happened last year this
time are linked with each other."

Though both Galajyan and the guards are ready to give photo-robots
of the attackers, this job was not done as of 3.00 p.m. yesterday.

This means either there is a lack of portable and mobile equipment to
take it to the hospital and take the photo-robots, or the activity
of the police leaves much to be desired. Whereas it is senseless to
explain the police that it is very important to disclose the crime
when it is fresh.

According to Galajyan the assault was aimed at not killing him but
making him useless for the coming months. Six injuries were inflicted
on his head. The police have evaluated the injuries of minor gravity
(before the conclusion of the forensic doctor.).

A criminal case has been instituted, according to the 1st part of
article 113 of the Criminal Code.

Philadelphia Inquirer, PA
Posted on Sun, Sep. 16, 2007

Report says Calif. is linguistically diverse

In L.A., 53% speak a foreign language at home.

By Anna Gorman and David Pierson
Los Angeles Times

Bienvenidos. Whan young. Dobro pozhalovat. In California, "welcome"
is more of an international affair than ever, with nearly 43 percent
of residents speaking a language other than English at home, according
to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The trend was even more
pronounced in Los Angeles, where more than 53 percent of residents
speak another language at home.

Spanish is by far the most common, but Californians also converse in
Korean, Thai, Russian, Hmong, Armenian, and dozens of other languages.

Nationwide, almost 20 percent of people older than age 5 spoke a
language other than English at home in 2006.

The census numbers are likely to fuel a debate that has been going on
in California for decades over immigrants speaking English
vs. continuing to use their native tongue. There have been battles
over bilingual education, foreign-language ballots, and English-only
restrictions on business signs.

While immigration is the driving force for the state’s linguistic
diversity, experts said people often speak another language out of
choice rather than necessity. Some do so to get ahead professionally,
while others want to maintain connections with their homelands.

"In this century, there’s going to be so much interaction with China,
economically, socially and culturally," said Lisa Yang, a Monterey
Park, Calif., real estate who insists on speaking Mandarin with her
U.S.-born daughter Melissa Hsu, even on the phone.

Yadira Quezada, 30, speaks mostly English at work, where she
coordinates an after-school program for elementary students in Los
Angeles. But at home, she speaks only Spanish. She and her husband are
fluent in English, but they don’t want their four sons to lose their
Spanish or to sound like "gringos" when they speak it.

"When they say something in English, we act like we don’t understand,"
Quezada said. "We say, ‘No entiendo [I don’t understand you].’ "

Still, she acknowledges the bilingual world her family has chosen –
mostly English during work and school, mostly Spanish at home – can be
confusing.

"I am thinking in English and Spanish at the same time," she said.

Because California has strong ties to Asia and Latin America, some
language experts believe the loyalty to native tongues has advantages.

"It really represents huge assets for California in the global
economy," said Randy Capps, senior research associate at the Urban
Institute, a think tank in Washington.

The downside is that many people who speak other languages at home are
not proficient in English, making them more likely to earn low wages
and live in poor neighborhoods, Capps said.

Among residents living below the poverty line, 56 percent speak a
language other than English in the home, compared with 41 percent for
those above the poverty line, according to the census report.

"Isolation is problematic," Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, chair of the
University of California, Los Angeles’ Department of Asian American
Studies. "While it reflects the strong ties to the home country, it
also suggests that folks in this situation are inherently more cut off
from society and less able to participate and take advantage of
opportunities here."

The isolation also is felt by some English speakers living in areas
where foreign languages are prevalent. Mia Bonavita, a dental office
administrator, recently moved from San Diego to Monterey Park, where
business at many stores is done in Chinese. Bonavita says the language
barrier is difficult.

"I feel like an outsider," she said. "It’s difficult to get to know
your neighbors."

The linguistic diversity also affects the schools, where educators
struggle to meet students’ needs. In the Los Angeles Unified School
District, for example, more than 265,000 English learners speak 91
languages. The district has a special translation unit, but it must
rely on parents and community members for some languages.

Southern California has numerous ethnic enclaves where speaking
English is not a necessity, including parts of the San Gabriel Valley,
Little Saigon, East L.A. and Koreatown. Some residents there say the
lack of English hasn’t diminished their lives.

Some smaller Southern California communities recorded even higher
percentages than Los Angeles, including East L.A. (90 percent), El
Monte (83 percent), Santa Ana (82 percent), Alhambra (70 percent),
Oxnard (67 percent), Garden Grove (67 percent), and Glendale (64
percent). (The statewide percentage of 43 percent is up slightly from
data taken a few years ago.)

GOOD MEMORY

Hayoc Ashkharh
14 Sept 2007

"I assure you they didn’t forget, in the USA, about appointing an
Ambassador in Armenia, but there is no information on when the US
President will nominate the candidacy of the Ambassador." Charge
d’Affair of US Embassy in Armenia Rudolf Perina announced yesterday.

He said the President nominates all the US Ambassadors, but the Senate
must confirm the nominated candidates. R. Perina said this time the
previous experience of the confirmation of the candidacy wouldn’t
repeat itself in the senate.