Armenian Foreign Ministry Feels Pity For Elkhan Polukhov

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY FEELS PITY FOR ELKHAN POLUKHOV

ArmInfo
2010-04-07 11:35:00

ArmInfo. Referent of the Armenian Foreign Ministry press-service
Mr. Haroutiunyan comments on the permanent anti-Armenian statements by
Elkhan Polukhov, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman: "Mr. Polukhov
mixes the legislation of his country with the international law and
ascribes qualities characteristic to the Azerbaijani president to
other officials. We have nothing to do but humanly feel pity for Mr.

Polukhov, for he is charged to combine the incompatible and he goes
to all lengths to do that, but useless."

ANKARA: Young Armenian Needs Treatment In Turkey To Survive

YOUNG ARMENIAN NEEDS TREATMENT IN TURKEY TO SURVIVE

Hurriyet
April 4 2010
Turkey

Arthur Manukyan and his mother Hasmig at the Yedikule Surp Pırgic
Hospital Foundation. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GUREL

Under treatment in Istanbul for the deadly Moyamoya syndrome,
21-year-old Arthur Manukyan’s life hangs in the balance. He is an
undocumented Armenian, among those Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
threatened to expel last month, and if Turkey does not grant Manuykan
permission to stay and his treatment is cut in half, he could die.

Speaking to the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review at the Yedikule
Surp Pırgic Hospital Foundation, Manukyan said he was only 14 when
he learned he had the disease. Moyamoya, "puff of cigar smoke" in
Japanese, is a hereditary illness in which arteries in the brain
are constricted.

"At first, I wanted to kill myself, but then what the Bible says
came to my mind," he said. "My eyes cannot see anymore. I am losing
my sight. But I want to live."

Addressing the prime minister, the young Armenian requested permission
to stay. "It is forbidden for me to travel. If I have to go, I will
die. I know this," Manukyan said.

The hospital’s neurology specialist, Armenag Mezaduryan, continues
to administer Manukyan’s treatment with the help of Istanbul’s
CerrahpaÅ~_a Medical Faculty. "This is a rare syndrome, and I am
treating it for the first time," Mezaduryan said. "We are striving
to keep the flow of blood in the brain going. The veins in the brain
need bypass treatment on a regular basis. If the treatment is cut in
half it would be fatal.

We cannot take that risk. We are doing our best with the help of
fellow Turkish experts. If [Manukyan] travels, that would mean be
end for him."

"If we were in Armenia, my son would have already died," said Hasmig
Manukyan, Arthur Manukyan’s 45-year-old mother. "Fortunately, we came
to Turkey, by illegal means or not."

Reflecting on Erdogan’s statement to the BBC on expelling undocumented
Armenians, Hasmig Manukya said: "My world went dark when I heard
what he said. I was so afraid for my son." Hasmig Manukya used to
work as a house cleaner to make ends meet, but these days she cannot
work due to her son’s situation.

Archbishop Aram AteÅ~_yan, the spiritual leader of the Armenian
Patriarchate of Turkey, also conveyed Arthur Manukyan’s illness to
Erdogan in a letter in November.

"I requested that Manukyan be granted permission to stay," AteÅ~_yan
told the Daily News. "We have also talked about the issue with the
prime minister." Erdogan is yet to respond, AteÅ~_yan said.

Cooperation With EU One Of Armenia’s Priorities

COOPERATION WITH EU ONE OF ARMENIA’S PRIORITIES

PanARMENIAN.Net –
April 6, 2010 – 12:55 AMT 07:55 GMT

Cooperation with the European Union is one of priorities on Armenia’s
foreign policy agenda, RA top diplomat said.

"The interest is mutual, what can be proved by frequent visit of EU
officials to Armenia," Edward Nalbandian said during a joint press
conference with Stefan Fule, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and
the European Neighborhood Policy.

"Mr. Fule’s visit is a good opportunity to discuss Armenia-EU agenda
and ways to strengthen cooperation on the threshold of President
Sargsyan’s trip to Brussels," he said.

"The European Union is Armenia’s reliable political and economic
partner. Thereat, we attach special importance to signing of a
free trade agreement, relaxation of visa requirements and launch of
negotiations on association agreement," the Armenian Minister said.

He also voiced hope that Armenia-EU cooperation will develop within
the Eastern Partnership initiative.

For his part, Mr. Fule noted that the European Union wishes stability
and development for EU’s eastern neighbors. "We are glad that our
cooperation with Armenia is developing gradually and reaches a new
level. I hope that talks on association agreement will start in
near future and I hope that a part of this agreement will be the
so-called economic integration, that is deep and comprehensive free
trade agreement, a strong tool that the EU offers to Armenia to help
it integrate in European markets. We also touched upon the support
the EU renders to reform process in Armenia," he said.

As to the new visa code, Mr. Fule said it was made "to provide
EU partners with more transparency and predictability." "It’s an
important step to unifying with the European countries. I am hopeful
that the new visa code will be helpful for Armenian citizens," he said.

Mehmet Ali Birand : Qui A Trompe Qui Dans Les Rencontres Secrètes ?

MEHMET ALI BIRAND : QUI A TROMPE QUI DANS LES RENCONTRES SECRÈTES ?
par Jean Eckian

armenews
mardi6 avril 2010
TURQUIE

Ce texte est la seconde partie (1) d’un article paru dans Hurriyet
Daily News. Mehmet Ali Birand pose une question dont la reponse nous
paraît evidente "qui ment dans cette histoire ? "

Il se questionne sur l’evolution du processus des protocoles signes
par l’Armenie et la Turquie et dont la ratification semble etre sur
une voie de garage.

L’interview de Davutoglu est pleine d’enseignement : le ministre
turc des affaires etrangères essaie d’en rejeter la faute sur
Serge Sarkissian ou le Conseil Constitutionnel Armenien (il oublie
probablement la diaspora).

Soit il est sincère, et il explique pourquoi les Turcs signent autant
de traites qu’ils ne respectent jamais. Contrairement a l’approche
universelle qui consiste a prendre d’abord ce qui est ecrit dans
les conventions pour le règlement des litiges, Davutoglu voudrait
qu’on tienne compte de ce qu’on a sous entendu, ou de ce qui est
implicite ou meme de ce qu’on a dit, meme si ce n’est pas ecrit,
lors des negociations !

Soit il fait mine de s’engager, lors de la signature des contrats,
tout en imaginant deja ce qu’il dira pour ne pas avoir a respecter
ses engagements.

La dernière fois que la diplomatie turque a trouve en face d’elle des
hommes politiques capables de leur tenir tete, c’etait a Sèvres en
1920. Depuis, on fait mine de les croire meme quand les diplomates et
hommes politiques mentent effrontement [le comportement des executifs
et des parlements US et britanniques sur le Genocide sont sur ce
point exemplaires]. Ils n’ont donc aucune raison de se gener…

Qui a trompe qui dans les rencontres secrètes ?

par Mehmet Ali Birand

Erevan

2 avril 2010

Il y a une seule raison pour laquelle les protocoles entre la Turquie
et l’Armenie ne sont pas approuves et que l’initiative armenienne
est restee la où elle a commence.

Y a-t-il un lien entre l’approbation et la mise en application des
protocoles et la question du Karabagh ?

Tandis que les Armeniens disent qu’on les avait rassures au cours des
negociations qu’il n’y avait aucun lien de la sorte, les Turcs disent
que meme si cela n’etait pas expressement ecrit dans le texte signe,
les Armeniens etaient informes qu’un tel lien existait.

Les Azerbaïdjanais de leur côte disent que la Turquie ne les avait
pas informes de cet accord et qu’ils ne l’ont decouvert après la
signature de ces textes auxquels ils se sont opposes.

Ankara est très clair sur ce point et dit que les Azerbaïdjanais
etaient constamment informes et Bakou a reagi plus tard.

Il est difficile de discerner qui dit la verite. Comme nous ne
pouvons pas reunir les trois parties assises autour d’une table et
leur demander "qu’avez-vous dit, quand l’avez-vous dit ?" chacune
des parties doit croire son gouvernement.

A diverses occasions, j’ai parle aux officiels de ces trois pays,
resumant les declarations de chacun d’entre eux. C’est votre
decision…

Les Turcs disent. "Nous n’avons pas de permission a demander a Bakou
pour notre politique".

Les officiels armeniens qui ont litteralement participe aux
negociations avec la delegation turque sont très clairs sur ce point.

Ils disent qu’il n’y a aucun lien ou condition liee a la signature
et a la mise en application des protocoles et la question du Karabagh
ou de quelconques progrès qui s’y rapportent.

L’un d’entre eux a meme dit a la delegation turque et a d’autres ces
choses interessantes :

"Nous avons demande aux Turcs : ‘que se passera-t-il avec les
Azerbaïdjanais s’ils s’opposent ? ‘ Ils ont très clairement declare
‘ne vous inquietez pas, nous nous en sommes occupe. Si nous pouvons
nous mettre d’accord sur une politique entre nous nous ne demanderons
pas la permission aux Azerbaïdjanais. ‘Nous avons prepare l’accord
sans aucune condition avec la seule idee de commencer. Rien d’autre
n’aurait pu etre accepte de toute facon. Les protocoles seraient
signes d’abord, puis les relations diplomatiques etablies et la
Commission d’Historiens mise en place. Nous avons ete surpris quand
tout a coup la Turquie, devant la vive reaction des Azerbaïdjanais,
introduisit la condition du Karabagh."

Un autre officiel armenien est alle meme plus loin, disant : "lors
de la rencontre de Davos, nous avons dit au premier ministre Erdogan
qu’il n’y aurait pas de lien entre le Karabagh et ces protocoles. Puis
nous l’avons dit a Gul quand il est venu ici. Et nous l’avons repete
a Prague."

Vous vous souvenez peut-etre qu’a Genève, la ceremonie de signature
s’est trouvee en danger. Il fut alors declare que les parties ne
parvenaient pas a se mettre d’accord sur les discours qui devaient
suivre et qu’ils ont ete annules.

Que s’est-il donc passe qui a cause ce retard ?

"Nous avons envoye le discours prepare par nous a la partie turque a
l’avance, mais le leur n’est arrive que dix minutes avant et nous nous
sommes apercu que leur discours contenait des phrases qui abordaient
indirectement les questions du Karabagh et du Genocide. C’est ainsi
que nous avons objecte et annule les deux discours et en sommes reste
aux signatures. Cette attitude etait un signe que nous n’avons pas
accepte le prealable ou le lien entre les deux", a dit l’officiel
armenien a qui nous avons rappele la Cour Constitutionnelle Armenienne.

Il reprit en disant : "vous vous trompez, la première phrase de la
cour declare que ces protocoles sont conformes a la constitution."

Mais que dire alors des autres mises en garde ? Qu’en est-il du
passage relatif a la Commission d’Historiens et de l’objection a
accepter les frontières avec leur trace actuel ?

"La cour ne va pas au-dela d’une mise en garde en termes extremement
obscurs. Et nous en avons indique le sens aux Turcs. La Turquie en
fait une question parce qu’elle essaie de trouver une raison a son
attitude presente. Mais elle sait que son contenu ne represente pas
un obstacle."

La Turquie nous a informes trop tard

L’attitude des Azerbaïdjanais sur ce point est très differente.

J’ai rencontre Ramiz Mehdiyev, le secretaire d’etat du palais
presidentiel, a Istanbul et lui ai pose la meme question. ‘La Turquie
dit qu’elle vous a constamment tenus informes. Quand avez-vous entendu
parler la première fois des protocoles ?’

A vrai dire, il y avait dans la reponse qu’il a donnee des passages
qui n’etaient pas clairs. Il y a quelque confusion entre les officiels
azerbaïdjanais du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et ceux du palais
presidentiel.

Selon le palais presidentiel, la phase initiale des protocoles a ete
faite en avril 2009 et l’information initiale leur en est parvenue
en juin 2009. Et il n’y a ete donne par la suite aucune information
detaillee dans la periode avril-juin 2009, pas meme lors de la visite
de Babacan en avril ou celle d’Erdogan a Bakou. Des informations
detaillees ont ete donnees la première fois en juin et les protocoles
signes en octobre 2009.

Le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères Azerbaïdjanais a dit sur un
ton legèrement embarrasse que lors de sa visite a Bakou d’avril 2009
(après l’initialisation des protocoles) Babacan avait donne quelques
informations de base. Mais après avoir compare les dates, il a repris
la position du palis presidentiel.

Ma seconde question a ete : " pourquoi avez-vous eu cette vive reaction
? L’ouverture des frontières avec l’Armenie et l’influence croissante
de la Turquie ne vous sont-elles pas favorables ?"

La reponse de Mehdiyev a ete très sincère et juste : "C’est de la
politique. C’est la politique qui nous a dicte cette vive reaction," et
il a poursuivi : "quand en 1993 les Armeniens sont alles au Karabagh,
la Turque a ferme ses portes. Pour nous, c’etait un signe d’Ankara
montrant que les frontières ne seraient rouvertes qu’une fois la
question du Karabagh resolue. C’est pour cela que nous avons ete
surpris. Et en plus, vous devriez savoir qu’une vive reaction vous
etait bonne pour vous. Cela vous a rappele qui est votre vrai alliee".

Telle est l’approche de l’Azerbaïdjan.

Il est evident qu’il y a quelque confusion.

"Nous etions très ouverts avec les Armeniens et Les Azeris"

Voyons a present les explications des officiels turcs.

S’il s’agit de regarder les choses attentivement, vous aurez note que
les Armeniens et les Azerbaïdjanais ont fait de serieuses allegations
concernant l’approche turque.

Selon les officiels de ces etats, la Turquie n’a pas tenu ses
promesses.

Si nous devons croire les declarations, la Turquie a change de
direction après avoir signe les protocoles avec les Armeniens et
après que les Azeris aient proteste. Le premier ministre ne doit
pas avoir prevu une telle reaction de Bakou etant donne qu’il s’est
immediatement rendu auprès d’Aliyev pour mettre au point le protocole !

C’est vrai ca ?

J’ai pose la meme question aux officiels du ministère des affaires
etrangères et au Ministre des Affaires Etrangères Davutoglu qui
etaient impliques dans les negociations depuis le debut.

‘Il n’y a pas eu de prealable ou de lien avec la question du Karabagh.

Il n’y a aucune preuve ecrite. Parce que les Armeniens ne l’auraient
pas accepte mais notre president a clairement declare que les
relations Turquie et Armenie ne seraient engagees avant les relations
de l’Azerbaïdjan et de l’Armenie, c’est a dire tant que la question
du Karabagh ne sera pas resolue. A presque toutes les rencontres,
nous avons laisse entendre aux Armeniens a divers niveaux que meme si
rien n’est declare explicitement, un tel lien etait necessaire pour
soutenir le moral. Une relation differente ne serait pas possible,"
disent les officiels turcs qui insistent egalement qu’il serait
impossible d’imaginer une politique dans laquelle nous tournerions
le dos aux Azeris ou les vendre pour des motifs politiques.

Selon le Ministre des Affaires Etrangères, c’est l’Armenie qui a
embrouille l’affaire.

"Sarkissian a considere ces protocoles comme un investissement et l’a
pris par le mauvais bout. Le Parlement turc devrait les approuver en
premier, disent-ils [les Armeniens ont fait cette declaration après la
condition du Karabagh faite par la Turquie, MAB]. Alors, la decision
de la Cour Constitutionnelle est venue qui a eclipse les protocoles.

Sarkissian ne s’est pas comporte avec de bonnes intentions."

Alors, les Azeris ont-ils ete bien informes ?

Davutoglu m’a dit plusieurs fois que nos amis azerbaïdjanais ont ete
constamment informes et que rien n’etait tenu secret.

S’ils etaient informes, alors pourquoi auraient-ils eu une telle
reaction ?

La position de la partie turque est sur ce point inconfortable.

Ils pensent que les Azeris se sont inutilement laisse aller a cette
reaction.

Opening Of Armenian-Turkish Border Deadly For Azerbaijan

OPENING OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER DEADLY FOR AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net –
April 6, 2010 – 15:38 AMT 10:38 GMT

Head of the Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation
Stepan Grigoryan says that the threat of resumption of hostilities
in Karabakh exists, increasing periodically.

"Azerbaijan’s threats to use of force have nothing to do with the
Karabakh conflict. They target Armenia-Turkey rapprochement process.

Opening of Armenian-Turkish border will be deadly for Azerbaijan," Mr.

Grigoryan said during a joint news conference with political scientist
Alexander Manasyan.

Yet, according to him, Karabakh conflict will not be resolved
unless the superpowers reach unanimity on the issue. "The European
Union is interested in resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
Russia is not, Obama remains undecided on South Caucasus policy,"
Mr. Grigoryan said.

For his part, Alexander Manasyan said that Baku will not venture a
new war without permission of the major world powers.

Vahram Melikyan: 15 Churches Are Not Enough For Million City Of Yere

VAHRAM MELIKYAN: 15 CHURCHES ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR MILLION CITY OF YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 2, 2010 – 17:58 AMT 12:58 GMT

"There are 15 churches at the moment. For million city of Yerevan
15 churches are not enough," priest Vahram Melikyan , head of Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin information department told PanARMENIAN.Net

"The wish of the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II is see at
least one church in each community of Yerevan. Although in every
community it is necessary to have more than one church: a church
-per thousand of families," Vahram Melikyan said. According to him,
at present, new churches are built in three communities of Yerevan:
Ajapnyak, Arabkir and Erebuni.

Armen Ronov: The Film "Anton Chekhov" To Present Armenia Abroad

ARMEN RONOV: THE FILM "ANTON CHEKHOV" TO PRESENT ARMENIA ABROAD

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2010 18:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The feature film " Anton Chekhov " should become a
film which will represent Armenia abroad: in Russia, Europe, and may
be in America," the film director Armen Ronov told a press conference
on April 1.

According to him, representatives of 4 countries Armenia, Russia,
France and Ukraine work on the film.

"We have been working on the project half a year. This subject is
very interesting for both Armenia and Russia, Europe and the world,"
Vladimir Msryan, People’s Artist of Armenia, who plays the role of
Anton Chekhov said. He said the original script of the film tells
the life story of the Russian classics.

Armen Ronov also stressed that apart from cultural values, the film
can also be a cash and profits for Armenia, as well as above it will
work producers from four countries.

The shooting of "Anton Chekhov" will begin in September and October
2010 and will last about a year, post-production will take another
year, and then the audience will see the final result.

"We expect support from the governments of Armenia, Russia, France,
patrons, cinema and other companies,"Armen Ronov said.

8 Years Have Passed Since A1+ TV Company Closure

8 YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE A1+ TV COMPANY CLOSURE

Tert.am
17:47 ~U 02.04.10

The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), Committee to
Protect Freedom of Expression, Yerevan Press Club, Internews Media
Support NGO, Media Diversity Institute-Armenia, Armenian Helsinki
Committee, Foundation against violation of law, and the Civil Society
Institute express their concern about the restrictions to the freedom
of speech and media in the Republic of Armenia, reads a press release
issued by the organizations today.

The situation has been deteriorating in this area since April 2, 2002,
when A1+, an independent private television company, was deprived of
the right to broadcast. This had an immediate impact on the level of
pluralism in Armenia and almost all of the broadcasting companies
started to work more cautiously. Hidden censorship is applied by
using an economic and tax leverage as well as instruments of political
involvement.

Since April 2002, A1+ TV company has participated in more than 10
tenders on broadcast licensing, and it has been refused a license on
every occasion by the National Television and Radio Committee.

Armenian media and human rights organizations believe that A1+ is
being targeted for political reasons. The authorities, on the other
hand, mention that A1+ has lost the contests of broadcast licensing.

The final clarification was made by the European Court of Human
Rights. The Court ruled that the Article 10 of the European Convention
had been violated; that is, the right of a television company to
impart information and ideas without interference by public authority
and regardless of frontiers in its June 17, 2008 decision.

Nevertheless, the RA National Assembly made an amendment to the "Law
on Television and Radio" according to which tender for broadcast
licensing was suspended for two years.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on March 4, 2010,
addressed the issue of enforcement of the ECHR decision on A1+ TV,
and underlined that it "is waiting for the detailed information about
the developments of granting effective remedies to the applicant by
the authorized court authorities."

In 2010, the Council of Europe addressed the issue of A1+ TV in its
resolution 1897 on "Respect for Media Freedom" (2010) and called upon
the Armenian authorities "to revise their legislation on the allocation
of broadcasting licenses, which was passed as a countermeasure to the
judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Meltex
Ltd and Mesrop Movsesyan v. Armenia of June 17, 2008."

In spite of the abovementioned circumstances, A1+ TV continues to be
deprived the right to broadcast.

The forementioned groups call upon the Armenian authorities to provide
conditions that will guarantee the freedom of expression in Armenia.

Particularly, to provide impartiality and transparency of future
tenders on broadcast licensing and hereby to ensure well-founded and
justified decisions which will restore public trust.

‘Little Armenia’ Watertown’s Hood Rubber Co. Was Hub Of Ethnic Neigh

‘LITTLE ARMENIA’ WATERTOWN’S HOOD RUBBER CO. WAS HUB OF ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOOD A CENTURY AGO, FILM RECALLS
By Kathleen Moore

Boston Globe
10/04/01/watertowns_hood_rubber_co_served_as_hub_f or_armenians_documentary_shows/
April 1 2010
MA

It was demolished more than 40 years ago, but Watertown’s Hood Rubber
Co. never really disappeared from Areka Der Kazarian’s memories. At
98, she still smiles when someone mentions the once-bustling factory
that gave her a job not long after she fled her native Armenia.

"At 16, I went to work at Hood because there were no jobs for
my brother, and I could make $18 to $20 a week," says the former
conveyor-belt operator. "It was important to have that money because
we had to eat.

Areka Der Kazarian was not the only one.

A newly released documentary, "Destination Watertown: The Armenians of
Hood Rubber," is introducing local audiences to the "Little Armenia"
that formed within the now-defunct sneaker and tire manufacturer
during the first half of the 20th century.

"Really, in some ways Hood Rubber was a sweat shop, and they worked
under very trying conditions," said Roger K. Hagopian, an amateur
filmmaker who produced and directed the 68-minute documentary. "But
good or bad, it was the foundation of their community. When they
remember Hood, they remember their parents, their grandparents,
their families who worked there."

A self-employed businessman who calls Lexington home, Hagopian,
60, is long removed from the grueling factory work that allowed his
grandmother to flourish in her adopted country.

But Hagopian is never far from his history.

Over the last 14 years, he has produced four other films that explore
Armenian experience: "Memories of Marash," "Journey of an Armenian
Family," "Our Boys," and "Memory Fragments of the Armenian Genocide."

"Destination Watertown," which Hagopian completed last year
and debuted at the Watertown Free Public Library in December, is
replete with charming black-and-white photographs and trembling news
reels from the 1920s and ’30s. It also gives a brief history of the
Armenian migration that contributed to the plant’s success. Narrator
Robert Mirak, board president of the Armenian Cultural Foundation,
gently introduces viewers to the gruesome backdrop — genocide —
that prompted thousands of Armenians to move to Watertown around the
time of World War I.

But it is Hagopian’s decision to give most of the air time to the
former employees and neighbors of Hood Rubber that brings "Destination
Watertown" alive. Often salty, at times gauzy, their reminiscences
lend an unmistakable grace to Watertown history.

"You ask me what was the impact of the Hood Rubber Company on the
neighborhood, and I’m puzzled," former Oak Street resident George Mooza
says to an off-camera interviewer. "Hood Rubber was the neighborhood."

Mooza’s observation is not too much of a stretch. Founded by
Frederic and Arthur Hood in 1896, the Hood Rubber Co. was a major
local employer for nearly 75 years, using as many as 10,000 laborers
in its heyday. The multiacre complex in East Watertown included a
fully automated factory, a research lab (believed to be the first
of its kind in the country), and the Abraham Lincoln House, where
workers could get medical services and tutoring in English. For the
struggling immigrants who flocked to its gates each day, the most
important thing it offered was a steady paycheck.

"Word spread as far away as the Ottoman Empire that there was work to
be found at a place called the Hood Rubber Company," Mirak reminds
us. "By the end of the 1920s, approximately 3,500 Armenians, or 10
percent of the population, were living in Watertown, and more than
500 were working at Hood Rubber."

The working conditions that prevailed in many turn-of-the-century
factories would shock modern sensibilities. Hood Rubber was no
different.

"I think if OSHA had known what went on, they’d have objected,"
said Mark Der Mugrditchian, a former worker.

Areka Der Kazarian calmly recalls getting her right hand caught in
the conveyor belt, causing an injury that kept her out of work for
a month. Her ring finger has been set at a 45-degree angle ever since.

The filmmaker’s own grandmother, Hranoush Hagopian, was run over by a
cart, one of many that transported materials around the mammoth plant.

There were no lawsuits. There were no complaints.

"They say I could have sued, but I didn’t know any better," Der
Kazarian says. "It was a job."

The air inside the plant was often infused with rubber dust, and its
huge smokestack regularly spewed ominous black smoke into the air.

Several former employees and neighbors interviewed by Hagopian
said they suspect this contributed to the cancer that they or their
relatives later developed.

"The smell of burning rubber was like waking up and smelling the
leaves," says Mooza. "If the wind was right . . . you could get the
stockyards in Brighton and the fires from the junkyards in Watertown."

Long before there were focus groups or market surveys, Hood Rubber
recruited dozens of local kids to test its sneakers, including the
popular PF Flyer. These weekly distributions were more frenzied
lotteries than sober consumer research, but no one seemed to notice.

"The wearability of those sneakers was based on the activities of
Watertown kids," says Leon Janikian, a former Dexter Avenue resident.

"We used to ride our bikes and drag our feet so we’d get a new pair,"
Der Mugrditchian admits.

More than anything, the "sneaker tests" divided the neighborhood into
two groups: the ones who got a pair, and the ones who didn’t. Decades
later, many of Hagopian’s subjects were still keenly aware of which
group they fell into.

"I’d wait until they opened. . . If they had your size, you’d get
the shoe," says Katherine Kaloyanides. "I had small feet so it was
almost an impossibility for me to get a pair. I don’t think I ever
got sneakers."

Rose Magarian had better luck.

"I used to wait two to three hours to get a pair, but I was a good
test girl," she says. "My mother had me running around all day."

Bob Sanasarian was not so blessed.

"My mother thought it was a good thing that I never got any sneakers.

She thought that I should only be wearing leather shoes."

Roger Hagopian’s documentaries can been seen at the Armenian Library
and Museum of America, 65 Main St., and purchased on DVD by contacting
him at [email protected].

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/20

New Visa Application Temporarily Suspended, Says US Embassy In Armen

NEW VISA APPLICATION TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED, SAYS US EMBASSY IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
13:21 ~U 31.03.10

Due to technical issues, the US State Department’s Bureau of Consular
Affairs announced that deployment of the new DS-160 visa application
has been temporarily suspended. As soon as the technical issues are
resolved, the Embassy will announce a new implementation date.

In the meantime, applicants can continue to use the current online
visa application, the Electronic Visa Application Form (EVAF),
according to a release issued by the US Embassy in Armenia.