Author: Karabekian Emil

Arto Chakmakchyan’s exhibition opens in UNESCO
30.01.2010 11:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Arto Chakmakchyan’s exhibition opened in UNESCO
headquarters in Paris on January 28. Renowned singer Charles Aznavour,
RA Ambassador to France Vigen Chitechyan, UNESCO Assistant
Director-General for Culture Francoise Riviere, cultural workers and
representatives of the Armenian community of France attended the
opening ceremony.

The exhibition was organized on the initiative of French Embassy in
Armenia and RA delegation to UNESCO, under the auspices of Calouste
Gulbenkian and AGBU Europe, RA MFA press office reported.

Arto Chakmakchyan was born in 1933 in Egypt. In 1948, he entered
Phanos Terlemezyan Art College in Armenia, where he studied the art of
sculpture and painting. Since 1961, he had worked as a researcher and
traveled throughout Armenia, studying medieval sculptures of the
Armenian churches, that later became the basis for his "Decorative art
of medieval Armenia’ work. In 1969, he was awarded the gold medal of
the Youth Union of Armenia for the sculpture "Mother" and "Arno
Babajanyan". These works were later gifted to the Tretyakov Gallery in
Moscow. Since 1991, Arto Chakmachyan has been a member of the Academy
of Fine Arts of Canada.

Erdogan: EU-imposed conditions are lame excuses
30.01.2010 15:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In the current negotiation process, the European
Union demonstrates an unusual attitude to Turkey, according to Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

`Turkey started its EU membership process in 1954. Back in 1963, it
submitted an official application,’ he told a joint news conference
with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov.

`Over the course of the entire process which lasts about 50 years
Turkey has been looking forward for a response. At the time of
submitting the application, EU had 15 member states, today their
number is 27. And this may last till the moment when Turkey gets a
negative response. Thereafter, we’ll find a way out ourselves,’
Erdogan said.

Asked whether the Turkish state intends to provide a $ 10-12 billion
material compensation to the Bulgarians dismissed from the country Mr.
Erdogan said the lawsuit over Bulgarians’ claim was in process.

`Ankara will follow the court’s verdict,’ Turkish Premier said,
Haberler reported.

Turkey-EU: Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European
Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the EEC since 1963,
and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995.
The country has also been an associate member of the Western European
Union since 1992, and is a part of the "Western Europe" branch of the
Western European and Others Group (WEOG) at the United Nations. The
country’s EU process which started on 3 October 2005 is likely to take
at least a decade to complete. The membership bid has become a major
controversy of the ongoing enlargement of the European Union.

IS ERDOGAN RIGHT ABOUT COLUMNISTS?

Hurriyet
Friday, January 29, 2010

An important part of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s accusations
about some columnists that they are trying to instigate the government
is that he has said columnists are today more freely expressing
themselves, compared to seven years ago.

"If you comfortably write what you think today, have mercy. Ask
yourself if you were able to do this seven years ago," scolded Erdogan.

The argument branches out

This is not the first time that Mr. Prime Minister voices this out.

Obviously he believes that they have made progress in freedom of the
press in Turkey. Whether you agree or not, this is what he believes.

And we all know that Erdogan is awfully disturbed by criticisms on
this very subject too.

For instance, Mr. Prime Minister was seriously offended by questions he
has been posed frequently about pressure on Turkish media at various
think tank organizations during a trip to Washington. He had happened
to say that "Freedom of press in Turkey is much better than in the
United States."

It is impossible for us to agree with Erdogan. His argument may
be accurate partly. For instance, discussions are being made on a
broader spectrum compared to 2003. But let’s not forget that this
has started way before the ruling Justice and Development Party,
or AKP, formed the government. Actually, discussions started when
Turkey became a European Union candidate in 1999.

It could be said that the number of military-related criticisms
within this time of period increased remarkably, or even boomed,
compared to seven years ago. Likewise, discussions over the Armenian
issue have also varied today.

If corruption news were considered

If we are here to make a really sound assessment over the progress
in freedom of press in the last seven years, we should, without
doubt, consider why some articles still cannot be written or why
they are written less. But let me say it first, corruption news,
for instance, is not made in Turkish media as used to be. There are
various reasons for that. In autumn 2008, for instance, a German court
in Frankfurt looked into a case related to corruption claims against a
Turkish charity organization called Deniz Feneri. As the Dogan Media
Group made news about it, the prime minister ran a campaign against
the group and suggested to others "to not buy their newspapers." How
could we easily forget this? Besides, it was not just a claim. It was
a legal case in which three individuals were sentenced to imprisonment.

As a matter of fact, two of three are still in prison.

After a heavy campaigning, journalists have to think twice while
making news especially if this may cost something to the government
or its supporters.

Following this particular campaigning, if we remember that the Dogan
Media Group was levied to pay over 4 billion Turkish Liras tax fine,
we should acknowledge the fact that journalism in Turkey has a heavy
price tag.

There is another problem here. Parallel to changes in property
rights, in the press the number of pro-government media members has
increased considerably. That unavoidably affects the content of Deniz
Feneri-related news being serviced to the public opinion.

Outside world sees differently

Another critical point is that the outside world thinks differently
of Erdogan when it comes to progress in freedom of press in Turkey.

Leading media in the Western world see freedom of the press in Turkey
as problematic.

For instance, in editorials of the Wall Street Journal, The New
York Times, and the Washington Post the Erdogan government is being
portrayed as an oppressive regime trying to keep independent media
silent through tax fines.

The European Commission in the latest progress report on Turkey cited
that political pressures on the media affect freedom of press. The
European Parliament likewise criticizes Turkey for the very same
reason in the Turkey report approved the other day.

In summary, there is a huge gap between the freedom of press perception
of the outer world and of the prime minister, as it has already been
confirmed the other day.

ARMENIAN GOODS TO BE EXPOSED IN SYRIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.01.2010 15:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia will take part in the exhibition, which will
be held in Syria in the autumn of 2010, Araik Vardanyan, executive
director of CCI of Armenia told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to him, the Armenian businessmen took part in the Syrian
exhibition two years ago. Food, in particular Armenian dried fruits,
canned vegetables, fruits and wine were in brisk demand at the
exhibition and an agreement was reached to open a shop of Armenian
goods in Aleppo. "The Aleppo City Council currently tries to handle
some organizational problems," he said.

Armenia’s CCI have 20 offices worldwide (USA, Europe, Asia and Africa)
where, mainly Armenian businessmen work.

In 2009 CCI organized exhibitions and business forums both in
the capital and the regions of Armenia. In 2010, CCI projects to
participate in business forums in Eastern Europe, Thailand, and an
exhibition in Germany. Regional exhibitions will be organized in Lori,
Armavir, Shirak, Syunik, Vayots Dzor.

US REAFFIRMS POSITION WELCOMING ARMENIAN COURT RULING

Today’s Zaman
27 January 2010, Wednesday

Washington has made clear that it regards the Armenian Constitutional
Court’s decision to approve two Turkish-Armenian protocols as a
"positive step forward" in the ratification process of the protocols,
aimed at normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley
was asked at a daily press briefing on Monday whether reported remarks
by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
Philip H. Gordon welcoming the verdict of the Armenian Constitutional
Court reflect the official stance of the US administration.

In a written statement released after the briefing, Crowley said,
"Gordon was on the record with the following information," and
added: "We view the court decision as a positive step forward in the
ratification process of the normalization protocols between Turkey
and Armenia. The court decision permits the protocols, as they
were negotiated and signed, to move forward towards parliamentary
ratification and does not appear to limit or qualify them in any way."

Following the Armenian Constitutional Court’s decision on Jan. 12,
which found the protocols signed on Oct. 10 of last year in Zurich
in conformity with the Armenian Constitution, the Turkish side has
been uneasy over the court’s detailed reasoning for the decision.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed its anxiety through a statement
saying that "the decision contains preconditions and restrictive
provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the protocols."

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu conveyed Ankara’s concerns to US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a telephone conversation
on Friday.

"We are confident that both Turkey and Armenia take their commitment
to the protocols seriously, and we urge timely ratification of the
protocols by both countries. Our position remains the same. We support
the normalization process, which we believe contributes to peace and
stability in the Caucasus. What is critical is to keep the parties
focused on the vital importance of moving ahead," the statement by
Crowley concluded.

27 January 2010, Wednesday TODAY’S ZAMAN ANKARA

MOSCOW, January 26 (RIA Novosti)

An Armenian national has been shot dead in a cafe by an unknown
assailant in north Moscow, police told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
"An unknown gunman shot the man, who was sitting at the bar with a
woman, several times before fleeing," the police spokesman said. "The
victim died of his injuries at the scene,"
He added that the attack may have been the result of an argument that
turned violent.
The gunman was described as stocky and of average height. An
investigation
is underway.

RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
January 20, 2010 Wednesday

Russian president trying to drive Karabakh conflict out of deadlock

by Gennady Sysoyev

One of the key issues Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his
Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, focused on during their Monday
meeting was three-party talks on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict planned
for late January.

The leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet later this
month for another round of peace talks on the disputed Nagorny
Karabakh region, dragging on since the 1990s. Moscow seems to be keen
to achieve at least a semblance of a breakthrough in the peace process
it is trying to mediate, as it would help Russia strengthen its
strategic partnership with Armenia, on the one hand, and implement
large joint projects with Turkey and Azerbaijan, on the other.

A breakthrough in the Karabakh peace process, whether fact or
illusion, would help Moscow carry out its strategic projects in the
region. Although both Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov a few days ago spoke out against linking recent
steps to normalize Turkish- Armenian relations with the Karabakh
conflict, the two processes are obviously interrelated. Turkey simply
cannot ignore the opinion of its ally Azerbaijan, which is strongly
against a Turkish-Armenian rapprochement leading to real advances in
the Karabakh conflict resolution.

Azerbaijan suspects that the Kremlin might try to use certain tools to
pressure Armenia for concessions. Rasim Musabekov, a well-known
political analyst of Azerbaijan, said: "One should keep in mind
Armenia’s tight economic situation at the moment. The country’s
government expects Russia to provide security guarantees and economic
support in addition to preliminary conditions concerning Karabakh.
Depending on how Armenia behaves in this situation and what it asks
for, Russia is likely to provide the required support and not let down
its ally."

Moscow has recently made a major step in supporting Armenia: It has
agreed to cut the price of natural gas supplies to Armenia to $180
from $200 for 1,000 cubic meters for the period between April 1, 2010
and April 1, 2011.

According to Russian government sources, Armenia is also lobbying for
the renewal of a $250 million VTB credit line opened 18 months ago and
suspended then due to the economic downturn.

News of Science
January 24, 2010

OPTICAL PHYSICS;
Findings from A. Ishkhanyan and co-researchers advance knowledge in
optical physics

"We present a rigorous analysis of the Landau-Zener linear-in-time
term crossing problem for quadratic-nonlinear systems relevant to the
coherent association of ultracold atoms in degenerate quantum gases.
Our treatment is based on an exact third-order nonlinear differential
equation for the molecular state probability," scientists in Armenia
report.

"Applying a variational two-term ansatz, we construct a simple
approximation that accurately describes the whole-time dynamics of the
coupled atom-molecular system for any set of involved parameters.
Ensuring an absolute error of less than 10(-5) for the final
transition probability, the resultant solution improves by several
orders of magnitude the accuracy of the previous approximations by A
Ishkhanyan et al developed separately for the weak coupling (2005 J.
Phys. A: Math. Gen. 38 3505) and strong interaction (2006 J. Phys. A:
Math. Gen. 39 14887) limits. In addition, the constructed
approximation covers the whole moderate-coupling regime, providing
this intermediate regime with the same accuracy as the two mentioned
limits. The obtained results reveal the remarkable observation, that
for the strong-coupling limit the resonance crossing is mostly
governed by the nonlinearity, while the coherent atom-molecular
oscillations arising soon after the resonance has been crossed are
basically of a linear nature," wrote A. Ishkhanyan and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: "This observation is supposed to be of a
general character, due to the basic attributes of the
resonance-crossing processes in the nonlinear quantum systems of the
discussed type of involved quadratic nonlinearity."

Ishkhanyan and colleagues published their study in the Journal of
Physics B – Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics (Variational ansatz
for the nonlinear Landau-Zener problem for cold atom association.
Journal of Physics B – Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics,
2009;42(22):21002).

For additional information, contact A. Ishkhanyan, NAS Armenia,
Institute Physics Research, Ashtarak 0203 2, Armenia.

The publisher’s contact information for the Journal of Physics B –
Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics is: IOP Publishing Ltd., Dirac
House, Temple Back, Bristol BS1 6BE, England.

JOHN G’S RESTAURANT OWNER JOHN GIRAGOS DIES; HE ‘CREATED A LANDMARK’
By Willie Howard

Palm Beach Post
Jan 22 2010
FL

LAKE WORTH — John Giragos took a big risk when he closed his dry
cleaning business in Detroit and moved to South Florida looking for
a warmer, safer place for his wife and five children.

The year was 1972. While visiting friends in Palm Beach County,
Mr. Giragos drove to Lake Worth Beach, where a for-lease sign in the
Ocean View Restaurant caught his eye.

He signed the lease, unplugged the jukebox and opened for business
in December 1973.

The family-run restaurant has served breakfast and lunch seven days
a week in that location at the Lake Worth Casino ever since.

Mr. Giragos eventually changed the name to John G’s on the Beach —
a name recognized by generations of oceanside diners who often line up
outside the door waiting for a chance to eat breakfast or lunch in the
wood-paneled restaurant known for simple, well-presented food. Among
the offerings: cinnamon nut French toast, Hawaiian omelettes, salads
and fish-and-chips .

Mr. Giragos died Wednesday while surrounded by his family at JFK
Medical Center after suffering a stroke Saturday. He was 81.

Sons Jay and Keith Giragos and daughter Wendy Yarbrough have worked
at John G’s since they were teenagers. They own the restaurant now
and have no intention of closing it — except on Tuesday for their
father’s funeral.

"We’re not going anywhere," Yarbrough said today as a crowd of lunch
customers lined up on the sidewalk outside the entrance. "Look what
he’s left us."

The son of Armenian immigrants who landed at Ellis Island and found
their way to Detroit, Mr. Giragos grew up working in the dry cleaning
business. Cold weather and crime that required bars on windows of the
Lynn Ferry Cleaners eventually spurred him to move to South Florida
with five children and an Irish setter in tow.

Regular customer John Lang said Mr. Giragos always made him feel
important — even when he was a long-haired surfer coming in from
the beach.

"He treated everybody with respect," Lang said. "He was a true
gentleman."

"John was a natural," John G’s fan Mark Scheinbaum wrote in a short
tribute sent to Lake Worth City Hall. "He knew how to connect with
people and turn good products — be they dry-cleaned sweaters in gift
boxes or a little restaurant — into great landmark brands."

Lake Worth City Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill said she has met people
from all over the world standing in line outside John G’s. (Mr.

Giragos was known for serving coffee and chocolate-dipped fruit to
customers waiting in line on Sunday mornings.)

"He created a landmark," Mulvehill said. "People have moved to Lake
Worth because they came to John G’s."

Yarbrough said her father’s careful attention to customers and food
led to his success.

"If there wasn’t a lid on that cup of soup, the waitress was in
trouble," she said. "Those little details all add up."

After retiring 16 years ago, Mr. Giragos enjoyed dining out, traveling
with his wife and golf — though he rarely missed the opportunity to
drop by John G’s to spend a few hours talking with customers at the
cash register.

"He appreciated the customers," Keith Giragos said. "He was proud of
his family. We all worked for him, and the team came together."

In addition to his three children who run the restaurant, Mr. Giragos
is survived by his wife, Tess Giragos of Lake Worth; daughters Ann
Grippo of Fairlawn, N.J., and Sheila Soileau of Merritt Island;
as well as 10 grandchildren.

A funeral Mass is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Luke Catholic
Church in Palm Springs.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Mr.

Giragos’ name to Hospice of Palm Beach County.

s-restaurant-owner-john-giragos-dies-188911.html

ARMENIAN FRONTIER GUARDS TAKE HOSTAGE AZERBAIJANI LIVING IN SADAKHLI

APA
Jan 22 2010
Azerbaijan

Marneuli. Nizami Mammadzadeh – APA. Armenians took hostage an
Azerbaijani on Georgia-Armenia border on the night of January 21-22,
chairman of Sadakhli Revival Union Sabir Mehdiyev told APA’s Georgia
bureau.

He said 21-year-old Naibov Valeh Mammadhuseyn was taken hostage while
he was seeking for his cattle in Mushul forest. As a result of urgent
interference of the Georgian police the Azerbaijani and his cattle
were released.