Author: Karagyozian Lena

Ararat Cemetery Improvement Association
Contact: Frank H. Balekian, Jr.
Interim Superintendent & Operations Manager
1925 West Belmont
Fresno, California 93728-2625
Tel: 559.292.2415
Mob: 559.930.2142
Fax: 559.486.2415
Email: [email protected]

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ARMENIAN CHURCH CLERGYTO CONDUCT MEMORIAL DAY
ARMENIAN HOKEHANKIST SERVICES AT ARARAT AND MASIS ARARAT CEMETERIES

The Armenian Church Clergy from the Armenian Churches of the Greater
San Joaquin Valley will conduct Armenian Hokehankist Memorial Services
Monday, May 31, 2010, at the Ararat and Masis Ararat Cemeteries of
Fresno, California.

The first Hokehankist Memorial Service will take place at 10:00
a.m. at the Armenian Martyrs Memorial near the Yazijian Memorial
Building in the Ararat Cemetery, 1925 West Belmont Avenue, Fresno,
California. A second Hokehankist Memorial Service will follow at
approximately 10:30 a.m. at the Soghomon Tehlirian Monument in the
nearby Masis Ararat Cemetery, 250 North Hughes Avenue. The Armenian
Community of the Greater San Joaquin Valley and the general public are
invited to attend and participate.

The Hokehankist Memorial Services will remember the men and women
fallen while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of
America, the several generations of departed members of the
American-Armenian Community of Central California, and those 1.5
million Martyred Armenians of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Additional information is available by calling the Administrative
Office of the Ararat and Masis Ararat Cemeteries at [559] 292.2415.

Agence France Presse
May 21, 2010 Friday 5:15 PM GMT

EU won’t recognise Nagorny Karabakh elections: Ashton

brussels, May 21 2010

As far as the European Union is concerned "parliamentary elections"
planned in Azerbaijan’s disputed Nagorny Karabakh region have no basis
in law, the EU’s foreign affairs chief said Friday.

"The European Union does not recognise the constitutional and legal
framework within which the "parliamentary elections" in Nagorny
Karabakh will be held on Sunday, EU High Representative for foreign
and security affairs Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

"This event should not prejudice the peaceful settlement of the
Nagorny Karabakh conflict," she added.

Backed by Armenia, ethnic Armenian separatists seized control of
Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s in a war that
killed nearly 30,000 people and forced two million to flee their
homes.

Fifteen years after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire in their
conflict over the Nagorny Karabakh region, the enclave remains a
powderkeg in the strategically important South Caucasus.

Ashton will meet with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian in Brussels
on Tuesday.

She stressed Europe’s "firm support" for work of the OSCE Minsk Group,
co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, which was created
in 1992 to seek a negotiated resolution to the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh.

Ashton called on all parties involved "to redouble their efforts to
find a negotiated solution to the conflict," adding that the European
Union was ready to offer its own support to the process.

ALL THE POSSIBLE MEANS MUST BE UNDERTAKEN FOR FINISHING THE WORKS OF CONSTRUCTION OF CABLE WAY ON TIME

ARMENPRESS
MAY 20, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS: The government of Armenia has decided to
release 80 million AMD to the Armenian Energy and Natural Resources
Ministry to move the six electricity supply posts impeding the
construction of cable way of Tatev monastic complex.

Territorial Administration Minister, Vice Prime Minister Armen
Gevorgyan said today at the session of the government that issue on
moving some infrastructures has aroused for connecting the Halidzor
community with Tatev and a support is needed. According to him, the
money allocation will be implemented in case of having project with
positive expertise conclusion.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan pointed out that the issue
is quite urgent and all the possible means must be undertaken for
finishing the works of construction of cable way on time. The opening
of the cable way is scheduled for October 16 of the running year.

The cable way stretching from Halidzor community of the Syunik province
to Tatev monastery will be the longest one in the world (5,7 km).

DR. DIKRAN KALIGIAN TO DELIVER HIS BOOK ENTITLED "THE ARMENIAN REVOLUTIONARY FEDERATION UNDER OTTOMAN RULE" ON MAY 25 IN GLENDALE

NOYAN TAPAN
21 MAY, 2010
GLENDALE

Historian Dr. Dikran Kaligian will deliver a lecture entitled "The
Armenian Revolutionary Federation Under Ottoman Rule, 1908-14,"
on Tuesday, May 25 at the Krikor & Mariam Karamanoukian Glendale
Youth Center.

Kaligian’s study, the first of its kind, seeks to set the record
straight in terms of understanding Armeno-Turkish relations in
1908-1914.

According to , Armenian Organization and Ideology Under
Ottoman Rule, 1908-1914 will be on sale and available for signing by
the author.

The lecture will be co-sponsored by the National Association for
Armenian Studies and Research, the Karamanoukian Glendale Youth Center,
Hamazkayin Regional Executive of Western USA, the Ararat-Eskijian
Museum.

PROTESTATION AU KURDISTAN IRAKIEN APRES L’ASSASSINAT D’UN JOURNALISTE
Stephane

armenews
20 mai 2010
KURDISTAN

Plusieurs dizaines de journalistes ont proteste jeudi devant une annexe
du Parlement kurde a Souleimaniyeh contre l’assassinat recent d’un
jeune journaliste, qui fut un critique acerbe des partis au pouvoir
dans la region autonome.

Cet assassinat a provoque la colère d’une grande partie de l’opinion
kurde qui a organise plusieurs manifestations ces derniers jours pour
reclamer l’arrestation des coupables.

"Nous poursuivons les manifestations populaires pour demander une
enquete et connaître les meurtriers du journaliste Sardasht Osman",
a affirme a l’AFP Kamal Raouf, le redacteur en chef du journal
kurde Oulati.

Sardasht Osman, 22 ans, etudiant en langue et litterature anglaise mais
aussi journaliste pour plusieurs publications kurdes, a ete enleve le 4
mai sur le campus de son universite a Erbil par des hommes armes. Son
corps a ete retrouve plus de 24 heures plus tard avec une balle dans
la tete.

"Nous demandons la creation d’une commission independante pour
enqueter sur le meurtre mais nous exigeons aussi la demission du
ministre de l’Interieur (du gouvernement local kurde), Karim Sanjari,
et des responsables de la securite a Erbil", a ajoute le journaliste.

M. Raouf a egalement accuse le Parti democratique du Kurdistan (PDK)
du president de la region autonome, Massoud Barzani, d’etre responsable
de la mort du journaliste, qui avait sevèrement critique le PDK avant
qu’il ne soit assassine.

La presidence du Kurdistan a condamne cet assassinat, affirmant dans
un communique qu’une "enquete est en cours" et que "les identites
des responsables de cette attaque ne sont pas encore claires".

Dans un de ses articles les plus critiques et intitule "J’aime la fille
de Massoud Barzani", publie dans le Kurdistan Post, il condamnait la
corruption des dirigeants kurdes, se mettant en scène sous la forme
d’un reve.

"Quand je deviendrais le gendre de Barzani, la nuit de noce se
deroulera a Paris et nous visiterons le palais de notre oncle pour
plusieurs jours aux Etats-Unis. Nous quitterons nos rues pauvres
d’Erbil pour aller vivre dans les beaux quartiers et je serai protege
la nuit par des chiens policiers americains et des gardes israeliens",
a-t-il notamment ecrit.

Dans un autre recent article, il faisait etat des menaces de mort
qu’il venait de recevoir.

"Au cours des derniers jours on m’a dit que je n’avais plus longtemps
a vivre et que les bouffees d’air que je respirais etaient les
dernières", a-t-il ecrit. Mais, a-t-il ajoute de manière premonitoire,
"je me fiche de la mort et de la torture et j’attendrai ma mort et
le dernier rendez-vous avec mes assassins".

MEVLUT CAVUSOGLU WEARING TWO HATS: ODETTE BAZIL

Panorama.am
19/05/2010

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE )
President-in-Office Mevlut Cavusoglu broke the diplomatic protocol by
refusing to visit Tsitsernakaberd, the Memorial to the victims of the
Armenian Genocide. Such kind of behaviour received condemnations from
hither and thither. Particularly, the article of the the founder of
British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary group, Chair of the Chiltern
Armenia Society Odette Bazil has been widely spread on the internet.

It says: "It is unadmissible and is a serious breach of diplomatic
protocol that Mr Mevlut Casuvoglu , chairman of the PACE, while
representing PACE on an official visit to Armenia , has taken the
liberty to act as a Turkish parliamentarian driven by his hatred
towards the Host Country , rather than a responsible chairman lucky to
have the rare opportunity to represent such influential and important
organization. If a Turkish national has been chosen to represent a
European Organisation ( despite the fact that Turkey is NOT a member
of the European Union and might never be ) then that person should
understand his obligation to serve ONLY the organisation he represents
and not his own personal denialistic feelings."

"Has Mr Casuvoglu been given the choice to wear his Turkish fez and
outfit -which comes complete with the yataghan and the bayonet – ,
has he been made aware of the nature of his mission and has he been
briefed on the necessity to wear his chairman’s hat at such occasion?"

Odette Bazil asks.

"The European Parliament has – REPEATEDLY and FORMALLY – recognised
the veracity of the Armenian genocide and Statements have been
issued to that effect in 1987, 2000, 2002 and 2005," O. Bazil writes
highlighting: "By refusing to visit the Memorial Monument erected
in Armenia to the memory of the one and half million victims of the
Armenian genocide – a genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman government
of 1915 and formally recognised by the organisation he represents –
Mr Casuvoglu has acted FOR Turkey’s interest and AGAINST the interests
and decisions of PACE."

"Mr Casuvoglu must be recalled and replaced the soonest possible –
before October when he intends to re-visit and re-insult Armenia –
and maybe PACE must think now of electing a dozen of chairmans to
accommodate its every representative’s likes and dislikes towards
the people of the countries where they are being sent," Odette Bazil
sums up.

AZERBAIJANI FM HOPES FOR ACCEPTANCE OF MADRID PRINCIPLES BY ARMENIA

news.az
May 18 2010
Azerbaijan

Elmar Mammadyarov There are updated proposals presented by the
co-chairs of the Minsk Group and they are now on the table, said
Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov.

Azerbaijan’s FM Elmar Mammadyarov hopes that the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs will be able to persuade Armenia to accept the updated Madrid
principles for the parties to launch discussion of a comprehensive
peace treaty on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno
Karabakh.

"There are updated proposals presented by the co-chairs of the Minsk
Group and they are now on the table. Azerbaijan has already announced
that it accepts these principles, and I hope that the co-chairs will
persuade Armenia, so that they too have accepted this as a basis
for us to start discussing a comprehensive peace agreement on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", Azerbaijan’s Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told Trend on arrival in Dushanbe.

Trend reports that in Dushanbe Mammadyarov will take part in the 37th
session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of
Islamic Conference (OIC), which will be held on 18-20 May.

According to the minister, the Azerbaijani side showed constructivism
and stated that all proposals presented in Athens by the co-chairs
of OSCE Minsk Group in Athens have been generally accepted by
Azerbaijan. "The constructivism is obvious here, and we are ready to
move on," "Mammadyarov said.

The minister recalled that in early June he intends to meet with the
OSCE Minsk group. "We will discuss all issues related to the peaceful
settlement" , Mammadyarov said.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts – 20 percent of
Azerbaijan’s territory – are under occupation by the Armenian armed
forces.

In May 1994, the parties reached a cease-fire agreement and i peaceful
negotiations are still held under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk
Group and co-chairmanship of Russia, France and the United States.

The four resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council related to
the liberation of Karabakh and other occupied lands have not been
executed by Armenia.

COMSTAR RAISES STAKE IN ARMENIA’S CORNET TO 100%
Michael Lacquiere

World Market Research Centre
Global Insight
May 18 2010

Alternative operator Comstar has announced that it has increased to
100% its stake in CallNet Enterprises, the full owner of Armenian
fixed-line operator Cornet. Comstar has increased its holding from the
75% plus one share it gained in October 2006. No financial details
of the deal have been disclosed. Cornet offers fixed-line local and
long-distance voice services, broadband, data transfer, corporate
network management, and WiMAX with subscribers in both the private
and corporate sectors.

Significance:Having been acquired by leading CIS integrated operator
Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) in late 2009, Comstar is now part of a larger
group with a presence in Armenia, MTS unit K-Telecom, which leads the
Armenian mobile market with 2.073 million subscribers at the end of
2009. However, MTS does not have any presence in Armenia’s fixed-line
sector, so by increasing its stake in CallNet and thereby Cornet,
Comstar is bolstering MTS’ presence in the country. Having recently
launched converged services in Russia through Comstar, MTS may well
now look to exploit similar converged synergies in Armenia.

GM HAKOBIAN LOSES ROUND 7 AT FIDE GRAND PRIX

Aysor
May 18 2010
Armenia

In round seven of the FIDE Grand Prix among men, taking place in
Russia’s Astrakhan, Armenia’s Grand Master Vladimir Hakobian again
lost: he went for classical lines of the Chigorin Defense in set
against Russia’s Evgeny Alekseev. Hakobian lost 0:1 to Alekseev.

Calcutta Telegraph, India
May 16 2010

Courtesan who didn’t care for kings

Gauhar Jaan: `Greatest woman singer of thumri and khayal’

Sing into that horn as loud as you can. Don’t shake your head or your
hands,’ the singer was told. It was November 11, 1902. The occasion
was momentous. Indian classical music was embracing technology as the
biggest singing star of Calcutta, Gauhar Jaan, had agreed to preserve
her voice on a three-minute shellac disc, defying superstition. At the
end, she was to announce her name to identify herself to the
disc-makers in Germany.

Thus was born the country’s first gramophone celebrity, who would soon
have her picture on matchboxes made in Austria and picture postcards
here. A book called My Name is Gauhar Jaan traces the life of one who
has been hailed as `the greatest woman singer of thumri and khayal’.

`Commanding an extravagant fee of Rs 1,000 per concert, Gauhar was
known as much for her flamboyance as her music,’ says Vikram Sampath,
author of the book launched in Calcutta recently.

`The memoirs of Frederick Gaisberg, who was sent by Gramophone and
Typewriter Ltd to make the recordings, indicate that she never
repeated her costumes. During performances, rifle-wielding soldiers
often guarded her jewellery.’

Gauhar used to ride around in her six-horse phaeton. Once as she
passed the Governor, he stopped and doffed his hat at her, taking her
to be a royal. But later, on learning she was a tawaif, he slapped a
fine of Rs 1,000 on her for flouting a rule forbidding commoners from
riding a carriage. Gauhar paid the fine and carried on with her
practice. Apocryphal stories abound, as of the party she threw for the
city at an expense of Rs 20,000 when her cat had a litter.

A court musician for royals like Nawab Wajid Ali Shah who had settled
in Metiabruz, Gauhar was choosy in her heyday. She refused to sing for
the king of Datia, a `small’ princely state of Madhya Pradesh. When
the King pressured her, she demanded a special train to take her
111-member entourage.

`It included 10 dhobis, four barbers and 20 orderlies, five maids,
five horses and syces, other than her disciples. The king had to
comply,’ Sampath smiles.

Born Angelina Yeoward to Armenian parents, Gauhar Jaan reached the
pinnacle of success, singing even in the presence of Emperor George V
in Delhi. `But like other courtesans of her time, she lived in luxury
and died in penury, paupered by court cases.’ A CD with the book
brings to life India’s first recorded voice.

SUDESHNA BANERJEE
/calcutta/story_12452444.jsp