Author: nina hovnanian

ANCA ASKS ARMENIAN-AMERICANS TO PROTEST NEW SUDANESE GOVERNMENT ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS

Tert.am
17.06.11

Armenian Americans are calling for decisive US action to stop the
Sudanese government of indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir from
continuing its brutal onslaught against civilians in Darfur and
South Kordofan.

To that end, they have decided to join with human rights advocates
and genocide-prevention activists from across the United States,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Community activists nationwide are raising this urgent crisis with
their local legislators, person-to-person, through phone calls, and
via on-line advocacy, including through an ANCA action alert that
sends pre-drafted WebMail messages to Members of Congress from the
ANCA website.

The ANCA action alert stresses that Armenian Americans, as citizens
with a direct connection to the Armenian Genocide and an enduring
commitment to ending forever the cycle of genocide, bear a special
responsibility to prevent atrocities all over the world. The Webmail
letter echoes an earlier call by US Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA)
upon President Obama to send former Secretary of State Powell to
Khartoum to personally impress upon Sudanese President Omar al Bashir
that he must immediately call off his military’s onslaught in Darfur,
Abyei, and the South Kordofan region of central Sudan. It also outlined
a number of additional steps that the Administration should take,
including:

– Strengthened United Nations economic, political, and diplomatic
sanctions targeting Khartoum – with specific benchmarks, hard
deadlines, and concrete consequences.

– Concerted efforts, in coordination with the United Nations, to
ensure that humanitarian provisions – most urgently water, food, and
medical supplies – are able to reach at-risk populations, including
the establishment of a no-fly zone over South Kordafan.

– Expanded support for the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in South
Kordafan and the African Union/UN Hybrid Operation (UNAMID) in Darfur.

The letter ends with a general call for a “clear and direct signal to
Khartoum” that the United States will not reward the Sudanese regime,
move toward normalization of relations with its government, or allow
it to conduct business-as-usual with the international community as
long as its leaders continue to defy international justice, and are
committing war crimes and atrocities against innocent civilians in
Darfur, Abyei, and South Kardofan.

HRAPARAK: TSARUKYAN PLANNING TO LEAVE RULING COALITION

Tert.am
17.06.11

The paper says it has learned that Prosperous Armenia party leader
Gagik Tsarukyan is planning to take his party out of the ruling
coalition in autumn.

Tsarukyan has started a series of meetings with prominent individuals
and forces, trying to secure their support – or at least neutrality –
in case the Prosperous Armenia engages in a confrontation with the
Republican Party and President Serzh Sargsyan, the paper says.

The paper also says the meetings will involve not only political
figures but also tycoons and bosses of the criminal world.

2011 ARMENIAN NIGHT AT THE POPS FEATURES SOPRANO HASMIK PAPIAN, WORLD PREMIER BY JOHN SARKISSIAN
Hasmik Papian

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Editor

BOSTON – The Friends of Armenian Culture Society (FACS) will present
the 60th annual Armenian Night at the Pops on Saturday, June 25 at
8 p.m. at Symphony Hall. The evening will feature renowned soprano
Hasmik Papian. Music director Keith Lockhart will lead the Boston
Pops orchestra in this gala celebration concert.

The program will feature a selection of operatic arias by Puccini,
Catalani and Johann Strauss. In addition to the traditional Lord’s
Prayer (Hayr Mer), a group of Armenian songs will also be performed,
including Arno Babadjanian’s Aria-Vocalise for soprano and orchestra
to mark the 90th anniversary of the composer’s birth, and the world
premiere of a new song, Drinking Song, by composer John Sarkissian.

Favorite arias will include O mio babbino caro from Puccini’s “Gianni
Schicchi;” Ebben, ne andro lontana from “La Wally” by Catalaini
andMeine lippen sie kuessen so heiss from Franz Lehar’s Operetta
“Giuditta.” The concert will also feature works by Suppe, Sousa, E.
Bernstein and Newman.

Grammy Award-winner Ricky Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder band will
also perform.

Papian graduated from the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan first
as a violinist, then as a singer. After her debut at the Armenian
National Opera as Rosina in Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” and as Mimì
in Puccini’s “La Bohème,” Papian started an international career,
which has since taken her to the most prestigious operatic stages
in the world: The Vienna State Opera, La Scala of Milan, Bastille
Opera in Paris and the Metropolitan Opera of New York, to name a
few. She has sung with such notable conductors as Riccardo Muti,
Placido Domingo, Valery Gergiev and James Levine.

John Sarkissian Sarkissian was born in Iran into a family of
Armenian emigrants from Russia. He studied composition and piano
at Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini in Piacenza, Italy, and later at
UCLA and the New England Conservatory of Boston, where he received
his undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively. Among his
composition teachers have been Shaheen Farhat, Paul Reale, Ian Krouse,
Russell Steinberg, John Heiss and John Corigliano. Sarkissian is the
recipient of first prize at the 2010-11 International Garden Music
Competition in Poland for his piece for soprano and chamber orchestra.

For more information, contact Friends of Armenian Culture Society,
Inc., P.O. Box 87, Belmont, MA 02478-0002 or

Donations to FACS are tax deductible.

AZERI MILITARY BUDGET EXCEEDS ARMENIA’S GDP, SAYS CO-CHAIRMAN

asbarez
Thursday, June 16th, 2011

The European Parliament

BRUSSELS-In line with the increased involvement in the neighboring
countries, and the attention paid to the frozen conflicts in the
Eastern region, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign
Affairs held a meeting on Wednesday June 15, with the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs Ambassadors Robert Bradtke (USA) and Bernard Fassier
(France) on recent developments in the negotiations process and on
the current situation in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Russian representative, Ambassador Igor Popov, did not attend
the meeting due to the preparations for the Kazan meeting between the
Armenian and Azeri presidents, Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev. The
negotiations have gathered a momentum, and it is likely that the
upcoming meeting in Kazan (Russia) on June 25, will lead to a
breakthrough, stressed Bradtke and Fassier.

Each of the presidents explained the results they reached during the
past 5 years, and focused on their respective country’s involvement
in the negotiation process. They both underlined that the OSCE
Minsk Group is the best format to reach an agreement because of the
efficiency, flexibility, taking quick and tough decisions and keeping
the confidentiality.

Ambassador Bradtke stressed that the EU Eastern Partnership is of
great importance for the United States and for the long-lasting peace
in the Caucasus. They invite the European Union to play a decisive
role in consolidating peace by preparing the civil societies in
both countries, promoting democracy and using all its policies as
leverages. They also think that the EU has a role to play in demining,
reconstructing, and peace keeping.

Facing the harsh criticism by several MEPs regarding the status quo,
Russia’s interest in the region, and the course of the arms race, Mr
Fassier confirmed the decisive role of Russia, emphasizing that it
is not the only country supplying arms to the region. He mentioned
that Azerbaijan will buy drones (pilotless spying airplanes); that
every year the Azerbaijani military budget is growing by 20 to 30%,
and compared to last year it has increased by 100%, exceeding the
Republic of Armenia’s entire GDP.

The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy reiterates
its call on to the OSCE to demand solid, non-aggression guarantees
from the Azeri state prior to any further discussions relating to the
Minsk Group agenda. Furthermore, the Federation considers that the
future negotiating process must include the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,
as a full-fledged party to the negotiations. The Azerbaijani security
threats are first directed to the people of Nagorno Karabakh, who must
have their independent say in the process and future determination
of their state.

EUFOA: RESOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT BY MEANS OF FORCE AGAINST INTERNATIONAL LAW

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 16, 2011 – 18:22 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – OSCE MG co-chairs denounced the rearmament in
the region, and Ambassador Fassier was very explicit in mentioning
Azerbaijan and the way they are displaying now drone technology,
saying that this is leading down the wrong way, EuFoA Secretary
General Dr. Michael Kambeck stressed.

“The Co-Chairs made it clear that any resolution of Karabakh conflict
by means of force would be against international law, which seemed to
answer recently intensified threats from Azerbaijan.” commented Dr.
Kambeck.

“The EU’s role mainly consists of preparing the societies for peace
and, once a peace deal exists, to help implement it. We strongly
welcome the announcement that the EU will as of 1st of September again
have a Special Representative for the region and those conflicts, which
will upgrade the EU’s role there,” EuFoA Secretary General stated.

ARAM G. SARGSYAN: “ALIYEV TO BEGIN A COLD WAR AGAINST ARMENIA AND NAGORNO KARABAKH”

Noyan Tapan

16.06.2011

(Noyan Tapan – 16.06.2011) The negotiation phase over Kharabakh
conflict should be completed in Kazan. If the sides fail to reach an
agreement after all, then it is impossible to find a solution to this
issue, and should be taken to the legal field. However, according to
the leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia Aram G. Sargsyan they
are not able to reach an agreement. By expressing such idea on the
coming meeting of the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
during the press conference held on June 16, Aram G. Sargsyan thinks
that it will be correct if RA president invites the leaders of the
parties to adjust their positions before leaving for Kazan.

On the occasion of the possible resumption of the war the leader of
the Democratic Party announced that Aliyev will not take the risk and
danger his potentiality, because no one can predict what effects the
war can have, especially for Azerbaijan: “In my opinion, Aliyev has
begun a cold war towards Armenia and Artsakh” Aram G. Sargsyan said.

FRENCH MINISTER FOR COOPERATION TO VISIT ARMENIA

AZG DAILY
17-06-2011

French Embassy press service reported, on June 16-17, French Minister
for Cooperation Henri de Raincourt will pay an official visit to
Armenia. During the visit, the French Minister will meet with the
Armenian President and Foreign Minister. He will visit Tsitsernakaberd
Memorial Complex, as well as Khor Virap and Matenadaran.

ROBERT JAY LIFTON’S “WITNESS TO AN EXTREME CENTURY” BOOK PUBLISHED

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 16, 2011 – 11:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Robert Jay Lifton has been a witness, in the
broadest, most profound, meaning of that word to many of the most
traumatic events or movements of the past century: Nazism, Hiroshima,
the Vietnam war and veterans, political and religious cults, torture
and brainwashing, nuclear weapons and first-strike, the Iraq war,
and so much more.

He is also the author of publications on the Armenian Genocide and
Turkey’s attempts to deny this crime against humanity perpetrated by
the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century.

He’s written dozens of books but has not written a memoir, but now
his book, Witness to an Extreme Century, has just been published, The
Nation reports, describing the book as “an excellent and important
work, and remarkably easy to read despite the often grim subject
matter.”

Witness is also a kind of love story, as Lifton chronicles the
adventures he shared with his late wife Betty Jean Lifton.

Lifton remains fully engaged in current issues. He recently wrote for
the IHT and New York Times on Hiroshima and Fukushima, and he has a
new op-ed set to be published this week.

AIVAZOVSKY’S PAINTING CONSIDERED WORTHLESS BY ITS OWNER SOLD FOR $1.2M IN SWEDEN

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 16, 2011 – 12:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Ivan Aivazovsky’s painting considered worthless
by its owner and nearly donated to charity fetched a staggering 7.6
million kronor ($1.2 million) at an auction in Uppsala in eastern
Sweden, The Local reported.

“When we told him what it was worth, the air in the room turned
electric,” auctioneer Knut Knutson of Uppsala Auction House (Uppsala
Auktionskammare) said.

The owner, “an ordinary Swede”, had been oblivious to what he had
hanging on his wall for almost a decade. The painting, which had been
left to him by his wife when she passed away, turned out to be a work
of Russian master Ivan Aivazovsky dating back to 1858. Its name was
“The Battle of Bomarsund”.

The improbable story began when the elderly man who was moving house
decided he had some stuff to get rid of. He got in contact with a
small Stockholm auction house and sent a few boxes over to them,
including a large canvas his wife had left him when she passed away
in 2002, which would be too large for the walls of his new home.

On a note he had written: “Will you accept these things? Sell what
you can and leave the rest to the Red Cross!”

The painting was put out for auction on the net with a starting price
of 8,000-10,000 kronor. However, when the activity around the painting
exceeded expectations, the head of the auction house decided it might
be best to seek expert advice.

They then turned to Uppsala Auction House, known for selling a lot
of Russian objects in recent years.

“When we got the email we almost exploded with excitement. We realized,
of course, that if this was a genuine Aivazovsky it would be a painting
worth millions”, Knutson said.

According to Knutson, the owner, who started out as a lumberjack
and got an education through correspondence courses, still finds it
hard to believe what has happened. “He is very happy and completely
overwhelmed, but he won’t quite believe it until he can see the money
in his account,” Knutson said.

L’ARMENIE ATTACHE UNE GRANDE IMPORTANCE AU DEVELOPPEMENT CONTINU DU DIALOGUE POLITIQUE AVEC LA SUIDE
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 16 juin 2011

Le President Serge Sarkissian a recu Carl Bildt, le ministre des
Affaires etrangères de la Suède.

Acceuillant son invite, Serge Sarkissian a note que l’Armenie attache
une grande importance au developpement continu du dialogue politique
avec la Suède, ainsi qu’a l’intensification de la cooperation au
sein des organisations internationales sur les questions d’interet
reciproque.

Les deux interlocuteurs ont parle de l’approfondissement des relations
UE-Armenie, en notant que la cooperation efficace pourrait etre
lance, en prenant en consideration le fait que la Suède a ete l’un
des initiateurs du programme du Partenariat oriental.

Les deux parties ont souligne l’importance de renforcer la cooperation
entre les deux pays dans differents domaines.

Les deux interlocuteurs ont echange des vues sur un certain nombre
de questions regionales, y compris le stade actuel des negociations
sur le règlement du conflit du Karabakh.