Author: nina hovnanian

HOMENETMEN’S 27TH KAHAM GAMES CONCLUDE
BY KATIA KARAGEUZIAN

asbarez
Monday, May 16th, 2011

The march of athletes

It might have been an overcast day, but the sun shone in the twinkle
of the eyes and bright smiles of our youth, as their anticipation
mounted at Homenetmen’s 27th Kaham Games Closing Ceremony which took
place on Sunday March 27th, 2011. The competitions in Basketball,
Soccer, Volleyball, Track and Field, and Ping Pong that were well
on their way since November of 2010, culminated in playoff games
that same morning. Athletes from the participating schools gathered
at the Glendale Community College Stengel Field at 4 o’clock in the
afternoon, ready to march with pride as their families and friends
cheered from the packed bleachers.

The schools represented line up on the field

While the Navasartian Games reserve their grandeur in uniting
Homenetmen members in exciting annual sports competitions, the Kaham
games manage to reach out further into our communities by inviting
all Armenian students within the Southern California area to come
forth and participate in sports competitions. The official mission
of Homenetmen is to promote a “healthy mind in a healthy body,”
however, its underlying traditional goal has been to facilitate the
cohesiveness of our communities throughout the world by creating
opportunities for the Armenian youth to gather, compete in sports,
celebrate their heritage and form lifelong bonds. It is in this spirit,
that for the first time in Kaham history, a team of Armenian students
who attend public schools within the Glendale Unified School District
participated in this year’s Homenetmen 27th Kaham Games under the
name of “Homenetmen United”. They were received with loud cheers;
and reinforced in us the commitment to find ways to reach out to all
Armenian students wherever they are, and include them in Homenetmen’s
Kaham Games tournament.

Among the honored guests were Homenetmen Central Executive Committee
Vice-Chairman Koko Balian, and Homenetmen Western Regional Executive
Committee Chairman Garnik Abrahamian. We were also honored by the
attendance of Iran’s “Alik” newspaper previous publisher and community
figure Mr. Albert Adjemian, 35th Navasartian Games Honorary President
Mr. George Jamgotchian, ARF Central Executive Committee members Koko
Topalian and Harout Donoyan, and Reverend Father Ardag Demirjian on
behalf of his Eminence Archbishop Prelate Moushegh Mardirossian. Also
present were the principals and representatives of the participating
Armenian schools, the coaches, supportive teachers, and numerous
Homenetmenagans. The hosts of the event were Nora Tchaparian and Nareg
Medzatchian who thanked all the participating athletes, their parents
and hard working coaches, as well as the Armenian schools on behalf of
Homenetmen’s Western United States Regional Executive Committee. The
hosts articulated in both the Armenian and English languages the
principle goals of the Kaham games as being one of “uniting all the
Armenian students of the region under one flag by creating a healthy
sports tournament for them, in the spirit of friendship, and by
implementing the Homenetmen adage of a “healthy mind in a healthy
body” within the traditional Armenian education system.” They went
on to say that Homenetmen’s mission is to strengthen and uphold the
value of the Armenian home, school and culture by instilling in our
youth the seeds of healthy sportsmanship, leadership and responsible
citizenship with the guidance of Homenetmen’s ageless philosophies.

A young member of the Homenetmen marching band The performance of
the flag ceremony was shared by the Homenetmen scouts of the Pasadena
“Azadamard” and La Crescenta “Shant” chapters.

They were accompanied by the Homenetmen Western Region marching band
under the direction of Vosgan Arissian. The parade of the athletes
representing each school followed next. The participating schools
were Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School, Ari Guiragos Minassian
Armenian School, Armenian Sisters Academy, TCA Arshag Dickranian
Armenian School, A.G.B.U Manougian Demirjian School, Armenian
Mesrobian School, Charlotte & Elise Merdinian Armenian Evangelical
School, Mekhitarist Father’s of Vienna Armenian School, St. Gregory’s
Hovsepian Armenian School, Vahan & Anoush Chamlian Armenian School,
Sahag Mesrob Armenian Christian School, Holy Martyrs Ferrahian
Armenian School, and Homenetmen United Team. Among loud cheers and
endless applause each school team marched holding up their school’s
name as the announcers informed the audience of the school’s history
and accomplishments. As the teams lined up in front of tall banners
bearing the name of their school, Mher Tavitian, the chairman of the
upcoming Navasartian Games organizing committee, congratulated all
the participating teams and their leadership and invited everyone to
the official opening of the Homenetmen 36th Navasartian Games which
will take place at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys on Sunday, May
15 at 11 a.m. Seventeen Homenetmen Chapters will be participating
in the upcoming Navasartian Tournament. An exciting “Victory Ball”
has been scheduled for Saturday, June 25, 2011 in the lot of the CBS
Studios. The much anticipated 36th Navasartian Games and Festival will
take place from Thursday, June 30th to Sunday, July 3rd at Birmingham
High School.

Homenetmen Western United States Regional Executive Committee member
and Western Region Athletic Representative Alec Araradian was invited
to the podium to give his remarks on behalf of the Regional Executive
Committee. In an eloquent speech, he thanked all the athletes, coaches,
and school representatives for participating in Homenetmen’s 27th Kaham
Games. In addition, he thanked the Western United States Regional
Athletic Council for all the hard work they put into organizing the
Kaham Games. He was followed by Sossi Shanlian, principal of Sahag
Mesrob Armenian Christian School, who on behalf of all the other
school principals, commended Homenetmen on its monumental contribution
to the Armenian people, praised the tremendous efforts of the Kaham
Tournament organizing committee members, and thanked the parents for
their support and dedication. Regional Executive Committee member,
Alec Araradian proceeded to present Principal Sossi Shanlian with a
commemorative plaque.

Western Prelate Archbishop Mousegh Mardirossian’s address was given
by Reverend Father Ardag Demirjian, who relayed the Archbishop’s
congratulatory words and blessings at this occasion. Reverend Father
Demirjian went on to say that beautiful events such as the Homenetmen
Kaham Games are a necessity in the prosperity and health of our people,
and they are dependent upon our ongoing spirit of community service
and relentless commitment to our youth who represent our future. We
salute all of our participating students, and congratulate them on
their Homenetmen Kaham wins!

INTERNET COUPE DANS LE CAUCASE : UNE RETRAITEE GEORGIENNE CLAME SON INNOCENCE
Stephane

armenews.com
mercredi 18 mai 2011

Une retraitee georgienne de 75 ans, soupconnee d’avoir prive son pays
ainsi que l’Armenie d’Internet pendant plusieurs heures en coupant
un câble d’alimentation, a clame son innocence, soulignant ne rien
connaître aux nouvelles technologies, dans un entretien avec l’AFP.

Hayastan Chakarian, une Georgienne d’orgine armenienne, est accusee
d’avoir sectionne un câble de fibre optique avec une beche alors
qu’elle creusait la terre pour chercher des metaux dans son village
d’Armazi, a 15 kilomètres de la capitale Tbilissi, provoquant une
panne generale.

Cette affaire a emu un grand nombre de personnes, la vieille dame
risquant jusqu’a trois ans de prison pour ce delit.

Mme Chakarian n’a pourtant cesse de clamer son innocence : “Je n’ai
pas coupe ce câble. Physiquement je n’ai pas pu le faire”, a-t-elle
declare, en larmes.

“Je n’ai aucune idee de ce qu’est Internet”, a-t-elle ajoute.

Le ministère de georgien de l’Interieur a affirme qu’elle avait
reconnu les faits.

Selon Georgian Railway Telecom, la compagnie detenant le câble, près
de 90% des usagers en Armenie ont ete prives d’internet pendant environ
12 heures. La Georgie a egalement ete touchee, a indique la compagnie.

Le câble de 600 kilomètres de long a beau etre equipe de “protections
solides”, il a ete plusieurs fois endommage, a releve la compagnie.

PROF. SAULIUS SUžIEELIS: “CRUEL HISTORY OF GENOCIDE STILL PLAGUES US IN 2011”

Baltic Review

May 16 2011

Kaunas, May 16, 2011 — From 23 March to 12 May, Millersville
University (Pennsylvania, USA) Professor Emeritus Saulius SužiedÄ-lis
held a series of public lectures at VMU on genocide and mass murder
in the 20th century. His last lecture focused on genocide from the
perspective of global history and politics, the concept of genocide
today and in the context of Communism and Nazism.

The professor began the final lecture by reminding the definition of
genocide coined by Raphael Lemkin, who claimed that it is destruction
of a national pattern. Attempts to define genocide and its role in
history became louder in 1995, when the greatest genocide researchers
gathered at a conference in Yerevan (Armenia), commemorating the
80th anniversary since the mass murder of Armenians carried out by
the Ottoman Empire. One of conference’s participants, Steven Katz,
opposed such a broad definition of genocide and claimed only the
Holocaust can be described by that term.

Prof. SužiedÄ-lis talked about the distinctions and similarities
between genocide and the Holocaust pointed out by various researchers
and the discussions they sparked. For instance, some theorists
said the mass murder of Jews was global, purely ideological and
bureaucratically organised, as opposed to all other genocides. Broader
definitions approach genocide as any repression a nation is subjected
to; Lithuanian author Izidorius IgnataviÄ~Mius has used the word
to describe the mass murder and other oppressive acts committed to
Lithuanians by the Communist and Nazi regimes.

Many other examples were remembered in the professor’s lecture. David
E. Stannard, Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii
System, criticised Katz’s theory by saying that the exclusion of all
other cases but the Jews from the definition of genocide is akin to
the denial of the Holocaust by anti-Semites, as all other genocides
and massacres are trivialized in such a way.

Horrors of Genocide – All Over the World

Prof. Stannard has researched the massacres of Native Americans,
in which entire tribes were wiped out and some 20 million natives died.

What was controversial, according to Prof. SužiedÄ-lis, is that many
of the American Indians died from diseases they caught, e.g. from the
colonists’ bed sheets, due to lack of immunity to fight the bacteria
with antibodies. Nevertheless, it was murder on a massive scale;
in 1851, the Governor of the then recently founded California signed
a document that said all American Indians must be fought until they
are completely extinct. In ten years that followed, more than two
thirds of all Native Americans in California were murdered or died,
which was typical of those times.

Later on, Prof. SužiedÄ-lis demonstrated Yale University’s world map
showing cases of colonial and indigenous genocide, and highlighted
the more interesting cases. Congo, which is one of the rare countries
in Africa with an abundance of various resources, was the place where
some 2 million slaves died, mostly from work in mines. In Southeast
Africa (currently Namibia), German soldiers killed 100 to 200 thousand
Africans; some of those shooters became Nazi generals later on. The
professor also talked of similar horrific acts in Eastern Timor,
the Caribbean islands and Guatemala. The latter case involved a 1950s
conflict between Spanish-born people, which were higher on the racial
hierarchy at the time, and native Indians of Guatemala, which were
placed at the bottom but were the majority; their revolts ended with
hundreds of thousands of casualties. “This is just one example showing
how the concept of genocide is semi-politicized, used to represent
a certain point of view, i.e. colonial genocide”, explained Prof.

SužiedÄ-lis.

The professor then took a closer look at the Genocide Studies Program
offered at Yale and the particular cases this university offers to
analyse, remarking that it uses expanded definition of genocide and
includes not just racial but social and political cases of mass murder
as well. While the program was complimented for focusing on varied
examples, such as the especially cruel social-based genocide carried
out by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, Prof. SužiedÄ-lis noted
the absence of the USSR in the program’s syllabus.

Still No United Assessment of History

Turning to recent realities, Prof. SužiedÄ-lis spoke of the Prague
Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, signed in 2008,
which attracted attention to the issue of “double genocide” and sought
to make the past horrors of Communism and Nazism equally recognized
in Europe. The declaration caused an opposition among politicians
and scientists in Israel and Western Europe, accusations were made
against Ukraine, Lithuania and other countries for trivializing the
significance of the Holocaust by comparing it to Communist crimes.

There were plans to hold Nuremberg-like trials and sentence the
leaders of the Communist regime, but they did not materialize.

“Many people in the West have a certain image of the Soviet Union
in their heads because it contributed in a major way to the fight
against fascism, thus somehow in their eyes the USSR is not as evil
as Nazi Germany”, Prof. SužiedÄ-lis said. “It is 2011 now, but this
cruel history, all these genocides and -isms are still plaguing us,
because, it seems, we cannot settle for a united assessment of history,
which is the root of all conflicts”, he concluded.

Thanking the audience for coming to his lectures, Prof. SužiedÄ-lis
expressed hope that his outline of general, historical facts and
background related to genocide will have provided enough understanding
to more easily grasp these issues and find reliable material without
getting lost in the bottomless pile of information on the Internet.

Prof. Saulius SužiedÄ-lis, born in 1945 in Gotha, Germany, spent his
early years in the Brockton’s Lithuanian community in Massachusetts,
served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Ethiopia in 1967-1969. He acquired
Ph.D. in Russian and Eastern European history at the University of
Kansas in 1977. SužiedÄ-lis has worked at the U.S. Department of
Justice (1982-1987), he has also published many scientific books and
articles on Lithuanian history. Since 1998 he has been a member of
the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the
Soviet and the Nazi Regimes in Lithuania. From 2006 to 2010 he chaired
the Annual Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide at Millersville
University, in which he also was a history professor.

PRESERVING AN ENDANGERED CULTURE: LUCINE KASBARIAN AND THE GREEDY SPARROW
By lynmillerlachmann

May 16, 2011

Last month Armenians throughout the United States and the world
commemorated the 1915 genocide as part of Genocide Awareness
and Prevention Month. To coincide with this remembrance, Marshall
Cavendish published Lucine Kasbarian’s adapted folktale from Armenia,
The Greedy Sparrow. While this picture book does not address the issue
of genocide for young readers (in contrast to two excellent picture
books from 2010-Meg Wiviott’s Benno and the Night of Broken Glass,
set in 1938 in Nazi Germany, and Icy Smith’s Half Spoon of Rice,
set in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge terror), it preserves and
extends a culture that the Turkish authorities sought to eradicate.

Kasbarian adapts a traditional Armenian tale about a sparrow that
wishes to become a minstrel. On his way to his goal, the sparrow
asks a baker woman to pull a thorn from his foot. When he asks for
the thorn to be returned to him and the woman tells him she threw it
into the fire, he demands a loaf of bread. Using that loaf of bread, he
“trades up” to get a sheep, a bride at a wedding, and finally the lute
that will make him a minstrel. In his rapture, however, the bird falls
out of the tree, loses the lute, and gets another thorn in his foot.

Kasbarian takes on greed and its consequences in a subtle and nuanced
way, as some may interpret his trade of the bride for the lute to be
“trading down,” especially since the author doesn’t reveal his hidden
artistic desire until the very end. Furthermore, many of the people he
tricks are themselves culpable-not the baker, but the shepherd who eats
the bread the sparrow left with him for safekeeping, and the sheep left
for safekeeping with the wedding party that ends up turned into shish
kebab. The illustrations add much to this tale, including a level
of complexity as the bride rides off on horseback with the sparrow
hitching a ride on her head. The stupid-looking sheep that exhibits
little awareness of his fate adds much humor to this rendition.

I interviewed Kasbarian about the inspiration for The Greedy Sparrow
and some of the themes of the book.

You describe The Greedy Sparrow as based on an Armenian folktale. How
did you change the tale to make the picture book, and why?

This tale was passed down orally in my family from my great-grandmother
to my father to me-in the endangered Armenian dialect of Dikranagerd
(present-day Diyarbakir, Turkey). The tale has been in the Armenian
oral tradition for centuries. It was first put to paper by Armenian
poet Hovhannes Toumanian at the turn of the 20th century.

The picture book contains the same message as the folktale itself-a
cunning bird goes about improving his lot in life by swindling
well-meaning people. The version I chose has a slightly different
ending than the oral version passed down to me-though both versions
have been told by Armenians-because it more clearly conveyed that
manipulation and dishonesty have their consequences.

And unlike the tale’s oral version, the picture book incorporates
native Armenian landmarks into the story to introduce readers to the
Armenian landscape and patrimony, something that had not traditionally
been necessary, of course, for Armenian listeners. For example,
the sparrow flies over Mount Ararat, the symbol of Armenia to all
Armenians and the resting place of Noah’s Ark. And the wedding takes
place at the Holy Cross Cathedral on the island of Aghtamar, a place
of great significance to Armenians. Introducing native lands and
landmarks were important for me, and gives the reader true historical
and geographical context.

Dispossessed peoples have strong ties to their lands, of course. The
Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek people still await restorative justice
for the unpunished crime of genocide, and this includes the return
of their native lands.

While the sparrow punishes the baker’s good deed by taking her
bread, none of the other characters-the shepherd, the groom, or the
musician-is entirely innocent. Why did you choose to incorporate this
moral ambiguity into the story?

Well, the story was passed down to me this way, so I cannot take credit
for the ambiguity. I will say that all of the human characters start
out innocently enough, but are duped by the sparrow who knows the
vulnerabilities of human nature. The moral ambiguities add to the
tale’s depth. Most readers feel that the wily sparrow’s downfall
demonstrates the triumph of honesty over cheating. Other readers
appreciate the message that unreservedly trusting a stranger-in this
case, the sparrow-can be unwise. Both perceptions are legitimate. To
help children and adults discuss the implications for everyday
behavior, I created an activity guide for the book, located at:

How have you incorporated your family’s experience as survivors of
the Armenian genocide into a picture book for young children?

Witnessing the abduction and forced assimilation of women and children,
and undergoing near-annihilation and exile as a result of a planned
genocide, my surviving family members felt the real possibility that
the Armenian people could one day become extinct. Out of this grew
a profound desire to practice and preserve as much of our culture as
we could-songs, dances, cuisine, crafts, stories, and more.

While her infant children perished in the death marches, my paternal
grandmother managed to smuggle out the deeds belonging to our family’s
confiscated property. That was the extent of the material family
heirlooms that made it to America.

Thus, non-material treasures, such as what was carried in their
memory, become precious links to our identity, cultural traditions
and past. “The Greedy Sparrow” tale was one of these treasures.

Being able to work with the incredibly talented illustrator Maria
Zaikina offered us the chance to visually recreate Armenian village
life prior to the genocide and to celebrate the cultural traditions
practiced there.

The Greedy Sparrow was released this April, which is Armenian genocide
memorial month. It’s my hope that the tale will be a small contribution
towards the idea that, in spite of genocide, a culture survives. Just
as the sparrow himself bullied his way into possessing things that
didn’t belong to him, Turkish invaders seized land, women, and cultural
practices from the native Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks.

Just as the world must press for restorative justice for this
unpunished crime against humanity, we can also hope that the same
karma that caught up with the sparrow catches up with today’s Turkish
government-which is the direct inheritor of the perpetrating regime and
which denies yet continues to benefit from the fruits of that crime.

RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN COOPERATION AND TURKISH FACTOR
Gagik Harutyunyan

16.05.2011

G.Harutyunyan – The Executive Director of “Noravank” Foundation

Based on the report presented at the round table on “The Prospects of
the Russian-Armenian Relation” held on March 25, 2011 in Tsakhkadzor
Armenian-Russian cooperation (which has stirred up after the meeting of
the presidents S. Sargsyan and D. Medvedev in August 2010) has several
strategic planes. In particular, as a result of the aforementioned
meeting the agreement on dislocation of the 102nd Military base in
Gyumri was extended (till 2044) and renewed (Russian party will provide
the security of the RA too). From the point of view of Armenia the
later is of great importance as it guarantees the security of Armenia
in case of the aggression on behalf of Turkey. It should be mentioned
that Turkey a factual participant of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict –
this country has been supplying weapons to Azerbaijan till now and
providing military “advisers” and during the war it also provided
the so-called “volunteers”. But Turkey did not confine itself to
that. Twice, in 1992 and in 1993, Turkey was ready to meddle in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict immediately and to invade Armenia (all
those events are presented in the memoirs of the then ambassador of
Greece to Armenia) and in both cases Russia interfered and averted
war. Let us mention that in this issue the situation does not differ
much from the one before: Turkey has strengthened its status of a
“big brother” for Azerbaijan and there is no doubt that Azerbaijani
anti-Armenian rhetoric and bellicose attitude are conditioned not
only by the availability of “petrodollars” but, first of all, by the
Turkish military and political and ideological support.

Azerbaijan as a Turkish “outpost” on the post-Soviet territory. At
the same time curbing Turkish expansion is of great importance not
only from the point of view of the national interests of Armenia but
also of Russia. Applying “one nation, two states” political technology
Turkey and Azerbaijan set close cooperation. Such a format is very
comfortable as it allows carrying out flexible and versatile policy,
especially taking into consideration the fact that Azerbaijan is
a member of the CIS. In this context Azerbaijan is an “outpost” of
Turkey on the post-Soviet territory (one can say that Azerbaijan is
a kind of Trojan hoarse presented by Turkey to Russia), in both the
South Caucasus (not only in the context of conflict with Armenia but
also in the aspect of exerting Turkish-Azerbaijani pressure on Georgia)
and Central Asia, as well as in Russia – in North Caucasus and Turkic
language regions. In particular, Azerbaijan is a transition territory
for Turkey through which terrorism and separatism are “imported” to
Russia. The aggravation of the current intercivilizational relations
intensifies this tendency which can be seen on practice: the zone
of instability in some regions of Russia is widening. It is not a
mere chance that according to the forecasts of the head of STRATFOR
organization George Freedman in future the border between Russia and
Turkey may go through the North Caucasus and such forecasts are based
on the main strategic projects.

By the way, the ethnic intolerance in Russia should also be considered
within the context of Azerbaijani-Turkish activity. We suppose that in
this aspect Armenia and Armenian communities with their centuries-long
experience of associating with the Muslim world (those traditions
today are manifested in positive and constructive Armenian-Arab and
especially Armenian-Iranian relations) can play a positive role.

Let us also mention that Azerbaijan supports implementation of Turkish
political, ideological, economic (especially in the sphere of energy)
and military programmes in other regions too, e.g. in the issues
connected with Northern Cyprus.

The role of Turkey in multi-polar world. As it is known Turkey does
not restrict itself to increasing its presence in the post-Soviet
countries, i.e. the zone of the traditional Russian influence. In
modern Turkey expansion and revanchist ideologies are flourishing:
neo-Ottomanism, neo-Pan Turkism and pan-Islamism. Such a radicalization
of ideology is fueled by the economic success without which it
is difficult to imagine the implementation of the ideological and
expansionist postulates. Today the economy of that country is 16th in
the world and, according to some prospects in the foreseeable future
it can be in the top ten.

Anyway, it should be stated that the claims of Turkey have sharply
expanded; now it tends to acquire the status of a global actor. Today
it cannot be perceived as a country which is under the control of
the US and NATO and which implements only their programmes. This
last factor is not always got adequately by some part of the Russian
political elite which substantiates the rapprochement with Turkey
(besides purely economic purposes) by the necessity to alienate, to
“tear” it away from the US and NATO and to include it in the zone of
the Russian influence. There is an impression that this part of the
Russian political elite, in some sense, is guided by the geopolitical
logics, which was characteristic for the Soviet period.

Yes, the West (mainly the US) still attaches importance to the Turkish
factor, and Turkey also attaches importance to its relations with the
West. But, unlike the period of Cold War, this country is considered
by the US not like a kind of “barrier” against Russia but more like
a leader of the Muslim world (some parts of which, as we have already
mentioned are in Russia and thus, it constitute serious danger to the
later). Let us also mention that that programmes of usage of Turkey
as a “barrier” are still topical but in this case in the aspect of
possible Chinese economic and political expansion.

Turkey as a model for Muslim world. The well-known developments in
the Arab world will inevitably bring to redrawing (in the sense of
the political content) of the geopolitical map of the so-called New
Middle East. There are also distinct tendencies (which are by the way
presented by the US National Intelligence Council and European Union’s
Institute for. Security Studies in “Global government 2025” policy
and forecast report) showing that in consequence of those developments
the region, especially in the civilizational sense, will be isolated
to some extent from the “rest of the world” and there will be, if we
may say so, “a special Muslim world” formed. According to the European
political ideas Turkey should play a special role in this world, as
Turks manage to combine, at least to some extent, secular democracy and
Muslim and religious traditions. So, the Turkish model of development
seems to be rather attractive especially for the United States.

It is not a mere chance that the political developments in the New
Middle East are similar in the sense of the content to those which
took place on Turkey when the moderate Islamists of Recep Erdogan
came to power. Let us also mention that the political technology of
“moderate Islamism” is based on RAND’s “Formation of the moderate
Islamist networks” project. So there is occasion to state that the
current ideas concerning the role of Turkey and particularly its role
as a “coordinator” in the Muslim world are not simply situational
but they are the result of the preliminary strategic elaborations.

Let us also state in this concern that the changes taking place in the
Arab world and possible growth of Turkey’s influence in the New Middle
East (as we can see it in the developments in Libya where Russia had
made rather considerable investments) also tend to restrict Russian
economic presence in the region.

Possible scenarios of future. At the same time, rather big part of
the expert community is convinced that moderate Islamism, sooner or
later, will shift into the fundamentalism and such a tendency can be
observed in Turkey. It proves that in multi-polar world the abundance
of military-political, economic and civilizational variables do not
allow programming unequivocally the developments in the future and
in this case it is more suitable to use scenario elaborations (see
“ON FORECASTS”). Two cardinally different scenarios can be offered
to Russian and Armenian analytical community as possible directions
for such elaborations.

According to the scenario which is called conventionally
“Mighty Turkey” this country is getting stronger and powerful in
military-political (particularly it possesses nuclear weapon) and
economic aspects and turns into a leader of the Muslim world. The
presence of such a power should be a serious challenge for the
Armenian-Russian alliance. At the same time such scenario as “Split
Turkey” is also possible; according to it, Kurdish factor and the
problems connected with the identities of numerous ethnic groups
living in that country may cause uncontrollable processes, which may
bring to the collapse of the country.

Current realities. But, despite the scenarios concerning the future, it
should be stated that currently Turkey rather successfully manoeuvres
between its long-time western allies and newly-made Russian partners,
but at the same time its assigns primary importance to its own,
Turkish interests.

E.g. recently the Turkish prime-minister Erdogan has celebrated in
Moscow the 90th anniversary of the Moscow Treaty, in accordance to
which Kars and Surmalu were left to Turkey. It is approximately the
same as if the prime-minister of Japan would have celebrated in Moscow
the Portsmouth Peace Treaty which put an end to the Russian-Japanese
war or German chancellor would have celebrated the anniversary of
the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, the logical continuation of which was
the Moscow Treaty. It is obvious that in case if there were the
Armenian-Russian analytical and political mechanisms it would be
possible to avoid mistakes. The emotions, which, by the way, should
also be taken into consideration, are not the point; well-known
actions of protests should have made happy our ill-wishers. It is
clear that Russia carries out global policy, and it is not always
that it can take into consideration the feelings of its partners. But
this case contradicts the national interests of Russia and it should
be considered as serious diplomatic failure.

In this respect, it should be remembered that geopolitics is rather
exact science: since 18th century Russia has conducted 12 wars against
Turkey. There could have been 13 wars but for the US and Britain
which backed Turkey after the World War II. And such regularities
must be taken into consideration in both the analyses of the present
situation and forecasts of the future.

“Globus National Security”, issue 3, 2011

——————————————————————————–
Another materials of author

~UON FORECASTS[03.03.2011] ~UINTERNET STRUCTURES IN THE CONTEXT OF
POST-DEMOCRACY AND ISSUES OF INFORMATION SECURITY[23.11.2010] ~UON NKR
AND REGIONAL ISSUES [29.07.2010] ~USTRATEGY OF DEVELOPMENT[21.05.2010]
~UAFGHANISTAN: PEACE STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT [18.03.2010]

GAGIK TSARUKYAN BUYS ALL SHARES OF KOTAYK

Tert.am
16.05.11

Armenian businessman, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia party,
Gagik Tsarukyan, has bought all the shares of the Kotayk brewery
factory from Castel.

Speaking to Tert.am, Tsarukyan’s spokesperson Khachik Galstyan said
they are “sparing no effort so that Kotayk beer will resume its
leading positions in the market”.

“For that reason we will pay great attention both to improving the
beer’s quality and to increasing the sales,” Galstyan said.

However, he refused to elaborate on the amount of the deal, saying
it is a “commercial secret”.

The Kotayk Brewery Factory in Abovyan was founded in 1974. In 1997,
Khachatur Sukiasyan, the owner of 71% of the shares, sold them to the
French firm Castel. The remaining 29% belonged to Gagik Tsarukyan,
who sold it to Castel in 2006 fro $4 million.

Castel has invested a total of $17 million in the factory.

BAKU HOPES MOSCOW CAN COMPEL YEREVAN TO CONCESSIONS ON KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 16, 2011 – 16:26 AMT

Baku believes that Moscow can compel Russia to make concessions on
the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

“We know that Russia is Armenia’s strategic partner. But we also know
that Armenia depends much on Moscow. During the past years Baku-Moscow
and Ankara-Moscow have considerably improved, what originates a hope
that Russia’s mediation can be not only impartial but also effective,”
political analyst Rasim Musabekov said.

As to the status quo, it may be maintained for a long time, according
to him. “Time can come when Azerbaijan’s military advantage will
inspire hope for a victory, given the favorable political situation,
for example complications in Iran or strengthening of Azerbaijan’s
political influence. In this case, resumption of hostilities is quite
possible,” Musabekov said.

AGBU Press Office
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New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
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PRESS RELEASE

Monday, May 16, 2011

AGBU Egypt District President Berdj Terzian Honored in Cairo

The chairman of AGBU Egypt’s District Committee and honorary chairman of
AGBU’s Cairo Chapter, Berdj Terzian, was recently honored for his
long-term commitment and contribution to the Armenian community around
the world. On April 24, 2011, following Easter Mass at the St. Gregory
the Illuminator Armenian Church in Cairo, Terzian received the Sts.
Sahag & Mesrob Medal of Honor according to the encyclical issued by His
Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, on October 27, 2010 at
the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The Sts. Sahag & Mesrob medal is one
of the highest honors of the Armenian Church and is awarded for
significant achievements in communal, academic, educational, and
literary activities dedicated to the Armenian cause and to the
Motherland.

Two weeks later, on May 8, around 90 people gathered at the Belekdanian
Hall in Cairo to once again honor Berdj Terzian, this time at an award
ceremony and cocktail reception. AGBU’s Central Board bestowed on
Terzian the title of “AGBU Honor Member,” which is given to individuals
who have rendered extraordinary services to AGBU.

The event, which was organized by AGBU Cairo, was attended by His Grace
Bishop Ashot Mnatsaganian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
Egypt; His Grace Bishop Monsignor Krikor Augustinos Coussan, Primate of
the Armenian Catholic Community in Egypt; His Excellency Armen
Melkonian, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Egypt, and his
wife; numerous members of the Cairo Diocesan Council; and many board
members of local Armenian institutions, clubs and organizations, as well
as the honoree’s close friends and relatives.

An introductory address was given by AGBU Cairo chairman Viken
Djizmedjian, who also presented the AGBU Honor Member certificate to the
distinguished guest. There was a reading of the Pontifical Encyclical by
Reverend Father Hagop Hagopian, pastor of the Armenian Apostolic Church
in Cairo, and a reading by AGBU’s President Berge Setrakian, who shared
congratulatory letters addressed to Terzian. Onnig Belekdanian,
vice-chairman of AGBU Cairo and member of the AGBU Egypt District
Committee, presented Terzian with a commemorative plate on behalf of
AGBU Cairo.

Others also spoke and shared their thoughts of Terzian’s decades of
service, including longtime friend Norayr Deuvletian, Armen Melkonian,
His Grace Bishop Monsignor Krikor Augustinos Coussan, and His Grace
Bishop Ashot Mnatsaganian. They each praised the work and deeds of
Terzian, giving accounts of personal and professional experiences that
they had shared with him, and stressing his important work for Armenians
everywhere.

Subsequently, the evening’s honoree took to the floor to express his
gratitude to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, AGBU
President Setrakian, and all members of the AGBU Central Board of
Directors. He conveyed his personal appreciation for the bestowment of
his distinguished awards, and he thanked everyone in attendance for
supporting these distinct honors and coming out to celebrate.

Berdj Terzian has been serving the Armenian Church in Egypt as a member
of its Diocesan Council for several decades, as a member of the Diocesan
Board of Education, a member of Nubarian School’s Board of Trustees, and
eventually as the Chairman of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Executive
Committee from 2003 to 2006. Terzian is known for his marked
contribution to AGBU’s Egypt district and Cairo chapter for nearly five
decades as a member and a chairman. He is also revered for his vigorous
involvement in various Armenian-related editorial activities in both the
Armenian and Arabic languages. He is especially noted for his relentless
pursuit of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide through his numerous
writings and two published books.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian program, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.

For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit

LE PARLEMENT ARMENIEN VOTE LE PASSAGE A 19 ANS DE L’EGE DE LA CONSCRIPTION
Gari

armenews.com
lundi 17, mai 2011

Le Parlement armenien a approuve lundi 16 mai la proposition du
gouvernement de relever l’âge de l’appel sous les drapeaux a 19 ans,
une mesure justifiee par les changements intervenus dans le système
de l’education nationale. Les citoyens armeniens de sexe masculin
etaient jusqu’a present appeles a effectuer leur service militaire
dans les Forces armees armeniennes a l’âge de 18 ans. Un sursis etait
accorde aux futurs conscrits pouvant attester qu’ils poursuivaient
des etudes dans les universites d’Etat et qui n’integraient donc
l’armee pour y accomplir leurs obligations militaires qu’après
obtention de leur diplôme, tandis que ceux juge inaptes au service
militaire obligatoire de deux ans par la medecine ou pour d’autres
autres motifs beneficiaient d’une exemption complète. Le système de
scolarisation de 10 ans datant de l’epoque sovietique avait permis
un ajustement de la scolarite et de la conscription. Mais durant la
dernière decennie, l’Armenie est progressivement passee a un cycle
scolaire de 12 ans dont les premiers diplômes sortiront l’annee
prochaine. Cela signifie que des milliers d’etudiants de sexe masculin
vont faire face a une periode de vacance entre la fin de l’enseignement
secondaire et l’entree a l’universite, a 18 ans revolus. En vertu
de la legislation en vigueur, ils auraient ete egalement incapables
de poursuivre des etudes superieures et de pretendre a un sursis
pour leur service militaire. Le gouvernement armenien estime qu’ils
devraient etre capables de terminer leur scolarite avant d’etre appeles
sous les drapeaux. D’où sa proposition de relever d’un an l’âge de
la conscription. L’Assemblee nationale a approuve a l’unanimite, en
première lecture, l’amendement relatif a la legislation armenienne sur
le service militaire. Son passage en deuxième et dernière lecture se
presente comme une simple formalite. Selon Narine Hovannisian, haut
fonctionnaire du ministère armenien de la Science et de l’education,
le gouvernement a deja dû traiter des dossiers d’adolescents toujours
scolarises mais aptes au service militaire. Il y a repondu au cas
par cas, accordant des sursis quand il y avait lieu d’en accorder. ”
Cela a cree des problèmes, meme si le nombre d’elèves âges de 18 ans
et toujours a l’ecole est très faible “, a explique Mme Hovannisian.

L’AIEA A COMMENCE SON INSPECTION DE LA CENTRALE DE MEDZAMOR
Gari

armenews.com
lundi 17, mai 2011

L’Agence internationale de l’energie atomique (AIEA) a commence le
16 mai sa mission d’inspection d’une duree de deux semaines de la
centrale nucleaire armenienne de Medzamor, dont les conclusions seront
suivies avec beaucoup d’attention, deux mois après le tsunami qui a
gravement endommage la centrale nucleaire de Fukushima, au Japon. Le
ministère de l’energie et des ressources naturelles de l’Armenie a
declare qu’une equipe d’experts de l’AIEA venus de neuf pays devait
examiner le reacteur de Medzamor et d’autres installations annexes
en vue d’evaluer leur securite dans un rapport special. L’inspection
devrait etre effectuee en vertu du programme OSART de l’agence basee
a Vienne concernant le suivi des systèmes de securite des centrales
nucleaires en vue d’aider les pays concernes a parer a toute urgence
nucleaire. La question est d’autant plus brûlante dans un pays comme
l’Armenie, où le risque sismique est très important et dont la centrale
datant de l’ère sovietique n’inspire guère confiance. Les reacteurs
de la centrale de Medzamor avaient d’ailleurs ete arretes en 1989 par
mesure de precaution au lendemain du terrible seisme de decembre 1988
qui avait devaste le nord-ouest du pays, mais la crise energetique
aiguë dont souffrait l’Armenie a conduit les autorites armeniennes
a rouvrir la centrale quelques annees plus tard. Depuis, la centrale
fournit toujours près de la moitie de l’electricite consommee dans le
pays, moyennant des mises aux normes securitaires regulières realisees
avec l’aide des Russes qui en ont pris la charge.

Mais les Americains et les Europeens attendent des Armeniens qu’ils
tiennent leur engagement de fermer la centrale, qui devait etre arretee
depuis longtemps deja. Faute d’energie alternative, les Armeniens
n’ont pourtant d’autre choix que d’en prolonger la vie au maximum,
peut-etre au-dela de 2017, date officielle fixee pour sa fermeture,
tout en preparant la relève, avec un projet de nouveau reacteur dont
les financements, insurmontables pour le budget de l’Armenie, doivent
encore etre trouves. Le gouvernement armenien a sollicite la mission
OSART a Medzamor, environ deux mois auparavant, citant la necessite de
tirer les lecons des accidents graves survenus a la centrale nucleaire
de Fukushima Daiichi du Japon. Le Premier ministre Tigrane Sarkissian
avait declare la semaine dernière que le gouvernement attendait de
l’equipe de l’AIEA qu’elle identifie les ” points forts et faibles
de notre usine atomique “. ” Nous sommes prets pour cette inspection
“, avait-il declare aux journalistes.