Author: Tashjian Arbi

ROC DOESN’T MEDDLE WITH KARABAKH CONFLICT

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2010 11:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia stands for a
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict but does not find
it expedient to speak of Karabakh status, said monk Philip (Ryabykh),
deputy chairman of the external relations of The Moscow Patriarchate.

"The final resolution of the conflict is within competence of political
leaders who are responsible for peaceful life of Caucasian nations. The
ROC never interfered in this political conflict, which damaged the
lives of ordinary people – Armenians and Azerbaijanis," he said.

He also informed that the congregation of the Russian Orthodox Church
in Nagorno Karabakh counts 600 people. "A ROC parish was registered
in Stepanakert with the assistance of the Armenian Apostolic Church,"
Monk Philip said, Interfax-Religion reported.

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) or The Moscow Patriarchate is a body
of Christians who constitute an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church
under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, in communion with
the other Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox
churches in the world and second only to the Roman Catholic Church
among Christian churches, numbering over 135 million members world
wide and growing numerically since late 1980s. Up to 65% of ethnic
Russians and a significant number of Belarusians and Ukrainians
identify themselves as "Orthodox". According to the data made public
December 12, 2008, the Church had 157 dioceses including 29,263
parishes served by 203 bishops (another 14 are on retirement),
27,216 priests and 3,454 deacons; there were 804 monasteries,
including 478 in the Russian Federation (another 25 are within the
ROCOR jurisdiction), 87 theological schools, including 5 theological
academies and 38 seminaries.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world’s oldest National Church
and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the
first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301
AD, in establishing this church. The Armenian Apostolic Church traces
its origins to the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in
the 1st century.

The official name of the Church is the One Holy Universal Apostolic
Orthodox Armenian Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the
central religious authority for the Armenian Orthodox population in
the Republic of Armenia as well as for Armenian Orthodox communities
worldwide. It is headed by a Catholicos. Although it is traditional
in Eastern churches for the supreme head of the church to be named
Patriarch, in the Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy, the position
of the Catholicos is higher than that of the Patriarch. The Armenian
Apostolic Church presently has two catholicoi (His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia), and two patriarchs,
plus Primates, Archbishops and Bishops, lower clergy and laity
serving the church. The Catholicos of All Armenians represents the
centralized authority of the Armenian Church. He is the supreme judge
and the head of the legislative body. He is President of the Supreme
Spiritual Council as well as the College of Bishops. Ordination of
bishops, blessing of Holy Chrism, proclamation of Feasts, invitation
and dismissal of National-Ecclesiastical Assemblies, issuing decrees
concerning the administration of the Armenian Church and establishing
dioceses are part of his responsibilities. Both clergy and lay are
involved in the administrative structure of the Church.

Led by His Holiness Karekin II, the spiritual and administrative work
of the Armenian Church is carried out in the Republic of Armenia in
the areas of Religion, Preparation of Clergy, Christian Education,
Construction of new Churches, Social Services, and Ecumenical
activities. Underneath this administrative structure are the hierarchal
Sees: The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia located in
Antelias, Lebanon, is a regional See with current jurisdiction of the
Dioceses of Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus as temporarily granted to her by
the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 1929, is led by Catholicos
Aram I.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem which has jurisdiction over
all of the Holy Lands and the Diocese of Jordan, is led by Patriarch
Archbishop Torgom Manoogian.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and All of Turkey, which
has jurisdiction in the modern day Republic of Turkey, is led by
Patriarch Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan.

The three historic aforementioned hierarchal sees administer to
the Dioceses under their jurisdiction as they see fit, however,
the supremacy of the Catholicosate of All Armenians in all spiritual
matters remains pre-eminent.

In addition to the responsibilities of overseeing their respective
Dioceses, each hierarchical See, and the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin, has a Monastic Brotherhood.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic
located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north
and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.

After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923
it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the
Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan
launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that
was fought from 1991 to 1994.

Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several
regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the
control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated
by the OSCE Minsk Group.

AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL EXPERT: ARMENIA MAY BE WILLING TO RESUME HOSTILITIES WITH AZERBAIJAN IN NEAR FUTURE
A. Hasanov

Today
9391.html
Jan 13 2010
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with Azerbaijani political expert Ilgar Mammadov.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hold consultations on
Turkey-Armenia protocols with the Armenian American organizations in
February. What do you expect from these consultations. What will be
their outcome in your opinion?

Apparently, American political leaders would seek to persuade the
Armenian lobby not to oppose ratification of the Turkish-Armenian
protocols. The Obama Administration has adequate political power to
ignore demands of lawmakers put forward by the Armenian lobby. In
other words, extremely popular Obama does not need votes of Armenian
voters and he can easily implement policies contrary to the objectives
of this ethnic lobby.

To what extent challenges that Armenia faces are close and clear to
the Armenian diaspora in the U.S.? Why does it oppose specific steps
by Armenia in this issue?

Armenian diaspora, whether in the United States, France, Russia or
anywhere else, has no special attachment to the Republic of Armenia
as a country of origin. This is understandable since this nation was
founded primarily on Azerbaijani lands, and the diaspora was formed
by Armenians who supported Russia in World War I in the Ottoman Empire.

They have their own accounts with Turkey, against which they
unsuccessfully fought and were defeated. They see Armenians of Armenia
as expendable material in their own intrigue against Turkey.

That is why they do not understand today’s dire situation of President
Serzh Sargsyan, who needs to run the country- 18 percent decline
in GDP, 45 percent decline in individual remittances from abroad
(despite the fact that Armenia’s GDP is more than 15 percent dependent
on that money), negative demographics and holding aloof from all the
important regional projects, dependence on handouts of Russia and
international financial institutions.

As ironic it may seem, back in 1987 the Karabakh conflict was
triggered with lies about economic backwardness of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous Region from the rest of Azerbaijan.

However, exactly twenty years later, long-term and desperate economic
backwardness of entire Armenia from Azerbaijan discredited Miatsum
and credibility of the diaspora.

Today various statements are being made in Armenia itself in this
regard. So, leader of Armenia’s Gnchakyan Party Lyudmila Sargsyan
announced at the party meeting that Armenia has de facto lost its
independence. Do you share Sargsyan’s views?

Armenia has lost its independence long ago. However, it should be
noted that independence of a state is not a key political value for
Armenians, at least for now. This is their vision of a political
world. It is very different from ours, but it has a right to exist.

Lack of independence in foreign policy of their own state is
significant for the Armenians only in the sense that it impedes them in
official diplomacy, where there is a demand for various negotiations
with the states. But in this case their understanding of the policy
conflicts with the generally accepted rules. Let’s see how they will
solve this contradiction.

In your opinion, what will happen next in Armenia in near future? How
it may impact the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

Armenia may want to resume hostilities with Azerbaijan in near future
in an attempt to deprive Azerbaijan of growing strategic advantage. On
the other hand, it is not Armenia that makes a decision about this. I
am still inclined to think that Armenia’s patrons do not want to play
lottery in a new war. Moreover, according to Armenian experts, areas
around the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region no longer play
buffer role. So, Azerbaijani army can easily attack targets anywhere
in the former autonomous region. This is another reason why I look
forward to an early start of Armenia’s withdrawal from Azerbaijan’s
occupied lands.

RUSSIAN EXPERT: AZERBAIJAN IS MUCH MORE STRONGER THAN ARMENIA
H. Hamidov

Today
9363.html
Jan 13 2010
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with Leonid Fridman, doctor of economic sciences,
head of the socio-economic department at the Moscow State University
Institute of Asia and Africa, head of the Laboratory for Complex
Studies of Central Asia and Caucasus.

How can you assess the past year in terms of progress in resolving
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

Regardless of what media and public representatives in both Azerbaijan
and Armenia say, I believe the results of last year are positive
because 2009 saw high-level meetings. Of course, I would like to see
concrete results.

In your opinion, do the conflicting parties reach certain agreement
last year?

I an confident that they could. But both sides will not talk about
it until concrete steps are made. Both sides will be limited to the
above-mentioned phrase until the main issue is not resolved.

What do you mean by concrete steps by the sides? What is a concrete
step by the Azerbaijani side?

I will give more extensive reply to your question and start with
Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has become stronger both economically and
politically over the past few years. At present, Azerbaijan’s GDP is
four times higher than that of Armenia. In 2009, it increased by 6
to 8 percent, while that of Armenia reduced 16-17 percent which is
more than in any of the CIS country. Azerbaijan outperforms Armenia
also in military terms. All this suggests that Azerbaijan is much
more stronger than the then and current Armenia in all respects.

I will say probably paradoxical idea in this regard. Ultimately,
both countries have to make some compromise. Many have spoke about
what the compromise implies many times. I think that it is earlier
to speak about it today. This is not the main thing. I believe that
it is easier to compromise from a position of strength than from a
position of weakness. I’m talking about a compromise from a strategic
viewpoint and I think that today it possible most of all.

And how do you see the compromise?

I believe that all possible options have already been voiced,
discussed, stamped and are known to all. I will not say which one is
preferable. There are obvious preconditions for this.

Why Azerbaijan, the land of which has been occupied, and as you
mentioned, many times stronger than Armenia in all major indicators,
should be the first to compromise, albeit from a position of strength?

I did not say anything about who should compromise first. It is not so
important. Both sides will compromise at the same time. If Azerbaijan
were weak, it would never have compromised. It is easier to do this
from a position of strength. And this makes sense, since the other
side, in this case, Armenia, understands that the move will be made
from viewpoint of strength and it will have to act based on this.

I want to mention another very serious event in the region. Older
people remember that in early 1970s rapprochement between the U.S. and
China began with an invitation of the U.S. team for ping-pong in
Beijing. So, they called this fact "pingpong" diplomacy. What happened
between Ankara and Yerevan is called "football" diplomacy accordingly
which will push Armenia to compromise in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Armenian-Turkish protocols aimed at normalizing relations have not
been ratified yet. Armenia expects Turkey to ratify the protocols while
Ankara expects concrete steps from Yerevan in terms of settling the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this case, a vicious circle is formed
which Yerevan has to unlock. Do you believe the protocols will be
ratified this year?

I am not surprised at such an attitude by the two parliaments at all.

I remember Soviet Union parliament supported thaw between the USSR
and the FRG in the 1970s. As a so-called historical optimist, I hope
very much that these protocols will finally be ratified. It meets
everybody’s interests. It will benefit Turkey, which wants to integrate
into the EU and Armenia, which will have open borders with Turkey.

Azerbaijan will also benefit since partially normalized Turkey-Armenia
relations will give Ankara leverage of pressure over Armenia also in
terms of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In your view, how will the Kremlin act once Yerevan falls under
Ankara’s pressure and accordingly, comes out of Moscow’s zone of
influence?

I think Moscow would react calmly to Turkey’s role as a regional
leader. You know, we have already witnessed it. When the Union
collapsed, the Central Asia countries were in a euphoria of
possibility of rapprochement with Turkey and adopting its model of
economic development. However, after two decades, we see that each
country has its own model of development, its policies emanating from
national interests.

Turkey itself easily takes the concept of a regional leader. It is now
more concerned over expansion of economic and cultural ties with its
neighbors. There is nothing wrong about it. The Kremlin will unlikely
be particularly worried about it. After all, Russia is interested in
stabilized situation along its borders and good relations with Turkey.

Why do you believe that Russia is interested in resolving the conflict?

Russia is very much interested in stabilized situation around its
borders, including … ,I would say, primarily in the South Caucasus
after the well-known sad events in 2008, which spoiled relations
with Tbilisi, led to Georgia’s withdrawal from CIS with many other
negative consequences.

Any option of conflict resolution that would satisfy both sides
would be acceptable for Russia. It is much better than existence and
aggravation of the conflict from time to time which can lead to very
dire consequences.

Do you mean military action? Incidentally, if Azerbaijan is tired
of waiting for real steps from Yerevan, a military solution to the
conflict is not excluded. How the Kremlin would react to this?

Any military aggravation is a catastrophe which nobody wants. I am
sure that both parties understand that the war is not the best way.

Nothing good will come of it. Even though some achieves successes,
and another fails, war is a tragedy for all. It claims the lives of
young children, destroys families and has a detrimental impact on
the economy. It should be understood that nobody beyond borders of
these countries wants war. Everything can be solved, everything can
be negotiated …

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S DECISION ON COMPLIANCE OF PROTOCOLS WITH ARMENIAN CONSTITUTION QUITE EXPECTED

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
12.01.2010 19:13 GMT+04:00

Decision of the Constitutional Court of Armenia on compliance of
Armenian-Turkish Protocols with the Armenian Constitution is quite
expected, Alexander Iskandaryan , Director of the Caucasus Institute
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"I think this is another signal to Turkey and the world community that
Armenia is ready to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations. However,
it would take place if the Turkish parliament ratifies the Protocols,"
Iskandaryan said.

Protocols on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations have
been signed on Oct. 10, 2009 in Zurich by the foreign ministers of
Armenia and Turkey, Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu in the
presence of the foreign ministers of France, the United States,
Russia and Switzerland. The latter has been a mediator in the
Armenian-Turkish negotiations since 2007. According to the Protocols,
diplomatic relations should be established between countries and
the Armenian-Turkish border, closed by Turkey since 1993, should be
opened. On January 12 Armenian Constitutional Court acknowledged the
Protocols as relevant to the Constitution of Armenia.

FACTS PROVING ARMENIA’S OCCUPATIONAL POLICY TO BE PRESENTED IN OSCE

news.az
Jan 11 2010
Azerbaijan

Facts proving Armenia’s occupational policy to be presented in the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s winter session will be held in
Vienna on February 18-19, said Rabiyat Aslanova, chairman of the
parliamentary committee on human rights and member of the Azerbaijani
delegation in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

According to her, the session will discuss issues of importance for
the European space.

"These discussions will involve the Azerbaijani parliamentary
delegation. Meanwhile, the parliamentarians will be familiarized with
the facts proving Armenia’s occupational policy against Azerbaijan",
the website of the Azerbaijan’s ruling party quoted Aslanova as saying.

BEYZADE OSMAN: OUR FAMILY OWED THEIR LIVES TO FRENCH ARMENIANS

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 16:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Osman also said his family "owed their lives" to
French-Armenians after their exile from Turkey. "We were penniless,"
he told the Daily News. "Our Armenian friends helped us. There was an
Armenian lady who welcomed us to her chateau and we lived there for
a long time. I cannot deny the good deeds Armenians have done for my
family," grandson of Abdul Hamid II, an 80-year Beyzade Bulent Osman
told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News.

Regarding the recognition of the Armenian Genocide , Osman said:
I am on the side of truth," Osman said on the issue. "The French and
the Germans had also slaughtered each other, came into conflict but
still managed to establish dialogue. We have to leave history behind
us and look ahead."

Abdul Hamid was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He oversaw
a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire, ruling
from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed on 27 April 1909. Known to
some as the Ulu Hakan ("Great Khan"), he is also known in the West as
"The Red Sultan" (Kızıl Sultan). His deposition following the Young
Turk Revolution was hailed by most Ottoman citizens. In 1894 -1896
in eastern Anatolia and other locations of the Ottoman Empire, there
were mass killings of the Christian (mostly Armenian) population, the
number of victims ranges between 80.000-300.000. Killings carried out
by direct orders of Abdul Hamid II with fanatically minded young boys
(aged 12 to 25), devoted themselves to spiritual education.

The Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire (1915-23) was the 21st
century’s first genocide characterized by the use of massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead
to the death of the deportees, with the total one-and-a-half million
number of Armenian deaths. The date of the onset of the genocide
is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman
authorities arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community
leaders in Constantinople. Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted
Armenians from their homes and forced them to march for hundreds of
miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of what is now
Syria. To date, twenty countries have officially recognized the events
of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars and historians
accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also recognized by
influential authoritative media including The New York Times, BBC,
The Washington Post, The Associated Press.

PRESS RELEASE
Lark Musical Society
543 Arden Avenue
Glendale, California 91203
Contact: Vatsche Barsoumian
Tel: 818-500-9997
Fax: 818-500-8500
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: larkmusicalsociety.com

LARK MUSICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS YOUNG ARMENIAN COMPOSER ARTUR AVANESOV

Glendale, CA – The Lark Musical Society is pleased to inform the
arts-loving public about a series of lectures and concerts to be held in
Los Angeles and Glendale in January and February 2010. The four events,
organized and coordinated by Lark Executive Director, Maestro Vatsche
Barsoumian, will feature the renowned young Armenian composer and
virtuosic pianist, Dr. Artur Avanesov, specially invited from Yerevan,
Armenia.

The first event, dedicated to the works of the 20th century Armenian
composer, Arno Babajanian, will take place on Sunday, January 24, at
3:00 p.m.,in the Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand
Avenue, in downtown Los Angeles, as part of the Dilijan Chamber Music
Series’ fifth season. The concert will introduce as guest artists: Artur
Avanesov, teacher of composition and contemporary music at Yerevan
Conservatory, and scholar in the Republic of Armenia’s Academy of
Sciences; and Maria Abajan, dramatic soprano, who enjoys an
international career in the operatic world. Also performing will be:
Movses Pogossian, Dilijan Series artistic director; Roger Wilkie; Kate
Vincent; and Ronald Leonard. A post-concert dinner, organized by the
Dilijan Committee, will be held at Santorini’s "Rococo" Restaurant, 70
West Union Street, Pasadena, at 6:00 p.m.

On Sunday, January 31, at 6:00 p.m., the community will have an
opportunity to spend "An Evening with Artur Avanesov", in collaboration
with soloists and the Lark choir. The event will be held in the
Turpanjian Hall, Lark Conservatory, 543 Arden Avenue, Glendale.

On Sunday, February 7, at 6:00 p.m., the recent Drazark Press
publication, "ANTHOLOGY OF PIANO PIECES BY MODERN ARMENIAN COMPOSERS",
compiled by Artur Avanesov, will be introduced by its author, a bright
young star on the Armenian musical landscape, who will lecture in
English and introduce Armenian music, written during the first decade
of the 21st century by young Armenian composers of his generation. The
lecture-performance will highlight the new music trends being developed
in Armenia and offer a unique opportunity to experience the tastes and
talents of young Armenian musicians living all over the world as they
create in the most advanced and avant-garde musical language developed
to date and currently in use internationally. The event, to be held in
Lark Conservatory’s Turpanjian Hall, is open to all. A reception will
follow the lecture and performance.

Culminating his visit to Southern California, on Wednesday, February 10,
at 8:00 p.m., Dr. Avanesov will meet with the students of Lark
Conservatory in a master class, followed by a reception.

Established in 1989, the Lark Musical Society is an institution embedded
within the thriving Armenian community of Southern California. dedicated
to nurturing the Armenian musical arts within a matrix of American
culture and western classical music. For further information regarding
reservations to and sponsorship for these one-of-a-kind musical events,
please call the Lark Musical Society’s office, at 818-500-9997.

#####

Hrayr Tovmasyan: The Armenian-Turkish protocols will hardly be
declared anti-constitutional
09.01.2010 13:55

Lusine Vasilyan
`Radiolur’

The signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols became one of the
pivotal events of 2009. The protocols will remain high on the agenda
in 2010. On January 12 the Constitutional Court of Armenia is expected
to consider the documents.

The procedure of ratification of international agreements differs in
Armenia and Turkey. In Turkey international agreements are ratified
through adoption of laws. `Turkey adopts a law on ratification of
international agreements. Actually, the text of the agreement becomes
the text of the law. Therefore, the procedure differs from the one
applied in Armenia, where international agreements are ranked higher
than national laws,’ lawyer Hrayr Tovmasyan clarifies.

In Turkey the protocols are still in the stage of parliamentary
discussion. In Armenia the protocols will first be considered by the
Constitutional Court. Before the protocols are submitted to the
National Assembly, the Constitutional Court will have to answer to
what extent the commitments enlisted in the protocols correspond to
Armenia’s Constitution.

Hrayr Tovmasyan considers that the protocols will hardly be declared
anti-constitutional.

Life & Style ‘ Travel January 9, 2010
Madras Miscellany

Another Armenian connection

My latest visitor during this `Season of Search’ has been Lucy
Arathoon from Guatemala of all places. Married to a Mexican academic
who teaches there, they’d been combining a holiday in India with a
search for her roots in Madras. And that search took them to Arathoon
Road in Royapuram, just to the west of West Mada Church Street. But
though road there was, answers to their question were none. Who was
Arathoon of Royapuram?

Arathoon is a well-known Armenian name in Calcutta and I once knew
several rugby-playing Arathoons from that city. But of Arathoons in
Madras I knew of none till Lucy Arathoon turned up. And she introduced
me to John Arathoon who married Margaret Baboom in 1819 at St. Mary’s
of the Angels (now the Co-Cathedral in George Town). John Arathoon was
Lucy’s great-great-grandfather and family lore has it that he was in
the precious stones business.

The John Arathoons had two children, Eliza (l827) and Albert John
Fidelius (Felix) Arathoon; a third child, Josephine, died young and
was buried in Madras. Elizabeth, who married a Captain Holmes, died
with her five children when their ship, the Lady Nugent bound for
Rangoon in 1854 foundered in the Bay of Bengal. Felix Arathoon, born
in Madras in 1823, was the father of Lucy’s grandfather Albert John
Andoe Arathoon (born in Madras in 1865). Felix Arathoon had married
Irish-born Louisa Andoe and sent her and their children to live with
her family in Bath c.1871. Felix Arathoon himself died in the Gulf of
Aden when the ship he was travelling in to catch up with his family
sank – and with it, legend has it, went a fortune that he had made in
Madras. Now I wonder after which of these Arathoons the road in
Royapuram was named.

Searching for the Baboom name, I found that Baboom too is an Armenian
name and that Daniel Rafael Baboom was a pillar of the Catholic Church
in Madras. He appears to have had a kinsman in Madras, Michael
(Marcar) Johannes Baboom. D.R. Baboom is said to have died in
Constantinople in 1821 while M.J. Baboom died in 1810, aged 80, in
Madras, probably making him the father of the former. A tombstone in
the San Thomé Basilica is that of a Baboom, but the writing on it is
indecipherable. It is perhaps that of Michael Baboom.

What’s curious is that three Arathoons died in Madras and there is no
record of their tombstones.

le/travel/article77956.ece

Climate Study Predicts Water Shortage in Armenia

Asbarez
Jan 7th, 2010 .

BY JASON SOHIGIAN
>From Cicer et cetera Blog

The UNDP Armenia has released a thorough and alarming study conducted
by the Stockholm Environment Institute on The Socio-Economic Impact of
Climate Change in Armenia. The 130-page report was written by
Elizabeth A. Stanton, Frank Ackerman, and Flavia Resende, who are
highly respected experts in the field of environmental economics.
[Download the report here]

The study points out that climate change will have far-reaching
effects on social and economic life, and the ability for people to
adapt will depend on whether or not funding will be available to
support adaptive policy measures and how quickly these policies can be
implemented. `Armenia’s future economic development will depend on the
decisions that the current generation makes about investments in
adaptation [to climate change],’ warns the report.

According to this UNDP study, national scenarios forecast an increase
to Armenia’s average annual temperature to be 4.5 degrees C in the
lowlands and 7 degrees C in the highlands over the next century.
Average annual precipitation is expected to decrease by as much as 9
percent, with the biggest reductions predicted for Yerevan and the
Ararat Valley, which can expect 30 percent less precipitation by 2100.
Higher temperatures will lead to more evaporation which means less
soil moisture and reductions of up to 24 percent in river flows, which
will reduce the availability of water for agriculture and power
generation.

On an optimistic note, the experts from the Stockholm Environment
Institute point out that many of the best available climate adaptation
policy measures can be important for Armenia’s economic development.
These include improving water and power generation infrastructure,
integrating climate adaptation in plans for economic development and
energy production, planning for more efficient use of resources in the
context of growth and higher rates of consumption, and considering the
needs and vulnerabilities of rural and low income households.

`Unless quick action is taken on large-scale adaptation measures, it
is unlikely that Armenian families, their livelihoods, or their
economy will be unscathed by climate change. Armenia’s poor and
especially its rural poor populations will be particularly
vulnerable,’ warn the authors. `Social impacts will include an
increased incidence of illness from heat waves as temperatures rise, a
shortage of water and an increase to electricity tariffs as competing
needs collide, food shortages or increased food prices as agricultural
productivity falters, and an increased incidence of dangerous and
damaging landslides, mudflows, and floods as dry soil and
deforestation coincide with extreme storms.’

UNDP representative Dirk Boberg points out that this report is a pilot
process undertaken by UNDP in only a few countries. He indicates that
the priority sectors for adaptation to the impacts of climate change
are water, agriculture, energy, and forests. `[This study] provides
economic analysis and recommendations for decision-makers that need to
manage the impacts of climate change by minimizing negative impacts
and maximizing adaptation opportunities,’ he writes in the foreword to
The Socio-Economic Impact of Climate Change in Armenia.