Author: Tashjian Arbi

ANAHIT BAKHSHYAN: RESULTS OF INTERMEDIATE EXAMINATIONS IN SCHOOLS TESTIFY OF SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION

ArmInfo
2010-04-20 13:14:00

ArmInfo. Results of the intermediate examinations in schools testify of
serious problems in education, Armenian parliamentarian from Heritage
party Anahit Bakhshyan said at today’s press-conference. To recall,
intermediate examinations were held on February 1-6 in Syunik region,
as well as in Kanaker-Zeytun and Avan communities of Yerevan.

The results of examinations were low.

According to A. Bakhshyan, middling quality of schoolbooks is one of
the reasons of low results. "It has been multiply said that they are
compiled in a complex way. Naturally, schoolchildren do not want to
learn what is difficult and unclear", she said. A. Bakhshyan also
indicated the saturated school curricula. "If children learned 12
subjects in a secondary school in 1996-1997, currently their number
grew to 18. The parliamentarian also laid strictures on teachers. "If
I could I would close the Teacher Training University since it does
its best to considerably reduce the basic education plank in Armenia",
she emphasized.

THERE ARE MORE URGENT ISSUES NOW THAN KOCHARYAN’S RETURN: ARF-D

Tert.am
19.04.10

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun, ARF-D) has not
discussed the return of Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan
to the state governing system as it thinks that there are some other
urgent issues on the political agenda, an ARF-D Bureau member Vahan
Hovhannisyan said at a press conference today.

"When did Kocharyan leave politics that his return is now pleasing or
disgruntling some circles [of people] that much?" asked Hovhannisyan,
adding that what he refers to is Kocharyan’s return no to political
life but to the state governing system.

"We have not discussed that issue. I think that there is no such
urgent issue [on the agenda]," said Hovhannisyan.

TURKISH AND AZERBAIJANI DIASPORAS GIVE A ROLAND TO ARMENIANS INTENDING TO PICKET TURKEY’S CONSULATE IN SYDNEY FOR THEIR OLIVER

APA
April 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. Armenian Youth Federation of Australia attempted to
hold protest action outside the Turkey’s Consulate in Sydney for
so-called "Armenian genocide" anniversary. According to APA, Turkish
and Azerbaijani Diaspora representatives gathered outside the Turkey’s
Consulate General waving the flags of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Australia
and chanting slogans to support Turkey.

They hanged Turkish flags on the Consulate’s iron fence. Some of
the Armenians gathered outside the building attempted to create
confrontation and to resist to police cavalry. Representatives of the
Turkish and Azerbaijani societies told Armenians that they claim 1915
events falsely and real genocide was committed by Armenians in Khojaly
town of Azerbaijan in 1992. "Your dirty policy can not force the people
to forget Aghdam, Kelbajar and Lachin. Sooner or later you will shame
yourself with your false claims in the world", they told Armenians.

Trend, Azerbaijan
April 16 2010

Armenian education minister arrives in Tbilisi

Georgia, Tbilisi, Apr.16 / Trend, N. Kirtskhalia /

Armenian education minister will arrive in Tbilisi. Georgian education
minister Dmitry Shashkin will meet with Armenian eduaction minister
Armen Ashotyan, Georgian Eduaction and Science Ministry told Trend.

The sides will discuss cooperation in the sphere of education. They
will also consider a legislative initiative, which provides benefits
for representatives of national minorities while entering Georgian
universities.

Ashotyan will visit visit Tbilisi Medical University. He will meet
with Armenian-language students of this university.

Exhibition dedicated to 95th anniversary of Armenian Genocide opens in Yerevan

2010-04-17 17:46:00

ArmInfo. An exhibition dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide opened in Yerevan, Friday. Materials from the
Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, as well as the works from the
National Gallery, Museum of History and Saryan’s House-Museum will be
exhibited, among them the works by Sourenyants, Bashinjaghyan,
Hakobyan, Elibekyan and Mirzoyan.

Armenian Prime Minister pointed out that the action plan dedicated to
the 95th anniversary of the Genocide includes not only exhibitions,
but also international scientific conferences and educational events
at school. "I am sure the given exhibition will contribute to
prevention of a similar tragedy in the future",- stressed Sargsyan.

To note, the exhibition will last till April 28. The ArmenTel mobile
company, which financed the publication of a colorful album, also
supported the organization of the exhibition. In addition, the company
will acquire 5 paintings presented at the exhibition and donate them
to the Armenian Genocide Museum- Institute. Another painting will be
donated to the Museum by the Union of Painters of Armenia. The Sourb
Astvatsamayr (Holy Virgin) Hospital will acquire one more work and
donate it to the National Gallery.

BHK IS AGAINST ONE-SIDED CONCESSIONS IN ARMENIA-TURKEY NORMALIZATION

Tert.am
16.04.10

"We are in favor of establishing Armenian-Turkish relations and opening
the border, but we are against sacrificing the Genocide issue to the
establishment of those relations. We are against one-sided concessions
for the sake of the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations,"
Secretary of Prosperous Armenia Party parliamentary faction Aram
Safaryan said at a press conference today, referring to the statements
President Serzh Sargsyan made at an interview to the Arabic language
Al Watan newspaper.

While speaking about concessions Safaryan mentioned that Armenia is
waiting for Azerbaijani messages over the status of Nagorno Karabakh,
adding that after that it will be possible to speak about concessions.

Safaryan referred also to attempts to linking the Karabakh issue to
the Armenia-Turkey normalization process.

"Contacts, meetings in the recent two months have shown that as
an independent political process the Armenia-Turkey dialogue is so
important, so significant that linking it to another regional issue
would only complicate the situation," said Safaryan.

THE ROMANCE OF GAUHAR JAAN

LiveMint
95831/The-romance-of-Gauhar-Jaan.html?h=B
April 16 2010

India’s first recording artiste was talented, flamboyant and unlucky
in love

In December of 1911, at the famous Delhi Durbar, Emperor George V
was crowned the paramount power of British India in the presence of
Indian princes and aristocrats. While the announcement by the emperor
that the capital of his Indian territories would be shifted to Delhi
from Calcutta might have cast a pall of gloom in "the second city
of the empire", the durbar itself brought unprecedented glory to one
Calcuttan–the legendary Hindustani vocalist Miss Gauhar Jaan.

At that glittering ceremony, in the presence of the emperor and
his queen and all of India’s royalty, Gauhar Jaan, along with her
contemporary Janki Bai, were bestowed the rare privilege of presenting
a song specially composed for the occasion Yeh jalsa taajposhi ka
mubarak ho mubarak ho! They were escorted to the emperor after the
concert and he praised them profusely for their talent and presented
them with a hundred guineas as a token of his appreciation.

Such was the fame of the first Indian and woman to record on the
gramophone, Gauhar Jaan. Born Eileen Angelina Yeoward in Azamgarh,
in what was then the United Provinces, in 1873, Gauhar was a woman
of exceptional beauty, talent and grace. She seemed to symbolize the
secular ethos that Indian classical music is known for–her grandmother
was Hindu, grandfather British and father Armenian Christian. Gauhar
embraced Islam and remained a devout Muslim all her life, though most
of her compositions are replete with Krishna bhakti.

The marriage of her parents ended in a bitter divorce when she was
barely six years old. Angelina and her mother Victoria then moved
to Benaras, where they converted to Islam and took on the names of
Gauhar Jaan and Badi Malka Jaan, respectively.

In the culturally vibrant atmosphere of Benaras, Gauhar’s innate
talents in music, dance and poetry blossomed. Fortunes turned for
the mother and daughter as they moved to Calcutta and established
themselves in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. They were counted as
among the most famous baijis of Calcutta. No wonder then that in 1902,
Frederick William Gaisberg, the Gramophone Company’s first India agent,
chose Gauhar as the first Indian artiste whom he wanted to record.

RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN: BAKU CAN FRUSTRATE ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROCESS BY UNLEASHING WAR IN KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 15, 2010 – 14:58 AMT 09:58 GMT

Baku can frustrate the ongoing Armenian-Turkish process by unleashing
a new war in Karabakh, according to Richard Giragosian, Director of
the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS).

"Neither West nor East is interested in war. Azerbaijan knows that it
will lose, once launching hostilities, but unfortunately decisions in
this country are made by ignorami like Safar Abiyev," Mr. Giragosian
told a news conference on April 15.

"Meanwhile, the Armenian side takes all essential measures to prevent
resumption of hostilities, which may burst out with a trifle incident
at the contact line," he said. "On the one hand, Armenia demonstrates
its military might; on the other hand, it assures Baku that there is
no reason to start war."

"A new war will entail deployment of Russian troops in the conflict
area, what will have negative consequences for Armenia. Karabakh is
one of the regions where there are no Russian forces. And we don’t
need them," Mr. Giragosian concluded.

RUSSIA HAS LIFTED THE BAN ON MILK IMPORT FROM ARMENIA AND KAZAKHSTAN.

Tert.am
15.04.10

The official representative of the Russian Federal Service for
Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor),
Aleksey Alekseenko, said that the lifting of the ban is accounted
for by the fact that the countries exporting milk, in this case
Armenia and Kazakhstan, have provided Rosselkhoznadzor guarantees
that they will watch over the veterinary and sanitary requirements
and the delivery security terms demanded by the Russian Federation,
reports bfm.ru website.

"Today we can surely say that no infections, such as African plague
of pigs or foot-and-mouth disease, will be imported together with
dairy products," said Alekseenko.

Russia had imposed the milk ban on Armenia on August 28, 2007.

ARMENIAN LITERARY STAR WINS RUSSIAN AWARD

Voice of Russia
April 14 2010

Mariam Petrosian, a young Armenian writer, has won the "Russian Award"
for her book "The House, Where…".

The Russian Award literary competition was established for foreign
authors writing in Russian. Although she is hardly known in our
country, Russians have already got acquainted with Mariam Petrosian’s
book. In 2009, the novel was shortlisted for the "Big Book Prize",
the Russian national award for literature. An uncommon decision, given
that it is the first book by Mariam Petrosian, who is a cartoonist,
not a professional writer.

It took her 10 year to finish the book, which she dedicated to
handicapped children living in boarding schools. She told the Voice
of Russia how she chose this subject:

"It was the economically unstable situation in Armenia in the 90s that
gave me the impulse to write. When facing a boring life, people can
chose a wide range of activities, which they have never been engaged
in. Writing first became my hobby".

The physical disabilities of the novel’s central characters naturally
result in their isolation from the world. A house is a kind of
protective covering for these children, not accepted by their peers
due to their peculiar individuality. Literary critics are sure that
humanity is inevitably moving towards this model of a new world, where
moral problems will fade into insignificance. There is a conflict of
strength and weakness, solitude and the "herd instinct", simplicity
and complexity… Mariam Petrosian looks upon these problems with a
different eye, as compared to her literary characters:

"For me, a house is a utopian place with the cult of friendship and
a closed community, a place where family units are built. A house
symbolizes youth, while outside we will face an adult life. The
problem is to find a pathway from children to grown-ups".

The jury of the "Russian Award" chose Mariam Petrosian as the winner
of the competition. Sergei Chuprinin, the chairman of the jury,
has this to say:

"We were deeply impressed by the way the author treated the novel’s
tragic plot. The complex composition form of this undoubtedly vivid
book serves to reveal the sincerity of both the characters and the
young author".

Among other winners of the "Russian Award" are US-based Maria
Timatkova, Alisher Niyazov residing in Kyrgyzstan and Moldavian
philologist and poet Olesya Rudyagina.