Month: December 2008

SARKOZY ‘ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT’ FOILED

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 12:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A man wielding a hand-held electric self-defense
weapon was arrested Monday while trying to enter the grounds of the
French presidential palace, a police official said.

A photographer witnessed guards wrestling the man to the ground
at the main entrance to the Elysee Palace, where President Nicolas
Sarkozy works.

The man was armed with a self-defense "shocker" less powerful than a
taser, the police official said – not a knife, as first believed. The
official was not authorized to speak publicly about the arrest and
asked not to be identified by name.

The 25-year-old man was being held at a police station of Paris’
8th district where the Palace is located, the official said. The
suspect’s motive was not immediately clear.

Sarkozy was meeting with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro
at the time of the arrest around 12:40 p.m. (11:40 GMT). Djukanovic
met with the French leader as part of his country’s efforts to join the
European Union. France currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency,
The Associated Press reports.

OBAMA LEGALLY ELECTED U.S. 44TH PRESIDENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 13:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In all 50 states and the District of Columbia,
the 538 electors performed a constitutional process to legally elect
Democrat Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States.

More than 131 million voters cast ballots – the most ever in a
presidential election. But Obama’s election is not complete until
Congress tallies the outcome of Monday’s Electoral College vote at
a joint session scheduled for Jan. 6.

Monday’s voting was largely ceremonial, the results preordained by
Obama’s Nov. 4 victory over Republican Sen. John McCain. Obama won
365 electoral votes, to 173 for McCain. With every state reporting,
all the electors had cast ballots in accordance with the popular
votes in their states, the AP reports.

Hillary Clinton will head the State Department while Robert Gates
will retain his post of Defense Secretary.

OVER 4500 TURKS SIGN PETITION TO APOLOGIZE FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 13:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A group of Turkish intellectuals and academics have
issued a public apology for the Armenian Genocide on the Internet.

4882 Turkish intellectuals, authors, journalists, scientists and
musicians have already signed the petition which reads, "My conscience
does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the
Great Calamity that befell the Ottoman Armenians in 1915. I reject
this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and
pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them."

WORLD ARMENIAN CONGRESS’ NEW WEBSITE –

AZG Armenian Daily
16/12/2008

Diaspora

The new website of the World Armenian Congress (WAC) embraces
information about both the WAC and opportunities to cooperate with it.

The visitors of will be acquainted with the
structure, history and activities of the organization and the programs
that are and will be carried out by WAC.

In his message, President of the World Armenian Congress Ara Abrahamian
attached importance to the cooperation with the interested institutions
and persons.

"We are ready to work out and implement joint programs with the
Diaspora institutions to make the Armenian national character more
presentable to the civilized world", Ara Abrahamian mentions in
the message.

The creators of the website aim at turning the latter into a platform
of debates and discussions.

The website is open to the Armenian youth.

WAC Youth Organizations Association’s programs and events will be
available on the website.

8

Three Armenians in a city

Joanna Lobo
Saturday, December 13, 2008 03:06 IST

Fiesty at 93: Mumbai has been Rose Eknayan’s home since she was a
small child.

They have made Mumbai their home, but these three feisty Armenian women
still have a strong connection with their roots.

A Biblical legend goes that Noah’s Ark came to rest on the mountains
called Ararat. The country Armenia lies in the highlands surrounding
these mountains. The origins and the culture of the Armenians suggest a
strong link to the Catholic faith.

Armenians started migrating to India not just from the land of their
origin but also from the Middle East during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Today, most Indian Armenians are settled in Kolkatta. Mumbai is home to
a few of them, three to be precise.

One of the older residents in the city is the feisty and quick-witted
Fort resident, 93-year-old Rosie Eknayan. India has been her home from
the time she was two. Born into a family of five brothers and six
sisters, Rosie was married to Artias Eknayan when she was in primary
school. `Ours was an arranged marriage but it lasted for 45 years,’ she
says. Today, this mother of two lives alone, with the help of what she
calls her `Rolls Royce’: her wheelchair. Another important gadget in her
life is her television set that keeps her updated on the latest news
around the city and the world.

The Armenians are a generous people, says Eknayan, and they do not
hesitate to donate generously for any cause, particularly a religious
one. However, religion has no place in her life. `Ever since my son
died, I no longer go to church and pray,’ she says.
Another nonagenarian Armenian resident in the city is Nuvart Mehta.
Originally from Istanbul, she came to Mumbai on work. `I was working at
the American Consulate and they transferred me here,’ she recalls. `I
came here, met a Parsi man, married him and have not looked back since.’
Her love story is unique. A friend had called her over for drinks.
However, being very shy around women, he called another friend for moral
support. This was Nari, the man she fell in love with and married.

A resident of Colaba, Mehta lives alone but her goddaughter and
neighbour takes care of her. Age does not deter Mehta from enjoying
life. She gets her driver to take her around the city every day. She
even travels to Armenia and recently went to the US for her godchild’s
graduation. `I am a member of the Willington Club and go over everyday
to read the day’s papers.’ She tells you that the number of Armenians in
the city has dwindled because many have migrated to Australia where they
have many active churches.

The third Armenian in the city is Ezabella Joshi who lives in Juhu. A
resident of Mumbai since 1973, Ezabella came into the city after she
married Kishore Joshi. A trustee of the St. Peter’s Armenian Church, she
regularly travels all over the world. Her daughter, actress Tulip Joshi,
has been baptised an Armenian. Says Tulip: `The Archbishop of Australia
came down specially to baptise me. It was also the first time I was in
news because it was a big event.’ Tulip has visited Armenia many times
and loves it because it is `rugged, full of mountains; a very quiet and
a beautiful place.’ Although baptised, she does not follow any
particular religion.

Mumbai holds a very special place in the hearts of all three. `This is a
very international city and I love the fact that I have so many friends
of so many nationalities,’ says Mehta. The city has changed a lot over
the years, and now suffers a sense of insecurity, she adds. Eknayan
recalls the time when one could walk down the streets of Mumbai at any
time of the day. `The city has become so dirty now. Earlier, every
morning, the sweepers would come and clean the roads before people began
their day.’
For Rosie Eknayan, Nuvart Mehta and Ezabella Joshi, Mumbai has always
been home. As Rosie puts it: `Yeh Mumbai humari hai’.

[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
Press Office
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
email: [email protected]
web:

Delivering the hope of Christmas

THANKS TO THE FAR FAMILY, WE ARE IMPROVING THE LIVES OF ARMENIA’S
AT-RISK CHILDREN

Christmas is a time for family, for giving, and for remembering the
power of love. It is a time to remember the good news of life, and to
reflect on the opportunities ahead.

For Armenia’s most at-risk children, the Christmas tale of magic is a
reminder of the value of gifts from afar; a reminder that even today
thousands of individuals far away are moved by love to help the less
fortunate in Armenia through the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR).

Below are just three of the many stories of young Armenians who are
celebrating this Christmas with a renewed sense of hope and love
thanks to the ever expanding FAR family.

GOD-GIVEN TALENT

Born in 1984 in the town of Charentsavan, Alexander Nefedov never knew
his parents and he lived at the Gavar Orphanage until he was 17.
Through a visit to the orphanage by a group of artists, Alexander
almost accidentally found his God-given talent as an artist and began
drawing and painting. Inspired by the stories of the Bible, he began
to hone his skills at crafting delicate depictions of Christ.

When he left the orphanage, Alexander wanted to attend the Yerevan
State Academy of Fine Arts, but tuition is almost impossibly expensive
for an orphan. That is when FAR stepped in, helping provide financial
aid to Alexander through its Gulamerian Vocational Training &
Education Program, designed to help orphans get the education they
need to make the transition from institutional living to independence.

With FAR’s help, Alexander graduated and his career has blossomed.
His depiction of Biblical themes has been exhibited around the region
and in April 2008 his work was featured in an exhibit in Yerevan
titled "Awakening of Belief."

Through his success, Alexander is now able to buy a small home in the
village of Nerkin Khatunarkh in Etchmiadzin Province. He is sharing
his gift by teaching art to children there. "Without FAR support I
would never become an artist," said Alexander.

CONNECTING TO LOVE

Ani was 12 years old as her father abandoned her and told the
authorities "do whatever you like with her." She was brought to the
FAR Homeless Children Center in Yerevan. Understandably, she recoiled
from the center’s professional staff and refused to play with the
other children. Slowly, and with great care and patience, FAR’s
dedicated team of educators worked to build trust and love with Ani.
She eventually began expressing her feelings and later shared her life
story. She told them of her mother dying when she was 5, and being
raised by her loving grandparents before her father returned and took
custody of her.

Since Ani did not know her grandparents’ full names or their address,
it seemed there was little hope she would see them again. But the
dedicated team of the Children Center spent more than three months
tracking them down.

Today, thanks to the unending devotion of FAR’s professional staff,
Ani has been reunited with her grandparents, who are raising her in
the loving environment every child deserves. She is finally going to
have the joyful Christmas every child dreams of.

A NEW LIFE

FAR has been working with the government in Armenia to develop a
modern, family-centered foster care system to help keep children out
of institutional orphanages when possible. FAR does not only place
the children but provides an ongoing monitoring service to
continuously secure the welfare of the foster kids.

Siblings Kostas and Nadya Lazaridis were abandoned by their parents
and raised by their grandparents, before the elderly couple became too
sick to care for them.

That is how they found their way to FAR’s Homeless Children’s Center
in 2006.

FAR’s team met with the grandparents and together decided that a
foster family could offer the hope of a new life for the two children.

Kostas and Nadya are now living with their foster parents who already
had an adopted 10-year-old son. The children found a new world with
caring and loving family. Kostas has taken up football while the Nadya
is working on perfecting her sewing. The new family is also busy with
and carpet making. The children are already a great help to their
family. Nadya is very attached to the youngest brother; their biggest
joy is to perform funny theatrical skits for the rest of their family.

These young Armenians have hope this Christmas because of the caring
members who have made FAR one of the preeminent humanitarian agencies
working in Armenia. For 20 years, Armenian-Americans have invested in
the people of Armenia by choosing to support the work of FAR.

"We’re heartened to see such prime examples of success as these three
stories," said FAR Chairman Randy Sapah-Gulian. "Imagine all the
future possibilities these children have thanks to FAR and the
programs supported by our donors. It truly is life changing."

# # #

About FAR
Since its founding in response to the 1988 earthquake, FAR has served
hundreds of thousands of people through more than 220 relief and
development programs in Armenia and Karabagh. It has channeled more
than $265 million in humanitarian assistance by implementing a wide
range of projects including emergency relief, construction, education,
medical aid, and economic development.

For more information on FAR or to send donations, contact us at 630
Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016; telephone (212) 889-5150; fax (212)
889-4849; ; e-mail [email protected].

Downloadable Photographs [ oZtoPmLpKa5jOCU4dfKygMnw9MOGUfmXlsjM1jrw1FIt6SKf7t VtyQ5Tqwd9V2IlLWmYRmLUcmi9LMGw-UYQEm1tj1CeOqE4dcUJ 5f7r32S-DQUV1e2QLLNjncqLHrGWRBlGVmmFRho21BmXqa5Ade TuxjBeM57agWLjsosDih]

Painting by Aleksander Nefedov [ oZtoPmLpKa5jOCU4dfKygMnw9MOGUfmXlsjM1jrw1FIt6SKf7t VtyQ5Tqwd9V2IlLWmYRmLUcmi9LMGw-UYQEm1tj1CeOqE4dcUJ 5f7r32S-DQUV1e2QLLNjncqLHrGWRBlGVmmFRho21BmXqa5Ade TuxjBeM57agWLjsosDih]

Painting by Aleksander Nefedov [ oZtoPmLpKa5jOCU4dfKygMnw9MOGUfmXlsjM1jrw1FIt6SKf7t VtyQ5Tqwd9V2IlLWmYRmLUcmi9LMGw-UYQEm1tj1CeOqE4dcUJ 5f7r32S-DQUV1e2QLLNjncqLHrGWRBlGVmmFRho21BmXqa5Ade TuxjBeM57agWLjsosDih]

Painting by Aleksander Nefedov [ oZtoPmLpKa5jOCU4dfKygMnw9MOGUfmXlsjM1jrw1FIt6SKf7t VtyQ5Tqwd9V2IlLWmYRmLUcmi9LMGw-UYQEm1tj1CeOqE4dcUJ 5f7r32S-DQUV1e2QLLNjncqLHrGWRBlGVmmFRho21BmXqa5Ade TuxjBeM57agWLjsosDih]

Painting by Aleksander Nefedov [ oZtoPmLpKa5jOCU4dfKygMnw9MOGUfmXlsjM1jrw1FIt6SKf7t VtyQ5Tqwd9V2IlLWmYRmLUcmi9LMGw-UYQEm1tj1CeOqE4dcUJ 5f7r32S-DQUV1e2QLLNjncqLHrGWRBlGVmmFRho21BmXqa5Ade TuxjBeM57agWLjsosDih]

— December 15th, 2008
Fund for Armenian Relief | 630 Second Avenue | New York | NY | 10016

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul

[Picture: Men stand besides the skulls and corpses of Armenian victims
of the Turkish deportation circa 1915]

An internet petition has been launched in Turkey, apologising for the
"great catastrophe of 1915" when hundreds of thousands of Ottoman
Armenians died.

Armenians and many international historians describe as "genocide" the
massacres and deaths during a forced deportation from eastern Turkey.

Turkey firmly denies that, saying those killed were just victims of war.

The petition – the first of its kind – was initiated by prominent
Turkish academics and newspaper columnists.

They say they want to challenge the official denial and provoke
discussion in Turkish society about what happened.

The petition is entitled "I apologise", and a short statement at the
top rejects what it calls the ignorance and denial in Turkey of what
the Ottoman Armenians suffered in 1915.

It then apologises for the pain that was caused.

It is a bold and original step in a country where writer Hrant Dink
was killed just last year for openly saying that the events of 1915
were genocide.

Sparking discussion

Nationalist politicians have condemned the move as an insult to the
Turkish nation, and the organisers have received abusive emails.

Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but it denies any
genocide, saying the deaths happened during widespread fighting in
World War I.

The petition does not call on the state to apologise for what happened
and it deliberately avoids the highly controversial definition of
genocide.

But the Turkish academic who dreamed up the idea says he hopes it will
spark a proper discussion of what happened and promote empathy for
what the Armenians suffered.

Cengiz Aktar called it the responsibility of all Turks to think and
talk openly about how, and why, the Armenian people disappeared from a
land they inhabited for 4,000 years.

The petition’s authors say they have received many encouraging comments.

In the first few hours after the petition was launched, more than
1,000 people had signed their names beneath it.

This article has originally appeared in the University of California
Newsletter and is reprinted with permission
( news/ouruniversity/12_08/)

PRESS RELEASE
December 15, 2008

American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Contact: Gaiane Khachatrian
E-mail: [email protected]

UC partners with the American University of Armenia

The American University of Armenia hopes its new academic center will
further strengthen its ties to UC, whose academic leaders helped launch the
graduate school after a 1988 earthquake.

The American University of Armenia doubled its enrollment capacity with the
November dedication of a new academic building. Now supporters are hoping to
strengthen connections with University of California faculty and students.
Those connections run deep. Without UC’s two decades of assistance, the
university might not exist.

"At the founding of the AUA, the affiliation with UC gave the assurance for
a few supporting organizations and individuals that our university was being
provided with advice and oversight from a major university system in the
U.S.," said Haroutune Armenian, president of the American University in
Armenia.

His university still depends on UC expertise to develop academic and
administrative procedures, he said.

That working relationship began in the aftermath of Armenia’s devastating
1988 earthquake. Striking on a frigid Dec. 7, the quake wrought massive
destruction as high-rise buildings, schools, hospitals and factories
crumbled in heaps, killing 25,000 people and displacing more than 500,000.
UC Berkeley engineering professor Armen Der Kiureghian traveled to Armenia
as a member of a U.S. recovery team.

Still a Soviet Republic, Armenia welcomed international humanitarian aid and
the expertise of engineers like Der Kiureghian as the tiny country struggled
to recover.

"One idea that came up was setting up an American system of higher
education," said Der Kiureghian. "I wrote a proposal. At the time there was
a thaw in Soviet relations, and people’s interest in Armenia was
heightened."

Mihran Agbabian, a UC Berkeley engineering alumnus and University of
Southern California professor, and Stepan Karamardian, formerly dean of the
Graduate School of Management at UC Riverside, joined Der Kiureghian in
approaching the Armenian government about founding an American-style
graduate-level university. The Armenian General Benevolent Union, an
international fraternal organization, agreed to fund it. In 1990, then-UC
Provost William Frazer led a fact-finding mission of UC academics and
administrators to Armenia. The following year UC Regents approved an
affiliation with the American University of Armenia in the capital city of
Yerevan.

The university opened its doors on Sept. 21, 1991, the same day Armenia
declared its independence. Agbabian became its first president and Der
Kiureghian the first dean of the College of Engineering, fulfilling those
duties via fax, e-mail and three visits per year. UC administrators and
faculty have continued to serve on the advisory board, and Armenian, the
university’s president, is a professor in residence at UCLA’s School of
Public Health.

The university has 275 students enrolled in master’s programs in
engineering, English, public health, law, political science and
international affairs and business and management. In addition, the
university offers extension courses. All classes are taught in English. The
Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredits the university, which
now has about 1,500 alumni.

"The graduates are really agents of change," said Der Kiureghian." They are
intermediaries between the country and global companies. The university has
been a real model for the region."

Although the university is not part of the UC Education Abroad Program,
students can attend the university on their own. In summer 2009, the
university is offering a special four-week summer session with courses in
human rights, global security, health care and other topics. The Armenian
General Benevolent Union is offering scholarships for students of Armenian
descent, an opportunity Der Kiureghian is hoping UC students will take
advantage of.

Der Kiureghian, an ethnic Armenian from Iran, said visiting the country
provided a valuable experience to learn about his culture and heritage.

There are also opportunities for visiting research scholars and faculty. For
more information contact, Bruce Janigian, vice president development and
government relations, at [email protected].

Today’s Zaman
Omer Taspinar

The coming storm with Washington

Last year, shortly after the US Congress decided at the last minute
not to push forward with the Armenian genocide recognition I wrote in
this column that this was a "pyrrhic victory" for Turkey. There was
indeed no reason to celebrate.

Of course, I had no idea that the next US president would be a firm
supporter of recognizing the genocide. Instead, my gloomy article had
much more to do with the fact no one in Washington — except those
with a vested financial or political interest to the Turkish
government — believed Turkey’s side of the story. Whether "the events
of 1915" amounted to "genocide" was not even debated in America.

So why didn’t the US Congress pass the resolution? Charles
Krauthammer, a Washington columnist, summarized it best last year in
his Washington Post column. With characteristic poignancy, he wrote:
"There are three relevant questions concerning the Armenian
genocide. (a) Did it happen? (b) Should the House of Representatives
be expressing itself on this now? (c) Was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s
determination to bring this to a vote, knowing that it risked
provoking Turkey into withdrawing crucial assistance to American
soldiers in Iraq, a conscious or unconscious attempt to sabotage the
US war effort?"

And here is how Krauthammer answered these questions: "(a) Yes,
unequivocally. (b) No, unequivocally. (c) God only knows." He went on:
"That between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians were brutally and
systematically massacred starting in 1915 in a deliberate genocidal
campaign is a matter of simple historical record. If you really want
to deepen and broaden awareness of that historical record, you should
support the establishment of the Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial
in Washington. But to pass a declarative resolution in the House of
Representatives in the middle of a war in which we are inordinately
dependent on Turkey would be the height of irresponsibility."

Now do you understand why last year was a pyrrhic victory? The reason
Ankara won the battle was because important newspapers such as The
Washington Post and The New York Times picked up the "genocide" story
and humiliated the House of Representatives with columns and
editorials such as the one written by Krauthammer. Yet, this was not a
sight any believer in Turkey’s version enjoyed. Yes, these articles
opposed the Armenian resolution. But none of them believed Turkey’s
version of history about "the events of 1915."

Turkey won an important battle but ended up losing the war. Just like
Krauthammer’s, most of these articles argued that what happened in
1915 was genocide. But Turkey was geo-strategically too important an
ally to offend in the middle of mayhem in the Middle East. In other
words, the opposition to the genocide resolution had nothing to do
with the sudden discovery of new historical facts proving correct the
Turkish version of history. The discussion was only about Turkey’s
geo-strategic importance and bad timing.

This year we will probably witness the same charade with more
intensity. President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe
Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and, of course, a large majority of Congress are all
in favor of Armenian genocide recognition. The first critical test
will be the US president’s annual letter of April 24, which
traditionally defines what happened to Ottoman Armenians as
"massacres." Will this year’s letter refer to "genocide"?

This first and very critical test in Turkish-American relations comes
within the early months of the Obama administration. There are only
four months between the inauguration in late January and April 24. And
Obama’s presidential agenda will be overloaded with the global
financial crisis and all the very crucial foreign policy issues,
ranging from Iraq to Afghanistan and Iran to a possible India-Pakistan
war. Relations with Turkey will not be an urgent issue.

In such a busy agenda, it is also highly unlikely that the American
media will pick up the story of a potential crisis with Turkey. This
is why even a pyrrhic victory may not be in the cards this time. There
is still a chance Obama will opt for realism in relations with Turkey.
But this means he will have to break his campaign promises. Surely,
this will not be a first for a politician. But what if Obama is really
committed to "change"? Soon, perhaps too soon, we will know.

15 December 2008, Monday

ay.do?haberno=161240

JUSTICE MINISTER OF ARMENIA MEETS IRAN’S AMBASSADOR

armradio.am
15.12.2008 16:56

On December 15 the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia,
Gevorg Danielyan, had a meeting with the Ambassador of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Seid Ali Saghaian. The Ambassador emphasized
the favorable atmosphere of judicial cooperation between the two
countries and expressed gratitude for Armenian Government’s policy
on extradition of convicts. He expressed appreciation for Armenia’s
unprecedented warm attitude towards national minorities. At the same
time, the Ambassador presented the steps Iran is taking today for
protection of the rights and interests of the Armenian community.

Ambassador Seid Ali Saghaian has tried to draw maximally great
attention to the international agreement on legal assistance on
criminal and civil cases between the Islamic Republic of Iran and
the Republic of Armenia and present practical suggestions targeted
at the improvement of that document.

The Minister of Justice presented the problems existing in the field of
judicial cooperation and the steps taken to settle those. Mr. Danielyan
said corresponding reforms need to be implemented in the sphere.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress