Author: Andres-Papazian

HAYASTAN ALL-ARMENIAN FUND’S FRENCH AFFILIATE TO LAUNCH 12TH EUROPEAN PHONEATHON ON NOVEMBER 17

armradio.am
16.11.2011 15:43

Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 12th European Phoneathon, the second
largest annual fundraising event after the Telethon, will kick off
in France on November 17 and run through November 20.

Some 700 volunteers from France, Germany, and Switzerland will work
the phones throughout the four-day event, with calls being placed 12
hours a day. Stationed in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, and Toulouse,
the volunteers will call close to 60,000 Armenian families, businesses,
and organizations across Europe to request financial support for the
ongoing development of Armenia and Artsakh. Also participating in
the Phoneathon will be the Armenian communities of the Netherlands
and Greece.

Funds raised during Phoneathon 2011 will be dedicated to vital
water-infrastructure projects in close to ten rural communities
throughout Artsakh and the Tavush Region of Armenia.

Proceeds from last year’s Phoneathon, totaling around 1.4 million
euros, were used for the construction or renovation of water
infrastructures in the Hartashen, Togh, Aknaghbyur, and Ukhtadzor
villages of Artsakh’s Hadrut Region as well as the construction of a
school in Ashotsk, a rural community in Armenia’s Shirak Region (please
visit himnadram.org for detailed information about these projects).

Phoneathon 2011 will be hosted by popular French journalist and
television personality Michel Drucker. “My parents come from Romania,
where there is a sizeable Armenian community, and I’ve often heard
of the Armenians and some of the tragic chapters of their history,”
Drucker said.

“I feel honored to take part in Phoneathon 2011, which is led by the
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s French affiliate and aims to contribute
to the rebirth of the Armenian homeland,” Drucker continued as he
appealed to Armenian communities in Europe for support. “Thousands
of people in Artsakh and Armenia depend on your generosity,” he said.

In the words of Bedros Terzian, chairman of the fund’s French
affiliate, the Phoneathon not only continues to grow, but has long
shed its definition as a strictly national project, every year drawing
increasing numbers of non-Armenian supporters. This year, for instance,
a full 90 percent of the Phoneathon’s Toulouse contingent consists
of non-Armenian volunteers while the overall number of volunteers has
grown tenfold since the Phoneathon’s inception 11 years ago. In 2000,
when the far-reaching fundraising event was initiated by the Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund’s French affiliate, it was run by 70 volunteers,
and calls were made from Paris only.

In 2000, the inaugural Phoneathon yielded 2,907 donation pledges and
raised an amount in francs equivalent to 216,500 euros. In the 11
years of the Phoneathon, over 411,000 phone calls have been made and
a total of almost 10 million euros has been raised through donations
by close to 21,000 supporters. All proceeds have been used for the
implementation of infrastructure-development projects in Armenia
and Artsakh.

From: A. Papazian

SEARCHING FOR ELEGIES IN ‘FUTURE LASTS FOREVER’

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 13 2011

Having impressed the audience with his debut feature, director Ozcan
Alper shows that waiting is worth while with his second feature.

‘Gelecek Uzun Surer’ (Future Lasts Forever) is a harrowing journey
into the heart of the war in southeastern Turkey, not through political
propaganda but through powerful human stories.

A plot revolving around the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, along with a
subplot on the burning topic of the Armenian relocation of the last
century, could easily tread on the waters of propaganda, or become
didactic. Promotional photo

For those who had watched “Sonbahar” (Autumn), the inspiring debut
feature from director and writer Ozcan Alper that was released
two years ago, his next feature had become the source of some true
anticipation.

In “Sonbahar,” Alper took the audience to the Black Sea region, where
his hometown is, and told the heartbreaking tale of a political
prisoner released after a sentence of 10 years. The film was
beautifully shot with real characters, some played by local amateurs,
grasping the audience at once from the screen.

For some, Alper was already a promising name with two bizarrely-titled
documentaries: “Tokai City’de Melankoli ve Rapsodi” (Melancholy
and Rhapsody in Tokai City) and “Bir Bilimadamıyla Zaman Enleminde
Yolculuk” (Travels On Time Continuum with a Scientist), as well as
the critically-acclaimed short film “Momi.”

Alper’s second feature “Gelecek Uzun Surer” (Future Lasts Forever),
the title an inspiration both from French philosopher Louis Althusser’s
memoirs of the same name and a line from one of Turkish poet Murathan
Mungan’s poems, hits theaters this week as a film that was well worth
the wait.

The film begins with a quote from Italian writer and poet Cesare
Pavese: “When the war ends one day, we have to ask ourselves this:
What are we to do with the dead? Why did they die?” Part road trip
movie, part lament to lost love and part political drama, the movie’s
power to move mostly comes from its heartfelt look at the consequences
of war on individual lives, mostly on women.

Compiling elegies and losses

The central character is Sumru (Gaye Gursel), a young woman who travels
from Istanbul to the southeastern city of Diyarbakır to research
Anatolian elegies for her doctoral thesis. As she delves deep into
her research, she talks to women who have lost their beloved ones to
the Turkish-Kurdish conflict that has claimed thousands of lives in
the last three decades.

Sumru’s journey becomes a harrowing one as she compiles losses
along with elegies, facing her own loss, the broken relationship she
had left behind in Istanbul. In Diyarbakır, she makes an unlikely
friend from Ahmet (Durukan Ordu), a pirate DVD seller, a cinephile,
and someone who has first-hand tales to tell of the war in the region.

Gursel might seem like a wrong choice for the role of the bewildered
woman from western Turkey, looking more like a character from a French
film and looking totally out of place. But that seems to be the very
reason why she was cast, hoping to exude a sense of alienation in the
audience. As Sumru gets a feel of the individual stories of the war,
so do we.

A plot revolving around the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, along with a
subplot on the burning topic of the Armenian relocation of the last
century, could easily tread on the waters of propaganda, or at least
become didactic. Alper manages to distance his film from any political
message or emotional drama that could easily have become the tone of
the film. He manages this by shooting the interviews in a documentary
style, with some real footage included into the film.

Alper knows the power of human stories and makes sure that nothing else
does cloud the simple message relayed across through the first accounts
of the war, the simple stories of loss. As the camera moves across the
streets of Diyarbakır, Alper’s direction, along with the beautiful
visuals of Feza Caldıran, render the locations at once familiar yet
painfully distant. It is impossible not to feel the sorrow, yet equally
impossible to feel part of that tragedy. Just like Sumru herself.

From: A. Papazian

ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE IN VAN: TURKEY’S DISASTER AGENCY PUT TO THE TEST

epress.am
11.15.2011

At 3 am AMT (local time in Yerevan) another earthquake struck Turkey’s
eastern region around the city of Van. There is currently not news
on casualties or destruction resulting from the 5.2-magnitude quake
with its epicenter having a depth of 10 km. The number of casualties
combined from the Oct. 23 and Nov. 9 quakes in the same region has
now reached 650.

As reported by Hurriyet Daily News, the earthquake has become the
most damaging disaster Turkey has faced in the last 10 years. Yet,
some civil defense experts and rescue workers say Turkey failed with
flying colors.

Turkey’s current authority for dealing with such disasters is called
the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), which was
established in 2009 to replace the Civil Defense General Directorate.

An AFAD rescue specialist in Ä°zmir, who preferred to remain
anonymous, said AFAD’s general directorate in Ankara had even failed
in transporting its workers to Van.

“We had to drive to Van by our own means because the plane carrying
rescuers to the quake-hit city only had a few places. It took us 30
hours to drive there and we were all tired. The first 24 hours are
critical and we lost that time,” the rescuer said.

“Turkey took a big step after the 1999 earthquake and we have many
specially qualified rescue workers. However, we still have a long way
to go in terms of coordination,” said former civil defense worker
Omer Karaca. Karaca said he could not imagine what might happen if
an earthquake hits Istanbul. Others say Turkey has failed in the task
of managing the disaster.

“We failed for the 600,000 people in Van. What would we do in Istanbul
with 18 million people?” an AFAD specialist said.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN AMERICANS ASK CLINTON TO PROTEST ZARAKOLU ARREST

armradio.am
15.11.2011 11:05

Armenian Americans have joined with free speech and human rights
advocates in calling upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to
end more than two weeks of official silence regarding the Turkish
government’s October 28th arrest of long-persecuted publisher Ragip
Zarakolu.

“Ragip Zarakolu has – for no reason other than his commitment to
freedom of speech – been dragged, once again, to rot in a Turkish
prison – without a single word of protest from the U.S. State
Department,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.

“This is a disgrace. The leaders of the Obama Administration – who
have, by now, made it painfully clear that they lack the courage to
honor their own commitments to speak out honestly about the Armenian
Genocide – appear, now, also unwilling to even speak up when those,
like Ragip Zarakolu, demonstrate the audacity to stand up for the
truth in the face of threats of prosecution and persecution.”

Mr. Zarakolu, the owner of the Belge Publishing House, was rounded up
as part of a politically motivated series of arrests of largely Kurdish
political and human rights leaders. He has, among his many titles,
published a series of books on the Armenian Genocide – actions that
have made him and his family the target of prolonged prosecutions
and incarcerations over many years.

Despite public protest by rights groups including Human Rights Watch
and PEN International, the U.S. State Department has remained silent
in response to the Zarakolu arrest.

“The United States is a strong defender of freedom of expression
in Turkey and in all countries around the world. We do not want to
comment at this time on specific cases before the courts. We urge
that the prosecution proceed transparently, and that all defendants be
assured due process and a fair hearing in a timely manner,”Spokesman
for the Department of State said.

The letter notes the State Department’s “shameful, century-long record
of appeasing the most intolerant elements of Turkish society – as
so painfully illustrated for all the world to see by the gag- rule
that our nation’s leaders have allowed Ankara to impose on American
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.” It also forcefully condemns
the State Department’s “tacit support for the Turkish government’s
long-standing prosecution and persecution of the small but growing
number of voices within Turkey who, at the risk of their own lives and
freedom, seek to bring about fundamental change to a system founded
upon genocide, and reliant upon the threat and use of force, both at
home and abroad.”

The ANCA WebMail letter closes with a chilling reminder about how
“the State Department maintained a similar silence regarding the
Turkish government’s prosecution and public deionization of Hrant
Dink, the late Armenian journalist, until, of course, after he was
killed in cold-blood on the streets of Istanbul in January of 2007.

From: A. Papazian

CONSTRUCTION OF KHANKANDI AIRPORT AGAINST INT’L NORMS – MP

news.az
Nov 14 2011
Azerbaijan

‘Khankendi airport cannot be the connecting point for Armenia or
Karabakh to rest of the world’.

According to Zahid Oruc, a deputy of Milli Majlis and member of the
parliamentary committee on defense and security, the establishment
and usage of the Khankendi airport go against the international norms.

He believes this is simply a maneuver for Armenia to provoke
Azerbaijan.

‘For a long time now Armenia has been trying to make Karabakh the
subject of international law. The Armenian government has been trying
to attract international investment into Karabakh, and to demonstrate
favorable conditions. They have been promoting forged diplomatic
institutions in Karabakh to implement these projects and achieve
their plans,’ said Zahid Oruc.

He added that it is very beneficial for Armenia to build the Khankendi
airport.

‘The Armenians have a simple goal. They want to use the airport for
regional and perhaps even international flights down the line. This
will completely change the name of region on the international maps,
and it will be counted as part of Armenia on the list of destinations
for travelers. Regulations of international flights addressed in the
“Kyoto” agreement require countries to provide points of destinations
for air travel. At this point Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan on all
maps and guide cards handed out to traveling passengers on the plane’.

MP also emphasized on the fact that the future airport would fall
onto Azerbaijan’s side as well, which would be considered a major
violation of law.

“We have already taken the necessary precautions to make sure that
the international media and community is aware of these violations. No
airport will open for business when these violations are still under
question,” noted the MP.

From: A. Papazian

IRANIANS TO FORM HUMAN CHAIN AROUND NUKE FACILITIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 14, 2011 – 14:41 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Thousands of Iranian people, including a large
number of university students, intend to form a human chain around
one of the country’s major nuclear facilities to voice support for
Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.

Fars News Agency reports that the human chain is due to be formed
around the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) near the Central city
of Isfahan.

During the ceremony initiated by Isfahan University students, people
will support Iran’s nuclear activities and protest against the report
recently released by Director-General of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in an open session of the
parliament on Sunday, November 13, blasted the Agency for “serving the
U.S. and Israeli policies on Iran,” specially in its latest report,
and announced that the Iranian legislature “should soon start reviewing
the country’s future cooperation with the IAEA.”

From: A. Papazian

UK AMBASSADOR: KARABAKH SETTLEMENT DEPENDS ON PARTIES’ POLITICAL WILL

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 14, 2011 – 12:24 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Despite all mediatory efforts, Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement depends on the political will of the parties
involved, British ambassador to Armenia said.

“Fort the past four years we have witnessed less progress than we
would like to,” Charles Lonsdale told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to him, under existing conditions, boosting confidence
among civil society members would also help progress in addition to
signing a peace agreement between the sides.

“We are fighting the stereotypes regarding the Karabakh issue among
youth and civil society,” Mr. Lonsdale said.

In conclusion, the ambassador noted establishment of peace and
stability in the South Caucasus as a priority for UK’s foreign
policy course.

From: A. Papazian

WEST WANTS TO EXCLUDE RUSSIA FROM KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS: NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA

epress.am
11.14.2011

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Catherine Ashton will begin her visit to the South Caucasus tomorrow.

Ashton will first visit Baku, then Tbilisi and on Nov. 17 she will
arrive in Yerevan. Mainly discussed in Ashton’s meetings with heads of
state will be intensifyin the European Union’s role in resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. At the same time, there are rumors that
the US is preparing to seize from Russia the role of chief mediator
in the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations, reports Russian-language
daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

The fact that Europe is dissatisfied with the stagnation of the
Karabakh process was confirmed by a statement made by MEP Kristian
Vigenin, who visited Yerevan recently. After meeting with Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan, Vigenin told reporters: “We believe that
the EU should be more involved in the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict…

We see that the format of the OSCE Minsk Group has not led to any
results over the years, and in this regard, something has to change.”

It is important to introduce new players in this process, he said.

According to him, this was discussed in the European Parliament and,
in particular, replacing the French co-chair with an EU representative
was proposed, and it is possible this person could be Catherine Ashton.

The statement made by the European deputy in Yerevan echoes statements
made by Azerbaijani political analyst Rasim Agayev to Baku reporters.

According to him, the US seeks to bring the Transcaucasus countries out
from under Moscow’s influence. To this end, Washington is implementing
a project called “Big Caucasus,” which was developed under George
W. Bush, that aims to gain a foothold in the region and promote
American interests. Given the fact that Georgia is hostile toward
Russia, and Azerbaijan’s ruling elite is more inclined toward the West
than toward Moscow, there remains only one problem for the US in the
region – Armenia, which is Russia’s strategic ally. “Getting it out
from under Russia’s influence is a difficult but achievable goal,”
believes Agayev.

However, Berlin-based political analyst Ashot Manucharyan believes
that to exclude Russia from the Karabakh peace process, in particular,
and from the South Caucasus region as a whole is an impossible task.

“Moscow will not abandon the Karabakh issue and will shift the burden
of chief mediator on the shoulders of neither the US nor the EU.

Moscow denoting its inaptitude in the Karabakh conflict will result in
the West ignoring Russia’s opinion in more complex civilized conflicts,
such as in North Korea, Iran and Afghanistan,” he said.

Promoting the idea of introducing necessary changes in the format of
negotiations that could lead to positive developments, Azerbaijan’s
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, in an interview with Austrian
daily De Standard, said the key to solving the conflict could be “the
co-existence of the two communities.” However, Azimov also noted that
“The compromise decision Azerbaijan can make for solving the conflict
doesn’t involve the transfer of any territory to Armenia.”

The Azerbaijani official’s statement was not left unaddressed in
Stepanakert. Nagorno-Karabakh presidential press secretary Davit
Babayan, commenting on Azimov’s statement, said that some aspects of
the statement are encouraging.

“In particular, we agree with the statement that the solution to the
conflict does not involve the transfer of territories to Armenia: The
Karabakh conflict is not an Armenian-Azerbaijani territorial dispute,
nor even a conflict between Baku and Yerevan, but a conflict between
Stepanakert and Baku, which requires direct dialogue,” he said.

As for the possible return of refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh,
Babayan continued, the republic’s leadership has never opposed this
initiative. “We are ready to accept citizens of Azeri ethnicity under
one condition: if they wish to become citizens of NKR and integrate
into Karabakh society.”

From: A. Papazian

IGOR PRISTOVNIK TO REFEREE U21 EURO 2013 ARMENIA VS. WALES QUALIFIER

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 14, 2011 – 11:47 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Igor Pristovnik of Croatia will referee the 2013
UEFA European Under-21 Armenia vs. Wales qualifier to take place in
Yerevan’s Republican Stadium at 5 pm on November 15.

Armenia’s first match in 2012 against Andorra is scheduled for June
12, to be followed by the matches against Wales and Montenegro.

Armenia are currently placed 3rd in Group 3 with 7 points; Wales come
4th with 6 points. Czech Republic lead the group with 10 points after
scoring a 2:0 win over Armenia on Nov. 11.

From: A. Papazian

RED CROSS TO PROVIDE FIRST AID COURSES IN ARMENIA’S BORDER REGIONS

news.am
Nov 13 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenian Red Cross Society (ARCS) will provide first aid
courses in border regions.

During the current year courses took place in Berd and Koti, courses
will also take place in Vazashen and Kapan (2 courses).

Each year ARCS organizes 6 courses with 72 participants (12 people
in each group). This year there will be 5 courses as there are 18
people in each group. The courses are free as they are funded by the
International Committee of the Red Cross. The courses are held for
several years already.

From: A. Papazian