Author: Andres-Papazian

PR Newswire (press release)
Nov 10 2010

Synopsys in Armenia Among Twelve Finalists to Receive U.S. Secretary
of State’s 2010 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE)

Special recognition plaque from the State Department unveiled at
Synopsys Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Synopsys, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SNPS), a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor
design, verification and manufacturing, announced today that the U.S.
State Department has recognized Synopsys in Armenia among 12 finalists
worldwide for the U.S. Secretary of State’s prestigious 2010 Award for
Corporate Excellence (ACE). The finalists were chosen from a record
number of 78 nominations submitted by American ambassadors around the
world. ACE finalists are international business leaders who recognize
the vital role that U.S. businesses play abroad as good corporate
citizens. The Secretary of State has awarded the ACE since 1999 to
recognize U.S. businesses for advancing good corporate citizenship,
innovation and democratic principles.

Synopsys is recognized for the software company’s “promotion of U.S.
and foreign investors by showcasing Armenia as a potential
informational technology (IT) hub; collaboration with universities on
IT training programs; and reduction of pollution levels by planting
hundreds of trees to counter recent deforestation.”

On November 10, 2010, Honorable Marie L. Yavanovitch, Ambassador of
the United States of America, revealed a special plaque at the
Synopsys Armenia R&D Center in Yerevan. The plaque is signed by Under
Secretary of Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats.
The special citation was offered to Synopsys “in recognition of
corporate citizenship, innovation and exemplary business practices in
Armenia.”

Other finalists are Alta Ventures in Mexico, Cisco in Israel,
Coca-Cola in Swaziland, Denimatrix in Guatemala, Fiji Water in Fiji,
GE in India, Intel in Costa Rica, Mars, Inc. in Ghana, PepsiCo in
India, Qualcomm in China, and Tang Energy in China.

“Synopsys is committed to bringing the best technology solutions to
our customers and to improving the communities where our employees
work and live. Synopsys Armenia exemplifies how our business practices
throughout the world reflect our company values of leadership,
customer success and integrity,” said Rich Goldman, vice president of
corporate marketing and strategic alliances at Synopsys. “Whether it’s
helping ensure engineering students have access to the most advanced
tools available, or planting trees in areas devoid of greenery,
Synopsys’ investments are intended to encourage growth. We thank the
U.S. Secretary of State for recognizing these achievements by choosing
Synopsys Armenia as an ACE finalist, and hope this recognition will
inspire other companies to promote corporate social responsibility.”

About Synopsys Armenia CJSC and Synopsys, Inc.

Synopsys, Inc. is a world leader in electronic design automation
(EDA), supplying the global electronics market with a comprehensive,
integrated portfolio of software, intellectual property (IP) and
services used in semiconductor design, verification and manufacturing.
Synopsys established its presence in Armenia in 2004, after Armenia
declared information technology (IT) as a priority business for the
country. Since then, Synopsys Armenia closed joint stock company
(CJSC) has become an important Synopsys site, providing R&D and
product support in EDA, design for manufacturing (DFM) and the
development of semiconductor intellectual property (IP). The company
employs several hundred qualified Armenian engineers and is one of
largest IT employers in Armenia. To help provide Armenia with highly
qualified IT specialists, Synopsys Armenia invests locally in IT
education and is engaged in a number of successful cooperation
programs with major Armenian universities such as Yerevan State
University (YSU), State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA),
American University of Armenia (AUA), Russian-Armenian (Slavonic)
State University, and the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technologies
(MIET). The company consistently promotes public interest in the high
tech industry by sponsoring Presidential Awards for the best students
in IT and contests among young specialists and students, and engages
the broader community through charity work and volunteer activities.
Synopsys Armenia CJSC is located in Yerevan. Synopsys, Inc. is
headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has approximately 70
offices located throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and
India. Visit Synopsys, Inc. and Synopsys Armenia online at
and

Synopsys is a registered trademark of Synopsys, Inc. Any other
trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the
intellectual property of their respective owners.

Editorial Contacts:

Gayane Markosyan Yvette Huygen
Synopsys Armenia Synopsys, Inc.
(374 10) 492-356 650-584-4547
(374 91) 292-302 [email protected]
[email protected]

From: A. Papazian

Spiritual war in progress in Armenia

November 11, 2010 – 19:11 AMT 15:11 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

The government should take immediate control over sectarian
organizations in Armenia, Alexander Amaryan, the head of the Center
for Aid and Rehabilitation to the Victims of Destructive Cults stated.

`Armenia is facing a spiritual war, which goes unheeded by the
government,’ the expert stressed at news conference entitled Sects as
a Cause for Murders and Suicides.

`Sects are a real threat that mustn’t’ be ignored. Currently, there
are about 250 representatives of destructive cults in Armenia, showing
a tendency towards unification,’ he remarked.

From: A. Papazian

Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 10 2010

Istanbul concert to commemorate Gomidas Vartabed on 140th birthday

Wednesday, November 10, 2010
VERCÄ°HAN ZÄ°FLÄ°OÄ?LU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Kütahya-born Armenian musician Gomidas Vartabed will be commemorated
on his 140th birthday throughout Armenia, the diaspora and Turkey.
Made possible thanks to a grant from the Istanbul 2010 European
Capital of Culture Agency, Thursday’s free concert will present the
Kusan 2010 Choir’s rendition of the great composer’s `Badarak’ (Divine
Liturgy)

The Kusen 2010 Choir will perform a concert to commemorate a milestone
in Armenian music, the birth of Gomidas Vartabed.

Groups in both Turkey and Armenia are preparing to hold a series of
free concerts to mark the 140th birthday of Kütahya-born Gomidas
Vartabed, who is widely recognized as the father of modern Armenian
classical music.

`We want to commemorate Gomidas in the land where he was born,’ said
Istanbul University Radio and Television Department student Sayat
DaÄ?lıyan, 23, who helped form the Gomidas Platform.

The commemoratory `Gomidas Liturgical Music’ concerts, which were made
possible by a grant from the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture
Agency, will be held Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Surp Yerortutyum
Armenian Church (Ã`ç Horan Armenian Church) in BeyoÄ?lu’s Balıkpazarı
and on Nov. 26 at Istanbul Kültür University’s Akıngüç Oditorium free
of charge.

The music will be performed by the Kusan 2010 Choir, the descendent of
the original Kusan Choir that Vartabed formed himself over a century
ago, and will be conducted by two Armenian maestros, including the
conductor of Istanbul’s Lusavoriç Armenian Choir, Hagop Mamgonyan, and
the conductor of the Karasunmangazs Armenian Choir, Edvin GalipoÄ?lu.

Mamigonyan said the Kusan 2010 Choir would perform a capella and be
composed only of men, as it was in the past.

GalipoÄ?lu, meanwhile, said the choir members were made up of 30
amateurs from different age groups that were all educated in
Istanbul’s Armenian choirs.

The choir will perform Vartabed’s polyphonic `Badarak’ (Divine
Liturgy), which the maestro composed for the Armenian Apostolic Church
but was not completed until its notation by his student in 1933 in
Paris.

The concert will be broadcast live online at

Turkish and Armenian youth together

One of the founding members of the Gomidas Platform, Sona MenteÅ?e,
said realizing the project was akin to making a dream come true.

`We learned that the 2010 Istanbul Agency invited an orchestra from
Armenia for Gomidas’ birthday but the orchestra was unable to come.
Later, we presented the project and it was accepted. We thank the
agency on behalf of Istanbul’s Armenians,’ MenteÅ?e said.

At the end of last year DaÄ?lıyan made a short film on Vartabed, titled
`Ä°ncu/Neden.’ With the other members of the platform, he has been
organizing the `Blind Photographers Project’ since the beginning of
the year for the performance of Vartabed’s works.

There are also young Turkish people among the team members. `We
experience the pleasure of doing something together,’ DaÄ?lıyan said.
`In this way, we share the universal language of music and love like
Gomidas showed us.’

Mamigonyan and GalipoÄ?lu said they had accelerated their rehearsals
since August.

Noting that there had been disagreements among Armenian choirs,
Mamigonyan said: `Some did not believe us that we would be able to
make it properly. But we, a handful people, wanted to give life to
Vartabed again.’

GalipoÄ?lu agreed with Mamigonyan and said the Armenian Patriarchate
had provided great support to them.

Istanbul’s Armenians, who have closed themselves in the past because
of their small numbers and a variety of other problems, have
increasingly started to engage with the wider society. `It is true
that we have opened to society in the cultural field. Some of our
members are interested in politics, too,’ said platform member Misak
Hergel. `But the assassination of [Armenian-Turkish journalist] Hrant
Dink discouraged us.’

Gomidas Vartabed

Ethnomusicologist, composer and maestro Gomidas Vartabed was born in
the Aegean province of Kütahya, which is famous for its tiles, in the
middle of the 1800s. Born SoÄ?omon SoÄ?omonyan, Vartabed (which means
priest) was an orphan and was sent to the Armenian Apostolic Central
Church in Armenia to receive a religious education.

Later, he studied music at Berlin University and organized important
conferences there. He is especially known for researching Armenian,
Anatolian and Transcaucasian music, as well as Turkish, Kurdish, Azeri
and Iranian musical forms.

When he recorded Armenian religious music at the beginning of 1900s,
he had problems with Etchmiadzin and the Turkish Armenian
Patriarchate.

He was also one of 230 Armenian intellectuals who were arrested in
Istanbul and deported on April 24, 1915. After witnessing the murder
of a number of friends during the deportation, Vartabed lost his
mental health. He died in 1935 in Paris.

From: A. Papazian

Murder in Sevan – a result of brainwashing

November 11, 2010 – 19:19 AMT 15:19 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

Parenticide committed by the 23-year-old Arman Torosyan, is clearly a
result of brainwashing, widely practiced by destructive sects with
whom the young person belonged, according to Alexander Amaryan, the
head of the Center for Aid and Rehabilitation to the Victims of
Destructive Cults.

At news conference entitled Sects as a Cause for Murders and Suicides,
the expert characterised the crime as a religious murder.

`Armenia lacks statistics on religions murders and suicides, for the
absence of specialists who could determine the character of the crime.
As a rule, such crimes are characterized as domestic.’

A psychologist, psychotherapy specialist Marina Avetisyan, in turn,
described the issue as personal, rather than linked to the young
person’s connections with the sects. `The problem lies in spiritual
education of the person,’ she said, urging to develop spiritual
education program to be further implemented in schools and
kindergartens.

From: A. Papazian

Alexander Amaryan: Leaders of destructive sects may use acoustic
weapons to control members of their organizations

November 11, 2010 – 20:36 AMT 16:36 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

Leaders of destructive sects may use acoustic weapons to control
members of their organizations, according to Alexander Amaryan, the
head of the Center for Aid and Rehabilitation to the Victims of
Destructive Cults.

As the expert pointed out at news conference entitled Sects as a Cause
for Murders and Suicides, `in contrast to hidden hypnosis or other
psychological methods acoustic or ultrasonic weapons affect everyone.
The weapon, currently freely available, can turn even the most
well-balanced of men into an aggressive and unpredictable person.’

Sonic and ultrasonic weapons (USW) are weapons of various types that
use sound to injure, incapacitate, or kill an opponent. Some common
bio-effects of weapons include effects to the human central nervous
system resulting in physical pain, difficulty breathing, vertigo,
nausea, disorientation, or other systemic discomfort. Interference
with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results.

From: A. Papazian

ianyan magazine
Nov 10 2010

Armenian Taxi Drivers Rally Against Santa Monica’s Cab Ordinance
Diaspora, Society – By Liana Aghajanian on November 10, 2010 2:08 pm

Despite a bevy of Armenian taxi drivers rallying at Santa Monica’s
City Hall last night against a city proposed taxi limit that would
leave them unemployed, the City Council approved the ordinance after
hours of deliberation and several public comments from community
representatives and drivers.

The ordinance was proposed after a study determined that the large
amount of taxis were preventing the city from cutting back on vehicle
emissions, as well as after the Council received complaints from
residents about high fees, poor customer service and Santa Monica cabs
operating illegally in other cities. It will take effect in January
2011 granting Bell Cab, Independent Taxi Owners Association, Metro Cab
Company, Taxi! Taxi! and Yellow Cab the ability to operate within the
city.

Six of the 13 original applicants that submitted proposals to be
considered within the city were owned or operated by
Armenian-Americans, none of which were selected – a decision that
would economically impact 300 families.

The drivers, as well as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
and the Western region of the Armenian National Committee (ANC) say
the ordinance is unfair.

`We have suspicions of discrimination,’ Nora Hovsepian, an attorney
and a member of the board of directors of the ANC-Western Region said.
`We’re not accusing any body of anything right now, but the more
information we get about the selection process, the more it gives
credence to those suspicions, so we’re hoping that that’s not the
case.’

Serouj Aprahamian, the executive director of the Armenian Youth
Federation who was looking for transparency into the selection process
Tuesday night.

`There’s no explanation that’s been given,’ he said. `This is their
livelihood, if they can’t work here, they have no where else to go.’

A vast number of recent immigrants from Armenia are employed by
taxicab companies. According to Marco Soto, the director of public
affairs for the administrative services co-op, which represents Yellow
Cab of Los Angeles, 35 percent of Yellow Cab’s drivers are of Armenian
descent.

Mesrop Injyan was one of the drivers rallying at City Hall. After
winning a green card lottery, he immigrated to Los Angeles five years
ago and began driving a cab. He was there on Tuesday night looking for
answers.

`They are putting us out of work,’ he said in an Armenian-language
interview with ianyanmag. `We have been requesting from them what the
selection criteria has been, what points the companies were selected
on and until now we haven’t received an answer. It’s like if you’re
playing basketball and the game ends, and you say this team wins and
this team loses and I ask why, and you say that’s just the way it is.’

Before public comment, a representative explained that the 13
proposals were evaluated by an inter-agency committee of five members
including representatives from the city’s Finance Department, Office
of Sustainability and the Environment, the Police Department and the
City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation Taxicab Regulation
Division.

The criteria included proposed business plan, fleet composition (
the number of vehicles that met low-emission standards,) local
preference, character of the operator’s owners, including criminal
records, discount fares for seniors as well as driver training.

A memo on yesterday’s agenda denied the fact that the race, ethnicity,
or nationality of owners or other personnel played any factor in the
evaluation process or recommendation.

`The evaluation committee was unaware of the specific race, ethnicity
or nationality of individuals linked to specific taxicab companies
until such race, ethnicity or nationality was pointed out by outside
individuals and organizations subsequent to the evaluation process,’
the note said.

It wasn’t just Armenian-owned companies that felt they were being
treated unfairly.

Euro Taxi, one of the other companies denied a franchise was
represented by the Latino Business Association and South Bay Latino
Chamber of Commerce and strongly opposed the staff recommendation.

Ellen Poghosyan, president of V.I.P Yellow Cab, also denied a
franchise, made a plea to the City Council to reconsider the ordinance
that excluded her company.

`Just give us a chance,’ she said. `This way we can decrease
unemployment.’ Poghosyan also noted that V.I.P was the only company
that served the city of Santa Monica 24 hours a day, seven days a
week.

Karapet Torosyan, who works for V.I.P. Yellow Cab, has been employed
as a taxi driver since he came to the U.S. with his parents eight
years ago. Now 25-years-old and a U.S. citizen, he sees disastrous
results for the Armenian families affected by the councils’ decision.

`The economy is so bad that you can’t even save money,’ he said.
`You’re working to barely support your family.’

Comments around the web, on social media sites like Yelp as well as
Asbarez, an Armenian-American newspaper published by ARF highlight
customer’s unhappiness with the cab companies in Santa Monica.

`If you like your life and your money, never ever ride with this cab
company!’ wrote a user named Mark Q. on the business rating site Yelp!
about V.I.P Yellow Cab. The commenter alleges that the driver
overcharged him, refused to listen when told he was going the wrong
way and illegally drove them to the L.A. Colosseum, as he wasn’t
permitted to operate in the Los Angeles area.

Another comment left by a user named Sevag on an Asbarez article
alleges high fares.

`If the driver is Armenian, I will guaranteed be charged almost double
the fare,’ he wrote, adding on another note that he supported the
anti-discrimination rally because he was Armenian.

The City Council’s report however points out that all companies that
submitted proposals demonstrated that their ownership and principal
investors of record were of good character and background and no
evidence of wrongdoing was found, not making it a factor in the
council’s ultimate decision.

Torosyan says that there are so many Armenian taxi drivers in the city
that it’s difficult to put blame and pinpoint the wrongdoings of
individuals.

While drivers will need to figure out what to do come 2011, the
profession of taxi driving is chosen by many Armenians out of
necessity, not choice.

`It doesn’t seem to me that there is anyone in our Armenian community
who is happy driving a taxi, but people still have to work,’ Injyan
said. `It’s clear that this isn’t a very good job, but it’s what it
is.’

Injyan, who is thankful to the ARF and other Armenian organizations
that stood by the drivers and their families, misses Armenia, but came
to the U.S. because of economic difficulties in the landlocked country
that has a poverty rate of over 20 percent.

`We came here to have a better life,’ he says. `How can you survive in
America without working?’

From: A. Papazian

Monument in memory of the Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I erected
in Holy Echmiadzin

November 11, 2010 – 21:42 AMT 17:42 GMT PanARMENIAN.Net –

On November 11, Holy Echmiadzin hosted a memorial inauguration
ceremony. The monument was erected in memory of the Catholicos of All
Armenians Vazgen I.

The monument was created on the initiative of co-chair of the
Armenia-Russia interparliamentary cooperation committee, head of the
Russian Commission for Natural Monopolies, Nikolai Ryzhkov.

The memorial is authored by the honoured art worker of Russia,
sculptor Friedrich Soghoyan.

His Holiness Vazgen I (September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the
Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1955 and 1994, in
one of the longest reigns of the Armenian Catholicoi. A native of
Romania, he began his career as a philosopher, before becoming a
Doctor of Theology and a member of the local Armenian clergy.

From: A. Papazian

Hayk Demoyan: Turkey will never become member of the EU

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS: Turkey will never become member of
the EU as it has chosen the path of creating Islamic state and does
not regress to temporal, Hayk Demoyan, director of the Armenian
Genocide Museum-Institute, told Armenpress, speaking about the
statement of the Turkish President Abdullah Gul voiced in an interview
with BBC that Turkey will do its best to become member of the EU and
will implement all the necessary commitments. Abdullah Gul at the same
time pointed out that he is not sure that the EU will do the same: `I
see that during the talks very artificial and unjust impediments are
being created,’ he stated.

`Turkey goes through the path of creation of Islamic state. There are
two scenarios which are irrelevant with the system of values of the EU
and with policy in general. First – Turkey will become a moderate
Islamic state, second – it will go to radicalism, that is to say Islam
will merge into the nationalism. The manifestations of the second one
we already see,’ Hayk Demoyan said.

According to him, Turkey will not accept the fact of the Armenian
Genocide as it will contribute to the change of system of values of
that country. It also means devaluation of basic values, which Turkey
will not allow.

From: A. Papazian

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 11 2010

Gusan 2010 Choir to commemorate Gomidas

11 November 2010, Thursday / Today’s Zaman, Ä°stanbul

The Armenian Church of the Three Altars in Ä°stanbul’s BeyoÄ?lu, known
in Turkish as the Ã`ç Horan Church, will today host a concert of
religious music by the Gusan 2010 Choir.

The concert is part of a series of events marking the 140th
anniversary of the birth of Gomidas Vartabet (1869-1935), an
internationally acknowledged Armenian ethnomusicologist, composer,
interpreter, choir chief and clergy man who improved and expanded
Armenian music.
His most important work, `Badarak’ (Rite) is one of the 10 badaraks
accepted by the Armenian Church and still performed today. Badarak
will be performed at tonight’s concert, a joint effort by the Anadolu
Kültür foundation with support from the İstanbul 2010 European Capital
of Culture Agency.

The Gusan 2010 Choir, formed by the Gomidas Platform, will be
conducted by Hagop Mamigonyan and Edvin GaliopoÄ?lu. The 31-member
choir is made up of some of the best male choir singers selected from
Armenian male choirs in Ä°stanbul, and is formed as a tribute to the
Gusan Choir of Gomidas.

The Gusan 2010 Choir will perform Gomidasyan Badarak (Gomidas’ Ritual
Music) in its original form and as a cappella for the first time in 50
years, the event’s organizers said in a written statement.

Admission is free of charge. The concert starts at 9 p.m. The Armenian
Church of the Three Altars is located on Balık Pazarı Sahne Sokak, No:
24/A in the Galatasaray quarter.

From: A. Papazian

Ruben Melkonyan: Turkey is undertaking imitation steps for becoming
member of the EU

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS: Turkey is undertaking imitation
steps for its membership to the EU, Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan told
Armenpress, referring to the annual report of the European Union about
the steps undertaken by Turkey for becoming member of the
establsihment. According to him, the principle points of
implementation of Turkey’s commitments are considered the protection
of rights of ethnic minorities, normalization of relations with
neighbor countries as well as freedom of speech in that country.

`It is interesting for us that this year’s report refers to the
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations,’ Melkonyan pointed
out, adding that the report says Turkey has not implemented its
commitments in this direction and has not ratified Armenian-Turkish
protocols.

Ruben Melkonyan said during this period Turkey has undertaken certain
steps to show as if it is committed to the European values, but these
are `half steps’ that do not solve any essential or radical issues.
`One of these half steps also relates to the trial of Hrant Dink case
which is in a deadlock for more than two years,’ the Turkologist said.

Referring to the question whether the constitutional reforms in Turkey
may promote that country’s membership to the EU, Melkonyan said that
these reforms solve domestic political issues and are mainly directed
toward the restriction of influence of forensic and military
authorities, thus they cannot be viewed as radical reforms directed
toward the solution of the EU membership issue.

From: A. Papazian