Author: Andres-Papazian

Armenian soldier reminds Azerbaijan that they can’t talk to us with
force of arms: Karabakh Commander

10:25, 26 August, 2014

YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian soldier doesn’t need
anything, but human prayers for health and success. During the
conversation with journalists a commander of one of military unit in
the northeastern direction of Karabakh Harutyun Amirkhanyan said about
this. As “Armenpress” reports, during the conversation with
journalists, he said: “During the recent 20 days, the rival tried to
escalate the situation in the front line, trying to prove something to
the world and his people.

But as many years ago, now as well it was our soldier and our soldier
alone could throw back the opponent from his intention.

Unfortunately, we also had human casualties. But we managed to prove
that our work is fair and they have nothing to do with us. We remind
them that all the issues can be solved only in diplomatic ways, they
can’t talk to us in the language of force of arms.”

According to commander Amirkhanyan, in the result of recent events
none of the soldiers from their military unit got injured,
which is the reason of well preparedness, being vigilant and
consistent and of course God’s Blessing. “The Armenian soldier is
the same as several days ago. Moreover gained more experience after
military actions within the last few days. Our soldier applied in
practice what he knew theoretically,” the commander added.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIE
La Russie encourage davantage d’importations de produits alimentaires
en provenance d’Arménie

La gouvernement russe a proposé d’aider l’Arménie à accroître les
exportations de produits agricoles vers la Russie après son
interdiction sur les importations de produits alimentaires de
l’Occident a révélé un haut fonctionnaire à Erevan.

Le vice-ministre de l’Agriculture Robert Makarian a montré au service
arménien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am) une lettre du ministère russe de
l’Agriculture citant une forte demande pour les produits alimentaires
arméniens en Russie et se déclarant prêt à aider à stimuler leurs
importations.

Robert Makarian a dit que les représentants de certains détaillants de
produits alimentaires russes sont déjà arrivés en Arménie afin de se
pencher sur son potentiel d’exportation. “Car ils sont maintenant
confrontés à une certaine pénurie de produits agricoles et sont
maintenant plus intéressés à voir nos produits sur le marché russe”,
a-t-il expliqué.

Un cadre supérieur de Spayka, une compagnie de fret arménien
spécialisée dans les exportations agricoles, a décidé jeudi que
l’interdiction russe imposée en représailles à des sanctions
économiques occidentales contre Moscou, a ouvert une “bonne occasion”
pour l’Arménie. Karen Baghdasarian a dit que Spayka pourrait tripler
ses exportations vers la Russie dans les prochains mois.

From: A. Papazian

Ani ruins reveal hidden secrets from below

13:28 26.08.2014

The underground secrets of the historic Ani Ruins, an ancient,
5,000-year-old Armenian city located on the Turkish-Armenian border in
the eastern province of Kars, have been revealed, the Hurriyet Daily
News reports.

While speaking at the recent `International Ani-Kars Symposium,’
history researcher Sezai Yazıcı said secret water channels,
undiscovered monk cells, meditation rooms, huge corridors, intricate
tunnels, unbelievable traps and corners that make one lose their sense
of direction were just some of the unknown underground structures
located at the ancient site.

Yazıcı said a number of experts, academics and researchers attended
the Kars Symposium, which was held at Kars’ Kafkas University from
Aug. 14 to 16. At the symposium, Yazıcı’s presentation titled,
`Underground Secrets of Ani,’ drew a lot of attention since no
previous publications on the underground structures had been mentioned
before.

`In 2011 while working on a United Nations project in order to promote
Kars and to reveal its historical and cultural heritage, I came across
some pretty interesting information. One of the most important names
of the first half of the 20th century, George Ivanovic Gurdjieff, who
spent most of his childhood and youth in Kars, had chosen [to stay in]
an isolated place in Ani along with his friend Pogosyan where they
worked for some time together in the 1880s. One day, while digging at
one of the underground tunnels in Ani, Gurdjieff and his friend saw
that the soil became different. They continued digging and discovered
a narrow tunnel. But the end of the tunnel was closed off with stones.
They cleaned the stones and found a room. They saw decayed furniture,
broken pots and pans in the room. They also found a scrap of parchment
in a niche. Although Gurdjieff spoke Armenian very well, he failed to
read Armenian writing in the parchment. Apparently, it was very old
Armenian. After a while, they learned that the parchments were letters
written by a monk to another monk,’ Yazıcı said, speaking about how he
became interested in the underground structures.

`Finally, [Gurdjieff and his friend] succeeded in understanding the
letters. Gurdjieff discovered that there was a famous Mesopotamian
esoteric school in the place where they found the letters. The famous
school was active between the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. and
there was a monastery there,’ he added.

Yazıcı said Gurdjieff was the first person to mention the monastery
that was located under the Ani Ruins.

`Gurdjieff’s discovery, nearly 135 years ago, could not have been
confirmed until the excavation works of 1915. Years later, an Italian
excavation team confirmed that it was a monastery. Before Gurdjieff,
many travelers also observed that a significant population had lived
in caves or rock houses in Ani,’ he said.

`The tunnels are above 500 meters in Ani. Most of underground
structures and caves were used as houses. The metrical sizes of most
of the underground structures have been measured and maps have been
made for most of them,’ the researcher said, confirming that there
were currently 823 underground structures and caves in Ani today.

Yazıcı said among the most important underground structures were the
Giden Gelmez Tunnel, Yeraltı Anisi (Underground Ani) and Gizli Kapılar
(Secret Doors). `On the other hand, Ani also has four complicated
structures. It is very difficult to reach some of them. It is time to
mention these underground structures in the promotion of Ani. The
Culture and Tourism Ministry should put signs showing the places of
underground structures and build walking paths. Underground structures
draw great interest in the world,’ Yazıcı said.

From: A. Papazian

Karabakh Security Council discusses the situation at the Line of Contact

17:45 25.08.2014

On 25 August President Bako Sahakyan convoked a meeting of the
Security Council. The agenda of the meeting consisted of two block of
issues, the first related to the activities carried out to improve the
situation formed in the Shahoumyan region and along the
Karabakh-Azerbaijani border following the escalation incited by
Azerbaijan in the July-August of the current year, the results of it
and further steps to be carried out in this direction; the second was
related to celebrations of the 23rd anniversary of the NKR
proclamation, NKR President’s Press Office reported.

NKR defense minister, heads of the National Security Service, the
Police, the State Service for Emergency Situations delivered reports
on the first block.

Touching upon the recent incidents along the Karabakh-Azerbaijani
borderline the President underlined that due to complex work, joint
efforts of the Artsakh Defense Army and the corresponding structures
all the encroachments undertaken by the enemy were efficiently
rebuffed, causing great losses to the adversary.

According to the President, our reaction once again demonstrated high
level of the armed forces’ preparedness, the unwavering spirit and
patriotism of our soldiers, the cohesion of the society against
external threats and their willingness to defend independence,
security and dignity of our state.

Bako Sahakyan expressed gratitude to the command staff and the
personnel of the Defense Army, Artsakh freedom fighters, the relevant
state structures, to the nation and the authorities for the skills and
abilities to rebuff jointly and effectively any encroachment,
considering it the best manifestation of professionalism and
patriotism.

Speaking about the positive sides, the President also mentioned the
readiness and ability to notice the drawbacks and weak sides and take
appropriate measures for eliminating them, expressing confidence that
both the command staff of the Armed Forces and the heads of the
relevant power security structures would examine and discuss those
issues on a professional level.

Deputy Prime Minister, head of the government’s commission for
organizing and coordinating solemn events dedicated to the 23rd
anniversary of the NKR proclamation Arthur Aghabekyan delivered a
report on the second block of issues.

President Sahakyan highlighted the organized and high-level
implementation of all the planned events.

The Head of the State gave concrete instructions to the NKR government
and appropriate structures for proper implementation of the tasks
concerning the agenda issues.

From: A. Papazian

ARTSAKH ARMY CAN SOLVE GREAT ISSUES WITH SMALL FORCES

Monday, 25 August 2014 11:54

On August 19, NKR Defense Minister, Defense Army
commander, Lieutenant-General Movses Hakobian convened a press
conference for representatives of the mass media of Armenia and
Artsakh.
The meeting followed the visit of the twoArmenian Republics’
reporters to different sections of the Defense Army front line, where
they could learn the situation on the border, get in touch with
soldiers, and familiarize with their daily life.

Welcoming the participants, the Minister noted that such events had
become a tradition, and their goal was to inform reporters about the
activities of the Defense Army for making a clear idea of our armed
forces and informing the society about this.

The Artsakh armed forces commander briefed the journalists
about the process of army building and the works conducted in the
first half-year of 2014, then answered their questions.

The NKR Defense Army is the largest union of the Armenian
armed forces, which performs the most important task of defending the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic from the enemy’s incursions. In its recent
statements, the Azerbaijani leadership has claimed for Zangezur and
Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, which, according to the Artsakh
armed forces commander, is absurd. “The Azerbaijani authorities have
never given up the idea of resolving the Karabakh conflict in their
favor. Although two decades have passed since the cease-fire, which
was established at the request of Azerbaijan, yet the situation is
getting worse every year at the front line. The OSCE Minsk Group has
made efforts for these years towards the peaceful settlement of the
conflict, making various proposals to the conflicting parties, but
Azerbaijan has always rejected all the proposed options. Thanks to the
petrodollars, the rival has increased its military potential for the
recent years, purchasing up-to-date military equipment in different
countries. In this way too, it tries to blackmail Armenia and Artsakh,
as well as international organizations”, said Movses Hakobyan.

In the postwar years, a new stage started for the Artsakh
Army. On the one hand, the Army building was directed to the
preparation of the younger generation’s mobilization, on the other
hand, to the modernization of the armaments and military equipment, to
the military training, and improving the living conditions of
soldiers. While in 1992 the ratio between the Artsakh and Azerbaijani
armed forces was 1 to 20 in favor of Azerbaijan, currently it makes 1
to 2, again in favor of Azerbaijan, which is the result of last year’s
armament. Based on this comparison, the NKR Defense Minister noted
that the resumption of war was always predictable for the Artsakh
armed forces, so the Army’s activities are aimed at preventing it. The
Defense Army Commander presented all the events implemented during the
past half-year and aimed at this. A special place among them is
occupied by the field exercises, the communication system improvement,
and mobilization readiness. Constant works are conducted towards the
armed forces’ combat readiness. A sufficient number of night-vision
devices have been purchased, and all the front-line positions are
provided with them. But, this is not all. Soon, thermal monitoring
devices, which have more advantages, will be purchased. As for the
monitoring in the daytime, there is no problem, and it is easily
conducted by the Artsakh soldiers. The recent subversive-intelligence
operations undertaken by the enemy have once again proved the level of
our armed forces’ preparedness. In addition, in all types of
competition the Artsakh Army has always occupied primary places. This
means that being at the frontline, the Army must constantly increase
its combat readiness. Along with this, daily works are conducted to
increase the soldiers’ morale and to improve the moral and
psychological state of the staff, which are no less important factors.
There is a special order of accepting recruits to the Army, which
helps easily adapt to the military life. Also, there is a special
order for the visits of soldiers’ parents, providing possible meetings
with their children.

Works on providing the ammunition and logistics are
underway. The assortment of food products at the frontline is
improved. The recent exercises have demonstrated once again that all
the structures of the NKR Defense Army are able to perform their
tasks. As a bright proof of the above mentioned, Major-General Movses
Hakobyan recalled with obvious pride the Biathlon Championships held
recently in Russia, where all the three teams, which had occupied a
prize-winning places, were soldiers of the Artsakh Defense Army. It is
noteworthy that the teams are not ‘prefabricated’, or gathered from
different divisions, they are the personnel of the same tanks.
According to the Defense Minister, all the teams of the NKR Defense
Army tank division are highly qualified.

Generally, the current year has been specific with regards
of the tension on the contact-line – the enemy undertook 16
diversion-intelligence attempts, and they all failed. Our soldiers,
fulfilling successfully their duty, threw the enemy back to their
initial positions. Such countermeasures were undertaken by the NKR
Defense Army 7 times, 5 of which were quite successful. In late July
and early August, Azerbaijan’s subversive activities were specific,
because they were undertaken in several directions and several days.
One of the 7 operations undertaken during a week was an obvious
attack, as diversion cannot be undertaken by 40-50 people. According
to the Defense Minister, the enemy was aimed at seizing some
positions, thus trying to justify its losses before its own society.
All of these actions were carried out by only one unit, via the
Azerbaijani Army special forces, which was retrained in Northern
Cyprus and for which Azerbaijan paid a lot of money to Turkey. It was
also an exam – a report to the Turkish trainers, as if the subdivision
is ready to implement such operations. According to the information of
the NKR DA, the enemy suffered 36 losses those days, with specific
names and ranks. Unfortunately, during the defensive operations our
army also suffered losses – 6 people, 3 of which were officers and 3 –
soldiers. This testifies that our commanders are along with the
soldiers any moment.

Answering the quest5ion whether the Commander of the NKR
Defense Army a war, Mr. Hakobian said,

From: A. Papazian

GM Karen Grigoryan wins silver medal at World University Championship

09:45, 25 August, 2014

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Team (GM Karen Grigoryan, GM
Zaven Andriasian, FM Tigran S. Petrosyan, WFM Maria Gevorgyan) scored
18 points out of 27 and took the bronze prize in the 13th World
University Championship that was held in Katowice, Poland.
Representatives of Poland (20,5) and Russia (18,5) took the first two
places.

The Chess Federation of Armenia informed “Armenpress” that by the
individual classification of the men’s section Karen Grigoryan took
the silver medal. He scored 6,5 points out of 9 and shared 1st- 3rd
places together with GMs Sanan Sjugirov and Ivan Bukavshin (Russia).
By the tie-break Sjugirov became the World University Champion.

Maria Gevorgyan took the 6th place with 5,5 points in the women’s
section. The champion with 8,5 points was WIM Klaudia Kulon (Poland).

Karen H. Grigoryan is an Armenian chess Grandmaster. On the November
2013 FIDE list, he was ranked number 211 in the world, number 9 in
Armenia and had an Elo rating of 2604. He is the Chess Champion of
Armenia with 9 1/2/13 (2013).

He became a Chess Grandmaster in May 2013 during the Presidential
Board Meeting in Baku. He was the Armenian U14 Champion (2008);
European U16 Champion (2010), the winner of the G. Kasparyan Memorial
– Young Masters 2010; the 2011 Youth Stars Tournament; the Armenian
Championship 2011, the Albena Open (2012), the Open Internacional
Escacs Vila de Sitges in July 2013.

From: A. Papazian

Washington Post
Aug 24 2014

Ambassador ignores bogus charges against rights activists in Azerbaijan

The Post’s Aug. 14 editorial “A poor imitation of Russia ” was right
on, despite Azerbaijani Ambassador Elin Suleymanov’s response
[“Azerbaijan’s dissenters,” letters, Aug. 18].

The ambassador did not address the bogus charges of spying for Armenia
made against Leyla and Arif Yunus, the fact that Ms. Yunus is being
denied medicines and medical treatment or the fact that there are
dozens of other political prisoners being detained or imprisoned in
Azerbaijani jails.

Belittling the important nongovernmental diplomacy that the Yunuses
are involved in to help promote peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan
because Azerbaijan “is working through the Minsk Group to achieve
this” defies understanding. Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan has
demonstrated a commitment to the Minsk Group framework because neither
side is prepared to make the compromises necessary to achieve the
peaceful resolution of this conflict.

Nongovernmental diplomacy efforts are an inconvenient reminder for the
Azerbaijani regime of its unwillingness to find a peaceful solution to
the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh
region. Better to have those who seek peace between Armenians and
Azerbaijanis in jail.

Richard Kauzlarich, Falls Church

The writer was ambassador to Azerbaijan from 1994 to 1997.

From: A. Papazian

Biotech and Ebola in Cambridge: Chris Garabedian, CEO of Sarepta

NEWS | AUGUST 21, 2014 11:04 AM
________________________________

By Aram Arkun
Mirror-Spectator Staff

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Recently, the Ebola virus has been in the news
almost every day, with panicked speculation about the danger of its
spread, and the ethics of treatment. There is no tested and proven
treatment or vaccine available. Christopher “Chris” Nishan Garabedian,
the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sarepta
Therapeutics, is frequently sought out by the media in these
discussions. It happens that his company is one of only a handful with
drugs that could treat Ebola victims. Garabedian, in his Cambridge
headquarters, explained that in fact this drug is only one example of
what his company can accomplish. Sarepta employs an approach which is
part of a revolution in biotechnology, using Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) to
specifically target diseases and genetic problems.

This is a different technology from the ZMapp combination of several
antibodies against the Ebola virus, which was in the news because it
was given to two American missionaries infected by Ebola recently.
These antibodies attempt to allow a person’s own immune system to
identify and neutralize the virus. However, they had never been given
to humans before, while Sarepta’s drugs have been used on non-human
primates and in Phase 1 safety trials for the Federal Drug
Administration (FDA), with promising results. The trials were
supported by the Department of Defense but economic issues halted the
program.

The problem is that treatments for many diseases which are usually
restricted in the numbers of victims do not economically attract
investments necessary to support research and trials. For this reason,
drugs intended to treat rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000
people in the US are called orphan drugs. Garabedian said, “I think
the US government knows, as governments around the world know, that to
leave it up to the private sector to develop technologies and medical
countermeasures against these threats, whether pandemic threats that
spread naturally or biological ones that someone can manufacture in a
garage, is not feasible. They know they have to foot the bill. The
problem is that they are not funding it fully.” He pointed out that
crises come and go, so specific diseases float in and out of the
public’s awareness along with a sense of urgency, but the potential
threats remain.

For Ebola in particular, his company has enough supply ready only to
treat 100-150 people, if the FDA would give emergency authorization,
along with permission from the Department of Defense which had
provided initial funding. In case Ebola does spread on a greater
scale, he said, “We hope that this is raising awareness that we have
the technology but need to raise the manufacturing ability to a higher
scale.”

The same is true of course for Ebola drugs using different approaches
which are being developed by a few other companies, like Tekmira’s
TKM-Ebola, which the FDA very recently allowed to be used on infected
people. However, Garabedian exclaimed that “regardless of what press
or market reactions have been, we still think that we have the most
advanced and robust data set for safety and efficacy that is out there
for Ebola.”

There are many companies utilizing various types of technologies that
attempt to modify or suppress RNA. Sarepta uses phosphorodiamidate
morpholino oligomers (PMOs), stable synthetic chemical structures
similar to RNA. They can be used to create drugs specific for either
human or pathogen RNA and can also target specific tissues. PMOs
increase or decrease the production of a protein involved in a
disease. In the case of Ebola or other viruses, the PMOs block access
of the virus to human cellular machinery and thus inhibit its
replication.

Despite the attention that it is garnering lately, the work on Ebola
or related viruses like Marburg is not the main focus of Sarepta’s
commercial research. Instead, it is pursuing PMO-based therapeutics
actively for a form of muscular dystrophy called Duchenne (DMD), which
is caused by a mutation or error in the gene for dystrophin, a protein
necessary to protect human cells during muscle function. The PMO
treatment in this case deals with human and not virus RNA, and is
targeted to skip defective mutated sections of the dystrophin gene to
allow the body to make functional dystrophin protein. It can be
targeted to specific mutations, and thus treat different varieties of
the disease. Phase IIb clinical trials on safety and efficacy have
already been done on one of these drugs, eteplirsen, meaning that it
is advancing in the FDA process needed for government approval.

Garabedian stated that the reason for the focus on DMD is that
“Duchenne is a commercially viable market, high on medical need.”
Furthermore, the same technology can be used for a series of related
drugs. Garabedian said, “It is the consummate personalized medicine.”

This is novel for regulators like the FDA. He continued: “I would say
that this technology demands a new approach from the FDA…If you read
that we have had ups and downs, it is because the FDA sometimes gets
more conservative the more advanced and novel the technology is. I
have been characterized as being aggressive or pushing too hard, but
all we were doing is arguing on behalf of patients who need this
technology.”

Sarepta needs at least one successful breakout drug to allow it to
expand the scale of its finances and work. Afterwards, it can expand
its PMO-based approach to many different diseases and genetic
problems, and will be in an enviable position. For example, among its
other ongoing projects, Sarepta is testing a flu drug using the PMO
approach.

There are many companies working on RNA therapeutics with different
approaches. While some others also work with PMOs, Garabedian said,
“We have the lion’s share of the real estate of morpholino
intellectual property. We also have the most know-how on scale-up
manufacturing. While we don’t have a 100 percent lock on all
morpholino, we are the only one in advanced drug development. We have
patents.”

Born in 1966 and raised in the Washington DC area, Garabedian is
Armenian on both his mother and father’s sides. His parents were born
in the US but his grandparents fled the Armenian Genocide to the US
via Ellis Island and Cuba. He did not get to know his grandparents
well, as they died either before he was born or while he was still
young. Garabedian’s parents tried to instill Armenian culture in their
children, but by the time they came to Chris, it became too difficult.
For this reason, Garabedian said, “Peter Balakian’s Black Dog of Fate
resonated with me. I too grew up with American cultural mores, and
came to appreciate my Armenian heritage as an adult.” He started to
read books, and saw movies like Atom Egoyan’s Ararat, and encountered
in the popular culture efforts at documenting the Armenian plight. He
did work for around a year from 1998 to 1999 for an Armenian, Vaughn
Kailian, CEO and president at COR Therapeutics, but otherwise has had
little opportunity to cultivate his Armenian connections in his
profession.

Garabedian had a business background in college and initially worked
in market research, brand management and new product development. He
described his involvement in biopharmaceuticals as “a little bit of
serendipity.” He began learning about this industry in a consulting
company, and from 1994 worked at Abbott Laboratories in Chicago, which
“was a great training ground….Then Gilead Sciences called in 1997 and
I joined them. This was my formative experience in the biotech
industry. They really shaped a vision. At the time, they were less
valued than Sarepta is today. They had a few more employees…They have
about a 140 billion dollar market capitalization today. They built it
on a relatively small footprint. … I really learned what it takes to
build a successful biotech, how to build in a lean, smart way, and
good, smart drug development. I learned from my mentors, like John
Martin as CEO of Gilead.”

Garabedian found out through experience that many companies failed not
due to problems with their technology, but how they applied that
technology, the information they attached to a particular drug, and
how they dealt with the regulatory process.

Garabedian joined Celgene Corporation in 2007, feeling they were on
the same trajectory of success as Gilead, and became Vice President of
Corporate Strategy. He led its first commercial acquisition of a
company called Pharmion. He joined the board of directors of AVI (the
predecessor of Sarepta) in June 2010 and became its president and CEO
in January 2011.

So far, things have worked out pretty well at Sarepta. With a
cutting-edge technology moving toward FDA approval, it had the top
performing stock of all 2012. It rarely used to break over a market
value of 400 million dollars, and now it has been operating at a
valuation between eight hundred million to 1.8 one billion. Garabedian
does not want a buyout, and tells investors that the company is
woefully undervalued, so they should stick with it for the next five
or ten years.

Garabedian nurtures grand ambitions for Sarepta, and for himself. He
learnt from two highly successful chief executive officers, and so
instead of staying as part of a good management team, wanted the
opportunity to build the next great company, the equivalent of a
Google or Apple: “What I’m driven by and what motivates me is to apply
my experience in this industry, to take a technology that can be the
next revolution in medicine. If I can see this developed to treat even
one serious disease like Duchenne, I will feel pretty good. I think
this technology can be applied to many diseases. We all strive to be
part of being something bigger than ourselves. This industry, this
technology and this company give me the opportunity to do that. I hope
my children will be proud of it, that they may have sacrificed time
with their dad for something bigger.”

– See more at:

From: A. Papazian

La Croix, France
20 août 2014

Religions d’Iran: les Arméniens d’Ispahan s’accrochent à leurs églises

à Ispahan, la très ancienne communauté arménienne vit autour du
quartier de la « petite Djolfa ».

20/8/14

Mais de plus en plus de jeunes Arméniens d’Iran s’exilent pour des
raisons économiques.

C’est à Ispahan, dans cette ancienne capitale et ville joyau de la
Perse, qu’est établie depuis plus de quatre cents ans la communauté
arménienne.

Pour se rendre dans la « petite Djolfa », du nom de la ville dont ils
étaient originaires en Arménie, il suffit de lever les yeux pour
repérer les croix bien visibles sur les coupoles des églises et se
laisser guider à travers les rues. Le quartier compte encore 12
églises sur 24 auparavant. Certaines sont en ruine ou ne sont plus
utilisées, faute de paroissiens.

La plus ancienne, Saint-Kevork, date de 1611. Les portes ouvrent sur
un joli jardin. L’église est très fréquentée toute la journée, que ce
soit pour faire une prière, déposer un cierge, une offrande, ou tout
simplement parler des événements ou programme prévus pour les enfants,
vérifier la date d’un mariage, etc.

« La vie n’est-elle pas agréable ici? »

« La communauté arménienne est très active, elle est structurée
autour de ses églises, de ses écoles et des activités pour les adultes
comme pour les enfants », explique Maryam, mère de famille qui tient
une permanence à l’église quelques heures dans la journée.

Maryam a trois enfants mais une seule fille mariée vit encore en Iran.
« L’émigration des jeunes est un réel problème pour nous les parents.
Nous nous retrouvons seuls, loin de nos enfants et nos petits-enfants.
Qu’ont-ils à vouloir partir, la vie n’est-elle pas agréable ici? »

C’est à l’occasion des fêtes religieuses que l’absence est ressentie
encore plus durement par les familles. Et pourtant, les chrétiens en
Iran ne sont pas persécutés, ni ne souffrent de discriminations.

Le droit de fabriquer de l’alcool

Ils jouissent même de libertés que leur jalousent parfois les
musulmans. Dans leurs associations, ou clubs, les hommes et les femmes
se mélangent et les Arméniennes n’ont pas à porter le foulard. Les
chrétiens sont également autorisés à fabriquer de l’alcool et à en
consommer, Ã condition de ne pas en vendre aux musulmans.

Par contre, devant la justice, la parole d’un chrétien ` comme celle
de n’importe quelle femme en Iran `, vaut toujours la moitié de celle
d’un musulman. Dans les rues de la « petite Djolfa », les femmes
portent leur croix bien visible, sans que cela heurte les
non-chrétiens. La majorité des boutiques sont encore tenues par des
Arméniens. Le dimanche, les commerces sont fermés, alors qu’ils sont
ouverts dans le reste de la ville.

« Ils partent pour des raisons avant tout économiques. Ils pensent
qu’il y a plus d’opportunités en Occident », intervient Hovannes, lui
aussi père de famille très actif au sein de la paroisse Saint-Kevork.
« Pourtant la vie lÃ-bas est difficile, plus stressante qu’en Iran »,
lui répond Maryam dont le fils vit et travaille au Canada. Le débat
pourrait durer des heures tant il nourrit régulièrement les
conversations des familles restées au pays.

D’où viennent les Arméniens d’Iran ?

Mais d’où viennent les Arméniens d’Iran? Quand sont-ils arrivés en
Perse? La question divise, y compris les Arméniens eux-mêmes. « La
présence arménienne en Iran est continue depuis deux millénaires dans
le nord-ouest du pays. Mais la plupart des Arméniens sont issus de
déplacements de populations qui ont eu lieu à partir du XVIe siècle
», écrit Naïri Nahapétian (1), journaliste arméno-iranienne.

« Le souverain safavide (2) Chah Abbas, en lutte avec l’Empire
ottoman, fit de nombreuses incursions en Arménie et ramena 25 000
Arméniens en Iran. Ces épisodes historiques ont fait l’objet d’une
mystification au sein de la communauté arménienne: Chah Abbas aurait
calmement “importé” les Arméniens pour utiliser leurs talents
d’artisans, et assurer la prospérité de sa capitale. »

Qu’en était-il dans la réalité? « La réalité historique est entachée
de plus de violence, poursuit Naïri Nahapétian. Après la mise à sac de
la ville arménienne de Djolfa et la déportation de ses habitants Ã
Ispahan, le quartier de Nor Djolfa fut fondé au sud du Zayandeh Rud
(la rivière qui coule à Ispahan). D’autres transferts de population
amenèrent des Arméniens à Téhéran, où ils se sont spécialisés dans le
travail des métaux et des peaux », conclut celle qui est aussi un
auteur de romans policiers à succès (3).

La majorité des Arméniens sont de rite arménien géorgien. La
cathédrale de Vank (plus connue sous le nom de Saint-Sauveur), avec sa
bibliothèque de 700 manuscrits arméniens, son presbytère, son
imprimerie et son musée consacré Ã l’histoire des Arméniens, est un
peu le cÅ`ur de la communauté, même si chaque famille appartient à une
paroisse.

« Le génocide des Arméniens n’est pas tabou »

« Vank est plus un site touristique que de prière », admet volontiers
Tovma Galstamyan, chargé des relations publiques du lieu. Des
cérémonies y sont organisées pour les grandes occasions: la fête de
la naissance du christ, le 6 janvier, le nouvel an chrétien, la fête
de Mamikonian Vardan, commandant arménien et figure héroïque qui a
combattu (il est mort en 451) pour que les Arméniens puissent
continuer à pratiquer leur religion en Arménie et ne soient pas
obligés de se convertir au zoroastrisme. Et enfin, Ã l’occasion de la
célébration en avril du génocide arménien de 1915.

Les Arméniens d’Iran sont restés très liés à l’Arménie, pays avec
lequel la République islamique entretient aussi d’excellentes
relations économiques et politiques. « Le génocide n’est pas tabou en
Iran comme dans d’autres pays. Même si les Arméno-Iraniens ne sont pas
venus de Turquie, le traumatisme collectif du génocide est aussi très
fort en Iran », ajoute Naïri Nahapétian.

à l’occasion du centième anniversaire en 2015, les Arméniens d’Iran, Ã
l’image de la diaspora dans le monde entier, ont prévu une série
d’événements sur toute l’année.

Il n’y a pas de séminaire en Iran

« La religion fait partie de chacun d’entre nous, elle est
inséparable de l’Arménie et des Arméniens », ajoute Tovma Galstamyan.
Il regrette cependant qu’Ispahan ne compte plus que quatre prêtres. «
C’est un réel problème pour notre communauté. Les jeunes générations
ne sont pas tentées par la prêtrise. Il faudrait, dit-il encore,
prendre des mesures pour motiver les vocations. »

Il n’y a pas de séminaire en Iran. Aussi, pour leur formation, les
jeunes prêtres ont le choix entre l’Arménie, Jérusalem ou le Liban.
Les diocèses d’Ispahan, Téhéran (où les Arméniens sont plus nombreux
qu’Ã Ispahan) et Tabriz dépendent de la juridiction du catholicossat
de Cilicie (Ã Antélias, au Liban).

Plus le nombre d’Arméniens diminue, plus la ferveur augmente mais plus
la communauté se replie sur elle-même. En ce jour des Rameaux, la
petite église de Saint-Minas est pleine. Sur le pilier à l’entrée, une
plaque indique la date de sa construction, 1659.

à l’intérieur, les femmes et les hommes sont assis séparément. Les
voix mixtes de la chorale s’élèvent sous les voûtes de l’édifice,
alors que dans l’air flotte une forte odeur d’encens. Des couronnes de
feuilles de peupliers entourent la tête des enfants, que l’évêque
bénit, espérant que dans quelques années ils transmettront à leur tour
l’héritage arménien en Iran.

—————————————————————

Les chrétiens en Iran

Le christianisme est représenté en Iran par plusieurs Églises:
arménienne, assyrienne et chaldéenne. Toutes les trois sont reconnues
et autorisées par l’État iranien.

Membres d’une communauté Ã la fois ethnique et religieuse, les
Arméniens forment la plus importante minorité chrétienne d’Iran (de
200 000 Ã 400 000 personnes). Elle est principalement implantée Ã
Téhéran et à Ispahan dans le quartier de Djolfa, où elle a ses écoles
et ses églises.

Les Arméniens disposent de deux sièges au Parlement iranien. Les
Chaldéens et les Assyriens disposent d’un siège chacun. L’ensemble de
ces deux communautés représente 30 000 personnes environ.

Des courants protestants évangéliques tentent de s’implanter, mais
sont combattus par le régime.

Source: Géopolitique de l’Iran. Puissance dangereuse ou pays
incompris?, Matthieu Anquez, Éd. Argos, 162 p

From: A. Papazian

Voix de la Russie
22 aout 2014

Le Haut-Karabagh : une médiation est incontournable

Par La Voix de la Russie | La situation n’était pas à nouveau au calme
début août dans le Haut-Karabagh : échanges de tirs, plusieurs
dizaines d’engagés volontaires et d’officiers de carrière péris du
côté arménien et azéri. Le vieux litige territorial a repris de plus
bel. Les sceptiques prédisaient une guerre d’envergure entre l’Arménie
et l’Azerbaïdjan. Or ensuite les armes se sont pratiquement tues, en
donnant une chance aux diplomates et aux politiques de négocier les
conditions d’une trêve et du règlement des problèmes en souffrance.

Les accrochages entre les militaires se sont arrêtés après une
rencontre tripartite des présidents de Russie, d’Arménie et
d’Azerbaïdjan, tenue le 10 août à Sotchi à l’initiative de Vladimir
Poutine. Et même si aucune entente ni décision importante n’a été
adoptée, les pourparlers avec la participation du leader du pays,
auquel l’Arménie comme l’Azerbaïdjan sont liés sur de nombreux plans,
ont incité les parties au dialogue.

Le président de la Société experte pour le Caucase Alexandre Krylov a
noté que de longues années d’efforts consentis par Moscou et le groupe
de Minsk de l’OSCE pour le règlement du conflit à propos du
Haut-Karabagh visent avant tout à réunir des conditions pour le
dialogue. Mais c’est à Erevan et à Bakou qu’il appartient de trouver
une solution au conflit.

>

Voici comment le politologue russe Andreï Arechev voit le rôle de la
Russie dans le règlement de la question du Haut-Karabagh.

From: A. Papazian