Author: Andres-Papazian

IMPACT IN PROFILE: ALICE PETROSSIAN

Thursday, July 17th, 2014

Alice Petrossian

After visiting USC Shoah Foundation for the first time, Alice
Petrossian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is
excited to begin a new partnership to promote education about the
Armenian Genocide and other atrocities.

Petrossian is the chair of the ANCA Western Region Education Committee,
which works to promote understanding regarding issues of concern
to the Armenian American community across nine states. She served
as deputy and assistant superintendent at the Glendale and Pasadena
unified school districts during her more than 30 years as an educator
and reformer.

Petrossian and her colleagues from the Education Committee joined
staff of the Armenian Film Foundation (AFF) for a visit to the USC
Shoah Foundation on July 2. The visit included a presentation about
IWitness, a demonstration of the Visual History Archive and a tour
or the technology facilities where 53,000 testimonies of genocide
survivors are catalogued, indexed and preserved. ANCA, AFF and USC
Shoah Foundation staff discussed ways in which they can collaborate
in the future, such as developing educational materials about the
Armenian Genocide.

AFF delivered its digitized collection of 400 Armenian Genocide
survivor testimonies, recorded by the late J. Michael Hagopian, to
the USC Shoah Foundation in April to be integrated into the Visual
History Archive. The first batch of testimonies will be viewable in
April 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The visit was truly inspiring, Petrossian said. She and her colleagues
were amazed by the Visual History Archive and its potential to teach
students about genocide and intolerance. ANCA hasn’t always been
impressed by the lessons about genocide and human rights that are
available for teachers, she said.

“We haven’t had a way of putting faces to those stories [of genocide],
and we all know how crucial it is for children to relate to a child or
an adult telling the story,” Petrossian said. “Seeing the resources
[of the USC Shoah Foundation] and its depth of commitment to telling
the story and making sure history does not repeat itself was probably
one of the most rewarding days of my life.”

Moving forward, Petrossian hopes ANCA can work with the USC Shoah
Foundation and AFF to share resources and expertise, and create and
promote educational materials.

In April, the California State Assembly passed AB 1915, which requires
the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the list of studied subject
areas for the adopted courses of study in Social Science for 7th to
12th grades in California. Petrossian and ANCA are committed to making
sure educators have access to firsthand accounts of survivors to aid in
their teaching about genocide, and USC Shoah Foundation’s testimonies
and resources will be some of the first they turn to, she said.

Working together, along with AFF and other genocide education
organizations, Petrossian hopes ANCA and USC Shoah Foundation can
have a real influence on what students are taught about the past and
what they can do to prevent atrocities from happening again.

“Unless children learn, and learn to speak up, to be active
participants, change won’t occur,” Petrossian said. “Teaching children
the truth is what makes the difference.

From: A. Papazian

LEVON HAYRAPETYAN’S LAWYER INTENDS TO APPEAL AGAINST HIS ARREST

Friday,
July
18

The defense lawyer of prominent businessman Levon Hayrapetyan who was
arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering intends
to appeal against the measure of restraint chosen for him, lawyer
Ruben Markaryan told RIA Novosti.

Judge of Moscow’s Basmanny court Natalia Mushnikova on Thursday sent
Hayrapetyan into an investigative isolation ward. She accepted the
investigator’s arguments that the businessman has the opportunity
to hide from law enforcers, put pressure on witnesses, and destroy
evidence.

“In our appeal, we will indicate a number of points, particularly the
fact that Hayrapetyan was engaged in entrepreneurial activity so he
was not subject to arrest,” the lawyer said.

Under President Dmitry Medvedev, amendments prohibiting detention of
persons who committed economic crimes during their entrepreneurial
activities were made to the Criminal Procedure Code. Media reported
that this ban has been repeatedly violated since then.

In the opinion of Markaryan, the court also ignored the fact that
Hayrapetyan suffers from several diseases which are on the list of
diseases that bans a person’s imprisonment in an isolation ward.

Investigators suspect L. Hayrapetyan, a Moscow-based wealthy
businessman of Armenian descent, of being connected with the sale
of Bashneft by Ural Rakhimov to Sistema Company in April 2009. The
court earlier ordered to seize Bashneft’s holding of shares worth
300 million rubles as part of the case.

17.07.2014, 20:27

Aysor.am

From: A. Papazian

VETERAN IS SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS

Lragir.am
Law – 17 July 2014, 20:39

The Court of General Jurisdiction of Arabkir and Zeytun Administrative
Districts has passed the verdicts on the veteran of Artsakh war and
reserve colonel Volodya Avetisyan. Volodya Avetisyan was sentenced
to 6 years in prison.

The prosecutor had proposed 6.5 years of imprisonment.

In his last speech before the verdict Volodya Avetisyan called
Armenians worldwide to come and attend to Armenia. According to him,
the purpose of the government is to have an Armenia without Armenians.

He says he has been deprived of freedom for 9 months but he is not
guilty, the regime is to blame which condemns innocent people.

Volodya Avetisyan was charged with fraud and arrested after he went on
protest with other veterans on Freedom Square. Seiran Ohanyan stated
that Avetisyan has violated his agreement with them.

– See more at:

From: A. Papazian

EUROPEAN ORGANIZATIONS ADVOCATE PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO KARABAKH CONFLICT, LATVIAN AMBASSADOR SAYS

APA, Azerbaijan
July 16 2014

[ 16 July 2014 16:49 ]

Baku. Anakhanum Idoyatova – APA. Latvia and the European organizations
likewise advocate solely a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, Latvian Ambassador to Yerevan Elita Gavele said
at the meeting with Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Edward
Sharmazanov, APA reports quoting Armenian press.

Sharmazanov underlined the importance of resolving the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict within the OSCE MG framework.

From: A. Papazian

ARA GULER’S ‘ANATOLIA’ CAPTURES A DISAPPEARING PAST

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
July 16 2014

Hilal ÝþlerWASHINGTON

This is the last week to catch Ara Guler’s never-before-seen works, on
display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC since the end of last year

Ara Guler is known as one of Turkey’s most prominent photojournalist
and since Dec. 21 last year his never-before-seen works have been
on display at the Smithsonian, in Washington D.C. “In Focus: Ara
Guler’s Anatolia” looks at Seljuk, Armenian, and Ottoman monuments
of the Turkish heartland through Guler’s lens, and draws to a close
on July 20.

The photographs, all taken in the 1960s, consider Turkey beyond the
boundaries of Istanbul. In them, Guler looks east to the forgotten,
dusty corners of Anatolia; its abandoned churches, and mosques in
disrepair. It’s an area that has long held the photographer’s interest.

“Ara Guler started his photojournalism career in the early 1950s in
local Turkish newspapers,” explains Zeynep Simavi, who helped curate
the exhibit. “He’s mostly known for his photographs of Istanbul,
and for his artist-portraits. But even in the 50s and 60s he was
traveling extensively throughout Anatolia and photographing these
monuments. In fact, he has said that he thinks his most important
contributions are things like photographs of the Nemrut Mountain,
or his ‘rediscovery’ of Aphrodisias.”

Simavi says close to 115,000 people have visited the Smithsonian’s
Sackler Gallery during the Guler show, which is now enjoying an
extended run. The exhibition was originally scheduled to end in May.

“Many people who visit and who haven’t heard of Guler are surprised
and inspired by the works that he has taken here,” says Allison Peck,
a Smithsonian official. “A lot of people in the Turkish and Turkish
American communities especially are hearing about the show and making
a special effort to visit.”

Guler’s body of work is said to include over 800,000 photographs. The
21 that constitute “In Focus” were gifted to the Smithsonian by Raymond
Hare, a former American Ambassador to Turkey. The photographs honor
Hare’s interest in Turkish architecture, and were given to him by
colleagues as he prepared, in 1965, to leave his Ankara-post.

In addition to the black-and-white images, “In Focus” includes the
short documentary, “Ara Guler: A Lifetime Achievement.” The video
plays on loop, and features Guler’s own thoughts on his career. “I’m
a Turkish photographer,” Guler says in the film, speaking in French.

“Actually, I’m a press photographer. Photography being a visual medium,
we press photographers to record the visual history of time. I find
that more crucial than creating art, for humanity learns from its
history.”

Guler identifies strongly as a photojournalist, but the exhibit
encourages visitors to question this and to ask whether his work is,
in fact, art.

“He has said many times, ‘I’m not a photographer, I’m a
photojournalist. It’s one of the distinctions he makes,” says Simavi.

“I think he places a lot of emphasis, and a lot of importance, on that
aspect of his work. There’s this duty, this responsibility he feels
to carry a message. It’s a social responsibility, to tell the public
what’s going on. He’s there, witnessing an event for them. I think he
very much believes in the objective value of what he is doing. He’s
not manipulating events. He doesn’t have any control over them. He’s
just there as an eye. He’s been doing that all his life. So, there’s
a larger purpose to his photographs, always.”

Guler, who turns 86 next month, was a student of economics at Istanbul
University when he accepted his first photojournalism assignment. He
would later become head of photography at the now-defunct Hayat
magazine, and would go on to publish internationally for Paris Match,
Time, Life, and Stern magazines, among others. Today, he continues
to work in Istanbul, and, earlier this month, received an honorary
doctorate at Boðazici University.

For more on the exhibit, visit the Smithsonian online.

From: A. Papazian

BOLSHOI BALLET PERFORMS ‘SWAN LAKE,’ ‘DON QUIXOTE’ AND ‘SPARTACUS’ AT LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL

Classicalite
July 16 2014

Lincoln Center is currently hosting the Bolshoi Ballet for a two-week
residency, during which the company will perform three famous ballets:
Don Quixote, Spartacus and Swan Lake, one of the company’s defining
works.

The Bolshoi opera, orchestra and chorus recently presented The Tsar’s
Bride at Lincoln Center as part of this two-week engagement. These
performances mark the first time that all four ensembles of the
Bolshoi–ballet, opera, orchestra and chorus–will perform together
at the Lincoln Center Festival.

Their unprecedented two-week engagement will continue through July 27,
and will involve at least 340 artists and support personnel.

This is an extremely ambitious undertaking for any arts organization,
and is particularly impressive given the scandals and upheaval the
Bolshoi has experienced over the past two years. The scandals were
related to a 2013 acid attack against Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi’s
artistic director.

The 238-year-old company has a long association with the ballet Swan
Lake. The Bolshoi premiered the Tchaikovsky ballet in Moscow in 1877.

The Bolshoi’s current production of Swan Lake (July 15-20) has
choreography and book by Yuri Grigorovich (the 2001 version)
with story elements by Vladimir Begichev and Vasily Geltser. The
production incorporates choreography by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov,
and Alexander Gorsky.

Don Quixote (July 22 and 23) is a ballet in three acts with a libretto
by Marius Petipa, who also created the original choreography, after
the novel of the same name by Miguel de Cervantes. The music is by
Ludwig Minkus, who composed over twenty ballets and was the official
ballet composer of the Bolshoi Theatre from 1864-1871.

Spartacus (July 25-27) has been one of the Bolshoi’s signature works
for 45 years. With stirring music by 20th century Soviet-Armenian
composer Aram Khachaturian, and choreography by Yuri Grigorovich,
artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet from 1964 to 1995, this
ballet in three acts tells the tragic story of Spartacus, a Thracian
gladiator who unsuccessfully led a slave revolt against the Roman
Empire in the first century BC.

Vogue.com recently presented an excerpt of a ballet film series from
Pathe Live, the French company responsible for broadcasting Bolshoi
performances to movie theaters. This preview features the Bolshoi’s
leading soloist Olga Smirnova and principal David Hallberg and is
directed by Performa TV founder Pierce Jackson and Dianna Mesion.

From: A. Papazian

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CLAIMS AZERBAIJANI INFILTRATION FOILED

Transitions Online, Czech Rep.

July 16 2014

The discovery of the body of a missing Armenian teenager is the
most dramatic incident so far since a band of alleged Azerbaijani
“saboteurs” was seized in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The body of Smbat Tsakanian, 17, was found 15 July in the village of
Nor Erkedj with “multiple stab wounds on his body and deep lacerations
on his neck,” Asbarez.com reports, citing Armlur.am. Tsakanian
disappeared on 4 July, his father said. The village lies in a
disputed district between Armenia proper and the unrecognized,
Armenian-controlled region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to Asbarez.com, authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh believe
the boy’s death is linked to the alleged infiltration by Azerbaijani
“saboteurs” who they claim were “to commit a slew of crimes” in the
region. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war in the 1990s over the area,
which has a majority Armenian population but lies within Azerbaijan’s
internationally recognized borders.

Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said they had “neutralized” an unspecified
number of “saboteurs” 14 July, several days after the Azerbaijanis
reportedly killed an Armenian officer and wounded the wife of another
in the disputed Kelbajar district, Radio Free Europe reports.

One Azerbaijani, identified as Shahbaz Quliyev, was reportedly
captured 10 July. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Quliyev was
not a member of the country’s military.

Each side regularly accuses the other of firing across the cease-fire
line but incidents of this nature are rare.

When photos of captured Azerbaijanis were released and video they
allegedly shot appeared online, some Armenian Facebook users “were
skeptical about the announcements of the authorities, saying that the
arrested people did not exactly look like commandos,” ArmeniaNow.com
writes.

On 14 July the Armenian Defense Ministry announced the captured men
would be considered criminals rather than prisoners of war, according
to ArmeniaNow.

“There is irrefutable evidence that we [are dealing] with a criminal
group,” the ministry said, adding that the men had not worn military
insignia.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY PICKS UP IN MAY, BUT GOVERNMENT CUTS 2014 GROWTH PROJECTION

IHS Global Insight
July 15, 2014

by Venla Sipila

The latest Indicator of Economic Activity published by the Armenian
National Statistical Service puts economic expansion in May at 5.1%
year on year (y/y). Following growth rates of 4.5% y/y in April and
4.1% y/y in May, this brings January-May growth to 4.0% y/y. While
these results suggest strengthening annual growth over 2014 so far,
performance this year has disappointed. In particular, industrial
output and construction sector activity have been struggling. The
latest quarterly national accounts data, which recently have fairly
well corresponded with the economic activity indicator, had put
first-quarter GDP growth at 3.1% y/y (seeArmenia: 3 June 2014:Armenia
starts 2014 with muted growth as construction and industry struggle).

As reported byArmenia Now, the Armenian government has decided
to lower its economic growth forecast for 2014 to 4.0% from 5.2%
determined in the budget plan.

The weaker outlook partly draws from external developments, as the
Russian-Ukrainian crisis is damaging the region. Notably, Armenia is
likely to be hit by lower workers’ remittances from Russia, as its
economy is suffering as a result of sanctions. For 2015 and 2016,
the Armenian government projects economic growth at 5.0% and 5.3%,
respectively. Also these forecasts have been revised down compared
with the respective targets of 6.3% and 6.4% cited by the previous
government. While official projections originally put 2013 growth at
7%, annual expansion came in at just 3.5%.

Significance:The weak growth performance signalled by the latest
economic activity indicator fits our expectations, while the
downgraded government GDP forecast for 2014 brings it nearer to our
current baseline forecast of 4.2%. Given the external and domestic
challenges, risks to this forecast still weigh on the downside. Real
growth will continue to be undermined by rising electricity prices,
even if these will climb by less than last year. Looking forward,
we see even the lowered official growth targets for 2015-16 as too
ambitious. The domestic trade sector has been among the best performing
economic sectors this year, but activity there will be suppressed by
the recently introduced mandatory pension contribution.

Finally, given the importance of the Russian economy for Armenia,
not least due to the role of remittances, the ongoing Ukrainian crisis
poses major risks to the outlook.

From: A. Papazian

LACK OF COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA’S TOURIST STRUCTURES – EXPERT

15:11 * 16.07.14

Monuments are an all-important factor of Armenia’s tourist industry
Head of the Armenian office, International Council on Monuments and
Sites (ICOMOS), Gagik Gyurjyan said as he spoke of Armenia’s cultural
monuments which attract tourists.

“The situation is far from being good. The relevant agencies do not
have necessary contacts. We need cooperation. Tourists pay money
to the Ministry of Culture, to villagers for their products and to
travel agencies for their services. We must establish cooperation
between them,” Gyurjyan said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

FIRST OMBUDSPERSON OF ARMENIA: JUDGMENT MAKING ILUR.AM AND HRAPARAK EXPOSE THEIR SOURCES IS A TOUGH ATTEMPT TO RESTRICT FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN ARMENIA

by Nana Martirosyan

Wednesday, July 16, 15:39

The judgment of the Court of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative
districts of Yerevan, which makes iLur.am and Hraparak expose their
sources, is a tough attempt to restrict freedom of speech in Armenia,
Larisa Alaverdyan, the first Ombudsperson of Armenia, has told
ArmInfo’s correspondent.

“This judgment is like a personal insult for me, because I have also
made a contribution to development of freedom of speech in Armenia”,
says Alaverdyan. She believes that the only obvious achievement of
Armenia is the freedom of expression. “It is another thing that the
freedom of expression has no big impact, but the opportunity to freely
express an opinion exists and it is unacceptable to deprive us of it”,
she stresses.

To recall, for the first time the Court of Kentron and Nork-Marash
administrative districts of Yerevan has taken a decision making the
mass media expose their sources of information. In particular, the
matter concerns Hraparak newspaper and iLur.am website, which published
information about Head of Shirak Police Vardan Nadaryan, who stopped
the car of Artur Alexanyan, hit him and pulled a gun at Alexanyan
and his brother. Based on this information, the Special Investigation

Service initiated criminal proceedings, and Prosecutor General Gevorg
Kostanyan said that in the case of grave crimes and felonies the court
might force the journalist to expose his source of information. The
National Press Club has already disseminated a statement demanding that
the Court of Appeal should revise the decision of the first instance
Court of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts of Yerevan.

From: A. Papazian