Author: Andres-Papazian

Birmingham Mail, UK
May 12 2013

Tony Iommi: I’ll be cheering on Armenia in Eurovision semis

12 May 2013 08:00
Black Sabbath star will be willing his song to make it through to song
contest finals

Black Sabbath guitar hero Tony Iommi will be glued to the telly on
Thursday – to see if his song makes it through to the final of the
Eurovision Song Contest.

The 65-year-old rock legend dusted off an old ballad titled Lonely
Planet when Armenian broadcasting bosses came knocking at the door of
his Lapworth home.

Thankful for all the charity work Tony has done in their country,
where he has spearheaded the rebuilding of a music school destroyed by
an earthquake, they wondered if he had any spare songs.

And this week Armenian rocker Gor Sujyan and his band Dorians will
belt out Lonely Planet in the semi-final of the contest. If it fends
off stiff competition, the song will make it through to Saturday’s
final.

`I was shocked when the riff I gave them to work with ended up being
the country’s official entry in the competition, chosen by public vote
from hundreds of songs,’ says Tony.

`It was just a little ballad thing I’d written four or five years
previously but never released.

`But on Thursday night it’ll be heard by millions of people when the
semi-final is broadcast. And if it survives, and makes it through to
the final, then that’ll great. Unexpected, but great.

From: A. Papazian

Latvijas Avize, Latvia
May 9 2013

Strategic Choice

[Latvian daily praises government’s support for Azerbaijan]

Commentary by Franks Gordons

The trio of Transcaucasian countries — Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan — are undergoing unending tensions in the arena of
“national” and international conflicts and debates.

Much interest was attracted by Latvian President Andris Berzins’
official visit to Azerbaijan in the company of an impressive
delegation of businesspeople. On the eve of the visit, Latvijas
Avizepublished a brilliant report by Egils Licitis about Azerbaijan as
a country which is rich with energy resources and is dynamic in
economic terms. Ina Oskaja from Vesti Segodniyaaccompanied the
President on the visit and then published a fairly positive report
about it under the title “Merci, Baku!”

Response to Visit

Although I believe that this visit was of great use to Latvia, the
fact is that it led the publicist Sandra Veinberga to be angry. She
has written that “President Berzins’ foreign policy” (does he really
have a personal foreign policy?) is “an example of how European values
are sacrificed on the altar of caviar.” On the Tvnet.lv portal,
Veinberga wrote about human rights violations in Azerbaijan, the cult
of personality of the “father of the nation,” Heidar Aliyev, the
basically authoritarian regime that has been introduced by his son,
current President Ilham Aliyev, and the attacks which the government
has waged against the opposition.

Veinberga’s mockery of the expensive caviar which the Aliyev dynasty
supposedly uses to bribe foreign guests, however, is pure demagoguery
if we take into account harsh global realities. The fact is that there
is a battle over influence in that region, and it is one in which
Russia, the United States, Turkey and Iran are all involved.

Status of Azerbaijan

Oil and gas pipelines which cross Azerbaijan are arteries of energy
resources that are being installed to avoid Russia. We also must not
forget this Transcaucasian country’s “ticklish” situation with Iran
which, let us say, is an opponent to the Western world and is home to
at least 20 million Azerbaijanis in the North of the country. Latvia
is a NATO member state, and its geopolitical interests by no means
have to coincide with those of the Kremlin, to say nothing of the
ayatollahs in Teheran. Latvia faces a strategic choice here, and the
sad fact is that ethics must sometimes have to be sacrificed on the
altar of national, political and economic considerations.

Azerbaijan is neighbored by Armenia, and the indigenous nations of
those two countries are split apart and tormented by outrageous
hatred. On three occasions this has been manifested through bloodbaths
— in 1905 and 1906, between 1918 and 1920, and between 1988 and 1994,
when the so-called Karabakh war ended with a fragile truce. The
Turkish regime slaughtered Armenians in Anatolia in 1895 and,
particularly, between 1915 and 1923, when as many as 1.5 million
Armenians perished. The Turks, true, claim that in truth, “only”
300,000 people died.

Here we must remember that both Turkey and the United States are in
NATO, and Barack Obama is prepared to admit that the Armenians
suffered that which they call “metstegern” or “great evil,” but he
refuses to classify it as genocide. That is because Turkey, as an
American ally, has become “spiteful in semantic terms” — the word
“genocide” is categorically unacceptable to it.

Response in Latvia

Here, now, we arrive once again at Vesti Segodniya, where grouchy
opinions have been expressed by Einars Graudins (who describes himself
as an unchanging “Soviet person”). Together with SC [Harmony Center]
MP Nikolajs Kabanovs, Graudins visited Armenia. He complains that the
Latvian Saeima [Parliament] has not recognized the aforementioned
genocide, and he eagerly defends Armenia’s position on the issue of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Graudins goes on to ask why the “world” has not
recognized the independence of the Republic of Karabakh (Arcahas in
Armenian), while many countries, including Latvia, have recognized the
independence of Kosovo, this “purely terroristic structure (!) in the
historical lands of the Serbs.” Oh, comrade Graudins! Your formulation
is fully in the spirit of Russian imperialists, reminding us of the
words which Iran uses to describe Israel — “this Zionist structure.”
In conclusion, I will remind you that Armenia’s strategic allies are
Russia and Iran. Draw your own conclusions.

[Translated from Latvian]

From: A. Papazian

A WAR STORY THAT SURPASSES OTHERS
By Tom Vartabedian

May 12, 2013

Gregory Melikian is not a household name in the Armenian community.

Emma and Gregory Melikian (Photo: The Melikian Center) Not unless
you’re connected with World War II and are familiar with lost
history. For, his is a story that tops anything from the Book of
Golden Deeds.

Exactly 67 years after sending the message that ended this conflict
in Europe, Melikian was notified of his award from the French Legion
of Honor.

A story recently published on the front page of the Arizona Republic
detailed the account of this rarity and told the story of an Armenian
American and his belated award. The fact he’s now 88 reaffirms the
adage, “Better late than never.”

Despite his advanced age, Melikian owns and operates the San Carlos
Hotel in Arizona. That, in itself, is worthy of exposure, much less
the military award that ranks among the most prestigious of the lot
rendered by the U.S. Army.

The moment remained etched in his mind. Melikian was the radio operator
who typed out Eisenhower’s message to all military groups and command
centers, informing the military world that the war had ended.

The date was May 6, 1945.

People begged him to apply for the French Legion of Honor, an award
given by the French president to citizens who have made contributions
of exceptional merit.

The honor was created by Napoleon in 1802 and has gone to thousands
of American World War II veterans to recognize acts of bravery during
the Liberation of France.

After being convinced it was the right act to follow, for no other
reason than to bring homage to his family, Melikian looked into the
issue and noted the Legion of Honor was not bestowed posthumously.

He got right on it, but not without some rigmarole.

It took three years for him to cut through the red tape, due to a
1973 fire in the National Center of Personal Records in St. Louis,
which destroyed an untold number of military records, including those
belonging to Melikian.

As the bearer of good news, there was a precarious side to sending
such a message. Had it been intercepted by hostile personnel, the
results could have proved detrimental to this country. “It was either
us or carrier pigeon-and we were a lot faster,” he recalled. “I used
a code that has remained embedded in my mind that took 5 minutes to
dispatch, consisting of 75 5-letter groups.”

It all took place at 3:30 a.m. Melikian was 20 at the time, miles away
from home, and serving his country with pride and diligence. He had no
idea if he’d survive the war, given the fact he was a high-priority
target. Based on messages he had heard, Melikian sensed an end to
the war. Announcing it was yet another matter.

Knowing the historic value of the coded message he had just
transmitted, Melikian asked officers for the direct translation.

Within minutes, he was handed the uncoded transcript.

It read: “A representative of the German High Command signed the
unconditional surrender of all German land, sea, and air force in
Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the
Soviet High Command at 0141 hours Central European Time May 7, 1945.”

Melikian pulled the all-capital-letters message from the machine and
tucked it away, knowing one day people would want to see one of the
war’s most significant missives.

After his wedding and the birth of four children, he claims it was
the greatest moment of his life. And all of America’s at that time.

“That’s when I knew for sure I was going home and in one piece,”
he recalled. “I’d made it.”

The remainder of the morning was marked by celebration. Cups filled
with champagne that made the region famous. Toasts in the war room.

Germans conspicuous by their absence.

Once the war ended, Melikian secured a law degree in 1949 and
established a successful practice in New York City, specializing in
real estate.

In the summer of 1953, having developed a passion for the classical
arts, he attended a ballet and was smitten by a particular Russian
dancer named Emma. They wed in New York’s Russian Tea Room after an
11-month courtship.

The lawyer would eventually become a New York City civil judge but
his true joy was purchasing and restoring historic buildings, many
of which in Arizona where he now resides.

Thus, on May 7, 2012, Melikian was named a chevalier (knight) of the
Legion of Honor, receiving the coveted medal in California before his
wife and family. Son Robert said he was never more proud of his dad.

“When we were growing up, he always told us he was the guy who ended
World War II,” the son revealed. “For the longest time, we thought
it was just a story.”

From: A. Papazian

CLIMATE CHANGE ‘WILL MAKE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS HOMELESS’ – THE GUARDIAN

17:01 ~U 12.05.13

Robin McKie

It is increasingly likely that hundreds of millions of people will be
displaced from their homelands in the near future as a result of global
warming. That is the stark warning of economist and climate change
expert Lord Stern following the news last week that concentrations
of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere had reached a level of 400 parts
per million (ppm).

Massive movements of people are likely to occur over the rest of the
century because global temperatures are likely to rise to by up to
5C because carbon dioxide levels have risen unabated for 50 years,
said Stern, who is head of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate
Change.

“When temperatures rise to that level, we will have disrupted weather
patterns and spreading deserts,” he said. “Hundreds of millions of
people will be forced to leave their homelands because their crops and
animals will have died. The trouble will come when they try to migrate
into new lands, however. That will bring them into armed conflict with
people already living there. Nor will it be an occasional occurrence.

It could become a permanent feature of life on Earth.”

The news that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached 400ppm has
been seized on by experts because that level brings the world close
to the point where it becomes inevitable that it will experience a
catastrophic rise in temperatures. Scientists have warned for decades
of the danger of allowing industrial outputs of carbon dioxide to
rise unchecked.

Instead, these outputs have accelerated. In the 1960s, carbon dioxide
levels rose at a rate of 0.7ppm a year. Today, they rise at 2.1ppm,
as more nations become industrialised and increase outputs from their
factories and power plants. The last time the Earth’s atmosphere had
400ppm carbon dioxide, the Arctic was ice-free and sea levels were
40 metres higher.

The prospect of Earth returning to these climatic conditions is
causing major alarm. As temperatures rise, deserts will spread and
life-sustaining weather patterns such as the North Indian monsoon
could be disrupted. Agriculture could fail on a continent-wide
basis and hundreds of millions of people would be rendered homeless,
triggering widespread conflict.

There are likely to be severe physical consequences for the planet.

Rising temperatures will shrink polar ice caps – the Arctic’s is now
at its lowest since records began – and so reduce the amount of solar
heat they reflect back into space. Similarly, thawing of the permafrost
lands of Alaska, Canada and Russia could release even more greenhouse
gases, including methane, and further intensify global warming.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH WAR HEROES PROTEST IN YEREVAN

16:42 ~U 12.05.13

Over 20 heroes of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) war are holding a
sit-in protest in Yerevan’s Liberty Square, calling for state measures
to improve their social conditions.

The veteran heroes have launched a petition to urge the Government to
revise the social guarantees and pensions envisaged for the freedom
fighters who participated in military operations for the liberation
of Karabakh.

“Those sums are not enough to allow freedom fighters to take care of
their families,” said Volodya Avetisyan, a reserve colonel, who was
the first war veteran to go on a protest on Saturday afternoon.

Avetisyan said they are going to submit their letter to the Government
on Monday and wait until relevant measures are taken.

Rubik Israelyan, a veteran battalion commander, added for his part
that their protest is seen as a big blow to the state. He said they
had sought many solutions before they decided to take extreme measures.

“We have tried a lot, but in vain. Up until 1994, we did what the
nation needed at the cost of our blood. We are the first nation
to celebrate triumph after [King] Tigran the Great. We should be
living in glory today, but we are like the homeless. We speak of
the Genocide every day; what is it? Isn’t this a Genocide without
blood?” he told Tert.am.

Israelyan said at the end that all their efforts to have a meeting
with President Serzh Sargsyan had fallen flat. “We don’t manage
to meet, sit face to face and talk about what is going to happen,”
the war hero said in a desperate tone.

From: A. Papazian

GOR MINASSIAN (+105 KG) VICE-CHAMPION DU MONDE JUNIOR D’HALTEROPHILIE POUR L’ARMENIE

Aux championnats du monde junior d’halterophilie qui se deroulent
a Lima (Perou), le representant de l’Armenie, Gor Minassian engage
dans les plus de 105 kg est devenu vice-champion du monde. Avec un
total de 403 kg (183 a l’arrache et 220 a l’epaule-jete) le jeune
Armenien a remporte la medaille d’argent. La medaille d’or est revenue
au Georgien Lacha Talakhadze qui a souleve 411 kg. Un autre Armenien
qui concourait sous les couleurs de la Russie, Garen Mardirossian est
monte sur la troisième marche du podium en soulevant au total 385 kg.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 12 mai 2013, Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

Ispirian: West uses Turkey as tool against Syria

Friday,
May 10

Within the framework of its Great Middle East policy, the U.S. is
worried about the rapprochement between Turkey and Israel. Turkologist
Andranik Ispirian expressed this opinion during a talk with the
correspondent of Aysor.am when commenting on the recent improvement of
Turkish-Israeli relations.

`The Turkish-Israeli improvement is related to the events in Syria.
Cooperation of Turkey and Syria is in line with the logic of the
West’s policy against Syria,’ the expert noted.

According to Ispirian, Israeli has efficient intelligence and its
secret service agents infiltrate Syria from the territory of Turkey so
the two countries need to cooperate.

`The cooperation between Turkey and Israel against Syria may give
results desired by Western countries,’ Ispirian stressed. In his
words, the fall of the Bashar Assad regime is in the interests of the
U.S. that tries to achieve this by means of Turkey.

The Turkologist noted that the West has launched an interesting
process in the Middle East where changes and actions against Syria are
being carried out with the hands of Muslim countries, rather than
NATO.

`The West is trying to use Turkey as a tool against Syria, giving
Turkey some dividends,’ Ispirian said.

TODAY, 18:59
Aysor.am

From: A. Papazian

Andre Agassi Visits St. Garabed Church in Vegas

Friday, May 10th, 2013

Tennis legend Andre Agassi lights a candle at St. Garabed Church in Vegas

LAS VEGAS – On the afternoon of Thursday, May 9 tennis legend Andre
Agassi visited the newly built St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church
of Las Vegas.

Upon arrival Agassi met Archpriest Fr. Avedis Torossian, Parish
Council Chairman Adroushan Armenian and Building Committee members
Koko Darakjian and Levon Gulbenkian. Houry Darakjian representing the
ARS Armenian Saturday school, Lindy Schumacher representative of Kirk
Kerkorian’s Dream Fund at UCLA, and Mr. & Mrs. Alex and Arda
Yemenidjian were also present.

Agassi and the visitors entered the church after lighting their
candles where a brief background was provided about the Las Vegas
Armenian community and St. Garabed Church construction process.

The group then toured the Cultural Center facility where Darakjian
briefed about the Saturday Armenian School and expansion plans for the
2013-2014 academic year and equipping the school with advanced
Armenian language and history learning techniques.

At the end of the visit, Father Avedis presented Agassi with a
traditional Armenian cross-stone commemorating this special visit.
Agassi complimented the St. Garabed Parish and the Las Vegas Armenian
community for their achievements and wished them continued success.

From: A. Papazian

APA, Azerbaijan
May 10 2013

Political analyst Sergey Markov: `The Nagorno Karabakh conflict can
not remain frozen forever’

[ 10 May 2013 12:09 ]
`It is unjust that large territories remain empty and unpopulated,
internally displaced people live far away from home”

Baku. Victoria Dementyeva – APA. `Russia doesn’t renounce its role in
the resolution of this conflict anyway and will continue to assist it
as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict
can not remain frozen forever,’ said political analyst Sergey Markov,
APA reports.

He noted that former President Dmitry Medvedev wanted to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: `He set such a goal, made a lot of efforts,
but did not achieve his goal. It is unjust that large territories
remain empty and unpopulated, internally displaced people live far
away from home. Of course, internally displaced persons no more live
in the camps, but it is unfair that very large territories have become
dead lands, no one lives there, all infrastructure has been
destroyed.’

Political analyst said Russia as a co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group is
trying to lead the process of settlement out of frozen condition.

`Moreover, we can not allow restart of the military operations. Along
with political settlement, economic, cultural, humanitarian
cooperation should be improved. Therefore, we want all the borders in
the region to be opened so that the countries and peoples can start
mutual cooperation,’ he said.

From: A. Papazian

18-year-old boy died in a car accident, his 24-year-old brother passed
away a few weeks ago (photos)

2013-05-11 20:12:03

Yesterday 18-year-old Hayk Manukyan died in hospital.

shamshyan.com reports, Manukyan’s brother also died in a tragic
accident on April 19. Around 2:30 at night 24-year-old Idis Manukyan
on his «BMW» car with state numbers 35 �� D 213 crashed into the car of
a citizen of Georgia, 50-year-old Michael Erdanov, resulting in a
26-year-old passenger Ashot Grigoryan death on the spot, and I.
Manoukian was taken to Erebuni medical center, where he died some time
later.

As previously reported by the photojournalist, on May 6, about 6:30
o’clock operational center of Traffic Police received a call from
“Armenia” medical centre that they had received 4 people with injuries
from Ashtarak-Yerevan highway. It turned out that on the 16th km of
Ashtarak-Yerevan highway driver of «BMW», circling the hole, ran off
the roadway, hit a tree and overturned, and as a result the driver and
three passengers were admitted to the medical center.

From: A. Papazian