Author: Babajanian Karo

ERDOGAN TO MEET ARMENIAN, JEWISH LEADERS IN US

The Times of Israel
Sept 22 2014

On sidelines of UNGA, Turkish president to speak with committee from
World Jewish Congress headed by Ron Lauder

By Times of Israel staff and JTA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet with
Jewish and Armenian leaders in New York on the sidelines of the United
Nations General Assembly.

During his trip to New York, Erdogan is set to meet with committee
from the World Jewish Congress led by Ron Lauder, the Daily Sabah
reported Sunday, as well as with Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the
primate of Diocese of Armenian Church of America, and the president
of the Fund for Armenian Relief.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been in
power for the past 12 years, has largely been perceived as being
anti-Israel and as harboring anti-Jewish sentiment. Erdogan himself
has been criticized for making statements over the years that were
perceived to be anti-Semitic.

The Turkish president was heavily criticized this summer for a spate
of remarks he made about Israel, claiming that “[Israelis] have no
conscience, no honor, no pride. Those who condemn Hitler day and
night have surpassed Hitler in barbarism.”

In July, a Jewish American group asked Erdogan to return an award it
gave him in 2004, accusing the Turkish leader of “dangerous rhetoric”
and “inciting violence against the Jewish people.”

Although Erdogan has called on his countrymen to not carry out
attacks on the country’s approximately 20,000 Jews, a Jewish couple
was murdered in August in what was believed to be a hate crime,
amid reports of rampant anti-Semitism.

Turkey and Israel were once strong allies. However diplomatic relations
dramatically cooled after the 2009 Gaza conflict (known as Operation
Cast Lead) and the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident in which the Mavi
Marmara was boarded by Israeli commandos as it attempted to break
the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. In the ensuing melee, after
the Israeli soldiers were attacked with iron bars and wooden bats,
troops opened fire and nine Turkish activists were killed; 10 Israeli
soldiers were injured.

Erdogan has routinely cited the incident as a crutch between the
two states and frequently criticizes Jerusalem for its dealings with
the Palestinians.

Relations were once again on the mend recently, but this progress
was halted by July and August’s Operation Protective Edge in
Gaza. During the conflict the Turkish president threatened to cancel
the normalization of ties between the two countries. However, he did
publicly meet with an Israeli official last month for the first time
in six years.

Earlier this month, just days after an open-ended ceasefire was agreed
to between Israel and Gaza terror groups after 50 days of fighting,
a group of Turkish-Jewish intellectuals wrote in an open letter
that Jews in Turkey were under no obligation to comment on Israel’s
operation in Gaza

The letter was in response to calls for the Jewish community to
denounce the operation, as well as a campaign claiming the Jews of
Turkey are responsible for Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“No citizen of this country is under any obligation to account for,
interpret or comment on any event that takes place elsewhere in the
world, and in which he/she has no involvement,” the intellectuals
wrote. “There is no onus on the Jewish community of Turkey, therefore,
to declare an opinion on any matter at all.

“It is racism to hold a whole people responsible for the actions of
a state and we wish to declare that we are opposed to this.”

The letter also pointed out that it is not possible for a community
of 20,000 to hold a unified opinion.

At the end of July, Erdogan pledged to keep Turkey’s Jewish community
safe, but urged the Jewish community to denounce Israel.

Justin Jalil contributed to this report.

ARMENIA’S MEMBERSHIP IN EEU WILL POSE NO THREAT TO ITS POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Sept 22 2014

(c) ITAR-TASS/Michail Metzel

YEREVAN, September 21. /ITAR-TASS/. Armenia’s forthcoming membership
in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) poses no threat to its political
independence, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on Sunday at an
official reception on the occasion of Armenia’s national holiday –
the Independence Day.

“Today, on the Day of Armenia’s Independence, I say it with full
responsibility that our membership in the Eurasian Economic Union
in no way threatens political independence. Such allegations are
absolutely groundless,” he stressed.

“In the foreseeable future, we are getting prepared to become a member
of the Eurasian Economic Union,” he said. “This decision stems from
new perspectives of economic development that are opening for Armenia.

It is also linked with the system of security in the region.”

“No one of us is a foreteller, and we do not know which results we
will have in ten or 20 years, but one thing is absolutely clear: we
can count for serious economic gains if we work hard,” the Armenian
leader said. “An enormous market will open for our goods and it will
depend on our ability to work how soon they will win a stronghold on
that market.”

A document on Armenia’s accession to the Treaty on the Eurasian
Economic Union is expected to be signed on October 10 in Minsk,
where the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will meet.

“We will continue open and committed cooperation with all our partners:
with the Eurasian Economic Union and its member countries, with the
European Union and its member countries, with the United States,
China, neighbouring Georgia and Iran, with other friendly countries,”
Sargsyan vowed.

CAL LUTHERAN ART EXHIBIT EXPLORES DARK SIDE

California Lutheran University
Sept 22 2014

Reception for group show set for Halloween night

September 22, 2014

“Emily,” an oil painting by Mark Gleason, is one of the artworks
featured in “Running with Scissors.”

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Sept. 22, 2014) California Lutheran University
will exhibit artwork with a dark side and celebrate the show with a
Halloween night reception.

“Running with Scissors” will open Saturday, Oct. 11, and continue
through Saturday, Nov. 22, in the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture
on the Thousand Oaks campus. The reception will begin at 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 31.

Featured artists Mark Gleason, Steven Kenny, Alexandra Manukyan,
Teresa Oaxaca and Pamela Wilson show how contemporary paintings and
drawings can be tense, dramatic and sometimes frightening.

Gleason’s work is reminiscent of the horror stories of Edgar Allen
Poe, featuring black ravens and victims of frightening attacks. He
received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio arts and a master’s
degree in art education. He has shown his oil paintings in galleries
across the country and teaches art in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kenny’s contemporary surrealist work turns dark and foreboding,
with the artist imagining himself as the devil. His award-winning
paintings are exhibited in galleries across the United States and
Europe. The Florida resident received a BFA from the Rhode Island
School of Design and studied in Rome during his senior year.

Combining traditional oil painting techniques with surrealist
symbolism, Manukyan explores masks, wounds and an emotional landscape
of pain, betrayal and loss. Born in Armenia, she immigrated to the
U.S. and worked as a designer and graphic artist in the fashion and
entertainment industries. She now teaches and paints in Glendale.

Oaxaca’s seductive dolls and marionettes have creepy elements that
sneak into her paintings like an infection. The Washington, D.C.,
resident studied at the Florence Academy of Art and apprenticed with
painter Odd Nerdrum in Norway. Her honors include second place in
the Portrait Society of America’s Competition in Atlanta.

Wilson is known for paintings of theatrical, sexy and gothic characters
that let the imagination loose to mad narratives of vampires and
blood. A mentor faculty member at Laguna College of Art & Design,
she has had 18 solo exhibitions in cities including New York, Chicago,
Miami, Philadelphia and Santa Fe.

The exhibit and reception are free.

The Kwan Fong Gallery is located in Soiland Humanities Center at 120
Memorial Parkway. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through
Saturday. For more information, call curator Michael Pearce at
805-444-7716 or visit CalLutheran.edu/kwan_fong.

HOLOCAUST A TOOL TO EXPLORE GENOCIDE AT CANADIAN MUSEUM

The Times of Israel
Sept 22 2014

‘Examining the Holocaust’ is biggest of 11 galleries at the $351m.

human rights museum that opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Saturday

ORONTO (JTA) — On the fourth floor of the new Canadian Museum for
Human Rights, visitors will find a gallery called “Examining the
Holocaust,” which is devoted entirely to the story and lessons of the
Shoah. On the same floor, in a smaller, adjacent space, a gallery
called “Breaking the Silence” examines a cluster of five genocides
officially recognized by the Canadian government: the Srebrenica
massacre in Bosnia; the Armenian and Rwandan genocides; the Holodomor,
or the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in the early 1930s; and,
once again, the Holocaust.

“Examining the Holocaust” is just one of 11 galleries at the $351
million human rights museum that opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on
Saturday. It is also the museum’s thorniest.

The permanent gallery has long been a source of controversy for
the institution, which has fought accusations from a handful of
Canada’s ethnic communities, ranging from Ukrainians to Armenians,
that allowing the Holocaust its own space downplays the significance
of the other human rights atrocities confined to a single room.

In interviews with JTA, museum officials defended their decision by
asserting that the Holocaust is in fact exceptional, both as an act
of 20th-century genocide and a pedagogic tool. As the trigger for
international human rights legislation in the aftermath of World War
II, the Holocaust is deserving of its own gallery, the officials said.

“It’s one of the most studied, most well-documented atrocities,” said
June Creelman, the museum’s director of learning and programming. “One
of the ways to educate is to start with something familiar and move
to something unknown.”

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights grew out of several unsuccessful
attempts by Jewish community leaders as far back as the late 1990s
to attract government support for a national Holocaust museum, or a
Holocaust gallery at the Canadian War Museum, in Ottawa. The efforts
failed when the federal government, after staging parliamentary
hearings, shied away from committing money to a project that
memorialized only a single group’s history. (In August, Canada will
unveil its first national Holocaust monument, an $8.5 million project
steps from the Parliament in downtown Ottawa. The monument, designed
by a team that includes renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, features
six concrete triangles that together create points of a Star of David.)

It wasn’t until 2003 that the late Izzy Asper, a Manitoba-born media
mogul and Jewish philanthropist, convinced Prime Minister Jean Chretien
to sign on to a public-private partnership establishing a national
human rights museum similar in scope to the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s
Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Asper, whose family foundation
chipped in $22 million, always had his eye on a stand-alone Holocaust
gallery — indeed, early museum blueprints indicated a Holocaust
section would occupy more than 20 percent of the available gallery
space. In the final design, it takes up less than 10 percent of
the space.

Other galleries examine contemporary cases of human rights abuse,
the history of civil rights in Canada — including the “head tax”
that Chinese immigrants were charged in the late 19th century —
and the work of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish-Jewish lawyer whose work
on defining the term “genocide” led to the United Nations Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948.

>From the outset, museum fundraisers and programmers were adamant
that the Holocaust serve as the intellectual and emotional starting
point for the museum’s approach to human rights education. In 2008,
a government advisory review wrote that the Holocaust “provides our
paradigm for understanding the causes and processes of all mass,
state-sponsored violence, as well as provides the inspiration for
human rights protection on a world-wide scale.”

That sort of language, at a museum striving to tell multiple
histories, has led to what Dirk Moses, a historian at the European
University Institute in Florence, Italy, has called a “traumatic memory
competition between those who postulated the Holocaust’s uniqueness
and those who rejected it.” Moses has written extensively on the new
Canada museum.

For his part, Shimon Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and
Jewish Affairs, a Canadian advocacy group, praised the museum for
recognizing “that the pedagogic power of the Holocaust experience is
of a fundamentally different scope and nature.”

But critics argue that the amount of attention focused on the
Holocaust at the museum is woefully disproportionate, and they take
strong exception to what is perceived as unfair precedence granted
the Holocaust over other genocides.

The museum’s Holocaust exhibit occupies 4,500 square feet of space —
1,400 square feet more than the “Breaking the Silence” gallery.

Maureen Fitzhenry, a museum spokeswoman, described the Holocaust
gallery as having five sections, including the story of the Nazis’
rise to power and how the genocide was implemented, an exploration of
how everyday people were complicit in the genocide and a 10-minute
documentary about Canada’s unwillingness to absorb Jewish refugees
fleeing Europe during World War II.

Content for the exhibits — all designed by Ralph Applebaum Associates,
the firm behind the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s permanent exhibit
— were developed with the input of independent scholars and public
consultations involving thousands of Canadians.

The executive director of the Zoryan Institute, a Toronto-based think
tank that researches Armenian diaspora issues, told the National Post
last year he worried the Holocaust gallery would be so overwhelming
that visitors would not “really absorb anything from the other
galleries.”

Ukrainian-Canadian institutions have been especially rancorous,
claiming the Holodomor, the Soviet-inflicted famine in 1932-33, is
given insufficient consideration at the museum. In one provocative
2011 anti-museum campaign, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties
Association, or UCCLA, mailed postcards to Canadians featuring an
illustration of a pig whispering to a sheep, “All galleries are equal
but some galleries are more equal than others.”

There are an estimated 1.2 million Ukrainian-Canadians, and many have
close ties to the Prairie provinces, including Manitoba, which absorbed
waves of Ukrainian immigrants starting in the 1890s. Lubomyr Luciuk,
a professor of political geography at the Royal Military College and
a member of the UCCLA, called the museum “divisive,” but expressed
confidence that its contents would be revised in the future.

“UCCLA’s position is that no genocide, however tragic, should be
given pride of place in a publicly funded national Canadian museum,
meaning no nation’s tragedy, however well-documented or evocative,
should receive preferential treatment with the Canadian Museum for
Human Rights,” Luciuk, a longtime critic of the museum, told JTA.

Some scholars have cast doubt on the museum’s claim, as a justification
for the stand-alone gallery, that the Holocaust had a larger impact
on human rights legislation than did other acts of genocide.

Adam Muller, a University of Manitoba genocide scholar, pointed to
a trend in contemporary scholarship — notably the work of Columbia
University historian Samuel Moyn — disputing the impact that Holocaust
consciousness had on the international human rights treaties signed
after World War II, especially the 1948 United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and early understandings of the term
“genocide.”

Muller, co-editor of a forthcoming book about human rights museums
titled “The Idea of a Human Rights Museum,” is supportive of a
special Holocaust gallery because of the wealth of scholarship
available on the subject. But, he added, if it isn’t clear that the
Holocaust precipitated the post-World War II human rights movement,
“looking at the connection in the museum has kind of dubious value.”

CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS STIRS ANGER AND PROTEST

Care2.com
Sept 22 2014

by Lizabeth Paulat

The September 20 opening of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights was
mired by controversy and protests. The museum, located in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, will be dedicated to exploring vast issues such as what
constitutes human rights, genocide and apartheid. Yet a number of
indigenous tribes in Canada feel it leaves out some very important
aspects of their history.

The subject of what to call the deaths of indigenous tribes has been
especially difficult. Canada does not consider the past destruction
of indigenous people as a genocide. Yet many feel as though the word
genocide is a very apt description of what has happened to different
groups within the country. The museum’s refusal to acknowledge this
disconnect has created a chasm.

During the opening ceremony, the Red tribe pulled out for reasons that
were vaguely described as ‘concerns about indigenous issues.’ Others
boycotted due to what they felt was a lack of representation. Outside
of the museum, on opening day, there were protests by various groups
condemning the building.

However, the debate involves more than just how issues will
be portrayed within the museum. There has also been controversy
surrounding the land it was built on, which was discovered to be an
important archeological site during initial construction. Kimlee
Wong, an activist for indigenous rights in Canada, announced her
decision to boycott the museum, calling the entire building an “act
of cultural violence.”

“[The building is] A headstone to many nations of Indigenous peoples
whose rich and varied cultural heritages are now buried under megatons
of concrete and steel,” she wrote. “The CMHR, run by wealthy children
of settlers, decided local Indigenous people’s history and heritage
does not deserve the same respect they demand for their own ancestors
and history…It’s a decision rooted in cultural superiority, arrogance
and privilege. So I’m not surprised that the CMHR has continued on
their entitled myopic path in making subsequent decisions.”

Others have criticized the exhibits inside the museum as being an
“Olympics of genocide.” The exhibit on the Holocaust, for example,
also explores other genocides and crimes against humanity around
the world. However, some have said the space given to The Holocaust
versus, say, Rwanda or Armenia is upsetting and portrays one crime
as more important than the other.

The building, which has taken nearly a decade to complete, was the
brainchild of philanthropist Izzy Asper, who funded large amounts
of the museum. Yet in 2003, after an unexpected death, the funding
turned to the taxpayers. In total, the building cost $351 million to
complete and was hampered by constant delays on the construction site.

Supporters of the museum contend that some people seem to be getting
upset before even visiting the exhibits. The museum’s goals, they have
pointed out, are worthwhile in exploring the topics of how we evolve
(or devolve) in societies. With the exhibitions just commencing this
month, there is a chance these differences can be worked out in time.

Asper’s relatives also point out that this was supposed to be a place
where people could come, learn about these subjects and relate to
them going forward. In other words, it was meant to be an ‘active’
experience. Asper’s vision was summarized by him, before he died
in 2003:

“In the first place, there’s no human rights museum, get this, anywhere
in the world. The most important aspect of life, your right to life,
liberty, freedom of choice and so on? Is tied up in human rights
and there’s no place in the world where that idea is taught. If you
want to humanize this planet, you have to start with the question:
What is the social contract? What are the rights with which I’m born?”

Whether the museum will live up to his aspirations, provoking
thoughtful discussion and exploring atrocities around the globe,
will take collaboration from all sides of the debate, something the
museum says it is committed to going forward.

HENRIKH MKHITARYAN ADDED TO DORTMUND’S INJURY LIST

Boston Herald, MA
Sept 22 2014

Monday, September 22, 2014
By: Associated Press

DORTMUND, Germany — Borussia Dortmund’s injury problems have been
compounded with playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan ruled out for four weeks
due to a ligament tear in his right foot.

The Bundesliga side said on Sunday that the Armenian midfielder
sustained the injury in the final minute of Saturday’s 2-0 loss at
Mainz, when he was closed down by a defender while shooting on goal.

His shot struck the post.

Mkhitaryan was in pain on returning to Dortmund and his injury was
diagnosed in hospital.

Mkhitaryan is the sixth Dortmund midfielder to be ruled out for an
extended period with Marco Reus, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ilkay Gundogan,
Nuri Sahin and Oliver Kirch all laboring with injuries.

The 25-year-old, who was involved in 26 of Dortmund’s 27 competitive
games in 2014, will likely only return to action at the end of October,
the club said.

PRESS RELEASE
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network
28, Chovelidze street
Tbilisi, 380008, GEORGIA
Tel: ++ 995 32 99 63 28, 995 99 57 77 22
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Web:

Caucasus Nature Fund
Terms of Reference
Project Manager (Consultant)

Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
Assignment Duration: 2-3 years
Project Start: November 1, 2014 or ASAP thereafter

CNF Background
The Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF) is a non-profit organization working to
support the protected areas (PAs) of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
CNF works in partnership with the governments and provides support
through matching grants for operating costs and training. We are seeking
a Project Manager (PM) to manage a 2-3 year consultancy mandate in the
South Caucasus.

Project Background
CNF plans to mandate a number of small and targeted consultancies in
mainly Armenia and Georgia but perhaps also in Azerbaijan over the next
2-3 years. The consultancy needs of CNF are quite diverse as outlined
below:

* small, targeted consultancies for amounts < =82¬ 20,000 per project related to: * ad hoc needs mainly for accounting, budgeting, procurement and planning needs at both PA and national PA system level; * creation of maintenance plans and conflicts management programs, and perhaps also creation of individual tourism plans. * mid-sized consultancies for amounts between =82¬ 20,000 and =82¬ 75,000, mainly relating to: * larger scale ad hoc needs mainly at the national PA system level, including accounting, budgeting, procurement and planning needs; * creation of one or two PA management plans. Scope of Work Under the overall responsibility and technical and financial supervision of CNF's Tbilisi-based Program Director, the Projects Manager would manage approximately 6-10 consultancies at any given time. Over the period, the PM would manage CNF's ongoing consultancies with the following principal duties: * Developing TORs for needed consulting services, advertising and conducting `beauty contests' for the positions (seeking generally at least three proposals prior to the award of each project) * reviewing and developing a scoring methodology for the proposals * participating in the selection process * agreeing contracts with the consultant based on standard templates used by CNF * managing the contracts with the responsible CNF personnel * managing necessary reporting on the consultancies to grantors, maintaining appropriate records, etc. The PM will report regularly to CNF's office in Tbilisi, Georgia, but will be expected to be able to work from an independent location and will also travel regularly to project sites. Qualifications The PM will be recruited competitively following announcements in regional press, and will have the following qualifications: * At least 5 years of professional experience in project management, experience in environmental sector and/or nature protection is considered an advantage. * At least 3 years of experience with international projects; * A Bachelor Degree in environment economics, economics, business administration, management, public management, engineering or other relevant qualification. Master Degree will be considered as an advantage * Strong management skills including ability to provide strategic guidance, technical oversight, develop work plans, and manage budgets and project expenditures; * Good interpersonal skills with experience in networking with partners at all levels (ministry, donors, private sector, NGOs and local community based organizations) * Experience working with or in international and donor organizations with implementation of participatory projects; * Demonstrated written, analytic, presentation, reporting and computing skills and proficiency using Office Suit (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook). * Fluency in spoken and written English and Russian, knowledge of another Caucasian language will be considered as an advantage. * Preferably with experience with work and travel to multiple Caucasus countries Remuneration and Benefits The PM will act as an independent contractor under a consulting agreement with CNF. The PM will be responsible for his/her own taxes and will not be an employee of CNF. Remuneration is expected to be between Euro 15,000-20,000 annually depending on experience for a full-time consultancy. The contract would be reviewed after six months to determine if a full-time time commitment is still required-if not, remuneration would be adjusted to reflect the actual time commitment going forward, but a minimum of 2/3 of the full time compensation would be guaranteed. Application Procedure Send your application in writing, including a motivation letter and curriculum vitae to [email protected] before October 13, 2014. Applications without a letter of motivation will not be accepted. For more information about CNF please visit our web-site

Detroit Tekeyan’s Evening of Poetry a Huge Success

ADL, ARTS | SEPTEMBER 19, 2014 9:57 PM
________________________________

By Lucy Ardash

DETROIT — An evening of poetry sponsored by the Tekeyan Cultural
Association of Detroit attracted a capacity audience at the beautiful
galleries of Hagopian World of Rugs on Friday, September 12.
Highlight of the event was the introduction of two books of selected
poems written by Vahan Tekeyan translated by Gerald Papasian and John
Papasian and edited by Edmond Azadian and Gerald Papasian.

The emcee for the evening, Dr. Raffi Belian, explained that Tekeyan
symbolizes the Armenian soul, Armenia’s history, tragedy, its survival
and hope through the vehicle of poetry. He then introduced Prof.
Kevork Bardakjian, the first holder of the Marie Manoogian Chair in
Armenian Language and Literature, language and culture at the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor who gave an overview of the books.
Bardakjian praised Azadian for his efforts in an illuminating manner
to bring Tekeyan out of the dark shadows and place him in a prominent
place among poets.

Samples of Tekeyan’s poetry were read alternately in English and
Armenian. A powerful English rendition of “We Shall Say to God” was
presented by multi-talented artist Airea Matthews, who is a poet in
her own right. Well known artist Nora Azadian, who is one of the few
people who knew Tekeyan personally, presented a vivid and emotional
Armenian version of the same poem, which dealt with painful memories
of the Genocide. She stated that she chose this poem because of the
upcoming centennial of the Genocide.

David Terzibashian recited “Yes Siretzi” in Armenian followed by the
English rendition “I Have Loved” by Matthews.

The program included a number of other selections which revealed the
poet’s tortured soul.

Alice Nigoghosian, publishing consultant for the publication stated
that it was a true honor to be a part of the team to bring the poetry
of a hero and literary giant to light. She read the following quote
from the Foreword written by Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Armenian Studies
Program, California State University, Fresno: “Vahan Tekeyan,
Selected Poems is a work that will become an authoritative edition of
the work of Vahan Tekeyan, a poet whose works speak not only to the
Armenian people, but to the world.”

Edmond Azadian took the podium and expressed appreciation to the
speakers and to all whose efforts brought these volumes to fruition.
Azadian wrote the introductory chapters of the books providing insight
into the tormented life of the poet. He pointed out that the Armenian
version is geared for the readership in Armenia, many of whom are not
as familiar with Vahan Tekeyan as with other poets, since his works
were written in Western Armenian. The bi-lingual volume is for
American audiences and it is his hope that once the language barrier
is eliminated, the poet will receive the recognition he deserves.

The program was brought to a close with Matthews reciting one of her
thought-provoking original poems titled “Wisdom.” Tekeyan Detroit
Chapter Chair Diana Alexanian presented her with an inscribed copy of
the recently published book on the Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum, A
Legacy of Armenian Treasures: Testimony of a People.

A wine and cheese reception coordinated by Alexanian and long time
Tekeyan supporter Pam Coultis gave guests the opportunity to mingle
and have books signed.

– See more at:

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Sept 21 2014

PRESIDENT ERDOÄ?AN TO MEET WITH JEWISH AND ARMENIAN LEADERS IN NEW YORK

Daily Sabah

NEW YORK ‘ President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an is expected to meet with
Jewish and Armenian leaders in New York as a part of his trip to the
69th session of the United Nations General Assembly for Climate
Summit, which is due to take place between September 22 and October 1.

On the second day of his trip to New York, President ErdoÄ?an will meet
with a committee from the World Jewish Congress led by Ronald Steven
Lauder. ErdoÄ?an has previously vowed to protect the rights of the
Jewish community in Turkey and has asserted that the government will
never let the Jewish people in Turkey get hurt.

Known for his conciliatory approach to the Armenian citizens in Turkey
while he was the prime minister, ErdoÄ?an will accept Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian the primate of Diocese of Armenian Church of America
(Eastern) and the president of the Fund for Armenian Relief during his
New York trip. ErdoÄ?an was previously praised by the Armenian
community in Turkey for officially apologizing for the events of 1915,
an unprecedented move in the history of modern Turkey.

President ErdoÄ?an’s New York agenda also include a meeting with UN
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, an interview with American journalist
Charlie Rose and a meeting with Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc.

The AK Party is in the process of returning the properties of Armenian
foundations in Turkey, a move warmly welcomed by the Armenian
community in Turkey.

The World Jewish Congress was established as an international
organization of Jewish communities and is recognized as the diplomatic
arm of the Jewish people. The Armenian Church on the other hand is
considered to be one of the most ancient Christian communities.

President ErdoÄ?an is also set to meet with other world leaders during
the UN Climate Summit in New York.

Bahrain News Agency, Kingdom of Bahrain
Sept 21 2014

M King congratulates Armenian President, Blaise Governor-General

02 : 33 PM – 21/09/2014

Manama, Sept. 21 — (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
sent two congratulatory cables to President Serge Sargsyan of Armenia
Republic and to Governor-General Sir Colville Norbert Young of Blaise
on the their countries’ National Day anniversaries, in which His
Majesty has expressed congratulations and best wishes to them on these
national occasions.