Author: Babajanian Karo

Raffi Hovhannisian leads brilliant struggle, says analyst

13:30 – 14.04.13

The opposition Heritage party’s leader is conducting his popular
movement in a very brilliant manner despite the continuing attempts to
split and dispirit the people, says Levon Shirinyan, a political
analyst.

`Being skillful enough not to disclose his cards and demonstrating
unpredictable tactics, Raffi Hovhannisian took the political arena
unawares, and he actually succeeded in that, by avoiding violence in
the process,’ he told Tert.am.

The expert noted that Hovhannisian, as a presidential runner, was a
civil society representative, rather than a united candidate backed by
several political forces. `He took everybody by surprise on the
opposition arena too, arousing human envy, which is actually very bad
in politics. Serzh Sargsyan was unequivocally declared a potential
winner before the election, but the same people stated later that he
didn’t win definitely, with the political process or movement being
dead and likely to fade out. Later they saw, however, that it never
happened,’ he said.

Shirinyan disagreed to the circulating opinion that Hovhannisian’s
high percentage of votes in the February 18 election was linked to the
population’s discontent. He considered such remarks an intentional
attempt to influence the public opinion.

`As a matter of fact, there is a huge mass feeling the demand for
Armenia’s rebirth,’ he said. `Those are the people living with the
hope of Armenia, and they elected Raffi Hovhannisian’.

As for the existing despair, Shirinyan attributed that to the
population’s mentality. He said the Armenian society is not used to
the on-going struggle concept proposed by Hovhannisian.

The expert nonetheless expects the movement to see a new rise as he
considers Hovhannisian’s policies different from the Russian political
culture and closer to the Armenian reality.

He said he is hopeful the society will get a proper understanding of
the politician’s steps. `Because he has very flexible and brilliant
manners and because he never announces what he is planning to do, they
often say he pursues not tactics at all,’ Shirinyan continued.

He noted further that Hovhannisian focuses on historical memory
factor, helping the people attain a national rebirth. `I think Serzh
Sargsyan will probably notice, but I would like the two to collaborate
together and move ahead,’ he said, describing the current struggle as
one led against an oligarchic regime.

`If you ask me, Hovhannisian proposes an element of a class struggle,
which was by the way advanced by the people. So the people have to be
patient enough to support him, and I think the coming five years will
mark significant changes, seeing collaboration with the president, but
not his surrounding circles. That’s something I want very much,’ he
added.

APRICOT AND ALMOND TREES BLOSSOMED ON AKHTAMAR ISLAND OF LAKE VAN

19:49, 12 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS: Its spring on Akhtamar Island of Lake
Van: apricot and almond trees have blossomed. Akhtamar is the biggest
of the four islands of Lake Van. It is home to a tenth century Armenian
Cathedral church, known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross
(915-921).

As reports Armenpress, after the blossoming of apricot and almond
trees in April Akhtamar Island turns into a dreamlike beauty,
creating amazing scenes with the blue waters of lake and snow-capped
Mount Artos.

STRATEGY OF ACHIEVING POWER CHANGE IN ARMENIA HAS NOT FAILED – OPPOSITION HERITAGE PARTY MEMBER

April 12, 2013 | 15:52

YEREVAN. – Even if we were to accept that the tactics of the movement
failed to some extent on Tuesday, the strategy of achieving power
change in Armenia has not failed at all, opposition Heritage Party
member Davit Sanasaryan said during a press conference on Friday.

“No failed tactics can result in the failure of the strategy,”
Sanasaryan noted, and stressed that what’s important is that there
was no bloodshed and casualties on that day.

“All that did not occur thanks to our intervention,” he stated.

To note, the next rally of the aforesaid movement led by Heritage’s
chairman, former FM Raffi Hovannisian-who was declared runner-up
to the winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of
the presidential election that was conducted on February 18, but who
claims to be the real winner in the vote-will be held on Friday at 6pm,
at capital city Yerevan’s Liberty Square.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

HAKOB BAGRATUNI: LEBANESE NEW GOVERNMENT TO HAVE ONE ARMENIAN MINISTER

17:07, 12 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian community of Lebanon hopes
to have its representative in the newly forming government, Armenpress
was reported by the Representative of the Armenian Parliamentary Bloc
in Lebanon Hakob Bagratuni, adding that if the government involves
14 members, the Armenian community would have one representative and
in case of 30 members, Armenians would have two ministers.

Bagratuni also stated that on April 10 he had met with the Prime
Minister of Lebanon Tamam Salam. The meeting was attended as well
by the Armenian deputy Arthur Nazaryan. The sides discussed issues
related to the preservation of the national solidarity, security and
stability in Lebanon.

According to the Representative of the Armenian Parliamentary Bloc in
Lebanon Hakob Bagratuni, Armenian deputies assist the newly elected
Prime Minister Tamam Salam. The Armenian community is one of the seven
communities and has its peculiar place in Lebanon. In the Parliament
the community has six deputies: Hakob Bagratuni, Arthur Nazaryan, Shant
Chinchinyan, Sepuh Galpakyan, Serzh Tursagsyan and Zhan Oghasapyan.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN’S OFFICE INITIATES PROCEEDINGS OVER ARMEN MARTIROSYAN’S CASE

ARMINFO
Friday, April 12, 15:14

Human Rights Defender’s Office of Armenia has initiated proceedings
over the case of Vice Chairman of Heritage Party Armen Martirosyan,
Ombudsman of Armenia Karen Andreasyan informed media, Friday.

“We demanded the Police to provide information within three days. On
Tuesday, we will present our assessment of the incidents,” Andreasyan
said.

Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia, Head of the
National Committee for Human Rights Arthur Baghdasaryan, in turn,
said he has no intention to interfere with the case and recommends
waiting for final decision on the incident.

“We do not inquire into separate incidents. Consequently, we are not
competent to give any assessment,” Baghdasaryan said.

On April 9 simultaneously with Serzh Sargsyan’s swearing-in ceremony.

Raffi Hovannisian took an oath in front of the people in the Liberty
Square and then organized a march along Baghramyan Street to the
president’s residency. As a result, there were clashes with the
police. Heritage Party Deputy Head Armen Martirosyan and journalist
of Aravot newspaper Ripsime Jebejyan were beaten up. Some activists
were detained.

CIBJO PRESIDENT: ARMENIA ATTRACTS WORLD JEWELERS

12:14, 12 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS: The World Jewelry Confederation (CIBJO)
is delighted to cooperate with Armenia, as for the jewelry industry
Armenia is in advantageous position in many respects. As reported by
Armenpress, quoting the website of Rapaport Group Company, this was
stated by the President of CIBJO Gaetano Cavalieri, who arrived in
Armenia to take part in the Inauguration Ceremony of the reelected
President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

“In so many respects Armenia is in an advantageous position,” Cavalieri
said. “Its geographic location and its peoples’ long tradition in the
jewelry industry, both at home and in the very loyal Armenian Diaspora,
provide it with a tremendous start from which to build. Its government
is most supportive, agreeing to the establishment of a duty and tax
free zone for the jewelry sector, which not only has the potential to
serve as a magnet for the jewelry trades in other countries in the
region and around the world, but also will create thousands of jobs
at home and serve as valuable national resource for foreign income.”

On Wednesday Cavalieri and the leadership of the Armenian Jewelers
Association had a private session with President Sargsyan, and they
were scheduled to meet with a range of senior officials, including
the governor of the Armenian Central Bank.

Gaetano Cavalieri, the president of CIBJO, the World Jewelry
Confederation, is visiting the Armenian capital of Yerevan this week,
where on Tuesday he was invited to attend the official inauguration
celebrations of President Serzh Sargsyan, who recently was elected
for a second term in office. During the visit, he has been holding
discussions with senior government and industry officials about plans
for the development of the Armenian jewelry sector.

This is Cavalieri’s second visit in four months to Armenia, where
he has joined the leadership of the Armenian Jewelers Association,
led by the organization’s president, Gagik Gevorkyan, in their
discussions with the government about the infrastructural, regulatory
and marketing strategies necessary to catapult Armenia to the status
of major jewelry center, with a special focus on Central and Eastern
Europe and the western flank of Asia.

“CIBJO is delighted to be involved in this mission,” Cavalieri said.

“It underscores the commitment that we made when were recognized as
the international jewelry sector’s representative in the Economic
and Social Council of the United Nations, and according to which
the industry will participate in the fulfillment of the Millennium
Development Goals. This is the essence of Corporate Social
Responsibility.”

FOREIGN MILITARY ATTACHES VISITED MILITARY INDUSTRY ENTERPRISES

Military attaches accredited in Armenia, in accord with the 2013 action
plan, visited Armenian military industry enterprises. Attending the
visit were military attaches of Iran, China, Russia, Ukraine, U.S.,
Lithuania, Greece, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Romania
and France.

Head of military industry department M. Isakhanyan made an overview of
the activities and structure of the department. Later, the attaches
visited Yerevan Scientific Research Institute of Mathematical
Machines and Yeghvard Military Plant. Press office of Ministry of
Defense reports.

14:05 12/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

EXHIBIT: REPATRIATION AS RAMIFICATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Opening Reception, April 18, 2013,
5PM-8PM

Audio-Visual Presentation by Artist 6PM

Repatriation as Ramification of the Genocide is the second half
of the inaugural exhibition of paintings and drawings by Hazel
Antaramian-Hofman. The artwork is based on over two years of historical
and ethnographic study, including personal interviews with survivors
of the Great Repatriation to Soviet Armenia. To realize a collective
experience, the artist connects her art to her research documentation
in a multi-media presentation.

Antaramian-Hofman’s new work is in response to the stories and
photographs that she has collected during her visits with Armenian
repatriates. These repatriates left such Diasporan countries as
France, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, and the United States to only
“return” to an unknown Armenian homeland soon after the end of World
War II. The art also responds to her own history as the daughter of
two repatriates who lived their early formative years under Stalin.

As the first collection in a series of works-in-progress,
Antaramian-Hofman’s art speaks to the paradox of historical
circumstance and reoccuring themes of a displaced people longing
for closure.

The template for her mixed media paintings includes the artistic
paradigm of poster art and iconic cultural images, and archival
documents as selected testimony of socio-political ideology. Her
drawings reveal segmented aspects of the repatriate “body,” in
particular, children of genocide victims and their Diaspora-born
children, all successively fragmented by politics, social issues,
and sentimentality.

Artist Statement

I converse with each individual piece of artwork during the creative
process. Sometimes, the conversation takes me places where I never
imagined going. This is what makes the whole artistic experience
a wonder.

Concepts such as homeland, refugees, and immigration are an intrinsic
part of my work. What interests me is the pursuit of homeland,
and disparate cultural and ideological underpinnings of the human
condition. I want to speak to universal issues concerning the
anthropological connection to the conception of cultural symbols as
an extension of the natural landscape.

The first body of my mixed media paintings and representational
drawings in, Repatriation and Deception, is an interpretive reaction
to the socio-historic period of the post-WWII repatriation to Soviet
Armenia. The second part of the show, which opens on April 18, 2013,
exhibits additional artwork and broadens the scope of the dialogue
regarding the history of the twentieth-century repatriation to Soviet
Armenia in Repatriation as Ramification of the Genocide. Both in
my artwork and my lecture presentation, I connect the two historic
events with photographs and personal stories of genocide survivors
who in-turn became repatriates.

Show runs from March to June 2013 (new extended date)

Armenian Museum of Fresno, Exhibition Hall University of California
Center of Fresno 550 East Shaw Ave.

Fresno, CA 93710

Free Admission and Parking

Exhibition Hall Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Funding for this Exhibition has been provided by the Armenian
Museum of Fresno, The Puffin Foundation, Ltd., and The
Bertha and John Garabedian Charitable Foundation About Show

For more on the Repatriation Art and Ethnographic Project visit:

To participate in the project: contact the artist at
[email protected]

MONSERRAT CABALLE TO GIVE CONCERT IN ARMENIA IN JUNE

12:15 ~U 12.04.13

World’s most famous soprano Monserrat Caballe is celebrating today
her 80th birthday anniversary. According to tvkultura.ru, she will
celebrate her birthday with her family.

In few months she will start a concert tour. In June she will give
a concert in Armenia, then in Germany and Russia.

María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepcion Caballe i Folch was born in
Barcelona and studied music at the Liceu Conservatory, and singing
technique with Napoleone Annovazzi, Eugenia Kemeny and Conchita Badía.

She graduated with a gold medal in 1954.

Caballe’s international breakthrough came in 1965 when she substituted
for an indisposed Marilyn Horne in a semi-staged performance of
Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia at New York’s Carnegie Hall, which
earned her a 25-minute standing ovation.[2] While this was her first
engagement in a bel canto opera and she had to learn the role in
less than one month, her performance made her famous throughout the
opera world. Later that year, Caballe made her debut atGlyndebourne
singing her first Marschallin in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier
and portraying the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s The Marriage
of Figaro.

Armenian News – Tert.am

HERITAGE PARTY REP. SURE OF OPPOSITION’S SUCCESS

13:40 ~U 12.04.13

Zaruhi Postanjyan of the opposition Heritage faction in parliament says
she believes the Armenian nation helped their party’s leader proclaim
his New Armenia program at the April 9 rally (held simultaneously
with the presidential inauguration event).

“We did not commit the errors that happened in the course of 20 years.

We conducted a procession and have no jailed people or victims today.

What we have are triumphant citizens committed to a struggle, and
that struggle cannot last one day or one hour,” she told a parliament
briefing on Friday.

“We reached there and proclaimed ourselves citizens of New Armenia.

For that, we took an oath and realized all we had been planning
for that day. Those who criticize [us] could mention clearly
the misstake or the planned program we failed to bring to life,”
Postanjyan continued.

Asked about the Heritage party leader’s Thursday visit to Moscow,
the opposition MP said Raffi Hovhannisian himself would respond to
all the questions at his scheduled rally later today.

Armenian News – Tert.am