Author: Babajanian Karo

Borajet Claims Not Enough Passengers for Yerevan-Van Flights

10:55, March 30, 2013

Conflicting reasons for the cancellation of direct flights between
Yerevan and Van have appeared in the Turkish press.

Hurriyet Daily News says that according to Deputy Governor of Van
Mehmet Yüzer, Borajet, the company handling the flights, pulled out of
the agreement after a low number of passengers on the initial runs.

This runs counter to the claim of Narekavank, a tour agency in
Armenia, that the decision to cancel the flights was made on March 28
by Turkey’s General Department of Civil Aviation.

Hurriyet says that Turkey’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation
declined to comment and BoraJet officials reaffirmed that the reason
for the cancellation were passenger numbers far below the capacity of
the flights.

Yüzer also said the Directorate did not inform them of any such issue
and that the decision was made only by BoraJet.

`We were not informed by Turkey’s Directorate General of Civil
Aviation to cancel the flights. The necessary permissions were already
granted by Iran and Armenia,’ Yüzer told the Hürriyet Daily News on
March 29 in a phone interview.

The flights were planned to operate on April 3.

ARMENIA FALLS OFF THE MAP – AGAIN

March 29, 2013 10:44 pm

Sir, In her article (“Birth of a power bloc”, Collecting, March 9)
on art from the ex-Soviet Caucasus and Central Asia exhibited at
Sotheby’s earlier this month, Rachel Spence painstakingly listed
all the nations of the region bar one: Armenia. This omission is
especially puzzling as nearly a fifth of artists and some of the
strongest artworks on display came from this tiny republic.

Something similar occurred in Charlotte Sinclair’s report on Baku
as a glamorous destination (“Baku to the future”, Smart Arts, How
To Spend It, February 16). While listing every one of Azerbaijan’s
neighbours the author left out the one country, Armenia, with which
it shares one of its longest, and troubled, borders.

Vazken Davidian, London SW7, UK

A 550-YEAR-OLD MONUMENT TO A CONQUEROR FATIH MOSQUE

Hurriyet, Turkey
March 30 2013

The architect Sinan-ı Atik (Old Sinan or Azadli Sinan, Freedman Sinan)
was given instructions to make Fatih’s mosque higher and bigger than
the Haghia Sophia because the sultan wanted to outdo the Byzantine
church. Not much is known about this architect, although served an
apprenticeship under an expert in the field

March 1463 and the first spade full of dirt was turned over for the
debut imperial mosque in Istanbul, to be built on the fourth and
highest hill in the old city. Fatih Sultan Mehmed had been busy in
the nearly 10 years since he had conquered Constantinople. In fact,
he barely spent 20 days in the city after the conquest before he was
back in the saddle and on his way to Edirne, which had been the capital
of the growing Ottoman Empire. He left behind officials instructed
to rebuild the city and settle the Turks, who were being brought in
to repopulate Istanbul from Anatolia, in various districts while he
set forth on campaigns in Serbia and then the Morea.

Construction was everywhere in Istanbul, including the site of the new
palace Mehmed wanted built, today’s Topkapı Palace. In his monumental
work on Mehmed the Conqueror, historian Franz Babinger points out that
the Ottoman ruler was not particularly interested in architecture,
unlike his father before him and his son afterwards. What put it in
his head to build a large mosque we’ll never know; however, he chose
the area on which the remains of the second most important Byzantine
church in the city, the Church of the Holy Apostles, was located.

Originally built by Emperor Constantine I in the fourth century –
he was buried there – the church was rebuilt in the sixth century by
Emperor Justinian I, although some believe it was the latter’s wife,
Theodora, who ordered the reconstruction. It was subsequently ruined
during the Fourth Crusade when the Latin invaders of the city plundered
it in the thirteenth century. Enough was left of the church and the
complex around it to serve as the ecumenical Greek patriarchate between
1453 and 1456. That moved elsewhere and the remains of the church
were pulled down and construction of Fatih’s mosque began. During
excavations, some of the sarcophagi of the emperors were uncovered
and they are now in front of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

The architect Sinan-ı Atik (Old Sinan or Azadli Sinan, Freedman Sinan)
was given instructions to make Fatih’s mosque higher and bigger than
the Haghia Sophia because the sultan wanted to outdo the Byzantine
church. Not much is known about this architect although he would have
served an apprenticeship under an expert in the field. It has been
suggested that he may have earned his position by converting some of
the many churches in the city – 300 is the number mentioned but that
seems rather high when one considers that we’re only talking about the
historic peninsula – into mosques. One legend says he was a Christian,
possibly Armenian, but if so, he converted later.

‘Mosques of Istanbul’

Whatever training Sinan may have had, he laid out one of the most
symmetrical of mosque complexes ever built in Istanbul. It was also
the first monumental project in the Ottoman imperial architectural
tradition. Henry Matthews points out in his book, “Mosques of
Istanbul,” that the design of the newly constructed mosque reflected
both Ottoman and Byzantine principles. The mosque was central to
the complex, which covered nearly 11,000 square meters (roughly 2.5
acres). In addition to the mosque, which stands in the middle of a
large plaza, there were eight medreses (advanced schools that were
roughly the equivalent of a university), a primary school, a hamam,
hospital, hospice, a soup kitchen big enough to feed 1,000 people a
day, a library, caravanserai and the mausolea of Fatih Sultan Mehmed
and his wife, Gulbahar Hatun. In his book, “The Mosque in Early Ottoman
Architecture,” Aptullah Kuran notes that historical records indicate
that there were eight more medreses that no longer exist but may have
been in alignment with the ones that do still exist.

When this mosque was finished, the story goes that Fatih Sultan
Mehmed was furious with the architect. The dome was only 26 meters in
diameter, whereas the one in the Hagia Sophia is just over 30 meters
in diameter. He is said to have ordered the architect’s hand cut off.

The architect then went to court against the sultan, who lost the case
and was sentenced to have his hand cut off. When Sinan realized that
the sultan was going to obey the court order, he forgave him, thus
saving him from the punishment, and converted to Islam. The sultan then
gave him presents to make up for his loss. After the architect’s death
in 1471, the same year the mosque was finished, his entire estate was
donated to a mescit (small mosque), zaviye (sufi lodge) and a school
that he had built in the Fatih district. His grave is in the section
of the Sinan-ı Atik Mosque cemetery known as the Kumrulu Mescit. It’s
a nice story but whether it’s true or not is for you to decide.

Mosque badly damaged in an earthquake

The mosque in the center of the plaza today is not the original one
built by Sinan-ı Atik and finished in 1471. That one was badly damaged
in an earthquake in 1509 and restored at the orders of Sultan Bayezid
II. The mosque subsequently collapsed in the earthquake of 1766 and
was rebuilt in 1771 by Sultan Mustafa III’s architect, Mehmed Tahir
Agha, on the same foundations. In this second building, which changed
the original mosque significantly, the dome, which had been very big
(26 meters in diameter), was reduced in size and supported with four
half domes that were in turn supported by four columns. The mosque
now took on a rather Baroque appearance in the interior, since that
was the popular style of the time. The tombs belonging to Fatih Sultan
Mehmed and his wife were also restored following the earthquake, with
the former decorated in Baroque style and the latter in a plainer
style that probably was truer to its original appearance. There were
three gates to the courtyard, one on the kible side and two on the
other side. The stone conic caps on the minarets were made in the
nineteenth century. The only parts of the first mosque that exist
today are the three walls of the courtyard, the mihrab, the fountain,
the crown gate and the minarets up to the first balcony.

While the Fatih Mosque is still very impressive today, Suleymaniye
Mosque and other mosques built by the later Koca Mimar Sinan overshadow
it. Still, 550 years is certainly a respectable amount of time to be
in use.

March/30/2013

ARMENIA’S COMPULSORY CHESS CURRICULUM (AND HOW IT MIGHT CHANGE THE WORLD)

LSMedia, UK
March 29 2013

In an attempt to make the world a brighter place, Armenia has added
compulsory chess lessons to its curriculum for pupils as young
as seven.

Armenia – as a former soviet state and a place of eccentric
cultural heritage – is as obsessed as any other developing country
with improving the quality of its education. Over the past 7 years,
Armenia have won the comically pretentious ‘chess olympics’ three
times. Their leading chess player Levon Aronian is a national hero;
Bestowed the title ‘Honoured Master of Sport of the Republic of
Armenia’ by their leadership, he is essentially the Armenian David
Beckham, minus the angelic face and athlete’s physique – yet crucially
in possession of a fully-functioning brain. I suppose you might say
he’s a bit more like Sebastian Coe. If you were Sebastian Coe. The
blubbery narcissistic prick.

As any civilised member of society knows, the natural
progression from domination in any sport is a dogmatic
shoving-it-down-the-throats-of-anyone-and-everyone. The Armenian
leadership has even gone so far as to legislate to such an effect,
by forcing their premature kinderwinks to play the family-friendly
war simulator. Beyblades and Pokemon cards just won’t cut the mustard
for adolescent strategic training these days, chess providing you
with strategic know-how, competitivity and hours of fun. Right…

The games of chess I experienced at a young age were about as
tactically coherent as the Pyongyang guide to military strategy and
about the same level of fun as turning on a tap. The only thing I
found more boring at the time was the activity that led me to consider
playing chess, such was the drudgery involved. All this aside, given
some actual insight into how to play the game – and a suitable reward
for winning – maybe I would have found some enjoyment in the game,
perhaps even suffered some irreparable brain development. God forbid.

But hold on a minute! Chess teaches children the raw basics of
aggressive military combat. Flank your opponents, attack their most
vulnerable resources and if all else fails, shatter the foundations
of their society with religious extremism. Those forwardly challenged
bishops, a covert metaphor for the subversive nature of religion. This
is what we should be teaching our children? That we should ruthlessly
strike at those who are our equals, but for the colour of their skin?

What exactly is Armenia’s plan? To condition a super-race of ruthless,
xenophobic tactical experts? The Hitler youth had it all wrong! Start
them off earlier and subconsciously impregnate them with your sadistic
views through the most socially acceptable of violent war-games. In
twenty years time we’ll all be hailing Aronian as our ‘Supreme Master
of Racial Cleansing’ as we goose-step through the black-and-white
marble streets, a blunt homage to the game that started it all.

Or perhaps not. Perhaps it will merely plant a seed of intellectual
strategy, one that will blossom into a nation of sharp-minded,
forward-thinking individuals. Or perhaps, as is most likely, it will
be quickly forgotten about and have zero impact on their meagre lives,
as they toil through the economic wasteland we are so happily laying
out for them. Either way, it might be worth a go Cyprus, you’ve got
very little to lose.

CARREFOUR CHAIN TO ENTER ARMENIAN MARKET BY THE END OF 2013 – MINISTRY

NEWS.AM
March 29, 2013 | 15:18

YEREVAN.- Carrefour trade chain will open in Armenia by the end of
this year, representative of Economy Ministry Karen Vardanyan said.

A seminar on “Carrefour in Armenia: Problems of Business Environment
and Free Competition Issues” was held in Yerevan on Friday.

Vardanyan said the Ministry sees no problem with Carrefour’s entering
Armenian market and labeled delays as “internal problem of business
environment.”

Chairman of parliament’s standing committee on economic affairs Vardan
Ayvazyan noted that the Carrefour problem was extremely politicized.

He agreed that competing retailers are concerned over the issue.

“I’ve heard that Aleksanyan [owner of Yerevan City supermarkets -ed.]
is ready to sell his chain,” he added.

Former owner of a coffee packing company “Parisian Surch”
Valerie-Ashkhen Gortzounian, participating in the discussion via Skype,
said that laws do not work in Armenia.

In response, Ayvazyan noted that it will last only half an hour to
register a new company in Armenia.

However, the key – whether the company can run business smoothly in
the chosen market – was left out.

4 INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTS HONORED BY HALL OF FAME

Associated Press Worldstream
March 27, 2013 Wednesday 9:54 PM GMT

Four international gymnasts are scheduled to be honored by the
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

The hall announced Wednesday that Albert Azaryan of Armenia; Lyubov
Burda of Russia; Gina Gogean of Romania; and Yuri Korolev of Russia
will be honored during the 17th annual International Gymnastics Hall
of Fame ceremony May 18 in Oklahoma City.

Azaryan and Gogean will be new hall members while Burda and Korolev
were inducted previously but had not been able to attend the ceremony.

The IGHOF was founded in 1987 in Oceanside, California, and was moved
to Oklahoma City in 1996.

ENLARGEMENT OF ARMENIAN PARTIES

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 28 2013

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

The process of registration in the Central Election Committee
for participation in the elections to Yerevan Council of Elders
is finished. The elections to the capital parliament are held on
proportional lists. The election campaign begins on April 7 and
will end on May 3rd, May 4th will be a day of silence, and May 5th –
the elections.

Lists to the CEC were sent by the Republican Party of Armenia,
Prosperous Armenia, Orinats Erkir (The Country of Legality), the
Armenian National Congress, Arakelutyun (Mission), Dashnaktsutyun,
and the bloc of parties “Hello, Yerevan” which unites small opposition
parties Heritage, Democratic Motherland, Democratic Path, and the
Conservative Party.

Unlike the presidential elections of February 18th which results
were predetermined, the coming election campaign may be tough. Three
leading opposition forces – PA, the ANC, and Dashnaktsutyun – which
rejected participation in the presidential elections, stating that
the results would be falsified, are ready to participate this time.

65 members are included into the Council of Elders of Yerevan. They
are elected for four years and elect Yerevan’s mayor. The party which
will get more than 40% of votes is considered a winner. In this case
it gets 50%+1 vote, or 33 mandates in the parliament of Yerevan. The
rest of mandates are distributed according to the number of gained
votes. The minimal barrier for parties is 6%, for political blocs – 8%.

The presidential elections and post-election processes which were very
moderate didn’t change the atmosphere of competition in the country,
which is based on a difficult socio-economic situation and absence
of a political will to change anything for the best. The phrase by
the vice-speaker of the parliament, a representative of RPA Eduard
Sharmazanov: “We won’t surrender Yerevan” caused confusion. This
phrase absolutely reflects the Armenian authorities’ philosophy,
who often follow a criminal honor code and seem to think that any
yield at any front will mean their weakness.

“The expression “We won’t surrender Yerevan” resembles the phrase
“Moscow is behind us!” A Yerevan resident will decide himself what
political force he would support and what political force would form
the Council of Elders. Nobody has put Yerevan into his pocket to
surrender it or not. Any political force must not insult a citizen
of Armenia,” the secretary of the parliamentary fraction of PA,
Naira Zograbyan, thinks.

The opposition seems to be prepared for a tough competition. According
to the head of the parliamentary fraction of the ANC Levon Zurabyan,
“discontent among people is boiling over, and everybody understands
that serious processes are needed; such a serious event will be the
victory of the opposition in the elections to the Council of Elders
in Yerevan.”

A firm attitude of competitors is explained by the fact that about
1/3 of all voters of Armenia lives in Yerevan because the capital
is gaining key importance. Today the authorities try to diminish
political importance of the elections.

The power is aimed at reproduction, while the opposition – at
improvement of its position in the political arena as the votes
which were given to the leader of the small party Heritage in the
presidential elections expressed an attitude of the whole protest
electorate. Raffi Ovannisyan earned 37% all over the country, and 43%
in the capital.

Meanwhile, the elections of May 5th will be held within a new tendency
for the Armenian political field – enlargement of political parties.

This logical for democratic countries process is gaining an undue
character in Armenia. Armenia has stepped into this way due to “turns
of events.” The process of enlargement of parties began with the
failed party system in the country where many parties are no more
than titles, clubs, or political groups; in the country where only
two normal elections have been held, which results were not put into
question either by political forces or the society (the presidential
elections 1991 and the parliamentary elections 1999). Today in Armenia
two major parties exist, and this positive phenomenon was formed
not due to a normal political competition or natural selection, but
due to improvement of “political mussels” of the ruling RPA and the
former party of the ruling coalition Prosperous Armenia. Today these
forces are rivals, and it seems the main competition will take place
between them.

The other expression of the new tendency to enlargement of parties is
establishing of the election bloc “Hello, Yerevan” which includes
several small parties. Probably this tendency was a reason for
rejection participation in the coming elections by a small pro-Western
opposition party Free Democrats. Perhaps the elections to the Council
of Elders will make the tendency even stronger.

Time to Induct Tark in Basketball Hall

NBC Sports
March 23, 2013

By Tim Dahlberg, AP Sports Columnist

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Lois Tarkanian answered the phone at the family home,
offering a word of caution before handing it to her husband.

“His voice is weak and he may not remember everything,” she said.

Jerry Tarkanian’s voice was weak, and at age 82 he didn’t remember
everything. Though he made it to most UNLV home games this season, a
heart attack last year and other health problems have taken their
toll.

For those who don’t remember Tark, let me fill in some of the
blanks. I was privileged enough to cover his Runnin’ Rebels in their
glory years, and was courtside at both the national championship win
in 1990 in Denver and the shocking loss to Duke in the Final Four a
year later in Indianapolis.

I’m a firm believer that, for all his faults, he was wronged by the
NCAA, which hounded him his entire career. The NCAA finally agreed,
paying Tarkanian $2.5 million in 1998 to settle a lawsuit claiming it
singled out the UNLV program for investigation and penalized it
unfairly three times.

I’m also a firm believer he should be in the Basketball Hall of
Fame. It’s a sentiment shared by most in this gambling town, and a lot
of people in the game of basketball.

“You can only hope justice prevails and Jerry Tarkanian is elected to
the Hall of Fame,” Bill Walton said while in town broadcasting the
Pac-12 tournament.

Whether he will get in is up to Hall of Fame voters, whoever they
are. Unlike other sport shrines, the basketball Hall of Fame does not
publicly identify its voters, a lack of transparency that is
troubling.

But he’s finally a finalist, along with 11 others in a class that will
be announced at the Final Four. Justice has been a long time coming to
Tarkanian, but maybe this time it will prevail.

“It would be real nice,” Tarkanian said, struggling to get the words
out.

His legacy will be his bitter battles with the NCAA, a grudge
Tarkanian will carry with him to his dying day. At a screening party
two years ago for an HBO special on his glory days, Tarkanian got up
at the end of the documentary and lit into the NCAA for old time sake
before an approving audience at a Vegas casino.

“If I had my way I think they (the NCAA) all deserve to go to Devil’s
Island,” Tarkanian said.

But there was much more to a coach who helped redefine the way the
college game is played. His teams in his final years at UNLV were so
dominant there may never be any like them again, and if the NCAA
hadn’t interfered he might have won a handful of national
championships instead of just one.

Yes, he recruited some kids other coaches wouldn’t touch – anyone
remember Lloyd Daniels? – and there were times he didn’t follow all
the rules. Neither did a lot of other coaches, though NCAA
investigators were so busy chasing Tarkanian that they paid them
little attention.

Tarkanian’s problem was he was unrepentant. He truly believed he had
done nothing other coaches weren’t doing, and he refused to back down.

Tarkanian liked to tell the story about the time one of his assistants
saw an NCAA investigator renting a car at the airport and followed him
to a local strip club. Tarkanian got some brochures for the club and
mailed them to the investigator, telling him there was a special going
on.

On the court, there was no controversy. Tarkanian won 784 games in his
career, with 509 of them coming at UNLV. His best team was probably
the 1991 squad that was unbeaten in 34 games before being upset by
Duke, but he won at least 20 games every year but one in his 19 years
at UNLV.

His teams were renowned for running and running up big scores. But it
was UNLV’s amoeba defense and the stifling full court press Tarkanian
liked to employ that sparked most of the offense.

There’s really no dispute about his Hall of Fame credentials. He’s
10th in all time wins, seventh in winning percentage, and second
behind the legendary Adolph Rupp in quickest to 700 wins. He took 18
teams to the NCAA tournament, made the Final Four four times, and won
a national championship.

Take away the lingering debate over his relationship with the NCAA and
he would have been inducted a long time ago.

My guess is that some Hall of Fame voters – whoever they are – believe
they are holding some sort of moral high ground by not voting for
Tarkanian. But college basketball is a messy business, indeed, and any
shrine that elects a shoe salesman (Phil Knight) while keeping out a
coach of Tarkanian’s pedigree has some serious credibility issues.

Tarkanian is an old man now, something I was reminded of when I saw
him sitting courtside by himself last week at the UNLV campus arena he
helped build. He looked worn and weary, though with his sad eyes and
scratchy voice he looked much the same way while chewing on a towel in
his prime.

He’s looking now for one last win, one final statement about his life
and career. The Hall of Fame would be the ultimate stamp of legitimacy
for a man who spent most of his life searching for just that.

“It would mean a lot,” he said, his voice fading away.

With that, our conversation was over. It was time to rest, then watch
some NCAA tournament games on TV.

Any more talk of the Hall of Fame would have to wait for another day.

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated
Press. Write to him at [email protected] or

Aliyev father and son, different looks at the conflict

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
29 March 2013

By Giorgio Comai

In recent months, a number of incidents have taken tensions between
Armenia and Azerbaijan to very high levels. On the Azeri side, the
rhetoric is more and more explicitly anti-Armenian and warlike, as
clearly exemplified by the Safarov case and the story of writer Akram
Aylisli. Yet, things have not always been such.

As reminded by Arzu Geybullayeva in a recent article, Heydar Aliyev,
father of current president Ilham, used to welcome Armenian
journalists with overall benevolent words. Here is an excerpt of a
speech by Heydar Aliyev, pronounced in the presence of Armenian and
Georgian journalists on July 1st, 1999:

“Unfortunately, the conflict that took place in 1988 in the period of
Soviet Union caused difficulties and relations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan that have never existed before in the history. If we look
at the history we can see that there were conflicts between Armenians
and Azerbaijanis on different levels. They caused victims and
bloodshed, however, later on this conflict was solved and the peaceful
situation was restored. For example, let`s take the event of 1905 or
1918, some years later the relationships were resumed, people became
friends and the bad was forgotten. That is clear and natural. People
don`t want bad things, they want good ones. This is not the case of
only Armenia and Azerbaijan. Let`s recall how many countries were
engaged in the World War II and how severe was the war between Russia,
the Soviet Union and Germany. And now look how perfect relationships
they have now. One can say the same words about many European
countries that have been fighting for many decades. All this was left
in the past, now they have friendly relationships, the European Union
was even established in Europe, they keep integrating and
approaching. […]”

“We adhere the peaceful settlement of the conflict. I think that we
will find the way of settlement of the conflict and it will be in
conformity with interests of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. I don`t
think that Armenia and Azerbaijan will always be in conflict
situation. I don`t think so. Because the history proves that it is not
possible. […] However, not only Azerbaijan suffered losses, Armenia
had losses as well, there are handicapped people in Armenia
too. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the atmosphere of trust
in order to go towards peace and settle the conflict peacefully.”

Heydar Aliyev continued by stating that the journalists of the two
countries could have a particularly important role in this process,
and saluted the encounter that had taken place on that occasion.

I quote now an excerpt from a recent speech by President Ilham Aliyev,
son of Heydar, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the
founding of the Azeri ruling party, the New Azerbaijan Party (extended
passages of the speech were posted in a series of tweets on the Azeri
president’s Twitter channel).

“The main focus of our foreign policy is the resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We will continue our
efforts. I want to reiterate that our position is very firm, it is
based on international law, history, justice and on our growing
strength. We are conducting talks and at the same time building up our
military strength.”

“The gap between Armenia and Azerbaijan is already very large and
keeps expanding day by day. Azerbaijan grows stronger and more
powerful by the year, while Armenia weakens and declines every
year. Evidence of this is the mass exodus of people from Armenia to
other countries.”

“We will continue our efforts to isolate Armenia. This policy is
working. We see its results. We will continue to expose Armenia’s
aggressive policy in all international organizations. The number of
our friends in the world is growing. A growing number of countries
want to cooperate with us. We have started to invest in various areas
in foreign countries. This is a new process. We will step it up. Thus,
our political and economic relations with all countries of the world
will become even stronger in the future. Three countries have already
officially recognized the Khojaly genocide as an act of genocide. This
process has already begun and will be continued. We must ensure that
as many countries as possible recognize Khojaly as an act of
genocide. So from a medium- and long-term perspective, the restoration
of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is beyond doubt. Neither we nor
the mediators involved in the matter have any doubts about that. That
is why we believe that international mediators have been more active
in addressing the issue lately. Everyone knows that the growing
political, economic and military power of Azerbaijan will lead to a
complete resolution of the issue in favor of Azerbaijan.”

“I want to reiterate that we are involved in negotiations. But along
with that, we take all other steps and are ready for all the other
options. I repeat that Azerbaijan has strong legal, historical and
political grounds. I have no doubt that Azerbaijan will restore its
territorial integrity. The solution to this problem is possible on the
basis of these principles. […] There are such forces =80`
pro-Armenian, anti-Azerbaijani and Islamophobic forces which can’t
come to terms with our success and development. […]”

“Our main enemy is the Armenian lobby. I have often talked about it, I
want to say it again without fearing anyone – our enemy is the
Armenian lobby. Because Armenia as a country is of no value. It is
actually a colony, an outpost run from abroad, a territory
artificially created on ancient Azerbaijani lands.”

Aliyev does not hide the fact that Azerbaijan is strengthening its
military power and trying to isolate Armenia, which he calls “a
country of no value”, suggesting also that the territory of
contemporary Armenia is historically Azeri – a theme that Aliyev has
brought up also in a speech a few days ago: “the Armenian state was
established on lands that are historically Azeri. The Khanate of
Yerevan, Zangezur, and Geycha [Sevan] – these lands are all
historically ours”.

No sign of the need for a reconciliation process, of an agreement that
satisfies both countries, of the inevitability of peace and friendship
between two neighbouring peoples that characterized the speech of
Aliyev father in 1999.

I quoted two excerpts from public speeches by Ilham and Heydar Aliyev,
separated by over 10 years. These are individual speeches in different
contexts that, as meaningful as they may be, certainly cannot reflect
the complexity of the Aliyevs’ approach towards the Armenian-Azeri
conflict under their presidencies.

They do, however, signal that something has changed. The rhetoric of
Aliyev father seems remarkably conciliatory and pacific compared to
his son’s. Between father and son, with regard to the approach to the
issue of Nagorno Karabakh, something really has changed.

ROBERT ZILDJIAN, FOUNDER OF SABIAN CYMBAL COMPANY, DIES AT 89

TERT.AM
17:40 ~U 29.03.13

Robert Zildjian, the founder of Sabian, one of the largest cymbal
makers in the world, has died, at age 89, Reuters reported, citing
the company’s website.

Zildjian ran the second-largest cymbal manufacturer in the world
behind only the Avedis Zildjian Company, according to several music
equipment websites.

His family began the Avedis Zildjian Company in Boston in 1928.

Zildjian founded Sabian Inc in 1981 in New Brunswick, Canada, after
leaving his family’s company as a result of a dispute with his brother.