Author: Badalian Vardan

ETIENNE MAHCHUPIAN SEEMS TO BE FAR FROM ARMENIANS’ GRIEVES – OPINIONS

11:26 * 05.11.14

The recent statements made by Etienne Mahchupian, the newly-appointed
senior advisor to Turkey’s prime minister, demonstrate that he is
estranged from the common problems and grieves shared by the Armenians
worldwide, says an Armenian orientalist.

“The statements he has made since becoming a senior advisor to the
Turkish premier, as well as the other statements made before give
rise to many questions. He announced, for example, that Armenian
and Diaspora are in conflicts over the recognition and the 100th
anniversary of Genocide. This is definitely wrong, as being an
Armenian, he is obliged to know that this is the kind of problem over
which the Armenians cannot be split. And the same was later repeated
by the country’s president, [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan,” Ruben Safrastyan,
Director of the National Academy’s Institute of Oriental Studies,
told Tert.am.

Citing Ermenihaber.am, a Turkish-language news website covering the
developments in Armenia, the Armenian service of RFE/RL (Azatutyun)
reported Mahchupian as saying recently that visiting Armenia on April
24, 2015 is a gesture which requires numerous other new gestures. “If
those gestures are made, the situation may mature, and the president
may go to Armenia. But if we are realistic, I don’t find it possible.

As Armenia is expected to demonstrate an unusually tough stance in
2015, Turkey will not make that gesture,” he was quoted as saying.

Mahchupian’s approaches give ground to think that he is on the wrong
track, Safrastyan said, addressing his remark. “Erdogan’s [decision]
whether or not to come to Armenia has nothing to do with Armenia’s
position. If he comes, he will do so to raise his country’s honor a
little bit; that’s not for Armenia,” he noted.

Turkologist Vahram Ter-Matevosyan had earlier told Tert.am that
he doesn’t expect either positive or negative developments from
Mahchupian’s appointment. He warned against attempts of searching
for hidden conspiracies behind the move or, on the contrary, getting
very enthusiastic.

Commenting on Mahchupian’s recent statements, the expert said he
knows that the Turkish political system would never allow someone
with pro-Armenian positions to be appointed to a senior discretionary
government post.

“That man’s activities will be pro-Turkish, first of all; all the rest
is a matter of comment. He cannot do anything beyond that framework;
he was appointed there for specific political activities. And his
activities do not have to have anything in common with the Armenian
factor. Hence it is better to avoid great expectations not to
be disappointed later. This is a process which we must use as an
opportunity,” he added.

As for Erdogan’s possible visit to Armenia, the expert agreed that
it isn’t reasonable to jump conclusions months before the Genocide
centennial. “Armenia adopted the tough rhetoric in 2010, so there’s
nothing new about it. And however tough Armenia’s rhetoric, Turkey
is to blame for it. As to whether or not the viewpoint expressed is
realistic, I can add several factors to that, including the fact that
Turkey will be on the threshold of elections. So if there is a will,
everything else is of secondary importance,” he added.

NONESUCH RECORDS TO RELEASE LABEL DEBUT BY JAZZ PIANIST TIGRAN HAMASYAN

11:03, 05 Nov 2014

Nonesuch Records will release the label debut from jazz pianist
Tigran Hamasyan, Mockroot, in early 2015. Hamasyan is currently on
tour in Europe, with shows in France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium,
and Switzerland, amongst others. Further details about the forthcoming
album and its release will be announced shortly, along with additional
international tour dates, the Nonesuch Journal reports.

Although trained as a classical and jazz musician, Tigran Hamasyan
draws on a wide range of influences, including Armenian folk music,
rock, beatbox, poetry, and more. In the past decade, with the release
of four critically acclaimed albums and an unceasing touring schedule,
he has built up a dedicated international following, as well as
accolades from the likes of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Brad
Mehldau. In the words of the Guardian, Hamasyan “is guided by one of
[mentor and fan Herbie Hancock’s] most enduring lessons: it’s possible
to be a multi-stylistic jazz virtuoso and a groove-powered hitmaker
simultaneously and hugely enjoy all of it.” The Times of London said
of his most recent release, 2013’s Shadow Theater, “Armenian folk,
electronic loops, heavenly voices and indie rock energy vie with
Hamasyan’s rippling piano to create a dramatic, deeply melodic music
unlike anything else you’ll hear this year.”

Hamasyan was born in Armenia in 1987, before relocating with his
family to Los Angeles in 2003. He currently resides in Erevan,
Armenia. He began playing piano at the age of three, and started
performing in festivals and competitions when he was 11 years old,
winning the Montreux Jazz Festival’s piano competition in 2003. He
released his debut album, World Passion, at the age of 18 in 2006.

That same year he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International
Jazz Piano Competition. Subsequent albums includeNew Era (2008), Red
Hail (2009), and A Fable(2011), for which he was awarded a Victoires
de la Musique (the equivalent of a Grammy Award in France). Most
recently he won the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Contemporary
Music in 2013.

FESTIVAL CARVES ART SPACE OUT OF RUINS OF OLD ISTANBUL ORPHANAGE

Cihan News Agency, Turkey
Nov 4 2014

ISTANBUL – 04.11.2014 17:42:20

A long-abandoned building in Ýstanbul’s Ortakoy neighborhood that
once served as a Jewish orphanage has been turned into a new art
space thanks to Fotoistanbul, a new festival currently marking its
inaugural edition with exhibitions in several locations across the
Beþiktaþ district.

The building on Palanga Street, built over a century ago, initially
housed an Armenian school before being turned into an orphanage for
Jewish children. Abandoned years ago, the building was revamped to
serve as an art space by the local Beþiktaþ Municipality, which is
organizing the First Beþiktaþ International Photography Festival —
Fotoistanbul.

The building, still known as Ortakoy Yetimhanesi (orphanage),
is now home to a selection featuring the work of young and master
photographers side by side as part of Fotoistanbul. The festival also
encourages visitors to the exhibition to take photos and post them
on the walls of the revamped orphanage.

Fotoistanbul continues until Nov. 18 with 53 exhibitions on display
in several locations, including Barbaros Square, Beþiktaþ Demokrasi
Square and the Ortakoy Orphanage. Works by 25 photographers from Turkey
and 28 photographers from overseas are featured in the exhibitions.

ADB WORKING OUT COUNTRY PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY FOR ARMENIA

10:19, 04 Nov 2014

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Vice President of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) Wencai Zhang, President’s Press Office reported.

The President praised the ADB’s cooperation with Armenia and its
activities aimed at developing Armenia’s infrastructure and ensuring
steady economic growth. Serzh Sargsyan thanked the bank for supporting
Armenia for many years and said that Wencai Zhang’s visit bore witness
to the firm relationship between Armenia and the ADB.

Wencai Zhang expressed satisfaction with the fact that the bank has
been collaborating with Armenia since 2005 and underscored that the
ADB was working on the Country Partnership Strategy for Armenia for
the upcoming 5 years and was ready to support the development of
priority spheres in Armenia, including infrastructure (transport,
energy, road construction, urban development, water supply), as
well as state-private sector cooperation, local technical assistance
capacity building, promotion of regional collaboration, encouragement
of investments, export stimulation and development of an innovative
and knowledge-based economy. Noting that it was his first visit to
Armenia, Wencai Zhang underlined that he was impressed with Armenia,
a country with great development potential. He also expressed the
bank’s readiness to organize an investment forum in Armenia which
will give Armenia’s economy the opportunity to attract new foreign
investments and will stimulate realization of primary projects.

At the meeting the parties attached great importance to the works of
the North-South Road Corridor and exchanged views on Armenia’s economic
development opportunities following its accession to the Eurasian
Economic Union. Wencai Zhang congratulated President Serzh Sargsyan on
Armenia’s accession to the treaty and expressed the opinion that it can
provide ample opportunities for the development of Armenia’s economy.

UK SUPPORTS NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

Trend, Azerbaijan
Nov 3 2014

3 November 2014, 15:52 (GMT+04:00)

The UK believes that the previously signed Armenian-Turkish protocols
should be implemented, the British Minister of State for Europe David
Lidington said Nov. 3, Armenia Today news agency reported.

Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan, Armenia, Lidington added
that the protocols will allow moving forward.

He said the UK supports the normalization of relations between Armenia
and Turkey.

At the same time he said it is positive that the Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian participated at the Turkish president’s
inauguration.

On Oct. 10, 2009 the FMs of Armenia and Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu and
Edward Nalbandian signed protocols on normalization of relations
between Turkey and Armenia.

However, the protocols have not been ratified by the countries’
parliaments.

The diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed
in 1993.

The break in relations, as well as, the closing of borders between
Turkey and Armenia in 1993 was due to Yerevan’s claims over
recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide in the world and
Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

ARMENIA WILL TRY TO FEED SCHOOL PUPILS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE STATE BUDGET

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 3 2014

3 November 2014 – 8:42pm

Next year, the Armenian government plans to finance school meals
program from the state budget, the head of the Ministry of Education
of the country Armen Ashotyan said, reports news.am.

According to him, the implementation of this pilot project has already
started in some regions.

203.4 million drams (about $ 495 thousand) will be allocated for
these needs.

This money will go to cover hot school meals or, where the provision
of hot meals is impossible, children will receive cakes, milk, yogurt
and juice.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Berdj Karapetian

November 3, 2014
(818) 426-1178

NEWS ADVISORY

Glendale City Council to Vote on Initiating Negotiations on Property to be
Site of Armenian American Museum and Memorial Monument

When: Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at 6:00 pm
Where: Glendale City Council Chambers, 613 E Broadway, 2nd floor,
Glendale, 91206

The Glendale City Council will consider on Tuesday, November 4, 2014,
a motion to enter into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the
Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Western USA (AGCC) for the
ground lease of a 1.7 acre property located to the south of the
Glendale Civic Auditorium and across the street from Glendale
Community College.

The AGCC’s announced in September plans to build an Armenian American
Museum and Educational/Cultural Center in Glendale. The AGCC has
requested the City for the right to enter into exclusive negotiations
for the ground lease of the property.

`The 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide presents an
opportunity to transform the experience of the survivors of the
Armenian Genocide and generations of Armenian Americans into a vehicle
for preserving liberty and equality in a democratic society,’ stated
AGCC-WUSA Co-Chair Garo Ghazarian.

The Native American Museum, La Plaza De Culturas Y Artes, the
California African American Museum, the Chinese American Museum, the
Japanese American National Museum, the Skirball Cultural Center, the
Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Italian
American Museum of Los Angeles, the Korean American National Museum
and several other museums based in Southern California every year
educate thousands of youngsters and visitors in the rich ethnic and
cultural diversity of the region.

The Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Western USA helps guide
and coordinate events and activities to observe the 100th Anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide.

The representatives of the following organizations and institutions
serve on the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee – Western USA:
Armenia Fund – Western Region USA; Armenian Assembly of America;
Armenian Bar Association; Armenian Catholic Church; Armenian Council
of America; Armenian Cultural Foundation; Armenian Evangelical Union
of North America; Armenian General Benevolent Union – Western
District; Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region;
Armenian Relief Society – Western USA; Armenian Rights Council;;
Armenian Youth Federation; Ignatius Foundation; Nor Or Charitable
Foundation; Nor Serount Cultural Association; Organization of Istanbul
Armenians; Unified Young Armenians; Western Diocese of the Armenian
Church of North America; Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic
Church.

###

Berdj Karapetian

GAREGIN NZHDEH’S STATUE TO BE PLACED WITHOUT SWORD (VIDEO)

13:36 | November 3,2014 | Social

Yerevan Municipality’s decision to install a statue to the great
Armenian statesman Garegin Nzhdeh near one of the Government buildings
in the center of the city has provoke uproar in different circles.

Many think that the statue should be placed in the square named after
the great political thinker, which is in Shengavit district in Yerevan.

Sculptor Levon Tokmajyan, a member of the Artistic Commission of the
Yerevan Municipality Council, is concerned about the artistic value
of the statue rather than its location.

“We went and found the solution in situ; the statue faces the street
with its back turned to the square,” he said.

The Municipality Council has already approved the decision to place
the statue in Kentron administrative district of Yerevan.

Initially it was decided that the statue would have a swords in its
hand, but now they decided to erect the statue with a folded hand.

But Levon Tokmajyan did not like that option.

The sculptor says he does not like the statues placed in the country
in the last 20 years.

KARABAKH IS PREPARING TO ATTACK

Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments – 04 November 2014, 00:04

The Azerbaijani foreign minister Mammedyarov has announced in an
interview with APA agency that the foreign ministers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan may meet in December under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk
Group. Mammedyarov also said something interesting. He said soon the
need for another Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting may arise.

This statement is also interesting because on October 27, after
the Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting in Paris mediated by Francois Hollande
the French president’s administration announced that agreement was
reached on the Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting in September 2015 in New York,
during the UN General Assembly.

If during the October 27 meeting in Paris agreement has been reached
to meet in New York in September 2015, it indicates some agreement
on the processes of the upcoming year, and it was at least taking
into account that no meeting would be needed over the next year.

And the need for a Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting arises or may arise for
two main reasons: either major agreement on settlement or maintenance
of the ceasefire and alleviation of tension.

If they agree in Paris to meet in New York in a year, it means that
the no breakthrough or escalation is “envisaged’ over the next year at
least from the side of the U.S. and France. Evidence to this is the
Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting initiated by the United States during NATO
Wales Summit during which Secretary Kerry announced that violation
of the ceasefire is unacceptable.

Hence, if the United States and France are outlining a new meeting
one year later in New York, it means they are not planning a meeting
earlier. So who or what can arouse the need for a Sargsyan-Aliyev
meeting?

Mammedyarov’s statement about such necessity is worrying because it
may mean a statement on Azerbaijan’s likelihood to cause escalation
on the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact that will necessitate a
new Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting.

For Baku, escalation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact
remains the only point of contact with the international community.

Baku is suffering losses due to the falling prices of oil. At the same
time, Azerbaijan’s expectation did not come true, and after Armenia
refrained from association with the European Union, the West did not
automatically move the bid on Azerbaijan. There were two essential
factors: first, the commitment of the Georgian government to the
Association Agreement and, second, the war of Russia against Ukraine
which changed the nature of the geopolitical processes and influenced
the Euro-Atlantic approaches and plans relating to the Caucasus.

It seems that everything turned upside down for Baku which has an
advantageous position. In addition, not only for Baku but also Turkey.

At the same time, the Islamic State was linked to Turkey and
Azerbaijan.

The process of normalization between Iran and the West also influenced
the geopolitical importance of Baku. Baku was hence forced to place
an order of another batch of weapons worth billion with Moscow and
allowed Rogozin to announce in Baku that Moscow and Baku are uniting
against the West. Apparently, however, even blackmail could not bring
its importance back for the West.

The only term of Baku’s international political “importance” is the
issue of Artsakh and regular escalations. Baku would not have dared,
of course, but it obviously enjoys Russia’s support, and Rogozin’s
statements in Baku were Moscow’s confessions. During the war in
August the Russian pro-Kremlin political scientists announced that
the escalation was Moscow’s response to the West for Ukraine.

After the developments in Ukraine the West made efforts to not shift
the escalation to the Caucasus and to not cause a military aggression
of Russia in the Caucasus. Nevertheless, the Russian-Azerbaijani
attempt was made. It is not accidental that it coincided with the
visit of CSTO Secretary General Borduzha to Yerevan, and the August
escalation culminated immediately after the visit. The Armenian armed
forces did defend Armenia and Artsakh, then there was the meeting
in Sochi during which Putin called Aliyev to be patient. Obviously,
the call for patience had been caused by the failure of the first
military adventure with the expectation of the second attempt.

Mammedyarov’s statement that the need for a new Sargsyan Aliyev
may arise soon is obviously evidence to a planned second attempt
of military adventure thanks to which Russia will try to keep in
sight the process of movement of the negotiation process towards the
Euro-Atlantic environment.

At the same time, it is not ruled out that with his statement
Mammedyarov is simply trading off this attempt or, in other words,
hinting to the West that steps should be taken to prevent them.

Baku’s state is not enviable. The next military adventure may cost
Aliyev a high price because the United States has hinted clearly in
Newport that war is unacceptable. Of course, Russia is obstinate,
and it is not easy to give it up. Perhaps, therefore, Aliyev has
decided to get off the train, disclosing Russia’s plans, expecting
the West to thwart them.

The China Post, Taiwan
Nov 2 2014

Canada’s new human rights museum shares oral histories

By Michel Comte, AFP
November 2, 2014, 12:01 am TWN

WINNIPEG, Canada–A new museum in Canada’s western prairies has
amassed a unique collection of personal stories from genocide
survivors, human rights defenders and others, and wants to share them.

Dedicated to the 60-year-old notion of human rights, a singular but
intricate ideal, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg,
Manitoba will open its doors on Nov. 11.

It was conceived by now-deceased mogul Izzy Asper, who once controlled
CanWest Global Communications Corp, one of the world’s largest media
empires.

Over the past 15 years, the project has attracted both praise and
protests, mostly from groups disappointed that their stories would not
be included.

A third of the museum’s staff including curators quit ahead of its
grand opening, complaining that its content had been sanitized, while
administrators struggled with staggering cost overruns and funding
shortfalls.

But since the museum started previewing a handful of its 11 galleries
in September, the criticism has faded.

“We’re not a collections-based museum. Our main focus is to tell
stories,” spokeswoman Maureen Fitz said.

“But there are more stories than we can tell.”

“Most rights museums commemorate specific events,” she added. “Our
focus is on human rights as an aspirational idea, using the stories of
defenders, victims and others to illustrate it.”

250,000 Visitors

The CA$351 million (US$312 million) museum designed by American
architect Antoine Predock is one of the most anticipated works of
architecture in Canadian history.

Built of polished concrete, basalt rock, limestone and alabaster
wrapped in a wall of glass that “weaves light through darkness,” it
seeks to frame how an expected 250,000 visitors each year will think
about human rights by “offering multiple perspectives from different
angles, which is also important in exploring human rights,” Fitz
explained.

The site in downtown Winnipeg was chosen for the city’s legacy at the
crossroads for labor rights, suffrage, minority language rights and
indigenous people’s land rights in Canada.

Visitors are presented with interactive videos, photographs and text
chronicling Canadian and world history’s “dark and bright spots” as
they meander up a 23-story spiral pathway.

There are 181 oral histories of survivors of mass atrocities and
people who fought rights violations.

Displays cover the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide and other
atrocities recognized by Ottawa, and identify patterns in them.

Tales are told of the First World War internment of Ukrainians, of the
Japanese immigrant steamship Komagata Maru being turned away from
Canadian shores in 1914, and of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.

Along the path, visitors can probe a smattering of artifacts,
including a ballot box from Nelson Mandela’s 1994 presidential run,
wedding photos of gay couples, and the dress worn by Mareshia Rucker
to the first racially integrated prom at the Wilcox County school in
the U.S. state of Georgia last year.