Author: Badalian Vardan

MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FMS PLANED FOR NEXT WEEK

January 17, 2014 | 12:39

The meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers is planned
for next week in Paris.

Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov will continue discussions on
the settlement of Karabakh conflict. The meeting will be attended by
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Earlier this week OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter met
with Co-Chairs Igor Popov, Jacques Faure and James Warlick.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI BECOMES HONORARY MEMBER OF ARMENIA’S COMPOSERS UNION

18:04, 17 January, 2014

YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. The series of “Days of Krzysztof
Penderecki in Armenia” events devoted to the Polish prominent composer
and conductor was concluded by the display of “Paths of Labyrinth” film
which tells about life and work activity of Krzysztof Penderecki. All
the way Krzysztof Penderecki called “20th century Beethoven” passed
was introduced 87 -minute film made in 2013.

“It is a huge event that one of the greatest composers of our times
is in Armenia. A great festival was held. It is wonderful we were
able to listen to his colorful works of various genres it was an
invaluable event. A person as great as Penderecki should perform
with Philharmonic as our band can satisfy his level and we saw that
Philharmonic introduced itself extraordinarily in the eve,” Artistic
Director and General Conductor of the State Philharmonic Orchestra
of Armenia Eduard Topchyan stated it in a conversation with Armenpress.

The series of events entitled “Days of Krzysztof Penderecki in Armenia”
commenced solemnly in “Aram Khachaturian” concert hall with the joint
performance of State Youth Orchestra of Armenia and cellist Bartosz
Koziak on January 13.

Krzysztof Penderecki was born in DÄ~Ybica on 23 November, 1933. He
studied composition privately with Franciszek SkoÅ~Byszewski and
then (1955-8) with Artur Malawski and StanisÅ~Baw Wiechowicz at
the State Higher School of Music in Kraków, where he also taught,
being appointed its rector (i.e., president) in 1972 (in the 1980s
the School was renamed “Academy of Music). Penderecki’s career had
a very auspicious beginning. In 1959 he came suddenly to prominence
when three of his works won first prizes in a national competition
organized by the Polish Composers’ Union (he submitted them under
different pseudonyms). His reputation quickly spread abroad, notably
through perfomances of such works as Anaklasis (written for the 1960
Donaueschigen Festival) and Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. The
latter piece, as well as the Passion according to St. Luke of 1963-5,
found an unusually wide audience for contemporary works, and Penderecki
soon received important commissions from diverse organizations in
Europe and the USA. He has also appeared widely as a lecturer and in
1972 began to conduct his own compositions.

Penderecki has won numerous domestic and foreign prizes including
the First Class State Award (1968, 1983), the Polish Composers’
Union Prize (1970), the Herder Prize (1977), the Sibelius Prize
(1983), the Premio Lorenzo Magnifico (1985), the Israeli Karl Wolff
Foundation Prize (1987), a Grammy Award (1988), a Grawemeyer Award
(1992), and a UNESCO International Music Council Award (1993). He has
honorary doctorates from universities in Rochester, Bordeaux, Leuven,
Belgrade, Washington, Madrit, PoznaÅ~D, Warsaw and Glasgow. He is an
honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Musikaliska Academien in Stockholm,
Akademie der Kunste in Berlin, Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes
in Buenos Aires, Academie Internationale de Philosophie et de I’
Art in Bern, Academie Internationale des Sciences, Belles-lettres
et Arts in Bordeaux, and the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin. In
1990 he received the Great Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of
the Federal Republic of Germany, in 1993 the Order of Cultural Merit
(Monaco), and in 1994 an Austrian honorary distinction For Achievements
in Science and Arts. In 1993 he was decorated with the Commander’s
Cross with the star of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Penderecki’s teaching career developed in Germany, the U.S. and
Poland. He taught composition at the Volkwang Hochschule fur Music,
Essen (from 1966 to 1968); in 1973-78 he lectured at Yale University
in New Haven. In 1982-87 he was rector of the Academy of Music in
Kraków, in 1987-1990 he served as the artistic director of the Cracow
Philharmonic. Since his conductor’s debut with the London Symphony
Orchestra (1973), he has performed with prominent symphony orchestras
in the United States and Europe, and he is chief guest conductor
of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra in Hamburg. Apart from his
own works, his conducting repertoire covers the works of composers
from various epochs, with a preference for 19th-century and early
20th-century compositions. In 1997 he published a book entitled “The
Labyrinth of Time. Five Lectures at the End of the Century (Warsaw,
“Presspublica”). In 1996 the performance of his piece Seven Gates of
Jerusalem, commissioned by the city, commemorated the celebrations of
“Jerusalem – 3000 Years.” in Israel.

KARABAKH PRESIDENT CALLS NOT TO YIELD TO PROVOCATIONS

January 17, 2014 | 17:42

STEPANAKERT. – President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Bako
Sahakyan participated in a meeting of the Defense Army’s Military
Council convened to sum up the activities of 2013.

In his speech, president Sahakyan touched upon the process of army
building, emphasized the achievements and existing problems.

Bako Sahakyan noted that the army building has been and will remain
among the key directions of the state building.

Taking about the current situation in the borderline with Azerbaijan,
President Sahakyan noted that Baku continued its policy of grossly
violating the ceasefire regime, threatening Artsakh and Armenia,
breaking fundamental norms and principles of the international law.

He said it is necessary to be vigilant, to keep the initiative in
our hands, at the same time not yielding to provocations.

President instructed defense minister and the supreme command staff
of the army to find solutions to the existing problems.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

MOTOR PROTEST ACTIVISTS REPORT ‘POLICE PRESSURE’

HUMAN RIGHTS | 17.01.14 | 13:08

Photolure

A local pressure group opposing the controversial pension reform
has claimed that police have been visiting the homes of or making
phone calls to a number of participants in yesterday’s action with
an apparent aim of putting pressure on them.

Dozens of motorists on their cars drove in circles around the main
square in the Armenian capital Yerevan Thursday morning in order to
draw attention, by creating traffic congestion, to a bigger public
rally scheduled for Saturday. This upcoming rally is to be held as part
of the campaign against the enactment of a controversial law under
which all workers in Armenia aged below 40 must pay five percent of
their salaries to privately owned pension funds in addition to social
security taxes paid by their employers.

The participants of Thursday’s “automobile protest” kept Yerevan’s
Republic Square, where the Armenian government is located, clogged
in traffic for an hour and a half, informing passers-by through
loudspeakers about the January 18 event.

Some of the police officers, who unsuccessfully tried to regulate the
traffic in the area, were noticed to have been writing down in their
notebooks the numbers of the license plates of the cars participating
in the action. The drivers, meanwhile, insisted that they did not
violate any of the traffic rules even if they were responsible for the
traffic jam and, therefore, could not be penalized for their actions.

Still on Thursday the Police’s press service explained that the
policemen on duty in the area were simply doing their job.

The activists who left messages on the Facebook account of the “I’m
Against” group said the police officers who visited or called them
inquired about other road incidents not related to the January 16
protest, but added that they were sure they were targeted purposefully
for taking part in the event.

‘DANGER OF KOCHARIAN COMEBACK IS OCCASION FOR AUTHORITIES’ UNIFICATION’

Friday,
January
17

The interview of Robert Kocharian is an attempt to distract the
public’s attention from the social problems which are worsening in
Armenia day by day, political scientist Andrias Ghukasian said at a
meeting with reporters today.

In his words, the danger of Robert Kocharian’s comeback is becoming
an occasion for the authorities to unite and tighten the internal
discipline.

“The key figures of the third republic are sponsors or participants
of organized crime. They are liked to each other and are always able
to reach joint decisions,” A. Ghukasian said.

TODAY, 15:39

Aysor.am

POGHOSIAN: UTILITY TARIFFS SHOULD BE HIGHER FOR THE RICH

Friday,
January
17

A growth in prices is expected in Armenia soon, the chairman of
Association of Armenian Consumers NGO Armen Poghosian said at a
meeting with journalists today.

In his words, he sees no prospect, except the overthrow of the
government.

Because of the price hike Armenian society has found itself in a
hopeless situation, Poghosian said noting that this increase can be
compensated for.

According to him, one way to combat inflation is differentiation of
utility prices, in particular by setting higher tariffs for the rich.

Another participant of the meeting, economist Vilen Khachatrian
said that inflation in Armenia is due to a number of domestic and
external factors. There is inflation in neighboring countries as well
and Armenia cannot avoid inflation as it imports various goods from
these countries, the economist said.

TODAY, 17:46

Aysor.am

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: DILIJAN FINANCIAL CENTER PROJECT TO ENTAIL EXTRA COSTS

10:00 ~U 17.01.14

The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) is planning development activities
worth 3.1 billion Armenian Drams (approx $7,500,000) as part of its
efforts to make the resort town of Dilijan a universal financial
center.

The development work is planned on the territory of the Dilijan
Education-Research Center, an institution whose construction the paper
says cost the CBA tens of billions of Drams in the past three years

The paper notes that after Armenia’s accession to the Russian-led
Eurasian Customs Union, the country will be forced to introduce the
United Eurasian Currency, a move which it says would make the CBA’s
existence absolutely senseless.

Armenian News – Tert.am

FUNDAÇÃO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN
Armenian Communities Department – Service des Communautés Arméniennes
Av. de Berna, 45 A, PT-1067-001, Lisboa, Portugal
Tel: +351 21 782 3658
E-mail: [email protected]

Oscar O’Sullivan
Gestor de Projetos Junior
Serviço das Comunidades Arménias
FUNDAÇÃO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN

Schools in ruins, displaced families, houses to rebuild, refugees in
their thousands – this is the present reality of many of the cities in
Syria, affected by a war between the regime in Damascus and the forces
opposing president Bashar al-Assad. One of the cities that has borne
the heaviest burden of the conflict is Aleppo (around 300km northeast
of the capital), where the largest Armenian community in the country,
of around 40,000 people, is based.

In November, the Trustee Board of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,
Lisbon, approved ?¬ 120,000 of humanitarian aid for this
community, funds that will be managed by a group of organizations
headed by the Archbishop of Aleppo. The money released by the Armenian
Communities Department is targeted to aid the recovery of Aleppo, but
will also benefit other communities, including in Damascus. During the
past year, the Foundation has already approved approximately
?¬ 80,000 in grants for refugees who had left Syria.

Support for education

Forced to flee from the war, thousands of Syrian university students
now find themselves without a way to continue their studies. In the
face of this crisis, Jorge Sampaio, the former High Commissioner for
the UN Alliance of Civilizations, created the Global Partnership for
Syrian Students, in conjunction with other organisations. The idea of
this partnership is to assist in the payment of these
students’ fees and to help them complete their courses in
the countries where they are refugees. The Gulbenkian Foundation will
support this initiative until 2015, giving roughly ?¬
200,000 in scholarships to Syrian-Armenian students.

Additionally, around 350 Syrian student refugees in Armenia will
receive support from the Armenian Communities Department in order to
complete their studies.

Primary and secondary schools in Syria were also hard hit by the
war. The Foundation has set aside about ?¬ 125,000 to
support 22 such schools in the country, so that thousands of children
may continue to learn.

United Nations figures from December show that this war has already
brought about more than 130,000 fatalities, more than a third of which
were civilian deaths.

Federation of Armenian Organisations in The Netherlands (FAON)
Address: Weesperstraat 91
2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31704490209
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: M. Hakhverdian

PRESS RELEASE

Armenian Genocide at Holocaust Memorial Day

On 25 January 2014 an Armenian Genocide Memorial Event will be held in The
Hague as part of the Holocaust Memorial Day, coordinated by the Dutch
Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies NIOD:

Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January, is a worldwide memorial day for the
victims of the Holocaust and other genocides. The day was designated in 2005
by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in reference to the remembrance of the
liberation of Nazi death camp Auschwitz on 27 January 1945.

This event is organised by 24 April Committee of the Federation of Armenian
Organisations in the Netherlands (FAON).

Date: Saturday, 25 January 2014 at 4 p.m.
Place: Abovian Armenian Cultural Centre
Address: Weesperstraat 91 – 2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands

The programme includes a number of elements that give meaning to the central
theme of Holocaust Memorial Day 2014: “Survival – Life”, which means how to
live and to survive if you are victim of violence, oppression and
persecution?
Haygan Mardigjan will talk about how her grandmother survived the Armenian
Genocide of 1915 and about her life later. This story will be published
later this year in a book.
In the documentary “Grandma’s Tattoos” by Suzanne Khardalian the
granddaughter is looking at the history of her grandmother, a survivor of
the Armenian Genocide, the secret of her tattoos, the mystery of her
attitude and her emotional world.
The pain and struggle of the survivors of the genocide is depicted in two
dances of youth dance group of Abovian Association.
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day there will be an exhibition of newspaper
articles from the First World War, cartoons and reports of the Dutch
ambassador in Constantinople to show how the news on the persecution and
extermination of the Armenians was transmitted in the Netherlands. This
exhibition is curated by Mr. Peter van der Velden .
There will be a collection of books on the Armenian Genocide.
Afterwards there will be drinks and opportunity to talk with each other.

The 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman
Empire during the First World War, will be commemorated next year with
several events. Please contact [email protected] for questions concerning these
events.

KILLED SOLDIER’S FATHER INDIGNANT AT JUDICIARY

21:23 ~U 15.01.14

The minor court of the Tavush region, Armenia, has once again adjourned
the trial of the Lyuks Stepanyan murder case until January 29.

Soldier Lyuks Stepanyan was killed in a military unit in Noyemberyan,
on May 15, 2013.

The soldier’s father Ishkhan Stepanyan told Tert.am that after knowing
it he attempted to throw himself out of the court’s window.

“We, fellow villagers, arrived at the court and there was nobody
there. We saw only the accused. And he is still serving,” Stepanyan
said.

The counsel for the defense failed to arrive because his car broke
down. “We wanted his mobile number, but they did not tell us,”
Stepanyan said.

“[Minister of Defense] Seyran Ohanyan, [Chief of Armenia’s Police]
Vladimir Gasparyan blocked by way on the Sevan highway and promised
a fair trial to me. How can I live in this country of iniquity?”