Author: Badalian Vardan

Foreigners can learn Armenian and celebrate New Year’s Eve in Yerevan

November 09, 2013 | 06:27

ArmenianCourses.org.uk has announced their latest two-week intensive
language course in Armenia. The two-week course will take place in
Yerevan and in the winter resort town of Tsaghkadzor. Both Armenian
and Russian classes are available for the two week course,
Asbarezreported.

Participants will have lodging at downtown Yerevan hotel with full
amenities. The two weeks’ schedule includes a three to seven day stay
in the winter resort town of Tsaghkadzor with free daily shuttles to
ski slopes and the ability to rent skiing and snowboarding equipment.

Participants will also experience New Year’s Eve celebrations in
Yerevan with a program that will include dinner, live musical
performances, and dance.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Turkish treasure hunters ravage Armenian graves

12:11 – 09.11.13

Unknown treasure hunters in Turkey’s Batman province have desecrated
Armenian graves, Haberler reported.

Graves belonging to Armenians are said to have appeared under
treasure-hunters’ target recently. After a dam in the vicinities went
out of order, several graves remained under water. But they became
visible again after the water disappeared. Profiting by the occasion,
the treasure hunters reportedly started dismantling the graves with
special digging machines in search of valuable items which they
believe might have been buried with the Armenians in the past.

Armenian News – Tert.am

7th motocross tournament held in Yerevan (PHOTO)

November 9, 2013
By Shushanik Hakobyan

YEREVAN. – The seventh final 2013 motocross tournament dedicated to
Karabakh war veterans was held in Yerevan.

Fifteen athletes participated in the tournament organized by Royal
Armenia and Vivaro Betting. Hrant Sargisov and Karen Mkhitaryan were
declared the winners in two categories.

Talking to the NEWS.am Sportcorrespondent, Sargisov said he had
participated in all tournaments and won six out of seven.

`I do not consider myself the strongest rider. Simply, they are less
lucky on technical issues,’ he said.

He noted that the number of tournaments is growing with every year,
and the competition becomes tougher. The rider participated in three
tournaments in Georgia as well.

Karabakh Independence Discussed at World Council of Churches Assembly

Friday, November 8th, 2013 |

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians (center) and delegates of the Armenian Apostolic Church at
WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, South Korea

BUSAN, South Korea – Numerous suggestions were discussed and adopted
during the World Council of Curches’ 10th Assembly in Busan, South
Korea. On Nov. 6, the issue of the rights of the people of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic to live free and independent was raised by the
delegation of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin during the discussion
on Stateless people. The delegation called on the WCC to condemn the
double standards on the issue.

Also on Nov. 6, during the afternoon business session, election of the
Central Committee members was held. Two delegates of the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin: Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and Ms. Paula Der Matoian
were re-elected to serve on the central committee for an eight year
term. Archbishop Vicken was immediately elected to serve on and lead
the Nominations Committee as the Moderator.

On Nov. 8, at 10:55 a.m., over 300 delegates from the 345 churches
passed by consensus a Special Minute on the 100th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, as a result of the official requests by His
Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenian;
and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, as
well as a result of the ongoing work of the representatives of the
Armenian Apostolic Church serving on the Central and Executive
Committees.

The Minute on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide directs
the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches to:

-Organize in 2015, around the commemorative 100th anniversary date of
24 April 2015, an international conference in Geneva for WCC member
Churches, different international organizations, lawyers, and human
rights defenders;

-Organize an ecumenical prayer service commemorating the victims of
the Armenian Genocide at the Cathedral of Geneva during the
international Conference; and

-Invite all churches to pray for the memory of the Armenian martyrs
around the dates of the international conference, and also for
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

This minute on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide restated
the 1983 declaration by the WCC that the work to recognize the
Armenian Genocide must continue and is an important achievement in the
process of recognition.

Azerbaijan trying to convince superpowers in anti-Iranian sentiments – expert

November 09, 2013 | 13:18

YEREVAN. – Azerbaijani side is presenting numerous versions on the
incident on Iran-Azerbaijan border, however the arguments of the
Iranian side are more reliable, Armenian political analyst said.

Rudik Yarlyan, expert on Iranian studies, is confident that the closed
border is advantageous to Azerbaijan.

`Thus, Azerbaijan is trying to create an occasion to put obstacles to
further crossings of the border, since there are problems in terms of
contacts between the nations. If the contacts become intense, this
will pose danger to Azerbaijani ruling elite,’ the analyst told
reporters on Saturday.

However, economically the closure of checkpoints will negatively
affect Azerbaijan.

The expert does not think that the incident will turn into a serious
problem, but the tension in Iran-Azerbaijan relations will not be
eased. The provocation from the Azerbaijani side may be a message to
world powers indicating that the country remains an anti-Iranian
factor in the region.

In the context of recent elections and current geopolitical processes,
Azerbaijani authorities are obsessed with convincing the superpowers
in their anti-Iranian sentiments, Yarlyan added.

As a result of border incident on Iranian-Azerbaijani border,
Azerbaijan closed joint Poldasht International Border on Wednesday.
Next day Iranian border guards closed Jolfa and Bilesavar borders in
return.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

EU Centre launches EU Alumni Network

16:01 09.11.2013
Armenia, EU

The official founding meeting of the EU Alumni Network was held on
Saturday, 9 November 2013 at the EU Centre. The EU Alumni Network will
unite the previous participants of the European educational programmes
in Armenia.

The Deputy Head of Operations of the Delegation of the European Union
to Armenia Jose Maria Medina Navarro noted that EU Alumni Network aims
to use education as a powerful communication channel to help spread
information on EU educational programmes. `Real success stories of the
graduates of the EU educational programmes will bring about
significantly greater interest in the students,’ Jose Maria Medina
Navarro said.

According to the Coordinator of the National Tempus Office in Armenia
Lana Karlova, there is a need to unite different organisations and
educational communities to create an environment that will essentially
improve integration of Armenian educational system into the European
educational area. `It is very important for the newly established
network to serve as an effective tool to reinforce efforts of
different European educational programmes in Armenia that provide
young people with new educational opportunities’ Lana Karlova said.

The Coordinator of Armenian Lifelong Learning League Edith Soghomonyan
mentioned that EU Alumni Network can become the best platform for
increasing public awareness on learning opportunities. `We believe
that Lifelong Learning can unite all independent efforts in education
and training into a strong system working for personal, professional
and civic development of every citizen’ Edith Soghomonyan concluded.

Prior to the launch event the representatives of several non-profit
organisations and learning communities reached an agreement on
establishing the EU Alumni Network. It will foster the involvement of
young people in the European educational programmes at different
levels in formal education, non-formal and informal learning
activities providing them with information, support and guidance.

The EU Centre is the main feature of the EU funded project `Support to
the EU communication on reforms in Armenia’. Its goal is to raise
awareness on EU development cooperation in Armenia and support
education on the European Union. The centre’s website is a gateway to
EU cooperation with Armenia. The duration of the project is two years
and it is implemented by GOPA-Cartermill S.A in consortium with Altair
Asesores and Fainberg LLC.

Art fair in Istanbul showcases works by Armenian artists

16:28 09.11.2013
Armenia, art, Turkey

Since 2010, art fair Contemporary Istanbul has been offering a
glittering special section called `Art from Armenia.’ Although there
are currently no diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia, there is
a growing cultural relationship which promises a brand new future for
both countries. With the aim of discovering regional art and gathering
Armenian artists and Turkish art lovers, `Art from Armenia’ has hosted
many Armenian painters in Istanbul over the past three years, Today’s
Zaman reports.

This year’s `Art from Armenia’ selection, on display until Sunday at
the IstanbulCongressCenter, features paintings and sculptures by six
Armenian artists: Daron Mouradian, Vahram Davtian, Emil Kazaz, Armen
Gevorgian, Ara Mikaelian and Ruben Grigorian.

Aram Sargsyan, the curator of the exhibition in 2011, has contributed
to the exhibition this year as well. According to Sargsyan, people in
Istanbul have respect for art. `I have seen many paintings on the
walls of restaurants and they were high standard paintings. So in
Istanbul, you do not have to go to a museum, you are exposed to art
everywhere.’

Mentioning the history of art in Armenia, Sargsyan is very proud of
the young generation artists who are contributing to the development
of traditional Armenian art. Noting that Armenia has many talented
artists, Sargsyan said the Armenian Art Association alone currently
has around 1,200 members. `I would like to contribute to this
exhibition with many other Armenian artists in the coming years,’ he
added.

This year, artist Mouradian is one of the fair’s special guests from
Armenia. His paintings offer a combination of themes from mythological
tales from the East and the West. Based on the Bible and mythology,
his world of fantasies tells the viewers a story they’ve never heard
before.

When asked about the stories in his paintings, Mouradian said his only
story was the painting and the rest was up to art lovers. `I only
paint. And people who are looking at my paintings read the story they
see there. It is up to their imagination,’ he added.

This is Mouradian’s second visit to Istanbul in nine years. However,
he said he was not able to see any art in Istanbul during his first
visit, in 2004. His response tells a lot about the cultural
relationship between Armenia and Turkey. Starting from no
relationship, now we can imagine a closer dialogue.

Onno Ayvaz, a collector and the coordinator of the exhibition, was the
person who made this exhibition possible.

He recalls: `A friend of mine, who is an antiquarian, invited several
artists from Armenia to showcase their work in Contemporary Istanbul.
But they did not accept his invitation. He called me at the last
minute, asking for help. So, four years ago, I contributed to the
exhibition with selected works by Armenian artists from my own
collection.’

Ayvaz was surprised by connoisseurs’ interest in the first `Art from
Armenia.’ He was asked to contribute in the following years as well.
Ayvaz’s contribution and the huge interest paved the way for `Art from
Armenia’ to become a staple on the fair’s program.

Ayvaz says this exhibition helps strengthen the relationship between
the two countries: `Art is a very meaningful way to communicate.
Armenians and Turks, people who had lived together for hundreds of
years, have been separated for the past 100 years. This is how I see
this situation. And you can feel the [similarity] in culture, in
perception. Here [in this art fair] it is like we were never separated
from each other.’

However, Ayvaz is troubled by bureaucratic difficulties arising from
the lack of diplomatic relationships between the two countries. All
the paintings in the exhibition are from his private collection
because it is currently not possible to import paintings from Armenia.
Those who want to do so have to obtain special permission from the
Turkish government to transfer art work from Armenia.

`These bureaucratic processes are very exhausting. Seemingly, you can
get that permission, but bureaucrats are very hesitant to help because
there are no diplomatic ties between the two countries,’ he says.
`Nevertheless, we’ll keep trying and, who knows, maybe next year we
can really bring works of art from Armenia to Contemporary Istanbul,’
he said.

ARMENIENS DE SYRIE
Des cours d’arménien oriental et russe pour les Arméniens de Syrie

Hranouche Hagopian la ministre de la Diaspora a participé le 4
novembre à l’école Stepan Chahoumian d’Erévan aux cours d’arménien
oriental et de russe donné gracieusement aux Arméniens de Syrie. Ces
cours font partie d’un programme qui désire favoriser leur intégration
en Arménie. Des représentants du bureau de l’ONU à Erévan
participaient également à la rencontre ainsi que des professeurs
d’arménien et de russe. H. Hagopian a affirmé que par de nombreux
programmes les Arméniens de Syrie s’intègrent progressivement à la
société arménienne mais elle souligna qu’il était important pour eux
de maîtriser l’arménien oriental. Selon elle, il est également
important en Arménie de connaître le russe afin de coopérer avec les
Arméniens des pays de la CEI. Ces cours qui entrent dans un programme
financé par l’UNHCR et organisés par la ville d’Erévan comptent près
d’une centaine d’élèves. Il est également prévu des cours d’anglais
pour 200 Arméniens de Syrie.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 9 novembre 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

APA, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2013

Azerbaijan ranks eighth among most militarized countries, while
Armenia ranks fourth

[ 08 November 2013 12:22 ]

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA. Azerbaijan ranks eighth in Global
Militarization Index (GMI) 2013 of Bonn International Center for
Conversion (BICC), APA reports.

BICC has been conducting such studies since 1990. They assess the
comparison of military expenditures with its gross domestic product
(GDP) and its health expenditure (as share of its GDP); the contrast
between the total number of (para)military forces and the number of
physicians and the overall population; the ratio of the number of
heavy weapons available and the number of the overall population.

The GMI is based on data from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI), the

International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization
(WHO), the International Institute for Strategic studies (IISS) and
BICC.

Israel, Singapore and Russia are leading in GMI. These countries are
followed by Armenia.

The rapid buildup of military capacities in the Caucasus is
accompanied by heated diplomatic rhetoric and the risk of rekindling
the long-term military conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

World Bulletin, Turkey
Nov 8 2013

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party meets with ARF Dashnaktsutyun in US

Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party delegation visited the ANCA
Washington office. The officials discussed the possibilities of
Armenian Kurdish cooperation.

World Bulletin / News Desk

A delegation of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)
headed by its co-chair Selahattin Demirtas, visited the ANCA
Washington office and met with a delegation headed by Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Hagop Der Khatchadourian last
week.

The possibilities of Armenian Kurdish cooperation as well as the
national and democratic aspirations of the Armenian and Kurdish
nations were discussed during the meeting, reported the Asbarez.

The previous day an Armenian delegation headed by Hagop Der
Khachadourian had attended an all-day conference on the `The Kurdish
Role in the New Middle East’ that took place in Washington with the
participation of Kurdish political leaders from Turkey, Syria, Iran,
and Iraq.

After the meeting with Demirtas, Der Khachadourian said, `The meeting
presented an opportunity for a useful dialogue about the possibilities
of Armenian Kurdish cooperation, Western Armenia, and Kurdistan as
well as the national and democratic aspirations of the Armenian and
Kurdish nations.’

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party meets with ARF Dashnaktsutyun in US
Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party delegation visited the ANCA
Washington office. The officials discussed the possibilities of
Armenian Kurdish cooperation.