Author: Badalian Vardan

San Jose Mercury News (California)
August 10, 2012 Friday

Son of Santa Clara County judge killed in action in Afghanistan

By Tracey Kaplan [email protected]

Five years ago, a blast from an improvised explosive device slammed
into Capt. Matt Manoukian. Even with a debilitating concussion, the
Marine leader scrambled to the aid of one of his men, quickly applying
a tourniquet to his leg that saved the soldier’s life.

But Manoukian’s bravery and resourcefulness couldn’t save him this
week from a surprise attack in southern Afghanistan by an insurgent
disguised as an Afghan policeman.

Manoukian, the 29-year-old son of a Santa Clara County judge and state
appellate court justice, and two other Marines were fatally shot after
a pre-dawn meal and security meeting at a police checkpoint. It was
the third attack on coalition forces by their Afghan counterparts in a
week.

The meal took place before dawn because of Ramadan, the month in which
Muslims abstain from food during daylight hours. Manoukian’s father,
Judge Socrates “Pete” Manoukian, said Friday that his son was
observing the holiday out of profound respect for the people of
Afghanistan and Iraq, whom he made a point to get to know during his
four tours of duty.

“He was very into their culture,” the judge said. “He managed to
learn Arabic and worked on opening up a school and setting up a police
station and got a courthouse running with some of his people. He even
taught little kids to play baseball after one of our friends sent
baseballs and bats.

“Who knows, one of the these days, maybe little Abdul will be the
leadoff batter for the Giants because of Matt.”

Notice of Matt’s death came Thursday night with a knock on the door of
the family’s Los Altos Hills home while the judge was preparing
fattoush, a Lebanese salad made of pita bread. When he first opened
the door, the porch light wasn’t on and all he saw in the gloom were
four figures.

“I thought they were Jehovah’s witnesses,” the judge said, his voice
cracking. “Then I saw the insignia and I thought, ‘oh, this isn’t
good.”’

Matt’s mother, Associate Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian, was
returning home from Southern California and couldn’t be reached for
comment.

Matt Manoukian had dreamed of becoming a Marine since he was 10 years
old. After making the dean’s list, he graduated from the University of
Arizona in 2005 with a degree in political science. A year later, he
attended officer candidate school in Quantico, Va., and then infantry
school in 2007.

As a platoon commander in Iraq, he was supposed to patrol in a Humvee.
But Matt didn’t want to be cut off from the locals.

“He didn’t believe in that,” his father said. “So he always walked
into town with his guys and talked to little kids and shopkeepers.”

Matt was checking out an abandoned building in 2007 in hopes of
opening a sub-station there when the IED went off. He received a
Purple Heart, just one of several commendations over the years.

He joined Camp Pendleton’s 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion
after enduring a grueling training program that only 40 out of 100 men
passed, his father said. Matt was in the top five. Among other tests
of fortitude, the men had to stay awake for four days.

After seven years of service, Matt was looking forward to leaving the
Marines at the end of the year. He was planning to attend law school
in the fall of 2013, possibly at Golden Gate University where he’d
already been accepted.

He wanted to be a public defender, his father said.

“Matt said he wanted to be one because he was always accused in school
of something he didn’t do,” Judge Manoukian said.

His father said he definitely had the chops, recalling how his son
stood up to him once after returning home with a detention slip. A
teacher had told Matt to throw away his soda. Matt had capped the
bottle and complied. But then he had a friend retrieve it and was
drinking it again when he ran back into the teacher, who was livid.

So was his father, who as a judge is accustomed to having the last
word. But Matt deftly argued his case by bringing up his grandfather,
who had nearly starved to death as a victim of the Turkish genocide of
Armenians. His grandfather wouldn’t approve of wasting food, even
soda, Matt insisted, disarming his dad.

He displayed that same pluck in combat, winning a reputation in
special ops as “just fearless,” his father said.

To his younger brothers, Martin and Michael, the tall handsome Marine
was their hero.

“Matt was the man,” his brother Martin said. “Everybody looked up to him.”

Arrangements for services will be announced at a later time.

International Scouting gathering in Armenia’s Byurakan

tert.am
15:09 – 11.08.12

On Friday, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan held a meeting in
Byurakan with participants in an international scouting gathering
marking the 100th anniversary of Scouting Movement in Armenia.

The Armenian premier was informed of the daily routine and further programs.

`The purpose of our meeting is to mark the 100th anniversary of
Scouting Movement in Armenia, which is of high importance for
educating the young generation,’ Tigran Sargsyan said.

More than 200 Scouts from 14 countries are taking part in the gathering.

Ukrainians can travel to Armenia without visas

news.am
August 11, 2012 | 15:20

Ukrainians can travel to Armenia without visas. They do not need visas
for visiting other post-Soviet states: Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan,
Uzbekistan and Belarus.

Starting from August 1 Ukrainians will not need visas for visiting
Turkey for 30 days. The list of countries which Ukrainian citizens can
visit without visas is extended to 37, Analitika.at.ua reports.

Armenia felt the earthquake shocks of Iran

16:39, 11 August, 2012

Yerevan, August 11, ARMENPRESS: Shocks were registered in the
territory of Armenia. As `Armenpress’ reports according to the data of
the European-Mediterranean Seismological Service a strong earthquake
was registered in Iran 63 km to the east of the city Tavriz on 60 km
depth.

Shocks were felt in different administrative regions, also in Region
Syunik. The Crisis Management Center of the Armenian Ministry of
Emergency Situations informed that shocks were registered in the whole
republic territory. Details are being specified.

The Minister of Diaspora visited the Syrian Armenian children resting
in Hankavan

15:15, 11 August, 2012

Yerevan, August 11, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Minister of Diaspora
Hranush Hakobyan visited the Syrian Armenian children spending their
summer holidays in the Hankavan `Lusabats’ camp. The Minister greeted
our compatriots, talked with them, and then everybody took the
traditional round dance. National song and dance was spread in
Hankavan. As `Armenpress’ reports Hranush Hakobyan stated in the
conversation with the children that the Armenian Government made a
decision to support our compatriots, as they are in alarm and concerns
because of the situation in Syria.

`That is why you are here in your fatherland’, mentioned the Minister.
The fact that the children are in the `Lusabats’ camp, is not
accidental. `We want you to take the light and warmness with you to
Syria to bring dawn on the Syrian nation and community’, briefed
Haranush Hakobyan.

The participants of `Come Home’ project from the world 16 countries
came to greet our compatriots arrived from Syria. National air carrier
`Armavia’ company jointly with the government with the financial
support of `Prometey Bank’ implemented the first special flight in
Yerevan-Damascus-Yerevan direction on August 9.
Yerevan-Damascus-Yerevan flight was implemented by Airbus-320
aircraft. One passenger from Yerevan left for Damascus, 137 children
arrived in Yerevan from Damascus. During the government session held
on August 9, the Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan noted that the
Executive intends to send another two aircraft to Syria to transfer
over 300 children from Aleppo to Yerevan. Yerevan-Damscus-Yerevan next
flight is scheduled on August 23.

ARMENIE
Armavia va affréter de nouveaux vols vers la Syrie

La compagnie aérienne Armavia a annoncé qu’elle effectuera plusieurs
vols complémentaires vers la Syrie ce mois pour transporter des
centaines d’enfants syriens d’origine arménienne vers l’Arménie dans
le cadre d’un programme du gouvernement.

Dans une déclaration écrite, la société a dit que le Ministère
arménien de la Diaspora projette d’organiser des vacances d’été pour
400 enfants arméniens avec l’appui financier de la banque de commerce
Prometey basée à Erevan. Elle a dit que les avions d’Armavia voleront
non seulement vers Alep, mais aussi vers la capitale Damas. Le premier
de ces vols était prévu jeudi.

Les fonctionnaires du ministère ont dit au service arménien de RFE/RL
(Azatutyun.am) que l’arrivée des enfants en Arménie ne doit pas être
considérée comme une évacuation du pays déchiré par la guerre parce
que l’on s’attend à ce qu’ils passent seulement deux semaines dans les
colonies de vacances arméniennes. Cependant, le Ministre de la
Diaspora Hranush Hakobian a dit séparément que les enfants pourraient
rester plus longtemps en Arménie si la situation en Syrie continuait à
se détériorer.

Armavia a déjà augmenté le mois dernier la fréquence de ses vols
hebdomadaires vers Alep, citant le besoin de permettre à plus
d’arméniens de syrie de fuir les combats.

Les arméniens nouvellement arrivés de syrie ont parlé de
l’intensification des batailles de rue entre des forces du
gouvernement et les rebelles.

Parlant au service arménien de RFE/RL (Azatutyun.am), quelques-uns
d’entre eux ont aussi dit que les arméniens restant dans Alep ont
formé, avec le support du gouvernement syrien, des milices pour
protéger les quartiers arméniens de la ville. Ils ont dit qu’un membre
de ces milices a été tué mardi.

samedi 11 août 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

ARMENIE-TRADITIONS
L’antique Nouvel An arménien, le Navassart fêté aujourd’hui 11 août
sur le mont Aragats et dans les villages d’Arménie

Dans l’Antiquité, avant l’ère chrétienne, l’Arménie fêtait le Nouvel
An appelé Navassart le 11 août. Le Navassart a pris naissance le 11
août 2492 av. J.-C c’est à dire il y a 4 504 ans avec la victoire de
Haïg sur le tyran Pél (Bél). Les défenseurs de ces traditions
arméniennes vont cette année gravir le 11 août sur le mont Aragats
pour y faire un feu comme le veut la coutume. A défaut de gravir sur
le mont Ararat ( 5 156 m) point culminant le Plateau arménien, les
gardiens de ces traditions arméniennes vont fêter le Navassart sur le
mont Aragats (4 090 m), le point culminant de l’actuelle République
d’Arménie. Le feu sera ensuite descendu de la montagne et porté dans
diverses directions. D’abord près de la statue de Haïk, le légendaire
Père-Fondateur de la nation arménienne puis au temple païen de Garni,
enfin aux villages d’Aradakiugh et Dzarghounk où se dérouleront des
fêtes. Haïg Tchobaniann l’un des responsables de cette manifestation,
à la tête de l’organisation « Génération pour la défense de l’arménité
» (Sérount hanoun hayabahbanoutian » espère que le Parlement
arménienne puisse déclarer prochainement la Journée de Navassart (11
août) comme d’une des fêtes nationales officielles de la République
d’Arménie.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 11 août 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Milliyet, Turkey
Aug 8 2012

Coordination With the United States on Syria

by Semih Idiz

After even the Prime Minister [Riyad Farid al-Hijab] left the regime
and fled to Jordan, the number of those convinced that the process of
political dissolution in Syria will accelerate has increased. It
appears that this process is also going to create new problems for
Ankara, which has pursued a “one-dimensional” policy indexed only to
[President Bashar] Al-Asad’s departure.

It was in fact none other than Bashar al-Asad himself who was the
first to say that, if Syria falls, the balances in the region will be
seriously upset. Developments are now taking place that show that his
warning, accepted at that time as a “bluff,” was not all that empty.

Syria is already shaking the global balances in a serious way just as
much as the regional ones. And it cannot be predicted just how far the
ethnic, religious, and sectarian dynamics that will emerge might cause
the tension in the Middle East to escalate.

That Turkey is unexpectedly facing a “Northern Syria issue,” which
seems to have arisen suddenly but actually should have been able to be
predicted, is only one dimension of the problem.

The developments indicate that Turkey is going to encounter other
problems as well, deriving both from the ethnic, religious, and
sectarian differences in the region as well as from the regional
calculations of the United States and Russia, which are in a rivalry
with one another.

As for whether or not Ankara is going to be able henceforth to
influence in the way it wants the regional dynamics, which it has not
much been able to influence to date, comes at the head of the most
crucial questions standing before us.

Washington May Put On the Brakes

The fact that Turkey has in the recent period been in very close
contact, and at the highest level, with the United States on the Syria
issue makes it clear that the government favours handling the matter
in coordination with Washington.

But it is evident that while Ankara has been seeking “coordination,”
Washington, based on signals that it has already given, is going to
seek to put the brakes on Turkey on some crucial issues.

For instance, US State Department Spokesman Patrick Ventrell, in a
briefing held on 1 August, when responding to a question regarding
Turkey’s reinforcing its military presence along the Syrian border,
said that they want Ankara “to avoid militarizing the region any
further.”

It is noteworthy that this statement came after Prime Minister [Recep
Tayyip] Erdogan, in the context of northern Syria, said that “we will
not merely look on at developments, and if need be we will intervene.”

Ventrell’s words can be taken as an early signal that even if they are
agreed in terms of Al-Asad’s departure, Ankara and Washington are not
going to be able to agree on every issue in terms of Syria.

The fact that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at a time when
developments in Syria have come to a critical point, is going to visit
Turkey in a few days, is noteworthy in this connection.

During this visit, which has taken on a particular importance due to
the fact that it will be made immediately after the telephone call
that Prime Minister Erdogan made to [US President Barack] Obama, it is
expected that Turkey and the United States will try to arrive at some
agreements in principle regarding post-Al-Asad Syria.

US Public Would Revolt

The formation of this type of a political underpinning will in fact be
very important, because situations could arise in the Syrian context
that would have the potential to bring about bad feelings between the
two sides.

For instance, bloody retaliation attacks from the Syrian
oppositionists against not only the Alawites, but at the same time
against pro-Al-Asad Christians, would bring the public in the United
States to revolt.

For Ankara during this time frame to appear to be giving support to
radical Sunni elements, in particular, just as occurred in terms of
the support it provided to HAMAS [Islamic Resistance Movement], would,
with contributions from the Armenian and Greek lobbies as well, turn
US public opinion against Turkey.

Meanwhile, for Turkey to take a stand not only against the terrorist
elements in Northern Syria, but also against peaceful Kurdish
political formations seeking regional autonomy, would also, just as at
one time happened in Northern Iraq, cause a new coolness to be
experienced between Ankara and Washington.

And while these things take place, for Turkey to exhibit failure in
terms of influencing developments would cause the Turkish public,
which already has serious concerns regarding the government’s Syria
policy, to revolt as well.

In short, Turkey’s problems will not come to an end with the departure
of Al-Asad. The developments are making this evident.

[translated from Turkish]

The Mirror, UK
Aug 10 2012

Lutalo lands a bronze: British Taekwondo ace answers his critics

The Walthamstow boy took his chance by beating Iran’s Yousef Karami in
the play-off, and then stunning Armenia’s Arman Yeremyan in the
bronze-medal match

Lutalo Muhammad answered his critics in style with a stunning bronze
medal at the ExCel Arena.

The 21-year-old Londoner was a – controversial replacement for world
No.1 Aaron Cook, as he is ranked just 59th in the world.

Muhammad lost in the quarter-final but was given a reprieve as the
rules hand a repechage match to anyone who loses to a finalist.

And the Walthamstow boy took his chance by beating Iran’s Yousef
Karami in the play-off, and then stunning Armenia’s Arman Yeremyan in
the bronze-medal match.

Muhammad landed an early head shot inside the first 30 seconds, which
was upheld on video appeal and he led 4-1 at the end of the first
round.

The Briton then led 9-2 going into the final round. – Yeremyan won it
1-0 but it was Muhammad who collected the medal along with vindication
for his selection in the first place

First Things
Aug 10 2012

Keeping the Khachkars

August 10, 2012

Ansel Oommen

The cross is the most familiar symbol of Christianity worldwide, but
nowhere is this iconography as crucial or entrenched in the culture as
it is in Armenia. Thousands of khachkars, or cross-stones, dot the
mountains of the world’s oldest Christian nation, revealing both the
art of spiritual expression and its modern desecration.

The medieval monk Thomas à Kempis once remarked, `In the Cross is
salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against
our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the
Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross
is excellence of virtue; in the Cross is perfection of holiness . . .’

Little wonder, then, that the cross could serve as a champion symbol
of Armenian national identity and union. The conversion of the
Armenian people and the instatement of Christianity as a state
religion early in the fourth century ushered in a new era of national
consciousness.

This burgeoning perception of Armenia as an entity distinct from the
surrounding Zoroastrians was consolidated by several factors of the
time: the invention of the Armenian alphabet, the effacement of the
former pagan temples, and Gregory the Illuminator’s evangelical reign
as the first head of the Armenian Church. The latter (now Armenia’s
patron saint) particularly catalyzed the movement. Born into royalty,
Gregory managed to convert his persecutor, King Tiridates III, and the
nation. To preserve the newfound Armenian identity, he then ordered
the creation of giant crosses’the khachkar’s predecessor.

The khachkar resembles other forms of Christian art, namely the Celtic
high cross and the Lithuanian Kryždirbyst. A type of relief sculpture,
it features a variety of floral, vegetative, and geometric motifs, as
well as tableaus of famous biblical scenes. Beautiful, yes’but in
order to understand how a medieval stone became so charged with the
Armenian spirit, a lesson in iconology is needed.

The cross was not always a well-esteemed symbol; it once represented
the basest form of execution, reserved for the disgraceful. The
resurrection of Jesus, however, and the persecution of the early
Armenian Christians transformed the cross into an image of
soteriological victory: an emblem of triumph over the mortal vale.

Prior to and during the conversion, mountain worship was prevalent in
Armenian paganism. In the Bible, mountains connote austerity,
reverence, and closeness with God. Moses, for example, communicated
with God through the Burning Bush on Mount Sinai. For the early
Armenians, there was no better way to express their new Christian
heritage than through the mountains, with which their land was replete
(Armenia’s ancient territory included several biblical mounts).
Gradually, the construction of cross-like steles near homes and
churches came to replace the pagan worship of mountains.

When Gregory the Illuminator envisioned the khachkar, he believed it
would sanctify surrounding areas. Although religious and secular
agendas were intrinsically at odds, a symbol incorporating both
Christian and pagan elements (a cross and stone) could be a mediator
between the two. In turn, the khachkar began to assume various
ecclesial functions’as gravestone, hallowed effigy, intervening
spirit, talisman, and commemorative shrine of events.

Thus it was only fitting that the khachkar turned into a uniquely
Armenian fixture in graveyards, monasteries, cathedrals, residences,
roadsides, and eventually, everywhere.

>From an artistic perspective, the creative medium of rock boasts a
powerful statement. Indeed, the rock has enjoyed several iconic
references in the Bible. Psalm 118 speaks of how `the stone the
builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ a phrase echoed by
Jesus in the Gospels and by Peter in Acts of the Apostles. Jesus tells
Peter (petra being the Latin word for rock) that `on this rock I build
my church.’ Such strong imagery was necessary for the Armenian
Church’s survival; the cross-stone embodied the qualities of
permanence, stability, and grounded faith.

Of course, practical considerations would also play a huge role.
Armenia, with its vast mountain ranges and dormant volcanoes, would
have no trouble sourcing the slate and tuff, both relatively workable,
for construction purposes. In a region prone to earthquakes, man-made
structures had to prove sturdy. The rock, as a substrate of spiritual
expression, signified the eternal and the infinite, amidst an
unpredictable future.

But the material, no matter how remarkable, is nothing without the
craftsman. In the case of the Armenians, anyone with religious and
moral conviction could erect a khachkar. Moreover, khachkars were
commissioned for a number of social, spiritual, or individual
reasons’anything from the planting of a garden to victory in war. Some
were dedicated to saints, but all were a source of pride for the
artist and the patron, the country, the church, and ultimately, God.

Today, khachkars (some a millennium old) face destruction in Turkey
and Azerbaijan. The last of the largest collections of khachkars, the
Armenian Cemetery in Jugha in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan,
was purposefully annihilated in 2005 after several years of
intermittent attacks. Wielding sledgehammers and shovels, Azeri
soldiers demolished the last remaining khachkars in the area. Turkey
has ordered its own elimination program in Kars and Ani, with
khachkars turning up as building stones, gravel, and other debris.

As the late Dr. Armen Haghnazarian, former director of Research on
Armenian Architecture, commented after the Jugha cemetery destruction,
`The destruction of Nakhijevan’s Armenian cultural heritage at state
level is a crime not only against the Armenian nation but against all
civilization. The annihilation of such monuments . . . is defilement
of sacred tenets of all religions.’

Needless to say, the violence is reminiscent of the larger Armenian
Genocide. Some might contend that while unfortunate, the death of
these artifacts remains only a cultural casualty. However, it is in
fact equivalent to the loss of human life. When something so ingrained
with cultural self is forcefully expunged, it is a direct assault
against that culture and its humanity. It is in essence declaring,
`Those people did not exist’they never have.’

In light of the Turks’ and Azerbaijanis’ wrongdoing, it can be easy to
nurture a profound prejudice against them. However, the conflict was
never merely an Armenian or a Turkish or an Azeri one: at its very
core, it whispers something primal. All types of organizations run the
risk of group polarization. Where a population is sufficiently diverse
and where freedom and tolerance are prized, this is a lesser danger.

But under tight government censorship like that of Azerbaijan and
Turkey, these factors are oppressed, breeding a cult-like system where
anything that is unlike the government is against the government.

Why? Nationalism and similar phenomena operate by appealing to the
vulnerable self. Offering identity and solidarity, they seem a quick
fix for individual shortcomings. But by joining the group, individuals
compromise their beliefs and lower their inhibitions in order to gain
the benefits of a social network: purpose, protection, and sense of
belonging. Those that are marginalized become the new enemies. Thus,
the group mindset slowly erodes individual accountability, causing
members to commit acts they would hesitate to do on their own.
Polarization can make people forget that others, outside of their
affiliation, are in fact humans as well. And when they forget,
inhumanity abounds.

Once again, the ancient khachkar is summoned as a rallying symbol of
Armenian identity, though this time, it is just as much invested in
the Turkish and Azeri people. If the last of this cultural cornerstone
is destroyed, they too will lose something precious.

Ansel Oommen is a calligrapher, poet, and freelance writer with a keen
interest in Christian iconography and medieval illumination. His work
has been published in Blueprint, Living Green Magazine, and the Bug
Club Magazine.