Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

APA, Azerbaijan
April 13 2012

Bayram Safarov: `Armenians, who don’t observe Azerbaijani laws, can go
and live in Armenia’

[ 13 Apr 2012 14:08 ]
Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. `We express our deep gratitude to
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for signing an order due to 20th
anniversary of occupation of Shusha’, said head of Shusha regional
executive power, chairman of Public Union `Azerbaijani community of
Nagorno Karabakh’ Bayram Safarov, APA reports.

Safarov said that the plan of events was being developed on the 20th
anniversary of occupation of Azerbaijani town of Shusha by Armenians.
According to him, the anniversary will be marked in the areas settled
by IDPs from Shusha and beyond the republic. On the day of Shusha’s
occupation – May 8, the visit will be organized to the Alley of
Martyrs. Several events will be held on the eve of that day.

Speaking about meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of
Nagorno Karabakh, Safarov said that Azerbaijani community always
supported the meeting: `But Armenians avoid this meeting. How can they
meet us? All workers of that regime know that they are criminals, who
killed innocent Azerbaijanis. They prevent the meeting of ordinary
people too. Every time we say we bargain for meeting with Armenians.
We lived together, they are Azerbaijani citizens too. Armenians, who
don’t observe Azerbaijani laws, can go and live in Armenia’.

From: Baghdasarian

APA, Azerbaijan
April 13 2012

Eldar Ismayilov: Killing of Stepan Shaumyan in Aghjagum desert was
confessed by the person who killed him

[ 13 Apr 2012 18:10 ]

Yagub Mahmudov: We examined all the bodies, but there was no body at
same age with Shaumyan

Baku. Parvin Abbasov. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. There does not exist
concrete view whether one of the 26 Baku commissars Stepan Shaumyan
was killed simultaneously with the other commissars or not. There is
divergence of views among the Azerbaijani historians. APA reports that
professor of the faculty of history of Baku State University, doctor
of historical sciences Eldar Ismayilov says in his new book “óÔÅÐÁÎ
ûÁÕÍÑÎ – ÏÒÅÞÅÎÎÙÊ ÎÁ ÚÁ×ÅÎÉÅ – ÐÏÒÔÒÅÔ ÅÚ
ÒÅÔÕÛÉ” (Stepan Shaumyan – doomed to oblivion – portrait of “legendary
communard” without retouch) that the Dashnak leader was killed
simultaneously with 26 Baku Commissars – on September 20, 1918.

Eldar Ismayilov told APA that his position does not coincide with that
of the History Institute of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
that claims that Shaumyan was not killed simultaneously with the other
Commissars.
“Facts show that Shaumyan was killed in Aghjagum desert on September
20, 1918. There are concrete witnesses. The Turkmen, who killed
Shaumyan, confessed this. The trial was held in Turkmenistan in 1921.
We have got little information about it. He said he cut his head with
the sword,” he said.

“Actually the person, who led Baku Soviet of People’s Commissars, had
anti-Azerbaijani position. In this book I have tried to put an end to
the concoctions about Shaumyan. Shaumyan was the enemy of the
Azerbaijani people, he was the initiator of the Muslims genocide in
Baku province. He declared himself the leader of not only Azerbaijan,
but also of the entire Caucasus, Lenin gave him this opportunity. He
was appointed as extraordinary commissar of the Caucasus. Generally,
Shaumyan wanted the establishment of only Armenian state in the
Caucasus. Speaking about the Georgian state he meant only Kutaisi
province. He agreed to the establishment of the Azerbaijani state only
within the framework of Yelizavetpol province,” he said.

Director of Azerbaijan Institute of History, MP Yagub Mahmudov said
that various ideas could appear as the science develops. “Our country
is a democratic country. There could be people in Azerbaijan that
defend Shaumyan. I don’t approach it fervently. I know Eldar Ismayilov
and his potential as a historian. He is valuable historian. I hear
that he held presentation of his book, but I didn’t read this book. I
regret that he says that Shaumyan was killed. I think with his
potential Eldar Ismayilov would write a monograph “Stepan Shaumyan is
a murderer of Azerbaijani people. Generally every work must be based
on the facts. Top officials of the National Academy of Sciences,
including me, watched the process of removal of the monument of 26
from the center of Baku. We worked there three-four days. Whole
forensic-medical examination team, as well as director general of the
Health Ministry’s Forensic-Medical Examination and Pathological
Anatomy Center also participated in this process. We asked the
investigative group to identify how many bodies were buried there. The
examinations were conducted very accurately and 23 bodies were
identified. Eldar Ismayilov could say that there were 26 bodies and
another one could express different opinion, but history is based on
the facts. Forensic-Medical Examination officials identified the
bodies for age. We collected all materials about the 26 and examined
the bodies, but there was no body at same age with Shaumyan. We
investigated the documents and identified that after the execution of
the 26 Stepan Shaumyan, Anastas Mikoyan and others were kept in same
cell and received packed lunch. We have this and other documents too.
Those, who don’t believe in these documents, can take interest in
Rashid Behbudov’s fate and the place in India where Shaumyan was
buried”, said Mahmudov.

The historian said he would comment the Ismayilov’s book more widely
after reading it. “Unfortunately I was not invited to the presentation
of this book. They had to invite me, experts of the Institute of
History, other scientists…”

From: Baghdasarian

Examiner.com
April 13 2012

Serj Tankian works on new solo release

Michele McManmon

Singer, songwriter, poet, political activist and System Of A Down
frontman Serj Tankian is in his Serjical Strike Studios in Los Angeles
putting the finishing touches on his third solo studio album,
Harakiri.

Harakiri was written in 2011, which was an incredibly busy year for
Serj describes as “the busiest, most productive year of my life so
far.” Serj also released his second poetry book, Glaring Through
Oblivion. He toured with System of a Down across three continents,
performed with the Opera Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia, where he also
had political meetings with heads of state and hosted non-profit
events. For the first time ever, he performed a concert in Lebanon,
the place of his birth, with the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra.
When he returned to the US, he finished writing four records: a jazz
record, an electronic record he wrote with his friend Jimmy Urine of
Mindless Self Indulgence, a full classical symphony called Orca, and
the new solo rock record that he is currently mastering.

“[Harakiri] is different than any I’ve made as a solo artist. It is
much more driving and punk oriented with influences ranging from goth
to electronic to 80’s vibes, dynamically heavy rock to epic melodic
songs. Lyrically, it spans the gauntlet of themes from personal,
political and philosophical to spiritual, humor and love.”

Always pushing himself into different creative expressions Serj said
“I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three
of the songs on [Harakiri]. We must trick ourselves into writing in
different ways to get unexpected results.”

If Serj Tankian has done anything in his life, he has proven it by
doing it differently, utilizing his creative abilities, and platforms
throughout his successful career. Watch out for more from Serj
Tankian in 2012 and expect Harakiri to blow your mind.

From: Baghdasarian

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
April 13 2012

Armenia launches program to support culture of national minorities

Armenia has launched a program to support national minorities and
vulnerable ethnic groups in Yerevan today, News Armenia reports.

The program is to spread cultural heritage and will last for 3 years.
The first year will be devoted to aid national minorities in 10
Armenian regions, coordinator of the Organization for Development of
Civil Society Arpine Akopyan said. The program will be in force in
Chambarak, Lukashin, Metsamor, Ranchpar, Shamiram, Allaverdi, Mets
Ayrum, Agavnavank, Dilijan and Azatan. It will support preservation of
diversity.

National minorities may take part in the process by giving own ideas
for preservation of cultural values. They may visit Ukraine and
Poland.

Shushanik Saratikyan, expert for national minorities and religion of
the Armenian president’s office, noted that there is no cultural
inequality in Armenia Administration offers assistance in cultural
development.

2.3% of the population in Armenia is national minorities. Armenia has
11 national minorities with Yezgins as the largest of them, consisting
of 40,500 people, followed by Russians, Kurds and Greeks.

The program was organized by the Fund for Civil Development and
Cooperation, Organization for Development of the Civil Society with
assistance of the GURT resource center of the EU.

From: Baghdasarian

The Haverhill Gazette (Massachusetts)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
April12, 2012 Thursday

Students stunned by tales of genocide

by Alex Lippa, The Haverhill Gazette, Mass.

April 12–As Haverhill High School senior Michelle Chennault sat in
the school auditorium, she was stunned at the stories she heard from
the speakers on stage.

She was among more than 100 students who listened to four people tell
there stories about how they or their ancestors escaped genocide in
four different countries. The human rights forum on Monday was
organized and moderated by retired Haverhill Gazette reporter Tom
Vartabedian. It is the second consecutive year in which Vartabedian
has organized a group of speakers to talk at Haverhill High about
genocides.

Most touching to Chennault was the story of Jasmina Cesic, who
survived the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s.

“These genocides happened when I was only 2 or 3 years old and I had
never even heard about them,” Chennault said. “It just shocked me
because I was only a toddler and I had no idea what was happening that
entire time.”

Cesic was living in the Yugoslavian city of Visegrad in 1992 when the
country’s government began to fall apart. Constant fighting between
Serbs and Muslims led to more than 25,000 deaths of Bosnian Muslims
between 1992 and 1995. Cesic was able to escape and come to the United
States in 1993, but she left behind her husband, two brothers, uncle
and grandmother who had all been killed in the genocide.

Not only did she lose her loved ones — she also lost her right arm.
Cesic told the story about how she and her husband were waiting for
the bus one morning to go to work when they were shot at from a
passing armored car. Her husband was killed and Cesic was badly
wounded. She lost her right arm and had wounds to both of her legs.
She was in the hospital for 25 days. She came to the United States in
1993, after the U.S. started a program for Bosnian refugees who needed
medical treatment.

Rwandan refugee Claude Kaitare spoke about his experience in Rwanda
during 1994. Kaitare was living there when President Juvenal
Habyarimana’s plane was shot down, sparking genocide throughout the
small country in east Africa. Although he was only 12 at the time,
Kaitare played a vital role in keeping his friends and family alive.

Kaitare was too young to even have an ID card listing his ethnicity,
so he was able to pass through certain roadblocks to access
marketplaces and acquire necessary supplies. He then passed back
through the road blocks to deliver those supplies to relatives and
friends who were staying at a refugee camp. He did that for three
months until the genocide was over. Kaitare eventually moved to Kenya
where he studied English, before coming to the United States.

“To actually see someone there who had experienced genocide and was
able to talk to us about that was really amazing,” said Haverhill High
sophomore Nathalia Ulysse.

Ulysse said she enjoyed hearing the speakers because it genocide not a
subject that is usually touched on during her classroom learning.

Also speaking to the students was Jim Vanderpol, a holocaust survivor
of World War II from the Netherlands. Vanderpol described his
experience as similar to that of Anne Frank, who was famous for hiding
from the Nazis in an attic for several months. Frank did not survive
the holocaust, but Vanderpol did by hiding in a chimney in Amsterdam.

The final speaker was George Aghjayan, who had ancestors in the
ArmenianGenocide during the early 20th century. Aghjayan focused on
the importance of getting the genocide recognized in the United
States. Only 44 of the 50 states recognize the events from 1915 to
1923 as a genocide. Turkey has a major opposition to the genocide
being recognized and the fear of damaging relations with Turkey has
halted a bill which would recognize theArmeniantragedy in the United
States.

TheArmenianGenocide will be commemorated at St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church on April 17, as has been the case for the last 97
years. Mayor James Fiorentini will speak at the ceremony and the
Armenianflag will be raised.

From: Baghdasarian

The Daily Star (Lebanon)
April13, 2012 Friday

Does Turkey offer a model that the Mideast can emulate?

BY:Nora Fisher Onar

Turkey is often touted as an inspiration for the countries of the rest
of the Middle East – a characterization it accepts and pursues. In
recent years, Turkish policymakers have worked hard to establish
“Turkey Inc.” as the model of a relatively free, stable and
increasingly prosperous Muslim-majority country with great economic
and foreign policy leverage. But what does the Turkish experience
actually represent for the states of the Arab Middle East? How
convincing is Turkey, Inc. – and as a model can it really be emulated?

Perhaps the most attention has been paid to the free and fair rise to
power of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which Islamist
movements in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Syria have heralded as a
symbol of Muslim majoritarian democracy – even explicitly referencing
it in the names and platforms of their own parties, movements and
factions. To both domestic and international observers, this might
signal that, like the AKP in Turkey, Islamist parties elsewhere do not
seek to dismantle their states’ secular framework – at least for the
time being.

But in spite of its appeal to both traditional Islamists and
“post-Islamists” – that is, those who fully reconcile their particular
politico-religious commitments with globalization – the Turkish
formula may not be replicable. Civil-military relations in Turkey have
undergone a double-sided transformation over recent decades. As a
consequence of the intermittent censure by the army, political
Islamists had to moderate their demands and practices; simultaneously,
the Turkish army – accustomed to the barracks and aware that
interference in government hurt Turkey’s international standing –
increasingly relied on civilian allies to pursue its agenda vis-à-vis
the AKP.

Eventually, the military relinquished control of crucial institutions
(such as the National Security Council), and the final showdown over
control of the presidency in 2007 was fought not with bullets and
tanks, but with Web declarations, public rallies and court cases. A
similar tipping point regarding civilian control of the state is
hardly a foregone conclusion in countries still under transition,
where national militaries continue to exert a dominant presence in
political life.

Other countries in the Middle East also lack the trajectory that
Turkey has followed with regard to its economic development. This is
particularly true of the export-driven rise of the middle class that
has been experienced by religious constituencies across the Anatolian
periphery. Such a trend has underpinned the AKP’s moderation,
political success and interregional presence. Indeed, Turkey’s recent
economic trajectory is a central component of its appeal in the Arab
world.

Over the past decade, Turkey has tripled its Gross Domestic Product
and – excluding a dip to minus-4 percent real growth in 2009 – has
managed to ride out the global economic crisis with relative
equanimity. Commentators have argued that Turkey may be part of a
second tier of rising economic powers (alongside such countries as
South Korea, Mexico and Indonesia) that is hot on the heels of the Big
Four (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

This holds two implications: On a symbolic level, the Turkish
experience (along with that of Indonesia and Malaysia) has
dramatically undermined theories of Islam’s incompatibility with
modernization, especially in the arena of economic governance. More
tangibly, over the past decade Turkey has actively sought out partners
for sustainable trade-driven growth in a region that has been long
addled by the heady cocktail of oil wealth and chronic
underdevelopment.

Although economic partnerships were in no way guided by Turkish
concerns for democratic governance – a reality that was attested to by
Turkey’s once cozy ties with authoritarian leaders – they have had
unintended consequences with positive implications for political
reform. For example, the influx of cheaper, better quality Turkish
goods in Syrian markets may have undermined a backbone of President
Bashar Assad’s regime: namely the interests of the regime’s business
cronies.

To understand the parameters of Turkey’s role in the region, we should
also acknowledge the sensitivities that have arisen from the Ottoman
legacy. Some believe that Ankara seeks to reclaim its historical
leadership of the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans, something
that can rub interlocutors the wrong way. Hence, Turkish foreign
policymakers’ reluctance to employ Ottomanist frames of reference.

However, at the domestic social level in Turkey, there remains a
growing receptiveness to self-depiction as the benign heir to the
Ottoman Empire. This is evident in the proliferation of cultural
commodities that employ Ottoman referents. That is the case of the
recent record-grossing film “Conquest 1453,” about what Western
historiography calls the “fall” of Constantinople. In the film, Mehmet
the Conqueror – played by an actor who bears a remarkable resemblance
to a young Recep Tayyip Erdogan – is shown to be a forceful and
compassionate protector of Muslims and Christians alike (though there
is no mention in the film of Jews). The image of Turkey as a “big
brother” to downtrodden Muslims in such places as Palestine,
Nagorno-Karabakh,Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina – characterizes an
emerging “neo-Ottomanist” national image that seems to drive Turkish
aspirations of regional leadership within the country and amplify
Erdogan’s profile abroad. Whether this is a matter of hubris or of
genuine capacity remains to be seen.

A final component that is crucial for evaluating Turkey’s example is
that the country has yet to develop a framework for meaningful
multiethnic, multisectarian co-habitation. Mounting violence on the
part of militant Kurds and the Turkish state’s heavy-handed response
has fueled hostility between ordinary citizens.

For instance, recent court rulings suggest that vigilante terror
toward prominent members of the Armenian and Alevi communities is
permissible and will go unpunished. Disturbing numbers of journalists,
scholars, and students who have expressed critical views on these
fronts have been jailed. There is also deep concern in constituencies
that embrace secular lifestyles that recent reforms in fields such as
education will yield an ever more restricted Turkish society.

Given the need to put its own house in order and the fact that
inter-communal tensions across the Middle East are likely to become
worse before becoming better, Turkey’s AKP government must take very
seriously its mandate to write a new and inclusive Constitution. In
the longer tem, Turkey must confront the standing challenge of the
region – learning to live together despite differences – a challenge
which also happens to be Turkey’s own.

At the end of the day, the export of Turkey, Inc. needs stable and
predictable conditions in which trade and investment can thrive;
hence, the commitment to the “zero problems” policy that Turkey
employed with neighbors in its economic and foreign agendas over the
past decade. Due to last year’s upheavals in the Arab world, however,
this policy is unsustainable. Once well-placed to broker a dialogue
between Iran and Israel, Turkey is now more alienated from both
countries than before as the two nemeses lock horns in what Graham
Allison has called the “Cuban missile crisis in slow motion.”

Should Israeli-Iranian antagonism spill over into war, the delicate
balance in Iraq may unravel into protracted sectarian and ethnic
conflict, just as Syria’s brewing civil war may spill over into
neighboring Lebanon. But even without an Israeli-Iranian showdown and
an intensified conflagration in Iraq and Syria, Turkey’s Kurdish
question is, quite literally, kindling awaiting a flame, as attested
to by recent clashes during Nevruz, or Nowruz, celebrations. All of
this suggests that Turkey’s aspirations to regional leadership are
tactically dependent on forestalling an Iranian-Israeli showdown – an
end to which it should leverage all its diminished diplomatic capital
in the two countries and in partnership with the United States.

Before the AKP came to power and the Arab Awakening broke out, the
received wisdom was that when it came to Islam, democracy and
secularism, one could have any two but never all three. Similarly,
doubts have long been expressed about whether political and economic
liberalism can thrive simultaneously in a Muslim-majority setting.
Taken together, it seems that if the purveyors of Turkey, Inc. can
show that liberal economics goes hand-in-hand with liberal democracy
in a country that is governed by pious Muslims, then the Turkish
model-in-progress may achieve fruition and offer a timely example for
the Middle East.

Nora Fisher Onar is an assistant professor of international relations
at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul. She is also a Ronald D. Asmus
Policy Entrepreneur Fellow with the German Marshall Fund and is a
Visiting Fellow at the Centre for International Studies (CIS) at the
University of Oxford. This commentary first appeared at Sada, an
online journal published by the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace.

From: Baghdasarian

Ahram Online , Egypt
April 14 2012

Boulaq photography studio tells a story of protests, kings and bellydancers

The 70-year history of the San Francisco photography studio, located
in the central Cairo district of Boulaq, contains many interesting
pieces of Egyptian history
Angy Essam , Saturday 14 Apr 2012

San Francisco photography studio is a time machine that will take you
back 70 years.

In the rundown neighbourhood of Boulaq Abou-Elela, located in the
centre of Cairo, behind street vendors showcasing second-hand clothes,
you will find the San Francisco studio, founded in 1942.

Despite the changes in time, in the nature of the place and in
ownership, the old studio stuck to its first name, San Francisco. The
name was chosen by the Armenian founders of the studio who lived in
Boulaq during the Second World War.

As you take your first steps into the old building which houses the
studio on the second floor, you will smell the odour of the past.
While going up the crumbling stairs, you will feel that you are
returning to the lost Cairo of the last century.

On the wall of the studio hang pictures of the kings of Egypt and
former judges who were its customers.

The studio is characterised by its old unique style and its simple
decor. In the background of the studio there is a dim lighting system
that matches its ancient spirit, and the walls are full of pictures of
the Egyptian royal family.

The current owner of the studio welcomes you with a smile – Saad
Zaghloul Ahmed, 53 years old, who holds the name of the well-known
leader of the 1919 Revolution.

`My name is not a coincidence. My father gave me this name because he
was fond of the deceased leader. Our family belonged to the Wafd party
and my sister’s name is Safia Zaghloul, like the `mother of the
Egyptians’, the wife of the great leader,’ said Zaghloul.

Zaghloul explained that San Francisco was the name of a famous saint,
which is why the Armenian founders of the studio chose it. Both
Mohamed Mostafa, the next owner of the studio and Zaghloul were proud
of the name as a successful trademark and refused to change it.

Zaghloul remembered how the now-deprived district was once a
cosmopolitan neighbourhood where Armenians, Italians, French and
English people would live in harmony with Egyptians.

On discussing his work, he remembers one of the landmarks of Boulaq,
the French church. When you look at this church from above, you see
that it is cross-shaped.

In one of the corners of the studio you’ll find a wooden old camera.
`This camera is a unique antique that is over a hundred years old, and
was imported especially from Britain.’

Zaghloul added that the founders chose the studio’s location because
Boulaq neighbourhood was a vital place for customers. Royal vehicles
would go en route to the Abdein palace, and the studio used to take
photos of such events.

`The studio continued for several years after the Second World War;
then its ownership in the late forties moved from the Armenian
founders to the Egyptian photographer Mohamed Mostafa.

`This man was active and loyal to the profession of photography. He
worked hard to develop the studio; he made an effort to work with
members of the government, the police, army and members of judicial
bodies.

`He was also hired to photograph school students and their teachers.
In this period there was a tradition that each grade should take a
photo with the school principal as a kind of souvenir.’

Zaghloul added that Mostafa was a friendly person with a charisma that
allowed him to gain the friendship and the confidence of many of his
customers, making the studio more like a social forum. The majority of
celebrities did not attend only to be photographed; there was a room
in the studio dedicated to their chats and meetings.

`Many celebrities attended the studio, most notably the artists
Mohammad Reda, Ibrahim Safan, Sayed Zayan and the dancer Nabawya
Mostafa, who was a dancer of great fame who appeared in several old
films. Also the Armenian ballerinas attended to photograph their
latest dances. But the unforgettable customers were the great artist
Roushdy Abaza and the star Samia Gamal, who used to come to the studio
until her death, as her nephew was a close friend of mine,’ said
Zaghloul.

Zaghloul explained that he joined the studio in his youth. The
studio in the past was like a photography school that a lot of
photographers graduated from.

`Mohamed Mostafa was the father of my best friend. In the past careers
were inherited, but because his son was not fond of photography I went
to the studio to assist Mohamed and learn the trade. I came here when
I was 14 years old, in the middle of the seventies.’

With the transfer of the ownership of the studio to Zaghloul, he tried
to maintain the respectable and professional image of the studio.

`I prefer things with true artistic value; that is why I stuck to the
studio’s traditional decor, as well as the name that reflects the
identity of the place and its honourable history.’

One of the most important events in Zaghloul’s life is photographing
the judges’ demonstrations in 2005 and 2006, when Egyptian judges
demanded judicial independence and condemned the inheritance of power
in Egypt.

As for the studio’s customers, Zaghloul added that although the studio
is located in Boulaq, the majority of his customers are intellectuals
who appreciate the value of the place. They are journalists, artists,
ambassadors and judges. This is because of the presence of the studio
near the Maspero state television building, the Egyptian foreign
ministry and the Supreme Court.

Zaghloul considers San Francisco like a photography museum that tells
part of the history of photography in Egypt. It contains rare and
precious photos and ancient photographing equipment such as old
cameras and flash lights and lighting, making the studio an amazing
heritage place.

From: Baghdasarian

Sergey Ryakhovsky: Discrepancies between Christian confessions are
strongly contraindicated to Armenia as a country situated in a
problematic region
ArmInfo’s interview with Sergey Ryakhovsky, Leader of the Russian
Union of Evangelical Christians, member of the Russian Civic Chamber,
and member the Presidential Council for Interaction with Religious
Organizations and Unions

by Ashot Safaryan

arminfo
Saturday, April 14, 17:33

Would you please share you opinion of the religious atmosphere in
Armenia, where the Armenian Apostolic Church quite painfully responds
to the activities of Protestant denominations. What are the
implications of this attitude?

They do it because they know little about Protestants. So as to be
able to meet the challenges Christianity is facing in such a dangerous
region, the Armenian Apostolic Church must take a more loyal and
constructive attitude towards the Evangelist Church. Very few healthy
Christian forces have been left in Armenia and the world and they must
not war against each other.

The multi-confessional and multi-national Russia has also faced such
challenges. Many power centers, including in the West, try to
destabilize the situation in the country on the principle “divide et
impera” with help of various experts in sects. On the other hand,
there are so-called human rights defenders that try to drive a wedge
between the Orthodox Church and the Protestants. Politicians cannot
help splitting the two big religions unions either. But we have
matured enough not be split up.

In view of these challenges, has the Russian Orthodox Church done
anything to foster cooperation between the Orthodox and Protestant
Christians?

Irrespective of the political environment and public response, the
Christians in Russia and in any other country should never turn
against each other.

Some 4 years ago Patriarch Kirill reanimated the Consultative
Inter-Christian Council. The given initiative was aimed to boost the
dialogue between the Christians of Russia. To meet today’s challenges,
the Christianity needs consolidation of the representatives of the
Orthodox Church, Protestants and Catholics, Armenian Apostolic, the
Gregorian, and Georgian churches having dioceses in Russia. It was the
first and very important step.

And what about the charges of the Protestants’ cooperation with the
forces trying to organize “orange revolution’ in Russia?

Such allegations were nothing but public unfamiliarity with the
activity of Protestant Confessions.

Today there is severe, systematic and coordinated pressing on the
Russian Orthodox Church and personally the Patriarch by laics,
liberals. One should not be naive and think that this actions is aimed
against the Russian Orthodox Church only. We deal with a
target-oriented campaign against Christianity in Russia and in world.
We, Protestants, support not just the Orthodox Church but Christianity
in general. Many politicians and officials were quite surprised at
that. However, I think, Christians should not turn against each other
irrespective of political environment.

What is your position on the scandalous act of the Pussy Riot punk
band in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow?

I think that such acts prove that Christianity is not clear and
consistent in demonstration of its principles. Very often what
clergymen say and do are two different things. And such acts are a
signal that the Church must change.

The same is true for Armenia, isn’t it?

The social-political and religious processes in Armenia and Russia are
closely inter-connected and this is both good and problematic.

As regards, the politics, I can say that even though there are no
friends in the politics, the interests of Russia and Armenia coincide.
In the 1990s we were scattering stones, and now it’s time to gather
them, which is a much harder thing to do. I am glad that our countries
trust and understand each other. In fact, we have no other choice but
to be friends, and I am very optimistic of the future of our
relations.

As regards the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia, I think
that Russia should not interfere in this process in any case.

From: Baghdasarian

Most of Armenians do not believe that forthcoming parliamentary
elections will be fair

arminfo
Saturday, April 14, 17:01

Most of the Armenians do not believe that the forthcoming
parliamentary elections will be fair.

The survey held by the Public Center for Political Research Mar 20-Apr
7 among 1,320 people (739 women and 581 men) has shown that only 32%
of them believe that the elections will be fair.

31% said that they would vote for personalities rather than parties,
28% for the parties and personalities that did something for the
people: 20% for Gagik Tsarukyan, 19% for Serzh Sargsyan, 17% for Artur
Baghdasaryan.

Only 11% believe in the parties’ promises. 8% are ready to sell their votes.

The survey has shown that most of the Armenians do not have the
Internet and receive information from TV (54%) and newspapers (19%).

54% of the respondents did not have permanent job, 16% worked for
private companies, 18% were civil servants, 12% students. 44% had
higher education. 34% were over 50.

From: Baghdasarian

President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan received member of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsoutyun) Bureau Levon
Lazarian

Friday, 13 April 2012 05:57

On 13 April President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan received
member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsoutyun)
Bureau Levon Lazarian and Director of the International Secretariat
of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau and head of Armenian
Cause Office Kiro Manoyan.

The Head of the State welcomed the organization of event dedicated to
the Armenian Cause issues and activities carried out in this direction
qualifying it as an important foreign and domestic policy aspect.

Member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau, consultant of
the NKR President’s Office Georgy Petrosyan and representative of the
Artsakh central committee of the Dashnaktsutyun Party David Ishkhanyan
partook at the meeting.

From: Baghdasarian